Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-03-09

A Canal on a Stone Bed 133 Feet High.
 King Rene's Castle on the Rocks Beside
 tho Rhone-Bustling Streets of Marseilles.
 A Cosmopolitan Population.
 That parto the ancient provence which is now called Les Bouches du Rhone is a flat and barren estuary of that river, and very desolate in appearance. The neighborhood of Nismes resembles the Roman campagna, uninhabited, dry and waste, with small olive trees alone re- ieving the monotony, although projects are on foot for irrigating the country as far as the Ages Mortes, or dead farms. But little further south the real desert begins, and a more repellant section of country 1 never saw, unless it were in Arizona. The soil seems to consist of mortar, and the broken rocks that jut from it resemble masses of ruined ma sorry. Scrubby bushes and sage brush scarcely enliven the scene, and you wonder who can live in the occasional gray stone houses.
 Across these desolate plains the inde- fatigable Romans built aqueducts to con vey water from the occasional whole some springs to their various colonies, and traces of these waterways are found in all directions. The principal one was twenty-five miles long, constructed prob ably by Agrippa, the general of Angus tus, in order to bring water to Nismes Ruined arches of this aqueduct remain here and there along it's course, but one portion exists entire, and is, perhaps, the noblest Roman structure fh the world. IL is called the Pont du Gard, extending across the rocky valley through which flows the little river Gardon, about if we visited it, taking the railroad as far as Remoulins, and then walking two miles across the quiet, desolate campagna, scarcely seeing a living being by our way The road, however, was perfect, as all the highways are in France hard, smooth and white across the gray plain.
 MAGNIFICENT RUINED ARCHES. | As we approached the river the pros pect was varied by low hills and yellow aspen groves, and suddenly appeared be- | fore us across the valley we were de- | scending Q gigantic screen of arches, one | above another. We drew near to it with actual feelings ofsawe; 1t scarcely seemed a work of mortal hands, but rather as if built for eternity by the old gods who ] ruled the earth of yore.
 The Pont has three tiers of arches, the | whole being GAO feet long and l38 high. | The lowest row, where the river passes below it, consists of six arches, the next one of eleven of the same size, while above these is row of thirty-fve small arches, on top of which is laid the water way, a canal 6 feet wide and of about the same depth. This passage again is covered with slabs of stone and was for merly used by foot passengers when crossing the river, but in the beginning of the last century Q aabridge was added to the lower part of the structure. The blocks of stone Of which the whole Is composed arc about five feet in length :. and two in depth, and ere laid entirely without cement.
 We only passed few hours at Taras- con, threading our way among the old l Notifications and narrow, lofty streets as if going through the passages in gran ite quarry, until we came to King Rene's lhcastle, standing on a rock beside the Rhone. The castle, partly ruined, is square and of stately height, but with no claim to grace or beauty of architec- ture except fine machiolated cornice tue towers being half buried in the walls above which they do not rise, like the ! IlcluTS ever, is broad and imposing at this part of it's career, and so smooth that every stone was reflected from its bosom; and we were glad that the good king had a pleasanter prospect than that of his gray little capital, and that the maidens oi his court as they peeped from the slitted windows of their bowers could see the ships go by, and perhaps drop a rose now and then to some serenader ill a boat Certainly all the charms of music anC romance would be needed to make sucE dwelling place desirable.
 LIFE IN THE STREETS.
 At Marseilles we have come into the midst of southern climate and southern outdoor life. Houses for any other thar sleeping purposes seem suddenly to be a1 a discount, and you can freely watcl the daily life of the people as you wall through the crowded streets. Here women are sitting in rows on benche! knitting or mending garments with theil children round their feet; there they art roasting coffee or chestnuts or frying fish or doughnuts over little charcoa fires. Men squat or the pavement re pairing fishing nets. cobbling or weaving great baskets out of Manila rope-verJ useful articles apparently, from theil hexibility and strength. Both sexes art engaged in selling everything that car be sold-the women who offer yol
 flowers doing so often from pretty stall exactly like booths in a fancy fair
 while bargaining, wrangling, chatting and singing go on vociferously all day and almost all night.
 The most lively part of the city lie
 around the port and the docks, and 1 stroll in that neighborhood would giv' you a very good idea of the carniva anywhere else. The old port, so called
 Is generally crowded with shipping, al though it can contain 1 200 vessels a
 once, and as it is the center of Mediter
 ranean trade all nations and language
 are represented in it's waters and on it
 wharves. Here you see the handsom Greeks and Albanians, the vivaciou
 Italians, the burly Africans, Moors ana Arabs in3 white burnoose, Lascars il loose red trousers and scarlet fez, whil now and then neat Englishman pushe his way impatiently through the crowd
 Meanwhile the noise is indescribable, tn din being increased by the screams o multitudes of parrots, one of these bird
 seeming to hang in it's cage from ever, window. There is no sailors wife so poo that she cannot afford parrot. Thes
 birds, which are brought over iron
 Tunis, show much greater variety o color than those we see at home, wher only the most teachable kinds ar
 selected; but here you see specimens of tn most vivid rainbow hues-green, crim son, blue, yellow-as gay collection a tulip bed can offer, and all saluting yo1 in the most outlandish languages , San Francisco Chronicle.
 It is said that an American syndicate ! with capital of $50,000,000, has beel
 formed to construct railroad in Siberia
 and that several former and presen American diplomatic and consular agent