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Neff, his indefatigable activity, his instructions, and his sermons, have endeared him to all our hearts; whilst the churches of Mens will delight to cherish his memory, and to bless his sojourn amongst them."

No sooner was it known that Neff had departed from Mens, than he received invitations from various quarters, amongst which was one from the Protestant churches of Queras and Fressiniere, situated in the region of the Higher Alps. These mountain Christians had often attracted his attention; and during his residence at Mens, he had many opportunities of becoming acquainted with their history. He had frequently deplored their ignorance and destitution; and believing that, on this occasion, the hand of God was visible, he joyfully consented to become their pastor.

It is probable that the unusual extent of this ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and the great number of its scattered hamlets, were powerful motives in inducing Neff to undertake the duties of this arduous and difficult post. He had all along been desirous to possess a wide range for his ministerial exertions, manifesting a peculiar anxiety lest his la

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bours should be at all confined within nar

row limits. "To me," he says, in one of his letters, "a sedentary life has very few attractions. Sometimes I reflect with pain upon the necessity of having to labour constantly in one place. I should infinitely prefer the wandering life of a missionary."

CHAPTER VII.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE HIGHER ALPS- NEFF IS RECOGNISED AS THE AUTHORISED PASTORAN ACCOUNT OF THE VERY EXTENSIVE SPHERE OF HIS LABOURS.

THE department of the Higher Alps is situated in the province of Dauphiny, in France, and forms a portion of that stupendous chain of mountains which runs from Lyons in the south, to the River Rhone in the north, where it approaches the Alpine barriers separating France from Italy.

There is something extremely appalling in the lonely wildness of this elevated region; and it is probable that there are few scenes which present a more entire absence of all the softer features and lineaments of nature. No verdant plains or waving corn-fields diversify its rugged landscapes; nor, as in the neighbouring valleys of Piedmont, do fruitful groves scent the mountain breeze with fragrant incense, and bedeck the scenery with luxuriant foliage.

On the contrary, all around forms a combination of whatever is dark and sterilegrand and terrific. Vast and gloomy mountains stretch into the horizon, and hide their hoary summits in the clouds; tottering cliffs, and masses of projecting rocks, rise in frowning majesty; whilst the frozen glacier, with its wild and fantastic crest, the yawning precipice, the resistless torrent, and the impending avalanche, complete the outline of a scene, surpassing the wildest dreams of the imagination, and which humanity shudders to contemplate as the abode of man.

Embosomed in the midst of this mountain wilderness are several valleys, whose appearance is in perfect correspondence with the uncouth scenery and wild desolation which marks the aspect of these mountain ramparts. Here the fruits of the earth seldom find sufficient soil in which to germinate, and from which to derive their increase. The climate is inhospitable, and subject to sudden and violent changes. Ofttimes the tourist will travel for several hours under the warm and genial influence of a summer atmosphere. An Italian sky

stretches above him, in calm serenity; whilst the rays of the sun shine with glowing radiancy upon the rocky ramparts and snowy barriers which bound his vision. Suddenly, however, the hapless wanderer becomes enshrouded in almost midnight darkness. He is assailed by a storm of mingled snow, rain, and hail; and shivers beneath the violence of the keen northern blasts, which sweep mountain and valley with the fury of a hurricane, and howl fearfully amid the hollow cavern and the dark abyss.

For eight months of the year, some portions of these valleys experience all the gloom and horror of an Alpine winter. During this long and dreary period, the sun either wholly withdraws his rays, or sheds a mere twilight gleam upon scenes of the utmost purity and grandeur, exhibiting, in dim and fearful outline, a boundless region of rocks, precipices, and glaciers, arrayed in one vast mantle of snow.

A single Alp, the Col de la Croix, separates the Higher Alps from the interesting

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