The remainder of the night was passed in a dense cloud of the smoke of bad tobacco, mingled with the vapours arising from our damp visitors. I could not in common humanity leave my disabled comrade to the rough treatment of this army of road-cleaners, or I should have much preferred the outside elements, with all their severity, to the offensive atmosphere of the Refuge. * * * * * The dawn of day, however, brought with it a slight change in the direction of the wind, which had very much abated in its violence, and this enabled the men of the wooden shovels to clear out and continue their work. It was not till late on the following morning that the track had been sufficiently worked out for us to proceed. We then attached our mules to a sleigh and crawled to the summit, where we left our long team and proceeded, with one pair of horses, to descend the mountain. When the snow has fallen in sufficient quantities to cover the road, carriages on wheels are abandoned, and the traffic is carried on by means of sleighs. * * * * * The descent is performed in a marvellously short time, the horses being very clever, and the driver having sufficient nerve to let them use their own discretion as to pace. * * * * * The railway terminus at St. Jean de Maurienne affording a good buffet, we were right glad of an opportunity of refreshing our exhausted systems with some civilised food, and, having done so, took the train to Paris. CHAPTER VIII. Right as the mail--Proprietors and contractors--Guards and coachmen--A cold foot-bath--A lawyer nonsuited--Old Mac--The Spectre squire--An unsolved mystery. "Right as the mail," is an expression which even now conveys an impression of perfection; and what indeed could have been more thoroughly adapted to the work for which it was designed than the old English mail? There was an air of solidity and importance about the royal mail to which everything gave way. The origin of the term "Right as the Mail," arose more from the fact that the guards (Government servants) were supplied with chronometers which were compared daily at the General Post Office, and consequently dictated the correct time to all the clocks and watches down the road. As some of my younger readers may not have seen a stage-coach, it may be well to describe one. The weight was about one ton. It was painted red, having a royal coat-of-arms on the panel of the door. It was constructed to carry four inside and four out, having a bag or basket for luggage, the roof being reserved for heavy mail-bags. A round seat behind, covered with a skin, was for the guard, pockets for pistols being placed on either side. Contracts for horsing the mails did not often change hands, though tenders were formally invited every year.