Jenks's Portland gazette. [volume] (Portland [Me.]) 1799-1802, 1800-09-22


following article, contained in private letter from
PARIS, which may crafty many Of your readers BY
"a CORRESPONDENT.
"THE pafage of The Great St. Bernard,
he events yha took place, and the monaltery
and no K. upon IN, form the fubet OF general
converlat On, Between the Valais and the
valley of AoGa RITES thi, great mountain. "A
gentleman ot Savoy, Bernard de Mention,
founded monaaery upon It il the tenth cen
fury and give i IA, name. It Panfs fo- the
highef int OF The created world where man
has dare tl I'm his abode a dreadful abode
/. is eternal vi1-er re.gus upon it-and he
ePe OF Il e traveller. dazzed by the lnow, f-eks
in vain for NOD of verdure. on which he may
rePole not a tree, not plant, not a thru is
u be met WITH. The lght ohamois is the only
animal " W Zen and that but rarely When
TIE traveller reaches certain height be fn8s
timf.lt aIone he clouds roll under hh feet !;
he Is 3 fore him nothing but enOrmou> MATES
Of lnow grouped one upon another higher than
he eye can dicov-r; he hears nothing but
the lie Of fragments falling from the noun
tans with a terrible crath.
q Il is upon a fummit of this mount, which
nature leeus to have forgotten, that love for
Their king has u..t-d ft of men whole hero
tim Is as noble and as pure as the virtue in
which hl it> iolrce. Sequeaered from the
ret Of the human race, communicating only
with rcle whom chance, curl fifty, Or uIistor-
tune may brlnz t0 their monaitery ;l-thsie
good men pra6tife all the duties Of the moR
f.bl me humanity Without national or rel-
Cous preuti-es they receive with the lame
Willingness all who demaod an aivlum, -What-
ever ,heir rank, their country. or their religion
But ii w noI to The (erNices { hotp talitg- that
thele lo'itary monks ut 6. Bernard c6nfne
Their b-uev lcnce; the eGe1tia o1i-a OF their
iofituton y 70 leek for cavaliers who may
have lott their way, or who mas have yIelded
to that defre for Geep, which i : dificuit u
rein whea one j. teized with cola, The days
on whl-h they go our mott are thoie in which
nature leems TO have redouhled the horroresof
the fcc'e. IJ i, when the atm0fPhere is 3ggy,
or thu ON falls tn large fake, that theteins
treprd me1 begin their march they are armed
with long le, their dogs 90 with them, and
guide ;hem III Jhe path which often is lot under
I hetrso f lnow, IVY bring them back to it when
| by chance or JeHIn they have wandered from
I il. TheIe excellent animals icent a body, how
! ever deep il may be buzz . under the tnow-
They bark and f-rat,h, and thereby point
out TO their matters, without ever deceiving
tn. m, The fP-t where they ought tn dig. Then
with The long pole the Knocks penetrate the
ear n, and the body is found. Whether dead
or beuumbei, it i, carried with the greatea pre-
caution 10 the monaeery, where all the fuccors
Of art are beloved upon il. Often they reltore
L to lie; often too it remains oaly TO them 10
Fay L the lat fad duties.
i The dead are depoGted p large chapel
to the oaG of he convent, for AL the envjrons,
b ing nothing but rock, il is imPoll5le 70 de-
poft the (ad remai1. in the ground.
q In This fpot the bed es, cove cd with a
cloth, are rreerycd from put efa6son. They
are placed tip light cPPofe one another, f.
that the l4R IA, IFS head leaning on The brsaR
Of Ne one that nrece Ted i'll Some have been
recognized ~ relations o. friends two or tire:
years after th-ir Oath II 1891, there were
reckoned four rows Of theft bodies. AT that
epoch all he famous dogs IF st. Bernard had
p1rilhed one bitch alone remained, which was
. eerved with fort Of religious cars. The
daily executions of thsfe rselr'e:. az noF luf-