FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   2088   2089   2090   2091   2092   2093   2094   2095   2096   2097   2098   2099   2100   2101   2102   2103   2104   2105   2106   2107   2108   2109   2110   2111   2112  
2113   2114   2115   2116   2117   2118   2119   2120   2121   2122   2123   2124   2125   2126   2127   2128   2129   2130   2131   2132   2133   2134   2135   2136   2137   >>   >|  
e manner of the holy Charles Peace, of saintly memory. Arkansaw--it seems a little indelicate to be trumpeting forth our own superiorities, and comparisons are always odious, but still--Arkansaw would certainly have hanged Baker. I do not say she would have tried him first, but she would have hanged him, anyway. Even the most degraded woman can walk our streets unmolested, her sex and her weakness being her sufficient protection. She will encounter less polish than she would in the old world, but she will run across enough humanity to make up for it. The music of a donkey awoke us early in the morning, and we rose up and made ready for a pretty formidable walk--to Italy; but the road was so level that we took the train.. We lost a good deal of time by this, but it was no matter, we were not in a hurry. We were four hours going to Chamb`ery. The Swiss trains go upward of three miles an hour, in places, but they are quite safe. That aged French town of Chamb`ery was as quaint and crooked as Heilbronn. A drowsy reposeful quiet reigned in the back streets which made strolling through them very pleasant, barring the almost unbearable heat of the sun. In one of these streets, which was eight feet wide, gracefully curved, and built up with small antiquated houses, I saw three fat hogs lying asleep, and a boy (also asleep) taking care of them. From queer old-fashioned windows along the curve projected boxes of bright flowers, and over the edge of one of these boxes hung the head and shoulders of a cat--asleep. The five sleeping creatures were the only living things visible in that street. There was not a sound; absolute stillness prevailed. It was Sunday; one is not used to such dreamy Sundays on the continent. In our part of the town it was different that night. A regiment of brown and battered soldiers had arrived home from Algiers, and I judged they got thirsty on the way. They sang and drank till dawn, in the pleasant open air. We left for Turin at ten the next morning by a railway which was profusely decorated with tunnels. We forgot to take a lantern along, consequently we missed all the scenery. Our compartment was full. A ponderous tow-headed Swiss woman, who put on many fine-lady airs, but was evidently more used to washing linen than wearing it, sat in a corner seat and put her legs across into the opposite one, propping them intermediately with her up-ended valise. In the seat thus pirated, sat
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   2088   2089   2090   2091   2092   2093   2094   2095   2096   2097   2098   2099   2100   2101   2102   2103   2104   2105   2106   2107   2108   2109   2110   2111   2112  
2113   2114   2115   2116   2117   2118   2119   2120   2121   2122   2123   2124   2125   2126   2127   2128   2129   2130   2131   2132   2133   2134   2135   2136   2137   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

streets

 

asleep

 
morning
 

pleasant

 

Arkansaw

 

hanged

 

Sundays

 

windows

 

fashioned

 

dreamy


taking

 

battered

 

regiment

 

Sunday

 

continent

 

stillness

 
shoulders
 

sleeping

 

projected

 

flowers


creatures

 

soldiers

 

absolute

 

bright

 
prevailed
 

street

 

living

 
things
 

visible

 
thirsty

headed
 
ponderous
 

scenery

 

compartment

 

evidently

 

intermediately

 

propping

 
valise
 
pirated
 

opposite


washing

 
wearing
 
corner
 

missed

 

manner

 

arrived

 
Algiers
 

judged

 

tunnels

 

decorated