The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-10

yield, Ito stoop to conquer" But he was i'm
movable. His reputation would not be in
stopped to the degradation of feeling the man
who stood between him and the Empress. L
hope Mr. Ayers has the picture in good light,
with no windows opposite. The light should
either come from the left or above.
There were several other paintings sold at the
trustees sale, on the 9Th of November which
were of great merit Three of these smaller
pictures by Smargiassi of scenes in the vicinity
of the Bay of Naples. Then there picture
OF Neapolitan peasant-girl in the kitchen peel
ing apples which was considered, in Naples
very fine painting of the realistic school 1t
was painted more than forty. years ago for an
eminent lawyer of Naples by an artist who was
distinguished for this kind of picture. The girl
is portrait, and no one who knows anything
about fruit need be told that that too, was taken
from nature Amongst the paintings was dark
picture representing the interior of the 'Grotto
of Porilipo.' Tho title would not convey just
idea OF the thing, for it is really the picture OF
the tunnel, or highway tunneled beneath the lofty
hill of Porilipo. which is on the extreme western
boundary of Naples. The tunnel is a half mile
long, runs under the farm of Virgil (where the
poet wrote the greater part of his Georges,
for a part was written in Italy,, and this fine
specimen of Roman underground engineering
was constructed by Marcus Agrippa, Augustus
great Minister of Public Works, n b. q. 1t is
on the road 1.-THE branch of the Appian way from
Rome to Capua, etc. to Puteoli, and was called
more than 900 years it has been the highway
to the city where Paul landed and it bids fair to
serve the same purpose for another 800 years
Besides the ancient historic interest connected
with this painting, it is the only one have ever
seen which conveys correct view of the dark
tunnel lighted up obscurely, night and day, all
the year round;' and then it has modern his
toric interest, because it once belonged to the
beautiful and Infamous Lady Hamilton, VINO,
while the apparent wife of the British embaSsa-
dor and scientist Sir William Hamilton, was no
toriously the mistress of about as immoral
man as ever lived--the Admiral Lord Nelson.
The old King of Naples, at the end Of the last
century, was completely governed by his Queen
and by Lady Hamilton and the latter was d1-
rected by Lord Nelson hence British supremacy
in the former kingdom of Naples, or the "two
Sicilies," during the Napoleonic wars. An en-
inent French artist, about eighty years ago,
for the King Lady Hamilton affected
her have the original, ordered the
artist to make Lady Hamilton another This
was accordingly done. and the painting was
kept by Lady Hamilton in her gallery until
the evil days came, when her protector ~ was
killed at the naval action of Trafalgar More
evil days then followed for this handsome and
notorious woman. She became hard-up, and the
picture 1.-THE very one now in Indianapolis) was
pawned, with other valuables. Although Mel
son in his will begged the British government to
take care of his ilegitimate daughter, and conse-
Quently her mother LADY HamiltonN and not
withstanding the British nation exalted
to the skies Nelson as if he were saint,
they did not take any stock in Lady
Hamilton or her daughter The mother
fled from England on account of debt
and died miserably at Boulogne, in France
about 1915; while remember that some years
ago an appeal was made by some one, in the
London Times, for money for Lord Nelson's ille
Ultimate daughter. who was in perjury, and al
most on the verge of starvation What lessons
without any scruples of conscience infatuates
old Sir William Hamilton, and becomes his Sec
ond wife, She was originally an adventures in
London, and now she is placed where she really
influences the monarch of nine millions of peo
pie The Seventh commandment was always
more honored by her in the breach than in the
Observance and she becomes allpowerful-not
for goodwill Lord Nelson, whose code of NOR
ais lax as her own. She dies miser
ably poor and neglected, ON foreign shore,
while the daughter of her illicit intercourse with
Nelson starves in London.
The picture of the "Grotto of Porilipo" was
as l said, pawned and afterwards sold, and
found its way back to Italy, but not, at first
in Naples. 1t came to Florence where, during
the troublous times of revolution, it was.
amongst other things sacked in palace and years
later was discovered in shop where they sold
bric-a- brac, by friend of mine, who knew the
painting we'll. I procured it of him for Mr.. AL
bert f. Fletcher and sent it to him in Indianapo-
lis do not know who is now the possessor but
can tell him that its fellow (the first one
painted), by the same artist, is in the palace of
Copodimonte, in Naples, and is the property of
King Humbert j. G. FLETCHER.