l. The great snow-capped mountains were still on our
left and behind us; while beneath, almost buried in the valley, lay a
little town, Stazione 86. Yet once more we are engulfed in a long
tunnel, almost seeming to fly down the rapid descent. We now leave the
great Alpine range circling in our rear; and now precipitous mountains
tower on our right hand, the fir-tree forests with which they are
clothed evidently a source of great profit to the good people here, who
are felling, cutting, sawing, and evidently preparing to send the timber
away. And now, at 12.45 p.m., we reach Modane, are past the Italian
boundary, and once more in _la belle France_.

Here there is a good buffet, and a French breakfast ready for those who
wish it.

* * * * *

And now farewell to fair Italia! Her loveliness of Nature and beautiful
works of art; her magnificent Cathedrals and splendid Palaces; her
treasure-filled galleries and wonderful museums; her noble monuments
and queenly ruins--fit emblems of her glorious past; and to her generous
and patriotic men and women a reluctant adieu and tender farewell.

Alas, that there should be any reverse to such a picture! that there
should still linger in her churches and religious life the fluttering
rays of a blighting superstition! that there should be a want of true
modesty and cleanliness in the habits of her people! that an ignoble
love of ease should still characterize her upper classes, while the
lowest orders generally are steeped in ignorance and importunate
mendicancy! and that enervating and dirty habits should be engendered in
her people by their inveterate indulgence in the cheap wine and tobacco
of the country!--though, in common fairness, I should add that it is as
rare to see drunkenness in Italy as, unfortunately, it is common in our
own country.

There are things in fair Italy, as doubtless there are in fair England,
to which there is no reluctance on our part to bid adieu, and among
them, to descend to smaller grievances, are the exorbitant hotel
charges; disgusting railway station accommodation; and dirty railway
carriages, owing chiefly to the national habit of persistent smoking,
and the difficulty of keeping the smokers to their own compartments.

Yet with all these drawbacks, one cannot but feel that Italy is
springing into a noble national life. I believe she has a great heart
and a great future before her, which will prove worthy of her pas