M. Dumas, not being in good odour with the Neapolitan authorities, on account of some supposed republican tendencies of his, is at Naples under an assumed name; and, as it is uncertain how long he may be able to preserve his incognito, he is desirous of seeing all that is to be seen in as short a time as possible. He finds that Naples, independently of its suburbs, consists of three streets where every body goes, and five hundred streets where nobody goes. The three streets are, the Chiaja, the Toledo, and the Forcella; the five hundred others are nameless--a labyrinth of houses, which might be compared to that of Crete, deducting the Minotaur, and adding the Lazzaroni. There are three ways of seeing Naples--on foot, in a _corricolo_ or in a carriage. On foot, one goes every where, but one sees too much; in a carriage, one only goes through the three principal streets, and one sees too little--the _corricolo_ is the happy medium, the _juste milieu_, to which M. Dumas for once determines to adhere. Having made up his mind, he sends for his host, and enquires where he can hire a _corricolo_ by the week or month. His host tells him he had better buy one, horse and all. To this plan M. Dumas objects the expense. "'It will cost you,' said M. Martin, after a momentary calculation in his head, 'it will cost you--the _corricolo_ ten ducats, each horse thirty carlini, the harness a pistole; in all, eighty French francs.' "'What! for ten ducats I shall have a _corricolo_?' "'A magnificent one.' "'New?' "'Oh! you are asking too much. There are no such things as new _corricoli_. There is a standing order of the police forbidding coachmakers to build them.' "'Indeed! How long has that order been in force?' "'Fifty years, perhaps.' "'How comes it, then, that there is such a thing as a _corricolo_ in existence?' "'Nothing easier. You know the story of Jeannot's knife?' "'To be sure I do; it is one of our national chronicles. The blade had been changed fifteen times, and the handle fifteen times, but it was still the same knife.' "'The case of the _corricolo_ is exactly similar. It is forbidden to build new ones, but it is not forbidden to put new wheels to old bodies, and new bodies on old wheels. By these means the _corricolo_ becomes immortal.' "'I understand. An old body and new wheels for me, if you please. But the horses? Do you mean to say that for thirty francs I shall have a pair of horses?' "'A superb pair, that will go like the wind.' "'What sort of horses?' "'Oh, dead ones, of course!' "'Dead ones!' "'Certainly. At that price you could hardly expect any thing better.' "'My dear M. Martin, be kind enough to explain. I am travelling for my improvement, and information of all kinds is highly acceptable.' "'You are acquainted with the history of the horse, I suppose?' "'The natural history? Buffon's? Certainly. The horse is, after the lion, the noblest of all the beasts.'