910 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE CHAP. 
scribing the view from the summit of the 
Matterhorn just before the terrible catastrophe 
which overshadows the memory of his first 
ascent. 
“The day was one of those superlatively 
calm, and clear ones which usually precede 
bad weather. The atmosphere was perfectly 
still and free from all clouds or vapours. 
Mountains fifty, nay, a hundred miles off 
looked sharp and near. All their details — 
ridge and crag, snow and glacier — stood out 
with faultless definition. Pleasant thoughts 
of happy days in bygone years came up 
unbidden as we recognised the old familiar 
forms. All were revealed, not one of the 
principal peaks of the Alps was hidden. I see 
them clearly now, the great inner circle of 
giants, backed by the ranges, chains, and 
massifs. . . . Ten thousand feet beneath us 
were the green fields of Zermatt, dotted with 
chalets, from which blue smoke rose lazily. 
Kight thousand feet below, on the other side, 
were the pastures of Breuil. There were black 
and gloomy forests; bright and cheerful 
meadows, bounding waterfalls and tranquil 
