the peasants in the fields with their bright bits of
color, a scarlet shawl, a skirt of faded blue, a yellow kerchief round
the head! And the great white oxen at the plows! Sometimes he saw a
strange, phantom-like, walled town hanging to some cliffs far away. It
disappeared and reappeared and disappeared again. Never a chimney with
the curling black smoke of the factory did he see above any of these
clustered cities. When he recalled to mind the pall of soft-coal smoke
which hangs over the average American city, he knew that while Italy
might be cursed with poverty she had her blessing in fine clear skies.
And always, swinging down the great roads, he saw in fancy the ghosts of
armies, crusaders, mercenaries, feudal companies, crossbowmen, and
knights in mail.

It amused him to see the buxom women flagging the train at crossings.
And the little stations, where everybody rushed out to buy a drink of
bottled water! Suddenly the station-master struck a bell, the conductor
tooted a horn, and the engine's shrill whistle shrieked; and off they
flew again. No newsboy to bother one with stale gum, rank cigars,
ancient caramels and soiled novels; nothing but solid comfort. And oh!
the flashing streams which rushed under bridges or plunged alongside.
Merrihew's hand ached to hold a rod and whip the green pools where the
fallen olive leaves floated and swam like silver minnows. Half a dozen
times he woke Hillard to draw his attention to these streams. But
Hillard disillusioned him. Rarely were there any fish, nor were these
waters drinkable, passing as they did over immense beds of lime.

There was a change of cars at Rome and a wait of two hours. Hillard led
the way to a popular cafe in the Piazza delle Terme, near the station.
Here they lunched substantially. In that hour or so Merrihew saw more
varied uniforms than he had seen in all his past life; perambulating
parrakeets which glittered, smoked cigarettes or black cigars with
straws in them, and drank coffee out of tumblers. He readily imagined
that he was surrounded by enough dukes and princes and counts to run a
dozen kingdoms, with a few left over for the benefit of the American
market. He was making no mistakes now; he could distinguish a general
from a hotel concierge without the least difficulty.

And still Americans, everywhere Americans; rich and poor Americans, loud
and quiet Americans; Americans who had taste and education, and some who
had neither; well-dressed a