New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-04-24
r,s ,,spscApr THE IAyDEs.

wsrd indicating the dr,ary gr7ndeurs OF that solemn
vviderrers over all il gloom and o2rIenaess-o'i
III i.s % hls,,ed heaths" and moDoionous pine W. aus
~Dd sodden morasses, and slariDg heaps ot snliuns
ssrd-there Is n strong and pervscing sense OF Ipheu
ness grnudeur and intensity OF desos1lon WHICH, ~
Il were clothes the land with sad solemn pos.Iy p
ar IA tself Emerging from black oreets oil nr, tno
vspderer may find himself upon plan, nit Us u Gi
hard table and apparently soundess as the ocean, clld
in one UNMARRIED unbroken robe OF dlsSy heath some
,;res crimes and ridges great ragged patches OF
sand glistcn in the tervid sunshine sometimes oes oil
scrnccv Young rtrees appear rising from the horizon
on the LEFT and fading into the horizon on tue right
Occasionally brighter shade of green with un,es Of
willows and coarse water-weeds, giant PUSHES, and
marsh moses, and tangled masses OF dank vegetation
viii tell of the unfsfhomable swamp beneath Dsrs
veins of muddy water viii traverse the nat oszy iand
sometimes perhaps losing themselves in broad shallow
lakes, bordered again by the endless sand banks and
stretches Of shsdowy pine The dwellings which dot
this dTeary yet in its way solemnly poetic landscape
are generally mere Isolated huts separated sometimes
by many miles, often by many leagues. Round them
the wsnlerer will descry miserable field or two,
planted with stunted crop OF rye. milet or mnze
The cottages are Wondering heaps OF sod and unhewn
and unnortared stones, clustered round with ragged
sheds composed of masses OF tangled bushes, pine
stakes and broadleaved reeds, beneash which cluster
when seeking their miserable forage In the "ood
two or three cows skin and bone, and score or
two of the most abjectlookins sheep which ever
browsed.
long chain of lakes and waie courses running parallel
to the ocean, breaks their uniformity The country oe-
comes waste of shallow pocls. and OF land which Is
parched in summer and submerged In winter. kun.
ming in devious arms and winnings through moss and
moor and pine these lakes OF the dismal swamp form
labyrnths of CULTS and morasses which only the most
experienced shepherds can safely thread. Here anu
there village rather bourg will be seen upon their
banks half hidden in the pinewoOds; and roughly
built fishing punt two will be observed floating hke
the canoe of savage in the woodland lakes Some
times as in the case of the basin of Arcachon which
will be presently described, these waters arms OF
the sea and the retreatng tide leaves scores OF
square miles of putIid swamp. Sometimes they are
mere collections of surfaced drainage, accommodating
without any means OF escape to the ocean, and
perous in the extreme to the jewellers on their shores
For forming in the extreme line of coast, there
runs for near hundred miles, from the Adour TO the
Garonne range of vast hills of white sand as hne as
though it had been sied for hourgla Every gale
changes the shape of these rolling mountains strong
wind from the land filings millions Of tuns OF sand per
bour into the sea- be washed up again by the suri
flung the beach, and in the first scay gale blown IN
whrlwinds inland winter hurricane again from the
west has filed up with sand square miles OF shallow
lake driving the displaced waters inland, dispensing
them in cleaning lakes among the woods, flooding,
and frequently destroying the scattered hamlets OF the
people, and burying forever their fields OF mllct and
rye | shall presently have occasion to touch upon
some disasters Of this sort Meantime, having made the
aspect of the Landes familiar It reader, pursue the
thread OF my journey
A comicaI spectacle is presented by the people
in the enjoyment of their locomotive privileges"
which are of kind that in most countries are
confined to a certain class of authors and popular
speakers. Here we have
A WHOLE POPULATION ON Stills.
The novelty of population upon stills
men, women, and children, spurnng the ground and
living habtuay four five feet higher than the rest of
manknd-irresisbly takes the imagination and leant
anxiousy from the carriage to catch the first glimpse of
a Landean in his native style. looked long In vain.
We passed hut after hut but they seemed deserted, ex-
cept that the lean swine burrowng round the turf walls
gave evidence that the pork had proprletors some
where At last / was gratihed rs the train passed
very quickly along jungle OF bushes aud coppice-
wood black, shaggy figure above it. as If he were
standing upon the ends OF the twigs The effect was
quite eldriich We him but vision but the high
conica hat with broad brims like Mother Redcaps the
swarthy bearded face and the rough dirty sheep kin
which hung eecily from the shoulders OF the appaon
haunted me. He come and gone and that was all
Presently however the natives began to heave in sight
in sufficient profusOn There three giganticlook
ing figures stalking together expanse OF dusky
heath thought them men, and rather tall ones bur
my compsnions accustomed to the sight, said they
were boys on comparatively short stits herdng the
sheep which were scattered like little grcyish stones all
over the waste Anon, near q cottage we saw a wo-
man. in dark coarse cothes with shortish petticoas
saunerng almost four feet from the ground, and next
beheld at distance, and the summit Of cambridge
relieved agans the sky three figures each leaning back
and supported, it seemed, not only by two daddy
longlegs limbs, but by third which appeared to grow
out of the small of their backs. The phenomenon
promptly explained by my boused cicrone who seemed
to feel especial pleasure at my interest in the matter
The third leg pole staff the people carry with
q shaped cruch at the top which, applied TO
the back capital prop. With his legs spread
and his back stay firmly pitched the shepherd of the
Lsndes feels as much at home as you would in the eas
est of easy chairs.
According to the author, the picturesque and
poetical capabilities of the olive have been greatly
oyerrated. Indeed, in no respect is the olive what
il has been cried up. If the quarrel were again to
arise between Minerva and Neptune to the
spective value of their gifts, Mr. Reach goes in de-
cidedly for Neptune and the horse. He becomes
quite edifying III his remarks on the false preten
sOns of THE OLIVE.
Passing, for the present, Montpelier,
where people with consumpons used to BIO to swa
low dust likely to be soothing to the lungs and to
breathe the bsmy zephyrs OF the whispering mstra,
made straight for Lune, ia order to get from thence TO
one OF the strangest old towns in France--Agues
Mores. All around US we hurried on, vines and
ovet-a true land of wine and oil. The olivstree did
not improve acquaintance it got ugler and ugler-
tOimal, and more castron Il okng, the you
Of it. And then 1t invariably planted in rows
regular intervals, to give the notion of prm
old ssrder-never OF wood. Like all fruittrees in
France the olive Is most carefully trimmed, and clipped,
and tortured, and twisted into the approved or
fashionable shape. The who can make his olirirs
look the most like umbrellas is the great cuvaor; and
the services Of the peasants who have got reputation
for oivedressng better paid than those of any agr
cultural laborers in France They eternally snip
ping and slashing and turning and twisting the tree,
til the unfortunate specimens have had small degree
Of natural and harmony which they possessed
siduously wrenched out OF them And yet there are
people in the South OF France who are enthusiastic in
the hidden beauty Of the olive. There technical
terms for all the particular spreads and contorons given
TO the branches and the olive amateur will hold forth
TO you by the hour upon the subtle charms Of each
gentleman from beyond Marseles has dsted with rap
on his delight after residence in Normandy
in returning again the hot South and revisitng tho
dear olives so prim and orderly and symnetrica-not
ike the huge struggling sprawng oaks and elms Of the
North growing up utter defiance Of all rule and sys
tenn.
The olives of France this gentleman informed me- arc
very inferior to the of couple of generations ago.
Towards the close of the last century there winter
night OF intense frost and when the morning broke tho
trees were nearly smfen the That year there