MILITAR Y AD VENTURES. 203 



their tops which were covered with eternal 

 snow, the whiteness and purity of which, 

 standing out against the deep blue sky, 

 formed a most splendid contrast. I do not 

 think I shall ever forget the wild and wonder- 

 ful magnificence of this scene a scene that 

 I fancy stands unrivalled in the world for 

 grandeur and perfect beauty. It made a 

 heavenly impression on my mind at the 

 time, and it seemed to lift my thoughts 

 above the world. I think when the body is 

 very weak and the soul halfway, as it were, 

 and hovering between the two worlds, our 

 thoughts are much more pure and heavenly 

 than when in robust health : my belief is, 

 that before our heavenly Father takes us 

 to himself, our ideas I mean our earthly 

 ones are softened and purified, and we 

 see things, which before were incompre- 

 hensible to us, much more clearly, and 



