East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1860-02-02
From Chambers' Journal.
The Madonna del Laghetto.

| w Hdt uO you Cull tIluL WIllte tOWU Oh
the shorep i asked of my rettwino.
'Mentone, said he, after some little
effort to recover his breath.
The vetturino / had hired at Oneglia
to take me on to Nice was a considerate
elderly man, who never failed, when we
were descending a hill, as we were at
that moment, to put himself at the head
of his horse - an animal rather weak in
the fore-legs - take it by the bride, and
trot along by its side. This was the
honorable cause of my vetturino's effort
| for breath.
Mentonc is bright, gay town, lazily
coiled on the sea-shore, backed by pic
turesque hills, covered with orange and
lemon trees, and dotted about with snowy
colored villas. The more | looked, the
more felt a propensity to pitch my
tent there for while "a propensity
combated, however, and Of which | ought
to have been ashamed, considering l had
already stopped twice on the road. The
fact must be confessed, l had left Genoa
in diligence which was to take me to
Nice in twenty-four hours; and yet, eight
days after, here | was, having scarcely
performed twot thirds of my journey
While thus debating the point with my
SELF my dusty conveyance was rafting
merrily on the gravel of the beach, amid
a double row of oleanders in full bloom,
which seemed to grow as naturally there
as weeds and brambles do elsewhere.
The lovely country l was passing
through reminded me, am sorry to say,
of scene in an opera; and to make the
illusion complete, there emerged at this
point, from a by-path on the left, pro-
cession of country girls on donkeys, car
rying baskets of oranges, and singing in
chorus Such an exhibition of black hair,
black eyes, pretty feet, lovely character
istic features, together with easy, elegant
attitudes, bht rarely falls to the lot of
the rambler in search of the picturesque;
nothing more graceful than those womcn's
broad round straw-hats, worn little on
one side of the head. The oleanders
had nearly won my heart the girls on
the donkeys achieved the whole conquest.
How could | with any propriety go on
without sketching at least half dozen of
those beautiful figures-I, who had come
to Italy on purpose to sketch!
Il have a great mind to stop little
while in this lovely place. said l to the
vetturino. Whats your opinion?'
Il shant mind an hour or two, If you
wish it, replied the good-natured fellow.
we can make it up by being later in
| h,,t n t,.1I haf
hand, sir, l must be at Nice this night at
latest
And what's your great hurry?'
Because, at ten o'clock tomorrow
morning, l am to take Nizzard family,
old customers of mine, to the Madonna
del Laghetto.'
and pray, what is this Madonna del
LaghettoY
The poor man stood trans6xed. Had
l told him was cannibal, that declara.
tion would have shocked him less than
my ignorance Of his madonna.
Bless my heart to know nothing Of
Nostra Signora del Laghetto!-a Madon
ma who has worked miracles by thousand:
and has shrine so famous all over the
world, that the showing of passports tc
and from France has to be suspended
during the week her fete lasts, to allow
of the free passage of pilgrims to itl'-
This was all said in high sharp tone o
distressed rcproach.
], These particulars, quite new to me
, and which / might no doubt have found
in Murray, had l not made point o
never having a handbook about me
would have proved new temptation a
another moment. AS it was, was to,
much taken up with gay Mentone, tn,
oleanders, and the attractive peasant
: women, to care much about the Madonn,
ldel Laghettc. So l returned TO th