wind, still heavier than before, and soon
enveloped us in so dense a fog that we
could not discover each other even at a
very few yards distance. We continued,
however, to ascend by the assistance of
the compass, and, when the mist had, for
a short time, cleared away, we had the
pleasure of finding that we had varied but
little from our proper course. The nearer
we approached to the summit, the more
steep we found the ascent, and the more
narrow the ridge along which we had to
pass; so that I was glad to be able to assist
myself in climbing, by laying hold of a few
pieces of rock, which, projecting here and
there from among the loose ones, seemed to
be still in their primaeval state. They lay in
strata or lamjnse which were easily detached
from one another; each stratum being vertical,
and not more than one or two inches
thick. The whole was of a reddish-yellow
Color, variously marked and spotted with
white, green, and red, so as to have a very
beautiful appearance. The highest summit
was so much peaked, that it would scarcely
afford standing room, even in calm weather:
and therefore, with the hurricane which now
blew, I was happy at being able to reach it
upon my hands and knees, and then, laying
myself down upon the sloping side of the
ridge, to look over the northern precipitous
edge, and view in safety the rapid motion of
the clouds passing towards the place on
which I was, across the valley which separated
this from other mountains. The superior
height of Skoul-a-fiel above all those
in its immediate vicinity caused it to attract
these clouds more than any of the rest, yet
the violence of the wind did not suffer them
to remain long upon it, but soon dispersed
them after they had rolled a little way down
the southern side. Vegetation here was very
scanty: in such places as were free from
snow, and lay in their original strata, were
to be found Salix herbácea, Saxífraga oppo-
sitifolia, Polytrichum sexangulare and L ichen
geographicus. Nothing could be more
easy than our descent among the loose stones,
where the principal requisite was to be well
provided with stout shoes, and we therefore
soon got under shelter from the wind. On
pur right was a deep ravine, from the bottom
of which arose a spring that supplied a little
stream, which I resolved to take in my way,