,,ice-,,caves ,,of ,,france ,,and ,,switzerland4 ,a ,,narrative ,,of ,,subterranean ,,exploration4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,g4,f4 ,,browne1 ,m4,a4 ,,fellow ,,and ,,assistant ,,tutor ,,of ,,st4 ,,catharine',s ,,college1 ,,cambridge2 ,,member ,,of ,,the ,,alpine ,,club4 #ahfe4 ,,preface4 ,the existence of natural ice-caves at depths varying from #ej to #bjj feet below the surface of the earth1 unconnected with glaciers or snow mountains1 and in latitudes and at altitudes where ice could not under ordinary circumstances be supposed to exist1 has attracted some attention on the ,continent2 but little or nothing seems to be practically known in ,england on the subject4 ,these caves are so singular1 and many of them so well repay inspection1 that a description of the twelve which ,i have visited can scarcely1 as it seems to me1 be considered an uncalled-for addition to the numerous books of travel which are constantly appearing4 ,in order to prevent my narrative from being a mere dry record of natural phenomena1 ,i have interspersed it with such incidents of travel as may be interesting in themselves or useful to those who are inclined to follow my steps4 ,i have also given1 from various sources1 accounts of similar caves in different parts of the world4 ,a pamphlet on ,glacires ,naturelles by ,m4 ,thury1 of ,geneva1 of the existence of which ,i was not aware when ,i commenced my explorations1 has been of great service to me4 ,m4 ,thury had only visited three glacires when he published his pamphlet in #ahfa1 but the observations he records are very valuable4 ,he had attempted to visit a fourth1 when1 unfortunately1 the want of a ladder of sufficient length stopped him4 ,i was allowed to read ,papers before the ,british ,association at ,bath 7#ahfd71 in the ,chemical ,section1 on the prismatic formation of the ice in these caves1 and in the ,geological ,section1 on their general character and the possible causes of their existence4 ,it is necessary to say1 with regard to the sections given in this book1 that1 while the proportions of the masses of ice are in accordance with measurements taken on the spot1 the interior height of many of the caves1 and the curves of the roof and sides1 are put in with a free hand1 some of them from memory4 ,and of the measurements1 too1 it is only fair to say that they were taken for the most part under very unfavourable circumstances1 in dark caves lighted by one1 or sometimes by two candles1 with a temperature varying from slightly above to slightly below the freezing-point1 and with no surer foot-hold than that afforded by slippery slopes of ice and chaotic blocks of stone4 ,in all cases1 errors are due to want of skill1 not of honesty2 and ,i hope that they do not generally lie on the side of exaggeration4 ,,cambridge3 ,june #ahfe4 ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,page ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,la ,,genolli,,re1 ,,in ,,the ,,jura 4444444444444#a ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges1 ,,in ,,the ,,jura 4444444444444444#ai ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,lower ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres1 ,,in ,,the ,,jura 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444#cb ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,upper ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres 4444444444444#df ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,gr,,ce-,,dieu1 ,,or ,,la ,,baume1 ,,near ,,besan,,on1 ,,in ,,the ,,vosgian ,,jura 444444444444444444444444444444444444#fj ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,besan,,on ,,and ,d,,le 44444444444444444444444444444444444444#h e ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,month,,zy1 ,,in ,,the ,,val ,,de ,,travers 44444444#ig ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,and ,,neigi,,re ,,of ,,arc-,,sous-,,cicon 444444444444#aah ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,schafloch1 ,,or ,,trou-,,aux-,,moutons1 ,,near ,,the ,,lake ,,of ,,thun 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444444#aca ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,grand ,,anu1 ,,near ,,annecy 44444444444444444#aeg ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,chappet-,,sur-,,villaz1 ,,near ,,annecy 44444444#ahb ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,res ,,of ,,the ,,brezon1 ,,and ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,reposoir 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444#bjb ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,la ,,borna ,,de ,,la ,,glace1 ,,in ,,the ,,duchy ,,of ,,aosta 444444444444#baj ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,fondeurle1 ,,in ,,dauphin 44444444444444444#bab ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,other ,,ice-,,caves3-- ,,the ,,cave ,,of ,,scelicze1 ,,in ,,hungary 444444444444444444444#bcg ,,the ,,cave ,,of ,,yeermalik1 ,,in ,,koondooz 4444444444444444444#bdj ,,the ,,surtshellir1 ,,in ,,iceland 44444444444444444444444444#bdd ,,the ,,gypsum ,,cave ,,of ,,illetzkaya ,,zastchita1 ,,orenburg 4444#bdi ,,the ,,ice-,,cavern ,,on ,,the ,,peak ,,of ,,teneriffe 44444444444444#bec ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,brief ,,notices ,,of ,,various ,,ice-,,caves 444444444444444444444#bef ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,history ,,of ,,theories ,,respecting ,,the ,,causes ,,of ,,subterranean ,,ice 444444444444444444444444444444444444444# bhb ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,on ,,the ,,prismatic ,,structure ,,of ,,the ,,ice ,,in ,,glaci,,res 44444#cjj ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,on ,,the ,,mean ,,temperature ,,of ,,the ,,regions ,,in ,,which ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,res ,,occur 4444444444444444444444444444#cjh ,,appendix 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444#cac ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4 ,,ice-,,columns ,,in ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,la ,,genolli,,re 44444444444#f ,,entrance ,,to ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges 44444444444444444#bd ,,vertical ,,sections ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges 44444444#bf ,,lower ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres 44444444444444444#ci ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,lower ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres 444444444444444444444444444444444444444# da ,,second ,,cave ,,of ,,the ,,upper ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 444444#ej ,,vertical ,,sections ,,of ,,the ,,upper ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 444#eb ,,vertical ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,gr,,ce-,,dieu1 ,,near ,,besan,,on 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4444444#gg ,,bath ,,in ,,the ,,doubs1 ,,at ,,besan,,on 4444444444444444444444444#ia ,,vertical ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,month,,zy1 ,,in ,,the ,,val ,,de ,,travers 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 4#ajh ,,ground ,,plan ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,month,,zy 4444444444444444#aaj ,,vertical ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,grand ,,anu1 ,,near ,,annecy 4444444444444444444444444444444444444444 444444444#agc ,,ice-,,cave ,,in ,,the ,,surtshellir 4444444444444444444444444444#bdh 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,la ,,genolli,,re1 ,,in ,,the ,,jura4 ,in the summer of #ahfa1 ,i found myself1 with some members of my family1 in a small rustic pension in the village of ,arzier1 one of the highest villages of the pleasant slope by which the ,jura passes down to the ,lake of ,geneva4 ,the son of the house was an intelligent man1 with a good knowledge of the natural curiosities which abound in that remarkable range of hills1 and under his guidance we saw many strange things4 ,more than once1 he spoke of the existence of a glacire at no great distance1 and talked of taking us to see it2 but we were sceptical on the subject1 imagining that glacire was his patois for glacier1 and knowing that anything of the glacier kind was out of the question4 ,at last1 however1 on a hot day in ,august1 we set off with him1 armed1 at his request1 with candles2 and1 after two or three hours of pine forests1 and grass glades1 and imaginary paths up rocky ranges of hill towards the summits of the ,jura1 we came to a deep natural pit1 down the side of which we scrambled4 ,at the bottom1 after penetrating a few yards into a chasm in the rock1 we discovered a small low cave1 perfectly dark1 with a flooring of ice1 and a pillar of the same material in the form of a headless woman1 one of whose shoulders we eventually carried off1 to regale our parched friends at ,arzier4 ,we lighted up the cave with candles1 and sat crouched on the ice drinking our wine1 finding water1 which served the double purpose of icing and diluting the wine1 in small basins in the floor of ice1 formed apparently by drops falling from the roof of the cave4 ,a few days after1 our guide and companion took us to an ice-cavern on a larger scale1 which1 we were told1 supplies ,geneva with ice when the ordinary stores of that town fail2 and the next year my sisters went to yet another1 where1 however1 they did not reach the ice1 as the ladder necessary for the final drop was not forthcoming4 ,in the course of the last year or two1 ,i have mentioned these glacires now and then in ,england1 and no one has seemed to know anything about them2 so ,i determined1 in the spring of #ahfd1 to spend a part of the summer in examining the three we had already seen or heard of1 and discovering1 if possible1 the existence of similar caves4 ,the first that came under my notice was the ,glacire of ,la ,genollire2 and1 though it is smaller and less interesting than most of those which ,i afterwards visited1 many of its general features are merely reproduced on a larger scale in them4 ,i shall therefore commence with this cave1 and proceed with the account of my explorations in their natural order4 ,it is probable that some of the earlier details may seem to be somewhat tedious1 but they are necessary for a proper understanding of the subject4 ,la ,genollire is the montagne1 or mountain pasturage and wood1 belonging to the village of ,genollier1 an ancient priory of the monks of ,s4 ,claude4#a ,the cave itself lies at no great distance from ,arzier--a village which may be seen in profile from the ,grand ,quai of ,geneva1 ambitiously climbing towards the summit of the last slope of the ,jura4 ,to reach the cave from ,geneva1 it would be necessary to take train or steamer to ,nyon1 whence an early omnibus runs to ,s4 ,cergues1 if crawling up the serpentine road can be called running2 and from ,s4 ,cergues a guide must be taken across the ,fruitire de ,nyon1 if anyone can be found who knows the way4 ,from ,arzier1 however1 which is nine miles up from ,nyon1 it was not necessary to take the ,s4 ,cergues route2 and we went straight through the woods1 past the site of an old convent and its drained fish-pond1 and up the various rocky ridges of hill1 with no guide beyond the recollection of the previous visits two and three years before1 and a sort of idea that we must go north-west4 ,as it was not yet ,july1 the cows had not made their summer move to the higher chlets1 and we found the mountains uninhabited and still4 ,the point to be made for is the upper ,chlet of ,la ,genollire1 called by some of the people ,la ,baronne1 #b though the district map puts ,la ,baronne at some distance from the site of the glacire4 ,we had some difficulty in finding the chlet1 and were obliged to spread out now and then1 that each might hunt a specified portion of the wood or glade for signs to guide our further advance1 enjoying meanwhile the lilies of the mountain and lilies of the valley1 and fixing upon curious trees and plants as landmarks for our return4 ,in crossing the last grass1 we found the earliest vanilla orchis 7,orchis nigra7 of the year1 and came upon beds of moonwort 7,botrychium ,lunaria7 of so unusual a size that our progress ceased till such time as the finest specimens were secured4 ,some time before reaching this point1 we caught a glimpse of a dark speck on the highest summit in sight1 which recalled pleasantly a night we had spent there three years before for the purpose of seeing the sun rise4#c ,my sisters had revisited the ,chlet des ,chvres1 which this dark speck represented1 in #ahfb1 and found that the small chamber in which we had slept on planks and logs had become a more total ruin than before1 in the course of the winter1 so that it is now utterly untenable4 ,from ,arzier to the ,chlet of ,la ,genollire1 would be about two hours1 for a man walking and mounting quickly1 and never losing the way2 and the glacire lies a few minutes farther to the north-west1 at an elevation of about #b1hjj feet above the lake1 or #d1jjj feet above the sea4#d ,a rough mountain road1 leading over an undulating expanse of grass1 passes narrowly between two small clumps of trees1 each surrounded by a low circular wall1 the longer diameter of the enclosure on the south side of the road being #fj feet4 ,in this enclosure is a natural pit1 of which the north side is a sheer rock1 of the ordinary limestone of the ,jura1 with a chasm almost from the top2 while the south side is less steep1 and affords the means of scrambling down to the bottom1 where a cave is found at the foot of the chasm1 passing under the road4 ,the floor of this small but comparatively lofty cave is #eb feet below the surface of the earth1 and slopes away rapidly to the west1 where1 by the help of candles1 the rock which forms the wall is seen to stop short of the floor1 leaving an entrance #b or #c feet high to an inner cave--the glacire4 ,the roof of this inner cave rises slightly1 and its floor falls1 so that there is a height of about #f feet inside1 excepting where a large open fissure in the roof passes high up towards the world above4 ,at one end1 neither the roof nor the floor slopes much1 and in this part of the cave the height is less than #c feet4 ,it would be very imprudent to go straight into an ice-cave after a long walk on a hot summer's day1 so we prepared to dine under the shade of the trees at the edge of the pit1 and ,i went down into the cave for a few moments to get a piece of ice for our wine4 ,my first impression was that the glacire was entirely destroyed1 for the outer cave was a mere chaos of rock and stones2 but1 on further investigation1 it turned out that the ruin had not reached the inner cave4 ,in our previous visit we had noticed a natural basin of some size and depth among the trees on the north side of the road1 and we now found that the chaos was the result of a recent falling-in of this basin2 so that from the bottom of the first cave1 standing as it were under the road1 we could see daylight through the newly-formed hole4 ,the total length of the floor of the inner cave1 which lies north-east and south-west1 is #ea feet2 and of this floor a length of about #cg feet was more or less covered with ice1 the greatest breadth of the ice being within an inch or two of #aa feet4 ,excepting in the part of the cave already mentioned as being less than #c feet high1 we found the floor not nearly so dry1 nor so completely covered with ice1 as when we first saw the glacire1 three years before1 in the middle of an exceptionally hot ,august4 ,under the low roof all was very dry1 though even there the ice had not an average thickness of more than #h inches4 ,it may be as well to say1 once for all1 that the ice in these caves is never found in a sheet on a pool of water2 it is always solid1 forming the floor of the cave1 filling up the interstices of the loose stones1 and rising above them1 in this case with a surface perfectly level4 ,illustration3 ,,ice-,,columns ,,in ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,la ,,genolli,,re4 ,we found four principal columns of ice1 three of which1 in the loftiest part of the cave1 are represented in the accompanying engraving3 ,i call them three1 and not two1 because the two which unite in a common base proceeded from different fissures4 ,the line of light at the foot of the rock-wall is the only entrance to the glacire4 ,the lowest column was #aa-b_/c feet high and #a-b_/c feet broad1 not more than #f inches thick in the middle1 half-way up1 and flattened symmetrically so as to be comparatively sharp at the edges1 like a huge double-edged sword4 ,it stood clear of the rock through its whole height1 but scarcely left room between itself and the wall of the cave for a candle to be passed up and down4 ,the other two columns shown in the engraving poured out of fissures in the rock1 streaming down as cascades1 the one being #ac-a_/b and the other #ae feet high2 and when we tied a candle to the end of an alpenstock1 and passed it into the fissures1 we found that the bend of the fissures prevented our seeing the termination of the ice4 ,an intermittent disturbance of the air in these fissures made the flame flicker at intervals1 though generally the candle burned steadily in them1 and we could detect no current in the cave4 ,the fourth column was in the low part of the cave1 and we were obliged to grovel on the ice to get its dimensions3 it was #c-a_/d feet broad and #d-a_/c feet high1 the roof of the cave being only #b-c_/d feet high2 and it poured out of the vertical fissure like a smooth round fall of water1 adhering lightly to the rock at its upper end like a fungus1 and growing out suddenly in its full size4 ,this column was dry1 whereas on the others there were abundant symptoms of moisture1 as if small quantities of water were trickling down them from their fissures1 though the fissures themselves appeared to be perfectly dry4 ,in one of the fissures there was a patch of what is known as sweating-stone1 #e with globules of water oozing out1 and standing roundly upon it3 the globules were not frozen4 ,this stone was exceedingly hard1 and defied all our efforts to break off a specimen1 but at last we got two small pieces1 hard and heavy1 and wrapped them in paper2 ten weeks after1 we found them of course quite dry1 and broke them easily1 small as they were1 with our fingers4 ,the fissure from which the shortest of the four columns came was full of gnats1 as were also several crevices in the walls of the cave1 especially in the lowest part2 and we found a number of large red-brown flies1 #f nearly an inch long1 running rapidly on the ice and stones1 after the fashion of the flies with which trout love best to be taken4 ,the central parts of the cave1 where the roof is high1 were in a state provincially known as 'sloppy1' and drops of water fell now and then from above1 either splashing on wet stones1 or hollowing out basins in the remaining ice1 or1 sometimes1 shrewdly detecting the most sensitive spot in the back of the human neck4 ,we placed one of ,casella's thermometers on a piece of wood on one of the wet stones1 clear of the ice1 and it soon fell to #cd4 ,probably the temperature had been somewhat raised by the continued presence of three human beings and two lighted candles in the small cavern2 and1 at any rate1 the cold of two degrees above freezing was something very real on a hot summer's day1 and told considerably upon my sisters1 so that we were compelled to beat a retreat1--not quite in time1 for one of our party could not effect a thaw1 even by stamping about violently in the full afternoon sun4 ,while we were in the cave1 we noticed that the surfaces of the columns were covered by very irregular lines1 marked somewhat deeply in the ice1 and dividing the surface into areas of all shapes1 a sort of network1 with meshes of many different shapes and sizes4 ,these areas were smaller towards the edges of the columns2 the lines containing them were not1 as a rule1 straight lines1 and almost baffled our efforts to count them1 but1 to the best of my belief1 there were meshes with three1 four1 and up to eight sides4 ,the column which stood clear of the rock was composed of very limpid ice1 without admixture of air2 but the cascades were interpenetrated by veins of looser white ice1 and1 where the white ice came1 the surface lines seemed to disappear4 ,as we sat on the grass outside1 arranging our properties for departure1 my attention was arrested by the columnar appearance of the fractured edge of the block of ice which we had used at luncheon4 ,it was about #e inches thick1 and had formed part of a stalagmite whose horizontal section1 like that of the free column1 would be an ellipse of considerable eccentricity2 and1 on examination1 it turned out that the surface areas1 which varied in size from a large thumb-nail to something very small1 were the ends of prisms reaching through to the other side of the piece of ice1 at any rate in the thinner parts1 and presenting there similar faces4 ,not only so1 but the prisms could be detached with great ease1 by using no instrument more violent than the fingers2 while the point of a thin knife entered freely at any of the surface lines1 and split the ice neatly down the sides of the prisms4 ,when one or two of the sides of a prism were exposed1 at the edge of the piece of ice1 the prism could be pushed out entire1 like a knot from the edge of a piece of wood4 ,in some cases there seemed to be capillary fissures coincident with the lines where several sides of prisms met4 ,considering the shape of the whole column1 it is clear that the two ends of each prism could not be parallel2 neither was one of the ends perfectly symmetrical with the other1 and ,i do not think that the prisms were of the nature of truncated pyramids4 ,on descending again1 ,i found that the columns were without exception formed of this prismatic ice1 either in whole1 as in the clear column1 or in part1 as where limpid prisms existed among the white ice which ran in veins down the cascades4 ,in the free vertical column the prisms seemed to be deposited horizontally1 and in the thicker parts they did not pass clear through4 ,we carried a large piece of ice down to ,arzier in a botanical tin1 and on our arrival there we found that all traces of external lines had disappeared4 ,this visit to the glacire was on ,saturday1 and on the following ,monday ,i determined to go up alone1 to take a registering thermometer1 and leave it in the cave for the night2 which1 of course1 would entail a third visit on the next day4 ,monday brought a steady penetrating rain1 of that peculiar character which six ,scotch springs had taught me to describe as 'just a bit must2' while in the higher regions the fog was so hopeless1 that a sudden lift of the mist revealed the unpleasant fact that considerable progress had been made in a westerly direction1 the true line being north-west4 ,instead of the rocks of ,la ,genollire1 the foreground presented was the base of the ,dle1 and the chasm which affords a passage from the well-known fortress of ,les ,rousses into ,vaud4 ,there was nothing for it but to turn in the right direction1 or attempt to do so1 and force a way through the wet woods till something should turn up4 ,this something took the form of a chlet2 but no amount of hammering and shouting produced any response1 and it was only after a forcible entrance1 and a prolonged course of interior shouting1 that a man was at length drawn4 ,he said that he had been asleep--and why he put it in a past tense is still a mystery--and could give no idea of the direction of the chlet on ,la ,genollire1 beyond a vague suggestion that it was somewhere in the mist2 a suggestion by no means improbable1 seeing that the mist was ubiquitous4 ,one piece of information he was able to give1 and it was consoling3 ,i was now1 it seemed1 on the ,fruitire de ,nyon1 and therefore the desired chlet could not be far off1 if only a guide could be found4 ,on the whole1 he thought that a guide could not be found2 but there were men in the chlet1 and ,i might go up the ladder with him and see what could be done4 ,he led to a chamber with a window of one small pane1 dating apparently from the first invention of glass1 and never cleaned since4 ,an invisible corner of the room was appealed to2 but the voice which resided there1 and seemed like everything else to be asleep1 pleaded dreamily a total ignorance of the whereabouts of the chlet in question4 ,just as1 by dint of steady staring through the darkness1 an indistinct form of a mattress1 with a human being reclining thereon1 began to be visible1 another dark corner announced that this new speaker had heard of a p'tit sentier leading to the chlet1 but knew neither direction nor distance4 ,here the space between the two corners put in a word2 and1 as the darkness was now becoming natural1 seven or eight mattresses appeared1 ranged round the room1 some holding one1 some two men1 most of whom were sitting up on end with old caps on1 displaying every variety of squalor4 ,the voice which had spoken last declared that the distance was three-quarters of an hour1 and that if the day were clear there would be no difficulty in reaching the chlet2 as it was1 the man would be very glad to try4 ,a change of cap was the only dressing necessary for the volunteer1 and we faced the fog and rain1 which elicited from him such a disgraceful amount of swearing1 that it was on all accounts well when the rain ceased for a few minutes1 the mists rolled off1 and the clouds lifted sufficiently to betray the surface of the ,lake of ,geneva1 luxuriating in the clear warmth of an early summer's day1 and making us shiver by the painful contrast which our own altitude presented4 ,the deep blue of the lake brought to mind the story of the shepherd of ,gessenay 7,saanen71 of whom it is told that when he was passing the hills with some friends for a first visit to ,vevey1 and came in sight of the lake1 which he had never seen before1 he turned and hurried home incontinent1 declaring that he would not enter a country where the good ,god had made the blue sky to fall and fill the valleys4 ,in this bright interval we came upon a magnificent fox1 and the peasant's impulse was1 ',oh1 for a good gun6' an exclamation which would have sounded horrible to ,english ears1 if ,i had not been previously broken in to it by an invitation from a ,scotch gamekeeper to a fox-hunt1 when he promised an excellent gun1 and a stance which the foxes were sure to pass4 ,the rain now came on again1 and the guide thought he had had plenty of it1 and must return for the afternoon milking2 and just then1 as good luck would have it1 we stumbled upon an immense clump of nettles which had been one of our landmarks two days before1 so that he was no longer necessary1 and we said affectionate adieux4 ,the glacire was in a state of ruin4 ,only the right-hand column1 not speaking heraldically1 was standing1 the others lying in blocks frozen hard together on the ground4 ,the column which still stood was much shrunken1 and seemed too small for its fissure1 the sides of which it scarcely touched4 ,the wind blew down the entrance slope so determinedly1 that a candle found it difficult to live at the bottom of the first cave2 and a portion of the current blew into the glacire1 and in its sweep exactly struck the fallen columns1 the edges of which were already rounded by thaw4 ,much of this must be attributed to the recent opening of the second shaft 7p4 #e71 which admits a thorough draught through the first cave1 and so exposes the glacire to currents of warmer air2 and ,i should expect to find that in future the ice will disappear from that part of the cave every summer1 #g whereas in #ahfa we found it thick and dry 7excepting a few small basins containing water7 and evidently permanent1 in the middle of a very hot ,august4 ,the low part of the cave was so completely protected from the current1 that the candle burned there quite steadily for an hour and a half3 still1 like the others1 the column at that end of the glacire was broken down1 and it therefore became necessary to attribute its fall to some other agency than the current of external air4 ,there had been a very large amount of rain1 and the surface of the rock in the fissures was evidently wet2 so ,i have no doubt that the filtering through of the warm rain-water had thawed the upper supports of the ice-cascades1 and then1 owing to their slightly inclined position1 the pedestal had not provided sufficient support1 and so they had fallen4 ,one of them1 perhaps1 had brought down in its fall the free column1 which had stood two days before on its own base1 without any support from the rock4 ,very probably1 too--indeed1 almost certainly1--the fall of the large mass of rock1 which once formed the bottom of the basin on the north side of the road1 has affected the old-established fissures1 by which rain-water has been accustomed to penetrate in small quantities to the glacire1 so that now a much larger amount is admitted4 ,on this account1 there will probably be a great diminution of the ice in the course of future summers1 though the amount formed each winter may be greater than it has hitherto been4 ,constant examination of other columns and fissures has convinced me1 that1 before the end of autumn1 the majority of the glacires will have lost all the columns which depend upon the roof for a part of their support1 or spring from fissures in the wall2 whereas those which are true stalagmites1 and are self-supporting1 will have a much better chance of remaining through the warm season1 and lasting till the winter1 and so increasing in size from year to year4 ,free stalagmites1 however1 which are formed under fissures capable of pouring down a large amount of water on the occasion of a great flood of rain1 must succumb in time1 though not so soon as the supported columns4 ,a curious appearance was presented by a small free stalagmite in the retired part of the cave4 ,the surface of the stalagmite was wet1 from the drops proceeding from a fissure above1 and was lightly covered in many parts with a calcareous deposit1 brought down from the fissures in the roof by the water filtering through4 ,the stalagmite was of the double-edged-sword shape1 and the limestone deposit collected chiefly at one of its edges1 the edge nearer to that part of the cave where thaw prevailed2 so that the real edge was a ridge of deposit beyond the edge of the ice4#h ,patches of limestone paste lay on many parts of the ice-floor4 ,in the loftier part of the cave1 water dropped from the roof to so large an extent1 that ninety-six drops of water in a minute splashed on to a small stone immediately under the main fissure4 ,this stone was in the centre of a considerable area of the floor which was clear of ice2 and it struck me that if the columns were formed by the freezing of water dropping from the roof1 there ought to have been at some time a large column under this1 the most plentiful source of water in the cave4 ,accordingly1 ,i found that the edge of the ice round this clear area was much thicker than the rest of the ice of the floor1 and was evidently the remains of the swelling pedestal of a column which had been about #ab feet in circumference4 ,this departed column may account for a fact which ,i discovered in another glacire1 and found to be of very common occurrence1 viz41 that in large stalagmites there is a considerable internal cavity1 extending some feet up from the ground1 and affording room even for a man to walk about inside the column4 ,when the melted snows of spring send down to the cave1 through the fissures of the rock1 an abundance of water at a very low temperature1 and the cave itself is stored with the winter's cold1 these thicker rings of ice catch first the descending water1 and so a circular wall1 naturally conical1 is formed round the area of stones2 the remaining water either running off through the interstices1 or forming a floor of ice of less thickness1 which yields to the next summer's drops4 ,in the course of time1 this conical wall rises1 narrowing always1 till a dome-like roof is at length formed1 and thenceforth the column is solid4 ,of course1 the interior cannot be wholly free from ice2 and it will be seen from the account of one of these cavities1 which ,i explored in the ,schafloch1 that they are decked with ice precisely as might be expected4#i ,another possible explanation of this curious and beautiful phenomenon will be given hereafter4#aj ,the temperature was half a degree lower than when there were three of us in the cave two days before4 ,i deposited one of ,casella's registering thermometers1 on wood1 on a stone in that part of the floor which was free from ice1 though there was ice all round it at some little distance4 ,the thermometer was well above the surface of the ice1 and was protected from chance drops of water from the roof4 ,the next morning ,i started early from ,arzier1 having an afternoon journey in prospect to the neighbourhood of another glacire1 and was accompanied by ,captain ,douglas ,smith1 of the #dth ,regiment4 ,on our way to ,la ,genollire1 we came across the man who had served as guide the day before1 and a short conversation respecting the glacire ensued4 ,he had only seen it once1 many years before1 and he held stoutly to the usual belief of the peasantry1 that the ice is formed in summer1 and melts in winter2 a belief which everything ,i had then seen contradicted4 ,his last words as we parted were1 ',plus il fait chaud1 plus a gle2' and1 paradoxical as it may appear1 ,i believe that some truth was concealed in what he said1 though not as he meant it4 ,considering that his ideas were confined to his cattle and their requirements1 and that water is often very difficult to find in that part of the ,jura1 a hot summer would probably mean with him a dry summer1 that is1 a summer which does not send down much water to thaw the columns in the cave4 ,extra heat in the air outside1 at any season1 does not1 as experience of these caves proves abundantly1 produce very considerable disturbance of their low temperature1 and so summer water is a much worse enemy than extra summer heat2 and if the caves could be protected from water in the hot season1 the columns in them would know how to resist the possible--but very small--increase of temperature due to the excess of heat of one summer above another4 ,and since the eye is most struck by the appearance of the stalagmites and ice-cascades1 it may well be that the peasants have seen these standing at the end of an unusually hot and dry summer1 and have thence concluded that hot summers are the best time for the formation of ice4 ,of course1 at the beginning of the winter after a hot summer1 there will be on these terms a larger nucleus of ice2 and so it will become true that the hotter the year1 the more ice there will be1 both during the summer itself and after the following winter4 ,the further process of the formation of ice will be this3--the colds of early winter will freeze all the water that may be in the glacires from the summer's thaw1 in such caves as do not possess a drainage1 and then the frost will have nothing to occupy itself upon but the ice already formed1 for no water can descend from the frost-bound surface of the earth4#aa ,as soon as the snow begins to melt to so great a degree that the fissures are opened up once more1 the extremely cold water resulting therefrom will descend through the limestone into a cave perfectly dry1 and filled with an atmosphere many degrees below the freezing point1 whose frost-power eagerly lays hold of every drop of water which does not make its escape in time by the drainage of the cave4 ,thus the spring months will be the great time of the formation of ice1 and also of the raising of the temperature from some degrees below freezing to the more temperate register at which ,i have generally found it1 viz41 rather above than below #cb4 ,professor ,tyndall very properly likens the external atmosphere to a ratchet-wheel1 from its property of allowing the passage of hot rays down to the surface of the earth1 and resisting their return3 it may equally be so described on other grounds1 inasmuch as the cold and heavy atmosphere will sink in the winter into the pits which lead to glacires1 and will refuse to be altogether displaced in summer by anything short of solar radiation4 ,we found the one column of the previous day still standing1 though evidently in an unhappy state of decay4 ,the sharpness of its edges was wholly gone1 and it was withered and contorted2 there were two cracks completely through it1 dividing it into three pieces #d or #e feet long1 which were clearly on the point of coming down4 ,externally1 the day was fine and warm1 and so we found the cave comparatively dry1 only one drop falling in a minute on to the stone where ninety-six had fallen in the same time the day before4 ,the thermometer registered #cb as the greatest cold of the night1 and still stood at that point when we took it up4 ,we spent some little time in exploring the neighbourhood of the pits1 in order to find1 if possible1 the outlet for the drainage1 but the ground did not fall away sufficiently for any source from so low an origin to show itself4 ,the search was suggested by what ,i remembered of the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges three years before1 where the people believe that a small streamlet which issues from the bottom of a steep rock1 some distance off1 owes its existence to the glacire4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,in this neighbourhood1 the montagne of any commune is represented by the feminine form of the name of the village3 thus1 ,l',arzire is the montagne of ,arzier1 and ,la ,bassine of ,bassin4 ,this has a curious effect in the case of some villages--such1 for instance1 as ,s4 ,georges--one of the landmarks of the district between the lakes of ,joux and ,geneva being the ,chlet de la ,s4 ,georges1 a grammatical anomaly which puzzles a stranger descending the southernmost slope of the ,jura from the ,asile de ,marchairuz4 ,this law of formation is not universal2 for the montagnes of ,rolle and ,s4 ,livres are called the ,pr de ,rolle and the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres1 while the ,fruitire de ,nyon is the rich upland possession of the town of that name4 ,footnote #b3 ,probably a relic of the time when the earlier ,barons of ,coppet possessed this district4 ,the families of ,grandson1 ,lesdiguires1 and ,dohna successively held the barony2 and in later times the title de ,coppet hid a name more widely known1 for on the ,chlet of ,les ,biolles1 some distance to the east of ,la ,baronne1 the name of ,auguste de ,stal de ,holstein de ,coppet is carved1 after the fashion of ,swiss chlets4 ,this was ,madame de ,stal's son1 who built ,biolles in #ahag2 it was afterwards sold to the commune of ,nyon1 and finally purchased by ,arzier two or three years ago4 ,footnote #c3 ',cornhill ,magazine1' ,june #ahfc1 ',how we slept at the ,chlet des ,chvres4' ,footnote #d3 ,this is only a guess1 made from a comparison with the ascertained heights of neighbouring points4 ,footnote #e3 ,the patois of ,vaud has a prettier name for this kind of stone--le sex 7or scex7 qui plliau1 the weeping-stone4 ,footnote #f3 ,i brought one of these to ,england1 and am told that it is the ,stenophylax hieroglyphicus of ,stephens1 or something very like that fly4 ,footnote #g3 ,since writing this1 ,i have been told that some ,english officers who visited the cave in the ,august of #ahfd found no ice in any part4 ,footnote #h3 ,see also p4 #bca4 ,footnote #i3 ,p4 #ade4 ,footnote #aj3 ,p4 #cja4 ,footnote #aa3 ,it is possible that the freezing of the surface may play a curious part in the phenomena of the spring season in such caves4 ,supposing the surface to be completely frost-bound1 all atmospheric pressure will be removed from the upper surface of the water in the long fissures1 and thus water may be held in suspension1 in the centre of large masses of fissured rock1 during the winter months4 ,the first thorough thaw will have the same effect as the removal of the thumb from the upper orifice in the case of the hand-shower-bath2 and the water thus rained down into the cave will have a temperature sufficiently high to destroy some portion of the cold stored up by the descent of the heavy atmosphere of winter1 or at least to melt out the ice which may have blocked up the lower ends of the fissures4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges1 ,,in ,,the ,,jura4 ,the best way of reaching this glacire from ,geneva would be to take the steamer to ,rolle1 or the train to one of the neighbouring stations1 between ,geneva and ,lausanne1 and thence pass up the slope of the ,jura by the road which leads through ,gimel4 ,for the train1 the ,allaman station would be the most convenient1 as an omnibus runs from ,allaman to ,aubonne1 where the poste for ,gimel may be caught4 ,but from ,arzier there is a short cut of less than two hours along the side of the hills1 leaving that village by a deep gorge not unfitly named ,l',enfer1 and a dark wood which retains an odour of more savage bygone times in its name of the ',bear's ,wood1' as containing a cavern where an old bear was detected in the act of attempting to winter4#ab ,the village of ,s4 ,georges has very respectable accommodation for a single traveller1 au ,cavalier4 ,the common day-room will be found untenable by most ,englishmen1 however largely they may delight in rough quarters2 but there is a double-bedded room at the end of a bricked passage up-stairs1 which serves well for bedroom and sitting-room in one4 ,the chief drawback in this arrangement is1 that the landlady inexorably removes all washing apparatus during the day1 holding that a pitcher and basin are unseemly ornaments for a sitting-room4 ,the deal table1 of course1 serves both for dressing and for feeding purposes1 but it is fortunately so long that an end can be devoted to each2 and on the whole it is possible to become considerably attached to the room1 with its three airy windows1 and the cool unceasing hum of a babbling fountain in the village-street below4 ,the ,auberge is a large building1 with a clock-tower of considerable height1 containing the clock of the commune3 as soon as the candle is put out at night1 it becomes painfully evident that a rectangular projection in one corner of the room is in connection with this tower1 and in fact forms a part of the abode of the pendulum1 which plods on with audible vigour1 growing more and more audible as the hours pass on1 and making a stealthy pervading noise1 as if a couple of lazy ghosts were threshing phantom wheat4 ,the clocks of ,vaud1 too1 are in the habit of striking the hour twice1 with a short interval2 so that if anyone is not sure what the clock meant the first time1 he has a second chance of counting the strokes4 ,this is no doubt an admirable plan under ordinary circumstances1 but it does certainly try the patience of a sleepless dyspeptic after a surfeit of caf-au-lait and honey2 and when he has counted carefully the first time1 and is bristling with the consciousness that it is only midnight1 it is aggravating in the extreme to have the long slow story told a second time within a few feet of his head4 ,the ,cavalier had retained a guide overnight1 ,henri ,renaud by name1 and he appeared punctually at eight o'clock in the morning1 got up in the short-tail coat of the country1 and a large green umbrella with mighty ribs of whalebone4 ,the weather was extremely unpleasant1 a cold pitiless rain rendering all attempts at protection unavailing2 but1 fortunately1 the glacire is only an hour and a quarter from the village4 ,the path is tolerably steep1 leading across the petit ,pr de ,rolle1 and through woods of beech and fir1 till the summit of one of the minor ridges of the ,jura is reached1 whence a short descent leads to the mouth of the glacire1 something more than #d1jjj feet above the sea4 ,the ground here slopes down towards the north2 and on the slope1 among fir-trees1 an irregular circular basin is seen1 some seven or eight yards across1#ac and perhaps two yards deep1 at the bottom of which are two holes4 ,one of these holes is open1 and as the guide and ,i--for my sisters remained at ,arzier--stood on the neck of ground between the holes1 we could see the snow lying at the bottom of the cave2 the other is covered with trunks of trees1 laid over the mouth to prevent the rays of the sun from striking down on to the ice4 ,this protection has become necessary in consequence of an incautious felling of wood in the immediate neighbourhood of the mouth1 which has exposed the ice to the assaults of the weather4 ,the commune has let the glacire for a term of nine years1 receiving six or seven hundred francs in all2 and the fermier extracts the ice1 and sells it in ,geneva and ,lausanne4 ,in hot summers1 the supplies of the artificial ice-houses fail2 and then the hotel-keepers have recourse to the stores laid up for them by nature in the ,glacires of ,s4 ,georges and ,s4 ,livres4 ,hence the importance of protecting the ice2 the necessity for so doing arising in this case from the fact that the entrance to the cave is by a hole in the roof1 which exposes the ice to direct radiation1 unlike all other glacires1 excepting perhaps the ,cueva del ,hielo on the ,peak of ,teneriffe4#ad ,autumn appears to be the usual time for cutting the ice1 when it is carried from the cave on men's backs as far as the commencement of the rough mountain-road1 and is there packed on chars1 and so conveyed to the nearest railway station4 ,renaud had worked in the cave for two years1 and asserted that they did not choose the night for carrying the ice down to the station1 and did not even care to choose a cool day4 ,he believed that1 in the autumn of #ahfc1 they loaded two chars a day for fifteen days1 and each char took from #dj to #ej quintaux2 the quintal containing #ej kilos1 or #ajj livres4#ae ,in ,professor ,pictet's time 7#ahbb7 this glacire supplied the ,hospital of ,geneva1 whose income depended in part on its privilege of revente of all ice sold in the town1 with #be quintaux every other day during the summer4 ,in my anxiety to learn the exact amount of ice now supplied by the glacire1 ,i determined to find out the fermier2 but ,renaud could tell nothing of him beyond the fact that he lived in ,geneva1 which some promiscuous person supplemented by the information that his name was ,boucqueville1 and that he had something to do with comestibles4 ,on entering upon a hunt for ,m4 ,boucqueville a fortnight later1 it turned out that no one had heard of such a person1 and the ,directory professed equal ignorance2 but1 under the head of ',comestibles1' there appeared a ,gignoux-,bocquet1 ,no4 #cd1 ,march4 ,thirty-four1 ,march1 said1 yes--,m4 ,bocquet--it was quite true3 nevertheless1 it was clear that monsieur meant ,sebastian an1 on the ,molard4 ,the ,molard knew only a younger ,sebastian1 but suggested that the right man was probably ,m4 ,gignoux-,chavaz1 over the way2 and when it was objected that ,gignoux-,bocquet1 and not ,gignoux-,chavaz1 was the name1 the ,molard replied that it made no matter1--,chavaz or ,bocquet1 it was all the same4 ,when ,m4 ,gignoux-,chavaz was found1 he said that he certainly was a man who had something to do with a glacire1 but1 instead of farming the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges1 he had only bought a considerable quantity of ice two years ago from the ,glacire of ,s4 ,livres1 and he did not believe that the fermier of ,s4 ,georges lived in ,geneva4 ,part of the confusion was due to the custom of placing a wife's maiden name after her husband's name3 thus ,gignoux-,chavaz implies that a male ,gignoux has married a female ,chavaz2 and when a ,swiss marries an ,english lady with a very ,english name1 the result in the ,continental mouth is sufficiently curious4 ,on arriving at the entrance to the glacire1 the end of a suggestive ladder is seen under the protecting trunks2 and after one or two steps have been taken down the ladder1 the effect of the cave below is extremely remarkable1 the main features being a long wall covered thickly with white ice in sheets1 a solid floor of darker-coloured ice1 and a high pyramid of snow reaching up towards the uncovered hole already spoken of4 ,the atmosphere of the cave is damp1 and this causes the ladders to fall speedily to decay1 so that they are by no means to be trusted3 indeed1 an early round gave way under one of my sisters1 when they visited the cave with me in #ahfa1 and suggested a clear fall of #fj feet on to a cascade of ice4#af ,there are three ladders1 one below the other1 and a hasty measurement gave their lengths as #bj1 #af1 and #bh feet4 ,the rock-roof is only a few feet thick in the neighbourhood of the hole of entrance4 ,illustration3 ,,entrance ,,to ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges4 ,the total length of the cave is #aaj feet1 lying ,,ne4 and ,,sw41 in the line of the main chain of the ,jura4 ,the lowest part of the floor is a sea of ice of unknown depth1 #de feet long by #ae broad2 and ,renaud tried my powers of belief by asserting that in #ahcd the level of this floor was higher by half the height of the cave than now2 a statement1 however1 which is fully borne out by ,professor ,pictet's measurements in #ahbb1 when the depth of the glacire was less than #cj feet4 ,indeed1 the floor had sunk considerably since my previous visit1 when it was all at the same level down to the further end of the cave2 whereas now1 as will be seen in the section1 there was a platform of stones resting on ice at that end4 ,there are two large fissures passing into the rock1 one only of which can be represented in the section1 and these were full of white ice1 not owing its whiteness apparently to the admixture of air in bubbles1 but firm and compact1 and very hard1 almost like porcelain4 ,small stalactites hung from round fissures in the roof1 formed of the same sort of ice1 and broken off short1 much as the end of a leaden pipe is sometimes seen to project from a wall4 ,with this exception1 there was no ice hanging from the roof1 though there were abundant signs of very fine columns which had already yielded to the advancing warmth3 one of these still remained1 in the form of broken blocks of ice1 in the neighbourhood of the open hole in the roof1 immediately below which hole the stones of the floor were completely bare1 and the thermometer stood at #ej4 ,at the far end of the cave1 the thermometer gave something less than #cb2 a difference so remarkable1 at the same horizontal level1 that ,i am inclined to doubt the accuracy of the figures1 though they were registered on the spot with due care4 ,the uncovered hole1 it must be remembered1 is so large1 and so completely open1 that the rain falls freely on to the stones on the floor below4 ,by far the most striking part of this glacire is the north-west wall1 which is covered with a sheet of ice #gj feet long1 and #bb feet high at the highest part3 in the neighbourhood of the ladders1 this turns the corner of the cave1 and passes up for about #i feet under the second ladder4 ,the general thickness of the sheet is from a foot to a foot and a half2 and this is the chief source from which the fermier draws the ice1 as it is much more easily quarried than the solid floor4 ,some of my friends went to the cave a few weeks after my visit1 and found that the whole sheet had been pared off and carried away4 ,on some parts of the wall the sheet was not completely continuous1 being formed of broad and distinct cascades1 connected by cross channels of ice1 and uniting at their upper and lower ends1 thus presenting many curious and ornamental groupings4 ,on cutting through this ice1 it was found not to lie closely on the rock1 a small intermediate space being generally left1 almost filled with minute limestone particles in a very wet state2 and the whole cavern showed signs of more or less thaw4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges4 ,,vertical ,,sections ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,s4 ,,georges4 ,it was natural to examine the structure of the ice in this glacire1 after what we had observed on ,la ,genollire4 ,the same prismatic structure was universal in the sheet on the wall1 and in the blocks which lay here and there on the floor and formed the sole remains of former columns4 ,it was to be observed also in many parts of the ice-floor itself4 ,the base of one large column still remained standing in its original position1 and its upper end presented a tolerably accurate horizontal section of the column4 ,the centre was composed of turbid ice1 round which limpid prisms were horizontally arranged1 diverging like the feathers of a fan2 then came a ring of turbid ice1 and then a second concentric ring of limpid prisms1 diverging in the same manner as those which formed the inner ring4 ,there were in all three or four of these concentric rings1 the details showing a considerable amount of confusion and interference3 the general law1 however1 was most evident1 and has held in all the similar columns which ,i have since examined in other glacires4 ,the rings were not accurately circular1 but presented rather the appearance of having been formed round a roughly-fluted pillar on an elliptical base4 ,the examination of the ice on the wall gave some curious results4 ,the horizontal arrangement of the prisms1 which we had found to prevail in vertical columns1 was here modified to suit the altered conditions of the case1 and the axes of the prisms changed their inclination so as to be always perpendicular to the surface on which the ice lay1 as far as could be determined by the eye4 ,thus1 in following the many changes of inclination of the wall1 the axes of the prisms stood at many different angles with the vertical1 from a horizontal position where the wall chanced to be vertical1 to a vertical position on the horizontal ledges of the rock4 ,the extreme edges1 too1 of the ice1 presented a very peculiar appearance4 ,the general thickness1 as has been said1 varied from a foot to a foot and a half2 and this diminished gradually along horizontal lines1 till1 at the edges of the sheet1 where the ice ceased1 it became of course nothing4 ,the extreme edge was formed of globular or hemispherical beads of ice1 like the freezing of a sweating-stone1 lying so loosely on the rock that ,i could sweep them off in detail with one hand1 and catch them with the other as they fell4 ,passing farther on towards the thicker parts of the ice1 these beads stood up higher and higher1 losing their roundness1 and becoming compressed into prisms of all shapes1 in very irregular imitation of the cellular tissue in plants1 the axes of the prisms following the generally-observed law4 ,there seems to be nothing in this phenomenon which cannot be accounted for by the supposition of gradual thaw of small amount being applied to a sheet of prismatic ice4 ,one fact was remarkable from its universal appearance4 ,wherever an incision was made in this sheet of ice1 the prisms snapped off at the depth of an inch1 and could be mowed down like corn by means of a stout knife4 ,although they broke naturally at this constant depth1 and left a surface of limpid ice without any signs of external or internal division1 still the laminae obtained by chiselling this lower surface carefully1 broke up regularly into the shapes to be expected in sections of prisms cut at right angles to the axis4 ,the roughness of my instruments made it impossible to discover how far this extended1 and whether it ceased to be the case at any given depth in the ice4 ,the sea of ice on the floor was in a very wet state at the surface1 being at a lower level than the stones on to which the rain from the open hole fell2 and here the prismatic structure was not apparent to the eye1 nor do ,i know whether it existed at all4 ,in the ,glacire of ,la ,genollire ,i carried a large block of perfectly prismatic ice into the outer cave1 where it was exposed to the free currents of air passing from the pit of entrance to the hole newly opened by the falling in of the ground2 and1 two days after1 the external lines were scarcely perceptible1 while on the occasion of our third visit ,i found that they had entirely disappeared1 and the whole block was rapidly following their example4 ,this disappearance of the surface-lines under the action of atmospheric thaw is probably the same thing as their absence when the flooring of ice is thinly covered with water4 ,wherever the flooring rose slightly towards the edges of the sea of ice1 the usual structure appeared again4 ,there were no currents of air in the cave1 the candles burning steadily through the whole time of our visit4 ,excepting for the purpose of detecting disturbance in the air1 there is no need of candles1 as the two holes in the roof supply sufficient light4 ,some account of the careful observations made here by ,m4 ,thury1 at different seasons of the year1 will be found in other parts of this book4 ,we passed1 on our return1 by the source of water which springs from the foot of a rock at some distance from the glacire1 and is supposed to form the outlet for the drainage of the cave2 but it is difficult to understand how this can be the case1 considering the form and character of the intervening ground4 ,the two ice-caves so far described are the least interesting of all that ,i have visited2 but a peasant informed me1 a day or two after1 that if we had penetrated to the back of the pyramid of snow which lay half under the open hole1 being the remains of the large collection which is formed there in the winter1 we might have found a deep pit which is sometimes exposed by the melting of the snow4 ,he had some idea that its depth was #cj feet a few years ago1 and that its sides were solid ice4 ,i shall have occasion to mention such pits in another glacire2 if one does exist here1 it has probably been quarried in the ice by the drops from the hole in the roof1 and there might be some interest attached to an attempt to investigate it4#ag ,we reached ,s4 ,georges again in a wretched state of wet and cold1 and ,renaud went off to bed1 and imbibed abundant and super-abundant kirsch1--at least1 when drawn thence the next morning1 his manner left no doubt about either the fact or the abundance of the potations overnight4 ,warned by many experiences1 ,i had gone no nearer to a specification of the bill of fare than a vague suggestion that quelque chose must be forthcoming1 with an additional stipulation that this must be something more than mere onions and fat4 ,the landlady's rendering of quelque chose was very agreeable1 but1 for the benefit of future diners au ,cavalier1 it is as well to say that those who do not like anisette had better make a private arrangement with their hostess1 otherwise they will swallow with their soup an amount sufficient for many generations of the drag3 they may also safely order savoury rice1 with browned veal and wine-sauce1 which is evidently a strong point with the ,cavalier4 ,all meals there are picturesque2 for the omelette lay on the ,castle of ,grandson and a part of the ,lake of ,neufchtel1 while the butter reposed on the ruined ,cathedral of ,sion1 and the honey distilled pleasantly from the comb on to the walls of ,wufflens4 ,no one should put any trust in the spoons1 which are constructed apparently of pewter shavings in a chronic state of semi-fusion4 ,on the evening of the second day1 the landlady allowed a second knife at tea1 as the knife-of-all-work had begun to knock up under the heavy strain upon its powers2 but this supplementary instrument was of the ornamental kind1 and1 like other ornamental things1 broke down at a crisis1 which took the form of a piece of crust4 ,lest this account should raise anyone's expectations too high1 it is as well to add that they have no snuffers in ,s4 ,georges1 beyond such as ,nature provided when she gave men fingers2 and they burn attenuated tallow candles with full-bodied wicks4 ,also1 the tea is flavoured with vanille1 unless that precious flavouring is omitted by private contract4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ab3 ,on our previous visit1 in #ahfa1 we passed from ,arzier through ,longirod and ,marchissy1 stopping to measure and admire the huge lime-tree in the churchyard of the latter village4 ,our ,swiss companion on that occasion was anxious that we should carry home some ice from the cave2 and as the communal law forbade the removal of the ice by strangers1 he hunted up a cousin in ,marchissy1 and sent him with a hotte across country1 while we went innocently by the ordinary route through ,s4 ,georges4 ,the cousin1 however1 contrived to lose himself in the woods1 and we never heard of him again4 ,footnote #ac3 ,the size of this basin is exaggerated in the engraving on page #bd1 owing to the roughness of the original sketch4 ,footnote #ad3 ,see p4 #bec4 ,footnote #ae3 ,for further details on this point see pages #ed and #hc4 ,footnote #af3 ,these ladders have at best but little stability1 as they consist of two uprights1 careless about the coincidence of the holes1 with bars poked loosely through and left to fall out or stay in as they choose1 the former being the prevailing choice4 ,one of the ladders happened to be firmer than the generality of its kind2 but1 unfortunately1 its legs were of unequal lengths1 and so it turned round with one of my sisters1 leaving her clinging like a cat to the under side4 ,when the bars are sufficiently loose1 a difference of a few inches in the lengths of the legs is not of so much importance4 ,footnote #ag3 ,m4 ,thury found this hole1 and fathomed it to a depth of #f-a_/b mtres4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,lower ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres4 ,i had intended to walk on from ,s4 ,georges to ,bire1 after returning from the glacire last described1 and thence1 the next morning1 to the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres1 the mountain pasturage of the commune of ,s4 ,livres1#ah a village near ,aubonne4 ,but ,renaud advised a change of plan1 and the result showed that his advice was good4 ,he said that the fermier of the ,glacire of ,s4 ,livres generally lived in ,s4 ,georges1 and1 if he were at home1 would be the best guide to the glacire2 while the distance from ,s4 ,georges was1 if anything1 rather less than the distance from ,bire2 so that by remaining at the ,cavalier for another night the walk to ,bire would be saved1 and the possibility of finding no competent guide there would be evaded4 ,jules ,mignot1 the farmer in question1 was at home1 and promised to go to the glacire in the morning1 pledging his word and all that he was worth for the existence and soundness of the ladders2 a matter of considerable importance1 for ,m4 ,thury had been unable to reach the ice1 as also my sisters1 by reason of a failure in this respect4 ,in the course of the evening ,mignot came in1 and confidentially took the other chair4 ,he wished to state that he had three associs in working the glacire1 and that one of them knew of a similar cave1 half an hour from the one more generally known2 the associ had found it two years before1 and had not seen it since1 and he believed that no one else knew where it was to be found4 ,if ,i cared to visit it1 the associ would accompany us1 but there was some particular reason--here he relapsed into patois--why this other man could not by himself serve as guide to both glacires4 ,as this meant that ,i must have two guides1 and suggested that perhaps the right rendering of associ was 'accomplice1' the negotiation nearly came to a violent end2 but the farmer was so extremely explanatory and convincing1 that ,i gave him another chance1 asking him how much the two meant to have1 and telling him that1 although ,i could not see the necessity for two guides1 ,i only wished to do what was right4 ,he expressed his conviction of the truth of this statement with such fervour1 that ,i could only hope his moderation might be as great as his faith4 ,he took the usual five minutes to make up his mind what to say1 going through abstruse calculations with a brow demonstratively bent1 and1 to all appearance1 reckoning up exactly what was the least it could be done for1 consistently with his duty to himself and his family4 ,then he asked1 with an air of resignation1 as if he were throwing himself and his associ away1 ',fifteen francs1 then1 would monsieur consider too much8' ',certainly1 far too much2 twelve francs would be enormous4 ,but1 for the pleasure of his company and that of his friend1 ,i should be happy to give that sum for the two1 and they must feed themselves4' ,he jumped at the offer1 with an alacrity which showed that ,i had much under-estimated his margin in putting it at three francs2 and with many expressions of anticipatory gratitude1 and promises of axes and ropes in case of emergency1 he bowed himself out4 ,the event proved that both the men were really valuable1 and they got something over the six francs a-piece4 ,the rain had been steadily increasing in intensity for the last twenty-four hours1 from the insidious steeping of a ,scotch mist to the violence of a chronic thunderstorm1 and had about reached this crisis when we started in the morning for the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres4 ,i had already tested its effects before breakfast1 in a search for the ,renaud of the day before1 who had made statements regarding the ice at ,s4 ,georges1 and the time of cutting it1 which a night's reflection showed to be false4 ,to search for ,henri ,renaud in the village of ,s4 ,georges1 was something like making an enquiry of a certain porter for the rooms of ,mr4 ,john ,jones4 ,the landlady of the ,cavalier was responsible for the first stage of the journey1 asserting that he lived two doors beyond the next auberge1 evidently with a feeling that it was wrong so far to patronise the rival house as to live near it4 ,that1 however1 was not the same ,henri ,renaud2 and a house a few yards off was recommended as a likely place1 where1 instead of ,henri1 a ,louis ,renaud turned up1 shivering under the eaves in company with the fermier1 who introduced ,louis in due form as the accomplice4 ,they received conjointly and submissively a lecture on the absurdity of calling it a rainy morning1 and the impossibility of staying at home1 even if it came on much worse1 and then pointed the way to the true ,henri ,renaud1 half-way down the village4 ,when ,i arrived at the place indicated1 and consulted a promiscuous ,swiss as to the abode of the object of my search1 he exclaimed1 ',henri ,renaud8 ,i am he4' ',but1' it was objected1 'it is the marchand de bois who is wanted4' ',precisely1 ,henri ,renaud1 marchand de bois2 it is ,i4' ',but1 it is the cutter of ice in the glacire4' ',ah1 a different ,henri4 ,that ,henri is in bed in the house yonder1' and so at last he was found4 ,when finally unearthed1 ,henri confessed that when he had said spring the day before1 he ought to have said autumn1 and that by autumn he meant ,november and ,december4 ,enquiries elsewhere showed that the end of summer was what he really meant1 if he meant to tell the truth4 ,our route for the glacire followed the high road which leads by the ,asile de ,marchairuz to ,la ,valle1 as far as the well-known ,chlet de la ,s4 ,georges2 and then the character of the way changed rapidly for the worse1 and we took to the wet woods4 ,after a time1 the wood ceased for a while1 and a large expanse of smooth rock showed itself1 rising slightly from the horizontal1 and so slippery in its present wet condition that we could not pass up it4 ,then woods again1 and then the montagnes of ,sous la ,roche1 and ,la ,foireuse1 till at last1 in two hours1 the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres was achieved4 ,the fog was so dense that nothing could be seen of the general lie of the country2 but the thalweg was a sufficient guide1 and after due perseverance we came upon the glacire1 not many yards from that line1 on the north slope of the open valley1 about #d1ejj feet above the sea4 ,to prevent cattle from falling into the pit1 a wall has been built round the trees in which it lies4 ,the circumference of this wall is #dce feet1 but there are so many trees at the upper end of the enclosure that this gives an exaggerated idea of the size of the pit4 ,the men fed while the preliminary measurements were being made2 and when this was accomplished1 they pressed their bottle of wine upon me so hospitably that ,i was obliged to antedate the result which its appearance promised1 and plead mal d'estomac4 ,of all things1 it is most unwise to give a reason for a negative1 and so it proved in this instance2 for they promptly felicitated themselves and me on the good luck by which it happened that they had brought a wine famous on all the cte as a remedy for that somewhat vague complaint--a homoeopathic remedy in allopathic doses4 ,the glacire is entered by a natural pit in the gentle slope of grass1 not much unlike the pit of ,la ,genollire1 but wider1 and covered at the bottom with snow4#ai ,the first ladder leads down to a ledge of rock on which bushes and trees grow1 and this ledge it is possible to reach without a ladder2 the next ladder leads on to the deep snow1 and descent by any ordinary manner of climbing is in this case quite impossible4#bj ,the snow slopes down towards a lofty arch in the rock which forms the north-west side of the pit1 and this arch is the entrance to the glacire2 it is #bh-c_/d feet wide1 and as soon as we passed under it we found that the snow became ice1 and it was necessary to cut steps2 for the surface of underground ice is so slippery1 unlike the surface of ordinary glaciers1 that the slightest defect from the horizontal makes the use of the axe advisable4 ,the stream of ice falls gradually1 spreading out laterally like a fan1 so as to accommodate itself to the shape of the cave1 which it fills up to the side walls2 it increases in breadth from #bh-c_/d feet at the top to #gb feet at the bottom of the slope1 and the distance from the top of the first ladder to this point is #agg feet4 ,here we were arrested by a strange wall of ice #bb feet high1 down which there seemed at first no means of passing2 but finding an old ladder frozen into a part of the wall1 we chopped out holes between the upper steps1 and so descended1 landing on a flooring composed of broken blocks and columns of ice1 with a certain amount of what seemed to be drifted snow4 ,this wall of ice1 which was #gb feet long and #bb feet high1 was not vertical1 but sloped the wrong way1 caving in under the stream of ice2 and from the projecting top of the wall a long fringe of vast icicles hung down1 along the whole breadth of the fan4 ,the effect of this was1 that we could walk between the ice-wall and the icicles as in a cloister1 with solid ice on the one hand and ,gothic arcades of ice on the other1 the floor being likewise of ice1 and the roof formed by the junction of the wall with the top of the icicle-arcade4 ,the floor of this cloister was not #bb feet below the top of the wall1 for it formed the upper part of a gentle descending slope of ice1 rounded off like a fall of water1 which seemed to flow from the lower part of the wall2 and the height of #bb feet is reckoned from the foot of this slope1 which terminated at a few feet of horizontal distance from the foot of the wall4 ,the wall of ice was plainly marked with horizontal bands1 corresponding1 no doubt1 to a number of years of successive deposits2 sometimes a few leaves1 but more generally a strip of minuter dbris1 signified the divisions between the annual layers4 ,there had been many columns of ice from fissures in the rock1 but all had fallen except one large ice-cascade1 which flowed from a hole in the side of the cave on to the main stream1 about two-thirds of the distance down from the snow4 ,one particularly grand column had stood on the very edge of the ice-wall1 and its remains now lay below4 ,the flooring of mingled ice and snow1 on which we stood1 sloped through about five vertical feet from the foot of the wall1 and came to an end on broken rocks1 from which the terminal wall of the cave sprang up4 ,the effect of the view from this point1 as we looked up the long slope of ice to where the ladders and a small piece of sky were visible1 was most striking4 ,the accompanying engraving is from a sketch which attempts to represent it2 the reality is much less prim1 and much more full of beautiful detail1 but still the engraving gives a fair idea of the general appearance of the cave4 ,while ,i was occupied in making sketches and measurements1 ,mignot was engaged in chopping discontentedly at the floor1 in two or three different places4 ,at length he seemed to find a place to his mind1 and chopped perseveringly till his axe went through1 and then he suggested that we should follow4 ,the hole was not tempting4 ,it opened into the blackest possible darkness1 and ,mignot thrust his legs through1 feeling for a foothold1 which1 by lowering himself almost to his armpits1 he soon discovered3 the foothold1 however1 proved to be a loose stone1 which gave way under him and bounded down1 apparently over an incline of like stones1 to a distance which sounded very alarming4 ,but he would not give in1 and at length1 descending still further by means of the snow in which the hole was made1 he was rewarded by finding a solid block which bore his weight1 and he speedily disappeared altogether1 summoning me to follow4 ,i proposed to light a candle first1 not caring to go through such a hole1 in such a floor1 into no one knew what2 but he was so very peremptory1 evidently thinking that if he had gone through without a pioneering candle his monsieur might do the same1 that there was nothing for it but to obey4 ,the hole was very near the junction of the floor with the slope of stones where the floor terminated1 and the space between the hole and the slope seemed to be filled up with a confused mass of snow and ice1 in which the snow largely predominated2 so that there was good hold for hands and feet in passing down to the stones1 which might be about #g feet below the upper surface of the floor4 ,here we crouched in the darkness1 with our faces turned away from the presumed slope of stones1 till a light was struck4 ,the accomplice did not find it in the bond that he should go down1 and he preferred to reserve his energies for his own peculiar glacire4 ,illustration3 ,,lower ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres4 ,as soon as the candle had mastered a portion of the darkness1 we found that we were squatting on a steeply sloping descent of large blocks of stone1 while in face of us was a magnificent wall of ice1 evidently the continuation of the wall above1 marked most plainly with horizontal lines4 ,this wall passed down vertically to join the slope on which we were1 at a depth below our feet which the light of the candle had not yet fathomed4 ,the horizontal bands were so clear1 that1 if we had possessed climbing apparatus1 we could have counted the number of layers with accuracy4 ,of course we scrambled down the stones1 and found after a time that the angle formed by the ice-wall and the slope of stones was choked up at the bottom by large pieces of rock1 one piled on another just as they had fallen from the higher parts4 ,these blocks were so large1 that we were able to get down among the interstices1 in a spiral manner1 for some little distance2 and when we were finally stopped1 still the ice-wall passed on below our feet1 and there was no possible chance of determining to what depth it went4 ,the atmosphere at this point was a sort of frozen vapour1 most unpleasant in all respects1 and the candles burned very dimly4 ,the thermometer stood at #cb1 half-way down the slope of stones4 ,we were able to stretch a string in a straight line from the lowest point we reached1 through the interstices of the blocks of stone1 and up to the entrance-hole1 and this measurement gave #ej feet4 ,considering the inclination of the upper ice-floor1 and the sharpness of the angle between the wall of ice and the line of our descent to this lowest point1 ,i believe that #ej feet will fairly represent the height of the ice-wall from this point to the foot of the slope from the upper wall2 so that #gb feet will be the whole depth of ice1 from the top of the third ladder to the point where our further progress downwards was arrested4 ,the correctness of this calculation depends upon the honesty of ,mignot1 who had charge of the farther end of the string1 and was proud of the wonders of his cave4 ,a dishonest man might easily1 under the circumstances1 have pulled up a few feet more of string than was necessary1 but #ej feet seemed in no way an improbable result of the measurement4 ,illustration3 ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,lower ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres4 ,the ice was as solid and firm as can well be conceived4 ,the horizontal bands would seem to prove conclusively that it was no coating of greater or less thickness on the face of a vertical wall of rock1 an idea which might suggest itself to anyone who had not seen it1 and ,i think it probable that the amount of ice represented in the section of the cave is not an exaggeration4 ,we were unable to measure the whole length of the wall in the lower cave1 from the large number of blocks of stone which had fallen at one end1 and lay against its face4 ,probably1 from the nature of the case1 it was not so long as the #gb feet of wall above2 but we measured #ej feet1 and could see it still passing on to the right hand as we faced it4 ,in trying to penetrate farther along the face1 ,i found a wing of the brown fly we had seen in considerable abundance on the ice in ,la ,genollire1 frozen into the remains of a column4 ,there was so very much to be observed on all sides1 and the measurements took up so much time1 owing to the peculiar difficulties which attended them1 that ,i did not examine with sufficient care the curious floor of ice through which we cut our way to the lower cavern4 ,neither did ,i notice the roof of the cavern thus reached1 which may be very different from the shape of the upper surface of the floor composing it4 ,if the ice-wall goes straight up1 and the roof is formed of the ice-floor alone1 then it is a very remarkable feature indeed4 ,but1 more probably1 the lower wall leans over more and more towards the top1 and so forms as it were a part of the roof4 ,it is possible that1 as the wall has grown1 each successive annual layer has projected farther and farther1 till at last some year very favourable to the increase of ice has carried the projection for that year nearly to the opposite stones1 and then an unfavourable year or two would form the foot of the upper wall4 ,this seems more probable1 from the loose constitution of the floor at the point where it joins the stones1 as if it were there only made up of drift and dbris1 while the part of the floor nearer the foot of the wall is solid ice4 ,it has been suggested to me that possibly water accumulates in the time of greatest thaw to a very large extent in the lower parts of the cave1 and the ice-floor is formed where the frost first takes hold of this water4 ,but the slope of the ice-floor is against this theory1 to a certain extent2 and the amount of water necessary to fill the cavity would be so enormous1 that it is contrary to all experience to imagine such a collection1 especially as the cave showed no signs of present thaw4 ,the appearance of the rocks1 too1 in the lower cave1 and the surface of the ice-wall there1 gave no indications of the action of water2 and there was no trace of ice among the stones1 as there certainly would have been if water had filled the cave1 and gradually retired before the attacks of frost1 or in consequence of the opening up of drainage4 ,there were pieces of the trunks of trees1 also1 and large bones1 lying about at different levels on the rocks4 ,i never searched for bones in these caves1 owing to the absence of the stalagmitic covering which preserves cavern-bones from decay2 nor did ,i take any notice of such as presented themselves without search1 for the bergers are in the habit of throwing the carcases of deceased cows into any deep hole in the neighbourhood of the place where the carcases may be found1 in consequence of the general belief that living cows go mad if they find the grave of a companion2 so that ,i should probably have made a laborious collection of the bones of the bos domesticus4 ,this belief of the bergers respecting the cows is supported by several circumstantial and apparently trustworthy accounts of fearful fights among herds of cattle over the grave of some of the herd4 ,the sight of a companion's blood is said to have a similar effect upon them4 ,thus a small pasturage between ,anzeindaz and the ,col de ,cheville1 on the border of the cantons ,vaud and ,valais1 is still called ,boulaire from legendary times1 when the herdsmen of ,vaud 7then ,berne7 won back from certain ,valaisan thieves the cattle the latter were carrying off from ,la ,varraz4 ,some of the cows were wounded in the battle1 and the sight of their blood drove the others mad1 so that they fought till almost all the herd was destroyed2 whence the name ,boulaire1 from bouler1 to disembowel1--a word formed from bou1 the patois for boyau4 ,when we left the lower darkness and ascended to the floor of ice once more1 ,mignot expressed a desire to see my attempt at a sketch of the glacire from that point1 as he had been much struck during his negotiatory visit of the night before by the sketch of the entrance to the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges1 chiefly because he had guessed what it was meant for4 ,he was evidently disappointed with the representation of his own cave1 for he could see nothing but a network of lines1 with unintelligible words written here and there1 and after some hesitation he confessed that it was not the least like it4 ,a little explanation soon set that right1 and then he began to plead vigorously for the wall which surrounded the trees at the mouth of the pit4 ,why was it not put in8 ,he was told1 because it could not be seen from below2 but nevertheless he strongly urged its introduction1 on the ground that he had built it himself1 and it was such a well-built wall2 facts which far more than balanced any little impossibility that might otherwise have prevented its appearance4 ,after we had reached the grass of the outer world again1 he made me sketch the entrance to the pit1 pointing to the containing wall with parental pride1 and standing over the sketch-book and the sketcher with an umbrella which speedily turned inside out under the combined pressure of wind1 and rain1 and years2 a feat which it had already performed des fois1 he said1 in the course of his acquaintance with it4 ,before finally leaving the glacire1 ,i examined the structure of the great stream of ice1 at different points near the top of the limiting wall4 ,from its outward appearance it might have been expected to be rough1 but it was not so2 it was knotty to the eye1 but perfectly smooth to the foot1 and1 when cut1 showed itself perfectly clear and limpid4 ,it did not separate under the axe into misshapen pieces1 with faces of every possible variation from regularity1 that is1 with what is called vitreous fracture1 but rather separated into a number of nuts of limpid ice1 each being of a prismatic form1 and of much regularity in shape and size4 ,it was smooth1 dark-grey1 and clear2 free from air1 and free from surface lines2 very hard1 and suggesting the idea of coarse internal granulation4 ,in the large ice-streams of some darker glacires1 this ice assumed a rather lighter colour by candle-light1 but always presented the same granular appearance1 and cut up into the same prismatic nuts1 and was evidently free from constitutional opacity4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ah3 ,sancti ,liberii locus1 the ,swiss ,dryasdust explains4 ,there is nothing to connect any known ,s4 ,liberius with this neighbourhood1 unless it be the ,armenian prince who secretly left his father's court for ,jerusalem1 and was sought for throughout ,burgundy and other countries4 ,it seems that ,saint ,oliver is merely a corruption of ,s4 ,liberius1 the ,italian form of the latter1 ,santo ,liverio1 having become ,sant-,oliverio1 as ,s4 ,otho became in another country ,sant ,odo1 and thence ,san ,todo1 thus creating a new ,saint1 ,s4 ,todus4--,act ,,ss4 ,may #bg4 ,footnote #ai3 ,my sisters made a two-days' excursion from ,arzier to this glacire in the autumn of #ahfb1 and found no snow in the bottom of the pit4 ,they took the route by ,gimel to ,bire1 intending to defer the visit to the glacire to the morning of the second day2 but being warned by the appearance known locally as le sappeur qui fume1 a vaporous cloud at the mouth of a cavern near the ,dent d',oche1 on the other side of the ,lake of ,geneva1 they caught the communal forester at once1 and put themselves under his guidance4 ,the distance from ,bire is two hours' good walking1 and an hour and a half for the return4 ,there was no ladder for the final descent1 and the neighbouring chlet could provide nothing longer than #ae feet1 the drop being #cj feet4 ,two ,frenchmen had attempted to make their way to the cave a week before2 but the old #cj-;foot ladder of the previous year broke under the foremost of them1 and he fell into the pit1 whence he was drawn up by means of a cord composed of rack-ropes from the chlet1 tied together4 ,however useful a string of cow-ties may be for rescuing a man from such a situation1 ,a4 and ,m4 did not care to make use of that apparatus for a voluntary descent1 so they were perforce contented with a distant view of the ice from the lower edge of the pit4 ,footnote #bj3 ,see the section of this cave and pit on page #da4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,upper ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres4 ,we now put ourselves under the guidance of the accomplice1 ,louis1 who began to express doubts of his ability to find the upper glacire1 administering consolation by reminding us that if he could not find it no one else could4 ,as we walked on through the mist and rain1 it became necessary to circumvent a fierce-looking bull1 and ,mignot and the accomplice told rival tales of the dangers to which pedestrians are exposed from the violence of the cattle on some montagnes1 where the bulls are allowed to grow to full size and fierceness4 ,mignot was quite motherly in his advice and his cautions1 recommending as the surest safeguard a pocket-pistol1 loaded with powder only1 to be flashed in the bull's face as he makes his charge4 ,when informed that in ,england an umbrella or a parasol is found to answer this purpose1 he shook his head negatively1 evidently having no confidence in his own umbrella1 and doubting its obeying his wishes at the critical moment2 indeed1 it would require a considerable time1 and much care and labour1 to unfurl a lumbering instrument of that description4 ,he had the best of the tale-contest with ,renaud in the end1 for he had himself been grazed by a bull which came up with him at the moment when he sprang into a tree4 ,before very long we reached a little kennel-like hut of boughs1 which no decent dog would have lived in1 and no large dog could have entered1 and from this we drew a charcoal-burner4 ,no1 he said1 he did not know the glacire2 he had heard that one had been discovered near there1 and he had spent hours in searching for it without success4 ,a herdsman on his way from one pasturage to another could give no better help1 and we began to despair1 till at length ,louis desired us to halt in a place sheltered from the rain1 while he prosecuted the search alone4 ,we had abundant time for observing that1 like other leafy places sheltered from the rain1 our resting-place was commanded by huge and frequent drops of water2 but at last a joyful ,jodel announced the success of the accomplice1 and we ran off to join him4 ,at first sight there was very little to see4 ,louis had lately been enunciating an opinion that the cave was not worth visiting1 and ,i now felt inclined to agree with him4 ,the general plan appeared to be much the same as in the one we had just left1 but the scale was considerably smaller4 ,the pit was not nearly so deep or so large1 and1 owing to the falling-in of rock and earth at one side1 the snow was approached by a winding path with a gradual fall4 ,as soon as the snow was reached1 the slope became very steep1 and led promptly to an arch in the rock1 where the stream of ice began4 ,the cave being shallow1 the stream soon came to an end1 and1 unlike that in the lower glacire1 it filled the cave down to the terminal wall1 and did not fill it up to the left wall4 ,here the ground of the cave was visible1 strewn with the remains of columns1 and showing the thickness of the bottom of the stream to be about #f feet only4 ,the arch of entrance had evidently been almost closed by a succession of large columns1 but these had succumbed to the rain and heat to which they had been exposed by their position4 ,the left side of the cave1 in descending1 that is the west side1 was comparatively light1 being in the line from the arch2 but the other side was quite dark1 and after a time we found that the ice-stream1 instead of terminating as we had supposed with the wall of rock at the end of the cavern1 turned off to the right1 and was lost in the darkness4 ,of course candles were brought out1 though ,louis assured us that he had explored this part of the cave on his previous visit1 and had found that the right wall of the cave very soon stopped the stream3 we1 on the contrary1 by tying a candle to a long stick1 and thrusting it down the slope of ice1 found that the stream passed down extremely steeply1 and poured under a narrow and low arch in the wall of the cave1 beyond which nothing could be seen4 ,we despatched pieces of ice along the slope1 and could hear them whizzing on after they had passed the arch1 and landing apparently on stones far below2 so ,i called for the cords1 and told ,louis that we must cut our way down4 ,but1 alas6 the cords had been left at the other glacire6 ,one long bag1 with a hole in the middle like an old-fashioned purse1 had carried the luncheon at one end and the ropes at the other2 and when the luncheon was finished1 the bag had been stowed away under safe trees till our return4 ,this was of course immensely annoying1 and ,i rang the changes on the few words of abuse which invention or knowledge supplied1 as we sat damp and shivering on the verge of the slope1 idly sending down pieces of broken columns which brought forth tantalising sounds from the subterranean regions4 ,at length ,renaud was moved to shame1 and declared that he would cut his way down1 rope or no rope2 but this seemed so horribly hazardous a proceeding under all the circumstances1 that ,i forbad his attempting it4 ,seeing1 however1 that he was determined to do something1 we arranged ourselves into an apparatus something like a sliding telescope4 ,louis cut a first step down the slope1 and there took his stand till such time as ,mignot got a firm grasp of the tail of his blouse with both hands1 ,i meanwhile holding ,mignot's tail with one hand1 and the long stick with the candle attached to it with the other2 thus professedly supporting the whole apparatus1 and giving the necessary light for the work4 ,even so1 we tried again to persuade ,renaud to give it up1 but he was warmed to his work1 and really the arrangement answered remarkably well3 when he wished to descend to a new step1 ,mignot let out a little blouse1 and1 being himself similarly relieved1 descended likewise a step1 and then the remaining link of the chain followed4 ,the leader slipped once1 but fortunately grasped a projecting piece of rock1 for the stream was here confined within narrow walls1 and so the strength of the apparatus was not tested2 it could scarcely have stood any serious call upon its powers4 ,after a considerable period of very slow progress1 ,renaud asked for the candlestick1 never more literally a stick than now1 and thrust it under the arch1 stooping down so as to see what the farther darkness might contain4 ,we above could see nothing1 but1 after an anxious pause1 he cried ,on peut aller6 with a lively satisfaction so completely shared by ,mignot1 that that worthy person was on the point of letting ,renaud's blouse go1 in order to indulge in gestures of delight4 ,the step-cutting went on merrily after this announcement1 and one by one we came to the arch and passed through1 finding it rather a trough than an arch2 the breadth was about #d feet1 and the height from #a-a_/d to #a-a_/b feet1 and1 as we pushed through1 our breasts were pressed on to the ice1 while our backs scraped against the rock which formed the roof4 ,illustration3 ,,second ,,cave ,,of ,,the ,,upper ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres4 ,as soon as this trough was passed1 the ice spread out like a fan1 and finally landed us in a subterranean cavern1 #gb feet long by #cf feet broad1 to which this was the only entrance4 ,the breadth of the fan at the bottom was #bg feet2 and near the archway a very striking column poured from a vertical fissure in the wall1 and joined the main stream4 ,the fissure was partially open to the cave1 and showed the solid round column within the rock3 this column measured #ah-a_/b feet in circumference1 a little below the point where it became free of the fissure1 and it had a stream of ice #bb feet long pouring from its base4 ,the colour of the column was unusual1 being a dull yellowish green1 and the peculiar structure of the ice gave the whole mass the appearance of coursing down very rapidly1 as if the water had been frozen while thus moving1 and had not therefore ceased so to move4 ,at the bottom of the fan1 the flooring of the cave consisted of broken stones for a small space1 and then came a black lake of ice1 which occupied all the centre of the cave1 and afforded us no opportunity of even guessing at its depth4 ,from the manner1 however1 in which it blended with the stones at its edge1 ,i am not inclined to believe that this depth was anything very great4 ,renaud1 in his impetuosity1 had ceased to cut steps towards the bottom of the slope1 and had slipped down the last few feet1 of course cutting the remaining steps before attempting to reascend4 ,we found him strutting about the floor of the cave1 tossing his wet cap in the air1 and crying ,no one6 ,no one6 ,i the first61 declining to take any part in measurements until the full of his delight and pride had been poured out4 ,he shouted so loud that ,i was obliged to stop him1 lest by some chance the unwonted disturbance of the air should bring down an unstable block from the roof of the arch1 and seal us up for ever4 ,there was no sign of incipient thaw in the cave1 and the air was very dry1 so much so as at once to call attention to the fact4 ,at the farthest end1 a lofty dome opened up in the roof2 and possibly at some time or other the rock may here fall through1 and afford another means of entrance4 ,beneath this dome a very lovely cluster of columns had grouped itself1 formed of the clear porcelain-like ice1 and fretted and festooned with the utmost delicacy1 as if ,andersen's ,ice ,maiden had been there in one of her amiable moods1 and had built herself a palace4 ,this dome in the roof was similar to many which ,i afterwards observed in other glacires1 being a vertical fissure with flutings from top to bottom--not a spherical dome1 but of that more elegant shape which the female dress of modern times assumes on a tall person4 ,illustration3 ,,vertical ,,sections ,,of ,,the ,,upper ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,pr ,,de ,s4 ,,livres4 #ba ,between the base of the circular column and the wall1 we found a rare instance of clear jelly-like ice1 without any lines external or internal1 such as is formed in the open air under very favourable circumstances4 ,the ordinary number of undergraduate ,may ,terms had afforded various opportunities for studying the comparative clearness of different pieces of ice1 but certainly no one ever saw a lemon pippin through an inch and a half of that material so clearly as we now saw the white rock through #a-a_/b feet4 ,mignot1 indeed1 said #b feet2 but it was his way to make a large estimate of dimensions1 and he constantly interrupted my record of measurements by the assertion that ,i had made them moins que plus4 ,we were all disappointed by the actual size of the ice-fall which it had cost us so much time and trouble to descend1 the distance from the first step to the last being only #bf feet3 as this1 however1 was given by a string stretched from the one point to the other1 and not following the concave surface of the ice1 the real distance was something more than this4 ,it was now getting rather late1 considering the journey one of us had yet to perform1 and we walked quickly away from the glacire1 agreeing that it was not improbable that in that part of the ,jura there might be many hidden caves containing more or less ice1 with no entrance from the world outside1 except the fissures which afford a way for the water4 ,the entrance to this cave was so small1 that the same physical effect might well be produced by one or two cracks in the rock1 such as every one is well acquainted with who has walked on the fissured limestone summits of the lower mountains2 and1 indeed1 ,renaud positively affirmed that at the time of his former visit there was not even this entrance to the lower cave1 for the ice-stream reached then a higher point of the wall1 and completely filled and hid the arch we had discovered4 ,it is very difficult to see how ice can exist in a cave which has no atmospheric communication with the colds of winter1 as would apparently be the case with this cave if the one entrance were closed2 but where the cracks and small fissures in the rock do provide such communication1 there is no reason why we should not imagine all manner of glacial beauties decorating unknown cavities1 beyond the general physical law to which all the glacires would seem to be exceptions4 ,mignot now became communicative as to the amount of ice supplied by his glacire1 the lower of the two we had seen2 and his statistics were so utterly confused1 that ,i gave him ten centimes and an address1 and charged him to write it all down from his account-book1 and send it by post4 ,the letter was accordingly written on ,july #bd1 and after trying many unsuccessful addresses in various parts of ,switzerland1 it finally reached ,england in the middle of ,september4 ,it tells its own tale sufficiently well1 and is therefore given here with all the mistakes of the original4 ',mon cher ,monsieur ,browne1--,j'ai beaucoup tard a vous crire les dtails promis1 sans doute je ne voulait pas vous oublier2 nous sommes affligs dans ntre maison ma femme et gravement malade ce qui me donne beaucoup de tourment jour et nuit1 enfin ce n'est pas ce qui doit faire ntre entretient4 ,en #ahfc4 ,nous avons exploit comme suit4 7,dpenses47 ,aoust #bg #aj journes pour confectionner les ,echelles et les poser4 #bi #c journes pour couper la glasse4 #ca #aa journes pour sortir la glasse avec les htes4 #ca #d chars a deux chevaux pour ammener ,mens la charge a deux3 ds ,st4 ,georges a ,septembre #a ,gland plusieurs autres journes pour accompagner les chars4 #gj pots de vin bu en faisant ces chargements1 pour trois cordes pour se tenir4 ,septembre #b ,trois journes pour couper4 le #c #ab journes pour sortir4 ',cher ,monsieur4--,je ne vous ait pas mis le prix de chaque articles2 ni tout-a fait tous les traveaux mais pour vous donner une ide1 je veux vous donner connaissance du cot gnral des dpences pour deux chargements s'lve a #ece francs4 ,je vous donne aussi connaissance de la quantit de glasse rendue #bce quinteaux a #c francs1 qui produit #gje francs reste net sur ces deux chargements #age francs3 par consquent mon cher ,monsieur je n'ai pas besoin de vous donner des dtails des chargements suivants c'est a peu prs les mmes frais1 et la quantit de glasse aussi4 ',nous en avons refait trois chargements3-- ,un le #ae ,septembre4 #b le #ac ,octobre4 #c le #ad ,novembre4 ',cela comprend toute l'exploitation de #ahfc4 ',vous m'excuserez beaucoup de mon retard4 ',je termine en vous prsentant mes respectueuses salutations4 ,vous noublierez pas ce que vous mavez promis'#bb,st4 ,georges1 le #bd ,juillet1 #ahfd4 ,dimanche4 ',,jules ,,mignot4' ,instead of three francs the quintal1 ,mignot had previously told me that he got four francs1 delivered at ,gland1 and five at ,geneva4 ,his ordinary staff during the time of the exploitation was ten men to carry and load1 and two to cut the ice in the cave4 ,it was a matter of considerable importance to catch the ,poste at ,gimel1 and the two ,swiss groaned loudly on the consequent pace1 unnecessary1 as far as they were concerned1 for the ,poste was nothing to them4 ,as a general rule1 the ,swiss of this district cannot walk so fast as their ,burgundian or ,french neighbours1 unless it is very much to their interest to do so1 and then they can go fast enough4 ,a legend is still preserved in the valleys of ,joux and ,les ,rousses1 to the following effect4 ,while the ,franche ,comt was still ,spanish1 in #afdh1 commissioners were appointed to fix the boundaries between ,berne and ,burgundy1 on the other side of the range of hill we were now descending1 and they decided that one of the boundary stones must be placed at the distance of a common league from the ,lake of ,les ,rousses4 ,unfortunately1 no one could say what a common league was1 beyond the vague definition of 'an hour's walk2' so two men were started from the shore of the lake1 the one a ,burgundian and the other a ,swiss1 with directions to walk for an hour down the ,orbe towards ,chenit1 the stone to be placed half-way between the points they should respectively reach at the end of the hour4 ,it was for the interest of the ,franche ,comt that the stone should be as near the lake as possible1 and accordingly the ,swiss champion made such walking as had never been seen before1 and gained for ,berne a considerable amount of territory4 ,there was no such tragic result in this case as that which induced the ,carthaginians to pay divine honours to the brothers whose speed1 on a like occasion1 had added an appreciable amount to the possessions of the republic4 ,at length we reached the point where the roads for ,gimel and ,s4 ,georges separate1 and there1 under a glorious sapin1 we said our adieux1 and wished our au revoirs1 and settled those little matters which the best friends must settle1 when one is of the nature of a monsieur1 and the others are guides4 ,they burdened their souls with many politenesses1 and so we parted4 ,the inclemency of the weather was such1 that the people in the lower country asked1 as they passed1 whether snow had fallen in the mountains1 and the cold rain continued unceasingly down to the large plain on which the ,federal ,camp of ,bire#bc is placed4 ,here for a few moments the sun showed itself1 lighting up the white tents1 and displaying to great advantage the masses of scented orchises1 and the feathery reine-des-prs1 which hemmed the road in on either side4 ,all through the earlier part of the day1 flowers had forced themselves upon our notice as mere vehicles for collected rain1 when we came in contact with them2 but now1 for a short time1 they resumed their proper place1--only for a short time1 for the rain soon returned1 and did not cease till midnight4 ,not all the garden scenery about ,aubonne and ,allaman 7ad ,lemannum71 nor all the vineyards which yield the choice white wine of the ,cte1 could counterbalance the united discomfort of the rain1 and the cold which had got into the system in the two glacires2 and matters were not mended by the discovery that ,bradshaw was treacherous1 and that a junction with dry baggage at ,neufchtel could not be effected before eleven at night4 ,there are some curious natural phenomena in this neighbourhood1 due to the subterranean courses which the fissured limestone of the ,jura affords to the meteoric waters4 ,not far from ,bire1 the river ,aubonne springs out at the bottom of an amphitheatre of rock1 receiving additions soon after from a group of twenty natural pits1 which the peasants call unfathomable--an epithet freely applied to the strange holes found in the ,jura4 ,it is remarkable that the way seems to stand at different levels in the various pits4#bd ,the plain of ,champagne1 in which they occur1 is unlike the surrounding soil in being formed of calcareous detritus1 evidently brought down by some means or other from the ,jura1 and is dry and parched up to the very edges of the pits4 ,the ,toleure1 a tributary of the ,aubonne1 frequently large enough to be called a confluent1 flows out from the foot of a wall of rock composed of regular parallelopipeds1 and in the spring1 when the snows are melting freely1 its sources burst out at various levels of the rock4 ,farther to the west1 the ,versoie1 famous for its trout1 pours forth a full-sized stream near the ,chteau of ,divonne1 which is said to take its name 7,divorum unda7 from this phenomenon4 ,passing to the northern slope of this range of the ,jura1 the ,orbe is a remarkable example of the same sort of thing1 flowing out peacefully in very considerable bulk from an arch at the bottom of a perpendicular rock of great height4 ,this river no doubt owes its origin to the superfluous waters of the ,lake of ,brenets1 which have no visible outlet1 and sink into fissures and entonnoirs in the rock at the edge of the lake4 ,notwithstanding that the lake is three-quarters of a league distant1 horizontally1 and nearly #gjj feet higher1 the belief had always been that it was the source of the stream1 and in #aggf this was proved to be the fact4 ,for some years before that date1 the waters of the ,lake of ,joux had been inconveniently high1 and the people determined to clean out the entonnoirs and fissures of the ,lake of ,brenets1 which is only separated from the ,lake of ,joux by a narrow tongue of land1 in the expectation that the water would then pass away more freely4 ,in order to reach the fissures1 they dammed up the outlet of the upper into the lower lake2 but the pressure on the embankment became too great1 and the waters burst through with much violence1 creating an immense disturbance in the lake2 and the ,orbe1 which had always been perfectly clear1 was troubled and muddy for some little time4 ,the source of the ,loue1 near ,pontarlier1 is more striking than even that of the ,orbe4#be ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ba3 ,a point common to the two sections1 which are made by planes nearly at right angles to each other4 ,footnote #bb3 ,the dimensions of the two caves1 and of the various masses of ice4 ,footnote #bc3 ,the ,cartulary of ,lausanne states that the wealthy village of ,bire received its name from the following historical fact3--,in #ebb1 the ,bishop of ,lausanne1 ,s4 ,prothais1 was superintending the cutting of wood in the ,jura for his cathedral1 when he died suddenly1 and was carried down on a litter to a place where a proper bier could he procured1 whence the place was named ,bire4 ,footnote #bd3 ,the most curious pit of this kind is the frais-puits of ,vesoul1 in the ,vosgian ,jura1 which pours forth immense quantities of water after rain has fallen in the neighbourhood4 ,the water rushes out in the shape of a fountain1 and on one occasion1 in ,november #aeeg1 saved the town of ,vesoul from pillage by a passing army4 ,this pit is carefully described by ,m4 ,hassenfratz1 in the ,journal de ,physique1 t4 xx4 p4 #bei 7an4 #aghb71 where he says that ,csar was driven away from the town of ,vesoul1 which he had intended to besiege1 by the floods of water poured forth from the frais-puits4 ,i know of no such incident in ,csar's life1 though ,m4 ,hassenfratz quotes ,csar's own words3 the town of ,vesoul1 too1 had no historical existence before the #ith or #ajth century of our era4 ,there is also a pit near ,vesoul which contains icicles in summer1 and may be the same as the frais-puits1 for the old historian of ,franche ,comt1 ,gollut1 in describing the latter1 mentions that it is so cold that no one cares to explore it 7pp4 #ia4 #ib74 ,footnote #be3 ,see p4 #abb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,the ,,gr,,ce-,,dieu1 ,,or ,,la ,,baume1 ,,near ,,besan,,on4 ,the grand and lovely scenery of the ,val de ,travers has at length been opened up for the ordinary tourist world1 by the railway which connects ,pontarlier with ,neufchtel4 ,the beauties of the valley are an unfortunate preparation for the dull expanse of ugly ,france which greets the traveller passing north from the former town2 but the country soon assumes a pleasanter aspect1 and nothing can be more charming than the soft green slopes1 dotted with the richest pines1 which form the approach to the station of ,boujeailles4 ,it is impossible for the most careless traveller to avoid observing the ill effects produced upon the trees on the south side of the forest of ,chaux1 by the crowded and neglected state in which they have been left1 and the wet state of the soil4 ,the branches become covered with moss1 which first kills them1 and then breaks them off1 so that many tall and tapering sapins point their heads to the sky with trunks wholly guiltless of branches2 while in other cases1 where decay has not yet gone so far1 the branches wear the appearance of gigantic stags' horns1 with the velvet2 and when a number of these interlace1 the mosses unite in large dark patches1 giving a cedar-like air to the scene of ruin4 ,up to this point1 an elderly ,frenchman in the carriage had been extremely offensive1 from the evil odour of his ,macintosh coat2 but in answer to a remark upon the improvement which the railway would effect1 by providing ventilation for the forest1 he gave so much information on that subject1 and gave it so pleasantly1 and had evidently so good a knowledge of the topography of ,franche ,comt1 that his coat speedily lost its smell1 and we became excellent friends4 ,it is a tantalising thing to be whirled on a hot and dusty day through districts famous for their wines1 the dust and heat standing out in more painful colours by contrast with the recollection of cooling draughts which other occasions have owed to such vineyards2 though1 after all1 the true method of facing heat with success is to drink no wine4 ,at any rate1 the vineyards of ,arbois must always be interesting1 and if the stories of the ,templars' orgies be true1 we may be sure that the chapelry which they possessed in that town would be a favourable place of residence with the order2 possibly ,rule ,,xvi4 might there be somewhat relaxed4 ',the good wine of ,arbois1' la meilleure cave de ,bourgougne1 a judicious old writer says1 had free entry into all the towns of the ,comt2 and when ,burgundy was becoming imperial1 ,maximilian extended this privilege through all the towns of the empire4 ,a hundred years later1 it had so high a character1 that the troops of ,henri ,,iv4 turned away from the town1 announcing that they did not wish to attack ceulx estoient du naturel de leur vin1 qui frappe partout2#bf and the king was forced to come himself1 with his constable and marshals1 to beat down the walls1 in the course of which undertaking his men felt the vigour of the inhabitants to a greater extent than he liked4 ,it is said that when he had taken the town1 the municipality received him in state1 and supplied him with wine of the country4 ,he praised the wine very highly1 on which one of the body had the ill taste to assure him that they had a better wine than that4 ',you keep it1 perhaps1' was the royal rebuke1 'for a better occasion4' ,henry had a great opinion of this wine2 and the ,duc de ,sully states1 in his ,memoirs1 that when the ,duc de ,mayenne retired from the league against the king1 and came to ,monceaux to tender his allegiance1 ,henry punished him for past offences by walking so fast about the grounds of the chteau1 that the poor duke1 what with his sciatica1 and what with his fat1 at last told him with an expressive gesture that a minute more of it would kill him4 ,the king thereupon let him go1 and promised him some vin d',arbois to set him right again4#bg ,the present appearance of the town1 as seen from the high level followed by the railway1 scarcely recalls the time when ,arbois was known as le jardin de noblesse1 and ,barbarossa dated thence his charters1 or ,jean ,sans-peur held there the ,states of ,burgundy4 ,gollut#bh tells a story of a dowager of ,arbois1 mother-in-law to ,philip ,v4 and ,charles ,,iv4 of ,france1 which outdoes legend of ,bishop ,hatto4 ,mahaut d',artois was an elderly lady remarkable for her charities1 and was by consequence always surrounded by large crowds of poor folk during her residence at the ,chtelaine1 the ruins of which lie a mile or two from ,arbois4 ,on the occasion of a severe famine in ,burgundy1 she collected a band of her mendicant friends in a stable1 and burned them all1 saying that 'par piti elle hauoit faict cela1 considerant les peines que ces pauvres debuoient endurer en temps de si grande et tant estrange famine4' ,there is a ,val d',amour near ,arbois1 but the more beautiful valley of that name lies between ,dle and ,besanon1 and1 as we passed its neighbourhood1 my friend with the ,macintosh informed me that as it was clear from my questions that ,i was drawing up a history of the ,franche ,comt1 he must beg me to insert a legend respecting the origin of this name1 ,val d',amour1 which1 he believed1 had never appeared in print4 ,i disclaimed the history1 but accepted the legend1 and here it is3--,the ,seigneur of ,chissey was to marry the heiress of a neighbouring seigneurie1 and1 it is needless to add1 she was very lovely1 and he was handsome and brave4 ,a lake separated the two chteaux1 and the young man not unfrequently returned by water rather late in the evening2 and so it fell out that one night he was drowned4 ,the lady naturally grieved sorely for her loss1 and put in train all possible means for recovering her lover's body4 ,time1 however1 passed on1 and no success attended her efforts1 till at length she caused the hills which dammed up the waters to be pierced1 and then ,de ,chissey was found4 ,a village sprang up near the outlet thus made1 and took thence its name ,perce1 or1 as men now spell it1 ,parcey2 and the rich vegetation which speedily covered the valley1 where once the lake had been1 gave it such an air of happiness and beauty1 that the people remembered its origin1 and called it the ,valley of ,love4 ,it is a fact that ,parcy was not always so spelled1 for ,noble ,constantin ,thiehault1 ,sieur de ,perrecey1 was a witness to the treaty for the transference of a miraculous host from ,faverney to ,dle in #afjh1 and old maps and books give it as ,perrecey and ,parrecey indifferently4 ,the ,de ,chisseys1 whose names may be found among the female prebends of ,chteau-,chalon1 with its necessary sixteen quarters1 filled a considerable place in the history of the ,comt from the ,crusades downwards1 and known as les ,fols de ,chissey1 the brave#bi and dashing1 and witty ,de ,chisseys--qualities which no doubt were possessed by the poor young man for whom the fair ,chatelaine drained the ,val d',amour4 ,as we drew nearer to ,besanon1 each turn of the small streams1 and each low rounded hill1 might have served as an illustration to ,csar's ',commentaries4' ,now at length it was seen how1 whatever the result of a battle1 there was always a proximus collis for the conquered party to retire to2 and it would have been easy to find many suitable scenes for the critical engagement1 where the woods sloped down to a strip of grass-land between their foot and the stream4 ,the ,frenchman knew his ,csar1 but he put that general in the fourth century ,b4,c4 ,he made mistakes1 too1 in quoting him1 which were easily detected by a memory bristling with the details of his phraseology1 the indelible result of extracting the principal parts of his verbs1 and the nominatives of his irregular nouns1 from half a dozen generations of small boys4 ,he promised me a rich ,julian feast in ,besanon1 and was greatly affected when he found that the ,englishman could give him ,csar's description of his native town4 ,he wholly denied the amphitheatre with which one of our handbooks has gifted it2 and this denial was afterwards echoed by every one in ,besanon1 some even thinking it necessary to explain the difference between an amphitheatre and an arch of triumph1 the latter still existing in the town4 ,the ,jesuit ,dunod relates that the amphitheatre was to be seen at the beginning of the seventeenth century1 in the ruined state in which the ,alans and ,vandals had left it after their successful siege in #djf4 ,it seems to have stood near the present site of the ,madeleine4 ,it was a great satisfaction to find that the ,frenchman had himself visited the glacire which was the object of my search1 and was able to give some idea as to the manner of reaching it1 for my information on the subject was confined to a vague notice that there was an ice-cave five leagues from ,besanon4 ,as so often happened in other cases1 he advised me not to go to it1 but rather1 if ,i must see a cave1 to go to the ,grotto of ,ocelles1#cj a collection of thirty or more caverns and galleries near the ,doubs1 below ,besanon4 ,seeing1 however1 that ,i was bent on visiting the glacire1 he advised me not to go on ,sunday1 for the ,cardinal ,archbishop had ordered the ,trappists at the ,chartreuse near not to receive guests on that day2 while ,saturday1 he thought1 was almost as bad1 for nothing better than an omelette could be obtained on days of abstinence4 ,saturday1 then1 was clearly the day to be chosen4 ,the first sight of ,besanon explains at once why ,csar was so anxious to forestall ,ariovistus by occupying ,vesontio1 although the hill on which the citadel stands is not so striking as the similar hill at ,salins1 and the engines of modern warfare would promptly print their telegrams on every stone and man in the place1 from the neighbouring heights4 ,the ,french ,government has wisely taken warning from the bombardment by the ,allies1 and has covered the heights which command it on either side with friendly fortifications1 in which lie the keys of the place4 ,historically1 ,besanon is a place of great interest4 ,it witnessed the catastrophe of ,julius ,vindex1 who had made terms with ,rufus1 the general sent against him by ,nero1 but was attacked by the troops of ,rufus before they learned the alliance concluded between the two generals4 ,vindex was so much grieved by the slaughter of his troops1 and the blow thus struck1 by an unhappy accident1 at his designs against the emperor1 that he put himself to death at the gates of the town1 while the fight was still going on4#ca ,the ,bisuntians claim to themselves the glory acquired by the ,sequani1 whose chief city ,vesontio was1 by the overthrow of ,julius ,sabinus1 who asserted that he was the grandson of a son of ,julius ,csar1 and proclaimed himself emperor in the time of ,vespasian4 ,the ,sequani proceeded against him of their own accord1 and conquered him in the interest of the reigning emperor2 and he and his wife ,peponilla lived hid in a tomb for nine years4 ,here two sons were born to them2 and when they were all discovered and carried to ,rome1 ,peponilla prettily told the emperor that she had brought up two sons in the tomb1 in order that there might be other voices to intercede for her husband's life besides her own4 ,they were1 however1 put to death4#cb ,to judge from the style of the hotels1 ,besanon is not visited by many ,english travellers2 and yet it well repays a visit1 providing those who care for such things with a full average of vaulted passages1 and feudal gateways1 and arcaded court-yards1 with much less than the average of evil smell4 ,there are gates of all shapes and times--,louis-,quatorze towers1 and fortifications specially constructed under ,vauban's own eye2 while the approach to the town1 from the land side1 is by a tunnel1 cut through the live rock which forms a solid chord to the arc described by the course of the river ,doubs4 ,this excavation1 called appropriately the ,porte ,taille1 is attributed by the various inhabitants to pretty nearly all the famous emperors and kings who have lived from ,julius ,csar to ,louis ,,xiv43 it owes its origin1 no doubt1 to the construction of the aqueduct which formerly brought into the town the waters pouring out of the rock at ,arcier1 two leagues from ,besanon1 and was the work probably of ,m4 ,aurelius and ,l4 ,verus4 ,local antiquaries assign the aqueduct to ,agrippa1 the son-in-law of ,augustus1 apparently for no better reason than because he built a similar work in ,rome4 ,the arch of triumph#cc at the entrance to the upper town has been an inexhaustible subject of controversy for many generations of antiquaries1 and up to the time of ,dunod was generally attributed to ,aurelian3 that historian1 however1 believed that its sculptures represented the education of ,crispus1 the son of ,constantine1 and that the name ,chrysopolis1 by which ,besanon was very generally known in early times1 was only a corruption of ,crispopolis4 ,earlier writers are in favour of the natural derivation of ,chrysopolis1 and assert that when the ,senones lost their famous chief1 the ,brennus of ,roman history1 before ,delphos1 they built a town where ,byzantium afterwards stood1 and called it ,bisantium and ,chrysopolis1 in memory of their city of those names at home4 ,the ,htel du ,nord is a rambling old house1 comfortable after ,french ideas of comfort1 and rejoicing in an excellent cuisine2 though it is true that on one occasion1 at least1 haricots verts l',anglaise meant a mass of fibrous greens1 swimming in a most un-,english sea of artificial fat4 ,it is a good place for studying the natural manners of the untravelled ,frenchman1 who there sits patiently at the table1 for many minutes before dinner is served1 with his napkin tucked in round his neck1 and his countenance composed into a look of much resignation4 ,the waiters are for the most part shock-headed boys1 in angular-tail coats well up in the back of the neck1 who frankly confess1 when any order out of the common run of orders is given1 that a ,german patois from the left bank of the ,rhine is their only extensive language4 ,one of these won my eternal gratitude by providing a clean fork at a crisis between the last savouries and the plat doux2 for the usual practice with the waiters1 when anyone neglected to secure his knife and fork for the next course1 was to slip the plate from under the unwonted charge1 and leave those instruments sprawling on the tablecloth in a vengeful mess of gravy4 ,chickens' bones were there dealt with on all sides as nature perhaps intended that they should be dealt with1 namely1 by taking them between finger and thumb1 and removing superfluities with the teeth2 and ,french officers with wasp-like waists1 and red trousers gathered in plaits to match1 boldly despised the sophistication of spoons1 and ate their vanilla cream like men1 by the help of bread and fingers4 ,the manners and broken ,french of the stranger formed an open and agreeable subject of conversation1 and the table was much quieter than a ,frenchman's table d'hte is sometimes known to be3 on one occasion1 however1 all decorum was scattered to the winds1 and the guests rushed out into the court-yard with disordered bibs and tuckers1 on the announcement by the head waiter of a 'chien l',anglaise1 not so high as a mustard-pot1' which one of the company promptly bought for twenty-four francs1 commencing its education on the spot by a lesson in cigar-smoking4 ,it frequently happens in ,france that caf noir is a much more ready and abundant tap than water1 and so it was here2 notwithstanding which1 the bedroom apparatus was most comfortable and complete4 ,the chambermaid was a boy1 and under his auspices a sheet of postage-stamps and a lead pencil vanished from the table4 ,when it was suggested to him that possibly they had been blown into some corner1 and so swept away1 he brought a dustpan from a distant part of the house1 and miraculously discovered the stamps perched upon a small handful of dust therein1 deferring the discovery and his consequent surprise till he reached my room4 ,it was curious that the stamps1 which had before been in an open sheet1 were now folded neatly together1 and curled into the shape of a waistcoat-pocket4 ,he was inexorable about the pencil4 ,no certain information could be obtained in the hotel respecting the glacire2 so an owner of carriages was summoned1 and consulted as to the best means of getting there4 ,he naturally recommended that one of his own carriages should be taken as far as the ,abbey of ,grce-,dieu1 and that we should start at five o'clock the next morning1 with a driver who knew the way to the glacire from the point at which the carriage must be left4#cd ,five o'clock seemed very early for a drive of fifteen miles2 but the man asserted that instead of five leagues it was a good seven or eight1 and so it turned out to be4 ,this glacire may be called a historical glacire1 being the only one which has attracted general attention2 and the mistake about its distance from ,besanon arose very many years ago1 and has been perpetuated by a long series of copyists4 ,the distance may not be more than five leagues when measured on the map with a ruler2 but until the tunnels and via-ducts necessary for a crow line are constructed1 the world must be content to call it seven and a half at least4 ,the man bargained for two days' pay for the carriage1 on the plea that the horse would be so tired the next day that he would not be able to do any work1 and as that day was ,sunday1 the great day for excursions1 it would be a dead loss4 ,it so happened that the charge for two days1 fifteen francs1 was exactly what ,i paid elsewhere for one day1 so there was no difficulty about the price4 ,we started1 accordingly1 at five o'clock4 ,the day was delightfully fine1 and in spite of the driver's peculiarity of speech1 caused by a short tongue1 and aggravated by a villanous little black pipe clutched between his remaining teeth1 we got through a large amount of question and answer respecting the country through which we passed4 ,of course1 the reins were carried through rings low down on the kicking-strap1 ingeniously placed so that each whisk of the horse's tail caught one or other rein2 and then the process of extraction was a somewhat dangerous one1 for there was no splashboard1 and the driver had to stow his legs away out of reach1 before commencing operations4 ,the landlord of the inn at ,mhlinen1 on the road from ,kandersteg to ,thun1 has a worse arrangement than even this1 both reins passing through one small leather loop at the top of the kicking-strap2 so that when the horse on one occasion ran away down a steep hill in consequence of the break refusing to act1 the man in his flurry could not tell which rein to pull1 to steer clear of the wall of rock on one side1 and the unfenced slope on the other1 and finally flung himself out in despair1 leaving his ,english cargo behind4 ,there has evidently been at some time a vast lake near ,besanon1 and the old bottom of the lake is now covered with heavy meadow-grass1 while the corn-fields and villages creep down from the higher grounds1 on the remains of promontories which stretch out into the plain4 ,the people are in constant fear of inundation1 and the driver informed me that in winter large parts of the plain are flooded1 the superfluous waters vanishing after a time into a great hole1 whose powers of digestion he could not explain4 ,the villages which lie on the shores1 as it were1 of the lake1 rejoice in church-towers with bulbous domes1 rising out of rich clusters of trees1 and the early bells rang out through the crisp air with something of a ,belgian sweetness4 ,farther on1 the road passed through glorious wheat1 clean as on an ,english model farm1 save where some picturesque farmer had devoted a corner to the growth of poppies4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 potatoes did not grow in ridges1 but each root had a little hillock to itself2 an unnatural early training which may account for the strange appearance of pommes de terre au naturel4 ,anyone who has driven through the morning air for an hour or two before breakfast1 will understand the satisfaction with which1 about seven o'clock1 we deciphered a complicated milestone into #ad kilomtres from ,besanon1 which meant breakfast at the next village1 ,nancray4 ,the breakfast was simple enough1 owing to the absence of butter and other things1 and consisted of coffee in its native pot1 and dry bread3 the milk was set on the table in the pan in which it had been boiled1 and a soup-ladle and a ,french wash-hand basin took the place of cup and spoon4 ,a cat kept the door against sundry large and tailless dogs1 whose appetites had not gone with their tails2 and an old woman kindly delivered a lecture on the most approved method of making a ptisan from the flowers of the lime-tree1 and on the many medicinal properties of that decoction1 to which she attributed her good health at so advanced an age4 ,i silently supplemented her peroration by attributing her garrulity to a more stimulating source4 ,when we started again1 it was time to learn something about the scene of our further proceedings1 and the driver enunciated his views on monks in general1 propos to the ,convent of ,grce-,dieu1 the ,chartreuse at which we were to leave our carriage1 and obtain food for man and horse4 ,the ,brothers1 he said1 were possessed of many mills1 and were in consequence enormously rich4 ,among the products of their industry1 a liqueur known as ,chartreuse seemed to fill a high place in his esteem1 for he considered it to be better--and he said it as if that comparative led into an eighth heaven--better even than absinthe4 ,i had an opportunity of tasting this liqueur some weeks after1 a few minutes below the summit of ,mont ,blanc1 and certainly no one would suspect its great strength1 which is entirely disguised by an innocent and insidious sweetness1 as unlike absinthe as anything can possibly be3 impressions1 however1 respecting meat and drink1 and all other matters1 are not very trustworthy when received near the top of the ,calotte4 ,it has lately been found that the worthy ,brothers of the ,grande ,chartreuse have been systematically defrauding the revenue1 by returning their profits on the manufacture of this liqueur at something merely nominal as compared with the real gains4 ,i could not learn whether the ceremony of blessing each batch of the liqueur1 before sending it out to intoxicate the world1 is performed with so much solemnity at ,grce-,dieu as at ,grenoble2 and1 indeed1 it rests only on the assertion of the short-tongued ,bisuntian that the manufacture is carried on at all at the former place4#ce ,having communicated such information as he possessed1 the man seemed to think he had a right to learn something in return1 and administered various questions respecting customs which he believed to prevail in ,england4 ,he evidently did not credit the denial of the truth of what he had heard1 nor yet the assertion1 in answer to another question1 that ,english hothouse grapes are three or four times as large as the ordinary grapes of ,france1 and well-flavoured in at least a like proportion4 ,the roadside was planted with apple-trees1 and these were overgrown with mistletoe2 so1 by way of correcting his idea that the ,english are a sad and gloomy people1 ,i informed him of the use made of this parasite by young people in the country at ,christmas-time4 ,instead1 however1 of being thereby impressed with our national liveliness1 he looked with a sort of supercilious contempt upon a people who could require the intervention or sanction of anything external in such a matter1 and turned the conversation to some more worthy subject4 ,at length we passed into a pleasant valley1 with thrushes singing1 and much chirping of those smaller birds1 in the murder of which1 sitting1 consists le sport in the eyes of many gentlemen of ,france4 ,up to this point1 nothing could have been more unlike the scenery which ,i had so far found to be associated with glacires2 but now the country became slightly more ,jurane1 and limestone precipices on a small scale rose up on either hand1 decked with the corbel towers which result from the weathering of the rock4 ,it was the ,jura in softer as well as smaller type1 for all the desolate wildness which characterises the more rocky part of that range was gone1 and there were no signs of the grand pine-scenery1 or needle-foliage1 as the ,germans call it2 the trees were all oak and ash and beech1 and the rocks were much more neat and orderly1 and of course less grand1 than their contorted kindred farther south4 ,the valley speedily became very narrow1 and a final bend brought us face-to-face with the buildings of the ,abbaye de ,grce-,dieu1 striking from their position--filling1 as they do1 the breadth of the valley1--but in no way remarkable architecturally4 ,the journey had been so long that it was now ten o'clock2 and as we were due in ,besanon at five in the evening1 we put the horse up as quickly as possible1 in a shed provided by the ,brothers1 and set off on foot for the glacire1 half an hour distant4 ,about a mile and a half from the convent1 the valley comes to an end1 the rocks on the opposite sides approaching so close to each other as only to leave room for a large flour-mill1 belonging to the ,brothers1 and for the escape-channel of the stream which works the mill4 ,this building is quite new1 and might almost be taken for a fortification against inroads by the head of the valley1 especially as the words ,posuerunt me custodem appear on the face1 applying1 however1 to an image of the ,virgin1 which presides over the establishment4 ,the monks have expended their superfluous time and energies upon the erection of crosses of all sizes on every projecting peak and point of rock1 one cross more sombre than the rest marking the scene of a recent death4 ,as ,i had no means of determining the elevation of this district above the sea1#cf ,i made enquiries as to the climate in winter2 and one of the ,brothers told me1 that it was an unusual thing with them to have a fall of snow amounting to two joints of a remarkably dirty finger4 ,at the mill1 the path turns up the steep wooded hill on the right1 and leads through young plantations to a small cottage near the glacire1 where the plantations give place to a well-grown beech wood4 ,here my conductor startled me by announcing that there was #bj centimes to pay to the farmer of the cave for entrance2 an announcement which seemed to take all the pleasure out of the expedition1 and invested it with the disagreeable character of sightseeing4 ,the poor driver thought1 no doubt1 with some trepidation upon the small amount of pour-boire he could expect from a monsieur on whom a demand for two pence produced so serious an effect1 and it was difficult to make him understand that the fact and not the amount of payment was the trouble4 ,when ,i illustrated this by saying that ,i would gladly give a franc to be allowed to enter the glacire free1 he seemed to think that if ,i would entrust him with the franc1 he might possibly arrange that little matter for me4 ,the immediate approach to the glacire is very impressive4 ,the surface of the ground slopes slightly upwards1 and the entrance1 from north to south1 is by a broad inclined plane1 of gentle fall at first1 which rapidly becomes steep enough to require zigzags4 ,the walls of rock on either side are very sheer1 and increase of course in height as the plane of entrance falls4 ,the whole length of the slope is about #dbj feet1 and down a considerable part of this some grasses and flowers are to be found3 the last #bjh feet are covered more or less with ice2 though1 at the time of my visit1 the furious rains of the end of ,june1 #ahfd1 had washed down a considerable amount of mud1 and so covered some of the ice4 ,there were no ready means of determining the thickness of this layer of ice1 for the descent of which ten or eleven zigzags had been made by the farmer4 ,in one place1 within #bd feet of its upper commencement1 it was from #b-a_/b to #c feet thick2 but the prominence of that part seemed to mark it out as of more than the average thickness4 ,even where to all appearance there was nothing but mud and earth1 an unexpected fall or two showed that all was ice below4 ,whether the driver had previously experienced the treacherousness of this slope of ice1 or whatever his motive might be1 he left me to enter and explore alone4 ,the roof of the entrance is at first a mere shell1 formed by the thin crust of rock on which the surface-earth and trees rest high overhead2 but this rapidly becomes thicker1 as shown in the section of the cave1 and thus a sort of outer cave is formed1 the real portal of the glacire being reached about #fj feet above the bottom of the slope4 ,this outer cave presents a curious appearance1 from the distinctness with which the several strata of the limestone are marked1 the lower strata weathered and rounded off like the seats of an amphitheatre of the giants1 and all1 up to the shell-like roof1 arranged in horizontal semicircles of various graduated sizes1 showing their concavity2 while at the bottom of the whole is seen a patch of darkness1 with two masses of ice in its centre1 looming out like grey ghosts at midnight4 ,this darkness is of course the inner cave1 the entrance to which1 though it seems so small from above1 is #gh feet broad4 ,the glacire itself may be said to commence as soon as this entrance1 or perpendicular portal1 is passed1 and thus includes #fj feet of the long slope of ice1 from the foot of which to the farther end of the cave is #ade feet1 the greatest breadth of the cave being #adh feet4 ,immediately below the portal ,i found a piece of the trunk of a large column of ice1 #g feet long and #ab feet in girth1 its fractured ends giving the idea of the interior of a quickly-grown tree1 in consequence of the concentric arrangement of convergent prisms described in the account of the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges4 ,the wife of the farmer told me afterwards that there had been two glorious columns at this portal1 which the recent rains had swept away4 ,excepting a short space at the foot of the slope1 and another towards the farther end of the cave1 the floor was covered with ice1 in some parts from #c to #d feet thick3 of this a considerable area had been removed to a depth of #b #a_/b or #c feet1 leaving a pond of water a foot deep1 with bottom and banks of ice4 ,the rock which composes the true floor rises at the farthest end of the cave1 and the roof is so arranged that a sort of private chapel is there formed2 and from a fissure in the dome a monster column of ice had been constructed on the floor1 which1 at the time of my visit1 had lost its upper parts1 and stood as a hollow truncated cone with sides a foot thick1 and with seas of ice streaming from it1 and covering the rising pavement of the chapel4 ,without an axe1 and without help1 ,i was unable to measure the girth of this column1 which had not been without companions on a smaller scale in the immediate neighbourhood4 ,at the west end of the cave1 the wall was thickly covered for a large space with small limestone stalactites1 producing the effect of many tiers of fringe on a shawl2 while from a dark fissure in the roof a large piece of fluted drapery of the same material hung1 calling to mind some of the vastly grander details of the grottoes of ,hans-sur-,lesse in ,belgium3 down this wall there was also a long row of icicles1 on the edges of a narrow fissure4 ,the north-west corner was very dark1 and an opening in the wall of rock high above the ground suggested a tantalising cave up there3 the ground in this corner was occupied by the shattered remains of numerous columns of ice1 which had originally covered a circular area between #fj and #gj feet in circumference4 ,illustration3 ,,vertical ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,gr,,ce-,,dieu1 ,,near ,,besan,,on4 ,the three large masses of ice which rendered this glacire in some respects more remarkable than any of those ,i have seen1 lay in a line from east to west1 across the middle of the cave1 on that part of the floor where the ice was thickest4 ,the central mass was extremely solid1 but somewhat unmeaning in shape1 being a rough irregular pyramid2 its size alone1 however1 was sufficient to make it very striking1 the girth being #ff-a_/b feet at some distance from the ice-floor with which it blended4 ,the mass which lay to the east of this was very lovely1 owing to the good taste of some one who had found that much ice was wont to accumulate on that spot1 and had accordingly fixed the trunk of a small fir-tree1 with the upper branches complete1 to receive the water from the corresponding fissure in the roof4 ,the consequence was1 that1 while the actual tree had vanished from sight under its icy covering1 excepting on one side where a slight investigation betrayed its presence1 the mass of ice showed every possible fantasy of form which a mould so graceful could suggest4 ,at the base1 it was solid1 with a circumference of #cg feet4 ,the huge column1 which had collected round the trunk of the fir-tree1 branched out at the top into all varieties of eccentricity and beauty1 each twig of the different boughs becoming1 to all appearance1 a solid bar of frosted ice1 with graceful curve1 affording a point of suspension for complicated groups of icicles1 which streamed down side by side with emulous loveliness4 ,in some of the recesses of the column1 the ice assumed a pale blue colour2 but as a rule it was white and very hard1 not so regularly prismatic as the ice described in former glacires1 but palpably crystalline1 showing a structure not unlike granite1 with a bold grain1 and with a large predominance of the glittering element4 ,but the westernmost mass was the grandest and most beautiful of all4 ,it consisted of two lofty heads1 like weeping willows in ,carrara marble1 with three or four others less lofty1 resembling a family group of lions' heads in a subdued attitude of grief1 richly decked with icy manes4 ,similar heads seemed to grow out here and there from the solid sides of the huge mass4 ,the girth was #gf-a_/b feet1 measured about #b feet from the floor4 ,when this column was looked at from the side removed from the entrance to the cave1 so that it stood in the centre of the light which poured down the long slope from the outer world1 the transparency of the ice brought it to pass that the whole seemed set in a narrow frame of impalpable liquid blue1 the effect of light penetrating through the mass at its extreme edges4 ,the only means of determining the height of this column was by tying a stone to the end of a string1 and lodging it on the highest head2 but this was not an easy process1 as ,i was naturally anxious not to injure the delicate beauty which made that head one of the loveliest things conceivable2 and each careful essay with the stone seemed to involve as much responsibility as taking a shot at a hostile wicket1 in a crisis of the game1 instead of returning the ball in the conventional manner4 ,when at last it was safely lodged1 the height proved to be #bg feet4 ,i had hoped to find it much more than this1 from the grandeur of the effect of the whole mass1 and ,i took the trouble to measure the knotted string again with a tape1 to make sure that there was no mistake4 ,the column formed upon the fir-tree was #c or #d feet lower4 ,i have since found many notices of this glacire in the ,memoirs of the ,french ,academy and elsewhere1 extracts from which will be found in a later chapter4 ,these accounts are spread over a period of #bjj years1 extending from #aeij to #agij1 and almost all make mention of the columns or groups of columns ,i have described2 but1 without exception1 the heights given or suggested in the various accounts are much less than those which ,i obtained as the result of careful measurement4 ,the latest description of a visit to the glacire states a fact which probably will be held to explain1 the present excess of height above that of earlier times4#cg ,the citizen ,girod-,chantrans1 who wrote this description1 had procured the notes of a medical man living in the neighbourhood1 from which it seemed that ,dr4 ,oudot made the experiment1 in #aggi1 of fixing stakes of wood in the heads of the columns1 then from #d to #e feet high1 and found that these stakes were the cause of a very large increase in the height of the columns1 ice gathering round them in pillars a foot thick4 ,so that it is not improbable that the largest of the three masses of the present day owes its height1 and its peculiar form1 to a series of stakes fixed from time to time in the various heads formed under the fissures in the roof1 though nothing but the most solid ice can now be seen4 ,it would be very interesting to try this experiment in one of the caves where1 without any artificial help1 such immense masses of ice are formed2 and by this means columns might1 in the course of a year or two1 be raised to the very roof4 ,further details on this subject will be given hereafter4 ,there was no perceptible draught of air in any part of the cave1 and the candles burned steadily through the whole time of my visit1 which occupied more than two hours4 ,the centre was sufficiently lighted by the day2 but in the western corner1 and behind the largest column1 artificial light was necessary4 ,the ice itself did not generally show signs of thawing1 but the whole cave was in a state of wetness1 which made the process of measuring and investigating anything but pleasant4 ,i had placed two thermometers at different points on my first entrance--one on a drawing-board on a large stone in the middle of the pond of water which has been mentioned1 and the other on a bundle of pencils at the entrance of the end chapel1 in a part of the cave where the ice-floor ceased for a while1 and left the stones and rock bare4 ,the former gave #cc1 the latter1 till ,i was on the point of leaving1 #ca #a_/b1 when it fell suddenly to #ca4 ,it was impossible1 however1 to stay any longer for the sake of watching the thermometer fall lower and lower below the freezing point2 indeed1 the results of sundry incautious fathomings of the various pools of water1 and incessant contact of hands and feet with the ice1 had already become so unpleasant1 that ,i was obliged to desert my trusty hundred feet of string1 and leave it lying on the ice1 from want of finger-power to roll it up4 ,the thermometers were both ,casella's1 but that which registered #ca was the more lively of the two1 the other being mercurial1 with a much thicker stem3 the difference in sensitiveness was so great1 that when they were equally exposed to the sun in driving home1 the one ran up to #ic before the other had reached #he4 ,in leaving the glacire1 ,i found a little pathway turning off along the face of the rock on the left hand1 a short way up the slope of entrance1 and looking as if it might lead to the opening in the dark wall on the western side of the cave4 ,after a time1 however1 it came to a corner which it seemed an unnecessary risk to attempt to pass alone2 and my prudence was rewarded by the discovery that1 after all1 the supposed cave could not be thus reached4 ,it is said that this other cave was the place to which the inhabitants fled for refuge when their district was invaded1 probably by the ,duke of ,saxe-,weimar with his #aj1jjj ,swedes1 and that a ladder #dj feet long is necessary for getting at it4 ,the driver had long ago absconded when ,i returned to the upper regions2 but the wife of the farmer of the grotto was there1 and communicated all that she knew of the statistics of the ice annually removed4 ,she said that in #ahfc two chars were loaded every day for two months1 each char taking about #fjj kilos1 the wholesale price in ,besanon being #e francs the hundred kilos4 ,since the quintal contains #ej kilos1 it will be seen that this account does not agree with the statement of ,renaud as to the amount of ice each char could take4 ,no doubt1 a char at ,s4 ,georges may mean one thing1 and a char in the village of ,chaux another2 but the difference between #ab quintaux and #ej or #fj is too great to be thus explained1 and probably ,madame ,briot made some mistake4 ,her husband1 ,louis ,briot1 works alone in the cave1 and has twelve men and a donkey to carry the ice he quarries to the village of ,chaux1 a mile from the glacire1 where it is loaded for conveyance to ,besanon4 ,he uses gunpowder for the flooring of ice1 and expects the eighth part of a pound to blow out a cubic metre2 and if1 by ill luck1 the ice thus procured has stones on the lower side1 he has to saw off the bottom layer4 ,madame ,briot said ,i was right in supposing ,march to be the great time for the formation of ice1 as she had heard her husband say that the columns were higher then than at any other time of the year3 she also confirmed my views as to the disastrous effects of heavy rain4 ,as with every other glacire of which ,i could obtain any account1 excepting the ,lower ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres1 she complained that the ice had not been so beautiful and so abundant this year as last1 although the winter had been exceptionally severe4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #bf3 ,jean ,bontemps1 ,conseiller au bailliage d',arbois4 ,footnote #bg3 ',allez vous en reposer1 rafraischir et boire un coup au chasteau1 car vous en avez bon besoin2 j'ay du vin d',arbois en mes offices1 dont je vous envoyeray deux bouteilles1 car je scay bien que vous ne le hays pas4'--,petitot4 iii4 #i4 ,footnote #bh3 ,mm4 de la ,comt de ,bourgougne1 ,dle1 #aeib1 p4 #dhf4 ,footnote #bi3 ,one of the ,seigneurs de ,chissey1 ,michaud de ,changey1 who died in high office in #adhj1 was known by preeminence as le ,brave4 ,footnote #cj3 ,dr4 ,buckland visited these caves in #ahbf1 to look for bones1 of which he found a great number4 ,gollut 7in #aeib7 spelled the name ,aucelle1 and derived it from ,auricella1 believing that the ,romans worked a gold mine there4 ,it is certain that both the ,doubs and the ,loue supplied very fine gold1 and the ,seigneurs of ,longwy had a chain made of the gold of those rivers1 which weighed #afj crowns4 ,footnote #ca3 ,dion ,cass4 lib4 lxiii4 ,footnote #cb3 ,ib4 lib4 lxvi4 ,footnote #cc3 ,known locally as the ,porte ,noire1 like the great ,porta ,nigra at ,treves1 and other ,roman gates in ,gaul4 ,footnote #cd3 ,i should be inclined1 from what ,i saw of the country1 to go to the station of ,baume-les-,dames on any future visit1 and walk thence to the glacire1 perhaps three leagues from the station4 ,footnote #ce3 ,he was in error4 ,the ,paris correspondent of the ',times' gave1 some months since 7see the impression of ,jan4 #bj1 #ahfe71 an account of an interesting trial respecting the manufacture of the liqueur peculiar to the ,abbey of ,grce-,dieu4 ,from this account it appears that the liqueur was formerly called the ,liqueur of the ,grce-,dieu1 but is now known as ,trappistine4 ,it is limpid and oily2 possesses a fine aroma1 a peculiar softness1 a mild but brisk flavour1 and so on4 ,it was invented by an ecclesiastic who was once the ,brother ,marie-,joseph1 and prior of the convent1 but is now ,m4 ,stremler1 having been released by the ,pope from his vows of obedience and poverty1 in order that he might teach ,christianity to the infidels of the ,new ,world4 ,the ,brothers took the question of the renunciation of poverty into their own hands1 by declining to give up the money which ,brother ,marie-,joseph had originally brought into the society2 so ,m4 ,stremler1 being now moneyless1 commenced the secular manufacture of the seductive ,trappistine1 in opposition to the regular manufacture within the walls of the ,abbey1 abstaining1 however1 from the use of the religious label which is the ,brothers' trade-mark4 ,the unfortunate inventor was fined and condemned in costs for his piracy4 ,footnote #cf3 ,see p4 #caj4 ,footnote #cg3 ,journal des ,mines1 ,prairial1 an iv41 pp4 #fe1 c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,besan,,on ,,and ,d,,le4 ,the afternoon was so far advanced when ,i returned to the convent1 that it was clearly impossible to reach ,besanon at five o'clock1 and consequently there was time to inspect the ,brothers and their buildings4 ,the field near the convent was gay with haymakers2 and the brown monks1 with here and there a priest in ci-devant white1 moved among the hired labourers1 and stirred them up by exhortation and example1--with this difference1 that while it was evidently the business of the monks so to do1 the priests1 on the other hand1 had only taken fork in hand for the sake of a little gentle exercise4 ,one unhappy ,jacques ,bonhomme made hot and toilsome hay in thick brown clothes1 plainly manufactured from a defunct ,brother's gown2 for1 to judge from appearances1 a cast-off gown is a thing unknown4 ,it was good to see a ,brother1 in horn spectacles of medival cut1 tenderly chopping a log for firewood1 and peering at it through his spectacles after each stroke1 as a man examines some delicate piece of natural machinery with a microscope2 to see another ,brother1 the sphere of whose duties lay in the flour-mill1 standing in the doorway with brown robe and shaven crown all powdered alike with white1 and a third covered from head to foot with sawdust2 or1 best of all1 to see an antique ,brother1 with scarecrow legs1 and low shoes which had presumably been in his possession or that of his predecessors for a long series of years1 wheeling a barrow of liquid manure1 with his gown looped up high by means of stout whipcord and an arrangement of large brass rings4 ,the ,brother whose business it was to do such cooking as might be required by visitors1 grinned in the most friendly and engaging manner from ear to ear when he was looked at2 and1 by fixing him steadily with the eye1 he could be kept for considerable spaces of time standing in the middle of the kitchen1 knife in hand1 with the corners of his mouth out of sight round his broad cheeks4 ,his ample front was decked with a blue apron1 suspended from his shoulders1 and confined round the convexity of his waist by an old strap which no respectable costermonger would have used as harness4 ,the soup served was by courtesy called soupe maigre1 but it was in fact soupe maigre diluted by many homoeopathic myriads1 and the ,brother showed much curiosity as to my opinion of its taste--a curiosity which ,i could not satisfy without hurting his professional pride4 ,when that course was finished1 the large-faced cook suggested an omelette1 as the most substantial thing allowed on eves1 proceeding to draw the materials from a closet which so fully shared in the general abstinence from water as a means of cleansing1 that ,i shut my eyes upon all further operations1 and ate the eventual omelette in faith4 ,its excellence called forth such hearty commendations1 that there seemed to be some danger of the mouth not coming right again4 ,then salads1 and bread and butter1 and wine1 and various kinds of cheese were brought1 which made in all a very fair dinner for a fast-day4 ,the culinary monk knew nothing of the history of his convent1 beyond the bare year of its foundation1 and displayed a monotonous dead level of ignorance on all topographical and historical questions3 to him the ,pain d',abbaye#ch meant nothing further than the staff of life there provided1 and he neither knew himself nor could recommend any ,brother who knew anything about the glacire4 ,he was a ,german1 and we talked of his native ,baiern and the modern glories of his capital2 and when his questions elicited a declaration of my profession1 he passed up to ,saxony1 and pinned me with ,luther4 ,finding that ,i objected to being so pinned1 and repudiated something of that which his charge involved1 he waived ,luther1 of whom he knew nothing beyond his name1 and came down upon me triumphantly with the word ,protestant4 ,i explained to him1 of course1 that the worthy ,elector1 and his friends who protested1 had not much to do with the ,anglican branch of the ,church ,catholic2 and then the old task had to be gone through of assuring the assembled ,brothers that we in ,england have ,sacraments1 have ,orders1 have a ,trinitarian ,creed4 ,at length1 about half-past three1 we started for ,besanon1 paying of course volont for food and entertainment1 as we did not choose to qualify as paupers4 ,the driver told me on the way that there was another glacire at ,vaise1 a village three or four kilomtres from ,besanon1 and at no great distance from the road by which we should approach the town2 so1 when we reached the crest above ,morre1 where the road passes the final ridge by means of a tunnel1 ,i paid the carriage off1 and walked to the village of ,vaise4 ,the public-house knew of the glacire--knew indeed of two1--further still1 kept the keys of both4 ,this was good news1 though the idea of keys in connection with an ice-cave was rather strange2 and ,i proposed to organise an expedition at once to the glacires4 ,the male half of the auberge declared that he was forbidden to open them to strangers1 except by special order from a certain monsieur in ,besanon2 but the female half1 scenting centimes1 stated her belief that the monsieur in ,besanon could never wish them to turn away a stranger who had come so many kilomtres through the dust to see the ice4 ,she put the proposed disobedience in so persuasive and ,christian a form1 that ,i was obliged to take the husband's side1--not that he was in any need of support1 for he had been longer married than ,adam was1 and showed no signs of giving way4 ,it turned out1 after all1 that though there was no doubt about the existence of the glacires1 there was equally no doubt that they were glacires artificielles1 being simply ice-houses dug in the side of a hill1 and the property of a glacier in ,besanon2 so that my friend the driver had sent me to a mare's-nest4 ,the pathway across the hills to ,besanon was rather intricate1 and by good fortune an old ,frenchman appeared1 who was returning from his work at a neighbouring church1 and served as companion and guide4 ,he had bid farewell to sixty some years before1 and1 being a builder1 had been going up and down a ladder all day1 with full and empty hottes1 to an extent which outdid the ,shanars of missionary meetings2 and yet he walked faster than any foreigner of my experience4 ,he talked in due proportion1 and told some interesting details of the bombardment of ,besanon1 which he remembered well4 ,when he learned that ,i was not ,german1 but ,english1 he told me they did not say ,anglais there1 but ,gaudin1--,i was a ,gaudin4 ,this he repeated persistently many times1 with an air worthy of ,general ,cyrus ,choke1 and half convinced me that there was something in it1 and that ,i might after all be a ,gaudin4 ,it was not till some hours after1 that ,i remembered the indelible impression made by the piety of speech of recent generations of ,englishmen upon the ,french nation at large1 and thus was enabled to trace the origin of the name ,gaudin4 ,the old man evidently believed that it was the proper thing to call an ,englishman by that name2 thus reminding me of a story told of a ,french soldier in the ,austrian service during the long early wars with ,switzerland4 ,the ,austrians called the ,swiss1 in derision1 ,khmelkers--a term more opprobrious than bouviers2 and it is said that1 after the battle of ,frastens--one of the battles of the ,suabian war1--a ,frenchman threw himself at the feet of some ,grisons soldiers1 and innocently prayed thus for quarter2 ',trs-chers1 trs-honorables1 et trs-dignes ,khmelkers6 au nom de ,dieu1 ne me tuez pas6' ,the town of ,besanon seems to spend its ,sunday in fishing1 and is apparently well contented with that very limited success which is wont to attend a ,frenchman's efforts in this branch of le sport4 ,there is a proverb in the patois of ,vaud which says ',kan on vau dau pesson1 s fo molli2'#ci and on this the ,bisuntians act1 standing patiently half-way up the thigh in the river1 as the ,swiss on the ,lake of ,geneva and other lakes may be seen to do4 ,it is all very well to wade for a good salmon cast1 or to spend some hours in a swift-foot#dj ,scotch stream for the sake of a lively basket of trout2 but to stand in a ,sunday coat and hat1 and #b-a_/b feet of water1 watching a large bung hopelessly unmoved on the surface1 is a thing reserved for a ,frenchman indulging in a weekly intoxication of ,sabbatical sport1 under the delirious form of the chasse aux goujons4 ,clean as the town within the circuit of the river is1 the houses which overhang the water on the other side are picturesque and dirty in the extreme1 story rising above story1 and balcony above balcony4 ,it does not increase their beauty1 and to a fastidious nose it must militate against their eligibility as places of residence1 that there is apparently but one drain1 an external one1 which follows the course of the pillars supporting the various balconies3 nevertheless1 from the opposite side of the river1 and when the wind sets the other way1 they are sufficiently attractive4 ,in this quarter is found the finest church1 the ,madeleine1 with a very effective piece of sculpture at the east end4 ,the sculpture is arranged on the bottom and farther side of a sort of cage1 which is hung outside the church1 but is visible from the inside through a corresponding opening in the east wall4 ,the subject of the sculpture is ',the ,sepulchre1' and the ends of the cage or box are composed of rich yellow glass1 through which the external light streams into the cave of the ,sepulchre2 and when the church itself is becoming dark1 the effect produced by the light from the evening sky1 passing through the deep-toned glass1 and softly illuminating the ,sepulchre1 is indescribably solemn4 ,illustration3 ,,bath ,,in ,,the ,,doubs1 ,,at ,,besan,,on4 ,when ,besanon was supplied by the aqueduct with the waters of ,arcier1 there was a great abundance of baths1 as the remains discovered in digging new foundations show2 but in the present state of the town such things are not easily met with4 ,the floating baths on the river are appropriated to the other sex1 and the only thing approaching to a male bath was of a nature entirely new to me1 being constructed as follows3--,there is a water-mill in the town1 with a low weir stretching across the river1 down which the water rushes with no very great violence4 ,at the foot of this weir a row of sentry-boxes is placed1 approached by planks1 and in these boxes the adventurer finds his bath4#da ,a stout piece of wood-work is fixed horizontally along the face of the weir1 and has the effect of throwing the downward water out of its natural direction1 and causing it to describe an arch1 so that it descends with much force on to the weir at a point below the wood-work4 ,here two planks are placed1 forming a seat and a support for the back1 and a little lower still another plank for the feet to rest upon1 without which the bather would have a good chance of being washed away4 ,the water boils noisily and violently on all sides and in all directions1 coming down upon the subject's shoulders with a heavy thud1 which calls to mind the tender years when something softer than a cane was used1 and sends him forth like a fresh-boiled lobster4 ,all this1 with towels1 is not dear at fourpence4 ,the citadel is the great sight of ,besanon1 and the polite ,colonel-commandant attends at his office at convenient hours to give passes4 ,what it might be to storm the position under the excitement of the sport of war1 ,i cannot say2 but certainly it is a most trying affair on a hot ,sunday's afternoon1 even when all is made smooth1 and the gates are opened1 by a comprehensive pass4 ,the wall mentioned by ,csar as a great feature of the place cut the site of the citadel off from the town1 and many signs of it were found when the cathedral of ,s4 ,stephen was built1 the unfortunate church which went down before the exigencies of a siege under ,louis ,,xiv4 ,the barrack-master proved to be a most interesting man1 knowing many details of ,csar's life and campaigns which ,i suspect were not known to that captain himself4 ,he had served in ,algeria1 and assented to the proposition that more soldiers died there of absinthe than of ,arabs1 stating his conviction that three-fourths of the whole deaths are caused by that pernicious extract of wormwood1 and that he ought himself to have died of it long ago4 ,he pointed out the difference between the massive masonry of the period of the ,spanish occupation and the less impressive work of more recent times1 and showed the dungeon from which ,marshal ,bourmont bought his escape1 in the time of the first ,napoleon4 ,the floor of one of the little look-out towers is composed of a tombstone1 representing a priest in full ecclesiastical dress1 and my question as to how it came there elicited the following story3--,when ,louis ,,xiv4 was besieging the citadel1 he placed his head-quarters1 and a strong battery1 on the summit of the ,mont ,chaudane1#db which commands the citadel on one side as the ,brgille does on the other4 ,among the besieged was a monk named ,schmidt1 probably one of the ,low-country men to whom the ,franche ,comt was then a sort of home1 as forming part of the dominions of ,spain2 and this monk was the most active supporter of the defence1 against the large party within the walls which was anxious to render the town4 ,he was also an admirable shot2 and on one of the last days of the siege1 as he stood in the little tower where the tombstone now lies1 the ,king and his staff rode to the front of the plateau on the ,mont ,chaudane to survey the citadel2 whereupon some one pointed out to ,schmidt that now he had a fair chance of putting an end at once to the siege and the invasion4 ,accordingly1 he took a musket from a soldier and aimed at the ,king2 but before firing he changed his aim1 remarking1 that he1 a priest1 ought not to destroy the life of a man1 and so he only killed the horse1 giving the ,majesty of ,france a roll in the mud4 ,when the town was taken1 the ,king enquired for the man who killed his horse1 and asked the priest whether he could have killed the rider instead1 had he wished to do so4 ',certainly1' ,schmidt replied1 and related the facts of the case4 ,louis informed him1 that had he been a soldier1 he should have been decorated for his skill and his impulse of mercy2 but1 being a priest1 he should be hung4 ,the sentence was carried out1 and the priest's body was buried in the floor of the tower from which he had spared the ,king's life4 ,if this be true1 it was one of the most unkingly deeds ever done4#dc ,this siege took place in the second invasion or conquest of the ,franche ,comt by ,louis ,,xiv41 when ,besanon held out for nine days against ,vauban and the ,king3 on the first occasion it had surrendered to ,cond after one day's siege1 making the single stipulation that the ,holy ,shroud should not be removed from the town4#dd ,the ,saincte ,suaire was the richest ecclesiastical treasure of the ,bisuntians1 being one of the two most genuine of the many ,suaires1 the other being that of ,turin1 which was supported by ,papal ,infallibility4 ,both were brought from the ,crusades2 and the one was presented to ,besanon in #abjf1 the other to ,turin in #acec4 ,bede tells a story of the proving of a ,shroud by fire in the eighth century1 by one of the caliphs2 and as its dimensions were #h feet by #d1 like that of ,besanon1 while the ,shroud of ,turin measured #ab feet by #c1 the people of ,besanon claimed that theirs was the one spoken of by ,bede4 ,the ,cathedral of ,besanon is no longer ,s4 ,stephen1 since the destruction of that church by ,louis ,,xiv4 ,the small ,church of the ,citadel is now dedicated to that saint1 an inscription on the wall stating that it takes the place of the larger church1 ex urbis obsidio anno #afgd lapsae1 and offering an indulgence of #ajj days for every visit paid to it1 with the sensible proviso una duntaxat vice per diem4 ,soldiers not being generally made of the confessing sex1 or of confessing material1 there is only one confessional provided for the #f1jjj souls which the citadel can accommodate4 ,the ,cavalry ,barracks are in the lower part of the town1 and near them is a large building with evident traces of ecclesiastical architecture on the outside4 ,it is1 in fact1 a very fine church converted into stables1 retaining its interior features in excellent preservation4 ,under the corn-bin lies a lady who had two husbands and fifteen children1 ,antigone in parentes1 ,porcia in conjuges1 ,sempronia in liberos2 while a few yards further east1 less agreeably placed1 is an ecclesiastic of the ,gorrevod family1 who reckoned ,prince and ,bishop and ,baron among his titles4 ,the nave of this ,church of ,s4 ,michael accommodates thirty horses1 and the north aisle thirteen2 the south is considered more select1 and is boarded off for the decani1 in the shape of officers' chargers4 ,the north side of the chancel gives room for six horses1 and the south side for a row of saddle-blocks4 ,it had been an oversight on the part of the original architect of the church that no place was prepared for the daily hay2 a fault which the military restorers have remedied by improvising a lady-chapel1 where the hay for the day is placed in the morning4 ,with ,spelman in my mind1 ,i asked if the stables were not unhealthy2 but the soldiers said they were the healthiest in the town4#de ,the ,glacire of ,vaise had proved1 as has been seen1 to be a mare's-nest2 and yet1 after all1 it produced a foal2 for while ,i was endeavouring to overcome the evening heat of ,besanon in a spcialit for ice1 ,i found that the owner of the establishment was also the owner of the two glacires of ,vaise2 and in the course of the conversation which followed1 he told me of the existence of a natural glacire near the village of ,arc-sous-,cicon1 twenty kilomtres from ,pontarlier1 which he had himself seen4 ,as ,i had arranged to meet my sisters at ,neufchtel1 in two days' time1 for the purpose of visiting a glacire in the ,val de ,travers1 this piece of information came very opportunely1 and ,i determined to attempt both glacires with them4 ,some of the trains from ,besanon stop for an hour at ,dle in passing towards ,switzerland by way of ,pontarlier1 and anyone who is interested in the ,burgundian and ,spanish wars of ,france should take this opportunity of seeing what may be seen of the town of ,dle and its massive church-tower4 ,the sieges of ,dle made it very famous in the later middle ages1 more especially the long siege under ,charles d',amboise1 at the crisis of which that general recommended his soldiers to leave a few of the people for seed1#df and the old sobriquet la ,joyeuse was punningly changed to la ,dolente4 ,it has had other claims upon fame2 for if ,besanon possessed one of the two most authentic ,holy ,shrouds1 ,dle was the resting-place of one of the undoubted miraculous ,hosts1 which had withstood the flames in the ,abbey of ,faverney4 ,it was for the reception of this ,host that the advocates of the ,brotherhood of ,monseigneur ,saint ,yves built the ,sainte ,chapelle at ,dle4#dg ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ch3 ,one of the rights of the sovereigns of ,burgundy was known by this name4 ,the sovereign had the power of sending one soldier incapacitated by war to each abbey in the ,county1 and the authorities of the abbey were bound to make him a prebendary for life4 ,in #afjb1 after the siege of ,ostend1 the ,archduke ,albert exercised this right in favour of his wounded soldiers1 forcing lay-prebendaries upon almost all the abbeys of the ,county of ,burgundy4 ,the ,archduchess ,isabella attempted to quarter such a prebendary upon the ,abbey of ,migette1 a house of nuns1 but the inmates successfully refused to receive the warrior among them 7,dunod1 ,hist4 de l'glise de ,besanon1 i4 #cfg74 ,for the similar right in the kingdom of ,france1 see ,pasquier1 ,recherches de la ,france1 l4 xii4 p4 #cg4 ,louis ,,xiv4 did not exercise this right after his conquest of the ,franche ,comt1 perhaps because the ,htel des ,invalides1 to which the ,church was so large a contributor1 met all his wants4 ,footnote #ci3 ',quand on veut du poisson1 il se faut mouiller2' referring probably to the method of taking trout practised in the ,ormont valley1 the habitat of the purest form of the patois4 ,a man wades in the ,grand' ,eau1 with a torch in one hand to draw the fish to the top1 and a sword in the other to kill them when they arrive there2 a second man wading behind with a bag1 to pick up the pieces4 ,footnote #dj3 ',swift-foot ,almond1 and land-louping ,braan4' ,footnote #da3 ,the sentry-box is omitted in the accompanying illustration4 ,footnote #db3 ,believed to be derived from ,collis ,dian4 ,dunod found that ,chaudonne was an early form of the name1 and so preferred ,collis ,dominarum1 with reference to the house of nuns placed there4 ,footnote #dc3 ,schmidt was not without the support of example in the indulgence of his warlike tastes4 ,thirty-eight years before1 the religious took so active a part in the defence of ,dle against ,louis ,,xiii41 that the ,capuchin ,father d',iche had the direction of the artillery2 and when an officer of the enemy had seized the ,brother ,claude by the cowl1 the ,father ,barnabas made the officer loose his hold by slaying him with a demi-pique4 ,when ,arbois was besieged by ,henry ,,iv41 the ,sieur ,chanoine ,pcauld is specially mentioned as proving himself a bon harquebouzier4 ,footnote #dd3 ,there is a painting by ,vander ,meulen1 representing this siege1 in the ,fitzwilliam ,museum in ,cambridge4 ,footnote #de3 ,the ,church of ,s4 ,philibert1 in ,dijon1 now a forage magazine1 has an inscription let into the wall almost ludicrously out of keeping with the present desecrated state of the building1--,dilexi ,domine ,decorem ,domus tu1 #afdh4 ,footnote #df3 ',qu'on les laisse pour grain6' ,footnote #dg3 ,in the year #afdh1 it was suspected that some decay was going on in the material of this ,host1 and the following translation from the ,latin describes the investigation entered into by the ,dean and a large body of clergy and laity1 in order to quiet the public mind3--',aprs que tous les susnomms 7viz4 the ,dean1 ,canons1 ,president of the ,parliament1 c47 tant prsents eurent adors le ,s4 ,sacrement1 la custode fut ouverte avec tout le respect possible2 et alors le dit ,doyen aperut un vermisseau roul en spirale1 qu'il saisit avec la pointe d'une pingle et plaa sur un corporal o chacun l'examina2 puis on le brla avec un charbon pris dans l'encensoir1 et ses cendres furent jetes dans la piscine4 ,on put alors constater tout le dommage que ce misrable petit animal avait caus aux espces sacres dont les dbris ici tombaient en poussire1 l se trouvaient rongs et lacrs1 de telle sorte que l',hostie n'avait presque plus rien de sa forme circulaire1 et prsentait de profondes dcoupures partout o le vermisseau s'tait livr ses sinueus es volutions4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,month,,zy1 ,,in ,,the ,,val ,,de ,,travers4 ,i rejoined my sisters at ,neufchtel on the #eth of ,july1 and proceeded thence with them by the line which passes through the ,val de ,travers4 ,one of them had been at ,fleurier1 in #ahfj1 on the day of the opening of this line1 and she added an interest to the various tunnels1 by telling us that a ,swiss gentleman of her acquaintance1 who had taken a place in one of the open carriages of the first train1 found1 on reaching the daylight after one of the tunnels1 that his neighbour had been killed by a small stone which had fallen on to his head4 ,where the stone came from1 no one could say1 nor yet when it fell1 for the unfortunate man had made no sign or movement of any kind4 ,every one must be delighted with the wonders of the line of rail1 and the beauties through which the engineer has cut his way4 ,in valleys on a less magnificent scale1 cuttings and embankments on the face of the hill are sad eyesores1 as in railway-ruined ,killiecrankie2 but here ,nature's works are so very grand1 that the works of man are not offensively prominent1 being overawed by the very facts over which they have triumphed4 ,when we reached the more even part of the valley1 where the ,reuse no longer roars and rushes far below1 but winds quietly through the soft grass on a level with the rail1 the whole grouping was so exceedingly charming1 and the river itself so suggestive of lusty trout1 and the village of ,noiraigue#dh looked so tempting as it nestled in a sheltered nook among the headlong precipices1 that ,i registered in a safe mental pigeon-hole a week at the auberge there with a fishing-rod1 and excursions to the commanding summit in which the ,creux de ,vent is found4 ,the engine-driver knew that he was in a region of beauties1 and1 when he whistled to warn his passengers that the train was about to move on1 he remained stationary until the long-resounding echoes died out1 floating lingeringly up the valley to neighbouring ,france4 ,we had no definite idea as to the locale of the glacire we were now bent upon attacking4 ,m4 ,thury's list gave the following information3--',glacire de ,motiers1 ,canton de ,neufchtel1 entre les valles de ,travers et de la ,brvine1 prs du sentier de la ,brvine2' and this ,i had rendered somewhat more precise by a cross-examination of the guard of the train on my way to ,besanon4 ,he had not heard of the glacire1 but from what ,i told him he was inclined to think that ,couvet would be the best station for our purpose1 especially as the ',ecu' at that place was1 in his eyes1 a commendable hostelry4 ,some one in ,geneva1 also1 had believed that ,couvet was as likely as anything else in the valley2 so at ,couvet we descended4#di ,this is a very clean and cheerful village1 devoted to the lucrative manufacture of absinthe1 and producing inhabitants who look like gentlemen and ladies1 and promenade the ways in bonnets and hats1 after a most un-,swiss-like fashion4 ,they carefully restrict themselves to the making of the poisonous product of their village1 and have nothing to do with the consumption thereof3#ej hence nature has a fair chance with them1 and they are a healthy and energetic race4 ,the beauties of the surrounding mountains1 with their fitful alternations of pasture and wood1 and grey face of rock1 are not marred by the outward appearance1 at least1 of that which ,bishop ,heber lamented in a country where 'every prospect pleases4' ,an old lady is commemorated in the annals of ,couvet as an example of the healthiness of the situation1 who saw seven generations of her family1 having known her great-grandfather in her early years1 and living to nurse great-grandchildren in her old age4 ,the landlord of the inn informed us1 with much pride1 that ,couvet was the birthplace of the man who invented a clock for telling the time at sea2 by which1 no doubt1 he meant the chronometer1 invented by ,m4 ,berthoud4 ,at ,motiers1 the next village1 ,rousseau wrote his ,lettres de la ,montagne1 and thence it was that he fled from popular violence to the island on the ,lake of ,bienne4 ,the ',ecu' promised us dinner in half an hour1 and we strolled about in the garden of that unsophisticated hotel for an hour and a half1 reconciled to the delay by the beauty of the neighbouring hills1 the winding of the valley giving all the effect of a mountain-locked plain1 with barriers decked with firs4 ,it will readily be conceived1 however1 that three practical ,english people could not be satisfied to feed on beauty alone for any very great length of time1 and we caught the landlady and became peremptory4 ,she explained that dinner was quite ready1 but she had intended to give us the pleasure of an agreeable society1 consisting of sundry ,swiss who were due in another half-hour or so3 she yielded1 nevertheless1 to our representations1 and promised to serve the meal at once4 ,we were speedily summoned to the salle--manger1 and entered a low smoke-stained wooden chamber1 with no floor to speak of1 and with huge beams supporting the roof1 dangerous for tall heads4 ,the date on the door was #afij1 and the chamber fully looked its age4 ,there was a long table of the prevailing hue1 with a similar bench2 and on the table three large basins1 presumably containing soup1 were ranged1 each covered with its plate1 and accompanied by a ricketty spoon of yellow metal and a hunch of black bread4 ,a41 who was hungry enough and experienced enough to have known better1 began promptly a most pathetic ',why surely6' but the landlady stopped her by opening a side door1 and displaying a comfortable room in which a well-appointed table awaited us3--she had taken us through the kitchen rather than through the salon1 in which were peasants smoking4 ,we were somewhat disconcerted when we heard that the unwashed-looking place was the kitchen2 but the landlady had made up for it by scrubbing her husband1 who waited upon us1 to a high pitch of presentability1 and further experience showed that the ',ecu' is to be highly commended for the excellence and abundance and cheapness of its foods4 ,there are many natural curiosities in and near the ,val de ,travers1 which well repay the labour that must be expended upon them4 ,the ,temple des ,fes1 on the western side of the ,valley of ,verrires1 used to be called the most beautiful grotto in ,switzerland2 and the great ,cavern of ,la ,baume1 near ,motiers1 is said to be exceedingly wonderful4 ,we were shown the entrance to a line of caverns in the hills above ,couvet1 and were informed that it was possible to pierce completely through the range1 and pass out at the other side within sight of ,yverdun4 ,one of the caverns in this valley had been explored by some of ,a4 and ,m4's ,swiss friends1 and the account of what they had gone through was by no means inviting1 seeing that the prevailing material was damp clay of a solid character1 arranged in steep slopes1 up which progression must be made by inserting the fingers and toes as far as might be into the clay2 and1 of course1 when the handful of unpleasant mud came away1 the result was the reverse of progression4 ,to anyone who has only known the rope up the pure white side of some snow mountain1 the idea of being roped for the purpose of grappling with underground banks of adhesive mud and clay must be horrible in the extreme4 ,another interesting natural phenomenon is presented by the source of the ,reuse1 that river gushing out from the rock in considerable volume1 probably formed by the drainage of the ,lake of ,etallires1 in the distant valley of ,la ,brvine2 while the ,longe-aigue1 on the contrary1 is lost in a gulf of such horror that the people call the mill which stands on its edge the ,moulin d'enfer4 ,as usual1 we were assured that many of these remarkable sights were far better worth a visit than the glacire1 of which no one seemed to know anything4 ,a guide was at length secured for the next morning1 who had made his way to the cave once in the winter-time and had been unable to enter it1 and we settled down quietly to an evening of perfect rest4 ,the windows of the bedrooms being guiltless of blinds and curtains1 the effect of waking1 in the early morning1 to find them blocked up1 as it were1 by the green slopes of pasture and the dark bands of fir-woods which clothed the limiting hills1 seemed almost magical1 the foreground being occupied solely by the graceful curve of the dome of the church-tower1 glittering with intercepted rays1 and forming a bright omen for the day thus ushered in4 ,in due time the promised guide appeared1 a sickly boy of unprepossessing appearance1 and of patois to correspond4 ,i was at first tempted to propose that we should attack him stereoscopically1 ,a4 administering ,french and ,i simultaneous ,german1 in the hope that the combination might convey some meaning to him2 but1 after a time1 we succeeded with ,french alone4 ,perhaps ,latin would have made a more likely mlange than ,german1 and to give it him in three dimensions would not have been a bad plan4 ,the route for the glacire runs straight up the face of the hill along which the railway has been constructed2 and as we passed through woods of beech and fir1 with fresh green glades rolling down below our feet1 or emerged from the woods to cross large undulating expanses of meadow-land1 we were almost inclined to believe that we had never done so lovely a walk4 ,the scenery through which we passed was thoroughly that of the lower districts of the ,alps1 with nothing ,jurane in its character1 and the elevation finally achieved was not very great3 indeed1 at a short distance from the glacire1 we passed a collection of very neat chlets1 with gardens and garden-flowers1 one of the chlets rejoicing in countless beehives1 with three or four 'ekes' apiece4 ,up to the time of reaching this little village1 which seemed to be called ,sagnette1 our path had been that which leads to ,la ,brvine1 the highest valley in the canton2 but now we turned off abruptly up the steeper face on the left hand1 and in a very few minutes came upon a dry wilderness of rock and grass1 which we at once recognised as 'glacire country2' and when ,i told our guide that we must be near the place1 he replied by pointing to the trees round the mouth of the pit4 ,shortly after we first left ,couvet1 a gaunt elderly female1 with a one-bullock char1 had joined our party1 and tried to bully us into giving up the cave and going instead to a neighbouring summit1 whence she promised us a view of unrivalled extent and beauty4 ,she told us that there was nothing to be seen in the glacire1 and that it was a place where people lost their lives4 ,the guide said that was nonsense2 but she reduced him to silence by quoting a case in point4 ,she said1 too1 that if a man slipped and fell1 there was nothing to prevent him from going helplessly down a run of ice into a subterranean watercourse1 which would carry him for two or three leagues underground2 and on this head our boy had no counter-statement to make4 ,she asserted that without ladders it was utterly impossible to make the descent to the commencement of the glacire2 and she vowed there was no ladder now1 nor had been for some time4 ,here the boy came in1 stating that the cave belonged to a mademoiselle of ,neufchtel1 who had a summer cottage at no great distance1 and loved to be supplied with ice during her residence in the country1 for which purpose she kept a sound ladder on the spot1 and had it removed in the winter that it might not be destroyed4 ,there was a circumstantial air about this statement which for the moment got the better of the old woman2 but she speedily recovered herself1 and repeated positively that there was no ladder of any description1 adding1 somewhat inconsequently1 that it was such a bad one1 no ,christian could use it with safety4 ,the boy retorted1 that it was all very well for her to run the glacire down1 as she lived near it1 but for the world from a distance it was a most wonderful sight2 and1 as for the ladder1 he happened to know that it was at this time in excellent preservation4 ,the event proved that in saying this he drew entirely upon his imagination4 ,it is1 perhaps1 only fair to suppose that they don't mean anything by it1 and it may be mere ignorance on their part2 but the simple fact is1 that some of those ,swiss rustics tell the most barefaced lies conceivable1--unblushing is an epithet that cannot be safely applied without previous soap and water1--and tell them in a plodding systematic manner which takes in all but the experienced and wary traveller4 ,i have myself learned to suspend my judgment regarding the most simple thing in nature1 until ,i have other grounds for forming an opinion than the solemn asseverations of the most stolid and respectable ,swiss1 if it so be that money depends upon his report4#ea ,as in the case of two of the glacires already described1 the entrance is by a deep pit1 which has the appearance of having been at one time two pits1 one less deep than the other2 and the barrier between the two having been removed by some natural process1 a passage is found down the steep side of the shallower pit1 which lands the adventurer on a small sloping shelf1 #ba feet sheer above the surface of the snow in the deeper pit1 the sides of the latter rising up perpendicularly all round4 ,it is for this last #ba feet that some sort of ladder is absolutely necessary4 ,our guide flung himself down in the sun at the outer edge of the pit1 and informed us that as it was cold and dangerous down below1 he intended to go no farther3 he had engaged1 he said1 to guide us to the glacire1 and he felt in no way bound to go into it4 ,he was not good for much1 so ,i was not sorry to hear of his determination2 and when my sisters saw the sort of place they had to try to scramble down1 they appeared to be very glad that only ,i was to be with them4 ,leaving them to make such arrangements with regard to dress as might seem necessary to them1 ,i proceeded to pioneer the way down the first part of the descent4 ,this was extremely unpleasant1 for the rocks were steep and very moist1 with treacherous little collections of disintegrated material on every small ledge where the foot might otherwise have found a hold4 ,these had to be cleared away before it could be safe for them to descend1 and in other places the broken rock had to be picked out to form foot-holes2 while1 lower down1 where the final shelf was reached1 the abrupt slope of mud which ended in the sheer fall required considerable reduction1 being far too beguiling in its original form4 ,here there was also a buttress of damp earth to be got round1 and it was necessary to cut out deep holes for the hands and feet before even a man could venture upon the attempt with any comfort4 ,the buttress was not1 however1 without its advantage1 for on it1 overhanging the snow of the lower pit1 was a beautiful clump of cowslips 7,primula elatior1 ,fr4 ,primevre inodore71 which was at once secured as a trophy4 ,the length of the irregular descent to this point was between #gj and #hj feet4 ,on rounding the buttress1 the upper end of the ladder presented itself1 and now the question1 between the boy and the old woman was to be decided4 ,i worked down to the edge of the shelf1 and looked over into the pit1 and1 alas6 the state of the remaining parts of the ladder was hopeless1 owing partly to the decay of the sidepieces1 and partly to the general absence of steps--a somewhat embarrassing feature under the circumstances4 ,a further investigation showed that for the #ba feet of ladder there were only seven steps1 and these seven were not arranged as conveniently as they might have been1 for two occurred at the very top1 and the other five in a group at the bottom4 ,a branchless fir-tree had at some time fallen into the pit1 and now lay in partial contact with the ruined ladder2 and there were on the trunk various little knobs1 which might possibly be of some use as a supplement to the rare steps of the ladder4 ,the snow at the bottom of the pit was surrounded on all sides by perpendicular rock1 and on the side opposite to the ladder ,i saw an arch at the foot of the rock1 apparently #b or #c feet high1 leading from the snow into darkness2 and that1 of course1 was the entrance to the glacire4 ,i succeeded in getting down the ladder1 by help of the supplement1 and looked down into the dark hole to see that it was practicable1 and then returned to report progress in the upper regions4 ,we had brought no alpenstocks to ,couvet1 so we sent the guide off into the woods1 where we had heard the sound of an axe1 to get three stout sticks from the woodmen2 but he returned with such wretched1 crooked little things1 that ,a4 went off herself to forage1 and1 having found an impromptu cattle-fence1 came back with weapons resembling bulbous hedge-stakes1 which she skinned and generally modified with a powerful clasp-knife1 her constant companion4 ,she then cut up the crooked sticks into btons for a contemplated repair of the ladder1 while ,m4 and ,i investigated the country near the pit4 ,we found two other pits1 which afterwards proved to communicate with the glacire4 ,we could approach sufficiently near to one of these to see down to the bottom1 where there was a considerable collection of snow3 this pit was completely sheltered from the sun by trees1 and was #ff feet deep and #d or #e feet in diameter4 ,the other was of larger size1 but its edge was so treacherous that we did not venture so near as to see what it contained3 its depth was about #gj feet1 and the stone and a foot or two of the string came up wet4 ,the sides of the main pit1 by which we were to enter the glacire1 were1 as has been said1 very sheer1 and on one side we could approach sufficiently near the edge to drop a plummet down to the snow3 the height of this face of rock was #ei feet1 measuring down to the snow1 and the level of the ice was eventually found to be about #d feet lower4 ,although it was now not very far from noon1 the sun had not yet reached the snow1 owing partly to the depth of the pit as compared with its diameter1 and partly to the trees which grew on several sides close to the edge4 ,one or two trees of considerable size grew out of the face of rock4 ,we were now cool enough to attempt the glacire1 and ,i commenced the descent with ,a4 ,the precautions already taken made the way tolerably possible down to the buttress of earth and the shelving ledge1 and so far the warm sun had accompanied us2 but beyond the ledge there was nothing but the broken ladder1 and deep shade1 and a cold damp atmosphere1 which made the idea1 and still more the feel1 of snow very much the reverse of pleasant4 ,a4 was not a coward on such occasions1 and she had sufficient confidence in her guide2 but it is rather trying for a lady to make the first step off a slippery slope of mud1 on to an apology for a ladder which only stands up a few inches above the lower edge of the slope1 and so affords no support for the hand3 nor1 after all1 can bravery and trust quite make up for the want of steps4 ,we were a very long time in accomplishing the descent1 for her feet were always out of her sight1 owing to the shape which female dress assumes when its wearer goes down a ladder with her face to the front1 especially when the ladder has suffered from ubiquitous compound fracture1 and the ragged edges catch the unaccustomed petticoats4 ,it was quite as well the feet were out of sight1 for some of the supports to which they were guided were not such as would have commended themselves to her1 had she been able to see them4 ,at length1 owing in great measure to the opportune assistance of two of the batons we had brought down with us for repairs1 thanks also to the trunk of the fir-tree1 we reached the snow2 and poor ,a4 was planted there1 breaking through the top crust as a commencement of her acquaintance with it1 till such time as ,i could bring ,m4 down to join her4 ,the experience acquired in the course of ,a4's descent led us to call to ,m4 that she must get rid of that portion of her attire which gives a shape to modern dress2 for the obstinacy and power of mal--propos obstructiveness of this garment had wonderfully complicated our difficulties4 ,she objected that the guide was there2 but we assured her that he was asleep1 or if he wasn't it made no matter2 so when ,i reached the top1 she emerged shapeless from a temporary hiding-place1 clutching her long hedge-stake1 and feeling1 she said--and certainly looking--a good deal like a gorilla4 ,the most baffling part of the trouble having been thus got over1 we soon joined ,a41 blue already1 and shivering on the snow4 ,the sun now reached very nearly to the bottom of the pit1 and ,i went up once more for thermometers and other things1 leaving a measure with my sisters1 and begging them to amuse themselves by taking the dimensions of the snow3 on my return1 however1 to the top of the ladder1 ,i found them combining over a little bottle1 and they informed me plaintively that they had been taking medicinal brandy and snow instead of measurements1--a very necessary precaution1 for anyone to whom brandy is not a greater nuisance than utter cold4 ,we found the dimensions of the bottom of the pit1 i4e4 of the field of snow on which we stood1 to be #ca-a_/b feet by #ba2 but we were unable to form any idea of the depth of the snow1 beyond the fact that 'up to the ancle' was its prevailing condition4 ,the boy told us1 when we rejoined him1 that when he and others had attempted to get ice for the landlord1 when it was ordered for him in a serious illness the winter before1 they had found the pit filled to the top with snow4 ,illustration3 ,,vertical ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,month,,zy1 ,,in ,,the ,,val ,,de ,,travers4 ,as we stood at the mouth of the low entrance1 making final preparations for a plunge into the darkness1 ,i perceived a strong cold current blowing out from the cave--sufficiently strong and cold to render knickerbocker stockings a very unavailing protection4 ,while engaged in the discovery that this style of dress is not without its drawbacks1 ,i found1 to my surprise1 that the direction of the current suddenly changed1 and the cold blast which had before blown out of the cave1 now blew almost as strongly in4 ,the arch of entrance was so low1 that the top was about on a level with my waist2 so that our faces and the upper parts of our bodies were not exposed to the current1 and the strangeness of the effect was thus considerably increased4 ,as a matter of curiosity1 we lighted a bougie1 and placed it on the edge of the snow1 at the top of the slope of #c or #d feet which led down the surface of the ice1 and then stood to watch the effect of the current on the flame4 ,the experiment proved that the currents alternated1 and1 as ,i fancied1 regularly2 and in order to determine1 if possible1 the law of this alternation1 ,i observed with my watch the exact duration of each current4 ,for twenty-two seconds the flame of the bougie was blown away from the entrance1 so strongly as to assume a horizontal position1 and almost to leave the wick3 then the current ceased1 and the flame rose with a stately air to a vertical position1 moving down again steadily till it became once more horizontal1 but now pointing in towards the cave4 ,this change occupied in all four seconds2 and the current inwards lasted--like the outward current--twenty-two seconds1 and then the whole phenomenon was repeated4 ,the currents kept such good time1 that when ,i stood beyond their reach1 and turned my back1 ,i was enabled to announce each change with perfect precision4 ,on one occasion1 the flame performed its semicircle in a horizontal instead of a vertical plane1 moving round the wick in the shape of a pea-flower4 ,the day was very still1 so that no external winds could have anything to do with this singular alternation2 and1 indeed1 the pit was so completely sheltered by its shape1 that a storm might have raged outside without producing any perceptible effect below4 ,it would be difficult to explain the regularity of these opposite currents1 but it is not so difficult to see that some such oscillation might be expected4 ,it will be better1 however1 to defer any suggestions on this point till the glacire has been more fully described4 ,illustration3 ,,ground ,,plan ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,month,,zy4 ,note3 ,the candle stood at this point4 ,we passed down at length through the low archway1 and stood on the floor of ice4 ,as our eyes became accustomed to the darkness1 we saw that an indistinct light streamed into the cave from some low point at a considerable distance1 apparently on a level with the floor2 and this we afterwards found to be the bottom of the larger of the two pits we had already fathomed1 the pit ,a of the diagram2 and we eventually discovered a similar but much smaller communication with the bottom of the pit ,b4 ,in each of these pits there was a considerable pyramid of snow1 whose base was on a level with the floor of the glacire3 the connecting archway in the case of the pit ,a was #c or #d feet high1 allowing us to pass into the pit and round the pyramid with perfect ease1 while that leading to the pit ,b was less than a foot high1 so that no passage could be forced4 ,as we stood on the ice at the entrance and peered into the comparative darkness1 we saw by degrees that the glacire consisted of a continuous sea of smooth ice1 sloping down very gently towards the right hand4 ,the rock which forms the roof of the cave seemed to be almost as even as the floor1 and was from #d to #e feet high in the neighbourhood in which we now found ourselves1 gradually approaching the floor towards the bottom of the pit ,b1 where it became about a foot high1 and rising slightly in that part of the cave where the floor fell1 so as to give #i or #aj feet as the height there4 ,the ice had all the appearance of great depth2 but there were no means of forming a trustworthy opinion on this point1 beyond the fact that ,i succeeded in lowering a stone to a considerable depth1 in the small crevice which existed between the wall and the block of ice which formed the floor4 ,the greatest length of the cave we found to be #aab ft4 #g in41 and its breadth #id ft41 the general shape of the field of ice1 which filled it to its utmost edges1 being elliptical4 ,the surface was unpleasantly wet1 chiefly in the line of the currents1 which were now seen to pass backwards and forwards between the pits ,a and ,c4 ,in the neighbourhood of the pit ,b the water stood in a very thin sheet on the ice1 which there was level1 and rendered the style of locomotion necessitated by the near approach of the roof extremely disagreeable1 as ,i was obliged to lie on my face1 and push myself along the wet and slippery ice1 to explore that corner of the cave1 being at length stopped by want of sufficient height for even that method of progression4 ,the circle marked ,d represents a column from the roof1 at the foot of which we found a small grotto in the ice1 which ,i entered to a depth of #f feet1 the surface of the field of ice showing a very gracefully rounded fall at the edges of the grotto4 ,at the point ,e there was a beautiful collection of fretted columns1 white and hard as porcelain1 arranged in a semicircle1 with the diameter facing the cave1 measuring #bb ft4 #i in4 along this face4 ,on the farther side of these columns there were signs of a considerable fall in the ice2 and by making use of the roots of small stalagmitic columns of that material1 which grew on the slope of ice1 ,i got down into a little wilderness of spires and flutings1 and found a small cave penetrating a short way under the solid ice-floor4 ,g marks the place of a free stalagmite of ice1 formed under a fissure in the roof2 and each ,f represents a column from the roof1 or from a lateral fissure in the wall4 ,the most striking features of this cave were the three domes1 marked ,h in the ground-plan1 in which they ought strictly not to appear1 as being confined to the roof3 one of them is shown also in the vertical section of the cave4 ,they occur where the roof is from #c to #d feet above the floor4 ,it will be understood1 that the bent attitude in which we were obliged to investigate these parts of the cave was exceedingly fatiguing1 and we hailed with delight a sudden circular opening in the roof which enabled us to stand upright4 ,this delight was immensely increased when our candles showed us that the walls of this vertical opening were profusely decorated with the most lovely forms of ice4 ,the first that we came under passed up out of sight2 and in this1 two solid cascades of ice hung down1 high overhead1 apparently broken off short1 or at any rate ending very abruptly3 the others did not pass so far into the roof1 and formed domes of very regular shape4 ,in all three1 the details of the ice-decoration were most lovely1 and the effect produced by the whole situation was very curious2 for we stood with our legs exposed to the alternating cold currents1 the remaining part of our bodies being imbedded as it were in the roof2 while the candles in our hands brought out the crystal ornaments of the sides1 flashing fitfully all round us and overhead1 when one or other of us moved a light1 as if we had been surrounded by diamonds of every possible size and setting4 ,one of the domes was so small1 that we were obliged to stand up by turn to examine its beauties2 but in the others we all stood together4 ,on every side were branching clusters of ice in the form of club-mosses1 with here and there varicose veins of clear ice1 and pinnacles of the prismatic structure1 with limpid crockets and finials4 ,the pipes of ice which formed a network on the walls were in some cases so exquisitely clear1 that we could not be sure of their existence without touching them2 and in other cases a sheet #d or #f inches thick was found to be no obstruction to our view of the rock on which it was formed4 ,in one of the domes we had only one candle1 and the bearer of this after a time contrived to let it fall1 leaving us standing with our heads in perfect darkness2 while the indistinct light which strayed about our feet showed faintly a circle of icicles1 hanging from the lower part of the dome1 the fringe1 as it were1 of our rocky petticoats4 ,in one of the lower parts of the cave1 where darkness prevailed1 and locomotion was only possible on the lowest reptile principles1 ,m4 announced that she could see clear through the ice-floor1 as if there were nothing between her and the rock below4 ,i ventured to doubt this1 for there was an air of immense thickness about the whole ice2 and as soon as ,a4 and ,i had succeeded in grovelling across the intervening space1 and converged upon her1 we found that the appearance she had observed was due to a most perfect reflection of the roof1 as shown by the candles we carried1 which may give some idea of the character of the ice4 ,we did not care to study this effect for any very prolonged time1 inasmuch as we were obliged meanwhile to stow away the length of our legs on a part of the ice which was thinly covered with water1--one result of its proximity to the arch communicating with the smallest pit4 ,it has been said that the whole ice-floor sloped slightly towards one side of the cave1 the slope becoming rather more steep near the edge4#eb ,clearly1 ever so slight a slope would be sufficiently embarrassing1 when the surface was so perfectly smooth and slippery2 and this added much to the difficulty of walking in a bent attitude4 ,on coming out of one of the domes1 ,i tried progression on all-fours--threes1 rather1 for the candle occupied one hand1--and ,i cannot recommend that method1 owing to the impossibility of putting on the break4 ,the pace ultimately acquired is greater than is pleasant1 and the roof is too near the floor to allow of any successful attempt to bring things to an end by the reassumption of a biped character4 ,we placed a thermometer in the line of greatest current1 and another in a still part of the cave4 ,the memorandum is lost of their register--if1 indeed1 we ever made one1 for we were more concerned with the beauties than the temperature was surprisingly high in the line of current1 as compared with the ordinary temperature of ice-caves4 ,when we came to compare backs1 after leaving the cave1 we mutually found that they were in a very disreputable condition4 ,the damp and ragged roof with which they had been so frequently in contact had produced a marked effect upon them1 and ,i eventually paid a tailor in ,geneva three francs for restoring my coat to decency4 ,m4 took great credit to herself for having been more careful of her back than the others1 and declined to be laughed at for forgetting that she was only about half as high as they1 to begin with4 ,a4 still remembers the green-grey stains1 as the most obstinate she ever had to deal with1 especially as her three-days' knapsack contained no change for that outer part of her dress4 ,the ',ecu' gave us a charming dinner on our return2 then a moderate bill1 and an affectionate farewell2 and we succeeded in catching the early evening train for ,pontarlier4#ec ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #dh3 ,aigue1 or egue1 in the patois of this district1 is equivalent to eau1 the ,latin aqua4 ,footnote #di3 ,ebel1 in his ,swiss ,manual 7,french translation of #ahah1 t4 iii471 mentions this glacire under the head ,motiers1 and observes that it and the grotto of ,s4 ,georges are the only places in the ,jura where ice remains through the summer4 ,this statement1 in common with a great part of ,ebel1 has been transferred to the letterpress of ,switzerland ,illustrated4 ,footnote #ej3 ,switzerland sent #g1ejj1jjj gallons of absinthe to ,france in #ahfd4 ,footnote #ea3 ,point d'argent1 point de ,suisse1 is a proverbial expression which the ,swiss twist into a historical compliment1 asserting that it arose in early mercenary times1 from the fact that they were too virtuous to accept the suggestion of the general who hired them1 and wished them to take their pay in kind from the defenceless people of the country they had served4 ,footnote #eb3 ,it is probable that the ice is on the increase in this glacire1 and that an archway1 now filled up by the growing ice1 has at one time existed in the wall on this side of the care1 through which the ice and water used to pour into the subterranean depths of which the old woman had told us4 ,at the time of our visit1 we could find no outlet4 ,footnote #ec3 ,the following remarks may give some explanation of the phenomenon of alternating currents in this cave1 ,i should suppose that during the night there is atmospheric equilibrium in the cave itself1 and in the three pits ,a1 ,b1 ,c4 ,when the heat of the sun comes into operation1 the three pits are very differently affected by it1 ,c being comparatively open to the sun's rays1 while ,a is much less so1 and ,b is entirely sheltered from radiation4 ,this leads naturally to atmospheric disturbance4 ,the air in the pit ,c is made warmer and less heavy than that in ,a and ,b1 and the consequence is1 that the column of air in ,c can no longer balance the columns in ,a and ,b1 which therefore begin to descend1 and so a current of air is driven from the cave into the pit ,c4 ,owing to the elasticity of the atmosphere1 even at a low temperature1 this descent1 and the consequent rush of air into ,c1 will be overdone1 and a recoil must take place1 which accounts for the return current into the cave from the pit ,c4 ,the sun can reach ,a more easily than ,b1 and thus the air is lighter and more moveable in the former pit1 so that the recoil will make itself more felt in ,a than in ,b3 accordingly1 we found that the main currents alternated between ,a and ,c1 with very slight disturbance in the neighbourhood of ,b4 ,b will1 however1 play its part1 and the weighty column of air contained in it will oscillate1 though with smaller oscillations than in the case of ,a4 ,probably1 when the sun has left ,a1 while acting still upon ,c1 the return current from ,c will be much slighter1 and there will be a general settling of the atmosphere in the pits ,a and ,b1 until ,c also is freed from the sun's action1 when the whole system will gradually pass into a state of equilibrium4 ,with respect to the action of the more protected pits1 the principle of the hydraulic ram not unnaturally suggests itself4 ,in considering the minor details of the currents1 such elements as the refrigeration of the air in its passage across the face of the ice must be taken into account4 ,it may be observed that the candle did not occupy an intermediate position with respect to two opposing currents1 for it was practically on the floor of the cave1 owing to the continuity of the slope of snow on which it stood1 as shown in the vertical section on p4 #ajh4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,and ,,neigi,,re ,,of ,,arc-,,sous-,,cicon4 ,the beauties of the ,val de ,travers end only with the valley itself1 at the head of which a long tunnel ushers the traveller into a tamer country1--a preparation1 as it were1 for ,france4 ,after the border is passed1 the scenery begins to improve again1 and the effect of the two castles of ,joux1 the new and the old1 crowning the heights on either side of the narrow gorge through which the railway runs1 is very fine4 ,the guide-books inform us that the ,chteau of ,joux was the place of imprisonment of the unfortunate ,toussaint ,l',ouverture1 and that there he died of neglect and cold2 and it was in the same strong fortress that ,mirabeau was confined by his father's desire4 ,the old castle1 however1 is more interesting from its connection with the history of ,charles the ,bold1 who retired to ,la ,rivire after the battle of ,morat1 and spent here those sad solitary weeks of which ,philip de ,comines tells with so many moral reflections2 weeks of bodily and mental distress1 which left him a mere wreck1 and led to his wild want of generalship and his miserable death at ,nancy4 ,he had melted down the church-bells in this part of ,burgundy and ,vaud1 to make cannon for the final effort which failed so fatally at ,morat2 and the old chroniclers relate--without any allusion to the sacrilege--that the artillery was wretchedly served on that cruel#ed day4 ,it is some comfort to ,englishmen to know that their ancestors under the ,duke of ,somerset displayed a marvellous courage on the occasion4 ,we reached ,pontarlier in time for a stroll through the quiet town2 but we searched in vain for the tempting convents and gates1 which were marked on my copy of an old plan of the place1 dedicated to the ,prince d',arenberg1 in the well-known times when he governed the ,franche ,comt4 ,the convents had become for the most part breweries1 and the gates had been improved away4 ,our enquiries respecting the place of our destination were fortunately more successful4 ,the idea of a glacire was new to the world of ,pontarlier2 but the landlord of the ,htel ,national had heard of ,arc-sous-,cicon1 and had no doubt that we could find a carriage of some sort to take us there4 ,his own horses were all engaged in haymaking1 but his neighbours' horses might be less busy1 and accordingly he took us first to call upon ,m4 ,paget1 a friend who added to his income by keeping a horse and voiture for hire4 ,the ,pagets in general had gone to bed1 and the door was fastened2 but our guide seemed to know the ways of the house1 and we found ,madame in the stables1 and arranged with her for a carriage at seven o'clock the next morning4 ,at the time appointed1 ,m4 ,paget did not come1 and ,i was obliged to go and look him up4 ,he proved to me that it was all right1 somehow1 and evidently understood that his convenience1 not ours1 was the thing to be consulted4 ,the hotel is in a narrow street1 and1 apparently on that account1 a stray passer-by was caught1 and pressed into ,m4 ,paget's service to help to turn the carriage1--a feat accomplished by a bodily lifting of the hinder part1 with its wheels4 ,after-experience showed that the narrowness of the street had nothing to with it1 and we discovered that the necessity for the manoeuvre was due to a chronic affection of some portion of the voiture2 so that whenever in the course of the day it became necessary for us to turn round1 ,m4 ,paget was constrained to call in foreign help4 ,the country through which we passed was uninteresting in the extreme1 although we had been told by the landlord that our drive would introduce us to a succession of natural beauties such as few countries in the world could show4 ,the line of hills1 at the foot of which we expected our route to lie1 looked exceedingly tempting as seen from ,pontarlier2 but1 to our disappointment1 we left the hills and struck across the plain4 ,about ten or eleven kilomtres from ,pontarlier1 however1 the character of the country changed suddenly1 and we found the landlord's promise in some part fulfilled4 ,rich meadow-slopes were broken by solitary trees arranged in ,nature's happiest style1 and grey precipices of ,jurane grimness and perpendicularity encroached upon the woods and grass4 ,we were coming near the source of the ,loue1 ,m4 ,paget said1 which it would be necessary for us to visit4 ,he told us that we must leave the carriage at an auberge on the roadside1 and walk to the neighbouring village of ,ouhans1 which was inaccessible for voitures1 and thence we should easily find our way to the source4 ,the distance1 he declared1 was twenty minutes4 ,the woman at the auberge strongly recommended the source1 but did her best to dissuade us from the glacires1 of which she said there were two4 ,she had visited them herself1 and told her husband1 who had guided her1 that there was nothing to see4 ,that1 we thought1 proved nothing against the glacires1 and her dulness of appreciation we were willing to accept without further proof than her personal appearance4 ,besides1 to go to the source1 and not to ,arc1 would mean dining with her2 so that she was not an impartial adviser4 ,m4 ,paget was a short square man1 of very few words1 and his one object in life seemed to be to save his black horse as much as possible2 a very creditable object in itself1 so long as he did not go too far in his endeavours to accomplish it4 ,on the present occasion he certainly did go too far4 ,the road was quite as good as that which we had left1 and there was no reason in the world why the carriage should not have taken us to the village4 ,worse still1 we discovered eventually that the 'twenty minutes' meant twenty minutes from the village to the source1 and represented really something like half the time necessary for that part of the march1 while there was a hot and dusty walk of half an hour before we reached the village4 ,as he accompanied us in person1 we had the satisfaction of frequently telling him our mind with insular frankness4 ,he pretended to be much distressed1 but assured us each time we returned to the charge--about every quarter of an hour--that we were close to the desired spot4 ,from the village to the source1 the way led us through such pleasant scenery and such acceptable strawberries1 that we only kept up our periodical remonstrances on principle1 and1 after we had wound rapidly down through a grand defile1 and turned a sudden angle of the rock1 the first sight of that which we had come to see amply repaid us all the trouble we had gone through4 ,the source of the ,orbe is sufficiently striking1 but the ,loue is by far more grand at the moment of its birth4 ,the former is a bright fairy-like stream1 gushing out of a small cavern at the foot of a lofty precipice clothed with clinging trees2 but the ,loue flows out from the bottom of an amphitheatrical rock much more lofty and unbroken4 ,the stream itself is broader and deeper1 and glides with an infinitely more majestic calmness from a vast archway in the rock1 into the recesses of which the eye can penetrate to the point where the roof closes in upon the water1 and so cuts off all further view4 ,the calmness of the flow may be in part attributed to a weir1 which has been built across the stream at the mouth of the cave1 for the purpose of driving a portion of the water into a channel which conveys it to various mill-wheels2 for1 at a very short distance below the weir1 the natural stream makes a fall of #ag feet1 so that1 if left to itself1 it might probably rush out more impetuously from its mysterious cavern4 ,the weir is a single timber1 below the surface1 fixed obliquely across the stream on a shelving bank of masonry1 and the farther end meets the wall of rock inside the cave4 ,near it we saw some glorious hart's-tongue ferns1 which excited our desires1 and ,i took off boots and stockings1 and endeavoured to make my way along the weir2 but the face of the masonry was so very slippery1 and the nails in the timber so unpleasant for bare feet1 and the stream was so unexpectedly strong1 that ,i called to mind the proverbial definition of the better part of valour1 and came back without having achieved the ferns4 ,the biting coldness of the water1 and the boiling of the fall close below the weir1 did not add to my confidence in making the attempt1 but ,i should think that in a more favourable state of the water the cave might be very well explored by two men going alone4 ,the day penetrated so completely into the farthest corners1 that when ,i got half-way along the weir1 ,i could detect the oily look on the surface where it first saw the light1 which showed where the water was quietly streaming up from its unknown sources4 ,the people in the neighbourhood were unable to suggest any lake or lakes of which this river might be the subterranean drainage4 ,it is liable to sudden and violent overflows1 which seldom last more than twenty-four hours2 and from the destruction of property caused by these outbursts1 the name of ,la ,loue1 sc4 ,la ,louve1 has been given to it4 ,the rocky valley through which the river runs1 after leaving its underground channel1 is exceedingly fine1 and we wandered along the precipices on one side1 enjoying the varying scenes so much that we could scarcely bring ourselves to turn2 each bend of the fretting river showing a narrow gorge in the rock1 with a black rapid1 and a foaming fall4 ,it is said that although the mills on the ,doubs are sometimes stopped from want of water1 those which derive their motive power from this strange and impressive cavern have never known the supply to fail4 ,before we started for our ramble among the woods and precipices which overhang the farther course of the ,loue1 we had sent off ,m4 ,paget to the auberge1 with strict orders that he should at once get out the black horse1 and bring the carriage to meet us at ,ouhans1 as one of us was not in so good order for walking as usual1 and the day was fast slipping away4 ,of course we saw nothing of him when we reached ,ouhans2 and as it was not prudent to wait for his arrival there1 which might never take place1 we walked through the broiling sun in the direction of the auberge1 and at last saw him coming1 pretending to whip his horse as if he were in earnest about the pace4 ,we somewhat sullenly assisted him to turn the old carriage round1 and then bade him drive as hard as he could to ,arc-sous-,cicon1 still a long way off4 ,this he said he would do if he knew which was the way2 but since he was last there1 as a much younger man1 there had been a general change in the matter of roads1 and how the new ones lay he did not know4 ,this was not cheerful intelligence1 especially as we had set our hearts upon getting back to ,pontarlier in time for the evening train1 which would give us a night at the charming ,bellevue at ,neufchtel1 instead of the poisonous coffee and the trying odours of the ,national3 the old man's instinct1 however1 led him right1 and we reached ,arc at half-past twelve4 ,one obstacle to our journey on the new road promised at first to be insurmountable1 being an immense sapin1 the largest ,i have seen felled1 which lay on a combination of wood-chairs straight across the road4 ,it had been brought down a narrow side-road through a wheat-field1 and one end occupied this road1 while the other was jammed against the wall on the opposite side of the main road2 and half-a-dozen men1 with as many draught oxen1 were mainly endeavouring to turn it in the right direction4 ,m4 ,paget knew how much was required to turn his own carriage1 and he calculated that the road would not be free for two or three hours1 which involved a rest for his black horse1 a pipe for himself1 and1 possibly1 a short sleep4 ,the oxen were lazy1 and their hides impervious2 the whips were cracked in vain1 and in vain were brought more directly to bear upon the senses of the recusants2 the men howled1 and rattled the chains1 and re-arranged the clumsy head-gear1 but all to no purpose4 ,the man who did most of the howling was a black ,burgundian dwarf1 in a long blouse and moustaches2 and he did it in so frightful a patois1 that the oxen were right in their refusal to understand4 ,we represented to ,m4 ,paget that it would be possible to make our way through the wheat2 but he declared himself perfectly happy where he was1 and declined to take any steps in the matter2 whereupon ,i assumed the command of the expedition1 and led the horse through the corn1 thus turning the flank of the sapin and its attendants4 ,our driver submitted to this act of violence much as a member of the ,society of ,friends allows a chamberlain to remove his hat from behind when he is favoured with an audience of the sovereign2 and when we regained the high road1 he meekly took up the reins and drove us at a good pace to ,arc4 ,the village lies in a curiously open plain1 with a girdle of hills1 in one of which the glacires were supposed to lie4 ,the first auberge refused us admittance1 on the ground that the dinner was all pre-engaged1 and the result was that we found a pleasanter place higher up the village1 near a vast new maison de ville with every window shattered by recent hail4 ,the people groaned over the unnecessary expense of this huge building1 which might well1 from its size1 have been a home for the whole village2 and they told us that the communal forests had been terribly over-cut to provide the money for it4 ,our first demand was for food2 our next1 for a guide to the glacires4 ,food we could have2 but why should we wish to go to the glacires1 when there was so much else worth seeing at a little distance8--a guide might without doubt be found1 but there was nothing to be seen when we got there4 ,we ordered prompt dinner1 anything that happened to be ready1 and desired the landlord to look out for a man to show us the way up the hills4 ,when the dinner came1 it was cold2 and the main dish consisted apparently of something which had made stock for many generations of soup1 and had then been kept in a half-warm state1 ready to be heated for any passer-by who called for hot meat1 till the cook had despaired of its ever being used1 and had allowed it to become cold3 at least1 no other supposition seemed to account for its utter want of flavour1 and the wonderful development of its fibres4 ,as a matter of politeness1 ,i asked the man what it was2 when he took the dish from the table1 smelled at it1 and pronounced it veal4 ,there were also several specimens of the original old turnip-radish1 with large shrubs of heads1 and mature feelers many inches long4 ,as all this was not very inviting1 we ordered an omelette and some cheese2 and when the omelette came1 we found that the cook had combined our ideas and understood our order to mean a cheese-omelette1 which was not so bad after all4 ,by this time1 the landlord's visit to his drinking-room had procured a man willing to act as our guide4 ,he was1 unfortunately1 more willing than able2 for his sojourn in the drinking-room had told upon his powers of equilibrium4 ,he asserted1 as every one seemed in all cases to assert1 that neither rope nor axe was in any way necessary4 ,when ,i pressed the rope1 he said that if monsieur was afraid he had better not go2 so we told the landlord privately that the man was rather too drunk for a guide1 and we must have another4 ,the landlord thereupon offered himself1 at the suggestion of his wife1 who seemed to be the chief partner in the firm1 and we were glad to accept his offer2 while the incapacitated man whom we had rejected acquiesced in the new arrangement with a bow so little withering1 and with such genuine politeness1 that1 in spite of his over-much wine1 he won my heart4 ,the landlord himself did not profess to know the glacires2 but he knew the man who lived nearest to them1 and proposed to lead us to his friend's chlet1 whence we should doubtless be able to find a guide4 ,we stole a few moments for an inspection of the ,church of ,arc1 and found1 to our surprise1 some very pleasing paintings in good repair1 and open sittings which looked unusually clean and neat4 ,then we crossed the plain towards the north1 and proceeded to grapple with a stiff path through the woods which climb the first hills4 ,it turned out that there was no one available for our purpose in the chlet to which the landlord led us2 but a small child was despatched in search of the master or the domestic1 and returned before long with the latter individual1 who received the mistress's instruction respecting the route1 and received also an axe which ,i had begged in case of need4 ,the accounts we had heard of the glacire or glacires--every one declined to call them caves--were so various1 and the total denials of their existence so many1 that we quietly made up our minds to disappointment1 and agreed that what we had seen at the source of the ,loue was quite sufficient to repay us for the trouble we had taken2 while the idea of a rapid raid into ,france had something attractive in it1 which more than counterbalanced the old charms of ,soleure4 ,besides1 we found that we were now in a good district for flowers1 and the abundant ,gnaphalium sylvaticum brought back to our minds many a delightful scramble in glacier regions1 where its lovely velvet kinsman the pied-de-lion grows4 ,on the broad top of the range of hills1 covered with rich grass1 we came upon large patches of a plant1 with scented leaves and pungent seeds1 which we had not known before1 ,meum athamanticum1 and1 to please our guide1 we went through the form of pretending that we rather liked its taste4 ,my sisters were in ecstasies of triumph over a wild everlasting-pea1 which grew here to a considerable height--,lathyrus sylvestris1 they said1 ,fr4 ,gesse sauvage1 distinct from ,g4 htropyhlle1 which is still larger1 and is almost confined to a favourite place of sojourn with us1 the little ,swiss valley of ,les ,plans4 ,it is said that on the top of these hills springs of water rise to the surface1 though there is no higher ground in the neighbourhood2 a phenomenon which has been accounted for by the supposition of a difference of specific gravity between these springs and the waters which drive them up4 ,the character of the ground on the plateau changed suddenly1 and we passed at one step1 apparently1 from a meadow of flowers to a wilderness of fissured rock1 lying white and skeleton-like in the afternoon sun4 ,we only skirted this rock in the first instance1 and made for a clump of trees some little way off1 in which we found a deep pit1 with a path of sufficient steepness leading to the bottom4 ,here we came to a collection of snow1 much sheltered by overhanging rocks and trees2 and this1 our guide told us1 was the neigire1 a word evidently formed on the same principle as glacire4 ,the snow was half-covered with leaves1 and was unpleasantly wet to our feet1 so that we did not spend much time on it1 or rather in it4 ,a huge fragment of rock had at some time or other fallen from overhead1 and now occupied a large part of the sloping bottom of the pit3 by squeezing myself through a narrow crevice between this and the live rock1 which looked as if it ought to lead to something1 ,i found a veritable ice-cave1 unhappily free from ornament1 and of very small size1 like a round soldier's tent in shape1 with walls of rock and floor of ice4 ,we afterwards found an easier entrance to the cave2 but the floor was so wet1 and the constant drops of water from the roof so little agreeable1 that we got out again as soon as possible1 especially as this was not the glacire we had come to see4 ,when we reached the surface once more1 the landlord and the domestic both assured us that the neigire was the great sight1 the glacire being nothing at all1 but1 such as it was1 they would lead us to it4 ,they took us to the fissured rock mentioned above2 and when we looked down into the fissures1 we saw that some of them were filled at the bottom with ice4 ,they were not the ordinary fissures1 like the crevasses of a glacier1 but rather disconnected slits in the surface1 opening into larger chambers in the heart of the rock1 where the ice lay4 ,in one part of this curious district the surface sank considerably1 and showed nothing but a tumbled collection of large stones and rocks1 piled in a most disorderly manner4 ,by examining the neighbourhood of the larger of these rocks1 we found a burrow1 down which one of the men and ,i made our way1 and thus1 after some windings in the interior1 reached a point from which we could descend to the ice4 ,the impression conveyed to my mind by the whole appearance of the rock and ice was not unlike that of the domes in the ,glacire of ,monthzy2 only that now the lower part of the dome was filled with ice1 and we stood in the upper part4 ,there were two or three of these domes1 communicating one with another1 and in all ,i found abundant signs of the prismatic structure1 though no columns or wall-decoration remained4 ,my sisters were accomplished in the art of burrowing1 but they did not care to come down1 and we soon rejoined them1 spending a little time in letting down lighted bougies into the various domes and fissures1 in order to study the movements of the air1 but our experiments did not lead to much4 ,the landlord had evidently not believed in the existence of ice in summer1 and his first thought was to take some home to his wife1 to prove that we had reached the glacire and had found ice3 such at least were the reasons he gave1 but evidently his soul was imbued with a deep obedience to that better half1 and the offering of a block of ice was suggested by a complication of feelings4 ,when we reached the auberge again1 we found the rejected guide still there1 and more unstable than before4 ,the general impression on his mind seemed to be that he had been wronged1 and had forgiven us4 ,in our absence he had been meditating upon the glacire1 and his imagination had brought him to a very exalted idea of its wonders4 ,whereas1 in the former part of the day1 he had stoutly asserted that no cord could possibly be necessary1 he now vehemently affirmed that if ,i had but taken him as guide1 he would have let me down into holes #dj mtres deep1 where ,i should have seen such things as man had never seen before4 ,had monsieur seen the source of the ,loue8 ,yes1 monsieur had4 ,very fine1 was it not8 ,yes1 very fine4 ,which did monsieur then prefer--the glacire1 or the source8 ,the source1 infinitely4 ,then it was clear monsieur had not seen the glacire3--he was sure before that monsieur had not1 now it was quite clear1 for in all the world there was nothing like that glacire4 ,the ,loue6--one might rather see the glacire once1 than live by the source of the ,loue all the days of one's life4 ,it was now five o'clock1 and the train left ,pontarlier at half-past seven4 ,we represented to ,m4 ,paget that he really ought to do the twenty kilomtres in two hours and a quarter1 which would leave us a quarter of an hour to arrange our knapsacks and pay the ,national4 ,he promised to do his best1 and certainly the black horse proved himself a most willing beast4 ,there was one long hill which damped our spirits1 and made us give up the idea of catching the train2 and here our driver came to the rescue with what sounded at first like a promising story--the only one we extracted from him all through the day-- propos of a memorial-stone on the road-side1 where a man had lately been killed by two bears2 but1 when we came to examine into it1 the romance vanished1 for the man was a brewer's waggoner with a dray of beer1 and the bears were tame bears1 led in a string1 which frightened the brewer's horses1 and so the man was killed4 ,contrary to our expectations and fears1 we did catch the train1 and arrived in a thankful frame of mind at comfortable quarters in ,neufchtel4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ed3 ,cruel comme ,morat was long a popular saying4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,the ,,schafloch1 ,,or ,,trou-,,aux-,,moutons1 ,,near ,,the ,,lake ,,of ,,thun4 ,the next morning1 my sisters went one way and ,i another2 they to a valley in the south-west of ,vaud1 where our head-quarters were to be established for some weeks1 and ,i to ,soleure1 where a ,swiss savant had vaguely told us he believed there was a glacire to be seen4 ,that town1 however1 denied the existence of any approach to such a thing1 with a unanimity which in itself was suspicious1 and with a want of imagination which ,i had not expected to find4 ,one man ,i really thought might be persuaded to know of some cave where there was or might be ice1 but after a quarter of an hour's discussion he finally became immovable on the negative side4 ,a ,frenchman would certainly have been polite enough to accommodate facts to my desires4 ,it was all the more annoying1 because the ,weissenstein stood overhead so engagingly1 and ,i should have been only too glad to spend the night in the hotel there1 if anyone had given me the slightest encouragement4 ,i specially pointed at the neighbourhood of this hotel to my doubtful friend1 as being likely for caves2 but he was not in the pay of the landlord1 and so failed to take the hint4 ,there is a curious hole in which ice is found near ,weissenstein in ,carniola1#ee and it is not impossible that this may have originated the idea of a glacire near ,soleure4 ,the ,schweizerhof at ,berne is a very comfortable resting-place2 but1 in spite of its various excellences1 if a tired traveller is told that ,no4 #ec is to be his room1 he will do well to seek a bed elsewhere4 ,no4 #ec is a sort of closet to some other number1 with a single window opening low on to the passage1 and is adjudged to the unfortunate individual who arrives at that omnipresent crisis which raises the charge for bed-rooms1 and silences all objections to their want of comfort--namely1 when there is only one bed left in the house4 ,in itself1 ,no4 #ec would be well enough2 but the throne of the chambermaid is in the passage1 by the side of the window1 and the male attendant on that particular stage naturally gravitates to the same point1 when the bells of the stage do not summon him elsewhere1 and often enough when they do4 ,this combination leads of course to local disturbances of a somewhat noisy character1 and however entirely a sleepy man may in principle sympathise with the causes of the noise1 it becomes rather hard to bear after midnight4 ,the precise actors on the present occasion have1 no doubt1 quarrelled or set up a caf before now1 or perhaps have achieved both results by taking the latter first2 but there is reason to believe that so long as the window of ,no4 #ec is the seat of the chambermaid for the time being1 so long will that room be--as the landlord neatly expressed it when a protest was made--etwas unruhig4 ,all ,switzerland has been playing at soldiers for some time1 and as we left ,berne the next morning1 we saw three or four hundred ,federal men of war marching down the road which runs parallel with the rails4 ,the three officers at the head of the column were elderly and stout2 moreover1 they were mounted1 and that fact was evidently due rather to the meekness of their chargers than to the grip of their own legs4 ,when they saw the train coming1 they took prompt measures4 ,they halted the troops1 and rode off down a side lane to be out of harm's way2 and when we had well passed1 they rejoined the column1 and the march was resumed4 ,the early train from ,berne catches the first boat on the ,lake of ,thun1 and ,i landed at the second station on the lake1 the village of ,gonten or ,gunten4 ,m4 ,thury's list states that the glacire known as the ,schafloch is on the ,rothhorn1 in the ,canton of ,berne1 #d1ejj mtres of horizontal distance from ,merligen1 a village on the shore of the lake2 and from these data ,i was to find the cave4 ,gonten was apparently the nearest station to ,merligen1 and as soon as the small boat which meets the steamer had deposited me on the shore1 ,i asked my way1 first to the auberge1 and then to ,merligen4 ,the auberge was soon found1 and coffee and bread were at once ordered for breakfast2 but when the people learned my eventual destination1 they would not let me go to ,merligen4 ,a man1 to whom--for no particular reason--,i had given two-pence1 called a council of the village upon me1 and they proceeded to determine whether ,i must have a guide from ,gonten1 or only from a nameless chlet higher up4 ,the discussion was noisy1 and was conducted without words3 they do not speak1 those men of ,gonten--they merely grunt1 and each interprets the grunts as he wills4 ,my two-penny friend told me what it all meant1 in an obliging manner1 but in words less intelligible than the grunts2 and one member of the council drew out so elaborate a route--the very characters being wild patois--splitting the morning into quarter-stundes and half-quarter-stundes1 with a sharp turn to the right or left at the end of each1 that1 as ,i drank my coffee1 ,i determined to take a guide from the village1 whatever the decision of the council might be4 ,fortunately1 things took a right turn1 and when breakfast was finished1 a deputation went out and found a guide1 suspiciously like one of their number who did not return1 and ,i was informed that ,christian ,opliger would conduct me to the ,schafloch for five francs1 and a ,trinkgeld if ,i were satisfied with him4 ,in order to prove to me that he had really been at the cave1 six days before1 with two ,bernese gentlemen1 he seized my favourite low-crowned white hat1 and endeavoured to knead it into the shape of the cave4 ,our affairs took a long time to arrange1 for grunts and pantomime are not rapid means of communication1 when it comes to detail4 ,the great question in ,christian's mind seemed to be1 what should we take with us to eat and drink8 and when he propounded this to me with steady pertinacity1 ,i1 with equal pertinacity1 had only one answer--a cord and a hatchet4 ,at last he provided these1 vowing that they were ridiculously unnecessary1 but comprehending that they must be forthcoming1 as a preliminary to anything more digestible2 and then ,i told him1 some dry bread and no wine4 ,this drove him from grunts to words4 ,no wine6 it would be so frightfully hot on the mountains6--,i told him ,i never drank wine when ,i was hot4 ,but it would be so terribly cold in the cave6--,i never drank wine when ,i was cold4 ,but the climbing was sehr stark--we should need to give ourselves strength6--,i never needed to give myself strength4 ,there was no good water to be found the whole way6--,i never drank water4 ,then1 at last1 after a brief grunt with the landlord1 he struck3--he simply would not go without wine6 ,i never wished him to do so1 ,i explained2 he might take as much as he chose1 and ,i would pay for it1 but he need not count me for anything in calculating how much was necessary4 ,this made him perfectly happy2 and when ,i answered his question touching cheese in a similar manner1 only limiting him to a pound and a half1 he rushed off for a large wicker hotte1 spacious enough for the stowage of many layers of babies2 and in it he packed all our properties1 and all his provisions4 ,the landlord had made his own calculations1 and put it at #clbs4 of bread and #blbs4 of cheese2 but ,i cut down the bread on account of its bulk1 before ,i saw the size of the hotte1 and ,christian seemed to think he had quite enough to carry4 ,it was about half-past nine when we started from the auberge2 and after a short mount in the full sun1 we were not sorry to reach the pleasant shade of walnut trees which accompanied us for a considerable distance4 ,the blue lake lay at our feet on the right1 and beyond it the ,niesen stood1 with wonted grandeur1 guarding its subject valleys2 more in front1 as we ascended transversely1 the well-known snow-peaks of the ,bernese ,oberland glittered high above the nearer foreground1 and1 sheer above us1 on the left1 rose the ragged precipices whose flank we were to turn4 ,the ,rothhorn of the ,canton ,berne lies inland from the ,lake of ,thun1 and sends down towards the lake a ridge sufficiently lofty1 terminating in the ,ralligstcke1 or ,ralligflue1 the needle-like point1 so prettily ridged with firs1 which advances its precipitous sides to the water4 ,these precipices were formed in historic times1 and the sheer face from which half a mountain has been torn stands now as clear and fresh as ever1 while a chaos of vast blocks at its foot gives a point to the local legends of devastation and ruin caused by the various berg-falls4 ,two such falls are clearly marked by the dbris3 one of these1 a hundred and fifty years ago1 reduced the town of ,ralligen to a solitary ,schloss2 and the other1 in #ahef1 overwhelmed the village of ,merligen1 and converted its rich pastures into a desert cropped with stones4 ,a traveller in ,switzerland1 at the beginning of this century1 found that the inhabitants of ,merligen were considered in the neighbourhood to be d'une stupidit et d'une btise extrmes1 and ,i am inclined to believe that after the last avalanche a general migration to ,gonten must have taken place4 ,christian's patois was of so hopeless a description1 that ,i was tempted to give it up in despair1 and walk on in silence4 ,still1 as we were together for a whole long day1 for better or for worse1 it seemed worth while to make every effort to understand each other1 else ,i could learn no local tales and legends1 and ,christian would earn but little ,trinkgeld2 so we struggled manfully against our difficulties4 ,a confident ,american lady1 meditating ,europe1 and knowing little ,french and no ,german1 is said to have remarked jauntily that if the worst came to the worst she could always talk on her fingers to the peasants2 but ,i did not attempt to avail myself of the results of early practice in that universal language4 ,christian's answers--the more intelligible parts of them--were a stratified succession of yes and no1 and as he was a man naturally polite and acquiescent1 the assentient strata were of more frequent occurrence2 but of course1 beyond showing his good-will1 such answers were of no practical value4 ,at length1 after long perseverance1 we were rewarded by the appearance of a curiosity which eventually gave each the key to the other's cipher4 ,this was a strong stream of water1 flowing out of the trunk of a growing tree1 at a height of six feet or so from the ground2 and ,i was so evidently interested in the phenomenon1 that ,christian exerted himself to the utmost1 at last with success1 to explain the construction of the fountain4 ,a healthy poplar1 seven or eight years old1 is taken from its native soil1 and a cold iron borer is run up the heart of the trunk from the roots1 for six feet or more1 by which means the pith is removed1 and the trunk is made to assume the character of a pipe4 ,a hole is then bored through from the outside of the trunk1 to communicate with the highest point reached by the former operation1 and in this second hole a spout is fixed4 ,the same is done at a very short distance above the root1 in the part of the trunk which will be buried in the earth when the tree is replanted1 and the poplar is then fixed in damp ground1 with the pipe at its root in connection with one of the little runs of water which abound in meadows at the foot of hills4 ,a well-known property of fluids produces then the strange effect of an unceasing flow of water from an iron spout in the trunk of a living tree2 and1 as poplars love water1 the fountain-tree thrives1 and is more vigorous than its neighbours4 ,this sort of fountain may be common in some parts of ,switzerland1 but ,i have not seen them myself except in this immediate neighbourhood4 ,there is said to be one near ,stachelberg4 ,in the endeavour to explain all this to me1 ,christian succeeded so perfectly1 that for the rest of the day we understood each other very well4 ,when ,i told him that he spoke much better ,german than the rest of the people in ,gonten1 he informed me that he had worked among foreigners1 in proof whereof he held out his fingers2 but all that ,i could gather from the invited inspection was1 that1 whatever his employment might have been1 he could not be said to have come out of it with clean hands4 ,he had been employed1 he explained1 in ,german dye-works1 and there had learned something better than the native patois4 ,about this time1 too1 ,i was able to make him understand that1 as he carried more than ,i1 he must call a halt whenever he felt so inclined2 upon which he patted me affectionately on the back1 and1 if ,i could remember the word he used1 ,i believe that ,i should now know the ,swiss-,german for a brick4 ,our object was to pass along the side of the lake1 at a considerable elevation1 till we reached the east side of the ,rothhorn range1 when we were to turn up the ,jstisthal1 and mount towards the highest point of the ridge1 the glacire lying about an hour below the summit1 in the face of the steep rock4 ,the cliffs became very grand on either side1 as soon as we entered this valley1 the ,jstisthal1 especially the precipices of the ,beatenberg on the right2 and our path lay through woods which have sprung up on the site of an early ,berg-lauine4 ,the guide-books call attention to a cavern with a curious intermittent spring in this neighbourhood4 ,english tourists should feel some interest in the ,cave of ,s4 ,beatus1 inasmuch as its canonised occupant went from our shores to preach the ,gospel to the wild men of the district1 and died in this cave at a very advanced age4 ,his relics remaining there1 his fte-day attracted such crowds of pilgrims1 that reforming ,berne sent two deputies in #aebh to carry off the saint's skull1 and bury it between the lakes2 but still the pilgrimages continued1 and at length the ,protestant zeal of ,berne went to the expense of a wall1 and they built the pilgrims out in #aeff4 ,s4 ,beatus is said to have been converted by ,s4 ,barnabas in ,britain1 and to have gone to ,rome1 whence ,s4 ,peter sent him out to preach4 ,his relics were conveyed to ,lucerne in #aeed1 because heresy prevailed in the country where his cave lies1 and an arm is among the proud possessions of pilgrim-pressed ,einsiedeln4 ,the saint was originally a ,british noble1 by name ,suetonius2 and ,dempster drops a letter from his name1 and with much ingenuity makes him collateral ancestor of a ,scottish family--',the ,setons1 tall and proud4'#ef ,when we arrived at the last chlet1 ,christian turned to mount the grass slope on our left hand1 which led to the part of the rocks in which the entrance to the ,schafloch was to be sought4 ,i never climbed up grass so steep1 and before we had gone very far we were hailed by a succession of grunts1 which my companion interpreted into assurances from some invisible person that we were going wrong4 ,the man soon appeared1 in the shape of a charcoal-burner1 and told us that we were making the ascent much more difficult than it need be made1 and also1 that we should come to some awkward rock-climbing by the route we had chosen4 ,it was too late1 however1 to turn back2 so we persevered4 ,before long1 ,i heard a ,meinherr6 from ,christian1 in a tone which ,i knew meant rest and some food4 ,he explained that he would rather take two small refreshments1 one here and one at the ,schafloch1 than one large refreshment at the cave2 so we propped ourselves on the grass1 and tapped the hotte4 ,the cheese proved to be delightful--six years old1 the landlady told us afterwards1 and apparently as hard as a bone1 but when once mastered its flavour was admirable4 ,christian persuaded me to taste the wine1 of which he had a high opinion1 and he was electrified by the universal shudder the one taste caused4 ,the grapes from which it was brewed had been grown in a gooseberry garden1 and all the saccharine matter carefully extracted2 the wine had been left without a cork since the first dawn of its existence1 and the heat and jolting of its travels on ,christian's back had reduced it to the condition of warm flat vinegar4 ,he drank it with the utmost relish1 and was evidently reconciled to my verdict by the consideration that there would be all the more for him4 ,from the appearance of the bread and cheese when the meal had come to an end1 ,i concluded that my companion had changed his mind in the course of feeding1 and had resolved to compress the whole eating of the day into one large refreshment here4 ,the consumptive powers of the ,swiss-,german peasant1 when his meal is franked1 has not unfrequently reminded me of the miraculous eating performed by a yellow domino of that nation1 at the fte by which ,louis ,,xiv4 celebrated the second marriage of the ,dauphin4 ,this domino was of large size1 and ate and drank voraciously throughout the entertainment1 which lasted many hours1 retiring every five minutes or so1 and returning speedily with unabated appetite4 ,the thing became at length so portentous1 that enquiries were instituted1 and it was found that the trusty ,cent-,suisses had joined at a domino1 and were drawing lots all through the evening for the next turn at eating2 so that each man's time was necessarily limited1 and he accordingly made the most of it4 ,we soon took to the rocks1 and found them1 as the charcoal-burner had promised1 sufficiently stiff work4 ,colonel 7now ,general7 ,dufour visited the ,schafloch with a party of officers in #ahbb1 and he describes#eg the path as a dangerous one1 so much so that several of the gallant members of his party could not reach the cave3 he uses rather large words about the precipices1 and it is a matter of observation that military service on the ,continent tends to induce a habit of body which is not the most suitable for doubtful climbing4 ,the mountain seemed to be composed1 in this part1 of horizontal layers of crumbling shale1 with a layer now and then of stone1 about the thickness of an ordinary house-tile4 ,the stone layers project from the looser masonry1 and afford an excellent foot-hold2 but a slip might be unpleasant4 ,every one who has done even a small amount of climbing has met with an abundance of places where 'a slip would be certain death1' as people are so fond of saying2 but equally he has discovered that a slip is the last thing he thinks of making in such situations4 ,christian had told me that if ,i had the slightest tendency to ,schwindelkopf1 ,i must not go by the improvised route2 but it proved that there were really no precipices at all1 much less any of sufficient magnitude to turn an ordinary head dizzy4 ,he chose these rocks as the text for a long sermon on the necessity for great caution when we should arrive at the cave1 telling of an ,englishman who had tried to visit it two years before1 and had cut his knee so badly with his guide's axe that he had to be carried down the mountain to ,gonten1 and thence to the steamer for ,thun1 in which town he lay for many weeks in the hands of the ,german doctor2 this last assertion being by no means incredible4 ,also1 of a native who attempted the cave alone1 and1 making one false step near the top of a fall of ice1 slipped down and down almost for ever1 and finally landed with broken limbs on a floor of ice1 where he was found1 two days after1 frozen stiff1 but still alive4 ,it was not necessary to mount much1 for we were almost as high as the mouth of the cave1 according to ,christian's belief1 and our work consisted chiefly in passing along the face of the rock1 round projecting buttresses and re-entering angles1 till we reached that part of the mountain where we might expect to find our glacire4 ,while we were thus engaged1 two hoarse and ominous ravens took us under their charge1 and accompanied us with unpleasant screams1 which argued the proximity of food or nest4 ,we soon found that we had disturbed their meal1 for we came to marks of blood1 and saw that some animal had slipped on the rocks above1 and landed on the ledge on which we were walking1 bounding off again on to a shelf below1 where the ravens had already torn the body to pieces4 ,i must confess to a very considerable shudder when we discovered the reason of their screams1 and neither of us seemed to enjoy the circling and croaking of the unclean birds4 ,very soon after this1 ,christian announced that we had reached the cave1 and a steep little climb of six feet or so brought us to the entrance4 ,here we were haunted still by the presence of pieces of the fallen goat1 which lay about here and there on the ground2 and the flutter of wings overhead explained to us that the old ravens had built their nest in the mouth of the cave1 and had brought morsels of raw flesh to their young ones1 which were scarcely able to fly4 ,i am ashamed to say that we were so angry with the old birds for shrieking so suggestively in our ears1 and parading before us the results of a slip on the rocks1 that we charged ourselves with stones1 and put an end to the most noisy member of the foul brood2 ,christian making some of the worst shots it is possible to conceive1 and raining blocks of stone and lumps of wood in all directions1 with such reckless impartiality1 that the only safe place seemed to be between him and the bird4 ,one of us1 at least1 regretted the useless cruelty as soon as it was perpetrated1 and it came back upon me very reproachfully at an awkward part of our return journey4 ,the ,schafloch does not take its name from the bones contained in it1 as is the case with the ,khloch in ,franconia1#eh but from the fact that when a sudden storm comes on1 the sheep and goats make their way to the cave for shelter1 never1 ,i was told1 going so far as the commencement of the ice4 ,the entrance faces ,,ese41 and is of large size1 with a low wall built partly across it to increase the shelter for the sheep3 ,dufour calls the entrance #ej feet wide and #be feet high1 but ,i found the width at the narrowest part1 a few yards within the entrance1 to be #cc feet4#ei ,for a short distance the cave passes horizontally into the rock1 in a westerly direction1 and is quite light2 it then turns sharp to the south1 the floor beginning to fall1 and candles becoming necessary4 ,here the height increases considerably1 and the way lies over a wild confusion of loose masses of rock1 which have apparently fallen from the roof1 and make progression very difficult4 ,we soon reached a point where ice began to appear among the stones2 and as we advanced it became more and more prominent1 till at length we lost sight of the rock1 and stood on solid ice4 ,on either side of the cave was a grand column of ice forming the portal1 as it were1 through which we must pass to further beauties4 ,the ice-floor rose to meet these columns in a graceful swelling curve1 perfectly continuous1 so that the general effect was that of two columns whose roots expanded and met in the middle of the cave2 and1 indeed1 that may have been really the order of formation4 ,the right-hand column was larger than its fellow1 but1 owing to the more gradual expansion of the lower part of its height1 and the steepness of the consequent slope1 we were unable to measure its girth at any point where it could be fairly called a column4 ,christian had been in the cave a few days before1 and he assured me that the swelling base of this column had increased very considerably since his last visit1 pointing out a solid surface of ice1 at one part of our track1 where he had before walked on bare rock4 ,the cave was by no means extremely cold1 that is to say1 it was rather above than below the freezing point1 and the splashing of drops of water was audible on all sides2 so that1 if ,christian spoke the truth1--it was sad to be so often reminded of ,legree's plaintive soliloquy in the opening pages of ',uncle ,tom's ,cabin1'--the explanation1 ,i suppose1 might be that the drops of water1 falling on the top of the column or stalagmite1 run down the sides1 and carry with them some melted portion from the upper part of the column1 and after a course of a few yards become so far refrigerated as to form ice4#fj ,the pillar on the left was more approachable1 but we were unable to determine its dimensions2 for on the outer side1 where it stood a few feet or yards clear of the side of the cave1 the rounded ice at its foot fell off at once into a dark chasm1 a sort of smooth enticing ,bergschrund1 which we did not care to face4 ,christian declared that this column was not so high as it was a day or two before1 which may go to support the theory expressed above1 or at least that part of it which depends upon the supposition of water dropping on to the head of the column1 and melting certain portions of it4 ,if we were unable to take the external dimensions of this column1 ,i had no doubt that we should find internal investigations interesting2 so1 to ,christian's surprise1 ,i began to chop a hole in it1 about two feet from the ground1 and1 having made an entrance sufficiently large1 proceeded to get into the cavity which presented itself4 ,the flooring of the dome-shaped grotto in which ,i found myself1 was loose rock1 at a level about two feet below the surface of the ice-floor on which ,christian still stood4 ,the dome itself was not high enough to allow me to stand upright1 and from the roof1 principally from the central part1 a complex mass of delicate icicles passed down to the floor1 leaving a narrow burrowing passage round1 which was itself invaded by icicles from the lower part of the sloping roof1 and by stubborn stalagmites of ice rising from the floor4#fa ,the details of this central cluster of icicles1 and in fact of every portion of the interior of the strange grotto1 were exceedingly lovely1 and ,i crushed with much regret1 on hands and knees1 through fair crystal forests and frozen dreams of beauty4 ,in making the tour of this grotto1 contorting my body like a snake to get in and out among the ice-pillars1 and do as little damage as might be1 but yet1 with all my care1 accompanied by the incessant shiver and clatter of breaking and falling ice1 ,i came to a hole in the ground1 too dark and deep for one candle to show its depth2 so ,i called to ,christian to come in1 thinking that two candles might show it better4 ,he asked if ,i really meant it1 and assured me he could be of no use2 but ,i told him that he must come1 and informed him that he1 being the smaller man1 would find the passage quite easy4 ,it was very fortunate that ,i had not waited a minute longer before summoning him1 for just as he had dropped into the hollow1 and was beginning his journey to the side where ,i now was1 a drop of water and a simultaneous icicle came upon my candle1 and left me in darkness1 curled up like a dormouse in a nest of ice1 at the edge of the newly discovered shaft2 while my troubles were brought to a climax by an incursion of icy drops1 which had me at their mercy4 ,if all this had happened while ,christian was still outside1 he would probably have staid there wringing his hands till it was time to go home1 and ,i should certainly not have liked to move without a light4 ,as it was1 ,i did not inform him of the catastrophe1 but let him come toiling on1 wondering audibly what madness could drive ,herrschaft into such places2 and when he arrived1 we cut off the wet wick1 and lighted the candle again4 ,we could make nothing of the hole1 so he returned by the way he had come1 and ,i completed the tour of the grotto1 finding the same difficult passage1 and the same ice beauties1 all the way round4 ,having squeezed ourselves out again through the narrow hole1 we now passed between the two gigantic columns1 and found that the sea of ice became still broader and bolder4 ,i much regret that ,i neglected to take any measurements in this part of the cave2 but farther down1 where it was certainly not so broad1 ,i found the width of the ice to be #ge feet4 ,it was throughout of the crystalline character which prevails in all the large masses in the glacires ,i have visited4 ,for some distance beyond the columns1 we found neither stalactites nor stalagmites--indeed1 ,i forgot to look at the roof--until we came to the edge of a glorious ice-fall1 down which ,christian said it was impossible to go--no one had ever been farther than where we now stood4 ,i have seen no subterranean ice-fall so grand as this1 round and smooth1 and perfectly unbroken1 passing down1 like the rapids of some river too deep for its surface to be disturbed1 into darkness against which two candles prevailed nothing4 ,the fall in the ,upper ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres was strange enough1 but it was very small1 and led to a confined corner of the cavern2 whereas this of the ,schafloch rolls down majestically1 cold and grey1 into a dark gulf of which we could see neither the roof nor the end1 while the pieces of ice which we despatched down the steep slope could be heard going on and on1 as ,m4 ,soret says1 une trs-grande distance4 ,the shape1 also1 of the fall was very striking4 ,beginning at the left wall of the cave1 the edge ran out obliquely towards the middle1 when it suddenly turned and struck straight across to the right-hand wall1 so that we were able to stand on a tongue1 as it were1 in the middle of the top of the fall4 ,to add to the effect1 precisely from this tongue or angle a fine column of ice sprang out of the very crest of the fall1 rising to or towards the roof1 and to this we clung to peer down into the darkness4 ,the rope we had brought was not long1 and the idea was hopeless of cutting steps down this great fall1 leading we knew not where1 with an incline which it frightened ,christian even to look at4 ,i began to consider1 however1 whether it was not possible to make our way down the left branch of the ice1 which fell rather towards the side wall than into the dark gulf below4 ,on examining more closely1 ,i found that a large stone1 or piece of rock1 projected from the face of this branch of the fall1 about #ab feet from the top1 and to this ,i determined to descend1 as a preliminary to further attempts1 the candles not showing us what there was beyond4 ,accordingly1 ,i tied on the rope1 and planted ,christian where he had a safe footing1 telling him to hold tight if ,i slipped1 for he seemed to have little idea what the rope was meant for4 ,the ice was very hard1 and cutting steps downwards with a short axe is not easy work2 so when ,i came within #c or #d feet of the rock1 ,i forgot the rope1 and set off for a short glissade4 ,christian1 of course1 thought something was wrong1 and very properly put a prompt strain upon the rope1 which reduced his ,herr to a spread-eagle sort of condition1 in which it was difficult to explain matters1 so as to procure a release4 ,when that was accomplished1 ,i saw it would be easy to reach the point where the ice met the wall1 so ,i called to ,christian to come down1 which he did in an unpremeditated1 avalanche fashion2 and then1 by cutting steps here and there1 and making use of odd points of rock1 we skirted down the edge of the great fall1 and reached at last the lower regions4 ,when ,i came to read ,dufour's account of his visit in #ahbb1 ,i found that the ice must have increased very much since his time4 ,he uses sufficiently large words1 speaking of the vaste1 horrible et pourtant magnifique--of the horreur du sjour1 and the grandeur des demeures souterraines2 but he only calls the glorious ice-fall a plan inclin1 and says that the whole was less remarkable for the amount of ice1 than for the characteristics indicated by the words ,i have quoted4 ,he says that it required une assez forte dose de courage to slip down to the stone of which ,i have spoken2 the fact being that at the time of my visit it would have been impossible to do so with any chance of stopping oneself1 for the flat surface of the stone was all but even with the ice4 ,m4 ,soret1 who saw the cave in #ahfj1 determined that cords were then absolutely necessary for the descent1 which he did not attempt2 and the only ,englishman ,i have met who has seen this cave1 tells me that he and his party went no farther than the edge of the fall4#fb ,probably each year's accumulation on the upper floor of ice has added to the height and rapidity of the fall2 but at any rate1 when ,dufour was there1 des militaires--as he dashingly tells--were not to be stopped1 and he and his party--such of them as had not been already stopped by the precipices outside--let themselves slip down to the stone1 and thence descended as we did4 ,we soon found that the larger ice-fall looked extremely grand when seen from below1 and that in a modified form it reached far down into the lower cave1 and terminated in a level sea of ice2 but1 before making any further investigations into its size1 we pressed on to look for the end of the cave4 ,this soon appeared1 and as a commentary on ,christian's assertion that no one had ever been beyond the head of the fall1 ,i called his attention to some initials smoked on the wall by means of a torch4 ,there was an abrupt piece of rock-floor between this end and the termination of the ice4 ,the western wall was ornamented with a long arcade of lofty columns of very white ice1 looking strangely ghostlike by the light of two candles1 crystallised1 and with the porcelain appearance ,i have described before4 ,we could not measure the height of these columns1 but we found that they extended continuously1 so as to be in fact one sheet of columns1 connected by shapes of ice now graceful and now grotesque1 for #bg yards4 ,the ice from their feet flowed down to join the terminal lake1 which formed a weird sea #bh yards by #ad4 ,my notes1 written on the spot1 tell me that between this lake1 which ,i have called terminal1 and the end of the cave1 there is a sheet of ice #dh yards long1 but it has entirely vanished from my recollection4 ,i now sent ,christian back with a ball of string1 up the steps we had cut for the descent1 with directions to get as near as he could to the top of the main fall1 and then send down a stone tied to the string1 as ,i wished to determine the length of the fall4 ,while he was making his way up1 ,i amused myself by chopping and carving at the ice at various points to examine its structure1 until at length a ,jodel from above announced that ,christian had reached his post2 and a vast amount of hammering ensued1 of which ,i could not understand the meaning4 ,presently he called out that 'it' was coming1 and assuredly it did come4 ,there was a loud crash on the upper part of the fall1 and a shower of fragments of ice came whizzing past1 and almost dislodged me2 while the sound of pieces of ice bounding and gliding down the slope seemed as if it never would cease4 ,it turned out to mean that my friend had not been able to find a stone2 so he had smashed a block of ice from the column which presided over the fall1 and having attached the string to this1 had hurled the whole apparatus in my direction1 fortunately not doing as much damage as he might have done4 ,my end of the string was not to be seen1 so he repeated the experiment1 with a piece of wood in place of the block of ice1 and this time it succeeded4 ,we found that from top to bottom of the fall was #de yards4 ,there was all the appearance of immense thickness1 especially towards the upper part4 ,christian had placed his candle in a niche in the column1 while he arranged the string for measuring the fall1 and the effect of the spark of light at the top of the long steep slope was extremely strange from below4 ,the whole scene was so remarkable1 that it required some effort to realise the fact that ,i was not in a dream4 ,christian stood at the top invisible1 jodeling in a most unearthly manner1 and developing an astonishing falsetto power1 only interrupting his performance to assure me that he was not coming down again2 so ,i was obliged to measure the breadth of the fall by myself4 ,i chose a part where the ice was not very steep1 and where occasional points of rock would save some of the labour of cutting steps2 but even so it was a sufficiently tedious business4 ,the string was always catching at something1 and mere progression1 without any string to manage1 would have been difficult enough under the circumstances4 ,it was completely dark1 so a candle occupied one hand1 and1 as every step must be cut1 save where an opportune rock or stone appeared1 an axe occupied the other2 then there was the string to be attended to1 and both hands must be ready to clutch at some projecting point when a slip came1 and now and then a ruder rock required circumvention4 ,add to all this1 that hands and feet had not been rendered more serviceable by an hour and a half of contact with ice1 and it will easily be understood that ,i was glad when the measurement was over4 ,at this point the breadth was #be yards1 and1 a few feet above the line in which ,i crossed1 all traces of rock or stone disappeared1 and there was nothing but unbroken ice4 ,i had of course abundant opportunities for examining the structure of the ice1 and ,i found in all parts of the fall the same large-grained material1 breaking up1 when cut1 into the usual prismatic nuts4 ,i now rejoined ,christian1 and we worked our way upwards to the mouth of the cave1 penitently desisting from stoning a remaining raven4 ,we observed at the very mouth1 by watching the flame of the candles1 a slight current outwards1 extremely feeble1 and on our first arrival ,i had fancied there was a current1 equally slight1 inwards1 but neither was perceptible beyond the entrance of the cave4 ,m4 ,soret was fortunate enough to witness a curious phenomenon1 at the time of his visit to the ,schafloch1 in ,september #ahfj1 which throws some light upon the atmospheric state of the cave4 ,the day was externally very foggy1 and the fog had penetrated into the cavern2 but as soon as ,m4 ,soret began to descend to the glacire itself1 properly so called1 he passed down out of the fog1 and found the air for the rest of the way perfectly clear4#fc ,m4 ,soret states that he has not absolute confidence in his thermometrical observations1 but as he had more time than ,i to devote to such details1 inasmuch as he did not pass down into the lowest part of the cave1 ,i give his results rather than my own1 which were carelessly made on this occasion3--,on a stone near the first column of ice1 #jcg ,c42 on a stick propped against the column on the edge of the great ice-fall1 #bcg ,c42 in a hole in the ice1 filled with water by drops from the roof1 #j ,c4 approximately4#fd ,the second result is sufficiently remarkable4 ,my own observations would give nearer #cc ,f4 than #cb as the general temperature of the cave4 ,christian was so cold when we had finished our investigations1 that he determined to take his second refreshment en route1 and1 moreover1 time was getting rather short4 ,we had started from ,gonten at half-past nine in the morning1 and reached the glacire about half-past twelve4 ,it was now three o'clock1 and the boat from ,gonten must reach the steamer at half-past six precisely1 so there was not too much time for us2 especially as we were to return by a more mountainous route1 which involved further climbing towards the summit of the ,rothhorn1 and was to include a visit to the top of the ,ralligflue4 ,on emerging from the cave1 we were much struck by the beauty of the view1 the upper half of the ,jungfrau1 with its glittering attendants and rivals1 soaring above a rich and varied foreground not unworthy of so glorious a termination4 ,there was not time1 however1 to admire it as it deserved1 and we set off almost at once up the rocks1 soon reaching a more elevated table-land by dint of steep climbing4 ,the ground of this table-land was solid rock1 smoothed and rounded by long weathering1 and fissured in every direction by broad and narrow crevasses #b or #c feet deep1 at the bottom of which was luxuriant botany1 in the shape of ferns1 and mallows1 and monkshood1 and all manner of herbs4 ,the learned in such matters call these rock-fallows ,karrenfelden4 ,when we had crossed this plateau1 and came to grass1 we found a gorgeous carpet of the huge couched blue gentian 7,g4 acaulis1 ,fr4 ,gentiane sans tige71 with smaller patterns put in by the dazzling blue of the delicate little flower of the same species 7,g4 verna 72 while the white blossoms of the grass of ,parnassus1 and the frailer white of the dryade huit petales1 and the modest waxen flowers of the ,azalea procumbens and the airelle ponctue 7,vaccineum vitis idaea71 tempered and set off the prevailing blue4 ,there were groves1 too1 rather lower down1 of ,alpine roses 7the first ,i had come across that year71 not the fringed or the green-backed species which botanists love best1 but the honest old rust-backed rhododendron1 which every ,swiss traveller has been pestered with in places where the children are one short step above mere mendicity1 but1 equally1 which every ,swiss traveller hails with ,medean delight when he comes upon it on the mountain-side4 ,we were now1 too1 in the neighbourhood of the first created ,alpen rose4 ,the story is1 that a young peasant1 who had climbed the precipices behind ,oberhausen for rock-flowrets1 as the price of some maiden's love1 fell at the moment when he had secured the flowers1 and was killed4 ,from his blood the true ,alpen rose sprang1 and took its colour4 ,we were now passing along the summit of one of the lower spurs of the ,rothhorn range1 and making for the peak of the ,ralligflue1 which lay considerably below us4 ,in descending near the line of crest1 we found a large number of very deep fissures1 narrow and black1 some of them extending to a great distance across the face of the hill2 sometimes they appeared as mere holes1 down which we despatched stones1 sometimes as unpleasant crevasses almost hidden by flowers and the shrubs of rhododendron4 ,in many of these we dimly discovered accumulated snow at the bottom1 and we observed that the ,alpine roses which overhung the snow-holes were by far the deepest coloured and most beautiful we could find4 ,to reach the ,ralligflue1 we had to cross a smooth green lawn completely covered with the sweet vanilla orchis 7,o4 nigra71 which perfumed the air almost too powerfully4 ,no one can ever fully appreciate the grandeur of the lion-like ,niesen till he has seen it from this verdant little paradise1 on the slope near the ,bergli ,chlet1 with a diminutive limpid lake in the meadow at his feet1 and the blue lake of ,thun below4 ,the ,kanderthal and the ,simmenthal lie exposed from their entrance at the foot of the ,niesen2 and when the winding ,kanderthal is lost1 the ,adelbodenthal takes up the telescope1 and guides the eye to the parent glaciers4 ,this view ,i was fortunately able to enjoy rather longer than that from the mouth of the ,schafloch2 for we had made such rapid way1 that ,christian found there was time for a meal of milk in the chlet1 and meanwhile left me lying in perfect luxury on the sweet grass4 ,from the ,ralligflue a long and remarkably steep zigzag leads to the lower ground1 and down this ,christian ran at full speed1 jodeling in a most trying manner2 indeed1 at one of the sudden turns of the path he went off triumphantly into a falsetto so unearthly1 that he lost his legs1 and landed in a promiscuous sort of way on a lower part of the zigzag1 after which he was slower and less vocal4 ,we eventually reached ,gonten so soon1 that there was time to cool and have a bath in the lake2 and when that was nearly finished1 ,christian brought a plate of cherries and a detachment of the village1 and ,i ate the cherries and held a leve in the boat--very literally a leve1 as the dressing was by no means accomplished when the deputation arrived4 ,my late guide1 now1 as he said1 a friend for life1 made a speech to the people1 setting forth that he had done that day what he had never thought to do2 for1 often as he had been to the entrance of the ,schafloch--five or six times at the least--he had never before reached the end of the cave4 ,and to whom1 he asked1 did he owe it8 ,all previous ,herrschaft under his charge had cried ,immer zurck6 but this present ,herr had known but one cry1 ,immer vorwrts6 ,luckily the steamer now approached1 so the speech came to an end1 and he shook hands affectionately1 with a vigour that would certainly have transmitted some of the dye1 if that material had not become a part of the skin which it coloured4 ,then the village also shook hands1 having evidently understood what ,christian said1 notwithstanding the fact that it was intelligible ,german1 and ,i returned to ,thun and ,berne4 ,no4 #ec was still the only bed disengaged1 for it was very late when ,i reached ,berne2 but on my vehement protestations against that unquiet chamber1 the landlord most obligingly converted a sofa in his own sitting-room into a temporary bed1 and made it over to me4 ,this room was separated by a door of ground-glass from another sitting-room brilliantly lighted1 in which a number of ,german young gentlemen were fting the return of a comrade after the national manner4 ,the landlord said he thought it must soon be over1 for he doubted whether they could last much longer2 but their powers of endurance were greater than he had supposed4 ,it will readily be imagined that ,german songs with a good chorus1 the solo parts being very short1 and received with the utmost impatience by the chorus1 were even less soporific in their effect than the flirtations--though boisterous beyond all conventional propriety--of ,german housemaids and waiters4#fe ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ee3 ,see p4 #beh4 ,footnote #ef3 ,acta ,,ss4 ,bolland4 ,may #i4--;,if possessed of the characteristics of his race--'tall and proud'--his activity belies the first line of the old saying1 ',lang and lazy1 ,little and loud2 ,red and foolish1 ,black and proud3' though possibly the personal habits which a modern spirit loves to point out1 as the great essential of hermit-life1 united with the family characteristic of the early ,seton to verify the last line of the saying4 ,footnote #eg3 ,bibl4 ,univ4 de ,genve1 ,first ,series1 xxi4 #aac4 ,see also ,edinburgh ,philosophical ,journal1 viii4 #bij4 ,footnote #eh3 ,philosophical ,magazine1 ,aug4 #ahbi4 ,footnote #ei3 ,colonel ,dufour guessed the elevation of the cave1 in #ahbb1 at two-thirds the height of the ,niesen1 and forty years after1 as ,general ,dufour1 he published the result of the scientific survey of ,switzerland1 which makes it #a1ghj mtres2 so that his early guess was not a bad one4 ,footnote #fj3 ,there is a hint of something of this kind in an editorial note in the ,journal des ,mines 7now ,annales des ,mines7 of ,prairial1 an4 iv4 pp4 #ga1 #gb1 in connection with the glacire near ,besanon4 ,footnote #fa3 ,m4 ,soret1 who visited the ,schafloch in ,september #ahfj1 and communicated his notes to ,m4 ,thury1 speaks of many columns in this part of the glacire1 where we found only two4 ',l'un d'entre eux1' he says1 'prsentait dans sa partie infrieure une petite grotte ou cavit1 assez grande pour qu'un homme pt y entrer en se courbant4' ,footnote #fb3 ,see also the note at the end of this chapter4 ,footnote #fc3 ',toute la couche suprieure au plan de niveau passant par le seuil tait charge de brouillard2 toute la couche infrieure ce niveau tait parfaitement limpide4' 7,thury1 p4 #cg47 ,footnote #fd3 ,respectively1 #cbfff1 #cfbff1 and #cb1 ,fahrenheit4 ,footnote #fe3 ,since ,i wrote this chapter1 my attention has been called to a tourist's account of the ,schafloch in ,once a ,week 7,nov4 #bf1 #ahfd71 in an article called ,an ,ice-cavern in the ,justis-,thal4 ,the writer says--',we proceeded to the farther end of the cavern1 or at least as far as we thought it prudent1 to ascertain where the flooring of ice rounded off into the abyss of unfathomable water we heard trickling below4' ,one of the party 'having taken some large stones with him1 he began hurling them into the profound mystery4 ,presently a heavy double-bass gurgle issued forth with ominous depth of voice1 indicating the danger of farther progress4 ,having thus ascertained that if either of us ventured farther he would most probably not return by the way he went1 the signal of retreat was given1 and in about forty minutes1 after encountering the same amusing difficulties which had enlivened our descent1 neas-like we gained the upper air4' ,it will be seen from my account of what we found in the 'abyss of unfathomable water1' that a little farther exploration might have effected a change in the writer's views4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,grand ,,anu1 ,,on ,,the ,,montagne ,,de ,l',,eau1 ,,near ,,annecy4 ,m4 ,thury's list contained a bare mention of two glacires on the ,m4 ,parmelan1 near ,annecy1 without any further information respecting them1 beyond the fact that they supplied ice for ,lyons4 ,their existence had been apparently reported to him by ,m4 ,alphonse ,favre1 but he had obtained no account of a visit to the caves4 ,under these circumstances1 the only plan was to go to ,annecy1 and trust to chance for finding some one there who could assist me in my search4 ,after spending a day or two in the library at ,geneva1 looking up ,m4 ,thury's references1 with respect to various ice-caves1 and trying to discover something more than he had found in the books there1 ,i started for ,annecy at seven in the morning in the banquette of the diligence4 ,on a fresher day1 no doubt the great richness of the orchards and corn-fields would have been very striking2 but on this particular morning the fields were already trembling with heat1 and the trees and the fruit covered with dust2 and there was nothing in the grouping of the country through which the road lay to refresh the baked and half-choked traveller4 ,the voyage was to last four and a half hours1 and it soon became a serious question how far it would be possible to face the heat of noon1 when the earlier morning was so utterly unbearable4 ,before very long1 a counter-irritant appeared in the shape of a fellow-traveller1 whose luggage consisted of a stick and an old pair of boots4 ,the man was not pleasant to be near in any way1 and he was evidently not at all satisfied with the amount of room ,i allowed him4 ,he kept discontentedly and doggedly pushing his spare pair of boots farther and farther into my two-thirds of the seat1 and once or twice was on the point of a protest1 in which case ,i was prepared to tell him that as he filled the whole banquette with his smell1 he ought in reason to be satisfied with less room for himself2 but instead of speaking1 he brought out a tobacconist's parcel and began to open it4 ,tobacco-smoke is all very well under suitable circumstances1 but it is possible to be too hot and dusty and bilious to be able to stand it1 and ,i watched his proceedings with more of annoyance than of resignation4 ,the parcel turned out1 however1 to be delightful snuff1 tastefully perfumed and very refreshing2 and the politeness with which the owner gave a pinch to the foreign monsieur1 after apportioning a handful to the driver and conductor1 won him a good three inches more of seat4 ,the inevitable cigar soon came2 but it was a very good one1 and no one could complain3 all the same1 ,i could not help feeling a malicious satisfaction when the douaniers on the ,french frontier investigated the spare boots--guiltless1 one might have thought1 of anything except the extremity of age and dirt--and drew from them a bundle or two of smuggled cigars1 the owner trying in vain to look as if he rather liked it4 ,the ,htel de ,genve is probably the least objectionable of the hotels of ,annecy2 but the ,poste-bureau is at the ,htel d',angleterre1 and it was much too hot for me to fight with the waiters there1 and carry off my knapsack to another house4 ,it is generally a mistake--a great mistake--to sleep at a house which is the starting-place and the goal of many diligences4 ,all the night through1 whips are cracking1 bells jingling1 and men are shouting hoarsely or blowing hoarser horns4 ,moreover1 the ,htel d',angleterre had apparently needed a fresh coat of paint and universal papering for many years1 and the latter need had at this crisis been so far grappled with that the old paper had been torn down from the walls and now lay on the various floors1 while large pies of malodorous sizing had been planted at the angles of the stairs4 ,the natural salle--manger was evidently an excellent room1 with oleander balconies1 but it was at present in the hands of joiners1 and a card pointed the way to the 'provisionary salle--manger'--not a bad name for it--in the neighbourhood of the kitchen4 ,there was one redeeming feature4 ,the people of the house were nice-looking and well-dressed4 ,but experience has taught me to view such a phenomenon in ,french towns of humbler rank with somewhat mixed feelings4 ,when the house is superintended with a keen and watchful eye by a young lady of fashionable appearance1 who takes a personal interest in a solitary traveller1 and suggests an evening's course on the lake1 or a morning's drive to some good view1 and makes herself most winning and agreeable2 who takes the words1 moreover1 out of the mouth of a man meditating an ordinary dinner1 and assures him that she knows exactly what he wants1 and he shall be well satisfied1 with a sisterly air that makes the idea of francs and sous not sordid only1 but impossible2 ,i have slowly learned to expect that this fashion and condescension will appear in the bill4 ,prettiness is a very expensive item in such a case2 and as these three were all combined to a somewhat remarkable degree at the ,htel d',angleterre1 the eventual bill made me angry1 and ,i should certainly try the ,htel de ,genve on any future visit to ,annecy4 ,the first thing to be done was to determine the position of the ,mont ,parmelan4 ,i was prepared to find the people of the town denying the existence of such a mountain2 but1 as it was visible from the door of the hotel1 they could not go quite so far as that4 ,the small crowd at the door repudiated the glacires with one voice1 and pointed out how unlikely it was that ,lyons should be supplied with ice from ,annecy2 nevertheless1 ,i continued to ask my way in spite of protestation1 till at length a lame man passed by1 who said monsieur was quite right--he himself knew two glacires on the ,mont ,parmelan very well4 ,he had never seen either of them1 but he knew them as well as if he had4 ,it was useless to go to them now1 he added1 for the owners extracted all the ice early in the year1 and stored it in holes in the lower part of the mountain4 ,he had no idea by what route they were to be approached from ,annecy1 or on which side of the ,mont ,parmelan they lay4 ,i now looked on the local map1 and determined that the best plan would be to take the ,bonneville diligence as far as ,charvonnaz1 the point on the road which seemed to lie nearest to the roots of the ,mont ,parmelan1 and then be guided by what ,i might learn among the peasants4 ,everyone said there was no chance of getting to anything by that means2 but as the hotel people saw that it was of no use to deny the glacires any longer1 they proposed to take me to a man who knew the ,m4 ,parmelan well1 and could tell me all about it4 ,this man proved to be a keeper of voitures1--an ominous profession under the circumstances1--and he assured me that ,i could make a most lovely course the next day1 through scenery of unrivalled beauty2 and he eloquently told on his fingers the villages and sights ,i should come to4 ,i suggested--without in the least knowing that it was so--that the drive might be all very well in itself1 but it would not bring me to the glacires2 on which he assured me that he knew every inch of the mountain1 and there was not such a thing as a glacire in the whole district4 ,at this moment1 a gentlemanlike man was brought up by the waiter1 and introduced to me as a monsieur who knew a monsieur who knew the proprietor of one of the glacires1 and would he happy to conduct me to this second monsieur3 so1 without any very ceremonious farewell to the owner of the proffered voiture1 we marched off together down the street1 and eventually turned into a caf1 whose master was the monsieur for whom we were in search4 ,know the glacire8--yes1 indeed6 he had ice from it one year every morning4 ,his wife and he had made a course to the campagne of ,m4 the ,maire of ,aviernoz1 and he--the caftier--had descended for miles1 as it were1 down and down1 till he came to an underground world of ice1 wonderful1 totally wonderful3 there he perceived so immense a cold1 that he drank a bottle of rhoom--a whole bottle--and drank it from the neck1 l',anglaise4 ,and when they had gone so far that great dread came upon them1 they rolled a stone down the ice1 and it went into the darkness--boom1 boom1 boom1--and he put on a power of ventriloquism which admirably represented the strange suggestive sound4 ,hold a moment6 had monsieur a crayon8 ,yes1 monsieur had2 so the things were impetuously swept off a round marble table1 and the excited little man drew a fancy portrait of the glacire4 ,the way to reach it8 ,go by diligence to ,charvonnaz--exactly what ,i had determined upon--and walk up to ,aviernoz1 where his good friend the maire would make me see his beautiful glacire1 through the means of a letter which he went to write4 ,it was absurd to see this hot little man sign himself ',dugravel1 glacier1' that being the style of his profession1 naturally recalling the contradictory conduct of the ,latin noun lucus4 ,the bones of ,s4 ,francis of ,sales lie in the church of ,s4 ,franois in ,annecy1 and ,i made a pilgrimage in search of them through very unpleasant streets4 ,after a time1 the ,italian west front of the church appeared2 but the main door led into a demonstrative bakery1 and the door of the north aisle was obscured by oleanders and a striped awning1 and over it appeared the legend1 ',entre de l',htel4' ,as a man politely explained1 they had built ,s4 ,francis another church1 and utilised the old one4 ,the town itself seemed to be of the squalid style of antiquity--old1 no doubt1 but very dirty4 ,it is pervaded by streams1 which crop up among the houses1 and flow through dark alleys and vaulted passages1 rarely coming into daylight1 and suggesting all manner of dark crimes4 ,the red-legged ,french kettledrums are1 if possible1 more insolent here than in other places1 and it is evident that the dogs are not yet reconciled to the annexation1 for the guard swept through the streets amid a perfect tornado of howls from the negligent scavengers of the place4 ,for my own part1 ,i was not pleased with the change of rule1 when ,i found that since ,annecy has become ,french1 the vin d',asti has become dear1 as being now a foreign wine4 ,the diligence for ,bonneville was to leave ,annecy at half-past four in the morning2 so ,i told them to call me at four1 intending to breakfast somewhere on the way4 ,but of course1 when four o'clock came1 ,i had to call myself1 and in a quarter of an hour a knock at the door announced half-past four4 ,i pounced upon the man1 and remonstrated with him1 but he assured me it did not matter2 and when ,i reminded him that the diligence was to leave at half-past four1 he observed philosophically that it was quite true1 and ,i had better make haste1 for the poste was very punctual4 ,at the door of the bureau a loaded diligence stood1 marked ,annecy--,aix1 and ,i asked had the ,bonneville diligence gone8 ,it did not go till six1 the clerk told me2 but ,i reminded him he had said half-past four when ,i asked him last night4 ,half-past four8--true1 here was the carriage standing at the door4 ,but that was for ,aix1 not ,bonneville1 ,i pointed out to him4 ,pardon--it was marked ,aix1 but was in fact meant for ,bonneville4 ,the diligence reached the end of the by-road leading to ,villaz in about half an hour1 and all the fever of ,geneva and ,annecy seemed to fly away before the freshness of this green little lane1 with clematis in full flower pervading the hedges1 and huge clusters of young nuts peeping out1 and promising later delights to fortunate passers-by4 ,but1 alas6 the little lane soon came to an end1 and as ,i faced the fields of corn up the mountain-side1 the hot thunderous air came rolling down in palpable billows1 and oppressive clouds took possession of the surrounding hills4 ,three-quarters of an hour brought me to ,villaz1 a close collection of houses on the hill-side1 with arched stone gateways leading into the farmyards1--a fortified style of agricultural building which seems to prevail in that district4 ,after an amount of experience in out-of-the-way places which makes me very cautious in saying that one in particular is dirtier than a dozen others1 ,i venture to say that the auberge of ,villaz is the most squalid ,i have come across2 and ,i would not feed there again1 except in very robust health1 even for a new glacire4 ,still1 it was absolutely necessary to eat something1 and the landlady promised coffee and bread4 ,she showed me first into the kitchen2 but as it was also the place where the domestics slept1 with many quadrupeds1 ,i declined to sit there4 ,upon this she led me to the salon1 where the window resisted all our efforts for some little time1 and then opened upon such a choice assortment of abominations1 that ,i fled without my baggage4 ,the next attempt she made was the one remaining room of the house1 the family bedroom2 but that was so much worse than all1 that ,i took final refuge on the balcony1 a sort of ante-room to the hen-house4 ,the cocks at the auberge of ,villaz are the loudest1 the hens the most talkative1 and the cats the most shaggy and presuming1 ,i have ever met with4 ,even here1 however1 all was not unmitigated darkness2 for they ground the coffee while the water was boiling1 and the consequent decoction was admirable4 ,moreover1 the bread had a skin of such thickness and impervious toughness1 that the inside was presumably clean4 ,aviernoz lay about an hour farther4 ,almost as soon as ,i left ,villaz1 the thunderstorm came on in earnest1 with sheets of rain1 a regular ,wolkenbruch4#ff ,the rain was most refreshing2 but lightning is not a pleasant companion in presence of a bright ice-axe1 and ,i was glad when the houses of ,aviernoz came in sight4 ,the village had the appearance of being lost2 and the houses were scattered about so irregularly1 that it was difficult to know which was the best point to make for4 ,the road studiously avoided the scattered houses1 and the ,mairie seemed especially difficult to find4 ,when at length it was found1 the maire1 like the queen in the poets1 was in the kitchen2 and he sat affably on the end of a bench and read the letter of introduction aloud1 asking me1 at the conclusion1 how was our friend ,dugravel1 a man amazing in many ways4 ,when ,i confessed that ,i had only made the acquaintance of the amazing man the night before1 and therefore did not feel competent to give any reliable account of the state of his health1 beyond the fact that he seemed to be in excellent spirits1 the maire looked upon me evidently with great respect1 as having won so far upon a great character like ,dugravel in so short a time1 and determined to accompany me himself4 ,meantime1 we must drink some kirsch4 ,the maire was a young man1 spare and vehement4 ,he talked with a headlong impetuosity which caused him to be always hot1 and his hair limp and errant2 and at the end of each sentence there were so many laggard halves of words to come out together1 with so little breath to bring them out1 that he eventuated in a stuttering scream4 ,his clothes were of such a description1 that the most speculative ,israelite would not have gone beyond copper for his wardrobe1 all standing4 ,there were two women in the house1 to whom he was exceedingly imperious3 one of them received his orders and his vehemence with a certain amount of defiance1 but the other was subdued and obedient1 and ,i believe her to have been the mayoress4 ,he poured himself and his household at my feet1 knocked a child one way and his wife another1 and1 from the air with which he dragged off the tablecloth they had laid1 and ordered a better1 and swept away the glasses because they were not clean enough--which in itself was sufficiently true1--and screamed for poached eggs for monsieur1 and then impetuously ate them himself--,i fancy that he might have been taught to play ,petrucio with success4 ,when we had sat for a quarter of an hour or so1 a heavy-looking young man1 in fustian clothes and last year's linen1 came into the room1 and was introduced as the communal schoolmaster4 ,we shook hands with much impressment on the strength of the similarity of our professions1 and the maire explained that the new arrival acted also as his secretary1 for there was really so much writing to be done that it was beyond his own powers2 and as the schoolmaster lived en pension at the ,mairie1 it was very convenient4 ,m4 ,rosset1 the schoolmaster1 stated that he had heard us1 as he sat in his room1 talking of the proposed visit to the glacire1 and he should much wish to accompany us4 ,we both expressed the warmest satisfaction2 but the maire suggested--how about the boys8 ,that1 ,m4 ,rosset said1 was simple enough4 ,the world would go to the school at nine o'clock1 and1 finding no schoolmaster1 would go home again1 or otherwise employ itself2 and he could have school on the weekly holiday1 to make up for the lost day4 ,this weekly holiday is universally on ,thursday1 he said1 because that day divides the week so well2 and ,i failed to persuade him that there was a commemoration intended in the choice of that day1 as in the observance of ,friday and ,sunday4 ,the maire utterly refused to take a cord1 on the ground that there was no possibility of such a thing being of the least use4 ,fortunately1 ,i had now my own axe1 which in more able hands had mounted more than once ,mont ,blanc and ,monte ,rosa1 so ,i had not the usual fight to procure that instrument4 ,half an hour from the ,mairie1 when we had well commenced the steep ascent of the mountain-side1 the maire turned suddenly round and exclaimed1 ',but the inspector6' ,rosset was a sallow man1 but he contrived to turn white1 while ,m4 ,mtral 7the maire7 explained to me that the inspector of schools was to visit ,aviernoz that day4 ,the schoolmaster recovered before long1 and said he should inform the inspector that a famous savant had come from ,england1 and required that the maire and the instituteur should accompany him to the glacire1 to aid him in making scientific observations4 ,in order that he might have documentary proof to advance1 he asked for my card1 and made me write on it my college and university in full4 ,as ,i have already said1 the maire's style of talking required a good deal of breath1 and so it was not unnatural that the ascent should reduce him to silence4 ,the schoolmaster talked freely about scholastic affairs1 and gave me an account of the ordinary tariff in village schools1 though each commune may alter the prices of its school if it please4 ,under seven years of age1 children pay #d francs a year1 or1 for shorter periods than a year1 at the rate of #ge centimes a month2 between seven and thirteen1 #f francs a year1 or #a franc a month2 from thirteen to eighteen1 #h francs a year1 or #a f4 #ej c4 a month4 ,there is the same difficulty in ,france1 of course1 as with us1 in keeping children at school after they are old enough to earn a few centimes by cattle-keeping2 and the ,ministry of ,education had shortly before addressed questions to every schoolmaster in the country1 asking what remedy each could suggest4 ,my present friend had replied1 that if the ,government would give the education gratis1 something might be done2 but he had expressed his opinion that nothing short of an actual subsidy to parents of children beyond eight or nine years of age would ensure a general improvement4 ,having given me this information1 he observed that it was every man's business to learn1 though he and ,i might be teachers also1 and therefore he was sure monsieur would pardon him if he asked what those black patches on monsieur's hands might mean1--pointing to certain large areas of ,epsom plaster which covered the tokens of many glacires4 ,when his mind was set at rest as to this phenomenon1 the maire called a halt1 and took his turn of talking4 ,he began to tell me about himself and his wealth1 ,rosset backing him up and putting in the most telling parts4 ,he had very extensive property1 and the more level parts of it were certainly valuable1 consisting of #bjj journaux of good arable land3 the forests through which we walked were his1 and he possessed three montagnes and chlets higher up on the mountain4 ,the glacire was his own property2 and two years ago he had discovered another in the neighbourhood1 which he had not since visited4 ,he was assisted in his capacity of maire by twelve councillors--in a larger commune it would have been fifteen--and the council met four times in the year4 ,if it was desirable that they should meet on any other occasion1 he must write to the prefect of the arrondissement for permission1 specifying the business which they wished to conduct1 and to this specified business they must confine themselves entirely4 ,then he wished to know1 had we maires such as he in ,england8 ,hereupon ,i drew a fancy picture of the ,lord ,mayor of ,london1 receiving the ,queen and the ,royal ,family in general in a friendly way1 and giving them a dinner1--which1 he observed1 must cost a good deal1 a great deal4 ,however1 he looked round upon his fields and houses and mountains1 and seemed to think that he could himself stand a considerable drain upon his purse for the reception of royalty2 and possibly he is now anxious that the ,emperor should pass that way1 during the five years to which the tenure of the mayoralty is restricted4 ,both of my companions were strong in their ,french sympathies--the one because under the new rule all communal affairs were so much better organised1 the other because a wonderful change for the better had taken place in the government superintendence of schools4 ,theirs was formerly an odd corner of a kingdom that did not care much about them1 and was not homogeneous2 it was now an integral part of a well-ordered empire4 ,they confessed that the present state of things cost them much more in taxes1 c41 excepting in the upper mountains1 where ,rosset had a cousin who paid even less than under ,sardinian rule4 ,of course1 we talked a little on ,church questions2 and they were astonished to hear that ,i was not only an ecclesiastic1 but an ordained priest1--a sort of thing which they had fancied did not exist in the ,english ,church4 ,rosset said the curs of small communes had about #dj a year1 but ,i must have more than that1 or ,i could not afford to travel so far from home4 ,had ,i already said the mass that morning8 ,had ,i my robes in the sac ,i had left at the ,mairie8 ,was the red book they had seen in my hands 7,bdeker's ,schweiz7 a ,breviary8 ,they branched off to matters of doctrine1 and discussed them warmly2 but some things they so accommodatingly understated1 and others they stated so fairly1 that ,i was able to tell them they were excellent ,anglicans4 ,higher up in the forest1 we were nearly overwhelmed by a party of charcoal-porters1 who came down with their traneaux like a black avalanche4 ,a traneau is nothing more than a wooden sledge1 on two runners1 which are turned up in front1 to the height of a yard1 to keep the cargo in its place4 ,in the more level parts the porter is obliged to drag this1 but on the steep zigzags its own weight is sufficient to send it down2 and here the porter places himself in front1 with his back leaning against the sacks of charcoal and the turned-up runners1 and the whole mass descends headlong1 the man's legs going at a wild pace1 and now one foot1 now the other1 steering a judicious course at the turns of the zigzags4 ,the charcoal is made by ,italians1 who live on polenta and cheese high up in the mountains1 and bring their manufacture down to a certain distance1 after which the porters take it in charge4 ,the men we saw told us that by hard work they could make four journeys in the day1 earning a franc by each2 out of which1 as they said1 they must support stomach and boots1 one journey making them ready for a meal1 and eight journeys finishing a pair of soles4 ,it cost us an hour and a half to reach the maire's first chlet1 where we were to lunch on such food as the old woman who managed it might have on hand2 that is to say1 possibly bread1 and1 beyond that1 milk only1 in some shape or other4 ,the forms under which milk can be taught to appear are manifold4 ,a young ,swiss student1 who in the madness of his passion for beetle-hunting had spent fifteen days in a small chlet at ,anzeindaz1 sleeping each night on the hay1#fg gave me1 some time since1 a list of the various foods on which he lived and grew fat4 ,the following is the carte1 as he arranged it3-- ,viandes4 ,vins4 ,du sret4 ,du lait de vache4#fh ,du caill4 ,du lait froid4 ,du beurre4 ,du lait de chvre4 ,du fromage gras4 ,petit lait4 ,du fromage mi-gras4 ,de la crme4 ,du fromage maigre4 ,du lait de beurre4#fi ,tome de vache4 ,petit lait de chvre4 ,tome de chvre4 ,pour les ,cochons4 ,du lait gt4 ,cuite4 ,some of the solids and fluids in the earlier part of this carte we felt tolerably sure of finding at the maire's chlet1 and accordingly any amount of cream and sret proved to be forthcoming4 ,the maire asserted that crac was the true name of this recommendable article of food1 cr being the patois for the original word4 ,others had told us that the real word was serr1 meaning compressed curds2 but the ,french writers who treat learnedly of cheese-making in the ,annales de ,chimie adopt the form srets2 and in the ,annales ,scientifiques de l',auvergne ,i find both seret and serai1 from the ,latin serum4 ,there was also bread1 which arrived when we were sitting down to our meal3 it had been baked in a huge ring1 for convenience of carriage1 and was brought up from the low-lands on a stick across a boy's shoulder4 ,when the old woman thought it safe to expose a greater dainty to our attacks1 at a later period of the meal1 she brought out a pot of caill1 a delightful luxury which prevails in the form of nuggets of various size floating in sour whey4 ,owing to a general want of table apparatus1 we placed the pot of caill on a broken wall1 and speared the nuggets with our pocket-knives4 ,after the meal1 the two ,frenchmen found themselves wet and exceedingly cold2 for ,frenchmen have not yet learned the blessing of flannel shirts under a broiling sun4 ,they set to work to dry themselves after an original fashion4 ,the fire was little more than a collection of smouldering embers1 confined within three stone walls about a foot high2 so they took each a one-legged stool--chaises des vaches1 or chaise des montagnes--and attached themselves to the stools by the usual leathern bands round the hips2 then they cautiously planted the prods of the stools in the middle of the embers1 maintaining an unstable equilibrium by resting their own legs on the top of the walls4 ,here they sat1 smoking and being smoked1 till they were dry and warm4 ,of course1 in case of a slip or an inadvertent movement1 they would have gone sprawling into the fire4 ,a well-known ,swiss botanist1 who has seen many strange sleeping-places in the course of sixty years of flower-hunting in the mountains of ,vaud and ,valais1 has told me that on one occasion he had reached with great difficulty the only chlet in the neighbourhood of his day's researches1 at a late hour of the night1 the whole mountain being soaked with rain4 ,it was a little upland chlet1 which the people had deserted for the autumn and winter2 and meantime a mud avalanche had taken possession1 and covered the floor to a depth of several inches4 ,no plank was to be found for lying on2 but he discovered a broken one-legged stool1 and on this he sat and slept1 propped as well as might be in a corner4 ,it is difficult to say which would be worse--a fall from the stool by daylight into the embers of a wood fire1 or the shuddering slimy waking about midnight1 after a nod more vigorous than the rest1 to find oneself plunged in eight cold inches of soft mud4 ,about half an hour beyond the chlet1 we found the mouth of the glacire1 on a large plateau almost bare of vegetation1 and showing the live rock at the surface4 ,they told me that in a strong winter there would be an average of #ab feet of snow on the ground here4#gj ,the glacire itself is approached by descending one side of a deep pit1 whose circumference is larger than that of any other of the pit-glacires ,i have seen4 ,a few yards off there is a smaller shaft in the rock1 which we afterwards found to communicate with the glacire4 ,the ,,nw4 side of the larger pit1 being the side at the bottom of which is the arch of entrance1 is vertical1 and we spent the time necessary for growing cool in measuring the height of this face of rock from above4 ,the plummet ran out #aae feet of string1 and struck the slope of snow1 down which the descent to the cave must be made1 about #f feet above the junction of the snow with the floor of the glacire1 which was visible from the ,s4 side of the edge of the pit2 so that the total depth from the surface of the rock to the ice-floor was #aba feet4 ,illustration3 ,,vertical ,,section ,,of ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,grand ,,anu1 ,,near ,,annecy4 ,when we were sufficiently cool1 we scrambled down the side of the pit opposite to that in which the archway lies1 finding the rock extremely steep1 and then came to a slope of #gb feet of snow1 completely exposed to the weather1 which landed us at the mouth of the glacire4 ,the arch is so large1 that we could detect the change of light in the cave1 caused by the passage of clouds across the sun1 and candles were not necessary1 excepting in the pits shortly to be described4 ,we saw at once that rapid thaw was going on somewhere or other2 and when we stepped off the snow1 we found ourselves in a couple of inches of soft green vegetable mud1 like a compote of dark-coloured duckweed--or1 to use a more familiar simile1 like a mass of overboiled and ill-strained spinach4 ,to the grief of one of us1 there was ice under this1 of most persuasive slipperiness4 ,the maire said that he had never seen these signs of thaw in his visits in previous years2 and as we went farther and farther into the cave1 he was more and more surprised at each step to find such a large quantity of running water1 and so much less ice than he had expected4 ,the shape of the glacire is a rough circle1 #fj feet in diameter2 and the floor1 which is solid ice1 slopes gradually down to the farther end4 ,the immediate entrance is half-closed by a steep and very regular cone of snow1 lying vertically under the small shaft we had seen in the rock above4 ,the snow which forms the cone descends in winter by this shaft2 and the formation must have been going on for a considerable time1 since the lower part of the cone has become solid ice1 under the combined influences of pressure and of dgel and regel4 ,i climbed up the side of this1 by cutting steps in the lower part1 and digging feet and hands deep into the snow higher up2 and ,i found the length of the side to be #cj feet4 ,i had no means of determining the height of the cave1 and a guess might not be of much value4 ,at first sight1 the farther end of the cave was the most striking4 ,the water which comes from the melting snow down which we had passed in reaching the glacire1 had cut itself deep channels in the floor1 and through these it coursed rapidly till it precipitated itself into a large pit or moulin in the ice1 at the lowest point4 ,this pit1 a will be seen by the section of the cave given on p4 #agd1ga terminates the glacire2 and the rock-wall at the farther edge falls away into a sort of open fissure1 down which magnificent cascades of ice stream emulously1 clothing that side of the pit1 which would otherwise be solid rock4 ,we cut a few steps about the upper edge of this moulin1 to make all safe1 and proceeded to let down a lighted candle1 which descended safely for #cf feet1 showing nothing but ice on all sides2 it then came in contact with one of the falls of water1 and the light was of course extinguished4 ,we next tied a stone to the string1 and found that after #dj feet it struck on ice and turned inwards1 under our feet1 stopping finally at the end of #ea feet2 but whether it was really the bottom of the pit that stopped it1 or only some ledge or accidental impediment1 we could not determine4 ,the diameter of this pit might be #c yards1 but we took no measure of it4 ,at the extreme right of the cave we found another pit1 a yard and a half across1 two-thirds of the circumference of which was formed by the plateau of ice on which we stood1 and the remaining third by a fluting in the wall of rock4 ,the maire said that1 two years ago1 this hole was not visible1 being concealed by a large ice-column which had since fallen in4 ,here again ,i let down a lighted candle1 with more hopes of getting it to the bottom1 as no part of the cave drained into the pit4 ,the candle descended steadily1 the flame showing no signs of atmospheric disturbance1 and revealing the fact that the opposite side of the pit1 viz4 the rock1 which alone was visible from our position1 became more and more thickly covered with ice1 of exquisite clearness1 and varied and most graceful forms4 ,as foot after foot1 and yard after yard1 ran out1 and our heads craned farther and farther over the edge of the pit to follow the descending light1 7we lay flat on the ice1 for more safety17 the cries of the schoolmaster became mere howls1 and the maire lapsed into oaths heavy enough to break in the ice4 ,it is always sufficiently disagreeable to hear men swear2 but in situations which have anything impressive1 either of danger or of grandeur1 it becomes more than ever unbearable4 ,i remember on one occasion over-taking a large party in the descent from the ,plateau to the ,grands ,mulets1 in a place where the snow was extremely soft1 and any moment might land one of us in a crevasse2 and ,i shall never forget the oaths which caught my ear1 from a floundering fellow-countryman enveloped from the waist downwards4 ,when #fj feet had run out1 the candle stopped1 and on stretching over ,i saw that it had reached a slope of ice which inclined very steeply northwards1 and passed away under the rock1 apparently into a fresh cavern4 ,by raising the candle slightly and then letting it drop1 we made it glide down this slope for #h feet2 and then it finally rested on a shelf of ice1 showing us the shadowy beginnings of what should be a most glorious ice-cave4 ,the little light which the candle gave was made the most of by the reflecting material which surrounded it2 and we were able to see that the archway in the rock was rounded off with grey ice1 and rested1 as it were1 on icy pillars4 ,as far as we could judge1 there would have been abundant room to pass down the slope under the archway1 if only the preliminary #fj feet could by any means have been accomplished2 and ,i shall dream for long of what there must be down there4 ,as ,i was anxious to know whether the side of the pit was vertical ice under our feet1 ,i contrived to get about a third of the way round the edge1 so as almost to reach the fluting in the rock which formed the farther side of the pit1 and then desired the schoolmaster to raise the candle slowly from the ledge on which it still rested4 ,as he pulled it gradually up1 ,i was startled to find that the ice fell away sharply immediately below the spot where we had been collected1 and then formed a solid wall2 so that we had been standing on the mere edge of a shelf1 with nothing but black emptiness below4 ,how far the solid wall receded at the bottom ,i was unable to determine1 for the light of one candle was of very little use at so great a distance1 and in darkness so profound4 ,i persuaded the maire to make an effort to reach a point from which he could see the insecurity of the ice which had seemed to form so solid a floor2 and he was so much impressed by what he saw1 that he fled with precipitation from the cave1 and we eventually found him asleep under a bush on the rocks above4 ,in reaching the farther side of the pit1 we crossed unwittingly an ice-bridge formed by a transverse pit or tunnel in the ice1 which opened into the pit we were examining4 ,the maire afterwards promised to rail off all that end of the glacire1 and forbid his workmen to venture upon it4 ,considering that the hole itself was only opened two years before by the fall of a column1 and has already undergone such changes1 ,i shall be surprised if the ice-bridge1 and all that part on which we lay to fathom the pit1 does not fall in before very long2 and then1 by means of steps and ropes and ladders1 it may be possible to reach the entrance to the lower cave1 #aij feet below the surface of the earth4 ,may ,i be there to see6#gb ,the left side of the glacire1 near the entrance1 was occupied by a columnar cascade1 behind which ,i forced a passage by chopping away some lovely ornaments of ice4 ,here also the solid ground-ice falls away a little under the surface1 leaving a cavern #h or #i feet deep1 on the rock side of which every possible glacial fantasy was to be found4 ,the stalactites here presented the peculiar prismatic structure so often noticed2 but on the more exposed side of the column they were tipped with limpid ice1 free from all apparent external or internal lines4 ,this reminded me of what we had observed in the ,glacire of ,la ,genollire1 namely1 that the surface-lines tended to disappear under thaw2 so ,i cut a piece of prismatic ice and put it in my mouth4 ,in a short time it became perfectly limpid1 and on breaking it up ,i could discover no signs of prism4 ,on some parts of the floor of the glacire1 the ice was apparently unprismatic1 generally in connection with running water or other marks of thaw2 but1 to my surprise1 ,i found that it split into prisms very readily4 ,the maire could not understand how it was that1 after a winter especially severe1 as that of #ahfc-d had been1 there should be even less ice than in the preceding summer1 and we could see the marks of last year's cutting1 down to the edge of the moulin4 ,he said that they had never before cut down in that direction2 but in the summer of #ahfc they had been so much struck by the clearness of the ice which formed the floor1 that they had cut it freely1 and removed a large quantity4 ,this1 ,i believe1 was the cause of the absence of any great amount of fresh ice4 ,the slope of the whole ice-floor is considerable1 and the workmen increased the slope by cutting away the ice in the neighbourhood of the edge of the moulin3 they had also1 as we could see quite plainly1 excavated the clearer parts of the ice between the entrance to the cave and the moulin1 so that a sort of trough ran down from near the foot of the snow to the pit at the lower end of the glacire4 ,when we were there1 the water rushed down this trough1 and was lost in the pit2 and very probably the same may have been the case in the earlier parts of the year1 when1 according to the view ,i have already expressed1 the ice would under ordinary circumstances have been formed4 ,if this be so1 the caverns below must have received immense additions to their stores of ice or water4 ,we observed1 by the way1 that the slope of ice to which the candle descended in the deeper pit1 and the shelf on which it rested1 were quite dry1 or at any rate free from all apparent signs of the abundant water we should have seen1 had that been the outlet for the streams which poured into the moulin4 ,the maire said that the columns and cascades of ice in the cave had been much more beautiful in the previous summer4 ,the whole cavern would thus appear to be something of the shape of an egg1 with the longer axis vertical1 and the entrance about half-way up the side4 ,the lower end of this egg-shaped cavity in the rock is filled with ice1 which in some parts shrinks from the rock below the surface1 though1 as far as outward appearance goes1 it fills the cavern to its farthest corners4 ,the depth of this ice at one side is #fj feet1 and how much more it may be in the middle it is impossible to say4 ,as we have seen1 there is a second ice-cave opening out of the principal one1 at a depth of #aij feet below the surface2 and with respect to this second cave imagination may run riot4 ,rosset told me that he had noticed1 the year before1 a strong source of water springing out of the side of a rock1 at some little distance from the glacire2 but he could not reach it then1 and could not find it now4 ,this may possibly be the drainage of the glacire in its summer state4 ,the thermometer stood at #cd in the middle of the cave2 and though the others felt the cold very much1 ,i was myself surprised to find so low a register1 for the atmosphere seemed to be comparatively warm1 judging from what ,i had experienced in other glacires4 ,the only current of air we could detect was exceedingly slight1 and came from the deeper of the two pits in the ice4 ,it was so slight1 that the flame of the candle burned apparently quite steadily when we were engaged in determining the depth and shape of the pit4 ,the sun had by this time produced such an effect upon the slope of snow outside the glacire1 that we found the ascent sufficiently difficult1 especially as our hands were full of various instruments4 ,the schoolmaster was not content to choose the straight line up1 and in attempting to perform a zigzag1 he came to a part of the slope where the snow lay about #b inches thick on solid ice1 and the result was an unscholastic descent in inverted order of precedence4 ,he got on better over the rolling stones after the snow was accomplished1 but the clumsy style of his climbing dislodged an unpleasant amount and weight of missiles2 and though he was amiable enough to cry ',garde6' with every step he took1 it will be found by experiment that it is not much use to the lower man to have ',garde6' shouted in his ears1 when his footing is insecure to begin with1 and a large stone comes full at his head1 at the precise moment when two others are taking him in the pit of the stomach4 ,we found the maire1 as was said1 asleep under a bush near the mouth of the pit2 and he pronounced himself completely recovered from the effects of the cold1 and ready to guide us to a second glacire4 ,he told us that the amount of ice he sold averaged #d1jjj quintaux mtriques a week1 for the three months of ,july1 ,august1 and ,september2 but the last winter had been so severe1 that the lake had provided ice for the artificial glacires of ,annecy1 and no one had as yet applied to him this year4 ,as only a fortnight of his usual season had passed1 he may have since had plenty of applications1 later in the year4 ,the railways have opened up more convenient sources of ice for ,lyons1 and for some time he has sent none to that town4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ff3 ,a ,yorkshire farmer unconsciously adapts the ,german ,wolkenbruch1 declaring on occasion that the rain is so heavy1 it is 'ommust as if a clood had brussen someweers4' ,footnote #fg3 ,i tried the hay in this chlet one night1 with such results that the next time ,i slept there1 two years after1 ,i preferred a combination of planks4 ,footnote #fh3 i4e4 ,new milk1 warm4 ,footnote #fi3 ,otherwise graphically called battu4 ,footnote #gj3 ,i had no means of determining the elevation of the ground4 ,the fact of #ab feet of snow is of no value as a guide to the height4 ,last winter 7#ahfd-e7 there was #bf feet of snow on the ,jura1 at a height of less than #d1jjj feet1 and the position of some of the larger chlets was only marked by a slight boss on the plane surface4 ,footnote #ga3 ,in the section of the cave1 ,i have brought out the deeper pit from the side into the middle1 so as to show both in one section3 ,i have also slightly shaded the pits1 instead of leaving them blank like shafts in the rock4 ,footnote #gb3 ,i have made arrangements for completing the exploration of this cave1 and the one which is next described1 in the course of the present summer4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,chappet-,,sur-,,villaz1 ,,on ,,the ,,mont ,,parmelan1 ,,near ,,annecy4 ,we started southwards from the ,glacire of ,grand ,anu1 for such they said was the proper name for the cave last described1 and passed over some of the wildest walking ,i have seen4 ,all the most striking features of a glacier were here reproduced in stone3 now narrow deep crevasses which only required a slight spring2 now much more formidable rents1 which we were obliged to circumvent by a dtour2 now dark mysterious holes with vertical shell-like partitions at various depths2 and now a perfect moulin1 with fluted sides and every detail appertaining to those remarkable pits1 the hollow plunge of falling water alone excepted4 ,in other parts1 the smooth slab-like appearance of the surface reminded me of a curious district on one of the summits of the ,jura1 where the ,french frontier takes the line of crest1 and the old stones marked with the fleur-de-lys and the ,helvetic cross are still to be found4 ,in those border regions the old historic distinctions are still remembered1 and the frontier ,vaudois call the neighbouring ,french ,bourguignons--or1 in their patois1 ,borgognons4 ,they keep up the tradition of old hatreds2 and the strange bleak summit1 with its smooth slabs of ,jura-chalk lying level with the surface1 is so much like a vast cemetery1 that the wish in old times has been father to the thought1 and they call it still the ,cemetery of the ,burgundians1 ,cimetiros ai ,borgognons4#gc ,after a time1 we reached a tumbled chaos of rock1 much resembling the ice-fall of a glacier1 and1 on descending1 and rounding a low spur of the mountain so as to take a north-westerly course1 we found ourselves in a perfect paradise of flowers4 ,one orchis ,i shall always regret4 ,there seemed to be only a single head1 closely packed with flowerets1 and strongly scented2 it was a pure white1 not the green and straw-coloured white of other scented orchises4 ,there were large patches of the delicate faux-lis 7,paradisia liliastrum72 and though there might not be anything very rare1 and the lovely glacier-flowers were of course wanting1 the whole was a rich feast for anyone who cares more for delicacy and colour than for botany4 ,the maire told us that he had found the glacire1 for which we were now in search1 two years before1 when he accompanied the government surveyor to show him the forests and mountains which formed his property4 ,as he had on that occasion approached the spot from the other side1 we walked a long way to place him exactly where the surveyor and he had crossed the ridge of the mountain1 and then started him down from the ,col in the direction they had taken4 ,he was certain of two things3 first1 that they had passed by the ,col between the ,mont ,parmelan and the ,montagne de l',eau2 and1 secondly1 that the glacire was within five minutes of the highest point of the ,col4 ,for three-quarters of an hour we all broke our shins1 and the officials the ,third ,commandment4 ,they invoked more saints than ,i had ever heard of1 and1 in default1 did not scruple to appeal with shocking volubility to darker aid4 ,it was all of no use1--and well it might be2 for when we had given it up in despair1 after long patience and a considerable period of the contrary1 and had descended for half an hour in the direction of a third glacire1 ,i chanced to look back1 and saw that the ,col in the neighbourhood of which we had been searching lay between two points of the ,montagne de l',eau2 while the true ,col between that mountain and the ,mont ,parmelan lay considerably to the west4 ,when it appears that a guide has probably made a mistake1 the only plan is to assume quietly that it is so1 as if it were a matter of no consequence1 and then he may sometimes be decoyed into allowing the fact3 ,i therefore pointed out to the maire the true ,col1 and told him that was the one by which he had passed southwards1 when he found the glacire2 to which1 with unnecessary strength of language1 he at once assented4 ,but all my efforts to take him back were unavailing4 ,nothing in the world should carry him up the mountain again1 now that he had happily got so far down4 ,i worked his best and his worst feelings with equal want of success2 even national jealousy failed1 and he was content to know that a ,french maire had not pluck to face three-quarters of an hour of climbing1 when an ,english priest was ready to lead the way4 ,the schoolmaster declined to go alone with me1 on the ground that neither of us knew the mountain1 and threatening clouds were gathering all around4 ,when1 at last1 ,i proposed to go by myself1 they became menacingly obstructive1 and declared that ,i should certainly not be allowed to face the intricacy of the mountain in a fog4 ,besides1 as the maire put it1 he was sure of the way to the third glacire2 and if ,i were to go up alone to look for the second1 ,i should lose a certainty for a chance1 as there was not time to visit both4 ,so with an ill grace ,i continued the descent with them1 being restored to good humour before long by the beauty of the ,lake of ,annecy1 as seen from our elevated position4 ,it is so impossible to accept in full the accounts one picks up of natural curiosities1 that ,i give the maire's description of the stray glacire only for what it is worth4 ,it was not extracted without much laborious cross-examination--sais paw vous le dire being the average answer to my questions4 ,the entrance to the cave is about twice as high as a man1 and is in a small shallow basin of rock and grass4 ,the floor is level with the entrance1 and the roof rises inside to a good height4 ,in shape it is like a ,continental bread-oven2 and at the time of the maire's visit1 the floor was a confused mass of ice and stones1 the former commencing at the very entrance4 ,there was no ice except on the floor1 the area of which might be as large as that of the surface of the ice in the ,glacire of ,grand ,anu4 ,no pit was to be seen1 and not a drop of water4 ,snow could have drifted in easily1 but they saw no signs of any remaining4 ,if this account be true1 especially with respect to the position of the entrance and the horizontal direction of the floor1 ,i have seen no glacire like it4 ,we descended for a time through fir-woods1 and then again down steep and barren rocks1 till we reached the sharp slope of grass which so frequently connects the base of a mountain with the more civilised forests and the pasturages below4 ,the maire led us for some distance along the top of this grass slope1 towards the west1 skirting the rocks till they became precipitous and lofty1 when he said we must be near our point4 ,still we went on and on without seeing any signs of it1 and our guide seemed in despair2 and ,i1 for one1 entirely gave up the third cave to the same fate as the second1 and became very sulky and remonstrative4 ,the entrance to the glacire1 the maire told us1 was a hole in the face of the highest rocks1 #c or #d yards only above the grass2 and as we had now reached a part of the mountain where the rock springs up smooth and high1 and we could command the whole face1 and yet saw nothing1 the schoolmaster came over to my side1 and told the maire he was a humbug4 ,however1 we were then within a few yards of the desired spot1 and half-a-dozen steps showed us a small chemine1 down which a strong and icy current of wind blew4 ,the maire shouted a shout of triumph1 and climbed the chemine2 and when we also had done the necessary gymnastics1 we found a hole facing almost due north1 all within being dark4 ,the current blew so determinedly1 that matches were of no use1 and ,i was obliged to seek a sheltered corner before ,i could light a candle2 and1 when lighted1 the candle was with difficulty kept from being blown out4 ,no ice was visible1 nor any signs of such a thing1--nothing but a very irregular narrow cave1 with darkness at the farther end4 ,as we advanced1 we found that the floor of the cave came to a sudden end1 and the darkness developed into a strange narrow fissure1 which reached out of sight upwards1 and out of sight below2 and down this the maire rolled stones1 saying that there was the glacire1 if only one could get at it without a tourneau4 ,considering the persistency with which he had throughout declared that there was no possible need for a rope1 ,i gave him some of my mind here1 in that softened style which his official dignity demanded2 but he excused himself by saying that the gentleman who owned the glacire1 and extracted the ice for private use only1 was now living at his summer chlet1 a mile or two off1 and he1 the maire1 had felt confident that the tourneau would have been fitted up for the season4 ,on letting a candle down from the termination of the floor1 we found that the perpendicular drop was not more than #ab feet1 and from the shelf thus reached it seemed very possible to descend to the farther depths of the fissure2 but ,i had become so sceptical1 that ,i persisted in asserting that there was no ice below4 ,the maire's manner1 also1 was strange1 and ,i suspected that the cold current of air had caused the place to be called a glacire1 with any other qualification on the part of the cave4 ,one thing was evident1--no snow could reach the fissure4 ,m4 ,mtrai was determined that ,i must not attempt the descent1 pointing out1 what was quite true1 that though the fall was not great1 there seemed no possibility of getting back up the smooth rock4 ,his arguments increased my suspicions2 so1 leaving all apparatus behind1 ,i dropped down to join the candle1 rather hoping to have the satisfaction of sending them off for a rope1 in case ,i could not achieve the last few feet in returning1 and knowing that there was no danger of the fate which once threatened the chamois-hunting ,kaiser ,max4#gd ,the drop turned out to be a mere nothing1 and1 taking the candle1 ,i scrambled on1 down the sloping floor of the fissure1 towards the heart of the mountain1 expecting every moment that my further passage would be stopped by solid rock4 ,but1 after reaching a part so narrow that ,i was obliged to mount by both sides at once in order to get past it1 ,i found a commodious gallery1 opening out into a long and narrow and very lofty cavern1 still only a fissure1 the floor of which continued the regular and rapid slope down which ,i had so far come4 ,a short way farther down1 an opening appeared to the left2 and ,i turned off the main passage into a horizontal gallery or chamber1 with a floor of ice resting on rock and stones4 ,this chamber seemed to be #c or #d yards wide at the entrance1 narrowing regularly to #d #a_/b feet4 ,it was #dj feet long1 and at the farther end1 which would not have been visible from the entrance1 on account of a slight bend in the ice-gallery1 even if there had been any light1 it was closed by an ice-cascade #g yards high and #d #a_/b feet broad at the bottom4 ,the ice of much of this cascade was so clear1 that ,i saw the rock upon which it rested1 or in some parts did not rest1 quite plainly1 and the large air-cavities in the structure were beautifully shown by the richly-coloured rock behind4 ,none of the current which we had observed above1 and which had nearly baffled my protecting care of the candle during the descent1 came from this gallery2 but ,i find it written in my notes that the gallery was very cold4 ,thaw was going on1 rather rapidly2 and the water stole out by the entrance1 and ran down the main descent1 over ice and among rocks1 into the farther darkness4 ,when ,i came out again from this gallery1 ,i mounted the slope towards my companions1 and tried to tempt them down4 ,the maire felt himself to be too valuable to his country to be lightly risked1 and declined to come2 but ,rosset took a bold heart1 and dropped1 after requiring from me a solemn promise that ,i would give him a back for his return up the rock4 ,we visited the gallery ,i had already explored1 and1 as we stood admiring the cascade of ice1 a skilful drop of water came from somewhere1 and extinguished our only candle4 ,my matches were with the maire2 and ,i was equally sure that he would not bring them down to us1 and that we could not go up to fetch them without a light4 ,rosset1 however1 very fortunately1 had a box in his pocket for smoking purposes2 and we cut off the wet wick1 and cut down the composition to form another1 and so contrived to light the candle again4 ,while we were thus engaged1 ,i chanced to look up for a moment1 and saw far above our heads a small opening in the roof1 through which a few rays of light entered from the outer world4 ,it was so very far above us1 that the uncertain rays were lost long before they got down to our level1 being absorbed in the universal darkness1 and being in fact rather suggested than visible even at their strongest4 ,those who have been at ,lauterbrunnen in a very dry season1 will understand how these rays presented the appearance of a ghostly ,staubbach of unreal light4 ,we must have been at an immense depth below the surface in which the opening lay2 and if there had been a long day before us1 it would have been curious to search for the fissure above4 ,sir ,thomas ,browne says1 in the ,religio ,medici1 ',conceive light invisible1 and that is a spirit4' ,we very nearly saw a spirit here4 ,the descent from the mouth of this chamber to the deeper recesses of the main fissure was very rough1 but was speedily accomplished1 and we reached a point where solid rock stopped us in face2 while1 to the right1 a chamber with a threshold of ice was visible1 and1 to the left1 a dark opening1 down which the descent appeared to continue4 ,from this opening all the strong cold current came4 ,we took the ice-chamber first4 ,the entrance had evidently been closed till very lately by a large column of ice1 and we passed over the dbris1 between rock portals and on a floor of solid grey ice1 into a triangular cave of any height the imagination might choose to fix4 ,the entire floor of the cave was of ice1 giving the impression of infinite thickness and firmness4 ,a little water stood on it1 near the threshold1 so limpid that we could not see where it commenced4 ,the base of this triangular floor we found to be #ag feet1 and its altitude #cj feet2 and though these dimensions may seem comparatively small1 the whole effect of the thick mass of ice on which we stood1 with the cascades of ice in the corners1 and the ice-figures on the walls1 and the three sides of the cave passing up into sheer darkness1 was exceedingly striking1 situated1 as it all was1 so deep down in the bowels of the earth4 ,the original entrance to the fissure1 at the top of the chemine1 was1 as has been said1 at the base of lofty rocks1 and we had descended very considerably from the entrance2 so that1 even without the strange light thrown upon the matter by the small hole overhead1 through which we had seen the day struggling to force its way into the cavern1 we should have been sure that we were now at an immense distance below the surface4 ,one corner of the cave was occupied by a broad and solid-looking cascade1 while another corner showed the opening of a very narrow fissure1 curved like one of the shell-shaped crevasses of a glacier4 ,into this fissure the ice-floor streamed2 and ,rosset held my coat-tails while ,i made a few steps down the stream1 when the fall became too rapid for further voluntary progress4 ,i let down a stone for #ah feet1 when it stuck fast1 and would move neither one way nor the other4 ,the upper wall of this fissure was clothed with moss-like ice1 and ice of the prismatic structure1--with here and there large scythe-blades1 as it were1 attached by the sharp edge to the rock1 and lying vertically with the heel outwards4 ,one of these was #aa inches deep1 from the heel to the rock1 and only one-eighth of an inch thick at the thickest part4 ,the angle occupied by the cascade or column was the most striking4 ,the base of the column was large1 and apparently solid1 like a smooth unbroken waterfall suddenly frozen4 ,it fitted into the angle of the cave1 and completely filled up the space between the contiguous walls4 ,i commenced to chop with my axe1 and before long found that this ice was hollow1 though very thick2 and when a sufficient hole was made for me to get through1 ,i saw that what had looked like a column was in truth only a curtain of ice hung across the angle of the cave4 ,within the curtain the ice-floor still went on1 streaming down at last into a fissure something like that in the other corner4 ,the curtain was so low1 that ,i was obliged to sit on the ice inside to explore2 and after a foot or two of progress1 the slope towards the fissure became sufficiently great to require steps to be cut4 ,the stream of ice turned round a bend in the fissure1 very near the curtain1 and was lost to view2 but ,rosset stood by the hole through which ,i had passed--on the safer side of it--and despatched blocks of ice1 which glided past me round the corner1 and went whizzing on for a long time1 eventually landing upon stones1 and sometimes1 we fancied1 in water4 ,it is very awkward work1 sitting on a gentle slope of the smoothest possible ice1 with a candle in one hand1 and an axe in the other1 cutting each step in front2 especially when there is nothing whatever to hold by1 and the slope is sufficient to make it morally certain that in case of a slip all must go together4 ,of course1 a rope would have made all safe4 ,when ,i groaned over the maire's obstinacy1 ,rosset asked what could possibly be the use of a rope1 if ,i were to slip2 and1 to my surprise1 ,i found that he had no idea what ,i wanted a rope for4 ,when he learned that1 had there been one1 he would have played a large part in the adventure1 and that he might have had me dangling over an ice-fall out of sight round the corner1 he added his groans to mine1 and would evidently have enjoyed it all very much4 ,at the same time1 he was prudent1 and1 as each block of ice made its final plunge1 he told me that was what would happen to me if ,i went any farther3 and1 really1 the pictures he drew of deep lakes of icy water and jagged points of rock1 between which ,i must make my choice down there1 were so unpleasant1 that at last ,i desisted1 and pushed myself up backwards1 still in a sitting posture1 calling ,rosset and the maire the worst names ,i could feel justified in using4 ,on the way1 ,i found one of the large brown flies which we had seen in the ,glacire of ,la ,genollire1 and in the ,lower ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres4 ,rosset now told me he was so cold he could stand it no longer2 but1 after a little pressure1 and a declaration on my part that he should not have a candle for going up again1 he consented to remain with me while ,i explored the remaining chamber1 the lowest of all4 ,this chamber may be called a continuation of the main passage4 ,it is of about the same width as the highest of the three chambers1 and the floor descends rapidly1 the cold current of air becoming very strong and biting as we penetrated into the darkness4 ,as the ,genevese savans seemed to believe in 'cold currents' as the cause of underground ice1 ,i was naturally anxious to see as much as possible of the state of this gallery1 from which every particle of the current seemed to come4 ,we very soon reached a narrow dark lake1 and1 exclaiming that here was ice again1 ,i stepped1 not on to1 but into it1 and found that it was water4 ,when our solitary candle was brought to bear upon it1 we saw that it was so clear as not in any way to impede our view1 producing rather the effect of slightly-clouded spectacles upon the stones at the bottom4 ,this lake filled up the whole breadth of the gallery1 here perhaps #d or #e feet1 and rapidly passed to the depth of a yard2 but for a little distance there were unstable stones at one edge1 and steps in the rock-wall1 by which ,i could pass on still into the darkness1 supported by an alpenstock planted in the water4 ,the current of cold air blew along the surface of the water from the farther extremity of the gallery1 wherever that might be4 ,as far as our eyes could reach1 we saw nothing but the black channel of water1 with its precipitous sides passing up beyond our sight4 ,it might have been possible to progress in a spread-eagle fashion1 with one hand and one foot on each side2 but a fall would have been so bitterly unpleasant1 that ,i made a show of condescension in acceding to ,rosset's request that ,i would not attempt such a thing4 ,in the course of my return to the rocks where he stood1 ,i involuntarily fathomed the depth of the lake1 luckily in a shallower part1 and was so much struck by the coldness of the water1 that ,i left ,rosset with the candle1 and struggled up without a light to the place where we had left the maire1 or rather to the bottom of the drop from the entrance-cave1 to get the thermometer4 ,the maire was sunning himself on the rock1 out of reach of the cold current2 but he came in1 and let down the case1 and ,i quickly rejoined the schoolmaster4 ,at first1 it would have been impossible to move about without a light2 but our eyes had now become to some extent accustomed to the darkness1 and ,i had learned the difficulties of the way4 ,when the thermometers were suspended in the water1 ,rosset asked how long they must stay there4 ,i rashly answered1 a quarter of an hour2 on which he demanded indignantly whether ,i supposed he meant to stay in that cold for a quarter of an hour4 ,he had now the candle in his own possession1 and ,i was propped on a stone and an alpenstock in the lake1 so he turned to go1 vowing that he would leave me alone in the dark if ,i did not come out at once4 ,there was no help for it1 as the thermometer would have been of no use without a candle1 and a step in the dark is not pleasant when all around is water1 so ,i slowly drew up the thermometer and read #cc ,f4 ,in making final arrangements for departure1 ,i let it lie in the water for a few seconds longer1 and it fell to #cb2 but ,rosset would not stay a moment longer1 and ,i was obliged to be content with that result4 ,he made himself very easy about the matter1 and said we must call it zero2 and in the evening ,i heard him telling the maire that the greatest of the wonders he had missed1 by his patriotic care for his neck1 was a lake of water which did not freeze1 though its temperature was zero 7centigrade74 ,among the stones at the bottom of this water1 ,i saw here and there patches of a furry sort of ice4 ,i have often watched the freezing of a rapid ,scotch stream1 where1 in the swifter parts1 the ice forms first at the bottom and gradually creeps up the larger stones till it appears on the surface1 and becomes a nucleus1 round which pieces of floating ice collect2 and the substance in the glacire-lake had exactly the same appearance as the ,scotch ground-ice4 ,but it could not be the same thing in reality1 for1 as far as ,i understand the phenomenon of ground-ice1 some disturbed motion of the water is necessary1 to drive down below the surface the cold particles of water1 which become ice the moment they strike upon any solid substance shaped like fractured stone2#ge the specific gravity of freezing water being so much less than that of water at a somewhat higher temperature1 that without some disturbing cause it would not sink to the bottom4#gf ,so that it seems probable that the ice at the bottom of the lake was the remains of a solid mass1 of which the greater part had been converted into water by some warm influence or other4 ,we noticed that a little water trickled down among the stones which formed the slope of descent into the lowest gallery1 so that perhaps the lake was a collection of water from all parts of the various ramifications of the fissure4 ,whence came the icy wind1 it is impossible to say1 without further exploration4 ,it was satisfactory to me to find that the 'cold current' of the ,genevese savans was thus associated with water1 and not with ice1 in the only cave in which ,i had detected its presence to any appreciable extent1 the currents of the ,glacire of ,monthzy being of a totally different description4 ,when we reached the final rock1 in ascending1 ,i offered ,rosset the promised back1 but he got up well enough without it4 ,before leaving the entrance-cave1 we inspected the thermometer which we had left to test the temperature of the current of air1 and1 to my surprise1 found it standing at #dh4 ,we saw1 however1 that it had been carelessly propped on a piece of rock which sheltered it from the influence of the current1 so ,i exposed it during the time occupied in arranging the bag of tapes1 c41 and it fell to #cf3 whether it would have fallen lower1 the impatience of ,rosset has left me unable to say4 ,if ,i can ever make an opportunity for visiting the ,mont ,parmelan again1 ,i shall hope to take a cord1 in order to investigate the mysterious corner of the triangular chamber2 and ,i shall certainly make myself independent of shivering ,frenchmen while ,i measure the temperature of the lake and the current of air4 ,we met a man outside who said that he was employed by the owner1 ,m4 de ,chosal of ,annecy1 to cut the ice2 he had been down three times to the lowest gallery in different years1 in the end of ,july1 and had always found the same collection of water there4 ,the glacire1 he told us1 was discovered about thirty years ago4 ,the maire had basked in the sun all the time we were down below1 and he expressed himself as much pleased that we had found so much to interest us1 in spite of the miscarriage of our efforts to reach the second glacire4 ,we set off down the steep grass at a scrambling sliding run1 against which ,i was speedily obliged to protest1 explaining that a certain ugly inflammation above the left knee was becoming worse every other step1 and as the leg must last three days longer1 it would be as well to humour it4 ,they saw the force of this reasoning1 and we descended with much gravity till we came in sight of the ,mairie1 still half an hour off1 when ,rosset cried out that he smelled supper1 and rushed off at an infectious pace down the remainder of the mountain-side4 ,we reached the ,mairie at six o'clock1 and sat down at once 'to eat something4' ,the first course was bread and kirsch2 and when that was finished1 six boiled eggs appeared1 and a quart carafe of white wine4 ,these having vanished1 their place was taken by a dish of sodden cabbage1 and another quart of wine2 but1 to save the credit of the maire and the schoolmaster1 ,i will not say how often the former functionary descended to the cellar with a quart pitcher1 with increasing impetuosity4 ,next came a dish of onions1 with a pretence of mange-tout1 broiled brown after boiling1 and served in a compound fat2 and then haricots with a like condiment1 and with a flavour reminiscent of the previous course4 ,there was some talk of a poulet2 but the bird still lived1 and the talk came to nothing4 ,the dinner ended with the haricots1 and we then relapsed into dessert1 namely1 bread and kirsch4 ,the mayoress came in with the dessert1 and sat on the end of the bench1 below the hats and the bread-tin1 eating the remaining onions off the dish with the spoon of nature4 ,during one of the maire's frequent visits to the cellar1 ,i propounded a question to the schoolmaster which had puzzled me for some time3 ,was ,i to pay the maire8 ,m4 ,rosset said that it was certainly not necessary1 but ,i had better propose it1 and ,i should then see how ,m4 ,mtral took it4 ,this ,i accordingly did1 when the adieux in the house had been said1 and my host was showing me the way to ,thorens1 where ,i was to sleep1 he1 also1 declared that it was not necessary--the pleasure he had experienced in accompanying me had already fully recompensed him3 still1 if ,i wished to reimburse him for that which ,i had actually cost1 he was a man reasonable1 and in all cases content4 ,i calculated that the dinner and wine which had fallen to my share would be dear at a franc1 and the day's wage of a substitute to do the maire's neglected work could not come to much1 so ,i boldly and unblushingly gave that great man four francs1 and he said regretfully that it was more than enough4 ,to his son and heir--the identical boy who had brought the ring of bread up the mountain to the chlet where we lunched4 ,i gave something under two-pence1 for guiding me across two doubtful fields into a beaten track1 and he expressed himself as even more content than the maire4 ,they both told me that it was impossible to miss the way2 but ,i imagine that ,i achieved that impossibility1 as ,i had to walk through two streams in the deepening twilight1 and the prevailing fear of water in that region is very considerable4 ,the auberge at ,thorens to which the maire had recommended me1 as being the best1 and kept by a personal friend of his1 bore the sign la ,parfaite ,union4 ,the entry was by the kitchen1 and through the steam and odour of onions1 illuminated by one doubtful oil-lamp1 ,i saw the guest-room filled with people in ,sunday dress1 while two fiddles played each its own tune in its own time4 ,nothing but the potent name of ,m4 the ,maire of ,aviernoz gained me even a hearing2 and1 for a bed1 ,i was obliged to stretch my intimacy with that exalted personage to the very furthest bounds of truth4 ,chappaz ,nicolai1 whose name the maire had written in my note-book1 that there might be no mistake1 appeared to be of that peculiar mental calibre which warrants ,yorkshire peasants in describing a man as 'half-rocked1' or 'not plumb4' ,his wife1 on the other hand1 was one of those neat1 gentle1 sensible women1 of whom one wonders how they ever came to marry such thick-lipped and blear-eyed men4 ,between them they informed me that if ,i did not object to share a room1 ,i could be taken in2 otherwise--maire or no maire--not4 ,i asked whether they meant half a bed2 but they said no1 that would not be necessary at present2 and ,i accepted the offered moiety of accommodation1 as it was now seventeen hours since ,i had started in the morning1 and ,i was not inclined to turn out in the dark to look for a whole room elsewhere4 ,the stairs were a sort of cross between a ladder and nothing1 and when we reached the proposed room a large mastiff was in possession1 who would not let us enter till the master was summoned to expel him4 ,the furniture consisted of a table and five chairs1 with no bed or beds4 ,on the chairs were various articles of clothing1 blouses and garments more profound1 belonging probably to members of the party below2 and on the table1 a bottle of water and a soup-plate1 the pitcher and basin of the house4 ,it was a mere slip of a room1 with two diamond-shaped holes in one wall1 whose purpose ,i discovered when my guide opened a papered door1 in which were the holes1 and displayed two beds foot to foot in an alcove4 ,one of these1 she was sure1 would be too short for me1 but she feared ,i must be satisfied with it1 as the other was much broader and would therefore hold the two messieurs4 ,how the two8 ,i asked1 and was told that two pensionnaires lived in this room2 but they were old friends1 and for one night would sleep in the same bed to oblige monsieur4 ,the ideas of length and breadth in connection with the beds were entirely driven from my head by the fact of their dirtiness2 and ,i determined that if the two pensionnaires occupied the one1 the other should be unoccupied4 ,after arranging things a little1 ,i struggled down the steps again1 and ordered coffee and bread in a little room1 which commanded the assembly with the fiddles in the larger salle4 ,the head waitress1 busy as she was1 found time to come now and then to an open window near where ,i sat1 and talked to a male friend sitting outside in the dark3 indeed1 she did more than talk1 and people had to rattle their glasses very hard before they could make her hear4 ,from her ,i learned that this was a marriage party which had arrived2 and when ,i asked why they did not dance1 as the fiddles were engaged at that moment with unwonted unanimity upon dance-music1 she gave me to understand that these were not people of ,thorens1 but only a party from another village1 making the evening promenade after the wedding3 from which it would seem that it is not the etiquette for people to dance under such circumstances1 except in the home village4 ,they sat round a table1 men and women alternately1 with their hats on1 and with glasses before them4 ,the bride and bridegroom were accommodated with a bench to themselves at the head of the table1 he likewise with his hat on1 and with a pipe in his mouth1 which1 seeing that he was a demonstrative bridegroom1 one might have supposed to be an inconvenience4 ,he managed very well1 however1 and every one seemed contented3 indeed1 the pipe must1 ,i think1 be held to be no difficulty2 for the men all smoked1 and yet1 to judge from appearances1 there was a prospect of as many marriages as there were couples in the room4 ,the unruffled gravity1 however1 and the apparent want of zest1 both in giving and receiving1 which characterised the proceedings specially referred to1 led me to suppose that it might be only a part of the etiquette1 and so meant nothing serious4 ,between ten and eleven the fiddles and the party vanished1 and ,i went up-stairs more determined than ever not to touch a bed1 after my experience of the room below4 ,three chairs were speedily arranged between the table and wall1 and on these ,i lay and tried to sleep4 ,but the very chairs were populous1 as ,i had found below1 and sleep was impossible4 ,moreover1 soon after eleven1 a soldier came into the room1 to arrange about his breakfast with one of the maidens in the house4 ,he had heard me order fresh butter for six o'clock1 and he was anxious to know1 whether1 by breakfasting at five o'clock1 he could get my butter4 ,the chairs which formed my bed were under the lee of the table1 so that the figure recumbent on them was invisible1 and the gallant soldier1 under the impression that there was no one in the room1 enforced his arguments by other than conventional means4 ,but military lips1 when applied personally1 proved to be a rhetoric as unsuccessful as military words4 ,the maid was platonic1 and something more than platonic2 and the hero got so much the worst of it1 that he gave up the battle1 and changed the subject to a conscript in his charge1 who had locked himself in his bed-room and would not answer4 ,how was he to know whether he had the conscript safe8 ,all this lasted some time2 and when they were gone1 one of the pensionnaires came in4 ,with him ,i had to fight the battle of the window1 which ,i had opened to its farthest extent4 ,after he had got over the first surprise and shock of finding me on the chairs instead of in the bed1 for whose comfort he vouched enthusiastically1 he became confident that it was merely out of complaisance to him and his comrade that ,i had opened the window1 and assured me that they really did not care for fresh air1 even if they could feel the difference in the alcove1 which he declared they could not4 ,as soon as that was arranged to my satisfaction1 the other pensionnaire came in1 and with him the battle was fought with only half success1 for he peremptorily closed one side of the window4 ,he was a particularly noisy pensionnaire1 and shied his boots into every corner of the room before they were posed to his satisfaction4 ,as far as ,i could tell1 the removal of the boots was the only washing and undressing either of them did2 and then they arranged their candles in the alcove1 lighted cigars1 and got into bed4 ,there the wretches sat up on end1 smoking and talking vehemently1 till sheer exhaustion came to my aid1 and ,i fell asleep2 but the edges of the rush-bottomed chairs speedily became so sharp that a recumbent posture ceased to be possible1 and ,i sat dozing on one chair4 ,a little before four o'clock1 the noisier man got up to look for his boots2 and as the friends continued their discussion1 ,i also turned out and made for the nearest stream1 where ,i bathed in a rapid at half-past four1 to wash away1 if possible1 the horrors of the night4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #gc3 ,the true ,cimetire des ,bourguignons is the enclosure where ,ren1 the victor of ,nancy1 buried the ,burgundians who fell on the sad ,sunday when ,charles the ,bold went down before the deaf chtelain ,claude de ,bagemont4 ,footnote #gd3 ,neither of my companions1 ,i fear1 would have acted as ,sejanus did1 when another emperor was in danger of his life in the cave on the ,gulf of ,amycl4 7,tacit4 ,ann4 iv4 #ei47 ,footnote #ge3 ,water reduced to a temperature below #cb without freezing1 begins to freeze as soon as a crystal is dropped into it1 the ice forming first on the faces of the crystal4 ,footnote #gf3 ,water attains its maximum of specific gravity at #dj4 ,below #dj it becomes lighter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,the ,,glaci,,res ,,of ,,the ,,brezon1 ,,and ,,the ,,valley ,,of ,,reposoir4 ,the bill la ,parfaite ,union was as small as the accommodation at that auberge1 and it was an immense relief to get away from the scene of my sufferings4 ,the path to ,bonneville lies for the earlier part of the way through pleasant scenery2 and when the highest ground is reached1 there is a lovely view of the ,lake of ,geneva1 which may be enjoyed under the cool shade of a high hedge of trees1 in the intervals of browsing upon wild strawberries4 ,but after passing the curious old town of ,la ,roche1 two hours' walk from ,thorens1 the heat and dust of the dreary high road became insupportable2 and no pedestrian who undertakes that march with a heavy knapsack1 under a blazing noonday sun1 will arrive at ,bonneville without infinite thankfulness that he has got through it4 ,the road is of the same character as that between ,bonneville and ,geneva1 and that will sufficiently express its unpleasantness in baking times of drought4 ,the ,glacire of the ,brezon lies at no great distance from ,bonneville--perhaps not more than four or five miles to the ,,se4--but its elevation is more than #d1jjj feet1 and the approach is steep4 ,the ,glacire of the ,valley of ,reposoir1 a valley which falls into the main road between ,bonneville and ,chamouni at the village of ,scionzier1 is considerably higher1 and a good deal of climbing is necessary in visiting it4 ,when ,i arrived at ,bonneville1 the whole mass of mountains in which these caves lie was enveloped in thick dark clouds1 and the faint roar of thunder reached our ears now and then1 so that it seemed useless to attempt to penetrate into the high valleys4 ,moreover1 ,i was due for an attempt upon ,mont ,blanc in the beginning of the next week1 and an incipient bilious fever1 with a painful lameness of one leg1 warned me that my powers were coming to an end1 and that another day such as the last had been would put a total stop upon the proposed ascent2 and so ,i determined to take the fever and the leg to ,geneva1 and submit them to medical skill4 ,this determination was strengthened by the exhortations of a ,belgian1 who called himself a grand amateurdes montagnes1 on the strength of an ascent of the ,mle and the ,voiron1 and in this character administered ,alpine advice of that delightful description which one meets with in the coffee-rooms at ,chamouni4 ,this ,belgian was the only other guest of the ,htel des ,balances2 and his amiability was proof even against the inroads of some nameless species of vin mousseux1 recommended to me by the waiter1 which supplied mal--propos wine-sauce to the various dishes from which the ,belgian was making his dinner1 and did not leave his face and waistcoat free from stain4 ,he had but one remark to make1 however wild might be the assertions advanced from the ,english side of the table1 ',vous avez raison1 monsieur1 vous avez parfait-e-ment raison6' ,it is not quite satisfactory to hold the same sentiments1 in every small particular1 with a man who clips his hair down to a quarter of an inch1 and eats haricots with his fingers2 but it was impossible to find any subject on which he could be roused to dissentience4 ,this phenomenon was explained afterwards1 when he informed me that he was a flannel-merchant travelling with samples1 and pointed out what was only too true1 namely1 that the ,english monsieur's coat was no longer fit to be called a coat4 ,professor ,pictet read a paper on these glacires before the ,socit ,helvtique des ,sciences ,naturelles at ,berne1 in #ahbb1 which is to be found in the ,bibl4 ,universelle de ,genve4#gg ,m4 ,pictet left ,geneva in the middle of ,july to visit the caves1 but found himself so much knocked up by the first day's work1 that he sent on his grandson to the ,glacire of the ,brezon1 and gave up the attempt himself4 ,the young man found it to be of small dimensions1 #cj feet by #be1 with a height of #aj or #ab feet4 ,the ice on the floor was believed by the guide to be formed in summer only1 and was placed too irregularly to admit of measurement4 ,calcareous blocks almost choked the entrance1 and an orifice in the shape of a funnel admitted the snow freely from above1 and was partly filled with snow in ,july4 ,cold currents of air proceeded from the rocks in the neighbourhood of the glacire1 giving in one instance a temperature of #chge1 the temperature in the shade being #ea4 ,within the cave1 the temperature was #da4 ,m4 ,morin visited this glacire in ,august #ahbh4 ,he describes it as a sheltered hole1 in which the snow collects and is preserved4 ,m4 ,thury examined it in ,august #ahei1 and gives the same account4 ,he1 too1 found the current of air which the younger ,pictet discovered1 but in the cave itself the air was perfectly still4 ,it was clearly1 then1 no great loss to miss the ,glacire of the ,brezon2 but that on the ,mont ,vergy1 in the ,valley of ,reposoir1 appears to be much more interesting4 ,professor ,pictet found himself sufficiently strong after a day's rest to pass on to ,scionzier1 and up the ,valley of ,reposoir1 accompanied by the well-known guide ,timothe1 whose botanical knowledge of the district is said to be perfect4 ,he had conducted ,,mm4 ,necker and ,colladon to the glacire in #ahjg1 and believed that no savant had since seen it4 ,the rocks are all calcareous1 with large blocks of erratic granite4 ,the glacire lies about #dj minutes from the ,chlet of ,montarquis1 whence its local name of ,la grand' ,cave de ,montarquis4 ,before reaching it1 a spacious grotto presents itself1 once the abode of coiners3 this grotto is cold1 but affords no ice1 and near it ,m4 ,morin found a narrow fissure1 leading into a circular vaulted chamber #ae feet in diameter1 in which stood a solitary stalagmite of ice #ae feet high4 ,the entrance to the glacire itself is elliptical in shape1 #dc feet broad at the base1 and the cave increases in size as it extends farther into the rock1 the floor descending gently till a horizontal esplanade of ice is reached4 ,this esplanade was #ff feet by #cj at the time of ,pictet's visit1 deeper in the middle than at the sides1 and mounting the rock at the farther side of the cave2 there was a small stalagmite at one side1 but that would seem to have been the only ornamentation displayed4 ,the temperature was #cdg1 a foot above the ice1 and #eh in the external air4 ,timothe had been in the glacire in the previous ,april1 and had found no ice1--nothing but a pool of water of considerable depth4 ,m4 ,thury1 in ,august #ahei1 found two sheets of ice in the lowest part of the cave3 one1 nearly #ej feet long1 was partially covered with water2 the other1 presenting an area of about #ad square yards1 showed more water still4 ,there were no stalactites and columns such as ,m4 ,morin had found in ,august #ahbh1 nor even the low stalagmite which ,pictet saw in #ahbb4 ,the summers of #ahbh and #ahei were exceptionally hot1 and this fact has been held to account for the smaller quantity of ice seen in those years4 ,m4 ,thury found the cold due to evaporation to be considerably less than #a ,f41#gh and he and ,m4 ,morin both fixed the general temperature of the cave at #cf4e2 they also found a current of air entering by a fissure in the lowest part of the cave1 but it did not disturb the whole of the interior1 for in one part the air was in perfect equilibrium4 ,m4 ,gampert1#gi in the summer of #ahbc1 found a strong and very cold current of air descending by this fissure1 along with water which ran from it over the ice2 he believed that this was refrigerated by evaporation1 in passing through the thickness of the moist rock4 ,two peasants visited this cave three times in the winter season1 viz4 on ,october #bb1 ,november #bf1 and on ,christmas ,day2 and one of them1 by name ,chavan1 drew up an account of their experiences1 which was read by ,m4 ,colladon before the ,socit de ,physique et d',histoire ,nat4 de ,genve in #ahbd4hj ,the peasants found very little ice in columns at the time of the ,october visit1 and there were signs of commencing thaw4 ,the thaw was much more pronounced in ,november1 when the ice had nearly disappeared even from the lowest parts of the cave1 and they found the air within quite warm4 ,on ,christmas ,day they had great difficulty in reaching the glacire1 and narrowly escaped destruction by an avalanche1 which for a time deterred them from prosecuting the adventure3 they persisted1 however1 and were rewarded by finding only water where in summer all was ice1 and a temperate warmth in the cave4 ,they observed that the roof had fissures like chimneys4 ,this account was so circumstantial1 that the only thing left was to attempt an explanation of the phenomena reported1 and such explanations have not been wanting4 ,but ,m4 ,thury was not quite satisfied1 and he determined to visit the cave in the winter of #ahfj-a4 ,accordingly1 accompanied by ,m4 ,andr ,gindroz1 who had already joined him in his unsuccessful attempt to reach the ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres1 he left ,geneva on the #ajth of ,january1 and slept at the ,chartreuse in the ,valley of ,reposoir4 ,as the party passed through the village of ,pralong du ,reposoir1 the peasants told them with one accord that they would find nothing but warmth and water in the cave2 but when ,m4 ,thury asked had any of them seen it themselves1 they were equally unanimous in saying no1 explaining that it was not worth anyone's while to go in the winter1 as there was no ice to be seen then1--a circular line of argument which did not commend itself to the strangers4 ,at the very entrance of the grotto1 they found beautiful stalactites of clear ice2 and here they paused1 till such time as they should be cool enough to enter1 for the thermometer stood at #gj in the sun1 and their climb had made them hot4 ,on penetrating to the farther recesses of the cave1 where the true glacire lies1 they found an abundance of stalactites1 stalagmites1 and columns of ice1 with flooring and slopes of the same material3 not a drop of water anywhere4 ,the stalagmites were very numerous1 but none of them more than three feet high2 some of the stalactites1 fifteen or so in number1 were six or seven feet long1 and there were many others of a smaller size4 ,m4 ,thury was particularly struck by the milky appearance of much of the ice1 one column in particular resembling porcelain more than any other substance4 ,this is a not unusual character of the most beautiful part of the decorations of the more sheltered ice-caves1 as for instance the lowest cave in the ,upper ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres2 the white appearance is not due to the presence of air1 for the ice is transparent and homogeneous1 and the naked eye is unable to detect bubbles or internal fissures4 ,the temperatures at #a4be ,p4,m4 and #b4ab ,p4,m4 respectively were as follows3--,in the sun1 between #c and #d feet above the snow1 #gb4a and #gje2 in the shade1 outside the cave1 #cfg and #ceh2 at the ,observatory of ,geneva1 in the shade1 #bgc and #bhb1 having risen from #bde since noon4 ,in the cave1 #a foot above the surface of the ice-floor1 the thermometer stood at #bd4h2 and in a hole in the ice1 some few inches below the surface1 #bda4 ,in the large fissure1 which has been already mentioned as the source of the summer currents of air1 the temperature at various points was from #bic to #bge4 ,the circumstances of these currents of air were now of course changed4 ,instead of a steady current passing from the fissure into the cave1 and so out by the main entrance into the open air1 strong enough to incline the flame of a candle #de1 ,m4 ,thury found a gentle current passing from the cave into the fissure1 sufficient only to incline the flame #aj1 and near the entrance #h1 while in the entrance itself no current was perceptible at #d ,p4,m4 ,m4 ,thury remarks that less current was to be expected in winter than in summer1 because the upper ends of the fissures would be probably choked with snow1 and their lower ends with ice4 ,it is evident that the current which passes up into the fissure in winter1 is favourable to the introduction of the colder air from without2 while the opposite current in summer keeps up a supply of cold air in the cave1 and so increases its powers of resisting the attempts of the heated external air to make a partial entrance4 ,both these currents1 then1 favour the glacial conditions of the cave1 and to some extent counterbalance the disadvantages of its situation3 viz41 its aspect1 towards the south-east2 the large size of its opening to the air1 and the absence of all shelter near the mouth1 such as is so often provided by trees or rocks4 ,the small depth of the cave1 scarcely amounting to #ah feet below the level of the entrance1 is also a great disadvantage4 ,the people of ,pralong asked1 on the return of the party1 what had been found in the grand' cave1 and the answer reduced them to silence for a few moments4 ,their prejudices1 however1 were invincible1 and they persisted in their belief that a true glacire ought to have no ice in it in the winter4 ,m4 ,thury did not enquire from what source they drew their ideas of a true glacire4 ,there is a book1 in three volumes1 on the ',glacires of the ,alps1' by ,m4 ,bourrit1 dedicated to ,buffon1 in which is a description of the ,valley of ,reposoir2 but no mention whatever is made of the grand' cave4 ,indeed1 ,m4 ,bourrit merely meant by glacire1 a glacial district1 something more extensive than a glacier1 and he had evidently no knowledge of the existence of caves containing ice4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #gg3 ,premire ,srie1 t4 xx4 pp4 #bfa1 c4 ,footnote #gh3 ,less than #a_/b ,c41 he says4 ,footnote #gi3 ,bibl4 ,univ4 de ,genve1 ,premire ,srie1 t4 xxv4 pp4 #bbd1 c4 ,footnote3 #hj3 ,bibl4 ,univ4 l4c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,la ,,borna ,,de ,,la ,,glace1 ,,in ,,the ,,duchy ,,of ,,aosta4 ,the ,chanoine ,carrel1 of ,aosta1 whose name is so well and so favourably known to ,alpine men1 sent a brief account of an ice-cave in his neighbourhood to the ,bibliothque ,universelle of ,geneva#ha in the year #ahda1 and1 as far as ,i know1 there is no other account of it4 ,my plan had been to pass from ,chamouni by the ,col du ,gant to ,courmayeur1 and thence to ,aosta for a visit to the canon and his glacire2 but1 unfortunately1 the symptoms which had put an end to the expedition to the ,brezon and the ,valley of ,reposoir came on with renewed vigour1 as a consequence of ,mont ,blanc1 and the projected fortnight with ,peter ,pernn collapsed into a hasty flight to ,geneva4 ,it was fortunate that medical assistance was not necessary in ,chamouni itself2 for one of the members of our large party there was mulcted in the sum of #af1 with a hint that something beyond that would be acceptable1 for an extremely moderate amount of attendance by the local ,french doctor4 ,the glacire was thus of necessity given up4 ,it is known among the people as ,la ,borna de la ,glace1 and lies about #e1cjj feet above the sea1 on the northern slope of the hills which command the hamlet of ,chabaudey1 commune of ,la ,salle1 in the duchy of ,aosta1 to the north-east of ,larsey-de-l1 in a place covered with firs and larches1 and called ,plan-agex4 ,the entrance has an east exposure1 and is very small1 being a triangle with a base of #b feet and an altitude of #b-a_/b feet4 ,after descending a yard or two1 this becomes larger1 and divides into two main branches1 with three other fissures penetrating into the heart of the mountain1 too narrow to admit of a passage4 ,the roof is very irregular1 and the stones on the floor are interspersed with ice1 which appears also in the form of icicles upon the walls2 and1 in the eastern branch of the cave1 there is a cylindrical pillar more than #c feet long1 with a diameter of rather more than a foot4 ,the temperature at #d ,p4,m4 on ,july #ae1 #ahda1 was as follows3--,the external air1 #ei2 the cave1 at the entrance1 #cgb2 near the large cylinder1 #ceg2 and in different parts of the western branch1 from #ccf to #cbi4 ,m4 ,carrel was evidently not aware of the existence of similar caves elsewhere4 ,he recommends1 in his communication to the ,bibliothque ,universelle1 that some scientific man should investigate the phenomena1 and explain the great cold1 and the fact of the formation of ice1 which common report ascribed to the time of the ,dog-days4 ,he doubts whether rapid evaporation can be the only cause1 and suggests that possibly there may be something in the interior of the mountain to account for this departure from the laws generally recognised in geology4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ha3 ,nouvelle ,srie1 t4 xxxiv4 p4 #aif4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,glaci,,re ,,of ,,fondeurle1 ,,in ,,dauphin4 ,there cannot be any better place for recruiting strength than the lovely primitive valley of ,les ,plans1 two hours up the course of the ,avenon from hot and dusty ,bex4 ,here ,i rejoined my sisters1 intending to spend a month with them before returning to ,england2 and the neighbouring glaciers afforded good opportunities for quietly investigating the structure of the ice which composes them1 with a view to discovering1 if possible1 some trace of the prismatic formation so universal in the glacires4 ,on one occasion1 after carefully cutting steps and examining the faces of cleavage for an hour and a half1 ,i detected a small patch of ice1 under the overhanging rim of a crevasse1 marked distinctly with the familiar network of lines on the surface2 but ,i was unable to discover anything betokening a prismatic condition of the interior4 ,this was the only case in which ,i saw the slightest approach to the phenomena presented in ice-caves4 ,there remained one glacire on ,m4 ,thury's list1 which ,i had so far not thought of visiting4 ,it was described as lying three leagues to the north of ,die in ,dauphin1 department of the ,drme1 at an altitude of more than #e1jjj feet above the sea4 ,m4 ,hricart de ,thury discovered this cavern in #ahje1 and published an account of it in the ,annales des ,mines#hb to which ,m4 ,thury's list gave a reference4 ,i have since found that this account has been translated into various scientific periodicals1 among others the ,philosophical ,journal of ,edinburgh4#hc ,it occurred to me that1 by leaving ,les ,plans a few days earlier than ,i had intended1 ,i could take advantage of the new line connecting ,chambry and ,grenoble and ,valence1 and so visit this glacire without making the journey too long2 and accordingly ,i bade farewell to ,madame ,chrix's comfortable room1 leaving my sisters in their quarters in a neighbouring chlet1 and started for ,geneva4 ,the line was advertised to open on the #aeth of ,august2 but on the #afth the officials declared that it was not within a month and a half of completion1 so that ,i was compelled to go round by ,lyons4 ,i was easily reconciled to this by the opportunity thus afforded of a visit to the ancient city of ,vienne1 which well repays inspection4 ,its history is a perfect quarry of renowned names1 ,roman1 ,burgundian1 and ecclesiastical4 ,tiberius ,gracchus left his mark upon the city1 by bridling the ,rhne--impatiens pontis--with the earliest bridge in ,gaul3 and here tradition has it that the great ,pompey loved magnificently one of his many loves2 while the site of the ,prtorium in which ,pontius ,pilate is said to have given judgment can still be pointed out4 ,the true ,mount ,pilate lies between ,vienne and ,lyons1 being one of the loftiest northern summits of the ,cevennes1 on the borders of the ,lyonnaise4#hd ,the ,romans recognised the fitness of the neighbourhood of ,vienne for the cultivation of the grape1 and the first vine in ,gaul was planted on the ,mont d',or in the second century of the ,christian era4 ,in ,burgundian times the city held a very prominent place1 and became infamous from the frequent shedding of royal blood2 so that early historians describe it as 'tousiours fatale ceux qui vueillent la corone des ,bourgougnons1'#he and as 'fatale et de malenctre aux tyrs et mauvais princes4'#hf ,ecclesiastically1 its interest dates of course from a very early period1 from the times of the martyrs of ,gaul and the first ,rogations4 ,the ,festival of ,les ,merveilles long commemorated the restoration of the bodily forms of the ,lyonnese martyrs1 as their scattered dust floated past the home of ,blandina and ,ponticus2 and the dedication of the cathedral to ,s4 ,maurice keeps alive the tradition that ,paschasius1 bishop of ,vienne1 was warned by an angel to watch on the banks of the ,rhne1 and so rescued the head and trunk of the soldier-martyr1 which had been cast into the river at ,agaunum 7,s4 ,maurice in ,valais71 and had floated down--probably on sounder hydrostatical principles than the ',floating ,martyr'--through the ,lake of ,geneva1 and so to ,vienne4 ,there are still many very interesting ,roman remains in the city1 as the ,temple of ,augusta and ,livia1 the ,arcade of the ,forum1 and the monument seen from the railway to the south of the town4 ,the temple is being carefully restored1 and the large collection of ,roman curiosities which it contained is to be removed to the church of ,s4 ,peter1 now in course of restoration1 which will in itself be worth a visit to ,vienne when the restoration is completed4#hg ,all the buildings connected with the ,great ,council in #acaa have disappeared2 and the only relic of the council seems to be the ,chalice1 or1 surmounted by the ,sacred ,host1 argent1 in the city arms1 in remembrance of the institution of the ,fte of the ,s4 ,corps4 ,if the ,emperor would but have the town and its inhabitants deodorised1 few places would be better worth visiting than ,vienne4 ,the poste leaves ,valence--the home of the ,white ,hermitage--for ,die at #b4cj ,p4,m41 and professes to reach its destination in six hours2 but sad experience showed that it could be unfaithful to the extent of an hour and a half4 ,so long as the daylight lasted1 there was no dearth of objects of interest2 but when darkness came on1 the monotonous roll of the heavy diligence became aggravating in the extreme4 ,the village of ,beaumont1 once the residence of an important branch of the great ,beaumont family1#hh retains still its square tower and old gateway2 and the remains of a chteau near ,montmeyran1 the end of the first stage1 mark the scene of the victory of ,marius over the ,ambrons and ,teutons1 local antiquaries believing that the name of ,montmeyran is from ,mons ,jovis ,mariani4#hi ,the road lies through the bright cool green of wide plantations of the silkworm mulberry1#ij with its trim stem and rounded head2 and1 in the more open parts of the valley1 walnut trees of size and shape fit for an ornamental park in ,england relieve the monotony4 ,the nearer hills are covered to the top with vines1 and the higher and more distant ranges have a naked and thoroughly burned appearance1 which suggests the idea of volcanoes to a traveller ignorant of volcanic facts4 ,the villages which lie at the foot of these rocky hills are built of stones taken from the beds of the streams1 and are so completely of one colour with the background of rock1 that in many instances it is difficult to determine whether a distant mass of grey is a village or not4 ,ruined castles and towers abound2 and these1 and still more the walls which surround many of the villages1 point unmistakeably to times of great disturbance4 ,the valley of the ,drme1 up which the road after a time turns1 was an important locality in the religious wars2 and the town and fort of ,crest especially1 as its name might suggest1 was a famous stronghold1 and resisted all the efforts of the ,reformed party4 ,in yet earlier times1 ,simon de ,montfort had frequently tried to take it1 without success2 and four years after ,s4 ,bartholomew1 ,lesdiguires met with a like repulse4#ia ,the same story of sieges and battles might be told of almost every village and defile of the valley4 ,thus1 ,saillans1 the third stage1 was taken by the ,protestant leader ,mirabel1 and the ,catholic ,gordes1 in #aegd1 and its fortifications were razed by the ,duc de ,mayenne in #aeha4 ,pontaix1 again1 a remarkable place1 with a vaulted street and fortified houses overhanging the river1 which here fills up the whole valley and leaves room only for the road and the narrow village-town1 was the scene of an obstinate and murderous fight between the ,marquis de ,gordes on one side1 and ,lesdiguires and ,dupuy-,montbrun on the other1 when the latter was captured1 and shortly after beheaded at ,grenoble4 ,the town of ,die1 ,dea ,vocontiorum1 lies in a broad part of the valley4 ,it claims to be not ,dea ,vocontiorum only1 but also ,augusta ,vocontiorum1 thereby apparently defrauding the village of ,aouste1 near ,crest1 of the earliest form of its name4 ,die is possessed of old walls1 and has four gates with towers4 ,the great goddess from whose worship it derives its name was ,cybele1 notwithstanding the vehement assertions of the official in the ,poste-bureau in favour of ,ceres2 and three different ,tauroboles have been discovered here1 one of which is in excellent repair1 and shows a ,roman inscription surmounted by three bulls' heads4 ,the ceremony of the ,taurobolium was new to me1 and appears to have been conducted as follows3--,a small cave was hollowed out1 with a thin roof formed by the outer surface of the earth2 and immediately above this a bull was sacrificed1 so that the blood ran through the earth and dropped on to a priest who was placed in full robes in the cave4 ,the priest and the blood-stained garments were thenceforth specially sacred1 the garments retaining their sanctity for twenty years4 ,the inscription on the ,tauroboles which have been found in and near ,die record the names of the priest1 the dendrophore1 the person who provided the victim1 and the emperor for whose safety the sacrifice was offered4 ,the people of ,die have been quarrelsome from the earliest times4 ,a century before the estates of the ,dauphins of the ,viennois were known as ,dauphin1#ib the chronic contests between the ,bishops and the ,counts of ,die had come to such a crisis1 that the ,dauphin ,guiges ,andr intervened1 and produced a certain amount of peace2 but1 twenty years after1 the people killed ,bishop ,humbert before the gate which thence received its name of ,porte ,rouge4 ,when the ,counts of ,valentinois had succeeded to the fiefs of the ,counts of ,die1 ,gregory ,x4 became so weary of the constant wars1 that he suppressed the bishopric1 and united it to ,valence in #abge2 but the canons1 who were not suppressed1 raised a mercenary army and carried on the struggle4 ,eventually1 the canons and the people made common cause1 and joined the ,pope during the ,seventy ,years2 but when he left ,avignon they came to terms with ,charles ,,vi4 of ,france1 and so the ,diois was united to ,dauphin in #adjd4 ,louis ,,xiv4 restored the separate bishopric1 but ruined the town by the revocation of the ,edict of ,nantes4 ,the large number of mosaics and inscriptions found in ,die prove conclusively that in ,roman times it was a favourite place of residence2 and1 so far as situation goes1 it is not difficult to understand how this should have been the case4 ,but in the condition in which the town found itself in the pitiless heat of ,august #ahfd1 the only question for an ,english visitor was whether he could live through the time it was absolutely necessary to spend there4 ,the poste arrived1 as has been said1 an hour and a half after its time2 and the sole occupant of the coup1 who had lived on fruit and gooseberry syrup1 and three penny worth of sweet cake at ,crest1 since a seven-o'clock breakfast1 had wiled away the last hour by inventing choice bills of fare for the meditated supper4 ,when the lumbering vehicle stopped in the main street of ,die1 which is here something under seven yards wide1 an elderly woman stepped out from the dim crowd1 with an uncovered tallow candle in her hand1 and asked if there was anyone for the hotel4 ,the unwonted 'yes' seemed to create some surprise2 but she led the way promptly to her hotel1 diplomatically meeting the rapid volley of questions respecting supper with an unpromising silence1 and the first sight of the house itself dispelled for ever all hope4 ,an entrance was effected by the kitchen2 and not only was there no fire1 but there was no light of any description2 and the one dip we brought on to the scene betrayed such squalor on all sides1 that the suggestion of a salle--manger in connection with such a kitchen became at once an impudent mockery4 ,when this farther room was reached1 it proved to be even worse than the kitchen4 ,it was shut up for the night--had been shut up apparently for a week--and was in the possession of the cats of the town1 and the flies of ,egypt4 ,two monstrous hounds entered with us2 and the cats fled hastily by a window which was slightly open at the top1 spitting and howling with fear when they missed the first spring1 and came within the cognisance of their mortal foes4 ,the first thing to be done was to wash off some of the accumulated dust2 but when ,i asked for a bedroom for that purpose1 ,i was conducted to a copper in the kitchen1 the water in which had been a permanency for some time past1 and was told to wash there4 ,as for supper1 there was some cold mutton2 but the landlady unfortunately opened the door of the cupboard as she said so1 and displayed a state of things which decided the point against the mutton4 ,there was nothing else in the house1 and there was no fire for cooking anything2 but when they discovered that ,i really would not wait till the next morning1 they proposed to light a fire and warm some soup1 which ,i declined to see in its present state4 ,in the way of wine1 ,i had been recommended to make a great point of the clairette de ,die1 an excellent species of vin mousseux2 but the chief of the women rather recommended the ordinary wine of the country1 as the monsieur might not like to give a strong price4 ',was it1 then1 so strong8' ',yes1 the price was undoubtedly strong4' ',how much1 then8' ',a franc a bottle4' ,with an eye to the future bill1 the monsieur pretended to ponder awhile1 as if in doubt whether his resources could stand such a strain1 and then1 with a reckless air1 decided upon the extravagance4 ,the clairette proved to be quite worthy of the praise which had been bestowed upon it1 being a very pleasant and harmless sparkling white wine4#ic ,the neighbours kept dropping into the kitchen1 to see how the landlady got on with the stranger of uncouth speech2 and four of the female part of her company brought in at various times to the salle--manger some piece of table-furniture1 in order to indulge in a closer view than the open door of the room afforded4 ,one of them told me she had seen an ,englishman once before1 a few months back2 but he only had one eye1 and she seemed to think ,i was out of order in possessing two4 ,at length the soup came1 and the first attempt upon it proved it to be utterly impossible4 ,the landlady was called in1 and this fact was announced to her4 ',what to do1 then8--it was a good soup1 a soup which the people of ,die loved1--it was a soup the household eat morning and night4' ,all the same1 it was not a soup the present ,englishman could eat1 and some other sort of food must be provided1 for she declined to furnish soup without garlic and fat4 ,she suggested an omelette2 but a natural generalisation from all ,i had so far seen drew an untempting picture of the probable state of the frying-pan1 and ,i declined to face the idea until ,i was convinced there was nothing else to be had4 ,but1 alas6 notwithstanding the righteous indignation with which the landlady met my request that the omelette might not be all fat1 the manipulation of the eggs eventuated in a dish even more impracticable than the soup1 flooded with unmentionable grease1 and so at last the cold mutton became a necessity4 ,to show how hunger may work upon the feelings1 ,i may say that1 in spite of the marks of the feet of mice in the cold gravy which remained on the dish1 ,i forced myself to cut off a wedge1 and1 after removing a thick layer of meat on the exposed sides1 essayed to eat the heart of the wedge4 ,the sheep and its progenitors had been fed on garlic from all time1 and the mutton had been boiled in a decoction of that noxious herb2 and this dish was in its turn rejected like the others4 ,there was nothing for it but salad1 and bread1 and wine2 but when the salad appeared1 after a long time had been spent in the kitchen in saturating the withered greens with oil and vitriolic vinegar1 there1 perched on the top like one of those animals which sometimes spoil one's enjoyment of a strawberry-bed1 was a huge onion1 with numerous satellites peeping out from under the leaves4 ,about this time1 a short diversion was caused by the reappearance of one of the large hounds1 whose mind was not at ease as to the completeness of the previous elimination of the cats from the salle--manger2 and the diabolical noise and scuffle which ensued upon his investigation of a dark corner1 showed that his doubts had been well grounded4 ,then ,i discovered that there was no butter to be had1 and no milk2 and when coffee was mentioned1 a pan was brought out for making that beverage1 which a bullet-maker with any regard for appearances would have declined to use for melting his lead in4 ,finally1 under the pressure of dire hunger1 ,i returned to the mutton1 and contrived to swallow a small piece1 the taste of which did not leave me for four or five days4 ,the interior of the house1 where the bedrooms were1 gave forth an odour which must be familiar to all who have burrowed in out-of-the-way places in ,france1 approaching more nearly1 perhaps1 to the smell of damp cocks and hens than anything else2 and the bedroom door was guarded by a huge mis-shapen dog1 which evidently intended to pass the night there1 if it could not get into the room itself4 ,the street on to which the window looked was still populous with the inhabitants of ,die2 and a man with whom ,i had already had a conversation respecting the glacire1 who appeared to perform some of the functions of landlord of the hotel1 was audibly engaged in hiring a man to accompany me on the following day4 ,the man whom he was attempting to persuade was evidently of an independent turn of mind1 and said that as it would be an affair of fifteen or sixteen hours at least1 he would not go through so much unless his proposed comrade were a true bonhomme2 a difficulty which the landlord set at rest by asseverations so ready and so circumstantial1 that ,i determined to take everything he might tell me1 on any subject1 with many grains of allowance4 ,it was only natural to expect a night of horrors2 but in this ,i was most agreeably disappointed1 and the few hours passed quietly enough till it was time to get up4 ,by morning light1 the salle--manger did so bristle with squalor that the kitchen was made the breakfast-room2 though as that meal only lasted two minutes1 and meant nothing beyond an attempt to eat some of the bread ,i had been unable to eat the night before1 one place was much the same as another4 ,it is generally believed that coffee is to be obtained in perfection in ,france2 but that belief is not founded on experience of the provinces1 and had long ceased to be a part of my creed3 nevertheless1 with the idea that there is always some redeeming-point in the darkest situation1 ,i had hopes of the coffee of ,die1 in spite of the appearance of the pan2 and if these hopes had been realised1 the place might still have been tolerable4 ,but they were not realised4 ,when the landlady was asked for the promised coffee1 she brought out a small earthenware pitcher containing a black liquid1 and proceeded to bury its lower extremity in the hot embers of the wood fire1 by which means the liquid was speedily warmed up1 and also thickened with unnecessary ashes4 ,when served--in the same dusty pitcher--it had a green and mouldy taste1 combined with a sour bitterness which made it utterly impossible as an article of food1 and so the breakfast was confined to the rejected fragments of the loaf of the preceding night4 ,the guide1 or comrade as he preferred to call himself1 appeared in good time1 and we started about half-past six1 under a sun already oppressively hot1 and through heavy flaky dust1 which made us feel very thankful when our route branched off from the high road4 ,liotir was strong in mulberry trees and vines1 for he was a keeper of silkworms1 and a wine-merchant4 ,silkworms had not been profitable for a year or two1 and he was almost in low spirits when he talked of them4#id ,an epidemic had visited the district1 and the worms ate voraciously and refused to spin--a disease which he believed to be beyond the power of medicine4#ie ,as is so often the case with the ,frenchman1 as compared with the ,englishman of corresponding social status1 he had his information cut and dried1 and poured it out without hesitation4 ,silkworms' eggs cost #ae1 #bj1 or #be francs an ounce1 according to quality2 and an ounce of good seed should produce from two to three hundred francs' worth of cocoons4 ,a man who 'makes' an ounce of seed requires six tables1 #h feet by #d1 for his cages2 and as some men make thirty-five ounces1 chambers of great size are necessary for the accommodation of their worms2 but breeders to so large an extent as this are the princes of the trade4 ,as we passed a farmhouse surrounded by mulberry trees and vineyards1 my companion informed me that the farmer was his partner in worms and wine both1 and that the wine promised to be the better speculation this year1 for the fruit was in immense abundance4 ,i saw afterwards that1 at the time of vintage1 grapes sold for pressing at from #f to #aj francs the hundred kilos1 while #ab and #ac francs was the price in #ahfc1 and that in some districts of the ,drme the owners of the presses had not barrels enough for even the first pressing4 ,the great want of wood on the hills in whose neighbourhood we now found ourselves1 attracted attention in the time of ,louis ,,xiv41 and that sovereign passed severe laws for the protection of the forests that still remained4 ,as usual1 the mere severity of the laws made them fail of their object4 ,banishment and the galleys were the punishment for unauthorised cutting of forest trees1 and death if fire were used4 ,there is a paper in the ,journal de ,physique of #aghi1if on the disappearance of the forests of ,dauphin1 pointing out that when the woods are removed from the sides of mountains1 the soil soon follows1 and the district becomes utterly valueless4 ,the writer traced the mischief to the emancipation of serfs1 and the consequent formation of communes1 where each man could do that which was right in his own eyes4 ,at any rate1 whatever the reason1 nothing can be conceived more bare than the dun-coloured rounded hills between the town of ,die and the ,col de ,vassieux1 towards which we were making our way4 ,the whole face of the country had the same parched look1 and the soil seemed to be composed entirely of small stones1 without any signs of moisture even in the watercourses4 ,the ,col de ,vassieux is not much more than #d1jjj feet high1 and forms a saddle between the ,pic de ,s4 ,genix 7#e1dej feet7 and the ,but de l',aiglette 7#e1bjj feet74 ,a new foot-road has been made to the ,col1 with many windings2 and great care has been taken to plant the sides of the hill with oak and hazel2 so that already there is some appearance of coppice1 and in the course of time there will be shade by the way--a luxury for which we longed in vain4 ,the lower ground was covered with little scrubs of box1 and with lavender1 dwarfed and dry2 but near the summit of the ,col the lavender became vigorous and luxuriant1 and carpeted the hillside with a rich abundance of blue1 tempting us more than once to lie down and roll on the fragrant bed2 though some of the older roots were not sufficiently yielding to make that performance as satisfactory as it might have been4 ,this lavender is highly prized by the silkworm-keepers of ,die1 its bushy heads being almost exclusively used for the worms to spin their cocoons in4 ,when we reached the top of the ,col1 ,liotir confessed that he did not know which way to turn1 and we agreed to follow the path till we should find some one to direct us4 ,there was a farmhouse at no great distance1 and thither we bent our steps2 but the sole inhabitant could give no assistance1 and1 in default of information1 ,liotir generously proposed to treat me to a bottle of wine1 over which we might discuss our further proceedings4 ,the state of fever1 however1 to which the garlic and the dirt of ,die had brought me1 made it seem impossible to eat or drink anything2 so ,i suggested instead that ,i should treat him1 and that seemed to be rather what he had meant by his proposal4 ,nothing much came of our discussion1 and we marched on hot and faint for an hour more1 when a casual man told us that our straight line to the ,foire de ,fondeurle lay across the plain on our left hand1 and up a most objectionable-looking hill beyond1 thickly covered with brushwood and showing no signs of a path4 ,as we crossed the plain1 there was still the same total absence of water1 and we reached the bottom of the hill in a state of mind and body which rebelled against the exertion of struggling with the sand and shingle and brushwood4 ,liotir thought it was useless to attempt it with no hope of water1 and ,i held much the same view1 only it was impossible really to think of giving it up4 ,when at last we had surmounted all the difficulties which beset us1 and stood on the highest point which had so far been in sight1 we found ourselves on the edge of a vast plain of parched grass1 with nothing to guide us in one direction rather than another4 ,there was no human being in sight1 no sign of water1 nor any particle of shade2 nothing but grass1 brown and monotonous1 with white cliffs miles away at the extremity of the plain4 ,this was evidently the ,foire de ,fondeurle1 and in it somewhere lay the glacire1 if only we could make out in which direction to begin to traverse the plain4 ,in the earlier part of this century1 a very famous fair was held on this wild and out-of-the-way table-land1 to which many thousands of horses and mules and cattle of various kinds were brought from all quarters2 but the fair has fallen off so much1 that the man who had turned us up the last hill said there were only fourteen head of cattle in #ahfc1 and very few of those were sold4 ,m4 ,hricart de ,thury describes this plain as lying in the calcareous sub-,alpine range of the south-east of ,france4 ,the woods here terminate at a height of #e1adg feet above the sea1 and the ,foire de ,fondeurle lies immediately above this point4 ,at last we made a bold dash across the plain1 and after a time came upon some sheep1 standing in a thick row1 with their heads thrust under a low bank which afforded a little shade2 and at no great distance from them sat the shepherd4 ,he was a cripple1 and his clothes were something worse than rags4 ,he offered us a portion of the water he had in a detestable-looking skin2 but he assured us it was quite warm1 and had not been good to begin with1 so we did not try it1 though we were thirsty enough to have hailed a muddy pool with delight4 ,our new acquaintance knew nothing of the glacire1 but he belonged himself to the ,chalt of ,fondeurle1 and as that was the only house on the whole plain1 he told us to make for it4 ,the surface of the plain seemed to have fallen through in many places1 forming larger and smaller pits with steep sides of limestone4 ,these were often of the size of a large field1 and1 as the deeper of them required circumvention1 the shepherd told us that we must follow the line of little cairns which we should find here and there on our way1 the only guide across the plain4 ,he could not be sure himself in what direction the chlet lay2 but if we kept to a certain tortuous line1 we should come to it in time4 ,the way proved to be so very long1 that we doubted whether such a consummation of our wishes would ever arrive3 but at length1 in a small dip at the farthest extremity of the plain1 we saw the chlet1 and1 what was much more to us1 saw a little run of water1 carried from the rising ground by wooden pipes4 ,it will be well for any future visitor to the chlet to go very warily1 and to intrench himself in a strong position when he sees half-a-dozen huge dogs like black and white bears come out to attack him4 ,liotir had a stout stick1 and ,i had a formidable ice-axe2 and1 moreover1 we fortunately secured a wall in our rear3 but with all this the dogs were nearly too much for us1 and ,liotir was pressing me earnestly to chop at the ringleader's head1 when a man came and called off ',dragon1' and the others then dispersed4 ,the new-comer wished to know our business1 but1 without satisfying his curiosity1 we rushed to the water-trough1 and drank and used in washing an amount of water which he evidently grudged us4 ,then we were able to tell him that our business was something to eat for ,liotir1 and a guide to the glacire2 though ,i trembled when ,i suggested the latter1 for1 after all our labours1 ,i had a sort of fear that the cave would prove a myth4 ,on this point the man cleared away all doubts at once1--we could certainly have a guide1 as the patron would be sure to let one of them go with us4 ,as to food1 there was more doubt1 for the master was not yet at home1 and his wife would not be able to give us an answer without consulting him4 ,the wife confirmed this statement3 they saw very few strangers1 and did not profess to supply food to people crossing the plain4 ,i assured her that we intended to pay well for anything she could let us have1 but she merely rejoined that they did not keep an auberge2 however1 her husband would be home some time in the course of the afternoon--it was now about half-past twelve--and she could ask his opinion on the subject4 ,but ,liotir objected that he was meanwhile dying of hunger1 and the monsieur of thirst which only milk or cream could assuage2 he suggested that some one should be sent to look for the husband1 and obtain his permission for us to be fed4 ,to this she assented1 very dubiously1 and with a constrained air1 as if there were some mysterious reason why the presence of strangers was peculiarly unacceptable on that particular afternoon4 ,at any rate1 she said when pressed1 she thought there could be no harm in our entering the chlet and sitting down on a bench1 where we should be sheltered from the sun4 ,here accordingly we sat1 more or less patiently1 till the master himself appeared4 ,he had no welcome for us2 but he was willing that we should eat some of his black bread1 and try his wine4 ,liotir begged for cheese1 and the wife was told she might supply cheese of two kinds1 and also cream1 for the monsieur evidently was malade and could not swallow wine4 ,the cream and the black bread were delicious2 but still the horrors of ,die hung about me1 and ,i could only dispose of such a small amount1 that ,liotir waxed funny1 and told me it would never do for me to die there1 as there was not earth enough to scrape a grave in on the whole plain4 ,then1 being a practical man1 he declared he should like to contract for my keep1 and thought he could afford to do it at very small cost to me1 and still leave a fair margin for himself4 ,he thought it right to make up for my want of appetite2 and so1 in addition to his own share1 he took in an exemplary manner the share of wine which ,i should have taken1 had ,i been a man like himself4 ,the master of the chlet sat on the family bed1 smoking silently and sullenly2 and as soon as ,liotir had come to an end of his second bottle1 he proposed to accompany us himself to the cave1 as he doubted whether any of his men knew the way1 and he was sure they were all busy4 ,when ,i came to pay his wife for what we had consumed1 ,i administered thanks as well as money2 to which she sternly rejoined1 ',who pays need not give thanks2' and to that surly view she held1 in spite of my attempts to soften her down4 ,there was1 after all1 much force in what she said1 under the circumstances4 ,they had given us no welcome1 nothing but mere food1 and all they expected in return was a due amount of money2 thanks were a mockery in their eyes4 ,the cavern was reached in a few minutes1 when once we got away from the chlet4 ,two large pits1 formed apparently by the subsidence of the surface1 lay in a line about east and west1 and there proved to be an underground communication between them4 ,from this tunnel1 as it were1 a long low archway led to a broad slope of chaotic blocks of stone1 down which we scrambled by the aid of such light as our candles afforded4 ,the roof of this inner cave was horizontal for some distance1 and then suddenly descended in a grand wall2 and in consequence of a series of such inverted steps1 the cave never assumed any great height4 ,the whole length of the slope was #aij feet1 and its greatest breadth about #adj feet2 but the breadth varied very much4 ,half-way down the slope the ice commenced1 fitfully at first1 and afterwards in a tolerably continuous sheet4 ,the most careless explorer could not have failed to notice the polygonal figures stamped upon its surface4 ,they were larger and bolder than any ,i had seen before2 and the prismatic nuts into which the ice broke1 when cut with the axe1 were of course in proportion larger than in the previous caves4 ,the signs of thaw1 too1 were unmistakeable4 ,though the upper surface of the earth had seemed to be utterly devoid of moisture of any kind1 large drops fell freely from the roof of the cave1#ig and the ice itself was wet4 ,the patron said there was no ice whatever in the winter months1 and that from ,june to ,september was the time at which alone it could be found4 ,he declined to explain how it was that we found it so evidently in a state of general thaw in the very height of its season4 ,to give us some idea of the climate of the plain in winter1 he informed us that the snow lay for long up to the top of the door of his chlet4 ,there were in all four columns of ice in the cave1 only two of which were of any considerable size4 ,one of these was peculiarly striking from the very large grain which its structure displayed2 it measured #ai feet across the base1 being flat towards the extremity of the cave1 and round towards the entrance4 ,three thermometers in various parts of the glacire gave all the same temperature1 namely1 a fraction under #cc ,f43 a rough ,french thermometer gave #a_/b ,c4 ,the extreme wall of the cavern was completely covered by a layer of stalagmitic material1 and some of the forms the substance assumed were sufficiently striking4 ,in contact with the wall1 though standing clear of it in parts where the wall fell inwards1 stood a thick round column of the same material1 shaped like the ordinary ice-columns of the glacires1 with a cavity near the base1 and in all ways following the usual laws of such columns4 ,considering that ,i had observed a layer of limestone-paste collecting on one of the ice-columns of the ,glacire of ,la ,genollire1 ,i could not help imagining that this stalagmitic column had been originally moulded on a norm of that description4 ,it had a girth of #ab feet in the part where we were able to pass the tape round it4 ,its surface was smooth2 but when we drove a hole through this1 with much damage to the pic of my axe1 we found that the interior was in a crystalline form4 ,there was1 on the whole1 very little to be seen in the glacire4 ,had it been my first experience of an ice-cave1 it would doubtless have seemed very remarkable1 as it did to ,liotir1 who1 by the way1 had steadily disbelieved the possibility of natural ice in summer except in the glaciers2 but as ,i had now seen so many1 several of them much more wonderful than this1 ,i did not care to stay longer than was absolutely necessary for measurements and investigation4 ,besides1 the food of ,dauphin rather takes the energy and love of adventure out of an unaccustomed visitor4 ,without long delay1 then1 we bade farewell to the patron1 not returning to the inhospitable chlet1 and started on our way for ,die1 each carrying a large block of ice slung in a network of string4 ,liotir's purpose was to convince some mysterious female friend that he really had seen ice in summer1 within five or six hours of ,die2 and mine1 to apply the ice to the butter which ,i had specially ordered the landlady to have ready for me1 that so ,i might be able to get through the night1 and leave ,die by the diligence the first thing next morning4 ,it was remarkable how well the ice bore the great heat4 ,for long the bulk of the masses we carried seemed scarcely to diminish2 and if it had not been for a course of heavy falls as we descended through the brushwood1 we should have succeeded in getting a large proportion of it safely to ,die4 ,the precision of the prismatic structure also showed itself in a very marked manner2 and when we came to a crisis of thirst1 which happened at shorter and shorter intervals as the afternoon wore on1 we separated the prisms with our fingers from the edges of the ice without any difficulty1 and made ourselves more hot and thirsty by eating them4 ,when we arrived at the farmhouse at the ,col de ,vassieux1 we reaped full benefit from our ice4 ,the wine1 which had been hot and heavy and unpalatable in the morning1 when we had tried it unmixed1 became delightfully refreshing when disguised with an abundance of water and sugar and ice2 and ,liotir found that contracting for my keep at a low rate would not1 after all1 secure him the comfortable income he had before calculated4 ,after this refreshment1 he became communicative1 and told me he had served seven years in the ,french army1 three of which were spent in working on railways4 ,he had fought the ,italian campaign1 and was full of details of the battle of ,solferino1 on which occasion his bataillon was led on by the ,emperor in person4 ,according to his account1 four bataillons were drawn up for the assault of a tower1 and when the first advanced it was swept away to a man4 ,the second met with a like fate1 and ,liotir was in the third4 ,his officers had all been killed1 and a corporal was in command4 ,the ,emperor rode up and called to them to advance as far as he advanced4 ,this was about a hundred yards2 and then1 after halting them for a moment1 the ,emperor cried1 ',allez1 mes enfants6 nous ne sommes pas tous perdus6' sending the fourth bataillon close upon their heels4 ,in answer to my question1 ,liotir said1 slowly and solemnly1 that he did not think the ,emperor was under fire2 a few dropping shots reached them while he was yet addressing them1 but he believed the ,emperor ,napoleon was not in the fire at ,solferino4 ,i took the opportunity of asking whether he was green on that occasion1 as ,mr4 ,kinglake believes that he is in times of personal danger2 but my companion utterly scouted the idea1 and declared that he saw no man through all that day so cool and capable as the ,emperor4 ,pale he undoubtedly was1 but that was his habit4 ,like all other ,french soldiers with whom ,i have had much conversation1 ,liotir complained of the army arrangements in the matter of food2 on all other points he was most amiable1 but when he spoke of the extortions of the cantinire he completely lost his temper4 ,at a caf1 the soldiers could get their cup for #ae centimes1 or #bj with liqueur2 whereas the cantinire charged a franc1 and gave them very bad coffee4 ,wine1 too1 which would cost them #fj centimes the kilo in the town1 was valued at #b francs by their grasping enemy4 ,he had an idea that ,english soldiers are allowed to take their whole pay in money1 and spend it as they will2 whereas the ,french foot-soldier1 according to his account1 gets #be centimes a day in money1 and has everything found except coffee4 ,a young trooper at ,besanon was very eloquent on this subject4 ,he represented himself as a man of small appetite and a gay spirit2 he could well live on very little solid food1 and yet he had as much deducted from his pay on that account as anyone in the army--as much1 for instance1 he groaned1 as a certain stout old warrior who was then reposing on a corn-bin4 ,if he could have drawn all his pay in money1 and lived on almost nothing for food1 he would have had abundance of sous for cards and tobacco2 and what a career would that be6 ,the blocks of ice were by this time becoming rather small2 and as we had now once more reached the region of lavender1 we cut a large quantity and wrapped the ice in it1 and thus protected it from further thaw4 ,for some time before arriving at the farm where my companion's partner lived1 he indulged in praises of the wine which their vineyard produced1 and assurances of the safety with which it would perform a journey to ,england4 ,he urged its excellent bouquet1 and gave me a card of prices which certainly seemed marvellously reasonable4 ,finally1 he proposed to join me at a bottle of white muscat1 from the farmer's cave1 in order that ,i might have an opportunity of seeing how true was his account of the wine4 ,we seated ourselves accordingly in the farmyard1 and drank a bottle of delightful wine at #fe centimes the bottle1 clear and sparkling1 and with a strong muscat flavour4 ,liotir combined with it intoxication of a different kind1 and showed unmistakeable signs of his determination to take another member of the farmer's household into partnership1--the mysterious friend1 in fact1 for whose astonishment the ice was intended4 ,the white muscat1 they told me1 would not keep over the year2 but they had a wine at the same price which they highly recommended1 and warranted to keep for a considerable number of years4 ,liotir was very anxious that we should have a bottle of this1 for he was confident that ,i should give them an order if ,i once tasted it2 but we had been in at the death of so many bottles that day1 that ,i declined to try the muscat rosat4 ,i have since had a hundred litres sent over by ,liotir1 and find it very satisfactory4 ,it has a rich1 clear1 port-wine colour1 sparkling1 and with the true frontignac flavour4 ,the effect of the wine on ,liotir was peculiar4 ,in the earlier part of the walk1 he had never seen ,algeria2 but after half a bottle of muscat1 he had spent six months in that country1 and he enlivened the remainder of the way with many details of his experiences there4 ,we reached ,die about half-past seven1 and the arrival of real ice was hailed as a marvel4 ,although ,i had been sent off so unhesitatingly by the landlord in the morning1 it seemed that they none of them knew what a glacire meant4 ,they had determined that we should never reach the ,foire de ,fondeurle1 and that if we did1 we should find nothing there to repay our toil4 ,as ,i sat at an open window afterwards1 ,liotir's voice was to be heard holding forth in a neighbouring caf upon the wonders of the day2 and among the crowd which is a normal condition of the evening streets of ,die1 the words ,fondeurle1 ,vassieux1 ,anglais1 glace1 c41 showed what the general subject of conversation was4 ,the landlady had obeyed orders1 and was provided with butter and bread4 ,the tea was served in an open earthenware pitcher1 with the spout at right angles with the handle4 ,there was no cup2 but the woman remarked that if monsieur was particular about that1 he could turn out the sugar and use the basin1 which he did4 ,the milk had a basin to itself2 but it had offered so large and tempting a surface to the flies of the town1 that it remained untouched4 ,the knife and spoon were imbued with ineradicable garlic1 and my own trusty clasp-knife was the only weapon ,i could use for all table purposes4 ,if it had not been for the ice and the lavender1 ,i think ,i should never have got away from ,die4 ,the former made it possible to eat some bread-and-butter2 and of the latter ,i made a sort of respirator for nose and mouth1 which modified the odour of cocks and hens prevailing in the house4 ,next morning the diligence was to start early1 and1 in preparation for the six hours' drive1 ,i ordered two eggs to be boiled for breakfast4 ,as the first proved to have been boiled in tepid water1 ,i requested the landlady to boil the second afresh1 which she did in a manner that may partly account for the observed fact that the very eggs of some towns taste of garlic4 ,there was household soup simmering on the fire1 reeking with onion and garlic1 and many other abominations2 and1 as if it was quite the right and usual thing to do1 she slipped the unfortunate egg into this1 and left it there to be cooked4 ,after all1 garlic must be cheap as an article of food1 for the whole bill amounted only to #g-a_/b francs4 ,this was the last glacire on my list4 ,it was quite as well that such was the case2 for the trials of ,dauphin had been too great1 and ,i should scarcely have been inclined to face further adventures of a like kind4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #hb3 ,t4 xxx4 p4 #aeg4 ,footnote #hc3 ,vol4 ii4 p4 #hj4 ,footnote #hd3 ,jean de ,choul1 ,de vari ,quercs ,historia1 #aeee4 ,footnote #he3 ,gollut1 ,mm4 des ,bourg4 de la ,franche ,comt1 p4 #bbg4 ,footnote #hf3 ,paradin de ,cuyseaulx1 ,annales de ,bourgougne1 #aeff1 p4 #ad4 ,footnote #hg3 ,several churches in ,vienne are used as foundries and workshops4 ,s4 ,peter's church was an iron-foundry four or five years ago1 and is in future to be a museum--a considerable improvement upon its former use4 ,the grand old church of ,s4 ,john in ,dijon has been rescued from the hands which made it a dept of flour1 and is being restored to its original purposes3 but such instances are very rare4 ,footnote #hh3 ,this family took its rise in ,dauphin1 before the district had that name3 the chief place of the family was the chteau of ,beaumont1 near ,grenoble4 ,footnote #hi3 ,the final victory was near ,aqu ,sexti 7,aix74 ,footnote #ij3 ,the cultivation of the silkworm mulberry will probably die out before very long4 ,the silk crop has lately failed in ,dauphin1 and a commission for enquiring into the relative merits of different worms has determined that the ,senegal worm produces #fcc millegrammes of silk1 while the worm1 fed on the mulberry produces only #bij4 ,the first mulberry trees in ,france were planted in that part of ,provence which is enclosed by ,dauphin4 ,the ,bishop of ,nismes has lately issued a pastoral letter1 commanding prayers to be offered up for the cessation of the malady affecting the silkworms in his own and the surrounding dioceses4 ,footnote #ia3 ,the feudal buildings were razed by order of ,richelieu1 but the tower remains a landmark for the valley4 ,three hundred dtenus were confined here after the coup d'tat of ,december #b1 #ahea4 ,footnote #ib3 ,the origin of the name ,dauphin seems to be lost in obscurity1 though of comparatively recent date4 ,the ,counts d',albon took the title first in #aadj1 and their estates were not called the ,terra ,dalphini1 or ,dalphinatus1 till #abia4 ,the first ,dauphins bore a castle1 not a dolphin4 ,footnote #ic3 ,the old historian ,gollut speaks of the clairets and clerets as red wines4 ,footnote #id3 ,the ',times' of ,oct4 #d1 #ahfd1 stated that almost no raw silk was offered at the last markets at ,valence and ,romans1 and but for foreign supplies the mills must have been closed4 ,the small amount that was offered sold at from #fh to #gb francs the kilogramme1 while foreign cocoons from ,calamata fetched only #bb francs at ,marseilles4 ,footnote #ie3 ,pausanias says that silkworms are apt to die of indigestion1 the cocoons lying heavy on the stomach4 ,footnote #if3 ,t4 xxxv4 pp4 #bdd1 c4 ,footnote #ig3 ,m4 de ,thury calculated that the thickness of the roof at the lower part of the cave was about #fj feet of rock4 ,he also noticed the peculiar structure of the ice1 which afforded great surprise to his party4 ,it was discovered by means of the coloured rays which were thrown into the different parts of the cave1 when some one had casually placed a torch in a cavity in one of the columns4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,other ,,ice ,,caves4 ,the ,cave of ,szelicze1 or ,szilitze1 in ,hungary4#ih ,matthew ,bell1 the historian of ,hungary1 sent an account of this cavern to ,england1 in the middle of the last century1 which was printed in the original ,latin in the ',philosophical ,transactions' of #agci-dj 7pp4 #da1 c474 ,this account states that the cave is in the county of ,thorn1#ii among the lowest spurs of the ,carpathians4 ,the entrance1 which faces the north1 and is exposed to the cold winds from the snowy part of the ,carpathian range1 is #ah fathoms high and #i broad2 and the cave spreads out laterally1 and descends to a point #ej fathoms below the entrance1 where it is #bf fathoms in breadth1 and of irregular height4 ,beyond this no one had at that time penetrated1 on account of the unsafe footing1 although many distant echoes were returned by the farther recesses of the cave2 indeed1 to get even so far as this1 much step-cutting was necessary4 ,when the external frost of winter comes on1 the account proceeds1 the effect in the cave is the same as if fires had been lighted there3 the ice melts1 and swarms of flies and bats and hares take refuge in the interior from the severity of the winter4 ,as soon as spring arrives1 the warmth of winter disappears from the interior1 water exudes from the roof and is converted into ice1 while the more abundant supplies which pour down on to the sandy floor are speedily frozen there4 ,in the ,dog-days1 the frost is so intense that a small icicle becomes in one day a huge mass of ice2 but a cool day promptly brings a thaw1 and the cave is looked upon as a barometer1 not merely feeling1 but also presaging1 the changes of weather4 ,the people of the neighbourhood1 when employed in field-work1 arrange their labour so that the mid-day meal may be taken near the cave1 when they either ice the water they have brought with them1 or drink the melted ice1 which they consider very good for the stomach4 ,it had been calculated that #fjj weekly carts would not be sufficient to keep the cavern free from ice4 ,the ground above the cave is peculiarly rich in grass4 ,in explanation of these phenomena1 ,bell threw out the following suggestions1 which need no comment4 ,the earth being of itself cold and damp1 the external heat of the atmosphere1 by partially penetrating into the ground1 drives in this native cold to the inner parts of the earth1 and makes the cold there more dense4 ,on the other hand1 when the external air is cold1 it draws forth towards the surface the heat there may be in the inner part of the earth1 and thus makes caverns warm4 ,in support and illustration of this view1 he states that in the hotter parts of ,hungary1 when the people wish to cool their wine1 they dig a hole #b feet deep1 and place in it the flagon of wine1 and1 after filling up the hole again1 light a blazing fire upon the surface1 which cools the wine as if the flagon had been laid in ice4 ,he also suggests that possibly the cold winds from the ,carpathians bring with them imperceptible particles of snow1 which reach the water of the cave1 and convert it into ice4 ,further1 the rocks of the ,carpathians abound in salts1 nitre1 alum1 c41 which may1 perhaps1 mingle with such snowy particles1 and produce the ordinary effect of the snow and salt in the artificial production of ice4 ,townson#ajj visited this cave half a century later1 and concluded that ,bell was in error with regard to the supposed winter thaw and summer frost1 although he himself received information at ,kaschau which corroborated the earlier account4 ,he describes the approach to the village of ,szilitze as leading by a by-road through a pleasant country of woods and hills1 with much pasture-land1 the cave lying a mile beyond the village1 and displaying an entrance #ajj feet broad1 and #bj or #cj feet high1 turned towards the north4 ,the descent of the floor of the cave is rapid1 and was covered with thin ice1 at the time of his visit1 for the last third of the way3 from the roof at the farther end1 where the cave is not so high as at the entrance1 a congeries of icicles was seen to hang2 and in a corner on the right1 completely sheltered from the rays of the sun1 there was a large mass of the same material4 ,it was a fine forenoon in ,july1 and all was in a state of thaw1 the icicles dropping water1 and the floor of ice covered with a thin layer of water2 while the thermometer in all parts of the cave stood at zero of ,raumur's scale4 ,the rock is compact unstratified limestone1 in which so many of the famous caverns of the world are found4 ,the ,cave of ,yeermalik1 in ,koondooz#aja ,in the year #ahdj1 ,captain ,burslem1 of the #acth ,light ,infantry1 made an expedition from ,cabul to the ,north-west1 accompanied by ,lieutenant ,sturt of the ,bengal ,engineers1 who was afterwards killed in the terrible pass where ,lady ,sale1 whose daughter he had married1 was shot through the arm4 ,after crossing the high and wild pass of ,karakotul 7#aj1ejj feet71 these travellers reached the romantic glen of the ,doaub1 which lies at the foot of the pass1 and is surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains4 ,here they were hospitably entertained by ,shah ,pursund ,khan1 the chief of the small territory1 and their curiosity was roused by the account given by an old moollah of a cavern seven miles off1 which the ,shah strongly advised them not to attempt to visit1 for the ,sheitan 7the devil71 whose ordinary place of abode it was1 never allowed a stranger to return from its recesses4 ,the moollah1 however1 scouted this idea1 on the ground that it was much too cold for such an inhabitant2 and the ,shah eventually agreed to accompany them to the cave with a band of his followers4 ,as they rode through long and rich grass1 following the course of a gentle stream1 and tormented by swarms of forest flies1 or blood-suckers1 the ,shah informed them that he had once endeavoured to explore the cave1 and had already penetrated to a considerable distance1 when he came upon the fresh prints of a naked foot1 with an extraordinary impression by their side1 which he suspected to be the foot of ,sheitan himself1 and so he beat a precipitate retreat4 ,the moollah told them that there was a large number of skeletons in the cave1 the remains of #gjj men who took refuge there during the invasion of ,genghis ,khan1 with their wives and families1 and defended themselves so stoutly1 that1 after trying in vain the means by which the ,m',leods were destroyed in barbarous times1 and the opponents of ,french progress in ,algeria in times less remote1 the invader built them in with huge natural blocks of stone1 and left them to die of hunger4 ,the entrance is half-way up a hill1 and is #ej feet high1 with about the same breadth4 ,not far from the entrance they found a passage between two jagged rocks1 possibly the remains of ,genghis ,khan's fatal wall1 so narrow that they had some difficulty in squeezing through2 and then1 before long1 came to a drop of #af feet1 down which they were lowered by ropes made from the cotton turbans of the ,shah and his attendants4 ,here they left two men to haul them up on their return1 and bade farewell to the light of day4 ,the narrow path led by the edge of a black abyss1 sometimes over a flooring of smooth ice for a few feet1 and widened gradually till they reached a damp and dripping hall1 of dimensions so vast that the light of their torches did not enable them to form a conception of its size4 ,in this hall they found hundreds of skeletons in a perfectly undisturbed state1 one1 for instance1 still holding the skeletons of two infants in its bony arms1 while some of the bodies had been preserved1 and lay shrivelled like those at the ,great ,st4 ,bernard4 ,they were very much startled here by the discovery of the prints of a naked human foot1 and by its side the distinct mark of the pointed heel of an ,affghan boot1#ajb precisely what had so thoroughly frightened the ,shah twelve years before4 ,the prints retained all the sharpness of outline which marks a recent impression1 and led towards the farther recesses of the cave2 but the ,englishmen were called away from their investigation by the announcement that if they did not make haste1 there would not be oil enough for lighting them to the ice-caves4 ,proceeding through several low arches and smaller caves1 they reached at length a vast hall1 in the centre of which was#ajc an enormous mass of clear ice1 smooth and polished as a mirror1 and in the form of a gigantic beehive1 with its dome-shaped top just touching the long icicles which depended from the jagged surface of the rock4 ,a small aperture led to the interior of this wonderful congelation1 the walls of which were nearly #b feet thick2 the floor1 sides1 and roof were smooth and slippery1 and their figures were reflected from floor to ceiling and from side to side in endless repetition4 ,the inside of this chilly abode was divided into several compartments of every fantastic shape3 in some the glittering icicles hung like curtains from the roof2 in others1 the vault was smooth as glass4 ,beautifully brilliant were the prismatic colours reflected from the varied surface of the ice1 when the torches flashed suddenly upon them as they passed from cave to cave4 ,around1 above1 beneath1 everything was of solid ice1 and being unable to stand on account of its slippery nature1 they slid1 or rather glided1 mysteriously along the glassy surface of this hall of spells4 ,in one of the largest compartments the icicles had reached the floor1 and gave the idea of pillars supporting the roof4 ,the cavern in which this marvellous mass of ice stood1 branched off into numerous galleries1 one of which led the party to a sloping platform of rapidly increasing steepness1 where they were startled by the reappearance of the naked foot-prints1 passing down the slope4 ,the toes were spread out in a manner which showed that they belonged to some one who had been in the habit of going barefoot1 and ,captain ,burslem took a torch and determined to trace the steps3 a large stone1 however1 gave way under his weight2 and this1 sliding down at first1 and then rolling and bounding on for ever1 raised such a tumult of noise and echoes that the natives with one accord cried ',sheitan6 ,sheitan6' and fled precipitately1 extinguishing all the lights in their fear2 so that but for ,sturt's torch the whole party must have been lost in the darkness4 ,shah ,pursund ,khan at once called a retreat1 vowing that it was of no use to attempt to follow the footsteps1 as it was well known that the cave extended to ,cabul6 ,the guides had now lost their small allowance of pluck1 and wandered about despairingly for a long time before they could find their way back to the ice-cave1 and thence to the foot of the rock where the two men and the turban-ladders had been left4 ,as soon as they came in sight of this1 their comrades above cried out to them that they must make all haste1 for ,sheitan himself had appeared an hour before1 running along the ledge where they now were1 and finally vanishing into the gloom beyond2 an announcement which of course produced a stampede in the terrified party of natives4 ,five or six rushed to the spot where the turbans hung1 and only an opportune fall of stones from above prevented their destroying the apparatus in their blind hurry to escape4 ,the chief claimed the privilege of being drawn up first1 and he and all his followers declared that nothing should ever tempt them to visit again the ,cave of ,yeermalik4#ajd ,the ,surtshellir1 in ,iceland4 ,the first account of this lava-cavern is given by ,olafsen1#aje who visited it in #agej and #agec4 ,ebenezer ,henderson#ajf explored it in #ahae1 and ,captain ,forbes gives some account of it in his recent book on ,iceland4#ajg ,it is mentioned in some of the ,sagas1#ajh and appears to have been a refuge for robbers in the tenth century1 and ,sturla ,sigvatson1 with a large band of followers1 spent some time here4 ,the ,landnama ,saga derives the name ,surtshellir from a huge giant called ,surtur1 who made his abode in the cave2 but ,olafsen believed that the name merely meant black hole1 from surtur or svartur1 and was due to the darkness of the cave and the colour of the lava3 in accordance with this view1 it is called ,hellerin ,sortur1 or black hole1 in some of the earlier writings4 ,the common people are convinced that it is inhabited by ghosts2 and ,olafsen and his party were assured that they would be turned back by horrible noises1 or else killed outright by the spirits of the cave3 at any rate1 their informants declared they would no more reach the inner parts of the cavern than they had reached the traditional green valley of ,aradal1 isolated in the midst of glaciers1 with its wild population of descendants of the giants1 which they had endeavoured to find some time before4#aji ,the cave is in the form of a tunnel a mile or more in length1 with innumerable ramifications1 in the lava which has flowed from the ,bald ,ykul4 ,it lies on the edge of the uninhabited waste called the ,arnavatns-heidi1 in a district described by ,captain ,forbes as distorted and devilish1 a cast-iron sea of lava4 ,the approach is through an open chasm1 #bj to #dj feet in depth1 and #ej feet broad1 leading to the entrance of the cave1 where the height is between #cj and #dj feet1 and the breadth rather more than #ej4 ,henderson found a large quantity of congealed snow at this entrance1 and along pool of water resting on a floor of ice1 which turned his party back and forced them to seek another entrance1 where again they found snow piled up to a considerable height4 ,olafsen also mentions collections of snow under the various openings in the lava which forms the roof of the cave4 ,the latter explorer discovered interesting signs of the early inhabitants of the ,surtshellir1 as1 for instance1 the common bedstead1 built of stones1 #b-a_/b feet high1 #cf feet long1 and #ad feet broad1 with a pathway down the middle1 forming the only passage to the inner parts of the cave4 ,the spaces enclosed by these stones were strewn with black sand1 on which rough wool was probably laid by way of mattress4 ,this could scarcely have been a bedstead in the time of the giants1 for a total breadth of #ad feet1 deducting for the pathway down the middle1 will not give more than #f feet for the layer of men on either side1 unless indeed they lay parallel to the passage1 and required a length of #cf feet4 ,he also found an old wall1 built with blocks of lava across one part of the cave1 as if for defence1 and a large circular heap of the bones of sheep and oxen1 presumably the remains of many years of feasting4 ,captain ,forbes scoffs at these bones1 and suggests errant wild ponies as the depositors thereof4 ,olafsen had found in his earlier visit that the way was stopped1 far in the recesses of the cave1 by a lake of water1 which filled the tunnel to a depth of #c feet or more1 lying on ice2 but in #agec there was not more than a foot of water1 through which they waded without much difficulty4 ,the air soon became exceedingly cold and thick1 and for some hundreds of paces they saw no light of day1 till at length they reached a welcome opening in the roof4 ,beyond this1 the air grew colder and more thick1 and the walls were found to be sheeted with ice from roof to floor1 or covered with broad and connected icicles4 ,the ground also was a mass of ice1 but an inch or two of fine brown earth lay upon it1 which enabled them to keep their footing4 ,this earth appeared to have been brought down by the water which filtered through the roof4 ',the most wonderful thing1' ,olafsen remarks1 'that we noticed here1 was1 that the stalactites of ice were set with regular figures of five and seven sides1 joined together1 and resembling those seen on the second stomach of ruminating animals4 ,the condensed cold of the air must have imparted these figures to the ice2 they were not external 7merely871 but in the ice itself1 which otherwise was clear and transparent4' ,henderson and his party appear to have had much more wading to do than ,olafsen1 walking in one instance through a long tract of water up to the knees4 ,in the deeper recesses of the cave1 apparently in the part where the earlier explorers had found the reticulated ice1 they found the whole floor of the passage covered with thick ice1 with so steep a dip that they sat down and slid forward by their own weight--a most undignified proceeding for a grave gentleman on a mission from the ,bible ,society4 ,on holding their torches close to the floor1 they saw down to a depth of #g or #h feet1 the ice being as clear as crystal4 ',the roof and sides of the cave were decorated with most superb icicles1 crystallised in every possible form1 many of which rivalled in minuteness the finest zeolites2 while from the icy floor rose pillars of the same substance1 assuming all the curious and phantastic shapes imaginable1 mocking the proudest specimens of art1 and counterfeiting many well-known objects of animated nature4 ,many of them were upwards of #d feet high1 generally sharpened at the extremity1 and about #b feet in thickness4 ,a more brilliant scene perhaps never presented itself to the human eye1 nor was it easy for us to divest ourselves of the idea that we actually beheld one of the fairy scenes depicted in ,eastern fable4 ,the light of the torches rendered it peculiarly enchanting4' ,captain ,forbes found much ice on the floor1 but he did not enjoy the cold and wet1 and seems to have ascended by the last opening in the roof1 mentioned by ,olafsen1 before reaching the cavern where the more beautiful parts of the ice-decoration were found by his predecessors4 ,the two engravings of the interior of the cave given in his book are copied from the magnificent lithographs of ,paul ,gaimard1#aaj but much of the effect has been lost in the process of copying4 ,mr4 ,baring ,gould mentions this cavern in his book on ,iceland1 and believes that its interest has been much overrated4 ,he seems to have visited the cave1 but makes no allusion to the existence of ice4#aaa ,mr4 ,e4,t4 ,holland visited the ,surtshellir in the course of his tour in ,iceland1 in #ahfa1 and an account of his visit is given in the first volume of ',peaks1 ,passes1 and ,glaciers4'#aab ,after following in ,olafsen's steps for some time1 the party reached a cave whose floor was composed of very clear ice1 apparently of great thickness1 for they could not see the lava beneath it4 ,the walking on this smooth ice-floor ,mr4 ,holland describes as being delightful1 the whole sloping considerably downwards4 ',in five minutes1' he continues1 'we reached the most beautiful fairy grotto imaginable4 ,from the crystal floor of ice rose up group after group of transparent icy pillars1 while from the glittering roof most brilliant icy pendants hung down to meet them4 ,columns and arches of ice were ranged along the crystalline walls 444 ,i never saw a more brilliant scene2 and indeed it would be difficult to imagine anything more fairy-like4 ,the pillars were many of them of great size1 tapering to a point as they rose4 ,the largest were at least #h feet high1 and #f feet in circumference at their base4 ,the stalactites were on an equally grand scale4 ,through this lovely ice-grotto we walked for nearly ten minutes4' ,illustration3 ,,ice-,,cave ,,in ,,the ,,surtshellir4 ,the temperature of the caves1 ,mr4 ,holland states in a note1 was from #h to #aj ,c4 7#dfd to #ej ,f471 that of the air outside being #ecf ,f4 ,the ,gypsum ,cave of ,illetzkaya-,zastchita1 in the ,steppes of the ,kirghis1 ,south of ,orenburg4 ,the district in which this cavern occurs is a small green oasis on the undulating steppe1 lying on a vast bed of rock-salt1 which extends over an area of two versts in length1 and a mile in breadth1 with a thickness of more than #ajj feet4 ,when the thin cover of red sand and marl is removed1 the white salt is exposed1 and is found to be so free from all stain1 or admixture of other material1 excepting sometimes minute filaments of gypsum1 that it is pounded at once for use1 without any cleansing or recrystallising process4 ,in the immediate neighbourhood of ,illetzkaya-,zastchita there are two or three gypseous hillocks1 and a cavern in one of these is used by the inhabitants as a cellar1 having been artificially enlarged for that purpose4 ,sir ,roderick ,murchison and his colleagues visited this cavern on a hot day in ,august1 with the thermometer at #ij in the shade1 in the course of their travels under the patronage of the late ,emperor of ,russia4#aac ,they found the hillock to be an irregular cone #aej feet in height2 the entrance was by a frail door1 on a level with the village street1 and fully exposed to the rays of the sun2 and yet1 when the door was opened1 so piercing a current of cold air poured forth1 that they were glad to beat a retreat for a while2 and on eventually exploring farther1 they found the quass and provisions1 stored in the cave1 half-frozen within three or four paces of the door4 ,the chasm soon opened out into a natural vault from #ab to #ae feet high1 #aj or #ab paces long1 and #g or #h in width1 which seemed to have numerous small ramifications into the impending mound of gypsum and marl4 ,the roof of this inner cavern was hung with undripping solid icicles1 and the floor was a conglomerate of ice and frozen earth4 ,they were assured that the cold is always greatest within when the external air is hottest and driest1 and that the ice gradually disappears as winter approaches1 and vanishes when the snow comes4 ,the peasants were unanimous in these statements1 and asserted that they could sleep in the cave without sheepskins in the depth of winter4 ,sir ,roderick ,murchison and his friends were at first inclined to explain these phenomena by supposing that the chief fissure communicated with some surface of rock-salt1 'the saliferous vapours of which might be so rapidly evaporated or changed in escaping to an intensely hot and dry atmosphere as to produce ice and snow4' ,but ,sir ,john ,herschel1 to whom they applied for assistance1 rejected the evaporation theory1 and suggested that the external summer wave of heat might possibly only reach the cave at ,christmas1 being delayed six months in its passage through the rock2 the cold of winter1 in the same manner1 arriving at midsummer4 ,to this the explorers objected1 that the mound contained many caves1 but' only in this particular fissure was any ice found4 ,dr4 ,robinson1 astronomer at ,armagh1 endeavoured to explain the matter by referring to ,de ,saussure's explanation of the phenomena of cold caves in ,italy and elsewhere2 but this1 too1 was considered unsatisfactory4 ,at length1 ,professor ,wheatstone referred them to the memoir by ,professor ,pictet1 in the ,bibliothque ,universelle of ,geneva1 where that savant improves upon ,de ,saussure's theory1 and applies it in its new form to the case of caves containing permanent ice1 in tracts whose mean cold is above the freezing point4 ,this they seem to have accepted1 adding that the climatological circumstances of ,orenburg--a wet spring1 caused by the melting of the abundant snows1 followed by a summer of intense and dry ,asiatic heat--must be particularly favourable for the working out of the theory1 and must also act powerfully in producing the refrigerating effects of evaporation4#aad ,the traveller ,pallas visited ,illetzkaya in ,july #agfi1 and describes this gypseous hillock4#aae ,in his time the entrance by the side of the hill was unknown1 as also was the existence of ice in the cavern4 ,he saw at the top of the ,kraoul-na-,gora1 or ,watch-mountain1 as it was called1 a fissure which had once formed a large cavern1 into which the ,kirghis were in the habit of throwing furs and other materials as religious offerings4 ,although the cave had since fallen in1 they still kept up a part of the ceremony1 marching solemnly round the base of the hill once a year1 and bathing in the neighbouring water4 ,in earlier times1 a man had descended through the fissure by means of cords1 and found the cold within insupportable1 having very probably reached the present ice-cave4 ,pallas describes many caves in various parts of ,russia1 but never seems to hint at the existence of ice in them1 though he specially mentions their extreme cold4 ,some of these occurred in gypsum1 and some in limestone2 and the gypseous caves showed universally a very low temperature1 though still far above the freezing-point4#aaf ,thus in the dark cavern of ,barnoukova1#aag on the ,piana1 in a rock of gypsum1 while the thermometer in the shade stood at #ge4b1 the temperatures at various points in the cave were1--at the entrance #ei4cf1 #be feet from the entrance #df4d1 and in the coldest part #db4h4 ,this cold he describes as insupportable4 ,the temperature of the water which had accumulated in the coldest parts of the cave was #dh4h1 considerably higher than the surrounding atmosphere2 from which ,pallas concluded that the cold of gypsum-caves is due to the acid vapours which are generally observed in grottoes of this description4 ,in ,may #aggj1 he found snow on the sloping entrance to the cavern of ,loekl1 in the neighbourhood of the ,oufa2 but the air of the interior was not colder than was to be expected in a deep cave4 ,sir ,r4 ,murchison wrote to ,russia for further information with respect to this cave in ,january #ahfe1 and again in the beginning of ,april1 addressing his second enquiry to the ,secretary of the ,imperial ,academy4 ,in reply1 the ,secretary says that he is not aware that any thermometric observations have been made in the cavern4 ,he encloses a short statement by ,m4 ,helmersen1 one of the members of the ,academy1 to the following effect3--,about #ej versts ,,se4 of ,miask1 in the chain of the ,ural1 is a copper mine1 called ,kirobinskoy1 which was abandoned more than fifty years ago4 ,on the #gth ,july1 #ahbf1 ,m4 ,helmersen found a thick wainscoting of ice on the sides and roof and floor of the horizontal gallery1 within #aj feet of the entrance4 ,he was assured that this ice never melts1 and that its thickness is greater in summer than in winter4 ,m4 ,helmersen adds1 that to the best of his belief no one has investigated the cavern of ,illetzkaya ,zastchita since ,sir ,r4 ,murchison's visit4 ,the ,ice-,cavern of the ,peak of ,teneriffe4#aah ,this cave is at a height of #aa1jdj feet above the sea1 and is therefore not far below the snow-line of the latitudes of the ,canary ,isles4 ,the entrance is by a hole #c or #d feet square1 in the roof of the cave1 which may be about #bj feet from the floor4 ,the peasants who convey snow and ice from the cave to the lower regions1 enter by means of knotted ropes2 but ,professor ,smyth had caused his ship's carpenter to prepare a stout ladder1 by which photographic instruments and a lady were taken down4 ,on alighting on a heap of stones at the bottom1 the party found themselves surrounded by a sloping wall of snow1 #c feet high1 and #g or #h feet broad1 the basin in which they stood being formed in the snow by the vertical rays of the sun1 and by the dropping of water from the edges of the hole#aai4 ,beyond this ring-fence1 large surfaces of water stretched away into the farther recesses of the cave1 resting on a layer of ice1 which appeared to be generally about #b feet thick4 ,at one of the deeper ends of the cave1 water dropped continually from the crevices of the roof2 a fact which ,professor ,smyth attributed to the slow advance of the summer wave of heat through the superincumbent rock1 which was only now reaching the inner recesses of the loose lava1 and liquefying the results of the past winter4 ,there would seem to be immense infiltration of meteoric water on the ,peak2 for1 notwithstanding the great depth of rain which falls annually in a liquid or congealed form1 the sides of the mountain are not scored with the lines of water-torrents4 ,though occurring in lava1 this cavern is quite different from lava-tunnels1 such as the ,surtshellir1 which are recognised formations1 produced by the cooling of the terminal surface-crust of the stream of lava1 and the subsequent bursting forth of the molten stream within4 ,this1 on the contrary1 proved to be a smooth dome-shaped cave1 running off into three contracting lobes or tunnels which might be respectively #gj1 #ej1 and #dj feet long1 and were all filled to a certain depth with water3 in the smoothness of the interior surfaces1 ,professor ,smyth believed that he detected the action of highly elastic gases on a plastic material4 ,the astronomer takes exception to the term 'underground glacier'#abj which had been applied to this cavern4 ,he represents that the mountain is abundantly covered each winter with snow1 in the neighbourhood of the ice-cave1 which is nearly within the snow-line1 and the stores of snow thus accumulated in the cave have no great difficulty in resisting the effects of summer heat1 since all radiation is cut off by the roof of rocks4 ,the importance of this protection may be understood from the fact that in the middle of ,july the thermometer at this altitude gave #acj in the sun1 but fell to #dg when relieved from the heat due to radiation4 ,at the time of this observation1 there were still patches of snow lying on the mountain-side1 exposed to the full power of direct radiation2 and1 therefore1 there is not anything very surprising in the permanence of snow under such favourable circumstances as are developed in the cave4 ,mr4 ,airy1 a few summers ago1 found the rooms of the ,casa ,inglese1 on ,mount ,etna1 half filled with snow1 which had drifted in by an open door1 and had been preserved from solar radiation by the thick roof4#aba ,humboldt remarks1 that the mean temperature of the region in which the ,cueva del ,hielo 7ice-cave7 occurs1 is not below #c ,c4 7#cg4d ,f471 but so much snow and ice are stored up in the winter that the utmost efforts of the summer heat cannot melt it all4 ,he adds1 that the existence of permanent snow in holes or caves must depend more upon the amount of winter snow1 and the freedom from hot winds1 than on the absolute elevation of the locality4 ,the natives of ,teneriffe are men of faith4 ,they have large belief in the existence and intercommunication of numerous vast caverns in the ,peak1 one of which1 on the north coast1 is said to communicate with the ice-cavern1 notwithstanding #h miles of horizontal distance1 and #aa1jjj feet of vertical depth4 ,the truth of this particular article of their creed has been recently tested by several worthy and reverend hidalgos1 who drove a dog into the entrance of the cavern on the sea-coast1 in the belief that he would eventually come to light again in the ice-cave3 he was accordingly found lying there some days after1 greatly fatigued and emaciated1 having in the interval accomplished the #aa1jjj feet of subterranean climbing4 ,how he could enter1 from below1 a water-logged cave1 does not appear to have been explained4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #ih3 ,the ,caves of ,szelicze are mentioned in ,murray's ,handbook of ,southern ,germany 7#aheh1 p4 #eee71 where the following account is given of them3--',during the winter a great quantity of ice accumulates in these caves1 which is not entirely melted before the commencement of the ensuing winter4 ,in the summer months they are consequently filled with vast masses of ice broken up into a thousand fantastic forms1 and presenting by their lucidity a singular contrast to the sombre vaults and massive stalactites of the cavern4' ,the ,drachenhhle 7,murray1 #a4 c4p4 #eec71 a series of caverns not far from ,neusohl in ,hungary1 afford another instance of an ice-cave1 one of the largest of them being said to be coated with a sheet of translucid ice1 through which the stalactitic fretwork of the vault is seen to great advantage4 ,footnote #ii3 ,not far from ,kaschau4 ,footnote #ajj3 ,travels in ,hungary1 #agig1 pp4 #cag1 c4 ,footnote #aja3 ,a ,peep into ,toorkistan2 ,london1 #ahdf2 chapters x4 and xi4 ,footnote #ajb3 ,they were now in a country far removed from the ,affghans1 and hostile to that people4 ,footnote #ajc3 ,the remainder of this paragraph is in ,captain ,burslem's own words4 ,footnote #ajd3 ,i am indebted for the knowledge of the existence of these caves to ,w4,a4 ,sandford1 ,esq41 ,f4,g4,s41 who informed me that an account of them was to be found in a book of travels by an ,english officer4 ,i am not aware that they have been visited on any other occasion than this4 ,footnote #aje3 ,reise durch ,island1 ,copenhagen1 #agdd 7being a ,german translation from the original ,danish71 i4 #abh sqq4 ,footnote #ajf3 ,henderson's ,iceland1 ii4 #ahi sqq4 ,footnote #ajg3 ,pp4 #ade sqq4 ,footnote #ajh3 ,the ,sturlunga1 ,landnama1 and ,holmveria ,sagas4 ,footnote #aji3 ,two priests determined to solve the mystery of this unapproachable valley1 the ,aradal1 or ,thoris-thal1 with its rich meadows and gigantic inhabitants1 and made an expedition for this purpose in #affd4 ,they reached a point where the glaciers fell off into a valley so deep that they could not see whether there were meadows at the bottom or not1 and the slope was so rapid that it was impossible to descend4 ,footnote #aaj3 ,voyage en ,islande2 ,atlas ,historique2 t4 ii41 pl4 #acj-acc4 ,footnote #aaa3 ,iceland3 its ,scenes and ,sagas3 pp4 #ig1 #ih4 ,footnote #aab3 ,page #aac4 ,footnote #aac3 ,russia and the ,ural ,mountains1 i4 #ahf1 sqq4 ,footnote #aad3 ,see the ,papers read before the ,geological ,society of ,london1 on ,march #i1 #ahdb1 by ,sir ,john ,herschel and ,sir ,e4 ,murchison1 the substance of which has been given above4 ,see also the ,edinburgh ,philosophical ,journal for #ahdc 7xxxv4 #aia71 for an attempt by ,dr4 ,hope to explain the phenomena of this cave by a reference to the slow penetration of the winter and summer waves of cold and heat4 ,dr4 ,hope believes that1 although the external changes do not travel to any great depth1 they reach far enough to communicate with some of the fissures leading to the cave4 ,footnote #aae3 ,voyages 7,french translation72 ,paris1 #aghh2 i4 #cfd4 ,footnote #aaf3 ,in the gypsum to the ,,ne4 of ,kungur1 on the banks of the ,iren1 there is a cave containing ice4 ,four of its chambers have ice1 in one of which a stalagmite of ice rises almost to the roof4 ,the farthest chamber1 #fbe fathoms from the entrance1 contains a lake of water which stretches away out of sight under the low roof4 7,taschenbuch fr die gesammte ,mineralogie2 ,leonhard1 #ahbf2 ,b4 #b1 ,s4 #dbe4 ,published as ,zeitschrift fr ,mineralogie47 ,footnote #aag3 ,pallas1 ,voyages1 i4 #hd4 ,footnote #aah3 ,teneriffe1 by ,professor ,smyth1 ch4 viii41 and ,humboldt1 ,voyage aux ,rgions quinoctiales2 ,paris1 #ahad2 i4 #abd4 ,footnote #aai3 ,they afterwards discovered smoke issuing from the centre of this patch of stones2 so that volcanic heat may possibly have had something to do with the disappearance of the snow4 ,footnote #abj3 ',ce petit glacier souterrain1' ,humboldt1 l4c4 ,footnote #aba3 ,see p4 #bgb for an account of the underground glacier in the neighbourhood of the ,casa ,inglese4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,brief ,,notices ,,of ,,other ,,ice-,,caves4#abb ,on the ,brandstein in ,styria1 in the district of ,gems1 there is an ice-hole closely resembling some of the glacires of the ,jura4 ,it is described by ,sartori1#abc as lying in a much-fissured region1 reached after four hours of steep ascent from the neighbouring village1 through a forest of fir4 ,some of the fissures contain water and some snow1 while others are apparently unfathomable4 ,from one of the largest of these1 a strong and cold current blows in summer1 and in this fissure is the ice-hole4 ,sartori found crimpons necessary for descending the frozen snow which led from the entrance to the floor of the cave1 where he discovered pillars and capitals and pyramids of ice of every possible shape and variety1 as if the cave had contained the ruins of a ,gothic church1 or a fairy palace4 ,at the farther end1 after passing large cascades of ice1 his party reached a dark grey hole1 which lighted up into blue and green under the influence of the torches2 they could not discover the termination of this hole1 and the stones which they rolled down into it seemed to go on for ever4 ,the greatest height of the cave is about #cf feet1 and its length #aib feet1 with a maximum breadth of #abf feet4 ,towards the end of autumn1 the temperature of the ice-hole rises so much1 that the glacial decorations disappear1 and various wild animals are driven by the cold of winter to take shelter in the comparative warmth of the cave4 ,the elevation of the district in which this ice-hole occurs is about #a1hjj ,german feet above the sea4 ,in ,upper ,styria1 where the ,frauenmauer overlooks the basin in which the mining town of ,eisenerz is situated1 an ice-cave has been explored1 and a description of it has been given by certain members of the ,austrian ,alpine ,club4#abd ,the ,brandstein is spoken of as one of the peaks in the immediate neighbourhood2 and as the cave previously described is stated by ,sartori to be on the ,brandstein1 that district would seem to be rich in glacires4 ,the cavern is most easily explored from ,eisenerz1 and on that side the entrance is #d1eci ,vienna feet above the sea4 ,its other outlet1 in the ,tragss valley1 is #cjj feet higher4 ,the total length of the cave is #b1jdj ,vienna feet4 ,after passing the entrance1 which is an archway from #ab to #ah feet high1 the main course of the cave is soon left1 and a branch is followed which leads to the ,eis-kammer4 ,this ice-chamber consists of a grotto from #cj to #dj fathoms long1 decked with ice-crystals1 pillars of ice1 and cascades of the same material1 the floor being composed of ice as smooth as glass4 ,in the summer1 pleasure-parties assemble in the cave and amuse themselves with the game of ,eisschiessen1 so popular in ,upper ,styria as a winter diversion4 ,the hotter the summer1 the more ice is found in the ,eiskammer1 and the general belief is that it all disappears in winter4 ,the cave proper1 which assumes stupendous dimensions in its long course1 shows no ice4 ,it seems to be formed in the ,muschelkalk of the ,trias formation1 and so far no limestone stalactites have been discovered4 ,it has not1 however1 as yet been fully explored4 ,the editor of the proceedings of the ,austrian ,alpine ,club gives a reference to ,scheiner1 ',ausflug nach der ,hhle der ,frauenmauer1' 7,steiermarkische ,zeitschrift1 neue ,folge1 i4 #b1 #ahcd1 p4 #c47 ,at ,latzenberg1 near ,weissenstein in ,carniola1 there is another ice-cave1 described by ,rosenmller4#abe ,it is entered by a long dark passage in which are pillars of ice arranged like the pipes of an organ1 varying from the thickness of a man's body to the size of a straw4 ,all these are said to melt in winter4 ,farther on are two other passages1 one of which passes upwards over ,stufe1 and is coated in summer with ice2 the other has not been explored4 ,near ,glaneck in the ,untersberg1 not far from ,salzburg1 is a cave called the ,kolowrathhle1 of which a description is given by ,gmbel in his great geological work on the ,bavarian ,alps4#abf ,it is a spacious cavern1 opening in a steep wall of rock above the ,rositenschlucht between the ,platten and ,dachstein-kalk4#abg ,an ice-current rushes from within1 and ice is found on the threshold1 becoming more prevalent in the farther recesses of the cave4 ,the lower parts are tolerably roomy1 and masses of ice of various shapes are found piled one upon another1 lighting up with magical effect when torches are brought to bear upon them4 ,gmbel believes that the cold currents which stream into the cave from the numerous fissures in its walls are the cause of the ice2 and though this is the only known ice-cave far and near1 he imagines that the icy-currents which are frequently met with in that district1 and in the ,hochgebirge1 would be found to proceed in reality from like caves1 if the fissures from which they blow could be penetrated4 ,behrens#abh describes two ice-caves near ,questenberg1 in the county of ,stollberg1 on the ,harz mountains4 ,they both occur in limestone1 and are known as the ,great and ,little ,ice-holes4 ,the one is close to the village of ,questenberg1 and consists of a chasm several fathoms deep1 so cold that in summer the water trickling down its edges is frozen into long icicles4 ,the opening is large and faces due south1 and yet the hotter the day the more ice is found2 whereas in winter a warm steam comes out1 as if from a stove4 ,the other cave is farther into the mountain2 it is spacious and light1 and very cold in summer4 ,in ,gehler's ,physik4 ,wrterbuch 7,art ,hhle71 a small hole is mentioned near ,dle1 which is said to be remarkable for the large and curiously-shaped icicles found there2 but no sufficient account of it seems to have been given4 ,an ice-hole is also spoken of in the same article1 which occurs on the east side of the town of ,vesoul4#abi ,the hole is described as being small1 with a little rivulet of water3 this water1 and also that which trickles down the walls of the cave1 is converted into ice1 and so much is formed on a cold day that it requires eight warm days to melt it4 ,gollut1 in his description of the fr-puits of ,vesoul1#acj observes that the remarkable pit known by that name was so cold1 that in his time it had never been fully explored4 ,gehler's expression1 however1 'a small hole1' cannot possibly apply to the fr-puits2 so that these would seem to be two different examples of cold caves near ,vesoul4 ,there is an interesting account in ,poggendorff's ,annalen#aca of a visit made by ,professor ,a4 ,pleischl to a mountain in the circle of ,leitmeritz1 where ice is found in summer under very curious circumstances4 ,the mountain is called ,pleschiwetz1 and lies above ,kameik1 in ,bohemia1 not far from the town of ,leitmeritz4 ,on the #bdth of ,june in each year1 large numbers of pilgrims assemble at the romantic chapel of ,s4 ,john the ,baptist in the ,wilderness2 and it is a part of their occupation to search for ice under the basaltic rocks1 and carry it home wrapped in moss1 as a proof that they have really made the pilgrimage4 ,professor ,pleischl visited this district at the end of ,may #ahcd4 ,the weather was hot for the season1 as had been the case in ,april also1 and there had been very little snow in the winter4 ,a path leads from the chapel of ,s4 ,john through the woods which deck the ,pleschiwetz1 and then over a small plain to the foot of the basaltic rocks4 ,here the mountain slopes away very steeply to the south1 and the slope is thickly strewn with basaltic dbris4 ,from east to west this slope measures about #dj fathoms1 and its length is about #gj fathoms4 ,it is surrounded on both sides and at the foot by trees and shrubs4 ,the sun burned so directly on to the dbris1 that the basaltic blocks were in some cases too hot to be touched by the naked hand4 ,professor ,pleischl spent three hours of the early afternoon on this spot4 ,the upper surface of the basaltic blocks had a temperature of at least #abb ,f4 ,the presence of an icy current was detected by inserting the hand into the lower crevices2 and on removing the loose stones to a depth of #a-a_/b or #b feet1 ice was found in considerable quantities4 ,on the #bgth of ,august1 he proceeded to make a further investigation of this phenomenon2 but he found the temperature of the blocks only #ajf ,f41 and in the crevices1 at a depth of #b or #c feet1 the lowest temperature reached was #chge ,f4 ,the external temperature in the shade was at the same time #hc ,f4 ,a third visit1 in ,january #ahce1 gave no results2 but on ,january #ba1 #ahch1 the ,professor succeeded in determining some very remarkable facts4 ,a depression in the sloping plain is called1 par excellence1 the ice-hole2 and this is surrounded by firs and birches1 which grow within three or four fathoms of the edge of the hole1 so that the rays of the sun do not reach the hole in winter4 ,fresh snow lay on these trees2 and there was nowhere any sign of melted snow1 or of the formation of icicles4 ,the basaltic dbris1 in which ice had been found in the summer1 covers here a space of #e fathoms long by #c or #d broad1 immediately at the foot of a steep basaltic precipice4 ,at eleven in the morning the temperature was #ad ,f4 in the shade2 and snow lay all round the ice-hole1 to a thickness of #a-a_/b or #b feet4 ,the snow which covered the dbris was pierced by holes1 which could not have been caused by the sun1 for its rays did not penetrate the trees2 and1 indeed1 no sun had been visible for some days4 ,these holes were generally turned towards the north1 and were like chimneys4 ,on investigation1 it was found that icicles hung down into them1 showing1 of course1 past or present thaw1 and within the cavities no ice was found4 ,the thermometer gave here from #bge ,f4 to #beae ,f42 but in the crevices1 into which the thermometer could not be pushed1 the hand discovered a warm air4 ,the moss drawn from these crevices was found to be steeped in unfrozen water1 and it froze promptly when brought into the outer air4 ,the party afterwards climbed up the precipitous basalt1 and reached1 at #c ,p4,m41 a level covered with large blocks of the same material1 where the thermometer was slightly under #ab ,f4 in the shade4 ,the blocks were for the most part stripped of snow1 and in some cases thin shields of ice were observed standing out two or three inches from them1 forming hollow chambers1 in which an agreeable warmth was found4 ,these shields were invariably on the south side of the stones1 the north side being free from ice and snow alike4 ,in some places vapours were seen to rise4 ,the thermometer gave #da ,f4 at a depth of six inches among the stones1 though the external temperature1 as has been said1 was #ab ,f4 ,for eight days previously1 the thermometer had been always far below the freezing point1 and on the #agth 7four days before7 had been #ac below zero 7,f474 ,on the #aith and #bjth heavy snow had fallen4 ,all these facts seem to show that the warmth which had caused the chimneys in the snow over the ice-holes1 and the heated vapours on the higher parts of the mountains1 proceeded from within1 and not from without4 ,the people of the district assured ,professor ,pleischl that the hotter the summer1 the more ice is formed2 and that it disappears when the nights become long and the days short4 ,dr4 ,weiss1 for six years head of the ,gymnasium of ,leitmeritz1 stated that when one of the holes was emptied of ice in the summer1 it filled again in a few days4 ,the explanation given by the ,professor of this phenomenon is1 that the blocks of basalt1 that being an excellent conductor of heat1 pass so much warmth through to their under surfaces--which form the roof of small chambers filled with a spongy mass of decaying leaves--that the rapid evaporation thereby caused produces the cold air and the ice4 ,he omits to explain why there should be anything exceptional in the winter phenomenon of the crevices among the stones4 ,there are two other places in ,bohemia where ice is found in summer4 ,one is on the ,steinberg1 in the county of ,konaged2#acb it is a small basin1 surrounded by trees1 where1 in the middle of summer1 lumps of ice are found under basaltic dbris4 ,this ice is only formed1 according to ,sommer1 in the hottest part of the year4 ,the other is on the ,zinkenstein1 one of the highest points of the ,vierzehnberg1 in the circle of ,leitmeritz4 ,it is described by ,sommer#acc as a cleft1 five fathoms deep1 in the basaltic rock1 where ice is found in the hottest seasons4 ,professor ,pleischl put this assertion to the test by visiting the spot in the end of ,august1 when he found no signs of ice4 ,another writer in ,poggendorff#acd describes a somewhat similar appearance on the ,saalberg4 ,here ice is found on the surface from ,june to the middle of ,august2 and that1 too1 with a west exposure and in moderate shade4 ,in ,july1 the ice was so abundant that it could be seen from some distance3 it was half a foot thick1 and yielded neither to sun nor rain4 ,in the middle of ,august there was no ice on the surface2 but when the loose dbris was removed1 the most beautiful ice appeared1 and at a little depth all was frozen as hard as if it had been the depth of winter4#ace ,the people who work in the neighbourhood declare that the place remains open1 and free from ice or snow1 in the greatest cold1 and that no ice begins to form till the month of ,june4 ,when the writer of the account in ,poggendorff visited the ice-hole1 the peasants were in the habit of carrying large masses of ice down to their houses1 through a temperature of #ha ,f4 ,reich#acf gives a detailed and valuable account of the prevalence of subterranean ice on the ,sauberg1 a hill which forms one side of a ravine near ,ehrenfriedersdorf4 ,the surface is about #b1jjj feet above the sea1 and its mean temperature1 as determined by many careful observations1 about #de ,f4 ,there are several tin-mines in this district1 and the extended observations made by the authorities establish the curious fact that the mean temperature is considerably lower beneath than at the surface4 ,for instance1 in the ,s4 ,christoph pit1 it is found that the mean temperature1 at #ae fathoms below the surface1 is only slightly above #db ,f42 while at the ,morgenrther cross-cut the same mean temperature is found at a depth of #df fathoms4 ,the annual change of temperature is very small in these mines1 and the maximum and minimum are reached very late2 so that1 if a point could be found with a mean temperature of #cb ,f41 ice would increase there up to ,june or even ,july1 and then diminish until ,december or ,january2 in which case the phenomenon so often said to be observed in connection with subterranean ice--the melting in winter and forming in summer--would really be presented4 ,the ice on the ,sauberg is frequently found to commence at a depth of #c or #d fathoms1 and in the years #ahaa and #ahac it extended to #bd fathoms below the surface3 this depth1 however1 was exceptionally great1 and as a rule the limit is reached at about #ad fathoms4#acg ,the ice is usually not very firm1 and can be broken by stout blows with a stick2 but between the years #agij and #ahjj1 when it was found at a depth of from #c to #i fathoms1 it was so hard that blasting became necessary1 and at that time the miners were with difficulty protected from the effects of the severe cold4 ,the greatest quantity of ice is found in the interstices of the rubbish-beds of old workings1 and here it assumes a crystalline form1 the rocks being covered with a 'fibrous' structure1 arranged perpendicularly to their surface4 ,reich reports the universal presence of cold currents of air in these shafts and mines1 and1 in consequence1 takes the opportunity of contradicting a statement in ,horner's ,physik4 ,wrterbuch1#ach that the absence of all current of air is essential to the formation of subterranean ice4 ,he quotes the case of the cheese-caves of ,roquefort as a further confirmation of his own observations with regard to the connection between ice in caves and cold currents of air2 but of the many accounts which ,i have met with of the curious caves referred to1 both in books and from the lips of those who have visited them1 not one has made any mention of ice4#aci ,he states1 too1 that when the strength of the current is diminished1 its temperature is increased2 a fact which all observations of the cold currents in caves1 especially those made with so much care by ,m4 ,saussure1 abundantly establish4 ,in the way of explanation1 ,reich mentions the possibility of rocks of peculiar formation possessing actually a low degree of temperature2#adj but he rejects this suggestion1 preferring to believe that in some cases the cold resulting from evaporation is the cause of ice1 and in others the greater specific gravity of cold as compared with warmer air4 ,in the ,bulletin des ,sciences ,naturelles1#ada it is stated that a large quantity of ice is found in one of the recesses of the grotto of ,antiparos--a fact which ,i have not seen mentioned elsewhere4 ,after penetrating a long way through difficult fissures1 a square chamber is at length reached1 measuring #cjj feet in length and breadth1 with a height of about #hj feet4 ,the walls and roof and floor are beautifully decorated with ice1 and reflect all the colours of the rainbow4 ,there are groups of pyramidal and round columns1 and in some parts of the cave screens or curtains of ice #aj or #ab feet broad hang down to the floor4 ,in a later volume of the same periodical1#adb there is a description of a hill in ,virginia where ice is found in summer4 ,this hill lies near the road between ,winchester and ,romney1 on the ,north ,river1 latitude #ci ,n4 ,one side of the hill is entirely composed of loose stones from ten to twenty pounds in weight1 and under these the ice is found1 although their upper surface is exposed to the full sun from #i or #aj ,a4,m4 till sunset4 ,in all seasons there is an abundance of ice4 ,a writer in the ',london and ,paris ,observer'#adc visited the spot on the #dth of ,july1 after a time of stifling heat1 and in ten minutes he found more ice than the whole party could have carried away4 ,he did not explore any farther than the foot of the hill2 but the neighbours1 who used the ice regularly in summer1 assured him that it was to be found high up also4 ,a constant and strong current issued from the crevices1 stronger and infinitely colder than the current in the famous 'blowing cave' of ,virginia4 ,a man had built a store-room for meat within the influence of one of these currents1 and hard dry icicles were seen hanging from the wooden supports inside3 the flies1 too1 which had been attracted by the meat1 were found frozen on to the stones4 ,this is not the only district where ice is found within temperate latitudes in ,north ,america4 ,in ,professor ,silliman's ',american ,journal of ,science1'#add in a sketch of the geology of the township of ,salisbury1 ,con4 7latitude #dc ,n471 'natural ice-houses' are mentioned4 ,these consist of chasms of considerable extent in the mica-state1 where ice and snow remain during the greater part of the year4 ,the principal of these chasms lies in the east part of the town1 and is several hundred feet long1 sixty feet deep1 and about forty wide4 ,the slate is of a very compact kind2 and the walls are perpendicular1 and correspond with much exactness4 ,at the bottom is a cold spring1 and a cave of considerable extent1 in which it is probable that the ice lies--for the writer does not specify the position in which it is found4 ,the chasm is a favourite retreat in summer1 and is called the ,wolf-hollow1 from its having formerly been a famous haunt for wolves4 ,similar receptacles for summer-ice are found in several places in ,north ,america4 ,in the forty-ninth volume of the ,sitzungsberichte der ,kaiserl4 ,akademie in ,wien 7#ate4 ,abth471 a list of references to various ice-holes is appended to a paper by ,dr4 ,bou on the geology of ,servia4 ,many of the passages referred to have nothing to do with ice-caves1 as1 for instance1 the sections of ,de ,saussure's book describing his observations of 'cold caves'1 or the account of the mass of ice and snow from which the river ,jumna springs1 for which ,dr4 ,bou refers to the ',philosophical ,magazine' for ,november #ahbc1 meaning1 in fact1 the ',london ,magazine'4 ,the ',description des ,glacires' of ,m4 ,bourrit is also given as a part of the literature on ice-caves2 whereas 7see the account of the ,glacire of ,montarquis1 in the ,valley of ,reposoir7 by 'glacire' ,m4 ,bourrit meant only a locality where ice is to be found1 or a glacier district4 ,dr4 ,bou1 however1 gives some references to the ',american ,journal of ,science' which it is possible to make out by a careful search in the neighbourhood of the volume and page he mentions4 ,in vol4 iv4 7#ahbb1--;,dr4 ,bou says #ahba7 there is an account by the editor#ade of a natural ice-house in the township of ,meriden1 ,con41 between ,hartford and ,newhaven1 at an elevation of not more than #bjj feet above the level of the sea4 ,the ice is found in a narrow defile1 which is hemmed in by perpendicular sides of trap-rock1 and displays a perfect chaos of fallen blocks of stone4 ,the defile is so narrow1 that the sun's rays only reach it for an hour in the course of the day2 and even the trees and rocks1 and beds of leaves1 protect the ice from any very material damage4 ,dr4 ,silliman visited this defile on the #bcrd ,july1 #ahba1adf with ,dr4 ,isaac ,hough1 the keeper of a neighbouring inn1 and found that the ice was only partially visible1 in consequence of the large collection of leaves which lay on it3 they sent a boy down with a hatchet1 and he brought up some large firm masses1 one of which1 weighing several pounds1 they carried twenty miles to ,newhaven1 where it did not entirely disappear till the morning of the third day4 ,seven miles from ,newhaven1 in the township of ,branford1 there is a similar collection of ice4 ,in both of these cases1 the ice is mixed with a considerable quantity of leaves and dirt4 ,in the same volume 7p4 #cca1--;,dr4 ,bou says p4 #cc71 two accounts are given of a natural ice-house near the summit of a hill in the neighbourhood of ,williamstown 7,mass474 ,in the next volume there is a further account of it by ,professor ,dewey1 stating that since the trees in the neighbourhood had been cut1 the snow and ice had disappeared each year about the first of ,august4 ,in vol4 xlvi4 7p4 #cca7 an ice mountain in ,wallingford1 ,rutland ,county 7,vt471 is described1 which is ordinarily known in the neighbourhood as the ice-bed4 ,an area of thirty or fifty acres of ground is covered with massive dbris of grey quartz from the mountains which overhang it2 and here--especially in a deep ravine into which many of the falling blocks of stone have penetrated--ice is found in large quantities4 ,it appears to be formed during the melting of the snow in ,february1 ,march1 and ,april1 and vanishes in the course of the summer1 in hot years as early as the last days of ,june4 ,these descriptions call to mind the ,glacire of ,arc-sous-,cicon1 in which many of the features of the ,american ice-caves are reproduced4 ,an ,american photograph is current in this country1 in the form of a stereoscopic slide1 representing an ice-cave in the ,white ,mountains1 ,new ,hampshire2 but it is only a winter cave1 and in no way resembles any of the glacires ,i have seen4 ,it is merely a collection of long and slender icicles1 with beds of ice formed upon stones and trunks of trees on the ground2 nothing more1 in fact1 than is to be seen in any tolerably severe winter in the neighbourhood of a cascade in a sheltered ,scotch burn4 ,the ',american ,journal of ,science' 7xxxvi4 #ahd7 gives a curious instance of a freezing-well near the village of ,owego1 three-quarters of a mile from the ,susquehanna river4 ,the depth of the well is #gg feet1 and for four or five months in the year the surface of the water is frozen so hard as to render the well useless4 ,large masses of ice have been found in it late in ,july4 ,a thermometer1 which stood at #fh in the sun1 fell to #cj in fifteen minutes at the bottom of the well2 and the men who made the well were forced to put on thick clothing in ,june1 and even so could not work for more than two hours at a time4 ,no other well in that neighbourhood presents the same phenomenon4 ,a lighted candle was let down1 and the flame became agitated and thrown in one direction at a depth of #cj feet1 but was quite still at the bottom2 where1 however1 it soon died out4 ,the water is hard or limestone water4 ,rocks of volcanic formation would seem to afford favourable opportunities for the formation of ice4 ,scrope mentions this fact in an account of the curious district called ,eiffel or ,eifel1 in ,rhenish ,prussia1 which was published originally in the ',edinburgh ,journal of ,science1'#adg and has since been translated in ,keferstein's ,deutschland4#adh ,the village of ,roth1 near ,andernach1 is built on a current of basalt1 derived from the cone above it1 which has at some time sent down a stream of lava to the north and west4 ,a small cavern near the village1 forming the mouth of a deep fissure in the lava-stream1 half-way up the cone1 displays a phenomenon which the writer says he has often observed in volcanic formations4 ,the floor of the cavern was covered with a crust of ice at the time of his visit1 about noon on a very hot day in ,august4 ,the peasants report that there is always ice in summer1 and never in winter1 when the sheep retreat to the cave on account of its warmth4 ,steininger#adi found a thickness of #c feet of ice on ,september #ai1 #ahah1 but it was evidently in a melting state1 and the thermometer stood at #cfe ,f4 in the cavern4 ,he describes it as possessing a narrow entrance facing north1 entirely sheltered from the sun by lava-rocks1 and by the trees of a wood which covers the cone of scoria4 ,scrope believes that this is the mouth of one of the arched galleries so frequently met with under lava in ,iceland1 ,bourbon1 and elsewhere2 and on this he founds his explanation of the phenomenon4 ,if the other extremity is connected with the external air at a much lower level1 a current of air must be constantly driven up this gallery1 and in its passage will be dried by the absorbent nature of the rock--which is perhaps partly owing to the sulphuric or muriatic acid it contains#aej--;and the evaporation caused by this current produces a coating of ice on the floor of the grotto1 where there is a superficial rill of water4 ,the more rarified the lower external air1 the more rapid will be the current of cool air2 and1 therefore1 the greater the evaporation4 ,the winter phenomenon is to be explained by the fact that the current of air will be about the mean annual temperature of the district1 taking its temperature1 in fact1 from the rocks through which it passes2 and1 therefore1 by contrast the grotto will appear warm4 ,the same writer mentions a similar example of summer ice in ,auvergne4#aea ,there is a natural grotto in the basalt near ,pont ,gibaud1 some miles to the north-west of ,clermont1 in which a small spring is found partly frozen during the greatest heats of summer1 while the water is said to be warm in winter2 probably1 ,scrope observes1 only seeming to be warm by contrast with the external temperature4 ,the water is apparently frozen by means of the powerful evaporation produced by a current of very dry air proceeding from some long fissures or arched galleries which communicate with the cave4 ,in this case also the writer suggests that the air owes its dryness to the absorbent qualities of the lava through which it passes3 he repeats1 too1 the remark that the phenomenon is of common occurrence in caverns in volcanic districts4#aeb ,there is a remarkable instance of ice occurring under lava1 near the ,casa ,inglese on ,mount ,etna1 which it may be as well to mention1 though the causes of its existence have probably nothing in common with the phenomena of ice-caves1 or summer ice4 ,an account of it is to be found in ,sir ,charles ,lyell's ',elements of ,geology4'#aec ,it appears that the summer and autumn of #ahbh were so hot1 that the artificial ice-houses of ,catania and the adjoining parts of ,sicily failed4 ,signer ,m4 ,gemmellaro had long believed that a small mass of perennial ice at the foot of the highest cone of ,etna was only a part of a large and continuous glacier covered by a lava current1 and from this he expected to derive an abundant supply of ice4 ,he procured a large body of workmen1 and quarried into the ice2 but though he thus proved the superposition of lava for several hundred yards1 the ice was so hard1 and the expense of quarrying consequently so great1 that the works were abandoned4 ,this was on the south-east of the cone1 not far from the ,casa ,inglese4 ,sir ,charles ,lyell suggests that1 probably1 at the commencement of some eruption1 a large mass of snow has been thickly covered with volcanic sand1 showered upon it before the arrival of the lava itself4 ,this sand is a non-conductor of heat1 and would therefore tend to preserve the snow from complete fusion when the hot lava-stream passed over it1 and thus the existence of the underground glacier may be explained4 ,the peasants of the district are so well acquainted with the non-conducting properties of volcanic sand1 that they secure an annual store of snow1 for providing water in summer1 by strewing a layer of sand a few inches thick upon a field of snow1 thus effectually shutting out the heat of the sun4 ,it is curious that when ,de ,saussure visited ,chamouni for the first time1 his attention was arrested by the sight of women sowing what seemed to be grain of some kind in the snow2 but1 on enquiring1 he found that it was only black earth1 which the inhabitants spread on the snow in spring1 in order to make it disappear sooner4 ,he was told that snow thus treated would melt a fortnight or three weeks before the ordinary time for its disappearance in the valley2 but it will be seen that this does not contradict the theory of the ,sicilian peasants4#aed ,sir ,charles ,lyell adds that1 after what he saw on ,mount ,etna1 he should not be surprised to find layers of glacier and lava alternating in some parts of ,iceland4 ,something similar was observed by ,von ,kotzebue1 near the sound which bears his name4#aee ,his party was encamped on a large plain covered with moss and grass1 when they discovered a fissure which revealed the fact that the moss and grass were but a thin coating on a layer of ice a hundred feet thick4 ,this was not mere frozen ground1 but aboriginal ice2 for1 in the ice which formed the walls of the fissure1 they found the bones and teeth of mammoths embedded4 ,the frozen soil of ,jakutsk1 in ,siberia1 has for many years attracted considerable attention4 ,the ordinary law of increase of temperature in descending below the surface of the earth would appear1 however1 to be only modified here2 for it is found in sinking a well which has afforded opportunities for observing the state of the soil1 that the temperature gradually increases with the depth4#aef ,two ice-caverns were examined by ,georgi1 in the course of his travels in ,russia4#aeg ,one occurs near the mines of ,lurgikan1 on the east side of a hill about #dej feet high1 not far from the confluence of the ,lurgikan stream with the ,schilka 7a tributary of the ,amur71 in the province of ,nertschinsk4 ,in the course of driving an adit in one of the lead-mines1 in the year #aggj1 the workmen were struck by the hollow sound given forth by the rock1 and1 on investigation1 they found an immense grotto or fissure1 of which the entrance was so much blocked up by ice that they had much difficulty in sliding down by means of ropes4 ,the fissure extended under the hill1 in a direction from north to south1 and was #acj fathoms long1 from #a to #h broad1 and from #c to #ab high4 ,where it approached nearest the surface1 the thickness of the roof was about #aj fathoms4 ,the rock is described by ,georgi as quarzig1 brunlich1 und von einem starken ,kalkschuss4 ,he found the greater part of the walls covered with ice1 and many pillars and pyramids of ice on the floor4 ,the cold was moderate1 and was said to be much the same in summer and winter4 ,patrin has given a fuller description of the same cavern in the ,journalde ,physique4#aeh ,the lead-mine is in limestone rock1 containing a third part of clay4 ,the entrance to the glacire was still difficult at the time of his visit1 and it was necessary to use a rope1 and also to cut steps1 for the descent was made along a ridge of ice with almost perpendicular sides4 ,the spectacle presented by the decoration of the roof was remarkably beautiful1 long festoons and tufts of ice hanging down1 light and brilliant as silver gauze3 this ice was supposed to be formed from the abundant vapours of the beginning of winter1 and resembled glass blown to the utmost tenuity4 ,it was crystallised1 too1 in a wonderful manner4 ,patrin found long bundles of hexahedral tubes1 the walls of which were formed of transverse needles3 the diameter of these tubes was from two to six lines only1 but at the lower extremities they opened out into hollow six-sided pyramids1 more than an inch in diameter1 so that the festoons1 sometimes as large round as a man1 presented terminal tufts of some feet in diameter1 which glittered like diamonds under the influence of the torches4 ,towards the farther end of the fissure1 stalactites of solid ice were found1 displaying all the forms and more than all the beauty of limestone stalactites4 ,the other instance mentioned by ,georgi occurred in the mines of ,serentvi1 where two of the levels yielded perennial ice1 and were thence 7,georgi says7 called ,ledenoi4 ,a spring of water flowed from the rock at a depth of thirty fathoms below the surface1 and was promptly frozen into a coating of ice a foot thick4 ,patrin#aei visited ,serentvi1 but he did not observe any ice in the mines4 ,he believed the rock to be very ancient lava4 ,reich#afj mentions a cavern on ,mount ,sorano which contains ice1 quoting ,kircher2#afa but he seems to have misinterpreted his author's ,latin4#afb ,he also refers to the existence of ice in the mines of ,herrengrund in ,hungary1 and ,dannemora in ,sweden4 ,kircher1 who has the credit of having been the first to call attention to the increase of temperature in the earth1 made full enquiries into the temperature of the mines at ,herrengrund1 but he was not informed of the existence of ice4#afc2 ,townson visited these mines in the course of his travels in ,hungary1 and neither does he make any mention of ice in connection with them4 ,he describes them as lying south of ,teplitz1 in a limestone district1 with sandstone in the more immediate neighbourhood4 ,the mines themselves 7copper mines7 are in a kind of mica-schist1 which the people call granite4 ,the superintendent of mines informed ,reich that one of the shafts is called the ice-mine1 from the fact that when the workmen attempted to drive a gallery from south to north1 they came upon ice filling up the interstices of the ,haldenstein1 within five fathoms of the commencement of the gallery4 ,the temperature was so low1 and the expense caused by the frozen mass so great1 that the working was stopped4 ,the iron mines of ,dannemora1 eleven leagues from ,upsal1 contain a large quantity of ice1 according to a manuscript account by ,mr4 ,over-assessor-of-the-board-of-mines ,winkler3#afd ,jars1 however1 in his ,voyages ,mtallurgiques1#afe gives a full description of them without mentioning the existence of ice4 ,he states that ice is found in the mines of ,nordmarck1 three leagues from ,philipstadt in ,wermeland1 a province of ,sweden3 these mines are merely numerous shafts sunk in the earth1 reaching to the bottom of the vein of ore1 so that they are fully exposed to the light1 and yet the walls of the shafts become covered with ice at the end of winter1 which remains there till the middle of ,september4 ,jars believed that1 if it were not for the heat caused by blasting1 and by the presence of the workmen1 the ice would be perennial4 ,humboldt#aff speaks of the ice in these mines and on the ,sauberg4 ,reich states that ice is found in the mill-stone quarry of ,nieder-,mendig1 quoting ,karsten's ,archiv fr ,bergbau4#afg ,the ice is found in the hottest days of summer1 although the interior of the quarry is connected with the outer air by many side shafts4 ,the porous nature of the stone is assigned as the cause of the phenomenon4 ,daubeny 7,on ,volcanoes7 describes the remarkable basaltic deposits at ,niedermennig--as he spells it--but says nothing of the existence of ice4 ,daubuisson#afh speaks of a ,schneegrube1 on a summit of the ,riesengebirge1 in ,silesia1 #d1jjj feet above the sea2 but such holes are common enough at that elevation1 and ,i have seen two or three remarkable instances on the ,jura1 within the compass of one day's walk4 ,voigt#afi describes an ,eisgrube in the ,rhngebirge1 on the ,ringmauer1 the highest point of the ,tagstein1 where abundant ice is found in summer under irregular masses of columnar basalt4 ,reich had received from a forest-inspector an account of an ice-hole in this neighbourhood1 called ,umpfen1 which is apparently not the same as that mentioned by ,voigt4 ,in the ,saxon ,erzgebirge there are three points remarkable for their low temperature1#agj in addition to the mines on the ,sauberg mentioned above4 ,these are the ,heinrichssohle1 in the ,stockwerk at ,altenberg1 where the mean of two years' observations gives the temperature #jed ,f4 lower at a depth of #djj feet than at the surface2 the adit of ,henneberg1 on the ,ingelbach1 near ,johanngeorgenstadt1 where the temperature was again #jed ,f4 lower than in shafts some hundred feet higher2 and the ,weiss ,adler adit1 on the left declivity of the valley of the ,schwarzwasser1 above the ,antonshtte4 ,it would appear that there are local causes which affect the temperature in the ,erzgebirge1 for ,reich found that in several places the mean temperature of the soil was higher than that of the air3 for instance-- ,soil4 ,air4 ,height above the sea4 ,altenberg 444 #dbgcb ,fahr4 #dabg #b1dej feet ,markus ,rhling 444 #dcedb #dahcb #a1hgj ,johanngeorgenstadt4 #dcaae #daji #b1dfj ,the temperature at ,markus ,rhling is peculiarly anomalous1 considering the elevation of the surface above the sea4 ,there is said to be an ice-cave in ,nassau1 but ,i have been unable to obtain any account of it1 unless it be the same as the ice-field mentioned on page #cjc4 ,there is a cave in the south-east of ,hungary#aga which presents the same features as several of the glacires ,i have visited4 ,it is called the ,ice-hole of ,scherisciora1 and is described as lying in the ,jura-kalk1 at a distance of #b-a_/b hours north-east from the forest-house of ,distidiul4 ,the approach is by ladders1 down a pit #cj fathoms wide and #bd deep2 and when the bottom of this pit is reached1 an entrance is found to the cave in the north wall1 in the neighbourhood of which is congealed snow which shortly becomes ice4 ,the floor of the first chamber is composed of glacier-ice1 separated from the side walls by a cleft from #a to #c feet wide1 where it shows a depth of from #d to #f feet2 it is as smooth as glass1 and about #f fathoms from the entrance a cone of ice stands upon it1 #h or #i feet high4 ,both the floor and the cone are at once seen to be transformed remains of ancient masses of snow1 and are of a dirty yellow colour4 ,at the back of this chamber1 a narrow passage opens towards the interior of the mountain1 and winds steeply down with a height of #d feet1 and a length of a few fathoms1 till a magnificent dome is reached1 on the beauties of which ,herr ,peters becomes eloquent4 ,the floor is so smooth that crimpons are necessary1 and stalagmites and stalactites of ice are found in rich profusion1 the latter being generally formed on small limestone stalactites1 while the former have no such nucleus4 ,there is another opening near the original entrance to the cave1 a sort of fissure covered with elegant forms of ice1 leading to a steep shaft4 ,the imperial forester of ,topfanalva was bold enough to let himself down the slope of ice which formed the edge of the shaft1 on a rope ladder #fj feet long1 notwithstanding the difficulty of grasping the iron steps which of course lay pressed on to the ice2 but when he had descended about #cj feet1 the shaft became perpendicular1 and stones thrown in showed a very considerable depth4 ,there appeared to be no sound of water in the abyss below4 ,both entrances1 that to the shaft as well as that to the second chamber1 were ornamented with delicate ice crystals1 which occurred both on the limestone stalactites and on the walls1 and presented almost the appearance of plants of cauliflower4 ,the ice-floor of the first chamber is described as consisting of a 'coarse-grained' material4 ,in the south-east of ,servia1 on the western slope of ,mount ,rtagn1 is a pit #bj feet in diameter1 and #dj or #ej feet deep1 the bottom of which is reached by a succession of trunks of trees with the branches lopped off1 a sort of ladder called stouba by the natives4#agb ,the peasants assert that the snow and ice disappear from this pit in ,september1 and do not reappear before ,june4 ,the ,swiss peasants have never yet got so far as to say that the snow in their pits disappears in winter and returns in summer4 ,bou#agc found the temperature of the bottom of the pit to be #bh4d ,f41 while that of the air outside was #gf ,f4 ,the same writer#agd mentions a source in a mill-stone quarry in ,bosnia which is frozen till the end of ,june4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #abb3 ,several of these caves are referred to by ,reich1 ,beobachtungen ber die ,temperatur des ,gesteins in verschiedenen ,tiefen in den ,gruben des ,schsischen ,erzgebirges2 ,freiberg1 #ahcd4 ,footnote #abc3 ,naturwunder des ,oesterr4 ,kaiserthums1 iii4 #dj4 ,footnote #abd3 ,mittheil4 des ,oesterr4 ,alpen-,vereins1 ii4 #dda4 ,i am indebted to ,g4,c4 ,churchill1 ,esq41 one of the authors of the well-known book on the ,dolomite ,mountains1 for my knowledge of the existence of this cave1 and of the ,kolowrathhle4 ,footnote #abe3 ,beschreibung merkwrdiger ,hhlen1 ii4 #bhc4 ,footnote #abf3 ,geognostsche ,reschreibung des bayerischen ,alpengebirges2 ,gotha1 #ahfa4 ,footnote #abg3 ,these constitute the upper bone bed and ,dachstein limestone beds of the uppermost part of the ,trias formation4 ,footnote #abh3 ,hereynia ,curiosa1 cap4 v4 ,the same account is given in ,behren's ,natural ,history of the ,harz ,forest1 of which an ,english translation was published in #agcj4 ,footnote #abi3 ,see also ,muncke1 ,handbuch der ,naturlehre1 iii4 #bgg2 ,heidelberg1 #ahcj4 ,footnote #acj3 ,see page #eh4 ,the more modern spelling is frais-puits4 ,footnote #aca3 liv4 #bib4 ,footnote #acb3 ,described by ,schaller1 ,leitmeritzer ,kreis1 p4 #bga1 and by ,sommer1 in the same publication1 p4 #cca4 ,i have not been able to procure this book4 ,footnote #acc3 ,bhmens ,topogr41 i4 #cci4 ,this reference is given by ,professor ,pleischl4 ,footnote #acd3 ,annalen1 lxxxi4 #egi4 ,footnote #ace3 ,i was told1 in #ahfd1 by a chamois-hunter of ,les ,plans1 a valley two hours above ,bex1 that some years before he was cutting a wood-road through the forest early in ,september1 when1 at a depth of #f inches below the surface1 he found the ground frozen hard4 ,we visited the place together1 but could find no ice4 ,the whole ground was composed of a mass of loose round stones1 with a covering of earth and moss1 and the air in the interstices was peculiarly cold and dry4 ,footnote #acf3 ,beobachtungen1 c4 7see note on p4 #beh71 #aha4 ,footnote #acg3 ,reich found the temperature of the ice to be #caihb ,f41 that of the air in the immediate vicinity #cdjbe1 and the rock1 at a little distance1 #cbgfe4 ,footnote #ach3 iii4 #aej4 ,footnote #aci3 ,see many careful descriptions of these caves in the ,annales de ,chimie2 also1 an account by ,professor ,ansted1 in his ,science1 ,scenery1 and ,art1 p4 #bi4 ,m4 ,chaptal 7,ann4 de ,chimie1 iv4 #cd7 found the lowest temperature of the currents of cold air to be #cfe ,f42 but ,m4 ,girou de ,buzareingues 7,ann4 de ,chimie et de ,phys41 xlv4 #cfb7 found that with a strong north wind1 the temperature of the external air being #eed ,f41 the coldest current gave #cef ,f42 with less external wind1 still blowing from the north1 the external air lost half a degree centigrade of heat1 while the current in the cave rose to #chge ,f4 ,the cellars in which the famous cheese of ,roquefort is ripened are not subterranean1 but are buildings joined on to the rock at the mouths of the fissures whence the currents proceed4 ,they are so valuable1 that one1 which cost #ab1jjj francs in construction1 sold for #bae1jjj francs4 ,the cheese of this district has had a great reputation from very early times4 ,pliny 7,hist4 ,nat4 xi4 #ig7 mentions1 with commendation1 the cheeses of ,lesura 7,m4 ,lozre or ,losre7 and ,gabalum 7,gevaudan1 ,javoux74 ,the idolaters of ,gevaudan offered cheeses to demons by throwing them into a lake on the ,mons ,helanus 7,laz des ,helles87 and it was not till the year #eej that ,s4 ,hilary1 ,bishop of ,mende1 succeeded in putting a stop to this practice4 ,footnote #adj3 ,it would seem from his own account of the ,sauberg1 and from the description given above of the presence of ice among the rocky dbris1 as well as from the account on this page of ice in ,virginia1 that a formation of loose stones is favourable to the existence of a low degree of temperature4 ,see also the note on p4 #bfc1 with respect to the loose stones near ,les ,plans4 ,forchhammer found1 on the ,faro ,islands1 that springs which rise from loose stones are invariably colder than those which proceed from more solid rock at the same elevation1 as indeed might have been expected4 ,footnote #ada3 xvii4 #ccg4 ,the account is taken from a ,dutch journal4 ,footnote #adb3 xix4 p4 #abd4 ,footnote #adc3 ,october #aa1 #ahbi4 ,footnote #add3 viii4 #bed4 ,footnote #ade3 ,pp4 #agd-f4 ,footnote #adf3 ,thermometer about #he ,f4 ,footnote #adg3 v4 #aed4 ,footnote #adh3 iv4 #cjj4 ,footnote #adi3 ,die erlschenen ,vulkane in der ,eifel1 ,s4 #ei4 ,footnote #aej3 ,dr4 ,gmelin1 of ,tubingen1 detected the presence of ammonia both in clinkstone lava and in columnar basalt 7,american ,journal of ,science1 iv4 #cga74 ,footnote #aea3 ,geology and ,extinct ,volcanoes of ,central ,france1 p4 #fj 7second edition74 ,footnote #aeb3 ,mr4 ,william ,longman has informed me that some years ago he had ice given him in summer1 when he was on a visit to the inspector of mines at ,pont ,gibaud1 and he was told that it was formed in a neighbouring cavern during the hot season4 ,footnote #aec3 ,original edition of #ahcj1 i4 #cfi4 ,footnote #aed3 ,see ,professor ,tyndall's ,glaciers of the ,alps1 for an account of glacier-tables1 sand-cones1 c4 ,anyone who has walked on a glacier will have noticed the little pits which any small black substance1 whether a stone or a dead insect1 sinks for itself in the ice4 ,footnote #aee3 ,gilbert1 ,annalen1 lxix4 #adc4 ,footnote #aef3 ,according to the latest accounts ,i have been able to obtain1 a temperature of #bige ,f4 had already been reached some years ago2 the temperature1 a few feet from the surface1 being #ad below freezing4 ,the soil here only thaws to a depth of #c feet in the hottest summer4 ,sir ,r4 ,murchison wrote to ,russia1 in ,february last1 for further information regarding this well4 ,since ,i wrote this1 ,sir ,roderick ,murchison has applied to the ,secretary of the ,imperial ,academy of ,st4 ,petersburg for further information respecting the investigations at ,jakutsk4 ,the ,secretary gives a reference to ,middendorff's ,sibirische ,reise1 ,bd4 iv4 ,th4 i41 #cte ,lieferung1 ,klima1 #ahfa4 ,i have only been able to find the edition of #ahdh-ea2 but in that edition1 under the heading ,meteorologische ,beobachtungen1 elaborate tables of the meteorological condition of ,jakutsk are given 7i4 #bh-di74 ,also1 under the heading ,geothermische ,beobachtungen1 very careful information respecting the frozen earth will be found 7i4 #aeg1 c41 and #agh1 c474 ,the point at which a temperature of #cb will be attained1 is reckoned variously at from #fjj to #a1jjj feet below the surface4 ,footnote #aeg3 ,reise im ,russischen ,reich1 i4 #cei2 ,st4 ,petersburg1 #aggb4 ,footnote #aeh3 xxxviii4 #bca 7an4 #agia71 in an article called ,notice minral1 de la ,daourie ,footnote #aei3 ,l4c41 p4 #bcf4 ,footnote #afj3 ,beobachtungen1 c41 #aid4 ,footnote #afa3 ,mundus ,subterraneus1 i4 #bbj 7i4 #bci1 in the edition of #afgh74 ,footnote #afb3 ',vidi ego in ,monte ,sorano cryptam veluti glacie incrustatam1 ingentibus in fornice hinc inde stiriis dependentibus1 e quibus vicini mentis accol pocula stivo tempore conficiunt1 aqu vinoque qu iis infunduntur refrigerandis aptissima1 extremo rigore in summas bibentium delicias commutato4' ,footnote #afc3 ,both here and at ,schemnitz1 ,kircher made particular enquiries on a subject of which scientific men have altogether lost sight4 ,at ,schemnitz he asked the superintendent1 an comparcant ,dmunculi vel pygmi in fodinis8--respondit affirmative1 et narrat plura exempla2 and at ,herrengrund1 utrum appareant ,dmunculi seu pygmi8--respondit tales visos fuisse1 et auditos pluries4 7,edition of #afgh1 ii4 #bjc1 #bje47 ,footnote #afd3 ,reich1 #aii4 ,footnote #afe3 i4 #ajh 7,lyon1 #agid74 ,footnote #aff3 ,ueber die unterirdischen ,gasarten1 #aja4 ,footnote #afg3 xvii4 #chf4 ,footnote #afh3 ,mm4 sur les ,basaltes de la ,saxe1 p4 #adg4 ,footnote #afi3 ,mineralog4 ,reisen1 ii4 #abc4 ,footnote #agj3 ,reich1 #bjj1 #bja2 ,bischof1 ,physical ,researches on the ,internal ,heat of the ,globe1 #df1 #dg4 ,footnote #aga3 ,peters1 ,geologische und mineralogische ,studien aus dem sudstlichen ,ungarn1 in the ,sitzungsberichte der kais4 ,ak4 in ,wien1 ,b4 xliii41 #ate ,abth41 ,s4 #dce4 ,see also pages #cid and #dah of the same volume 7year #ahfa74 ,footnote #agb3 ,such ladders are in ordinary use in the ,jura4 ,footnote #agc3 ,turquie d',europe1 i4 #acb 7he quotes himself as i4 #ahj1 in the ,sitzungsb1 der k4 ,ak4 in ,wien1 xlix4 l4 #cbd74 ,footnote #agd3 ,l4c41 p1 #eba4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,history ,,of ,,theories ,,respecting ,,the ,,causes ,,of ,,subterranean ,,ice4 ,the only glacire which is in any sense historical1 is that near ,besanon2 and a brief account of the different theories which have been advanced in explanation of the phenomena presented by it1 will include almost all that has been written on ice-caves4 ,the first mention ,i have found of this cave is contained in an old history of the ,franche ,comt of ,burgundy1 published at ,dle in #aeib1 to which reference has been already made4 ,gollut1 the author1 speaks more than once of a glacire in his topographical descriptions1 and in a short account of it he states that it lay near the village of ,leugn1 which ,i find marked in the ,delphinal ,atlas very near the site of the ,chartreuse of ,grce-,dieu2 so that there can be no doubt that his glacire was the same with that which now exists4 ,his theory was1 that the dense covering of trees and shrubs protected the soil and the surface-water from the rays of the sun1 and so the cold which was stored up in the cave was enabled to withstand the attacks of the heat of summer4#age ,in the case of many of the glacires1 there can be no doubt that this idea of winter cold being so preserved1 by natural means1 as to resist the encroachments of the hotter seasons1 is the true explanation of the phenomenon of underground ice4 ,the next account of this glacire is found in the ,history of the ,royal ,academy of ,sciences 7,french71 under the year #afhf1agf but no theory is there suggested4 ,the writer of the account states that in his time the floor of the cave was covered with ice1 and that ice hung from the roof in festoons4 ,in winter the cave was full of thick vapours1 and a stream of water ran through it4 ,the ice had for long been less abundant than in former times1 in consequence of the felling of some trees which had stood near the entrance4 ,the ,academy received in the same year another letter on this subject1 confirming the previous account1 and adding some particulars4 ,from this it would seem that people flocked from all sides to the glacire with waggons and mules1 and conveyed the ice through the various parts of ,burgundy1 and to the camp of the ,saone2 not thereby diminishing the amount of ice1 for one hot day produced as much as they could carry away in eight days4 ,the ice seemed to be formed from a stream which ran through the cave and was frozen in the summer only4 ,the writer of this second account saw vapours in the glacire 7the editor of the ,histoire de l',acadmie does not say at what season the visit to the cave took place71 and was informed that this was an infallible sign of approaching rain2 so much so1 that the peasants were in the habit of determining the coming weather by the state of the grotto4 ,in #agab1 ,m4 ,billerez1 ,professor of ,anatomy and ,botany in the ,university of ,besanon1 communicated to the ,academy#agg an account of a visit made by him to this cave in ,september #agaa4 ,he found #c feet of ice on the floor of the cave1 in a state of incipient thaw1 and three pyramids1 from #ae to #bj feet high and #e or #f feet in diameter1 which had been already considerably reduced in size by thaw4 ,a vapour was beginning to pass out from the cave1 at the highest part of the arch of entrance2 a phenomenon which1 he was told1 continued through the winter1 and announced or accompanied the departure of the ice3 nevertheless1 the cold was so great that he could not remain in the glacire more than half an hour with any sort of comfort4 ,the thermometer stood at #fj outside the cave1 and fell to #ajagh when placed inside2 but thermometrical observations of that date were so vague as to be useless for present purposes4 ,the ice appeared to be harder than the ordinary ice of rivers1 less full of air-bubbles1 and more difficult to melt4 ,m4 ,billerez enunciated a new theory to account for the phenomena presented by the cave4 ,he observed that the earth in the immediate neighbourhood1 and especially above the roof of the grotto1 was full of a nitrous or ammoniac salt1 and he accordingly suggested that this salt was disturbed by the heat of summer and mingled itself with the water which penetrated by means of fissures to the grotto1 and so the cave was affected in the same way as the smaller vessel in the ordinary preparation of artificial ice4 ,he had heard that some rivers in ,china freeze in summer from the same cause4#agi ,in #agbf1 a further communication was made to the ,academy by ,m4 des ,boz1#aha ,royal ,engineer1 describing four visits which he had made to the grotto near ,besanon at four different seasons of the year1 viz41 in ,may and ,november #agbe1 and in ,march and ,august #agbf4 ,in all cases he found the air in the cave colder than the external air1#ahb and its variations in temperature corresponded with the external variations1 the cold being greater in winter than in summer4 ,m4 des ,boz ascribed the existence of ice in the cave to natural causes4 ,the opening being towards the north-east1 and corresponding with a gorge in the hills opposite1 running in the same direction1 none but cold winds could reach the mouth of the grotto4 ,moreover1 the soil above was so thickly covered with trees and brushwood1 that the rays of the sun could not reach the earth1 much less the rock below4 ,credible persons asserted that since some of the trees had been felled1 there had not been so much ice in the cave4 ,in order to test the presence of salt1 ,m4 des ,boz melted some of the ice1 and evaporated the resulting water1 but found no taste of salt in the matter which remained4#ahc ,he denied the existence of the spring of water which previous accounts had mentioned1 and believed that the water which formed the ice came solely from melted snow1 and from the fissures of the rock4 ,in #agbg1 the ,duc de ,lvi caused the whole of the ice to be removed from the cave1 for the use of the army of the ,saone1 which he commanded4 ,in #agdc the ice had formed again1 and the grotto was subjected to a very careful investigation by ,m4 de ,cossigny1 chief engineer of ,besanon1 in the months of ,august and ,october4#ahc ,the thermometer he used had been presented to him by the ,academy1 and was very probably constructed by ,m4 de ,raumur himself1 for de ,cossigny's account was sent through ,m4 de ,raumur to the ,academy1 but still the observations made with it cannot be considered very trustworthy4 ,on the #hth of ,august1 at #g4cj ,a4,m41 the temperature in the cave was #a_/b above the zero point of this thermometer1 and at #aa4cj ,a4,m4 it had risen to #a above zero4 ,on the #agth of ,october1 at #g ,a4,m41 the thermometer stood at #a_/b1 and at #d ,p4,m4 it gave the same register4 ,m4 de ,cossigny found that the entrance to the cave was rather more than #aej feet above the ,abbey of ,grce-,dieu1 and about half a league distant by the ordinary path4 ,a great part of his account is occupied by contradictions of previous accounts1 especially in the matter of dimensions1#ahd ,the people of ,besanon had urged him to stay only a short time in the cave1 because of the sulphureous and nitrous exhalations1 but he detected no symptoms of anything of that kind4 ,the most curious thing which he saw was the soft earth which lay1 and still lies1 at the bottom of the long slope of ice by which the descent is made2 and he subjected this to various chemical tests and processes1 but could not find that it contained anything different from ordinary earth4#ahe ,when ,m4 de ,cossigny visited the cave1 there were thirteen or fourteen columns of ice1 from #f to #h feet high1 and he was in consequence inclined to doubt the accuracy of the statement of ,m4 ,billerez1 that in his time 7#agaa7 there were three columns only1 from #ae to #bj feet high4 ,but my own observation of the shape of the columns suggested that the largest of all was probably an amalgamation of several others2 so that it is not unreasonable to suppose that after the ,duc de ,lvi removed the large columns seen by ,m4 ,billerez1 a number of smaller columns were formed on the old site1 and that these had not become large enough to amalgamate in #agdc4 ,not satisfied with these visits of ,august and ,october1 ,m4 de ,cossigny visited the cave in ,april #agde4 ,he found the temperature at #e ,a4,m4 to be exactly at the freezing point1 and at noon it had risen #a4 ,from this he concluded that the stories of the greater cold in the cave during the summer1 as compared with the winter1 were false4 ,in #agfi1 ,m4 ,prvost1 of ,geneva1 visited the cave1 as a young man2 and in #aghi1 he wrote an account of his visit in the ,journal de ,genve 7,march71 which was afterwards inserted as an additional chapter in his book on ,heat4#ahf ,he believed that one or two hundred toises was the utmost that could be allowed for the height of the hill in which the glacire lies1--a sufficiently vague approximation4 ,he rejected the idea of salt as the cause of ice1 and came to the conclusion that the cave was in fact nothing more than a good natural ice-house1 being protected by dense trees1 and a thick roof of rock1 while its opening towards the north sheltered it from all warm winds4 ,he accounted for the original presence of ice as follows3--,in the winter1 stalactites form at the edges of various fissures in the roof1 and snow is drifted on to the floor of the cave by the north winds down the entrance-slope4 ,when the warmer weather comes1 the stalactites fall by their own weight1 and1 lying in the drifted and congealed snow1 form nuclei round which the snow is still further congealed1 and the water which results from the partial thaw of portions of the snow is also converted into ice4 ,thus1 a larger collection of ice forms in winter than the heat of summer can destroy2 and if none of it were removed1 it might1 in the course of years1 almost fill the cave4 ,at the time of his visit 7,august71 ,m4 ,prvost found only one column1 from #f to #h feet high4 ,in #aghc 7,august #f71 ,m4 ,girod-,chantrans visited the ,glacire of ,chaux 7so called from a village near the glacire1 on the opposite side from the ,abbey of ,grce-,dieu71 and his account of the visit appeared in the ,journal des ,mines#ahg of ,prairial1 an iv41 by which time the writer had become the ,citizen ,girod-,chantrans4 ,he found a mass of stalactites of ice hanging from the roof1 as if seeking to join themselves with corresponding stalagmites on the floor of the cave2 the latter1 five in number1 being not more than #c or #d feet high1 and standing on a thick sheet of ice4 ,there was a sensible interval between this basement of ice and the rock and stones on which it reposed3 it was1 moreover1 full of holes containing water1 and the lower parts of the cave were unapproachable by reason of the large quantity of water which lay there4 ,the thermometer stood at #cei ,f4 two feet above the floor1 and at #gh ,f4 in the shade outside4 ,m4 ,girod-,chantrans determined1 from all he saw and heard1 that the summer freezing and winter thaw were fables1 and he believed that the cave was only an instance of ,nature's providing the same sort of receptacle for ice as men provide in artificial ice-houses4 ,he was fortunate enough to obtain by chance the notes of a neighbouring physician1 who had made careful observations and experiments in the glacire at various seasons of the year1 and a prcis of these notes forms the most valuable part of his account4 ,dr4 ,oudot1 the physician in question1 found ten columns in ,january #aggh1 the largest of which was #e-a_/b feet high4 ,the flooring of ice was nowhere more than #ae inches thick1 and the parts of the rock which were not covered with ice were perfectly dry4 ,the thermometer--,m4 ,girod-,chantrans used ,raumur1 so ,i suppose that he gives ,dr4 ,oudot's observations in degrees of ,raumur1 though some of the results of that supposition appear to be anomalous--gave #bb ,f4 within the cave1 and #ba ,f4 outside4 ,in ,april of the same year1 the large column had increased in height to the extent of #ac inches2 and the floor of ice on which it stood was #a-a_/b inch thicker1 and extended over a larger area than before2 the thermometer stood at #cf4e ,f4 and #eb ,f4 respectively in the same positions as in the former case4 ,in ,july1 the large column had lost #f inches of its height1 and the thermometer gave #ch4ge ,f4 and #gd4ge ,f4 ,in ,october1 the large column was only #c feet high1 and many of the others had disappeared1 while their pedestal had become much thinner than it had been in the preceding months4 ,there was also a considerable amount of mud in the cave1 brought down apparently by the heavy rains of autumn4 ,the thermometer gave #cg4f ,f4 and #fc4e ,f4 ,on the #hth of ,january1 #aggi1 there were nine columns of very beautiful ice1 and one of these1 as before1 was larger than the rest1 being #e feet high and #aj feet in circumference4 ,the temperatures were #ba ,f4 and #af4ae ,f4 in the cave and in the open air respectively4 ,tradition related that1 before the removal of the ice in #agbg1 one of the columns reached the roof1 7,prvost calculated the limits of the height of the cave at #ij and #fj feet17 and this suggested to ,dr4 ,oudot the idea of placing stakes of wood in the heads of the columns he found in the cave1 in the hope that ice would thus collect in greater quantities under the fissures of the roof4 ,accordingly1 he made holes in three of the columns1 and established stakes #d1 #e1 and #aj feet high1 returning on the #bbnd of ,february1 after an interval of six weeks1 to observe the result of his experiment4 ,he found the two shorter stakes completely masked with ice1 forming columns a foot in diameter2 and the longest stake1 though not entirely concealed by the ice which had collected upon it1 was crowned with a beautiful capital of perfectly transparent ice4 ,the columns which had no stakes fixed upon them had also increased somewhat in size1 but not nearly in the same proportion as those which were the subject of ,dr4 ,oudot's experiment4 ,the thermometer on this day gave #bi4e ,f4 and #ei ,f4 as the temperatures4 ,it may be remembered that ,i found one very beautiful column1 far higher than any of those mentioned by ,dr4 ,oudot1 and higher than those which ,m4 ,billerez saw1 formed upon the trunk and branches of a fir-tree4 ,i have now no doubt that the peculiar shape of another--the largest of the three columns which were in the cave at the time of my visit--is due to the fact of its being a collection of several smaller columns1 which have in course of time flowed into one as they increased separately in bulk1 and that its height has been augmented by a device similar to that adopted by ,dr4 ,oudot4 ,the two magnificent capitals which this column possessed1 as well as the numerous smaller capitals which sprang from its sides1 will thus be completely accounted for4 ,one more account may be mentioned1 before ,i proceed to the theory which has found most favour in ,switzerland of late years4 ,m4 ,cadet published some ,conjectures on the formation of the ice in this cavern1 in the ,annales de ,chimie1 ,nivse1 an ,,xi4#ahh ,he saw the cave in the end of ,september #agia1 and found very little ice--not a third of what there had been a month before1 according to the account of his guide4 ,the limonadier of a public garden in ,besanon informed him that the people of that town resorted to the glacire for ice when the supplies of the artificial ice-houses failed1 and that they chose a hot day for this purpose1 because on such days there was more ice in the cave4 ,ten chars would have been sufficient to remove all the ice ,m4 ,cadet found1 and the air inside the cave seemed to be not colder than the external air2 but1 nevertheless1 ,m4 ,cadet believed the old story of the greater abundance of ice in summer than in winter1 and he attempted to account for the phenomenon4 ,the ground above and near the cave is covered with beech and chestnut trees1 and thus is protected from the rays of the sun4 ,the leaves of these trees give forth abundant moisture1 which has been pumped up from their roots2 and as this moisture passes from the liquid to the gaseous state1 it absorbs a large quantity of caloric4 ,thus1 throughout the summer1 the atmosphere is incessantly refrigerated by the evaporation produced by the trees round the cave2 whereas in winter no such process goes on1 and the cave assumes a moderate temperature1 such as is usually found in ordinary caves4 ,unfortunately for ,m4 ,cadet's theory1 the facts are not in accordance with his imaginary data1 nor yet with his conclusions4 ,he adds1 on the authority of one of his friends1 that the intendant of the province1 ,m4 de ,vanolles1 wishing to preserve a larger amount of ice in the cave1 built up the entrance with a wall #bj feet high1 in which a small door was made1 and the keys were left in the hands of the authorities of the neighbouring village1 with orders that no ice should be removed4 ,the effect of this was1 that the ice diminished considerably1 and they were obliged to pull down the wall again4 ,m4 ,cadet saw the remains of the wall1 and the story was confirmed by the ,brothers of ,grce-,dieu4 ,it would be very interesting to know at what season this wall was built1 and when it was pulled down4 ,if my ideas on the subject of ice-caves are correct1 it would be absolutely fatal to shut out the heavy cold air of winter from the grotto4 ,in #ahbb1 ,m4,a4 ,pictet1 of ,geneva1 took up the question of natural glacires1 and read a paper before the ,helvetic ,society of ,natural ,sciences1#ahi describing his visits to the caves of the ,brezon and the ,valley of ,reposoir4 ,in order to explain the phenomena presented by those caves1 ,m4 ,pictet adopted ,de ,saussure's theory of the principle of caves-froides1 rendering it somewhat more precise1 and extending it to meet the case of ice-caves4 ,it is well known that1 in many parts of the world1 cold currents are found to blow from the interstices of rocks2 and these are utilised by neighbouring proprietors1 who build sheds over the fissures1 and so secure a cool place for keeping meat1 c4 ,examples of such currents are met with near ,rome 7in the ,monte ,testaceo71 at ,lugano1 ,lucerne 7the caves of ,hergiswyl71 and in various other districts4 ,it is found that the hotter the day1 the stronger is the current of cold air2 in winter the direction of the current is changed1 and it blows into the rock instead of out from it4#aij ,de ,saussure's theory1 as developed by ,m4 ,pictet1 was no doubt satisfactory1 so far as it was used to account for the phenomenon of 'cold-caves1' but it seems to be insufficient as an explanation of the existence of large masses of subterranean ice2 of which1 by the way1 ,de ,saussure must have been entirely ignorant1 for he makes no allusion to such ice1 and the temperatures of the coldest of his caves were considerably above the freezing point4 ,pictet represents the case of a cave with cold currents of air to be much the same as that of a mine with a vertical shaft1 ending in a horizontal gallery of which one extremity is in communication with the open air1 at a point much lower1 of course1 than the upper extremity of the shaft4 ,the cave corresponds to the horizontal gallery1 and the various fissures in the rock take the place of the vertical shaft1 and communicate freely with the external air4 ,in summer1 the columns of air contained in these fissures assume nearly the temperature of the rock in which they rest1 that is to say1 the mean temperature of the district1 and therefore they are heavier than the corresponding external columns of air which terminate at the mouth of the cave2 for the atmosphere in summer is very much above the mean temperature of the soil1 or of the interior of the earth at moderate depths4 ,the consequence is1 that the heavy cool air descends from the fissures1 and streams out into the cave1 appearing as a cold current2 and the hotter the day is--that is1 the lighter the columns of external air--the more violent will be the disturbance of equilibrium1 and therefore the more palpable the cold current4 ,naturally1 in this last case1 the air which enters by the upper orifices of the fissures is more heated1 to begin with1 than on cooler days2 but external heat so very slightly affects the deeper parts of the fissures1 that the columns of air thus introduced are speedily impressed with the mean temperature of the district4 ,in winter1 the external columns of air are as much heavier than the columns in the fissures as they are lighter in summer2 and so cold currents of air blow from the cave into the fissures1 though such currents are not of course colder than the external air4 ,thus the mean temperature of the cave is much lower than that of the rock in which it occurs2 for the temperature of the currents varies from the mean temperature of the rock to the winter temperature of the external atmosphere4 ,the descending columns of warmer air1 in summer1 must to some extent raise the temperature of the fissures above that which they would otherwise possess1 that is1 above the mean temperature of the place2 but that may be considered to be counteracted by the corresponding lowering of the temperature of the fissures by the introduction of cold air from the cave in winter4 ,by a similar reasoning1 it will be seen that for some time after the spring change of direction in the currents takes place1 the temperature of the cave will be less than would have been expected from a calculation founded on the true mean temperature of the rock through which the fissures pass4 ,this1 together with the fact of the porous nature of the rock in which most of the curious caves in the world occur1 which allows a considerable amount of moisture to collect on all surfaces1 and thereby induces a depression of temperature by evaporation1 may be held to explain the presence of a greater amount of cold than might otherwise have been fairly reckoned upon in ice-caves4 ,the idea of cold produced by evaporation ,pictet took up warmly1 believing that when promoted by rapid currents of air it would produce ice in the summer months2 and he thus explained what he understood to be the phenomena of glacires4 ,but it will have been seen1 from the account of the caves ,i have visited1 that the glacires are more or less in a state of thaw in the summer2 and ,m4 ,thury's observations in the winter prove conclusively that they are then in a state of utter frost1 so that the old belief with respect to the season at which the ice is formed may be supposed to have been exploded4 ,the facts recorded by ,mr4 ,scrope#aia would appear to depend upon the peculiar nature of rocks of volcanic formation2 and ,i am inclined to think there is very little in common between such instances as he mentions and the large caves filled with ice which are to be found in the primary or secondary limestone4 ,one of ,de ,saussure's experiments1 in the course of his investigation of the phenomena and causes of cold currents in caves1 is worth recalling4 ,he passed a current of air through a glass tube an inch in diameter1 filled with moistened stones1 and by that means succeeded in reducing the temperature of the current from #ah ,c4 to #ae ,c42 and when the refrigerated current was directed against a wet-bulb thermometer1 it fell to #ad ,c41 thus showing a loss of #gb ,f4 of heat4 ,no one can see much of limestone caverns without discovering that the surfaces over which any currents there may be are constrained to pass1 present an abundance of moisture to refrigerate the currents2 and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the large number of evaporating surfaces1 which currents passing through heaps of dbris--such as the basaltic stones described on page #bfa--;come in contact with1 are the main cause of the specially low temperature observed under such circumstances4 ,pictet's theory1 however1 did not convince all those into whose hands his paper fell1 and ,m4,j4 ,deluc wrote against it in the ,annales de ,chimie et de ,physique of the same year1 #ahbb4aib ,deluc had not seen any glacire1 but he was enabled to decide against the cold-current theory by a perusal of ,pictet's own details1 and of one of the accounts of the cave near ,besanon4 ,he objected1 that in many cases the ice is found to melt in summer1 instead of forming then2 and also1 that in the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges1 which ,pictet had described1 there was no current whatever4 ,further1 in all the cases of cold currents investigated or mentioned by ,de ,saussure1 the presence of summer ice was never even hinted at1 and the lowest temperatures observed by him were considerably above the freezing point4 ,i may add1 from my own experience1 that on the only occasions on which ,i found a decided current in a glacire--viz41 in the ,glacire of ,monthzy1 and that of ,chappet-sur-,villaz1--there was marked thaw in connection with the current4 ,in the latter case1 the channel from which the current came was filled with water2 and in the former1 water stood on the surface of the ice4 ,the view which ,deluc adopted was one which ,i have myself independently formed2 and he would probably have written with more force if he had been acquainted with various small details relating to the position and surroundings of many of the caves4 ,the heavy cold air of winter sinks down into the glacires1 and the lighter warm air of summer cannot on ordinary principles of gravitation dislodge it1 so that heat is very slowly spread in the caves2 and even when some amount of heat does reach the ice1 the latter melts but slowly1 for ice absorbs #fj ,c4 of heat in melting2 and thus1 when ice is once formed1 it becomes a material guarantee for the permanence of cold in the cave4 ,for this explanation to hold good1 it is necessary that the level at which the ice is found should be below the level of the entrance to the cave2 otherwise the mere weight of the cold air would cause it to leave its prison as soon as the spring warmth arrived4 ,in every single case that has come under my observation1 this condition has been emphatically fulfilled4 ,it is necessary1 also1 that the cave should be protected from direct radiation1 as the gravitation of cold air has nothing to do with resistance to that powerful means of introducing heat4 ,this condition1 also1 is fulfilled by nature in all the glacires ,i have visited1 excepting that of ,s4 ,georges2 and there art has replaced the protection formerly afforded by the thick trees which grew over the hole of entrance4 ,the effect of the second hole in the roof of this glacire is to destroy all the ice which is within range of the sun4 ,a third and very necessary condition is1 that the wind should not be allowed access to the cave2 for if it were1 it would infallibly bring in heated air1 in spite of the specific weight of the cold air stored within4 ,it will be understood from my descriptions of such glacires as that of the ,grand ,anu1 of ,monthzy1 and the ,lower ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres1 how completely sheltered from all winds the entrances to those caves are4 ,there can be no doubt1 too1 that the large surfaces which are available for evaporation have much to do with maintaining a somewhat lower temperature than the mean temperature of the place where the cave occurs4 ,this had been noticed so long ago as ,kircher's time2 for among the answers which his questions received from the miners of ,herrengrund1 we find it stated that1 so long as mines are dry1 the deeper they are the hotter2 but if they have water1 they are less warm1 however deep4 ,from the mines of ,schemnitz he was informed that1 so long as the free passage of air was not hindered1 the mines remained temperate2 in other cases they were very warm4 ,another great advantage which some glacires possess must be borne in mind1 namely1 the collection of snow at the bottom of the pit in which the entrance lies4 ,this snow absorbs1 in the course of melting1 all heat which strikes down by radiation or is driven down by accidental turns of the wind2 and the snow-water thus forced into the cave will1 at any rate1 not seriously injure the ice4 ,it is worthy of notice that the two caves which possess the greatest depth of ice1 so far as ,i have been able to fathom it1 are precisely those which have the greatest deposit of snow2 and the ice in a third cave1 that of ,monthzy1 which has likewise a large amount of snow in the entrance-pit1 presents the appearance of very considerable depth4 ,the ,schafloch1 it is true1 which contains an immense bulk of ice1 has no snow2 but its elevation is great1 as compared with that of some of the caves1 and therefore the mean temperature of the rock in which it occurs is less unfavourable to the existence of ice4 ,i believe that the true explanation of the curious phenomena presented by these caves in general1 is to be found in ,deluc's theory1 fortified by such facts as those which ,i have now stated4 ,the mean temperature of the rock at ,besanon1 where the elevation above the sea is comparatively so small1 renders the temptation to suggest some chemical cause very strong4 ,the question of ice in summer where thaw prevails in winter1 may fairly be considered to have been eliminated from the discussion of such caves as ,i have seen1 in spite of the persistent assertions of some of the peasantry4 ,the observations1 however1 in caverns in volcanic formations1 and in basaltic dbris1 are so circumstantial that it is impossible to reject them2 and in such cases a theory similar to that enunciated by ,mr4 ,scrope#aic seems to be the only one in any way satisfactory1 though ,i have not heard of such marvellous results being produced elsewhere by evaporation4 ,one observer1 for instance1 of the cavern near the village of ,both1 in the ,eiffel1 found a thickness of #c feet of ice2 and in that case it was melting in summer1 instead of forming4 ,in some cases it has been suggested that the length of time required for external heat or cold to penetrate through the earth and rock which lie above the caves is sufficient to account for the phenomenon of summer frost and winter thaw4 ,thus1 it is said1 the thickness of the superincumbent bed may be such that the heat of summer only gets through to the cave at ,christmas1 and then produces thaw1 while in like manner the greatest cold will reach the cave in mid-summer4 ,but there is a fatal objection to this idea in the fact that the invariable stratum--i4e41 the stratum beyond which the annual changes of external temperature are not felt--is reached about #fj feet below the surface in temperate latitudes1#aid while at the tropics such changes are not felt more than a foot below the surface4 ,humboldt calculated that in the latitude of central ,france the whole annual variation in temperature at a depth of #cj feet would not amount to more than one degree4#aie ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #agd3 ,as ,gollut's phraseology is peculiar1 it may be as well to reproduce his account of the cave3--',je ne veux pas omettre toutefois 7puisque je suis en ces eaux7 de mettre en memoire la commodit que nature hat don quelques delicats1 puis qu'au fond d'un mntagne de ,leugn1 la glace 7glasse in the index71 se treuve en est1 pour le plaisir de ceux qui aimet a boire frais4 ,nanmoins dans ce teps cela se perd1 n pour autre raison 7ainsi que e pense7 que pour ce que lon hat dpouill le dessus de la mtagne d'une poisse et aulte fustaie de bois1 qui ne permettoit pas que les raions du soleil vinsent chauffer la terre et dseicher les distillations1 que se couloiet iusques au plus bas et plus froid de la montagne3 ou 7par l'antipristase7 le froid s'epoississoit1 et se reserroit1 contre les chaleurs1 entornantes et environnantes le long de l'est1 toute la circonference extrieure du mont4'--,histoire1 c41 p4 #hg4 ,footnote #age3 ,hist4 de l',acad41 t4 ii41 p4 #b4 ,footnote #agf3 ,hist4 de l',acad41 an #agab1 p4 #bj4 ,footnote #agg3 ,c'est dire--,m4 ,billerez explains-- #aj degrs au-dessous du trs-grand froid4 ,what the #fj may be worth1 ,i cannot say4 ,footnote #agh3 ,tournefort 7,voyage du ,levant1 iii4 #ag7 believed that the ammoniac salt1 of which the earth was full in some districts near ,erzeroum1 had something to do with the persistence of snow on the ground there4 ,footnote #agi3 ,hist1 de l',acad41 an #agbf1 p4 #af4 ,footnote #ahj3 ,but see on this point the experience of ,m4 ,thury1 in the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges 7,appendix74 ,footnote #aha3 ,sir ,roderick ,murchison's suggestion of the possible influence of salt in producing the phenomena of his ice-cave in ,russia1 did not1 of course1 proceed upon the supposition of salt actually mingling with water1 but only of its increasing the evaporation of the air which came in contact with it4 ,footnote #ahb3 ,mm4 prsents l',acadmie par divers ,savans1 i1 #aie4 ,footnote #ahc3 ,a long account was published in a history of ,burgundy1 printed at ,dijon1 in quarto1 in #agcg1 which ,i have not been able to find4 ,it was from the same source as the account in the ,hist4 of the ,academy1 in #agbf4 ,footnote #ahd3 ,i took this earth to be a collection of the particles carried down the slope of ice by the heavy rains of the month preceding my visit4 ,m4 de ,cossigny speaks of the abundant rains of ,july1 his visit being in ,august4 ,footnote #ahe3 ,recherches sur la ,chaleur2 ,geneva and ,paris1 #agib4 ,footnote #ahf3 ,p4 #fe4 ,now called ,annales des ,mines4 ,footnote #ahg3 ,t4 xlv4 p4 #afj4 ,footnote #ahh3 ,bibliothque ,universelle de ,genve1 ,premire ,srie1 t4 xx4 ,footnote #ahi3 ,see ,de ,saussure's account of his numerous observations of such caves in the ,voyage dans les ,alpes1 sections #adjd-adae4 ,footnote #aij3 ,p4 #bga4 ,footnote #aia3 ,p4 #bga4 ,footnote #aib3 xxi4 #aac4 ,footnote #aic3 ,p4 #bga4 ,footnote #aid3 ,daubuisson estimated the depth in question at from #df to #fa feet1 while ,kupffer put it at #gg feet4 ,footnote #aie3 ,de ,saussure found a variation of #bbe ,f4 at a depth of #bie feet2 but this was in a well1 where the influence of the atmosphere was allowed to have effect4 ,naturally1 the fissures which there may be in the rock surrounding a cave will increase the annual variation of temperature1 by affording means of easier penetration to the heat and cold4 ,sir ,k4 ,murchison's cavern in ,russia would seem to be entirely sui generis4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,on ,,the ,,prismatic ,,structure ,,of ,,the ,,ice ,,in ,,glaci,,res4 ,it was natural to suppose that the prismatic structure which ,i found so very general in the glacires was the result of some cause or causes coming into operation after the first formation of the ice4 ,on this point ,m4 ,thury's visit to the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges in the spring of #aheb affords valuable information1 for at that time the coating of ice on the wall1 evidently newly formed1 did not present the structure arolaire which he had observed in his summer visit to the cave4 ,he suggests that1 since ice is less coherent at a temperature of #cb ,f4--which is approximately the temperature of the ice-caves during several months of the year--than when exposed to a greater degree of cold1 its molecules will then become free to assume a fresh system of arrangement4#aif ,on the other hand1 ,professor ,faraday has found that ice formed under a temperature some degrees below the ordinary freezing point has a well-marked crystalline structure4#aig ,m4 ,thury suggests also1 as a possibility1 what ,i have found to be the case1 by frequent observations1 that the prismatic ice has greater power of resisting heat than ordinary ice2 and on this supposition he accounts for the fact of hollow stalactites being found in the ,cavern of ,s4 ,georges4#aih ,at the commencement of the hot season1 the atmospheric temperature of the glacires rises gradually2 and when it has almost reached #cb ,f41 the prismatic change takes place in the ice1 extending to a limited depth below the surface4 ,the central parts of the stalactites retain their ordinary structure1 and are after a time exposed to a general temperature rather above than below the freezing point2 and thus they come to melt1 the water escaping either by accidental fissures between some of the prisms1 or by the extremity of the stalactite1 or by some part of the surface which has chanced to escape the prismatic arrangement1 and has itself melted under increased temperature4#aii ,m4 ,hricart de ,thury describes the peculiar structure of the ice which he found in the ,glacire of the ,foire de ,fondeurle4#bjj ,he found that the crystallised portions were very distinctly marked1 displaying for the most part a six-sided arrangement2 and in the interior of a hollow stalactite he found numerous needles of ice perfectly crystallised1 the crystals being some triangular and some six-sided4 ,he was unable to detect any perfect pyramid4#bja ,i have already quoted ,olafsen's observations on the polygonal lining which he saw on the surface of the ice in the ,surtshellir4 ,the ,french ,encyclopdia #bjb relates that ,m4 ,hassenfratz saw ice served up at table at ,chambry which broke into hexagonal prisms2 and when he was shown the ice-houses where it was stored1 he found considerable blocks of ice containing hexahedral prisms terminated by corresponding pyramids4 ,in vol4 xv4 7,new ,series7 of the ,american ,journal of ,science1#bjc an extract is given from a letter describing the ',ice ,spring' in the ,rocky ,mountains1 which the mountaineers consider to be one of the curiosities of the great trail from the ,states to ,oregon and ,california4 ,it is situated in a low marshy 'swale' to the right of the ,sweetwater river1 and about forty miles from the ,south ,pass4 ,the ground is filled with springs2 and about #ah inches below the turf lies a smooth and horizontal sheet of ice1 which remains the year round1 protected by the soil and grass above it4 ,on ,july #abth1 #ahdi1 it was from #b to #d inches thick2 but one of the guides stated that he had seen it a foot deep4 ,it was perfectly clear1 and disposed in hexagonal prisms1 separating readily at the natural joints4 ,the ice had a slightly saline taste1#bjd the ground above it being impregnated with salt1 and the water near tasting of sulphur4 ,the upper surface of the stratum of ice was perfectly smooth4 ,in ,poggendorff's ,annalen 7#ahda1 ,erganzsband1 #eag-ai1--;,bou1 an old offender in that way1 says #ahdb7 there is an account of ice being found in the ,westerwald1 near the village of ,frickhofen at the foot of the ,dornburg1 among basaltic dbris about #ejj feet above the sea4#bje ,commencing at a depth of #b feet below the surface1 the ice reaches from #bj to #bb feet farther down1 where the loose stones give place to dry sand4 ,the ice is in thin layers on the stones1 and is deposited in the form of clear and regular hexagonal crystals4 ,the lateral extent through which this phenomenon obtains is from #dj to #ej feet each way1 and is greater in winter than in summer4 ,as in other cases that have been noticed in basaltic dbris1 the snow which falls upon the surface here is speedily melted4 ,the ,allgemeine ,zeitung 7#ahdj1 ,no4 #cji71 from which the account in ,poggendorff is taken1 suggested that the melted snow-water which would thus run down among the interstices would readily freeze below the surface1 while the heavy cold air of winter would be stored up at the lower levels1 and the poor conducting powers of basaltic rock#bjf would favour its permanence through the summer4 ,the temperature of the cold current which was perceptible in the parts of the mass of dbris where the ice existed was #a ,r4 7#cdbe ,f474 ,nothing but a few lichens grow on the surface of the dbris4 ,these are1 ,i think1 all the references ,i have met with to the prismatic structure of subterranean ice4 ,but there is an interesting account in ,poggendorff 's ,annalen1#bjg by a private teacher in ,jena1 of the crystalline appearance of ice under slow thaw near that town4 ,in the winter of #ahdj1 the ,saale was frozen1 and the ice remained unbroken till the middle of ,january1 when the thermometer rose suddenly1 and the river in consequence overflowed the lower grounds1 and carried large masses of ice on to the fields1 where it was left when the water subsided4 ,on the #bjth of ,january the thermometer fell again1 and remained below the freezing point till the #abth of ,february3 some of the ice did not disappear till the following month4 ,when the ice had lain a short time1 cracks appeared on the surface exposed to the sun1 and spread like a network from the edges towards the centre of the surface4 ,at first there was no regularity in the connection of these lines1 and the several meshes were of very different sizes4 ,after a time1 the larger meshes split up into smaller1 and the system of network was found to penetrate below the surface1 the cracks deepening into furrows1 which descended perpendicularly from the surface1 and divided the ice into long thin rhomboidal pillars4 ,the surface-end of some of these pillars was strongly marked with right lines parallel to one of the sides of the mesh1 and it was found that there was a tendency in the ice to split down planes through these lines and parallel to the corresponding side-plane4 ,parallel to the original surface of the mass of ice1 the pillars broke off evenly4 ,the side-planes had a rounded1 wrinkled appearance2 and their mutual inclinations--as far as could be determined--were from #aje to #aae1 and from #ff to #ge4 ,when these ice-pillars were examined by means of polarised light1 they were found to possess a feeble double-refracting power4 ,the writer of the article in ,poggendorff suggests a question which he was not sure how to answer3--,is this appearance in correspondence with the original formation of the ice1 or does it only appear under slow thaw8 ,it is worthy of remark1 that from the #ast to the #aath of ,february the thermometer was never higher than #bbh ,f41 and during that time fell as low as #ba below zero1 i4e4 #dc below the freezing point4 ,professor ,tyndall has informed me that in the winters of #ahdi1 #ahej1 #ahea1 he found the banks of a river in ,germany loaded with massive layers of drift-ice1 in a state of thaw1 and was struck by the fact that every layer displayed the prismatic structure described above1 the axes of the prisms being at right angles to the surfaces of freezing4 ,it may be1 he adds1 that this structure is in the first place determined by the act of freezing1 but it does not develop itself until the ice thaws4 ,m4 ,hassenfratz observed an appearance in ice on the ,danube at ,vienna#bjh corresponding to that described at ,jena4 ,he gives no information as to the state of the weather or the temperature at the time1 nor any of the circumstances under which the ice came under his notice4 ,one of the masses of ice which he describes was crystallised in prisms of various numbers of sides3 of these prisms the greater part were hexahedral and irregular4 ,another mass was composed of prisms in the form of truncated pyramids2 and in another he found quadrilateral and octahedral prisms1 the former splitting parallel to the faces1 and also truncated pyramids with five and six sides4 ,he adds1 that he had frequently seen in the upper valleys tufts of ice growing1 as it were1 out of the ground1 and striated externally1 but had never succeeded in discovering any internal organisation1 until one evening in a time of thaw1 when he found by means of a microscope that the striated tufts of ice had assumed the same structure on a small scale as that which he had observed on the ,danube4 ,a ,frenchman who was present in the room in which the ,chemical ,section of the ,british ,association met at ,bath1 and heard a paper which ,i read there on this prismatic structure1 suggested that it was probably something akin to the rhomboidal form assumed by dried mud2 and ,i have since been struck by the great resemblance to it1 as far as the surface goes1 which the pits of mud left by the coprolite-workers near ,cambridge offer1 of course on a very large scale4 ,this led me to suppose that the intense dryness which would naturally be the result of the action of some weeks or months of great cold upon subterranean ice might be one of the causes of its assuming this form1 and the observations at ,jena would rather confirm than contradict this view3 competent authorities1 however1 seem inclined to believe that warmth1 and not cold1 is the producing cause4#bji ,professor ,tyndall found1 in the course of his experiments on the discs and flowers produced in the interior of a mass of ice by sending a warm ray through the mass1 that the pieces of ice were in some cases traversed by hazy surfaces of discontinuity1 which divided the apparently continuous mass into irregular prismatic segments4 ,the intersections of the bounding surfaces of these segments with the surface of the slab of ice formed a very irregular network of lines4#baj ,i am inclined1 however1 to think that the irregularity in these cases proved to be so much greater than that observed in the glacires1 that this interior prismatic subdivision must be referred to some different cause4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #aif3 ,the continued extrication of latent heat by ice1 as it is cooled a few degrees below #cb ,f41 appears to indicate a molecular change subsequent to the first freezing4--,phil4 ,trans41 as quoted in the next note4 ,footnote #aig3 ,see the paper ',on ,liquid ,diffusion as applied to ,analysis1' by the ,master of the ,mint 7,phil4 ,trans4 #ahfa1 p4 #bbb74 ,footnote #aih3 ,compare the description of one of the hollow stalagmites ,i explored in the ,schafloch1 p4 #ade4 ,footnote #aii3 ,professor ,tyndall has pointed out that1 owing to the want of perfect homogeneity1 some parts of a block of ice exposed to a temperature of #cb ,f4 will melt1 while others remain solid 7,phil4 ,trans4 #aheh1 p4 #bad74 ,he also arrived at the conclusion 7p4 #bai7 that heat could be conducted through the substance of a mass1 and melt portions of the interior1 without visible prejudice to the solidity of the other parts of the mass4 ,footnote #bjj3 ,journal des ,mines1 xxxiii4 #aeg4 ,see also an ,english translation of his account in the second volume of the ,edinburgh ,journal of ,science4 ,footnote #bja3 ,it is to be hoped that the accuracy of his scientific descriptions exceeds that of his topographical information2 for he states that the glacire is two leagues from ,valence1 whereas it cost me six hours' drive on a level road1 and five and a half hours' walking and climbing1 to reach it from that town4 ,footnote #bjb3 ,branch ,physique1 article ,glace ,footnote #bjc3 ,p4 #adf 7an4 #ahec74 ,footnote #bjd3 ,dr4 ,lister experimented on sea-water in ,december #afhd 7,ph4 ,trans1 xiv4 #hcf71 and found that though it took two nights to freeze1 it was much harder when once frozen than common ice1 lasting for three-quarters of an hour under a heat which melted #ajj times its bulk of common ice at once4 ,it was marked with oblong squares1 and had a salt taste4 ,ice formed from water with an admixture of sulphuric acid is said to assume a crystalline appearance4 ,footnote #bje3 ,see also a pamphlet entitled ,das unterirdische ,eisfeld bei der ,dornburg am ,sdlichen ,fusse des ,westerwaldes1 by ,thom of ,wiesbaden 7#cb pages1 with a map of the district71 published in #ahda4 ,footnote #bjf3 ,but see page #bfb4 ,footnote #bjg3 lv4 7an #ahdb71 #dgb4 ,footnote #bjh3 ,journal de ,physique1 xxvi4 7an #aghe71 #cd4 ,footnote #bji3 ,in looking through some early volumes of the ,philosophical ,transactions1 ,i found an ',extract of a letter written by ,mr4 ,muraltus of ,zurich 7,september #affh71 concerning the ,icy and ,chrystallin ,mountains of ,helvetia1 called the ,gletscher1 ,english'd out of ,latin' 7,phil4 ,trans4 iv4 #ihb71 which at first looked something like an assertion of the prismatic structure of ice on a large scale4 ,the ,english version is as follows3--',the snow melted by the heat of the summer1 other snow being faln within a little while after1 and hardened into ice1 which by little and little in a long tract of time depurating itself turns into a stone1 not yielding in hardness and clearness to chrystall4 ,such stones closely joyned and compacted together compose a whole mountain1 and that a very firm one2 though in summer-time the country-people have observed it to burst asunder with great cracking1 thunder-like4' ,footnote #baj3 ,see the woodcut illustrating ,professor ,tyndall's remarks in the #adhth volume of the ,philosophical ,transactions 7#aheh1 p4 #bad74 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,on ,,the ,,mean ,,temperature ,,of ,,the ,,regions ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,glaci,,res ,,occur4 ,many interesting experiments have for long been carried on with a view to determine the mean temperature at various depths below the surface of the earth4 ,the construction of ,artesian wells has afforded useful opportunities for increasing the amount of our knowledge on this subject2 and the well at ,pregny1 near ,geneva1#baa and the ,monk ,wearmouth coal-mines1 as observed by ,professor ,phillips while a fresh shaft was being sunk1#bab have supplied most valuable facts4 ,without entering into any detail1 which would be an unnecessary trouble1 it may be stated generally1 that1 under ordinary circumstances1 #a ,f4 of temperature is gained for every #ej or #fj feet of vertical descent into the interior of the earth4 ,i have only met with one account of an experiment made in a horizontal direction1 and it is curious that the law of the increase of temperature then observed seemed to be very much the same as that determined by the mean of the vertical observations4 ,boussingault#bac found several horizontal adits in a precipitous face of porphyritic syenite among the mountains of ,marmato4 ,in one of these adits--a gallery called ,cruzada1 at an elevation of #a1dfj mtres--he found an increase of #a ,c4 of mean temperature for every #cc mtres of horizontal penetration1 or1 approximately1 #a ,f4 for #fj feet4#bad ,again1 observations have been made1 in various latitudes1 of the decrease of temperature consequent upon gradual rising from the general surface of the earth2 as1 for instance1 in the ascent of mountains4 ,speaking without any very great precision1 but with sufficient accuracy for ordinary purposes1 #a ,f4 is lost with every #cjj feet of ascent4#bae ,it is evident that this decrease will be less rapid where the slope of ascent is gradual1 from such considerations as the angle at which the sun's rays strike the slope1 and the larger amount of surface which is in contact with a stratum of atmosphere of any given thickness4 ,with these data1 it is easy to arrive at some idea of the probable mean temperature of the rock containing several of the glacires ,i have described4 ,the elevation of some of them has not been determined with sufficient accuracy to make the results of any calculation trustworthy2 but four cases may be taken where the elevation is known--namely1 the ,glacires of ,s4 ,georges1 ,s4 ,livres1 ,monthzy1 and the ,schafloch4 ,if we take as a starting point the mean temperature of the town of ,geneva1 which has been determined at #diee ,f41 the elevation of that town being nearly #a1bjj feet1 we obtain the following approximate results for the mean temperature of the surface at the points in question3-- ,s4 ,georges 4444 #djbb ,fahr4 ,s4 ,livres 7,lower7 4444 #chee ,schafloch 4444 #cchh ,monthzy 4444 #daee ,the law of decrease of temperature enunciated by ,m4 ,thury gives a higher mean temperature for the surface of the earth in these places1 as in the following table3-- ,s4 ,georges 4444 #dah ,fahr4 ,s4 ,livres 4444 #dja ,schafloch 4444 #cef ,monthzy 4444 #dbe ,if any certain information could be obtained of the elevation of the ,abbey of ,grce-,dieu1 ,i am sure that a result more surprising than that in the case of the ,glacire of ,monthzy would appear4 ,the elevation of the floor of the church in the citadel of ,besanon is #cfgg mtres1 and the plateau on the north side of the town of ,baume-les-,dames is #ecai mtres4 ,i am inclined to think1 from the look of the country1 that the latter possesses much the same elevation as the valley in which the ,abbey lies2 and in that case we should have comparatively a very high mean temperature for the surface in the neighbourhood where the glacire occurs4 ,but if these are the mean temperatures of the surface1 the natural temperatures of the caves themselves should be still higher1 on account of the allowance to be made for increase of temperature with descent into the interior of the earth4 ,this element will very materially affect our calculations in such a case as the lower part of the ice in the ,glacire of the ,pr de ,s4 ,livres1 and the strange suggestive beginning of a new ice-cave #aij feet below the surface1 on the ,montagne de l',eau1 near ,annecy4 ,in any open pit or cave1 the ordinary atmospheric influences find such easy access1 that the temperature cannot be expected to follow the law observed when perforations of small bore are made in the earth1 as in the case of the preliminary boring before commencing to dig a well2#baf but the two glacires mentioned above are so completely protected in their lowest parts1 that they may be treated as if they were isolated from external influence of all ordinary kinds2 and it may fairly be said that the mean temperature there ought to be considerably higher than at the surface4 ,it is not very likely that the results of the above calculations are strictly in accordance with what a careful series of observations on the spot might show4 ,the distance between ,geneva and the ,glacires of ,s4 ,georges and ,s4 ,livres is sufficiently small to make it probable that the reality is not very far different from the calculated temperature2 but the other two caves are comparatively so far off1 that the temperature and elevation of ,geneva are not very safe data to build upon4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #baa3 ,bischof1 ,physical ,researches1 #ahi4 ,footnote #bab3 ,philosophical ,magazine1 v4 #ddf 7#ahcd74 ,footnote #bac3 ,annules de ,chimie et de ,physique1 liii4 #b-aj4 ,see also ,bischof1 #acf4 ,footnote #bad3 ,the ,english edition of ,bischof affords here a proof of the danger of frequent changes from one scale to another4 ,bischof in the first instance rendered ,boussingault into degrees ,raumur1 and this was in turn reduced to degrees ,fahrenheit2 the result being that the authorised ,english edition of his book gives #bbe ,f4 for #abge feet1 which does not come within #aj feet of ,boussingault's statement4 ,footnote #bae3 ,m4 ,thury calculates a decrease of #a ,c4 for every #agd mtres between ,geneva and ,s4 ,bernard1 which is less than the decrease given in the text4 ,he arrives at this conclusion by correcting the mean temperature of ,geneva from #hi ,c41 the observed mean of eighteen years1 to #ii ,c41 in consequence of supposed local causes1 which unduly depress the temperature of ,geneva4 ,with the mean #hi ,c4 a result nearly in accordance with that of the text is obtained4 ,footnote #baf3 ,professor ,phillips found1 in the course of his investigations in the ,monk ,wearmouth mines1 some hundreds of yards below the sea1 that when a new face of rock was exposed1 its temperature was considerably higher than that of the gallery or shaft in which it lay4 ,in some cases the difference amounted to #i and #aj degrees4 ,the rock soon cooled down to an agreement with the surrounding temperature4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,appendix4 ,m4 ,thury's observations during his winter visit to the ,glacire of ,s4 ,georges are so curious and valuable1 that ,i give the principal results of them here4 ,it will be remembered that this glacire consists of a roomy cave1 #aaj feet long and #fj feet high1 with two orifices in the higher part of the roof1 one of which is kept covered with the trunks of trees to shut out the direct radiation of the sun4 ,a little thought suggested to ,m4 ,thury that the cold in the cave in mid-winter would most probably be greater than the external cold of the day1 and less than that of the night2 so that there should be a time in the later evening when a column of colder and heavier air would begin1 to descend through the hole in the roof4 ,to test the correctness of this supposition1 he took up his abode in the cavern for the evening of the #ajth ,january1 #aheh1 with a lighted candle4 ,the flame burned steadily for some time2 but at #g4af ,p4,m4 it began to flicker1 and soon inclined downwards through an angle of about #de2 and when ,m4 ,thury placed himself under the principal opening1 the flame was forced into an almost horizontal position4 ,at #h ,p4,m4 the current of air had all but disappeared4 ,this violent and temporary disturbance of equilibrium was a matter of much surprise to ,m4 ,thury2 for he had naturally expected a quiet current downwards1 continuing through the greater part of the night4 ,at #g4af ,p4,m4 the external temperature was #bci ,f41 and the temperature of the atmosphere in the cave at the same time was #cjhh ,f42#bag so that there is no wonder the current of air should be strong4 ,it is very difficult to say1 however1 why it did not commence much earlier1 considering that the external air must have been heavier than that in the cave long before #g o'clock4 ,m4 ,thury refers to the mirage as a somewhat similar instance1 that phenomenon being explained by the supposition that atmospheric layers of different temperatures lie one above another in clearly-defined strata4 ,he suggests1 also1 that as the heavier air tends to pass down into the cave1 the less cold air already in the cave tends to pass out2 and the narrow entrance confining the struggle between the opposing tendencies to a very small area1 the weaker initial current is able for a time to hold its own against the intruder4 ,on this supposition1 it is easy to see that when the rupture does occur it will be violent4 ,the next day1 ,m4 ,thury arrived at the glacire at #i4ej ,a4,m4 ,he had determined1 in the summer1 that the temperature of the cave was invariable1 at any rate through the #c-a_/b hours of his visit 7from #g4cj to #aa ,a4,m472 but his winter experience was very different4 ,the following are the results of his observations4 ,in the cave3-- ,january #i1 at #g4af ,p4,m4#bah444 #cjhhd ,fahr4 #g4bj 444 #bige #g4bg 444 #bge #g4ej 444 #bfhcd ,january #aj1 at #aj4ab ,a4,m4 444 #bcfhd #aj4j 444 #bci #aa4bj 444 #bdjbb #ab4ad ,p4,m4 444 #bdacd #a4cj 444 #bdce #b4cj 444 #bdehd #c4ad 444 #bdh #d4j 444 #beadb ,supposing the weather to have been much the same on the #ith and #ajth of ,january1 as ,m4 ,thury's account seems to say1 there is something very strange in the great difference between the temperatures registered at #d ,p4,m4 on the one day1 and at #g4af ,p4,m4 on the other4 ,the external temperatures at the mouth of the cave were as follows3-- ,january #aj1 at #aj4ec ,a4,m4 #beicd ,fahr4 #aa4ad #bfchd #aa4de #bhjd #ab4cb ,p4,m4 #bgidd #a4ab #cjfdd #c4c #bfhcd #c4ef #beg #d4bf #bebe ,the minimum temperature of the external air during the night of ,january #aj-aa was #ahcib ,f41 and that of the glacire #aigf ,f4#bai ,during the preceding night1 the minimum in the cave was #bbddb ,f41 which may throw some light upon the difference between the temperatures at #g4af ,p4,m4 on the #ith1 and at #d ,p4,m4 on the #ajth4 ,m4 ,thury bored a hole1 of about #aj inches in depth1 in the flooring of ice1 and placed a thermometer in it1 at #ab4be ,p4,m41 closing it up with cotton4 ,at #b4ee ,p4,m41 and at #d4g4 ,p4,m41 the thermometer marked the same temperature1 namely1 #bfbd ,f4 ,m4 ,thury's views on glacires in general1 based upon the details of the three which he has visited1 are much the same as those which ,i have expressed4 ,he has1 however1 more belief than ,i in 'cold currents4' ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #bag3 ,this was given by a thermometer only placed in the cave at #g ,p4,m41 and by construction not very sensible4 ,footnote #bah3 ,the moment when the disturbance of the atmosphere commenced4 ,footnote #bai3 ,m4 ,thury gives--#dfb ,c4 as the minimum in the glacire during the night in question2 but on the next page he gives--#fh ,c4 7#aigf ,f474 ,it is evident1 from a comparison with other details of his observations1 that the latter is the correct account4 99 99 99 99 99