Telegram-herald., 1890-09-28
GOLDEN VINTAGE DAYS
VITA tas Grape 0ataarers ALONE
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village. gass shach scws the kssae sna
ever nhieh fg0aa ghe suias % she eas-
he OF s.zbleck. SLEEPS IN HE sunshine
taat Azs ripene1 - gsapes tof - ss7y
hundreds of sesrs- oas 1orgets Tor
axhile The railrozls An4 tas telephones
ana the noGern hotels aud ether aiae-
teeath centarY innovations. sEa secs
hack 20 tie aays of afnarsd knigbg = snd
crusaders As oae walks is karrow
streets between its pictCreseee Old
hoases With tnsiF c aaint wooden beams,
and looks ep a. me gray tosers Qn The
e-ag from &hich still descend the stout
old toan walls br.stling with tai watch
towers and eireling as round with their
protection. a. IL al any moment he
alarm bells might ring ana the Counts
Pslstine suumon their ySssals 20 msn
the detenses against the knights Of
Furstenbe-y. Naose bsttlements enc
can see from the riverside, and who
once bad ne audacity f. stop even the
vessel Of king = levy Rhine toll.
Blu; the villagers fear not, and the
women from the Steegcr Thai, the green
and narrow valley bekin3 the ancient
little town come driving their donkey
carts and their teams OF cows lbrosgh
the stone gateways, sculptvrsd wath
men al arms and strange animals, early
in the morning FOR another purpose than
behind bnlwarks 10 seek refuge. la tho
bare little platE IL frons Of the church
tits Ter.plars' church OF The twelfth
eentury-they SIT surrounded by great
baskets piled up sith rlums. red toma-
toes. peaches, pears, white and purple
grapes. hazelnuts and every kind OF
vegetable. Hero is cart drawn by
yoke OF huge white oxen, with picture
OF the Virgin painted on one of its pam
els; there group OF women in vari-
colored head kcrchiefs, carrying on their
backs great oval milk irkins. 1t is the
market, and with its background OF gray
walls and round Romanesque arches, in
the hazy light of an autumn sunrise, IL
makes busy scene in a hamlet full OF
strange corners.
There is an air of expectation over
every thing. The stolid-looking men
and the bare-armed girls talk with ami
nation and gesticulate as they look up
at the sky. The great event OF the year
is approaching; IL is almost time for tho
vintage. When the sun comes out warm
they say: Zach, the grapes like this!'
When the clouds gather they look grave:
"If only it does not thunder; after a
thunderstorm comes cold weather
Eight hundred years ago the vino Of
Bacharach was noted Pope Plus III.
used 10 have a cask OF IL sent TO Rome
every autumn. and Nuremberg held its
freedom on payment OF four tuns of it
in yearly tribute to the Emperor Wen
eel. For all these centuries Bacharach
has dreaded the autumn rains.
The hill-sides about tho village are
terraced, and not a square foot but bears
| It's vine. The vineyards are dreary
things to look at from distance, less
picturesque than fields OF hops or
! beans. In that the poles are short and
tho grapes are not allowed to fing about
their tendrils. With their straight
monotonous rows. broken by cross lines
OF walls and arches built against the
steep slopes to secure the soil from fall
ing. they dishgure tho landscape; but
when one Is once among them and the
leaves, turning russell, rise waist high,
and the smell OF the heavy clusters fills
the air, then one, too, counts the hours
Of sunshine and waits for the ingather-
ing.
At last comes the morning. The
grapes OF Pacharach arc white, and
they have hung until they are full %
Juice and thin-skinned. To-day begins
the autumn festival. The girls 20 out
with baskets and scissors. With ali Iay
heart long 70 join them. They have
green and red and white kerchiefs tied
over their heads. and thoy wear short
blue skirts that stop FAR above their
wooden shoes. Bending. they cut the
buncbes and sort them. These are for
the best winc, those for tho second and
the Others FOR the third quality. Quick
ly the baskets FL. and the men 70 up
and down the rows lifting them on
their heads ana carrying them out
ready for the presses. There is hard
and fast line drawn between tie WON
ems work and that OK the men. 10 boy
will cut grapes; he will only carry them.
Before five o'clock IN the morning the
girls are IN The vineyards. The married
women have risen by $50 or four There
IS the COW % mix and feed and the CO.
foe pot Cheese Germans are not tea
drinkers like the Enzllshl 70 set boil
ing Rarely bit is eaten before. men
and wouen together, they arc az tho
cato OF tho master ot tho vineyard. lie
comes down from his chamber to set
them their tasks With the sleep not
rubbed out az his eyes. When theF
have started in ne dawn up The hill
sides he goes back % snatch another nap
before sunrise. st eight o'clock there
comes . pause il the labor. The girls
cluster in groups under the plutn trees.
Zach has Der bit OF black bread %
cat and as she breaks is she
passes her toke or bit Of. merry
gossip With her neighbcr. Their faces
are brown and aushed a little The
young men lean over .be walls and Ter
hsps there's a bat OF coartlng. Some oi
The girls bring oat great balls n varn
from thoir POCKETS and half-knitfed
stockings TIE old wonen-fhsv lcok
rheumatic--S Ssss Ike lizseds in the sun
shin. And TIE ar IL full - fbe sonnd
of iocus.s. All re red berries q TIE
mountain ash burn bright ard the
fsashsry clusters % the Wild elenatls
hang Oh every fhing. There sre Clouds
Of blue butterflies over tbs vines and
in TIE psesss q TIE laugh ter one czn
bear he leaves dropping
A. nine o'slock ths belis q re
csurch beein - rinz This tells the
Erspe CATERERS thss tss heas of leisars
is ever ard tbs Getting - the kunches
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