SWITZERLAND AND SAVOY.

SCENERY.

Switzerland, together with Savoy, is by far the most mountainous and romantic country in Europe. It is much visited by travellers, and to the lovers of nature it offers scenes almost unrivalled. Stupendous mountains, picturesque valleys, shining glaciers, frightful precipices, beautiful cataracts, and romantic lakes, are its characteristic features.

The Alps extend along the whole of the southern frontier, and throughout the chief part of the interior, presenting numerous elevated summits, among which are Mont Blanc, Mont Rosa, Mont Cervin, Jungfrau-horn, St. Bernard, and St. Gothard.

Every mountain has its rivulets, which dash from rock to rock, and frequently form beautiful cascades. About three miles from Martigny in Valais is the celebrated and beautiful cataract of Pisse-Vache, the perpendicular height of which is stated from 200 to 300 feet. Near Lauterbrunn, in the canton of Berne, is the cataract of the Staubbach, the perpendicular height of which is stated at 930 feet; by some still greater. The water is wholly detached from the rock, and before it reaches the ground is reduced to fine spray, and gracefully undulates through the air. In Savoy, near Salanche, the Arve fails over a prodigiously high rock with great noise and violence. The height of this cataract, called the cascade of Arpenas, is differently stated from 800 to 1,100 feet.

MONT BLANC.

See Plate, No. 45.

Mont Blanc, a summit of the Pennine Alps, and the most elevated mountain in Europe, is situated in Savoy, on the borders of Switzerland, between the valleys of Chamouni and Entreves. Its elevation above the level of the sea, according to M. de Saussure, is 15,670 feet. It is discernible from Dijon and Langres, 140 miles distant. It receives its name, Mont Blanc, that is, White Mountain, from the immense mantle of snow with which its summit

and sides are covered, and which is estimated to extend not less than 12,000 feet, without the least appearance of rock to interrupt its glaring whiteness.

The view from the summit is immense, extending to a distance of more than 150 miles around; but it is not so beautiful as that enjoyed from mountains of smaller elevation, because the scenery around is bleak and rugged, and every cheerful object, or fertile tract of country, is at a distance. Mont Blanc, when viewed from afar, presents the appearance of a majestic pyramid, a grand but not terrific object, its form being that of a gentle curve, and its outline composed of various successive swellings. These soften the prospect which would otherwise be frightful; for from the foot of the glaciers, in the valley of Chamouni, to the highest summit, extends the uninterrupted series of ice and snow, of more than 12,000 feet.

On the south, Mont Blanc, viewed from the valley of Aosta, presents a very different appearance, the sides of the mountain being extremely wild, rugged, and bare, and the descent being too precipitous to allow the snow to rest upon it. The glaciers, on and around the mountain, are no less than 17 or 18 in number, and several of them are above 20 miles in length.

Various attempts had been made to ascend the summit of Mont Blanc, but all without success, till the seventh of August, 1786, when it was effected by Dr. Paccard, a physician of Chamouni, and James Balma, a guide. Balma had been so fortunate as to discover the only practicable route, which he in gratitude communicated to Dr. Paccard, who had attended him during a severe indisposition. The ascent occupied 15 hours, and the descent 5, under circumstances of the greatest difficulty. They remained about half an hour on a spot which no one before them had been able to reach, and where the cold was so intense as to freeze the provisions in their pockets, congeal the ink in their inkstands, and sink the mercury to 18°. Their faces were excoriated, their lips swelled, and their sight greatly debilitated by the reflection of the snow.

The following year, 1787, Mont Blanc was ascended by the celebrated naturalist, M. de Saussure. With much labour and difficulty he, together with his guides, reached the summit on the third of August, about 11 o'clock in the forenoon, where they remained 4 hours, enjoying a

most sublime and extensive prospect, and making a variety of interesting experiments. They found the snow to be quite pure, and of a dazzling whiteness, presenting on the high summits a singular contrast with the sky, which, in these elevated regions, is almost black. Here no living being is to be seen; no appearance of vegetation; it is the abode of cold and silence. "When," observes M. de Saussure, "I represent to myself Dr. Paccard and James Balma first arriving, on the decline of the day, in these deserts, without shelter, without assistance, and even without the certainty that men could live in the places which they proposed to reach, and still pursuing their career with unshaken intrepidity, it seems impossible to admire too much their strength of mind and their courage." In this elevated station they experienced great difficulty in respiration, which was increased by the slightest exertion, by a stooping posture, and by the use of wine or brandy. They were kept in a state of continued fever, and tormented with a burning thirst; felt no appetite for food, no relish for strong liquors, no relief in any thing but in draughts of fresh water. The thermometer here stood at 27°, while at Geneva it was at 82°.

VALE OF CHAMOUNI.

This celebrated vale is situated in Savoy, 40 or 50 miles SE. of Geneva, on the north side of Mont Blanc. It is about 18 miles in length, and 14, where widest, in breadth, but in general considerably less; and it is elevated 3,350 feet above the level of the sea. The river Arve, which rises in the Col de Balme, flows through the

centre.

The vale of Chamouni may be compared to a street, with splendid edifices, built by the hand of nature on each side. They are so high, and the interval between comparatively so narrow, that little more is seen than the ground story. The magnificent form of Mont Blanc, rising to the height of upwards of 12,000 feet above the vale, occupies six or eight miles in length of that sort of street on the south side of it; and over the way stands Mont Breven, which is Mont Blanc's nearest neighbour. Other mountains follow on that side as far as the Col de Balme, which terminates the long vista at the distance of