426 BOTANICAL INFORMATION, 



clad, vegetationless mountains — tumbled about in such 

 savage confusion, that Milton's chaos could not have been 

 more chaotic. In the extreme distance we could just dis- 

 cern the serrated ridge of the picturesque mountains of 

 Huesca, at the foot of which lies Saragossa ; while deep down 

 at our feet, was a small lake, appearing like a blue gash m 

 the snow ; farther on was another, and then another a little 

 larger, all encircled with snow. It was by these lakes we 

 were to pass. We had now two hours of rapid descent to 

 the baths of Penticosa, and in the ardour of our absorbing 

 pursuit, we had allowed our Spanish friends to get before us ; 

 most unfortunately, as it turned out, for our guide was but 

 ill acquainted with the way. Almost at starting, he led us 

 down a steep tract of snow, as nearly perpendicular, indeed, 

 as it was possible for snow to lie, and to our great surprise, 

 more frozen on the surface than we had found any on the 

 French side. The way we proceeded was this : our guide 

 went " en avant," and at every step stuck his heels as deep 

 as he could into the snow ; we followed slowly and cautiously 

 in his footsteps. Once, however, his footing failed him,' and 

 he slid down with fearful rapidity for forty or fifty yards, 

 when he was fortunately arrested by a projecting fragment 01 

 rock, and escaped with a few hard knocks ; had it not been 

 for this, he must have slid on until he plunged into the 

 fathomless lake below. He then fixed his pole firmly into 

 the snow, and entrenched himself with our carpet bags, and 

 we slid down after him, he stopping us when we reached him. 

 A great deal of our downward course was of this description, 

 but when we reached the margin of the third lake, where 

 was a grassy knoll peeping out of the snow, we spied our 

 Spaniards sitting, eating, and smoking their paper cigaros. 

 We were glad to rejoin them, and took care not to part com- 

 pany during the remainder of our journey. We had little 

 more snow to pass, but the rocks and precipices we descended 

 would baffle all description, and on looking back occasionally 

 upon our track, it seemed almost impossible that human foot 



