CHAPTER VI.

Angrogna-La Barricade-Cultivation- Cheerful landscapeSabbath on the mountains-Religious and moral character of mountaineers-Village pastor's house-M. Paul Goante-Alpine cottages-Thuanus-Want of religious books-Peasant of Angrogna-Mode of tillage-Mountain fastnesses-La Vachera-Pre du Tour-Obstinate and gallant conflicts thereSublime mountain scenery-The Bouquetin-The JumarreBeautiful vale-Comparison between solitary and busy life—The fortress of La Torre.

M. VERTU, of La Torre, brother to our friend at Turin, was many years in England during the early part of his life; and his intimate knowledge of the English language, rendered him of great service to us, when we wished to make enquiries connected with local and technical explanations. He had the kindness to accompany us to Angrogna, acting as our interpreter in several conversations which we had with the peasantry, who spoke the patois only of the country; and to him I was indebted for much of the immediate information I picked up, as to the condition of agriculture, and the few manufactures of the Vaudois.

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Angrogna lies to the north of La Torre, at the distance of about a mile and a half from the latter, and in the midst of some of the finest mountain scenery of which the Alps can boast. The mountain stream, which is called the Torrent of Angrogna, gives its name to a cluster of valleys which branch out like the boughs of a tree, and runs into the Pelice, just below La Torre. It is supplied by innumerable springs of

8 See Appendix, No. 9.

water, which gush from the rocks, and by following its course from the vale, the tourist will be conducted to the village itself, and higher up, to such a succession of picturesque spots, and secluded glens, as no description can do justice to. The natural beauties of the scenery of Angrogna, and the sublime objects of crag rising above crag, of enormous masses of rock debouching into the glens beneath, and of abysses, the depths of which the eye cannot penetrate, are rendered still more interesting by their being consecrated to the memory of heroes and martyrs, whose histories are in the mouth of every peasant.

There are few of these Alpine recesses occupied by the Vaudois, which have not legends of their own to amuse the stranger, independent of their local attractions; but no commune is more distinguished in this respect than that of Angrogna. L'éternel nostre Dieu," says Leger, "qui avoit destiné ce Paiis-là pour en faire particulièrement le Theatre des ses merveilles, et l'Asyle de son Arche, l'a naturellement et merveilleusement fortifié." According to the same historian there were formerly two strong forts, or barriers, which defended the entrance of the passes to Angrogna, on the side of Luzerna and Bricherasio, capable of being held for a long time by a very few troops, who, if these were forced, might easily fall back upon a place called La Barricade, about half a league higher up, among the mountains. A reference to the map will shew that La Barricade is a narrow defile, upon the side of the torrent: it is fenced in by steep rocks, and at the spot where the rocks were supposed to leave too wide a passage, a strong wall of flints was thrown up, to add to the natural strength of the position, and so contrived, that one opening only was left, by which the retreating party might escape to the fastnesses behind it.

Angrogna was formerly so often the retreat of the Vaudois, when they were forced to abandon San Giovanni, La Torre, and Villaro, that several geographers, who were ignorant of the true divisions of the country, have spoken of the valley

of Angrogna as the principal district of the community. The Marquess de Fleuri, in the cruel persecution of the middle of the seventeenth century, met with so many warm. receptions from the peasants of Angrogna, that he declared he would never attack the heretics in this quarter again, with less than 10,000 men.

The weather was favourable to our excursion, which could be made on foot only; for there is no approaching these higher regions in any sort of vehicle; and saddle-horses for a large party cannot easily be procured. There is a road from San Giovanni to the village of Angrogna, which is practicable for small "chars à bœuf;" but nobody would think of riding in such awkward machines as these. It was the first time of our ascending the mountains, and of penetrating into the heart of those seclusions, which have such charms for the imagination; and we set out in high spirits upon the expedition. Pomaretto is much less out of the common track of travellers, than Angrogna; and may be seen from the road to France from Pinerolo; but nothing less than a visit to the spot itself, is likely to conduct to the retired habitations of which we were now in search.

Upon leaving La Torre and the vale of the Pelice, we came to a smooth and level piece of grass-land, at the foot of a chain of heights, which divides two valleys; and there we crossed the torrent, and took the direction of the valley to the right. The ascent soon became more and more abrupt; and the path-way at one time wound up the mountain in the midst of chesnut and walnut trees, whose aged trunks and branching arms have perhaps afforded shelter to many a persecuted fugitive. At other times we suddenly emerged from gigantic fragments of rock, that had rolled from the steeps above, and covered whole tracts of ground with their ruins, and found ourselves walking over well cultivated plots of corn-land, which extended to the brink of precipices, and made us wonder what industrious hand could have made grain to spring up on such repulsive soil. Ridges of

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wheat were seen, where every inch of earth on which it grew, was brought by hand from a distance, and spread upon the stony surface.

Rousseau's beautiful and almost poetical image of the sudden change from the bare and barren, to the smiling and productive, was brought before our eyes in frequent succession during this delightful walk; and what he fancied, we really saw. "Quelque-fois en sortant d'un gouffre une agréable prairie rejouissoit tout à coup mes regards. Un mélange étonnant de la nature sauvage, et de la nature cultivée montroit par-tout la main des hommes, où l'on eût crut qu'ils n'avoient jamais pénetré: à côté d'une caverne on trouvoit des maisons; on voyait des pampres secs où l'on n'eût cherché que des ronces, des vignes dans des terres éboulées, et des champs dans des précipices."

Nothing however added more to the cheerfulness of the landscape than the streams of water, that ran gently down the slopes, or rushed impetuously from the heights; some of them murmuring in cascades, which sparkled in the sun; and others roaring and foaming in cataracts. There were two or three water-courses of a very novel appearance; at first sight they looked as if they were artificial; but, upon inspection, we discovered, that they had made a sort of natural channel for themselves in the sides of the mountain, and were winding their way like our path, and flowing into the valley. A rich foliage was all that was requisite to complete the beauty of the scenery; but as a substitute for this, we had the fringy particles of frost, that hung upon many of the trees. The melody of the Sabbath bell of Angrogna, which was above us, answered by that of La Torre below, re-echoed from one side of the ridge of mountains to the other, and produced a very pleasing and solemn effect.

In the summer, when these pastoral people are tending their cattle at a distance from the villages, and occupying their châlets, or temporary cabins, upon the summits of the

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mountain, the clearness of the atmosphere allows the sound of the same Sabbath bells to reach them, calling them to the worship of the Creator beneath the canopy of heaven. It must be a most gratifying and impressive sight to see them hastening from different quarters, and assembling in a convenient place on the green turf, to listen to the exhortations of their ministers, who follow them on every seventh day to their remotest pasturages. They generally select a sort of natural amphitheatre, where they may be shaded from the rays of the sun, and hear their pastor the more distinctly. A congregation, collected on such spots as these, must give rise to some of the most sublime feelings, which man is capable of entertaining. The simple and amiable character of the people, their patriarchal occupation of watching their flocks, their temporary migration, and change of settlement, their contentment and tranquil enjoyment, without any thing to vary their pleasures, the grand and stupendous scenery by which they are surrounded, and the pure air that they breathe in these elevated regions, offer endless subjects for meditation. If pure happiness can be said to exist on earth, it must be amongst these people, whose wishes are limited by their powers of acquirement, and who know of no pleasures but those which are to be found amongst their mountains. Poets and romancers have imagined, that the nearer we approach the ethereal atmosphere, the farther we are removed from the tyranny of those grosser sentiments, which binds us down to earth: and perhaps not without justice. The mountaineer is more virtuous, not only as he is removed from the vices of society, but as he is brought more closely in contact with nature, and, in that to the adoration of the Deity; the still voice of religion is but faintly heard amidst the crowds of life, but it is loud upon the mountains, where the grandeur of the work bears a visible and continued testimony to the grandeur of the Creator.

Happily for the Vaudois, this feeling is with them in its