GLA 



GLA 



point, when any spot of ground is cover- 

 ed with only a thin coat of snow, it may 

 be so tar cooled, to a certain depth, by 

 the influence of the external air, as not 

 to be capable of dissolving any part of 

 the superincumbent snow. But when 

 the mass of snow is of such a thickness 

 as to protect the surface of the ground 

 from the eft'ects of the atmospherical 

 cold, the mean temperature, which is al- 

 ways above the freezing point, will be 

 sufficient to melt the contiguous surface 

 of snow, and to occasion a constant thaw, 

 which supplies those currents of water 

 that flow at all seasons from the upper 

 and lower glaciers." 



Having endeavoured to explain the 

 causes of the glaciers and their changes, 

 it will be proper to give an idea of their 

 sublimity in the words of M Bourrit, 

 who appears to have viewed and describ- 

 ed them with all that enthusiasm which 

 such splendid objects must have inspired. 

 " To come at this collected mass of ice 

 (Des Bois) we crossed the Arve, and tra- 

 velling in a tolerable road, passed some 

 villages or hamlets, whose inhabitants be- 

 haved with much politeness; they invited 

 us to go in and rest ourselves, apologiz- 

 ing for our reception, and offered us a 

 taste of their honey. After amusing our- 

 selves some time amongst them, we re- 

 sumed our road, and entered a beautiful 

 wood of lofty firs, inhabited by squirrels. 

 The bottom is a fine sand, left there by 

 the inundations of the Arveron ; it is a 

 very agreeable walk, and exhibits some 

 extraordinary appearances. In propor- 

 tion as we advanced into this wood, we 

 observed the objects gradually to vanish 

 from our sight ; surprised at this circum- 

 stance, we were earnest to discover the 

 cause, and our eyes sought in vain for sa- 

 tisfaction, till, having passed through it, 

 the charm ceased. Judge of our asto- 

 nishment, when we saw before us an 

 enormous mass of ice, twenty times as 

 large as the front of our cathedral of St. 

 Peter, and so constructed, that we have 

 only to change our situation to make it 

 resemble whatever we please. It is a 

 magnificent palace, cased over with the 

 purest crystal : a majestic temple, orna- 

 mented with a portico, and columns of 

 several shapes and colours ; it has the 

 appearance of a fortress, flanked with 

 towers and bastions to the right and left, 

 and at bottom is a grotto, terminating in 

 a dome of bold construction. This fairy 

 dwelling, this enchanted residence, or 

 cave of fancy, is the source of the Arve- 

 ron, and of the gold which is found in the 

 Arve. And if we add to all this rich va- 



riety, the ringing tinkling sound of water 

 dropping from its sides, with the glitter- 

 ing refraction of the solar rajs, whilst 

 tints of the most lively green, or blue, 

 or yellow, or violet, have the effect of 

 different compartments, in the several 

 divisions of the grotto, the whole is so 

 theatrically splendid, so completely pic- 

 turesque, so beyond imagination great 

 and beautiful, that I can hardly believe 

 the art of man has ever yet produced, 

 nor ever will produce, a building so 

 grand in its construction, or so varied in 

 its ornaments. Desirous of surveying 

 every side of this mass, we crossed the 

 river about four hundred yards from its 

 source, and mounting upon the rocks 

 and ice, approached the vault ; but while 

 we were attentively employed in view- 

 ing all its parts, astonished at the spor- 

 tiveness of fancy, we cast our eyes at one 

 considerable member of the pile above 

 us, which was unaccountably supported ; 

 it seemed to hold by almost nothing : 

 our imprudence was too evident, and we 

 hastened to retreat ; yet scarcely had we 

 stepped back thirty paces before it broke 

 off all at once, with a prodigious noise, 

 and tumbled, rolling to the very spot 

 where we were standing just before. 



GLACIS, in fortification, that mass of 

 earth which serves as a parapet to the 

 covered way, sloping easily towards the 

 champaign, or field. The glacis, other- 

 wise called esplanade, is about six feet 

 high, and loses itself by an insensible di- 

 minution in the space of ten fathoms. 



GLADIATORS, persons who fought 

 for the amusement of the public in the 

 arenas of amphitheatres in the city of 

 Rome, and at other places under the do- 

 minion of the Romans. The term is de- 

 rived from their use of the gladius, or 

 sword ; and the origin of this horrid cus- 

 tom is said to have been the practice of 

 sacrificing captives to the manes of chiefs 

 killed in battle. It seems, however, 

 more probable, that it arose from the 

 funeral games of antiquity, when the 

 friends of the deceased fought in honour 

 of his memory ; an instance of whicl^oc- 

 curs in the twenty -third book of the 

 Iliad, at the burning of the body of Pa- 

 troclus. Achilles having ordained every 

 solemn rite usual upon those occasions, 

 Homer adds, 



'* The prizes next are ordered to the 

 field, 



For the bold champions who theczestus 

 wield." 



The leather which composed the csestus 

 being loaded with lead, enabled the com- 

 batants to give each other mortal blows, 



