254 FOREIGN TRA VEL CHAP, vin 



himself so expert a pedestrian that Christian Lauener 

 deemed it quite practicable to proceed on the proposed 

 series of ascents with only himself as guide. They 

 crossed by the Strahleck Pass over to the Finsteraar 

 and Unteraar glaciers, spent some time at the Grimsel 

 studying the marvellous evidence of the vast dimen- 

 sions of the ancient Alpine ice, went to the Rhone 

 glacier, and then to Viesch, the ^Eggischorn and the 

 Marjelen See, where they remained some days taking 

 measurements of the thickness of the ice and the depth 

 of the glacier-lake, and making observations of the 

 temperature of the air. Ramsay had here the great 

 satisfaction of watching the origin and movements of 

 icebergs. Descending the Rhone valley to Visp, they 

 walked up to Zermatt with the intention of ascending 

 Monte Rosa. The ample details of geological observa- 

 tions in Ramsay's note-book of these rambles were 

 afterwards condensed by him in his essay on the Old 

 Glaciers of Switzerland and Wales. They show how 

 continually his experience in Britain enabled him to 

 interpret the phenomena in the Alps, and, on the other 

 hand, how the existing snow-fields and glaciers of the 

 Alps gave new clearness to his conceptions of the 

 vanished ice-sheets of his native country. One or two 

 citations from the note-book may fittingly find a place 

 here. 



' Viesch, 30/7? July. Started at nine for the ^ggi- 

 schorn. On the partial clearing of the mist, ascended 

 the mountain. Tyndall and Lauener pushed on before 

 me, and were at the top twenty minutes or so earlier 

 than I was. The day is not far past when I was at 

 least a match for either of them. Tyndall cannot 

 believe that at forty-four and a half years my best 

 days, as regards strength and agility, should be gone, 



