8 Botanical Excursion to the 



Every now and then a shout gave notice that the snow had given 

 way beneath one of the party, and one of my companions had a very 

 narrow escape, being solely saved by falling with his pole across the 

 chasm, which enabled him to support himself until we could come 

 to his assistance. Yet such is the indifference to danger in such 

 situations, that his first exclamation on our handling him rather un- 

 ceremoniously was, " Take care what you are about, you'll tear my 

 trowsers." After great exertion in bearing up against a cutting 

 wind, mixed with frozen particles of snow, which blew directly in our 

 faces, we reached the summit of the pass, and soon, with less diffi- 

 culty than we expected, arrived at the termination of the glacier. 

 It was, however, past two o'clock before we were off the ice. But 

 what a change had taken place in the face of nature ! for near 3000' 

 below the spot where on the preceding day we had been struck by 

 the luxuriance of the vegetation, the ground was covered with se- 

 veral inches of snow. We hurried on as quick as possible, and ar- 

 rived at the village of Randaa about seven o'clock in the evening, 

 where we were hospitably received by the cure. 



A few minutes in the warm room produced a lively sense of pain 

 and burning in the skin of the face and the eyes, and on the fol- 

 lowing morning (the 26th) I was completely blind. By degrees 

 I could open my eyelids for a minute at a time, but we did not en- 

 tirely recover from the effects of the reflection from the snow, and 

 of the cutting wind, before a fortnight had elapsed. 



Having engaged a man to carry our luggage, we slowly rede- 

 scended the valley of St Nicholas, and passing through Visp, slept 

 at Brieg, where, Avith much suffering from my eyes, I put in paper 

 the contents of my box, which I was delighted to find as fresh as 

 when they were gathered. The mosses, however, of which I had 

 collected a considerable quantity, having been tied up in a parcel, 

 were entirely spoilt. 



On the 27th we walked as far as Miinster, at the head of the 

 Valais, and on the 28th, hurried over the Grimsel, which we found 

 covered with nearly a foot of snow, to Meyringen, whence we 

 took a char to Brienz, and returned on the 29th through Interlaken 

 and Thun to Berne. 



Catalogue of the Plants collected, with occasional remarks. 



1. Chara aspera, Willd. 



H. In fossis prope Pfyn, inter Siders et Leuk. 



2. C. hispida, L. /3 gracilis. Hook. 

 H. Cum praecedenti. 



