NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY
TO THE
SUMMIT OF MONT BLANC.
NARRATIVE
OF
A JOURNEY
TO THE
Summit of Mont Blanc,
MADE IN JULY, 1819.
BY WM. HOWARD, M. D.
"Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains,
They crown'd him long ago,
On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds,
With a diadem of snow."
BALTIMORE:
PUBLISHED BY FIELDING LUCAS, JR.
J. Robinson, printer.
1821.
The account of the following journey waswritten a few days after its execution, whilethe author was confined to his chamber bythe inconveniences he had suffered, and itwas then penned for the gratification of hisimmediate friends, and without any view topublication. The partiality of friends, however,having permitted it, during his absence,to appear in the Analectic Magazine, forMay 1820, it excited more attention than hecould have anticipated, which has induced theauthor to correct the errors arising fromhaste and other sources, and to republish itin the present form.
Baltimore, April, 1821.
NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO THE
SUMMIT OF MONT BLANC.
—————————— "Above me are the Alps
The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps,
And thron'd Eternity in icy halls
Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls
The avalanche—the thunderbolt of snow,
All that expands the spirit, yet appals,
Gather around these summits, as to show
How earth may pierce to Heaven, yet leave vain man below."
Byron.
NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY, &c.
Geneva, July, 1819.
You, my dear friend, who are well acquainted from my infancy with myclambering disposition, which, within these few months, has carried meto the top of both Vesuvius and Ætna, will not be much surprised tolearn, that I have attempted, with success, to mount to the summit ofMont Blanc; an aerial journey which the sight of this mountain hasinspired many persons with a wish to accomplish; but in which few haveengaged, and still fewer have succeeded. I am somewhat afraid that youwill condemn the expedition as a wild one, and will justly considerthe gratification of our curiosity, which was, unfortunately, the onlyobject we attained, as an inadequate recompense for our toil anddanger; but you have no cause to fear my embarking in similaradventures in future. Having reached a spot, undoubtedly the highestin Europe, and, with the exception of the Himalaya mountains in India,the highest in the Old World, my curiosity is completely gratified,and there is scarcely any possibility of my meeting with an enterpriseof this nature, of sufficient magnitude to renew its excitement: sincefive of the loftiest of the Alleghanies piled on each other, wouldscarcely reach to the height I have attained. To give you a correct