The wind blew a steady breeze from the southwest, which carried the smoke from the crater away from us; and we proceeded on foot directly up the cone of the mountain. The distance to the top was eight or nine miles, though it did not appear to be more than two or three. The snow, instead of being soft like that of yesterday, was frozen into a hard crust, over which we were continually sliding. I could not help thinking, as I looked on this great, steep mountain-top, covered with a glare of ice, what a capital _coasting_ place it would be for the Boston boys! They might slide half a dozen miles at a stretch, and then warm their toes in hot ashes and lava. However, this sliding on the frozen snow was a thing I never thought of when I began my journey, or I should have provided myself with a pair of corks. The only way I could make any progress, was by shambling along sideways, and digging the edges of my boot-soles through the crust, so as to get a footing at each step. This labor was excessively fatiguing, and before we had climbed two miles, the guide flatly refused to go any further, declaring that he was completely out of breath. I told him to go back and wait for me, as I was determined to go on, even if I went alone. I had no fear of getting lost, because I had but to follow my own tracks backward when matters got to be desperate. I continued to climb upward with the help of a stout walking-stick, and soon lost sight of my companion. Now that I was all alone, trudging up to the top of Mount Ætna, I really felt something of the dignity of a traveller, and was absolutely delighted with the lonely adventure. My fingers were benumbed with the cold, and the rays of the sun, which was now pretty high, were reflected with so fierce a glare from the snow, that in a short time I was unable to keep my eyes open. It was impossible to go any further without the power of looking before me, for every slip and stumble I made sent me a hundred yards backward. I was just on the point of giving up the enterprise, when a thought struck me. I had a black silk handkerchief round my neck: this I took off and bound round my forehead in such a manner as to screen my eyes. The expedient answered admirably well, and with this help I gained the top of the mountain.