glS JOURNEY OVER MOUNT GOTTHARD, 



by the bed of the river, the fummits of which art 

 every where feveral hundred, and in fome places a 

 thoufand, feet above the bed of the river, and are for 

 the mo ft part exceedingly fteep. The road in thefe 

 mountains runs pretty high above the river, now on 

 the left and now on the right hand of it ; and in many 

 places the rock muft necerTarily have been cut away. 



The traveller therefore has the Reufs conftantly 

 clofe befide the road, though at a great depth below 

 him, and hears the violent noife, and fees the various 

 cataracts formed by the foaming waters rulhing over 

 the rocks. From all thefe circumftances the ftranger 

 would fuppofe it a difmal and gloomy way ; and yet 

 Its agreeablenelfes are great and various. A multitude 

 of cafcades, now on the right hand and now on the 

 left, rufhing down from ftupendous heights, a number 

 of villages and fingle cottages difperfed along the way, 

 render it highly delightful ; then, in feveral places, 

 the mountains, between which we defcend, are lefs 

 fteep, or have terraces formed by nature on their de- 

 clivities ; and, wherever fuch are feen, there are hou- 

 fes, or whole villages, fo that the eye is always enter- 

 tained with variety enough. 



At Geftinen, a village lix miles from the Devil's 

 bridge, I found cherry-trees in bloflbm. This village 

 Hands at the entrance of a vale, running into the 

 mountains, to the weft, along the left fhore of the 

 Reufs, from which mountains very beautiful cryftals 

 are dug. Below this village, we fee the mountains 

 progreffively more and more covered with woods, 

 which farther upward are quite bare. 



At 



