Pincio

“ It is a brilliant spectacle! But beyond this, is something greater and more brilliant still, the spectacle of Rome itself with its hundreds of churches, cupolas, obelisks, from the Vatican to the Capitol, and beyond the city the country; and beyond that, the western horizon, where the sun sets in Italian pomp of coloring, illumining still with its latest beams the pinacles of the eternal city, and the laurel groves of Monte Pincio. ”

“ Close to me on the right, was the Church of the Trinità de’ Monti, which contains the wonderful frescoes by Daniello of Volterra. A few minutes’ walk further on, would bring me to the Pincian, the favourite promenade of the Romans, who ride and drive round it in their badly-varnished, heavy carriages, with an assumption of ton, which often amuses their visitors. Here, however, there is no veto against hackney carriages, and the bracing air and fine prospects of the Monte Pincio, are common to the patrician and the basso-ceto. On Sundays the place is thronged with pedestrians of all classes. ”

“ The Latin legend puts picus in connection with picumnus, pilumnus, the pilum, and the pistor, in the same way as a Norwegian story puts in relation with flour the cuckoo, which we already know to be a phallical symbol, properly the presser down. In the Piedmontese dialect, the common name of the phallos is piciu; in Italian, pinco and pincio have the same meaning; [Pg 266] pincione is the chaffinch (in French pinson) ; and pincone means a fool, for the same reason that the ass, as a phallical symbol, personified folly. We already know Indras as a cuckoo, as a peacock, and as a hawk. ”

“ Formerly celebrated for the Gardens and Circus of Nero, the scene of the Christian martyrdoms, and in our time for S. Peter's and the Vatican. It was enclosed in the time of Aurelian, but was considered as very unhealthy (Tacitus, "H." ii. 93) .
The Pincio (Collis Hortulorum, or Hortorum) took its name from the gardens of Sallust adjoining it (Rosin, i. 2) . It was afterwards called Pincius, from the Pincii, a noble family who had their seat here (ibid.) . Aurelian first enclosed it (ibid.) .
The Capitol tower is crowned by a statue of Roma ”

“ A troop of monkeys, leaping about in the trees, paused to listen. The emperor spoke as follows:
“Ministers of Africa, officers of the army, chiefs and underchiefs, servants and slaves, men, women, and children, all, beloved subjects, listen to the voice of your emperor!”—and Pinocchio looked around at the multitude.
“We, Pinocchio the First, speak to you, and bring to you the word of peace and of love. A new day is about to open to you. Rejoice, O people! We have concluded to bring happiness to every heart and riches to every home. ”

“ When Pinocchio regained his senses he found himself lying on the ground wrapped up in coverlets and warm as a bun just out of the oven. Above his head dangled horizontally the huge basket from which he had been flung by the shock of its sudden halt, and which swung on the steel cables of the filovia as if it were weary of being up there and eager to set about its job. All about was the gleam of the snow, even though the light was growing paler every moment. ”

“ Pinocchio the First came forth with a pleasant smile upon his lips. Inwardly, he was very angry, but little did his faithful subjects suspect how he felt.
“A fine time for a king to rise!” he thought. “Am I or am I not emperor? If I am emperor, I should sleep as long as I wish, eat what I please, and do anything I like. It seems to me that I am the slave of my people rather than their ruler. ”

“ Men, women, and children were lounging about, gossiping, buying, and selling. When they saw the marionette they gathered around him, and many began to shout: “It is Pinocchio! Look, here is Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Pinocchio!”
“Well, this is strange!” said the marionette to himself. “I am known even in Africa. Surely I am a great person.”
Like most great men, Pinocchio was annoyed at his noisy reception. In some anger he made his way through the crowd, pushing people right and left with his elbows. ”

“ What had Pinocchio planned?
One day, while strolling through the woods near the capital, he called the boy to him and taking his arm, said to him in a gentle voice, “Do you love your emperor?”
“Is it necessary to ask, your majesty?” replied the boy, moved to tears at such an honor.
“And should you like to do your emperor a favor?”
“Your majesty, to do you a service I would go at once, with only my feather duster to protect me, and pinch a boa constrictor’s tongue!”
“Good!” replied Pinocchio. “You are a fine lad, and you will become a great man. ”

“ Through the water Tursio went like an arrow, followed by Marsovino and the servant.
Pinocchio, to gain courage, shut his eyes. When he opened them again, wonder of wonders! Very near to him a large sun was moving back and forth. It looked as if it were alive.
“The sun at the bottom of the sea!” yelled Pinocchio, frightened almost to death. “Do you want me to believe that? You must be a wizard playing tricks on me.”
“I am not a wizard, Pinocchio, and the [Pg 34] sun is not a trick. It is nothing more nor less than a fish.” ”

“ HIS FIRST NIGHT AS EMPEROR
Pinocchio, his heart filled with joy, entered the capital of his new empire amid the shouts of the people who crowded the streets. The children, rolling on the ground in glee, raised such a dust that one could hardly see.
Forward, forward, they marched through the streets until the main square was reached. The city was not a large city. Pinocchio was a little disappointed. The houses were only huts plastered with mud. The streets and even the main square were dirty. ”

“ Tell me, my boy, have you never heard of the Piccinino and his band since you have been in Sicily?"
"It seems to me that I have. Yes, yes, uncle, my sister Mila has some fantastic stories about this Piccinino, who is the principal subject of conversation among the young silk-weavers of Catania. He is a redoubtable brigand, they say, who kidnaps women and kills men at the very gates of the city. I have never believed these fables."
"There is some truth at the bottom of all the popular legends," rejoined the monk. "The Piccinino exists and plies his trade. ”

“ Why, you find a tree loaded with gold pieces!”
“If I bury five pieces,” said Pinocchio, all excited, “how many shall I find next morning?”
“It is easy to count,” replied the Fox. “You can do it on your fingers. Every gold piece will make five hundred; and therefore, multiplying each by five, you will have two thousand five hundred.”
“Oh, how beautiful!” cried Pinocchio, dancing with joy. “When I have all those gold pieces I will give you five hundred of them and I will take the other two thousand to my papa.”
“A present to us!” cried the Fox, disdainfully, as if he were offended. ”

“ No sooner had Pinocchio got into bed than he fell asleep at once and began to dream. And he dreamt that he was in the middle of a field, and the field was full of shrubs covered with clusters of gold sovereigns, and as they swung in the wind they went zin, zin, zin, almost as if they would say: 'Let who will, come and take us.' But when Pinocchio was at the most interesting moment, that is, just as he was stretching out his hand to pick handfuls of those beautiful gold pieces and to put them in his pocket, he was suddenly wakened by three violent blows on the door of his room. ”

“ But when they had quitted the ravine, and had left the Destatore's Cross behind them, the Piccinino began to hum, in a voice as sweet and pure as the breath of the night, a ballad in the Sicilian dialect, of which the refrain was:
"Wine makes madness, love makes folly; my nectar is the blood of cowards, my mistress is my rifle."
After this outburst of bravado, addressed to himself as well as to the ears of any Neapolitan police who might happen to be within hearing, the Piccinino began to talk with Michel in a remarkably self-possessed and tranquil strain. ”

“ Pinocchio was too much shocked to say a word.
The grand chamberlain came to his aid and whispered something in his ear.
“Speak!” replied the marionette, “I bid you speak, for whatever you do is well done.”
The minister was pleased at the faith his majesty had in him. He turned his dark face toward the two offenders and said, “One sheep and three fingers! You shall both be hanged.”
Pinocchio, half-dazed, watched the minister.
Case followed case, and at the end of each one Pinocchio said to the minister, “Act. I bid you act. What you do is always well done.” ”

“ He gazed around him, frightened at his own words, but he saw the flushed faces of the people and heard them whisper: “The sea talks—” “The sun is filled with stars—” “The tiger laughs—” “The summer is red—” and similar phrases equally sensible.
“What is the matter with everybody?” thought the marionette, as he looked about, and saw one of the kings asleep on the ground beside him. Other forms were stretched out around them. Even as he looked, Pinocchio the First, Emperor and King of all Africa, fell over on his wooden nose, and he too was soon fast asleep. ”

“ Remember the proverb that says, ‘Stolen wheat always makes poor bread.’”
“Do not abandon us.”
“No, no!” said the Cat.
“Good-by. Remember the proverb, ‘Whoever steals the cloak of his neighbor usually dies without a shirt.’”
Geppetto and Pinocchio continued their walk until they saw a small farmhouse with a straw roof.
“That house is inhabited by some one,” said Pinocchio. “Let us go and knock at the door.”
“Who is there?” said a voice inside, when they had reached the house.
“We are a poor papa and his son, without bread or a home,” replied the marionette. ”

“ Suddenly the boredom is broken, every one jumps up and runs out to a certain point and crowds around an automobile that has just arrived. Pinocchio wakes up with a start, finds his mouth full of grit, his nose dirty, and hears all the noise about him—has a terrible fright, lets out a yell, and rushes out of the tent. But he is scarcely outside before he feels himself caught up by his legs and whirled around on the ground. He gets up again and is face to face with Bersaglierino, who has not left his post and who laughs loudly at Pinocchio's plight. ”

“ In all times, alas! the sparrow has yielded to the fascination of the vulture.
In all this the Piccinino gave way to an inborn passion for increasing the difficulties of an adventure to his profit, or simply for amusement. To be sure, he had no better way of enticing Abbé Ninfo to his house than by offering a bait to his lust. But he might well have chosen some other woman than the innocent Mila to play, with the aid of some slight resemblance or of a similar costume, the part of the person who was to appear in his garden. ”

“ But when Pinocchio saw a big officer rush angrily over the terrace, with his hair brushed up on his head, a huge mustache beneath his curved nose, and a thick switch in his hand, he was seized with such a fright that he threw over his shoulders the first thing in the way of clothing he could lay his hand on, rushed to the door, opened it with a kick, ran through a small room adjoining, sped down the stairs at breakneck speed, flung open the street door and—Heavens! ”

“ The Piccinino had an impressionable brain and a fickle humor. His whole life was a constant alternation of meditation and curiosity. The simple and graceful conversation of Mila, her kindly thoughts, the generous outflow of her affections, and an indefinable touch of grandeur of soul, courage, and cheeriness of temperament, which she inherited from her father and uncle, gradually fascinated the brigand. ”

“ There would have to be something out of the ordinary. He therefore added to the fare some dried fish and a delicious morsel of orange peel. “He will even have fruit,” the good man had said to himself, smiling at the joy his dear Pinocchio would feel on seeing himself treated like a man of the world.
The marionette ate his supper with relish, and having finished his meal, went over to his sleeping father and kissed him as a reward for the fish and the orange peel. Pinocchio, to say the least, had a good heart, and would have done anything for his father except study and work. ”

“ It was too late. The Africans, quick as a flash, closed in about him and, seizing him by the legs, raised him from the ground, shouting: “Long live our emperor, Pinocchio the First! Long live our emperor, Pinocchio!”
Pinocchio had never dreamed of such a welcome.
“Long live Pinocchio!”
“Ah! at last! I knew that in Africa my greatness would be recognized. Now I shall be revenged on you, my dear restaurant-keeper, and on you, dear policemen, who wanted to arrest me. Old man, you who wanted to sell me for a rhinoceros horn, now it is my turn!” Thus thought Pinocchio. ”

“ HE SAW A RAG TIED TO A POLE WAVING
"Wunderschön!" ("Fine.")
"When Italian pigs come we make a colossal festival," grunted a Croat and laughed boisterously. "We sick get well, and Italians all croak."
"I'll croak you," muttered Pinocchio, who in a twinkle had understood the deviltry the wretches were planning. He made himself as small as he could, so that the cape dragged on the ground like a petticoat, slunk along the walls of the shed, then rushed off at full speed toward the fields. ”

“ Could so young a maid risk a tête-à-tête of this sort without a moment of fear or embarrassment?
The Piccinino, observing that she had a very beautiful ring on her finger, and thinking that he could follow the thread of her thoughts by following the direction of her glances, said to her, with a smile: "You love jewels, my dear Mila, and, like all girls, you think more of personal adornment than of anything else in this world. My mother left me a few trinkets of some value, which are in that lapis lazuli casket by your side. ”