by saying, that it must have happened in
consequence of a change in the position of the
upper and lower beams of the two stories;
but, I still hold that it was produced by the
immediate and violent action of the earthquake,
and Humboldt records similar facts
as having taken place in Quito. What was
to be done? I asked. Barracks for the poor
people were wanted, I was told, and that evening
I set to work. The population had fled
to a monastery, the walls of which had been
thrown down. Some portions, however,
remained; and, inside, some huts had been
thrown up of board and straw, and covered
over with clothes, but the wind and the rain
beat fearfully into them. The authorities
had had some made expressly for themselves.
The government officials, too, had erected
some of sticks, lightly covered over with
linen; they looked just like umbrellas, but
no one would go into them. My first dispute
here was with the monks, who would not
allow me to erect barracks within the
precincts of the ruined monastery, as females,
misled, might possibly take refuge there.
The vicar-general and the priests, too, urged
that it would amount to a violation of the
cloister, and would be a mortal sin.
"It has already been broken," I insisted, " for some
huts have already been erected here."
"Absolution must be obtained for those
who have already got in," was the answer; " but,
were others now to obtain admission,
absolution could not be procured for them."
I then asked, ironically: "if it were really true
that it would be a mortal sin to break the
cloister thus ? " On which a young priest
undertook to prove that it would be a
tremendous sin; and I simply observed, that
the earthquake had first broken the cloister,
and had occasioned all the ruin. It was of no
use, however, to argue. I built my barracks
outside the monastery, and the wind swept
away the government umbrellas.

I remained in this place ten or twelve
days, feeding all who came daily, with
kettles of maccaroni or beans; and, on one
occasion, I purchased and cooked a pig,
and distributed it. No one who applied
was sent away without food, and the cost
of all this did not exceed thirty-six ducats.
Besides this I housed twenty-two families
in temporary barracks, so built as to admit
of their taking their looms with them. The
cost of this amounted to two hundred and
fifty-six ducats, seventy grains.

This will be the proper place to speak of a
misunderstanding which I had with the
bishop, on pecuniary matters. At Salerno
I had been cautioned not to place money in the
hands of the priests. "They will put it in
their pockets," I was told. The
administrators of charity collected amongst the
great body of the English, had, however,
placed fourteen hundred and fifty ducats in
the hands of the bishop, who, on the
twenty-lifth of January, had assured them
that a thousand ducats had already been
distributed, and that the remaining four
hundred and fifty ducats would be so directly.
On the first of February I arrived at
Saponara, and found the bishop's vicar-general
distributing the money in the name of the
bishop. From him I ascertained that it was
a portion of the thousand ducats which it
had been asserted on the twenty-fifth of
January, had already been distributed; and
his orders were, to give a hundred ducats
to a hundred families. As soon as the
people learnt that the money had been given
by the English, and not by the bishop, they
flocked round us, showing their paper packets
containing, not ten, but  eight, or even six
carlini; his reverence having mulcted the
people to the tune of ten or twenty per
cent. The vicar-general then ordered the
people to be driven away; but, as several
gendarmes were under my control, I could
prevent this. My next step was to write to
the bishop, and ask for the second sum
of one hundred ducats which had been
intended for Saponara. His excellency sent
it with much confusion, and added, in a
postscript, that his vicar might distribute
a hundred ducats in Viggiano, and two
hundred ducats more in another place. Accordingly,
I sent a trusty messenger, but he
returned empty-handed,—in fact, the bishop
endeavoured to keep back three hundred
ducats, and it took me two months to get it
out of his hands; but I informed him that,
until I had done so, I should not leave the
province. The bishop then wrote to the
arciprete, to get an assurance that ten
carlini had been given to each person, and many
signed it; but the archpriest himself told me
that only eight carlini had been distributed
to each person; at the same time I had
a paper drawn up by the notary, declaring that
the people had been robbed, and this paper
was signed by many respectable persons.

During my stay at Saponara, I went one
day to a small town called Sarcone, the
history of which possesses great classical
interest, and I shall speak of it when I have
I given a report of my visit. My object was;
to distribute money, but so offended were the
authorities at my undertaking to do it myself
that, after the Syndic had given me a list of
names, they left me unprotected, and told
me that I might go into the church, and give
the charity there. Of course the whole
population followed me, and I found myself in
the midst of them without gendarmes, and
abandoned by the leading people; indeed, I
may tell you, that with one or two exceptions
I was very ill received, and much neglected
by all the civil local authorities. A huge fat
priest met me in the church, and attempted
to dissuade me from taking the list which
the Syndic gave me; but, on running it over,
I found that the names were principally those
of women, and one of his flock shouted out,
" Don't take his list, he will give you fifty