ally drives it himself, still the driving is only a small part of
his business. He might employ another man to go with him and drive, but
he would on that account be none the less the vetturino.

The vetturino usually takes the entire charge of the party, and provides
for them in every respect,--that is, if they make the arrangement with
him in that way, which they generally do, inasmuch as, since they do
not, ordinarily, know the language of the country, it is much more
convenient for them to arrange with him to take care of them than to
attempt to take care of themselves. Accordingly, in making a journey of
several days, as, for example, from Genoa to Florence, from Florence to
Rome, or from Rome to Venice, or to Naples, the vetturino determines the
length of each day's journey; he chooses the hotels where to stop, both
at noon and for the night; he attends to the passports in passing the
frontiers, and also to the examination of the baggage at the custom
houses; and on arriving at the hotels he orders what the travellers
require, and settles the bill the next morning. For all this the
travellers pay him one round sum, which includes every thing. This sum
consists of a certain amount for the carriage and horses, and an
additional amount of about a dollar and a half or a dollar and three
quarters a day, as agreed upon beforehand, for hotel expenses on the
way. Thus, by this mode of travelling, the whole care is taken off from
the traveller's mind, and he has nothing to do during the daytime but to
sit in his carriage and enjoy himself, and at night to eat, drink,
sleep, and take his comfort at the hotel.

It was at Florence that Mr. George and Rollo first commenced to travel
with a vetturino. They came to Florence by steamer and railway; that is,
by steamer to Leghorn, and thence across the country by railway.
Florence is a very pretty place, with the blue and beautiful River Arno
running through the middle of it, and ancient stone bridges leading
across the river from side to side. The town is filled with magnificent
churches and palaces, built, some of them, a thousand years ago, and all
so richly adorned with sculptures, paintings, bronzes, and mosaics, that
the whole world flock there to see them. People go there chiefly in the
winter. At that season the town is crowded with strangers. A great many
people, too, go there in the winter to avoid the cold weather which
prevails at that time of the year, in all the more