Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-27
as w!th amazing rapiditv. vow nav 10 cents to

| wash your hands at the depot. We have tried
| both first and second class compartments and
| found the latter pleasanter. They are cushioned
| the same, with blue cloth instead OF light dra b.
| which is used in the irst-CIasS compartments,
| and have less ornamentation, but the seats be-
| ing higher allow better view from the win
| dows, and they seem to be less crowded
| Strangers, and especially Americans think they
! m ust travel frst-class. The expense of the first
| class amounts to about the same as our Pull
! mans, and they cannot be compared with parlor
cars for comfort and luxury, The fastest
press trains only irst-ciass, and the slowest
trains are those which include the three classes.
In the higher classes there are always Conpart =
| me nts reserved for ladies.
| Every three or four hours the hot water cans,
| the sole means of heating the compartments. are
| changed. ''AttendeZ!' calls the man at the
! open door with the hot can in his hands. which
| means
PICK UP YOUR FEET QUICK,
for the long, fiat, heavy can comes whizzing
| over to the opposite side. and is pushed still
! further along by the second can. At every sta
ton a heavy official in a cooked hat and a much
| be-braided uniform promenades the platform,
| for what purpose I know not The officials
| very gentlemanly all along this Lyons. Mar
settles and Paris line. Special permission was
granted to US by the superintendent of the depot
! at Cannes to stop over night on our tickets,
though this is not allowable until you have gone
u certain distance. We have put the indulgence
of the officials to a still greater test, however.
| On our way from Monte Carlo to Italy we stopped
| off few hours at Mentone. Beautiful Mentone!
! The old town, all damned up close on high,
! rocky promontOry, forms quaint center-pIece
for the hills null of villas spreading around the
two deeply curved bays either side the
promontory. Back Of the hills magnificent
cliffs of chalk and bare, serried ridges close in
! the scene.
1t is favorite winter resort Of the English.
We took drive along one of the roads cut out
| of the steep hillside; above us the wild noun
tain, and below the hills, some yellow with
fruit-flled lemon trees, others silver-green with
olive groves, sloped down TO that blue wonder
J of a Mediterranean. When the sun shines 1t
requires neither distance nor practical imagina-
| ton to make the Mediterranean
DEEP, BLUE SEA.
It is a real, substantial color that bears close
inspection. But am wandering away fir ON the
French railway officials; after infinite trouble
! in finding baggage and porter to putt in
the car we were finally off and gave long fare
well look to the lemon groves of Mentone, which
1 supposed was the last, but it was not, for we
were on the wrong train, whizzing around the
mountains back to Monte Carlo. We tumbled
out onto the track with our imposing pile of
luggage at the first little station. The fast ex-
press, our train, which was luckily late, would
pass in a minute. The station master took in
the situation at word, revised our tickets, re-
fused pay for our mistaken trip, signalled the
express to stop. explained to the amazed en-
bags into d car, all in jiffy. These are very
practical instances of French politeness. In
deed the whole spirit OF the French government
is generous and obliging toward tourists.
This Riviera, as the sea- board is called from
Nice to Spezia, is a wonderful country. Never
SOftened by such luxuriant growth of oranges,
lemons, olives and almonds, or laVed by such
tender The railway scallops around one
craggy point after another, leaving beautiful
retrospective views of bay and promontory, and
clusters of stone cottages climbing the noun
tain side and training fruit groves after them.
Sometimes the train dives through promOn-
tory and comes out on the very edge of preCi-
pice washed by the surf, or, again, into fertile
valley cultivated to the very edge of the sea
The great number of ruined castles along the
coast were erected against the pirates. Cannes
oct rCfN arf STNrf- OLE
French Riviera, Nice is the largest and most
popular, Monte Carlo the giddiest and most
picturesque and Mentone the ioveIiest.
The train from Nice to Monte Carlo was packed
with people going to spend the evening at rou-
lette, and was told that it no unusual
occasion, but only the ordinary number Of daily
visitors. Our railway tickets seeming remarka-
bly, thick and uDwieldly, we examined them,
and found that the visitors ticket was a little
envelope inside OF which was folded thin sheet,
which after diligent search among the advertise
ments nearly covering it, we discovered to be
A LOTTERY TICKET.
The lottery is a railway affair, and the draw
ings for SO and $40 prizes take place twice
month in Paris. Every year improvements are
made at Monte Carlo; a new gambling hall is
added to the Casino, new hotel is build for the
accommodation of visitors, and last year, when
the bank gained some $500. 900, an elevator was
from the depot up to the level of the Casino.
The town, like most of these coast places, is
built up steep hillside, in the ladder style
We found it no pleasure to watch the gambling,
for the players themselves did not seem to enjoy
it, and am sure there is no reason why they
should enjoy it, for more supplying, utterly
idiotic amusement could not be devised than
that of watching money come and go at the
turning of marble. There is absolutely no
skill required; exercise Of the brain: q
lunatic could make or loose a fortune as well IS
the most brilliant intellect in the world.
There Is childish game so simple and so silly
as roulette. I can understand the motive of the
poor wretch who wants TO win a fortune, but
these educated, cultivated ladies and gentlemen
T1T1Ifyy for
sane enjoyment who come year after year to
Monte Carlo, well
THEY ARE IEcoMPREHESsIBLE.
We have sympathy with the kitten that is end
lessly curious to see il it can catch the end of
string, but these gamblers are like kittens who
risk all the fur on their backs for the chance Of
grabbing somebody else's string. Some people
lives in chasing strings, it would seem that they
would do it in a kitten-hke way; but no. they
tensity with which a chess player moves his
men. The amusement Is wicked enough, but |
the wickedness IS such stupid variety OF dew
iltry that it Is not even interesting. The ma |
jority of players seem 70 be ladies' some of them
magnifcently dressed in dinner costumes, but |
with bonnets. Among them, no doubt, were |
some noble English dowagers, who they say |
are most inveterate gamblers such !
piles of gold and silver. One man |
handful and lost it too. At the same table was |
pretty young girl Of twelve or thirteen putting |
very approximations and it is believed that |
children are lucky. noticed, too, the face of |
young man black with despair. 1t IS not for |
the interest of the Casino TO have men blowing /
out their brains in its immediate vicinity; it IS
discouraging to the other gamblers, SO when /
such desperate, suicidal expression appears /
the authorities interview the man that wears it. |
pay his board bill and lend him money to get |
away from Monte Carlo
It is queer little place, this baby principally
OF Monaco, five and three-quarter square miles |
cut oat of the south of Fran ce. Monte Carlo is |
the chief railway station, and from there one /
looks across the bay to the towers Of the ducal
palace at Monaco, which town fills up one OF
these r-projecting promontories. It is very
picturesque from Monte Carlo; IN fact Monte
Carlo and everything arounI it is altogether
uniuu, and interesting II strikes one lit
tie corner of the world which must De different
from any other corner. Mountains are at the |
back of it; mountains, running far out into the
sea on the east; lowered Monaco and its cliffs |
on the west and in the center the sumptuous
Casino with its beautiful, tropical gardens. -
JESSIE c. CEAlEssEax1a3ok<fs