picture of austere old S. Carlo Borromeo with his hands joined in
prayer.

It was at Rossura that I made the acquaintance of a word which I
have since found very largely used throughout North Italy. It is
pronounced "chow" pure and simple, but is written, if written at
all, "ciau," or "ciao," the "a" being kept very broad. I believe
the word is derived from "schiavo," a slave, which, became
corrupted into "schiao," and "ciao." It is used with two meanings,
both of which, however, are deducible from the word slave. In its
first and more common use it is simply a salute, either on greeting
or taking leave, and means, "I am your very obedient servant."
Thus, if one has been talking to a small child, its mother will
tell it to say "chow" before it goes away, and will then nod her
head and say "chow" herself. The other use is a kind of pious
expletive, intending "I must endure it," "I am the slave of a
higher power." It was in this sense I first heard it at Rossura.
A woman was washing at a fountain while I was eating my lunch. She
said she had lost her daughter in Paris a few weeks earlier. "She
was a beautiful woman," said the bereaved mother, "but--chow. She
had great talents--chow. I had her educated by the nuns of
Bellinzona--chow. Her knowledge of geography was consummate--chow,
chow," &c. Here "chow" means "pazienza," "I have done and said all
that I can, and must now bear it as best I may."

I tried to comfort her, but could do nothing, till at last it
occurred to me to say "chow" too. I did so, and was astonished at
the soothing effect it had upon her. How subtle are the laws that
govern consolation! I suppose they must ultimately be connected
with reproduction--the consoling idea being a kind of small cross