eturned again to the mouth of the
river, and then proceeded on his way down the coast until he came to
the Tiber, and entered that river. He landed at Ostia, a small port
near the mouth of it--the port, in fact, of Rome. One reason why he
landed at Ostia was that the galley in which he was making the voyage
required some repairs, and this was a convenient place for making
them.

Perhaps, too, it was his intention to visit Rome; but while at Ostia
he became involved in a quarrel with the bishop that resided there,
which led him at length to leave Ostia abruptly, and to refuse to go
to Rome. The cause of the quarrel was the bishop's asking him to pay
some money that he owed the Pope. In all the Catholic countries of
Europe, in those days, there were certain taxes and fees that were
collected for the Pope, the income from which was of great importance
in making up the papal revenues. Now Richard, in his eagerness to
secure all the money he could obtain in England to supply his wants
for the crusade, had appropriated to his own use certain of these
church funds, and the bishop now called upon him to reimburse them.
This application, as might have been expected, made Richard extremely
angry. He assailed the bishop with the most violent and abusive
language, and charged all sorts of corruption and wickedness against
the papal government itself. These charges may have been true, but the
occasion of being called upon to pay a debt was not the proper time
for making them. To make the faults or misconduct of others, whether
real or pretended, an excuse for not rendering them their just dues,
is a very base proceeding.

As soon as Richard's galley was repaired, he embarked on board of it
in a rage, and sailed away. The next point at which he landed was
Naples.

Richard was greatly delighted with the city of Naples, which, rising
as it does from the shores of an enchanting bay, and near the base of
the volcano Vesuvius, has long been celebrated for the romantic beauty
of its situation. Richard remained at Naples several days. There is an
account of his going, while there, to perform his devotions in the
crypt of a church. The crypt is a subterranean apartment beneath the
church, the floors above it, as well as the pillars and walls of the
church, being supported by immense piers and arches, which give the
crypt the appearance of a dungeon. The place is commonly used for
tombs and places of sepulture for the dead. In the crypt w