THE earth, in all probability, possesses not a nobler scene of natural splendour, than that which is present ed to the traveller, who, from the bridge of Chamouni, looks up the valley towards Mont Blanc, during those few moments when the last rays of the setting sun, lingering on its crest, reflect by their brilliancy a hallowed artificial twilight over the pine-woods and glaciers below; and then, after gradually tinting those eternal snows with every shade of colouring, from the bright glittering of burnished gold, to the softest purple, finally leave them in well defined outline, boldly contrasted with the dark background of a clear autumnal sky; and to Mr Pocock and Mr Wyndham, who, in 1742, were the first to explore the wonders of this stupendous scenery, it must have been enhanced by the peculiar charm attendant on what has hitherto eluded the gaze of the rest of human kind. It is not my intention to sift the causes, or analyse the effects, of a fastidiousness, which, in spite of better and more rational principles, does, and will, detract more or less from the admiration of what is in other respects excellent and perfect, when once it becomes the common property of the world at large. Suffice it to say, it was under the influence of some such feelings that the writer of these pages, satiated with the again and again repeated routine of a Swiss tour, placed his maps before him, and ranged over the circumscribed limits of the time and space at his command, to find something less frequented, though not less interesting.

Names, after all, have more powerful attractions than we are aware of, and possibly, therefore-Breche de Roland-Mt. Perdu-and, though last, not least, Maladetta, had a certain influence in turning his attention to the Pyrenees, a district less visited than other picturesque portions of Europe, and moreover rich in

interesting associations. The valleys amidst these mountains had been the refuge of that singular order of chivalry, the Knights Templars; therein had they raised their banners, and erected chapels in remote recesses, whose remnants were still in existence. Every frontier pass had its eventful tale of daring and lawless smugglers. The gorges and the ca verns had each been the reputed resorts of mountain plunderers: and, above all, many of these romantic heights were endeared to Englishmen, by the recollection of gallant deeds of British valour performed in the closing scenes of the Peninsular

war.

The result was, that the writer found himself, after seeing much that amply repaid his labour, in process of time, in the elevated regions of Bagneres de Luchon, the view from which, down a protracted avenue of nearly a mile in length, is bounded by the apparently insurmountable barrier formed by the Pic de la Pique on the left, and the serrated heights of Estaovas on the right, between which lay concealed the hidden Port of Venasque; the whole forming a frowning screen, excluding from view the mysterious form of Maladetta, "The accursed." It is to this pass, and to this singular mountain, which, although three times* more elevated than Snowdon, and little inferior to the highest of the Alps, contrives by its locality to elude observation, requiring to be closely approached to be seen, that he would direct the reader's attention, and request him in imagination to form one of a party preparing at midnight to quit the little town of Luchon, to meet the rising sun upon the uplands, as his first rays should dawn upon the Spanish frontier of Venasque.

The thermometer had during the day, even in the shade, risen to 85 Fahrenheit, and, at this late hour, was stationary at 75; but though not a breath of air was stirring, it was the

glow of heat without the oppression; the moon, in her waning quarter, had just risen behind a bank of mountains, only revealing her presence by a lighter tint in a cloudless heaven, adding by its mild and mellow gleam to the perfection of a night which might have been coveted by the inmates of Paradise: Leaving a galaxy of candles and lanterns, held up by half the wondering villagers assembled to see us set out, our little horses clattered merrily over the pavement, and down the long avenue, till we soon found ourselves in a rough and stony track, winding for a time by the banks of the river Pique, which soon brought us to the foot of the natural mound on which the ruined tower of Castel Viel reared itself, serving in its day as the advanced post and guardian of the valley. Leaving it on our right, we diverged from the line of the river, and began to ascend through a dense and continued forest, the path growing more wild, the trees more grand, as we proceeded, our horses sometimes stepping over the stems of fallen pines, sometimes making a detour to the very edge of the precipice, to avoid their projecting roots and stumps, catching an occasional glimpse through the branches of the peaks of Venasque, towering high in the moonlight. It was the scenery of a dream, in its indistinct sublimity. As the night advanced, and the ascent, increased, the glowing warmth of Luchon was exchanged for a piercing chill, and long before one o'clock, all were muffled up in their respective cloaks, capotes, or roquelaures, padding their way in Indian file along the narrow path.

This sudden transition from excessive heat to the searching cold of the mountain air, and the impressive stillness of the romantic scenery, had each, probably, its effect in reducing conversation to an occasional remark, or an involuntary exclamation, as shadowy peaks, or indistinct objects glided into view. It was during one of these intervals, that the silence was interrupted by a shrill scream, evidently distant, but so acute and

mournful, that it was difficult to conceive it uttered by other than an unhappy wanderer on some lonely crag, suffering under severe pain; was it the death-cryof a human being? "No,” replied the guide," it is the great night-owl of the woods,* calling to its mate;" and in a few moments the doleful cry was answered by its partner from the rocks immediately above. As we proceeded, a vast tenebrious mass increasing in size had long been perceived, and its gloomy undefined form had now monopolized nearly the whole of the distant landscape. We knew from its position and outline, that it was in fact the precipitous boundary of our excursion, but to the eye of an ignorant observer, it had all the resemblance of a jet-black gloomy sky, enlivened only by one stray ruddy star, which glimmered alone far above, near the summit. "It is the watchlight of an izard hunter," said our guide; "while yonder fire burns, he may sleep in safety; the wolf and the bear will not molest him."

About a quarter after two o'clock, we emerged from the forest; and crossing a comparatively flat grassy plain, reached the Hospice of Bagneres, a large lonely building erected for the accommodation of travellers. The loud barking of some shepherds' dogs announced our approach; and, without knocking, the door was speedily opened by the keepers of this secluded hostelry, who, accustomed to see guests of all classes and characters, at all hours and seasons, expressed no surprise at a visit which in most places would have been equally ill-timed and unseasonable.

We were admitted from the passage into a large lugubrious chamber, black and dingy with accumulated dust and smoke, dimly lighted at one end by the smothering rem nants of an expiring fire, scattered over a wide hearth-place, and encircled with stools and rude benches recently occupied by a numerous body of shepherds or smugglers, or other doubtful characters, whose bodies, buried in sleep, were inter

mingled in every variety of attitude, amidst a confused heterogeneous pile of sacks, and saddles, and packages of all descriptions. A rough coarsefeatured, hostess replenished the hearth-stone with a supply of fresh pine-logs, which, in a few minutes, blazed half way up a wide chimney; and, while it thawed our benumbed limbs, threw a bright red glare over the strange apartment, and still stranger company assembled therein. While our guides refreshed the horses, we as gladly refreshed ourselves, and lost no time in replenishing our stock of exhausted warmth, preparatory to the chill of the morning on the still more elevated regions we had yet to encounter.

of smoke, or the figure of the forlorn man who had made his resting-place in so perilous a situation;-his lair was beyond the ken of human sight. By this time, twilight had made much progress, and, when about half way up the gorge, the sky began to redden, the moon to dim, the stars to fade, objects to become clearer, and to dawn into colour. The jagged ridges of Pic de la Pique first caught the morning ray, and as each distinct point became illuminated, the details of this desolate amphitheatre gradually revealed themselves.

About three o'clock, some nascent symptoms of dawn were visible, and we remounted. Above the N.E. horizon, a pale glimmering gave token of the approach of morning, just sufficient to shew us the heights of Venasque, uprearing themselves in one apparently unbroken precipice, immediately in our front, and we could not easily persuade ourselves that up the very centre of this seemingly unscalable barrier, we were to advance. After crossing a shallow stream bounding the grassy plateau on which stood the hospice, we began to rise. For a time the ascent was neither steep nor difficult; a guide led the way, and the horses, accustomed to their work, followed, without an effort on the part of their riders to urge or direct them. Soon, however, the angle of altitude very sensibly increased, and the track, which had hitherto only deviated from a right line by an occasional curve, assumed a zigzag form over a shelf of rugged rock upon which nothing short of an izard, a goat, or these mountain ponies, could have ventured to place their horny hoofs. With the exception of the plateau we had quitted, (the site of the hospice,) we were now, I may say, enveloped in precipices, On our left, claiming kindred with the very heavens, stood a wall of rock, broken at various heights by ledges of various width, covered with straggling wood, on one of which and more than midway from the base, the guide pointed out to us the spot where we had seen the izard hunter's fire; but we looked in vain through a telescope for a trace VOL. XXVI. NO. CLXV.

In every direction huge fragments of rock were scattered and torn asunder, giving fearful and terrible evidence of the dire visitations this desolate gorge was alone permitted to witness-visitations on which no mortal eye could look and live. That some, indeed, had seen them in the hour of death, was too evident; for here and there a monumental cross marked the spot of some fatal catastrophe. A certain hollow, in particular, at the foot of a huge insulated fragment, weighing many thousand tons, our guide pointed out as the grave of four persons who had not long before met their fate. The party consisted of six, one of whom was his brother. Thus far had they journeyed without meeting any other obstacles than such as naturally existed early in the spring, when all that we saw around us was shrouded under one deep mantle of snow. They were marching in a line, cautiously following in each other's footsteps, when an avalanche came upon them. His brother was in the van, but was too much bewildered to give any very accurate account either of his own feelings or of what took place. He could speak of a rushing, mighty wind, when, turning round, all had disappeared saving the man who immediately followed him—the four were taken-the two were left! It was useless to search for their bodies till later in the year, when the snows had melted. They were then found, fresh and uncorrupt as at the moment when they were called away, without an expression of agony or struggle. Every feature placid and composed as if wrapped in sound and peaceful sleep. Their remains were deposited in the hollow I have mentioned, and there they still sleep

2 Q

on and take their rest, beside a headstone, such as few can boast of, and Iquestion whether earth can produce a more solemn and solitary sepulchre wherein the dead repose for their appointed time.

An eagle or two were now seen soaring aloft, welcoming the rising sun, while a few choughs were noisily chattering their matins on the lower crags. In the meantime, the steepness of the ascent was rapidly increasing, and from a few yards below the path, if such a track deserved the name, appeared absolutely impracticable. The cold, too-which at the point of dawn is always more sensible as we advanced into the region of snow, and came in contact with large patches extending on every side, became intense; but there was something so striking in the novelty and grandeur of the scene, that I believe any sense of suffering from this cause, was a matter of very trifling, or very secondary consideration to all. I have seen the sun rise in its loveliness during a calm at sea; and I have watched him shooting up his rays above the wild eastern clouds in a heavy gale. I have seen him, too, with intense interest, gilding the dome of Mount Blanc, to light up the path of a long line of guides and adventurers, who were slowly toiling towards its summit; but there was somewhat in his coming forth this morning exceeding and surpassing all I had seen before. We looked back upon the hospice, the only residence of man perceptible, and upon the world below, and "darkness was the garment thereof." We were raised above the world, and all was light and life. There was something indescribable in the contrast. The transitions from twilight to vivid sunshine were instantaneous; from crag to crag, from rock to rock, the sunbeams glanced, and each seemed, as it caught the ray, to assume animation under its influence, and ready to step forth from its everlasting pedestal to bow down and offer homage. It did seem, indeed, and some there were amongst us who felt as though it were so, that we were treading on the threshold of a hallowed temple beyond the power of man to build, and "that the glory of the Lord God did lighten it."

We had now followed the gorge to the very base of the barrier, at the

foot of which were four small lakes, three of them of the delicate translucent green of the chrysophrace; but the last and largest, black as the blackest ink, owing, as we were assured, to its unfathomable depth. As we were gazing upon this, the sun's rays reached the peak immediately above, and we saw its form appear in the brightest rose-colour in the black mirror, reflected with such reality and precision, as to give rather the idea of an aperture perforated into the antipodes, than the mere representation of a landscape. Our position became at every step more interesting and extraordinary, for, to all powers of observation, this cul de sac was so perfect, and all means of exit so inscrutable, that not one of the party, after the most mature inspection, could form a conjecture as to the continuation even of the very pathway, much less as to the pass itself, which appeared to elude our grasp as we drew near, and yet must, if it really existed, be now close at hand. In good truth, we almost began to suspect that our guides and horses were possessed of some supernatural means of scaling the preci pices, and letting us bodily down into the province of Arragon, a measure they seemed inclined to attempt by leading on up a rugged defile, which, although I have seven credible witnesses to attest my veracity, I will not attempt to describe,-when, at length, on rounding a sharp corner, the pass started into view about fifty yards above our heads, in the form of a tremendous fissure which had rent in twain the belt of rock from its summit to its base; and yet withal so narrow, that with difficulty two could go abreast on horseback. The poor animals, as if conscious that the severest portion of their task was drawing to a close, exerted themselves with redoubled efforts to accomplish the remaining-I may say

steps in the ladder; during which time I had ample opportunity of contemplating this natural door of communication from one kingdom to another. How or when effected, uninspired man has it not to tell; but in all probability the convulsive throe that gave birth to Maladetta, disgorging its chaos from the bosom of the earth, severed the ridge, and left the chasm, an eternal monument of the power of centrical fires.