THE OLD BUCK. 331 



right there was a sweet sight. Through a dip in the 

 mountain the high vale of Ettal appeared, a beau- 

 tiful expanse of green- sward, and the stately church 

 too was seen ; and behind this peep in the mountain 

 other distinct peaks were visible, gradually sloping 

 downwards to the plains, and losing themselves at last 

 in the flat land beyond. I looked on all this from my 

 rocky throne, and the sight and the feeling of self- 

 reliance, and of strength in every limb, filled my whole 

 frame with a thrill of exhilarating gladness. And over 

 my broad domain for mine it was, but without the 

 care of governing there lay a murmuring stillness ; 

 the hum of life that breathed and moved below me 

 in the vale, of distant cataracts reverberating among 

 the hollow rocks : it hung in the air, or rather was 

 inwoven with it. It was a very different stillness 

 from that of the high desolate mountain-peaks; for 

 there it is a palpable thing, which clings to your heart 

 and oppresses your chest by its weight ; and it comes 

 upon you surely, like the chill of death, that creeps 

 along the limbs, and cannot be evaded, despite your 

 inmost striving and endeavour. 



It has often occurred to me, when thus looking 

 down upon a land, how solemnly sad must have been 

 the feelings of Moses when he went up from the plains 

 of Moab to the top of Pisgah, the highest point of the 

 mountains of Nebo. Though he was an old man, how 

 must his heart have swelled at what he saw, the 

 Jordan and the groves of palms, and the fat pasturages 

 of Basan stretching away into the distance ; the moun- 



