ALPINE ROADS. 17 



on their carnages and been hauled up the pass by 

 a number of mules and horses. Every one is familiar 

 with the pictures that have been painted from time 

 to time of Napoleon crossing the Alps, engravings 

 from which are frequently to be seen. 



It must be remembered that these roads are 

 rendered impassable during the winter months, owing 

 to the depth of snow on their surface. In some cases 

 this difficulty is overcome by resorting to the use of 

 sledges. I remember passing over the Simplon, from 

 Italy into Switzerland, about twenty years ago ; the 

 road was not really open, even the mails had only 

 just ventured to cross. I was travelling with a young 

 fellow about my own age, when we determined to 

 make the attempt, notwithstanding the remonstrances 

 of the aborigines. When we approached the summit 

 we had to enter a sledge, which was so repeatedly 

 capsized that we determined to walk, as the snow on 

 the surface of the track was fairly hard. We had 

 three horses to our sledge, one of which I recollect 

 we lost ; this was the leader. He got engulfed in 

 a drift into which he had inconsiderately plunged. 

 The glare and the heat was very considerable, 

 although the snow was nearly thirty feet above the 

 road, the telegraph posts just peeping out of the snow, 

 which clearly indicated to what depth they were buried. 



I remember to this day that the avalanche galleries 

 through which we passed presented a very lovely 

 appearance, as on either side of them the tunnel was 

 continued through ice and snow, the rays of the sun 

 without being reflected on the walls of ice within, 

 producing the most marvellous prismatic effects. 

 When we arrived on the Swiss side of the mountain, 

 astonishment was expressed that we had not rolled 



c 



