HOURS OF EXERCISE.
HOURS OF EXERCISE
IN
THE ALPS.
BY
JOHN TYNDALL, LL.D., F.R.S.,
AUTHOR OF “FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE FOR UNSCIENTIFIC PEOPLE,” “HEATAS A MODE OF MOTION,” ETC., ETC.
NEW YORK:
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
72 FIFTH AVENUE.
1896.
Authorized Edition.
PREFACE.
A short time ago I published a book of ‘Fragments,’which might have been called ‘Hours ofExercise in the Attic and the Laboratory’; whilethis one bears the title of ‘Hours of Exercise inthe Alps.’ The two volumes supplement each other,and, taken together, illustrate the mode in whicha lover of natural knowledge and of natural scenerychooses to spend his life.
Much as I enjoy the work, I do not think that Icould have filled my days and hours in the Alps withclambering alone. The climbing in many cases wasthe peg on which a thousand other ‘exercises’ werehung. The present volume, however, is for themost part a record of bodily action, written partly topreserve to myself the memory of strong and joyoushours, and partly for the pleasure of those who findexhilaration in descriptions associated with mountainlife.
The papers, written during the last ten years, areprinted in the order of the incidents to which theyrelate; and, to render the history more complete,I have, with the permission of their authors, introducednearly the whole of two articles by Mr.Vaughan Hawkins and Mr. Philip Gossett. Theformer describes the first assault ever made upon theMatterhorn, the latter an expedition which ended inthe death of a renowned and beloved guide.
The ‘Glaciers of the Alps’ being out of print,I can no longer refer to it. Towards the end of thevolume, therefore, I have thrown together a few‘Notes and Comments’ which may be useful tothose who desire to possess some knowledge of thephenomena of the ice-world, and of the propertiesof ice itself. To these are added one or two minorarticles, which relate more or less to our Britishhills and lakes: the volume is closed by an accountof a recent voyage to Oran.
I refrain from giving advice, further than to saythat the perils of wandering in the High Alps areterribly real, and are only to be met by knowledge,caution, skill, and strength. ‘For rashness, ignorance,or carelessness the mountains leave no margin;and to rashness, ignorance, or carelessness three-fourthsof the catastrophes which shock us are[vii]to be traced.’ Those who wish to know somethingof the precautions to be taken upon the peaksand glaciers cannot do better than consult theexcellent little volume lately published by LeslieStephen, where, under the head of ‘Dangers ofMou