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the end of April these fish abound here. I was surprised to find a man, who had been watching their proceedings, step forward and claim an item of the small sum they had received, as the tax imposed by government. I find that there is a regular guard of these tax-gatherers along the whole coast of Italy for collecting this paltry sum, and for preventing the people from carrying off the smallest quantity of salt water from the sea. Salt is a monopoly in the hands of government, and produces a considerable revenue each year, which would be annihilated if the people were allowed to take salt water, and by mere exposure to the sun produce crystallised salt. It is necessary, therefore, for the security of the revenue, that this restriction should be maintained; and when any infraction of the law is discovered, it is punished by imprisonment and fine. I wished to take another glance at the ruins of Velia, as my antiquarian friend of last night offered to accompany me and give me the benefit of his local knowledge. We were joined at the ruins by a gentleman on horseback, whom I found to be the proprietor of the ground, called Don Teodosio de Domenicis. He told me that several of the tombs had been opened, and that they had contained coins, bracelets, small images, and urns, though I could not find that he possesses any of them. The government claims whatever is found in such excavations, and it makes every one cautious of confessing that they have such treasures. As there is always a great demand at Naples for antiques-so much so that there is actually a manufactory of such articles-it is likely, if he made any such discovery, he would dispose of them there.

We first examined the south-east corner, where a number of sepulchral inscriptions are found. The first is a monument half covered with earth, with the figure of a naked man on horseback, having a sword or spear in his hand. Below is a Latin inscription, the first words of which only are legible: HIC IACET CALIMORPHVS. The remainder is still covered. It is said to be upwards of twelve feet in length, having been at one time uncovered. The next object in this quarter was an ancient tomb, built of rubble-work. The proprietor said that this tomb had never been examined. In this neighbourhood they find quantities of vases full of ashes; and, indeed, this seems to have been where the inhabitants of Velia were buried. The following inscription is found on a stone two and a half feet long, and nine inches broad:

IKECIHC
THCCAC

ΑΝΔΡΟΥ

This is, in common Greek characters, 'Ikeσins Tŷs Eaσávdpov—“ To the memory of Ikesia, daughter of Sasandros." These are names unknown to history.

Again:

DEMI
ΣΤΟΥΣ

This is, in common Greek characters, eμiorós, which name is found in history as the son-in-law of Gelon (Liv. xxiv. 24, 25).

Again on a stone :

KAHNOMAXO!
TOYA INYCIOX

Which is, in Greek characters, Kλnvoμáxo tôv Avvoíov-"Clenomachus, son of Dinysius." Clenomachus is unknown; but Dionysius is a common Greek name.

The following inscription was on a marble slab, beautifully carved on the top with two roses :

NIKACTHC IWIN

Which is, in Greek characters, Niêns tŷs Zwiλ—“In memory of Nike, daughter of Zoilus." Nice is the Greek for our common name Victoria, and shows that the daughter of the Duke of Kent is not the first who has borne the name. We find many of the name of Zoilus, and more particularly a grammarian who was celebrated for the asperity with which he assailed Homer, from which he received the name of 'Ounpoμáσtiέ. His name became proverbial for a captious and malignant critic:

Quisquis es, ex illo, Zoile, nomen habes.

OVID, Rem. Am. 366.

Whoever thou art, Zoilus, thou hast acquired a name from thy malignity.

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Which is, in Greek, Ewopóvas rns 'Aya@oeivov-" In memory of Sophrone, daughter of Agathoeinos." Neither of these names is known.

My antiquarian friend pointed out what he thought might have been the Temple of Proserpine, and showed the holes through which oracles were delivered; it appears to me, however, to be a building of the middle ages. Along the brow of the hill is the appearance of a paved road; and there is an ancient cistern, which has been modernised.

The castle derives its epithet, Bruca, from a wood, which at one time extended nearly to the sea, but which is now seen at some distance up the valley of the Alento. The proprietor of the ground kindly invited me to dinner, and as he promised to show me some ancient inscriptions which he had discovered in excavating at Velia, I was not unwilling to accept his hospitality, particularly as I must allow the heat of the day to pass before I could proceed on my journey. I returned to my host to thank him for his kindness, and though he was anxious that I should remain the rest of the day, my time was too precious to allow of any sacrifice to mere pleasure. Accordingly I bade him adieu, and, shouldering my knapsack, ascended the hill to the village Ascea, where I had agreed to dine. The declivity was covered with vines, olive-trees, figtrees, and oaks. This village was miserable enough, and contained only

one tolerable residence-that of the gentleman from whom I had received the invitation. I believe that he has accumulated his property chiefly by his own industry; and his manners were of a far higher tone than any I had yet met in my travels. Above his door he had inscribed, in legible characters, the two following sentences:

6

La superbia è il carattere del villano.
Pride is the character of the scoundrel.

La miseria è il risultato del ozio e del vizio.

Misery is the result of idleness and vice.

This gave me some insight into his character, and our conversation tended to confirm me in my previous good opinion. He received me with great cordiality; and though his house was deficient in many particulars which we think necessary for our comfort, still it was the best I had yet seen. In the entrance-hall of his house my attention was drawn to the skin of a large wolf, which Don Teodosio had shot after it had killed fifty sheep. He says that they are still more numerous than sheepowners like. The room into which I was ushered was the dining-room, and here I found three very beautiful girls busily employed in laying out the table for dinner. They turned out to be my host's daughters; and I was not sorry to have accepted his invitation, as it enabled me to see a fine specimen of Italian beauty. I had as yet been unfortunate in that respect, and was beginning to have a poor idea of the ladies of this part of Italy; but the youngest of these girls was one of the most enchanting I had ever met with. Her figure was slight and well proportioned, her features oval, with arched eyebrows, and her smile most bewitching. In fact, it was well that my time was limited, else I verily believe that I should have committed all kinds of follies. At last dinner was announced, and we sat down to a plentiful display of food; but I was amused to find that every dish consisted of fish, which was dressed in a variety of ways. It was Friday, and my host is a rigid observer of the rules of his Church, though, if he had known in sufficient time that he should have had the honour of my company, he would have taken care that some meat should have been prepared for me, as he was aware that we differed from him in that respect. I could not help smiling at the idea of their fasting on such food as was before me, and told him that I should have no objection to fast once a week on these conditions. I assured him that I could forgive the want of variety in the food, as his wine was first-rate, being a strong white wine, which he called Vernaccie, from the name of the grape from which it was made. In his garden I saw many pear and apple trees, with apricots, from which he said that he had always an abundant crop. Being an epicure in our common strawberries, I inquired if he grew fragole; he said that they are found in the mountains in the interior, but it was too hot near the coast. It was the custom of the house for the daughters to wait at table, at which I was not a little pleased, as, being a stranger, I received most marked attention. The eldest son was also a fine intelligent boy. I was strongly urged to remain till next day, and had difficulty in prevailing on myself to give a negative to their pressing invitations; but I kept to my resolution of moving forward as soon as the heat of the day was passed.

The sepulchral inscriptions in his house were the following:

DM

C·SEXTILIO· OP
PLO MUVIR Q • Q
M.F.CLAVDIX PO
TITA COIVCI •CA,

This may be thus filled up:

Dîs Manibus (Sacrum).
Caio Sextilio Oppio,

Quatuorviro, Quinquennali
Marci Filio.

Claudia Potita

Conjugs carissima.

Sacred to the manes of the dead.

To Caius Sextilius Oppius, chief magistrate and censor, the son of Marcus. Claudia Potita his affectionate wife (has erected this monument).

Oppius was quatuorvir, or chief magistrate, of Velia, and also censor, which was a still more dignified office, and could only be filled by those who had discharged the other offices of the municipality.

Again:

ΑΛΑΝΙΔΟ
ΣΑΣΑΝΔΡΟ

ΑΡΙΣΤΩΝ
ΥΙΟΥ

Which is, in Greek characters, ̓Αλανίδου Σασάνδρου ̓Αριστῶν (ος) ὑιου "To the memory of Alanidos Sasandros, son of Ariston." Here again we have another of the family of Sasandros.

Again:

TERTIA
ΠΑΚΙΑΣ
TOYAIONY
ΣΙΟΥ

It is curious to find here a mixture of Roman and Greek characters. This lady was the third daughter of Pakias, son of Dionysius; and you will observe that Dionysius is spelt here in the usual way, which it is not in a former inscription, the letter o being dropped.

At last I bade adieu to my kind friends, regretting that we should

The

never meet again, and proceeded on my solitary journey towards a small village called Pisciotta, about eight miles distant. On inquiry, I found that there were two roads by which I might approach it, one along the face of a perpendicular rock, and the other by the beach. The first would have been the most picturesque, and I was much tempted to choose it; but I was not sure that I might not be overtaken by the dusk of evening, and I understood that the path was in some places so narrow that a false step would precipitate me many hundred feet below. It is only used in stormy weather, when the beach cannot be approached, as, though there are no tides, the wind sometimes drives the sea to the foot of the rocks. country through which I was passing seemed destitute of inhabitants, as I met scarcely an individual, and saw no houses. It is the custom to congregate in villages for protection, and this causes the country to have a desolate appearance. By degrees the hills approached the shore, and I then saw that it would be necessary to descend to the beach. I was not sorry that I had adopted this plan, as the rock was not continuous, but a succession of depressions and heights, up and down which I must have clambered with great fatigue. I crept along the bottom of this rocky coast for several miles, and as I saw no sign of human habitation, I began to fear that I might have missed the path leading to Pisciotta, which I knew to be situated a short distance from the shore. At last, towards sunset, I saw a tower which was to be my guide, and in a short time I met a police-officer, or gendarme, who of course demanded to know who I was, and whence I came. It is difficult at first to submit to these demands, as at home we come and go without any one making us afraid. Here, however, government keeps a sharp look-out on all travellers, and no one can leave his parish without a permit, which he is bound to show when he is called upon. I accordingly produced my passport to the two officers (for he had now been joined by another), and they could not deny that it was perfectly en règle. They began to question me as to the object of my journey, but I declined to give them satisfaction, and demanded that they should conduct me to their superior officer. They were so little accustomed to such cavalier treatment, as the whole country is at their feet, that they debated whether they should not arrest me. I showed, however, no symptoms of fear, and threatened them with all kinds of punishments from their government if they dared to disregard my passport. At last they allowed me to proceed, and I ascended a steep rock, partly by stairs and partly by a winding path, to the village Pisciotta. It was the largest which I had yet seen. The people stared and scarcely treated me with common civility when I inquired for the house of the judge, who is always the superior officer of the district. I did not like my reception, and was afraid that I had fallen into a nest of hornets. After making many mistakes, which I began to suspect arose from the intentional misdirection of the inhabitants, I at last found the house of the judge, to whom I presented my passport, and stated that I meant to remain in the village, if it were possible to find a bed. He consulted with his clerk, and they agreed that Donna Laura would be able to accommodate me. Laura was a very ominous name. Think of the famed Laura, for whom Petrarch sung and sighed! I longed to have my doubts resolved, and, pleading fatigue from my journey, I requested the servant to conduct me to the house of my hostess. I might have saved myself all anxiety on the sub

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