Sunny Hours of Childhood; Or, Selections for the Improvement of the Mind and Heart (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1873 edition. Excerpt: ...to go into Helvetia (Switzerland) and Gaul (France). An army of Lombards crossed it, A. D. 547, and other armies crossed it under Charlemagne. From 1798 to 1801, more than one hundred and fifty thousand Frenchmen crossed it. In 1799, the French and Austrians fought a battle in the vicinity of the Hospital, in which the French were victorious. In 1800, the French army of reserve, consisting of thirty thousand men under Napoleon, crossed the mountain with cavalry, and heavy artillery. The dogs employed by'the monks in their benevolent labors, have always excited the admiration of mankind, and one of them, in particular, seems to have possessed an intelligence and benevolence that we may be proud to imitate. This remarkable animal served the Hospital for twelve years, during which time, he saved the lives of at least twelve individuals. His zeal was indefatigable. Whenever the mountain was enveloped in fogs and snow, he &et out in search of lost travellers, and was accustomed to run barking till he lost his breath. When he found his strength was insufficient to draw from the snow a traveller benumbed with cold, he would run back to the Hospital in search of the monks. One day, this interesting animal found a child in a frozen state, between the bridge of Drouaz, and the icehouse of Balsora. He immediately began to lick him, and having succeeded in restoring animation, by means of his caresses, he induced the child to tie himself round his body. In this way, he carried the poor little creature, as if in triumph, to the Hospital. When old age deprived him of strength, the prior of the convent pensioned him at Beray, by way of reward. He is now dead, and his skin is stuffed, and deposited in the museum of that town. The little phial, in which he...