VI MOUNTAINS 211 



lakes, fertile lands and savage wastes, sunny 

 plains and frigid plateaux. There were the 

 most rugged forms and the most graceful 

 outlines, bold perpendicular cliffs and gentle 

 undulating slopes ; rocky mountains and 

 snowy mountains, sombre and solemn, or 

 glittering and white, with walls, turrets, pin- 

 nacles, pyramids, domes, cones, and spires ! 

 There was every combination that the world 

 can give, and every contrast that the heart 

 could desire." 



These were summer scenes, but the 

 Autumn and Winter again have a grandeur 

 and beauty of their own. 



" Autumn is dark on the mountains ; grey 

 mist rests on the hills. The whirlwind is 

 heard on the heath. Dark rolls the river 

 through the narrow plain. The leaves twirl 

 round with the wind, and strew the grave of 

 the dead." ^ 



Even bad weather often but enhances the 

 beauty and grandeur of mountains. When 

 the lower parts are hidden, and the peaks 

 stand out above the clouds, they look much 



1 Ossian. 



