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Page 12
"But pleasant as the voyage and full of memories, I see that you are
impatient to pass over to the mountains of Switzerland. Words are weak
to describe the magnificence of the Juras: looking upon the rolling
heights shrouded with pine-trees, and down thousands of feet at the
very roadside, upon cottage roofs and emerald valleys, where the deer
herds were feeding quietly. All this I had seen, and then we came to a
little town called Bex; and here, from too much expenditure of
enthusiasm perhaps, I was confined for weeks with a raging fever.
"One day, when the fever left me weak and feeble as a child, who
should enter but the good pastor Ortler. He had heard of my illness,
and leaving home, he had travelled over the hills to nurse me in my
weakness; and when I grew strong enough to bear it, he treated me to
short drives along Lake Leman, whence we could see the meadows that
skirt Geneva, the rough, shaggy mountains of Savoy, and far behind
them, so far that we could not distinguish between cap and cloud, Mont
Blanc and the needles of Chamouni.
"The good pastor Ortler, with his fine voice and clear, earnest eyes,
was in possession at all times of a charm of manner that had for me
an irresistible fascination. But when he talked of God, his greatness
as seen in his works, the magnificent and matchless glory by which we
were surrounded: above all, when he spoke of His tenderness and love,
I realized as I had never done before the beauty of holiness, and the
happiness, in this life even, of a soul firmly anchored in the faith
of Christ.
"Once, I remember, he steadied my feet to a rocky point overlooking
the little town of Ferney, and the deserted ch�teau of Voltaire. And
then followed a conversation, in which the tenderness of the good
pastor's heart was manifest as he spoke of the fine mind wrecked on
the sands of unbelief. 'And to think of this man's influence,' he
said, with sorrow in his tones, and regrets over a lost life and a
lost soul.
"Upon the shores of the lake stood the old home of De Stael; and
nearly opposite, its white walls reflected upon the bosom of the water
the house where Byron lived and wrote. In the distance we could see
the gleaming roofs of Geneva, the dark cathedral, and the tall hotels.
As the weeks wore on I grew stronger. Winter was coming, and the good
pastor must go home. He would not hear of leaving me, and together we
went down into Savoy, and over the 'mer de gl�ce,' and trod on the
edge of frowning glaciers.
"We were sufficiently near the monastery of the great St. Bernard to
take it in our path; toiling along where the ice cracked in the narrow
footway, and the moon glittered on the waste of snow and glinted
across the dark windows. Pastor Ortler was at home with the monks, and
hardly had we thawed ourselves before the ample fireplace, when a
supper was prepared, and over their well-spread tables the monks told
stories of travellers lost among the granite heights, with clefts and
ledges filled with ice.
"Among the rest, friar Le-Bon gave a description of the 'Ice Maiden,'
or _'Bride of the Aar,'_ said to be seen often when the great glacier
of Aar sends out icy breezes, and the echoes ring from rock to rock,
as it were the audible voice of God.
"'Years ago,' he said, 'a young Englishman and his wife were
travelling for scientific purposes; measuring heights, and sounding
depths. They were always accompanied by guides; but now, charmed by
the untold splendor, and urged by deep emotion, they climbed higher
and higher, regardless of danger. Twice had the guide called out to
them that the very beauty of the day, the sun obscured but not
darkened, the softened air, were all favorable to a snowslide or
avalanche.
"'Full of life and vivacity, the young wife went on from one point to
another, higher and higher; her lithe figure brought out against the
sky, as occasionally she plunged her iron-pointed staff deep into the
snow, and turned to admire the vast panorama at her feet. Her husband
was making the ascent at a slower pace, looking up to admire the
boldness of the little woman, and then playfully scolding her as she
stood poised in mid-air so far above him. Aware of her danger, and
fearing to startle her, the guide had ascended, and now stood with the
husband on a little ledge quite underneath the cliff on which stood
the fearless bride.
"'A moment--there was a low, murmuring sound, as when the autumn
leaves are swept by the evening breeze. The guide heard it, and his
cheek paled. At the same time a voice was heard above.
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