The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-07-08
BY F. A. mitchell


finds every facility for the purpose
Before ! was twenty had stood on
the summit of the 'Jungfrau and
year later made the ascent of the Mat
terhorn
My favorite Alpine region was that
about Mont Blanc, which l climbed
several times and always with the
same guide, Otto Marx. though ascents
are not usually made without two
guides Marx, though possessing the
wiry, close knit build Of the typical
mountain guide. had spiritual coun
tenance. He climbed mountains not
so much from a love of encounterine
their dangers as for the contempla
ton of the splendid scenes to be found
among them He was silent man
not easily drawn out. but it is my
fancy to dive into the inner depths of
such persons because | expect to find
there treasures not to be found among
the more garrulous. So whenever
while climbing we reached conven
lent spot for resting and looking out
upon the broad expanse of mountains
and valleys and cliffs, peaks here and
there extending far above the clouds
would begin my pumping.
He told me that he was born among
the mountains and he could not be
lieve that he would ever leave them
"All things must have beginning"
he said. MY beginning is in my
body can only propel myself on
my legs, helping myself up steep
heights. at times helping with my
hands. When l die l shall be free
from such contemplate methods
Though we sometimes retrograde, In
the main we progress. Man first could
only walk on his legs; then he made
an animal carry him, and now he goes
rapidly by steam. When he dies he
makes a much greater advance than
from the flesh to the iron horse. Once
have cast off the body l shall not
be subject to gravity. | shall pass
over this broad valley to yonder noun
tain by some such means as the cleo
trio current | cannot conceive Of the
mechanism by which | shall move
any more than half a century ago one
could conceive of talking to another
hundreds of miles away by means of
a telephone or of flying among the
clouds in an aeroplane. Do you sup
pose man can make such progress as
this, clogged with the body, to ac-
complish nothing at all when freed
from it,"
Sitting there looking out upon the
terrestrial grandeur, was deeply i'm
pressed with his reasoning. ] did not
stop to inquire whether or not it was
logical, and it does not appear to me
now to matter whether it was logical
or whether 1t violated every logical
principle. There are deductions that
only appear to us through the feelings.
and this feeling that we shall live
again after our present life is perhaps
the most important Of all such deduc
TONS
Many were the talks In this vein
had with Otto Marx while we were
resting above the clouds When we
had descended into the valley he would
be again shut up like an oyster Some
times when we were alone together In
Chamounix l would endeavor to get
him to converse on these subjects. but
never once succeeded Sometimes
fancied that he saw these sights Of
what he would be in the future. only
from great height and when inspired
by the peaks. And yet this did not de-
stroy his faith in them
The last climb Otto and l made to-
gether we started one morning from
Chamounix to ascend the mountain
and stopped for the night at the Grand
Mulets. the cabin erected for the shell
ter of climbers. We had our supper
before dark and sat looking out over
the succession of mountains and gorges
and the great ice river pouring with
invisible slowness down into the val'
ley ] tried to induce Marx to talk,
but failed
what is the matter with you. Otto?"
! asked.
Herr" he replied. 81 feel some
thing"
"What do you feel"
THAT this trip will be my last up
the mountain"
'Nonsense, Ottol You have a fit of
blues Your digestion is bad; your liV-
er is out Of order
"No, herr; / shall not go back to the
valley in my body"
Awed by this tone, was silent All
NJ ant haforo
me seemed terrible as well as grand
AS soon as darkness fell l said l would
turn in, and. wrapping myself in the
blankets, l went to sleep.
The next morning we started at
dawn and had no trouble whatever Oh
reaching the summit In the after
noon we stopped again for the night at
the Grand Mulets.
OTTO" | said, you gave me the
dumps last evening talking about your
not getting back to the valley. You
see that your forebodings were with.
out foundation"
I'VE are not yet in the valley, herr"
But we have passed over the great
est danger
He made no reply to this, and did
not mention the matter again.
The next morning we were descend
ing over u path about foot wide, on
one side of which was a precipice and
on the other a slide over slanting snow
for hundreds of feet, then a gradual
rise. Marx had the lead. Suddenly
the snow gave way under my feet,
and l fell on the side Of the gradual
decline Marx, seeing that the only
way to keep US both from going down
the decline. threw himself on the other
side, the side of the precipice. The
rope broke, and / went, sliding with
aceelerating rapidity. down the ice
coated snow.
During that slide l thought only Of
Marx, who had gone to his death, for
there was a chance for me and none
for him. Presently found myself