The highest mountain in Scotland is Ben-Nevis, 4,337 feet. In Wales,
Snowdon, 3,555. In England, Ingleborough, 3,200 feet. In Ireland, Croagh
Patrick, 2,666.
Mont Blanc is easily distinguished from amongst the other mountains (of
which _Mont Buet_; of 9984 feet in height, approaches the nearest to it)
when Steen on this side, by the astonishing altitude to which it rises,
and by the vast body of snow with which its top and sides are covered to
the perpendicular height of above 4000 feet, without the intervention of
any rock, to take off from that extreme whiteness that gives name to
this mountain, uniting in the circular form of its summit all the
majesty that can possibly be imagined. We partook of some refreshment in
an apartment on the summit of Montanvert, which the extreme cold of the
atmosphere rendered very acceptable. Having enrolled our names in a
book kept here for that purpose, which abounds with the praises of all
travellers who have viewed these scenes, we descended to the _Mer de
Glace_, which is appropriately so named, from the striking resemblance
which its broken masses of ice bear to the waves of the ocean, and the
resemblance is still further heightened by the blue appearance which the
numerous cavities present to the eye.--We walked a little way on this
frozen ocean, the better to contemplate its vast extent, as well as to
have it in our power to boast of _having walked on a mass of ice in the
month of August_. The depth of the ice is calculated to be from three to
_four hundred_ feet, and the solemnity of this scene of desolation is
increased by the sound of several torrents tumbling from the surrounding
rocks. We again returned to the summit of Montanvert, and were again
lost in astonishment at the scene; which did not fail to recall to my
recollection the beautiful lines of _Pope_, in his Essay on Criticism:
So pleas'd at first the tow'ring Alps 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 Alps on Alps arise.
Having sufficiently contemplated the view, we began to think of
returning to the valley, which presented a most enlivening appearance
after the _chaos_ we had left. The descent was much easier than the
ascent, and we were not long before we met our mules, and returned to
our inn in great prosperity, although we had, most of us, occasional
falls during so difficult a progress.
We had great reason to be pleased with our expedition, and were most
fortunate in the clearness of the day, without which our labour would
have been lost. The valley is, of course, much more mild in its
atmosphere than the mountain, but the weather was autumnal, and a fire
was quite indispensable to our comfort. There are no less than _five
glaciers_ in this valley, they are separated from each other by forests
and by cultivated lands, and this intermixture presents an appearance
which, from its singularity, cannot fail to astonish the beholder. These
glaciers all lie at the foot of that vast chain of mountains, which
supply the sources of many of the greatest rivers in Europe. I observed
that the mountains in this vicinity were the first I had seen enlivened
by the mixture of the larch with the fir, which produces a very pleasing
effect, and continues afterwards to be often seen. The vast quantities
of Alpine _strawberries_ that every-where abound on these mountains,
have a most excellent flavor, and numbers of children employed in
gathering them find ready sale among the numerous strangers, attracted
by the wonders of the neighbourhood. These Alps possess great
attractions for the _botanist_, who is surrounded by saxifrage,
rhododendrons, and a variety of other plants, which he must highly
value, but which I have not sufficient knowledge of the science to
distinguish particularly. Nor would the _mineralogist_ find fewer
attractions in the rocks themselves, than the botanist in the plants
which they produce. We did not witness any of those _avalanches_ which
are said to fall so frequently from the mountains, and of the dreadful
effects of which such interesting statements have been published. The
whole of this valley, however, appears to be continually threatened, by
the enormous masses which hang over it, and seem to need the application
of but a trifling force, to move them from situations, to which they are
to all appearance so slightly attached.
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