They saw men and women in queer costumes of gay colors—the women without hats or bonnets—going about the streets, and sunning themselves in the doorways, combing their children's heads or their own untidy locks; they saw them hanging out their washing on the backs of chairs right out in the street; they saw a woman and a cow together pulling a big wagon; they saw a wee bit of a donkey harnessed with an ox, and both tugging at a cart as placidly as though they weren't a funny pair; they saw a cow, a horse, and a donkey, all three harnessed before a vegetable-cart, on which sat a driver "not even as old as Teddy," the children were sure, though he may have been older than he looked, as so many of the poorer class of children in Naples are stunted in growth; they saw a wee little bony donkey pulling a wagon which carried six big men and women in it, and they didn't think it was a bit cruel to put so heavy a burden on such a little beast. But our dear little tender-hearted couple thought it so cruel that they could not even look at it after the first glance.

They saw lots of little children in the street going about with great beautiful bunches of flowers—red, red roses and Italian violets in their dirty little hands, running after carriages, and holding their fragrant wares up to the ladies and gentlemen who were driving about to see the city. Polly wondered why the people didn't want to keep the flowers, but kept shaking their heads no all the time. She knew she would keep them and say: "Thank you," very politely if any little girl or boy offered her any.

And presently a small boy ran up to the carriage and held up his roses. Now, it chanced that Mamma and Papa were very busy at that moment searching for certain information in their guide-books, and so they did not notice the little flower-boy, nor hear Miss Polly's delighted thanks as she took the flowers in her eager hands. The carriage was going very slowly, and the expectant little Italian trotted alongside waiting for the coin which in her dear innocent heart Polly had no idea was wanted, for she was whispering to Teddy: "I think these Napelers are very kind and polite to us, don't you?" And she gravely proceed to divide her gift with her "chum."

"Una lira! una lira!" whined the impatient lad outside, and at that Mamma looked up and discovered Polly's funny mistake. How she laughed, and Papa too! How red Polly's cheeks grew! Redder than her roses, which she thought had been a polite gift to her.

"What does he mean?" Teddy asked, "saying all the time 'ooner-leerer'?"

"He means that he wants one lira (which means twenty cents of our money) for his roses," replied Mamma, "and I will let you give him the money, dear," passing it to Teddy, who felt very much like a grown-up man as he leaned over and dropped the price of Polly's beautiful roses in the outstretched and very dirty little hand of the Italian.

"I don't think Napelers are so polite and kind as I did," said Polly somewhat crossly, for, you see, she felt so astonished and so ashamed of her mistake that it did make her a little cross with herself and the circumstances.

However, when Teddy sweetly and with great gallantry pinned one of his share of the roses to Polly's jacket, she smiled her crossness out of sight, and everything was cheerful again. As they drove along the children saw many other curious things, and stored them away in their memories to talk over together and tell to their little friends at home. Finally they arrived at the hotel, and were shown to their rooms, which overlooked the bay.

Old Vesuvius, which had been through a state of fierce eruption (you all know about volcanos, of course, and must have heard about Mount Vesuvius, so that you will know what a volcanic eruption means, and I need not explain it here) some time before this, was now settling down into quite a calm state again, but that night after the sky had grown dark our little couple noticed the dull red glow on the crater's head, and saw little thin streaks of fire down upon the side of the mountain nearest the bay; and Papa told them all about the famous old mountain and its bad habits, and promised to take them to the ruins of the once beautiful and ancient city of Pompeii (I shouldn't wonder if my little readers had studied about it in their geographies), and tell them of the way old Vesuvius went to work, long, long, long ago to destroy the city and its inhabitants by throwing lava and hot ashes down upon it, on a day when everybody was happy, and careless, and little dreaming what was coming to them all.

After looking out upon the shining waters of the bay, and seeing the pretty reflection of the stars in them by-and-by, and listening to the twinkling music of mandolins and the tuneful voices of the Italian street-singers awhile, our little Teddy and Polly went sleepily to bed, and never even had a dream, their slumber was so sound.