Turin--the Convent, Palace, Arsenal, &c.

ïubin, Aug. 25th, 1864 I arrived at Turin ia the eveninc;. The hotel, tho supper, aad eapec.ally the bed, were throa thingg that dctliyhtej the heart of au Alpine voyager. O, repose, thou art sweet to a weary manThou ronewogt his strength like tho eagle's, thou proparoat him to see and to feel, thou givcst iuterest to things that otherwise were " hamhugH " Thoae uiuo hours of sloop at Turiu ! How can I describe them ? When wilt tboir memory fail ? A crazy man's repose at Martigny ; a restlesa dozo on St. Bornard ; do sleep at all at Aosta - oh ! waa!t it a cbarm to sink iato forgetfulneM at Turin ! And sleep I did, witfa a vengeance ; so that the morrow'8 san saw me refreehed and gay, and soon ready with cane ia hand, and guide book uudor arm, to go forth and explore. Turin resembles very maoh an Amarican city. It is compartirely new, bas grown rpidly, nd its streel are parallel and strait as arrowa. To surround the town are wide avenues with shaded promenades, whore e?ery afteroooa the gontry ride, and the lean monde appoara ïhe buildingB aeern bbw and attractive, and void of that old and dreary appaarauce which oharacterizea tbe most of Italian eit'.os. Then, too, lía citizens hare a sort of an American look and air. Tall of stature, meagro of bofi?, tho Italian is a good repreé-ntatiye of Jonathan. He marches with a quick pace, and au iudopendent air, carrying a glouoh bat upon his head, and wjuare L-jed boots upon his fest, and if seen in London, the EngHghra&n might cali him a bonafide Yaukee. I3ut can tho comparison be carriod further ? Doe he lore liberty as he lovoa his existence ? is he proud of bis country and iu iustitutions? doea he bow to no title but intellect - no distinction but merit ? loas he do bis duty iu gpite of the opinión of the world ? and above all doea he fear God and honor virtue ? thon hu need but alter hia language and chungo hia name, to make him every inoh a true Amertcan. My (rat gtepa carriod me to the banka of tbe Po - here not as larga nor aa pretty aa the Hurón. I orossed it, ascended the ahaded luil upon the opposite uide, aud soon stood in the court of the Convent of the Capuchins. The morning was beautiful, and permitted me to enjoy the charming panorama bofore me. ïhe red tile roofs of ïunn were bouoath me, the plains of Lombardy extendel afar around mo, while for a back-grouud the Alpe appeared, guveruod by tho saow peaks of lacran aud Rosa. I stood a long while admiriug the scène, and tiieu tnrning, I eutered the Oouvent. Oue of the brotherhood answerod to my sumuious, and kindly conduoted tno about the establishment. I saw the chap3l whero the inonks assemblo ; I visitod the little eella where thcy sleap ; I entorod the garden whcre thcy promenade, aud ssw several of the order walking löiüurely about, readiug or eonversing. I remarked their a-t'.ire. A long, heavy browu robe covers their body, faüleued with a cord at the waist, whenco hangs a rosary and a crucifix. Their baro foot are thrusi iuto miserable sandal, no lint covers their head, and their long beardii look as ancient s St. Francis bimself. tf there are sornc tbing admirable in the Catholic rehgiou, are also thiugs to be eondemned, When I see this order of Capuahins slintting themselves up almost in eoliffsry confiuemeut ; depriring their social nature of that intorcouiso f(ir which man is made; treating huniunity as if despising it ; making a virtue of what ia wliimsical in mannore, di'es, and ae'ion; hiding their light aa men, patrióte, and christians; expesting to pleaiö God bj a eort of tion, or, as Byrmi has it, "bopÍDg to merit hoavcn by mnkiug oarth a hell" - , wheu I "seo all 1 Lis, I cannot but rejoice that Víctor Eiuanuel has broken the spell, has abolished lbo groater part of the convonts, and has said to their inmates, "come fofth, doff your dirty robes, tiiin your patriarehal beards, lay asido your lazy habituáis, and tu work or to prieon I" Frorn the Convent of the Capuchina I started to the Palace of the king - one proud of its povcrty, tho oiher rojoicing iu its wealth - two representativos of thoaa extreme which iill the world, and sbape the eondition of men. The Palacn is built of brick, auc! its exterior is auything but prepossessing. But within, ono rambles through decorated salons, through gallorie of paiutings, through tho Reception Hall, through the Stnte Cbamber, through the Throne-room, and thc-Q eutora tho&Privata Chapel of the rojal famüy. It ie a cyclostyle, built of dark inaible, aud conUics stat uea and iDonuine:it9 to the anceators of Victor Einanuel. Here the eye dvvells particularly upon tLe white marble atatuo, ercotod by the kinjj to bis, "tho most afrectionate of mves;" and the very oouutouauoe of the slatue soems to say that tbc eulogium is not a mere sepulohral rodomontada. As I came forth from the Palaoe, I ould not but moralizo a little. It euggeated to me an instruotive eomparison. Hero was a building whose exterior was old, gloomy, aud unattrnotive. Oae would calj. it a smoking machiue-ahop rfilhor than the palace of a king. But when one enters and soes tho gilded ceilings, and mirrored walls, aud decorated columns - whan the richuess and tho beauty of tho interior burst upon him, ha murmura to himself, thia is a palaee'ia doed. My friend, c;in you gue.s what was my comparison. It waa with soms poor, affected meuibcr of earth's human t. ty. I have soen such an one. Her,iterior vraa deformod, ugly, repulsivo. Man turned away in pity or disgust. But could he havo openyd tha door of her heart, and gazed into that chamber within, ha would have blushed in view of his own corruptioii before the purity, the sweetness, the holiness of that bou!. An outcast upon earth, a solitaire among her oirn, on account of exterior, she hss boeome an adopted child in heavon, and her eompaniona are tha angels, ouly booause of her interior. The arsenal oí the palace is very fiua, evea guperior to that ot the Tower of London, to ciy mitid. llora one walks batwean prancing steeds, with brave knighta attired 'n ancient armor, holding lance íq hand, and appareutly ready to figbt to the death. I almost expeoted to hear tho signal of the tournsment given ; to sea the doughty heroe rids gallantly forth ; to witne tha shock of the combat, and hear the applaiisa of tho chivalry and the fair. But, alas, the arena resolved itselt into a city aranal ; the brave wsrrior had evarything necos aary but tha body and lift ; and the proud stsed ueoded oothing bat a breath of "animal spirits" to mika him move majestically. One sees here also rich presonts ko to the king, fro:n ome Iadisn nabob, or Arabian prinee. Here are swordswithhandlesof gold and rubíes, albums sparkling with diamonds, crowns and neoklaces of the riohest ore and the purest brilliants. There, too, the oye is arrested by model of modern invention in war and the meful art - the latter of more valua than golden arrnour, more precious than sparkling crowns. From the Arsenal it is only a step to the Pal ace of Madame - the art gallery of Turin. Hera one admires tho produotiona of the men whosa names have filiad the world. Tarrari, Noronese, Luini, Titten, Oaracoi, Niucini - how rioh is Italy iu artistio genius ! But Italy is but a representativa of Europa iu.goneral. The Old World hag a. dovelopmeut towards the boautiful which the New knows nothiug of. The riohest towu in Amei'ioa has searcely a gallery of paiutings that will compare with that of the poorest city in Europo. Why ia América thua behinfl the world ? Have wo uo addiiratiou for the beautiful ? Have we do gouiusoa who can illuatrate our couutry as Raphael and Angelo havo illustrated iheirs ? It is uot enough to say that we are youug - too youug yot to develop art. Some of tne fiueat paiutingH of' the Old World are not one huudred yuars of age ; and to-day ten huudrud artista aro at work whom posterity will admire. We are old enough to have dovuluped i Rubenï, or a Rembrandl, or a Holbein, or a David. Let us thtju rocomponso art mora than we have ; let us have also schools of design ; lot overy city have its museum of paintings, and thon Europe can not sneer at our dovolopuient towardi the boautiful, aud cali us a uatiou of commoroj aud of interest only. Every ouo who visita Tuíin, should 20 to tho Superga - or the tomb of the kings of Bavoy. It is gome distance from the city, upon a comraanding position, aud is approached by a difficult route lts situation is suoh that it is conapicuoui from afur. The uun is roreöeoied upon its imposiug domo and coloniiade of marble. When ona enters he is Btruek wi'.hils majestic proportiona. The cold m:irble ha.a been moulded into life and bcuufy. The sculpturetl altara, repr setting in b;issrelief wliat the puinter repi'esouts upou tbo caovass, ars eiefs d'oeiivre of art. Every thing is of marble-flo.orj ceiliog, columns, altara. Every thing seems ricb, aud made to outlast the eenturies. In the crypt are the tombs of tho kings of Lbo House of Savoy, the finest of which b that of Charles Albortj falber of Victor Emauuel. Tread sof'.ly then, O, voyagcr, for you are walking over the asbes of kiugs. Aud yet wby should we honor them now ; why these gorgeous tombs above their skeletona? They are no longer kinga ; the universal Loveler has met thom, bas stripped them of thoir crowns, i and iheir bodica are not respected by the worms The king bas become the slavs ; the pomp of ïoyalty ha paaaed aa a (íream iu the niglit, and perhaps the de;td mnnarch would give a kingdom to atand for a moment whcro now stands Bome detid subject, ouoö poot in gooda, but rich in faitb. I shal! Iea7o Turin without a glimpse at the king - a sad thing for s young republican ! His Majesty is rery fond of the chaso, and when the Chanibers aro proroguad, and the gtatesmen have withdrawn from tho oapital, Viotor Emanftel doas hia hunting suit, calis about him Lis chasseurs and houndi1, and biddiog goodbye to the afl'airs of state, is off to the North upon a bunting excursión. He is thua employed at present, and o Mr. Republican consola yoursolf, and bo contentod at socing the paraphernalia of royaliy, without gazing upoa the uiaa who is the soul of it all. To raorrow southward.