Chapter III.

Florence, le 22 Mars, 1857.

Par la présente écriture, faite à double original, pour valoir et pour être strictement observée, comme de droit, par les parties contractantes, a été fixe, et convenu ce qui suit.Le propriétaire de voiture, Gonsalvi, domicilié à Rome, promet et s'oblige de servir Monsieur George Holiday et sa suite dans le voyage qu'il veut entreprendre de Florence à Napoli, par la voie de Arezzo, Perugia, Rome, et Terracina, et être conduit par un bon voiturier, pour le prix convenu de trois cents francs, pour la voiture et les quatre chevaux.Moyennant ce paiement, qui s'effectuera moitié avant de partir, moitié à Napoli, le propriétaire de voiture, ou son conducteur délégué, est tenu des obligations ci-après designées.Tous les frais occasionnés pour le passage des fleuves, rivières, ponts, et montagnes, ainsi que ceux des barrières, seront à la charge du voiturier conducteur.L'étrenne d'usage à donner au voiturier conducteur sera selon son bon service.Le dit voyage sera fait dans dix jours complets.Le depart de Florence est fixé dans le journée du 23 courant, a onze heures matin.Pour tous les jours en sus, qu'il plairait à dit Monsieur Holiday de s'arrêter dans une ville, ou qu'il y fut forcé par des imprévues, il est convenu qu'il payera cinq francs par jour par cheval pour la nourriture des chevaux.Le voiturier devra constamment descendre dans de bonnes auberges, et partira tous les matinsde bonne heure, pour arriver tous les soirs avant la nuit à l'auberge ou l'on devra coucher.Et pour l'observance des conditions ci-dessus mentionnées, les parties interessées l'ont volontairement signée.

Par la présente écriture, faite à double original, pour valoir et pour être strictement observée, comme de droit, par les parties contractantes, a été fixe, et convenu ce qui suit.

Le propriétaire de voiture, Gonsalvi, domicilié à Rome, promet et s'oblige de servir Monsieur George Holiday et sa suite dans le voyage qu'il veut entreprendre de Florence à Napoli, par la voie de Arezzo, Perugia, Rome, et Terracina, et être conduit par un bon voiturier, pour le prix convenu de trois cents francs, pour la voiture et les quatre chevaux.

Moyennant ce paiement, qui s'effectuera moitié avant de partir, moitié à Napoli, le propriétaire de voiture, ou son conducteur délégué, est tenu des obligations ci-après designées.

Tous les frais occasionnés pour le passage des fleuves, rivières, ponts, et montagnes, ainsi que ceux des barrières, seront à la charge du voiturier conducteur.

L'étrenne d'usage à donner au voiturier conducteur sera selon son bon service.

Le dit voyage sera fait dans dix jours complets.

Le depart de Florence est fixé dans le journée du 23 courant, a onze heures matin.

Pour tous les jours en sus, qu'il plairait à dit Monsieur Holiday de s'arrêter dans une ville, ou qu'il y fut forcé par des imprévues, il est convenu qu'il payera cinq francs par jour par cheval pour la nourriture des chevaux.

Le voiturier devra constamment descendre dans de bonnes auberges, et partira tous les matinsde bonne heure, pour arriver tous les soirs avant la nuit à l'auberge ou l'on devra coucher.

Et pour l'observance des conditions ci-dessus mentionnées, les parties interessées l'ont volontairement signée.

George Holiday,Vittorio Gonsalvi.

The agreement which Mr. George made with Mrs. Gray was not so difficult to understand. Mrs. Gray did not, as Rollo had predicted, appear unwilling to make a definite arrangement in respect to the respective privileges and rights of the various members of the party in the carriage and at the hotels. She was a very sensible woman, and she saw the propriety of Mr. George's suggestion at once. Mr. George attributed the necessity of it, in part, to there being so many children in the party.

"When there are children," said he, "we must have system and a routine."

"That is very true," said Mrs. Gray.

"And the more formal and precise the arrangement is, the better," said Mr. George. "It amuses them, and occupies their minds, to watch the operation of it."

"Yes," said Mrs. Gray; "I have no doubt of it."

"Then," said Mr. George, "I will draw upsome articles of agreement, and if you approve of them, Rosie shall make a copy of them. Rosie shall keep the copy, too, after she has made it, and shall see that the rules are all observed."

"But what shall I do," said Rosie, "if any body breaks any of the rules?"

"Then they must be punished," said Mr. George. "You shall determine what the punishment shall be, and I will see that it is inflicted."

So Mr. George drew up a set of rules; but before proposing them to Mrs. Gray and her children, he read them to Rollo. He read as follows:—

The interior of the carriage, all the way, shall belong to Mrs. Gray and her family, and thecoupéto Mr. George and Rollo. Mr. George or Rollo may, perhaps, sometimes ride inside; but if they do so, it is to be understood that they ride there as the guests of Mrs. Gray; and in the same manner, if at any time any of Mrs. Gray's party ride outside, it will be as the guests of Mr. George and Rollo.

"Good!" said Rollo. "I like that regulation very much. I shall not want to get inside very often."

"You may sometimes wish to invite Rosie totake your place outside, when it is very pleasant, and you take her place inside," suggested Mr. George.

"No," said Rollo; "there will be room outside for her and me too. She can sit right between you and me."

"And, perhaps, sometimes I may invite Rosie and her brother to come outside and ride with you, while I go inside with Mrs. Gray," added Mr. George.

"Thatwill be a good plan," said Rollo. "But now what is the second rule?"

II.

On arriving at a hotel for the night, Mrs. Gray is to take her choice first of all the rooms shown, for herself and Rosie. Then from the other rooms Mr. George is to choose the bed that he will sleep in. Then the two boys are to choose from the beds that are left, each to have the first choice alternately, beginning with Josie.

"Why should Josie begin?" asked Rollo. "I am the oldest."

"True," said Mr. George; "but it is of no consequence at all which begins, and asweare drawing up the rules, it is polite and proper to give Josie the precedence in such a point."

"Very well," said Rollo; "go on. How about Susannah?"

"O, it is not necessary to make any rule about Susannah," replied Mr. George. "I suppose that Mrs. Gray will take her into her room, if there is a spare bed there. If not, they must make some other arrangement for her."

III.

Every evening before the party separate for the night, Mrs. Gray shall decide at what hour we shall set off the next morning, and also at what hour we shall breakfast, after first hearing what Vittorio's opinion is as to the best time for setting out.

"Why can't we have a fixed time for setting out every day?" asked Rollo, "and agree about it once for all beforehand."

"Because we have different distances to go on different days," said Mr. George, "so that sometimes we shall have to set out much earlier than will be necessary at other times."

"Then why should not we consult together as to the time?" asked Rollo. "I don't see any reason for leaving it altogether tooneof the party."

"Why, you see that Mrs. Gray is a lady," repliedMr. George, "and it takes a lady longer to dress and get ready than men. Besides, she has two children to look after."

"And Susannah to help her," said Rollo.

"True," said Mr. George; "still it seems proper that the time for setting out should be fixed by the lady,—of course, after hearing what the vetturino has to say."

"I think so too," said Rollo; "so go on."

IV.

Any person who is not ready to sit down to breakfast at the time which shall have been appointed by Mrs. Gray the evening before, or who shall not be ready to enter the carriage at the time appointed, shall pay a fine, except in the case hereinafter provided for. If the person so behindhand is one of the children, the fine shall be two cents, or the value thereof in the currency of the country where we may chance to be; and if it is one of the grown persons, the fine shall be three times that amount, that is, six cents.

"Yes; but suppose we don't wake up?" suggested Rollo.

"That contingency is provided for in the next article," said Mr. George.

It shall be Mr. George's duty to knock at all the bedroom doors every morning, three quarters of an hour before the time fixed for breakfast; and if he fails to do so, then he shall pay all the fines for tardiness that may be incurred that morning by any of the party.

"Very good!" said Rollo.

VI.

It shall be Rosie's duty to decide whether or not any persons are tardy any morning; and her mother's watch shall be the standard of time. Her decisions shall be without appeal; and no excuses whatever shall be heard, nor shall there be any release from the fine, except in the case of a failure of Mr. George to knock at the doors, as hereinbefore provided.

"But we might some of us have a good excuse some time," said Rollo.

"True," said Mr. George; "we doubtless shall. But if we go upon the plan of admitting excuses, then there will be a long debate every morning, on the question whether the excuses are good or not, which will cause a great deal oftrouble. It is better for us to pay the fine at once. It is not much, you know."

"Well," said Rollo, "go on."

VII.

Josie is hereby appointed treasurer, to collect and keep the fines.

"And what is to be done with the money?" asked Rollo.

"You will see," said Mr. George.

VIII.

Any one of the party who shall at any time make complaint of any thing in respect to the carriage, or the riding during the day, or in respect to the food provided at the hotels, or the rooms, or the beds, when we stop for the night, except when such complaint relates to an evil which may be remedied, and is made with a view to having it remedied, shall be fined one cent, or the value thereof in the currency of the country. Rosie is to be the sole judge of the infractions of this rule, and is to impose the fine, while Josie, as before, is to collect and keep the money.

"I wish you would make me the treasurer," said Rollo.

"No," said Mr. George; "you have the care of thebuono manofund. Josie shall be treasurer for the fines."

"Very well," said Rollo.

IX.

On the arrival of the party at Naples, the amount of the fine money shall be expended in the famous Neapolitan confectionery, and shall be divided equally among the three children.

"Good!" said Rollo. "But, uncle George, I don't think you ought to call uschildrenexactly. We are almost all of us twelve or thirteen."

"True," said Mr. George, "you are not children; but what can I call you to distinguish you from the grown persons of the party. The regular and proper designation for persons under age, in a legal document, isinfants."

"Hoh!" said Rollo, "that is worse thanchildren."

"I might call you the young persons, or the junior members of the party."

"Yes," said Rollo, "that will be better; the junior members of the party."

So it was agreed to strike out the wordchildrenwherever it occurred in the document, and insert in lieu of it the phrasejunior members of the party.

With this correction the document was read to Mrs. Gray in the hearing of Rosie and Josie. They all approved it in every respect. The draught was then given to Rosie in order that she might make a fair copy of it. When the copy was made, the nine rules were read again in the hearing of the whole party, and all agreed to abide by them.

Thus the arrangements for the journey were complete; and Mrs. Gray, after learning from Vittorio that the first day's journey would not be long, and that it would answer to set out at any time before noon, fixed the hour for departure at eleven o'clock. Vittorio said he would be at the door half an hour before, in order to have time to load the baggage.

READING THE ARTICLES.READING THE ARTICLES.

The journey from Florence to Naples, as planned and provided for by the contracts and agreements described in the last chapter, was prosecuted from day to day, until its completion, in a very successful and prosperous manner. The various contingencies likely to occur having been foreseen and provided for by the contract and the rules, every thing worked smoothly and well, and none of those discussions, disagreements, and misunderstandings occurred, which so often mar the pleasure of parties travelling together in one company for many days.

Mrs. Gray was fined for not being ready for breakfast at the time appointed, on the very first morning after leaving Florence. It was at a place called Arezzo. The time appointed for the breakfast was at seven o'clock. Mr. George knocked at all the doors a little before quarter past six. About quarter before seven the two boys came into the breakfast room, and soon afterwardsMr. George and Rosie came. The breakfast was brought in and set upon the table by the waiter a few minutes before seven. The boys immediately began to set the chairs round.

"Quick! quick!" said Josie. "Let us sit down quick, and mother will be tardy, and have to pay a fine."

"Ah, but it does not go by our sitting down," said Rollo. "It goes by Mrs. Gray's watch."

"Yes," said Rosie; "I have got the watch. It wants a minute of the time now."

"Ihopeshe won't come," said Josie.

"She will come," said Rosie. "She has been almost ready for some time."

The children all took their seats at the table. Rosie had the watch before her, and was closely observing the minute hand. Mr. George, who thought it not polite that he should take his seat before Mrs. Gray came, stood waiting by the fire. It was a cool morning, and so Mr. George had made a little fire when he first got up.

Notwithstanding Rosie's prediction, Mrs. Gray did not come. Rosie watched the second hand, and as soon as it passed the mark she said,—

"There! it is seven o'clock; now mother is tardy."

Josie clapped his hands, and even Rollo looked quite pleased. In about two minutes the door ofMrs. Gray's bedroom opened, and Mrs. Gray appeared.

"You are too late, mother!" said Josie, in an exulting tone. "You are too late!"

"It does not depend on you to decide," said Mrs. Gray; "it depends upon Rosie."

"Well, mother, you are really too late," said Rosie. "You are two minutes beyond the time, or a minute and a half, at the very least, when you opened the door. So you must pay the fine."

"Yes; and you must pay it to me," said Josie. "I am the treasurer."

"But you have not heard my excuse yet," said Mrs. Gray. "You don't know but that I have got a good excuse."

"Ah, that makes no difference, mother," said Josie. "Excuses go for nothing."

"Indeed!" said Mrs. Gray. "Is that the agreement? Let us see, Rosie."

So Rosie took the paper out of her pocket, and with Josie's assistance,—who looked over very eagerly all the time,—she found the passage, and Josie read as follows, speaking the words in a very distinct and emphatic manner:—

"'No excuses shall be heard, nor shall there be any release from the fine, except,' and so forth, and so forth. So you see, mother, you can't be excused."

"I see," said Mrs. Gray. "The language is very plain indeed; so I'll pay the fine. I pay it very willingly. It would be very dishonorable in any of us, after having deliberately adopted the rules, to manifest any unwillingness to abide by them."

So Mrs. Gray took out of her pocket a small silver coin called a paul, which Mr. George said was a good deal more than six cents, but which she said was near enough to the amount of the fine, and paid it into Josie's hands. Josie put it safely into a certain compartment of his wallet, which he had set apart for the purpose.

The truth was, that Mrs. Gray contrived to be tardy that morning on purpose, in order to set an example of exact and cheerful submission to the law, and to give a practical illustration, in her own case, of the strictness with which, when once enacted, such laws ought to be enforced. She knew very well that if she had once submitted to be fined, when she was only a minute and a half behind the time, and also to be refused a hearing for her excuse, nobody could afterwards expect any indulgence. The effect produced was just what she had intended, and the whole party were extremely punctual all the way. There were only a few fines assessed, and they were all paid at once, without any objection.

The road lay for a day through a small country called Tuscany. The scenery was very beautiful. Although it was so early in the spring, the wheat fields were every where very green, and in the hedges, and along the banks by the road side, multitudes of flowers were blooming. For a considerable portion of the way, where our travellers passed, the occupation of the inhabitants was that of braiding straw for bonnets; and here every body seemed to be braiding. In the streets of the villages, at the doors of the houses, and all along the roads every where, men, women, and children were to be seen standing in little groups, or walking about together in the sun, braiding the straw with a rapid motion, like that of knitting. They had a little bundle of prepared straw, at their side, and the braid which they had made hung rolled up in a coil before them. They looked contented and happy at their work, so that the scene was a very pleasing, as well as a very curious one to see.

After leaving the frontiers of Tuscany, the party entered the Papal States—a country occupying the centre of Italy, with Rome for the capital of it. The Papal States are so called because they are under the dominion of the pope. Of course the Catholic religion reigns here in absolute supremacy.

While passing through this country, the children, or rather, as Rollo would wish to have it expressed, the young people of the party, were very much interested in observing the crosses which were put up here and there by the road side, with the various emblems and symbols connected with our Saviour's death affixed to them. The first time that one of these crosses attracted their attention, Rosie was riding in thecoupéwith Mr. George and Rollo. There was room enough for her to sit very comfortably between them.

"See!" said Rosie; "see! Look at that cross, with all those images and figures upon it!"

The cross was pretty large, and was made of wood. It was set up by the road side, like a sign post in America. From the middle of the post out to the left hand end of the arm of the cross, there was a spear fixed. This spear, of course, represented the weapon of the Roman soldier, by which the body of Jesus was pierced in the side. From the same part of the post out to the end of the opposite arm of the cross was a pole with two sponges at the end of it, which represented the sponges with which the soldiers reached the vinegar up for Jesus to drink. Then all along the cross bar were various other emblems, such as the nails, the hammer, a pair of pincers, a little ladder, a great key, and on the top a cock, torepresent the cock which crowed at the time of Peter's betrayal of his Lord.

EMBLEMS ON THE CROSS.EMBLEMS ON THE CROSS.

Rollo and Rosie both looked at these things very eagerly, as the carriage drove by. Rosie seemed somewhat shocked at the sight.

"How curious that is!" said Rollo.

"I suppose it is all idolatry," said Rosie, speaking very seriously.

"No," said Mr. George, "it is not necessarily idolatry. These kind of contrivances originated in the middle ages, when the poor people who lived in all these countries were very ignorant,as indeed they are now; and inasmuch as they could not read, and there were no schools in which to teach them, they had to be instructed by such contrivances as these."

"They are very poor contrivances, I think," said Rollo.

"They would be very poor as a substitute for Sunday schools, and other such advantages as the children enjoy in America," said Mr. George; "but not very poor, after all, for the people for whom they were intended. Go back in imagination five hundred years, and conceive of a little child, born in one of these peasants' huts. His father and mother probably have never even seen a book, and are not capable of understanding any thing that is not perfectly simple and plain. The child, walking along the road side, sees this cross. He stops to look up at it, and wonders what all those little objects fastened upon it mean. After a while, when he grows a little older, he asks his mother, when she is coming by with him some day, what they mean. Now, she would not have been able, of herself, and without any aid, to give the child any regular instruction whatever, but she can explain to him about the cross, and the various emblems that are upon it."

"Yes," said Rosie; "I should think she could do that."

"The child," continued Mr. George, "in looking upon the cross, and seeing all those curious objects upon it, would ask his mother what they mean. Then his mother would tell him about the crucifixion of Christ. 'They nailed him to the cross,' she would say, 'by long nails passing through his hands and feet. Don't you see the nails?' And the child would say, 'Yes,' and look at the nails very intently. 'The soldiers climbed up by a ladder,' she would say. 'Don't you see the ladder? And by and by, when in his fever he called for some drink, they reached something up to him by a sponge fastened to the end of a long pole. Do you see the pole?' The child would look at all these things, and would get a much more clear and vivid idea of the transaction than it would be possible for so ignorant a mother to communicate to it in any other way."

"Yes," said Rosie; "I think she would."

"Thus you see," continued Mr. George, "there is a right and proper use of such contrivances as these, as well as a wrong and an idolatrous one. Unfortunately, however, pretty much all of them, though perhaps originally well intended, have degenerated, in Catholic countries, into superstition and idolatry."

The scenery of the country through which the journey lay was enchanting. The ground wasevery where cultivated like a garden. There were wheat fields, and vineyards, and olive orchards, and rows of mulberry trees for the silk worms, and gardens of vegetables of every kind. Here and there groups of peasants were to be seen at work, men and women together, some digging fresh fields, some ploughing, some planting, and some pruning the trees or the vines. In many places the vines were trained upon the trees, so that in riding along the road you seemed to see an immense orchard on each side of you, with a carpet of rich verdure below, and a monstrous serpent climbing up into every tree, from the grass beneath it.

ASCENDING THE MOUNTAINS.ASCENDING THE MOUNTAINS.

The scenery was very much varied, too; and the changes were on so grand a scale that they made the views which were presented on every side appear extremely imposing. Sometimes the road lay across a wide plain, many miles in extent, but extremely fertile and luxuriant, and bounded in the distance by blue and beautiful mountains. After travelling upon one of these plains for many hours, the road would gradually approach the mountains, and then at length would enter among them, and begin to wind, by zigzags, up a broad slope, or into a dark ravine. At such places Vittorio would stop, usually at a post house at the foot of the ascent, and take an additional

horse, or pair of horses, and sometimes a yoke of oxen, to help his team draw the carriage up the hill. Many of these ascents were four or live miles long, and as the road turned upon itself in continual zigzags, there was presented to Mr. George and Rollo, and also to Mrs. Gray's party within the carriage, as they ascended, a perpetual succession of widely-extended views over the vast plain below, with the road which they had traversed stretching across it in a straight line for ten or fifteen miles, like a white ribbon.

Sometimes Mr. George and the two boys descended from the carriage, and walked for a while, in going up these hills; but generally they remained in their seats and rode. Indeed the men who came with the extra horses or oxen often rode themselves. When oxen were employed, the man used to ride, sometimes sitting on the yoke between them, and facing backward, so that he could watch them and see how they performed their work. He kept them up to their work by means of a small whip, which he had in his hand.

After reaching the top of the ascent, Vittorio would stop, and the man would detach his oxen from the team. Vittorio would pay him for his services, and then the man would come and holdout his hat to Mr. George and Rollo for abuono manofrom them. Rollo always had it ready.

The party stopped every day at noon for breakfast, as Vittorio called it. The coffee, and eggs, and bread and butter, which they had early in the morning, was not calledbreakfast; it was called simplycoffee. Thebreakfast, which came about noon, consisted of fried fish, beefsteaks, or mutton chops, fried potatoes, all hot, and afterwards oranges and figs. With this there was always what they called wine set upon the table, which tasted like a weak mixture of sour cider and water. Every thing, except the wine, was very good.

Mrs. Gray, however, always called this meal the dinner, and all the rest of the party were very willing to have it called so; and when they stopped at night, all that they required was tea and coffee, with bread and butter.

The inns where the party stopped were very quaint and queer. They looked, Josie said, precisely as he had imagined the inns to look which he had read about in Don Quixote. The entrance was generally under an arched passage way, where the horses and carriage could go in. From this passage a flight of broad stone steps led up into the house. The lower floor was usually occupied for stables, sheds, and other such purposes,and the one above for kitchens and the like. Higher up came the good rooms.

The apartment which was used by the party for their sitting and eating room was usually a large hall, with a brick or stone floor, and a vaulted ceiling above, painted in fresco. The walls of the room were usually painted too. There was generally a small and very coarse carpet under the table, and sometimes one before the fireplace. The doors were massive; and the locks and hinges upon them, and also the andirons and the shovel and tongs, were of the most ancient and curious construction. The first thing which the children did, on being ushered into one of these old halls, was to walk all about, and examine these various objects in detail. Rollo made drawings of a great many of them in his drawing book, to bring home and show to people in America.

The bed rooms opened out from this great hall, on the different sides of it. There were generally, but not always, two beds in each. According to the agreement, Mrs. Gray had her first choice of these rooms. She chose one, if possible, which had one wide bed in it, and one narrow one. The wide one was for herself and Rosie; the narrow one was for Susannah.

Mr. George came next in the order of choice,and he generally took a room which had only one bed in it, leaving another room with two single beds in it for the two boys. They always had a fire in the great hall every evening. Mrs. Gray usually went to her room with Rosie and Susannah at half past eight, leaving Mr. George and the two boys in the hall. The first evening of the journey—that is, the evening of the night spent at Arezzo—Mr. George told Rollo, as soon as Mrs. Gray had gone, that he had some bad news to tell him.

"What is it?" asked Rollo.

"It is that I am going to make a rule for you, that every night, from and after the time that Mrs. Gray goes into her room, you are not to have any conversation with any body."

"Why not, uncle George?" asked Rollo.

"Because I want to have the room still, so that I can write. I have journals and letters to write, and so have you,—and so I suppose has Josie; and the evening, after Mrs. Gray and Rosie have gone to their room, will be the best time to appropriate to the work. You can do your own work of this kind at that time or not, just as you please; but if you do not do it, you must not interrupt me in doing mine."

"I suppose that is a rule for me and Josie too," said Rollo.

"No," said Mr. George, "it is for you alone."

"Why is it not a rule for Josie," said Rollo, "as much as for me?"

"Because I have no authority to make any rules for Josie," replied Mr. George. "I have no authority over him at all, but only over you."

"But, uncle George," said Rollo, "if you are busy writing, and I am not allowed to talk, and Mrs. Gray and Rosie have gone to bed, Josie will not have any body to talk to."

"True," said Mr. George.

"Then I don't see but that you might just as well make the rule for him too, at once," said Rollo. "You may just as well make a rule that he shall not talk himself, as to make one that cuts him off from having any body to talk to."

"Only," replied Mr. George, "that to do the one comes within my authority, while to do the other does not."

Here Rollo was silent a few minutes, and seemed to be musing on what Mr. George had said. Presently he added,—

"Besides, uncle George, this is not put down among the rules and regulations for the journey which you drew up. We all agreed to abide by those rules, and this is not one of them."

"True," said Mr. George. "But those rules and regulations are of force as a compact only between Mrs. Gray and me, as the heads respectively of the two divisions of the party. They are not at all of the nature of a compact between Mrs. Gray and her children, nor between you and me. Her authority over her children in respect to every thing not referred to in the compact, is left entirely untouched by them, and so is mine over you."

"Well," said Rollo, drawing a long breath, "I have no objection at all to the rule. Indeed, I should like some time every evening to write and draw. I only wanted to see how you would defend your rule, in the argument."

"And how do you think the argument stands?" asked Mr. George.

"I think it stands pretty strong," said Rollo.

Rollo further inquired of his uncle whether he and Josie could not talk in their own room; but Mr. George said no. If boys were allowed to talk together after they went to bed, he said, they were very apt to get into a frolic, and disturb those who slept in the adjoining rooms.

"And besides," said Mr. George, "even if they do not get into a frolic, they sometimes go on talking to a later hour than they imagine, andthe sound of their voices is heard like a constant murmuring through the partitions, and disturbs every body that is near. So you must do all your talking in the course of the day, and when eight o'clock comes, you must bring your discourse to a close. You may sit up as long as you please to read or write; but when you get tired of those employments, you must go to bed and go to sleep."

The rule thus made was faithfully observed during the whole journey.

It was Monday morning when the party left Florence, and on Saturday afternoon at three o'clock, the carriage drew up at the passport office just under the great gate called thePorta del Popolo, at Rome. The party spent the Sabbath at Rome, and on the Monday morning after they set out again. On the following Thursday they arrived at Naples, and there they all established themselves in very pleasant quarters at the Hotel de Rome—a hotel which, being built out over the water from the busiest part of the town, commands on every side charming views, both of the town and of the sea.

Naples is situated on a bay which has the reputation of being the most magnificent sheet of water in the world. It is bordered on every side by romantic cliffs and headlands, or by green and beautiful slopes of land, which are adorned with vineyards and groves of orange and lemon trees, and dotted with white villas; while all along the shore, close to the margin of the water, there extends an almost uninterrupted line of cities and towns round almost the whole circumference of the bay. The greatest of these cities is Naples.

SITUATION OF NAPLES.SITUATION OF NAPLES.

But the crowning glory of the scene is the great volcano Vesuvius, which rises a vast green cone from the midst of the plain, and emits from its summit a constant stream of smoke. In times of eruption this smoke becomes very dense and voluminous, and alternates from time to time with bursts of what seems to be flame, and with explosive ejections of red-hot stones or molten lava. Besides the cities and towns

that are now to be seen along the shore at the foot of the slopes of the mountain, there are many others buried deep beneath the ground, having been overwhelmed by currents of lava from the volcano, or by showers of ashes and stones, in eruptions which took place ages ago.

Of course there is every probability that there will be more eruptions in time to come, and that many of the present towns will also be overwhelmed and destroyed, as their predecessors have been. But these eruptions occur usually at such distant intervals from each other, that the people think it is not probable that the town in which they live will be destroyed in their day; and so they are quiet. Of course, however, whenever they hear a rumbling in the mountain behind them, or notice any other sign of an approaching convulsion, they naturally feel somewhat nervous until the danger passes by.

Naples is built on the northern shore of the bay You will see by the map on the preceding page just what the situation of the town is, and where Vesuvius is in relation to it. Vesuvius, you observe, stands back a little from the sea, but the slope of land extends quite down to the margin of the water. You perceive, however, that there is a carriage road, and also a railroad, passing along the coast between the mountain and the sea.

Besides the villages and towns laid down on the map, upon this coast, there are many little hamlets scattered along the way, so that, as seen across the water from Naples, there seems to be, as it were, a continued town, extending along the whole line of the shore.

Among the places named on the map you see the sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii marked. Pompeii lies to the south-east from the mountain, and Herculaneum to the south-west. Of course the lava, in breaking out from the crater in different eruptions, runs down the mountain, sometimes on one side and sometimes on another. It is the same with the showers of stones and ashes, which are carried in different directions, according to the course of the wind.

Very near the site of Herculaneum you see a small town laid down, named Resina. This is the place where people stop when about to make the ascent of Vesuvius, and leave the carriage in which they came from Naples. If they come by the railroad, they leave the train at the Portici station, which, also, you will see upon the map, and thence go to Resina by a carriage.

At Resina they take another carriage, or sometimes go on in the same, until they get up to what is called the Hermitage, the place of which you also see marked on the map. The Hermitageis so called because the spot was once the residence of a monk who lived there alone in his cell. It is now, however, a sort of ruin.

There is no carriage road at all beyond the Hermitage, and here, accordingly, the party of travellers take mules or donkeys, to go on some distance farther. At last they reach a part of the mountain which is so steep that even mules and donkeys cannot go; and here the people are accordingly obliged to dismount, and to climb up the last part of the ascent on foot, or else to be carried up in a chair, which is the mode usually adopted for ladies. You will see how Mr. George and Rollo managed, in the next chapter.

The ruins of Herculaneum can be visited on the same day in which you make the ascent of Vesuvius; for, as you see by the map, they are very near the place, Resina, where the ascent of the mountain commences. Pompeii, however, is much farther on, and usually requires a separate day.

Besides, it takes much longer to visit Pompeii than Herculaneum, on account of there being go much more to see there. The reason for this is, that the excavations have been carried on much farther at Pompeii than at Herculaneum. Herculaneum was buried up in lava, and the lava, when it cooled, became as hard as a stone; whereasPompeii was only covered with ashes and cinders, which are very easily dug away.

Besides, Herculaneum was buried very deep, so that, in order to get to it, you have to go far down under ground. The fact that there was an ancient city buried there was discovered about a hundred and fifty years ago, by a man digging a well in the ground above. In digging this well, the workmen came upon some statues and other remains of ancient art. They dug these things out, and afterwards the excavations were continued for many years; but the difficulties in the way were so great, on account of the depth below the surface of the ground where the work was to be done, and also on account of the hardness of the lava, that after a while it was abandoned. People, however, now go down sometimes through a shaft made near the well by which the first discovery was made, and ramble about, by the light of torches, which they carry with them, among the rubbish in the subterranean chambers.

The site of Pompeii was discovered in the same way with Herculaneum, namely, by the digging of a well. Pompeii, however, as has already been said, was not buried nearly as deep as Herculaneum, and the substances which covered it were found to be much softer, and more easily removed. Consequently a great deal more hasbeen done at Pompeii than at Herculaneum in making excavations. Nearly a third of the whole city has now been explored, and the work is still going on.

The chief inducement for continuing to dig out these old ruins, is to recover the various pictures, sculptures, utensils, and other curious objects that are found in the houses. These things, as fast as they are found, are brought to Naples, and deposited in an immense museum, which has been built there to receive them.

You will see in a future chapter how Rollo went to see this museum.

Vesuvius, Herculaneum, and Pompeii are all to the eastward of Naples, following the shore of the bay. To the westward, at the distance of about a mile or two from the centre of the town, is a famous passage through a hill, like the tunnel of a railway, which is considered a great curiosity. This passage is called the Grotto of Posilipo. You will see its place marked upon the map. The wonder of this subterranean passage way is its great antiquity. It has existed at least eighteen hundred years, and how much longer nobody knows. It is wide enough for a good broad road. When it was first cut through, it was only high enough for a carriage to pass; but the floor of it has been cut down at differenttimes, until now the tunnel is nearly seventy feet high at the ends, and about twenty-five in the middle. High up on the sides of it, at different distances, you can see the marks made by the hubs of the wheels, as they rubbed against the rocks, at the different levels of the road way, in ancient times.

On passing through the grotto in a carriage, or on foot, the traveller comes out to an open country beyond, where he sees a magnificent prospect spread out before him. The road goes on along the coast, and comes to several very curious places, which will be described particularly in future chapters of this volume.

On the afternoon of the day when Mr. George and his party arrived at the hotel, just before sundown, Rollo came into Mrs. Gray's parlor, where Mr. George and all the rest of the party, except Josie, were sitting, and asked them to go with him and see a place which he and Josie had found.

"Where is it, and what is it?" asked Mrs. Gray.

"You must come and see," said Rollo. "I would rather not tell you till you come and see."

But Mrs. Gray, being somewhat fatigued with her ride, and being, moreover, very comfortably seated on a sofa, seemed not inclined to move.

"Rosie may go instead," said Mrs. Gray, "andwhen she has seen it, she may come back and tell me, and if she thinks it is worth while I will go."

"Well," said Rollo; "come, Rosie."

So Rollo led the way, and Rosie followed out of the parlor into the hall, and from the hall along a sort of corridor which led to a narrow and winding stone stair.

"No," said Rosie, as soon as she began to ascend the stair, "I don't think mother will like to come. She does not like to go up long stairs, especially stone stairs, and more especially still, stairs that wind round and round."

"Wait and see," said Rollo.

After going round and round several times,—all the while ascending,—Rollo came out to a sort of open passage way, paved with glazed tiles of a very pretty pattern, where there was a door leading out to a balcony. From this balcony there was a narrow iron stair which led up on the outside of the house to the roof. Rollo led the way up this stair, and Rosie followed him, though somewhat timidly. They landed at length on a sort of platform among the chimneys, from which another stair led up to another platform, higher still, where Josie was.

"There!" said Rollo, as soon as he reached the first platform, "don't you think your mother would like to be here?"

Rosie looked around, and saw that a magnificent panorama presented itself to her view.

"She would like tobehere very much, if she only dared to come," said Rosie.

On looking towards the east, Rosie could survey the whole shore of the bay in that direction, with the continuous line of towns and villages along the margin of the water, and the immense green slopes of Vesuvius rising beyond. Among the green fields and groves, far up these slopes, white hamlets and villas were scattered, and above, the double summit of Vesuvius was seen, with dense volumes of white smoke ascending from one of the peaks. The children, too, could look from where they stood far out over the bay, and see the ships and steamers in the offing, and great numbers of small boats plying to and fro nearer the shore.

Rollo had an opera glass in his hand, which he used as a spy-glass. He let Rosie look through this glass at the mountain, so that she might see the smoke coming out more distinctly. With the glass, besides the general column of vapor, she could discern several places, near the summit, where small, separate puffs of smoke were issuing.

Farther down the mountain, Rollo directed her attention to a white building, which was seen verydistinctly in the rays of the setting sun. This building, he said, must be the Hermitage.

"How do you know it is the Hermitage?" asked Rosie.

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