. ii t • ri^iü
46 T R A V E L S THROUGH
mcnt file related an affeiting talc in terms full of candour and fimpliclty. Slie told me,
that her name was Anna; that flic lived in the village of Sander, near the valley of
Zargin; tliac ihe came every year to accomplifh a vow flic had made for her father's
recovery, who was a miner, and had been taken from under one of the galleries, where
lie was at work, apparently dead. She added, that ihe was fifteen when the accidcnt
liappcned, which was three years fince, and tliat ihe had never milTed coming at tlie
ftated period. I was fo eiichanted with this good girl's iimple narrative, that I again
entreated her to let me place the wreath of flowers on the Virgin's head; but flie
modeftly declined, faying, that ihe expeitcd her brother, who was gone to Zimerlehen,
a village not far diftant; that he had promifed her faithfully to return before the tapers
were expired; then, eailing a wiihful look at them, and heaving a figh, ihe faid, that
fhe feared the florm had detained him, bxit that ilie hoped no harm would liappen
to him.
THE thunder ftill continued rumbling over our heads in a moil terrific manner:
the flaihes of lightning were more frequent, appearing incelTantly as if croiTing the
defile, and nearly entering our place of refuge; whilil the rain, falling in torrents from
tlie rocks, carried with it immenfe pieces of ilone, which, from the velocity with which
they fell, ihivered into a thoufand pieces, and added greatly to the horror of the fcene.
Anna, perceiving that the lights were nearly out, and that ihe ihould be prevented from
accompliihing her vow, requeiled me, at lait, to aiTiil her in placing the ilowers, which
I had juft accomplifhed, when we heard the approach of a carriage, which proved t o be
the one I expeftcd. I had, however, rhe fflti<ifaiVion of gaining fome intelligence, from
the poft-boy, of her brother, who had paiTed him on the road: I was, therefore, releafed
from the painful ncceility of leaving that poor and amiable girl by herfelf in fo folitary
a fitnation, which the ilorm rendered ilill more diftrelTing.
HAPPY peoplel whofe morals are as pure as their ideas are innocent. Their hands
will never be fullied with the blood of their fellow creatures; for their oiFerings to the
Divinity are of the pureil kind, conceiving that religion was meant to diffufe happinefs
and comfort among mankind, ignorant of the abufes which cruel policy has introduced !
"WE proceeded on our journey, and foon got out of the defile. Fortunately the ilorm
abated, the weather became more calm, and the clouds difappeared; yet the roads, from
the violence of the rain, were filled with water, and, in fome places, dangerous. The
next poll is Colraan, a fmall village, with only a few fcattered houfes. At the extremity
of that village the valley widens, and forms a plain which leads to the city of
ClaulTen, or Claufium, in Italian Chiufa. It is built on a folitary rock, and is watered on
the fouth-eail by the river Eifach.
T H E
T H E RH.FFITIAN ALPS. 47
THE city is divided by the torrent Thinner, which defcends from a valley of the fame
name, fituated to the north; for which reafon the city is diftinguiihed by Upper and
Lower ClauiTen.
MOUNT Mayrbodele, which is on the left, contraös the valley in that part, and makes
it refemble the Pafs of Clufe, in going to the Glaciers in Savoy. They are both fituated
at the entrance of the High Alps. Their names are alfo analogous; as I have had occafion
to mention, when fpeaking of the Pafs of Chiufa.
THE city of ClauiTen is in the biJiiopric of Brixen. The inhabitants, although induftrious,
are not fuppofed to be fo opulent as thofe of Bötzen. I was forry that want of
time prevented my feeing fome lead and copper mines, which they are working in its
environs. There are alfo fome hot baths and mineral fprings, wliich are reforted to by
ilrangers in the fummer.
ON quitting ClauiTen we paffed by the foot of a hill, which is a continuation of mount
Kuhbcrg, where is fituated an extenfive convent, called Sahen, built on the ruins of the
palace of the ancient biihops of Brixen: for, till the twelfth century, they refided in
that city; but, afterwards, the epifcopal fee was removed to Brixen. It is the general
opinion, that on that fpnt originally ilond the city of Sabiona, which was deilroyed
by Attila.
THE environs of Clauflen, and the adjacent country, are fertile, piÖurefque, and well
cultivated. Several fmall vallies, viz. Villnefer, AiFerer, 6ec. oifer to the eye many
intereiling and picafmg views; whilil, on the back ground, a range of mountains of an
immenfe height terminates the limits of the horizon.
THE naked and rugged peaks of the mounts Lorenzen, Fartfchel, and Tfchafatfeh,
raife their towering heads towards the north-weft; and, on the fouth-eail, are thofe of
Glander, Schlofs, Pragls, and Pallanfer, Their fummits are entirely bare, and feem to
be compofcd of granite.
THE next city, which is Brixen, is feated at the extremity of a fmall plain, at the
entrance of three vallies, and at the confluence of two rivers, the Eifach and the Rients.
The plain is contrafted by extenfive mountains, not unlike the fituation of Bötzen,
whence it is diilant nearly thirty miles. This city, called by the Italians BrciTanone,
and by the Germans Brixen, is the capital of the bilhopric of that name, which extends
ninety miles from cail to weil, and fifty-five from north to fouth. It is fituated between
the county of Tyrol, the biiliopric of Trent, the States of Venice, and the archbifliopric
of Salzbourg.
BRIXEN has nothing dcferving the attention of the traveller, except its cathedral, of
whicli the architeöure is good, and well finiihed. The houfes are tolerably well built,
and moflly painted on the outfide, which gives them an appearance of neatnefs, and
looks