UP THE MIESING. 61 



were there or not. He needed not to say, " 'T is no- 

 thing !" the other saw this at once, by his expression. 

 But when the glass remained up to the eye some 

 seconds longer than usual, and the Jager, as he still 

 looked, said, "'Tis chamois! there are three to- 

 gether!" how exciting was the expectation. The 

 glass of each would then instantly be turned in the 

 same direction, to find the spot on which the hopes 

 of both were now centred. " I have them ! One is 

 at rest ; the one to the right is a yearling, I think. 

 Now it 's among the latschen ; now now he has come 

 forward again. What high horns that other one has !" 



Such are the remarks to be heard on these occa- 

 sions, made in a subdued voice, uttered quickly, and 

 broken into short sentences mere ejaculations called 

 forth by the stir of the emotion, by the feelings of the 

 moment, and leaving no time for them to be fashioned 

 into a connected form. But neither of us heard from 

 the other such pleasant tidings ; and after having 

 eaten a slice of brown bread and a morsel of goafs- 

 milk cheese, we slung our- rifles over our shoulders, 

 and each taking his staff went down the mountain. 



We looked around on all sides, but not a chamois 

 was to be seen. Before us rose the Roth Wand, now 

 (October 10th) covered with snow ; on a verdant patch 

 of pasture-land where we stood was a solitary hut, 

 long deserted ; and on the mountain- side, to our right, 

 it seemed as if some fiend had dug his nails into the 

 ground, and torn away from top to bottom all the 

 earth that he could clutch. Right through the green 



