in the old town he did not know; and if he had not been so lazy, he
could have filled his sketch book with a hundred picturesque studies.
But no; with the keenest appreciation of every bit of color, every
graceful pose of a human figure, every beautiful face, every fine effect
of light or shadow--he made no sign. _His_ legitimate function was
friendly guide to the stranger, and in this office he carried Caper all
over the old castle, out to the long shady walk on the esplanade behind
it, pointed out beautiful views over the valley; finally, showing Caper
his studio, which, as it was a large room, and his _padrona_ could
impose on his good nature, was fairly glittering with copper pans, hung
on the walls when not in use in the kitchen. On an easel was a painting,
to be called The King of the Campagna; all that was apparent was the
head and horns of the king. Wardor had thus actually spent three mouths
painting on a space not so large as your fist, while the canvas was at
least three feet by two feet and a half. But the king, a buffalo, would
be a regal figure, for the head was life itself.

Caper proposed finishing a bottle of wine with Wardor, in honor of the
day; so the latter piloted him up street and then down a flight of steps
to a quiet wine-shop, where, sitting on a shady terrace, they could
calmly enjoy the lovely landscape spread below them, and look over the
town, over the valley, to far-away Segni high up in the Volscians. The
landlord's wife, a buxom, comely woman, in full holiday costume, brought
them a flask of cool wine and glasses, presenting them at the same time
with a couple of very large sweet apples, the largest of which was
thirteen inches in circumference by actual measurement. So you see they
have apples as well as oranges in Italy; only, apples are practical, so
they are generally omitted in the poetical descriptions of the
blue-skyed land.

Caper and Wardor dined together in a very crowded inn, where the
maccaroni must have been cooked by the ton, to judge of the sized dish
the two artists were presented with--and which they finished! Chickens,
lamb chops, salad, and two flasks of wine at last satisfied them. When
they left the table, Wardor proposed their calling on a Roman family,
who were spending the summer in the town. They found the house they
occupied crowded with guests, who, having finished dinner, were busily
employed dancing to the music of two guitars and a flute; that is, the
young