$19.75
"Very well," said Mr. George. "That is satisfactory. Now I will give you gold enough to cover that amount. You must get it changed into such a form as you want it, and you must not call upon me or any of the party for any money whatever, from the time that we set out till we get back again to the hotel."
"Very well, sir," said Philippe; "that is much the best way. The men will gather around you from time to time on the way, and clamor for buono manos, but you must not pay any attention to them; say simply, 'Philippe will pay.'"
"And now," said Mr. George, "it is all arranged except the time for setting out. What is the best time?"
"We ought to set out at eight or nine o'clock," said Philippe. "It takes about ten hours."
"Let us set out at eight, then," said Mrs. Gray. "We can have breakfast at seven, I suppose."
"Certainly," said Philippe. "And will you have it in your own room?"
"No," said Mrs. Gray; "let us all breakfast together in the dining room. That will be more interesting. We may meet some other parties there who are going to the mountain."
"Then I will order breakfast for you at seven o'clock," said Philippe.
"Provided you find, to-morrow morning, that the weather is going to be good," said Mr. George. "We won't go unless you are convinced that it is going to be a fine day."
"Yes, sir," said Philippe; "we judge a great deal by the smoke on the mountain. If it comes down the mountain on this side, then the weather is going to be bad. But if it goes away on the other side, off towards the sea, then we can generally depend upon a fine day."
So it was agreed that Philippe should make an observation early in the morning, and if he concluded that the day would be a good one for the excursion, he was to come to Mr. George's room and let him know the decision. He was then to order the breakfast for seven o'clock, and the carriage for eight, while Mr. George was to call the rest of the party.
The plan being thus formed, the party separated for the night. Rollo said that he meant to get up at half past five; or as soon as it was light, and go up to the top of the house, and see which way the smoke of Vesuvius was going.
"Call for me, and I will go with you," said Josie.
"I will," said Rollo.
CHAPTER VI. GOING UP.
Rollo slept in the same room with Mr. George. He got up as soon as it was light, dressed himself in a hurried manner, and went out. In about ten minutes he returned.
"Well, Rollo," said Mr. George, "what is the report?"
"The smoke is not going either way," said Rollo. "It mounts right straight up into the air; but Philippe says he thinks it is going to be a fine day, and he has ordered breakfast. So I think you had better get up."
At seven o'clock precisely the whole party were assembled in the dining room for breakfast. They ate their breakfast together at the end of one of the long tables. There were already two other parties in the room. There was one consisting of two gentlemen that were going to Vesuvius. There was another larger party that were about setting out for Rome. Their carriage was at the door, and the vetturino and his men were at work putting on the trunks and baggage.
At eight o'clock precisely, the carriage for Mr. George's party came to the door. All were ready, and they all immediately got in. Philippe put in a basket containing provisions. Mrs. Gray had a small book, formed with leaves of blotting paper, to press the flowers in, which she meant to gather around the Hermitage while the rest of the party were gone up the mountain. Mr. George took his knapsack, though there seemed to be nothing in it.
"What are you carrying up an empty knapsack for, uncle George?" asked Rollo.
"To bring down specimens in," said Mr. George.
"Ah," said Rollo, "I wish I had thought to take mine."
"I'll let you have part of mine," said Mr. George. "It is big enough to hold the specimens for all of us."
Philippe, when he found that the company were well seated in the carriage, shut the door, mounted the box with the coachman, and gave the order to drive on.
The carriage was entirely open, and the party, as they drove along, enjoyed an uninterrupted view of every thing around them. They passed through one or two beautiful public squares, with palaces and churches on either hand, and lines of troops parading before them. Then they came to a long and exceedingly busy street, with the port and the shipping on one side, and stores, shops, hotels, and establishments of every kind, on the other. The street was crowded with people going to and fro, some on foot and some in carriages. A great many persons were carrying burdens on their heads. Some had jars, or pails, or little tubs of water; some had baskets heaped up with oranges, or other fruit. Some had long boards with a row of loaves of dough upon them, which they were taking to the bakers to be baked.
The sidewalks, especially on the side towards the harbor, were thronged with people living in the open air, and practising their various trades there. There were cooks, cooking all sorts of provisions; and blacksmiths, working with hammers and anvils; and cabinet makers, sawing or planing, or gluing together the parts of tables or chairs. Then there were a great many family groups, some sitting in the sun around a boat drawn up, or upon and around a great chain cable, or an anchor; and others gathering about a fire made in a brazier, for the morning was cool. These families were engaged in all the usual domestic avocations of a household. The mothers were dressing the children, or getting the breakfast, while the grandmothers and aunts were knitting, or spinning thread with a distaff and spindle. The men were often employed in making nets.
The carriage, which was drawn by three horses abreast, went on very rapidly through these scenes-so rapidly, in fact, that Mrs. Gray had not time to look at the various groups as much as she wished.
"I mean to come and take a walk here some day," said Mrs. Gray, "and then I can look at all these things at my leisure."
"O mother," said Josie, "you can't do that very well, on account of the beggars. If a gentleman and lady attempt to walk together in any of these streets of Naples, the beggars come and gather around them at every step."
"Then I'll come some day in a carriage, and tell the coachman to drive slowly."
"That will be just as bad," said Josie. "They'll come then around the carriage. The only way is to drive so fast that they cannot keep up."
The carriage went on. It followed the road which led along the shore, as shown in the map given in a former chapter to illustrate the situation of Naples; but the shore was occupied with such a succession of hamlets and villages that the road seemed to form a continued street all the way. After getting a little beyond the confines of Naples, the road was thronged with people coming into town, some on foot, with loads of produce on their heads, some driving donkeys, with immense burdens of vegetables loaded in panniers on their backs, or drawn in carts behind them. There were omnibuses too, of a peculiar kind, filled with people, and a kind of carriage called a calash, which consisted of a sort of chaise, with an extended frame for people to stand upon all around it. The first class passengers in these calashes had seats in the chaise itself. The others stood up all around, and clung on as best they could to the back of the seat before them.
Our party met a great many of these calashes coming into town, and bringing in loads of country people.
"It is astonishing," said Rollo, "that one horse can draw so many people."
"It is because the road is so level and smooth," said Mr. George. "The wheels run almost as easy upon it as they would upon a railroad."
[Illustration: CALASH COMING INTO NAPLES.]
After going on in this manner for about an hour,-all the time gently ascending, and passing through what seemed to be a continued succession of villages and towns,-the carriage stopped before the door of a kind of inn in the midst of a crowded street. The moment that the carriage stopped, it seemed to be surrounded by a crowd of ostlers, donkeys and donkey drivers, ragged boys and beggars; and such a clamor arose from the crowd as was quite appalling to hear, the more so as nothing could be understood of what was said, since it was all in Italian.