the mountains. Six thousand feet
below may now and then be seen the silver streak of the Rangit
River and forest-clad mountains beyond. Around him are dripping
forests, each leaf glistening with freshest greenness, long mosses
hanging from the boughs, and the most delicate ferns and noblest
orchids growing on the stems and branches. All is very beautiful, but
it is the mountain he wants to see; and still the cloud-waves collect
and disperse, throw out tender streamers and feelers, disappear and
collect again, but always keep a veil between him and the mountain.

Then of a sudden there is a rent in the veil. Without an inkling of
when it is to happen or what is to be revealed, those mists of infinite
softness part asunder for a space. The traveller is told to look. He
raises his eyes but sees nothing. He throws back his head to look
higher. Then indeed he sees, and as he sees he gasps. For a moment
the current of his being comes to a standstill. Then it rushes back in
one thrill of joy. Much he will have heard about Kinchinjunga
beforehand. Much he will remember of it if he has seen it before.
But neither the expectation nor the memory ever comes up to the
reality. From that time, henceforth and for ever, his whole life is
lifted to a higher plane.

Through the rent in the fleecy veil he sees clear and clean against the
intense blue sky the snowy summit of Kinchinjunga, the culminating
peak of lesser heights converging upward to it and all ethereal as
spirit, white and pure in the sunshine, yet suffused with the
delicatest hues of blue and mauve and pink. It is a vision of colour
and warmth and light--a heaven of beauty, love, and truth.

But what really thrills us is the thought that, incredibly high though
it is, yet that heaven is part of earth, and may conceivably be
attained by man. It is nearly double the height of Mont Blanc and
more than six times the height of Ben Nevis, but still it is rooted in
earth and part of our own home. This is what causes the stir within
us.

Hardly less striking than its height is its purity and serenity. The
subtle tints of colour and the brilliant sunlight dispel any coldness
we might feel, while the purity is still maintained. And the serenity
is accentuated by the ceaseless movements of the eddying clouds
through which the vision is seen. There is about Kinchinjunga the
calm and repose of stupendous upward effort successfully achieved.

A sense of solemn elevation comes upon