Journals of excursions in the Alps : the Pennine, Graian, Cottian, Rhetian, Lepontian, and Bernese

Dedication

MY DEAR STANFIELD,

As my Companion in the first of these Excursions in the Alps, you are identified with this book, which will remind you of some of the magnificent scenes we have enjoyed together; and I offer its dedication to you, in testimony of the sincere regard with which I subscribe myself,

Dear Stanfield,

Preface

Within these few years the press has so teemed with Excursions and Journals, published by authors who have visited those lands of promise and of enjoyment to summer tourists — Switzerland, Savoy, and Italy — that the Author would scarcely have felt disposed to increase the number, had not the extraordinarv success of his " Illustrations of the Passes of the Alps" shewn that the public interest in those scenes has not been diminished. Of the text which accompanied that work, the portion drawn from these Journals was confined chiefly to the history and topography of such of the Passes as it contained; hence some of the Author's friends, who think that his experience and observation may be useful to future travellers in the Alps, have persuaded him to publish his Personal Narrative from the Journals which he kept during his Excursions. In acceding to this, viii

PREFACE.

he has, perhaps too willingly, entertained a hope that the request of a few may also express the wish of many.

These Excursions have not been altogether made over the beaten track of tourists, many of the places which the Author visited being scarcely known to English travellers ; but they are so interesting, from the grandeur and beauty of the scenes which they display, or the character and habits of the people who dwell among them, that he ventures to believe his Journals will be found to contain some novelty and information which may assist the actual tourist — its chief object, as well as furnish amusement to the fire-side traveller. He therefore submits to the Public the notes which he made during the journeys which were undertaken expressly for his " Illustrations of the Passes/'

Previous to the first of these Excursions, the Author had crossed the Alps by the route of the Simplon, on his way into Italy in 1821, and repassed them by the Brenner in 1822 ; to which tour occasional references are made.

Contents

jptrst (SBxcurstom

Chapter I

Departure — Paris — Route to Lyons, by Dijon — Cote d'Or — Chalons-sur-Saone — Coche d'Eau — Lyons — Punishment for fraudulent Bankruptcy — Route to Geneva — Perte du Rhone — Nantua — Geneva Page 1

Chapter II

Enter Savoy, Bonneville — Progress of the King of Sardinia — Servoz — Chamouny — Montanvert — Col de Vosa — Contamines — Notre Dame de la Gorge — Col du Bon-homme, Chapiu — Col de Seigne — Allee Blanche — Glacier of the Brenva — Courmayeur 15

Chapter III

Courmayeur — La Salle — Accommodation at the Hotel a la Rose — Aosta — Val d'Aosta — Chatillon — Val Tournanche 37

Chapter IV

Val d'Aosta — Fort Bard — Ivrea — Monte Serra — Biella Hospital — Gattinara — A Coquette — Val Sesia — Varallo — Sacro Monte — Borgomaniera — Lake of Orta — Isola Giulio — Omegna — Lago Maggiore — Isola Bella — Baveno 51

X

CONTENTS.

Chapter V

Shores of the Lago Maggiore — Statue of St. Carlo Borromeo — Sesto Calende — Strada Sempione — Milan — La Scala — Corso — Carbonari — Milanese Justice — Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper — Modern Art at Milan — Frontiers of the Milanese — Vercelli — Turin — The Superga Page 74

Chapter VI

Leave Turin — Pignerol — Induction of an Archbishop — Valley of the Clusone — Fort of Fenestrelles — Col de Sestrieres — Cesanne — Mont Genbvre — Douaniers — Briancon,. . 88

Chapter VII

Gendarme — View of Briancon — Valley of the Guisanne — La Lozet — Col de Lautaret — Mont Lens — La Grave — Storm — Val Romanche — Route d'Espagne en Italie — Galleries in the Combe of Mai val — Bourg d'Oysans — Combe of Gavet — Vizille — Buonaparte and the Bourbons — Grenoble — Statue of the Chevalier Bayard 101

Chapter VIII

Valley of Gresivaudan — Ponte Charra — Chateau Bayard — Frontier — Montmelian — St. Pierre d'Albigny — Chateau Moilans, Val Isere — L'Hopital Conflans — Fonderie Royale — Moutiers — Cluse d'Haute-Cour — Ayme — St. Maurice — Valley of the Reclus — Roche Blanche — Passage ofHannibal — Hospice — Summit of the^ Little St. Bernard — Colonne de Joux — La Tuile — Scene of Hannibal's Difficulty in descending from the Alps — Baths of St. Didier — Village Funeral — Aosta 118

CONTENTS.

XI

Chapter IX

Ascent to the Great St. Bernard — Hospice — Courtesies and Character of the Monks — Their Resources — Travellers — Records of Visitors in the Travellers' Book — The Chapel — The Morgue — Scene from the Hospice — Temple of Jupiter — Ancient History of the Pass — Foundation of the Hospice — Its History in the Middle Ages — Present State Page 139

Chapter X

Departure of Visitors — Descent from the Hospice — Plain of Prou — Forest of St. Pierre — Passage of Napoleon's Army in 1800 — Bourg St. Pierre — Liddes — Some English Travellers — St. Branchier — Inundation of the Valley of Bagnes in 1818 — Details of the Proceedings of the Engineers, and their unparalleled Bravery — Valley of the Drance — Martigny 164

CHAPTER XL

Pisse-Vache — St. Maurice — Martyrs — Fanatics — Lake of Geneva — St. Gingulph — Sunday Amusements — Beautiful Lake Scene — Rocks of Meillerie — Convent of Rapaille — Frontier of Savoy and Geneva — Geneva — Journey to Paris — Frontier of France — Paris — Public Entry of Charles X.— Home 177

§b*tonJy Excursion.

Chapter XII

Departure — Boulogne — Paris — Forest of Fontainebleau — Montargis— Gens-d'armes' — Valley of the Loire — Nivers— Val-

Xll

CONTENTS.

ley of the Allier — Roanne — Mont Tarare — Lyons — Departure for Chamberry — Voiturier — Pont Beauvoisin — Defile of La Caille — Les Eschelles — New Gallery — Old Roads — Chamberry Page 191

Chapter XIII

Montmelian — Aiguebelle — Valley of the Arc — St. Jean de Maurienue — Modane — Lanslebourg — Hotel Royal — A Dog and a Duel — Ascent of the Mont Cenis — Game — Descent to Suza — Plain of St. Nicholas — Short Cut — Suza — Valley of the Doire — Monastery of St. Michael — Turin — Bankers — St. Anthony's Miracles — Road to Caluso — Ivrea — Val d'Aosta — Chatillon — Baths of St. Vincent— Bear-Hunt 203

Chapter XIV

Val Tournanche — Ascent to Briel — Chalets of Mont Jumont — Mountain Accommodation — Detention at the Chalets by a Snow-storm — Ascent of Mont Cervin — Prepose — Smugglers — Glaciers — Summit — Scene from the Glaciers — Learned Guide — Tourmente — Hasty Descent — Disruption of the Glaciers — Arrival at the Cure's of Zermatt — Illness — English Travellers — Descent of the Valley of St. Nicholas to Visp 222

Chapter XV

Valley of Saas — Ravines — Records of Accidents — Aballa — Plain and Village of Saas — Conduct of the Cure — Twilight on Mont Fee — Allmengal — Moraine — Lake and Chalets of Destal — Passes of the Moro — Ancient Road — Glaciers — Bear— Summit — Splendid View of Mont Rosa — Descent to Macugnaga — Inn — Catholic Relics 238

CONTENTS.

Xlll

Chapter XVI

Pesterana— Professore Fantonetti— Visit to the Gold Mines- Gorge of Pesterana — Ceppo Morelli — Scenery of the Val Anzasca— Fine Race of Inhabitants — Costume and Beauty of the Women— Vanzone— Ponte Grande— Beautiful Road through the Valley — Castiglione — View into Val d'Ossola — Pie de Muliera — Superintendent of the Gold Mines — Situation of the ancient Ictymuli — Vogogna — Instance of Italian gratitude — Happy Valley Page 253

Chapter XVII

Intra — Jour Maigre — Lago Maggiore — Luvino — Lugano — Lake of Lugano — Porlezza — Road to Menagio — -Lake of Como — Domasio — Musquittoes — Lake of Riva — Chiavenna — Isola — New Route of the Splugen — Splugen — Andeer — Via Mala — Richenau — Coire , 264

Chapter XVIII

Ragatz — Sargans — Lake of Wallenstadt — Fall of the Sarenbach — Innkeeper — Vale of Seetz — Baths ofPferTers — Visit to the Spring — Road to the Convent of PfefFers — Coire — Voiturier — Via Mala — Andeer — Valley of Schams — Rofla — Splugen — Rhinwald — Naufanen — A Family of Giants 285

Chapter XIX

Hinter-Rhin — Ascent to the Pass of the St. Bernardin — Summit — Policy of the Grisons — Expense and Advantages of the New Road — Opposition of the Austrian Government — Village and Baths of St. Bernardin — Falls of the Moesa — Misocco — Castle of Misocco — Fall of BufFalora — Val

Misocco — Val Levantine — Bellinzona 302

b xiv

CONTENTS.

Chapter XX

Bellinzona — Valley of Riviera — Seraentino — Locarno — Lago Maggiore — Catholicism — Val Levantine — Val Blegno — Giornico — Dazio Grande — Val Piota — Pass of Stalvedro — Val Bedretto — Airolo — Ascent of the St. Gothard — Val Tremola — Summit — Hospice — St. Gothard — Descent to Val Ursern — Andermatt — Trou d'Uri — Devil's Bridge — Contest of the French and Russians — Krachenthal — Gbschenen — Amstag — Swiss Soldiers — Altorf . . Page 314

Chapter XXI

William Tell — The Truth of his History — Altorf— Fluelen — Tellen-platte — Chapel — Fete — Lake of the Waldstetten — Gersau — Lucerne — Monument to the Swiss of the 10th of x^ugust, 1792 — Annual Fete after the Harvest — Mont Pilate — Alpnach — Slide of Mont Pilate — Sarnen — St. Nicolas de Flue — Lungern — Brunig — Meyringen. . 336

CHAPTER XXII. Falls of Reichenbach — Imgrund — Handek — Falls of the Aar

— Schnaps — Hbllen-platte — Hospice of the Grimsel — Travellers — Todten-See — Glaciers of the Rhone — Oberwald — Obergestelen — Eginenthal — Glacier of the Gries — Lammergayer — Kehrbachi — Fall of the Toccia — Formazza — Val Formazza — Val Antigorio — St. Marco — Crevola — Val d'Ossola 348

Chapter XXIII

Domo d'Ossola — A Man in Authority — Bridge of Crevola — Val Dovedro— Gondo — Waterfalls — Great Gallery — Algaby

— Simplon Village — Landlady — Ascent to the Summit — View of the Bernese Alps — Friends en route — Brigg — Tourtemagne — Valais — Lausanne — Steam-boat — Nyon — Home 365

JOURNAL

OF

AN EXCURSION

GRAIAN, COTTIAN, AND PENNINE ALPS:

INCLUDING THE

PASSES OF THE COL DU BON-HOMME, THE COL DE LA SEIGNE, THE COL DE SESTRIERES, THE MONT GENEVRE, THE COL DU LAUTARET, THE LITTLE ST. BERNARD, AND THE GREAT ST. BERNARD,

JOURNAL

OF

AN EXCURSION

IN THE

GRAIAN, COTTIAN, AND PENNINE ALPS.

Chapter I

Departure — Paris — Route to Lyons, by Dijon — Cote d'Or — Chalons-sur-Saone — Coche d'Eau — Lyons — Punishment for fraudulent Bankruptcy — R,oute to Geneva — Perte du Rhone — Nantua — Geneva.

Left London with Mr. Stanfield at seven o'clock in the evening of the 25th of July, 1824, by a Dover coach, which corresponds with the Hirondelle, a French diligence from Calais to Paris. We arrived at five in the morning of the 26th at Dover ; and at two o'clock, after a passage of three hours, we landed at Calais. The voyage, as usual, was to me one of suffering ; but amidst the annoyances of paying toll to Neptune for the passage, we found amusement in the affectations of an English girl, who was going, she

B

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

said, to seek service as a cook in France. She complained of her eyesight having suffered by too much reading!

On landing, we were conducted to the Custom-house. An acquaintance, who had agreed to accompany us to Paris, was alarmed lest some letters, which he had been requested to take thither, should be discovered : just before he left the packet he had thrust them into one of his boots. The douanier, in making a personal search, missed the right leg, though he felt the other, and our friend thus escaped. It is unpardonable, that persons going to France should be solicited to take letters at a great personal risk, from a beggarly consideration of the postage.

Our places had been secured, by the London agent, in the coupe, a part of the modern French diligence as convenient as an English post-chaise ; and we left Calais at eight in the morning of the 27th, to go to Paris by Beauvais. This journey was as dull and uninteresting as usual ; and at six in the evening of the 28th we arrived in Paris.

At the messagerie, the active commissionaire of the Hotel de Mars persuaded us to take up our residence at this hotel ; where we were detained four days waiting for the aTrival of our passports from Calais, and for their receiving the necessary signatures of the British, Austrian, Sar-

ROUTE TO LYONS.

dinian, and Swiss ambassadors : it is not possible in one, and very difficult in two days, to get them signed by all. It is only during two or three hours in a day that this necessary duty is fulfilled by them ; and these hours are the same with all the ambassadors. It is said that this is a piece of conventional policy, agreed upon by them, to gain time for inquiry into the characters of the travellers.

We left Paris at five in the evening of the 1st of August, by the diligence, for Chalons-sur- Saone. We reached Sens early the next morning. The first daylight muster of our party was a motley exhibition ; and the envelopment of heads and throats in shawls and handkerchiefs presented the appearance of a party travelling in a hospital-waggon. We had engaged the banquette or imperial ; the most independent, pleasant, and economical part of a French diligence. Within, whether alone, or with five companions, the French traveller always closes the windows ; and suffocation or a quarrel befalls the unlucky Englishman who has the misfortune to be cooped up in the diligence. Without, we had fresh air and freedom, and the benefit of the society of Monsieur le Conducteur, the chronicle of the road. He has usually served; and fights his battles over again, with more gesture and as much truth as a Chelsea pensioner. He is a

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

great man in his way; nods with a certain air to those who are complimented by the distinction; and flirts en passant with the grisettes. These men are often well informed, and are generally amusing. On the second day our conducteur gave place to a young man whom we took up on the road, a Venetian Carbonaro, a fine young officer, who had served under Napoleon, and had been severely wounded at Waterloo. He had spent ten months with the late Queen Caroline in Italy ; and on her trial had visited England as a volunteer witness for her. His means, poor fellow, were scanty ; and he had walked the greater part of the way from England, to meet his mother by appointment in Switzerland. In his wretched country he was proscribed for his participation in the attempts made in 1821 to emancipate Lombardy from the thraldom of Austria ; and he repaid the distinction with ten thousand curses upon the Austrians and the Holy Alliance. His society made an otherwise tedious journey to Dijon pass pleasantly : his conversation was full of anecdote; and his gay spirits, except when an Austrian agony crossed them, furnished us with amusement.

At Tonnerre, celebrated for its wines, we were pressed to take a bottle by the master of the hotel, who charged us four francs for what we afterwards learned our conducteur would have paid

LA SALLE HOTEL A LA ROSE.

in which there were neither French nor Italian words enough to enable us to understand her. We went up stairs ; but the f 1th was so excessive, that my friend declared he would not remain here, but proceed to Villeneuve. This was a flourish ; Villeneuve was four hours distant ; and we had been led to expect beautiful scenery in this part of the valley, which we must have passed in the dark if we had proceeded ; besides, Michael thought we had not much chance of better accommodation at Villeneuve. We submitted, therefore, but with a very ill grace, to receive the delicate attentions of our hostess, Madame Sale, as Michael called her in his efforts at a pun : her dirt destroyed our appetites ; this perhaps, was fortunate, as she had nothing wherewith to gratify them. She was anxious, however, to know what we wished to have for supper, and offered us any thing ; but, whatever we particularised was met by a shake of the head : at length we asked for trout from the Doire, and she delighted us by saying there was plenty oipoissons; — there might have been in the river, but the supper served to two hungry travellers was one boiled trout just the length of my porte-crayon, and some boiled potatoes. We had wine, however, and bread. We asked for milk ; but this was a luxury not to be procured at this season in the valley. After supper my companion and I tossed up for

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

the bed, as there was but one ; I, fortunately, lost, and got a palliasse thrown on the floor, on which I lay wrapt in my cloak; my lucky friend who won the bed, which in form was like an old English one, had not taken possession of it ten minutes before he was welcomed by a legion, whose affectionate zeal drove him out to collect the chairs as a resting-place.

19 th. — When we were called at five by Michael, all that remained of my friend was awake, and we prepared to start. Our landlady appeared in an interesting dishabille, and seemed to be very unhappy on learning, for the first time, that she had bugs in the house, and would have denied it but for the evidence which they had left on the face of my friend. Upon asking for our bill, she demanded, in her patois, dodizy liri. This Piemontese sum total, without details, did not include Michael's bill, who, cursing the old hag, said she had already been demanding four francs for his accommodations, though he had slept in the hay-loft — the pleasantest dormitory, by the by, in the Hotel a la Rose. The villanous demand of twelve francs we determined to resist, and refused to pay even half the sum ; when our hostess tossed off a large glass of eau de vie, and placed her arms a-kimbo, as we thought to prepare for battle : however, on my putting down a fivefranc piece, she seized it so greedily, as to excite

FORT ROC.

regret that we should have offered her so much ; a franc would have paid such expenses and services as we had incurred and received, with ample profit. Michael got off by paying two, and as much grumbling as lie could throw into the bargain. At length we escaped, crossed our mules, and left, " a la rose, Ion logis" We afterwards learned that Madame Sale was one of the richest inhabitants in the valley ; a brother who died in America had left her above 40,000 francs — an immense sum here ; but the pill had not even then sufficient gilding; she still remained in single blessedness.

On leaving the village of La Salle, the scene looking back upon Mont Blanc was magnificent; the valley rich in wood and vines, and the old castle of La Salle on a peaked rock jutting from the mountain-side, presented a picture to which the clearness and tints of the morning gave splendour. We soon after crossed the river, where the mountains closed into a deep defile, and ascended to Fort Roc, a narrow pass so truly overhanging the deep ravine of the Doire, that the road was in two or three places carried on platforms across fissures in the mountain-side, many hundred feet above the river ; these, in case of invasion by this pass, might be removed, and thus effectually cut off all communication between the upper and the lower valleys. Our last view

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

of Mont Blanc was from this spot ; and we congratulated ourselves that we had not proceeded last night, when these magnificent scenes must have been concealed from us ; every turn in the road presented some new and beautiful point of view, or picturesque object — rocks, ravines, forests, and old chateaux, were the materials of the scenery, aided by the occasional extension of the valley into some beautiful little plain, always bounded by lofty mountains of magnificent forms. After passing the steep and dirty village of Ivrogne, we crossed the torrent which descends from the Iseran by the Val de Rema, thence we descended to Villeneuve, where we rested and procured an excellent breakfast of eggs, honey, sausages, chicken, wine, cheese, &c. : for this abundance the demand was 34 sous (17d.); a striking contrast with Madame Sales fare and dodizy liri.

On leaving Villeneuve the route again crosses the Doire, and continues on the left bank of the river to Aosta. A little below Villeneuve the road passes by the village of St. Pierre, and leaves its old castle built on a rock on the left : it is one of the finest of the feudal remains in this valley. The route now lies through a wider plain, and many parts of it are well cultivated. Occasionally the road lies across the beds of detritus w r ashed from the mountains by the winter torrents, which renders sterile all such spots as

AOSTA.

it covers. The road is tolerably good, except in such places, and there its injuries are soon remedied.

After passing the chateau of Sarra, the valley becomes still wider, and the city of Aosta appears situated at the base of those mountains which lead to the pass of the Great St. Bernard. We took up our quarters at the Hotel de la Poste, and then visited the Roman remains for which Aosta is celebrated. After the conquest of the Salassi, a people living on the confines of the Alps, who had harassed the Romans, by whom they were extirpated, Augustus rebuilt their city, gave it his own name, and established there 3000 soldiers from the praetorian cohorts. Inscriptions and ruins are found in various situations which attest its early importance : of these, an amphitheatre may be traced, a bridge, a triumphal arch in tolerable preservation, and a gateway of remarkable form, having two fagades, with a quadrangle between them ; each fa§ade composed of three arches, the centre much the largest. There are other ruins, in which the antiquarian may indulge his fancy in speculations. We found our inn dirty and disagreeable ; and our rest was broken by an intruder into the chamber of my companion, between whose room and my own, a door had been left open. In his there was another door, leading to a third chamber; this was slowly and suspi-

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

ciously opened by some one, who roused my friend. He called out to me for my pistols ; the party retreated. Some time after, I was again disturbed; the mysterious visitor had again entered ; but as I dreaded to comply with my companion's wish to let him have arms to fire upon the intruder, I got up, and with a convenient screw-bolt, such as every traveller should carry, fastened the door.

20th. — We learned this morning that the poor devil whom my friend would have shot, was a traveller like ourselves, whose fears of Messieurs les Anglais kept him awake and restless, with the dread that his throat might be cut by us before the morning;

We did not leave Aosta until nine o'clock, owing to the necessity of procuring a revision of our guide's passport, before he could proceed further down the valley. At a short distance from Aosta, the Chateau de Quart struck our attention from its picturesque appearance and commanding situation. We attained it by ascending the hill on our left, and enjoyed a delightful view of that part of the valley in which Aosta is situated. It lay spread out into a plain highly cultivated. The Turkish corn and the vines were luxuriant ; the sides of the hills were clothed with forests of vast chestnut and walnut-trees; and beyond these appeared the glaciers and peaks of Mount Soana,

VAL D'AOSTA.

Every thing bore the air of the Italian side of the Alps, Pictures of souls suffering in purgatory were painted upon the little chapels, to stimulate the fears or the piety of passengers ; and a small box, strongly locked, was always near it, to receive the freedom from perdition, which may here be bought with the smallest coin in the realm offered the church. Son jour was already exchanged for salute; but it was offered by a race of beings generally stunted and diseased. Nowhere are goitres and cretins more prevalent than in this beautiful valley. The peasantry appear squalid and filthy. Of the whole population in the neighbourhood of Aosta, one in fifty is a cretin ; and above half are more or less goitred. Some of these are horrid objects. Tumours as large as their heads are appended to their throats, varying in number, size, and colour. The dirt, deformity, and imbecility of the inhabitants of this part of the valley, presented a scene so wretched, that it harrowed our feelings. Not a well-dressed or decent-looking person is to be met with : all bear marks of poverty, disease, and wretchedness ; and this too amidst scenes for which nature has done so much. Surrounded by mountains, and high in their own locality, we saw nothing of the lightness, activity, and high spirits of the mountaineer. Something weighs upon the people like a curse. Many conjectures have been offered

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

upon the cause of goitres and cretinism. Labour, food, water, air, have all been offered in explanation ; but none of these account for it satisfactorily. The opinion of our guide was, that it was chiefly owing to the villanously dirty habits of the people most afflicted with it. He said that among the mountaineers this was the general opinion ; and though it sometimes descended in families, and often was observed in infancy, yet it might be traced to the filthy habits of preceding generations.

Perhaps the finest part of the valley of the Doire lies below Aosta : it abounds with chateaux in picturesque situations. Many of these are at great elevations ; others are situated on bold headlands or knolls, at the bases of the mountains ; some are on rocks, accessible only with great difficulty, and generally they are surrounded by the vast forest-trees of this valley. At Nuz there is a picturesque entrance by a gateway beneath the ruins of a chateau. Throughout this valley the fronts of the auberges have generally trellises of vines extending quite across the road, where travellers may rest and take refreshment, sheltered from the sun by the leaves and pendulous fruit which ripen beneath. These trellises are as picturesque as they are convenient.

We arrived at the Three Kings, chez Jean Guarda, at Chatillon, about six o'clock, and learnt,

CHATILLON.

with some vexation, that the glaciers of the Cervin, which we had hoped to cross, were reported to be impassable. We have resolved, however, to try to-morrow. Chatillon is situated in the valley of Aosta, at the opening of the Val Tournanche, which leads by the high pass of the Cervin into the Valais. The torrent which descends from the Cervin rushes into the Val d 'Aosta through a frightful chasm. Across it a bridge of admirable construction is thrown, a single arch ; and the gulf seen from its parapets is quite appalling. About 500 feet further down the ravine there are two old bridges, one built over the other. The lower arch, which still remains, is said to be a Roman work. About ten feet directly above this the second is built, and the high road of the valley formerly passed over it : it now only leads to a chapel and some vineyards. From the parapet of the new bridge, the view of the ravine, the old bridges, the Chateau d'Uselle, seen across the valley, and the mountains which divide the valleys of the Doire and the Orca, is very fine.

2\st. — The falling-in of the glaciers of the Cervin, across which lies our route to the Valais, is an accident of very unusual occurrence ; it is reported to have happened a week ago ; and as no travellers had since descended from the pass, Jean Guarda considered our attempt as hopeless. We, however, procured another guide from Chatillon, and

EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS.

ascended the Val Tournanche. The entrance was exceedingly wild and grand, through a forest of chestnuts, and amidst enormous blocks of serpentine which had fallen from the mountains on both sides. Sometimes the road skirted precipices above the torrent too deep for the eye to reach the waters. After ascending for some time, and occasionally crossing the river, the peak of the Cervin appeared over the mountains, which seemed to close the ascent of the valley; it rose like a pyramid of such vast magnitude, that I cannot describe the impression which it made upon us. At the village of Val Tournanche, where guides are usually taken to cross the Cervin, we were assured by them, that with mules it was impassible, and on foot several guides would be required to insure our safety. They said that a change of the glaciers by this pass was very rare — it had not happened for twenty years before ; but now the whole glacier on the side of the Valais was in motion. Some attempts had been made to trace another path, but without success, as the progress of the glaciers had destroyed them, and they must wait for its settling. The danger appeared to exceed the love of gain, even with these mountaineers, and they owned that they would rather not undertake to accompany us. We had no desire to exhibit any fool-hardiness ; and, bowing to the necessity, were preparing to return, when