ove the village of Chamouny. A
niche on the steep side, and near the top of the rock, about a hundred
and fifty feet from its base, and to which we had much difficulty in
climbing, was selected for our lodging place; indeed it was the only
part of the rock, that afforded any thing like a level place. We were
fortunate in finding the day had been so warm, that there was water
in some of the crevices of the ice, which circumstance enabled us to
economize our charcoal. The sun shone very bright on our side of the
rock; but as soon as it sunk below the horizon, the eternal frost
around us regained its influence, and the air became very cold. We
had, however, time to dry our boots and pantaloons, and I found a pair
of large woolen stockings, that I had with me, an invaluable article.
Our guides stretched the ladder from one point of the rock to another,
and, throwing over it a couple of sheets they had brought for the
purpose, formed a kind of tent, just large enough for Dr. Van
Rensselaer and myself to creep in: a single blanket upon the rock was
our bed. The guides were so loaded with indispensable articles, that
we had not been able to bring a blanket, or even an extra coat to
cover us.

After a cold and uncomfortable supper, we crept into our den, soon
after the genial sun had left us, and endeavoured, by every means our
ingenuity could suggest, but ineffectually, to keep ourselves warm. We
suffered much from the cold, but principally towards morning, as the
thermometer was several degrees below freezing. The night seemed to
last at least twenty hours; at one time I thought the day must
certainly be not distant, and was surprised, at looking at my watch by
the light of the moon, to find it only 11 o'clock. Tired of inaction,
and shivering with the cold, I crawled out about midnight to endeavour
to warm myself, by the exercise of clambering on the rock. The view
around was sublime, and rendered me for a time insensible to all
feelings of personal suffering.

The sky was very clear, but perfectly black; the moon and stars, whose
rays were not obscured by passing through the lower dense region of
the atmosphere, as when seen from the surface of the earth, shone with
a brilliancy, tenfold of what I had ever observed from below; and the
comet, with its bright tail, formed in the north-west, a beautiful
object. Nothing was to be seen around the rock on which we were
placed, but white snow and some heavy clouds, that, floatin