their share of the profits, to their tenants, for the first seven years.
It is 2080 feet above the sea; the temperature of the air was 63°,
at eleven o’clock in the morning, and De Saussure’s hygrometer
stood at 74°, or 15° lower than on the heights above.
The bed of the torrent is crossed by stepping from one rolled
mass of basalt to another, and that with some uncertainty, especially
when they are slippery from the rains ; then turning to
the left, you continue for some time along a tolerably level path,
and pass a romantic little bridge with a waterfall, on the right.
It seemed as if every turn would terminate my progress, by bringing
me directly in contact with the towering walls of basalt and
tufa, which faced me in all directions, We then commenced the
steep ascent of the Lombo Grande, first, through thick and close
bushes of broom, which, at a higher point, became mingled with
ferns: the distant mountains loomed through the mist, like the
first appearance of land at sea. My guide, who, it turned out, had
never been to the Pico Ruivo, missed, or rather was ignorant of the
obscure turning which is to be taken on the right hand, about two-
thirds up the Lombo Grande, and we continued straight forward
in the same path until we met a countryman, who told us we Were
wrong, and conducted us down to the turning off. We had not
proceeded 300 yards, before a small avalanche necessitated my
leaving the mule behind, and indeed made our own passage rather
nervous. We proceeded at a pretty brisk pace, considering the
steepness and ruggedness of the path, for about two hours, when
my guide announced that he had again missed the path, that the
peak was two hours distance to the south east, and that we should
be benighted in our attempt to reach it,: The clouds above us
were frequently scattered in the finest particles, which seemed in
their turn to dissolve into aether.
in case of the invasion of the island by foreigners, or any other attack or outrage
upon their convent or persons..
We hastened our descent, and I scarcely dared to stop a moment
to contemplate the new beauties which the setting sun shed over
the scenery, my guide was so impatient and apprehensive; as it
was, we did not reach the margin of the torrent until dark. My
first care was for my barometer, which being Fortin’s, was rather
unwieldy in the hand, and, afraid to venture to step from stone to
stone with it (for the guide had enough to do to get the mule
through.), I jumped into the water, and immediately repented
having done so, for though the depth was never above my waist,
its force was so great, that without the assistance of the guide and
the large stones, I must have been swept down by it. The
barometer, however, was uninjured, and we began to grope our
way in the dark, in the hope of discovering some light in one of
the cabins to make to ; sometimes rolling over one another, sometimes
falling off a bank, and sometimes dragged down a partition
wall by the mule slipping off it. In short, there was but one thing
evident, that we had missed the path altogether, and my guide
began to cry and roar, accusing me of bringing him there to die,
while I sat down on a bank, determined to pass the night there
rather than break my shins any more, and holloa’d lustily. Our
united efforts, although in very different strains, (my guide perse-
severing in the bellowing part of the duet,) brought a peasant with
a torch to our assistance, who conducted us in about half an hour
to a filthy cabin of a single apartment, full of children, smoke, and
vermin. His wife, however, dried part of my clothes by the damp
twigs which were cracking on the earthy floor, with great care and
good nature, and placing a log of wood beside me, covered it with
excellent grapes, and a large cup of the pure juice of the tinta.
The husband was easily persuaded to provide torches, (made from
what appeared to me to be a festuca,) and guide our ascent out of
the Coural; for I felt very anxious to judge of the effect of torchlight
on these sombre scenes, and I was fully recompensed,