his mules, we did not get out of the coach. From Avessa to Capua my
companions conversed almost without interruption, and, wonderful to
relate! I did not open my lips once. I was amused by the Neapolitan
jargon of the gentleman, and by the pretty accent of the ladies, who were
evidently Romans. It was a most wonderful feat for me to remain five
hours before two charming women without addressing one word to them,
without paying them one compliment.

At Capua, where we were to spend the night, we put up at an inn, and were
shown into a room with two beds--a very usual thing in Italy. The
Neapolitan, addressing himself to me, said,

"Am I to have the honour of sleeping with the reverend gentleman?"

I answered in a very serious tone that it was for him to choose or to
arrange it otherwise, if he liked. The answer made the two ladies smile,
particularly the one whom I preferred, and it seemed to me a good omen.

We were five at supper, for it is usual for the vetturino to supply his
travellers with their meals, unless some private agreement is made
otherwise, and to sit down at table with them. In the desultory talk
which went on during the supper, I found in my travelling companions
decorum, propriety, wit, and the manners of persons accustomed to good
society. I became curious to know who they were, and going down with the
driver after supper, I asked him.

"The gentleman," he told me, "is an advocate, and one of the ladies is
his wife, but I do not know which of the two."

I went back to our room, and I was polite enough to go to bed first, in