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so many detached islands, the summits of which appear to indicate the elevation of the valley priorto the total retreat of the sea, and make it, doubtless, reasonable to suppose, that they owe their originto the current of those same waters, aided since then by that of the Ilhdne, which, by imperceptiblyfurrowing their channel, have left these hills thus raised above the present level of the valley,—a supposition still more strongly evinced by their shape and structure; fof the latter may be con-sidered as being properly composed of heaps of fragments from the primitive mountains, coveredby a thick vegetable stratum, and their shape that of a truncated cone. These hills, which arecultivated and wooded to their summits, are extremely picturesque, and exhibit the most pleasingvariety of tints imaginable.

The town of Skiers, or Sierre , the next place of any extent through which I passed, is wellbuilt, and the capital of one of the dizains. The houses are handsome, with a great appearanceof cleanliness : consequently the cretins and goitres are much less conspicuous here than in otherparts of the Vallais : in fact, the whole district is rich and fertile, both in vineyards and pasturage.Mineral coal is likewise found there; and in the lesser valleys, which terminate in that of theRhone, are mines of copperas,' pyrites, and silver ore of a greysh tinge, which have never beenworked, though there are others of solid cobalt which have, and from whence the inhabitants, fora time, drew some little advantage; but, owing either to policy, or some particular reasons ofgovernment, they were never encouraged, and, of course, soon after totally abandoned.

The mountains which skirt the valley of the Rhone, from Siders to Leuk, or Leugg, are, withfew exceptions, similar to those from Sion to Siders , the schistus only seeming to vary in coherencyand thickness ; and though the channel of the Rhone here gradually contracts, yet does it notprevent the view of a succession of rich fields and smiling meadows, situated at the bottom ofthe valley. The town of Leuk, which may be reckoned about twenty English miles distant fromSion, is the capital of its own district, which is less extensive than that of Siders . It is seated atthe mouth of the torrent De La, where it throws itself into the Rhone, is surrounded by a wall,as already observed, and stands on an eminence which commands the eastern and western sides ofthe valley in nearly its whole extent.

The surrounding country exhibits an uninterrupted variety of pleasing and interesting pros-pects : but what is most extraordinary, and in fact ought to be seen by every Alpine traveller,are the famous baths of Loiche, which becomes remarkable from their situation, as well as theroad made across Mont Gemini, another lofty mountain, though still impassable for carriages.Being anxious to make this excursion, I arrived at Leuk in great expectation; but finding theweather unfavourable for the attempt, it having rained the whole day, I deferred my intentiontill the next morning, and then set off at a very early hour, that I might have more time toexamine not only the baths, and the environs of the valley in which they are situated, but likewisethe stupendous rocks of Albinen , which are nearly contiguous ; for though the distance fromLeuk to the baths be only nine English miles, yet, from the mountainous state of the majorpart of the road, one whole day is scarcely sufficient to complete that distance, and return to Leukthe same night.

Having, in consequence, furnished myself with a guide at the last-mentioned town, wedirected our course to the mountain of Gemmi, which is in the vicinity of the baths, thoughrather towards the north. We first of all entered a contracted valley, at the bottom of whichrolls the torrent De La, with such impetuosity, that the roar of its water oftentiffies drowns thehuman voice.

This valley takes its name from the torrent; and, in the space of three or four miles, becomesso deep and narrow, that it appears as a perpendicular fissure only, through which the torrent con-tinues rushing, at the extreme depth of two thousand feet beneath the road, exhibiting a frightfulprecipice, filling the mind with a mixture of terror and surprise, which is further increased by thetremendous noise of the water, re-echoed by the lateral "rocks. And .surely nothing can be moresurprising than the appearance of this very singular road or track, nothing similar to it havingoccurred to me in any part of the Alps : and truly -wonderful it is, when we consider that it isentirely cut along the side of a steep fissure, forming, if I may so call it, a kind of zig-zaggallery, which descends to the bottom of the abyss,—for such is the idea conveyed when viewedfrom the summit; and, of course, it requires no small degree of fortitude to pursue it.

This road is in some places covered by the main rock, and,in others by tufts of, firs and shrubs,