Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-10-28

been kindly permitted to publish the
following portion of the letter:
TURIN, October 10, 1891.
We left Paris Thursday night and
had ride of nineteen hours. From
daybreak till about o'clock we passed
through some of the most picturesque
country we have yet seen. Switzer-
land was fine, but this was grand. The
road ran up a verp deep valley with
snow-capped mountains on either side.
Along the foot of the range on our right
lay a clear blue lake about twenty miles
long, though very narrow at places
The sun was just lighting up the top of
the mountains, and in the clear, cool
morning light the effect was something
grand. All along the sides of the noun
tains were grape vines, arranged IN ter
races, tier above tier as high up as the
frost line = timber line -and from a
steep rock here and there, jutting out
into the lake, would rise the rugged
walls of an old castle, For four hours
We continued upward among the rocks !;
then we entered tunnel and passed
directly under the mountains. This
tunnel (Mont Cenis), though not as
great as the St. Gothard, is claimed to
be longer than any one shaft Of the
same. For forty minutes we were be-
low the surface, and during that time
passed over distance of seven En-
glish miles. When we came out at the
other end it was simply gorgeous. Far
q say above US IN StreakS the trees were
colored bright red and yellow, while
around US everything was bright and
warm, birds fitted in the trees, which
were as green as ever, and one would
1i4%l1 Io+ =, e
above there was d sharp frost the night
before. Then we passed through a
short tunnel and came out on the side
Of the mountain, while far, far below
US, sparkling in the bright sunlight like
a silver ribbon, ran the river Pc. Lit
tie villages white as lime shone here
and there on the sides of the noun
tains, and now and then we passed
dirty. though gaudily-clad Italian. Let
me tell YOU right here that if ever [
visit this side of the Atlantic again, that
a trip from Paris to Italy will be my
first move, as the scenery is grand.
Turin is a very interesting and pleasant
place to spend the fall, but for winter
they say 90 to Florence The air is dry
and exhilerating. The population is
100000, and the king has his palace
within stones throw of the hotel.
There is one popularity about Turin.
All the blocks appear to be built AS
near alike as possible; that is, all the
stores are on the first floor only. The
buildings, however, are five stories
high, though some are six, but the
most are five; all built of stone and
plaster, and instead of rising directly
from the ground solid wall, they form
arches, and from these arches the rest
of the building rises. Urder the arches
one can pass for blocks, even crossing
the streets, and do all the shopping he
wishes without once letting the sun see
his face The stores are arranged in
the arcade fashion; that is, they put
everything they have for sale in the
windows; nothing inside the store but
a counter and chairs The reason of
this is, | suppose, to prevent women
from coming and rummaging over the
whole stock Of goods and then going off
without buying, as they do in the
States. Here the shopkeeper sits and
smokes his pipe and reads his paper,
and when the women finally come and
make up their minds what they want,
they tell him provided they cam, or
else point to what they want, pay for it
and go home When they get there
they find their goods waiting-a much
better system than in England and
France. We leave at once for Genoa.