He was delighted, patted me on the back and exclaimed, “Bravo, bravo!”
It took us some time to get away; most
of the company came into his dressing-room to say “Good-night” to him, men, women and children all came; each of the children expected some little attention, and Giovanni playing with a child is a beautiful sight. Then there were congratulating friends clustering round him and managers and secretaries waiting for instructions. At last, with only about fifteen others, we proceeded, stopping on the way for a prickly drink to cool us after the performance, and the barman was so overcome by the honour of serving Giovanni that we had the greatest difficulty in forcing him to accept payment. We arrived at a small piazza where five or six more of the company were waiting for us at a restaurant.
Tables were set out under the stars and we sat down to supper which was the same for all: stock fish (which they called pesce stocco and sometimes stocca fiscia), bread and wine. Giovanni kissed the loaf before cutting it, as he does on the stage.
After supper it was proposed that we should play at Tocco. I did not thoroughly understand the game, but it was something of this kind: Wine was sent for and we all threw out one or more fingers of one hand, perhaps
there might be seventy-two fingers; then we were counted, beginning with the one who had proposed the game and going over us again and again until seventy-two was reached with some one who thereupon became padrone of the wine. He was entitled to drink it all, but every Sicilian is a born gentleman, so he appointed one of the company presidente and another sotto-presidente, poured out a little wine for himself and handed the bottle to the presidente, who again might drink it all if he liked. But the game was that he made a speech proposing so-and-so as a suitable person to be invited to drink, and the sotto-presidente made another speech giving his reasons for agreeing or differing. Any one who considered himself aggrieved might plead for himself, and there was some risk in giving the verdict against him because sooner or later he was pretty certain to become presidente or sotto-presidente and to take his revenge. This gave opportunities for declamation and gesticulation and resulted in much merriment.
Some discussion presently arose as to how far Africa and America are the same place: one of the actors, who had not forgotten his geography, said it was well known that they
are separate countries, being, in fact, two of the quarters of the globe. Whereupon Peppino remembered how when he was at school one of the boys, on being asked to name the quarters of the globe, replied—
“The five quarters of the globe are four in number and they are the three following, viz. Europe and Asia.”
“Bravo, bravo!” shouted Giovanni, and repeated the sentence several times in his deep, rich voice.