Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 281 (Color Image)

0281	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. ix.] A FAIRY SCENE. 235

from below, looked utterly impracticable to any

human being. Then we started away down

the glacier to find some bare spot on which to

lay our rugs and rest.

The sun had now set, but, fortunately for us,

there was an abundance of light, and the night

was marvellously beautiful, so that, tired as I

was, I could not but be impressed by it. The

moon was nearly full, the sky without a cloud,

and in the amphitheatre of snowy mountains

and among the icy seracs of the glacier, not one

speck of anything but the purest white was

visible. The air at these altitudes, away from

dust and with no misty vapour in it, was abso-

lutely clear, and the soft silvery rays of the

moon struck down upon the glistening moun-

tains in unsullied radiance. The whole effect

was of some enchanting fairy scene ; and the

sternness of the mountains was slowly softened

down till lost, and their beauty in its purest

form alone remained.

With our senses enervated by such a scene as

this, and overcome with delight as we were at

having successfully crossed the pass, we pushed

on down the glacier in a dreamy, careless way,

perfectly regardless of the dangers which lay

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