Indeed, he rarely pronounced her name; sufficiently
indicating to the child whom it was that I was seeking, by the
affectionate epithet he used, "_Lita! e la cara Signora in casa_?"
The composure and force of Madame Ossoli's character would, indeed,
have given her a strong influence for good over any person with whom
she was brought into contact; but this influence must have been even
extraordinary over the impulsive and ill-disciplined children of
passion and of sorrow, among whom she was thrown in Italy.
Her husband related to me once, with a most reverent enthusiasm, some
stories of the good she had done in Rieti, during her residence there.
The Spanish troops were quartered in that town, and the dissipated
habits of the officers, as well as the excesses of the soldiery, kept
the place in a constant irritation. Though overwhelmed with cares and
anxieties, Madame Ossoli found time and collectedness of mind enough
to interest herself in the distresses of the towns-people, and to pour
the soothing oil of a wise sympathy upon their wounded and indignant
feelings. On one occasion, as the Marchese told me, she undoubtedly
saved the lives of a family in Rieti, by inducing them to pass over
in silence an insult offered to one of them by an intoxicated Spanish
soldier,--and, on another, she interfered between two brothers,
maddened by passion, and threatening to stain the family hearth with
the guilt of fratricide.
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