at is very
common. I could understand how interesting it would be to be in
snow-fall while yet safely out of it. Mr. Hamerton thus described his
hut:

It consists entirely of panels, of which the largest are two feet
six inches square: these panels can be carried separately on
packhorses, or even on men's backs, and then united together by
iron bolts into a strong little building. Four of the largest
panels serve as windows, being each of them filled with a large
pane of excellent plate-glass. When erected, the walls present a
perfectly smooth surface outside, and a panelled interior; the
floor being formed in exactly the same manner, with the panelled or
coffered side turned towards the earth, and the smooth surface
uppermost. By this arrangement all the wall-bolts are inside, and
those of the floor underneath it, which protects them not only from
the weather but from theft, an iron bolt being a great temptation
to country people on account of its convenience and utility. The
walls are bolted to the floor, which gives great strength to the
whole structure, and the panels are carefully ordered, like the
stones in a well-built wall, so that the joints of the lower course
of panels do not fall below those of the upper. The roof is arched
and provides a current of fresh air, by placing ventilators at each
end of the arch, which insures a current without inconvenience to
the occupant.

The chapters on "Concerning Moonlight in Old Castles," "The Coming of
the Clouds," and the little sketches, like "Loch Awe after Sunset,
Sept. 23, 1860," enchanted me. It had not before struck me that Loch
Awe was different on September 23, 1860, from what it was at other
times, or--to carry the idea further--that the imperial Delaware had
changed since that momentous time when George Washington crossed it, or
the Schuylkill since Tom Moore looked upon it.

To quote further:

The mountain is green-grey, colder and greener towards the summit.
All details of field and wood are dimly visible. Two islands nearer
me are distinct against the hill, but their foliage seems black,
and no details are visible in them. The sky is all clouded over.
From the horizon to the zenith it is one veil of formless vapour.

And:

There is one streak of dead calm, which reflects the green mountain
perfectly from edge to edge