SLEIGHING. 337 



would. At times, as we emerged from a cloud into the sun- 

 shine, the dazzle was so great that not a contour of the piled-up 

 masses could be distinguished, and the only definite line that 

 the eye could catch was where the white peaks above us cut 

 against the bright blue sky. 



Hour after hour passed with the same ceaseless labour, and 

 it became plain why such an immense amount of power had 

 been given to draw such a comparatively light load. There 

 was no resting place, no refuge in case of storm, no human 

 habitation. Once started, the ascent had to be made during 

 the day ; so reserve of strength was necessary, for had the 

 beasts given in, the gravest consequences might have been the 

 result. Up, and always up, until the evening sun was close to 

 the rugged horizon, when at last we saw the huge cross that 

 marks the summit of the Kasbek Pass cutting sharply against 

 the sky, but still far above us. As we neared the top the 

 gradients were not so severe, and the oxen moved more freely. 

 The night began to fall, and the big cross faded away and was 

 lost in the gloom, but all felt that the long day's struggle had 

 nearly ceased, so at a better pace the wearied animals toiled 

 on over a more level track, until suddenly what seemed to be 

 a small fortress loomed through the deep twilight, and shortly 

 we slid up to the door of the stanitza that crowns the pass. 



Thankful, indeed, were we to get inside a dwelling-place of 

 any sort, and to rest our eyes upon bare walls and floors after 

 the never-ending snow. There was at least shelter ; we knew 

 that food had been brought in plenty, and as to rest and sleep 

 we had been used to find them in many a worse place. But 

 Heaven help the guardians of such a house throughout the 

 winter ! Existence in a lighthouse may be endurable ; life in 

 a lightship may have charms when ships pass, stray fish are to 

 be caught, and the latest specific against sea-sickness has not 

 been introduced on board ; but, not being an imaginative one, 

 my mind recoils from the task of thinking out what the exis- 

 tence of human beings can be, condemned to spend a long 

 winter in that solitary speck of greystone, begirt if not covered 



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