252 CHAMOIS HUNTING. 



longing it awakens to have it again at your back, and 

 to be trudging along before daybreak over the dewy 

 meadows of the valley ! The dear old sack ! it is 

 indeed faded and weather-beaten, but its very beauty 

 consists in being so, telling as it does of long and 

 faithful service. 



And now for the mountain stick, here it is, tough 

 and unbending as ever. The good old fellow ! he 

 has been a trusty friend, and helped where none else 

 could, and when sure and timely support was a ques- 

 tion of life or death. What a pleasure it is to have 

 it once more in your hand ! You are carried away 

 by the impulse of the moment, and, in thought, are 

 again on the steep declivity with the abyss in front ; 

 and so, leaning the iron point on the floor, with body 

 bent back and whole weight resting on the good staff, 

 the four walls and even floor of your room have disap- 

 peared, and you are on the rocks among the latschen, 

 with the blue sky overhead. A sudden fit of impa- 

 tience, that was dormant until now, has seized you : 

 you want to be off, and begin to think it was foolish 

 not to have started some days ago, for then you would 

 have been on the mountains by this time. Hitherto 

 you were calm enough, and proceeded with your task 

 of packing and preparing with a placid serenity ; but 

 as the several objects more especially connected with 

 the scenes where you are going again greet you after 

 a ten months' interval, your cool business-like manner 

 begins to disappear, and, in a word, you can hardly 

 wait to be off. 



