The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-10-14
NOTES OF TRAVEL.
CAMPO sANTO AT NAPLES.
BY r.. ]. L. MATTHEWS.


When American travellers 60 to Europe
their anticipations reach out IN advance to
the famed sights of the old world, and to
these they hasten. When they favor their
friends a: home with notes of travel. these
generally comprise description of those
places that all the world knows something
about. Thus, following the well beaten track
to places celebrated in history, romance and
song, their CORES pondence seldom presents
anything so strange and wonderful, however
eloquently these well-known places may be
described, as the many lesser sights they see
in their journeyings. The living facts OF
the life and manners OF nations that for
centuries have been called civilized will
often afford a deeper interest than any
wonderful relic OF the past. Thus, many
things take place under the very
shadow of some lofty dome, that travellers
from the opposite part of the globe have
made journies to see, moro wonderful than
the dome itself. 1 will endesvor to make a
description of one of these, sight that made
deeper impression on my mind than any
of the strange things that saw in that most
wonderful old city of Naples, my chief resi-
dence while ! was in ECrope. Some months
after my arrival in the city, and after had
made myself somewhat familiar with the
rude patois ofthe Neapolitans,I entered upon
a systematic study OF the manners and Gus
tomas of the people, mingling freely with
them, and conversing, in my peregrina-
tions, with all classes OF the people. had
been to Vesuvius, and had q vivid
conception OF it's terrific grandeur;
had descended into the gloomy exca-
vations of Herculaneum; wandered through
the streets of the now unbCried city of Pom
peii; shuddered on the precipices OF the Isle
OF Capri, W here the tyrant Nero, tor amuse-
ment, cast his enemies into the sea; pressed
the shores of the bay at the exact spot where
Paul landed on his journey 10 Rome, ira
versed the Elysian fields of the ancient
lake, and pierced the awful caverns of the
poets; had even crossed the gloomy
Cumen Sibyl; had entered the catacombs
where ten thousand Roman skulls grinned
down upon me from their inches in the
rock; but none of these things so moved me
as the sight am about to describe.
l had often seen in the streets of the city
funeral professions of all the better classes
of society, from the gorgeous pageantry
that told that prince was dead, down to
the humber walks of life, wherein the
scanty means OF tradesmsn or artizan
mourners to follow him to the tomb. 1t &C.
Cured to me, during the passage of one of
these PROFESSIONS, that would endeavOr to
| find out where and how the poor OF so large
city were buried. Upon inquiring 1 re-
ceived full information as to how 1 could
witness the disposition of that class of the
people when dead, but was earnestly ad-
vised not to attempt It.. Could l have
known the terrible reality of that night of
horror which awaited me, at the Campo
Santo, the name given to the place, / should
have been perfectly willing to leave the
city without seeing the sight. 1 took a cab
about eight o'clock in the evening, as the
burials take place between nine O'Clock and
daylight. / arrived about half past eight AZ
the entrance of penitentiary-llke enclo-
sure, situated about half way up the slopes
of the hill OF Capodimonte, back of the city.
The enclosure was about four hundred feet
square, with a thick wall of solid masonry
around it thirty feet high. On being ad-
mitted through the portooe, instead of be-
holding, as L anticipated, the usual scenery
OF buryipg ground, l saw only masonry Of
huge square stones beneath aud around.
The moon was shining with its usual liquid
light through an Italian sky, but its rays,
as they stFeamed down OF the cold gray
walls and floor, appeared more ghost-like
than shadows in grave yard had ever APP
.peared to nle before. There was deathlike
stiffness within, and the keeper looked at
me with an uneasy Interrogation as asked
to enter alone. On first entering was led to
believe that had made some mistake, and
thought had entered a large .ealaboose of
some kind; brit soon discovered at regular
Intervals rings in the large square stones
that composed the pavement, and these
stones concluded covered up the entrances
to the subterranean vaults where the dead
were deposited. / found that there wero 365
of these openings, one for each night of the
year. While meditating as TO the kind OF
IL l.
trying to screw,my courage up to-the point
of descending into them when they
shoUld be opened. j dis
covered two men arranging Ru apparatus
Overcome of the rings, preparatory to lifting
out the stone from,its place. This was ac-
complished just as the o'clock gun from
the arsenal echoed over the bay, and as it
died away among the hills, the rattling of
ambulances was heard outside the walls.
The port-cullis was drawn up again, and
wagon after wagon Yves backed I'D toward
the entrance. The two mon who had un-
covered the vault now proceeded to the
wagons which unloaded their burdens with
about as much care as load of coal Is
dumped from cart. They seized the lit
ter that contained the nearest corpse, and
bore it within the enclosure, and near the
entrance to the vault. Here they un-
covered it. and the nude form of mother of
child yet unborn WIS presented to view.
With less ceremony than is bestowed in
handling the carcassee of slaughtered ami
mals, they proceeded to dispose of the
corpse. 1 was appalled, at the sight. The
pale moonlight caused the face TO assume a
more CHASTITY palor. The CLASSY eyes, un-
closed by the jolting Of the ambulance,
seemed TO turn up look OF terror at the
rude handling to which it was about to be
subjected. They each thrust SONS sort of q
cant-hook into the hands and feet respec.
lively, which were tied together 10 assist
this proceeding, and bore it off to
the opening of the vault, described
above. 1 did not at once COM
prehend their proceedings. did not know
then that the opening in the pavement was
but the mouth to vast cisterD, many feet
wide and deep, into which ten thousand
bodies may have been cast during the last