The Portland daily press., 1886-06-30
St. Louis Globe Democrat.
OUR FOREIGN LETTER.
Especial correspondence of the PREss.]
nEcEpTO


DEsERTo.
We made pleasant excursion, this way
and that, up the vine-clad mountain to De-
serto, a monastery built in the sixteenth een-
fury. Since Italy entered upon its new Ca
reer, this monastery has been turned into
boys orphan asylum; and if others are de-
voted to similar purposes, such as libraries
and museums, we augur for Italy a golden
era, before which all the splendid pageantry
in her past records shall fade away. We are
aware this is objectionable heresy to the
devotees of ancient art and imperial gran
deur.
The good friar opened the school room
door and introduced us to his pupils. Twen-
ty-six little shavers sprang to their feet,
touched their foretops, jerked their heads,
and stood gaping and gazing at us every min
ute we stayed. We suppose, by the appli-
ances, and the monks preconceived notions
of education, that the instruction is not of
the broadcast type; but the reform is in the
right direction, and we must let patience
have her perfect work. We inspected the
vineyards which the boys cultivate and their
dormitories and barer walls or drearier
rooms we never saw before Well may the
unfortunate children in our orphanages, and
the sick in our hospitals sing, Hail, Column
bia, in their tasteful and homelike surround
ings. We were then ushered into the refec-
tory, wherein keeping with the ancestral
custom of monl1ish hospitality and doubtless,
too, as gentle reminder that gratuity was
expected-we were invited to partake of re-
freshment; oranges, cheese, the wine made
from their own vintage, and bread hard
enough to kill the sea-serpent, were spread
upon the bare board This time, it did not
hurt our feelings to contribute to the treas
ury, as we babe this Franciscan brother
goodbye; for we saw with our own eyes,
that practical charity was begun here; and
we hope its success will stimulate the gov
eminent to perseyere in this course.
If the beauties of natural scenery could in
spire these boys to become artists and poets,
then surely this monastery would turn out
Raphaels and Dantes by the dozen since we
have nowhere in our travels seen more
magnificent panorama than was spread out
beneath this height, on either side of the pc
ninsula. The buildings looked as sere and
seedy as the old monks themselves; but we
saw new material lying about and repairs
already begun. The old walls can be stiff
fened and rejuvenated, but this band of
brothers, who moved about the place with
slow and heavy tread, must soon pass away,
and leave their home to the custody of
freer people. We could butpity the old men,
who have chung so tenaciously to this inheri-
tance, when they saw the gates thrown wide
admitting young life and the civil
power to usurp the rights of their heri-
tage; for it is too much to expect of human
nature, if not of grace, for men nurtured in
their narrow sphere to look beyond their
own horizon to the broad fields of good for
the whole human family. Some hearts must
break, and some lives be marred, to carry
forward the great reform that has been ush-
cred in, With the hope of rescuing Italy from
despair and insignifcance among the nations
of the world.
In the evening a band of village musicians
dressed in ancient peasant costumes gave
us an entertainment. They brought violins,
mandolines, peculiar clappers, and one
unique Instruments tin pail with parch-
ment tied over the top, through which was
run rod; from this rude continuance they
wrung music by rubbing their hands up and
down the rod. They are apt imitators, as
well as sweet singers; they Knocked the dom
keys and sang comic songs, to the great
amusement of their listeners, who would not
be satisfied with less than two encores of the
Funicular, which is the rage at present all
over Italy. To close the concert they sang
God save the Queen and Yankee Doodle.
They rendered the latter so ridiculously in
their broken English that we did not blame
an Englishman, sitting by us, for taking the
opportunity to remind us of our poverty of
national poetic literature. by remarking in
the bland way and flat tones so characteris-
tic of English exquisites, "They have just
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