They continued to wind under the woods, between the grassy knolls of the
mountain, and, as they reached the shady summit, which he had pointed
out, the whole party burst into an exclamation. Behind the spot
where they stood, the rock rose perpendicularly in a massy wall to a
considerable height, and then branched out into overhanging crags. Their
grey tints were well contrasted by the bright hues of the plants and
wild flowers, that grew in their fractured sides, and were deepened by
the gloom of the pines and cedars, that waved above. The steeps below,
over which the eye passed abruptly to the valley, were fringed with
thickets of alpine shrubs; and, lower still, appeared the tufted tops of
the chesnut woods, that clothed their base, among which peeped forth the
shepherd's cottage, just left by the travellers, with its blueish smoke
curling high in the air.
On every side appeared the majestic summits
of the Pyrenees, some exhibiting tremendous crags of marble, whose
appearance was changing every instant, as the varying lights fell upon
their surface; others, still higher, displaying only snowy points, while
their lower steeps were covered almost invariably with forests of pine,
larch, and oak, that stretched down to the vale. This was one of
the narrow vallies, that open from the Pyrenees into the country of
Rousillon, and whose green pastures, and cultivated beauty, form a
decided and wonderful contrast to the romantic grandeur that environs
it. Through a vista of the mountains appeared the lowlands of Rousillon,
tinted with the blue haze of distance, as they united with the waters of
the Mediterranean; where, on a promontory, which marked the boundary of
the shore, stood a lonely beacon, over which were seen circling flights
of sea-fowl. Beyond, appeared, now and then, a stealing sail, white with
the sun-beam, and whose progress was perceivable by its approach to the
light-house. Sometimes, too, was seen a sail so distant, that it served
only to mark the line of separation between the sky and the waves.
On the other side of the valley, immediately opposite to the spot where
the travellers rested, a rocky pass opened toward Gascony. Here no sign
of cultivation appeared. The rocks of granite, that screened the glen,
rose abruptly from their base, and stretched their barren points to the
clouds, unvaried with woods, and uncheered even by a hunter's cabin.
Sometimes, indeed, a gigantic larch threw its long shade over the
precipice, and here and there a cliff reared on its brow a monumental
cross, to tell the traveller the fate of him who had ventured thither
before. This spot seemed the very haunt of banditti; and Emily, as she
looked down upon it, almost expected to see them stealing out from
some hollow cave to look for their prey. Soon after an object not less
terrific struck her,--a gibbet standing on a point of rock near the
entrance of the pass, and immediately over one of the crosses she had
before observed. These were hieroglyphics that told a plain and dreadful
story. She forbore to point it out to St. Aubert, but it threw a gloom
over her spirits, and made her anxious to hasten forward, that
they might with certainty reach Rousillon before night-fall. It was
necessary, however, that St. Aubert should take some refreshment, and,
seating themselves on the short dry turf, they opened the basket of
provisions,