PART II.

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE

ANTIQUITIES OF ITALY..

CHAPTER I.

NAPLES AND POMPEII.

Porto D'Anzio-Voyage to Naples-Appearance of Naples· Confusion of its Streets - Pompeii-Its Destruction-Present ap. pearance of the Streets and Buildings.

IT was late in the afternoon when we arrived at Porto d'Anzio after a tedious ride over the Campagna from Rome. This port on the Mediterranean is interesting from the fact, that it occupies the site once covered by the worldrenowned Antium, the great naval station of the Romans. Here Coriolanus stood in the palace of his enemy, and vowed vengeance against his ungrateful countrymen.

"A goodly city is this Antium: City!

'Tis I that made thy widows; many an heir

Of these fair edifices 'fore my wars

Have I heard groan and drop; then know me not

Lest that thy wives with spits, and boys with stones

In puny battle slay me."

It was also the birth-place of the monster Nero, and the remains of the moles he constructed, are still to be seen here. It is now a desolate-looking spot, where,

"In many a heap the ground

* Heaves, as though Ruin in a frantic mood
Had done its utmost."

Sand-heaps now cover the fragments of ruined palaces and temples; for Antium in the days of its glory boasted of much architectural magnificence.

It was late in the evening when we left the little port, 'to dare in a frail-looking steamer, the perils of darkness, and perhaps encounter the capriciousness of the treacherous Mediterranean.

The next morning, with the bright sun of Italy dancing on the wave, and the soft vernal air of that delicious clime fanning the brow, we found ourselves entering the far-famed Bay of Naples-passing close to the bold headland of Misenum, rendered so memorable by the muse of Virgil. In the distance could be seen the graceful curve of the Baian shore. Time and volcanic action have left their traces upon it, but in all the natural surroundings, the shores of Baia remain as enchanting and lovely as ever. Horace, who was no mean judge of natural beauty, thought no place in the world so perfectly enchanting as the Baian shore. Here the greatest and wealthiest of the Romans erected their charming villas; and when the narrow shores could no longer supply sites for their luxurious retreats, built moles and foundations into the sea; exhausting regal fortunes that they might possess a dwelling in this earthly Paradise. Here rose the villas of Pompey, Marius and Cæsar-here the young Marcellus died, to whose untimely fate, Virgil so touchingly alludes. This was Martial's "golden shore of Baia, and blessed Venus" and still does the graceful ruin of the beautiful temple of the goddess adorn it, and arrest the stranger's attention. And there too, just in the centre of the grand sweep of the magnificent Bay as it bends towards Baia, is the modern town. of Pozzuoli, still crowned with the

ruins of the little Greek town from which it sprung. It was famous in the annals of Imperial Rome; and is celebrated as the spot, where the brave Apostle of the Gentiles, who combined a woman's softness, with the energy of a lion, a prisoner and in bonds, "tarried for seven days as he went towards Rome." And there too is the far-famed grotto of Posilipo, and near it on the side of that shady ravine, the quiet spot, where rest the ashes of the great Mantuan Bard.

*

*

"A fabric lone and gray,
That boasts no pillars rich, nor friezes gay ;
An ilex bends above its moss clad walls;
In long festoons the dark green ivy falls,
And pale-eyed flowers in many a crevice bloom,
'Tis there he sleeps-that cell is Virgil's tomb."

The entire coast from Pozzuoli to Misenum is covered with the ruins of baths, temples, theatres, moles and villas, of ancient date. Here it was in the country round as the ancients used to relate, "Bacchus and Ceres contended for the mastery." Not a cliff but flings upon the wave some image of delight to muse on as your bark is gliding by.

For some time we coasted along those enchanting shores, lined with villages and country houses gleaming from amidst orange groves and vineyards, until at length rounding the beautiful cape of Posilipo, the city of Naples in all its brightness, burst upon our view, with its churches. and palaces reflecting the rays of the morning sun, softened by the deep azure of the skies of the blessed Campania. Not a cloud was to be seen, save that which rested like a white wreath upon the summit of Vesuvius; and turning for a moment from the gay and lovely city, the mind became fixed on the black mountain, so deeply and so fear

fully associated with the history of this land and its inhabitants-the only dark and threatening feature in the smiling and lovely scene before us.

Far to the right, following the sweep of the Bay towards the lofty mountains, was Castella Mare, with Sorrento and Capo di Minerva, which in that direction mark the extreme limit of the graceful curve of the enchanting shore; while midway, as if to guard the entrance of this favored region, stands the beautiful Isle of Capri. It was indeed with justice the ancients fixed here the residence of the Syren Parthenope, and called the place after her name. As you look out upon the charming scene on every side, you cease to wonder that it became the favorite retreat of the great and wealthy of the Romans; and that here, subdued by the delicious and enervating climate, these Lords of the World forgot their greatness, and abandoned themselves to luxury and indolence. Here Cæsar forgot his ambition, and Virgil sang, not "arms and the man," but allowing his muse to recreate in the soft and peaceful scenes around him, tuned his rustic reeds to pastoral songs, and the ease and happiness of the life of the husbandman.

The Greek, the Roman, and the Goth, the Norman, and the Spaniard, charmed with its surprising, miraculous beauty, have each, in turn, possessed this favored landuntil captivated by its pleasures, and losing by degrees the virtue and hardihood of their native character, the conquerors have been at length subdued, and confounded with the conquered, in the same general effeminacy and indolence, which in all ages have distinguished the inhabitants of this terrestrial Paradise,

"In floral beauty fields and groves appear;

Man seems the only growth that dwindles here."

The City of Naples lies upon the margin of this beautiful Bay, in the form of a semicircle, and gradually spreads itself upon the acclivity behind, crowned by the Castle of St. Elmo, which overlooks the whole. The houses and streets rise one above the other, interspersed with gardens and trees. The palace on one of the heights, and the Nuovo Castello, with various other buildings in a castellated form, are exceedingly striking and picturesque as seen from the Bay.

Such does Naples appear when taken as a whole but when you have landed, and proceed to take the city in detail, its architecture will not bear comparison with that of the other capitals of Europe. Some of the churches, indeed, are striking to the eye, but only from their deformity. Within they are loaded with ornament to such a degree, that the very excess of decoration injures the building it was intended to beautify. The altars, more especially, display an exuberance of riches. There jasper, lapis lazuli, porphyry, and all sorts of rare marbles, are jumbled together, without the smallest regard to simplicity Show and glitter are the great objects of admiration in fact, in Naples justly has it been observed, that every thing is gilded, from the cupolas of the churches. to the pills of the apothecary.

or taste.

London is noisy; but compared with Naples, it is tranquility itself. In London, the people pour along the great thoroughfares, in a steady and continuous stream, and at regular periods; Eastward, or City ways, in the morning, and Westward, or homeward in the afternoon. But the vast and motley crowds of Naples whirl about in groups like eddies, or collect in crowds by the mere exigencies of their animal existence. Here, we come upon a mob, col