Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1915-09-03

vented his approaching natural
III scenery. However that may have
been, it seems impossible that he
should not have been impressed by
the splendid views that anyone sail
ing up the coast of Sicily through the
Straits of Messina and along the south
Italian shore enjoys, says Rev. Dr.
Francis e. Clark in his series, "In the
Footsteps of st. Paul" in the Christian
Herald. He would have seen at first
smiling, uncovered hills; and before
he had gone far, glorious Etna, snow
capped for much of the year.
An ever-changing panorama delights
the eye until we come to Reggie, the
ancient Rhegium. Alas, pitiful sight
there greets the traveller today. Mes
sina on one side of the narrow strait
and Reggie on the other were both
wrecked almost beyond recognition by
the disastrous earthquake of 1908. On
the Messina shore one sees great rows
of little wooden houses scarcely larger
than henhouses. These are the port
able bungalows which were transport
ed from America, ready-made, to re-
lieve the sufferings of the houseless
and homeless people. They are still
occupied, for little has been done to
build up the ruined cities.
The authorized version of the thir-
teenth verse of the twenty-eighth chap
ter of Acts says in describing st.
Pauls journey after leaving Syracuse,
"and from thence we fetched a com
pass and came to Rhegium." An anus
ing story is told of an infidel who de-
clarcd, misquoting Luke's words, that
now he had proved the Bible to be a
lie, since 'in the book OF Acts 1t was
said that they fetched a compass
aboard Pauls ship, and everybody
knew that this was long before the
compass was invented" The revised
Version has taken the wind out of the
inaccurate infidel's sails, to speak nau-
tically, by translating the passage in
more modern phrase: And from
thence we made circuit, and arrived
at Rhegium." Here st. Pauls ship evil
dently waited for one day, perhaps to
discharge some cargo, or possibly wait
ing for fair wind, which soon blew,
for we are told that after one day a
south wind sprang up, and on the sec
ond day we came to Puteoli," 1872
miles to the north of Rhegium.
Between ScyIla and charybdis.
Shortly after leaving Reggie we
pass between Scylla and Charybdis,
the tabled monsters of antiquity. the
rock and the whirlpool, which have
been robbed of all their terrors since
steam navigation came to bless the
world, and to make the travellers bur-
dens and dangers light. Soon after,
the active volcanic mountain OF Strom-
boil. on one of the Lipari islands, is
seen, and all the way along the glori-
Gus South Italian shore reveals itself;
splendid mountains rear their heads
n the near distance, their sides clothed
with vineyards and olive and orange
orchards far up their slopes.
AS we approach the Bay of Naples
the scenery becomes constantly more
enhancing. We see the promontory
Of Sorrento acros3 the Bay of Saler-
7 o, and soon Capri with its blue grot-
% comes in sight on the left, and tow
ering Vesuvius with it's constant
plume of smoke on the right.
Sailing across the Bay of Naples,
past the spot whore the notable city
IF the present day is situated, a place
which was then comparatively insig-
lificant, our travellers came to Pute-
iii, or Pozzuoli, az: it is now called, at
present decadent suburb of Naples.
This miserable and dirty town Of
ONE 10000 inhabitants, as it now is,
s connected by trolley and steam rail-
way with Naples, and is often visited
~ the modern tourist who wishes
o see the remains of the ancient tenn
les am. amphitheater and the mighty
mole, which still tell of the ancient
Tories of Puteoli
Nearby, too, is the volcanic field
f Solfatara, not mountain, but a
at plain, the crater of low volcano.
nto which one can thrust his cane in
many places and find smoke and sui
hurous vapor issuing from the hole as
e withdraws it. Probably there are
sw more dreary or disreputable places
i Italy than this modern suburb of
'apies. 1t has not the ragged pic
which somewhat redeems
he worst slums of Naples, but is
quaiid, unwholesome town Of the
rorst type.
Was Noted Roman Resort.
1t Is difficult to realize that it once
,ight have been called the Liver
DOL of Italy" that here was the Luz
rfne lake. which supplied the PAM
cred Romans with their famous oy-
kers and that the whole hay was