54 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



Although our return to the Millets was accomplished 

 in about half the time of the ascent, yet I was aston- 

 ished at the distance we had traversed, now that my 

 attention was not so much taken away hy the novelty 

 of the scenery and situations. There appeared to be 

 no end to the montets which divide the plateaux ; and 

 after a time, as we descended, the progress became 

 very troublesome, for the snow was beginning to thaw 

 in the sun, and we went up to our knees at every 

 step. We were now not together little parties of 

 three or four dotting the glacier above and in front of 

 us. Everybody chose his own route, and glissaded, 

 or skated, or rolled down, according to his fancy. 

 The sun was very bright and warm we were all very 

 cheerful and merry ; and although I had not had any 

 sleep for two nights, I contrived to keep up tolerably 

 well with the foremost. 



At one o'clock in the afternoon we got back to our 

 old bivouac on the Grands Mulcts. We had intended 

 to have remained here some little time, but the heat 

 on the rock was so stifling that we could scarcely 

 support it ; and Tairraz announced that the glacier 

 was becoming so dangerous to traverse, from the 

 melting of the snow, that even now it would be a 

 matter of some risk to cross it. So we hastily 

 finished our scraps of refreshment, and drank our 

 last bottle of wine out of a stew-pan, by the way, 

 for we had lost our leathern cups in our evolutions 

 on the ice and then, making up our packs, bade 



