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Passing Portici, we soon reached Resina, a name handed down from the ancient Retina, the harbour of Herculaneum, and as we had repeatedly visited the new and old excavations of that ancient town, we did not think it necessary to stop. Prince Leopold, the king's brother, has a palace here, called La Favorita, and in the month of October, when the Neapolitans are supposed to be enjoying country life, the gardens are thrown open to the public on Sunday, and various kinds of amusements are furnished at his expense. The scene is gay, and worthy of the attention of a traveller who wishes to see the manners of various nations. He concludes the season with a ball to the grandees of Naples, which is given in a princely style. We soon reached Torre del Greco, which has been often destroyed by the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, yet has again and again been rebuilt by the industry and indefatigable perseverance of man. It presents a strange aspect to the traveller-houses half covered with lava, others against which the lava had stopped, vineyards growing luxuriantly on the surface of that destructive fluid. The shore, perhaps, is still more curious where the lava had met the sea, and where fire and water fought for the mastery, being piled up in some places to the height of thirty feet. We proceeded to visit the convent of Camaldoli, which is erected, about two miles from Torre del Greco, on a small mound thrown up in former ages, like Monte Nuovo at the Lake Averno. We passed over a stream of lava which had flowed along its base in 1822 without injuring it, and which presented a magnificent appearance. This little mound was covered with the ilex, elms, Spanish broom, thought by some to be the "6 aureus ramus" of Virgil (Æn. vi. 143), and thousands of flowers, which rendered it like an oasis in the deserts of Africa. To an English ear, however, the want of the sweet songsters of the woods made it lose half its charms. This convent is regarded as a safeguard to all the surrounding country against the dangers of Vesuvius. They fly here from all the hamlets around, and imagine themselves safe under the protection of its holy walls. In reality, they need only fear a shower of stones or ashes, as the lava could scarcely reach it. The view of the bay of Naples, with the shores of Castellamare and Sorento, is very striking. On leaving the convent we met with a peasant, who agreed to conduct us across the foot of Vesuvius to Ottajano. This guide rented a piece of ground from the king, which was quite barren when he took it, but which he had planted with vines and fig-trees, and it now produced excellent wine, according to the account he gave us. He had only been in possession for three years, and the vines seemed to have thriven most wonderfully. We walked about a mile through vineyards, which had been planted within the last few years, and at last came to the lava and ashes of the mountain, where everything was desolate and burnt up. We walked for six miles over this scene of desolation without meeting a single individual. The soil, principally ashes and decomposed lava, would in a few years be covered with vines, as they were every year breaking in a small portion of the ground. It is about seventy years since the eruption took place which destroyed this part of the mountain. Here and there we saw the tops of houses peeping from under the lava, showing that it had been cultivated before the eruption. In one part they were excavating a house which the lava had surrounded and run over without crushing, as might have been expected. A vineyard had been planted on a level with the roof of the

house, and to enter it they must descend by stairs. We came to two other conical mounds, which had been thrown up like the one on which the Camaldoli is erected, and one of them had a chimney or vent still remaining through which the fire had issued. It was not above twelve feet in diameter, and was the finest specimen of a volcano in miniature which can be conceived. We threw down stones into the chimneys, and could hear them run down without appearing to reach a bottom. A Neapolitan had bought this part from the king, and was beginning to plant it with vines, fig-trees, and prickly pears, which had a very thriving appearance. This side of Vesuvius is weakest, and there seems little doubt that the lava will inundate this plain at the next eruption. In several parts we saw pits, which the Prince of Ottajano, a proprietor in the neighbourhood, had been sinking to discover the depth of the soil below the ashes, and it did not seem to be more than three or four feet till they came to a red loamy soil, full of stones. This they considered fully able to support any fruit-trees they might choose to plant. On this prince's property we saw a very curious phenomenon-a forest of oaks, that must have stood ever since the eruption, more than half covered up with ashes. The tops of their trunks were seen piercing through the surrounding ashes, and the branches were flourishing as in the best soil. It might have been expected that they would have been shrivelled up by the heat, but the majestic oaks had resisted the efforts of Vesuvius to destroy them. arrived at Ottajano, a picturesque little village, about eleven miles from Naples, which had suffered a little during the late eruption from a shower of stones. Our landlord told us they were saved by the Madonna, whose statue they had carried in procession. We returned rapidly to Naples by curricle, and got back in time to be present at the opera in the theatre of San Carlo, which was lighted up with more than usual brilliancy on account of the queen's birthday. The magnificence of the court dresses, the chaste decorations of the theatre itself, together with its gigantic size, strike the imagination very forcibly, but it requires a long cultivation of the ear to enjoy the loud music of their operas.

We

Next day I proceeded over to Sorento, the ancient Surrentum, on the opposite side of the Bay of Naples, in one of the passage-boats which ply between Naples and that small village regularly every day. They are large and awkward looking, yet well fitted for the bay, which is liable to sudden squalls. Our company consisted of a number of market people, returning from disposing of their produce. We made the passage in three hours, and, on reaching the shore, I found it to be abrupt and extremely high. Without a moment's delay I hired a boat to visit some ruins that are situated on the point of a rock near Sorento. As we proceeded along the coast we rowed into several natural caves, which were of an immense size, and admirably adapted for smuggling. Indeed, the whole of this coast used to be infested by smugglers, till the government ordered all the private approaches to the shore to be blocked up and by this arbitrary proceeding the value of the villas on the sea-coast has been considerably lowered. It has put private gentlemen to great inconvenience, and has had little effect in stopping contraband trade, as goods can be hoisted anywhere by means of ropes. His majesty, some time ago, tried another plan to protect the coast, placing several large vessels to cruise along the shore, and stop every vessel that they suspected of smuggling. These large vessels were at the mercy of the winds, while

the smugglers during a calm, which constantly prevails during some part
of the day in the creeks and bays, made use of their oars, and had no
difficulty in escaping from their unwieldy opponents. The coast here is
precipitous, and in many places nearly one hundred feet perpendicular.
In a short time we arrived at the point, and landed by a stair cut out of
the rock. The site of the villa has been excellent to catch the sea
breezes, and enjoy all the coolness for which Sorento has ever been
famous. It occupied the extreme point of the land, and on one side there
was an easy approach to the sea. The ruins cover a considerable piece
of ground, and show that it belonged to some noble Roman. The cellars
are still entire, or, at least, those low apartments which could scarcely
have been employed for any other purpose from their want of light. The
walls of some other apartments still remain, and exhibit the frescoed
stucco which is seen so frequently in the houses of Pompeii. The floors
have been inlaid with small pieces of brick, forming a sort of mosaic.
There is an excellent piscina communicating with the sea, and what
must have proved an excellent fish preserve. There is a descent to it of
at least fifty feet, and, to all appearance, it has been covered over. This
villa belonged to Pollius Felix, mentioned in the Sylva of the poet
Statius (ii. 2), who describes its situation with great exactness.
still look out on the same natural scenery which its former proprietor
admired; Vesuvius, Naples, Puteoli, and the island Ischia, are still as
striking objects to the eye as the poet describes them :

Hæc videt Inarimen, illi Prochyta aspera paret :
Armiger hac magni patet Hectoris: inde malignum
Aera respirat pelago circumflua Nesis :

Inde vagis omen felix Euploa carinis,

Quæque ferit curvos exserta Megalia fluctus.

Angitur et domino contra recubante, proculque

Surrentina tuus spectat prætoria Limon.

Ante tamen cunctas procul eminet una diætas,
Quæ tibi Parthenopen directo limite ponti
Ingerit.

You

"This window looks out on Ischia, this other on Prochyta; the armourbearer of Hector appears through the other; here the island Nisita sends forth noxious vapours from the sea; there is Mare Piano, a fortunate omen to the wandering ships, and Castel dell' Ovo upheaved, which strikes the curved waves; your islet Sporgatojo is enclosed, and looks out on Sorento in the distance; yet, above all the apartments, there is one supereminent, which presents Naples to you directly across the bay.'

I returned to Sorento by land through the plain, which extends about three miles, being one mile and a half in breadth. It is famed for its fertility, particularly for its oil and oranges. The butter and veal are reckoned the best in the kingdom, and yet they have no pasture for their cows, feeding them chiefly on a kind of hay, lupins, even peaches, and the leaves stripped from the trees. I did not find that the wine had retained its celebrity, having been recommended in ancient times to invalids by the Roman physicians. The climate is still mild and delicious, answering to the description of Silius Italicus (v. 466):

Zephyro Surrentum molle salubri.

Surrentum, delicious for its healthful zephyr.

And here many English families spend the summer and autumn. They complain, however, of the annoyance arising from the loud chirping of the cicada, whose sound resembles nothing so much as the scream of the corn-craik in Scotland; and if you imagine thousands of such birds assembled in a small plain, and all screaming at the same moment, and continuously from ten in the morning till sunset, you will have some idea of the disturbance caused by this small insect. The lines of Virgil still apply to them (Eclog. ii. 13):

Sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis.
The creeking locusts with my voice conspire,
They fried with heat, and I with fierce desire.

And (Georg. iii. 328):

Et cantu querulæ rumpent arbusta cicada.

When creaking grasshoppers on shrubs complain.

They have six feet, with a kind of talon, which they insert into anything they touch, transparent wings, a long snout like the trunk of an elephant, and are about an inch in length. The poet Tasso was born here A.D. 1544; and the spot where his house was situated is pointed out, though, as it has been rebuilt, no portion of the original house now remains.

This

Next morning I proceeded to visit the Islands of the Sirens, " Insulæ Sirenuse," ascending the ridge "Surrentini colles" (Ovid. Met. xv. 710), which produced the celebrated wine. Vineyards abound on the lower ground, fenced off by high walls, and, as you mount, you come upon olive-trees. These hills are an offshoot from the lofty group of Monte S. Angelo, which furnishes ice for the city of Naples. To the inhabitants of that city snow, or water cooled with snow frozen into ice, is nearly as necessary as salt. The government farms the supply of the capital to certain persons, who come under an engagement to furnish the sixty principal shops with a stock, which can be sold at four grani the rotolo. Considerable penalties are imposed for every hour in which it is not to be had. At the end of all the principal streets in Naples you find acqueole, "water-stands," where you can have iced water at all hours of the day, paying half a grano for pure iced water, and if you choose to add lemon or sambuca, paying another half grano. sambuca is the spirit of elderberry, and is the great delight of the Neapolitans, though it has to me a disagreeable taste, having some resemblance to aniseed in flavour. The mountain S. Angelo is upwards of four thousand feet above the level of the sea, and during the winter heavy snow falls, which is collected in large pits, and covered over with earth. This is sufficient to form an ice-house, as the heat in that high region, even in the warmest days of summer, never penetrates the slight surface that is over the pits. There is always a cool breeze at all times, as I found in a warm day of August, when I ascended it. On reaching the top of this ridge of Surrentine hills, I looked down on the Bay of Salerno, which I had attempted unsuccessfully to cross a few weeks ago, and in the distance rose Monte Stella, from which I had such a magnificent sunset. The coast on this side is precipitous, and quite barren. No mule or donkey can venture down; indeed, there is only a slight foot

path, along which you must descend for the greater part by steps. Arriving at the bottom, called Scaritojo, I found a few fishermen, whom I hired to convey me as far as I might require their services. Along the coast, in the direction of Amalfi, and also towards the Punta della Campanella, as far as the eye could reach, the sides of the mountain are nearly perpendicular.

These Islands of the Sirens, three in number, are now called I Galli, and are a little more than a mile from the coast. They lie together in a kind of circle, and along with two small sharp-pointed rocks, are of the same mineralogical structure as the neighbouring continent. The largest island, about half a mile in circumference, is situated to the east of the smaller ones. There is no regular landing-place to the larger island, so that you have to climb up a precipitous rock of nearly one hundred feet. You then find yourself on a rugged ridge, and after proceeding a little to the south, you arrive at a level piece of ground, where are the remains of buildings. This plot of ground is about twenty yards in breadth, and sixty in length. I made a small excavation in one part, and found a marble floor; there is a vault remaining, which seems to have been added to some older edifice, and the bricks are exactly of the same kind as are found in Roman buildings, so that I have little doubt that this was the site of some ancient villa, though in summer it must have been nearly uninhabitable from the heat. The extreme southern point is entirely rock, and never had any building upon it. On the highest point there is an old tower, to which there is now no entrance, but by dint of scrambling I managed to get in at one of the windows. Two half-ruined rooms are the only things that remain. On the west part of the island you find a small part of a building, respecting the use of which there is nothing to be a guide. There are a few burnt-up plants and flowers; trees do not seem ever to have existed on it. I then rowed to the higher of the other two, which lies about a quarter of a mile distant, and ascended to a tower by a regular road. It looks like a carriage-road which had never been finished, as you mount the last forty feet by stairs. These watch-towers are said to have been built by Charles III. of Naples to give warning of the approach of Turkish corsairs; it may rather have been to defend the approach to the important city of Amalfi. There is no appearance of old buildings on this island. Rowing to the most southerly island, I scrambled to the top of it: it is much broader, and better adapted for a building than either of the other two; yet there is not the slightest vestige of an edifice of any description. Such is the present appearance of the Islands of the Sirens, one of them bold and picturesque, the others of a tame and uninteresting character. The description of Virgil (Æn. v. 864) is still as applicable as it was in former days:

Jamque adeo scopulos Syrenum advecta subibat,
Difficiles quondam, multorumque ossibus albos,
Tum rauca assiduo longe sale saxa sonabant.

And o'er the dang'rous deep, secure the navy flies,
Glides by the Sirens' cliffs, a shelfy coast,
Long infamous for ships and sailors lost,
And white with bones. Th' impetuous ocean roars,
And rocks re-bellow from the sounding shores.

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