If
one rebel, little care will be taken that letters, cards, and messages
arrive promptly at their destination in the palaces of their _padroni;_
so it is a universal habit to thank them for their politeness, and to
request them to do you the favor to accept a piece of silver in order
to purchase a bottle of wine and drink your health. I never knew one of
them refuse; probably they would not consider it polite to do so. It is
curious to observe the care with which at the embassies a new name is
registered by the servants, who scream it from anteroom to _salon,_ and
how considerately a deputation waits on you at Christmas and New
Year's, or, indeed, whenever you are about to leave Rome to take your
_villeggiatura,_ for the purpose of conveying to you the good wishes of
the season or of invoking for you a _"buon viaggio."_ One young Roman,
a teacher of languages, told me that it cost him annually some twenty
_scudi_ or more, to convey to the servants of his pupils and others his
deep sense of the honor they did him in inquiring for his health at
stated times. But this is a rare case, and owing, probably, to his
peculiar position. A physician in Rome, whom I had occasion to call in
for a slight illness, took an opportunity on his first visit to put a
very considerable _buona mano_ into the hands of my servant, in order to
secure future calls. I cannot, however, say that this is customary; on
the contrary, it is the only case I know, though I have had other Roman
physicians; and this man was in his habits and practice peculiarly
un-Roman. I do not believe it, therefore, to be a Roman trait. On the
other hand, I must say, for my servant's credit, that he told me the
fact with a shrug, and added, that he could not, after all, recommend
the gentleman as a _medico,_ though I was _padrone,_ of course, to do as
I liked.

On Christmas Eve, a _Presepio_ is exhibited in several of the churches.
The most splendid is that of the Ara Celi, where the miraculous Bambino
is kept. It lasts from Christmas to Twelfth Night, during which period
crowds of people flock to see it; and it well repays a visit. The simple
meaning of the term _Presepio_ is a manger, but it is also used in the
Church to signify a representation of the birth of Christ. In the Ara
Celi the whole of one of the side-chapels is devoted to this exhibition.
In the foreground is a grotto, in which is seated the Virgin Mary, with
Joseph at her side and the miraculous Bambino