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tensive subterraneous passages which have of late been discovered on the eastern side of it; pqrtof which I visited in 1787-

On the summit of the same eminence stand the superb remains of an aqueduct. This beauti-ful Roman work is supported by a tier of arches, some of which exceed fifty feet in height; and,from what now remains of this curious work, it seems to have extended upwards of ten miles inlength. Its construction merits the attention of every man of observation, being mostly builtof small pebbles, incrusted with a strong cement.

The ancient city appears to have remained in the possession of the Romans till about the year472 of our asra; when the emperor Anthemius , desirous of the assistance of the Burgundians, apeople who at that time inhabited Savoy, against the Visigoths, who were making incursions,and laying waste that part of Gallia Narbonensis , promised them the city of Lyons as a rewardfor their services.

Soon after its cession, it became the metropolis of the new kingdom of Burgundy: a govern-ment which however proved but of short duration; for the Franks and Ostrogoths uniting, aboutone hundred and twenty years after its foundation, against Gondemar, the last sovereign of thatcountry, he was dethroned; and, in consequence of a division of his states taking place, Lyons,in 534, fell under the dominion of the Franks , in whose possession it remained till 870 ; at whichtime it passed into the hands of Conrad, king of the second kingdom of Arles and Burgundy.

In 1173, it underwent another considerable change; for the whole of the Lyonese territorybeing ceded by Guy the Second, count du Forest, to his brother Guichard, bishop of that pro-vince, it then became governed by its own bishops, who from that period were honoured withthe title of princes, and chosen by the - chapter, composed of canons, who, previous to theirordination, were obliged to prove their right to the ancient noblesse of the country, and werethen dignified by the appellation of count. But, in 1314, the then reigning prince and prelategranted to Louis Hutin of France , with consent of the chapter, the temporal jurisdiction of thatprovince ; reserving to himself only what related to the spiritual state of the country, for whichthe court of France conferred on him the dignity of archbishop and primate of Gaul .

Previously, however, to the revolution of 1789, the public administration of Lyons was in agreat measure entrusted to a prSvot des marchands , or president, commonly taken from the classof merchants ; and four syndics, elected by the people. But those important offices degeneratingsoon after their institution into mere empty titles, both the legislative and executive power de-volved into the hands of a governor-general, a receiver-general of the province, a senechal,presidial, &c. ; who judged and decided in the name of the king. So that in fact, at the revolu-tion, the Lyonese found themselves bereft of most of their ancient privileges, except the exclusiveone of guarding their city by enrolling or appointing their militia, with an exemption frombilleting or lodging troops ; in which respects Lyons might be compared to the city of London ,which enjoys that municipal and exclusive privilege.

This once great commercial town was considered as the capital of a province of the same name,which extended about forty-two miles from north to south, and twenty-four from east to west,lying in lat. 45° 50', long. 4° 55', east of Greenwich. Neither, however, is its climate so hotas might be expected from its latitude, nor is its atmosphere so dry as in many parts of the southof France ; two circumstances which may, I think, be accounted for from its locality, which isin a valley at the confluence of several rivers or torrents, and seated at the foot of a range ofhills, whereby the air is rendered cold and humid; and also from the thick fogs to which the placeis pepuliarly subject in the autumn, arising from the extensive swamps which border both sides ofthe Rhone, at some distance from the eastern part of the city.

Those fogs, added to the strong sulphureous smell emitted from the quantity of coal consumedin the manufactures, and shops, even of the meanest artificer, with the busy and active appearanceof the mercantile part of the inhabitants, gave it another striking resemblance to London .

The soil of the whole country is extremely rich and productive, both in corn and pasturage.The people breed vast quantities of cattle; their vines, which are prolific, partly cover the hillsthat border the banks of the Rhone, and yield a most excellent wine. In fine, the different pro-ductions of the whole province have been computed to be nearly sufficient for the consumptidnof its own numerous inhabitants.

The population of Lyons, as I was well informed, before the revolution, exceeded one hundred