in bringing down a cow; while Harold had to be content to
hold Edward's spare rifle in the background, with evident signs
of uneasiness. Farther on, again, where the magnificent chamois
sprang rigid into mid-air, Edward, crouched dizzily against the
precipice-face, was the sportsman from whose weapon a puff of
white smoke was floating away. A bare-kneed guide was all that
fell to my share, while poor Harold had to take the boy with the
haversack, or abandon, for this occasion at least, all Alpine
ambitions.

Of course the girls fared badly in this book, and it was not
surprising that they preferred the "Pilgrim's Progress" (for
instance), where women had a fair show, and there was generally
enough of 'em to go round; or a good fairy story, wherein
princesses met with a healthy appreciation. But indeed we were
all best pleased with a picture wherein the characters just
fitted us, in number, sex, and qualifications; and this, to us,
stood for artistic merit.

All the Christmas numbers, in their gilt frames on the nursery-
wall, had been gone through and allotted long ago; and in these,
sooner or later, each one of us got a chance to figure in some
satisfactory and brightly coloured situation. Few of the other
pictures about the house afforded equal facilities. They were
generally wanting in figures, and even when these were present
they lacked dramatic interest. In this picture that I have to
speak about, although the characters had a stupid way of not
doing anything, and apparently not wanting to do anything, there
was at least a sufficiency of them; so in due course they were
allotted, too.