The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-12
SOUTHERN ITALY IN JUNE.
The Cheapness Of Summer Fruits The Poet
Riley in the Old World.

Correspondence of the Indianapolis Journal.
NAPLES, Italy, June 26-Southern Italy in
June is something to be remembered, and often
wish my indianapolis friends could be with me
to enjoy the scenery, the fruits and the delicious
weather of this happy cline. We never have a
very hot summer The ancients gave to all the
region round about Naples the name of Cam
pania Felix, the happy prairie. Not that Naples
is on prairie for it is situated the side of
extinct volcanoes; which were played out before
ever Vesuvius began its pyrotechnic displays.
These remnants of volcanoes, now covered with
verdure and houses, rise to the height of eight
hundred feet 1.-THE height of the castle of St
Elmo), and descend gradually to the edge Of the
bay. But beyond these natural ramparts ex-
tends prairie as far as the Apprentices east and
| south, while it stretches away to the north for
thirty miles, even to the Capua, so renowned in
history and in song. From the middle Of this
Happy prairie shoots up Vesuvius. Indeed
we may say that the greatest part of the Cam
pania Felix was originally shot out of Vesuvius,
for the debris of this best known of volcanoes
filed up the primitive bay of Naples, which, ''in
the days of cid, laved the bases of the APP
pennies.
The soil thus formed is the richest in the
world, and fine crops succeed each other all the
year round. There is no cessation of
crops, for as soon as one is gath
cred another is put in. Grapes, grain,
hemp, Indian corn, madder and vegetables of all
kinds grow the same ground, and, as said
five different crops are removed every year from
this most fertile soil Rye is cut in April and
May, wheat in the last week in May, the first
| crop of Indian corn is now in roasting ear"
condition, and the Neopolitans eat it in great
quantities in that and the boiled state Radishes
and lettuce we have all the year round; the first
peas come in December and last until May; early
potatoes arein the marketin February, and beans
/ in May. None of these vegetables and fruits
which now mention are from abroad. One
fruit is the nespiro Japonca called the California
| plum in the United States which appears in
April and lasts through May. The first cherries
i begin in the last week in April and are at
their height of perfection in June They now
cost cents per pound, retail in quantities much
4 less Early apples, figs, apricots and long yellow
prunes or plnms, are now in plenty Apricots
! are three cents per pound, and plums cents;
later plums reach as low as / cent and some
cent per pound Next week we will have the
first peaches, and in the month of July the later
figs, watermelons, muskmelons, grapes and
uecUdrlneS; DeSQeS QluerenG VdrlelleS OF peaches
i and plums are then in great abundance. Grapes,
! peaches, figs of the most delicious quality and
plums cost but cent and cent and half a
/ pound in August. The common people revel
! in fruit The figs last until the first of Novem-
Der, and some kinds of grapes until Christmas
| when the oranges begin to come in, although
| that fruit prefer to eat in the months of April
and May Oranges in the season cost from l
to cents per pound, according to quality. Veg
! etables we have in great variety and abund-
ance. From November to March three
freight trains per diem leave Naples
for Berlin, Vienna and st. Peters
! burg, mostly laden with caulifower.
Indeed, the house of Chamiso alone annually
sends to those three cities 1000 carloads of
| fruits and vegetables. So you see we are not
badly off for fruits and vegetables. AS to flow
ers, wild and cultivated, they are beautiful and
in great abundance but of these will write an
other time
do not see many American papers over here.
i A friend of mine subscribed for my favorite In
dianapolis weekly last fall, but for want of
i something or other-whether the address, or the
envelope, or the postage, | viii not pretend to
say which, never received more than six
j copies A word to druggist Carter, of Massa-
chusetts avenue sufices. Therefore, many
things pass in my native town and in the United
States without a man on these classic shores
knowing anything more about them than if they
/ had happened in the moon But occasionally
something which interests me from my native
State drizzles in the most extraordinary manner
! plenty from London, hawked about in Naples.
just fancy the following news (!) published in
London about three weeks ago, viz:
James Whitcomb Riley the Indiana poet, whose
| humorous and sentimental have made him
greatly famous, was originally hotel keeper He was
born In New Bedford, Mass and there lived for many
years. This would make Jim about sixty years old
His father was the captain of whaer, but the son
took to the Captain Riley gave the young
ample fortune when he attained his majority,
and young James invested the bulk of it in hotel
i uhi he mod he Ill
his hotel in the winter of 49, invested his money in
Pennsylvania oil lost everything, and then moved to
Indiana to try farming Until within the last four
i years he never wrote line of poetry
Fancy Riley who never in his boyhood saw
1 bigger ocean than the cole Swimmin Hole, "
being born on the verge of the Atlantic, and hav-
/ ing for his father sea captain Fancy the
youthful Jeemes receiving an tample fortune, |"
keeping the Ocean View House" and busting
up on oil land Pennsylvania oil at that instead
of whale OLD, then trying farming ~ finally, that
having played out, turning his attention to
poetry. 1t is said that lie will travel so much
faster than truth that the latter can never over
take it. But thought that there were so many
4 lies in the above paragraph that could not help
trying to overhaul them, and so write to one
of the London Journals which published this
veracious (l) item referred to, and thus made
| the laudable endeavor to give Riley his due. I
wrote as follows:
II have been very much amused at seeing an item
which has crept into the London press concerning
James Whitcomb Riley, the Indiana poet whose, to
4 quote the item, humorous and sentimental verses
| have made him greatly famous This part of the
paragraph is only just because there few Ameri
] can poets James Russell Lowell and one or two
others excepted who have taken up the dialect of
/ portion of the United States and have made it so
elastically subservient as popular vehicle in
terical way and who, at the time, have in the
realms of legitimate verse made their mark
as true sons of song. Why l am amused
at this floating item is that it pretends to give in all
sincerity, brief biography of the poet Riley; but
nothing be erroneous. just look at the pen
picture of the aforesaid brief biography" at this
! point quoted, what have above, the whole Of the
could laugh out loud paper would do it in this
communication for the pretended biography Of Riley
is full of positive In the first place. James
| Whitcomb Riley manned after James Whitcomb, once
| he and All