tei-cell">Saas in the olden days—A neglected valley—The mountains drained dry—A curious omission—The Portienhorn, and its good points as a mountain—The chef produces a masterpiece—An undesirable tenement to be let unfurnished—An evicted family—A rapid act of mountaineering—On the [pg xiii]pleasures of little climbs—The various methods of making new expeditions on one mountain—On the mountaineer who has nothing to learn, and his consequent ignorance

236 CHAPTER VIII. A SENTIMENTAL ALPINE JOURNEY Long “waits” and entr’actes—The Mont Buet as an unknown mountain—We hire carriages—A digression on a stationary vehicle—A straggling start—The incomplete moralist—The niece to the moralist—A discourse on gourmets—An artistic interlude—We become thoughtful, and reach the height of sentiment and the top of the Mont Buet—Some other members of the party—The mountaineers perform—How glissading ambition did o’erleap itself—A vision on the summit—The moralist leaves us for a while—Entertainment at the Bérard Chalet—View of the Aiguille Verte—The end of the journey 266 CHAPTER IX. A FRAGMENT An unauthentic MS.—Solitude on the mountain: its advantages to the historian of the Alps—A rope walk—The crossing of the Schrund—A novel form of avalanche and an airy situation—A towering obstacle—The issue of the expedition in the balance—A very narrow escape—The final rush—Victory!—The perils of the descent—I plunge in medias res—A flying descent 291 CHAPTER X. THE FUTURE OF MOUNTAINEERING Mountaineers and their critics—The early days of the Alpine Club—The