V desert. The sun had just set;i a rosy bandi still marked its course, on the mountains of Syria in the distant horizon. The full moon was rising1 in the east on a bluish ground over the level banks” of the Euphrates. The sky was clear, the air calm, the dying splendour of the day moderated the horror of darkness, the growing freshness of night calmed the heatr of the parcheds ground. The eye no longer perceived anyt movement upon the grey monotonous plain: a vast silence reigned over the desert, only at long intervals was heard the dismal cry of some night birds or of some jackals. The darkness increased, and already in the twilight my eyes could only distinguisha the whitish shadows of the columns and walls. Those solitary places, that peaceful evening, that majestic scene, impressed my mind with a religious meditation. The sight of a great and deserted city, the remembrancef of past times, and a comparison with the present, all inspired my heart with grand ideas. I sat down upon the shaft of a column, and there, my elbow resting on my knee,h my head supported byi my hand, at one moment casting my eyes upon the desert, at another1 fixing them on the ruins, I abandoned myself to a deep reverie. 27. Here, said I'm here formerly flourished" an opulent city! Here was the seat of a powerful empire. Yes! these places, now so deserted, formerly a living multitude animated their enclosure,° an active people filled these roads, to-day so solitary; within 1 venait de se coucher.- j bandeau.des monts de la Syrie.—1s'élevait. m à l'horizon lointain à l'orient." aux nais planes rives.- - l'éclat mourant.- -P des ténèbres.- plus que.- b fantômes.. hle coude ap puyé sur le genou.- isoutenue sur.- ktantôt.1 tantôt. me dis-je.- fleurit jadis. enceinte.P une foule active circulait dans. those walls, where now reigns a mournful silence, resounded the noise of art, and the cry of joy and pleasure. These accumulated marbles formed regular palaces; these broken columns ornamented majestic temples; these crumbled galleries indicated the public places. There a numerous people assembled = for the sacred duties of their worship, for the touching cares of their support. There an industry which produced a happiness collected the riches of every climate, and the purple of Tyre was to be seen exchanged for the precious thread of Serica. The substantial tissue of Cachemere for the gorgeouse carpet of Lydia. The amber of the Baltic for the pearls and the perfumes of Arabia; the gold of Ophir for the tin of Thule. 28. And now, behold what remains of this powerful city! a dismal skeleton! Behold what remains of a vast dominion!i An obscure and vain remembrance. A death-like solitudek has succeeded to the noisy concourse which crowded1 beneath these porticoes. The silence of tombsm is substituted for then murmur of public places. The opulence of a commercial city is changed into a hideous poverty. The palaces of kings have becomer the haunts of deer. Herds graze on ther threshold of the temples, and noisomes reptiles inhabit the sanctuary of the gods! Ah! how has so much glory been overshadowed!t... how have such works been annihilated! Thus, then, perish the works of men; thus vanish" empires and nations!!!-VOLNEY. a des arts.- - les cris d'allégresse et de fête. t écroulées. y de son culte. s'échanger la pourpre de Tyr.- qui subsiste.pressait.changée en. domination. m des tombeaux. -P sont devenus. troupeaux parquent au. éclipsée tant de gloire. places.créatrice du.de la Sérique. amoncelés. -affluait.- -8 de l'Arabie.- $ immondes. • s'est r Les s'est BATTLE OF LODI. Fought, , in May, 1796, between the French and Austrians. * 29. The wooden bridge of Lodi formed the scenex of one of the most celebrated actions of the war; and will ever be peculiarly mixed up with the name2 of Bonaparte himself. It was a great neglect in Beaulieu to a leave it standing when he removed his head-quarters to the east bank of the Adda: his outposts were driven rapidly through the town of Lodi on the 10th, and the French, sheltering themselves behind the walls, lay ready to attempte the passage of the bridge. Beaulieu had placed a battery of thirty guns so as to sweep it completely; and the enterprise of storming its in the face of this artillery, and of the whole army drawn up behind, is one of the most daring on record.1 30. Bonaparte's first care was to place as many guns as he could in direct opposition to this Austrian1 battery. A furious cannonade on his side of the river now commenced. The General himself appeared in the midst of the fire, pointing with his own hand two guns in such a manner as to cut off the Austrians from the only path by which they could have advanced to undermine the bridge, and it was on this occasion that the soldiery, delighted with his dauntless exposure of his person, conferred on him his honorary nickname of the LITTLE CORPORAL. In the meantime he had sent General Beaumont and the cavalry to attemptr the passage of the river by a distant ford,s which they had much difficulty in ▾ Livrée.-- fut le théâtre. - dans les fastes de la guerre. b sub - joint au nom.— de la part de Beaulieu de. sister. transféra son quartier général sur la. 4 gardes avancées. ▬▬ se tenaient prêts à tenter.- - de manière à. de le forcer. i dont l'histoire fasse mention. hà la face. m poin kautant de canons qu'il put.- Autrichienne.tant de sa propre main.--" de manière à couper aux Autrichiens. pour saper.Penthousiasmés de l'intrépidité avec laquelle r il exposait sa personne.- -a sobriquet.— pour tenter.un gué éloigné. effecting, and awaited with anxiety the moment when" they should appear on the enemy's flank. When that took place Beaulieu's line showed some confusion, and Napoleon instantly gave the word. A column of grenadiers, whom he had kept ready, were in a moment wheeled to the left, and their leading files a placed upon the bridge. They rushed on shoutingc "Vive la République !" but the storm of grapeshot for a moment checked them. Bonaparte, Lannes, Berthier, and Lallemagne hurried to the front, and rallied and cheered the men.e 31. The column dashed across the bridge in despite of the tempest of fires that thinned them, The brave Lannes was the first who reached h the other side, Napoleon himself the second. The Austriani artillery-men were bayonetted at their guns before1 the other troops, whom Beaulieu had removed too far back, in his anxiety to avoid the French battery, could come to their assistance. Beaumont pressing gallantly with his horse" upon the flank, and Napoleon's infantry forming rapidly, as they passed the bridge, and charging on the instant,p the Austrian line became involved in inextricable confusion, broke up and fled. The slaughter on their side was great; on the French there fell only 200 men. With such rapidity," and consequently with so little loss, did Bonaparte execute this daring adventure, "the terrible passage," as he himself called it, "of the bridge of Lodi." V tà effectuer.—" où.- -Lorsque cela arriva.à l'instant même donna le signal.- -qu'il avait tenus prêts.- -2 portés sur. têtes de colonne.- Ils se précipitèrent en avant.cau cri de.d accoururent aux premiers rangs.- — ranimèrent les soldats. 'se précipita.- - malgré le feu terrible.-hatteignit. Autrichiens.- furent tués à coups de baïonnettes.- avant que.- avait trop éloignées en arrière." se précipitant vaillamment avec sa cavalerie.où elle passait.—P commençant aussitôt la charge. trouva enveloppée. se débanda et prit la fuite.les Français ne perdirent que.. Telle fut la rapidité. · ▾la perte minime avec laquelle. - au moment -'de. a se THE CONVENT OF THE GREAT ST. BERNARD. 32. The Convent of the Great St. Bernard is situated near the toph of the mountain known by that name, near one of the most dangerous passes of the Alps between Switzerland and Savoy. In these regions the traveller is often overtaken m by the most severe weather even after days" of cloudless beauty, when the glaciers glitter in the sunshine,° and the pink flowers of the rhododendron appear as if they were never to be sullied by the tempest. But a storm suddenly comes on, the roads are rendered impassable by drifts of snow;t the avalanches, which are huge loosened masses" of snow or ice, are precipitated into the valleys, carrying▾ trees and crags of rock with them. The hospitable monks, though their revenue is scanty, open their doors to every stranger that presents himself. To be cold, to be weary, to be benighted, constitute a title to a their comfortable shelter, their cheering meal, and their agreeable society. But their attention to the distressed does not end here. devote themselves to the dangerous task of searching for those unhappy persons who may have been overtaken by the sudden storm, and would perish but for £ their charitable succour. b They 33. Most remarkably are they assisted in these truly Christian offices. They have a breed of noblei dogs in their establishment, whosek extraordinary sagacity often enables them to rescue the traveller surpris. - des jours.- -° au soleil. 1la Savoie. P les fleurs roses. - comme si elles ne devaient jamais être flétries.- - survient. - deviennent. masses détachées.considérable. - par les monceaux de neige.-▾ entraînant.- - des blocs. " énormes y soit peu se présente.. Avoir froid, être fatigué, joyeux. pour ceux qui b C être anuité, constitue un titre à. sont dans la détresse.- d ne se borne pas à cela.- -d'aller à fsans.- - Ils sont assistés de i grands. la recherche des malheureux. la manière la plus étonnante. dont.1 de sauver. h devoirs. |