570 Journey to the Summit of Mont Perdu. 



areiia alpina in full bloom. I never saw the latter so 

 vigorous and so beautiful as I did at an elevation which is 

 the greatest, perhaps, at which parasitic plants have been 

 observed in the same latitude. 



These organic beings were the last I met with on the sum- 

 mit of Mont Perdu. I remained on it two hours; and to 

 whatever distance I turned my eyes I observed no living 

 creature but an eagle which passed over us, flying directly 

 against the wind with inconceivable rapidity : in less than 

 a minute we lost sight of it. 



We struggled against this impetuous wind, over which, 

 an eagle triumphed so easily, and which made us experi- 

 ence a considerable degree of cold. No wind diminishes 

 so speedily the sensible heat as the south wind, when one 

 is exposed to its action in the superior regions of the atmo- 

 sphere : it derives this property from its dryness and rapi- 

 ditv, which promote and hasten the evaporation of which 

 bodies are susceptible. We were penetrated by it, though 

 the thermometer indicated a very low temperature. This 

 is the only inconvenience I experienced. We could breathe 

 without difficulty this air so light, and which is not suffi-. 

 cient for the respiration of many others. I have more than 

 once seen vigorous persons obliged to stop at a less height. 

 On the Col dn Geant, where the air was not so highly ra- 

 refied, Saussure experienced a shortness of breath and un- 

 easiness as soon as he made the least exertion. Here nothing 

 similar occurred ; the state of the pulse only indicated a 

 change independent of the agitation of the journey : it was 

 not calmed by rest. During the whole time that we conti- 

 nued on the summit it remained small, tense, and accele- 

 rated in the ratio of 5 to 4. This fever, which is nervous, 

 announced the uneasiness we should have experienced at a 

 greater height; but, according to what we experienced, it 

 was attended with an effect contrary to what a degree more 

 would have produced. Far from occasioning dejection, it 

 seemed to support my strength and to rouse my spirits. I 

 am persuaded that we were often indebted to it for that 

 ability of the limbs, delicacy of sensation, and flights of 

 fancy, which instantly dissipated our fatigue and apprehen- 

 sion of danger ; and we ought not, perhaps, to seek any 

 where else for the secret cause of that enthusiasm found in 

 the accounts of all those who have ascended to extraordinary 

 heights. 



LXI. Ac- 



