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206 THROUGH NORWAY WITII A KNAPSACK.
few hours after, when the first reaction commenced;
then another at a shorter interval, for the next reaction;
and so on till the brandy would have been exhausted.
I might have kept up in this manner somewhat beyond
the time at which I staggered and fell on the bridge;
but, instead of rising after ten minutes of repose, I
should have sunk into utter prostration, from the
reaction which necessarily follows such morbid excitement.
Had the place been the wild mountain, with the snow
upon the ground, I should probably have fallen into that
sleep of death that comes over men under such
circumstances. I have observed that in most cases where
travellers have been found dead in the snow, an empty
flask—a discharged pocket-pistol—has also been found
by their side. On the other hand, without the
pocket-pistol, I should have been forced to repose before the
vital energies had become exhausted beyond the
possibility of battling with the cold and hunger: I might
have slept a few hours, even on the snow, without
much serious mischief, and then have struggled on
with effort and halting, even for twelve hours more ;
for the powers of endurance of the human body are
immense, when exerted in harmony with their own
natural laws.
There is a time, however, when brandy or such like
stimulant may be of considerable service; that is, when
the labour is over, and the nervous system is in such
a state of irritable excitement as to render sleep
difficult to obtain. With some temperaments, this is apt
to be the case; then the brandy used for the opposite
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