340 DRIVING. 



The features of the mountains were colossal, and as to distances 

 they were impossible to estimate even approximately. At the 

 altitude that we were, and in such clear pure atmosphere, the 

 eye must have reached to an immense distance, but there was 

 nothing to judge it by. At times a precipice of rock that the 

 snow could not cling to showed on the opposite side of a valley 

 and broke the monotony of the dazzling white : but how far 

 off was it? Was it a mile, or two miles, or three? It was 

 impossible to say, for there was no tree, no object of known 

 size to form any standard of comparison. 



All this time we were descending very rapidly, and it was 

 distinctly advantageous to the nerves that we were passing 

 through scenes so nearly approaching to the sublime, for the 

 study of affairs close at hand was not exactly quieting. 



It is true that the little box we sat in pretty well fitted the 

 track, and the sure-footed horses rarely stumbled, but, at the 

 pace we went, whenever the sleigh came to a turn the runners 

 ceased to bite and we skidded off sideways in the most dis- 

 agreeable proximity to the edge of the slope. The average 

 width of the track may have been about three feet, but at the 

 sharp corners where our demon driver ' chanced ' the turns, it 

 had been worn out to a breadth of as many yards by the skid- 

 ding of other sleighs. 



At points of rock or very sharp turns indeed the isvostschik 

 condescended for a moment to slacken speed, but it was only 

 for an instant, and as soon as his shaft horse was round the 

 corner, with a shout and vicious whack of his whip, he was off 

 again. Often, as we galloped along the side of a more than 

 usually precipitous hill, I craned over the edge to see where 

 we should go to ' in case,' but it was of no use. One could see 

 sheer down much farther than was necessary for any practical 

 purpose, and then the mist put an end to any more speculation. 

 To test the distance between ourselves and the abyss I put out 

 my hand and found that it would reach beyond the little barrier 

 of snow, some few inches high, that formed the only protection, 

 and then thought it far better again to turn my attention to 



