MT. 28.] JOURNAL. 259 



distant. They sallied out with their guide and left 

 me to myself, which was one advantage. But in three 

 hours they returned, giving an alarming account of 

 the difficulties and dangers of the way. When just 

 abandoning the attempt they heard a cry for help, and 

 succeeded in rescuing another party of three with their 

 guide, who had lost their way in the thifck mist and 

 storm and were wandering about in the drifts, suf- 

 fering extremely with the cold, and who, as well as 

 their guide, had given up all hope of reaching the 

 hospice unless their cries should perchance be heard 

 and bring them aid. All returned to the hospice 

 together, and no further attempts to leave it were 

 made that day. When left alone I had the fire to 

 myself, and was spending the time in as profitable a 

 manner as possible, thinking a little, too, of the strange- 

 ness of passing the day in such an elevated position ; 

 so their return, with an accession to their company, 

 though very desirable for them, was not so favorable 

 to me. And then of all people in the world the Ger- 

 mans are the noisiest talkers ; Frenchmen are nothing 

 to them ; the fire which dried their clothes and warmed 

 their fingers loosened their tongues, and they kept up 

 a continual gabble for the greater part of the day. 

 Scarcely a winter passes that some persons are not 

 lost in this pass during such storms. A gloomy lake 

 on the summit of the mountain, into which the bodies 

 are thrown for burial, receives the name of " The 

 Lake of the Dead " (Todten-See). 



Monday morning, still enveloped in the clouds, but 

 the storm apparently over. Foxmd it no use trying 

 to make a visit to the Rhone glacier ; the clouds were 

 so thick we could scarcely hope to find it, and the 

 recent snow so deep nothing could be seen. Was 



