ship to the main truck of Mount Blang
by way of the signal halliards, in preference to the regular road."

"Are the young ladies going?" asked Susan.

"Of course they are, from w'ich it follers that Mr Lewis an' the mad
artist are goin' too."

"And Mrs Stoutley?" asked Susan.

"_No_; it's much too far and difficult for her."

"Gillie, Gillie!" shouted a stentorian voice at this point in the
conversation.

"Ay, ay, Cappen," yelled Gillie, in reply. Rising and thrusting his
hands into his pockets, he sauntered leisurely from the room,
recommending the Captain, in an undertone, to save his wind for the
mountainside.

Not long afterwards, the same parties that had accompanied the Professor
to the Montanvert were toiling up the Mer de Glace, at a considerable
distance above the scene of their former exploits, on their way to the
Jardin.

The day was all that could be desired. There were a few clouds, but
these were light and feathery; clear blue predominated all over the sky.
Over the masses of the Jorasses and the peaks of the Geant, the
Aiguille du Dru, the slopes of Mont Mallet, the pinnacles of Charmoz,
and the rounded white summit of Mont Blanc--everywhere--the heavens were
serene and beautiful.

The Jardin, towards which they ascended, lies like an island in the
midst of the Glacier du Talefre. It is a favourite expedition of
travellers, being a verdant gem on a field of white--a true oasis in the
desert of ice and snow--and within a five hours' walk of Chamouni.

Their route lay partly on the moraines and partly over the surface of
the glacier. On their previous visit to the Mer de Glace, those of the
party to whom the sight was new imagined that they had seen all the
wonders of the glacier world. They were soon undeceived. While at the
Montanvert on their first excursion, they could turn their eyes from the
sea of ice to the tree-clad slopes behind them, and at the Chapeau could
gaze on a splendid stretch of the Vale of Chamouni to refresh their eyes
when wearied with the rugged cataract of the Glacier des Bois; but as
they advanced slowly up into the icy solitudes, all traces of the softer
world were lost to view. Only ice and snow lay around them. Ice under
foot, ice on the cliffs, ice in the mountain valleys, ice in the higher
gorges, and snow on the summits,--except where these latter were so
sharp and steep that snow could not find a lodgment. There was nothing
in all the field of vision to