Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/519

 A 2 pole 'on Boiiapa rte 481 Crossing of the St. Ber- nard pass (May, 1800). dreams of his imagination, and with them would have van- ished all his immense schemes for the future of France. . . . The grand idea of the invasion of Italy by way of the St. Bernard pass emanated exclusively from the First Con- sul. This miraculous achievement justly excited the admira- tion of the world. The incredible difficulties it presented did not daunt the courage of Bonaparte's troops, and his generals, accustomed as they had been to brave fatigue and danger, regarded without concern the gigantic enterprise of the modern Hannibal. A convent, or hospice, which has been established on the mountain for the purpose of affording assistance to solitary travelers, sufficiently attests the dangers of these stormy regions. But the St. Bernard was now to be crossed not by solitary travelers but by an army. Cavalry, baggage, tim- bers, and artillery were now to wend their way along those narrow paths where the goatherd cautiously picks his foot- steps. On the one hand masses of snow suspended above our heads threatened every moment to break in avalanches and sweep us away In their descent ; on the other, a false step was death. We all passed, men and horses, one by one along the goat paths. The artillery was dismounted and the guns put into hollowed trunks of trees were drawn by ropes. . . . We arrived at Milan on the 2d of June. But little resist- (Condensed.) ance was offered to our entrance into the capital of Lom- bard)-. The First Consul passed six days in the city, and the time approached when all was to be lost or won. On the 13th the First Consul slept at Torre di Galifolo. On the morning of the 14th General Desaix was sent toward Xovi to observe the road to Genoa, which city had fallen several days before, in spite of the efforts of its illustrious defend- r, Masse'na. That memorable battle of Marengo, of which the results were incalculable, has been described in various ways. For my part, not having had the honor to bear a sword, I can- not say that I saw any particular movements executed this way or that ; but I may mention here what I heard on the evening of the battle concerning the hazards of the day. As to the part which the First Consul took in it, the reader The battle of Marengo.