BERNARD, The Great St., a celebrated mountain pass of the Pennine Alps, upwards of 8000 feet in height, between the Swiss canton of Valais and the valley of Aosta. Near the summit is the famous hospice, said to have been founded by St Bernard of Menthon in Savoy in 962, for the succour of travellers crossing the mountain. In their philanthropic labours the monks inhabiting the hospice have valuable assistants in their dogs, which are known as the St Bernard breed, and are noted for their extraordinary size and sagacity. In 1800 Napoleon crossed the Alps here at the head of an army of 30,000 men, with cavalry and artillery.