No—his excellenza was not mistaken; the purse lay on the marble
table, under the mirror: a green purse, half full of gold and
silver. Again a thousand grimaces and contortions, and vows by
San Genario, that no purse of the kind had been seen.
The Englishman became furious. “The waiter had pocketed it. The
landlord was a knave. The inn a den of thieves—it was a d——d
country—he had been cheated and plundered from one end of it to
the other—but he’d have satisfaction—he’d drive right off to the
police.”
He was on the point of ordering the postilions to turn back,
when, on rising, he displaced the cushion of the carriage, and
the purse of money fell chinking to the floor.
All the blood in his body seemed to rush into his face. “D—n the
purse,” said he, as he snatched it up. He dashed a handful of
money on the ground before the pale, cringing waiter. “There—be
off,” cried he; “John, order the postilions to drive on.”
Above half an hour had been exhausted in this altercation. The
Venetian carriage had loitered along; its passengers looking out
from time to time, and expecting the escort every moment to
follow. They had gradually turned an angle of the road that shut
them out of sight. The little army was again in motion, and made
a very picturesque appearance as it wound along at the bottom of
the rocks; the morning sunshine beaming upon the weapons of
soldiery.
The Englishman lolled back in his carriage, vexed with himself at
what had passed, and consequently out of humor with all the
world. As this, however, is no uncommon case with gentlemen who
travel for their pleasure, it is hardly worthy of remark.
They had wound up from the coast among the hills, and came to a
part of the road that admitted of some prospect ahead.
“I see nothing of the lady’s carriage, sir,” said John, leaning
over from the coach box.
“Hang the lady’s carriage!” said the Englishman, crustily; “don’t
plague me about the lady’s carriage; must I be continually
pestered with strangers?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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