re are one thousand mules, loaded with merchandise, which
pass every week between Nice and Turin, counting those coming as well as
going.

April 13. _Scarena. Sospello_. There are no orange trees after we leave
the environs of Nice. We lose the olive after rising a little above the
village of Scarena, on Mount Braus, and find it again on the other side,
a little before we get down to Sospello. But wherever there is soil
enough it is terraced, and in corn. The waste parts are either in
two-leaved pine and thyme, or of absolutely naked rock. Sospello is on
a little torrent, called Bevera, which runs into the river Roia, at the
mouth of which is Ventimiglia. The olive trees on the mountain are now
loaded with fruit; while some at Sospello are in blossom. Fire-wood here
and at Scarena costs fifteen sous the quintal.

April 14. _Ciandola. Tende_. In crossing Mount Brois we lose the olive
tree after getting to a certain height, and find it again on the other
side at the village of Breglio. Here we come to the river Roia, which,
after receiving the branch on which is Sospello, leads to the sea at
Ventimiglia. The Roia is about twelve yards wide, and abounds with
speckled trout. Were a road made from Breglio, along the side of the
Roia to Ventimiglia, it might turn the commerce of Turin to this last
place instead of Nice; because it would avoid the mountains of Braus and
Brois, leaving only that of Tende; that is to say, it would avoid more
than half the difficulties of the passage. Further on, we come to the
Chateau di Saorgio, where a scene is presented the most singular and
picturesque I ever saw. The castle and village seem hanging to a cloud
in front. On the right is a mountain cloven through, to let pass
a gurgling stream; on the left, a river, over which is thrown a
magnificent bridge. The whole forms a basin, the sides of which are
shagged with rocks, olive trees, vines, herds, &c. Near here I saw
a tub-wheel without a ream; the trunk descended from the top of
the water-fall to the wheel in a direct line, but with the usual
inclination. The produce along this passage is most generally olives,
except on the heights as before observed; also corn, vines, mulberries,
figs, cherries, and walnuts. They have cows, goats, and sheep. In
passing on towards Tende, olives fail us ultimately at the village of
Fontan, and there the chestnut trees begin in good quantity.
Ciandola consists of only two houses, both taverns. Tende is a