New-York tribune., 1890-08-31
RAMBLES IN ITALY.
SPEZIA'S GREAT ARSENAL-CARRARAS An
GENT MARBLE QUARRIES.


yawn and stretching of the arms TO assure HIM
self that the power of movement has not ue3ir'e"'
The waiter has listless and depressed men, as
though thinking of last winters fees. lhree OF
four Of them watch YOU as You eat, giving one
the feeling Of being a child under severe sur
velanoe as regards table manners. when you
have SINGLED out the most deserving as the re-
cpient of n frame piece, you observe that the
otbers turn away ouickly to control their sup
pressed emotions while the head waiter eyes you
from n distance with a mournful expression which
declares that life has no longer any attractions
for him On the other hand, one has the best
APARTMENTS in the house. dimes in solemn state
in the great hail. and sleeps in quiet. Besides, one
sees ITALY in the gorgeous dress OF summer, ana
gets nearer to the people than the winter tourlsC
ever can SO | roamed laZily through the stiee.s
of Speza and stopped where house was puilu-
ing 1t was to he of five stories. The walls ana
partitions were of stone laid in mortar, as we puld
cellar foundations No derrick was used, nut all the
material was carried up by hand. Inc men re-
ceive from sixty cents to dollar per day Their
dinner was bread and macaroni, with lew iIgS
Tbev eat meat about twice in the week. The
souore onnosite the Arcades was full OF flowers,
the red and white oleander prcdomnathg'
measured the trunk Of one pain, whch was
seventeen inches in diameter, and there were sew
eraI more Of nearly the same size The aloe nonr-
ishes and the orange lines the street The dehcae
and graceful branches of the Cedar oil LEBANON
stretch oIt toward you, as though 10 attract Sour
admiration. Our giant sequola or reu"oOu "
California, grows here as If in It's natiNe lahu'
vouna man of about twenty-five years passed me
minute later singing with as much UNCONSCIOUS
cniovrient as a yellow bird. Many men of that
In buv
the high notes no sign of adolescence This is the
native land of tenors As was turning 10 catch
the last tones of the song, my eye caught the gure
Of Girl in a fruit-store leaning against the wall
The girl was as pretty and dirty as the most
fostidious artist in search OF a model could de-
sire The women here have none of the witcbery
of their northern sisters. but there is q dreamy
appealing beauty in their dark eyes and plain
tive expressions The little girls have 1t Ike
their mothers A little further on was a group
Of dirty little boys playing under the arcade.
watched them till | was convinced Of what !
suspected at first sght-that they were cheruDs oi
Correggio escaped from some picture-ga4Iery
Their faces were celestial All else was rags
and dirt-cxcept the voices which matched the
faces.
There were numerous marines strolling along
the street | counted twcntysiN in one group
They appeared sngulary trim and handsome. ana
bore contcntcd. happy look upon thclr races
In America We do not understand all the benefits
which accrue 20 Europes compulsory military
service and from the great military armaments
We regard only the burden which the Iat'er
impose on the taxpayer. and the Withdrawal "l
the men for three years from productive industry
That is only the dark side and represents thc
cost But forced military service carries with II
-. La oh a.4
merely Of a military character. II is educating
the people aud lifting them more than any other
agency since the Crusades II takes the young
men at the most imprcssibic from their country
homes. and out of the range 6f their narrow
uroyinciaLisms The transfer from one camp
or garrison TO another br0adcns their ideas In the
same manner as travel They are taught prompt
ness Of execution and obedience 10 law. They
acquire a scrupulous ncatncSs in dress, hne
soldicry bearing a chivalrous attitude toward
woman and "A self Prospect which transforms them
from ignorant peasants into Intelligent citizens
As an educational system the army Is worth all
that il costs. To destroy IL at once would be like
ca sing all our common schools in country districts
There are regions in Italy where in the last gen
Grafton all the pcasantry were either hrlgands or
svrnpath hizcrs with them Now they peace
able because more than from any other means, the
returned soldiers have changed public sentiment
80 that il supports the eXecution of law, and
values the general security and order. The cost
great. for Italy had 10 provide herself at once
with the whole equipment of a trsi-claSs power.
4 hotel manager told me that he paid a license
Of $40 then tax Of % per cent Of the amount Of
his rent and then an income tax Of / 3 $500 per
cent Yet Italy is advancing rapidly; the towns
are growing and business increases. The people
are fond Of the ROYAL family, though the African
schemes Of the Ministry not popular They
call it sentimental politics. and say that the great
need OF the country is internal improvement. and
the opening OF new markets abroad for their
products.
On leaving SpezIa, started 10 visit thc marble
auarrcs at Carrara. The road winds beautifully
up the hills so that obtains continually
views Of the Bay till at last the whole sheet of
water is before you, almost locked in by the sur
rounding mountains. | counted thirteen war
vessels lying at anchor. Some OF them like the
Italia and the LcpantO look very formidable
Spezla is the great naval station of Italy, and it.
construction yards cover 30 There are no
fields of grass here. All the land is under cult
vation with olives, grapes. figs, peaches, plnms
pears and Indian corn The last is planted in
| rows little more than two feet apart, and seems
too thick. The of growth must be very
oil, and the ears are getting yellow, IN other fields
| the blade is not more than foot high The olives
| are one-third grown. and will not ripen till No
| ycmber The oil from this region is celebrated
and is said to be very easily made. The ripe
fruit is ground as we grind apples for cider, and
then water is through the mash, which carries
the oil with il. This Is allowed to settle in tanks
when the oil rises and is SKINNED Oft. | passed "a
| house where heliotrope was growing on the whole
front 10 the height of the second story. The stems
were over an inch thick and were nearly ten years
| old. The whole courtyard was full Of its lux
urious perfume. Passing on, | stopped 10 talk
| with man who working in vineyard
| He told me that he thrty-ive years old and
| received wages 90 the amount of 80 cents per day
| lie seldom eats meat or butter. His diet is mac
| aroni and oil with some vegetables, principally
| beins. Ills cottage, which | visited was com
Portable, but dirty. His wife was spinning flax