CORRESPONDENCE.
YVOIRE.
[Mum A CORRESPONDENT.] THERE 19 probably no place on the Lake of Geneva less known- and better worth visiting than Yvoire. Although now little- more than a lacustrine fishing village, inhabited by peasants and fishermen, its picturesque position, at the extreme point of the promontory which marks the limit, on the Savoy side, be- tween the great and the little lakes, its old, ivy-mantled castle and crumbling gateways, its history audits antiquity, make it one of the most interesting localities in the basin of the Leman. Its origin dates back to prehistoric times ; it is probably as old as Geneva, and like Geneva, was a place of importance before the Romans conquered the country of the Allobroges. In the middle-ages, when the roads were ill-kept and worse guarded, and the lake was the chief highway between France and Savoy, and between Geneva and the valley of the Upper Rhine, the possessor of the promontory and castle of Yvoire controlled the navigation of the Leman. The Barons of Yvoire, who boasted that their race was as old as the lake itself, and that they were directly descended from Niton, a Celtic saint and hero of pre-Roman times, claimed, as their hereditary, immemorial right, toll from all passing vessels, guaranteeing them in return against the depredations of their allies and vassals, the pirates of the Chablais. In war-time, it was the habit of the Lords of Yvoire to cruise about the lake in their galleys, and levy con- tributions on friend and foe alike ; and during the dominion of the Burgundian Kings, the waters and shores of the Leman were- the scene of many a fierce encounter. Amadeus VIII. of Savoy was the first ruler of the land who reduced it to subjection, checked the turbulence of its seigneurs, and crushed, piracy. Under his reign, and that of his successors, Louis, Yolande, and Philibert le Beau, who kept their Court alternately at Thonon, La Ripaille, and, until the city won its independ- ence, at Geneva, peace prevailed in the land, and the Barons of Yvoire exchanged the calling of freebooters for the role- of courtiers. But in 1536, Charles III. waged an unsuccess- ful war with Geneva and Berne ; Vaud and the Chablais were the prize of the victors, and the fortunes of Yvoire sank to their lowest ebb. Baron Humbert, who had taken an active part in the contest, both by lake and land, lost the- greater part of his fortune, and died of chagrin at the age of forty, leaving to Jean, his only son, little more than the old castle and the rock on which it stood. This Jean, afterwards known, and still spoken of in the Chablais, as Jean an Bras de Fer, , was the most remarkable of the lords of the promontory, if we except the mythical Niton ; and albeit, some of the- ex- ploita attributed to him partake of the fabulous, he was, never- theless, a sufficiently historical personage, and his life abounded -with romance and adventure. Shortly after be came to man's estate, the young baron, weary of the monotony of Yvoire, and disgusted with the narrowness of his means, went to seek his fortune in foreign lands. Ten years later he returned, -bringing with him a black Barbary horse, a Moorish servant, an iron arm (he had lost the original in battle), and very little money. He found the Chablais (that part of northern Savoy -contiguous to the territory of Geneva) still under the dominion of the lords of Berne, and piracy, which had been put down 'by the Dukes of Savoy, almost as rife as in the days of his freebooter forefathers. This was in 1564, and the warm welcome Jean received from his ancient vassals of the promontory, and the detestation they expressed for their new masters, suggested to him the bold idea of retrieving the fortunes of his house by driving the Bernese out of the Chablais, and restoring the province to him whom he deemed his lawful prince, Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. To this end, money was necessary, and though the Baroness, his mother, had made some savings during his absence, they were of small amount, and altogether inadequate for the enterprise which he -contemplated. But the castle was a resource in itself ; it com- manded the strait between the grand and the petit lac, and with a swift galley always in readiness at the foot of the rock, he could compel every passing craft to comply with ancient custom, and render to the Lord of Yvoire his due. With the help of his man Abdallah, a clever seaman whom he had taken prisoner in a fight with an Algerian rover, and the people of the promon- tbry, who provided the timber and much gratuitous labour, a boat was built, the like of which had never before been seen in the waters of Leman. Both a sailing-ship and a galley, she was banked for sixty rowers, carried three masts, six guns, and a fighting crew of fifty men. Jean called her the Niton,' in honour of his mythical ancestor.
With so formidable a means of enforcing obedience at his dis- posal, the Baron, as may be supposed, did not find much diffi- culty in collecting his dues; and it soon became a rule, to which there was rarely an exception, for trading-vessels bound to or from Geneva, Thonon, or Evian, to bear up for Yvoire, and -without solicitation tender their toll. These proceedings kindled great indignation at Geneva and Berne. Peremp- tory orders were issued to pat an end to Jean's depreda- tions,—orders, however, which did not prove very easy of accom- plishment. One day, when he was cruising in the neighbour- hood of La Ripaille, Bauerbach, the bailiff of Thonon, sallied nnt with two galleys, and tried to bar his way. Bras de Per ran them both down, and passed triumphantly on. On another occasion, the Niton,' while lying at anchor off Genthod, was attacked by two brigantines and a fire-ship, under command of Admiral and Syndic Michel Rosset. But the fire-ship was a failure, the brigantines, after a sharp fight, were run ashore, and the Admiral, compelled to return ignominiously afoot, entered Geneva amid the jeers of the populace. Meanwhile, news was brought to Jean that the Bernese were attacking Yvoire both by lake and land. Hurrying back with all speed, he disposed of the hostile fleet, composed of three galleys, by running down two and putting the third to flight. Then, dis- embarking his men, he forced the Bernese troops, who had already been roughly handled by the garrison and the country- people, to make off in the direction of Thenon.
But stratagem effected what force failed to accomplish, and the bold Baron of Yvoire fell at length into the hands of his enemies. In the following October, Jean resolved to celebrate the ancient and rather heathenish festival of Niton. There were games on the lake and feastings on shore, wine (the involuntary contri- bution of Genevan traders) flowed in abundance, and in the evening Bras de Fer gave a grand banquet to his friends and neighbours. Meanwhile, a force of Bernese, who had marched -unperceived from Thonon, gained the castle (which had been left unguarded) under cover of the darkness, took possession of all the exits and entrances, and when the orgie was at its height the Baron de Cossonay, their commander, entered the banquet- ing-hall with his men-at-arms, and told Yvoire to consider himself a prisoner. At the same time—and this was the most cruel cut of all—he handed him a warrant, dated Turin, Sep- tember 15th, 1564, by which Emmanuel Philibert, King of Cyprus and Jerusalem and Duke of Savoy, authorised the Great Council of Berne to seize his vassal, Jean d'Yvoire, and -deliver him over to justice, "for various acts of piracy com- mitted on the Lake of Geneva."
Jean, seeing no chance of successful resistance, yielded at discretion, and invited his captor to crack a bottle of malvoisie with him. Cassonay, who was his personal enemy, yet to whose sister, Am& de Prangins, a great heiress, Yvoire was secretly betrothed, accepted the invitation, and Bras de Fer ordered more wine. The wine was all finished, declared the major-domo, all save some rinds Crepy, which it would not be fitting to offer so distinguished a guest. To this Jean replied that there was plenty of malvoisie in the cellar, and asked Cassonay's permission to accompany the major-domo thither, and point it out. Cassonay agreed, but sent with his host two men-at-arms, to see that he did not escape. Jean went, but he stayed so long that Cassonay, waxing impatient, descended to the cellar in person, to ascertain what had become of him. M. le Baron was at the other end of the cellar, said the men-at-arms, who were keeping guard at the door. The cellar was searched, and although no means of exit could be found, Bras de Fer bad disappeared, and it was long before the Baron de Cassonay saw him again. He had escaped by a secret passage, which led to the foot of the rock, where he found his Barbary horse. Mounting him, he plunged into the lake, and turned his head towards Promenthoux, on the opposite side of the lake, where dwelt his lady-love, Amee do Prangins. The distance is little more than two miles; the horse was an excellent swimmer, and (according to tradition) he car- ried his master safely across, and then sank at his feet and died. Amee was persuaded by her lover to accompany him to Italy, where they were married, and Jean took service in the Venetian Navy. When, a few years later, the Chablais was reconquered by the Duke of Savoy, the Baron returned with his wife to Yvoire ; but the greater part of his after-life was spent on the shores of the Adriatic.
All this, and much more, I had read in a curious and long- forgotten book, half-history, half-romance, by the late James Fazy, once Dictator of Geneva ; but I was not aware, until a few days ago, that the house of Yvoire still flourished, and that the castle and domain are to this day the property of a direct descendant of the mythical Niton and the corsair lords of the promontory. The family must be one of the oldest in Europe.
Yvoire is rather difficult of access. The steamers touch there at long intervals and inconvenient hours, and from Geneva the road is long, and not very interesting. The easiest way of reaching the place is by boat to Nernier, whence, in little more than forty minutes, the journey may be completed on foot.
From Nernier, Yvoire is entered by an ancient gateway, which has its counterpart on the eastern, or Excenevrex side. The walls have long since disappeared, but the line of the moat can still be distinctly traced. The village consists almost ex- clusively of farm buildings and peasants' houses. The inhabit- ants are a simple, half-amphibious people, equally at home on land and on water, who earn their living partly by agriculture, partly by fishing. M. le Baron is the principal proprietor of the neighbourhood ; but "all the world," I was glad to hear, "has a bit of land." There are two auberges, tvhere you may get a tolerable viu du pays and an excellent omelette, but Yvoire boasts neither shop nor hotel. The only incongruous thing in the place is a detestably tawdry town-hall, opposite the Excenevrex gate, in the style of the Second Empire. The chateau, now reduced to a single square tower of massive construction, is not a show place ; but the family being away, the servants allowed me to walk through the grounds and look into the library, a room with a vaulted roof, enormously thick walls, an old oaken floor, and some interesting portraits. The girl who acted as my cicerone pointed out whither Baron Humbert swum his Barbary horse at Promenthoux, and mentioned the legend of Jean au Bras de Per, in which she had evidently the most implicit faith. The view from the terrace, embracing the French and the Swiss Jura, the mountains of Fancigny, the Pennine Alps, and nearly the whole of the valley of the Leman, is superb ; and the mythical Niton, or whoever he was who first chose the rock for his eyrie, must have had a fine eye for scenery, as well as a sound military instinct.
W. WESTALL.
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