The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-06-08

ouaintanee, to whom I had expressed
my curiosity to learn from the inside
something about the Camorra. With
this excellent person, an avvocato, IN
behalf Of one and another of Its chill
dren,'' the officials of that bella rifur-
mata-or society of the humble, of hui
mility-delP umirta as it is sometimes
called by the initiate-had been fire.
quently in professional relations, and
he at once most courteously offered to
bring about a meeting for me with no
less an authority than Don Vincenzo
himself. 1t duly came off the next
day in a small cafe near the Piazza del
Municipio, and once convinced that
my interest in the organization he
directed was merely that of foreign
observer totally unconnected with the
Pubblica Sicurezza, as an accomplished
man of the world he quite understood
that it should be so, and kindly placed
himself very much at my service, de-
claring that he took me under his pro-
lection for the period of my visit, and
begging me, If I should have occasions
to complain Of the personal conduct of
any Neapolitan-a pickpocket, for in
stance--to let him know, and whatever
the difficulty was it should be at once
arranged" And though I had not oc-,
casion to resort to his good offices in
this kind, that his words were not emp
ty became convinced that same after
noon when he took me for drive in a
carrozzella through certain Of the less
frequented quarters OF Naples, up Por-
ia Capuana way. / was amused to
l. - ,.r
ton, too, at the wonder-I took no
pains to conceal it-with which I OBJ
served the honor paid to his progress.
For it really was that-a sort of royal,
public progress he made with me. And
as looked at the quiet man by my side
and tried to get at his sensation as he
passed there, acknowledging with SIM
pie, unaffected manner, and yet with a
distinct graduation of cordiality, the
respectful salutes of hundreds among
the passers-by, / felt that he, too, in
| his way, must know something of that
| sense of power which is said to DE the
| peculiar joy of kings and potentates.
Through the most crowded streets we
| drove at the full speed of-for Naples =
a remarkably good little horse. Occa-
sionally some driver, turned out of his
way, would begin to curse-and in va
riety of oaths a Naples cabman could
| give many points to a, eomrade from
| London-but generally as soon as he
saw my companion his hat went off, all
the quick southern ill-humor gone in
| stantly.
BY the way, a very large proportion
| of the cab-drivers, Don Vincenzo told
me, are affiliated" in one way or an
| other to the Camorra-in any case none
| Of them are, or, for the matter of that,
| dare be, hostile to 1t. And 1t is a fact
that some few years ago, at the time of
| a general cab strike in Naples, all the
endeavors, both Of the project and the
| police, having failed to arrange pa
cification Of the dispute, which had be-
| come serious and was producing a large
| increase in the normally not small
| number Of cases of street stabbing, the
| Chief of the Camorra at that date QUE
| Don Ferdinando c., was finally
called in and implored by the authofi-
| ties to deign to settle matters for than
| This he kindly consented to do. Ac.
| cordingly he jumped on carrozzella
! and drove slowly round the principa
| streets. IndL was dll-duu 6nOuR IL
The strike was Immediately at an end
and next day every driver had re-
| turned obediently to work. But that is
| depression. 1 was speaking of Dor
! Vincenzo's street reception. We hat
/ engaged the carrozzella in Toledo, as
| the Neapolitans will persist in calling
| the newly named Via Roma, and we
drove very fast, as said-Don Vincen
20 paid me the compliment of remark.
| ing that people would suppose US tt
| have something of great Importance
/ in hand-toward Porta Capuana. Thi:
| rapid driving, discovered afterward
was not a gratuitous compliment pait
to the Camorra in its head. I noticed
| that the driver received more than hi
| fare and ordinary sigaro would have
amounted to, and Don Vincenzo ex
| planned to me that it was customar.
/ among the better-known Camorristi al
ways to pay something over an ordina
ry rate, so that at an emergency;
man stabbed in the street (Don Vincen
20 Illustrated with a suggestive Httl'
i gesture of the right hand), police arriv
ing unexpectedly, or anything of tina
sort--every cab driver may be trusted
to do his very best to drive the poor
prosecuted Camorrista out of harms
that is, the pollce's-way with the ut
most possible dispatch. And I had 1
vision of the scene, as Don Vincenz
made his hands revolve quickly arount
each other from the wrist to show m