We met some Italian officers at Modena; they were fine men, and had a far more distinguished and gentlemanly _tournure_ than, the French. It is astonishing how vulgar and gross in appearance and manner all the latter were, whom we had yet had an opportunity of remarking. I had ever thought the subalterns and captains in some of our marching and militia regiments bad enough, but they were certainly much superior to the French officers. This reminds me, that in our apartment at the inn at Aiguebelle, we saw scrawled upon the walls a fierce _tirade_ (written by some Frenchman) against that interesting work, "Eustace's Italy." We, of course, were not much surprised at the wrath therein expressed; and I myself think that Eustace bears evident marks of being under the dominion of prejudice, in speaking of the French as a nation.
Crossing another mountain, not far from Lans le Bourg, we were made doubly sensible of the prodigious altitude of our road, by comparing the different proportions of the objects around: for instance, a water-mill at work in the valley below us appeared like a baby-house, and the stream which fell from the wheel not much more important than what might have issued from a large garden watering-pot. The rocks here were all wild, gloomy, and barren.
Arriving at Lans le Bourg, where we slept, we found the inn (_Le Grand Hotel des Voyageurs_) clean and comfortable, which was a delightful change to us, after the dirt and misery of those we had lately seen. It stood a short distance beyond the little town, on the brink of a roaring torrent. The host and his wife appeared flattered at our observation of their neat establishment, &c., and told us that it was not the first time their house had been complimented as being very like those in England. The next morning we pursued our route through the same magnificent scenes, and here we first saw a giant glacier, clad in his spotless mantle of everlasting purity. At his feet (to give the reader some idea of his stupendous height and magnitude) lay a town; the steeple of its church did not appear taller than the extinguisher of a candle, which it also resembled in shape. Amid these solitary wilds the greatest variety of plants, flowers, &c. are to be found, and violets in profusion during the spring. We ate some strawberries, gathered here by the peasant children, for a large basket of which our host at Lans le Bourg paid a sum in value rather less than three English halfpence. The postillion and Christian gathered me large bunches of very fine wild raspberries, as they walked up the steep ascent. We were now upon Mont Cenis (_note_ C.), of celebrated fame. My husband collected for me a few specimens of the lovely flowers which bloomed there, and which I have since put by as relics. One plant in particular (wholly unknown to any of us) I must mention. It is a poisonous but exquisitely graceful shrub, with spiral leaves, jagged at the edges, and clusters of brilliant scarlet berries, growing in the form of miniature bunches of grapes. The postillion called it _la tourse_; but we did not feel quite sure of the accuracy of his botanical knowledge. Near the summit of this mountain we were shewn the spot where adventurous travellers sometimes descend to the town of Lans le Bourg upon a sledge, in the short space of seven minutes; whereas it takes two hours and a half to ascend in a carriage, or on a mule. The precipice looked horrible beyond description; yet the English frequently adopt this mode of conveyance during the winter: it is called _la ramasse_, and the amusement of sliding in cars at the _Beaujon_ and _Les Montagnes Russes_, in Paris, was taken from this. As we continued to climb, the effect of the sheep feeding amid the rocky ledges, upon the grassy patches of land far below us, was curious enough. They appeared diminished to the size of those little round, white, fat inhabitants of a nutshell, which sometimes run races upon a china plate, or a polished mahogany table, after dinner. I believe their names are not mentioned in the Newmarket Calender; but my readers will know what I mean. We here beheld a fatigued pedestrian, drawn up the steep path with much comparative ease to himself, by clinging to the long tail of a strong mule, upon which another traveller was riding.