is celebrated
poem entitled the PRISONER OF CHILLON. Chillon is an ancient castle
which stands on the shore, twenty or thirty miles beyond, and very near,
in fact, to the extremity of the lake. Byron has made this castle
renowned throughout the world by spending a few days, while he was
stopped at this inn at Ouchy by a storm, when travelling on the lake, in
writing a poem in which he describes the emotions and sufferings of
some imaginary prisoners whom he supposed to be confined there.

"Can we go to see the Castle of Chillon?" said Mrs. Holiday.

"Yes," said Mr. Holiday. "We shall sail directly by it in going to the
head of the lake, and if we stop there we can go to it very easily."

The head of the lake--that is, the eastern end of it--is surrounded with
mountains, the slopes of which seem to rise very abruptly from the
water, and ascend to such a height that patches of snow lie on the
summits of them all the summer. These mountains, especially if
overshadowed by clouds, give a very dark and sombre expression to the
whole region when seen from a distance, in coming in from the centre of
the lake. This sombre expression, however, entirely disappears when you
arrive at the head of the lake, and land there.

You would not suppose, when viewing these shores from a distance, that
there was any place to land, so closely do the precipitous slopes of the
mountains seem to shut the water in. But on drawing near the shore, you
see that there is a pretty broad belt of land along the shore, which,
though it ascends rapidly, is not too steep to be cultivated. This belt
of land is covered with villages, hamlets, vineyards, orchards, and
gardens, and it forms a most enchanting series of landscapes, from
whatever point it is seen, while the more precipitous slopes of the
mountains, towering above in grandeur and sublimity, complete the
enchantment of the view.

The Castle of Chillon stands on the very margin of the lake, just in the
edge of the water. Indeed, the foundations on which it stands form a
little island, which is separated by a narrow channel from the shore.
This channel is crossed by a drawbridge. It is possible, however, that
it may be in some measure artificial. The island may have originally
been a small rocky point, and it may have been made an island by the
cutting of a ditch between it and the main land.

The steamer passed along the shore, very near to this castle, in going
to the head of the lake, as you