240 LIFE OF HORACE BENEDICT DE SAUSSURE 



These were not the only verses dedicated to the climbers. Paccard 

 had his poetess in a Mile. Chapuis, who in two lines summarised the 

 discussion in his favour : 



' De Saussure a la cime est arriv6 trop tard 

 Et deja le Mont Blanc etait le Mont Paccard.' 



And she met with a sympathiser in the Gazette de Lausanne (August 



25, 1787) : 



' Mortels, ne courez plus apres un vain renom, 

 L'Erreur et 1'In justice maitrisent la Nature: 

 Vespuce a 1'Amerique a su dormer son nom 

 Et le Mont Paccard est nomine le Mont Saussure.' 



There was no limit to the congratulations and poetical tributes 

 showered on the heroes of the hour. One came from a murderer in 

 prison enduring a life sentence, a noble Savoyard of the name of de 

 Coppenex. It was described as by ' Le petit domicilie de 1'Hotel de 

 Patience, le dix-huit du mois d'Auguste et la cent vingt-neuvieme lune 

 de sa captivite.' 



These effusions, however small their literary claims, seem worth 

 notice, as evidence of the interest created at the time by de Saussure's 

 success, and also as specimens of a class of composition topical squibs 

 much in favour in the Geneva of the eighteenth century. 



We have an interesting comment on the Epitre in a manuscript note 

 on the copy of it preserved in the Library of the Geneva branch of the 

 Swiss Alpine Club. Good grounds exist for believing it to be written 

 by the late M. Henri de Saussure, the grandson of Horace Benedict. 

 In any case, the opinion of the character of Jacques Balmat here 

 expressed coincides exactly with that given to me verbally by M. H. de 

 Saussure when I visited him at Genthod in 1891. The note runs : 



' The preceding Epitre must be considered as a disguised diatribe 

 directed against H. B. de Saussure. It appeared at an epoch when 

 the revolutionary agitation in France had begun to spread to Geneva, 

 and when certain parties strove to depreciate everything connected 

 with the old families. 



' The following Dialogue set things fairly right. Jacques Balmat 

 was never anything but a hired journeyman (ouvrier) of H. B. de Saussure. 

 It was only the prospect of the large reward offered by the latter 

 which ended in drawing Balmat to the top of Mont Blanc. He several 

 times abandoned his attempt on finding himself followed by other 

 guides. Always greedy of gain, his great fear was that of having to 

 share with others, not the glory, but the money. That is, no doubt, 

 what Marignie would have put in Balmat's mouth had he known the 

 facts. 



' Balmat presents the most exact specimen of the type of Savoyard 

 with a spirit limited to narrow interests. If he ended by associating 



