Part 1, Chapter 6 Summary

[Several Residents of the Pension Bertolini] Drive Out in Carriages to see a View; Italians Drive Them-- On a beautifully warm and hazy morning Lucy, Miss Bartlett, Miss Lavish, Mr. Beebe, Mr. Eager, Mr. Emerson and George ride in two carriages into the countryside. Narration describes how Miss Bartlett and Miss Lavish had spent a great deal of time determining where everyone was to sit in order to minimize the potential for tension. However they lost their heads when it came to the moment, resulting in everyone sitting with the wrong people. Mr. Eager, Mr. Emerson, Lucy and Miss Lavish end up in the front carriage, driven by a young man resembling Phaeton. He convinces Mr. Eager to let him pick up a young woman, described by the narrator as Persephone and by Phaeton as his sister.

As the carriage descends...