Saturday, the 4th [May 1850] —We pass the day at Pompeii. Oh! the city of the dead! If there were any Christians among the people there, how certainly must they have believed that the day of the Lord had come!

[…]

 The charm of the day and of the scene, when we traced the street of the tombs, the shops, the villas, the theatre, and houses of Diomedes and Pansa, was almost destroyed by the remorseless and insatiable beggars who beset us. We were, however, much amused by the nimbleness and dexterity of one Neapolitan who danced the Tarantella, by another who imitated on a stick the tuning of a guitar, and by three poor fellows who met us at the entrance of the city with a violin, and singing. I could only make out some rhymes about the "Inglesi;" when it came to that word they raised their voices, and smiled, and bowed. We paid them for their music, and I hope they were not disappointed.