242 GLISSADE. 



mentioned. The fox-hunter watched his hound until 

 in the waning light it was almost out of sight; but 

 then seeing that its fall was arrested by some level 

 surfaces, where it now stood, apparently without hurt, 

 he determined rather than face the danger of the 

 narrow ridge before him, in the gloom of evening, 

 to follow his hound's example ; knowing from his 

 acquaintance with the locality, that if he once gained 

 the lower ground, the greatest difficulty in his way 

 home would be past. Calling back the rest of his 

 pack, therefore, he rolled up his plaid, and seating 

 himself upon it as a cushion, began to slide down the 

 snow in the direction taken by his four-footed precursor. 

 But thus to shoot a steep slope 500 or 600 feet in 

 length is no trifling performance, and not without 

 hazard. How he reached the bottom he has never 

 been able to remember from that day to this. He 

 recollected launching himself forth on the snow, then 

 followed a wild rush through the air, a choking sensa- 

 tion, and a giddy feeling of bewilderment, and his 

 next moment of consciousness was as he lay half- 

 buried in the level snow at the foot of the slope ; his 

 hounds gathering about him, ai*d all of them like 

 himself uninjured. The rapidity of his descent was 

 soon fully demonstrated, when on rising to search for 

 his plaid before resuming his journey homewards, not 

 a vestige of it remained. The whole, as well as a 

 portion of his coat and trousers, had evaporated into 

 shreds and ribbons in his course over the snow. 



For nearly two whole hours anecdotes like this 

 served to while away the time as we waited for the 

 hind to break off her mid-day dreams and ruminations. 

 At length, when patience was well nigh exhausted, we 

 were delighted to see her rise, descend for a moment 



