New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-10-16

peasant family. There wa ne grandfather, Who's,
bead bore striking resemblance on the outside {,
that Of Quiet, and whose eyes we're ;rimule3 With
deeper AID moro richly tinted border Of red.t.pe
than l rcollect ever before to have fsas.ea my
Own upon. Our enjoy meDt Of this sue biz Of coor
was not dapped BY the reflection tia. il must have
been caused by bard drinking We were in wine
| country, where drunkenness is almos. uahoown.
Then there were the unmarried daughters and The
married daughter and the son-in-law sbd pretty
chld Of four or FIVE years old, graEe little thing
~ho could not be coa1ed into smile. We toakour
places on the up cushion ed seats Of the wagon, chiefly
for the sake of economy. II is not to be denied,
though we paid bat half what we should have done
in first class care that our iavings were somewhat
hardly earned. But it is well to remark also that
the wagons Gffer much better opportunity than the
email, comfortable cars, foEsstudyUg the people.
Wien they are full, they present you forty
per.Ons-tbeir faces costume aud local color
instead of eight, and they for the most part way
passengers, inhabitants Of the country through
| which you are travelling; they arc Of the people,
peasants, faru ers and the lesser bourgeois, with
wives and children, to which are generally TO be
added few dlers going home on sick Leave then
priest or two, and often enough few religeuses,
gong to some hospital or town where sickness 10
prevalent or going to pass their retreat The Incl.
dents Of helping lii and out the trlDg clvlltles OF
passing baskets and bundles the praises naturally
given to pretty child, or the sympathy to sickly
one, the soldiers arm in sling, the crops, the
weather the last fair or religious iete, or other I'M
pOrant local event; these, and hundred occasions,
start conversation which catches and flows easily,
uninpeded by "prunes and prisms" q Mrs Grumpy.
For one set Of topics OILY it is impeded by an nfiu-
ence stronger than that of any rstclass convention
alities If The atmosphere were in the pay Of Gov
eminent, and listening for any chance word, that
bv tortuous msconstuctiOn could be brought against
the speaker as proof of his liberal political notions,
greater caution could hardly be observed. My two
frei DE- and two other gentlemen of their acquaint-
ance, who by good chance were going the same
way for day, were all Republicans ia the time Of
the Republic, and all retain their former oplnons
but they are all moderate, sensible men, indulging
in DO purposes of violent opposition to the ruling
powers Of the moment. But whenever the con-
yersatiOn happened to turn on subjects however re-
motley connected with French politics-On the con-
dition of the people in Lombardy and Naples, winch
countries one of the party had visited, or the exed
generals or the last election, or the society OF Free
Masons-their voices instr ctivey, as it were, sank
10 a timid whisper, and sometimes To c0mpete 81
lence Thus the hiatus left by the untold fact or
unexpressed sentiment was filled by significant
sbrugs and facial pantOmime. One OF our chance
companions has chosen Switzerland for his perma-
nent residence, and is now returning to his native
home in La Vendee merely for visit could not
but notice that he was much more free-spoken than
the rest and would every now and then let out his
voice so as to be audible 10 the distance of half
bench. He was more than once looked to order by
the others. Excepting these instances, had not
heard word of politics in the last $50 miles, nor
seen any tobacco-chewing, nor been exploded, nor
run of the track, nor caught any cnders in my
eyes, nor although the weather for the past week
has been dry, been covered with dust-all OF which,
on the whole, are pleasant variations on the Ameri-
can railway themes
The peasant family, which was from Bretsgne,
think and like the generality of the people of that
province and of POitiers, am told, showed none of
that noisy gayey which is supposed to belong to the
French peasantry, grew quieter and qlleter. They
exchanged words at rare intervals The old man,
after IDLY gcgeling at US for while, slowly let drop
the red ringes Of bis eyes; the still child seemed to
dream with hers wide open; the sOnn law s!umped
down, head and shoulders, into helpless slumber;
the aunt began to Craze my hat-brlm with the
spanker frnges of her Breton cap; then tapped her
head full on my shoulder in broken series of tenta
tive sObs and finally rested solidy on that hard pill
low. / was glad to be of any service to the young
woman. 1t was but the just due Of anon-producef
to one of the children of toll That abe was hard
working child of that old family appeared by her
sun.burned face and tough, shOrtn nailed fingers. For
her sake held myself comfortably motionless ell
We reached the station of DaDgi, where the whole
house left us, and ate my supper at Polhers the
same evening, with better relish on that account
II was in sort as il had earned it, Further than
this, there was no sentimfn in the case. regarded
il purely from a humanitarian and pOlticO.econ0-
mical point Of view. Mademoisene was ugly.
An excellent supper it was-a supper which even
man unconscious of good deeds might have fallen
to with relish; and it is not only the meals that
are cOmmendable but the prices at the Audacious
Rooster" (Cog HARDY Of Poitiers. See the bill
of our breakfast Outlets. maintaining The JUICY ana
tender reputation Of tie Polterin muttons at Its de-
served hight; pigs pettitOes; bittecks aux p6mmes;
f.h, delicate but anonymous; ceppes la Proven
Gale, species Of Brobdignag mushroom, exquisite
and indgestble; sweet biscuits, pears and grapes
such grapes wine at discretion, poor, but hon
ess;" coffee and brandy. For all this the propre-
tor tells me that he charges two francs and hall
(ffty cents) per stomach; but if We are staying
more than week there be will give US board VI this
sort and lodging in clean rooms and beds at four
frames day. 1t il worth at least half that SUN to
look at Mademoselle Pauline, black haired, rosy
checked, pearl-tOOthed, smiling, def, trim-built,
neat handed little maid who waits at table-a sauce
pquaDte that delicately sets of every mouthiul Oh
Of cur repast. m
If enlarge thus on the qualities of the Daring
Rooster, it is partly for the benefit Of succeeding
travellers who will not, / think, find its name in
Murray, which red-covered conveniency left BY
forpetfulness on my mantlepiece at Paris, luckily
Luckily; for it is more agreeabletO take ones sight
seeing all natural than to have it cut, dried and
served in regulation morsels by guide-boOk, pre-
venting the possibility Of pleasant surprises. The
sights worth seeing commence here with the preci-
pce Of rock and masonry IN which you make your
way by bread Hgzag staircase, into the town;
the view from the old ramparts, when you have once
surmOunted them; pretty valley with stream and
q hridra and It's rocky kides remains very pictur: