"This unmerited favor must have come from the prayers of St. Augustine,
and a vow I made to send a fair offering to our Lady of Einsiedeln; for
never before have I known a dog of St. Bernard lead the traveller to the
Refuge! Their business is to find the frozen, and to guide the traveller
along the paths to the hospice. Even Uberto had his doubts, as you saw,
but the vow prevailed; or, I know not--it might, indeed, have been the
prayer."
The Signor Grimaldi was too eager to get Adelheid under cover, and, in
good sooth, to be there himself, to waste the time in discussing the
knotty point of which of two means that were equally orthodox, had been
the most efficacious in bringing about their rescue. In common with the
others, he followed the pious and confiding Pierre in silence, making the
best of his way after the credit lous guide. The latter had not yet seen
the Refuge himself, for so these places are well termed on the Alpine
passes, but the information of the ground had satisfied him of its
proximity. Once reassured as to his precise position, all the surrounding
localities presented themselves to his mind with the familiarity the
seaman manifests with every cord in the intricate maze of his rigging, in
the darkest night, or, to produce a parallel of more common use, with the
readiness which all manifest in the intricacies of their own habitations.
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