The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1878-09-07
CONTINUED on FOURTH FACE.

Till the curtain rang down ON the last day
of October
Ny preparations were brief. Gubbs was
not troubled with much baggage; neither
was |. ii is true,I had started life IN Paris
few short months before, with a respect
able stock of collars, handkerchief, socks,
shirts, aud such small gear, but the fraud
ulent returns of the average French ban-
chsseuse had gradually Slapped the foun-
dation of my supplies, So that what was
once considered respectable stufing for
moderate sized valise, was now easily dis
posed of in the pockets of my oyercoat, in
addition to small parcel improvised in the
crown of my hat.
Shaking the dust of the Exposition from
my feet, and commencing my foreign cor
respondents to the care of the good angels
that is, if the good angels ever have any
thing To do with "Our Own Cores
pondent u jumped on the early train,
and started for Switzerland. Funtainebleau
lay in my way, SO Gubbs and got of. /
was disappointed. The appearance OF this
celebrated palace, seen from the outside. is
anything but impressive. Il has dirty,
neglected sort of air, like place that had
been abandoned 10 the bats aud the owls.
Once inside, everything Is changed. The
rooms are furnished with lavish maguiti
ceucc that the eyes ache 10 look at. Gold.
silks velyets, freScoes, tapestries, paint
ings, carvings, statuary, mosaics, and costly
articles of reriU and ornament are around
you everywhere. They are beautiful, very
beautiful; and yet these things were gath
cred together to feed the ostentatious
pomp and vanity of a single man, and they
were wrung from the toll, and the sweat,
and tears, and the blood of millions and
millions of men and women and children,
through ages aud ages untold. The wick
ed extravaganza of the past told the cause
of the terrible Revolution: and II was with
feeling Of relief, that the progress of the
age had made a recurrence of tins thing
impossible, that | turned my back on the
palace of Fontaiuebleau, and proceeded on
my way to the hills.
High noon brought us to the fine old city
OF Dion, where a halt was made for dinner
If | ever heard anything in my lie, |
distinctly heard the guard sing out: " Forty
minutes for refreshments Il is true,
it was not in mother vernacular, but III
substance II was plain a pike staff Now
forty minutes is more than usually allow
myself under the most favorable crcum.
stances so | sat down to that restaurant
table and called for my Bologny and
Schweizer with a feeling of beatitude
rarely experienced by travellers in foreign
lands. Several whistles blew, number Of
bells rang, but quickly consulted my reg
ulator, and went for my Bologny. 1t was
excellent. The donkey Of which this was
compounded, | reflected, must have perish
ed in his youth. The Schwcizer, too, was
much above the average; and finally pull
ing cigar from my pocket, lay back in
my chair with feeling of bliss which made
me imagine Paradise was not far oil For
the first time noticed that there was an
air of unearthly quiet on the inside of the
depot. ! looked out-every car had de-
parted. | bounced from the table like al
india-rubber ball and rushed out, when
was seized by an officer who desired TO
know whether Monsieur was going To
SchweizeIkaSe. shouted "No, Swift
zerlaud.' struggling 10 get away, when |
discovered that the train had been gone
half an hour. My ovcrcoat was gone, one
boot. my hat, four collars, an indefinite
number of handkerchief a traveller 5
guide, and several other valuablcs The
telegraph was called into Tequisit ION
There was no other train for twelve hours:
so calmly resigniug myself to my fate,
started to take lock ut Dion. The
buildings were old and quaint, many Of
them, along the principal streets, dating
back hundreds and hundreds of years It
has its triumphal arch, too, erected long
before the oldest triumphal arch Of Paris
and around the town are as lovely drives as
can be found in any city in France. Near
the outskirts of Dion is beautiful moIu-
ment, erected to mark the spot where a
devoted little band of French soldiers made
their last desperate stand against the ad-
vance of the victorious Prussians. 1t
oners were taken, they all fell fighting TO
the last; and 10 this Thermopylc OF Dion
the citizens come on the sweet Summer
evenings 10 tell the proud story OF her
sons 10 the passing stranger, Who if they
could not save their country from the
invader, al least knew how to die for her.
Three o'clock in the morning brought
another train; ard Just as the shadows OF
night were falling, ! found myself entering
Geneva. The scenery by the way had been
surprisingly grand, some of the mountain
gorges being magnificent beyond descrip-
ton. The day was stormy, and heavy
masses of clouds lay on the SUBMITS OF the
mountains. Occasionally clap of thunder
would seem 10 shake the very earth, aud
it would roll and revcrberate away in the
distant mountains, till the sound was lost
in 4 sort of 4 hollow moan, miles and
IS4sb" Wy aEtl- DtSlttS
my fiieud Gubbs, was "a comfortable locking
Dutchwoman, who had made some slight
proficiency in foreign tongues, and was de-
termined not 10 hide her light under a buSacl
At one point We passed wild cleft in the
mountains, through which foamiuL tor
rent roared and sect he'd. and finally re-
leased itself from captivity 10y a desperate
leap into the valley below As we dashed
by 1t | held my breath: there was some
thing almossawlul in the scene and its sur
roundiugs. Even Gubbs, whose mouth
was seldom shut, was hushed into moment
AIRY silence, when my Dutch friend, whom
/ had quite forgotten. gave me poke in
the ribs with the eud Of her blue cotton
umbrella. exc!aImiHg at the same time, in
avoice like Il cracked bassoon-'' say YOU.
Misther, don't you dort dot dot vas pooiy9''
Just at that moment, when | was rejecting
on the probable consequences of murder
ing Dutch woman, i terrific clap of thun-
Ger came to my relief, and INDUCED in
the FAINT hope that some vagrant bolt might
strike her. BY this time we had reached
wild pass, where beeling ellis lowered
over us thousands of feet. At one point a
huge mass of rock hung almost suspended
III the air, and it looked as though the hand
of an infant could have launched it on the
valley below. | was looking up in wonder,
ana Eaa almost forgotten my late villain
ous interruption, when she broke in again,
giving me another dig in the ribs with the
point of that blue cotton umbrella"
say, Meester' don't you bort dot dem vos
poody sthoues oop dare? WAS choking.
The magnificent description which had
been preparing of the Swiss Alps was
knocked into several cooked hats. and now
the presumption is tina; PosterIiy viii never
know what would have said If it had not
been for that horrible Dutchwomau
Geneva with its history of heroic sacri-
lice, OF bitter persecution and bigotry, its
philosophy, its science and art, is not a par
ticularly inviting place to look at. Lake
I.cman and the surroundings are beautiful.
the city IS nothing. The day had been 4
trying one. had been fortunate enough
TO recover my baggage intact: and looking
out on the beautiful lake, ! soon sank into
an uneasy sleep. 1t was not long, however.
before was startled by most uncarthly
sound, aud thought recognized the
voice of BROTHER. \ band OF over one
hundred douktys WAS ranged along the