reaching it.

ROUTE A.

From Lausanne you may take the train direct to Martigny; or go by
steamer from Ouchy to Villeneuve, then by rail to Martigny, and thence
by private conveyance via Forclaz and the Tete Noire.

At Forclaz you may proceed on foot and walk over the Col de Balme,
giving directions to your driver to meet you at Le Tour on the other
side.

We started from Ouchy--a small village near Lausanne--at mid-day, and
steamed along the northern shore of the lake, touching at several
stations, and passing close to the celebrated Castle of Chillon. At
half-past one we landed at Villeneuve, where we had to wait for about an
hour for the train, and then proceeded on our journey up the Valley of
the Rhone. The scenery is very fine, gigantic mountains rising up on
either side, so close and so lofty that their summits can only be seen
under difficulties from the railway carriage. There are waterfalls in
abundance, and the grey-coloured Rhone roars and bounds along the line
of railway on its course to the Lake of Geneva. We arrived at Martigny
at half-past four, and ordered a carriage from the hotel (Clerc) for the
following morning. This we were obliged to do, as there are no
diligences or public conveyances of any description to Chamonix. Having
decided upon walking over the Col de Balme, we made arrangements to
leave at four in the morning. The weather being excessively hot, we
deemed it advisable to start at this early hour in order to reach
Forclaz before the great mid-day heat. This arrangement, however, did
not meet with the approval of the hotel authorities, who did their best
to persuade us to delay our departure till six or seven o'clock, so that
breakfast might be included in the bill! This little secret was let out
by our driver on the way, and he wound up by saying, "I received a good
blowing up for not having got you to do as they wished!" Punctually at
four we were all ready for a start; and the luggage having been secured
at the back of a liliputian carriage, drawn by a pair of horses, we set
off.

After clearing the village the gradient becomes very steep, and there is
no proper road for a considerable portion of the way, but simply a track
which winds up the pass, amongst walnut and other trees, the fragrance
from which, at that early hour of the day, was very agreeable. We made
comparatively little use of the conveyance, but preferred to take short
cuts; and, whilst waiting for it to come up,