JOTTINGS PROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 958, 1 June 1883, Page 2

JOTTINGS PROM A TRAVELLER’S JOURNAL.

[written SPECIALLY FOR THE “ASHBURTON GUARDIAN.”] No. XVII. (Concluded). J

Ospedaletti—San Remo—An Original Entertainment —A Clever Improvisators—An Unsavory Town—“ Such a Getting up St sirs” A Gaudy Church A Leper Hospital A Warning—Hard Nails

Resuming ray journey I passed Ospodaletti, a place that bids fair to become of some importance, A company of enterprising men of Lyons have taken it in hand and laid out a great deal of money in projecting and completing various works of improvement, hoping to raise Ospedaletti into the position of an attractive watering place. But I question if their efforts will meet with as much success as they deserve. Monte Carlo and Mentone are too near, and too well established in public favor. The aspiring rival will have but little chance in competing with them, even though it possesses one advantage of which they cannot boast—a picture gallery in the Town Hall of La Oolla.

In due time the train rolled into the station at San Remo, and I found comfortable quarters in the Victoria Hotel. After dining at the table d’ hote, I repaired to the Salle Recreazione, or, as we should say, to the drawing-room. There I had an opportunity of seeing a peculiar phase of Italian life. A man dressed as a gentleman in black coat and white kid gloves, proposed to entertain (he guests

by an exhibition ?-"of his talents as musician,ipoet, and improvisatore. He was accompanied by a female—rather showily dressed—whom Ipreau tried to be his wife. There was a good pianoforte in the room, and they sang several songs and duetts very creditably. . The duetts were eminently comic. The" words I did not understand, but the significant pantomime of the performers partially revealed the sentiment, and was ludicrous in the extreme. It is no figure of speech to say that my sides ached w .:h laughing, as I saw the man, at intervals-, caperihg about the room like a monkey, and imitating with hands and voice the music of a guitar with extraordinary precision. After the songs came the more serious part of the performance. The improvisatore asked some one present to give him a theme. A gentleman suggested “San Remo.” “That will do,” said the performer, bowing, and writing down' the word. “Now let each gentleman and lady in succession give me a word that is to constitute the last in each line of the poem I am to compose, and they must be words that will rhyme. ” He spoke broken English, so that I understood his meaning. He took down the words as suggested. Then he sat down, and for some tep minutes or so was busy with his pencil, occasionally pausing as if in search of an idea. I should have said that all the words given him to include in bis poem were Italian words. It was not long before he said finiio ; and stood up and read what he had composed with great emphasis and unction. Being in Italian, I could not understand the purport of his verses:; but I could perceive that he had succeeded in bringing in every word that had been suggested ; and from the applause that followed from those who could speak Italian, I gathered that his composition was one of considerable merit. It consisted of some twenty-five or thirty lines, and hp received the pommendations of his audience with evident satisfaction. I presume he’was too proud to ask directly for remuneration ; but it soon became apparent that be intended to be paid. He [ proposed a lottery. The tickets were two francs each, and every one present was expected to invest. Some purchased two or three. The prizes when drawn consisted of trifles that would not in the aggregate have cost as much as the price of a single ticket —one prize being a cigar, which, though the proverbial fickleness of the blind goddess Was won by a lady ! When the drawing was concluded, the well-rewarded performers—for they oar- ; ried off at least fifty francs—made their congees to the} company and withdrew. The fellow certainly displayed talent’; but that which rendered the exhibition somewhat distaa eful to me was his assumption of ’ gentility. < In, England, or the colonies, we do not object toil be amused ; but we do not relish strolling actors putting on airs iof social equality with those whom they entertain. The next day I took a stroll through the town. But gentle readers do not interpret this to mean an ordinary walk on level pavement or pathway, with pretty ihouses and tempting shops on either hand. Nothing of the kind; a walk up and down the ancient portion of San Remo is quite a laborious undertaking. Most of the streets run up hill at an angle of thirty or forty degrees, and form a complicated labyrinth. It is the queerest place I ever saw. And oh ! the unsavory odour.of the narrow lanes i Some of them not more than six or eight feet wide. At intervals flights of stone steps, supply the ..place of the ordinary paved causeway, and assist the pedestrian to mount: though 1 fancy the numerous mules and donkeys that are cohstantly going up and down must mentally "ote them a nuisance and obstruction.. As I watched if ho poor animals, heavily ladeu, ascending with laboring breath and jerking motion, I said to myself,“ Such a getting upstairs I never did see." '

The houses on each , side are so lofty that the sun never shines on some of the narrow thoroughfares; and as a natural consequence they ,afe generally damp and dirty. Arches of solid masonry are fre quently thrown across from house to house as: if to discpurage encroachment on the narrow space between. But I was told the real purport of those archeb was to keep the houses from toppling over, as some of them are not remarkably upright. Occasionally, moreover, San Romo is subject vo earthquakes;; and the unsightly additions are needed to guard against the effects of slight shocks. The sombre-looking dwellings rise 'tier above tier; the only light and ventilation the inhabitants can enjoy—that is, if they consider light and air conducive to enjoyment—must be obtained from the back, as the fronts of the buildings generally present blank mouldering surfaces of masonry. Here and there vines, having their roots under the paved causeway, are trained.up in tall bare stems to the flat roofs, where, out of sight, their branches, I suppose, can feel the influenoe of the sun, ani are allowed to spread’ and frvctify. Pome of the lower compartments of the houses are occupied by goats and donkeys ; and human beings, 1 in the other quarters, are huddled together like rabbits in a warren. The odors, as I passed certain ' openings and corners, with steps ascending to heights, or descending to mysterious depths, 1 had no desire to explore, were almost overpowering. As I toiled up towards the Church of Madonna della Costa, I was glad, at intervals, to protect my nasal organ with a handkerchief sprinkled with Eau de Cologne. Like moat of the churches I have seen, the interior of Madonna della Costa is gaudily adorned. There are, however, some frescoes on the roof which cannot be termed gaudy. They are beautifully executed, and are real works ot art. Ranged along the sides of the church are statues of some of the patriarchs, prophets, evangelists and saints, and in one of the chapels there are some pictures of ancient date.

. Right in front of the churdh, but on a lower level, is a large hospital for lepers. The view from the platform around the church is charming., All the disagreeables of the town are out of sight, only such local characteristics remaining as added interest to the scene. The quaint old place from 'his standpoint looked as if the houses were competing with one another in a race down the hill towards the sea. Villas and one or two suburban churches peeped from amidst the olive trees; and away in the distance southwards the blue outlines of the Island of Corsica could be traced.

The modern portion of San Remo, where European visitors congregate, has none of the unpleasant drawbacks of the old town. It is on the level mound that runs parallel with the sea beach, and consists mainly of one long street bordered with trees and lined with decent shops and several large hotels. Altogether, I much enjoyed ray sojourn at San Remo. I felt as if I were in a place that had as yet scarcely been touched by the transforming hand of modern innovation. The people are picturesque, both in person and costume. Little children, with round eyes and bronzed faces, stood in doorways, staring at me as I passed. Sturdi-framed women, with healthy olive complexions, and dark flashing eyes, were seen continually, carrying such heavy loads of firewood, or fruit, or wearing apparel, on their heads as caused me to wonder how their necks could bear the strain. Mule-drivers and vetturinos, in dresses that artists love to paint, cracked their whips incessantly, and cried to careless pedestrians to clear the way, while overhead the deep blue firmament flecked here and there by little clouds of pale golden hue, formed a fitting canopy Jo i a scene novel in its living features, and in its

natural varieties extremely interesting and attractive. V

I ought, however, to mention one unpleasant experience connected with travelling i n the central and southern parts of Italy. It is necessary to be constantly on guard against extortion and imposition; All classes—porters, cabmen, boatmen, itinerant dealers, and even respectable shopkeepers—seem to regard travellers as lawful prey. The shops display many tempting articles, but it is difficult to effect a purchase without discovering afterwards that you have been taken in, and paid more than double the worth of the object. The abominable system of asking twice or thrice as much as the vendor will ultimately be willing to accept rather than lose a customer is almost universal. .As a rule, an offer of one-third of the price demanded will generally suffice to conclude a bargain This makes trading a difficult and disagreeable operation. Those who are ignorant of the extortionate proclivities of Italian tradesmen are be cheated, and those whose consciences recoil from the apparent injustice of making a very large distinction between the sum they are willing to give and that which the seller declares -to be' the lowest he can afford to take, must make up their minds to pay in proportion to their sentimental delicacy. Yiatob.