e in front,
nine in the rear, and sixteen are on either side, making fifty in
all. In this edifice there are no signs whatever of an altar; and
this circumstance has led to the belief that it was not a temple
at all, but a court of law. Accordingly, it is called the Basilica,
which term was used by the Romans to indicate a place used for
public trials. Inside, the pavement yet remains, and there are the
remains of a row of columns which once passed along the middle of
the building from front to rear, dividing it into two parts.

Of all the three, the Temple of Neptune is the grandest, the best
preserved, and the most famous. But the others are fit companions,
and the giant forms of these mighty relics of hoary antiquity,
unsurpassed by any other edifice, rise before the traveller, exciting
within him emotions of reverential awe.

The party visited all these various objects of interest, and at
length returned to the gate. They had spent about two hours in
their Purvey of Paestum, and had seen all that there was to be
seen; and now nothing more remained but to return as soon as
possible, and spend that night at Salerno. They had seen nothing
of the driver since they left him, and they accounted for this on
the ground that he was still maintaining himself in his gigantic
sulk, and brooding over his wrongs; and they thought that if he
chose to make a fool of himself, they would allow him to do so as
long as it was agreeable to him.

With these thoughts they approached the gateway. As they drew
near, they were surprised to find that there were no signs of the
carriage. The view was open and unobstructed. Here and there mounds
or fragments of stone arose in the place where once had been the
wall of the city of Paestum, and before them was the simple arch
of the massive gateway, but no carriage or horses were visible.

This excited their surprise, and also their alarm. They remembered
that the sullen mood of the driver made him quite capable of playing
off some malicious trick upon them, and they recalled, also, his
threats of the evening before. Could he have chosen this way to put
his threats into execution? It seemed, indeed, very much like it.

Still, there was one hope left. It was just possible that the carriage
had been drawn up more under the arch, so that it was hidden from
view. As this was the last hope that was left them, they hurried
forth to put an end to their suspense as soon as possible. Nearer
and near