o much violence, and so long, that the people said, winter was
come before its time; and the roads, which were difficult before, were
now quite impassable: in a word, the snow lay in some places too thick
for us to travel; and being not hard frozen, as is the case in northern
countries, there was no going without being in danger of being buried
alive every step. We staid no less than twenty days at Pampeluna; when
(seeing the winter coming on, and no likelihood of its being better, for
it was the severest winter all over Europe that had been known in many
years) proposed that we should all go away to Fontarabia, and there take
shipping for Boardeaux, which was a very little voyage.

But while we were considering this, there came in four French gentlemen,
who, having been stopped on the French side of the passes, as we were on
the Spanish, had found out a guide, who traversing the country near the
head of Languedoc, had brought them over the mountains by such ways,
that they were not much incommoded with the snow; and where they met
with snow in any quantity, they said it was frozen hard enough to bear
them and their horses.

We sent for this guide, who told us, he would undertake to carry us the
same way, with no hazard from the snow, provided we were armed
sufficiently to protect us from wild beasts: for he said, upon these
great snows, it was frequent for some wolves to show themselves at the
foot of the mountains, being made ravenous for want of food, the ground
being covered with snow. We told him we were well enough prepared for
such creatures as they were, if he would ensure us from a kind of
two-legged wolves, which we were told we were in most danger from,
especially on the French side of the mountains.

He satisfied us there was no danger of that kind in the way that we were
to go: so we readily agreed to follow him; as did also twelve other
gentlemen, with their servants, some French, some Spanish, who, as I
said, had attempted to go, and were obliged to come back again.

Accordingly we all set out from Pampeluna, with our guide, on the
fifteenth of November; and indeed I was surprised, when, instead of
going forward, he came directly back with us, on the same road that we
came from Madrid, above twenty miles; when having passed two rivers, and
come into the plain country, we found ourselves in a warm climate again,
where the country was pleasant, and no snow to be seen; but on a sudden,
turning to the left