At Length The Landlord Arrived, And Gave
Us To Understand, That He Could Accommodate Us With Chambers.
In
that where I lay, there was just room for two beds, without
curtains or bedstead, an old rotten table covered with dried
figs, and a couple of crazy chairs.
The walls had been once
white-washed: but were now hung with cobwebs, and speckled with
dirt of all sorts; and I believe the brick-floor had not been
swept for half a century. We supped in an outward room suitable
in all respects to the chamber, and fared villainously. The
provision was very ill-dressed, and served up in the most
slovenly manner. You must not expect cleanliness or conveniency
of any kind in this country. For this accommodation I payed as
much as if I had been elegantly entertained in the best auberge
of France or Italy.
Next day, the wind was so high that we could not prosecute our
voyage, so that we were obliged to pass other four and twenty
hours in this comfortable situation. Luckily Mr. R - found two
acquaintances in the place; one a Franciscan monk, a jolly
fellow; and the other a maestro di capella, who sent a spinnet to
the inn, and entertained us agreeably with his voice and
performance, in both of which accomplishments he excelled. The
padre was very good humoured, and favoured us with a letter of
recommendation to a friend of his, a professor in the university
of Pisa. You would laugh to see the hyperbolical terms in which
he mentioned your humble servant; but Italy is the native country
of hyperbole.
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