CHARLES WATERTON, ESQ. lxxxvii 



our horses have been basely calumniated. Mon 

 ojjicier" said I, " I saw a moderately sized 

 jackass, with my own eyes, trot along the road 

 before our carriage, just as I left it to go to the 

 convent ; and I am sure I shall be able to show, 

 by admeasurement of the component parts of 

 the guano, that the ass alone must have been 

 the sinner in this unexpected and unpleasant 

 affair." 



The officer saw immediately that his soldier's 

 claim was groundless. He rebuked the sentinel 

 for having stopped the carriage, and then, 

 making a bow, with a look full of good-humour, 

 to the ladies, he requested that they would con- 

 tinue their drive. Pasquale moyed onwards, 

 growling like a bear with a scalded head, and 

 declaring, as his horses started, that such an 

 act of tyranny as this was just fitted for Naples, 

 but never could have taken place at any fort in 

 the papal states, or in any other country. 



Having fully succeeded in the object of our 

 visit to Naples, we took the advantage of a 

 fine steamer for Sicily, but not with any inten- 

 tion of staying there, as our projected return 

 to Rome would merely admit of a transient 

 visit to that renowned island. I had long 



e 4 



