He answered invariably, "But without having read
it, how could he ever have known it?"--thus putting the earth upon the
tortoise and leaving the tortoise to account for his own support.
Imagine that I have told you these stories sitting under the vine and
fig-tree of some _villetta_, while Angiolina has gone to call the
_padrone_, who will only be too glad to see you. But, _ecco!_ at last
our _padrone_ comes. No, it is not the _padrone_, it is the
_vignarualo_, who takes care of his grapes and garden, and who
recognizes us as friends of the _padrone_, and tells us that we are
ourselves _padroni_ of the whole place, and offers us all sorts of
fruits.
One old custom, which existed in Rome some fifteen years ago, has now
passed away with other good old things. It was the celebration of the
_Fravolata_ or Strawberry-Feast, when men in gala-dress at the height
of the strawberry-season went in procession through the streets,
carrying on their heads enormous wooden platters heaped with this
delicious fruit, accompanied by girls in costume, who, beating their
_tamburelli_, danced along at their sides and sung the praises of the
strawberry. After threading the streets of the city, they passed
singing out of the gates, and at different places on the Campagna spent
the day in festive sports and had an out-door dinner and dance.
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