CHAP. VII.
Having made the necessary arrangements in the evening, our carriage was in readiness at an early hour next morning. It was something like an English sociable, but had a leather cover which could occasionally be drawn over our heads, and of which we more than once experienced the utility, in protecting us from the very sudden and violent showers which we sometimes met with. As soon as the rain was over we drew back the cover, and enjoyed the romantic prospects which surrounded us. From Geneva we ascended continually through a wild but not uninteresting country to Bonnevilie, a distance of about five leagues; here we breakfasted, and remained two or three hours to allow our horses to repose from the fatigues of the road. This little town has nothing particularly worthy of remark, and its appearance is dull, although it is the chief place of one of the three divisions which are formed of Savoy. Here is a bridge of stone (which is not usual in this country, where timber abounds, and where many of the rivers are so rapid, as to oblige the inhabitants to remove the bridges, at the commencement of autumn) over the river Arve, the course of which we followed for several leagues through the valley of Cluse, so called from the little town of that name. This long and narrow district is surrounded by lofty mountains, and the traveller is often at a loss to guess which way he can proceed, until some sudden turning discovers an outlet, barely sufficient to admit the passage of a carriage, and by various windings he arrives in the valley of Magi an, which presents a still more interesting variety of objects, amongst others the cascade of Nant d'Arpennas and many other inferior ones, which tumble from the mountains, and increase the rapidity of the Arve. About a league beyond the fall d'Arpennas is an excellent view of Mont Blanc, which crowned with all the horrors of a perpetual winter, presents one of the most sublime, and majestic spectacles, which it is possible to conceive. To describe the contrast between its snowy summit, and the cultivated valley beneath, so as to convey any just idea of the scene, to those who have not themselves seen it, would require all the descriptive powers of a Radcliffe. We arrived to a late dinner at the hotel de Mont Blanc, at St Martin, which is a large single house situated about a quarter of a league from the little town of Salenche, of which I do not recollect having heard any thing remarkable, except that the right of burgership may be purchased for forty-five livres. The windows of our hotel commanded a most astonishing extent of mountain scenery diversified by the windings of the Arve through a well cultivated valley. The hotel was sufficiently comfortable, but the bill was extravagant beyond any precedent in the annals of extortion. We had occasion to remonstrate with our host on the subject, and our French companion exerted himself so much on the occasion, that at last we succeeded in persuading the landlord to make a considerable reduction in his charges, which were out of all reason, making every allowance that his house was so situated, as not to be accessible during the whole year. We were afterwards told that he would have considered himself amply paid by receiving the half of his first demand, and I found it is often the practice to ask of the English at least double of what is charged to travellers of any other nation. Appearances were so much against our landlord, that one might say to him in the words of the epigram, "If thou art honest thou'rt a wondrous cheat."
The carriage road ends at Salenche; and we, therefore, made the necessary arrangements to proceed on mules, and sent back our carriage to Geneva. It was the first time I had travelled in a country only accessible on foot or by mules, and I cannot but add my testimony to that of all those who have ever made excursions into these mountains, respecting the very extraordinary and almost incredible safety with which the mule conveys his rider over tracks, which were any one to see suddenly, coming out of a civilized country, he would think it the height of folly to attempt to pass even on foot. There are, however, places where it is expedient to climb for one's self, but as long as one remains on the back of the mule, it is advisable not to attempt to direct his course, but to submit one's reason for the time to the instinct of the animal. Our guides assured me that they had never known a single instance of any one's having had reason to regret having placed this confidence in them; and, indeed, it is by having the command of his head that the mule is enabled to carry his rider in safety over passes, which one is often afraid to recall to one's memory. Several of the mules in Savoy are handsome, but one of our party, who had crossed the Fyrenean mountains, thought the Spanish mules were much more so; the ordinary price of a mule here, is from fourteen to twenty Louis d'Ors.
The distance between St. Martin and Chamouny, is little more than six leagues, but from the extreme inequality of the ground and the intricacy of the paths, occupied a very long space of time in passing. We still continued to follow the course of the Arve, which, according to the opinions of some writers, is believed to have, at one period, formed a lake between the mountains which encompass this valley; a conjecture which the marshy appearance of the ground seems to render probable.
These mountains abound with an animal which is mostly an inhabitant of the Alps, the marmot, and there are a vast abundance of wild strawberries. The river is most considerable at this season of the year, being supplied with the meltings of the snow and ice. About two hours after our departure from St. Martin we passed over the `Pont des Chèvres, which, from the extreme slightness of its construction, seems hardly secure enough to permit the passage of a goat; and it is rendered more formidable to the nervous traveller by its vast height from the bed of the rocky torrent over which it passes.
We went a little way out of the regular track to see the beautiful cascade of Chede, which is by M. Bourritt ascertained to be sixty-seven feet in height. A number of peasants attended us from a cottage, where we left our mules, and one of them carried a plank to serve as a bridge over a neighbouring stream, and levied toll on us for permission to pass over it. We returned in about a quarter of an hour to the cottage, and paid, as we thought, very liberally for the trouble the peasants had in holding the mules during that short time; but where expectations are unreasonable it is impossible to satisfy them; and that was the case here. One old woman, in particular, exclaimed against us. She said, "We were English, and ought to give gold." Such is the idea entertained, even in these secluded mountains, of the riches of the English, that a sum, which would be received with thanks from the travellers of almost any other country, would be considered as an object of complaint if given by an Englishman; and the thoughtless profusion of some English travellers is a subject of regret to many persons, who, although less opulent, are still desirous of visiting foreign countries, as the inhabitants of the Continent, in general, receive from some of our fellow-subjects such an idea of the opulence of their country, that they think it impossible to charge all who come from thence too extravagantly. We next proceeded to the lake of Chede, which is not far distant. It was first discovered by M. Bourritt, when hunting a wolf amongst these mountains, as he mentions in his Itinerary, which contains much useful information, and is a necessary appendage to the traveller in these wild districts. This lake, considering its limited extent, is a handsome object. Here is a curious species of moss which gives the banks a singular appearance. We stopped to breakfast, as well as to refresh our mules, at a little cottage-inn near the village of Servoy, in the neighbourhood of which are mines of lead and copper, together with many large buildings and furnaces for the preparation of the ore. We here met another party also going to Chamouny. They had preferred travelling in little carriages drawn by mules, which they were obliged to quit continually, by the uneven nature of the road; and they did not arrive till some time after us. We here found that one of our party was mounted on the mule which had lately had the honor of carrying the Ex-Empress Maria Louisa, who passed this way on her tour to Chamouny. She is said to have appeared very thoughtful; but the guides praised both her courage and her beauty.