On my first
visit Don Pasquale accompanied me, and through him I made the
acquaintance of the custodian. But I was not in the museum mood;
reviving health inclined me to the open air, and the life of to-day;
I saw these musty relics with only a vague eye.
After living amid a malaria-stricken population, I rejoiced in the
healthy aspect of the mountain folk. Even a deformed beggar, who
dragged himself painfully along the pavement, had so ruddy a face
that it was hard to feel compassion for him. And the wayside
children--it was a pleasure to watch them at their games. Such
children in Italy do not, as a rule, seem happy; too often they look
ill, cheerless, burdened before their time; at Catanzaro they are as
robust and lively as heart could wish, and their voices ring
delightfully upon the ear. It is not only, I imagine, a result of
the fine air they breathe; no doubt they are exceptional among the
poor children of the south in getting enough to eat. The town has
certain industries, especially the manufacture of silk; one feels an
atmosphere of well-being; mendicancy is a rare thing.
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