Tessa, Our Little Italian Cousin

the road to Rome with their father. They we

e the children and wish they could do

ry 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 o

ood?" asked Lucy's mother, who

sa said then she had seen such a big piece of meat roasting for dinner only two or three times in her life. Then we went on talking and she spoke of what she usuall

the fat of pigs. People would use more of it in America if it did not cost so much by the time

for Tessa was with him. Sh

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 m

t her arms arou

ried. "Father tells lovely stories. Oh,

n her whole life. She had never been punished for any little fault. But her loving little heart had not expected this: that the American child who was

er another. There were four separate courses! Last, came a delicious ice and

-room. Rugs were stretched here and there over the marble floor.

tiful, father thinks, but he does wish we could be warmer on these cold, windy days. You have very queer stoves in your country, Tessa. You should feel th

l so, though. I suppose it is because I have lived out-of-doors most of my life

days, and then, then, the lovely spring would open

elf on the arm of his chair. Arthur stretched himself on a rug at his fa

ather answered, laughing. "So prepare to listen closely

re many different tribes of people who lived along the shores of the rivers and built temples to strange gods. Those people

of the known world. It was at this time also that art and poetry flourished. Sculptors modelled beautiful statues that

poken by these people. The soft Italian words in use now are pleasa

eak in Latin now, f

be very poor if it had not received a great deal of help from the Latin. In fact, the same thing can be said of nearl

a prince called ?neas. He lived in Troy and was always called the Pious ?neas. This w

ther, or is this only a

en as if every word were true, and belonged to the r

ness, carrying his father on his back, and leading his little boy by the hand. His wife followed behind them. The old man carefully held so

ing them. What could have happened to her? He looked for her everywhere, but it

a they built some ships and set sail. Th

d home, father? You cal

st of Europe. You can easily find it on your map. But remember this, as I go on,-in olden times the ships were small and people knew little about the

ore of an island to get some food. He found wild goats grazing there, and his men killed some of them. While they were feas

there any real harpies

emember that this

ot at them, but the arrows glanced off of the feathers, and not one of the harpies was harmed. Although

ocean until you reach Italy, and you shall not build a city for yourselves until yo

nd, as ?neas and his men believed in such

d old friends. His cousin, Helenus, who had also been driven away from Troy,

reached Italy he would find an old white sow with thirty little pigs a

ght of his one eye, but was still terrible. After this, the old father of ?neas died, and the son's sad loss was follow

. They landed and found a lovely queen who treated ?neas so kindly that he almost forgot the city he had

ther adventures, but, at last, ?neas came to the shores of Italy, where he rested in a grove. He and his followers sat around on the grass to eat.

ating our

ght of the harpy's prophecy. He knew

Rome stands no

ing of Rome which you may like to hear some other evening. Let us play

it before and she enjoyed it very much. Then she showed them how to pla