The Book Of Curiosities Part 37

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SPECTRE OF THE BROKEN.--Page 420.

This wonderful and startling phenomenon is often observed in the Hartz Mountains in Germany.]

"Having thus had an opportunity of discovering the whole secret of this extraordinary appearance, I can give the following information to such of my readers as may be desirous of seeing it for themselves. When the rising sun, and, according to a.n.a.logy, the case will be the same when the setting sun throws his rays over the Broken, upon the body of a man standing opposite to fine light clouds floating around, or hovering past him, he needs only fix his eyes stedfastly upon them, and in all probability he will see the singular spectacle of his own shadow, extending to the length of five or six hundred feet, at the distance of about two miles before him." It is said, there is, in the Manchester Transactions, an account of a similar phenomenon observed by Dr. Ferrier, on a hill in England.

THE GAUTS, or INDIAN APPENINES.--These form a stupendous wall of mountains, which extends from Cape Comorin, the southern point of the Peninsula of Hindoostan, to the Tapty, or Surat river, at unequal distances from the sea coast; it is seldom more than sixty miles, commonly about forty, and in one part approaches within six miles. These mountains rise abruptly from the country of Concan, bounding, in the form of a terrace, a vast extent of fertile and populous plains, which are so elevated as to render the air cool and pleasant. The height is supposed to be from 3000 to 4000 feet.

This celebrated ridge does not terminate in a point when it approaches the Tapty; but, departing in this place from its meridional course, it bends eastward in a serpentine line, parallel to the river, and is afterwards lost among the hills in the neighbourhood of Burrhampour. In its course along the Tapty, it forms several pa.s.ses or descents towards that river, from whence it derives the name of Gauts, which means a landing-place. The alternate N. E. and S. W. winds, called monsoons, occasion a rainy season only on one side, viz. on the windward side of these mountains.

We would now wish to draw the attention of the reader from the Indian Appenines, to Pico, a mountain which rears its lofty head in an island of the same name.--It is filled with dismal dark caverns, or volcanoes, which frequently emit flame, smoke, and ashes, to a great distance. At the foot of it, towards the east, is a spring of fresh water, which is generally cold, but sometimes is so heated with subterraneous fire, as to rush forth in torrents, with a kind of ebullition like boiling water; equalling that in heat, and sending forth a steam of sulphureous fetid vapours, mixed with liquefied stones, minerals, and flakes of earth, all on fire, in such quant.i.ties, and with such violence, as to form a kind of promontory, on the declivity of the coast, and at the distance of 1200 paces from the fountain, which is vulgarly called Mysterious.--Such is the account given by Ortelius.

WRITTEN MOUNTAINS, MOUNTAINS OF INSCRIPTIONS, or JIBBEL EL MOKATTEB.--This is a mountain, or chain of mountains, said to be in the wilderness of Sinai; and the marble, of which it is composed, is reported to be inscribed to a considerable extent with innumerable characters, reaching from the ground sometimes to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. These were mentioned by a Greek author in the third century; but although some of them have been copied by Poc.o.c.ke, Montague, and other late writers, some have affected to entertain doubts whether even the mountains themselves really exist.

The vast number of these inscriptions, the desert place in which they are found, and the length of time requisite for executing the task, induced a notion that they are the work of the Israelites during their forty years'

wandering in the wilderness. Others are of opinion, that they consist merely of the names of travellers, and the dates of their journeys. M.

Niebuhr, who visited this country in September, 1762, made every attempt in his power, though without success, to obtain a sight of this celebrated mountain. After much vain inquiry, he was at last conducted to some rocks, upon which there were inscriptions in unknown characters. They are most numerous in a narrow pa.s.s between two mountains, named _Omer-ridstein_; and, says M. Niebuhr, "the pretended Jibbel El Mokatteb, may possibly be in its neighbourhood." Some of these inscriptions were copied by our author, but he does not look upon them to be of any consequence. At length, when M. Niebuhr arrived at the mountain to which the s.h.i.+ek had promised to conduct him, he found no inscription; but on climbing up to the top, he discovered an Egyptian cemetery, the stones of which were covered with hieroglyphics. The tomb-stones were from five to seven feet long, some being erect, and others lying flat; and "the more carefully they are examined, (says he,) the more certainly do they appear to be sepulchral stones, having epitaphs inscribed on them." The translator of Volney's Travels ascribes these inscriptions to the pilgrims who have visited Mount Sinai; but they ought surely to have been written in a language which somebody could understand; yet from the copies that have been taken of them by Dr. Poc.o.c.ke and others, it does not appear that they could be explained by any person. When Dr. Clayton, bishop of Clogher, visited this part of the world, about 1723, he expressed the greatest desire to have the matter concerning these written mountains ascertained, and even made an offer of 500 sterling to any literary person, who would undertake the journey, and endeavour to decipher the inscriptions; but no such person appeared.

The next object that rises in our view is MOUNT ATHOS,--a mountain of Chalcidia in Macedonia, equally celebrated in ancient and modern times.

The ancients entertained extravagant notions concerning its height. Mela affirmed it to be so high as to reach above the clouds, which at that time might have been considered a bold a.s.sertion; and Martia.n.u.s Capellinus says, that its elevation was six miles. It was a received opinion, that mount Athos was above the middle region of the air, and that it never rained upon or near its summit, because the ashes left on the altars there, were always found as they had been left, dry and unscattered.

The modern Greeks, struck with its singular situation, and the venerable appearance of its towering ascent, erected so many churches, monasteries, hermitages, &c. upon it, that it became in a manner inhabited by a company of religious devotees; and from thence received the name of Monte Santo, or the Holy Mountain; which appellation it still retains, though many of those consecrated buildings are now fallen into ruin and decay.

According to the accounts of modern travellers, this mountain advances into the Archipelago, on the south of the gulf of Contessa, and is joined to the continent by an isthmus about half a league in breadth. It is estimated to be thirty miles in circ.u.mference, and two in perpendicular height. It may be travelled over in about three days, and is to be seen at the great distance of ninety miles. There is a fine prospect from the top; but, like all other high mountains, the cold on its summit is excessive.

It abounds with many different kinds of plants and trees, particularly the pine and fir. In the valleys grows a plant called _elegia_, whose branches serve to make pens for writing. In short, this mountain is said to be adorned with a variety of herbage and evergreens, a mult.i.tude of springs and streams, with woods extending almost to the sea sh.o.r.e, which happy combination of circ.u.mstances renders it one of the most agreeable places in the world. There are twenty-four large old monasteries upon it, surrounded with high walls, and inhabited by Camoyers, a certain description of Greek monks.

Through this mountain, or rather through the isthmus behind it, Xerxes king of Persia is said to have cut a pa.s.sage for his fleet, when about to invade Greece. In this arduous task he spent three whole years, and employed in it all the forces on board his fleet. He is also said, before the work begun, to have written the following ridiculous letter to the mountain: "Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that liftest up thy head to the very skies, I advise thee not to be so audacious, as to put rocks and stones, that cannot be cut, in the way of my workmen. If thou makest that opposition, I will cut thee entirely down, and throw thee headlong into the sea!" The directors of this enterprise are said to have been Bubaris, the son of Megabysus, and Artacheus, the son of Arbeus, both Persians; but as no traces of such a great work remains, the truth of the whole relation has justly been questioned. This venerable mountain const.i.tutes one entire chain, extending seven miles in length, and three in breadth, and is situated about seventy miles east of Salonichi, the ancient Thessalonica.

We will now accompany Sir George Mackenzie to THE SULPHUR MOUNTAINS, IN THE ISLAND OF ICELAND.--"Having taken an early breakfast, (says he,) we set out towards the Sulphur Mountain, which is about three miles distant from Krisuvik. At the foot of the mountain was a small bank, composed chiefly of white clay mixed with sulphur, from all parts of which steam issued. Ascending it, we got upon a ridge immediately above a deep hollow, from which a profusion of vapour arose, and heard a confused noise of boiling and splas.h.i.+ng, joined to the roaring of steam excaping from narrow crevices in the rock. This hollow, together with the whole side of the mountain opposite, as far up as we could see, was covered with sulphur and clay, chiefly of a white or yellowish colour. Walking over this soft and steaming surface, we found to be very hazardous, and we were frequently very uneasy when the vapour concealed us from each other.

"The day, however, being dry and warm, the surface was not so slippery as to occasion much risk of our falling. The danger of the crust of sulphur breaking, or of the clay sinking with us, was great; and we were several times in imminent peril of being scalded. Mr. Bright ran at one time a great hazard, and suffered considerable pain from accidentally plunging one of his legs into the hot clay.

"From whatever spot the sulphur was removed, steam instantly escaped; and in many places, the sulphur was so hot that we could scarcely handle it.

From the smell, we perceived that the steam was mixed with a small quant.i.ty of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. When the thermometer was sunk a few inches into the clay, it rose generally to within a few degrees of the boiling point. By stepping cautiously, and avoiding every little hole from which steam issued, we soon discovered how far we might venture. Our good fortune, however, ought not to tempt any person to examine this wonderful place, without being provided with two boards, with which every part of the banks may be traversed in perfect safety.

"At the bottom of this hollow, we found a caldron of boiling mud, about fifteen feet in diameter, similar to that on the top of the mountain, which we had seen the evening before; but this boiled with much more vehemence. We went within a few yards of it, the wind happening to be remarkably favourable for our viewing every part of this singular place.

The mud was in constant agitation, and often thrown up to the height of six or eight feet. Near this spot was an irregular s.p.a.ce, filled with water boiling briskly. At the foot of the hill, is a hollow formed by a bank of clay and sulphur, whence steam rushed with great force and noise from among the loose fragments of rock.

"Further up the mountain, we met with a spring of cold water, a circ.u.mstance little expected in a place like this. Ascending still higher, we came to a ridge composed entirely of sulphur and clay, joining two summits of the mountain Here we found a much greater quant.i.ty of sulphur than on any other part of the surface, over which we had yet gone. It formed a smooth crust, from a quarter of an inch to several inches in thickness. The crust was beautifully crystallized, and immediately beneath it we found a quant.i.ty of loose granular sulphur, which appeared to be collecting and crystallizing, as it was sublimed along with the steam.

Sometimes we met with clay of different colours, white, red, and blue, under the crust; but we could not examine this place to any depth, as, the moment the crust was removed, steam issued, and proved extremely annoying.

We found several pieces of wood, which were probably the remains of planks that had been formerly used in collecting the sulphur, small crystals of which partially covered them.

"There appeared to be a constant sublimation of this substance; and were artificial chambers constructed for the reception and condensation of vapours, much of it might probably be collected. As it is, there is a large quant.i.ty on the surface; and, by searching, there is little doubt that great stores may be found. The inconvenience proceeding from the steam issuing on every side, and from the heat, is certainly considerable; but, by proper precautions, neither would be felt so much as to render the collection of the sulphur a matter of any great difficulty. The chief obstacle to working these mines, is their distance from a port whence the produce could be s.h.i.+pped. But there are so many horses in the country, whose original price is trifling, and whose maintenance during summer costs nothing, that the conveyance of sulphur to Reikiavik, presents no difficulties which might not probably be surmounted.

"Below the ridge on the farther side of this great bed of sulphur, we saw a great deal of vapour escaping with much noise. We crossed to the opposite side of the mountain, and found the surface sufficiently firm to admit of walking cautiously upon it. We had now to make our way towards the princ.i.p.al spring, as it is called; and this was a task of much apparent danger, as the side of the mountain, for the extent of about half a mile, is covered with loose clay, into which our feet sunk at every step. In many places there was a thin crust, below which the clay was wet, and extremely hot. Good fortune attended us; and without any serious inconvenience, we reached the object we had in view. A dense column of steam, mixed with a little water, was forcing its way impetuously through a crevice in the rock, at the head of a narrow valley, or break in the mountain. The violence with which it rushes out is so great, that the noise thus occasioned, may often be heard at the distance of several miles; and, during night, while lying in our tent at Krisuvik, we more than once listened to it with mingled emotions of awe and astonishment.

Behind the column of vapour was a dark-coloured rock, which gave it its full effect.

"It is quite beyond our power to offer such a description of this extraordinary place, as to convey adequate ideas of its wonders or its terrors. The sensations of a person, even of firm nerves, standing on a support which feebly sustains him, over an abyss, where, literally, fire and brimstone are in dreadful and incessant action,--having before his eyes tremendous proofs of what is going on beneath him,--enveloped in thick vapours,--and his ears stunned with thundering noises; must be experienced before they can be understood."

CHAP. XL.

CURIOSITIES RESPECTING MOUNTAINS.--(_Continued._)

"So pleas'd at first the tow'ring mounts we try, Mount o'er the vales, and seem to tread the sky; Th' eternal snows appear already past, And the first clouds and mountains seem the last.

But, those attain'd, we tremble to survey The growing labours of the lengthen'd way; Th' increasing prospect tires our wand'ring eyes, Hills peep o'er hills, and mounts on mounts arise."

MONT BLANC, IN SAVOY.

Narrative of a Journey from the village of Chamouni, to the summit of Mont Blanc, undertaken on August 8, 1787; by Colonel Beaufoy. _From the Annals of Philosophy._--

"The desire of ascending to the highest part of remarkably elevated land is so natural to every man, and the hope of repeating various experiments in the upper regions of the air is so inviting to those who wish well to the interests of science, that, being lately in Switzerland, I could not resist the inclination I felt to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. One of the motives, however, which prompted the attempt, was much weakened by the consideration that I did not possess, and in that country could not obtain, the instruments that were requisite for many of the experiments which I was anxious to make; and the ardour of uncommon curiosity was diminished, when I learned that Dr. Paecard and his guide, who in the year 1786 had reached the supposed inaccessible summit of the hill, were not the only persons who had succeeded in the attempt; for that, five days before my arrival at the foot of the mountain, M. de Saussure, a professor in the university of Geneva, had gained the top of the ascent.

"But while I was informed of the success which had attended the efforts of M. de Saussure, I was told of the difficulties and dangers that accompanied the undertaking; and was often a.s.sured, with much laborious dissuasion, that, to all the usual obstacles, the lateness of the season would add the perils of those stupendous ma.s.ses of snow which are often dislodged from the steeps of the mountain, together with the hazard of those frightful chasms which present immeasurable gulfs to the steps of the traveller, and the width of which was hourly increasing. M. Bourret, whose name has often been announced to the world by a variety of tracts, and by many excellent drawings, confirmed the account, and a.s.sured me that he himself had made the attempt on the next day to that on which M. de Saussure descended, but was obliged, as on many former occasions, to abandon the enterprise. Having, however, formed my resolution, I sent to the different cottages of the vale of Chamouni, from the skirts of which the mountain takes its rise, to inquire if any of them were willing to go with me as my a.s.sistants and guides; and had soon the satisfaction to find that ten were ready to accept the proposal. I engaged them all. Having announced to them my intention of setting out the next morning, I divided among them provisions for three days, together with a kettle, a chafing-dish, a quant.i.ty of charcoal, a pair of bellows, a couple of blankets, a long rope, a hatchet, and a ladder, which formed the stores that were requisite for the journey. After a night of much solicitude, lest the summit of Mont Blanc should be covered with clouds, in which case the guides would have refused the undertaking as impracticable, I rose at five in the morning, and saw, with great satisfaction, that the mountain was free from vapour, and that the sky was every where serene. My dress was a white flannel jacket, without any s.h.i.+rt beneath, and white linen trowsers, without drawers. The dress was white, that the sunbeams might be thrown off; and it was loose, that the limbs might be unconfined. Besides a pole for walking, I carried with me cramp-irons for the heels of my shoes, by means of which the hold on the frozen snow is firm, and in steep ascents the poise of the body is preserved.

"My guides being at length a.s.sembled, each with his allotted burden; one of them, a fellow of great bodily strength and vigour of mind, Michael Cachet by name, who had accompanied M. de Saussure, desired to take the lead. We ranged ourselves in a line, and at seven o'clock, in the midst of the wives, and children, and friends, of my companions, and indeed of the whole village of Chamouni, we began our march. The end of the first hour brought us to the Glacier des Boissons, at which place the rapid ascent of the mountain first begins, and from which, pursuing our course along the edge of the rocks that form the eastern side of this frozen lake, we arrived in four hours more at the second glacier, called the Glacier de la Cote. Here, by the side of a stream of water which the melting of the snow had formed, we sat down to a short repast.

"To this place the journey is neither remarkably laborious, nor exposed to danger, except that name should be given to the trifling hazard that arises from the stones and loose pieces of the broken rock, which the goats, in leaping from one projection to another, occasionally throw down.

Our dinner being finished, we fixed our cramp-irons to our shoes, and began to cross the glacier; but we had not proceeded far, when we discovered that the frozen snow, which lay in the ridges between the waves of ice, often concealed, with a covering of uncertain strength, the fathomless chasms which traverse this solid sea; yet the danger was soon in a great degree removed by the expedient of tying ourselves together with our long rope, which being fastened at proper distances to our waists, secured from the princ.i.p.al hazard such as might fall within the opening of the gulf. Trusting to the same precaution, we also crossed upon our ladder, without apprehension, such of the chasms as were exposed to view; and, sometimes stopping in the middle of the ladder, looked down in safety upon an abyss which baffled the reach of vision, and from which the sound of the ma.s.ses of ice that we repeatedly let fall, in no instance ascended to the ear. In some places we were obliged to cut foot-steps with our hatchet; yet, on the whole, the difficulties were far from great, for in two hours and a half we had pa.s.sed the glacier.

"We now, with more ease, and much more expedition, pursued our way, having only snow to cross, and in two hours arrived at a hut which had been erected in the year 1786, by the order, and at the expense, of M. de Saussure. The hut was situated on the eastern side of a rock, which had all the appearance of being rotten with age, and which in fact was in a state of such complete decay, that on my return the next evening, I saw scattered on the snow many tons of its fragments, which had fallen in my absence; but the ruin was not on the side on which the hut was built.

Immediately on our arrival, which was at five in the afternoon, the guides began to empty the hut of its snow, and at seven we sat down to eat; but our stomachs had little relish for food, and felt a particular distaste for wine and spirits. Water, which we obtained by melting snow in a kettle, was the only palatable drink. Some of the guides complained of a heavy disheartening sickness; and my Swiss servant, who had accompanied me at his own request, was seized with excessive vomiting, and the pains of the severest headach. But from these complaints, which apparently arose from the extreme lightness of the air in those elevated regions, I myself and some of the guides were free, except, as before observed, that we had little appet.i.te for food, and a strong aversion to the taste of spirituous liquors. We now prepared for rest; on which two of the guides, preferring the open air, threw themselves down at the entrance of the hut, and slept upon the rock. I too was desirous of sleep; but my thoughts were troubled with the apprehension that, although I had now completed one half of the road, the vapours might collect on the summit of the mountain, and frustrate all my hopes. Or if at any time the rest I wished for came, my repose was soon disturbed by the noise of the ma.s.ses of snow, which were loosened by the wind from the heights around me, and which, acc.u.mulating in bulk as they rolled, tumbled at length from the precipices into the vales below, and produced upon the ear the effect of redoubled bursts of thunder.

"At two o'clock I threw aside my blankets, and went out of the hut to observe the appearance of the heavens. The stars shone with a l.u.s.tre that far exceeded the brightness which they exhibit when seen from the usual level; and had so little tremor in their light, as to leave no doubt on my mind, that, if viewed from the summit of the mountain, they would have appeared as fixed points. How improved in those alt.i.tudes would be the aids which the telescope gives to vision! indeed, the clearness of the air was such as led me to think that Jupiter's satellites might be distinguished by the naked eye; and had he not been in the neighbourhood of the moon, I might possibly have succeeded. He continued distinctly visible for several hours after the sun was risen, and did not wholly disappear till almost eight.

"At the time I rose, my thermometer, which was on Fahrenheit's scale, and which I had hung on the side of the rock without the hut, was 8 below the freezing point. Impatient to proceed, and having ordered a large quant.i.ty of snow to be melted, I filled a small cask with water for my own use, and at three o'clock we left the hut. Our route was across the snow; but the chasms which the ice beneath had formed, though less numerous than those that we had pa.s.sed on the preceding day, embarra.s.sed our ascent. One in particular had opened so much in the few days that intervened between M.

de Saussure's expedition and our own, as for the time to bar the hope of any further progress; but at length, after having wandered with much anxiety along its bank, I found a place which I hoped the ladder was sufficiently long to cross. The ladder was accordingly laid down, and was seen to rest upon the opposite edge, but its bearing did not exceed an inch on either side. We now considered that, should we pa.s.s the chasm, and should its opening, which had enlarged so much in the course of a few preceding days, increase in the least degree before the time of our descent, no chance of return remained. We also considered that, if the clouds which so often envelop the hill should rise, the hope of finding, amidst the thick fog, our way back to this only place in which the gulf, even in its present state, was pa.s.sable, was little less than desperate.

Yet, after a moment's pause, the guides consented to go with me, and we crossed the chasm.

"We had not proceeded far, when thirst, which, since our arrival in the upper regions of the air, had been always troublesome, became almost intolerable. No sooner had I drank than the thirst returned, and in a few minutes my throat became perfectly dry. Again I had recourse to the water, and again my throat was parched. The air itself was thirsty; its extreme of dryness had robbed my body of its moisture. The guides were equally affected: wine they would not taste, but the moment my back was turned, their mouths were equally applied to my cask of water. Yet we continued to proceed till seven o'clock, when, having pa.s.sed the place where M. de Saussure, who was provided with a tent, had slept the second night, we sat down to breakfast.

"All this time the thermometer was 4 below the freezing point. We were now at the foot of Mont Blanc itself; for, though it is usual to apply that term to the whole a.s.semblage of several successive mountains, yet the name properly belongs only to a small mountain of a pyramidal form, that rises from a narrow plain, which at all times is covered with snow. Here the thinness of the atmosphere began to affect my head with a dull and heavy pain. I also found, to my great surprise, an acute sensation of pain, very different from that of weariness, immediately above my knees.

Having finished our repast, we pursued our journey, and soon arrived at a chasm which could not have existed many days, for it was not formed at the time of M. de Saussure's ascent. Misled by this last circ.u.mstance, (for we concluded, that as he had seen no rents whatever from the time that he pa.s.sed the place where he slept the second night, none were likely to be formed,) we had left our ladder about a league behind; but as the chasm was far from wide, we pa.s.sed it on the poles that we used for walking, an expedient which suggested to me that the length of our ladder might be easily increased by the addition of several poles laid parallel, and fastened to its end; and that the hazard of finding our retreat cut off from the enlargement of the chasms, might by this means be materially diminished.

"At this place I had an opportunity of measuring the height of the snow which had fallen during the preceding winter, and which was distinguished by its superior whiteness from that of the former year. I found it to be five feet. The snow of each particular year appeared as a separate stratum; that which was more than a twelvemonth old, was perfect ice, while that of the last winter was fast approaching to a similar state. At length, after a difficult ascent, which lay among precipices, and during which we were often obliged to employ the hatchet in making a footing for our feet, we reached, and reposed ourselves upon, a narrow flat, which is the last of three from the foot of the small mountain, and which, according to M. de Saussure, is but 150 fathoms below the level of the summit. Upon this platform I found a beautiful dead b.u.t.terfly, the only appearance which, from the time I entered on the snow, I had seen of any animal. The pernicious effects of the thinness of the air were now evident on us all; a desire, of sleep, almost irresistible, came on; my spirits had left me: sometimes indifferent to the event, I wished to lie down; at others, I blamed myself for the expedition; and, though just at the summit, had thoughts of turning back, without accomplis.h.i.+ng my purpose. Of my guides, many were in a worse situation; for, exhausted by excessive vomiting, they seemed to have lost all strength, both of mind and body.

"But shame at length came to our relief. I drank the last pint of water that was left, and found myself amazingly refreshed, and invigorated for renewed toil. Yet the pain in my knees had increased so much, that at the end of every twenty or thirty paces I was obliged to rest till its sharpness was abated. My lungs with difficulty performed their office, and my heart was affected with violent palpitation. At last, however, but with a sort of apathy which scarcely admitted the sense of joy, we reached the summit of this mountain; when six of our guides, and with them my servant, threw themselves on their faces, and were immediately asleep. I envied them their repose, but my anxiety to obtain a good observation for the lat.i.tude subdued my wishes for indulgence. The time of my arrival was half an hour after ten, so that the hours which elapsed from our departure from Chamouni, were only twenty-seven and a half, ten of which we had pa.s.sed in the hut. The summit of the hill is formed of snow, which spreads into a sort of plain, which is much wider from east to west than from north to south, and in its greatest width is perhaps thirty yards. The snow is every where hard, and in many places is covered with a sheet of ice.

"When the spectator begins to look around him from this elevated height, a confused impression of immensity is the first effect produced upon his mind; but the blue colour of the canopy above him, deep almost to blackness, soon arrests his attention. He next surveys the mountains, many of which, from the clearness of the air, are to his eye within a stone's throw from him; and even those of Lombardy (one of which appears of an alt.i.tude but little inferior to that of Mont Blanc) seem to approach his neighbourhood; while those on the other side of the vale of Chamouni, glittering with the sunbeams, are to the view directly below his feet, and affect his head with giddiness. On the other hand, all objects, of which the distance is great, and the level low, are hid from his eye by the blue vapour which intervenes, and through which I could not discern the Lake of Geneva, (at the height of 15,700 English feet, which, according to M. de Saussure, was the level on which I stood,) though even the Mediterranean Sea must have been within the line of vision. The air was still, and the day so remarkably fine, that I could not discover in any part of the heavens the appearance of a single cloud.

"As the time of the sun pa.s.sing the meridian now approached, I prepared to take my observation. I had with me an admirable Hadley's s.e.xtant, and an artificial horizon, and I corrected the mean refraction of the sun's rays.

Thus I was enabled to ascertain with accuracy, that the lat.i.tude of the summit of Mont Blanc is 45 49' 59" north.