Determination to visit the Grande Chartreuse.--Reach the Village of
Les Echelles.--Gloomy region.--The Torrent.--Entrance of the
Desert.--Portal of the consecrated Enclosure.--Dark Woods and
Caverns.--Crosses.--Inscriptions.
Gray’s sublime Ode on the Grande Chartreuse had sunk so deeply into my
spirit that I could not rest in peace on the banks of the Leman Lake
till I had visited the scene from whence he caught inspiration. I longed
to penetrate these sacred precincts, to hear the language of their
falling waters, and throw myself into the gloom of their forests: no
object of a worldly nature did I allow to divert my thoughts, neither
the baths of Aix, nor the habitation of the too indulgent Madame de
Warens (held so holy by Rousseau’s worshippers), nor the magnificent
road cut by Charles Emanuel of Savoy through the heart of a rocky
mountain. All these points of attraction, so interesting to general
travellers, were lost upon me, so totally was I absorbed in the
anticipation of the pilgrimage I had undertaken.
Mr. Lettice, who shared all my sentiments of admiration for Gray, and
eagerness to explore the region he had described in his short and
masterly letters with such energy, felt the same indifference as myself
to commonplace scenery.
The twilight was beginning to prevail when we reached Les Echelles, a
miserable village, with but few of its chimneys smoking, situated at the
base of a mountain, round which had gathered a concourse of red and
greyish clouds. I was heartily glad to leave these forlorn and wretched
quarters at the first dawn of the next day. We were now obliged to
abandon our coach; and taking horse, proceeded towards the mountains,
which, with the valleys between them, form what is called the Desert of
the Carthusians.
In an hour’s time we were drawing near, and could discern the opening of
a narrow valley overhung by shaggy precipices, above which rose lofty
peaks, covered to their very summits with wood. We could now distinguish
the roar of torrents, and a confusion of strange sounds, issuing from
dark forests of pine. I confess at this moment I was somewhat startled.
I experienced some disagreeable sensations, and it was not without a
degree of unwillingness that I left the gay pastures and enlivening
sunshine, to throw myself into this gloomy and disturbed region. How
dreadful, thought I, must be the despair of those, who enter it, never
to return!
But after the first impression was worn away all my curiosity redoubled;
and desiring our guide to put forward with greater speed, we made such
good haste, that the meadows and cottages of the plain were soon left
far behind, and we found ourselves on the banks of the torrent, whose
agitation answered the ideas which its sounds had inspired. Into the
midst of these troubled waters we were obliged to plunge with our
horses, and, when landed on the opposite shore, were by no means
displeased to have passed them.
We had now closed with the forests, over which the impending rocks
diffused an additional gloom. The day grew obscured by clouds, and the
sun no longer enlightened the distant plains, when we began to ascend
towards the entrance of the desert, marked by two pinnacles of rock far
above us, beyond which a melancholy twilight prevailed. Every moment we
approached nearer and nearer to the sounds which had alarmed us; and,
suddenly emerging from the woods, we discovered several mills and
forges, with many complicated machines of iron, hanging over the
torrent, that threw itself headlong from a cleft in the precipices; on
one side of which I perceived our road winding along, till it was
stopped by a venerable gateway. A rock above one of the forges was
hollowed into the shape of a round tower, of no great size, but
resembling very much an altar in figure; and, what added greatly to the
grandeur of the object, was a livid flame continually palpitating upon
it, which the gloom of the valley rendered perfectly discernible.
The road, at a small distance from this remarkable scene, was become so
narrow, that, had my horse started, I should have been but too well
acquainted with the torrent that raged beneath; dismounting, therefore,
I walked towards the edge of the great fell, and there, leaning on a
fragment of cliff, looked down into the foaming gulph, where the waters
were hurled along over broken pines, pointed rocks, and stakes of iron.
Then, lifting up my eyes, I took in the vast extent of the forests,
frowning on the brows of the mountains.
It was here first I felt myself seized by the genius of the place, and
penetrated with veneration of its religious gloom; and, I believe,
uttered many extravagant exclamations; but, such was the dashing of the
wheels, and the rushing of the waters at the bottom of the forges, that
what I said was luckily undistinguishable.
I was not yet, however, within the consecrated enclosure, and therefore
not perfectly contented; so, leaving my fragment, I paced in silence up
the path, which led to the great portal. When we arrived before it, I
rested a moment, and looking against the stout oaken gate, which closed
up the entrance to this unknown region, felt at my heart a certain awe,
that brought to my mind the sacred terror of those, in ancient days
going to be admitted into the Eleusinian mysteries.
My guide gave two knocks; after a solemn pause, the gate was slowly
opened, and all our horses having passed through it, was again carefully
closed.
I now found myself in a narrow dell, surrounded on every side by peaks
of the mountains, rising almost beyond my sight, and shelving downwards
till their bases were hidden by the foam and spray of the water, over
which hung a thousand withered and distorted trees. The rocks seemed
crowding upon me, and, by their particular situation, threatened to
obstruct every ray of light; but, notwithstanding the menacing
appearance of the prospect, I still kept following my guide, up a craggy
ascent, partly hewn through a rock, and bordered by the trunks of
ancient fir-trees, which formed a fantastic barrier, till we came to a
dreary and exposed promontory, impending directly over the dell.
The woods are here clouded with darkness, and the torrents rushing with
additional violence are lost in the gloom of the caverns below; every
object, as I looked downwards from my path, that hung midway between the
base and the summit of the cliff, was horrid and woeful. The channel of
the torrent sunk deep amidst frightful crags, and the pale willows and
wreathed roots spreading over it, answered my ideas of those dismal
abodes, where, according to the druidical mythology, the ghosts of
conquered warriors were bound. I shivered whilst I was regarding these
regions of desolation, and, quickly lifting up my eyes to vary the
scene, I perceived a range of whitish cliffs glistening with the light
of the sun, to emerge from these melancholy forests.
On a fragment that projected over the chasm, and concealed for a moment
its terrors, I saw a cross, on which was written VIA COELI. The cliffs
being the heaven to which I now aspired, we deserted the edge of the
precipice, and ascending, came to a retired nook of the rocks, in which
several copious rills had worn irregular grottoes. Here we reposed an
instant, and were enlivened with a few sunbeams, piercing the thickets
and gilding the waters that bubbled from the rock, over which hung
another cross, inscribed with this short sentence, which the situation
rendered wonderfully pathetic, O SPES UNICA! the fervent exclamation of
some wretch disgusted with the world whose only consolation was found in
this retirement.