The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1893-05-12
zhislel lanenms.
ASCENT OF MONT BLANC.


When l am asked, with varying de-
grees of emphasis, according to the
| temperament of the interlocutor, if |
should not love to make the ascent OF
Mont Blanc, my simple reply is
Il have been there
To those to whom this experience is
| as yet all anticipation, this answer is
non-commital. but to the individual
who has climbed these dizzy heights
| my words are charged with meaning.
Having rested at one of the hotels
| with which the village of Chamouni-
the rendezvous of Alpine tourists
abounds, my party, consisting of two
others and myself, mounted our mules,
| and, accompanied by a French guide,
set out upon our journey.
A brief inspection of the cemetery at
the foot of the mountain, where the
remains of travellers who have perish
ed in the ascent are buried, and the
fact that the majority of those inter
red there proved to be Americans, was
not calculated to ins pire us with con-
| fidence Evidently our countrymen
were inclined to be venturesome, and
| resolving upon a course of extra eau
ton, | remounted my mule.
A narrow, rectangular road, bound
| ed on one side by a perpendicular wall
and on the other by Il bottomless pre-
cipice, takes the place of the serpen-
| tine passageway usual in mountain
| ascents. Proceeding single file, with
a companion before and behind me,
kept my mules. nose turned towards
| this WALL despite my guides excited
admiration to 'gif de mule his het."
| had noted, however, that a fraction
| of a second after the animal ahead of
me had lifted his hOof from the ground,
| the stony soil upon which it had rested,
| loosened by his weight, went tumbling
down into the abyss below and, hav-
| ing u mathematical turn of mind,
could not help calculating what the
result would have been had his pace
| by any accident been retarded.
NV confidence in my fourfooted
| companion, however, was fully estab-
| lished ON the return trip. We were
making a particularly steep, slippery
descent, when my mule began to
slide. l was facing the yawning
| chasm, a plunge into which meant
death of the most frightful descrip
ton. a cold perspiration burst from
every pore. / clasped my hands and
commended my spirit, when suddenly
the animal upon which | was riding,
| nearing the rectangular point in the
wall, placed all tours together as boy
does his feet in making evolutions up
on the ice, and made the turn with a
skill that the most accomplished ska
| ter might have envied. | had receiv-
ed nervous shock, however, from
which | have never quite recovered,
and which completely quenched the
| enthusiasm which | should otherwise
| have felt in the beauty and sublimity
of the scenery.
At Chamouni we were served with
Alpine Strawberries, Il dark purple
| fruit about the size of Il grain of wheat,
and having II somewhat rank flavor,
| gathered by the peasantry i'll the
| mountains and brought to the village
! for sale. They presented Il striking
contrast to specimens of the same ber-
~ afterwards saw in Ireland. | was
standing near one of the wharves
when my attention was attracted by
boxes flied with some unknown pro-
| duct enclosed in green leaves, which,
upon inquiry, proved TO be stra Der
| rieS.
They We're being transported to
Liverpool, and the berries, averaging
nine inches in circumference, wei e
carefully enclosed in mulberry leave .
In serving this fruit in Ireland, Il Der
ry or two is thought to be quite suffi-
cient to satisfy an ordinary individual.
A small bowl of sugar is placed near
each plate, and, holding the fruit by
the STEM one dips it into the sugar,
eating it as he might do an apple or
| peach.
Apropos of big things, /, resident of
| California states that the much-vaunt-
ed fruits of that section do not com
pare in flavor with those raised East.
''They need your hot suns to sweeten
them and give them zest." The same
objection is urged by epicures to the
large varieties of fowls so much i'll
vogue of late years, which are said to
be coarse in fibre and lacking in deli
cacy of flavor.