To increase the discomfort, a violent rain came on. The very memory of this day is wearisome. I pause, thankful to end only a chapter, in the midst of an experience which, judged by my own feelings, appeared likely to end life itself.
[CHAPTER XLVII.]
It hath been the longest night
That e'er I watched, and the most heaviest.
Two Gentlemen of Verona.
——But for this miracle—
I mean our preservation—few in millions
Can speak like us.
Tempest.
As I toiled, staggering, up each successive hill, it seemed that this terrible climbing and this torturing day would never end. But Necessity and Hope work miracles, and strength proved equal to the hour.
At 4 p.m. the clouds broke, the sun burst out, as we stood on the icy summit, revealing a grand view of mountains, valleys, and streams on every side.