ON THE EDGE OF THE SNOW 



mist, like a sea of white fleecy cloud or swan's-down. 

 All round, the mountain-tops rose pure and white, 

 against a sky of such a deep, dark blue that only 

 the Alps can show ; whilst the glorious sunshine 

 poured down on the dazzling whiteness, and cast 

 those blue shadows on the snow that only they who 

 have seen can realize. 



It was a sight that made one catch one's breath 

 at its very loveliness ! 



My post was on the extreme left of the line of 

 guns, and the whole drive was visible from it. 

 Before me lay the Rach-Kaar, a steep knife-back 

 ridge, down whose snow-clad side the beaters would 

 come. On my left the mountain descended almost 

 perpendicularly to the valley. About a hundred 

 yards on my right a stream flowed along a shallow 

 ravine a favourite line of retreat of the chamois, 

 Wechselberger told me. 



A frugal lunch, and a pipe, and then followed 

 the usual long wait. The sun shone down upon us 

 with summer-like warmth, whilst we basked in its 

 rays, and watched the Prince and his trager, like 

 ants on the mountain side, climbing to his stand. 

 A dread of an insufficiency of exercise, and a laud- 

 able desire to tire himself out which, however, 

 I never knew him able to accomplish led him 

 always to prefer the highest post ! Two or three 

 little bands of chamois, too, were visible with their 



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