The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1870-01-05
THE GREET SAINT BERN1RD.
Thc Corpscs of the Lost Preserved-ThcP er-
SIS 81 Alpine Travei-Thc Pious Work OF
the Monks of ~. bernard.

the Monks of ~. bernard.
From the London telegram.
Three travellers. il is stated. have lust lost
their lives the Great Bernard Mountain. They
had been travelling from Marticny toward the ltal
ian frontier, with the intention Of resting for the
night In the famous Hospicc that stands almost on
the boundary line between Switzerland and Italy.
by o'clock n the evening they had reached little
inn on the way TO the Monastery; they had sull TO
tourney for seven toileome miles before reaching the
monksh place OF welcome and, since the night Was
dark and stormy the ionkecpcr besougbt them TO
walt ndnl the morning Being poor they refused.
They BELONGED TO that class Of poyer,y.strleken pill
land and Italy. ana who carry all their worldly goods
In knapsack OF Unframed dccr's hide. few min.
| Of the great Canton Vslais to Aosta: They shun
inns with horror, as places OF ,hnscrupn-
ney ut the Hospice, where they got food aud
| lodging for the night free OF charge, and IN
on S a.
though the night was ptchy dark, and the wind was
coming down with hprrcane.like gusts from the
travellers resolved that they would push on TO the
Hospice.. Soon after leaving the cantecn they began
overhangaa howns torrent AMI lead. to tie Mon
nstery The road is perhaps OF the toughest In
tnrns round the course Of the brook. and so steep
are some Of the ascents, that even mule might be
,Se ws,s come DOWN ,be r ak eorid hardly he
kept even by man who had daily traversed II for
years; and the only safe guide would be the roaring
oftiG tovant. The ascent u so steep that, after
couple OF hours climbing the traveller 6nds himself
several thousand feehboye the level Of the seat and
at that elevation; even after the hottest day In Au-
| gust, the cold Is at nightfall often intense. On
the the. night y the iata accident all those pcr1s
wayiarers hal slowly to grope along by means Of the
preciDice which hens in the side ofthe path firth st
from the torrent. Had tho moon been M, they
| might nave been guided by the poles Which the
monks have planted in adircct line iron the Hospico
TO The yalel to indicate the direction when the path
~ N1taN Ia frsgH
| Bat. IN the pitchv darkness the friendly beacons
were obscurod. Hence the travellers seem to have
aglin and again been brought to s;andstill, before
reaching that ford OF the brook nj which the road
dips, aud then goes up with swift spring to the
and cheers tic Senchtcd traveller By rs bcaeon
| liglt The poor pilgrims were 20 near 10 the blaze,
| that, had they been able TO exert themselves for
W minutes longer, they would have BEEN safe Bnt
the toll and the cold had paralized their faculties,
that they could not proceed one step further they
which Il the eject ofintense cold and within sight
OF the friendly CLEAN that bcckoned 70 them over
On the Great ST. Bernard The winter season begins
soon and ends late. Already IL lie winter beside the
wSSn ,Ss snow oMSTg and aSrns the long
travelling pcrlous II is the daily custom OF the good
monks TO journey rs far az the bottom o. tho pass in
| who may have dropped by the way. Clad In their
long. black serge gowns and broad brmInei hats,
| provisions for the restoration OF the wenried or
rrisnny traveIers, and guided By the famous ST.
beInhru uo8sl Whlcn 90 the work OF pointers. two
or tllree monks daily make the seven miles journey
| 70 the valley below. Until the occurrence OF the
hte accident. they had not for years found any
| traveller dead or beyond the aid OF restorativea
Gradually indeed, the pcrils OF tho terrible pass
have become so fully appreciated that even the
| poorest traveller shrnks froin attempting the
| ascent to the monsstry after nightfaI, IL
| the ground IL covered with snow, or " tho
| great storm gusts blow down from the hills; the
three WHO have last 'alcn victims, however, were
less discreet; and next morning when the searching
| party OF monks had proceeded 90 short distance
| IO1picp bodies
| cold They were taken 10 the little "morcue'
which II situated at short distance from the prng-
| pal building Of the monastery and In that naked
mausoleum the remains VIII abide with other relies Of
mortality, unless claimed by the kinsiok Of the lost.
II Ia gain resting place. In that small hut porchcd
among the wintry mountains dwell the skeletons Of
the men and women and children who, IN the course
OF many generations have persisted IN the fatal pass
SO intense Is the cold That the uncmbalned bodies
resist for long years the land Of decay. Urcofncd
and dressed In tic cotNCs which they wore when
| found dead among the snow. they stand pcrchrd
against the WALL and While the visitor looks through
the iron grating Of their tomb. they peer Crinly
| forth. as II soliciting recognition and unicsc-
Grated place OF rest An old man leans against the
| wall his head bare, his staT in his hand. and his
| him years ago. woman clutches In hcr arms the
babe that persisted with her in the snow. From the
other grim figures the clothes have rotted away by
ihHhells, lc2iNiuS bIvarhcd protrud'ng bones, The
| noor Of the dungeon-like tomb IL strewn with the
| memorials OF the dead; and going from the blazing
fire or the monastery to the "morgue 4" the travuoT
can pass in single instant from the hum OF mirth.
| full conversation or the ioyous sound of music to
what might seem place OF the living dead Europe
contains no more weird or gloomy nigat than that
nrison house Of clothed skeletons, perchcd In the
Alpine wilderness, and seen through the misty and