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a great impression upon him. He could not recollect its title,
but it had made a great impression upon him ; nor yet could
he recollect the author's name, but the book had made a
great impression upon him; he could not remember even what
else there was in the book; the only thing he knew was that
it had made a great impression upon him.
This is a good example of what is called a residuary im-
pression. Whether or no I told him that the book which had
made such a great impression upon him was called Alps and
Sanctuaries (see Chap. VI), and that it had been written by
the person he was addressing, I cannot tell. It would be very
like me to have blurted it all out and given him to understand
how fortunate he had been in meeting me ; this would be so
fatally like me that the chances are ten to one that I did it;
but I have, thank Heaven, no recollection of sin in this respect,
and have rather a strong impression that, for once in my life,
I smiled to myself and said nothing.
At Ferentino
After dinner I ordered a coffee ; the landlord, who also had
had his dinner, asked me to be good enough to defer it for
another year and I assented. I then asked him which was the
best inn at Segni. He replied that it did not matter, that
when a man had quattrini one albergo was as good as another.
I said, No ; that more depended on what kind of blood was
running about inside the albergatore than on how many
quattrini the guest had in his pocket. He smiled and offered
me a pinch of the most delicious snuff. His wife came and
cleared the table, having done which she shed the water
bottle over the floor to keep the dust down. I am sure she
did it all to all the blessed gods that live in heaven, though
she did not say so.
The Imperfect Lady
There was one at a country house in Sicily where I was
staying. She had been lent to my host for change of air by
his friend the marchese. She dined at table with us and we
all liked her very much. She was extremely pretty and not
less amiable than pretty. In order to reach the dining-room