IS THE CAMORRA DOOMED?

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3726, 11 January 1927, Page 8

IS THE CAMORRA DOOMED?

All Italians know that the Camorra thrives anil will ever thrive in Naples so long as the profoundly depressed conditions of economic and intellectual poverty subsist, but they and the world at large will never be able to understand how, in spite of the high degree of civilisation ol our modern times, the Camorra can easily commit daring robberies, assaults, atrocious murders, and other excesses of inconceivable lerocity, and still have the almost complete certainty <.f being leit systematically unpunished. relying partly on its members’ secrecy, which is the very gospel of this criminal association, partly on the weakness of public officials. No judicial trial, therefore, no matter how widely proclaimed, no exemplary punishment, will ever end the Camorra. While, at the time ol the Cuocolo murder and the gigantic rani that followed it, it seemed as il this society had received its death blow and was forever broken up and annihilated, onlv three months later three most atrocious murders were perpetrated m full daylight in Naples, and in connection with one of these crimes the victim a Camorrist. taken to a hospital. Ids chest torn open by mortal wounds, refused, in submission to the rn e ol silence imposed on the members ol the society, to disclose the name ol his assailant. ORGANISED CAMORRA IN STATE PRISONS.

Noi less remarkable is the Camorra s policy of penetrating into the prisons. It is a known fact that the prison authorities, in spile of their efforts, have been unable to repress the smugglin'-- of arms. The many caretul inspections do not prevent, even within the prison walls, the ritual ( amornstic baptism by blood, and whenever honor is at stake, the pointed steel or wooden weapons are suddenly drawn or the Ibdit. In Ditto, in the Pozzuoli 1 emteniiary. the honor of the Neapolitan Camorrists and Sicilian Malms, being at stake, a most deadly challenge «.u» given, and. like a new Dishda di-Hai-ffitta, twelve Neapolitan champions were chosen to light twelve Sicilians, representatives respectively ol those two regions of Italy. In the ensuing combat two Sicilians rolled dead upon the floor, and three Neapolitans were mortally wounded It was neeessam for soldiers to pull down the root ol the room and point their guns against the stragglers in order to paeily those wild beasts.

CAMOKKISTIC WKAI’ONS. There are three kinds of knife. The settesoldi is a long blade that is used to make a permanent scar on the tact,, this weapon, however, is also used li.rht duels among Camornsts. yc\t t this comes ’o znmpainosso, which is the official weapon for the znmpata (.pimping duel). It is a deadly weapon is used for serious duels, and has a wide. Hat and very pointed blade. Ihe thud kind of knife, the tnangolo— tnangii-hr^dagger-—used only tor treacherous murders! has almost fallen into disuse among the militant Camornsts a m.g with another knife called sou/Jm. formerly much dreaded in deadly duels. The razor is used only by the sliegm-tori—scar-makers— but these low-class criminals are not officially 1 > the Camorra as associates. M hen the sc sfregiatori cannot get hold ol a pv'T'ci’ scarring weapon they use with giea e ficienev a two-centime piece the edge of which by patient work they ma< e almost as sharp as a razor. II '. IL sfregiatore wishes to inflict pam besides the scar on the fare, the i. /< ■ blade or the edge of the com is | wo.k d into a kind of saw' blade. But the sfregio is reckoned as a very low vendetta. The man who wishes to nnpu v. a permanent mark of bis hatred on t c face of an enemy very seldom acts himself. If he is a Camorrist he enti lists the whole thing to an aspiring -aiimr rist. who. honored by such pro.)! <>• esteem, will be only too eager to do Ins best. If be is outside the soeietv In speaks of bis grievance and intended vengeance to a Camorrist, and agues with him upon the price, tor instance, one hundred lire (twenty dollars). From this moment the Camornst takes the whole responsibility ol the execution of the criminal pact upon himself, hut he appoints a couple ol

professional slregiatori. one to act as palo ami the oilier to strike tlie blow. THK PALO t WATCHERS). In all sanguinary crimes, as well as in those directed against property. the palo is the man who watches vigilantly to prevent police surprises during the material execution of the crime, and therefore warns his companions of the approach of any policeman, detective, or anyone else who could disturb the operations. If the executor of the crime has been discovered, and is being pursued. the palo’s business is to threaten the pursuer, or cause him to stumble, or. anyhow, divert the attention of the onlooker or passer-by from the actual culprit. As is to be expected, the palo, owing to the delicate and dangerous nature of his mission. is always well provided with formidable weapons. Any approaclyng danger to the executor of the crime is announced by singing some

World’s Greatest Crime Organisation A cable message from Home published recently announced that the sinister Mafia, a criminal organisation that has flourished in Italy tor over fifty years, has “finally been exterminated.” More than 1,000 members of the order, the message announced, capturedjn their last stronghold at Palermo, will shortly stand their trial. This ciills to mind the sensational Camorra tria of the Neapolitan Camondsts at Viterbo in H)H. when the extraordinary scenes witnessed and tlie no less extraordinary revelations made at the trial, and the methods the authorities were forced to adopt to bring the criminals to justice, aroused world-wide interest. An old church was the scene of the trial of the thirty-six accused; in the chancel were the seats bn- the three judges, the Hoyal prosecutor, and the clerk of the court. In one transept were the seats for the jury, in another transept was the famous immense iron cage for the accused. Next to it was a much smaller cage for the informer, one Ahhatcmaggio, The chief figures among the accused were probably Father \ itozzi, “ who, in Ids priestly robes, blesses friend and foe,” and Endemic, one ol the leaders of the Camorra. After lasting for the better part of a year, all the accused were found guilty and sentenced to terms ol imprisonment ranging from thirty years downwards. The following article written during the trial for 1 lit* New York ‘Outlook,’ by Ernest Serao, an Italian author and journalist ol high repute, reveals the tremendous power of one of the greatest crime organisations the world has ever known.

THK CAMOBRA’S CODK OF LAWS. The Camorra, like all other secret societies, lias a code of laws, a stalnle regulating the relations between tinvarious members according to their rank and the rites of investiture.

sweet popular refrain or by whistling. One of the best-known modulations used by the palo is the one on the traditional verse. “ l)i no,” trasetenne ca chiove!” (“Oh, lassie, go in, for it rains!’’), which to the initiate spells “Take care, danger is near.” There may also be more than one palo; in fact, after the judiciary reconstruction of the Cuocolo murder on the solitary seashore of Calastro, at Torre del Greco, it is a known fact that on that terrible night of .June, I POO, there were no fewer than ten pali on watch during the execution of the atrocious deed. The butchery was quick and silent; four men, after having treacherously slabbed in the back the man who had been sentenced to death by the Camorra Tribunal, ended him with desperate blows in the still night. Don Gennaro Cuocolo, the famous basista. was strong and vigorous, and. had he guessed the atrocious design of Ids comrades, who had drawn him there under the pretext of preparing with him the plans for a big burglary, would not have let himself be so easily butchered. Me belonged to a rich industrial family, and, being tall and of line, gentlemanly appearance, dressing with taste, and carrying himself like a grand seigneur, was, on account of these exterior ((unities, of capital importance to the Camorra. Hut, he had got into the habit of taking too often to himself the lion’s share of the profits, and Ihi.s made him so fiercely hated that his death sentence was pronounced, under I he pretext of ’nfamita—infamy, denunciation—or the betrayal of the society’s secrets.

A death seiitcmcc is executed under the responsibility ol the chiefs by faithful Camorrists, and, when necessary. with the help ol ambitious and skilful young lads who either are un-

der police surveillance or have been previously implicated in brutal murders. As a toward for the help they give in the execution of a sentence, those neophytes become ipso facto effective Camorrists, and arc therefore enabled to share in the social profits.

The lenders of the Camorra do not participate personally in a murder. It has been ascertained that at Torre del (Ireeo. while (iennaro Cuoeolo was being murdered, the leaders of tlie Caniorra of Viearia. who had brought about the deatli sentence of the faithless and overbearing basista, were gaily banqueting in the picturesque tavern of Minii a M are. at only n stone’s throw from the theatre of the horrible tragedy, with Krrieone, the head of the society and chief e/nemy of Cuoeolo, Ijis women folk and friends, while secret messages, accompanied by whistling and conventional popular songs from the watchers (pali), were exchanged between the joyful banqueters and the material executors of the crime, who, encouraged by their first success in Contrada Calastro at Torre del (ireeo, hurried on to Naples, and, obtaining access to Cnoeolo’s bouse with the latchkey taken from his dead body, perpetrated the second murder by stabbing, before she could utter a single cry, his wife, Maria Cutinelli, whose suppression as keeper ol the basista’s innermost secrets in connection with the society became now more than ever imperative.

I There is a capo ’ntrine —a sectional head—-and a capo in testa, or hoad-in-chief of the Camorra, a kind of president of the confederation of all the twelve sections into which Naples is divided, and which arc presided over by the capi ’ntrini. In former times the capo in testa had powerful authority. and was a lifetime sovereign of the honorable society, any ambitions pretender to the highest honor being put immediately to death; nor did the secret of Ids suppression ever come out of bis bloody tomb. A sovereign of this kind was 'fore e’ Criseicn/.0. one of the most famous typos of supreme head the Camorra ever bad. Real Camorrists before I'dio disdained llm use of firearms, as old sailors did steam power in the times whem it was beginning its fight against the classical, daring, and complicated field of tiie sail. True courage is not tested by such weapons, which often strike the innocent, the casual passer-by,_ a woman, a. child leaning out of a window. True courage lies in the dramatic, light znmpata. full of technical preparation. of shrewdness, of skill; it requires always great firmness and men ol pluck, wdio must with a serene eye lace, and master real dangers. Papele Caiazzo. the dread of Terra di Lavoro, Radaele o’ Pnzzaro, a young lad, and Pasqnalo Annnnziata are by far the most famous knife-handlers the Camorra can boast of. Raffaolco’ Pnzzaro was assassinated in L G!) in the prison of San Francesco, in Naples, by the well-known Camorrist Raftaele Alcrranzino with a dagger made Irom a splinter of wood taken from a bed boatd and jiatienfly worked to a point; and as at the time, on account of the birth of the Italian Crown Prince (the present King Victor Emmanuel III.) there

was a genera] amnesty, from the worst Neapolitan! prisons poured forth bands of criminals, who, in deep mourning for the death of their chief, went in sorrowful pilgrimage to the Naples Cemetery to deck with all the (lowers the Neapolitan gardens could supply the grave recently closed where the Puzznro lay assassinated. Another fan.cm murder perpetrated about twenty-five years ago was that of Pasquino, the handsome young ( amorrist who boasted of bewitching all women. This murder lias always remained unpunished by express wish of the victim, wko, although dying fully conscious, would not say one word which could give thy police any clue as to the murderers. The omerta imposed silence upon him. Omerta—humility—is ef Sicilian origin, and means the passive submission of all the members of the C'ammra to the supreme will of their superiors, to the hierarchy, and >o the internal law of not revealing > anyone, not even to one’s most intimate iriends, brothers, mother, or wife, the moves, enterprises, and engagements of the society; while hy the tricno—restraint — the most severe discipline is kept m the rank and file of the Cemorra. In lad. hy its influence (he most turbulent elements are kept in strict order: in its name the seen I profits are proportionately divided, and peace, tranquillity, personal safety, and the very lile of its member is tied to the existence ol the whole association

In the chissicnl period, mj to sper‘k. tin! Camorra had it very limited membership, :md lornied ii kind ol aristoerjicv si nit in <z; criminals, composed "I thorough ly-t rained (a m orris t-;. a round ■whom, Incidentally to 'lie t’amorra. worked in the darn an immense mimlier ol satellites as spies, inl'ormers, middlemen, threalencrs. slabbers, etc., all ui whom were pushed on in their evil work hy the distant hope ol living some time enrolled the olleelive, regular Camorrists, thus inciting them to iniquitous, emulation and deeds ol daring ferocity The high-class Camorrist despises cowardly and vulgar crimes lie does not steal, does not commit extortions, hut causes others to steal, to extort, so hint; as he yets the shrud'o—percentaye dm to him as “ right ol Camorra.” Otherwise he tries to prevent the thelt or extortion and denounces the culprit -—that is to say, the man win. has ;e---lused lorn the shrud'o--wlio is punished in various ways extendiny Irom the adnioiiitioii or slregiu—luce sear—to death sentence.

NEAPOLITAN CA ILMEN CAMORRISTS. Worthy of note is the tact that the CV.morra s elite is composed chiefly ol horse-dealers and bran-sellers, as one of the richest fields of profit is the purchase and sale of horses and the usury imposed upon cabmen for the porch.iso or hire of their vehicles.

Most of these bran-sellers are also cab proprietors and heartless usurers. They let their cabs at very high rates oi sell them by usurious instalments to ibe drivers, who are a 1 moist all under police surveillance for crimes previously committed. In consequence of tbe rigor ol tbo police since 18(50, with such men as Laeava, A more, Eorui, Alfazio, and Sangiorgi at the bead ol the loree, as some exotic scourge which in acclimatising i tse 11 to a i lew laud loses its native original virulence, the Camorra. had already become wbal it lias re-

vealed itself to-day, and often the Camorrists themselves, so long as they were not interfered with in their more

modern operations, have co-operated with tbe police to prevent or discover thefts, burglaries, etc. It may be remembered that in HtOl. when Com nder Ermanno Sangiargi was Chief of Police in Naples, Harmless

Nicotcra, (he wife of the well-known Dalian statesman. Giovanni Nkotcra. was robbed ol a gold watch, set with diamonds, that was very dear to her. Alter the vain efforts Til tbe police and of the political authorities to recover it, Ciccio Cappuccio, (be inlluential Cammorrist par excellence.

was informed of the I act. The old man had a bran shop in Naples n; the Piazzo San Ferdinando. where he kept a beautiful picture of the I Messed Virgin, luxuriously adorned and with numberless candles ever burning before it, and in this shop he lived as il retired from the militant ranks of the mala vita.

The veteran Camorrist seemed \ery much struck by the fact, especially as it was whispered that unless the jewel were found a big raid would soon fake place, and Camornsts would be sent wholesale to the bard-labor '-olonies. No more words were necessary, and the watch, without, any noise, was mysteriously laid by an invisible band on the baroness’s writing-table with an anonymous note, offering many apologies and stating that ihe thief did not know, at the moment of the theft, that he was going to cause so much distress to the wife ol the

political chief of the Italian police. (Baron Ciovanni Nieotera was at the time Minister of the Interior, and therefore at 11 1 ■ ■ bead of (be police of the entire kingdom). WOMKN IN TTIF. CAM OB BA.

Women do not belong to the Camorra. They are subject of exploitation. a kind of merchandise of the society. and are instrumental in crimes, hut they cannot belong to the rank and file of the association. It a Camorrist’s daughter or vile gets bold of a secret belonging to the society, she is strictly bound to keep it. and if. hy loquacity, which is said to be Ibe essence ol her sex, she commits an indiscretion, she becomes liable to tli<‘ same punishment contemplated for inlamita —denunciation—ol the men. The murder of Cuocolo’s wife is the best illustration ol this rule. Also the basisla - planner < >l burglaries—;iud all the receivers ol stolen goods are excluded I min the files of the Camorra proper, much as these gentlemen arc 1 brown with Ibe Camorrists, in whose business they arc (loscly connected. A basista’s wile or sweetheart may be her-ell a most useful basisla. Uasista is the man who lay- Ibe plans that are the foundation ol a, burglary, and devises the means ol bringing it to execution. Obtaining access lo a wealthy house through Ins gentlemanly appearance, securing 111" confidence of the owners or otherwise, he studies, works out bis project, and gives to the executors the plan of the burglary; in short, be is an artist burglar, and after be lias sold bis project lie leaves it to the hands and t i the risk of the executors. lint d perchance lie is also among the executors. ho can claim a higher percentage of profits on account of the personal risk incurred in the execution.

FINN FRA L OF A FAMOUS CAMORRIST. When Cicio Cappnccio. the famous Supreme Head of the Camorra, died,

there were mure people at his luneral than at that of a genuine crowned head, though, as was to he expected, they were dilierehi people trom those one generally sees at a luneral. _ II Dante had seen the torrent, which it is difficult lo call human, that Hooded and terrorised Naples on that day, he would without doubt have added a new species ol demon to the circles ol his interim. It Lomhroso had tomid himself among that throng, he would have added an interesting chapter to his work on delinquency. \et 'ho scamps following that luneral were net on that day disfigured hy wrath or insatiable lust; they meant, on the contrary, to express sorrow lor the chief who had passed away, and in this Ira me of mind were even more horrible. Du that memorable day. under the sun that gilds the Naples panorama as well as its dirt, were seen laces that made you shiver, owls’ eyes brought suddenly to light, anthropomorphic skulls, gaits of wolves and gorillas, and there were thousands and thousands ol laces unknown to the majority ol Neapolitans. It seemed as d some huge tribe coming from unknown lands had during the night invaded Naples, I hat interior, brutalised race, which is never brought to breathe the fresh air. to enjoy the sun’s rays, or participate in civil hie, does not live in caves or in grottoes, as some African tribe. No. they dwell and multiply in Neapolitan lodgings. Dwell is scarcely the right word, as their life is passed in what Naples has of dirtiest, most unhealthy, and squalid. They cannot he called houses or hovels, nor even dens, the wretched lodgings of these people who are me infantry of the mala vita, in which the Camorra represents the learned military corps. 'They are inferior to the holes of the rats and mice with whom they share their shelter and their dirty meals’ As a rule the appointment or promotion) of a Caniorrist is solemnised by a great outing or picnic festival. Sometimes a social banquet is given also on the occasion of a picciuotto being initiated, as this is a kind of novitiate of the. Honorable Society. To become a picciuotto ’e sgarro it is necessary to accomplish an act of daring bravery, to participate in a bloody deed

profits i)l which, oi course, go to the prominent members of (he society. Some very dreadful crimes committed against very peaceful and quiet people are told of; a tew years ago a young man lull of life and vigor was stabbed in Naples’ most lashionable thoroughfa i'e by a lad. under the pretext ol having been given a casual knock in the street. It was instead the practical examination of a guaglione 'c mala vita desiious of entering the higher rank of picciuolto, and the author of the fearful crime unanimously received promotion. STATIC LOTTERY A ifOON.

When the Camorrists have accumulated a certain amount of money they become capitalists—that is to say, they become enrolled in the large army ol moneylenders that wins every week a noiseless battle against the poor, devouring their salaries, swallowing up their meagre resources, blasting their hopes before they begin to hud These, capitalist! become propagators of that atrocious Neapolitan poison, usury, the worst enemy of an initiative that might give the lower classes a chance of true economic bet ferment.

Usury is for Naples what absinthe is for France, its slow, inexorable do-

s trover, (lie formidable enemy whose power and deadliness no scourge can ever equal; and this usury is practised

more advantage than on the rich. Among the poor whoever is not an evil-doer is a victim of usury, which has another powerful ally and instrument in the ginoco del lotto (State lottery).

This subtle, consuming usury is practised chiefly on the longed-for Saturday, when all Neapolitans feel that they must play, and on that dreadful day people who lack a few cents to buy a piece of bread, who languish in the grinding straits of unemployment. chiefiv on account of this famished and

hopeless condition, are driven to e;el together, at any cost, the twenty or thirty cents that will onahlo them to try their Inch; and on that day the small capitalist is there, like a vampire in amhnsh spying upon its victim, countin'' its heart throbs, measuring their intensity, and boldine; out the meagre sum that will rivet another link to the chain of a debt that is forever renewed and will accompany these nnt

miiimite people* lo their craves. I Ins slavery imposed upon poverty and ilInsion makes its victim either a martyr who. cent hy cent, has to cive hack all he is eapahle ol earning, or a blind instrument in (he hands ol his despot. A FAMOUS CAM OK K IST.

Another famous and modern type ol Camorrisl. now relegated tor good to the penitentiary, was Tohai Hasile. nicknamed “Scarpa Leggia,” a stolid and wizened old man. Condemned to

death in tor a tensions murder perpetrated hy him. his sentence was commuted, and lie passed thirty years in a penitentiary. I’pon returning to •society he settled in the village ol Fnorigrotta. a v.ery important CaniorI'isiie stronghold. Ills old wile was very lo<|aeions, and I Ids annoyed the ex-convict, who was as silent as a mathematician. Tohia Hasile was a kind ot philosopher with some literary tendencies. In the penitentiary the alphabet had been driven into his tardy brain, and the secluded lile he had led tor so many years had accustomed him to meditations, which lie would jot down in a small diary—an almost un-heard-of thing in the annals ol the Camorra.

As a true member ol the Honorable Society, however, he used a jargon or figurative language even in his private notes. 11 is notebook , there! ore, could not have been deciphered by anyone not acquainted with cryptography ami paleography of the ( amorra. Ihe stranger who should have read them would have taken the venerable writer for an Arcadian poet or for a .sentimental admirer ol the radian! nature around him. These are a lew ol his note- : -

“ Alay I -The violels are out. ’ “dune It I have pruned my garden.” “August ID- 1 low heantil nl is Ihe sun !” “September 12. So many line sheep are passing.”

One day 1 1 is wife disappeared. He seemed sorrowful and resigned. “ Who would have thought it at that age!” he echoed to his neighbors’ sympathy. “ His wife was advanced in years, it was true, hut . . . that cousin was such a tempter!” All the neighbors said they lutd known all along that Don Tohia Scarpa Loggia was an unlucky husband, hut no one had ever told him, out ol respect for his white hair; now, however, there was no more reason Jor secrecy.

“Yes, poor old man, lie was much to he pitied on account ol the trivolity of that ungrateful woman.” they repeated among themselves. “ Poor Searpia Loggia!’’ The sphinx-like old ivory lace of Tohia Hasile now and then would show a sudden emotion. “Of course, he was suffering for the betrayal ol which he had been the innocent victim, but lie was trying not to show his grid! There was no help for it! But it must be torture to keep on living within those same walls from which the unfaithful woman had lied!" Ids neighbors said. They advised him lo move, and at last he acted upon the charitable suggestion and went to live in another lodging. He stayed there some years, occasionally visited hy his mysterious associates and receiving stolen goods. Jn spite of his advanced age he never failed to take part in the religions pilgrimages to Our Lady ol Montevergiut*, to the Madonna deH’Areo, to Sail Tiolino di oINa. and lo the \ irgiu ol J ompeii, to whom lie devoutly ottered candies. Ji was evident that in his late years Tohia Hasile meant lo earn his lit I le piece ol paradise. Then one day. when everyone had forgotten the domestic trials of the excouvict. a building contractor was called in to rebuild part of the lodging that had been occupied by him. As the wall was demolished a corpse, well preserved by lime, was round in it. It was the body ol the supposed unfaithful wife. Tobin Hasile was arrested. He denied having murdered bis wile, and having entombed her in a niche excavated in Ibe wall- His diary was seized. On May 7, 11)1)0, the day she bad disappeared, seemingly always in homage to bis hobby for gardening, he bad written ; “Milter to the beans! Nothing else. The entry looked most innocent, but, unfortunately, there are experts capable of deciphering even the more or less political thoughts ol the veteran Caniorrist, and one of these explained that “water to the beaus,” in the high and complicated Camorristie code, meant. ”1 have killed and buried her!” Only then (lid Tohia Hasile find it useless to continue pleading not guilty. Vos. it was true. He had killed

Ids wife with one heavy blow alter a joyful dinner on May i. I him. as a faithful husband, he had not wanted to part from the old woman, and had walled her in with quicklime. He had killed her on account ol her loquacity, because during a domestic quarrel she had threatened to denounce him to the police. Me said ho could have loigiteu this woman, who showed hersell such a degenerate offspring of an “ honoraide ” family of C'amorrists, hut the secrets of Ids' friends and comrades were in grave danger, and this was too much. , . , After she had boon made silent and harmless, be bad wanted to pay bei a very lender and delicate attention, allowing her to remain near him, only a few vards from the marital bed. Ibe place where he built the strange sarcophagus was near (lie fireplace, in ordei that the fresh wall should dry sooner; that walled corpse near the kitchen stove was a kind of guardian angel ol the household. Who would have thought to find so much imagination in that old Tobia JJasilc! | Imaginative and a believer. As a sign of expiation lie bad placed in the bidden niche a big picture ol the Virgin ol Pompeii. and he religions! v kept, be I ore tins image a candle ever burning. Afterwards he explained that he had wanted to pav that tribute to the poor dead, 'that her soul might rest m peace. On the first few nights a,ter his deoil it seemed to him as d Hie wail trembled, as if something re alive in its cavity and made itsell beard by slow tappings; Ins wile, be concluded, was restless m there end needed some eomlort. Me bad then had recourse to the picture ol the protecting Virgin and to the candle, and since then the dead had been qmm • Later on the Ibrobbings. the slow lappings, began to be _ again troublesome and annoying. Tobia Ifasile. in older to find liberation, was obliged to move somewhere else.

Tlu- Concord!:! 1 1 : is .is had a name m Naples as the Vicaria, Santa Aiaiia, Apparenle. the ('aniline, San IVanceseo, which are amongst the most dis•iiistiny; criminal sewers oi the world. H is a prison tor juvenile delinquency. Six hundred youn.w lives from thirteen to eighteen years of breathe in that place the poison, the mephitic evil

with which the old walls ol that squalid ai id too small Ijuildinjj; are saturated. I lie loudest dre.i’ii ol homeless lads, ol all the vagrants without a root, who arc seen at Miff'd. King on tin; sidewalk’s ol the narrow streets in heaps ol tens and twenties, as in an entanglement ol small snakes —the greatest aspiration of these miserable little beings is to go ro the Concordia.

“ I have heeli in prison three times!’

“And I have been locked m hve times, and have to my credit two thefts, an assault, and three duels!” This is what yon hear these little chaps exclaim with pride, some of whom have faces already scarred with the traces of their mode ol lile.

In tlie long hours of liberty accorded to them, when they are allowed to walk about in the open air ol' the prison yards, they chat together ot the la bilious Camorristie deeds, and extol with warm words ol' admiration the braveries, magnified by legend, attributed to the great Camorrists, and organise among themselves a society [that reproduces in miniature the Camorra of the prisons for grown-up people, and of the twelve boroughs of Naples, which is for them the ‘‘great good mother.” So among those young prisoners takes place the organised extortion. and the voting, aspiring candidates practise and drill themselves there in the znmmala, the artistic jumping duel, each trying to strike his adversary in order to obtain promotion: and Tohia Hasile, in spite of his old age. had still enough agility to teach some secret movements ol wonderful effect. This leaching is practised with daggers and knives made out of very hard wood, the Mows ol which sometimes have proved as latal as it they came from si eel blades. Hustle's pupils were almost all of lender age, former guests of the Concordia. or aspirants to become i(s inmates, (he younger set of the Camorra, and Irom this very set sprang out a gang ol criminals who. coming into power, adopted the reforms which led to the organisation of the Bella Suggita Rilormata (Meautifnl Reformed Society), or the Camorra of the present dav.