reservoir, and employed to feed a _jet d'eau_
which rises in a lofty column under the castle windows. Further up,
the valley again contracts, until the Gorge de Loiret is passed. The
road then crosses to the left bank, and used to be continued along it,
but the terrible torrent of 1868 washed it away for miles, and it has
not yet been reconstructed. Temporary bridges enable the route to be
pursued by the old road on the right bank, and after passing through
several hamlets of little interest, we arrive at length at the
cultivated plain hemmed in by lofty mountains, in the midst of which
Bourg d'Oisans lies seated.

This little plain was formerly occupied by the lake of St. Laurent,
formed by the barrier of rocks and debris which had tumbled down from
the flank of the Petite Voudene, a precipitous mountain escarpment
overhanging the river. At this place, the strata are laid completely
bare, and may be read like a book. For some distance along the valley
they exhibit the most extraordinary contortions and dislocations,
impressing the mind with the enormous natural forces that must have
been at work to occasion such tremendous upheavings and disruptions.
Elie de Beaumont, the French geologist, who has carefully examined the
district, says that at the Montagne d'Oisans he found the granite in
some places resting upon the limestone, cutting through the Calcareous
beds, rising like a wall and lapping over them.

On arriving at Bourg d'Oisans, we put up at the Hotel de Milan close
by the bridge; but though dignified with the name of hotel, it is only
a common roadside inn. Still, it is tolerably clean, and in summer the
want of carpets is not missed. The people were civil and attentive,
their bread wholesome, their pottage and bouilli good--being such fare
as the people of the locality contrive to live and thrive upon. The
accommodation of the place is, indeed, quite equal to the demand; for
very few travellers accustomed to a better style of living pass that
way. When the landlady was asked if many tourists had passed this
year, she replied, "Tourists! We rarely see such travellers here. You
are the first this season, and perhaps you may be the last."

Yet these valleys are well worthy of a visit, and an influx of
tourists would doubtless have the same effect that it has already had
in Switzerland and elsewhere, of greatly improving the hotel
accommodation throughout the district. There are many domestic
arrangements, cost