The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-06-16
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yyes, France.

Ways DO an animsted ono, from the sisn ole
neaviog Of the waters, aud apart from The W.
tlous craft which are always IN view. From
wrote we had an expanse Of beautiful water
before as, eight miies across yet the grand
mountains beyond had the effect to shrink
gne broad lake to tho appearance Of q river.
here the blue water stretches away to the
horizon, and on the farthest outward verge
may always be dimly seen great ships-
eaaFss lying like patch Of summer cloud
on the ky. Coassing vessels, including
cleaners from Merseilies and Genoa, ply
the Intervening space. The bay Of Nyce
- terminated as each extremity by 4 pro-
montoEy surmounted by Lighthouse.
or ten niles distant. The light from die
point shines With . steady, planet like ray
On the midnight watsrs.s The eastern sape
10 much nearer, and It's revolving lieht
sands out bright flashes, with inservals Of
gloomy defkness. Just Within this cspe 10
e deep a1d narrow inaentatioa Of the eosss
forminE tho harbcr' Of vflAftsnca, mueh
One can hardly see these ahips passing Into
ths harbor, in front Of the lofty promon-
tory, without heing ,rsninded of Tenpy-
sons stsnza, beginuIpg ~ 70 Co. '.'''"'s'
~ sss: s. .:a,s ss 6 e &. s4,,
One Of the eesaaioeal sight. saaw.rd, for
which we often watch, II that Of Corsica,
one hundred miles away to the southeast.
Only at two honrs Of. the day does the
island ever come, into view, aud then only
when. everything favors its appearance.
Near, sunrise it. 10 sometimes seen with
wonderful distinctness, as If but a few
miles distant, an emerald gem in a setting
emily disappearing, not trace of it can be
made out until an hour or SO before sunset,
when it is seen far, far away, q ghost-like
line of cloud on, the horizon.
"a still greater glory of our Mediterranean
home views is that of the gorge rus sunsets
Ir may be that such sunsets as this sea
ererywhere affords may be beheld some,chert
else on the globe, yet am .sure i DOM
know where. The most memorable sunset
l ever witnessed was seen across the bay
of Naples, in returning to the city frou
Pompeii. And thought it was worthy o
being remembered as the whole day spen
in the wonderful exhumed city of the ole
Romans. Sach fiery masses of cloud q
were banked against the pure azure from
horizon to zenith The next most n,omora
ble sight of the kind was seen from tn
northeast corner of the Mediterranean
looking directly towards Tarsus, the birth
place of the Apostle Paul, and the Tauru
mountains beyond. The purple and gold
en- giOries seemed to me, as nearly as any
thing conceivable, like the gatewsys ant
battlements of the new Jerusalem. An,
but little inferior to these were the sunset
witnessed from Jaffa, from Carmel, ant
over Patmos. Well, very similar are GU
frequent sunsets here.
How these splendors are to be accounted
a for ! can only conjecture. Perhaps. iron
) the fact that the Mediterranean is we'll mig
= tideless, there may be q more rapid evapo
ration of its waters than 10 usual, and tn
greater amount of vapor in the air at sun
set may be the cause. OBs thing is certai
that just at the sunset hour here, there
o remarkable descent of moisture from tn
! upper regions, suddenly chilling the all
Physicians here insist on invalids being in
doors at sunset, even if they go out q
> hour or two afterwards.