The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-09-21
ITALIAN BEGGARS.
How They Dog the Footsteps OF the Wen
Dressed Tourist.


Dressed Tourist.
II, by q stroke of this pen, / could
Danish every beggar from Italy. J.
should hesitate to do so, writes . cor.
respondent from Perugia. They may
deserve punishment But they are
such amusing rsscals. Life here would
be duller without them. The other
day when a span of tired horses were
dragging me up Vesuvius three men
sprang out of the ground in front OF
the carriage. do not know how else
to explain their sudden appearance.
They were beggars of the musical
variety. One carried fiddle, the Sec
ond mandolin, the third a guitar.
Bowling to me, they formed a line on
my right and marched up the mountain
Indian file, playing as they went ]
was just then trying to realize in imagi-
nation the terrible splendOr of the
eruption that had caused the flow OF
lava fifty feet deep, through which the
carriage road had been cut. These
three fellows with their lively Neapoli-
tan airs disturbed me greatly. But the
absurdity of the situation soon over
came my resentment laughed heart
lily and permitted them to escort me
about mile before diSmisSinS them
with few soldi. We parted friends,
and they proceeded to levy tribute on
the carriage behind me. 1t takes phil.
oSophy to extract amusement out OF
these seeming pests. But happy is the
man who can DO it, for southern Italy
swarms with them.
At Baiae, where We were taking 8
bad lunch at a wretched little inn. -four
women entered the room, and without
asking our leave began 10 dance the
tarantella. They were probably the
wife of the landlOEj and three servants.
Their dancing was fitting accompanl.
ment to the lunch they had provided
for US. One of the women strummed
tambOurine as big as an old-fashioned
kitchen sieve. This supplied the only
music, except that the other three kept
time with castanetS. They made
horrible din, and being ll-favored and
shabbily dressed were any thing but
pleasant companions, as they flirted
their skirts almost in our faces. But
after few minutes we found them With
all their faults, more interesting than the
lunch, and made them a present alto
gether too large for their deserts. This
was serious mistake, for they all rushed
off and speedily returned with bou.
quets, coral jewelry and antiquities thai
must have been at least forty-eighi
hours old. All these they wanted US te
buy at exorbitant prices. Refusal to do
so angered the whole party. This, OF
course, put an end to the fun. So l set
tied the tavern score hastily and we re.
turned to Naples. But the incident,
unsatisfactory as terminated, remains
to-day the pleasantest memory of 3
visit to ruins that were not worth see
ing.
On my visit TO the blue grotto Al
Capri it required the utmost obstinacy
to refuse the demand of my bOatmaD
for q two franc piece. He wanted me to
throw it into the water and see him
dive and bring it up from the bottom.
IL had accepted his offer he would
have whisked off his coat and shirt OF
he had one) and gone down sixty feet
for the piece and recovered it for him.
self without fail. But was anxious to
get back to the steamer which was
waiting for us, and resolutely declined
to be amused at that price. At SOrren-
to the hotel guests standing out on the
balconies overlooking the sea were con-
stantly importuned for 'pennies" by
boys in boats below. When the money
was thrown down the little fellows
would watch its course through the air,
snd the moment it struck the water
they would dive into the pellucid
depth and in flash reappear with it.
holding it aloft between thumb and fin
ger. These are but few out of the
hundred methods in which money is
extracted from you under the pretense
of some service rendered or amusement
supplied. And still / say it pays to hu-
NOR all these people to q moderate ex-
tent And, furthermore, would not
refuse very modest coin to the rag.
ged but picturesque creature that stands
at every church door and lies in wait
for me at every bit of rising ground.
He does not pretend to give any equiv
alent for the money received. He is
beggar, pure and simple. He has been
begging for thirty, forty or fifty years.
In ali that time he imagines he has &C
quired "rights." and / confess i almost
feel ashamed of myself when drop my
insignificant aims into his dirty hand
Chird1o TivisS