258 LIFE OF HORACE BENEDICT DE SAUSSURE 



for the problems that perplex me ; my body is susceptible to fatigue, 

 but my head, which so soon grows weary in the plain, is here absolutely 

 indefatigable. 1 



* Here is the little sketch of my labours you asked for. If you see 

 Uncle Bonnet, express to him my affection and respects, and read him 

 as much of this letter as you think may interest him. If you wrote 

 to me in the silence of the morning, I am writing to you in the silence 

 of the night ; all my companions are asleep, while I, shut up in my 

 tent, buried in my furs, my feet on a hot stone, and seated beside my 

 compass, anticipate with delight the moment which will bring me 

 back to all that is dearest to me. 



' I have just been out to take my observations. What a glorious 

 night ! These snows and rocks, of which the brilliancy is unsupport- 

 able by sunlight, present a wonderful and delightful spectacle by the 

 soft radiance of the moon. How magnificent is the contrast between 

 these granite crags, shadowed or thrown out with such sharpness and 

 boldness, and the brilliant snows ! What a moment for meditation ! 

 For how many trials and privations are not such moments a com- 

 pensation ! The soul is uplifted, the powers of the intelligence seem 

 to widen, and in the midst of this majestic silence one seems to hear the 

 voice of Nature and to become the confidant of her most secret work- 

 ings. 2 Ah ! how I should like to let you share this pleasure you 

 who are so sensitive to all the beauties of nature ! For my uncle 

 I should be afraid lest his weak eyes would find even the moon too 

 dazzling and for my aunt ! I cannot even conceive the idea of her 

 exposed to this cold and exciting air : so that when Bourrit wrote to 

 ask me to lend him my tante for his ascent of Mont Blanc, I reflected 

 I could easily lend him my tent, but for my tante, I very much doubted 

 if she would care to be his companion. But the hour of my watch is 

 over ; I must go and lie down in my tent beside Theodore. 



' The hut is so small that though our beds are only 3 feet wide 

 they fill it entirely one cannot put a foot between them so that I 

 have to get on to my bed and sit up to undress myself. But we sleep 

 excellently, and that is the essential.' 



' 20th July. 



* At last, my dear, here we are, safe and sound, at Courmayeur 

 without the least accident, but a bit tired, as our scamps of guides, 



1 This account of the stimulating effect on the brain of a rarefied atmosphere, 

 repeated emphatically in the Voyages, contrasts markedly with what de Saussure 

 had previously recorded of his experience on the top of Mont Blanc. But the 

 difference in height is over 4700 feet. 



8 Compare Conrad Gesner's outburst in his De Montium Admiratione. 

 (See p. 10.) 



