MUE^NID^. 385 



souplessej la legerete interessent et seduisent; et h la 

 sensibilite, que les affections douces et constantes ton- 

 client si profondement j et &, la philosophie memCj qui se 

 plait h contempler et le principe et I'effet d'un instinct 

 superieur :' he says nothing about gourmets and sauce^* 

 tortue, though the former eonstitiite a large class of his 

 countrymen^ and the latter (in their eyes at least) adds 

 very much to the ' agremens' of the eel. 



Eels are as common a luxury at Naples as with uSj 

 only not quite so cheap. The following brief notice, ex- 

 tracted from our journal kept on the spot about five 

 years ago, shows this : — 



' Christmas Eve. — Nothing can exceed the bustle and 

 noise of the streets today ; all the way up the Toledo 

 is one vast scene of excitement : the beggars whine for 

 alms in stronger accents ; the cries of itinerant salesmen 

 are perfectly terrific ; the vociferation of buyers who wiU 

 not be sold, and of sellers who will not be bought, rise 

 high above the shrilling of children, the lashing of whips, 

 the yelling of dogs, the chanting of processions, the burst- 

 ing of petards, the rolling of drums, and the crashing of 

 wheels. The battle of hard bargains is fought with spirit 

 today, and the subject of contention is — eels ; every fa- 

 vourite Italian bonbon, fiittura, and dolce is on sale as 

 well, but these certainly form the staple commodity, and 

 carry off aU the honours of the day, holding the same 

 place in the affections of the lazzaroni, and being as in- 

 dispensable a standiug-dish for his Christmas, as roast 

 beef and plum-pudding are to an Englishman : or hard- 

 boiled eggs over Romanized Europe at Easter. Men 

 with their ears bored, and adorned, as well as each 

 greasy hand, -vHth huge gold rings, vociferate fiercely, 

 as they slice, with large long knives, unsightly pastes, 

 called 'rustici e dolci,' — messes composed of flour and 

 rancid grease, into which are stuck a heterogeneous col- 

 lection of unsavoury sweet and sour confectioneries; 



s 



