RETURN TO THE HOSPICE. 331 



schle ! nur immer hiibschle ! ' (" Gently ! al- 

 ways gently ! ") 



At six o'clock they were once more at Le 

 Repos, having retraced their steps in two 

 hours over a distance which had cost them 

 six in going. Evening was now falling, but 

 daylight was replaced by moonlight, and when 

 they reached the glacier its whole surface 

 shone with a soft silvery lustre, broken here 

 and there by the gigantic shadow of some 

 neighboring mountain thrown black across 

 it. At about nine o'clock, just as they had 

 passed that part of the glacier which was, on 

 account of the frequent crevasses, the most 

 dangerous, they were cheered by the sound 

 of a distant jo del. It was the call of a peas- 

 ant who had been charged to meet them with 

 provisions, at a certain distance above Lake 

 Meril, in case they should be overcome by 

 hunger and fatigue. The most acceptable 

 thing he brought was his great wooden 

 bucket, filled with fresh milk. The picture 

 of the party, as they stood around him in the 

 moonlight, dipping eagerly into his bucket, 

 and drinking in turn until they had exhausted 

 the supply, is so vivid, that one shares their 

 good spirits and their enjoyment. Thus re- 

 freshed, they started on the last stage of 



