New-York tribune., 1905-01-14
IN TUSCANY.
Charming Sketches, Urban and
Rustic.

OLD FLORENCE AND MODERN TUSCANY. BY
Dutton & c.
There is witchery in Mrs. Ross's little volume.
The spell is wrought of Tuscan beauty. poetry
and the strange and moving histories Of an
cient fame and crumbnng castle, of sunny days
in vineyard and olive orchard and wanderings
afeld with the stately figures of the past To
bury ones self In these pages is almost-alas.
not quite-as delightful a visit to that land OF
magic.
OF the Tuscan peasants. Mrs. Ross writes
with affectionate warmth. To those who might
think her pictures too hattering she can only
say that she has lived among these people for
thirty-four years, and "that nowhere does the
Golden Rule. DO as you would be done by hold
good so much In Italy" Their hard work.
ing lives lghtened by oldtime grace and
gentleness not to be found elsewhere The beau
tiful Tuscan tongue Of the great poets is still
spoken by farmers and shepherds and the char
coal burners in the mountains. and round the
fire Of winter nights they read Tasso and i'm
prov1se verses of their own There is poverty
enough among the farm lands. but poetry. good
humor honesty and kndliness galore. The
vintage time is as joyful It is picturesque
and friendly:
No peasant or padrone refuses grapes to any one
them plenty and why should they. In their turn. not
universal readiness to give is one why there
Is so little stealing here. You see vines null of
any any sort OF fence, and yet no one Of the country
or thirty poor people standing quietly looking on
until called TO receive their dole of grapes with
''Dio We ne renda merito' At home they viii mix
water. Eater with the mush they squeeze out Of their
feTnaented together) for the winter The same thing
mkt mixture Of wine and water IS distributed to the
houses or poorhouses. save in the chief towns
when aims are distributed to all who come and ask
Tuscany stin holds to the ancient system of
half and half tenure. the proprietor finding the
capital and the peasant the labor. There are
peasant families who have lived from one gen.
GRAFTON to another for a hundred and eighty
years on certain great estates. and between the
mobiles in the villa and the people of the farm
there are strong bonds Of affection as well as Of
interest. The Tuscan peasant is devoted to the
old ways OF doing things-many OF his methods
are those which Virgil describes-and the pro-
prietor who would persuade his rustics to adopt
any modern improvements must make his
venture gingerly. The vines are planted and
trained, the wine made as in virgtTs day. and
the thrashing floor is OF the same beaten clay.
The peasant would find it much more profitable
to buy the wheat for his bread, getting his
money for the purchase from other crops less
hard upon the soil But his forefathers grew
their own grain and he must do the same
what was good enough for them is good enough
for me-" Bread IS "the chief of his diet" and
that its quality is excellent the author assures
US. When there IS e. bad year the proprietor
gives the "contadini" what wheat they need
and is repaid In wine or olive oil There is no
socialism among those Tuscan peasants.
The making Of oil in late November is less
Jolly performance than IS the vintage, the
weather being chilly by day; but IN the evening
the workers invite their friends to come and
eat toasted bread dipped in the new oil. which
is delicious. like a decoction Of very aromatic
herbs"
arfairs, and the young people sing dance and make
love Girls here never dance out of their
homes or the houses of friends. and "feste" and
saints days the young men dance together out of
As that girl who is engaged TO be married either
does not go to the feste, II she goes. she puts
on her everyday working dress. and does not wear
her best earrings and bright celored little shawl
from the general company, and her ''fdanZato. or
afianced husband, does not talk to her.
The evening passes awe" nerTily. for many of
the young men play the guitar or the accordion,
Some Of the old "contadnf' are renowned for their
talent story tellers but their tales all about
real people No Northern Italian has ever heard
Of a fairy or a hobgoblin. and ghosts scarce
ana are held IN small estimation.