a Cava or
Salerno, in the mode of our forefathers; and the other by taking the train
to the little junction of Battipaglia, and thence proceeding southward by
the coast line to the station of Pesto itself, that stands almost within a
stone's throw of the chief gate of Poseidonia. A third, and perhaps a
preferable way, consists in using the railway beyond Battipaglia to Eboli,
a town of no little interest in the upper valley of the Silarus, and
thence driving along the base of the rocky hills that enclose the maritime
plain and through the oak wood of Persano that was brigand-haunted within
living memory. But though the scenery between Eboli and Paestum
undoubtedly owns more charm and variety than the marshy flats can boast,
yet the strange loneliness of the sea-girt level has a fascination of its
own, which will appeal strongly to all lovers of pristine undisturbed
nature. For the larger portion of these Lucanian plains still remains
uncultivated, so that thickets of fragrant wild myrtle and lentisk, of
coronella and of white-blossomed laurustinus, stud the landscape; whilst
the open ground is thickly covered with masses of hardy but gay flowering
weeds. The great star-thistles run to seed unchecked by the scythe, and
the belled cerinthia and the glaucous-leaved tall yellow mulleins seem to
thrive heartily on the barren soil. Boggy ground alternates with patches
of dry stony earth, and in early summer every little pool of water affords
sustenance to coarse-scented white water-lilies, and clumps of the yellow
iris that are over-shadowed by masses of tall graceful reeds. These
_arundini_, which are to be found near every water-course or pool
throughout Italy, are characteristic of the country with their broad grey
leaves, their heads of pink feathery bloom, and their mournful whispering
answers to the question of every passing breeze; elegant in their growth,
they are also beloved by the practical peasant who utilizes their long
slender stems for a variety of purposes in his domestic economy. For the
reeds, stripped of their foliage, support his tender young vines and make
good frame-work whereon to train his peas and tomatoes; the longest canes
of all, moreover, serve well as handles for the long feather brushes which
are used so extensively in all Italian households. Other floral denizens
of the plain are the great rank _porri_, or wild leeks, conspicuous with
their bright green curling leaves issuing from globe-like roots