GLACIERS. 



ing and throwing down large masses of 

 each, which are termed avalanches in 

 some parts of the country, and lauwine 

 in others; those tremendous bodies, ac- 

 cumulating by adhesion in their progress, 

 overwhelm every thing in their way, and 

 rush to the valliesfrom the highest sum- 

 mits, whence various other causes serve 

 to detach them. Here the traveller often 

 meets a dreadful and instantaneous fate ; 

 but humanity has endeavoured to obviate 

 it as far as human abilities will permit. 

 Matthison, who visited the monastery of 

 St. Bernard, founded forthe relief of those 

 who. cross the Alps.speaks thus of the lau- 

 wine or avalanche, and the excellent ca- 

 nons of St. Bernard : In the very worst 

 seasons, as often as it snows, or the wea- 

 ther is foggy, some of 4 these benevolent 

 persons go forth with long poles, and, 

 guided by their excellent dogs, seek the 

 highway, which these sagacious animals 

 never miss, how difficult soever to find. 

 If then the wretched traveller has sunk 

 beneath the force of the falling lauwine, 

 or is immersed in the snow in a benumb- 

 ing swoon, how deeply soever he may be 

 buried, the dogs never fail of finding the 

 place of his interment, which they point 

 out by scratching and snuffling, when the 

 sufferer is dug out and carried to the mo- 

 nastery, where every possible exertion is 

 Used for his restoration. The number of 

 those who lose their lives in the field of 

 battle is known to all Europe, but no one 

 could give me an account what number 

 have thus had the gift of life conferred on 

 them a second time. Yet, notwithstanding 

 all the care and attention of these real 

 friends of mankind, and their faithful 

 dogs, scarcely a year passes, but, as the 

 snow melts away in summer, the deaoTbo- 

 dies of travellers are discovered, who, re- 

 mote from their homes, and all that was 

 dear to them, have perished here unno- 

 ticed and unknown. As the ground for 

 a considerable extent round the monaste- 

 ry is solid rock, the dead bodies are col- 

 lected together in a chapel, lying on its 

 eastern side, which is made to admit a 

 thorough draft of air by openings in the 

 walls, guarded by large iron bars. The 

 sight of so many unfortunate persons, 

 probably collected from various parts of 

 the world, yet, howsoever remote from 

 each other in life, brought hither by an 

 unfortunate similarity of fate to rest -to- 

 gether in death, afflicted my inmost soul. 

 They are all covered with palls, and as in 

 this frozen region no exanimate body 

 moulders, but only gradually shrivels and 

 dries away, so the features remain undis- 



figured for a considerable length of time* 

 and some have even been recognized by 

 friends and relations, after having lain, 

 here for two or three years. The bodies 

 are not disposed one over the other, but 

 are all placed upright, and each fresh 

 corpse leans its head on the breast of the 

 former ; this disposition has something 

 familiar in it, and gives them the sem- 

 blance of being united only in a general 

 slumber. .Four rows of these slumberers 

 already rest here, from the faces and 

 hands of many of whom the palls have 

 slipped off and left them uncovered: 

 these have all a perfect mummy-like ap- 

 pearance." The fall of the avalanche 

 necessarily reduces the quantity of snow 

 and frozen fluid on the summits, and the 

 transfer of it to a warmer region must 

 facilitate its dissolution. The lower gla- 

 ciers, though not subject to equally pre- 

 cipitate descent, cannot otherwise than 

 gradually advance towards the v allies, 

 which may be inferred from the constant 

 passage of torrents under them, and 

 their own enormous weight ; besides the 

 chasms that universally intersect them 

 plainly evince, that their foundations be- 

 ing partially undermined, they glide slow- 

 ly downward, overturning trees, and 

 pushing stones before them ; the edges 

 obtruded on the earth by this means na- 

 turally dissolve far more rapidly than jf 

 they remained stationary. 



Another means of dissolution arises 

 from evaporation, which takes place on 

 every portion of the globe, however ele- 

 vated. Exclusive of the above causes, 

 are- the constant play of the beams of the 

 sun on the surfaces of the glaciers, which 

 being capable of redoubled heat by con- 

 centration and refraction in some favour- 

 able positions, must produce very violent 

 thaws ; the air heated by this and similar 

 means, in other parts of the mountains, 

 often meets the traveller in streams, 

 which seem as if proceeding from a hot 

 bath, consequently those projections sub- 

 ject to their influence must vanish ra- 

 pidly; but a more certain and regular 

 change occurs from the mean tempera- 

 ture of the earth, where the transition 

 from summer heats to winter colds can- 

 not ever take place. " This mean tem- 

 perature," says Mr. Coxe, " termed by 

 some 'philosophers the internal heat of 

 the earth, is always above the freezing 

 point, as is evident from the heat of the 

 springs which issue from the bowels of 

 the earth. In winter, therefore, or in 

 those high regions of the globe, where 

 the cold is usually below the freezing. 



