Few things struck our attention more keenly than the many common household articles, such as pots, kettles, and other vessels, which have been brought from Herculaneum and Pompeii. Some of them contain charred wheat, beans, almonds, plums, figs, olives, egg shells, and other things. Here, too, are fifteen loaves of bread 'burned to charcoal, but perfect in shape as when they were deposited in the oven, where they had been lying nearly two thousand years, and where they were found. A large number of papyrus books, or rolls, charred and ready to fall to pieces, likewise possess much interest. Great pains have been taken, and with some success, to learn their contents. In the Hall of the Flora there is a historical composition in mosaic, which was found, in 1831, in the House of the Faun at Pompeii. It formed a portion of the floor, and is from six to ten feet square. It is a representation of "The Battle of Alexander" at the moment when, his helmet having fallen from his head, he is charging Darius with his cavalry, "and transfixes the General of the Persians, who has fallen from his wounded horse. The chariot of the Persian Monarch is prepared for retreat, while in the foreground a Persian of rank, in order to insure the more speedy escape of the King, who is absorbed in thought at the sight of his expiring General, offers him his horse." We have a colored photograph of this mosaic. There is a good collection here of Egyptian antiquities, a collection, said to be the most extensive extant, of ancient crystal, "showing the numerous ways in which it was used by the ancients;" and an interesting collection of Renaissance works, among which are a bronze Tabernacle, very curious; an altar, with reliefs in marble; Indian and Chinese

paintings; and various kinds of Asiatic curiosities. There are numerous precious relics, consisting of beautiful cameos, gold and silver jewelry, vases. goblets, and many other objects. A loaf of bread found at Pompeii bears the name of “Q. Cranius," the baker. There is an extensive Picture Gallery, containing some paintings, regarded as masterpieces of the Italian as well as the Neapolitan school, and also a large collection of engravings here, which form an important part of the thousands of interesting objects in this vast Museum.

Everybody knows how beautifully Naples is situated; but it has one serious drawback, from being too nearly on a level with the tide along the southern border skirting the sea. This is an obstacle to a complete drainage, and is no doubt a constant cause of sickness; but it is no good excuse for the dirt and filth one encounters in many of the streets, particularly in the lower parts of the city. We have taken a long walk through some of these streets for the purpose of observation, and much as we have seen of Italy we have nowhere seen so much of squalor as we found here. Many of the inhabitants appear to prefer dirt to cleanliness, and in their dress and all their surroundings they are consistent. Beggars salute you at every turn; and not unfrequently, if refused, they will fling insulting epithets at you, which you are thankful you do not understand. In our perambulations toward evening we met goatherds with their flocks of goats brought in from pasture for the night. Some of these animals yielding milk are taken from house to house, where they are milked and the milk sold on the spot. Were this wholesome regulation applied to some of the milkmen who supply Washington city with milk, there

on

would be a fall in the price of water. It is a sight to see the common laborers and market people, who live in the suburbs or outside of the city, returning toward home at the close of their day's work. Sometimes you may see as many as fifteen or twenty single two-wheel cart, drawn by one poor mule or donkey. They not only fill the cart, but cling to the sides and thills, looking not unlike a swarm of bees; and very little mercy is shown to dumb beasts in Naples. In this regard, hackmen and cartmen are alike, and they seem to take delight in cracking their whips over and torturing their poor animals. Go into the street either for a walk or a ride, and if you are not careful you will be run over by hackmen, who, jehu-like, drive up to you, urging you to employ them. Make a bargain with one of them and enter his carriage, a hanger-on stands ready and mounts the seat with the driver, and when you come to alight he is on hand to open the carriage door, for which service you must pay him a fee or receive a measure of his abuse. We have learned to watch for these interlopers, and to let them understand in advance that we will have nothing to do with them. They are evidently on good terms with the drivers, who never object to their company.

The Strada di Roma, running north and south, dividing the city nearly in the center, is the fashionable business street of Naples; and on pleasant afternoons it is alive with beauty and gayety in all the glory of kingly aristocracy. The street is filled with carriages and the sidewalks with pedestrians of both sexes, all out for exercise and in pursuit of pleasure. The Strada di Chiaja and the charming Villa Reale, a beautiful Park between that broad avenue and the seashore, are likewise places of

great resort for travelers and the élite of the city. This is particularly so on two evenings of the week, when there is excellent music by the band in the Park. The Park is long and narrow, and among its adornings are a number of marble statues, which would be a valuable acquisition to any gallery. It presents a curious contrast to the acres of linen strung on clothes lines in an open space nearer the shore, just to the southwest-a sight which might lead a stranger to suppose that half of the linen of Naples was sent there to dry.

CHAPTER LII.

APLES, JANUARY 9.-The 7th and 8th of January are days in our traveling experience long to be remembered. Our American party of nine left the city on the morning of the 7th by railroad for Castellamare, seventeen miles, where we hired two coaches, with drivers and a guide, to take us to Sorrento and back the same day. Both of these towns are situated directly on the bay, and the turnpike between them, a distance also of seventeen miles, runs quite near the shore most of the way. The hills and mountains on the east extend, here and there to the sea, and had to be excavated to admit of passage. On a pleasant day no ride could be more delightful; but unfortunately for us, the air was raw, with now and then a flurry of sleet from the mountains, and this was calculated in some degree to chill our enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the trip was novel and highly interesting. At the north, a

part of the way much nearer to us than when in Naples, was dark Vesuvius with its endless moving clouds of smoke, and, also in plain sight, were the famous islands of Ischia and Capri, while the Mediterranean, stirred by the winds, continually addressed us in plaintive murmurs. Our road took us through Vico, Equense, Meta, and one or two other small villages; and where the mountains do not intervene there were on either side orange and olive groves, mulberry trees, pomegranates, figs, and aloes, the orange trees being loaded with their golden fruit. On our arrival at Sorrento, our guide led us up a long, muddy lane to the gate of an extensive orange grove, expecting to be admitted; but, much to our regret, he could make no one hear either his vigorous raps or his hallooing, and we were obliged to content ourselves with a look at the tops of the trees over the high walls. Disappointed in this, we turned and walked a mile or more to the top of a high hill on a point of the peninsula, affording a splendid view of Naples and the intervening gulf, as well as of Capri, now only a few miles off; of Ischia; the coast west of Naples to Pozzuoli and Baiæ; and of Mount Vesuvius on the northeast. We next went to see an old mansion in which Tasso was born in 1544, and “where, on his return in 1592, disguised as a shepherd, after a glorious but chequered career, he was received by his attached sister Cornelia." The only things we noted as remarkable about the building were two queer old marble griffins supporting the balcony. After taking some refreshments and purchasing a few articles of carved and inlaid wood, for which Sorrento is famous as well as for its cheap silk goods, we started on our return to Castellamare. It was deemed pru