New-York tribune., 1867-09-06
THE MEDITTRRAYEAN EXCURSION
cyIrA vrccnIA TIE FoRLoRN.

CIYITA VECCHlA TIL fDKLOKN.
From Our Special Correspondent
Ar LARGE IN ITALY, July, 1867.
This is the vest nest of dirt, yermin and Ignor-
r,ncs We have cot into yet except that African per
dtion they call Tangier which is just like 1t. The
ncop,e here live in alleys two yards wide 1t is
ueky the alleys are not wide, because they hold as
much smell now a person can stand ana Oh course
;f they were wider they would hold more, and then
the people would die These alleys are paved with
stone and carpeted with sluah, and decayed rags;
and dccomposed vegetable tops, and remnants OF oia
boots all soaked with dishwaer and the people sit
around on stools and enjoy IT. They are lndOent as
a general thing and yet have few pastmes. They
work two or three hours at tmo but % 1Gs arn daes aa not
require talent, because they only have to grab-f
they do MT get the they are after, they get an
other 1t is all the same 10 mem insy WybnSever S oS one
they got is the one they want. ihey nave olner
kinds of insects, but it does not make them airoSc
They are very quiet u9ptScnatbS tban other com
munities, but they do not brag. :: sao &;
They are very unceanly, these people, IN face IN
person. and dress When they see anybody win a
clean shirt on, 1t arouses their scorn Inc women
wash clothes half the day at the pubhc 1ouhlaihs
but they are probably somebody elses; or, may pe
they keep one suit TO and another to wash De-
| cause they never any that have ever Decn
washed. When they get done washing. they st IN
the alleys and nurse their cubs. All the women IN
Ciyta Vecchia have largo families They nurse one
at time and the others scratch their backs against
the door-poss and are happy All the people scratch
II is their delight There Is rusty shrine mere anu
there along the streets where tho people can watch
and pray but they don't do that; they scratch ana
pray. They like it better: u
All this country is presided over by the Pope They
do not appear TO have any schools here and only one
billiard table. Their education ~ at very low
stage. One portion of the men 60 into the Initary'
another into the priesthood third INTO H tne SO0-
They keep up the passport system here yet, but so
they do in Turkey This shows that Turkey Is not
malignant villains may say to the contrary had 10
| get my passport ylsed III Florence ana thch tney
would not let me come ashore here from
mfgnSdan a@ined it ON on the Wharf and sent me permit
They did not dare TO let me take my passport IN
my hands for ~ hours looked so formidable. Ihey
Judged il best to let me cool down They thought
wanted To take the town; likely. But such was not
my desre-nOt If had chance to swap OIL ana take
tie smallpox, any, how. They examined my baggage
at the depot a while ago. They passed my shirts but
they held on 10 my toOhbrush, so as to lay before
the Board of Commissioners and let them find out
what is for and whether there is any harm In 1t or
my shipmate. who is particular about his teeth to an
extont which is ridiculous And they took
of those extraordinary conundrums which
Il get up sometimesl and read 1t over carefully
and then read it again. and finally turned 1t around,
and read 1t the wrong way But III was 100 decp 1of
them. They handed 1t around, and everybody cl-
phcred at IL while, but il was no use They all had 10
pass. Ii was no common joke. AT last one OF the
of the most abandoned and Ignorant men nave ever
looked upon spelled II over very slowly and labori-
ously and then shook his head three or four times,
and said that in his opinion 1t was sedltious. That
was the first time i was alarmed. 1 Immediately
said | would explain the document, and
they crowded around. And so III that
sweltering place / explained, and perspITed
and pcIspred, and explained with my coat of,
and they took notes of all said, but the more ex,
planned the more they couldn't understand, ana
when they dcsistcd at last, and summed MP their
notes, couldn't understand ii myself They sad
they believed IL was an incendiary document eyecd
at the Government. declared il not, but they
only shook their heads and would not be satisfied.
suited, good while. and finally they coniiscated IT.
cannot tell how much was gTIoycd; because had
worked long time on that joke, and took good
deal of pride ia 1t, and now shall never see IL any
more suppose 1t viii be sent up aud slowed away
among the criminal archives of Rome. and VIII
always he regarded n mysterious internal machine
which would have blown UP like mine and scat
tered the good Pope all around, but for miraculous
proyidcntia Interference. And | suppose that all
the time am in Rome the police will dog me about
from place 10 place because they think am dan
grrOus character.
II is fcarfully hot in Ciyita Vecchia. The streets
are made very narrow, and the houses built very
solid and heavy. and high, n protection against
the heat This is the first Italian town have seen,
which docs not seem TO have patron saint. sup
pose no saint but the that went up IN the fiery
chariot could stand the climate. This Is miserable
town They haven't any wonders here at all to eX-
hibIt 10 strangers They haven't even cathedral,
with eleven tuns of solid silver archbishOps In the
back room and petriGcd saint in the cellar; and
they don't show you any rusty buildings that are
seven thousand years old nor any ratty, smoke
dried old screens. which are splendid ChU dGrTes
Of Titan. OF Simpson. or Reubens, or Ferguson or
any of those parties. | am gong 10 Rome-thcrc's
nothing to see here. This town is the worst swindlo
vet. MARK TWAIN.