The morning call., 1891-01-11

other italian field and moor laborers to
take to the hills that is, to become out
right brigands. Universal Incidence and
repugnance TO effort are safeguards against
this. The Apulian shepherd himself is a
picturesque fellow enough, despite your
consciousness of his vacuous ignorance,
his unvarying cruelty 10 his focks,
and his utter sodden. rather than
active, brutality to his wife and
children, who serve as his pack
mules, like the American squawS. for
transporting his slender belongings to the
hills. Tall and straight rs an arrow, he is
clad from head to foot in undressed skins.
A bifurcated garment OF Unframed hide,
fashioned after the pattern of that one so
well known to Americ an dress reform
ladies, forms sort OF waistcoat and trows-
erS combined. The latter are opened at the
sides, below the knees, often displaying
gaudy buttons ornamentins the sides OF his
half-gaiter undreSsed b OTIS. Over his waist
coat Is long, loose armleSS jacket of hide,
provided with numberless pockets, his rain
proof storc-houseS of meager treasures. A
jaunty, brigandish hat sets perkily upon
relief his olive skin, his large, grave eyes
and crinkly. curly beard-a half Egyptian
Tyre, one would say. TO see it
REPRODUCED IN PAINTING.
Slung from his right shoulder across his
left by bread band of hide with coca
siGnally the priceless treasure of a polished
brass or bronze buckle, is the inSeP arabic
capsclla or shepherds pouch. A rusty car
bine, which is never discharged, or Il stout
staff as high as his breast-5ut never the
shePherds' crook of olGen tales and modern
tableauX Vivants - complete the picture
And II is always a picture; for this fellow
with the face of an apostle and the eyes of
saint Is 50 dcllciously languid and mex
preSSibly lazy that his splendid form is for
ever in pose and rel ose.
Or the mountain sides the life of this
shepherd family is a chanseless one the
whole summer long, unless the terrible hail
storms Of southern Italy fall upon the
mountains, or the still more destructive
Hind-storms, that frequently fling both
shepherds and tlockS from the crags to
death, come whiStllnS over peak or bowling
through grayina. Then the human marmot
awakenS from his lethargy and accom-
plshes prodigious feats of strength and
MondrOuS acts OF vaOT, in reSCuing endan-
gered members of the flock or of his own
terrified brood His food Is polenta and
cEeStnut-tlour bread He is the one Italian
VINO drinks water instead of wine. His
held-lore, though unconscious to him
self, Is marvellous. When spurred
by extreme hunger all the noun
tain moorland birds are doomed
where lie sets his snare. 1t is a wild.
strange. melancholy land, he looks down
upon, II he have the energy for looking
His wife and children around him are as
voicelesS as himself and his focks The
very melody of the sheep-bells becomes a
meaningless din. One carries away from
his environment and cOmpanionshp with
him only pathetic sense of his hopeless
ness and degradation. You can only re-
member him as another animal in hairy
hide, lnsenSate To the trumpetings of eter-
nal nature around him. The sheep browsing
at his side are his equals in Intelligence;
MS supeTlorS In demonstrate forces and
activities The lone kestral wheeling above
this Apulian shepherd has a wider horizon
of view.
But there are other shepherds in Italy Of
whom SUMMER picture can be drawn.
These are the shepherds and shepherdeSses
OF the peasants lesser tiorks in Piedmont,
In Lombardy, in radiant Tuscany, and even
IN pestlleTouS, dedth-breeding Maremme on
IyrrAene Sea. There are many among
these who. like the Apulian shepherds,
nave descended from shepherd ancestors,
and who all their lives soddenly followed
the one vocation. But in the main they are
the little folks and the youths and wives OF
all the peasantry. In Northern Italy the
peasantry are happier folks than those of
the South. The beauties of the cities quaint
ness and peacefulness of the villages and
hamlets, tie radiance of the valleys and
the noble picturesqueness of
THE FORESTS AND MOUNTAINS
Seem to have given a refiexive peacefuluess,
sunnlneSS and even virility to the people
Their shepherds do not possess the grave
sad, yacuous faces of the South. Com
panlonshlD accounts largely for this. In
the North the shepherd is always one of the
villagers. He or she shares their everyday
HE. lie feaSts, espouSals, marriages,
funerals, all are theirs for enjoyment and
contemplation. Nearly every family has its
own little flock. Often several of these are
merged into larger flock and taken to the
highest mountain lands for the entire sum
mer. In such cases shepherd and his
family accompany them, ana they live much
as do their kind in Apulia. In October the
same flock will be driven 10 the moors and
marshes Of Mareume, where the shepherd
ana MS family subSist almost entirely on
shared wild fowl, which come here in
myrlads 10 escape the winters OF the British
Isles, the Baltic regions and the German
forests.
But tens of thousands of little focLs led
by tens OF thousands of little shepherds and
shephcrdesses leave the villoge greggin or
sheep-fold and home every morning for the
higher glades Sometimes a dog often
pig trained to herd the flock, goes with them.
II maiden has charge of the flock, she will
nave her spindle or knitting, and will work
ana sing ana tend her flock the whole day
long. Ii lad or stripping lead a flock, he
Will let the pig or the dog tend the sheep,
with an occasional moment of executive OBJ
seryailon, and the rest of the day he gathers
mushrooms, hunts the young of birds, all of
when are eagerly eaten save those
Of the swallow and hawk, snares
forest FOWL, or pipes On his flute in
idle fantasy. Both must bring back
load of ferns, grass, oak, elm or vine leaves,
with the hocks at night. Some of this is
for temporary use; but the winter store is
chiefly thus gathered. | have counted more
than 100 OF these little fUcks descending
from the mountains with the shepherds at
oventide. The valleys are voiceful with
thousands of tinkling bells, with the notes
from hundreds of shepherds flutes, with
the trilli Of scores of shepherds songs.
linen, as The shadows fall softly upon the
hamlets, comes the housing of the sheen in
the greggia and the pastoral yields to the
prosaic while 'Ravella' and ''Nencia" gain
new strength for the morrow from the their
Do"i OF sJeaming polenta, or pOrridge Of
crushed white beans
"CopyrighL EDGAR l. WAKFMAS.
The next sketch by Mr.. Wakeman will ba