. It
yawned deep down in front of my feet, fathoms below fathoms, piercing
down, seemingly, to the centre of the earth. Looking over its edge I
could mark how the vaulted arc of heaven and the starry firmament were
reflected in its bottomless abyss; while, its breadth, seemed
immeasurable. I saw that I could not cross it by the path I had
hitherto pursued; and yet, whenever I turned aside, and tried to reach
the mountain top by some other way, the horrible crevasse curved its
course likewise, still confronting me. It was always before me, to
arrest my progress. I could not evade it, I could not overleap it; and
yet, there stood Min calling to me, and beckoning to me--and, I could
not join her. It was maddening!

The moonlight faded. The twinkling stars went in one by one. There was
a subdued darkness for a moment; and then, day appeared to break.

The snowy expanse appeared to blush all over--

"And on the glimmering limit far withdrawn
God made himself an awful rose of dawn."

Did you ever watch an Alpine sunrise? How the light leaps from peak to
peak, warming the monotonous white landscape in an instant with a tinge
of crimson lake, and making the ice prisms sparkle like sapphires!

It was just so in my dream:--not a detail was omitted.

With the brightening of the dawn my troubles began to disappear. The
crevasse narrowed, and the distant peaks of the Matterhorn approached
nearer. Min was close to me, so close that I could almost touch the
hand she held out to guide my steps. I heard her say, "Come, Frank,
come! courage, and you're safe!" I was stepping across a thin ice
bridge, which I suddenly perceived in front of me, leading over the gulf
that separated us. I felt her warm, violet breath on my cheek. I was
just planting my feet on the further side of the glacier, and going to
clasp her in my arms, when--the frail platform on which I was crossing
gave way:--I fell downward through the chasm with a shriek of terror
that she re-echoed, and--I awoke!

Again, I was in the midst of an arid, sandy desert. The sun's rays
seemed to pelt down with blistering intensity on my uncovered head.
There was not a single tree, nor a scrap of foliage anywhere in sight,
to afford a moment's shelter:--all was barrenness; parching heat; death!

I felt faint--dying of thirst. I fancied I could hear the rippling of
waters near me, the splashing of grateful fountains; but, none could I
see. Around me, as I l