_21st._ Having agreed yesterday with the apothecary of the place (to whose shop I go almost daily with some prescription or other from Sir Humphry, who often varies his medicines) to ascend one of the nearer Alps, we started for the summit of the Zimitz early this morning: we crossed over hills and dales, through woods and fields, till we came to the foot of the mountain, on the top of which we proposed eating our dinner, which we carried in our pockets. My companion had told me before that he had already ascended this Alp, and was well acquainted with the road; but when we began the ascent he confessed that he was at a loss, and our only alternative was to turn back, or find our way as we could. We chose the latter, and confiding in our own eyes and limbs, we followed the course of a mountain torrent, which came rushing down the rocks. Stepping from rock to rock, we in a short time came to the entrance of a snow-cave, through which this little stream flowed. Close to the snow we found many rare plants, and amongst others the yellow violet of the Alps. Before entering into this cave, which had been formed in a fallen avalanche, I slipped on the rock, and was obliged to jump into the icy cold water, which was fortunately not deep. The cave, however, repaid me for my cold bath. Entering through an opening in its roof of snow, the rays of the sun illuminated its dark and rocky sides, and were reflected upon the water that flowed through the middle. On looking towards the opposite end of the cave, through a lofty arch of snow, we beheld a distant waterfall, whilst the rocks and bushes, finely lighted by the rays of the sun, contrasted strongly with the darkness of the cave, whose fretted roof seemed as if hewn out of the finest white marble into large descending points, from which the melting snow was continually dropping. Having made a slight sketch of this fairy scene, we left the cave, and, following the rivulet, soon reached the waterfall which we had seen in the distance through the arch of snow. An immense barrier of rock here put an end to our progress in this direction, and we were obliged to turn to the right, where the ascent appeared more possible. My companion made a considerable detour whilst I attempted to climb up the rocks; but I had not ascended more than twenty feet, when, on catching hold of a small fir-tree, it snapped off, and I rolled down the rocks into the rivulet below. In spite of my fall I reascended, and with some difficulty reached the uppermost rock, and found myself in a situation whence I could no longer ascend nor descend. At last my companion appeared above, and reaching down to me his long alpine pole, I clung to it, and with his assistance thus extricated myself from my most unpleasant and perilous situation; I was, however, so exhausted, that we were obliged to wait a full half hour before we could proceed on our ascent. Our road then lay for a long time through a forest of pine and beech, till