is for half a mile up a steep road, from
the fountain at the foot of the mountain, to the town above.

The women, too, do their fair share of harvesting; they cut the wheat
with sickles; then, after it is cut, separate the grains from the stalk
by rubbing a handful of stalks with a small piece of wood in which a
series of iron rings are placed, making a rude rasp; collecting the
grains, they then carry them from the fields, sifting them at their
leisure in a large round sieve, suspended from a triangle of long poles;
then, on a breezy day, you may see them standing over a large cloth,
holding a double handful of wheat high above their heads, and letting it
fall: the wind blows away the chaff, and the clean grain falls on the
outspread cloth.

In the autumn, when the men are employed in the vintage, comes the
chestnut season; and then the women, who are not busy in the vineyard,
and who regard it as a frolic, go for miles up in the mountains,
collecting the nuts, large as our horse chestnuts. They form no small
part of the winter stock of food for the mountaineers, while the refuse
nuts are used to fatten the pet pig. We can have but small conception of
the primeval look these chestnut woods wear, the trees growing to an
enormous size, many a one being ten to twelve feet in diameter. The
weather is glorious during this season: clear, bright, and buoyantly
refreshing, blow the autumn winds; and as Caper, day after day, wandered
among the old trees, now helping an old woman to fill a sack with the
brown nuts, now clubbing the chestnuts from the trees for a young girl,
he, too, voted chestnut gathering a rare good time. Far off, and now
near, the girls were singing their quaint wild songs. Thus heard, the
_rondinella_ sounds well: it is of the woods and deserts; strange,
barbaric, oriental, bacchantic, what you please, save dawdling
drawing-room and piano-ic.

To resume the walk around the town: Caper, after leaving the man who was
employing the sylphide hod-carriers, called in at the shop were cigars
were sold, and outside of which was a tin sign, on which was painted the
papal coat-of-arms, and the usual words, indicating that the government
monopolies, salt and tobacco, were for sale. Having bought some cigars,
he entered into conversation with the man who kept the store. He
learned, what he already knew, that everything in the town was done by
hand, weaving, spinning, thrashing, grinding wheat and corn, &c.

'Do you