one of the principal peaks of the Alps was hidden.  I see them clearly now—­the great inner circles of giants, backed by the ranges, chains and “massifs.”  First came the Dent Blanche, hoary and grand; the Gabelhorn and pointed Rothborn, and then the peerless Weisshorn; the towering Mischabelhoerner flanked by the Allaleinhorn, Strahlhorn and Rimpfischhorn; then Monte Rosa—­with its many Spitzen—­the Lyskamm and the Breithorn.  Behind were the Bernese Oberland, governed by the Finsteraarhorn, the Simplon and St. Gothard groups, the Disgrazia and the Orteler.  Toward the south we looked down to Chivasso on the plain of Piedmont, and far beyond.  The Viso—­one hundred miles away—­seemed close upon us; the Maritime Alps—­one hundred and thirty miles distant—­were free from haze.

Then came into view my first love—­the Pelvoux; the Ecrins and the Meije; the clusters of the Graians; and lastly, in the west, gorgeous in the full sunlight, rose the monarch of all—­Mont Blanc.  Ten thousand feet beneath us were the green fields of Zermatt, dotted with chalets, from which blue smoke rose lazily.  Eight thousand feet below, on the other side, were the pastures of Breuil.  There were forests black and gloomy, and meadows bright and lively; bounding waterfalls and tranquil lakes; fertile lands and savage wastes:  sunny plains and frigid plateaux.  There were the most rugged forms and the most graceful outlines—­bold, perpendicular cliffs and gentle, undulating slopes; rocky mountains and snowy mountains, somber and solemn or glittering and white, with walls, turrets, pinnacles, pyramids, domes, cones and spires!  There was every combination that the world can give, and every contrast that the heart could desire.  We remained on the summit for one hour—­

  One crowded hour of glorious life.

THE LORD FRANCIS DOUGLAS TRAGEDY[48]

BY EDWARD WHYMPER

We began to prepare for the descent.  Hudson and I again consulted as to the best and safest arrangement of the party.  We agreed that it would be best for Croz to go first, and Hadow second; Hudson, who was almost equal to a guide in sureness of foot, wished to be third; Lord Francis Douglas was placed next, and old Peter, the strongest of the remainder, after him.  I suggested to Hudson that we should attach a rope to the rocks on our arrival at the difficult bit, and hold it as we descended, as an additional protection.  He approved the idea, but it was not definitely settled that it should be done.  The party was being arranged in the above order while I was sketching the summit, and they had finished, and were waiting for me to be tied in line, when some one remembered that our names had not been left in a bottle.  They requested me to write them down, and moved off while it was being done.