by the ladder s assistance to scale high and perpendicular banks of snow it some times proved too short to reach to the top but where the steep was not absolutely perpendicular we continued in several instances to remedy this inconvenience one of the guides standing on the top of the ladder enabled die rest who up by his assistance to reach the summit when there we easily drew up him and the ladder with we were occasionally compelled to our steps and we were frequently so involved in an intricate path that we had to remain without proceeding a considerable time until the guides who were dispersed in every direction on the dis could find a practicable path to us in addition to these difficulties i had not been long on the before i perceived that my boot had given way which as every thing depended upon the good health of our feet was a serious misfortune necessity however is the mother of invention and i contrived to bind it with in such a that it served me tolerably well the rest of the journey in consequence of all these we only arrived at o clock at the grand not more than four or five miles distant in a straight line from the point where we on the but from the route we had taken we could not have walked less in this distance than fourteen or fifteen miles we were now feet above the level of the sea an d � � feet above the village of a on the steep side and near the t p of the rock about a hundred and fifty feet from its base and to which we had much difficulty in climbing was selected our lodging place indeed it was the only part of the rock that any thing like a level place we were fortunate in finding the day had been so warm that there was wa tier in some of the of the ice which circumstance us to our the sun shone bright on our side of the rock but as soon as it sunk the horizon the eternal frost around us regained its and the air became very cold we had however time to dry our boots and and i found a pair of large stockings that i had with me an invaluable article our guides stretched the ladder from one point of die rock to another and throwing over it a couple of sheets they had brought for the purpose formed a kind of tent just large enough for r and myself to creep in a single blanket upon the rock was our bed the guides were so loaded with articles that we had not been able to bring a blanket or even an extra coat to cover us after a cold and uncomfortable supper we crept into our den soon after die genial sun left us and endeavoured by every means our ingenuity could suggest but to keep ourselves warm we suffered much from die cold all night but principally towards morning as the was several degrees below � the night ass the seemed to last at least twenty hours at one time i thought the day must certainly be not distant and was surprised at look ing at my watch by the light of the moon to find it only o clock tired of lying and shivering with the cold i crawled out about midnight to warm myself by on die rock the view around me was sublime the sky was very clear but perfectly black the moon and stars whose rays were not obscured by passing through the lower dense region of the atmosphere shone with a brilliancy of what i had ever observed from below and the with its bright formed in the north west a beautiful object nothing was to be seen around the rock on whidi we were placed but white and some heavy clouds that floating below us shut out the valley from my view the guides were all asleep and the only interruption to the silence of death was the occasional rolling with the sound of distant thunder from the highest part of the surrounding and the feelings of awful which our situation was so calculated to inspire as our lodging was far from comfortable in eveiy point of view we were under no temptation of lying till a late hour in the morning on the contrary we hailed with joy the first appearance of the dawn which enabled us to substitute the warmth of marching for the odd from which we had suffered all night we set out at three o clock leaving most of our provisions and other articles on the rock four hours of laborious but not dangerous walking brought us to a large plain called the grand which is nearly surrounded on the one hand by a spur of and the du on the other by the e de la while presents itself directly in front these mountains form a steep around this plain there we stopped an hour to breakfast and strength for the last and most difficult part of our ascent we were now more than is xx � above the level of the sea and to th of only feet lower than the summit was in view before us � ut i looked around in vain for any part of its steep sides that seemed to a of it and when the guides pointed out the route we were to take among and over and huge broken masses of snow and up almost i involuntarily shrunk at the prospect and could not forbear casting my eye wistfully at our road back but it would not have done to be at this time by difficulties and a moment s reflection on the skill and experience of our guides renewed my confidence and we began cheerfully to mount the first steep before us we here 