The Portland daily press., 1886-06-23
OUR FOREIGN LETTER.

| Especial correspondence of the PREss.]
| While we were reviewing the past, our
vetturino was very quiet, mumbling some
thing to himself, which we thought after
| wards was private rehearsal of his English
| defamation, taught him most likely by some
| tourist. He suddenly turned about with the
most triumphant grin of self-approbation,
| and said, "Tibera very naughty boy, too
bare" We clapped him; and he made his
bow and retreatsd from the stage. In early
| times Roman tyrants took the spesdiest
methods of disposing of any disturbing ele-
ments in their domestic or state depart
ments; and we truly thought "Tibera very
naughty boy" as we sailed under the cliff
| from which he used to despatch his enemies.
| To use an oriental figure of speech, it looked
like Ossa on Pelion; but truly, in occiden-
| tai phraseology, it was like two White Head
lodges piled on the original, leaving it to jut
out few feet, forming pinnacle on which
the victims would strike and be stunned be-
| fore sinking into a watery grave. We fam
cied that old pagan hating in his morning
walk through his gardens to witness the
| spectacle of one Of his fellow creatures being
hurled into eternity. Like a boy listening to
| hear the pebble strike, as he throws it into
| the black abyss of well, so this monster
would lean forward, holding his hand to his
ear to catch the thud, to be sure the poor
soul had reached the bottom. After the
death of Tiberius the Senate of Rome, to
| show their detestation of him and his cruel
| ties, destroyed his palace; but some of the
| broken fragments of the walls are left, in
which are immense caverns and arches,
whose practical use no archeologist has yet
been able to discover. His villa, farther
south, is still traceable by ruins.
AS we turned to come down the hill, we
| fairly held our breath at the break-neck pace
| at which we rode over the stones and round
| the corners. Our driver showed not the
least civility to sonora or peasant, or even
that respect for military dignity which we
| hoped would check him when we saw a regi-
ment coming up the ascent; but no, he gave
one sharp crack to his whip, as a signal to
clear the road, and rushsd into their ranks,
scattering them like sheep. The officers and
the men alike fed to the walls and the gut
| tiers, to save their limbs.
The Italians have peculiar knack in
| swapping their whips; and when we were
driving in the zgzag lanes of Naples, the air
resounded with the explosions, like the fir
ing of those gigantic crackers with which
the ambitious Yankee boy celebrates his
Fourth AT first we felt we were in duty
bound to found a Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals but we are happy to
see one already started at Naples, as one of
the signs of the good times for Italy. After
driving about few days, we noticed that
the horses had become accustomed, like our
Selves to this furious ebullition of wrath-a
much Notwithstanding which is very char
acteristic of the common Italian people-and
really the dumb beasts are no more unkindly 4
treated here than elsewhere. We were no
sooner out of our carriage ON the shore, than
the women huddled about imploring us to
mount their donkeys. We cannot help be-
coming attached to these uncanny and I'M
kempt beasts, for they are part and parcel Of
Eastern life, and have been actors in the
legends of every nations childhood. They
stand everywhere the models of patience
and are switched hither and thither by gar
rulous DANES, and often seem to know more
than their mistresses. They look at you so
piteously you must admire them for submit
ting to abuses and doing their work faith
fully without the buster and bawling of
their superiors. Among other humble in
habitants of the old world we think the
rights Of the poor donkeys have been tram
pied upon, and they have unjustly been
called hard names.
We took boats from the steamer for the |
Blue Grotto, which were manned by coral |
divers and pearl fishers, since it is unsafe to |
trust to any pilot except native boatmen. |
The mouth of the cave, from the level of the |
most placid sea, is but three feet high and |
just wide enough to admit one narrow boat, |
which can only take two passengers. These |
must lie fiat, with their legs under the seats, |
hugging the bottom of the boat with their |
noses-a most.helpless situation if big wave |
or furry of wind should dash the boat on |
to the side of the portal and fill it with water.
However, number of skiffs gathered around |
the entrance, which could not be seen |
when the swell broke through it; each sailor |
waited his chance to seize the retreating |
wave Long after we had Frustrated our
selves we grew impatient, and lifted our
heads to see boat take the plunge, which |
made us uneasy, but there was no help. At |
last we felt we were rising, and, closing our |
eyes and mouths, we resigned ourselves to |
Skill in trice we dipped, and heard him
call out to us to get up. 1t was strange |
sensation to look up into this blue cavern,
and it took some time to adjust our eyes to |
the light. We were sailing ON a sheet of liq-
uid turquoise, and when the boatnan dipped
his oars, or another keel cut the water,
shower Of diamonds seemed to drop into the
wave. The arch is irregular, and has many
indentations, through one of which can be
traced passage, now filled with debris, and
flight Of stairs-most likely ascending to
Tiberius's villa A man went with us who
offered for one franc to exhibit his skill in
diving; and truly, as he plunged into this
heavenly sea, the light was so intense one
might think an angel moved the waters with
a watt of slvery wings. AS he stepped from
stone to stone, dressed in white, in his de-
scent to the water he looked in the blue
light, unreal and unearthly as spectre, CIV
ing such magical effect as might readily
have suggested SYPHILIS and nymphs to Homer
and Virgil. Though lost sight of for centu-
ries this grotto was known to the ancients,
and has undoubtedly sheltered many pi-