scent; sometimes on the brink of deep, and tremendous steeps. This latter part of the day's journey was exceedingly fatigu ing; but we were amply repaid by the grandeur and beauty of the country; which, though of a totally different character from the dreary and terrific sublimity we had left behind us, was of a most interesting description. The road soon opened on the most romantic mountain scenery, rich in vegetation, with deep ravines on our left. Near the baths, is the singular village of Albinen, situated aloft on the Letchberg rocks; from which a communication with the valley of Leuk has been formed, by means of a series of ladders.

Often, the road became very precipitous and disagreeable for riding, and rugged enough even for the pedestrian. Some of the ravines, along the ledges of which we passed, were perfectly tremendous. The sides of these yawning abysses, however, were richly clothed with the dark foliage of lofty firs; and, occasionally, the turbulent, foaming torrent was disclosed in the depth below. By the side of one of these gulfs, was a small chapel with a showy figure of a saint. Indeed Popery, in the Catholic cantons, seems to reign over mountain, vale, lake, and torrent; and there are few situations, in which you are not reminded of the wide and disastrous dominion of a system, which looks even more artificial and grovelling than usual, amidst the simple majesty of nature.

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Leuk is situated on a chalky rising ground, in the valley of the Rhone, which now opened to us. The view of this place, on approaching it, is imposing and romantic, in the extreme. The antique turrets of its castle, once an episcopal fortress, give it a most picturesque air; carrying back the fancy, in a lively manner, to the days of feudalism and chivalry and the white cliffs of the mountains which bound the valley, skirted with the dark shade of the pines; the streams that rush in different directions to swell the rapid Rhone; the novelty of the objects; and the varied associations connected with looking down upon the magnificent high road, which leals over the Simplon into Italy -all conspired to throw an aspect of romance over the whole scene. Within a few hours' ride of Leuk, the Italian frontier begins, and we almost longed to see the classic plains; but though our route had been left open when we set out, we found that we had already planned quite enough work, without touching this attractive land; and had there been no other consideration, the apprehension, that was felt in these parts respecting the cholera, which was said to be at Turin, and even to be feared in Savoy, would have deterred us from proceeding. The kindness of two Englishmen, whom we had met with at the Baths, and who arrived at Leuk before us, had already secured for us the best

accommodations the inn could afford; and we were comfortably lodged.

The town of Leuk proved to have been, like many other things, deceptive when viewed at a distance. It is but a mean place, with little claims, in itself, to attention, though the approach to it is so imposing, and the scenery of the neighborhood so singular and striking, especially on account of the course the Rhone pursues, between lofty calcareous mountains. In the morning, we visited a chapel, the walls of which were lined with an immense number of skulls, and other bones; the whole having a very gloomy and ghastly appearance. The place is fitted up with an altar in mourning; but we had not time to inform ourselves of its history. It might, however, be, that the churchyard in which the chapel was situated, was too full, and required to be thus relieved; for a great number of human bones lay scattered on the surface of the ground, in a disgusting manner.

The altar seemed designed for the benefit of the departed: for the Romish church claims a dominion not less gigantic and absolute over the dead, than over the living; and can unlock, at her will, the gates of purgatory. A wife, a brother, a child, a husband, a father, a friend,—may, it is believed, be suffering unheard of torments in the purgatorial fires,―enduring all the ingenuity of torture that the malice of devils can inflict-who then can be happy, while any pecuniary resources remain, without purchasing masses for the dead, that may deliver them from these agonies? Thus does Popery haunt the imagination of the devotee, not only on his own account, but also in reference to his deceased relatives. Witness the horrble representations which the traveller almost everywhere meets with in Catholic countries, of miserable naked wretches, with doleful expression of countenance, encircled by the fierce and spiral flames of purgatory; and tormented by demons, and various horrid inhuman shapes!

On looking into the church, which presented nothing remarkable, excepting the charnel-house, we perceived that the young woman who had attended on us had taken the opportunity of leisure, to repair to her devotions,-a lesson often taught by Catholics to those of a better faith. Her attire was a specimen of the costume of the Valais; which is marked by a head-dress, tastefully arrayed, consisting of a hat of black silk, or velvet, with festoons of very wide ribbon round the

crown.

One would suppose that the effect of so many visitors strolling into the Catholic churches, and gazing with an air of mere curiosity on the rites, and relics, which these poor people are taught to think so holy, must tend, in some measure, to lead them to reflect. They must see at least, now that the in

tercourse of nations is so great, what once they were scarcely aware of,—that all the world is not under the subjection of the priests. No effort is made, generally, to prevent strangers from walking about the churches, during service; and even while mass is going on, a gratuity will suffice to give you a sight of all that is curious.

From Leuk, the road lay along the valley of the Rhone, for about thirty-six miles, to Martigny, in the Lower Valais. The Rhone has its cradle in the glacier of Mount St. Gothard, in this canton; and the stream flows from north-east to southwest, through the whole length of this magnificent valley. A level, and excellent road, runs parallel with the Rhone, sometimes on one bank, and sometimes on the other; and notwithstanding the Alpine magnificence of the scene, it was easy to perceive that this was quite a different track from any we had been in, since leaving the roads in the neighborhood of the other mighty kindred stream, the Rhine. The increased pace of travelling; the occasional equipages that were either hastening from Italy, or proceeding in the contrary direction, undeterred by the reports respecting the cholera; the ponderous diligence which met us on its way from Geneva to Milan; and the carts of merchandise, or those belonging to the peasantry, and sometimes drawn by oxen, that were passing between the towns of this remarkable valley,-all united to give a character to this fine, hard road, different from that of any one on which we had as yet travelled in Switzerland.

The scene in every part of this extraordinary day's journey, was truly grand and imposing. The valley is fenced in, on both sides, by huge mountains, and lies between the two chains of the sublimest Alps; the bright summits of which sometimes came into view, beyond the neighboring mountain-ramparts. This valley,-the Vallis Pennina of the Romans,-is the longest of all the valleys of Switzerland; extending nearly a hundred miles, from the glacier of the Furka, on the border of the Valais, to the lake of Geneva. As you travel during many hours, along this noble region, the effect is magnificent: you are accompanied at every step by the waters of the Rhone, which perpetually receives the tributary streams that find their way through the ravines of the lofty mountains on the right and left, on which the remains of towers and castles occasionally look down from the heights.

Three hours brought us to Sitten, or Sion, the ancient Civitas Sedunorum;-now the capital of the Valais, and a place of singularly picturesque appearance. The valley is here broad; and from the midst of it, close by the town, rise three high, and insulated rocks. The loftiest of these, called Tur. beln, is surmounted by the ruins of the ancient episcopał palace; on the next, which bears the name of Valeria, stand

VALLEY OF THE RHONE. SION.

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the remains of the old cathedral: and on the third, called Meyerburgh, is the present residence of the Bishop of Sion, erected in 1574. These crowned hills have a very romantic effect. The Rhone runs near the town, which is built on the Sitten, a stream which merges in the great river, and has its source in the glacier of the Geltenhorn. The sheltering mountains render the climate of this neighborhood so mild, that the richest fruits grow in the open air; and great quantities were exposed for sale, at an exceedingly cheap rate, in the spacious and imposing main-street which runs through the town.

The valley of the Rhone seems to be the seat of a deep and debasing superstition. The ornaments in the churches are often of the most tawdry description, with a great air of poverty. In one of the churches at Sion, we noticed a shocking figure of Christ on the cross as large as life, with the effects of the Scourging represented. The body is covered with knots of gore, almost like bunches of black grapes, and the whole had a sickening effect. In this part of Switzerland are to be seen many of these tragical exhibitions: they generally include the crown of thorns, the temples streaming with blood, and the flesh extensively lacerated at the side, and protruding, so as to represent the effect of the spear; the whole being daubed with color in imitation of blood and gore! Before these images you will often see groups of people, of all ages, bending with the utmost appearance of devotion.

While dining at the inn at Sion, an English gentleman, of whom there were several at the table, gave us an account of the avalanche, which had lately fallen, on the road from Martigny to Geneva; and respecting which we had heard many reports. It had descended near St. Maurice, from the mountain called the Dent du Midi; and had carried down with it, an immense quantity of the surface of the mountain; so that the valley was bestrewed, to the extent of a mile or more, with stones and earth, and the high-road washed up and rendered impassable. Fifteen hundred men were said to have been employed in repairing the mischief, to make a passage for the diligence.

The peasantry of this whole valley are often hideously deformed by the goitre, which is sometimes nearly as large as the head of the individual. To render these huge wens less conspicuous, these unfortunate people often bandage the neck with folds of black silk. We observed, here, and in the cantons of Lucerne and Bern, numerous instances of this truly afflicting disorder. It is frequently accompanied with idiocy, which is said to exist more in Switzerland, especially in the Valais, than in any other part of the world. Various views have been entertained respecting the cause, or causes, which produce goitre; but the opinion seems to prevail, that it is to

be traced to the calctuff, chiefly carbonate of lime, which is held in solution in many of the springs used for drinking.

As we advanced towards Martigny, with many miles of the flat straight road before us, the end of the valley appeared shut in by mountains; on one of which is a tower. Near Martigny, the valley widens, but is not much cultivated, as the land is exceedingly marshy. It now takes a turn to the westward, and the Rhone hastens to pour its waters into the lake of Geneva. The little town of Martigny is supposed to be the Octodurum mentioned by Caesar, and is situated on the Dranse, which here falls into the Rhone : above the town, on a rock, stands the tower of the castle of La Bathia, one of the ancient fortresses of the Prince-Bishops of Sion; and fearfully associated with the terrors of the gloomy dungeons, and the secret tribunals, which tradition attaches to the days when temporal and spiritual tyranny were combined, to hold the world in chains. Martigny stands at the extreme end of this part of the valley of the Rhone, surrounded by an amphitheatre of high mountains; the torrents from which, render the soil extremely moist.

In 1818, a deluge from the valley of the Dranse, which runs into that of the Rhone, nearly swept away the whole town. The inhabitants were surprised to find that the waters of the Dranse were dwindling almost to nothing: it was ascertained that the bed of the river, in a narrow defile, had become choked up to the enormous height of four hundred feet, by the fall of avalanches and glaciers from the neighboring mountains; and that behind this vast mass of ice and snow, the Dranse had collected, so as to form a lake of a mile and a half in length. Notwithstanding the Herculean exertions that were used, in attempting to make channels for the water through the ice, the mischief increased; and the waters, at length, burst forth with incredible fury, and a terrific roar, in a torrent a hundred feet deep, which drove everything before it, for the space of thirteen miles,-rocks, ice, trees, bridges, houses, and cattle; and in about an hour and a half it had reached Martigny, a distance of upwards of twenty miles. About four hundred cottages were swept away, and many lives lost.

It is this valley, that was the consecrated scene of the pious and apostolic labors of the evangelist Felix Neff. Oberlin, and Neff, were kindred spirits; and their histories are among the most interesting pieces of biography, which the annals of Christian benevolence can present.

The Grande Maison, at which we were lodged, at Martigny, is a commodious inn, with open corridors; and appears to have been a convent; of which the steeple remains, and some of the rooms are very curiously and antiquely vaulted and carved. The church, here, is in the usual showy, tarnished