
244 

KIDD’S OWN JOURNAL. 

ANOTHER ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 
WE RECEIVED (too late for insertion in our 
last) a very interesting account of a recent 
Visit to Mont Blane, by Mr. John Macgregor. 
Having already given the full particulars of 
a similar ascent, accomplished by Albert 
Smith, we feel pleasure in letting this, too, 
stand recorded in our columns. 
‘““Y write, Sir, to inform you that on the 
22nd of September the ascent of Mont Blane 
was accomplished by another Englishman 
and myself, under unusually favorable 
circumstances, and without any accident, 
although nearly fifty persons were engaged 
in the work. 
On the evening of Sept. 20, I found that 
some gentlemen intended to go to the Grand 
Mulets, and to sleep in the little hut lately 
erected there by tie guides. The party 
consisted of Mr. Albert Smith, Lord Killeen, 
Captain de Bathe, Mr. W. Russell, and 
Mr. Burrows. Another gentleman, Mr. 
Shuldham, had also arranged to commence 
the ascent to the summit on the same day, 
and, through the kindness of Mr. Albert 
Smith, I was permitted, with Mr. Fanshawe, 
a fellow-traveller, to accompany them. 
Mr. Albert Smith, whose popularity in 
Switzerland is almost romantic, gave a break- 
fast on the opening to thirty-four guides, who 
were engaged for the occasion; and at 9 
o'clock a.m. of September 21, the long caval- 
cade left Chamounix. The weather was mag- 
* nificent, not a cloud being visible ; and after 
seven hours’ walking, we all reached the 
Grand Mulets—a place already familiarised 
to all who have seen Mr. Albert Smith’s 
panorama in London. We dined on cold 
meat, and punch made with melted snow ; 
and then, when the setting sun left the last 
peak of the mountain, we made a hard struggle 
to find room for about fifty persons in a hut 
constructed to hold twenty at the most. 
Gentlemen and guides, lying head and foot 
together, completely covered the floor, and 
one traveller occupied a board nine inches 
wide, which had served for a table. 
Presently some forty cigars and pipes were 
lighted, and the atmosphere of the little cabin 
became rapidly “ tobaccoised.” It was, of 
course, impossible for any to sleep; but the 
novelty of the situation, and the incessant 
flow of good-humor, made the night pass 
tolerably well. On the preceding night, I 
was unable to sleep from the excitement 
which the prospect of such an undertaking 
produces; and it is remarkable that several 
of the guides were prevented from sleeping 
from the same cause. However, after two 
sleepless nights, we who were to go on the 
summit, arose at 1 o’clock to continue the 
ascent. Mr. Shuldham suffered from tooth- 
ache, and was otherwise unwell: yet the 


indomitable perseverance of an Englishman 
enabled him to proeeed, and to finish the 
undertaking successfully. For myself, felt 
perfectly well, and had, therefore, much less 
difficulty in accomplishing the work. As our 
party left the others, who were to return next 
morning to Chamounix, the solitudes of the 
snowy range were made to ring with three 
hearty British cheers ; and by the light of the 
moon, which at that altitude shines almost 
like the sun itself, our long string of twenty- 
three guides and travellers slowly. marched 
over the snow. 
The cold had not been of sufficient intensity 
to freezethe snow into the proper consistency 
for supporting the feet. At each measured 
step, therefore, we sank nearly to the knees ; 
and after about three hours of this tiring 
process, we attained the Grand Plateau, 
where the effects of a rarified atmosphere 
began to be felt by the traveller. Two of the 
gentlemen, who had kindly accompanied us 
during part of the night, now returned to 
their companions, still jovially packed in the 
little hut; and Mr. Shuldham and myself with 
our guides, continued the march. ‘The night 
was so perfectly clear, and the moonlight so 
bright, as to make the aid of lanterns super- 
fluous. A large number of stars became 
visible, which could not be seen under other 
circumstances; and when, about 4 o’clock, 
the east became rosy with the rays of a rising 
sun, the whole scene was at once awful and 
beautiful. 
The passage of the Mur de la Cote was 
somewhat tedious, as nearly every step had 
to be cut by axe in the ice. Here, even the 
guides became overpowered by the sleepy 
air of the dome above us. Out of thirteen 
persons, ouly two did not succumb to this 
potent influence. At ten o’clock I sat down 
on the very summit, and soon afterwards 
Mr. Shuldham, whose unconquerable pluck 
had sustained him through all the difficulties, 
attained the same height, though compelled 
by indisposition to return. The Queen’s 
health, and that of the King of Sardinia, 
were duly pledged in champagne, drunk out 
ofa leathern drinking-cup. Weate chocolate 
and prunes, the provisions most acceptable 
in those lofty places; but sleep rather than 
hunger seemed to prevail. The view was 
magnificent beyond description. 
From Lyons to Constance and Genoa all 
was clear. “Beyond that, a faint horizon 
could be distinguished, bounded by unknown 
mountains, but wholly unobscured by clouds, 
or even fog. After spending nearly an hour 
on the summit, eating the icicles, which, in 
the form of large cuttle-fish shell, constitute 
the great dome of Mont Blanc, the descent 
commenced. In five minutes, by sliding on 
from below was an hour from the top, and 

the soft snow, we attained the spot which | 
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