I Was Rejoiced To Find That In One Instance He Failed In
His Hopes Of Extortion.
As he is obliged by law to furnish supper and beds
at a fixed price to those who travel
With vetturini and are spesati,
he, whenever a vetturino arrives locks up all his decent chambers and
says that they are engaged, in order to keep them for those travellers who
may arrive in their own carriages and whom he can fleece ad libitum. A
friend of mine and his lady, who were travelling in their own carriage,
had, in order to avoid this extortion, engaged with a vetturino to
conduct them from Naples to Rome with his horses, but their own carriage,
and, had stipulated to be spesati. Mine host of Terracina, seeing a smart
carriage drive up, ordered one of his best rooms to be got ready, ushered
them in himself and returnd in half an hour to ask what they would have for
supper; when to his great astonishment and mortification, they referred him
for the arrangement of the supper to the vetturino, saying that they were
spesati. He then began to curse and swear, said that they should not have
that room, and wanted to turn them out of it forcibly; but my friend Major
G - - took up one of his pistols, which were lying on the table, and told
the innkeeper that if he did not cease to molest them and instantly quit
the room, he would blow out his brains.
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