e us scraping the mire with a hoe vigorously,
as we come in sight.

"You should give this poor man something," says one of the guides. "He
keeps the road in order." I wish you might have seen the _orderly_ road!

Suddenly we gain a point where the land spreads out into green knolls
before us and on either side--a strip of almost level verdure, with, on
one hand, peak on peak, rising till they touch heaven; upon the other,
the Jung Frau, draped in snow. It seems so near, so very near,--though
the land drops between us and it into a deep ravine, and the snow-clad
peaks and needles are a mile away,--I almost thought I might guide my
horse to the verge of the chasm, and reaching out, gather the snow in my
hand. Across the summit, the clouds, white as itself, drifted
constantly, hiding it completely at times. It had been a tiresome climb
of two hours and a half, and we were glad to rest an hour before
descending. As we turned the corner of the Jung Frau inn, having
dismounted from our horses, we were met by our ubiquitous, stout friends
of Lake Leman memory, to whom, I presume, we seemed equally omnipresent.
_Table d'hote_ was served here, one party following another, until the
long table was full. Occasionally the noise of an avalanche, like the
sound of distant thunder, aroused and startled us, and caused us to
vacate every seat. But though the mountain appeared to be so near, these
avalanches, which sweep with tremendous force, carrying tons of ice and
snow, seen from this distance, seemed like nothing more than tiny
mountain streams let loose.

From the inn, we mounted and went on half a mile, before reaching the
summit and beginning the uncomfortable descent. We thought every bad
place must be the worst, as the horses slid down the slippery stones, or
descended the log steps with a peculiar jerky motion, suggesting
imminent and unpleasant possibilities. But, after fording torrents
swollen by the rain, crossing narrow, treacherous bridges, sliding down
inclined planes, and whole flights of stairs, the guides informed us
that we should reach a _dangerous place_ presently!

When, finally, we came to it, we were quite willing to dismount, and
make our way down over the rocks for a mile, trusting to our own feet,
and beset continually by women and children, who appeared most
unexpectedly at every turn, to thrust little baskets of fruit or flowers
into our hands. The very youngest child toddled after us with a withered
fi