CHAP. VIII.

THE PLEASURES OF MEMORY.

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there was little wonder that when we came upon a huge mass ofrock as big as a house, which had fallen from the flanks of Pelvoux,a regular cube that offered no shelter whatever, Moore cried out inecstasy, “ Oh, how delightful! the very thing I have been longingfor. Let us have a perfectly extemporaneous bivouac.” This,it should be said, was when the night threatened thunder andlightning, rain, and all other delights.

The pleasures of a perfectly extemporaneous bivouac underthese circumstances not being novelties to Croz and myself, wethought we would try for the miseries of a roof; but Walker andAimer, with their usual good nature, declared it was the verything that they, too, were longing for ; so the trio resolved to stop.We generously left them all the provisions (a dozen cubic inches orthereabouts of bacon fat, and half a candle), and pushed on for thechalets of Alefroide, or at least we thought we did, but could not bocertain. In the course of half-an-hour we got uncommonly closeto the main torrent, and Croz all at once disappeared. I steppedcautiously forward to peer down into the place where I thought hewas, and quietly tumbled head over heels into a big rhododendronbush. Extricating myself with some trouble, I fell backwardsover some rocks, and got wedged in a cleft so close to the torrentthat it splashed all over me.

The colloquy which then ensued amid the thundering of thestream was as follows:—

“ Hullo, Croz ! ” “ Eh, Monsieur.” “ Where are you ? ” “ Here,Monsieur.” “ Where is here ?” “ I don’t know ; where are you ? ”“ Here, Croz ; ” and so on.

The fact was, from the intense darkness, and the noise of thetorrent, we had no idea of each other’s situation. In the courseof ten minutes, however, we joined together again, agreed we hadhad quite enough of that kind of thing, and adjourned to a mosteligible rock at 10.15.

How well I remember the night at that rock, and the jolly wayin which Croz came out! We were both very w r et about the legs,

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