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Chapter: CHAPTER IV

   In truth he was a strange and wayward wight,
  Fond of each gentle, and each dreadful scene,
  In darkness, and in storm he found delight;
  Nor less than when on ocean-wave serene
  The southern sun diffus'd his dazzling sheen.
  Even sad vicissitude amus'd his soul;
  And if a sigh would sometimes intervene,
  And down his cheek a tear of pity roll,
 A sigh, a tear, so sweet, he wish'd not to controul.
     THE MINSTREL

St. Aubert awoke at an early hour, refreshed by sleep, and desirous to
set forward. He invited the stranger to breakfast with him; and, talking
again of the road, Valancourt said, that, some months past, he had
travelled as far as Beaujeu, which was a town of some consequence on the
way to Rousillon. He recommended it to St. Aubert to take that route,
and the latter determined to do so.

'The road from this hamlet,' said Valancourt, 'and that to Beaujeu, part
at the distance of about a league and a half from hence; if you will
give me leave, I will direct your muleteer so far. I must wander
somewhere, and your company would make this a pleasanter ramble than any
other I could take.'

St. Aubert thankfully accepted his offer, and they set out together, the
young stranger on foot, for he refused the invitation of St. Aubert to
take a seat in his little carriage.

The road wound along the feet of the mountains through a pastoral
valley, bright with verdure, and varied with groves of dwarf oak,
beech and sycamore, under whose branches herds of cattle reposed. The
mountain-ash too, and the weeping birch, often threw their pendant
foliage over the steeps above, where the scanty soil scarcely concealed
their roots, and where their light branches waved to every breeze that
fluttered from the mountains.

The travellers were frequently met at this early hour, for the sun had
not yet risen upon the valley, by shepherds driving immense flocks from
their folds to feed upon the hills. St. Aubert had set out thus early,
not only that he might enjoy the first appearance of sunrise, but that
he might inhale the first pure breath of morning, which above all things
is refreshing to the spirits of the invalid. In these regions it was
particularly so, where an abundance of wild flowers and aromatic herbs
breathed forth their essence on the air.

The dawn, which softened the scenery with its peculiar grey tint, now
dispersed, and Emily watched the progress of the day, first trembling on
the tops of the highest cliffs, then touching them with splendid light,
while their sides and the vale below were still wrapt in dewy mist.
Meanwhile, the sullen grey of the eastern clouds began to blush, then to
redden, and then to glow with a thousand colours, till the golden light
darted over all the air, touched the lower points of the mountain's
brow, and glanced in long sloping beams upon the valley and its stream.
All nature seemed to have awakened from death into life; the spirit of
St. Aubert was renovated. His heart was full; he wept, and his thoughts
ascended to the Great Creator.

Emily wished to trip along the turf, so green and bright with dew, and
to taste the full delight of that liberty, which the izard seemed to
enjoy as he bounded along the brow of the cliffs; while Valancourt often
stopped to speak with the travellers, and with social feeling to point
out to them the peculiar objects of his admiration. St. Aubert was
pleased with him: 'Here is the real ingenuousness and ardour of youth,'
said he to himself; 'this young man has never been at Paris.'

He was sorry when they came to the spot where the roads parted, and his
heart took a more affectionate leave of him than is usual after so short
an acquaintance. Valancourt talked long by the side of the carriage;
seemed more than once to be going, but still lingered, and appeared to
search anxiously for topics of conversation to account for his delay. At
length he took leave. As he went, St. Aubert observed him look with an
earnest and pensive eye at Emily, who bowed to him with a countenance
full of timid sweetness, while the carriage drove on. St. Aubert, for
whatever reason, soon after looked from the window, and saw Valancourt
standing upon the bank of the road, resting on his pike with folded
arms, and following the carriage with his eyes. He waved his hand, and
Valancourt, seeming to awake from his reverie, returned the salute, and
started away.

The aspect of the country now began to change, and the travellers soon
found themselves among mountains covered from their base nearly to their
summits with forests of gloomy pine, except where a rock of granite shot
up from the vale, and lost its snowy top in the clouds. The rivulet,
which had hitherto accompanied them, now expanded into a river; and,
flowing deeply and silently along, reflected, as in a mirror, the
blackness of the impending shades. Sometimes a cliff was seen lifting
its bold head above the woods and the vapours, that floated mid-way down
the mountains; and sometimes a face of perpendicular marble rose from
the water's edge, over which the larch threw his gigantic arms, here
scathed with lightning, and there floating in luxuriant foliage.

They continued to travel over a rough and unfrequented road, seeing now
and then at a distance the solitary shepherd, with his dog, stalking
along the valley, and hearing only the dashing of torrents, which the
woods concealed from the eye, the long sullen murmur of the breeze,
as it swept over the pines, or the notes of the eagle and the vulture,
which were seen towering round the beetling cliff.

Often, as the carriage moved slowly over uneven ground, St. Aubert
alighted, and amused himself with examining the curious plants that grew
on the banks of the road, and with which these regions abound; while
Emily, wrapt in high enthusiasm, wandered away under the shades,
listening in deep silence to the lonely murmur of the woods.

Neither village nor hamlet was seen for many leagues; the goat-herd's or
the hunter's cabin, perched among the cliffs of the rocks, were the only
human habitations that appeared.

The travellers again took their dinner in the open air, on a pleasant
spot in the valley, under the spreading shade of cedars; and then set
forward towards Beaujeu.

The road now began to descend, and, leaving the pine forests behind,
wound among rocky precipices. The evening twilight again fell over the
scene, and the travellers were ignorant how far they might yet be from
Beaujeu. St. Aubert, however, conjectured that the distance could not be
very great, and comforted himself with the prospect of travelling on a
more frequented road after reaching that town, where he designed to pass
the night. Mingled woods, and rocks, and heathy mountains were now seen
obscurely through the dusk; but soon even these imperfect images faded
in darkness. Michael proceeded with caution, for he could scarcely
distinguish the road; his mules, however, seemed to have more sagacity,
and their steps were sure.

On turning the angle of a mountain, a light appeared at a distance, that
illumined the rocks, and the horizon to a great extent. It was evidently
a large fire, but whether accidental, or otherwise, there were no means
of knowing. St. Aubert thought it was probably kindled by some of the
numerous banditti, that infested the Pyrenees, and he became watchful
and anxious to know whether the road passed near this fire. He had arms
with him, which, on an emergency, might afford some protection, though
certainly a very unequal one, against a band of robbers, so desperate
too as those usually were who haunted these wild regions. While many
reflections rose upon his mind, he heard a voice shouting from the road
behind, and ordering the muleteer to stop. St. Aubert bade him proceed
as fast as possible; but either Michael, or his mules were obstinate,
for they did not quit the old pace. Horses' feet were now heard; a man
rode up to the carriage, still ordering the driver to stop; and St.
Aubert, who could no longer doubt his purpose, was with difficulty able
to prepare a pistol for his defence, when his hand was upon the door of
the chaise. The man staggered on his horse, the report of the pistol was
followed by a groan, and St. Aubert's horror may be imagined, when in
the next instant he thought he heard the faint voice of Valancourt.
He now himself bade the muleteer stop; and, pronouncing the name of
Valancourt, was answered in a voice, that no longer suffered him to
doubt. St. Aubert, who instantly alighted and went to his assistance,
found him still sitting on his horse, but bleeding profusely, and
appearing to be in great pain, though he endeavoured to soften the
terror of St. Aubert by assurances that he was not materially hurt, the
wound being only in his arm. St. Aubert, with the muleteer, assisted him
to dismount, and he sat down on the bank of the road, where St. Aubert
tried to bind up his arm, but his hands trembled so excessively that he
could not accomplish it; and, Michael being now gone in pursuit of the
horse, which, on being disengaged from his rider, had galloped off,
he called Emily to his assistance. Receiving no answer, he went to the
carriage, and found her sunk on the seat in a fainting fit. Between the
distress of this circumstance and that of leaving Valancourt bleeding,
he scarcely knew what he did; he endeavoured, however, to raise her,
and called to Michael to fetch water from the rivulet that flowed by the
road, but Michael was gone beyond the reach of his voice. Valancourt,
who heard these calls, and also the repeated name of Emily, instantly
understood the subject of his distress; and, almost forgetting his own
condition, he hastened to her relief. She was reviving when he
reached the carriage; and then, understanding that anxiety for him had
occasioned her indisposition, he assured her, in a voice that trembled,
but not from anguish, that his wound was of no consequence. While he
said this St. Aubert turned round, and perceiving that he was still
bleeding, the subject of his alarm changed again, and he hastily formed
some handkerchiefs into a bandage. This stopped the effusion of the
blood; but St. Aubert, dreading the consequence of the wound, enquired
repeatedly how far they were from Beaujeu; when, learning that it was
at two leagues' distance, his distress increased, since he knew not how
Valancourt, in his present state, would bear the motion of the carriage,
and perceived that he was already faint from loss of blood. When he
mentioned the subject of his anxiety, Valancourt entreated that he would
not suffer himself to be thus alarmed on his account, for that he had no
doubt he should be able to support himself very well; and then he talked
of the accident as a slight one. The muleteer being now returned with
Valancourt's horse, assisted him into the chaise; and, as Emily was now
revived, they moved slowly on towards Beaujeu.

St. Aubert, when he had recovered from the terror occasioned him by this
accident, expressed surprise on seeing Valancourt, who explained
his unexpected appearance by saying, 'You, sir, renewed my taste for
society; when you had left the hamlet, it did indeed appear a solitude.
I determined, therefore, since my object was merely amusement, to change
the scene; and I took this road, because I knew it led through a more
romantic tract of mountains than the spot I have left. Besides,' added
he, hesitating for an instant, 'I will own, and why should I not? that I
had some hope of overtaking you.'

'And I have made you a very unexpected return for the compliment,'
said St. Aubert, who lamented again the rashness which had produced
the accident, and explained the cause of his late alarm. But Valancourt
seemed anxious only to remove from the minds of his companions every
unpleasant feeling relative to himself; and, for that purpose, still
struggled against a sense of pain, and tried to converse with gaiety.
Emily meanwhile was silent, except when Valancourt particularly
addressed her, and there was at those times a tremulous tone in his
voice that spoke much.

They were now so near the fire, which had long flamed at a distance on
the blackness of night, that it gleamed upon the road, and they could
distinguish figures moving about the blaze. The way winding still
nearer, they perceived in the valley one of those numerous bands of
gipsies, which at that period particularly haunted the wilds of the
Pyrenees, and lived partly by plundering the traveller. Emily looked
with some degree of terror on the savage countenances of these people,
shewn by the fire, which heightened the romantic effects of the scenery,
as it threw a red dusky gleam upon the rocks and on the foliage of the
trees, leaving heavy masses of shade and regions of obscurity, which the
eye feared to penetrate.

They were preparing their supper; a large pot stood by the fire, over
which several figures were busy. The blaze discovered a rude kind of
tent, round which many children and dogs were playing, and the whole
formed a picture highly grotesque. The travellers saw plainly their
danger. Valancourt was silent, but laid his hand on one of St. Aubert's
pistols; St. Aubert drew forth another, and Michael was ordered to
proceed as fast as possible. They passed the place, however,
without being attacked; the rovers being probably unprepared for the
opportunity, and too busy about their supper to feel much interest, at
the moment, in any thing besides.

After a league and a half more, passed in darkness, the travellers
arrived at Beaujeu, and drove up to the only inn the place afforded;
which, though superior to any they had seen since they entered the
mountains, was bad enough.

The surgeon of the town was immediately sent for, if a surgeon he could
be called, who prescribed for horses as well as for men, and shaved
faces at least as dexterously as he set bones. After examining
Valancourt's arm, and perceiving that the bullet had passed through
the flesh without touching the bone, he dressed it, and left him with
a solemn prescription of quiet, which his patient was not inclined to
obey. The delight of ease had now succeeded to pain; for ease may be
allowed to assume a positive quality when contrasted with anguish; and,
his spirits thus re-animated, he wished to partake of the conversation
of St. Aubert and Emily, who, released from so many apprehensions, were
uncommonly cheerful. Late as it was, however, St. Aubert was obliged to
go out with the landlord to buy meat for supper; and Emily, who, during
this interval, had been absent as long as she could, upon excuses of
looking to their accommodation, which she found rather better than she
expected, was compelled to return, and converse with Valancourt alone.
They talked of the character of the scenes they had passed, of the
natural history of the country, of poetry, and of St. Aubert; a subject
on which Emily always spoke and listened to with peculiar pleasure.

The travellers passed an agreeable evening; but St. Aubert was fatigued
with his journey; and, as Valancourt seemed again sensible of pain, they
separated soon after supper.

In the morning St. Aubert found that Valancourt had passed a restless
night; that he was feverish, and his wound very painful. The surgeon,
when he dressed it, advised him to remain quietly at Beaujeu; advice
which was too reasonable to be rejected. St. Aubert, however, had no
favourable opinion of this practitioner, and was anxious to commit
Valancourt into more skilful hands; but learning, upon enquiry, that
there was no town within several leagues which seemed more likely to
afford better advice, he altered the plan of his journey, and determined
to await the recovery of Valancourt, who, with somewhat more ceremony
than sincerity, made many objections to this delay.

By order of his surgeon, Valancourt did not go out of the house that
day; but St. Aubert and Emily surveyed with delight the environs of
the town, situated at the feet of the Pyrenean Alps, that rose, some
in abrupt precipices, and others swelling with woods of cedar, fir, and
cypress, which stretched nearly to their highest summits. The cheerful
green of the beech and mountain-ash was sometimes seen, like a gleam of
light, amidst the dark verdure of the forest; and sometimes a torrent
poured its sparkling flood, high among the woods.

Valancourt's indisposition detained the travellers at Beaujeu several
days, during which interval St. Aubert had observed his disposition and
his talents with the philosophic inquiry so natural to him. He saw
a frank and generous nature, full of ardour, highly susceptible of
whatever is grand and beautiful, but impetuous, wild, and somewhat
romantic. Valancourt had known little of the world. His perceptions were
clear, and his feelings just; his indignation of an unworthy, or his
admiration of a generous action, were expressed in terms of equal
vehemence. St. Aubert sometimes smiled at his warmth, but seldom checked
it, and often repeated to himself, 'This young man has never been at
Paris.' A sigh sometimes followed this silent ejaculation. He determined
not to leave Valancourt till he should be perfectly recovered; and, as
he was now well enough to travel, though not able to manage his horse,
St. Aubert invited him to accompany him for a few days in the carriage.
This he the more readily did, since he had discovered that Valancourt
was of a family of the same name in Gascony, with whose respectability
he was well acquainted. The latter accepted the offer with great
pleasure, and they again set forward among these romantic wilds about
Rousillon.

They travelled leisurely; stopping wherever a scene uncommonly grand
appeared; frequently alighting to walk to an eminence, whither the mules
could not go, from which the prospect opened in greater magnificence;
and often sauntering over hillocks covered with lavender, wild thyme,
juniper, and tamarisc; and under the shades of woods, between those
boles they caught the long mountain-vista, sublime beyond any thing that
Emily had ever imagined.

St. Aubert sometimes amused himself with botanizing, while Valancourt
and Emily strolled on; he pointing out to her notice the objects that
particularly charmed him, and reciting beautiful passages from such of
the Latin and Italian poets as he had heard her admire. In the pauses of
conversation, when he thought himself not observed, he frequently fixed
his eyes pensively on her countenance, which expressed with so much
animation the taste and energy of her mind; and when he spoke again,
there was a peculiar tenderness in the tone of his voice, that defeated
any attempt to conceal his sentiments. By degrees these silent pauses
became more frequent; till Emily, only, betrayed an anxiety to interrupt
them; and she; who had been hitherto reserved, would now talk again,
and again, of the woods and the vallies and the mountains, to avoid the
danger of sympathy and silence.

From Beaujeu the road had constantly ascended, conducting the travellers
into the higher regions of the air, where immense glaciers exhibited
their frozen horrors, and eternal snow whitened the summits of the
mountains. They often paused to contemplate these stupendous scenes,
and, seated on some wild cliff, where only the ilex or the larch could
flourish, looked over dark forests of fir, and precipices where human
foot had never wandered, into the glen--so deep, that the thunder of the
torrent, which was seen to foam along the bottom, was scarcely heard to
murmur. Over these crags rose others of stupendous height, and fantastic
shape; some shooting into cones; others impending far over their base,
in huge masses of granite, along whose broken ridges was often lodged
a weight of snow, that, trembling even to the vibration of a sound,
threatened to bear destruction in its course to the vale. Around, on
every side, far as the eye could penetrate, were seen only forms of
grandeur--the long perspective of mountain-tops, tinged with ethereal
blue, or white with snow; vallies of ice, and forests of gloomy fir.
The serenity and clearness of the air in these high regions were
particularly delightful to the travellers; it seemed to inspire them
with a finer spirit, and diffused an indescribable complacency over
their minds. They had no words to express the sublime emotions they
felt. A solemn expression characterized the feelings of St. Aubert;
tears often came to his eyes, and he frequently walked away from his
companions. Valancourt now and then spoke, to point to Emily's notice
some feature of the scene. The thinness of the atmosphere, through which
every object came so distinctly to the eye, surprised and deluded her;
who could scarcely believe that objects, which appeared so near, were,
in reality, so distant. The deep silence of these solitudes was broken
only at intervals by the scream of the vultures, seen cowering round
some cliff below, or by the cry of the eagle sailing high in the air;
except when the travellers listened to the hollow thunder that sometimes
muttered at their feet. While, above, the deep blue of the heavens was
unobscured by the lightest cloud, half way down the mountains, long
billows of vapour were frequently seen rolling, now wholly excluding the
country below, and now opening, and partially revealing its features.
Emily delighted to observe the grandeur of these clouds as they changed
in shape and tints, and to watch their various effect on the lower
world, whose features, partly veiled, were continually assuming new
forms of sublimity.

After traversing these regions for many leagues, they began to descend
towards Rousillon, and features of beauty then mingled with the scene.
Yet the travellers did not look back without some regret to the sublime
objects they had quitted; though the eye, fatigued with the extension
of its powers, was glad to repose on the verdure of woods and pastures,
that now hung on the margin of the river below; to view again the humble
cottage shaded by cedars, the playful group of mountaineer-children, and
the flowery nooks that appeared among the hills.

As they descended, they saw at a distance, on the right, one of the
grand passes of the Pyrenees into Spain, gleaming with its battlements
and towers to the splendour of the setting rays, yellow tops of woods
colouring the steeps below, while far above aspired the snowy points of
the mountains, still reflecting a rosy hue.

St. Aubert began to look out for the little town he had been directed to
by the people of Beaujeu, and where he meant to pass the night; but no
habitation yet appeared. Of its distance Valancourt could not assist him
to judge, for he had never been so far along this chain of Alps before.
There was, however, a road to guide them; and there could be little
doubt that it was the right one; for, since they had left Beaujeu, there
had been no variety of tracks to perplex or mislead.

The sun now gave his last light, and St. Aubert bade the muleteer
proceed with all possible dispatch. He found, indeed, the lassitude of
illness return upon him, after a day of uncommon fatigue, both of body
and mind, and he longed for repose. His anxiety was not soothed by
observing a numerous train, consisting of men, horses, and loaded
mules, winding down the steeps of an opposite mountain, appearing and
disappearing at intervals among the woods, so that its numbers could not
be judged of. Something bright, like arms, glanced in the setting ray,
and the military dress was distinguishable upon the men who were in the
van, and on others scattered among the troop that followed. As these
wound into the vale, the rear of the party emerged from the woods, and
exhibited a band of soldiers. St. Aubert's apprehensions now subsided;
he had no doubt that the train before him consisted of smugglers, who,
in conveying prohibited goods over the Pyrenees, had been encountered,
and conquered by a party of troops.

The travellers had lingered so long among the sublimer scenes of
these mountains, that they found themselves entirely mistaken in their
calculation that they could reach Montigny at sun-set; but, as they
wound along the valley, the saw, on a rude Alpine bridge, that united
two lofty crags of the glen, a group of mountaineer-children, amusing
themselves with dropping pebbles into a torrent below, and watching the
stones plunge into the water, that threw up its white spray high in the
air as it received them, and returned a sullen sound, which the echoes
of the mountains prolonged. Under the bridge was seen a perspective of
the valley, with its cataract descending among the rocks, and a cottage
on a cliff, overshadowed with pines. It appeared, that they could not
be far from some small town. St. Aubert bade the muleteer stop, and
then called to the children to enquire if he was near Montigny; but the
distance, and the roaring of the waters, would not suffer his voice to
be heard; and the crags, adjoining the bridge, were of such tremendous
height and steepness, that to have climbed either would have been
scarcely practicable to a person unacquainted with the ascent. St.
Aubert, therefore, did not waste more moments in delay. They continued
to travel long after twilight had obscured the road, which was so
broken, that, now thinking it safer to walk than to ride, they all
alighted. The moon was rising, but her light was yet too feeble to
assist them. While they stepped carefully on, they heard the vesper-bell
of a convent. The twilight would not permit them to distinguish anything
like a building, but the sounds seemed to come from some woods, that
overhung an acclivity to the right. Valancourt proposed to go in
search of this convent. 'If they will not accommodate us with a night's
lodging,' said he, 'they may certainly inform us how far we are from
Montigny, and direct us towards it.' He was bounding forward, without
waiting St. Aubert's reply, when the latter stopped him. 'I am very
weary,' said St. Aubert, 'and wish for nothing so much as for immediate
rest. We will all go to the convent; your good looks would defeat our
purpose; but when they see mine and Emily's exhausted countenances, they
will scarcely deny us repose.'

As he said this, he took Emily's arm within his, and, telling Michael to
wait awhile in the road with the carriage, they began to ascend towards
the woods, guided by the bell of the convent. His steps were feeble, and
Valancourt offered him his arm, which he accepted. The moon now threw
a faint light over their path, and, soon after, enabled them to
distinguish some towers rising above the tops of the woods. Still
following the note of the bell, they entered the shade of those woods,
lighted only by the moonbeams, that glided down between the leaves,
and threw a tremulous uncertain gleam upon the steep track they were
winding. The gloom and the silence that prevailed, except when the bell
returned upon the air, together with the wildness of the surrounding
scene, struck Emily with a degree of fear, which, however, the voice and
conversation of Valancourt somewhat repressed. When they had been some
time ascending, St. Aubert complained of weariness, and they stopped to
rest upon a little green summit, where the trees opened, and admitted
the moon-light. He sat down upon the turf, between Emily and Valancourt.
The bell had now ceased, and the deep repose of the scene was
undisturbed by any sound, for the low dull murmur of some distant
torrents might be said to sooth, rather than to interrupt, the silence.

Before them, extended the valley they had quitted; its rocks, and woods
to the left, just silvered by the rays, formed a contrast to the deep
shadow, that involved the opposite cliffs, whose fringed summits only
were tipped with light; while the distant perspective of the valley was
lost in the yellow mist of moon-light. The travellers sat for some time
wrapt in the complacency which such scenes inspire.

'These scenes,' said Valancourt, at length, 'soften the heart, like the
notes of sweet music, and inspire that delicious melancholy which no
person, who had felt it once, would resign for the gayest pleasures.
They waken our best and purest feelings, disposing us to benevolence,
pity, and friendship. Those whom I love--I always seem to love more in
such an hour as this.' His voice trembled, and he paused.

St. Aubert was silent; Emily perceived a warm tear fall upon the hand he
held; she knew the object of his thoughts; hers too had, for some time,
been occupied by the remembrance of her mother. He seemed by an effort
to rouse himself. 'Yes,' said he, with an half-suppressed sigh, 'the
memory of those we love--of times for ever past! in such an hour as this
steals upon the mind, like a strain of distant music in the stillness
of night;--all tender and harmonious as this landscape, sleeping in the
mellow moon-light.' After the pause of a moment, St. Aubert added, 'I
have always fancied, that I thought with more clearness, and precision,
at such an hour than at any other, and that heart must be insensible
in a great degree, that does not soften to its influence. But many such
there are.'

Valancourt sighed.

'Are there, indeed, many such?' said Emily.

'A few years hence, my Emily,' replied St. Aubert, 'and you may smile at
the recollection of that question--if you do not weep to it. But come, I
am somewhat refreshed, let us proceed.'

Having emerged from the woods, they saw, upon a turfy hillock above, the
convent of which they were in search. A high wall, that surrounded it,
led them to an ancient gate, at which they knocked; and the poor monk,
who opened it, conducted them into a small adjoining room, where he
desired they would wait while he informed the superior of their request.
In this interval, several friars came in separately to look at them;
and at length the first monk returned, and they followed him to a room,
where the superior was sitting in an arm-chair, with a large folio
volume, printed in black letter, open on a desk before him. He received
them with courtesy, though he did not rise from his seat; and, having
asked them a few questions, granted their request. After a short
conversation, formal and solemn on the part of the superior, they
withdrew to the apartment where they were to sup, and Valancourt, whom
one of the inferior friars civilly desired to accompany, went to seek
Michael and his mules. They had not descended half way down the cliffs,
before they heard the voice of the muleteer echoing far and wide.
Sometimes he called on St. Aubert, and sometimes on Valancourt; who
having, at length, convinced him that he had nothing to fear either for
himself, or his master; and having disposed of him, for the night, in a
cottage on the skirts of the woods, returned to sup with his friends,
on such sober fare as the monks thought it prudent to set before them.
While St. Aubert was too much indisposed to share it, Emily, in her
anxiety for her father, forgot herself; and Valancourt, silent and
thoughtful, yet never inattentive to them, appeared particularly
solicitous to accommodate and relieve St. Aubert, who often observed,
while his daughter was pressing him to eat, or adjusting the pillow she
had placed in the back of his arm-chair, that Valancourt fixed on her a
look of pensive tenderness, which he was not displeased to understand.

They separated at an early hour, and retired to their respective
apartments. Emily was shown to hers by a nun of the convent, whom she
was glad to dismiss, for her heart was melancholy, and her attention
so much abstracted, that conversation with a stranger was painful. She
thought her father daily declining, and attributed his present fatigue
more to the feeble state of his frame, than to the difficulty of the
journey. A train of gloomy ideas haunted her mind, till she fell asleep.

In about two hours after, she was awakened by the chiming of a bell, and
then heard quick steps pass along the gallery, into which her chamber
opened. She was so little accustomed to the manners of a convent, as to
be alarmed by this circumstance; her fears, ever alive for her father,
suggested that he was very ill, and she rose in haste to go to him.
Having paused, however, to let the persons in the gallery pass before
she opened her door, her thoughts, in the mean time, recovered from the
confusion of sleep, and she understood that the bell was the call of
the monks to prayers. It had now ceased, and, all being again still,
she forbore to go to St. Aubert's room. Her mind was not disposed
for immediate sleep, and the moon-light, that shone into her chamber,
invited her to open the casement, and look out upon the country.

It was a still and beautiful night, the sky was unobscured by any cloud,
and scarce a leaf of the woods beneath trembled in the air. As she
listened, the mid-night hymn of the monks rose softly from a chapel,
that stood on one of the lower cliffs, an holy strain, that seemed to
ascend through the silence of night to heaven, and her thoughts ascended
with it. From the consideration of His works, her mind arose to the
adoration of the Deity, in His goodness and power; wherever she turned
her view, whether on the sleeping earth, or to the vast regions of
space, glowing with worlds beyond the reach of human thought, the
sublimity of God, and the majesty of His presence appeared. Her eyes
were filled with tears of awful love and admiration; and she felt that
pure devotion, superior to all the distinctions of human system, which
lifts the soul above this world, and seems to expand it into a nobler
nature; such devotion as can, perhaps, only be experienced, when
the mind, rescued, for a moment, from the humbleness of earthly
considerations, aspires to contemplate His power in the sublimity of His
works, and His goodness in the infinity of His blessings.

     Is it not now the hour,
 The holy hour, when to the cloudless height
 Of yon starred concave climbs the full-orbed moon,
 And to this nether world in solemn stillness,
 Gives sign, that, to the list'ning ear of Heaven
 Religion's voice should plead?  The very babe
 Knows this, and, chance awak'd, his little hands
 Lifts to the gods, and on his innocent couch
 Calls down a blessing.*
     *Caractacus

The midnight chant of the monks soon after dropped into silence; but
Emily remained at the casement, watching the setting moon, and the
valley sinking into deep shade, and willing to prolong her present state
of mind. At length she retired to her mattress, and sunk into tranquil
slumber.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: Time to hit the road, Jack. Valancourt accompanies the St. Auberts on part of their journey, since he's headed in that direction anyway . More talk about the beauty of the scenery. Like, it's really, really pretty. Enough to make St. Aubert cry. St. Aubert is getting to like Valancourt quite a lot after spending so much time with him. His one reservation? Valancourt has never been to Paris. Finally, Valancourt bids his new buddies adieu and heads off in another direction. As Emily and St. Aubert are ambling along on their journey, St. Aubert just can't stop thinking about the banditti that might be lurking in the woods. Next thing the St. Auberts know, a voice is calling for them to stop their carriage. Oh man, is St. Aubert ready to defend his daughter from the banditti. St. Aubert pulls a pistol from his bag and shoots wildly into the darkness. He hears a groan--and then the voice of Valancourt! Yep, Valancourt has once again been mistaken for a bandit. He has a pretty bad arm injury from getting shot, but at least he's alive. The St. Auberts decide to take Valancourt with them to Beaujeau to get treatment. When they ask him why he was creeping in the bushes, Valancourt admits he got lonely traveling by himself. He decided to overtake the St. Auberts on the road. The group passes by a band of gypsies, which scares Emily half to death. Luckily, the gypsies are more interested in eating dinner than attacking the carriage. Once the group arrives at Beaujeau, a surgeon checks out Valancourt's arm and tells them it's a flesh wound. The good doc also tells Valancourt to cool it on the traveling for a while and stay in Beaujeau until the wound heals. St. Aubert is kind of suspicious about the doctor's expertise, so he resolves to wait until Valancourt can be moved to a better doctor in a neighboring village. St. Aubert also does a little digging into Valancourt's family background. The dude is actually from a pretty well-known family in Gascony. Not bad, Valancourt. But St. Aubert remembers that Valancourt still hasn't been to Paris. Cue le sigh. As the travelers begin to make their way to Rousillon, St. Aubert gets really tired. He plans to stop over at a convent in order to get some quality rest. But before they reach the convent, everyone talks a little bit more about how much they love the landscape. The St. Auberts find out that Valancourt loves nature, too. Kindred spirits! When they reach the convent, Emily hits the hay pretty fast. But she gets up in the middle of the night to reflect on the beauty of the universe and write a poem about it. While the monks are chanting in the distance, Emily contemplates God's blessings and writes about them. Girl, you are profound.


prompt:
Chapter: CHAPTER V

     While in the rosy vale
 Love breath'd his infant sighs, from anguish free.
     Thomson

St. Aubert, sufficiently restored by a night's repose to pursue his
journey, set out in the morning, with his family and Valancourt, for
Rousillon, which he hoped to reach before night-fall. The scenes,
through which they now passed, were as wild and romantic, as any they
had yet observed, with this difference, that beauty, every now and then,
softened the landscape into smiles. Little woody recesses appeared among
the mountains, covered with bright verdure and flowers; or a pastoral
valley opened its grassy bosom in the shade of the cliffs, with flocks
and herds loitering along the banks of a rivulet, that refreshed it
with perpetual green. St. Aubert could not repent the having taken this
fatiguing road, though he was this day, also, frequently obliged to
alight, to walk along the rugged precipice, and to climb the steep and
flinty mountain. The wonderful sublimity and variety of the prospects
repaid him for all this, and the enthusiasm, with which they were viewed
by his young companions, heightened his own, and awakened a remembrance
of all the delightful emotions of his early days, when the sublime
charms of nature were first unveiled to him. He found great pleasure in
conversing with Valancourt, and in listening to his ingenuous
remarks. The fire and simplicity of his manners seemed to render him
a characteristic figure in the scenes around them; and St. Aubert
discovered in his sentiments the justness and the dignity of an elevated
mind, unbiased by intercourse with the world. He perceived, that his
opinions were formed, rather than imbibed; were more the result of
thought, than of learning. Of the world he seemed to know nothing; for
he believed well of all mankind, and this opinion gave him the reflected
image of his own heart.

St. Aubert, as he sometimes lingered to examine the wild plants in his
path, often looked forward with pleasure to Emily and Valancourt, as
they strolled on together; he, with a countenance of animated delight,
pointing to her attention some grand feature of the scene; and she,
listening and observing with a look of tender seriousness, that spoke
the elevation of her mind. They appeared like two lovers who had
never strayed beyond these their native mountains; whose situation had
secluded them from the frivolities of common life, whose ideas were
simple and grand, like the landscapes among which they moved, and who
knew no other happiness, than in the union of pure and affectionate
hearts. St. Aubert smiled, and sighed at the romantic picture of
felicity his fancy drew; and sighed again to think, that nature and
simplicity were so little known to the world, as that their pleasures
were thought romantic.

'The world,' said he, pursuing this train of thought, 'ridicules a
passion which it seldom feels; its scenes, and its interests, distract
the mind, deprave the taste, corrupt the heart, and love cannot exist
in a heart that has lost the meek dignity of innocence. Virtue and taste
are nearly the same, for virtue is little more than active taste, and
the most delicate affections of each combine in real love. How then are
we to look for love in great cities, where selfishness, dissipation, and
insincerity supply the place of tenderness, simplicity and truth?'

It was near noon, when the travellers, having arrived at a piece of
steep and dangerous road, alighted to walk. The road wound up an ascent,
that was clothed with wood, and, instead of following the carriage, they
entered the refreshing shade. A dewy coolness was diffused upon the air,
which, with the bright verdure of turf, that grew under the trees, the
mingled fragrance of flowers and of balm, thyme, and lavender, that
enriched it, and the grandeur of the pines, beech, and chestnuts, that
overshadowed them, rendered this a most delicious retreat. Sometimes,
the thick foliage excluded all view of the country; at others, it
admitted some partial catches of the distant scenery, which gave
hints to the imagination to picture landscapes more interesting, more
impressive, than any that had been presented to the eye. The wanderers
often lingered to indulge in these reveries of fancy.

The pauses of silence, such as had formerly interrupted the
conversations of Valancourt and Emily, were more frequent today than
ever. Valancourt often dropped suddenly from the most animating vivacity
into fits of deep musing, and there was, sometimes, an unaffected
melancholy in his smile, which Emily could not avoid understanding, for
her heart was interested in the sentiment it spoke.

St. Aubert was refreshed by the shades, and they continued to saunter
under them, following, as nearly as they could guess, the direction of
the road, till they perceived that they had totally lost it. They had
continued near the brow of the precipice, allured by the scenery
it exhibited, while the road wound far away over the cliff above.
Valancourt called loudly to Michael, but heard no voice, except his own,
echoing among the rocks, and his various efforts to regain the road were
equally unsuccessful. While they were thus circumstanced, they perceived
a shepherd's cabin, between the boles of the trees at some distance, and
Valancourt bounded on first to ask assistance. When he reached it, he
saw only two little children, at play, on the turf before the door. He
looked into the hut, but no person was there, and the eldest of the boys
told him that their father was with his flocks, and their mother was
gone down into the vale, but would be back presently. As he stood,
considering what was further to be done, on a sudden he heard Michael's
voice roaring forth most manfully among the cliffs above, till he
made their echoes ring. Valancourt immediately answered the call, and
endeavoured to make his way through the thicket that clothed the steeps,
following the direction of the sound. After much struggle over brambles
and precipices, he reached Michael, and at length prevailed with him to
be silent, and to listen to him. The road was at a considerable distance
from the spot where St. Aubert and Emily were; the carriage could not
easily return to the entrance of the wood, and, since it would be very
fatiguing for St. Aubert to climb the long and steep road to the place
where it now stood, Valancourt was anxious to find a more easy ascent,
by the way he had himself passed.

Meanwhile St. Aubert and Emily approached the cottage, and rested
themselves on a rustic bench, fastened between two pines, which
overshadowed it, till Valancourt, whose steps they had observed, should
return.

The eldest of the children desisted from his play, and stood still to
observe the strangers, while the younger continued his little gambols,
and teased his brother to join in them. St. Aubert looked with pleasure
upon this picture of infantine simplicity, till it brought to his
remembrance his own boys, whom he had lost about the age of these, and
their lamented mother; and he sunk into a thoughtfulness, which Emily
observing, she immediately began to sing one of those simple and lively
airs he was so fond of, and which she knew how to give with the most
captivating sweetness. St. Aubert smiled on her through his tears, took
her hand and pressed it affectionately, and then tried to dissipate the
melancholy reflections that lingered in his mind.

While she sung, Valancourt approached, who was unwilling to interrupt
her, and paused at a little distance to listen. When she had concluded,
he joined the party, and told them, that he had found Michael, as
well as a way, by which he thought they could ascend the cliff to
the carriage. He pointed to the woody steeps above, which St. Aubert
surveyed with an anxious eye. He was already wearied by his walk, and
this ascent was formidable to him. He thought, however, it would be less
toilsome than the long and broken road, and he determined to attempt it;
but Emily, ever watchful of his ease, proposing that he should rest, and
dine before they proceeded further, Valancourt went to the carriage for
the refreshments deposited there.

On his return, he proposed removing a little higher up the mountain, to
where the woods opened upon a grand and extensive prospect; and
thither they were preparing to go, when they saw a young woman join the
children, and caress and weep over them.

The travellers, interested by her distress, stopped to observe her.
She took the youngest of the children in her arms, and, perceiving the
strangers, hastily dried her tears, and proceeded to the cottage.
St. Aubert, on enquiring the occasion of her sorrow, learned that her
husband, who was a shepherd, and lived here in the summer months to
watch over the flocks he led to feed upon these mountains, had lost, on
the preceding night, his little all. A gang of gipsies, who had for some
time infested the neighbourhood, had driven away several of his master's
sheep. 'Jacques,' added the shepherd's wife, 'had saved a little money,
and had bought a few sheep with it, and now they must go to his master
for those that are stolen; and what is worse than all, his master, when
he comes to know how it is, will trust him no longer with the care of
his flocks, for he is a hard man! and then what is to become of our
children!'

The innocent countenance of the woman, and the simplicity of her manner
in relating her grievance, inclined St. Aubert to believe her story; and
Valancourt, convinced that it was true, asked eagerly what was the value
of the stolen sheep; on hearing which he turned away with a look of
disappointment. St. Aubert put some money into her hand, Emily too gave
something from her little purse, and they walked towards the cliff; but
Valancourt lingered behind, and spoke to the shepherd's wife, who was
now weeping with gratitude and surprise. He enquired how much money was
yet wanting to replace the stolen sheep, and found, that it was a
sum very little short of all he had about him. He was perplexed and
distressed. 'This sum then,' said he to himself, 'would make this poor
family completely happy--it is in my power to give it--to make them
completely happy! But what is to become of me?--how shall I contrive
to reach home with the little money that will remain?' For a moment he
stood, unwilling to forego the luxury of raising a family from ruin to
happiness, yet considering the difficulties of pursuing his journey with
so small a sum as would be left.

While he was in this state of perplexity, the shepherd himself appeared:
his children ran to meet him; he took one of them in his arms, and, with
the other clinging to his coat, came forward with a loitering step. His
forlorn and melancholy look determined Valancourt at once; he threw down
all the money he had, except a very few louis, and bounded away
after St. Aubert and Emily, who were proceeding slowly up the steep.
Valancourt had seldom felt his heart so light as at this moment; his
gay spirits danced with pleasure; every object around him appeared more
interesting, or beautiful, than before. St. Aubert observed the uncommon
vivacity of his countenance: 'What has pleased you so much?' said he.
'O what a lovely day,' replied Valancourt, 'how brightly the sun
shines, how pure is this air, what enchanting scenery!' 'It is indeed
enchanting,' said St. Aubert, whom early experience had taught to
understand the nature of Valancourt's present feelings. 'What pity that
the wealthy, who can command such sunshine, should ever pass their days
in gloom--in the cold shade of selfishness! For you, my young friend,
may the sun always shine as brightly as at this moment; may your own
conduct always give you the sunshine of benevolence and reason united!'

Valancourt, highly flattered by this compliment, could make no reply but
by a smile of gratitude.

They continued to wind under the woods, between the grassy knolls of the
mountain, and, as they reached the shady summit, which he had pointed
out, the whole party burst into an exclamation. Behind the spot
where they stood, the rock rose perpendicularly in a massy wall to a
considerable height, and then branched out into overhanging crags. Their
grey tints were well contrasted by the bright hues of the plants and
wild flowers, that grew in their fractured sides, and were deepened by
the gloom of the pines and cedars, that waved above. The steeps below,
over which the eye passed abruptly to the valley, were fringed with
thickets of alpine shrubs; and, lower still, appeared the tufted tops of
the chesnut woods, that clothed their base, among which peeped forth the
shepherd's cottage, just left by the travellers, with its blueish smoke
curling high in the air. On every side appeared the majestic summits
of the Pyrenees, some exhibiting tremendous crags of marble, whose
appearance was changing every instant, as the varying lights fell upon
their surface; others, still higher, displaying only snowy points, while
their lower steeps were covered almost invariably with forests of pine,
larch, and oak, that stretched down to the vale. This was one of
the narrow vallies, that open from the Pyrenees into the country of
Rousillon, and whose green pastures, and cultivated beauty, form a
decided and wonderful contrast to the romantic grandeur that environs
it. Through a vista of the mountains appeared the lowlands of Rousillon,
tinted with the blue haze of distance, as they united with the waters of
the Mediterranean; where, on a promontory, which marked the boundary of
the shore, stood a lonely beacon, over which were seen circling flights
of sea-fowl. Beyond, appeared, now and then, a stealing sail, white with
the sun-beam, and whose progress was perceivable by its approach to the
light-house. Sometimes, too, was seen a sail so distant, that it served
only to mark the line of separation between the sky and the waves.

On the other side of the valley, immediately opposite to the spot where
the travellers rested, a rocky pass opened toward Gascony. Here no sign
of cultivation appeared. The rocks of granite, that screened the glen,
rose abruptly from their base, and stretched their barren points to the
clouds, unvaried with woods, and uncheered even by a hunter's cabin.
Sometimes, indeed, a gigantic larch threw its long shade over the
precipice, and here and there a cliff reared on its brow a monumental
cross, to tell the traveller the fate of him who had ventured thither
before. This spot seemed the very haunt of banditti; and Emily, as she
looked down upon it, almost expected to see them stealing out from
some hollow cave to look for their prey. Soon after an object not less
terrific struck her,--a gibbet standing on a point of rock near the
entrance of the pass, and immediately over one of the crosses she had
before observed. These were hieroglyphics that told a plain and dreadful
story. She forbore to point it out to St. Aubert, but it threw a gloom
over her spirits, and made her anxious to hasten forward, that
they might with certainty reach Rousillon before night-fall. It was
necessary, however, that St. Aubert should take some refreshment, and,
seating themselves on the short dry turf, they opened the basket of
provisions, while

     by breezy murmurs cool'd,
 Broad o'er THEIR heads the verdant cedars wave,
 And high palmetos lift their graceful shade.
 -----THEY draw
 Ethereal soul, there drink reviving gales
 Profusely breathing from the piney groves,
 And vales of fragrance; there at a distance hear
 The roaring floods, and cataracts.*
     *Thomson

St. Aubert was revived by rest, and by the serene air of this summit;
and Valancourt was so charmed with all around, and with the conversation
of his companions, that he seemed to have forgotten he had any further
to go. Having concluded their simple repast, they gave a long farewell
look to the scene, and again began to ascend. St. Aubert rejoiced when
he reached the carriage, which Emily entered with him; but Valancourt,
willing to take a more extensive view of the enchanting country, into
which they were about to descend, than he could do from a carriage,
loosened his dogs, and once more bounded with them along the banks of
the road. He often quitted it for points that promised a wider prospect,
and the slow pace, at which the mules travelled, allowed him to overtake
them with ease. Whenever a scene of uncommon magnificence appeared, he
hastened to inform St. Aubert, who, though he was too much tired to
walk himself, sometimes made the chaise wait, while Emily went to the
neighbouring cliff.

It was evening when they descended the lower alps, that bind Rousillon,
and form a majestic barrier round that charming country, leaving it open
only on the east to the Mediterranean. The gay tints of cultivation once
more beautified the landscape; for the lowlands were coloured with the
richest hues, which a luxuriant climate, and an industrious people can
awaken into life. Groves of orange and lemon perfumed the air, their
ripe fruit glowing among the foliage; while, sloping to the plains,
extensive vineyards spread their treasures. Beyond these, woods and
pastures, and mingled towns and hamlets stretched towards the sea, on
whose bright surface gleamed many a distant sail; while, over the whole
scene, was diffused the purple glow of evening. This landscape with the
surrounding alps did, indeed, present a perfect picture of the lovely
and the sublime, of 'beauty sleeping in the lap of horror.'

The travellers, having reached the plains, proceeded, between hedges
of flowering myrtle and pomegranate, to the town of Arles, where
they proposed to rest for the night. They met with simple, but neat
accommodation, and would have passed a happy evening, after the toils
and the delights of this day, had not the approaching separation thrown
a gloom over their spirit. It was St. Aubert's plan to proceed, on the
morrow, to the borders of the Mediterranean, and travel along its shores
into Languedoc; and Valancourt, since he was now nearly recovered, and
had no longer a pretence for continuing with his new friends, resolved
to leave them here. St. Aubert, who was much pleased with him, invited
him to go further, but did not repeat the invitation, and Valancourt
had resolution enough to forego the temptation of accepting it, that
he might prove himself not unworthy of the favour. On the following
morning, therefore, they were to part, St. Aubert to pursue his way to
Languedoc, and Valancourt to explore new scenes among the mountains, on
his return home. During this evening he was often silent and thoughtful;
St. Aubert's manner towards him was affectionate, though grave, and
Emily was serious, though she made frequent efforts to appear cheerful.
After one of the most melancholy evenings they had yet passed together,
they separated for the night.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: St. Aubert wakes up and is super-jazzed to finally get to Rousillon. The group starts to travel once more. Man, St. Aubert really likes Valancourt. He's also no dummy: he sees Valancourt and Emily acting all lovey-dovey toward each other. This makes St. Aubert think about how rarely nature and simplicity are appreciated in this world. The group comes across a shepherd's cabin with a couple of little kids playing around it. No parents, though. Then the mom of the kids arrives. She's looking pretty down in the dumps, so the travelers ask her what's wrong. Apparently, a gang of gypsies drove away some sheep belonging to her husband's master. The husband is now on the hook for paying for the lost sheep. Oopsie-daisies! Valancourt's a good guy. Even though he's not exactly Mr. Money-Bags, he throws down his remaining money to replace the lost sheep. St. Aubert is impressed. He praises Valancourt for doing the right thing. The group continues on to Rousillon, but Emily's imagination is running a little wild. She sees hieroglyphics on a rock that tell a dreadful story, but she keeps mum because she doesn't want to scare anyone else. Emily likes to tease the reader a little bit. Valancourt and the St. Auberts plan to split up again, as the St. Auberts continue on to Languedoc and Valancourt heads home. It's kind of a bummer for both Emily and St. Aubert that their companion is going to leave, but they try to stay cheerful.