M.,
and that the only possible mode of reaching Cosenza that day was to
hire a vehicle. Experience of Italian travel made me suspicious, but
it afterwards appeared that I had been told the truth. Clearly, if I
wished to proceed at once, I must open negotiations at my inn, and,
after a leisurely meal, I did so. Very soon a man presented himself
who was willing to drive me over the mountains--at a charge which
I saw to be absurd; the twinkle in his eye as he named the sum
sufficiently enlightened me. By the book it was no more than a
journey of four hours; my driver declared that it would take from
seven to eight. After a little discussion he accepted half the
original demand, and went off very cheerfully to put in his horses.
For an hour I rambled about the town's one street, very picturesque
and rich in colour, with rushing fountains where women drew fair
water in jugs and jars of antique beauty. Whilst I was thus
loitering in the sunshine, two well-dressed men approached me, and
with somewhat excessive courtesy began conversation. They understood
that I was about to drive to Cosenza.
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