Evening star., 1926-08-25

a moral from Rudolph Valentines
| life.
| When the correspondent reached
| Castellaneta today by motor from
| Taranto, although the sun had
| not yet risen, peasants-men and
| women-already were gathering in
the public square with scythes over
their shoulders ready to set forth
on an hours trudge to the distant
| farm plots where. with IL to IA
hours of grilling labor. they manage
| to extract a. bare subsistence from
| the exhausted SOIL
No, they never heard of Rudolph
| Valentino. There were no Valen-
tinos in this town. But Rudolfo
Gugliemli-yes.
He was grand signore, a great
noble man. His father was a learned
| mana veterinary. He travelled over
! the whole province, cured our cows,
| read us our letters from our hus-
bands in America. wrote letters for
us to our sweethearts.
The Guglielmis are all dead.
| There are no relatives here now.
Rudolfo's mother was very learned.
| She could read and write, too. She
| was Maria Barbin before she mar
ried. Queer name. She was of
1 r
| years ago in France, in the presence
of her parents"
| French-that explains why Rudolfo
was so wild. What they mean by wild
| was suggested by the village mayor,
police commissioner and doctor. whom
! the correspondent interviewed. AS q
boy he was nervous-they remember
ed well. Once he had got a game
started he lost interest and was al
ready inventing a new one. 1t was
Rudolfo who first jumped from the
balcony of his fathers house to the
street below, establishing a precedent
which all Castellaneta boys must
equal if they hope to become leaders
| Of Castellaneta society.
1t was Rudolfo who organized the
club of Calabrfan bandits. who terror
ized the village idiot.
Dreams of America.
But. said the mayor, he was not
always a daring ruffian. He some
times passed hours dreaming. OF
! what? He wouldn't tell. But his
parents, troubled by his restlessness
knew He was dreaming OF America
After half hours quest through
the sweltering streets of CaStellaneta
the correspondent found Rudolfo's old
nurse, Rosa, ScIlll-SOiiliioIeilt, kiuiHe
donkey back down deserted lane on
the outskirts of the village.
Upon mention of Rudolfo's name
her old. weather. beaten face was fur
! ,.owed by a stream of silent tears. But
soon collecting herself, her face beam
ed with reminiscent admiration as
! she declared:
Until his twelfth year Rudolfo was
my baby boy. He was veritable lit
tie devil, but he was gifted with a
striking personality. His daring used
! to terrify me, even as child. No es
capade was too wild for him. One day
he turned my hair gray by his stunt
of toe dancing across a rope stretched
| from one balcony of his home to an
other balcony 10 feet away. (The bal
comics of the old home are Is feet
above the pavement)
Another time he scared me by rid
ing a perilouSly untamed donkey"
! The police commissioner has sem
the following wire to Albert Gugliel
mi, Rudolfo's brother: .'Castellanets
is proud to have been the native vii
lage of your illustrious brother, Ru
dolph Valentino. whose ardent boy
hood still lives here. The whole towr
unanimously condoles with you In th'
untimely loss which robs Italy of hel
great son."
| Copyright 1926 by Chicago Daily News Co.