The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-12-03
NPLEASANT THINGS
 IN CITY OF NAPLES The City Is Far Behind the Times in a Great Many
 Respects.
ONLY ONE MUSIC STORE.
But There Are Plenty of Good Music, Black Olives,
 Etc.

Naples is not the pleasantest of places to sojourn in, for anyone who Is sensitive; there is too much human degradation and misery there. Naples in most things is far behind our day and age. There is but one music store in this city of half million peo pie, and only a couple of places where books can be bought. Though a few of the leading stores are adopting mod ern ideas, most of the selling is done on the old ibazar or small-shop system. The proprietor stands at his door and pounces upon every possible customer like spider on fly, and he considers 1t his business to sell to his victim not what the victim wants, but what he, the merchant, tries to make him think he wants. The selection of goods Is usually small, and prices for every thing but the commonest articles high Foodstuffs are handled in squalid lit tie shops, in the smallest quantities. Though dates, raisins and prunes are produced right on the Mediterranean, these fruits are sold only as luxuries in the more fashionable stores, at double the prices they bring in Amer tca-though common Italian figs were cheap. Potatoes are almost unknown among the Italians as people and at the restaurants they were about as rare as mushrooms would be at home.
 At our meals we would often order at random some unfamiliar dish on the the bill of fare, just to see what we would dray; sometimes the results were pleasing, sometimes not. One day we had for dinner a species of octopus or "devil fish''; with it's long rubber-like tentacles it looked creepy and unappetizing enough but it prov ed to be fairly good eating, resem- bling oysters or clanls in taste. Oys- ters are still favorite relish along the Mediterranean, as they were in ancient times; in Naples it is the GUS tom for the oyster peddlers to bring thefr oysters into the restaurant and shuck a few for you while you are waiting for your order, if you so de- sire-but the European oyster is but an aggravation to anyone who has ever had an American one. Fresh fruits of several kinds were good and cheap The so-called India fig which is a cactus product, we found < delicious--resemb as the children said, raspberry water-ice
 We were also very fond of the black olives. Comparatively few peo pie in America are acquainted witt this style of olive, though 1t is rnucl superior to the pickled green olive The California olive growers are be ginning to supply black olives for th < market, and the Italian fruit stores il some of the big cities supply then for about 25 cents quart. Cotton seed oil is being so widely substituted for olive oil that the cultivation 0 the olive in the Mediterranean coun tries is beginning to languish. Tht Neapolitan apples would make vol srnile--little gnurly nubbins the sig, of small crab apples, but sold at high CT prices than fine oranges, and eater with great avidity by the natives whel they want to be extravagant Chest nuts of course are a staple food arti cle with the Italians, and also tn little nut-like seeds about the size 0 a sunfiower seed that are found Il the cones of the Italian pine; the cone are roasted slightly so that the seed can be shelled out Peanuts, of tn small Spanish variety, are well know in the old world, but they are too ex pensive to be popular The Italian also have that other favorite Ameri can institution, firecrackers. but the, use them only in connection with re ligious festivals, more as the Chimes and Japanese do; on fete nights W would hear and see regular sbom bardrnent of fireworks in front of
 church near our hotel. Among tn most curious of Neapolltan custom are these having to do with funeral: Often the coffin would be carrie through the streets on the shoulder of the pallbearers, but generally i an odd sort of hearse, and the mourn CTS would follow, dressed in variou sorts of grotesque costumes, frequent ly consisting of ghostly white shroud and masks while if the parties coul afford it brass band accompanied tf procession.
 On Sunday afternoons a f1rst-clas regimental band gave fine concel in the principal park of the city, faC ing the bay, and here we saw the eli of Naples, gathered. We heard severI operas given in the very best style i