Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-06-09
SCENES AMONG THE ALPS
GENERAL ROGERS VISITS FLORENCE
BOLOGNA AND VIENNA
Handiwork of Mighty Romans Still in
Evidence-Sees Tombs of Nota-
BILE Figures in History

three months in Florence, we left that
city of art, music, literature. palaces
and churches for the nor. n. A short
stop at Pistoja, we are reminded that
here Cataline made his last stand. and
tower is pointed out where he fell.
pierced with arrows. Approaching the
Apeninnes, we pass a country where
the vine is cultivated, bees make honey,
| silk worms spin eocoons, goats supply
milk, kids give their lives for gloves,
where women and men work in the
| fields together. The engine puffs hard.
| We ascend the Apennines; through tun-
nels, over bridges, through cuts in rock.
and then into six-mile tunnel, where
we go down grade at great speed. dash
| into tunnel, out in the sunlight, over a
yawning chasm, winding in and winding
out, following an old Roman road made
eleven centuries b. c. and still one of
the worlds great highways after two
Thousand years in use Hannibal pass
| ed this way snd is said to have rested
| his spearmen, elephants, camels and
servants preparatory to the war with
Rome. We halt a; Bologna and found
this place not only distinguished for its
university and revival of education
after the centuries of darkness:
that men went to A giers. Tunis, Alex
andria and Cairo to study chemistry.
architecture, medicine aud mathema
tics, returned here and established a
school of 10, 900 students / went to
the old eleventh-cen University,
which has 5000 young men enrolled
The city is also noted for its beautiful
churches and conspicuous is the st.
Dominic. That goody saint, after
building and establishing the Dominican
order in Florence TO teach faith, came
to Bologna, died and his ashes are said
to rest under the main altar Here too
was the discovery of bologna sausage
From Bologna to the Alps, more than
a hundred miles, is the of the fertile
spots of this globe. The Poe and Adige
flow to the Adriatic; the waters from
the river bed largely distributed through
the vineyards, where mulberry trees are
in rows supporting the vine. This time
of year is the pruning season and men
are busy cutting the years growth,
while women and children are tying
them in bundles for fuel. The mulber-
ry leaf is the natural food for the glut-
tonous silk worm; when there is no
mulberry the worm viii eat lettuce, but
it does not spin as good a thread as
".
ran into Venice the unique city, in the
Adriatic. When we see the great
churches, the palaces and buildings that
housed 200, ,000peope; to make the foun-
dation, bring the heavy rock from the
mountains forty miles away, the marble
from Greece, we wonder at the under
taking. The tide comes in twice a day
with fresh sea water, and takes out the
do Sssf kx. tbs.
with the door step and in former years,
with an east wind, The tide Hooded the
lower fieors 70 cees ONE that, out in
/ the sea "a few miles, was built a cyclo-
pean seawall that keeps back the east
wind-made tide, an undertaking that
was stupendous.
Leaving Venice for the north, we
ran through a beautiful vine country
for fifty miles, then pasture, wheat and
alfalfa farms. Before us are the noun
tains, which the louj-puiiing engine in
dicates are up grade. We run to the
base of those stupendous uplifted giants
that in some age of formation was lift
ed by mighty power, stood aslant,
then trembled and broke We ride up
gorge; we look up and see the crest
in snow, sublime, grand and awful. We
are following up a gorge where the
wild boar first made track; then came
race after race to the valley of the Po
to conquer. Up this gorge Trojan
marched his legions ard passed on to
the Danube TO conquer the Docious,
whom he made carry to Rome the
spoils of war, erected the Temple of
Trojan and the Column Trojan that
stands in the ruins of the temple today,
and no despoiler seems to destroy the
column, while the temple fell centuries
and centuries ago Marcus Aureiius
marched his legions this way, camped
his army where Vienna now stands and
died here. His legions took to Rome
the spoils of war and cast bronze
statue of Marcus astrde a Roman stall
lion, and sculptOrs stand before that
piece of art on the Capitoline hill TO
study the perfection Of the work and
model from it, We leave the noun
tains and enter the farm lands Of Aus
tria. We pass through one Of the fin
est countries | have ever seen. The
land so well cultivated, the fields clean,
everything cleared up and cared for.
The hills have been reforreste6, high
up the mountains thick with pine, low
er down nut-bearing trees. sery
available spot of unproductiye soil is
planted to some kind of tree desig-
mated by forester. Therefore Aus
tria has an abundance of fuel and the
climate is improved by the forest. The
law is so severe that when tree is
feiled, one muss be planted
found Vienna one of the best built
cities in Europe Its broad streets,
large buildings and parks. the churches
and places of amusements are all Of
much Interest. Austria has honored
her statesmen, kings, queens and EN-
perors in bronze, placed heir incinerat-
ed hearts in urns in vaults, their bodies
in bronze cofiins and hose in the base
ment of the Capuciau monastery. We
go down to the resting place Of the
Hapsburg family. We stand before
the large bronze sarcophagus Of Maria
Therese, she who ruled long and then
went TO sleep and sleeps ir the base
ment. Nearby is the tomb Of the Duke
of Reichstadt. the only son Of Napoleon,
on whom the great warrior expected 10
confer the title of the ruler of Europe
Napoleon died far away in exile, leav
ing a service as a warrior who aroused
Europe, but finally. on the field Of Wat I
erlOo, (where visited one year ago., !
his army met defeat and his glory
passed away. | stood by his tomb in
Paris; today / stood by the bronze eOf- (
fin in the midst Of the Hapsburgs /
Close by is the tomb Of Maximilian.
whom Napoleon III sent 10 Mexico to
establish an empire in disregard of the
Monroe doctrine. Our Civil war ended,