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242 A CANTEB OVEB THE CAMPAGNA.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
"Well! Rome Would Be A Charming Place If...
and her long golden hair rippling down over her black habit . She raises her blue eyes shyly , as she tells the Reverend Basilwho
, stands near her , that " really she is ashamed of her untidy hair ; but her net was all so wet , she just took it off to dry it . " He looks
all the better for having unbuttoned his straight high waistcoat and taken off his white neckcloth to dry ; and soon they are
engaged in " most earnest" conversation . She confesses how she admires and doats upon the brown-robed , sandal-footed capuchins ,
and wishes people in England would dress like them ; " he smiles sweetly at her enthusiasm , but " ventures to < doubt whether the
garb is quite suitable to the lamentably prosaic , utilitarian spirit of the present age . "
By then , " Cassandra " is nodding placidly over the fire , and the young diplomat is answering , with truly diplomatic reservethe
, many questions the _" London man" is asking about the " best Roman society , " and how to get introduced to the Princess this , and
Monsignor that . I am wickedly amused to see how all his ingenious questions are parried , and his broad hints wilfully
misunderstood . In another corner of the room Captain L is initiating an eager group of men and boys into the mysteries of " Heads and
Tails ; " they grow terribly keen and excited about it , and the lesson is only concluded when Captain L ' s pockets are entirely emptied
of _coj _3 pers and small change . The rain is nearly over , and we are dry and warmand begin to
, talk of moving on ; our hostess hurriedly takes a great iron pot off the nre , and entreats us -to have a little soup before -we go .
She is so earnest about it , not to vex her we take a few spoonfuls ; it is really not bad , well boiled rice and bread crumbs , seasoned
with herbs and the inevitable fennel-seed . As soon as " Cassandra" is awakened and Miss Rose ' s hair
twisted tip under her coquettish little hat , we wend our way once more through the long corridor , down the wide stairs , and into the
court-yard where our horses wait ready for us . All the family attend us to the doorand little Serafma puts her brown hand in
, mine quite confidingly , and begs us to come back again some day soon . Our hostess and her husband thank us with simple courtesy
for the pleasure our company has given them , as we exchange friendly farewells . Dangerous and false as the Italian in ay be
under some circumstances , there is in general a kindly geniality in his nature that makes him delight in affording hospitality or
rendering any little service . No Mr . Brown or Miss Grey are to be seen . The men tell us they
rode off a quarter of an hour ago , and now they are quite out of sight . " Ne sont , elles-donc pas comiques ces Anglaises ? " murmurs
thediplomat to himself ; then discovering that I have heard his sotto voce remark , he exclaims aloud , " How fervently he admires English _,
independence are brought up and . " the liberal manner in which English young . l ¦ adies -
242 A Canteb Oveb The Campagna.
242 A _CANTEB OVEB THE _CAMPAGNA .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1862, page 242, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121862/page/26/
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