504 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



our ladder without apprehension 

 such of the chasms as v/ere ex- 

 posed to view ; andj sometimes 

 stopping in the middle of the lad- 

 der, looked down in safety upon 

 an abyss which baffled the reach 

 of vision, and from which the 

 sound of the masses of ice that we 

 repeatedly let fall in no instance 

 ascended to the ear. In some 

 places we were obliged to cut foot- 

 steps with our hatchet ; yet, on 

 the whole, the difficulties were far 

 from great ; for in two hours and 

 a half we had passed the glaciere. 

 We now, with more ease, and 

 much more expedition, pursued 

 our way, having only snow to 

 cross, and in two hours arrived at 

 a hut which had been erected in 

 the year 1786 by the order, and at 

 the expense, of M. de Saussure. 

 The hut was situated on the east- 

 ern side of a rock which had all 

 the appearance of being rotten 

 with age, and which in fact was 

 in a state of such complete decay, 

 that, on my retvnn the next even- 

 ing, I saw scattered on the snow 

 many tons of its fragments, which 

 had fallen in my absence ; but the 

 ruin was not on the side on which 

 the hut was built. Immediately 

 on oiir arrival, which was at five 

 in the afternoon, the guides began 

 to empty the hut of its snow ; and 

 at seven we sat down to eat ; but 

 our stomachs had little relish for 

 food, and felt a particular distaste 

 for wine i>nd spiiits. A^'ater, 

 which we obtained by melting 

 snow in a kettle, was the only 

 p datable drinli. Some of the 

 guides complained of a heavy dis- 

 heartening sickness ; and my .'^wit-s 

 Sfrvaiit, who had accompanied me 

 at his own request, was seized 

 with excessive vomiting, and the 



pains of the severest headach. But 

 from these complaints, which ap- 

 parently arose from the extreme 

 lightness of the air in those ele- 

 vated regions, I myself and some 

 of the guides were free, except, 

 as before observed, that We had 

 little appetite for food, and a 

 strong aversion to the taste of 

 spirituous liquors. We now pre- 

 pared for rest ; on which two of 

 the guides, preferring the open 

 air, threw theln selves down at the 

 entrance of the hut, and slept 

 upon the rock. I too was de- 

 sirous of sleep ; but my thoughts 

 were troubled with the apprehen- 

 sion that, although I had now 

 completed one half of the road, 

 the vapours might collect on the 

 summit of the mountain, and frus- 

 trate all my hopes. Or if at any 

 time the rest 1 wished for came, 

 my repose was soon disturbed by 

 the noise of the luasses of snow 

 which were loosened by the wind 

 from the heights around me, and 

 which, accumulating in bulk as 

 they rolled, tumbled at length 

 fiom the prcc-ipices into the vales 

 below, and produced upon the ear 

 the effect of redoubled bursts of 

 thunder. At two o'clock 1 threw 

 aside my blankets, and went out 

 of the hut to observe the appear- 

 ance of the heavens. The stars 

 shone with a lustre that far ex- 

 ceeded the brightness which they 

 exhibit when seen from the usual 

 level ; and had so little tremor in 

 their light, as to leave no doubt 

 on my mind that, if viewed from 

 tlie summit of the mountain, they 

 would liave appeared as fixed 

 points How improved in those 

 altitudes would be the aids which 

 the telescope gives to vision ; in- 

 deed, the clearness of the air was 



such 



