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Men of Invention and Industry-Part33_Samuel Smiles(1812-1904)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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Accordingly, Bianconi's father arranged with one Andrea Faroni to

take the young man to England and instruct him in the trade of



print-selling. Bianconi was to be Faroni's apprentice for

eighteen months; and in the event of his not liking the



occupation, he was to be placed under the care of Colnaghi, a

friend of his father's, who was then making considerable progress



as a print-seller in London; and who afterwards succeeded in

achieving a considerable fortune and reputation.



Bianconi made his preparations for leaving home. A little

festive entertainment was given at a little inn in Como, at which



the whole family were present. It was a sad thing for Bianconi's

mother to take leave of her boy, wild though he was. On the



occasion of this partingceremony, she fainted outright, at which

the young fellow thought that things were assuming a rather



serious aspect. As he finally left the family home at Tregolo,

the last words his mother said to him were these --words which he



never forgot: "When you remember me, think of me as waiting at

this window, watching for your return."



Besides Charles Bianconi, Faroni took three other boys under his

charge. One was the son of a small village innkeeper, another



the son of a tailor, and the third the son of a flax-dealer.

This party, under charge of the Padre, ascended the Alps by the



Val San Giacomo road. From the summit of the pass they saw the

plains of Lombardy stretching away in the blue distance. They



soon crossed the Swiss frontier, and then Bianconi found himself

finally separated from home. He now felt, that without further



help from friends or relatives, he had his own way to make in the

world.



The party of travellers duly reached England; but Faroni, without

stopping in London, took them over to Ireland at once. They



reached Dublin in the summer of 1802, and lodged in Temple Bar,

near Essex Bridge. It was some little time before Faroni could



send out the boys to sell pictures. First he had the leaden

frames to cast; then they had to be trimmed and coloured; and



then the pictures--mostly of sacred subjects, or of public

characters--had to be mounted. The flowers; which were of wax,



had also to be prepared and finished, ready for sale to the

passers-by.



When Bianconi went into the streets of Dublin to sell his mounted

prints, he could not speak a word of English. He could only say,



"Buy, buy!" Everybody spoke to him an unknown tongue. When

asked the price, he could only indicate by his fingers the number



of pence he wanted for his goods. At length he learned a little

English,--at least sufficient "for the road;" and then he was



sent into the country to sell his merchandize. He was despatched

every Monday morning with about forty shillings' worth of stock,



and ordered to return home on Saturdays, or as much sooner as he

liked, if he had sold all the pictures. The only money his



master allowed him at starting was fourpence. When Bianconi

remonstrated at the smallness of the amount, Faroni answered,



"While you have goods you have money; make haste to sell your

goods!"



During his apprenticeship, Bianconi learnt much of the country

through which he travelled. He was constantly making



acquaintances with new people, and visiting new places. At

Waterford he did a good trade in small prints. Besides the



Scripture pieces, he sold portraits of the Royal Family, as well

as of Bonaparte and his most distinguished generals. "Bony" was



the dread of all magistrates, especially in Ireland. At Passage,

near Waterford, Bianconi was arrested for having sold a leaden



framed picture of the famous French Emperor. He was thrown into

a cold guard-room, and spent the night there without bed, or



fire, or food. Next morning he was discharged by the magistrate,

but cautioned that he must not sell any more of such pictures.



Many things struck Bianconi in making his first journeys through

Ireland. He was astonished at the dram-drinking of the men, and



the pipe-smoking of the women. The violent faction-fights which

took place at the fairs which he frequented, were of a kind which



he had never before observed among the pacific people of North

Italy. These faction-fights were the result, partly of



dram-drinking, and partly of the fighting mania which then

prevailed in Ireland. There were also numbers of crippled and






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