The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-10


into larger basin, in which considerable
ships are moored. The houses are very
odd and blocky looking; in the narrow
ways the second story often projects over
the streets. The red and white or dark
green and nearly black bricks nre so ar
ranged in the walls as to present parti-col-
ored squares diamonds. oblongs or more
rarely semicircles, and many of the win
dows give fortress like look to the dwell
ings. The general effect is often pleasing,
sometimes ludicrous, but always novel.
Railroaders, police and peddlers speak
both French and English, and both kinds
OF money go at par. The two old towers
with the arch between, the cid Norman
chateau and some fragments elsewhere
are the antiques and citrios of the place.
But we are soon off for Paris Not
without small disturbance, however.
A Frenchman who spoke English re-
markabiy well, and told me he had just
returned from two years in the United
States, claimed some extra rights over the
vacant place on one seat because he had
come in first and laid his luggage on it, A
gentleman travelling with two ladies denied
the claim, and at it they went, threatening
all sorts of horrible things. | wondered
that the ladies could take it so coolly, as a
fight in one of these little cages would be
/ as bad for bystanders as for combatants.
! The Frenchman soon grew too excited for
/ English and swore violently in impure
! Partisan The other replied as viciously in
! some tongue | could not make out. "Aha!
/ Sacre Rodin," screamed the Erenchman,
ssyou tink because you are English you
will do as you please"
English / am not" roared the other;
81 am an American" And now his brogue
| showed clearly that he was an American,
indeed = from Tipperary, bejasiz' y an
American by voluntary choice and not by
the mere accident of birth The French
man went for the guard, and the Irishman
winked humorously at me and said,
| "There's no danger from these fellies-not
a moight-they fights with their tongues"
Sure enough, when the guard had con-
! WINGED the F'renchman that he could not
have the extra space he dumped his bag
gage on the floor and was soon as pleasant
as any of us.
We were soon among the hills. The
scenery was always picturesque, and some
times bordered on the sublime. All this
part of Normandy is said to consist of mar
row valleys, separated by very high and
rather sharp ridges. These ridges every
where that / can see are densely clad with
timber, while the slopes next below are
IN pasture and the lower terraces only in
grain and root crops. We pass from valley
to valley through many long and dark tun-
nels, for the valleys have a general course
to the west, while we are going nearly
south. | observe a curious uniformity in
the valleys: the Level strip along the
stream Gin Indiana we call it the "bot-
tom') is all the way just about a mile
wide; the terraces are nearly the same,
while the sheep pastures may measure so
much, but only because they are set on
edge.
1t was in galloping up and down these
sleeps that the Norman horses first devel-
oped their extraordinary strength in the
hind quarters. When warriors clad them
selves in armor so heavy that each warhorse
had to carry some 400pounds they began to
select and breed to that end. Hence the
'Percheron-Norraan;" also the English
cart horse. Beyond Rouen the country
showed far more level and soon we were in
the broad and lovely basin of the Seine.
Rouen, the ancient capital Of Normandy,
is most curious old town, and in the slow
progress of the train through it l saw
enough to make me wish for longer stay.
Tourists tell me the whole vicinity is rich
in historic remains and full of modern in
terest.
The dwellings of the country people are
generally of bright colored brick, and ap
parently quite comfortable. The gardens
are models of clean culture; the shrubbery
is noticeably pretty about most of the
dwellings, and the little dooryards are al
ablaze with brilliant flowers. Soon the rail-
began to fall, and we saw many peasants un
der the sheds at the stations. At the only
place we halted l asked these of their pros
poets, but they only lifted their hands sor
rowfully and murmured, 'Malheureux
T malheureux!'
At7p. m. we rolled into Paris, having lef
+ London at 9 a. m. secured a good room
, at once, in a quiet section (for three franc
, day., and entered on the task of revivins
my conversational French sufficiently t,
: find my way about the great city.
j. II. BEADLE.