Year: 1877

Of the mountain-the projection of th,
peak on the disk darkening for a tim,
our face to each other, and lifting of
the plateau, as if by magic, the attenu
ated reflection of the rocks. Only for
short though gloomy interval, however
for the queenly orb sailed aloft, CLEARED
the mountain, and bore splendidly away
through the tinted sky. The motion
was quite visible, and resembled that o
vast balloon. All the lower portions
of the mountain were deeply shaded
while the peak, craggy and irregular
was fully exposed to the raining moon
light, and it seemed to be swimming IN
splendor that was intoxicating to be
hold. We traversed the plateau, and il
less than another hour we had scram
bled up the steep into the cold, ghOstly
moonlight, and simultaneously it semeC
as if the rest of earth were extinguishet
to us; for beyond the circle of light all
was darkness. And here was the pure
perennial snow, very fine and a little
moist and sending chill through the
body as we slowly walked across it tC
the rude stone shelter that was our goal
1t consisted merely of blocks of stone
that had been thrown 0Onfusedly to.
gether from east to west when it had
been first discovered that Ben
Nevis surpassed by few feet
both Ben Macdhiu and Cairn-
gorm. We squatted down in compact
order as best we could, and proceeded
to draw on our TASKS and sandwiches
A few lighted their pipes, and there
was faint attempt at jocularity, but II
died away in space like an echo, while
not a few were soon snoring in their
rugs, in imminent danger of suffOcation





] rose up quickly. The moon was
declining, and the eastern heavens, low
down, were rapidly assuming a deep
purple hue, above which, and blending
with it by infiniteismal gradations,
there was coming ont a belt of red, and
over this again zones Of orange and
violet. At length faint illumination
Oyerspread the west; no cloud was to
be seen; as far as the weather was con-
cerned, we We're going to have fair play.
The dawn advanced: the eastern sky
became illuminated and warm. The
sun had not yet smitten the SHOWS of
the lower mountain; but the whole
eastern sky was becoming deep orange,
passing upward through amber, yellow,
and vague green, to the ordinary firma-
mental blue. Away to the north purple
clouds were becoming dimly defined,
hanging motionless, and giving depths
to the spaces between them. There
was something sanity in the scene--a
something that bewispered the repres-
sion Of all action, and the substitution
for it Of immortal calm. At last rose
the great artist of all this, the sun flood
ing the revealed panorama of hill and
silver lined vale and burning loch with
unspeakable glory. Here and there
along the lower slopes there appeared
faint, white streaks of mist that lost
as the moments advanced.
The gauzy haze of the distant air on
our plane, though sufficient to soften
the outlines and enhance the cOloring
of the seemingly endless mountains, was
far to thin too obscure them. Over their
crests and through the valleys the sun
beams poured unimpeded save by the
themselves, which in some
cases drew their shadows i'm straight
bars of darkness through the illumin-
ated air. Far off to the southwest could
be seen the island of Butte, resting like
a cOuchant lion on the deep, and sur
rounded by score of the islets that
dot this portion of the Atlantic; and,
perched on the woody face of every
sheltered bay, shone the white walls of
some outlandish village port.


This strange, sweet light was feeting,
however. Soon the whole horizon as
sumed its normal morning colors, and
heavy masses of cloud, hitherto invisible
or floating in their air like barges of
gold and purple, put on the gray, dull
livery of full day y.-AppletOnS' journal.