BROWNE'S ASCENT OF MONT BLArre.* This large paper-bound folio is
the work of Mr. J. D. H. Browne, one of the gentlemen who achieved last summer the most recent ascent of Mont Blanc. It is a curiosity, and an interesting one. The designs are not mere reminiscences, but are completed from sketches made on the spot ; the author having enjoyed exemption to an unusual degree from the knocking-up effects of the adventure. Here we follow the two Eng- lishmen and their nine guides in their ladder-ascent of the glaciers before the Grande Mules; their encampment on the Grands Mulets •' their searching for the passage of the Crevasse du Dome by lantern-light amid fathomless precipices, ghost-white glaciers, and black night ; their peril- ous crossing of the crevasse-2 their breakfast on the Grand Plateau, within view of the summit ; the first use of the axe in hewing away the higher ice; the view of the Italian side of the mountain ; the sealing of la Cote; the final rest upon the loftiest peak of Mont Blanc ; and the stumbling, slipping, precipitating descent. Spite of some artistic deficiencies, the de- signs are characteristic and lifelike ; and the verbal narrative is graphic enough to atone for occasional flightiness.
• Ten Scenes of the last Ascent of Mont Blanc, including Five Views from the Summit. Published by M•Lean.
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