eneath us the clouds floating everywhere like grey scarves. At
eleven o'clock we halted on a promontory where we contrived to find room
by sitting one behind the other.

"The fatigue and heat had exhausted us, and no one stirred, except the
two Bohrens, who climbed a little higher in search of wood, so that we
might light a fire, and prepare some refreshment. A crystalline spring,
filtering through the marble and the brushwood, murmured close beside
us. But all vigorous vegetation had disappeared. Nothing was to be seen
but the grasses and mosses; the juniper, the wild thymes, which
perfumed the air, and fields of purple rhododendron, the metallic leaves
of which mingled with the black lichens. At intervals, a few stunted
larches were outlined against the everlasting snows. The Bohrens arrived
with some brushwood, and soon a fire crackled and sparkled cheerily, the
water boiled, and, to my great satisfaction, rhododendron flowers and
fragments of juniper were put into it--my companions assuring me that
this kind of tea was excellent and very wholesome.

"My thirst was keen, and I drank with avidity the odoriferous beverage,
which seemed to me excellent.

"The guides had brought me a large posy of beautiful Alpine roses, and I
made them into a wreath, which I twined around my hat.

"After an hour's halt, we resumed our march, and soon could see only the
cold white snow around us, without the least sign of vegetation or life.
The acclivity we were climbing was very steep, but having quitted the
bare rocks, we no longer ran any risk of sliding. We endeavoured to
quicken our steps, in order to reach, before nightfall, an immense
cavern known only to two of our chamois hunters, who made use of it as a
hiding-place when their unconquerable passion for heroic adventures
tempted them to disregard the cantonal regulations. Joyous shouts broke
forth when the yawning mouth of the grotto opened wide under thick
layers of snow. Our songs recommenced, and, as night was coming on, we
pressed forward rapidly. For some hours I had been unconscious of
fatigue, and I could have marched for a considerably longer period
without feeling any need of rest.

"But the guides were impatient to gain a shelter where we should not be
exposed to the avalanches which rumbled in every direction.

"A mysterious twilight partly illumined the extensive cavern, its
farthest recesses, however, remaining in deep shadow. We could hear
rivulets trickling