Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1925-01-08

| single village are really divided
| among several hanliets. included I'M
der one name but scattered about the
hillside In fashion which reveals
| separatist tendencies even in town at
| fairs.
BY following the coast we shall see
most of the larger villages of the is
land and by so much lose sight of the
| true Corsican, who looks down In
real as well as a figurative sense on
those who live In what to him are
crowded cities.
Scenery, Not Costumes.
Nowhere has nature so queened II
over her subjects. The people add
nothing to the scene. Certainly they
do not give 1t its interest. From the
attractive widows weeds of the Cours
Napoleon or the Place st. Nicolas to
the somber costume with green-hlack
headshawl which frames the saliow,
wrinkled faces of the old woman of
the interior, costume never flares forth
with lambent color as 1t does in Sar.
DINA, In India. or on the Dalmatian
coast. The men wear brown cordu-
roy; sometimes their sashes are broad
! enough and bright enough to add pig
ment to the picture.
But the Corsicans are humble folk.
| They gladly subordinate themselves
| to the scenery, saying that the land Is
so beautiful that it needs no poly
chrome costumes to make 1t attrac-
| tive. And when one sees with what
! Indifferent success the townfolk do
wear colors, he quickly reconciles him
self to the somber garb which stands
out so modestly against the beauty of
the land itself.
Countless tiny terraces where crops
grow at such cost of labor as one finds
among the Ifugaos Of the Philippines
or among the Chinese, testify to the
fact that the Corsican is not truly
slovenly. A certain thrift and fore
sight are habitual with him.
When the Greeks, no amateurs In
beauty, called Corsica 'Kalliste''-
Most Beautiful-they referred to
rugged coasts where blood-red rocks
plunge deep into the sea, where q soft
haze carries the succession OF lowell
ness across wide plains, between tall
mountains, to some distant snow-clad
peak, all opalesecent under the soft
glow Of departing day, where cascades
pour their shower of pearls against
rock cliffs as black as ebony.
Corsica is interesting because 1t is
Corsica. With all it's discomforts, the
laggard land is worth visit because
IT is laggard Such unspoiled spots
are so few In the modern world that
one can tolerate petty inconvenience
for the sake Of knowing people who
have been little affected by modern
ism.
NapoIeon's Town.
,, Ajaccio is Napoleon's home town.
One Is never allowed to forget that.
But he did Corsica the great dishonor
of quitting her shores, and few Corsi-
cans seem to care much about him.
Today Napoleon Is to Ajaccio what
Fujiyama is to Japan and the Capitol
to Washington sort of trademark
Of the place, with souvenirs Of all
sorts bearing his likeness and post
cards picturing his home In the Rue
st. Charles and his battles across half
the world
Officially. Ajaccio has done well by
her renowned son. The boulevard of
the city is the Cours Napoleon. The
visitor who arrives by sea lands on
the DUAL Napoleon. There is the Rue
du Rio de Rome and the Rue Ma
poieon. There is the Place du
Premier Consul, the Casa Napoleon.
Napoleon's Grotto, the Cafe Napoleon,
and the Cinema Napoleon. The peo-
pie make the concession Of smoking
Petit Tapofal cigarettes
Napoleon's honse is a barrack-like
structure, which it would be impos-
sible to see In its proper perspective
If the destruction of two houses op-
nosite had net made possible the lit
tie Place Letizia, frnns which one can
view the whole height Of four stories,
the upper three marked by IS regular
windows. as well as the family arms
and the sablet reading: Napoleon ]
est ne dams Cet.e Maison le XIV Aout
1769."