age of twenty scudi was allowed daily as
given away in charity,--which was not ungenerous, either, for such a
household. The olive oil used for the table and for lamps was the same,
and was measured together, and the household received each a pound of
cheese, monthly, besides a multitude of other eatables, all of which are
carefully enumerated and valued. Among other items of a different nature
are 'four or five large wax candles daily, for his lordship,' and wax
for torches 'to accompany the dishes brought to his table, and to
accompany his lordship and the gentlemen out of doors at night,' and
'candles for the altar,' and tallow candles for use about the house. As
for salaries and wages, the controller and chief steward received ten
scudi, each month, whereas the chaplain only got two, and the 'literary
men,' who were expected to know Hebrew, Greek and Latin, were each paid
one hundred scudi yearly. The physician was required to be not only
'learned, faithful, diligent and affectionate,' but also 'fortunate' in
his profession. Considering the medical practices of those days, a
doctor could certainly not hope to heal his patients without the element
of luck.

The old-fashioned Roman character is careful, if not avaricious, with
occasional flashes of astonishing extravagance, and its idea of riches
is so closely associated with that of power as to make the display of a
numerous retinue its first and most congenial means of exhibiting great
wealth; so that to this day a Roman in reduced fortune will live very
poorly before he will consent to exist without the two or three
superfluous footmen who loiter all day in his hall, or the handsome
equipage in which his wife and daughters are accustomed to take the
daily drive, called from ancient times the 'trottata,' or 'trot,' in the
Villa Borghese, or the Corso, or on the Pincio, and gravely provided for
in the terms of the marriage contract. At a period when servants were
necessary, not only for show but also for personal protection, it is not
surprising that the nobles should have kept an extravagant number of
them.

[Illustration: PALAZZO DI MONTE CITORIO

From a print of the last century]

Then also, to account for the size of Roman palaces, there was the
patriarchal system of life, now rapidly falling into disuse. The
so-called 'noble floor' of every mansion is supposed to be reserved
exclusively for the father and mother of the family, and the order of
arranging the