Imatges de pàgina
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Below, on our

the striking objects before us. right, were seen the village of Balceglia, with the bridge and mill on the left was the bridge by which the enemy attempted to cross the torrent, and to attack the chateau. The three points, occupied successively by the Vaudois, rise one above the other in strongly marked lines, and so rugged and precipitous is the ascent to each, that it is no wonder that the assailants were so long kept at bay. The Vaudois escaped, when they could hold out no longer, by a path over the Guignivert, which, under any other circumstances, it would have been frenzy to attempt.

On our way back from the Balceglia to Massel, the descent in places was so abrupt, that the pony, which carried Mrs. Gilly was held back by twò or three men, to prevent his tumbling headlong down the steep. The attentive kindness of M. and Madame Tron would have been sufficient to tempt us to stay several days under their roof, but we had promised to pay a visit to Prali, and we so far kept our word, as to pass one night at the presbytery of M. Peyrani, having found our way there by crossing the Salse mountain from Massel, by Fontana and Guardiol: but we were both so ill, and suffering so severely from the effects of our rough journey into Dauphiné, as to be apprehensive of the consequences of being laid up in this remote village. We therefore rose early on the morning

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of the 3d of August, and took leave of the pastor and his kind-hearted wife, after having had scarcely any conversation with them. In passing the cascade of Rodoret, my wife exerted herself, and made an endeavour to take a drawing of it, but it was finished afterwards from recollection, and cannot therefore boast of being correct in all its features.

The in Val Martino changes, frequently scenery and rapidly, from the most harsh and rugged aspect to that of the most attractive beauty. Stupendous cliffs and terrific precipices' give place to verdant and flowery spots, and a turn of the mountain path, by the torrent side, would bring us out of a deep cleft of rock, where our feet were bruised by the stones, to a bank of lavender, or a green plateau of herby grass, soft as a carpet ; or to a sunny nook, where the little property of corn land is cultivated, like the patriarchal inheritances of the ancient tribes of Israel, by father and son from generation to generation. The Germanasca, whose waters we followed, was of

The pony which carried Mrs. Gilly, would always press so near the edge of these precipices, as to render it not a little alarming. Our guide said it was impossible to prevent it; the animal enjoyed the current of air that came from the gulf below.

In the course of our journey this day, and particularly near Perero, we were tormented by a large fly, which had all the voracity and venom of Virgil's Asilus, and seemed to haunt the

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