Litchfield enquirer., 1845-05-08

the neignDcrtng toWnS, ana lat uistant countries
The houses seem all like hotels, many Of them
new, and nery many now building. The town il
sheltered behind hig mountains, that are still moi
so high as to be covered with snow, and built upon
the shore Of the Mediterranean. il looks upon the
open sea, receiving the full benefit Of its healthfu
breezes. 1t was bright, warm day, and there
were great number of these poor invalids walk
ing slowly along the pebbly beach, or seated upor
mound Of stones raised by the constant rolling o
the waves. They watched the fat distant waves
moving, rolling, and bounding to the shore, dash
ing and breaking themselves at the feet, and cast
ing their spray upon the quiet and admiring gazer
Can you imagine more delightful occupation fol
and invalid, than to sit thus for hours, with the
bright warm sun looking upon them, balmy at.
mosphere surrounding them, inhaling healthful
breezes, gazing upon
!" That glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form
Glasses itself in tempests"
or listening to hear
"The silver waves
Make music in earth's dark and winding caves .
There is just enough excitement for an invalid, and
of the most agreeable and pleasurabie kind, cahs.
ing no fatigue in the enjoyment, and having no III
effects Then, too, there Is so much food for med
tation and reflection in this dread symbol OF Eter
nifty, immensely and power But must leave II
to these poor, sckly ones. Twill not rob them OF
any of their delights Here is a row OF houses
built along the bend of the bay; their roofs are
fat, and plastered smoothly over, forming fne
promenade called the Bouleyards. On one SIDE, is
the ever restless, changing sea, and on the other;
you look down upon street lined with Trees ana
filled with people constantly passing and repasslng
On an eminence overlooking the town and COM
handing the port, are extensive remains of an old
fortress, and on bank near the is large round
tower, with its foundation buried in the rock,
seemingly half excavated. We remained at Nice
but one day leaving early in the morning for Tou-
lun The road was now more distant from the sea,
and we had left the mountain I" Cornice." Still,
there were some things novel and interesting
We were now in France, and in the appearance
of the people, there was decided change for the
better They were, too, very Industrious. You
with their short, full skirts, displaying, if not
pretty foot and ankle, good strong stockings and
stout shoes. All had their tidy aprons, with ca
pacious pockets a dark jacket with little frill
falling over the hips, laced in front with bright
red ribbon; and what struck me most, were the
neat white caps, with their futed borders of lace
or muslin, forming vivid contrast to the unidy,
uncombed heads Of the Italian peasantry and to
crown the whole, straw bonnet with low crown
and broad brim, served to shade their pretty faces
Sometimes they would carry large and heavy bur-
QeDS
drive herd Of obstinate, and at times, unruly DON
kies but never did we meet any one, whatever
other occupation she might taye, that was not also
knitting as she walked. Besides the olive. orange,
lemon, fig and vines, the verdure was to day still
more diversified by the almond md cork trees
The first were in full bloom, and with their deli
rate pink flowers covering the leaess boughs, bear
striking resemblance to our peach tree, when
covered with its spring blossoms The cork use
was to me more singular. What happy coinci-
dence that there should grow tree furnishing
shoppers to the BOTTLE in the same soil that yields
the wine to fill them! 1t is the bark of the tree
that makes the corks. They peel the bark from
the trunk leaving the body bare from the branches
nearly to the ground In three years, there grows
new covering OF bark Of equal thickness with the
old the only difference is, that the new is of
lighter color than the old, like new patch upon
ID old garment Every three years it is robbed of
It's coat, and again new one covers it, each new
me better than the last The corks for bottles are
mt Iengthwise ofathe back of the large fiat ones,
About noon, we passed the little town of Caenz.
where Napoleon landed, on his arrival from Elba,
md saw on the small tavern, painted in large black
etters, that Napoleon supped and slept ~ there
he night of his landing At sunset, we passed
hrougha village, where the peasantry were all
lancing in the main street, to the music of drum
md tambourine. The men in their clean blue
olonzes and glazed hats, and the women in their
heat becoming caps-old and young, mingled, and
i'll seemed happy together; showing that with
heir industrious habits, they find time for enjoy
ment. s1 m
Toulon, the principal French naval station, has
one of the finest and pretiest ports in the Medi-
1t is deep and spacious, at the same
time that its entrance is narrow. and easily defend
ed. On height on one side, is the fortress Egui-
lette, that Napoleon took possession of in 1893
his Coup D'Essai--and from whence he cannona-
ded the British feet forcing them to evacuate the
town and harbor. Our consular agent here is
Frenchman. He was very polite and kind pro-
curing us admission to and through the Arsenal
We had for our guide an old marine, who had lost
an arm at the battle Of Navarino | have never
any thing Of the kind so extensive as
this, and was very much interested, in the two
hours we spent in going through the various de-
Here were ships of every kind and
'ize, both for sail and steam, from the skeleton
rame on the stocks, to the mammoth ship Of 100
runs, fully armed and equipped. There was a
ninth shop Of eighty furnaces, with the bellows
made to blow by steam. These were occupied in
making the machinery and iron work Of the steam
,rs. In another, they made the boilers. One
arge building was devoted to rope making, from
he hetcheling of the fax to the tarrng and twist
ing of the ropes. Then there was an immense
magazine or depot, for all the raw material. Be-
sides these, were the Cannon Foundry and the Ar
senal, Amid all this, was one painful sight--the
great number Of galley slaves, (more than three
thousand,) being employed here, mostly inthe out
Of door work, and to the eternal music of their
clanking chains. They have uniform, long red
Jacket, with yellow uantaloons buttoned down the
sides, and the color of the cap denotes the dura-
ton Of their punishment. The green caps are
sentenced for life-the red and yellow, ten and
twenty years Some of the old ships are turned
into prison ships. others into baths for the galley
slaves. Some Of them are very expert in carving
snuff boxes, and other things from the hard shell
Of the cocoa nut, and they are indeed exquisitey
Tonlon is a pleasant nretty civ with