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 to take 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.
"That will 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 as we are 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 to one of the party."
"Why, you see that Mrs. Gray is a lady," replied Mr. 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.
V.
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 of trouble. 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 the buono mano fund. 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 us children exactly. 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, is infants."
"Hoh!" said Rollo, "that is worse than children."
"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 word children wherever it occurred in the document, and insert in lieu of it the phrase junior 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.
[Illustration: READING THE ARTICLES.]
CHAPTER III. THE JOURNEY.
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.