November 1st.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the girls’ school building, near ours, to give the story of the boy from Padua to Silvia’s teacher, who wished to read it. —
There are seven hundred girls there. Just as I arrived, they began to come out, all greatly rejoiced at the holiday of All Saints and All Souls; —
and here is a beautiful thing that I saw: —
Opposite the door of the school, on the other side of the street, stood a very small chimney-sweep, his face entirely black, with his sack and scraper, with one arm resting against the wall, and his head supported on his arm, weeping copiously and sobbing. —
Two or three of the girls of the second grade approached him and said, “What is the matter, that you weep like this? —
” But he made no reply, and went on crying.
“Come, tell us what is the matter with you and why you are crying,” the girls repeated. —
And then he raised his face from his arm,—a baby face,—and said through his tears that he had been to several houses to sweep the chimneys, and had earned thirty[21] soldi, and that he had lost them, that they had slipped through a hole in his pocket,—and he showed the hole,—and he did not dare to return home without the money.
“The master will beat me,” he said, sobbing; —
and again dropped his head upon his arm, like one in despair. —
The children stood and stared at him very seriously. —
In the meantime, other girls, large and small, poor girls and girls of the upper classes, with their portfolios under their arms, had come up; —
and one large girl, who had a blue feather in her hat, pulled two soldi from her pocket, and said:—
“I have only two soldi; let us make a collection.”
“I have two soldi, also,” said another girl, dressed in red; —
“we shall certainly find thirty soldi among the whole of us”; —
and then they began to call out:—
“Amalia! Luigia! Annina!—A soldo. Who has any soldi? Bring your soldi here!”
Several had soldi to buy flowers or copy-books, and they brought them; —
some of the smaller girls gave centesimi; —
the one with the blue feather collected all, and counted them in a loud voice:—
“Eight, ten, fifteen!” But more was needed. —
Then one larger than any of them, who seemed to be an assistant mistress, made her appearance, and gave half a lira; —
and all made much of her. Five soldi were still lacking.
“The girls of the fourth class are coming; they will have it,” said one girl. —
The members of the fourth class came, and the soldi showered down. All hurried forward eagerly; —
and it was beautiful to see that poor chimney-sweep in the midst of all those many-colored dresses, of all that whirl of feathers, ribbons,[22] and curls. —
The thirty soldi were already obtained, and more kept pouring in; —
and the very smallest who had no money made their way among the big girls, and offered their bunches of flowers, for the sake of giving something. —
All at once the portress made her appearance, screaming:—
“The Signora Directress!” The girls made their escape in all directions, like a flock of sparrows; —
and then the little chimney-sweep was visible, alone, in the middle of the street, wiping his eyes in perfect content, with his hands full of money, and the button-holes of his jacket, his pockets, his hat, were full of flowers; —
and there were even flowers on the ground at his feet.