visible as the mountain itself, to which the eye was directed, down the
river, the banks of which were adorned with trees, villages, houses, &c.
and the view terminated by this the most glorious monument in nature.
When I first saw the mountain, it had the appearance of an infinite
number of rocks cut into _conical_ forms, and built one upon another to
a prodigious height. Upon a nearer view, each cone appeared of itself a
mountain; and the _tout ensemble_ compose an enormous mass of the
_Lundus Helmonti_, or plumb-pudding stone, fourteen miles in
circumference, and what the Spaniards _call_ two leagues in height. As
it is like unto no other mountain, so it stands quite unconnected with
any, though not very distant from some very lofty ones. Near the base of
it, on the south side, are two villages, the largest of which is
_Montrosol_; but my eyes were attracted by two ancient towers, which
flood upon a hill near _Colbaton_, the smallest, and we drove to that,
where we found a little _posada_, and the people ready enough to furnish
us with mules and asses, for we were now become quite impatient to visit
the hallowed and celebrated convent, _De Neustra Senora_; a convent, to
which pilgrims resort from the furthest parts of Europe, some bearing,
by way of penance, heavy bars of iron on their backs, others cutting and
slashing their naked bodies with wire cords, or crawling to it on
all-fours, like the beasts of the field, to obtain forgiveness of their
sins, by the intercession of _our Lady of Montserrat_.

When we had ascended a steep and rugged road, about one hour, and where
there was width enough, and the precipices not too alarming, to give our
eyes the utmost liberty, we had an earnest of what we were to expect
above, as well as the extensive view below; our impatience to see more
was encreased by what we had already seen; the majestic convent opened
to us a view of her venerable walls; some of the hermits' cells peeped
over the broken precipices still higher; while we, glutted with