rrible reality of suffering and sorrow. To
escape, therefore, from the gloomy picture, the officers of the vessel
endeavored to withdraw their guests from the deck to the shelter of the
cabin. The change was accomplished well and naturally, and we were
all gathered between decks in that turmoil and confusion which form no
insignificant part of the success of every entertainment, the buzz
of talking and the sounds of pleasant laughter were heard on every
side,--when suddenly a cry was heard above, and then the loud voice of
the officer of the watch, commanding a boat to be instantly manned and
lowered.

A hundred conjectures at once ran round as to the meaning of the order;
but one of the officers hastily entering, a few minutes later, put an
end to all guessing, by informing us that a very dreadful incident had
just occurred within a short distance from where we lay. "You may have
remarked a handsome yacht, which anchored last night in the bay, coming
up from the eastward: she belonged to an English gentleman, with whose
name we were not acquainted, but whose conduct is calculated to confirm
all that Frenchmen are accustomed to say of our national taste for
eccentricity, even in crime. It would seem that at an early hour this
morning he landed at the Mole, and by means of letters with which he
was provided to the Minister of Police, obtained leave to inspect
the different prisons of the city, and to pass under the most minute
examination all those condemned to the galleys for life. As already all
those who work at Castelamare had been sent away, he obtained an order
to visit the galleys there, being determined, as it would seem, to
leave nothing unseen. On reaching Castelamare, it is said that he again
commenced his tour of inspection, going over the roll of the prisoners,
with the muster-book in his hand, as if to compare their features with
the crimes alleged against them, and scrutinizing each with a most
searching look. The visit lasted till nigh evening; and although the
governor was not a little astonished at the proceeding of the stranger,
still less was he prepared for the singular request which succeeded:
it was, that he might be permitted to return to Naples in one of the
convict boats instead of in his own gig. The demand might have been
treated lightly, or altogether refused, but that the Englishman's
appearance and manner indicated rank, while the letter he carried from
the minister showed him to be one wit