The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-01-30

From AIartIgny to the Hospiee CT the
Great st. Bernard-First Indication OF
something wrong-strange and Deli
eious Sensations.
On the particular occasion referred 20, !
started from NartiCuy ar a. u. and in
tended % traverse tie thirty miles % the
hospice of the Great 81. Bernard before
night Time being Of Consequence, ]
thought 10 prudent, 50 IS 70 get 70 the
summit Of the pass before dark, not % stop
for p meal 20 be cooked a. Orsieres or
Idddes. but pressed forward % the last
place before the snow tramp commenced,
the CaLtiue d PROF.. There / met with
young nOb.eman and his guide. After an
interchange Of inquiries, and an offer on
my part Of some chocolate and biscuits TO
the other travellers, as the cant.ue was
hard up that day in earaOles, We set out
together, and had crossed the Plan de Ma
rengO without any preseDt.ueut OF what
was going 70 happen. The FIRST indication
Of something wrong was the pecGLar ea-
pearsuce which Iay sQEFsy,T-tzngs seemed
70 eTyrh.Eg looked EaZy 70
my visiOn-even the snow and the rocks
Iyiug about looked Is II envelOped in q
fog, although the afternoon was beauti-
fully clear. Then I felt that I must SIT
down aud enjoy il; but the guides flask
Of kirschvasser set me going again. Very
soon, however, the former feeling re
turned; but the same treatment tempo
rar.Iy recovered me. At last 1 took 20
stumbling along, fell down several times,
and az length could not help myself. My
companions urged ne IN vain to arouse 70
one more effort, but II was useless.
The guides experience was now OF the
utmost service. OWNING the exact state
OF the case, and what might happen, he
took q very sensible course. Leaving the
marquis % sec 20 me, he hurried forward
70 meet the two monks who always came
down from the hospice at q particular
hour each day, 50 as % obtain their
efficient help. On their arrival, the mar
quis either went on, on his own account,
or was requested % 90 forward with Tie
news. Anyhow, / was informed the next
day that his report was, that IN. ,e --
had persisted in the SHOWS" IN the
meantime the two monks and guide took
me in hand, and, shaking me up made
my hands clasp a belt around the guides
waist, and each Of the monks took an
arm. The former acted as q substitute
for horse power aud the two latter as
wheels As for myself I was fast becom-
ing a dead weight Between the cautine
and the hOspice there - a space Of seven
and a half miles Of very rough walking,
uphill, Of course, and with depth Of
several feet OF snow where the cantOnniers
had not cleared a path. ] suspect that
my deli vcrers had very difficult task,
over at least five miles, TO keep me fron
getting into that sleep from which these
Is no waking.
The sensations Of that Journey during
occasional CLEANS OF consciousness will
never be erased from my mind. Is there
such an essence OF ecstatic delight "a
elixir morris? If there IL, it must have
been something Ike it, or the very thing
itself, which / enjoyed that day. No
words can possibly express the surprising
desire which felt to sit down and enjoy
my felicity-and sleep. But my ineEOra-
bic friends knew that sleep meant death;
and though my repeated appeals Of
"DOucement dOucement," were plaintivc
enough, they were met by redOubled
efforts 10 force me onward, even when my
own legs Ould not move any longer. The
collapse was complete. During the sus-
tanned efforts Of the three men, 1 had but
momentury glimpses Of consciousness. /
remember seeing two something's, black,
one on each side, but very indistnct
These, Of course, were the friendly
monks. The one overwhelming idea that
filed my mind then was how 70 get to
that sleep that blissful euthanasia which
poets have sung about, but which my
me Of, just when l had got it within my
grasp.
Another lucid interval occurred Just as
we approached the door Of the hospice, for
] saw two or three Of the dogs; and then
was lost again, till / found myself in the
large room, surrounded by several OF the
canOns One administered some extract
of orange flowers, and that was followed
by some warm broth. Then another
tuggcd of my boots, socks, etc, and be-
tween them, somehow or other they got
me into bed. CIhis particular room would
not have been mine If had gone as an or
binary traveller usually does. / am under
the impression that it was looked upon as
the best bedroom, being the one used by
Napoleon Bonaparte when he stopped at
the hospiCe en- route 10 the Italian cam
paign) In the night l woke, breathing
very quickly and very hard. The room
itself had the appearance of being one
mass Of cotton wool. Congestion Of the
lungs had got hold OF me now, and / felt
very IN indeed. But, however, the next
morning / did what the monks had inef-
fectually tried 10 impress upon me the
night before, and / made an effort. Ny
first duty TO others was 20 see the excel
lent guide and make him n due acknowl-
edgment; and "a the noble and heroic
monks, who live only FOR others, would
not hear g anything but thanks, / had
recourse to the trOnc Of the church 10
the three men / am, humanity speaking,
indebted for my life. A grateful heart
need never be ashamed Of its precious
burden. Chambers Journal.