Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-02

ting beside melon stone was a Dutch lady
with her two brothers. | know they
were either Russians or Dutch, for they
seemed TO speak all languages unier the
sun with equal facility and 1t afterwards
ihcame out that they were from Holland.
Seeing that l was alone, aud diviuiug
that felt cylinder queer" she spoke
to me, and that began a delightful ac-
workmanship of four hours. l de-
scendsd the mountain with her and her
brothers, by another route, taking my
guide. and letting the mule go back.
The guide led and we followed, picking
our way amongst the loose stones; sud-
denly he turned a little to the right,
stopped, and said, "This is the way. -
looked down and saw no way eS-
cept TO jump fifty feet. 1t was what they
cnll the chimney an almost per-
peudlcular pass or sliie in the cliff. like
wide creyaSs. The guide called my at
tentIon TO certain little notches cut for the
feet, ana III the worst places there was
an iron railing. The famous ''mauvais
pas' near the Merde Glace is not half so
'mauvais rs the 'chlmuey. - II was
nothing to the Dutch lady | listened
with my mouth (tiguratively) wide open
TO the account of her walking excursions.
She and her brothers thought nothing of
running up TO Bel Achat 10 see the sun
set, aud coming down in the dark. She
had been to the Grand Mulets on Mount
Blanc; she had scaled the Buet "a snow
mountain near Chamouix) and just lately
she and her brothers had returned from
All eight DAYS walking tour, over noun
taiIs aud glaciers and l don L know what
all TO Zsrnatt, and then up the Brett
horn and over mountains and glaciers
aud everything else back again. Aud
she was just taking d little promenade
up the Brpvent TO keep from getting
stiff. (rhis made the SO ashamed of my
mule, that was glad he was on the
other side of the mountain.) She was
dressed sensiby for walking, in great
heavy, coarse shoes, with uuils in the
soles TO keep them from slipping; short
skirt just coming TO the boot-tops, blouse
waist, aud big panama hat. Her broth
ers were interested in botany and
geology and the three of them, being
able to speak all languages and SO TO
interest themselves IN people rs well,
hud about us nice time together US can
be imagined.
In about an hour we reached loves
peak called Plan Praz, where there war
n chalet, and ordered some soup and
tea. The view from this point, rs far rs
Mount Blanc goes, Is as fine rs from the
Brevent, tut the clouds were gathering
and shifting back End forth like curtains
over the wonderful panorama of pima
Gle and snow field. Ike nire, black
eyed woman OF the chalet set table for
us on the grass outside her door, and We
four sat down there around the smoking
tureen. Before the Dutch lady put her
hani 10 the soup ladle there was
silent, reverent grace said. How ap-
propriate that simple action was there in
the presence of God 3 grandest retlec-
tionsl Somehow it dIguified the tea aud
the soup and made the simple lunch u
thank Offering 10 the All-Good. These
snow mountains bring one very near to
the eternal; 1t is the light, foolish words
that seem out OF place before them;
reverent actions and talk of real things
is easy and natural in the presence of
such mighty grandeur and iucorruptible
purity.
1t was wonderful day, that day on
the Brevent, and l feel profoundly
grateful did not know what it was GO
ing to be, and that l did think such q
quantity of mule aud guide would be
sufficient company. Now that view
seems Ike q vision aud ii is hard TO be- |
lieve it real. Perhaps one reason for
that is because the Brevent and Mount
Blanc and everything else is shut Off |
from US again by rain. Once more we
are confined TO the little salon, and
ascend Mount Blance in the big red
book, and listen to NJ. Couttet's freezing
tales, and the barometer says it is
"varlable.
JESSIE c. CHAMBERLIN.