er asked and obtained leave to visit the friendly traveller soon;
but when he went to Rosenlanibad three or four days afterward, he found
that Mr. Seymour had received a letter from home, which had compelled
him to take his immediate departure.

The summer passed away; autumn came, and stripped the leaves from the
trees; the first flakes of snow fluttered in the air; the days were
growing shorter, and the quiet and solitary valley took its turn in the
changes of fortune which so frequently occur in the outer world.
Although Toni Hirzel was sober and industrious, he could not escape the
common lot of humanity. He sustained a heavy loss at the beginning of
winter in the death of his favorite cow. Soon afterward the severity of
the weather drove from the mountains the wolves, which broke into the
stable during the night and killed two of his five goats.

These losses were serious to the poor man. The only property he
possessed in addition to his cottage consisted of the cow and the goats,
which supplied him with the barest necessaries of life; and now he was
deprived of them almost at one stroke. It was hard to bear; but
by-and-by the recollection of the money which Mr. Seymour had given him
came as a ray of sunshine to Walter, who begged his father to take it
and buy another cow.

"No, Walter," was his reply. "The money is yours. Mr. Seymour made you a
present of it, and it shall remain untouched until you are old enough to
spend it for some good purpose. You are too young and inexperienced yet;
so don't say any more about it. Now that we have lost Liesli and the
goats, we must bestir ourselves to do something else for a living, until
the spring, when we may perhaps be fortunate with the chamois. There are
plenty of chamois on the hills, and my gun on the wall there has brought
down many a fine buck. When spring comes we'll go out together, and you
will see that your father has still a firm hand and a sure foot."

* * * * *

The winter wore away by degrees. The warm south wind crept slowly
through the valleys, melting the snow from the mountain-sides, and
calling into life hundreds of sparkling streams. Waterfalls foamed and
thundered; enormous masses of snow came crashing down from the
mountain-peaks; while amid the noise and thunder of avalanches the sun
exercised its silent but mighty influence, renewing the mountain
greenery, converting the barren ground into a verdant carpet. The bi