Segni might well boast of her hogs and donkeys. As the sun rose, a
wild-looking fellow stood by the Maggiore Gate and blew on a long horn
many rough blasts; then from all the streets and alleys rushed out black
hogs tumultuously, to the number of one hundred or more, and followed
their pastor with the horn, to the field or forest. There he guarded
them all day, and at sunset brought them back to the town; when as soon
as they reached the gate, the herd separated, and right and left, at
top-speed, every hog hastened to his own house. Poor as the inhabitants
were, yet among the five thousand of them living in the town, besides
countless black hogs, they owned over two hundred and fifty donkeys and
mules, the majority donkeys of the longest-eared, smallest-body breed
you can conceive. Costing little if any thing to support them, they were
excellent labor-saving machines, and did three quarters of the work that
in our country would have been done by hod and wheelbarrow labor. Very
sure-footed, they were well calculated for traveling the mountain-roads
around; and with their enormous saddles, a direct copy of those now used
in Egypt, of course attracted the attention of the two animal-painters,
who determined to secure a good specimen, and make a sketch of donkey
and saddle.
The most comical-looking one in the town belonged to a cross,
ill-tempered, ugly brute of a hunchback, who, as soon as he learned that
the artists wanted to paint him, asked such a price for his loan that
they found themselves obliged to give up all hopes of taking his
portrait. One morning, as Caper was walking out of the inn-door, he
nearly tumbled over a little, sun-burnt, diminutive donkey that had a
saddle on his back, resembling, with this on him, a broken-backed
rabbit. Caper was charmed; and as he stood there lost in admiration, a
poor little lame boy came limping up, and catching Long Ears by the rope
halter, was leading him away, when the artist stopped him and asked him
whom it belonged to. The small boy, probably not understanding Caper, or
afraid of him, made no answer, but resolutely pulled away the donkey to
a gateway leading into a garden, at the end of which was a half-ruined
old house. Our artist followed him in, when, raising his eyes toward the
house, he saw leaning from one of the windows, her figure marked boldly
against the dark gray of the house, a strikingly beautiful woman. There
was an air of neatness in her dress, a certain care of her hair, that
was an improvement over any of the other female Segnians he had yet
seen.
'Can you tell me,' said Caper, pointing to the donkey, 'who owns that
animal?'
'_Padrone mio_, I own him,' said the woman.
'I want to paint him.'
'_Do_ you?' replied the beauty, whose name Caper learned was Margarita;
and she asked this with a very astonished look.
'I do, indeed I do. It will not hurt him.'
'No, I don't believe it will. He is very ugly and sun-burnt. I think it
will improve him,' said Margarita confidently.
Caper didn't see how the mere taking his portrait would improve the
animal; but thinking it might be meant for a compliment, he assented,
adding that he would pay a fair price for himself and his friend to be
allowed to have the donkey, all saddled, for two or three hours every
day when he was not used.
That very day, about four o'clock in the afternoon, Caper and Dexter,
having prepared their sketching-paper, with colors on pallet,
mall-sticks in hand, and seated on camp-stools in the shade of a wall,
were busy sketching in Margarita's garden, the donkey held by the little
lame boy, and fed from time to time with corn-meal in order to keep him
steady. Margarita was seated, with a little child in her arms, on a
flight of old wooden steps leading to the second story of her house; and
with her bright crimson boddice, and white falling linen sleeves, and
shirt gathered in folds over her bosom, while her dark blue skirts, and
dark apron with brilliant gold and red stripes, were draped around her
as she sat on the stairs, looked exactly like one of Raphael's _Madonne
alla Fornarina_. Her large eyes followed seriously every movement of the
painters. Caper, learning that she was a widow, did not know but what
her affections were straying his way.
'I say, Dexter, don't you think, now, she's regarding us pretty
closely?'
'I am sure it's the donkey is next her heart, and it is more than
probable she's there on watch to keep us from stealing it. D'ye notice
the manner she's eyeing the paints? Every time my brush goes near the
vermilion, and I move my stool, her eyes brighten. I wonder what's up
around the gate there? Hanged if half the old women and children around
town an't assembled there! Look.'
Caper looked, and, sure enough, there was a crowd of heads; and not
content with standing at the gateway, they began soon to enter the
garden, crowding around our two artists, getting in front of the donkey,
and being generally in the way.
Once or twice Dexter drove them off with words, until at last, an
unlucky urchin striking his elbow and making him mar his sketch, he laid
down his sketching-box, and, clubbing his campstool, made a rush at the
crowd. They fled before him, in their hurry tumbling one over the other,
and then, scrambling to their feet, were soon out of sight. Returning to
his sketch, he was no sooner busily at work than they were all back
again, but now keeping at respectful distance.
After about two hours' work, Caper proposed knocking off sketching, and
continuing it next day; to which Dexter assenting, they put up their
sketches. Caper agreeing to pay Margarita for the afternoon's study, he
went up to her, and handing over the amount agreed upon, she seemed by
no means satisfied.
'Won't that pay you?' asked he.
'Certainly, but--'
'But what?'
'When are you going to paint the donkey? Here I've told all my friends
that you were to paint the little old fellow all over, perhaps a nice
red color, or bright yellow; and here we've all been waiting hours to
see you begin, and you haven't put the first brush to him yet!'
This was too much for the gravity of Caper, who fairly roared with
laughter, and Dexter, who had listened to the talk, joining in as
chorus, made the garden ring.
'They are crazy,' said one old woman, who was holding a distaff in one
hand, while she was making woolen thread with the other.
'_Seguro_,' said another, who had once been to Rome, and therefore was
great authority, 'they are Englis', and all the Englis' is crazy. Didn't
I once live with an Englis' family? and they were that mad that they
washed themselves every day! And they had white sticks with hair on the
end of them, what they scrubbed their mouth and teeth with two and three
times a day!'
'Now, Maricuccia, that is too much; what could they do that for?'
'_Ma, che!_ I tell you it was so; and their maid told me it was to kill
the little devils that are always jumping in and out of the throats of
all heretics.'
'Santa Maria!'
The next day, after they had finished their sketch of the donkey, Caper
proposed that they should oblige Margarita by giving the donkey a little
of that painting the owner seemed so anxious to have bestowed on him.
Dexter accordingly drew bright yellow circles of cadmium and yellow
ochre round his eyes, giving him a peculiarly owly look; painted white
rings round his tail, black streaks round his body, and touched the ends
of his ears with vermilion. A more striking-looking object you never
saw; and when Margarita proudly led him forth and showed him to the
surrounding multitude, there were storms of applause for the _Inglese_
who painted donkeys!