the diligence, and carried their passports for a final Papal _visa_
at the police-office. By the account he gave of himself, he was one of
the best men in the world, and unique in those parts for honesty and
truthfulness; and he besought us, out of that affectionate interest
with which our very aspect had inspired him, not to go by steamer, but
to go by diligence, which in nineteen hours would land us safe,
and absolutely refreshed by the journey, at the railway station in
Follonica. And now, once, would we go by diligence? twice, would we
go? three times, would we go?

"Signore," said our benefactor, angrily, "I lose my time with you;"
and ran away, to be called back in the course of destiny, as he knew
well enough, and besought to take us as a special favor.

From the passports he learned that there was official dignity among
us, and addressed the unworthy bearer of public honors as Eccellenza,
and, at parting bequeathed his advantage to the conductor, commending
us all in set terms to his courtesy. He hovered caressingly about us
as long as we remained, straining politeness to do us some last little
service; and when the diligence rolled away, he did all that one man
could to give us a round of applause.

We laughed together at this silly old man, when out of sight; but we
confessed that, if travel in our own country ever came, with advancing
corruption, to be treated with the small deceits practiced upon it in
Italy, it was not likely to be treated with the small civilities also
there attendant on it,--and so tried to console ourselves.

At the moment of departure, we were surprised to have enter the
diligence a fellow-countryman, whom we had first seen on the road from
Naples to Rome. He had since crossed our path with that iteration of
travel which brings you again and again in view of the same trunks
and the same tourists in the round of Europe, and finally at Civita
Vecchia he had turned up, a silent spectator of our scene with the
agent of the diligence, and had gone off apparently a confirmed
passenger by steamer. Perhaps a nearer view of the sailor's hornpipe,
as danced by that vessel in the harbor, shook his resolution. At
any rate, here he was again, and with his ticket for Follonica,--a
bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked man, and we will say a citizen of Portland,
though he was not. For the first time in our long acquaintance with
one another's faces, we entered into conversation, and wondered
whether we shoul