The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-07-31
IN CAPRI.

Ihlrly IN the heart OF Italy.
Do you know the CapTIan Ways?
They lie at an angle of thirty degrees,
are cobble stoned. and walled with
rocks Il at arc all green and waving
with ivies, maiden hair, terms and moss
es. As you ascend you think the end
of the way must rest on the upper
edge Of the moon. Every few curves
you meet n roguish-eyed girl with a
smile that conyinces you the Isle is be-
witched, and the girl will murmur cour-
age to you, then shyly pOise her palm
for n sou. After the town, which is,
perhaps, four hundred feet above the
sea, the ways become wilder as they
climb to the weird, isolated tower which
Liberius builded as a retreat for the
holding of his orgies because it was as
secure and inaccessible as Gibraltar on
its terrible heights.
Presently we came upon group of
boys playing with live birds that were
fastened by cords wound round their
wings. These the gay torturers offered
TO release if we would give them n sou.
The artist told me that few days be-
fore a beautiful Caprian girl who was
sitting to him as model had bird
made fast TO her belt, and that the cap
tive would fly out to be pulled back for
her sport. Every Often he said, the
big girls catch birds aud lizards for the
babies to play with and they amuse
themselves by pOking out their toys
eyes and disiOintiny their wings"
In the crumbling watch tower on the
dizzy heights, an old woman sang to
the castanets, aud her dark, bony
fingers thrummed a grOtesque tambOu-
rihe. Thea a fantastic group of young
men and maidens danced the far-famed
tarantella, while a toOthless withered
bag sang cracked songs, shrilly, on the
cliff that dropped 800 feet to the sea.
On another wind-swept height was
monastery in which young monk lived
alone. He blessed us rs we departed,
lifting his small round cap. He was
fine looking, and not old enough to have
been stated by the worlds glOries. Yet
he smiled with a gentle peace in his
Southern eyes that moved us more than
many protestations, as we felt the wind
about his desolate height. Looking
back again and again we caught his
dark eyes following us and his hands
Outstretched as if in benedictiOn. Shall
/ sometime show you the red, red roses
he gave us?
We saw the steamer coming from
Naples and turned our steeds about to
descend TO the beach.
At Sorrento and at Capri there is no
proper deep landing place. You must
take a skiff and be rowed out to the
steamer. The strand is shelving, pos
sibly because Nature intended travellers
to fully appreciate the beauty of the
pebbly, shelled beach; but more prob
ably because she is SO favorable to each
of her sons schemes for gaining an
honest, or dishonest franc from a for
eigner. In the skiff the oarsman has
you ut his mercy.
There had been high gale the day
before and the sea was so high we
feared the skiffs must decline taking us
to the grotto, for besides the current
that is so strong around Capri, the On
trance to the Blue Cave is so small that
only at low tide is there any opening,
and now the sea dashed quite over
every eighth wave.
1t was wildly grand, with the sun on
the pillows and the mems hats off to
prevent their being lost by the grazing
of the taut ropes that attached each
skill to the vessels stern. One must
go almost around the island TO reach
the Grotto, aud then the steamer
anchors outside while the men lower
their oars and grasp the rocks overhead.
We lay fiat in the boats bottom,
covered our heads, held our
breath and waited. IL was sub
timely dangerous. The two oarsmen,
alert and watchful, hurled us in, and
right tiercely the sea dashed in after us,
striking itself into foam far above and
against the cliffs overhead
Inside the sea was n miracle of color.
/ had always fau3ied that the rare
Mediterranean blue was caught from
the rare Italian sky, but here there was
no sky and even the daylight had to re-
q - l.
blue was unearthly. There is nothing
like it on the globe. | think it is the
sapphires that gem the great white
throne, sent straight from Heaven.
A slim 10y dove into the deep blue
that seems transparent for miles, and
was Immediately transformed into q
knight of glistening silver armor. The
oars were marvels of sheeny blue; oui
hands, when dipped, became coated in
cleaning mail. The walls of the en-.
chanted cave were also liquid blue.
Tho dashing out INTO sunshine again
was quite as exciting as the plunge in
and then our gallant oarsmen, whom
we had idealized as true Italian
cavaliers. dragged us down from th6
clouds and dragged our dreams into the
dust by slavishly pleading for sou in
consideration of their great attention
to us, aud when we basely claimed L
not understand thoy murmured MAC
Caroni. maccaroni. Signore" And be-
cause we still affected a perpleNed incom
prehension the terrible creatures act
ually illustrated how it was eaten, wag-
cling their mouths in dream-jOy on the
sublime seal
On the steamer was man with 3
violin and one with q guitar. These
two kept us in sereuades while another
boy sang, danced and clapped his
hands There was also a thin, sea sick
fraulein and two soulless American
newspaper correspondents, beside;
weli-bred people from every land, and
the man with coralS, olive wood, tor
toise shells, silks and canes. We rec
OgnIzed the pirate. Coming out L
Capri he had wiled us into paying three
times what we afterward found curals
TO be worth, and yet we could
not be veNed at him, he wa:
so reckless and jolly a rogue.
He would hold his bunch of sense
less canes before YOU while YoIT eyes
never once turned from the cliffs of Ca
pri, speaking softly and swiftly and
persuasively five words of every Ian,
guage under the sun, and those five SUI
perlatives of praises of his wares, actu-
ally insisting upon a mans buying
third stan, or a Young and undetendeC
damsel taking one, two. three-half {
dozen for her brother or father or lover
or cousin, five thousand miles away!
IT'S said Capri is enchanted--anC
dare we doubt il?
Cast up by volcanic forces through
the blue sea il has all the fire of the
former and all the strange, seductive
repose of the latter, as heritage. 1t Is