The Monte Vista journal., 1912-05-04
N o get a fair view OF things. the
novice ought to record his or
her first Impressions OF Switz-
arland In winter In tho train

her first Impressions Of Switz-
erland In winter In tho train
coming back. BY the time
you have settled down again at home.
and sit In your parlor to retail your
doings to your admiring and envious
friends, the disagreeables. II any there
have been. have faded into oblivion.
and the joys Of even bad Swiss win
ter, when contrasted with the rigors
Of the ''old-fashioned" English article,
strike one so forcibly that you can
only gasp out incoherences about
''the time Of your life" and the wicked
waste of never hc wing gone before.
But in the train, when you perchance
can still see from the window the
peaks on which you have floated and
slid and tumbled. and with the pros
pect Of eight weary, dark hours jour
ney to Paris) you can put things
straight in your mind, writes r. M.
Morrison in Country Life. You are
not distracted by questions which
bring home to you. how sleepy and
casual your observation has been.
You are not shamed into excuses and
depreciations before your experienced
and expert friends, who have fed
the Swiss winter In contempt and
despair. You are not compelled to
70 into the conventional ecstasies
over the Alpine sunset In the train
your opinion IL as honest as a no
vices naive and rapturous opinion
can be. Out Of all your experiences.
~ Nf do -
clear before all others. My most abid-
ing memory Is Of n dazzling. brilliant
day. OF a three-mile ascent, skis In
hand. from the village to untrodden
and silent slopes. a wall 80 warming
that, the destination reached. was
glad to rest and lunch In the shade
I recall the quaint and mysterious
footprints-afterwar Identified as a
deer's-found near the lunch tree and
laxily pondered over ! glow az the
remembrance Of a slope. Ave hundred
yards long. virgin snow to the skier
had been only three days skier
and 4 successful ascent was stfll be-
yond my dreams. fell. and with re
lief and surprise noted that did no,
fulfil the prophecy OF breaking my
toes. stood on the brow OF the
slope and pushed myself OF with the
baton. after the uncouth style of the
novice. For the briefest fraction OF
a second feared that my pose was
Unbalanced and that | was fated (,
fall. The next. was given up to the
foy Of swift motion. OF the sweeping
cnreer through the air and sunlight
until I few out OF the sun into shadow
and suddenly grew cool and blind.
I suppose evcrybody's introduction
to skiing II very much the same
Everyone has to get over the incllna,
tion to lift his feet and turn out his
toes: most people have TO fight down
the awful feeling OF terror which Mt
tacks them. not on their debut I'M,
on their second attempt: and not n
few, I hope. have the sense (and tho
knowledge OF Freneh) to be able IN
take in good part the grave com.
ments OF the village children. These
ten-year-old boys, TO whom beautiful
skiing seems second nature. can
teach ono much. although Skiing I,
not OF the soil. but recent importa a.
tion from Norway. BY the way. fail.
ing q native. tho best tutor n an
English schoolboy. who, having no re-
gArd for his own neck or yours. does
not nSster or fuss you. but rather I'm