Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 2.djvu/314

 and enjoy those solemn feelings of natural piety with which the spirit of solitude imbues the soul.

"Are not the mountains, waves, and skies, a part Of me and of my soul, as I of them? Is not the love of these deep in my heart With a pure passion?"

"On accuse l'enthousiasme d'être passager; l'existence serait trop heureuse si l'on pouvait retenir des émotions si belle; mais c'est parcequ'elles se dissipent aisément qu'il faut s'occuper de les conserver."

"Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains, They crown'd him long ago, On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds,  With a diadem of snow."

Gazing on the Snowy Ranges, Mont Blanc sinks into insignificance in comparison with the elevation of the eternal Himalaya.

12th.—Anxious to attain a stock of health, to enable me to bear my homeward journey, I commenced early rising, and was daily on my gūnth at 5 ; it was very cold in the early morning, so much so that I often preferred walking. Captain Sturt, who is an excellent draughtsman, promised me a sketch of the Hills ere my departure; this pleased me greatly, as, perhaps, there is no country of which it is more difficult to give a correct idea than that around Landowr. Two fine eagles were brought to me, a golden and a black one; these I added to my collection,—rather large birds to carry, but I shall have so much luggage, it matters but little, a few chests more or less; every thing belonging to the mountains is so interesting. These birds are continually seen, especially at the back of Landowr. A pair of the Loonjee, the red, or Argus pheasants of the Himalaya, have been given me: the bird has a black top-knot, and the neck below has a most peculiar skin over it; beyond which are crimson feathers, bright as gold; the breast is covered with feathers, half red, half black, and in the centre of the black,