They looked like groups of mice in the distance, and this extreme lessening in size made one comprehend, better than anything else, the immense proportions of the landscape.

As for myself, I was alone: I had not even taken a guide, this was too favorite a resort for tourists, for the precaution to be necessary.

For a wonder, I felt rather gay, with an elasticity of body and mind which I had not felt in some time.
"I courageously began climbing the rough pathway which led to the Mer de Glace, aiding myself with a long staff, which I had procured at the inn.
"At every step I breathed with renewed pleasure the fresh, pure, morning air; I gazed vaguely at the different effects of the sun or mist, at the undulations of the road, which sometimes rose almost straight up in the air, sometimes followed a horizontal line, while skirting the open abyss at the right.

The Arve, wending its course like a silvery ribbon, seemed at times to recede, while the ridges of the perpendicular rocks stood out more plainly.

At times, the noise of a falling avalanche was repeated, echo after echo.