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[1861
He knew my designs upon the Matterhorn , andstrongly deprecated them. ‘ Only think, Herr,’he urged, ‘ what will avail your ascent of theWeisshorn if you are smashed upon the Mont Cervin ?Mein Herr! ’ he added with condensed emphasis,‘ thun Sie es nicht.’ The whole conversation was infact a homily, the strong point of which was theutter uselessness of success on the one mountain ifit were to be followed by annihilation on theother. We reached the ridge above the glacier,where, handing him a trinkgeld, which I had to forceon his acceptance, I bade him good-bye, assuringhim that I would submit in all things to Bennen’sopinion. He had the highest idea of Bennen’swisdom, and hence the assurance sent him homecomforted.
I was soon upon the ice, once more alone, as Idelight to be at times. As a habit going alone isto be deprecated, but sparingly indulged in it is agreat luxury. There are no doubt moods when themother is glad to get rid of her offspring, the wifeof her husband, the lover of his mistress, and whenit is not well to keep them together. And so, atrare intervals, it is good for the soul to feel the fullinfluence of that ‘ society where none intrudes.’When the work is clearly within your power, whenlong practice has enabled you to trust your own eyeand judgment in unravelling crevasses, and your