[ 44i ] 
fall, and in fadt we found it lower at every place in 
our way, where we had before obferved it in fine 
weather. The fky, notw ihflanding, was full a eat, 
and continued fo the next day, when we began to 
afcend the mountain, about two o’clock in the after- 
noon, in order to pals the night in the highefl cot- 
tages, that we might have more time to gain the fum- 
mit the next day. 
79. Before we left Sixt (an abbey at the foot of 
-the mountain), I expofed the hygrometer in open 
air, and in' the fhade it flood at 94. The thermo- 
meter at the fame time was at 19 in the fhade, and 
at 24 in the fun. At five o’clock we reached a 
place above 300 toifes above the abbey j commanded 
on all fides by mountains, and on that account called 
,Les Fonds (or The Bottoms). Here we obferved 
the thermometer and hygrometer. The former, 
when expofed to the fun, flood at 154, and the latter 
rofe to 96 in the fhade. We obferved them again 
in the fame manner about half an hour after fix, in 
a place that was pretty open, and higher by 160 
toifes than the former. The thermometer flood at 
15, and the hygrometer at 106. It wanted but a 
quarter of nine, when we came to the cottages 
where we were to pafs the night ; though they were 
not above 30 toifes higher than the place we flopped 
at lafk The higher we went, the clearer the fky 
appeared ; in fo much that, notwithflanding the 
ufual augmentation of humor in the air after fun- 
fet, when the fky is not clouded, upon expofing the 
inflrument to the air, about 4 after ten at night, we 
found the hygrometer at 123, and the thermometer 
at 134. They both fell in the night, and on our 
fetting 
