Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1864-02-05
The Professors Adventure.

but study. Ioccupy Professors
chair, and was engaged in the collection Of
for a week on the Flora of the high
er Alps; and, to this end, Travelled chiefly on
foot. My route lay from the beaten paths
aud passes. ! often journeycd for day S thro'
regions where there were neither inns nor
villages I-oftcn wandered from dawn til
dusk, among sterile sleeps unknown even to
the herdsmen of the upper pastnrages, and
save by the channels and the hunt.
er. | thought myself fortunate, at those
times, it towards evening, l succeeded in
steering my way down to the nearest chalet,
where, in company with hal.savage noun.
taineer aud.a herd of mich goats, | might
find the shelter Of raitercd roof, and a sup.
per Of black bread and whey.
On one particular evening had gone fur
ther than usual in pursuit OF the Senccio uni,.
tioris, a rare plant which hitherto believed
indigenous to the southern valleys Of Monte
Rosa, but Of which here succeeded in find
ing one or two indifferent specimens. 1t was
a wild and barren district, diileul: to distin
guish with any degree Of precision on the
map, but lying among the upper defiles of the
Val de Bagnes, between the Mount Pleneur
and the GraEd Combin On the waste Of
rock strewu moss to which had climbed,
there was no sign Of human habitation.-
Above me lay the great ice fields of Corbass.
iere, e,surmounted by the silver SUBMITS OF the
Grailenierc and Comhin. To my left the sun
was going down rapidly behind forest OF
smaller peaks, the highest Of which, as well
as | c0nld Judge from Ostdwaid's map, was
the Mont Blanc dc Chcllon In ten minutes
more those peaks would be cTimsoned; in one
short half hour it would be night.
To be beniShted on an Alpine plateau to.
wards the lattcr end Of September, is not a
desirable position. knew it to be by recent
experience, and had no reason to repeat the
experiment, | therefore began rctracing my
steps Is rapidly as could, descending in a
norihwesteily direction, and keeping sharp
lookout for any chalet that might offer a
shelter for the night, Pushing forward thus
| found myself presently, at the head Of q
iittlo verdant ravine, cha"nelcd, as it were, in
the face of the plateau. hesi.atcd. 1t tseemed
through the gathering darkness, as If could
discern vague traces of path trnmplcd here
and there in the deep grass. 1t also seemed
as if the ravine tended down towards the up.
per pastureswhich were my destination. BY
following it ] could scarcely go wrong
Where there is grass there are generally cat.
tic and a chalet and might possibly find q
nearer resting place than bad anticipated
A, all events resolved to Try it. .a.
The ravine proved shorter than had ex.
pccted, and, instead Of leading Immediately
downward, opened upon second plateau
through which we'll worn foo,way struck of
abruptly tc the loft. Pursuing this footw ay
with what speed | might, came, in the
course of a few more minutes, to suddcr
slope, at the bottom Of which, in basin al
most surrounded by gigantic lime stone cliffs
lay small, dark lake, Il few fields, aud a cha
let. The rose tints had by this time come
and Sonc, and the snow had put on that
ghostiy grey which precedes the dark. BE.
fore could descend the slope, skirt and lake
and mount the little eminencr on which tho
house stood, sheltered by its back ground o
rocks. it was already night, and the star.
were in the sky.
went up to the door and knocked; no ont
answered. opened the door; Nil was dark
paused held my breath-listcnod- -fanciet
breathing. | knocked again. My secont
knock was followed by quick noise, like
the push Of chair, and mans voice said
hoarsoly,
"Who is therc"'
"A traveller replied, seeking shelte,
for the night" .....
A heavy footstep crossed the floor sharr
fash shot through the darkness, and saw
by the Pickering Of tinder. a mans facc bend
ing over a lantern. Having lighted he said
with scarce glance towards tho door, "En
ter traveller" and went back TO lis seat be
side the empty hearth.
entered. The chalet was Of better sor
than those usually found at SO great an alti
tude, consisting Of dairy and house place
with . loft overhead. a table, with three o,
four wooden stools, occupied the centre o
the room. Theraitcrs were hung with branch
es Of dried herbs and long strings Of Indiar
corn. 4 clock licked in corner n kind o
rude pallet upon trcstles, stood in recess
beside the fireplace; and through lattice q
the farthest end, could hear the cows feed
ing in the out house beyond.
Somewhat pcrplexed bp the manner Of my
reception, | unstrapped my knapsack anc
specimen box, took possession OF the ncaTcs
stool, and asked if could have some sup
per- .... ....-.
Ny host looked up with tho air Of ma,
intent on other things, repeated the en-
quiry. .... -...... ........
Yes" he said, weoriIy; you can eat
traveller" ..
With this, he crossed TO the other side o
the hearth, stopped over dark object, whicl
until now, had not observed, cIouching il
the corner, and muttered word or two O
unntelgible patois. The object moaned
lifted up wiliered wotnan's white face an,
rose slowly from the floor. Tho herdsipal
pointed to the table, and went back to hi
stool and his former attitude. The woman
after pausng helpless, as if in the effort T.
remenber something, went ont into the dar
and came back with a brown loaf and pal
of milk, aud set il before me on the table.
AS long as live, shall never forget tn
impression Of that woman's face. She wa
young and very pretty, and her beaut.
seemed turned TO stone. Every feature Dor
the seal Of unspeakable terror. Every ees
ture was mechanical. In the lines that fur
rowed her brow, was a haggardncss NOR
terrible than the haggardness Of age. In tn
locking Of her lips, there was an anguish be
| yond the utterance Of words Though sh
served me, do not think she saw me
There was no recognition in her eyes; no ap
| parent consciousness ofany object or circun
| stance external TO the secret OF her own des
pair. Al! this noticed during the few bris
moments in which she brought me my SUP
per. That done, she crcpt away, abjccty
into the same dark corner. and sanl. dow
again. . mere hnidlcd heap Of clothing.
As for her husband. there was somethin
unnatural IN the singular imrnobilty Of hi
attitude. There he sat, his body bent fol
ward, his chin resting on his palms, his eye
staring fxcdly at the blackcned hearth, aa
not even the involuntary quiyer OF nery
| to show that he lived and breathcd. coui
not determine his age. analyze, and obser,
his features as | might. lie looked ol
enough to be fifty, and young enough to |
forty; and was a fine, muscular mountainee
vith that grave east Of countenacc which
peculiar to the Valasian peasant.
4 = u 1a1.,.ii r.. l.