The city of Naples contains a population of over half a million. It is beautifully situated on the slope of a range of hills bordering the Mediterranean. Including its suburbs, it is nearly eighteen miles in circumference. The streets, like those of most other cities of Europe, are generally narrow, though some are wide, handsomely paved, and bordered with elegant buildings, five, six and seven stories high. We noticed in many parts of the city that the lower stories are built without windows; air and light being admitted through the door in front, which is generally large, always standing open, except at night, when the occupants retire to rest. These apartments were swarming with laboring people, many of whom appeared in great poverty. We have visited no city where so much begging is practised as in Naples. In many places beggars thronged us by multitudes.
We visited Pompeii, distant a few miles from Naples, and spent several hours in walking through the streets and examining its interesting and mournful ruins. In the year A. D. 63, the city was partially destroyed by an earthquake. The inhabitants abandoned the town, but returned directly afterwards, and it had regained nearly all its splendor, when, at midday, on November 23d, A. D. 79, the eruption destined to destroy it commenced. The wooden roofs of the houses were either set on fire or broken in by the weight of the matter deposited on them. It is thought that, inasmuch as but few skeletons have been found, nearly all of the inhabitants were enabled to escape. They returned soon afterwards to dig the soil in which the town was buried, and carried away the valuables left in their houses, and some precious objects from the public edifices. The villa of Diomede is one of the largest establishments. The remains of seventeen persons were found there during the excavations. Some of them were shown us at Pompeii, others we saw in the National Museum in Naples. Close by the garden gate of this villa were discovered the skeletons of the proprietor and his attendant—one holding in his hand the keys of the villa; the other, a purse which contained one hundred gold and silver coins.
Quite a large portion of the city is now excavated, exhibiting streets, private buildings, temples, theatres, fountains, wine cellars, public squares, etc., in a wonderful state of preservation. The whole resembles a large, magnificent town, the inhabitants of which had suddenly fled, or gone out on a general excursion.
In returning to Naples we stopped a short time in Herculanaeum, which contains some objects of interest. The ancient theatre has been excavated, which appears to have consisted of nineteen tiers of seats, sufficient to accommodate ten thousand persons; its orchestra is twenty-six feet below the surface of the present town, Resina.
The next day we spent a few hours very agreeably in the celebrated Museum of Naples, which contains a vast number of apartments richly stored with relics of ancient art and science, and constitutes a general depot of the two ancient cities, Pompeii and Herculanaeum, and other localities of Naples and Sicily. The "Secret Cabinet," which was formerly closed to all visitors, is now open to gentlemen, but is still closed to ladies and the Catholic clergy. Its contents exhibit, in a striking manner, the dissipated public taste and the licentious and beastly practices of the inhabitants of those doomed cities, Pompeii and Herculanaeum, showing that they well merited the terrible judgment meted out to them so suddenly.
We concluded to pay our respects to Mount Vesuvius. It is nearly four thousand feet above the level of the sea. In the eruption of A. D. 79, the elder Pliny lost his life. In 1631 several currents of lava burst forth at once and overwhelmed a number of cities at the foot of the mountain. Resina, partly built upon the site of Herculanaeum, was consumed by the burning torrent, and it is said that four thousand persons perished in the catastrophe. Thirty four eruptions have taken place since 1750, extending to April, 1872. In this last, thirty persons perished upon the mountain, simply through venturing incautiously. We left our hotel in a carriage at 9 a. m., and reached the "Hermitage" at 11:30, situated upon the slope of the mountain, about one mile below the foot of the cone. The road to this point has been built at great expense, is very good, but extremely serpentine, passing over fields and hills of lava, which have been thrown out from the crater at different periods. We could proceed no further by carriage. President Smith, according to previous arrangement, was carried in an armchair, upon the shoulders of four Italians, to the foot of the cone, while others rode on ponies to the same point, over a tortuous path, in places very narrow and rocky. Here we left our ponies. President Smith, borne upon the shoulders of his stalwart bearers, took the lead, while we followed, assisted by our strong walkingsticks. The ascent was difficult and fatiguing, in places very steep, with ashes and sand nearly one foot and a half deep. We enjoyed a magnificent view of the surrounding country, the long range of the Apennines in the distance, covered with its snowy mantle, the ruins of Pompeii, the beautiful city of Naples and its great bay, dotted with many ships and steamers. We were one hour and a quarter in making the summit after leaving the foot of the cone. The crater was partially clear of smoke, affording a fine opportunity for examining the wonderful abyss. We tumbled a few rocks over the rim, which were more than thirty seconds reaching the bottom. Some of the party tried their strength of nerve by standing upon a craggy point, which appeared to hang over the burning chasm, and thrusting sticks into the smoking apertures, which inflamed in a moment. One of the party also sought to acquire fame in boiling and eating an egg in the midst of the burning heat and sulphurous smoke. It was judged that the mouth of the crater would equal in dimensions a ten acre block. The mountain all around appeared only a thin shell in a heated state, and for a long distance below the summit, here and there, volumes of smoke are issuing. We descended the mountain at nearly a running pace, which occupied only about fifteen minutes, arrived at our hotel at nearly 6 o'clock p. m., and indulged in a remarkably late breakfast the next morning.
We left Naples by train on the thirtieth, for Brindisi. A great portion of the country through which we passed is cultivated by the spade; and we saw here, and also in many other parts of Italy, the women engaged in this laborious employment; in one instance we noticed a company of women repairing a break in the railroad by carrying gravel upon their heads in baskets.
At Brindisi we took steamer for Corfu. We had a pleasant passage—the sea smooth, the weather fine, like spring, and the air pure and bracing. We passed close to the coast of Albania, and had a fine view of Turkish towns and villas, which appeared here and there on the slopes of the mountains.
The city of Corfu contains about twenty-four thousand people, the island some fifteen villages, with seventy thousand inhabitants, and forms a portion of the Grecian government. The olive and grape are cultivated upon the island very extensively.
Sunday morning we attended Greek service in a magnificent cathedral. The psalms, prayers and portions of Scripture were read in modern Greek, and in a very amusing operatic style.