Irma in Italy

d the little station, "and as we are not the only passengers on this train we mi

nned the roadway. "It must have been part of an old town wall," said Marion, and at the same moment a tall, short-skirted woman came toward them, c

e woman was now close to them, and as she passed them sh

A few minutes later Irma gav

view of the sea beyond

t temples, the largest of the three edifices that are now practically the sole remains of a once

no finer temples left standing

day, I thought one had to go to Gree

rma to herself called his "high and mighty tone," a tone that

g on our memories. I dare say, Marion, with your exactness, you would like to walk around them and measure them to

g and seventy-nine feet wide, but it would be harder for me to prove without a ladder that

facts! All I wish to remember is the soft, mellow br

she added, "The Basilica is less complete and less imposing

or as well, but I sup

ith stucco to imitate marble; the pediment was adorned w

with them in the train were wandering about the interior-if a roofless space without walls may be called

sh to gather it, Irma. It would be far wiser to sit here and test the luncheon t

e base of a great Doric colu

d you can't blame them for showing alarm at a party of Am

g at him as Uncle Jim spoke, and saw that he pressed

pasteboard receptacle contains,-two hard-boiled eggs for each of us, a fine assortment of chicken legs

hing; "for things are absolutely what you said, except," an

too many Italian luncheon boxes not to know what

ing about, Irma saw a girl of twelve or fourteen, with a shawl over her

in front of the four picnickers, while at the same time she tur

overnment property is probably against the rules, and she fe

the girl reached out h

Marion, "or at least I will; t

ust as he had given her a roll and a chicken leg she took to her heels, disappearing over a hedge of b

he same time two dogs appeared, sniffing for their share of the luncheon. More polite than the girl, however, w

ma's turn to

Nap, and I just can't help giving

until we ha

here was a good heap of bones as well as some scraps of

ge containing rolls, an orange or two, and a little chicken. She had gone ahead of the others to get a photograph from this point of view. Sh

he other side. The eye could not help seeing not only the temple, bu

her. The first girl was a pitiable object, yet Irma knew that she had lately had something to keep her from starvation. The other was fairly well dresse

elay coming! Then she caught a glimpse of them just entering the Basilica. On

te, andate" (go away, go away), in

ke both her camera and her package. Yet Irma, though

ecially as she was now in the ploughed ground, into which her feet sank deeper with every step. There was no occasion to fear, as the girls could accomplish no very desperate deed before help came, but Irma's spirit was up, and her ne

HING HER DRESS, SHE

ly that she could hardly tell what it was. A minute later he had reached the two girls, who were unaware of the avenger's presence until too late to escap

hey hu

two young people s

ion, with some indignation, while Irma wondered wh

uined," and she smoothed out the crushed ribbon bows, and pl

and Irma, opening her bag, presented him with a strip of thin court-plaster from the case John Wall had given her

"You can get a very good idea of the interior by examini

. I just like to look about and wonder what the town was like with

ace like this I should hate to be attacked by brigands. At the present moment we are monarchs of all

she began, but at a warning gla

the Greeks originally landed. As it's much lower

We can barely catch the train, after vis

Marion rema

at would be much more fun. You can dig for the Roman remains that they say lie hidden in that field over there. You know this

too hard in the field over there. You were a brick not to tell Au

Marion's meaning, she thanked

uppose one of them, at least, lives in that miserable little house beyond the fence. But it's strange that Uncle Jim didn't ask about the court-plaster on my face. His

shell now exposed to the light for the first time in the more than two thousand years since the temples were built. When she had tied this up in a corner of her handkerchief,

nd Irma took their last view of Paestum and the surrounding plain. "I suppose the old P

Ah, there we are! And if we return to the road now we can reach the station t

e beautiful Amalfi drive on the high, rocky road above the sea. But that rainy day at Cava was a lost day, and the telegram your uncle received a

a beard of long growth, in coat and trousers of sacking, carried a long axe, as if bound for the woods. Another brigandish creature with khaki trousers and a slouched hat wore a long black cloak, an end of which was thrown over his shoulders. Two girls setting out on a journey wept bitterly, as an old gray-headed woman kissed them good-by. One carried her belongings in two fairly large baskets, and the other had a white sacking bag for hers, with a

for?" at last Mario

blow until every one in S

his coat blew his small brass trumpet, and the tra

evening after dinner, and though tired after her hours of strolling in the ruined city, she felt in the mood for writing. Moreover, Gertrude

y we have no time for Herculaneum. It gave him a kind of smothered feeling, and he did not stay there long. They have not yet dug out enough to mak

ds of people, all in an instant. Our hotel is close to the entrance, in fact my bedroom window looks out on the gate, and when I went to bed it seemed uncanny to be sleeping near so gruesome a place. But in the

I am glad I left the Museum until the last, f

in their narrow streets, and you can hardly believe that the chariot wheels could wea

than one court. They all have at least one court, with rooms opening off it, and some have little fountains in the center, and sometimes the white marble basins are b

pes just like ours. In the smaller houses the family used to spend most of their time in the atrium.

e Vetii,' is the most beautiful, partly because they have left most of the things in the places where they found them, instead of sending them off to museums. The frescoes here are the most fascinating little Cupids playing games and amusing themselves. Of course one carries away only a general impression of these houses. There are traces of bright color everywhere inside, chiefly red and yellow. The bases of many of the columns in the houses were one of these colors. Some streets were full of shops-tabernae. Would you have known what that meant? You can see the marble-covered counters, and the earthen jars for oil

that they have excavated it. To see for yourself how these people lived is better than a hundred lessons in history. Of course it gives you an awful feeling when you stand by the villa of Diomedes and hear that the bodies of eight

t the Forum and the Basilica and the theatre. Just imagine the fifty or sixty gladiators, whose bodies were found in the gla

ould not help thinking that in spite of its calm appearance the mountain is a very

large a part of Pompeii as they have yet uncovered. Who knows what wonderful things may yet be found, though it may take more tha

MP

their valuables, or because they thought it was all over, and there were some old and sick who, perhaps, couldn't be moved at first. All these two thousand were caught in the second fearful eruption. Casts of some of the bodies are in the little museum on the grounds, but