Clearly, If I
Wished To Proceed At Once, I Must Open Negotiations At My Inn, And,
After A Leisurely Meal, I Did So.
Very soon a man presented himself
who was willing to drive me over the mountains - at a charge which
I saw to be absurd; the twinkle in his eye as he named the sum
sufficiently enlightened me.
By the book it was no more than a
journey of four hours; my driver declared that it would take from
seven to eight. After a little discussion he accepted half the
original demand, and went off very cheerfully to put in his horses.
For an hour I rambled about the town's one street, very picturesque
and rich in colour, with rushing fountains where women drew fair
water in jugs and jars of antique beauty. Whilst I was thus
loitering in the sunshine, two well-dressed men approached me, and
with somewhat excessive courtesy began conversation. They understood
that I was about to drive to Cosenza. A delightful day, and a
magnificent country! They too thought of journeying to Cosenza, and,
in short, would I allow them to share my carriage? Now this was
annoying; I much preferred to be alone with my thoughts; but it
seemed ungracious to refuse. After a glance at their smiling faces,
I answered that whatever room remained in the vehicle was at their
service - on the natural understanding that they shared the
expense; and to this, with the best grace in the world, they at once
agreed. We took momentary leave of each other, with much bowing and
flourishing of hats, and the amusing thing was that I never beheld
those gentlemen again.
Fortunately - as the carriage proved to be a very small one, and
the sun was getting very hot; with two companions I should have had
an uncomfortable day. In front of the Leone a considerable number
of loafers had assembled to see me off, and of these some half-dozen
were persevering mendicants. It disappointed me that I saw no
interesting costume; all wore the common, colourless garb of our
destroying age. The only vivid memory of these people which remains
with me is the cadence of their speech. Whilst I was breakfasting,
two women stood at gossip on a near balcony, and their utterance was
a curious exaggeration of the Neapolitan accent; every sentence rose
to a high note, and fell away in a long curve of sound, sometimes a
musical wail, more often a mere whining. The protraction of the last
word or two was really astonishing; again and again I fancied that
the speaker had broken into song. I cannot say that the effect was
altogether pleasant; in the end such talk would tell severely on
civilized nerves, but it harmonized with the coloured houses, the
luxuriant vegetation, the strange odours, the romantic landscape.
In front of the vehicle were three little horses; behind it was
hitched an old shabby two-wheeled thing, which we were to leave
somewhere for repairs.
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