Up Sterling 



know which of them was better worth my ex- 

 penditure of time and strength. On the one 

 side the White Mountains, on the other side 

 the neighboring peaks of the Green Moun- 

 tain range nearer at hand all lay spread 

 before me like a gigantic map. The air was 

 clear as a bell. I could see, with my field- 

 glass, to the utmost limit of unobstructed 

 human vision. It was a grand sweep for a 

 lonely, pigmy human being, with the sense of 

 his own littleness and weakness emphasized 

 by aching legs and back. But there I was, 

 and there was the glorious world beneath 

 my feet, and the unsearchable sky above my 

 head. I forgot that I was tired; I forgot 

 that there was a nine-mile homeward tramp 

 awaiting me. For an hour I lay on the peak 

 of Sterling, in exaltation of spirit and body. 

 Then I got up, gave a last look north, east, 

 west, and south, rubbed myself, and walked 

 slowly down the ridge toward the "White 

 Rocks." 



179 



