CHAPTER II.
_How in the World did it get there?--A joyous Ride.--Hark! Hark!
The Dogs do bark! Beggars come to Town; some in Rags, some in Tags, and some in a tattered Gown!--A pleasant Meditation on a cla.s.sic Past very rudely, unexpectedly, and even savagely interrupted, and likely to terminate in a Tragedy!--Perilous Position of David and Clive._
Fortunately, no bones were broken. The Italian slowly picked himself up, and casting a stupid look at the boys, moved slowly away, leaving the occupants of the standing there in their night-clothes, and earnestly discussing the question,--How in the world did the goat get there?
This was indeed a knotty question, till at length it was unravelled by Uncle Moses.
"Wal, I declar," said he, "ef I didn"t go an leave the door open."
"You!" cried all.
"Yes," said he. "You see it was dreadful close an suffocatin last night; so when you went to bed, I jest left that door open to cool off. Then I went off to bed, and forgot all about it."
That was clear enough as far as it went, but still it did not account for the presence of a goat in the sixth story of a hotel.
This they found out afterwards. That very day they saw flocks of goats being driven about from house to house. At other times they saw goats in their own hotel. They were hoisted up to the various stories, milked, and left to find their way down themselves. The fashion of using goat"s milk was universal, and this was the simple way in which families were supplied. As to their visitor, the billy goat, he was undoubtedly the patriarch of some flock, who had wandered up stairs himself, perhaps in a fit of idle curiosity.
"If it hadn"t been dark," said Frank. "If it hadn"t been so abominably dark!"
"We were like Ajax," said David,--who was a bit of a pedant, and dealt largely in cla.s.sical allusions,--"we were like Ajax, you know:--
"Give as but light, and let as _see_ our foes, We"ll bravely fall, though Jove himself oppose.""
"O, that"s all very well," said Uncle Moses; "but who"s goin to pay for all that thar furnitoor? The goat can"t."
"Uncle Moses," said Bob, gravely, "there"s a great deal in what you say."
Uncle Moses turned away with a look of concern in his mild face, and retreated into his room.
(It may as well be stated here, that Uncle Moses had to pay for that furniture. The landlord called up an interpreter, and they had a long and somewhat exciting interview. It ended in the landlord"s recovering a sum of money which was sufficient to furnish a whole suit of apartments in another part of the house.)
Being now fairly introduced to Naples, the boys were all eager to see the place and its surroundings, and Uncle Moses was quite willing to gratify them in any way. So they hired a carriage, found a guide, named Michael Angelo, who could speak English, and, thus equipped, they set out first for Baiae.
Through the city they went, through the crowded streets; past the palaces, cathedrals, gardens; past the towers, castles, and quays; till at last there arose before them the mighty Grotto of Posilipo.
Through this they drove, looking in astonishment at its vast dimensions, and also at the crowds of people who were pa.s.sing through it, on foot, on horseback, and on wheels. Then they came to Pozzuoli, the place where St. Paul once landed, and which is mentioned in the New Testament under its ancient name--Puteoli.
Here they were beset by beggars. The sight of this produced strange effects upon the little party. Uncle Moses, filled with pity, lavished money upon them, in spite of the remonstrances of the guide. Clive"s sensitive nature shuddered at the spectacle. Frank tried to speak a few words of Italian to them, which he had caught from Michael Angelo. David muttered something about the ancient Romans, while Bob kept humming to himself these elegant verses:--
"Hark! hark! The dogs do bark!
Beggars come to town, Some in rags, some in tags, Some in a tattered gown!"
The beggars followed them as far as they could, and when they left them, reinforcements always arrived.
Thus they were beset by them at the crater of the extinct volcano of Solfatura.
They encountered them at the gateway of c.u.mae,
At the Grotto of the Comaean Sibyl,
At Nero"s Baths,
At the Lucrine Lake,
At Baiae,
At Misenum,
In fact everywhere.
Still, they enjoyed themselves very well, and kept up their pursuit of sights until late in the day. They were then at Baiae; and here the party stopped at a little inn, where they proposed to dine.
Here the beggars beset them, in fresh crowds, till Uncle Hoses was compelled to close his purse, and tear himself away from his clamorous visitants. Frank and Bob went off to see if they could find some donkeys, ponies, or horses, so as to have a ride after dinner; while David and Clive strolled off towards the country.
"Come, Clive," said David, "let Frank and Bob enjoy their jacka.s.ses.
For my part, I want to get to some place where I can sit down, and see this glorious land. It"s the most cla.s.sic spot in all the world."
"It"s the most beautiful and poetic," said Clive, who was given to sentiment.
Walking on, they came to a place which projected into the sea, and here they sat down.
"O, what a glorious sight!" exclaimed Clive. "Look at this wonderful Bay of Naples! How intensely blue the water is! How intensely blue the sky is! And look at Vesuvius opposite. What an immense amount of smoke is coming from the crater!"
"Yes," said David, clearing his throat, "this is the place that the elder Pliny sailed from at the time of the destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii. And look all around. That little town was once the luxurious Baiae. Over yonder is Lake Lucrine, which Virgil sings about. On that side is Misenum, where the Roman navy lay. There is Caligula"s Bridge. What a glorious place! Everything that we have ever read of in cla.s.sic story gathers about us here.
Cicero, Caesar, Horace, Virgil, Tiberius, and Juvenal, seem to live here yet. Nero and Agrippina, Caligula and Claudius,--every old Roman, good or bad. And look, Clive, that is land out there. As I live, that is Capraea! And see,--O, see, Clive,--that must be the--"
"_Datemi un carlino, signori, per l"amor di Dio. Sono povero--molto povero!_"
It was in the middle of David"s rather incoherent rhapsody that these words burst upon his ears. He and Clive started to their feet, and found close behind them a half dozen of those miserable beggars. Two of them were old men, whose bleary eyes and stooping frames indicated extreme age. One was a woman on, crutches. Number Four was a thin, consumptive-looking man. Number Five and Number Six were strong-limbed fellows, with very villanous faces. It was with one universal whine that these unwelcome visitors addressed the boys.
"_Datemi un carlino, signori, per l"amor di Dio._"
David shook his head.
"_Sono miserabile_," said Number Five.
"I don"t understand," said David.
"_Noi abbiam fame_," said Number Six.
"_Non capisco_," said Clive, who had learned that much Italian from Michael Angelo.
"_O, signori n.o.bilissime!_"
"I tell you, I don"t understand," cried David.
"Non capisco," repeated Clive.