The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-11
The Lakes Of Upper Italy.

". PPSi
They lie in the lap of the mountains
IKE n jewels dropped from the skv and
Nature has lavished her love and man
ms labor on the setting. By noliticai
geography they belong in mart to SUIT
erland; but if there be any force in the |
theory OF natural boundaries. the AIM
par her claim with tremendous cmnba.
SIS ana In climate, scenery, rcliGinn
CUSTOM and speech they are Italian. NJ
sooner does the traveller by the ST
Gothard Railway reach Locarno tLa
iirst station on Lago Magsiore. than he
lihdS another heaven and another earth
from those which vanished when he en-.
,erea the great tunnel, few hours ear
lier. The mountain peaks are sharper
ana more serrate, the curves and linden.
tallons OF the shore more delicate, the
outlines OF the landscape more finished
anu perfect the light is at once sof;e,
ana more splendid, the sky has deepe,
ana more tender blue, the yerdhrr i
richer and darker; the very weeds Give
the Wayslde the grace of a garden RIM
wlid. Already there are terraced vine
yards, to be seen, and vines trained over
a sort OF trellised arbor called pergola.
the supports of which are stoneooue
OF the most ancient modes of GROW
ing grapes in ltaly-and orange walks
hanging gardens, arcades of shrubbery
walls OF evergreen, stone stairways and
balustrades, pillars, vases and fountains
among the flower beds, different cul-
OVATION, a different style of gardening.
which adorns the humblest plot. Tie
cleaning towns upon the waters edoa
have irregular tiers of red-tiled roots.
broken by arched porticos in the attic
story, by slender Lombard bell-towers,
cupolas, long, blank palace-fronts-
different architecture. All this can be
seen from LocarnO, which is vet but a
poor place compared with the towns
lower down the lake. 1t is worth while
to stop there, though, to wash off the
dust OF the long Journey in great white
marble bath-tubs, of antique form, filled
! with cool, diamond clear water, and to
rest and attunc the spirit to a softer kew.
There IS a new hotel, a remarkably fine
building, with lofty hall of entrance.
from each end of which a marble stair
case leads to galleries with balusters,
| colonnades rising one above the other,
and intGrsecting long perspectives, like
the backgrounds of Paul Veronese's
banquet pictures-a Palladian interior,
every corridor ending in an arch draped
| with muslin embroidered in Oriental
| patterns, through which a mellow pic
turc OF lake and mountain is visible.
AT Locarno, moreover, there is the
| first glimpse of the art of Lombardy. in
which some of the towns on the smaller
| lakes are so rich. and which has adorned
the entire region with countless churches
and palaces. The front of the Chcsa
NuOva is by Tommaso Rodari. the fore
| most OF three brothers who have lrf
! their mark on the architectnre and
| sculpture OF the late fifteenth anal early
sixteenth centuries throughout North
ern Italy. In the pilgrimage church ct
| the Madonna del S:,Sso (:bur Ind, Of
| the Rock, half an hour a@'' aI.as
| the town, the mid !.u!'.H jn u,'.,,.t, T..
seen IN an aitar-piece by one of his fol-
! lowers. | trudged up to this sanctuary
one afternoon, to be rewarded by the
expedition itself beyond my expecta-
tions, which were not great. Two deep
| gorgcs bring down two noisy, demon
stratige brooks by so PERCEPTIONS path
that the water is ready to leap into cas-
cadcs at every step, until they unite
and seek the lake together Up the
strip of wooded rock between them,
which rises higher and higher, broad
eninG until it joins the mountain,
winds the way to the church. 1t
is very steep and laid in carbonate,
. pavement of cobble-stones crossed
by q curb at every few feet, much
like railway track, ballast and sleep
| ers, without rails, raised to an angle Of
seventy degrees from the level; the
curbs are about as far apart as cross
ties, and it is as hard to walk either
upon or between them. The pilgrimage
to the Madonna del Sasso should be
made by all but pcnnitents only after
the sun has set behind the western
mountains. 1t is y pretty walk,
although disligurcd by the stations of
the cross at short intervals; the way
farer passes out of the village under u
long, vine-wreathed pergola,. then over
Il bridge, then up the narrow hillside,
between the ravincs, to the foot of the
foundation walls of the building, and bv
a few more sharp twists to the solitary
little stone piazza from which he enters
the church X dates from miraculous
appearance of the Virgin four hundred
years a@o, but has few signs of its age:
within it is as freshly gilded, painted
and frcscocd rs q hotel dining room,
and is in SO far n surprise after the lone
" scramble beside the bed of the tor
rent. ! reached ii ut the hour of the
Ave Maria. The church was empty
save for a woman and two children
who were kneeling together, telling
their beads. There was q murmur Of
PRAYERS and responses uttered by two
invisible ministrants; the voices seemed
To come from behind the high altar, bu
priest or acUlyte there was none to be
seen The effect was SO mysterious al
that sunset hour that the renovated
church GREW venerable to the quickencr
sense of awe. After the last amen,
> while looking for the Luini scholars
painting, | came upon Il picture of Tho
; | f4iItOiliDIlH'Ills WIZ n VI SOlA'7ANi'A
4 beauty and religious feeling, by a Signol
Cerusi, of Florence, as my fcllow-wor.
shipper told me. A modern picture
from our Saviour's history, painted
with talent and skill, yet revercntly
and hidden in q side-chapcl OF this mac
ccssible and unvisitcd little church, wa
strange thing and worth coming t'
find. The view of the lake from the
steps is fine. and still better from ,
little pillared side-porch, which look
as if it were the Oldest part OF the build
inc, and overhanging the Landscape
like the parapct of a castle. The scene
was very lovely; the peaks were pale
rose-color, and d blush moisture, Ike
the DEVON dark grapes, rested upon tn
surface of the lake.-Attanttc Monthly
0 Impressions OF Amsterdam
< Now we entered Amsterdam, tC
which we had looked forward as tn