New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-04-24

cultural condition of the peasantry, Tor punicatioh
in London journal, while the present WORK
forms n sort of tail to his kite, in the shape OF
long string Of personal incidents artistic and lite
rary comments and legendary stories. His little
volume makes no pretensions to the character u.
statistical work. He does not affect passion ,''
archaeological description. Starting fair win ''e
reader at the outset he cautions HIM not 10 expect
any information as to the hight OF steepie' tn'
Ieroth of an aisle. or the number OF arches IN
bridge and refers him in preference to the iicid
,,oros Of the Invaluable Murray and his compeers.
He PROMISES to be neither picturesqney proiouhu
upon ogives triforia. cerestorys, screens or moia
ings. nor magniloquently great upon the arcneu
the early pointed, the ford, or the hamooyant
schools. He engages to go into no raptures about
yirpins Holy Families, or Orel windows, but leav-
inc the gray old carved stones alone in their glory,
to sketch some of the features OF living France,
as lie moves gossiping along in the byways, rath-
er than the highways.
The traveller arrived at Bordeaux, Just after the
commencement of the vintage. After lounging
there few DAYS, and getting taste Of the grapes
in the neighborng vineyards, he puts soul and body
into respectable little omnibus and starts for the
true caret country. He brings up at the tiny vii
LACE of Margaux, whence he DIVORCES on a tour of
exploration among the vineyards. October, the
wine month, is approaching. The weather
has been watched with nervous apprehension for
weeks, as the flavor of the wine depends on the
warmth and brightness of the closing summer.
The grapes have now attained their perfect ripe
ness. All is hustle and activity. Here is a bril-
liant picture of
THE VINTAGE.
There have long existed pleasing, and IN
some sort poetca associations connected with the task
of securing for human the fruits of the earth and TO
no species crop do these picturesque associations apply
with greater force than the ingahering OF the ancient
harvest of the vine From time immemoral the season
hast ypifed epochs OF plenty and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
of GOOD fare and of goodwill The ancient types and
figures descriptive Of the vintage still literally true
The march OF agricultural improvement seems never TO
have set amid the vines. AS It was win tnc patri
arcb In the East so is with the modern children OF
men, The goaded OK still bears home the hish'pressed
grapeb and the feet Of the reader are still req In the
1urple Juice which maketh glad the heart OF man The
leone l. at once full of beauty and of tender and
sacred associations The songs OF the vintagcrs ire
ouenfy chorsed from part OF the held 10 the oIner
ring blithely into the bright summer ar, peanng OUT
above the rough jokes and hearty peals OF laughter
shouted hther and hther. All the green jungle s awe
with the moving figures OF men and women, stopping
ann ng the vines bearing pals and basketulls OF
grapes out the grass grown crossroads along which
the aboring drag the rough vintage carts sroan
ing and creaking as they stagger along beneath tnei
weight of purple tubs hesped high with the tuinonhs
masses of luscious fruit The congregation OF every ago
and both sexes and the careless variety OF costume ADJ
additional OF pcturesqucncss to the scene Inc
e-haired old man labOrs with shaking hands to NIL
the basket which his blackeyed imp OF a grandcmd
carries reoicingy away. Quaint broad brmmed straw
and felt hats-handkerchets twisted like turbans over
struggling Elf locks-swarthy skins tanned to an olive,
brown-back, flashing eyesand hands and feet stained
in tha inc IN tnc5e
southern peculiares of costume and appearance sup
ply the vintage with its pleasant charactesucs Inc
catter of tongues Is ncessant fire OF Jokes and Jeers
of saucy questions and more saucy rctorts-of what In
fact in the humble and unpoetic but expressive YER
nacuar Il called chaf"-is kept up with vigor which
seldom flags except and then, when the buttend OF
a song the twanging close of chorus strikes the
general fancy and procures for the lusty en-
core Meantime, the master winegrower moves observ
ngly from rank to rank No neglected bunch OF frut
escapes his watchu eye No careless vinager shakes
the precious berries rudely upon the SOIL but he Is
promptly reminded of his slovenly work. Sometimes
the tubs attract the careful superintendent Ne turns
up the clusters ascertain that leaves useless
length otendrl entombed in the juicy masses, and
anon directs his steps the pressing anxious to
find that the luty treaders are persevering msnuy In
their ong-continued dance
The process of expressing the juice presents no
very fragrant images to the lover of claret. Pure
sparkling Croton grows bright in the contrast
The tetotaler may well point an argument with
THE UNCLEANSEss OF THE WINERIES.
The wine press, or curier de pressoir, con-
sists in the majority of cases. of massive shallow tub
varying In size from four square feet to rs many square
wards 1t Is placed either upon wooden trestles
regularly built platform OF masonwork under the huge
rsiters of substantial Clubhouse Close to stand range
of great butte their number less according the
size of the vineyard The grapes flung by tub and
csskuls into the culver The rceders stamp diligently
amid the masses and the expressed juice pours pent
fully out hole level with the bottom of the trough
into sieve of iron wickerwork which stops the pas
of the skins and from thence drains into tubs be-
low Suppose, at the moment of arrival the cuver
for a brief space empty The treaders-big perspiring
men, in shirts and tuckedup trowsersspattered to the
eyes with splatches of purple juice lean upon their
wooden spades and wipe their foreheads But their
respite is short The creak of another CARLOAD of tubs
IL heard and Immediately the wagon is backed up TO the
broad open window, rather hole in the wall, above
the trough. minute suffces to wrench out tub after
tub and to tilt their already halfmashed clusters splash
into the reeking pressoir. Then work again Jump
ing with sort OF spteful eagerness into the mountain
of yielding quverDg fruit the treaders snk almost to
the knee, stamping and jumping and riotng In the
Of grapes fountains Of juice squirt about their
feet and rush bubbng and garglng away. Presently
having 1t were drawn the first blood of the
cargo the eager trsmping subsidies into a of
quiet measured dance, which the treaders continue
while, with their wooden spades they turn the pulpy
remnants of the fruit hither and thher, expose
the haltsqueezed berries in every possible way tho
muscular action of the necessarily moving feet
The process OF wlne-makng Is universal in France
with the exception OF the of the sparkling wines OF
the Rhone and Champagne the grapes for which
squeezed by mechanical means not by the human foot
Now very venerable and decidedly picturesque is the
process OF winetreadng IT is unquesnonably rather
filthy and the spectacle of great brown horny feet
not whit too clean, splashing and sprawling in the
buhbng juice conveys at first sight quslmy species Of
feeling which however, only to be entertained by
those TO whom the sight is new. looked dreadfully
askance the operation when first came across and
when was invited-by lady TOTO taste the Juice of
which she caught up glassf certain uncomfortable
feeling of the inward warred terribly against po
hteness But nobody around seemed be in the least
squeamsh. Often and often did see of the heroes
OF the tub walk quietly dungbill, and then jump
-bareiooted of course, he was-nto the juice and
a vigant proprietor, who particularly
full that no bad grapes went into the tub made obec
ton When asked why press was not used, as more