in process of construction, between Turin and Genoa. It was the
first Italian order we had taken. We had had dealings with France,
Holland, Belgium, Germany; but never with Italy. The connexion,
therefore, was new and valuable--all the more valuable because our
Transalpine neighbours had but lately begun to lay down the iron roads,
and would be safe to need more of our good English work as they went on.
So the Birmingham firm set themselves to the contract with a will,
lengthened our working hours, increased our wages, took on fresh hands,
and determined, if energy and promptitude could do it, to place
themselves at the head of the Italian labour-market, and stay there.
They deserved and achieved success. The six locomotives were not only
turned out to time, but were shipped, despatched, and delivered with a
promptitude that fairly amazed our Piedmontese consignee. I was not a
little proud, you may be sure, when I found myself appointed to
superintend the transport of the engines. Being allowed a couple of
assistants, I contrived that Mat should be one of them; and thus we
enjoyed together the first great holiday of our lives.

It was a wonderful change for two Birmingham operatives fresh from the
Black Country. The fairy city, with its crescent background of Alps; the
port crowded with strange shipping; the marvellous blue sky and bluer
sea; the painted houses on the quays; the quaint cathedral, faced with
black and white marble; the street of jewellers, like an Arabian Nights'
bazaar; the street of palaces, with its Moorish court-yards, its
fountains and orange-trees; the women veiled like brides; the
galley-slaves chained two and two; the processions of priests and friars;
the everlasting clangour of bells; the babble of a strange tongue; the
singular lightness and brightness of the climate--made, altogether, such
a combination of wonders that we wandered about, the first day, in a kind
of bewildered dream, like children at a fair. Before that week was
ended, being tempted by the beauty of the place and the liberality of the
pay, we had agreed to take service with the Turin and Genoa Railway
Company, and to turn our backs upon Birmingham for ever.

Then began a new life--a life so active and healthy, so steeped in fresh
air and sunshine, that we sometimes marvelled how we could have endured
the gloom of the Black Country. We were constantly up and down the line:
now at Genoa, now at Turin, taking trial trip