A Week among the Glaciers. 293 



the whole force of the sun's rays during the entire day ; the water 

 thus produced runs down and forms pools about their base, which 

 continues to melt there for some time after the sun has set, when 

 one avalanche after another is dislodged, and beginning to fall, 

 they continue till the water again congeals, which prevents any 

 further descent until the following evening, when the same effect 

 being again produced during the day by the same cause, their fall 

 is again renewed. x I once more prepared myself for sleep, but 

 feeling no inclination that way, I amused myself in watching the 

 constellations, which being immediately over me, were shining 

 with peculiar brightness, and during the course of an hour or 

 more that I was thus engaged, I observed slight flashes of light 

 passing before my eyes, not unlike aurora borealis ; and supposed 

 it an optical illusion, probably caused by the glare from the sun 

 and snow to which my eyes had been exposed during the day ; 

 but as they became more frequent, I satisfied myself that they 

 were real. Rising and looking down in the direction of Chamo- 

 nix, I discovered at once the cause, which was a thunder shower 

 in the valley. The sillons [streaks] of electricity presented a 

 beautiful sight, as they sported amid the dense clouds that over- 

 hung the village. There was none of that dazzling brightness 

 presented by the lightning seen when below the cloud, but merely 

 the red zigzag or forked lines, owing doubtless to the cloud being 

 between us and the electric fluid. Although the lightning could 

 be distinctly seen, we could not detect the slightest sound of 

 thunder ; whether this was caused by any peculiar condition of 

 the atmosphere at the time, or by the rareness of the air, or our 

 distance, or whether it is a constant phenomenon here, I am un- 

 able to say. There was however, much thunder in the valley, 

 and some very heavy explosions too, I was informed by the land- 

 lord on my return the next day. 



We left the Grand Mulets between 2 and 3 o'clock, A. M., and 

 and arrived at the Grand Plateau between 8 and 9 o'clock. The 

 view from this elevated point is almost boundless, and the whole 

 extent of country for miles on every side (except that portion 

 where the prospect is interrupted by the summit of Mont Blanc) 

 extended itself far and wide, presenting its plains, mountains and 

 lakes, as distinctly as if spread out upon a map before the eye. 

 The Plateau is an almost level plain, with an area I should judge, 

 of ten acres. The Roches Rouges are between this point and 



