hazels, and alders, the mountain ash and birch trees abound; and still
farther up you enter the region of the pines--the _pinus sylvestris_
growing in dense continuous forests, while the more graceful "stone
pine" is seen only in isolated groups or scattered trees. Everywhere a
rich _flora_ meets the eye; flowers of the most lovely hues reflected in
crystal rivulets--for the waters of the Pyrenees are pure beyond
comparison, such a thing as a turbid stream being unknown throughout the
whole range.

Above the pine forests the mountains exhibit a zone of naked
declivities, stretching upward to the line of congelation--which in the
Pyrenees is higher than upon the Alps. The former has been variously
estimated: some fixing it at 8,300 feet, while others raise it as high
as 9,000; but, indeed, it would be more just to say that the snow-line
depends greatly upon the locality of the particular mountain, and its
southern or northern exposure.

In any case, it is more than 1,000 feet higher than on the Alps; the
superior elevation being accounted for, by the more southern latitude of
the Franco-Spanish chain. Perhaps the proximity of the sea has more to
do with this phenomenon than the trifling difference of latitude?

Upon the higher declivities and summits, snowfields and glaciers abound,
as in the Alps; and even in some of the passes these phenomena are
encountered. Most of the passes are higher than those of the Alps; but
in consequence of the greater elevation of the snow-line, they remain
open throughout the winter. At all seasons, however, they are by no
means easy to traverse; and the cold winds that whistle through them are
scarce to be endured. The Spaniards, who have a proverbial expression
for almost every idea, have not neglected this one. In the ports
(_puertos_) of the Pyrenees, say they, "the father waits not for his
son, nor the son for his father."

If the passes across these mountains are higher than those of the Alps,
the transverse valleys are the reverse; those of the Pyrenees being in
general much lower. The consequence is, that from the bottom of these
valleys the mountains themselves appear far loftier than any of the
Alpine peaks,--the eye taking in at one view a greater angle of
elevation.

The _fauna_ of the Pyrenean chain, though less full and varied than its
_flora_, is nevertheless of great interest. In the more densely wooded
solitudes, and higher declivities of the mountains, a larg