Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. I.djvu/83

Rh congregation, in order that they might be preserved from false doctrine, and be led forward into light and activity, and so on.

“La dent du Midi,” and several of the Savoy Alps, reared their snowy and glittering peaks along the horizon before us, as we reached Comballez, and the sun was near his setting. Here I took leave of my friendly guide, who would not on any account receive payment for his services.

I obtained, in the pretty wooden hotel, a little room with a splendid view of the Alps, and an hour afterwards I was seated at a large table, with an elegant company, enjoying a good cup of tea, and that deliciously prepared cream, which is one of the greatest of the world's delicacies, and one of the most wholesome at the same time.

I had intended to have continued my ramble on the following day to Les Ormondes. But the view of “Dent du Midi,” which shone forth in the early morning with all its dentated splendor into a cloudless sky, and the peculiar beauty of La Comballez valley, kept me there through the day. There I wandered early, and there I wandered late; visited the cottages; rested on the fragrant beds of thyme and mint at the feet of the mountains; contemplated the magnificent views, drank in the air, the freshness and beauty of life and thought, as I had done many a time before:

The day was glorious. La Comballez valley consists of two verdant mountain feet, between which