OF ASCENDING MOUNTAINS. 41 



I may briefly mention in confirmation of your 

 own. The pulse I have always found amazingly 

 accelerated, and also the respirations; but 

 without any marked increase of the temperature 

 of the body, I mean of the deep seated parts, 

 as shown by the thermometer placed under the 

 tongue. The last mountain I ascended, was 

 Groatfield in the island of Arran, in height only 

 a little inferior to Scawfell, being 2900 feet 

 above the level of the sea, from which it rises 

 rapidly, the distance from the shore from 

 Brodick, the village from which I started, 

 being only about two miles and a half as it is 

 roughly estimated. On reaching the summit, 

 I counted my pulse and respirations ; the pulse 

 was 120 and bounding, the respirations 32 and 

 laborious. After resting ten minutes, the res- 

 pirations were diminished to 16, the pulse to 

 90 ; and after ten minutes more, to 14 and 84 ; 

 . ordinarily the one is about 13 or 14, the other 

 about 50. Even after this rest, looking at the 

 second hand of my watch I saw double, warning 

 me of the danger of apoplexy. Such danger it 

 is easy to understand, from the increased action 

 of the heart, if, as is so often the case in 

 advancing age, there is a weakened state of the 



