New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1890-11-19
THE HARBOR MANIAC.

L
Translated for the Wisconsin from the French
of Hector France.
Land! Land!
First an indistinct line floating like
Il thread of mist 'twixt the blue Of
heaven and the blue of the sea: then
undulating outlines more and more
defined, standing out in ever holder
relief; then the horizon rises up be-
fore the eyes, Jagged, uneven. Every
where before us, land! The noun
tain-chain Of the Star towers ma
iestically aloft. The great white
cliffs and the dark gashes in therock,
and the wide green expanses, start
out; then the outjutting point Of the
Eagle hiding the oldport, theislands
of Rion, the Palm Island and the
Croisette Cape. The entire oasct
comes out Of the sea, abrupt and
wild with it's gorges and sharp,
broken contours, washed in warm
tones of red, ond yellow, and gray.
Vessels of all shapes and sizes, from
the bark with it's lateen sail to the
three-masted man-o1-war, cross the
harbor in every direction, and from
their post on the quarterback the
captains salute each other.
Now appear the quai, the palaces
on both sides Of it and the match
less cafes Of the Canebiere, and pref
ty girls in light dresses, dark Prov
ence maidens, noisy groups ofsailors,
a motley crowd Of Arabs, Maltese,
Persians, Chinese, Greeks. The East
of past ages and the East Of modern
days mingle with Western types; all
sorts of costumes all sorts ofidioms,
greet the eye and ear; the sun pours
into shop windows, the sound
singing comes from drinking saloons;
monkeys dance to the wall OF hand
organs; there is confusion, there is
hurry, there is a flaring of the bright
colors; it is a scene that passes be-
fore one like the panorama of a fairy
spectacle. Stop!
The gang-planks have been lower
ed, and officers, tourists, merchants,
hasten down them. The troopers
follow, zouaves, chasseurs, spahis,
turcos, fantassins, artillerymen, hus-
sards-each with his luggage, con-
sisting Of a canvas bag leather
valise, a box, or quite simply a hand
kercbief containing all the owners
worldly possessions-deGle one after
the other. They stamp, stretch their
legs, happy in that they touch their
native soil again; happy especially in
the thought that perhaps that very
night they will see once more the
belfry oftheir village, and the famil-
lar hearth where many q time and
oft dear group has sat talking of
the absent one. All! the joy Of this
return after long years! at is he!
There he is!'' And the first run for
wal d is the old mother, all trembling,
more impatient and happier than all
others-happier and more impatient
even than the blushing betrothed;
Tor of all she it is whose blushing be-
trothed, for Of all she it is whose
love is freest from calculation or in
terest. The son she presses to her
heart may have grown forgettul and
an migrate; poor, crippled, aged,
changed, Wasted-by fevers, eaten up
by vice. he is still her child, always
her child. ..~
''Soldier, a nice hand-glass?'
ga case for your pipe?''
ga tobacco pouch, sir zouave?''
SSAren't you going to take away a
little souvenir from Marseilles, hand
! some chasseur?"
:, Thus peddlers, and young girls
with provocative pupils, urging their
wares. And a great host OF greedy
innkeepers, of rapacious keepers OF
dives, hold out their cards, yell out
in a. hoarse voice their name and ad-
dress.
"Cafe des zouaves, ten minutes
Walk
'.Mine is Just opposite here! Mod
crate prices.
"Don'tgo to them, soldier! They'll
poison you'll
"Get out, thief! No one ever left
your hole without the colic!o
Get out, you! Your patties are
made Of dead cats meat!''
"And you make yours out of the