; all these may be cited as elements of success. They present a
striking contrast to the march of Hannibal's army over one of the
western passes of the Alps. His motley host struggled over a long
stretch of mountains in the short days of October over unknown paths,
in one part swept away by a fall of the cliff, and ever and anon beset
by clouds of treacherous Gauls. Seeing that the great Carthaginian's
difficulties began long before he reached the Alps, that he was
encumbered by elephants, and that his army was composed of diverse
races held together only by trust in the prowess of their chief, his
exploit was far more wonderful than that of Bonaparte, which, indeed,
more nearly resembles the crossing of the St. Bernard by Francis I. in
1515. The difference between the conditions of Hannibal's and
Bonaparte's enterprises may partly be measured by the time which they
occupied. Whereas Hannibal's march across the Alps lasted fifteen
days, three of which were spent in the miseries of a forced halt
amidst the snow, the First Consul's forces took but seven days.
Whereas the Carthaginian army was weakened by hunger, the French
carried their full rations of biscuit; and at the head of the pass the
monks of the Hospice of St. Bernard served out the rations of bread,
cheese, and wine which the First Consul had forwarded, and which their
own generosity now doubled. The hospitable fathers themselves served
at the tables set up in front of the Hospice.

After insuring the regular succession of troops and stores, Bonaparte
himself began the ascent on May 20th. He wore the gray overcoat which
had already become famous; and his features were fixed in that
expression of calm self-possession which he ever maintained in face of
difficulty. The melodramatic attitudes of horse and rider, which David
has immortalized in his great painting, are, of course, merely
symbolical of the genius of militant democracy prancing over natural
obstacles and wafted onwards and upwards by the breath of victory. The
living figure was remarkable only for stern self-restraint and
suppressed excitement; instead of the prancing war-horse limned by
David, his beast of burden was a mule, led by a peasant; and, in place
of victory, he had heard that Lannes with the vanguard had found an
unexpected obstacle to his descent into Italy. The narrow valley of
the Dora Baltea, by which alone they could advance, was wellnigh
blocked by the fort of Bard, which was firmly h