place it amongst linen.  Jakob looked like a mountain dryad, his broad-brimmed beaver being completely covered with purple Michaelmas daisies, glowing amongst sheaves of silvery edelweiss, falling round in a soft gray woolen fringe.  Aided by Jakob and Martin, we had the gratification of gathering edelweiss ourselves, always a notable feat.  Martin really had most miraculously recovered.  After those twenty-four miles of hard walking, followed by a climb of several thousand feet, we left him felling a pine tree as we bade Jakob adieu, for he was to leave very early in the morning.

A comical scene ensued after our return to the barn.  Visitors of course we had none:  Martin’s arrival had been an immense event.  Thus, as we sat in the barn partaking of hot wine and cake, great masses of shadow all around, with light breaking in only from the lantern, forming altogether a perfect Rembrandt effect, we heard a cheerful voice wishing us “Good-night and sweet repose” through the door.  Immediately, believing it to be the paechter’s moidel, a young lady usually engaged in cutting hay, one of the party rashly invited the voice to enter—­an invitation instantly accepted in the most perfect good faith by either a mad woman or a tramp in a big, flapping straw hat, who seated herself in the golden light of the lantern, adding perhaps to the breadth and freedom of this Rembrandt picture, but certainly not to its ease.  Ravenously consuming some cake, she attacked us with a continuous battery of God bless yous!  Moidel, however, was up to the occasion, and it was not long ere she managed to get the unacceptable visitor outside the door, we begging her to bolt and bar it well, for after this call we were afraid of more lurking intruders.  Moidel, however, bade us have no fears.  The woman was neither cracked nor a Welscher:  she was only a very poor Bachernthalerin, whose hut was generally under water.  It was accessible now, however, and the poor soul had been round begging milk at the senner-huts.

CHAPTER X.

Life in the mountains was not half so ideal as we once foolishly might have imagined.  Still, the visit thither had surpassed our expectations, and it was with no little regret that we bade farewell to the familiar barn the following morning.  We settled a bill with the paechter at parting, including the dinner given to the knowing Ignaz.  It amounted to the sum of one gulden.  Who would not stay up at an Olm?

Again we gave the day to the ten-mile walk, now a steep but pleasant descent, choosing the village of Rein as our first halting-place.  It was still early, a lovely autumn morning, the mountains rising in all their impressive majesty, but for a time all our powers of admiration and enjoyment were suddenly marred by the sight of meek sheep led to the shambles at the very window.