Ebook Recollections of an Old Mountaineer

I fear that I have no good excuse for adding to the many books already written about Switzerland. I can hardly hope to write in such a way as to make readers feel the mountain air fresh about them; take a part in the adventurous delights of guideless climbing and solitary wandering; grow tense under the strain of an anxious quarter of an hour; experience the elation of a successful ascent; or share that special reward of the toils of the mountaineer, - that utter peace of mind and elevation above all the anxieties and worries of life which descends upon him as he wends homeward, wearied in body but clear and strong in spirit, after a day spent in the upper world, - 'trailing clouds of glory.' So to write is not in the power of many; perhaps the very men who owe most to the mountains - and surely a tired schoolmaster is one of them? - are least able to pay their debt by worthy writing; freshness and spring may be lacking.

Still, I am making an attempt. Speaking for myself, I will say that, year after year, I went to the mountains jaded, worried, and quite out of heart for next term's work. And year after year the Eternal Hills healed the sore mind, made worries seem but small things after all, and gave me heart again by giving me good comrades and true. To those who love the mountains, the vacations among them are far more than times of relaxation and pleasure. What they have been to me, I try to express here.