360 Mr Arnott's Tour to the South of France, 



was passed in botanising among the banks and rocks that are 

 chiefly to the right of the stream that traverses this rich valley, 

 and in crossing the Col or Cueillade de Norin which terminates 

 it. Descending then the Cueillade towards Catalonia, we ar- 

 rived in the evening at the hermitage of Nouri, but, unfortu- 

 nately for us, a day too early. The Curate of Querals, who 

 passes always the summer in this vast building, was not to ar- 

 rive till the next day ; the few beds that were there were locked 

 up, and we found merely four shepherds, whose united stock of 

 furniture consisted of two coarse blankets or rugs, one kettle, 

 one porringer, and two wooden spoons. Finding we were to 

 receive no benefit from these our companions, wrapping our 

 cloaks around us, we stretched ourselves out as well as we could 

 on some long, narrow, and sufficiently hard wooden benches 

 around a large fire, which we found it necessary to keep blazing 

 the whole night *, to prevent our suffering from the piercing 

 I cold, for we could scarcely be less, whatever more, than 2000 

 feet above the level of Mont Louis. 



'^ Notwithstanding our precautions and the fatigues of yes- 

 terday? having slept little, we amused ourselves in the morning, 

 until day-light, in observing the culinary proceedings of the poor 

 shepherds, and in listening to the anecdotes they told us of the 

 visit that Mina paid to this place during the last war. It ap- 

 peared that this general, repulsed and surrounded on all sides 

 by different bodies of the French soldiery, passed here three 

 days, while the snow lay deep on the ground, in making useless 

 attempts to regain the plains below, witliout encountering his 

 enemies. Having at length consumed all the provisions, seeing 

 his followers fainting with cold and fatigue, and after having 

 burned the doors, window-shutters, tables, chairs, and, in short, 

 every thing that was combustible, in order to warm themselves, 

 he formed the scheme of causing his band to separate, and ap- 

 pointed Seo d'Urgel as a rendezvous. He himself with one 

 party made an attempt to pass by the walls of the town of Puy- 

 cerda, where the Baron d'Eroles then was with the Spanish 



• Throughout the interior of Catalonia, the fire is on the ground, and the 

 chimney las was formerly to be seen in every farm-house in Scotland, though 

 now of less frequent occurrence), broad at the base, and contracted at the top, 

 arises perpendicularly above the fire. 



