od account; but setting aside
the difference in our strength and hardihood, even that lily which is in
so much danger of being nipped by the frosts, is not more helpless than I
am myself at this moment. I am no better than yourselves, Signori, and,
though a better mountaineer perhaps, I rely on the favor of the saints to
be succored, or my time must finish among the snows instead of in the surf
of a sea-shore, as, until now, I had always believed would be my fate."

"But the dog--thy admirable dog!"

"Ah, eccellenza, Nettuno is but a useless beast, here! God has given him a
thicker mantle, and a warmer dress than to us Christians, but even this
advantage will soon prove a curse to my poor friend. The long hair he
carries will quickly be covered with icicles, and, as the snow deepens, it
will retard his movements. The dogs of St. Bernard are smoother, have
longer limbs, a truer scent and possess the advantage of being trained to
the paths."

A tremendous shout of Sigismund's interrupted Maso,--the youth, on finding
that the accidental meeting with the mariner was not likely to lead to any
immediate advantages, having instantly, accompanied by Pierre and one of
his assistants, renewed the search. The cry was echoed from the guide and
the muleteer, and then all three were seen flying through the snow,
preceded by a powerful mastiff. Nettuno, who had been crouching with his
bushy tail between his legs, barked, seemed to arouse with renewed
courage, and then leaped with evident joy and good-will upon the back of
his old antagonist Uberto.

The dog of St. Bernard was alone. But his air and all his actions were
those of an animal whose consciousness was wrought up to the highest pitch
permitted by the limits nature had set to the intelligence of a brute. He
ran from one to another, rubbed his glossy and solid side against the
limbs of all, wagged his tail, and betrayed the usual signs that creatures
of his species manifest, when their instinct is most alive. Luckily he had
a good interpreter of his meaning in the guide, who, knowing the habits,
and, if it may be so expressed, the intentions of the mastiff, feeling
there was not a moment to lose if they would still preserve the feebler
members of their party, begged the others to hasten the necessary
dispositions to profit by this happy meeting. The females were supported
as before, the mules fastened together, and Pierre, placing himself in
front, called cheerfully to the d