78 



Louis Agassiz. 



them on every hand. Now fastened by ropes ; again 

 dimbing over crevasses^ apparently bottomless, on 

 the ladder they carried, or scaling cliffs, carefully 

 cutting their way, they slowly ascended the mountain 

 of ice and snow. They were finally stopped by a gulf 

 of great depth ; a fall into which would have meant 

 instant death. Across this, the intrepid Leuthold 

 threw his famous ladder, the same that had served 

 him with Hugi nine years previous, and over this 

 they crept, to find upon the opposite side an abrupt 

 wall of ice. This was ascended by cutting steps in 

 the ice, and once upon the summit they found them- 

 selves upon a broad terrace, leading to the Col of 

 Rothnal, with magnificent views of the Aletsch and 

 Rothnal valleys. From here on the axes of the 

 guides cut their way, and a portion of the time they 

 walked over a platform of snow and ice so thin that 

 by driving their stocks through they could see the 

 vast amphitheatre below — a stupendous and awe- 

 inspiring spectacle. The precipice was so near that 

 it dazed them to look at it, and one of the guides was 

 so appalled by the sight and danger that he was 

 unable to continue. 



On they pressed, each man realising that a slip, a 

 false movement, might be the last ; yet none faltered, 

 least of all Agassiz, who was always to the fore, 

 cheering and admonishing, filled with enthusiasm 

 and awe at the sublime evidences of the Creator's 

 power that were everywhere visible. Finally, after 

 an heroic effort, the summit of the Jungfrau ap- 

 peared, the mist gradually dissipating, leaving the 

 grand peak in full view. A few feet more and it was 



