OLD ALPINE JOTTINGS. 483 



showers beyond the cabin. Four ice-axes were fixed on 

 the Irdge, and over them was spread the residue of a 

 second tent which I had left at Breuil in 1 862. The 

 water falling upon the canvas flowed towards its centre. 

 Here an orifice was formed, through which the liquid 

 descended into vessels placed to receive it. Some 

 modification of this plan might probably be employed 

 with profit for the storing up of water in droughty 

 years by the farmers of England. 



I lay for some hours in the warm sunshine in 

 presence of the Italian mountains, watching the muta- 

 tions of the air. But when the sun sank the air 

 became chill and we all retired into the cabin. We had 

 no fire, though warmth was much needed. A lover of 

 the mountains and of his kind had contributed an 

 india-rubber mattress to the cabin. On this I lay down, 

 a light blanket being thrown over me, while the guides 

 and porters were rolled up in sheepskins. The mattress 

 was a poor defence against the cold of the subjacent 

 rock. I bore this for two hours, unwilling to disturb 

 the guides, but at length it became intolerable. The 

 little circles with a speck of intensified redness in the 

 centre, which spotted the neck of our volunteer porter, 

 had prevented me from availing myself of the warmth of 

 my companions, so I lay alone and suffered the penalty 

 of isolation. On learning my condition, however, the 

 good fellows were soon alert, and folding a sheepskin 

 round me restored me gradually to a pleasant tem- 

 perature. I fell asleep, and found the guides prepar- 

 ing breakfast and the morning well advanced when I 

 opened my eyes. 



It was past six o'clock when the two Maquignazs 

 and myself quitted the cabin. The porters deemed 

 their work accomplished, but they halted for a time to 

 ascertain whether we were likely to be driven back o 



