The Portland daily press., 1870-03-30
DAILY PRESS.
ND.
Wednesday Morning, March 30, 1870.
Letter from Switzerland.
Over hit. Gents by R0Sl.
Thrilling Description.

GENEVA, February 1S, 1870.
MEssRs. EDIToRs,-I believe, a la cores
pondence, we parted company at Milan
Thence proceeded to Turin, which is fine
city of nearly 100000 inhabitants, and until
1865, was the capital Of lilly. 1t is situated
on the Po, here broad and noble river, a.
though it rises ION Mt. Visol scarcely half a
hundred miles distant
Turin claims an origin in the remote ages
before the Christian era. 1t was nearly de-
stroyed by Hannibal, 21S years B. C. and its
denizens have had hard work to preserve it
during the frequent tumultuous eras through
which it has passed since. The last occasion
when it suffered materially was in 17Oe, while
in possession of the French, when beleagured
by the Germans and their allies. Then most
of the older buildings were destroyed; but
possibly this was an advantage, for it was sub
seqne.Itly built up in modern style, with
broad, straight streets generally intersecting
each other at right angles. In this particular,
1t now contra0es strongly with Milan and Bo-
logna, where the streets are perfect labyrinths
and seem to have been laid out so as most ef-
fectively to puzzle the stranger. Indeed all
the ingenuity of modern engineering has not
been able to make correct plans of the last
named cities; at least, could find none that
were reliable!
In my last spoke cf the glass-covered gal
leries of Milan, as places where people could
60 shopping and air the fashions, in all
weathers. In Turin this desderatum is at
tanned in most of the principal streets, by pro.
jecting the second and subsequent stories o
the buildings over the first from fifteen tc
twenty feet, and supporting the walls or
arches. And here may add that similar ar
rangements for the same purpose have beer
resorted to in Venice, Bologna, and Other
cities; and generally along the "arcades", arr
to be found some of the finest of the stores.
Turin has three or four noteworthy pal
aces,-reference being had more particularly
to their int erior arrangements and numer
GUS monumental statues of the rulers, and The
great men with whose history it has been con.
nected. Then it has its picture gallery con.
tanning upwards of 500 paintings, mostly by
artists of note, its museum of antiquities, its
natural history cabinets, and its "armory", in
which are samples of the armour and weap-
ons used in warfare for the last five hundred
years-irom the suits of mail, battle axes
swords and spears considered necessary by
the ancient knights down to the most approved
instruments for killing, got up by modern In
genuity.
The churches Of Turin, mostly built after
the fervor of religious enthusiasm which at
one time characterized the od-world nations,
had subsided, are not very imposing; and
tourists are not expected to pay them partic-
ular heed.
The summit of the hill over the river,
crowned by the Capuchin Monastery, COM
mands fine views of the city, plains, river and
distant Alps, Monte Rosa being most promi-
nent.
From Turin I went to Susa, and thence
over the Mt. Gems Alpine pass into Switzer
land. The summit OF the pass is nearly a.
high as Mt. Washington yet it is surmount
ed by railroad, whose grades, in some places
are one foot in ten-equal to an angle of fif
teen degrees! The locomotive that climb
| these steep, with its burden of human freienl
IS constructed Of two engines, one Of wbicl
lsdrives horizontal wheels that press with grea
power against the sides of an elevated middl
rail; the other operates on another set, OF
levels, the same as those attached to ordinar,
engines. In descending, strong iron brakes
are made to clasp the central rail, by the full
force of the steam, if necessary, and so grea
is the friction thus produced, that the train
can be brought to halt on the steepest
grades!
Irode on the outside of the forward car
when permitted, on the engine. We ascend.
ed, by zigzag road-beds, the steepest acclivi-
ties, passed by sudden curves around lofty
cliffs, plunged through the widest ravines
and ran along the brink of precipices, at tht
bottom of which could occasionally catcl
glimpses of the mountain torrents writhin,
and foaming down their tortuous channels, o
| plunging into narrow chasms-a at so profoun,
a depth that their voices did not reach US
they seemed as silent as would have bee,
their photographs!
Meanwhile the higher scenery on eithe
hand, was equally wild and impressive. Gil
rose above cliff, alp upon alp, crag upon cras
in the most sub lime confusion-here aut
there crowned with dense forests, anon allow
ing only ioothold for eaunt pine, or two OF
three, advanced as it were as sentinels for the
great forest columns-again so riven and shat
tered that nothing but moss or lichen could
have clung to them and so intensely white
and glittering was the snow on the loftiel
peaks, that, in contrast, the cloudless blue ol
the sky above seemed of the deepest indigo
blue-black!
As we approached the summit of the pass,
the cold became intense; the water dripping
froze instantly, and the windows of the cars
were so deeply coated with frost as to prevent
those inside from witnessing the savage as.
poets of their surroundings
But on through all tusged the engine at 8
goodly speed; and deeply impressed as wa.
with the grandeur of the scenery, could no
help occasionally turning to admire the per
fectlon with which she performed her part C.
| the business, in the transit.
At the summit of the pass (besides two
passable inns) there is Hospice, which was
founded by Charlemagne, and much improy.
ed by Napoleon 1. 1t Is occupied by few
Benedictine monks, who entertain poor way
farers gratuitously, leaving those able, who
partake of their hospitality, to pay what they
they please.
Along the summit the road seemed qui. q
level for mile or more. But it was in de-
scending that the difficulties and dangers
overcome by our novel mode of trausporta-
ton were most apparent, and the sensation O.
insecurity most lively! Nov we shot to-
wards a gulf that appeared to be almost un-
fathomable, but at its very brink the rail.
smoothly turned us away; again we were de
scending long straight grade that seemed t.
butt against precipice, but doubled on ou
track at Its base as easily as good skate
would describe circle on the ice. The,
again the zigzags in the road were so abrup
that 1t seemed almost impossible to follow
them, yet, clinsing to the central rail, W,
whirled around them with less jar and dis
turbance than one feels in The ordinary leve
railroads! And often we could see the traoI 1
we were to reach by our sinuous course, hun.
dreds of feet below us-n some instances Ie.
peated two or three times.
Yet among the widest of these savage
soapas tbere were chaets cabins and hon,