The St. Bernard. 67 



had died, which he did about 1081, and so of course 

 the artist had to draw on his imagination as to what 

 the original St. Bernard dog was like. In those 

 days, and for long after, the Hospice dogs were 

 merely watch dogs, used to protect the monks from 

 the incursions of robbers, from which they suffered to 

 a. great extent in the early times of their existence. 

 I am sorry to say the monks keep no register con- 

 taining pedigrees of their dogs. I saw a photograph 

 of a very fine St. Bernard dog named Hospice Pluto. 

 This dog is now dead, but his portrait proved him to 

 have an enormous head, with very heavy lips and 

 dewlap. The monks considered this dog by far the 

 best they have had for some years. 



" I was happily successful in bringing back the 

 photograph of this dog, also of another, a dog that 

 had been sold by the monks for about ^130 in 

 English money. The St. Bernards are still used in 

 winter and bad weather in the duties which have 

 made them historical. They are sent out to search 

 the passes, on one side to the Cantin de Proz (Swiss 

 side) and back to the Hospice, and, on the other 

 side, from the Hospice to St. Remy (the Italian 

 side) and back. After every fresh fall of snow the 

 paths become obliterated, and many serious and 

 fatal accidents are prevented by the intelligence and 

 sense of the dogs, who by smell distinguish the 



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