I don't think I
can do greater justice to Italian costumes than by this respectable
form of words.
Then there was another consultation. They put a bit of rotten timber
under to pry the carriage up. Fortunately, it did not break, as we all
expected it would, till after the wheel was on. Then a new train of
thought was suggested. How was it to be kept on? Evidently they had
not thought far in that direction, for they had brought neither hammer
nor nail, nor tool of any kind, and therefore they looked first at the
wheel, then at each other, and then at us. The doctor now produced a
little gimlet, with the help of which the broken fragments of the
former linchpin were pushed out, and the way was cleared for a new
one. Then they began knocking a fence to pieces to get out nails, but
none could be found to fit. At last another ambassador was sent back
for nails. While we were thus waiting, the diligence, in which many of
our ship's company were jogging on to Rome, came up. They had plenty
of room inside, and one of the party, seeing our distress, tried hard
to make the driver stop, but he doggedly persisted in going on, and
declared if anybody got down to help us he would leave him behind.
An interesting little episode here occurred. It was raining, and Mary
and I proposed, as the wheel was now on, to take our seats. We had no
sooner done so than the horses were taken with a sudden fit of
animation and ran off with us in the most vivacious manner, Tag, Rag,
and Co.
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