The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1854-05-17

I
Following tho course of the river
Drance, we got on comfortably. and ar
rived at st Brauchier squald village
at the confluence of the Drance. and at
the foot of the Catogne There was no.
thing here to claim our attention, and
we pushed on sharply to Ofsieres, where
we found meeting of mountain agricul-
turists debating some points of rural
ECONOMY. and in very picturesque style
they did it-an orator being mounted on
Swiss species of firkin, with a number
|ofyellow shrubs blooming in the button
holes of his coarse russet coat, and sur
rounded by at least fifty men and women
in rude holiday attire. The entrance of
our char suspended the proceedings for
a moment and as the orator bowed to
us with show of rustic Difference. the
whole group simultaneously followed his
Example.
1t was about noontide when We reach.
ed Liddes, when we discharged the char,
after quarrel with the guide, who, ac-
tuatod by my friends 5onhomie, desired
to impose on it by exacting ten francs
more than the tariff allowed him. The
landlord of the auJcrge advocated his de-
mand, possibly with the understanding
of receiving per centage of the spoils !;
but their " double knavery" did no good.
We paid the sum agreed upon at Mar
tigny, and Jean abused us in q hearty
torrent of cxecrable patois, which, hot
clearly understanding, very little ripplcd
our animal spirits. Then, squandcring o
number Of assassiuatng glances Oh us,
lie finally marched of.
We had intended dining at Liddcs,
but the landlord behaved SO badly in ad.
vocating what he knew to be an injustice,
that wo summoned sufficient self-denial
to forego his tempting display of baked
veal and mercnguos, and contented our.
selves with seeking an alcovo in the
rocks, and fcasting on the bread, cheese,
and stewed prunes that we had packed in
our knapsacks. The fatigue ana noun
tain air, indignation and romance, all
combined, gave zcst to our repast.which
we washed down with deep draughts of
hrSchwaSSer and water, topping all with
prudent sip of cognac, to fortify us for
the route ahead.
We turned our backs on Liddes struck
our batons in the road blithely, deter
mined to gain the Hospice at the sum
init of the pass as soon as our "cheer
and good spirits" would permit Some
Of the brows of the distant mountains
were dressed in the most fantastic
wreaths of mist, and tho sun had disap-
pcared but there were no strong in.
dications of a change OF weather. The
pass was very steep and narrow in somo
parts, aud We congratulated ourselves
that We were not plagued with the
mules, although their reputation for
sure footedness is proverbial with Alpine
tourists, We met several parties en-
route for Martigny, who had slept the
night before at the convent. aud who as.
sured us that the track the other side of
St Pierre was choked up with snow and
difficult of access. We did not permit
this to daunt u.s. however, but hurried
on. scarcely pausng to gaze at the beau
tiful views that now and then broke on
us in the vale below.
When within mile of the "Cantecu,"
dismal solitary little hut on the aide of
the ravine terrific food came pouring
down, washing great guiies in the sides
of the mountains aud drenching US to the
skin. The foot.paths soon flooded. and
now, for the first time, We felt the want
of an assistant to relieve us of the KNAPP
sacks that, like our unhappy backs. were
soaked through l verify believe that if
! had had an umbrella | should have
raised it, out of place aud melancholy as
1t would have looked on an Alpine pass
but no friendly brella was near, and
on that score I have nothing to answer
for
The storm ragged with undated fury,
and the force Of the wind was so power
iui that we progressed very slowly,
crouching close to the broken rocks in
absolute fear of being blown over the
preciplce. Occasionally volley of stones
and fragments of ice would roll down the
mountain sides over our path, and shoot
with inconceivable velocity down the
depths below. 1t was about five o'clock
when VIC reached the Canteen.n and
wet and fatiguel we were. The only in.
mates of the hovel wcro weather.be
EN- glpsy.looking woman and two boys
who, tattered and dingy, might have pass.
ed as her sons, the family.likeness of
filth and squalor being so obvious They
asked us what we had done with our
mules, as this is the last point on the
pass they can reach, and on telling them
that we were travelling without guide,
they all three hurst into an impsh laugh
that lasted somo minutes One of the
boys produced large stone,jug full of
brandy, which we decline purchasing and
the other seemed intent upon examining
our hob-nalled boots, which to say truth
were nearly cut to pieces by tho rough
debris Of the path.
II was still two miles to the convent.
and the worst part Of the journey was
before us, 1t was growing dark, too,
and the wind howlod through tho wild
ravines, and whistled about tho rocks
until my heart beat audiby with the
emotion that the sccno called up. We
could just see the glimmer of the snow
ahead on the rocky defile of the pass, that
bent around aud disappeared in the
gloom beyond. Bestowing doHceHr on
the boys for our brief shelter, We toiled
on using our batons freely, and Drawing
the javelins of rain that assailed us with
chilling force. In short time We struck
the snow path, and all around was like a
great shroud. A thick mist, too, spread
before us that seemed to rise higher and
higher with each step, SO that wo could
scarcely see twenty yards before U.S. We