40 SHORT STALKS 



find reasons for all tlie misses which he is certain to make. 

 AVhen his invention is at fault, it is best to go and shoot 

 at a stone till he has restored his confidence. 



Another attraction of chamois hunting is that it takes 

 you to the mountains at the time of year when they put 

 on their most gorgeous raiment. At the latter end of 

 September the corridors of the hotels are empty. Yet it 

 is not till then, when the mild sunshine, even at mid-dav, 

 casts those wonderful purple shadows, that the infinite 

 variety and delicacy of form of the everlasting hills stand 

 revealed in clearest definition, often rendered yet more 

 clear by a soft powdering of fresh snow resting on every 

 ledge. Tiien who can measure the glories of an Alpine 

 sunset, when the pink snow-fiush is framed in golden 

 birches ? Large j^atches of these clothe the hills — acres of 

 them together — and out of them tower the great Arolla 

 pines, black by contrast. The larches have hardly 

 turned, but at a lower level on the Italian slopes, the 

 beeches, though still green for the most part, carry fiery 

 points ; and under your feet, that close-growing bilberry- 

 like plant which is, 1 think, the Yaccluvnn, burns to a 

 scarlet so pure and brilliant, that 1 have often mistaken it 

 for the blood of a chamois of which I was in search. It 

 is not surprising then that, when the pursuit of new peaks 

 and passes — the craze of my salad days — began to pall a 

 little, I adopted with enthusiasm the chase of the nimble 

 mountain antelope, which combines a mild form of moun- 

 taineering with all these delights. 



Most of the chamois huntino- which I have done has 

 been within easy distance of the Engadinc. The people 

 of Graubuuden are jealous of their sport being shared by 



