e city of Sion will be long remembered as the scene of one of the most
horrible of those outrages which cast such a just odium on the French
name. It was given up to the savage fury of an army irritated by the
brave but ineffectual resistance, which its inhabitants attempted to
oppose against the invaders of their property and liberty. But here, as
in too many other instances, numbers occasioned the worse to prevail
over the better cause. A person on whose authority I can confide,
assured me he was at Geneva, when a part of the French army arrived
there after this _glorious_ exploit, and that rather than return without
plunder, they carried away with them the miserable household furniture
of these unfortunate people, which sold at Geneva for a sum so trifling
as hardly to pay for the expense of conveying them thither. It may seem
_incredible_, but it is however _true_, that many of the inhabitants of
the Valois, _regret the recovery of their independence_, and would wish
again to see their country in the possession of the French. They prefer
the advantages which Buonaparte's military road, and the frequent
passage of his troops into Italy afforded them of making money, to their
present liberty under a government of their own selection.

The country, for about a league before the entrance into Martigny,
becomes much more civilized than that we had just passed. The fields
are well cultivated, and are divided by hedges from the road: here are
some of the largest walnut trees I have ever seen.

On the left we remarked the venerable and extensive remains of la
Bathia, an ancient castle, formerly inhabited by the Bishops of Sion. It
is boldly situated on a rock, which rises over that impetuous torrent
the Dreuse, which a little below falls into the Rhone.

The town of Martigny is situated on the Rhone, in that delightful plain
which we had so much admired from the Fourcle, and which did not
disappoint the expectations we had formed of it. It is well watered,
highly cultivated, and abounds with neat cottages, and seems almost to
realize some fancied descriptions of enchanted valleys, being shut out
from the surrounding countries by a formidable barrier of snow-clad
mountains, and possessing in itself so attractive an aspect. Martigny is
a well-built town; and some antiquarians insist, that it is the ancient
Octodurum of the Romans. I can give no opinion on a point which has
occasioned differences amongst the learned; but the