During a holiday visit to the Auvergne last autumn we visited the quaint little town of Riom, which has, as we shall see, a certain interest for the alienist. It has always been a rival to the more flourishing city of Clermont Ferrand, and although it has had to give place to Clermont as capital of the district, it still retains the Courts of Appeal for the whole neighbourhood. By this means the town continues to hold its own and keeps some of its past importance, although at the present time it can only boast of a population of some ten thousand persons.