of those hot, gleamy days, in which all distant objects are veiled in a species of bright obscurity. But the higher part of the lake made us ample amends; ’tis true we had some disagreeable weather,--but the banks of the water are infinitely more picturesque, and as it is much narrower, the landscape suffered proportionally less from that pale steam, which before almost entirely hid the opposite shore.” From Villeneuve they proceeded up the Rhone, to Martigny, where they left their bundles, and struck over the mountains to Chamouny, and visited the glaciers of Savoy. “That very day, From a bare ridge, we also first beheld, Unveiled, the summit of Mont Blanc, and grieved To have a soulless image on the eye, That had usurped upon a living thought That never more could be. The wondrous vale Of Chamouny stretched far below, and soon, With its dumb cataracts, and streams of ice, A motionless array of mighty waves, Five rivers, broad and vast, made rich amends, And reconciled us to realities; There small birds warble from the leafy trees, The eagle soars high in the element; There doth the reaper bind the yellow sheaf, The maiden spread the haycock in the sun; While Winter, like a well-tamed lion, walks, Descending from the mountain to make sport, Among the cottages, by beds of flowers.” From Chamouny they returned to Martigny, and went from thence, along the Rhine, to Brig, where, quitting the Valais, they made for the Alps, which they crossed at Simplon, and visited the Lake Como, in Italy. Wordsworth’s description of the scenery round Como, is in his highest manner:--