The Portland daily press., 1892-10-28
[snaeial Correspondence Of the Press.l

special correspondence Oh tile GTeSS.J
1t was my good fortune to be one of
the Portland members of the Stevens
Elwell party that has inst completed one
of the most novel and enjoyable Euro
pean tours immaginable, and perhaps
brief account of it may not prove unln-
teresting to your readers.
The party was composed of twenty
three gentlemen, nearly all of them ar
chitects or artists, and travelled under
the management of MI. F. A. Elwell,
who has had large experience in this
work. The members came from various
parts of the Union, met in New York,
and sailed July 30th on the Veendom OF
the Netherlands line. We had a
Pleasant Voyage
over, and landed in Boulogne thoroughly
acquainted and eager to.start upon the
road. But the French collector of GUS
toms was determined we should spend
some time in that pleasant city by the
sea, and so held our wheels for day
while he amused himself and his subor-
dinates by weighing, measuring, and
driving nails into our various mounts.
For ali these evidences of good will we
had to deposit about $40 apiece-the
heavier the wheel the more deposit,
This, however was returned to us when
we embarked for home. Once in posses
sion of our wheels, we started upon a
tour of fifty days through France, COW
ering distance of about one thousand
miles. Let me say here that we were
favored throughout the tour with the
most delightful weather. Not once did
we ride in the rain, and the sun had not
| that fierceness common in the United
States, but flooded the day with soft,
golden light, as delightful as it was
novel.
Our course was first
Through Ancient Picardy,
the great grain country of France. 1t
was harvest time, and on every side
were boundless fields of grain stretch
ing as far as the eye could see. 1t had
been a good year, and the sight was one
long to be remembered. Every inch of
ground was cultivated, and the different
| colors of the various crops presented the
most beautiful rural picture ever be-
held. When cut the grain is stacked up
| in most artistic manner, either in
small bundles tied up carefully, or in
huge stacks that resembled nothing so
much as an enormous loaf of brown
bread. The hay carts drawn by enor-
nous Norman horses, the white-capped
| women, gathering up all that escapes the
rakes, and the utter absence of fences,
| walls, or other division lines, constituted
picture very delightful to man from
Maine, accustomed to small fields. sur
rounded by stone walls or broken down
! fences.
For several days we wheeled through
scenes of this kind, until finally we
passed out of this ocean of waving grain
and took onr way through great forests,
| in the midst of which are some of the
| grandest
| Ruins in all Europe,
and it was these remains of the archi-
tectural magnifcence of bygone days
that our party was seeking. For miles
and miles we whirled along over perfect
roads under the green canopy of over
arching trees that tempered the suns
/ rays, and gave one the impression of a
vast open-air cathedral, whose columns
and arches were animated by every breeze
and all of that peculiar light green color,
never seen on this side of the Atlantic.
| Leaving the forests, we skirted the
rivers and canals, by road and towpath.
| The canals are a great institution in
| France. and a vast amount of traffic is
carried by these waterways. The canal
boats are splendidly built affairs, OF a
rich mahogany color, and are drawn by
two horses at the rate of about four
miles an hour. The drivers are contin-
uaAy swapping their whips to pass away
the time, and their skill in this is WON
derful They can keep up a continual
or play regular tunes with the SNAP
pers."
Ten days riding of this kind
/ Brought us to Paris,
| where we remained six days at the Hotel
Continental. One who could find fault
with this hotel must be difficult indeed
to suit We worked hard at sightseeing
while in the city, visiting various places
of great interest, and others that should
be seen but once-and then purely from
a sense of duty. Truly Paris is a WON
derful city.
After visiting Versailles we headed for
Fontainebleau, stopping en- route to call
upon the Portland artist, Mr.. Walter
Griffin, who resides in a picturesque
little village nesting on the edge of the
great forest. There was a national fete
being celebrated while we were in Fon-
tainebleau, with bicycle races in the
palace grounds under the patronage OF
President Carnot, who makes his sum,
mer home here and gave the principal
prize. In the evening the bands played,
and the affair wound up with grand
display of fireworks.
For the next two weeks our plan OF
travel took us along the
Valley of the Loire,
through old Touraine, rightly called the
fairest portion of France, and filled to
repletion with palaces, castles, chateauz
and cathedrals. Here we were joined by
Mr.. Joseph Pennell, the well-known ar
fist, who is now at work sketching the
French cathedrals for the Century Maya
zine. He proved a good fellow, an in