Imagine the
thunderous racket made by a long procession of these carts, when they
were returning empty, and the drivers, as was often the case, urged
their horses to a gallop, and they bumped and thundered over the big
round stones!
Just opposite the house we stayed at there was a large church, one of
the largest of the numerous churches of the city, and one of my most
vivid memories relates to a great annual festival at the church--that
of the patron saint's day. It had been open to worshippers all day,
but the chief service was held about three o'clock in the afternoon;
at all events it was at that hour when a great attendance of
fashionable people took place. I watched them as they came in couples,
families and small groups, in every case the ladies, beautifully
dressed, attended by their cavaliers. At the door of the church the
gentleman would make his bow and withdraw to the street before the
building, where a sort of outdoor gathering was formed of all those
who had come as escorts to the ladies, and where they would remain
until the service was over. The crowd in the street grew and grew
until there were about four or five hundred gentlemen, mostly young,
in the gathering, all standing in small groups, conversing in an
animated way, so that the street was filled with the loud humming
sound of their blended voices.
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