The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-04-21

Peace. In furiherance Of ihis gran"
s,l.,no he caused his tn .neeTs to con
tr,irt the magnificent road over the sim
n1.or. which ut the time to when we
ref.r. ouened the easiest way from
France through Switzerland io Northern
Italy. and by way Of lis lakes 10 the
,anital of nmbnuly II Is one OF ms
fo .t.prinfs across tie continent on That
n4fhwav t0 omnirc, which finally ended
Al the Arch of Peace 700 Milan.
We began the ascent ai Is \. VI, ahu
arrived af the summit at 3 J.. VI W hiie
IN. cumhr0us diligence crccps along ihe
weary WAY. passengers prefer 10 ~als'
bccan-c they can enjoy the uhioioih-
rllrir, oi the scenery 40 every iurn ol
F The road. Railways pierce the bases OF
fheso mountains now, and offer quicb
transit To people In a hurry, but we
shonld rather prefer the communion Win
the maics,ic and the sublime, though IT
heat The sacrifice of little time ana dc.
lay AZ halfmilc intervals We observed
small strongly built houses close to the
/ roadside. These were houses of refuge
. fr,n snoy-siorms and ayalanchcs in ihe
winter. there being little danger OF NEE
IN the summer only as We feached ING
+ fro of the pass D. there danger "1 d"
times from these. Napoleon had con
,lructed these huge galleries OF solid ma
srnrg strong enough t0 resist the aclioh
of snow and ice Under these the diii.
q, nee have 10 ego. Far above and around
extend vast fields of ice and snow, Whlch
are lo0sened underneath hy the warmth
/ o. the earth I'm midsummer, and the mere
Earring made by The passing of a heaFg
vehicle often causes them io slide suu-
denly down. sweeping everything before
them These cXpan,cs of Ice and snow
anpcar very fair under the light OF the
sun. but they are as ircacherous AS inc
tfreri I'm hi, lair. anil a- relentless as ihet
are irresistible We could trace iheii
destructive paths far down the Alpin,
g1rres. where rocks and forests had
been swept away and heapci up in
masses of mountain dflril The upper
surface Of Alpine glaciers is scarcely al
fofed by fhc beat of the MONDAY sln
the tmwiug done al that time is ~.
frozen during the succeeding night. IT
i- from underneath that these solid
sources Of the great rivers supply the
smaller streams with Cea-elc,s liic.
Arriyinrat thc llOspice. on thc summit
.of the mountain. wc lalf,d Tor icifc.h
ments and p short breathing season Ton
tuc horses. Here we found tAe tadiioma
monk and dog of ST. Bernard. once iht
useful cusi0dians of these mounlhin
ratcNav- through which travellers hlD
fo pass ln their tlme they faithfully
fulfilled the demands of humanity, ami
added much of the picturesque to the rug
lel dangers in which they rescued lo-'
travellers Now their occupation is gone
Science has bored holes -ubierranean
through which the unpoeuc man goes
Iv steam. power. rushing himself
through new dangers comfortably offset
hy accident policies And now We begin
tne descent 0f the mountain at e RAPID
nacc The heayily-loadcd vehicle h
whirlea round short curves and over
narrow deflc- down which thunder iu
mnImous manri- over plecinict'
and rocks of uDmca+urcd height \
sense OBJ discomfort and regret aegomps
mics aus in taking leave Ol the mountain
heights. particularly n- Nc know h"
SHAT Kind of reception awaits us ue
low Buf nr We're NOT long iH suspense
Tine Italian frontier B. reached and rf
roanlcl hy stone barrier and lh'
town. officials. in gr.en and gold ilfcfY
.yho now demand inspection off oor in-
rtre This done. $50 were soon on our way
ma ness diligence and under new au
spices How sudden i- the change. an'
b. l1w altered is everything. From tht
Teid regions of ihc rocks and tine Al
rt IffII ID
olive. tine grape. thr mulberry and ODD
. .Ilk-Wom Before u- lay hn-hine BID th'
evening sun thc lakes and plains oil
Italy and the brown hills beyond, ah'
.ill more Alps standing soiemni} hN
if the reader will take the foHhio 90
.tudy the maps of Northern Italy De
, sill better md rsiaud the country ihte
Nlichwe had now descended Nowhere
,p earth can there be- more beauty of ma
fufe associated with the graccs of art
fhe efforts of pocsy and painting have
NOT exapgerated the attractions of Obi.
enchanted region lt is % hand of lake,
and hills OF vines and fruits, and AL
, though about the latitude of Montreal
the semi-tr0pical vegetation gives eyi
dence of themiid and genial climate We
noticed the heavily laden grape vine.
chat are never pruncd. bearing biack and
white varieties of fruit q proiusion of
D. peaches and plums. fine crops of Indian
( corn Outhe hill sides stand sturdy oaks
I and che-tnuts. and the willow AMI maple
trees OrcharIso of mulberry trees. whose
. leaves furnish food for the silk worm
, extend along the road. whose ye'lo"
. margin Is licked by the gentle Wa}cs oI
the l.agO Magei0rc. the greaterOt all these
inland seas. We had time before night
! fall 90 admire the bright costumes OF The
people. who are fond OF tnc warmer co.
0r-. and the mider contrasts of blue
. red and yellow Al last we reached th'
Fl .illeEe of Aroma, where we entered The
courtyard of our picturesque hotel by an
archWay amid flowers and shrubhey
and trees Although the moonlight was
0n thr lake in our front, our journey
from Brigue over the Alps 20 Aroma di,
qualified us for anything but refresh
ment and rest
The next morning found us Visiting
fhc objects of interest in the town Chief
of these is the famous colossal statue of
ST. Charles. of Boromeo, In iron and
bronze 10 stands sixty feet in height
looking ont upon ihe lake A dozen
persons can sit boz it- head and look Oui
of its eyes 81 Charles was one or AN
old Italian noble family of immense
wesith Tie chose % forsake the world
and devote himself and his fortune o.
good works For this he WAS canonzer
aud this etiIgy erected 10 his memory
Ills sacred remains rest in n crysta
coffin ia the crypt of the Cathedral al
/ Milan, adorned with prcciOus stones and
Jewels. aud which may be seen by th'
cuuOu, upon the payment of small
piece OF money Half day at Aroma
was enough We were anxious 10 gel
upon the waters. So taking small steamer
we -o0n found ourselves ascending the
Lag0 MaggiOre.
ON our way to the village of Luino The
scenery here was past description We
afterwards visited the lake of CimO Dos
beautiful town and cathedral, summoned
90 onr aid all that Byron and the minor
poets aud the rhapsodists had said and
written about 10, but 90 our eye, it did
not compare with the marvellous beauty