Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-27
TEXAS GIRL ABROAD.
Marseilles and Its Sunshine-Lyons and
Its Steep, Lane-like Streets.
Stop at Cannes, Monte Carlo, MentOne and
Other Resorts Along the French Ri
vIera-VIsIt to the Casino.

Special Correspondence of the Gazette.
MONTE CARLO, March 20.-The sun set last
| night on brown fields and bare trees and this
morning it is shining almond blossoms and
| green grass and daisies and dandelions. And
such enchanting, clarifying, irradisting
shine as 1t is! We came out in the full glory of
it this morning at Marseilles, and the dirty
quays, the dirty sails, the dirty, happy throng
of fish men and wives, the dirty sailors lOung
ing around and drinking wine at innumerable
dirty little tables on the dirty sidewalk, made
an enchanting scene under that intensity of blue
sky and that sun! The old port was fiutter OF
snOwy-winged boats in that sun; the red-sh irted
sailors, the dark-eyed Spanish women, the
swarthy babies with their round straw
hats that looked like fancy work
baskets turned over their heads, secured like the
Illuminated figures thrown on canvass by a
magic lantern, and the big baskets of Spanish
oranges carried on the heads Of the women from
boat to land seemed-weN. oranges are not
oranges in such sun, they are glowing balls of
gold. And the sOapy smell in the air is not
smell, but 2 piquant OdOr and the rills of soapy
water running down the side streets over the
qUays are magic rivulets of green. You can feel
no pity for the poor old tattered creature lying
at full length on the sidewalks; this sun ia
enough for him; all the riches in the world, and
the dinners and the tailor suits cannot compare
with the Joy of soaking oneself IN such sunshine
without a care or sou. The weather-beaten
Marsellais with small boats to hire entreats you
to take row, and describes glowingly the beau
not looking for boat. that you don't want
boat, that you haven't time for boat, makes no
impression upon HIM. He continues to talk till
you are out of hearing; but he is not disap-
pointed. Who can be disappointed in such
sun? He stretches himself out in his boat he is
ABSOLUTELY CONTENT.
What vivid picture it was! And over all the
varied scene, of women sitting beside piles of
sheIfsh and golden heaps of oranges, men drink
ing, eating and sleeping, of boats going out and
p n
being mended and tarred, of brown fish nets
being hung ont to dry. and sails being hoisted
and furled; over it all shone the great gilt figure
of the Virgin looking down from Sotre Dame de
la Garde the high, steep hill which closes in
that great gold Virgin glitters and shines above
everything, and the white chalk of the hill
CLEANS like snow. oh, what sun! I am ut
terly incapable of giving single straight fact
about Marseilles, although We walked and rode
about it for some hours. My one, sole recol-
lection of it will be. sunshine. Daudet says
in the Midi, but the people do not lie; oh. no
they are deceived themselves. 1t is the sun that
deceives them. 1t is impossible to see things
tell things Just as they are III such sunshine as
that of the Midi. - It is true: even soap manu-
spring sun shines in Marseilles.
There was another thing, however, that struck
me about Msrseilles, and that was
THE oPBN AIR FLOWER MARKET.
There were roses and panzies and daffodils and
peoples and marguerites and camelias and hya-
ClnthS. 1t not the variety. however, but the
immense quantity that impressed me; hyacinths
were brought in by the blue buCketfUl, and mass
on mass OF gorgeous blossoms, that peri umed the
air for blocks around.
Yesterday morning we were in Lyons, which,
for all the fine streets and tree-planted courts
and real Partisan caravans, full Of mermaids,
and panOramas of recent murders, seemed SUI
burban enough after the gay capital There Is
an interesting Old Gothic cathedral in Lyons,
with little booths for the selling of religious
images and emblems. built up against the out
side walls; and there Notre Dame de Four
Were, towering above everything. like Notre
Dame de la Garde, in Marsellles. In the little
old church on the top of Fourviere there is a
figure OF the Virgin, which has worked many
miracles in time past. Now there is q great new
church built beside the old one on the mount,
and full indulgencefar all sin is granted by the
pope to the 1900, 900 pilgrims VINO come there
given who goes up 10 Fourvlere on
foot, for it means walking perpendicular mile.
We took cable railway which LETT us fourth
of the distance TO walk through little streets en-
tirely built up with shops for the selling Of
souvenirs, pictures and images, religious gew-
gaws OF gilt papers and artificial flowers. These
shops were all open, though it was Sunday,
and the keepers of them standing at tne doors
CALLING TO Us TO BUY.
We had no time to demand our indulgences at
the church as we had to catch certain train,
and, like the Yankee, we don't like TO keep the
steam-car waiting, so after hGsty look at the
city spread out like map beneath, with the |
Rhone and Saone winding through 1t, we rushed |
down, and down, and down the steep footpath !
TO the road Still! we were not at the loot OF the
the side of the street. into the most curious |
little lane I ever saw; it was about quarter of
mile OF stone steps that preclpitated themselves
between stone walls of high old houses, down to |
the level of the river. We took 1t, and there |
after cherish a mighty respect for the muscles |
In n our haste to the depot, however, we
stopped to notice the laundries of the |
venient plan. They are simply barges |
moored in the river. The washing is done in |
the lower story, open st the SIDES, and the dry
ing on top. Lines OF girls were scrubblng, |
aud lines OF linen tapping that Sunday morning |
on the Saone. Cleanliness being next to Godli- |
ness, the French laundress
GOES TO MASS AND THEN SCRUBS.
The country between Paris and Lyons is fat |
and uninteresting, but beyond Lyons it is ia |
beue france sure enough, even in the browns |
and grays of her winter habit. The Rhone flows !
smoothly beneath big round hills on the right, /
while gradually the ragged, craggy spurs OF the |
Alps come into view on the left. It was through |
this region and over these Alps that Hannibal |
crossed with his army, and II was through here, |
too that the 500 reyolutionists from Aarseilles |
enlisted SIS "men who are not afraid to die" |
marched TO Paris, in 1872, singing the Marseil- |
national song of France. The little stone vii |
lagos. their tiled roofs coming TO climax in the
tower of some old church, sometimes guarded |
by ruined castle, which luts up on some sharp
crag, add greatly TO the beauty OF the scene.
There have been but few travellers and we have
enjoyed the luxury OF q compartment to our
selves for two whole days. When that happens,
we thoroughly approve OF the compartment |
system. for 1t is equal to having q private car.
We read. sew, sleep and eat in perfect freedom.
One is only allowed fifty pounds baggage on
each ticket in France, and it is always weighed.
They paste little ticket with the name of the
destination the trunk and give you one like
1t, for which you pay ten centlnes You pay
for the lodging of your baggage in the depot, /
too, unless Won remove it as soon as IL arrives, |
and you pay Il
EVERY PORTER THAT LOOKS AT IT.
It is only few cents everytine. but it is q sad
and incontrovertAble fact that cents make dol