MY FIRST VISIT TO THE ENGADINE. 17 



ground, where it should have been as easy to ride down 

 as up. What our distance in miles from Pontresina was 

 I could not conjecture, but we were nearly 3,000 feet above 

 Pontresina, and except in a few places the ascent had been 

 very gradual. 



Well there was no help for it, if the horses could not carry 

 their riders back, the riders must walk. One with proper 

 forethought at once declared that having to walk back to 

 Pontresina, an ascent of the peak was not to be thought of; 

 ray other fellow-traveller declared her readiness to make the 

 ascent, and having rested, and eaten and drunk somewhat, 

 we commenced our ascent of the peak, ^wing to the clear- 

 ness of the air I was now well aware that to attempt to judge 

 of distance by the eye was very apt to mislead ; but I had 

 a pocket aneroid, from which, after we had been ascending 

 some time, I gathered we had more than 1,500 feet still to 

 go upwards, and I therefore interrogated the guide as to the 

 time it would take us to reach the top — the answer, three- 

 quarters of an hour, was not encouraging. However, we 

 persevered a bit further, and were now far above the snow 

 and Ranunculus glacialis ; but on reaching a rocky crag, 

 whence we had a very commanding view of our side of the 

 mountain, I again asked the guide how much longer we 

 should be, " A good half-hour" was the reply. On this I 

 resolved to return ; if we went up we should be away at 

 least another hour, and one of our party was left alone at the 

 foot of the peak ; so we parted company from our German 

 friend, and I gave him a message to Dr. Staudinger, in case 

 he should meet him on the top of the Piz ; from the point 

 where we were we could see Dr. Herrich-Schaffer then just 

 scaling the summit. 



So we returned to the foot of the peak, and there sat enjoying 

 1866. c 



