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myself far away from such travellmg kill-joys of society.

In the afternoon, we visited Messrs. Paccard and Carrier's Cabinet of Natural History and of Mineralogy; which contains some well-preserved specimens of birds and beasts, also of Chamois-horn in its natural and polished state, besides a collection of the vegetable productions, and numerous minerals, fossils, marbles, agates, crystals, &c. deserving of particular attention, if all be (as they state) the produce of the mountains around. We afterwards walked along the street of the Prieuré,* as it is called, thronged at that time with visitors, their guides, muleteers, and drivers of char-a-bancs.— There are two other respectable inns besides the one where we were comfortably lodged; and all of them appeared to overflow with company. Extending our stroll through fields of flax and wheat, towards the foot of Mont Breven, we gained a very comprehensive view of Mont Blanc, its snowy sides and summits "now in gold arrayed."

Returning, we entered the Church, re-built, as the date on its portal shews, in 1640, a goodly edifice, with marble columns, and much ornamental work upon its altar-pieces. I looked into some of the prayer-bookst which the villagers had left on the seats. Pure Evangelical and Apostolic Faith in the Divine Jesus, how art thou there ex

*"The village of Chamouny owes its origin to a convent of Benedictines, founded in 1099 by a Count of Geneva."—Ebel.

+ In these forms of worship, the human object of their devotion is addressed not only as L' etoile du matin-La Rose mystique-La Mere de Dieu -La porte du Ciel-La Vierge Incomparable, &c.—but also under the divine attributes of being Le salut des foibles-Le Refuge des pécheurs-La Reine des Anges-La Reine du Ciel!

changed for a vain seductive formulary, which "teaches for doctrines the commandments of men!" Christ's solemn injunction to "worship God in spirit and in truth,” finds no support in these Romish compilations; whose object on the contrary it is in every page, to inculcate the necessity of placing on the efficaciousness of prayers recited and devotions paid to the departed spirits of weak and fallible beings, that reliance which Scripture instructs us unreservedly and exclusively to fix upon the mercies of our Creator, through the merits, mediation, and all-sufficient atonement of a Crucified Redeemer!

July 30.-We were on the backs of our mules betimes, returning from Chamouny. Proceeding just beyond the village of Argentière, which, with its church and circle of dwellings, its intermingled domains of corn fields and pastures flanked by the borders of fir forests, composes a pleasing group of rural architecture and cultivation beneath the frozen ridges of the Alps, we crossed to the left bank of the Arve; and at the hamlet of Tour began to ascend the Col-de-Balme.

It was "a nipping and an eager air," that embraced us at our setting out; but the task of climbing had not long been pursued before the sun-beams became most incommodingly hot. Our route was open, bare and undefined; sometimes passing over steep rocky ground, at others across short grassy turf, affording scanty feed even for the cattle of the mountains. But where and on what will not those hardy and active animals browse? The tinkling of bells made us frequently look around to ascertain whence issued the sole interruption to Nature's silence, in these her wildest and most awful scenes. The strange spectacle on such occasions presented

230

PASSAGE OF THE COL-DE-BALME.

itself, of herds of cows treading, not only on the verge, but also on the almost perpendicular sides, of dreadful precipices, formed in the chalky chain that divides the Valorsine from the valley of Chamouny. Conveyed by our sure-footed but slow-paced steeds, we jogged on in a meandering course, without a single habitation to bless the weary sight, except the chalets of Charamillan; and thus we left ridge after ridge behind us, hoping each as it appeared was the top-most;

"But still by new ascents the mountain grew
"And a fresh toil presented to our view."

At length reaching the summit, we were repaid by what, if ever the term was properly applied to things terrestrial, is indeed a magnificent prospect. The height which we had attained is estimated to be about thirteen hundred yards above the vale of Chamouny, through nearly the whole length of which we trace the Arve after issuing from its source beneath our feet.

On the highest point of the passage is a boundary stone, shewing the respective limits of Savoy and the Valais, on which are carved the Arms of the Duchy-seven mullets; and under it those of the Episcopal See of Sion— a sword and crosier, placed saltier-ways, surmounted by a Bishop's mitre. Between these two territorial cognizances is the date 1778.

From the Col-de-Balme we behold a perfect panorama of the High Alps. The aspects of the principal summits, according to a pocket-compass, were as follow:— Due south, the Aiguille-Verte ;* a point or two to the

4185 yards above the level of the sea.

VIEW OF MONT BLANC AND THE HIGH ALPS. 231

south-west, the Aiguille-du-Dru,' the Aiguille-du-Géant," the Aiguille-de-Midi;3 beyond which, looking nearly in the the same direction, appeared, without spot or blemish, the white-mantled summit itself of "the mountain monarch." The tops of the Lacha, the Vandagne, and other mountains to the south of Mont Blanc, bounding the valley of Chamouny, presented a singular appearance. Although the atmosphere was extremely clear, yet these objects in the remoter distance, looked like so many rocky islands emerging out of a sea of glass.-To the southwest rises Mont Breven;5 further on, Mont Jolie; and due west the Mortino or Buet, with its broad top and splendid glacier. Looking to the north and north-east we have, over the Valais, a sight of the Dent-de-Morcles,8 Mont Cheville, and the Diablerets: beyond these, the chain of the Gemmi, the peaks of some of Bernese Alps, and in the extremest distance those of the Furca-exhibit an upreared wilderness of everlasting snows. To the east and south-east the prospect is as sublimely finished by the range of the Great St. Bernard, of which Mont Velan and the pyramid of the Dronaz form the two highest points.

7

From this advantageous position, looking at Mont Blanc through our telescopes, we plainly recognised the Grand Mulet, or second plateau, where M. de Saussure slept the first night of his celebrated expedition in 1787; and, we also brought to sight all its glaciers and needles, with a distinctness the most sensibly demonstrative of their vast extent and pro

1 3992 yards.

4 Mont Blanc is 4900 8 2300

25348 yards. 3 4018 yards. yards high. 5 2612 yards. 6 2736 yards. 7 3156 yards.

yards.

9 Both nearly 3000 yards above the level of the sea.

digious elevation. Mr. Coxe, describing Mont Blanc as viewed by him from the Col-de-Palme, observes "Although its summit was elevated more than seven thousand feet above where I stood, yet it did not impress me with that astonishment which might be expected from its superior height and magnitude above the circumjacent mountains."-Every traveller has probably experienced the same disappointment. It was certainly what I felt myself at the first general glance of the naked eye. But the best way to counteract the deceptio visus, for such it is, I found to be the ascent à la Dollond; in other words, to direct one's perspective glass, as if actually going up, step by step; moving the optical instrument from the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountain, and minutely inspecting therewith the whole contour of its giant form. The effect of this operation was decisive: disappointment speedily gave way to growing surprise; and the inadequate impression, produced by the feeble powers of unassisted vision, was succeeded by the fullest sentiment of appreciative admiration.* * Drew

The highest part, as seen from this point, presents a semiglobe of snow (a mountain of itself). At the moment wee were contemplating it, a small portion of its over-hanging edge detached itself, and rolled down some way towards the platform beneath. With such an occurrence before our

"The highest point of Mont Blanc (says the accurate writer above quoted); is in the shape of a compressed hemisphere, and is called from its form La Bosse du-Dromedaire; from that point it gradually sinks, presenting a concave surface of snow: it then rises into a second hemisphere, called Le-Dome-du-Milieu or the middle dome, thence it descends into another? concave surface, terminating in a point called the Dome-de-Gouté: from that dome it ends abruptly, and loses itself amidst the mountains that bound the vale of Chamouny."-Letters on Switzerland v. 1, p. 411.

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