Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade

“ Tessa jumped up, caught the baby out of his cradle, and began to dance about the room. Beppo seized his violin and started a lively air. Their mother began to laugh, while little Francesca looked from one to another in surprise. She could not understand what the sudden excitement was about.
When Tessa had danced herself nearly out of breath, she ran and put her arms around her father's neck.
"Oh, babbo, babbo! do you really mean it?" she cried. "I have never been to the carnival, and I have heard so much about the beautiful festival." ”

“ When you meet your little Italian cousins, with their big brown eyes and olive skins, whether it be in school or on the street, perhaps you will feel a little nearer and more friendly if you turn your attention for a while to their home, and the home of the brave and wise Columbus who left it that he might find for you in the far West your own loved country, your great, grand, free America. ”

“ Tessa and Beppo loved to stop at the different shrines where the figures of Jesus and his mother, Mary, were always found. They were beautifully carved and sparkled with rich jewels.
"Now let us visit the statue of St. Peter himself," said Mr. Gray. "Some say it was never meant for that good man, but is really the likeness of a heathen emperor. But nearly every one who worships here does not wish to believe that. And so many visitors have come here to give him honour that one toe of the statue is a good deal worn off." ”

“ THE STORY OF ÆNEAS
Day after day Tessa and Beppo travelled over the road to Rome with their father. They were always happy, always gentle, always merry.
The artist and his family grew to love the children and wish they could do something to make their lives easier.
"They are so poor," Lucy told her brother one night, "that they eat meat only at great times, like Christmas. It costs too much for them to buy it every day as mother does. But they have plenty of fruit. I think the delicious figs and apricots that grow here in this country make up for a good deal of meat. ”

“ The Italian lad shook his head. No, but he wished to hear it. Would Arthur tell him the story some day?
Arthur said he would be glad to do so, for, although Columbus was an Italian, he felt that he belonged to America. Where would he be now, if Columbus had not discovered the new world? Who should say?
"Look straight down at the roof of the church below us," cried Lucy. "Did you ever hear of anything so odd? There is a little cottage! The idea of a house built on the roof of a church! What can be the reason for its being there?"
"It is only a room made for the workmen," said the guide. ”

“ Lucy had only been in Italy six months and there were many interesting things she had not seen yet.
"Certainly," answered her mother. "Your father and I have been thinking of asking both Tessa and Beppo to spend Christmas week with us. You will enjoy the sights all [53] the more if you have them with you. What do you think?"
Lucy was so pleased she jumped up and down in delight.
"You good, kind mother," she cried. "Of course, it will be lovely."
That very night Tessa's father was asked if he would be willing his children should visit the artist's family. The good man's face beamed with pride. ”

“ But there was no Christmas turkey in the middle. There was a dish of larks instead!
"Poor little birds," said Lucy. "It is too bad to kill tiny things like you, that we may have something nice to eat."
"What is the bird of your country, Beppo?" asked Arthur.
"I don't know, but I think it ought to be the nightingale," the little Italian answered. "Ah! I love to hear him, he sings so sweetly." The boy's face lighted up as he said this. "And what is the bird of America, Arthur?" he asked. ”

“ And now your work is over for the day.
"Pretty hard not to move about freely, little one, isn't it?" he said, as he patted Tessa on the chin. Then he rang the bell and told the servant to call his own children up to the studio. He would not have done this if he had not seen that his young models were unlike many of the poor children of the city.
"They are gentle and polite, if they are peasants," he said to himself. "My wife will be pleased, for Lucy and Arthur are lonesome and need some playmates of their own age." ”

“ CHRISTMAS
"Mother," said Lucy, one day late in December, "Tessa says she never gets presents on Christmas Day. Those always come on Twelfth Night in Italy. What a queer idea! But she says there are processions in the churches, and all sorts of beautiful sights. Will father take us to Saint Peter's then, do you think?" ”

“ May I tell her, babbo?"
"Yes, my child," his father answered.
"You are to go to Rome to-morrow with babbo and me. The great artist who buys our fruit wants to see you. He thinks he may want you for a model. And me, too, Tessa, he wants me! He will put us both in [12] a picture. Babbo said you also had long hair, and that we look much alike.
"Only think, Tessa! he will pay babbo for letting him paint us. And mother shall have a new dress, and you shall have some red ribbons. We will all have a feast. Say, Tessa, is there a nice chestnut cake waiting for our supper? I am so hungry." ”

“ Everybody laughed.
"He is hungry; that is all, you foolish Francesca. You are only a baby yourself," said Beppo.
After the baby had been put back in the cradle, Tessa went to the bedside of her mother and told her of her lovely visit to the grand home of the Americans.
"To-morrow, when you are not so tired, I will tell you more about it. But after all home is the best place in the world. Now that I can look at you, I don't care if I can't see the procession to-morrow. Just think! babbo says that an image of the Holy Child is carried up and down the aisles of one of the churches. ”

“ At last the donkey came to a standstill in front of a tall building. It was seven stories high and was all of marble.
"You knew when to stop, little beastie," said his master. "You never make mistakes of that kind, if you do like to nibble the grass at the wrong time. Get down, Tessa, this is where Mr. Gray lives.
"The artist has his studio far up at the top of the building. You are to go there this morning, but his family live on the fourth piano. Good-bye, little ones. Be good children." [27] The father kissed them lovingly and went away with Pietro to sell his fruit. ”

“ Lucy's mother cried at length. "To-morrow there will be more sights, and you must not get sick over your good time."
Christmas morning dawned bright and clear.
The children waked early and did not seem any the worse for sitting up so late the night before. Soon after breakfast, an open carriage appeared at the door of the palace and they all rode off to visit the greatest church in the world.
"At last we are on our way to Saint Peter's," said Arthur. "Tessa, you may well be proud [60] when you think of the people who come here from all parts of the world to see the grand buildings." ”

“ Lucy went [61] on, turning toward Tessa, "that those brave men saved the city. They kept the enemy from entering until the bridge was cut down. The last one stood on guard until he felt the supports give way. Then he cried out to the river:
"'O Tiber, Father Tiber, to whom the Romans pray,
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms take thou in charge this day.'
"An instant afterward he jumped into the rushing stream and swam with all his might back to his people and the city he had saved." ”

“ The artist was not alone, for Tessa was with him. She was looking much pleased.
"It is raining hard," said Mr. Gray, "and I have just seen Tessa's father and asked him to let her spend the night with us. It is too great a storm for her to go out in. The little girl has done finely for me to-day, and she sat so well that I got along on my picture quite rapidly. So she will dine with us to-night and I will tell you stories in Italian. After that, we will have games."
Lucy ran and put her arms around Tessa's neck. ”

“ What does this word "carnival" mean? you ask. It is another name for "farewell to meat," and the great festival of Italy is always held during the week before the beginning of Lent. All the days except Sunday and Friday are given up to merrymaking, which grows more and more lively until the last night.
The children go to bed and get up whenever they like. There is no scolding, no cross word; and even if the sport becomes very rough, every one takes it with good nature.
Tessa and Beppo went with the rest of the family to their cousin's home on the ground floor of a tall stone building. ”

“ That seat in front of them is just loaded with bouquets and confetti. They are standing up now to throw better."
Beppo didn't care for this half as much as for the wagon-loads of people dressed in bright colours and wearing masks.
"Look at that man, Tessa, before he is out of sight. Yes, it must be a man, though he is dressed like a woman. See his false curls hanging down under the bonnet, and hear him talk. He keeps every one around him laughing. Let's put on our masks and then ride past Lucy's house. She won't know us if she sees us." ”

“ They did not need to be told twice, and were soon in the midst of a merry crowd on the Corso, as one of the principal streets of Rome is called.
"Look, look, Beppo," said Tessa. "Do see that wagon full of clowns and queerly dressed people. They are having great sport. They are pelting every one with confetti. We shall get hit if we don't take care."
"We'll get some confetti ourselves," answered Beppo. "We must not wait any longer." ”

“ The Italians dread old age, and many of the peasants fear death. Beppo saw the shadow pass across his father's face, and, like a good son, tried to make it look as cheerful as usual.
"You shall not grow old and bent like that, [25] babbo. Tessa and I will soon be able to let you take your ease. What do you say, sister?"
Tessa laughed, and answered, "Oh, yes, babbo, your work is nearly done now, for we are fast growing up."
Tessa was only nine years old, but coming to the city to be a model made her feel as though she were a young woman already. ”

“ He was older than his sister and could speak Italian better than she.
"Lucy means this: I suppose you know that your country was once very great."
[36]
Beppo nodded his head. Oh, yes, and he believed it to be very great, still.
"And Rome was the leading city in the whole wide world," Arthur went on. "Great deeds were done by her people; great battles were fought; great books were written; great palaces were built. Well, in the olden times, whenever a person had done some truly great thing, he was crowned with a wreath of laurels. ”

“ A moment afterward merry voices were heard and the Gray children came skipping into the room.
"They are certainly angels," Tessa said to [31] herself when she saw the golden curls of Lucy and the fair, sweet faces of her brother and herself. But she could not tell what they said, for they spoke in a strange tongue.
"It is not soft like our own dear Italian," she whispered to Beppo. "It is hard, this American language." ”

“ Gray laughed at Arthur's words, but a moment after his father said:
"I quite agree with you, my boy. The turkey truly belongs to us, while the eagle is not only found in many other lands, but it has been the national emblem of several countries."
The Christmas holidays passed only too quickly, and the day before Twelfth Night soon arrived. The shops were full of things suitable for presents, and a great fair was held in the city, around which crowds of Italians were busy buying their gifts. Beppo and Tessa wandered up and down with their American friends. ”

“ Mr. Gray answered, "Yes, we should like it very much. After my holiday, I must paint quite steadily, and I wish to finish the picture of Tessa and Beppo at once. It would not be easy for you to bring the children to me [82] every day now that your wife is sick. So please let them go back with us."
This was how Tessa and Beppo came to go back to Rome with the family of the artist. The carriage was a little crowded, but no one cared. All were so busy laughing and talking that it seemed only a few minutes before they drew near the city gates. ”

“ Tessa and Beppo were so eager to see the precious baby, they could hardly wait to get home. They were even a little cross with Pietro when he stopped to nibble choice bits of grass by the roadside. But what could a poor stupid donkey be expected to care about a baby only a day old? ”

“ The four children left the studio and ran down the great staircase. They did not stop until they found themselves on the ground floor. Then they passed out through a wide doorway into the courtyard.
Tessa held her breath with delight.
"Beppo, Beppo, look at that fountain," she cried. "And see the lovely cherub with its wings spread."
Lucy understood the words and she was pleased.
"The prince owns this court," she said, "but he has told father that we may come [33] here and bring our friends when we like. Let us go into the gardens beyond." ”

“ Tessa told Lucy. "I never had any either, till your mother gave me these."
When the peasant called at the palace to take the children home, he brought great news.
"We have a new baby," he said. "It is a beautiful boy just a day old. And now we must have a christening as soon as Twelfth Night is over. We will ask the kind artist and his wife, as well as our own friends, to come." ”

“ Piano, as applied to a building, means floor in Italian. It is very common in Italy to find very different kinds of people living on the several floors, or pianos, of one building. In this old palace, which Tessa and Beppo entered for the first time, very poor and dirty families were huddled together on the first floor with their dogs and other pets. ”

“ Beyond, across the Tiber, lay the great city, with its palaces, fountains, temples, and the ruins of the greatest and finest buildings in the world; some of them two thousand years old.
[71]
"I can look far out upon the sea that Columbus first sailed," exclaimed Arthur. "Indeed, it seems as if I could almost see Spain, where he went to get help. You know the story of Columbus, don't you, Beppo?" ”