and the Pyrenees^ in 1825. 137 



tigucs of yesterday, to some armfuls of straw that the sliepherds 

 had left Jast year behind them, and to the fires we kept up all 

 night both outside and inside the hut, we commenced the la- 

 bours of the 16th at break of day, by gathering specimens of 

 Ranunculus montanus and Stellaria cerastoides that were grow- 

 ing before our hovel, and at a short distance Genista purgans. 

 As we alternately ascended and descended through the wood, 

 we procured very few plants worth mentioning (among them, 

 however, were Linaria alpina, Lonicera nigra, Ribes petraum, 

 Saxifraga geranoides, and Jpargia alpina), but were well re- 

 compensed by the delightful and varied views we had. The 

 finest perhaps of all, was at the summit of the last slight 

 eminence we mounted, before beginning our rapid descent to 

 the country below. Behind us was the Canigou, with its bare 

 rugged tops, and snow lying in the ravines : on the one side 

 was the Pla Guilhem, and on the other a steep bank, with a 

 torrent and cascade at the bottom, beyond which were a series 

 of aiguilles, or needle-shaped ridges, boasting only of a few 

 straggling trees of the Pinus uncinata (the common pine of this 

 mountain) ; before us lay a long and winding descent towards 

 Vernet. Before we arrived at Vernet, we saw on the left perched 

 up on a ridge of the mountain the St Martin de Canigou, inha- 

 bited by a hermit. The castellated appearance of the house, 

 which is of a pure white colour, has a fine effect from the road, 

 and on the whole renders it a much more desirable place of re- 

 sidence than the hermitage of St Guilhem, at which we slept two 

 nights ago. 



On our descent. We observed Sambucus racemosus, Potentilla 

 rupestris, Viola bijlora (the scapes were uniformly 1 -flowered), 

 Urtica hisp'ida, Festuca spadicea. Prunella grandiflora, and 

 Draba nemoralis, and close to Vernet Sempervivum arachnoid 

 deum. We reached Vernet about three o'clock, and, after the 

 delay of an hour or two, in which time we procured with diffi- 

 culty some refreshments, we pushed on, and, passing Ville- 

 franche, arrived at Prades about eight o'clock in the evening. 

 Villefranche is a remarkably strong place ; not only does the 

 fort on an eminence command the town, but the only passable 

 roads to Vernet and Mont Louis pass through it. The gates 

 of the town are also shut every evening at nine. Between Ver- 



