mained and sustained themselves, without cement, iron, or any of the contrivances of modern invention, for so many ages. But aside from their other claims to our admiration, they are sublime and majestic from their loneliness, and from the utter desolation that surrounds them. You may trace in the uneven and serrated sod of the plain about them, the compartments and divisions of the dwellings that formed the ancient city; but of their occupants, none can tell. Sufficent remains of the ancient city walls to give a perfect idea. of their plan, and the space covered by the city, which extended to the waters of its noble port; there is also still in use an ancient paved road, and an arched gateway in the walls of the ancient Pæstum. Traces also of a smaller temple, and of an amphitheatre, may be seen. A small miserable village in the vicinity, is inhabited by the most sickly, haggard, wan, and dwarfish-looking people we have ever met with. We were glad to buy ourselves off, and make as hasty a retreat as possible from them and the place. We retraced our steps to Salerno, where we spent the night, and the next morning journeyed back to Naples, passing through the same delightful country as on the first day. We made a circuit two miles out of our way to see the pretty little town of Castelamare. It has a fine port, which was well filled with vessels, and the people seemed very active and bustling. The place is also celebrated for its mineral waters, for which it is much resorted to in summer by the Neapolitan gentry, as well as the king, who has a casino here. We arrived safely at our hotel, highly gratified with our three days' jaunt, and the next day set about "knocking off the churches." Do not take this for an Americanism; it is pure English. An Englishman was asked if he had seen all he wished at Rome. 66 Yes, he said, he had done everything but the churches; to-morrow, he should knock them off, and then be ready to depart." The first we entered, was chiefly remarkable for the variety and richness of the marbles, with which its whole interior was encrusted. The next, for a splendid fresco painting, covering the greater part of the central ceiling. The cathedral of St. Januarius, the patron saint of Naples--(we asked our guide, who spoke very good English, who this Januarius was. He replied, “all he could tell, was, that he was the greatest man in Naples, the head devil of all"; he, however, had spent eight years in America, and had, perhaps, learned some heresy there)— contains in its treasury forty silver busts of different saints, all of life size, and richly wrought. Here, too, is kept a vial containing some of St. Januarius's blood; the vial is in a box, behind the altar, kept always locked with two keys, one held by the archbishop, the other by the king, or a deputy appointed by him, and cannot be opened but in their presence. On a certain day of the year, it is shown to the people; when first taken out, it is seen black and dry, but soon liquifies, and becomes fresh and red, as if just shed. Thousands crowd to see this miracle, which occurs yearly. But one must have faith for all this; to be at these exhibitions without faith, is like eating beef steak without gravy, very dry and unprofitable. At the church of St. Paul, are some mutilated columns and statues, taken from the ancient temple of Castor and Pollux, and as usual, fine frescoes and marbles. St. Clair is the burial-place of the reigning family, and considered the most richly ornamented church in Naples. In one of its chapels, that of San Felice, is a magnificent picture of "David playing the harp, and dancing before the ark," by Conca. At the chapel of Santa Maria della Pieta, we saw some most exquisite pieces of statuary; one, a dead Christ, with a sheet, seemingly wet with the damps of death, so closely did it cling to the form, showing the body, limbs, and every feature of the face; even the wounds in the hand are distinctly seen, so 216 BEAUTIFUL STATUES. transparent is this marble sheet that covers it. The others are allegorical; one, a female, representing Modesty. The figure, covered from head to foot with a veil, is very beauti. ful. Another is, "vice undeceived;" a man entangled in a net, from which a good spirit is teaching him to extricate himself. The meshes of the net, and the body seen through it, are admirable. In one of the churches, of which I forget the name, is a figure of the Virgin, which has a fine growth of hair every year. On a certain day, this is cut off by the priest before the people. She is then withdrawn till the ensuing anniversary, when it has grown again, miraculously, of course, and is again cut. But enough of these. My letter has acquired such a length, that I cannot trespass upon your patience, to give a description of a court ball, which we attended, where we had an opportunity of seeing much of royalty, wealth and beauty. This last closed the scene for us at Naples, and after a delightful sojourn of three weeks, during which, we had not a drop of rain, but ever a bright and cloudless sky, with a pure and delightful temper. ature, I think we may ever recall Naples as the "daughter of sunshine." Adieu. 66 A HOLY FAMILY." 217 LETTER XXIII. PALACE OF THE KING-CAPUA-MOLA DE GÆTA-INN OF TERRACINA - VELLETRI BATH OF DIANA CUSTOM HOUSE-WEATHER AT ROME--ITALIAN SKIES. Rome, January. MY DEAR C. We left Naples early on the morning of the twenty-eighth of December, and went a little out of our road to visit the palace of the king at Caserta, said to be the largest and most imposing in appearance of any in Europe. Its splendid vestibule is filled with columns of the richest Sicilian marble, from which you ascend a noble staircase, lined with the same material of varied kinds, with balustrades of equal richness and beauty. It has a theatre, and chapel ornamented also with rich marble, and a profusion of gilding; in the latter, to grace the Christmas festival, there had been placed a representation of the holy family in the stable of Bethlehem. Numerous figures of the size of an ordinary doll, dressed in the most picturesque costume, and seemingly true to the life, were threading the mountain passes of Judea; some were seated in beautiful groups under a cluster of palm-trees, that waved their graceful leaves above them, while over the humble birth-place of the Savior, hovered a heavenly host, and round it, crowded a humble throng, with their offerings of sheep and doves. The whole scene was truly oriental, and in perfect keeping with the times and country it depicted, and is said to have cost two thousand pounds. It was open to the public for three days, and attracted crowds of people from all the region around. In the grounds of the palace, and directly in front 218 THE TOWN OF CAPUA. of it, there is a succession of cascades, nineteen in number, each orna mented with grottos and statuary, forming a most beautiful perspective. Situated on the beautiful amphitheatre behind, is a large and flourishing silk factory, established by King Ferdinand in 1789; and forming a part of the domain, is the pretty casino, called the Belvidere. Leading from these mountains, is a noble aqueduct, built by Charles III., which conveys water to the cascades, and ornaments the grounds of the palace and the villages in its vicinity. We spent near two hours looking at the various beauties of the place, and received a famous scolding for our dilatoriness from our vetturino, who had a real or pretended fear of bandits, and sadly lamented the delay which would keep us on our way till after dark. We reached ere long the site of ancient Capua, passing the fine remains of its amphitheatre, and through a triumphal arch over the road. Two miles farther brought us to the modern town of Capua, where we breakfasted. Our road all day was through continued vineyards, with groves of fig and olive trees, and no fences to mar their beauty. At dush we passed a guard-house, and our vetturino directed our attention to a soldier just mounting his horse-whose duty it was to pace up and down a certain portion of the road as night patrol--to support his allegation, that there was much to fear from robbers. We, however, arrived at our destination without let or hindrance, and were glad on reaching the inn of St. Agatha, to find a bright fire blazing in the dining room, where an English family were already enjoying their dinner. The next morning we had partaken of an excellent breakfast, and were fairly en route at half-past five. Our vetturino, Monsieur Charles, was now in high spirits, and could hardly praise sufficiently our laudable effort, to aid him in cheating the robbers by early rising. The day was delightfully warm and pleasant, and the country richly cultivated. Vineyards |