my grandfather try to take a few steps, and drag
himself along with great difficulty, supporting
himself by the furniture and against the wall.
The accident of the day before, had caused his
foot to swell, and made it very painful.

"Go," he said. " Lead away the child, before
the snow is deeper. You see it is impossible
for me to accompany you."

" But do you suppose, father, I can abandon
you in that way?"

We spent a good portion of the day without
coming to a decision. We had still hopes that
assistance would be sent to us from the village.
I said that I was big enough to do without a
guide, and to help my father to drive the herd.
My representations were of no use; my
grandfather persisted in his resolution. He would
not expose us to danger, by becoming a burden
on us.

My father insisted, almost angrily. I wept
while I witnessed the painful altercation. At
last I contrived to put an end to it, by saying,
"Leave me also in the chalet; you will reach
home all the sooner. You will come back with
sufficient help to fetch us. Grandfather will have
somebody to wait upon him and keep him
company. We shall take care of one another, and
Providence will take care of us both."

"The boy is right," my grandfather said.
"The snow is already so deep, and the storm
so violent, tliat I apprehend more danger from
his following you than from his staying with me.
Here, Francois, take my stick, it is a strong one
and pointed with iron. It will help you down
the mountain, as it helped me up. Let the
cows out of the stable; leave us the goat and
all the provisions which remain. I am more
anxious about you than I am about myself."

When my father was on the point of starting,
I gave him a handsome flask covered with fine
wicker-work, which was a present from my
mother, the first time I came up to the chalet. It
contained wine which I had provided for my
grandfather the day before. He pressed me in
his arms.

We drove out the herd, which appeared much
surprised to find the earth covered with snow.
Some of the cows seemed at a loss to find their
way, and kept running in circles round the
chalet. At last they congregated in a body,
and set off in the right direction. At a very
few paces' distance, both my father and the herd
disappeared, being lost to sight in the whirls of
snow. When we saw them no longer, my
grandfather appeared to follow them with his eyes.
He leaned in silence against the window, but
his lips appeared to be articulating words; his
hands were clasped and his eyes raised to heaven.

We were roused from serious thoughts by
the increasing violence of the wind. We were
wrapped round by a curtain of thick black clouds,
and nightfall came almost suddenly.  Neverthe-
less, our wooden clock had only just struck
three. We had been so anxious all day long,
that we had never thought of taking food, and I
was dying of hunger. At that moment, I made
grandfather listen how the goat was bleating.

"Poor Blanchette!" he said. "She wants
to be relieved of her milk. She is calling us to
come and do it. Light the lamp; we will go
and milk her, and then we will sup."

The wind roared loudly; it forced its way
under the bardeaux of the roof, making them
rattle; you would have fancied the whole roof
was going to be carried away.

"Don't be alarmed," my grandfather said.
"This house has resisted many a like attack.
The bardeaux are laden with very heavy stones,
and the roof, with its slight inclination, gives
very little hold to the wind."

When the goat saw us she redoubled her
bleatings; she seemed as if she would break her
rope to get at us. How greedily she licked the
few grains of salt which I offered in my hand.
She gave us a large pot of milk. I stood in
need of it. My grandfather said, as we returned
to the kitchen, "We must take good care not
to forget Blanchette; we must feed her well,
and milk her punctually morning and evening.
Our life depends on hers."

After supper, we sat down by the fire; but
the flakes of snow which fell down the chimney
almost extinguished it. A cold draught of air
also descended, and we could only keep
ourselves warm by going to bed, after commending
ourselves, by prayer, to the Lord's protection.

This morning, on waking, I found myself in
complete darkness, and at first supposed that
sleep had left me earlier than usual; but hearing
my grandfather groping his way about the
room, I rubbed my eyes, and saw none the
clearer for that. The snow had blocked up the
window.

"The window is low," the old man remarked.
"Besides, it is probable that the snow has been
drifted into a heap on that particular spot;
perhaps we should not find it more than a couple
of feet deep a few paces from the wall."

"In that case, they will come and help us
out?"

"I hope so; but, supposing that we are to
be detained here for any length of time, we must
see what resources we have; when we have done
that, we will consider how we can best employ
them. The day has dawned, there can be no
doubt; for the hour-hand of the wooden clock
points to seven. It is fortunate I did not forget
to wind it up last night. We must always be
punctual with Blanchette."

November 23.—- Yesterday morning, when we
discovered that we were more close prisoners
than we were the day before, we were very much
depressed and saddened; nevertheless, we did
not forget our breakfast and the goat. Whilst
grandfather was milking her, I watched him
closely, with great attention. He noticed it,
and advised me to try and learn to milk, in order
to replace him, in case of need. I made an
attempt, which was clumsy and unsuccessful at
first, especially as Blanchette kept wincing and
shifting her ground, as if aware of my
inexperience; but I improved greatly after three or
four trials.

When we had taken stock of our provisions