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+            <titleStmt>
+                <title>The Naples Riviera</title>
+                <author><name reg="Vaughan, Herbert M.">Herbert M. Vaughan</name></author>
+            </titleStmt>
+            <publicationStmt>
+                <publisher>Project Gutenberg TEI edition</publisher>
+                <date value="2009-12-09">December 9, 2009</date>
+                <idno type='etext-no'>30634</idno>
+                <availability>
+                  <p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere
+                  at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.
+                  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under
+                  the terms of the Project Gutenberg License online at
+                  www.gutenberg.org/license</p>
+                </availability>
+            </publicationStmt>
+            <sourceDesc>
+                <p>Vaughan, Herbert M.: The Naples Riviera. - London : Methuen, 1907</p>
+            </sourceDesc>
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+            <date value="2009-12-09">December 9, 2009</date>
+            <respStmt>
+                <resp>Produced by <name>Juliet Sutherland</name> and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.</resp>
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+            <item>Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1</item>
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+<front>
+    <div>
+      <divGen type="pgheader" />
+    </div>
+
+    <div>
+      <divGen type="encodingDesc" />
+    </div>
+    <div rend="page-break-before: right">
+<pb/><anchor id='Pgii'/>
+        <anchor id="frontis"/>
+<pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: CHARCOAL CARRIERS, AMALFI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/frontisth.jpg" rend="width: 100%">
+      <head rend="small"><xref url="images/frontis.jpg">CHARCOAL CARRIERS, AMALFI</xref></head>
+      <figDesc>Illustration: Charcoal Carriers, Amalfi</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+      </div><titlePage rend="page-break-before: right; center">
+<pb/><anchor id='Pgiii'/>
+
+<docTitle>
+  <titlePart type="main"><hi rend="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold">THE</hi><lb/>
+  <hi rend="font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold">NAPLES RIVIERA</hi></titlePart>
+</docTitle>
+
+<byline rend="margin-top: 2">BY<lb/>
+<docAuthor rend="font-size: large">HERBERT M. VAUGHAN, B.A. (<hi rend='smallcaps'>Oxon.</hi>)</docAuthor>
+  <lb/>
+  <hi rend="font-size: x-small">AUTHOR OF “THE LAST OF THE ROYAL STUARTS”</hi>
+</byline>
+<lb/><lb/><lb/>
+<titlePart>
+ <hi rend="font-size: small">WITH TWENTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY</hi><lb/>
+MAURICE GREIFFENHAGEN
+</titlePart>
+<lb/><lb/><lb/>
+<docImprint rend="margin-top: 3; font-size: large">
+  METHUEN &amp; CO<lb/>
+  36 ESSEX STREET W.C.<lb/>
+  LONDON
+</docImprint>
+      </titlePage>
+  <div rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb/><anchor id='Pgiv'/>
+
+<p rend="center">
+<hi rend='italic'>First Published in 1907</hi>
+</p>
+
+<p rend="center; page-break-before: always">
+  <pb/><anchor id='Pgv'/>
+TO<lb/>
+<hi rend="font-size: large">G. L. L.</hi><lb/>
+IN MEMORY OF<lb/>
+MANY PLEASANT DAYS IN THE SUNNY SOUTH<lb/>
+THIS BOOK IS<lb/>
+AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED<lb/>
+BY THE AUTHOR
+</p>
+
+<pb/><anchor id='Pgvi'/>
+  </div>
+    <div rend="page-break-before: right">
+<pb n='vii'/><anchor id='Pgvii'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="Contents"/>
+<head>CONTENTS</head>
+      <table rend="tblcolumns: 'l lw(43m) r'">
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER I</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend="font-size: x-small">PAGE</hi></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Introductory</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg001">1</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER II</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Vesuvian Shore and Monte Sant’ Angelo</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg008">8</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER III</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>La Città Morta</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg038">38</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER IV</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Vesuvius</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg066">66</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER V</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Corniche Road</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg100">100</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER VI</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Amalfi and the Festival of St Andrew</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg126">126</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER VII</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Ravello and the Rufoli</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg152">152</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER VIII</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Salerno</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg172">172</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <pb n='viii'/><anchor id='Pgviii'/>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER IX</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Paestum and the Glory that was Greece</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg198">198</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER X</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Sorrento and its Poet</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg221">221</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER XI</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Capri and Tiberius the Tyrant</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg249">249</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER XII</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Ischia and the Lady of the Rock</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg275">275</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">CHAPTER XIII</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Puteoli and the Grandeur that was Rome</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg295">295</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell rend="center">————</cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"></cell>
+          </row>
+          <row>
+              <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+              <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Index</hi></cell>
+              <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="Pg321">321</ref></cell>
+          </row>
+      </table>
+  </div>
+    <div rend="page-break-before: right">
+<pb n='ix'/><anchor id='Pgix'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="List of Illustrations"/>
+<head>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</head>
+        
+<table rend="tblcolumns: 'l lw(35m) r'">
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><hi rend="font-size: x-small">PAGE</hi></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Charcoal Carriers, Amalfi</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><hi rend='italic'><ref target="frontis">Frontispiece</ref></hi></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Capriote Fisherman’s Wife</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus01">16</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Road near Castellamare</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus02">30</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Monte Faito, Castellamare</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus03">37</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Forum, Pompeii</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus04">46</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>La Casa dei Vettii, Pompeii</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus05">58</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus06">80</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Pozzano</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus07">101</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Evening at Amalfi</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus08">124</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Amalfi</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus09">132</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>In the Valley of the Mills, Amalfi</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus10">140</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Amalfi: Piazza and Duomo</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus11">148</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Ravello: Il Duomo</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus12">156</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Street in Ravello</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus13">163</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Minori at Sunset</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus14">170</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>On the Road To Ravello</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus15">186</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>The Temple of Neptune, Paestum</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus16">204</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <pb n='x'/><anchor id='Pgx'/>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Afternoon, Sorrento</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus17">230</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Faraglioni Rocks, Capri</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus18">249</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Capri From the Villa Jovis</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus19">254</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>In the Blue Grotto, Capri</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus20">262</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>A Gateway, Capri</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus21">274</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>On the Piccola Marina, Capri</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus22">288</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>Ischia From Castellamare (Sunset)</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus23">294</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+    <row>
+        <cell>&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
+        <cell><hi rend='smallcaps'>On the Beach</hi></cell>
+        <cell rend="text-align: right"><ref target="illus24">306</ref></cell>
+    </row>
+</table>
+    </div>
+    <div rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='xi'/><anchor id='Pgxi'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="Bibliography"/>
+<head>BIBLIOGRAPHY</head>
+
+<p rend="center">
+A small selection out of the books I have consulted during the
+preparation of this work is given below:—
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>E. Gibbon</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>Dean Merivale</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>The Romans under the Empire</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='italic'>Pliny’s Letters</hi>: (Church’s and Brodribb’s Translation, London,
+1897).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>J. Phillips</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Vesuvius</hi> (Oxford, 1869).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>C. Ramage</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Nooks and Byways of Italy</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>C. Lenormant</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>À Travers la Lucanie et l’Apulie</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>W. J. A. Stamer</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi> (London, 1878).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>E. Neville Rolfe</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Naples in 1888</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>Constance Giglioli</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Naples in 1799</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>C. L. Sismondi</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Histoire des <anchor id="corrxi"/><corr sic="Republiques">Républiques</corr> Italiennes</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>L. Alberti</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Descrizione di tutta l’ Italia</hi> (Venetia, 1596).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>C. Mills</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>The Travels of Theodore Ducas</hi> (London, 1822).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='italic'>Les Délices d’Italie</hi> (Paris, 1707).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='italic'>Nuova Guida de’ Forastieri in Napoli, etc.</hi> (1751).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>Count Stolberg</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Travels through Italy and Sicily in 1756</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>A. H. Norway</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Naples, Past and Present</hi> (London, 1904).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>E. Busk</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Folk-Songs of Italy</hi>.
+</p>
+<pb n='xii'/><anchor id='Pgxii'/>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>J. A. Symonds</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Sketches and Studies in Italy</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>Catherine Phillimore</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Studies in Italian Literature</hi>
+(London, 1891).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>T. A. Trollope</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>A Decade of Italian Women</hi> (London, 1859).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>G. Boccaccio</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Il Decamerone</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>A. Mau</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Pompeii: its Life and Art</hi> (New York, 1899).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>J. Fergusson</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Handbook of Architecture</hi> (London, 1859).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>Franz von Reber</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>History of Ancient and Mediæval Art</hi> (New
+York, 1882).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>E. Jameson</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Sacred and Legendary Art</hi> (London, 1879).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>J. Elworthy</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>History of the Evil Eye</hi> (London, 1888).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>N. Valletta</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Cicalata sul Fascino detto Jettatura</hi> (Napoli, 1819).
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='smallcaps'>A. Canale</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Storia dell’ Isola di Capri</hi>.
+</p>
+
+<p><hi rend='smallcaps'>G. Amalfi</hi>: <hi rend='italic'>Tradizioni ed Vsi nella Penisola Sorrentina</hi>.
+</p>
+    </div>
+    
+</front>
+<body rend="page-break-before: right">
+<pb n='1'/><anchor id='Pg001'/>
+
+<head>THE NAPLES RIVIERA</head>
+<div n="1">
+    <index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="1: Introductory"/>
+<head>CHAPTER I</head>
+
+<head type="sub">INTRODUCTORY</head>
+
+<epigraph><lg>
+<l rend='margin-left: 7'><q rend="post: none">In otia natam</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Parthenopen.</q></l>
+</lg>
+</epigraph>
+<p>
+That the city of Naples can prove very delightful,
+very amusing, and very instructive for a
+week or ten days no one will attempt to dispute.
+There are long mornings to be spent in inspecting
+the churches scattered throughout the narrow streets
+of the old town,—harlequins in coloured marble and
+painted stucco though they be, they are yet treasure-houses
+containing some of the most precious monuments
+of Gothic and Renaissance art that all Italy
+can display. There are afternoon hours that can be
+passed pleasantly amidst the endless halls and galleries
+of the great Museo Nazionale, where the antiquities
+of Pompeii and Herculaneum may be studied in
+advance, for the wise traveller will not rush headlong
+into the sacred precincts of the buried cities on the
+Vesuvian shore, before he has first made himself
+thoroughly acquainted with the wonderful collections
+preserved in the Museum. Then comes the evening
+drive along the gentle winding ascent towards Posilipo
+with its glorious views over bay and mountains, all
+<pb n='2'/><anchor id='Pg002'/>tinged with the deep rose and violet of a Neapolitan
+sunset; or the stroll along the fashionable sea front,
+named after the luckless Caracciolo the modern hero
+of Naples, where in endless succession the carriages
+pass backwards and forwards within the limited space
+between the sea and the greenery of the Villa Reale.
+Or it may be that our more active feet may entice
+us to mount the winding flights of stone steps leading
+to the heights of Sant’ Elmo, where from the windows
+of the monastery of San Martino there is spread out
+before us an entrancing view that has but two possible
+rivals for extent and interest in all Italy:—the
+panorama of the Eternal City from the hill of San
+Pietro in Montorio, and that of Florence with the
+valley of the Arno from the lofty terrace of San
+Miniato. We can while away many hours leisurely in
+wandering on the bustling Chiaja or Toledo with
+their shops and their amusing scenes of city life, or
+in the poorer quarters around the Mercato, where
+the inhabitants ply their daily avocations in the open
+air, and eat, play, quarrel, flirt, fight or gossip—do
+everything in short save go to bed—quite unconcernedly
+before the critical and non-admiring eyes
+of casual strangers. Pleasant it is to hunt for old
+prints, books and other treasures amongst the dark
+unwholesome dens that lie in the shadow of the
+gorgeous church of Santa Chiara or in the musty-smelling
+shops of the curiosity dealers in the Strada
+Costantinopoli, picking up here a volume of some
+<hi rend='italic'>cinque-cento</hi> classic and there a piece of old china that
+may or may not have had its birth in the famous
+factory of Capodimonte. All this studying of historic
+sculpture in the churches and of antiquities in the
+<pb n='3'/><anchor id='Pg003'/>Museum, this observing the daily life of the populace,
+and bargain-hunting in the Strada de’ Tribunali,
+are agreeable enough for a while, but of necessity
+there comes a time when the mind grows weary of
+yelling people and of jostling crowds, of stuffy
+churches and of the chilly halls of the Museum, of
+steep dirty streets and of glaring boulevards, so that
+we begin to sigh for fresh air and a change of scene.
+Nor is there any means of escape within the precincts
+of the city itself from the eternal cracking of whips,
+from the insulting compliments (or complimentary
+insults) of the incorrigible cabmen, from the continuous
+babel of unmusical voices, and from the reiterated
+strains of <q>Santa Lucia</q> or <q>Margari</q> howled
+from raucous throats or strummed from rickety
+street-organs. Oh for peace, and rest, and a whiff
+of pure country air! For there are no walks in or
+around the City of the Siren, where there is nowhere
+to stroll save the narrow strip of the much-vaunted
+Villa (which is either damp or dusty according to
+weather) or the fatiguing ascent amidst walled gardens
+and newly built houses to the heights of the Vomero,
+which are covered with a raw suburb. Moreover our
+pristine delight in the place is beginning to flag, as
+we gradually realise that the city, like the majority
+of great modern towns, is being practically rebuilt to
+the annihilation of its old-world features, which used
+to give to Naples its peculiar charm and its marked
+individuality amongst large sea-ports. Long ago
+has disappeared Santa Brigida, that picturesque high-coloured
+slum, on whose site stands the garish domed
+gallery of which the Neapolitans are so proud; gone
+in these latter days is classic Santa Lucia with its
+<pb n='4'/><anchor id='Pg004'/>water-gate and its fountain, its vendors of medicated
+water and <hi rend='italic'>frutti di mare</hi>, those toothsome shell fish of
+the unsavoury beach; vanished for ever is many a landmark
+of old Naples, and new buildings, streets and
+squares, blank, dreary, pretentious and staring, have
+arisen in their places. This thorough <hi rend='italic'>sventramento di
+Napoli</hi>, as the citizens graphically term this drastic
+reconstruction of the old capital of the Kingdom of
+the Two Sicilies, is no doubt beneficial, not to say
+necessary, and we make no protest against these
+wholesale changes, which have certainly tended to
+destroy utterly its ancient character and appearance.
+But all seems commonplace, new, smart, and unpoetic,
+and we quickly grow weary of Naples now that it
+has been turned into a Liverpool of the South without
+the local colour and the peculiar attributes of which
+author and artist have so often raved. The life of
+the people, picturesque enough in its old setting, now
+appears mean and squalid; the toilers in the streets
+look jaded, oppressed and discontented; we search
+in vain for the spontaneous gaiety of which we have
+heard so much. We feel disappointed, cheated even,
+in our expectations of Naples, and we begin to understand
+that its chief attraction consists in its proximity
+to the scenes of beauty that mark the course of its
+Riviera.
+</p>
+
+<milestone unit="tb"/>
+
+<p>
+The Riviera of Naples may be said to extend from
+the heights of Cumae, at the end of the Bay of Gaeta
+to the north, as far as Salerno in a southerly direction,
+whilst, lying close to this stretch of shore, are included
+the three populous islands of Capri, Procida and
+Ischia, which in prehistoric times doubtless formed
+<pb n='5'/><anchor id='Pg005'/>part and parcel of the Parthenopean coast itself.
+Our pleasant task it is to write of these classic shores
+and islands, where the beauties of nature contend for
+pre-eminence with the glorious traditions of the past
+that centre round them. What spot on earth can
+surpass, or even be compared with, Amalfi in the
+perfect lustre of its setting? What loftier or bolder
+cliffs than those of Capri can the wild bleak headlands
+of the North Sea exhibit? The fertile lands of
+France cannot vie with the richness of the Sorrentine
+Plain, nor can any mountain on the face of the globe
+rival in human interest the peak of Vesuvius;
+Pompeii is unique, the most precious storehouse of
+ancient knowledge the world possesses; whilst the
+Bay of Baia recalls the days of Roman power and
+luxury more vividly to our minds than any place
+save the Eternal City itself. And again: what illustrious
+names in history and in literature—classical,
+medieval, modern—are for ever associated with these
+smiling shores! Robert Guiscard and Hildebrand
+in quiet Salerno, Tasso at health-giving Sorrento,
+Vittoria Colonna in her palace-fortress on the crags
+of Ischia, the great Apostle of the west at Puteoli:—these
+are but a few of the more eminent and gracious
+figures that arise before us at the casual bidding of
+memory. Then there are the infamous, as well as
+the virtuous and the gallant, whose misdeeds are
+still freshly remembered upon these coasts or in
+their fertile valleys. The sinister Tiberius, the half-crazy
+and wholly vicious Caligula, many a king and
+queen of evil repute that ruled Naples, the vile Pier-Luigi
+Farnese, the adventurer Joachim Murat, all
+have left the marks of their personality upon the
+<pb n='6'/><anchor id='Pg006'/>coveted shores of the Neapolitan Riviera. From
+the days of the Sibyl and of the Trojan hero to
+the stirring times of Garibaldi and of King Bomba,
+which were but of yesterday, Naples and its environs
+have played a prominent part in the annals and
+development of the civilised western world; Roman
+emperors, Pagan statesmen and poets, Norman, French
+and Spanish princes, popes, saints and theologians,
+merchants and scientists of the Middle Ages, writers
+of the Renaissance and heroes of the <hi rend='italic'>Risorgimento</hi>,
+all have combined to shed a halo of historical romance
+upon Naples and its Riviera, where there is scarcely
+a sea-girt town or a crumbling fortress that is not
+redolent of the memory of some personage whose
+name is inscribed on the roll of European history.
+It seems but right, therefore, that many works should
+have been written concerning this favoured corner of
+Italy, so replete with natural charm and with historical
+interest; and in truth multitudes of books, large and
+small, witty and dull, erudite and empty, light and
+heavy, prosaic and rhapsodical, have poured forth
+from the prolific pens of generations of authors. We
+feel sincerely the need of an apology for making a
+fresh addition to the ever-increasing pile of Neapolitan
+literature, and we can only urge in extenuation of
+our crime of authorship that the same scene appeals
+in varied ways to different persons, and that every
+fresh description is apt to shed additional light upon
+old familiar subjects. In the following pages we
+make no profession to act the part of a guide to
+the neighbourhood of Naples, for are there not the
+carefully prepared pages of Murray and Baedeker, to
+say nothing of the works of such writers as Augustus
+<pb n='7'/><anchor id='Pg007'/>Hare, to lead the wanderer into every church and
+castle, to show him every nook in valley and mountain,
+and to supply him thoroughly with accurate dates
+and facts? No, our treatment of this theme may
+be deemed a poor one, but it has at least the merit
+and the courage of following its own peculiar lines.
+For we pursue our own course, and we touch lightly
+here and omit there; we run to dissertation in this
+place, we glide by silently in another. We take our
+own views of people and places, and give them for
+what they are worth to our readers to approve or to
+condemn, as they think fit. We offer a medley of
+history and of imagination, of biography and of private
+comment; and we crave indulgence for our short-comings
+by observing that any deficiencies in these
+pages can easily be remedied by application to the
+abundant literature upon Naples and its surrounding
+districts which every good library is presumed to
+contain.
+</p>
+
+</div><div n="2" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='8'/><anchor id='Pg008'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="2: The Vesuvian Shore and Monte Sant' Angelo"/>
+<head>CHAPTER II</head>
+
+<head type="sub">THE VESUVIAN SHORE AND MONTE SANT’ ANGELO</head>
+
+<p>
+That little stream the Sebeto, which is indeed, as
+the courtly Metastasio observes, <q>scanty in depth
+of water though overflowing with honour,</q> may be considered
+as the boundary line that divides the city of
+Naples from its eastern environs, although it is evident
+that the whole stretch of coast from Posilipo to
+Torre del Greco is covered with an unbroken line of
+houses. Past the highly cultivated <hi rend='italic'>Paduli</hi>, the chief
+market-gardens on this side of the city, with the town
+of La Barra on the fertile slopes to our left, we pass
+by way of San Giovanni a Teduccio to Portici, once
+a favourite resort of royalty. Here the dilettante
+Charles III., first Bourbon King of Naples, built a
+palace and laid out gardens in the days of patches
+and powder, constructing a royal pleasaunce that was
+destined to become the chief residence of the temporary
+supplanter of his own family, Joachim Murat, the
+citizen king of Naples and brother-in-law of the great
+Napoleon. Villa and gardens still remain, but
+monarchs have ceased to visit Portici since the days
+of Bomba, and the old royal demesne has been turned
+into an agricultural college. Adjoining and practically
+forming part of Portici is the town of Resina, which
+preserves almost intact the old classical name of Retina
+<pb n='9'/><anchor id='Pg009'/>that it bore in the distant days when it served as the
+port of Herculaneum. Here then in the mean streets
+of Resina we find ourselves standing above, though
+certainly not upon, historic ground, for the temples and
+villas, the theatres and private houses of the famous
+buried city lie far below the surface trodden by our
+feet. To visit Herculaneum it is necessary for us to
+descend some seventy to a hundred feet into the
+depths of the earth, passing more than one layer of
+ancient lava, for Resina and Portici themselves are but
+modern editions of former towns that have been
+engulfed in the course of ages. If the stranger can
+derive any solid satisfaction from the descent by a
+gloomy underground passage and from fleeting glimpses
+of ancient walls and dwellings seen through a forest of
+wooden baulks, which serve to support the spaces
+excavated, he must indeed be an enthusiast. But
+most people, perhaps all sensible people, will be content
+to take the undoubted interest of Herculaneum
+on trust, probably agreeing (at any rate after their
+visit) that the inspection of this subterranean city is
+not worth the candle, by whose flickering beams alone
+can objects be distinguished in the oppressive darkness.
+Personally we strongly hold to the expressed opinion
+of Alexandre Dumas, who declared that even the most
+hardened antiquary could not desire more than one
+hour’s contemplation of this hidden mass of shapeless
+wreckage. <q>Herculaneum,</q> writes that genial Frenchman,
+<q>but wearies our curiosity instead of exciting it.
+We descend into the excavated city as into a mine by
+a species of shaft; then come corridors beneath the
+earth which can only be entered by the light of tapers;
+and these smoke-grimed passages allow us from time
+<pb n='10'/><anchor id='Pg010'/>to time to obtain a momentary glimpse of the angle of
+a house, the colonnade of some temple, the steps of a
+theatre. Everything is fragmentary, mutilated, dingy,
+uncertain, confused, and therefore unsatisfactory. Well,
+at the end of an hour spent in wandering amongst
+these abysmal recesses, the most hardened archæologist,
+the most dry-as-dust antiquary, the most inquisitive
+of tourists begins to experience only one feeling—an
+intense desire to ascend to the light of day and to
+breathe once more the fresh air of the upper world.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nevertheless, it was from these dismal caverns, black
+as Erebus, that some of the choicest marbles and
+bronzes that now adorn the Museum at Naples were
+originally extracted. From a villa at Herculaneum
+also was taken the famous collection of 3000 rolls of
+papyrus, chiefly filled with the writings of the Epicurean
+philosopher Philodemus, perhaps the greatest <q>find</q>
+of ancient literature that has yet been made, although
+the contents of this damaged library, deciphered with
+equal toil and ingenuity, have not proved to be of the
+value originally set upon them by expectant scholars.
+But much of the city itself has yet hardly been touched
+since the days when it was destroyed in the reign of
+Titus, so that far below the squalid lanes of Portici
+and Resina there must still exist acres upon acres of
+undisturbed buildings, public and private, many of
+them perhaps filled with priceless works of Greek and
+Roman art, for Herculaneum, unlike Pompeii, was
+never tampered with by the ancients themselves, for
+the coating of volcanic mud, which filled the whole
+area of the city, made impracticable a systematic
+searching of its ruins by the despoiled citizens. Then,
+as if nature had not already buried the city sufficiently
+<pb n='11'/><anchor id='Pg011'/>deep, subsequent eruptions of Vesuvius have superimposed
+additional layers of lava, whilst confiding
+human beings have in their turn built habitations upon
+the volcanic crust.
+</p>
+
+<milestone unit="tb"/>
+
+<p>
+We all know the story, perhaps mythical, of the
+discovery of Herculaneum at the beginning of the
+eighteenth century by the accidental sinking of a well
+upon its long-forgotten site and of the subsequent
+excavations made by the Prince d’Elbœuf. These so-called
+explorations were, however, made in the most
+greedy and destructive spirit, for the prince’s sole
+object was to obtain antique works of art for his
+private collection, not to make intelligent enquiries
+about the dead and buried city lying beneath his
+estate. Ignorant workmen were despatched to hew
+and hack wholesale in the mirky depths in order to
+discover statuary and paintings, and since there was
+no receptacle at hand to contain the <hi rend='italic'>débris</hi>, they took
+the simple course of filling in each hollow made with
+the masses of rubbish already excavated. Later in the
+same century the Bourbon king was induced by
+Neapolitan savants to take some interest in the work,
+but, strange to relate, the superintendent appointed, a
+certain Spanish officer named Alcubier, was so ignorant
+and careless that half the objects found under his
+supervision were broken or lost before they reached
+Naples; this ignoramus, it was said, even went so far
+as to order whole architraves to be smashed up and
+their bronze lettering to be picked out before making
+a copy of the original inscription! Under these
+circumstances the marvel is that anything of beauty
+or value should have survived at all, for this selfish
+<pb n='12'/><anchor id='Pg012'/>plundering of Herculaneum, in strong contrast with
+the reverent treatment meted out to Pompeii, may be
+considered one of the greatest pieces of vandalism
+ever perpetrated. In spite of this wholesale destruction,
+however, there must remain untouched, as we
+have said, a vast quantity of objects, beautiful, useful
+or curious, yet it is extremely doubtful if we shall live
+to see any serious and intelligent effort made to bring
+these hidden treasures forth to the light of day.
+The expense of working this buried hoard would
+be enormous in any case, whilst the existence of the
+houses of Resina and Portici overhead necessitates
+special measures of precaution on the part of the
+excavators. The only method of examining Herculaneum
+properly would be in fact to treat the buried
+site like an immense mine by the construction of
+regular galleries and shafts for the entrance of skilled
+workmen, and to remove the rubbish displaced to the
+outer air. Perhaps some multi-millionaire might be
+found ready to undertake so arduous, yet so fascinating
+a task, though we fear that the Italian Government,
+which has always shown itself as tenacious of its
+subterranean wealth of antiquity as it appears languid
+in the work of quarrying it, would indignantly refuse
+to accede to any such offer. As regards the ancient
+city of Hercules, therefore, we must perforce remain
+content to inspect the magnificent bronzes and the
+other objects of interest that are to be found in the
+Museum of Naples, for we are not likely to see any
+further researches just at present, more’s the pity,
+since there is every reason to suppose that a thorough
+investigation conducted regardless of cost would yield up
+to the world the most marvellous and valuable results.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='13'/><anchor id='Pg013'/>
+
+<p>
+Some two miles of dusty suburb lie between Resina
+and Torre del Greco, which has been destroyed time
+after time by the lava streams descending from <q>that
+peak of Hell rising out of Paradise,</q> as Goethe once
+named the burning mountain overhead. Nevertheless,
+the Torrese continue to sit patiently at the feet of
+the fire-spouting monster, trembling when he is angry,
+pleased when he is quiescent, and ready to abandon
+meekly their homes when he renders them insupportable
+by his furious outbursts. Yet these people never
+fail to return and risk the ever-present chances of
+death and destruction. And little can we blame
+them for their fatalism, when we gaze upon the
+glorious views that reveal themselves at this spot,
+whence Naples rising proudly from the sea, the rocky
+islands of Ischia and Capri, the aerial heights of
+Monte Sant’ Angelo and all the features of the placid
+bay are seen spread around us in a panorama of
+unsurpassed loveliness. Beneath lava rocks, black
+and sinister, that contrast strangely in their sombre
+hues with the brilliant tints of sea and sky, lie little
+beaches of glittering gravel that would afford delightful
+retreats for meditation, were it not for the dozens
+of half-naked brown-skinned imps, children of the
+fisher-folk of Torre del Greco, who wallow in the warm
+sand or rush with joyful screams into the tepid surf.
+The population must have increased not a little since
+those days, nearly a century ago, when the unhappy
+Shelley could find peace and solitude in his darkest
+hours of unrest upon these shores, where it would be
+well-nigh impossible for a twentieth-century poet to
+espy a retreat for soothing his soul in verse. Yet
+somehow, during the drowsy noontide rest when the
+<pb n='14'/><anchor id='Pg014'/>active life of the South ceases, if only for an hour or
+so, it is still possible to catch the spirit in which that
+melancholy wanderer indited one of his most exquisite
+lyrics:—sunshine, clear sky, murmuring seas, the
+fragrance of the Italian spring, all are present to our
+reverie; and how true and perfect a picture has the
+poet-artist drawn for us of this beautiful Vesuvian
+shore!
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">The sun is warm, the sky is clear,</q></l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>The waves are dancing fast and bright,</l>
+<l>Blue isles and snowy mountains wear</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>The purple noon’s transparent light:</l>
+<l>The breath of the moist earth is light</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>Around its unexpanded buds;</l>
+<l>Like many a voice of one delight,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>The winds, the birds, the ocean floods,</l>
+<l>The City’s voice itself is soft, like Solitude’s.</l>
+</lg>
+<lg>
+<l>I see the Deep’s untrampled floor</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>With green and purple seaweeds strown;</l>
+<l>I see the waves upon the shore,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown:</l>
+<l>I sit upon the sands alone;</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>The lightning of the noontide ocean</l>
+<l>Is flashing round me, and a tone</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>Arises from its measured motion,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion?</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+But it must be admitted that the seashore by
+Torre del Greco does not often lend itself as a
+suitable spot for romantic or solitary communings
+with nature; it is a busy place where the struggle
+for life is keen and practical enough, and its inhabitants
+have little time or inclination to bestow on the
+pursuit of poetry. As in all the towns of the <hi rend='italic'>Terra
+di Lavoro</hi>, as this collection of human ant-hills on
+<pb n='15'/><anchor id='Pg015'/>the eastern side of Naples is sometimes designated,
+the old command given to the first parents of mankind—<q>by
+the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat
+bread</q>—is scrupulously observed in Torre del Greco.
+It is little enough, however, that these frugal people
+demand, for a hunk of coarse bread, tempered with a
+handful of beans or an orange in winter or with a
+slice of luscious pink water-melon or a few figs in
+summer, is thought to constitute a full meal in this
+climate; nor are these simple viands washed down by
+anything more potent than a draught of <hi rend='italic'>mezzo-vino</hi>,
+the weak sour wine of the country. A dish of
+maccaroni or a plateful of kid or veal garnished with
+vegetables is a treat to be reserved for a marriage or
+some great Church festival, whilst a chicken is regarded
+as a luxury in which only <hi rend='italic'>gran’ signori</hi> of
+boundless wealth can afford to indulge. Amongst the
+many classes of toilers with which populous Torre del
+Greco abounds, that of the coral-fishers is perhaps the
+most interesting. There is pure romance in the very
+notion of hunting for the beautiful coloured substance
+lying hidden in the crystalline depths of the Mediterranean,
+and its quest is not a little suggestive of
+azure caverns beneath the waves, peopled by soft-eyed
+mermaids and strange iridescent fishes. As a matter
+of fact, it would be difficult to name a harder occupation
+or a more dismal monotonous existence than that
+of the coral-fishers, many hundreds of whom leave
+this little port every spring in order to spend the
+summer months on the coasts of Tripoli, Sardinia, or
+Sicily. The men employed, who work under contract
+during some six months of unending drudgery, are by
+no means all natives of Torre del Greco, but are
+<pb n='16'/><anchor id='Pg016'/>collected from various places of the neighbourhood,
+not a few of them being thrifty youths from Capri,
+who are eager to amass as quickly as possible the
+lump sum of money requisite to permit of marriage.
+It is true that the amount actually paid by the
+owners of the coral fleet sounds proportionately large,
+yet it is in reality poor enough recompense when
+measured by the ceaseless toil, the burning heat and
+the wretched food, which the venture entails. The
+lot of the coral-fisher has however much improved of
+late years, partly by measures of government which
+now compel the contractors to treat their servants
+more humanely, and partly by the fact that the
+practice of emigration in Southern Italy has reduced
+the numbers of applicants for the coral-fishing business
+and has thereby, indirectly at least, raised wages and
+bettered the old conditions of service. A truly pitiable
+account is given of these poor creatures some thirty
+years ago by an English writer, whose knowledge of
+the Neapolitan people and character remains probably
+unsurpassed; and it is some satisfaction to reflect that
+even in Mr Stamer’s day the bad old oppressive system
+had already been somewhat tempered for the benefit
+of these white slaves, who for nearly half the round of
+the year were worse treated than King Bomba’s unhappy
+victims in the pestilent prisons of Naples and
+Gaeta.
+</p><anchor id="illus01"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: A CAPRIOTE FISHERMAN’S WIFE]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus01th.jpg" rend="width: 100%">
+      <head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus01.jpg">A CAPRIOTE FISHERMAN’S WIFE</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: A CAPRIOTE FISHERMAN’S WIFE</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+<q>Badly paid, badly fed, and hard worked is the poor
+coral-fisher. Compared with his, the life of a galley-slave
+is one of sybaritical indolence. His treatment
+was, until very recently, not one whit better than that
+of the poor oppressed negro as he existed in the vivid
+imagination of Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe;
+im<pb n='17'/><anchor id='Pg017'/>measurably worse than that of the real Simon Pure.
+The thirty ducats for which he sold his seven months’
+services once paid, he was just as much a slave as
+Uncle Tom of pious memory, harder worked, more
+brutally handled. His <hi rend='italic'>padrone</hi> was a sea-monster,
+alongside of whom Mr Legree would have seemed a
+paragon of Quaker-like gentleness and amiability.
+His word was law and a rope’s end well laid on his
+sole reply to any remonstrance on the part of his
+bondsmen. For six days out of the seven he kept
+them working incessantly, not unfrequently on the
+seventh into the bargain, if the weather was favourable;
+and that they might be strong, hearty and able to
+haul away, their food consisted of dry biscuits; a dish
+of maccaroni with just sufficient oil to make the sign
+of the cross being served out for the Sunday’s dinner.</q><note place="foot">W. J. A. Stamer: <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In those <q>good old days,</q> not so very far distant,
+the dredging nets were coarse and weighty, and the
+capstan of the clumsiest and most primitive description,
+so that the coral-seeking serfs under contract were
+worked like bullocks until they were often wont to
+fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion as they hauled
+away mechanically. We can imagine then with what
+raptures of joy these ill-treated mortals must have
+hailed the advent of October, the month that terminated
+their long spell of suffering and semi-starvation,
+and with what eagerness they must have returned
+homewards, the more industrious to perform odd jobs
+during the winter season on farms or in factories; the
+lazier to enjoy a well-earned holiday of loafing on the
+quay or in the piazza. And although times have
+changed for the better in the eyes of the coral-fisher,
+<pb n='18'/><anchor id='Pg018'/>his lot still remains hard enough, even in the present
+days of grace; whilst any employment that saps the
+workman’s strength during the hot summer months
+and leaves him idle or unemployed in winter time
+cannot well be described as a desirable trade. Yet
+the temptation to obtain a considerable sum of money
+in advance, as is the case in this particular industry,
+often proves overwhelming to the young man of the
+Torres or of Castellamare, imprudently married before
+he is out of his teens and with an ever-increasing
+family. It is so easy to accept the proffered gold,
+which will keep wife and babies in comparative comfort
+throughout the long hot summer; unskilled labour
+is paid so lightly on these teeming shores of the Terra
+di Lavoro; saddled already with children he cannot
+make up his feeble mind to emigrate; in short, to go
+a-coralling is his sole chance, if he wishes to keep his
+home together and to stave off charity or starvation
+from his young wife and family.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Beyond Torre del Greco we seem to escape to
+a certain extent from the enveloping network of
+human dwellings, so that we are at last enabled
+to gain some idea of the natural features of the
+country. The oriental character of the landscape,
+which marks more or less distinctly the whole of
+the Neapolitan coast-line, will at once be noticed in
+the domed farm buildings, not unlike Mahommedan
+<hi rend='italic'>koubbas</hi>, washed a glistening white, that stand out
+sharply against the lugubrious tints of the lava beds.
+Above us, crowning a bosky hillock that juts forth
+from the mountain flank, stands one of the many
+convents of the monks of Camaldoli, whose houses are
+scattered throughout the breadth of Southern Italy.
+<pb n='19'/><anchor id='Pg019'/>The position of their Vesuvian settlement is certainly
+unique, for the rising ground on which it is perched
+appears like some verdant oasis amid the arid fields
+of sable lava. Secure in its commanding site, the
+monastery has many a time been completely surrounded
+by burning streams, which have invariably
+left the building and its woody demesne unscathed.
+More than once have the good brethren, who wear the
+white robe of St Romualdo of Ravenna, looked down
+from their convent walls upon the work of destruction
+below, and have watched the waves of liquid fire surging
+angrily but uselessly round the rocky base of their
+retreat. Hard manual labour, prayer, solitude and
+contemplation: these are the chief duties enjoined by
+the famous Tuscan order, and surely no more suitable
+place for carrying out such precepts could have been
+chosen by the pious founder of this Vesuvian convent.
+For what scenes on earth could be deemed more
+beautiful to contemplate, we wonder, than the wide
+stretches of heaven and ocean, of fertile plain and of
+rugged mountain, that are ever before the eyes of
+the brethren; or more instructive than the constant
+spectacle of disappointed human ambition and energy,
+which is afforded by the barren lava beds and the
+ruined cities close at hand!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Descending from the slopes of Camaldoli, we cross
+a tract of country wherein black lava alternates with
+patches of rich cultivation and of thriving vineyards,
+and gaining the high road we soon reach Torre
+Annunziata. Here it is evident that the manufacture
+of maccaroni forms the chief industry of its population,
+for on all sides are to be seen the frames filled with
+the golden coloured strings of <hi rend='italic'>pasta</hi> that have been
+<pb n='20'/><anchor id='Pg020'/>hung up to dry in the sunshine. Every flat roof
+in the place, moreover, is covered with smooth concrete
+and protected by a low parapet for the spreading of
+the grain, and on the beach are laid huge cloths
+of coarse brown material that are heaped with masses
+of the crude corn, whilst men with their naked feet
+from time to time turn the grain so as to dry the
+whole bulk. Torre Annunziata and its inland neighbour,
+Gragnano, are in fact the two chief local scenes
+of this industry with which the Bay of Naples has
+always been so closely associated, and it is here that
+we can best make ourselves acquainted with the
+process of manufacturing maccaroni. By following
+any one of the tall brown-skinned fellows, stripped to
+the waist and bare-legged, who have been breathing
+the fresh air of the street for a few moments, we
+quickly arrive at the entrance of one of the many
+small factories with which the town abounds. In spite
+of open doors and windows its atmosphere feels hot
+and stifling, for it is impregnated with tiny particles
+of flour dust, which too often, alas! are apt to affect
+permanently the lungs of the workmen. The dough
+of maccaroni is obtained by mixing pure wheaten
+flour with semolina in certain proportions, only water
+being used for the purpose, whilst the task of kneading
+is carried out in primitive fashion by means of a lever
+worked continuously by two or more men. When the
+dough has at length arrived at the required consistency
+after some hours of steady kneading, it is placed in a
+large perforated copper cylinder, each hole having
+a central pin at the bottom and a valve on top. A
+powerful screw is then employed to press down upon
+the dough, which is thus squeezed out of the
+imprison<pb n='021'/><anchor id='Pg021'/>ing cylinder through the holes in the serpentine shape
+that is so familiar to us. On reaching a certain length
+these pipes, issuing from the holes, are twisted off and
+are then removed for drying to the frames in the open
+air. Maccaroni has, of course, many varieties of form
+and quality, from the thin fluffy vermicelli, known
+under the poetical name of <hi rend='italic'>Capilli degli Angeli</hi>, to
+the great thick pipe-stem-like article of ordinary
+commerce. There are endless means of cooking and
+dressing this, the national dish of Italy, but perhaps
+the most popular of all is <hi rend='italic'>alla Napolitana</hi>, wherein
+it is served with tomato sauce, to which a sprinkling
+of grated Parmesan cheese is frequently added. A
+compound of eggs and maccaroni, sometimes known
+as a Neapolitan omelette, likewise makes an appetising
+dish, though it is one that is little known to foreigners.
+One circumstance is patent; the dismal so-called
+<q>maccaroni pudding</q> one meets with in England
+seems to have nothing in common with the delicately
+flavoured, sustaining dish that can be obtained for
+a few pence in any Southern restaurant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Torre Annunziata has the reputation of being a
+dirty malodorous town, composed of shabby stone
+houses and full of quarrelsome people. Well, perhaps
+there is a scintilla of truth in the sweeping observation,
+yet if we can contrive to endure the smells and racket
+of the place for a brief space of time, there is much
+of human interest to be observed in the daily scenes
+of its crowded beach and its noisy streets. After all,
+no odours of the South can compare in all-pervading
+intensity with the blended aroma of fried fish and
+London fog that old Drury Lane can often produce;
+nor are the Torrese more dangerous to strangers or
+<pb n='22'/><anchor id='Pg022'/>more objectionable in their habits than the crowds of
+Lambeth or Seven Dials. In strength of lungs, it
+must be granted, the Italian easily surpasses the
+Londoner, for the Southern voice is positively alarming
+in its vigour and its far-reaching power. No one—man,
+woman or child—can apparently speak below
+a scream; even the most amiable or trivial of conversations
+seems to our unaccustomed ears to portend
+an imminent quarrel, to so high a pitch are the
+naturally harsh voices strained. Morning, noon and
+night the same hubbub of men shouting, of women
+screeching, and of children yelling continues for
+nobody minds noise in Italy, where people are
+troubled with no nerves of their own and consequently
+have no consideration for those of strangers. And
+why, therefore, should they suspend their native habits
+to please a handful of cavilling <hi rend='italic'>forestieri</hi>?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A stroll through Torre Annunziata, although it
+possesses not a few drawbacks, can be made both
+amusing and instructive; we can even find something
+attractive in the quality of the local atmosphere, which
+suggests at one and the same time sunshine, garlic,
+incense, stale fish and wood smoke; it is the pungent
+but characteristic aroma of the South, filled <q>with
+spicy odours Time can never mar.</q> And what truly
+charming pictures do the family groups present in
+the wide archways giving on the untidy courts within,
+full of sun and shadow and gay with bright-coloured
+garments swaying in the wind! The ebon-haired
+young mother with teeth like pearls and with warm-tinted
+cheeks sits fondling the last helpless little
+addition to her growing family, whilst toddlers of any
+age from two to seven, unkempt but bright-eyed and
+<pb n='23'/><anchor id='Pg023'/>engaging, play around the door-step, watched over by
+their grandmother, or may be their great-grandam,
+who with her wizened face enfolded in her yellow
+kerchief, her skinny neck, and her distaff in the bony
+fingers, looks as if she had stepped out of some
+Renaissance painting of the Three Fates in a Florentine
+gallery. Crimson carnations in earthenware pots stand
+on the steps of the outside staircase, giving a touch of
+refinement to the squalid home, and from the balcony
+overhead the glossy-black, yellow-billed <hi rend='italic'>passer solitario</hi>,
+the favourite cage-bird of the Neapolitan poor, chirrups
+with apparent cheerfulness in his wicker-work prison.
+Behind, in the dim shadows of the large room, which
+serves as sole habitation, we can espy the inevitable
+household altar with the oil lamp glimmering before
+the little crude-coloured print of the Virgin and Child,
+and its usual accessory, the piece of palm or olive
+that was blessed by the priest last Palm Sunday;
+poor and mean though the chamber be, its bed linen
+and simple appointments are more cleanly than might
+perhaps be inferred from the appearance of the family
+itself. In a shady corner close by, three or four young
+labourers at their mid-day rest have finished their
+frugal repast of bread and beans, and are now playing
+eagerly the popular game of <hi rend='italic'>zecchinetto</hi> with a frayed
+and grimy pack of cards. Wives or sweethearts
+watch with anxious faces from a respectful distance,
+for it is not meet to disturb the lords of creation when
+they happen to be engaged in a game of chance.
+What possibilities of farce and tragedy can be drawn
+from so simple, so common a scene upon these shores,
+where human life is less artificially conducted than
+elsewhere in Europe, and where human passions are
+<pb n='24'/><anchor id='Pg024'/>kept under less restraint? Terrible are the tales of
+jealousy and revenge, of deliberate treachery and of
+uncontrolled violence, which are related of these quick-tempered
+grown-up children of the South, who seem
+to love and hate with the blind intensity of untutored
+savages.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Lo ’nnamorato’ mmio sse chiammo Peppo,</q></l>
+<l>Lo capo jocatore de le carte;</l>
+<l>Ss’ ha jocato ’sto core a zecchinetto,</l>
+<l>Dice ca mo’ lo venne, e mo’ lo parte.</l>
+<l>Che n’agg’ io a fare lo caro de carte?</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Vogho lo core che tinite ’m pietto!</q></l>
+</lg>
+    
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">That lover of mine is called Handsome Beppo,</q></l>
+<l>The best player of cards all around this way;</l>
+<l>He’s been playing on Hearts at <hi rend='italic'>zecchinetto</hi>,</l>
+<l>And says now they turn up, now are sorted away.</l>
+<l>What matters the heart in the card-pack to me?</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">The heart in his bosom’s the heart for me!</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Here lies the sleeping fisherman, worn out probably
+with hours of hauling at the heavy nets, who is snatching
+a chance hour of repose, prone upon his chest with
+face buried in his crossed arms. Little he seems to
+reck of the damp of the soil or the heat of the sun,
+nor can a noisy game of <hi rend='italic'>mora</hi> played by a couple of
+his companions beside him disturb his deep slumber.
+<hi rend='italic'>Mora</hi> has ever been the classic game of the South,
+and indeed, there is abundant evidence to show that
+it was played by the ancestors of these dwellers in
+Magna Graecia hundreds of years before Pompeii was
+overthrown. The game, which requires nothing but
+the human fingers, bears no little resemblance to our
+own humble pastime of <q>Up Jenkin!</q> which may
+almost be described as a species of drawing-room <hi rend='italic'>mora</hi>;
+<pb n='25'/><anchor id='Pg025'/>perhaps some Italian traveller in a past age may
+actually have introduced this form of the southern
+diversion into prosaic England. The two players, face
+to face and craning forward with outstretched necks,
+simultaneously extend their right hands with one or
+more fingers pointing upward, the aim of each man
+being to guess the exact number, from two to ten,
+jointly displayed by both right hands. If one of them
+hit upon the correct figure, then he gains one point
+towards the stakes, which are usually made in <hi rend='italic'>centesimi</hi>
+rather than in <hi rend='italic'>soldi</hi>. How rapidly do the lean supple
+brown fingers flash backwards and forwards, and with
+what gusto do the two frenzied combatants yell out
+their numbers! <hi rend='italic'>Mora</hi> has been a favourite recreation
+with these people almost from their cradles, and he
+would be a bold man indeed who would venture to
+challenge a Torrese at this game, for the native’s skill
+and experience are almost bound to tell eventually in
+his favour, and the odds are <q>Lombard Street to a
+China orange</q> against the outside player. There are
+certain maxims too with regard to the game which
+are closely observed by those who play it, as well as
+peculiar expressions, such as <hi rend='italic'>tutte</hi> to denote that all
+ten fingers are being shown, or <hi rend='italic'>chiarella</hi> for all but
+one. Five points usually make the game, and these
+are commonly marked by holding up one or more
+fingers of the disengaged left hand.—These are a few
+of the many sights to be witnessed by those who can
+afford to endure the pestering attentions of small boys,
+and the uncomplimentary staring of the adult population
+in such places as the Torres or Castellamare; and
+such as wish to make themselves acquainted with the
+details of southern life and manners cannot do better
+<pb n='26'/><anchor id='Pg026'/>than pass an idle hour in the fishmarket or the piazza
+of these little industrial towns of the Vesuvian shore.
+For to regard Southern Italy from the majestic isolation
+of a railway compartment or a hired carriage cannot
+possibly give the traveller the smallest insight into the
+ordinary phases of local life; for he is ever looking,
+as it were, into a picture from which all trace of colour
+has vanished.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is but a short quarter of an hour by train from
+Torre Annunziata to Castellamare di Stabia, the ill-fated
+Stabiae of the Romans, which shared the evil lot
+of Pompeii and Herculaneum. On our right we have
+the sea, with the castle-topped islet of Revigliano,
+whilst on looking to the left we can survey the fertile
+valley of the Sarno, and the shapeless mounds which
+hide that precious goal of every traveller to these
+shores, the buried city of Pompeii. Everywhere thrives
+sub-tropical vegetation:—cactus and aloe draped in
+wreaths of smilax; tall straggling masses of scarlet
+geranium that cling for protection to the Indian fig,
+and blossom in security amid their spiky but safe
+retreats; shrubs of fragrant yellow genista; clumps of
+purple-leaved <hi rend='italic'>ricini</hi>, as the Italians name the castor-oil
+plant. If it were summer time, the daturas would be
+covered with their great white floral trumpets, and
+every oleander bush would be one blaze of the coarse
+carmine blossoms that are here called <hi rend='italic'>Mazza di San
+Giuseppe</hi>, or St Joseph’s nosegay, and a very gaudy
+rank bouquet they make. But in spring-time the
+oleander can but display long greyish leaves and pods
+of snowy fluff, which is blown hither and thither like
+thistle-down on the air; and it is only in flaming
+summer that these regions are brightened by St
+<pb n='27'/><anchor id='Pg027'/>Joseph’s flower, or by the still more gorgeous masses of
+the mesembryanthemum, which clambers on all sides
+over the lava rock and hangs in crimson festoons
+from tufa cliffs, making impossibly splendid splashes of
+colour in the landscape.
+</p>
+    <p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+So many writers have expatiated upon the sordid
+ugliness of Castellamare and upon the beauty of the
+wooded slopes above the town, that a further description
+of the place may well be dispensed with.
+Uninteresting, however, as this industrial town
+appears, it boasts a long historical record, to which
+its crumbling medieval castle bears witness. The
+great Emperor Frederick the Second, the scholar-pope
+Pius the Second, and all the monarchs of the Angevin,
+Aragonese and Bourbon dynasties have been associated
+with this <q>castle by the sea.</q> The whole
+district was once the property of that human monster
+Pier-Luigi Farnese, duke of Parma, heir of Pope
+Paul the Third, of whose demoniacal cruelty and
+treachery the racy pages of Cellini’s Memoirs give
+so vivid an account, and whose repulsive face has
+grown familiar to us from Titian’s famous portraits
+in the gallery of Naples. It was the evil Pier-Luigi’s
+descendant and heiress-general of the family, Elizabeth
+Farnese, Queen of Spain, who conveyed the beautiful
+villa and woods of Quisisana to the Bourbon kings,
+and here the Neapolitan royal family for several
+generations sought health (as the name of the place
+implies) and repose upon the breezy heights that lie
+so conveniently near to the great city in full view to
+the west. Nowadays the old royal villa, deserted
+by crowned heads since Ferdinand’s days and fallen
+<pb n='28'/><anchor id='Pg028'/>from its high estate to its present use of a hotel and
+pension, forms with its park the chief attraction of
+Castellamare, where English travellers are wont to
+congregate in winter, and Neapolitan and Greek
+seekers of pleasure or drinkers of medicinal waters
+resort in the hot summer months. The Southerners
+who come here for their <hi rend='italic'>villeggiatura</hi> certainly enjoy
+a better time than the winter visitors, for the bulky
+form of Monte Sant’ Angelo intercepts much of the
+sunshine, thereby rendering the place damp and
+chilly in the cold season of the year. Nominally it
+is the mineral springs that attract the Neapolitan
+folk, wherein they have a fine choice of health-giving
+beverages, varying from the <hi rend='italic'>acqua ferrata</hi>, a mild
+chalybeate that is found useful as a tonic, to the
+powerful <hi rend='italic'>acqua del Muraglione</hi>, that is warranted to
+reduce the stoutest mortal to a mere shadow of his
+former self in a trice. But though the waters may
+be occasionally sipped of a morning and wry faces
+made, it is in reality the warm sea-bathing on the
+shore, where people spend hours pickling in tepid
+salt water, and also the cool rides or walks amongst
+the shady alleys of sweet chestnut and ilex woods of
+Quisisana and Monte Coppola, which draw hither in
+summer the elegant world of Naples, and even of
+Athens, to visit Castellamare. The leafy groves on
+the zephyr-swept hill sides, once sacred to the pleasures
+of Bourbon tyrants, now ring with peals of noisy
+laughter, with gallant compliments, and with the
+harsh shouting of the <hi rend='italic'>ciucciari</hi>, the leaders of the
+poor over-driven donkeys. Unhappy patient beasts!
+usually covered with raws and galls, that are urged
+forward at a gallop by the remorseless stick, or even
+<pb n='29'/><anchor id='Pg029'/>by the goad, for the Neapolitan donkey-boy is
+absolutely callous to the feelings of his animal. Not
+that he is cruel out of sheer cussedness, for cruelty’s
+sake, for he can be really kind to his dog or his cat;
+but the beast of burden, the helpless uncomplaining
+servant of man, suffers terribly at his hands. It is
+useless to remonstrate or argue with the young
+ruffian, who at our sharp reprimand will merely open
+wide his big black eyes and stare in genuine amazement.
+<hi rend='italic'>Non sono Cristiani</hi>—they have no souls, and
+the beasts are their property and not yours; what
+does it matter then to you how they are treated,
+provided they carry you properly? That is the sum
+total of the donkey-boy’s argument, and he has high
+ecclesiastical authority to back up his private theory,
+if he had the wit to enter into a discussion with us
+on the subject. Almost equally hopeless is it to
+point to the simple fact that a well-groomed, well-treated
+animal lasts longer than a half-starved, mutilated
+scare-crow. <q>How old is your horse?</q> we once
+asked a driver in the south. <q>He is very old indeed,
+<hi rend='italic'>eccelenza</hi>,</q> was the reply; <q>he must be nearly twelve!</q>
+On being informed that horses often worked well up
+to twenty years old and over in England, he let us
+infer, quite politely, that he thought we were romancing.
+Tenderness towards the dumb creation is a
+common, not to say a prevailing characteristic of
+the Anglo-Saxon race, and it must be confessed
+that the thoughtless and horrible cruelty towards
+animals witnessed on all sides in the Neapolitan
+Riviera amounts to a serious drawback to the full
+enjoyment of its many beauties and amenities.
+Matters are improving a little of late, it is only fair
+<pb n='30'/><anchor id='Pg030'/>to add. There is an Italian Society for the Prevention
+of Cruelty to Animals, and its officials have done
+some good in the streets of Naples itself, but naturally
+its new ideas have not yet penetrated far into the
+country districts.
+</p>
+<anchor id="illus02"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: ROAD NEAR CASTELLAMARE]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus02th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus02.jpg">ROAD NEAR CASTELLAMARE</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: ROAD NEAR CASTELLAMARE</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+To the healthy and energetic the most delightful
+excursion that Castellamare can offer is the ascent to
+the summit of Monte Sant’ Angelo, that monarch of
+the Bay of Naples, whose lofty crest gleams with
+snowy streaks until the spring be well advanced. The
+lazy or the feeble can make use of one of the poor
+oppressed donkeys, but it is better to engage its
+ragged master, who without his four-footed drudge
+to whack and kick is a harmless enough being,
+to act as guide over the steep ill-defined pathway that
+leads ever upwards. As we slowly ascend through the
+sub-tropical region of fig and vine, of olive and
+carouba, we question our guide, who in spite of his
+bright eyes and well-knit frame seems about as
+intelligent a companion as the poor ass left behind in
+the stall, where he is enjoying, let us hope, an unexpected
+holiday. It is not easy to extract information
+from our native attendant, yet with a little judicious
+pressing we learn from him that the top of the mountain,
+which is our bourne, was once inhabited by evil
+spirits, until a holy hermit took up his abode on the
+peak, since when his sanctity has kept the place
+tolerably clear of witches and foul incubi. Wicked
+sprites, however, still haunt the spreading woods of
+beech and chestnut which we must presently traverse,
+and our guide (whose name is Vincenzo) admits to
+us that he would not care to venture there alone, even
+in broad daylight. There is, he tells us, warming up at
+<pb n='31'/><anchor id='Pg031'/>last to the subject, much gold hidden there, which the
+spirits guard so jealously that they are ready to tear
+in pieces any mortal who is clever enough to find and
+bold enough to rifle their secret hoards. Only a
+priest, on account of his sacred office, is reckoned safe
+from their iniquitous spells. <q>But has not any one
+dared,</q> we ask, <q>to go in company with a holy man,
+to search for this hidden treasure?</q> Well, yes, he
+had been told that men from Vico had once ventured
+up into the woods to search for the gold. With a
+little encouragement Vincenzo is finally prevailed upon
+to give us the whole story, which is evidently of somewhat
+recent date.
+</p>
+<p>
+Once upon a time there were four men, one of them
+being a priest, who lived in Vico, and one of these
+men had often been told by his father that in the
+forests near the top of Monte Sant’ Angelo there lay
+buried a chest full of gold—<hi rend='italic'>molto! molto!</hi> The father
+of the man had been himself in his youth to search
+for the treasure, but find it he never could, for he
+would never take a priest with him to avert the spells
+of the evil spirits of the mountain sides, who kept the
+place hidden. So this time the man chose two out of his
+friends, the boldest and the trustiest he could fix upon,
+to accompany him, and at the same time he obtained
+the promise of a cousin, who was a priest, to assist in
+the undertaking. All four made their way up to the
+woods, and whilst the three men were digging and
+searching, the priest continued to read aloud the incantations
+out of a certain book he had brought with
+him for the purpose. In course of time the chest was
+discovered to the joy of all, and sure enough it was
+bulging with the desired gold pieces. They opened
+<pb n='32'/><anchor id='Pg032'/>it without difficulty, and the four friends divided its
+contents in equal shares. Scarcely had the work of
+division been carried out, than there came a loud voice
+issuing from the unknown, calling out the question:—<q><hi rend='italic'>Che
+ferete con questo tesoro?</hi></q> <q><hi rend='italic'>Mangeremo, beveremo!</hi></q>
+boldly replied one of the group, to whom this
+sudden accession of wealth offered dreams of unlimited
+platters of maccaroni and countless flasks of ruby-red
+Gragnano in the future. <q>We shall eat, we shall drink,
+but we shall also make abundant alms!</q> called out
+another—let us hope it was the priest!—but no sooner
+had the word <hi rend='italic'>elemosina</hi> (alms) been uttered than there
+was heard a most terrific rattling of chains, the gold
+pieces turned to dead leaves in the affrighted mortals’
+hands, and the four men took to their heels and fled
+in alarm down the mountain flank.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Vincenzo believes this tale implicitly, just as it was
+related to him, and he adds to combat our own incredulity
+that the priest and one of the men who took
+part in this strange adventure were still living and
+ready to confirm the story, but that of the remaining
+two, one was now dead, and the other had been deaf
+and dumb ever since the event. It seem a pity to criticise
+Vincenzo’s simple little narrative, which makes a
+pretty fairy-story and points a sound moral, as it stands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We enter the fresh scented woods that have now
+replaced in our climb the rich cultivated crops and
+terraced gardens, and here amidst the clumps of
+ancient chestnuts our guide points out to us the great
+snow-pits, the contents of which are used to cool the
+water sold by the <hi rend='italic'>acquaioli</hi> during hot summer nights
+in the sultry streets of Naples. These pits are dug
+about fifty feet deep, and half as much across, being
+<pb n='33'/><anchor id='Pg033'/>conical in shape with a grating placed a short distance
+above the tapering base to allow the melted snow to
+drain off into the soil. The sides of each pit are first
+well-lined with straw and leafy branches, and the new-fallen
+snow shovelled in and forced into a solid mass
+by pressure from above, whilst on top is placed a
+sound thatched roof. As we wander through the
+silent woods we see patches of anemones, white and
+blue, lying upon the leaf-strewn ground, and beside
+them in many places are tufts of the pale starry primroses;
+coarse spurge, and lush masses of the hellebore
+with its large pale green flowers and dark leaves
+are common enough on all sides. From amongst the
+naked trees we emerge into the bare bleak stony
+stretches that lead to the summit, covered with the
+coarse but aromatic vegetation that clothes the dry
+limestone wastes of the south. How truly marvellous
+is the description of these wind-swept, weed-grown
+solitudes that Robert Browning presents to us in
+what is perhaps the most truly Italian in feeling of
+all his poems, <q>The Englishman in Italy!</q> For here
+with the rich imagination, worthy of some of Shelley’s
+finest flights, is mingled an accurate appreciation of
+Nature, of which Wordsworth might well be proud;
+for the Lake poet himself could not have improved
+upon this exquisite description of the various shrubs
+and plants of a limestone hill-top in Italy.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">The wild path grew wilder each instant,</q></l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>And place was e’en grudged</l>
+<l>’Mid the rock-chasms and piles of loose stones,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Like the loose broken teeth</l>
+<l>Of some monster which climbed there to die</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>From the ocean beneath—</l>
+<pb n='34'/><anchor id='Pg034'/>
+<l>Place was grudged to the silver-grey fume-weed</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>That clung to the path,</l>
+<l>And dark rosemary ever a-dying,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>That, spite the wind’s wrath,</l>
+<l>So loves the salt rock’s face to seaward,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>And lentisks as staunch</l>
+<l>To the stone where they root and bear berries,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>And ... what shows a branch</l>
+<l>Coral-coloured, transparent, with circlets</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend="pre: none">Of pale sea-green leaves.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Above our heads hovers a kite, performing graceful
+circles in the keen clear air and breaking the oppressive
+silence of the place with his shrill screams, for his
+mate must have her nest hidden in some cleft of yon
+grey towering cliff. A pair of crested hoopoes with
+brown plumage and ruddy breasts keep fluttering a
+little way before us, uttering from time to time their
+curious notes of alarm. Mercifully these handsome
+birds have escaped the fowler, who lays his snares
+even amongst the spirit-haunted crags of this desolate
+region. The hoopoe, though a very rare visitor to
+our northern shores, is fairly common on the Mediterranean
+coast, and he would be still more frequently
+encountered, were it not for his hereditary enemy,
+Man. There is a venerable legend concerning this
+interesting bird—<hi rend='italic'>bubbola</hi>, the Italians call him—which
+relates how ages ago on the scorching plains
+of Palestine a number of hoopoes once followed King
+Solomon as he was riding, and in order to protect
+the great king from the fierce rays of the sun, they
+formed themselves into a living screen to shelter the
+royal head. Grateful for this welcome attention,
+Solomon Ben David at eventide sent for the king of
+the Hoopoes to ask him what reward he would like
+<pb n='35'/><anchor id='Pg035'/>to receive for this service, and the answer was
+promptly made that a crown of pure gold on the head
+would be acceptable. The Jewish monarch smiled
+grimly as he granted the request, whereupon immediately
+each bird found his poll decorated with a tuft
+of pure golden feathers, and mightily pleased with
+their new magnificence were the conceited hoopoes.
+But alas! the news was quickly spread abroad that
+there were to be seen strange birds with plumes of
+real gold, and the eternal lust of gain at once set men
+in quest of the hoopoes, whom they began to slay
+wholesale with stones, arrows, and traps in order to
+obtain the coveted precious metal they bore on their
+heads. In despair, the king of the hoopoes then flew
+to the monarch sitting on his ivory throne at Jerusalem,
+and begged him to change their golden crowns for
+crests of feathers. Solomon the Wise smilingly gave
+the order; at once lovely red and black feathers took
+the place of the golden plumes, and the slaughter of
+the hoopoes in Palestine forthwith ceased. And the
+story, argues the recorder of this lesson upon the
+folly of personal adornment, must of necessity be true,
+for it is certain that the hoopoes bear a crown of
+feathers upon their heads unto this day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Slowly we toil up the last portion of the peak,
+until we reach the ruined chapel of St Michael upon
+its summit, which is still a resort of local pilgrims,
+although in these days of doubt and avarice, when
+<q>sins are so many and saints so few,</q> the statue of
+the Archangel since its removal from this spot no
+longer perspires with the sacred dew, which the priests
+used to collect with cotton wool on the first day of
+August and distribute to the peasants of the district.
+<pb n='36'/><anchor id='Pg036'/>Like the oil that was once wont to exude from the
+blessed relics of St Andrew in the Cathedral of
+Amalfi, <hi rend='italic'>non c’è più</hi>; we may possess motor cars and
+radium, but we must contrive to exist without these
+precious exhibitions of the miraculous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It would be sheer folly to attempt a full description
+of that glorious view, comprising the bays of Gaeta,
+Naples, and Salerno; of Vesuvius with his ascending
+smoky clouds; of the endless chain of the snow-tipped
+Abruzzi Mountains that bound the vision to the east;
+of the vast expanse of the Mediterranean, stretching
+in one unbroken sheet of turquoise to the west, varied
+by violet patches of reflected cloud, and studded by
+innumerable ships, from the vast liners to the tiny
+fishing craft with their glistening sails, like snow-white
+sea-swallows resting on the calm waters. Again we
+turn to Robert Browning, most human of poets and
+most kindly of philosophers, to find adequate expression
+for the thoughts we dare not, cannot utter.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Oh, heaven and the terrible crystal!</q></l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>No rampart excludes</l>
+<l>Your eye from the life to be lived</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>In the blue solitudes.</l>
+<l>Oh, those mountains, their infinite movement!</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Still moving with you;</l>
+<l>For ever some new head and breast of them</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Thrusts into view</l>
+<l>To observe the intruder; you see it</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>If quickly you turn,</l>
+<l>And before they escape you surprise them.</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>They grudge you should learn</l>
+<l>How the soft plains they look on, lean over</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>And love (they pretend)</l>
+<l>—Cower beneath them, the flat sea-pine crouches,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>The wild fruit-trees bend;</l>
+<pb n='37'/><anchor id='Pg037'/>
+<l>E’en the myrtle leaves curl, shrink and shut,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>All is silent and grave:</l>
+<l>’Tis a sensual and timorous beauty.</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend="pre: none">How fair! but a slave.</q></l>
+</lg><anchor id="illus03"/>
+<pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: MONTE FAITO, CASTELLAMARE]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus03th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus03.jpg">MONTE FAITO, CASTELLAMARE</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: MONTE FAITO, CASTELLAMARE</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+We descend by the slopes of Monte Faito in the
+quiet of the evening, facing the distant headland of
+Posilipo and the sunset, where above the horizon we
+see collecting thick masses of dark purple cloud,
+which augur a stormy morrow. Above us the peak
+of the Archangel is already wreathed in garlands of
+white mist, a sure sign of coming tempest, and it is
+amid a lurid light from the sinking sun that we
+hasten downwards, bending our steps in the direction
+of Pozzano, where the form of its convent stands out
+sharply defined against the background of the Bay.
+Night is rapidly approaching, and in the gathering
+darkness as we strike the road below the convent, we
+can already hear the ominous roaring and seething of
+the waters under the cliff, lashed to fury by the first
+deep breaths of the coming squall. Hurrying along
+the broad smooth roadway it is not long before we
+reach our hotel door, where we bid good night to
+Vincenzo, just as the first heavy drops of rain have
+begun to fall; pleasantly exhausted after our long
+excursion, we are ready to appreciate to the full the
+warmth and good cheer of the hospitable Hotel
+Quisisana.
+</p>
+
+</div><div n="3" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='38'/><anchor id='Pg038'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="3: La citta morta"/>
+<head>CHAPTER III</head>
+
+<head type="sub">LA CITTÀ MORTA</head>
+
+<p>
+Pompeii can never be visited without the same
+haunting conviction, the same oppressive thought:
+how terribly difficult it is to understand the City of
+the Dead which holds in so small a space the whole
+secret of the antique world! There are far more
+grandiose and impressive ruins to be seen in Rome;
+the city of Timgad in Northern Africa is more complete
+as a specimen of a Roman settlement than the
+half-excavated town near Vesuvius; yet here, and here
+only, can the men of the past stretch hands, as it were,
+across the barrier of eighteen intervening centuries to
+the dweller of to-day, and the dead-and-gone spirits
+of a highly organized civilization can whisper into the
+living ears of the twentieth century. For Pompeii
+will speak to us, if we will take the trouble to learn the
+tongue in which alone she can convey the secret of
+her story. It is needless to say that this language is
+not obtainable by one or two cursory visits to the
+Naples Museum, and a few hurried half-hours given to
+the contents of the guide-book; no, the language of
+Pompeii, which constitutes the key of access to the
+hidden chambers of the Roman world, can only be
+acquired with much expenditure of precious time and
+with infinite trouble. But <q>life is short and time is
+<pb n='39'/><anchor id='Pg039'/>fleeting,</q> and our bustling age expects to seize its
+required knowledge in the twinkling of an eye; well,
+in that case the story of Pompeii must remain a sealed
+volume to the traveller, who is conveyed to the City
+of the Dead in a train crammed with fellow-tourists;
+who eats a heavy unwholesome luncheon to the sound
+of mandoline-players twanging sprightly Neapolitan
+airs; and who is finally piloted round the sacred area
+by a chattering guide in the oppressive heat and glare
+of a sunny afternoon. Fatigued in mind and body,
+such an one will sink with ill-concealed relief upon the
+dusty velvet cushions of the returning train, thoroughly
+disappointed in the vaunted marvels of Pompeii, which
+his imagination had led him to expect. A vague
+impression of low broken walls, of narrow—to his eyes
+absurdly narrow—streets, of broken columns and of
+peeling frescoes fills his tired brain, as he is borne back
+to his hotel in Naples. But this disenchantment is
+his own fault, for no one who sets foot within the Sea
+Gate of the buried city in the proper spirit of knowledge
+and appreciation can possibly fail to enjoy the
+privilege which has thus been afforded him—
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l rend='margin-left: 6'><q rend="post: none">to stand within the City Disinterred;</q></l>
+<l>And hear the autumnal leaves like light footfalls</l>
+<l>Of spirits passing through the streets; and hear</l>
+<l>The Mountain’s slumberous voice at intervals</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend="pre: none">Thrill through those roofless halls.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Before passing through the Porta Marina into the
+purlieus of the city, let us first of all instil into our
+minds the essential difference that exists between the
+ruins of Pompeii and the historic fragments of Rome
+or Athens. When we gaze upon the well-known sites
+of the vanished glories of the Palatine or the Acropolis,
+<pb n='40'/><anchor id='Pg040'/>we experience no effort in looking backward through
+the vista of the past and in conjuring up some vague
+representation of the scenes that were once enacted in
+these places; the more imaginative feel the very air
+vibrating with the unseen spirits of men and women
+famous in the world’s history. He must be indeed a
+Philistine or a dullard who cannot contrive to arouse
+a passing exaltation at the thought of treading in the
+footsteps of Cicero and the Caesars in Rome, of Pericles
+and Socrates in Athens, for the very soil of the Forum
+and the stones of the citadel of Pallas seem impregnated
+with the very essence of history. But this is
+far from being the case at Pompeii, where long careful
+study of details and a grasp of hard facts are really of
+more avail than a poetic imagination in reclothing
+with flesh the dry bones of the past, for the importance
+of the Campanian city is almost purely social. The
+<hi rend='italic'>names</hi> of many of its prominent citizens are certainly
+familiar to us from inscriptions found, yet who were
+these persons that we should take so deep an interest
+in their lives and fates? Who were Pansa the ædile,
+Eumachia the priestess, Caecilius Jucundus, Aulus
+Vettius and Epidius Rufus, and a score of other
+Pompeian worthies? The answer is, they were
+officials or simple dwellers in a flourishing provincial
+town; they had no especial literary or public reputation;
+their names were probably little known beyond
+the walls of their own city. Imagine an English
+country town, such as Exeter or Shrewsbury, suddenly
+overwhelmed by some unforeseen freak of Nature and
+afterwards embalmed in the manner of Pompeii as a
+curiosity for the edification of future ages. To what
+extent, we ask, would the discovery of a place of this
+<pb n='41'/><anchor id='Pg041'/>size and population supply the existing dweller with
+a complete impression of our national life and civilization
+in the opening years of the twentieth century?
+The reply will be that it would give a very good idea
+of the average provincial town, but that it would
+hardly serve as a fair criterion to judge of the life
+pursued in the capital, or in the really large cities.
+Such a comparison will afford us a certain clue to the
+unveiling of the mysteries of Pompeii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+For the city at the mouth of the Sarno was an
+ancient Campanian settlement, founded long before the
+days wherein Greek adventurers beached their triremes
+on the shores of the Siren. It was a native community
+of Oscans, deriving its name from the Oscan word
+<hi rend='italic'>pompe</hi> (five), and, unlike Paestum, it appears to have
+retained its original appellation under all its successive
+masters. Its primitive inhabitants seem to have intermingled
+with their Hellenic victors, and to have grown
+civilized by intercourse with them. Temples of heavy
+Doric architecture were raised; walls and watch-towers
+were built; and by the time the city fell into the
+hands of the encroaching Romans, it had become a
+flourishing place with some twenty to thirty thousand
+inhabitants, owing its prosperity to its excellent situation
+at the mouth of the river, which made Pompeii a
+convenient port to serve the rich district of Campania
+that lies eastward of Vesuvius. Nuceria (the modern
+Nocera) and the larger city of Nola were both dependent
+on it, for the Sarno was in those days navigable, so that
+ships bringing Egyptian corn and Eastern merchandise
+frequently left the Pompeian harbour and sailed up
+stream to unload their cargoes at these cities. Let us
+picture then to ourselves a compact town, an irregular
+<pb n='42'/><anchor id='Pg042'/>oval in form, surrounded by walls pierced by eight
+gates and embellished with twelve towers; its eastern
+extremity towards Nocera containing the Amphitheatre,
+and its most westerly point marked by the Herculaneum
+gate leading to the Street of Tombs. Southward, we
+must imagine the sea much closer to its walls than at
+the present day, for the alluvial deposits have in the
+course of nearly two thousand years added many acres
+of solid ground to the shores of the Bay. Behind the
+city to the north rose the mountain side, not seared
+with the traces of lava as in these days, nor surmounted
+by a smoking cone, but radiant with vineyards and
+gardens which extended unbroken up to the very rim
+of the ancient crater. Amidst the greenery of the
+luxuriant slopes peeped forth innumerable farms and
+villas of wealthy Romans, for this exquisite spot had
+long become an abode of cultured leisure. Within the
+closely packed streets of the town itself there were to
+be found few open spaces except the Forum, and
+perhaps a small park in front of the amphitheatre, for
+the place was prosperous, though not wealthy, and its
+chief citizens were forced to remain content with the
+tiny gardens enclosed within the walls of their own
+dwellings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Internally Pompeii presented, like many another
+Roman town, marks of its six hundred years of existence.
+There was at least one perfect Doric temple;
+there were Oscan-Grecian buildings, notably the so-called
+<q>House of the Surgeon,</q> with its air of
+old-fashioned simplicity; there were houses of the
+Republican period; there were numberless dwellings
+of the Imperial era; there were unfinished structures
+that were being completed at the time of the city’s
+<pb n='43'/><anchor id='Pg043'/>overthrow. For, sixteen years before Vesuvius suddenly
+awoke from its long sleep, the neighbourhood
+had been visited by the severe earthquake shock of
+63, and the effects produced by this disaster had not
+nearly been effaced, when the great event of 79 transformed
+the town into a huge museum for the delight
+and instruction of future generations. Pompeii therefore
+preserves the marks of more than half a thousand
+years of civilization, so that those who will take the
+necessary trouble can trace within its area the gradual
+progress of its social and political life from the far-off
+days of Greeks and Oscans to the reign of the Emperor
+Titus. The case of a ruined Exeter or Shrewsbury
+could not be widely different. The students of ensuing
+ages would be able to find in the dead town one or two
+churches of Norman or Plantagenet times; portions of
+medieval city walls and gateways, perhaps even some
+undoubted traces of Roman baths or fortifications;
+some few public buildings erected under Tudor or
+Stuart sovereigns; a large number of the plain roomy
+mansions of the Georgian period; and, last of all, a
+preponderating quantity of nineteenth century structures
+of every description—churches, warehouses, factories,
+inns, barracks, shops, dwelling-houses. Many
+would be the inscriptions and monuments we should
+find in such a town, alluding to private and public
+persons utterly unknown to English history, but more
+or less noteworthy in local annals: grandees of civic
+life, soldiers, philanthropists, clergymen, <hi rend='italic'>et hoc genus
+omne</hi>. Future generations of scholars would doubtless
+strive eagerly to obtain details of the careers of these
+provincial worthies, who filled municipal offices in the
+reigns of Queen Victoria and King Edward, in order
+<pb n='44'/><anchor id='Pg044'/>to throw more light upon the period wherein they
+flourished. Let us apply then the same principles to
+the study of Pompeii <hi rend='italic'>mutatis mutandis</hi>, for in our
+quest of better knowledge of the old Roman life we
+fix anxiously upon every detail concerning the leading
+personages of the dead city. Nevertheless, it is its
+existence in the aggregate that proves of surpassing
+interest to us; we desire to learn of the daily tasks
+and occupations of the mass of its population, rather
+than to become acquainted with the private histories
+of its leading individuals; we study the former, in
+fact, only as a means to a definite end. We cry for
+information, which to a certain extent we can secure,
+as to how an average Roman city was administered,
+provisioned, drained; how its inhabitants passed their
+time both in leisure and in business; how they amused
+themselves in their homes and in the theatre; what
+they ate and what they drank—the endless trifles of
+human life, in short, which like the <hi rend='italic'>tesseræ</hi>, the tiny
+cubes of their own mosaic pavements, go to make up a
+complete picture out of a thousand fragments. Not a
+few of the cubes in this case are missing, it is true, nor
+are they ever likely to be found; nevertheless, we own
+an abundant supply wherewith we can piece together
+a tolerably accurate picture of the life of a Roman
+provincial city during the first century of the Christian
+era.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is of course quite outside our province to attempt
+any detailed account of the wonders of Pompeii. The
+reader who desires full information must turn to the
+elaborate works of Mau and Helbig, of Gell and
+Overbeck, to say nothing of the descriptive pages,
+full of condensed knowledge, contained in Murray’s
+<pb n='45'/><anchor id='Pg045'/>and Baedeker’s guide-books in order to obtain a clear
+impression of all he wishes to inspect. We can but
+dwell on a point here and there, and even then but
+lightly and superficially, for any endeavour on our
+part to add to the statements and theories of the
+great archaeologists already cited would be indeed a
+matter of supererogation and presumption.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Entering then by the Marine Gate, and pursuing
+our course eastwards along the lines of naked broken
+house-fronts, we reach the great rectangular space
+of the Forum. Here at its southern extremity let us
+select a shady corner, for the sun beats down fiercely
+upon the bare ruins at every season of the year, and
+even on a winter’s afternoon the air often shimmers
+with the heat haze, so that in no place on earth is
+the use of an umbrella so necessary or desirable as
+at Pompeii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+What an ideal spot for the founding of a city!
+That is our first impression, as we glance across the
+broad sunlit enclosure on to the empurpled slopes
+of Vesuvius rising grandly above the broken columns
+of the great temple of the Capitoline Jove; behind
+us, we know, is the azure Bay with Capri and the
+Sorrentine cape lying on its unruffled bosom, so that
+we stand between sea and mountain to north and south,
+whilst we have the luxuriant slopes of Vesuvius to
+westward, and to the east the rich valley of the Sarno,
+thickly dotted with groves and hamlets. One element
+alone is wanting in the glorious scene before us—Life;
+it will be our duty and pleasure to re-invest as
+far as possible this empty space before us with the
+semblance of the busy crowds that once flitted in and
+out of its colonnades and porticoes; to rebuild in
+<pb n='46'/><anchor id='Pg046'/>imagination its shapeless ruins, so that we may
+obtain a fleeting picture of the Pompeian Forum in
+early Imperial days.
+</p><anchor id="illus04"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: THE FORUM, POMPEII]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus04th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus04.jpg">THE FORUM, POMPEII</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: THE FORUM, POMPEII</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Conceive, then, in front of us, instead of this long
+bare stretch flanked by broken walls and strewn with
+shapeless fragments of brick and stone, an immense
+double arcade, two stories in height, affording ample
+protection against sun or rain and enclosing an oblong
+pavement whereon are set numerous statues of
+emperors or private citizens, occupying lofty positions
+of honour above the heads of the surging throng
+below. Imagine that group of shattered pillars,
+which obstructs our full view of the distant cone of
+Vesuvius, transformed into an imposing temple,
+covered with polychrome decoration, not in the best
+of taste according to our modern ideas of art, but
+gorgeous and cheerful in the clear atmosphere of the
+south. Rebuild, in the mind’s eye, the Basilica and
+the temple of Apollo on the left, and straight before
+us, as we look forward from our coign of vantage at
+the narrow southern end of the colonnade, let us plant
+the three dominant statues of Augustus, Claudius
+and Agrippina to form our foreground. If we can construct
+by stress of fancy some such setting of classical
+architecture, gay with primary colours and gilding
+and graceful in design, it is easier to people the Pompeian
+Forum with the masses of humanity that once
+mingled here. For we have the knowledge of modern
+Italian life to guide us to a certain extent; we have
+seen the swarms of citizens who to-day fill the main
+piazzas of the towns, especially those of the provincial
+type, where the morning market is held and the chief
+cafés and shops are situated. But if the general use
+<pb n='47'/><anchor id='Pg047'/>of the piazza is characteristic of the modern second-class
+Italian city, this concentration of life was far
+more marked in the ancient Roman town, wherein
+the Forum must have appeared as the very heart of
+the whole body social and politic. Roman city life
+indeed displayed two strongly antagonistic phases:—the
+utmost privacy in the home, the most public
+exhibition in the Forum, where every trade and form
+of business were carried on in the open air, and
+whither pursuit of gain, or pleasure, or religious duty
+led all the citizens to direct their steps. For, as we
+have already shown, almost all the public life of the
+place was concentrated within this space and its
+surroundings; temples, markets, shops, law courts,
+municipal offices, all abutted on the Forum; it was
+not merely the chief, but the only place that drew
+together the daily crowd, bent alike on business or
+amusement. No chariots were permitted to cross the
+area sacred to the claims of money-making, of gossip,
+and of worship; so that we must picture to ourselves
+a great mass of people undisturbed by the passing of
+vehicles, or by the shouts and whip-crackings of the
+noisy charioteers—was ever such a thing as a quiet
+Italian coachman, ancient or modern, we digress to
+wonder! All was orderly and decorous when compared
+with the quarrelling, screaming groups of
+citizens that block the congested streets of modern
+Naples. Happily for us various paintings of the
+Forum of Pompeii have been discovered, and these
+are naturally of immense value in helping us to a
+proper understanding of the habits and methods of
+the people, and of the general appearance of the
+Forum itself during its busiest hours. The costumes
+<pb n='48'/><anchor id='Pg048'/>of men, women and children; the articles of clothing
+and of food ready for sale; the little knots of loiterers
+or gossips; the citizens intent on reading the municipal
+notices that are herein portrayed, all combine to
+present us with an authentic picture of Pompeian and
+therefore of Roman civic life. <q>There is nothing new
+under the sun,</q> grumbled the Preacher many centuries
+before the city under Vesuvius had reached its zenith
+of civilization, and it must be confessed that the
+general impression conveyed after studying the contemporary
+pictures of antique life does not differ very
+widely from that which we obtain by observing present
+Italian conditions. For the frescoes in the Naples
+Museum and in certain of the Pompeian houses seem
+to recall strongly the scenes of the piazza, where all
+the elements of society, irrespective of rank or station,
+are still wont to congregate. Differences of dress, of
+manner, of custom are doubtless evident enough, yet
+somehow we perceive an essential sameness in these
+two representations of classical and modern Italy.
+Nevertheless, these simple and often rude wall-paintings
+furnish us with many pieces of information
+that we search for in vain amidst the ancient authors,
+who naturally considered the commonplace everyday
+scenes of life beneath the notice of contemporary
+record. We are enabled to learn, for instance, how
+the citizens were usually dressed in the Forum, and
+how, in an age when hats and umbrellas were practically
+non-existent, the pointed hood, like that of the
+Arab burnous, was often used to cover the head in
+cold or wet weather. Again, it is easy to perceive
+from the same source that the diet of the Pompeians
+must have resembled closely that of their present
+<pb n='49'/><anchor id='Pg049'/>descendants; even the shape of the loaves has in
+most cases continued unchanged to the present day.
+And one curious coincidence is certainly worth
+mentioning, in that a peculiar method of preparing figs
+with caraway seeds, which was long supposed to be a
+local speciality of a remote town in Central Italy, has
+now been recognized as a common method of dressing
+this fruit for the table at Pompeii, for large quantities
+of figs so treated have been unearthed in shops and
+kitchens. Such grains of information as the wearing
+of hoods and the preserving of figs may appear trifling
+enough at first sight, yet it is from a number of petty
+details such as these that we are assisted to an intimate
+understanding of a state of society extinct nearly two
+thousand years ago.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Close beside us on the eastern side of the Forum is
+set the Chalcidicum, the large building of the priestess
+Eumachia, one of the most gracious personalities of
+Pompeii with which the modern world has become
+acquainted. It was this lady who generously presented
+this structure, one of the handsomest and most
+solid of the public buildings of the city, to the fullers
+to serve as their exchange, wherein goods might be
+exposed upon benches and tables for the convenience
+alike of sellers and purchasers. <q>Priestess Eumachia,</q>
+remarks a modern critic, <q>has done the thing well; no
+expense has been spared in the building and its
+decorations. The columns of the portico are of white
+marble; the statues of Piety and Concord, works of
+art; and the flower-borders along the panelled walls,
+prettily conceived and carefully executed. After so
+much plaster and stucco, it is a relief to see something
+so solid and genuine. When a third-rate city apes
+<pb n='50'/><anchor id='Pg050'/>the capital, there must needs be a certain amount of
+sham. But at Pompeii it is all sham, or next door
+to it. In the entire city are not more than half a
+dozen edifices whose columns are of real marble, the bas-reliefs
+and cornices of anything more solid than stucco;
+and of these half-dozen, the Exchange heads the list.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We feel tolerably secure in assigning this fine
+building to the early years of the Emperor Tiberius,
+and in naming the Emperor’s mother, Livia, as the
+divinity to whom it was dedicated. The statue of
+Concord with the golden horn of plenty doubtless
+once adorned the large pedestal which still stands in
+the eastern apse of the Exchange, but though the
+figure and emblem were those of Concordia, the face
+bore certainly the features of Imperial Livia. Yet
+more interesting than the various speculations as to
+the actual uses of this edifice and the different names
+of the statues which once embellished its alcoves,
+is the circumstance that the marble portrait of the
+foundress herself has been discovered. It is true that
+only a copy in plaster now occupies the pedestal at
+the back of the apse where Eumachia’s statue once
+stood, for the original has been removed for safety to
+Naples, but it is not difficult to call to mind the calm
+gentle face of this Pompeian Lady Bountiful, and her
+graceful figure in its flowing robes. The existence of
+this statue adds undoubtedly a touch of special human
+interest to the whole building, and we find our minds
+excited by the brief inscription which still informs
+the curious that the fullers of Pompeii erected
+this portrait in marble in grateful appreciation <q>to
+Eumachia, a city-priestess, daughter of Lucius
+Eumachius.</q>
+</p>
+
+<pb n='51'/><anchor id='Pg051'/>
+
+<p>
+Outside the Chalcidicum, at the corner of the lane
+usually termed Via dell’ Abbondanza, is to be seen
+a pathetic little memorial of the working life of the
+city: the fountain of Concordia Augusta, the divinity
+of Eumachia’s noble building hard by. Dusty and
+heating is the business of fulling cloth, and it generates
+thirst, so that it is but natural to find a fountain close
+at hand, whereat the labourers could refresh their
+parched throats. With what eagerness must the
+exhausted toilers during those long summers of
+centuries past have leaned forward to press their
+human lips to the cool mouth of the sculptured
+goddess that ejected with pleasing gurgles a volume
+of water into the basin below! That this fountain
+proved a boon to weary citizens is evident enough,
+for the features of water-spouting Concordia are half
+worn away by thirsty human kisses, and her suppliants’
+hands have left deep smooth furrows in the stone-work
+of the basin, whereon they were wont to support
+their bodies, so as to direct the cooling draught into
+the dry and dusty gullet. In Italian cities to-day we
+can frequently observe some exhausted labourer bend
+deftly downwards to snatch a drink of water from the
+mouth of some fantastic figure in a public fountain.
+Who has not paused, for instance, beside Tacca’s
+famous bronze boar in the Florentine market-place
+without noting an incident of this kind? If we ourselves
+are too dainty to place our own aristocratic
+lips where our fellow-mortals have pressed theirs,
+not so are the abstemious descendants of the ancient
+Romans, the Italians, whose minds remain untroubled
+by any nasty-nice qualms of possible infection.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Here then is the setting of the picture, and we
+<pb n='52'/><anchor id='Pg052'/>must ourselves endeavour to repeople the empty
+space with the crowds of high and low that once
+collected here.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>It is high change, and the Forum is crowded.
+All Pompeii is here, and his wife. <hi rend='italic'>Patres conscripti</hi>,
+inclined to corpulence, taking their constitutional,
+exquisites lazily sauntering up and down the pavements;
+decurions discussing the affairs of the nation,
+and the last news from Rome; city magnates fussing,
+merchants chaffering, clients petitioning, parasites
+fawning, soldiers swaggering, and Belisarius begging
+at the gate.... It is a bright and animated scene.
+Beneath, the crowded Forum, with its colonnades and
+statues, at one end a broad flight of steps leading
+to the Temple of Jupiter, at the other a triumphal
+arch; on one side the Temple of Venus and the
+Basilica; on the other the Macellum, the Temple of
+Mercury, the Chalcidicum; overhead the deep blue
+sky. Mingled with the hum of many voices and
+the patter of feet on the travertine pavement are the
+ringing sounds of the stonemasons’ chisels and
+hammers, for the Forum is undergoing a complete
+restoration. Although fifteen years have elapsed
+since the city was last visited by earthquake, the
+damage then done to the public buildings has not
+been entirely repaired. First the Gods, then the
+people. The temples of Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury
+are completed, but the Forum and Chalcidicum are
+still in the workmen’s hands.</q><note place="foot">W. J. A. Stamer: <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With this fleeting glimpse at the public life of the
+city, let us now turn our attention to its domestic
+arrangements. Of the many houses which have been
+<pb n='53'/><anchor id='Pg053'/>excavated of recent years under the truly admirable
+superintendence of Signor Fiorelli, none is better
+calculated to give us a striking impression of the
+working details of an upper-class Roman household
+than the private dwelling which is known equally
+under the two names of the Casa Nuova and the
+House of the Vettii;—perhaps the former name has
+now ceased to own any significance, since the buildings
+were laid bare as far back as the winter of
+1894-5. An hour or two spent in a careful inspection
+of this house and its contents is to most persons
+worth four times the same amount of time occupied
+in aimless wandering amongst the hot glaring streets
+of the city, peeping into this courtyard and that, and
+listening to the interminable tales of guide or
+custodian. If we study the Casa Nuova intelligently,
+lovingly and minutely, it will not be long before we
+obtain a tolerable grasp of Roman life and manners,
+which will prove of immense service and of genuine
+delight. What then is it, the question will be asked,
+that makes the House of the Vettii so valuable as
+an example of antique architecture and decoration,
+in preference to other mansions which can boast an
+equal and often a greater distinction? The answer
+is simple enough: it is because this particular group
+of buildings has been allowed to remain as far as
+practicable in the exact condition wherein it was
+originally unearthed, when its various rooms and
+courts were once more exposed to the light of day.
+For until the clearing of this <q>new house</q> a decade
+or so ago, no proper opportunity had so far been
+afforded to the amateur of our own times of judging
+for himself the interior of a Roman dwelling in full
+<pb n='54'/><anchor id='Pg054'/>working order, and with all its furniture, paintings,
+and utensils complete. Up to this, almost every
+object of value had been removed at once for safety,
+every fresco even of importance had been cut bodily
+out of its setting and placed in one of those immense
+halls on the ground floor of the Museum in Naples.
+How well do we remember those gaunt chilly
+chambers, filled from pavement to ceiling with painted
+fragments of all sizes, a medley of domestic subjects
+and of classical myths! Torn from the walls they
+were specially executed to adorn, divorced from their
+proper scheme of surrounding ornament, these wan
+dejected ghosts stare at us like faces out of a mist.
+The uninitiated cannot find pleasure in them, for they
+have no pretention to be called works of art; on the
+contrary they form an inherent part of a conventional
+system of house decoration. The classical student can
+of course find many points of interest in the incidents
+portrayed, but all charm of local environment is
+absent;—it is, in short, impossible to judge of Roman
+decoration from this collection of crumbling, fading
+pieces of painted stucco. It would be as easy to
+imagine the effect of a rose-bush in full bloom from
+the sight of a few withered rose-buds, pressed until
+every vestige of colour had left their petals, as to
+understand the significance of antique domestic art
+from the contents of the Museo Nazionale.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But here, in the House of the Vettii, the public was
+for the first time initiated into the mysteries of true
+Roman life; here it was admitted to gaze upon the
+fruits of classical taste and refinement, and to contrast
+them, favourably or unfavourably, with prevailing
+modern standards. The Casa Nuova has been left
+<pb n='55'/><anchor id='Pg055'/>as an object lesson, a complete museum in itself,
+wherein every daily incident of Pompeian life, every
+domestic secret, reveal themselves to our inquisitive
+eyes. Here in the roofless halls we can be taken from
+entrance to dining-hall, from <hi rend='italic'>atrium</hi> to sleeping rooms,
+spying into the minutest detail of shape, size and
+colour, as though we were seriously intending to rent
+the house for our own habitation. The last tenant
+has even left his money-chest in his hall, his pots and
+pans in the kitchen, and as we inspect his utensils, we
+wonder if they would suit our own requirements to-day.
+Of portable objects of value—plate, jewels, statuettes
+of precious metals and the like—belonging to the late
+owner, there is certainly no trace, for Signor Fiorelli’s
+labourers were not the first to break the deep silence
+of this buried mansion. For it was the survivors of
+the stricken town, the citizens of Pompeii themselves,
+who were the foremost pioneers to excavate, and they
+carried off every work of art they could conveniently
+remove. Cutting from above into the deposit of ashes
+that filled the streets, they managed to reach in course
+of time the level of the ground, after which they
+tunnelled from room to room, from house to house,
+collecting every object they thought worth the trouble
+of transporting. Perhaps the owners of the house, the
+Vettii themselves, presuming they escaped in the general
+<anchor id="corr055"/><corr sic="castastrophe">catastrophe</corr>, may have returned with skilled workmen
+to recover some of their treasures; perhaps some <q>man
+of three letters</q>—the colloquial Roman term for thief
+(<hi rend='italic'>fur</hi>)—may have forestalled the masters’ efforts—who
+knows? And at this distance of time, who cares?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The house once occupied by Aulus Vettius Restitutus
+and Aulus Vettius Corvina stands in a quiet district
+<pb n='56'/><anchor id='Pg056'/>not far from the Capuan Gate, and consequently at
+some distance from the Forum. Like all Roman
+habitations it was essentially Oriental in its outward
+aspect, and must have resembled closely any one of
+those mysterious dwellings of wealthy Arab citizens
+which we constantly encounter in the native quarters
+of Algiers or Tunis. The gateway giving on the
+street was wide, certainly, but it was well defended
+both by human and canine porters; its windows were
+few and small, and were probably closely latticed like
+those of the nunneries which we sometimes perceive
+overhead in the crowded streets of Naples. There
+must have been something austere, even suspicious, in
+the external appearance of the Casa de’ Vettii, but
+snarling dog and grim janitor have long since disappeared,
+and we pass unmolested through the <hi rend='italic'>atrium</hi>
+and thence into the Great Peristyle, which is perhaps
+the most remarkable feature of this house. The
+peristyle, as its name implies, is a Greek importation
+in a Roman city, and its use would have been scorned
+by the old-fashioned citizens, such as the master of
+the <q>House of the Surgeon</q>; yet it was in truth
+admirably suited to the character of Southern Italy,
+where it afforded shelter from sun and wind, and its
+arcades protected from the rainfall. The peristyle of
+the Vettii, with its gaudily tinted pillars of stucco, is
+highly ornate; perhaps it passes the limits of good
+taste in certain points of colour and æsthetic decoration,
+yet the general effect is undoubtedly pleasing to the
+eye. This courtyard is at once a lounge open to the
+sky; it is a garden; it is an art-gallery; for the
+cheerful court of Greek domestic architecture had
+nothing in common with its successor of the Middle
+<pb n='57'/><anchor id='Pg057'/>Ages, the monastic cloister of religious meditation.
+Cannot we imagine to ourselves the goodman of the
+house proudly leading his guests after a sumptuous
+meal in the adjacent dining-room into the cool corridors
+of his peristyle, in order to point out to them his
+statues and vases of bronze or porphyry, and to
+expatiate upon their value or elegance of form? On
+such a festive occasion these great shallow basins of
+pure white marble before us would be heaped high
+with fragrant pyramids of red and white roses, roses
+that were perhaps plucked all dewy in the famous
+gardens of Paestum on the other side of Mons
+Gaurus. For the flowering shrubs in the tiny
+pleasaunce itself are far too precious to be stripped
+of their blossoms in so lavish a manner, and perhaps
+if Vettius be anything of an amateur gardener, he
+may comment to his visitors upon the rare plants that
+fill his diminutive flower-beds. Careful and reverent
+hands have restored the little garden as near as
+possible to its pristine plan and appearance. There
+are still standing the two bronze statues of urchins
+holding in their chubby arms ducks from whose bills
+once gushed the limpid water, making a soothing
+sound amidst the alleys of the peristyle; corroded
+and injured they certainly appear, yet here they
+hold their original positions in Vettius’ domain long
+after temple and tower have fallen to the ground.
+The marble chairs and tripod tables likewise remain,
+and around them still thrive the very plants that the
+servants of the house were wont to tend in the days
+of Titus. For, by a rare chance, we find depicted
+on the walls of the excavated house the actual flowers
+and herbs that were popular during Vettius’ lifetime,
+<pb n='58'/><anchor id='Pg058'/>and these have been replanted by modern hands in
+the garden of the peristyle. There are clumps of
+papyrus, the strange mop-headed rush from the banks
+of the Nile, introduced into Italy as a botanical
+novelty after the conquest of Egypt; there are rose-bushes,
+of course; and also masses of shining ivy
+trained in the ancient Roman manner upon a cage
+of wicker-work fixed into the soil. As we watch the
+verdure-clad sunlit space there descends, delicately
+fluttering, one of those splendid pale yellow brimstone
+butterflies of the South with flame-coloured blushes
+on its wings, and after some moments of graceful
+hesitation, this new visitor settles upon the purple
+head of an iris bloom. With its vivid colouring and
+its quick movements the butterfly brings an atmosphere
+of life into the courtyard that was hitherto lacking.
+Its appearance too suggests the famous allegory, the
+unsolved riddle of human existence which so puzzled
+the divine Plato and the ancient philosophers of
+Athens and Syracuse. Here are we, the living
+men of to-day, watching the corpse of a departed
+world upon which the mystic symbol of Psyche has
+just alighted. <hi rend='italic'>Tempus breve est</hi> is the simple little
+truism that rises to our reflecting minds. Eighteen
+centuries between the Vettii and ourselves! They
+are gone like a flash, and we are amazed to note
+how little has our nature altered either for the better
+or the worse within that space of time, long enough
+if we measure its limit by the standard of history,
+trivial if we reckon it by the progress made in human
+ethics and human understanding. Surely there are
+lessons to be learned in the silent city; Pompeii, we
+realize, is not merely a heap of antique dross whence
+<pb n='59'/><anchor id='Pg059'/>we can pick up precious grains of knowledge, but
+it is an oracle in itself, which, if properly consulted,
+will give us plain answers to our modern speculations,
+and will possibly reprove us for our conceited
+assumption of omniscience.
+</p><anchor id="illus05"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: LA CASA DEI VETTII, POMPEII]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus05th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus05.jpg">LA CASA DEI VETTII, POMPEII</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: LA CASA DEI VETTII, POMPEII</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Still brilliant in their strong prevailing tints of black,
+yellow and vermilion are the decorative schemes which
+make a visit to the house of the Vettii of such supreme
+importance for those who wish to understand fully the
+artistic tastes of the Romans, and also their artistic
+limitations. If the contents of the Museum seem
+colourless and cold, and prove unsatisfying and disappointing,
+here the eye of the artist can feast upon
+the classical ornamentation which remains fairly fresh
+in spite of a dozen years of exposure to daylight.
+For this province of art is peculiarly associated with
+the opening years of the Empire, and Pompeii is
+naturally the chief place for its study, and in Pompeii
+the untouched Casa Nuova is all important for the
+student. According to Pliny, the inventor of this
+pleasing style of decoration was a certain Ludius, who
+flourished in the reign of Augustus, and first persuaded
+the Romans to embellish their flat wall-surfaces with
+designs of <q>villas and halls, artificial gardens, hedges,
+woods, hills, water basins, tombs, rivers, shores, in as
+great a variety as could be desired; figures sitting
+at ease, mariners, and those who, riding upon donkeys
+or in waggons, look after their farms; fishermen,
+snarers of birds, hunters and vine-dressers; also
+swampy passages before beautiful villas, and women
+borne by men who stagger under their burdens, and
+other witty things of this nature; finally, views of sea-ports,
+everything charming and suitable</q>:—a fairly
+<pb n='60'/><anchor id='Pg060'/>long and comprehensive list of subjects, truly, from
+which a patron might pick and choose, or an artist
+might execute!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Although the great architect Vitruvius strongly
+denounced this new striving after scenic effect and
+characterized it as petty and false, yet none can deny
+that these cheerful scenes with their bright colours and
+their agreeable if trivial subjects were singularly well
+adapted to improve the appearance of the bare narrow
+rooms, the meagre proportions of which seem to us
+absolutely incompatible with plain comfort, to say
+nothing of luxury. Space may be increased, so far
+as the eye is concerned, by an architectural or
+landscape painting ingeniously conceived, and thus
+the restricted rooms seem to obtain by means of
+this new system of decoration a wider expansion, and
+with it an increased sense of ease and lightness. The
+invention of Ludius became at once the fashion, the
+rage; and all Rome began to cover the walls of its
+narrow chambers with these novel designs, which had
+already found favour in Imperial circles. Campania,
+where the old Greek love for polychrome still lingered,
+was not slow in imitating the new taste of the
+Capital, so that Pompeii bears undoubted testimony
+to the popularity of this revolution in artistic ideas,
+which substituted a lighter freer method for the old
+conventional severity of treatment. Experts profess
+to trace—and none will endeavour to gainsay them—a
+marked difference between the frescoes executed
+before the earthquake of 63 and those undertaken
+subsequent to that date. The wall paintings of the
+first group, carried out when the art was comparatively
+novel, are superior in harmony of colour, in choice
+<pb n='61'/><anchor id='Pg061'/>of themes and in technical finish to those which belong
+to the latter period, the sixteen years that intervened
+between the earthquake and the eruption of Vesuvius.
+From this circumstance it has been inferred, not
+without reason, that this particular house must have
+passed some time before the year 63 out of the
+possession of people of good taste into the hands of
+vulgarians, ignorant of the fundamental principles of
+art and anxious only to obtain what was startling
+and garish. As freedmen, the two Vettii would
+naturally belong to a class which was not remarkable
+for culture; nevertheless, they seem to have had the
+good sense to leave intact some of their predecessor’s
+most cherished works of decoration, and for this
+exhibition of restraint we must feel duly grateful
+towards our dead-and-gone hosts, the maligned Vettii.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But it is not only for purposes of examining Roman
+internal decoration <hi rend='italic'>in situ</hi> that this art gallery of the
+Casa Nuova is available. Below the painted panels
+of the dining-room runs a long string of ornament,
+whereon are represented Cupids and Psyches engaged
+in the various occupations of Pompeian daily life.
+Full of dainty grace and of lively expression, these
+little winged figures initiate us into a number of the
+trades and customs of the ancients. For they are
+made to appear before us as goldsmiths, vine-dressers,
+makers and sellers of olive oil, dealers in wine, fullers
+of cloth, and as partakers in a dozen other scenes
+of town or country life. Where learned antiquaries
+had hitherto doubted and disputed, the discovery of
+the paintings of these celestial little mechanics and
+merchants helped to solve many a difficulty, for the
+secret of half the arts and crafts of Pompeii is revealed
+<pb n='62'/><anchor id='Pg062'/>to us in this playful guise. Nor are the designs
+themselves contemptible from an artistic point of
+view; look how intent, for example, is the pose of
+the tiny jeweller working with a graver’s tool upon
+the gold vessel before him; how steadily he bears
+himself at a task which requires at once strength of
+hand and delicacy of workmanship. Look again at
+the nervous pose of the pretty elf who is gingerly
+pouring wine out of a huge amphora, which he holds
+in his arms, into a shallow tasting cup offered by a
+brother Cupid. How thoroughly must the unknown
+artist have enjoyed the task of painting this frieze!
+How unfettered his fancy, as his brush glided smoothly
+and deftly over the carefully prepared wall-surface!
+Excellent, no doubt, he thought his work at the time
+of execution, but even the most conceited of Campanian
+artists could hardly have dreamed that these creations
+of his brush would still at the end of two thousand
+years be admired, commented upon and even reproduced
+in thousands, by a process he never dreamed
+of, for the benefit of citizens of nations as yet unborn
+or unforeseen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As the spring evening softly steals over the city
+and the shadows of the colonnades lengthen, let us
+leave the silent halls and chambers of the Casa dei
+Vettii and turn our footsteps westward; and issuing
+out of the Gate of Herculaneum, let us traverse the
+famous Street of Tombs, that extends along the road
+leading to the sister buried city. In ancient times
+this was the Via Domitiana, a branch road of the
+Appian Way, and it formed the most frequented
+entrance into Pompeii. To Roman ideas, therefore,
+it was but natural that tombs should be erected
+along<pb n='63'/><anchor id='Pg063'/>side its borders, whilst the spirits of the passing and
+repassing crowds were in no wise affected by the
+memorials of death attending their exits and entrances.
+And with the surging human tide that was
+ever flowing in this thoroughfare the funeral processions
+must constantly have mingled, the wailing
+of the hired mourners rising sharply above the din of
+harsh voices, the creaking of clumsy wooden wheels
+and the braying of the heavily laden asses. Now over
+all reigns a decorous silence, such as we moderns deem
+fitting for a cemetery; only the hum of insects breaks
+the deep quiet of the atmosphere, nor are there any
+living creatures visible at this late hour save the bats
+which flit restlessly in and out of the weed-grown piles
+of brick or stone that once were stately monuments
+of wealth or piety. Above our heads the tall sombre
+cypresses shoot upward like gigantic spear-heads into
+the crystal-clear air, pointing heavenward like our
+own church spires in a rural English landscape. This
+Street of the Dead in the City of the Dead is in truth
+a solemn and a soothing spot; nor can we find its
+precincts melancholy, when we stand in the midst of
+such glorious scenery. For Monte Sant’ Angelo
+towers to our left against the mellow evening sky,
+flecked with lines of peach-blossom cloud, whilst in
+front of us the dark form of Capri seems to float in a
+golden haze between firmament and ocean. Behind
+us the dark mass of the Mountain with its breath of
+ascending smoke seems like an eternal funeral pyre in
+honour of the Dead, who were spared the horrors of
+that fearful disaster which overwhelmed the living.
+Upon the broken tombs and altars the light from the
+setting sun falls with warm cheerful radiance, flushing
+<pb n='64'/><anchor id='Pg064'/>stone and brick-work with a ruddy glow like jasper;
+whilst, high in the heavens above the cypress tops,
+the crescent moon prepares to turn to gold from
+silver.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<hi rend='italic'>Beati sunt mortui</hi>: here rest, we know, the priestess
+Mammia, the decemvir Aricius, Libella the aedile, and
+a host of other citizens with whose names the student
+or the lover of Pompeii is familiar. How many a
+time has this line of roadway rung with the sound of
+the last sad appeal, the thrice repeated valediction:
+<q><hi rend='italic'>Vale, vale, vale!</hi> farewell until the day when Nature
+will allow us to follow thee!</q> How often have the
+wooden pyres flung up in these precincts their clouds
+of perfumed smoke into the clear air, now redolent
+with the aroma of yellow broom, of dewy thyme and
+of sweet marigolds! Perhaps it was amidst these
+lines of cypress-set tombs by the Herculaneum Gate
+that the poetic genius, whose verses were spurned by
+his own generation, composed his famous Ode to
+Naples, for in its opening lines Shelley tells us it was
+the aspect of the <q>city disinterred</q> that gave him
+inspiration:—
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Around me gleamed many a bright sepulchre</q></l>
+<l>Of whose pure beauty, Time, as if his pleasure</l>
+<l>Were to spare Death, had never made erasure;</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>But every living lineament was clear</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>As in the sculptor’s thought; and there</l>
+<l>The wreaths of stony myrtle, ivy and pine,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 1'>Like winter-leaves o’ergrown by moulded snow,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 1'>Seemed only not to move and grow,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 1'>Because the crystal silence of the air</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 1'><q rend="pre: none">Weighed on their life....</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Tranquilly and slowly descends night upon the
+untenanted city, as one by one the stars begin to peep
+<pb n='65'/><anchor id='Pg065'/>forth like chrysolites in the heavens, which have
+changed from azure to a deep indigo during the
+sunset hour. Amid chilly dews, to the sound of the
+evening bell from the distant church of Santa Maria
+di Pompeii, we hasten in the growing darkness from
+the Street of the Tombs towards our modest inn
+outside the Marine Gate, anticipating with delight
+a ramble in the city in the freshness of the coming
+morning.
+</p>
+
+</div><div n="4" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='66'/><anchor id='Pg066'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="4: Vesuvius"/>
+<head>CHAPTER IV</head>
+
+<head type="sub">VESUVIUS: THE STORY OF THE MOUNTAIN</head>
+
+<p>
+The first appearance of Vesuvius, whether viewed
+from the deck of a steamer entering the Bay of
+Naples or espied from the window of a railway
+carriage on the main line running southward from
+Rome, makes an impression that will linger for ever
+in the memory. It is open to argument which is the
+more striking of the two experiences: the Mountain
+rising proudly from the deep blue waters into the
+paler shade of the upper air, or its graceful broken
+contour seen from the landward side to the north
+across the green fertile plains of the Campagna Felice.
+From a long acquaintance with both ways of
+approaching Naples, we are inclined to prefer the
+latter view. Travelling in an express train from
+Rome we find ourselves whirled suddenly, by magic
+as it were, into the atmosphere of the South, when
+with the sight of the domes and towers of Capua, the
+ancient capital of Campania the Prosperous, we first
+note the presence of orange trees and hedges of aloe,
+of white lupin crops and clumps of prickly pear, and
+we feel we are nearing Naples with <q>its burning
+mountain and its tideless sea,</q> so that we eagerly
+strain our eyes in a southerly direction to catch our
+first glimpse of Vesuvius, with whose shape and
+<pb n='67'/><anchor id='Pg067'/>history we have been so familiar since our childhood’s
+days. At length we perceive its double summit, with
+smoke tranquilly issuing from the cone and obscuring
+the clarity of the air, and as we hurry forward towards
+our destination, through the plains studded with elm-trees
+festooned with vines, we have the satisfaction of
+observing its form grow larger and more distinct in
+outline.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On our arrival at Naples, in course of time we grow
+more intimately acquainted with the peculiar attractions
+of <q>the Mountain,</q> as the Neapolitans always
+designate their treacherous but fascinating neighbour,
+of whose near existence they have every reason to be
+proud, for certainly Vesuvius, though barely as lofty
+as Ben Nevis, <hi rend='italic'>is</hi> to us westerns the most famous
+mountain upon earth. Regarding Vesuvius both from
+the land and the sea, we note that it rises in solitary
+majesty from an extended base some thirty miles in
+circumference, and that it sweeps upwards in graceful
+curving lines until at a distance of about 3000 feet
+from sea level its summit is cleft into two peaks;
+that to the north being a rocky ridge which catches
+our eye as we gaze eastward from the heights of Sant’
+Elmo or the Corso at Naples, the other point being
+the actual cone of the volcano itself. The upper part
+of the Mountain has in fact two aspects; in other
+words, Vesuvius is double, being composed of the ridge
+of Monte Somma to the north, 3760 feet in height,
+which is pre-historic; and the ever-shifting modern
+dome of Vesuvius to the south, which is <hi rend='italic'>about</hi> 4000
+feet high. We say <q>about</q> purposely, for Vesuvius
+proper sometimes over-tops, sometimes equals, and
+sometimes even crouches under its immovable
+sister-<pb n='68'/><anchor id='Pg068'/>peak, according to the effect produced by volcanic
+action. Monte Somma, which is one of the everlasting
+hills, is the parent, and Vesuvius is the child, born
+but yesterday from a geological point of view, for it
+is not so old as the Christian era;—<q>it is a variable
+heap thrown up from time to time, and again, not
+seldom, by a greater effort of the same force, tossed
+away into the air, and scattered in clouds of dust over
+far-away countries. Thus it has happened often, in
+the course of these variations of energy, that Vesuvius
+has risen to a conical height exceeding that of Somma
+by 500 or 600 feet, and again, the top has been
+truncated to a level as low as Somma, or even as
+much below that mountain as we now behold it
+above.</q><note place="foot">Professor John Phillips: <hi rend='italic'>Vesuvius</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To understand the story of the Mountain, therefore,
+it is necessary for us to travel back in retrospect
+to ancient Roman days. In the first place, however,
+one word as to its present name that we use to-day,
+for all are familiar with Vesuvius, but comparatively
+few, until they visit Naples, have heard mention made
+of Monte Somma. The name of Vesuvius, then,
+though strictly applicable only to the volcanic and
+modern portion of the Mountain, is not a recent
+appellation; on the contrary, it is probably of far more
+ancient origin than <hi rend='italic'>Mons Summanus</hi> by which the
+whole was known to the Romans. The point is by
+no means unimportant, for etymologists derive
+Vesuvius from the Syriac <q>Vo Seevev, the abode of
+flame,</q> thereby proving to us that whatever opinions
+may have been held as to the nature of the Mountain
+in the century preceding the Christian era, its volcanic
+<pb n='69'/><anchor id='Pg069'/>nature must have been perfectly well understood
+by those who gave it this suggestive title in a more
+remote age. But the secret locked up in Mons
+Summanus was not altogether unsuspected by the
+Roman scientists. Strabo, the geographer, writing
+about thirty years before the birth of Christ, made a
+careful examination of the crest of Mons Summanus,
+then a saucer-shaped hollow surrounded by a steep
+rocky edge and occupied by a flat plain covered with
+cinders and void of grass, although the flanks of
+the Mountain were extraordinarily fertile. From what
+he saw during his visit, Strabo conjectured the
+Mountain to be an extinct volcano, in which surmise
+he was destined to be proved partly in the right and
+partly in the wrong; whilst Vitruvius, the famous
+architect of the Emperor Augustus, <q>who found Rome
+of brick and left it of marble,</q> as well as Tacitus the
+historian, shared the same opinion. About a century
+and a half before the first recorded eruption in 79,
+Mons Summanus figures prominently in Roman
+history as the scene of a curious incident during
+the Servile War, so that in the pages of the old
+chronicler Florus we obtain an interesting description—especially
+interesting because it was not given for
+scientific purposes—of the condition of the mountain
+top at that period. The brave gladiator Spartacus
+and his intrepid band of revolted slaves, seeking
+a place of safety from the pursuing Roman legions,
+not very wisely selected the top of this isolated peak,
+which, although affording a good position of defence
+and possessing a wide outlook over the Campanian
+plain, had only one narrow passage in its rocky rim
+to serve as entrance or outlet. Followed hither by the
+<pb n='70'/><anchor id='Pg070'/>Roman forces and caught like rats in a trap, Spartacus
+and his men were doomed either to be reduced
+by starvation, or else to run the gauntlet of the sole
+narrow exit, which the Senate’s commander, Clodius
+Glabrus, was already guarding. The story of
+Spartacus’ escape from his terrible dilemma is told
+in the history of Florus, and repeated with further
+details by Plutarch in his Life of Crassus.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>Clodius the Prætor, with three thousand men,
+besieged them in a mountain, having but one narrow
+and difficult passage, which Clodius kept guarded; all
+the rest was encompassed with broken and slippery
+precipices, but upon the top grew a great many wild
+vines: they cast down as many of these boughs
+as they had need of, and twisted them into ladders
+long enough to reach from thence to the bottom,
+by which, without any danger, all got down save
+one, who stayed behind to throw them their arms,
+after which he saved himself with the rest.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A dozen learned statements of a scientific nature as
+to the ancient appearance and slumbering condition of
+the Mountain could not impress our imagination more
+vividly with its subsequent natural changes than
+the account of this episode of Spartacus and his handful
+of rebels, beleaguered by Clodius within the
+very crater of the volcano. We can see the Mountain
+in the last years of the Roman Republic before us,
+with its truncated cone encircled by a low rampart
+of rock half hidden by wild vine, ivy, eglantine,
+honeysuckle and all the creeping plants whose tough
+trailing stems enabled the besieged gladiators to effect
+their escape from the snare into which they had unwittingly
+fallen. We can understand from this event
+<pb n='71'/><anchor id='Pg071'/>how utterly remote was the idea of any upheaval of
+nature to the dwellers on these shores, whose ancestors
+remembered the crest of the mountain as the scene of
+a military operation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The first warning of a coming eruption after
+unnumbered centuries of quiet was given by a series
+of earthquakes which did an immense amount of
+damage at Herculaneum and Pompeii; yet in a
+district which had from time immemorial been subject
+to similar convulsions of nature, the shocks, though
+unusually distressing and destructive to life and
+property, were evidently unconnected in the popular
+mind with their true cause: the reawakening to life
+of the mountain overhead. The mischief done by the
+earthquakes was accordingly repaired as quickly as
+possible, and the normal course of life was resumed
+until the terrific and wholly unexpected outbreak of
+August 24th 79, during the reign of the Emperor
+Titus. Of this, the first recorded eruption of Vesuvius,
+we are exceptionally fortunate in possessing the
+testimony of a credible eye-witness, who was no less
+a personage than Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus,
+better known to the modern world as Pliny the
+Younger, who wrote two lengthy letters to Tacitus
+on the subject of this event, the first describing the
+fate of his uncle, the Elder Pliny, most eminent of
+Roman naturalists, who perished during this period of
+terror; and the second containing a more detailed
+account of the eruption itself. For it so happened—luckily
+for posterity—that at the time of this sudden
+outburst of Mons Summanus, the Elder Pliny was in
+command of the Roman fleet at Misenum on the Bay
+of Naples, where his young nephew (who was also his
+<pb n='72'/><anchor id='Pg072'/>adopted son) was living with his mother in a villa.
+<q>On the 24th of August,</q> writes Pliny the Younger
+some eleven years after the event he is about to
+describe, <q>about one in the afternoon, my mother
+desired my uncle to observe a cloud which appeared
+of a very unusual size and shape. He had just
+returned from taking the benefit of the sun, and after
+bathing himself in cold water, and taking a slight
+repast, was retired to his study. He immediately
+arose and went out upon an eminence, from whence
+he might more distinctly view this very uncommon
+appearance. It was not at that distance discernible
+from what mountain this cloud issued, but it was found
+afterwards to ascend from Mount Vesuvius. I cannot
+give a more exact description of its figure than by
+resembling it to that of a pine-tree, for it shot up to
+a great height in the form of a trunk, which extended
+itself on the top into a sort of branches, occasioned, I
+imagine, either by a sudden gust of air that impelled
+it, the force of which decreased as it advanced upwards,
+or the cloud itself being pressed back again by its own
+weight, expanded in this manner; it appeared sometimes
+bright, and sometimes dark and spotted, as it
+was more or less impregnated with earth and cinders.
+This extraordinary phenomenon excited my uncle’s
+philosophical curiosity to take a nearer view of it.</q>
+The nephew then proceeds to relate how his uncle
+sailed by way of Retina, the port of Herculaneum, to
+Stabiae, where he met with his second in command,
+one Pomponianus. Meanwhile the Younger Pliny,
+who had declined to accompany his uncle’s expedition
+on the plea of having to pursue the studies with which
+as a hard-working youth of seventeen he was evidently
+<pb n='73'/><anchor id='Pg073'/>engrossed, became alarmed during the night for the
+Elder Pliny’s safety. His own and his mother’s
+terrible experiences are vividly portrayed in the second
+letter, which, at the historian’s special request, the
+Younger Pliny wrote to Tacitus in later years.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>When my uncle had started, I spent such time as
+was left on my studies—it was on their account,
+indeed, that I had stopped behind. Then followed
+the bath, dinner and sleep, this last disturbed and
+brief. There had been noticed for many days before
+a trembling of the earth, which had caused, however,
+but little fear, because it is not unusual in Campania.
+But that night it was so violent, that one thought
+everything was being not merely moved, but absolutely
+overturned. My mother rushed into my chamber; I
+was in the act of rising, with the same intention of
+awaking her, should she have been asleep. We sat
+down in the open court of the house, which occupied
+a small space between the buildings and the sea.
+And now—I do not know whether to call it courage
+or folly, for I was but in my eighteenth year—I called
+for a volume of Livy, read it as if I were perfectly at
+leisure, and even continued to make some extracts
+which I had begun. Just then arrived a friend of my
+uncle, who had lately come to him from Spain; when
+he saw that we were sitting down—that I was even
+reading—he rebuked my mother for her patience, and
+me for my blindness to the danger. Still I bent
+myself as industriously as ever over my book. It was
+now seven o’clock in the morning, but the daylight
+was still faint and doubtful. The surrounding buildings
+were now so shattered, that in the place where we
+were, which though open was small, the danger that
+<pb n='74'/><anchor id='Pg074'/>they might fall on us was imminent and unmistakable.
+So we at last determined to quit the town. A panic-stricken
+crowd followed us.... We saw the sea retire
+into itself, seeming, as it were, to be driven back by
+the trembling movement of the earth. The shore had
+distinctly advanced, and many marine animals were
+left high and dry upon the sands. Behind us was a
+dark and dreadful cloud, which, as it was broken with
+rapid zig-zag flashes, revealed behind it variously shaped
+masses of flame; these last were like sheet lightning,
+though on a larger scale.... It was not long before
+the cloud that we saw began to descend upon the
+earth and cover the sea. It had already surrounded
+and concealed the island of Capreae, and had made
+invisible the promontory of Misenum. My mother
+besought, urged, even commanded me to fly as best I
+could; <q>I might do so,</q> she said, <q>for I was young;
+she, from age and corpulence, could move but slowly,
+but would be content to die, if she did not bring death
+upon me.</q> I replied that I would not seek safety
+except in her company; I clasped her hand and
+compelled her to go with me. She reluctantly obeyed,
+but continually reproached herself for delaying me.
+Ashes now began to fall—still, however, in small
+quantities. I looked behind me; a dense dark mist
+seemed to be following us, spreading itself over the
+country like a cloud. <q>Let us turn out of the way,</q>
+I said, <q>whilst we can still see, for fear that, should we
+fall in the road, we should be trodden under foot in
+the darkness by the throngs that accompany us.</q> We
+had scarcely sat down when night was upon us,—not
+such as we have seen when there is no moon, or when
+the sky is cloudy, but such as there is in some closed
+<pb n='75'/><anchor id='Pg075'/>room where the lights are extinguished. You might
+hear the shrieks of women, the monotonous wailing of
+children, the shouts of men. Many were raising their
+voices, and seeking to recognise by the voices that
+replied, parents, children, husbands or wives. Some
+were loudly lamenting their own fate, others the fate
+of those dear to them. Some even prayed for death,
+in their fear of what they prayed for. Many lifted
+their hands in prayer to the gods; more were convinced
+that there were now no gods at all, and that
+the final endless night of which we have heard had
+come upon the world.... It now grew somewhat
+light again; we felt sure that this was not the light of
+day, but a proof that fire was approaching us. Fire
+there was, but it stopped at a considerable distance
+from us; then came darkness again, and a thick, heavy
+fall of ashes. Again and again we stood up and
+shook them off; otherwise, we should have been
+covered by them, and even crushed by the weight.
+At last the black mist I had spoken of seemed to
+shade off into smoke or cloud, and broke away. Then
+came genuine daylight, and the sun shone out with a
+lurid light, such as it is wont to have in an eclipse. Our
+eyes, which had not yet recovered from the effects of
+fear, saw everything changed, everything covered deep
+with ashes as if with snow. We returned to Misenum,
+and after refreshing ourselves as best we could, spent
+a night of anxiety in mingled hope and fear. Fear,
+however, was still the stronger feeling; for the
+trembling of the earth continued, while many frenzied
+persons, with their terrific predictions, gave an exaggeration
+that was even ludicrous to the calamities
+of themselves and of their friends. Even then, in
+<pb n='76'/><anchor id='Pg076'/>spite of all the perils which we had experienced, and
+which we still expected, we had not a thought of
+going away till we could hear news of my uncle.</q><note place="foot">Pliny’s Letters. (<hi rend='italic'>Church’s and Brodribb’s Translation.</hi>)</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As to the fate of the Elder Pliny, it seems that
+the old man had been obliged together with his friends
+and servants to fly from the villa at Stabiae where he
+was resting. The sea being too agitated to allow
+of an embarkation, the fugitives turned their steps
+towards the slopes of Mons Gaurus, the present
+Monte Sant’ Angelo, with pillows bound over their
+heads to serve as protection against the showers of
+hot cinders that were falling thickly on all sides.
+At length the famous old writer, who was somewhat
+plethoric and unwieldy, sank exhausted to the ground,
+never to rise again, and shortly expired in an attack
+of heart failure, induced by the unusual excitement
+and fatigue he had lately been called upon to endure.
+At any rate, it appears fairly certain that the Elder
+Pliny did not perish, as is still sometimes asserted,
+by the direct effects of the eruption, but rather
+through an ordinary collapse of nature—syncope,
+perhaps. Three days later his body was found lying
+not far from Stabiae by his grief-stricken nephew,
+who describes his uncle’s corpse as looking <q>more
+like that of a sleeping than of a dead man.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+This then was the first, as it was also the most
+violent, of the many outbreaks of Vesuvius which
+our own age has witnessed, and with this eruption
+of 79 in the reign of Titus, the Mountain, as we
+have already said, greatly altered its shape. More
+than half the rim of the ancient crater that had enclosed
+Spartacus and his men less than two hundred
+<pb n='77'/><anchor id='Pg077'/>years before had been torn away and destroyed, its
+remaining portion on the landward side retaining the
+old name of Mons Summanus. Between this remnant
+of the old wall of the crater and the scene of wreckage
+on the southern face of the Mountain, there now
+appeared the great cleft, the horse-shoe shaped valley
+called the Atrio del Cavallo, which separates the two
+peaks of the whole summit. A fragment only of
+the original crater, known as the Pedimentina, still
+remains on the seaward side above Torre del Greco.
+From that terrible day, so vividly described by the
+Younger Pliny, to our own times, a period stretching
+over 1800 years, a vast number of eruptions, great
+and small, have been enumerated, for owing to the
+nearness of Vesuvius to one of the largest cities in
+Europe, every incident connected with its activity
+has been carefully noted, at least since the time of
+the Renaissance. Out of the many upheavals we
+propose to select the eruptions of 1631 and 1779,
+as being amongst the most significant.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ever since an outburst in the year 1500, the
+Mountain appears to have lapsed into a remarkable
+condition of quietude, even of apparent extinction,
+for over a century and a quarter, during which period,
+it may be remarked, the Sicilian volcano of Etna
+was unusually active. Once more the summit of
+Vesuvius was beginning to assume the form it had
+borne in the days previous to the overthrow of
+Pompeii; the riven crater was becoming filled with
+dense undergrowth and even with forest trees, amidst
+which wild boar made their lairs and were occasionally
+hunted. The learned Abate Giulio Braccini, whose
+account of the eruption of 1631 is the most graphic
+<pb n='78'/><anchor id='Pg078'/>and accurate we possess, explored the crater shortly
+before the outbreak of the volcano, but found little
+to suggest any idea of an approaching convulsion.
+He reckoned the deep depression occupying the crest
+of the mountain to be about five miles in circumference,
+and to take about a thousand paces of walking
+so as to reach the lowest point within its area. He
+remarked abundance of brushwood on its sides, and
+observed cattle grazing peacefully upon the open
+grassy patches in the midst of the over-grown space.
+A deep crack, however, ran from end to end of the
+whole crater, which allowed persons so minded to
+descend amidst rocks and boulders to a large plain
+below the surface, whereon Braccini found three pools
+of hot steamy water, of a saline and sulphureous
+taste. Such was the tranquil aspect of the Mountain
+as surveyed by the Abate Braccini in the first half
+of the seventeenth century; to men of science signs
+of latent energy were certainly not wanting, yet to
+the ignorant, careless peasants of the hill-side and the
+scarcely less ignorant dwellers of the towns on the
+seashore, the state of repose in which the Mountain
+had continued for four or five generations suggested
+no fears or suspicions. Tilling of vineyards, building
+of new houses, sinking of wells, went on apace as
+cheerfully as though an eruption were an impossibility,
+till certain unmistakable portents that occurred
+towards the close of the year 1631 roughly dissipated
+this spell of fancied security. Earthquakes,
+more or less severe, began at this time to be felt
+along the whole of the volcanic line stretching from
+Ischia to the eastern slopes of Vesuvius; the plain
+within the crater of the Mountain began to heave
+<pb n='79'/><anchor id='Pg079'/>and rise in an alarming fashion, and the water in all
+the local wells sank mysteriously below ground.
+The signs of some impending disaster coming from
+the heights above were too strongly marked to be
+lightly disregarded; the idea of a volcanic convulsion,
+though by this time a long-distant and vague memory,
+became so terrifying to the dwellers on the mountain’s
+flanks and in Torre del Greco, Resina and the various
+towns that line the seaward base of the Mountain,
+that the majority of the people removed themselves
+and their property with all speed to places of safety.
+Nevertheless, despite the warnings given by Nature
+and also by men of science and the royal officials,
+many remained behind in their houses, and in consequence
+perished, to the immense number, it is surmised,
+of 18,000. On the morning of Wednesday, December
+16th, the long threatened eruption burst forth in
+earnest upon an expectant world. Amidst crashes
+like prolonged volleys of artillery the people of
+Naples and the surrounding district beheld the terrible
+pine-tree of smoke and ashes, described centuries ago
+by Pliny, ascend from the south-western side of the
+summit of the Mountain, veiling the sky for miles
+around, and so charged with electricity, that many
+were even killed by the <hi rend='italic'>ferilli</hi>, or lightning flashes,
+that darted from the smoking mass. The spectacle
+of the ominous pine-tree was at once followed by a
+terrific rumbling and an ejection of lava, which after
+flowing down the southern flank in several streams
+finally reached the sea, making the waters hiss and
+boil at the moment of contact. Slowly but surely
+these relentless red-hot rivers of lava crept like
+serpents along the hill-side, destroying vineyard and
+<pb n='80'/><anchor id='Pg080'/>garden, cottage and chapel, on their downward path.
+Resina shared the fate of its ancient forerunner
+Herculaneum, whilst Torre del Greco and Portici
+suffered severely, as we can see to-day by noting
+the great masses of lava flung on to the strand at
+various points. To add to the universal confusion of
+Nature, the sea, which had now become extraordinarily
+tempestuous, probably owing to some submarine
+earthquake-shock, suddenly retreated half a mile
+from the coast, and then as suddenly returned in a
+tidal wave more than a hundred feet beyond its
+normal limits. Such were the main features of the
+second great eruption of Vesuvius, wherein the ashes
+ejected by the Mountain were wafted by the wind
+beyond the Adriatic, to the Greek islands and even to
+Constantinople itself.
+</p>
+<anchor id="illus06"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: VESUVIUS AND THE BAY OF NAPLES]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus06th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus06.jpg">VESUVIUS AND THE BAY OF NAPLES</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: VESUVIUS AND THE BAY OF NAPLES</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+From this date onward the Mountain became very
+active in contrast with its previous condition of
+lethargy, and throughout the whole of the eighteenth
+century there were frequent eruptions, many of them
+on a vast scale. All these outbursts have been carefully
+recorded and commented upon, for naturally the
+scientists of a great city like Naples were intensely
+interested in the passing phases of their own volcano.
+During the latter half of this century all the phenomena
+have been described for us by Sir William
+Hamilton, British ambassador at the Court of the
+Two Sicilies, the versatile diplomatist who eventually
+married the beautiful but frail Emma Hart. During
+his long period of residence in Naples, Sir William
+made no fewer than fifty-eight explorations of the
+crater alone, besides carefully studying every peculiarity
+visible upon the sides of the Mountain. He was,
+<pb n='81'/><anchor id='Pg081'/>of course, a close observer of the great eruptions of
+1766-7, and also of the still greater convulsion of
+1779, which, strangely enough, occurred on the
+seventeenth centenary of the awakening of the
+Mountain from its pre-historic slumbers. On this
+occasion, Hamilton, accompanied by a Mr Bowdler
+of Bath, had the temerity to track the streams of
+flowing lava to their hidden source by walking over
+the rough unyielding crust of stones and earth that
+had formed upon the surface of the molten stream,
+as it slowly trickled down hill at the rate of about a mile
+an hour. The adventurous pair of Englishmen were
+successful in their quest, and Sir William thus describes
+the fountain-head of the fiery streams that he found
+a quarter of a mile distant from the top of the cone.
+</p>
+<p>
+<q>The liquid and red-hot matter bubbled up
+violently, with a hissing and crackling noise, like that
+which attends the playing off of an artificial firework;
+and by the continued splashing up of the vitrified
+matter, a kind of arch, or dome, was formed over
+the crevice from whence the lava issued; it was
+cracked in many parts, and appeared red-hot within,
+like a heated oven. This hollowed hillock might be
+about fifteen feet high, and the lava that ran from
+under it was received into a regular channel, raised
+upon a sort of wall of scoriae and cinders, almost
+perpendicularly, of about a height of eight or ten feet,
+resembling much an ancient aqueduct.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Some days later, at midnight on August 7th, a
+veritable fountain of red fire shot up from the crest of
+Vesuvius, illuminating all the surrounding country;
+and on the following night a still more marvellous
+sheet of flame appeared, hanging like a fiery veil
+<pb n='82'/><anchor id='Pg082'/>between heaven and earth, and reaching to a height
+(so Sir William Hamilton guessed) of about 10,000
+feet above the summit, affording a wonderfully grand
+but terrible spectacle. This great curtain of fiery
+particles, accompanied by inky black clouds from
+which were darting continual flashes of lightning,
+was reflected clearly on the smooth surface of the
+Bay, delighting the Court and the scientific world of
+Naples, but inspiring, as may well be imagined, the
+mass of superstitious inhabitants with the direst alarm.
+The theatres were closed and the churches were
+opened; above the rumblings and explosions of the
+agonised volcano could be heard the tolling of the
+bells. Maddened by terror, the Neapolitan mob rushed
+to the Archbishop’s palace to demand the immediate
+production of the holy relics of St Januarius, the
+protector of the city, and on this request being
+refused, set fire to the entrance gates, a forcible
+argument that soon persuaded his Eminence of the
+propriety of the people’s demand. Thereupon the
+head of the Saint, enclosed in its case of solid silver,
+was accordingly borne in solemn procession with
+wailing and repentant crowds behind it to an improvised
+shrine, hung with garlands, on the Ponte
+della Maddalena, at the extreme eastern boundary
+of the city. Nor was the confidence reposed by the
+Neapolitans in their patron Saint misplaced, for
+except from the stifling smells and the dense rain
+of ashes, the terror-stricken capital suffered not a whit,
+whilst the general alarm inspired its inhabitants
+with a revival of religious fervour which was by no
+means insalutary. As usual, the old cynical proverb
+was once more justified:—<hi rend='italic'>Napoli fa gli peccati, e la
+<pb n='83'/><anchor id='Pg083'/>Torre gli paga</hi>, for of course poor Torre del Greco
+was grievously affected by the lava streams. In this
+case, however, even Torre del Greco and Resina
+did not fare so badly as did the towns on the
+northern slopes of Monte Somma, a district which is
+of course perfectly immune from lava inundations
+owing to the protecting rocky ridge of the Atrio del
+Cavallo. But it seems that the great veil of clouds
+and fire, extending some thousands of feet from the
+crest of the mountain to the heavens above, was
+swayed by a chance current of air, so that its component
+red-hot dust, ashes and stones were emptied
+in one fatal shower upon the northern flank of the
+Mountain. Whole villages were ruined, hundreds
+of acres of vines and crops were scorched and burned;
+the smiling peaceful hillside was in a few minutes
+converted into a parched wilderness. Ottajano, a
+large town of some 12,000 inhabitants, was the place
+most seriously injured by this wholly unexpected
+rain of destruction, for a tempestuous fall of red-hot
+stones, some of immense size, and a shower of ashes
+killed hundreds of the terrified and suffocating citizens,
+and blocked up the streets with smoking debris to a
+depth of four feet.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of the recent eruptions of Vesuvius, which have
+been pretty frequent during the latter half of last
+century, that of April 1872, so carefully recorded
+by Professor Palmieri, who in spite of imminent
+danger never abandoned his post in the Observatory,
+is the most notable. It is remembered also owing
+to the catastrophe whereby some twenty persons out
+of a large crowd of strangers, who had imprudently
+ascended to the Atrio del Cavallo to get a closer
+<pb n='84'/><anchor id='Pg084'/>view of the phenomenon, were suddenly caught by the
+lava stream and enfolded in its burning clutches.
+For if ignorance and superstition seem to make the
+poor fisherman or peasant unduly alarmed on such
+occasions, curiosity and self-confidence are sometimes
+apt to lead the educated or scientific into unnecessary
+peril. Naples itself was once more alarmed in 1872,
+so that the relics of St Januarius at the furious
+demand of the populace were again brought forth in
+solemn procession, and exposed towards the face
+of the Mountain on the Ponte della Maddalena.
+Thousands of quaking mortals gathered near this
+spot, joining in the chanting of the priests and
+watching with pallid anxious faces the fiery currents
+of lava slowly trickling down the south-western flank
+of Vesuvius towards the city itself. A certain number
+of attendants meanwhile were engaged in perpetually
+brushing away from the image of the Saint, from his
+improvised altar, and from its votive garlands the
+ever-accumulating mantle of grey dust, and it is
+scarcely to be wondered at that a certain cool-headed
+Neapolitan artist, Il Vaccaro, should all this time
+have been busily engaged in painting so characteristic
+and highly picturesque a scene. Within the churches,
+and particularly in St Januarius’ own cathedral,
+enormous crowds of hysterical men and women had
+collected, loudly bewailing their past sins and imploring
+the Divine mercy, for
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend="post: none">E belle son le supplice</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Pompe di penitenza, in alto lutto.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Again the historic <hi rend='italic'>palladium</hi> proved effectual, and
+the city, that was never for a moment in danger, was
+<pb n='85'/><anchor id='Pg085'/>once more saved! Naples received no damage
+beyond a temporary panic and a heavy fall of ashes,
+which covered every street and flat surface within the
+town to a depth of some inches and which it took
+many days of enforced labour to remove. Again
+it was the poor confiding vine-dressers and tillers of
+the Vesuvian soil who suffered in this upheaval, for
+though the loss of life was very slight indeed, yet
+numerous houses, fields and vineyards were totally
+destroyed and many more were injured. Truly it is
+a maxim well proven by time:—<hi rend='italic'>Napoli fa gli peccati,
+e Torre gli paga.</hi>
+</p>
+
+<milestone unit="tb"/>
+
+<p>
+Such, told baldly and briefly, is the history of the
+Mountain, which forms the most conspicuous feature
+of the Bay of Naples and dominates one of the
+fairest and most populous districts on the face of the
+globe. But it does not take long to make visitors
+to the Neapolitan shore understand the mysterious
+charm, not unmixed with awe, and the all-pervading
+influence of Vesuvius. Go where we will within the
+circuit of the Bay of Naples and even outside it, we
+are never out of sight of the obtruding Mountain
+and its smoky wreath. We begin to feel that the
+Mountain is an animated thing, that the destiny of
+the Parthenopean shore is locked up in the breast of
+the Demon who has his dwelling within its red-hot
+caverns. So sudden are the actions, and so capricious
+the moods of this Monster of the Burning Mountain,
+that no one can tell the day, or even the hour, wherein
+he will give us an exhibition of his fiery temper,
+though, it is true, in the case of violent eruptions he
+is kind enough to afford timely warning by means
+<pb n='86'/><anchor id='Pg086'/>of a succession of earthquakes and other signals
+almost equally alarming. His Majesty’s presence is
+felt everywhere; each morning as we open our
+window upon the dazzling waters of the Bay, we
+note with relief his tranquil aspect; each night, ere
+we retire to sleep, we find ourselves inevitably drawn
+to watch the glare thrown by the molten lava within
+the crater upon the thick vapour overhead. The
+nightly expectation of this aerial bonfire possesses
+an extraordinary fascination for the stranger. Some
+times the lurid glare is continuous; at other times
+there are long intervals of waiting, and even then the
+reflected light is very faint, a mere speck of reddish
+glow in the surrounding blackness, gone in the
+twinkling of an eye. But, strangely enough, one
+grows to understand the Mountain better from a
+distance and by watching its moods from afar, like
+the Neapolitans themselves, who never ascend to
+probe its mysteries, except a few vulgar guides and
+touts who batten on the curiosity of the foreigner.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On clear windless days the intermittent clouds of
+vapour sent up from the crater assume the most
+fantastic shapes—trees, ships, men, birds, animals—ever
+changing like the forms of Proteus. It would
+seem as if the Spirit of the Mountain were idly
+amusing himself, like a child blowing bubbles, or a
+vendor at a fair-stall carving out little figures of
+gingerbread to tickle the fancy of country boys and
+girls. The clouds so formed sometimes cause amusement
+by their uncanny shapes, but not unfrequently
+they inspire alarm. The superstitious peasant of the
+<hi rend='italic'>Paduli</hi>, looking up suddenly from his work amidst
+the early peas or tomatoes, beholds against the blue
+<pb n='87'/><anchor id='Pg087'/>sky a vague nebulous form that to his untutored mind
+suggests a gigantic crucifix upheld in mid-air above
+the Mountain, and he crosses himself devoutly ere he
+bends down to earth once more to his work in the
+rich dark soil. <q>Such stuff as dreams are made of</q>
+appear in truth the weird phantoms that the sly
+Demon of Vesuvius flings up into the pure aether,
+and if credulous mankind likes to draw inferences
+for good or bad from these unsubstantial creations
+of his fancy, he laughs to himself with a hollow
+reverberating sound. It must, however, have been
+in the true spirit of prophecy on the occasion of
+King Manfred’s birth, that the genius of the Mountain
+despatched two cloud-forms into the sky (so the
+unabashed old chroniclers gravely relate), one having
+the appearance of a warrior armed cap-à-pie, and the
+other that of a fully vested priest. The affrighted
+gazers below, struck with the strange phenomenon,
+beheld the two figures sway towards each other and
+finally become locked together in deadly aerial combat,
+until all resemblance to human shape had vanished
+from the pair. Then, after an interval of time, men
+perceived the cloudy mass once more assume a mortal
+shape, and a huge towering priest with flowing robes
+and tiara on head was left in solitary and victorious
+possession of the sky. The Churchman had swallowed
+up the soldier; the Pontiff had vanquished the King;
+it was a true premonition of the fatal field of
+Benevento, which saw the ultimate triumph of the
+Papal over the Imperial cause.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But if the near presence of the burning mountain
+has tended to make the inhabitants of its immediate
+zone the slaves of superstitious awe, the disasters of
+<pb n='88'/><anchor id='Pg088'/>generations have likewise imbued them with a spirit of
+fatalism, that appears even stronger than their outward
+show of credulity. Life is not so sweet nor so dear
+apparently to these children of the South, but that
+they can afford to take their chance of disturbance or
+death with a true philosophic calm. The fisher-folk
+and maccaroni workers of Resina, Portici and the two
+Torres have, it is true, little to lose; a small boat can
+at the last moment easily convey their families and
+slender stock of household furniture to a place of
+temporary safety, and when the danger is over-past,
+the same shallop can bring back the refugees and their
+belongings. But with the husbandmen the case is
+different. Not only has he to fear the actual stream
+of lava, which may or may not overwhelm his house
+and farm in its slow inevitable course, but there are
+also the showers of hot ashes and of scalding water
+that will frizzle up in a few seconds every green blade
+and leaf upon his tiny domain, for which he pays an
+enormous rental, sometimes as much as £12 sterling
+an acre. Yet the <hi rend='italic'>contadino</hi> takes his chances with a
+seraphic resignation that we do not usually attribute
+to the southern temperament. After the eruption of
+1872, which covered the rich <hi rend='italic'>Paduli</hi> with a deep
+coating of grey ashes, a young peasant girl was heard
+deploring the loss of her carefully tended gourds and
+melons; <q><hi rend='italic'>Oh come volimme fa? Addio, pummarole!
+addio, cucuzzielle!</hi></q> whereupon an older woman, witnessing
+these useless tears, upbraided her with the
+words: <q>Do not complain, child, lest worse befall you!</q>
+And indeed the whole population of the <hi rend='italic'>Paduli</hi>, instead
+of lamenting over their scorched and spoiled crops,
+were jubilant at the thought that the havoc done was
+<pb n='89'/><anchor id='Pg089'/>only partial, not irrevocable;—a few months of incessant
+labour, said they, would bring back the holdings
+to their former state of perfection. Yet a general
+opinion prevails among foreigners that the Neapolitans
+are lazy, thriftless and helpless! They indeed rely
+to a certain extent upon St Januarius to protect their
+crops from the efforts of Nature, over which, they
+argue, the Saint is more likely to possess control than
+his human applicants, but when once the fatal shower
+of ashes has fallen, they do not expect <q>San Gennaro</q>
+to set their injured acres to rights again, but with a
+rare patience turn to the task themselves. A more
+industrious, and at the same time a more capable and
+practical race of agriculturists than the tillers of the
+slopes of Vesuvius, it would be hard to match. And
+thus in the sunshine of the south, yet ever under the
+shadow of death and destruction, dwell many thousands
+of human beings, as unconcerned as though Vesuvius
+were miles and miles away. Not unconscious, but
+fully conscious of their doom, the victims of the
+Mountain toil and moil upon the fertile farms (in
+many cases risen phoenix-like from their own ashes)
+that grow the early beans and tomatoes, the egg-plants
+and the white fennel roots (<hi rend='italic'>finocchi</hi>) that well-fed
+travellers devour in the hotels of Naples. Or else
+they tend the vines that yield the generous <hi rend='italic'>Lagrima
+Christi</hi>, of which imprudent and heated visitors drink
+long draughts unmixed with water, and then complain
+of ensuing languor and pains beneath their waistcoats.
+Luscious, yet seductive wine! Counsellor of moderation
+after a first experience of excess! Essence of
+Vesuvius, whose strange name so puzzled the poet
+Chiabrera!
+</p>
+
+<pb n='90'/><anchor id='Pg090'/>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Chi fu de’ contadini il si indiscreto,</q></l>
+<l>Ch’ a sbigottir la gente</l>
+<l>Diede nome dolente</l>
+<l>Al vin’ che sovra gli altri il cuor fa lieto?</l>
+<l>Lagrima dunque appellerassi un riso</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Parte di nobilissima <anchor id="corr090"/><corr sic="quote mark missing">vendemmia?</corr></q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">Who was the jesting countryman, I cry,</q></l>
+<l>That gave so fearsome and so dour a name</l>
+<l>To that choice vintage, which of all think I</l>
+<l>Most warms the heart’s blood with its genial flame?</l>
+<l>Smiles, and not tears, the epithet should be</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Of juice wrung from so fair a vinery.</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+<p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+Scarcely had the above pages been written, than
+the Mountain, which had been drowsing for more than
+thirty years, suddenly awakened to give appalling evidence
+of its latent activity and powers of mischief.
+The eruption of April 1906 has, in fact, surpassed all
+previous outbursts within living memory, and it may
+probably be reckoned amongst the most violent of all
+hitherto recorded. Many of the details of this event
+doubtless remain fresh in the memory, and in any case
+the sad condition of numerous towns and villages, and
+of the beautiful Vesuvian districts, the <hi rend='italic'>paesi ridenti</hi> as
+the Neapolitans affectionately term these fertile lands,
+will serve for some years to come as a sinister and
+ever-present reminder of the horrors of the past and
+of the dread possibilities of the future. All vegetation
+for miles around the volcano has been injured or
+destroyed, for not only was the Mountain itself
+covered deep with grit and ashes, but the streets and
+gardens of Naples, the luxuriant plain of Sorrento, and
+even the heights of Capri, twenty miles distant across
+the Bay, were shrouded in a funereal mantle of the
+<pb n='91'/><anchor id='Pg091'/>greyish-yellow dust that Vesuvius had flung into the
+air to let fall like a shower of parching and destructive
+rain upon the earth. How vast was the amount of
+matter ejected from the crater and scattered in this
+form over the surrounding country, we may judge from
+the scientific calculation that 315,000 tons fell in
+Naples alone! Everywhere appeared the same scenes
+of desolation, the same dreary tint, for so thickly had
+this aerial torrent of ashes descended, that buildings,
+trees and plants were completely hidden by
+it, the whole landscape suggesting the idea of a
+recent heavy fall of dirty-coloured snow. <hi rend='italic'>Paesi
+ridenti</hi>, indeed! It was a land of ugliness and
+mourning, a city of stifling air and of human
+terror.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+A few days previous to the eruption, which began
+on April 5th, the island of Ustica, which lies some
+forty miles north of Palermo, had been visited by
+earthquake shocks of such violence that the Italian
+Government at last decided to remove the greater
+part of its population to the mainland, as well as the
+convicts attached to the penal settlements on the
+island. Scarcely had these manifestations ceased at
+Ustica, than Vesuvius began to show signs of
+increased activity; the supplies in the wells on the
+mountain sides began to fail, and there was observed
+a strong taste of sulphur in the drinking water;
+whilst—most dreaded phenomenon of all—the ever-active
+crater of Stromboli, that lies midway between
+Naples and Messina, suddenly lapsed into quiescence.
+We all know the subsequent story of the outbreak;
+of the thousands of fugitives flying into Naples or
+other places of refuge; of the utter destruction of
+<pb n='92'/><anchor id='Pg092'/>houses and cultivated lands;—the doleful scenes of a
+Vesuvian eruption have been enacted and described
+time after time in the history of the Mountain, and
+there is every reason to suppose they will be repeated
+at intervals for centuries to come. The marvel is
+how human beings can calmly settle down and pass
+their lives so close to the jaws of the fire-spouting
+monster, and why an intelligent Government permits
+its subjects to dwell in places which are ever exposed
+to catastrophes such as that which we have just
+witnessed. Well, it is the natural temperament of
+the Vesuviani to be fatalistic, despite their religious
+fervour; and acts of legislature cannot force them to
+abandon their old deep-rooted notions; all that the
+Italian Government can do therefore is to stand ready
+prepared to help, when the upheaval <hi rend='italic'>does</hi> occur, as it
+inevitably must.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is always a matter of speculation on these
+occasions as to what course the ejected lava will
+pursue; whose turn, of the many settlements on the
+southern slopes of the Mountain, will it be to suffer?
+This time it was Bosco-Trecase, a village above Torre
+Annunziata, that was devastated by the sinuous
+masses of incandescent matter, high as a house and
+broad as a river. Torre Annunziata itself, as also
+ruined Pompeii were threatened, but the red-hot
+streams of destruction mercifully stopped short of
+their expected prey. The story of horrors and panic
+in the overthrow of Bosco-Trecase is happily relieved
+by many a recorded incident of valour and unselfishness.
+The royal <hi rend='italic'>Carabinieri</hi>, that splendid body of
+mounted police, who in their cocked hats and voluminous
+cloaks appear as ornamental in times of quiet as
+<pb n='93'/><anchor id='Pg093'/>they prove themselves useful in the stormy hours of
+peril, acquitted themselves, as usual, like heroes. It
+was they who guided away the trembling peasants
+before the advance of the lava, searching the doomed
+houses for sick and crippled, whom they carried on
+their shoulders to places of security. Working, too,
+with almost equal zeal and practical good sense were
+the Italian soldiers, who richly deserved the praise
+that their royal commander, the Duke of Aosta,
+subsequently bestowed upon them for their invaluable
+services rendered during these fearful days of darkness
+and danger. <q>Soldiers!</q> declared the Duke, in his
+address to the troops on April 23rd, <q>I have seen
+you calm and happy in the work of alleviating the
+misfortunes of others, and I put on record the praise
+you have won. By promptly appearing at the places
+distressed by the eruption, you have encouraged the
+people by your presence and your example; you
+have maintained order and have safe-guarded property.
+Helping the local authorities, and even in some
+instances filling their offices, you have carried out the
+most urgent and dangerous duties in order to save
+the houses and to keep clear the roads. In the
+spots most heavily afflicted you have lent your
+assistance in removing and caring for the injured,
+and in searching for and burying the dead you have
+given proofs of great self-sacrifice and reverence
+(<hi rend='italic'>pietà</hi>). Not a few of the refugees have obtained
+food and shelter in your barracks, and whole communities
+without means of existence have been
+provided by you with the necessaries of life. Everywhere
+and from all your conduct has gained you
+loud applause. Nevertheless, your task is not yet
+<pb n='94'/><anchor id='Pg094'/>ended; continue at it out of love for your country
+and devotion to your King!</q><note place="foot"><hi rend='italic'>La Nazione</hi>, April 24, 1906.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With such a reputation for kindness of heart and
+energy in time of need, no wonder that the Army is
+popular with all classes in Italy!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nor did the King and Queen hold aloof from the
+scene of disaster, for they hurried from Rome at
+midnight of that terrible Palm Sunday on purpose
+to comfort the terror-stricken population. Victor-Emmanuel
+even penetrated in his motor-car as far as
+Torre Annunziata, in spite of the fumes of sulphur
+and the many difficulties in proceeding along roads
+clogged deep with volcanic dust and ashes. On
+another occasion the King and Queen paid a visit to
+the afflicted district of the slopes of Monte Somma,
+where Ottajano and San Giuseppe had been almost
+buried by the continuous falling of burning material
+from the crater. In fact, these localities suffered
+even more severely than the towns on the seaward
+face of the Mountain (Bosco-Trecase excepted), and
+at Ottajano hardly a house in the place remained
+intact at the close of the eruption, whilst the loss of
+human life was probably higher here than elsewhere.
+The Duke and Duchess of Aosta—he the king’s
+cousin, and she the popular Princess Hélène, daughter
+of the late Comte de Paris—were likewise indefatigable
+in their efforts to assist and reassure the
+demoralized population, and to make every possible
+arrangement for the feeding and housing of the
+numberless refugees and the tending of the injured in
+the hospitals of Naples. Equally valorous was the
+conduct of the great scientist, Professor Matteucci,
+<pb n='95'/><anchor id='Pg095'/>who remained together with a few Carabinieri throughout
+all phases of the eruption at the Vesuvian
+Observatory, although in imminent peril of death
+amidst a deadly atmosphere of heat and sulphureous
+fumes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was on April 5th that the streams of burning
+lava first burst from the riven crater and made their
+way down the south-eastern slopes, destroying Bosco-Trecase
+and reaching to the very suburbs of Torre
+Annunziata. Pompeii itself was imperilled, and it is
+always well to remember that during an eruption this
+precious relic of antiquity may possibly be lost to the
+world. Meanwhile the rain of ashes and mud—formed
+by dust and hot water commingling—fell incessantly;
+150,000 inhabitants of the Vesuvian districts fled in
+precipitate flight towards Naples, towards the shore,
+towards the hill country beyond the Sarno. It was
+truly a marvellous spectacle to observe the relentless
+stream of burning lava crushing irresistibly every
+opposing object in its fatal path. Onlookers at a
+distance could perceive the walls of houses bulging
+outward under pressure of the moving mass, until the
+roof collapsed in an avalanche of tiles upon the ground,
+whilst with a final crash the whole structure—cottage,
+farm, church or stately villa—succumbed to the
+overwhelming weight.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Many are the tales of courage and intrepidity; not
+a few, alas! are the stories of folly and cowardice that
+are related in connection with the eruption. It cannot
+be said that the population of Naples, where everybody
+was perfectly safe even if the atmosphere was
+unpleasant and the distant thunders of the Mountain
+reverberated alarmingly, comported itself with dignity
+<pb n='96'/><anchor id='Pg096'/>or calm; and this criticism applies in particular to
+the hundreds of visitors—English, German, American
+and other <hi rend='italic'>forestieri</hi>—who besieged the railway station
+in frantic and indecent anxiety to remove themselves
+with all speed from the city. Some excuse might
+perhaps be found for the hysterical terror of the poor
+inhabitants of the Mergellina or the Mercato, who
+spent their time in wailing within the churches or in
+screaming for the public exhibition of the venerated
+relics of their patron Saint, which again on this occasion
+the Archbishop, <hi rend='italic'>nolens volens</hi>, was compelled by
+the mob to produce. But for the great mass of
+educated foreigners then filling the hotels and pensions
+of the place, it cannot be said that their conduct was
+edifying, particularly in face of the example set by the
+King and Queen of Italy. To add to the general
+panic prevailing in the city, the Neapolitans themselves
+were not unnaturally greatly exasperated by the
+serious accident which took place at the Central
+Market Hall near Monte Oliveto in the heart of the
+old town. Here, early one morning during the course
+of the eruption, the great roof of corrugated iron
+collapsed, killing many and frightening the whole of
+the populace, already sufficiently unnerved by recent
+events. That this catastrophe was due to the casual
+methods, amounting in this case to criminal neglect of
+plain duty, of the municipal authorities, who had
+neglected to sweep the accumulation of heavy volcanic
+ash from off the thin metal roof, none can deny; and
+this glaring example of public stupidity had of course
+a bad effect on the demoralized multitude, which
+threatened to grow unruly, as well as terrified. No,
+the graceless stampede of educated foreigners to the
+<pb n='97'/><anchor id='Pg097'/>railway-station, the incompetence of the Municipality,
+and the behaviour of the Neapolitan crowd do not
+appear very creditable to the supposed enlightenment
+of the twentieth century. It had been confidently
+predicted that nearly fifty years of State education
+and liberal government would work wonders in dispelling
+the crass ignorance and the deep-seated
+superstition of the dwellers on the Bay of Naples.
+Yet, so far as can be judged from recent events,
+matters seem to have changed but little on these
+shores, for the mass of the population evidently preferred
+to pin its hope of safety to the miracle-working
+relics of San Gennaro, rather than to the reassuring
+messages of Professor Matteucci, sent from his post
+of undoubted peril on the mountain-side.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If the inhabitants of a great city, which was never
+seriously threatened with danger, should have acted
+thus, there is undoubtedly much excuse to be found
+for the Vesuviani themselves, whose houses and lives
+were certainly in danger from the devastating streams
+of lava. It was with a sigh and a smile that we
+learned how the good people of Portici attributed
+their escape from the fate of Bosco-Trecase to the
+direct interposition of a wonder-working Madonna enshrined
+in one of their own churches. For some days
+the town had been threatened, so that many were
+convinced of its impending doom, when happily at
+the last moment the expected fate was averted, as
+though by a miracle. And miracle it truly was in
+the eyes of the people of Portici, when it was observed
+that the snow-white hands of their popular
+Madonna had turned black in some mysterious manner
+during the night hours. What could be a simpler
+<pb n='98'/><anchor id='Pg098'/>or easier deduction from this circumstance, than that
+Our Lady’s Effigy, taking pity on its affrighted
+suppliants, had with its own hands pushed back the
+advancing mass of lava, and thus saved the town!
+Great was the joy, and equally great the gratitude,
+displayed by these poor souls at Portici, who at once
+organised a triumphal procession in honour of their
+prescient patroness <q>delle mani nere.</q> Does not such
+an incident, we ask, lend a touch of picturesque
+medievalism to a modern scene of horror and darkness,
+exhibiting to us, as it does, the traits of a simple
+touching faith and of genuine human thankfulness?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Well, the great eruption of 1906 is over, and the
+inhabitants of the Vesuvian communes are once more
+settling down in their ruined homes, or their damaged
+farms and gardens. No doubt a new Bosco-Trecase
+will arise on the shapeless ruins of the old site, for fear
+of danger seems powerless to deter the outcast population
+from reoccupying its old haunts. Ottajano will
+be rebuilt, not for the first time, and its citizens will
+again trust to luck—and to St Januarius—for protection
+from the evil fate which has repeatedly
+overtaken their town. The two Torres, Resina,
+Portici, and the villages along the shore, have this
+time contrived to escape the lava streams, and
+though their buildings have been severely shaken, and
+even wrecked in many instances, the people will
+doubtless mend the cracks in their walls and place
+fresh tiles on the injured roofs. They are wise in
+their own generation, for the Mountain is not likely to
+burst forth again for another quarter of a century at
+least after so violent a fit, <hi rend='italic'>salvo complicazioni</hi>, of course,
+as the more cautious Italians themselves say. But
+<pb n='99'/><anchor id='Pg099'/>another outburst is inevitable; and whose turn to
+suffer will it be then? Will it be Portici, or either of
+the Torres? Who knows?—and what dweller under
+Vesuvius to-day cares at this moment? <q>Under
+Vesuvius,</q> but it is a new Vesuvius, for the tall cone
+which was so conspicuous a feature of the Bay of
+Naples has disappeared completely, and the summit
+of the volcano has been once more reduced to the
+level of Monte Somma. How many years, we
+wonder, will be required for the Mountain to raise for
+itself once more the tall pyre of ashes that it has
+itself demolished and flung on all sides to the winds?
+At any rate let us now look for a period of rest, a
+period of prosperity to recoup the disturbed denizens
+of these <hi rend='italic'>paesi già ridenti</hi> for their heavy losses and
+terrible experiences. <hi rend='italic'>Speriamo.</hi>
+</p>
+
+</div><div n="5" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='100'/><anchor id='Pg100'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="5: The Corniche Road from Castellamare to Amalfi"/>
+<head>CHAPTER V</head>
+
+<head type="sub">THE CORNICHE ROAD FROM CASTELLAMARE TO AMALFI</head>
+
+<p>
+It is without any feelings of regret that we learn
+of the non-existence of a railway line beyond
+Castellamare, so that our journey to Amalfi along the
+coast must be performed in the good old-fashioned
+manner of long-past <hi rend='italic'>vetturino</hi> days. Three skinny
+horses harnessed abreast are standing ready at the
+hotel door to draw our travelling chariot, each member
+of the team gorgeously decked with plumes of
+pheasant feathers in his head-gear and with many-coloured
+trappings, whilst on the harness itself appears
+in more than one place the little brazen hand, which is
+supposed to ensure the steed’s safety from the dangers
+of any chance <hi rend='italic'>jettatore</hi>, the unlucky wight endowed
+with the Evil Eye. Nor is the swarthy picturesque
+ruffian who acts as our driver unprovided with a
+talisman in case of emergency, for we observe hanging
+from his heavy silver watch-chain the long twisted
+horn of pink coral, which is popularly supposed to
+catch the first baleful glance, and to act on the
+principle of a lightning-conductor, in deflecting the
+approaching danger from the prudent wearer of the
+coral trinket. Merrily to the sound of jingling bells
+and the deep-chested exhortations of our coachman do
+<pb n='101'/><anchor id='Pg101'/>we bowl along the excellent road in the freshness of
+the morning air and light <q>through varying scenes of
+beauty ever led,</q> for the Corniche road towards Amalfi
+is admitted to be one of the finest in the world.
+Following the serpentine curves above the cliffs, we
+have on our right hand the dazzling Mediterranean
+with classic capes and islands all flushed in the early
+sunshine, whilst above us on the left rise the steep
+fertile slopes of the Lactarian Hills. Convent and
+villa, cottage and farmhouse, peep out of embowering
+verdure, whilst our road is shaded in many
+places by the overhanging boughs of blossoming
+almond and loquat trees. The whole region is in
+truth a veritable garden of the Hesperides, where in
+the mild equable climate fruit and flowers ripen and
+bloom without a break throughout the rolling year.
+</p><anchor id="illus07"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: POZZANO]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus07th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus07.jpg">POZZANO</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: POZZANO</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Tall thriving trees confess’d the fruitful mould;</q></l>
+<l>The verdant apple ripens here to gold;</l>
+<l>Here the blue fig with luscious juice o’erflows,</l>
+<l>With deepest red the full pomegranate glows,</l>
+<l>The branches bend beneath the weighty pear,</l>
+<l>And silver olives flourish all the year;</l>
+<l>The balmy spirit of the western gale</l>
+<l>Eternal breathes on fruits untaught to fail.</l>
+<l>Each dropping pear another pear supplies,</l>
+<l>On apples apples, figs on figs arise;</l>
+<l>The same mild season gives the blooms to blow,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+A lovely and a fertile scene it is indeed, and
+thoroughly typical of the peculiar charm of Southern
+Italy, wherein the rich well-tilled lands appear in
+striking contrast with the near-lying stony fallows and
+scrub-covered wastes.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Beneath the picturesque pile of Santa Maria a
+<pb n='102'/><anchor id='Pg102'/>Pozzano, perched aloft above the roadway, we pass
+along the edge of the sea-girt precipice, rounding the
+Capo d’Orlando, until we reach the pretty little town
+of Vico Equense, with its churches and gay-coloured
+villas nestling amidst groves of olive and orange trees.
+Vico owes its prosperity in the first instance to the
+patronage of <q>Carlo il Zoppo,</q> Charles the Dwarf,
+the lame son and heir of King Charles of Anjou, who
+founded a settlement and built a villa upon the site of
+the ancient Roman colony; and it was in the old
+royal demesne of the Angevins that the hand of
+the deformed king’s daughter, the Princess Clementia,
+was demanded formally in marriage by the French
+monarch, Philip the Bold, who sought to marry her to
+his third son, Charles of Valois. The match between
+the young prince of France and his cousin, the
+Neapolitan princess, appeared suitable to all concerned
+in every respect save one; for it was well known that
+the King of Naples had been lame from his birth, and
+it could never be deemed fit for the expected heir of
+France to marry any but a perfectly sound and
+healthy bride. Now the Queen of Naples was too
+proud to accede to the hints of the French ladies, who
+evidently were most anxious to acquaint themselves
+with the satisfactory condition of her daughter’s
+<q>walking members,</q> though she went so far as to
+allow the maiden to appear before them clad only in
+a flowing robe of gossamer silk. The possible danger
+of losing her opportunity to become Queen of France
+proved, however, beyond the ambitious young lady’s
+powers of endurance, and to the horror of her haughty
+mother and the delight of the foreign emissaries, the
+Princess Clementia then and there doffed her silken
+<pb n='103'/><anchor id='Pg103'/>robes and appeared before all in the historic garb of
+Lady Godiva. A glance at the princess’s form <hi rend='italic'>in
+puris naturalibus</hi> sufficed to convince the inquisitive
+Frenchwomen that no hereditary taint from Il Zoppo
+descended to his daughter; and accordingly the
+betrothal of the two young people was celebrated that
+very evening amidst the usual revels and feastings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The clean cheerful town on the sheer limestone
+crags boasts a cathedral, wherein, so the guide-book
+informs us, we shall find the tomb of Filangieri, the
+great Italian jurist. But the building contains in
+reality far more stirring associations than those connected
+with a prominent lawyer. It is but a rococo
+structure of the usual Italian type, and its painted
+series of portraits of past bishops is by no means an
+uncommon complement of cathedral churches in the
+South. But here, amidst the long rows of indifferent
+portraits, we note an omission, a space that is occupied,
+not by a likeness but by a medallion, which
+represents a cherub with the forefinger of his right
+hand laid as a seal of silence upon the lips. Here-by
+indeed hangs a tale, obscure perhaps, but pathetic
+and human to the last degree. We all remember the
+broad frieze filled with Doges’ faces which is carried
+round the great hall of the ducal palace in Venice,
+wherein the place assigned to the traitor, Marino
+Faliero, contains a black veil instead of the usual
+portrait. Here in little Vico Equense is to be found
+a somewhat similar incident, but with this important
+difference:—the bishop whose portrait is here omitted
+was the most worthy of remembrance of all his peers.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The crime of Monsignore Michele Natale, Bishop
+of Vico Equense, to which the silent cherub bears
+<pb n='104'/><anchor id='Pg104'/>everlasting witness, was that of being a patriot and
+a Liberal (in the truest sense of that term) during
+the anxious times of the ill-fated Parthenopean
+Republic, that short-lived period of aristocratic government
+which was set up in self-defence by certain
+Neapolitan nobles, prelates and men of science after
+the abrupt departure of their cowardly King and
+Queen to Palermo. We all remember the terrible
+ending of that government: how the vile rabble-army
+of Cardinal Ruffo assaulted Naples; how the
+city capitulated to the Cardinal on the express condition
+that all life and property should be spared;
+and how Lord Nelson, refusing to recognise the terms
+that Ruffo himself had agreed to, and overruling the
+Cardinal’s protests, treated the unhappy prisoners.
+The Bishop of Vico Equense was one of this band
+of martyrs, for he suffered death under circumstances
+of exceptional brutality on the morning of August
+20th 1799, in the piazza in front of the church of
+the Carmine, together with two Neapolitans of noble
+rank, Giuliano Colonna and Gennaro Serra, and with
+the poetess, Eleonora Pimentel, a Portuguese by
+birth but the widow of a Neapolitan officer. All
+went nobly to their doom amidst the execrations of
+the demoralised bloodthirsty mob of <hi rend='italic'>lazzaroni</hi>, yelling
+at and insulting the <q>Jacobins,</q> and kept back with
+no little difficulty by the royal troops from mutilating
+the corpses of women, bishops and princes.
+Monsignore Natale himself was hanged, and in his
+case the public executioner—<q>Masto Donato</q> as he
+was nick-named by the populace—gave vent to
+many pleasantries concerning the episcopal rank of
+his victim. Blindfolded and with the cord of infamy
+<pb n='105'/><anchor id='Pg105'/>depending from his neck, the Bishop was led up to the
+fatal ladder amid deafening shouts of
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Viva la forca e Masto Donato;</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Sant’ Antonio sia priato!</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+On reaching the top of the gallows, the hangman
+made fast the rope to the cross-tree, and then an
+assistant (<hi rend='italic'>tirapiede</hi>) from below adroitly pushed the
+unseeing prisoner into space, catching on to his legs
+meanwhile, whilst <q>Masto Donato</q> himself adroitly
+leaped from the gallows-top upon the prelate’s
+shoulder. With the hangman on his back, shouting
+aloud how much he was enjoying his ride upon a
+real bishop, and with the other ruffian clinging to his
+heels, Monsignore Natale swayed backwards and forwards
+amidst yells of execration and gratified hate
+on that hot August morning in front of the Church
+of the Carmine little more than one hundred years
+ago. His body was left on the gallows to be insulted
+by the mob throughout the long sweltering day, and
+then, stripped of all its clothing, was finally flung
+with other corpses of noble men and women into a
+charnel-house at Sant’ Alessio al Lavinaio. Who it
+was that placed this quaint little memorial to the
+murdered prelate in his cathedral church we know
+not; but here the speechless yet eloquent cherub
+tells Natale’s sad story of brutality and injustice to
+all who care to listen. Happily the spell of silence
+is at length broken, and the true history of that
+hateful era of crime, cruelty, lying, and intrigue is
+gradually being revealed; and the enemies of the
+Church in Italy learn with an astonishment, which
+is perhaps feigned, that in that glorious army of
+<pb n='106'/><anchor id='Pg106'/>martyrs of 1799 more than one ecclesiastic of high
+rank suffered in the ill-starred and premature cause of
+Neapolitan liberty.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Crossing the little river Arco, we proceed uphill
+through the region of vines and olives, until we have
+passed the Punta di Scutolo, where begins our
+descent into that famous tract of country, the Piano
+di Sorrento, a plateau above the cliffs, some four miles
+in length by one in breadth. Poets of antiquity and
+bards of the Middle Ages alike have sung the
+delights of the Sorrentine Plain, and have painted
+in glowing colours of inspired verse its race of happy
+peasants, its fruitful fields and orchards, its luscious
+vines, its excellent flocks. Galen, the cunning old
+physician, recommended to his nervous patients what
+would now be termed a <q>rest cure</q> in these favoured
+regions; whilst the grateful Bernardo Tasso, father of
+the immortal Torquato, speaks of the capital of this
+district as <q>l’Albergo della Cortesia,</q> and in an
+ecstasy of delighted appreciation, goes on to add:
+<q>l’aere e si sereno, si temperato, si salutifero, si vitale,
+che gli uomini che senza provar altero cielo ci vivono
+sono quasi immortali.</q> And though praise from
+Torquato’s courtly sire must not be taken too
+seriously, yet few will deny that the beautiful plain
+deserves many of the eulogies that have been
+showered upon it. At the small town of Meta, the
+next place of importance after Sorrento itself, the road
+divides at the Church of the Madonna of the Laurel:
+our way to Amalfi leading southward over the opposing
+ridge—the <q>Sorrentini Colles</q> of Ovid—whilst
+the other traverses the length of the plain by way of
+Pozzopiano and Sant’ Agnello, until it reaches Sorrento.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='107'/><anchor id='Pg107'/>
+
+<p>
+One prominent feature of this district has already
+attracted our attention; the number of deep ravines
+with which the whole plain is intersected. These
+natural clefts are marvellously lovely in their rich
+luxuriance of foliage, and with their precipitous sides
+and verdure-clad depths will recall the wonderful
+<hi rend='italic'>latomiè</hi>, the ancient stone-quarries of Syracuse. Their
+depths are filled with orange and lemon trees, mingled
+with sable spires of cypress and the tall forms of bays,
+which here bear jet-black berries, such as are rarely seen
+in our northern clime; whilst the edges of the cliffs
+are clothed with a serried mass of wild flowers; red
+valerian, crimson snap-dragon, tall blue campanulas,
+the dark green wild fennel, white-blossoming cistus,
+and a hundred other plants, gay with colour and
+strong with aromatic perfume.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">The quarry’s edge is lined with many a plant,</q></l>
+<l>With many a flower distilling fragrant dew</l>
+<l>From brightly coloured petals. Almond trees</l>
+<l>Give snowy promise of sweet leaves and fruit;</l>
+<l>Here all the scented tangle of the South</l>
+<l>Covers the boulders, calcined by the sun</l>
+<l>To pearly whiteness; thorn or asphodel</l>
+<l>Sprout from each cranny of the topmost ledge</l>
+<l>To nod against the deep blue sky, or peer</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Into the verdure-clad abyss below.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+It is not surprising to learn that these romantic glens,
+filled with greenery, are reputed locally to be the haunts
+of fairies, <hi rend='italic'>Monacelli</hi>, as the Sorrentine inhabitants
+name them. Like the <q>good folk</q> of certain country
+districts in England, the pixies of Devonshire, and the
+<q>Tylwyth Teg</q> of rural Wales, these elfin people of
+the ravines are not malicious or unkindly in their nature,
+but they are particular and somewhat exacting in
+<pb n='108'/><anchor id='Pg108'/>certain matters. They appreciate the attentions of
+mortal men, and offerings of fresh milk or choice
+fruit are not beneath the notice of the Monacelli.
+Borrowing the idea from the votive offerings they
+make in the churches to the Virgin and the Saints,
+the peasants sometimes place little lamps in the fern-draped
+grottoes of these gullies, and to such as
+punctually perform these acts of courtesy, the
+Monacelli frequently show signs of favour. The
+<hi rend='italic'>padrone</hi> of a local inn has assured us that he and
+his wife stood very high in the good graces of the
+little people, who had on one occasion actually
+written them a letter, although as the characters
+employed were unknown to any person in the
+village, the object of their communication by this
+means seems somewhat of a mystery. Another and
+a more practical instance of their patronage was
+then related, for the favoured landlord assured us
+that on one occasion, when he and his wife descended
+downstairs in the morning, they found the house
+cleared, the hearth ready swept, and all the contents
+of last night’s supper-table relaid on the brick floor,
+but <hi rend='italic'>d’un modo squisito</hi>, such as no human hand could
+ever have been deft enough to contrive. Just a simple
+innocent trifle of Sorrentine folk-lore, but how closely
+does it resemble the old-time gossip of rustic England,
+of which the great poet has left us so charming
+a picture!—
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Tells how the drudging Goblin sweat</q></l>
+<l>To earn his cream-bowl duly set,</l>
+<l>When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,</l>
+<l>His shadowy flail hath threshed the corn</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">That ten day labourers could not end.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<pb n='109'/><anchor id='Pg109'/>
+
+<p>
+For, as we have already said, the Monacelli show
+themselves grateful to those who anticipate their
+wants, and will serve their votaries with industry
+and fidelity. <hi rend='italic'>Fuore avra il Monacello in casa</hi>—perhaps
+he has had the Fairy in the house—has
+passed into a local phrase to designate a neighbour’s
+unexplained prosperity. But, again, the lucky recipient
+of these favours must never blab or even hint
+at the origin of his good fortune, for all gossip is
+highly distasteful to the fairy folk; and that, we
+suppose, is the true reason why so little authentic
+information can be gleaned as to the methods of
+the Monacelli.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In direct contrast with the Monacelli of the ravines,
+who are, on the whole, well inclined towards mortals,
+are the Maghe, first cousins evidently to the terrible
+<hi rend='italic'>ginns</hi> of Arabian folk-lore; perhaps the Saracenic
+pirates themselves may have introduced their oriental
+sprites to the Neapolitan shores. In the popular mind
+the Maghe are supposed to possess vast treasures
+hidden in caves by the seashore, or on the bleak
+mountain side, and it was doubtless concerning these
+spirits that the guide’s tale, given in a previous chapter,
+relates. The most celebrated Maga of all is the demon
+who haunts a certain underground corridor near
+Pozzuoli, containing an immense hoard of gold and
+jewels, which he is willing to present to anybody
+that is ready to give in exchange a new-born baby,
+presumably for purposes of devouring. Nor was the
+general belief in the cave-dwelling monster at Pozzuoli
+limited to the poor peasants and fisher-folk, for rumour
+persistently asserted that King Francis of Naples,
+father of Bomba of impious memory, more than once
+<pb n='110'/><anchor id='Pg110'/>attempted to negotiate with the guardian of this
+buried treasure; but the Maga’s terms, it seems,
+were too bloodthirsty and extravagant even for a
+Neapolitan Bourbon to comply with, and in that
+case they must indeed have been pretty startling.
+Malignant fairies are, in short, quite common upon
+the Sorrentine plain, where exasperated mothers are
+sometimes in the habit of frightening their squalling
+children into silence by threatening to introduce them
+to <hi rend='italic'>Mammone</hi>—perhaps a corruption of the old Greek
+word <hi rend='italic'>mormo</hi>—a terrible ghost, that must be a near
+relation to the <q>Big Black Man</q> of English nurseries,
+who is ever ready to carry off naughty boys and girls
+in his sack.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the whole of the Sorrentine Peninsula is full of
+local superstitions, the vast majority of which can easily
+be traced to the influence of Catholicism, whilst comparatively
+few seem to be the legacy of ancient Greek
+or Roman mythology. Belief in witchcraft is universal
+in these parts, but the witch herself (<hi rend='italic'>strega</hi>) is regarded
+somewhat in the light of a beneficent <q>wise woman,</q>
+who can arrest the far more dreaded spell of the Evil
+Eye, rather than as the malevolent old hag of bucolic
+England in the past. Certainly there has never been
+recorded in Southern Italy any such popular persecution
+of poor harmless old crones as once disgraced
+English countrysides; nor has any Italian jurist, like
+the erudite Sir Matthew Hale, ever condescended to
+supply legal information concerning the peculiarities
+of witches, and the best methods of prosecuting and
+burning them. But the <hi rend='italic'>strega</hi>, though not as a rule
+dangerous to mankind, provided she be not disturbed
+or insulted, has the same supernatural power of transit
+<pb n='111'/><anchor id='Pg111'/>on a broomstick that is possessed by her northern
+sister. On many a dark night have the peasants
+crossed themselves with fear on hearing the witches
+flying through the storm-vexed air to keep their unholy
+tryst beside the famous walnut tree of Benevento, which
+has been described for us by the learned Pietro Piperno
+in his mysterious treatise, entitled <hi rend='italic'>De Nuce Beneventana</hi>.
+Even snatches of the witches’ song can sometimes be
+distinguished above the howling of the gale—
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Sott’ aero e sopra vento,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Sotto la Nuce di Benevento!</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Perhaps it may afford some consolation to those
+who have a dread of witches that the word <q>Sabato,</q>
+solemnly pronounced on these awful occasions, is of
+real service to the utterer; whilst such as have had
+the good fortune to be born on a Friday in March are
+permanently placed outside the evil power of their
+spells, since our Saviour was crucified on a Friday in
+that month.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But at length we have finished the ascent of
+the ridge, and our driver halts for a moment at
+the inn of the <q>Due Golfi.</q> A smiling damsel,
+dressed in the picturesque native costume, advances to
+offer us the national drink of Italy, sweet vermouth
+that is frothed up with a little fizzing water in a narrow
+tumbler; and though carriage exercise is not liable to
+produce thirst, yet we cannot be so churlish as to
+refuse the draught, especially as the delay allows us to
+take our farewell look at the Bay of Naples. For here
+we have reached the peak of the rocky saddle that
+divides the two famous gulfs; and before us we now
+behold the wide crescent of the Bay of Salerno with
+its sunburnt vineyards and its precipitous cliffs. To
+<pb n='112'/><anchor id='Pg112'/>our right we perceive the craggy headlands stretching
+southward till they culminate in the Cape of Minerva:—how
+much more attractive sounds the good old classical
+name than the new-fangled Punta della Campanella,
+so called from the alarm bell which used to be tolled
+in the ruined fortress at the approach of the Moslem
+pirate galleys! Vastly different is the aspect on this
+side of the peninsula to that which we have just left
+behind us. There is the plain below us, thickly dotted
+with farms and villas set amidst crops and orchards, a
+fertile scene of industry and population; here on the
+Salerno side are wild stony tracts affording only pasturage
+for a few sheep and goats, and covered for
+miles with broom, cytizus, coronella, myrtle, and numberless
+fragrant weeds, all struggling fiercely for existence
+on the dry barren soil, and filling the clear air
+with an incense-like perfume. Such is our first acquaintance
+with the Costiera d’Amalfi, that wonderful
+stretch of indented rocky coast-line once containing
+the Republic of Amalfi, which was the forerunner of
+the glorious Commonwealths of Florence and Venice.
+From the grey cliffs of Capri to the west, as far as the
+headland beside Salerno, stretched this diminutive
+state, composed of a confederacy of sister-cities, whereof
+Amalfi herself was the queen and metropolis. Its
+glories have long vanished, but the Costiera d’Amalfi
+remains an enchanted land, not only on account of its
+natural beauties, but also by reason of its historical
+associations which give an additional charm to every
+breezy headland and every little town upon this
+wonderful shore.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Below us, as we rapidly descend the slopes by the
+curves of the Corniche road, lies the little beach known
+<pb n='113'/><anchor id='Pg113'/>as Lo Scaricotojo, whence in the days previous to the
+construction of this splendid highway all visitors were
+wont to embark for Amalfi;—that is, unless they
+attempted the expedition by way of the mountain
+roads leading thither from Castellamare or La Cava.
+It raises a smile in these days of swift and luxurious
+travelling to learn from an early Victorian guide-book
+that <q>the most elegible mode of going from Sorrento
+to Amalfi is either to ride or to be carried in a <hi rend='italic'>chaise
+à porteurs</hi> to that part of the Colli where begins a
+rapid descent, and thence descending on foot to the
+Marinella of the Scaricotojo on the Gulf of Salerno....
+The ride occupies about an hour and a quarter,
+and the descent which, though steep, is not dangerous,
+occupies about an hour.</q> <hi rend='italic'>Nous avons changé tout ça</hi>;
+yet there are still living amongst us those who lament
+the passing away of the old-fashioned days of Italian
+travel, when inns were bad but picturesque, and expeditions
+to such remote places as Amalfi were not only difficult
+but even dangerous; since in compensation
+for slow progress and risk of brigands every town
+owned a primitive charm which is now rapidly disappearing
+before the modern irruption of locust-like
+swarms of tourists with their motor cars, their luncheon
+baskets, and their kodaks. Well, to the majority of
+travellers the value of natural scenery is not a little
+enhanced by the sense of comfort, and here on the
+Costiera d’Amalfi the most particular can have no
+cause to complain, since it is one of the few lovely
+spots of Southern Europe that has not yet been invaded
+by the dividend-paying railway. No, the old
+Republic retains to a great extent its ancient atmosphere
+of unspoiled beauty and remoteness from the
+<pb n='114'/><anchor id='Pg114'/>bustling world. It is still a stretch of glorious and
+historic country wherein one can obtain a pleasant and
+valued respite for a time from the overpowering improvements
+of an industrial age.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we look southward across the breadth of the
+Bay, our eye is at once caught by the group of the
+Isles of the Sirens, which, though in reality fully a
+mile distant from the nearest point of the coast, seem
+in this clear atmosphere as though they were lying
+within a stone’s throw of the beach. Around these
+bare bluffs of rock, seemingly flung by the hand of
+Nature in a sportive mood into the blue waves, lingers
+one of the most insidious of all the old Greek legends,
+for it was past these lonely cliffs that the cunning
+Ulysses sailed during his long career of mazy wanderings
+in search of his island home and his faithful
+Penelope. In those days, so the Greek bard tells us,
+there dwelt upon these islets strange sea-witches
+with the faces and forms of most beautiful maidens,
+although their lower limbs had the resemblance of
+eagles’ feet and talons. Two sirens only, says Homer,
+dwelt upon these coasts, although later poets have
+increased the number of the fatal sisters to three or
+even four. Singing the most enchanting songs to
+the sound of tortoise-shell lyres, there used to bask
+in the sunlight beside the gentle ripple the Sirens,
+their nether limbs well hidden from the gaze of
+passing seamen, who, attracted by the tuneful notes,
+hastened hither to discover the whereabouts of the
+musicians. Innocent eyes, angelic faces, flowing
+golden locks and white beckoning hands had every
+power to draw the curious mariner nearer and
+nearer, until he came within reach of the fell
+en<pb n='115'/><anchor id='Pg115'/>chantresses. For the Sirens loved the flesh of
+mortals, and bleached skulls and bones of digested
+victims lay in heaps upon the sandy floor of their
+azure-hued caverns. Gold and jewels, too, the spoils
+of many a brave galley that had been lured to destruction
+by these charmers, likewise littered their
+retreat, and perhaps it was as much the glittering of
+this gold as their own lovely features that in certain
+cases enticed the wary merchant into this fatal trap.
+Gold and a pretty face: what male heart could be
+proof against the double temptation the Isles of the
+Sirens offered to the navigator in the days of the
+Odyssey! Only one sailor over these seas proved
+himself a match for the wiles of the cruel goddesses
+of the Amalfitan coast; for Ulysses, as we know,
+stopped the ears of his companions with wax on
+their approach towards this dangerous spot, whilst he
+himself, always eager to hear and see everything yet
+perfectly well aware of the Sirens’ magnetic power,
+had himself tightly bound by cords to the mast. So
+whilst the deaf rowers stolidly tugged at their oars,
+oblivious of the weird unearthly melody around them,
+the clever King of Ithaca gained the honour of becoming
+the only mortal who had listened to that
+subtle song without paying the penalty of a hideous
+and ignoble death.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is strangely disappointing to find that no recollection
+of Sirens or of Ulysses lingers in the lore
+of the present dwellers upon these coasts. They
+have no more notion of the aspect of a Siren than
+they have of a pleisosaurus, and, as a modern writer
+naïvely complains, they are not sharp-witted enough
+to invent fanciful tales to please the enquiring foreigner.
+<pb n='116'/><anchor id='Pg116'/>Nor is this lack of intelligence to be wondered at,
+when we recall to mind the clean sweep of all
+classical learning and tradition which that period of
+time, truly known as the Dark Ages, made throughout
+Italy; if Petrarch found it necessary to explain to
+King Robert the Wise with the greatest tact and
+delicacy that Vergil was a poet and not a wizard,
+what must have been the appalling ignorance prevailing
+amongst the peasant and the fisherman? And
+yet these barren rocks were known as the Isles of
+the Sirens centuries before the verses of the Aeneid
+immortalized the mythic voyage of the Trojan
+adventurer, who passed along this iron-bound coast
+on his way towards the mouth of Tiber. Their
+modern, or rather medieval name of I Galli is somewhat
+of a puzzle. Erudite scholars affect to derive
+it from Guallo, a fortress captured during a war
+between King Roger and the Republic of Amalfi,
+but this explanation, we confess, does not sound very
+reasonable. Others prefer to imagine that the word
+Gallo (a cock) contains an allusion to the claws and
+feathers of the Sirens themselves, for certain of the
+ancient writers endowed these dire Virgins of the
+Rocks with the wings as well as the claws of birds;—in
+fact, they represented them as Harpies, those
+horrible fowls with women’s faces that appeared upon
+the scene at Prospero’s bidding to spoil the bad
+king’s supper party. But why, if the Sirens were
+female,—and on this point all their critics agree with
+an unanimity that is wonderful—should their ancient
+haunts be called <q>The Cocks?</q> The untutored
+natives themselves, understanding nothing of Sirens
+or of Odysseys, hold their own theory with regard
+<pb n='117'/><anchor id='Pg117'/>to the disputed name, which they connect with the
+construction of a harbour at distant Salerno, and
+though this legend sounds foolish enough, it is
+scarcely less flimsy than the notions already quoted.
+A certain enchanter, one Pietro Bajalardo, undertook—in
+modern parlance, contracted—to build in a
+single night the much needed breakwater at Salerno
+on the strange condition that all cocks in the
+neighbourhood should first be killed; for the wizard,
+so the story runs, had a special aversion to Chanticleer
+on account of his having caused the repentance
+of St Peter by his crowing. In any case, the reigning
+Prince of Salerno gladly complied with the eccentric
+request, and at his command every cock in or near
+the place was accordingly slaughtered, with the
+solitary exception of one old rooster, who, being very
+dear to the heart of his aged mistress, was kept concealed
+beneath a tub and thus escaped the general
+holocaust. Throughout the livelong night Bajalardo
+was busily engaged in superintending the work of
+building the harbour, whilst the fiends who carried
+out his behest were actively conveying huge blocks
+of broken cliff from the Cape of Minerva to place in
+the waters of Salerno. But at daybreak the cock
+imprisoned beneath the tub, the sole survivor of his
+race, according to natural custom announced the dawn,
+to the despair of Bajalardo and the terror of his attendant
+fiends, who in their precipitate flight dropped
+into the sea near the Punta Sant’ Elia the huge masses
+of stone they were then carrying; and these rocks
+are called by men I Galli in consequence to this day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But, to be strictly impartial, it was not the Sirens
+alone who were responsible for all the victims who
+<pb n='118'/><anchor id='Pg118'/>perished on these arid rocks. <hi rend='italic'>Homo homini lupus</hi>;
+man is always ready to prey upon man, and many of
+the dark tales concerning the Galli go to prove the
+truth of the terrible old adage. At what period the
+Sirens abandoned their ancient retreat and swam or
+flew away to more congenial haunts is unknown to
+history; but certain it is that the rulers of proud
+Amalfi committed many a cruel deed of murder or
+torture upon their deserted islets. For here, many a
+hapless political prisoner languished for years in abject
+misery, a prey to the heat and glare of summer and
+to the fierce gales of bitter winter nights. Rock-cut
+steps and ruined towers still remain as mementoes of
+those dark days, when callous human gaolers worthily
+filled the places of the absent Sirens. It was in a
+chamber of yonder turret, still standing, that the Doge
+Mansone II., blinded by a brother’s vengeance, dragged
+out years of utter misery in pain and darkness, until
+the Emperor of the East, suzerain of Amalfi, at last
+took compassion upon the prisoner’s wretched plight
+and allowed him to be removed into honourable confinement
+at Byzantium. For many hundreds of years
+the Isles of the Sirens have lain untenanted, nor are
+they visited nowadays save by a few inquisitive
+travellers or by the fishermen of the Scaricotojo, who
+find safe shelter under their lee during the sudden
+squalls of the Mediterranean. For, strange to relate,
+there are no dangerous currents, no treacherous whirlpools
+close to these rocky islets, such as we might
+expect to give some natural interpretation to the ancient
+myth, the origin of which remains unexplained and
+constitutes a very pretty mystery as it stands.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We bid farewell to the group of ill-omened rocks,
+<pb n='119'/><anchor id='Pg119'/>as we proceed rapidly under the rocky slopes of the
+Monte di Chiosse towards Positano, which extends in
+a long curving line of cheerful-tinted flat-roofed houses
+from the summit of its protecting cliff to the strand
+below, sprinkled with boats and nets and cloths with
+heaps of grain a-drying. The descent to the lower
+portion of the little town is singularly charming with
+its varied scenery of rocks and hanging woods above
+us, with the tiled domes of churches outlined against
+the deep blue waters, and with the whole scene
+dominated by the pierced crag of Montapertuso,
+beyond which thrusts up into the cloudless sky the
+triple peak of the giant Sant’ Angelo. Positano is a
+thriving as well as an ancient place, and of its dense
+population we have abundant evidence in the swarms
+of children that pursue our carriage, brown-skinned
+picturesque little nuisances, shrilly and incessantly
+crying out for <hi rend='italic'>soldi</hi>. Most of these infants wear
+bright coloured rags, but not a few are dressed in
+garments that at once recall the ginger-coloured robes
+of the Capuchin friars, for the brothers of the Order
+of St Francis are popularly reputed to be especially
+competent in keeping aloof evil spells from young
+persons entrusted to their charge; and of course,
+argue the doting parents, it is only natural that the
+spirits of darkness should not dare to molest the little
+ones tricked out in robes similar to those worn by
+these holy men.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From the point of view of history the chief interest
+of Positano centres in the time-honoured tradition
+that Flavio Gioja, the original inventor of the compass,
+was a native of this town, once a flourishing and
+important member of the group of cities which
+com<pb n='120'/><anchor id='Pg120'/>prised the Amalfitan Republic in its palmy days.
+But Clio, the Muse of History, is an inexorable
+mistress, and she will not rest content with mere
+hearsay, however venerable, and as a result of careful
+investigation it would seem that Flavio Gioja, who for
+centuries has been generally credited with this marvellous
+discovery, must himself have been a personage almost
+as mythic as the Sirens of this shore, for his very
+name is spelled in a variety of ways that is hopelessly
+confusing. Nor has the question of his place of birth
+ever been satisfactorily settled, for both Positano and
+Amalfi claim this hero of science for a son, although
+only in Amalfitan annals can the disputed name
+be detected. Be this as it may, it was a citizen of
+this Costiera who has ever been acknowledged as
+the inventor of the compass, though concerning both
+himself and his alleged discovery there is a complete
+absence of any contemporary record. Later
+writers have, it is true, always admitted the honour on
+behalf of the Republic, and Pontano goes so far as to
+call Amalfi <hi rend='italic'>magnetica</hi> in compliment thereof, whilst
+during the later crusades the Amalfitani, who were
+evidently convinced of the genuine nature of Gioja’s
+claim, had an heraldic figure of the mariner’s compass
+emblazoned on their banners. It seems a thousand
+pities to throw doubt upon so picturesque a tradition,
+for the date of the invention of the compass has been
+fixed as 1302, two years only after the holding of the
+famous Papal Jubilee in Rome which Dante’s verse
+has described for us. Nor can the ingenious theory
+be upheld that the fleur-de-lys, the emblem of the
+French kings of Naples, which still decorates the dial
+of the compass in almost all lands, is in any wise
+<pb n='121'/><anchor id='Pg121'/>connected with Carlo il Zoppo, the monarch to whom
+Gioja is said to have dedicated his ingenious discovery.
+No, we have little doubt that the compass, like so
+many of the scientific wonders that crept into Europe
+before and during the time of the Renaissance, was
+originally brought from the far East, a farther East
+than the argosies of Amalfi had ever penetrated. The
+little magic box with its moving needle was first used,
+it is now admitted, by the cunning merchants of
+Cathay during their trading expeditions across the
+stony monotonous plains of Central Asia that lay
+between the Flowery Land and the civilization of
+Persia. From Cathay the use of the magnetic needle
+was introduced to the Arab mathematicians of Baghdad
+and Cairo, and through them the secret of the lodestone
+of China was conveyed to the coast towns of the
+Levant. At Aleppo or Alexandria some astute trader
+of Amalfi—perhaps his name really was Flavio Gioja—contrived
+to learn the new method of steering from
+some Moslem or Jewish merchant, and he in his turn
+brought this novel and precious piece of information
+back to the Italian shores. If, then, a native of
+Amalfi did not evolve the idea of the compass out of
+his own brain, at least it was the old Republic which
+first impressed the Western world with its immense
+value, and this, too, at a far earlier period than the
+date usually assigned to Gioja’s <q>discovery.</q> For a
+Christian bishop of Jerusalem a hundred years before
+Gioja’s day makes mention of the compass as being in
+common use amongst the Saracens of Palestine, whilst
+its existence was certainly known to Brunetto Latini,
+the tutor of Dante, whom for certain moral failings
+upon earth his brilliant pupil somewhat harshly places
+<pb n='122'/><anchor id='Pg122'/>in the infernal regions. History has, in short, long
+deprived poor disconsolate Positano of its vaunted
+glory in the production of a medieval scientist whose
+very existence has now become a matter of speculation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we thread our way along the road that curves
+round headland after headland, and is carried over
+sheer precipices whose base is lapped by the cool
+jade-green water, we begin to realize the essential
+difference between the Sorrentine shores we have left
+behind us, and the marvellous Costiera d’Amalfi we
+are now passing. Ever green and smiling are the
+favoured districts that stretch from Castellamare to
+Massa Lubrense, with the mountain tops acting
+as screens to protect the groves and crops from
+the sun’s ardent rays and with the fresh reviving
+breezes from the Abruzzi ever breathing upon them.
+But here we seem to be under the very eyes of the
+Sun-God, who stares fixedly from rising to setting
+upon the Amalfitan coast. Welcome enough is this
+continuous basking in his smiles during the short
+winter days; but oh! the long, long summer hours
+wherein King Helios relentlessly pours down his
+burning glances upon the shallow soil that covers the
+rocky face of the Costiera! We who visit the
+territories of the old Republic in winter or early
+spring only perceive one aspect of the picture. We
+rejoice in the gladdening warmth afforded by unbroken
+sunshine and by the complete absence of cutting winds
+which Monte Sant’ Angelo’s towering form excludes
+from these shores; we note with delight the premature
+unfolding of buds and blossoms, and we marvel at the
+young fruit of the dark-leaved loquat trees—the
+<hi rend='italic'>nespoli</hi> of the South—turning to pale yellow even in
+<pb n='123'/><anchor id='Pg123'/>February. But we cannot realise the blinding glare
+and the torrid heat of a July or August, making
+a perfect furnace of this sheltered corner, where the
+thin layer of cultivated soil, that has been scraped
+together painfully by human hands, becomes baked
+through and through, when the water-tanks are
+exhausted, and when the clouds of thick dust hang like
+a pall of white smoke for miles above the sinuous course
+of the Corniche road. How close and sweltering must
+be the atmosphere of these populous coves, when the
+very waves are flung luke-warm upon the hot sand!
+How must the inhabitants sigh for a breath of cool
+air from the Abruzzi, for the zephyr that tempers the
+heat on the Sorrentine plain! <hi rend='italic'>Carpe diem</hi>; let us enjoy
+the Costiera d’Amalfi in the freshness of early spring-time,
+before the oranges and lemons have been stripped
+from the leafy groves and before the sun has had
+time to scorch up the vegetation that now gives
+colour to every cleft and crevice of the rocky
+coast-line.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As we advance eastward from Positano we obtain
+glimpses from time to time of mountain valleys
+thickly clothed with brushwood, and far above
+our heads we perceive Agerola perched aloft under
+the shadow of the topmost crag of Monte Sant’
+Angelo—Agerola, where wolves still haunt the dim
+recesses of the chestnut woods, and where the charcoal
+burners can tell us of the great grey Were-Wolf that
+prowls round the village on stormy nights. Passing
+the torrent of the Arriengo and the Punta di San
+Pietro with its lonely chapel looking out to sea;
+glancing down upon the deep set strand and gloomy
+caverns of Furore, and rounding Cape Sottile, we find
+<pb n='124'/><anchor id='Pg124'/>ourselves at Prajano, one of the prettiest spots to
+be found on all this wonderful coast. Here we
+stop to visit the church of San Luca, which stands on
+a little grassy platform overhanging the sea and
+commanding a superb view of the Bay of Salerno. It
+is a baroque structure of the type common everywhere
+in Italy, which travellers are apt to despise without
+acknowledging how picturesque this decadent style of
+architecture can appear. At Prajano the wooden
+doors of green faded to the hue of ancient bronze,
+the yellow-washed plaster façade and the lichen-covered
+tiles of the roof and tower make up a
+charming mass of varied colouring when viewed
+against the broad blue band of sea and sky beyond.
+Within, the church is mean and tawdry, just a
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Sad charnel-house of humble hopes and crimes,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Long dead and buried in obscurity;</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+but the afternoon sun struggling through the curtains
+that cover its fantastic windows allows a mellow light
+to fill the expanse of the building. A toothless
+old woman and a young girl, both of them thinly and
+poorly clad, are the sole occupants of the church, and
+they are evidently too much absorbed in prayer to
+notice our presence. They have placed beside the
+Madonna’s altar lighted tapers which glimmer feebly
+in a shaft of strong sunlight that falls through a rent
+in the curtain overhead. For what purpose, we
+wonder, have these candles been bought out of a
+scanty store! Are they burning on behalf of some
+sailor-boy now being tossed upon the ocean? Or are
+they offered to obtain some boon more selfish and less
+pathetic? At any rate, this pair of intent worshippers,
+<pb n='125'/><anchor id='Pg125'/>representing fresh Southern youth and crabbed age,
+make up a pretty picture as they kneel together
+on the pavement of tiles ornamented in bright rococo
+patterns to represent the coat-of-arms of some
+forgotten noble benefactor: it is too simple and everyday
+a sight in Italy to offer a theme for verse, too
+sacred a subject for an idle photograph. We leave
+the church on tip-toe, and return to the terrace with
+its low marble seats and its stunted acacia trees to sit
+a few moments before re-entering the carriage.
+</p><anchor id="illus08"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: EVENING AT AMALFI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus08th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus08.jpg">EVENING AT AMALFI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: EVENING AT AMALFI</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Skirting the Capo di Conca we obtain our first
+sight of proud Amalfi, and we realize that our drive,
+long in distance perhaps, but all too short with its
+varied beauties and interests, is drawing to a close.
+Nearer and nearer do we approach our goal, the shining
+turrets of the Cathedral tower acting as our beacon,
+until at length our chariot clatters beneath the echoing
+tunnel hewn in the cliff that leads into the town itself.
+</p>
+
+</div><div n="6" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='126'/><anchor id='Pg126'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="6: Amalfi and the Festival of St Andrew"/>
+<head>CHAPTER VI</head>
+
+<head type="sub">AMALFI AND THE FESTIVAL OF ST ANDREW</head>
+
+<p>
+The traveller’s first impressions of Amalfi, which
+is essentially the beauty-spot of the Riviera of
+Naples, are usually associated with the old Capuchin
+convent, long since turned into a hotel and now the
+bourne of most visitors to this coast. Its arcaded
+façade and its terraced garden stand on a plateau
+seemingly cut out of the sheer face of the cliff, whilst
+high above the town the lofty barren rocks enfold the
+Convent and its verdant demesne within a natural
+amphitheatre and protect this sunny paradise from the
+keen blasts of winter. A flight of steps zigzagging
+up the rocky hill-side connects the building with the
+high road below; whilst a narrow pathway, leading
+between stone walls and now passing beneath dark
+mysterious archways, wherein the lamps burning
+before the Madonna’s shrines afford a welcome light
+even at midday, descends by steep gradients from the
+garden above into the main piazza of the little city.
+Built by the celebrated Cardinal Pietro Capuano nearly
+seven hundred years ago for Cistercian monks, the
+monastery in the sixteenth century came into the possession
+of the Capuchin Friars, those brown-robed
+figures that with their bare feet and girdles of knotted
+white cord are such familiar and picturesque objects
+<pb n='127'/><anchor id='Pg127'/>in the daily crowds of every Italian town. But the
+friars have been forced to abandon their airy retreat
+ever since the suppression of the religious houses, which
+succeeded the union of the old Neapolitan kingdom
+with young Italy, and their convent has long been
+put to secular uses. Yet the old monastic church
+still exists, and superstitious people declare that the
+spectral forms of ejected Capuchins are sometimes to
+be seen advancing slowly up the rocky ascent in order
+to revisit the sacred building that is now closed for
+worship. Nevertheless the church is cared for by the
+members of the Vozzi family, its present owners, who
+every Christmas-tide still prepare the popular <hi rend='italic'>presepio</hi>,
+that curious representation of the scene in the stable at
+Bethlehem, wherein a score of gaily dressed figures of
+painted wood represent the Holy Family and the
+worshipping peasants. Little in fact has been changed
+within the building itself, and the exquisite cloistered
+court with its slender intertwining Saracenic columns
+still remains to delight alike the artist and the antiquary.
+We say <q>still remains</q> advisedly; for beyond the
+tiny quadrangle our eyes at once light upon a scene
+of hideous devastation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Doubtless many persons will recall the great land-slip
+of December 1899, when almost without warning
+the whole face of the rocky headland that shelters
+Amalfi on the west tore itself loose and slid with a
+crash like thunder into the sea below, overwhelming
+in its fall the little inn known as the <q>Santa Caterina</q>
+and burying in its ruins two English ladies and several
+fishermen. The sinister scar still continues as a blot
+upon the lovely landscape, speaking only too eloquently
+to all of sudden death and destruction amidst the
+<pb n='128'/><anchor id='Pg128'/>surrounding scenes of life and beauty. The older
+portion of the Capuchin convent, by a miracle as it
+were, escaped the on-rush of the land-slide, but its
+famous <q>Calvary,</q> the large group of the Crucifixion
+that appears prominently in so many pictures of
+Amalfi, was completely swept away, so that the boatmen
+from the sands below can no longer behold the
+immense vivid representation of the Last Agony which
+was wont to greet their upturned eyes. Already
+Time’s kindly hand has begun to drape the scene of
+the catastrophe with a decent mourning veil of grey
+and green, for the hardy succulent plants that can withstand
+the sun’s fierce rays and can thrive despite the
+boisterous salt sea-winds are already sprouting from
+every crack and cranny of the riven earth. Perhaps
+it is as well for us selfish and self-satisfied mortals to
+possess a <hi rend='italic'>memento mori</hi> close at hand in a spot so
+teeming with the joy of life; yet somehow the first
+sight of that mass of broken headland and the dark
+ominous fissure in the hill-side, flung across the sunlit
+scene, is apt to send a slight shiver through the frame
+of the beholder.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+There are three indisputable advantages to be gained
+by turning a suppressed religious house into a modern
+hotel, so a cunning old Italian inn-keeper once confided
+to us; that is, of course, provided one is not afraid of the
+proverbial curse that clings to the buying of any of the
+Church’s sequestrated property. These three things are
+good air, good water, and lovely views; benefits that
+a layman is fully as competent to understand as
+any cloistered ecclesiastic. And certainly the worthy
+Vozzi are fully justified in offering these privileges
+to their guests at the Albergo Cappuccini. Signor
+<pb n='129'/><anchor id='Pg129'/>Vozzi! How many travellers in the South recall with
+infinite pleasure their host’s tall commanding figure,
+his snowy drooping whiskers, the sun-shade that was
+rarely out of his hand, his old-fashioned courteous
+manners, and his famous family of cats, whereof the
+coal-black Nerone was the prime favourite, a feline
+monster almost as tyrannical as his Imperial namesake
+of evil reputation. Signor Vozzi’s striking personality,
+the sable fur of agate-eyed Nerone, the eternal sunshine,
+and the wide all-embracing views over sea and land,
+are somehow all jumbled together in our perplexed
+mind, as it recurs to the many days spent beneath
+the convent roof. Nay, not beneath the roof! For
+we were wont to pass the whole day, even the short
+December day, in basking on the warm sheltered
+terrace and peering over the busy beach and the
+dazzling waters below, whereon the tale of Amalfitan
+fisher-life could be read as it were from the pages of
+a book.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Somehow the old monastic buildings appear
+marvellously well adapted to modern needs. The
+former inmates’ cells, wherein the brown-robed brethren
+of the Order of St Francis until lately were wont to
+pass their placid uneventful lives, afford comfortable if
+somewhat limited accommodation; whilst the covered
+<hi rend='italic'>loggia</hi> that runs the whole length of the cells has been
+turned into a series of delightful little sitting-rooms,
+their broad arc-shaped windows facing full south, a
+boon that only a winter resident in Italy can properly
+appreciate. <hi rend='italic'>Dove non entra il sole, entra il medico</hi>, is
+a hackneyed but well-proven adage; consequently
+here in the old Capuchin convent the services of the
+local medicine-man ought rarely to be required.
+<pb n='130'/><anchor id='Pg130'/>Signor Vozzi’s guests partake of their meals in the
+ancient refectory, a large bare echoing chamber with a
+vaulted ceiling, which still contains the old stone pulpit
+from which in more pious days a grave brother was
+wont to read aloud choice passages from the works of
+the early Fathers of the Church or of St Bonaventura,
+the Seraphic Doctor of the Franciscans, during the
+hours allotted to the frugal repasts of the friars. But
+the public rooms and the cool white-washed corridors
+do not present such attractions as the glorious garden
+with its famous <hi rend='italic'>pergola</hi> and its views of the Bay.
+Here even in Christmas week we found quantities of
+plants in full bloom: the delicate yellow blossoms of
+the Soffrana rose; trailing ivy-leaved geraniums with
+gay heads of carmine flowers; the honey-scented
+budleia with its little globes of dark yellow flowerets:
+clumps of gorgeous scarlet salvia; and straggling
+masses of the pretty cosmia, red, pink and white.
+Humming-bird hawk-moths darted hither and thither
+in the sunshine, restless little creatures whose wings
+are never for a moment still, as they poise gracefully
+over each separate blossom in turn. The <hi rend='italic'>pergola</hi>
+itself, which every artist at Amalfi paints as a matter
+of course, generally with a Capuchin friar—at least a
+friar <hi rend='italic'>pro hac vice</hi>—or a pretty dark-eyed damsel in the
+native costume, sitting in the foreground, was certainly
+bare of foliage, we admit, for even in the soft warm air
+of the Bay of Salerno the grape-vine wisely refuses to
+burst into leaf at Yuletide, no matter how enticing the
+warmth. But the thick white pillars and their wooden
+cross-beams, around which are entwined the leafless
+coiling limbs of the sleeping vine, throw dark blue
+patterns of chequered shadow upon the sunlit ground.
+<pb n='131'/><anchor id='Pg131'/>Above the terraced garden rises the orangery, well
+watered by many artificial rillets, and from the midst
+of the orange and lemon trees there emerges a path
+leading to the entrancing <hi rend='italic'>bosco</hi>, or grove, that fills the
+deep hollow space formed by the sheltering cliffs
+behind. It was mid-winter, as we have said, yet pink
+cyclamens and strong-scented double narcissi were
+blooming freely, whilst from the dark boughs of the
+ilex trees overhead there fell upon the ear the pleasant
+twittering of innumerable birds, for happily the cruel
+snare and the gun are strictly forbidden in this sacred
+spot, so that his <q>little sisters, the birds,</q> that the
+gentle Saint of Assisi loved so tenderly, can still sing
+their songs of innocence and build their nests in peace
+amidst the trees that no longer remain the property of
+the great humanitarian Order. At nightfall this
+garden is almost equally beautiful beneath a star-lit
+sky and with the many lamps of the town below
+throwing long bars of yellow light upon the placid
+waters of the Bay. As we pace the long terrace,
+wrapped in the glory of a million stars and revelling
+in the exalted yet fairy-like loveliness of the scene
+around us, we perceive the mellow night air to be
+redolent of a strange but fascinating perfume. It is
+the <hi rend='italic'>olea fragrans</hi>, the humble inconspicuous oriental
+shrub that from its clusters of tiny white flowers is
+thus giving out its secret soul at the falling of the
+night dews, and permeating the whole garden with
+its marvellous floral incense. But if the star-lit,
+flower-scented nights of Amalfi are to be accounted as
+exquisite memories, how much more glorious and
+exhilarating is the rising of the sun, as he appears in
+full majesty of crimson and gold above the classic hills
+<pb n='132'/><anchor id='Pg132'/>that overlook Paestum to the east! Leaning at early
+dawn from the windows of the Cappuccini, we have
+watched the sky flush at the first caress of <q>rosy-fingered
+Eôs</q> and seen the fragment of the waning
+moon turn to silver at the approach of the burning
+God of Day, still tarrying behind the lofty barrier of
+the capes and mountains of the Lucanian shore.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q  rend="post: none">Slowly beyond the headlands comes the day,</q></l>
+<l>Though moon and planet on a sky of gold,</l>
+<l>Chequered with orange and vermilion-stoled,</l>
+<l>Have floated long before the sun’s first ray</l>
+<l>Has shot across the waters to display</l>
+<l>Amalfi in her dotage; as of old</l>
+<l>His beams lit up her splendours manifold,</l>
+<l>Her quays and palaces that fringed the bay.</l>
+<l>His smile makes every barren hill-side blush</l>
+<l>In rose and purple for the glories fled,</l>
+<l>As early watchers note th’ encroaching flush</l>
+<l>From proud Ravello to Atrani spread,</l>
+<l>And curse the cruel arm that once did crush</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">This sea-sprung Niobe, and leave her dead.</q></l>
+</lg><anchor id="illus09"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: AMALFI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus09th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus09.jpg">AMALFI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: AMALFI</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Dead, alas! For the old liberties of the great
+Republic of Amalfi have been extinct for more than
+half a thousand years, and it is in consequence difficult
+for us to realise that the quaint noisy squalid
+picturesque little city by the sea-shore, huddled into
+the narrow gorge of the Canneto, is that self-same
+Amalfi whose navies rode triumphant over the
+Mediterranean before the days of the Early Crusades.
+Yet Amalfi, which may be reckoned amongst the
+first-born of that fair family of medieval cities that
+their prolific parent the land of Italy brought forth in
+an age of darkness, was also the foremost to droop and
+die, her glories scattered and passed before Florence had
+<pb n='133'/><anchor id='Pg133'/>ceased to be an obscure country town. In this case
+History presents to us a most forcible, not to say
+an unique example of the origin, rise and decline of
+a power, all occurring within a short space of time.
+Amalfi springs, as it were, out of the void as a city
+of importance, for no Roman colony occupied its
+site in antique times. Its very nomenclature is a
+puzzle to scholars, and the usual statement that it
+owed its name to Byzantine settlers coming hither
+from the ancient town of Melfi in the Basilicata does
+not sound very convincing, though for want of a
+better theory it must suffice. Why, when, and by
+whom the city was in reality founded remains an
+enigma, yet we learn from a passage in one of the
+letters of St Gregory the Great that the place was of
+sufficient size to be governed by a bishop in the
+sixth century. By the tenth we find the Republic
+of Amalfi already risen to a position of commanding
+importance, and holding its own against the rival
+states between which its territories were wedged;
+the dukedom of Naples to the west and the principality
+of Salerno to eastward. Dexterously playing on the
+greed and prejudices of the various tyrants who ruled
+Naples and Salerno, and occasionally allying itself
+with them in order to repel the fierce attacks of their
+common enemy, the Saracenic hordes who were then
+harrying the Lucanian coast, Amalfi continued to
+uphold its political freedom and dignity in the face
+of immense difficulties. And in gratitude for the
+vigour with which the Amalfitani had waged war
+against the infidel invaders, Pope Leo IV. in course
+of time conferred upon the Duke or Doge, the chief
+magistrate of the Republic, the title of <q>Defender of
+<pb n='134'/><anchor id='Pg134'/>the Faith.</q> Nominally under the suzerainty of the
+Greek Emperor at Constantinople, Amalfi was
+practically independent; its system of government
+was conducted on lines somewhat akin to those of
+aristocratic Venice; its population is said to have
+exceeded fifty thousand in the capital city alone; its
+boundaries extended from the Promontory of Minerva
+on the west to the town of Cetara upon the confines
+of Salerno; whilst many daughter-towns of wealth
+and importance, such as Scala and Ravello, sprang
+into being within the narrow limits of the sea-girt
+republic. Owning a small and by no means fertile
+extent of land, the inhabitants of Amalfi from its
+earliest days were forced to become merchants and
+sailors; to use a modern phrase, the Amalfitani came
+to possess a complete monopoly of trade with Eastern
+lands, both Christian and Mahommedan. It was
+the ships of the Republic that alone brought to the
+shores of Italy the rich stuffs, the gold and silver
+embroideries, the dried fruits and the strange birds
+and beasts of Asia Minor and Arabia, and in exchange
+for their oriental merchandise obtained an abundance
+of corn, wine, oil, meat and other commodities of life
+that their beautiful but somewhat sterile dominions
+were unable to supply to an ever increasing population.
+But it was not only the material products of the East
+that the sailors of Amalfi conveyed to Europe in
+their home-bound argosies; for they brought back
+with them the rudiments of arts and sciences that
+distracted Italy had well-nigh forgotten during the
+period of the barbarian invasions. Through the
+merchant princes of Amalfi, the secrets of astronomy,
+of mathematics and of scientific navigation were
+re-<pb n='135'/><anchor id='Pg135'/>introduced into the land that had almost lost its old
+Roman civilization. A priceless manuscript of that
+great code of laws, the Pandects, which a Byzantine
+Emperor, the famous Justinian, had caused to be
+compiled with such skill and labour, putting into
+concise and accurate form the collected wisdom of
+generations of Roman jurists, was included amongst
+the treasures of the East that were borne back to
+Italy in the Republic’s vessels. And in addition to
+restoring the old Roman jurisprudence to its original
+home, the city of Amalfi had the honour of promulgating
+the celebrated <hi rend='italic'>Tabula Amalphitana</hi>, the new
+maritime laws that were henceforth destined to
+regulate the whole commercial system of the western
+world. No marvel then that the poet William of
+Apulia should praise in unmeasured terms the glories
+of the new-sprung city, whose trade extended to the
+shores of India and whose merchants possessed
+independent settlements in every great city of the
+Levant.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Nulla magis civitas argento, vestibus, auro</q></l>
+<l>Partibus innumeris; hac plurimus urbe moratur</l>
+<l>Nauta marit coelique vias aperiri peritus.</l>
+<l>Huc et Alexandri diversa feruntur ab urbe</l>
+<l>Regia et Antiochi. Zeus haec freta plurima transit</l>
+<l>His Arabes, Indi, Siculi nascuntur et Afri.</l>
+<l>Haec genus est totum prope nobilitata per orbem,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Et mercanda ferens, et amans mercata referre.</q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">No city richer in its store of gold,</q></l>
+<l>Of precious stones and silks doth Europe hold;</l>
+<l>Her skilful mariners o’er treacherous seas</l>
+<l>With aid of compass sail where’er they please.</l>
+<l>From Egypt and from Antioch they land,</l>
+<l>Their precious cargoes on th’ Italian strand.</l>
+<pb n='136'/><anchor id='Pg136'/>
+<l>Scathless Amalfi’s navies penetrate</l>
+<l>The distant ports of every Paynim state.</l>
+<l>Match me throughout the circuit of this earth</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Another race so full of zeal and worth.</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+A small state on a barren shore, yet the holder
+of the balance between East and West by means of
+its wide-spread commerce, such was Amalfi during
+the tenth and eleventh centuries. In some respects
+this Republic of the Middle Ages appears as the
+prototype of the Venice of the Renaissance, for there
+is not a little in common between the city that was
+built upon the marshy islets of the Adriatic lagoons,
+and the city that was erected at the base of the
+treacherous cliffs of the Tyrrhene Sea. Solely by
+means of commerce both foundations rose from
+nothingness to splendour and power: both held the
+gorgeous East in fee; and both fell lamentably from
+their high estate. The chief point of difference in
+this comparison of their careers is obvious; Amalfi
+collapsed suddenly and utterly, whilst the Queen of
+the Adriatic has sunk gradually to decay until she
+has become the interesting monument of a vanished
+magnificence which we admire to-day.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was the rising naval power of Pisa that finally
+crushed the greatness of Amalfi, although the Republic
+had already entered into its days of decline when
+Robert Guiscard at the time of the First Crusade had
+temporarily annexed its dominions to his new principality.
+Some thirty years later King Roger of
+Naples forcibly seized the whole of the Costiera
+d’Amalfi, allowing the citizens to retain their own form
+of government. Four years after this, the Pisan fleet,
+coming to aid the people of Naples against King
+<pb n='137'/><anchor id='Pg137'/>Roger, utterly destroyed the once vaunted navy of
+Amalfi, and sacked both the city itself and the two
+hill-set towns of Scala and Ravello. Its political
+liberty had already been crushed by the Normans,
+and now its ships and its wealth were dissipated by
+the Pisans; it was a double measure of ignominy
+and disaster from which Amalfi never recovered.
+Amidst its humiliations and sorrows, the stricken city
+had also to mourn the loss of its greatest treasure, its
+secular <hi rend='italic'>palladium</hi>, that most precious copy of the
+Pandects of Justinian, which the Pisan marauders
+seized and carried back with them to their city
+on the Arno. Here in Pisa the famous volume
+remained in safe keeping for some three hundred
+years, and then, as Time’s round brought its inevitable
+vengeance on the plunderers of Amalfi, it was removed
+by the victorious Florentines to their own city. So
+intense a veneration for the book itself now manifested
+itself amongst the scholars and students of Florence,
+that at one period offerings of incense were often made
+to the inscribed wisdom of past ages as to a most
+holy relic of some Saint, and the clerk or jurist about
+to peruse its faded characters was wont, first of all, to
+breathe a prayer of genuine gratitude on his knees for
+the preservation of this ancient book. Amalfi, Pisa,
+Florence, each in its turn has owned the guardianship
+of this most famous literary jewel, which is to-day
+jealously guarded as the chief treasure of the world-renowned
+Laurentian Library.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is true that the prosperity of Amalfi did not
+disappear immediately after the inroad of the Pisans,
+for Boccaccio, writing in the fourteenth century, still
+speaks of the ancient territory of the destroyed
+<pb n='138'/><anchor id='Pg138'/>Republic as <q>a rocky ridge beside a smiling sea,
+which its inhabitants call the Costa d’Amalfi; full of
+little cities, of gardens, of fountains, and of rich and
+enterprising merchants.</q> It was in fact reserved for
+relentless Nature herself to complete the work of destruction
+that Norman armies and Pisan fleets had
+more than half accomplished. We have already
+spoken of the terrible land-slips to which this beautiful
+shore is eminently subject, even at the present
+day, as the mass of wreckage outside the old Capuchin
+convent only too clearly testifies. In the year 1343,
+during the progress of a storm of exceptional fury, of
+which the poet Petrarch has left us a vivid account in
+one of his letters, the greater part of the devoted city
+was swept away by a tidal wave. The whole line of
+quays stretching from the headland by the Cappuccini
+to the point of Atrani on the east, together with
+churches, palaces, and warehouses, was now swallowed
+up by the surging waters and engulfed for ever in the
+depths of the sea; and thus the very element that
+had brought wealth, power, and prosperity to Amalfi
+in the past now proved the direct cause of her final
+calamity. With this fearful cataclysm of Nature
+following upon the heels of its political extinction, we
+can hardly wonder at the rapid decline of this
+<q>Athens of the Middle Ages,</q> whose population has
+now sunk to about one seventh part of the 50,000
+citizens it once boasted in the far distant days of her
+maritime supremacy.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Reflecting upon the famous past of this ancient
+city, let us descend the steep pathway from the terrace
+of the Cappuccini to visit the crowded beach below.
+Here we find ourselves in the midst of a cheerful
+<pb n='139'/><anchor id='Pg139'/>animated throng, engaged in mending nets, in painting
+boats, and in other occupations connected with a sea-faring
+life. The tall fantastic houses with balconied
+windows that line the curve of the sea-shore, the
+glistening sands and the brown-legged, gay-capped
+fishermen, combine to present a charming picture of
+southern Italian life, so that we could gladly linger in
+observing the ever-changing scenes of life and industry.
+But we cannot tarry long, for the ubiquitous beggars
+who have begun to pester us ever since we passed the
+hotel gates have meantime dogged our descending
+footsteps, and their forces have been recruited on the
+way hither by many willing assistants. No doubt
+the vast majority of the Amalfitani are hard working
+and self-respecting, for the little town possesses
+maccaroni factories and old-established paper mills
+of no small importance, yet it is obvious that a
+considerable portion of the total population and at
+least one-half of all the children spend their whole
+time in demanding alms of strangers. Before, behind,
+and from a distance arises the ceaseless cry of
+<q><hi rend='italic'>Qual co’ signor’! Fame! Fame!</hi></q> in hateful tones
+of make-belief misery, and these whining appeals are
+aided by all the expressive pantomimic gestures of
+the South. You are placed on the horns of a dilemma:
+give, and the report that a generous and fabulously
+wealthy Signore has arrived in Amalfi will run like
+wild-fire through the whole place, and your life in
+consequence will become an absolute burden for the
+remainder of your sojourn in this spot. Refuse, and
+the wretches who have hitherto been wheedling and
+cringing at your heels, will at once grow insolent and
+threatening, especially in the case of unprotected
+<pb n='140'/><anchor id='Pg140'/>ladies. It is in fact a choice of two evils, and the
+only remedy that we ourselves can suggest is for the
+persecuted traveller to select a good stout larrikin and
+pay him freely to keep at arm’s length his detestable
+brothers and sisters in professional beggary. But the
+uninitiated usually endure these odious importunities
+for a certain length of time, and then, exasperated by
+the unchecked mendicancy of the place, at last fly
+precipitately from this beautiful shore, to seek comparative
+peace and freedom elsewhere. For it is
+useless to argue; it is foolish, even dangerous to
+grow angry. <q>Why should we give to you?</q> we
+asked one day in desperation of a particularly persistent
+woman. <q>Because,</q> was the unabashed and
+impudent but unanswerable reply, <q>you have much,
+and I have nothing!</q> Driven by these human pests
+from the sunlit strand, we make our way through the
+busy piazza, where peasant women with piles of fruit
+and vegetables make a glowing mass of colour around
+the central fountain below St Andrew’s statue, and
+proceed towards the Valley of the Mills. A different
+phase of Amalfitan life now greets us, for here are to
+be found the hard-working bees of this human hive,
+and it must be confessed their ways make an agreeable
+change from the habits of the pestering drones that
+infest the beach and the neighbourhood of the hotels.
+The whole of the steep rocky gorge of that tiny
+torrent the Canneto is full of mills, each emitting a
+whirring sound which mingles with the continual
+plash of the water as it descends in miniature
+cascades the full length of the ravine, providing in its
+headlong course towards the sea the motive power
+required to turn all this quantity of machinery.
+<pb n='141'/><anchor id='Pg141'/>Bridges span the Canneto at several points, whilst
+either bank is occupied by tiny factories of paper or
+soap, and by winding stone stair-ways that lead upward
+to terraces contrived to catch the sunshine for
+the purpose of drying the goods. The whole valley,
+with its strong contrasting effects of sun and shade
+and its varied atmosphere of intense heat and of
+chilly dampness, is full of seething picturesque
+humanity. The combined sounds of creaking wheels,
+of falling water and of human chattering are almost
+deafening within this narrow echo-filled gorge, above
+which in the far distance we catch a glimpse of rocky
+heights with the town of Scala perched eyrie-like
+against the deep blue of the sky overhead. Pretty
+laughing girls, bare-footed and with marvellously
+white teeth, emerge from the open door-ways to
+smile pleasantly at us, for the workers of the Valle
+de’ Molini are thoroughly accustomed to the presence
+of strangers in their midst. Half-naked men, who
+have stepped for a moment out of the hot rooms of
+the maccaroni factories in order to breathe the fresh
+air, regard us with calm disdain and without any
+seeming interest. Our presence is tolerated, even if
+our reception excites no feelings of surprise or
+cordiality, so that we are allowed to pursue our walk
+up the ever-narrowing valley in peace and comfort
+and to admire at our leisure the wonderfully
+beautiful effects of colouring produced by the
+cascades of purple-stained water, the graceful forms
+and gay dresses of the girls, and the peeps of fruit-laden
+orange trees above fern-clad walls. And how
+dark the people are! For though black eyes and
+hair are commonly associated with the Italian race,
+<pb n='142'/><anchor id='Pg142'/>yet in the North we find abundant evidence of the
+admixture of Teutonic blood, whilst in the South the
+fair-haired Norman settlers have left indelible marks
+of their conquest of Naples and Sicily in many blue-eyed
+and white-skinned descendants; but here in
+Amalfi a blonde complexion seems to be absolutely
+unknown. <q><hi rend='italic'>Com’ è bianco! Com’ è bianco!</hi></q> called
+out one of a party of girls with swarthy skin and
+ebon hair and tresses, who languidly came out to
+stare at us, as we wended our way slowly up the
+Valley of the Mills.
+</p><anchor id="illus10"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: IN THE VALLEY OF THE MILLS, AMALFI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus10th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus10.jpg">IN THE VALLEY OF THE MILLS, AMALFI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: IN THE VALLEY OF THE MILLS, AMALFI</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+But the chief pride of Amalfi, and indeed its sole
+surviving fragment of departed magnificence, is the
+Cathedral, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle, who
+is patron of the city. A broad flight of steps, flanked
+on either side by the Archbishop’s Palace and the
+residence of the Canons, leads to a platform covered
+by a most beautiful Gothic <hi rend='italic'>loggia</hi> set with richly
+traceried windows and upheld by antique marble
+columns. At its northernmost angle we see springing
+into the blue aether the tall graceful red-and-white
+striped campanile, surmounted by its barbaric-looking
+green-tiled cupola and pinnacles. Facing the top of
+the steps are the two magnificent doors, specially
+designed in distant Byzantium to embellish this
+church more than eight hundred years ago, and cast
+by the famous artist in bronze, Staurachios. Two
+Latin inscriptions, incised in letters of silver upon the
+baser metal, relate to the world that one Pantaleone,
+son of Maurice, caused this work to be undertaken
+in honour of the holy Apostle Andrew, in
+order that he might obtain pardon for the sins he
+had committed whilst upon earth. These glorious
+<pb n='143'/><anchor id='Pg143'/>gates were the gifts to their native city of members
+of the family of Pantaleone of Amalfi, merchant
+princes who had amassed an immense fortune by
+trade in the Levant. They are splendid specimens of
+<hi rend='italic'>niello</hi> work, which consisted in ornamenting a surface
+of bronze by engraving upon it lines that were
+subsequently filled in with coloured enamel or with
+some precious metal. These portals of Amalfi,
+perhaps the earliest example in Southern Italy of
+this rare form of art, are divided into panels adorned
+with Scriptural subjects simply and quaintly treated,
+wherein the stiff attitudes of the figures and the
+many long straight lines introduced testify plainly
+enough to their Byzantine origin and workmanship.
+As we enter the cool dark incense-scented building,
+we note that though cruelly maltreated by the
+baroque enthusiasts of the eighteenth century, the
+general effect of the interior is still impressive with
+its rows of ancient pillars and its richly decorated
+roof. On all sides marble fragments with exquisite
+reliefs meet the eye, spoils evidently filched from the
+abandoned city of Paestum across the Salernian Bay
+and presented to the church by the Norman conquerors
+of Amalfi. After inspecting the classical bas-reliefs,
+we descend into the ancient crypt, which well-meaning
+artists have completely encased with a covering of
+precious marbles and garish frescoes of the Neapolitan
+school. It is a place of more than local sanctity,
+this modernized crypt, for the possession of the relics
+of the Apostle which Cardinal Capuano proudly
+brought hither after the sack of Constantinople in the
+early years of the thirteenth century, was considered
+by many to constitute a sufficient recompense to
+<pb n='144'/><anchor id='Pg144'/>Amalfi for her lost independence. Popes and
+sovereigns were in the habit of approaching the
+shrine, and the number of these illustrious visitors
+includes the names of St Francis of Assisi, Pope
+Urban IV., the holy St Bridget of Sweden, and
+the notorious Queen Joanna II. of Naples. Aeneas
+Silvius Piccolomini, afterwards Pope Pius II., however,
+seems to have thought Amalfi, ever dwindling
+in size and importance, too mean a place to own so
+great a treasure, and he accordingly transported the
+head of the Saint to Rome, where it is now accounted
+amongst the four chief relics of St Peter’s. Perhaps
+it was to counterbalance the loss of so important a
+member of the Saint’s anatomy, that in the succeeding
+century there arose a report which spoke of the
+rescue of certain relics of the Apostle Andrew during
+the headlong course of the Reformation in Scotland.
+The most precious objects preserved in the Cathedral
+of St Andrew’s, says this legend, were secretly saved
+from the expected fury of Knox’s partisans and
+brought to Amalfi, where they were reverently added
+to the store of remains that had survived the plundering
+of Pius II. Whether or no there be any truth in
+this somewhat fantastic theory, it is enough to state
+that St Andrew continues to be patron Saint of this
+maritime city, for which office the character of the
+Galilean fisherman who was called to be a fisher
+of men seems specially appropriate. Nevertheless,
+despite the valuable additions made in Reformation
+days, the sanctity of the shrine is not held so high
+as it used to be. No longer do the venerated bones
+ooze with the sweet-scented moisture that in medieval
+days was piously collected to be used for purposes so
+<pb n='145'/><anchor id='Pg145'/>varied as the curing of warts, or the scattering of
+Paynim fleets! Yet so late as the days of Tasso,
+the great Apostle himself was evidently connected in
+the popular mind with the performance of so bizarre
+a miracle:—
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Vide in sembianza placida e tranquilla</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Il Divo, che di manna Amalfi instilla.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+But although the present times are too sinful to
+allow of the distillation of the fragrant dew of Amalfi,
+we observe the kneeling forms of not a few intent
+worshippers within the dimly-lighted crypt, in the
+midst of which the Spaniard Naccarino’s bronze figure
+of the Apostle uprises with dignified mien and life-like
+attitude. Sant’ Andrea is still <q>Il Divo,</q> the tutelary
+god of the Amalfitani; he remains in the estimation
+of these simple ignorant folk the special protector of
+the community. Times and ideas change, but not the
+old deep-rooted feeling of a personal tie between the
+Saint and his favoured people.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We were lucky in happening upon the great popular
+festival of Sant’ Andrea during our visit to Amalfi,
+and consequently were enabled not only to witness a
+picturesque scene of considerable splendour, but also
+to observe how strong a devotion the Amalfitani still
+manifest towards their own especial Saint. With the
+first flush of early dawn, discharges of mortars from
+the beach and the neighbouring hills began to arouse
+the echoes and to remind the still slumbering population
+that once more the great anniversary had arrived.
+The world was quickly astir to do honour to the great
+St Andrew, and from a very early hour an interminable
+stream of peasants and villagers, young and old, male
+<pb n='146'/><anchor id='Pg146'/>and female, began to enter the town from all quarters,
+and to congregate in the piazza where stands the large
+fountain crowned by the Saint’s own effigy. Here
+with exemplary patience the throng waited until the
+hour of the ceremony in the Cathedral drew nigh.
+Within the huge building priests and lay-helpers were
+actively employed in preparing for the event, and by
+their exertions the whole interior had been transformed
+into what may be best described as a magnificent
+ball-room, for every blank wall had been covered
+with draperies of rich crimson damask and the very
+pillars had been swathed from base to capital in the
+same gorgeous material. Innumerable old cut-glass
+chandeliers, that had reposed since the last <hi rend='italic'>festa di
+Sant’ Andrea</hi> in huge round boxes in some secluded
+vault, had been slung by means of cords from the
+ceiling and the arches of the nave, whilst a large
+number of mirrors set in carved gilt frames had been
+affixed to various points of the walls and columns.
+The fine marble pavement lay thickly strewn with bay
+and myrtle leaves, emitting a pleasant wholesome
+scent when crushed under foot by the picturesque but
+somewhat malodorous crowd of fisher-folk and
+peasants. On entering the church, at the first sound
+of the bells booming over head, we found ourselves
+heavily pressed by the surging throng of worshippers,
+and it was only with difficulty we could obtain a sight
+of the ceremonies at the high altar, prominent upon
+which stood the silver bust of the Apostle containing
+the precious relics. It was a typical Italian <hi rend='italic'>festa</hi>.
+The chanting was harsh and discordant; the antiquated
+inharmonious organ emitted unexpected squeals, as if
+in positive pain; there was, it is needless to add, a
+<pb n='147'/><anchor id='Pg147'/>complete absence of that <q>churchy</q> demeanour which
+passes for reverence in the North; yet withal, despite
+the shrill discordant music, the tawdry embellishments
+of the grand old building and the absence of propriety
+of the crowd, there was perceptible some mysterious
+underlying force that compelled us to note the extraordinary
+hold the Church has upon the people of
+Southern Italy. For all this throng of persons had
+assembled that day with one definite purpose: to see
+their universal friend and patron, their Saint and their
+worker of domestic miracles; they had come to pay
+their homage to a celestial acquaintance, with whom,
+thanks to the Church’s teaching, they had all been
+intimate from their cradles. They had not thus
+assembled at an early hour, deserting their mills and
+their shops, their boats and their nets, renouncing their
+chances of gain, to hear a preacher’s eloquence or to
+listen to fine music, but merely to pay their annual
+visit of respect to their Spiritual Master. Why should
+we aliens intrude upon so private a gathering? In
+any case, we have grown weary of standing in the
+close sickly atmosphere, wherein the fragrance of the
+crushed bay-leaves, the fumes of incense and the strange
+smell of garlic-eating humanity blend in an oppressive
+manner. We push our way through the eager and
+intent congregation, and gaining the door-way step
+with a sigh of relief into the sunshine that is flooding
+the <hi rend='italic'>loggia</hi>. But it is too hot to remain here, and we
+descend the great stair-case in order to take up a post
+of vantage in the shade on the opposite side of the
+piazza; having gained our desired position we expect
+in patience the arrival of the procession. Nor have
+we very long to wait. The officials of the town
+<pb n='148'/><anchor id='Pg148'/>suddenly dart forward to clear the steps of their crowd
+of ragged children, and almost simultaneously the
+great bronze doors of Pantaleone are flung open to the
+sweet air and the sunshine. It was a wonderful and
+deeply interesting experience to watch the glittering
+train slowly emerge from the darkness of the church
+into the glare of day, and then descend that stately
+flight of marble stairs to the sound of joy-bells and to
+the accompaniment of explosions of fireworks. First
+came the leading members of the various Confraternities
+of the little city, all bearing tapers whose
+tongues of flame shone feebly in the fierce contemptuous
+sunlight, and all wearing snow-white smocks and
+coloured scarves. Red, green, blue, white, purple,
+yellow, gleamed the huge banners of these different
+societies, each borne by a tall <hi rend='italic'>vessillifero</hi>, or standard
+bearer, assisted by quaint solemn little figures who
+acted as pages. Then followed the body of the clergy
+in copes of white and gold, with eyes downcast as
+they chaunted in loud nasal tones from books in their
+hands; next came the Canons of the Cathedral in fine
+old festal vestments reserved for such occasions and
+with mitres on their heads, for Amalfi clings to the
+ancient ecclesiastical privileges that were granted in
+distant days when Florence and Venice were little
+more than villages. Last of all walked the Archbishop,
+an aged tottering figure, weighed down by his cope of
+cloth of gold and seemingly crushed beneath his
+immense jewelled mitre. Two lackeys, almost as
+infirm as their venerable master, and clad in threadbare
+liveries edged with armorial braid, were in close
+attendance, whilst behind the Archbishop, beneath a
+gorgeous canopy of state upheld by six white-robed
+<pb n='149'/><anchor id='Pg149'/>assistants, was borne the great silver bust of St Andrew.
+The appearance of the Image of <q>Il Divo,</q> upon
+which the sunbeams were playing in dazzling coruscations
+of light, was greeted with a murmur of applause
+and satisfaction from the expectant crowd in the open.
+Hats were doffed; knees were bent; prayers were
+muttered, as with slow and cautious steps the bearers
+of the Image and its canopy began to descend.
+Having gained the lower ground in safety, a momentary
+halt was made, during which we were able to note
+the mass of votive offerings—jewels, chains, rings,
+watches, seals—suspended round the Saint’s neck,
+amongst them being many silver fishes, doubtless the
+gifts of grateful mariners. And at this point we were
+spectators of a pretty incident. A little girl with
+black ringlets and eager eyes was dexterously lifted on
+to her father’s shoulder, in order that she might present
+<q>Il Divo</q> with a golden chain, which the tiny fingers
+deftly clasped round the bejewelled neck of the silver
+bust. The crowd saw and applauded; it was a moment
+of triumph for the dark-eyed child, for the Church, and
+for the approving throng. With the new addition of
+the child’s necklet to the treasury of the Saint, the
+procession pursued its way through the square towards
+the Valley of the Mills, with banners waving, with
+priests chaunting in harsh monotonous tones, and with
+clouds of incense rising into the sun-kissed air. It
+was truly a beautiful and curious sight, this festival of
+the Church amidst people so devout and surroundings
+so appropriate.
+</p><anchor id="illus11"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: AMALFI: PIAZZA AND DUOMO]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus11th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus11.jpg">AMALFI: PIAZZA AND DUOMO</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: AMALFI: PIAZZA AND DUOMO</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+On his safe return to his now brilliantly lighted
+Cathedral, the Saint was welcomed with indescribable
+enthusiasm. The crazy old organ was made to
+pro<pb n='150'/><anchor id='Pg150'/>duce the loudest and liveliest of music; the uniformed
+municipal band awoke the echoes of the venerable
+but bedizened fabric with its complimentary braying;
+and urchins were even permitted to scatter fire-crackers
+upon the floor in honour of the event. It was a real
+ecclesiastical Saturnalia of a most innocent and joyous
+description. All Amalfi spent the remaining hours of
+day-light in feasting, dancing and singing, and when
+at last darkness fell upon the merry scene, rockets
+and Roman candles were seen to spring into the
+night air from many points in the landscape, illumining
+the sea with quickly dying trails of coloured light.
+Watching the bonfires and the fireworks, and listening
+to the sounds of revelry and song arising from the
+town below, we pondered over our experiences of the
+day as we paced our airy terrace of the Cappuccini.
+Surely the South has remained immutable for
+centuries in its deeply rooted love of religious
+festivals. The forefathers of these devotees of Andrew
+the Fisherman were equally enthusiastic worshippers
+of Poseidon or of Apollo. The Church has not in
+reality altered the outer attributes; it has but added
+a special moral significance to the old pagan gatherings.
+The ancient gods of Greece and Rome are
+dethroned, and their very names forgotten by the
+populace; but their cult survives, for it has been
+adapted to the glorification of Christian Saints. True
+it is that the milk-white sacrificial oxen and the gay
+garlands of antiquity have been omitted; nevertheless,
+there remain the music, the incense and the unrestrained
+jollity of the people. Much that is beautiful
+and suggestive has perished, yet there survives enough
+of the old classical ritual for us to see that the true
+<pb n='151'/><anchor id='Pg151'/>spirit of antiquity has never wholly died out amongst
+these sunburnt children of Magna Graecia.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">See the long stair with colour all ablaze,</q></l>
+<l>With banners swaying in pellucid air,</l>
+<l>As mitred priests with cautious footsteps bear</l>
+<l>The silver Image, flashing back the rays</l>
+<l>Of jealous Phoebus—Ah! the altered days</l>
+<l>When these Lucanians with wind-lifted hair,</l>
+<l>Blossom-bedecked, with limbs and bosoms bare,</l>
+<l>Sang to Apollo psalms of love and praise!</l>
+<l>With bells and salvoes all the hills resound,</l>
+<l>And incense mingles with the atmosphere,</l>
+<l>As still this Southern race, ill-clothed, uncrowned,</l>
+<l>Retains the memory of the Pagan year,</l>
+<l>When changed, yet all unchanged, Time’s round</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Makes the Jew Fisherman a god appear.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+</div><div n="7" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='152'/><anchor id='Pg152'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="7: Ravello and the Rufoli"/>
+<head>CHAPTER VII</head>
+
+<head type="sub">RAVELLO AND THE RUFOLI</head>
+
+<p>
+No visit to Amalfi can be considered complete
+without ascending to the decayed town of
+Ravello, that crowns the rocky heights to the north-east
+of the parent city by the sea-shore. The road
+thither leads along the beach, passing between the
+picturesque old convent that is now the Hotel Luna,
+beloved of artists, and the solitary watch tower on
+the precipice which stands sentinel above the waters
+on our right hand. At this point we turn the corner,
+and find ourselves in Atrani, lying in the deep gorge
+of the Dragone and joining its buildings to those of
+Amalfi on the road above the beach. Prominent
+upon the steep ridge that separates the two cities
+stands the ruined keep of Pontone, the last relic of
+the town of Scaletta that was a flourishing place in
+days of the Republic. A tall belfry of peculiar and
+striking architecture which dominates Atrani is usually
+attributed to the art of the Saracens, whom King
+Manfred called in to garrison this place during his
+wars with Pope Innocent IV. Atrani, which is but
+a suburb of Amalfi, suffered equally with the Capital
+during the great upheaval of Nature that desolated
+this coast in the fourteenth century, so that little of
+interest remains except the quaint church of San
+<pb n='153'/><anchor id='Pg153'/>Salvatore a Bireta, wherein the Doges of Amalfi were
+once elected and crowned. This ancient building
+lies hidden in a sandy cove beneath the roadway, and
+those who care to run the gauntlet of beggars and
+descend to the beach below, can examine its beautiful
+bronze doors, which the generous citizen Pantaleone
+gave <hi rend='italic'>pro mercede animae suae et merito S. Sebastiani
+Martyris</hi>. But there is very little else to inspect, for
+the interior has been hopelessly modernized.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Soon after passing Atrani we turn sharply up hill
+to the left, and begin our ascent towards Ravello.
+The dusty white road winds upwards through a
+region of carefully cultivated terraces filled with olives
+and vines, intermingled here and there with orange,
+lemon, fig, and pomegranate trees. As we gain
+higher ground, our horizon tends ever to widen, and
+we behold the expanse of sea and sky melting in the
+far distance into <q>some shade of blue unnameable,</q>
+whilst the mountain-fringed ring of the Bay of Salerno
+becomes vividly mapped out to our eyes from the
+Cape of Minerva to the Punta di Licosia. On our
+left we peer down into the depths of the dark ravine
+of the Dragone, whose black shadows are popularly
+supposed to give its name of Atrani to the cheerful
+little town we have left behind. Let us thank Heaven
+that we are at last out of reach of the beggars, and
+that the only human beings to be encountered upon
+the road are a few peasants with loads of fruit or
+vegetables, and an occasional charcoal-burner bearing
+his grimy burden to the town below. The <hi rend='italic'>carbonaio</hi>
+with his blackened face and queer outlandish garments
+is a familiar figure throughout all parts of Southern
+Italy. He belongs to a race apart, that dwells in
+<pb n='154'/><anchor id='Pg154'/>the belt of forest land clothing the higher hills, and
+he only descends to the cities of the shore and the
+plain in order to sell his goods. He is despised by
+the sharper-witted townsman, who beats down his
+prices for the combustibles he has borne with such
+fatigue from his distant mountain home. Sometimes
+the old people are despatched to do the money
+bargaining, the selling and buying. Look at the old
+couple at this moment passing us; an aged man and
+woman that Theocritus might have known in earlier
+days when the world was less civilized and less greedy
+of gain. With bare travel-stained feet, with feeble
+frames supported by long staves and with the heavy
+sacks of charcoal on their bent backs, the modern
+Baucis and Philemon crawl along the white road
+beneath a broiling sun, patient and uncomplaining,
+and apparently with no feelings of envy as they cast
+one careless glance at our carriage. Weary and foot-sore,
+they will only obtain a few <hi rend='italic'>quattrini</hi> in the
+town for all their toil and trouble, and then they must
+retrace every step up the long hill-side, with their
+little stock of provisions to help eke out a miserable
+existence. Yet can any life in such a climate and
+amid such surroundings be truly accounted miserable,
+we ask, no matter how humble the dwelling or frugal
+the fare?
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As our carriage creeps slowly upward, we find the
+land less cultivated, and now and again we pass tracts
+of woodland whence little purling streams fall over
+rocky ledges on to the roadway. We catch sight of
+small clumps of cyclamen, and in the shady hollows
+we detect tufts of the maiden-hair fern—<hi rend='italic'>Capilli di
+Venere</hi>, <q>Venus’ tresses,</q> as the Italians sometimes
+<pb n='155'/><anchor id='Pg155'/>call this graceful little plant. At a curve of the road
+we are confronted by a smiling old peasant with gold
+rings in his ears, who in the expectation of <hi rend='italic'>forestieri</hi>
+coming this way has been patiently sitting for hours
+on a boulder. Doffing his battered hat and putting
+a sunburnt hand to his mouth, the old fellow in a deep
+musical bass wakens all the sleeping echoes that lie in
+the many folds of the valley, so that we hear the words
+of welcome repeated again and again, growing fainter
+and fainter as the sound of the voice travels from
+cliff to cliff. The performer is delighted with a few
+<hi rend='italic'>soldi</hi>, and the jaded scarecrow of a horse seems pleased
+with his momentary halt. <hi rend='italic'>Iterum altiora petimus</hi>; by
+degrees we reach the airy platform upon which Ravello
+stands, and finally alight at the comfortable old inn so
+long associated with the excellent family of Palumbo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Ravello undoubtedly owes its early foundation to
+certain patrician families of Amalfi, which after securing
+their fortunes decided to leave the hot close city beside
+the shore, and to seek new homes in the bracing air
+of the hill-top above. Placing itself under the protection
+of the powerful Robert Guiscard, Ravello became
+faithfully attached to the Norman interest, and in 1086,
+at the suggestion of the great Count Roger, who
+cherished a deep regard for the Rufolo family, the
+town was created a bishopric by Pope Victor III. As
+a subject city of the Norman princes, Ravello was
+during this period at the zenith of its fame and
+importance. Its actual population is unknown at this
+distant day, but we learn that under Count Roger the
+large area of the city was entirely girdled by strong
+walls set with towers; that it contained thirteen
+churches, four monasteries, many public buildings, and
+<pb n='156'/><anchor id='Pg156'/>a large number of private palaces. Its cathedral was
+founded in honour of Saint Pantaleone by Niccolò
+Rufolo, Duke of Sora and Grand Admiral of Sicily,
+the head of the powerful family whose name is still
+gratefully remembered in this half-deserted town. In
+1156 Ravello was honoured by a state visit from Pope
+Adrian IV.—the English monk, Nicholas Breakspear,
+the only Briton who ever succeeded in gaining the
+papal tiara and who gave the lordship of Ireland to
+Henry Plantagenet—and during his stay the Pontiff
+was entertained as the guest of the all-powerful Rufoli.
+Born of humble parents in the village of Bensington,
+near Oxford, Nicholas Breakspear became a monk at
+St Alban’s, and having once entered the religious life,
+he rose by sheer force of intellect and an iron strength
+of will to the attainment of the highest honour the
+Church could bestow. It was in the hey-day of his
+power that the English pope entered Ravello and sang
+Mass in the Cathedral in the presence of all the noble
+citizens of the place, for in the previous year he had
+crushed for ever the dangerous heresy of Arnold of
+Brescia, by boldly sentencing that ardent reformer to
+be burnt at the stake in Rome and his ashes cast into
+the Tiber. The Pontiff during his visit sojourned in
+the Palazzo Rufolo, the beautiful Saracenic building
+that is still standing intact after so many centuries,
+and by a curious coincidence is now the property of
+the well-known English family of Reid. Nor was Pope
+Adrian the only sovereign who honoured Ravello by his
+presence, for Charles of Anjou, brother of St Louis of
+France and the murderer of poor Conradin, and King
+Robert the Wise also received the hospitality of the
+Rufolo family within these walls. The whole existing
+<pb n='157'/><anchor id='Pg157'/>town in fact is eloquent of the long extinct but by no
+means forgotten Rufoli, who may fairly be reckoned
+among the more enlightened of the petty tyrants of
+medieval Italy. That their name was still familiar in
+Italian society in the fourteenth century is evident
+from the circumstances that Boccaccio puts a story,
+no doubt founded on fact, into the mouth of the fair
+Lauretta, which deals with the adventures of one
+Landolfo Rufolo of Ravello, <q>who, not content with
+his great store, but anxious to make it double, was
+near losing all he had, and his life also.</q> The novel
+proceeds to relate how this member of a wealthy and
+respected family turned corsair, after losing all his
+capital in a mercantile speculation in Cyprus; how he,
+in his turn, was robbed of his ill-gotten gains on the
+high seas by some thievish merchants of Genoa; and
+how Landolfo, after passing through a variety of more
+or less improbable adventures, was finally rescued from
+drowning off the coast of Corfu by a servant-maid who,
+whilst washing dishes by the sea-shore, chanced to
+espy the unconscious merchant drifting towards the
+beach with his arms clasped round a small wooden
+chest, which kept him afloat. <q>Moved by compassion,</q>
+says the relator of the tale, <q>she stepped a little way
+into the sea, which was now calm, and seizing the half-drowned
+wretch by the hair of his head, drew both him
+and the chest to land, where with much trouble she
+unfolded his arms from the chest, which she set upon
+the head of her daughter who was with her. She
+herself carried Landolfo like a little child to the town,
+put him on a stove, and chafed and washed him with
+warm water, by which means the vital heat began to
+return, and his strength partially revived. In due
+<pb n='158'/><anchor id='Pg158'/>time she took him from the stove, comforted him with
+wine and good cordials, and kept him some days till
+he knew where he was; she then restored him his
+chest, and told him he might now provide for his
+departure.</q><note place="foot"><anchor id="corr158"/><hi rend='italic'><corr sic="italics added">The Decameron.</corr></hi> <corr sic="italics removed">Novel IV. of the Second Day</corr>.</note> Of course the little chest that Landolfo
+had clutched by chance in his agony of drowning
+eventually turned out to be filled with precious stones,
+which by a miracle—and miracles were common
+enough in the days of the <hi rend='italic'>Decameron</hi>—not only floated
+of itself but also supported the weight of Master
+Landolfo. In any case, the rescued merchant, with
+the greed and ingratitude which are often accounted
+for sharpness and wit, presented his kind hostess with
+the empty trunk, whilst he concealed the gems in a
+belt upon his own person. Equipped with these
+jewels, he made his way across the Adriatic to the
+Apulian coast, and thence reached Ravello with
+greater wealth than he had ever hoped to obtain with
+his original capital at the time he set sail for Cyprus.
+</p><anchor id="illus12"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: RAVELLO: IL DUOMO]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus12th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus12.jpg">RAVELLO: IL DUOMO</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: RAVELLO: IL DUOMO</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Fortunately Ravello, though shrunk to such modest
+proportions nowadays, still possesses many memorials
+of its glorious past. Travellers will of course turn
+their steps towards the Duomo, with its yellow
+baroque façade abutting on the little piazza that,
+with its daisy-starred turf and old acacia trees, forms
+so pleasant a play-ground for the merry dark-eyed
+children of the place. The cathedral of St Pantaleone
+is—or rather was—one of the most interesting and
+richly decorated churches erected in Southern Italy
+under the combined influence of Norman and Saracenic
+art at a time when cunning workmen were able to
+blend together the styles of East and West, and to
+<pb n='159'/><anchor id='Pg159'/>produce that rich harmonious architecture of which
+the splendid churches of Monreale and Palermo
+present to us the happiest examples. There still
+exist intact the magnificent bronze doors with their
+fifty-four panels of sculpture in relief, the gift of
+Sergio Muscettola and his wife, Sigilgaita Rufolo,
+and the work of the Italian artist Barisanus of Trani,
+who likewise designed and cast the portals of the
+cathedrals of his native town and of Monreale. But
+alas! the interior of the building, that was once
+rich with <anchor id="corr159"/><corr sic="mosiac">mosaic</corr> and fresco and fanciful carving, has
+been converted into one of those dull soulless caverns
+of stucco that the wanderer in all parts of Italy meets
+with only too frequently. This deplorable act of
+vandalism at Ravello dates of course from the
+eighteenth century, and appears to have been the
+work of a bishop named Tafuri, who in his frenzied
+eagerness to possess a cathedral worthy of comparison
+with the fashionable atrocities in plaster then being
+erected at Naples, did not hesitate to destroy wholesale
+almost all the ancient and elaborate ornamentation
+of his Duomo. His architect—perhaps the
+miserable Fuga, who ruined the interior of the
+Cathedral at Palermo, who knows?—dug up the fine
+old pavement, tore out the mosaics and had them
+carted away, effaced the frescoes, and at last transformed
+the venerable building with its memories of
+popes and princes into a commonplace white-washed
+chamber. Why this wretched prelate stayed his
+hand at the pulpit, it is difficult to say: perhaps he
+was meanwhile translated for his private virtues,
+perhaps Death overtook him in the work of destruction;
+at any rate, the famous pulpit of Ravello
+<pb n='160'/><anchor id='Pg160'/>mercifully escaped the general onslaught, though it
+must have been by fortunate accident and not by
+design that Monsignore Tafuri omitted to remove
+this unique specimen of a style of architecture, which
+doubtless he considered barbaric and un-Christian in
+its character. For this pulpit is one of the finest
+examples of the ornate, if somewhat bizarre art of
+the thirteenth century, and belongs to a type of work
+that is not unfrequently met with throughout Italy.
+Six spiral columns, springing from the backs of
+crouched lions, support the rostrum of marble inlaid
+with beautiful mosaics; whilst above the arch of the
+stair-way of ascent stands the famous portrait, usually
+called that of Sigilgaita Rufolo, wife of the founder
+of the Cathedral. The striking face, which is surmounted
+by an elaborate diadem with two pendent
+lappets, is evidently an excellent likeness of the
+original; yet there can be no doubt that this interesting
+bust has been wrongly named, since the
+pulpit itself, as a Latin inscription duly records, was
+erected in the year 1272 by Niccolò Rufolo, a
+descendant of the famous Grand Admiral, so that we
+may fairly conclude that the portrait represents the
+wife, or perhaps sister or daughter, of the donor.
+But popular tradition dies hard; and the name of
+Sigilgaita will probably cling for ever to the female
+face which has for over six centuries looked calmly
+down upon generation after generation of worshippers.
+Perhaps those severe proud features may have
+impressed the ignorant Vandal-Bishop as that of
+some unknown Saint, whom it might be dangerous
+to offend, and may thereby have saved the pulpit
+of Niccolò Rufolo from the destruction that must
+<pb n='161'/><anchor id='Pg161'/>have seemed inevitable. Be that as it may, the bust
+has survived uninjured, which, apart from the feeling
+of sentiment, is particularly fortunate, for it belongs
+to a small class of artistic work, of which existing
+specimens are rare and highly prized. For there
+must have been a local and premature Renaissance
+in this part of Italy during the thirteenth century,
+otherwise a statue so imbued with true classical
+feeling and so correct in technical finish as that of
+Sigilgaita in Ravello Cathedral could never have
+been produced; yet the names of the artist or artists
+who thus anticipated the great plastic revival remain
+undiscovered. Portrait-busts, similar in treatment
+and idea to that of the so-called Sigilgaita, are to be
+found here and there in museums, but this effigy in
+remote Ravello remains unique amidst its original
+surroundings.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Turning aside from Sigilgaita’s steady gaze and
+making the round of the bleak white-washed building,
+our eyes are suddenly attracted by a fine picture,
+in the manner of Domenichino, representing the
+martyrdom of Pantaleone, the popular Amalfitan
+Saint to whom this church was dedicated by the
+Rufolo family.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The cult of this Asiatic martyr in Amalfi is of
+course another legacy of the Republic’s close connection
+with the Levant, whence some relic-hunting
+admiral or merchant of the state reverently brought
+Pantaleone’s bones to the Italian coast. As the
+veneration of this Saint still exists so deep-seated
+that his Hellenic name is frequently bestowed on
+children at baptism, it may not be deemed amiss to
+give a very brief account of this eastern Martyr, who
+<pb n='162'/><anchor id='Pg162'/>is so closely associated with Amalfitan, and later with
+Venetian life. Pantaleone was born at Nicomedia,
+in Bithynia, the son of a Pagan father and a Christian
+mother. Well educated by his parents, he became
+a physician, and on account of his skill, his learning,
+his graceful manners and his handsome face, was
+finally selected to attend the person of the Emperor
+Maximian. At the Imperial Court the young doctor,
+who had meantime neglected the faith of his mother,
+was recalled to a true sense of Christian duty
+by the precepts of an old priest named Hermolaus.
+Pantaleone now began to heal the sick and to preach
+the Gospel, and even at times to perform miracles.
+Information as to his conduct having reached the
+Emperor’s ears, Maximian gave the young physician
+the choice of renouncing Christianity or of suffering
+death, whereat Pantaleone boldly declared he would
+rather die than apostatize. Thereupon the Saint,
+together with the Christian priest Hermolaus, was
+bound to an olive tree and beheaded with a sword.
+The story of his martyrdom has been frequently treated
+in Venetian art, for as an eastern Saint Pantaleone
+has a church dedicated to him in Venice, wherein the
+brush of Paul Veronese has painted in glowing colours
+the chief incidents of his life and death. As in the
+case of other physician-saints of the Roman Church—St
+Roch, St Cosmo and St Damiano—Pantaleone
+was especially besought in cases of the plague, which
+owing to the intercommunication between Amalfi
+and the Orient, frequently ravaged the towns of this
+coast.
+</p><anchor id="illus13"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: A STREET IN RAVELLO]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus13th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus13.jpg">A STREET IN RAVELLO</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: A STREET IN RAVELLO</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+From the Cathedral we proceeded to visit the quaint
+little church of Santa Maria del Gradillo, that with its
+<pb n='163'/><anchor id='Pg163'/>oriental-looking towers and cupolas affords a pleasing
+example of the mixed Lombard and Saracenic style
+which was in vogue in the years when the house of
+Hohenstaufen were masters of Southern Italy. We
+found little that was worth seeing inside the building,
+except the pretty black-eyed daughter of the
+toothless tottering old sacristan, who slunk off grumbling
+on his child’s appearance, leaving her to do the
+honours of the place. Her merry face with its welcoming
+smile and her modest loquacity excited our
+interest, and in answer to our questions we gathered
+that she was twenty years old, and was still unmarried,
+not for lack of opportunity, she naïvely told us, but
+because she was unwilling to leave her old parents,
+who had no one in the world but herself to attend to
+them. Coming to the door of the church, Angela
+(for that was her name) pointed out her home, a
+little white-washed cottage with a heavily barred
+window over-hanging the grass-grown lane. We
+wished our pleasant companion a warm good-bye,
+or rather <anchor id="sic163"/><hi rend='italic'>a riverderla</hi>, at the entrance of the dwelling,
+where through the open doorway we could espy a
+small sun-smitten courtyard tenanted by a wizened
+old woman sitting in the shade of an orange tree, by
+three cats, and by a large family of skinny hens. On
+a low wall we noted some shallow earthenware pans
+filled with carnation plants, whose red and yellow
+heads were clearly silhouetted against the blue sky
+over head. Perhaps Angela’s life, we thought, is after
+all happier thus spent in the tending of her parents,
+her poultry and her garden, than if joined to that of
+some swarthy rascal of the beach below or dull
+peasant of the hillside. Long may the old people
+<pb n='164'/><anchor id='Pg164'/>survive to keep their guardian Angel from the mingled
+sorrows and joys of matrimony!
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Tenete l’uocchie de miricula nere;</q></l>
+<l>Che ffa la vostra matre che n’n de’ marite?</l>
+<l>La vostra matre n’a de’ marito’ apposte</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Pe’ ne’ lleva’ son fior, a la fenestre.</q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">Your eyes are marvellously black and bright!</q></l>
+<l>How is it that your mother does not wed you?</l>
+<l>She will not wed you, not to lose her light—</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Not to remove the flower that decks her window!</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+The well-known hotel kept by Madame Palumbo,
+who is thoroughly conversant with English ways and
+requirements, occupies a delightful position in the old
+aristocratic quarter of Ravello known as <q>Il Toro,</q>
+the name of which is still retained in the interesting
+little church of San Giovanni del Toro close by.
+This comfortable hostelry has been constructed out of
+the <hi rend='italic'>Vescovado</hi>, the ancient episcopal residence, and it
+still retains many curious and attractive features of
+the original building, notably the quaint little stair-way
+that descends from the bishop’s private chamber
+into the chapel, which is now the <hi rend='italic'>salon</hi> of the hotel.
+With its magnificent views, its interesting buildings
+and its pure exhilarating air, Ravello would seem to
+be an ideal spot wherein to linger, and it affords
+a most agreeable change in the later Spring months
+from the close atmosphere and enervating heat of
+Amalfi or the coast towns. Perched on this breezy
+hill-top, from the terrace of the hotel can be observed
+the whole circuit of the Bay of Salerno, whilst behind
+to the north and east the ring of enclosing mountains
+rises sharp and distinct against the sky. From this
+point we are presented with a complete view of
+<pb n='165'/><anchor id='Pg165'/>the territories of the ancient Republic, spread out like
+a map beneath our feet and stretching from the Punta
+della Campanella to the heights above Vietri, and backed
+by the arid grey mountain peaks. If the garden
+of the Hotel Palumbo seems a fitting place wherein to
+idle or to dream, might not it also appeal to some
+historian, not tied to time nor to the hard necessity of
+money-making, as a suitable spot for the conception
+of a history of the origin, rise, decline and fall of
+the great maritime Republic, whose dominions, still
+smiling and populous, surround Ravello on all sides?
+Gibbon found the first suggestion for his Roman
+History whilst musing upon the ruins of the Capitol,
+and he finished his great work in a Swiss garden
+amidst the scent of acacia bloom; might not the
+annals of the Amalfitan Republic likewise spring from
+reflections made upon this terrace, where the memories
+of a former greatness still beautiful in its decay must
+operate so powerfully? Well, perhaps some future
+Gibbon—or more probably some budding Mommsen—may
+in time present the world with a true impartial
+and erudite history of the Costiera d’Amalfi.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We bask lazily in the afternoon sunshine, to the
+soft, rather soporific cooing of some caged doves, that
+live in the back-ground out of sight behind a screen of
+lemon trees in huge red jars, such as Morgiana must
+have been familiar with. Beyond the terrace wall we
+note the carefully tended vines, precious plants, for
+their grapes produce the delicate <hi rend='italic'>Episcopio</hi> wine,
+perhaps the choicest vintage to be obtained around
+Naples, and boasting a flavour and bouquet that
+are rarely to be encountered except in the products of
+the most celebrated vineyards of France or Germany.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='166'/><anchor id='Pg166'/>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">O quam placens in colore,</q></l>
+<l>O quam fragrans in odore,</l>
+<l>O quam sapidum in ore,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Dolce linguae vinculum.</l>
+</lg>
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Felix venter quem intrabis,</q></l>
+<l>Felix guttur quod rigabis,</l>
+<l>Felix os quod tu lavabis;</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend="pre: none">Et beata labia!</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Below the vinery we catch glimpses of the dancing
+waters of the Bay and of the little towns of Minori
+and Majori, seen through a screen of olive and almond
+trees that are gently swayed by the south wind.
+Opposite to us towers the huge form of the mountain
+of the Avvocata, upon whose slopes centuries ago the
+Madonna herself appeared in a flood of glory to
+an ignorant but pious shepherd lad, promising the
+startled youth to become his mediator, the <hi rend='italic'>avvocata</hi> of
+his simple prayers. The story must be true, say the
+peasants, for there on the hillside can still be seen the
+ruins of the shrine that the wondering and grateful
+villagers raised upon the very site of the apparition in
+honour of their celestial visitor. But the whole
+country-side teems with interesting and often beautiful
+legends and traditions, handed down by generations of
+the simple hardy folk who toil for their daily bread
+amidst the vineyards and olive groves that clothe the
+sun-baked slopes descending to the shore.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The intervening distance is not great between
+Ravello and La Scala, which surmounts the opposite
+ridge of the valley of the Dragone, whence good
+walkers can easily descend by the ancient mule
+track that leads down direct to Amalfi by way of
+Scaletta. Like its neighbour and historic rival across
+<pb n='167'/><anchor id='Pg167'/>the valley, the annals and fortunes of Scala are closely
+interwoven with those of Amalfi; and it was during
+the palmy days of the Republic that this daughter-town
+reached its height of prosperity. Although the
+tradition that once Scala possessed a hundred towers
+upon its walls and a hundred and thirty churches is
+obviously exaggerated, yet it must have been a place
+of importance even as early as 987, when Pope John
+XVI raised it to the rank of a bishopric, an honour
+which did not fall to Ravello until many years later.
+Early in the twelfth century Scala was pillaged by the
+Pisans, but some years afterwards, when the mother
+city tamely submitted to the demands of these Tuscan
+invaders without the smallest effort at self-defence, the
+higher-spirited mountaineers of La Scala manned their
+walls with skill and vigour, though without avail.
+The hill-set city was ultimately carried by storm, and
+so thoroughly did the enraged Pisans wreak their
+vengeance upon the place that Scala never again rose
+to fame or eminence, but henceforward dwindled in
+wealth and size until it finally sank to the condition of
+a large village, whilst Clement VIII offered an
+additional indignity to the city in its dotage by depriving
+it of episcopal rank. But though the citizens of
+modern Scala no longer possess a bishop in their
+midst, they are still the proud possessors and jealous
+guardians of the magnificent mitre presented by Charles
+of Anjou, who was greatly pleased by the men and
+money that this ancient town sent to aid his brother,
+St Louis of France, in his Crusade. Some sculptured
+tombs, one of them a monument in honour of Marinella
+Rufolo of Ravello, who was married to a Coppola of
+Scala, remain in the churches to interest the curious
+<pb n='168'/><anchor id='Pg168'/>traveller, but most visitors will find the principal charm
+of this dilapidated little city in its lofty striking situation
+beneath the frowning mass of Monte Cerrato.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But the sunset has come and gone, and the last
+tints of its rose-pink glow are rapidly disappearing from
+the serrated line of mountain tops against their background
+of daffodil sky. Stars are beginning to peep
+in the firmament, and yellow lights, the stars of earth,
+are springing up fast in the town below, and even
+appearing at rare intervals of space amongst the
+cottages of the woody hillside, or upon the fishing
+boats that lie on the bosom of the Bay, now turning
+to a deep purple under the advancing shadows of
+night. A cheerful concert of unseen insects greets
+our ears as we descend rapidly towards Atrani, whilst
+the goatbells amid the distant pastures tinkle pleasantly
+from time to time. We soon exchange the dewy
+freshness of evening in the country for the heavy air,
+thick with dust, that hangs over the coast road, and
+in a few moments more find ourselves at the foot of
+the rock-cut staircase that leads to our convent inn.
+</p>
+    <p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+But our days upon the beautiful Costiera d’Amalfi
+are at an end, and the moment has at last come
+for us to bid farewell to these enchanted scenes and to
+the ancient city slumbering peacefully in its rocky
+valley by the shore. Our rows upon the glassy waters
+of the Bay, our scrambles up the wild scrub-covered
+hillsides above the town, our evening walks along the
+broad high-road to catch the fleeting glories of the
+sun-set,—all are ended; the day, the hour of departure
+has actually arrived.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Casting a longing look behind we quit Amalfi in
+<pb n='169'/><anchor id='Pg169'/>the cool of the evening, in order to cover the eight
+intervening miles of coast road that lie between us and
+Salerno. We pass Atrani, with its tall parti-coloured
+tower, and proceed towards our destination with the
+smooth plain of waters below us and the fertile slopes
+above our heads, and thus we quickly gain Minori,
+another of the busy little settlements that once helped
+to make up the collected might of the old Republic.
+We meet with bare-footed sun-embrowned peasants,
+in their suits of blue linen and broad shady straw
+hats; lean sinewy figures, returning from a long day’s
+work in the fragrant orange groves by which the town
+is surrounded. We meet also, alas! with the usual
+crowd of beggars, the halt, the maimed, and the
+pseudo-blind, who are quickly left behind; nevertheless
+the naughty picturesque half-naked children,
+loudly screaming for <hi rend='italic'>soldi</hi>, caper in the dust alongside
+our carriage, until these little pests are out-stripped,
+but only to give way to other imps, equally
+naughty and unclothed, from Majori. Majori, nestling
+by the seashore amidst the enfolding mountains, appears
+to us a second Amalfi, with its crowded beach and
+brightly coloured boats, with its paper and maccaroni
+mills, huddled into the narrow ravine of the Senna,
+which cuts the town in half ere it empties itself into
+the Bay. Overhead the huge ruined castle of San
+Niccolò looms distinct against the rose-flushed evening
+sky, crouching like some decrepit old giant above the
+little city which he so oppressed in the bad old days
+when Sanseverini and Colonna carried on a perpetual
+selfish strife that allowed their humble neighbours no
+repose. Beautiful as is Majori, it is no lovelier than
+many another spot upon this exquisite coast; it is but
+<pb n='170'/><anchor id='Pg170'/>as one pearl in a well-matched necklace, for the country
+that lies between Amalfi and Salerno is fully as rich
+in historical interest and natural charm as is the
+western portion that we have just traversed. Behind
+Majori we behold Monte Falerio, with its rocky
+summit tipped with the glow of evening and its base
+in purple shadow, descending abruptly into the darkening
+waters of the Bay. Slanting down to the surf-fringed
+beach, the great mountain seem to bar our
+further progress, but with a guttural imprecation and
+a loud cracking of the whip, our coachman deftly
+guides his half-starved but cunning little horses round
+the sharp corner of the mountain spur known as the
+Capo del’ Orso, and in a trice Amalfi, whither we have
+been straining our eyes, is snatched from our vision;
+a few minutes later, and we have rounded the Capo
+del Tumulo, with its memories of the great Genoese
+admiral, Filippino Doria, who in the treacherous
+currents that circle round this Cape, destroyed the
+Spanish fleet of the Emperor Charles V. Already the
+sun has dipped below the horizon, and the calm
+expanse of the Tyrrhene has lost the last reflected ray;
+forward our driver urges his horses in the fast-fading
+light. The Angelus rings out from half a score of
+belfries beside the seashore and on the hillside,
+breaking the stillness of the gloaming with musical
+reverberations. Sunset and evening star, twilight and
+evening bell; how exquisite is the fall of night upon
+the shores of the Bay of Salerno! We pass the fishing
+village of Cetara, and in so doing we pass by the
+willing strength of imagination out of the dominion of
+the ancient Republic of Amalfi into the Principality
+of Salerno. Onward we press, and it is not long
+<pb n='171'/><anchor id='Pg171'/>before a shrill familiar sound bursts upon our ears,
+a sound that quickly tears the gossamer threads of a
+fancy revelling in the thoughts of long-extinct principalities
+and powers. It is the whistle of a railway-engine
+descending the slope from Vietri above us
+down to Salerno; it is the neighing of the iron horse
+that has not yet pranced along the unconquered
+Costiera d’Amalfi, nor befouled its crystal-clear air
+with his smoky breath. For at Vietri we re-enter the
+every-day world, and leave behind us the sea-girt fairy-land;
+Vietri, not Cetara, is the true frontier town to-day.
+But the lights of Salerno are drawing nearer
+and nearer, and in a few moments of time we are
+tearing along the broad lamp-lit Marina of the town,
+in the middle of which our driver pulls up suddenly
+at the entrance of that old-fashioned comfortable inn,
+the Albergo d’Inghilterra:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Another day has told its feverish story,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Another night has brought its promised rest.</q></l>
+</lg><anchor id="illus14"/>
+<pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: MINORI AT SUNSET]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus14th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus14.jpg">MINORI AT SUNSET</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: MINORI AT SUNSET</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+</div><div n="8" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='172'/><anchor id='Pg172'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="8: Salerno and the House of Hauteville"/>
+<head>CHAPTER VIII</head>
+
+<head type="sub">SALERNO AND THE HOUSE OF HAUTEVILLE</head>
+
+<p>
+Backed by gentle slopes well wooded and well
+tilled, and screened from the northern blasts
+by its guarding amphitheatre of grey crags, Salerno
+occupies a delightful position upon the Bay to which
+it gives its own name. The long stretch of its Marina,
+tolerably clean to the eye if not at all points agreeable
+to the nostrils, follows the broad curve of the strand,
+and an idle hour or so may pleasantly be whiled away
+in watching the fishing craft moored beside the mole
+and the attendant sailors. At the northern end of
+this promenade, in what constitutes the most fashionable
+quarter of the place, is a tiny garden with palms
+and daturas, whilst hard by stands a large theatre,
+evidences of the gentility of modern Salerno. But
+the whole town appears sleepy and dead-alive to a
+stranger, though at the sunset hour a band occasionally
+plays in this open space, the music attracting hither a
+crowd composed of all the divers elements of society
+in the quiet old city. Yet though not possessing any
+great attractions for a sojourn in itself, Salerno makes
+an excellent centre whence to explore the neighbourhood,
+for it lies within easy reach of the great
+Benedictine Abbey of Santa Trinità; of beautiful La
+Cava, <q>that Alpine valley under an Italian sky</q>; of
+<pb n='173'/><anchor id='Pg173'/>Nocera, with its ancient cathedral that was once a
+pagan temple; and last, but very far from least, of
+that glorious group of temples at Paestum. It has
+tolerable hotels, and if only their <hi rend='italic'>padroni</hi> could be
+brought to realise that a flavouring of rosemary and
+garlic in every dish is not appreciated by the palates
+of the <hi rend='italic'>forestieri</hi>, the fare provided would be excellent.
+As in all Italian cities, northern or southern, however,
+the nocturnal noise is prodigious. Shouting and
+shrieking, quarrelling and yelling rend the air at all
+hours, whilst the practice of serenading, more agreeable
+in romantic poetry than in everyday life, is here
+carried to excess, and the twanging of the mandoline
+and the throaty voices of ardent lovers are rarely silent
+o’ nights in the dark narrow streets of Salerno.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">A lu scur’ vagi cercann’</q></l>
+<l>La bella mia addo è?</l>
+<l>Mo m’annascunn’ po’ fann’ dispera’,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'>I mor’, I mor’ pe’ te,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend="pre: none">Ripos’ cchiù ne ho!</q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">In favouring dusk I wandering go,</q></l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'>My fair, where shall I find her?</l>
+<l>Now she attracts, now drives me wild;</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'>I die, I die for her;</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend="pre: none">Repose no more have I.</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Behind the long line of lofty well-built houses facing
+the Bay, the streets are gloomy, narrow and crooked,
+a labyrinth of dark mysterious lanes that contain no
+palaces or churches of note, and but few artistic <q>bits</q>
+to catch the eye and delight the soul of a painter. As
+in the case of Amalfi, the Cathedral of San Matteo at
+Salerno is almost the sole monument left standing of a
+past that is peculiarly rich in historical associations.
+<pb n='174'/><anchor id='Pg174'/>Ever since the accession of the Angevin kings Salerno
+has remained a quiet provincial town, neither rich nor
+poor, but stagnant and without commerce. Into its
+harbour, which Norman and Suabian princes attempted
+to improve, the sand has long since silted, and Naples
+for many centuries past has been able to regard with
+serene contempt the city that it was once intended to
+make her commercial rival:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Se Salerno avesse un porto,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Napoli sarebbe morto.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Well, Naples owns an excellent harbour, and has
+in consequence grown into one of the largest sea-ports
+on the shores of the Mediterranean, whilst little Salerno
+can only afford anchorage for fishing boats.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The chief interest of the place centres in its close
+connection with the great Norman house of Hauteville,
+and especially with Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia
+and Calabria, who after a fierce struggle managed to
+capture this city from the Lombard princes. Sprung
+from a hardy race of <hi rend='italic'>valvassors</hi> or <hi rend='italic'>bannerets</hi> in Normandy,
+Duke Robert was one of the twelve sons of
+Tancred of Hauteville in the bishopric of Coutances.
+Joining his elder half-brother William Bras-de-Fer in
+Italy, Robert at once began to make a remarkable
+display of soldierly and statesman-like qualities. An
+adventurer pure and simple in an alien land, this
+sharp-witted Norman in course of time obtained the
+nick-name of Guiscard, or the Wiseacre, and on the
+death of his elder brother he was nominated Count of
+Apulia by acclamation of the Norman followers, to the
+exclusion of his helpless young nephews. Robert
+Guiscard’s appearance and character have been sketched
+<pb n='175'/><anchor id='Pg175'/>for us with loving care by one of the most famous of
+the world’s historians, who was fully able to appreciate
+the mingled force and cunning, the <hi rend='italic'>suaviter in modo</hi>
+and the <hi rend='italic'>fortiter in re</hi>, of this leader of a handful
+of Normans in a hostile and distant country. Let
+Gibbon’s stately prose therefore present to us a
+word-painting of the Great Adventurer himself:—
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>His lofty stature surpassed the tallest of his army;
+his limbs were cast in the true proportion of strength
+and gracefulness; and to the decline of life he maintained
+the patent vigour of health and the commanding
+dignity of his form. His complexion was ruddy,
+his shoulders were broad, his hair and beard were long
+and of a flaxen colour, his eyes sparkled with fire, and
+his voice, like that of Achilles, could impress obedience
+and terror amidst the tumult of battle. In the ruder
+ages of chivalry, such qualifications are not below the
+notice of the poet or historian; they may observe that
+Robert at once and with equal dexterity could wield
+in the right hand his sword, his lance in the left; that
+in the battle of Civitella he was thrice unhorsed, and
+that on the close of that memorable day he was adjudged
+to have borne away the prize of valour from
+the warriors of the two armies. His boundless ambition
+was founded on the consciousness of superior
+worth: in the pursuit of greatness he was never
+arrested by the scruples of justice, and seldom moved
+by the feelings of humanity: though not insensible of
+fame, the choice of open or clandestine means was
+determined only by his present advantage. The
+surname of <hi rend='italic'>Guiscard</hi> was applied to this master of
+political wisdom, which is too often confounded with
+the practice of dissimulation and deceit; and Robert
+<pb n='176'/><anchor id='Pg176'/>is praised by the Apulian poet for excelling the
+cunning of Ulysses and the eloquence of Cicero. Yet
+these arts were disguised by an appearance of military
+frankness: in his highest fortune he was accessible and
+courteous to his fellow soldiers, and while he indulged
+the prejudices of his new subjects, he affected in his
+dress and manners to maintain the ancient fashion
+of his country. He grasped with a rapacious, that he
+might distribute with a liberal hand; his primitive
+indigence had taught the habits of frugality; the gain
+of a merchant was not below his attention; and his
+prisoners were tortured with slow and unfeeling cruelty
+to force a discovery of their secret treasure. According
+to the Greeks, he departed from Normandy with only
+five followers on horse-back, and thirty on foot; yet
+even this allowance appears too bountiful;—the sixth
+son of Tancred of Hauteville passed the Alps as a
+pilgrim, and his first military band was levied among
+the adventurers of Italy.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Gaining over the Pope Nicholas II. to his interests,
+the new Count was able to exact an oath of fealty in
+1060 from the Italian barons, hitherto his equals, to
+recognise him as <q>Duke of Apulia, Calabria, and here-after
+of Sicily, by the grace of God and of St Peter,</q>
+although it took many years of hard fighting before
+these lands, thus proudly claimed, could be subdued.
+Beginning with the conquest of the Duchy of Benevento,
+Guiscard at once laid siege to Salerno, taking it
+after an obstinate resistance lasting over eight months,
+during which he was himself severely wounded by a
+splinter from one of his own engines of war. The
+city captured with such difficulty now became the
+victor’s favourite residence and the recipient of his
+<pb n='177'/><anchor id='Pg177'/>bounty and enlightened rule, so that Salerno quickly
+rose to the rank of one of the most illustrious towns
+in Europe, supplanting even its magnificent neighbour
+Amalfi in popular esteem.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Urbs Latii non est hâc delitiosior urbe,</q></l>
+<l>Frugibus arboribus vino redundat; et unde</l>
+<l>Non tibi poma nuces, non pulchra palatia desunt,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Non species muliebris abest probitasque virorum.</q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">All Latium shows no more delightful place,</q></l>
+<l>Whose sunny slopes the vine and almond grace;</l>
+<l>’Midst fruitful groves her palaces uprear,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Her men are virtuous, and her women fair.</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+It was under the Guiscard’s auspices that the
+famous school of Medicine that had long been seated
+at Salerno rose to its highest point of excellence.
+<q>Paris for learning, Bologna for law, Orleans for
+poetry, and Salerno for Medicine</q>;—such was the
+verdict of the age. With the somewhat grudging
+consent of the clergy, the hygienic skill of the dreaded
+Arabs was in this city permitted to temper the crass
+ignorance of medieval Italy, and at Salerno alone
+were the works of the infidel Avicenna and of the
+pagans Galen and Hippocrates openly studied. The
+result was that the fame of the doctors of this <hi rend='italic'>Fons
+Medicinae</hi> spread over all Western Europe, so that
+distinguished patients either came hither to be treated
+in person or else sent emissaries to explain their
+symptoms and to obtain advice. Nor were the
+professors of the healing art at Salerno tied down by
+a strict adherence to drugs and boluses, for they fully
+realised that the height of all human ambition, the
+<hi rend='italic'>mens sana in corpore sano</hi>, is in any case more easily
+to be obtained by self-control than by all the
+in<pb n='178'/><anchor id='Pg178'/>gredients of the pharmacopoeia. They were warm
+believers apparently in the doctrine of moderation in
+all things, which after all is one of the most valuable
+prescriptions of modern hygiene:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Curas tolle graves, irasci crede profanum,</q></l>
+<l>Parce mero, coenato parum, non sit tibi vanum,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Surgere post epulas, somnum fuge meridianum.</q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">Throw off dull care; thine angry moods restrain;</q></l>
+<l>Eschew the wine-cup; lightly eat, nor vain</l>
+<l>Deem our advice to make Enough thy feast.</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Take exercise, and shun the noon-day rest.</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Such was the oracular reply of the Salernitan
+sages to Robert, Duke of Normandy, and no one can
+dispute the sound common sense of the prescription
+given, nor doubt that it is applicable to half the
+patients who to-day throng the consulting rooms of
+fashionable London physicians.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But to return to Robert Guiscard, who shares the
+historical honours of the place, together with the great
+Pope Gregory VII., of whom we shall speak presently.
+After subduing the southern half of Italy and the
+island of Sicily, the great Duke next turned his
+victorious arms against the Eastern Empire, with the
+secret intention, it was suspected, of ascending the
+throne of Constantine. With the pseudo-Emperor
+Michael in his train, the Great Adventurer in 1081
+assembled a vast army at Otranto, consisting of
+30,000 Italian subjects and of 1300 Norman knights,
+with the object of crossing over to Epirus. Durazzo
+on the opposite Albanian coast, the Dyrrachium of
+the ancients, a city that was henceforth destined to be
+closely associated with succeeding dynasties of South
+Italy, was the objective of this gigantic expedition,
+<pb n='179'/><anchor id='Pg179'/>for it was commonly reported to be the key of the
+Eastern Empire. Thither the flotilla set sail, but
+before reaching the Greek shore, an unexpected and
+unseasonable tempest scattered Guiscard’s argosy,
+destroying many of the ships and drowning many
+crews. Nevertheless, the undaunted spirit and endless
+resources of the Norman Duke rose superior to all
+misfortunes. Landing with the remnant of his army
+he at once laid siege to Durazzo, despite the fact that
+the Emperor Alexius was marching to its relief, and
+that the Venetian fleet was already anchored in its
+harbour. In spite of overwhelming odds, Guiscard
+utterly routed the Byzantine army. With his heir
+Bohemond and his wife Sigilgaita beside him, the
+Duke watched the progress of the battle, and at its
+most critical juncture, at a moment when it appeared
+inevitable that the hard-pressed Italian army must
+yield to the sheer numbers of the foe, the deep voice
+of the leader could be heard booming like a deep-toned
+bell over the battlefield, as he addressed his wavering
+troops. <q>Whither do ye fly? Your enemy is implacable,
+and death is less grievous than slavery!</q>
+Joined with the hoarse voice of Guiscard, the Norman
+warriors could distinguish the exhortations of the
+Amazon-like Sigilgaita, <q>a second Pallas, less skilful
+in arts, but no less terrible in arms than the Athenian
+goddess.</q> Rallying at the words of their master and
+shamed by the martial ardour of the Duchess, the invading
+troops made one last desperate effort, whereby
+the Imperial army was driven back and scattered, so
+that Alexius barely escaped with his life. Having
+routed the Emperor in fair fight, Guiscard now made
+use of his unparalleled cunning by bribing the
+<pb n='180'/><anchor id='Pg180'/>treacherous Venetians, who eventually assisted the
+Italian forces to enter the city gates, and thus Durazzo
+was gained at the point of the sword after one of the
+fiercest sieges known to history. Scarcely had the
+beleaguered town been reduced, than the indomitable
+Guiscard found himself compelled to return to Italy,
+where the Emperor of the West, the unhappy Henry
+IV., vainly endeavouring to wipe out the humiliation
+of Canossa, had seized Rome and was actually besieging
+the great Hildebrand in the Castle of Sant’ Angelo.
+Leaving his son Bohemond in command of the army
+in Macedonia, Robert recrossed the sea, and hastened
+with a handful of men towards Rome. But so intense
+a fear did the victor of Durazzo inspire, that the
+terrified Emperor without waiting to give combat fled
+headlong together with his anti-pope from the Holy
+City, where Guiscard was received with acclamation.
+<q>Thus, in less than three years,</q> remarks Gibbon, <q>the
+son of Tancred of Hauteville enjoyed the glory of
+delivering the Pope, and of compelling the two
+Emperors of the East and West to fly before his
+victorious arms.</q> Guiscard’s triumphal entry into
+Rome was however marred by scenes of violence and
+scandal, due to the conduct of the Saracen troops which
+his brother, the great Count Roger of Sicily, had
+brought to assist the enterprise. So infuriated were
+the Romans by the behaviour of the infidels, that the
+prudent Gregory deemed it wiser to return to Salerno
+together with his deliverer, and it was in Guiscard’s
+palace that the famous <q>Caesar of spiritual conquest</q>
+expired three years later. As to the Great
+Adventurer himself, he died in the island of Cephalonia
+in the very year of the Pope’s death at Salerno (1085)
+<pb n='181'/><anchor id='Pg181'/>and was buried beside his first wife, the gentle Alberada,
+at Venosa in Apulia, though the city which he had
+always loved and favoured would seem to have offered
+a more appropriate spot for his interment.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But although the mortal remains of the Great
+Adventurer do not rest within the precincts of his
+beloved city, an undying monument of his glorious
+but turbulent reign is to be found in the Cathedral,
+which despite the neglect and alterations of eight
+centuries may still be ranked as one of the most
+interesting buildings in Southern Italy. Standing in a
+secluded part of the town, this magnificent church
+gains nothing from its position, for it can only be
+reached by means of tortuous dingy lanes, and even
+on a near approach the effect produced on the visitor
+is not impressive. <q>The Cathedral-church of San
+Matteo,</q> says the Scotch traveller, Joseph Forsyth, in
+quaint pedantic language, <q>is a pile so antique and so
+modern, so repaired and rhapsodic, that it exhibits
+patches of every style, and is of no style itself.</q> But
+is not this quality, we ask, exactly what a great
+historic building, such as Guiscard’s church, truly
+demands? Ought not it to bear the impress of the
+various ages it has survived, and of the many famous
+persons who have contributed to its embellishment?
+From Duke Robert’s day to the present time, the
+Cathedral is an epitome of the history of Salerno, a
+sermon in stones concerning the great past and the
+inglorious present of the city.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the year preceding his own death and that of
+the great Pontiff, who was tarrying at Salerno as
+his not over-willing guest, Duke Robert erected this
+Cathedral, obtaining the chief ornaments for his new
+<pb n='182'/><anchor id='Pg182'/>structure and also its most important relic, the supposed
+body of the Apostle St Matthew, from the lately
+deserted city of Paestum across the bay. The church
+is approached by means of a quadrangular fore-court,
+a cloister supported on antique columns, such as can
+still be observed in a few of the old Roman churches,
+so that we venture to think that this idea at Salerno
+was suggested by the great Pope himself. A number
+of sculptured sarcophagi, which, like the pillars, were
+the spoils of Paestum, are ranged alongside the
+entrance walls; and once upon a time there stood in
+the centre of the courtyard the huge granite basin
+that all visitors to Naples will recall as set in the
+middle of the Villa Reale, where it performs the
+humble office of decorating a miniature pond, wherein
+lily-white ducks quack and gobble at the bread crumbs
+thrown to them by children and their nurses. Fancy
+the irate disgust of Duke Robert at waking to learn
+that the antique fountain for his new Cathedral, brought
+with such care and toil from distant Poseidonia, should
+have been transported to the rival city and turned to
+such base uses! Above the splendid bronze doors, the
+gift of Landolfo Butomilea and his wife shortly after
+Guiscard’s death, we perceive the dedication of the
+church to the Apostle Matthew by the proud conqueror
+of the Two Sicilies and the protector of Hildebrand.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">A Duce Roberto donaris Apostole templo:</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Pro meritis regno donetur ipse superno.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+The donor, we note, is confident that the Apostle,
+in return for so glorious a fabric, will undertake to
+obtain the Kingdom of Heaven for this generous
+client upon earth.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The interior, which is sadly marred by white-wash
+<pb n='183'/><anchor id='Pg183'/>and gaudy decoration, is a perfect treasure-house of
+works of art—antique, medieval, Renaissance—of
+which the guide-book will give a detailed list.
+Succeeding generations have put to strange uses some
+of the fine marble reliefs that Guiscard transported
+hither from Paestum, and we note that one archbishop
+has gone so far as to filch a sarcophagus carved with
+a Bacchanal procession to serve for his own tomb.
+We might perhaps infer that the deceased prelate was
+addicted to the wine-flask, and to have been a firm
+believer in and follower of one of the rules of the
+medical school of his own diocese:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Si nocturna tibi noceat potatio vini,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Hoc ter mane libas iterum, et fuerit medicina.</q></l>
+</lg>
+    <lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">If a carouse at night do make thee ill,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">For morning medicine drink of wine thy fill</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Let us hope that this extraordinary receipt for <q>hot
+coppers</q> was intended satirically, or else given seriously
+as the only advice that a confirmed toper was likely
+to follow in any case. But the use of classical adjuncts
+to adorn Christian tombs, which to-day appears so
+incongruous to us, was popular enough at the time of
+the Renaissance, and readers of Robert Browning’s
+poetry will call to mind the story of the dying
+Bishop’s injunction to his heirs concerning his tomb
+in St Praxed’s church at Rome:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">The bas-relief in bronze ye promised me,</q></l>
+<l>Those Pans and Nymphs ye wot of, and perchance</l>
+<l>Some tripod thyrsus with a vase or so,</l>
+<l>The Saviour at His sermon on the mount,</l>
+<l>Saint Praxed in a glory, and one Pan</l>
+<l>Ready to twitch the Nymph’s last garment off,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">And Moses with the tables....</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<pb n='184'/><anchor id='Pg184'/>
+
+<p>
+But it is necessary to shake off the spirit of Renaissance
+dilettantism before we venture to approach the
+chapel of John of Procida to the right of the high
+altar, where stands the stern figure of the greatest
+of the medieval Pontiffs. Above the marble statue
+of the Caesar of the Papacy, that was tardily erected
+to his memory by the unfortunate Pio Nono, appear
+the glittering mosaics of the apse of the chapel, from
+which look down the figures of John of Procida and of
+King Manfred, the last sovereign prince of the hated
+Suabian line that Gregory twice anathematized.
+Beneath the cold forbidding eye of the last of the
+Hohenstaufen and his friend and avenger here rest,
+strangely enough, the ashes of that <q>great and
+inflexible asserter of the supremacy of the sacerdotal
+order: the monk Hildebrand, afterwards Pope
+Gregory the Seventh.</q> Born the son of a poor
+carpenter in the Tuscan village of Soana, this extraordinary
+man rose to eminence as a monk of Cluny,
+where he became famous for his extreme asceticism
+of life in an age of undisguised clerical corruption
+and luxury, when simony, lay investiture and priestly
+marriages were the rule rather than the exception on
+all sides, so that but few Churchmen were able to rise
+above their surrounding temptations. Such few as
+could resist the world, the flesh and the devil were
+accounted, and not unfrequently were in reality,
+ignorant crazy fanatics, half-pitied and half-despised.
+Between these two extremes of worldly indulgence
+and of unreasoning severity of life, Hildebrand ever
+pursued a middle course, for whilst on the one hand
+he eschewed the vanities of life around him, on the
+other he never sank into the self-effacement of
+<pb n='185'/><anchor id='Pg185'/>a hermit. His acknowledged purity and zeal soon
+won for him from the laity a respect mingled with awe,
+whilst his natural talents, his indomitable will, and
+his genuine piety in course of time brought all
+Churchmen who had any regard for their holy office
+to fix their hopes upon this Clugniac monk, now a
+Cardinal. For some years before his actual election
+to the Papal throne in 1079, Hildebrand had begun
+to exercise an immense control over the councils of
+the Church, and he was personally responsible for
+the epoch-making resolution under Nicholas II., which
+declared that the choice of a new Pontiff was vested
+in the College of Cardinals alone. His own election,
+under the terms of this new and drastic arrangement,
+became the signal for the fierce struggles, equally
+of the battlefield and the council-chamber, that were
+destined to distract Italy for generations to come. For,
+as might have been expected, the Emperor Henry IV.,
+King of the Romans, was not long in protesting against
+so decided an infringement of his secular claims.
+From the synods of Worms and Piacenza came the
+Imperial decree of deposition against Gregory, which
+was addressed by <q>Henry, not by usurpation but
+by God’s holy ordination, King, to Hildebrand, no
+longer Pope, but false monk.</q> Gregory, strong alike
+in virtue and in resolve, and aided by the might
+of the Countess Matilda of Tuscany and of Robert
+Guiscard, answered by pronouncing a solemn anathema
+upon his secular adversary. In awe-struck silence the
+Council of the Lateran listened to the Pope’s final
+excommunication of the King, and of all those
+who dared to associate themselves with him. <q>I
+absolve,</q> said Gregory, <q>all Christians from the oaths
+<pb n='186'/><anchor id='Pg186'/>which they have taken or may take to him; and
+I decree that no one shall obey him as king; for it
+is fitting that he, who has endeavoured to diminish
+the honour of the Church, should himself lose that
+honour which he seems to have.</q> We all know
+the final act of that terrible unequal struggle, the
+duel of brute force against spiritual terrors in a rude
+age of violence and superstition, which took place
+in the courtyard of the Castle of Canossa, the
+Countess Matilda’s fortress in the Apennines.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>On a dreary winter morning, with the ground
+deep in snow, the King, the heir of a long line
+of Emperors, was permitted to enter within the
+two outer of the three walls which girded the Castle
+of Canossa. He had laid aside every mark of
+royalty or of distinguished station; he was clad
+only in the thin white linen dress of the penitent,
+and there, fasting, he awaited in humble patience
+the pleasure of the Pope. But the gates did not
+unclose. A second day he stood, cold, hungry and
+mocked by vain hopes. And yet a third day dragged
+on from morning till evening over the unsheltered
+head of the discrowned King. Every heart was moved
+save that of the representative of Jesus Christ.</q>
+</p><anchor id="illus15"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: ON THE ROAD TO RAVELLO]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus15th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus15.jpg">ON THE ROAD TO RAVELLO</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: ON THE ROAD TO RAVELLO</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Can we wonder then that the phrase <q>to go to
+Canossa</q> (<hi rend='italic'>gehen nach Canossa</hi>) has become ingrafted
+on to the German language, or that so significant an
+expression was openly used by Prince Bismarck
+during the fierce religious struggles in the days of
+the <q>Kultur-kampf</q> between the newly-formed
+Empire and the direct successor of the spiritual Caesar
+who had thus humbled a former Emperor of Germany?
+It was in vain that Henry afterwards endeavoured,
+<pb n='187'/><anchor id='Pg187'/>by making war upon his oppressor, to undo the evil
+effects of his public recantation at Canossa; the act
+of humiliation was too marked ever to be wiped out
+either by himself or by his descendants. For good
+or for bad, Gregory had succeeded in rendering the
+Papacy free from lay control; he had gained for ever
+for the Church one of her most cherished tenets, the
+absolute independence of the Pope’s election by the
+College of Cardinals; and he had even partially reduced
+the Western Empire into a fief of the Church
+itself. The former of Gregory’s great objects, the
+freedom of election, still remains intact after an interval
+of more than eight hundred years; the latter
+attempt, though long struggled for and apparently
+with success at times, has, we know, ultimately failed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Having accomplished so much during his reign,
+it is strange to think that Gregory’s last days should
+have been passed in a form of exile away from the
+Eternal City which he claimed as the metropolis of
+the Universal Church. There is pathos to be found
+in the Pope dying at Salerno, far removed from the
+scene of his ambition and success. With the bitter
+feeling that his name was execrated in Rome after
+Guiscard’s sack, and that his host was bent upon
+obtaining the imperial title from his reluctant guest,
+Gregory’s declining days were spent in melancholy
+reflections. To the last he spoke confidently of the
+righteousness of his cause, and whilst making his
+peace with all mankind in anticipation of his approaching
+end, he deliberately excepted from his own and
+God’s mercy the names of his arch-enemy Henry and
+the anti-pope Guibert, together with all their followers.
+Thus the aged Pontiff languished to his end within
+<pb n='188'/><anchor id='Pg188'/>the walls of the Castle of Salerno, encircled by flattering
+Churchmen who did their utmost to cheer their
+dying champion. <q>I have loved justice and hated
+iniquity, and therefore I die in exile,</q> are the
+famous words recorded of Hildebrand in the face of
+the King of Terrors. <q>In exile thou canst not die!</q>
+eagerly responded an attendant priest. <q>Vicar of
+Christ and His Apostles, thou hast received the
+nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts
+of the earth for thy possession.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Perhaps the expiring Pope was cheered by these
+words—who can tell? In any case they were prophetic,
+for the present world-wide character of the
+Roman Church, which embraces in its fold all nationalities
+and holds its members together all the globe
+over in one indissoluble bond of a spiritual empire,
+is largely due to the trials and exertions of one man:
+the monk Hildebrand, Pope Gregory the Seventh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Here then he sleeps his last sleep, the friend of Matilda,
+the mortal foe of King Henry, the patron of William
+the Conqueror, the guest of Robert Guiscard:—what
+a galaxy of illustrious names shines upon that dim
+silent chapel in the Cathedral of Salerno! Here
+stands in unchanging benediction his gleaming marble
+effigy, calmly surveyed by King Manfred near at
+hand in imperial robes, the last prince of the hated
+and twice banned Suabian House, whose bones were
+destined to bleach in the sun and rattle in the wind
+by the bridge of Benevento under a Papal curse.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before we quit the Cathedral in order to enjoy the
+evening sunshine, which is filling the interior with
+its roseate glow, let us return for one brief moment
+to the northern aisle, to glance at the grave of the
+<pb n='189'/><anchor id='Pg189'/>Duchess who fought so boldly by her husband’s side
+at Durazzo. It is easy to find, for her simple tomb
+stands not far from the beautiful and elaborate
+monument of Margaret of Durazzo (strange coincidence!)
+wife of King Charles of Naples, wherein
+the sculptor has portrayed angels drawing aside a
+curtain so as to display the sleeping form of the dead
+Queen within. Close to this monument of a not
+unusual Renaissance type, we discover the last resting
+place of Robert Guiscard’s second wife, the Duchess
+Sigilgaita, their son Roger Bursa and their grandson
+William, in whom the direct line of the Great Adventurer
+became extinct. Many stories are told by
+the old chroniclers of this bold intrepid princess (not
+always to her credit)—daughter of the last Lombard
+prince Gisulf of Salerno and wife of her father’s
+supplanter, whose humble Norman ancestry she affected
+to despise. But despite her reputation for cruelty
+and even for murder, Sigilgaita was a faithful wife
+and a brave woman, with a character not unlike that
+of our own Queen Margaret of Anjou; and it seems
+strange that so devoted and well mated a pair as
+herself and Robert Guiscard should be separated in
+death, he at Venosa and she in the cathedral of
+her husband’s foundation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Passing out of the silent church into the warm
+light of eventide, by steep alleys and by stony
+footpaths we <anchor id="corr189"/><corr sic="gradully">gradually</corr> mount upwards towards the
+ruined castle that commands a lofty position with an all-embracing
+view of the bay and its encircling mountains.
+The crumbling fragment of the old palace of Salerno
+differs but little in appearance from any one of those
+innumerable dilapidated piles of the Middle Ages with
+<pb n='190'/><anchor id='Pg190'/>which Southern Italy is so thickly studded, yet
+coming fresh from visiting Guiscard’s cathedral and
+Hildebrand’s last resting-place, we find it comparatively
+easy to conjure up some recollections of its
+past, so as to invest its crumbling red-hued walls
+with a spell of interest. These broken apertures
+were surely once the windows through which the
+dying Pope must have wearily glanced upon the
+sun-smitten waves and violet-shadowed hills that we
+behold to-day; here in this embrasure, long despoiled
+of its marble seat, must have brooded the fierce and
+unscrupulous Sigilgaita, thinking of how best to rid
+herself of her step-son Bohemond, in order that her
+own children might inherit their father’s realms.
+The ghosts of princes and popes are around us, yet
+the only living inhabitant of the roofless castle is
+the ragged little goat-herd, whose unsavoury charges
+are cropping the short grass that covers the site of
+the banqueting hall, where Norman knights and
+Italian barons once caroused in the crusading days
+of long ago. We seat ourselves on the dry sward
+in a sun-warmed angle of the ruins, where an almond
+tree that has sprouted from the rubble sends down
+from time to time upon our heads a tiny shower of
+pale pink blossoms at the bidding of the soft evening
+breeze. At our feet are masses of the dark shiny leaves
+of the wild arum, and rank grass which is plentifully
+starred with tall-stemmed crimson-petalled daisies
+and the mauve wind-flowers that are drowsily closing
+their cups at the approach of night. The little goat-herd
+eyes us solemnly, but—strange and welcome to
+relate—shows no inclination to pester the <hi rend='italic'>signori</hi>.
+The soft murmuring of the distant sea, the subdued
+<pb n='191'/><anchor id='Pg191'/>hum of the city far below us and the drowsy buzzing
+of the bees in the almond and ivy bloom close at
+hand combine to strengthen the golden chain of
+imagination. As we sit basking in the peaceful
+beauty of the scene around us and serenely conscious
+of its glorious past, one of our party suddenly remembers
+in a welcome flash of inspiration that this deserted
+courtyard has been made the scene of one of
+Boccaccio’s most famous tales. It is a story that
+many writers of succeeding ages have endeavoured
+to imitate in prose or verse, but this fictitious love-tragedy
+between a princess and a page at Salerno has
+a simple charm and dignity in its original setting
+that only the master-hand of the Tuscan author
+could impart. The scene of the novel of Guiscard
+and Ghismonda is laid, as we have said, at this very
+spot, and as the hero, the heroine and the villain of
+the tale have Norman names, we may be allowed
+to conjecture that this graceful story, which Boccaccio
+puts into the mouth of the lady Fiammetta, was
+founded upon some actual but half-forgotten family
+scandal in the annals of the mighty but self-made
+House of Hauteville.
+</p>
+<p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+Once upon a time there reigned in Salerno the
+Prince Tancred, who was a widower, and the father
+of an only daughter, Ghismonda, Duchess of Capua.
+The Duchess, who was considered one of the most
+beautiful, accomplished and virtuous princesses of
+her day, had been early married to the Duke of
+Capua, but on his death after a very few years
+of matrimony had been left a childless widow.
+Being still very young, the Princess Ghismonda was
+<pb n='192'/><anchor id='Pg192'/>now taken back to his court by her father, who
+jealously guarded her and seemed unwilling for her
+to be remarried. Living in rooms that over-looked
+the courtyard of the palace, the Duchess, who found
+time hang on her hands somewhat heavily, used to
+spend hours daily in watching the lords and pages
+of her father’s household passing and repassing the
+quadrangle below, and amongst the many well-favoured
+youths a certain page named Guiscard
+found most favour in her sight. Now Guiscard, who
+had thus all unwittingly attracted Ghismonda’s attention
+and finally won her heart, was a young Norman of
+no great lineage and of small means, but being discreet,
+upright and sensible-minded, had obtained a
+high place in Prince Tancred’s estimation. Skilfully
+questioning her maids of honour without exciting
+their suspicions, the Princess gained all she wished
+to know concerning Guiscard’s position and attainments,
+and it was not long before she found means of
+conveying the secret of her affection to the youth,
+who in fact had already fallen head over ears in
+love with the beautiful Duchess who so often
+leaned from the casement above. She now sent him
+a letter hidden in a pair of bellows, wherein she
+explained to him the existence of a secret passage,
+long disused, that led from a hollow in the hillside
+below the castle walls up to her own apartment.
+Over-joyed at receiving this missive, the infatuated
+page took the first occasion, as we may well imagine,
+to make use of this friendly clue, and before many
+hours had passed after receiving the letter, the young
+man, flushed and triumphant, was standing in the
+chamber of his beloved mistress, who had meanwhile
+<pb n='193'/><anchor id='Pg193'/>taken every necessary preparation for receiving her
+lover in secret. Many a time were the pair able to
+meet thus without awakening the least suspicion in
+the minds of Prince Tancred or of the maids of
+honour, and all would doubtless have gone well for
+an indefinite period of time, but for a most unforeseen
+accident. It appears that one morning the old Prince
+of Salerno, wishing to confer with his daughter on
+some matter of state, came to her private apartment,
+and on learning that she had gone out riding settled
+himself upon a couch that stood within a curtained
+alcove, and whilst waiting for her return fell sound
+asleep. After some hours of repose the prince was
+suddenly roused from his heavy slumber by the sound
+of two voices in the room, that of his daughter and of
+a strange man. Peeping stealthily through the folds
+of the draperies, he now beheld to his fury and
+amazement the Duchess alone with his page Guiscard.
+But the descendant of Robert the Wiseacre well knew
+how to temper vengeance with dissimulation. Dreading
+the scandal that would follow an open exposure,
+the Prince, in spite of his years and the stiffness of
+his joints, contrived to quit the chamber unperceived
+by means of a convenient window. That very night
+the unsuspecting Guiscard was seized by his sovereign’s
+orders and thrust into a foul dungeon of the palace,
+whither Tancred himself descended to question his
+prisoner and to reprove him violently for his base
+ingratitude. But the unhappy page could only make
+repeated answer: <q>Sire, love hath greater powers
+than you or I!</q> On the following morning Tancred
+proceeded to visit the Duchess, still ignorant of her
+paramour’s fate, and in a voice strangled with the
+<pb n='194'/><anchor id='Pg194'/>conflicting emotions of paternal love and desired
+vengeance bitterly upbraided his erring child.
+<q>Daughter, I had such an opinion of your modesty
+and virtue, that I could never have believed, had I
+not seen it with mine own eyes, that you would have
+violated either, even so much as in thought. The
+recollection of this will make the pittance of life that
+is left very grievous to me. As you were determined
+to act in that manner, would to Heaven you had
+made choice of a person more suitable to your own
+quality; but this Guiscard is one of the meanest
+persons about my court. This gives me such concern,
+that I scarce know what to do. As for him, he was
+secured by my order last night, and his fate is determined.
+But with regard to yourself, I am influenced
+by two different motives: on one side, the tenderest
+regard that a father can have for a child; and on the
+other, the justest vengeance for the great folly you
+have committed. One pleads strongly in your behalf;
+and the other would excite me to do an act contrary
+to my nature. But before I come to a resolution, I
+would fain hear what you have to say for yourself.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Seeing clearly from her father’s words that her
+secret had been discovered and that her lover was
+in prison, the intrepid Ghismonda, a true daughter
+of the high-spirited House of Hauteville, assuming
+a composure she was very far from feeling, made a
+dignified appeal on behalf of Guiscard and herself.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>Father, it is not my purpose either to deny or to
+entreat; for as the one can avail me nothing, so I
+intend the other shall be of little service. I will by
+no means bespeak your love and tenderness towards
+me; but shall first, by an open confession, endeavour
+<pb n='195'/><anchor id='Pg195'/>to vindicate myself, and thus do what the greatness
+of my soul prompts me to. It is most true that I
+have loved, and do still love Guiscard; and whilst I
+live, which will not be long, shall continue to love
+him; and if such a thing as love be after death, I
+shall never cease to love him.... It appears from
+what you say, that you would have been less incensed
+if I had made choice of a nobleman, and you bitterly
+reproach me for having condescended to a man of
+low condition. In this you speak according to vulgar
+prejudice, and not according to truth; nor do you
+perceive that the fault you blame is not mine, but
+Fortune’s, who often exalts the unworthy, and leaves
+the worthiest in low estate. But, not to dwell on
+such considerations, look a little into first principles,
+and you will see that we are all formed of the same
+material and by the same hand. The first difference
+amongst mankind, who are all born equal, was made
+by virtue; they who were virtuous were deemed
+noble, and the rest were all accounted otherwise.
+Though this law, therefore, may have been obscured
+by contrary custom, yet is it discarded neither by
+nature nor good manners. If you regard only the
+worth and virtue of your courtiers, and consider that
+of Guiscard, you will find him the only noble person,
+and these others a set of poltroons. With regard to
+his worth and valour, I appeal to yourself. Who ever
+commended man more for anything that was praise-worthy
+than you have commended him? And
+deservedly, in my judgment; but if I was deceived,
+it was by following your opinion. If you say, then,
+that I have had an affair with a person base and
+ignoble, I deny it; if with a poor one, it is to your
+<pb n='196'/><anchor id='Pg196'/>shame to have let such merit go unrewarded. Now
+concerning your last doubt, namely how you are to
+deal with me: use your pleasure. If you are disposed
+to commit an act of cruelty, I shall say nothing
+to prevent such a resolution. But this I must apprise
+you of; that unless you do the same to me, which
+you either have done, or mean to do to Guiscard, mine
+own hands shall do it for you. If you mean to act
+with severity, cut us off both together, if it appear to
+you that we have deserved it.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The Duchess’ able defence of her choice of Guiscard
+and her democratic views of society were hardly
+likely to influence the proud tyrant of Salerno,
+although his house was sprung from a plebeian stock
+of Normandy. Ignoring her plea and arguments,
+Tancred left his daughter alone with her grief, and
+proceeded to the cells below to give the order for
+Guiscard’s immediate death by strangling. But
+Tancred’s fury was by no means appeased by the
+page’s death, for tearing the unhappy youth’s heart
+from the warm and still quivering body, the brutal
+prince had the bleeding flesh placed in a golden
+covered cup, which he bade his chamberlain deliver to
+Ghismonda, with these cruel words: <q>Your father
+sends this present to comfort you with what was
+most dear to you; even as he was comforted by you
+in what was most dear to him.</q> With a calm
+countenance and with a gracious word of thanks, the
+Princess accepted the gift, and on removing the
+cover and realising the contents of the cup, said with
+meaning to the bearer of this gruesome present:
+<q>My father has done very wisely; such a heart as
+this requires no worse a sepulchre than one of gold.</q>
+<pb n='197'/><anchor id='Pg197'/>Then after lamenting for a while over her lover’s fate,
+Ghismonda filled the goblet with a draught of poison
+that she had already prepared in anticipation of her
+father’s vengeance, and quaffed its contents. After
+this she lay down upon her bed, clasping the cup to
+her bosom, whereupon her maids, all ignorant of the
+cause of their mistress’ conduct, ran terrified to call
+Prince Tancred, who arrived in time to witness his
+unhappy daughter’s death agony. Now that it was
+too late, the Prince was stricken with remorse and
+began loudly to bewail the violence of his late anger.
+<q>Sire,</q> said the dying Princess, <q>save those tears
+against worse fortune that may happen, for I want
+them not. Who but yourself would mourn for a
+thing of your own doing?</q> Then dropping her tone
+of irony, she made one last request of her weeping
+and repentant father, that her own and Guiscard’s
+bodies might be honourably interred within the same
+tomb. Thus perished by her own hand the beautiful
+Princess Ghismonda of Salerno, Duchess of Capua,
+urged to the fell deed by a parent’s inexorable cruelty.
+And it is some slight consolation to the sad ending
+of the story to learn that Tancred did at least carry
+out his daughter’s dying entreaty, for the bodies of
+Ghismonda and Guiscard were duly laid in one grave
+amidst the pomp of religion and the cold comfort of
+a public mourning.<note place="foot"><hi rend='italic'>The Decameron</hi>—Novel I, of the Fourth Day.</note>
+</p>
+<p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+But the sun has long since sunk below the horizon,
+and the chill dews of night are falling round us. Hastily
+we leave the old palace of the princes of Salerno to the
+solitary occupation of the bats and owls, to seek warmth
+and cheerfulness in our inn upon the Marina.
+</p>
+</div><div n="9" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='198'/><anchor id='Pg198'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="9: Paestum and the Glory that was Greece"/>
+<head>CHAPTER IX</head>
+
+<head type="sub">PAESTUM AND THE GLORY THAT WAS GREECE</head>
+
+<p>
+In these days of easy travelling there lies a choice
+of two routes to Paestum and its temples: one
+by driving thither direct from La Cava or Salerno,
+in the mode of our forefathers; and the other by
+taking the train to the little junction of Battipaglia,
+and thence proceeding southward by the coast line
+to the station of Pesto itself, that stands almost
+within a stone’s throw of the chief gate of Poseidonia.
+A third, and perhaps a preferable way, consists in
+using the railway beyond Battipaglia to Eboli, a
+town of no little interest in the upper valley of the
+Silarus, and thence driving along the base of the
+rocky hills that enclose the maritime plain and through
+the oak wood of Persano that was brigand-haunted
+within living memory. But though the scenery
+between Eboli and Paestum undoubtedly owns more
+charm and variety than the marshy flats can boast,
+yet the strange loneliness of the sea-girt level has
+a fascination of its own, which will appeal strongly
+to all lovers of pristine undisturbed nature. For
+the larger portion of these Lucanian plains still
+remains uncultivated, so that thickets of fragrant
+wild myrtle and lentisk, of coronella and of white-blossomed
+laurustinus, stud the landscape; whilst
+<pb n='199'/><anchor id='Pg199'/>the open ground is thickly covered with masses of
+hardy but gay flowering weeds. The great star-thistles
+run to seed unchecked by the scythe, and the
+belled cerinthia and the glaucous-leaved tall yellow
+mulleins seem to thrive heartily on the barren soil.
+Boggy ground alternates with patches of dry stony
+earth, and in early summer every little pool of water
+affords sustenance to coarse-scented white water-lilies,
+and clumps of the yellow iris that are over-shadowed
+by masses of tall graceful reeds. These <hi rend='italic'>arundini</hi>,
+which are to be found near every water-course or
+pool throughout Italy, are characteristic of the country
+with their broad grey leaves, their heads of pink
+feathery bloom, and their mournful whispering answers
+to the question of every passing breeze; elegant in
+their growth, they are also beloved by the practical
+peasant who utilizes their long slender stems for
+a variety of purposes in his domestic economy.
+For the reeds, stripped of their foliage, support his
+tender young vines and make good frame-work
+whereon to train his peas and tomatoes; the longest
+canes of all, moreover, serve well as handles for the
+long feather brushes which are used so extensively
+in all Italian households. Other floral denizens of
+the plain are the great rank <hi rend='italic'>porri</hi>, or wild leeks, conspicuous
+with their bright green curling leaves issuing
+from globe-like roots above the ground, and of course,
+the asphodel, the plant of Death. For the asphodel
+is pre-eminently the flower of Southern Italy and of
+Sicily, since it presents a fit emblem of a departed
+grandeur that is still impressive in its decay. How
+beautiful to the eye appear the dark grey-green sword-like
+leaves from the centre of which up-shoots the
+<pb n='200'/><anchor id='Pg200'/>tall branching stem with its clusters of delicate pink-striped
+blossoms, that show so lovely yet smell so
+vile! Apart from its fetid odour, the asphodel is a
+thing of intense beauty, so that a long line of these
+plants in full bloom, covering some ridge of orange-coloured
+tufa or the velvety-grey crest of some ancient
+wall, with their spikes of starry flowers standing out
+distinct like floral candelabra against the clear blue
+of a southern sky, makes an impression upon the
+beholder that will ever be gratefully remembered.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But flowers and shrubs are not the only occupants
+of the Poseidonian plain, for as we proceed on our way
+towards the Temples, we notice in the drier pastures
+large herds of the long-horned dove-coloured cattle of
+the country, whilst in marshy places our interest is
+aroused by the sight of great shaggy buffaloes of
+sinister mien. The buffalo has long been acclimatized
+in Italy, though its original home seems to have been
+the trackless marshes of the Tigris and Euphrates.
+The conquering Arabs first introduced these uncouth
+Eastern cattle into Sicily, whence they were imported
+into Italy by the Norman kings of Naples. In spite
+of its malevolent nature and the poor quality of its
+flesh and hide, the buffalo came to be extensively bred
+in the Pontine and Lucanian marshes, where the
+moisture of the soil and the unwholesome air always
+affected the native herds unfavourably. For hours
+together these fierce untameable beasts love to lie
+amidst the swampy reed-beds, wallowing up to their
+flanks in slimy malodorous mud and seemingly
+impervious to the ceaseless attacks of the local wasps
+and gad-flies, which try in vain to penetrate with their
+barbed stings the thick hairy covering of defence.
+<pb n='201'/><anchor id='Pg201'/>Perchance between Battipaglia and Paestum we may
+encounter a herd of these shaggy beeves being driven
+by a peasant on horse-back, with his <hi rend='italic'>pungolo</hi> or small
+lance in hand: a human being that in his goat-skin
+breeches and with his luxuriant untrimmed locks,
+seems to our eyes only one degree less savage and
+unkempt than the fierce beasts he guides. As cultivation
+has made progress of recent years and the
+unhealthy marshes of the coast line are being gradually
+drained, the numbers of buffalo tend to decrease, whilst
+the native Italian oxen are being introduced once
+more into the newly reclaimed pastures. That former
+arch-enemy of the cattle in the days of Vergil seems
+to have disappeared: that <q>flying pest,</q> the <hi rend='italic'>asilo</hi> of
+the Romans and the <hi rend='italic'>aestrum</hi> of the Greeks, which in
+antique times was wont to drive the grazing herds
+frantic with terror and pain, until the valley of the
+Tanager and the Alburnian woods re-echoed with the
+agonised lowing of the poor tortured creatures. And
+speaking of noxious insects, a general belief prevails
+in Italy that their bite—as well as that of snakes and
+scorpions—becomes more acute and dangerous when
+the sun enters into the sign of Lion, so that human
+beings, as well as defenceless cattle, must carefully
+avoid all chances of being bitten during the months of
+July and August.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Before our goal can be reached it is necessary for
+us to cross the broad willow-fringed stream of the Sele,
+the Silarus of antiquity, which according to the testimony
+of Silius Italicus once possessed the property of
+petrifying wood. In the distant days of the eighteenth
+century, the traveller to Paestum had to endure amidst
+other difficulties and dangers of the road the
+disagree<pb n='202'/><anchor id='Pg202'/>able business of being ferried across the Sele, which
+was then bridgeless. Owing to the malaria and the
+loneliness of the spot, the acting of ferryman over this
+river was not an agreeable post, and Count Stolberg,
+a German dilettante who has left some memories of
+his Italian wanderings, relates how a feeble dismal
+soured old man, a veritable Charon of the upper air,
+had great difficulty in conveying himself, his horse
+and his servant across the swollen stream. The old
+man’s age and misery aroused the Count’s compassion,
+so that he asked him why he continued thus to perform
+a task at once so arduous and so distasteful.
+<q>Sir,</q> replied the boatman, <q>I would gladly be
+excused, but that my master compels me to undertake
+this work.</q> <q>And who, pray, is this tyrant of a
+master of yours?</q> indignantly enquired the Count.
+<q>Sir, it is my Lord Poverty!</q> grimly answered the
+old ferryman, as he pocketed the Teuton’s fee. Times
+have changed with regard to the necessity of a ferry
+over the Sele, but to judge from the appearance of the
+people and from the accounts in the journals, we much
+doubt if my Lord Poverty’s sway has been much
+weakened in these parts.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At length we reach the tiny hamlet and station of
+Pesto, surrounded by its groves of mournful eucalyptus
+trees, and if we visit the station itself, we cannot help
+noticing the fine gauze net-work over every window
+and door, also the veiled faces and be-gloved hands
+of the station-master and his <hi rend='italic'>facchini</hi>. It is not
+difficult to gauge the reason of the eucalyptus trees at
+Pesto, an alien importation like the buffalo, for these
+native trees of Australia have been planted here with
+the avowed object of reducing the malaria, for which
+<pb n='203'/><anchor id='Pg203'/>the place is only too renowned. Scientists have
+positively declared that the mosquitoes which rise in
+clouds from the poisonous swamps at sunset are
+directly responsible for this terrible form of ague, and
+a paternal Government has accordingly introduced
+gum-trees to improve the quality of the air, and has
+presented gloves, veils and fine lattice work to its
+servants in the hope of protecting them from the bites
+of these tiny pestilence-bearing insects. We do not
+wish to dispute the wisdom of modern bacteriologists,
+but somehow we have no great faith in this elaborate
+scheme for battling with Nature; and indeed not a
+few persons who have studied the matter declare that
+though the reeking marshes are certainly productive of
+malaria in themselves (so much so that it is dangerous
+to linger amidst the ruined temples of an evening), yet
+these spiteful little creatures are at least innocent of
+innoculating humanity with this particular disease.
+Moreover, a plausible idea that is now largely held
+insists that the recent spread of cultivation over the
+Lucanian Plain is itself largely responsible for the
+increase of malaria; it is the up-turning of the germ-impregnated
+earth that has lain fallow for centuries,
+say the supporters of this theory, which awakens and
+sets free the slumbering demon of fever in the soil,
+so that the speeding of the plough on the Neapolitan
+coast must inevitably mean also the spreading of this
+fell and mysterious sickness. Let us therefore give
+the devil his due: the mosquito is a hateful and
+persistent foe, and his sting is both painful and disfiguring,
+but do not let us accuse him of carrying
+malaria until the case can be better proved against
+him. But enough of fevers and doctors’ saws! Let
+<pb n='204'/><anchor id='Pg204'/>us turn our willing eyes towards the three great
+temples that confront us close at hand. Before however
+proceeding to inspect these great monuments of
+Grecian art and civilization, which rank amongst the
+most venerable as well as the most beautiful relics of
+antiquity, it is only meet that we should carry with
+us into their ruined halls a few grains of historical
+knowledge, whereby our sense of reality and our
+appreciation of their greatness and splendour may be
+increased.
+</p><anchor id="illus16"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF NEPTUNE, PAESTUM]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus16th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus16.jpg">THE TEMPLE OF NEPTUNE, PAESTUM</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF NEPTUNE, PAESTUM</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Although we do not possess a definite history of
+Paestum, similar to that of Rome or of Athens, yet
+from the many allusions to be found scattered throughout
+the pages of classical historians, as well as from
+the various inscriptions and devices found upon ancient
+coins of this city, it is not a difficult task to piece
+together the main features of Poseidonian annals.
+From a very remote period of antiquity there was
+undoubtedly a settlement on or near the coast to the
+south of the river Silarus, whilst it is commonly held
+that this spot was called Peste—a name almost
+identical with the modern Italian appellation—many
+hundreds of years before the arrival of Doric settlers
+on the shores of the Tyrrhene Sea. Late in the
+seventh century before Christ, the Greek colony of
+Poseidonia, the city of the Sea God, was founded on
+or near the site of Italian Peste by certain Hellenic
+adventurers from Trœzen, who were amongst the inhabitants
+of Sybaris, at that time one of the most
+flourishing of the famous cities of Magna Graecia:
+and this new colony of Trœzenians henceforward was
+accounted one of the twenty-five subject-towns that
+recognised Sybaris for their metropolis, or mother and
+<pb n='205'/><anchor id='Pg205'/>suzerain city. We have no details of its early history,
+but it is quite certain that under the protection of
+Sybaris the new city of Poseidonia rose by degrees to
+such wealth and importance that in course of time it
+gave its own name to the whole Bay of Salerno, which
+henceforth became known to the Greeks as the
+Poseidonian Gulf and later, to the Romans, as the
+Bay of Paestum. With the fall of the mother city,
+this flourishing colony was left alone to face the attacks
+of the Samnites, the native barbarians who peopled
+the dense forests and the barren mountains of Lucania;
+yet it somehow contrived to retain its independence
+until the close of the fourth century <hi rend='small'>B.C.</hi>, when the
+Samnite hordes, forcing the fortified line of the Silarus,
+made themselves masters of Poseidonia, and put an
+end, practically for ever, to its existence as a purely
+Hellenic city. From its Lucanian masters the
+captured town received the name of Paestum, and its
+inhabitants were at once deprived of their independence,
+were forbidden to carry arms, and were probably
+in many instances reduced to the level of serfs. A
+large number of Samnites also settled within the walls
+of the town, and compelled the former owners to surrender
+to them the larger and richer portion of the
+public and private lands upon the maritime plain.
+The use of the Hellenic language and public worship
+were however permitted, and, strange to relate, no
+interference was made with a solemn annual festival,
+which the depressed and enslaved population now
+inaugurated with the confessed object of remembering
+for ever their Greek origin and their former greatness.
+For once a year at a fixed date all Greeks were wont
+to gather together and to bewail in public, outside
+<pb n='206'/><anchor id='Pg206'/>the great temple of Poseidon, their lost liberty and
+their vanished power. It is evident that the Lucanians
+did not fear the tears and lamentations of this unhappy
+subject state, for this custom continued to be observed
+throughout the whole period of Samnite oppression,
+and survived even till Roman times—perhaps to the
+very end of the city’s existence,—although in the
+course of passing generations there could have been
+but few persons of pure Greek descent left in the place.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With the advent of Alexander of Epirus, who had
+been called into Italy by the Greeks of Tarentum in
+order to assist the sorely-pressed colonies of Magna
+Graecia, Epirot troops were landed at the mouth of
+the Silarus. Under the very walls of <anchor id="corr206"/><corr sic="Pæstum">Paestum</corr> there
+now took place a stubborn fight wherein the army of
+the Samnites was completely routed, and its survivors
+driven in confusion from the coast into the wild woods
+and rocky valleys of the Lucanian hills. For a brief
+interval of years Poseidonia regained its lost liberty
+and its Hellenic name, but with the overthrow and
+death of Alexander of Epirus, the scattered hordes
+pressed down once more from their mountain fastnesses
+upon the rich plain, and the city was for the
+second time enslaved by the ruder conquering race.
+Forty years later, after the Pyrrhine war, all Lucania
+fell under the rising power of Rome, a change that
+was by no means unacceptable to the Greek cities,
+which were groaning under the rude tyranny of the
+Samnites. A Latin colony was now planted at
+<anchor id="corr206a"/><corr sic="Pæstum">Paestum</corr>, to form a convenient centre whence the
+neighbouring district could be kept in order and
+peaceably developed according to Roman ideas.
+These Roman colonists, although they did not restore
+<pb n='207'/><anchor id='Pg207'/>the lands and buildings held by the expelled Samnites
+to their rightful owners, yet lived on terms of amity
+with the Greek population, with whom they must have
+freely intermarried. The original Hellenic inhabitants,
+relieved of the bonds of servitude, were now placed on
+an equal footing with the new colonists, partaking of
+political rights in the city thus freshly re-created under
+the supremacy of Rome, and soon they grew to imitate
+the speech and manners of their new masters, so that
+as an immediate result of the expulsion of the barbaric
+Samnites and the entry of the progressive Romans,
+Paestum began to recover a considerable portion of
+its ancient splendour.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+During the course of the second Punic War the
+name of Paestum is not unfrequently mentioned in
+Roman annals, and owing its revived prosperity to its
+annexation by Rome, it is not surprising to find the
+existence of a strong feeling of gratitude amongst the
+inhabitants. At the date of fatal Cannæ this faithful
+Greek city sent assurances of unswerving allegiance to
+the Senate, and also more substantial help in the
+form of all the golden vessels from its temples. It
+was Paestum also that early in the third century <hi rend='small'>B.C.</hi>
+supplied part of the ill-fated fleet of Decius Quinctius,
+that was raised to run the blockade of Tarentum.
+But even the loss of its ships and men did not deter
+this loyal city from coming forward a second time
+with expressions of fealty and promise of further aid
+to the great suzerain city in this dark hour of its
+difficulties. From this point onward till the close of
+the Republic, History is almost silent with regard to
+Paestum; but its numerous coins go far to attest its
+continued welfare, for it now shared, together with
+<pb n='208'/><anchor id='Pg208'/>Venusia, Brundusium and Vibo Valentia, a special
+right to strike money in its own name and with its
+own devices. Under the Empire, Paestum managed to
+uphold its size and importance, so that it became the
+capital of one of the eight Prefectures into which the
+district of Lucania had been divided. At this period,
+there can be no doubt, the surrounding plain was in
+the highest state of cultivation, whilst its prolific rose-gardens—<hi rend='italic'>biferi
+rosaria Paesti</hi>—have supplied the
+theme of every Roman poet from Vergil to Ausonius.
+Yet in spite of its apparent prosperity, the seeds of
+coming decline had already been sown. Strabo tells
+us that even in early Imperial days the city was
+obtaining an unenviable reputation for malaria: a
+circumstance that was due to the over-flowing of the
+unwholesome streamlet, the Salso, whose reeking and
+fever-bearing waters began to impregnate the earth.
+Engineering works on a large scale were planned to
+remedy this drawback, but these were never executed,
+and in consequence the unhealthiness of the place
+increased. With the decline of the Roman power
+the population and prosperity of Paestum likewise
+tended to lessen, so that its citizens were placed in a
+worse position than before with regard to the carrying
+out of this vast but necessary scheme of sanitation.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In a spot so accessible to external influence, it is
+easy to understand that Christianity early took root
+in Paestum, which in the fifth century of our own era
+had already become a bishopric. The story of the
+growth of the Faith in Lucania is closely connected
+with a legend that centres round a native of the place,
+a certain Gavinius, a general in the army of the
+Emperor Valentinian, who whilst serving in Britain
+<pb n='209'/><anchor id='Pg209'/>against the Picts by some means succeeded in obtaining
+a valuable relic, supposed to be nothing less
+than the body of the Apostle Matthew, which he
+brought back with him to his native place. Early in
+the ninth century there appeared a fresh cause of
+alarm, more serious and far-reaching even than the
+dreaded malaria, for plundering Saracens, foes alike
+to the old Roman civilisation and to the new Christian
+creed, now began to harass the Tyrrhenian shores.
+Settling at Agropoli to the south of the Bay, these
+Oriental freebooters found little difficulty in effecting
+a landing on the Poseidonian beach, and in raiding
+the weakened and almost defenceless city. Able-bodied
+men and young maidens were forcibly carried
+off to the pirates’ nest at Agropoli, or perhaps even
+to the distant coast of Barbary, to be sold into
+perpetual slavery. Alarmed beyond measure by this
+raid, the remaining inhabitants of the place, at the
+advice and under the guidance of their bishop, now
+decided—wisely, for they had to choose between
+immediate flight or gradual extermination by disease,
+slavery and the sword—to remove themselves to the
+barren mountains in their rear, once the haunts of
+the Samnites, and to build a new Paestum on a site
+at once more healthy and better protected by Nature
+against the raids of infidel corsairs. In a body therefore
+the remaining citizens amid deep wailing left for
+ever the ancient city with its glorious temples, and
+retired to a strong position to the east. The spot
+chosen for the new residence of these exiles lay close
+to the source that supplied with pure water their
+ancient aqueduct, known for this reason as Caputaqueum,
+now corrupted into Capaccio. A link with the
+<pb n='210'/><anchor id='Pg210'/>old city, that lay deserted in the plain below, was still
+retained by the bishop of the newly founded town in
+the mountains, who continued to be known as <hi rend='italic'>Episcopus
+Paestanus</hi>. In the eleventh century Robert
+Guiscard systematically plundered the ruins of Paestum
+in order to erect or embellish the churches and palaces
+of Salerno and Amalfi. Every remaining piece of
+sculpture and of marble was removed, and it was only
+the vast size of the pillars of the three great temples,
+and the consequent difficulty attending their transport
+by boat across the bay or along the marshy ground
+of the coast line, that saved from destruction these
+magnificent relics of <q>the glory that was Greece.</q>
+But even humble Capaccio did not afford a final
+resting-place to the harried Paestani, for in the year
+1245 the great Emperor Frederick II., who had been
+defied by the feudal Counts of Capaccio, besieged and
+utterly destroyed this stronghold of the mountains
+that had been the child of Poseidonia of the sea-girt
+plains. Another and a yet loftier retreat had to be
+sought by the survivors of the Imperial vengeance, so
+that the ruined Capaccio the Old was abandoned for
+another settlement, which still exists as a miserable
+village amidst those barren hills that had ever looked
+down with jealous envy upon the proud city with its
+pillared temples. One curious circumstance with
+regard to Paestum must finally be mentioned, in that
+the existence of its ruins, the grandest and most
+ancient group of monuments on the mainland of Italy,
+remained unknown to the learned world until comparatively
+modern times. Only the local peasants
+and the inhabitants of the poverty-stricken towns in
+the Lucanian hills seem to have been aware of the
+<pb n='211'/><anchor id='Pg211'/>presence of the gigantic temples standing in lonely
+majesty by the shore and as the superstitious nature
+of these ignorant people attributed these structures to
+the work of a magician—perhaps to the great wizard
+Vergil himself—they were shunned both by night and
+by day as the haunt of malignant spirits. Poor
+fisher-folk and buffalo-drivers, who had of necessity
+to pass near the ruined fanes, were wont to slink by in
+fear and trembling, and doubtless they brought back
+strange stories of its ghostly occupants with which
+they regaled their friends or families by the fire-side
+of a winter’s evening. Yet it is most strange that
+during the period of the Renaissance, at a time when
+enthusiastic research was being made into the neglected
+antiquities of Italy, this unique group of Doric
+temples should have escaped notice. For neither
+Cyriaco of Ancona nor Leandro Alberti, who visited
+Lucania ostensibly for the sake of recording its
+classical remains, make mention of <q>the ruined
+majesty of Paestum,</q> and it was reserved for a certain
+Count Gazola (whose name is certainly worthy of
+being recorded), an officer in the service of the
+Neapolitan King, to present to the notice of scholars
+and archaeologists towards the middle of the eighteenth
+century the first known description of what is perhaps
+Italy’s chief existing treasure of antiquity. From
+Gazola’s day onward the beauty and interest of Paestum
+have been appraised at their true worth, and numberless
+artists and writers of almost every nationality
+have sketched or described its marvellous temples.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With this brief introduction to the history of a city,
+whose chief building is still standing almost intact
+after a lapse of 2500 years, let us take a rapid survey
+<pb n='212'/><anchor id='Pg212'/>of Poseidonia as it exists to-day. Its walls, of Greek
+construction but probably built or restored as late as
+the time of Alexander of Epirus, who gave the captured
+town a fleeting spell of liberty, form an irregular pentagon
+about three miles in circumference, <anchor id="corr212"/><corr sic="wheron">whereon</corr> the
+remains of eight towers can be observed, whilst the
+four gates, placed at the four cardinal points of the
+compass, are clearly traceable. We enter this <hi rend='italic'>città
+morta</hi> by the so-called Porta della Sirena, the eastern
+gate that faces the hostile Samnite Hills and (oh,
+the prosaic touch!) the modern railway-station. This
+gate remains in a tolerable state of preservation, and
+draws its name from the key-stone of its arch, which
+bears in low relief a much defaced design of a mermaid
+or siren, its counterpart on the inner keystone being a
+dolphin: two devices very appropriate to the entrance
+of a city dedicated to the Lord of Ocean. Passing
+the picturesque yellow-washed Villa Salati, with its
+high walls and iron-barred windows testifying only too
+plainly to the lawlessness that once reigned in this
+district, we find ourselves face to face with the great
+temple of Neptune or Poseidon, and its companion-fane,
+the so-called Basilica. The Temple of Neptune
+(for in this instance at least the popular appellation
+chances to be the correct one), in all probability co-eval
+with the first Greek foundation of the city, formed
+the central point of the life of Poseidonia during the
+1400 years of its existence as a Hellenic, a Samnite,
+and finally a Roman city. In its simple grandeur and
+its perfect proportions this wonderful temple possesses
+only one rival outside Greece itself: the Temple of
+Concord at Girgenti, which the poet Goethe compared
+to a god, after designating the building before us as a
+<pb n='213'/><anchor id='Pg213'/>giant. Superiority in grace is therefore a disputed
+point between the two great structures of Poseidonia
+and Agrigentum, yet in every other respect the temple
+of the Lucanian Plain surpasses its Sicilian rival.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+To-day, after more than a score of centuries of
+exposure to the salt winds and to the burning sunshine
+of the south, the walls and pillars of these great buildings
+have been calcined to a glorious shade of tawny
+yellow, fit to delight the soul of every artist, whether
+he views their Titanic but graceful forms outlined
+against the deep blue of sky and sea on the western
+horizon, or against the equally lovely background of
+grey and violet mountains to the east. But it was
+not always thus. The porous local travertine that gave
+their building material to the Greeks of the sixth
+century before Christ was once carefully stuccoed, and,
+in the manner of Hellenic art, painted in the most
+brilliant hues of azure and vermilion, so that it becomes
+hard for us to realise the original effect of such
+gorgeous masses standing erect in a landscape that is
+itself fraught with glowing colour. But better to
+appreciate the magnificence before us, let us give a
+brief technical description of the greatest of the temples
+in the choice words of an eminent French antiquary.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>The largest and most elegant, and likewise the
+oldest of the Temples of Paestum, is that commonly
+known by the name of the Temple of Neptune. This
+building shares, together with the Temple of Theseus
+at Athens, the honour of being the best preserved
+monument of the Doric order in existence, and the
+impression of grandeur that it gives to the spectator rivals
+even the first sight of the Parthenon itself. In front of
+the building is a platform in the midst of which can be
+<pb n='214'/><anchor id='Pg214'/>seen the hollow space that formerly held the altar of
+sacrifice, for according to the practice of the Greek
+religion, these rites of blood-shedding took place in the
+open air and outside the temple. With a length of
+190 feet and a breadth of 84 feet, this building is
+hypoethral, which means that the <hi rend='italic'>cella</hi>, or sanctuary
+that held the statue of the deity, was constructed open
+to the sky. It is peripteral, and presents a row of
+six pillars fluted at base and top, with twelve on each
+side, making thirty-six in all. The <hi rend='italic'>cella</hi> itself in the
+interior is upheld by sixteen columns about six feet
+in diameter, which in their turn are surmounted by
+two rows of smaller pillars above that support the roof.
+With the exception of one side of the upper stage of
+the interior every column of the temple remains intact,
+as do likewise the entablature and pediments. Only
+the wall of the <hi rend='italic'>cella</hi> has been pulled down; doubtless
+to supply material for building.</q><note place="foot">F. Lenormant: <hi rend='italic'>A travers l’Apulie et la Lucanie</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Having quoted Monsieur Lenormant’s careful
+description of the chief pride of Poseidonia, we shall
+confine ourselves to as few remarks as possible concerning
+the two remaining temples. The Basilica, a
+misnomer of which the veriest amateur must at once
+perceive the absurdity, is inferior both in size and in
+beauty of proportion to its close neighbour of Neptune.
+Its chief peculiarity from an architectural point of view
+will be at once remarked, for it has its two façades
+composed of seven—an odd number—of columns, so
+that its interior easily divides itself into two narrow
+chambers of equal length, affording ample ground for
+the theory, now generally held, that this building was
+not a hall of Justice, or <hi rend='italic'>Basilica</hi>, but a temple intended
+<pb n='215'/><anchor id='Pg215'/>expressly for the worship of dual divinities. Almost
+without a doubt it was erected—probably not long after
+the Temple of Poseidon—in honour of Demeter (Ceres)
+and of her only child Persephone (Proserpine), who
+was seized from her mother’s care by the amorous god
+of the Infernal Regions, as she was plucking anemones
+in the verdant meadows of Enna. We all know <q>the
+old sweet mythos</q>; we all understand its hidden
+allegory with regard to the sowing, the up-springing
+and the garnering of the yellow corn, that spends
+half the year in the embraces of the earth, the
+palace of Pluto, and half the year on the broad
+loving bosom of Mother Demeter. Here then within
+these bare and ruined walls were mother and daughter
+worshipped by the people of Poseidonia, who reasonably
+considered that the two goddesses of the Earth
+should have their habitation as near as possible to the
+Sanctuary of the Sovereign of Ocean.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Much smaller than either of these immense temples
+is the third remaining Greek building of Paestum,
+which lies a good quarter of a mile to the north, not
+far from the Golden Gate, the Porta Aurea, that leads
+northward in the direction of Salerno. Like that of
+Neptune, this temple is hexastyle, with six columns on
+each of its façades and twelve on either flank, but as it
+is little more than half the size of its grander and older
+brethren, it is now frequently known as <q>Il Piccolo
+Tempio,</q> although its former incorrect ascription to
+Ceres still clings to it in popular parlance. It is from
+this building, which stands on slightly rising ground,
+that the best impression of the whole city and of its
+wondrous setting between the savage Lucanian hills
+and the blue Mediterranean can be obtained.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='216'/><anchor id='Pg216'/>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Between the mountains and the tideless sea</q></l>
+<l>Stretches a plain where silence reigns supreme;</l>
+<l>A land of asphodel and weeds that teem</l>
+<l>Where once a city’s life ran joyfully.</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none; post: none"><q>Vanity! Vanity! All Vanity!</q></q></l>
+<l>Whisper the winds to Sele’s murmuring stream;</l>
+<l>Whilst the vast temples preach th’ eternal theme,</l>
+<l>How pass the glories and their memory.</l>
+<l>Think what these ruins saw! what songs and cries</l>
+<l>Once through these roofless colonnades did ring!</l>
+<l>What crowds here gathered, where the all-seeing skies</l>
+<l>For centuries have watched the daisies spring!</l>
+<l>Dead all within this crumbling circle lies:</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Dead as the roses Roman bards did sing.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Beautiful as Paestum presents itself in the bright
+noontide of a Spring day, beneath a cloudless sky
+and with the blue waters of the Mediterranean
+lapping the distant yellow sands, there appears something
+incongruous in the sharp contrast between this
+joyfulness of vigorous life and the solemn atmosphere
+of the deserted city. The noisy twittering of multitudes
+of ubiquitous sparrows, equally at home in Doric
+temples as amongst the sooty chimney stacks of
+London; the twinklings and rustlings of the lizards
+in the young leaves and grass; the polyglot babble
+of excursionists from Naples or La Cava that a warm
+day in Spring invariably attracts to Paestum:—these
+are not sounds that blend well with the solemn spirit
+of the place. We long to cross the intervening ages
+so as to throw ourselves, if only for one short hour,
+outside the cares and interests of to-day into the heart
+of that refined civilisation which is gone for ever;—with
+the cheerful sunlight around us, and with our
+fellow-mortals on pleasure bent close at hand, we find
+it difficult to forget the present. Would it be possible,
+<pb n='217'/><anchor id='Pg217'/>we ask ourselves, to spend a nocturnal vigil within the
+hall of the great temple of the Sea God, so as to
+behold, like that undaunted traveller, Crawford Ramage,
+the shafts of crystalline moonlight shed through the
+aperture of the roof leap from pillar to pillar, making
+bars of brilliant light amidst the surrounding blackness!
+O to sit and meditate thus engrossed with the memory
+of the past, and with no other sounds around us than
+the sad cry of the <hi rend='italic'>aziola</hi>, the little downy owl
+that Shelley so loved! But the gaunt spectre of
+Fever ever haunts this spot, and after sunset his power
+is supreme; so that he would be a bold man indeed
+who in an age of luxury and selfish comfort would
+carry out an idea at once so romantic and so perilous.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We ourselves were especially fortunate on the
+occasion of our last visit to Poseidonia on a mild
+day in December, a month which on the Lucanian
+shore somewhat resembles a northern October. A
+soft luminous haze hung over the landscape and over
+the Bay of Salerno itself, rendering the classic mountains
+at once indistinct in outline and unnaturally
+lofty to the eye. More grandiose and mysterious
+than under the fierce light of a sunny noontide
+appeared that day the three giant pillared forms, as
+we entered the precincts of the ruined city by the
+Siren’s Gate, and made our way through the thick
+herbage still pearled with dew, since there was neither
+sunshine nor sirocco to dry <q>the tears of mournful
+Eve</q> off the clumps of silver-glinted acanthus, or the
+tall grasses bending with the moisture. In the warm
+humid air we seated ourselves on the plinth of a
+column, and gazing around allowed the influence of
+this marvellous spot to sink deep into the soul. No
+<pb n='218'/><anchor id='Pg218'/>tourists with unseemly or unnecessary chatter arrived
+that day to share our selfish delight or to break the
+all-pervading spell of solitude; all lay peaceful and
+deserted. All was silent too save for the low
+monotonous sobbing of the sea on the unseen beach
+near at hand, the historic beach on which at various
+times throughout the roll of past ages Doric colonists,
+Epirot warriors, Roman legionaries and fierce Mohammedan
+pirates had disembarked, all with the same
+object:—to seize the proud city that had now for
+the last thousand years lain uninhabited, save for
+the owls and the bats. It was too cloudy a day for
+sun-loving creatures such as lizards or serpents to
+emerge and rustle amongst the broken stones and
+leaves, over all of which during the silent hours of
+the past night Arachne had been employed in weaving
+her softest and whitest textures, that the windless
+morning had allowed to remain intact. The only sign
+of animate life was visible in a pair of lively gold-finches,
+which with merry notes were fluttering from
+thistle to thistle, picking the down from each ripened
+flower-head and prodigally scattering the seeds upon
+the weed-grown soil where once had bloomed the
+odorous Roses of Paestum that the poets loved.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sitting thus amid the silence and solitude of a city
+half as old as Time itself, we were unexpectedly
+aroused by a gruff salutation proceeding from a little
+distance behind the temple. Turning quickly in the
+direction of the sound, we perceived the figure of a
+tall bearded man dressed in conical hat, with goat-skin
+trousers and cross-gartered legs, who but for the gun
+slung across his shoulders by a stout leathern strap
+might well have been mistaken for an apparition of
+<pb n='219'/><anchor id='Pg219'/>the god Pan himself returned to earth. Vague recollections
+of the brigand Manzoni, the scourge of the
+neighbourhood and the murderer of more than one
+unhappy visitor to the ruins of Paestum in the good
+old <hi rend='italic'>vetturino</hi> days, flashed through our mind, as we
+surveyed the muscular frame and the fowling-piece
+of the strange being before us. It was with a sigh
+of relief that we noted upon the straight stretch of
+white road leading to the Little Temple in the distance
+the presence of two royal <hi rend='italic'>carabinieri</hi> majestically
+riding at a foot’s pace, their tall forms enveloped in
+long black cloaks whose folds swept over their horses’
+tails. We felt reassured, and when for a second
+time the guttural voice addressed us in unintelligible
+<hi rend='italic'>patois</hi>, we perceived the innocent object of this
+mysterious visit. Searching in a capacious goat-skin
+bag, a species of Neapolitan sporran, this descendant
+of the Poseidonian Greeks produced and held up to
+our gaze three birds that he had shot in his morning’s
+hunting. For the modest sum of three lire the game
+exchanged hands, and the sportsman departed, well
+satisfied with his luck. Next evening we feasted
+royally in our inn at Salerno upon a succulent woodcock
+fattened upon the berries of the wood of Persano,
+and upon a couple of snipe that had grown plump
+amongst the Neptunian marshes. Nor was this dainty
+addition to our supper that night altogether undeserved;
+for having decided in a momentary fit of
+enthusiasm to forego the usual basket of hotel food
+at the time of starting from Salerno, in order to follow
+the advice of old Evelyn <q>to diet with the natives,</q>
+we had preferred to take our chance of midday refreshment
+at the solitary <hi rend='italic'>osteria</hi> within the ruined
+<pb n='220'/><anchor id='Pg220'/>city wall. The good people of the inn did what they
+could to regale the two <hi rend='italic'>gran’ signori Inglesi</hi>, whose
+unexpected presence had the effect of creating some
+stir within their humble walls. No little time was
+expended in bustling preparations, before a flask of
+red wine, some coarse bread, a dish of fried eggs and
+a plateful of cold sausage were placed before us upon
+the rough oak table, well scored with knife-cuts.
+Eggs, wine and bread are usually tolerable everywhere
+throughout Italy, no matter how mean the inn that provides
+them; but the Lucanian sausage, though interesting
+as a relic of classical times, is positive poison to
+the Anglo-Saxon digestion. For the Lucanian sausage
+of to-day is the <hi rend='italic'>Lucanica</hi> unchanged; the same tough,
+greasy, odoriferous compound, in fact, that Cicero
+describes as <q>an intestine, stuffed with minced pork,
+mixed with ground pepper, cummin, savory, rue,
+rock-parsley, berries of laurel, and suet.</q> And we
+have only to add that mingling with the above-mentioned
+condiments there was an all-pervading
+flavour of wood-smoke, due to the sausage’s place of
+storage, a hook within the kitchen chimney. But if
+the fare was rough, it was cheap and smacked of
+classical times, and our reception by the Paestani of
+to-day was most cordial.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We left Poseidonia late in the afternoon, casting
+back many regretful glances at the three giant sentinels
+of the plain, looming preternaturally large in the
+rapidly fading light of a starless evening. At that
+hour we felt we could understand and sympathise
+with the poor untutored peasant’s fear and avoidance
+of these lonely ruins, for superstition is often as much
+the result of chance environment as of crass ignorance.
+</p>
+</div><div n="10" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='221'/><anchor id='Pg221'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="10: Sorrento and its Poet"/>
+<head>CHAPTER X</head>
+
+<head type="sub">SORRENTO AND ITS POET</head>
+
+<p>
+It has been said of more than one spot on this
+globe, that it was so beautiful in summer the
+marvel was to think any one could die there; and so
+wretched in winter, it was a miracle for its inhabitants
+to survive. Sorrento may be said to belong to this
+class of place, for the climate of its short winter is one
+of the most trying and inclement that can possibly be
+imagined, whilst during spring, summer and early
+autumn it well merits its local reputation as <hi rend='italic'>il piccolo
+paradiso</hi> of the Bay of Naples, and its air is considered
+by Neapolitans as the <q>balm in Gilead</q> for every evil
+to which human flesh is heir. The Lactarian Mountains
+protect the plain of Sorrento in summer from the
+scorching rays of the sun, and lay their beneficent
+shadow for several hours of the long hot summer’s day
+over the many thousands who dwell on the fertile
+Piano di Sorrento at their base. But in winter these
+same hills intercept the blessed sunshine, which is what
+most travellers speed southwards to obtain, and leave
+the coast line from Castellamare to the Punta di
+Sorrento with its northern aspect wrapped in shade
+and moisture, whilst the remainder of the Bay is still
+basking in the genial warmth, so that anything more
+miserable than a mid-winter sojourn in Sorrento it
+<pb n='222'/><anchor id='Pg222'/>would be impossible to conceive. There are of course
+calm warm days to be met with even in December and
+January, but these are occasional and by no means
+dependable blessings, and the visitor who persists in
+taking up his abode here at this season of the year
+must prepare himself to experience cold, damp, wind
+and rain, without any of the contrivances or comforts
+of a northern winter. <q>One swallow does not make a
+summer,</q> and on the same principle a southern latitude
+and the presence of orange groves do not necessarily
+imply a salubrious climate; indeed, the sub-tropical
+surroundings seem to add an extra degree of chilliness
+to the place. To sit at Christmastide in a large lofty
+room before a meagre fire of sputtering smoky logs,
+with Vesuvius wrapped from crest to base in a white
+mantle of new fallen snow, and with an icy <hi rend='italic'>tramontana</hi>
+from the bleak Abruzzi howling round the house, bending
+the bay trees and penetrating into every corner of
+the chamber, is by no means the ideal picture of a
+winter in the Sunny South; yet this is only what the
+traveller must be prepared to face, and is very likely to
+obtain. Nor is the cold compensated for by any
+advantages in the neighbourhood itself, for there is but
+the high road from Castellamare which passes through
+the town and leads above the seashore to Massa
+Lubrense. It is all very well in its way, but in wet
+weather its surface is one sheet of slippery mud, and
+the streams pouring down the hillside make it chilly
+and damp for all who are not quick walkers. Besides
+this not very attractive and soon exploited walk, there
+are only the <hi rend='italic'>vicoletti</hi>, the narrow steep rocky paths
+running up hill, which make rough going and give
+little pleasure, for they are almost all bounded on either
+<pb n='223'/><anchor id='Pg223'/>side by high stone walls that jealously exclude the
+view. So much for Sorrento in its winter dress. But
+when the spring comes, here truly is a transformation
+from cold and torpor! The soft warm air is redolent
+of the penetrating fragrance of orange blossom, of
+stocks, of jessamine, of wallflower, and of a hundred
+odorous plants and shrubs from each garden and grove
+behind the many obstructing walls. The balconies
+and gate-pillars are draped in scented masses of the
+beautiful wistaria, which in Italy produces its long
+pendant bunches of purple flowers before putting forth
+its bronze-coloured leaves. Cascades of white and
+yellow banksia roses fall over each confining barrier,
+or else their stems may be seen climbing like huge
+serpents up the trunks of pine and olive, to burst forth
+amidst the topmost boughs into floral rockets against
+the cloudless sky. The ravines with which the whole
+of the Piano di Sorrento is intersected are filled with
+a perfect jungle of fresh spring foliage, amidst whose
+varied tints of green appear here and there the bright
+red shoots of the pomegranate trees bursting into leaf.
+In the heavily perfumed air at dusk, or when the
+bright moonlight is flooding the whole scene and is
+turning the Bay into a mirror of molten silver, the song
+of the innumerable nightingales can be heard resounding
+from all sides; alas! too often sweet songs of
+sorrow for nests despoiled by the ruthless hands of
+young Sorrentine imps, as in the days of the Georgics.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Qualis populeâ mærens Philomela sub umbrâ</q></l>
+<l>Amissos queritur fetus, quos durus arator</l>
+<l>Observans nido implumes detraxit, at illa</l>
+<l>Flet noctem, ramoque sedens miserabile carmen</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Integrat, et mœstis late loca questibus implet.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<pb n='224'/><anchor id='Pg224'/>
+
+<lg>
+<l>(<q rend="post: none">At nightfall hear sad Philomel upraise</q></l>
+<l>Her mellow notes amid the dark-leaved bays,</l>
+<l>Mourning her babes and desecrated bower,</l>
+<l>Which some rough peasant robbed in evil hour;</l>
+<l>She tells her story of despair and love,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Until her plaintive music fills the grove.</q>)</l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+All is fragrant, warm, genial, and peaceful, save for
+the melancholy notes of poor ill-used Philomel, who
+is foolish enough to visit a cruel country, wherein
+every bird is merely regarded as a toothsome morsel
+for the family pot. We bird-lovers of Britain, with
+our Selborne Societies and our Wild Birds’ Protection
+Acts, find it extremely difficult to understand the
+utter indifference displayed by Italians of all classes
+towards the feathered race. The whole of the beautiful
+country with its cypress hedges and olive groves
+lies almost mute and lifeless, for on every festival the
+fields and lanes are patrolled by bands of <hi rend='italic'>cacciatori</hi>
+with dogs and guns on the look-out for game, if
+blackbirds and sparrows can be accounted such. In
+some districts it is even dangerous for pedestrians to
+use the roads on a Sunday, for fear of a stray bullet,
+since all, as a rule, fire recklessly at any creature
+within and out of range. Nor is this senseless war
+of extermination carried on merely with guns, for
+trapping is used extensively, and very ingenious and
+elaborate are some of the arts employed in this
+wretched quest. Every country house has its <hi rend='italic'>uccellare</hi>,
+or snare for the securing of small birds for the table,
+whilst many of the parish priests in the mountain
+districts add to their scanty incomes by catching the
+fledglings which the young peasants sell in the
+neighbouring market. The result is what might
+<pb n='225'/><anchor id='Pg225'/>only naturally be expected—a scarcity of birds and
+an almost complete absence of song, for the whole
+countryside has been practically denuded of blackbirds
+and thrushes; even the nightingale has escaped
+destruction rather on account of its nocturnal habits
+than of its tiny size and exquisite notes. It is positively
+sickening to observe the quantities of slaughtered
+wild birds in an Italian market at any season of the
+year, for the work of devastation proceeds apace
+equally in spring time. Basketfuls of thrushes and
+blackbirds, and strings of smaller varieties—linnets,
+sparrows, robins, finches, even the diminutive gold-finches,
+most beautiful, most gay, and most innocent
+of all songsters—are being hawked about by leathern-lunged
+<hi rend='italic'>contadini</hi>, who, alas! always manage to find
+customers in plenty. No matter how melodious, how
+lovely, or how useful to the farmer a bird may be, no
+Italian, high or low, seems to have any sense or
+appreciation of its merits except as an article of
+food; it is merely a thing that requires to be caught,
+killed, cooked and eaten, and Providence has decreed
+its existence for no other purpose; even gold-finches
+in the eye of an Italian look better served on a
+skewer than when they are flying round the thistle-heads,
+uttering their bright musical notes and enlivening
+the dead herbage of winter with their gay
+plumage. <hi rend='italic'>Che bel arrosto!</hi> (what a glorious dish!)
+sigh the romantic peasants, as they glance upward
+for a moment from their labour in the fields at the
+sound of the larks carolling overhead; and though
+an educated Italian would probably not give vent to
+so vulgar a remark, he would much prefer the <hi rend='italic'>bel
+arrosto</hi> to the <q>profuse strains of unpremeditated art</q>
+<pb n='226'/><anchor id='Pg226'/>that so entrance the northerner, who is in reality far
+more of a poet by nature than the more picturesque
+dweller of the South. <hi rend='italic'>Tantum pro avibus.</hi>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As summer advances, the delight of bathing in the
+limpid waters of the Bay is added to the other attractions
+of Sorrento, whilst many pleasant and profitable
+hours can be passed in reading or writing during the
+long midday rest in the cool airy carpetless and
+curtainless rooms, where on the frescoed ceilings there
+plays the green shimmer of light that penetrates
+through the closed bars of the <hi rend='italic'>persiani</hi>, the outside
+heavy wooden shutters that let in the sweet air, but
+somehow seem to exclude the intense heat. With
+the approach of sunset and the throwing open of
+casements to catch the westerly breeze, there comes
+a delightful ramble, perhaps an excursion on mule-back
+to the famous convent of the Deserto or some
+other point of interest; or else a row upon the glassy
+waters at our feet, to explore <q>Queen Joanna’s Bath,</q>
+or some strange caverns beyond the headland of
+Sorrento, well known to our boat-men. That is the
+true life of <hi rend='italic'>dolce far niente</hi>, but such an ideal existence
+can only be indulged in during summer time or in
+late spring; to pass a winter at Sorrento the heaviest
+of clothing, abundance of overcoats and rugs, hot-water
+bottles, cough drops, ammoniated quinine and
+all the usual adjuncts of a northern yule-tide must
+be carefully provided before-hand by the traveller,
+who is bold enough to tempt Providence by turning
+what is essentially a warm weather retreat into a place
+of winter residence.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In early autumn also the place has its charms, in
+the days when the market is filled with stalls heaped
+<pb n='227'/><anchor id='Pg227'/>with glowing masses of fruit, many of them unknown
+to us wanderers from the north. There are peaches
+that resemble our own fruit at home, and there are
+also great yellow flushed velvety globes, like the sun-kissed
+cheeks of a fair Sorrentina, that appear tempting
+to the eye, but are in reality tough as leather, for
+they are the <hi rend='italic'>cotogni</hi> or quince-peaches of Italy, which
+to our feeble palates and digestions seem only fit for
+cooking, though the experienced native contrives to
+make them edible by soaking the fruit in wine. The
+moment he sits down to table, he carefully pares his
+<hi rend='italic'>cotogne</hi> and cuts it into sections, which he drops into
+a glass of red wine where they repose until the meal
+is finished; by this time the fruit has become
+thoroughly saturated, and it is then eaten with
+apparent relish. There are hundreds of apples, some
+of a shining rich crimson and others of dull yellow
+peppered over with tiny black specks, the <hi rend='italic'>renati</hi>, highly
+prized by the natives for their delicate flavour and
+soft flesh. There are of course loads of grapes,
+varying from the little honey-tasting purple sort, that
+has been introduced from California, to the huge but
+somewhat insipid bunches of the white <hi rend='italic'>Regina</hi>; we
+note also the quaintly shaped <q>Ladies’ Fingers,</q>
+which are especially sweet. The figs, massed together
+in serried layers between fresh vine leaves and costing
+a <hi rend='italic'>soldo</hi> the dozen, stand around in glossy purple
+pyramids, so luscious that their sugary tears are
+exuding from their skins, and so ripe that they seem
+to cry to be eaten before noon. Here is a barrow
+piled high with the little green fruit, each separate
+fig being decorated with a pink cyclamen stuck in its
+crest; and here is a smaller load of the black <hi rend='italic'>Vescovo</hi>,
+<pb n='228'/><anchor id='Pg228'/>which is said to obtain its ecclesiastical name from
+the fact that the parent stock of this highly esteemed
+variety originally flourished in the bishop’s garden at
+Sorrento. No one who has not visited the shores of
+the Mediterranean in September or early October can
+realize the luscious possibilities of the fig; for there
+seems nothing in common between the freshly-picked
+fruit of the south, bursting its skin with liquid sugar,
+and the dry sweetish woolly object which tries to
+ripen on the sheltered wall of an English garden and
+is eaten with apparent gusto by those who know not
+its Italian brother. Being autumn, we have missed
+one prominent feature of the fruit market, the great
+green-skinned water-melons (<hi rend='italic'>poponi</hi>) with their rose-coloured
+pulp and masses of coal-black seeds, which
+form the favourite summer fruit of the people, who
+find both food and drink in their cool nutritious
+flesh. But even gayer and more striking than the
+fruits are the piles of vegetables, arranged with a fine
+appreciation of colour to which only an Italian eye
+can aspire. Carrots, turnips, tomatoes, purple-headed
+cauliflowers, all the broccoli and many others to be
+observed are old familiar friends, but who in England
+ever saw such gorgeous objects on a coster’s stall or
+in a green-grocer’s shop as the yellow, scarlet and
+shining green pods of the <hi rend='italic'>peperoni</hi>, or the banana-shaped
+egg-plants of iridescent purple, or the split
+pumpkins, revealing caverns of saffron-hued pulp
+within? Truly, the Sorrentine market contains a
+feast of colour to satisfy the craving of an artist!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+At vintage time the whole Piano di Sorrento reeks
+with the vinous scent of the spilt juice, that is carelessly
+thrown on to the stone-paved roads by the
+<pb n='229'/><anchor id='Pg229'/>jolting of the country carts which bring in the great
+wooden tubs, so that the very streets seem to run with
+the crimson ooze. Slender youths in yet more slender
+clothing, with legs purple-stained from treading the
+grapes (for in the South wine is still made on the
+primitive plan), are to be met with on all sides, playing
+at their favourite game of bowls on the public road,
+in order to relieve their brains of the pungent fumes
+of the fermenting grape juice. Somehow at the very
+thought of a Campanian vintage with its long hot
+dusty days, its bare-legged brown-skinned peasants
+treading the pulp, and its all-pervading aroma of wine-lees,
+there rise to memory the truly inspired lines of
+John Keats:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">O for a draught of vintage, that hath been</q></l>
+<l>Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,</l>
+<l>Tasting of Flora and the country-green,</l>
+<l>Dance, and Provençal song, and sun-burnt mirth!</l>
+<l>O for a beaker full of the warm South,</l>
+<l>Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,</l>
+<l>With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 4'><q rend="pre: none">And purple-stained mouth.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+But all these joys of odorous gardens made musical
+by nightingales, of morning plunges into the blue
+Mediterranean, of the wealth of southern fruit and the
+novel delights of the vintage are not for the winter
+traveller, who had far better spend the December or
+January days of his visit to the Bay in a steam-heated
+Neapolitan hotel, rather than face the cold and wet in
+a Sorrentine inn on its overhanging cliff. Nevertheless
+the warm autumn often extends itself into a continuous
+St Martin’s summer, that lasts almost until the New
+Year, before skies grow clouded and the snow-flakes
+<pb n='230'/><anchor id='Pg230'/>descend upon the vineyards and the lava streams of
+Vesuvius. Nothing can be pleasanter in fact than
+some of the long walks in a sharp exhilarating air, and
+though days are short and nights are often chilly, one
+can sometimes linger on comfortably in Sorrento,
+though it is as well to be prepared for departure in
+case of a sudden spell of stormy weather, for winter
+sunshine is a necessity, not a luxury, on the Piano di
+Sorrento.
+</p>
+<anchor id="illus17"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: AFTERNOON, SORRENTO]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus17th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus17.jpg">AFTERNOON, SORRENTO</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: AFTERNOON, SORRENTO</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Unlike other towns upon the Bay of Naples,
+Sorrento is divided into two distinct portions; the city
+on the cliffs, with its streets and squares, its cathedral
+and ancient walls, its villas and gay gardens; and the
+Marina, lying at the mouth of the gorge below, close
+to the water’s edge. The population of Upper
+Sorrento is agricultural and labouring, whilst that of
+the lower consists entirely of fisher-folk and sailors;
+it is needless to add that the latter are far less prosperous
+than their fellow-citizens who live over-head. Until
+recent times little communication between these two
+sets of Sorrentines took place and intermarriages were
+rare, for the sea-faring population only ascended to the
+town above and intermingled with the people of Upper
+Sorrento on the great occasions of local festivals, such
+as the enthronement or funeral of a bishop. Nor has
+the levelling spirit of the age as yet broken down the
+deep-rooted feeling of local clannishness; although it
+cannot be long before time-honoured customs and
+prejudices will be swept away in the tidal wave of
+modern development. One of the chief industries of
+the place is the manufacture of scarves and sashes of
+rich silk woven in cross bars of strong contrasting
+colours, so that the Sorrentine silk work strongly
+<pb n='231'/><anchor id='Pg231'/>resembles the well-known Roman variety. Equally
+popular with visitors are the various articles made of
+olive wood and decorated in <hi rend='italic'>tarsia</hi>, the art of inlaying
+with pieces of stained wood, which is a speciality
+of the place. There are two kinds of this Sorrentine
+inlaid work; one consisting of figures of peasants
+dancing the <hi rend='italic'>tarantella</hi>, of Pompeian maidens in classical
+drapery, of <hi rend='italic'>contadini</hi> or priests bestriding mules, and
+of similar local subjects; and the other, of fanciful
+patterns made up of tiny coloured cubes of wood,
+much in the style of the old Roman stone mosaics.
+The designs employed vary of course with the fashion
+of the day, for there is a local school of art supported
+by the municipality, which professes to improve the
+tastes of the <hi rend='italic'>tarsiatori</hi>, but most persons will certainly
+prefer the trite but characteristic patterns of the place.
+</p>
+<p>
+But the main industry of Sorrento consists in the
+culture of the orange; and the dark groves, covered
+with their globes of shining yellow fruit, <q>like golden
+lamps in a green light,</q> to quote Andrew Marvell’s
+charming conceit, constitute the chief feature of its
+environs. Even the coat-of-arms of the medieval city,
+showing a golden crown encircled by a wreath of the
+dark glossy leaves, attests the antiquity of this industry
+here. The cultivation of the orange in Southern Italy
+is by no means an easy pursuit, though under favourable
+conditions it may prove a very lucrative one, even
+in a spot so subject to sudden changes of temperature
+as Sorrento in winter time, when a continuance of
+severe weather, like that experienced around Naples
+in the opening months of the year 1905, means total
+destruction of the fruit crop and temporary ruin to the
+owners.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='232'/><anchor id='Pg232'/>
+
+<p>
+The fruit of commerce is propagated by means of
+grafting the sweet variety on to the stock of the bitter
+orange—said on doubtful authority to be indigenous
+to this district—which is fairly hardy and can be
+grown in the open as far north as Tuscany, so that
+every <hi rend='italic'>aranciaria</hi> ought to possess a nursery of flourishing
+young sweet-orange shoots, ready in case of
+necessity. For eight long years the grafted tree
+remains as a rule profitless, but having survived and
+thriven so long, it then becomes a valuable asset to its
+proprietor for an indefinite period;—as a proof of the
+longevity of the orange under normal conditions we
+may cite the famous tree in a Roman convent garden,
+which on good authority is stated to have been planted
+by St Dominic nearly six hundred years ago. As to
+the amount of fruit yielded, the growers of Sorrento
+commonly aver that one good year, one bad year and
+one mediocre year constitute the general cycle in the
+prospects of orange farming. Two crops are gathered
+annually, the principle one in December and the other
+at Eastertide, the fruit produced by the later and
+smaller crop being far finer in size and flavour than
+those of the Christmas harvest. Mandarin oranges
+are gathered on both occasions, but the large luscious
+loose-skinned fruit of March and April—<hi rend='italic'>Portogalli</hi> as
+they are commonly termed—are far superior to the
+small hard specimens that appear in December, and
+seem to consist of little else than rind, scent and seeds.
+The oranges begin to form in spring time, almost
+before the petals have fallen, when the peasants
+anxiously draw their conclusions as to the expected
+yield. But however valuable the fruit, the wood of
+the tree is worthless for commerce, except to make
+<pb n='233'/><anchor id='Pg233'/>walking-sticks, or to serve the ignoble purpose of
+supplying hotels and cafés with tooth-picks! Lemons,
+which are far more delicate than oranges and require
+to be kept protected by screens and matting during
+the sharp winter nights, are less common at Sorrento
+than on the warmer shores of the Bay of Baia or the
+sunny terraced slopes of the Amalfitan coast.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+With the ripening of the oranges on the trees appear
+those strange creatures from the wilds of the Basilicata
+or Calabria, the <hi rend='italic'>Zampognari</hi>,  who visit Naples and the
+surrounding district in considerable numbers. They
+usually arrive about the date of the great popular
+festival of the Immaculate Conception (December 8th)
+and remain until the end of the month, when they
+return to their homes with well-filled purses. In
+outward aspect these strangers resemble the stage-brigands
+that appear in such old-fashioned operas as
+<hi rend='italic'>Fra Diavolo</hi>, for they wear steeple-crowned hats with
+coloured ribands depending, shaggy goat-skin trousers,
+crimson velvet waistcoats, blue cloaks, sandalled feet
+and gartered legs. Their pale faces are unshorn, and
+their hair hangs in great tawny masses over neck
+and ears, which are invariably adorned with golden
+rings. These fellows come in pairs, one only, properly
+speaking, being the <hi rend='italic'>zampognaro</hi>, for it is he who carries
+the <hi rend='italic'>zampogna</hi> or classical bag-pipe of Southern Italy,
+whilst his companion is the <hi rend='italic'>cennamellaro</hi>, so called
+from his ear-splitting instrument, the <hi rend='italic'>cennamella</hi>, a
+species of primitive flute. The <hi rend='italic'>zampogna</hi> may be
+described as first cousin to the historic bag-pipes of
+Caledonia, for the sounds emitted strongly resemble
+the traditional <q>skirling</q> of the pipes; but no Scotchman
+even could pretend to delight in the shrill notes
+<pb n='234'/><anchor id='Pg234'/>of the <hi rend='italic'>cennamella</hi>. The former at least of these two
+popular instruments of southern Italy was well known
+to the omniscient author of the Shakespearean plays,
+for in <hi rend='italic'>Othello</hi> we have a direct allusion to the uncouth
+braying music still made to-day by these outlandish
+musicians.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>Why, masters, have your instruments been in
+Naples, that they speak i’ the nose thus?... Are
+these, I pray you, wind instruments?... Then put
+up your pipes in your bag, for I’ll away: go; vanish
+into air; away!</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In the midst of their instrumental duet the two
+shaggy mountaineers are apt to break into a harsh
+nasal hymn in honour of the Virgin, to visit whose
+shrines at this season of the orange harvest is the main
+object of their Christmas migration to the Neapolitan
+shores. Very tastefully decorated are many of the
+Madonna’s little sanctuaries in or near the orange
+groves, when the arrival of the <hi rend='italic'>zampognari</hi> is considered
+imminent. The tiny lamps are well trimmed and
+shine brightly, whilst heavy garlands composed of
+masses of bay or laurel or ilex leaves, interspersed
+with some of the golden clusters of the ripening fruit
+are suspended round the alcove that holds the figure
+of the Virgin. This effective but simple form of
+ornamentation will at once suggest the beautiful glazed
+and coloured terra-cotta wreaths of fruit and foliage
+that are to be seen so frequently in Tuscan churches;
+indeed, it is possible that the members of the Della
+Robbia family may have originally borrowed the
+decorative schemes for their famous plaques and
+lunettes from the rustic shrines thus simply but tastefully
+embellished. Nominally, the two performers
+<pb n='235'/><anchor id='Pg235'/>are supposed to sing and make music on nine different
+days at the houses of all their patrons in order to
+make up the total number of the <hi rend='italic'>novena</hi>, but the
+extent of their performances is generally calculated in
+accordance with the depth of the householder’s purse,
+the sum given for their services varying from a few
+<hi rend='italic'>soldi</hi> to a five <hi rend='italic'>lire</hi> note. All classes of society employ
+the zampognari, for it is with the first appearance of
+the lovely golden fruit, essentially <hi rend='italic'>the</hi> winter fruit of
+the Italians, that the arrival of these picturesque
+strangers has been associated from time immemorial.
+The <hi rend='italic'>zampognari</hi> are in fact as much of a national
+institution with the Neapolitans at Christmastide as
+are the waits or carol-singers in our own country, so
+that to the majority of these people <hi rend='italic'>Natale senza
+zampogna e cennamella</hi> would seem no true Christmas
+at all.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Closely connected with the life of the people of the
+Piano di Sorrento is the famous dance known as the
+<hi rend='italic'>Tarantella</hi>, which may be witnessed by the curious at
+almost any time—for money. Even when performed
+by professional dancers, tricked out in spick and span
+stage-peasant finery, the Tarantella is a most graceful
+exhibition of movement, although the dance naturally
+gains in interest when it takes place in the days of
+vintage or on the popular festivals of the Church,
+without the presence of largesse-giving strangers.
+The origin of the name has always puzzled antiquarians,
+although in all probability the dance derives its curious
+appellation from the Greek city of Taranto, whence
+the Tarentines introduced its steps and action into
+other parts of Italy. But vulgar belief is very strong,
+so that this graceful dance is still closely associated in
+<pb n='236'/><anchor id='Pg236'/>the popular mind with the <hi rend='italic'>tarantula</hi>, a kind of
+poisonous spider found in the neighbourhood of
+Taranto, the effects of whose bite are said to yield to
+violent exercise followed by profuse perspiration. In
+order to excite the proper amount of exertion
+necessary for the cure, the person afflicted, <hi rend='italic'>il tarantolato</hi>,
+is induced to leap and caper by the sound of music,
+with the result that there exist a number of tunes
+specially connected with this wild species of dancing.
+The real explanation of this fable seems to lie in the
+extremely excitable nature of the Tarentines themselves,
+assisted by the exhilarating music and by frequent
+pulls at the wine barrel. The two lines sung to the
+air of one of the tunes employed:
+</p>
+
+<lg rend="margin-left: 6">
+<l><q rend="post: none">Non fu Taranta, ne fu Tarantella,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Ma fu la vino della carratella:</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p rend="display">
+(<q>It was neither the taranta, nor the tarantella, but it was the
+wine from the cask.</q>)
+</p>
+
+<p>
+sums up pretty accurately the real cause of these
+strange Tarentine orgies, which have really nothing
+whatever in common with the rhythmical dance that is
+still so popular in the environs of Naples. Nevertheless
+the theory of <hi rend='italic'>tarantella</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>tarantismo</hi> has been
+gravely discussed by old Italian writers, and a certain
+learned prelate of the fifteenth century, Niccolo
+Perotto, Archbishop of Siponto, alludes to the
+malignant cause of this dance-cure as <q>a species of
+speckled spider, dwelling in rents of the ground
+caused by excessive heat. It was not known in the
+time of our fore-fathers, but now it is very common
+in Apulia ... and is generally called <hi rend='italic'>Tarantula</hi>.
+Its bite seldom kills a man, yet it makes him half
+<pb n='237'/><anchor id='Pg237'/>stupid, and affects him in a variety of ways. Some,
+when a song or tune is heard, are so excited that
+they dance, full of joy and always laughing, and do
+not stop till they are entirely exhausted; others
+spend a miserable life in tears, as if bewailing the
+loss of friends. Some die laughing, and others in
+tears.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Such is the curious legend concerning the origin of
+the Tarantella, which is still danced with something
+of the old spirit by the holiday-making crowds of
+Naples, though it is at the <hi rend='italic'>festa</hi> of San Michele, the
+patron of Procida, that the Tarantella can now be
+seen to best advantage. Of the three islands that lie
+close to Naples, Procida is the least known or visited
+by strangers, so that when the Tarantella is danced by
+the Procidani, the old-fashioned popular orchestra is
+employed to give the necessary music. This consists
+of five quaint instruments (obviously of Oriental origin
+as their counterparts can still be seen amongst the
+Kabyles of Northern Africa): the first being a fife
+(<hi rend='italic'>siscariello</hi>); the second a tin globe covered with skin
+pierced by a piece of cane (<hi rend='italic'>puti-puti</hi>); the third a
+wooden saw and a split stick, making a primitive bow
+and fiddle (<hi rend='italic'>scetavaiasse</hi>); the fourth an arrangement of
+three wooden mallets, that are rattled together like a
+gigantic pair of bones (<hi rend='italic'>tricca-ballache</hi>); and the fifth a
+Jew’s harp (<hi rend='italic'>scaccia-pensieri</hi>). A tarantella danced to
+the accompaniment of so weird a medley of instruments
+and by real peasants full of gaiety is naturally a
+thing altogether diverse from the stilted, though graceful
+and decorous performance that can be observed
+any day for payment in a Sorrentine or Neapolitan
+hotel; yet it must ever be borne in mind that the
+<pb n='238'/><anchor id='Pg238'/>Tarantella proper, whether danced <hi rend='italic'>con amore</hi> by Procidan
+peasants or performed for lucre by costumed
+professionals, is no vulgar frenzied <hi rend='italic'>can-can</hi>, but a
+musical love-dance expressive of primitive courtship.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>The Tarantella is a choregraphic love-story, the
+two dancers representing an enamoured swain and his
+mistress. It is the old theme—<q>the quarrel of lovers
+is the renewal of love.</q> Enraptured gaze, coy side-look,
+gallant advance, timid retrocession, impassioned
+declaration, supercilious rejection, piteous supplication,
+softening hesitation; worldly goods oblation, gracious
+acceptation; frantic jubilation, maidenly resignation.
+Petting, wooing, billing, cooing. Jealous accusation,
+sharp recrimination, manly expostulation, shrewish
+aggravation; angry threat, summary dismissal. Fuming
+on one side, pouting on the other. Reaction,
+approximation, exclamation, exoneration, reconciliation,
+osculation, winding up with a grand <anchor id="corr238"/><corr sic="pas de circomstane"><hi rend='italic'>pas de circomstance</hi></corr>,
+expressive of confidence re-established and
+joy unbounded. That’s about the figure of it; but no
+word-painting can give an idea of the spirit, the <q>go</q>
+of the tarantella when danced for love and not for
+money.</q><note place="foot">W. J. A. Stamer: <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+On a modest scale Sorrento can lay claim to be
+called an eternal city, for the Surrentum of the ancient
+Romans was a place of no small importance, filled with
+villas of wealthy citizens and boasting a fair-sized
+population, as its numerous remains of antiquity can
+easily testify; whilst its crumbling ivy-clad walls and
+towers point to its prosperity during the Middle Ages,
+when Sorrento shared the political fortunes of Naples.
+It is now a busy thriving little cathedral town, and
+<pb n='239'/><anchor id='Pg239'/>the possessor of silk and <hi rend='italic'>tarsia</hi> work industries, so
+that like Imperial Rome it can boast a continuous
+existence as a city from remote times to the present
+day. Its chief local Saint—for what Italian town
+does not boast a special patron?—is Sant’ Antonio,
+whose most famous feat is said to have been the
+administering of a severe drubbing to Sicardo, Duke
+of Benevento, for daring to interfere with the liberties
+of his city in the ninth century. It would appear
+from the legend that all arguments as to ancient
+rights, the quality of mercy and the honour of keeping
+faith having been vainly exhausted upon the cruel and
+obstinate prince, Bishop Antonio came forward with
+a stout cudgel and belaboured the tyrant in order to
+obtain a favourable answer to the people’s petition.
+The sanctity of the pugnacious prelate and the force
+of this <hi rend='italic'>argumentum ad baculum</hi> were evidently too
+much for the Duke of Benevento, who at once conceded
+the popular demands, whilst Antonio’s name has
+deservedly descended to posterity as the capable protector
+of his native city.
+</p>
+<p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+But the name which above all others Sorrento will
+cherish as her own, <q>so long as men shall read and
+eyes can see,</q> is that of the famous Italian poet, Torquato
+Tasso, whose interesting but melancholy life-story
+is closely associated with this, the town of his
+birth. Tasso is reckoned as the fourth greatest bard
+of Italy, ranking after Dante and Petrarch, and being
+esteemed on a level with rather than below his rival
+and contemporary, Ludovico Ariosto. In one sense
+however he may be described as the most truly national
+poet of this immortal quartet, for his career is
+con<pb n='240'/><anchor id='Pg240'/>nected with his native country as a whole, rather than
+with any one of the little cities or states then comprising
+that <q>geographical expression</q> which is now
+the Kingdom of Italy. His father’s family was
+of Lombard origin, having been long settled in the
+neighbourhood of Bergamo, where a crumbling hill-set
+fortress known as the Montagno del Tasso still recalls
+the name of the poet’s ancestors. His mother, Porzia
+de’ Rossi, was Tuscan by birth, her family haling from
+Pistoja at the foot of the Apennines, but owning property
+near Naples; whilst the poet himself was
+destined to spend his years of childhood at Sorrento
+and at Naples, his youth at Rome and Verona, his
+brilliant period of fame and prosperity at Ferrara and
+the Lombard courts, and again some of his closing
+years of disgrace and disappointment amidst the
+familiar scenes of his infancy. Of good ancient stock
+the Tassi owed their acquisition of wealth to the re-establishment
+of the system of posting throughout Northern Italy in the
+thirteenth century, when the immediate progenitor of the poet,
+one Omodeo de’ Tassi, was nominated comptroller, and it is
+curious to note that owing to this circumstance the arms of the
+family containing the posthorn and the badger’s skin—<hi rend='italic'>Tasso</hi>
+is the Italian for badger—continued to be borne for
+many centuries upon the harness of all
+Lombard coach-horses. Torquato’s father, Bernardo
+Tasso, himself a poet of no mean calibre and the
+composer of a scholarly but somewhat prolix work, the
+<hi rend='italic'>Amadigi</hi>, formed for many years a prominent member
+of that brilliant band of literary courtiers within the
+castle of Vittoria Colonna, the Lady of Ischia, of whom
+we shall speak more fully in another place. But for
+<pb n='241'/><anchor id='Pg241'/>the overwhelming and all-eclipsing fame of his distinguished
+son, Bernardo might have been able to claim
+a high place in the list of Italian writers of the
+Renaissance; as it was, the father’s undoubted talents
+were quickly forgotten in the blaze of his own beloved
+<q>Tassino’s</q> popularity, so that he is now chiefly remembered
+as the sire of a poetic genius, as one of <anchor id="corr241"/><corr sic="the the">the</corr>
+great Vittoria’s favourite satellites and as the author
+of an oft-quoted sonnet to his intellectual mistress.
+Bernardo Tasso did not marry until the somewhat
+mature age of forty-seven, when, as we have already
+said, he espoused the daughter of the Tuscan house of
+Rossi, by whom he had two children; a daughter,
+Cornelia, and the immortal Torquato, who was born in
+1544, three years before the death of the divine
+poetess of Ischia.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But Bernardo was not merely a bard and a courtier,
+for he was also, unfortunately for himself and his ill-fated
+family, a keen politician in an age when politics
+offered anything but a safe pursuit, and as his views
+invariably coincided with those of his chief friend and
+patron, the head of the powerful Sanseverino family,
+Tasso the Elder found himself in course of time an
+exile from Neapolitan territory on account of his
+dislike of the new Spanish masters of Naples. The
+poet-politician therefore took up his abode at Rome,
+whilst his wife and two young children continued to
+reside at Naples and Sorrento. The boy was a born
+student, almost an infant prodigy of learning, and so
+great was his desire for knowledge that he would
+insist upon rising long before it was day-light, and
+would even make his way to school through the dark
+dirty streets of Naples, conducted by a servant with a
+<pb n='242'/><anchor id='Pg242'/>torch in his hand. The Jesuits, who had just set up
+their first academy at Naples, soon discovered in the
+future poet an ideal pupil, and not only did they impart
+to the child all the lore of ancient Greece and
+Rome, but they also imbued his mind, at an age when
+it was <q>wax to receive and marble to retain,</q> with
+their own peculiar theological tenets. It is obvious
+indeed that the faith implanted by the Fathers in his
+tender years was largely, if not wholly answerable for
+the unswerving belief and firm religious convictions
+that ever stood Tasso in good stead throughout the
+whole of his chequered career. <q>Give me a child of
+seven years old,</q> had once declared the great Founder
+of the Society of Jesus, <q>and I care not who has the
+after-handling of him</q>; and in this case the Jesuit
+professors did not fail to carry out Loyola’s precept.
+But his home life with his mother, whom he loved
+devotedly, and his course of study at the Jesuit school
+were suddenly interrupted when he was barely ten
+years of age, for the elder Tasso was anxious for his
+little son to join him in Rome, there to be educated
+under his own eye. The boy left his mother, but
+after his departure the Rossi family brutally refused
+to allow their sister access to her absent husband,
+who had lately been declared a rebel against the
+Spanish government and deprived of his estates.
+Thus persecuted by her unfeeling brothers, Porzia
+Tasso sought refuge together with Cornelia in a
+Neapolitan convent, where, deprived of her erratic but
+beloved husband and pining for her absent son, the
+poor woman died of a broken heart a year or two
+later. As for Cornelia, she became affianced when
+of a marriageable age to a gentleman of Sorrento,
+<pb n='243'/><anchor id='Pg243'/>the Cavaliere Marzio Sersale, and consequently
+returned to live in the home of her childhood.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Of Tasso’s many adventures, of his universal literary
+fame, of the honours heaped upon him by his chief
+patron, Duke Alfonso of Ferrara, and of his subsequent
+disgrace and imprisonment for daring to lift his eyes
+in love to a princess of the haughty House of Este,
+we have no space to speak here. Let it suffice to say
+that he was one of the most charming, virtuous,
+brilliant, manly figures, as he was also almost the last
+true representative, of the great Italian Renaissance,
+the end of which may be described as coinciding with
+his decease. According to his biographer Manso, the
+author of the <hi rend='italic'>Gerusalemme Liberata</hi> was singularly
+noble and refined in appearance, though always
+possessed of an air of melancholy; he was well-built,
+strong, active and resourceful, anything in fact but a
+carpet-knight who spent his days in writing verse and
+dallying with Italian court beauties:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Colla penna e colla spada,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Nessun val quanto Torquato;</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+sang the populace of Ferrara in honour of their
+illustrious Sorrentine guest, for the Ferrarese delighted
+in the handsome stranger who could in an emergency
+wield the sword as skilfully as he could ply his
+quill. Twice only however did Tasso revisit the city
+of his birth, and each return home was occasioned
+by deep tragedy. In 1577, wounded by the attacks
+of his literary rivals and humiliated by the Duke
+Alfonso’s discovery of his infatuation for the Princess
+Leonora d’Este, the unhappy poet travelled southward,
+reaching Sorrento in the disguise of a shepherd.
+<pb n='244'/><anchor id='Pg244'/>Making his way to the Casa Sersale, the house of his
+sister, now a widow with two sons, Torquato passed
+himself off as his own messenger, and so eloquently
+did he relate the story of his own grief and wrongs,
+that the tender-hearted Cornelia fainted away at this
+recital. Having satisfied his mind as to his sister’s
+genuine affection, the pseudo-shepherd now revealed
+his true character, whereupon the pair embraced with
+transports of joy, though it was deemed prudent not
+to acquaint their friends with the arrival of Torquato,
+who was represented to the good people of Sorrento
+as a distant relative from Bergamo. Cornelia Sersale
+now entreated the poet to take up his abode permanently
+in her house, and to forget the rebuffs of
+the cruel world without in the enjoyment of family
+ties and affections; and well would it have been for
+Torquato, had he accepted his sister’s advice and
+passed the succeeding years in simple rural pleasures.
+But restless and inconsequent despite all his virtues,
+the poet must needs return to Ferrara to bask in the
+presence of his beloved Leonora, with the dire and
+undignified result that all the world knows. Tasso’s
+second visit took place not long before his death,
+when his strength was rapidly failing, so that it seems
+strange that he did not decide to end his days amidst
+these lovely and well-remembered scenes of his early
+boyhood, instead of deliberately choosing for the last
+stage of his earthly journey the Roman convent of
+Sant’ Onofrio, where the death-chamber and various
+pathetic relics of the poet are still pointed out.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Students of Tasso’s immortal epic are apt to overlook
+the immense influence exercised on its author by
+his early Sorrentine days and surroundings. The
+<pb n='245'/><anchor id='Pg245'/><hi rend='italic'>Gerusalemme Liberata</hi> contains, as we know, a full
+account of the First Crusade and constitutes an
+apotheosis of Godfrey de Bouillon, first Christian King
+of Jerusalem; but it is also something more than a
+mere poetical description of a departed age of chivalry.
+For there can be little doubt that the poet aspired to
+be the singer of a new movement which should wrest
+back the Holy City from the clutches of the Saracens,
+and set a second Godfrey upon the vacant throne of
+Palestine. To this important end the experiences of
+his infancy and his training by the Jesuits had undoubtedly
+tended to urge the precocious young poet.
+The servants of his father’s house at Sorrento must
+many a time have regaled his eager boyish mind with
+harrowing tales of the infidel pirates who scoured the
+Tyrrhene Sea within sight of the watch-towers on the
+coast; within ken, perchance, of Casa Tasso itself, perched
+on the commanding cliff above the waters. Scarcely
+a family dwelling on the Marina below but was mourning
+one or more of its members that had been seized
+by the blood-thirsty marauders, perhaps to be brutally
+slain on the spot or to languish in the dungeons of
+Tripoli and Smyrna, eking out a life of slavery that
+was far worse than death itself. Stories of tortured
+Christians, like that of the pious Geronimo of Algiers
+who was tied with cords and flung into a mass of soft
+concrete, were common enough topics among the
+Sorrentine folk, all of whom lived in constant dread
+of a successful raid by the Barbary pirates. For,
+despite the efforts of the great Emperor Charles the
+Fifth to protect his maritime subjects, the swift galleys
+of Tunis and Tripoli out-stripped the Imperial men-of-war,
+and continued to carry on their vile commerce
+<pb n='246'/><anchor id='Pg246'/>of slavery. Such a state of terrorism must have
+appeared intolerable to the highly romantic, deeply
+religious spirit of the young poet; and his Jesuit
+preceptors, working on the boy’s imagination, were
+soon able to instil into his youthful brain the notion
+of a new Crusade which would not only sweep the
+infidel ships from off the Italian seas, but would also recapture
+the Holy City itself. The Church, beginning
+at last to recover from the effects of Luther’s schism,
+was once more in a position to re-assert its ancient
+authority over Catholic Christendom, and in Torquato
+Tasso it found an able trumpeter to call together the
+scattered forces of the Faithful, and to reunite them
+in a holy war. Astonished and delighted, all Italy
+was swept by the golden torrent of Tasso’s impassioned
+verses, that were intended to urge the Catholic princes
+of Europe to the inauguration of a new Crusade. Nor
+were the times unpropitious for such an event. Tunis,
+that hot-bed of infidelity, piracy and iniquity, was in
+the hands of the Christians; and the fleets of the
+Soldan had been well-nigh annihilated by Don John
+of Austria at the glorious battle of Lepanto:—to
+convince a doubting and hesitating world that the
+actual moment had come wherein to recover the city
+of Jerusalem was the main object of the author of
+the <hi rend='italic'>Gerusalemme Liberata</hi>. And it was his infancy
+spent upon this smiling but pirate-harassed coast that
+was chiefly responsible for this desired end in the epic
+of the Crusades; it was Tasso’s early acquaintance
+with the Bay of Naples, combined with his special
+training by the Jesuits, that forced the poet’s genius
+and ambition into this particular channel.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is pleasant to think that Sorrento is still
+appre<pb n='247'/><anchor id='Pg247'/>ciative of its honour as the birth-place of the great
+Italian poet. The citizens have erected a statue of
+marble in one of their open spaces; they have called
+street, hotel and <hi rend='italic'>trattoria</hi> by his illustrious name; and
+can the modern spirit of grateful acknowledgment go
+further than this? His father’s house has perished, it
+is true, through <q>Nature’s changing force untrimmed,</q>
+for the greedy waves have undermined and swallowed
+up the tufa cliff which once supported the old Tasso
+villa. But there is still standing in Strada di San
+Nicola the old Sersale mansion, wherein the good
+Cornelia received her long-lost brother in his peasant’s
+guise, an unhappy exile from haughty Ferrara. Of
+more interest however than the old town house of the
+Sersale family is the ancient farm, known as the Vigna
+Sersale, which once belonged to Donna Cornelia, and
+supplied her household with wine and oil. It is a
+lovely sequestered spot lying on the breezy hill-side
+not far down the Massa road, facing towards Capri
+and the sunset. Hallowed by its historic connection
+with the poet and his devoted sister, the Vigna Sersale
+can claim perhaps to be one of the most interesting
+and beautiful places of literary pilgrimage upon earth.
+Ascending by the steep pathway that leads upward
+from the broad high road, it is not long before we
+reach the old <hi rend='italic'>podere</hi>, amidst whose olive groves and
+vineyards the poet was wont to sit dreamily gazing at
+the glorious view before him. Here are the same
+ancient spreading stone-pines, the same gnarled olive
+trees that sheltered the gentle love-lorn poet, whilst
+Cornelia and her sons sate beside him in the shade,
+endeavouring—alas! only too vainly—by their caresses
+to detain the roving Torquato in their midst. Could
+<pb n='248'/><anchor id='Pg248'/>not, we ask ourselves, the erratic poet have been content
+to remain in this spot, <q>in questa terra alma e
+felice</q> as he himself styles it, instead of plunging once
+more into the dangers and dissipation of that Vanity
+Fair of distant Ferrara? Why could he not have
+brooded over his ill-starred infatuation for the high-born
+Leonora in this soothing corner of the earth,
+allowing its quiet and beauty to sink into his soul,
+until the recollection of his Innamorata declined
+gradually into a fragrant memory that could be
+embalmed in never-dying verse? But like his own
+favourite hero, the Christian King of Jerusalem, the
+poet must in his inmost heart have preferred a
+changing storm-tossed life to the ideal existence of
+rustic ease; and had he not returned to the treacherous
+splendours of Alfonso’s court, how much less
+entrancing would his own life-story have appeared to
+after ages! Unconsciously he seems to have composed
+his own epitaph in describing Godfrey’s death;
+for the crusading king lived and died like a true
+Christian knight, for whom the world has afforded
+many adventures, and but few intervals of peace until
+the final call to endless rest.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Vivesti qual guerrier cristiano e santo,</q></l>
+<l>E come bel sei morto: ei godi, e pasci</l>
+<l>In Dio gli occhi bramosi, o felice alma,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Ed hai del ben oprar corona e palma.</q></l>
+</lg>
+</div><div n="11" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='249'/><anchor id='Pg249'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="11: Capri and Tiberius the Tyrant"/>
+<head>CHAPTER XI</head>
+
+<head type="sub">CAPRI AND TIBERIUS THE TYRANT</head>
+
+<p>
+Lying between the classic capes of Misenum
+and Minerva, the island of Capri appears like
+a couched lion, guarding the entrance of the Bay
+of Naples; his majestic head being formed by the
+stupendous cliffs of the Salto that face the sunrise,
+whilst his back and loins are represented by the long
+broad slope which stretches from the summit of
+Monte Solaro to the most westerly headland of
+Vitareta. Nor is it only as a guardian to their
+Bay that Capri serves the Neapolitans, for it also
+presents them with a gigantic natural barometer.
+In fine settled weather a soft haze invariably lies
+over the sea, so that Capri is only faintly visible
+from the shores of Parthenope, save at sunrise and
+sunset, when for a short time the graceful form
+of the islet looms out clear-cut like a jagged amethyst
+upon a sapphire bed; but before rain or storm
+it yields up its inmost secrets to the public gaze
+of Naples. The northern Marina, the towns of
+Capri and Ana-Capri, even the little terraced fields
+become discernible to the naked eye: <q>It will
+be wet to-morrow</q> augur the weather-wise of Naples,
+and the prediction is rarely falsified.
+</p>
+<anchor id="illus18"/>
+<pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: FARAGLIONI ROCKS, CAPRI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus18th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus18.jpg">FARAGLIONI ROCKS, CAPRI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: FARAGLIONI ROCKS, CAPRI</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+It is an easy matter to cross from Sorrento to the
+<pb n='250'/><anchor id='Pg250'/>island, whether it be by the little steamer that plies daily
+between Naples and Capri, putting in at Sorrento on
+its journeys backwards and forwards, or—far pleasanter
+if somewhat slower way—by engaging a boat with
+four rowers, who on a calm day ought to make the
+Marina of Capri in less than two hours. Nothing
+can be more delightful or exhilarating than this old-fashioned
+method of transit; and it gives also a
+feeling of superiority over less enterprising persons
+who prefer the quicker passage on a smoky steamer,
+crammed with tourists and attendant touts. It is
+the very morning for a row on the cool glassy water,
+as we step joyfully into our boat with its four
+stalwart Phrygian-capped sailors in attendance:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Con questo zeffiro</q></l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Cosi soave,</l>
+<l>Oh, com’ e bello</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Star su la nave!</l>
+<l>Mare si placido,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'>Vento si caro,</l>
+<l>Scordar fa i triboli</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 2'><q rend="pre: none">Al marinaro.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Bending with a will to their oars, our genial
+mariners quickly impel our barque round the first
+jutting headland, so that the thickly populated
+Piano di Sorrento is at once lost to view. Making
+good headway over the clear water, it is not long
+before we find ourselves passing beneath the wave-washed
+precipices of the Salto, and well within our
+time limit of two hours we reach the roadstead of
+the Marina, to find ourselves in a bright and busy
+world of traffic and pleasure. Between the houses
+coloured coral-pink, white, blue, and yellow, and
+<pb n='251'/><anchor id='Pg251'/>the pale green transparent water lies a long stretch of
+beach covered with every sort of craft that sails the
+Mediterranean, and with a motley crowd of fishermen,
+tourists and noisy children; whilst the whole
+atmosphere rings with raucous voices raised in
+giving directions, in quarrelling, or in addressing
+the many perplexed strangers. We disembark, and
+cross the intervening beach with its sea-weed veiled
+boulders and masses of tawny fishing nets; we reach
+the village, and here we meet with our first disappointment
+in romantic Capri. It was not so very many
+years ago, barely thirty in point of fact, that this
+island was roadless, and in those primitive days the
+visitor was met at the Marina Grande by tall
+strapping Capriote women, who were wont to seize
+the traveller’s pieces of baggage as though they had
+been light parcels, and to march up the old stone
+staircase poising these burdens on their heads with
+the carriage of an empress. The stranger’s own
+entrance into Capri was less dignified, for either he
+had to toil painfully in the blazing sun up that
+steep picturesque flight of steps and reach the plateau
+above, perspiring and probably out of temper; or else
+he was compelled to bestride a miserable ass which a
+bare-footed damsel steered upward by means of the
+quadruped’s tail. Nowadays, we are spared this
+original and somewhat humiliating manner of arrival
+at our journey’s end. There are little <hi rend='italic'>carrozzelle</hi>,
+drawn by clever black Abruzzi cobs awaiting us,
+and even one or two hotel conveyances. We find
+ourselves being driven rapidly up the excellent
+winding road constructed only a quarter of a century
+ago, past the domed Church of San Costanzo, the
+<pb n='252'/><anchor id='Pg252'/>patron Saint of the Caprioti, past hedges of aloe and
+prickly pear, until we gain the saddle of the island-mountain,
+where stands the small capital perched
+upon a ledge that overlooks the Bay of Naples to the
+north, and to the south the endless expanse of the
+unruffled Tyrrhene.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is evident even to the most casual untrained eye,
+that this huge mass of sea-girt rock whereon we stand
+must in remote ages have formed part of the mainland
+opposite, until some fierce convulsion of nature,
+common enough in this region that is ever changing its
+outward face through subterranean forces, tore what is
+now Capri asunder from the Punta della Campanella,
+and placed the sea as an eternal barrier between the
+riven headlands of continent and new-formed island.
+The charm of this rocky fragment, thus placed in mid
+ocean by volcanic action, was first discovered by the
+great Emperor Augustus, who chancing to visit the
+island for some obscure reason was greatly affected by
+the spectacle of a withered ilex tree, that revived and
+burst into foliage at the auspicious moment of his
+setting foot at the Marina. Flattered at the compliment
+paid by Nature’s self to his august presence and
+drawing a happy omen from the incident, the Emperor
+at once proposed to the people of Neapolis, who then
+owned the island, that they should exchange barren
+Capreae for the larger and more fertile imperial
+appanage of Aenaria (Ischia)—a bargain to which the
+shrewd Neapolitans readily agreed. Here then in a
+spot at once so salubrious and so convenient for
+the management of affairs of state, the Emperor sought
+rest and relaxation at such times as he could escape
+the cares of government. At his bidding villas and
+<pb n='253'/><anchor id='Pg253'/>pleasaunces were constructed; roads were carried by
+means of viaducts across the airy plateau lying between
+the Salto and the Solaro; and the able bodied inhabitants
+of the island were enrolled as a sort of
+honorary bodyguard for the person of Augustus during
+his occasional visits. In this secluded, yet accessible
+retreat, the ruler of the Roman world could easily lay
+his finger, as it were, upon the beating pulse of his
+mighty empire, for Capreae was at no great distance
+from Rome itself, and from the heights of the island
+note could be made of the movements of the Imperial
+fleet lying at Baiae or of the arrival of the corn ships
+from Egypt and Asia Minor. But the name of the
+good Augustus is scarcely remembered in connection
+with Capreae, which alone recalls its association with
+Tiberius the Tyrant, who spent the last nine years
+of his reign upon the rocky islet that was so beloved
+of his predecessor. To this spot <q>Timberio</q> (as the
+natives invariably misname the Emperor) feeling the
+rapid approach of senile decay, weary of the thankless
+task of ruling an ungrateful people, sick of family dissensions
+and of court intrigue, at last came in the
+cherished hope of spending the few remaining years of
+his life in cultured leisure and in comparative solitude.
+An enthusiastic student of astronomy and of its sister
+science, or rather pseudo-science, astrology, Tiberius
+proposed to study the heavens in the company of
+chosen mathematicians and soothsayers. Twelve
+buildings—palaces, villas, pavilions, call them what
+you will—were now constructed for the special examination
+of the planets, and in consequence the whole
+of the island, whose limited area after all is exceeded
+by many an English park, was practically turned into
+<pb n='254'/><anchor id='Pg254'/>one vast maritime residence, for all the Imperial
+pleasure-houses seem to have been connected with each
+other by means of viaducts or secret stair-ways. Yet
+whilst immersed in astronomy and occultism, the aged
+Emperor contrived to find time for the routine of
+public business, and, like Augustus, he was still able
+to direct from his rocky retreat the policy of the
+Empire. The reports of governors of provinces, for
+example, were received, read, and commented upon by
+Tiberius in his Capriote home, and amongst these
+there must have been included a certain official
+document from one Pontius Pilatus, Procurator of
+Judaea, relating how a Jewish prophet from Nazareth
+had been condemned, scourged and crucified by his
+orders at the special request of the Jews themselves.
+How eloquent is this bald statement of a simple fact,
+that here in this tiny barren islet was brought the
+casual news of the death of Jesus Christ to the then
+ruler of the Roman world! Surely an historical
+incident such as this is of more value than all the
+hazy legends or pointless miracles of St Januarius or
+of San Costanzo, upon which the imagination of the
+islanders has been fed for generations.
+</p>
+<anchor id="illus19"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: CAPRI FROM THE VILLA JOVIS]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus19th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus19.jpg">CAPRI FROM THE VILLA JOVIS</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: CAPRI FROM THE VILLA JOVIS</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Remnants of Tiberius’ palaces, all of which are said
+to have been razed to the ground by order of the
+Roman Senate at his death, are scattered thick as
+fallen leaves in Vallombrosa over the whole surface of
+the island, and it is to the ruins of the Villa Jovis at
+its eastern crest that the visitor will in all probability
+first direct his steps. The way thither from the little
+city of Capri leads through narrow lanes along a stony
+but populous hill-side, to which the flat-roofed dazzling
+white houses with their small iron-barred windows lend
+<pb n='255'/><anchor id='Pg255'/>an oriental aspect; an illusion that is aided by the
+appearance of an occasional date-palm over-topping
+some low wall, and by clumps or hedges of the prickly
+pear. This latter plant, of Indian extraction as its
+name of <hi rend='italic'>Ficus Indica</hi> betrays, grows in profusion over
+the sun-baked rocky slopes of southern Italy, especially
+in the neighbourhood of the sea. The peasants find
+it most useful, for it makes impenetrable hedges, and
+its coarse pulpy leaves when pounded up afford good
+provender for their goats and donkeys. The fruits of
+the prickly pear, those quaint crimson or yellow knobs
+attached to the edges of the leaves, are likewise
+gathered and eaten by the people, or else cleaned of
+their protecting layers of spiny hairs and despatched
+in baskets to Naples, where the cactus-fruit forms an
+important item of the popular fare. The fruit itself
+has a lovely colour and a fragrant scent, which give
+promise of a better flavour than it actually possesses,
+for it is hopelessly insipid to the taste, although the
+Neapolitans declare that the pulp, when mashed up
+into patties and iced, is very palatable.
+</p>
+<p>
+A long up-hill ramble over rough paths leads eventually
+to the Villa of Jupiter, perched on the Salto—the
+<hi rend='italic'>Saltus Caprearum</hi>, the <q>Wild Goats’ Leap,</q> of the
+ancients. There is little of interest to be seen in the
+existing portions of Tiberius’ chief villa, for the building
+has been despoiled centuries ago of its rich marbles,
+its slabs of <hi rend='italic'>giallo</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>verde antico</hi>, its pillars of red
+porphyry and <hi rend='italic'>serpentino</hi>, some fragments of which may
+be found imbedded in the pavement of the mosque-like
+little Duomo of Capri. But it is evident from the
+immense extent of its substructures, now used for
+humble enough purposes, that the Villa Jovis must
+<pb n='256'/><anchor id='Pg256'/>have been a palace of remarkable size. A hermit who
+offers sour wine, a fat middle-aged woman, a figure of
+fun in her gay be-ribboned dress who begins languidly
+dancing a <hi rend='italic'>tarantella</hi>, and a vulgar pestilent guide who
+produces a spy-glass usually haunt these caverns on the
+look-out for any chance visitor. Buy them off, O stranger!
+with <hi rend='italic'>soldi</hi>, is our advice, for you cannot otherwise
+escape their importunities, and then mounting
+to the highest point, peer down into the clear depths
+of the water nearly a thousand feet below. For it
+was here, if we can credit serious Roman historians,
+that the Imperial tyrant, half crazy with terror and
+ever thirsting for human blood, was wont to hurl the
+objects of his hate into the sea; <q>from this eminence,</q>
+Suetonius gravely tells us, <q>after the application of
+long drawn-out and exquisite tortures, Tiberius used to
+order his executioners to fling their victims before his
+eyes into the water, where boats full of mariners,
+stationed below, were waiting in readiness to beat the
+bruised bodies with oars, in case any spark of life might
+yet be left in them.</q> The terrible legend fits in aptly
+with the appearance of this forbidding dizzy precipice,
+especially on a dark stormy afternoon, when the dull
+roar of the waves dashing against the cliffs below,
+mounts upward to the Villa Jovis like the angry bellowing
+of some insatiable sea-monster.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It was whilst brooding here after the death of
+Sejanus in Rome, that the Emperor, not daring to
+move beyond the walls of his palace, shunning the
+society of all save his familiar friends and attendants,
+and with his face disfigured by an eruption of the
+skin of which he was painfully sensitive, that there
+took place an incident (which may or may not be
+<pb n='257'/><anchor id='Pg257'/>true) mentioned by Suetonius. In the privacy of
+this villa Tiberius was one day surprised by an
+ingenious Capriote fisherman, who in ignorance or
+defiance of the Emperor’s wishes had managed to
+scale with his naked feet the steep cliffs from the
+sea below, in order to present a fine mullet for the
+imperial table, and of course to earn a high reward
+for his <q>gift.</q> Terrified at the mere notion of anybody
+being able thus to penetrate into his most
+secret domain, the irate Emperor at once gave orders
+for the intruder’s face to be scrubbed with the mullet
+he had brought, a sentence that the imperial minions
+performed without delay. The intrepid fisherman
+might have congratulated himself on so mild a
+punishment for having disturbed a tyrant’s repose, had
+he not been possessed of an unusually strong sense
+of humour. For at the close of the mullet-scrubbing
+episode, the foolish fellow remarked by way of a
+jest to the officer on duty, that he was thankful he
+had not also offered the emperor a large crab
+which he had likewise brought in his basket. This
+imprudent speech was immediately reported to
+Tiberius, who thereupon commanded the man’s face
+to be lacerated with the aforesaid crab’s claws; but
+whether this pleasing incident ended with a cold
+plunge from the Salto, the Roman historian does not
+relate.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Other tales of Timberio’s vices and cruelties have
+been handed down from generation to generation, so
+that the dark deeds committed at the Salto have almost
+passed into a local article of faith; and such being
+the case, it would seem almost a pity to pronounce
+these picturesque horrors untrue or exaggerated.
+<pb n='258'/><anchor id='Pg258'/>Nevertheless, of recent years there has arisen amongst
+scholars a certain degree of scepticism as regards
+these highly coloured anecdotes of Roman historians
+known to be prejudiced. The Emperor was nearly
+seventy years old at the time he came to reside in
+Capreae, and until that date his life had been orderly
+and above reproach; it is not likely therefore, argue
+these modern writers, that Tiberius should suddenly,
+at so extreme an age, have flung himself into a whirl
+of vices and crimes that he had hitherto shunned.
+The thing is of course possible, but it sounds improbable.
+That he was moody and morose; that he loved solitude and
+hated formal society in the spot he had especially chosen
+as the retreat of his declining years; that he practised
+certain of the mystic arts, as well as studied astronomy,
+are all likely enough conjectures; and these circumstances
+probably formed the foundation for the extravagant legends which
+now surround the Emperor’s memory. Very shocking
+and reprehensible were the doings at Villa Jovis, if
+they really occurred there, but to try and dispute
+their authenticity would be a task quite outside the
+scope of this work.<note place="foot">For an able defence of the Emperor Tiberius, the reader is referred
+to Mr J. C. Tarver’s <hi rend='italic'>Tiberius the Tyrant</hi>, chap. xviii.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+If, despite the negative theories held to-day concerning
+the private life and character of the second
+Emperor of Rome during his residence on Capreae,
+the traveller be still inclined to trace the sites of
+the remaining eleven Imperial villas, he will find little
+difficulty in meeting with numberless Roman remains
+scattered over all parts of the island. On the beach,
+for example, a little to the west of the Marina Grande,
+<pb n='259'/><anchor id='Pg259'/>are clearly visible the sunken foundations of the
+great sea-palace, which in the Roman manner jutted
+into the water and ranked probably second in size to
+the Villa Jovis. The neighbourhood of Ana-Capri
+also, and in fact the whole western portion of the
+island, is likewise plentifully besprinkled with ancient
+ruins, one of which is still known by the suggestive
+title of Timberino. But most people will prefer to
+explore the unrivalled natural beauties of Capri, rather
+than to make themselves acquainted with its archaeological
+points of interest.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+First and foremost of the many wonders that Capri has to
+show must be ranked the Grotta Azzurra. The pleasantest
+way of reaching this world-famous cavern is by small boat
+from the Marina, rather than by the daily steamer from Naples;
+and a perfectly calm and bright morning must be selected for
+the expedition, for if the surface of the sea appears in the
+least degree ruffled by northerly winds, it becomes
+impossible for any craft to make the low entrance of
+the grotto. Capriote boatmen are as a rule intelligent
+and pleasant to deal with, and not a few of the
+denizens of the Marina own to some knowledge of
+English, or rather of American, since several of the
+inhabitants are the sons of emigrants who have
+settled in the cities of the United States or the
+Argentine, but whose love for their island home is
+still so strong that they contrive to send their children
+back to Capri, in order that they may retain their
+Italian citizenship and be ready to serve their expected
+term of years in the Army.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Past the gay-coloured shipping of the noisy Marina,
+past the wave-washed halls of Tiberius’ <hi rend='italic'>palazzo a mare</hi>,
+<pb n='260'/><anchor id='Pg260'/>our boat swiftly glides over the pellucid expanse until
+it reaches those vast towering cliffs of limestone that
+spring almost perpendicular from the waters’ edge to
+the plateau of Ana-Capri, fully a thousand feet above
+our heads. Clumps of palmetto, of cytizus, and of
+various hardy shrubs manage to sprout and to exist in
+the crannies of this sheer wall of rock; and on some
+of the larger ledges, far out of reach of a despoiling
+human hand, we see masses of the odorous narcissus,
+though whence they draw their sustenance it is hard
+to tell. At length we reach the entrance of the
+Grotto, and here, at a signal from our boatman, we
+crouch down low in the body of the boat, whilst our
+rower, skilfully taking advantage of a gentle surging
+wave, guides our craft with his hands through an
+opening in the sheer wall, so low that the gunwales
+grate against the rocky surface of the natural arch.
+At once we find ourselves in a scene of mystical
+beauty, in an extravagant voluptuous dream of loveliness,
+such as the Arabian Nights alone could dare to
+suggest. Above us, around us, behind us, before us
+lies a luminous azure atmosphere, which produces the
+effect of a gigantic molten sapphire, whose secret blue
+fires we have actually tracked to their lurking-place in
+the very heart of the gem. Against the all-pervading
+shimmering light our own forms stand out distinct of
+an intense and velvety blackness, yet the blades of the
+oars that cleave the melted sapphire of the water, the
+tips of our fingers that dabble in the celestial liquid,
+appear as if coated with tiny globules of silver. Our
+boatman’s son, a picturesque lad of fifteen or there-abouts,
+has, we notice, been engaged in hastily casting
+off his scanty attire; for a moment his slight graceful
+<pb n='261'/><anchor id='Pg261'/>figure is outlined against the blue light like some antique
+bronze of Pompeii or Herculaneum, and then there is
+a splash as the youthful form, diving into the pool, is
+instantaneously changed by the genius of the place
+into a silver-glistening sea-god, the very image of the
+fisherman Glaucus sung of old by Ovid, who became
+an Immortal and dwelt ever afterwards, according to
+the ancient myth, in an azure palace beneath the sea.
+As the stripling rises to the surface all glittering to
+breathe the air, his head turns from frosted silver to
+ebon blackness, as does likewise his hand, raised from
+the water to clasp the boat’s prow. Slowly we are
+propelled round the lofty domed cavern, and are shown
+the little beach at its further extremity with its
+mysterious and unexplored flight of stone steps, down
+which, so our mariner informs us, the wicked Timberio
+used to descend from his villa at Damecuta, hundreds
+of feet overhead, to take a plunge in these enchanted
+waters. The Emperor and his friends may or may
+not have gambolled in this jewelled bath; but certain
+it is that Tiberius knew of the existence of this unique
+cavern; and equally certain that an artistic but
+demented potentate of our own days was so smitten
+with the idea of owning a secret staircase descending
+to a blue grotto, that he must needs construct within
+the walls of a fantastic castle in the highlands of
+Bavaria an artificial counterpart of the Grotta Azzurra,
+with metal swans moved by clockwork swimming
+thereon!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Our genial boatman beguiles the time of our returning
+by a long story, told him in his boyhood by his
+old grandfather, of how two English <hi rend='italic'>Signori</hi> had
+managed to rediscover the entrance to the Blue
+<pb n='262'/><anchor id='Pg262'/>Grotto, which had been lost since the days of the
+Emperor Timberio, and how in expectation of the
+Englishmen’s reward a plucky sailor, named Ferrara,
+had made his way all round the island in a cask,
+trying to force an entrance into every possible cavern,
+until at last he hit upon the mouth of the Grotta
+Azzurra itself, and thus gained the prize. But as a
+matter of fact the existence of the Grotto was never
+wholly forgotten, for its beauties were certainly known
+to the old Italian chronicler Capaccio. Yet doubtless
+during the long period of the Napoleonic wars, when
+Capri from its strategic position became a choice
+bone of contention between French, English and
+Neapolitan forces, there were few if any persons who
+possessed the courage or curiosity to visit the cavern;
+with the result that its <hi rend='italic'>exact</hi> locality became temporarily
+lost. It was known, however, to exist somewhere at
+the base of the great northern cliff, so that only a very
+small portion of the coast-line had to be explored,
+before its tiny inconspicuous entrance could be rediscovered.
+A far more exciting event than the refinding
+of the Blue Grotto was the genuine discovery
+of the beautiful Grotta Verde on the southern side of
+the island by two Englishmen, Mr Reid and Mr
+Lacaita, in the summer of 1848. This grotto,
+esteemed the second in importance of the many caves
+that Capri boasts, consists of a huge natural archway
+formed in the cliffs wherein the water and rocks appear
+of an emerald hue, contrasting strangely with the
+opaque blue of the sea beyond, and suggesting in its
+dual colouring the marvellous combination of dark
+blue and iridescent green in the peacock’s tail.
+</p><anchor id="illus20"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: IN THE BLUE GROTTO, CAPRI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus20th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus20.jpg">IN THE BLUE GROTTO, CAPRI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: IN THE BLUE GROTTO, CAPRI</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Capri is a pleasant enough place of residence for a
+<pb n='263'/><anchor id='Pg263'/>short time, particularly if one invests in a pair of the
+rope-soled shoes affected by the people, which enables
+the wearer to follow with greater ease the rough stony
+tracks, often at a dizzy height above the sea, that form
+the only walks in the eastern portion of Capri, except
+the villa-lined Tragara road leading to the Guardiola,
+now become the fashionable promenade of the many
+foreign residents upon the island. There are some
+delightfully peaceful nooks to be sought near the water’s
+edge, not far from the Faraglioni, that picturesque trio
+of rocks lying off the south-eastern corner of Capri.
+Here we can find a sheltered corner, unfrequented
+alike by the pestering native or by the ubiquitous
+tourist; perchance the deserted hall of some maritime
+villa, for the caverns near the Piccola Marina abound
+in traces of Roman architecture. In such a retreat,
+with a book on one’s knees and with one’s own
+thoughts for sole company, how fascinating it is to lie
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">... on Capri’s rocks, close to their snowy streak</q></l>
+<l>Of ambient foam, and watch the restless sea</l>
+<l>Tossing and tumbling to Eternity,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Feeling its salt kiss fall upon the cheek.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+But to those who prefer to take long tramps afield
+rather than to linger in meditation on the sunny
+beaches near the Piccola Marina, there is always the
+ascent to Ana-Capri by the broad smooth winding road
+that affords a fresh view of the Bay of Naples at every
+one of its many twists and turnings. Over a ravine
+filled with masses of ilex and myrtle; past the fragment
+of the pirate Barbarossa’s aerial castle, perched on a
+rocky pinnacle and looking like some fantastic creation
+of Gustave Doré’s brush; the broad ribband of road
+leads across the steep northern flank of Monte Solaro,
+<pb n='264'/><anchor id='Pg264'/>until it ends at Ana-Capri with its white houses nestling
+round a domed church. It is an easy ascent, taking
+no great space of time, yet strange to relate, well within
+living memory the only approach to this hill-set village
+was by means of the interminable stone staircase with
+some five hundred steps that connected it with the
+Marina Grande below. A charming writer on Neapolitan
+life and character thus shrewdly sums up the
+general opinion concerning this altered aspect of
+conditions with regard to Ana-Capri, now brought at
+last into close touch with modern civilization and its
+accruing benefits:
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>Before the culminating point is reached, the road
+crosses the old staircase, which has unfortunately been
+almost completely destroyed by the huge masses of
+rock dislodged from the cliff above by the workmen.
+It makes one sad to look at it, and almost regret
+that the new road ever was constructed. Were every
+invective that has been vented on those same steps
+turned into a paving-stone, there would be more than
+sufficient to pave the streets of Naples anew; were
+every drop of sweat that has fallen upon them collected,
+there would be enough water to flood them. And yet
+now that this dreadful staircase has been superseded
+by a good macadamised road, every one seems to regret
+the change. Says the heavily laden <hi rend='italic'>contadina</hi>: <q>The
+old way was the shortest;</q> says the artist: <q>It was
+infinitely more picturesque; that new parapet wall is
+a dreadful eye-sore;</q> says the archaeologist: <q>It had
+the merit of antiquity; it is not everywhere that one
+can tread in the footprints of a hundred generations.</q>
+Even those whose every step in the olden time was
+accompanied by a malediction, can remember how
+<pb n='265'/><anchor id='Pg265'/>good a glass of very inferior wine tasted on reaching
+Ana-Capri.</q><note place="foot">W. J. A. Stamer: <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But whether Ana-Capri has or has not been really
+benefited by the Italian Government’s finely engineered
+road, there can be no doubt that the
+primitive charm of the island, which in by-gone days
+constituted one of its chief attractions, has greatly
+declined with the wholesale introduction of modern
+conventions and improvements. With the sudden
+influx of wealthy strangers, Anglo-Saxon, German,
+French and Russian, it is not surprising to learn that
+the islanders have become somewhat demoralized
+under the changed conditions of life, and that not a
+small proportion of them have grown venal and grasping.
+The happy old days when artists and inn-keepers,
+peasants and such chance visitors as loved the simple
+unsophisticated life, hob-nobbed together on terms of
+equality are gone for ever. Fashion, that merciless
+deity, has annexed the Insula Caprearum to her ever-growing
+dominions;—there are smart villas on the
+Tragara road and even at Ana-Capri; there are
+British tea-rooms and Teutonic <hi rend='italic'>Bierhälle</hi> in the town.
+At the present time the tourists and foreign residents
+form the chief source of wealth to the islanders, now
+that the quails have more or less deserted these shores.
+Instead of awaiting in due season with nets ready
+prepared the advent of the plump little feathered
+immigrants from the African coast, the modern
+Caprioti are continually on the look-out for the
+steamers that bear hundreds of money-spending
+tourists to the Marina, and these they proceed to
+enmesh with proffered offers of service. And,
+speak<pb n='266'/><anchor id='Pg266'/>ing of the quails, in the days before breech-loading
+guns and reckless extermination had injured this
+valuable source of revenue, the arrival of the birds
+winging their way northward was the signal for every
+sportsman on the island to hasten to collect the annual
+harvest of game. High poles, supporting nets twenty
+feet broad and sixty feet long, were erected on the
+grassy slopes of the Solaro or in the plateau of the
+Tragara, towards which, by dint of judicious scaring
+and shouting from expectant watchers stationed at
+various points, the flight of the on-rushing birds was
+directed. Dashing themselves with force against this
+wall of netting, the poor quails fell stunned to the
+ground, where they were easily taken by hand, whilst
+scores of guns were levelled ready to bring down such
+birds as had escaped the snare prepared for them.
+From the thousands of quails thus captured the
+islanders were enabled to pay their taxes to the
+Bourbon Government, as well as to provide the income
+of their Bishop—for in those distant days a prelate
+dwelt at Capri—who in allusion to his chief source of
+income was jocularly known at the Roman court as
+<q>Il Vescovo delle Quaglie.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From Ana-Capri to the western shore extends the
+most fertile stretch of land in the island: a broad
+slope set with vineyards and groves of silver-grey
+olives, that are interspersed here and there with clumps
+of almond and plum trees. Fine oil is yielded by the
+<hi rend='italic'>poderi</hi> of Ana-Capri and Damecuta, whilst the grapes
+produce the highly prized red and white Capri vintages,
+choice wine of which the casual traveller rarely tastes
+a good sample, for it is usually doctored and <q>improved</q>
+for purposes of keeping by the wine-merchants
+<pb n='267'/><anchor id='Pg267'/>of Naples. Thus the rasping red liquid that appears
+on the table of a London restaurant, and the scented
+strong-tasting white stuff that is sold in the hotels of
+the island itself or of Naples under the name of Capri,
+have little in common with the pure unadulterated
+product of these sunny breezy vineyards. But besides
+wine and oil, the island is likewise celebrated for its
+beautiful and varied flora, and it is amongst the olive
+groves and lanes of the western side of the island that
+the wild flowers can be found in the greatest profusion.
+Amongst the tender green shoots of the young springing
+corn are set myriads of brilliant hued
+anemones, purple, scarlet, and white with a crimson
+centre; and even in January can be found in warm
+sheltered nooks the pretty mauve wind-flower, one of
+the earliest of spring blossoms in Italy. The grassy
+pathways that intersect the various holdings are gay
+with rosy-tipped daisies, white <q>star-of-Bethlehem,</q>
+dark purple grape-hyacinth, and the tiny strong-scented
+marigold, that seems to bloom the whole twelve-month
+round. Amongst the loose stone-work of the
+walled lanes, where beryl-backed lizards peep in and
+out of every crevice, can be found fragrant violets and
+the delicate fumitory with its pink waxy bells. In
+moist places flourish patches of the wild arum or of
+the stately great celandine, the <q>swallow-wort</q> of
+old-fashioned herbalists, who believed that the swallow
+made use of the thick yellow juice that runs in the
+veins of this plant to anoint the eyes of her fledgelings!
+And with the disappearance of the anemones
+as the season advances, their place is taken by blood-red
+poppies, by golden hawkweeds and by masses of
+tall magenta-coloured blooms of the wild gladiolus, the
+<pb n='268'/><anchor id='Pg268'/><q>Jacob’s Ladder</q> of our own English gardens.
+Strange enough amongst these familiar homely flowers
+appear the sub-tropical clumps of prickly pear, and
+the hedges of aloe which here and there have thrown
+up a gigantic spike of blossom eight or ten feet in
+height, a triumphal favour of Nature that the plant
+itself must pay for by its subsequent death.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+From Ana-Capri we ascend to the peak of the lofty
+Solaro, by no means an arduous climb from this point,
+for we have but to follow a narrow goat-track leading
+across slopes covered with coarse grass and some low
+thickets of stunted lentisk and myrtle. The rosemary
+too grows plentifully on the dry wind-swept soil,
+and the soft sea breeze wafts its refreshing scent to
+our nostrils. There is a pretty legend of the people
+which relates the cause of this plant obtaining its
+perfume of unearthly sweetness:—how the Madonna
+one day hung the swaddling clothes of the Infant
+Christ to dry upon a common pot-herb in the
+garden at Nazareth—the rosemary is freely used in
+Italian cookery, and its taste is as unpleasant as its
+scent is delicious—whereupon the humble plant thus
+honoured was ever afterwards endowed with the delicate
+odour that is so highly prized. And beyond this, the
+rosemary was likewise permitted to put forth masses of
+flowers of the Madonna’s own colour of blue, concerning
+which a tradition—Celtic, not Italian—avers that on
+Christmas morning upon every plant of rosemary will
+be found by those who care to seek them expanded
+blooms in honour of St Joseph, the Virgin and the
+Holy Child. Reaching the crest of the Solaro, we are
+well rewarded for our climb over the stony slopes by a
+wide-spreading view. Owing to the central position
+<pb n='269'/><anchor id='Pg269'/>of the island, we can from its airy summit, some
+sixteen hundred feet above sea-level, command a
+glorious panorama of the three bays of the Neapolitan
+Riviera, each teeming with a thousand associations of
+classical or modern history. Upon those dancing
+waters of the Bay of Naples appeared in the dim ages
+of the heroic world the Trojan galleys that were bearing
+the founder of the Roman race towards the beach
+by Cumae yonder, where dwelt the venerable Sibyl;
+the fleets of ancient Rome and Carthage, the war-ships
+of the great Emperor Charles V., the pirate galleys of
+the Soldan’s vassals, the men-of-war of Nelson have
+all rode and fought upon the bosom of the bay beneath
+us. What a marvellous perspective of the whole naval
+history of the Mediterranean does a survey of the Bay
+of Naples suggest!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Exquisite and inspiring as is the view on a clear
+cloudless day, with the keen <hi rend='italic'>tramontana</hi> off the distant
+Abruzzi flecking the azure waves with streaks of
+creamy foam and driving the white-sailed feluccas
+merrily towards the open sea, the landscape is even
+more impressive in dull lowering weather, when the
+inky clouds that envelop the sky give promise of the
+approaching hurricane. At such times a striking phenomenon,
+said to be peculiar to the Parthenopean shores,
+may be observed. From out the purple threatening
+masses that fill the heavens there suddenly falls a
+shaft of rosy light, as though directed by some vast
+celestial lens fixed aloft in the sky, upon a small
+portion of the opposite shore. The plateau of Sorrento
+with its many white hamlets first becomes illuminated;
+then the light rapidly passes towards Vesuvius, which
+is instantly revealed with marvellous clearness, whilst
+<pb n='270'/><anchor id='Pg270'/>Sorrento returns to its former dark brooding shadows.
+For some moments we watch the circlet of towns that
+fringe the base of the burning mountain and Camaldoli
+erect on its wooded height, and then our gaze is
+diverted towards Naples, so clearly revealed that one
+can almost fancy it possible to detect the carriages
+driving along the white line of the Caracciolo. From
+the city this weird fairy-like light glides swiftly towards
+the headland of Posilipo and the great sombre mass
+of Ischia, and then finally seems to vanish altogether
+in the leaden-hued expanse of the watery horizon.
+Storm, rain, wind, hail and thunder will certainly
+follow the appearance of this fantastic rose-coloured
+glow, and the visitor to Capri may in consequence be
+compelled to remain willy-nilly upon the island until
+such time as communication with Naples shall be
+once more restored, for rough weather on Capri means
+complete isolation from the mainland and the outside
+world. A spell of four or five days without a letter
+or a newspaper may in certain cases be restful and
+even beneficial, but it can also be highly inconvenient.
+</p>
+<p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+Comparatively few persons are aware that in the
+history of Capri is to be found a page, not a particularly
+glorious one perhaps, of the annals of our own
+nation. In the spring of 1806, the year after Trafalgar,
+whilst our fleet was blockading Naples on behalf of its
+worthless monarch, King Ferdinand, then skulking in
+cowardly ease at Palermo, Admiral Sir Sidney Smith,
+the hero of Acre, managed to capture the island after
+a sharp struggle with the French troops then holding
+it in the name of Joachim Murat, King of Naples
+and brother-in-law of the great Napoleon. Sir Hudson
+<pb n='271'/><anchor id='Pg271'/>(then Colonel) Lowe—afterwards famous as the
+Governor of St Helena during Buonaparte’s captivity—was
+now put in command of the newly conquered
+island with some 1500 English and Maltese troops
+at his disposal. Lowe and his second in command,
+Major Hamill, at once set to work to put the place
+into a strong state of defence, and so satisfied were
+they with their work of fortification, that Lowe in his
+confidence nick-named the islet <q>Little Gibraltar.</q>
+For more than two years the Union Jack floated in
+triumph from the fort-crowned heights of Capri, much
+to the annoyance of the monarch on the mainland,
+who finally determined at all costs to recapture the
+stronghold facing his capital. Fancying himself perfectly
+secure in his <q>Little Gibraltar,</q> now deemed
+impregnable by a combination of art and nature against
+any hostile descent, Lowe made light of any possible
+expedition from Naples, and when Neapolitan warships
+actually appeared as though making to land troops
+at the Marinas on either side of the saddle of the
+island, the British commandant was delighted at the
+ease with which these attempts were repelled. But
+whilst the garrison was busied in thwarting the movements
+on the Marinas, which in reality only constituted
+a feint on Murat’s part, transports were engaged in
+disembarking at the low cliffs of Orico, the western
+extremity of the island, boat-loads of men, who quickly
+swarmed up the terraced slopes towards Ana-Capri
+and surprised its garrison. On the following day,
+October 6th 1808, in spite of Lowe’s efforts, Ana-Capri
+with its eight hundred men surrendered to the
+French and Neapolitan troops led by General Lamarque,
+who at once set up a battery on the crest of the Solaro,
+<pb n='272'/><anchor id='Pg272'/>so as to command the town of Capri and the English
+head-quarters, fixed at the Convent of the Certosa that
+lies between the Tragara Road and the southern shore.
+The eastern half of the island still of course remained
+in the hands of the British; and failing to reduce the
+town itself and the Convent of the Certosa by bombardment
+from above, General Lamarque decided upon
+taking the place by storm, so as to forestall the arrival
+of the English fleet, which was hourly expected to come
+to the rescue of the beleaguered garrison. As we
+have already mentioned, there was no road existing
+upon the whole island in those days a hundred years
+ago, so that in order to attack the capital, the French
+general had to march his victorious troops by the
+precipitous flight of stone steps down to the Marina
+Grande and then try to carry the position from below.
+Before however the Frenchmen, now further aided by
+supplies sent by Murat’s order from Sorrento, could
+arrange for the projected assault upon the town, the
+delayed British fleet suddenly appeared in the offing,
+evidently with the intention of bearing down upon the
+island. But on this occasion the luck was all on the
+side of the French, for scarcely had the eagerly expected
+ships hove in sight, than the besieged garrison
+had the mortification to see their hopes of succour
+overthrown by the uprising of one of those sudden
+squalls, so common on the Mediterranean, which drove
+the warships southward. More than one assault was
+repulsed with heavy loss by the small English garrison,
+which had already been deprived of half its numbers
+at Ana-Capri, including the gallant Major Hamill,
+whose death is commemorated in a marble tablet set
+in the little piazza of the town. But with the
+re<pb n='273'/><anchor id='Pg273'/>tirement of the relieving fleet and the continuance
+of foul weather, Colonel Lowe deemed it useless to
+resist further, and like a sensible man decided to
+capitulate on the best terms he could obtain. In
+return for his immediate surrender of Capri the British
+commandant accordingly stipulated that his garrison
+should be allowed to embark and sail for Sicily unmolested,
+and that the persons and property of the
+islanders, who seem to have appreciated the British
+occupation, should be respected. But Lamarque, on
+communicating Colonel Lowe’s request to King Murat,
+received peremptory orders to demand an unconditional
+surrender, whereupon an aide-de-camp of the King’s, a
+certain Colonel Manches, was sent to interview Lowe
+with the royal letter in his pocket. Had the missive
+been delivered to him, the British Governor would in
+all probability have decided to fight to the bitter end
+rather than to submit to such severe and humiliating
+conditions. Happily so terrible a catastrophe, which
+must have involved heavy loss of life on both sides,
+followed by a sack of the town, was unexpectedly,
+averted at the last moment, for whilst Manches was
+actually advancing with a flag of truce, the approach
+of the British fleet was again signalled from the look-out
+on the hill now called the Telegrafo. Before the
+Governor could be made aware of this piece of
+news, Colonel Manches, cunningly keeping his master’s
+imperious letter in his pocket, told Colonel Lowe that
+King Murat was ready to accept the terms of surrender
+offered. The weather being propitious, the British fleet
+would have been able this time to reach the island,
+but its nearer approach was prevented by Colonel
+Lowe himself, who sent to acquaint the Admiral,
+<pb n='274'/><anchor id='Pg274'/>much to his chagrin, of the compact already concluded
+with the besiegers, a compact which, as Hudson Lowe
+himself very properly pointed out, was binding upon
+the British Government. On October 26th, three
+weeks from the date of the first attack, the English
+troops embarked for Sicily, and the island was
+formally handed over to the French and Neapolitan
+forces, who held it undisturbed until the close of the
+Napoleonic Wars.
+</p><anchor id="illus21"/>
+<pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: A GATEWAY. CAPRI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus21th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus21.jpg">A GATEWAY. CAPRI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: A GATEWAY. CAPRI</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+</div><div n="12" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='275'/><anchor id='Pg275'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="12: Ischia and the Lady of the Rock"/>
+<head>CHAPTER XII</head>
+
+<head type="sub">ISCHIA AND THE LADY OF THE ROCK</head>
+
+<p>
+Embarking at Torregaveta, the little terminus
+of the <hi rend='italic'>Ferrovia Cumana</hi>, which traverses the
+classic district of the Phlegraean Fields, we are
+quickly transported in a small <anchor id="corr275"/><corr sic="costing">coasting</corr> steamer past
+the headland of Misenum to the island and port
+of Procida, the <q>alta Prochyta</q> of Virgil. Although
+the poet calls the island lofty, it is remarkably flat
+considering its volcanic origin, for Procida and Ischia
+were undoubtedly one in remote ages, as the learned
+Strabo rightly conjectured. Its only eminence is the
+Rocciola, the castle-crowned hillock to the north-east
+of the island, but as this hill must first have caught
+the expectant eye of Aeneas’ steersman, perhaps the
+epithet is after all not so misplaced as would appear
+at first sight. Carefully tilled and densely populated,
+the island produces a large proportion of the fruit,
+vegetables, and olive oil, that are sold in the Naples
+market, and as it possesses no remains of antiquity,
+no medieval churches, no works of art, and but few
+beauties of nature to recommend it for inspection,
+Procida is rarely visited by strangers. Its inhabitants,
+who are chiefly husbandmen, are hard working
+and independent, and content also to retain the
+manners and customs of their frugal forefathers, and
+<pb n='276'/><anchor id='Pg276'/>even to a certain extent to continue the use of
+their national dress, so that the festivals of Procida
+have more interest and local colour than those
+observed in tourist-haunted Capri or Sorrento. Unconcerned
+at the progress of the world without, unspoiled
+by the gold of the <hi rend='italic'>forestiere</hi>, the Procidani pursue the
+even tenor of their old-fashioned ways, unenvious of
+and unenvied by their neighbours on the mainland.
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona nôrint,</q></l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Agricolas!</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+We halt at the port of Procida, with its flat-roofed
+gaily coloured houses lining the quay and ascending
+the gentle slope towards the Rocciola. Thence, skirting
+the low-lying fertile shores of the island, and passing
+the olive-clad islet of Vivara, we soon come in sight of
+the steep headland on which are perched the grey masses
+of the Castle of Ischia, <q>the Mount St Michael of Italy.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Covered from base to summit with fume-weed,
+lentisk, aromatic cistus, and every plant that loves
+the sun, the wind and the salt foam of the
+Mediterranean, the huge solitary cliff rises majestically
+from the deep blue water. Whether viewed
+in brilliant sunshine under a cloudless sky, or in
+foul weather, when the sea is hurling its waves over
+the stone causeway that connects the isolated crag
+with the little city of Ischia, the first sight of this
+historic castle is singularly impressive. Nor is its
+grandeur lessened on a near approach, for the ascent
+to its topmost tower takes us through a labyrinth
+of staircases and mysterious subterranean passages,
+through vaulted chambers and curious hanging
+gardens to an airy platform, which commands a
+glorious view in every direction over land and sea.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='277'/><anchor id='Pg277'/>
+
+<p>
+Built by Alphonso V. of Aragon in the fifteenth
+century, this massive pile, half-fortress and half-palace,
+is famous in Italian annals for its long
+association with the noble poetess Vittoria Colonna,
+Marchioness of Pescara. Born in the old Castle
+of Marino, near Rome, one of the strongholds of
+the great feudal house of Colonna, the poetess, who
+was great-great-niece to Pope Martin V., was betrothed
+in her infancy at the instigation of King Ferdinand
+of Naples to the youthful heir of the d’Avalos family,
+hereditary governors of the island of Ischia. The
+elder sister of Vittoria’s affianced husband, Constance
+d’Avalos, the widowed Duchess of Francavilla, was
+the <q>châtelaine</q> of Ischia during her brother’s
+minority, so that it was but natural that his Colonna
+bride-elect should be sent to dwell with Constance
+in this castle. Here Vittoria under her sister-in-law’s
+excellent tutelage grew up to womanhood amidst the
+intellectual atmosphere of the Italian Renaissance, and
+here she was trained to develop into one of the most
+learned, the most interesting and the most attractive
+figures that all Italy produced at this period. Childless
+in her early marriage at eighteen, and with her husband
+frequently, not to say usually, engaged in military
+expeditions on the mainland, Vittoria had every
+opportunity of cultivating her mind and of filling her
+sea-girt palace with men of genius. The poets Cariteo
+and Bernado Tasso (the father of Torquato Tasso),
+were frequent visitors at this
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Superbo scoglio, altaro e bel ricetto,</q></l>
+<l>Di tanti chiari eroi, d’ imperadori,</l>
+<l>Orde raggi di gloria escono fuori,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Ch’ ogni altro lume fan scuro e negletto.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<pb n='278'/><anchor id='Pg278'/>
+
+<p>
+Strange to relate, her husband, the Marquis of
+Pescara, was destined to forestall his learned lady in
+the matter of poetry, for during his imprisonment at
+Milan in the year 1512, he composed a <q>Dialogo
+d’Amore</q> to send to his sorrowing wife at Ischia, a
+production which the learned Paolo Giovio, the historian
+and bishop of Nocera, pronounced as being <q>summae
+jucunditatis,</q> though in reality it seems to have been
+feeble enough. But however halting and commonplace
+the warrior’s verses, Pescara’s composition had
+the immediate effect of opening the flood-gates of his
+wife’s poetic temperament, for she replied at once to
+her spouse’s effort with an epistle conceived in the
+<hi rend='italic'>terza rima</hi> employed by Dante, and though the poem
+is turgid in diction and shallow in thought, full of
+classical names and allusions, <q>a parade of all the
+treasures of the school-room,</q> it exhibits the graceful
+ease and high scholarship which mark all Vittoria’s
+writings. Meanwhile, unblest with offspring of her
+own and ever separated by the cruel circumstance
+of war from the husband she seemed perfectly content
+to admire from a distance, Vittoria did not expend
+all her time at Ischia in sacrificing to Apollo
+and the Muses, for she now undertook the education
+of her husband’s young cousin and heir, Alphonso
+d’Avalos, Marchese del Vasto, whose manhood certainly
+did credit to his instructress, for del Vasto
+under her influence grew up to be a brave soldier and
+a tolerable scholar.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+After sixteen years of married life with a husband
+who, although professing deep devotion to his brilliant
+and virtuous consort, was almost invariably absent from
+her side, Vittoria found herself left a widow shortly
+<pb n='279'/><anchor id='Pg279'/>after the great battle of Pavia in 1525 wherein Francis I.
+of France surrendered to the Emperor Charles V. The
+Marquis of Pescara, after the usual career of bloodthirsty
+adventures which passed in those days for a life of
+knight-errantry, died at Milan towards the close
+of this year, leaving behind him an unenviable reputation
+for treachery towards his master. But however
+hard were the things said of the deceased Fernando
+d’Avalos by the outside world, no breath of suspicion
+seems ever to have penetrated to the heart of the faithful
+if placid Vittoria, who mourned bitterly if somewhat
+theatrically over her departed hero. The Lady
+of the Rock was now in her thirty-fifth year, and her
+beauty, so we are told, still remained undimmed; in
+fact it was rather improved by a tendency towards
+plumpness, for sorrow and poetry are not necessarily
+associated with a meagre appearance. Spending her
+time partly in the great Italian cities, but chiefly on
+her beloved <hi rend='italic'>scoglio superbo</hi>, the widow of Pescara now
+set herself to write that series of sonnets in memory of
+her dead husband which have rescued his unworthy
+name from oblivion and have rendered her own famous
+in Italian literature. For the sonnets of Vittoria
+Colonna, though appearing cold classical and pedantic
+to our northern ideas, evidently appeal to the Italian
+temperament, so that the praises of Pescara and his
+widow’s stilted complaints, couched in the elegant
+language of the Renaissance, are still read and appreciated
+to-day by her compatriots. As time passed,
+and the ghost of sorrowful remorse was supposed to
+be decently laid, the sonnets contain somewhat less of
+hero-worship, and assume a religious and speculative
+character. Some critics have even gone so far as to
+<pb n='280'/><anchor id='Pg280'/>affect to perceive a latent spirit of Protestantism
+underlying the graceful platitudes and commonplace
+but grandly expressed ideas. Very likely the Lady
+of the Rock dabbled in the fashionable heterodoxy of
+the hour, as it is at least certain that she was on terms
+of intimacy with the celebrated Princess Renée, the
+<q>Protestant</q> Duchess of Ferrara. On the other hand,
+several of her acquaintances and correspondents were
+amongst the most prominent of the unyielding
+Churchmen of the day; in their number being, it is
+interesting to note, Cardinal Reginald Pole, great-nephew
+of King Edward IV. of England and afterwards
+Queen Mary’s Archbishop of Canterbury, who
+was certainly not likely to encourage Vittoria’s unorthodox
+or reforming tendencies. <q>The more
+opportunity,</q> so writes the poetess to Cardinal Cervino,
+afterwards Pope Marcellus II., <q>I have had of observing
+the actions of his Eminence the Cardinal of England,
+the more clear has it seemed to me that he is a true
+and sincere servant of God. Whenever, therefore, he
+charitably condescends to give me his opinion on any
+point, I conceive myself safe from error in following
+his advice.</q> And on the strength of Cardinal Pole’s
+astute counsels, Vittoria promptly broke off all communication
+with the leading reformer, Bernardino
+Ochino, and (a thing which does not strike us as particularly
+honourable) forwarded his letters to herself
+unopened to his spiritual adversaries. But it is
+evident that Vittoria’s <q>Protestantism</q> was a mere
+pose, assumed at a time when adverse criticism from
+all sides was being levelled at the political abuses of
+the Papacy and at the various scandals in the Church
+which were patent to the eyes of all onlookers. In
+<pb n='281'/><anchor id='Pg281'/>short her religious verses are if anything more frigid and
+artificial than those which compose the <hi rend='italic'>In Memoriam</hi>
+to her husband, her <hi rend='italic'>Bel Sole</hi>, as she usually terms him.
+Whilst admitting considerable merit in Vittoria’s compositions,
+we find it at this distance of time very
+difficult to understand the extravagant praise which
+was showered upon her poems by the Italian critics of
+the day, or to conceive how a sonnet from the gifted
+pen of the Marchioness of Pescara could possibly have
+been considered an important event in the literary
+world by cardinals, princes, poets, wits and scholars.
+From Naples to Rome, from Rome to Ferrara, from
+Ferrara to Mantua and Milan, the precious manuscript
+containing the last-born sonnet of the illustrious Lady
+of Ischia was eagerly passed along. Court poets read
+aloud amidst breathless silence the divine Vittoria’s
+fourteen lines of jejune sentiment draped in folds of
+elegant verbiage; nobles and prelates applauded,
+hailing the authoress as a heaven-sent genius. Sincere
+to a certain extent this strange admiration undoubtedly
+was, although the homage was paid perhaps in
+equal proportions to the excellence of the verse and
+to the high rank of the author. She was a Colonna
+by birth; she was the widow of a petty despot; she
+was governor of a large island;—any literary production,
+however indifferent, from so high a personage
+would have been received throughout Italy with
+respect or flattery. But Vittoria was no mean or
+careless aspirant to fame; it was the fault of an
+artificial age rather than the lack of her own natural
+ability that has made her poetry cold and soulless,
+for under healthy conditions of life and thought,
+<q>the Divine Vittoria</q> was doubtless capable of
+pro<pb n='282'/><anchor id='Pg282'/>ducing something warmer and more human than the
+lifeless but graceful sonnets that bear her name.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+It is chiefly through her close connexion with the
+great literary movement of the Italian Renaissance
+and her intimacy with its leading artists and writers,
+rather than through her own reputation as a poetess,
+that the name of Vittoria Colonna herself is remembered
+outside the borders of Italy. With her
+wealth, her culture, her virtue and her unique position
+in the world of rank and of letters, it is nothing
+marvellous that so fortunate and gifted a mortal
+should have become the idol of the leading persons of
+her day. She belonged, in fact, to a brilliant and
+famous group of which she was the soul and centre;
+of which she was at once the patron, the disciple and
+the teacher. That great master of Italian prose,
+Pietro Bembo, set a high value on her powers of
+criticism; other men, almost as distinguished as the
+Venetian cardinal, besought her for advice on literary
+subjects. Foremost in her circle of admirers appears
+of course the great Michelangelo, with whom the
+immaculate Vittoria condescended to indulge in one
+of those cold platonic pseudo-passions which constituted
+the true <hi rend='italic'>divino amore</hi> of the idealists of the
+Renaissance. So here was nothing to cavil at, nothing
+to arouse base suspicion. Considered the greatest
+man and the greatest woman in all Italy, both were
+of mature age, he in the sixties and she in the forties,
+when Michelangelo first professed himself seized with
+a pure but unquenchable love and devotion for the
+widowed Lady of the Rock.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The last days of Vittoria, which were chiefly spent
+within the walls of the Convent of Sant’ Anna at
+<pb n='283'/><anchor id='Pg283'/>Rome, were clouded by ill-health and sorrow. The
+death of the young Marchese del Vasto, <q>her moral
+and intellectual son,</q> was an irreparable loss, for which
+her boundless fame and popularity could offer little
+real consolation. At length the poetess, feeling death
+approaching, moved to the house of Giulia Colonna,
+her relative, and there expired in February 1547, in
+the fifty-seventh year of her age. To the last her
+death-bed was surrounded by sorrowing and adoring
+friends, amongst them being Michelangelo, who is said
+to have witnessed with his own eyes the last moments
+of his beloved Lady. And the famous sculptor,
+painter and poet—perhaps the most stupendous
+genius the world has yet produced—is reported to
+have bitterly regretted in after years that on so solemn
+an occasion he had not ventured to imprint one chaste
+kiss upon the forehead of the woman he had adored
+so ardently, yet so purely during life. By her expressed
+wish the body of the poetess was buried in
+San Domenico Maggiore at Naples, the finest and
+least spoiled of all the Neapolitan churches, where
+a velvet-covered coffin containing the ashes of the
+Divine Vittoria and her <q>Bel Sole,</q> and surmounted
+by the sword, banner and portrait of Fernando d’Avalos,
+is still pointed out to the stranger, resting on
+a shelf in the sacristy of the church. We cannot but
+regret that Vittoria’s body did not find a final resting-place
+in her <hi rend='italic'>superbo scoglio</hi>, where all her happiest years
+were spent and where her memory still survives so fresh.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Sadly deserted appear to-day the historic buildings,
+which are fast falling into hopeless decay; even the
+large domed church of the Castle has been desecrated
+and turned into a stable.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='284'/><anchor id='Pg284'/>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Tocsins from yon bleak turrets never ring;</q></l>
+<l>No knight or pages pace those galleries,</l>
+<l>So sombre and so silent: ever cling</l>
+<l>To that cold church and palace draperies</l>
+<l>Of glaucous fume-weed; sea-birds ever sing</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">The vanished glories with low mournful cries.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Ischia itself is a quaint, dirty, straggling town,
+possessing a small cathedral of ancient foundation,
+but modernised within and without, its sole object of
+interest being a curious font resting on marble lions.
+The charm of the city lies chiefly in the busy scenes
+to be witnessed daily on its sandy beach and on the
+stone causeway that leads to the Castle, where a large
+part of the population seems to spend most of its
+time in mending the deep brown fishing nets or in
+attending to the gaudily painted boats.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Almost adjoining the outskirts of the little capital
+of the island is Porto d’Ischia, with a deep circular
+harbour that was once the crater of an extinct volcano,
+wherein every variety of Mediterranean fishing craft
+is to be seen at anchor. Close to the port, embowered
+among groves of orange and lemon trees that in
+winter time are laden with bright or pale yellow
+fruit, stands a fine old villa of the Bourbon kings
+of Naples, once a favourite summer retreat of his
+Majesty King Bomba. Royalty has long abandoned
+Ischia, and the villa has now been converted into a
+bath house. Beyond its neglected park stretches an
+extensive pine forest, carpeted in spring time with
+daisies, marigolds and anemones, and even in February
+gay with yellow oxalis and redolent with the scent of
+hidden violets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The road from Ischia to Casamicciola, a distance
+<pb n='285'/><anchor id='Pg285'/>of four miles, leads along the base of Monte Epomeo
+through olive groves and vineyards, the whitewashed
+walls of the domed cottages, the flat roofs and cisterns,
+and the frequent clumps of aloe or prickly pear giving
+an Eastern aspect to the scenery, though the sharp
+tinklings of the goat bells among the thickets of
+white heath and dark myrtle scrub on the hill-sides
+and the continual murmur of the waves breaking on
+the rocks below, serve to remind us we are upon the
+Neapolitan Riviera. Our destination at length is
+reached, the roadway crossing the deep valley of the
+Gurgitello with its sulphur baths, which once had a
+wide reputation and are still much frequented in the
+summer months by the people of Naples. Although
+the sources of the springs were certainly damaged by
+the earthquake of 1883, new bathing establishments
+have been built, and a fair number of patients are
+once more availing themselves of these beneficent
+waters, which of course are warranted to heal every
+bodily evil under the sun. A course of the Ischian
+waters therefore applied externally and internally (so
+the local doctors inform us)
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Muove i paralitici,</q></l>
+<l>Spedisce gli apopletici,</l>
+<l>Gli asmatici, gli asfitici,</l>
+<l>Gl’ isterici, i diabetici</l>
+<l>Guarisce timpanitidi,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">E scrofule e rachitidi.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Formerly the most populous and prosperous township
+of the whole island, Casamicciola consists to-day
+principally of a mass of shapeless ruins, together with
+a number of dismal corrugated iron huts grouped
+round an ugly modern church, nor can its exquisite
+<pb n='286'/><anchor id='Pg286'/>views and luxuriant gardens make amends for the
+settled air of melancholy which continues to brood
+over this unlucky spot. Every reader will doubtless
+remember the story of the terrible earthquake of
+July 28th 1883, when almost without warning the
+whole town, then crowded with its usual influx of
+summer visitors, was overthrown and engulfed in
+the space of a few seconds of time. Hotels, villas,
+churches, cottages, all suffered equally, and though the
+exact number of those who perished of all classes
+will never be known, the most moderate accounts put
+the figure as high as 3000 souls. Several English
+people lost their lives in that brief but terrible
+upheaval, and as many of the bodies as were
+recovered from the wreckage were laid to rest in the
+little cemetery outside the town, a plot of ground
+overhanging the sea, and shaded by cypress and
+eucalyptus trees. Many and impressive are the
+stories still to be heard from the lips of the present
+inhabitants, who are wont to date all events from
+that fearful night of darkness and destruction, and
+who all have piteous tales to tell of relations killed
+and houses shattered. The English landlady of the
+<hi rend='italic'>Piccola Sentinella</hi>, who herself had an almost
+miraculous escape on the occasion, gave us a most
+vivid and heart-rending description of how her hotel
+and most of its inmates were overwhelmed on that
+awful July night, and how the existing inn is literally
+built upon foundations that are filled with many
+unrecovered bodies of victims. It was on a dark
+sultry night after the evening meal had been finished,
+when the many guests of the <hi rend='italic'>Piccola Sentinella</hi> were
+sitting in the public rooms or on the terrace overlooking
+<pb n='287'/><anchor id='Pg287'/>the hotel gardens. In the <hi rend='italic'>salon</hi> a young Englishman,
+an accomplished musician, had been playing for some
+time on the piano, when suddenly and unexpectedly
+he plunged into the strains of Chopin’s <hi rend='italic'>Marche
+Funèbre</hi>, which had the immediate effect of scattering
+his audience, since many of his listeners, not caring for
+so melancholy a piece of music, deserted the room
+for the garden. Lucky indeed were those persons
+driven forth by the strains of Chopin’s dirge, for
+a few moments later came the earthquake, when in a
+trice the whole hotel was swallowed up in the yawning
+chasm of the earth. Everybody inside the walls
+was killed, and the body of the poor pianist was
+actually discovered later amidst the wreckage, crushed
+down upon the instrument which had struck the
+warning notes of impending disaster. The horrors
+of that night still linger vividly in the memory of the
+people, and many are the terrible incidents, and many
+also, we are glad to say, the acts of bravery which are
+recorded of it. One elderly English lady, who owned
+a small villa on the slope above the hotel, rushed at
+the first suspicion of the catastrophe into the stone
+archway of a window, whence she beheld the whole of
+her house collapse like a castle of cards around her.
+Nothing daunted by the spectacle, this gallant woman,
+as soon as the shock had ceased and the clouds of
+dust rising from the ruin had cleared away, left her
+own dismantled home, of which nothing but the one
+wall that had sheltered her remained standing, and
+joined the <hi rend='italic'>parrocco</hi>, the parish priest of Casamicciola,
+in the task of succouring the living and comforting
+the dying. To the darkness of the night was now
+added a heavy rainfall, yet the good priest and this
+<pb n='288'/><anchor id='Pg288'/>noble woman traversed together the altered and
+devastated scene amidst the wet and gloom on their
+errand of mercy. It is some satisfaction to learn that
+this piece of unselfish heroism and devotion on the
+part of the priest was officially acknowledged, for the
+humble curate of Casamicciola was afterwards made
+a prelate by Pope Leo XIII. in recognition of his
+signal services. Even to-day people are inclined to
+be somewhat chary of spending any length of time
+in this unfortunate spot, where the ruined streets and
+shapeless mounds of earth, only too suggestive of a
+latter-day Pompeii, speak so eloquently of terrible
+experiences in the past and of possible dangers in the
+future. Nevertheless, if one can triumph over these
+gloomy feelings, Casamicciola affords a delightful
+centre whence to explore the whole island, and many
+are the pleasant walks to be found on the overhanging
+slopes of Mont’ Epomeo, and many the boating
+expeditions to be made from the Marina below the
+upper town.
+</p>
+<anchor id="illus22"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: ON THE PICCOLA MARINA, CAPRI]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus22th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus22.jpg">ON THE PICCOLA MARINA, CAPRI</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: On the Piccola Marina, Capri</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+It is a two-mile walk through stony lanes overhung
+by branches of fig and orange from Casamicciola to
+Lacco, a large village well situated on a little bay
+which is distinguished by a curious mushroom-shaped
+rock, aptly nicknamed <q>Il Fungo</q> by the natives.
+This place, which also suffered severely in the earthquake
+of 1883, is the head-quarters of the straw-plaiting
+industry of the island, the women and children noisily
+beseeching every chance visitor to buy their wares in
+the guise of baskets, hats and fans; the pretty coloured
+tiles (<hi rend='italic'>mattoni</hi>), which are used with such good effect in
+the churches and houses of the island, are likewise
+manufactured here. Lacco is particularly associated
+<pb n='289'/><anchor id='Pg289'/>with the great annual festival of St Restituta on May
+17th, which is always marked by religious processions
+and by universal merry-making, followed by illuminations
+and fireworks at nightfall. This saint, of whom
+an early mosaic portrait still exists in her ancient chapel
+within the Neapolitan Cathedral, was once the patroness
+of the city of Naples, but since medieval times she has
+been honoured as the special guardian of this island,
+whither her body (so the legend runs) was miraculously
+conveyed from Egypt in a boat rowed by angels. A
+local tradition also asserts that on her landing by the
+beach of Lacco, an Egyptian lotus bloom was found
+in the saint’s hand, as fresh as when it had been
+plucked months before from the banks of the Nile.
+</p>
+<p>
+Leaving the little bay with its sulphur-impregnated
+sands, and turning inland, we proceed along a road
+across an ancient lava-stream over-grown with pine
+trees, wild caper and a tangle of aromatic brushwood,
+to Forio, which with its white domed houses, its palm
+trees, and its stately bare-footed women bearing tall
+pitchers on their heads gives at first acquaintance the
+full impression of an Oriental city. There is little to
+be seen in Forio itself, with the exception of some fine
+vestments of needlework that are preserved in the
+sacristy of its principal church, but no traveller should
+fail to visit its wonderfully picturesque Franciscan
+monastery, a barbaric-looking pile of dazzling white
+walls and cupolas set against a background of cobalt
+waters, which stands outside the town on a rocky platform
+jutting into the Mediterranean and is approached
+by a broad flight of marble steps adorned with most
+realistic figures of souls burning in brightly painted
+flames of Purgatory. This point too commands a
+<pb n='290'/><anchor id='Pg290'/>good view of the extreme north-eastern promontory
+of the island, a tall cliff known as the Punta del
+Imperatore in honour of the great Emperor Charles
+the Fifth, beyond which visitors rarely penetrate owing
+to the roughness, or rather non-existence of roads,
+though the southern side of the island, which lies
+between this cape and the castle of Ischia, is fully as
+beautiful as the northern portion just described.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The chief attraction, however, of a visit to Ischia is
+the ascent of Mont’ Epomeo, an easy expedition on
+foot to the active, and feasible to the weak or lazy on
+mule-back. This extinct volcano, whose broad lofty
+summit is visible from many points of the Bay of
+Naples, is naturally rich in classical associations, the
+ancients believing that within it lay imprisoned the
+giant Typhoeus, whose agonised movements were wont
+to cause the frequent eruptions of the crater that
+eventually drove away the early Greek settlers from
+this island—the Aenaria or Inarime of antiquity—and
+in later times accounted for the neglect of Ischia
+as a winter resort by the luxurious Romans, in spite
+of its near presence to fashionable Baiae. So destructive
+of life and property were these convulsions of
+nature, that for long periods, notwithstanding its fertile
+soil and its lucrative fisheries, the island remained
+uninhabited, and an old tradition, mentioned by Ovid,
+derives one of its ancient names, Pithecusa, from a
+race of apes (<hi rend='italic'>pithēkoi</hi>) that dwelt on its abandoned
+shores. Since the great eruption of 1302, the effects
+of which can still be traced among the large pine
+woods near Porto d’Ischia, the mountain has been
+quiescent, and the population of the island has increased
+considerably, although the constant shocks of
+<pb n='291'/><anchor id='Pg291'/>earthquake have always made a permanent residence
+in Ischia somewhat insecure. Nor can we rest assured
+that Typhoeus himself is truly dead, not merely sleeping,
+but ready to renew his fierce efforts after his long
+spell of slumber, and to change the face of nature as
+unexpectedly as did the Demon of Vesuvius in the
+reign of Titus.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Like the great volcano of Etna, which the Ischian
+mountain somewhat resembles on a tiny scale.
+Epomeo contains three distinct climatic zones. The
+lowest is that of the coast line with its rich sub-tropical
+vegetation, the early part of the ascent leading by steep
+stony paths through sun-baked vineyards which produce
+the white wine of Ischia, wholesome and light but
+somewhat acid in taste. For the storing of this vintage
+the peasants make use of the numerous old stone
+towers, that once served as safe retreats for the terrified
+inhabitants in times when the Barbary pirates frequently
+descended on the Italian coasts to plunder and enslave.
+Very curious it is to step out of the blinding sunlight
+into the interior of one of these medieval buildings,
+where in the icy gloom stand great barrels of the new
+white wine, each carefully inscribed with a prayer in
+praise of St Restituta, from one of which the swarthy
+<hi rend='italic'>contadino</hi>, in expectation of a few pence, draws a glassful
+of the sour chilly liquid to offer his visitor. Leaving
+behind this region of houses and of cultivation, the
+zone of forest is reached, covered with woods of chestnut
+and oak, with a thick undergrowth of heather, myrtle,
+laurustinus and sweet-scented yellow coronella; there
+is grass under our feet, and long-stemmed daisies,
+violets, mauve anemones and small fragrant marigolds
+everywhere. Through the trees comes the nasal but
+<pb n='292'/><anchor id='Pg292'/>not unmelodious singing of an unseen charcoal-burner,
+or the plaintive note of the little goat-herd’s rustic pipe,
+accompanied by the musical jingling of his goat-bells;—for
+a moment we try to fancy ourselves in the pastoral
+Italy of Theocritus, where nymphs and shepherds,
+peasants and dryads, lived together on terms of amity
+in the woods. But soon the chestnut trees appear
+stunted, and the groves become less thick, and we
+finally gain the last zone, the desolate expanse of naked
+rock and dark lava deposits of the summit, where only
+a few hardy weeds can thrive. Here in some damp
+mouldy chambers dwells a hermit, for nearly all the
+classic mountains of Southern Italy are tenanted by an
+anchorite, generally an old and ignorant, but pious
+peasant, of the type of Pietro Murrone, the holy recluse
+of the Abruzzi, who was finally dragged from his cell to be
+invested forcibly with the pontifical robes and tiara as
+Celestine the Fifth. The present hermitage on Mont’
+Epomeo dates however from comparatively modern
+times, for its first occupant is said to have been a
+German nobleman, a certain Joseph Arguth, governor
+of Ischia under the first Bourbon king, who in consequence
+of a solemn vow made in battle deliberately
+passed his last years of existence on the topmost peak
+of the island he had lately ruled. His example has
+been followed and his cell filled by many successors,
+who have endured the spring rains, the summer heats,
+the autumn storms and the winter chills upon this airy
+height, where the glorious view may be found a compensation
+for eternal discomfort, if hermits condescend
+to appreciate anything so mundane as scenery. The
+shrine and cell are dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari,
+and to this circumstance is due the local uninteresting
+<pb n='293'/><anchor id='Pg293'/>name of Monte San Niccolò to the entire mountain,
+whose crest, some 3000 feet above sea-level, we finally
+gain by means of steps roughly hewn in the lava.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+The view from this height, embracing two out of
+the three historic bays of the Parthenopean coast, is
+one of the noblest and most extensive in Southern
+Italy. Looking southward, the fantastic cliffs of Capri
+are seen to rise abruptly from the ocean; beyond them
+appears the graceful outline of Monte Sant’ Angelo,
+with the crater of Vesuvius beside it, veiling the clear
+blue sky with volumes of dusky smoke. Beneath
+extends the broken line of shore, stretching north and
+south as far as the eye can travel, with its classic capes
+and islands basking in the strong sunshine; whilst
+behind the foam-fringed boundary of land and sea
+rises the jagged line of the Abruzzi Mountains with
+the huge snow-clad mass of the Gran Sasso d’Italia
+towering above the lower peaks. At our feet is spread
+the beautiful and fertile island, in outward appearance
+little changed since the days when the good Bishop
+Berkeley <q>of every virtue under Heaven</q> penned its
+description nearly two centuries ago in a letter to
+Alexander Pope, wherein he described Ischia as <q>an
+epitome of the whole earth.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In spite of the good Bishop’s eloquent tribute to the
+genial climate and the natural beauty of Ischia, it
+must be borne in mind that a residence on the island
+possesses one or two serious drawbacks. Apart from
+the ever-present fear of earthquakes, which hangs like
+the sword of Damocles above the heads of the inhabitants,
+there is yet another disadvantage, prosaic
+but very real, in the lack of pure water, every well
+and rivulet on Ischia being more or less impregnated
+<pb n='294'/><anchor id='Pg294'/>with sulphur, with the result that water for drinking
+(and in summer even for domestic) purposes has to be
+conveyed by boat from Naples. It is bad enough to
+be dependant on a distant city for a food supply (which
+is to some extent also the case here), but the possibility
+of enduring a water famine through storms or misadventure
+would be a far more serious calamity;
+nevertheless as casual visitors to this charming and
+little-known island, we can easily afford to smile at
+such misfortunes.<note place="foot">A portion of this chapter has already appeared in an article by the
+Author, entitled <hi rend='italic'>The Island of Ischia</hi>, in the <hi rend='italic'>Westminster Review</hi>, December
+1905.</note>
+</p><anchor id="illus23"/>
+<pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: ISCHIA FROM CASTELLAMARE (SUNSET)]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus23th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus23.jpg">ISCHIA FROM CASTELLAMARE (SUNSET)</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: ISCHIA FROM CASTELLAMARE (SUNSET)</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+</div><div n="13" rend="page-break-before: always">
+<pb n='295'/><anchor id='Pg295'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="13: Puteoli and the Grandeur that was Rome"/>
+<head>CHAPTER XIII</head>
+
+<head type="sub">PUTEOLI AND THE GRANDEUR THAT WAS ROME</head>
+
+<p>
+Passing along the noisy thronged street of the
+Chiaja and plunging thence into the chill
+gloomy recesses of the ancient grotto of Posilipo,
+we emerge at its further side into a new world, as
+it were, into a district where <q>there is scarcely a spot
+which is not identified with the poetical mythology
+of Greece, or associated with some name familiar in
+the history of Rome.</q> In truth, the headland of
+Posilipo presents a wonderful landmark in the history
+of Naples, for it forms a barrier between the busy
+world of to-day and the departed civilisation of the
+ancients: at the latter end of this tunnel, the fierce
+life and movement of a great commercial city; at its
+western exit, a tract of land teeming with recollections
+of the glorious past.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+As our carriage emerges once more into the warmth
+and sunlight, we find ourselves in the miserable village
+of Fuorigrotta, which, by a strange coincidence, is
+associated with the memory of a famous Italian poet.
+For if the name and verses of Sannazzaro cling to
+Piedigrotta and the Parthenopean shore on the eastern
+side of the hill, the genius of Count Giacomo Leopardi
+sheds its melancholy radiance over the unlovely purlieus
+of Fuorigrotta. Here in the vestibule of the parish
+<pb n='296'/><anchor id='Pg296'/>church of San Vitale, lie the ashes of that unhappy
+writer, the Shelley of Italian literature, who so bewailed
+the Austrian and Bourbon fetters that enchained his
+native land. Poor Leopardi! It was but eleven years
+before the first great movement of the <hi rend='italic'>Risorgimento</hi>
+swept over Italy in 1848 that he passed away; his
+poems were indeed songs before sunrise, a sunrise of
+which he failed to detect the far-off glimmering, so
+that he could only lament without hope the sad
+condition of his dismembered country, once the
+mistress and now the play-thing of the world, and
+the abject slave of hated Austria:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">O patria mia, vedo le mure e gli archi</q></l>
+<l>E le colonne e i simulacri e l’ erme</l>
+<l>Torri degli avi nostri,</l>
+<l>Ma la gloria non vedo;</l>
+<l>Non vedo il lauro e’l ferro ond’ eran carchi</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">I nostri padri antichi.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+It is a flat dusty stretch of road that lies between
+Fuorigrotta and Bagnoli; the high walls give only
+occasional glimpses of well-tilled <hi rend='italic'>parterres</hi>—one
+cannot call these tiny patches of cultivation fields—with
+thriving crops of brilliant green corn, of claret-red
+clover, of purple lucerne, and of the white-flowered
+<q>sad lupin,</q> which Vergil has immortalised in verse.
+The round bright yellow beans of the lupin crop, known
+locally by the name of <hi rend='italic'>spassa-tiempî</hi> (time-killers),
+afford an article of food to the very poorest of the
+population. A quaint story runs that one day an
+impoverished philosopher, reduced to making his
+dinner off a handful of these beans, and imagining
+himself in consequence the most wretched wight in
+existence, was cheered and comforted by observing
+<pb n='297'/><anchor id='Pg297'/>himself followed by a still more miserable fellow-mortal,
+who was engaged in picking up and eating
+the husks of the beans that, <hi rend='italic'>more italiano</hi>, he had
+thrown carelessly on to the pathway after their insipid
+farinaceous contents had been sucked out!
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Above us to the right are the heights of Monte
+Spina, covered with groves of the umbrella pine, the
+typical tree of Naples; to our left extends the verdant
+ridge of Posilipo, ending in Cape Coroglio, beyond
+which the massive form of Nisida rises proudly from
+the blue expanse of water. All the landscape shows
+somewhat hard in the glare of noontide, and we find
+the enveloping clouds of fine white dust very oppressive
+and disagreeable. From time to time a lumbering
+country cart is passed with its attendant bare-footed
+peasant; otherwise there is little sign of life on the
+high road. The bright sunlight flashes upon the
+horse’s polished brass harness, and upon the elaborate
+erection of charms placed thereon, with the avowed
+object of averting the dreaded Evil Eye, that everlasting
+bugbear of all dwellers upon these southern
+shores. On his poor drooping head the worn-out old
+steed carries a large bell with four jingling clappers
+and two brazen crescents, the horns of one of which
+point upwards and of the other towards the ground.
+On the off-side of the headgear is a bunch of bright-coloured
+ribbands or woollen tassels, from which
+depends the single horn, the invaluable Neapolitan
+talisman that is supposed to protect every man,
+woman, child or beast, from the chance glance of
+a passing <hi rend='italic'>jettatore</hi>. Above this glowing mass of
+colour some three or four feathers of a pheasant’s
+tail are stuck, apparently with no ulterior purpose
+<pb n='298'/><anchor id='Pg298'/>than that of ornament; but beside the bunch of
+ribbands there is also fixed a piece of wolf’s skin,
+to give strength to the jaded animal, for, remarks
+the sapient Pliny, <q>a wolf’s skin attached to a horse’s
+neck will render him proof against all weariness.</q>
+Personally, we should think a little more consideration
+and some elementary knowledge of farriery
+would have been of more service to the ill-used
+beasts round Naples than the excellent Pliny’s
+highly original receipt. Besides this powerful battery
+of charms to intercept the <hi rend='italic'>jettatura</hi>, there is the light
+brass headpiece engraved with sacred figures, so
+that any evil glance must be fully absorbed, baffled
+or exhausted, before it can fix itself upon the animal.
+In addition however to this shining mass of headgear,
+the horse carries on his back one of those
+curious high pommels that are peculiar to Southern
+Italy and Sicily. The front of the pommel itself is
+of well-polished brass, and covered with a number of
+studs, whilst at its back is fastened a miniature
+barrel, upon which there stands erect the figure of
+some local saint, generally that of San Gennaro.
+The exact part that the barrel and the row of studs
+play in this mystic battle against the Evil Eye is
+unknown, but the two revolving flags of brass that
+swing and creak above the pommel itself are believed
+to represent <q>the flaming sword which turned every
+way,</q> and finally expelled Adam and Eve from the
+Garden of Eden. Certainly this shimmering metal
+has the appearance of a flaming sword in the bright
+sunshine, so that it ought to prove efficacious in
+catching and averting any baleful glance. A second
+patch of wolf skin on the crest of the pommel, and
+<pb n='299'/><anchor id='Pg299'/>some red worsted wound round the spindle of the
+flags complete the list of strange charms that are
+considered necessary to protect a Neapolitan horse
+from the pernicious influence of a casual passer-by.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+We soon reach the sea-shore at Bagnoli, a little
+watering-place much frequented by Neapolitans of
+the middle classes, and on looking back we obtain a
+charming view of the headland of Posilipo and of
+stately Nisida, the Nesis of the ancients, with its
+memories of Brutus, <q>the noblest Roman of them all,</q>
+who on this little island bade farewell for ever to his
+devoted Portia. A very different tenant from the chaste
+Portia, however, who once possessed a villa in this
+sea-girt retreat during the Middle Ages, was Queen
+Joanna the Second, the last member of the Durazzo
+branch of the Angevin royal house, and sister and
+heiress of King Ladislaus II., whose splendid monument
+in San Giovanni a Carbonara is one of the chief
+artistic treasures of Naples. It is of course unnecessary
+here to remark that there were two Queens of Naples,
+both Joanna by name, and that the first of these, the
+contemporary of Petrarch (whose proper feeling she contrived
+to shock) was certainly not a pattern of female
+virtue, but that she shone as a moral paragon when
+contrasted with her name-sake and successor, the sister
+of King Ladislaus. Of this second Queen, tradition
+more or less accurate relates a host of stories, none of
+them to her credit; how she dabbled in necromancy
+and was immersed in love intrigues, the most celebrated
+of which was her amour with the handsome <q>Ser.
+Gianni,</q> Giovanni Caracciolo, head of an eminent
+family that has figured prominently in Neapolitan
+history from the days of Angevin monarchs to those
+<pb n='300'/><anchor id='Pg300'/>of King Ferdinand. Little good did the fickle Queen’s
+favour do Ser. Gianni, who suffered an ignominious fate
+for having one day boxed Joanna’s ears during a lovers’
+tiff. Murdered secretly by four assassins, Caracciolo’s
+body was laid to rest in the family chapel in San
+Giovanni a Carbonara beneath a splendid monument
+which is surmounted by the luckless favourite’s
+effigy. Joanna the First with all her faults was never
+guilty of such light conduct as this, but the peasant
+mind is always impatient of dry details of fact, so that
+in the popular imagination to-day both Queens are
+blended into one personage, whose character, it is needless
+to say, is about as vile as can be conceived.
+<q>Siccome la Regina Giovanna,</q> is a form of peasant
+execration around Naples that has some historical
+affinity with the time-honoured Irish <anchor id="corr300"/><corr sic="maledicton">malediction</corr> of the
+<q>Curse o’ Cromwell.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Turning our backs on the island with its memories
+of Portia the Perfect and of Queen Joanna the Improper,
+we pursue our course along the sea-shore
+with rocks of ancient lava above us to the right,
+now heavily overgrown with brushwood and plants,
+amongst which we notice tufts of the pretty wild
+asparagus, that the observant Pliny centuries ago
+found flourishing in this district. As an early herb,
+coming into season long before its cultivated
+cousin is fit for cutting, this succulent vegetable is
+highly prized in the South, and its flavour though somewhat
+bitter is most palatable, so that an omelette <hi rend='italic'>aux
+pointes d’asperges sauvages</hi> is a dish not to be despised
+by those who get the opportunity of testing this local
+delicacy. Before us lies our goal, Pozzuoli, with its
+ancient citadel jutting into the placid waters and backed
+<pb n='301'/><anchor id='Pg301'/>by the classic headland of Misenum, above which in
+turn towers the crest of distant Epomeo.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Pozzuoli in recent years has been much neglected
+by strangers, so much so that no inn worthy to be
+called an hotel now exists, and such <hi rend='italic'>trattorie</hi> as the
+place offers are all equally extortionate and detestable.
+Some time ago there was a comfortable <hi rend='italic'>pension</hi> at the
+edge of the town on the road to the Amphitheatre,
+but its English landlady has long since migrated elsewhere,
+and the comfortable <q>Hotel Grande Bretagne</q>
+is no more; whilst nowadays there are to be found
+no visitors hardy enough to endure a prolonged
+sojourn in the wretched hostelries of the town itself.
+The electric tram and the rail-road have in fact killed
+Pozzuoli as a winter resort, more’s the pity, for it is
+not only a spot of singular interest in itself but
+its climate is certainly superior to that of Naples, for
+the great headland which shuts off the city from the
+Phlegrean Fields serves also to act as a buffer against
+the icy <hi rend='italic'>tramontana</hi> that sweeps along the Chiaja in
+winter and early spring. Invalids used at one time
+to inhabit Pozzuoli on account of its mild atmosphere,
+and even to visit the Solfatara daily on mule-back, in
+order to inhale its sulphureous fumes, which were
+then believed to be good for weak chests. But
+medical fashions vary like all others, and consumptive
+patients now seek other places <anchor id="corr301"/><corr sic="then">than</corr> Pozzuoli for their
+cure.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Many are the walks outside the town, and none
+are without beauty or interest, for, the neighbourhood
+of Syracuse excepted, we can think of no place
+in Italy wherein one is brought so closely into touch
+with the classical past. Nature has long clothed the
+<pb n='302'/><anchor id='Pg302'/>ruined area of the ancient city with her kindly
+drapery of foliage and flowers, so that the crumbling
+masses of tawny brick that we come across in our
+rambles are all swathed in garlands of clematis, myrtle,
+honey-suckle and coronella. It is a delight to
+speculate upon the original use and appearance of
+these shapeless blocks of creeper-clad masonry, which
+attract the eye on all sides amidst the vineyards and
+orange groves, where the peasants delving in the rich
+soil frequently alight upon treasures of the antique
+world. What a delight it is to wander through the
+Street of Tombs—alas, long rifled of their contents!—where
+the gay valerian and the pink silene sprout
+from every fissure of the soft tufa rock, and lizards of
+unusual size and brilliancy play games of hide-and-seek
+in the warm sunshine. We moderns are afraid
+of graveyards and the paraphernalia of the dead:
+many a stout-hearted Englishman objects to passing
+through a church-yard at night; not so the pagan
+Romans, who placed their cemeteries in public places
+and were wont to proceed through lines of tombs as
+they entered the city of the living: a very salutary
+and practical reminder of the transitory nature of
+life itself. The whole neighbourhood in short is
+sprinkled with these memorials of Imperial Rome;
+there is not an orange or lemon orchard but stands
+above some forgotten villa, not an acre of tilth but
+must conceal some hidden mine of classical associations.
+Charming too are the walks by the sea-shore—now sadly
+disfigured by the <hi rend='italic'>Cantiere Armstrong</hi>, with its smoke
+and ugliness looking like a dirty smudge upon the
+delicate landscape of the Bay—for here again we find
+endless traces of the Imperial age. There can be no
+<pb n='303'/><anchor id='Pg303'/>more fascinating employment than to wander along
+the beach after one of the heavy winter storms that so
+often vex the quiet of the Bay of Naples, and to
+search for fragments of precious marbles that have
+been spied by the waves amidst the sunken foundations
+of Roman villas, and thence idly flung upon the shore.
+Pieces of the choicest white Parian, squares of speckled
+Egyptian porphyry, of <hi rend='italic'>verde</hi>, <hi rend='italic'>rosso</hi> and <hi rend='italic'>giallo antico</hi>, of
+the coal-black <hi rend='italic'>Africano</hi>, all wet and glistening from
+the waves, can be picked up by the quick-sighted, and
+the gathering of these beautiful trifles, cut and polished
+by skilled hands nearly two thousand years ago, makes
+an interesting occupation. Nor is its classical lore
+the only feature of the Bay of Baiae, for though its
+actual scenery cannot compare with the grandeur of
+Capri nor its vegetation with the rich luxuriance of
+Sorrento, yet these shores have a quiet beauty of their
+own. Vine, olive and almond abound on all sides,
+and everywhere we see the groves of orange and
+lemon that in spring time scent the air with their perfumed
+blossoms. And in the early months of the
+year every patch of warm-coloured, up-turned earth is
+gay with sheets of that beautiful but rapacious weed,
+hated of the peasant, the oxalis, with its clusters of
+pale yellow flowers: a species of sorrel that is allied
+to our own white-blossomed variety. From many a
+point on the little ridges that rise behind Pozzuoli
+magnificent views can be obtained, whilst to those who
+care to study the scientific results of volcanic action
+the Phlegraean Fields afford endless occupation and
+interest. Every one of course visits the Solfatara, that
+curious semi-extinct crater, the <hi rend='italic'>Forum Vulcani</hi> of
+Strabo, which has remained for over seven hundred
+<pb n='304'/><anchor id='Pg304'/>years in its present condition of languor. A strange
+experience it is to enter the heart of a volcano that is
+still comparatively active, and to observe woods of
+poplar and a large pine tree beneath which grow
+masses of spring flowers—bright blue bugloss, the
+crimson vetch, starch hyacinths, purple self-heal, and
+golden spurge—and to pass from these thickets on to
+a space of bare white-coloured ground that trembles
+and sways under the feet like a sheet of insecure ice.
+Beyond, one sees the little fissures (<hi rend='italic'>fumaroli</hi>) emitting
+fumes of sulphur, and the guides take us to stifling
+caverns in the hill-side where we are shown the
+beautiful primrose-coloured crystals. The Solfatara,
+the Amphitheatre and the Temple of Serapis, these
+are the recognised <q>sights</q> of Pozzuoli, which strangers
+visit to-day in the space of an hour or two, and then
+return to Naples comforted with the feeling that they
+have exhausted the attractions of the place. Certainly
+their reception in the town is not likely to
+inspire them with a wish to return, for the guides and
+touts swarm here more than in any other spot in
+Italy; <q>until he has spent half an hour in Pozzuoli,</q>
+says the author of <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi>, <q>let no man say that
+he understands the signification of the verb to pester.</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Putting aside even the objectionable habits of so
+many of its citizens, it cannot be said that the town
+itself of Pozzuoli to-day is particularly attractive,
+although its situation on the Bay of Baiae is charming
+and its quays are full of picturesque life and movement.
+Lines of irregular yellow-washed buildings,
+with faded green <hi rend='italic'>persiani</hi> and balconies draped
+with the domestic washing, with here and there a
+domed rococo church, look down upon the clear
+tide<pb n='305'/><anchor id='Pg305'/>less waters that gently lap the ancient stone-work of
+the Mole, whilst a mixed crowd of fishermen with
+bare bronzed limbs, of chattering women with gay
+handkerchiefs tied over their thick black hair, and of
+blue uniformed dapper little customs officers,—<hi rend='italic'>lupi
+marini</hi> (wolves of the sea) as the poor people facetiously
+term these revenue officials of the coast—loiter
+in the sunlight amidst the piles of tawny fishing nets
+or the pyramids of golden oranges. From the quay
+we make our way to the Largo del Municipio, a
+typical square of a provincial town in the South,
+enclosed by shabby houses and adorned by a couple
+of stunted date-palms and a battered marble fountain,
+around which numberless children and some slatternly
+women noisily converse or dispute. There is an old
+proverb in the South, that a good housewife has no
+need to know any thoroughfares save those leading to
+her church and her fountain, and as conversation cannot
+well be carried on in the former, it is the daily
+visits to the well that usually afford the required
+opportunity for exchange of gossip or for the picking
+of quarrels. Two statues decorate this unlovely but
+not uninteresting space; one is that of a Spanish bishop,
+Leon y Cardeñas, one of King Philip the Third’s
+viceroys, which serves as a reminder of the many
+vicissitudes this classic land has experienced in the
+course of history:—Phoenician, Greek, Carthaginian,
+Roman, Barbarian, Norman, German, French, Spanish
+conquerors have all left <q>footprints on the sands of
+Time</q> in the coveted land of the Siren, which all have
+possessed in turn but none have held in perpetuity.
+His Excellency the Bishop Cardeñas stands therefore
+in the open as a solid memento of the glory that once
+<pb n='306'/><anchor id='Pg306'/>was Spain, when half Europe and all America owned
+the sway of the Catholic King. The second statue,
+though not a thing of beauty, has always had the
+attraction of an unsolved puzzle, for we cannot
+decide whether it proves a complete absence or an
+abundant superfluity of humour in the Puteolani of
+to-day. It is the figure of a Roman senator, vested
+in his flowing toga, and owning (as the ancient inscription
+informs us) the grandiose name of Quintus Flavius
+Mavortius Lollianus, whose marble trunk was one of
+the earliest archaeological <q>finds</q> made in the
+excavations at Pozzuoli some two hundred years ago.
+Since the statue lacked a head and was otherwise of
+no especial value as a work of art, the Viceroy of
+Naples very generously presented this object to the
+place of its discovery, whose citizens, doubtless
+thinking the appearance of the headless statue uncanny,
+popped a stray antique occiput (of which a goodly
+number, more or less mutilated, are constantly brought
+to light by the peasants) upon Lollianus’ vacant
+shoulders. Anything more comical and at the same
+time more repellent than this hybrid statue it would be
+impossible to imagine, yet Lollianus of the unknown
+head remains a favourite with the people of Pozzuoli.
+Leaving the Largo del Municipio, with its weird senator
+and its dusty palms, we ascend by a zigzag lane
+between tall featureless houses to the Cathedral of
+San Proculo, which occupies the site of a temple of
+Augustus, that once dominated the ancient city and
+harbour below. Within, the cathedral of Proculus,
+who was a companion of St Januarius and a fellow-martyr,
+is gaudy and painted, one of those dismally
+gorgeous ecclesiastical interiors that are such a
+dis<pb n='307'/><anchor id='Pg307'/>appointment to the antiquarian in Southern Italy. In
+opposition to the memorial of Spanish conquest in
+the square below, we find here an elaborate monument
+to a French viceroy, the Duke of Montpensier, who
+served for some time as Governor of Naples after
+Charles VIII.’s capture of the city. Except the tomb
+of the young musician Pergolese, who composed the
+original <hi rend='italic'>Stabat Mater</hi> there is little else to see, and we
+gladly ascend the tower in order to gain a bird’s eye
+view of the town from a point of vantage whither
+noisy coachmen, troublesome beggars and impudent
+ragamuffins cannot pursue. Captured by the Greek
+colonists of Cumae, who gave the city the name of
+Dicoearchia instead of its ancient one of Puteoli,—a
+corruption, perhaps, of the Syriac word <hi rend='italic'>petuli</hi> (contention)—this
+old Hellenic settlement was rechristened
+Puteoli by the conquering Romans, under whose
+beneficent rule the place rapidly aspired to wealth and
+prosperity. With the rise however of Naples, the
+fame of Puteoli began to grow dim, and its importance
+to decline, although throughout Imperial times it ranked
+after Ostia as the chief victualling port of Rome. And
+of the two celebrated cities which adorned the shores
+of this Bay in classical times, Puteoli was the seat of
+commerce, and Baiae the resort of pleasure and luxury;
+yet both were doomed to dwindle and almost perish in
+the disastrous years that followed the break-up of the
+Empire. The invading hordes of Germany, the raids
+of Saracen pirates, and the constant presence of
+malaria on this deserted coast were sufficient causes in
+themselves to reduce in the course of time the thriving
+port of Puteoli to the squalid town of to-day. From
+our lofty post we can easily distinguish the limits of
+<pb n='308'/><anchor id='Pg308'/>the city in the days of Tiberius and Caligula, for to
+the north we turn our faces towards the ruined bulk
+of the Amphitheatre, now lying amidst fields and
+gardens, but well within the town walls at the time
+when Nero entertained the Armenian king Tiridates
+and shocked his Asiatic guest by himself descending
+into the arena and deftly performing the usual disgusting
+feats of a professional gladiator. To westward
+lies the Bay of Baiae, a semi-circle of glittering water
+surrounded by low hills amidst which the Monte
+Nuovo, unknown to the ancients, stands conspicuous.
+How completely have all traces of splendour and
+extravagance disappeared from these shores! At
+fashionable Baiae across the Bay there is nothing visible
+save a few shapeless ruins over the identity of which
+scholars dispute; at busy Puteoli there survive to-day
+but the ruined Amphitheatre, the Temple of Serapis,
+and the arches of the famous Mole, to prove to
+wondering posterity how great were the wealth, the
+population and the magnificence of a spot which is
+closely associated with all the power and culture of
+the Roman Empire in its zenith.
+</p><anchor id="illus24"/>
+    <pgIf output='txt'><then>
+  <p rend="margin-left: 2; margin-right: 2">[Illustration: ON THE BEACH]</p>
+</then><else>
+  <p><figure url="images/illus24th.jpg"><head rend="small"><xref url="images/illus24.jpg">ON THE BEACH</xref></head><figDesc>Illustration: ON THE BEACH</figDesc></figure></p>
+</else></pgIf>
+<p>
+Of the various fragments of antiquity that are still
+standing in this district of the Phlegrean Fields, the
+Mole of Puteoli is undoubtedly the best preserved and
+the most interesting. So splendidly constructed is
+this relic of the past, that but for continuous shocks of
+earthquake the whole breakwater must have survived
+intact; as it is, more than half the Mole has withstood
+the wear and tear of centuries of wind and storm. It
+is built on the model of a Greek pier, a series of arches
+of massive masonry, acting at once as a barrier against
+the force of the invading waves and as a means of
+<pb n='309'/><anchor id='Pg309'/>preventing the silting of the sand. Formed of brick,
+faced with stone, and cemented with the local volcanic
+sand, which is consequently known as <hi rend='italic'>puzzolana</hi>, this
+wonderful breakwater must originally have stretched
+out into the Bay a total length of twenty-five arches,
+its furthest extremity being crowned by a light-house.
+If we could only call up in imagination the Bay of
+Baiae in the days of the Empire, when its shores were
+fringed by sumptuous villas of famous or infamous
+Romans and its expanse was thickly covered with
+every variety of vessel of pleasure or merchandise,
+instead of the few fishing boats that now and again
+flit across its glassy surface, we might better be able
+to realise the extraordinary episode which is connected
+with this classical fragment in the little port of
+Pozzuoli below us. For it was from the Mole of
+Puteoli to the spit of land we see on the western
+shore opposite that the demented tyrant, Caius Caligula,
+constructed his historic bridge of boats across the
+Baiaean gulf. Every large vessel in the surrounding
+harbours had been pressed into the service of the
+Emperor for this gigantic piece of folly, so that the
+inhabitants of Rome were seriously inconvenienced by
+the detention of their corn ships, and loud in consequence
+were the complaints of the Roman populace,
+for whose anger, it is needless to state, the Emperor
+cared not a fig. <q>History,</q> says Gibbon, <q>is but a
+record of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind;</q>
+and this smiling Bay of Baiae will ever be
+memorable as the scene of what was perhaps the worst
+exhibition of tyrannical caprice that the world has yet
+witnessed.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Using a double line of vessels well yoked
+to<pb n='310'/><anchor id='Pg310'/>gether as a compact and solid base, the Emperor
+now gave orders for a military road of the usual
+Roman type to be constructed of planks of timber
+covered with earth and paved with hewn stones.
+When this stupendous work was completed, the usual
+station-houses were erected at various intervals, and
+fresh water was laid on by means of pipes connected
+with the Imperial cisterns at Misenum. Upon this
+broad road, laid across the Baiaean Gulf, the young
+Emperor now advanced on horseback, followed by his
+whole army clad in array of battle. Caligula on this
+occasion wore a historic coat of armour studded with
+rare gems that had once belonged to Alexander the
+Great; a jewelled sword was fastened to his thigh,
+and a crown of oak leaves bound his temples.
+Solemnly the Emperor and his army crossed the
+broad expanse of water on dry land and entered
+Puteoli with mock honours of war. After remaining
+a day in the port to refresh his victorious troops, the
+Emperor was driven back in a splendidly equipped
+chariot, which was surrounded by a number of
+pretended captives of rank, some noble Parthian
+hostages being utilised for the occasion. At the
+centre of the bridge the procession halted, and the
+crazy prince next indulged in an absurd bombastic
+harangue, wherein he congratulated his soldiers on
+their glorious campaign just concluded, and declared
+to them that the famous feats of Xerxes and Darius
+had at length been surpassed. Finally, he invited his
+troops to a magnificent banquet upon this bridge of
+boats, an entertainment which lasted till far into the
+night and was accompanied by lavish illuminations by
+land and sea. As might only have been expected,
+<pb n='311'/><anchor id='Pg311'/>the feast soon degenerated into a drunken orgy,
+wherein every guest from the Master of the Roman
+world to his meanest soldier became intoxicated,
+whilst many persons in their cups lost their balance
+and fell into the waters, so that the sounds of music and
+revelry throughout the midnight hours were mingled
+with groans and cries of drowning men close at hand.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Apart from its senseless extravagance and innate
+folly, the story of the bridging of the Baiaean Gulf, of
+this harnessing of old Ocean, affects us moderns with
+astonishment at the extraordinary thoroughness of all
+the ancient Roman feats of engineering; had this
+high road across the Bay been intended to serve any
+useful purpose, instead of merely to satisfy the passing
+whim of a selfish tyrant, we could have had no choice
+but to admire the marvellous speed of the artificers
+and the completeness of the scheme undertaken.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Quarter of a century later, and the Mole of Puteoli
+was destined to become the scene of another event in
+the world’s history, which has left a far more enduring
+impression on mankind than the so-called miracle of
+Caligula. In the early spring of the year 62 <hi rend='small'>A.D.</hi>
+there dropped anchor in the port a certain Alexandrian
+corn-ship, the <hi rend='italic'>Castor <anchor id="corr311"/><corr sic="aud">and</corr> Pollux</hi>, coming from Malta
+after touching at Syracuse and Rhegium (Reggio) on
+her way northward. Unnoticed amidst the vast
+phalanx of shipping that lined the Mole and filled the
+broad harbour of Puteoli, the vessel emptied her cargo
+on the quay, whilst there also disembarked from her
+hold a number of prisoners of no great social consequence,
+who were on their way to Rome under the
+guardianship of a kindly old centurion, named Julius,
+belonging to the cohort <hi rend='italic'>Prima Augusta Italica</hi>.
+<pb n='312'/><anchor id='Pg312'/>Amongst the persons under Julius’ charge was a Jew
+named Paul, who was accompanied by three of his
+friends, Timothy, Luke and Aristarchus of Thessalonica,
+and all four, thanks to the kindness of the centurion,
+who was evidently much attached to his exemplary
+captive, were permitted to remain at this spot for seven
+days. Paul himself was anxious to tarry at this spot,
+for of all the Italian ports Puteoli was most frequented
+by men of his own nation, so that the city possessed
+its little community of Christians, who naturally were
+eager to detain the Apostle. So hopelessly intermingled
+are truth, tradition and legend concerning the
+various places on Italian soil that St Paul is known to
+have visited, that we cannot be too grateful for the
+undoubted link with his journey to Rome that we
+possess in the existing Mole of Puteoli, whose surface
+has undoubtedly been trodden by the sandalled feet of
+the great Apostle of the West. Here Paul landed
+amid the haughty scenes of Roman pride and power;
+above him he saw the pagan Temple of Augustus, all
+gleaming with marble and gilded bronze that were
+mirrored in the calm waters of the port: along this
+famous causeway he passed, unmarked by the busy
+crowd, except perhaps to be mocked by some idler for
+his nationality or his halting speech. Guided by
+Christian compatriots, the Apostle with his three faithful
+friends was led through the noisy jostling concourse
+of all countries that thronged the great Roman city to
+the humble dwelling of his host. Where he lodged in
+that mighty city we know not, but we do know for a
+certain fact that he landed on the Mole, and that he
+passed along it to the shore; it is not much, perhaps,
+but that little is very precious.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='313'/><anchor id='Pg313'/>
+
+<p>
+What a contrast do these two incidents connected
+with the Mole of Puteoli afford! The Roman
+Emperor, glittering like the morning star in purple
+mantle and jewelled cuirass, riding on his charger
+across the solid road that to humour his own caprice
+had been flung across the buoyant waters, accompanied
+by soldiery, by music, and by bands of wealthy sycophants;
+and the Apostle, poor, in bonds, a despised
+prisoner in an alien land, meekly threading his way
+through the crowds towards his mean lodging. Where
+is the proud Temple of Augustus that beheld these two
+strange scenes, that occurred with no great interval of
+time apart? Where are the villas and quays that
+lined the Bay of Baiae? The very ruins of the palaces
+and warehouses are swept away; the gorgeous temple
+is a Christian Cathedral dedicated to a follower of the
+despised Jewish captive; the name of Caligula lives
+but in human execration, whilst that of the Apostle is
+enshrined in the hearts of the whole Christian world.
+</p>
+<p rend="center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em">* * * * * *</p>
+<p>
+It is but a three-mile walk along the beach from
+Pozzuoli to Baiae, passing beside the Lucrine Lake and
+the southern slope of the Monte Nuovo, which always
+seems to us a far more wonderful freak of Nature than
+the Solfatara. Here we have a miniature mountain, a
+mile and a half round its base and nearly five hundred
+feet high, that was made in the course of a single night,
+and is to-day less than four hundred years old! The
+presence of this brand-new intruder on the shore of the
+Baiaean Gulf must ever remain a wholesome warning to
+all dwellers on these coasts, that their tenure of King
+Pluto’s dominions is very insecure. One morning
+towards the close of September 1538, after some days
+<pb n='314'/><anchor id='Pg314'/>of earthquake shocks, <q>Pozzuoli awoke,</q> says the
+flippant Alexandre Dumas, <q>and on looking about
+did not recognise herself! She had left a lake the
+evening before, and lo! she found a mountain; where
+she had owned a forest, she found ashes; and last
+of all, where she had left a village, she perceived no
+trace!</q>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+In one sense Dumas’ facetious description is correct:
+the New Mountain was born with extraordinary celerity,
+and woods, lake and village—familiar and beloved landmarks
+to the people of Baiae and Pozzuoli—disappeared
+at its birth. But the event was no peaceful act of
+Nature; on the contrary, it was accompanied by loud
+rumblings, by showers of red-hot stones, by clouds of
+smoke, by torrents of scalding water, and by the retreating
+of the sea, which left thousands of fish lying helpless
+on the exposed shore. The village of Tripergola, a
+summer pleasaunce of the Angevin kings of Naples,
+and many traces of ancient Roman villas and engineering
+works, all perished in this notable cataclysm.
+Four eye-witnesses have left us details of this strange
+scene of desolation, whilst only a few days after Mother
+Earth had brought forth this new mountain, one of
+them, the Spanish Viceroy of Naples, the valiant Don
+Pedro of Toledo, owned sufficient pluck and curiosity
+to make the ascent of the Monte Nuovo, still smoking
+hot and reeking of sulphur. Who can tell when this
+<hi rend='italic'>parvenu</hi> volcano may spout forth fire and ashes? Would
+any sane person have the courage ever to settle within
+range of a possible eruption? No, the Phlegrean fields
+are interesting to visit, but he must require a strong
+nerve who would fain dwell beneath the shadow of this
+dormant crater.
+</p>
+
+<pb n='315'/><anchor id='Pg315'/>
+
+<p>
+It is a very short walk from the base of the Monte
+Nuovo to the <q>golden shores</q> of Imperial Baiae, which
+is certainly not an imposing place in these days.
+What with the destroying hand of time and the still
+more obliterating action of the neighbouring volcano,
+there is little left for the fancy to build upon; certainly
+the three ruined shells that are called temples by
+courtesy, but served probably a much humbler purpose
+than that of worship, are not particularly striking. It
+requires not only a good classical knowledge, but also
+no small amount of imagination to picture the Baiae of
+the Roman poets.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+<q>If Pozzuoli has gone down in the world, still more
+so Baiae. It does not require any more sinking; it is
+low enough as it is, so low that some of its ancient villas
+and palaces can only be visited in a diving-bell. So
+dreary and deserted is the site, that at first glance the
+visitor feels mightily inclined to question the veracity
+of the historian, and to doubt whether Baiae—Baiae
+the gay, the fashionable, the dissolute, the beloved of
+emperors, statesmen and poets—ever existed. But
+when he is shown the enormous sub-structures lying
+under water, and the masses of solid masonry wherewith
+the surrounding hills are over-spread, incredulity gives
+place to amazement. What towns of lath and plaster
+are Brighton, Newport and Trouville, when compared
+with this <q>Rome by the sea,</q> where the materials used
+for the foundations of a single villa would more than
+suffice for the construction of a dozen <q>genteel marine
+residences</q> of the modern style! What would a
+Roman architect think of the card-board streets and
+squares, and the stucco crescents and terraces, of an
+English watering-place? of those <q>eligible family
+<pb n='316'/><anchor id='Pg316'/>mansions</q> wherein dancing is dangerous, and to venture
+on whose balconies is perilous in the extreme? Echo
+answers: <q>What!</q></q><note place="foot">W. J. A. Stamer: <hi rend='italic'>Dolce Napoli</hi>.</note>
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Here on this desolate strip of sea-shore, now
+dominated by the Spanish viceroy’s frowning fortress
+on the hill above, the great and opulent of ancient
+Rome founded a city composed wholly of palaces.
+Here were no noisy market-places to annoy aristocratic
+nerves; no slums to afflict plutocratic nostrils;
+no families of the proletariat to disturb the refined
+senses of the jaded pleasure-seekers who retired hither
+in the winter months. A writer, from whom we have
+just quoted, makes comparison between Baiae and
+Brighton or Trouville; but in reality the fashionable
+American resort of Newport has more in common
+with the old classical watering-place than any modern
+European sea-side resort. The hot sulphur baths on
+the Lucrine shore formed of course only a shallow
+excuse for the annual migration of Roman fashionables
+to Baiae, where blue-blooded senators and
+pushing plutocrats indulged in fierce social struggles
+for individual pre-eminence. Yet certain of the
+natural warm springs had been enclosed in splendid
+buildings, and were used by the luxurious citizens, so
+that even to-day the Thermae of Nero (Stufe di
+Nerone) are pointed out by the local guides. <q>Quid
+Nerone pejus? Quid thermis melius Neronianis?</q>
+(what is worse than Nero? yet what more beneficent
+than his baths?) asks the poet Martial, whose name
+will ever be bound up with the tales of luxury and
+vice that are associated with this spot. Baiae in
+winter, Tibur (Tivoli) in summer, the two names stand
+<pb n='317'/><anchor id='Pg317'/>for the beau-ideal of a Roman existence, the cynosure
+of every wealthy citizen.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+But let us ascend out of the close and enervating air
+of low-lying Baiae to the breezy heights of Misenum,
+which has immortalised the name of the Trojan
+trumpeter whose end was mourned by the tears of
+pious Aeneas himself. In gaining its summit and in
+gazing upon the landscape spread around us, we have
+penetrated, so it seems, into the very heart of Italy:
+not the Italy of Roman history, but the land of
+Ausonia itself, the fabled shore that the Trojan hero
+sailed at his goddess-mother’s bidding to discover,
+when all the world was young and the high dwellers
+of Olympus still condescended to take a personal
+interest in the affairs of favourite mortals. Surely
+the vine-clad terraces of Lake Avernus, the pools of
+the Lucrine and the Mare Morto, the verdure-clad
+hillocks lying beneath us must conceal the true secret
+of the antique Tyrrhenian country, in whose history
+the rise and fall of Roman power afford but one
+amongst many epochs. Looking to northward,
+beyond the little landing-stage of Torregaveta, we
+behold the heights of Cumae, that was a flourishing
+city with harbour and citadel hundreds of years before
+a certain Romulus built a wall of mud near the banks
+of Tiber and slew his brother Remus for leaping over
+his handiwork. The founding of Rome is enveloped
+in impenetrable clouds of legend; the building of
+Cumae is a fact:—here then we obtain a key to
+Italian history. Rome, whose origin is lost in mists
+of obscurity, is a flourishing modern capital; Cumae
+is but a shapeless mass of crumbling ruins, overgrown
+with ivy and cytizus, and inhabited by lizards and
+<pb n='318'/><anchor id='Pg318'/>serpents. But both cities, dead Cumae and living
+Rome, present but passing events in the long slow
+progress of the centuries, which have witnessed successive
+phases of civilisation and destruction in this
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Woman-country, wooed, not won,</q></l>
+<l>Loved all the more by Earth’s male lands,</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'><q rend="pre: none">Laid to their hearts instead.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+Is the Genius of Italy, the Sibyl of Cumae, still
+living, we wonder, in some dim recess, some secret
+cavern of Cimmerian gloom, beneath those decaying
+heaps of the ancient Greek city? She was old, very
+old, we know, when pious Aeneas found her shrieking
+her strange prophecies, and that was long ages before
+Hellenic wanderers raised a fortress upon the wooded
+heights above the dread lake of Avernus.—Venerable
+Mother of Italy! dost thou still survive muttering thy
+strange warnings in some sunless labyrinth, that the
+rapacious guides of Baiae have yet failed to penetrate?
+Art thou, like King Arthur of romantic Wales, still
+keeping watch over the destiny of thy country, ever
+ready to assist in the hour of need?
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Thy cave was stored with scrolls of strange device,</q></l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>The work of some Saturnian Archimage,</l>
+<l>Which taught the expiations at whose price</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>Men from the gods might win that happy age</l>
+<l>Too lightly lost, redeeming native vice;</l>
+<l rend='margin-left: 3'>And which might quench the earth-consuming rage</l>
+<l>Of gold and blood—till men should live and move</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Harmonious as the sacred stars above.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<p>
+For Italy has not wholly forgotten her ancient
+guardian and soothsayer, who welcomed the founder of
+the victorious Roman race; nor did the artists of the
+revived glories of the Renaissance neglect to honour
+<pb n='319'/><anchor id='Pg319'/>the mysterious priestess of the Cimmerian shore.
+With prophetic mien the Sibyl of Cumae, that
+Michelangelo depicted, watches ever the come-and-go
+of humanity from her lofty post within Pope
+Sixtus’ Chapel, bidding all remember her ancient
+prophecy of the Judgment Day, which the Roman
+Church has included in one of its most solemn
+canticles:
+</p>
+
+<lg>
+<l><q rend="post: none">Dies Irae! Dies illa!</q></l>
+<l>Solvet saeclum in favilla,</l>
+<l><q rend="pre: none">Teste David cum Sibylla.</q></l>
+</lg>
+
+<pb n='320'/><anchor id='Pg320'/>
+</div></body>
+        <back><div rend="page-break-before: right">
+<pb n='321'/><anchor id='Pg321'/>
+<index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="Index"/>
+<head>INDEX</head>
+
+<list>
+<item>Abbondanza, Via dell’, <ref target="Pg051">51</ref></item>
+
+<item>Abruzzi Mountains, <ref target="Pg036">36</ref>, <ref target="Pg122">122</ref>, <ref target="Pg222">222</ref></item>
+
+<item>Acre, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref></item>
+
+<item>Adrian IV., Pope, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+
+<item>Agerola, <ref target="Pg123">123</ref></item>
+
+<item>Agropoli, <ref target="Pg209">209</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alberada, <ref target="Pg181">181</ref></item>
+
+<item>Albergo Cappuccini, <ref target="Pg128">128</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alcubier, <ref target="Pg011">11</ref></item>
+
+<item>Aleppo, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alexander of Epirus, <ref target="Pg206">206</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alexandria, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alexius, Emperor, <ref target="Pg179">179</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, <ref target="Pg242">242</ref></item>
+
+<item>Algiers, <ref target="Pg056">56</ref></item>
+
+<item>Alphonso V. of Naples, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item>Amalfi, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg036">36</ref>, <ref target="Pg100">100</ref>, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref>, <ref target="Pg112">112</ref>, <ref target="Pg126">126</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ana-Capri, <ref target="Pg249">249</ref>, <ref target="Pg259">259</ref>, <ref target="Pg271">271</ref></item>
+
+<item>Angelo, Monte S., <ref target="Pg028">28</ref>, <ref target="Pg030">30</ref>, <ref target="Pg063">63</ref>, <ref target="Pg076">76</ref></item>
+
+<item>Annunziata, Torre, <ref target="Pg019">19</ref>, <ref target="Pg092">92</ref>, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref></item>
+
+<item>Aosta, Duke and Duchess of, <ref target="Pg093">93</ref>, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref></item>
+
+<item>Appian Way, <ref target="Pg062">62</ref></item>
+
+<item>Apulia, <ref target="Pg181">181</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— William of, <ref target="Pg135">135</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arabia, <ref target="Pg134">134</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arco, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arguth, Joseph, <ref target="Pg292">292</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ariosto, Ludovico, <ref target="Pg239">239</ref></item>
+
+<item>Aristarchus, <ref target="Pg312">312</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arno, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arnold of Brescia, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arriengo, <ref target="Pg123">123</ref></item>
+
+<item>Arthur, King, <ref target="Pg318">318</ref></item>
+
+<item>Athens, <ref target="Pg028">28</ref>, <ref target="Pg039">39</ref>, <ref target="Pg058">58</ref></item>
+
+<item>Atrani, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref></item>
+
+<item>Atrio del Cavallo, <ref target="Pg077">77</ref></item>
+
+<item>Augustus, Emperor, <ref target="Pg059">59</ref>, <ref target="Pg069">69</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— Temple of, <ref target="Pg313">313</ref></item>
+
+<item>Aulus Vettius, Corvina, <ref target="Pg055">55</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— —— Restitutus, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref>, <ref target="Pg055">55</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ausonius, <ref target="Pg208">208</ref></item>
+
+<item>Avicenna, <ref target="Pg177">177</ref></item>
+
+<item>Avvocata, Madonna dell’, <ref target="Pg166">166</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+<item>Baghdad, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bagnoli, <ref target="Pg296">296</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Baiæ">Baiae</corr>, <ref target="Pg253">253</ref>, <ref target="Pg307">307</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bajalardo, Pietro, <ref target="Pg117">117</ref></item>
+
+<item>Barbary, <ref target="Pg209">209</ref></item>
+
+<item>Barisanus of Trani, <ref target="Pg159">159</ref></item>
+
+<item>Barra, La, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref></item>
+
+<item>Battipaglia, <ref target="Pg198">198</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bembo, Cardinal, <ref target="Pg282">282</ref></item>
+
+<item>Benevento, <ref target="Pg111">111</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bergamo, <ref target="Pg240">240</ref></item>
+
+<item>Berkeley, Bishop, <ref target="Pg293">293</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bismarck, <ref target="Pg186">186</ref></item>
+
+<item>Boccaccio, <ref target="Pg137">137</ref>, <ref target="Pg157">157</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bohemond, <ref target="Pg179">179</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bomba, King, <ref target="Pg006">6</ref>, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg016">16</ref>, <ref target="Pg109">109</ref>, <ref target="Pg284">284</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bosco-Trecase, <ref target="Pg092">92</ref>, <ref target="Pg097">97</ref></item>
+
+<item>Bowdler, Mr, <ref target="Pg081">81</ref></item>
+
+<item>Braccini, Abate, <ref target="Pg077">77</ref></item>
+
+<item>Breakspear, Nicholas, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+
+<item>Browning, R., <ref target="Pg033">33</ref>, <ref target="Pg036">36</ref>, <ref target="Pg183">183</ref></item>
+
+<item>Brunetto Latini, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Butomilea, Landolfo, <ref target="Pg182">182</ref></item>
+
+<item>Byzantium, <ref target="Pg118">118</ref>, <ref target="Pg142">142</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+<item><corr sic="Cæcilius">Caecilius</corr> Jucundus, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cairo, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Caligula, Emperor, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg308">308</ref></item>
+
+<item>Camaldoli, <ref target="Pg018">18</ref>, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref></item>
+
+<item>Campagna Felice, <ref target="Pg066">66</ref></item>
+
+<item>Campanella, Punta della, <ref target="Pg112">112</ref></item>
+
+<item>Canneto, <ref target="Pg132">132</ref>, <ref target="Pg140">140</ref></item>
+
+<item>Canossa, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref>, <ref target="Pg186">186</ref></item>
+
+<pb n='322'/><anchor id='Pg322'/>
+
+<item>Capaccio, <ref target="Pg209">209</ref>, <ref target="Pg262">262</ref></item>
+<item>Capodimonte, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Capri, <ref target="Pg004">4</ref>, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg013">13</ref>, <ref target="Pg045">45</ref>, <ref target="Pg063">63</ref>, <ref target="Pg074">74</ref>, <ref target="Pg090">90</ref>, <ref target="Pg112">112</ref>, <ref target="Pg249">249</ref></item>
+
+<item>Capua, <ref target="Pg066">66</ref></item>
+
+<item>Capuano, Cardinal Pietro, <ref target="Pg126">126</ref>, <ref target="Pg143">143</ref></item>
+
+<item>Caracciolo, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Cardenas">Cardeñas</corr>, Bishop, <ref target="Pg305">305</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cariteo, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item><q>Carlo il Zoppo,</q> <ref target="Pg102">102</ref>, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref>, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Carmine, Church of the, <ref target="Pg105">105</ref></item>
+
+<item>Casamicciola, <ref target="Pg284">284</ref></item>
+
+<item>Casa Nuova, <ref target="Pg053">53</ref></item>
+
+<item>Castellamare, <ref target="Pg018">18</ref>, <ref target="Pg025">25</ref>, <ref target="Pg026">26</ref>, <ref target="Pg100">100</ref>, <ref target="Pg113">113</ref></item>
+
+<item><hi rend='italic'>Castor and Pollux, The</hi>, <ref target="Pg311">311</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cathay, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cava, La, <ref target="Pg113">113</ref></item>
+
+<item>Celestine V., Pope, <ref target="Pg292">292</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cellini, Benvenuto, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cephalonia, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cerrato, Monte, <ref target="Pg168">168</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cetara, <ref target="Pg134">134</ref>, <ref target="Pg170">170</ref></item>
+
+<item>Chalcidicum, <ref target="Pg049">49</ref></item>
+
+<item>Charles III. of Naples, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— VIII. of France, <ref target="Pg307">307</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— of Anjou, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref>, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref>, <ref target="Pg167">167</ref></item>
+
+<item>Chiabrera, <ref target="Pg089">89</ref></item>
+
+<item>Chiaja, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Chiosse, Monte di, <ref target="Pg119">119</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cicero, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+<item>Clement VIII., Pope, <ref target="Pg167">167</ref></item>
+
+<item>Clementia, Princess, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref></item>
+
+<item>Clodius Glabrus, <ref target="Pg070">70</ref></item>
+
+<item>Cluny, <ref target="Pg184">184</ref></item>
+
+<item>Colonna, Giuliano, <ref target="Pg104">104</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— Vittoria, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item>Conca, Capo di, <ref target="Pg125">125</ref></item>
+
+<item>Concordia Augusta, <ref target="Pg051">51</ref></item>
+
+<item>Conradin, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+
+<item>Constantinople, <ref target="Pg080">80</ref>, <ref target="Pg134">134</ref></item>
+
+<item>Coppola, Monte, <ref target="Pg028">28</ref>, <ref target="Pg167">167</ref></item>
+
+<item>Corniche Road, <ref target="Pg100">100</ref></item>
+
+<item>Costantinopoli, Strada, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Crassus, <ref target="Pg070">70</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Cumæ">Cumae</corr>, <ref target="Pg004">4</ref>, <ref target="Pg317">317</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Damecuta, <ref target="Pg261">261</ref></item>
+
+<item>Dante, <ref target="Pg120">120</ref>, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref>, <ref target="Pg239">239</ref>, <ref target="Pg278">278</ref></item>
+
+<item>Devonshire, <ref target="Pg107">107</ref></item>
+
+<item>Domenichino, <ref target="Pg161">161</ref></item>
+
+<item>Domitiana, Via, <ref target="Pg062">62</ref></item>
+
+<item>Dragone, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref></item>
+
+<item>Dumas, A., <ref target="Pg009">9</ref>, <ref target="Pg314">314</ref></item>
+
+<item>Durazzo, <ref target="Pg178">178</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Eboli, <ref target="Pg198">198</ref></item>
+
+<item>Elbœuf, Prince d’, <ref target="Pg011">11</ref></item>
+
+<item>Epidius Rufus, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+<item>Epirus, <ref target="Pg178">178</ref></item>
+
+<item>Etna, <ref target="Pg077">77</ref>, <ref target="Pg291">291</ref></item>
+
+<item>Eumachia, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref>, <ref target="Pg049">49</ref></item>
+
+<item>Exeter, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Faito, Monte, <ref target="Pg037">37</ref></item>
+
+<item>Falerio, Monte, <ref target="Pg170">170</ref></item>
+
+<item>Faliero, Marino, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref></item>
+
+<item>Farnese, Elizabeth, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— Pier-Luigi, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ferdinand, King, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref>, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref>, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ferrara, <ref target="Pg240">240</ref>, <ref target="Pg248">248</ref></item>
+
+<item>Filangieri, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref></item>
+
+<item>Fiorelli, Signor, <ref target="Pg053">53</ref></item>
+
+<item>Florence, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref>, <ref target="Pg112">112</ref>, <ref target="Pg132">132</ref>, <ref target="Pg148">148</ref></item>
+
+<item>Florus, <ref target="Pg070">70</ref></item>
+
+<item>Forio, <ref target="Pg289">289</ref></item>
+
+<item>Forsyth, J., <ref target="Pg181">181</ref></item>
+
+<item>Francis, King, <ref target="Pg109">109</ref></item>
+
+<item>Frederick II., Emperor, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref>, <ref target="Pg210">210</ref></item>
+
+<item>Fuga, <ref target="Pg159">159</ref></item>
+
+<item>Fuorigrotta, <ref target="Pg295">295</ref></item>
+
+<item>Furore, <ref target="Pg123">123</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Gaeta, <ref target="Pg016">16</ref>, <ref target="Pg036">36</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— Bay of, <ref target="Pg004">4</ref></item>
+
+<item>Galen, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref>, <ref target="Pg177">177</ref></item>
+
+<item>Garibaldi, <ref target="Pg006">6</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gaurus, Mons, <ref target="Pg057">57</ref>, <ref target="Pg076">76</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gavinius, <ref target="Pg208">208</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gazola, Count, <ref target="Pg211">211</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gell, Sir William, <ref target="Pg044">44</ref></item>
+
+<item>Genoa, <ref target="Pg157">157</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gibbon, Edward, <ref target="Pg175">175</ref>, <ref target="Pg309">309</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gioja, Flavio, <ref target="Pg119">119</ref></item>
+
+<item>Glaucus, <ref target="Pg261">261</ref></item>
+
+<item>Goethe, <ref target="Pg013">13</ref>, <ref target="Pg212">212</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gragnano, <ref target="Pg020">20</ref></item>
+
+<item>Greco, Torre del, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg013">13</ref>, <ref target="Pg018">18</ref>, <ref target="Pg077">77</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gregory VII., Pope, <ref target="Pg178">178</ref></item>
+
+<item>Grotta Azzurra, <ref target="Pg259">259</ref></item>
+<pb n='323'/><anchor id='Pg323'/>
+
+<item>Grotta Verde, <ref target="Pg262">262</ref></item>
+<item>Guallo, <ref target="Pg116">116</ref></item>
+
+<item>Guiscard, Robert, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg136">136</ref>, <ref target="Pg155">155</ref>, <ref target="Pg174">174</ref></item>
+
+<item>Gurgitello, <ref target="Pg285">285</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Hale, Sir Matthew, <ref target="Pg110">110</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hamill, Major, <ref target="Pg271">271</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hamilton, Sir William, <ref target="Pg080">80</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hare, Augustus, <ref target="Pg007">7</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hart, Emma, <ref target="Pg080">80</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hauteville, House of, <ref target="Pg174">174</ref></item>
+
+<item>Helbig, <ref target="Pg044">44</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hélène, Princess, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref></item>
+
+<item>Henry IV., Emperor, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref></item>
+
+<item>Herculaneum, <ref target="Pg001">1</ref>, <ref target="Pg009">9</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— Gate of, <ref target="Pg062">62</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hermolaus, <ref target="Pg162">162</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hildebrand, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref>, <ref target="Pg182">182</ref>, <ref target="Pg184">184</ref></item>
+
+<item>Hippocrates, <ref target="Pg177">177</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Hohenstauffen">Hohenstaufen</corr>, <ref target="Pg163">163</ref></item>
+<item>Homer, <ref target="Pg114">114</ref></item>
+
+
+<item>House of the Surgeon, <ref target="Pg043">43</ref>, <ref target="Pg056">56</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— Vettii, <ref target="Pg053">53</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Innocent IV., Pope, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ischia, <ref target="Pg004">4</ref>, <ref target="Pg013">13</ref>, <ref target="Pg078">78</ref>, <ref target="Pg241">241</ref>, <ref target="Pg252">252</ref>, <ref target="Pg275">275</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Joanna II., Queen, <ref target="Pg144">144</ref>, <ref target="Pg299">299</ref></item>
+
+<item>John XVI., Pope, <ref target="Pg167">167</ref></item>
+
+<item>John of Procida, <ref target="Pg184">184</ref></item>
+
+<item>Julius the Centurion, <ref target="Pg311">311</ref></item>
+
+<item>Jupiter, Temple of, <ref target="Pg052">52</ref></item>
+
+<item>Justinian, Emperor, <ref target="Pg135">135</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Keats, John, <ref target="Pg229">229</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>La Barra, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref></item>
+
+<item>La Cava, <ref target="Pg172">172</ref>, <ref target="Pg198">198</ref></item>
+
+<item>La Scala, <ref target="Pg166">166</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lacaita, Mr, <ref target="Pg262">262</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lacco, <ref target="Pg288">288</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lactarian Hills, <ref target="Pg101">101</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ladislaus II., King, <ref target="Pg299">299</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lamarque, Gen., <ref target="Pg271">271</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lauretta, <ref target="Pg157">157</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lavoro, Terra di, <ref target="Pg018">18</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lenormant, F., <ref target="Pg214">214</ref></item>
+
+<item>Leo XIII., Pope, <ref target="Pg288">288</ref></item>
+
+<item>Leonora d’Este, <ref target="Pg243">243</ref>, <ref target="Pg248">248</ref></item>
+
+<item>Leopardi, Giacomo, <ref target="Pg295">295</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lepanto, <ref target="Pg246">246</ref></item>
+
+<item>Libella, <ref target="Pg064">64</ref></item>
+
+<item>Livia, <ref target="Pg050">50</ref></item>
+
+<item>Livy, <ref target="Pg073">73</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lowe, Sir Hudson, <ref target="Pg271">271</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lubrense, Massa, <ref target="Pg122">122</ref></item>
+
+<item>Lucrine Lake, <ref target="Pg313">313</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ludius, <ref target="Pg059">59</ref></item>
+
+<item>Luke, <ref target="Pg312">312</ref></item>
+
+</list><list>
+
+    <item>Maddalena, Ponte della, <ref target="Pg084">84</ref></item>
+
+<item>Majori, <ref target="Pg166">166</ref></item>
+
+<item>Malta, <ref target="Pg311">311</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mammia, <ref target="Pg064">64</ref></item>
+
+<item>Manches, Colonel, <ref target="Pg273">273</ref></item>
+
+<item>Manfred, King, <ref target="Pg087">87</ref>, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref>, <ref target="Pg184">184</ref></item>
+
+<item>Manso, <ref target="Pg243">243</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mansone II., Doge, <ref target="Pg118">118</ref></item>
+
+<item>Macellum, <ref target="Pg052">52</ref></item>
+
+<item>Marcellus II., Pope, <ref target="Pg280">280</ref></item>
+
+<item>Margaret of Durazzo, <ref target="Pg189">189</ref></item>
+
+<item>Marina, Porta, <ref target="Pg039">39</ref>, <ref target="Pg045">45</ref></item>
+
+<item>Martin V., Pope, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Mateucci">Matteucci</corr>, Professor, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref>, <ref target="Pg097">97</ref></item>
+
+<item>Matilda, Countess, <ref target="Pg185">185</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mau, <ref target="Pg044">44</ref></item>
+
+<item>Maurice, <ref target="Pg142">142</ref></item>
+
+<item>Maximian, Emperor, <ref target="Pg162">162</ref></item>
+
+<item>Melfi, <ref target="Pg133">133</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mercato, Il, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref>, <ref target="Pg096">96</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mercury, Temple of, <ref target="Pg052">52</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mergellina, <ref target="Pg096">96</ref></item>
+
+<item>Messina, <ref target="Pg091">91</ref></item>
+
+<item>Meta, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref></item>
+
+<item>Metastasio, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref></item>
+
+<item>Michelangelo, <ref target="Pg283">283</ref>, <ref target="Pg319">319</ref></item>
+
+<item>Milan, <ref target="Pg278">278</ref></item>
+
+<item>Minerva, Cape of, <ref target="Pg112">112</ref>, <ref target="Pg117">117</ref>, <ref target="Pg153">153</ref></item>
+
+<item>Minori, <ref target="Pg166">166</ref></item>
+
+<item>Misenum, <ref target="Pg071">71</ref>, <ref target="Pg074">74</ref>, <ref target="Pg249">249</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mole of Puteoli, <ref target="Pg308">308</ref></item>
+
+<item>Monreale, <ref target="Pg159">159</ref></item>
+
+<item>Mont’ Epomeo, <ref target="Pg290">290</ref></item>
+
+<item>Montapertuso, <ref target="Pg119">119</ref></item>
+
+<item>Monte Nuovo, <ref target="Pg313">313</ref></item>
+
+<item>Montorio, S. Pietro in, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Montpensier, Duke of, <ref target="Pg307">307</ref></item>
+
+<item>Murat, Joachim, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref></item>
+
+<item>Muscettola, Sergio, <ref target="Pg159">159</ref></item>
+
+<item>Museo Nazionale, <ref target="Pg001">1</ref></item>
+</list>
+<pb n='324'/><anchor id='Pg324'/>
+<list>
+
+<item>Naccarino, <ref target="Pg145">145</ref></item>
+
+<item>Napoleon, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref></item>
+
+<item>Natale, Michele, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nelson, <ref target="Pg104">104</ref>, <ref target="Pg269">269</ref></item>
+
+<item>Neptune, Temple of, <ref target="Pg212">212</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nero, Emperor, <ref target="Pg308">308</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nicholas II., Pope, <ref target="Pg176">176</ref>, <ref target="Pg185">185</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nicomedia, <ref target="Pg162">162</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nisida, <ref target="Pg297">297</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nola, <ref target="Pg041">41</ref></item>
+
+<item>Nuceria, <ref target="Pg041">41</ref>, <ref target="Pg173">173</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Ochino, Bernardino, <ref target="Pg280">280</ref></item>
+
+<item>Oliveto, Monte, <ref target="Pg096">96</ref></item>
+
+<item>Orico, <ref target="Pg271">271</ref></item>
+
+<item>Orlando, Capo d’, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref></item>
+
+<item>Oscan inhabitants, <ref target="Pg041">41</ref></item>
+
+<item>Otranto, <ref target="Pg178">178</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ottajano, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref>, <ref target="Pg098">98</ref></item>
+
+<item>Overbeck, <ref target="Pg044">44</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ovid, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref>, <ref target="Pg261">261</ref>, <ref target="Pg291">291</ref></item>
+
+<item>Oxford, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item><corr sic="Pæstum">Paestum</corr>, <ref target="Pg041">41</ref>, <ref target="Pg057">57</ref>, <ref target="Pg143">143</ref>, <ref target="Pg173">173</ref>, <ref target="Pg182">182</ref>, <ref target="Pg198">198</ref></item>
+
+<item>Palermo, <ref target="Pg091">91</ref>, <ref target="Pg159">159</ref></item>
+
+<item>Palumbo, <ref target="Pg155">155</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pansa, the Ædile, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pantaleone, <ref target="Pg142">142</ref>, <ref target="Pg148">148</ref>, <ref target="Pg161">161</ref></item>
+
+<item>Paolo Giovio, <ref target="Pg278">278</ref></item>
+
+<item>Paris, Comte de, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref></item>
+
+<item>Parthenope, <ref target="Pg249">249</ref></item>
+
+<item>Paul III., Pope, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pavia, <ref target="Pg279">279</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pedimentina, La, <ref target="Pg077">77</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pericles, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+<item>Pescara, Marquis of, <ref target="Pg278">278</ref></item>
+
+
+<item>Petrarch, <ref target="Pg116">116</ref>, <ref target="Pg138">138</ref>, <ref target="Pg239">239</ref>, <ref target="Pg299">299</ref></item>
+
+<item>Philip the Bold, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref></item>
+
+<item>Phillips, John, <ref target="Pg068">68</ref></item>
+
+<item>Philodemus, <ref target="Pg010">10</ref></item>
+
+<item>Piacenza, <ref target="Pg185">185</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Pimental">Pimentel</corr>, Eleonora, <ref target="Pg104">104</ref></item>
+
+<item>Piperno, Pietro, <ref target="Pg111">111</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pisa, <ref target="Pg136">136</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pistoja, <ref target="Pg240">240</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pius II., Pope, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref>, <ref target="Pg144">144</ref></item>
+
+<item>Plato, <ref target="Pg058">58</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pliny, <ref target="Pg059">59</ref>, <ref target="Pg071">71</ref>, <ref target="Pg076">76</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pliny the younger, <ref target="Pg071">71</ref></item>
+
+<item>Plutarch, <ref target="Pg070">70</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pole, Cardinal, <ref target="Pg280">280</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pompeii, <ref target="Pg001">1</ref>, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg024">24</ref>, <ref target="Pg038">38</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pomponianus, <ref target="Pg072">72</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pontone, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref></item>
+
+<item>Portici, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg080">80</ref>, <ref target="Pg088">88</ref>, <ref target="Pg097">97</ref></item>
+
+<item>Porzia de’ Rossi, <ref target="Pg240">240</ref></item>
+
+<item>Posilipo, <ref target="Pg001">1</ref>, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg037">37</ref>, <ref target="Pg295">295</ref></item>
+
+<item>Positano, <ref target="Pg119">119</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pozzano, <ref target="Pg037">37</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pozzopiano, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref></item>
+
+<item>Pozzuoli, <ref target="Pg109">109</ref>, <ref target="Pg301">301</ref></item>
+
+<item>Prajano, <ref target="Pg124">124</ref></item>
+
+<item>Procida, <ref target="Pg004">4</ref>, <ref target="Pg237">237</ref>, <ref target="Pg275">275</ref></item>
+
+<item>Puteoli, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg295">295</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Quisisana, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref>, <ref target="Pg037">37</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Ravello, <ref target="Pg134">134</ref>, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref></item>
+
+<item>Reggio, <ref target="Pg311">311</ref></item>
+
+<item>Reid, Mr, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref>, <ref target="Pg262">262</ref></item>
+
+<item>Renée, Duchess of Ferrara, <ref target="Pg280">280</ref></item>
+
+<item>Resina, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg079">79</ref>, <ref target="Pg088">88</ref>, <ref target="Pg098">98</ref></item>
+
+<item>Retina, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref>, <ref target="Pg072">72</ref></item>
+
+<item>Revigliano, <ref target="Pg026">26</ref></item>
+
+<item>Rhegium, <ref target="Pg311">311</ref></item>
+
+<item>Robert of Normandy, <ref target="Pg178">178</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— the Wise, <ref target="Pg116">116</ref>, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+
+<item>Roger, Count, <ref target="Pg155">155</ref>, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref></item>
+
+<item>—— King, <ref target="Pg116">116</ref>, <ref target="Pg136">136</ref></item>
+
+<item>Rome, <ref target="Pg039">39</ref>, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref>, <ref target="Pg144">144</ref>, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref>, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref>, <ref target="Pg312">312</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ruffo, Cardinal, <ref target="Pg104">104</ref></item>
+
+<item>Rufolo, <corr sic="Nicolò">Niccolò</corr>, <ref target="Pg155">155</ref>, <ref target="Pg160">160</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>S. Agnello, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Alessio al Lavinaio, <ref target="Pg105">105</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Angelo, <ref target="Pg013">13</ref>, <ref target="Pg119">119</ref>, <ref target="Pg122">122</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Bridget of Sweden, <ref target="Pg144">144</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Brigida, <ref target="Pg003">3</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Chiara, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Costanzo, <ref target="Pg251">251</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Elia, Punta, <ref target="Pg117">117</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Elmo, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref>, <ref target="Pg067">67</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Francis of Assisi, <ref target="Pg144">144</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Gennaro, <ref target="Pg298">298</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Giovanni a Teduccio, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Giovanni del Toro, <ref target="Pg164">164</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Giuseppe, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Luca, <ref target="Pg124">124</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Lucia, <ref target="Pg003">3</ref></item>
+<pb n='325'/><anchor id='Pg325'/>
+
+<item>S. Maria a Pozzano, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref></item>
+<item>S. Maria del Gradillo, <ref target="Pg162">162</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Maria di Pompeii, <ref target="Pg065">65</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Martino, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Matteo, <ref target="Pg173">173</ref>, <ref target="Pg181">181</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Michael, <ref target="Pg035">35</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Miniato, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Paul, <ref target="Pg312">312</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Pietro, Punta di, <ref target="Pg123">123</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Proculo, <ref target="Pg307">307</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Restituta, <ref target="Pg291">291</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Romualdo, <ref target="Pg019">19</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Salvatore a Bireta, <ref target="Pg153">153</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Trinità, <ref target="Pg172">172</ref></item>
+
+<item>S. Vitale, <ref target="Pg296">296</ref></item>
+
+<item>Salerno, <ref target="Pg004">4</ref>, <ref target="Pg036">36</ref>, <ref target="Pg111">111</ref>, <ref target="Pg117">117</ref>, <ref target="Pg133">133</ref>, <ref target="Pg172">172</ref></item>
+
+<item>Samnite Hills, <ref target="Pg212">212</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Sannazaro">Sannazzaro</corr>, <ref target="Pg295">295</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sanseverini, <ref target="Pg169">169</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sardinia, <ref target="Pg015">15</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sarno, <ref target="Pg026">26</ref>, <ref target="Pg041">41</ref>, <ref target="Pg095">95</ref></item>
+
+<item>Scala, <ref target="Pg134">134</ref>, <ref target="Pg167">167</ref></item>
+
+<item>Scaletta, <ref target="Pg152">152</ref></item>
+
+<item>Scaricotojo, Lo, <ref target="Pg113">113</ref>, <ref target="Pg118">118</ref></item>
+
+<item>Scutolo, Punta di, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sebeto, <ref target="Pg008">8</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sejanus, <ref target="Pg256">256</ref></item>
+
+<item>Serapis, Temple of, <ref target="Pg308">308</ref></item>
+
+<item>Serra, Gennaro, <ref target="Pg104">104</ref></item>
+
+<item>Shelley, <ref target="Pg013">13</ref>, <ref target="Pg033">33</ref>, <ref target="Pg064">64</ref></item>
+
+<item>Shrewsbury, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sibyl of Cumae, <ref target="Pg318">318</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sicily, <ref target="Pg015">15</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sigilgaita, <ref target="Pg161">161</ref>, <ref target="Pg179">179</ref></item>
+
+<item>Silarus, <ref target="Pg198">198</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sirens, Isles of the, <ref target="Pg114">114</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sixtus IV., Pope, <ref target="Pg318">318</ref></item>
+
+<item>Smith, Sir Sydney, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref></item>
+
+<item>Soana, <ref target="Pg184">184</ref></item>
+
+<item>Socrates, <ref target="Pg040">40</ref></item>
+
+<item>Solaro, <ref target="Pg268">268</ref></item>
+
+<item>Soldan, <ref target="Pg246">246</ref></item>
+
+<item>Somma, Monte, <ref target="Pg067">67</ref>, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref>, <ref target="Pg099">99</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sorrentine Plain, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sorrento, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg090">90</ref>, <ref target="Pg221">221</ref></item>
+
+<item>Sottile, Cape, <ref target="Pg123">123</ref></item>
+
+<item>Spartacus, <ref target="Pg069">69</ref>, <ref target="Pg076">76</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Stabiæ">Stabiae</corr>, <ref target="Pg026">26</ref>, <ref target="Pg072">72</ref>, <ref target="Pg076">76</ref></item>
+
+<item>Stamer, W. J. A., <ref target="Pg016">16</ref>, <ref target="Pg052">52</ref>, <ref target="Pg238">238</ref>, <ref target="Pg265">265</ref>, <ref target="Pg316">316</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Straurachios">Staurachios</corr>, <ref target="Pg142">142</ref></item>
+
+<item>Stolberg, Count, <ref target="Pg202">202</ref></item>
+
+<item>Stowe, Mrs H. B., <ref target="Pg016">16</ref></item>
+
+<item>Strabo, <ref target="Pg069">69</ref>, <ref target="Pg275">275</ref></item>
+
+<item>Strada Costantinopoli, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item rend='margin-left: 2'>&nbsp;&nbsp;„&nbsp;&nbsp;de’ Tribunali, <ref target="Pg003">3</ref></item>
+
+<item>Stromboli, <ref target="Pg091">91</ref></item>
+
+<item>Suetonius, <ref target="Pg256">256</ref></item>
+
+<item>Syracuse, <ref target="Pg058">58</ref>, <ref target="Pg107">107</ref>, <ref target="Pg311">311</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Tacca, <ref target="Pg051">51</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tacitus, <ref target="Pg069">69</ref>, <ref target="Pg071">71</ref>, <ref target="Pg073">73</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tafuri, Bishop, <ref target="Pg159">159</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tancred of Hauteville, <ref target="Pg178">178</ref>, <ref target="Pg180">180</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tarver, J. C., <ref target="Pg258">258</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tasso, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref>, <ref target="Pg145">145</ref>, <ref target="Pg239">239</ref></item>
+<item rend='margin-left: 2'>&nbsp;&nbsp;„&nbsp;&nbsp;Bernardo, <ref target="Pg106">106</ref>, <ref target="Pg240">240</ref>, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item>Theocritus, <ref target="Pg154">154</ref>, <ref target="Pg292">292</ref></item>
+
+<item><corr sic="Thermæ">Thermae</corr> of Nero, <ref target="Pg316">316</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tiber, <ref target="Pg116">116</ref>, <ref target="Pg156">156</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tiberius, Emperor, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg050">50</ref>, <ref target="Pg253">253</ref>, <ref target="Pg308">308</ref></item>
+
+<item>Timgad, <ref target="Pg038">38</ref></item>
+
+<item>Timothy, <ref target="Pg312">312</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tiridates, <ref target="Pg308">308</ref></item>
+
+<item>Titian, <ref target="Pg027">27</ref></item>
+
+<item>Titus, Emperor, <ref target="Pg010">10</ref>, <ref target="Pg057">57</ref>, <ref target="Pg071">71</ref>, <ref target="Pg076">76</ref></item>
+
+<item>Toledo, The, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Torregaveta, <ref target="Pg275">275</ref>, <ref target="Pg317">317</ref></item>
+
+<item>Trafalgar, <ref target="Pg270">270</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tragara, <ref target="Pg263">263</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tripoli, <ref target="Pg015">15</ref></item>
+
+<item>Tunis, <ref target="Pg056">56</ref>, <ref target="Pg246">246</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Ulysses, <ref target="Pg114">114</ref></item>
+
+<item>Urban IV., Pope, <ref target="Pg144">144</ref></item>
+
+<item>Ustica, <ref target="Pg091">91</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Vaccaro, Il, <ref target="Pg084">84</ref></item>
+
+<item>Valentinian, Emperor, <ref target="Pg208">208</ref></item>
+
+<item>Valley of the Mills, <ref target="Pg140">140</ref>, <ref target="Pg149">149</ref></item>
+
+<item>Venice, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref>, <ref target="Pg112">112</ref>, <ref target="Pg134">134</ref>, <ref target="Pg148">148</ref></item>
+
+<item>Venosa, <ref target="Pg181">181</ref></item>
+
+<item>Venus, Temple of, <ref target="Pg052">52</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vergil, <ref target="Pg208">208</ref>, <ref target="Pg211">211</ref>, <ref target="Pg275">275</ref>, <ref target="Pg296">296</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vesuvius, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg011">11</ref>, <ref target="Pg036">36</ref>, <ref target="Pg066">66</ref></item>
+
+<item>Via Domitiana, <ref target="Pg062">62</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vico Equense, <ref target="Pg031">31</ref>, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref>, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref></item>
+
+<item>Victor III., Pope, <ref target="Pg155">155</ref></item>
+
+<item>Victor Emmanuel III., King of Italy, <ref target="Pg094">94</ref></item>
+<pb n='326'/><anchor id='Pg326'/>
+
+<item>Vietri, <ref target="Pg165">165</ref>, <ref target="Pg171">171</ref></item>
+<item>Vigna Sersale, <ref target="Pg247">247</ref></item>
+
+<item>Villa Jovis, <ref target="Pg254">254</ref></item>
+
+<item>Villa Reale, <ref target="Pg002">2</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vincenzo, <ref target="Pg037">37</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vitruvius, <ref target="Pg060">60</ref>, <ref target="Pg069">69</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vittoria Colonna, <ref target="Pg005">5</ref>, <ref target="Pg277">277</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vivara, <ref target="Pg276">276</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vomero, <ref target="Pg003">3</ref></item>
+
+<item>Vozzi Family, <ref target="Pg127">127</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Wales, <ref target="Pg107">107</ref>, <ref target="Pg318">318</ref></item>
+
+<item>William <corr sic="Bras de Fer">Bras-de-Fer</corr>, <ref target="Pg174">174</ref></item>
+
+<item>Wordsworth, <ref target="Pg033">33</ref></item>
+
+<item>Worms, <ref target="Pg185">185</ref></item>
+</list><list>
+<item>Zampognari, <ref target="Pg233">233</ref></item>
+
+<item>Zoppo, Carlo <corr sic="Il">il</corr>, <ref target="Pg102">102</ref>, <ref target="Pg103">103</ref>, <ref target="Pg121">121</ref></item>
+</list>   
+        </div>
+            <div>
+            <pgIf output="pdf">
+                <then></then>
+                <else>
+                    <div id="footnotes" rend="page-break-before: right">
+                        <index index="toc"/>
+                        <head>Footnotes</head>
+                        <divGen type="footnotes" />
+                    </div>
+                </else>
+            </pgIf>
+        </div>
+        <div rend="page-break-before: right; x-class: boxed">
+            <index index="toc"/><index index="pdf" level1="Transcriber's Note"/>
+                <head>Transcriber&rsquo;s Note</head>
+            <p>The caption of two images (<ref target="frontis">frontispiece</ref>, 
+                <ref target="illus22">page 288</ref>) has been supplied from the List of Images.</p>
+                <p>The following obvious typographical errors have been corrected:</p>
+                <list>
+                    <item><ref target="corrxi">page xi</ref>, <q>Republiques</q> changed to <q>Républiques</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr055">page 55</ref>, <q>castastrophe</q> changed to <q>catastrophe</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr090">page 90</ref>, quote mark added after <q>vendemmia?</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr158">page 158, footnote</ref>, italics added to <q>The Decameron</q>,
+                    removed from <q>Novel IV. of the Second Day</q>.
+                        (Other inconsistencies between the two citations of the <hi rend="italic">Decameron</hi>
+                        were not changed.)</item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr159">page 159</ref>, <q>mosiac</q> changed to <q>mosaic</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr189">page 189</ref>, <q>gradully</q> changed to <q>gradually</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr206">page 206</ref>, <q>Pæstum</q> changed to <q>Paestum</q>
+                        (<ref target="corr206a">twice</ref>)</item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr212">page 212</ref>, <q>wheron</q> changed to <q>whereon</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr238">page 238</ref>, <q>circomstane</q> changed to <q>circomstance</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr241">page 241</ref>, double <q>the</q> removed</item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr275">page 275</ref>, <q>costing</q> changed to <q>coasting</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr300">page 300</ref>, <q>maledicton</q> changed to <q>malediction</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr301">page 301</ref>, <q>then</q> changed to <q>than</q></item>
+                    <item><ref target="corr311">page 311</ref>, <q>aud</q> changed to <q>and</q></item>
+                </list>
+            
+          <p>In the Index, the following words have been changed to the spelling used in the main text:        
+          </p>
+          <list>
+            <item><q>Baiae</q> (was: <q>Baiæ</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Caecilius Jucundus</q> (was: <q>Cæcilius</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Cumae</q> (was: <q>Cumæ</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Hohenstaufen</q> (was: <q>Hohenstauffen</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Matteucci</q> (was: <q>Mateucci</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Paestum</q> (was: <q>Pæstum</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Pimentel</q> (was: <q>Pimental</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Rufolo, Niccolò</q> (was: <q>Nicoló</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Sannazzaro</q> (was: <q>Sannazaro</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Stabiae</q> (was: <q>Stabiæ</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Staurachios</q> (was: <q>Straurachios</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>Thermae of Nero</q> (was: <q>Thermæ</q>)</item>
+            <item><q>William Bras-de-Fer</q> (was: <q>Bras de Fer</q>)</item>
+              <item><q>Zoppo, Carlo il</q> (was: <q>Zoppo, Carlo Il</q>)</item>
+          </list>
+          <p>Apart from the index and two occurrences of <q>Pæstum</q> in the main text, all <q>æ</q> ligatures have been maintained:
+            <q>ædile</q> (and <q>aedile</q>),
+            <q>archæologist</q> (and <q>archaeologist</q>),
+            <q>æsthetic</q>,
+            <q>Cannæ</q>,
+            <q>Mediæval</q> (in a quotation, otherwise <q>medieval</q>),
+            <q>mærens</q>,
+            <q>Prætor</q>,
+          <q>tesseræ</q>.
+          </p>
+            
+          <p>Not changed or normalized were
+              small errors in Italian or German quotations (<q>a riverderla</q>, <q>Kultur-kampf</q>, 
+            <q>Bierhälle</q>),
+            inconsistent hyphenation (e.&nbsp;g. <q>boat-man</q>/<q>boatman</q>, <q>sea-shore</q>/<q>seashore</q>),
+            spelling variations (<q>Phlegraean</q>/<q>Phlegrean</q>)
+            and
+            unusual spellings (<q>elegible</q> [in a quotation], <q>pleisosaurus</q>, <q>innoculating</q>,
+              <q>choregraphic</q>).</p>
+        </div>
+            <div rend="page-break-before: right">
+      <divGen type="pgfooter"/>
+    </div>
+        </back>
+    </text>
+</TEI.2>
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