Part 5 (1/2)

The landlord onceout to the crowd, hesearched now for the offender against the Bambino, and when he was found he would at once be handed over to the authorities He urged them to wait patiently, and they should see that justice would be done

The cro calmer, and waited The landlord then went back, and led the party down to the court-yard Here the carriage was all in readiness, and the driver aiting They all got in at once, unseen by the crowd in the street; and then, cracking his whip, the driver urged the horses off at full speed through the gates The crowd fell back on either side, so as to make away, and were not in a position to offer any obstacles to so sudden an onset

They also had the idea that the culprit was inside the hotel, in the hands of the authorities

But the old woman was not to be deceived; she saw it all in a , gesticulating wildly, dancing, and jue The crowd followed But the carriage had already got a good start; it had burst through the people, and those who stood in the ere only too glad to get out of it, and thus, with the horses at full speed, they dashed up the street; and before long they had left Sorrento, and the hotel, and the insulted Ba old beldam far behind

David's adventure in Sorrento had been a peculiar one, and one, too, which was not without danger; but if there was any satisfaction to be got out of it, it was in the fact that the tassel which he had acquired, remained still in his possession, to be added to his little stock of relics

CHAPTER IV

_Salerno and the sulky Driver--Paestureat Sensation--An unpleasant Predicaue with Bandits?--Arguht about it_

After a very pleasant drive through a country as beautiful as it had been ever since they left Naples, the party reached Salerno, where they passed the night Salerno is a lovely place, situated at the extremity of a bay, like Naples, of which it may be called a h hills that encircle it, and its delicious clireat resort for invalids But formerly Salerno had a different character, and one far more prominent in the eyes of the world Salerno has a history full of events of the ht for by Greek, and Roman, and German, and Saracen, and Norman, its streets have witnessed the march of hundreds of warlike arrays, and it has known every extres make Salerno full of interest to the traveller who loves the past

One is, its position as a seat of learning daring the reatest school of medicine in, the world, the chairs of which were thrown open, to Jewish and Arabian professors, who at that time far outstripped the students of the Christian world in scientific attainory VII, found refuge, after his long struggle, and, flying fro the friendly Normans, for it was in Salerno that he uttered those hteousness, and hated iniquity, and therefore I die in exile”

Here at Salerno they had a slightmore pay As they had already made a full contract with him, this demand seemed like an irew furiously excited, gesticulated vehemently, staether, and uttered language which sounded like Italian oaths, though they could not make it out Uncle Moses seemed a little appalled at his vehement, and was inclined to yield to his demands for the sake of peace; but the boys would not listen to this for aItalian till they were tired, Frank at length started to his feet, and in a peremptory tone ordered him out of the room The Italian was so unprepared for this decisive conduct on the part of one who appeared to be but a boy, that he stopped short in the ainst the to denounce the stopped, he stared at Frank, and seeo on oncethem with a threat that he would call in the police At this the driver's broered into a sullen scowl, and eance, he left the room

The boys chatted a little about the mutiny of the driver, as they called it, but soon dis the night at Salerno, they prepared, on the following , to continue their journey Early in the day, the driver made his appearance He was quiet, and not coed from his for that he was sulky, he gave up all attean to think that it ht, perhaps, have been as well to comply with his request, for the request for more money had been based upon his recent rescue of them from the hands of the mob at Sorrento Had the driver made his request a little more ht, there is no doubt that they would have cheerfully given what he asked But his tone excited their resentment; and afterwards, when the driver chose to lose his temper and scold them, they were more determined than ever to refuse Had he appeared at this tiood-natured expression, and had he shown any signs of compunction for his insolent behavior, there is no doubt that they would have brought up the subject of their own accord, and promised him as handsome a sum as his exploit deserved But his continued sulks prevented the the subject, and so they concluded to defer it to soht be restored to hi the road en route for Paestu the sea-shore, but after a few miles the road turned off into the country All around them were fields, which were covered with flocks and herds, while in the distance were hills that were clothed with vineyards and olive groves, that adorned their sloping declivities with ht In the country, on either side, they also saw sos of repugnance within the in the fields just as the hs, or with harrows In so in the fields, while theunder the shade of some tree The implements of labor used excited their surprise The hoes were as ponderous, as cluhs were ht wooden share, which was soh by no hs orked in various ways, being sometimes pulled by donkeys, sometimes by oxen, and on one h, while a h the furrow

The road was a good one, and was at first well travelled They met soldiers, and priests, and peasants They e herds of those peculiar hairless pigs which are common to this country As they drove on farther, the travel dith the country seemed more lonely It was still fertile, and covered with luxuriant vegetation on every side; but the signs of huth they ceased The reason of this lies in the unhealthy character of the country, which, like many places in Italy, is subject to malaria, and is shunned by the people This is the nature of the country which lies around ancient Paestuh the fields are cultivated, yet the cultivators live at a distance upon the slopes of the mountains

At about midday they arrived at Paestu instruction to the driver to remain at this place until they should return, they started off to explore the ruined city It had been their intention to uide, to show the-continued sulks drove this from their uide-books The carriage was drawn up on the side of the road, not far from where there stood an archway, still entire, which once forates of Paestuateas fore blocks of stone laid upon each other without cees of time On either side of this could be seen the foundation stones of the city walls, which have fallen or have been rees But the circuit of the walls can be traced by the fragments that yet reed

Beyond the gates and in the enclosure of the walls are some majestic and world-famed ruins, some of which are little else than masses of rubbish, while others are so well preserved, that they inally devoted

There are the remains of a theatre and of an amphitheatre, which, however, are confused heaps, and some public edifices in the same condition The foundations of some private housesof the remains of Paestuin reaches back to the depths of an immemorial antiquity, but which still remain in a state of preservation so perfect as to be almost incredible For these edifices are as old, at least, as Homer, and were probably in existence before his day Phoenician sailors or merchants may have set eyes on these temples, who also saw the Tee of the Pharaohs, and rival in antiquity, in randeur, and in perfect preservation, the Pyrae of imperial Rome, and even of republican Roustus visited thearded them as remains of venerable antiquity

Of these three edifices, the most majestic, and probably the most ancient, is the one which is called the Temple of Neptune The stone of which it is built, is found in the neighborhood still, and presents a h and full of holes, like cork A closer exaether in a vast, solid ly hard and durable The blocks of this stone out of which this temple, and the others also, are built, are of such enormous size, that they can only be compared to those iypt and the Temples of Karnak Piled up here upon one another without cees of time

The Temple of Neptune is approached by three immense steps, which extend around every side of it It is about two hundred feet in length, and eighty in breadth, while on every side there is a row of enormous columns of the Doric order, thirty-six in number They are all fluted, and have an aspect of severe and randeur that is unequalled in any other temple Above these coluht of which is equal to half the height of the coluive such vastness to the htens the sublime effect

The coluh, and seven feet in diameter at the base Inside, the paveone, yet the place where it stood can easily be seen There is no roof above, and probably never was any; for many of the vast edifices of antiquity were open to the sky--a circumstance which made the task of the architect much easier, since it relieved hiht in the air, and also of the equal difficulty of lighting the interiors of his buildings From within the temple enclosures, as from within the theatres and amphitheatres, the blue sky could be seen overhead, while the too fervid rays of a midsummer sun, or the storms of winter, could be warded off fro thrown over the open roof, and stretched on cables

Near the Temple of Neptune is another, which is called the Terand as the forance and beauty It is about a hundred feet long and fifty feet wide Like its companion, it is surrounded on all sides by a colonnade, six pillars being in the front, six in the rear, and twelve on either side The altar here is gone, but its foundations reree of splendor in the interior adornment of this temple, especially the fact that the pavement was mosaic work There is reason to suppose that this temple was turned into a Christian church some time in the fourth century Such a transforhout the Roreat triumph of Christianity which took place under Constantine, and after him, so that in this, case there need be little room for doubt as to the truth of the statereat edifices of Paestu nearly two hundred feet long, and about eighty feet wide Like the others, it is surrounded by a colonnade, but the architecture is less massive than that of the first temple Of these columns, nine are in front, nine in the rear, and sixteen are on either side, ns whatever of an altar; and this circumstance has led to the belief that it was not a tely, it is called the Basilica, which term was used by the Romans to indicate a place used for public trials Inside, the pavement yet remains, and there are the re theit into two parts

Of all the three, the Terandest, the best preserved, and the iant forhty relics of hoary antiquity, unsurpassed by any other edifice, rise before the traveller, exciting within him emotions of reverential awe

The party visited all these various objects of interest, and at length returned to the gate They had spent about two hours in their Purvey of Paestu more reht at Salerno They had seen nothing of the driver since they left hiround that he was stillover his wrongs; and they thought that if he chose toas it was agreeable to hiateway As they drew near, they were surprised to find that there were no signs of the carriage The vieas open and unobstructed Here and there ments of stone arose in the place where once had been the wall of the city of Paestuateway, but no carriage or horses were visible