At Lyons he was called upon by the Prefect, the President of the Municipal Council, and the American residents and several silk merchants, who accompanied him on a tour of inspection of the quays. The next day the party embarked for Marseilles. Here they remained until the 5th, when they departed for Nice, where, on the 10th, they took passage on the Vandalia for Naples, where they arrived on the 17th.

CHAPTER IX.

THE PARTY REACH NAPLES YOUNG'S LETTER VESUVIUS, AS SEEN FROM THE CITY-THE ROAD ΤΟ THE MOUNTAIN-ITS ROMANCE AND HISTORY—THE ASCENT-OVERLOOKING POMPEII-A ROMANTIC PICNIC ON THE LAVA-GLIMPSES OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE IN NAPLES-AN INTERESTING JOURNEY.

General Grant and his party reached Naples on the 17th of December. Mr. Young thus describes what they saw and what they did:

We came to Naples hoping to find sunshine, but the consul tells us that there has been no such weather for many seasons. It would be even cold in our inclement New York. I rejoice in the possession of a capacious ulster, which I brought into the Mediterranean against many protests, but which has been a useful companion. Poor Naples looks especially cold. These poor souls need sunshine, and they are almost too cold to beg. So much has been written about Naples that I may be spared a catalogue of its attractions. On entering the harbor the General and wife landed, and made a tour of the city. There was the summer palace, in which royal persons live for a few weeks every year, and whose grounds are open only by permission. There is the castle of San Martin, an old monastery, now turned into a museum and a barracks. We spent a good hour in looking at its curiosities, which did not impress us either as curious or startling. "This," said the guide, "is the picture of Mr. So-and-So, who generously gave this museum to Naples." "Well," said the General, in an aside tone, "if I had a museum like this, I would give

it to Naples, or whoever would take it." There was a beautiful chapel, in which the Lord is no longer worshipped, but which was a gem of elaborate decoration. There was a burial-ground of the monks, surrounded by marble pillars, upon which skulls were engraved. In the centre was cne larger skull, grinning, and over the temples a withering laurel wreath. Around this cemetery were the cloisters under whose arches our friends, the monks, used to read

and walk and meditate, with such suggestions as the skulls would inspire. It was ghostly enough, and there was a comfort in turning from it to the balcony, a few steps off, which overlooked the brow of a hill, showing Naples beneath us and Vesuvius beyond-an overpowering picture of life and beauty and nature. We stood on the balcony and looked down from our dizzy height, and thought how much more in consonance with true religion it was to worship God as we saw Him here in His majesty and glory, and not over stones and bones, and sights of evil omens.

There, far above, was Vesuvius, and we were impa

tient for the ascent. It was too late when we arrived, but the General, with military promptness, gave orders for the march next morning. We stood on the deck and studied the stern old mountain, and picked out the various objects with a telescope, and did an immense amount of reading on the subject. The volcano was in a lazy mood, and not alive to the honor of a visit from the ex-President of the United States, for all he deigned to give us was a lazy puff of smoke, not a spark, or a flame, or a cinder. I suppose the old monster is an aristocrat, and a conservative, and said: "What do I care for Presidents, or your new Republics? I have scattered my ashes over a Roman Republic. I have lighted Cæsar's triumphs, and thrown my clouds over Brutus fresh from Cæsar's corpse. Why should I set my forces in motion to please a party of Yankee sightseers, even if one of them should be a famous general and ex-ruler of a Republic? I have looked upon Hannibal and Cæsar, Charlemagne and Bonaparte. I have seen the rise and fall of empires. I have admonished generations who worshipped Jupiter, as I have admonished generations who worshipped the Cross. I am the home of the gods, and if you would see my power look at my base and ask of the ashes that cumber Herculaneum and Pompeii." So the stubborn old monster never gave us a flash of welcome, only a smoky puff now and then to tell us that he was a monster all the time, if he only chose to manifest his awful will. So we stood upon the deck in speculation, and some of us hoped there would be an eruption, or something worth describing. The General was bent on climbing to the very summit, and looking into the crater, and with that purpose we started in the morning.

We should have gone earlier, but many high people in uniforms, commanding one thing or another, had to come on board and pay their respects. It was ten before

we were under way, the General and party in the advance, with our driver, whom we have called the Marquis, on the box, and Mrs. Grant's maid bringing up the rear. We drove all the way. You will understand our route when I remind you that the Bay of Naples is something like a horseshoe. On one side of the shoe is the city, on the other is Vesuvius. Therefore, to reach the mountain, we have to drive around the upper circle of the shoe. The shores of this bay are so populous that our route seemed to be one continuous town. We only knew that we were passing the city limits, when the guard stopped our carriage to ask if there was anything on which we were anxious to pay duty. As there was nothing but a very modest luncheon, we kept on, rattling through narrow, stony streets. Beggars kept us company, although from some cause or another there were not as many as we supposed. Perhaps it was the good government which we are told is dealing severely with beggars, or more likely it was the weather, which, as I remarked, is very cold and seems to have taken all ambition out of the people. Still we were not without attention in this way, and from streets and by-roads a woman or a man, or sometimes a blind man led by a boy, would start up and follow us with appeals for money. They were starving or their children were starving, and lest we might not understand their tongue, they would pat their mouths or their breasts to show how empty they were. For starving persons they showed great courage and endurance in following our carriage. The General had an assortment of coins, and, although warned in the most judicious manner against encouraging pauperism, he did encourage it, and with so much success that before he was half way up the mountain he was a pauper himself to the extent of borrowing pennies from some of his companions to keep up the demands upon his generosity.