■a Traveller on the Glacier of Burt. 115 



to fuppofe that you are walking merely on the highway, or 

 ftepping from one ftone to another, or along the top of a 

 ftone fence in order to avoid wetting your feet. 



In a word, it is neceffary to place the moll implicit con- 

 fidence in the cautions of your guide. Men of that clafs, 

 when they accompany a traveller, lie under the weight of 

 great refponfibiiity. If an accident fhould take place through 

 their fault, it would ruin their reputation ; and on this re- 

 putation their maintenance depends. The guides, therefore, 

 are interefted by one of thofe motives which are deareft to 

 man, to give good advice; and the traveller ought to obey it. 

 From thefe precautions, which may be called moral, 1 fhall 

 now proceed to the phyiical. 



The moft effential of all is proper fhoes. Three kinds of 

 difficult declivities are found on the Alps— rocks, declivities 

 of ice, and thofe covered with grafs, which are more flippcry 

 than ice when the fole of the fhoe is fmooth, as it generally 

 becomes by walking over them. The ufe of cramp-irons 

 either on the heel, as SaulTure recommends, or placed acrofs 

 the fole, as they are ufed by fome of the mountaineers, will 

 Tender travelling over thefe declivities fecure to a certain 

 degree : but they mull often be put on and taken off, beeaufe 

 they render walking more or lefs cumberfome; which is a 

 great inconvenience. I have found fo much utility in an 

 invention which I fubftitute for them, that I do not hefitatc 

 to recommend it to thofe fond of viiiting thefe romantic 

 fcenes. 



The traveller mud; provide ftrong fhoes, the foles of which 

 are at lead fix lines in thicknefs, and having the upper lea- 

 ther and quarter double to a certain height around the fole. 

 The upper leather mult be exceedingly pliable, in order that 

 if may nowhere hurt the foot, and the fhoes fhould be tried 

 (fevcral times in fhort excurfions before a long journey is un- 

 dertaken with them. Nails of tempered fteel mult be pro- 

 . the tails of which form a fcrewj their heads, not lefs 

 than four lines and a half in diameter, mud be cut into the 

 form of a (qua re pyramid, which will have two points in 

 [uence of the notch cut into each for receiving the 

 driver to fix them in the fhoes, Twelve of thefe nails 



Qj rouft 



