Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-11
TEXAS GIRL ABROAD.
In Southern Itals--The woman
Country"-SoTentO and
Its Silks.
Capri-The Land in which 1t Seemed
Always Afternoon-HOwT iberius
and Father Neptune Made
The Famous Blue Grotto-A Trip Around the
Island-Magnifcent Rock scenery-An
Historic Cave Visited.
Special orresponsence Of the Gazette.

Special correspondence of the Gazette.
+ Ro4B, April T. = One fresh spring morn
Ing WEI woke to find the sun rising
over purple mountains, to see level
fields, their ploughed soil black with richness
grapevines trained on posts which were growing
trees, the dew drops hanging thick on the new
blades of wheat and the pink almond blossoms
and we realized that we were indeed in Italy,
''the woman country, wooed, not we'd
Through Capua, so fatally beautiful for Hanni-
BILE, but dirty and delapidated now; through
many little villages of square. stone houses
with their heavy verandahs rooted with stone.
their fres coed walls faded and softened to har-
monious colors; then Vesuvius himself come in
sight, dragging trail of smoke halt way around
drive through dirty streets with all
the shouting men and gay kerch1efed
women going to market with their veg
etable-laden donkeys, the fleets OF tattered
loafers drifting along in the sun, the herds OF
cows and goats being driven in to milk, and we
were of in the steamer for Sorrento: twas per-
feet day. but the sea had been getting the equi-
noctral storm off her hands few ds=s before
and her bosom was heaving like tnat OF an
emotional actress in the third act. HOW calm,
and steady, and infinitely restful seemed the
great cliffs of Sorrento as we came under their
shadow The zig gag lines upon the rocks de-
veloped suddenly into flights OF steps leading
edge of the bluff, and dozen little boats, each
bearing the name of a hotel, gathered around
us. We descended into one Labelled Hotel Lo-
relief, - were rowed along by the towering rocks
and were landed on s plank thrown out from the
bank under the hotel by the porter waiting to
receive US. From thence we walked up the per-
picturesque stairway, cut out of the face of the
cliff and emerged under the lemon and orange
Sorrento was the Latin sorrentum, and there
is legend that it was founded by Ulysses.
Tasso was born and lived here, his villa has
been submerged by a sinking of the land,
though by going out in q boat one can still see
the ruins beneath the water. We bought some
bright pebbles of small boy the other day,
which proved to be Mosaic stones OF lapuS
lazuli washed upon the shore, probably from
THE GREAT POETS HOUSE,
There are some fine excursions to be made
around here. but who cares for excursions at
Sorrento, or for Ulysses, or Tasso, or Roman re-
mainsl Sorrento itself perched on the edge of
the cliffs, with background of steep hills, is
the loveliest spot in the neighborhood, and one
wants nothing but to lie in the sun on the piazza
and look across the bay to Vesuvius and Naples,
wander through the narrow streets and buy
olive wood boxes inlaid with braight mosaics,
silk handkerchiefs and silk rugs. Everybody
who travels in Italy comes back laden with
these large rugs afghans of waste
silk. They are also made at Como. but
the Sorrento make is said to be better and
cheaper. One can find them now in the most
exquisite, artistic shades of heliotrope, old
rose. olive and terra Gotta and they are sold for
seven francs. A lady just arrived from New
York tells us that these rugs are sold by Arnold
g. Constable for $50. but do not authorize this
statement. Sorrento is a great place for the
kerchiefs, stockings, etc. One sees great piles
of striped bags of woven silks in the little shops
which are being constantly hauled over by lady
tourists; the salesman explains that they are
night caps, but the fancy is now for tourists to
draw them over the crowns of their panama hats
and let the long, tasseled end hang over at the
side. The shops full of inlaid olive wood things
are very attractive, too.
The walks about Sorrento are simply winding
against which you have to occasionally fatten
yourself in order to let a carriage pass. An
orange tree leaning over the cream colored
den on her head passing at distance, makes
them picturesque, but such scenes are more
agreeable in pictures, as smells cannot be
painted and dirt may be interesting when put
in oil colors. To get into the secret of
the beauty OF Sorrento, you must
coax the gardeners to let you in to the
places along on the bluff are owned by noble
men OF every country. Marion Crawford
has beautiful home here, but there
IS whisper afoat that he wants to sell 1t.
Where the garden walls round about corner
there is usually little shrine; that is, simply
cupboard in the wall with glass door, contain
q candle or a vase of flowers before it.
What siren sea this Mediterranean isl Did
say il was blue? AS look ct it now from the
hotel piazza it is clear green, shading darker
and darker toward its boundary of dim noun
tains. Vesuvius is hidden from me by group
OF olive trees, which hang over the edge of the
Cliff, the blue sky and green sea shining through
their grey-green branches. There is something
peculiarly restful about olive trees. Man
has associated peace for SO long with the tree,
that now the very leaves seem to
REFLECT BACK THE THOUGHT
upon him. There is soft stirring among the
in will fraa h,,{ A..
olive has more sturdiness, more articulation
that the willow, and it has awholesome, Clearly
presence. 1t grows in struggling. irregular
way with many knots and elbows, like most do
mesticated trees. Do the fig. the apple and the
olive trees take their crookedness from long and
close association with humanityT saw yen-
cradle olive tree whose bowed and wrinkled
trunk seemed like the body of an old man. The
olive is an unpretentious, humble, homeiy tree,
used to bending around the corners
Of houses to ,t drawing It's . nearish
lotted to it, TO shetering chickens and children,
TO patiently towering, and bearing, and yield
ing; rs soft, negative color IS particularly
eyes wander from bright sea, TO bright sky, to
shining, yellow alled oranFe trees and lemon
trees dripping with pa.e fruit, but they. always
Vesuvius was rather a disappointment. had
expected to see . dark-dyed william of nouns
tain, looking ready to swallow up the landsoals4
BUT he appears the most mild, the most
7miable OF mountains, and it seems natural
ahat men should love to build upon his gentlass3
inviting slopes. One little village has BEEN aeS4
stroyed eleven times, and each time the initifs-
Sants that were lsft returned to the fertile LpoL
o rebuild their houses. 1t is only at night that
Vesuvius shows mis- true colors; then when the |
bay is all silver with moonlight; when Naples |
and the line Of villages extending along the |
shore under the mountain shine white like the |
,ity of the blessed, then the baleful red light |
iares up from the crater; now almost extin- |
guished, now suddenly leaping up so high that |
Fou catch your breath for fear lest the red hott
oR. The light is not fire. but only the rf4se- |
lion of the burning lava within upon the slhoke |
Ind vspor rising from it:
One afternoon we set sail again and ssczk i
into a land in which it seemed always afels
loon.' Wonderful CapriI Corner Of the earth. |
No wonder Homer peopled it with sirens from |
If Capri heaps your lap with the gold of her /
ruit; she breathes upon you an Intoxicating |
wealth, soft and fresh; she folds you in arms o.
'unshine and you declare, 1--WE will not wander |
more. -
Capri is only three and one-half miles long. |
md its greatest breadth Is enc and one-haIf |
niles. In computing the measurements, how 1
,yer, one ought to give the height as WE'LL for il
trikes me that there is Aore of Capri on the i
than On the level. Cliffs from 900 l
o 1000 feet high fare mp at either end, while in l
he middle the island narrows to q slender /
waist, covered with gardens, which, bending /
lightly, forms the harbor. There are no piers. /
and stes.cers como no nearer than q 1
i've minutes row. 1t is the queerest.
WIDEST BIT OF EARTH
hat Mother Nature ever threw up from the boz /