ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 35 



were soon bustling about, and making their arrange- 

 ments for the work before us. They had not much 

 to carry now. Everything, with the exception of a 

 few bottles of wine, some small loaves, and two or 

 three cold fowls, was to be left on the Grands Mulcts : 

 there was no danger of theft from passers-by, as Car- 

 rier observed. This quarter of an hour before mid- 

 night was, I think, the heaviest during the journey. 

 Now that we were going to leave our lodging, I did 

 feel uncommonly tired; and wild and rugged as it 

 was, I began to think the blankets and wrappers 

 looked very comfortable in the ruddy firelight, com- 

 pared to the glooming desert of ice before us. The 

 moon was still low that is to say, the light on the 

 mountain had not come farther down than the top of 

 the Aiguille du Goute, so that we were in comparative 

 darkness. Three or four lanterns were fitted up with 

 candles ; and Jean Tairraz had a fine affair like a 

 Chinese balloon, or more truly the round lampions 

 used in French illuminations, only larger; and this 

 he tied behind liini to light me as I followed. 

 Michael Devouassoud took the lead ; we came after 

 him with regular numbers of guides, each traveller 

 having a lantern carried before him, and then another 

 guide or two, lightly laden. In this order, in single 

 file, we left the Grands Mulets not by the scram- 

 bling route of our arrival, but by the upper portion 

 of the rocks, where we descended at once, in a few 

 feet, to the snow. As we passed the upper Mulets, 



