ABSTRACT
Ayoung girl’s life was cramped and squeezed into a narrow mould. She had to fulfil the requirements of the extremely exacting Bashaw that lurks in the male bosom. The despotic power of the Roman father was modified, it is true, by the Lombardic occupation of Italy; the maiden remained, indeed, under immediate paternal authority, but the Teutonic principle of association threw her under a general supervision of the entire circle of her relatives. The young girl was trained in austerity, and the impulses of her youth were mortified. Boys, as capable of strengthening that basal unit of Italian life—the family of blood relations—were much more highly valued by both parents than girls, who were regarded as a source of expense. Moreover boys could be made useful in business. Yet many girls were much beloved, and proved themselves of great value in the home.
