SCRAMBLES AMONGST THE ALPS. 385

cairn, and then paid homage to the view.* The day wasone of those superlatively calm and clear ones which usuallyprecede bad weather. The atmosphere was perfectly still,and free from all clouds or vapours. Mountains fifty—naya hundred—miles off, looked sharp and near. All theirdetails—ridge and crag, snow and glacier—stood out withfaultless definition. Pleasant thoughts of happy days inbygone years came up unbidden, as we recognized the oldfamiliar forms. All were revealed—not one of the principalpeaks of the Alps was hidden. I see them clearly now—thegreat inner circles of giants, backed by the ranges, chains,and massifs. First came the Dent Blanche, hoary and grand ;the Gabelhorn and pointed Rothhom; and then the peerlessWeisshorn : the towering Mischabelhdrner, flanked by theAllaleinhorn, Strahlhorn, and Rimpfischhorn; then Monte Rosa —with its many Spitzes—the Lyskamm and the Breit-horn. Behind were the Bernese Oberland, governed by theFinsteraarhorn ; the Simplon and St. Gothard groups; theDisgrazia and the Orteler. Towards the south we lookeddown to Chivasso, on the plain of Piedmont, and far beyond.The Viso—one hundred miles away—seemed close upon us;the Maritime Alps—one hundred and thirty miles distant—were free from haze. Then came my first love—the Pelvoux;the Ecrins and the Meije; the clusters of the Graians; andlastly, in the west, glowing in full sunlight, rose the monarchof all—Mont Blanc . Ten thousand feet beneath us were thegreen fields of Zermatt , dotted with chalets, from which bluesmoke rose lazily. Eight thousand feet below, on the otherside, were the pastures of Breuil. There were forests blackand gloomy, and meadows bright and lively; bounding water-falls and tranquil lakes; fertile lands and savage wastes;sunny plains and frigid plateaux. There were the mostrugged forms, and the most graceful outlines—bold, per-pendicular cliffs, and gentle, undulating slopes; rocky moun-

* The summit-ridge was much shattered, although not so extensivelyas the south-west and north-east ridges. The highest rock, in 1865, wasa block of mica schist, and the fragment I broke off it not only possesses,in a remarkable degree, the character of the peak, but mimics, in anastonishing manner, the details of its form.

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