Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1892-01-27
THE POOR ROSINA.

Ouf olEnOfhI On the poor RDsiDat
Q walled my hand maiden one morning 4
she brought me my coffee and the usua
frugal first breakfast Of the Italian natio
, when they get any breakfast at alD an
deposited it Upon the table at my bedside.
well, Sofia, what's the matter with I'll
I poor Rosina" responded only hal
| awake
"Ah, poor child, she is dead, she is mur
deredp'
'Impossiblel' exclaimed. Il saw he
only Lass night in the theater"
Pardon, Signora; the night before sh,
walked from there out of the city; the las
seen Of her was near the brick fields. poo
Rosina." "They threw her into one of ths
furnaces, and nothing remains but her lit
tie flower basket, which was found quit,
near"
belp
Nevertheless that is what happened
Signora," and with what seemed under
| the circumstances an ironical wish she de.
| parted, Wishing me good appetite
was staying in small city midway be-
| tween Genoa and Turin, city famous for
its ruined bastions said to have been built
by the Romans, and for its having been
the field Of one of the first Napoleon's
great BATTLES, and where fell one of his
braYest aud most celebrated generals. in
fact, "a monument recording the victory
proclaims II as having been very bloody
and unfortunate one.
The city is likewise famous for its silk
manufactures mysterious places iealously
guarded by the proprietors lest one should
discover from another the secrets of the
Intricate machinery which produces the
beautiful goods, employees being bound TO
a secrecy as profound as that Of Freema.
/ sonry.
In nearly every house were signs of this
industry, for many families kept silk
worms during the proper season, and the
storerooms were often filed with bales
and bales OF the beautiful cocoons-white
pale green and pale straw color.
This city supported an opera company
for few weeks yearly, the management
being the city government as is usual in
Italy. The performers were treated in the
kindest manner. Their advent was an
event and was hailed with joy, and during
the season the city was in fiesta. was
fortunate enough one season TO be the
prima donna, and ! found the management
most paternal one for even my health
was watched over by the mayor and CITY
government, and certain food prescribed
by them which felt obliged to eat Though
il was very nice), and my Landlord was
charged to see that | took daily walks OF a
certain length, he TO accompany me. which
the solemn old gentleman punctinously
did.
II was at the theater that first saw Ro-
sina. One night the door Of a box near the
stage flew open and "a tall, slim, handsome
woman walked in. She had the true Ital-
ian face and eyes, and was dressed in the
costume of the province, only in rich ma
tegials. A white lace veil over her head ar
ranged with exquisite taste and coauetry.
and on her arm she carried dainty basket
filed with boutonnieres. Some one on the
stage said in an undertone, "Rosina has
come back again" and noticed stir IA
the theater and eyes turned TO the box;
she fastened flower in the gentleman's
button hole, and without waiting for re-
muneration left at once, proceeding to
other boxes, and finally saw her watch
ing the performance from the floor Then
she disappeared.
There was something so striking about
her, 50 different from the other flower
girls, SO free, buoyant debonair Il hardly |
know how to express her unusual stvle1 |
withal SO self contained and restrained |
for she held no conversation with any She
met-handed out her flowers, asked no re- |
Enumeration, though what was thrown
into her basket she allowed to remain.
seemingly not noticing it. Altogether she |
excited my interest to such an extent thar
questioned my landlady regarding her |
one day.
'Rosinaf Oh, yes She has been here !
for years, walked into town one morning |
barefooted; now look &C her Yes she's /
good girl, took care Of her mother and a 1
sick sister until both died; minds her bust. |
ness flower shop in the Via-keeps to |
herself and some say has taught herself to |
read and write. She is very ambitious and |
said, years ago when she first came, she |
would some day marry gentleman. FL |
nally the Count Torrani did fall ia love
with her and promise to make her the /
Countess Torrani, and they ran away to. 1
gether.
She was disappointed, for he deserted her |
after he had run through her money. ~ /
hadn't any Of his own, and he didn't marry /
her after all, so here she is again, but dear /
me, cara mia signora, she isn't the same /
hosina; she used to jest and chat with all. /
who so bright and welcome as she passed /
through a cafe tossing her flowers to those
she favored, as RosinaS Now she looks !
like thundercloud; oh, yes. she's very /
handsome, but dull now; not a word for n /
soul, my husband says, aud because Young l
Ettore Jerli put OBTAINING hand on her /
arm at the cafe last night she suddenly l
whipped out a small blade from her dress
Such scenel The proprietor had to be !
sent for to make peace"
SO Rosina came and went. always \
gloomy, handsome and defiant. un- /
touched by all. Since the cafe episode
the men were afraid OF her-the wom- i
en- she seldom noticed, though occasion /
ally she made an exception Of me
perhaps from a caprice or aware Of my IN. /
terest in her, or because was foreigner
One night she even came to my dressing /
room. bringing me a flower. She had |
heard that It was a favorite Of mine.
Wear it for me tonight" she said. and I
did, and still have it, pressed between /
the leaves of the score Of the opera / was
then singing
One night saw her weeping at the close
OF the last act Of the opera, which was par
ucularly tragic and narrowing: she bad :
entered the box at the last moment. and 2
nnalng the occupants gone had seated her.
sell and watched the scene; tho intensity az
her gaze had attracted my attention. ana 4
eNenln sy simulated dying agonies IcouId