Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/10

20 Grutli, and many other such national appellations. In Italy they are called Alfieri, Dante, Tasso, Vico, Volta, Galileo, Manzoni, and so on; very symbolic of the dissimilar genius of the two countries. On this occasion the locomotive was the Arno which conducted me southward. The morning was glorious; and glorious seemed to me the green food-bearing earth, as I sped forward upon it; and the sun, in his ascent, lit up the great Alpine chain and their giant heads in the most gorgeous coloring of gold and crimson. We passed by Asti, the city where Alfieri was born, and the vineyards of which produce the most delicious grapes, which afforded to my palate its greatest enjoyment at Turin, and Alessandria, which—like Asti—is a town of increasing life and population.

The nearer we approached Genoa, the more hilly became the country, and therefore the more worthy of admiration was the construction of the railway, sometimes by means of viaducts, which, like goats, boldly throw themselves from rock to rock across the abysses. We reached Genoa in the afternoon. I took a cittadina, a little Genoese carriage, which conveyed me round the city for a whole half hour, probably with the view of receiving a higher payment, but nevertheless to my great pleasure, because it was Sunday, and the entire population of Genoa seemed to be abroad in the streets. Whichever way one looked, one saw men and women walking about for pleasure; all well-dressed, and all looking cheerful. Transparent snow-white gauze floated from the heads of the women, fastened into their beautiful dark hair with golden pins or ornaments, and beautiful dark