Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-10-23


him many Of his force, suffocated in
going too near with his boats to the res
cue of the unfortunate inhabitants.
But the original cone, thrown out
from level plain high above the sur
rounding country and miles away from
any other peaks or mountains ranges,
gave her expiring effort to visit punish
ment upon the cities of the plain. Since
the eruption of 79 no life or movement
has been seen in this peak, and she
stands today overshadowed by the
younger protuberance which grew forth
from her side. Cold and sterile, as one
surmounts the more modern cone the
older one gapes as if yawning for some
thing to swallow to make up for its
emptiness from that explosion Of wrath
which wrought disaster upon itself and
left carcass ragged and emaciated-a
Sampson, as it were, that wrecked
itself in carrying out Divine retribution.
AS with the Alps, human ingenuity is
making easier the ascent of Vesuvius.
From Naples to the base of Vesuvius is
but few minutes run in railway car
riage, that continues its journey on and
over the still rthedHerculaneum and
the one-fourth excavated Pompeii. The
traveller that does not take train and
stop at Vesuvius' base may take carriage
or auto and join his party halfway up
the slope. where begins cog-railway of
two cars This carries one little over
half of the remaining distance, where
nature must come to the rescue. A
little shanty and guides attending is the
starting point for the path. Ladies or
such men as do not care to rough it will
find saddle horse or litter borne by
guides to take them to within few hun
dred yards of the apex, at which point
all must walk. more or less assisted by
guides and ropes. 1t means a whole
day for the ascent and return to Naples
We take carriage with new acquain-
tsnces, and start in the morning for the
cog railway. For miles we course the
long streets of Naples, out of the busy
portion and marts, through the streets
of the poor and the dens of frivolity,
passing herds of goats being driven for
the day without the city, jostled by
expert cabbies, screaming automobiles,
diminutive donkeys trotting to two
wheeled carts with long hay-like plat
form upon them and on this great loads
of produce or half dozen human beings
evenly balancing the cart-bed (remem-
Der the streets are level and as smooth
as asphalt, marble or stone can make
them); passing the slow-going OK carts,
that sometimes have a donkey on one
side of the ox's shafts and small horse
on the other; or great truck-wagons
with their towering boxes or bales and
three horses abreast; into the less fire.
quented outskirts of the town where
obsceneness and dirt run riot upon the
streets and in front of the lordly villas
that slope down (for we are now as
cending) to the plains below. A peep
through the sentried gates, inches in
the high brick, stone or lava walls,
shows vast possessions in gardens and
fields and many mansions, but unkept
and untidy, even filthy, in most cases.
In the doorways of the gate houses
where attendants families reside, and
the doorways of interspersed residences,
we see sloven women and children,
unmindful of their half or wholly nude
presentation to the gentlemen or elegant
ladies in our carriages and autos. Lax
ity in the extreme, but it does not so
impress the native. Centuries of blood
and habit are being toned by intercourse
with refined transient influences, and
after records of two thousand years ago
are brought to view we are still con-
vinced that the world is getting better.
We pass along ascending cobble-
streets now, between high walls of
estates, and bye-and-bye we come to
the little cog railway station. Fruit,
fruit is vended on all sides of streets
and stations, and one is surfeited with
luscious fruit while your pocket-book is
but little the lighter. We take the
little jerk-water train and begin steadily
to ascend sleeper grades. our equipages
tethered out for our return in the after
noon. The Neapolitan and the fat
American calls it warm day, but not
so with this pair. In southern Italy,
the first of September and climbing the
bare peaks of Vesuyius in ashes some
times knee deep, we did not ''shuck"
our jacket. Up the sleeps we climb by
aid of electricity overhead and cogs
beneath; through vineyards, fig, apricot,
pear and peach orchards breaking
down with unplucked fruit Here is q
vine-dresser's shack, and there is q
great cold wave of lava that concealed
before the roughness and the apertures
could be closed, and these caverns are
now the homes of orchard-tanders. On
the bare lava-crags no vegetation can
grow, and presently we will get out OF
the fertile slopes to the sleeps of the
mount where not sprig Of grass car
be found nor an insect could possibly
live. Up there, when a single crow
flew over the summit we pictured him
"a wandering Jew'' fleeing from the
Shenandoah of Sheredan's time and moi
yet content to stop.
But we are not yet into the barren
wastes. The fertility of this region is
Vesuvius ash; the desolation of the