either side our view was confined by these wooded precipices, through which, the preceding morning, we had winded our way. Between Urseren and the summit of St. Gothard, amidst piles of rocks which seemed to forbid all ken beyond, we were, however, gratified with one of those bursts through an opening to the north, which displayed in rich succession the summits of all the mountains we had passed, and others at an immense distance, some gilded by sun-shine, and some enveloped by clouds rolling like a troubled ocean far beneath.

Although the sun poured its noon-tide rays, we perceived that we were ascending into regions of frost, from the nonappearance, or rather the absence, of vegetation. The luxu riant pasture of the valley was succeeded by a coarse spiral grass, which now gave way to moss, or the bare rock, and a solitary and stunted shrub sometimes protruding itself, seemed to mark, not so much the barrenness of the soil, as the proscription of vegetable life.

'We at length reached the summit of St. Gothard, and were saluted on our arrival at the convent by a courteous monk, who came out to welcome us, and invite to take refreshments. During three or four months in the year these capuchins spend their time agreeably enough, and probably there is no spot half so far out of the reach of the habitable globe, where so much variety of amusement is to be found. Every successive guest has much to inquire or impart, and here above the world these hermits have many opportunities of witnessing the whimsies and follies with which it abounds. They informed us, that the day before our arrival a numerous retinue of horses, oxen, mules, and other cattle, had passed in the suite of a great man, whose carriage they had dragged, by his order, from the bottom of the mountain, that he might have the fame of crossing St. Gothard in a vehicle with wheels. As our countrymen are known to be the only travelling philosophers, who make experiments of this kind, the monks had no difficulty in conjecturing on the approach of this long procession, that if it was not the emperor, or the burgo-master of Berne, the two greatest personages they had heard of, it must be an English lord; and they were not mistaken in their con

jecture; it proved to be an English lord, who, for the reasons above-mentioned, had run the risk of breaking his neck in his mountain gig, over precipices, which he might have traversed without danger on horseback, or if he could not ride, in a litter. A tragical effect of this sort of temerity had happened some time before to another young English nobleman, who, although repeatedly warned by his tutors, that if he attempted to swim down the cataracts of the Rhine, near Rhinfelden, he would inevitably be dashed to pieces, made the fatal experiment, and perished with his companion on the rocks.

In the winter the intercourse of these fathers is confined chiefly to the muleteers, who, at all seasons, traverse these mountains in spite of snows and avalanches. Here the poor traveller, beaten by the tempests, finds repose and nourishment; nor do the monks demand, even of the wealthy passenger, any recompence for the courtesies they bestow. Every thing that their house affords is set before him with cheerfulness; and he usually returns the hospitality, by leaving on his departure a piece of money under his plate, in order to provide for the relief of travellers, less fortunate than himself. But these pious fathers chiefly maintain this benevolent establishment, by begging once a year through Switzerland for its support, and well would monastic orders have deserved of mankind, and a stronger force than the French revolution would it have required to destroy them, had they consecrated their lives and labours to works of similar usefulness, and thus become the benefactors instead of the burden of society.

'On the top of St. Gothard, one of the most elevated mountains of Europe, we had once imagined the view into Italy on one side, and over Switzerland on the other, would reward all our toil; but this platform, so raised above the level of the earth, is only a deep valley, when compared with the lateral mountains, and skirting piles of rock that bound the view to this desart, diversified only by the habitation of the capuchins, and the adjoining lakes. Had we even been able to reach any of those rocky summits, which lie on either side, we should have perceived only a chaos of rocks and mountains beneath, with clouds floating at their bases, concealing the rest from our view, VOL. IV. 2 L

and cliffs above covered with untrodden snows, for we were not yet in the region of glaciers; the eternal ice impended far beyond; and we were told that the mineralogists, or those who go in search of crystal, which is found in considerable quantities in those mountains, are the only persons who expose themselves to the danger of climbing those tremendous precipices.

6 In our rambles near the convent, we saw the remains of a mighty avalanche, which had so fallen as to form a magnificent bridge over the torrent of the Tessino, the waters having hollowed it below in struggling for a passage; but its surface had yet resisted all the attacks of the summer sun beams, and seemed as if pleased with its new habitation, it had there fixed its abode for ever. We walked over this icy bridge to the other side of the torrent, and some of my fellow-travellers amused themselves with a diversion not very common in the middle of July, that of throwing snow-balls at each other. The temperature of this mountain, the monk told us, was at times various, even in the same day; but more constant in general than in the region beneath. Sometimes the Italian zephyr came over them with its genial influence, and conveyed a transient sensation of summer; sometimes they enjoyed clear sun-shine on the summit, when travellers arrived from below drenched in rain; but it appeared from the good man's narrative, that we must make a winter's sojourn with him to form any adequate idea of the pelting of the pitiless storm during six or seven months of the

year.

We bade adieu to this courteous monk, promising ourselves the satisfaction of spending a day with him on our return, and began to descend the mountain on the Italian side, which, though almost vertically steep, is rendered practicable by a well paved road, formed along the side of the mountain, and which, by its frequent returns, brings the traveller without much inconvenience to the base. Although the road was good, the declivity was too great to admit of our trusting ourselves on horseback, especially as our horses had not been accustomed to travel through such mountainous countries. As we loitered down the steep, the mules we had left behind at the convent overtook us, and we admired the firmness with

which they trod under their heavy burdens. Meanwhile a numerous caravan coming from Italy had begun to ascend the same precipice; and nothing could be more picturesque than the waving picture they presented as they moved along the winding path.

'After descending a considerable way, we turned to look back on the precipices we had passed. High in air, at a remote distance, we beheld the Tessino on the summit of the mountain, rushing as from the sky over the perpendicular rock. The rapid descent to the base of the mountain is highly picturesque, the verdant valley beneath, in which Airolo is placed, suddenly opened to us strewn with villages, and, when compared with the solitudes we had left, presented a large and beautiful prospect of human existence; while the gloomy grandeur of the forests of dark pines on one side, and the view across the valley of lesser mountains, whose last snows were dissolving in the summer ray on the other, form altogether a scene where sublimity and grace blend in solemn harmony.

'We entered into the Levantine valley at Airolo, which is a considerable village, or rather a small town at the foot of St. Gothard, handsomely built of stone, and the chief entrepot or warehouse for all goods that pass between this part of Switzerland and Italy.

"Having accompanied the Tessino since our departure from Airolo, flowing sometimes on our right, and sometimes on our left, with a gentle and steady course; we supposed that the youthful spirit with which it had bounded over its native regions being now sobered, it would continue to pursue, with an even current, "the noiseless tenor of its way." The loud roar of many waters, as we alighted from our horses at Dazio, led us to catch the last lingering shades of twilight, and follow those powerful sounds. Having advanced a few paces, we perceived that the spacious valley through which we had travelled, was abruptly closed by stupendous perpendicular rocks, that left no other opening than a narrow channel with a space gained from it by human industry to form a road between its massy walls and the torrent. The waters which had begun to

struggle for passage above a bridge which is thrown across the stream, were now tortured into a thousand forms. Here a mass of rock of enormous size in the midst of the channel raised the river at once from its bed, pouring it impetuously into a deep bason with tremendous roar; there a rifted cleft, the only outlet to the waters, increased their fury, and dashing against the rocks with redoubled force, broke the torrent into different currents, and filled the atmosphere with particles of its foam. The enormous masses of rock sometimes lifted erect their bold and savage shapes, and sometimes, where they had been hollowed out to form the road, towered at an immense height over the path and the torrent with such threatening aspect, that I could not pass beneath without feeling an involuntary shudder, which was heightened by the approaching darkness. Below the frowning brow of the rocks, hanging groves of pine and fir bend majestically from the cliffs, while the graceful larch-tree decorates the banks, and the weeping birch bends far over the stream and mingles its long branches with the agitated waters. The rapidity of the descent is communicated to the river, and a succession of sweeping cascades, that rush in every imaginary form down a channel, worn at a fearful depth below the level of the road, leads to a bridge which seemed hung in air over the gulph, but of which we could only catch an imperfect glimpse, since the last shades of evening had now fallen on the scene, and we trod back our steps up the winding brink of the torrent, not without the deepest impressions of awe softened by admiration.

'On our return we found Dazio the residence of mirth and gaiety. It was the harvest-home of the master of the inn, and, as we passed to our apartments, a chorus met our ear that seemed to burst from throats more tuneful than those of peasants. With the licence allowed to travellers, we joined the festive throng, and were not a little amused with the manner in which this harmonious circle was composed. The chief of the band, and most illustrious of the guests, were half a dozen merry Italian priests, who, it was evident, from their rubicund faces and sparkling looks, had been consulting other poets than those whose hymns were to be found in their brevi