"_Can_ I go, do you think?" asked Mrs. Gray.
"O, yes," said Mr. George; "you certainly can go, for you can be carried up in a _portantina_ from the place where we leave the carriage. But if you please, I will send for a commissioner, and he can tell us all about it."
"Very well," said Mrs. Gray, "I should like to have you do that."
"Ring the bell, then, Rollo," said Mr. George.
So Rollo rang the bell; a servant man soon came in. He was what Rollo called the chamberman. His business was to make the beds and take care of the rooms. This work, in Italy, is done by men generally, instead of by women.
"Is there a commissioner attached to this hotel," asked Mr. George, addressing the servant, and speaking in French, "who accompanies parties to Vesuvius?"
"Yes, sir, certainly," said the servant.
"What is his name?" asked Mr. George.
"Philippe," replied the man.
"Where is he?" asked Mr. George.
"He is below," said the man.
"Please ask him to come up," said Mr. George. "I want to talk with him about an excursion to the mountain."
The servant man went down, and pretty soon Philippe appeared. He was a very intelligent looking young man, neatly dressed, and with a frank and agreeable countenance.
"This is Philippe, I suppose," said Mr. George, speaking in French.
"Yes, sir," said Philippe.
"Take a seat," said Mr. George. "This lady wishes me to make some inquiries of you about going up the mountain. Do you speak English?"
"Yes, sir," said Philippe, "a little."
On hearing this Mr. George changed the conversation into the English language, so that Mrs. Gray might understand what was said, without the inconvenience and delay of having it interpreted.
"In the first place," said Mr. George, "when ladies ascend the Mountain, how far do they go in a carriage?"
"To the Hermitage," said Philippe.
"Can you go in a good, comfortable carriage all the way to the Hermitage?" asked Mr. George.
"O, yes, sir," said Philippe. "We take an excellent carriage from town.
The road is very winding to go up the mountain, but it is perfectly good. A lady can go up there as comfortably as she can ride about town."
Philippe further said that ladies often went up with parties as far as the Hermitage, and then, if they did not wish to go any farther, they remained there until their friends came down.
"What sort of a place is the Hermitage?" asked Mrs. Gray. "Is it an inn?"
"Yes, madam," said Philippe. "It is an inn. It is a very plain and homely place, but a lady can stay there very well a few hours."
"Is there a family there?" asked Mrs. Gray.
"No, madam," said Philippe; "it is kept by a monk."
"Let us go, mother," said Josie. "We can go up _there_ as well as not."
"Yes," said Mrs. Gray, "I think I should like to go up at least as far as there. I can take a book to read, to while away the time while you are up the mountain; or I can ramble about, I suppose. Is it a pleasant place to ramble about, around the Hermitage?"
"Yes, madam; it is a _very_ pleasant place," replied Philippe. "You have an exceedingly fine view of the bay, and of Naples, and of the islands, and of the whole Campagna. Then the observatory is near, and that is a very pleasant place, with gardens and plantations of trees all around it. Perhaps the beggars might be a little troublesome if you walked out, but I think I could manage about that."
"What _is_ the observatory that you speak of?" asked Mr. George.
"It is a government establishment that is kept there for making observations on the state of the mountain," replied Philippe. "It is a fine building, and it has very pretty gardens and grounds around it."
"I should think it would be a very pleasant place," said Mrs. Gray.
"Indeed, it looks like a pleasant place seen from this hotel with Rollo"s opera gla.s.s."
"Well, now for the next stage of the journey," said Mr. George; "that is, from the Hermitage to the foot of the cone. How far is that, and how do we go?"
"It is about three quarters of an hour"s walk," replied Philippe. "There is no carriage road, but only a mule path, and in some places the road is very rough."
"Is it steep?" asked Mr. George.
"No, sir," said Philippe; "the steep part comes afterwards. The mule path is nearly on a level, but it is rough and rocky. There are three ways of going. You can walk, you can ride upon a mule or a donkey, or finally, you can be carried in a chair. Ladies that do not like to walk so far usually ride on a donkey, or else are carried. It is easier to be carried, but it costs a little more."
"How much more?" asked Mr. George.
"A dollar," said Philippe.
"I think I should rather be carried if I were to go," said Mrs. Gray.
"I"d rather ride on a donkey," said Rosie.
"And I on a mule," said Josie.
"You and I might walk, Rollo," said Mr. George.
"Yes," said Rollo, "I would rather walk."
Rollo always preferred to go on foot when on any of these mountain excursions, because then he could ramble about this way and that, wherever he pleased, and climb up upon the rocks, and gather plants and specimens.
"Very well," said Mr. George; "and this brings us to the foot of the steep part of the mountain. How far is it up this last steep part?"
"About an hour"s work, hard climbing," said Philippe.
"Is it very hard climbing?" asked Mr. George.
"Yes, sir," said Philippe; "it is right up a steep slope of rocks."