The San Francisco call., 1905-04-23

Her father, Domenlco FSrraco, was a
vineyardist there, and lived at Cefalu,
which is larger now than it was when
she was a little girl. They lived al
ways in the village except for two
months in the summer. when the whole
family. father. mother two sons and
four daughters, went out with the fam
iIy donkey and cart to bring in the
wine and the grapes.
She went to the Church of San Gio-
vanni and made her confession and
got her continuation in Cefalu.
Can she read and write?
oh. yes; she says with animated
pride She is quite educated She went
to the Government school of Cefalu.
and not only that, there were aspira-
tions-you must know how great a dis
tinction it is for the poor Sicilian. for
the peasant Sicilian, tc be able to read
and write TO appreciate the dizzy
height OF these aspirations: there We're
aspirations in the family for her to be-
come teacher. Her mother. Leonora
Serrio, which means serious" wished
her to be a teacher. and she not only
went to the Government school, but she
studied at home with a private teacher
TO help her on.
And her family, she goes on with
innocent pride. all her family are edu-
Gated.
So, too, testified Crispino Vilardc,
the brother of the murdered man. at
the inquest. He said that her family in
Sicily were all fine people
Yes, she smiles that is true: not one
of them ever had to go TO some one
else TO get letter written, or read.
Every one of them can read and write
they are quite educated.
And little Rosa, after she had made
her confession and got confirmed by
the padre of San Giovanni, and had
become educated so that she success
fully passed the examination of the
elementary school, came to this coun-
try.
Her father had come here before.
and after making money enough in the
orange groves of Louisiana had sent
for his family.
And Rosa's thirteenth birthday was
assed on shipboard on the Atlantic.
And then when she was fifteen years
old another great event happened.
All the family, the father. the mother.
and sisters and brothers, were3out fer
a Sunday jaunt in their wagon. in
the orange grove country north of New
Orleans, all in their very best Sunday
clothes, and as gay as only those
sunny southern people can be-and she
saw for the first time Pietro Torturici.
He was on a Sunday outing. too. and
whether it was the Sunday clothes. or
the Sunday gayety, or just fate. he
made up his mind as Soon as he set
eyes on her that he would have her
for his wife.
Before the week was we'll begun be
came to her fathers house and asked
to marry her.
Her father and her mother thought
we'll of it, for he was a Sicilian. too.
and young and strong and earning the
munificent sum of s47 a month in a
livery stable.
Rosa demurred; she was too young.
she could wait; she would know him
better before deciding, while her
mother, Eleonora, urged her not to let
the chance slip by. "A girl must marry
while she is young; when she's old
her mother shook her head discourag-
ingly.
Pietro Torturici came for his an
swer himself. She remembered the day
well. She was standing by the window
combing her younger sisters hair, and
he came to the outside of the window
and asked her to speak for herself. He
wanted no go-betweens. She hung her
head, and looked away, and would not
say yes-nor yet no. But it must be
yes or no. and straight to him. He
didn't want her father and mother to
make up her mind for her. So-she
looked at him again-and looked away
and said yes she would marry him.
9hen,' after little while her father
illOtucf were d. IIiuCn fODpOS6Q II
her marrying him as they had been in
favor of it.
Why?
Because Torturici was so boyish, SC
full of fun, so light-headed and light
hearted. Why, he skipped rope and
played ball and made jokes and whit
tied and sang like one of the little boys
But she liked that in him as much
as the father and mother disliked it;
and now that they had put him in her
way and urged her to marry him she
had learned to love him, and, say
what they pleased, she would marry
him.
So they were married at the Church
of st. Bernardo in New Orleans just
three months after the day they met
on the Sunday jaunt. She was just a
; few months over Is. and he was IS
That was little more than five years
ago.
He had been good husband to her