The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware advertiser., 1827-06-14

state of distraction, and to render the prosPee'
widely unlike those scenes OF quietude, wnch
soothe and soften the mind, and bid It reject
with composure. Here we were above all living
beings. the sole inhabitants ofa region far above
the lofty fight Of the eagle, where the foot OF
the chamois never ventures, and where man mas
seldom BEEN
We stood amidst the frowns Of savage Nature,
almost insensble to every object beneath' ana
silently contemplating the coudIess heaSe"s'
pure and bright as the I'm, ied wastes OF s,oW
around and beneath. liere all worldly passions
cease; mans thoughts occupy themselves III
more worthy train of reflection; he fofge's inc
Injustice of his enemies ms sou' raises 'seii 70
heaven. as its nearest point, and reioices to feel
it..lf nearer the abode of truth. "Le vra nous
Went du ciel, l'erreur Went dc la terre." When
we meet we viii enlarge upon the subject, IN ihe
mean time will briefly state our mode OF descent
an operation very different from that pursued in
ascending.
On reaching the edge of the decHyity which
led to the Petlts Mulets, Contet told me that
would not be safe to walk down, and on inquiry
itound the usual practice was to seat yol.rsel on
the ice between two guides, and thus slie GOWN
IN few minutes the distance which had cost us
an hour and half to ascend lsubmiited to the
plan suggested to me; and though the operation
1 somewhat hazardous, the agility OF the guides
in regulating the velocity by means OF thelr
poles, seems to remove all danger. In descend
ing this first slope by this new method, cast
my ewes once or twice over the precipice TO our
right hand, ana had Just one moment to THINK,
that if by an Inflated turn, VIC had directed our
course that way, it appeared that We shoulI
most unexpectedly have paid visit to the good
monks Of St. Bernard. When ut Les Pet'ts NiIl-
lets, begged Coutet to stop q few minutes tha'
l might once more look up at the hoary summit
Of Mont Blanc; and having rested = short time,
and gathered few fragments OF granite from
sls, the highest bare point, we continued our
line of march.
The Grand Plateau, whose heightened PLAIN
extends nearly league and halt, IS NOT very
comforting to traveller ready to sink under an
accumulation of fatigue and exhaustion { ha0
,rcely eaten any food during the day a'ew %
Coutets figs and raisins had satisfied me- aha 4
mong the guides, only halt OF a three pound
loaf had been devoured and two small CHICKENS
which certainly on any other accustomed expc-
tlitions would scarcely have sutfced for one;
and our consumption OF wine did not TINS day
amount to three bottles. Having crossed the
Grand Plateau, which required an hour and q
half to cross it owing to the deep snow, We STOOD
for few minutes debating what means would
be the most secure to descend what cndeavor-
ed to describe to you before a3 the great Mon
tees. To slide seemed impractlcabe llis
slope had been warmed by the sun IN inc u o.
day. when We passed it; but now, owing to the
shade and cold winds, it had again frozen, and
was become exceeding dangerous, Something
was to be done; for to remain there tii night,
destitute Of food, firing and clothes, was not We
~ desirable. We, therefore, began 10 WALK
with very careful and deliberate step, placing
our feet in the track we had made IN the morn
ing. We slowly crawled downward tor somt
time, using every precaution not to slipi Tor lho
we were attached to each other by ropes stil
the fall of one might endanger others and TO th'
base of the Montees was about twice a.iiigh a
the dome of St. Paus Cathedral. had not de
.cended more than one hundred, or one hundrct
and ffty feet, before fell and Instantly the snov
began to roll with me, nor could stop mysel
Until the ropes were extended to their full length
Coutet cried out-"Ne bongez pas, Monsieur
ne faites pas lie moindre movement 1t reI'iI
e some little selfcommand to obey his order.
but remained perfectly quiet, though not YER
composed, until he gave me directions to enlc.
yor to press my heels into the snow, and thu
raise myself little, while the two guides VIII
held the ropes should by degrees pull me up I
the path from whence had fallen, In trying t
press nv feet forcblv into the snow, they cam
IN contact with the ice, and slipped, SO that M
efforts were quite useless However by the Y
most exertion in my power, and the force OF IN
guides was pulled up, but required some i
tie time to recover my senses; for swinging a
most in the air, Immediately over great
depth, with some doubt of the result Of the m
nnuvre was for the moment a little nervous.
Two orthree other trining slips brought ust Il
small Plateau over which we walked as rapid
as fatigue would allow us, When at its extrcr
ity, we had the smaller Montees to descend; b
as this was much less steep, and only about hs
the height of the other, we all sat down, NJ
were very soon comfortably landed at its b Sc
never enioyed the pleasure of descending Il
Montagnes Cusses, which were formerly fashio
able near Paris; but apprehend our slides WEI
very similar to them.-We now witnessed tg
or three grand avalanches; but happily for II
they took an oblique direction, and we remainc
stationary to observe the fall The avalanche
which fall directly from the mountain tops, thu
der down with deafening rear; but those whit
merely slip down the snowy sleeps, cause lit
noise, but raise cloud Of white dust, whit
marks their progress, and produces a beautif
effect. When we reached the edge of the G.
cier de Tacconia about six O'Clock, it was GO
ting dusk; and we had to cross deep al
frghtful chasn in order to save very considt
able circuit. This passage was only practicah
bylaying four or FIVE poles in horizontal po
lion, and thus making bridge, having ropes
hxed to each person. To descend the crew
was out Of the question, for It was very dee
and contained watcr and ice appa emily not s.
fciently frozen TO support our weight I
poles were laid, but not in very secure ,nanr
and the leading guides, throwing their En,
sacks over before them, in order to be light