6. Account of «journey to the 
placed here a pyramid 12 feet high. It was visible for three 
years, but has gradually disappeared, and has not been seen 
for some years. In the sun the Thermometer was at the 
freezing point; in the shade 3° of Reaumur below it; (25°, 
25 of Fahrenheit.) A bright sun shone onus, through a 
vault of indigo blue, in which not a spot was obscured by a 
cloud. ‘To the North, at the distance of nearly 100 miles, 
rose the black ridge of Jura: farther east, lay the mountains 
of Underwalden and of Uri;—to the east St. Gothard and 
the Simplon; St. Bernard and Monte Resa seemed to stand 
at our side, and Piedmont to stretch at our feet.—A light 
floating vapour hid from us the vales of Lombardy and of 
France—On one side the happy valley of Chamouny lay 
beneath and the little village shone in the smiling plain, be- 
set with fields and weods ;—on the other the Vale d’Aoste, 
with her cheerful river, extended her green surface to re- 
lieve the eye. ‘The glaciers of Bossons, des Bois, d’Argen- 
tiere and of Tour seemed sliding into the meadows—while 
the frozen waves of the Mer de glace seemed hushed into a 
calm,—and the Montanvert, with the needles of Dru, Ge- 
ant, Charmoy, Midi, &c. showed their splintered pinnacles 
far below us. We remained an hour and a half on the small 
plain to the south of the crowning ridge, and here four of 
our guides laid themselves on the snow and slept for some 
minutes. We did not feel fatigued, but found our respira- 
tion much quickened and our pulse greatly accelerated ; this 
was particularly the case with Mr. Howard who is ofa fuller 
habit than myself. Though we had provisions, none of us 
felt an inclination to eat; but our thirst was great, and we 
found vinegar and water the most refreshing beverage. We 
fired a pistol three times nearly filled with powder, and well 
wadded; the report was that of a squib. 
At 2 we began our descent with an intention to examine 
the different rocks that broke through the snow. ‘The high- 
est is about 350 feet below the summit, formed of granitic 
tables, that lay loose on each other, and of which feldspar is 
ihe predominant ingredient. The petit Mulet is of the same 
formation—and I may here add, that, to be minute would 
only be to give you what has already been printed. 
The descent was perhaps more fatiguing than the ascent 
had been, and far more alarming, for we now saw the crev- 
ices that yawned beneath us; and the reflection ofa bright 
