I shall have occasion to mention such pits in another glaciere; if one does exist here, it has probably been quarried in the ice by the drops from the hole in the roof, and there might be some interest attached to an attempt to investigate it.[17] We reached S.Georges again in a wretched state of wet and cold, and Renaud went off to bed, and imbibed abundant and super-abundant kirsch,--at least, when drawn thence the next morning, his manner left no doubt about either the fact or the abundance of the potations overnight.

Warned by many experiences, I had gone no nearer to a specification of the bill of fare than a vague suggestion that _quelque chose_ must be forthcoming, with an additional stipulation that this must be something more than mere onions and fat.

The landlady's rendering of _quelque chose_ was very agreeable, but, for the benefit of future diners _au Cavalier_, it is as well to say that those who do not like anisette had better make a private arrangement with their hostess, otherwise they will swallow with their soup an amount sufficient for many generations of the drag: they may also safely order savoury rice, with browned veal and wine-sauce, which is evidently a strong point with the Cavalier.

All meals there are picturesque; for the omelette lay on the Castle of Grandson and a part of the Lake of Neufchatel, while the butter reposed on the ruined Cathedral of Sion, and the honey distilled pleasantly from the comb on to the walls of Wufflens.

No one should put any trust in the spoons, which are constructed apparently of pewter shavings in a chronic state of semi-fusion.