Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-10-08
TRAVEL IN EUROPE.

Geneva, to friend in this city, contains
much that our readers will find both in
teresting and instructive:
GENEVA, 1873
My DEAR My last was written
from Hungary. Since then 1 have been
through Northern Italy and acrosJ the
Alps to this point, and in this letter will
give YOU some of the scenes and incidents
of a ''wanderer,n through which l have
passed since my last
Leaving Pesth and travelling in the direc-
ton of Venice stopped at Adelsberg, and
examined what is said to be the
MOST WONDERFUL CAVERN
so far discovered in the world. II is the
largest cave here and the one most visited
and was known in the middle ages, and
mentioned by writers. An earthquake
closed up the entrance, and in time it was
forgotten. In 1916 another entrance was
discovered, and the cave was then prepar-
ed for visitors by building bridges, walk
ways-a tram Railroads.&c. that you can
now travel for miles underground, either
on foot over good road or in hand car
pushed by men. Into this cavern the rlv-
er Polk disappears and comes again to the
surface miles away where they call 1t by
another name.
With our overcoats on, and by the
LIGHT OF EIGHT HUNDRED CANDLES,
our party wandered for two and half
hours, enjoying the enchanting vision of
beautiful stalactites in "Hall,n T'Terrace,"
"Grotto,n and saloon" 1t requires no
great stretch of the Imagination to find
vases, statutory, columns, monuments,
ruins, etc., scattered in confusion around
you, cleaning white, and seen in the
large rooms by light just sufficiently UNI
certain to highten the delusion. Feeling
that while our Maker bent the blue heaven
above us, sparkling in beauty, and spread
out the green valleys, and heaped up the
rugged mountains upon the surface of our
planet, bright with the foliage, flowers,
lakes ana rivers-that within the bosom
of the earth He has also created strange,
wonderful, and beautiful things when we
can find way into them l left Adelsburg
and started for the Adriatic and Venice.
But stop! an incident occurred at the
Italian village of Udine that l must men-
ton.
MARK TWAIN, IN HIS "INNoCENTs
ABROAD"
SAYS something on the same subject.
If 1 could remember what it
is / think 1 would quote him, for 1 know
L "can not do the subject justice" / had
Just got into comfortable sleep in these
uncomfortable cars mo sleeping cars in
this country when 1 found half dozen
BRIGAND LOOKING ITALIAN OFFICIALS
OF some kind pulling at me and insisting
in a language / scarcely understood a word
of that l must get out and go into the |
depot Finding that did not understand |
them they were prOfuse in gestures, each !
making a different kind, which only adj |
ded TO the confusion. l showed them my |
ticket, and told them was ticketed through |
TO Venice, that l had inquired and knew |
there was no change of cars, and was not |
going to get out, &c. They returned again |
in few minutes with increased numbers |
and excited gestures and, L could not tell |
what. L began to get tired.of this, and be- |
ing a man of gentle words, L ventured |
10 quote an expression from
MY FRIEND, WILL RULE,
And mildly suggested that they Ego to |
thunder" while l went TO Nenice-tbat l |
had paid my way and there l would go. |
Just then one of the brigands, officers Il |
mean said Baggage, Monsieur, baggage"
light broke in on me. My baggage was |
again to run the Custom House gauntlet. |
81 hunting up my keys and stating en-
phatically that A. NJ. was not the most |
convenient hour for passengers to havs |
their baggage examined, 1 accompanied |
the platoon of officials to the room in the |
depot, where found they had assembled |
the entire passenger list of our train. |
had no sooner entered than the door |
closed, they had been waiting for me- |
and L found the room SADLY needed ven
IllallO0. III llODeul neaTu all arOuuu |
the room repetition of the
sSUFFING, sNEEZING, AND sNoRTING |
Which you would hear in well filled |
livery Stable where they had "horse |
diseasen and had it bad, this with an odor, |
a combination of vile odors, a compound |
of all the villainous smells and stinks that |
Italian ingenuity could invent, convinc- |
ed me that / was experiencing the pleas !
ure and luxury ofan Italian "ftaaligdtiOn." |
They were soaking cholera and yellow |
fever out of us and our clothing with these !
Infamous drugs, which now got stronger
and stronger until
ONE AMERICAN LADY PAINTED.
Then the doors were opened and we were
permittedto depart in peace to visit the
swamps and malaria breeding lagOOns of
their blessed country under an August sun.
L shall not hereafter fear a Chinese battle, |
but can say with all the earnestness and
fervor, from the ingenuity and peril OF
an Italian fumigation, Good Lord de-
liver us.n
Nothing more occurred until the railroad
man hung out "Veniz." The question
may well be asked in Europe, WHATS in
a Nance" Let me illustrate: Venice is
not Venice when you get to it, but Vine
dig, NeniZ and Venise. Antwerp Is An
vers and Antwerpen. Vienna Is Wien and
Wien. Munich is Mirenchen, DC. But
/ can understand these better than I can
the names given to things. For instance,
favorite German wine is "Liebfrauen-
I'LL. II a.