This mountain--which might be compared in general form to one of those mahogany cases for stationery which are to be found in most counting-houses of the present day--has its slope, a very steep one, to the north. To the south, east, and west it is perfectly precipitous and presents nothing but walls of bare rock. Glaciers cover the greater part of the slope, and their melting supplies the springs of the Avisio which takes its rise immediately below them; ... its height, variously estimated, but which may be taken at 11,200 feet, raises it far above its loftiest neighbours. It stands in a line of ridge that runs from north to south through the western Dolomite district and marks the point where the divergent valleys of the Avisio and Cordevole originate. [Illustration: MARMOLATA, FROM VERY HIGH ABOVE CANAZEI] Seeing it from the other side later he adds: From this side the Marmolata presents the most striking contrast to the smooth glacier and rock-slopes and bosses which are seen on its northern aspect. Not a particle of slope except the profile of the flattish snowy dome is visible; all else is sheer precipice, presented cornerwise to the eye, while its jagged edges retreat foreshortened to the north-west and east till lost to view. Another of the most famous peaks, the Rosengarten, thus struck him: Imagine a gigantic amphitheatre of jagged cleft precipices, shooting 3000 feet above the spectator, out of a depth far below him, and reaching, in the Rothewand Spitze, to the height of 10,200 feet above the sea. Let the arms of this amphitheatre stretch forward so as to embrace nearly one-half of his horizon, shutting him up to the one view of a stern desolate barren face, that presents itself on all sides. Let successive masses of débris descend from the base of this long line of precipices through the whole sweep of its circuit, and threaten to occupy the entire basin below, while still leaving a small patch of bright green pasture on which a dark spot is identified as a châlet. The Rosengarten is a much more typical Dolomite, with its jagged needle points, than Marmolata with its flatter masses. “The most prominent impression left on the mind by these Seisser Alp Dolomites was that of complete separateness and isolation, not only in relation to each other but to the green slopes on the summits of which they are placed.” Among the very early travellers to this part was Miss Amelia B. Edwards, the authoress, who, in 1872, with a woman friend actually had the temerity to leave behind Switzerland with its luxurious hotels and “travel made easy” and penetrate into the wild and unknown regions of the Dolomites, greatly to the disgust of their comfortable well-fed courier. Writing in the following year she says: