223 Very few stones fell during the two days I was on the mountain, and none came near us. Others who have followed the same route have not been so fortunate; they may not, perhaps, have taken the same precautions. It is a noteworthy fact, that the lateral moraine of the left bank of the Furggengletscher is scarcely larger than that of the right bank, although the former receives all the débris that falls from the 4000 feet of cliffs which form the eastern side of the Matterhorn, whilst the latter is fed by perfectly insignificant slopes. Neither of these moraines is large. This is strong evidence that stones do _not_ fall to any great extent from the eastern face. The inward dip of the beds retains the detritus in place. Hence the eastern face appears, when one is upon it, to be undergoing more rapid disintegration than the other sides: in reality, the mantle of ruin spares the mountain from farther waste. Upon the southern side, rocks fall as they are rent off; “each day’s work is cleared away” every day; and hence the faces and ridges are left naked, and are exposed to fresh attacks. 224 The snow seen in the engraving facing p. 227, half-an-inch below the summit, and a little to its right. 225 This part was less steeply inclined than the whole of the eastern face. 226 I have no memorandum of the time that it occupied. It must have taken about an hour and a half. 227 The highest points are towards the two ends. In 1865 the northern end was slightly higher than the southern one. In bygone years Carrel and I often suggested to each other that we might one day arrive upon the top, and find ourselves cut off from the very highest point by a notch in the summit-ridge which is seen from the Theodule and from Breil (marked *D* on the outline on p. 85). This notch is very conspicuous from below, but when we were upon the summit it was hardly noticed, and it could be passed without the least difficulty. 228 I have learnt since from J.-A. Carrel that they heard our first cries. They were then upon the south-west ridge, close to the “Cravate,” and _twelve hundred and fifty_ feet below us; or, as the crow flies, at a distance of about one-third of a mile. 229 At our departure the men were confident that the ascent would be made, and took one of the poles out of the tent. I protested that it was tempting Providence; they took the pole, nevertheless.