The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-03-31
CORRESPONDING NOE.
Letter from Rev. DR.. M. d. Hoge.
MEssAGERIE STEAMER MENDOZA. I
March q 1880

tomorrow evening we uOPe " Aee'Nh
Alexandria. l embrace the opportunity
which quiet day at sea gives me for
noting few incidents of our voyage over
the Mediterranean, which may be inter
esting to my friends at home. After our
arrival in Naples we changed our plan of
going to Brindisi by rail and thence by
the English steamer to Egypt, and con-
cluded to sail directly from Naples to
Alexandria, thus adding two days to the
length of our voyage, but expecting
thereby to be compensated by the more
interesting route through the straits Of
Messina and by some of the islands along
whose shores we would sail. Nor have
we been disappointed, but before refer
ring to these | will first give you some
recollections of
Naples
We selected hotel which had the ad-
vantage of standing on the shore of the
bay and in full view Of Mt. Vesuvius. l
had read many descriptions of the Bay of
Naples, and had seen many pictures of it,
but its beauty surpassed all that my
Imagination had painted it. It's curving
shore, lined with tall yellow houses ris-
ing from the waters edge like an amphi-
theatre, with the island of Capri in the
distance; the great banner of smoke from
Vesuvius floating over it by day and
the angry red glow of its fires lighting
it by night, form panorama which
when once seen is photographed upon the
memory forever
One day was spent in a visit to Hercu-
Ianeum and Pompeii; another in the
Museo Nazionale, in which are to be
found the most valuable of the sculp-
lures, mosaics, and other remains of the
disentombed cities, deposited there for
their better protection and preservation
| do not enter upon any description of
Herculaneum and Pompeii, simply be-
cause am writing a letter and not a
book, and nothing short of volume
could suffice for an adequate account of
these cities with their temples, museums,
baths, theatres, forums, basilicas shops,
bakeries, prisons, factories, taverns, and
private houses the most interesting of
ALL because of the hints they give us of
the intellectual, social, religious, and es-
Pecially the irreligious lives of the former
inhabitants.
Another day was devoted to an excur-
sion through the western environs of Ma
Ples-from the city to the bay of Baie.
This little territory isreplete with every
kind of interest, classic, historic, mytho-
logical, and ecclesiastical. Its yawning
caverns, dark lakes, fountains of hot wa
ter, mephitic gases, subterranean noises.
smoldering fires, and frequent earth
quakes, suggested to the ancient poets
the imagery from which they derived
their conceptions of Hades and Tartarus
W no of Al
tons of the same region inspired their
portraiture of the "Elysian Fields. -
Here the Cumean Sibyl had her home :;
here the pious HGneas traversed the mystic
realms of the dead; and though the deities
which once haunted fountain and grove
have long since vanished, the remains of
the temples of Scraps and Neptune are
still there, and Avernus yet reflects the
dark woods which overhang its banks.
And leaving the era of fable, we do not
forget that it was on the Lucrine lake
united as it once was with Avernus, form
ing one port, that Agrippa gave a repre-
sentation of the battle of Actium in the
presence of Augustus, while near the
Temple of the Nymphs, Cicero had one
of his favorite villas, and that near the
Serapeon, Hannibal mustered his army.
and that at Puteoli Paul landed when on
his way from Cesarea to Rome, where he
found brethren, and tarried with them
seven days" We found none, and after
a short sojourn, and lingering look at
the Bay Of Baie.
"Nullus in orbe sinus Baiis prelucet amoenis. "
we returned to Naples We entered the
city just as the sun was setting, thou
sand windows from the houses on the
heights rejecting its light like an illumi-
nation, and found ourselves on the favorite
evening promenade and drive, called the
Villd Reale, or as it is more frequently
termed, the VJJLa NozjonoJe Just in time
to see the best possible outdoor display Of
the beauty and fashion of Naples. 1t was
brilliant scene, and made all the more
lively because OF the rapidity with which
the equipages dashed by, three and four
abreast, and because Of the gay trappings
Of the horses, and the bright color of the
carriages, the wheels of many of them
being painted red or yellow l said the
beauty and the fashion Of Naples, but
there was far more of the latter than of
the former. The equipages on the Grove
Road out Of Richmond on fine spring
or autumn evening are poor indeed com