St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-03-28
STRANGE CONTRASTS m ROME

Al Sorts md Condltlons of l(ea Joe&la
One Another In the Streets.
Perhaps It Is true that the impress.
sions which Rome makes upon !
thoughtful man vary more ACCORDING
to the wind and the time Of day than
those he feels in other cities. Perhapa
too. there 10 no capital In all the world
wAich has such contrasts to show with.
In q mile of each other-one might
almost say within dozen steps.
One Of the most crowded thorough.
fares Of Rome, for instance, 10 the Wis
del Tritone, which is the only passage
between the Pincian and the Quirina!
hills. from the region Of Piazza Colon
ma toward the railway station and the
new quarter. During the busy hour.
Of the day carriage can rarely move
through its narrower portions any fas-
ter than ct foot-pace. and the insult
ficienA pavements are thronged with
pedestrians. In a measure, the Tritone
OF Rome corresponds to Calata bridge
in Constantincple. In the course of q
week most OF the population of the
city must have passed at least once
through the crowded little street,
which somehow, in the rain of millions
that lasted for two years. did not man.
ago to attract to itself even the little
sum which would have suficed to widen
It by . few yards. It is as though the
contents OF Rome were daily drawn
through q keyhole. In the Tritone are
to be seen daily magnificent equipages,
!ammed in the string, between milk
carts. omnibuses and dustmen's bar
rows, preceded by butchers' vans and
followed by miserable cabs, small dog
carts, and high-whecled cocntry vehi-
cles driven by rough, booted men wear
Ing green-lined clOaks and looking like
strange bandits; even saddle-horses are
sometimes led that way, to save time:
and on each side flow two streams of
human beings Of every type to be found
between Porta Angelica and Porta San
Giovanni.
A prince Of the Holy Roman empire
pushes past troop Of dirty school chill
dren, and is almost driven into an open
barrel Of salt Goldfish, in the door Of
poor shop. by black-faced charcoal
man carrying . sack on his head more
than half a. high a. himself. A party
of jolly young German tourists in loose |
clothes, with red books in their hands, |
and their field-glasses hanging BY
straps across their shoulders. try to rid |
themselves of the flower girls dressed |
n sham Sabine costumes, and utter ex-
of establishment and admir- |
.tion when they themselves are almost |
-un down by couple of the giant Roal |
yrenadiers, each six feet five or there
bouts, beside nine inches. or 30. of
rested helmet aloft, gorgeous. gigan-
lie and spotless.
Clerks by the dozen and liveried mes
'engers Of the ministries struggle in |
he press; ladies gather their skirts |
closely. and try to pick dainty way
where. indeed, there Is nothing ''dain"
q word which DR.. johnson confesses
hat he could not find In any dictionary,
out which he thinks might be very use
FuD; servant girls, smart children with
nurses and hoops going up to the Pin
10. black-browed washerwomen with
big baskets Of clothes on their heads,
'tumpy little infantry soldiers in gray
informs. priests. friars, vendors OF
ooot-laces and thread, vegetable sellers
cushing hand-carts of green things in
ind out among the horses and vehicles
With amazing dexterity, and yelling
heir cries in supeEhumanly high voices
there is no end to the multitude.
II the day is shcwery, it is a sight
o see the confusion in the Tritone
when umbrellas Of every age, material
md color are all opened at once. while
he people who have none crowd into
he Goldfish shop and the liquor-seller's
md the tobacconist's, with the tradi-
ional con permesso Of excuse for en-
ering when they do not mean to buy
for the Romans are mostly
ivil people and fairly gool-natured
But rain or shine, at the busy hours, the
'lace is always crowded to OVERLOOKING
With every description Of vehicle and
very type of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Craw-
ord in Century