In the
adjoining room a small table was set with very few utensils. Two plates,
two forks, two spoons, a cup, and a wine glass apiece--that was all.
After the blessing, they were served a frugal meal of bread and goats'
milk, a pudding of macaroni, and a plate of figs; there was also wine,
acid and thin, which the good Marianna--for so the housekeeper was
called--had doubtless pressed herself.
Her son Teobaldo, who waited at table, was dressed in some semblance of
a livery--black broadcloth and a white tie. The archbishop ate
sparingly--he drank a little of the milk, and tasted a piece of fruit,
but his conversation with his guest seemed to satisfy him far more than
food could do.
Full of the hope of relief for his people, he now turned to plans for
the Signore Americano's protection. Throughout the mountains, the hard
life had made a hard people, he said, and unfriendly to foreigners. What
could they expect from the hands of strangers when their own nobility,
even their priests, were powerless to help! But the Signore should be
put under the guidance of Padre Filippo--and also there should be two
_carabinieri_ for protection. Besides, Padre Filippo would recommend
carpenters and mechanics of Vencata Minore--the village nearest the
"Little Devil"--good men and honest, who would help in the work.
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