THE JOURNEY TO INDIA. 7 



and bad smells, in the course of which we made two excursions to 

 Vesuvius and collected a ton of lava specimens, and also visited 

 Pompeii to see the place, and scoop up a bagful of the fine pumice- 

 stone which still covers a large portion of the city. Men are just 

 as great fools as other animals. There are half a dozen populous 

 villages nearer to the treacherous old volcano than this which was 

 buried out of sight, and human memory too, in a few hours* time ; 

 and the vineyards reach as far up the mountain as the lava will al- 

 low. Famiharity has bred contempt, and the people take it for 

 gi'anted that the great ash-pile will never again get up such high 

 jinks with pumice-stone, sand, ashes, and hot water, as broke up 

 the circus that fine day in Pompeii, in the year 79. 



While in Naples we spent several days among the oyster-stalls on 

 the quay, buying quantities of shells, star-fishes, and echinoderms 

 of many species from the Mediterranean. It really seems as if the 

 Italians eat every living animal they can catch in the sea excepting 

 the corals and sponges. In addition to the common edible fishes, 

 the poor people devour sharks, rays, octopods, echinoderms, squids, 

 crustaceans, and shell-fish of all sorts. By way of experiment, we 

 tried a few of the outre dishes which are daily cooked and served up 

 in the oyster-stalls. Fried shark was very good, and so was shell- 

 fish soup, but the festive echinoderm was rather tasteless and de- 

 lusive. We tried to eat some stewed octopus, but it was tough as 

 india-rubber and salt as the ocean, and after five minutes' steady 

 chewing we gave it back to the caterer to be sold again for the 

 benefit of the poor. 



Naples has no public market, but there is a certain wide street 

 in which, as in Albany, fish, flesh, and fowl are gathered together 

 every morning, and every man with aught to seU stands up and 

 howls at the top of his voice until whatever he has is sold. The 

 infernal din, the dirt and bad smells, were enough to appall sensi- 

 tive nerves ; but every morning we used to go in and take our 

 chances amid the motley rabble of buyers and beggars. In this 

 way we secured many fine specimens of Octopus vulgaris, and vari- 

 ous cuttle-fishes, mursenas, lobsters, crabs, shell-fish, etc., which we 

 preserved in spirits. 



Of course we visited the famous zoological station, founded and 

 conducted by Dr. Dohrn, for the systematic study of marine in- 

 vertebrate Hfe under the best possible advantages. The basement 

 story of the pretty building, which stands at one end of a grassy 

 esplanade, close to the shore, is devoted to an aquarium for the 



