own would have been excavated. He, and still more the
Queen, took great interest in it, and they both went there
frequently. She used to see the houses excavated, and one day
they found the skeleton of a woman with gold bracelets and
earrings, which were brought to her, and she put them on herself
directly. In their time 800 men and 50 cars were at work; now
there are 40 men and 6 cars. The expense of 800 men and 50 cars
would be about L13,000 a year, but these men will spend nothing.
A car costs a scudo, and a man four carlins, a day. (A scudo is
ten carlins, a carlin fourpence.) The Royal Family seldom or
never come here; the Duke of Calabria has been once. The
Amphitheatre, though not to be compared in size or beauty with
the Coliseum, is much more perfect. The road here is beautiful,
particularly about La Cava. I walked up to the Convent of the
Trinita; it stands on the brink of a deep ravine in the middle of
the hills, which are tossed into a hundred different shapes and
covered with foliage--a magnificent situation. The convent is
very large, and well kept; it contains fifty monks, who were most
of them walking about the road. Here were all the raw materials
requisite for a romance--a splendid setting sun, mountains,
convent, flock of goats, evening bell, friars, and peasants.
Arrived here, delighted with the outside and disgusted with the
inside of the town; but the Bay of Salerno is beautiful, the
place gay and populous, all staring at a fire-balloon which was
just ascending, and soon after came down in the sea. The inns
execrable. We got into one at last, in which there is a wide
terrace looking over the sea, and there we ordered our dinner to
be laid; but we were soon driven in, not by the cold, but by the
flaring of our tallow candles.

We were obliged to write our names down for the police, who are
very busy and inquisitive. One man, whose name was just before
mine, had added this poetical encomium on the inn:--

I mention by way of _guidanza_
For those who are going to Paestum,
They'll find at this inn, the 'Speranza,'
A good place to eat and to rest 'em.

I could not concur with this poet, so I added to my name this
contradiction:--

On the 'Hope's' being such a good treat
We must both put our positive vetos;
We not only got nothing to eat,
But ourselves were ate up by mosquitos.

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