It is a shame that the immortals should be limited in their pleasures by the fact that they have hired their brougham by the hour; yet we early quit the Chapel of Giotto on this account. We had chosen our driver from among many other drivers of broughams in the vicinity of Pedrocchi's, because he had such an honest look, and was not likely, we thought, to deal unfairly with us.
"But first," said the signor who had selected him, "how much is your brougham an hour?"
So and so.
"Show me the tariff of fares."
"There is no tariff."
"There is. Show it to me."
"It is lost, signor."
"I think not. It is here in this pocket Get it out."
The tariff appears, and with it the fact that he had demanded just what the boatman of the ballad received in gift,—thrice his fee.
The driver mounted his seat, and served us so faithfully that day in Padua that we took him the next day for Arquà. At the end, when he had received his due, and a handsome mancia besides, he was still unsatisfied, and referred to the tariff in proof that he had been under-paid. On that confronted and defeated, he thanked us very cordially, gave us the number of his brougham, and begged us to ask for him when we came next to Padua and needed a carriage.