"Chiuso" (closed), he replies, and that is final.

Useless to explain that the backs of statues can be beautiful as the front; that one of the triumphs of great statuary is its equal perfection from every point; that the revolving stand was not made for a joke but for a serious purpose.

"Chiuso," he replies.

The museum custodians of Italy are either like this--jaded figures of apathy--or they are enthusiasts.

To each enthusiast there are ninety-nine of the other, who either sit in a kind of stupor and watch you with sullen suspicion, or clear their throats as no gentleman should.