OLD ALPINE JOTTINGS. 471 



ice-fall, and coming down by the Zasenberg. The 

 second day was spent upon the upper glacier. The 

 sunset covered the crest of the Eiger with indescribable 

 glory that evening, causing the dinner-table to be for- 

 saken while it lasted. It gave definition to a vague 

 desire which I had previously entertained ; and I ar- 

 ranged forthwith with Christian Michel, a famous old 

 roadster, to attempt the Eiger, engaging Peter Bauman, 

 a strong and gallant climber, to act as second guide. 



At half-past one o'clock on the morning of the llth 

 we started from the Wengern Alp. No trace of cloud 

 was visible in the heavens, which were sown broadcast 

 with stars. Those low down twinkled with extraordi- 

 nary vivacity, many of them flashing in quick succession 

 lights of different colours. When an opera-glass was 

 pointed to one of these flashing stars, and shaken, the 

 line of light described by the image of the star resolved 

 itself into a string of richly-coloured beads : rubies and 

 emeralds were hung thus together on the same curve. 

 The dark intervals between the beads corresponded to 

 the moments of extinction of the star through the 

 ' interference ' of its own rays in our atmosphere. Over 

 the summit of the Wetterhorn the Pleiades hung like a 

 diadem, while at intervals a solitary meteor shot across 

 the sky. 



We passed along the Alp, and then over the balled 

 snow and broken ice, shot down from the end of a glacier 

 which fronted us. Here the ascent began ; we passed 

 by turns from scow to rock and from rock to snow. 

 The steepness for a time was moderate, the only thing 

 requiring caution being the thin crusts of ice upon the 

 rocks over which water had trickled the previous day. 

 The east gradually brightened, the stars became paler 

 and disappeared, and at length the crown of the ad- 

 jacent Jungfrau rose out of the twilight into the purple 



