Milford chronicle., 1918-06-28
LETTER FROM DAVID S. PRUITT.

Ny Dear Friends what a welcome an
a delightful surprise your letter was an
how much good it did me. If l could re
ceive a letter each week like the on
you sent me think things would e
along so much better.
. No, indeed, l haven't the slightest OBJ
= lection TO you adopting me for the dura
tion Of the war. And you may be sur
/ appreciate the honor and trust you be
stow upon me when you make such ;
request. Rest assured that my conduc
and action shall be such as will try Il
merit your approval, even as much a.
if 1 We're your real son. Today ] an
writing to my mother and / shall quote
her portions Of your letter. for 1 am sure
} it will make her as happy as it has made
J me.
Rome is, indeed a beautiful city. !
have been there twice and have found
it more beautiful, more wonderful the
second trip than the first. More beauti-
fu than Rome however. is Naples and
the places grouped around its beautiful
bay. Part Of my regular seven day
leave l spent in the latter city. That
was since my Christmas trip there.
1 went by Mt. Vesuvius on my way
to Pompei In that "City Of the Dead"
which has recently been brought TO light
after centuries of burial, l spent one
whole afternoon It is wonderful.
wish I could describe it for you, but Of
! tentimes words are such a poor medium
for expressing what we feel What sur
prised me the most. perhaps, was their
state of civilization. Their houses were
steam heated like ours. Instead of pri-
vate bathrooms they had public baths
where each person had his particular
niche for clothing, soap, towels etc. In
the place Of seperate pipes carrying hot
and cold water they had separate
rooms with a large pool, or basin. sim
liar to our bath tubs. There were three
Of these rooms; first was the caledarium,
or room with very hot water; from there
the bather passed to the Trepedarium, or
tepid water room; and last was the
Frigidarium, or cold bath.
The building and streets We're mostly
Of stone. For that reason they have
endured. Each street took its name from
the design on its public fountain. BY
public fountain l don't mean one for the |
whole city-there was one in each street |
use it. Even now the grooves worn by |
the hands Of the drinkers as they stoop- |
ed to slack their thirst can be seen And |
at each street corner is a large block
or stepping stone, so that it was possible
for a pedestrian to cross from one side
of the street to the other without step
ping down into the road. Had our
modern street crossings beat all TO
pieces. The enclosed snapshot will
make what ! mean palmer than words
can. The box-like contrivance is the
street fountain. The arch in the dis
tance is one Of the gates by which en-
trance to the city was gained.
From Pompei l went to Sorrento-not
IN car, but in a little horse drawn cab.
The journey took about four hours and .
every minute was a fresh revelation of
beauty. 1t was like all the natural
PARKS and drives heaped into one. At .
lines we would be on the top Of a high
,lif where we could gaze straight down 3
1t the sea, 300 feet or more below. At r.
'ther times we would be driving through
evel meadows. cultivated as ! have new .
II seen soil cultivated before. In one d
'lace l actually saw four crops being {,
-rown at the same time-fruit trees on
he trees grape vines We're trained: h
omething resembling potatoes was r
-rown in hills, and on the sides Of the re
iils was still a different crop Honestly G
believe they grow more on one acre v
ere than we do on five at home.
Came into Sorrento about night fall o.
nd didn't get to see much Of that city oi
nd its environs until the next day. d
'ound that il was almost surrounded b.
y orange and lemon groves. These fruit C
roves presented a peculiar sight They
we're rooted over and enclosed on all 5C
ides by grass mats. These mats were b
or the purpose Of protecting the fruit I
rom wind, hail and rain storms Be =
Nv Sorrenton proper was a little sardine u
shing village, where all worked. The u
len went out in the boats with the nets, W
he women hauled in the boats and nets. -
leaned the fish and packed them for ~
larket. This is their sole way Of maxi ~ y
lg a living. All the fish caught are put -
commission store house and each
Imly is supported therefrom. Some ,,.
mes big tuna fish is caught and then
lere is general rejoicing. t,
From Sorrento l went to Capri, famous nc
n its grottoes. You doubtless have
Fad Of the Blue Grotto. In addition ta
lere are a Green Grotto and a Red sa
rotto. visited only the Blue 1t was tu
onderfuL just like a big calcium light du
eng burned and giving its color to ev nc
'ything there-water, rocks, and even We
lie atmosphere. Not satisfied with go on
g under the island, ! also climbed the W.
ghest peak above it. Going up / made m
1t all right. Coming down / fell six ou
mes, breaking-not bones-but all pre- an
GUS records. NJ
Soon I'll have to be going out to drill til
I'll bring this little book to a close re
Finito", as they say here. Best re Tie
ards TO you and all the neighbors. pu
d. S. p. W.
adet Dave S. Pruitt, Sth Aviation Inst ~. ma
Centre, U. S. Air Service, American IN
Expeditionary Forces. 'eI
CEDAR CREEK. de