XI 



My First Chamois 



SUNRISE is always a glorious sight, whether 

 by land or sea ; but perhaps it is surpass- 

 ingly beautiful in a mountainous country. 



The stars paling in the first glimmer of light. 

 The dim outlines of the mountains looming dark 

 through the morning mists, and becoming each 

 moment clearer and more defined as the dawn 

 breaks. The eastern sky growing lighter and 

 brighter changing from grey to white from white 

 to saffron. And then the rosy blush that spreads 

 upwards and outwards from sky to mountain-top 

 until the golden rays of the sun, striking the summits 

 of the highest peaks, flash back reflected from 

 every ice-field, from every glacier in a million 

 sparkling crystals of brilliant light ! 



Such was the spectacle that met our eyes on the 

 morning that was to see my introduction to the 

 chamois. 



Half an hour's walk, along the same path up which 



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