Here French is spoken, wherefore I quit the use of the foreign language, which I can employ easily enough, albeit somewhat incorrectly, not having had the opportunity of giving due diligence thereto through being always in the company of Frenchmen. I crossed Mont Senis partly on horseback and partly in a litter borne by four men, having others ready to relieve them. They carry the litters on their shoulders. The ascent takes two hours, and is stony and difficult for horses which are not accustomed to it, but otherwise without difficulty or danger, for as the road is constructed on the mass of the mountain, there are no precipices and no danger except of stumbling. Below may be seen a plain two leagues long, and on it divers cottages, lakes, and springs, and the post-house. There are no trees, but plenty of grass and meadows to give pasturage in mild weather. At this season snow lay over all. The descent is about a league, cut out of the rock in a direct line, and I had myself carried down it by the _marrons_, to whom I gave two crowns amongst the eight of them. The charge for the descent is only one _teston_. It was a pleasant bit of sport, but not one needing great courage. We dined at Lanebourg,[130] two posts onward, a Savoyard village at the foot of the mountains, and slept in a small place two leagues farther on. Everywhere we found abundance of trout and excellent wine, both new and old. We started and travelled five leagues over a rough, mountainous road, and dined at S. Michel, where there is a post-house. Five leagues more brought us, late in the day and wet through, to La Chambre, a little town which gives the title of Marquis to a certain family, and there we slept. On Friday, November the 3rd, we dined at Aiguebelle, a well-built town, four leagues, and slept at Montmelian, another four leagues farther on. This is a town and fortress which stands on the top of a little ridge rising out of a level plain between two lofty mountains. The town stands at the base of the fort on the river Isère, which passes by Grenoble, seven leagues distant. Here I began to appreciate the excellence of the Italian oil, of which I was never conscious after eating, but I found that the oil of these parts upset my stomach. Two leagues on our road we halted to dine at Chamberi, the chief town of Savoy, a fair busy little place situated at the foot of the mountains at a spot where they recede and leave a fine level stretch of country. Passing on we crossed the Mont du Chat, which is high, steep, and rocky, but in no way dangerous or difficult, and in descending came upon a large lake on which stands a castle called Bordeau, where they make swords which enjoy a great reputation. After a journey of four leagues we rested for the night at a little town called Hyene.