Revisiting the angels in their homes. He knew her ere he saw her, and she felt name The warm blood mantling to her forehead came. He touched, but lightly touched her hand, and lo! Through every vein the sweet caress did flow, From The Leisure Hour. AVALANCHE OF No man can pass the Rossberg moun-, tain without thinking of the dread catastrophe that here overwhelmed in so vast a burial three or four whole lovely villages at once-one of the most terrible natural convulsions in all the history of Switzerland. Four hundred and fifty-seven per sons are said to have perished beneath this mighty avalanche. The place out of which it broke in the mountain is a thousand feet in breadth by a hundred feet deep, and this falling mass extended bodily at least three miles in length. It shot across the valley with the swiftness of a cannon-ball, so that in five minutes the villages were all crushed, as if they had been egg-shells or the mimic toys of children. The following is the simple and powerful narrative of Dr. Zay, of the neighboring village of Arth, an eye-witness of the tremendous spectacle. "The summer of 1806 had been very rainy, and on the 1st and 2d of September it rained incessantly. New crevices were observed in the flank of the mountain, a sort of crackling noise was heard inter nally, stones started out of the ground, detached fragments of rocks rolled down the mountain; at two o'clock in the afternoon of the 2d of September a large rock became loose, and in falling raised a cloud of black dust. Toward the lower part of the mountain the ground seemed pressed down from above; and when a stick or a spade was driven in, it moved of itself. Á man, who had been digging in his garden, ran away from fright at these extraordinary appearances: soon a fissure, larger than all the others, was observed; insensibly it increased; springs of water ceased all at once to flow; the pine trees of the forest absolutely reeled; birds flew away screaming. A few minutes before five o'clock the symptoms of some mighty catastrophe became still stronger; the whole surface of the mountain seemed to glide down, but so slowly as to afford time to the inhabitants to go away. old man, who had often predicted some such disaster, was quietly smoking his pipe when told by a young man running by that the mountain was in the act of falling; he rose and looked out, but went An 1861.] AVALANCHE OF THE ROSSBERG. into his house again, saying, he had time to fill another pipe. The young man, continuing to fly, was thrown down several times, and escaped with difficulty; look ing back, he saw the house carried off all at once. "Another inhabitant, being alarmed, took two of his children and ran away with them, calling to his wife to follow with the third; but she went in for another who still remained, (Marianna, aged five ;) just then Francisca Ulrich, their servant, was crossing the room with this Marianna, whom she held by the hand, and saw her mistress; at that instant, as Francisca afterward said: "The house appeared to be torn from its foundation, (it was of wood,) and spun round and round like a teetotum; I was sometimes on my head, sometimes on my feet, in total darkness, and violently separated from the child." When the motion stopped, she found herself jammed in on all sides, with her head downward, much bruised, and in extreme pain. She supposed she was buried alive at a great depth; with much difficulty she disengaged her right hand, and wiped the blood from her eyes. Presently she heard the faint moans of Marianna, and called to her by her name; the child answered that she was on her back among stones and bushes, which held her fast, but that her hands were free, and that someshe saw the light, and even thing green. She asked whether people would not soon come to take them out. Francisca answered that it was the day of judgment, and that no one was left to help them, but that they would be released by death, and be happy in heaven. They prayed together. At last Francisca's ear was struck by the sound of a bell, which she knew to be that of Steinenberg; then seven o'clock struck in another village; then she began to hope there were still living beings, and endeavored to comfort the child. The poor little girl was at first clamorous for her supper, but her cries soon became fainter, and at last quite died away. Francisca, still with her head downward, and surrounded with damp earth, experienced a sense of cold in her feet almost insupportable. After prodigious efforts she succeeded in disengaging her legs, and thinks this saved her life. Many hours had passed in this situation, when she again heard the voice of Marianna, who had been asleep, and now renewed her lamentations. In the mean time, the "In another place a child two years old was found unhurt, lying on its straw mattress upon the mud, without any vestige of the house from which he had been separated. Such a mass of earth and stones rushed at once into the Lake of Lowertz, although five miles distant, that one end of it was filled up; and a prodigious wave, passing completely over the island of Schwanau, seventy feet above the usual level of the water, overwhelmed the opposite shore, and, as it returned, swept away into the lake many houses with their inhabitants. The village of houses washed Seewen, situated at the farther end, was inundated, and some away, and the flood carried live fish into the village of Steinen. The chapel of Olten, built of wood, was found half a league from the place it had previously occupied, and many large blocks of stone completely changed their position. "The most considerable of the villages overwhelmed in the vale of Arth was Goldau, and its name is now affixed to the whole melancholy story and place. I shall relate only one more incident. A party of eleven travelers from Berne, belonging to the most distinguished families there, arrived at Arth on the 2d of September, and set off on foot for the Righi a few minutes before the catastrophe. Seven of them had got about two hundred yards ahead; the other four saw them entering the vil lage of Goldau, and one of the latter, Mr. R. Jenner, pointing out to the rest the summit of the Rossberg, (full four miles off in a straight line,) where some strange commotion seemed taking place, which they themselves (the four behind) were whom he was just married, one a son, a observing with a telescope, and had en-third the two pupils under his care: all tered into conversation on the subject researches to discover their remains were, with some strangers just come up, when, all at once, a flight of stones, like cannonballs, traversed the air above their heads; a cloud of thick dust obscured the valley; a frightful noise was heard. They fled. As soon as the obscurity was so far dissipated as to make objects discernible, they sought their friends, but the village of Goldau had disappeared under a heap of stones and rubbish one hundred feet in hight, and the whole valley presented nothing but a perfect chaos! Of the unfortunate survivors, one lost a wife to and have ever since been, fruitless. Nothing is left of Goldau but the bell which hung in its steeple, and which was found about a mile off. With the rocks, torrents of mud came down, acting as rollers; but they took a different direction when in the valley, the mud following the slope of the ground toward the Lake of Lowertz, while the rocks, preserving a straight course, glanced across the valley toward the Righi, high up on the sides of which trees were mowed down as they might have been by cannon." From Bentley's Miscellany. CONTINENTAL REVOLUTIONS.* take was, that, at the former period, she had the modesty to wait for an invitation which, however, was not given. out suddenly under perfectly normal conditions of society, and dashes over the Continent, spreading desolation and confusion far and wide. But M. Pagès teaches us differently: it is his proud boast that France did it all in 1848. If there be any thing to boast about in perpetrating bloodshed and checking the cause of progress for at least ten years, we are perfectly willing to leave France the responsibility. But we deuy, absolutely and utterly, that France originated the Italian upheaval of 1848: it must have taken place even had no republic been proclaimed at Paris. For eighteen years the revolutionary volcano had been growling in Italy, now and then emitting sharp, short gleams, until the veering of OUR readers may possibly remember M. Garnier Pagès as member of that provisional government which fretted its brief hour in France, during the troubles We have generally been of opinion that of 1848, until the good sense of the na-revolution is like cholera, which breaks tion turned him out among the rest. Since his retirement into private, M. Pagès has been "eating his leek" and swearing most horrible revenge, which he has perpetrated by the publication of a ponderous work, in which he purposes to study the causes and consequences of the tornado of 1848, from his point of view. We are, in so far, thankful to him that he has for the present abstained from offering us any "warmed-up cabbage" about the French revolution, (though he threatens his much suffering countrymen with three other volumes on that subject,) and has wisely devoted the volume with which we now deal to the affairs of Italy. In the first place, it is a very taking subject of the hour; and secondly, the author is enabled to show-the Pope to the liberal side gave consistat any rate by implication-that France was quite prepared to do in 1848 what she carried out in 1859. Her only mis* Histoire de la Revolution de 1848. Par GARNIER PAGES. Tome 1er, Italie. Paris: Pagnerre. ency to the wants and wishes of the peoples. It was on the Tedeschi, before all, that the national hatred was concentrat ed. Austria had gone beyond the authority, delegated to her by the Congress of Vienna, and throughout the peninsula | tradesmen supplied vitriol, which was to fall in The troops ademployed her troops as sbirri to suppress a burning shower. free interchange of ideas. It was impos- with canister, and pointed their guns at the vanced along the widest streets, swept them sible for such a state of things to last barricades. The inhabitants poured on the sollonger; and though the French revolu- diers the piled-up materials; the young mea tion of 1848 gave the signal for revolt, were saving with their ammunition, and each even without that event the Italians could round told, and delivered the city from an not be held back longer from an appeal enemy." to the grim god of battles. M. Garnier Pagès, who, by the way, has been largely assisted in his task by the deceased exdictator of Venice, Manin, gives the following glowing account of the Milanese glorious days: "The combat has begun in an instant, men of all ranks, of all trades, women accustomed to rude toil, ladies with delicate hands, even children, all prepared arms and means of resist ance. The streets were unpaved, and barricades raised. In default of planks and beams, carriages were dragged up, and every thing that presented itself was employed. Some gave their furniture, the poor their only bed, the rich their gilded chairs, while a manufacturer threw in the largest of his piano-fortes. At this supreme moment every body offered, for the common defense, his fortune and his life. Marshal Radetsky had a difficulty in escaping from the torrent that began to overflow, and flying from his palace to the castle, abandoning a portion of his clothes, and even his sword, with which he had menaced the Milanese, and which now became their trophy. On the nineteenth, at daybreak, the tocsin was heard, the cry To arms!' and the sound of cannon. The battle had recommenced Never, perhaps, had a population found itself in so terrible a situation. Inclosed within walls, flight itself in the event of defeat was no longer possible. They must not expect from foreign and savage soldiers either pity or mercy; their ferocity could only be satiated by pillage, violation, and carnage. Had not the chief himself denounced the sack of the city, if it resisted, and he was the man to keep his word. There was no hope for the city, then, if it succumbed, and the citizens could only count on their courage and their despair. In this gigantic contest, each bore in his heart the sublime resolution, Victory or death! a supreme moment, a solemn hour for this nation struggling beneath the sword that kills. The historian, while retracing this affecting scene, feels his hand tremble. The genius of deliverance created arms. The theaters and museums were stripped of old carbines and dress-swords; the iron bars of the railways were sharpened; tools fastened to the end of sticks; knives served as daggers; the women heated oil and melted lead; furniture, tiles, bottles, paving stones, vessels of every description were arranged as projectiles; barricades were multiplied; no arm was inactive; the chemists manufactured gunpowder, caps, and fulminating cotton; some invented destructive agents; the While Radetsky fell back, like a boar at bay, beneath the walls of Verona, Charles Albert was in a most awkward position. We are glad to find that M. Pagès does not force in the cuckoo cry of treason, so often raised against that monarch: he is disposed to regard him as a weak-minded man, instigated by a strong dose of ambition. On hearing of the fall of monarchy in France, Charles Albert was stupified: on one hand he was haunted by the demon of republicanism, on the other he did not like the opportunity for aggrandizement to slip. Worst of all, he could not remain stationary, he must move with the tide. After great himself at the head of the Italian movehesitation, therefore, he resolved to place ment, and obtain that iron crown which his ancestors had worn with honor for a season. In Lamartine, feeling perfectly aware that the only thing that could support his tottering authority was a foreign war, at once offered the King of Sardinia the aid of the sword of France, but he at once declined it. The president of the provisional government then appealed to Mazzini to accept French help, but he haughtily indorsed the King's memorable reply: "L'Italia farà di se." In fact, the Italians were so astounded at having driven the Austrians out of Milan, that they thought they need only follow up their victory to render their country great, glorious, and free. truth, circumstances seemed to justify this view; from one end of the peninsula to the other, prince was outbidding prince in his offers of assistance to the popular cause; the Neapolitan troops were hurrying up, the Roman army was on the frontier of Venetia, and that country was torn from Radetzky, with the exception of the redoubtable Quadrilateral, in which the gray-haired field marshal was fretting his proud heart, and urging on his court the necessity of reinforcements, which it could not offer him. In the mean while, Charles Albert went on from victory to victory, till he was brought up by the frowning walls of Verona, which have since made another conqueror hesitate. During this period treachery was at work throughout the peninsula. Ferdinand of Naples regained his authority on the Continent, and Pio Nono began playing fast and loose with the national cause; but no foe was so dangerous to it as Charles Albert himself. In his jealousy of the volunteers he left them unsupported, and Radetzky was enabled to surprise their column at Curtatone, where they were cut to pieces after a magnificent defense. The perusal of their exploits reads like a page from the history of ancient Greece: "For more than three hours they resisted and performed prodigies of valor. General Laugier sustained the valor of his troops by example and words. The cries of 'Viva l'Italia!' gave strength to the weakest and courage to the most timid. The sharpshooters fought in the open, saying they wished to show their breasts to the enemy. The students' battalion, intrepid in fire, proceeded wherever the peril was the greatest; they fell without giving way, and died as heroes. The learned professor of geology, Leopold Pella, expired with the cry that he had not yet done enough for his country.' At this supreme moment an affecting episode took place. Some forty volunteers, led by Montanelli, rushed forward over the dead bodies to a neighboring mill, and there offered a desperate resistance to the Austrians. Bullets hailed on the sacred battalion, and decimated it. One by one they fell, and their cartridges-glorious heritage of the dying men!-were shared among the survivors. The heroic group, gradually reduced, closed up round the Italian flag. Pietro Parra, a very promising youth, was struck by the side of Montanelli, who threw himself on a man whom he regarded as a brother, felt the pulsing of his heart, and soon after only embraced a corpse. He seized his brave comrade's musket to avenge him, but immediately felt his left arm pierced by a bullet, made vain efforts to continue the combat, and lost his senses as he cried to his friends, who, not wishing to separate from him, surrendered to the Austrians: You will bear testimony that I fell with my face to the foe."" Another glorious episode of the campaign was the defense of Vicenza by Colonels Massimo d'Azeglio and Enrico Cialdini. At daybreak, black, compact masses of the enemy were seen advancing on the devoted town from every direction. The fire began at four A.M., by an attack of tirailleurs. The column commanded by Culoz rushed impetuously toward the hights, which were defended with equal vigor. Wratislaw threw himself on the Rotunda, but in vain ; and, forced to have recourse to his artillery, directed his attack on the gate, where an obstinate fight was carried on." At this moment, D'Aspre charged in close column the barricade of the Padua gate, but was foiled by the bravery of the Italians. On all sides the contest was furious and sanguinary; the town was begirt by a belt of fire and iron. The general, the officers, the volunteers, the soldiers, the townsmen, endured, without stirring, this formidable assault, which threatened to swallow them up. They fought for six hours, and the Austrians made but insensible progress. The shock of arms was most terrible on the hights, where the Italians and Swiss had concentrated their efforts on Bericocolo. The artillery, excellently served by the Swiss, hurled death into the ranks of the assailants; on either side it was felt that this hill was the key of the position, and that if carried the contest would be virtually at an end. To effect it, the Austrians made a desperate effort, and charged it with twelve thousand fresh troops. The Italians and Swiss resisted desperately, but prodigies of valor could not keep the foe back. The termination of the contest is so brilliantly told by M. Pagès, that it must serve as an apology for an extract: "Durando gave his orders every where; no one needed to hear the voice of his chief to be inspired, for his presence sufficed. On learning the retreat of D'Azeglio, he rushed to the reserve, told the Swiss to fly to his help, and himself tried at the head of a column to turn the bill on the opposite side; but the Austrian ranks were so dense that the Italians were compelled to fall back on the town. The enemy, master of the hights, covered them with batteries, and soon shells, shrapnel, and balls, rained on the city. The resistance, concentrated behind gates and barricades, became through this only the greater; peril hightened audacity in their hearts and did not affect them. Night came, to add the horrors of its darkness to all the horrors of the engagement. For six-and-thirty hours the Italians had been under arms; exhausted by the hunger and thirst they had not found time did not feel their courage exhausted. But could to appease, by fatigue and bloodshed, they still such heavy sacrifices save the city? After the loss of the hights it would soon be but a pile of ruins. The Swiss artillery was partially dismounted; should Vicenza be exposed to all the disasters of a city taken by storin? The genesituation. He had neither promise nor hope of ral examined sadly but coolly this mournful situation. He had neither promise nor hope of succor from Charles Albert; perhaps he could obtain an honorable capitulation for the inhabitants and his army. At about six P.M. he informed the committee of defense of his resolu |