Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-05-10

as passed the grim gates from which nv
ancestors held the road az far a. the river
and almost held Rome itself.
As we went past the Island, l did not
even raise my head to see the Theater Of
Marcellus, within which lay another and
the oldest of our family houses having come
to US through Pierleone towards the close
of the eleventh century,
Jacopo was for going straight on past the
monastery of the Aracoei, on the Capitol;
but, unluckily, ! discovered that my horse
had cast shoe, and this Was matter not
to be neglected. So we turned to the right
and entered the Campo Vaccine, formerly
the Forum OF Rome. 1t being now sunset,
here were collected hundreds of oxen and
buffaloes, and from the height of Monte
Caprino we could hear the bleating of the
herds OF goats which were pastured there
on, and the tinkling Of their bells as they
moved slowly down towards their shelter
for the night. A hundred fires were blazing
Cheertully, and served to dissipate the blue
vapor which began to hang over the place.
Round these fires were groups OF people,
mostly countrymen, who seemed in the best
OF spirits, as they listened to songs, or
watched numbers Of their party, who danced
lnerrlly to the tune OF pipe. Hard by were
Il number of sheds, used by mechanics, and
the blaze, which showed a forge in work,
soon attracting our attention, we made
there at once, and had the horse attended to-
Whilst the smith was beating out shoe,
l sat down on rough bench, my horse be.
ing fastened to a wooden post, and Jacopo
holding his nag by the bride paced up and
down, occasionally stamping his feet on the
ground to free them, as he said from the
ants. In other words, he was suffering
slightly from cramp. TO my right was a
large crowd, evidently enjoying a show of
juggcry, and from their cries of wonder.
ment and pleasure they seemed to be hav,
ing their moneys worth. So rose and ell.
bowed my way to good place, unfortunate
ly only in time to see the end of the affair.
The juygler was robed in a doctors gown,
and after performing a trick he distributed
nostrums for various ailments, free of pay
ment. Imagine my surprise in recognizing
in him no other than Mathew Corte; and as
l came up he placed tamDo*rine in his lit
tie dogs mouth, and babe him carry it
round for subscriptions. Coppers were free
ly flung in, and as the little animal stopped
before me dropped in form and stopped
to pat it's head. AS rose caught Cortes
eye, and saw he knew me, but as he made
no sign l stayed quiet. Collecting his money,
the doctor bowed his thanks and began
packing up the instruments of his trade. /
went back to my seat and watched the smith
at work on my horse, thinking that Corte
must have somehow come into funds.
BY this time the blacksmith had completed
his task, and we delayed no longer, but went
off at once. 1t was fortunate that Jacopo
knew Rome as he did, or we might have been
l. ]ol e
some of them in total ruin, some of them
entirely unlnhabited, for at the time so
hidcous was the disagreement of the city
that all who could do so had fled from
Rome, and those who remained could not
have exceeded 10000 in number, of whom
at least 10000, men and women, were beings
kind, and were capable of almost any crime.
These are hard words, but true, nor indeed,
have l ever seen place where all That was
bad was SO shamelessly exposed as in Rome
when Roderigo Borgia was pope. At length
we reached the Strangers Quarters, but
Jacopo's hostel was not to be found, and,
after searching for it in vain, we were con-
tent to pull up before the door of small inn
built on the lower slope of Monte Pincio,
barely bow-shot from S. Trinita de Monte,
the church erected by Charles of France in
1895, and little beyond the convent Of the
Danes du Sacre Occur. l cannot say that
the hostel was an inviting-looking place; in
fact, it was little better than one of the com.
mon osterie or wineshops with which Rome
aboundcd; but it was too late to pick and
choose, and for the night, at least, deter
mined to stay here. Our first duty was to
attend to the horses, which we had stabbed
in stalls, Immediately below the room to be
occupied by me, Jacopo having to put up
with lodgings in the stables for the night.
After the beasts had been fed and groomec.
I set myself to plain dinner, washed dowa
with the contents of straw-covered mezzo
fiasco of Frascati. Jacopo waited on me,
and when was done contentedly devoured
the remainder of the manzo or boiled beef,
and cooled his throat with bottle Of Ma.
rino, which / presented to him.
ITO BE CONTINUED