as moderate cottages. One reddish rock, in particular, which appeared to be an entire stone, that had rolled to one fide of the road, in form and fize resembles a small parish-church. The great ftones which have fallen into the river, by ftopping its course, have caufed moft rapid cafcades, whofe white foam dafhing from rock to rock, is beautifully contrafted by the greennefs of the ftream.This road is particularly dangerous in the fpring, when the rocks are moft fubject to fall, from the weight of the fnow that lies upon them, and the washing away of their earth. Further on, and nearer to St. Michael, there is a variety in this mountainous profpect that is more than romantic. Some of the hills are cleft and torp afunder, as if by earthquakes, a gloomy darknefs concealing the inmost receffes of their caverns. Down the fides of others, prodigious cataracts have, in their fall, rooted up aged fir-trees, and thrown them carelessly across each other: fome of which are actually growing with their heads downwards. Near St. Michael, there are mountains whofe fides admit of cultivation, the earth being supported by low walls, rifing one above the other, till interrupted by the fnow. Vines, and all forts of grain, flourish luxuriantly on their funny fides. The earth is brought up in baskets fastened to the backs of women and children, as the mountain is too steep for an afs or mule to afcend it.-We could not perceive any petrifactious or fofils along this road, for which we had a careful look-out; D 3 and Miolans, a stateprifon. Supplice des Razoirs. and as our carriage went flowly on, I think they must have appeared, had there been any. We paffed by a castle fituated upon the top of a very high rock: it is called Miolans, and ferves as a state-prison. The king of Sardinia fends hither those who have committed capital crimes against the state. Many years past there was a dreadful inftrument of death employed here upon prifoners condemned to die; it was called la fupe plice des razoirs. A cafcade, which falls near the castle, turned a mill-wheel, fet round with razors: the condemned wretch, being fastened under this wheel, was foon hashed into a thousand pieces. Adieu. I do not know when an opportunity will offer to fend you this and the foregoing letter, not having met with any poft fince we left Chamberry. I am, yours, &, LETTER VIII. Turin, Oct. 3d. Fear you have been uneafy at not hearing from us fooner. You will probably, at the fame time with this letter, receive thofe I wrote you from Aiguebelle and St. Michael, not having had it in my power to forward them fooner. In the first place, to put you out of fufpence, I have the pleasure to acquaint you, that we paffed the Mont Cennis on the finest day imaginable, are. fafely arrived here without the least accident, and now well lodged in the houfe of the Countess d'Or-b-ns. Now that you are perfectly fatiffied we have not broke our necks down the preci-. pices of Mont Cennis, I fhall proceed to tell you, that the remainder of our road from St. Michael to Lanebourg by no means improved upon us. After having afcended a very steep mountain, called St. Andre, with a tremendous precipice on one fide, St. Andre, we paffed through the Bois de Bramant. This Bois de foreft grows on the fide of a mountain, through which the road is carried, and is of that kind called by the post-boys in Somersetshire, fideling. From thence to the river the precipice is frightful, the height being fo confiderable that the river appears no broader than a narrow rivulet, and the height from which you look down is nearer a true perpendicular than any I have yet feen. We dined Bramant. Village of at a village called Modane; where we saw several Modane, Lanebourg. forts of game, with which the forest abounds: many of them quite new to us. I was surprised to fee partridges whofe feathers become quite white in winter; their breafts and part of their wings. are already fo; and pheafants, whose feathers are black, and flesh very brown. The Coq de Bruyere, Gelinottes, and many other birds not known (Į believe) in England, are in fuch abundance here, that the peasants knock them down with fticks. From Modane to Lanebourg the road is never level; part of it, up an exceeding high mountain, is fo zig-zag, that at a little distance, and before you are quite clofe to it, it refembles the lacings of an old-fashioned ftomacher. The fharp turnings of this road convinced me of the neceffity of a twowheeled carriage; for four wheels (even with a crane-neck) cannot eafily be conducted along it with fafety. Near Modane, a little on one fide of the road, is a moft beautiful fall of water, which defcends perpendicularly from a prodigious height. We lay at Lanebourg. Its fituation is really furprising, the mountains, cafcades, and immenfe rocks, are fo grouped together, that the appearance of the village is as if by fome vaft concuffion a number of entire cottages had been thrown amongst these mountains, and in their fall were pitched fome on the tops of rocks, others on the infides, fo as juft to find an equilibrium fuffi cient to keep them from tumbling into the torrents of water that roar on all fides of them. We had the honour to occupy the royal apartment in the inn; for his Sardinian Majefty has lain here two or three times, and whatsoever of royal, that pass through Lanebourg, are always lodged in this room though the walls are literally bare, and the curtains of the bed of very coarse woollen cloth, the windows of paper, and the floor ill paved; yet this room is not looked upon in a despicable light. While we were eating a very bad fupper, compofed of liver and brains, (to what animal they had belonged, I do not pretend to decide) the Syndic of the porters came in, to calculate how Porters. many of his fubjects we should have occafion for. Four were affigned for me, and fix for M-The settled price is fifty Piedmontese fols each. You may imagine we gave him fomething over. One of the porters addreffed us in English; he is well known to all our countrymen that travel this road. His name is Martin, and was in fervice for seven years with the Archbishop of in Ireland, fince which he has travelled through Italy with feveral English mafters. Though he profeffes to love England, and feems very glad to fee those of that nation; yet is he retired to his native mountains, to pafs the remainder of his days, preferring thefe barren rocks, and almost perpetual hows, to any other country he has feen. Surely the |