SECRETARY'S REPORT. 287 



iicitlier vitality nor enterprise enough to get up a revolution in 

 their domestic organization. They say it is want of money, but 

 the young men of family lounge about the cafes in idleness 

 without making an effort. 



In the neighborhood of Turin, as elsewhere, the uncertainty 

 of being able to gather the fruits of one's lab^or and expense, is 

 such as to deter many from attempting any improvements, and 

 not a few who have gone out of the city to build their country 

 villas have given them up in disgust at the annoyances to 

 which they were subjected in the loss of crops and fruits. I 

 wish we could say that we are exempt from this source of 

 annoyance, that we could have a reasonable certainty of being 

 able to enjoy the fine pears and other fruits that we take years of 

 patient care to produce, and it is but a poor consolation to find 

 other people suffering even worse than ourselves. 



Turin is a beautiful city, situated on the Po. The sidewalks 

 in many of the principal streets are covered with beautifully 

 arched colonnades; the architecture of the city is rather attrac- 

 tive, and much of it elegant. As the king, Victor Emanuel, and 

 the royal family were out of the city, we had the satisfaction of 

 seeing nearly the whole of the palace, including the private 

 apartments of his majesty and the rooms of various members of 

 the family. This was a privilege accorded to us as Americans, 

 I suppose, as there were many others who were refused admis- 

 sion, while we, explaining our position to the best oT our ability 

 in French, were not only admitted, but the polite attendant took 

 pains to explain and point out a great many objects of real 

 interest, which space does not permit me to dwell upon. 



We visited many of the churches also and the senate cham- 

 ber, full of the most superb paintings, many of them by Rubens. 

 Since the constitution was given to Piedmont, a much larger 

 degree of liberty of conscience and political action has been 

 enjoyed than in any other part of Italy. The Waldenses, a long 

 •persecuted band of evangelical Christians, were allowed to build 

 a church in Turin, which they occupy unmolested. In our walk 

 around the city we came across a large number of women wash- 

 ing clothes, leaning over a little dirty running brook, in a most 

 " back-achy " position. It was a sight we often saw in France, 

 Italy, Switzerland and Germany. In many places they have 



