After dinner I ordered a coffee; the landlord, who also had had his
dinner, asked me to be good enough to defer it for another year and I
assented. I then asked him which was the best inn at Segni. He replied
that it did not matter, that when a man had quattrini one albergo was as
good as another. I said, No; that more depended on what kind of blood
was running about inside the albergatore than on how many quattrini the
guest had in his pocket. He smiled and offered me a pinch of the most
delicious snuff. His wife came and cleared the table, having done which
she shed the water bottle over the floor to keep the dust down. I am
sure she did it all to all the blessed gods that live in heaven, though
she did not say so.