Chapter 17

THE MAGIC OF THE FOUNTAIN

In the morning they wakened to find on every tongue the news of the terrible earthquake at Messina, and for many days it was Italy the desolate that filled their minds and kept their hands busy.

People who saw it never forgot the dreadful misery of the country at that time.

Edith and Rafael stood silent, as when they had walked the streets of the buried city of Pompeii, and watched the confusion of vessels coming and going to the South. Boxes and bundles of all sizes and shapes were piled high on the wharf, and supplies of food and clothing were being hurried to the suffering city.

Newspaper men, frantic to gather news which everyone wished to hear, hurried back and forth on the quay, filling Edith with indignation. "What difference does it make whether we know all the latest news or not?" she asked hotly. "All those poor, starving people must be fed."

Rafael watched the soldiers march through the streets, without the music of the band, and go on board the ships to follow the king's boat to the stricken island, and his heart yearned to go with them.

"Italy is accursed," he heard the superstitious Neapolitans moaning, but he shook his head. "Not while the king and queen live, and teach us how to help," he said to himself, and then he went to find Mrs. Sprague.

"I cannot live this idle life any longer," he said, as he had said it once before, in Venice.

And as his mother asked then, so Mrs. Sprague asked now, "What will you do?"

"I will follow the king to Messina and ask him to make me one of the patrol guard," the boy answered.

They were standing on the quay as he spoke, and could see a relief-ship which was getting up steam, ready to sail out of the harbor.

Mrs. Sprague was alarmed. She knew that the boy would not be allowed to go into the ruined city, and she felt sure that his mother would not permit him to go if she were there; but in the excitement it was possible for him to slip away at any moment, under the mistaken idea that he could be of service.

She put her hand upon the boy's arm to detain him, if indeed he needed to be detained, and said, "How can I make you see that it is not possible for you to be of any use there?"

A man in naval uniform, who was just about to step into a tender and go out to the relief-ship, heard her words and turned, looking into Rafael's face.

He smiled suddenly and held out his hand. "We have met before, when life was brighter," he said; and Rafael recognized with delight the man who had listened to the serenade at the Rialto bridge with him, that summer night in Venice.

"May I go with you?" asked the boy impetuously.

The officer looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Our ambassador has sent me down to see what Messina needs most," he said, "and I shall be gone but a day or two. I see no harm in taking you along; but there must be no nonsense about doing patrol duty."

So it came about that Rafael went to Messina and saw the ruin and destruction caused by the greatest earthquake in the history of the world.

He was back in Naples a few days later with a face deeply saddened by the suffering he had seen. "I could not do anything there," he told Mrs. Sprague, who was glad to see him safely back again; "but my friend, the naval officer, helped me to think of a way to be of service."

"I will help you. What are you going to do?" asked Edith. She had been busy every day, helping her mother collect food, clothing and medicine to send to Messina in the relief-ships; but she longed to do still more.

"I am going to make some tops," he told her. "I saw the king and queen doing with their own hands whatever needed to be done to help the poor people; and I can make tops and sell them. In that way I can raise a little money for the sufferers."

That was how it came about that, one evening a week later, a pair of picturesque peasants stood among the booths in the Circus Agonale, in Rome, selling tops. There were booths where peddlers sold whistles of every kind and description; but they two, Edith and Rafael, were the only peddlers of tops.

In all the din of the crowds that passed and re-passed, nothing attracted more attention and made more fun than the doll-tops which Edith and her mother had dressed for Rafael. Edith blew a great blast on her whistle, Rafael gave a piercing scream on his, and they had a little crowd of merry-makers around them in a moment.

Roman whistles are made of pewter, terra-cotta, or wood, in every shape of bird, or beast, or fish. Rafael had a bird-whistle, Edith's was a yellow butterfly, and the tops which they spun were dressed like dolls, in many fantastic costumes.

As he had said in Venice, so Rafael called to his audience in Rome, when he had a little space cleared for the performance, "Signor Rafael Valla will now present his troupe of trained tops!"

"It is for the earthquake sufferers," he had taught Edith to say in Italian, and she had no sooner said it than the tops were all as good as sold.

"It is a pity we had not time to make more," said Edith, when the last one was gone, and they were counting their gains in their room at the hotel.

"You would make a good business man, Rafael," she said suddenly. "The tops cost you only ten lire, and you have sold them for twenty times as much."

But the boy was tired and made no answer for a few moments. Perhaps the tops reminded him of home. After a little, he said, "I think my mother must be very lonely in Venice, when she reads of those who have been made homeless in Messina."

Mrs. Sprague looked at him wisely and nodded her head. "Edith and I must go home to America," she said. "Our friends will be worried about us, and will fear for our safety, after this terrible earthquake."

So they began to plan for leaving Rome at once. The keepsakes and treasures were all packed, the last calls were made, and the night before their departure arrived.

"Let us say good-bye to the Eternal City at the Fountain of Trevi," Edith suggested to Rafael. "I have heard that whoever wishes to return to Rome, should go to the fountain on the last evening of his visit, take a drink out of the basin with his left hand, then turn and throw a half-penny into the water over his left shoulder. I surely wish to come back some day."

"And I," said Rafael. "Let us find some half-pennies at once."

It was a cold, clear, moonlight night, and the two children hurried through the streets, chatting merrily over their errand.

They passed an old woman carrying a scaldino under her shawl. "We shall need a scaldino ourselves," Edith said, "to warm our fingers after we have dipped them in the cold water."

A scaldino is a little brazier for holding coals of fire. The Italians carry one about with them in winter, and when they sit down they hold it in their laps or put it on the floor at their feet.

When they reached the fountain Edith stood still a moment, looking at the water. "I have had such a good time in this historic old land that I shall always be a good Italian," she said; "but I shall be a better American also."

"That is right," said Rafael. "And I shall read the foreign papers to see if you become a famous woman."

"I don't care so much about being famous as you men do," she answered. "But I shall read the foreign news to see what the great patriot, Rafael Valla, is doing for his country, and perhaps, some day, your good king may send you to the United States as ambassador from Italy.

"Let us wish it," she added, and dipped her hand into the fountain. "To Rafael Valla, the ambassador," she said with a smile, and drank the clear, cold water.

"To the Signorina, my friend," said Rafael. "I wish her happiness."

Tears sprang to Edith's eyes, and she held out her hand quickly for the half-penny. "Over your left shoulder, remember," she said, as she tossed the coin into the water.

"Over my left shoulder," Rafael repeated, and added earnestly, "We shall see Rome and the king again."

VOCABULARY

Ap'pi [letter a with an uptack]n Way, a famous Roman highway.

Ap'pi us Clau'di us (cla), a Roman statesman.

a vaen'ti (te), begone.

bam bi'no (be), baby.

Be fa na (b[letter a with an uptack] fae'na), the Italian Lady Santa Claus.

Bi an ca (b[letter e with an uptack] an'ka), a girl's name.

Brin di si (br[letter e with an uptack]n'd[letter e with an uptack] ze), a seaport of south-eastern Italy.

Cam pag na (cam paen'ya), a plain surrounding Rome.

Can'di a, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Cap'i to line, one of the seven hills of Rome.

ca'ro, dear.

Ca vour' (voor), an Italian statesman, died 1861.

cen time (san tem'), a copper coin, the hundredth part of a franc.

Cin cin na'tus, a Roman soldier and hero.

Cir' cus A go nal'[letter e with an uptack], one of the squares in Rome.

Col os se'um, an out-door theatre of ancient Rome.

Con'stan tine (ten), the first Christian emperor of Rome.

con'tae di'no (de), a peasant farmer.

Cy'prus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Dan'do lo, a Doge of Venice, died 1205.

Doge (doj), the chief ruler in the ancient republic of Venice.

ec'co, look; behold.

Fla min'i an Way, a highway of ancient Rome.

fo'rum, a market-place or public meeting-place.

Gen'[letter o with an downtack] a, a seaport of northwestern Italy.

gon'do la, a boat used in the canals of Venice.

gon do lier' (ler), a man who rows a gondola.

Her cu la'ne um, a buried city near Naples.

Ho ra'ti us (shi us), a Roman legendary hero.

Jul ius Cae sar (jul'yus se'zar), a famous Roman general, statesman, orator, and writer; died 44 B. C.

la goon', a shallow sound or channel.

li di (le'de), sand-bars in the lagoon of Venice.

Li'do (le), the bathing-beach of Venice.

li'ra (le), a coin worth about nineteen cents.

li re (le'ra), plural of lira.

l'i tal'i a, Italy.

log gia (lod'ja), a roofed, open gallery.

mad're (r[letter a with an uptack]), mother.

Mar'a thon run, a twenty-six-mile running race.

Mer ce ri a (mar ch [letter a with an uptack] re' [letter a with an uptack]), a shopping district in Venice.

Mes si'na (se), a city in Sicily, destroyed by earthquakes in 1908.

mi a (me'a); mi o (me'o), my.

Mi chael An ge lo (mi'kel an'j[letter e with an uptack] lo), an Italian painter and sculptor; died 1564.

M[letter o with an uptack] re'a, the southern peninsula of Greece.

Ne a pol'i tan, pertaining to Naples.

Pal'a tine, one of the seven hills of Rome.

Pa laz zo Vec chi o (pa lat'so vek'ke o), a palace in Florence.

Pa'o lo, a boy's name; Paul.

Paz zi (pat'se), an influential family of Florence.

Pi az za (pe at'sa), square.

Pi az'za del Du o'mo, the square in front of the cathedral in Florence.

Pi az zet ta (pe at set'ta), little square.

Pit ti (pe'te), a palace in Florence.

po len'ta, a pudding made of meal boiled in milk.

Pom pe ii (pa'ye), a buried city near Naples.

quat tro (kwot'tro), four.

Ri al'to (re), a bridge over the Grand Canal of Venice.

San Gior'gi o (jor), Saint George; a church in Venice.

San Min i a to (me ne a'to), a cemetery on a hill southeast of Florence.

scal di no (skol de'no), a brazier.

Scal'i ger[letter s with an downtack below], an Italian family of medieval times.

si (se), yes.

Si e na (se a'na), a province and city in Italy.

Si gnor (se nyor'); Si gnore (se nyo'r[letter a with an uptack]), Sir; Mr.

Si gno ra (se nyo'ra), Madam; Mrs.

Si gno ri na (se nyo re'na), Miss.

Strass'burg, a city in Germany.

Tar'quin (kwin), a legendary king of ancient Rome.

Ti'ber, the river on which Rome is situated.

Tin to ret'to (ten), an Italian painter, died 1594.

Ti tian (tish'an), a famous Venetian painter, died 1576.

Tre vi (tra've), a fountain in Rome.

Tus'ca ny, a province of Italy.

Uf fi zi (of fet's[letter e with an uptack]), a celebrated art-gallery in Florence.

Vat'i can, the Pope's residence.

Ve ro' na (v[letter a with an uptack]), a city in northern Italy.

Ve ro ne se (v[letter a with an uptack] r[letter o with an uptack] n[letter a with an uptack]' z[letter a with an uptack]), an Italian painter, died 1588.

Ve su'vi us, an active volcano near Naples.

Vil'la Bor ghe'se (ga z[letter e with an uptack]), a villa near Rome.

Vi'va (ve), "long live!" "hurrah for!"

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