292 A Week among the Glaciers. 
to make the foundations of our beds as smooth as the circum- 
stances of the place would permit; we selected each one his 
place, and spread upon it his sheepskin, while a knapsack served 
the purpose of a pillow. I had just wrapped my blanket around 
me, as the sun was sinking below the horizon, throwing its lurid 
glare upon the snow-capped summits, which now above, below, 
and on either side, rose in close proximity, presenting a scene in 
which were mingled the beautiful, and sublime, and more than 
repaying any lover of nature for the fatigues endured in obtaining 
the sight. I now prepared for sleep, but the novelty of the post 
tion, the deathlike stillness, and the events of the day crowding 
before my imagination precluded sleep, while the vast expanse of — 
the blue arch of heaven, which was my canopy, studded with its _ 
myriads of scintillating lights, invited contemplation rather that 
repose. : 
I was not allowed long to enjoy this scene of tranquillity | 
silence, for the day had been one of excessive heat, and its effects 
began to be manifested by the fall of avalanches. Situated as 
the Grand Mulets are, about ten thousand feet above the level of 
the sea, below the Grand Plateau, at two thirds of the height of 
Mont Blanc, within two thousand five hundred feet of the summit 
of the Aiguille de Midi, and projecting from the middle of the 
glacier, they stand as opponents to very many of the avalanches 
that fall from either of these elevated points. I had not lain 
more than twenty minutes, when I was aroused bya tremendous 
crash, while the entire rock still vibrated from the concussion of 
the ponderous mass: as J sprang to my feet, and looked over the 
mountain side, by the light of the moon, which had just risen, 
making every object, though enlarged and softened, almost as 
distinct as noonday, this mass of snow and ice could be seen hut 
rying and rushing headlong in its course, till ground and broken 
by its own violence it settled down still and tranquil, thousands 
of feet below, amid the ever moving glacier. ‘They continued 
to fall for about one hour; at first the interval between was some 
ten minutes, then more frequently, till becoming less frequent, 
they ceased altogether, and universal stillness reigned once more; 
broken only now and then, by what is termed the groanings of 
the Alps, which is the cracking of the ice among the glaciers. — 
The fall of the avalanches at this hour is caused by the effect 
of the sun, (melting the ice,) and at this high point it requires 
