AN INTERESTING GUIDE 317 



I do not think that the subsistence and clothing of these men cost on 

 the average more than fifteen cents a day. As far as I could see, the working 

 power of the men is excellent. Sometimes they seem to give trouble, for I 

 heard from my guide that the overseer had shot several men since he had 

 been there. This part of the Arno valley has a bad name for lawlessness ; 

 indeed I was warned to be on my guard, but, beyond a certain roughness 

 of mien that faintly reminded me of a Yorkshire mining district, I saw 

 nothing out of the way about the people I encountered. 



After examining the lignite pits I had time to look about the country. 

 A good deal of the lowland is sterile : there are, however, many patches of 

 oaks that are valued for the mast. Every now and then we came upon a little 

 herd of swine gleaning along the roads, each under the charge of a woman 

 swineherd, who spins from a distaff as she goes. This is the long distaff; 

 it is made of what appears to be a cornstalk, the space of two joints at one 

 end being split longitudinally and forced apart so as to give a frame on 

 which to spread the flax or hemp fibre. I was much interested in the swine ; 

 they are long-legged creatures and are curiously marked, the fore legs and 

 shoulders are white, while all the rest of the body is very black. 



I found my guide an interesting fellow, very talkative, but with the 

 puzzling peculiarities of speech that begin to become apparent as soon as 

 we get south of Florence; every initial c is turned to an h, caret, is hara, 

 cerico is harico, etc. The initial h's dropped in the air of England are all re- 

 covered here. The Italian language seems to have wronged nature in not 

 allowing the aspirate any place, while we English give it too much share of 

 breath. On questioning, it was clear that my companion and my guide both 

 thought they said cara when they said hara. My guide's rustic talk and com- 

 ments were entertaining. A certain grandee was building a house in the 

 neighborhood, making it three stories, while immemorial usage in these parts 

 made two sufficient; this he thought a gross folly in the matter of palaces. 

 Happening while thus remarking to pass a cemetery he said, "Behold the 

 palace of the contadini." 



Returning to San Giovanni I noticed a cart with woven rush sides, driven 

 by some women, and drawn by a pair of beautiful white cows that went 

 nimbly along together, looking happy with their bright burden. It struck 

 me that the turnout would make a good design for a coat-of-arms for the 

 woman's rights party. There were also many curious perambulating shops 

 in the streets; a two-wheeled cart carried a platform about twenty feet 

 long and four feet wide, on which the goods were displayed, one man easily 

 shoving it through the streets. The dames in the windows could be led into 

 temptation by having the shop brought before their eyes, while their 

 were tickled with the persuasive assurances of the shopman. 



