Over The Alps--mt, St. Bernard

August 1.H1), 1804. ;■ Wuil, ii) dear Ar.aus, sliall we makt) r a journey togother ? Here we are at t luximic, the centre of tbat vast , opéan wheèi whose spokes ave tho ( ïreut nighways tliat cross the continent, j íow which spoke hall wo follow ? , 0d6 branches iowarda tho West., and f cada amidst tljo Fertility ol' Frunce; ] anotber branches towards the North, ( ind conducta to the wild grandeurs of the Rhino ; anofÜèf poinls to tho East; ind invites to the diverbiiiüd aceaery of Auatriu; while wtill another looks Süuthward, and leads ovlt tho raountains to Ilaly. Ah ! that's tho route, riui Alps and Itaïy ! Thu very names are music to the ca:',aud invite gaüy thu voyager. "Well tbcn, let us ofl'; let u.s cüm!) tbc Alpd, let us tread th'eir glaeiei-s, lut us enter Itaiy, and tako a glaiico at the land whieh bas made Listory and developed héroes. No ouicker said than done We are off. Good bye, Lausanne, whose streets are familinr; good bye, ye mountains, whom wo have lpqked at most to.love ; good bye, ye lake, upon whoso suriace we have uit uhüed the twijigh,t hour; good bye, L ttitzerland - an Amencan's blBsiqg with thee ; good bye. all 1 for we are loaving uil ; and while mem ry ï-'jcahs mie souvenir, and then uiotber, of ou.1 sejour iu ilelvelia, the iron borse is hurryiii u.s a-vay, perhapá forever. The firpt night at Martigny. In my dreams, O Argus, I saw a town nestling.in the bosoiu of' muntains. Fiom it in oue direction I beheld leading the great St. Bernard rcjute; in aoolher, that of tho Simplón ; a third pushedlowanl Ment Blane and Monte Rosa, vvhile Üie Khoiie, led frttm these very mountnhis, rushed by towards the North, makiug the valloy its pattiway. My drcatn rested purticulnrly upon the at. Bernard route. Everything that I hud evei read OT thought of concerning this pass cama dancing througli ray brait) in a confused quadrille. Pyramids rf snow, seas of ice, mountains pf rock, precipices, dangers, the hospice, lbo rnonks, the dogs - all were jumblüd tip in ono intvioate mass of onfusioti befóie me. Ttien suddenly I aw a voyager toiling slowly and laboiously upward. lïy degroes tluit voyager assuniüd tny clolhes, niy hst, my air, my visage, rnysolf - and he jocaaie me, and I became him. The difiuultiea f the w;iy seemed to inorease. Ten hundred new dangers pvesented Ihemselves. Here an abyus tseumed detertuined that I shonld enter ït there a arge rock assured me that I must climb it ; here an avalanche canue tlnindering down upoii ma--erfshed lne - killed me- and whilö Í was thinking how it feit to be dead, dissolved itself into air, resuscitated me, and lefl me free! Then fatigue und hunger and thirst oppressed me. I lost my vvay and went wandëriug,! know not where, Thoiighls ui the thousands that had dled miserablv upon the pass came rushing through my mind. It rèsted especially upon tbe tiir.e When the shades of night were falling fast, As along an Alpine ioot-'path passedA youth, who bore 'mid snow and ice, A tveuiendously heavy knapsaok. I thought of hia late, and Unaeined the poet a prophet, and tho youth myself, aixl bis end rpy desüny ! I could nüt proceed, I could uot go bftck, I oould not stjr - futigue had conquered me, the cold was benumbing me, I was sinking, despa:ring, dying ! when suddonly I awokü ! Notinug 'jat a dream, dear Ajiöus, in a Martigny hotel , And so, to-day, we shall bo eiiabied to prosocute our journey togethcr, even towards that groat St. iicrmu-d wbiefa last night seemed so horrible. Vv 11 tha rcality sectM liko the dream ? And now,. beioro vouturiog upoü tha pass, do we realize enough of the historioal iutereet that ciustcrs a'uoui it? Fpr ccnturius it bas beon euio of thü great higbways that has opeüed lí.úy to tbu Norlh. God esems to havo cleaved hcre and 'here tlie everlasting hills to make pasagfl for tte peregriEatitig .spirit of num ; und without these ps$SL$ges, the Alps would bg a hoavcn high wuil, to wai'd of hqm Italj bo.th friend.amj foe. Thrxgh theso have swarmed kings, knigi rants, wüiiiuia, and pilgr.iüje. Sf. Bornard, in particuiar, has folt tha tro:;J of tliousands, Oassius cvosaod it only to pass under the Holvetic yoke. C passod it to conquer tho North; Constantine eurmountod it to add tho Roman Eiiipiro tv bid sosptre ; and Napoleon maatered it to rneot tha Anstrians at MavoHgo, and decido for a time the destiny ol Europa. . Now we too aro to venture upoti it, thqugb our aiission is not that oí wur, nor ou:1 obtupa'niöna men oí tho sword. Herc wo aro thon, tbia Lright gu--t morning, thé sun just appearing u the cast, with knapsack pon the bffök and Alpino stock in the band, ready for a day's journey upward. Wo are im'.o; endent tr'averers. No diligence, no private carriage, no horse, uo donkey for us. We do not choqge to bc carried over St. Beruard - tbere is no glory in that; bnt likis the sturdy soldier of Napoleon, we propose to mastcr tbo pass with our owu foroe, and coihihüI1 its diffioulties with our owa exertioQs. Si, Bernard-night. Eleven houra frorn M3tigfly ; iorty miles of mountain passed over ; the hospice reachd - thut'8 . our Journal to-night ! - Aua liow comparatively easy was the road. Our imeginaÜorj had been terrililv overworked ! No precipices, no sleep, rocky ascents, no snow, no glafiurs- siinply a splendid, iiiaeaduinized road the most of the way up - running often, it is true, by the sido of somo ehaam, or through some tunnel cut froni tho living rock, or by the side of somo dashing cataract - but iu itself perfeotly safe, aecessible, and even eusy. We lound upon the route everything to engage constantly the attention. The scencry jaè constantly cbanging. At oiio instant it was wild and bold, at anothcr, cultivated and re ti ring ; now it was assooiated with the noiso of waterfalls and of rushing rivers, and anoa softened by the solitude and the stillncss that reigntd around. Here we admired t'-e rock-;ibbed mountain thro' which runs the pass; there wc enteied a channing valley, to which the mountaitia yield a space ; here we traversed a mouotain village, sublime iu its dirt; and thcro we reaohed some cormnandiog tposition, wheré plain, mountain, rivcr, villagc - ali conspirèd to form a glorious panorama. And now we are all at the hospice. Nor does t seem likt#sotne deserted, dreary, old mouaetery, in a forsakcn, out of-lhü way place, where a few reügieux chant the daüy mass tmd offer the daily prayer; but it seems like au active, bustling city hotel, filled vith. voyagers. Here are young English ladies and gentlemen in a orowd ; hero are Frenobmen, GermiinSj'Italiansustrians, Russians, Swi(, aud Amerioans. ïhe building dudicstited to God aad the poor is turned iufo a reuoption hall for the gay and tlie rich. Dinneris served at six, wiih a!l the luxuries of the plaic. Afterwards müsiü arises, and God save the Queon resounds througUaut the whole vast ediíice. Can an American join in this ? one may ask. Yes, with all bis heart, I reply. Does the Engli.shman deride America ?- let the Ainericau respond by houoring Engeland. Does the Engüshman ridicule our President? - let the American respond by cryÏDg God save the Queen ! Does the Enrrlishman rejoice iu onr. present distress, and is he happy to see the American Republio dissolved? - let the Ameiican respood with a prayer to Hüaven that England may never feel what Amerioa feels to day ! An American of all Americana, and having oftfci) (elt iny blond run ipick at insults heaped by Englishmen upon my ti y, yet 1 pan sty wi.th noy wholo heart, God blesg England and give hor peaoe forcver ! For how cou'ld it benelit ma to seo ber iri aüliution, to seo civil war risiog horridly throughout her borders, or to b'ehold hor biotted from the map of lbo wurl'd ? Heaven preserve ma from such a vvinh ! The sör.g boing over, let us take a walk wilhout uiïlI soo the eQvirpas of tho hospico. Tlio mooii is just appearing over thü arnphithealro of Alp9 wïiicli riso aróiinct, n;ul 3 gilding with göldöii rsys tho iïiUu fafee of St. Bermu ii. Tho Irike is iiot frozuti - flowers bloom Qgop buuks, and it, rots quietly in its rooky bed. We pluok a litíle A' iie flowef for our Album, intendíng to curry it houie :is a Rouvouir of our Alpine exploits. Now wo n,cüt ii 8t. Bonuird dog - Che hero of' a hundred stoviüs - ijnd we aalute the noble feliövr - present h'na our hands, and isk him ooncoioing his .i-!,.;-.-. Ho cannot speak with his inoulh, but lita olear s-:n-l:iufr e e, and iüU'liioiit look sccms to s;iy, I know ny duty, and I will p.erfoim it! We píiíck from him also a lock ot' bis great sftaggy coöt ;;e a mem. uto of fidelity ( Jove to ïr.an. And now we approaoL the Morgue, or the cluiruol house) wliero the bodiea ei the paar upfortunates vvho have pern tho Pass during the wiutry irmnths aio p!s;od. At this height the bodiea dry up, an.l at length becorne utyVö without tha usual decay. Youlh, aga, man, woman, here üüd a rostii ;ï!x1 oach one presurves the : .. hich he had wheo fóuwJ. Wbttt a solomo assemblage - ,., until tho Eterna! Truuip ihaïi awal-un tbim hu lifo! Vre i-k particularly the romai:is of a youag man, cué down in thö flower of his ngo - frozcn to death nonr ihe hospice, while crying lo tho wiuds for aid. Poor tullow ! My droam was his hiatory ! JÍ ut, my oear Anops, we have walked far to-day, and I, for my parí, ain woary. 'JMio sleepy-gpd wous m to qüiet síumber, ;o góod night ! Upon tho morrow tovvards Italv. 1 ■ F. W. B.