[Perugia—Monday, 2 April 1860]
Monday April 2d Left Perugia peeping down into its lovely valley at 5 o’clock in the morning to drive to Florence but Alack! as we came to Camuscia where the Diligence was driving, our postillion quietly received orders from the conductor of the same who owned our carriage to drive to Sina Lunga and leave us at the rail-road station to go by steam thence to Florence. In vain did this man after emptying our carriage of all its knick knackeries and making us as uncomfortable as possible try to induce us to pay for our tickets. We had paid for posting-horses and comfort through to Florence and we were determined to pay no more for extra discomforts. Therefore with the most extraordinary Italian ever heard by polite ears (there were mostly impolite to hear it there) I plead [sic] our cause and came off successful but not without immense difficulties both at Sina Lunga and at Florence. Glad enough we were to arrive at the Grande Bretagne that night and how tired our talk was over hot tea and cold chicken about 10 o’clock.
