The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-12

Naples, Italy. Seignor re Grocerino:
] guess that will make you stand with
out hitching for a title while. Say,
1 am getting so full of dead languages,
and foreign palaver, that shall have
TO have an operation on my tongue
when I get home before ] can speel
the United States language again so
you can make head or tail of 1t. You
see | don't stay long enough i'll q
country to acquire its language, but
I get few words into my system, so
nov my English is So mixed with
French words, Italian garlic and
German throat trouble that / cannot
understand myself unless | look in
Il glass and watch the motions of my
lips. Dad has not picked up word
of any foreign language, and says ne
should consider himself a traitor to
his country il he tried to talk any
thing but English. He did get so he
could order a glass of beer by hold
ing up his singer and saying 'ein,"
but he found later that just holding
up his finger without saying 'ein"
would bring the beer all the same so
he cut out the language entirely and
works his finger until it needs a. rest.
When / used to study my geography
ut the little red school house, and
look at the picture of the volcano
Vesuyius, and read about how it
would throw up red-hot lava, and
ashes, and rocks as big as q house,
and wipe out cities. 1t looked so
terrible to me that l was glad when
We got through with the volcano les
son, and got to Greenland's icy noun
tains, where there was no danger ex-
cept being frozen to death, or made
sick by eating blubber sliced off of
whales.
Then I never expected to be right
on the the very top of that volcano,
throwing stones down in the lava,
and sailing chips down the stream or
hot stuff, just as ] sailed chips on ice
water at home when the streets were
flooded by spring rains. Say, there
is no more danger on Nesuvius than
there is in 9, toboggan slide, or shoot
ing the chutes at home. L thought
We would have to hire dagoes TO carry
us up to the top, and be robbed and
held up and may be murdered, but
# Is just as easy as going up i'll the
f1evafCt of, a sky-scraper, and no
more terrifying than sitting on q So
cent seat I'm q baseball park at home
aad witnessing the Destruction OF
Pompeii'' by a fireworks display.
The crater looks sort of creepy,
like a big cauldron kettle boiling soap
on farm, only it is bigger, and down
In the earth's bowels YOU can we'll
believe there is trouble. and If you
believe in q hell, you can get it. Illus
trated proper, but the rivulets OF lava
that flow out of the wrinkles around
the mouth of the crater are no more
appalling than making Judges over n
gas stove. When the lava cools you
would swear it was Judges. only you
can't eat the lava and get indigestion
as YOU can eating Judges.
1t, was hard work to get dad to go
nm on the volcano, because he said
H.
get his clothes burned, and ne said ne
couldn't climb clear to the top, on
account of his breath being snort,
but when I told him he could ride up
on Q trolley car, and nave the VOL
cano brought right to him. he weak
cued, and one morning we leIt Nd,
pies early ana before two hours had
passed we were on a little cogWheei
railroad going UP and dad was LOOK
Ing down on the scenery expecting
every minute the cOgs would sip ana
we would cut loose and go down as
i'm a heap and be plastered all over
the vineyards and big trees and be
killed.
/ don't know what makes dad SO
nervous. but he wanted woman
from Chicago, who was on the car
with US. to hold his hand all the way
up, but she said she was no nurse IN
Il home for the aged. and she salo
she would Gull udu IL uiNi
GO of her / told her she better not
get dad mad if she knew what was
good for her, for he was a regular
Rluebeard and wouldn't take no
slack from no Chicago female
cause he had buried nine wives al
ready. So she held his hand, and l
guess she thinks she will be my step
mother but bet she don't.
Well. after we got almost TO the top
tho car stopped, and we had to walk
the rest of the way, several hundred
feet and we had to have pusncf
and q putter for dad, dago to go
ahead and pull him UP. and anothef
10 put his shoulder against dads pants
and shove Gee, but it was picture
to see dad "go UP old baldhead'
with the dagocs perspiring and swear
ing at dad for being SO heavy, and the
Chicago woman laughed, ana me
pushing her uo.
One thing tina: scared DAD was li'dI
every little way there was q SHRINE,
where the guides left dad lying on the
ground. blocked with q piece OF cold
lava. So ne wouldn't roll down, IKE
YOU would block a wagon "heel. ana
they would 90 to the shrine and kneel
and say some prayers.
Dad was afraid they were going 10
charge the prayers in the bill for push
ing him up. but l told dad that these
people expected every time they went
UP to the top that it would be their
last trip. as they knew that some day
the volcano would open in u new place
and swallow them whole. with all the
tourists. Then he gave them dollar
apiece to pray for him. and wanted to
60 back down the mountain aud let
Tesuvius run its own fireworks. but
the Chicago lady told dad to brace up
and she would protect him. and SO the
guides gave a few more pushes and
we were on top of the volcano, and dad