The Express.
London, England, 1853-05-26 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 28, 1853.

NEAPOLITAN CABS AND CABMEN.

A word, however, about the Neapolitan tudinea
(a corruption probably of the word Citadine) ; they are
little open•hooded carriages on four wheels, drawn by one
horse, and are quite a characteristic of Naples. They go
very feat, and when you call one, they start off like • pea
out of a pap-gun, and never wait [or a moment to learn
where you are going. Their drivers are among the most
honest and best conducted men in Naples, and you never
have a dispute about a fare. Though, as far as I can
see also, everything in Naples is to the full as dear as in
London (people who live here say dearer), the demand for
whisking you from one end of the tows to the other is not
quite &epsilon. They might be • little cleaner and
better, to be sure ; but theylare not; so dirty as
our Babe, go much faster, and out a very great
deal less. The consequence is, nobody walks in Naples, and
you have only to show yourself at • doorway for three or
four of them to coma gal lopping up, laughing and quarrel-
ling, before, perhaps, you have an idea of gettiag into any
one of them. It was odd to me, at first, that nobody got
hart is them, as they tear, at a racing pace, over the net
pavement; but a very short trial enabled me to feel quite
at my ewe, and as safe in one of them ea in an arm-chair.
The pavement of flat rough stones is, I confess, the chief
secret. Ido not recommend it for London, because I have
no information to guide me as to its cost; and correct
inewm from oncial sources are not, I am told, to be
thought of here. Bat this I know, that it is easy, safe, sad
(wieder., which no London pavement ever was or is; and
if the proper stone is to be got at a fair price, the sooner we
lay it down from Piccadilly to Wapping the better. The
coachman in his short brown jacket and flower-pot hat, has
on a pair of cheek trousers given him last year by •
traveller, and has worn them ever since. He is • cheerful
sort of fellow—the very beau ideal of a good-for-nothing
lasy genius, who will take to nothing bat to driving some
body else's bone. He knows almost everybody we pus
(ears sign of an unsteady gentleman). There are plainly
some one or two be would rather not see : and once or twice
I fancied he was flogging his active little horse in apprehen-
d= of pursuit ; but he had generally an impudent nod for
owe, a smile for another, and now and then • wink, which I
would rather not have seen responded to se readly ; inso-
much as I noticed on one occasion that it was accompanied
by • thrust of the tongue into the cheek, to indicate me ;
and that the passers by seemed to have a lively appreciation
ammo pleasantry at m expense. The regiments is the
same all over the world, fromfrom Naples to Notting-hill; he
only changes his same.—Diekenee Horeehold Words.

BAL MASQUIE AT CREMORNI GARDENS.—It has
foe several yearn bees a custom at Vauxhall to celebrate the
Darby day by a kimetepii, and the proprietor of Cremorse
Garet" amiss that he has in most other respects eclipsed
the mere meekest plum of entertainment, resolved to offer to
hie phew as typertsaity of seeing what could be done by
him is the meeteseade way. Accordingly, the whole of
the remmene ef the setaltliabment were put in requisition,
and to the awdl=Wlßafiernents of the place were added a
algid bailees sod • mimicry of the great race of the
day. The varied elareeter of the gardens, which are now
in full beauty, is pessliarly adapted for a Pt* of this kind ;
and when the welhlighted grounds Mere covered in all
directions with medley groups in fancy costumes (about
which no one is ever very critical now-a-dila), toned
down as they were by the sober evening dress
of
the lee daring male visitants, the spectacle
was about the best of the kind that could be seen in this
country. The male was excellent, the refreshments
abundant, and the fineness of the night being undeniable,
there was everything to exhilarate those who came to enjoy
themselves, which they accordingly did with right good-
will ; and in every respect the proprietor of the gardens
has every reason to congratulate himself on the success of
his efforts to amuse the very numerous assemblage that
wee so jovial at his bal masque last night.
RAVEN SUPERSTITION.—On a recent occasion, at
as ordinary meeting of the guardians of the poor, an appli-
cation was made by the relieving officer on behalf of •
single woman residing in the church village at Altarnan.
The cause of seeking relief was stated to be " grief," and
on askiog for an explanation, the officer stated that the
applicant's inability to work was] owing to depressed spirits,
produced by the flight of • croaking raven over her dwell-
ing es the morning of his visit to the village. The pauper
was by this circumstance, in connexion with its well-known
ominous character, actually frightened into a state of
wretched nervous depression, which induced physical
want —Notes and Queries.

STATISTICS OY SCHOOLS AND SCIIOLAILS.—Yester-
day an interesting parlismentary return was printsti re-
specting day and Sunday schools and scholars. In 1818,
there were 19,230 schools ; in 143, 38,971 ; and in 1841,
46,114. In 1818, the scholar in day schools numbered
674,883; in 1833, 1,267,917 ; mad In 1831, 2,144,377. Of
Sunday !hoots there were 5,463 in 1318 ;16,828in 1833 ; and
23,498 in 1851. The seholsn in 1818 numbered 477,226 ;
La 1833,1,548,890 ; sad is 1851, 2,407,409.