Report of a Journey Around the World. 117 



There were improvements in the arrangement of some of the 

 sculptures of the Vatican galleries, but certain of the minor details 

 both here and at the Lateran were simply disgusting; fortunately 

 the wave of indecency had not extended to the Capitoline, nor to 

 the other museums in control of the Italian Government. 



There seemed great advance in sanitary matters in Rome, and 

 the streets were cleaner than I had ever before seen them ; but 

 the very growth and prosperity of the city, especially the erection 

 of huge commonplace apartment houses, has taken away much of 

 the old charm. Owing to the Tiber embankment improvement we 

 had to climb down through a back yard to get a glimpse of the 

 good masonry of the Cloaca maxima, one of our schoolboy wonders. 

 Certainly the improved access to some of the hilltops gives fine 

 views over the city, but the picturesque ruins have mostly been 

 hidden by pretentious modern buildings such as one can see in 

 almost any European city. We were unseasonable visitors to 

 Rome, and were disappointed, although the weather was charming. 

 The beautiful villa Aurelia on the Janiculum, which has recently 

 become the home of the American Academy here, was the subject 

 of a pleasant visit, and we even crawled through a portion of the 

 Catacombs for the first (and I hope the last) time, although we 

 got some good out of the underground journey by the guidance of 

 an intelligent and interesting young monk, from whom we learned 

 more about the saints and martyrs than we expected. 



Onto Naples, an afternoon journey, and we reached my former 

 resting place. Hotel Parker's, on August 6th. The view over the 

 bay from our window, though beautiful, was not quite what it 

 was in 1896, for then Vesuvius was in quiet eruption, and the 

 column of smoke by day and the red eye lower down watching 

 the city by night gave a quality now wanting from the shattered 

 and sleeping summit of the volcano. 



An early visit was paid to the far-famed Zoological Station 

 founded by the late Dr. Anton Dohrn. This was visited with sad- 

 ness, for the remembrance of the kind recepl ion that distinguished 

 man gave me in [896, and the interest he expressed in my plans 

 for a similar institution in Honolulu, which he declared was per- 

 hapS the best place in the world for such an institution, made his 

 ■ enly felt. We found, however, a gentleman who was 



I 2f..S ] 



