and drops of water falling with monotonous slowness.
Never had I penetrated into a place of such savage beauty. In the middle
of the cavern, opposite the entrance, was a great pillar of ice,
resembling a cataract suddenly frozen. Beyond this marvellous block,
glittering like crystal, spread a stream of delicious freshness. When we
had kindled a large fire with branches of juniper, accumulated by the
hunter who most frequented the retreat, the ice shone with a myriad
diamond tints; everything seemed to assume an extraordinary form and
life. The fantastically carved walls of rock sparkled with capricious
gleams. From the sides of black granite hung pendent icicles, sometimes
slender and isolated, sometimes grouped in fanciful clusters. In the
hollows, where damp and darkness for ever reign, climbed a bluish-grey
moss, a melancholy and incomplete manifestation of life in the bosom of
this death-like solitude. Within, the whole scene impressed the
imagination strongly, while without, but close beside us, resounded,
like thunder, the avalanches which scattered their ruins over our heads,
or plunged headlong into fathomless gulfs.

"Some white heifer-skins were laid down under a block which formed a
kind of recess at the farther end of the grotto. I wrapped myself in my
coverings and shawls, for the cold increased in severity, but I was
protected from it by the assiduous care of my good guides, who heaped
upon me all their furs and cloaks. Then, seated around the fire, they
prepared the coffee which was to serve us the whole night. None of them
thought of sleeping, nor felt inclined to repress their natural but
modest gaiety. If one complained that his limbs were stiff, the others
immediately cried out that he was as delicate as a woman, and that we
had no cause of complaint while sojourning in a palace grander than
kings' palaces. They inscribed my name upon the roof near to the
entrance.

"Two of the guides had sallied forth to clear a pathway and cut steps in
the snow, for there would be some difficulty in getting out of the
grotto. On their return they informed us that we might rely on a fine
day--words which were welcomed with loud applause. After undergoing so
much fatigue, it was natural we should desire a complete success. I
rejoiced to see so near me the immense glaciers and lofty peaks of the
Alps, the image of which had often haunted my happiest dreams. Yet I
felt somewhat uneasy at the symptoms of indisposition