210 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE chap. 



scribing the view from the summit of the 

 Matterhorn just before the terrible catastrophe 

 which overshadows the memory of his first 

 ascent. 



" The day was one of those superlatively 

 calm and clear ones which usually precede 

 bad weather. The atmosphere was perfectly 

 still and free from all clouds or vapours. 

 Mountains fifty, nay, a hundred miles o£E 

 looked sharp and near. All their details — 

 ridge and crag, snow and glacier — stood out 

 with faultless definition. Pleasant thoughts 

 of happy . days in bygone years came up 

 unbidden as we recognised the old familiar 

 forms. All were revealed, not one of the 

 principal peaks of the Alps was hidden. I see 

 them clearly now, the great iimer circle of 

 giants, backed by the ranges, chains, and 

 massifs. . . . Ten thousand feet beneath us 

 were the green fields of Zermatt, dotted -with 

 chalets, from which blue smoke rose lazily. 

 Eight thousand feet below, on the other side, 

 were the pastures of Breuil. There were black 

 and gloomy forests ; bright and cheerful 

 meadows, bounding waterfalls and tranquil 



