To Heinrich Debus   4th. August 1858.

4^th. August 1858.

My dear Heinrich,

I promised to write to you. I will now try to redeem that promise, though if my letter be as drowsy as I am myself it will send you to the land of dreams before you have finished it. My route¹ hitherto has been thus:—To Paris, to Zürich,² to Lucerne³ across the three lakes, to Meyringen⁴ over the Brüning⁵ to Rosenlaui,⁶ where I stayed a night and found next morning that a traveller had stolen my thoroughbred English boots, and left a pair of vile brokenwinded continental souliers⁷ in their place. A strong man was sent after him: he was overtaken upon the Scheideck⁸ and deprived of his booty.⁹ After examining the glacier we went on to Grindelwald.¹⁰ Here we spent two days upon the glaciers.¹¹ Afterwards we crossed the Strahleck.¹² The normal allowance here is two guides for one traveller, but we reversed the regulation by being two travellers¹³ to one guide. The clouds were sulky & threatening when we set out, but we got quite above them, and had magnificent glimpses from the summit of the pass. It amused me to see the guide relaxing in his demands—first two guides were absolutely essential to cross the pass with safety: then he thought a herd taken part of the way from the pastures which fringe the glacier, might do. Afterwards, of his own free will, he gave up the herd, and saw that we were competent to do the thing ourselves. We spent two nights at the Grimsel,¹⁴ and afterwards a day upon the Rhone glacier.¹⁵ Thence down the Valley to Viesch,¹⁶ whence we ascended to a hotel¹⁷ which stands midway up the Eggishorn.¹⁸ The view from the summit of the Eggishorn is magnificent, and the grandest glacier in Switzerland winds it way for miles within sight among the mountains. I have traced the glacier to its origin. Five valleys, each flanked by noble mountains send down their frozen contents to the same place of convergence and forms there the trunk of the great Aletsch glacier.¹⁹ This scene is most wonderful and most beautiful. The mountain masses are grand: the Jungfrau,²⁰ the Monk,²¹ the Eiger,²² the Aletsch horn²³ and others of similar magnitude send down the snows from their shining shoulders. In the upper regions the snow appears as smooth as polished marble and clothing as it does mountain forms in themselves beautiful, renders the scene lovely as well as majestic.

My guide²⁴ met me at Meyringen, he is a capital fellow, but I fear not quite enterprising enough. He is married, and has already had a brother²⁵ smashed to pieces upon the mountains, perhaps these circumstances augment his prudence. But there is a remarkable guide attached to this hotel. A low sized man of 33, who gives me the impression of great strength and great decision. The landlord spoke of him to me as ‘the celebrated Bennen.’²⁶ ‘Your man’ said he ‘is taller and larger, but he is not so strong as Bennen; and Bennen knows no fear: what man can accomplish he will do. He is proud of his calling and will shun no danger. He is conscientious, and depend upon it if you lose your life in his company he will lose his in yours, for he will die to save the man he leads.’ The day before yesterday I sent for M^r Bennen. I wished to make some observations upon the highest attainable mountain summit, and the Finsteraarhorn²⁷ is the highest mountain of the Oberland.²⁸ The mountain had been ascended but never with a single guide. I laid the following proposal & question before Bennen. ‘Wherever you go I will follow and I do not think that I shall need any help from you—will you undertake to accompany me to the top of the Finsteraarhorn?’—xxxxxx—²⁹

The night before last³⁰ I found myself stretched in a mountain cavern in the wildest place imaginable. A single mountaineer³¹ was beside me and oh! how I envied his power of snoring. Once or twice I endeavored to get up an artificial snore in order to drown his operations, but I had finally to desist and listen to him for nearly five hours! However I had laid in a stock of sleep the night previous & could afford to lie awake. A cloudless moon was in the heavens and the stars twinkled all colours. At 3oC. we were on foot. The Jungfrau was before us shining in the moonlight. It was most tempting—‘shall we try the Jungfrau?’ I demanded ‘just as you like’ was the reply—I paused and weighed matters, I suffered the presence of the mountain maiden to overcome me for a time, and we actually walked towards her for a quarter of an hour with the intention of making the attempt. I paused and pondered, and finally resolved to give the maiden up. I turned my face in the opposite direction and went over the snow towards the Finsteraarhorn. What a glorious sunrise—I wish! We fed ourselves at the foot of the mountain, and faced it. At half past 10. A.M. we were on the top. A world of indescribable magnificence lay before & around us. Water boils there at 187° Faht. We swept down the slopes of the mountain at a terrific speed checking each other at intervals at the approach of crevasses—We simply sat upon the snow & let gravity do the rest. Bennen proved himself worthy of the character given of him. I never had a guide like him. We reached this hotel at 7½ P.M. after 16½ hours of as hard work as I ever went through. We were both fresh. Eight hours sound sleep have given me back my thoughts.

To day I am resting, and simply feel a pleasant drowsiness, which you now feel by infection—dont you?

In a few days I shall be at Zermatt³²

Affectionately Yours, | J. Tyndall

I have never once shaved since I came to Switzerland. my beard is quite furious looking!

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