CONCLUSION.
Rollo was so much pleased with his torch light visit to the Vatican, and
he found, moreover, on talking with Charles and Allie about it the next
day, so much evidence of their having been greatly pleased with it, that
he planned, a few days afterwards, a torch light visit to the Coliseum.
It is very common to make moonlight visits to the Coliseum, but Rollo
thought a torch light view of the majestic old ruin would be better. On
proposing his plan to his uncle, Mr. George said that he had no
objection to it if Rollo would make all the arrangements. He did not
know any thing about it himself, he said.
Rollo said he had no doubt that he could arrange it, with the help of a
commissioner.
[Illustration: COLISEUM BY TORCHLIGHT.]
So Rollo looked out a good commissioner, and the commissioner arranged
the plan. I have not space to describe this visit fully, but must pass
on to the conclusion of the book. I will only say that the torches which
were employed on this occasion, were different from those employed in
the exhibition of the statues in the Vatican, being more like those used
by firemen in America. There were also more of them in number, the
commissioner having provided four. With these torch bearers to light
their way, Rollo's party explored the Coliseum in every part, and they
found that the grandeur and sublimity of the immense corridors and vast
vaulted passages of the ruin were greatly enhanced by the solemnity of
the night, and by the flickering glare of the torches, shining upon the
massive piers, and into the dark recesses of the ruin.
I do not know how many more torch light visits to wonderful places in
Rome Rollo would have planned, had not the time arrived when Mr. George
thought it was necessary for them to go back to France.
"It is getting late in the season," said Mr. George, "and every body is
leaving Rome. I don't think it is safe for us to remain much longer here
ourselves, on account of the fever."
Rome is extremely unhealthy in the summer months; and in the environs
there is a very wide tract of country which is almost entirely
uninhabitable all the year round, on account of the prevalence of fever.
"Very well," said Rollo, "we will go whenever you please."
"We must take our places in the steamer and in the diligences several
days beforehand," said Mr. George. "We will go to the steamboat office
to-day."
There are several lines of steamers that go from Rome to Marseilles,
which is the port of landing for travellers going to France and England.
Some of these steamers go "direct" across the sea, while others coast
along the shore, sailing at night, and stopping during the day at the
large towns on the route. The first night they go to Leghorn, the second
to Genoa, and the third to Marseilles. At first Mr. George thought that
he would take one of these coasting steamers; but he finally concluded
to go "direct."
"It would be very pleasant," said he to Rollo, "for us to stop at those
towns, and ramble about during the day, and then in the evening set sail
again, provided we could be at liberty to land at our pleasure, to
ramble about unmolested wherever we wished to go, as we can do in
America."
"And can't we do so?" asked Rollo.
"No," said Mr. George. "In the first place we must have our passports
stamped here for all the places that we wish to visit, and that will
cause us here a great deal of trouble, and not a little expense. Then to
land we must have our passports all examined again, and stamped, and
there will be more money to pay; and likely as not we should be detained
half the morning in getting through all these formalities, and so our
time would be passed in fruitless vexation instead of pleasure. Then,
when at last we were free, and began our rambles, we should be beset by
beggars every where, and have no peace."
"What a foolish plan it is to plague travellers so much with all these
ceremonies about passports!" said Rollo.
"I am not certain that it is foolish for such governments as these,"
replied Mr. George. "You see, they are governments of force, maintained
over the people against their will, by means of military power. The
people at large hate the government, and are all the time plotting to
destroy it; and if the plotters were allowed to go freely to and fro all
over the country, they would be able to organize their plans, and
general insurrections would be arranged, and the governments might thus
be overthrown. By allowing nobody to travel without a passport, stating
who he is, and where he came from, and where he is going, the government
keep every thing under their control."
"But I think the governments _ought_ to be overthrown," said Rollo, "and
better governments, such as the people would like, set up in their
places."
"So do I," said Mr. George; "but it is not surprising that the governors
themselves of these countries don't think so. They wish to retain their
stations and their power, whether the people like it or not; and the
passport system is a very cunning contrivance to help them do it. And
then, besides, they have a very good pretext for keeping up the system."
"What is their pretext?" asked Rollo.
"They pretend that the object is to assist them in stopping and
arresting robbers, and murderers, and other criminals who attempt to
escape from one part of the country to another after committing their
crimes. And the system is sometimes useful in this way, I have no doubt;
though these criminals can often elude the authorities by procuring
false passports."
"And the plotters against the government, too, I suppose," said Rollo.
"Yes," said Mr. George, "sometimes."
This conversation took place while Mr. George and Rollo were walking
towards the steamboat office, to take their passages to Marseilles.
They arrived at the office. The clerk answered their inquiries in
respect to the steamer with great politeness. The conversation was in
the French language. He told them that the steamer started from Naples
every evening, and that it stopped in the morning about eight o'clock
at Civita Vecchia[9] to take in the passengers from Rome. It was
necessary for the passengers to go from Rome to Civita Vecchia by
diligence, or by post, or with a vetturino.
[Footnote 9: Pronounced _Tchivita Vekkia_.]
"Then there are no carriages from your office," said Mr. George.
"No, sir," replied the clerk. "We take the passengers at Civita Vecchia.
They find their own conveyances there."
"Very well," said Mr. George. "I will take two berths in the steamer for
Thursday morning. Can I see a plan of the steamer so as to select the
berths?"
"No, sir," said the clerk, "we have no plan of the steamer. And besides,
we cannot positively promise you any berths. It depends upon how many
passengers there are from Naples. The passengers from Rome take the
berths that are left vacant. They take them in the order in which they
take passage here."
"Are there many that have taken passage before us?" asked Mr. George.
"No, sir," said the clerk, "only two. Your numbers are 3 and 4."
"Then, if there are more than two berths that are not occupied by the
Naples passengers, we can have them?"
"Yes, sir," said the clerk.
"And suppose there are not more than two," asked Rollo, "what shall we
do then?"
"Why, then you will have sofas or cots," said the clerk.
"O, that will do just as well," said Rollo. "I would as lief have a sofa
or a cot as a berth."
So Mr. George paid the money, and took tickets numbers 3 and 4, and
then, having inquired the way to the diligence office, they bade the
clerk good morning, and went away.
"And now," said Mr. George, "we must go directly to the diligence
office, and secure our places for Civita Vecchia. If we put it off, the
places might all be taken, and then we should lose the passage money we
have paid for the steamer."
"Would not they pay us back again?" asked Rollo.
"I am afraid not," said Mr. George. "But I think we are in season, for
it is now Tuesday, and we do not sail till Thursday."
On entering the diligence office, Mr. George saw one or two clerks
standing behind a counter. They seemed busy talking with persons who had
come in to engage places, and entering their names in great books. As
soon as one of the clerks was at liberty Mr. George accosted him, saying
that he wished to get two places in the diligence for Civita Vecchia on
Wednesday.
The clerk looked at the book, and said that all the places were taken
for Wednesday, except one.
"That's bad," said Mr. George. "We shall have to go down on Tuesday,
then, and stay a day at Civita Vecchia. Are there any places for
Tuesday?"
The clerk looked, and said that every place for Tuesday was engaged.
"But there is a coach on Wednesday night," he added, "that arrives at
Civita Vecchia in the morning in time for the steamer."
Then turning over to another place in his book, he looked at the list of
names, and then told Mr. George that there was only one vacant place for
Wednesday night.
"Dear me, Rollo!" said Mr. George, "how unfortunate! We ought to have
attended to this business before."
"I'll tell you what we can do," said Rollo. "One of us can go on
Wednesday morning, and the other wait here and come on in the night."
"That is the only thing that we _can_ do," said Mr. George, "unless we
hire a carriage to ourselves, and that would be expensive. Should you
dare to go alone?"
"O, yes, indeed," said Rollo.
"But remember," said Mr. George, "that all the people will be speaking
Italian. You will have to ride among them like a deaf and dumb boy."
"Never mind that," said Rollo. "Deaf and dumb boys get along in
travelling very well. Besides, I am almost sure that there will be
somebody in the diligence that can speak French or English."
"And which would you rather do," asked Mr. George, "go in the morning or
in the evening? If you go in the morning coach, you will have to set out
very early, before it is light, and then stay at Civita Vecchia, in a
strange hotel, alone, all night. If you go in the evening, you can
remain here, where you are acquainted, all day; but then you will have
to ride alone in the night."
"I would rather go in the morning coach," said Rollo.
"Very well," said Mr. George. "That's what we'll do."
This conversation between Mr. George and Rollo had been carried on in
English; but now Mr. George turned to the clerk, and said in French
that he would take the two places that were left, one in the morning
coach and one in the evening coach of Wednesday. The place in the
morning coach was upon the banquette. The one in the evening coach was
in the coupe. Mr. George had scarcely uttered the words by which he
engaged the seats, before two gentlemen came in in a hurried manner to
ask for seats in the diligence for Wednesday. The clerk told them that
the last of them had just been engaged.
When Wednesday morning came, Rollo was awakened by the porter of the
hotel knocking at his door before it was light. He got up, and opened
the door a little way, and took in the candles which the porter handed
to him. Mr. George had intended to get up too, and go with Rollo to the
office; but Rollo particularly desired that he should not do so.
"I have nothing to carry," said he, "but my little valise, and the
porter will go with me to take that, and to see me safe through the
streets. So that it is not at all necessary for you to go, and I would
much rather not have you go."
Mr. George perceived that Rollo felt a pride in taking care of himself
on this occasion, and so he yielded to this request, and remained in his
bed. If he had not been convinced that Rollo would be perfectly safe
under the porter's care, he would of course have insisted on going
himself. Rollo was soon dressed, and then going to his uncle's bedside,
he shook hands with him, and bade him good by.
"I shall be looking out for you at the diligence office in Civita
Vecchia," said he, "when the diligence arrives to-morrow morning."
So saying, he took his candle in one hand and his valise in the other,
and sallied forth into the long corridor of the hotel. He had to walk a
a great distance along this corridor, passing a great many doors, with a
pair of boots or shoes before each of them, before he reached the head
of the staircase. He descended the staircase, and at the bottom of it
found the porter waiting for him. The porter had another candle, which
was upon a table in the hall. He took Rollo's candle, and also the
valise, and then unbolted and unlocked the front door. A sleepy-looking
boy was ready to lock it again, after Rollo and the porter had gone out.
So they sallied forth into the cool morning air. There were lamps
burning in the streets, and in one direction, where there was an opening
among the buildings, Rollo could see some faint signs of the dawn in the
eastern sky.
The porter could only speak Italian; so he and Rollo walked along
together in silence through the solitary streets. They soon arrived at
the diligence office, where there was a bright light of lanterns, and a
bustle of people coming and going, and of postilions bringing out
horses. The diligence was all ready before the door. The baggage, which
had been brought for the purpose the night before, was all loaded. Rollo
paid the porter, and then climbed up to his place on the banquette. The
horses were soon harnessed in, and the diligence set off; but there were
several stoppages necessary at police stations and passport offices
before the journey was fairly commenced, so that the sun was rising when
Rollo took his final leave of Rome.
He had a very pleasant journey across the country, and arrived at Civita
Vecchia about three o'clock. As he descended from the coach, a
pleasant-looking man, in a sort of official costume, accosted him,
asking him if he was going to Leghorn in the steamer that afternoon. The
man spoke in English, though with a foreign accent.
"No," said Rollo; "I am going to Marseilles to-morrow morning."
"Ah! Then you go to the hotel," said the man. "This porter will take
your valise, and show you the way."
So saying, the man, who was a commissioner of the hotel, put Rollo
under the charge of a porter, who conducted him to a large and very
substantial-looking hotel near by. Rollo ascended by a flight of stone
stairs into the second story of the hotel, and there engaged a room for
the night, and ordered dinner. He had a very good dinner, all by
himself, in a great dining room with long tables in it, where there were
at the same time several other persons and parties dining. After dinner
he went out to ramble about the town. He was surprised at the massive
masonry of the piers, and breakwaters, and forts, that lined the shores,
and at the number of vessels and steamers in the basin. He returned to
the hotel in good season, and amused himself there till nine o'clock
observing the different parties of travellers that were continually
coming and going.
The next morning he watched for the diligence from a piazza on the
second story of the hotel--the diligence office being at the next door.
The diligence arrived at the proper time, and Rollo called out to his
uncle George when he saw him getting out from the coupe. This was at
seven o'clock; at eight Mr. George and Rollo embarked, with a great many
others, in a small boat, to go on board the steamer, and at half past
eight the paddles of the steamer began to revolve, and to bear them
rapidly away from the shores of Italy out over the blue waters of the
Mediterranean, on the route to Marseilles.