Hannibal's army of two thousand years ago becomes to us when we know
that these very mountain tops which are before us looked down upon
it,--that its soldiers idled, ate, and slept on this very plain."

Thus talking, almost before they knew, they came out upon the beautiful
Bay of Naples. They saw the little island of Capri, the larger Ischia
crowned with its volcanic mountains, and, between it and the point of
Posilipo, where once stood Virgil's villa, the tiny island Nisida (old
"Nesis"), whither Brutus fled after the assassination of Julius Cæsar;
where Cicero visited him, and where he bade adieu to his wife, Portia,
when he set sail for Greece.

"Looking out over this same bay, these same islands, Virgil sang of
flocks, of fields, and of heroes," said Mr. Sumner, following the former
line of thought, as he began to take from the racks above the valises
of the party.

Arrived at their hotel, which was situated in the higher quarters of the
city, they were ensconced in rooms whose balconied windows commanded
magnificent views of the softly radiant city, the bay, and, close at
hand, Mount Vesuvius, over which was hovering the usual cloud of smoke.

At the close of the afternoon Barbara and Bettina stood long on their
own window-balcony. The scene was fascinating--even more so than they
had dreamed.

"There is but one Naples, as there is but one Rome and one Florence,"
said Barbara softly. "Each city is grandly beautiful in its own
individual way, but for none has nature done so much as for Naples."