CHAPTER III.

THE POOR ITALIAN PEASANT, ROSA GOVONA.

I was lost in thought, and dreaming of the incidents I had been permitted to see, when the vast hall and its dark recesses recurred to my mind, and the radiant angels, the recorders of noble actions, were again before me, lofty figures of light holding back the cloudy draperies, and bringing before me now an Italian countryside, hilly, rocky, its distant town, and campanile, the angelus sounding in the air; up the mountains and rugged hillsides a few peasants’ huts, and in woods and valleys, brooks and waterfalls making a music of their own, through which the angelus seemed to breathe the peace and rest of religion.

The evening sunshine threw a golden glow over woods and mountain, valleys and chestnut woods, and in one of those huts I saw a woman—a working woman past the first bloom of youth—alone, noted for her skill in needlework, one of dignified, calm, and modest demeanour. She was troubled at the distress of a friend, a young orphan girl who was forsaken and helpless, and, unfortunately, too young to live in that country without some responsible protector. She had come to Rosa in her trouble. “Come to me,” Rosa said. Her name was Rosa Govona. “Here shalt thou abide with me. Thou shalt sleep in my bed, thou shalt drink of my cup, and thou shalt live by the labours of thine own hands.”

I saw the young guest docile and industrious, a success and a comfort. Her safety and happiness became evident, and I saw inmate after inmate, young, helpless, and orphaned, gathered into Rosa’s home in the hills, working and learning, adding one industry after another amidst calumny and persecution. Ignorance and Vice lost no time in attacking them, and only their silence and patience, loyalty to their Head, and blameless lives, could, and did at last, quiet their enemies.

I saw, after a while, the authorities of the town (Mondovi) offer Rosa, whose community had grown too large for the little village where they first lived, a large house in the flowery plains of Carcassonne, but the foundress of the home still could not receive all who flocked to her. Lonely and poor girls, exposed to so many temptations of want and evil, pleaded for admission to the shelter and order of her home, and a still larger house at Brao rose, with its serene religion, its peaceful order, its intelligent work, its ceaseless industry.

Years went by, and lo! another scene arose before me—Turin, the bright capital of Piedmont, girt with its snow mountains, Monte Viso and the lesser heights around it—Turin, its stately palaces and white streets; and into this city came a poor working peasant, Rosa Govona, on whose wisdom and goodness a large household now depended, her suite two or three of the poor friendless orphan girls whom she had saved and befriended.

“I saw the Fathers of the Oratory of St. Philip moved for the love of God to give her a few rooms, and the soldiers at the barracks, roused to enthusiasm by the reports ringing through the town of the good work she had done, ransacked the place for straw mattresses and tables.

“Blessing and praising God, the little army of working women and girls march into Turin, and in a short time large buildings which belonged to a suppressed monastery are given over to Rosa and her people. The buildings are large, but they are soon filled with forsaken orphan girls, and the King (Charles Emanuel III.) considers and approves the judicious rules laid down by Rosa, and orders the factories of the establishment to be organised and registered by the magistrates who regulate commercial matters.

“I see this vast organisation under the special patronage of the Sardinian Government.”

Two great factories under the Rosinas (so called in honour of their foundress) have risen into public usefulness, the one of cloth for the army, the other of the best silks and ribands.

Thanks to this single-handed, poor working woman, Rosa Govona, I see three hundred women, without dowry, without any resource save their own labour and their conscientious discipline, earning an honest and comfortable livelihood, and able to provide in youth for the comfort and independence of old age.

I see houses depending on that at Turin established at Novara, Fossano, Savigliano, Saluzzo, Chieri, and St. Damian of Asti.

I see over every house which she founded, engraved over the entrance, the words she addressed to her first guest, “_Tu mangerai col lavoro delle tue mani_”—“Thou shalt live by the labour of thine own hands.”

I see twenty-one years spent in going over the provinces of Piedmont, and founding asylums for the unprotected and industrious poor of her own sex, until, exhausted by her labours, she died at Turin.

I see her remains deposited in the chapel of the establishment, and there, on the simple monument which covers them, may still be read the following epitaph:—

“Here lies Rosa Govona of Mondovi. From her youth she consecrated herself to God. For His glory she founded in her native place and in other towns, retreats, opened for forsaken young girls, so that they might serve God. She gave them excellent regulations, which attach them to piety and labour. During an administration of thirty years she gave constant proofs of admirable charity and of unshaken firmness. She entered on eternal life on the 28th day of February in the year 1776, the sixtieth year of her age. Grateful daughters have raised this monument to their mother and benefactress.”

I saw this noble and dignified life come to a close amidst those she had saved and blessed. “They say of her that she was ever doing, ever thoughtful and silent. In aspect she was grave, earnest, and resolute. I beheld her as they describe her, a serious and beneficent apparition. A plain cap, a white kerchief across her bosom, and a brown robe constituted the attire of the foundress of the Rosinas. She imposed no tie upon her people. They can leave their abode and marry if they wish, but they rarely do so.

“I saw, in a later vision of the Rosinas, they are still prosperous and happy. They are admitted from thirteen to twenty. They must be wholly destitute, healthy, active, and both able and willing to work. The old and infirm are supported by their younger companions.[2] To preserve the spirit of the modest and retired life which Rosa wished her daughters to lead, no commercial matters are transacted save at the establishment in Turin, which governs the other houses.

“The labours of the Rosinas are varied and complete. Whatever they manufacture they do with their own hands from beginning to end. They buy the cocoons in spring, and perform every one of the delicate operations which silk undergoes before it is finally woven into gros de Naples, levantines, and ribands. Their silks are of the best quality, but plain, in order to avoid the expense and inconvenience of changing their looms with every caprice of fashion. They also fabricate linen, but only a limited number of Rosinas can undergo the fatigue of weaving. In order not to interfere with the silk establishment at Turin, the manufacture of woollen stuffs is now carried on at Chieri. Government buys all the cloth of the army from the Rosinas. They even manufacture all the necessary ornaments, and make up the uniforms, with one cut out for them by tailors. Gold lace and the rich vestments of priests are likewise produced by these industrious women ... who are renowned for their skill in embroidery.

“There is a large magazine at Turin where the produce of their labours is gathered and sold by trustworthy persons, and is patronised by Government and by the population, for their goods are excellent in quality and fair in price, and there is a general preference for the work of these pure and innocent women. The house in Turin alone spends eighty thousand francs a year. It holds three hundred women, and is governed by six mistresses and one director, a woman, and an ecclesiastic administers and directs it; and it is frequently visited by the Queen, who grants it a special protection and interest.”

And this was the work of one poor and obscure workwoman, inspired by love of her orphan and helpless sisters, and in her devotion to her God.

(_To be concluded._)

FOOTNOTES:

[2] From _Women of Christianity_, by Julia Kavanagh, p. 326.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

MEDICAL.

MADDALENA.—Yes; you had better see a medical man. Your symptoms may be due to anæmia, nervousness or heart disease. Of these the last is infinitely the least likely. Anæmia is the probable cause, and is, moreover, the simplest to cure.

AILING.—There are two questions that we ask every dyspeptic—how long do you take over your meals? how much do you eat at each meal?

ONE OF FIVE.—1. Dilute the sulphur ointment with an equal quantity of lanoline. Otherwise follow out exactly the advice we gave to “Fair Isabel,” April 9, 1898. You are at the age when acne is most common in girls.—2. The white marks on the nails which trouble your sister are very commonly found. The only way to prevent them is to trim the nails carefully; but do not scrape the nails, as this of itself will sometimes produce opaque patches. About once a week rub the nails over with vaseline or cold cream.

MUCH FRIGHTENED.—On page 63 of the present volume you will find an “answer” dealing at some length with the question of the causation of typhoid fever by oysters.

MINERVA.—1. There is no objection to using cocoanut oil for the hair if you like it.—2. No; five feet two inches is by no means short for a girl of fourteen and a half—rather the reverse, in fact. During childhood and adolescence people increase chiefly in weight during the winter, and chiefly in height during the summer.

A READER.—“Headache” is one of those symptoms which are met with in a very large number of affections. It is not a specialised symptom pointing to one organ definitely as the seat of disease. It is chiefly met with in the following ailments:—1. Injury, or disease of the brain. In this headache is nearly always present—it is a persistent, intense pain. 2. Abnormal states of the blood. In the infectious fevers headache is extremely common. In typhoid fever it is always present at the beginning of the disease. Under this class of headaches from abnormal states of the blood must be considered the headaches of Bright’s disease, of anæmia, and of indigestion and biliousness. 3. Headache due to mental fatigue. According to which of these causes is at work, the seat of the headache will vary. If the head aches on top, anæmia is the probable cause. Aching of the back of the head is often associated with errors of refraction of the eyes—an extremely common cause of mental fatigue and headache. The various forms of biliousness give rise to headaches in different localities. Frontal headache, occipital headache, and a sense of fulness deep within the skull are all commonly met with in indigestion and biliousness. Fatigue of the brain is a common cause of headaches, and it is, we believe, the cause of your trouble. Overwork, too little sleep, innutritious food, badly-ventilated rooms and errors of refraction of the eyes, all produce fatigue of the brain and headaches. Then there is the “nervous headache,” about which nobody knows very much. To treat headaches it is first necessary to find out what produces them. If you suppress the cause, the headaches will go. In treating headaches it is very necessary to prevent the bowels from becoming confined. Eat well, sleep well, and ventilate your rooms well.

CONSTANT READER.—The treatment of debility is one of very great difficulty. For the condition, though alas! so very common, is not well understood, and we have no sound working hypothesis as to its cause. The most plausible theory is that debility is loss of nervous energy—that in this condition the nervous system is in the same state as the blood is in anæmia. The best way to treat the condition is by a strong tonic treatment to stimulate the flagging nervous system. The word “tonic” naturally brings up visions of quinine and iron to most persons. Quinine is a tonic, but it is not the tonic which is required in debility. The medicinal tonics are drugs which stimulate for a short time. But in debility we want something which will stimulate for weeks or months, and the Pharmacopœia does not provide us with drugs wherewith to do this. But we can get a strong tonic treatment without drugs in the following way:—Eat well of highly-nutritious food, plenty of meat and green vegetables, custards, milk, etc. Avoid food which fills you up without giving you sufficient nourishment, such as excessive quantities of starchy food, dried peas and beans, soups, etc. Eat as much as you wish. For drinks, the best are milk or milk and soda. Beef essences taken as stimulants are sometimes useful. Cod-liver oil, maltine, cream, etc., are also very helpful. These are definite foods and not drugs. Tea and coffee may be taken in moderation. You should also take plenty of sleep, and plenty of healthy, but not severe, exercise; and, if possible, a change of air and scene.

OPTIMIST.—Some years ago an ingenious person made the remark that there existed on the earth vegetable productions which could cure all human diseases; that we had only to find the trees and we should have a specific for every ailment. Quite so. We have only to find the trees. But it is a significant fact that although we have explored at least nine-tenths of our planet, and have tried almost all vegetable productions for the treatment of disease, we have not yet discovered one single specific for any disease. We see there are something over ten thousand ways by which a man can lose his life. We suppose therefore that we are to discover ten thousand trees with ten thousand separate actions. True, the vegetable kingdom has given up many valuable drugs, but not one single specific has it supplied to us. The mineral kingdom has given us the nearest approach to a specific, _i.e._, iron for anæmia.

STUDY AND STUDIO.

MISS VARDON (India).—Do not be disappointed when we tell you that we think it is better to wait for a correspondent until the plague, of which you speak, has ceased raging. You have been inoculated, your house is free, and doubtless there is no danger whatever, but your correspondent or her elder friends might feel a little uneasy. Besides, we have received so many letters offering correspondence with the lady in question that we fear yours would be too late.

SISSIE REDMOND.—1. Write about your farthing to the authorities of the British Museum or of South Kensington Numismatic Department. We thank you for your letter. As you grow older you will not mind “having your hair up” and so forth, but the feelings you express are natural enough for your age.—2. If we had “easier puzzles,” we should have so many solutions that the Puzzle Editor would be wholly buried alive under manuscripts, instead of only half buried, as he is at present.

A LOVER OF THE “G.O.P.”—1. The whole sonnet by Archbishop Trench is as follows. We commend its advice to you with much sympathy:—

“Thou cam’st not to thy place by accident; It is the very place God meant for thee; And shouldst thou there small scope for action see, Do not for this give room to discontent; Nor let the time thou owest to God be spent In idly dreaming how thou mightest be, In what concerns thy spiritual life, more free From outward hindrance or impediment. For presently this hindrance thou shalt find That without which all goodness were a task So slight, that virtue never could grow strong: And wouldst thou do one duty to His mind, The Imposer’s—over-burdened thou shalt ask, And own thy need of grace to help, ere long.”

Archbishop Trench’s _Poems_ are published by Macmillan.—2. We do not think your writing is, as you say, “very bad.” The tails of your g’s and y’s are not bold enough for the rest of it. The only way to improve is daily to copy some model you admire, and never to let yourself write carelessly.

C. G.—1. Many thanks for your pleasant letter. We have no knowledge of the word “crofts,” in the sense in which it is quoted, and should think it must be a misprint for “cups” or “crockery”; but if it is a local expression, you would gain information by writing direct to the author of the article in question.—2. If you cannot read an English play with your party of thirty German girls—and we see your difficulty—could you spend the time in working and reading some very interesting English story aloud in turn? If that would not do, the only alternative seems to be, to play English games. Of these there are a great variety. “Subject and Object” is a good game. Two go out of the room, and return personating a character in history or fiction, and some thing or animal well known in connection with the character, such as King John and Magna Charta; Una and the Lion. The others, by questioning them, have to guess who and what they are. Any English handbook of games, or _The Girls’ Indoor Book_ (56, Paternoster Row) would be useful. Two questions are our limit, but we could not in any case help you about the translations.

PANSY.—If you had told us in what part of England you live, we could have helped you more definitely. There are numbers of schools and classes all over the kingdom where girls can be trained as teachers in any branch of technical instruction, and we can only advise you to write for exact information to the Secretary, Board of Technical Education, St. Martin’s Lane, London, W.C. You may also refer to Mrs. Watson’s articles in THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER, for 1897, on “What the County Councils are doing for Girls.”

F. L. J.—Your verses are very immature. For instance, you say “is come” and “has come” in close connection; your lines are of irregular length, and verses ii. and iii. dispense with rhymes, excepting in the chorus. Your metaphors are mixed—sea, blast, battle, &c., are all applied to life, in a confusing manner. We do not wish to be severe, but it is necessary to observe the laws of composition and of versification in attempting poetry.

ANCIENT.—It is impossible to value old Bibles without seeing them. Yours is probably a reprint of the Geneva version and not valuable. If, however, you would like to forward it to J. Arnold Green, Esq., 56, Paternoster Row, London, E.C., he will be happy to give you advice respecting it. Or you might apply to a firm of booksellers—Messrs. Sotheran & Co., 140, Strand.

MISCELLANEOUS.

COOKIE (Barcelona).—Perhaps the following recipe would suit you. Take one pint of wholemeal, one teacup of milk, butter of about the size of a walnut; add a few small raisins and a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix well, and bake for about half an hour. To make good soda buns, take of flour half a pound, butter three ounces, of sugar three ounces, of candied orange-peel one ounce (or more, cut in small pieces), one small teacupful of milk, the yolks of two eggs and white of one, of carbonate of soda a small teaspoonful (not heaped), and a little grated nutmeg. Beat and blend all well together, butter an oven-tin, and drop the mixture into it, and bake for fifteen or twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. This will make about a dozen small buns.

A. M. GARD.—If the man to whom you are attached has told you that he cannot at present marry, on account of his circumstances, and says, in addition, that the oftener you meet each other, the harder it is for you, and begs you not to fret, it is clear that he considers it expedient for both to be free, and to keep apart. Under these circumstances it would be both honourable and unselfish to keep out of his society. We should always look for Divine leading, and pray for it; and the indications in this case (quite out of your control) are very clear, and point to retirement on your part.

A BERKSHIRE READER.—Take eight eggs for the rice cake. Tea, loaves and biscuits are to be obtained of any baker or grocer.

SEPTEMBER.—1. The meaning of the name Cicely is “blind.” It is derived from Cecil, a male name, from the Latin Cæcillius, a diminutive of _cæcus_, “blind.” The original woman’s name was Cecilia, and Cicely is a corruption of it.—2. Your question is very vague, and you do not say in what part of London you wish to reside. The Young Women’s Christian Association has many Homes for women in business. Apply for information at the head office, 26, George Street, Hanover Square, W.

LORA.—This name is a form of Laura, and is found as early as 1208 A.D. Laura is derived from _laurus_, a laurel or bay-tree. Laura corresponds with the Greek name Daphne.

MAY MOREY.—The description you give sounds like the old willow pattern, which was manufactured at Stoke-upon-Trent, by the first Josiah Spode, about 1780. But we think perhaps the plate may be porcelain, in which case the name Spode would be that of the second Josiah Spode, who introduced the manufacture of porcelain in 1800. If the mark be _painted_ in red, blue or purple, the plate is porcelain; if _impressed_ on the clay, it is not. The first Josiah Spode introduced the blue printed china. We could not say what the value is, unless we knew its condition.

CHRISTABEL.—1. We should be afraid that the letters were not genuine. The people who offer large sums of money on condition of a million or more stamps being collected, are usually not to be found when the subject is inquired into. But why not put an end to the nuisance by writing a postcard to the sender and asking her to send no more “chain letters” to you, as you will forward no more?—2. The two books you inquire about are not of very great value. The _Milton_, by John Gillies, was published in 1788, and went through three editions. If yours be the one of 1793, it is number two, and is worth about 2s. The _Shakespeare_, or rather _The History and Antiquities of Stratford-on-Avon_, by R. B. Wheler, 1806, 8vo., is worth about 16s., if in good condition, as it is a standard work on Warwickshire. Many thanks for your kind wishes which we fully reciprocate.

BEATTIE.—The uncle has no legal authority at all, unless a guardian or trustee, save that a near relative and an older man may have. The duties of trustees are to see all the accounts of the trust, know all the investments, and never to sign any papers they do not _fully_ understand.

MOTHER KITTY.—1. White felt hats can be cleaned with flour, and will look quite well after rubbing. Of course all the trimming should be taken off, and when finished, the flour must be well beaten out, so that it may not come off on everything.—2. Handwriting is clear and neat—what is called a “running hand.” Why do you put a knot at the ends of the t’s? It is incorrect.

COOKMAID.—1. The date appears to be 1744, if your letters be right. We cannot say of what value it is, because you omit the author’s name.—2. The snuff-box is of value as a curiosity, but we could not say of how much. A great deal of the wood of the _Royal George_ was used for such things.

MAYBLOSSOM.—The name of David’s mother is unknown, as we have often said. His grandmother was Ruth.

A LOVER OF THE “G.O.P.”—It is always better to err on the side of kindness, and if you have had a conversation on business matters, and are constantly meeting, you will find it awkward, and it would be impolitic if you did not bow when you see him in the street. This does not entail any further intimacy.

MARIGOLD.—The best German yeast is very good for making bread. The “D.C.L.” brand is what we prefer for our own home use. We should employ this in preference to brewers’ barm.

NOEL.—The name Noel is derived from the Latin _Dies Natalis_—Christmas. It may mean born on Christmas Day. The French is _Noel_, Italian _Natali_, Spanish and Portuguese _Natal_. And this last brings us to the origin of the name of one of our South African colonies, Natal, which was bestowed by Vasco da Gama, because he discovered it on Christmas Day.

LE DUC.—We think your letter a very charming piece of effrontery, and even the commendation you are kind enough to lavish on us does not blind our eyes to the fact that you are a boy. We are glad to see, however, that you say “only a boy” in your letter; so we will, in consideration of that humility, overlook the fact that your place is in the “B.O.P.” Strange to say, we have a great many boys who like our paper, and we are glad to know they take an interest in what their sisters are doing. The Diary you inquire about, _Write as you like It_, is issued by Charles Letts & Co., so you can order it through your stationer. About the pens, we regret we cannot help you, as we hear the same complaint from others. But an Italian lady tells us that the only good ones are to be purchased in Italy, which might form a good excuse for going there. Any ordinary blank book will do for a diary; there are many kinds described in the article of Feb. 1897.

MONAH STAIRS.—We do not think matters can be as bad as you say; and you have your aunt and both your brothers to consult, and no one will, we are sure, coerce you. You have also the doctor of whom you speak; so we hope, by this time, you have cheered up and are looking on the brighter side of things.