The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-06
perlln. Germany. June 9th. ieo2


 Berlin, Germany. June 9th, 1902
 Editor The Advertiser:
 I wrote you from Rome. went from Rome to Naples. 1ss miles. That city has grown and improved wonderfully since I visited it, thirteen years ago. It has iri- creased in population and business 25 per cent. and now has more than half mil- lion of people. It Is surrounded by mountairg and nesties in the valley on the bsy with It's calm. beautiful blue waters. We stopped at the Parker House, new notcl away up on the hillside from which we had a grand view of the city. the bay with it's chipping and to the east vesu- vius. with It's smoke ever ascending. It is from Naples up to the top sixteen miles. We went by carriage as far as we could. to the station of the little railway. We then got into the car drawn by wire rope on . single track and went about 300 yards higher. and then had to ascend 400 steps almost perpendicular to the top or mouth of the crater df the smoke is not tod dense for one to see into it), which was the case the day of our ascent. Mrs. Oates was frightened nearly to death and became so nervous had to turn back and get her down from there as quickly as possible. No nervous or timid person should eyer undertake to
 
 through Naples was immensely interest ing. We started from tho downtown off, flee of the great tourists. Cook & Son. The driver of the carriage soon discov- cred that one of his horses could not make the trip and he drove through some Of the narrowest. dirtiest and worst crowded streets I ever saw. to stable where he exchanged teams and got one of three horses abreast, and then drove <. AA.y~, .ak E&A AA ts.4~ sA1, did not smell like sweet shrubs, roses nor cologne. We met and passed constantly men and women with large baskets of vegetables strapped on their backs and calling aloud what they had to sell. Ev- cry variety of vehicle, team and harness that was ever invented or could be ini- agined filled the streets. Some of the largest and finest oxen I ever saw with their long horns were hitehed three abreast, and frequently milk COW, a horse or q jackass was substitute for a missing OK from the team. but all seein- ed to move on very satisfactorily. Nearly every team and every animal in 1t was belled, and such jinging and whooping Of the teamsters was profoundly anus ing. In many places the women were washing dirty clothes in the narrow streets. which have no sidewafk they then stretched line before the door and hang out the clothes to dry Men and children were seen sleering in the sun in the streets next the wall lying on the ground or pavement, without anything under them and net even a block of wood for heading. As we neared the corpo- rate limits, the beggars became more nu- merous and after we got outside they fairly swarned and would run alongside of the carriage, old and young, and when we would give some small change to one he or she would halt. but 1t made the balance of the gang more intent on get ting some contributions. If any one was mained he would run by the side of the carriage for mile or more exhibiting his deforrnity or misfor- tune unless he was given few centimes. At one point in the road up the noun tain, where the carriage had to move slowly, a band Of half q dozen musicians escorted us and kept their fiddies and other instruments going until gave thcm thirty Or forty cents in change, when they subsided we'll pleased with their booty and returned to their former posi- ton to serenade the next carriage which came along.
 The drive up the mountain along the zigzag road which has been made in tlie slag and cinders of the eruptIons. is quite interesting. Wherever a spot of ground has been formed by the dissolution of the matter erupted centuries ago. 1t is being cultivated In grapes, and I noticed our Indian corn was growing in some places. In the country around Naples observed a considerable quantity of corn up and growing While they are learning to pro- duce the corn the Italian refuses to cook and eat cornbread. I have not seen piece of it since I landed sin Europe. Neither do they know anything of our sweet potato. I have never seen one in Europe. I doubt whether they can be grown as they are not adapted to a soil which contains lime, and all the land I have seen fin Europe. contains lime and is quite productive, the greater part of It quite rich. The soil produces well and this explains why it supports such large populations. by rail down the bay shore and visited city of about 30.000 and seveuty-nIne years after Christ was totally destroyed --buried-by the great eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Herculanean and Castelawar, smaller cities near by, were likewise de- stroyed. About one-third of Pompeii has been carefully excavated. There are the walls of the houses, the narrow streets all paved with stone and worn in ruts by the chariot wheels. The paintings and ornaTnentation on the inner walls of houses which remained covered out of sight for near 2.0O0 years. arc bright and distinct in many cases as though new. There have been taken from the ruins at different dates human skeletons fin the attitudes in which they died when the lava caught them. The skeletons If horses. dogs, cats. rats and everything of the Kind. Cooking stoves. similar to those we now use and all kinds of inl- plements of industry or indicative of luxury, have been found and are pre- served in the museum in Naples. which Is well worth a visit. People had then in those towns which were destroyed nine-tenths of all the conveniences and luxuries which we now enjoy. The great est improvements made in the world with in the last 1000 years have been in the field of mechanics and discovery. Of course the motive power of steam and Electricity were unknown to the Romans but they had. in 8 small way, nearly everything else.
 Leaving Naples we went by rail some 24o miles to the southeast to Brindisi on the Adriatic Sea. The first half of our journey was monotonous. very broken l with small fertile valleys and the latter | half level plain--a grazing country with large herds of cattle and hocks of sheep. | At Brindisi we embarked upon the Ital- | ian steamer "Seilla" at night. The next morning at 10 o'clock she reached the Island of Corfu where we re- mained until o'clock ?. m' when the Scilla weighed anchor and re-