292 A Week among the Glaciers. 



to make the foundations of our beds as smooth as the circum- 

 stances of the place would permit ; we selected each one his 

 place, and spread upon it his sheepskin, while a knapsack served 

 the purpose of a pillow. I had just wrapped my blanket around 

 me, as the sun was sinking below the horizon, throwing its lurid 

 glare upon the snow-capped summits, which now above, below, 

 and on either side, rose in close proximity, presenting a scene in 

 which were mingled the beautiful, and sublime, and more than 

 repaying any lover of nature for the fatigues endured in obtaining 

 the sight. I now prepared for sleep, but the novelty of the posi- 

 tion, the deathlike stillness, and the events of the day crowding 

 before my imagination precluded sleep, while the vast expanse of 

 the blue arch of heaven, which was my canopy, studded with its 

 myriads of scintillating lights, invited contemplation rather than 

 repose. 



I was not allowed long to enjoy this scene of tranquillity and 

 silence, for the day had been one of excessive heat, and its effects 

 began to be manifested by the fall of avalanches. Situated as 

 the Grand Mulets are, about ten thousand feet above the level of 

 the sea, below the Grand Plateau, at two thirds of the height of 

 Mont Blanc, within two thousand five hundred feet of the summit 

 of the Aiguille de Midi, and projecting from the middle of the 

 glacier, they stand as opponents to very many of the avalanches 

 that fall from either of these elevated points. I had not lain 

 more than twenty minutes, when I was aroused by a tremendous 

 crash, while the entire rock still vibrated from the concussion of 

 the ponderous mass : as I sprang to my feet, and looked over the 

 mountain side, by the light of the moon, which had just risen, 

 making every object, though enlarged and softened, almost as 

 distinct as noonday, this mass of snow and ice could be seen hur- 

 rying and rushing headlong in its course, till ground and broken 

 by its own violence it settled down still and tranquil, thousands 

 of feet below, amid the ever moving glacier. They continued 

 to fall for about one hour ; at first the interval between was some 

 ten minutes, then more frequently, till becoming less frequent, 

 they ceased altogether, and universal stillness reigned once more, 

 broken only now and then, by what is termed the groanings of 

 the Alps, which is the cracking of the ice among the glaciers. 



The fall of the avalanches at this hour is caused by the effect 

 of the sun, (melting the ice,) and at this high point it requires 



