130 



THE FORMS OF WATER 



peak and ridge, arc the collectors of its neves. 

 From three great valleys formed in the heart 

 of the mountains these neves are poured, 

 uniting together to form the trunk of the 

 Aletsch at a place named by a witty moun- 

 taineer, the " Place de la Concorde of Na- 

 ture." If the phrase be meant to convey 

 the ideas of tranquil grandeur, beauty of 

 form, and purity of hue, it is well bestowed. 

 JB4.S. Our hotel is not upon the peak of the 

 ,/Eiggischhorn, but a brisk morning walk 

 soon places us upon the top. Thence we see 

 the glacier like a broad river stretching up- 

 ward to the roots of the Jungfrau, and 

 downward past the Bel Alp toward its end. 

 Prolonging the vision downward, we strike 

 the noblest mountain group in all the Alps 

 the Dora and its attendant peaks, the Matter- 



horn and the Weisshorn. The scene indeed 

 is one of impressive grandeur, a multitude of 

 peaks and crests here unearned contributing 

 to its glory. 



840. But low down to our right, and sur- 

 rounded by the sheltering mountains, is an 

 object the beauty of which startles those who 

 are unprepared for it. Yonder we see the 

 naked side of the glacier, exposing glistening 

 ice-cliffs sixty or seventy feet high. It 

 would seem as if the Aletsch here were en- 

 gaged in the vain attempt to thrust an arm 

 through a lateral valley. It once did so ; but 

 the arm is now incessantly broken off close 

 to the body of the glacier, a great space for- 

 merly covered by the ice being occupied by 

 its water of liquefaction. A lake of the love- 

 liest blue is thus formed, which reaca^ quit 



Fio. 14. 



Fro. 



