ere
streaks of snow are to be seen in the crevices and gullies which are
shaded from the sun. Several large glaciers descend from the northern
slopes of the Mont Blanc chain, the first at the east or upper end being
the Glacier du Tour; the next is the Glacier d'Argentiere, which is the
largest of them all, being no less than seven miles long between its
upper and lower extremities and about a mile wide for two-thirds of its
length, at which point it tapers off--as all glaciers do on approaching
the valley. Three miles further to the west is the Glacier des Bois, the
termination of the famous Mer de Glace. Between it and the village of
Chamonix there are two or three unimportant glaciers which do not quite
reach the forest. The Glaciers des Bossons and Taconnaz complete the
list, the latter being ten miles from the Glacier du Tour.

These gigantic streams of ice, hundreds of feet thick, are formed in the
upper regions of the mountains, and slowly and with irresistible force
slide down towards the valley, moving at a rate which varies according
to the season and other circumstances, but which seldom exceeds three
feet per day. They do not, however, quite reach the foot of the
mountain, for, as the temperature is excessively hot during the summer
months, the ice thaws rapidly, and the water thus formed rushes out in a
roaring torrent through a tunnel-like hole at the extremity or "Snout."

[Illustration: VIEW OF MONT BLANC FROM THE BREVENT.

1 Forest des Pelerins.
2 Pierre Pontue.
3 Glacier des Bossons.
4 Grands Mulets.
5 Petit Plateau.
6 Grand Plateau.
7 Bosses du Dromadaire.
8 Summit of Mont Blanc.
A Aiguille du Midi.
B Mont Blanc du Tacul.
C Mont Maudit.
D Dome du Goute.
E Aiguille du Goute.
F Montagne de la Cote.
G Glacier de Taconnaz.
H Montagne de la Cote.

NOTE.--_The route to the Summit is indicated by the dotted line._]

These torrents flow into the Arve, which in summer time roars along the
valley, leaping wildly over a bed of rocks and boulders in its headlong
course to mingle with the waters of the Rhone at Geneva.

The view of Mont Blanc from this spot was magnificent. His snow-capped
head, glistening against a cloudless sky, formed the centre of the
picture. Slightly on his left, and a little lower, was the Mont Maudit,
separated by a thin line from the Mont Blanc du Tacul, and below the
rocky base of the former several dark-looki