On the day
set by the agent for his arrival, great crowds gathered on the bridge
and along the banks. A log floating down on the current was hailed by
the agent as the voyager, much to the disgust of the people who strained
their eyes until darkness sent every one home. The agent having
reached the limit of his credit in Ferrara, as he had at the town up the
river, secretly disappeared to the shades of Milan, where it is supposed
that he resumed his operatic career.
CHAPTER XII.
After leaving Ferrara, Boyton gave many exhibitions through the interior
towns of Italy; and finally made arrangements for a voyage down the
Arno from Florence to Pisa, a distance of about one-hundred kilometers.
All Florence was worked up to a state of great excitement when it
became known that the intrepid American, as he was called, was going to
start on a voyage from that city. The banks of the Arno were literally
jammed with people to witness the start. The river, which is fed by
mountain streams, was rising rapidly owing to recent heavy rains above
and many were the exclamations of doubt regarding his ability to
accomplish the undertaking. A dam, called the pescaia, spans the river
diagonally in the midst of the city and it was looked upon as a
dangerous obstacle by the people.
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