The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-06-19
No BInp,s.EYE vnrws or Eunorr
by T. JEFFERSON SMITH.

We arose in the morning buoyant and gay The pigh,
had been passed unplcasantly, but spirits were pood
and looked forward 10 descent of the mount,,
with the pleasure had enjoyed in our asoon,
We with nothing worth noticing until Just preior
to arrival at spot about half way down the NOM
tain several rocks had owing TO the rain lost Their
hold and dashed upon the road, completely filling II nm
Workmen had, however, already removed sufficient
quantity to clear enough to allow US to pass. W.
thought it lucky that they had fallen before We ar
rived or might have been crushed. This occurredn
two places ON our route down the mountain We fell ~
if had made lucky escape in being delayed on Il,
top by the storm. In place the road dives into M
"Gallery d'Agalby," and then by gradual sope
enters the gorge OF Condo of the grandes and most
savage of the Alps, which narrows and deepens every
STEP until its precpces in places actually oyerhang
the road which squeezed In between them seand
the retting torrents the other while vast shattered
fragments of rocks of mountains above overhang the
road the oosened masses of which ready to fa be-
MEATH they often do The travelling here very dan
gerous particularly after heavy rains haws The gal
ley of Condo is the longest cut through solid rock OF the
whole line Of the Simplon IL 500 feet Il
was also the most difficult and costly account Of the
extreme hardness of the rock, ganite for il required
the ncessant labor of than hundred worknep
in gangs relieving each other day and night to pierce
a passage in IL months. The progress OF the work
would have been still tedious had the laborers con
fined themselves TO the two ends but the engineers
caused two lateral openings to be made by which means
the rock attacked in four places at once The mi
suspended by ropes the of the rock u
ill Judgment effected commence these side omen
ings which windows to light the interior
Opposite one Of them is the inscription Acre
halo, ls05-NGp. Imp" Close to the very mouth Of
this remarkable gallery the roaring water fall OF the F
n.
is carried over it on bridge Bokedcn says this part
Of the Alps offers perhaps the finest assembage Of OBJ
jects to excite emotion Of the sublime that is to be-
found in the Alps. You pass into Italy with M
dazzling verure its rich sky and abundant vegetation
Of the vine, the olive the maize flax, and almost every
species of fruit trees. You pass from the terrific sinh
lime to the exquisite beautiful from cold winter to
summer from darkness to light from ndely
constructed houses Of rough rock, with flat stone roofs
looking desoate and cheerles to beautiful little palaces
with terraces covered with the richest and sweetest ov
The eye becomes panied with beholdng the dark
melancholy sombre appearance of the Alps and the rude
houses upon them, with the stupendons heights and
the awful abysses and it rests with pleasure upoo
plains and flowers, trees, fruits and light airy houses
The sun which has been much shut out from your
view salutes you with its warm and cnivennp RAYS
and you feel if you bcathed feer and easier longer
and stronger You glad to leave behind You the
many victims of the goitrc disease of sweled throat
that appears to affect almost every female and many
males, the mountains There is nothing particularly
interesting in about Domodasolo except Mount
Calvary said to possess certain miraculous qualities
From Domodasolo struck our course for Lake Mag.
gierc and arrived at Boveno the western shore Of the
lake, in short time From Boveno you have view Of
the "Borromean islands,, which lie quite close to H.
These islands are too important and too celebrated to pass
without brief notice. On the sa Bella one Of these
islands which belong TO and which Count Borromea
resides part Of his time, had the pleasure Of seeing
him and his wife whom he has recently married they
both youngthe Count being about thirty-Gve aud
his lady 1adies' ages must not be mentionet) much
younger. The Count is descendant Of the good old
Saint Carlo Boromea to whom Milan owes so much and
where his corpse lies and with his memory il rcyed
with religious aror. The family has possessed these
islands since 1911 On the Bella magnificent palaces
and beautiful gardens the grounds of which have all
been transported to the island which formerly was bar
rock. The garden teens with the vegetation Of the
tropics it consists of ten terraces the lowest founded on
piers thrown into the lake, rising in pyramidal form
above another and lined with statues vases, ODE
lisks, and black Expresses Upon these as upon the
hanging gardens Of Babylon flourish in the open mir not
merely the orange, ctTon, myrtle and pomeganite but
aloes cactuses the camphor tree sugar cane and coffee
labor and taste; fairy land which might serve as a
model for the gardens of Calypso
We took steamer at Boveno, and sailing up the
beautiful lake, arrived Mt Iino and from thence pro.
ceeded by carriage to Lugano, lying the lake OF the
name, and, proceeding along the beautiful green
waters of this lake, reached Como, on Lake Como
celebrated for the magnificent and elegant palaces
lining its shores 1t is the resort Of the Milan
nobility. Here Tagliona the celebrated dancer had
beautiful villa also Madam Pasta has here pretty
palace. Lake Como Qocus Larius) is about forty miles
long from north to SOUTH and is surrounded by
famous country, gradually sopng to the borders Of the
like Taken together this lake probably surpasscs in
beauty of scenery and in richness of its almost tropical
vegetation every other lake in Italy 1t enjoys cass
cal reputation the residence of the two Pnys and the
Of the scientific researches of the elder Piny the
naturalist
Sublime but neither bleak bare,
Nor misty, the
Softly subline--profuscy fair
Up to their mountains clothed n
And fruitful hs ,hh sales between
They lightly rise
And scale the skies,
And groves and gardens still
For, where shoot
Could else take root,