Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Chapter XVII
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doubtless a corresponding cleavage to that to which the
formation of the chasm is due); the abrupt terminations
of these laminæ form ledges, which though very narrow
are perfectly firm and safe, affording a reliable
foothold, without the slightest tendency to slipperyness;
besides these there is an abundance of similar ledges,
affording firm finger-hold, which, though but an inch
wide, give a most comfortable assurance of safety to the
climber, who, bending the hands claw-fashion, clings to
them with the finger-ends. I would rather, under such
circumstances, have a firm two-inch foot ledge, and one
inch of such finger-hold, than an eighteen-inch pathway
with nothing for the hands. At about half wyay I
stopped to contemplate the scene, which is magnificent,
and its grandeur is heightened by the peculiar position
from which it is seen.
Imagine yourself " holding on by your eyelids," as
the sailors have it, in the manner just described, to the
face of a precipice which rises overhead some 500 or
600 feet; the upper part being, in fact, quite out of
sight, without leaning forward, which would, of course,
involve the fate of Ejstein; then, with great care, and
some fear and trembling, you turn yourself round,
gradually placing your heels on the former position of
your toes, removing your hands one at a time from
their clutching-places, and finding a lower ledge upon
which to rest the wrist end or heel of the hand.
Having anchored yourself thus, and keeping your back
quite flat against the rock (as any leaning forward
would be fatal), you look in the direction of the
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