UP THE MIESING. 59 



stantly be turned in the same direction, to find the spot 

 on which the hopes of both were now centred. (t I have 

 them ! One is at rest ; the one to the right is a year- 

 ling, I think. Now it's among the latschen; — now — 

 now he has come forward again. What high horns that 

 other one has ! " 



Such are the remarks to be heard on these occasions, 

 made in a subdued voice, uttered quickly, and broken 

 into short sentences — mere ejaculations called forth by 

 the stir of the emotion, by the feelings of the moment, 

 and leaving no time for them to be fashioned into a con- 

 nected form. But neither of us heard from the other 

 such pleasant tidings ; and after having eaten a slice of 

 brown bread and a morsel of goat's-milk cheese, we slung 

 our rifles over our shoulders, and each taking his staff 

 went down the mountain. 



We looked around on all sides, but not a chamois was 

 to be seen. Before us rose the Both Wand, now (Oc- 

 tober 10th) covered with snow; on a verdant patch of 

 pasture-land where we stood was a solitary hut, long de- 

 serted ; and on the mountain-side, to our right, it seemed 

 as if some fiend had dug his nails into the ground, and 

 torn away from top to bottom all the earth that he could 

 clutch. Right through the green latschen came a long, 

 broad strip of loose stones, some hundred feet in width. 



On going along at the foot of this geroll, Berger 

 suddenly stopped; and dropping behind a large block of 

 stone, whispered, " There's a chamois ! " High up amongst 

 the debris a black spot was visible, and this was the cha- 

 mois. W^e saw by our glasses that it was a yearling buck, 

 and for a time watched him at our ease, as we lay on 

 the ground protected by the fragment of fallen rock. It 

 stood at gaze for a moment. 



" Does it see us ?" I asked ; " does it look this way ?" 



