The Harrison times. (Harrison, Boone Co., Ark) 1876-1938, 1904-03-19

wonderful foundations and see al
stone or marble houses about
every place in Italy with inner walls
three feet thick, stone or marble
floors every place, stone or marble
steps inside or out, stone or marble
columns by thousands, stone or
marble window stills, stone or mar
bic seats in the gardens and parks,
They are all so substantially built
they show very little sign of age and
are good for another 1000 years,
unless Vesuvius or Nero comes
along to bury or burn them. Now
Rome is the center of Italy. but is
not all Italy, so before | introduce
you to the Coliseum by moonlight,
or show you through the Cata-
combs, | wish to give you a little
glimpse of Southern Italy where we
spent month in its well known cit
les.
Naples first, with it's wonderful
one-sidedness, being almost perpen-
dicular on one side where the houses
tower in. Indeed one morning when
sleeping in the back room of hotel
| was awakened by hearing the driv-
ing on the street over the roof of our
room. The next prominent feature
-of Naples is the dirt and the beggars;
they generally are found together
and they reach from the landing to
your hotel, and when you go out, on
your right hand and on your left, and
ingiving aims letnot your right hand
know what our left hand is doing,
or else you will be surrounded for
more. There seems to be nothing
the matter with them but dirt; in
deed they are very active, a boy will
turn somersaults before you for two
blocks, coming up at each sault with
an open palm and a whine.
If you turn corner suddenly and
surprise a lot Of idlers they instant
ly assume a limping or STOPPING gait
and show you the sorry hand, and
tits some minutes before you can out
walk them. When you drive they
run along and insist and implore.
A few months ago when Naples was
to have a two days visit from the
King and Queen the city fathers
used little stratagem to clear the
streets of beggars. On the day of
their arrival, they made big dinner
and invited all beggars. When they
came and were feasting they closed
and locked the doors and kept them
there until royalty had gone away.
A five days drive showed us the
interesting towns of Pompeii, La
Cava, Amal6, Sorrento and Capri.
The glimpse of Italian country life
convinced us the women are the bur
den bearers and very level-headed,
for we met dozens of them with bun
dies of straw or wood on their
heads, the straw piles being as large
as mule; and our driver would
have to give half the road the same
as for any other load of straw. At
La Cava we found the store rooms
to be windowless and damp, and
the narrow streets walled with solid
stone walls twelve feet high, and
narrow and crooked, making a walk
very uninteresting, But we stop
ped at hotel which was once pal
ace for kings and as we were the on
ly guests for two days, we imagined
we were kings and queens, and thor
oughly enjoyed walking its marble
halls and treading the marble stair
ways wide enough to drive two
coaches upon. The same mammoth
pictures in gilt frames on which the
royal spider built webs upon 400
years ago were in the grand drawing
rooms Our furniture was of inlaid
wood, our bedsteads of iron with
bronze statuary at the head, and
doors with great baskets of fruit, at
the foot. Our sheets were of fine lin
EN- four yards wide and our covering
of down. The gardens were full of
arbors and fountains with oranges
and figs in great abundance to pluck
at our wish. Our dining room was
100 feet long, and we were waited
on by an Italian young man in even
ing dress and gloves. We did not
awaken from our make believe"
even when we were informed our
carriage was at the door, for we
found the stairs and hall lined up
with the servants, each expecting a
tip"
Our two and a half hours drive
from there to Amal6 was grand, being