, 1890-05-22

I - =.
fcudal arlstocrncy, foudal noblemen,
the fcudal ecclcslastic beneHces, and
tho still almost feudal government,
own, and aru determined mover to
rellnquish, every square inch OF
Italian soll tho sun OF heaven shines
on. No land would he sold TO the
pcasantry, ON any terms. This Is an
unwrittcn but inexorable law.
Werc II possible for any single peas
mt, or any combination OF peas
ants, TO ever secure sufficient
means To purchase q tract of
land, a score of combina-
lions on the part OF titled arlstocratic
or ecclcsIastic landholders would he
ready to purchase ut amy price, TO
keep It out OF tho lowIy man 's
hands. Why, there Ii oven no
equivalent In the Italian Language
for the word farm. Tho dlctionar-
les define farm us ''aiiitto,v "alloga-
riento,n villa,v etc. The very cs-
sence Of the first two Of these words
IL something fixed, fastened, re-
tnined, but hired out A score of
times have endeavorcd to make
italian peasants understand that
there were portions of Gods green
eurth, including America, where
even such as they could absolutely
own, solely possess, irrevocably
hold, the home above them and the
soil on which II stood. Their lips
parted; drawn, sad smile came in
70 their pafchment-lIke faces: aud
their eyes rolled upward expressive
OF the hopclessness of their effort at
comprehension. The black men of
the South, twenty-five years before
the war, wcrc clearer on SOCIOLOGY
than these. The serfs of Hannibal,
the helots of tho oldeu Celtic septs,
had quicker, keencr spirit of men,
and more of the virile blood which
demands and commonds possession.
Again, were not these absolutely
rpmorseless combinations of landed
capital an insurmountable bar to
tho requirement OF any portion of
the soil by the lowjy italian rus
tico, his condition would still be
equally as hopeless. No human
being who labors I'm the fields of
Italy could by sny manner of dep
rivation approaching starvation,
of his entire natural life 10 purchase
w hftCItiI
lay the bones of his own family.
provides I'm the Campo Santo OF
every village, town and city a hole
for the bones and quIcklime 10 con-
sulie them; because,. i presume. the
government, the church and all
manner Of iand-holding task-mas-
ters have kept him In such an
><-naI,tx. .A1 MI no ,t.,s a.
condition Of poverty that this sort
OF AN equivalent is regarded as
kindly, as well as u hygenic, meas
ure OF final Justice. One Italian
soldo is equal to one-iifth Of an
American cont. Throughout all
southern Italy the wages os sbcp-
herds, cartmen, vine-dressers,
grape-gatherers, ploughmen and
every manner OF laboring country
man, average 80 soldl, or 10 cents
per day. Out Of this 10 cents per
day, which is not securable Tor
more than half the days OF the year,
the italian rustico pays the rent of
his capanna or hovel, feeds and
clothes his family, pays all manner
Of outrageous petty imposizione or
taxation and, aggrcgatively, muni-
ficently supports his church with an
unsurpassed devotion and loyalty.
The difference between the peas
nntry of Ireland and of Italy Is this:
The Irish are n superior race de
spoiled of glorious originally-pos-
sessed hereditaments, writliing
under sodden, implacable, unre-
dressed wrong. italian pcasantry
were never else than serfs and,
whatever exceptional individual
heart-burning may be, as class are
incapable of rcsouting the loss
OF conditions and heritage of
which they have never been de-
priyed. A Masaniello or u Garibaldi,
fired by gleumings. of the outcl
worlds reiiexive intelligence, may
every two or three centuries, riso
from among fishermen, sailors, or
city lazzaroni, and cavort about for
time as ''liberat0r;" but these poor
cattle upon two legs, l have come to
know, have ever stood and Will ever
stand still In their Italian fields and
hovei-mangers, and with radiant,
grately eyes lick the bands which
dolo them husks--the only fruit Of
their labors they were allowed TO
know. All Southern Italy Is
ELECTROMAGNETIC PASTORAL
In landscape aud character of hus-
bandry; aud outside a few Of the
coast cities the entire population are
practically peasant laborers, shcp-
herds, vineyard laborers and work
ers In the fields. The olive, orange,
grape and date-palm are cultivated
everywhere ut the edges of villages,
and. ON sunny mountain slopes; but
the larger portion of the land
is employed In the growing of
small grains and corn. l have yet
to discover, save In the North,
where the landscape partakes Of
Alpine diversity and ruggednesss,
those splendid and poetical combi-
nations with which so many word
painting enthusiasts seem impressed.
In detail II Is no where 30 enjoyable
as that of old England, New En-
GLAND or any of thousand locali-
ties we know In our own loved land.
Here and there, rs In Spain, are
little spots of surprising loveliness;
but still, as In Spain, the general
cafe OF the country hints of sadness
and dreariness; impels feeling that
Is worn out, burned out, lived out;
forces "A consciousness that the sun
has eaten it's heart away, and one is
pursued by a brooding, ominous, in
detinable conviction that, with the
eternal fires beneath and the ever
blazing sun above, that the arid
crust must shortly give out, and
with A the vacuous life of the in