"You have not seen one of them yet," said Mr. George.
"Not seen one of them!" repeated Rollo.
"No, not one of them," replied Mr. George.
"I don't know what you mean by that," said Rollo.
"I'll show you what I mean some time or other," said Mr. George, "when you are in one of the galleries with me."
"I should like to have you," said Rollo; "but now I really want to know when you are going to be ready to go on towards Naples. I'd rather see Mount Vesuvius than all the paintings in the world, especially if there is a good blazing eruption coming out of it, and plenty of red-hot stones."
"The first question to be settled," said Mr. George, "is, how we shall go."
"Are there more ways than one?" asked Rollo.
"Yes," said Mr. George; "there are three or four ways. We are here at Florence, in the interior of the country, and Rome is also in the interior; but there is a seaport on the coast for each city. So we can go from here to Leghorn, which is the seaport for Florence, by the railroad, and there we can take a steamboat and go to Civita Vecchia, which is the seaport for Rome. There we can land and go up to Rome in some sort of a carriage."
"I like that way," said Rollo. "I like that best of all. There are a railroad and a steamboat both in it."
"Another way," continued Mr. George, "is, we can go by the malle post."[A]
[Footnote A: The malle post is a sort of despatch carriage, that takes the mails. It can take also two or three passengers. They change horses very often with the malle post, and drive very fast.]
"I should like to go by the malle post," said Rollo; "they keep the horses on the gallop almost all the way."
"Then again," continued Mr. George, "if we choose we can engage a vetturino."
"Yes," said Rollo; "there are plenty of them always standing out here by the bridge. They ask me almost, every day, when I go by, whether I want a carriage. 'Want a carriage, sir,' they say, 'to go to Rome, to Naples, to Venice, to Genoa?'"
Here Rollo repeated the words of the vetturini, imitating the peculiar intonations with which they spoke, in quite a skilful manner: "To Rome! Naples! Venice! Nice! Genoa!"
"Yes," said Mr. George, "those are the men."
"And, come to think of it," said Rollo, "I believe, after all, I would rather go with a vetturino. We ride along so pleasantly day after day, and go through all the towns, cracking our whip, and seeing so many curious things all along the road side!"
"Yes," said Mr. George; "but there is one difficulty. We are only two, and the carriages of the vetturini are usually large enough for four or six."
"And would not they go for two?" asked Rollo.
"O, yes," said Mr. George; "they will go for two; but then the men must have full price for their carriage and horses, and that makes it very expensive for two."
"What do people do, then," asked Rollo, "when there are only two to go?"
"They generally find some other people that want to go," replied Mr. George, "and make up a party, and so divide the expense."
"And can't we do that?" asked Rollo.
"We do not know any body here," said Mr. George.
Rollo did not know what to say to this, and so he was silent, and walked along, thinking what it was best to do. Presently, after a moment's pause, he added,-
"I mean to ask some of the vetturinos if they have not got a carriage for two."
"Vetturini is the plural of vetturino, in Italian," said Mr. George, "and not vetturinos."
"But I am not speaking Italian," said Rollo; "I am speaking English."
"True," said Mr. George.
At this stage of the conversation Mr. George and Rollo arrived at the end of the bridge across the Arno, which Mr. George had to pass over in going to his gallery. This bridge is a very ancient one, and is quite a curiosity, as it is built massively of stone, and is lined with a row of shops on each side, so that in passing over it you would think it was a street instead of a bridge, were it not that the shops are so small that you can look directly through them, and see the river through the windows on the back side.
These shops are occupied by jewellers, who keep for sale the mosaic pins, bracelets, and earrings, for which Florence is so famous, and great numbers of these mosaics, as well as various other kinds of jewelry, are exposed to view in little show cases that are arranged in a curious manner, on small counters before the windows, so that any one can see them all in passing along.
On reaching this bridge, Rollo concluded to stop, and look at the mosaics, and so his uncle left him and went on alone.
As Rollo was standing at one of the little shop windows a few minutes after his uncle had left him, a man dressed in a blue frock, and with a sort of woollen comforter of bright colors about his neck, came up to him, and asked him in French whether the party that he belonged to did not want a carriage to go to Rome. Rollo perceived at once that the man was a vetturino.
"I don't know but that we do," said he. "Have you got a carriage?"
"Yes," replied the vetturino; "I have got a large and very nice carriage, and four excellent horses."
"Then it won't do," said Rollo, "for there are only two in our party, and a large carriage and four horses will be more than we need."
"O, but that will make no difference," said the vetturino. "You see I'm a return, and I will take you about as cheap as you can go in a small carriage."
"For how much?" asked Rollo.
"Why, my price is three napoleons a day," said the vetturino, "for a full party; but as you are only two, I will take you for less. Have you got a great deal of baggage?"
"No; very little," said Rollo.
After some further conversation with the vetturino, Rollo concluded to make an appointment with him to come to the hotel that evening and see his uncle George.
"Come immediately after dinner," said Rollo.
"At what time?" asked the vetturino.
"Why, we dine at half past six," said Rollo, "and uncle George will be through at eight."
"Then I will come at eight," said the vetturino.
One reason why Rollo concluded to make this appointment was, that he particularly liked the vetturino's appearance. He had an open and intelligent countenance, and his air and bearing were such as to give Rollo the idea that he was a very good-natured and sociable, as well as capable man. In answer to a question from Rollo, he said that his name was Vittorio.
When Mr. George came home that evening, a short time before dinner, Rollo told him what he had done.
"Good!" said Mr. George. "We are in luck. I should not be surprised if we should be able to fill his carriage for him. I have found a party."
Mr. George further stated to Rollo that, in rambling through the rooms of the gallery where he had been spending the day, he had met with a lady of his acquaintance who was travelling with two children and a maid, and that he had been talking with her about forming a party to travel together to Naples.
"Are the children girls or boys?" asked Rollo.
"One of them is a girl and the other is a boy," said Mr. George; "but the girl is sick."
"Is she?" asked Rollo.
"At least she has been sick," said Mr. George. "She has had a fever, but now she is slowly getting well. Her name is Rosalie."
"I think that is rather a sentimental name," said Rollo.
"They call her Rosie, sometimes," said Mr. George.
"That's a little better," said Rollo, "but not much. And what is her other name?"
"Gray," said Mr. George.
* * * * *
Vittorio came at eight o'clock that evening, according to appointment. The first thing that Mr. George did was to propose to go and see his carriage. So they all went together to see it. It was in a stable near by. Mr. George and Rollo were both well pleased with the carriage. It had four seats inside, like an ordinary coach. Besides these there were two good seats outside, under a sort of canopy which came forward over them like a chaise top. In front of these, and a little lower down, was the driver's seat.