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1858.]
MUTATIONS OF THE CLOUDS.
97
tains. After crossing the basin our way lay partly over
slopes of snow, partly over loose shingle, and at one place
along the edge of a formidable precipice of rock. We sat
down sometimes to rest, and during these pauses, though
they were very brief, the scene had time to go through
several of its Protean mutations. At one moment all would
be perfectly serene, no cloud in the transparent air to tell
us that any portion of it was in motion, while the blue
heaven threw its flattened arch over the magnificent amphitheatre. Then in an instant, from some local cauldron,
the vapour would boil up suddenly, eddying wildly in the
air, which a moment before seemed so still, and enveloping the entire scene. Thus the space enclosed by the
Finsteraarhorn, the Viescherhorner, and the Shreckhorn,
would at one moment be filled with fog to the mountain
heads, every trace of which a few minutes sufficed to sweep
away, leaving the unstained blue of heaven behind it,
and the mountains showing sharp and jagged outlines
in the glassy air. One might be almost led to imagine
that the vapour molecules endured a strain similar to
that of water cooled below its freezing point, or heated
beyond its boding point; and that, on the strain being relieved by the • sudden yielding of the opposing force, the
particles rushed together, and thus filled in*an instant the
clear atmosphere with aqueous precipitation.
I had no idea that the Strahleck was so fine a pass.
Whether it is the quality of my mind to take in the glory
of the present so intensely as to make me forgetful of the
glory of the past, I know not, but it appeared to me that I
had never seen anything finer than the scene from the
summit. The amphitheatre formed by the mountains
seemed to me of exceeding magnificence; nor do I think
that my feeling was subjective merely; for the simple
magnitude of the masses which built up the spectacle
would be sufficient to declare its grandeur. Looking down
M
111
uwi.
w
■f.
1
i'V.il
| Title | Tyndall, John, 1860, The Glaciers of the Alps. |
| Alternative Title | Glaciers of the Alps. |
| Creator | John Tyndall 1820-1893. |
| Subject |
Glaciers -- Alps. Alps -- Description and travel. Color. |
| Publisher | London : John Murray ... |
| DateOriginal | 1860 |
| Format | Tiff |
| Extent | 33 cm. |
| Identifier | col022 |
| Call Number | QE576.T914 1860 |
| Language | English |
| Relation | Color Science |
| Collection | Ice - 19th Century Polar Exploration & Glacial Studies |
| Rights | http://www.lindahall.org/imagerepro/ |
| Data Contributor | Linda Hall Library, LHL Digital Collections. |
| Title | Page 97. |
| Creator | John Tyndall 1820-1893. |
| Subject |
Glaciers -- Alps. Alps -- Description and travel. Color. |
| Publisher | London : John Murray ... |
| Format | tiff |
| Identifier | col022130 |
| Call Number | QE576.T914 1860 |
| Relation-Is part of | Is part of: The glaciers of the Alps : Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, an account of the origin and phenomena of glaciers, and an exposition of the physical princples to which they are related / By John Tyndall... |
| Relation | Color Science |
| Rights | http://www.lindahall.org/imagerepro/ |
| OCR Transcript | 1858.] MUTATIONS OF THE CLOUDS. 97 tains. After crossing the basin our way lay partly over slopes of snow, partly over loose shingle, and at one place along the edge of a formidable precipice of rock. We sat down sometimes to rest, and during these pauses, though they were very brief, the scene had time to go through several of its Protean mutations. At one moment all would be perfectly serene, no cloud in the transparent air to tell us that any portion of it was in motion, while the blue heaven threw its flattened arch over the magnificent amphitheatre. Then in an instant, from some local cauldron, the vapour would boil up suddenly, eddying wildly in the air, which a moment before seemed so still, and enveloping the entire scene. Thus the space enclosed by the Finsteraarhorn, the Viescherhorner, and the Shreckhorn, would at one moment be filled with fog to the mountain heads, every trace of which a few minutes sufficed to sweep away, leaving the unstained blue of heaven behind it, and the mountains showing sharp and jagged outlines in the glassy air. One might be almost led to imagine that the vapour molecules endured a strain similar to that of water cooled below its freezing point, or heated beyond its boding point; and that, on the strain being relieved by the • sudden yielding of the opposing force, the particles rushed together, and thus filled in*an instant the clear atmosphere with aqueous precipitation. I had no idea that the Strahleck was so fine a pass. Whether it is the quality of my mind to take in the glory of the present so intensely as to make me forgetful of the glory of the past, I know not, but it appeared to me that I had never seen anything finer than the scene from the summit. The amphitheatre formed by the mountains seemed to me of exceeding magnificence; nor do I think that my feeling was subjective merely; for the simple magnitude of the masses which built up the spectacle would be sufficient to declare its grandeur. Looking down M 111 uwi. w ■f. 1 i'V.il |
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