Vermont phœnix. [volume], October 22, 1846, Image 1

About Vermont phœnix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955

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1 Jfamilii Kctuspapcr, Ocuotc D to Politics, fyomt Snbnstni, Ncius, Stigua Uuvc anb (general 3ntt lligcncc.
VOLUME XIII. IS 15 ATTLEBOKO, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, IS 4G. NUMBER 9.
run li she i) evert Thursday by
WJI. 13. KYTIIEK.
0 P F I C E o. WHEELER'S STONE ETILDIMJ.
Tinn To tingle tabteribers, $J,00 yetr. To Com
plines, and to Ihote who pjy in advance, a liberal divour.t
New York Business Card.
TO MBUCHAWTS.
CUT THIS OUT AND PUT IT IN YOUR POCKET.
The undersigned call rour attention to their STOCKS
rrnnna rui .e.na ,.. si.- i - t
si firorable any olhtr rfUblithmeolt or thp kind in the
Lily of Nen York. Their stocks are new, and purchased
ezpreeily to sail the uanls ofMrrclianls in y&arportiou at
Ihe coantry, and nothing shall be wanting on their part to
pae both old and new.cttstomeri.
StriixssR 19, IblG.
I'l v,'"" ""'
1IALLOCK, HILT. Sc CO.,
Wholesale dealers in Foreign and Domestic Dar Goons,
173 Prart strerl, one door sbore Pine street
Cbarle. Hillock. Henry Hill. C. II. Cos. UbanA. Whltr.
Tin: iioim:: MILLS.
MUSTARD, CHOCOLATE and COCOA, roasted or
groond COPrEEand SPICES, strtctlv re, carefully pre
pared Tor fsmily use Also, COCOA SHELLS, RICE
PLOUR, and PEARLUARLEY, slTl Fulton meet, or I?
Fuol street. None genuine unlesi labeled 'Hope Mills.'
R II. iV J. 0 ISHAM.
unr.ss GOODS.
1IOOTH & TUTTLE, No. Hi Crdirst., insite the at
tintirtnof dealers to their extensire stock of Csfstvcats,
Dl Lliiti, Mtaisol, Ac , which they offer Tor sale at the
iowrtt market prices for cash.
cii.uiLns duiht.i:, & cn
123 Pearl street, orTer great inducements lo Caik and sAerf
. t. .. . : cure f r ! i , i I t. nnpi.a rernn
tint
hiyeri, in SILKS, SHAWLS, DHESS GOODS,
GLOV
t---, i...tL, Ac. Jierciiaaii win tire tuoner or ex
imininj ibm itoek.
JOHN AXDCRSO.V Jtt CO.,
Nn 2 Wall, ind Dusne tlrtt, Importrrt ol
CHOICE SGARSt& mtnuftclarers of fine cat chew.Af
tnd iinoking Tobacco, SnufT-, A.e lliheitpremiam of
thf Amrncm Iatlitute fur JtJ.3, 41 and 45.
X B. All the (oda of oar manufacture are aold on the
r.ntt reaiomble tcnua, and wirra nled auperior, o; the can
be retarntd and the innf j refunded
J. r.RROWC & CO.,
(From Urard'a) Makm and TmportrTi o! D mite and Sin git
Jetton H.I HPS, Sinnci, Mimic, Ve. Harps repaired
Haipa from $300 to $lix. No. il llroadway
'Campliene SolJil Rultotn Gla Fouotaia Lamp.,f
Cannol corrode or keenme heated 'titer are auperior to all
other Latnpt Maaufjelored Wholeta! and IXetail, tjr
J. O. FAY, 1ST, Fulton itreel. Alao, IIOWK S.tbe beat
article oi CAMrllLc
RICIKV LOUTRI3L 01 WILLIAM ST.
IMPORTERS OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH FAN
CY VND STAPLE STATIONERY Copying, Ttnoe
and Letter Papera, Wafer, Seating Wax, in It a, Fluida,
tteel Pen a, InVatanda, Cutlerr, Portfolioa. India Robber,
Iok Powder. Tape, Memorandum Booki, Tablela, Parch
ment. Twine, Folder. Sbrars, Envelopet, Motto Wafer,
Pr once, Gujut'a Carmine Ink, Gam Ticket, Tracing,
Fancjr colored Gold and Perforated Paper, Patent Pomp
Inkatanda, &.c
Manulaclarera and Dealer in .iccovnt Bools and Ptptr
rf all kindi. Gold Pens, Letter Copjlng Preasea, Seal
Priiea, Manifold Writers, Uomeslic SUtwnerj, of every
Tirietr, and all other artieles sold bj Stationers, sold b us
in quantities to suit purchasers
JT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICES.
XI Country MtrchunlM trill plttut la edit and tit us
O Goods freely shown, prices low CI Williini street,
James V Rich Williira M. Loutrel.
J. G. SHAW,
Hmufitclurtr and IVhotualt dtaler lit Blank BmIs, 110
Jobn.treet Dealers supplied with every description ol
Memnrindums and Rlsnk Rooks at very reduced prices.
LOOKIMi CLASSES.
JOHN II. WILLIAMS. SON i. CO . Importers and
Minufaelarers or Looting Glastit, Looking Glnst Plans,
A.c . tie , ya. 31o l earl atreet. (opposite t'eca blip.
UDiVAHD HAACIC,
Mmuf-elorer and Importer of MUSICAL INSTItU
MF.NTS. and UenoiofURONZE POWDER, of all colon
and qualities ol the best German manufacture, Dutch Mttal,
l lurtnu Umf Hall am Ultra Marine wut. eta. el r unon
etreet, corner or Gold.
All kinds of Muaical Merchandise constantly on hand,
LlTIIOGIlAriHC PIIINTS.
N. CURRIER, No 23 Spruce street, after 1st Nov. at bis
old stand, No. Naasao, comer of Sproce, nearly oppo
aile City Hall. N C is prepared to supply orders lor Ltth.
0raphit rrintt from 1 to tiO.000 at 31 hour, notice. His
ai-ortment is the moit extemive in the Uuited Slates, and
constats almost exduatvely or original drawings executed
by the beat arliau in lite c uiiiry. A)-enis suppneu at
. - ail advance on the cost of publication.
rnTnnsoN, Humphrey-a iioss,
Itoporlera snd dealers in Carpeting, Otl Clotkl, Window
Sitiin, Druggets, Tulle and l'lana Cutert, No. iSi Pearl
tireei
G F. Teterson G S Homohrev. fl S llw
C. F. A. HIMtlCHS,
(Successor lo Al Werekraeiiler,) Importer and Dealer In
German, French, and English I A.NU1 uuuua, iau
Broadttay, anil "5 Liberty Blreel. Rich llohemian Glass
ware, Ornamenli, French Procelain, Vaaes.elc. Toytof
all deacnpUous. Enjravmga, Archery and Cricket imple
menu, clc etc.
IRON SATS WARE HOUSE.
SILAS C HERRING, 1K1 Water street, Manufacturer
oflhMer i rami Double and Single Salamander Snfet, sod
dealer in all kinds of new and second baud Safll, Iron
C !, Lank Vaulle. floors, .
Ulown's Coffee Ilou.e ond Dining- Saloou.1l Pearl at.
tVolrally ailuated tn Iheboiioeaspartof Ihe city, (fae!ng
Centics Slip, between Hanover Square and Uroad at.) The
beat eaubliahnieni in the city for country merchants snd
omera lo eel llieir mi ala
GEORGE nROWN.lslcofLovejoy s Hotel
amunELLAs and faiuysols.
GEORGE J BYRD. Manufacturer and whleaIe deal-
ei,lM)J',arl ttrttt, r"U" Cedar, haa always on band an
e.l.n.i.e itaM. ..i UMUKELLAS. PARASOLS,
PARASOLETTES arJ SUNSHADES, for sale on Ihe
moil libetal lerms for C'hh or opprored credit.
rAHOT GOODS.
Importer and WMraata Dealer ill French, Enjliah and
German FANCY GOODS, COMBS, BRUSH ES, PER
FL'MPrtv. A Manufacturer of Porublo Writme Deaki,
V., Dose,, Dreaaing fates, Card Caaes, Pocket Rools,
"alleU, Ac cVc ...
GEO R CHOLWELL, No. SI Halden Lane
AVETiUOUE .fc CO.,
TSsndBI Vreey, earner of Wssbmitaa-slreel. Importers
and Dealers in HARDWARE, Cutlery, Anult, Ices,
bnnl.i Kelluwt, Shovelt, Chains, t'rosbtrt.Chu n Drills,
rMenges, I nl and Wrought Aaltt, AO
SAMUEL S. snd WXVX. WOOD,
BUOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS, Nn. Stil retrl
ttreet, have for sale a large assortment ol BOOKS, pailic-
u.ariy school and Oleoicai, lo wnicn iney mviie uie alien
I t ur country merchants- Terms liberal.
r-nnll end Tobacco JInnnfaclujer.
PETEIl XiOniZiXiAIlD, Jit., Ibs
PETER . GEORGE LORILLARD,
Kn il Chitham-itieet.
Ilia constantly on hind a general attortnient of Soufl, and
,me uui Aliening aoa sinojting tootcco, wtirtuwu ui
Ih.., .....".I h,.,h.. I..,l. ,n, ;, J- I '"!llll0H'TOUitl.-.lUl.il-lDIS.IKWIIl-tll
npiior quality
Business Cards.
P. SIMONDS,
h urrACTt re ax it orALtn is
Ladles', (IrnllcmciVs. Jlisscs and IMli.rcn's
BOOTS, SHOES, AND RUBBERS,
II A LI.'S HI'ILDI N (i,
NEARLY OPPOSITE SMITH'S STAGE HOUSE.
'1
or ths rorr nrrica, vr srsias.
It It X T T Is K RORO, V
T.
ROBERT WESSELHOEFT. M. D.,
Homeopathic k llulropatliic Physician, j
Elliot Street, Drattleboro, Vt.
Vj II A T
FASHIONABLE TAILOR,
07- NO. 8 ft It A M t i: It O Y ,
1CKATTI.CIIOKO, Vt. (13)
S . PIKE,
OPPOSITH TI' 1MUKXIX IIOUS1",
IJRATrMlBORO, Vt.
E. PROUTY,
AGENT
For Adams' Worcester Die House.
Drattleboro, April 1C, iSio.
it
DICKINSON, DAY & CO.
DEALERS IN
Foreign & Domestic Dry Goods
CHINA, CItOCKEIlY AND CLASS WAIlUt
Jiiartj iii.;uc, CSrocrrfts, :c.
(IS ALL TllRln TAItlCTIts,)
4 GRANITE ROW,
Z. Dieaisso.
AuitnT 1I.1UT,
4 BRATTLBBORO.
CHSS. 11. VAX
October.
Sor-tvi 1 yet beautiful lo view
Month of my heart tbeu dawneat here.
With aad sod faded lea,e to ausw
The Summers melancholy bier.
The moaaiog of thy moda 1 bear,
Aa Um red aueact diet afar.
And ban of purp clOMda appear,
Obecunng every western tvir.
1T.OU aolemn month ' I hear Uby voice j
It telle my tool of other daya,
When but tolne was lo rejoice,
When earth waa lovely to in- gaio!
Oh, viaiont bnahl oh, blevaed hoora.
Where are their livisf raptsrea now f
1 aak mj apint'a weaned powers
1 ask my pale aad fevered brow 1
1 look to Natsre, aaj befceU
My lue'a dim emblem, ra.Uiaa rooad,
In hues of crimaon and of fold
The -ear's dead honors on ths ground :
.nd si-blag with Ihe wioda I feel,
While their lowpiaiona murmur by.
How each their sweeptsi looea reveal
Of life sad humaa destiny.
When Spring's delightsome momenta thone.
They came in aepbyra from the Weal :
They bore tho wood-lark'a melho lose.
They aturnl tho blue lake's gluay breaat
Throazh Summer, faioliQa; in the heat,
They lin-;ere-l In the forest abide 1
Rut changed sod etrengthened, now, Ihey beat
In storm, o'er moualiia, glen, snd glide.
How like Uiom utniperu ofUie breut
When life i, tresh sad joy la new
Soft aa the halcyon's downy seal!
And uanaient all as they are true !
They adr the leaiea la Umbrighl wreith,
Which Hope about her forehead tttinea,
Till Griefs hot at-hs around it breatne,
Then Pleasure's lip iu amile retisne.
Ala., for Time, ind Death, and care,
What gloom about our way Ihey fiiagl
Lika clouJa in Autumn's gsf ly sir,
Tbs buria).pa;eiot of the Spring.
The dreamt that each aocceaalre Jeir
Seemed billed in bet of brighter pride.
At I ait like withered leaves appear,
And tleep in dtrkaett tide by tide.
WILLI! OlVLOSD Cllll.
IC3In a recent letter, Mr Cameron, Demo
cratic Senalnr in Congress from Pennsylvania,
makes use of the fullouing truthful language. Wc
commend it to the careful perusal ol every Demo
crat in ihe country.
"We have onlv lo be true to ourselves, and we
cannot fail to succeed in procuring the repeal of
this laic. A few months will show the want of
wisdom in its principles and details, and proie Us
failure as a revenue measuie. The very men who
haie forced it upon us, all of whom deny its paler
nily, will probably soon seek an excuse for it.
chance. All thriftless persons are discontented
with Iheir own situations, and envious oi ine pros
peril' of their inure frugal neighbors. Neither
men nor States ssio ilauol irork can be pretperous ;
and our Soulhcrn lellua-cilizens will Hud llialno
reduction of Ihe tariff will make them rich nor
bring us down lo Iheir coudilion. They may re
tard our progress fur a tune, but no system of laws
which tliev can lorce upon us win uestroy me un
mate prosperity of Pennsylvania. Until wc can ac
complish its repeal in a constitutional way, we
must make the best ol tins law, ami, uy greater
economy and moro intense labor, make up, in some
degree, for the adrantaget tehich it takes fromut
andgirit to the tcorkmtn of Jtrngn countries, i ne
farmers or the West will soon see thai Ihey have
been deceived by Ihe promised British market for j
their agricultural products; and that, instead of
higher prices, they will find Ihem reduced with Ihe
prostration of the home market, hitherto furnished
them by ihe manufactories of the North. Having
thus learned tho truth or the old-fashioned Demo
cratic doctrine, that agriculture, manufattures,
commerce, ami the mechanic arts are wufuaWy de
pendant on each other, we may expect to sec them
again acting with their mutual allies of the North
or the common good.
A salute of one hundred guns wss fired on Boston
Common, on Tuesday of last week, in houor or the
Dallle of Monlcrey.
IV jm The A'p, n I Um Rhine, a work by Re' J T. Heidley j
JIactlonalil's I'asS of the Snlurgen.
. , .. I
I was .landing on a green Alpine pastur age,
looking off upon the Splugen Pass winch cut Hi ,
way through the white snow ridge that lay agjinsl
tho distant horizon, when my guide interrupted iny
musings by pointing lo an aged man sitting by hi.
counge uoor. l nai man, saiu ne, was ouu 01 1
Alacdoinld's guides that conduclej him and hi. ar
my oier the Splugen." He immediately became
an object of great interest to nie, and I went and
sat down by his aide, and drew from him many in
cident, of that perilous adrenturc. "It was forty
three years ago," said he, "when that awful march
wa. made. 1 wa-then bul twenty firclyeara ofage s, m ,bout flfteen Inl in en2,h,
but 1 remembered it a. if it were but jesterday. I j ,nJ ,he ldlJnc, c03ipan. had, after Ihe most wast
haic made many passes in the Alps, but neter one ing ,0)t and chausliug eflbtl, made neatly half of
like that. That .Macdonald wa. an awful man
lie looked as if he wanted to fight the scry Alps,
and beliescd that snow-storms could bo beaten like
an army of men.
"Ibclietc," I replied, "that pass wa. made in
the winter, when eten foot trasellers found it ditli
cult." "Yes; and the wind blew, and Ihe snow
drorc in nur faces, and the asalanehes fell as if the
tery Alps were coming down. The snow, loo, was
so thick at limes, that we could not see the horso
or men ten rods before or behind, while the scream
ing, and yelling and cursing, made it ten time,
worse. Why, sir, it did no good to cry take tart.
lor no bouy co.ill take care. I here we were, up
to our arms in snow, amid oxen, and horses, and
cannon, and soldiers, and compelled to stand for I heard "An avalanche! an avalanche'" shrieked
hours, without getting one rod ahead. Oh it wa ' Ihe guides, and the next moment an awful while
dreadful to see the poor soldiers. Often I would form came leaping down the mountain, and slril
hear an avalanche coming from above, and turn to ' ing ihe column that was snuggling along the path,
see where it fell, when it would come thundering I passed straight through it into the gulf below, car
straizht on to the army, and cut it clean in two. I rying thirty dragoons and their horse, with it in its
leiving a great gap in the lines- A few feathers wild plunge. The black form of a steed and its
tossing amid the snow, a musket or two flying over rider were seen suspended for a moment in mid
the brink, and away went men and all into the gulf
below. Oh, sir, these poor soldier, looked as if
they never would fight again so downcast and
frightened. It did no good lo hare courage there,
for what could courage do against an avalanche I
When Rod fights with man, it does no good to re
sin." In this manner, though not in the precue
words, the old man rattled on and it n as evident I
could get nothing rrom him except separate inci
dent which gave life and vividness to the whole
picture. The filling of a single comrade by his
side, or the struggles of a single war hirsn, as he
floundered in the mass of snow that hurried him
irresistibly toward, the gulf "made a more distinct
impression on him than the general movement, ol
the army. The deep bed. of .now and the walls of
ice he and the peasants wero compelled to cut
through, were more important to him than the or
der of march, or the discipline of the troops. How
different is Ihe effect produced on a po lerful and a
common mind by such a stne as this ! One dwells
on the impression made by the whole. The moral
and physical grandeur surrounding it the obsta
cles, and the resolution that overcome them the
savaoeness of nature, and the sternness that dared I
look it in the face ; combine to make Ihe impres-1
sion he carries with him through life. The weak '
mind, on the other hand, never seems to rech to I
these generalities never get. to the outer circle,
but is occupied with detail, and incidents. i
r
To understand this march of Macdonald over
the Splugen, a feat greater by far than Bonaparte's
famous passage ol the ht. uernird, imagine an aw 1
ful defile leading up to Ihc height of tit thousand,
fee hundrtil felt towards heaven in summer a
mereptth, and in winter a mass of avalanches, and
you will have some conception of the awful pass
through which Macdonald determined to lead fif
teen thousand men. The road follows the Rhine,
here a mere rivulel, ivli'di ha. cut its channel deep
in ihc mountains that rise frequently to the height
of three thousand feet above it. Along the preci
pice, that orcr hang thi. turbulent torrent, the path
i. cut in the solid rock, now hugging the mountain
wall like a mere thread, and now shooting in a
single arch over the gorge that sink, three hundred
feci below. Strangely silent snow-peaks pierce the
heavens in every direction, while dark precipices
lean out un eiery side over the abyss. This mero
path crosses and re-crosses again this gorge, and
often so lnjh above il, that the roar of the mad tor
rent below can scarcely he heard ; and finally
strikes off on to the hire face of the mountain and
clambers up to the summit. This is the old road
in summer time. Now imagine this aame gorge
swept by a hurricane nf snow, and filled with the
awful sound of the falling avalanches blending their
heavy shock uilh thedull roar of the giant pines,
thil ware along the precipices, while halfway up
from the bottom to the Alpine top are hanging like
an annr of insects, fifteen thousand French sol
diers; and you will approach to some knowledge of
this wintry pass, and this desperate march. But
if jou have never been in an Alpine gorge, and
stood, ae-struck, amid the mighty forms that tower
away on ercry side around you, you can hare no
true conception of a accne like the one we are to
describe. Rocks, going like one solid wall straight
up to heaven pinnacles shooting like church spires
above the clouds loomy ravines where the thun
der-clouds-burst, and the torrent raves still gla
ciers and solemn snow-fields, and leaping avalanch
es, combine to render an Alpine gorge one of ihe
most terrific things in nature added to all this,
you feel so small amid the mighty forms around
you soultctly helpless and worthless, amid these
great exhibitions of God's power, that ihe heart is
often utterly overwhelmed with the feeling, that
struggle in ram Tor utterance.
There is now a carriage road over the Splugen,
cut in sixteen zigzsgs along Ihu brcatts of the
mountain. This wa. not In existence when Mac-
donahl made the pass, and there was nothing but a
bridle palh going through thrt gorge of the CardU
ml. Over such a piss was Macdonald ordered by
Napoleon to march hi. army in the latter part ofj
November, just when ine wintry storms are setting
. i . i . .... . :t n . . : . 1 i
III Willi ine grcaicsi iiuiciitc. uunajiario iviaucii
jiaednnaM to lonn the Icll wing or his srmy in
Italy, and had therefore ordered him tn attempt
the passage. Macdonald, though no braver or bol
der man ever lived, felt that it was a hopeless un
dertaking, and immediately despatched General
Dumss to represent to him the insuperable obsta
cles in the way. Bonaparte heard him through his
representations, and then replied, with his usual
recklessness of other people's sufferings or death,
"I will make no change in mtr dispositions. Return
quickly, and tell Macdonald that an army canal-
ways pass in every season, where two men can place
Iheir feet."
Macdonald, or course, could do no otherwise
than obey commands, and immediately commenced
the necessary preparations for his desperste under
taking. Il was the SGlli of November, and the
i frequent storms had covered the entire Alps, pass
and all, in one mass of yielding snow. His army
was at (lie upper Rheinlhal or Rhine valley, at the
entranced the drcadml defile or the Via Mala, the
commencement of the Splugen pass. The cannon
Ce ke lom her c , ,Ild , on ed
, wllich ere nseil. Ther ,m,llunilioil
w dinJca llwul on ,he Lacll of mu, wh(e
ercr wMier had t0 CIr(y lcJld(,1 hi ,
flTe d . pf0rijion. The guides went in adrance.
ai.d Jluck Jown , , jndicil,e ,,e
of the path beneath, while behind them came the
woikmcn clearing away theanow, and behind them
still the mounted dragoons, with Ihc most power
lul horse, of the army, to beat down thrt track.
On the "Gthof Notember, the first company left
Knln-jn anil ltftrvan lliA B.etit Ph Tmm
II, ami wete approaching the hospice on Ihe sum
mil when a low moaning was heard among the hills,
like the mice nf the sea before a storm. The
guides understood too well its meaning, and gazed
on each other with alarm. The ominous sound
grew louder every moment, and suddenly tho fierce
Alpine blast swept in a cloud of snow oser the
mountain, and howled, like an unchained demon,
through the gorge below. In an instant all was
confusion and blindness, and uncertainty. The
tery heareus were blotted out, and the frightened
column stood and listened to the rasing tempest
that made the pine tree, abose it away and groan,
a. if lifted from their rock rooted places. But
suddenly another still more alarming sound was
heavens, amid clouds of snow, and the next mo
ment they fell among ihe ice and rocks below,
crushed out of Ihe very form of humatiiiy. The
head of ihe column reached the hospice in salety.
The other part, struck dumb by this sudden ap
parition I'.rossing their path in such lightning like
velocity, bearing to such an awful death their brave j
comrades, refused to proceed, and turned back to
the village of Splugen. For three days the siorin I
raied amid the Alps, filling the heavens with snow,
and hurling avalanches into the path, till it became
so filled up that the guides declared it would take
fifteen days to open it again so a. to make it at al
pissable. But fifteen days Macdonald could not
spare. Independent of the urgency of his com
mands, there was no way to provision his army in
these Alpine solitudes, and he must proceed. He
ordered four of the strongest oxen that could be
found to be led in advance by the best guides.
Potty peasants followed behind, clearing away and
bealing down Hie snow, and two companies of sap
pers csme after to give still greater consistency to
the track while on iheir heels marched Ihe remnant
of the company of dragoons, psrt of which had
been borne away three days before by the ava
lanche. The post of danger was given them at
their own req'iesL Scarcely had they begun the
dangerous enterprise, when one of the noble oxen
slipped from Ihe precipice, and with a convulsive
t. -.r- j i .ij i i .t. m . r L.r .1 il
. o point of )sgged rocks to the deep, dark lorrent the gaps a discharge or grspe-shol frequently 'made
uing oi nis nuge iramr, went oounaing irom ponu
below.
It was a stringc sight for a wintry day. Those
three oxen, with their horns just peering above the
snow, toiled slowly nn, pushing their unwieldy
bodies through the drifts, looking like mere specks
on Ihe breast of the mountain, while the soldiers,
up to their breasts, struggled behind. Not a drum
or bugle note cheered the solitude, or awoke the
echoes or those savage peaks. The foot fall gave
back no sound in the soft snow, and the words of
command seemed smothered in the very atmos
phere. Silently and noiselessly the mighty but dis
ordered column toiled forward, with naught lo
break the holy stillness of nature, savo the fierce
pantings of the horses and animals, as with reeking
sides they strained up the ascent. Now and then a
fearful cry startled the eagle on his high circuit, as
a whole company slipped together, and with their
muskets in their hands, fell into the all devouring
gorge that yawned hundreds of feet below their
path. It was a wild sight, the plunge or a steed
and his rider over the precipice. One noble horse
slipped jual as the dragoon had dismounted, and aa
he darted off with his empty saddle, and for a mo
ment hung suspended in mid heaven, il is said, he
uttered one ol those leariul blood-treczing cries
1 1,0 wounded war-horse is known sometimes togiie
j forth on the field of battle. The roar of the lion
. after his prey, and the midnight howl of the wolf
that ha. misted his evening repast or blood, is a
gentle sound compared tn IL Once heard, It
lire, in the memory and brain forever.
To understand the route of the army better, one
should divide the pin into three parts. First
comes the dark, deep defile, with the path cut in
Ihe side of Ihc mountain, and crossing backwards
over the gorge, on bridges or a single arch, and
often two and three hundred feet high. The scene
ry in this gorge is horrible. It seems as if naturo
had broken up the mountains in some sudden and
fierce convulsion, and ihe very aspect of everything
as enough to daunt one without the aid of avalanch
es or hurricanes of snow. After leaving this de
file, the path goes for a few miles through the val
ley nf Sch inn, and then winds up the cliff of La
llama, covered wiin pine trees. It then strikes up
the hire face of the mountain, going sometimes at
an angle or Torty-five degrees, till it reaches Ihe
summit; which lying above ihe region or trees,
stands naked and bald in the wintry heavens.
This is the old road the new one goes by a dif
ferent route, and in summer time can be traversed
with carriages. Such was the road, filled with
snow and avalanches, this army, of fifteen thousand
men marched over in mid-winter. I her went over
in separate columns. The progress and success of
the tint we nave already shown. :t ne secono, ana
third made the attempt the second and third ofj
December, and achieved the ascent in safely, the
wealher being clear and frosty. Many, however,'
died of cold. Their success encouraged Mac
donald to march the whole remaining army over al
once, and for ihis purpose he placed himself at
iheir head, aud on the 5th of December commenced
the ascent. But fresh snow had fallen the night
before, covering up the entire path, so that the road
had all to be made over again. The guides refus
ed to go on, but Macdonald would not delay his
march, and led his weary soldiers breast deep in
the snow, up the bleak cold mountain. They were
sirkovrt in going less than six. miles. Ther could
not make a mile an hour in their slow progress.
They had not advanced far in the defile before they
came upon a hune block of ice, and a newly-fallen
avalanche, that entirely filled un the path. The
guides baited before these obstacles and refused to
go on, and the first that Macdonald knew, hi. army
had turned to the right about face, and were march
ing back down the mountain, declaring the pas
sage to be closed. J
Hastening forward, he cheered up the men, and
walking himself at the head of the column with a
long pole in his hand, to sound thedepiiiof the
treacherous mas he was treading upon, he revived
the drooping spirit, of the soldiers. "Soldiers,"
said he, "your destinies call you into Italy ; advance
and conquer first the mountains and the snow,
then the plains and the armies. Ashamed to see
their leader hazarding hi. life at every step where
they refused lo go, the soldiers returned cheerfully
to their toil, and cut their way through the solid
hill of ice. Hut Ihey had scarcely surmounted this
obstacle, when the voice of the hurricane on its
march was again heard, and the next moment a
cloud of driving snow obliterated every thing from
their view. The path was filled up, and all traces
of it .Hepl utterly away. Amid the scream, of the
guides, the confused commands of the officers, and
the honling of Ihe hurricane, was heard the rapid
thunder-crash of avalanche, a. they leaped away,
at the bidding or the tempest down the precipices.
Then commenced again the awful struggle of the
army for life. The foe they had to contend with
was an outward one though not of flesh and blood.
To sword-cut. baronet-thrust, and the blaze of ar
tillery the strong Alpine storm wa. alike invulnera
ble. Un the serried column aun tne nraggung
line, il thundered with the same reckless power.
Over the long black line of soldiers, the snow lay
like a winding-sheet, and the dirge seemed already
chanted for Ihe dead army. No one who ha. not
seen an Alpine storm can imagine the reckless en
ergy with which it rages through the mountains.
The light snow, borne aloft on its bosom, was
whirled and scattered like an ocean of mist over all
things. The drifts were piled like second moun'
tains in eierv direction, and seemed to form in
slantaneously, as if by the touch of magician's
wand. The blinding fury of the tempest baffled all
efforts lo pierce the mystery and darkness that en
veloped the host clinging in despair to the breast
01 the mountain, i lie siorm nau souuucu lis uuiu
pet for the charge, but no auswermg note ofde
fianee replied. The heroes of so many battle fields
stood in still terror before this new and mightier
foe. Crowding together as if proximity added to
their securitv. the niizhty column crouched and
shivered lo tlie blast that pierced their very boues
with its chilling power. But this was not all the
piercing cold and tho drifting snow, and raving
tempest, and concealed pit-falls, leading to untrod
den abysses, were not enough to complete the scene
of terror. Suddenly, from the summit of the
Splugen, avalanches began to fall, whose path cros
sed that of the army. Sealing the breast or the
mountain with a single leap, they came with a crash
on the shivering column, and bore it away to the
destruction that waited beneath. Still, with un
daunted front and unyielding will, the bold Mac
donald struggled on in front, inspiring by his ex
ample, as he never could have done by his com.
mands, the officers and men under him. Prodigies
were wrought where effort seemed useless. The
first avalanche, as it smote through the column,
paralvzed for a moment every heart with fear; but
they soon began to be viewed like so many dis-i
charges of artillery, and the gaps they made, like
in the lines on a field of battle. 1 hose behind
closed up the rent with unfaltering courage. Hes
itation wa. death. The only hope was in advanc
ing, and the long and straggling line flondered on
in the .now, like a huge anaconda winding itself
over the mountain. Once, as an avalanche cut
through the ranks, bearing them away to the abyss,
a young man was seen lu wave an adieu to his
youog comrade left behind, as he disappeared over
the crag. Tho surviving companion slept into the
path where it had swept, and before he had crossed
it. a laeeard block of ice came thundering down.
and bore him away to join his comrade in the gulf
where hi. crushed rorm still lay throbbing, the
extreme density of the atmosphere, filled as it Iras
with snow, gave ten-fold horror to these mysterious
messengers of death, as they came down the moun
tain declivities. A low rumbling would be heard
amid the pauses of the storm, and the next shriek
of the blast snept by, a rushing, a. if a counter
blast, smole the ear: and before the thought had
lime to change, a rolling, leaping, broken mass of
snow burst through the thick atmosphere, and tne
next moment, crushed with the sound of thunder,
Tar, fir below, bearing along a part of the column
to it. deep, dark resting-place.
On the evening of the 6th of December, the
greater part of the army had passed the mountain,
and the van had pushed even to Lake Como. From
the 26tb or November to the 6lh or December, or
nearly two weeks, had Macdonald been engaged in
this perilous pass. A less energetic, indomitable
man would have railed, and he himself had escsp
ed utter destruction, almost by a miracle. As it
was, he left between one and two hundred men in
the abysses of the Splugen, who had slipped from
the precipices or had been carried away by ava
lanches during the toilsome msreh. More than a
hundred horses and mules had also bceu hurled
into those untrodden abysses, to furnish food for
the eagle, and raven, and beast, of prey.
This passage of the Splugen, by an army of fif
teen thousand men, in the dead of winter, aud
amid hurricanes or snow and Tailing avalanches,
stands unrivalled in the history of the world, unless
ihc passage oflhe Pragel by Suwarrow be it coun
terpart. II Is Hue, Ilonaparte spoke disparagingly
of il, because be wished his passage over the St.
Bernard in summer lime, lo srtandj alone beside
Hannibal a lamous march over Hie same mountain,
Willi alt his greatness, Bonaparte had some miners,
bly meau traits or character. He could not bear
to have one of his generals perform a greater feat
than himself, and so he deliberately lied about this
achievement of Macdonald 's. In hia despatches to
the French government, he made it out a small
affair, while he had the impudence lo declare that
this "march uf Macdonald produced no good effect."
Now one of three things is true: Bonaparte either
wa. ignorant of iis true situation, and commanded
the passage or the Splugen lo be made under a false
alarm ; or else il was a mere whim, in which his
recklessness of the lives and comfort of bis coun
trymen is deservinz of creatcr condemnation than
his ignorance; or else he has uttered a falsehood as
cross as it is mean. The truth is, Bonararte
thought posterity could be cheated aa easily as his
cotemporaries. In the dazzling noon-day of his
fame, he could make a flattering press say what be
liked, and the world would believe It ; but the tu
mult and false splendor of his life base passed away,
and men begin to scrutinize this demi-god a little
more closelv t snd we find that his word cannot be
relied on in the least, when speaking of the charac-
icr mu ueeua oi oiners. jib is wining iu ie
planet cross bis orbit, and will allow no fiiorjr
cept a. it is reflected from him. But notwithstand
ing hi. efforts to detract from the merit or ibis act
of Macdonald, posterity will put it in iu true light,
and every intelligent reader of the account, oi the
two passages of the Sl Bernard and the Splogen,
will perceive at a glance that Bonaparte'a achieve
ment is mere child's play beside that of Macdonald.
MESSAGE.
Feilavt Citiun of ike Senate and llntt of Representatives.
On assuming, as we now do, the guardianship
of those civil interests or the State which hare, Tor
a short period, been entrusted to our care, it I.
proper that wc should call distinctly to mind the
nature aud extent or the obligation, and responsi
bilities which rest upon u.. We are but "trustees
and servants or the people." And, therefore, while
we accept the trusts which they bare conferred,
with that unfe'.gned gratitude which the confidence
thus reposed in us so justly demands, let us not be
seduced lo imagine that we are free, in the dis
charge or these trusts, lo consult our own personal
benefit, or to be guided altogether by our own per
sonal views and predilection.. On the contrary,
wc should keep it clearly and constantly in view,
that the offices we hold are bestowed to be execu
ted for the benefit of those who conferred them.
It is not, however, sufficient for us merely to
recognize our responsibility to the people. We
should also remember that the civil privileges
which we enjoy, and or which Ihe guardianship is
temporarily committed lu our bands, are the gifts
of a gracious and beneficent Providence : and con
sequently, if we are unfaithful to our trusts, we are
not only treacherous to those who have confided
their interests to our care, but we incur the yet
deeper guilt of ingratitude to Heaven.
Let us then habiluallr regard the offices with
' wliich we have been entrnsled, not only as obliga
ting us to those who have cloibed us with a briet
authority, but as involving a still higher responsi
bility to Him who gives the privileges and bless
ings which we are called to guard.
During the past year we have, a. i State and
people, received from the Great Author of all good,
renewed tokens or His beneficence, in not only pre
serving to us our civil privileges, but in granting
to us even more thau the common blessinc or his
Providence, in the means of personal and social
enjoyment. The earth has yielded her increase in
more than ordinary abundance ; and our citizens
have generally been prospered in their various pur
suits, so that industry has every where received
large reward for her toils. No wasting sickness
has visited us, but on the contrary, even more than
wonted health has generally prevailed. And al
though the sound of war has been heard in the dis
tance, jet it has not excited apprehension. Tor our
own personal security ; its desolations bare not
been lelt within oor own borders, nor have its sor
rows, except in a hit instances, entered our dwell
ings Perhaps no Slate in the confederacy has been
characterized by greater simplicity in its legisla
tion and government, than has the State of Ver
mont. The line of policy, which the State seems
to have marked nut, das been lo govern as little as
might be consistent with the proper protection of
Jcr C1U4CI1S, aim luc amauwuicui ui tucu tuuiiiu.
,-.,,,,', Kever turning coldly away ftom the
her citizens, and the advancement oi tneir saoitan-
claim ot the humblest to be protected in the en
joyment or "life, liberty and happiness," she has
yet shunned ihe opposite error of legislating for the
benefit of individual, lo the injury or multitudes,
and avoided all complicated and entangling con
nections with private or local interests. And while
she has extended her favoring smiles and fostering
care to all useful enterprises calculated to promote
the general good, whenever their successful prose
cution required il, she has yet nevjr sought to' as
sume the special and exclusive guardianship even
of public and common interest., when they could
be adequately su.tained and promoted in any other
way. And this general course is one whieh sound
economy and a regard for the best interests of the
people at large, would, for reason, sufficiently ob
vious, ever dictate. Let it be our purpose, then, to
conform to so wise and prudent a system of policy,
and aid in perpetuating it.
Aside from making ihe ordinary annual appoint
ments, your duties for the session will probably be
few. In the proper field or legislation, there is
not, to my knowledge, any great and prominent
measure or public interest, whieh will demand
your attention. Modifications or existing laws
may, in come cases, be required to meet new fea
tures in our condition, or to remedy original de
fect, in past enactments. Our habits of rapid leg
islation of course expose to ihc danger of passing
law. not perfectly matured. Yet this expedition
in the tran.action or business can scarcely be re
girded as a fault, unless carried to the extreme;
and this ought donbtless to be guarded against. But
imperfections and errors, whether the result of
haste or or changing circumstances, should of
course be remedied a. experience and practice
bring Ihem to light. And in the mean timo, the
recognized principle that laws should be as stable
as tne changing condition and wants or society
will permit, will doubtless be kept in view, and ex
ercise its due influence in determining the extent
or our legislation.
Among the subjects whieh may claim your at
tention will perhaps be that or our system or pub
lic accounting. A confidence does not seem to
be universally felt that sufficient guards hare as
yet been thrown around it. If an apology could
be found any where for any looseness or practice
in the msnagement or public Kinds, there surety
cart bo none Tor it in Vermont And it may be
an appropriate subject Tor your inquiry, whether
any further provisions are necessary Tor securing
that punctuality and fidelitr in this branch of the
public service, which the interest or the Stale re
quires. By existing laws, however, it is made the duty
of the Auditor ot Accounts to report annually "any
modification, which experience shall prove to be
necessary or expedient in order to procure a Taitb
fill accounting for all publio Hinds;" and l re
port or this officer, which will in due time be laid
before you, will give your Inquiries, if in his opin
ion there should be occasion for any modifications,
a more definite direction than Is here attempted or
deemed necessary.
The practice of taking excessive interest Is a
wrong against which no adequate remedy has been
provided, although the attention of the legislature
haa been repeatedly invited and given to the sub
ject Measures have been proposed for remedying
the evil, but none so satisfactory as to have re
ceived tho legislative sanction. But I deem the
subject one of sufficient importance renewedly to
claim your attention, although I can suggest no
belter mode of guarding against the wrong or of
obtaining redress under lt( lna tbrt of a chsawry
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