The ruggedness of the unfrequented road often obliged the wanderers to
alight from their little carriage, but they thought themselves amply
repaid for this inconvenience by the grandeur of the scenes; and,
while the muleteer led his animals slowly over the broken ground, the
travellers had leisure to linger amid these solitudes, and to indulge
the sublime reflections, which soften, while they elevate, the heart,
and fill it with the certainty of a present God! Still the enjoyment
of St. Aubert was touched with that pensive melancholy, which gives
to every object a mellower tint, and breathes a sacred charm over all
around. They had provided against part of the evil to be encountered from a want
of convenient inns, by carrying a stock of provisions in the carriage,
so that they might take refreshment on any pleasant spot, in the open
air, and pass the nights wherever they should happen to meet with a
comfortable cottage. For the mind, also, they had provided, by a work on
botany, written by M. Barreaux, and by several of the Latin and Italian
poets; while Emily's pencil enabled her to preserve some of those
combinations of forms, which charmed her at every step.
The loneliness of the road, where, only now and then, a peasant was seen
driving his mule, or some mountaineer-children at play among the rocks,
heightened the effect of the scenery. St. Aubert was so much struck with
it, that he determined, if he could hear of a road, to penetrate further
among the mountains, and, bending his way rather more to the south, to
emerge into Rousillon, and coast the Mediterranean along part of that
country to Languedoc.
Soon after mid-day, they reached the summit of one of those cliffs,
which, bright with the verdure of palm-trees, adorn, like gems, the
tremendous walls of the rocks, and which overlooked the greater part of
Gascony, and part of Languedoc. Here was shade, and the fresh water of
a spring, that, gliding among the turf, under the trees, thence
precipitated itself from rock to rock, till its dashing murmurs were
lost in the abyss, though its white foam was long seen amid the darkness
of the pines below. This was a spot well suited for rest, and the travellers alighted to
dine, while the mules were unharnessed to browse on the savoury herbs
that enriched this summit.
It was some time before St. Aubert or Emily could withdraw their
attention from the surrounding objects, so as to partake of their little
repast. Seated in the shade of the palms, St. Aubert pointed out to her
observation the course of the rivers, the situation of great towns, and
the boundaries of provinces, which science, rather than the eye, enabled
him to describe. Notwithstanding this occupation, when he had talked
awhile he suddenly became silent, thoughtful, and tears often swelled to
his eyes, which Emily observed, and the sympathy of her own heart told
her their cause. The scene before them bore some resemblance, though it
was on a much grander scale, to a favourite one of the late Madame St.
Aubert, within view of the fishing-house. They both observed this, and
thought how delighted she would have been with the present landscape,
while they knew that her eyes must never, never more open upon this
world. St. Aubert remembered the last time of his visiting that spot in
company with her, and also the mournfully presaging thoughts which had
then arisen in his mind, and were now, even thus soon, realized! The
recollections subdued him, and he abruptly rose from his seat, and
walked away to where no eye could observe his grief.