eplied Pastrini, who was desirous of
keeping up the dignity of the capital of the Christian world in the
eyes of his guest, "that there are no carriages to be had from Sunday
to Tuesday evening, but from now till Sunday you can have fifty if you
please."

"Ah, that is something," said Albert; "to-day is Thursday, and who knows
what may arrive between this and Sunday?"

"Ten or twelve thousand travellers will arrive," replied Franz, "which
will make it still more difficult."

"My friend," said Morcerf, "let us enjoy the present without gloomy
forebodings for the future."

"At least we can have a window?"

"Where?"

"In the Corso."

"Ah, a window!" exclaimed Signor Pastrini,--"utterly impossible; there
was only one left on the fifth floor of the Doria Palace, and that has
been let to a Russian prince for twenty sequins a day."

The two young men looked at each other with an air of stupefaction.

"Well," said Franz to Albert, "do you know what is the best thing we can
do? It is to pass the Carnival at Venice; there we are sure of obtaining
gondolas if we cannot have carriages."

"Ah, the devil, no," cried Albert; "I came to Rome to see the Carnival,
and I will, though I see it on stilts."

"Bravo! an excellent idea. We will disguise ourselves as monster
pulchinellos or shepherds of the Landes, and we shall have complete
success."

"Do your excellencies still wish for a carriage from now to Sunday
morning?"

"Parbleu!" said Albert, "do you think we are going to run about on foot
in the streets of Rome, like lawyer's clerks?"

"I hasten to comply with your excellencies' wishes; only, I tell you
beforehand, the carriage will cost you six piastres a day."

"And, as I am not a millionaire, like the gentleman in the next
apartments," said Franz, "I warn you, that as I have been four times
before at Rome, I know the prices of all the carriages; we will give you
twelve piastres for to-day, tomorrow, and the day after, and then you
will make a good profit."

"But, excellency"--said Pastrini, still striving to gain his point.

"Now go," returned Franz, "or I shall go myself and bargain with your
affettatore, who is mine also; he is an old friend of mine, who has
plundered me pretty well already, and, in the hope of making more out
of me, he will take a less price than the one I offer you; you will lose
the preference, and that will be your fault."

"Do not give yourselves the trouble, excellency," returned Si