eye to the parent
glaciers. This view I was fortunately able to enjoy rather longer than
that from the mouth of the Schafloch; for we had made such rapid way,
that Christian found there was time for a meal of milk in the chalet,
and meanwhile left me lying in perfect luxury on the sweet grass.

From the Ralligflue a long and remarkably steep zigzag leads to the
lower ground, and down this Christian ran at full speed, jodeling in a
most trying manner; indeed, at one of the sudden turns of the path he
went off triumphantly into a falsetto so unearthly, that he lost his
legs, and landed in a promiscuous sort of way on a lower part of the
zigzag, after which he was slower and less vocal.

We eventually reached Gonten so soon, that there was time to cool and
have a bath in the lake; and when that was nearly finished, Christian
brought a plate of cherries and a detachment of the village, and I
ate the cherries and held a levee in the boat--very literally a levee,
as the dressing was by no means accomplished when the deputation
arrived. My late guide, now, as he said, a friend for life, made a
speech to the people, setting forth that he had done that day what he
had never thought to do; for, often as he had been to the entrance of
the Schafloch--five or six times at the least--he had never before
reached the end of the cave. And to whom, he asked, did he owe it? All
previous Herrschaft under his charge had cried _Immer zurueck!_ but
this present Herr had known but one cry, _Immer vorwaerts!_ Luckily the
steamer now approached, so the speech came to an end, and he shook
hands affectionately, with a vigour that would certainly have
transmitted some of the dye, if that material had not become a part of
the skin which it coloured. Then the village also shook hands, having
evidently understood what Christian said, notwithstanding the fact
that it was intelligible German, and I returned to Thun and Berne.

No. 53 was still the only bed disengaged, for it was very late when I
reached Berne; but on my vehement protestations against that unquiet
chamber, the landlord most obligingly converted a sofa in his own
sitting-room into a temporary bed, and made it over to me. This room was
separated by a door of ground-glass from another sitting-room
brilliantly lighted, in which a number of German young gentlemen were
feting the return of a comrade after the national manner. The landlord
said he thought it must soon be over, for he doubted