them struck upon our feelings with the greatest force; for thence we were enabled to trace, in the concave form of a vast irregular crescent, that part of the great Alpine chain which extends from Dauphiny to Piedmont. In the deepest recess of the semi-circle rises Mont Genèvre. The intermediate space is filled up with mountainous ridges of diversified shape, and yet smaller eminences without number. The two horns of the crescent are respectively marked by the towering altitude of craggy peaks. The one, comparatively speaking, close to our right hand, is Mont Rochiamelon, a branch of Mont Cenis; that on the left, is the much more distant cone of Mont Viso,

"Where Po first issues from his dark abodes,
"And, awful in his cradle, rules the floods."

From the position of Avigliano, this highest and acutest point of the Cottian Alps is seen over the Colla della Rossa, behind whose lofty bulwark, in the province of Pinerolo, lie the three vallies, Lucerna, San Martino, and Perosa, inhabited by the Vaudois or Waldenses. Not unaware of our approximation to the wild and secluded abodes of that unoffending people,* in whose behalf Mr.

* Could we have commanded adequate leisure and facilities for an excursion into the mountains of Piedmont, such as those respectively undertaken by Mr. Gilly and Mr. Acland, it would have been a high satisfaction to our feelings to have visited the altar of Religion there preserved pure and undefiled, amidst "the wreck of matter," in spite of poverty's overwhelming pressure, and the bigot's unrelenting hate-to have entered the humble dwelling of the venerable Rodolphe Peyrani, whose “bookcase was enriched with the works of Tillotson, Barrow, and Taylor;" to have conversed with some of the Protestant inhabitants of the Cottian Alps, whose present situation exhibits a striking proof of the intolerant and persecuting spirit of Romanists; and to have offered the homage of our sympathetic in. terest to the undegenerated descendants of men, who led the way and stood

L

GILLY has made so powerful an appeal to the British public; and retaining as we did among our most recent impressions and cherished recollections, the affecting incidents of that Reverend Author's interview with their late chief pastor, it was from the want not of inclination but of sufficient time alone, that we failed to undertake a pilgrimage infinitely more worthy of Christians to perform, than all the jubilee-tasks enjoined by Rome's distributor-general of pardons in this world and of indulgences in the next.

The

A new road has within the last twelve months been opened from Susa. It is straight and good, having curbstones of granite thickly and regularly placed on each side, with a foot-path between them and the talus of the cause-way. Rivoli itself, which is the only town of consequence between Susa and Turin, we did not pass through, the post-house being on the outskirts. Royal castle, built on an eminence, and the lofty towers of one or two fine churches, render this place an interesting commencement to the rich plain of Lombardy, which extends thence as far as Venice. A little way beyond Rivoli the new joins on to the old road; and the latter proceeds, tiré au cordeau, for seven or eight miles, forming a noble avenue lined with elm trees, and having, for the termination of its vista, the Royal Mausoleum of the Superga, a splendid temple, of Grecian architecture,

in the van of that army of Martyrs, to whom we are indebted for our own freedom from ecclesiastical tyranny; of men against whom "the bloodhounds of the Inquisition were first let loose," because, at a period, "When all the world with midnight gloom was dark,"

they nobly dared to persist in their conscientious adherence to "a Church built up in Christ, and accordant with the tenets and discipline of the Apostolic age."

situated on the brow of a hilly region in the immediate vicinity of Turin.

Catholicity, ever ready to attract eye-worship, has amply furnished forth a road-side display of chapels dedicated to the Virgin, whose image is painted on the outer wall, whilst her effigy, holding the Bambino in its arms, is enshrined within. Our postillions take off their hats, like good children of the Church, as they pass each little building dedicated to this most conspicuous object of religious adoration. The soil here appears very good, the produce abundant. The farming folks were making their second crop of hay; and, it appears that they cut it three or four times in the course of the summer. It was pretty to see the numerous parties of country girls, in their scarlet petticoats, their black corsets, white kerchiefs, and large straw hats, aiding the men lustily in these rustic occupations. The approach to Turin bespeaks a city of Sovereign consequence: "Her domes and temples rise in distant view;" and the countless villas of white stone or stucco, with which the verdant hills beyond it are studded, confirm the impression that it must be the abode of nobility and wealth.

We took up our quarters at the Hotel de l'Europe where a spacious and handsome apartment on the first floor was assigned to us. Thence looking out upon the Piazza Castella, immediately facing the Royal residence, and comprehending a side view of the Palais d'Aoste, with the Gothic tower, a relic of old Turin, behind it, we had all that could be desired in point of situation.

In the evening our principal amusement, after a saunter through some of the neighbouring streets, was that of observing from the balcony of our windows, the inhabitants

as they assembled in the square before us, to enjoy the cool promenade. No children let loose from school can revel more joyously in temporary freedom from thraldom and confinement, than the good people of this city seemed to do, on their escape out of dwellings, wherein, from a just dread of the sun's forceful rays, they had so many hours of the live-long day, been imprisoning themselves. In one part of the square, they were crowding round a vehement spouter of verses; in another, listening to the vocal and instrumental combinations of some clever musical itinerants; whilst equally on the cadences of poetic declamation and on "the concord of sweet sounds," brake the conversational bursts of the garrulous multitude,

"And the loud laugh that speaks the vacant mind.”

The summer-lightning vividly corruscated over their heads, giving a still more animated effect to the varied scene of stationary groups and moving trains of both sexes, thus breathing with full enjoyment the refreshing air of their delicious night: nor was it till a very late hour that the noisy throng had retired from the place, and left two weary travellers to what repose they best might find beneath the roof of M. Dufour. And if his Hotel de l'Europe were as cleanly and well conducted as it is eligibly placed, it should have a double share of my commendation. But to pay dearly for being bitten smartly is one of those splendid miseries, of which the honour does not compensate for the injury.

July 21.-Our first visit in the morning, was to the King's Palace. After regarding with disappointment its forlorn, grass-grown court, and its neglected façades,

presenting a strange medley of architectural ostentation and meanness, we were equally surprised and gratified to behold the redeeming display in its interior. The sumptuousness of the numerous apartments is no less to be noticed than their loftiness and amplitude. The decorations are in the gorgeous stile of Versailles; but if possible more exuberant in every variety of carving, gilding, and painting. The furniture is antiquated and heavy; yet at the same time so rich and royal, that one would deem it in such a place but ill exchanged for the more classical lightness and elegance of modern taste. The great gallery, besides some fine specimens of antique statuary, contains chef-d'œuvres of all the great masters of the Roman, Florentine, Venetian, and Flemish schools of pictorial art. Among the rest we noticed some exquisite portraits of Royal and Illustrious Personages; particularly from the pencil of Vandyck, whose picture of our Charles the First, (a whole length figure in a walking dress, and with his right hand on a stick) is well calculated to arrest the attention of an Englishman.

We proceeded next to the Cathedral; a structure of inconsiderable dimensions, in a heavy stile of architecture. The roof of the nave is supported by massive columns after the Doric order. The side aisles are filled with chapels, each of which has a picture, allusive to its guardian saint; most of these are by the great artists of Italy. We observed that, wherever the Madonna and Infant Jesus are painted together, some pious soul has been suffered to fix an alto relievo coronet of gold or chaplet of artificial flowers upon their heads, to the total destruction of all chaste and proper effect.