186 THE LIFE OF JAMES D. FORBES. [CHAP. 



my heart. Darling things ! I often think of them, and 

 I look at all the children on my journey with very 

 different eyes from what I used to do, down even to the 

 infant in arms. . . . 



' Wednesday. Monday was a bad day, as I wrote ; 

 here is another worse. But yesterday I had such a < ; 

 of walking as might count for two or three days. The 

 weather was fine, but mist as usual on the top of the 

 Ben, so I did not attempt, but I circumnavigated him at 

 a very high level, over some of the most frightfully roii^h 

 ground it is possible to see. My object was to examine, 

 as far as possible, the contact of the granite and black 

 porphyry. There is a very wild and precipitous glen at 

 the back of Ben Nevis, with a sort of pass, at the head 

 of which we can get into Glen Nevis. I shall make 

 you a little drawing ; it will please you better than 

 description. . . . 



' Our pass was by A, the summit of the Ben being at C. 

 Neither my man nor I had ever, been in the said place 

 before, and as I said, mist surrounded the upper part of 

 the Ben, and came down somewhat lower than the ridjjv. 

 So, as we approached the head of the glen, we got only 

 glimpses of snow-fields and broken rocks above us ; and 

 at length we were immersed in the fog, which fortunat< lv 

 was not very deep. We kept on the rock as long as \\ v 

 could, and at length found that there only intervened 

 between us and the ridge a short steep ascent of drifted 

 snow, most truly Alpine. It was too late to think of 

 receding, and it was not far ; so, assuming my new 

 mahogany tripod as an Alpine stock, I proceeded foremost 

 to make steps in the most approved Swiss fashion, to the 

 no small edification of my companion, who had never 

 seen such an operation before. The upper few yards 

 were so steep that I actually could not get one foot stuck 

 into the snow before the other, and had to get along 

 sideways. 



' We luckily got to the top safe and sound, and found 

 less mist on the opposite side. We came down a most 

 tremendous steep into Glen Nevis, but without any risk. 



