Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-08-12
FASCINATING NAPLES
Despite its FIeas and Gnats and
Other Ill-natured Insects.
P0MPEII AND VESUVIUS
The Biggest Leap on Record--Cle
ing Eighteen Centuries at one An
tiquarian Bound--The Ques-
tion Of MuItum in
Paryo--A Glorious
Sunrise From
Vesuvius.
CAPRI AND ITS GROTTO

CAPRI AND ITS GROTTO
Special Corrcspondenoe'o State journal.
ROYAL HOTEL DIES ETBANGERs, NAPLES,
ITALY, July 17.-Such another bright,
gay, noisy and populated city in the whole
world is there, as this same Naples,
wherein people are as thick as bees in a
hive, but as carefree and thoughtless as
butterflies; where vile odors pervade the
atmosphere, and the strange, wild, chant
ing cries of fruit vendors assail the ear
from dawn till midnight; where the con-
ductors of the tramways-otherwise street
cars-blow tin horn instead of ringing q
bell, making it seem like perpetual
Fourth of July; where kid gloves with six
buttons cost but 81 cents a pair, and
where the tiny shops full of coral and
conch shell and tortoise shell knick- -knscks
would charm the last sou out of very
miser's purse; and, about which there is
peculiar fascination, indescribable but
irresistible, which makes one love Naples
and dread to leave it, even while one is in
a state of red and white mosaic from
scalp to sole, from contact with the fieas
and gnats and other ill-natured insects
On the broad, new, handsome street
which encircles the bay is our hotel, and
our windows look far out upon the
glorious blue waters, while Just across
looms up mysterious Vesuvius with its
pillar of smoke by day and its flame of
fire by night. Only few miles out is
resurrected Pompeii, the gsol of SO many
curious tourists, in whose ancient, deserted
streets and within whose disinterred
walls sounds the silly chatter and giggle of
modern sight-seers, who "do" the place
because 1t is quite the thing to go to
Pompeii, you know"
| Surely there are few places in the world
that have as great and as varied attractions
as Naples. If you could but see and know
what we have done since we arrived here
from Rome, last Tuesday evening, you
would wish you were Tourjean in the
strongest terms to which your capacity of
wishing is equal. Each day and each
hour has been replete with intensest
| interest.
Our programme begun on Wednesday
morning with visit to the famous
museum, wherein are exhibited all the
choicest art treasures that have been found
| in the buried cities of Pompeii and Her.
| culaneum, with models of the cities them
| selves and endless store of household
utensils, furniture and other things that
have been so strangely preserved from the
| far-away age when the cities were alive
| with human beings and human hopes,
fears and suffering, as Naples itself isnow.
Is it not strange, werid thing this jump
backwards over Is centuries to this
heather city, where was worpshipped the
| ugly black Diana whose very image in
marble is to be seen now in the museum,
and where Christianity was but modern
myth, silly delusion of few recreant
| Jews
From the halls of the Museum-where
We would gladly have spent days, had
they been to spare, but where single
| morning gave us much--we drove to the
station and took the train for Pompeii it.
self. A drawing room car, specially re-
served for our party, made the journey
easy and pleasant, and l will say Just here
that our fears of an extremely hot after
noon were as lily founded as have proved
nearly all our similar fears. The sun has
not that soorching, cirocco-like quality
which it has at home-in New York, for
iustance-and a cool breeze famed the old
city during our entire stay, during por-
tion of which the sun even went in under
cloud, and a few refreshing drops of
water fell. Although we walked nearly
five miles through the streets and build
ings that afternoon, after spending the
entire morning in the Museum, it was the
general verdict on our return that we
were not at all over-fatigued, and that
much to our astonishment, it had not
been hard day.
Do you realize that not only the old
payements of the streets remain as when
the city was overwhelmed, and the walls
of the houses stand-though, of course,
all the roofs are gone-but the very fres-
Goes on the inner sides of these walls are
bright and fresh and vivid in color and
design, and the Mosaic flooring of the
inner courts and the rooms are. in many
cases, in perfect preservation, while lovely
marble statues and fountains are in their
original positions and the very wine Jars
stand undisturbed in the cellars. In one
window there still remains glass pane
and in the public bath house are the
bronze seats and other furniture Just as
they were found. In the museum at the
entrance to the city, are many of the most
remarkable discoveries, among them the
skeletons in their plaster casts, which ex-
actly reproduce the bodies as they were
buried
Little green weeds and wild flowers
grow all in the streets and ruins of
Pompeii; tiny ferns peep out from the
rocks, and scarlet poppies nod here and
there; and in the further portion of the
city, the men are still digging, and from
wall protrudes broken vessel of common
red pottery,s bit of which we dislodge and
put in our pocket as a souvenir, and then
20 on our way out of the strange old
r1lana fbrOuph tha thrnnnc ~
Italian peddlars who insist that we shall
buy bits of jewelry made OF lava, of coral,
of tortoise-shell, and of whom we uu-
doubtedly do buy, generally to our subse-
quent delight when we consider our bar-
gains, but to the utter discontinue of our
trunks, in regard to which the puzzle of
how to put great deal of nlultuaa into a
very little parU0, is in a state of continual
solution.
Thursday was devoted to the sights of
Naples-churches, palaces, &c.-but some
OF us chose rather to go shopping. In
the afternoon those who were wise took q
| nap, for after dinner, just in the cleaning
we took easy carriages, three in hand, and
started for the smoking mountain. A
long drive through the teemiDg streets of
Naples, with its busy out-of-door life, and
longer one up the well-kept road to the
mountain, brought us nearer and nearer.
Early in our ride the moon rose, and by
its beams the broad, beautiful bay grew
more and more fascinating, while the
great semi-circular city cleaned out with
its countless gas jets like a magnificent
illumination. At last, after three hours
ride, we arrived at the Observatory, where
lunch awaited US, and where those of
our party who did not feel able to attempt
very hard task, remained while small
party of seven ladies and three gentlemen
under the lead of our faithful conductor,
mounted ponies and started craterwards.
That is, the weaker sex were provided
with ponies but the stronger started on
foot, though in the descent, by the way,
our puffy little Brookline doctor did con-
sent to mount the pony which our con-
siderate young Watertown widow gave up
| to him.
To each pony was attached a man as
guide, who shouted to the animal in
manner calculated to put an ordinary pony
out of his wits with fright; and who
banged the poor creature with great
stick, and alternately pulled him ahead by
the bit, and pushed him ahead in the rear.
Such getting up mountain, nobody
who hasn't experienced it can ever con-
ceiye, AT last even the ponies ere dis
carded, and there remained a mile and
half of climbing to do on foot. For be
| IL known that the new railway is pro-