mistress," said the young _Paron_ [Footnote: _Padrone_ in
Italian. A salutation with Venetian friends, and the title by which
Venetian servants always designate their employers.] with the bashful
pride proper to the time and place. Giovanna glowed welcome, and said,
with adventurous politeness, she was very glad of it.

"_Serva sua!_"

The _Parona_, not knowing Italian, laughed in English.

So Giovanna took possession of us, and acting upon the great truth that
handsome is that handsome does, began at once to make herself a thing of
beauty.

As a measure of convenience and of deference to her feelings, we
immediately resolved to call her G., merely, when speaking of her in
English, instead of Giovanna, which would have troubled her with
conjecture concerning what was said of her. And as G. thus became the
centre around which our domestic life revolved, she must be somewhat
particularly treated of in this account of our housekeeping. I suppose
that, given certain temperaments and certain circumstances, this would
have been much like keeping play-house anywhere; in Venice it had, but for
the unmistakable florins it cost, a curious property of unreality and
impermanency. It is sufficiently bad to live in a rented house; in a house
which you have hired ready-furnished, it is long till your life takes
root, and Home blossoms up in the alien place. For a great while we
regarded our house merely as very pleasant lodgings, and we were slow to
form any relations which could take from our residence its temporary
character. Had we but thought to get in debt to the butcher, the baker,
and the grocer, we might have gone far to establish ourselves at once; but