Morris tribune., 1896-06-24
Gathered by a Tribune Re
porter in His Eastern
Travels.
Interesting Scenery Depicted
of Historic Versuvius and
nj
Surroundings.

ONSJ
eminent in the bacteria and microbe
manufacturing industries This is
not meant to be derogatory to Naples
at all, for the interest of the place is
largely referable to the picturesque
dirt. The true Neapolitan face is not
characterized SO much by black eyes
and rosy lips as by dirt, and one
always thinks when looking at the
children of Charles Lambs remark,
eff dirt were trumps what hands they
would hold" In rainy weather the
streets are covered with thin black
batter of mud and the carefully
dressed American and the ''daily
tubbed" Englishman find themselves
after few hours sight seeing reduced
to the real Neapolitan state.
The streets here are painfully mar
row, in fact just wide enough to allow
carriages to pass. On the numerous
holidays two long professions of car
riages block the business streets from
end to end, and the man who has not
yet been so influenced by the climate
as not to care whether he reaches the
bank today or next week, finds this
slow moving procession sore trial to
his patience. The side walks are even
worse, On the principal shopping
street they are about two feet wide.
At one point in this street we saw
man the other day who nonchalently
led a goat out of a gate opening on the
pavement, and quietly sat down to
milk her. The pedestrians respected
his energy and the entire mass moved
off the sidewalk so as not to disturb
him. The Italians are good natured
people. b
The beggars are innumerable.
They. conduct business everywhere
and there seems to be between them
and the gendarmes, who are almost
as plentiful, kind of understanding
that one will not disturb the other.
There is magnificent arcade in the
city called the Galleria Vittorio
Emanuelo, but the pleasures of a
walk through it is spoiled by the lit
tie beggars who turn handsprings
aan6 somersaults in front of you
through the entire place in hope of
apenny, A little girl conducts a
business of this kind in the Galleria
and reaps large rewards, a shop
keeper told me, for doing it SO mod
estly." A man smoking is followed
any distance until he drops the stump
of his cigar, when a struggle for its
possession ensues. In the streets
that lead up to the hill the poorer
classes reside and the sights these
afford are worth crossing the ocean
and all it's attendant sea sickness to
see. Many of them are only long
flights of stairs and others are so
steep that land slides in the city are
of frequent occurrence. Of course
horses cannot go on these inclines, SO
the whole domestic economy of the
families is exhibited on the street.
They live almost altogether out of
doors and it is not uncommon thing
to see children washed and dressed
and other domestic scenes of more
or less delicate character enacted in
the open air. But all of these things
do not interfere with the charm of
these picturesque, tortuous streets
and alleys. In fact they constitute it's
charm and the scene that in America
would make you hasten for police
man forms here the subject of your
snap shot. 1t is something in theset-
ting of the picture the tall pink and |
yellow houses with their dirty win
dows and broken walls, blue sky over
b cad, the black streets below; in the
distance across the brilliant bay Vesu-
vius smoking his daily pipe all these
are the cause and though you talk |
loudly about the advantage Of Ameri-
can thrift and progressiveness you
long o,linger here where "mere pas
sive existence is itself a Lethe."
The schools, so far as / can learn,
are very good. Attendance is com
pulsory and the normal instruction
for teachers very careful. In all
the grades English, German and
French are taught. The fact that the
people have enjoyed freedom and
good schools for less than one genera
ton is apparent in the superior intel
ligence of the younger members Of
the households. The older persons
speak a soft, abbreviated Italian and