Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1854-02-16
From the Boston Post.
Letter from Naples.

don is business-like, Paris, "fast'' anc
gay, Copenhagen dull, Hamburg sensu
al and easy, Berlin literary and "gen
teel," and Rome antiquarian and lovely
even in decay; but Naples is downright
happy. 1t is pre-eminently the city o
all nations, all vehicles, and all trades
Such contrasts cannot be found in an
other place in Europe Everybody
knows how Naples looks, on paper
everybody goes into raptures about the
bay of Naples; everybody who has seer
lit boasts of it, and everybody that
hasn't seen it wants to. For a single
picture that greets the eye at once, il
probably presents about the finest dis
Iplay of water and land, city, country,
volcano and crag, island and main land,
that can be found on the eastern cont,
nent. But it is with its social and char
acteristic features as city that have
to deal. Its cosmopolitan and polyglott
character, l believe, beats everything
this side of sunrise. Though suffering
from indisposition part of the time, and
brought on l believe by the climate, yet
think / have never spent ten days
more agreeably in any city.
Our steamer came to anchor near the
quay, and we were soon surrounded by
crowds of boats. New York cabmen
could not be more vociferous than were
these water-ozels for our patronage
One chap, Il shall never forget him, a
Greek, spoke, believe, every language
in Europe. In English and Yankee
slang he would beat any blackguard in
New York or London. He begged to
be the very humble servant of any pas
senger, no matter from what country;
and he would greet them in their own
language. English, French, German,
Spanish, Italian, Greek, Maltese, Turk
ish and Arabic, he said he could speak,
and nearly all of these he had occasion
to speak to different persons on board.
He was a slight-made, 1.-THE, active fel
low, about twenty years old-rather
dark complexion, very black eyes, thin
lips, and a sinister, knavish expression
that was not pleasing. His English
was as pure and free of foreign accent
as any one who had spent his life in New
York or London. He recommended
the New York hotel, but would conduct
passengers anywhere. 1 told him 1
would 90 to the New York hotel, but
that l could carry my own luggage.
He begged as very special favor to
carry my knapsack-didn't want any
pay for it; in fact, wouldn't receive pay
on any account. l asked him how he
learned so many languages. o! he
says, my countrymen have a great
faculty of picking up languages. Says
he, l was born in Corfu, have lived in
Malta, Egypt and Italy, but was never
west of here. l asked after steamer
to Messina. He said there was one in
three or four hours; at P. NJ; but no
use to think of going by it, for it took at
least day to get a passport ready
MEM He lied, and l told him l was
sure he did, and as l found, for got all
ready an hour before the vessel left,
and did my own business at that, with
out employing him. After showing me
to the police station and the American
Consuls, Paid him and told him 1
could get along without his further ser
vice. "O," says he, ''you must have
me; you can't get along without; you'll
find everything just as say; Pm no
blackguard, sir; Pm no blackguard;"
and when he found no more was to be
got, he bid me good bye, and wished me
a pleasant voyage to Sicily.
At the custom-house they took very
careful look at my two OF three shirts
and stockings, and examined very criti-
cally roll of engraVings that l brought
from Russia. They held them up TO
the light, and tried, 1 fancy, if they
couldn't see a revolutionary letter to
Mazzini, or a proclamation to Kossuth
among them. They failed, and reluc-
family gave me my two and sixpence
worth of pictures, and three shillings
worth of clothes 1 asked them if
there was any fee, and they said no;
but an officer held out his hand like an
Arab for "bucksheish;" but | didn't
understand. He followed me out; i
kept walking faster and faster, and he
nearly tripped himself up by getting
his sword between his legs. / clapped
my thumb to my proboscis and gyrated
the digitals, and thus | smoked him out.
finally told him to give my compli-
ments to his royal master king Bomba,
and ask him how he got along hanging
innocent republicans. He then left me.
q After had returned from Sicily,
took up my quarters at the hotel. and
began to look about me. The variety
of vehicles and teams to drawsthem is
certainly beyond anything I've seen on
the face of the earth. Stand on the
corner of the street and count and de-
scribe every vehicle for half an hour,
and you could get enough to rig out all
Christendom.- Videlicet: bull and a
mare drawing load of stones; a cow
and a camel with. a cartful. of corn
stocks; a ram and goat with the ba-
bies in a child's wagon, led by a nurseI
two ojackasses and an OK with a large
cask of wine in q cart; a royal prince
with a coach and horses; a mule and an
OK with aloadof pumpkins; two horses,
for wonder, harnessed to an English
brougham. Among all this motley