TEN YEARS' ALPINE TRAVEL (1774-84) 165 



and I found myself half seated and half astride on the snow. At the 

 same moment Pierre, who was close behind me, fell also in almost the 

 same position. He at once cried out to me as loudly and imperatively 

 as he could, " Don't stir, Monsieur don't make the least movement." 

 I recognised that we were over a crevasse, and that any inopportune 

 exertion might break the snow which still supported us. The other 

 guide, who was one or two paces in front, and who had not fallen, 

 remained planted where he stood. Pierre, without himself moving, cried 

 out to him to ascertain the direction of the crevasse and of its least 

 breadth ; interrupting himself at every instant to beg me not to move. 

 I assured him I would remain motionless, that I was quite calm, and 

 that he had nothing to do but to join me in considering with as little 

 emotion as possible the best way to get out of our difficulty. I saw it 

 was needful to give these assurances, because the two guides were in 

 such a state of nervousness that I was afraid they would lose their 

 heads. We came to the conclusion that the line we were taking had 

 been at right angles to the crevasse, and the fact that my left foot had 

 support, while my right found none, confirmed me in this. As for 

 Pierre, his two feet were both in the air, the snow had even given way 

 between his legs, and through the opening he saw beneath himself and 

 me the void and the green depths of the crevasse. Our actual situation 

 made clear, he placed in front of me the two crossed sticks and I threw 

 myself on them, Pierre in turn did the same, and we thus both happily 

 escaped from our ' ' mauvais pas ." As for the second guide, he remained 

 where he stood, without holding out a hand to one or other of us ; and 

 it is true we had not asked him. But he told us afterwards very quietly 

 that he had reflected that if Pierre and I fell into the crevasse, it would be 

 as well that he should remain clear of it to get us out.' [Voyages, 675.] 



We have now run through the mountain tours of the period 

 with which we are dealing (1774-84) that are recorded or sum- 

 marised in the Voyages. The mountaineer of the present day 

 may be struck by the frequent returns to old ground, the absence 

 of any passion for exploration, or any evidence of the pursuit of 

 scenery for its own sake . He will note the lack of any descriptions 

 of the beauties of the Bernese Oberland, the splendour of the Jung- 

 frau seen from the Wengern Alp, the noble landscape of the Vale 

 of Grindelwald, or the woodland glades of Rosenlaui. That in his 

 published works de Saussure makes such scanty reference to his 

 travels in this district may possibly point to a scruple on his part 

 in trespassing on the field of his friends Haller and Wyttenbach. 

 But in other parts of the Alps no such reason can be alleged. In 



