dged too hastily.

There is no doubt, fortunately, as to the position of the religious
house founded by Cassiodorus; it was in the shadow of Mons Moscius, and
quite near to the sea. I had marked the spot during my drive up the
valley, and now saw it again from this far height, but I could not be
satisfied with distant views. Weather and evil quarters making it
impossible to remain at Squillace, I decided to drive forthwith to the
railway station, see how much time remained to me before the arrival of
the train for Reggio, and, if it could be managed, visit in that
interval the place that attracted me.

It is my desire to be at peace with all men, and in Italy I have rarely
failed to part with casual acquaintances--even innkeepers and
cocchieri--on friendly terms; but my host of the _Albergo Nazionale_
made it difficult to preserve good humour. Not only did he charge
thrice the reasonable sum for the meal I could not eat, but his bill
for my driver's _colazione_ contained such astonishing items that I had
to question the lad as to what he had really consumed. It proved to be
a very ugly case of extortion, and the tone of sullen menace with which
my arguments were met did not help to smooth things. Presently the man
hit upon a pleasant sort of compromise. Why, he asked, did I not pay
the bill as it stood, and then, on dismissing my carriage--he had
learnt that I was not returning to Catanzaro--deduct as much as I chose
from the payment of the driver? A pretty piece of rascality, this,
which he would certainly not have suggested but that the driver was a
mere boy, helpless himself and bound to render an account to his
master. I had to be content with resolutely striking off half the sum
charged for the lad's wine (he was supposed to have drunk four litres),
and sending the receipted bill to Don Pasquale at Catanzaro, that he
might be ready with information if any future traveller consulted him
about the accommodation to be had at Squillace. No one is likely to do
so for a long time to come, but I have no doubt Don Pasquale had a
chuckle of amused indignation over the interesting and very dirty bit
of paper. We drove quickly down the winding road, and from below I
again admired the picturesqueness of Squillace. Both my guide-books, by
the way, the orthodox English and German authorities, assert that from
the railway station by the sea-shore Squillace is invisible. Which of
the two borrowed this information from the other?