The Portland daily press., 1892-05-07

darling pet exposed to hunger and cold
in luggage van" SO hastily lifting it
to the rack piled usually SO high with
tourists parcels, the bird forgot him
self in sleep. and the brakeman forgot
the bird, perhaps in beer-and to us this
English redbreast became sunny remi-
niscence of winterish day.
These Alpine tunnels always indicate
great atmospheric changes beyond;
sultry summers day on one side often
ing into the region on the other side, and
vice versa. Today the certainty of mild
weather on the Italian frontier had
buoyed our spirits up. But the severe
snow storm we encountered, when the
smoke had cleared away and we aroused
ourselves from half hours nap in the
bowels of the earth, was not unlike a
blowy March storm at home. We stih
hoped this blizzard wave was only local,
and pushing through the italian villages
and cities of nominal Switzerland, past
the frontier station at Cheasso we felt
sure of perpetual sunshine in that hith-
erto always beautiful city, Milan. In
February even we had always found it
gay and gorgeous as Paris, and almost
as mild as the Riviera.
Snow in Milan.
But the snow and discomfort this time
in Milan was nothing short of marvel
lous. 1t lay two feet in depth and was
being carried awayin mountain loads,
and so after shivering in the marble cor
ridors and congealing in the marble par
quets, we found that Milan, for the pres
ent at least, had lost it's charms. The
heds IN +be ,,al.+ial bo+e1s ,uere .nv+b;ng
hnt cow neSrs in which to ranosa
i IL ,yo+I,;ne, iass +har +h,+
onr feaI;nos and snr,o,nd;nn circnn,0
stanoes nSira IN tho peh and uoof Of
human life ife and that even facts ara not
+ha st,,blo,,, ~
or nnyarnishad hv the events If each snc.
caedin@ nnonant IF III tinoa o - e'''-- 'N''
No one can imagine the chill, of an AL
nine snow s+orm nor the ptnoosnbe,;c
discomfort from loads of snow living
about in high latitudes. 1t seems like an
epidemic malarlal vlsltation, and no
fba at4 lo y 'ui9is''o u uiiin0 o'n gu es'
Napoleon,s Route and the via Emilia.
We had .been undecided what route to
take into the south of ItaIy. from what
direction first To see the smoke of Vesu-
,;,,s and - ,+a1, +l,o +o,od do,,, +;,,+,
80 "-lV' W o@.oi' VAi' .oleu wv 'in's
OF Naples, as the sunlight nashes over
the slopes of the surrounding mountains
down to the circlinc bav. into tbe MIC
turesoue bui3t town Rut now there is
no chance for INDIGESTION. When noun
tains of snow are carried away and left
in blocks. like big houses. the only thing
to do is to flee to the nearest balmy cline,
The Adriatic coast is sure to be sun
shiny as it proved. even when Rome is
howling in frost and the cans about
Naples. and even Vesuyius is partly
yelled in snow. So we reversed our
tickets and took the old classic route of
the Romans. the Via Emilia. past Ma
poleon's route. through some of the
scenes of his victories. to that old CITY
Piacenza with its ingenious people and
beautiful churches.
p;acenv.
uo.1hod IT. IN, -, :
heie l nau F" hvoiy oApeiienoo WIN 'ne
people at the station about a train l
wished to take to Ponte DELI Olio. But
found +bar, q vary ,,1o;ec,,te neonle ILo
:, - -. p.S'''1v,'Oo f00f-o
tne nalne ol ZIG uo"n III flencn' WHICH
is Ptatsance.
The 'sPonte dell Olio' is country vii
lage, fourteen miles from Piacenza and
is reached bv a steam-tramway which it
seems, goes back and forth only three or
four times day. The village is situat-
| ed at the mouth of the little river. Val
Nure, and on market DAYS presents a
very interesting picture of italian country
life with its lively peasant women. I
was very anxious to get a glimpse of this
very phase of Italian life nntramelled by
the restrictions of large CITY. and so
had left Milan on yery early train hon
inc to spend the most Of the dav ait Ponte
dell' Olio. THAT I should have found il
deeply buried in snow. / have not The
SLIGHTEST doubt with not the a SIGHT al
peasant man or woman ont of doors. for
such was the case ali along the Via
Emilia. with the execution of one man.
who was hauling fertilizers in the snow
no doubt to exhibit his real wealth to his
prospective bride for thus thew present
their available riches. in this copartner.
ship business to which in MANY parts of
Europe matrimony is reduced. I think
there was train Just starting to Ponte
| DELI Olio when I arrived and I franti.
caIly tried to make INQUIRIES which would
insure me a passage on it. But as every