Hurried on by a hungry, noisy, merry party, we at length reached the Caserna (the ancient barracks, or as Forsyth will have it, the praetorium).  The central court of this building has been converted into a garden:  and here, under a weeping willow, our dinner table was spread.  Where Englishmen are, there will be good cheer if possible; and our banquet was in truth most luxurious.  Besides more substantial cates, we had oysters from Lake Lucrine, and classically excellent they were; London bottled porter, and half a dozen different kinds of wine.  Our dinner went off most gaily, but no order was kept afterwards:  the purpose of our expedition seemed to be forgotten in general mirth:  many witty things were said and done, and many merry ones, and not a few silly ones.  We visited the beautiful public walk and the platform of the old temple of Hercules (I call it old, because it was a ruin when Pompeii was entire); the Temple of Isis, the Theatres, the Forum, the Basilica, the Amphitheatre, which is in a perfect state of preservation, and more elliptical in form than any of those I have yet seen, and the School of Eloquence, where R** mounted the rostrum, and gave us an oration extempore, equally pithy, classical and comical.  About sunset we got into the carriages, and returned to Naples.

Of all the heavenly days we have had since we came to Naples, this has been the most heavenly:  and of all the lovely scenes I have beheld in Italy, what I saw to-day has most enchanted my senses and imagination.  The view from the eminence on which the old temple stood, and which was anciently the public promenade, was splendidly beautiful, the whole landscape was at one time overflowed with light and sunshine, and appeared as if seen through an impalpable but dazzling veil.  Towards evening the outlines became more distinct:  the little white towns perched upon the hills, the gentle sea, the fairy island of Rivegliano with its old tower, the smoking crater of Vesuvius, the bold forms of Mount Lactarius and Cape Minerva, stood out full and clear under the cloudless sky:  as we returned, I saw the sun sink behind Capri, which appeared by some optical illusion like a glorious crimson transparency suspended above the horizon:  the sky, the earth, the sea, were flushed with the richest rose colour, which gradually softened and darkened into purple:  the short twilight faded away, and the full moon, rising over Vesuvius, lighted up the scenery with a softer radiance.

Thus ended a day which was not without its pleasures:—­yet had I planned a party of pleasure to Pompeii, methinks I could have managed better. Par exemple, I would have deferred it a fortnight later, or till the vines were in leaf; I would have chosen for my companions two or at most three persons whom I could name, whose cultivated minds and happy tempers would have heightened their own enjoyment and mine.  After spending a few hours in taking a general view of the whole city, we would have sat down on the platform