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courage and perseverance, were styled ferocity
and audacity. His expedition over the
Alps appears indeed the most rash and
hopeless that was ever undertaken by any
general,— yet it was successful; at least, he
had success in his power at one period,
and might have destroyed Rome and the
republic ; but it was ordained otherwise —
71071 fa ta si7iunt. Were we acquainted with
all the real circumstances and motives by
which the Carthaginian chief was impelled
to undertake this expedition, perhaps we
should find, that the attempt evinced more
profound penetration and generous self-
devotion to his country, than wild and
daring courage.
The Bourg St. Maurice is a place of considerable
traffic for cheese and cattle, which
are exported into Piedmont and the Valley
of Aoste. The fairs are held in the months
of August and September. I have before
mentioned that the Maurienne head-dress
is universally worn by the women. As a
proof how rarely this place is visited by
English ladies, I must not omit to notice
the extreme fright of a little girl, about
four years of age, on seeing Mrs. B. walking
in the street in a Leghorn bonnet.
M O U T IE R S . 251
Turning round suddenly, and beholding such
a strange sight, the poor child lifted up both
its hands, and ran away crying, in the greatest
possible alarm, and hid itself behind a
wall in another street, occasionally putting
forth its head to discover which way the
enemy was advancing ; when Mrs. B. turned
down the same street, it was so overwhelmed
with dread, as to be unable to
move, and stood screaming in the utmost
agony of terror, till she had passed to a
considerable distance.
We returned to Moutiers in the afternoon,
less gratified with this expedition
than with any we undertook in Savoy, as
the main object of it was frustrated. I was,
however, very well pleased to have seen
the upper part of the Tarentaise. The
passage of the Little St. Bernard, in the
most favourable weather, must always be
less interesting on the Savoy side than the
passage of the Semplon, even supposing
the accommodations for travelling were
equally good, which is far from being the
case. On returning from St. Maurice, we
observed the following inscription affixed to
a cross on the road —
Monsieut' V Â7'chevèque de Chambeiry
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