On horseback a new charm was diffused over this extraordinary girl. On the brink of the most frightful precipices, along which the animal, accustomed to these romantic tracks, cautiously proceeded with his lovely burden, Mimili sat with perfect negligence and ease, as though flying over abysses of such tremendous depth that the eye could not discover the bottom. If the beast were to make but one false step, the angelic girl must inevitably perish. I durst not look down into the dark ravines, where the loftiest pines appeared no taller than a gooseberry bush, and the cottages of the inhabitants no bigger than children’s card-houses. I turned giddy with looking down into the immeasurable depth, where an impetuous torrent roared along its rocky channel, and fixed my eyes in silent confidence on my adventurous guide, who paused at intervals, to admire the glory of the morning and the rich and diversified scenery of nature.
About nine o’clock we dismounted. Mimili had brought with her a sandwich and a bottle of red Corteillod in the pocket of her saddle. We sat down on the turf, beside a limpid stream, in the shade of a grove of walnut-trees. She poured out the sparkling beverage into a silver goblet, and, with a thousand jokes and gambols, we emptied the bottle, and rested ourselves on the sweet grass. Not a creature in the wide
