The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1901-04-17

/ hau wondered whether l should be dis
appointed and was almost sorry that I
was so soon to look upon it lest my idol
should be shattered.
We had scarcely drawn out of the depot
when yelled, "There it isy Some of
the people said what, what, craning their
necks to see. "Why, Vesuvius, of course,
what else is there here that it would ap-
ply top Vesuvius was my t. Isuppose
everyone else had their il also.
1t took us about 40 minutes to run
down to Pompeii, second class, on little
dinkey car with doors openiag at the
sides into compartments holding eiaht
persons. Rsiroading here would be
joke IN America. The conductor blows
his horn, (this, however, is somtimes
done in America) somebody gives a yell
in an unknown tongue which means
something, | suppose, to sombody some
where the engine gives a measly screech
and away we 60. "Pompen,' the guard
sings out, the door swings open, and we,
2 ia oil, climb out and stand at the very
foot of the historic volcano and at the en-
trance of that exhumed city that has given
to the world more perfect knowledge OF
ancient social life and customs, manners
aud architecture than all the histories
ever written. was VIII lily unprepared
for the scene before me and wanted to sit
down and think and get myself pulled
| together. But we Were at once hustled
OIL into the ruins where special guide
I explained in a mighty broken way the
points Of interest. The ashes had broken
in the roofs but does not seem to have
been deeper than would cover over a good
sized one story house. OF course il was
deeper at the time of the destruction, but
through these su. ceedlng eighteen cen.
iuries has settled down and become very
hard. A very large part of the city is
now exposed and The work is still going
on.
AT $3.50 p. m. we took carriages for So
relto on the bay opposite Naples. The
clouds had all drined away and old We
suvius, with the smoke belching out in
dense, white clouds, from her top, stood
out in all his granduer | sat in the ear
rage with my eye fixed upon it till the
gathering glom hid it from sight. once
a light tleecy cloud drifted by about half
way up its side, above which the top ap-
peared. The rays of the setting sun Just
fouehad tho ,-bita aloud ,r .,,,,l-. -. II.
ing it appear crown of glory on his
hoary head, scene unsurpassed in sub
Unity and splendor.
The ride to Sorrento was 81 hours at
continuous trot, These drivers are regu-
lar Jehus. The road lay along the waters
side and was lined with villages all the
way. Il was macadamized and made ex-
cellent wheeling. Sometimes the noun
tains lowered thousands of feet above us
ankwere held by massive retaining walls
OF ancient masonry. On the side toward
the sea ran continuous stone wall about
four feet high with fiat cap stone. In
many places the road seemed to he built
upon masonry. The mountain sides were
terraced by stone walls and on the flats
grew all kinds of tropical fruits as the
olive, orange, lemon, pomgranate and
fig, so carefully cultivated that it all ap-
pears large garden. This garden, or
series of gardens would reach to the very
| top of the mountain. How they got the
fruit of don't know unless it was by
the way l saw them take the wood of. 1t
was when we were driving back over
this road the next day to Castellamare.
We saw some ropes reaching away up
/ the hillside several hundred feet long.
We were wondering what these were for
/ when all at once there came whizzing
down bundle of sticks or brush, about
an armful, which some one away up
above had fastened to the rope. The sag
in the rope checked the speed at the bot
tom which was hitched well up on tree
| below.
The beauty of the Bay Of Naples, with
lis deep blue waters, clear air, and beau
tiful surrounding landscape has not been
exaggerated by writer's. It would b, a
strong Imagination that could exagerate
it. But the people, well they seem to be
out Of harmony with the spirit Of beauty
and peace nature has placed there. /
think shall reserve further comment
until l have passed through on my re-
turn from the East. l may see differently
then. There may be other reasons also.
We drove around through Naples and
saw hurriedly the main points Of inter-
est. Among these were the prison for
political Offenders, (think of that built
in the bay; the royal palaces, two of them,
one near the water and the other, which
was Queen Msrgaurite's favored place
and where the young king was born, on
hill some distance out; the ruins of an
old palace Of Queen Anna ! think, de-
stroyed in 1872; the grave Of Virgil at
/ the end of one of the tunnels lead ng out
into the country. Then we were driven
/ thro' one tunnel, back tnro another and
/ to a bill top around which parapet was
I built aud where we had birds eye view
of the bay and ely. Vesuyius was but a
step distant and the island of Capri, 1900
feet high and 40 miles away, was in plain
view.