file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #bggff-;h4htm or #bggff-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#b_/ g_/g_/f_/bggff_/bggff-;h_/#bggff-;h4htm7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/dirs_/#b_/ g_/g_/f_/bggff_/bggff-;h4zip7 ,,romance ,,of ,,roman ,,villas ,illustration ,illustration3 ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 ,viewing the ,newly-found ,statue of the ,apollo ,belvedere ,from the painting by ,carl ,becker4 ,permission of the ,berlin ,photographic ,co4 7,the ,renaissance7 by ,,elizabeth ,w4 ,,champney ,author of ,romance of the ,italian ,villas1 ,romance of the ,feudal ,chateaux1 ,romance of the ,french ,abbeys1 ,etc4 ,illustrated ,g4 ,p4 ,putnam's ,sons ,new ,york and ,london ,the ,knickerbocker ,press #aijh ,,introduction ,in came the cardinal1 grave and coldly wise1 ,his scarlet gown and robes of cobweb lace ,trailed on the marble floor2 with convex glass ,he bent o'er ,guido's shoulder4 ,,walter ,,thornbury4 ,still unrivalled1 after the lapse of four centuries the villas of the great cardinals of the ,renaissance retain their supremacy over their ,italian sisters1 not1 as once1 by reason of their prodigal magnificence but in the appealing charm of their picturesque decay4 ,the centuries have bestowed a certain pathetic beauty1 they have also taken away much1 and the sympathy which these ruined pleasure palaces evoke whets our curiosity to know what they were like in their heyday of joyous revelling4 ,if we run down the list of the nobler villas of ,rome we will find that1 with few exceptions1 they were built by princes of the purple1 and that the names they bear are not ,roman but those of the ruling families of other ,italian cities4 ,that the sixteenth century should have produced the most palatial residences ever inhabited by prelates was but a natural outcome of the conditions then existing4 ,the society of ,rome was a hierarchical aristocracy made up of the younger sons of every powerful and ambitious family of ,italy1 and the red hat was so greatly desired not for the honour or emoluments of the cardinalcy per se but because it was a step to the papacy4 ,to an ,italian1 says ,alfred ,austin1 it must seem a reproach never to have had a pope in the family1 and you will with difficulty find a villa of any pretension1 certainly not in ,frascati1 where memorial tassels and tiara carven in stone over porch and doorway do not attest pontifical kinship4 ,the young cardinal's first move in the game which he was to play was at all expense to create an impression1 and if1 as in the case of ,ippolito d',este1 he had no benevolent uncle in ,st4 ,peter's chair to guide his career1 the parental coffers were drawn upon recklessly and the cadet of the great house led a more extravagant life in his ,roman villa than the duke his elder brother in his provincial court4 ,the object of his ambition once attained the new ,pope unscrupulously enriched his family1 and endeavoured to make his office hereditary by elevating his favourite nephew to the cardinalcy1 and endowing this future candidate for the papacy with means from the revenues of the ,church to purchase the votes of his rivals4 ,this is the constantly reiterated history of the builders of the palaces and villas of ,rome4 ,sixtus ,,iv4 made the fortunes of his numerous de la ,rovere and ,riario nephews1--one of whom1 ,pietro1 ,cardinal of ,san ,sisto1 for whom ,bramante built the ,cancellaria ,palace1 set the pace for his comrades of the ,sacred ,college by squandering in two years the enormous sum of #b1hjj1jjj4 ,cardinal ,raphael ,riario of the next generation began the most beautiful of all villas1 ,lante1 which three other cardinals subsequently perfected4 ,leo ,x4 after his election as pope1 proved to be a greater spendthrift than ,sixtus ,,iv41 for he not only repaired the broken fortunes of the ,medici but eclipsed his father as a patron of art1 making the erection of monumental buildings and the collection of objects of art a mania among all men of wealth and culture4 ,cardinal ,giulio 7afterwards ,clement ,,vii47 in the ,villa ,madama1 and ,cardinal ,ferdinando in the ,villa ,medici sustained the family tradition1 but ,cardinal ,alexander ,farnese 7,pope ,paul ,,iii47 outrivalled them both1 by filling the ,farnese palace with the most valuable collections ever amassed by a private individual4#a ,immediately succeeding ,alexander ,farnese ,julius ,,iii4 built the noble ,villa di ,papa ,giulio1 and ,pius ,,iv4 the charming ,villa ,pia2 but nepotism did not scandalously reassert itself until the last quarter of the century1 when the immense ,villa ,aldobrandini was erected by a nephew of ,clement ,,viii4 ,pope ,paul ,v4 in his turn bestowed more than a million dollars upon his ,borghese nephews1 to one of whom1 ,cardinal ,scipione1 we owe the delightful ,villa ,borghese1 just outside the ,porta del ,popolo4 ,early in the next century the evil attained greater proportions4 ,olimpia ,pamphili1 whose name and memory are perpetuated in the villa built by her son1 received from ,pope ,innocent ,x4 more than two millions4 ,but ,innocent seems to have a fair claim to his name when compared with his immediate predecessor ,urban ,,viii4 who conferred upon his nephews1 the brothers ,barberini1 sums amounting to one hundred and five millions6 ,an architecture of pompous ostentation and riotous overloading of ornament1 the ,baroque1 now took the place of the classical beauty of the ,renaissance and art degraded became the slave of wealth1 until the great ,cardinal ,albani erected his villa to serve as her temple4 ,we are ready to expect great results in the villas and palaces of the millionaires of the earlier half of the sixteenth century when we reflect that they were executed by ,bramante1 ,peruzzi1 ,san ,gallo1 ,michael ,angelo1 and ,raphael with a host of lesser men who would have been great in any other age1 and that the ruins of imperial ,rome furnished them with models for their designs and an inexhaustible quarry of statues1 columns1 mosaics1 and other materials4 ,the point of view of the present volume is the life rather than the art of these villas1 but it is not possible to ignore the stimulus which the daily discovery of the masterpieces of ancient art afforded to the artists of the day1 and the connoisseurship imposed upon the rivalling patrons and collectors4 ,in the chapters entitled3 ,the ,finding of ,apollo and ,the ,lure of ,old ,rome ,i have striven to depict the influence of these discoveries upon such sensitive souls as those of ,raphael and ,ligorio1 and the gradual education of the financier ,chigi and ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este in the refinements of dilettantism4 ,but the ,fornarina left a more potent impression on ,raphael's art than the ,apollo ,belvedere1 and her memory and that of ,imperia still haunt the villa of the ,farnesina indissolubly united with that of the master of art and the master of revels4 ,in the noble ,colonna palace the personality most vividly present to-day is that of ,vittoria ,colonna1 making good the boast of ,michael ,angelo's sonnet1-- ,so ,i can give long life to both of us ,in either way by colour or by stone1 ,making the semblance of thy face and mine1 ,centuries hence when both are buried thus ,thy beauty and my sadness shall be shown ,and men shall say1 ',for her 't was right to pine4' ,but if ,michael ,angelo carved or painted ,vittoria the portrait is lost2 and it is to his love1 not to his art that she owes her immortality4 ,so from the history of these beautiful dwellings ,i have chosen as the focal point of each of the following chapters1 the half-forgotten face of some woman1 and were it not that the story of ,vittoria ,colonna is so well known that noble woman might well have led the procession4 ,for the same reason1 and because her castle of ,spoleto could not be classed under my topic1 ,i have laid aside a study of ,lucrezia ,borgia and of another ,lucrezia who may have resided within its walls4 ,but from the succession of beauties who kissed their lovers beneath the rose-trellises of ,rome1 ,i have stolen secrets enough to overfill these pages1 secrets which few of the gentle shades would forbid my telling1 since for the most part they are sweet and innocent and true4 ,for the others1 daughters of disorder1 may their sufferings bespeak your pity4 ,the difficulty in arriving at just estimates has only made the attempt the more engrossing1 as those will attest who have tracked through the mass of conflicting histories the story of the elusive lady who gave the name of ,madama to the exquisite villa which ,raphael designed for ,clement ,,vii4 ,the ,villa ,aldobrandini recalls an ancient legend preserved in more than one of the ,italian novelli2 and reading between the lines of the ,amyntas we may trace ,tasso's love for ,leonora which blossomed in the terraced garden of the ,villa d',este4 ,the villas ,borghese and ,mondragone are still instinct with the personality of a romantic little lady of a later period1 the bewildering ,pauline ,bonaparte4 ,it is impossible while enthralled by her portrait statue to remember any other princess of that noble house2 but as we wander through the portrait gallery of the ,colonna palace it is equally difficult to choose a favourite from its brilliant gallery4 ,my apologies are due to many another in fixing upon ,giulia ,gonzaga1 wife of ,vespasian ,colonna as my heroine1 though such was the fame of her beauty that the ,sultan of ,turkey despatched a fleet for her capture4 ,in the last decade of the century1 ,marie de' ,medici looked down upon ,rome from the villa of her uncle1 ,cardinal ,ferdinando1 and wandered among that wonderful array of statues which now form the glory of the ,pitti ,palace4 ,this was the time1 if ever1 that ,shakespeare visited ,italy1 and ,i have attempted to give a true picture of the life and scenes which he may have viewed4 ,to my last chapter is left the confession that the supreme charm of ,rome of the ,renaissance lies not in itself1 but in the fact that it is the bridge which unites modernity to the ,rome of antiquity4 ,each statue unearthed in the cardinal's garden1 as it reassumed its place upon the familiar terrace1 must have whispered to its marble companions3 ,they call this the ,villa d',este6 ,we know better1 it is ,hadrian's4 ,their learned men have labelled you1 ',by an ,unknown ,sculptor1' little suspecting that your lips were arched by ,praxiteles4 ,they have christened our friend in the garden of ,lucullus1 the ',venus de' ,medici1' ignorant of the prouder name she bore1 and they call the relief in that new villa1 ',the ,antinous of ,cardinal ,albani1' not knowing that the portrait and its original were alike1 ,faustina's4 ,shall we1 indulgent reader1 on some fair1 future day1 led by the lure of old ,rome1 together revisit our loved villas and win the confidences of these marble men and women who smile on us so inscrutably1 and yet with such all-compelling fascination8 ,dear ,italy1 the sound of thy soft name ,soothes me with balm of ,memory and of ,hope4 ,mine for the moment height and steep and slope ,that once were mine4 ,supreme is still the aim ,to flee the cold and grey ,of our ,december day1 ,and rest where thy clear spirit burns with unconsuming flame4 ,fount of ,romance whereat our ,shakespeare drank6 ,through him the loves of all are linked to thee1 ,by ,romeo's ardour1 ,juliet's constancy ,he sets the peasant in the royal rank1 ,shows1 under mask and paint1 ,kinship of knave and saint ,and plays on stolid man with ,prospero's wand and ,ariel's prank4 ,then take these lines and add to them the lay ,all inarticulate1 ,i to thee indite2 ,the sudden longing on the sunniest day1 ,the happy sighing in the stormiest night1 ,the tears of love that creep ,from eyes unwont to weep1 ,full with remembrance1 blind with joy and with devotion deep4#b ,,contents ,,introduction ,i4--,,the ,,eyes ,,of ,a ,,basilisk 7,vatican1 ,villa of the ,belvedere7 ,,ii4--,,the ,,finding ,,of ,,apollo 7,villa ,farnesina7 ,,iii4--,a ,,cellini ,,casket 7,villa ,madama7 ,,iv4--,,flower ,o' ,,the ,,peach 7,villa ,aldobrandini7 ,v4--,,with ,,tasso ,,at ,,villa ,d',,este 7,villa d',este7 ,,vi4--,,mondragone 7,villas ,borghese and ,mondragone7 ,,vii4--,,the ,,adventure ,,of ,,the ,,knight ,,of ,,the ,,brandished ,,lance 7,villa ,medici7 ,,viii4--,,the ,,ladies ,,of ,,palliano 7,colonna ,palace and ,castle of ,palliano7 ,,ix4--,,the ,,lure ,,of ,,old ,,rome 7,hadrian's ,villa4 ,villas d',este and ,albani7 ,illustration ,,illustrations ,,in ,,photogravure ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 ,viewing the ,newly-found ,statue of the ,apollo ,belvedere ,frontispiece ,from the painting by ,carl ,becker4 ,permission of the ,berlin ,photographic ,co4 ,the ,borgias ,from a painting by ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti4 7,pope ,alexander ,,vi4 regards the dancing children1 ,lucrezia plays the viol1 ,cesar beats time with his stiletto on the stem of a wine glass47 ,permission of ,george ,bell ,sons4 ,pope ,leo ,x4 at ,raphael's ,bier ,from the painting by ,pietro ,michis4 ,permission of ,franz ,hanfstaengl4 ,face of ,young ,girl in the ,coronation of the ,virgin ,by ,fra ,filippo ,lippi4 ,permission of ,alinari4 ,the ,floral ,games ,from the painting by ,jacques ,wagrez4 ,permission of ,braun1 ,clement ,co4 ,in the ,garden of ,villa d',este ,from a photograph by ,mr4 ,charles ,a4 ,platt4 ,choosing the ,casket ,from the painting by ,f4 ,barth4 ,permission of the ,berlin ,photographic ,co4 ,antinous as ,bacchus1 in the ,museum of the ,vatican ,permission of ,alinari4 ,illustration ,,illustrations ,,other ,,than ,,photogravure 99,caesar ,borgia 99,caterina ,sforza4 ,castle of ,forli in ,background ,by ,palmezzani4 99,unknown ,lady 7probably ,imperia7 ,by ,sebastian del ,piombo4 ,uffizi4 99,virgin and ,child ,by ,sodoma4 ,pinacoteca1 ,milan4 99,raphael and ,sodoma ,fragment of ,school of ,athens1 in the ,vatican--,raphael4 99,villa ,farnesina1 ,rome 99,giovanni ,antonio ,bazzi1 called ,sodoma ,from the portrait by himself in the ,abbey of ,monte ,oliveto ,maggiore4 99,by permission of ,messrs4 ,alinari4 99,margherita 7,la ,fornarina7 ,attributed to ,raphael4 ,pitti ,gallery1 ,florence4 99,pope ,leo ,x41 ,giulio de ,medici 7afterward ,pope ,clement ,,vii471 and ,luigi de ,rossi ,by ,raphael4 ,pitti ,gallery4 ,villa ,madama ,detail of ,vault in ,villa ,madama ,stucchi by ,giovanni da ,udine4 ,margaret of ,austria1 ,duchess of ,parma1 #aehf ,from an old engraving4 ,stucchi by ,giovanni da ,udine ,villa ,madama4 ,villa ,madama--,interior 99,villa ,aldobrandini1 ,frascati4 ,the ,grand ,cascade and ,fountain of ,atlas 99,upper ,cascade1 ,villa ,aldobrandini 99,villa d',este1 at ,tivoli--,present ,state ,hydraulic ,organ1 ,villa d',este ,villa d',este in #agdj ,from an etching by ,piranesi4 99,villa d',este--,terrace ,staircase 99,by permission of ,messrs4 ,alinari4 99,fountain in ,gardens of the ,villa ,borghese 99,pauline ,bonaparte1 ,princess ,borghese ,portrait statue by ,canova at ,villa ,borghese4 ,henri ,,iv4 ,receiving the ,portrait of ,marie de ,medici ,painted at her order by ,rubens4 ,view from the ,garden of the ,villa ,medici ,colonna ,palace1 ,rome--,the ,grand ,salon ,garden of the ,colonna ,palace1 ,rome ,with permission of ,charles ,a4 ,platt4 ,castle of ,vittoria ,colonna at ,ischia ,the ,cascade ,villa ,conti ,torlonia1 ,frascati4 ,the ,haunted ,pool ,villa ,conti ,torlonia1 ,frascati4 ,vittoria ,colonna ,from a portrait in the ,colonna ,gallery4 ,marie ,mancini1 ,princess ,colonna ,from a portrait in later life by ,netscher4 ,court of the ,massimi ,palace ,marie ,mancini ,colonna1 ,principessa di ,palliano ,by ,mignard4 ,photographische ,gesellschaft1 ,berlin4 99,by permission of ,messrs4 ,alinari4 ,antinous ,bas-relief found at ,hadrian's ,villa1 now in the ,villa ,albani4 ,ruins of a ,gallery of ,statues in ,hadrian's ,villa ,from an etching by ,piranesi4 99,villa ,pia in ,garden of the ,vatican ,pirro ,ligorio1 architect4 99,villa ,pia1 ,vatican ,the rotondo--,pirro ,ligorio1 architect4 ,eros ,bending the ,bow ,capitoline ,museum4 ,faun of ,praxiteles ,capitoline ,museum4 ,villa ,albani 99,casino1 ,villa ,albani 99,candelabra from ,hadrian's ,villa ,museum of the ,vatican4 99,urania ,museum of the ,vatican4 ,view through the ,key-hole of the ,gate of the ,villa of the ,knights of ,malta 99,by permission of ,messrs4 ,alinari4 ,,romance ,,of ,,roman ,,villas ,illustration ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,eyes ,,of ,a ,,basilisk 7,,an ,,episode ,,of ,,the ,,french ,,wars ,,in ,,italy1 ,,from ,,the ,,memoirs ,,of ,,the ,,good ,,knight ,,yves ,d',,allegre7 ,i ,there is not one that looketh upon her eyes but he dieth presently4 ,the like property has the basilisk4 ,a white spot or star she carrieth on her head and setteth it out like a diadem4 ,if she but hiss no other serpent dare come near4--,,pliny4 ,a strange story is mine1 not of love but of hatred1 the slow coiling of a human serpent about its prey1 with something more than human in the sudden deliverance which came from so unexpected a quarter when all hope had gone and struggle ceased4 ,certes1 ,i am not one of your practised romancers thus to reveal my plot at the beginning1 and yet1 with all ,i have told1 you will never guess in what mysterious guise1 yet so subtly that it seemed a breath of wind had but fluttered a leaf of paper1 the enemy we feared was struck with such opportune paralysis4 ,let those who doubt the truth of this tale or the existence of the basilisk question ,cesare ,borgia1 for we saw the creature at the same time as we rode together near ,imola in northern ,italy4 ,it was the beginning of that campaign in which ,i1 much against my will1 was in command of the ,french troops1 which his ,majesty ,louis ,,xii4 had sent to aid his ally in the conquest of ,romagna4 ,i would far liefer have gone with my brother knights deputed to sustain ,louis's right to the ,milanese1 for it is one thing to fight honourably for ,france and another1 as ,i soon discovered1 to aid a villain in the massacre of his own countrymen1 and all for aims in which ,i had no interest4 ,but it was only by degrees that ,i was enlightened concerning the character of ,borgia4 ,he was brave beyond doubt1 and courage had for me great fascination4 ,i never saw him flinch but once1 and that before a thing which seemed so trivial that ,i counted it but a matter of physical repulsion4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,caesar ,borgia ,we were riding thus side by side in advance of our men1 when a small snake darted from the thicket and hissed its puny defiance4 ,i stooped from my saddle1 impaled it on my sword1 and waved it writhing in the air4 ,but ,cesare1 to my astonishment1 turned deadly pale and galloped incontinently in the opposite direction4 ,when ,i rejoined him after throwing the reptile into the underbrush he explained the seizure4 ,the astrologer1 ,ormes1 had predicted that he would meet his death neither from natural sickness nor from poison1 nor yet by the sword or cord1 but from the eye of a basilisk4 ,and what manner of creature may that be8 ,i asked1 wonderingly4 ,it is a serpent1 he replied1 but one so rare in ,italy that not once in a century is it met with4 ,the monster is gifted with the evil eye1 killing whomsoever it looks upon4 ,it bears a star-shaped spot upon its head1 and when you whirled yon reptile in the air methought ,i discerned its baleful flash4 ,and so you did1 ,i replied1 but you need have no apprehension1 the creature is blind4 ,blind6 he repeated incredulously4 ,of a verity4 ,its eyes have long since been removed1 for the flesh has grown over the empty sockets4 ,then1 said ,cesare1 some wizard must have extracted them to serve him in his black art1 and has let the serpent go free knowing that it is only by the eye of a living basilisk that this prodigy can be wrought4 ,fortunately you have killed it and there is no longer any danger4 ,nay1 ,i replied1 ,i but wounded the creature4 ,it crawled away when it fell4 ,then he who holds its eyes holdeth my life and by his hand ,i shall die1 he stammered with white lips4 ,little thought ,i then that ,cesare's inhuman cruelty and perfidy would cause me to thank ,god for his belief in the creature's malignancy and that the basilisk was to aid in the one episode which was in some measure to take the evil taste of this campaign from my mouth4 ,only a few weeks later1 on the first of ,january1 #aejj1 our combined forces began in earnest the assault of the citadel of ,forli1 which we had held in siege throughout the previous month4 ,little stomach had ,i for the business1 since to my shame ,i was making war upon a woman4 ,imola which had already surrendered to us1 was also her fief1 but had she commanded its forces in person we would not have taken it so easily4 ,for fighting blood ran in the veins of the ,lady of ,forli1 she being the grand-daughter of the great condottiere ,francesco ,sforza4 ,and this was not the first time that she had fought for her castle4 ,she had come to it first as the bride of ,girolamo ,riario1 but the townspeople had refused to recognise his authority and had stabbed him to death1 throwing his naked1 mutilated body into the moat before her windows4 ,the young widow instantly trained the guns of the citadel upon the town1 and when it surrendered caused the murderers and their families to be hacked in pieces2 and this was but one of many instances reported of her dauntless and vindictive character4 ,she had remarried1 but her second husband1 ,giovanni de' ,medici1 had recently died1 and ,caterina ,sforza ,riario de' ,medici1 in spite of her noble birth and connexions1 had none to help her4 ,if ,cesare ,borgia had not already married perchance the opportunity would have been offered her to add another great name to those she already bore1 for he recognised in this tigerish woman a fitting mate4 ,he hated her indeed1 but one does not hate one's inferiors1 one despises or pets them1 and ,cesare hated the ,lady of ,forli because he knew that he could never master her4 ,therefore on ,new ,year's ,day1 we having1 as ,i have said1 drawn our forces so closely about the citadel that for weeks past not a mouse could escape1 ,cesare before ordering the assault sent me to its lady with sealed conditions of capitulation4 ,i thought1 as ,i rode across the draw-bridge with the white truce pennon fluttering from my lance1 how at that other siege when summoned to surrender on pain of having her children put to death before her walls1 this unnatural mother had replied coldly3 ,children are more easily replaced than castles1 and ,i was unprepared for the vision which greeted me in the gloomy hall4 ,for ,caterina was no repulsive termagant1 but a woman of marvellous charm4 ,this fascination was something quite different from ordinary beauty4 ,its seat was in her eyes1 which many thought not at all beautiful1 for they were like those gems called aquamarine1 of a puzzling tint varying from blue to green1 lustrous and lapping the beholder with their gentle lambency1 except when passion moved her1 when ,i have seen them glow with a menacing light as though they might shoot forth green flames4 ,but now she was all loveliness4 ,the vicissitudes of her tragic life had left no trace except the slight scowl1 which might be due to defective vision1 for from the curiously linked chatelaine there depended a lorgnon with which she had a nervous trick of trifling4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,catenna ,sforza ,castle of ,forli in ,background ,by ,palmezzani ,she leaned forward as ,i entered1 her lips a little apart and her cheeks glowing with excitement4 ,you have brought me a message from your commander8 she asked1 and ,i presented the letter4 ,but as she read her colour flamed to deeper crimson and her small hands tore the missive in fragments4 ,and these are the terms proposed by a belted knight1 companion of ,bayard sans reproche2 this your fufilment of your sworn devoir to women in distress8 ,then here is my answer1 and she dashed the bits of paper in my face1 for my garrison will prefer annihilation rather than permit me to submit to such indignity4 ,believe me1 ,i protested1 that1 far from assisting in the framing of those terms1 ,i am in utter ignorance of their purport4 ,believe also that though what ,i have hitherto heard has not prepossessed me in your favour1 ,i now count those charges as lying slanders1 knowing that no evil soul could inhabit so lovely a person4 ,her lip curled scornfully4 ,i have listened to lovers' flatteries ere this1 she answered1 and know how little they are worth4 ,by your pardon1 ,i retorted1 ,i am a lover indeed1 but none of yours4 ,it is because ,i love my good wife in ,auvergne that ,i honour all women4 ,she had lifted her eyeglass as though to scan my face the more keenly to know if ,i spoke the truth2 but apparently my words alone convinced her1 and1 feeling the discourtesy of such an act1 she looked about the room irresolutely and let the lorgnon fall without meeting my eyes4 ,good1 she said at length1 ,i like you better for that word4 ',tis a pity we must be enemies4 ,tell your master that ,i shall defend my fortress to the last extremity4 ,if ,i am so unfortunate as to be conquered1 demand that he appoint you my jailer1 for to no one else will ,i submit myself alive4 ,i have taken part in many sieges but never saw ,i a more gallant defence than the one made by that doomed citadel4 ,its besiegers were quartered within the town1 fattening on the supplies which flowed in from the country and sleeping warm at night1 while the garrison of the castle burned its carved wainscotings for fuel and daily buried some famine-stricken sentry4 ,twice with blazing missiles ,caterina's archers set fire to the houses within range of her guns1 striving by destroying the homes of her own people to drive us from our shelter1 and once in the dead of night she made sortie and strove to cut her way through only to be beaten back4 ,she seemed more a deluding spirit of evil leading us on to our own destruction than an ordinary mortal1 and when ,cesare gave orders to bombard the castle it made our flesh creep to see her seated nonchalantly upon the ramparts scanning the artillerymen through her lorgnon1 laughing when their shots went wild1 and clapping her hands when they tore off fragments of the parapet on which she leaned as though she were but applauding a play4 ,that very night an epidemic so deadly broke out among the cannoneers that some foolishly superstitious declared she had bewitched them with the evil eye1 and others as falsely that the springs in the hills above the castle which supplied the fountains of the town were poisoned at her command4 ,but the inevitable day came when the ,lady of ,forli announced that she was ready to surrender4 ,even then she demanded lenient and honourable terms as though mistress of the situation4 ,there must be neither bloodshed nor pillage4 ,the allegiance of her subjects should be transferred indeed to ,cesare as ,duke of ,romagna1 and she offered herself and her children as hostages for their loyalty1 but not to ,cesare4 ,they would trust themselves only to the watch-care of the ,pope1 and she stipulated that the ,french troops should be their body-guard to ,rome4 ,cesare laughed maliciously4 ,she is as safe in my care as in that of his ,holiness1 he said1 and it is to my interest that the boy alone should die4 ,it was the great statesman ,machiavelli who counselled that when a city was captured every male heir to its former lord should be slain1 to guard against uprisings in the future4 ,i will take her son into my own safe-conduct1 but you may escort his sisters and mother in welcome1 for ,i have no wish to come within the range of her quizzing glasses4 ,when ,i reported this to ,caterina she shuddered slightly and answered questioningly1 ,from ,cesare's so great personal solicitude ,i gather that the health of the young duke might suffer at the ,borgia's table8 ,to these alarms ,i could not reply reassuringly1 but the lady presently laughed gleefully4 ,this is not a recent thought of mine1 she said4 ,the idea occurred to me when ,cesare first laid claim to our estates4 ,tell him that ,i cannot take advantage of his kind offer for ,i sent my son before the siege to join his cousin and godfather1 ,cardinal de' ,medici1 in his exile4 ,the ,cardinal's family feeling extends even to his most distant relatives and the boy could have no better guardian4 ,surely it is fortunate that you were so wise1 ,i replied1 and even ,cesare had no doubt that she spoke truly4 ,it was the twelfth of ,january1 the very day of the surrender1 that ,i set out with my captives for the ,eternal ,city4 ,caterina was conveyed in her litter with her elder daughter1 but the younger insisted on riding on horseback at my side4 ,she was an ugly little hoyden of five years1 this ,giovanna1 who1 squat of stature and swarthy as a gypsy1 bestrode her little pony like a man2 but1 though by nature stubborn and subject to fits of anger in which she bit and scratched like a wildcat1 to me she had taken a fancy as intense as it was inexplicable4 ,when ,i upbraided her manners as ill befitting a little maid1 and marvelled at her unlikeness to her mother1 she made answer3 ,nay1 but mamma can scratch also4 ,you should have seen the face of the messenger who told us that the town of ,forli had opened its gates to the besiegers4 ,i am like my father in looks1 but ,i have my mother's spirit4 ,cardinal de' ,medici said that if my father had worn the petticoat and my mother had been the man1 the ,medici would be ruling now in ,florence4 ,would you like to rule1 little princess8 ,i asked4 ,nay1 ,i would rather fight4 ,when ,i am grown ,i will be a great condottiere like you1 ,sir ,knight4 ,tush6 ,i reproved her4 ,a girl a condottiere--who ever heard of such a prodigy8 ,the child smiled mysteriously4 ,i have a mind to tell you a secret1 she said4 ,giovanna1 ,giovanna6 her mother called1 beckoning from her litter1 but the little maid had fast hold of my stirrup leather1 and pulled me close while she confided3 ,i am not ,giovanna1 ,i am not a girl at all4 ,i am ,giovanni de' ,medici1 ,duke of ,forli1 and one of these days ,i will cut off that ,borgia man's head4 ,but fear not2 ,i will be good to you if only you do not tell4 ,illustration ,illustration3 ,the ,borgias ,from a painting by ,dante ,gabriel ,rossetti4 7,pope ,alexander ,,vi4 regards the dancing children1 ,lucrezia plays the viol1 ,cesar beats time with his stiletto on the stem of a wine glass47 ,permission of ,george ,bell ,sons ,i had no mind to tell1 and though ,i let the ,duchess know that her little son had betrayed his disguise1 and reproached her for bringing him into the wolf's jaws1 ,i swore to her that the secret should be safe in my keeping4 ,,ii ,the bob of gold ,which a pomander ball doth hold1 ,this to her side she doth attach ,with gold crochet or ,french pennache4 ,then raises to her eyes of blue ,her lorgnon1 as she looks at you4 ,arrived at ,rome1 the ,pope assigned the captives to the ,villa of the ,belvedere1 so named from a graceful tower which shot high above the encircling walls1 and commanded a delightful prospect4 ,a charming garden connected the villa with the ,vatican1 but it was none the less a prison whose only approach or egress was through the corridors of the papal palace4 ,the ,lady of ,forli had been received with hypocritical cordiality by the family of the ,pope at one of those intimate gatherings in the ,borgia apartments which1 devoted to song1 dance1 and feasting were greatly enjoyed by ,alexander and his children1 and so shamelessly disgraced the residence consecrated to the head of the ,church4 ,cesare upon his return would find in them an opportunity for meeting his prisoner1 and1 if she denied him further familiarity1 he held the power of executing swift vengeance4 ,it behooved us therefore to act quickly and before the arrival of my superior4 ,the only hope which seemed to me at all reasonable was of ,french interference4 ,cardinal d',amboise was in ,milan1 having recently arrived from the ,french ,court1 and acting upon my advice the ,lady of ,forli appealed through him to the ,king of ,france1 ,i urging her petition with every conceivable argument4 ,while anxiously awaiting his reply ,i took advantage of my authority as her body-guard to station a ,french sentinel at her door1 relinquishing my own cook to protect her from poisoning1 and my faithful valet as groom and guardian of the children4 ,but all these precautions were swept away by ,cesare on his arrival in the middle of ,february4 ,for he sent me at that time a curt note stating that after we had taken part in the triumph granted him by the ,pope in recognition of his victories in ,romagna1 he would have no further need either of my troops or myself2 and we would be at liberty to report ourselves at ,milan to the commander of the ,french army4 ,the triumph to which he referred consisted of a procession with allegorical floats and every description of gala costume4 ,the houses along its course were hung with brilliant draperies2 flags and pennons should wave1 martial music bray1 and salvos of artillery were to be fired at frequent intervals4 ,but the principal feature of the demonstration and the one on which the ,pope counted to raise popular enthusiasm to the point of delirium was to be the parade of the captives4 ,cesare1 in emulation of the celebration of the conquest of ,palmyra by the ,emperor ,aurelian1 had conceived the brilliant idea of compelling ,caterina to walk in the procession bound like ,zenobia with golden chains4 ,hitherto ,caterina and ,i had discussed with each other every plan of action1 but now unfortunately we had no opportunity of taking counsel with one another4 ,still she had been accustomed too long to self-reliance to hesitate for that reason1 and divining by a flash of woman's intuition how this spectacle might be converted into an opportunity of escape1 she consented gracefully to ,cesare's plans1 requesting only that the ,french troops should march as her guard4 ,to this arrangement ,cesare gave his ready acquiescence1 promising also of his own accord that ,i should ride directly behind her and beside her children4 ,it was well thought out1 for she had counted not alone upon my assistance1 but had determined to use every detail of the programme which ,cesare had devised to rouse the populace of ,rome to aid in her rescue4 ,she robed herself therefore in most becoming though sable garments1 allowing her veil of thinnest gauze to flutter artfully and display her beautiful face while the long velvet sleeves open to the shoulder showed the double manacles at the wrist and above the elbow1 made purposely too tight and cutting into the lovely rounded arm4 ,growls of indignation from the men and cries of sympathy from the women rose as they marked her fatigue1 and how ruthlessly the men-at-arms who led her dragged her on1 and the demonstration was a triumph to ,caterina rather than to ,cesare4 ,as the float representing the dismantled citadel of ,forli tottered by with her little girls upon the battlements1 waving1 the one the bull-blazoned ensign of the ,borgias and the other the reversed and degraded arms of the ,medici1 shouts of ,shame1 shame6 were heard1 and the riotous crowd surged so close to the float that it was impossible for it to proceed4 ,we had reached at this critical juncture the ,porta del ,popolo and through its open gates the via ,flaminia stretching straight to the north across the free ,campagna was discernible4 ,with that sight ,i comprehended ,caterina's intention and at the same instant the boy-girl ,giovanni let fall the ,borgia emblem1 which was instantly trampled in the mire by the mob1 and snatching the banner bearing the ,medici balls from his sister's hand he waved it triumphantly in its proper position1 crying ,palle1 palle6 ,rescue1 rescue6 ,then it was that ,caterina had counted on my trusty ,frenchmen to sweep her and her children on to liberty while the mob hindered pursuit4 ,but alas6 ,cesare had suspected some such plot1 and had interposed between the prisoners and my brave troopers his own corps of veteran pikemen4 ,for an instant they wavered1 for ,caterina had sprung upon the float and was gazing at them through her lorgnon4 ,they remembered what had happened to the gunners at ,forli1 and shuddered1 but the mob attacking them with paving stones interposed a screen between them and the danger they dreaded and roused their mettle4 ,with their old war cry their first battalion charged the rioters while their second division1 halting1 kept back my men4 ,as the full signification of this lost opportunity overwhelmed me1 ,i could not in my mortification meet ,caterina's reproachful eyes4 ,her last gallant stroke for liberty had failed through my lack of co-operation4 ,cesare's pikemen enclosed her with a wall of bristling spears2 the populace slunk into side alleys1 the gates of the ,porta del ,popolo had been closed during the tumult1 and the procession resumed its line of march in the direction of the castle of ,st4 ,angelo4 ,as ,i cursed my stupidity1 ,cesare1 purple with rage1 rode back to me with ,giovanni struggling wildly in his arms4 ,take this brat of a girl to the ,belvedere1 he commanded1 and beat her soundly4 ,but as ,i lifted the child before me he ceased not to shriek to ,cesare3 ,beat me if you dare4 ,i am no girl-brat4 ,i am ,giovanni de' ,medici1 ,duke of ,forli6 ,there was a chance that ,cesare had not rightly understood him1 for ,i had held my hand over the boy's mouth4 ,i would not save him and desert his mother1 so ,i rode with him to the ,belvedere2 but ,i paused on the way to obtain a rope-ladder1 and to conceal it in a basket of fruit which ,i bade ,giovanni give to his mother4 ,i dared not write a letter had there been time to ,i do so1 but the child was intelligent and ,i made him repeat my message again and again4 ,with the help of the ladder they must descend at midnight into the garden of the ,belvedere1 and climb by the rose espalier to the top of the garden wall4 ,i would be on horseback on the other side and would receive them in my arms4 ,then with forged passports ,i would take them to ,milan4 ,a light in the window of the tower at eleven would signify her acquiescence in this plan4 ,but at the time appointed ,i saw no light1 and though my men waited in the lofts of the stable where their horses stood ready saddled1 and ,i paced the lane on the hither side of the garden wall until dawn1 no fugitives joined me4 ,when ,i returned to my lodgings at daybreak ,i found a summons from the ,pope awaiting me which bade me attend him at the ,vatican at his morning levee4 ,presently1 too1 a man in ,cesare's livery brought me the basket of fruit and the rope-ladder which ,i had sent to ,caterina4 ,my master bade me return this to you1 said the lackey1 as you may find it useful for your own needs in future4 ,i understood the cold sarcasm of the message4 ,i was to be imprisoned1 and ,i did not flatter myself that any opportunity for use of a rope-ladder would be left me4 ,but in that supreme moment it was not my own doom that ,i thought upon but that of the unfortunate ,lady of ,forli4 ,as ,i prepared to obey the papal summons my landlady brought me a letter which had arrived during my absence1 the long-expected instructions from ,cardinal d',amboise4 ,they called me and my troop to ,milan--the ,pope would not dare controvert that command2 and as my eye sought eagerly for an answer to my appeal for ,caterina it caught at the bottom of the page this line3 ,as for ,caterina ,sforza ,riario de' ,medici and her children---- ,trembling with excitement ,i turned the leaf but my hopes died within me as ,i read on3 ----that belligerent and unwomanly woman hath but received her just deserts4 ,we are to be congratulated that her fortresses and her army fell into the power of our ally before it was possible for her to aid her uncle ,lodovico ,sforza1 usurper of ,milan1 at present our prisoner4 ,our fortunes are now so assured either by conquest or alliance that all the leading families of northern ,italy are on our side4 ,even the ,medici are with us4 ,sooner or later---- ,here ,i turned a page again4 ,they must be returned to ,florence1 as the ,king desires the good will of the ,medici4 ,there was more to the effect that the ,cardinal desired me to kiss for him the hands of his ,holiness1 and to assure both him and ,cesare that--if their promise to the ,king of ,france were carried out--they would ever find in the ,french army a sure defence4 ,but all this seemed of little moment to me since the letter contained no hope for ,caterina4 ,i thrust it in my pouch and pursued my way to the ,vatican1 cudgelling my brains for some other means by which to save her4 ,was there1 ,i questioned1 no motive within the complicated mechanism of ,cesare's mind upon which ,i could play8 ,was there nothing which he held sacred1 no terror in earth or hell which could daunt his inexorable will8 ,then suddenly ,i remembered the flaw in his armour1 and that he who could neither be persuaded by friendship nor coerced by authority trembled before a baseless superstition--the dread of the evil eye4 ,i had still a card to play1 and would continue the game resolutely to the end4 ,it might be that ,i could arm his captive with the one weapon which he feared4 ,with this thought in my mind ,i came upon ,cesare suddenly1 in the ante-room of the ,pope's audience chamber4 ,ah1 he exclaimed maliciously1 you thought to anticipate me in gaining my father's ear4 ,i confess ,i had the same intention4 ,well1 since chance will have it so1 we will go in together4 ,one moment1 ,i replied2 ,i am glad to have met you thus opportunely1 for ,i have a word of warning for you4 ,of warning8 he questioned4 ,yes1 ,i replied1 in return for that you so kindly sent me with the rope-ladder this morning4 ,you may need mine first4 ,let me beg you to pursue the ,lady of ,forli no further4 ,if you do not instantly let her go free she may work you a terrible mischief--the only one you dread4 ,the scornful smile which had curled his lip died out1 and though he asked my meaning ,i knew he already had an inkling of it4 ,you remember the eyeless basilisk which we found near ,imola8 ,he nodded and caught my hand4 ,she has the eyes8 he asked4 ,nay1 you need not answer1 ,i know where she keeps them1--in the pomander that hangs always at her chatelaine4 ,that is no pomander1 ,i replied1 but a lorgnon4 ,she is near-sighted2 have you not noted1 as she looks from her window of the ,belvedere how she scans the objects in the garden through its lenses8 ,she was looking for me1 he chattered insanely1 she was looking for me through the eyes of the basilisk2 but ,i am not so dull as you think4 ,i have long suspected this1 and when she glared at my men as they charged the rioters ,i struck the diabolical things from her hand with the flat of my sword4 ,i know not where they fell but she has them no longer4 ,be not so sure of that1 ,i ventured with a grimace1 which ,i strove to make a smile4 ,i found the lorgnon in the street and carried it back to the ,belvedere4 ,be warned and anger her no more4 ,it was a thoughtful and friendly act1 he sneered exultantly1 but useless1 dear fellow1 quite useless4 ,mal vedere should that falsely named villa be called2 but neither for good nor for evil will she evermore gaze forth from any casement4 ,she and the son whom she thought to palm off as a girl lie at this moment in a windowless dungeon in the vaults of the castle of ,st4 ,angelo4 ,i had thought for a moment to give you guest-room beside her1 but you have warned me of her designs1 and my father argues that we must not anger the ,french ,king in any fashion4 ,had he demanded my prisoners ,i might even have lost this dear revenge1 but now ,i shall give orders to their gaoler that he waste no good money on their nourishment4 ,in less than a week's time their career and my danger will be over4 ,i would have strangled him as he stood there but at that instant the doors of the audience-chamber flew open and the ,pope1 attended by his guards1 stood between us4 ,he extended his left hand1 which ,cesare kissed1 and he gave me his benediction with the other4 ,i have sent for you1 my friend1 he said1 to bid you farewell1 for ,i have just received word from ,cardinal d',amboise that you and your good fellows are needed in the ,milanese4 ,the ,cardinal informs me that he has written you by the same post4 ,may ,i read the letter8 ,perchance ,i may gain from it a clearer understanding concerning his desires and how we may forward them4 ,i will go and fetch it1 ,i stammered1 for the request was a demand1 and the thought came to me that ,i might cut out all reference to the ,lady of ,forli from the letter4 ,i think we shall not need to trouble you to do so1 cried the lynx-eyed ,cesare4 ,your pouch is open1 and if ,i mistake not that is the handwriting of the ,cardinal4 ,he had snatched the letter1 and it was in his father's hand before he had said half these words4 ,i am not a man given to prayer1 but from the bitterness of my despair my soul cried silently in that instant1 ,o ,god1 save her1 for vain is the help of man6 ,the ,pope ran his eye quickly along the lines without speaking until he came to the name of the ,lady of ,forli4 ,as to ,caterina ,sforza ,riario de' ,medici and her children--he read aloud with illy suppressed excitement1 and then in his eagerness to know more he turned two pages at once1 without perceiving that the one which should have followed next adhered to that which he had just read--,as to ,caterina ,sforza ,riario de' ,medici and her children1 he repeated1 they must be returned to ,florence1 as the ,king desires the good will of the ,medici4 ,in utter stupefaction1 ,i could not at first understand how this misreading had chanced4 ,hem1 hem6 grunted the ,pope--but she is only the widow of a member of the cadet branch1 a person of no importance4 ,i see not why the ,king of ,france should concern himself with her fate4 ,nevertheless1 since our prisoners have his patronage1 they shall be detained no longer4 ,i will write to the ,florentine signory commending the lady and her children to their loving watch-care1 and as you1 ,sir ,yves1 have been their conductor hither1 so shall you escort them to their destination4 ,cesare could not gainsay his father's command4 ,an hour later the gates of ,st4 ,angelo opened for the departure of the ,lady of ,forli and her children4 ,i waited not for any chance of fate to turn backward the wheel of fortune1 and as my faithful troop galloped into line about her litter1 ,i gave the triumphant order-- ,to ,florence4 ,she dwells there even as ,i write these chronicles1 in the ,medicean villa of ,castello1 and as at first she dared not keep her little son with her 7the men of the ,medici being banished from ,florence71 she confided him1 still habited in girlish disguise1 to the care of a community of nuns1 who kept a seminary for the daughters of noble families4 ,but at length1 on the restoration of the ,medici1 he issued from that retreat1 and is now being bred to the profession of arms1 in the which he bids fair to realise the ambitions confided to me as we rode from ,forli1 what time ,i deemed him the most unmannerly little princess which it had been my lot to meet4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,finding ,,of ,,apollo 7,,an ,,escapade ,,of ,,bazzi',s7 ,i ,giovanni ,antonio ,bazzi 7called ,sodoma7 to ,giulio ,romano1 painter and architect at ,mantua4 ,good ,friend and sometime ,pot-,comrade3 ,by the which epithet ,i would signify that comradeship at ,chigi's villa at ,rome in orgies of paint pots and brushes1 flesh pots and flagons1 feasts of reason and of unreason1 wherein we were alike insatiable until the light of our revels went out in the death of our adored ,raphael4 ,you write me that in the intervals of your labour you are piecing together memoirs of those glorious ,roman days in order to leave to the world some record of the more intimate private life of our friend1 and you ask me for any anecdotes or remembered conversations which may fill out this sheaf of tribute4 ,faith1 you1 who have a whole garden of such souvenirs from which to cull1 in that you shared his labours1 his home1 his confidence and his largess1 have come to a wild and barren pasture for such sweet flowers2 and yet there was love between us1 love which ever radiated from him as it were sunshine and caused many a briar-rose to blossom in the thorny tangle of my life4 ,i knew him also before you1 in the summer of #aejc1 at ,siena2 and it is of certain pranks in that early comradeship that ,i will now write4 ,raphael was then a youth of scarce twenty years4 ,he had come fresh from his apprenticeship to that old pietist ,perugino1 to assist in the decoration of the cathedral library4 ,i was twenty-four1 but older far in world-knowledge1 and exulting in my first success as a painter1 for though the spoiled favourite of the town ,i stood facile princeps among the ,sienese of my craft4 ,we met first at ,cetinale1 the villa of our patron1 ,agostino ,chigi4 ,from the first ,raphael's honest admiration of my work warmed me to friendship and ,i strove to enlighten his ignorance4 ,chigi had placed at our joint disposition a loft in his stables which we fitted up as a studio and bed-chamber1 and hither we resorted for work or play as opportunity and inclination moved us4 ,it was oftener play for me1 for ,i was more interested in my host's horses in those days than in my art4 ,chigi and ,i were both amateurs of the race-track and though he spent enormous sums on his stud ,i had once beaten him at the palio4 ,in spite of this we were good friends4 ,i had the run of his stables and many a reckless ride have we enjoyed together4 ,i was fond of all sports which were spiced with danger1 and particularly of hunting4 ,but there was no sport ,i loved so well as a practical joke1 no game that for me had so delicious a flavour as the teasing of my friends and especially the more serious and dignified--though such pranks have frequently cost me dear4 ,from the multitude of which ,i have been guilty ,i recall one which had different consequences from those ,i had foreseen4 ,i was hunting in the neighbourhood of ,siena late one afternoon in the summer of which ,i speak4 ,chigi was detained at his villa in the expectation of guests1 and ,i was alone save for the company of my ape1 ,ciacco1 which ,i had purchased of some strolling ,bohemians4 ,i was training the creature to retrieve my game1 in which service he was extremely zealous and clever4 ,we had ridden far and were both parched with thirst1 when ,i paused to rest in the shadow of a ruined tower which crowned a hill and commanded the road to ,siena4 ,two sumpter mules1 guarded by armed men1 had just passed on in the direction of the city1 and following at some distance in the rear two travellers1 an elderly man and a young girl1 were approaching the tower where at that moment ,i chanced to be stationed4 ,in spite of the fact that their horses were jaded they were pushing them to the utmost1 anxious1 doubtless1 to rejoin their convoy and to gain ,siena before the closing of the gates4 ,i doubt not1 that1 armed as ,i was1 and with wind-disordered hair1 ,i presented in front of that grim barbican a sufficiently sinister appearance4 ,certain it is they took me for a bandit and their faces blanched4 ,the man retained some vestiges of self-possession1 however1 and1 doffing his hat1 craved permission to pass4 ,apprehending the situation1 the spirit of mischief with which ,i am at all times possessed moved me to personate the character for which he took me1 and ,i gruffly bade him stand and deliver toll of the valuables he carried4 ,my property has preceded me1 he replied unsteadily1 but ,i will blow this whistle and bid the knaves unload it for your worship's choice4 ,nay1 ,i replied1 my merry men are dealing with your servants4 ,i am a robber-knight1 it is true1 but one not altogether devoid of courtesy4 ,i therefore ask but a kiss from your pretty daughter1 and that small melon which dangles in the netted pouch at her saddle-bow1 for which my thirsty ape is gibbering4 ,if the traveller had been pale hitherto he was livid now4 ,not that1 not that1 he cried2 hold me in ransom if you will1 but let my niece pass on unmolested4 ,she will send back whatever sum you demand1 for we have wealthy friends in ,siena4 ,is it so8 ,i replied2 then ,i will forego the kiss1 which is doubtless reserved for a wealthier suitor1 but the fruit you will not deny1 for ,i have ridden far to-day1 and have the thirst of the evil one4 ,the man's only reply was to cut the girl's horse so savagely across the flanks that the frightened creature dashed past while his own horse blocked my pursuit4 ,but ,ciacco1 perceiving that the coveted fruit was about to be lost1 in three flying leaps overtook the fugitive and clambering up the lady's draperies seized on the swaying pouch1 which his sharp teeth managed to unravel1 and presently came hopping back1 man-like upon his hind feet1 the melon clasped within his hairy arms4 ,my prisoner uttered a wail of anguish4 ,one would have thought the ape's trifling booty an inestimable treasure1 for he rode so furiously toward ,ciacco that the ape dropped the melon and scampered up a neighbouring tree4 ,but my blood was up4 ,i was not to be defrauded of my prey1 and as the traveller was on the point of dismounting1 ,i fired my arquebus in the air1 and so terrified his horse that it galloped after the fleeing maiden4 ,its rider was also well frightened1 for1 though he drew rein uncertainly when he saw me possess myself of his luncheon1 when ,i fired again 7though purposely wide of the mark7 both travellers resumed their flight1 nor paused until they had gained ,siena4 ,i laughed to myself at the success of my prank1 thinking of the added mirth ,i should enjoy in telling the tale that evening4 ,meantime ,i hastened to rescue the melon from my pet1 but his strong hands had already rent it asunder1 and to my astonishment there rolled from its interior and broke open upon the flinty road a little casket for which the rind had been but the concealing envelope4 ,i was in very truth a highwayman1 for unaware ,i had stolen the travellers' treasure4 ,the melon had hidden a quantity of jewels1 which now besprinkled the dust2 rubies1 emeralds1 pearls1 sapphires1 beryls1 as well as semi-precious stones such as jacinths1 onyx1 and sardonyx1 rendered more costly than their brilliant fellows by the skill with which they had been cut into cameos and intaglios4 ,it needed but a glance at an amethyst incised with a scene from the history of ,cupid1 and ,psyche1 and at another larger stone bearing a marvellous ,apollo and ,marsyas1 to realise that they were antiques of inestimable value1 the collection of some great prince4 ,i gathered up the gems by handfuls and stuffed them into my wallet4 ,i was sobered by the realisation of the enormity of my crime1 for ,i had possessed myself1 vi et armis1 of jewels worth a king's ransom2 and ,i had no clue by which ,i could safely return them4 ,i sifted the dust with my fingers1 explored ,ciacco's mouth1 and gathered up the fragments of the melon-rind that no stray gem should escape me2 but it was with sincere repentance and the gravest apprehensions that ,i took my way to ,villa ,cetinale4 ,repairing to the stables1 ,i put up my horse and climbed with my booty to my loft4 ,raphael was not there1 and tying ,ciacco to my bed-post ,i again examined the gems1 gloating over their beauty and yet wishing with all my heart that they had never come into my possession4 ,i compared them with a list in the box1 found none missing1 and returning them to the little casket carefully corded and sealed the same1 and sat for a long time racking my brains for some issue from the dilemma4 ,i was awakened from my dreams by a servant who announced that dinner was served1 and that his master awaited my coming to present me to his guests4 ,while hastily dressing1 ,i resolved at the first opportunity to confide frankly in ,chigi and to take his advice in the matter4 ,having thus lightly shifted the responsibility from my mind1 and not being able to think of any better method of concealment1 ,i once more placed the casket within the melon with the intention of returning for it in the course of the evening1 and so hastened to my friend's table4 ,here what was my astonishment at being presented to the very persons who had figured in my adventure1 and who proved to be ,messer ,bernardo ,dovizio1 ,chancellor of his ,eminence ,cardinal ,giovanni de' ,medici1 and his niece ,maria1 whose beauty was somewhat lessened by weariness and the traces of recent tears4 ,the ,chancellor1 also1--who to my relief did not recognise me1--was by no means in good form1 nor did he regale us with any of those witty stories for which he is so justly famed1 but sighed and groaned between every mouthful4 ,his misfortune had so afflicted him that he could not keep silence1 and disregarding my presence1 which indeed he hardly noticed1 he poured forth the cause of his woe4 ,the gems which he had lost were a part of the famous collection of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 which his son1 the ,cardinal ,giovanni1 had carried with him in his flight from ,florence1 and was now secretly sending by his ,chancellor in the expectation of pledging them to ,chigi1 in return for bills of exchange which would serve him in good stead during his exile in ,france4 ,the faithful ,dovizio1 devoted to the ,cardinal's service1 as he had been to that of his father1 was in an agony of despair4 ,i will bring this highwayman to the gallows1 he continually repeated4 ,i will move heaven and earth to discover the villain4 ,have you any guess as to whom he may be8 ,i asked1 for the humour of the matter grew apace upon me4 ,certainly not of his name1 replied ,chigi1 but the description given by my friend is so exact that he cannot fail to be discovered4 ,a man of gigantic stature1 repeated the ,chancellor1 with eyes of green fire gleaming from under his matted hair1 a raucous voice which ,i could not fail to recognise2 and on his croup an enormous baboon1 as dangerous and malignant a beast as his master1 trained also to like acts of brigandage1 for it attacked my niece and robbed her while ,i held the bandit in play with my sword4 ,the baboon will bring him to justice1 said ,chigi1 for it so happened that he had never seen ,ciacco2 there is no such creature in ,siena4 ,this description shall be sent to every town in the vicinity and the miscreant will be easily identified4 ,i could scarcely conceal my amusement1 but turning to the ,signorina ,i asked her if she could recognise their assailant4 ,of a surety1 she rejoined though ,i cannot corroborate my uncle's description4 ,the brigand's eyes were not green1 for ,i marked them well1 and they were black and merry as your own1 nor was his voice harsh1 but sweetly cadenced4 ,indeed now ,i bethink me you resemble him in other particulars4 ,you resemble that villain not at all1 young man1 interrupted her uncle4 ,he was twice your weight and bulk4 ,i would know him anywhere and at our next meeting he shall not escape me4 ,truly1 ,i said1 a most lamentable mischance1 and to think that you lost not only the jewels but your fruit as well4 ,however1 since you have a fondness for melons ,i may be able to furnish this repast with a desert of your liking1 and if our host will excuse my absence ,i will fetch it4 ,i ran to my loft bubbling over with appreciation of the exceeding wittiness of my own joke1 but on opening my door a cry of dismay escaped me4 ,my window was broken1 the cord which had tied ,ciacco gnawed through1 and both the ape and the casket had disappeared4 ,nemesis had now loaded me with a despair identical with that of ,bernardo ,dovizio's4 ,like him1 ,i foresaw myself suspected of having stolen the jewels4 ,the amusing joke had assumed the proportions of a dangerous situation1 and since ,i could not restore my ill-gotten gains ,i rashly determined to make no confession4 ,i reflected that though the ,signorina ,dovizio might have shrewd suspicions she could bring forward no proofs4 ,ciacco1 my compromising partner in crime1 had fled4 ,no one at the villa knew that ,i had ever owned such a pet4 ,even ,raphael had not seen him1 for he had been busy in ,siena for a fortnight1 and the ,bohemians from whom ,i had bought ,ciacco had passed by a week before4 ,in an evil hour ,i determined to hold my peace for the present1 hoping that some happy chance would lead to the discovery of the lost jewels1 for which indeed ,i sought continually with every means at my command4 ,chigi too had instituted such search as was possible without putting the matter in the hands of the authorities1 which would have brought about awkward complications with the signory of ,florence4 ,in the meantime he had invited the ,dovizios to remain at the villa as his guests1 an invitation which was accepted with much content4 ,the ,chancellor gave himself up to the delay with such resignation that ,i presently perceived that he had business of his own at ,cetinale other than procuring funds for his patron1 that in fact he had brought his niece in the hope of securing for her husband the banker ,chigi1 a good match even then in point of fortune4 ,there was in ,maria ,dovizio such dewy freshness and sweetness1 such absolute simplicity and purity as could not fail to appeal to any man with eyes to see2 but ,chigi was blind1 being enamoured of another woman and she of a very different type1 the improvisatrice ,imperia1 accounted the most talented singer in all ,italy4 ,while the ,dovizios lingered in this unavailing quest1 of which the gentle ,maria was in utter ignorance1 ,raphael returned to the villa1 and ,love1 who is always sharpening his arrows for the unwary1 was not idle4 ,it was the lady whom he first wounded1 though we suspected it not at the time4 ,later1 in ,rome1 the ,signora ,giovanna de ,rovere gave me a letter written her by ,maria ,dovizio when at ,cetinale1 because forsooth ,i was mentioned therein1 though in no complimentary a wise2 and as this letter showeth forth the trend of affairs better than could any words of mine1 ,i enclose it with this memorial4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,unknown ,lady 7probably ,imperia71 by ,sebastian del ,piombo ,uffizi ,illustration3 ,alinari ,virgin and ,child1 by ,sodoma ,pinacoteca1 ,milan ,maria ,dovizio to the ,lady ,giovanna ,feltra de ,rovere 7,sister of the ,duke of ,urbino71 ,duchess of ,sora and ,prefectissa of ,rome at ,urbino4 ,,siena1 ,october1 #aejd4 ,most magnificent1 most beloved1 and most sweet ,lady3 ,for whom my heart longs with true devotion4 ,truly ,madam1 since we parted in ,urbino most strange adventures have befallen me which ,i will now relate4 ,on our way to ,siena we fell in with a bandit who robbed us1 and though my uncle is tarrying here in the hope of the recovery of his property the matter is not altogether simple but presents more complications than ,i can explain or indeed understand4 ,while we are thus delayed we are the guests of the banker ,agostino ,chigi at his villa of ,cetinale4 ,with the exception of our host and of two young painters1 also his guests1 we see no one1 so1 for lack of other material1 ,i will describe these young men4 ,the elder is a conceited prankish fop1 if no worse1 called ,giovanni ,bazzi1 and why his comrade1 ,raphael ,santi1 should hold him in affection ,i can by no means understand1 unless the vulgar saying be indeed true that love goes by contraries4 ,in presenting ,raphael to us our host assured my uncle that though as a painter he is as yet unknown he is destined to make for himself a great career4 ,but to these eulogies of ,chigi's ,i scarcely listened1 my attention being held by the charm of the artist's personality4 ,though he said but little1 his eyes were eloquent1 and a smile of heavenly sweetness lighted from time to time the gravity of his thoughtful face4 ,at our host's insistence ,bazzi showed one of his paintings--a ,madonna and ,child--which ,i scarce regarded until ,raphael praised its excellencies1 boldly defending the painting from my uncle's strictures4 ,while he spoke so eloquently ,i made a feint of examining the picture and was indeed moved by the love which overflowed it1 the ,madonna caressing her babe and he in turn petting a little lamb2 but my uncle pished and poohed1 saying that this sentimentality was but a feeble reflection of his master ,da ,vinci2 and our host cut the discussion short by demanding that ,raphael should show his own work4 ,this he could not be persuaded to do1 modestly persisting that he had naught worthy of our consideration1 though he promised later to show us a ,sposalizio upon which he was engaged but which was not then finished4 ,with all this1 ,i have not related the circumstance which at once put us upon the familiar footing of old acquaintanceship4 ,it was ,chigi's chance remark that ,raphael was a native of ,urbino1 where he had been a favourite with all those choice spirits who make your brother's court the most brilliant in ,italy4 ,and when ,i demanded of ,raphael if he knew you and he told me of your goodness to him1 and how you were held in love and admiration of all1 then it was that our common affection for your ladyship made us to feel that we had known each other from the time that we first knew you4 ,it is true that he did not boast as he might well have done that you had kindly written a letter in his behalf to the ,gonfalonier of ,florence1 whither he intends later to journey4 ,but my uncle learning of this later was duly impressed thereby1 and pronounced him a young man of engaging manners who doubtless deserved such distinguished favour4 ,even with this warrant our acquaintance has made no such rapid strides4 ,i meet him rarely except at our host's table where there are often other guests and always that pest ,giovanni ,bazzi1 whom ,i can in no wise abide1 and concerning whose honesty ,i have of late entertained very grave suspicions4 ,so serious indeed are they that ,i will not at present divulge them but shall continue to watch the rogue1 knowing that the guilty sooner or later accuse themselves4 ,i think he dreads me for he leaves me always to converse with ,raphael1 with whom my topic is ever ,florence1 which ,i knew as a child before the banishment of the ,medici4 ,he tells me that he longs to see the city on account of the artists there assembled and chiefly the painter ,frate1 formerly known as ,baccio della ,porta1 who turned monk under the preaching of ,savonarola4 ',and truly1' said he1 ',i think that art and a monastic life wed well together1 and ,i would willingly retire to some cloistered garden afar from the world if ,i might carry my box of colours with me1 and might sometimes see as in a vision a face like thine to paint from4' ,then was ,i seized with a foolish timidity so that ,i could in no wise answer--nay1 nor so much as lift up my head--but my heart said1 ',and why afar from the world8 ,why not in it making all better and happier8' ,and while ,i sat thus silent1 abashed1 he1 continuing to gaze upon me1 cried3 ',nay1 but ,i must paint thee3 for thou art the very embodiment of the ideal which ,i am striving to shadow forth in my picture4 ,i wish to depict the ,virgin at the time of her betrothal to ,st4 ,joseph1 ,and to show a soul as pure as any of ,fra ,angelico's angels shining through a body that shall have all the perfection and charm of ,da ,vinci's women4 ,it is what my master1 ,perugino1 strove for but never attained4 ,how could he when he had only his beautiful but soulless wife ,chiara ,fancelli to paint from8' ',and do ,i look thus to thee8' ,i asked in wonder4 ',then1 indeed1 ,i would that ,i might pose for thy painting2 but1 alas6 ,i fear that to this my uncle would in no wise consent4' ,and so1 indeed1 it proved4 ,for later1 when my uncle fancied that he perceived some likeness to myself in the ,sposalizio1 though ,i had given ,raphael no sittings1 he was vehement in his denunciation of the presumption of all artists4 ,my uncle might not have been so vexed but for the ill-timed jesting of this same ,bazzi4 ,we had been asked to inspect the picture before it should be sent to the monks for whom it was painted1 and while ,i stood entranced with its exceeding loveliness and my uncle himself was astonished by the skill displayed1 the ,signor ,chigi explained the details of the composition4 ',it is a tradition1' he said1 'that the blessed ,virgin was sought in marriage by so many young men that her parents besought the high-priest to aid them in their choice of her husband4 ,he accordingly demanded that her suitors should give their staves into his keeping1 to be placed over night before the altar1 with the understanding1 in which ,mary herself meekly acquiesced1 that he whose staff budded should become her husband4 ,on the morrow ,joseph's staff was found to have put forth blossoms4 ,this legend1 as you see1 our artist has followed in his painting1 for not only is ,joseph's staff tipped by a cluster of small flowers1 but the young men who accompany him1 the disappointed suitors1 bear flowerless staves1 and one of the rejected is breaking his across his knee in token of his vexation4' ,of this incident ,i would make no account1 had it not been the occasion for ,bazzi's unmannerly trick4 ,for that graceless fellow chancing to spy leaning against his easel1 the rod upon which ,raphael was wont to rest his hand while painting1 he very slyly made fast to it a nosegay of orange blossoms which the ,signor ,chigi had presented to me on my entrance and which ,i had carelessly let fall4 ,you cannot imagine the coil which this trick occasioned1 for its author speedily called our host's attention to the decorated rod1 and the signification of its adornment was at once apprehended to be my own approval of the painter4 ,raphael alone retained his senses1 for he at once divined that the perpetrator of the jest was his scapegrace friend and extorted from him full confession of his prank1 asserting that it was inconceivable that ,i could have had any part in it4 ,my confusion was such that ,i accepted the explanation with gratitude as an escape from the bantering of the ,signor ,chigi and the displeasure of my uncle4 ,but as days passed by and ,raphael held himself aloof1 giving me no opportunity to thank him for his tactful defence1 ,i perceived that it was not so much the meaning of the token which had been imputed to me at which my heart revolted1 as the shameless and public way in which it had been thrust upon my friend4 ,in this plight ,i still remain and turn to you for sympathy in my trouble1 to you sweet lady who cannot fail to think me sadly love-sick and bold1 but ,i pray you chide me not1 seeing the matter can go no further1 for ,i learn that ,raphael has been recalled to ,urbino by your ladyship's brother to execute certain commissions4 ,so that your ladyship will soon see him and will have an opportunity of learning from him whether he at all regrets leaving ,siena1 though ,i beg that you will ascertain this without so much as suffering him to suspect that ,i have in any way signified that ,i have met him4 ,for it is perchance best that he is going1 for were ,i to see him often ,i do fear me that my heart might become so pitched and set upon him1 that ,i should in time most rashly and inconsiderately fall in love1 which were a bold and unmaidenly thing to do1 and ,i mind that you once said that no virtuous woman would allow her affections to conduct themselves thus insubordinately until the ,church had by the sacrament of marriage given her good and sufficient license thereto4 ,and so ,madam1 praying ,maria ,sanctissima and ,maria1 the sister of ,lazarus1 my patroness1 to keep me constant in this mind1 ,i rest your ladyship's loving friend and devoted servitor ,,maria ,,dovizio4 ,it must be understood that this letter came not to my knowledge until long after its writing4 ,i knew not then either the deep affection of the writer for ,raphael1 or her aversion for myself4 ,by an irony of fate we had begun our acquaintance by loving at cross purposes4 ,the prankish fop and graceless fellow--whose affection had indeed been hitherto no great compliment to a woman1 being lightly caught and as lightly lost--was to his own surprise falling very honestly in love4 ,so accustomed was ,i to the attraction of false lights that ,i said to myself often in the earlier stages of the malady1 ,this will pass like the others1 not realising that ,i was entering upon the one great passion of my life1 which all my later experience would but deepen1 and death itself1 if the soul be immortal1 will have no power to quench4 ,,ii ,,apollo ,,promises ,little we see of ,nature that is ours4 99 99 99 ,it moves us not1--,great ,god6 ,i'd rather be ,a ,pagan suckled in a creed outworn1 ,so might ,i1 standing on this pleasant lea1 ,have glimpses that would make me less forlorn2 ,have sight of ,proteus rising from the sea2 ,or hear old ,triton blow his wreathed horn4 ,w4 ,,wordsworth4 ,raphael1 at the period of which ,i write1 had but one mistress1--his art1--and after finishing the ,sposalizio he withdrew from the society of the ,dovizios1 painting most assiduously4 ,i remember that his model was a pretty maid of seven years1 named ,margherita1 the child of one of ,chigi's servants1 as playful and as ignorant as a little fawn4 ,the startled look in her eyes1 when spoken to by any one but ,raphael1 reminded me of some wild creature of the woods4 ,but with him she was never shy1--singing and prattling the livelong day with the most charming and naive affection4 ,while ,raphael painted1 ,bernardo ,dovizio1 who apparently regretted having wounded him1 came from time to time to lend him books1 much deploring that one so gifted by nature should be unread in the classics4 ,his daughter watched them from a distance1 and when ,raphael left his easel would steal near and study the picture or chat with me and with the little ,margherita4 ,on such occasions the child1 usually merry and loving1 would sulk and scowl unhandsomely1 and though ,maria ,dovizio was sweet and generous to her1 she showed an unreasoning prejudice amounting to discourtesy1 for which at first ,i was at a loss to account4 ,i mind me that she was present when ,i tied the bunch of orange blossoms to ,raphael's mahl stick1 and after the visitors had left the studio the child1 believing that the flowers were the gift of the ,signorina ,dovizio1 tore them from the rod and trampled them beneath her feet4 ,when ,i chid her for such savage behaviour ,margherita burst into tears and cried out passionately that ,raphael was her friend1 and that the strange lady had no business to try to steal him from her4 ,seeing her so unreasoningly jealous at such a tender age ,i was mightily amused1 having no premonition that these two would one day be rivals in good earnest for ,raphael's love4 ,but ,margherita's jealousy woke in me a curiosity as to how far it was well-founded1 and bantering ,raphael thereon ,i came to the conclusion that he loved ,maria ,dovizio1 but that he had so modest an estimate of his own talent and prospects that he would never tell her of his affection4 ,the knowledge that ,i had a rival enlivened mightily my own passion1 and determined me to lay the matter plainly before the lady and demand that she should choose between us4 ,finding my opportunity ,i argued my friend's cause1 as it seemed to me with great magnanimity1 but at the same time ,i neglected not to set forth how superior were my own advantages4 ,to my immense surprise she refused me in such terms as to leave me with no ground for hope1--persisting at the same time that ,i was mistaken in regard to ,raphael's feelings4 ,in sheer contrariety and because her refusal had temporarily taken away my senses1 ,i maintained that ,i knew whereof ,i spoke4 ,would that ,i had known this before1 she said turning from me4 ,you would not then have disclaimed sending the message implied by the flowers which ,i attached to his mahl stick8 ,i persisted rudely4 ,nay1 nay1 she cried all of a tremble1 it is best as it is1 and she made me swear that ,i would tell nothing of all this4 ,the oath sat lightly on my conscience1 and when my pride had somewhat recovered from the wound which it had received1 my better nature asserted itself for ,i reflected that here were two young creatures whom nature intended for one another and ,i determined to give these bashful lovers another opportunity in which to understand each other4 ,though ,i prided myself not a little on the rare nobility of soul which ,i manifested by such unusual procedure1 it was not so disinterested as might at first appear4 ,for1 ,i reasoned in my heart1 when all comes to be known ,maria ,dovizio will give me credit for great self-sacrifice and delicacy of feeling1 while ,raphael cannot fail to be touched by my magnanimity4 ,back of all this self-laudation there was an ulterior motive hardly confessed to myself4 ,by springing the mine prematurely ,i would either cement their union or drive them permanently apart1 thus clearing my path of a dangerous rival while removing any imputation of underhand dealing upon my part4 ,i dared the risk for ,i was nearing that point of desperation where uncertainty is worse than the knowledge of absolute defeat4 ,while ,i sought for some promising way in which to execute my scheme1 ,raphael read the translations of the pagan writers which ,dovizio had lent him1 and this plunge into a bath of the old literature1 so new to him1 had a tremendous effect upon his susceptible mind4 ,he regretted deeply that ,pico della ,mirandola1 who strove to harmonise ,greek mythology with the ,christian religion1 had been snatched away by death before he could have had the opportunity to converse with him4 ,he read his writings with avidity and listened to what ,dovizio remembered of his arguments that the religion of the ,greeks was as truly a revelation from ,god as our own1 and he could readily believe the assertion of certain of the humanist's friends that at ,pico's death-bed the ,virgin and ,venus had met1 and comforting his dying gaze with their presence1 had together borne away his soul to the regions of the blest4 ,without being any less ,christian1 ,raphael's soul expanded in the sunshine of these influences1 absorbing all that was joyous and beautiful in pagan ideas4 ,chigi lent him his favourite manuscript1 the ,myth of ,psyche1 translated from ,apuleius1 which he declared ,raphael must one day paint for him4 ,but of all the gods of antiquity the one which roused our young enthusiast to deepest admiration was ,apollo1 whose avatar was the sun1 but whose spiritual significance was infinitely more1 the light of the soul1 the god of music1 art1 and poetry and all that elevates the spirit of man4 ,listen ,giovanni1 he said to me one day1 ,i could pray to such a deity4 ,think you that it would be sin to utter a prayer like this of ,socrates3 ',beloved ,pan1 and all ye gods who haunt this place1 give me beauty of the inward soul1 and may the outward and the inward man be at one'8 ,seeing sport in the idea ,i assured him that such adoration was commendable and would doubtless meet with a response4 ,i had my own idea of what form that response should take4 ,chigi held revel that night to celebrate a visit from the improvisatrice ,imperia1 who was on her way to ,rome4 ,raphael could not be induced to join the company1 preferring to spend the night devouring some books lately come from ,venice4 ,he had striven to tell me of a mysterious experience4 ,a stone bearing the image of ,apollo had fallen before him as he read1 and he had accepted it as a propitious omen4 ,i laughed rudely and he shrank from me offended4 ,i would have shown it to you1 he said1 but now you shall not see it4 ,i repeated this hallucination to ,chigi and ,imperia1 and they also found it amusing4 ,he is as drunk with poesy1 ,i insisted1 as ever ,i have been with wine4 ,if the ,signorina would graciously sing some old ,greek chant yonder in the garden he would believe that he heard the voice of the gods4 ,imperia's eyes sparkled with mischief4 ,let us humour this young enthusiast to his bent1 she said4 ,i will hide in the laurel copse at the foot of the garden if ,bazzi here will bring him out upon the terrace4 ,he could never be content to hear your divine voice1 ,chigi objected1 without seeking you out1 and then-- ,and then1 my friend1 you would imply that the disillusion would be too cruel4 ,no1 ,i am too evidently a part of this solid earth to pass as a nymph of ,apollo4 ,i remained silent but ,i looked meaningly at ,maria ,dovizio1 who stood near the window1 her slight figure outlined against its darkness4 ,imperia followed my glance4 ,ah6 there is a girl1 graceful and ethereal enough to satisfy an artist's ideal4 ,what a pity1 ,chigi said1 that she has not your voice4 ,nay1 if the ,signora will but deign to sing as she suggested1 ,i persisted1 we will robe the ,signorina ,dovizio in ,greek draperies and pose her in the little pillared temple in front of the laurel thicket and ,raphael will not doubt that the voice is hers4 ,thus1 at last1 my scheme was carried out1 though we had much difficulty in persuading ,maria ,dovizio to lend herself to it4 ,only when ,chigi explained that it was an ovation to ,raphael1 in which she was to crown him with a wreath of laurel and foretell him a glorious future1 did she consent4 ,even then she had no suspicion that ,i had any ulterior motive in suggesting the little tableau4 ,it was late at night1 or rather early in the morning1 when all our arrangements were completed and1 returning to the studio1 ,i dragged ,raphael from his books on pretence that we both had need to cool our brains4 ,the view from the terrace was a favourite one with each of us4 ,in the mysterious morning twilight there seemed something supernaturally sentient in the atmosphere1 as though it quivered in expectation of the dawn4 ,a soft trill1 faint with rapture1 filtered through the foliage of the neighbouring wood4 ,it was a solitary nightingale calling his mate2 and presently he was answered by flute-like notes which soared above the soft murmur of a viol still strumming in the villa as a skylark cuts the mists4 ,it was not another nightingale as ,i at first thought1 but ,imperia's voice from the laurel thicket mocking the melody4 ,as she sang there appeared within the circle of the tiny temple's columns a white-robed figure1 outlined against the pale green and lemon yellow of the dawn4 ,it might have been a statue save that as the song of the improvisatrice1 a rhapsody to ,apollo1 thrilled the air with passionate sweetness1 it raised its perfect arms in invocation4 ,as though in response to the gesture the clouds flushed through delicate rose to crimson1 while the radiance beneath their exquisite arch burned like molten gold1 with ever-increasing intensity1 until the sun itself blinded our eyes with its intolerable white fire4 ,though this was exactly the event which ,i had planned1 ,i was not prepared for such phenomenal success1 and ,i stole nearer the temple spellbound by my own artifice4 ,the effect upon ,raphael in his exalted mood may readily be imagined4 ,to him my little comedy was a supernatural vision1 and kneeling before ,maria ,dovizio he exclaimed3 ,beautiful priestess1 beseech ,apollo to grant me the power to make the world more beautiful4 ,mechanically the ,signorina repeated the lines which ,i had assigned her3 ,to you it is decreed to find ,apollo and to bring back the ,golden ,age4 ,then1 as she bent to crown him with the wreath of laurel1 the perfume and warmth of her person intoxicating his senses1 her bared arms encircling his neck1 her soul in her eyes1 ,raphael awoke to the consciousness that this was no phantom but a woman pulsing with life and love1 and that woman ,maria ,dovizio4 ,he might have revolted at the trick and have thrust her from him2 but look you--it is always the unforeseen which happens4 ,his arms were around her and he drew her to him unresisting till for an instant her lips touched his forehead and his face was buried in her bosom4 ,then she withdrew herself1 pushing him from her very gently and steadying herself tremblingly with her hands upon his shoulders4 ,and shall ,i not find you again1 ,o my beloved8 he cried1 springing to his feet4 ,surely1 she answered1 surely1 when you have found ,apollo4 ,she had turned from him and was hurrying toward the villa1 but he followed her1 calling her name4 ,claim me not now1 not now6 she cried1 as he caught her hand4 ,when you will1 he answered1 closing her fingers over some small object1 this is my pledge that when you call me ,i will keep the tryst4 ,he passed me a moment later1 but so great was his preoccupation that he did not see me4 ,i knew by the exalted look upon his face that ,i had played and lost4 ,raphael had awakened from his dreams to love4 ,that instant of mutual enlightenment for two such natures was not alone an ineffaceable memory but a sacred though wordless betrothal4 ,through my pain ,i vaguely heard ,chigi calling and returned to the villa4 ,neither he nor his friends had understood the full significance of what had just happened1 and ,bernardo ,dovizio was demanding of his niece an explanation of the scene4 ,he thought me one of the muses1 she said1 and begged me to beseech for him the favour of ,apollo4 ,but he gave you something1 said ,dovizio4 ,show it to me1 and he wrenched open his niece's fingers4 ,for one instant he gazed wonder-stricken at the token1 and as ,i pressed close with the others ,i also recognised the famous ,apollo intaglio1 the gem of the collection of ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 of which for a few hours ,i had been the unlawful possessor4 ,exclamations of wonder and admiration arose on all sides4 ,but ,dovizio1 recovering his power of speech1 seized ,chigi by the arm1 exclaiming3 ,we have the thief6 ,look you ,agostino1 ,i have had my suspicions all along4 ,it was ,raphael who played the bandit1 and robbed me of my jewels4 ,i demand that you arrest the villain4 ,maria's look of anguish cut me to the heart4 ,nay1 listen to me1 ,i cried2 it was not ,raphael but ,i who stole your gems4 ,you shall not burst in upon him and kill him with the shock of your accusations4 ,listen while ,i confess the truth4 ,and then and there ,i did confess it1 to the wonder but not to the satisfaction of ,dovizio4 ,but where are the other gems8 he insisted4 ,you are a pair of rogues1 the two of you4 ,come with me to your confederate and disgorge your booty4 ,give o'er1 my good ,dovizio1 said ,chigi4 ,i will sift this matter2 come with me but keep silence1 for ,i believe in my soul that ,bazzi speaks the truth4 ,i will hear ,raphael's version of how he came by this intaglio2 since a portion of your lost property has been returned1 perchance the remainder is on the way4 ,and so indeed it proved4 ,raphael had not returned to the studio1 but as we opened the door we heard a scampering and chattering1 and caught a glimpse of ,ciacco leaping to the top of a high cabinet and thence to a rafter where he perched whimpering in fear of punishment4 ,come down1 you rogue1 ,i cried1 come down and retrieve your game4 ,the creature understood and climbing into the hay loft1 which joined the studio1 returned1 hugging to his breast the lost casket4 ,dovizio1 nearly fainting with excitement1 counted his treasures1 and compared them with the list4 ,all were there1 excepting the ,apollo intaglio1 which ,ciacco1 driven by hunger1 had that evening restored to ,raphael4 ,as it came so pat with the matter of his reading1 it is no wonder that he imagined it had fallen from the skies1 and this view of the case even the placated ,dovizio took upon reflection4 ,it were a pity to rob him of his illusions if they are an inspiration to him1 he mused4 ,let him think himself favoured by ,apollo2 and as for my niece1 since our business here is now accomplished and we shall leave ,siena on the morrow1 he will probably never see her again1 and it is as well that he should not connect her with his visions4 ,thus ended our adventures at the villa of ,cetinale for ,raphael also presently left us for ,urbino and ,florence and all things seemed as they had been before our meeting together4 ,but ,i knew that the day would surely come when he would claim his beloved1 and that in the spinning of their fates so slight a thing as the pranking of a fool had twisted itself into the very fibre of their lives1 never to be unravelled until the shears of ,atropos should cut the cords asunder4 ,,iii ,,apollo ,,fulfils ,,his ,,promise ,federigo de ,montefeltro1 ,duke of ,urbino1 gives his views of ,raphael ,then why too will he try so many things1 ,instead of sticking to one single art2 ,he must be studying music1 twanging strings1 ,and writing sonnets with their heart and dart1 ,lately he's setting up for architect1 ,and planning palaces1 and1 as ,i learn1 ,has made a statue--every art in turn4 ,w4 ,w4 ,,story4 ,raphael1 as ,i have said1 betook himself to ,florence1 that centre of the arts1 and for a matter of four years ,i saw him not1 nor can ,i1 my ,giulio1 give you any record of his ,florentine experiences1 vital as they were to the flowering of his character and genius4 ,i saw only the change2 he left me a youth1 naive1 ignorant1 but filled with a divine enthusiasm1 inspired as it were by the very spirit of ,god4 ,in those four years he became instructed1 absorbing all that was best from ancient and modern art1 but still a mystic1 a young archangel in knowledge and power4 ,he studied first with ,fra ,bartolommeo in the cloister of ,san ,marco1 and the painter-monk yearned over him1 as the child of his soul4 ,but he divined also from the mere beholding of ,da ,vinci's pictures what ,i had been able to learn only by painful study1 the secret of the master's charm4 ,at the same time the strong undercurrent of the ,greek spirit rife in ,florence was bearing him irresistibly on to his mission as leader of all that is beautiful1 joyous1 and noble in classical art4 ,fra ,bartolommeo could not fail to be distressed by these tendencies in his disciple4 ,raphael came to him one day saying1 ,beloved ,master1 his holiness the ,pope has called me to ,rome2 and ,i go with joy1 for it has been revealed to me that there ,i shall find ,apollo4 ,ah6 my son1 the pious painter replied in anguished warning1 beware1 for whoso findeth ,apollo loseth ,christ4 ,and now ,i come to our ,roman life and especially to that familiar intercourse at the ,villa ,chigi where ,raphael and ,i were nearer of one spirit1 for all your opportunities1 than were you and he1 my ,giulio4 ,in ,rome1 as in ,siena1 ,i preceded him1 and had the better chance for fortune's favours1 which ,i wilfully threw away4 ,for early in his pontificate1 ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 made ,agostino ,chigi his banker and farmer of the alum mines whose yearly revenue was estimated at #ajj1jjj4 ,nor did ,chigi with this elevation forget old friends1 for in the spring of #aejg he came to ,siena to fetch me as a personal favour to ,rome1 but on our arrival he introduced me to the ,pope1 and obtained from him my commission to decorate the ,stanza della ,segnatura4 ,but1 fool that ,i was1 ,i fancied my luck could not desert me1 and painted only when it pleased me1 ran my horses at all the races in ,italy1 and played the dandy1 the spendthrift1 and the roistering spark1 until his ,holiness in disgust turned me from the ,vatican1 and called ,raphael to take my place1 bidding him erase the little work ,i had done upon the ceiling4 ,this1 however1 ,raphael refused to do4 ,on the contrary he did me the honour to paint my portrait beside his own1 where you may see both of them to-day in that glorious fresco of the ,school of ,athens1 the serious inspired face of the young maestro cheek by cheek with the coarser features of his laughing1 devil-may-care friend2 and ,i prize more highly that testimony of his esteem than all the other honours of my life4 ,i lingered on aimlessly at ,rome1 watching him at his work1 fascinated by the superb conceptions with which he glorified the walls of the ,vatican1 and admiring the daring which enthroned ,apollo and his attendant muses there in the very sanctuary of ,christendom4 ,it was his homage to the old worship1 his endeavour to bring back ,apollo1 and that he thought then of ,maria ,dovizio's promise that he should find her when this was accomplished ,i had one day convincing proof2 for1 turning over his sketches1 ,i found scribbled upon the back of a study for the ,disputa this sonnet3 ,,love',s ,,bondage ,love1 thou hast bound me with a cruel force1 ,the light of her two tender starry eyes1 ,a face like snow flushed rose 'neath sunset skies1 ,with gentle bearing and with chaste discourse4 ,but ,i would make no plaint1 so great my bliss4 ,the more ,i love1 ,i long to love again4 ,how light the yoke1 how sweet the circling chain ,of her arms round my neck6 ,and 'neath her kiss ,leaps forth the embodied soul in ecstacy4 ,unloosed those bonds ,i suffer ceaseless pain1 ,for great joy kills whom it doth wholly move4 ,though throbbing still with tender thought of thee1 ,my heart is heavy and ,i speak in vain1 ,but be my silence eloquent of love4#c ,illustration3 ,alinari ,raphael and ,sodoma ,fragment of ,school of ,athens1 in the ,vatican--,raphael ,i knew that the poem was addressed to ,maria1 for it was at this time that ,bernardo ,dovizio1 dazzled by the change in ,raphael's fortunes and repenting of his hasty action at ,cetinale1 offered my friend the hand of his niece4 ,raphael had told me of this1 begging my congratulations4 ,she is at ,urbino1 he said1 but has written me confirming our betrothal4 ,she tells me1 too1 that she has loved me all these years4 ,such constancy is miraculous1 and ,i am the happiest of men4 ,it was with a sore heart that ,i wished my friend joy4 ,he knew not of my trouble1 or ,i think it would have poisoned his happiness1 for he sympathised so deeply with all his friends that their sorrows were his own4 ,i mind me that we met ,agostino ,chigi that day1 and that he told us of his prosperity2 how he was sole owner of five score banking houses outrivalling those of the ,medici and1 indeed1 every other firm in the world2 how he monopolised not alone the alum1 but also the wheat and salt industries2 how his lakes alone supplied ,rome with fish and his stock farms its markets2 that his fleet numbered upwards of an hundred merchant vessels1 while thousands of men did him service2 that1 in short1 his fortune was now past computation1 and his income beyond his power of spending4 ,he explained all this not in a spirit of boastfulness1 but1 with an arm about each of us1 told how he desired that we should share in his glory4 ,he had determined to build a villa in ,lungara upon the ,tiber which should excel all of the ,roman palaces1 and while ,peruzzi was his chosen architect1 ,raphael and ,i should divide its decoration4 ,for if ,i have become a prince of finance1 he ended1 you1 dear friends1 are princes of art1 and we will all three join in making this villa a worthy dwelling-place for one whom you knew and admired at ,cetinale4 ,thinking for the instant that he referred to ,imperia1 who was now in ,rome1 ,raphael congratulated him warmly and confided his own betrothal to ,maria ,dovizio4 ,but at that news a sudden transformation was wrought in the demeanour of our old friend4 ,his face became purple and swollen and his arms fell to his sides4 ,not a word spake he for a full minute1 but he drew his breath hard1 flinging out at length a bitter sarcasm on the faithlessness of women1 and bidding ,raphael trust not too much to their promises1 he abruptly left us4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,villa ,farnesina1 ,rome ,there was only one construction to be put upon his conduct4 ,maria's loveliness had apparently made no impression upon him at ,cetinale1 but the memory of it had lingered in his heart1 and when he met her after a lapse of years and saw how her beauty had matured1 an affection1 of which he himself may not have been conscious1 flowered suddenly1 just as a rose-tree set in ungrateful soil and long accounted dead may in the fulness of time come to unlooked-for efflorescence4 ,sharing his envy1 ,i could only mark it with a laugh1 but ,raphael said1 kindly1 ,poor fellow1 with all his wealth1 ,i am many times richer than he4 ,in my heart ,i knew that of her three lovers ,maria had chosen wisely1 and ,chigi's disappointment would not have added to my own affliction1 but for the reflection that in the present turn of affairs he would not be likely to hasten the building of his villa1 and my last hope of employment in ,rome was fading like a cruel mirage4 ,but ,raphael could well afford to waive ,chigi's patronage1 for him it was but another step in the golden staircase of success which now mounted invitingly before him4 ,the ,pope not only overwhelmed him with projects for the decoration of the ,vatican but made him curator of all antiques which might be discovered near ,rome1 with full power to direct excavations4 ,returning to the ,vatican from the walk during which we had encountered ,chigi1 ,raphael found awaiting him a letter from the ,pope1 announcing that certain ancient statues had been discovered in the gardens of the villa of ,nero at ,antium1 7now ,porto d',anzio71 and desiring him to examine them and arrange for the transportation of the more remarkable to ,rome4 ,come with me1 ,raphael cried1 since you have nothing better to do--pardon me1 my friend--since such an excursion is exactly what you would enjoy4 ,we will ride to-morrow morning to ,ostia and charter some fishing craft there for the sail to ,porto d',anzio4 ,i accepted the invitation1 glad to visit this favourite seaside resort of the ,roman emperors4 ,even before we landed we could see the ruins of their villas deep in the clear waters of the bay1 fish gliding through arches and the seaweed waving its pennons from the walls4 ,the cliff at the back of the town presented a most impressive appearance1 being pierced by great arched openings like the portals of a ,roman bath4 ,and such1 indeed1 they were1 for on the promontory above had been the gardens of the imperial villa1 and from them staircases carven in the rock descended to this subterranean chamber1 which at full-tide the sea1 rushing through a long canal1 once converted into a swimming-pool4 ,the great cavern had been dry for centuries1 for the tides had piled their own sandy dykes before it1 and the vaulting had fallen bringing with it a portion of the garden of the imperial villa and burying its statues beneath the debris4 ,it was here that excavations had been begun1 and as we entered the cave from the beach1 our way was bordered by the fragments of many a column and capital1 by broken vases and by headless statues4 ,but none of these attracted us1 for in the centre of the chamber1 perfectly illumined by a shaft of light which fell upon it slantwise from the chasm in the roof1 was the most superb statue which our eyes1 nay1 which any human vision had ever beheld4 ,apollo's very self stood there1 god-like in superhuman majesty1 as though he were an archangel who had alighted from his flaming chariot to lift a threatening hand against the workers of iniquity4 ,i cannot describe the profound impression which this discovery made upon ,raphael4 ,he was raised to the seventh heaven1 as on that memorable night at ,siena1 and while he gazed at the statue a mysterious voice1 clear but freighted with intense emotion1 chanted the ,hymn to ,apollo to which we had listened at ,chigi's villa4 ,at first we could not tell from whence it came but looked about in startled surprise4 ,presently1 however1 a branch of laurel fell through the opening in the roof1 the song ended in a peal of laughter1 and we knew that some one was looking down upon us from the old ,roman garden4 ,no one but ,imperia could sing like that1 and when ,raphael exclaimed4 ,it is the same song1 the same singer that we heard at ,cetinale4 ,i cried out4 ,the same1 the same4 ,she is celebrating the discovery of ,apollo4 ,she promised to come to me when ,i had found ,apollo1 he said1 and bounded up the rude stairway4 ,even then ,i did not realise that though ,raphael had recognised the voice he still supposed that it was ,maria ,dovizio who had sung on that evening1 and that it was she whom he now believed he was about to meet4 ,there was no one in the ruined villa4 ,a goatherd at a little distance1 of whom ,i inquired1 pointed to the shore1 and we saw some pleasure-seekers embarking in a small sailboat4 ,it is ,chigi's yacht1 said ,raphael1 that is his pennon which flaps from the mast1 and ,chigi himself is standing at the stern waving his cap to us4 ,there is a lady with him4 ,he is steadying her with his arm4 ,your eyes are better than mine1 is it she8 ,it is indeed1 ,i replied1 ,i would know her anywhere4 ,his arm is around her waist and she is clinging to him as of old4 ,the unsteadiness of the vessel is but an excuse4 ,many times at ,cetinale have ,i seen them standing thus4 ,what else could you expect of such a woman8 ,he is the richest man in ,italy4 ,,iv ,,an ,,orgy ,,at ,,chigi',s ,,villa ,and ,chigi made a joyous feast2 ,i never ,sat at a costlier2 for all round his hall ,from column on to column1 as in a wood1 ,great garlands swung and blossomed1 and beneath ,heirlooms and ancient miracles of ,art ,chalice and salver1 wines that ,heaven knows when ,had sucked the fire of some forgotten sun ,and kept it through a hundred years of gloom1 ,yet glowing in a heart of ruby1 cups ,where nymph and god ran ever round in gold1 ,others with glass as costly1 some with gems ,movable and resetable at will1 ,and trebling all the rest in value4 ,ah6 heavens6 ,why need ,i tell you all8 ,suffice6 to say ,that whatsoever boundless wealth like his1 ,and genius high1 can compass1 rare or fair1 ,was brought before the guest4 ,,tennyson3--,altered4 ,so ,i found ,raphael and so ,i left him1 successful and apparently happy4 ,had ,i comprehended what the incident which ,i have just related meant to him1--had ,i even suspected his misconception of the situation1--,i might have made him understand that neither at ,cetinale nor at ,porto d',anzio had ,maria ,dovizio sung the ,hymn to ,apollo1 that in both places it was ,imperia who had chanted1 ,imperia who had responded to ,chigi's caresses1 and so this woful misunderstanding might never have divided these young lovers4 ,maria1 far from being ,chigi's guest at the moment of the discovery of the ,apollo1 was in ,urbino1 awaiting in ever-increasing wonder and dismay some word of affection from her betrothed4 ,failing to receive it she came to ,rome1 but ,raphael held himself aloof1 pleading the ,pope's demands upon his time4 ,he thought that she would understand the cause of his neglect1 and herself sunder the engagement1 for he would not shame her by any accusation4 ,one ineffaceable picture of my friend ,i carried with me into my exile1 for going to the ,vatican to bid ,raphael farewell1 ,i was told that he was in the ,pope's villa of the ,belvedere superintending the placing of the ,apollo1 which had just arrived4 ,the guards barred my entrance to the loggia1 and indeed ,i cared not to intrude1 for ,i saw that the ,pope was there1 gazing at the statue with a grim delight1 as though he believed that the god had descended to earth to expel as of old the barbarian ,gauls4 ,raphael stood entranced1 unmindful of the presence of ,maria ,dovizio1 who sat a little apart1 heart-sick and bewildered1 unable to grope her way through the thick fog of misconception which had drifted between herself and her beloved4 ,and over all the white form of ,apollo gleamed in heartless gladness1 untouched by any feeling for his votary's sins of ignorance for which he would cry in vain repentance1 ,had ,i but known1 had ,i but known6 ,it was impossible for me to tarry longer in ,rome without employment1 and ,i bethought me of the monks of ,oliveto1 and how they had asked for a series of paintings for their cloister4 ,to this refuge1 therefore1 ,i repaired1 completing1 in two years1 thirty-one great frescoes for little more than my sustenance4 ,yea2 and for my belly's sake ,i might have accepted the life of a cowled monk1 had not ,chigi in the nick of time drawn me from that slough with the announcement that ,peruzzi had completed the building of his villa1 and that it was now ready for decoration4 ,here accordingly1 while painting in the upper rooms1 ,i enjoyed the comradeship of that brotherhood of choice spirits--,giovanni da ,udine1 ,francesco ,penni1 and the rest--who with thee1 my ,giulio1 wrought so lovingly under ,raphael's direction1 illuminating the lower loggia with the legend of ,cupid and ,psyche4 ,it is true that to my surprise and sorrow ,raphael himself came not1 but ,i knew that he was overwhelmed with commissions1 and to their demands upon his time ,i attributed his avoidance of the villa4 ,in the meantime ,i delayed not to seek him out1 and to express my surprise that ,i found him still a bachelor4 ,but at my first probing of that old wound he winced so perceptibly that ,i perceived that it was by no means cured1 and ,i made no demand upon his confidence for an explanation of his delay in demanding the consummation of an engagement which had not been publicly dissolved4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,giovanni ,antonio ,bazzi1 called ,sodoma ,from the portrait of himself in the ,abbey of ,monte ,oliveto ,maggiore ,the world gossiped as to the cause of ,raphael's neglect of his affianced4 ,the most part declared him cold1 absorbed only in love of his art1 and some whispered that the ,pope who was insatiable in his demands for his work1 feared that marriage would lessen his enthusiasm for art1 and had put off indefinitely the wedding-day1 promising ,raphael the ,cardinal's hat if he remained a celibate4 ,while ,i could not believe that this was the true explanation of the estrangement between the lovers1 ,i was far from suspecting the truth4 ,though ,i called upon ,maria ,dovizio ,i got no enlightenment in that quarter1 nay1 nor encouragement for my own passion1 for when ,i put forth some timid essays1 they were promptly crushed by a look of such reproach that ,i called myself brute as well as fool for my persistency4 ,longing to do her service1 ,i determined to haunt my friend until he should voluntarily confide the secret of the trouble1 and if it were possible bring them together4 ,with this end in view1 in all my leisure hours ,i frequented ,raphael's studio1 where he was painting the most glorious of his ,madonnas for the monks of ,san ,sisto4 ,and here1 posing for that divine work1 ,i found again our child-model of ,cetinale1 the little ,margherita4 ,she was no longer a child1 for the years which had elapsed had transformed her into a woman2 but she had retained her old characteristics of shyness1 simplicity1 and a worshipful love of ,raphael4 ,she had followed him to ,rome1 so he told me1 like some faithful1 dumb animal which could not live away from its master1 and moved by her great affection he had given her lodging and employment as his model4 ,there lacked not malicious tongues who called her his mistress2 but so modest yet unabashed was her demeanour that ,i can well believe that she deserved to the end the honour which he paid in choosing her face as his ideal of all that is noblest in woman4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,margherita 7,la ,fornarina71 ,attributed to ,raphael ,pitti ,gallery1 ,florence ,while ,i worked at ,chigi's villa my patron gave me much of his company2 for though the decorations were unfinished he had established his residence here4 ,imperia was his guest at this time1 and as we sat at table one evening ,chigi complained in her presence that ,raphael slighted his engagements and avoided his company4 ,have ,i not heard1 ,imperia hazarded boldly1 that he is to marry the ,maria ,dovizio whom ,i met at ,cetinale8 ,if her uncle speaks true1 ,chigi replied1 ,raphael is but a recalcitrant lover1 continually putting off the date of the marriage4 ,bernardo ,dovizio admitted to me that his niece's patience is at an end1 and that she could be persuaded to accept a more ardent suitor4 ,imperia darted a keen look at ,chigi1 but replied calmly1 ,it is plain that ,raphael has been entangled by some other woman1 and she demanded of me suddenly if it were not so4 ,it may be1 ,i admitted reluctantly1 for this possibility had of late occurred to me1 and ,i told them of ,margherita4 ,chigi was delighted4 ,if ,maria ,dovizio but knew of that liaison1 he cried1 she would send her betrothed about his business4 ,have a care1 ,agostino1 ,imperia exclaimed4 ,let the news reach her through any one but you4 ,she would hardly regard with kindness the man who brought her proof of ,raphael's faithlessness4 ,chigi looked at me significantly4 ,you knew her1 he said4 ,it is in your power to serve us both4 ,god knows ,i would give my life to serve her1 ,i cried unguardedly4 ,imperia laughed4 ,you have more than one rival1 my ,agostino1 she said4 ,bazzi is a good fellow1 but not to be trusted with your love affairs4 ,i deny the accusation that ,i am your honour's rival1 ,i cried hotly4 ,i had never any hope in that quarter4 ,chigi nodded thoughtfully and pressed my hand4 ,do not torment yourself1 ,imperia1 he said after a moment1 as he left us4 ,we have neither of us any chance with ,maria ,dovizio2 and you shall be mistress of this villa and of its master so long as you care for your kingdom4 ,but ,imperia was not deceived though she feigned to believe ,agostino's protestations4 ,chigi's information that ,maria's hand had been practically offered him by her uncle had wakened the most intense alarm for her own position1 and she instantly determined to effect a reconciliation between ,maria and ,raphael4 ,look you1 ,bazzi1 she said when we were alone1 that hussy1 ,margherita1 must leave our friend's house at once4 ,i can see that you love ,maria ,dovizio so disinterestedly that you prefer her happiness to your own4 ,now it is certain that ,raphael and ,maria love each other2 and we must not allow any foolishness to part them4 ,let us work in concert to bring them together4 ,i remember that when ,i heard ,imperia say this it struck me as an instance of an angel being served by the machinations of an evil spirit4 ,but ,i hesitated not to make her my fellow-conspirator1 nor did ,i revolt that ,margherita must suffer1 nay1 that ,i myself must relinquish any lingering hope of winning my idol's heart if so be that her happiness could be secured4 ,i am with you in that business1 ,i assured ,imperia1 but how can we effect it8 ,very easily1 ,imperia replied4 ,margherita is the daughter of ,chigi's pastry-cook at ,cetinale4 ,send for him--,i will give you money4 ,he shall exercise a father's authority to compel his daughter to return to her home4 ,his mistress once beyond his reach1 ,raphael will forget her1 and imagine that he has never loved any one but his betrothed4 ,i know you men--the nearest is ever the dearest4 ,imperia's plot was but partially successful4 ,she brought ,margherita's father indeed from ,siena and established him as a baker near the villa2 but no commands1 threats1 or bribe of his could induce his daughter to renounce ,raphael's protection4 ,imperia again took counsel with me4 ,the fool loves him1 she said2 we must act through her love1 not against it4 ,and how shall we do that8 ,i asked4 ,we must make her understand that her lover1 intoxicated by his delight in her company1 is disregarding his own advantage in neglecting ,chigi's commissions1 and that she must reside here in order to induce ,raphael to follow her4 ,the scheme seemed to me likely to succeed1 and one morning1 when ,i shrewdly suspected that ,raphael would be busied at the ,vatican1 ,i took ,imperia with me to his studio to try her powers of persuasion upon ,margherita4 ,even then she could not have succeeded but for my help1 for ,margherita1 trusting in my friendship for ,raphael1 appealed to me4 ,it is for his good1 ,i assured her4 ,then ,i will not refuse1 she replied1 but will go with you at once4 ,so write for me to my master that if he wishes to paint from me1 he will find me when he is prepared to fulfil his promises to his patron4 ,thus1 without giving her time to reflect1 we carried ,margherita in ,imperia's carriage to ,chigi's villa4 ,i guessed that she had no intention of sending the girl's message to her lover2 that she planned to keep ,margherita hidden until ,raphael1 believing her false or losing all hope of finding her1 would return to his allegiance to ,maria4 ,but there were other forces at work on which ,i had not counted1 and the first of these was ,chigi4 ,something like the same chain of reasoning had been started in his mind by my mention of ,margherita1 but he had reached the conclusion that ,raphael's infatuation for his pretty model must be encouraged4 ,he therefore privately requested me to induce her1 by exactly the same arguments which we had already employed1 to do precisely what she had already done4 ,the humour of the situation was so great that ,i burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter4 ,this so angered the unsuspecting man that ,i managed to ejaculate between my paroxysms3 ,margherita in this villa6 ,and what pray you would the ,signora ,imperia say to that8 ,at this question ,chigi whistled4 ,i had forgotten ,imperia1 he admitted1 and then to my utter confusion that lady entered the room with her arm about the waist of ,margherita4 ,never before had ,i seen ,imperia unable to give a plausible account of a situation1 but while she hesitated1 ,margherita did her good service by telling the simple truth4 ,she thanked ,chigi warmly for his patronage of ,raphael1 and explained how ,imperia and she had plotted to induce him to complete the frescoes4 ,and you did this to give me pleasure8 ,chigi asked1 regarding ,imperia with wonder and admiration4 ,she felt her advantage and found her tongue4 ,you little know your ,imperia1 she said1 sweetly2 and true though the words were he understood them falsely1 as she meant he should1 and the recording angel gave her credit for a lie4 ,i am more grateful than ,i can express1 cried ,chigi1 for ,i have great need of ,raphael at this moment1 and you1 dearest ,imperia1 shall never regret this kindness4 ,we have played into the hands of the enemy1 ,imperia said to me in a low voice as ,chigi darted away to write to ,raphael2 nevertheless the game is not yet lost4 ,i know my dear ,agostino's cards1 and though they are good ones ,i have some which he recks not of and he shall never wed the fair ,maria4 ,a wonderful woman was this ,imperia1 as ,i was beginning to realise1 though ,i had not yet sounded the depths of that strange nature4 ,chigi's letter to ,raphael was a masterpiece of duplicity4 ,he confided to him as the most sacred secret the information that his engagement to a certain mutual acquaintance of ,cetinale days would soon be announced1 and he begged his friend1 for the sake of the lady1 to give his personal and inimitable touch to the frescoes of ,cupid and ,psyche1 and to other decorations in the villa which he was preparing for his bride4 ,although he also confessed the stratagem by which he had secured the presence of ,margherita1 it was the news of ,chigi's approaching marriage which determined ,raphael to accede to his request4 ,though ,agostino had worded his allusions to his betrothed so skilfully that they applied with equal fitness to either ,imperia or ,maria ,dovizio1 ,raphael never doubted that he referred to the latter4 ,the news simply confirmed the suspicions which he had long entertained1 and with characteristic magnanimity1 he determined to leave ,maria the highest masterpiece of which his hand was capable4 ,he came at once1 and ,imperia sat smiling at his side while he painted ,margherita as the principal figure in the glorious ,triumph of ,galatea1 ,chigi1 marking ,margherita's look of rapt devotion1 drew me aside in ecstacy4 ,it is plain that they love each other1 he said4 ,when the picture is nearly finished ,i will invite ,bernardo ,dovizio and his niece to see it4 ,they will understand the relations of this artist and model4 ,he is cutting his own throat with every stroke of his facile brush1 for ,maria ,dovizio will brook no divided affection4 ,but when in alarm ,i reported this conversation to ,imperia--,children6 she cried scornfully2 what children you men are6 ,can you not see1 ,giovanni1 that1 though ,margherita worships her painter as a god1 he cares for her only as a piece of stuff1 a marble column1 or a jewel1 beautiful truly and therefore serviceable to paint from1 but nothing more4 ,let ,agostino bring ,maria ,dovizio here4 ,i desire nothing more warmly than to compass her meeting with ,raphael4 ,but give me a moment with her to prepare her for that meeting1 and one in which to withdraw ,margherita and all others from the scene1 and think you that in the joy of their reconciliation either he or she will give a thought to his picture or to the models who posed for it8 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,pope ,leo ,x1 ,giulio de ,medici 7afterward ,pope ,clement ,,vii71 and ,luigi ,de ,rossi1 by ,raphael ,pitti ,gallery ,chigi did not at once carry out his intention of inviting the ,dovizios to his villa1 for another project for the moment eclipsed that design and demands a temporary digression from my story2 for if he was to be reckoned with as a lover1 in a review of the hidden causes which brought about the catastrophe1 he is still less to be neglected in his proper role of financier4 ,pope ,leo ,x4 was to discover this as his predecessor ,julius had done1 and with more reason1 for ,leo was the greater borrower1 all of his family and the adherents of the ,medici descending upon him on his accession to the papacy like a flock of buzzards4 ,julius had left the papal coffers well filled1 but ,leo had not only emptied them1 but he had anticipated his own revenues and those of his successor4 ,truly was it said after his death1 that upon his family and the building of ,saint ,peter's he had spent the income of three pontificates4 ,chigi was not distressed that there was no likelihood that the ,pope would ever repay what he owed1 for he had not only received ample security through ,dovizio at ,cetinale1 but there were richer spoils in view which made that transaction seem of trifling account4 ,agostino desired to become the sole manager of the papal finances2 and he did indeed inaugurate that system of loans by which the ,pope's entire revenue was not sufficient to meet the interest on his debts4 ,as a means of impressing ,leo not only with his friendship but with his boundless wealth1 he determined to entertain his ,holiness with hospitality so lavish that it would put to shame the very feasts of ,lucullus4 ,leo was in a certain way to blame for this foolish display1 for ,cardinal ,riario was building his palace at this time1 and his ,holiness piqued ,chigi by insinuating that the residence of ,riario would rival the one which he was erecting4 ,to this slur ,chigi retorted hotly that ,riario's palace would not be able to compare with his own stables4 ,it was no empty boast1 but in order to realise it our patron immediately put a stop to the work upon the main villa and1 as you1 my ,giulio1 will well remember1 set us all to the task of transforming the larger building upon the river bank 7originally planned to house his stud of horses7 into an immense banqueting-hall4 ,the stalls of inlaid woods were concealed by the ,medici tapestries2 and by means of stucco1 paint1 lavish gilding1 and innumerable sparkling lights1 depending in crystal lustres and silver lamps1 we achieved an effect of magnificence unsurpassed by the imaginary creations of oriental enchanters4 ,in this gorgeous apartment1 carpeted by rugs given ,chigi by eastern princes and crowded with the costliest works of art1 was served a feast for whose menu the scholars of the city ransacked the records of the orgies of the ,roman emperors4 ,the cardinals and foreign ambassadors invited were surprised by dainties and wines peculiar to their own countries1 timed to arrive in ,rome from many distant lands on the very eve of the banquet4 ,golden beakers richly ornamented in repousse with bacchanalian subjects1 and engraved with the coat of arms of the guest before whom they were placed1 were provided with every different wine1 and the convives were begged to accept the entire set as trifling mementos4 ,to prove that the plates of solid gold on which the many courses were served were not used twice1 they were when changed ostentatiously cast through the open windows into the ,tiber4 ,but here ,i had contrived to secure my friend the reputation of prodigality without its penalty1 for we caused nets to be stretched in the river under the windows so that the service was presently hauled safely in by ,chigi's servants1 who patrolled the river in small boats4 ,i was responsible also for another feature1 which was in a manner too successful4 ,when the fruit was served ,i placed before ,bernardo ,dovizio 7now ,cardinal ,bibbiena7 a melon1 which upon cutting open he found filled with what he took to be the very gems lost and found at ,cetinale in so remarkable a manner1 and which he had left in pawn with ,chigi4 ,as with trembling fingers he was attempting to transfer them to his pocket1 ,i set free my ape ,ciacco1 who1 previously coached to this performance1 descended a rope which depended over the table1 seized the melon1 and climbing again beyond ,dovizio's reach pelted the company with the jewels4 ,great was the indignation of the ,cardinal as he saw them scrambled for and pocketed as souvenirs by the guests1 until our host presented ,leo with the casket containing the original intaglios of which the ones placed before ,dovizio were but imitations4 ,the banquet being now concluded1 the tapestries concealing the stalls were drawn aside1 and a hundred pages1 each habited like a prince1 led in as many superb horses caparisoned in cloth of gold1 and fastened them with silver chains to feeding-racks of the same metal4 ,chigi then apologised for having received his ,holiness in a stable1 saying that he would not have dared to do so had not the great ,head of the ,church accepted such humble hospitality for his birthplace4 ,leo graciously admitted that his host had fulfilled his boast1 for ,riario1 with all his extravagance1 had never attempted a scene like this4 ,the tapestries were sent to the ,vatican on the morrow1 but1 in displaying them and returning publicly the ,medici jewels1 we had over-shot the mark1 for the ,pope's self-love was wounded by the exposition of the straits to which he must have been reduced1 to have accounted for their having been even temporarily in ,chigi's possession1 and another banker received the patronage which our friend had coveted4 ,on ,bernardo ,dovizio1 however1 this feast made an immense impression1 and when ,chigi invited him to bring his niece to dine more intimately at his villa1 he accepted the invitation with an alacrity which gave color to ,agostino's hopes4 ,chigi had no intention that ,imperia should either preside on this occasion or suspect what he was planning4 ,he had asked a sister-in-law to do the honours of his villa for the day1 and had requested me to escort ,imperia to the ,pope's villa of ,magliana1 where he had secured her an invitation to sing for a party of sport-loving cardinals whom ,leo had asked to enjoy his favourite pastime of hunting4 ,and see to it1 my dear ,bazzi1 ,agostino had said to me1 that you on no account bring her back until late at night1 for ,maria ,dovizio must not know that ,imperia is an inmate of my house4 ,as in duty bound ,i secretly took counsel with ,imperia1 discussing1 as we fancied1 every phase of the situation4 ,chigi1 over-confident in the superiority of his own attractions1 had not at first deemed it necessary to send ,raphael away4 ,it is possible that he even thought that ,maria would be shocked at seeing her betrothed apparently domiciled under the same roof with ,margherita1 and glorifying her charms with such over-appreciation1 while ,raphael1 surprised by ,maria's sudden appearance as a willing and familiar guest1 would accept the desired construction as to her relations with his patron1 and that thus the estrangement between these unhappy lovers would become irremediable4 ,imperia admitted that if neither of them were previously warned1 and1 if no opportunity were afforded them to converse together alone1 appearances would be much against ,raphael1 and ,chigi's plot would have a fair chance of succeeding4 ,especially1 she added1 if ,maria ,dovizio has any conversation with ,margherita will ,raphael's chance of placating her be lost1 for a woman who loves can not fail to recognise the same affection in another1 and ,margherita's infatuation is so evident that the blind might see it4 ,then1 said ,i1 our first concern must be to spirit ,margherita away1 else ,maria in her injured pride may accept ,agostino4 ',tis the first step1 ,imperia replied4 ,leave it to me2 think you ,i have not long since foreseen and provided for such an emergency8 ,as she spoke there was a look in her set face which frightened me4 ,i will ask ,margherita's father to send for her for the day1 ,i said1 uneasy1 ,i knew not why4 ,leave her to me1 ,i tell you1 ,imperia commanded hastily4 ,if ,raphael and ,maria ,dovizio are to be reconciled ,margherita must drop out of his life--not for one day but for ever4 ,i liked this still less1 though ,i laughed and reminded her how she herself had said that1 when they once understood each other1 ,margherita would be no more to either of them than a lay-figure on which to hang draperies4 ,imperia smiled bitterly4 ,i may have thought so once1 ,i know better now4 ,there is another way to foil ,agostino1 ,i suggested4 ,he will show the ,dovizios my painting of the ,marriage of ,alexander and ,roxana1 in his own room4 ,leave such of your jewels on his dressing-case as will prove to ,maria that you have recently occupied the apartment--that necklace which she admired so greatly at ,cetinale4 ,she would recognise it at once4 ,imperia shook her head contemptuously4 ,agostino would gather up all such equivocal objects before he showed her the room1 she said4 ,then1 since we cannot hinder ,maria ,dovizio from accepting this invitation1 would you dare to return earlier than you are expected1 and converse with her before she leaves8 ,we might explain to ,chigi afterward that we had miscalculated the time1 or that our appearance was in some other way unpremeditated4 ,he would never forgive me1 she said slowly2 nevertheless1 if ,i do not succeed in removing ,margherita1 ,i shall return in time to pull the strings of my puppets1 for ,agostino shall never marry another woman4 ,i well remember the last evening which we spent together4 ,the air was sultry1 and through the arches of the loggia occasional flashes of lightning made fiery crevices in the black heavens4 ,imperia paced uneasily to and fro4 ,we shall have a storm1 she said4 ,i have a mind not to go to ,magliana4 ,chigi turned pale and rose and walked beside her4 ,he even attempted to put his arm about her waist1 but she repulsed him with a savage scowl4 ,do not pretend that you care for me1 ,agostino1 she said angrily2 ,i will believe it only on one condition1 that you accompany me to ,magliana4 ,i have told you it is impossible1 ,imperia4 ,bazzi is an amusing fellow1 a hundred times more entertaining than ,i4 ,i am tired of ,bazzi4 ,he is an insufferable idiot4 ,i will not go unless you escort me1 ,agostino4 ,then ,raphael shall take you4 ,his ,holiness will be delighted to welcome him1 as he desires him to plan some decorations for the villa2 and you cannot1 my ,imperia1 call ,raphael an idiot4 ,it was ,imperia's turn to blanch as ,raphael came forward and courteously asked the honour of her company4 ,but she quickly recovered herself1 ,raphael is too charming1 she said guilefully1 and were it not that his heart is given to the beautiful ,margherita ,i might be tempted to angle for it4 ,ah6 exclaimed ,chigi1 well pleased1 that is good news4 ,margherita is a rare prize1 and ,i am glad to know that the unimpressionable ,raphael at last really loves4 ,the eyes of ,imperia and ,chigi were intently fixed on ,raphael's face1 striving to read his true feelings4 ,he felt and resented the scrutiny4 ,i doubt if the man lives who has not loved1 he said1 flushing4 ,perhaps it is because ,i love so deeply that ,i cannot speak of it4 ,imperia softened for an instant1 and1 taking a lute1 sang1 ,quant'e bella giovinezza4#d ,but the pent-up passion that possessed her this evening woke again in the line1 ,che si fugge tuttavia1 and she ended suddenly with a dry choking sob4 ,an embarrassing silence fell upon us all1 broken finally by ,imperia4 ,a little honesty might clear the atmosphere1 she said to ,raphael2 besides what need is there of such secrecy when we have all guessed the truth4 ,no1 you shall not escort me to ,magliana4 ,i will be no man's second choice1 not even yours1 ,agostino1 and so saying she ungraciously departed from us4 ,she is in a devil of a humour1 ,chigi said to me1 uneasily1 when ,raphael had bidden us good-night4 ,what can have angered her8 ,is it possible that she suspects that her reign is over8 ,she suspects nothing1 ,i assured him1 truthfully2 in my heart ,i added1 but she knows everything4 ,but will she go8 ,chigi asked1 anxiously2 that is the immediate question4 ,i cannot put her out by force4 ,you will never have to do that1 ,i replied4 ,she will go1 never fear4 ,leave her to herself1 her mood will have changed by morning4 ,there is only one thing to be relied upon in women1 and that is their inconstancy1 not alone to men but to any fixed idea4 ,in spite of the flippancy with which ,i had striven to beguile ,chigi1 ,i was vaguely but none the less genuinely troubled4 ,unable to sleep1 ,i strolled toward dawn in the garden4 ,a lamp burned in the tiny room assigned to ,margherita1 and to my surprise there flitted across the window the shadow of ,imperia4 ,what business could she have there at such an hour8 ,certain expressions1 to which ,i had given no weight at the time of their utterance1 came back to me with sinister significance1 and especially her declaration that ,margherita must disappear1 not for one day1 but for ever4 ,i continued my watch until a gust of rain drove me into the house1 and ,i fell asleep to dream that an oubliette lined with the blades of scythes 7such as ,i knew existed in certain old ,roman houses7 had at ,imperia's touch yawned beneath the couch of ,margherita2 and that the innocent barrier to ,raphael's reconciliation with ,maria had indeed dropped from his life4 ,but ,i awoke at ,chigi's cheery halloo to find that the storms of the previous evening had cleared4 ,imperia had expressed her readiness to spend the day at ,magliana1 and my host desired me to select horses for the excursion4 ,i never saw her gayer than on that day1 and when ,i looked askance as she jested with his ,holiness and flirted with ,riario1 daring him to give a supper in her honour in his new palace1 she pressed my foot beneath the table and looked me smilingly in the face1 as though striving to assure me that all was well4 ,but she would not comply with ,leo's request for his father's canzone1 ,quant e bella1 which she had sung with such effect the previous evening4 ,she left the gay company while they were all clamoring for more1 and insisted that ,i should urge the horses to the utmost as we dashed back to ,rome4 ,our common anxiety to know the outcome of ,maria ,dovizio's visit to ,chigi's villa1 together with her great longing for sympathy in this crisis of her life1 so wrought with the favouring opportunity of that wild drive that ,imperia granted me such a revelation of her inmost soul as ,i believe no other man can boast1 and ,i knew her that night as ,god knew her4 ,she had sought ,margherita the night before a criminal at heart1 for she had determined to sacrifice the girl4 ,imperia possessed a house in ,rome4 ,it was on her lips to tell ,margherita that ,raphael1 who had met with an accident1 was lying there at the point of death1 and had sent for her to come to him4 ,she had already instructed her servants1 and had ,margherita once entered that house its doors would never again have been opened for her4 ,but ,imperia's guardian angel was kind4 ,before the words could be uttered ,margherita had poured out her heart in gratitude to the woman whom she believed to be her benefactress4 ,while the girl spoke1 ,imperia strove to steel herself1 repeating mentally the round of cruel reasoning which had been the ,ixion's wheel on which her tortured brain had unceasingly revolved3 ,if ,margherita speaks to ,maria ,dovizio1 ,maria will never be reconciled with ,raphael4 ,unless ,maria weds ,raphael she will surely marry ,chigi4 ,either ,margherita or ,i must perish4 ,which shall it be8 ,but gradually this fiend's chatter grew less insistent and ,imperia heard instead ,margherita's impassioned protestations4 ,she was happy1 blissfully happy1 and owed it all to the disinterested kindness of her patroness2 for though ,raphael had always loved her he had been bound by a hateful engagement to a cold1 proud woman1 who had cast him aside for a wealthier suitor4 ,her memory had rankled in the mind of both1 poisoning their happiness1 for ,margherita well realised that she was herself but a peasant1 not to be compared in birth and breeding to this high lady4 ,until lately she had not deemed herself worthy to mate with so exalted a personage as her lover4 ,but since she had known ,imperia she had comprehended how such a miracle might be4 ,for1 said she1 you are just like me1 and all of the ,signor ,chigi's wealth and glory does not crush or humiliate you1 because when two people really love each other it makes them equal1 and neither genius nor riches nor anything else in all the world is worthy of being compared to the love of a true woman4 ,that shaft went home4 ,the thought of being classed with this single-hearted girl who had sacrificed everything to a great love so humiliated and touched the heart of the venal courtesan that in spite of all she had at stake1 she could not prevail upon herself to do ,margherita this great wrong4 ,so1 finding that she knew not who the great lady was to whom ,raphael was betrothed1 ,imperia told her of ,maria ,dovizio's expected visit1 as of that of an old friend who had been interested in her as a child at ,cetinale1 and bade her if opportunity offered repeat to ,maria the story exactly as she had just told it1 for it would surely be to her advantage to do so4 ,when ,imperia told me this ,i cried out1 ,but it will kill ,maria1 and you forget that ,raphael is there and will not permit her thus to speak4 ,nay1 my friend1 ,imperia answered4 ,raphael is not there1 for ,agostino1 on reflection1 wisely decided not to risk the meeting1 and gave him a holiday this morning to work in his own house4 ,never fear that ,chigi will not leave ,maria ,dovizio alone with ,margherita1 or that her revelations will have any such deadly effect4 ,agostino is an adept in consolation1 and ,maria must long since have divined the truth4 ,my heart beat in a tumult of conflicting emotions4 ,for an instant a wild1 unreasoning hope overpowered all the rest4 ,imperia1 ,i exclaimed1 you shall not lose ,agostino4 ,i will surrender my chances with ,maria to no man but ,raphael4 ,if in truth he has ceased to love her1--then1 for all you think me mad in saying so1 we may both1 may all be happy yet4 ,illustration3 ,villa ,madama ,but such joyous ending to lovers' woes is found only in the fictions of romancers4 ,certes ,i have often thought ,i could design a fairer web than that the fates weave for us4 ,even as ,i spoke ,imperia caught my arm and ,i drew rein1 for we were nearing the gateway of ,chigi's villa4 ,a carriage was leaving the grounds1 and as it passed us we saw ,maria ,dovizio lying in a swoon in her uncle's arms4 ,chigi was not with them1 for she had left his house apparently indifferent to all that she had seen or heard within it1 and had succumbed only when beyond his view4 ,poor child1 said ,imperia1 you are not wounded so deeply as you fancy4 ,no1 do not drive in1 ,giovanni1 ,i have learned all ,i wished to know4 ,in spite of her present despair ,maria will enter those gates ere long a happy bride2 but ,i shall never knock at them again4 ,the end would have come soon in any event1 for ,agostino had ceased to love me1 but he shall never boast that he cast me out4 ,i took her to her own house1 and when ,chigi learned that she had not returned with me he but shrugged his shoulders1 for she had rightly divined his heart4 ,i never saw her again1 but ,i heard much1 for ,rome still rings with wild tales of her notoriously evil life4 ,a nature hers that had much of good in it ,i bear witness1 though sadly she mistook her way4 ,she mistook it even when she tried to do a kindness to ,margherita4 ,shame and heart-break was the guerdon which that poor child received in return for her great devotion4 ,as for me1 the glimpse ,i had caught of ,maria's death-struck face so rankled in my soul through the long watches of that sleepless night that on the morrow1 in anguished contrition1 ,i confessed all that miserable story to ,raphael4 ,when he knew how cruelly he had misjudged her he was smitten with such remorse that he could never forgive himself or take joy in life4 ,for though he went to her at once and she forgave him freely1 nay1 strove to comfort him by protesting there was naught to forgive1 she had suffered overmuch to endure the great joy of their reconciliation4 ,prattling of love and happiness and smiling still when she no longer had strength to utter his name1 she peacefully died within his arms4 ,illustration3 ,pope ,leo ,x4 at ,raphael's ,bier ,from the painting by ,pietro ,michis4 ,permission of ,franz ,hanfstaengl ,it was ,raphael's grief rather than1 as reported1 a fever taken in superintending archaeological excavations which truly caused his death on his thirty-seventh birthday1 upon that ,good ,friday which neither you nor ,i1 my ,giulio1 can ever forget4 ,margherita told me that in his delirium he knew her not1 but kissed her hands1 calling her ,maria and begging her forgiveness4 ,to the poor girl he left by will ample support2 but1 by the same testament1 he was buried by the side of ,maria ,dovizio1 beneath whose name he caused to be chiselled the inscription1 ,the affianced wife of ,raphael ,santi1 whom death deprived of a happy marriage4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,a ,,cellini ,,casket ,,interlude ,the trellis that once shut the forest trees ,from the fair flowers1 all torn and broken is1 ,though still the lily's scent is on the breeze1 ,and the rose clasps the broken images4 ,,william ,,morris4 ,neglected but not ruinous1 its marbles mossy1 its once unrivalled garden invaded by sweet wild-flower banditti which run riot among the gentle roses1 its fountains dry1 their cracks and crannies the homes of basking lizards1 its charming loggia trodden only by enthusiasts for whom every spot touched by the genius of ,raphael is a shrine of pilgrimage--the ,villa ,madama1 though appealing in its desertion1 is not a melancholy solitude4 ,illustration3 ,detail of ,vault in ,villa ,madama--,stucchi by ,giovanni da ,udine ,the imagination is intoxicated as by some heady wine as one gazes outward upon the dazzling panorama which originally determined the site of the loggia2 and when1 fatigued by the flashing sunlight1 our eyes turn to the interior they are soothed by the subtler beauties of the half-effaced frescoes1 the floral arabesques which ,giovanni da ,udine lavished upon the spandrils1 the pouting putti in ,giulio ,romano's frieze of cherub faces1 carrying out a scheme of decoration which could have been designed by no other than ,raphael4 ,we are certain as we recognise in a more delicate line1 or exquisite touch recalling the arabesques of the ,vatican loggia1 that just here the great impresario must have caught palette and brushes from the hand of his pupil with1 ,me perdone ,giovanino mio1 let me frolic a while with these fairy creatures and show them to you as ,i saw them in my childhood dancing in the swaying vines that garlanded the pergolas of ,urbino4 ,and so they revel here1 myths of the childhood of the race1 monstrous creatures1 half beast1 half human2 centaurs1 fauns1 tritons1 mermaids1 sphinxes1 lamias1 their grotesquerie no longer repulsive1 for it is a foil to the utmost elegance and sumptuousness of ,renaissance art1 their multiplicity never wearying1 because they are marshalled by the greatest master in decorative design that the world has known4 ,they lurk in the convolutions of exquisite rinceaux1 uncoiling themselves from the scrolls of acanthus foliage1 where sport also more delicate hybrid flowers2--women1 whose beautiful bodies rise like anthers from the calices of impossible blossoms1 whose arms are coiling tendrils and whose limbs melt into the curves of exuberant leafage unknown to the botanist4 ,but the charm which holds the visitor who penetrates this delicious solitude is due not alone to the sense of sight4 ,a haunting suggestiveness breathes from these surroundings1 like the perfume exhaled when one unlocks a long-closed sandal-wood casket1 once the depository of dainty feminine trifles4 ,it needs not the name of the villa to tell us that a lady1 sitting in this loggia1 once duplicated ,da ,udine's traceries in her embroidery1 gathered roses in the garden1 and looked longingly toward ,rome while awaiting the coming of her princely lover1 and many a visitor has been piqued by the ignorance of the custodian of the villa to search history for this mysterious ,madama4 ,illustration3 ,margaret of ,austria1 ,duchess of ,parma1 #aehf ,from an old engraving ,margaret of ,austria1 daughter of an ,emperor1 wife of the reputed son of one ,pope and of the grandson of another1 ,grand ,duchess of ,tuscany1 and ,duchess of ,parma1 quartered the imperial eagle upon the balls of the ,medici and the lilies of the ,farnese4 ,that the bar sinister was conspicuous upon her escutcheon mattered little in the age in which she lived1 for the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 acknowledged and advanced the interests of his illegitimate daughter with the same lack of embarrassment shown by the popes in the favouritism of their nephews4 ,a doubtful advantage this1 but one with far-reaching consequences1 for when ,margaret was twelve years of age1 ,charles conquered ,rome and the child's connection with ,italy and the ,villa ,madama had its beginning4 ,the villa had been built by ,raphael for ,pope ,clement ,,vii41 while he was yet only ,cardinal ,giulio de' ,medici1 as a pleasure casino to which he could retreat from the cares imposed upon him by his cousin1 ,pope ,leo ,x4 ,later when as successor to the tiara he found that not the least burden in the heavy legacy bequeathed him was that of the guardianship of the ,medici family1 it became the resort of his ,florentine relatives on their quieter visits to ,rome and the home of a mysterious child1 ,alessandro1 of whom the ,pope announced himself the guardian4 ,when ,lorenzo ,,ii41 7grandson of the ,magnificent7 died1 leaving but one legitimate child1 ,catherine de' ,medici1 the future ,queen of ,france1 ,clement imposed ,alessandro upon ,florence as the natural son of ,duke ,lorenzo4 ,there lacked not shrugging of shoulders at this imputed parentage and ,florence revolted against receiving a bastard and a mulatto as its sovereign4 ,but trouble was brewing both for ,florence and the ,pope4 ,charles ,v4 had determined to make himself master of ,italy2 his forces closed around ,rome1 and ,clement1 fleeing through the underground passage from the ,vatican1 shut himself up in the castle of ,st4 ,angelo1 and from it beheld the horrors of the sack of the city4 ,from its parapets1 too1 he witnessed the occupation of his cherished villa by ,bourbon's savage soldiery4 ,benvenuto ,cellini relates 7with his characteristic self-laudation7 his prowess in killing the ,constable de ,bourbon and in defending the castle of ,st4 ,angelo1 and although his perspective is slightly forced from his habit of placing his own colossal figure in the foreground1 no chronicle gives a more vivid account of these stirring events4 ,illustration3 ,stucchi by ,giovanni da ,udine ,villa ,madama ,what a picture he might have painted for us of the meeting of the ,pope and the ,emperor after the pacification2 when ,clement crowned his late adversary and ,charles1 reinstating ,duke ,alessandro over ,florence1 betrothed his beautiful daughter ,margaret to that base-born reprobate6 ,cellini might also have told us much of the after-life of the ,duchess1 for he knew her well1 and mentions her with admiration in his autobiography4 ,he served ,alessandro too in ,florence1 and boasts of the intimacy which he enjoyed in the ducal household4 ,there was no one living at that period so well qualified as he to relate the inner history of that tragical marriage and of the romance which effaced its memory and lingers still like an elusive perfume in her exquisite villa4 ,judge1 lenient reader1 if ,cellini had told that last story1 would not its main facts have corresponded with those embodied in the following pages1 though the tamer phrasing and more conventional attitude of the writer compared with the audacity of his racier chronicle ,are as moonlight unto sunlight1 ,and as water unto wine4 ,,the ,,adventure ,,of ,,the ,,casket ,,being ,,certain ,,pages ,,not ,,included ,,in ,,the ,,auto-,,biography ,,of ,,its ,,maker ,i ,it will be remembered by those who have read my published memoirs that in the year #aece1 while ,i was in ,florence in the service of ,duke ,alessandro de' ,medici1 ,i received orders from his excellency to execute a little coffre in gold to hold his own portrait1 a medallion which ,i had previously modelled from life and cast in relievo4 ,that ,i dismissed so lightly masterpieces of which ,i had such reason to be proud was due to the fact that certain personages of exalted station and of choleric temper1 quick and able to revenge any imputation upon their honour were concerned in the adventures of the casket1 so that ,i deemed it prudent during their lifetime to withhold a recital which ,i trust my present reader may find of a diverting nature4 ,this casket was conceded by all connoisseurs in such matters to be the most admirable work of its kind hitherto produced4 ,it was crowned by a statuette of ,hercules1 with other most exquisite figurines at the four corners1 set upon feet of crouching sphinxes1 half women and half panthers1 and was further enriched by reliefs of laughing boys holding garlands1 by grotesque masks and foliages of the most graceful and ingenious design that could possibly be conceived4 ,illustration3 ,villa ,madama--,interior ,i had been to infinite pains1 as was but fitting since the ,duke proposed to present it to his betrothed1 ,margaret ,duchess of ,parma1 daughter of the ,emperor ,charles the ,fifth1 to whom he was to be married at ,naples on the return of her father from his glorious expedition against the ,turkish ,corsairs4 ,this marriage had been arranged for his nephew by ,pope ,clement ,,vii4 on his pacification with the ,emperor after the taking of ,rome1 but its consummation had been hitherto delayed on account of the tender age of the bride4 ,now1 however1 she was upon her way to meet her father4 ,therefore the ,duke requested me to serve as his messenger in presenting these gifts1 whose excellencies ,i of any person in the world was most competent to explain and extol4 ,instructed that the ,duchess ,margaret would rest upon her journey at the villa which ,raphael had built for the ,pope upon the slopes of ,monte ,mario1 and which ,clement had bestowed upon her as a part of her dowry1 ,i repaired thither before entering the gates of ,rome4 ,i had been told by the ,duke to ask upon my arrival not for the ,duchess but for ,monna ,afra1 who had been installed as housekeeper of the villa by the ,pope when he was as yet only young ,cardinal ,giulio de' ,medici1 and his personal affairs were not submitted to the glare which surrounds the tiara4 ,whatever these may have been1 ,monna ,afra1 though once a ,moorish slave1 and of dark complexion and uncertain temper1 was not without a certain savage beauty1 or would have been but for the marks of tattooing between her eyes1 and1 though well advanced in years1 carried herself erect with a dignity worthy of royal descent4 ,she was dressed in the ,moorish fashion1 with a profusion of necklaces of linked sequins of uncut precious stones and of large turquoises1 some of them ,i could judge of great value1 though clumsily set4 ,these necklaces depended from beneath her gaily striped head-cloth upon her forehead and also covered her bosom4 ,her dark blue robe was girdled by a golden belt of curious workmanship1 and she wore bangles upon her ankles with bracelets of cheap blue glass upon her arms4 ,her hair1 braided in a multitude of fine plaits1 was jet black and heavily perfumed4 ,she wore but one ear-ring1 a hoop of gold in which twinkled a great diamond4 ,i had a letter for her from the ,duke1 and as it has never been my practice to deliver a missive of whose contents ,i am ignorant1 lest ,i might be deputed to give orders for my own execution1 ,i had taken the precaution to open it 7having first made an impression of the seal so that ,i could reseal it beyond possibility of detection71 but all to no avail for this letter was written in ,arabic1 of which language ,i have no knowledge4 ,i was in twenty minds to destroy it1 professing that ,i had lost it en route1 but having calculated that honesty was the more gainful part to play1 ,i put my trust in my patron saint and boldly presented it4 ,by so doing ,i came into possession of an important secret1 for on reading the letter ,monna ,afra exclaimed3 ,my son informs me that you are an unprincipled rogue whose life he holds in his hands1 on account of certain murders which you have committed1 and that therefore ,i need not fear to trust you with our private affairs4 ,the opening words of this ungracious speech caused my spirit to leap within me1 for ,duke ,alessandro far from confiding to me or to any one else the secret that he was the child of a mulattress1 and in all probability the bastard of the ,pope1 had persistently maintained that he was the legitimatised son and rightful heir of the last ,duke of ,florence1 and his mother a princess whose name would in time be divulged1 and this notwithstanding that his dark complexion proclaimed him of ,oriental race4 ,i dissimulated my exultation1 swore loyalty to my patron's honoured mother1 and showed her the portrait of her son1 with which she was greatly pleased4 ,you shall give this to the ,duchess1 later1 she declared1 taking the casket from me1 but first ,i desire you to copy the medallion for me1 and to say nothing of this commission4 ,the wish to possess the likeness of her son seemed so natural to a mother and so flattering to me that ,i readily consented to oblige her1 being the more content to do so that ,i found myself extremely well lodged and nourished in one of the dependencies of the villa1 with the suite of noble attendants appointed to wait upon the ,duchess4 ,among these ,i have cause to remember with the utmost vividness a beautiful page1 the grandson of ,cardinal ,farnese1 who waited upon ,margaret as her train-bearer4 ,this boy's name was ,ottavio1 and ,i was drawn to him from the first for his character matched the exceeding loveliness of his lineaments4 ,monna ,afra from some strange whim had desired me to copy the ,duke's portrait upon glass1 and thinking possibly that ,i might break the slip1 had given me two of precisely the same size4 ,on one of these ,i was impelled to paint for myself the miniature of this adorable child in the court costume of white satin doublet and white silk hose which he was to wear at the wedding of the ,duchess4 ,to this circumstance was due a mischance1 which while it seemed to work me ill at the time was in the end productive of good4 ,though but a child in years the soul of the page1 ,ottavio ,farnese1 was well-nigh ravished from his body with love for the ,duchess1 who but six years older than himself was still but a slip of a girl4 ,often as ,i saw these two children pelting each other with roses and playing many childish games ,i wished that by some enchantment ,i might keep them thus forever1 for my heart revolted at the thought that this exquisite creature was soon to be sacrificed to a brutal profligate twice her own age4 ,certes1 ,i said one day to ,ottavio1 it is a great pity that you are not some ten years older1 then would ,i devote myself to your service and it should go hard ere the daughter of ,charles ,v4 should wed with that swine of an ,alessandro de' ,medici4 ,is he indeed a hog8 cried the boy1 then will ,i slay him1 for ,i would gladly give my life for her4 ,seeing that so precocious and so pure an affection was beyond the conception of our comrades 7though not of the ancients since they figured the love of the boy ,cupid for ,psyche71 ,i protected ,ottavio from their ribaldry1 declaring that ,i would punish with my sword any who made a jest of a devotion which might have drawn tears from the angels4 ,while the ,duchess ,margaret was in her way equally charming1 she was not of such a heavenly gravity as her little comrade4 ,on the contrary1 at this time her spirits overflowed in a bewitching and mischievous wilfulness1 which made her the more irresistible4 ,she was conscious that she was soon to be wedded1 and this knowledge gave her a sense of importance together with mysterious heart throbbings and perturbations1 a wild curiosity to know what manner of man her future husband might be--the coquettishness natural to woman which at times made her rebel at being thus fettered1 all the more that it was without her consent1 and at others built up an ideal in her imagination which she was ready to fall down and worship4 ,seeing her thus curious1 ,monna ,afra had promised ,margaret that a necromancer should show her the presentment of her future husband2 and upon a certain morning this designing woman sent for me1 saying that the slave who ordinarily assisted this magician had suddenly died1 and that she desired me to aid him in his magic rites4 ,she neglected not at the same time to remind me again that ,i was completely in her power and that if ,i did not perform all that was demanded of me she would denounce me to the authorities as a murderer4 ,thus admonished1 and believing also that the necromancer was able to work me a mischief1 ,i put my trust in ,st4 ,michael1 confounder of ,satan1 and faithfully performed all that ,i was bidden to do4 ,hurrying me into a musician's gallery1 which overlooked the chamber in which the incantations were about to take place1 the sorcerer showed me a strange instrument1 compounded of lenses set in a black box in which burned a small lamp4 ,fear not1 ,benvenuto1 he whispered1 seeing that ,i hesitated1 but manipulate this machine as ,i will now show you1 placing from time to time these slips of painted glass in front of the lamp1 and when ,i shall call upon the name of the arch fiend ,beelzebub1 be careful to introduce the copy of the portrait of the ,duke which you have just made for ,monna ,afra4 ,he then made some cabalistic signs upon my forehead and bidding me be of stout heart descended to the main floor of the room1 which was but dimly lighted by the flames of a brazier4 ,i could see1 however1 that around the light were grouped the ,duchess ,margaret1 ,monna ,afra and ,ottavio1 who suspecting some design against his mistress1 had insisted on accompanying her4 ,around these three the necromancer now traced upon the floor a magic circle2 entering it and directing ,margaret to keep her eyes fixed on the wall opposite to the little gallery where ,i stood1 he invoked with a loud voice the demons ,soracil1 ,sathiel1 and ,ammon dwellers in the moon1 bidding them appear with all their legions4 ,as ,i had previously witnessed a similar conjuration by which another necromancer had filled the tiers of the ,colosseum with innumerable legions of devils1 the horrible fear which ,i had experienced on that occasion returned in so lively a manner that my hands trembled so that ,i could scarcely perform the rites assigned to me4 ,i had hardly introduced the first slip of glass when ,ottavio cried out that the house was on fire and endeavoured to drag the ,duchess from the circle1 but the necromancer held him firmly and commanded him on his life not to stir as the demons were gathering in force4 ,having placed the next slip of glass in its place ,i myself perceived them1 horrid creatures of gigantic stature clutching at their victims4 ,thus the ceremony proceeded1 the enchanter uttering strange sentences in the ,hebrew language1 while ,monna ,afra shrieked and howled in blood-curdling tones4 ,ottavio also was well-nigh bereft of his senses with fear1 and flinging his arms about the ,duchess cried to the fiends to take him to hell1 but to spare his beloved lady4 ,at this point1 ,margaret1 who was strangely unafraid1 repeated after the necromancer these words3 ,i conjure thee1 ,beelzebub1 ,prince of ,darkness1 to reveal to me the likeness of my lord and husband1 and renouncing all others ,i promise to be true to him throughout all eternity4 ,this was my cue1 but fumbling in the casket for the portrait of ,duke ,alessandro ,i inadvertently introduced into the throat of the infernal machine not that bit of glass but the one on which ,i had painted the likeness of ,ottavio4 ,seeing the beautiful face of the lad gleaming like that of an angel between the rifts of the smoke of hell1 there was not one of us who for the instant doubted that the apparition was miraculous4 ,monna ,afra ceased her diabolical bellowing1 the necromancer was speechless with surprise1 only ,ottavio found his voice1 and crying1 ,it is ,i1 it is ,i6 fainted from stress of emotion4 ,comprehending immediately that ,i would be held responsible for the miscarriage of the prodigy ,i hastily made my escape from the villa1 nor did ,i1 until long thereafter1 meet with any of the parties concerned in this adventure4 ,the augury in which ,i had assisted seemed false for the marriage of ,margaret to ,duke ,alessandro took place1 as had been planned1 on the arrival of the ,emperor at ,naples4 ,though ,charles was greeted with acclamations as the champion of the ,church against the infidel1 he having put to flight ,hayraddin1 admiral of the ,sultan1 and taken the city of ,tunis1 thus liberating thousands of ,christian captives1--yet in the midst of the festivities there lacked not those who saw a certain inconsistency in the wedding of his sweet daughter to a man notorious for his wickedness and of the very race which he professed to hold in such abhorrence4 ,duke ,alessandro after his marriage refrained not one whit from his evil ways1 but rather exceeded his former profligacy1 so that all ,florence was scandalised thereby and pitied his gentle ,duchess4 ,i mind me now1 however1 that to my astonishment there was one who took another view of the matter1 for ,lorenzino de' ,medici affirmed that ,margaret was possessed of that dauntless courage which one sees sometimes in the tamers of lions and other savage beasts2 that ,alessandro was a mean-spirited creature cowed by his child wife2 and that one had but to note the haughty poise of her head and the hang-dog sullenness which he maintained in her presence to guess the truth4 ,though ,i abhorred the ,duke1 yet as he had made me master of the mint it was necessary that ,i should have commerce with him1 and on the first occasion upon which ,i presented myself being made to wait in an ante-chamber1 ,i overheard a remarkable conversation which caused me to credit the opinion of ,lorenzino4 ,the door was ajar between the room in which ,i sat and the next in which the ,duke and ,duchess had just risen from breakfast4 ,what he had said to her ,i know not1 but his face was one malignity as he leaned toward her across the small table4 ,she faced his snake's eyes1 her own dark with an intensity which should have warned him1 and half beneath her breath1 as though she told him of some danger with which she had nothing to do1 as one might have said1 ,provoke not that dog1 or you will inevitably be bitten1--she very quietly uttered these words3 ,lay so much as your finger upon me and ,i will kill you4 ,and what is to hinder my killing you first1 my little tigress8 he hissed4 ,i had gripped my sword in answer to that question1 but there was no need1 for she blazed forth at him1 the very daughter of her father4 ,the ,emperor6 she cried triumphantly1 and there she had him2 for though ,charles had sold her like a slave and lifted no finger to avenge the indignity which she suffered1 yet ,alessandro well knew that he would be answerable for her life4 ,as she left the room the ,duke turned upon his heel1 and catching sight of me cried out angrily that ,i was well come1 for he was on the point of arresting me for feloniously making away with the casket and portrait which he had bidden me take to his consort4 ,i told him truly that ,i had left the casket in the possession of his mother4 ,with that he flew into a rage1 demanding who had dared to say that this vile hag was in anyway related to him4 ,i made answer that ,monna ,afra had herself told me that this was the fact1 whereupon he swore that he would kill her for spreading such a rumour1 and offered me a large sum to undertake her execution for him4 ,when ,i respectfully declined this office he replied3 ,as you please1 but if you hold not your tongue concerning this matter ,i will find effectual means to silence you4 ,then reflecting doubtless that ,i was not a man to be governed by threats but more likely to be moved to generous deeds by appreciation of my talents1 he admitted that his wife had indeed had the casket in her possession after ,i left ,villa ,madama1 and had not missed it until her chests were unpacked at ,naples1 and that his true reason for choosing me to regain and restore it to her was that ,i was the best fitted of all his courtiers for so difficult an undertaking4 ,i replied that the opportunity to serve the ,duchess would be the greatest favour and honour which he could confer upon me1--and with that he showed me the key of the casket which until now had never quitted ,margaret's chatelaine1 desiring me to duplicate it for him1 with this difference that the handle was to be ornamented by a crown of thorns4 ,when ,i objected that the metal points would inevitably pierce the hand of the ,duchess when she attempted to unlock the casket1 he replied that he did not design the key for his wife1 and bade me obey orders without foolish comment4 ,as ,i am an expert in forging metals ,i soon made a little key with which the ,duke was delighted4 ,taking it into his cabinet he returned presently with a little box on which were inscribed certain ,arabic characters4 ,this box1 said he1 contains the key which you have just fabricated with an order to ,monna ,afra to deliver the casket into your hands4 ,since ,i am to bring away the casket1 ,i replied1 for what purpose do you send this key8 ,is it1 perchance1 that ,monna ,afra may retain for herself any of the contents of the coffre8 ,i have already reproached you--the ,duke answered with a most malignant expression--for giving vent to vain imaginings4 ,if you cannot refrain from thinking1 at least keep silence1 and implicitly carry out my instructions4 ,after delivering this package wait a little1 while ,monna ,afra goes to fetch the casket2 should she tarry follow her and1 no matter what you may see or surmise1 make no outcry but hasten from the villa failing not to bring the casket with you4 ,the ,duchess tells me that while at the villa she kept it in a hiding-place constructed by the ,pope for his jewels1 which opens by pressing a certain ball upon one of the ,medicean shields with which the villa is so profusely ornamented4 ,but1 on reflection1 ,i see no reason for giving you access to our family treasure-chest4 ,monna ,afra will not have placed the casket there1 since she herself showed the ,duchess the secret receptacle1 and it would be the first place in which she would search for it2 and if1 indeed1 it is hidden there it is perfectly safe4 ,thus commissioned ,i betook myself again to ,rome2 but being welcomed by old acquaintances1 and finding an accumulation of important orders awaiting my attention1 ,i naturally thought that the ,duke's business might wait upon my own1 and indeed might have clean forgotten it but for the following circumstance4 ,i had gone fowling one day with a friend in the marshes near the villa of ,magliana1 in the neighbourhood of ,ostia4 ,toward nightfall 7as ,i have elsewhere related71 happening from a little hill to look in the direction of ,florence1 ,i saw an extraordinary phenomenon1 namely1 a heavenly body in the shape of a ,turkish scimitar1 its blade directed toward the city4 ,whereat ,i exclaimed loudly1 ,we shall certainly hear that some great event has occurred at ,florence4 ,even as ,i spoke a stranger wrapped in a long cloak who at a little distance from us was attentively observing this appearance1 asked me what ,i supposed the portent might signify4 ,nothing less1 ,i replied confidently1 giving vent to the first thought which came into my mind1 than the assassination of ,duke ,alessandro4 ,with that he uttered an exclamation in ,arabic1 and hurried in the direction of the ,tiber4 ,we had ridden but a short distance when some peasants rushed toward us with frantic gestures1 crying out that a ship rigged after the manner of the ,turkish corsairs was moored in the river4 ,this gave us such a fright that we clapped spurs to our horses and rode with the utmost speed to ,rome4 ,but our fears having somewhat abated1 we made no report of the alarm upon our arrival1 realising that we had cut no great figure in the adventure4 ,the next day1 my thoughts being still upon the ,duke1 ,i resolved to execute his orders and so rode out to the ,villa ,madama4 ,as ,i approached what was my surprise to see descending its terraces the same man who had accosted me near ,magliana4 ,monna ,afra stood in the loggia watching him1 her hand1 lifted to her eyes to protect them from the rays of the setting sun4 ,i told her that ,i had come from the ,duke and on what errand1 and presented the packet which he had given me4 ,she read it attentively1 and without making any objection or inquiry1 instantly brought the casket4 ,but as she was about to unlock it something awoke her suspicions1 and examining the key more attentively she thrust it before my eyes exclaiming1 ,dog of a ,christian1 you have attempted to poison me6 ,it needed but a glance to show her fears well founded1 for the handle of the key once of shining copper was corroded to a virulent green1 so that it resembled a bit of antique bronze1 and ,i comprehended that her villain of a son had dipped the sharp-pointed crown of thorns in some deadly acid1 hoping that in exercising some force in turning the lock she would lacerate her hand1 and that he would thus compass her death4 ,as ,i remained speechless she took my condition as an evidence of guilt1 and seizing a torch which hung in a metal torchere1 rushed upon the terrace waving it to and fro like a fury4 ,though ,i lacked not the wit to perceive that this was a signal of some sort1 yet remembering the ,duke's orders by all means to secure the casket1 ,i did not immediately address myself to flight1 but strove to wrest it from her by force4 ,she1 however1 opposed me in this design with all her strength1 and throwing it aside fell upon me with a most ungentle embrace1 throttling me and burying her nails in my neck4 ,while we struggled thus ,i was aware of trampling feet and saw the loggia suddenly filled by a horde of barbarous pirates1 refugee ,moorish cut-throats1 who had conceived the daring design of making a descent upon the outskirts of ,rome to plunder its rich villas1 and first that of ,chigi1 in revenge for the chastisement received at the hands of the ,emperor4 ,for the moment my only thought was one of thankfulness for my release from this hell-cat1 but as ,i stood with my arms pinioned ,monna ,afra brought forward a large sack and1 as ,i understood from her expressive gestures1 demanded that ,i should be sewn up therein and cast into the ,tiber4 ,though he had thrown aside the cloak in which he had previously disguised1 ,i recognised the man whom ,i had already twice seen in the gaudily accoutred officer whom ,afra now addressed as ,hayraddin4 ,he spoke to her very earnestly1 and ,i could see that what he said caused her the greatest consternation1 for she tore her hair1 howled and scratched her own face as vehemently as she had formerly maltreated mine4 ,shaking her by the arm he continued to admonish her1 until picking up the casket she retired into the interior of the villa4 ,then turning to me he addressed me in good ,italian in these words3 ,most noble ,signor3 ,you cannot fail to have understood that my sister desired me to kill you1 and that ,i could readily have done so2 but ,i have explained to her that you are a great astrologer1 for from the appearance of the heavens you announced to me yesterday the assassination of her son which news has not yet reached ,rome--and has but this moment been told to me by a party of my men who intercepted the messenger at the ,ponte ,molle4 ,in deference to your supernatural knowledge ,i spare your life1 and shall leave you here bound and gagged1 where in good time you will doubtless be discovered4 ,this news of the death of my nephew has effected more than all my arguments and entreaties1 for my sister has no further desire to remain in this accursed land1 but will return with me to ,africa4 ,scarcely had he concluded when ,monna ,afra entered1 heavily veiled and carrying an immense bundle4 ,this one of the pirates took from her1 and supported by two others she followed her brother and ,i saw her no more4 ,it was two full days1 during which ,i neither ate nor drank1 before ,i was released from my miserable plight1 but even so ,i counted myself fortunate to have escaped with my life4 ,,ii ,ye mariners of ,spain ,bend stoutly to your oars ,and bring my love again1 ,for he lies among the ,moors4 ,old ,spanish ,song4 ,foreseeing after the death of ,duke ,alessandro that ,florence would long remain in a disordered condition1 ,i deemed it a proper season to accept the overtures of his majesty1 ,francis ,i41 ,king of the ,french1 to enter into his service in ,france4 ,this patronage ,i owed solely to my own fame and not1 as has been asserted1 to the favour of his daughter-in-law1 ,catherine de' ,medici1 for that princess had no love for her supposed half-brother ,alessandro1 or for his ,florentine familiars4 ,though ,i could never have been accessory to such vile work as to stab an unarmed and unsuspecting man1 yet often as ,i thought of ,alessandro's satyr leer1 and the loathing bravely coupled with defiance which ,i had seen leap in answer to it in the face of his child ,duchess1 ,i thanked ,god that ,lorenzino had no such squeamish conscience4 ,and yet1--as in the virgin purity of the orange-blossom1 the voluptuous perfume yearningly foretells the luscious1 perfect fruit1 and the blush of the peach-bloom shows the flower coyly but triumphantly conscious that it will one day ripen into mouth-watering deliciousness1--so even then there were hints and prophecies in ,margaret's budding womanliness that the time was approaching when she would not only awaken love but would herself know the joy of loving4 ,the time and the man were nearer than ,i thought4 ,it was a matter of but six years subsequent to our first meeting that1 chancing to be again in ,rome1 ,i next encountered ,ottavio ,farnese4 ,he was no longer the pretty page who had served the ,duchess at the ,villa ,madama1 but had grown into a tall1 handsome youth1 with the first down of manhood upon his lip4 ,though much lighter in weight than myself and his rapier as slender as a child's toy1 he had been well taught in fencing1 as ,i learned when meeting him by chance in front of ,st4 ,peter's church1 he1 to my utter surprise1 fell upon me crying out that ,i was a scurvy knave unfit to live4 ,as ,i am not the man to swallow insults of this sort we slashed at one another without further ceremony until the ,papal guards1 rushing from the ,vatican1 separated us4 ,recognising ,ottavio as the grandson of the ,pope 7for ,cardinal ,farnese had on the death of ,clement ,,vi4 succeeded to the tiara71 they demanded why we fought4 ,i replied that ,i had not the least idea1 but ,ottavio declared that it was to force me to confess what ,i had done with the casket which ,i had been commissioned to bring to the ,duchess ,margaret at ,florence4 ,laughing a little at his own zeal1 but with all due deference ,i told him how the casket had been carried away by the ,moors1 on the evening when ,i repaired to ,villa ,madama to fetch it1 and ,i had the happiness to convince him of the truth of my statement4 ,dismissing the guards he strolled with me in the most amicable manner1 informing me of many events which had happened during my absence in ,france4 ,the first in importance to himself was the fact that he was more madly than ever in love with the ,duchess1 and that she having experienced the brutality of one husband had no mind to venture another1 and had announced her firm intention to remain a widow for the rest of her life4 ,in spite of this he had told her of his love1 but she had treated him as a child and made sport of his passion4 ,i shall die of her disdain1 he said to me1 for my love is beyond my power to conquer4 ,taking him by the hand and perceiving that he was in a fever1 and that unless some hope was extended to him he must lose either his life or his reason1 ,i counselled him to keep a stout heart4 ,for1 said ,i1 though you are young it is a fault which will lessen as years go by1 and the ,emperor surely will not look upon his daughter's repugnance to marriage with approval4 ,rumour hath it that he is on his way to punish1 for a second time1 the ,moorish pirates who are back in their old nest at ,tunis4 ,when he visits ,rome you should persuade the ,pope to intercede with him in your behalf4 ,as if ,i had not already thought of that6 ,ottavio replied4 ,i have freely opened my heart to my grandfather1 and he has negotiated with the ,emperor1 who is as favourable to an alliance with a ,farnese ,pope as he was to a similar compact with the ,medici4 ,charles could force his daughter to accept me1 as he compelled her to marry ,alessandro2 but ,i will not win her in that way1 and she despises me1 doubtless1 for what she considers my pusillanimity4 ,when ,i pleaded with her but yesterday bidding her set me any task to accomplish as a proof of my love--she laughed scornfully1 saying that she had no lack of pages to fetch and carry unless it were to demand of ,benvenuto ,cellini the casket which he had forgotten to return to her4 ,then1 though ,i knew that you1 ,benvenuto1 were accounted a desperate man1 ,i swore to her that ,i would not enter her presence again until ,i had fulfilled her behest4 ,yea1 and ,i will fulfil it1 for ,i will sail with the ,emperor on this expedition to ,tunis and will find the hag ,afra and wrest it from her4 ,your determination1 ,i replied1 is a good one1 and1 as the adventure appeals to me1 ,i will go with you4 ,i have already met ,hayraddin1 commander of the ,corsairs and brother of ,monna ,afra1 who should know the whereabouts of the casket1 and ,i may be able to aid you in obtaining it4 ,as the affair turned out1 though ,ottavio did indeed sail for ,africa with the ,emperor1 ,i was not allowed to accompany him1 for his father1 feigning to believe that the casket1 together with certain valuable jewels stolen from ,pope ,clement1 was in my possession1 or at least hidden in some spot nearer to ,rome than ,tunis1 caused me to be imprisoned in the castle of ,st4 ,angelo1 until such time as ,i should make restitution4 ,he did this1 moreover1 without informing his son of my arrest1 so that ,ottavio departed believing that ,i had wilfully failed of my promise to go with him4 ,but ,i was not alone in misfortune1 for the ,emperor far from achieving victories similar to those which crowned his previous expedition1 met with terrible storms which scattered the ships of his fleet and wrecked many of them upon the coast of ,africa1 where the savage barbarians1 descending upon the drowning mariners1 massacred them in cold blood4 ,word was brought back to ,rome that this was the fate both of the ,emperor and of ,ottavio ,farnese1 and though this proved but an unfounded rumour1 the heart of the gentle ,margaret was filled with remorse as well as grief1 for having driven so chivalrous a youth and one who loved her so devotedly to his death4 ,she mourned him most sincerely1 wearing widow's weeds in his honour as though she had in reality been his bride4 ,such is the strange contrariety of a woman's heart that he who living had been the object of her scorn1 was now loved with the most vehement passion4 ,when at last it was known that the ,emperor and ,ottavio had indeed been rescued and were returning to ,italy1 but that the latter was dangerously ill1 her transports of alternate joy and foreboding were most piteous to behold4 ,i was a witness to them1 for at this time by twisting my sheets into a rope ,i had most marvellously escaped from the battlements of ,st4 ,angelo4 ,as ,i deemed it prudent to remain for a time in hiding and knew that the ,villa ,madama was unoccupied1 ,i had repaired thither under cover of the night1 and without undressing had slept soundly upon the floor1 the house being denuded of furniture4 ,but in the morning ,i was awakened by a great clatter of trampling horses and sumpter mules1 and springing to my feet and finding myself confronted by the ,duchess ,i gave myself up for lost4 ,this was1 however1 the most fortunate circumstance which could have happened to me1 for on hearing my story she promised me her protection and her intercession with the ,pope4 ,she told me also that she had come with all this train of servants and household stuff to put the villa in order for the reception of her betrothed husband1 ,ottavio ,farnese1 as a more salubrious residence than her palace at ,rome1 and more conducive to his rapid recovery4 ,and hither1 shortly after1 he was borne in a litter and ,i beheld their rapturous meeting1 and certes the spectacle of so great joy went far toward repaying me for all the misfortunes which ,i had suffered4 ,the young ,duke1 though very weak1 extended his hand to me with a smile1 saying that ,i was ever ,benvenuto 7welcome71 and reminding me how in that very spot ,i had assisted at incantations which had foretold that he would one day be the husband of the ,duchess1 which prognostication was now so miraculously fulfilled4 ,i have1 he added1 but one regret--that ,i come to her forsworn1 for ,i promised ere claiming her as my wife to recover the casket4 ,that promise1 my ,lord1 ,i made haste to reply1 you shall keep1 for ,i have been more fortunate in my quest than your excellency4 ,i then showed him the secret hiding-place constructed by ,pope ,clement in the wall2 for1 while prowling in the villa1 ,i had remembered what ,duke ,alessandro had said of it1 and had not failed to press each one of the ,medici balls1 so frequently employed in the decoration of the villa1 until ,i lighted upon the ingenious spring which disclosed the recess1 and within it a package marked with the name of the ,duchess4 ,the wrapper had mouldered away with dampness and discovered the casket with the poisoned key still in the lock1 having been so left by that wicked ,afra with the express design of revenging herself upon the innocent ,margaret for the death of her abominable son1 and perhaps also upon ,margaret's father for the misfortunes which he had occasioned her race4 ,the ,duchess being called1 evinced the greatest joy and would have fallen into the trap and have unlocked the casket at once1 had ,i not first discovered the key and sent for a pair of pincers with which ,i turned it4 ,while waiting the arrival of the pincers she asked her consort if he had any idea why she set such store upon the casket4 ,doubtless1 he replied with a frown1 because it contains the portrait of your husband1 who1 with all his faults1 was at least a brave man4 ,you have rightly guessed1 she answered1 the bravest of the brave and the only man whom ,i have ever loved4 ,i marvelled to hear her thus speak1 until the lid being opened1 we discovered1 not my medal of ,alessandro de' ,medici1 for that ,margaret had long ago given to his mother as an inconsiderate trifle2 but the likeness of the pretty page1 ,ottavio1 which ,i had painted at their first acquaintance2 and which1 in despite all contrariety of womanly coquetry1 had remained as ineffaceably imprinted upon her heart4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,flower ,o' ,,the ,,peach ,now for a tale illustrative ,that shall delight my passion for romance1 ,embodying hints authentic of some theme 99 99 99 ,or incident that to my knowledge came ,when sojourning abroad1 the background true2 ,like to some faded tapestry retouched ,with the seductive broidery-work of fancy4 ,,anon--altered4 ,i ,let the trovere ease her conscience at the outset--the tale about to be recorded is over true4 ,even as there was more truth than called for in the testimony of that ingenious witness who1 being adjured by the judge to speak the truth1 replied3 ,of a surety1 your honor1 that will ,i1 the truth1 the whole truth1 and--a little more4 ,but the little more which ,i shall give you is peradventure the truest part of my tale2 for1 though you will find it not in the chronicles of such historiographers as give their quills solely to statecraft and wars1 yet it lies like a pressed flower between the musty leaves of the novellini of ,franco ,sacchetti and of ,ser ,giovanni ,fiorentino1 who relate with great particularity the artifice by which the head of the house of the ,aldobrandini won his bride4 ,let who will carp that in combining matter from various sources ,i have followed the example of those unscrupulous antiquaries who1 discovering an antique statue1 straightway replace its missing parts by others lying near at hand1 or1 more criminal still1 complete it according to the whims of their own fancy4 ,to that accusation needs must that ,i plead at the outset mea culpa1 advancing only that the original torso as well as the legs and arms which ,i have made free to assemble are still preserved1 properly ticketed1 in the museum of history1 while for him who cavils with the authenticity of this restoration the buried palaces of the ancient world patiently await exhumation to yield to each body its own particular members1 and to each excavator his own treasure trove4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,villa ,aldobrandini1 ,frascati4 ,the ,grand ,cascade and ,fountain of ,atlas ,let thus much suffice for apology--now to our legend4 ,in the ,court of the ,cascade of that most magnificent of the ,frascati villas1 namely that of the ,aldobrandini1 whoso lists may see to-day two fountains2 the greater1 figuring the demigod ,atlas1 well-nigh crushed under the weight of our terrestrial globe1 is niched conspicuously to the fore of the grand terrace2 but the other is in a hidden pleasance1 and is but a lop-sided vase1 considered to have settled thus awry from the natural subsidence of the soil rather than to have been so placed by design4 ,nevertheless1 our legend will have this to have been done a purpose2 and there are no acts in all the annals of that illustrious house more chivalrous or magnanimous than those supposed to be commemorated by this fountain of ,atlas and its fellow of the ,spilling ,cup4 ,and first of ,atlas ,aldobrandino1 lord of that fair estate and many others in that dim time centuries before the building of the villa4 ,atlas was he named not at his baptism1 but half in admiration1 half in derision by his mates1 for his burliness of body and his inordinate greediness of all kinds1 for he coveted1 say they1 the entire earth1 clutched at a mighty part thereof1 and what he seized upheld manfully4 ,beside his ,italian possessions he was lord of the whole of ,venisi in ,southern ,france adjoining fair ,provence1 and though a bachelor of upwards of seventy-one winters found himself mightily distraught with love for the fair daughter of his neighbour1 the figures of whose age exactly reversed his own4 ,many lords1 counts1 and barons were sighing suitors for her regard1 and when ,aldobrandino1 prefacing his request with lavish gifts of steeds1 falcons1 and hounds1 besought her hand of the great ,count of ,provence1 her father1 the latter1 not wishing to offend him1 replied3 ,i would willingly give her to you1 were it not that it might seem strange to the multitude of young knights eighteen to twenty years of age now in pursuit of her1 lords of ,baux1 of ,toulouse1 of ,perpignan1 and vavasours of the great ,emperor beyond the ,rhone1 who might all join together and fall upon me4 ,it is my one desire to live at peace with my neighbours and to this end ,i have had to fight many hard battles4 ,moreover1 the girl herself may have her eye set upon some one of those fresher sparks who are continually fluttering about her4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,upper ,cascade1 ,villa ,aldobrandini ,friend1 returned ,aldobrandino1 be not anxious as to the event1 for ,i will devise a method of arranging the affair amicably with our young friends4 ,we are informed that the enamoured ,aldobrandino slept not a wink that night1 but concocted a wileful scheme which he confided to his friend4 ,do you announce a tournament at which whoever desires the honour of your daughter's hand1 and is of a rank and wealth sufficient to warrant such pretension1 shall have cordial welcome to fight1 and in ,god's name let her be the prize of the victor4 ,this proposition appealed to the lord of ,provence1 for it seemed a fair one to which none of his warlike neighbours could object4 ,moreover1 it was even generous1 coming as it did from ,aldobrandino1 who1 though he had been a doughty knight in his day1 could now scarcely sit his saddle for corpulency or aim a straight lance-thrust with his shaking arm4 ,the lists were made ready at ,arles1 heralds sent into all countries near and far1 and the tournament given out for the first of ,may following4 ,but ,aldobrandino was more wily than appeared4 ,he had no over-confidence in his own prowess1 and he sent immediately to the ,king of ,france1 with whom he was closely allied1 begging him to lend him to act as his champion for this occasion his most doughty knight1 the most invincible that could be met with in all feats of arms4 ,in consideration of his esteem for ,aldobrandino the ,king sent him his favourite cavalier ,ricciardo 7of whom much more hereafter71 who1 arriving at the castle of the aged lover thus reported himself3 ,i am sent1 quoth he1 by my royal master to act in whatever capacity may be most agreeable to you4 ,give your orders1 therefore2 it is my devoir to execute them manfully4 ,then hear me1 explained ,aldobrandino4 ,it is my wish that you should carry all before you at this tournament until ,i ride into the field1 when ,i will engage you1 and you must suffer yourself to be vanquished1 so that ,i may remain the victor of the day4 ,thus far have we followed with exact circumstantiality the relation of the ,italian writers before mentioned1 to which also we shall later return2 but let us1 for the sake of novelty in the telling of an old story1 for a little space change our view-point and give the play as it was acted before the eyes of the fair lady who was herself its heroine4 ,sancie was her name1 or1 if you will1 ,sanchia1 third of the four fair daughters of ,raymond ,berenger1 ,count of ,provence1 who had the singular fortune to marry each of the four to a king4 ,perilous seemed this honour to this future father-in-law of monarchs1 as he admitted to his friend1 ,romeo de ,villeneuve1 what time he ceded to ,st4 ,louis of ,france the strong castle of ,tarascon as the dowry of his daughter ,marguerite4 ,but ,villeneuve very shrewdly consoled him4 ,for1 quoth he1 let not this great expense trouble you4 ,if you marry your eldest high the mere consideration of that alliance will get the others husbands at less cost4 ,the event approved his sagacity and also the prediction of a soothsayer1 to whom the four sisters had applied to know the rank of their future husbands1 for1 requested to draw at venture from a pack of cards1 ,marguerite straightway drew the king of swords1 ,eleanor the king of money1 ,sancie the king of goblets1 and ,beatrice the king of clubs4#e ,the witch expounded this to mean that ,marguerite should wed the knightliest king in all the world and in all ages 7which indeed came to pass in the person of ,st4 ,louis72 that ,eleanor should in her king of coins gain the monarch of the wealthiest of all realms1 namely1 ,england2 that ,beatrice should have the misfortune to mate with a hard-hitting savage1 but still a king--a forecast fulfilled in ,charles of ,anjou1 brother of ,st4 ,louis1 who won his kingdom of the two ,sicilies by as hard and as cruel fighting as ever dinted the armour or soiled the fame of a knight2 and that1 finally1 ,sancie1 the third in order of birth1 but last to find a lover1 should of her own free will choose for her husband a king of good fellows1 whose kingdom was but that of cups4 ,this prophecy1 ,i say1 had been more than half fulfilled4 ,the two elder daughters were queens2 the youngest was besought and contracted1 when their father1 fearing perchance that the prediction would be carried out in the case of his third and best-loved1 set himself against fate and called a halt in its proceedings4 ,it was unfitting1 he declared1 that ,beatrice should be married before her elder sister ,sancie1 and ,charles of ,anjou must perforce hold his amorous desires in leash until his prospective sister-in-law was disposed of4 ,this at first sight seemed no such difficult matter1 for while the others had each been meted one lover1 on ,sancie fortune had bestowed a full half dozen4 ,but though their numbers flattered the vanity and pleased the coquetry of the lady1 the quality of no one of them was satisfactory to the father4 ,he had now an appetite for kings4 ,counts1 barons1 princes even would not suit his palate1 and as no monarch or scion of royalty had as yet applied for ,sancie's hand it struck his humour that a tournament such as ,aldobrandino proposed1 well advertised in every court of ,europe1 might draw some king1 or at least an adventurous princeling1 to the lists1 as indeed was proved by the sequel4 ,the queenly sisters of ,sancie took up the project with great enthusiasm4 ,queen ,eleanor1 consort of ,henry ,,iii4 of ,england1 was visiting her sister of ,france1 and together they arranged every detail of the tournament1 of which ,king ,louis was to be the judge4 ,the hopes of ,beatrice jumped also with this plan as one which would remove ,sancie from her own path to true love1 and of all the four daughters of ,raymond1 ,sancie was the only one who looked upon the scheme with any dubiety4 ,but her older sisters1 on their arrival at their father's capital city of ,arles1 reassured her1 explaining that though there would be a great show of fair dealing yet they had plotted so cleverly that ,sancie would take her own pick from this rich strawberry plot of lovers4 ,it is my husband's privilege1 expounded ,queen ,marguerite1 before ever the fighting begins1 to bar out any knight as the procession files before him in the grand entree of the lists4 ,you shall sit beside him and indicate any whom you wish disallowed4 ,moreover1 you can at any moment whisper in ,louis's ear and he will throw every advantage possible in the way of your champion4 ,nevertheless1 continued ,queen ,eleanor1 since it is possible that the knight you favour may be notoriously inept in arms1 you shall have resource to another trial of skill--namely that of minstrelsy4 ,here 7like my predecessor of the same name1 ,queen ,eleanor of ,aquitaine7 ,i will be judge4 ,from the knights who have previously taken part in the tournament you yourself shall winnow out a half dozen1 and shall tell me secretly to which of these ,i am to award the prize4 ,now confess1 can anything be fairer8 ,is there a possibility of your true love failing1 if so be he but enter the contest8 ,but ,sancie hung her head4 ,i have no true love1 she said1 ,i am absolutely heart-free4 ,so much the better1 cried the ,queen of ,france1 and this shall be announced at the outset4 ,the tournament also shall be delayed a week after the time set1 to give you an opportunity to meet the contestants and to know your own mind4 ,but the ,queen of ,england caught ,sancie's cheeks between her two hands4 ,listen little sister1 she said softly1 ,i have brought with me from ,england the very prince for you1 my husband's brother1 ,richard1 ,earl of ,cornwall#f2 well worthy he to bear the name of his great uncle1 ,coeur de ,lion4 ',king of ,good ,fellows' he is dubbed by his friends1 for he is loved by all who know him4 ,king of ,good ,fellows1 repeated ,sancie softly2 tell me more of him1 sweet sister4 ,is he as valiant in arms as he is lovable1 as fortunate as he is deserving8 ,accomplished is he in all that becomes a knight1 replied ,eleanor1 but fortunate so far is he not4 ,always when he stands on the verge of success he yields his advantage to another1 holding that love1 even that of an adversary1 is the dearest prize of all4 ,would he so yield me1 think you8 questioned ,sancie4 ,nay1 not if he knew you1 replied ,queen ,eleanor2 therefore to your instant acquaintance1 ,i have bidden him this afternoon to a game of ball in the pleasance of the castle4 ,king ,louis heard this conversation and it irked him1 for though he had assured the sisters that ,richard would take part in the tournament1 he had not confided to them that he would do so in behalf of ,prince ,aldobrandino4 ,the pretensions of this aged lover had greatly amused the ladies4 ,they counted so surely on his discomfiture that even ,sancie1 who abhorred him1 had not thought it worth while to ask ,king ,louis to bar him from the contest4 ,richard also had given his word to play but the part of an understudy in this drama before he had seen ,sancie1 else never would he have consented to the compact4 ,king ,louis had indeed explained it to him before sending him to ,aldobrandino1 and ,richard had demanded carelessly3 ,of what sort is the maiden8 ,the ,king had answered3 ,all of the daughters of ,raymond ,berenger are fair1 and ,sancie is next to my ,marguerite1 who is fairest fair4 ,then ,richard smiled1 for he remembered that when he had questioned his brother ,henry1 of ,england1 what time he went to claim his bride1 of her beauty1 he had answered3 ,all of the daughters of ,raymond ,berenger are fair1 but my ,eleanor is fairest1 and the next in beauty is ,sancie4 ,where such difference of opinion exists1 thought ,richard1 it were well to leave the matter to an umpire1 and he straightway submitted the question to ,charles of ,anjou4 ,nay1 they are both wrong1 confidently declared that prince2 my ,beatrice is fairest1 but ,sancie is not far beneath her4 ,then ,richard laughed to himself3 ,truly if the girl ranks but second when compared with each of these her sisters1 whose beauty ,i esteem not at all1 she is not worth the winning on my own behalf2 and ,i am safe in adventuring for the joy of the mere adventure4 ,but when ,aldobrandino spake to him of her it was in other wise4 ,consider well1 he said1 ere you undertake this business1 for should the beauty of ,sancie drive you to such madness as to play me false then of a surety ,i will kill you4 ,not in vain am ,i dubbed ,atlas1 for all things upon earth which ,i desire ,i bear away upon my shoulders1 and ,i have sworn by the five wounds of ,god that she and she alone shall sit as princess in my palace4 ',tis a great oath1 said ,richard1 but you shall not be forsworn by me1 and verily ,i marvel that you have set your heart upon her if the opinion of her brothers-in-law be credible4 ,and with that he told the several answers given to his questions4 ,aldobrandino glowered upon him and grunted this reply3 ,you mind me of a stornello sung by our peasants3 ',flower o' the peach1 ,flowers for all fancies1 his own love for each4' ,and verily1 he added1 it is well that it is so1 else should ,i have had for rivals ,louis and ,henry and ,charles1 and perchance you also4 ,the flower o' the peach suits her well2 she is but a homely little bloom o' the kitchen garden beside her statelier rose and lily sisters4 ,but1 look you1 what use have ,i for such useless ornaments as your waxy-pale lilies1 your flaunting and fragile roses8 ,what fruit bear they1 ,i ask8 ,why1 pips and briars4 ,whereas the peach is a stocky tree1 prolific and profitable to its owner1 for to its unadmired and modest blossom succeedeth a toothsome fruitage4 ,therefore say ,i the flower o' the peach for me4 ,for1 hist1 ,ricciardo1 ,i am past the age when one goes maying for flowers only4 ,women have had no great power over me1 and a bachelor ,i should die but that ,i have regard for what shall happen after me1 and a natural desire for the continuance of my race upon their old estates4 ,it is not so much a wife that ,i seek as a mother for my children4 ,i would see many and goodly sons about me1 strong of body1 lusty in fight1 such as only a wholesome and sturdy woman can bear and rear4 ,if she have wit enough to rule them it is enough for me2 and as for beauty1 the less the better in the eyes of other men for her whom my descendants shall claim with pride as mother of the ,aldobrandini4 ,,ii ,,the ,,ordeal ,one maiden trimly girt ,bore in her gleaming upheld skirt ,fair silken balls sewed round with gold2 ,which when the others did behold ,men cast their mantles unto earth1 ,and maids within their raiment's girth ,drew up their gown skirts1 loosening here ,some button on their bosoms dear ,or slender wrists1 then making tight ,the laces round their ankles light2 ,for folk were wont within that land ,to cast the ball from hand to hand1 ,dancing meanwhile full orderly4 ,lovely to look on was the sway ,of the slim maidens neath the ball ,as they swung back to note its fall ,with dainty balanced feet2 and fair ,the bright out-flowing1 golden hair1 ,as swiftly yet in measured wise ,one maid ran forth to gain the prize2 ,eyes glittered and young cheeks glowed bright ,and gold-shod feet1 round limb and light1 ,gleamed from beneath the girded gown ,that1 unrebuked1 untouched was thrown ,hither and thither by the breeze2 ,shrill laughter smote the thick-leaved trees1 ,till they1 for very breathlessness1 ,with rest the trodden daisies bless4 ,,william ,,morris4 ,cold and calculating1 nay coarse also seemed the motives of ,aldobrandino to ,richard as he pondered them4 ,not so1 thought he1 would ,i set about the choosing of my wife--as it were the purchase of a brood-mare4 ,still more his soul revolted at this low animalism when that afternoon he for the first time beheld sweet ,sancie playing at ball with her sisters in the pleasance of the palace of ,aries4 ,the game was set to music1 the measured beating of a tambour with the light chiming of silver bells4 ,some said that ,marguerite was most regal2 so stately she moved to the rhythm of the dance1 that one might have fancied that the glorious statue of the ,venus of ,arles had descended from her ancient shrine to tread a measure with her maidens4 ,but ,eleanor danced with more vivacity and passion4 ,you would have thought her of ,spanish blood as she leapt and whirled1 catching the ball with the lithe ferocity of a panther4 ,for ,beatrice1 ,richard had no eyes1 for as he watched ,sancie1 he knew what her three kingly brothers-in-law had meant when each could name only his own heart's dearest as her superior4 ,he saw1 too1 why ,aldobrandino had likened her to a peach-blossom1 for her complexion had that even delicate flush1 not white and red in spots1 but roseate everywhere1 like the heart of a conch shell or the breast of a pink curlew4 ,abounding health spake in her buoyant step1 but she was fine as well as strong4 ,the rounded contours of her cheeks and shoulders were soft as those of a babe1 and ,richard had seen naught in all his life so exquisite as her dimpling smile4 ,would you know with more particularity how she appeared to him1 look you straightway at the sweet maid in the foreground of that ,coronation of the ,virgin which ,fra ,lippo ,lippi painted2 and from the framing of wayward little curls that make their escape from a veil of silver tissue1 a tangle withal to mesh a man's heart in1 from that face1 ,i say 7though the painter-monk had ne'er the felicity to see her71 ,sancie's round eyes will search your soul and will remain in your memory for evermore4 ,you will not wonder then that ,richard blessed ,god in his heart for making a thing so fair1 and stood as one in amaze until the ball with which she was playing fell at his feet4 ,needs must then that he return it to her and join in the game1 for this was the custom when one of the players dropped out1 as had ,beatrice from weariness4 ,so he played1 but he saw not the ball1 only her who sped it1 and making many faults the game was adjudged to her4 ,illustration3 ,face of ,young ,girl in the ,coronation of the ,virgin ,by ,fra ,filippo ,lippi ,permission of ,alinari ,then they walked together1 others of the company following in twos and threes at a discreet distance1 in that allee which still retains its ancient name1 ,les ,alyscamps 7,champs ,elysees--,elysian ,fields71 where 'neath the taller trees the oleanders shot in long curves bursting in pink fire1 like rockets1 above their heads4 ,here1 seated upon one of those carven tombs which now make benches for lovers in that enchanting spot1 she told him old legends of ,st4 ,trophime1 how he and his fellows sculptured about the portal of his abbey descend from their niches and keep here the eve of ,toussaint4 ,you will see them1 she said1 when you go to hang your shield in the cloister1 where it must be displayed1 if so be you fight in this foolish joust4 ,truly sorry and shamed am ,i that so many gallant knights must run the risk of wounds and death for little me4 ',tis a small venture for so great a prize1 said ,richard4 ,then1 as you fight1 let it be your best1 for-- but here she paused and ended her sentence differently from her first intention--for ,i would not have you hurt1 and her face grew yet rosier4 ,richard cursed his fate that he might not fight his best1 but his cursing was in his heart1 what he said was3 ,the fortunes of such a joust are very fickle and it must needs happen that many a good knight will fight his doughtiest and yet not succeed4 ,if ,i am among that number1 sweet lady1 ,i pray you set not my mischance down to lack of will1 for in no tournament that ,i have ever entered had ,i so great desire to win4 ,she looked no higher than the ,plantagenet leopards gold-embroidered upon the breast of his doublet4 ,since1 to spare the knights the mortification of public discomfiture1 my father hath decreed that they fight incognito 7their true names being known only to the roi d'armes who passes upon their qualifications71 will you not tell me the device which you have chosen8 ,choose my device for me1 he said1 and ,i will cause it to be blazoned on my shield and embroidered on my pennant4 ,it has been foretold1 she answered pensively1 that ,i shall wed the ,king of ,cups4 ,therefore1 if you honestly desire to win choose that emblem4 ,my cup runneth over1 he murmured--and their lips met4 ,ere they parted there was heard a sound of laughter1 as it were the crackling of light flame1 for there was no mirth in the sound1 and ,aldobrandino stood before them regarding the pair with a derisive leer4 ,there is an old proverb which it were well you should both remember1 he said4 ,if ,i mistake not it runneth in this wise1 ',there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip4' ,it were meet that the cup you blazon should be a spilling one4 ,better spilling than swilling1 cried ,richard1 his eyes aflame1 and ,sancie affrighted ran away4 ,i forgive you those stolen sweets for this once1 said ,aldobrandino1 for you had great provocation4 ,said ,i not rightly a peach-blossom8 ,nay1 a peach rather1 ripe and luscious4 ,watered not your mouth in that game of ball when the strain of her deep breathing and the violent turning and twisting of her lithe body burst the lacing of her corsage and half her fair bosom broke covert8 ,what a pillow was that for a bridegroom1 eh1 ,ricciardo8 ,nay1 retorted ,richard1 while she repaired that accident ,i lifted not my eyes above the hem of her robe1 that so her rare modesty might take no offence4 ,and had you kept them there throughout the game you would have seen much to admire1 continued ,aldobrandino4 ,ah6 the pretty little feet1 the shapely ankles6 ,but marked you those of her sisters8 ,cranes and ostriches6 storks and sandpipers6 ,and they call themselves not water-fowl but women6 ,swine6 said ,richard to himself1 hog1 not another word or ,i shall burst4 ,and what unspeakable villainy is this that ,i should have taken service to deliver so pure and precious a maiden into the power of such a beast6 ,this feeling grew upon him in the short space of time before the tournament1 for he met her daily1 and as he marked her1--the flicker of her eyelashes upon her cheeks and the quick in-drawing of breath through her sensitive nostrils when the tales of the trouveres and jests of the jongleurs offended her exquisite modesty--his heart swelled with pain intolerable that so pure a flower should be set up as a prize for the hardest fighter to snuff at4 ,not so1 he made bold to express his mind to ,aldobrandino1 should such a maid be won4 ,how then1 snorted the other in astonishment4 ,what method were fairer1 ,i ask you8 ,what than to appeal to her own heart1 ,richard made answer1 and that by gentle observance1 delicate attentions1 and such refinements of self-sacrifice as in their practice might elevate a lover to some worthiness of the honour he courts8 ,aldobrandino sniffed his scorn4 ,appeal to her heart in the last resort ,i grant you1 but only thus3 ,lady1 will you have me8 ,an she will not1 what would your servility gain8 ,an she will1 it is needless4 ,in either case it is ridiculous4 ,trust me1 a woman sets more store by the man who compels her admiration than by him who sues for it4 ,if he breaks the bones of other men to win her1 that is compliment enough and mark you well1 ,ricciardo1 it is all that ,i demand of you in my service4 ,so the week sped before the tournament2 and ,richard loved ,sancie more and more1 and ever ,aldobrandino was at his side taunting him until he burst forth into many a torrent of indignation1 whereat the other but laughed and leered1 so that ,richard loathed and hated him to the death4 ,at last came the great day1 and among the pennons of the challenging knights1 which made gay the ancient amphitheatre of ,arles where the lists were staked1 there fluttered one bearing the device of a golden cup from which ran a stream of silver water4 ,also when ,richard1 with visor drawn and all in mail of shining steel1 caracoled in the field1 he was hailed ,knight of the ,spilling ,cup1 and ,sancie's hand at that sign trembled so that had it held a beaker her robe would have been well besprinkled4 ,as the prize of this joust was a peculiar one1 so was the manner of its contention4 ,king ,rene had not then formulated his rules for the conduct of a tourney1 and the public tournaments at this time were of so savage a character that ,king ,louis held them in reprehension and was determined that this trial of arms1 which was but a friendly joust1 should be a model of chivalric self-restraint and courtesy4 ,there was much grumbling when the rules were published by the heralds that there was to be no fighting to the death with weapons of war1 no sharp steel points to the lances1 nor hacking with battle-axes1 and though the mace was allowed this bludgeon was shorn of its iron knobs and points4 ,but when it was known that the ,king had stricken out the melee1 or pitched battle of the second day1 when all comers gentle and simple were by ancient custom allowed to range themselves in two parties under the banners of the victorious knight and him who stood second1 all were of one opinion1 namely that ,louis had so emasculated the sport of all its zest that now was neither opportunity for young and unknown knights to distinguish themselves or a spectacle sufficiently diverting to keep the ladies from yawning4 ,nevertheless the ,king would not budge from his ruling1 and the descendants of the very barbarians for whom ,caesar had built the amphitheatre in order that their savage instincts might be sated came sulkily to their seats ready to deride this gentle passage at arms4 ,but certes they had more thrilling sensations than they had counted upon1 more of tingling along the spine and lifting of the hair as knight after knight went down and esquires dragged their masters from the tawny dust clouds that hid the plunging chaos4 ,tender maids1 noble ladies1 yea1 and strong men felt their hearts stop and their stomachs turn as these pale1 blood-bedabbled contestants were carried away1 their heads wagging from limp necks1 to the pavilion where the leeches provided by ,raymond ,berenger awaited them4 ,but ,i do anticipate the order of my relation4 ,eight noble knights1 lords of neighbouring provinces and some as well of foreign countries1 all sumptuously accoutred and mounted on gaily caparisoned steeds1 entered the arena in procession1 and1 having saluted the ,king and the ladies1 took their positions in two companies at either extremity of the lists4 ,for in this wise had it been ordered--that they should tilt in single combat1 their adversaries having been previously determined by lot1 one couple succeeding another until each knight had fought once4 ,and after these four trial courses had been run1 the four knights adjudged to have won therein the greatest glory must be matched again in two other duels1 whereof the two victors might contest in the final combat for the great prize of the tourney4 ,hautboys and trumpets sounded shrilly the onset1 and the first pair of knights1 laying their lances in rest1 rushed to the encounter4 ,it may well be understood that in this series of preliminary single combats1 ,sancie had eyes alone for that in which ,richard figured4 ,easy was his victory1 for charging against young ,raymond of ,toulouse 7seventh of that name7 so violent was the shock of his spear against his opponent's shield that both ,raymond and his steed rolled upon the ground4 ,fortunate was that knight to have broken only his thigh1 a mischance which ,richard strove to mitigate by most assiduous tendance during ,raymond's convalescence4 ,but now for the glory of the feat he was apportioned a weightier warrior1 ,barral des ,baux1 who had won like renown in the trial contest1 having thrust his antagonist out of his saddle in such wise that he dinted the field with the back of his head1 and to such effect that thereafter he had no memory either for good or ill1 no1 not so much as of this astounding adventure or of his sweetheart's face4 ,when ,richard met the redoutable ,des ,baux their lance-heads were planted squarely each upon the shield of the other1 but the polished curving surface offering no purchase both lances slipped1 and ,barral's splintering and glancing downward was thrust into the haunch of ,richard's horse4 ,the creature uttered a piteous1 human-like cry which was echoed by ,sancie1 and ,richard hearing that wail and feeling himself sinking so that his feet touched the ground1 believed that he had lost the day4 ,but even then a roar echoed around the concave of the amphitheatre3 ,the cup hath it1 the cup6 the cup6 and he saw the ,lord of ,les ,baux lying at a little distance with blood trickling upon the sand from the bars of his helmet4 ,for ,richard's lance had slipped upward and penetrating between gorget and helmet had pierced and dislocated ,barral's jaw4 ,this alone was enough to give ,richard his second victory1 but there were three added points of humiliation for the ,knight of ,les ,baux1 namely3 his lance had been broken1 he had been unhorsed1 and1 with maladroitness worthy of the merest tyro1 had injured a horse when he had aimed at its rider4 ,on the other hand ,richard was untouched in person1 his arms also in good condition1 and he could not be said even to have quit his saddle since he remained astride his steed with his feet still in the stirrups4 ,but ,alphonso of ,aragon1 had also won laurels for the second time1 for though his lance had slipped on the shield of his opponent precisely as ,richard's had done1 it had wrought far greater damage1 for1 tearing away the visor from the helmet of his antagonist it had blinded and disfigured him for life4 ,therefore honours remained equal between these two champions who must now run the final and deciding course4 ,but ,richard's good horse was cruelly maimed and could scarce be gotten from the arena1 nor had he thought to have another ready outside the lists4 ,raymond ,berenger sent a page to his own stables for his best horse1 but ere he returned the loss was repaired by another1 and ,richard entered upon a powerful coal black stallion1 tricked with scarlet housings4 ,a noise of clapping greeted his entrance for the favourite horse of ,aldobrandino had been recognised and it was supposed 7though in this they much mistook their man71 that by this courtesy he signified his renunciation of any intention to compete4 ,the heralds also made proclamation that if the knights chose they might fight this last passage at arms with swords or maces1 and swords being chosen each spurred toward the other1 their good blades flashing in the sunshine and ,richard with a sweep of his arm sheared the plume from his adversary's crest4 ,but ,alphonso1 who missed his proper stroke1 dealt him a dirty thrust in the side as he was passing4 ,it pricked through ,richard's armour but scratched him only and roused him to such energy that he swung around1 clasped ,alphonso in his arms1 and all on horseback as they were1 wrestled with him till he threw him over his charger's crupper to the earth4 ,then the ,king asked ,sancie loudly3 ,are you content to give your hand to the winner of this contest8 and the herald shouted her answer so that all heard it3 ,the high and puissant ,lady1 ,sancie1 willingly grants her hand as prize to the victor4 ,but even as he cried1 all were aware that the end was not yet1 for the roi d'armes pricked to the ,king's balcony and again the herald blew his trumpet and announced that another challenger1 delayed from appearing at the first1 contested this decision4 ,having been bidden enter1 a burly knight mounted upon a giant percheron rode into the lists1 all cased in sable armour and carrying a shield which displayed ,atlas supporting the globe4 ,then ,charles of ,anjou1 who fought not1 but sat by the side of his betrothed1 scoffed1 ,ho1 mountain of flesh1 globe of blubber1 and colossus of conceit1 here is a whale indeed among fishes1 a world-bearing monster1 who fancieth that all the affairs of this earth rest upon his shoulders4 ',tis a cup which our gallant knight will soon spill for him4 ,hold fast1 fair ladies1 for the globe is about to topple from its foundations6 ,but1 to the astonishment of the speaker and of all present1 the knight of ,atlas riding full tilt against him of the ,spilling ,cup1 drove him backward1 as it seemed1 by his sheer weight1 so that the barrier crashed behind his horse's haunches1 and the rider1 letting fall his lance acknowledged himself vanquished4 ,only ,richard himself knew what that submission cost him4 ,for while their spears were crossed1 the head of ,aldobrandino's tapping his opponent's shield1 it was with a weak and wavering touch2 while ,richard's had found a joint in the armour of the knight of ,atlas1 and had he not generously and dexterously withdrawn his lance1 ,aldobrandino by the very force of his onset1 would have transpierced himself upon it4 ,for the moment he had his adversary in his power1 and even as he withheld the spear he cried to ,aldobrandino1 ,what hinders me from rolling you in the dust and myself winning that prize inestimable8 ,aldobrandino1 knowing well in what emergency he stood1 replied calmly1 ,but one thing hinders--your word as a belted knight1 and at that answer ,richard's head drooped and he sank to earth as one sore wounded4 ,but the spectators knew naught of this byplay4 ,hearing not the words1 they put their own construction on the pantomime4 ,judge then what was their surprise1 what the vexation of the two ,queens and the despair of the fair ,sancie1 when the knight of ,atlas1 raising his visor1 displayed the features of ,aldobrandino4 ,king ,louis announced him victor1 though it was noted that he had never done anything with so ill a grace1 and indeed the good ,king's conscience smote him so sorely1 knowing himself a partner in the trick1 that he could never have made the ruling but that he hoped it would be reversed in the poetical contest yet to come4 ,,iii ,,the ,,floral ,,games ,o for a draught of vintage that hath been ,cool'd a long age in the deep delved earth1 ,tasting of ,flora and the country green1 ,dance and ,provencal song1 and sunburnt mirth4 ,,keats4 ,the tournament of wits seemed to give1 ,richard one more chance to win the prize he coveted2 for this purpose it was originally instituted1 and it seemed to the luckless knight himself that here at last he had fair play1 since he was under no obligation to ,aldobrandino to defer to him in this contention1 nor did he believe that ,aldobrandino's talents were superior to his own4 ,the only other knight who had registered for this contest was ,barral des ,baux1 and this in despite of his bandaged visage1 for though his hurt permitted him not either to sing or to speak1 yet by good fortune he could write1 having been instructed by the monks of ,mont ,majour1 and being violently in love with the fair ,sancie1 he would bate no effort to win her4 ,so though all the nine who had taken part in the passage-at-arms were eligible1 there were but three competitors1 for five had been so desperately wounded that they could not stand1 and ,alphonso of ,aragon so shamed and furious that he refused to take part4 ,but when his friends congratulated ,richard that this was so1 and especially that ,raymond of ,toulouse was out of the reckoning 7for he of all the nine was the only troubadour of repute and the one likely to be a formidable antagonist7 though ,richard's heart at first leapt at their news1 he liked it the less as he gave it more consideration4 ,for he had it on his conscience that he was responsible for ,raymond's incapacitation1 and he wished not to win a victory on such terms4 ,therefore he went to his wounded rival1 tended and encouraged him1 and in the end brought him to the contest in a litter1 thereby gravely jeopardising his own chance of success4 ,richard1 never at any time a glib jingler of rhymes1 was in sorry case1 for now that he had most need of his wits1 his passion instead of sharpening them seemed to have removed them utterly4 ,if he had but known it1 he had a good friend in ,queen ,eleanor1 who was determined that he should win1 and she fancied that she had hit upon a scheme which would aid him4 ,angry was she that such an accomplished poet as ,raymond of ,toulouse must be admitted to the contest4 ,but1 at all events1 she told her sisters1 that renowned minstrel shall bring no polished work of long study to match against the untutored outpourings of my favourite's heart4 ,already have ,i ordained1 with my assistant judges1 that since some one of the contestants may be tempted to present a poem not his own1 plagiarism shall be counted the one unpardonable crime1 and1 to guard against it1 we demand that no verses of any sort be brought to the games1 but that the competitors improvise on the instant upon one and the same theme to be given out after their assembling4 ,this proposal pleased her three sisters4 ,they shall recite or sing to us1 'poesies on the flowers we wear1' said ,queen ,marguerite1 and shall thus rank and compare our own qualifications for esteem4 ,clever will he be who can do this without offending any of us4 ,but let us each beware of imparting to any one this information4 ,even while she thus spoke ,marguerite's right eyelid1 the one nearest to ,queen ,eleanor1 quivered ever so slightly1 and her foot pressed ,sancie's4 ,the kindly plotter counted that the girl would straightway convey this news to ,richard1 and she1 poor child1 was sorely tempted to do so4 ,but she knew instinctively that he would refuse to profit by such advantage1 therefore she told him not so much as the flower which she would herself wear1 though she had chosen a spray of blossoming peach because he had once said it was his favourite1 and because in her heart of hearts she hoped that rhymes concerning these sweet blooms might be already in his mind4 ,but ,richard1 suspecting nothing of this1 came to the ,floral ,games empty headed and as ignorant as the others as to the programme2 and when he saw the brilliant and distinguished company waiting to pass verdict upon his poor verse he was filled with confusion4 ,at the right of ,queen ,eleanor1 sat the troubadour ,sordello1 the friend of ,charles of ,anjou who might easily have vanquished all present in the framing of coblas1 sirenas1 sirventes and all kinds of poems1 as well as in the ruder feats which may become a knight2 but he for love of his fair ,cunizza had disdained the prize of the present contest1 and had come solely to assist the ,queen in her decision4 ,also in the raised arbour by the side of ,eleanor sat her uncle ,boniface of ,savoy1 whom the ,king of ,england had made ,archbishop of ,canterbury4 ,his grace was said to have no little skill in the framing of love sonnets1 though chants and canticles would have better beseemed a churchman4 ,the pleasance was all abloom with flowers1 for the month was ,may1 but the ladies in their gauzy robes of delicate rainbow hues were lovelier far than the favourites of ,flora4 ,eleanor having announced the terms of the contest1 she and her three sisters displayed the flowers which they had chosen as themes for the controversy1 and the challengers drew lots for order of precedence1 with the result that ,barral des ,baux came first1 ,aldobrandino second1 ,raymond of ,toulouse third1 and ,richard last4 ,barral had composed and committed to memory a sirvente or song of battle which he proposed to write out1 paper and quill being permitted him in deference to his broken jaw4 ,great was his discomfiture to find that it fitted not to the theme prescribed1 but he cut his cloth to the new pattern to the best of his ability4 ,he retained the most effective portions of his poem1 its high-sounding phrases1 and picturesque descriptions of marshalling knights1 the very category of whose arms1 plumed helms1 hauberks1 blazoned shields1 flaunting pennons1 inlaid gauntlets1 cross-hiked swords1 golden spurs1 and caparisoned steeds was in itself a pageant4 ,true he gave these champions as a motive for their deeds of high emprise the demonstration of the supremacy of the differing and rival charms of the four sisters as typified by the flowers they affected2 but he implied too plainly that those of the peach-bloom were alone worthy of such contention4 ,himself he figured as her accepted knight1 hacking1 slaying1 scaling fortresses1 pillaging1 burning1 putting to torture or ransoming prisoners1 and scorning with brutal insults her sisters' flowers4 ,this sirvente which was apparently composed during a brief interval during which the jongleurs amused the company1 was read in a sonorous voice by ,archbishop ,boniface4 ,but had ,barral's desire been to antagonise all the daughters of ,raymond ,berenger he could not better have succeeded1 and when the ,archbishop took his seat a glance at the face of ,queen ,eleanor told des ,baux that he had lost the prize4 ,aldobrandino was no more fortunate4 ,he cast his poem in the form of a serena or night song1 and spoke sadly and sentimentally of the evening of old age1 dusky and drear1 and of that night of death which he saw approaching4 ,strangely enough1 he made no plea for present happiness1 but begged the flowers1 or their ladies1 to drop tears upon his grave when he declared that he would sleep content4 ,though chanted in all earnestness this grave-yard ditty chimed not in with the joyous temper of the company4 ,there was sly nudging and smiling1 a snicker from an ill-mannered page1 and the only sighs were those of relief when he ended4 ,it was now the opportunity of ,raymond of ,toulouse4 ,besides being an accomplished technician in all forms of writing he was a man of shrewd and lively apprehension1 and his wound had by no means injured his wits4 ,as he lay upon the litter engaging the sympathy of the ladies and the leniency of the judges he had divined rightly the reason of the discomforture of each of his rivals4 ,he saw that ,aldobrandino had made shipwreck by reason of his indifference to the charms of all1 and des ,baux on account of his zeal for one at the expense of the others1 for not a single protestation of esteem1 not a compliment even had any one of ,sancie's sisters received1 and this in face of the well known fact that all were beautiful and eager for appreciation4 ,in avoiding the conspicuous lapses of his predecessors ,raymond with all his guile fell into another pitfall4 ,he lauded the ,rose1 the ,daisy1 the ,garland of ,vine ,leaves worn by ,eleanor1 ,marguerite1 and ,beatrice in three canzonets so perfect in form1 so exquisite in diction that they rivalled the ditties of ,thibault of ,champagne1 who was hitherto accounted as having written the most delightful and most melodious canzonets that at any time were heard4 ,but in doing this he exhausted all terms of endearment and admiration which he could command1 and when he attempted to celebrate the ,peach ,blossom he could only repeat utterances already made1 so that his conclusion was an anticlimax1 bad in art and unfortunately giving the impression that he was more enamoured of ,sancie's sisters than of herself4 ,the insincerity of his graceful verse was apparent to all4 ,sordello and ,boniface who had nodded their appreciation at the conclusion of the first1 second1 and third canzonets1 scowled and coughed at the fourth1 and though there was applause sufficient to gratify this poet's vanity it misled him as to the impression which he had made upon his judges4 ,richard knew not that ,raymond had over-shot his mark2 it seemed to him that he had surely won1 and that it was useless for him to offer his halting verses1 save as a tribute of genuine feeling4 ,such they were1 and honesty even in literature and courtship is some whiles best policy4 ,but one thought had sunk itself in his distracted brain since noting what flower his beloved carried1 how that ,sancie was ,flower o' the ,peach and be the others what they might she was the flower of all flowers to him4 ,he had no knowledge of the complicated metres with which ,provencal troubadours played so deftly1 but he had been in ,italy and had marked how the peasants bandied back and forth their bright stornelli as though the quick play were that of ball1 the thought striking the fancy and deftly handled as it leapt from one to the other of the players4 ,therefore he modestly announced that he would strive to imitate in the langue d'oc certain of these stornelli a fiore trusting that their rudeness and brevity might be forgiven4#g ,queen ,eleanor was crowned with roses and was throned beneath a canopy of those royal flowers4 ,to her ,richard1 accompanying himself upon the lute1 addressed his first stornello3 ,flower o' the ,briar-- ,though high on her trellis the ,rose o' the ,briar1 ,sits supreme o'er the garden my heart clambers higher4 ,how may that be1 laughed ,eleanor1 if ,i am 'supreme o'er the garden8' ',tis enough for me2 but ,i see not how you can o'ertop that compliment4 ,let me hear what you have to say to my sister of ,france4 ,marguerite1 as befitting her name1 wore daisies1 and squaring his shoulders ,richard sang lustily1 ,flower o' the ,marguerite2 ,queen of the garden1 fair ,reine ,marguerite1 ,if my heart were not captive 't would lie at your feet4 ',tis ,beatrice then who holds your heart in thrall8 bantered the queen1 for she was malicious enough to plunge him in further difficulty4 ,here also was a coil for ,beatrice was jealous of ,sancie's beauty1 and her lover1 ,charles of ,anjou1 sat beside her quick to resent any aspersion upon his mistress4 ,beatrice1 like a bacchante1 had bound her brows with vine leaves one of which ,charles now broke off and handed to the competing minstrel4 ,with a gallant bow and a smile which atoned for the quizzical reservation1 ,richard sang1 ,flower o' the ,vine2 ,for you1 merry ,charles1 the chaplet of vine ',t is a guerdon all envy1 so pray grant me mine4 ,laughter resounded from every side of the pleasance mingled with cries1 ,your flower6 ,name your favourite flower4 ,then ,richard knelt before ,sancie1 who hid her face behind the blossoms which so well matched her blushes1 and sang from his heart3 ,flower o' the ,peach1 ,flower o' the ,peach1 dearest ,flower o' the ,peach1 ,a flower for each fancy--his own love for each4 ,brief was the consultation between the judges4 ,queen ,eleanor descended from her throne and amid clappings and bravoes gave ,richard the stalk of lilies which had served her for sceptre and was now his palm of victory4 ,illustration3 ,the ,floral ,games ,from the painting by ,jacques ,wagrez4 ,permission of ,braun1 ,clement ,co4 ,ere he could take it from her hand1 however1 with a snort and bellow like that of a bull1 my lord ,aldobrandino faced the ,queen4 ,gramercy1 he cried1 shall so fair a prize be won foully by false plagiarism8 ,what charge is this you make1 demanded ,queen ,eleanor4 ,that yon traitor stole from me that songlet of the peach1 and though he has trussed it out of countenance with gawds of his own invention still the root of the matter is mine4 ,what answer you to this accusation1 ,richard8 asked the ,queen4 ,that he speaks truly1 ,richard replied1 mine is indeed a spilling cup4 ,the queen was loth to give judgment against her favourite and there was wrangling between her advisors as to what amount of theft were admissible in literature1 but their opinion was stricter than ,i pray yours may be1 most gentle reader1 and they gave their verdict1 ,the prize is to ,prince ,aldobrandino4 ,at that verdict ,sancie fainted in the arms of ,queen ,marguerite1 and ,richard hid his face in his hands1 crying1 ,i cannot bear it4 ,then ,prince ,aldobrandino spoke and they saw how they had misjudged the man4 ,you cannot bear this disappointment1 say you1 ,ricciardo8 ,look you at the device upon my shield1 ,atlas1 and the motto1 ,sustino omnes4 ,i can bear all things1 even such loss as this1 and1 since ,i see well that the lady loves me not1 of my own motive yield ,i the prize to you1 ,ricciardo1 who well deserve what you have truly won4 ,nay1 cried ,richard1 for admiration of so great magnanimity fired his emulation1 and he would not be outdone4 ,nay1 my lord1 the judgment of this court cannot be thus lightly set aside4 ',the prize' it has decreed1 'must be to ,prince ,aldobrandino4' ,thy oath also that the ,lady ,sancie shall be mother of the ,aldobrandini is registered in heaven4 ,i would forfeit neither prize nor oath1 replied ,aldobrandino1 but there is a scripture on which ,i have pondered much of late--',who knoweth1' quoth the wise man1 'who shall reign after thee1 and whether thy son shall be a fool8' ,so might he well be if he resembled me1 and against such ill-chancing will ,i now be assured4 ,a son after my own heart do ,i find in thee1 ,ricciardo1 for ,i have probed and proved thee1 taking the measure of thy mind until ,i know thee clean of soul as thou art strong of body4 ,i go in fulfilment of a secret vow1 neither recently nor lightly made1 to end my days with the brotherhood of ,st4 ,benedict1 but first ,i do adopt thee son1 and heir to all my estates4 ,let the judgment of this court stand and the prize be to ,prince ,aldobrandino for henceforth that is thy name and title4 ,the good man could not be swerved from this resolution4 ,the lawyers drew up the act of relinquishment1 ,archbishop ,boniface blessed the happy pair1 who spent their honeymoon in their villa at ,frascati1 and from thence was ,richard called by election to be ,king of the ,romans4 ,it was an honour which he held not long1 nor did children of his continue the line of the ,aldobrandini4 ,too careless was he of his own advantage when it ran counter to the desires of another2 but in the magnificent ,frascati villa1 where he made such short tarrying1 you may still find ,richard's fountain not far from that of ,atlas4 ,to his estates in ,cornwall he shortly returned2 and testimony to his character corroborative of this story1 and as credible as that of the ,italian authorities we have quoted 7,sacchetti and ,ser ,giovanni71 you may read in the ballad of ,,erl ,,richard1 ,,king ,,of ,,good ,,fellows4 ,his wine was for others' sipping1 ,for lightly he gave it up1 ,there's slipping 'twixt pouring and lipping ,and his was a spilling cup4 ,but ne'er for the lost good liquor ,was ,richard heard to sigh4 ',i shall not bicker so friends grow thicker1 ,and the cup of love hold ,i4' ,so in praise of that loser willing ,they carved his cup awry1-- ,spilling----but aye re-filling ,to witness if ,i lie6 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,villa d',este1 at ,tivoli--,present ,state ,,chapter ,v ,,with ,,tasso ,,at ,,villa ,d',,este ,his weary heart awhile to soothe ,he wove all into verses smooth4 99 99 99 for soothly he ,was deemed a craft-master to be ,in those most noble days of old1 ,whose lays were e'en as kingly gold ,to our thin brass or drossy lead2 ,well1 e'en so all the tale is said ,how twain grew one and came to bliss8 ,woe's me1 an idle dream it is6 ,,william ,,morris4 ,supreme above all the enchanted gardens of ,italy1 both in the bewildering beauty of its sensuous charm and in the potency of its appeal to the imagination1 stands the ,villa d',este at ,tivoli4 ,it is a hillside villa1 a succession of terraces forming a stairway of flowers between the palace and the lower garden1 where ,cypress and fig tree and orange in tier upon tier still repeated1 ,rose-garden on garden upheaved in balconies step to the sky4 ,but it is also a superb water-staircase1 for the river ,anio1 turned from its course by a gigantic feat of engineering1 leaps in a magnificent cascade1 laughs in the spray of a thousand fountain jets1 and makes the bosquets which shadow the regal staircase a haunt of the water nymphs as well as of the ,dryads4 ,you fancy1 as your unwary foot presses the concealed springs that it is the white hands of mischievous ,naiads which dash the water in your face1 a pensive melancholy settles upon you with the mysterious dusk1 and you are startled by ,undine's short1 quick sobs1 and are loth to believe that the plaintive sounds with which the air pulses are but the dropping of rills in and out of the shadowy pools4 ,the pompous hydraulic organ no longer thunders its full-mouthed diapason1 but the nightingales fill the long summer nights with their surges of wild rhapsodies4 ,both the eye and the ear of the artist receive refreshment and stimulus here4 ,the garden is a bath of verdancy and coolness even upon the most torrid day4 ,the very light which filters through the dense foliage is tinged with green4 ,the marbles are velvety and moist with moss1 and the maidenhair fern drips lush and dank4 ,here ,liszt drew inspiration from the harmonies of water notes blended with the chiming of distant bells1 and ,watteau showed in the many studies which he made in the garden how potent was its influence in investing his fetes champetres with the grace of the idyl4 ,illustration3 ,in the ,garden of ,villa d',este ,from a photograph by ,mr4 ,charles ,s4 ,platt ,that its appeal was no less powerful to a poet1 the craft-master of his day1 it is our purpose later to show4 ,many minor poets also have felt and1 with more or less success1 have interpreted its wondrous charm--,story perhaps best of all4 ,what peace and quiet in this villa sleep6 ,here let us pause nor chase for pleasure on1 ,nothing can be more exquisite than this4 ,see how the old house lifts its face of light ,against the pallid olives that between ,throng up the hill4 ,look down this vista's shade ,of dark square-shaven ilexes where sports ,the fountain's1 thin white thread and blows away4 ,and mark6 along the terraced balustrade ,two contadini stopping in the shade ,with copper vases poised upon their heads1 ,how their red jackets tell against the green6 ,old1 all is old1--what charm there is in age6 ,do you believe this villa when 'twas new ,was half so beautiful as now it seems8 ,look at these balustrades of travertine-- ,had they the charm when fresh and shapely carved ,as now that they are stained and graved with time ,and mossed with lichens1 every grim old mask ,that grins upon their pillars bearded o'er ,with waving sprays of slender maidenhair8 ,ah1 no6 ,i cannot think it2 things of art ,snatch nature's graces from the hand of ,time4 ,but it is the view afforded by the double arcade of loggias and by every window of the palace facade which was the crowning glory of the villa4 ,the amethystine ,sabine ,hills and the immense ,campagna encircle the ,eternal ,city1 from whose mists the dome of ,saint ,peter's seems to rise a buoyant1 iridescent bubble4 ,it was ,pirro ,ligorio 7architect also of the exquisite ,villa ,pia7 who in #aede accomplished the miracle of converting the savage cliff into a staircase of enchantment4 ,nature had given the villa its marvellous site and genius availed itself of all the resources of art and wealth to effect the wonder4 ,cardinal ,ippolito's orders to ,ligorio were3 ,surpass the work of ,vignola in the villas of ,caprarola and ,lante4 ,restore the glory of ,tivoli in the ,augustan age4 ,illustration3 ,hydraulic ,organ1 ,villa d',este4 ,excavations in the neighbourhood were daily bringing to light masterpieces of classical sculpture1 and for the statues which whiten the shadow of ,villa d',este1 ,ligorio was given carte blanche to despoil the gardens of ,hadrian's palace4 ,to-day only a long procession of broken pedestals bears witness to statues of emperors1 gods1 and goddesses long since removed to different museums4 ,the exodus began immediately upon the succession of ,ippolito's nephew1 ,cardinal ,luigi d',este1 who came to his inheritance deeply in debt2 but that spendthrift prelate retained sixty statues1 some of which are seen in the etching made by ,piranesi1 and it was not until #agde that these were purchased by ,cardinal ,albani4 ,the creator of this paradise1 ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este ,,ii41 son of ,lucrezia ,borgia1 was1 like his villa1 a refined product of the later ,renaissance and must not be confounded with his uncle1 ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este ,i4 ,this first ,cardinal ,ippolito was a man of very different fibre1 as may be seen from a single incident4 ,sent to ,rome as his brother's envoy1 on the occasion of ,duke ,alphonso's marriage1 he fell in love with a pretty cousin of ,lucrezia ,borgia who accompanied the bride on her wedding journey to ,ferrara4 ,unfortunately the coquettish girl praised the beautiful eyes of ,giulio d',este1 the ,cardinal's younger brother1 whereupon this prince of the ,church hired assassins who waylaid his brother and tore out his offending eyes4 ,the ,duke banished ,ippolito temporarily1 but ,giulio brooded over the injury and conspired to depose ,alphonso and place another brother1 ,don ,ferrante1 on the throne4 ,for this act both ,ferrante and ,giulio were condemned to be imprisoned for life4 ,ferrante died in confinement but ,giulio1 after fifty-three years spent in a dungeon of the castle1 was finally released4 ,it might have been expected that the blending of d',este brutality with the unscrupulous ,borgia craft would have given as a result only a more refined cruelty2 but if this was the case ,cardinal ,ippolito ,,ii4 completely deceived his contemporaries and has left the reputation 7through the pen of his panegyrist ,mureto7 of the utmost affable condescension and magnificent patronage of men of genius4 ,he was himself a dilettante2 and it was his ambition to pose as the most cultured and brilliant of the great cardinals of his day4 ,ippolito ,i4 had been a boon companion of ,leo ,x4 in his hunting parties at the ,villa ,la ,magliana1 but it was not as a cacciator signorile or sporting gentleman that ,ippolito ,,ii4 wished to eclipse the then illustrious representative of the house of ,medici1 ,cardinal ,ferdinando1 who was attempting to rival him in his magnificent villa on the ,pincian hill4 ,illustration3 ,villa d',este in #agdj ,from an etching by ,piranesi ,it does not seem to have occurred to ,mureto that both of these men were looking forward to the papacy1 and desired to emulate in their own pontificates that of ,leo ,x4 ,each piece of sculpture acquired for their villas1 every literary man attached to their service was a step toward that end4 ,ippolito ,,ii4 was as keen a hunter of genius as his uncle had been of deer or boar2 and having once bagged his game1 as capable of availing himself without scruple of his trophies as ,ippolito ,i4 of tearing the antlers from a dying stag4 ,the princely ,cardinal entertained on one occasion a house party of two hundred and fifty guests in his palatial villa1 and established here a veritable court4 ,the grandiose frescoes of ,zuccari1 ,tempesta1 ,muziano1 and ,vasari still celebrate the glories of his family under the guise of the heroes of mythology garlanded by troops and bevies of cupids1 una copiosa quantita di ,amorini4 ,but the gods and demigods banquet all alone on the ceiling of the great hall where they once looked down upon the revels of the ,cardinal's convives--noble or distinguished men all of them in their day1 although the one name that comes to us of all who shared ,ippolito's lavish hospitality and that sheds most glory upon his proud house is that of a poet1 by turns patronised as a dependent1 ungratefully neglected1 and cruelly wronged4 ,the visitor is shown with pride the room so whimsically decorated with singing birds1 where ,tasso wrote his ,amyntas1 and the ,fountain of ,nature in the lower garden where the pastoral was presented with musical accompaniment before a distinguished audience4 ,that ,leonora d',este was among those who listened1 and indeed had been her uncle's guest and ,tasso's good and evil fate during the months which he spent at ,villa d',este1 is the only conclusion possible for the thoughtful reader of the poem2 and the idyl composed under such circumstances leads inevitably to the tragedy 7enacted at that other villa7 of ,belriguardo1 of which ,goethe has given us so truthful and so masterly a transcription4 ,cardinal ,ippolito1 as his portraits make him known to us1 has none of the sensuality which stamped the face of his grandfather ,pope ,alexander ,borgia1 or the heaviness of jaw expressing the stubborness and brutality of the earlier ,d',estes2 on the contrary1 every line of the slight figure is expressive of refinement1 the delicate red-stockinged feet are as shapely as a woman's1 the expressive1 almost transparent hands might be those of an artist as they finger caressingly his collection of intaglios and luxuriate in the smoothness of jades and ivory carvings4 ,his excessive pallor and thinness would give an expression of asceticism1 almost of spirituality to the intellectual face were it not in a measure contradicted by the craft in the close-set1 slanting eyes1 which with the pointed1 fulvous beard suggest a possibility of foxy cunning1 and inspire in the beholder an uncomfortable1 haunting feeling of distrust even when the ,cardinal's manner is most condescending and cajoling4 ,so1 robed in filmy lace over rosy velvet1 we may see him in imagination tripping daintily down his monumental staircase1 his train islanding his figure as in some ensanguined pool and slipping after him adown the steps like the drip of some trail of blood which strangely leaves no stain upon the white marble4 ,but his face is wreathed with smiles1 for he genuinely loves his two beautiful nieces1 ,lucrezia1 ,duchess of ,urbino1 and the gentle ,leonora1 who are his guests1 and he loves his villa1 whose beauties he is pointing out to them4 ,you do not see the garden at its best1 he cavils4 ,wait till the roses garland the balustrades4 ,it is too early yet to enjoy ,tivoli2 the frost may have left the ground but it lingers still in the pavements of this great palace4 ,the halls are damp as vaults2 we would have done well1 my nieces1 to have remained another month in ,rome4 ,not till the middle of ,may will society desert the city for its villeggiatura4 ,what do you say1 ,leonora1 shall we confess that we have made a mistake and return8 ,dear uncle1 as you say1 it is only the palace which1 in spite of its braziers1 retains the winter chill4 ,here in the garden the air is balmy1 and the ,judas trees are all a crimson mist4 ,see how the green is creeping1 like an inundation through the russets of last year's grasses4 ,in another fortnight all this magical change will have been wrought1 and those who come later will have missed the fairy spectacle4 ,spectacle6 ah6 that reminds me1 replied the ,cardinal2 while ,nature is shifting the scenes we must prepare the scenario4 ,confess that ,i have provided a worthy theatre1 one which should suggest to a poet a worthy theme4 ,there1 alas6 is my great lack--,i have no poet4 ,how wastefully on those who need them not are the most precious gifts bestowed6 ,my uncle and godfather1 ,cardinal ,ippolito--the saints rest his soul6--was a dull-brained barbarian and yet he had attached to his service that pearl of poets ,ariosto1 whom he had neither the intelligence to appreciate nor the justice to reward4 ,what think you was ,ariosto's meed for dedicating to his patron the ,orlando ,furioso8 ,he was made governor of that nest of bandits1 the mountain district of ,garfagnana1 and it in open insurrection against the ,duke of ,ferrara4 ,a pretty post for a scholar and a poet6 ,but to it he went1 and conquered the brigands1 proving himself as expert in the use of the sword as in that of the pen4 ,we produce no such men now4 ,bernardo ,tasso1 to whom ,i gave employment when he was exiled from ,naples1 and who wandered freely in this garden1 felt not its charm1 for he was but a third-rate poet1 and even he is dead4 ,who in our day can interpret the poetry which ,i feel here but cannot express8 ,and with but so little more of endowment ,i might have done it1 for after all is not the inner ear1 the second sight1 the major part of genius8 ,listen1 and tell me what you hear4 ,only the musical plash of the fountains and the sonorous undertone of the organ1 like the distant roar of surf upon the beach8 ,ah1 me6 ah1 me6 how materialistic you are1 my children4 ,your old uncle hears in these myriad-voiced fountains the musical instruments which ,boccaccio gave to the ,satyrs2 'cymbals1 pipes1 and whistling reeds1' and the song of the nymphs4 ,did you note that startled cry8 ,it is the ,oread ,arethusa flying from the river-god ,alpheus4 ,he is imprisoned in the organ1 where he is mightily bellowing1 and whence he will presently burst forth4 ,but ,arethusa will slip away 7coquette that she is71 under ground and under sea to her ,sicilian home2 for fable and stream sing eternally the same story1 ,mulier hominis confusio est4 ,tell me1 my niece1 have we in all ,italy a poet who can voice such a theme8 ,yes1 uncle1 the ,duchess of ,urbino interposed1 ,bernardo ,tasso's little son heard and understood the song of the fountains when he played here in his childhood4 ,he told me that he believed a folletto or tricksy spirit talked with him here and promised him that if he came again he would find here both love and fame4 ,he can interpret your songs for you1 for he has grown a man1 and is a greater poet than his father4 ,and meantime1 added ,leonora1 he has absorbed all that the universities of ,bologna and ,padua can give him1 and has written a romantic poem1 the ,rinaldo1 on the exploits of one of our ancestors1 that mythical old peer of ,charlemagne1 which he has dedicated to our house4 ,it is in recognition of this tribute that our brother ,luigi has made him his secretary4 ,and ,luigi is at the ,french ,court intriguing with the ,queen ,mother1 ,catherine de' ,medici4 ,torquato is doubtless with him1 replied the ,cardinal4 ,i ask you of what good to tantalise me with impossible suggestions8 ,he had the eyes of a poet1 that lad1 and he might have served my turn4 ,he may still serve you1 ,uncle ,ippolito1 for he has quarrelled with ,luigi1 and is in ,rome4 ,and wherefore in ,rome8 ,to curry favour with ,cardinal de' ,medici8 ,possibly1 for ,tasso is writing a great epic on the taking of ,jerusalem by ,godfrey of ,bouillon and his crusaders4 ',tis no epic that ,i wish1 but a pastoral--a mere trifle4 ,yet not so fast4 ,a poem such as you describe1 if it were indeed a work of genius1 might rouse ,christendom to another crusade1 a life-work worthy of the next ,pope4 ,lucrezia1 the boy must not submit his poem to ,cardinal de' ,medici4 ,can you summon him to me1 and will he come instantly8 ,if ,leonora calls him1 the ,duchess replied1 he will come4 ,cardinal ,ippolito lifted his eyebrows almost imperceptibly and darted a keen1 sidelong glance at ,leonora4 ,she had not heard her sister's last remark1 the name of ,torquato ,tasso had obliterated the present and she was gazing dreamily at the rainbow-tinted dome of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,leonora1 the ,cardinal said softly1 have you heard what ,lucrezia was saying1 that this young poet has written an epic8 ,if ,i could see it ,i might be able to help him in his career1 perhaps give him fame4 ,o ,uncle1 will you8 ,how good you are6 ,i will write him at once4 ,my dear1 ,i am not good1 or disinterested4 ,i am a selfish1 an ambitious old man4 ,this festival1 given ostensibly for the entertainment of my friends and to introduce my charming nieces1 is a part of my deep1 ulterior motives4 ,come1 ,i will confess the machinations of my wicked old heart4 ,why not1 since my ambitions are for you as well as for myself8 ,nay1 ,leonora1 never flush and tremble1 ,i have no wish to buy my own advancement by selling you to some degenerate prince4 ,matchmaking is not my kind of diplomacy4 ,i have seen enough in our own family of magnificence won through the martyrdom of women4 ,your mother1 ,renee of ,france1 though a king's daughter1 brought with her a dowry of unhappiness4 ,my own mother1 innocent though she was1 bequeathed to us the shameful legacy of the ,borgias' deeds and instincts4 ,you may be happy1 ,lucrezia1 with your ,duke of ,urbino4 ,i ask no confidences1 but ,i am glad that ,i am not responsible for your marriage4 ,you1 at least1 ,leonora1 shall live your own life wedded or unwedded as you like4 ,i shall be so great that ,i can ennoble whom ,i will1 and you1 beloved child1 shall be the power behind the throne to advise me on whom to shower my benefits4 ,lucrezia clapped her hands softly4 ,bravo1 dear ,uncle1 ,i have guessed this ambition1 have ,i not8 ,cardinal de' ,medici is already spoken of as the ,pope's successor4 ,but the ,medici balls have been carved too often over ,st4 ,peter's chair1 and you are minded to blazon in their place the d',este eagle4 ,you need not answer for ,i know that ,i am right4 ,the ,cardinal smiled mysteriously4 ,too shrewd1 my niece1 too shrewd by half4 ,how your woman's intuition leaps over intervening obstacles4 ,never a whisper of this guess at my aims4 ,remember1 it is but your own surmise and that ,i have never breathed such an aspiration4 ,the immediate object of my solicitude is to secure a charming play worthy of the setting of ,villa d',este breathing the spirit of ,ovid and ,anacreon1 one which will make the old ,greek gods live again in these delicious haunts and will redound to the reputation of your uncle's taste in literature4 ,how magnanimous you are1 cried ,leonora1 to disclaim your principal motive1 that of helping ,tasso6 ,he shall come1 and he will give you the most beautiful idyl that was ever written4 99 99 99 ,and who shall say that ,tasso did not make good the promise of his patroness8 ,in the ,amyntas we have the development of a theme which is the inevitable product of such a temperament in such a situation1 and to the poem itself we will now look for a record of what transpired at ,villa d',este during the writing and the presentation of the pastoral4 ,to us it is true that the archaic quality1 the pseudo-classicism of this pastoral seems at first artificial4 ,it has only so much of rustic nature as suits a graceful urban fancy4 ,arcadia is a no man's land1 so far from our desires that we cannot picture it even in imagination2 but to one who knows how sincere was the enthusiasm of the ,renaissance for ,greek ideals as well as for modes of expression1 how classicism had come to be understood as a synonym for perfection in form whether in literature or the plastic arts1--all the pretty imagery of the ,golden ,age and its demigods becomes as natural a poetic rendering of sincere feeling as the equally formal restrictions of the measure of the sonnet or the rules which govern the composition of a concerto4 ,having once learned its technique genius and passion were unconscious of their limitations1 but flowed with as true and spontaneous an impulse within these formal bounds as waters in their marble fountains and conduits4 ,all the melodies that had been growing through two centuries in ,italy says ,symonds are concentrated in the songs of the ,amyntas and the ,pastor ,fido4 ,the idyllic voluptuousness which permeated literature and art steeps their pictures in a golden glow4 ,while we recognise in both these poems--the one perfumed and delicate like flowers of spring1 the other sculptured in pure forms of classic grace--evident signs of a civilisation sinking to decay1 we are bound to confess that to this goal the ,italian genius had been steadily advancing4 ,they complete and close the ,renaissance4 ,but the living quality in the ,amyntas which makes it a thousand-fold more real to us than the ,elizabethan masques is not its perfectness of form but the stamp which it bears of being the expression of personal experience and longing but thinly veiled in poetic imagery4 ,reading the poem at ,villa d',este we read between the lines and recognise the scena of the pastoral and the love which inspired its plot4 ,in spite of the changes wrought by time we discover the origin of each descriptive passage4 ,this rocky reservoir whose shadowy surface seems to mirror reflections of mysterious faces is surely-- ,dian's pool ,where the great plane's cool shade to cooler waves ,invites the huntress nymphs4 ,its encircling laurel thickets might mask to-day strange woodland deities like the ,satyr of the play who while ,sylvia bathed ,crouched lynx-eyed among the thick-set shrubs4 ,the description of the tumultuous pursuit of this ,satyr calls up so vividly the ,polyphemus in the ,triumph of ,galatea that we are convinced that ,tasso must have been influenced by ,raphael's great painting in the ,farnesina4 ,not all am ,i ,a despicable thing1444 ,he makes the ,satyr say2 ,this ruddy russet front1 these shoulders huge1 ,these nervy bull-thewed arms1 this silky breast1 ,and these my velvet thighs are manhood's mould robust4 ,ill favoured ,i8 ,not so6 ,as one listens to the delirious nightingales in the dim1 green-arched allees1 one forgets the trysting trees in other ,italian gardens and is sure that only here could ,daphne have drawn her argument for love from their caresses4 ,daphne3 ,the gentle1 jocund spring1 ,smiling and wantoning1 ,makes all things amorous4 ,thou only thus1 ,untamed wild creature1 wilder than the rest1 ,deniest love the harbourage of thy breast4 ,list to yon nightingale ,singing within the vale ',i love1 love1 love4' ,with what renewed embracement vine clasps vine1 ,fir blends its boughs with fir1 and pine with pine4 ,beneath the rugged bark ,may'st thou mute inward sighings mark1 ,and wilt thou graceless be ,less than a vine or tree-- ,to keep thyself unloving1 loverless8 ,bend1 bend thy stubborn heart ,fool that thou art4 ,but the physical peculiarity which actually identifies ,villa d',este as the locale of the poem is its cliff1 the sheer crag from whence ,amyntas leaps in his despair4 ,now did he lead me where the cloven steep ,among the rocks and solitary crags ,looms pathless and breaks sheer above a vale4 ,there paused we1 and ,i1 peering far below1 ,shuddered1 drew from the brink4 99 99 99 ',sylvia1 ,i come1 ,i follow6' ,so he cried3 ,then headlong leaped1--and left me turned to stone4 ,there are other poems of ,tasso's which refer to his residence at ,villa d',este1 and infer ,leonora's presence at that time4 ,we may cite in particular the canzone to ,leonora at her uncle's villa1 beginning ,al nobil colle ove in antichi marmi3 ,to the romantic hills where free ,to thine enchanted eyes ,works of ,greek art in statuary ,of antique marbles rise1 ,my thought1 fair ,leonora1 roves1 ,and with it to their gloomy groves ,fast bears me as it flies4 ,for far from thee1 in crowds unblest1 ,my fluttering heart but ill can rest4 ,there to the rock1 cascade1 and grove1 ,on mosses dropt with dew1 ,like one who thinks and sighs of love ,the livelong summer through1 ,oft would ,i dictate glorious things ,of heroes to the ,tuscan strings ,on my sweet lyre anew1 ,and to the brooks and trees around ,ippolito's high name resound4 ,this poem would seem to imply that a part of the ,jerusalem was written here1 possibly the episode of ,sophronia and ,olindo1 so dear to ,tasso himself that though it was not an integral part of the epic he dared the ,inquisition rather than comply with the demands of the censor that it should be stricken out4 ,the description of ,sophronia is admitted to have been intended to denote ,leonora3 ,amongst them in the city lived a maid ,the flower of virgins in her perfect prime1 ,supremely beautiful6 but that she made ,never her care1 or beauty only weighed ,in worth with virtue2 and her worth acquired ,a deeper charm from blooming in the shade1 ,lovers she shunned1 nor loved to be admired1 ,but from their praises turned to live a life retired4 ,equally applicable to ,tasso is that of ,olindo1 the lover who-- ,feared much1 hoped little1 and in nought presumed4 ,he could not or he durst not speak1 but doomed ,to voiceless thought his passion4 ,but during those livelong summer days the poet's passion was not utterly voiceless4 ,the ,amyntas is throughout a continual and unequivocal expression1 and he daringly in the very prelude makes the god of love1 who explains the scheme of the play1 declare-- ,for wheresoe'er ,i am1 there ,i am ,love1 ,no less in shepherds' than in heroes' hearts1 ,the unequal lot grows equal at my will1 ,my chiefest vaunt1 my miracle is this4 ,openly and repeatedly ,tasso asserts that while he is not indifferent to literary distinction it is not the chief end which he has in view in writing the ,amyntas4 ,deem not 7he says7 that all ,love's bliss ,at last is but a breath ,of fame that followeth4 ,love's meed is love1 it wooeth1 winneth this4 ,nathless the lover steadfast to his end ,hath laud ofttimes and maketh ,fame his friend4 ,goethe makes ,tasso confide this double aim to ,leonora and her reply shows that he did indeed win the meed he sought4 ,for what the poet asks her is more deserving to survive and silently to last for centuries than the confession of a noble love1 confided modestly to gentle song8 ,we follow step by step that wooing1 finding it in the exquisite apostrophe to the golden age--which concludes3 ,then let us live as erst kind ,nature's thralls ,and let us love--since hearts ,no truce of time may know1 and youth departs3 ,ay6 let us love3 suns sink but sink to soar-- ,on us1 our brief day o'er1 ,night falls and sleep descends for evermore4 ,here again ,goethe discovers the personal note1 transcribing the poem unscrupulously from its setting in the ,amyntas and making ,leonora reply with didactic coldness to ,tasso's appeal-- ,tasso3 ,the golden age1 ah6 whither is it flown1 ,for which in secret every heart repines8 ,when every bird winging the limpid air ,and every living thing o'er hill and dale ,proclaimed to man1 ,what pleases is allowed4 ,princess3 ,my friend1 the golden age hath passed away4 ,shall ,i confess to thee my secret thoughts8 ,the golden age1 wherewith the bard is wont ,our spirits to beguile1 that lovely prime1 ,existed in the past no more than now2 ,still meet congenial spirits and enhance ,each other's pleasures in this beauteous world2 ,but in the motto change one single word ,and say my friend1--,what's fitting is allowed4 ,perhaps ,leonora did speak thus in the open discussion which followed the reading of the poem as in that at the ,court of ,urbino when ,cardinal ,bembo1 distraught by his own rhapsody on love1 stood silent as one transported1 and the lady ,emilia to recall him to himself shook him playfully1 crying1 ,have a care1 ,pietro1 lest in this mood your soul should be separated from your body4 ,and the gay ,cardinal replied3 ,madam1 this would not be the first miracle which ,love hath wrought in me4 ,certainly1 ,tasso's wooing1 even at ,villa d',este1 was not always a happy one4 ,in the following stanzas he tells of temporary despairs1 but he hints also of a great hope at his darkest moment3 ,by what dim ways at last ,love leadeth man ,unto his joy and sets him 'mid the bliss ,of his heart's heaven of love--then when he most ,thinketh him sunk in an abyss of bale2 ,o blest ,amyntas--from thy fate ,i augur for mine own1 that so may she1 ,that fair untender maid1 who in a smile ,of pity sheaths the steel of heartlessness1 ,so may she with true pity heal the hurt ,wherewith feigned pity pierced me to the heart4 ,in another beautiful passage it is not hope which he sings but rapture3 ,let him who serveth ,love ,divine it in his heart1 though scarce may he ,divine or give it voice4 ,what was the boon which gave ,tasso so much bliss8 ,perchance no greater than the one he celebrates in the exquisite lines3 ,stava ,madonna ad un balcon soletta4 ,my lady at a balcony alone ,one day was standing1 when ,i chanced to stretch ,my arm on hers2 pardon ,i begged1 if so ,i had offended her2 she sweetly answered1 ',not by the placing of thy arm hast thou ,displeased me aught1 but by withdrawing it ,do ,i remain offended6' ,o fond words6 ,dear little love words1 short but sweet1 and courteous6 ,courteous as sweet1 affectionate as courteous6 ,if it were true and certain what ,i heard1 ,i shall be always seeking not to offend thee1 ,repeating the great bliss3 but my sweet life1 ,by all my eagerness therein remember-- ,where there is no offence1 there must be ,no visiting of vengeance6 ,it must have been early in their acquaintance that such gratitude was poured forth for so slight a favour4 ,there are balconies at ,villa d',este1 balustraded terraces where now the contorted stems of giant vines wrestle with the carved pillarets and rend them relentlessly from their copings where at intervals the bayonet-leaved aloes keep sentinel like the bravi of ,cardinal ,ippolito ,i41 their long green knives unsheathed and ready for any deed of horror4 ,here1 unconscious of spying eyes1 ,leonora may have leant apparently absorbed in that glorious view1 and ,tasso's hand have stolen furtively to her own4 ,but was there no other guerdon for his long service than this shy avowal--no other bliss before that long horror of imprisonment and real or imputed madness which ended only after ,leonora's death8 ,only the ,duke ,alphonso and those who so basely read the poet's private papers can reply4 ,cardinal ,ippolito must have guessed to what end the pastoral of ,villa d',este was tending2 but whether his sympathy was real or feigned for his own uses we cannot know4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,villa d',este--,terrace ,staircase ,he never attained his ambition1 for death suddenly claimed him before the aged ,pope whom he had hoped to succeed4 ,tasso's tragedy culminated1 as ,goethe tells us1 at another villa1 that of ,belriguardo4 ,the pastoral of ,villa d',este ends in a chorus or envoy expressive of that tremulous hope which flutters so deliciously in every line of the exquisite poem3 ,i know not if the bitterness ,that1 serving long1 long yearning1 one hath borne ,in tears and all forlorn1 ,may wholly turn to sweet1 and ,love requite ,all sorrows with delight4 ,but if this be and pain ,that bringeth joy enricheth often gain2 ,i ask thee not1 ,o ,love1 ,to give me gain thy common gains above4 99 99 99 ,if gentle dear disdains ,and dulcet coy defeats ,and strifes fond lovers use ,to fire their hearts--but close with love's long truce4 ,,note4--,the selections from the ,amyntas quoted in this article have been selected from the admirable metrical translation of ,mr4 ,r4 ,whitmore4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,vi ,,mondragone ',tis a grave responsibility to play the dragon to a pretty woman4 ,this was the assertion with which ,celio ,benvoglio1 private secretary of her ,highness1 ,princess ,pauline ,bonaparte ,borghese1 invariably prefaced the following story1 and had ,i a like knack in telling it1 you would admit the demonstration of that proposition4 ,by dragon you will understand that his ,excellency1 ,prince ,camillo ,borghese1 signified a guardian and protector4 ,to constitute ,celio ,malespini a spy and reporter was no more in the thought of the ,prince than it could have been in ,celio's performance4 ,he was young1 and as chivalric an admirer of the ,princess as he was loyal in his devotion to her husband4 ,had he discovered anything equivocal in her conduct1 wild horses could not have torn her secret from him1 and it is possible that the ,prince counted upon this when he said3 ,celio1 the ,princess is very young and impulsive2 that she is a foreigner and therefore inexperienced in our strict etiquette will not excuse her slightest mistake in the eyes of our severe ,roman dames1 who would be prejudiced against the sister of ,napoleon were she as circumspect as the ,madonna4 ,her beauty has already made them envious1 her wit and light-heartedness is considered levity4 ,they will delight in wagging their tongues maliciously on the least shadow of suspicion4 ,in appointing you secretary to the ,princess ,i place you in a position where you will be able to guard her from the appearance of evil4 ,understand well that ,i have no fear of its reality1 but where there are windows overlooking one's garden the neighbours may see more than the owner1 more even than actually occurs4 ,have no fear1 my lord1 the young secretary rashly promised4 ,you know the ,tuscan proverb in regard to avoiding the suspicion of fruit stealing4 ,ah1 well1 no visitor shall be allowed to tie his shoestrings among your strawberries or to use his handkerchief under your plum tree4 ,so the ,prince went away to ,florence and ,celio found that he had more than he had bargained for4 ,not that ,pauline ,bonaparte committed actual indiscretions2 but she was wild for admiration1 loved dress1 and knew how to dress well1 setting off her marvellous beauty with that combination of style and taste that the ,french call chic1 which the heavier intellects of the ,roman modistes with all their pretence to fashion can never attain1 and which the imperious ,roman matrons could never forgive4 ,one of these1 hoping to rob this audacious rival of the advantage of ,parisian modishness1 gave a fete in which the guests were requested to appear in classical costume1 whose severe simplicity she fancied would be more becoming to the plenitude of her own ,juno-like charms than to the slight figure of the ,french girl4 ,but the ,princess vanquished her hostess for she came as a ,bacchante in a robe of her own designing1 bordered with vine leaves embroidered in gold and belted beneath the breasts with a golden girdle4 ,a mantle of panther's fur swept from her shoulders1 her arms and her bust were laden with heavy necklaces and bracelets taken from some ,etruscan tomb1 and she waved a golden thyrsus4 ,her entrance illuminated the ball-room and the character which she represented gave her authority for giving free vent to her natural vivacity and dancing with the utmost grace and abandon4 ,her victory over the male part of the assembly was complete for they saw no one else that evening4 ,they were wrong who supposed that her beauty was enhanced by dress2 on the contrary it was limited by the clothing which it adorned4 ,the sculptor ,canova proved this in his portrait statue of her as ,venus ,victorious1 and then her detractors1 affecting to be greatly scandalised1 changed their tune and declared that it was false that the ,princess was too fond of dress1 that on the contrary a greater regard for it would have been more decent4 ,the young secretary was not a little troubled by the caprice of his patroness to thus display her beauty to the world4 ,but why not1 my ,celio8 she had argued4 ,the ,prince1 my husband1 has bestowed upon me a great title for which ,i feel my obligation to his noble family1 and ,i shall pay it with interest1 for ,i shall leave the ,borgheses this incomparable statue1 and the glory of having possessed one ,princess whose beauty cannot be denied or equalled4 ,why ,prince ,borghese should have deputed this dragon service to another instead of undertaking it himself1 is a question which ,i cannot answer4 ,some misunderstanding doubtless there was1 or two people who loved each other would never have agreed that it was better to live apart1 but the ,prince carried a sore and longing heart with him to ,florence1 and it may be that the ,princess was no happier1 though she had more bravado4 ,i will come when you send for me and not before1 her husband said to her1 and ,i trust you understand the motives which underlie my self-banishment4 ,i am grateful to them at least1 was her equivocal retort4 ,has your ,highness any preference as to my residence during your absence8 ,none1 he replied sadly1 but ,i shall be happier if you do not make choice of your ,neapolitan villa4 ,she flashed at him indignantly1 ,you wish to estrange me from my family1 from my sister ,caroline4 ,i have only the highest respect for her ,majesty1 the ,queen of ,naples1 he replied2 her devotion to her husband is undoubted4 ,i could wish-- and here the ,prince paused4 ,that ,i were more like her1 the ,princess finished his sentence4 ,i never said so1 ,pauline1 he said impulsively1 or wished that you were like any other than yourself4 ,his last words should have softened her1 but1 pained and indignant at his desertion1 she hardly heeded them2 how was she to know that ,camillo ,borghese was1 under his cold exterior1 very honestly in love with his wife and just now cruelly tortured with jealousy of her brother-in-law1 the dare-devil ,murat8 ,for the latter was as unscrupulous as he was handsome1 as ,napoleon was to find to his cost1 though in recognition of his services as a dashing leader of cavalry he had rewarded him with the hand of his sister ,caroline and the crown of ,naples4 ,hitherto the ,princess had not even remarked the bold admiration of her brother-in-law1 and after the departure of her husband she wept and sulked for days1 when suddenly an event of great political importance1 which was also of deep personal interest to herself1 threw into the background every other consideration4 ,napoleon's abdication and the treaty of ,fontainebleau came upon his friends with the shock of an earthquake4 ,especially to his sister ,pauline it was as though the foundations of the earth were tottering4 ,he had been the ,providence of all his family1 dividing the nations between them2 but ,pauline had been his favourite1 he had loved her sincerely1 and she had responded with the utmost devotion4 ,i will go to him in his trouble1 she declared1 and though her secretary could not see how her presence could aid the deposed ,emperor1 he could not but approve her generous impulse4 ,she met her brother at ,hyeres near the frontier of ,france1 from which point he embarked for the ,island of ,elba4 ,the allies had granted him the lordship of the island1 with an income to support a pseudo court2 but the framers of that treaty1 and ,napoleon himself1 knew well that its terms were a farce and his kingdom in reality a prison4 ,what transpired between the ,princess and her brother in that brief interview ,celio did not know4 ,each passed from it calmed and cheerful4 ,there was a kindlier look in the ,emperor's face1 a more assured elasticity in his step as the ,english sailors who transported him to his exile shouted their1 ,better luck next time2 and sparks were lighted in the eyes of the ,princess which every one who saw her noted1 though none guessed what hidden fires of resolve fed their flashes4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,fountain in ,gardens of the ,villa ,borghese ,they called her that season the ,firefly1 and many misinterpreted her illy suppressed excitement and the scrutiny of those lambent eyes sending out their flame signals in search of answering lights4 ,even her secretary did not know that the dark shadows which ringed them were not due to the balls and other frivolities in which she was so conspicuous2 but to complicated and dangerous schemes which robbed her of sleep at night1 and were never forgotten as she danced and chatted and coquetted while the most astute diplomats laid their hearts and their secrets at her feet4 ,she received strange visitors too at the magnificent ,villa ,borghese1 just outside the ,porta del ,popolo1 wild-eyed agitators and suspects who had never before been permitted to enter those aristocratic gates4 ,the first had come disguised in a marble-cutter's blouse as an assistant of ,canova2 but he had dropped a word which the noble model understood1 and the fire signals had flashed between them4 ,after the sculptor had left the casino his assistant tarried1 and ,celio1 dismissed by his mistress but lingering at the threshold1 heard fragments of the man's talk3 ,liberty1 united ,italy1 and death to the ,austrians4 ,later1 when he attempted to warn the ,princess that if the man were not a maniac he was more dangerous1 she asked him bluntly if her husband had constituted him her dragon1 and thereafter in half contemptuous banter she gave him the nickname of ,mondragone4 ,it was the name also of another villa belonging to the ,borghese1 the most sightly of all the boldly seated summer resorts of the nobility at beautiful ,frascati4 ,not one of these commands a view comparable to the one from its terrace of the ,pope's ,chimneys1 so named from the strange monumental constructions which are so conspicuous that1 with a glass1 they are plainly visible from ,rome4 ,so when the ,princess announced1 ,i love ,mondragone1 her secretary did not flatter himself that the equivocal utterance bore any reference to himself4 ,had he also had the wit to perceive that if she indeed cared for the villa or for any other object at this time1 it was only for some service which it might render her brother1 his duties as dragon would have occasioned him far less of mental anguish4 ,celio was writing one day in a room adjoining the apartment which ,canova had used as his studio in the casino of ,villa ,borghese1 when he was startled by a heavy step in the room which he had supposed unoccupied4 ,throwing aside the portiere he instantly recognised from report the imposing figure which confronted him4 ,on a lesser man so gorgeous a costume as the one which now dazzled the astonished eyes of the secretary would have suggested the mountebank2 but there was something regal as well as ,oriental in ,joachim ,murat's appearance1 and the barbarous colour extravagances of his dress became him like those of a sultan4 ,his curling hair1 black and long1 fell upon a green velvet cloak heavily embroidered with gold which hung from his shoulders displaying a sky-blue frogged tunic1 whose breast was covered with jewelled crosses and beribboned decorations4 ,the crimson breeches which met the high boots of yellow morocco were braided with gold in the ,polish fashion and fitted closely his shapely thighs1 but the tarnished and battered cavalry sabre clanking at his side occasioned him no inconvenience1 and it needed but a glance at the broken plumes of the ruby-clasped aigrette which decorated a shabby wide-brimmed hat to convince the beholder that this was no gala costume but the habitual garb of a soldier4 ,he was spurred and played nonchalantly with his riding-whip as he returned ,celio's questioning glance with a smile1 half arrogant1 half familiar4 ,wheeling upon his heel without deigning any explanation of his presence1 he returned to his contemplation of the portrait statue of the ,princess1 and the young secretary's blood boiled as he saw that the expression of contemptuous familiarity on the sensual face had been elicited not by his insignificant self but by the masterpiece of ,canova4 ,a fair portrait doubtless1 he said indifferently1 for ,i recognise certain points of resemblance to her sister1 whose perfections1 however1 the ,princess ,borghese cannot hope to emulate4 ,pardon me1 sir1 stammered the secretary in tones which he vainly strove to render icy1--but this is the ,villa ,borghese and not a public museum4 ,the intruder looked down with amused bonhommie4 ,i am an acquaintance of the ,prince1 he vouchsafed1 and have been invited by him to view his art collections4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,pauline ,bonaparte1 ,princess ,borghese ,portrait statue by ,canova at ,villa ,borghese ,celio bridled with increased importance4 ,prince ,borghese's specimens of antique sculpture are in the palazzo where1 if the ,signor will announce himself1 he will doubtless be accorded the privilege of seeing them4 ,this palazzita is the private boudoir of the ,princess4 ,so much the better1 the other laughed4 ,but when she commanded that statue she doubtless contemplated the possibility of its being admired by other eyes than her own4 ,no insult is intended1 my young popinjay4 ,it is all in the family4 ,restrain your indignation and inform the ,princess that the ,king of ,naples is waiting here in obedience to her appointment4 ,the secretary was not pleased with this message1 and he liked still less the manner in which it was received1 for the ,princess hurried to meet her brother-in-law and allowed him to salute her gallantly upon both cheeks1 and to address her as ,paulette4 ,celio1 excused from attendance1 had no opportunity1 though he stood sentinel in the loggia1 to overhear their conversation4 ,finally the ,princess summoned him4 ,order my carriage1 she commanded1 and the caleche1 and ask the attendance of my first lady-in-waiting4 ,tell ,maurice to arrange a lunch-hamper quickly4 ,his ,majesty insists he must set out this afternoon for ,naples4 ,we will accompany him as far as ,mondragone and picnic there4 ,so they dashed away on the road to ,frascati1 the ,princess lolling alone in her open carriage1 for ,murat had declined the seat beside her1 though he kept his horse recklessly near her wheels1 ,celio following with the maid of honour and the lunch basket in the caleche1 and one of ,murat's orderlies 7the other had been dispatched to order his suite to meet him at ,mondragone7 bringing up the rear4 ,at the wildest and steepest part of the road the party halted1 and the ,princess alighting announced her intention of taking a short cut across the hills while the carriages followed the more circuitous driveway4 ,murat threw his reins to his orderly1 and ,celio1 true to his self-constituted duties as dragon1 left the maid of honour dozing in the caleche and followed his mistress4 ,she had brought a tall staff1 knotted with a tri-colour ribbon1 which she used as an alpenstock1 springing lightly over the steep boulders1 while the athletic ,murat kept pace with the easy swinging stride of a mountaineer4 ,suddenly ,celio saw him catch the ,princess by the arm and both stood as though instantaneously frozen4 ,then1 as the secretary came panting up1 ,murat handed the ,princess to him1 and taking a few steps forward and apparently addressing the landscape1 for ,celio saw no one said in a voice of calm but inflexible authority3 ,lay down your gun1 and come from behind that rock4 ,to ,celio's astonishment a villainous appearing brigand advanced and knelt at ,murat's feet4 ,why did you not shoot me when ,i was at the lower turn of the road1 my friend8 ,murat demanded2 you had the better opportunity then1 for ,i had not discovered you1 and ,i was for several minutes within your range4 ,true1 your ,majesty1 replied the bandit1 but ,i said to myself1 'that is too magnificent a figure of a man to kill1 even though he is a king4' ,murat laughed4 ,i will return the compliment1 he said1 writing rapidly on a card4 ,you have too much discrimination and obey orders too well to be a brigand4 ,i wonder now if you have heard of a secret organisation called the ,carbonari8 ,i thought so 7replying by an almost imperceptible gesture to a signal made by the bandit72 you see you have made a mistake1 for ,i also am a member of the order4 ,all in time1 my good fellow1 and you shall use your rifle against the ,austrians4 ,take this to the recruiting office of the ,neapolitan army at ,castel di ,rocca4 ,never fear1 it is no trap4 ,this young man will read it for you4 ,and the secretary read3 ,give this brave fellow a place in the ,corps of ,calabrian ,sharpshooters1 and assure ,captain ,castiglione that he can be relied upon for expert guerilla service4 ,giacomo ,re4 ,the man went away trembling with emotion but ,murat called to him3 ,come back1 you have forgotten your gun1 and stood carelessly regarding the view with his back turned while the would-be assassin regained possession of his weapon4 ,the ,princess clapped her hands4 ,i understand now1 she said1 why you bore a charmed life when you came dashing out of the smoke of the battle-field1 sweeping within a few feet of the muzzles of the enemy's guns4 ,it needed not the command of the ,czar that you were not to be fired upon1--the gunners could no more have done so than this poor outlaw4 ,i comprehend also how you have managed to augment the roll of your army1 which on your accession included but fifty thousand names1 to its present list of seventy-five thousand1 and at the same time have so marvellously reduced the number of brigands in your kingdom4 ,partly in this way1 he acknowledged1 lightly1 but the ,austrian officers would be surprised to know how many of my best disciplined soldiers have had the advantage of their drilling4 ,deserters8 the ,princess asked4 ,and whole companies in ,northern ,italy waiting for the first symptoms of a war with ,italy to desert en masse4 ,when the party reached ,mondragone the custodian1 surprised at their coming 7for the villa had been long unoccupied71 unbarred the shutters and let the light into the dusty salons4 ,it is roomy enough for a barracks1 ,murat remarked as he wandered through suite after suite of the great tenantless rooms4 ,i forbid you so to use it1 the ,princess jested1 though you may occupy ,mondragone yourself when you lay siege to ,rome4 ,it would not be a bad headquarters1 he said as they came out upon the terrace4 ,imagine a semaphore in the place of those monstrous and absurd columns--what are they1 by the way8 ,one could waft signals from ,rome to ,calabria and from the ,adriatic to the ,tirrenian4 ,that was an exaggeration1 of course1 but ,mondragone would have been a good station in such a signal service4 ,those absurd columns1 the ,princess replied1 might themselves serve as semaphores4 ,they are chimneys1 colossal enough to serve a foundry1 though they do duty to simple kitchens1 those which prepared the excellent dinners with which ,pope ,paul ,v4 entertained his guests4 ,when the smoke rises from that one ,i can see the cloudy column from my windows at ,rome4 ,and ,i could see it far on the road from ,naples1 he mused1 and then the two wandered away from their watching dragon and leaning on the balustrade with their faces toward the magnificent view earnestly discussed projects which had nothing to do with that unrivalled panorama4 ,celio was in torment4 ,what was ,murat saying in that low1 guarded voice1 while his hand clenched and crushed the roses that swarmed over the balustrade and scattered their petals to the wind8 ,why did the ,princess's colour come and go as she listened1 her cheek much too near his passionate lips8 ,since there was no way of overhearing this equivocal conversation1 it must at all hazards be interrupted1 and ,celio prematurely announced the al fresco supper4 ,here1 while he fluttered behind them in a pretence of service1 he heard both too much for his peace of mind and too little for his complete enlightenment4 ,at first the talk was of family matters1 chiefly of ,napoleon at ,elba1 with whom ,pauline begged her brother-in-law to be reconciled1 for this was in the summer of #ahad1 when ,murat1 foreseeing that ,napoleon's star had set1 had signed a treaty with the allies4 ,one would think ,i had done enough for your brother1 he said1 moodily4 ,i left my kingdom to lead the cavalry of the grande armee in the ,russian campaign4 ,i gained his victories and ,i commanded the escadron sacree which protected his person in the retreat1 and what is my reward8 ,what is your present position8 the ,princess asked4 ,i am your brother-in-law1 ,murat replied1 but1 as ,i wrote ,napoleon1 ,i conferred as much honour as ,i received when ,i married your sister1 and1 as for my kingship1 the ,emperor wished only a devoted servant whom he could command1 and he has discovered his mistake4 ,the eyes of ,pauline ,bonaparte shot fire while the other spoke4 ,you are very stupid to talk in this way to me1 ,joachim1 she said1 commanding herself in time4 ,you needed ,napoleon--you need him now1 for your scheme will never succeed unless he supports you4 ,it is your good fortune that he needs you enough to forgive your defection4 ,the family stands or falls together1 mon ami4 ,evidently your mother does not think so1 ,murat replied1 with pique4 ,i have just brought ,madame ,mere a present of eight fine carriage-horses4 ,she declined them with thanks1 and would not see me when ,i called on her in ,rome4 ,as for my loving brother-in-law1 your noble husband---- ,why should you mind ,camillo's sulks since ,i do not8 ,he and ,madame ,mere have such amusing ideas4 ,it was not so much ,caroline's correspondence with your 'dear ,metternich' which offended them and my brother1 too4 ,they have never forgotten that little affair of the silver lemon squeezer4 ,ah1 mon ami6 you had had too much champagne when you brewed that bowl of punch at the officers' dinner4 ,i never said that it was the ,empress who taught me the recipe and gave me the lemon squeezer1 he retorted1 flushing4 ,oh6 no2 nor told you that oranges and not lemons were used with ,jamaica rum in the islands2 nor why pretty creoles were like lemons4 ,do you mean to provoke me8 ,murat exclaimed1 rising quickly4 ,no1 mon ami1 though ,i shared in that suspicion1 too1 for they called me a creole on my return from ,san ,domingo4 ,murat's jaw fell4 ,do you mean that your husband thought ,i meant you8 he asked4 ,prince ,borghese is too polite a man to voice such a suspicion1 and ,i am too clever a woman to show that ,i have guessed it1 but that is reason enough why ,i cannot accept my sister's invitation to take possession of the entrancing ,neapolitan villa which you so kindly offer me4 ,you are like your mother4 ,you refuse my peace-offerings2 you will not visit us8 ,peace-offerings1 yes2 but make me some offerings of war1 that fine army1 for instance2 and1 by the way1 if you will give me a yacht instead of the villa ,i may consent to be your guest4 ,meantime we understand each other4 ,i will give immediate orders to my people that no fire is on any account to be lighted in the ,pope's kitchens1 as the chimneys are unsafe4 ,should ,i perceive a column of smoke rising from them ,i shall know that you are here1 and ,i will come to you4 ,if1 on the other hand1 ,i hear that you are in this vicinity on the business of which we spoke1 ,i shall make ,mondragone my residence2 and should you perceive my smoke signal---- ,then1 he interrupted1 speaking very low1 but so distinctly that ,celio's heart froze as he listened--then1 ,paulette1 be the danger what it may1 heaven nor hell shall keep me from you4 ,they parted in the most commonplace manner1 the ,princess returning to ,rome after the conclusion of the repast1 but1 though she appeared to sleep all the way1 ,celio marked when she alighted that her face1 illuminated by the strong glare that blazed from the open door of the villa1 was haggard as from long vigils4 ,deeply distressed1 the poor dragon spent a sleepless night1 but towards morning an inspiration came to him4 ,he saw his way to saving his lady without arousing the suspicions of her husband4 ,she had forbidden the use of the ,pope's chimneys to the guardian of the villa1 plainly that they should serve solely as signals between herself and ,murat4 ,but the reason which she had given for their disuse1 that they were unsafe1 furnished the secretary with his pretext1 and he wrote his master urging that they should be taken down4 ,before the ,prince had time to reply the event which he had dreaded took place4 ,the ,princess1 in direct opposition to her husband's parting request1 announced her determination to visit her sister at ,naples4 ,it was not in her secretary's province to remonstrate1 and he was soon to gain a point of view from which the inexplicable behaviour of his mistress presented a very different aspect4 ,arrived at ,naples the ,princess and her suite were met by ,queen ,caroline and installed in a charming villa near the city1 and on the succeeding day the entire household were taken by the ,king and ,queen for a short cruise in the royal yacht4 ,outside the island of ,ischia the party landed1 and climbing to a ruined tower which commanded an extensive prospect1 they plainly discerned in a hidden cove a little craft flying a flag unfamiliar at that time to ,celio ,benvoglio1 a striped red and white pennon studded with golden bees4 ,it was the ensign chosen by ,napoleon while lord of ,elba1 and displayed by the six swift sailing pinnaces which made up the ,emperor's little navy4 ,pauline now informed her suite that she was about to pay a visit to her brother1 which for important reasons must not for the present be suspected4 ,her maids of honour must therefore return to her ,neapolitan villa1 and1 to keep up the fiction of her presence1 announce on the morrow that the ,princess had succumbed to an attack of fever4 ,the ,court physician would pay daily visits as would the ,king and ,queen1 but no others would be admitted to the secret4 ,with feminine fondness for intrigue the three maids of honour entered into the plan1 while ,celio1 relieved from his tormenting suspicions accompanied his mistress to ,elba4 ,here1 admitted to her conferences with her brother as he fulfilled new and arduous duties in the transcription of dispatches1 he comprehended that the secret alliance between the ,princess and ,murat had been purely political1 and with what tact she had won him to reconciliation and co-operation with ,napoleon4 ,the ,emperor's plans were more audacious and far-reaching than ever4 ,in their scope the movement for the independence and unification of ,italy was but a subordinate detail4 ,pauline knew that her brother was developing a great coup d'etat1 that he would presently escape from ,elba and seize again the reins of power1 and it was she who had first perceived and who now explained to him how the undercurrent of events in ,italy might become a factor in his scheme4 ,agitators had been busy in every part of the peninsula firing patriot hearts to throw off the domination of the three foreign powers which held them enslaved4 ,the ,king of ,naples by naturalising himself as an ,italian1 and compelling his ,french soldiers to do so1 had been permitted to take part in the plot4 ,it is possible that the revolutionists1 who saw the immense advantage of the services of so able a general as ,murat1 intended to repudiate him after they had gained their ends4 ,but at that time they flattered him with the hope of becoming the king as well as the deliverer of all ,italy4 ,as ,celio ,benvoglio toiled over his papers he was amazed at the imagination of his mistress which had first discerned the possibility of making the cause of ,italian liberty serve her brother's ambitious imperialism1 and the marvellous finesse with which she had vanquished ,murat's gascon envy and resentment and made him once more a tool in the hand of the ,emperor4 ,still more he admired ,napoleon's acumen and resource as he saw order coming out of chaos and all things working together for the success of his stupendous undertaking4 ,the ,emperor had planned to first secure ,paris1 and then1 proclaiming the independence of ,italy1 to make common cause with her against ,austria and at the head of the united ,french and ,italian armies1 one hundred thousand strong1 march by way of the ,julian ,alps upon ,vienna4 ,as the impressionable secretary traced the burning proclamation which ,napoleon dictated to his old soldiers1 he doubted not that it would fire the heart of every veteran and the great enterprise seemed infallible4 ,take again the eagles you followed at ,ulm1 ,austerlitz1 ,jena1 and ,montmirail1 pleaded their adored commander4 ,range yourselves under the banners of your old chief4 ,victory shall march with every step4 ,in your old age you shall say with pride1 ,i also was one of that great army which twice entered the walls of ,vienna1 took ,rome1 ,berlin1 ,madrid1 and ,moscow1 and which delivered ,paris from domestic treason and the occupation of strangers4 ,what wonder that1 carried away by the immensity and daring of the conquest of the continent1 the happiness of one longing heart should have seemed a very insignificant thing1 and that ,celio should have quite forgotten that his master1 ,camillo ,borghese1 was waiting for some reassuring word from him1 that he had heard of the ,princess's reckless removal to ,naples1 and was distracted between anger at her flagrant disregard of his wishes1 suspicion of what such heartlessness might mean1 and acute distress on learning of her illness8 ,the ,prince could not1 on account of personal reasons1 present himself at the ,court of the ,king of ,naples1 but he had written repeatedly to ,celio ,benvoglio and these letters the first maid of honour1 finding no opportunity to forward to ,elba1 had judged best to retain at ,naples unopened until the return of the secretary4 ,so the days flew for the ,princess and dragged for her husband1 until at midnight on the twenty-seventh of ,february1 #ahae1 ,napoleon with his handful of devoted soldiers embarked for ,france1 and his sister returned to ,naples with instructions for ,murat4 ,then the ,neapolitan villa was suddenly vacated and the seven carriages of the ,princess took up their line of march for ,rome4 ,she had found awaiting her at ,naples letters in which her husband passionately besought her to return2 and1 while her face flushed as she realised the motives which he attributed to ,murat1 her heart swelled with triumph that he believed in her in spite of all4 ,he loves me6 she murmured to herself unguardedly1 in the presence of her secretary4 ,then give me leave to write him1 the young man cried1 impulsively1 that ,i may relieve his anxiety4 ,let me bid him join you at ,rome4 ,think1 dearest madam1 what he must suffer4 ,but at that word the ,princess frowned4 ,and do you think ,i have not suffered8 she cried4 ,i am glad that he is jealous1 since it proves that he can love4 ,nevertheless ,i would gladly summon him if ,i could4 ,but do you not see1 ,celio1 that he must not be implicated in our plots8 ,if we fail1 he must be known to have had no letters from me4 ,i forbid you to communicate with him until ,i give you permission4 ,camillo is too honest to make a good conspirator4 ,if ,i can wait1 cannot you8 ,the game may not be worth the candle1 but ,i will play it to the end4 ,the little cavalcade paused at ,mondragone1 for the ,princess had decided to spend a few weeks at her ,frascati villa4 ,here1 to her indignation1 she found engineers preparing to take down the ,pope's chimneys4 ,on whose authority do you presume to do a thing so outrageous8 she demanded1 and they showed her the order of ,prince ,borghese4 ,delay the execution of these instructions until such time as they are repeated1 she commanded4 ,i have decided to take up my residence here for the present1 and cannot be disturbed by repairs and alterations4 ,when the men were gone she faced her secretary in consternation4 ,who can have incited ,camillo to such a resolution8 she demanded1 and the consciousness of guilt in his face was a sufficient answer4 ,it was you1 dear lady1 who put the idea into my head1 he stammered2 you said the chimneys were cracked and might set fire to the villa4 ,spy and traitor1 she hissed1 you tried to make it impossible for me to communicate with ,murat4 ,it is your idiotic suspicions that have roused ,camillo's jealousy4 ,you have said that you were glad of that jealousy1 ,celio ventured2 and the ,princess laughed bitterly1 then softening1 said3 ,i do believe you thought yourself acting for my good1 oh1 foolish little dragon4 ,confess1 my poor boy1 that ,pauline ,borghese has the wit to take care of herself4 ,very humbly ,celio confessed that this was evident1 but his troubles were by no means over4 ,a fortnight later ,italy was electrified by the startling rumour that the ,king of ,naples had declared war with ,austria and was marching toward ,lombardy4 ,the ,princess was struck with consternation1 for she knew that ,napoleon could not so soon have perfected his arrangements for making a junction with ,murat4 ,though she entertained no one it was noticed by her neighbours that the ,pope's chimneys smoked continually1 as though the most elaborate banquets were in preparation and one night the expected guest arrived4 ,murat had intended to give ,rome a wide berth1 stealing around it by the ,abruzzi4 ,but his left wing had scouts on the western slopes of the ,sabine ,mountains and were instructed to keep a lookout for the smoke signal from ,mondragone1 and he had ridden across the mountains for a day and half a night to answer her summons4 ,she gave him food and a fresh horse1 but she sent him back to the ,castello ,borghese at ,monte ,compatri for his lodging1 with many reproaches and gloomy prophecies for his mad precipitation in anticipating the mot d'ordre of ,napoleon4 ,theirs was no loving tryst1 but a stormy altercation1 for ,murat defended his act and refused her entreaties1 which were rather in the nature of commands1 to go back to ,naples and wait for advice from his general4 ,why should ,i put myself under his orders8 he demanded4 ,austria has taken alarm and is pouring its forces into ,lombardy4 ,if ,i do not secure ,milan at once it will be too late and the opportunity will be lost4 ,who knows when ,napoleon will think of us8 ,they say he is at ,paris preparing to meet the allies in ,belgium4 ,our little rendezvous for the excursion to ,vienna is apparently forgotten4 ,he has other matters to attend to4 ,well1 so have ,i4 ,i am weary of governing for him4 ,when ,i am ,king of ,italy ,i will rule according to the ideas of ,joachim ,murat4 ,you would never have been a ,king in name but for him1 she replied hotly1 you are not fit to rule4 ,you are a good soldier1 ,joachim1 but you need your master4 ,so they parted in bitterness1 and ,celio1 who was present at their interview1 rejoiced that such was the manner of their parting1 and prayed that they might never meet again1 but that prayer was not to be answered4 ,the ,princess returned to ,rome and soon received information of the fulfilment of her prophecy4 ,for a few days ,murat held ,bologna1 then the ,austrians swooped down upon him and he met them gallantly1 but disastrously1 near ,modena4 ,reverse followed reverse and at ,tolentino his mad campaign of six weeks ended in total defeat4 ,his army fled in all directions1 and a refugee brought word that ,murat1 scorning surrender1 had fallen sabring desperately to the last4 ,pauline received the news1 pale but unshaken4 ,my poor sister1 she said1 and then quickly1 but she knows her refuge2 by this time doubtless she is on her way to ,napoleon4 ,then a great light illumined her face4 ,the revolution has failed1 my work is done4 ,i can now write to ,camillo4 ,she was writing when a messenger entered with a letter from her husband4 ,he is coming1 ,celio1 she cried joyfully4 ,he will be here in an hour4 ,he writes that in disaster and grief his place is at my side1 and he could not wait my summons4 ,oh1 ,celio1 was there ever such magnanimity8 ,as she rang to give orders for her husband's reception1 her third maid of honour1 ,pippa ,serbonella1 a waspish1 deceitful creature whom ,celio had never liked1 flung wide the curtain of the window and cried3 ,eccellentissima1 look1--the chimneys of ,mondragone6 ,it was true1 from one of them rose a thin waving scarf of smoke1 fluttering and beckoning in the light wind4 ,the ,princess caught the arm of her secretary4 ,joachim is not dead6 she cried2 he is there and ,i must go to him4 ,not now1 not now1 dearest lady1 pleaded the young man4 ,your husband is coming4 ,think what that means4 ,yes1 yes1 ,i know1 she gasped1 wringing her hands1 but ,i cannot desert my brother-in-law in his extremity4 ,i led him into this1 ,celio4 ,i promised to come when he called4 ,i must keep my promise4 ,stay you1 and say what you will to ,camillo4 ,i will be back this evening4 ,with many a misgiving the wretched dragon saw her drive away1 and a little later confronted the eager face of ,prince ,borghese4 ,my wife8 he questioned1 and ,celio could only stammer1 ,she has gone out for a drive2 she will be back presently4 ,did she not receive my letter8 and the ,prince had his answer1 for it lay with broken seal upon her escritoire4 ,did she go to meet me8 ,have we missed each other8 he asked4 ,not so1 your ,highness1 ,pippa ,serbonella interpolated1 the ,princess had another appointment1 and again with significant finger and hateful smile she pointed to the smoke signal4 ,the ,prince stood transfixed1 and ,celio understood from their two faces that the girl had given unsolicited full reports of that correspondence written in the air4 ,oh6 you women1 you women6 he groaned1 and ,i will strangle you1 traitress1 he whispered as she passed him4 ,but the ,prince had other occupation for him at that moment4 ,now tell the whole truth1 he commanded sternly1 and the secretary told it1 exulting that against her will the malicious maid-of-honour must confirm his statement that while the ,princess had been supposed to be at ,naples she was really with ,napoleon at ,elba4 ,a look of relief smoothed ,borghese's forehead for an instant4 ,i never doubted my wife1 he declared proudly1 nevertheless the ,king of ,naples has certain explanations to make to me4 ,celio there was in that cabinet a case of pistols which the ,emperor gave me4 ,the ,princess took them with her this morning1 ,pippa vouchsafed officiously4 ,ah6 the ,prince drew in his breath4 ,it is of no consequence1 he added4 ,general ,murat will require but one and will doubtless lend me the other4 ,quick1 ,celio1 our horses4 ,the ,princess has only an hour the start of us4 ,we will overtake them at ,mondragone4 ,they passed her in fact at ,frascati where they saw her carriage standing unharnessed before the inn4 ,she is resting1 said the ,prince1 we will not disturb her until after our business at ,mondragone is finished4 ,at the gate an astonished servant took their horses1 and as the ,prince walked through the shady cypress avenue his brain cooled and he formed a resolution differing from the one that had brought him to the villa4 ,upon the fountain terrace they saw the man they had come to seek4 ,not the galliard of his last visit1 but a hunted refugee1 his gaudy hussar uniform soiled and torn1 the ballas ruby which had buckled his aigrette shot from his hat1 and a tiny rill of blood trickling from his matted hair upon the golden bees that ornamented the sky-blue velvet tunic4 ,stretched prone upon a marble bench1 sleeping the sleep of utter exhaustion1 his sword-arm beneath his head1 the other trailing relaxed upon the ground1 he was entirely at the mercy of the man who looked down upon his haggard face4 ,the ,prince studied it for a moment in silence1 then1 with finger on lip1 drew ,celio into the loggia4 ,let him rest1 he whispered1 time enough when he awakes4 ,ere that happened footsteps were heard and the voice of the ,princess calling1 ,joachim1 where are you8 ,murat sprang up instantly4 ,paulette1 is it you8 ,it is ,i4 ,o mon ,dieu2 how you have changed6 but we heard you were killed4 ,thank ,god1 that is not true4 ,i am beaten1 which is worse1 he said bitterly4 ,you were right1 you see1 quite right1 all is lost--why do you not say ',i told you so'8 ,no1 she exclaimed1 all is not lost4 ,go at once to ,napoleon1 confess your error1 and atone for it4 ,he will never forgive me1 ,murat replied2 and why should he1 with his army of three hundred thousand men and an ,imperial ,guard of forty thousand chosen veterans8 ,what have ,i to offer him8 ,my troops have deserted me4 ,i have nothing to fight with and nothing for which to fight4 ,my brother needs you1 the ,princess insisted4 ,he may have soldiers enough1 but he knows there is no such leader of cavalry in all the world as you1 and he is about to engage in a crucial struggle with ,wellington4 ,you have your marvellous leadership to offer4 ,you say you have nothing to fight for4 ,think of your honour1 and of ,caroline4 ,ah6 ,i had forgotten her1 poor child4 ,i will do as you say1 ,paulette4 ,you have the brains of your family in your little head4 ,perhaps that is the reason the good ,god made ,caroline more attractive4 ,well1 one more fight for her sake1 and she shall thank you for it4 ,i shall get to ,naples in some way1 then by sea to ,marseilles1 and then to ,napoleon4 ,good6 cried the ,princess4 ,did you find your horse in the stables8 ,i gave orders to have him well cared for until you claimed him4 ,i have brought a disguise and arms and money4 ,now1 off with you1 for ,i can waste no more time4 ,ah6 how much we have already wasted1 ,joachim1 in this mad pursuit of ambition1 when only love was worth the while4 ,my sister will rejoice to retire with you to private life and to know of my happiness1 for ,camillo is waiting for me at ,rome1 and all the cruel misunderstanding is over6 ,thus ended ,celio ,benvoglio's dragon-service1 for the ,prince1 forced either to overhear or interrupt the foregoing conversation1 had fortunately chosen the former alternative4 ,and here1 perchance1 should the story end1 for the after-history of ,joachim ,murat is a tragical addendum to that happy denouement4 ,pauline overestimated her brother's magnanimity1 ,napoleon coldly refused the profferred services of his brother-in-law1 confessing afterwards that this implacability lost him the battle of ,waterloo1 for ,ney could not equal ,murat in his skilful manoeuvring of horse4 ,murat1 desperate1 took refuge in ,corsica1 where he raised a little band of two hundred and fifty men1 and landed near ,naples1 believing that his old troops would rally to his standard4 ,indifferent1 or perhaps unable to help him1 they abandoned him to his fate4 ,he faced his executioners with unbandaged eyes and himself gave the order to fire4 ,according to the account of an eye-witness1 he first kissed the miniature of his wife1 which he carried within the case of his watch1 and with the request1 ,spare my face1 directed the aim of the soldiers to his breast4 ,their firmness did not equal his own1 and he was obliged to twice give the command before it was obeyed4 ,illustration ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,adventure ,,of ,,the ,,knight ,,of ,,the ,,brandished ,,lance ,i ,,the ,,quest ,robert ,devreux1 ,earl of ,essex1 was in one of his worst moods as he strode the deck of his flag-ship in ,cadiz ,bay on a certain ,june morning in #aeif4 ,and yet this favourite of ,fortune stood then at the summit of his career1 having by a brilliant assault taken the city for ,england1 while a letter whose seal he had just broken assured him of the doting infatuation of ,england's ,queen4 ,it was precisely this letter1 as he now explained to his friend1 which occasioned his dissatisfaction4 ,you will not refuse me1 ,will1 he pleaded1 since ,i can not undertake the quest1 you must go in my stead4 ,these papers contain negotiations of such delicacy that ,henry of ,navarre dared not send them overland through ,france1 and my word is pledged to him to deliver them personally into the hands of the ,grand ,duke ,ferdinando de' ,medici1 at his villa in ,rome4 ,when ,i met the ,king at ,boulogne1 on our first night out1 this seemed an easy thing to do1 for ,i had reason to believe that our cruise would extend to ,italy4 ,but now in the hour of my victory1 when ,i have sacked ,cadiz1 ,i open the ,queen's letter 7which was not to be read until the accomplishment of that task71 and find that1 instead of being permitted to proceed1 ,i must first sail at once for ,england2 and all forsooth because of her love and impatience to reward the valour of her favourite6 ,can such a summons be disregarded8 ,assuredly not2 but my honour and the fate of the ,protestant cause in ,france hang upon your decision4 ,since it means so much1 replied the other1 assuredly ,i will not fail you4 ,but why may ,i not do this under my own name1 as your authorised messenger8 ,because the ,grand ,duke expects the ,earl of ,essex1 the accredited deputy of the ,king of ,france4 ,the deputy of a deputy would have no prestige with him1 and would not even be admitted as guest at the villa4 ,and it is with its lady1 mark you1 that your true errand lies4 ,these negotiations have to do with the marriage of ,henry of ,navarre to the ,grand ,duke's niece ,marie de' ,medici4 ,ferdinando will make and break treaties as suits his advantage4 ,the lady's heart must be gained1 she must be made so ardently to desire this marriage that she will refuse all other suitors4 ,in short you must woo and win her for the ,king of ,france4 ,for such a task you have every qualification4 ,you possess a knowledge of the ,italian language and the understanding of its temperament and character which comes from sympathy4 ,the ,italians will not need to know that you bear the name of ,brandilancia to recognise that you are the embodiment of the type of chivalry dreamed of by their poets4 ,beware1 however1 of receiving or giving too much love1 for report hath it that the heiress of the ,medici is surpassingly beautiful4 ,brandilancia smiled somewhat bitterly4 ,you should know1 he said1 that my heart is in ,england and though my love should remain forever unrequited1 it can never be given to another4 ,an excellent safeguard1 in the present business1 the ,earl replied cheerily1 so here are all objections overcome1 and may you have many a merry experience to recount when next we meet in ,england4 ,hand met hand upon that compact1 and while one ,earl of ,essex pursued his homeward course another in a swift sailing pinnace flew eastward bound upon adventures of which the archives of the ,english ,admiralty preserve no record4 ,as the young adventurer ,brandilancia1 who was to play the part of the true ,essex1 rode up the hill crowned by the ,villa ,medici he was struck by the resemblance of the massive retaining walls to those of some medieval fortress4 ,as such they had served in ancient days1 holding the villa safe in their protecting embrace from any uprising of the populace of ,rome1 while on the side toward the ,campagna they had withstood more than one siege of the ,goths4 ,but high aloft1 near the summit of this cliff of natural rock and hewn stone the inhospitable windowless expanse was broken by a row of arched openings1 and silhouetted against the dark void of one of these he caught a glimpse of a face framed in golden hair4 ,though so far above him the lady1 who had been gazing down the road from sheer ennui1 had noticed the graceful figure of the cavalier1 and had watched his approach until he halted with upturned face beneath her window4 ,at that instant a little fan opening as it fell1 dropped from her hand and fluttered in the light breeze1 like a bird with a broken wing1 beyond the road and into the ravine at its side4 ,instantly ,brandilancia sprang from his horse and1 vaulting over the low embankment1 clambered down the incline4 ,a smiling contadina1 who was beating out her linen on the margin of a basin of water1 assisted him in his search1 but having found the fan she was so curious in regard to its donor that ,brandilancia endeavoured to divert her attention by plying her with questions concerning the locality4 ,from her replies he learned that the washing pool was fed from an old aqueduct which passed under the ,villa ,medici on its way to supply the fountains of ,rome4 ,see1 ,signor1 she said1 pointing out a nail-studded oaken door concealed in the angle of a huge abutment1 they say that if that door were not bolted on the inside one might enter the tunnel which brings the water through the hill from its source miles away4 ,there is a legend1 too1 that a ,roman princess who lived up yonder1 centuries ago1 betrayed the secret to the barbarians1 who came through the tunnel and sacked ,rome4 ,brandilancia paid little heed to this information1 not dreaming that he would one day be indebted to it for escape from the villa which he was now so blithely entering4 ,climbing back to the roadway he waved the fan above his head and was greeted by a light clapping of hands from the lofty window4 ,who could the lady be8 ,he would ascertain in time1 and until he did so it was pleasant to reflect that some one within the villa was interested in his coming and had wafted him this welcome4 ,he had need of hospitality for he was faint from the ride from ,ostia in the heat of an ,italian ,june4 ,the beautiful gardens glowed in dazzling sunshine which the scintillating jets of the fountains reflected and intensified4 ,the statues seemed to shrink from the blinding light into their niches in the great square-cut hedges1 and the tessellated pavement was hot beneath his tread4 ,every detail of the antique relievi which the facade of the palace had been designed to display was brought out by the intense illumination4 ,in its lavish ornamentation and elegant proportions the building suggested a carved ivory cabinet1 but one rifled of its jewels1 for except for the keeper of the gate-lodge1 to whom he had tossed his bridle1 he had met no guards4 ,the great doorway stood invitingly open1 but ,brandilancia hesitated to enter and looked about for some means of announcing his presence4 ,is the villa under some enchantment8 he asked himself4 ,if so some imp or sprite should lurk hereabouts and now make its appearance4 ,as if in answer to this mental question a peal of elfish laughter greeted his ear1--a mirthless1 falsetto cackle1 like that of a parrot1 and half hidden behind one of the great marble lions in the shade of the loggia he discerned a grotesque little creature1 with the figure of a child and a woman's face1 old in its expression of slyness and malignity4 ,brandilancia started1 although he knew that it was the custom of ,italian princes to maintain dwarfs in their households4 ,this woman1 probably a dependent1 was dressed like a princess4 ,her dress though soiled was of stiff brocade embroidered with gold thread1 and the high lace ruff1 which made her swarthy complexion darker by contrast with its whiteness1 was edged with seed pearls4 ,come in1 my lord1 she croaked4 ,the ,grand ,duke regretted that1 obliged to be temporarily in ,florence1 he could not receive you1 but awaiting his return the villa is at your service1 and the ,grand ,duchess and the ,signorina will endeavour to make the time pass pleasantly4 ,he followed her1 wondering as to her position4 ,how did you know me8 he asked4 ,you are expected1 she replied1 and no one but an ,englishman would have called at the hour of the siesta4 ,shall ,i show your worship to your own room1 or will you await the ladies in the library8 ,his hand was on the little fan1 and he was striving to frame some question whose answer would enlighten him as to the giver1 but the dwarf's last word caught his ear1 and acted like the scent of spirits upon a man thirsting for drink4 ,to the library1 by all means1 he replied eagerly1 and1 as the heavy portieres were drawn aside1 the tiny creature at his side and even the golden-haired woman who had greeted his coming so graciously were for the moment clean forgotten1 for he comprehended that one of his dearest hopes1 long thwarted but never entirely relinquished1 the hidden personal motive which had been the determining factor in his acceptance of this mission1 was now about to be realised4 ,the immense room from floor to cornice was walled with books3 the writings of the fathers of the church--huge folios hasped in brass and ornamented with priceless illuminations--side by side with pagan literature1 ,greek manuscripts1 and volumes of the ,roman classics1 while all the new harvest of the ,italian ,renaissance1 in every department then known1 had been carefully garnered4 ,but high above the marshalled works of the poets1 which his fingers lingeringly caressed as he passed them by1 ,brandilancia had detected a row of small volumes1 and a thrill of triumphant delight shot through his frame as he climbed the step-ladder and with eager fingers plucked them from their niches4 ,for here were the novelli of ,boccaccio1 ,masaccio1 and ,bandello1 of ,giraldi ,cinthio and ,ser ,giovanni ,fiorentino and of many another writer of romantic tales of whimsical gaiety1 of intrigue1 or of tragedy1 and ,brandilancia was a playwright gifted with a most exceptional genius for adaptation4 ,he had read a few of these tales and had realised that they contained admirable material for dramatisation1 but now by a turn of the wheel of ,fortune the entire inexhaustible mine of absorbing plot of piquant situation and contrasting characters1 slightly sketched but waiting only the touch of genius to spring into life1 lay open before him4 ,with a sigh of supreme satisfaction he sank into the nearest chair and read like one under the influence of some hypnotic spell4 ,the secretary of the ,grand ,duke entered the library1 shuffled about noisily1 coughed1 and even addressed him1 but the reader was unconscious of his presence4 ,curious as to what so enthralled the stranger the man of the ink-horn tiptoed behind him1 read the title over his shoulder1 and laughed aloud4 ,brandilancia surprised1 laid down the volume and demanded the cause of this demonstration4 ,pardon me1 ,signor1 replied the secretary1 but ,i could not refrain1 your absorption pays me a great compliment for ,i am the author of that book4 ,you1 sir8 exclaimed the half incredulous reader4 ,i1 ,celio ,malespini1 ,secretary to his ,excellency1 the ,grand ,duke1 a man of letters who has tried his quill in sundry other fields1 as well4 ,then1 ,signor ,malespini1 accept my congratulations1 for this story of the company of the ,calza of ,venice is one of the merriest ,i have ever read1 and makes me eager to see their festival4 ,have you written other books as entertaining8 ,i have as yet written no others1 replied ,celio1 flattered and wholly won by the stranger's praise1 but since you care for my poor efforts ,i can lay before your worship those of other authors more worthy of your attention4 ,from inconspicuous nooks and corners he dragged them forth and piled them before the appreciative ,brandilancia1 who forgot all else until a servant announced that his hostesses would receive him in the grand salon a half hour before the hour of dining4 ,even then he would have turned again to the fascinating volumes had not the valet's added information that the luggage of the ,signor was in his room reminded him that dinner in such a house was a function and not simply an opportunity for absorbing the provender necessary to sustain life4 ,fortunately1 ,brandilancia was an accomplished actor as well as writer1 and his theatrical experience had taught him to make quick changes not only of costume1 but of mental points of view and characteristics1 and ,essex's wardrobe became him no more than the grace and manner of the gallant young nobleman which he assumed with equal ease4 ,the transformation effected within the next hour was even deeper than this1 for as his eyes met those of ,marie de' ,medici he knew that here1 either for good or evil1 was a woman destined to exert a compelling influence upon his life4 ,it was not love1 he told himself1 for he was on his guard against that passion4 ,she did not impress him as beautiful4 ,her eyes were overbold and searching but cold2 but her bearing arrogant at first1 softened as the days went by into a frank comradeship1 and he discovered that she possessed a cultured and an appreciative mind4 ,hitherto ,brandilancia had hidden a sensitive heart craving the sympathy that no woman had ever given him1 under a gay and sportive exterior which made him a prince of good fellows1 a man's man1 and a loyal lover of his comrades1 though they were far from appreciating his genius and his aims4 ,but every serious conversation held with his young hostess confirmed him in his delusion that he had found a friend capable of understanding him4 ,that she did not as yet wholly do so was the fault of his cursed disguise1 which confused her perceptions of his real character with preconceived ideas of ,essex4 ,he longed to reveal himself to her1 and did so to a greater degree than he realised4 ,especially was this the case upon one memorable morning when1 piqued that he should spend so much time in the library1 she had followed him to that retreat4 ,she had found him absorbed in ,luigi da ,porto's novel ,la ,giulietta1 a pitiable history that occurred at ,verona in the time of ,bartolommeo ,scala1 and she watched him slyly for some minutes amused by his preoccupation before interrupting his feast4 ,ah6 she exclaimed at length in pleased surprise1 you have chanced upon my favourite of all the books in my uncle's library4 ,how many tears have ,i shed for these poor lovers but chiefly because ,i knew no ,romeo so brave and noble and handsome to tempt me to die for him1 or so devoted as to die for me4 ,that was when ,i was a child of ten1 my lord4 ,i have learned since that such love exists only in novels1 and have ceased to cry for it4 ,you are very cynical1 sweet lady1 he replied1 and unkind to the novelists1 whom ,i hold in worshipful esteem4 ,and ,i also esteem them4 ,it is precisely because the life they tell of is so different from my own1 in which nothing ever happens1 that a book-cover is for me a magic door by whose opening ,i escape out of the unendurable present4 ,even more than the novels do ,i love the plays1 and to see them acted is better than to read them1 best of all it must be to act in one4 ,ah6 that would indeed be like living another life4 ,true1 dear lady1 he answered eagerly1 but there is a form of diversion which to my mind is the most fascinating of all1 and that is the writing of a drama1 for in so doing we create a little world of our own1 and control the destinies of the men and women whom we bring into being4 ,she shrugged her shoulders4 ,but ,i care only to be the author of my own role4 ,and what1 he asked1 would you choose that role to be8 ,i would be a ,princess beloved by the ,king of the greatest nation in the world4 ,beloved1 mark you1 not bargained for1 but sought out personally by the ,king who should love me for myself alone1 a manifestly impossible plot even for a play4 ,on the contrary1 't is a good one4 ,let us collaborate now in the planning of such a scheme4 ,let us suppose that for political reasons the ,king could not come in his proper person1 but having learned to love you from report1 were to seek you out incognito4 ,let us also imagine him so happy as to win your love4 ,would you be capable of the devotion which you demand of him8 ,would ,i wed such a ,king whom ,i had learned to love1 though in disguise8 ,most certainly4 ,ah6 dear lady1 you wilfully disregard the point ,i make4 ,would you wed this true lover1 not knowing that he was a ,king8 ,let me put it still more strongly4 ,would you give yourself to the man you loved knowing that he was not of royal birth8 ,ah6 that is a different question2 but ,i answer yes1 for ,i am certain that my intuitions are so true that ,i could never love a man who was not in every sense a ,king4 ,he smiled indulgently4 ,so be it1 we will write such a drama and show the world how true love pierces all disguise1 and knowing its own1 challenges all dangers4 ,she listened eagerly1 but she attributed an interpretation which he had not intended to his perfectly simple suggestion4 ,placing her own personality out of the question was impossible for one so absorbed in self as this egoistic young creature4 ,if ,henry of ,navarre were but like his ,ambassador how easy it would be to love him6 and suddenly it flashed through her mind that they were indeed one and the same4 ,what other signification could be placed upon this supposititious drama which they were to evolve together8 ,intrigue ran in her blood and distorted her perceptions4 ,transparent frankness was incomprehensible to her1 and it appealed to her romantic imagination that the ,king of ,france should come like the hero of some wonder-tale disguised as his own envoy extraordinary to see and woo his princess4 ,had she confided this wild idea to the experienced ,malespini or to her companion1 the dwarf ,leonora1 whose shrewd intellect was out of all proportion to her stunted body1 she might easily have been disabused of her error2 but with an overweening confidence in the accuracy of her own judgment she determined to weigh every sentence uttered by the man who purported to be the ,earl of ,essex and draw her own conclusions as to his identity4 ,to a mind preconvinced1 proofs were not wanting4 ,brandilancia1 fancying that the little fan had fallen from the hand of ,marie de' ,medici by accident1 naively offered to return it4 ,her face clouded4 ,then you do not care to keep my first gift8 she pouted4 ,your gift8 ,may ,i then keep it8 he asked delighted4 ,in exchange for the ring you wear1 she replied1 and he laid it in her hand4 ,she examined with curiosity the device engraved upon the seal1 a gauntleted hand holding a lance in rest4 ,essex gave me that ring1 he said thoughtlessly1 for he was too excited to measure his own words4 ,i value it1 not because ,i have a right to the arms it bears1 but because he thought me a true knight errant eager for any enterprise of honour and gallantry4 ,essex gave it4 ,then you are not ,essex8 she asked smiling4 ',t was but a slip of the tongue1 he replied confusedly4 ,it was the ,king of ,france who presented it to me when ,i joined him with the ,english auxiliaries at the siege of ,rouen4 ,we were much in each other's company1 not only in the main business of fighting1 but in hawking and hunting in the neighbourhood4 ,it was the enemy's country1 and this gave zest to our escapades4 ,he spoke rapidly but he could not distract her attention from his inadvertent admission4 ,yes1 she commented thoughtfully1 ,i have heard that you were friends and comrades in many a wild adventure4 ,tell me more of the ,king1 since you of all others should know him best4 ,illustration3 ,neurdein ,henri ,,iv4 receiving the portrait of ,marie de ,medici ,p4 ,p4 ,rubens ,from the series of paintings ordered by her for the ,palace of the ,luxembourg ,i know1 dear lady1 that he loves you4 ,how can that be since he has never seen me8 ,love enters the heart through many strange portals1 and ,henry of ,navarre knows you better than you suspect4 ,your portrait sent him by your uncle is engraved upon his heart4 ,love gives a mysterious power of second sight1 and ,i doubt not that the ,king of ,france sees you at this moment even as ,i do1 and that ,marie de' ,medici is for him as for me the embodiment of all womanly perfection4 ,the ,grand ,duchess is approaching1 she said in a low voice1 and ,henry of ,navarre is a forbidden topic--talk of anything else--talk of art4 ,the subject was apropos1 for they were in the garden and ,ferdinando's collection of masterpieces was all about them1 but the ,grand ,duchess had caught his closing phrase4 ,who is it1 she asked drily1 who has the honour of being the embodiment of the ,earl of ,essex's ideal of womanly perfection8 ,the ,medicean ,venus1 ,brandilancia replied unhesitatingly1 with a wave of the hand which took in that famous statue and also the lady at his side4 ,the ,grand ,duchess sniffed1 she was silenced but not deceived1 and she remained at her niece's side through the remainder of the afternoon4 ,as several guests joined them and discussed with great connoisseurship the merits of the sculpture ,brandilancia's thoughts wandered to his host4 ,what manner of man was this ,ferdinando de' ,medici who had converted his garden pleasance into a museum8 ,mentally reviewing what he had heard of the ,grand ,duke it seemed that all that was most admirable in the race must focus in its present representative4 ,but ,marie de' ,medici had let fall a disquieting remark which pointed to another side to his character4 ,see1 your grace1 she had said to ,brandilancia1 here is a favourite play of mine1 ,il ,moro di ,venezia1 a sad tragedy but it stirs one's blood to read it4 ,perhaps it stirs mine because it is not long since tragedies like that have been enacted in my own family4 ,love and jealousy and revenge are a part of our heritage1 and at times ,i long to come into my birthright1 for such existence as ,i now lead is not life4 ,this half-revelation so impressed ,brandilancia that he could not expel it from his mind1 and when next alone with the secretary1 ,malespini1 he begged for an explanation4 ,tell me something1 he begged1 of the character of the ,grand ,duke4 ,i do not ask you to divulge private matters1 but only such as are public property and with which ,i would be acquainted were ,i not so newly arrived in ,italy4 ,malespini gave him a compassionate glance4 ,i thought that all the world knew that my master was a child of ,satan1 he replied coolly4 ,the ,signorina told you truly4 ,he caused the death of his two sisters-in-law1 and was responsible for the murder of his own sister1 goading her husband the ,duke of ,bracciano to the act4 ,it is commonly reported also that the ,signorina's father1 the former ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany1 together with his wife1 ,bianca ,capello1 were poisoned by ,ferdinando1 though he made the act appear to be that of the murdered ,duchess4 ,and what1 asked the horrified ,brandilancia1 was the motive of this crime8 ,is it not apparent8 ,ferdinando de ,medici1 then a cardinal1 had just failed in his candidacy for the pontificate 7outwitted by that fox ,montalto74 ,if he could not be pope it suited him as well to be ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany4 ,if this is true is the ,signorina safe in his power8 ,so long as their interests are the same1 ,signor4 ,and you who are the friend of ,henry of ,navarre should know that the ,grand ,duke is anxious to place his niece upon the throne of ,france4 ,should she set her will against her uncle's ambition he would scruple at no perfidity or crime4 ,you wonder why ,i1 who am in his service1 should tell you this4 ,it is because ,i am strangely drawn to you4 ,from the moment ,i saw that you appreciated what ,i had written1 that we spoke the same language1 strove after the same ideals1 ,i was yours heart and soul4 ,they talk of love at first sight1 a foolish matter between man and woman1 but when two men recognise that they are congenial spirits it is the most natural and inevitable thing in all the world4 ,and so ,i tell you again1 be on your guard for your personal safety4 ,if1 however unjustly1 any distrust of you should be awakened in the mind of the ,grand ,duke1 if he imagined that the ,signorina had learned to care for you1 then your life1 and hers as well1 would not be worth one soldo4 ,this conversation occasioned the guest of the villa serious thought4 ,it obtruded itself in the very tales of intrigue1 passion1 and murder which he read to drive it from his mind1 those fascinating novelli with their records of bloody hereditary vendettas1 of innocent or guilty lovers alike done to death by indiscriminating cruelty4 ,truly1 he thought1 in ,italy a woman's kiss and that of a poniard go often in such close company that the sweet woman's mouth which lets love in almost touches the red mouth of the wound which lets life out4 ,though not so definitely explained1 he had felt the presence of danger before2 but so long as it threatened himself alone it added a spice of excitement to the adventure2 now1 however1 that he realised what grave consequences the least indiscretion on his part might bring upon ,marie de' ,medici herself1 he determined to be doubly circumspect4 ,with this intention he held himself aloof from the superb mundane life of the villa1 and1 retiring to the library1 occupied himself in translating and rearranging old plays4 ,but all day as he wrote1 though half unconsciously1 his thoughts were with his fair hostess1 and always at the hour of the siesta of the ,grand ,duchess ,marie de' ,medici was with him in person4 ,it was on the second morning of his seclusion that she had tapped at the door and offered her aid in his work2 thus converting the very means by which he sought to avoid her into a stratagem for the uninterrupted enjoyment of her society4 ,had ,brandilancia been more sophisticated1 it might have struck him as exceptional that a princess who been brought up in the strictest conventionality should have granted the privilege of such intimate association even to so exalted a personage as the ,earl of ,essex4 ,he believed her confidence due to girlish innocence1 and was more than ever determined to protect her from himself4 ,leonora was always on guard in the ante-room1 and joined them whenever she heard the sound of approaching footsteps4 ,it surprised this world-wise little sentinel that on none of these occasions had the young man appeared to have taken any advantage of his opportunity1 and she was irritated by the amused condescension with which he treated her4 ,he could never realise that this grotesque and tiny creature was not an uncanny child1 and he had nicknamed her good-humouredly ,the ,owlet1 on account of her large round eyes4 ,i had not thought the ,earl of ,essex so blind1 she said to him one day when they chanced to be alone4 ,my eyes are not fashioned to see in the dark like yours1 ,owlet1 he replied4 ,tell me what it is you see4 ,many things1 but the plainest of all to me is that whoever you may be you are not the ,earl of ,essex4 ,he was off his guard1 and his expression confirmed her suspicions4 ,she laughed maliciously1 and her face1 always sly and old beyond her years1 was absolutely repulsive now as it reflected her gloating sense of her advantage4 ,put your mind at rest1 my lord1 she said1 mockingly4 ,your secret is safe in my keeping4 ,i do not know your aims1 but if you will take me into your confidence you are sure of success4 ,i am only dangerous when ,i am angered4 ,why should you not succeed8 ,the ,signorina is completely infatuated with you4 ,if we make her believe that you have assumed the character of the ,earl of ,essex from love of her she will readily forgive you that deceit4 ,together we can accomplish anything and everything1 for you have a winning way with women1 and ,i have brains--yes1 more than you give me credit for--and this doll-faced girl shall make our fortunes4 ,when we have sucked the coffers of the ,medici dry1 take me with you to your own country1 and ,i will be your faithful accomplice there also1 for1 misshapen and hideous as ,i am1 ,i love you1 my beautiful adventurer2 yes1 with a devotion of which my mistress is not capable1 for she is vain and shallow and selfish4 ,oh1 why did ,god give her the form of an angel and put my soul in the body of a demon8 ,brandilancia1 up to this point speechless with astonishment1 had not been able to interrupt her1 and the dwarf had climbed to the table1 where1 perched at his elbow1 she had poured her confidences into his ear2 but as she drew his face to hers with her small claw-like hands he forgot all considerations of policy in an unconquerable repulsion1 and wrenched himself rudely from her4 ,imp6 he exclaimed1 your soul matches your body4 ,you are hideous through and through4 ,the look which she gave him was full of malignity4 ,you shall live to learn that the good-will of a devil is better than her ill-will1 she said1 as she slipped from the table and left the room4 ,brandilancia's uneasy compunction which immediately followed his hasty exclamation was soon effaced by the dwarf's apparent forgiveness4 ,we were both indiscreet1 she said to him the following day2 let us forget and be friends4 ,but ,leonora would not forget1 and the young man had lost his opportunity of making her his friend4 ,she immediately carried her doubts to her mistress4 ,the man is not the ,earl of ,essex1 she asserted4 ,he is some base impostor1 ,i know not whom1 but ,i will make him declare himself ere long4 ,marie de' ,medici was silent1 but her thoughts were voluble4 ,since it had pleased her royal lover to come incognito she would betray him to no one nor even allow him to suspect that she had penetrated his disguise1 but would flatter the ,king by feigning that she loved him for himself alone1 and would exert every endeavour to make him sincerely her lover4 ,in spite of the injunction of the ,grand ,duchess1 they often spoke of ,henry of ,navarre1 and ,brandilancia in the desire to forward the mission upon which he had been sent1 told of ,henry's unhappy wedded life1 expressing with great frankness his own detestation of the craft and cruelty of ,catherine de' ,medici and the levity of her daughter ,marguerite of ,valois4 ,you forget1 ,marie de' ,medici had replied1 that they are my kinswomen4 ,i forget many things in your presence which ,i should remember1 he had replied4 ,sometimes even that ,i1 too1 am a married man and1 knowing you as ,i do1 ,i can not blame the ,king of ,france that he is seeking1 through divorce1 freedom from a marriage into which he was half tricked1 half forced1 and that he is willing to risk salvation for the hope of your love4 ,that answer pleased her well4 ,she had no doubt now that he loved her1 and did not hesitate to assure him in many covert ways that the feeling was reciprocated4 ,brandilancia would have been blind indeed not to have recognised her admiration1 but he believed it merely appreciation of his genius1 whereas her mind was too limited to comprehend it4 ,she was in love with the possibility of being a queen upon such easy terms1 delighted to find that the necessary husband was no uncouth tyrant but a man of winsome personality whose delicate assiduities were ever present and yet never over passed the restraints of deference4 ,it would have been difficult for two persons to have more utterly misunderstood each other4 ,brandilancia had reached the full maturity of his mental powers4 ,his genius had created many charming women1 but the ideal for which his lonely heart yearned had only gradually taken shape in his mind1 and the heroine which he now gave to literature marked an epoch in his career4 ,he had found the plot of his drama sketched in part in one of the novelli of ,ser ,giovanni2 but the conception of an aristocratic yet gracious lady gifted with all perfection1 with which he replaced the siren of ,belmont1 was not1 as he supposed1 a portrait from life of ,marie de' ,medici4 ,the character sprang directly from his own intense longing1 and by some unreasoning reflex action1 his mind endowed the woman who happened to be near him with qualities which he created and which she unhappily did not possess4 ,the idol which he worshipped was absolutely the work of his own hands1 for it was not until his imagination had cheated his eyes1 and he had begun to look at ,marie de' ,medici through its flattering lenses that he thought her beautiful4 ,and yet at the age of twenty she possessed very real attractions3 a southern blond1 not milky-veined1 like the pale maidens of the north1 but with all the gold of the hot sunshine in her hair1 and the rich blood glowing through her fair skin like flame in an alabaster lamp4 ,superbly modelled1 but lithe and tall1 she carried regally the sumptuous opulence with which nature had endowed her1 and the soft curve of her shoulders1 throat1 and bosom had not as yet blossomed into the plethora which ,rubens depicted with so gloating a brush4 ,nor was she precisely the same as when ,brandilancia had looked upon these charms unmoved4 ,all arrogance and self-confidence were gone or lay buried under the most appealing of coquetry1 a shy tenderness apparently born of irresistible impulse showing itself in little wilful sallies1 a glance or touch1 seemingly instantly regretted1 and followed by alternations of reticence4 ,he admitted her bewitching but had no idea that he was himself bewitched4 ,his was a literary passion4 ,he was a student of life as well as of books1 and he had never before had the opportunity of studying such glorious examples of both at close range4 ,he completed his portrait of his ideal heroine ,portia1 the noblest that he ever depicted1 and found to his surprise that quite another type of woman was forming itself in his mind4 ,powerful outside influences mingled their impressions with the long-stifled hunger in his heart4 ,he was not in love with his hostess1 but he was starving for love1 and each book that he read1 every object of art that he looked upon1 and nature itself was steeped with the charm and passion of ,italy4 ,if he tossed aside ,boccaccio and his too suggestive confreres to seek refreshment in the garden it was only to find himself face to face with the famous statue of the most seductive of all women1 she who made ,caesar her slave and ,antony her floor-cloth4 ,she obtruded herself upon him everywhere1 for his very bed was hanged ,with tapestry of silk and silver1 the story ,proud ,cleopatra when she met her ,roman4 ,he had read with ,marie de' ,medici the history of the ,egyptian ,queen1 and had brooded over it until against his will something of the fascination of the ,serpent of ,old ,nile invested his comrade1 and the name of ,antony ever after called up in her memory also the inspired face of her fellow-student in the dangerous science of love4 ,realising vaguely the influence which like some mephitic perfume1 an opiate of the soul1 emanated from the purely literary reconstruction of such a character1 he laid it aside for the heart-breaking story of ,giulietta1 whose very innocence moved him still more profoundly4 ,it was midsummer1 the quivering ,july heat brought out the pungent scent of the freshly clipped box-hedges1 and set the mad flood stirring as in the brief action of the play4 ,during the day the white glare drove the guests of the garden festivals into the shadiest recesses of the cypress labyrinths4 ,the flowers themselves seemed to have vanished from the parterres1 or1 like the ,cereus1 bloomed only at night1 plainly visible under the luminous sky1 when the nightingales vied with the viols of the serenaders4 ,on such a night as this ,brandilancia1 who had been reading late1 closed his book and1 after the departure of the last reveller1 stepped upon the terrace to cool his brain heated by inspiration4 ,a kindred restlessness brought ,marie de' ,medici to her balcony and he recklessly sprang upon a marble bench which almost enabled him to touch her hand4 ,listen1 dearest lady1 he said1 it is your favourite story1 which ,i have re-written with my own heart's blood4 ,enthralled1 though only half comprehending1 ,marie de' ,medici listened as he poured forth in impassioned improvisation lines which from that day to this no one who has ever loved has heard untouched4 ,the actor's training gave to the burning words of the poet artistic expression worthy of the most finished theatrical production1 and as such they lacked not their due appreciation and applause though from a most undesired audience4 ,a low chuckling and a clapping of hands greeted the close of the recital1 and the two successful impersonators of ,romeo and ,juliet saw to their confusion that the scene had been witnessed by a burly man-at-arms1 who now stalked from the shadow of a group of cypresses4 ,bravo6 he cried1 da ,groto himself did not act that play so well1 when ,i saw him years since in the ,farnese theatre at ,parma4 ,but you have taken liberties with the lines and1 per ,bacco6 have improved them4 ,whoever you may be you are too good an actor for such paltry assistance4 ,and ,i know no one better qualified to pronounce upon a play than ,captain ,radicofani1 replied ,marie de' ,medici1 reappearing from the interior of her chamber whither she had retreated on the appearance of the intruder4 ,it is odd that you should have chanced so opportunely upon us as we were rehearsing our little comedy4 ,my lord of ,essex1 permit me to present ,captain ,tuzio ,radicofani1 as brave a soldier as ever wielded sword1 and one loyally attached to my uncle's service4 ,what news do you bring from the ,grand ,duke1 ,captain8 ,will he soon return to us8 ,the ,earl of ,essex8 the other repeated in surprise disregarding for the moment ,marie de' ,medici's questions4 ,it is rare indeed to find one of ,fortune's favourites so variously talented4 ,his ,excellency the ,grand ,duke1 though he enumerated both your physical and mental accomplishments with great particularity spoke not of play-acting4 ,brandilancia did not relish the shrewd look in the half-closed eyes1 nor did he fancy the bullet-shaped close-cropped head with its overweight of occiput and bull-dog jaw1 but he replied courteously1 such trifling diversion on the part of an idle man is surely less remarkable than its appreciation by one of action like yourself4 ,the ,grand ,duke would also have been surprised1 the soldier continued1 could he have assisted at this little scene4 ,your highness does himself discredit in referring to the performance as trifling1 for1 by the ,blood1 ,i never saw so accomplished an actor4 ,the ,signorina's talent likewise astonished me1 though it was confined to mere pantomime1 one might have thought it the languishing of a love-sick girl4 ,by your favour1 ,signorina1 there are indeed certain letters in my saddle-bags which my groom has in charge1 but the varlet has gone to his supper in the servants' hall4 ,i1 too1 am hungry and will seek the steward4 ,the letters1 with your ,highness's permission1 shall be presented on the morrow1 which indeed is almost here4 ,they entered the villa together in apparent friendliness1 but it was with a sense of impending evil that ,brandilancia retired to his room4 ,was it simply that the man had interrupted them at a moment when in spite of ,marie de' ,medici's tactful greeting no audience was desired1 or was there something sinister in his coming8 ,the more ,brandilancia reflected the less he liked the familiarity which amounted to an assumption of authority4 ,radicofani's voice had not rung true4 ,the fellow suspects me4 ,nay1 he knows that ,i am not the ,earl of ,essex1 groaned the young man1 as he tossed upon his bed2 and if his creature knows1 then the ,grand ,duke knows also1 and who can guess on what errand this villain comes8 ,he pretended to believe that we were rehearsing a comedy1 but he doubtless places the worst possible construction upon the scene which he has just witnessed4 ,was it a comedy1 or am ,i in earnest8 ,ah6 ,i have deliberately fallen into the trap against which ,malespini warned me4 ,i have lingered too long in this fool's paradise4 ,love and its penalty have stricken me in the same instant4 ,thank ,heaven6 no thought of this madness of mine can have entered the pure mind of my lady4 ,until this night ,i have breathed no word that could have betrayed it1 and even now she doubtless thinks my ravings those of a poet4 ,i will leave the villa to-morrow1 lest my further presence here should bring trouble upon her4 ,even as he formed the resolution a slight sound caught his ear1 the cautious opening and closing of the door which led from the ante-chamber of his bedroom into the outer hall1 the only means of communication between his own room and other parts of the villa4 ,a light shone between the folds of the portiere1 and there were sounds of some one moving about softly in the ante-room4 ,springing from his bed1 ,brandilancia seized his sword4 ,who is there8 he demanded4 ',t is ,i1 ,radicofani1 and the tapestries parted1 disclosing the form of the ,captain1 towering beyond a camp-bed which had been spread across the doorway4 ,i should have informed your worship1 he apologised smugly1 that ,i sleep here to-night4 ,put up your sword1 and rest assured that no one shall pass this room without my license4 ,and could they give you no better lodging than that8 asked ,brandilancia4 ,room in plenty1 the ,captain replied1 but it is on the ,grand ,duke's orders that ,i act as your body-guard1 and ,i enter upon my duties at once1 for ,i am responsible for your safety4 ,the prisoner inquired no further1 but letting fall the portiere1 threw himself upon his bed confounded4 ,his resolution to leave the villa had been made too late4 ,but the morning brought a fresh access of hope1 as ,brandilancia noticed between the widely-drawn curtains that the obstructing truckle-bed had been set against the wall and that his guard had left his post4 ,the dwarf ,leonora1 who was the only occupant of the dining hall when he descended1 stole to his side and bade him await the ,signorina in the belvedere in the upper garden4 ,here ,marie de' ,medici presently joined him4 ,my lord1 she said1 between her quick panting1 for she was out of breath with running1 ,i shame to tell you1 but you must leave us at once1 indeed you should have done so long since4 ,it is what ,i had upon my mind to say to you1 sweet lady1 he replied4 ,i have an appointment to meet at ,venice ten days hence1 and must leave my papers for the ,grand ,duke and proceed upon my journey1 much as it irks me to tear myself from your company4 ,then you know not that my uncle has sent ,radicofani to take you to ,florence8 ,the ,grand ,duke does me honour1 and under other circumstances ,i would gladly accept his further hospitality2 but his ,highness will understand that ,robert ,devreux is not free to follow his own inclinations4 ,no1 you are not free1 she answered hastily4 ,read this letter which ,radicofani gave to my aunt this morning and which ,i purloined from her writing-cabinet4 ,nay1 hesitate not but read1 for it concerns you vitally4 ,at her command he read3 ,to the ,grand ,duchess ,christina de' ,medici4 ,,most ,,honoured ,,and ,,dear ,,spouse3 ,your letter informing me of the arrival at the villa of a person purporting to be the ,earl of ,essex has occasioned me great concern inasmuch as the fellow is undoubtedly an impostor4 ,his ,eminence1 ,don ,jerome ,osorio1 ,bishop of ,algarve1 who arrived in this city some five days since1 asserts positively that on the date upon which this rascal presented himself at the ,villa ,medici the ,earl of ,essex personally conducted the sack of the town of ,faro in southern ,portugal1 and1 having feloniously carried the bishop's library on board the ,english flag-ship1 he forth-with set sail for the open ocean1 evidently upon his return voyage for ,england4 ,imagine1 therefore1 my anxiety on learning that you have given harbourage to some rascal1 who having by base practises learned that the ,earl had an errand with me1 now usurps his name and credit4 ,i send this letter by my trusty servitor1 ,radicofani1 whom ,i have charged to bring the villain with all speed to me that ,i may examine him by the question and learn his motives in assuming this disguise4 ,if he has brought with him any papers 7some of which he may easily have stolen from the ,earl of ,essex7 see to it that ,radicofani obtains possession of them before the rascal's suspicions are aroused4 ,i tremble when ,i think how he may have practised upon your unsuspicious nature1 and what villainies he may already have accomplished1 or rather ,i would thus tremble did ,i not know that you inherit the resolution of the race of ,lorraine1 which1 even when a mistake has been committed1 knows how to wring success from disaster4 ,confiding thus in your courage and your woman's wit1 ,i remain1 ,your loving husband1 ,,ferdinando4 ,p4,s4 ,for the better furtherance of my desires confide my suspicions to no one not even to my niece1 but take leave of this caitiff with all ceremony as though he were indeed him whom he represents4 ,brandilancia paled slightly1 but not at the danger in which he stood4 ,the ,grand ,duke is correct in his suspicions1 he said1 ,i have lied to you1 ,i am not the ,earl of ,essex4 ,she smiled enigmatically4 ,you have known it all along8 he exclaimed4 ,then ,i am a poorer actor than ,i thought4 ,nay1 you acted your part well1 but early in our acquaintance ,i knew you for a nobler man than the ,earl of ,essex4 ,i have no guess as to the station to which you may have been born1 but you are fitted to play a knightly part1 on a far different stage from this1 my ,king among men4 ,and when ,i have won my crown1 he replied1 the world shall know that it was your faith in me which nerved me to the effort1 for ,i shall lay it at your feet1 my ,queen1 the only woman who has ever really understood or cared for me4 ,his arms were about her and she was sobbing in the excitement of her triumph4 ,yes1 yes1 she cried1 you will come again1 but now you must fly4 ,what am ,i that ,i should hold you thus when you stand in danger of your life8 ,have no fear for me dear lady1 he replied4 ,the ,grand ,duke is fair-minded1 and will not fail to credit my assertions when ,i explain why ,i undertook this adventure4 ,my uncle believes nothing without absolute proof4 ,such chivalrous motives as yours would seem to him incredible4 ,if you fail to convince him of your identity he will execute you as a common rogue4 ,if you prove it he will use every inch of his advantage ere you escape his clutches4 ,you must fly1 but how8 ,on learning an hour since1 that ,radicofani had descended to the city1 ,i ordered our horses for a ride only to learn that he had left strict orders at the stables and at the gates of the villa that you were not to be allowed to leave the grounds4 ,my friend1 you are a close prisoner4 ,think fast4 ,what can you do8 ,nothing1 dear lady1 but trust that since ,i have committed no crime ,i shall not receive the treatment of a criminal4 ,what loss of time is this8 exclaimed ,leonora as she suddenly made her appearance from behind the hedge4 ,here ,i have stood on guard for half an hour by the sun-dial and you have wasted it in idle chatter4 ,i tell you1 ,signor1 my mistress is right1 you are as good as a dead man if you trust to the ,grand ,duke2 but take the advice of the ,owlet and we will foil him nicely4 ,for an instant a suspicion flashed across his mind that her apparent friendliness was untrustworthy4 ,it was she1 he suspected1 who had ushered ,radicofani into the garden on the previous evening1 or at least had failed to give warning of his approach4 ,but he dismissed these thoughts as unworthy4 ,what expedient do you suggest ,leonora8 he asked4 ,do you not recognise that contadina1 the dwarf replied1 the one standing between the fountain and the parapet yonder8 ,she is a friend of yours and will help me save you4 ,a friend of mine6 ,brandilancia repeated wonderingly4 ,leonora laughed maliciously4 ,have you forgotten possessing yourself of a little fan which my mistress dropped1 quite by accident1 from a window on the day of your arrival1 and that you were assisted in finding it by the laundress of the villa8 ,the artful jade has a better memory4 ,she does not fail to remind me of the incident and to inquire for you whenever she calls for the linen4 ,i have been obliged to stop her mouth with more than one coin to keep her from blabbing to the ,grand ,duchess4 ,however that incident proves to have been all for the best4 ,her cart is at the kitchen door1 she is waiting there at my orders4 ,summon her to your room1 purchase and don the costume which she now wears4 ,with her kerchief shading your face no one will recognise you1 and you will drive away in triumph throned upon her hampers1 until well beyond the city when you can turn the donkey loose and catch the ,venetian post4 ,illustration3 ,view from the ,garden of the ,villa ,medici ,his laugh rang out boyishly4 ,the adventure of ,bucciolo1 which ,i read to the ,signorina1 from the tales of ,ser ,giovanni suggested that expedient1 he said4 ,it were a good motive for a roaring farce1 but ,i must consider the dignity of the name ,i bear4 ,nay speak it not1 entreated ,marie de' ,medici in a whisper1 throwing her arms about his neck4 ,i heard a step upon the gravel4 ,he regarded her wonderingly1 ,let who will hear1 he persisted4 ,it shall never be said that the ,earl of ,essex slunk from danger in a wench's petticoats4 ,well spoken1 ,i like you the better for that1 laughed a loud voice1 and ,captain ,radicofani parting the shrubbery suddenly appeared1 interrupting1 for the second time1 their confidences4 ,how unsuspectingly you children fell into my trap1 he sneered4 ,i knew that the ,signorina would warn you4 ,you were acting a tableau ,i presume just now as you held her in your embrace4 ,a pretty scene1 i' faith1 but one of which the ,grand ,duke will not be amused to hear4 ,i had hoped to learn still more of the libretto of this little play1 but you know more of mine4 ,we will make no further pretence1 and lest ,i lose you by further shilly-shallying1 we will start upon our journey at once4 ,until we are well upon our way1 ,signorina1 may ,i beg you1 and ,leonora also1 to remain in your own suite of apartments and to attempt to hold no communication with this gentleman8 ,marie de' ,medici bowed haughtily4 ,i shall employ the time in writing my uncle how unwarrantably ,captain ,radicofani exceeds his orders1 she replied as she swept angrily from the belvedere4 ,seeing that the indignation of her mistress merely amused the condottiere the dwarf took a cajoling tone4 ,at least your highness will remain to luncheon1 she said insinuatingly4 ,that invitation ,i am powerless to refuse1 replied the ,captain1 but you may order it served in this gentleman's chamber1 whither ,i will now conduct him4 ,with a disconcerting chuckle ,radicofani suited his action to the word1 and busied himself with preparations for the journey1 taking care1 however1 as he strode from ante-room to bed-chamber to keep his prisoner constantly in sight4 ,the latter's hope of escape had reached a low ebb when ,malespini knocked timidly4 ,he had brought certain papers which the ,signor had left in the library4 ,captain ,radicofani received the secretary distrustfully and bestowed the papers among his own effects4 ,i will look them over1 he commented1 and if innocent pass them on to our friend before we arrive in ,florence4 ,malespini retreated deferentially1 but1 once outside the door he executed a silent war-dance as an outlet for his rage4 ,in its eccentric evolutions he hurtled against a servant bringing the luncheon1 and fully half of the viands poured like an avalanche down the stairs4 ,while the man strove to gather up the broken crockery the secretary snatched the tray and with ill-concealed triumph re-entered the apartment4 ,is this all you have brought8 grumbled the disappointed ,captain4 ,truly1 replied the wily ,malespini1 this light collation was intended solely for his highness the ,earl of ,essex1 who ,i hear must keep his room4 ,for your lordship dinner awaits in the banquet-room1 where the ,grand ,duchess has ordered a boar's-head1 stuffed with sage and onions1 together with a pasty of pheasants1 and where she will serve you with her own hands a stirrup-cup of the ,grand ,duke's oldest vintage4 ,captain ,radicofani sprang up with alacrity1 but noticing that ,malespini was edging nearer to his friend1 ordered the secretary gruffly to pass out before him4 ,behind the bed1 said ,malespini in a low voice to the prisoner1 as he lighted one of the tapers in the mantel candelabra1 and take all of these candles1 all or you are lost4 ,idiot1 shouted the ,captain2 it is not yet noon4 ,what need of lights8 ,play me no tricks1 but leave the room4 ,springing from his chair as soon as the door had closed behind ,radicofani1 ,brandilancia examined the huge state-bedstead1 and with a little exertion trundled it forward4 ,behind its tapestry hangings a secret door1 suspected only by a crack in the wainscotting1 opened beneath his prying fingers1 and revealed a spiral staircase leading downward into pitchy darkness4 ,comprehending ,malespini's admonition1 he hastily appropriated the candles1 and1 drawing the bedstead into its place behind him1 descended the dizzily circling steps4 ,eighty-seven he counted1 twisting round and round within the turret1 and then he paused1 for he distinctly heard the sound of rushing water4 ,the air had become moist as well as cool1 and the steps were green and slippery with moss4 ,advancing with more caution1 he presently found himself in a vaulted passage a little higher than his head1 where a narrow pathway followed a conduit of dark water1 which reflected the flame of his candle in a thousand glancing sparkles4 ,,ii ,,in ,,which ,,it ,,is ,,demonstrated ,,that ,,it ,,is ,,sometimes ,,easier ,,to ,,set ,,out ,,upon ,a ,,quest ,,than ,,to ,,return ,,therefrom ,it was the ,aqua ,virgo1 the old subterranean aqueduct built by the ,emperor ,claudius1 that pierced the hill beneath the ,villa ,medici1 in which ,brandilancia now found himself4 ,if he turned to the left he knew he would soon find egress through the doorway to which the chance fluttering of ,marie de' ,medici's fan had led him4 ,but this would be to appear upon the streets of ,rome in open day1 and to run the risk of seizure by ,radicofani's guards4 ,moreover1 ,malespini's advice to provide himself with so many candles was significant1 and ,brandilancia unhesitatingly chose the longer way1 not doubting that it would finally lead him into the open country4 ,the stream at his side was of considerable volume and flowed with great swiftness1 while the shelf upon which he was advancing was hardly more than ten inches broad4 ,both it and the wall were slimy with dampness1 giving no secure hold to hand or foot4 ,the pathway mounted steadily1 and apparently pursued a straight course1 but no opening showed itself in the distance1 and the light of his taper penetrated but a little way into the blackness4 ,as he glanced backward his shadow loomed in a gigantic and almost unrecognisable form1 following him waveringly like a malevolent spirit4 ,his footsteps woke hollow reverberations2 the water gurgled and sobbed1 and an odor suggestive of the tomb added to the impression that he was wandering in some unexplored catacomb4 ,he could proceed but slowly1 and the low temperature chilled him to the bone1 but he pushed on resolutely as it seemed to him for interminable hours4 ,i shall go mad1 he thought1 if there is no change in this deadly monotony1 and at that instant the vault echoed with the beat of hurrying footsteps4 ,brandilancia could see the distant flare of torches1 and he knew that his candle was as plainly visible to his pursuers4 ,he dared not extinguish it1 but quickened his pace to a run1 slipping1 almost falling into the water as he dashed recklessly forward4 ,suddenly1 but not an instant too soon1 he halted before a void4 ,the pathway had disappeared2 another step and he would have plunged into a reservoir of unknown depth which yawned without a barrier before him4 ,as he lifted his candle and peered across the wide expanse he saw that the tunnel was closed directly opposite him by a wall of solid masonry1 and in his dismay almost a minute elapsed before he discovered to the left an open archway which indicated that the tunnel here turned at an angle4 ,but how should he cross to this doorway8 ,the coping which separated the cistern from the canal in the centre of the tunnel was too narrow and the water poured over it noisily4 ,he was about to attempt swimming when he noticed that he was standing upon a plank1 evidently placed here to be used as a bridge4 ,he retreated a few steps and pushed it cautiously forward4 ,it reached across the cistern and rested upon the sill of the arched doorway4 ,in the brief interval thus consumed the footsteps had gained upon him and in the light of the approaching torches he plainly recognised ,radicofani1 who shouted to him to surrender4 ,thus beset he ventured the crossing1 but the plank was rotten and broke under his weight1 falling with him into the reservoir4 ,he struck out in the direction in which he imagined the archway to be1 by good fortune found it by feeling along the wall1 and clambered upon the ledge which ran along the side of the conduit as in the first tunnel4 ,he had suffered no other harm than the thorough wetting and the loss of his candles1 and the torches of his pursuers1 who had now reached the opposite side of the cistern1 showed that the tunnel was slightly wider than its opening1 and that by hugging the wall he was not visible to ,radicofani4 ,the latter had heard the splash and regarded the water dubiously4 ,have you gone to the bottom8 he shouted1 but ,brandilancia was wisely silent4 ,if not1 cried the ,captain1 and you are hiding yonder within hearing1 let me tell you that you will die like a rat in a sewer unless you give yourself up at the entrance to that tunnel1 where you will find me waiting for you4 ,drenched to the skin ,brandilancia's teeth chattered with the physical cold1 and fear numbed his heart4 ,what if ,radicofani spoke the truth8 ,but to carry out his threat the ,captain must retrace his steps and ride to the spot where the aqueduct entered the hill4 ,how far he had proceeded ,brandilancia could not guess1 possibly half or three-fourths of the way4 ,if so there was hope of reaching the opening before ,radicofani1 and he hurried on with what speed he could consistent with groping his way with hands and feet in the total darkness4 ,the exertion stirred his blood but the tunnel seemed to have no end4 ,his hands were worn and bleeding with clinging to the rough wall1 and a great lassitude was stealing over him when he caught a faint glimmer of light like that of a star1 not the lurid glow of a candle or torch but the blessed white light of day4 ,it was the longed-for opening1 though still far away4 ,he thought that he had out-distanced ,radicofani and stumbled on1 exultation giving him new strength when a sudden eclipse of this star of hope made him crouch motionless1 grovelling close to the earth4 ,a man's head and shoulders were silhouetted blackly against the brightness4 ,the man peered cautiously into the tunnel1 and listened2 but neither hearing nor seeing anything1 presently withdrew4 ,was it ,radicofani8 ,were workmen preparing to wall up the exit8 ,ought he to make a sudden rush for life and liberty8 ,every instinct prompted him to this resolution1 and he crawled cautiously forward to within a few feet of the opening4 ,again the man appeared1 with a sudden bound ,brandilancia was upon him and both rolled in a life-and-death struggle upon the ground4 ,so dazed was he by the glare of the full light of day1 so nearly crazed with desperation that he did not recognise the voice that implored him to cease his blows1 or realise that his supposed antagonist was the friendly ,malespini1 who1 on the instant that ,radicofani had discovered and descended the secret staircase1 had slipped his guards and ridden to ,brandilancia's succour on the swiftest horse obtainable in ,rome4 ,hastily exchanging his own mire-besmirched garments for the secretary's unobtrusive suit1 ,brandilancia1 with many apologies for his onslaught1 listened to ,malespini's explanations of a circuitous route by which he could avoid ,radicofani1 ride to ,orte1 and1 leaving the horse at the inn stables1 take the diligence on the following day for ,venice4 ,malespini's suggestions1 acceptable in themselves1 were gratifyingly supplemented by a tender letter from ,marie de' ,medici and a purse well filled with gold4 ,of the money ,i have fortunately no need1 ,brandilancia replied1 but the care of your mistress for my safety and your own pains in my behalf command my eternal gratitude4 ,you shall both hear from me from ,venice1 and so farewell4 ,malespini's scheme seemed at first likely to be crowned with success1 and having secured his seat in the ,venetian post1 ,brandilancia naturally imagined his troubles at an end2 but shortly after leaving ,orte1 where the road turns to the eastward for its climb over the ,apennines1 the lumbering vehicle came to a sudden halt4 ,shouts and oaths without1 the shrieks of a woman at his side1 and the opening of the door by a masked man1 formidably armed1 sufficiently explained the situation4 ,the passengers on dismounting were relieved of their purses by the bandits1 but1 with the exception of ,brandilancia1 were allowed to proceed upon their journey4 ,no explanation was offered for this discrimination1 but there was something familiar in the figure of the leader1 who1 after pointing out ,brandilancia1 had ridden rapidly on in advance of his men1 and the captive wondered at the excellent accoutrements of the band and the good quality of the horse which he was compelled to mount4 ,they struck at once into a wild mountain gorge1 avoiding villages and farms1 and when at noon the brigands halted for refreshments in a little wood1 and removed their masks1 ,brandilancia recognised no familiar faces4 ,remounting1 the brigands pursued their way up a steep bridle path1 their destination a strong castle1 perched high on a spur of the mountain4 ,the prisoner's heart sank as he noted its isolation and strength1 for here a captive might remain for years and finally die undiscovered4 ,but ,brandilancia had not reckoned on the cupidity of his host4 ,his capture had been planned not by hatred1 but in the hope of ransom1 as was explained to him by the brigand chief1 into whose presence he was led upon his arrival at the stronghold4 ,the man still wore his mask1 but at the first word which he uttered ,brandilancia to his astonishment recognised the condottiere ,radicofani4 ,accosted by name1 the ,captain removed his mask1 and coolly confronted his prisoner4 ,it is as well1 he said1 that you should understand the situation4 ,your flight and apparent escape remove my accountability to the ,grand ,duke for your person4 ,i should not have troubled myself further about you1 were it not that upon my empty-handed return to the villa the ,signorina ,marie de' ,medici very indiscreetly taunted me with having allowed a far more important personage than the ,earl of ,essex to slip unrecognised through my fingers4 ,just who you are she did not see fit to divulge2 but ,i gathered that you are of sufficient consequence for your friends to be willing to pay handsomely for your release4 ,you may therefore write to them1 and ,i will see that your letters reach their destination on condition that you advise the fulfilment of my demands4 ,the ,signorina has unwittingly misled you1 ,brandilancia replied4 ,the ,grand ,duke was right in his belief that the ,earl of ,essex had sailed for ,england1 but though ,i am his accredited representative1 as ,i hope to prove to your master if you will convey me to him1 ,i am a man of no wealth and one whom the world will not miss4 ,tush6 my fine fellow2 it is useless to attempt to deceive me1 and it is against your own interest2 for you can make better terms with me than with the ,grand ,duke1 who is by far a greater brigand than your present host4 ,thus admonished ,brandilancia resigned himself to the inevitable1 and wrote two letters2 the first to the ,earl of ,essex1 expressing his regret that he had not been able to personally present to ,ferdinando de' ,medici the papers entrusted to him instead of sending them by the hand of ,radicofani4 ,while reporting his captive condition1 he begged his friend to be at no expense or trouble for his redemption1 beyond an explanation to the ,grand ,duke that he had undertaken the mission upon proper authority and should be allowed to return4 ,having dashed off this missive at fever heat ,brandilancia paused1 pen in hand1 moodily regarding the blank sheet before him until gruffly reminded by ,radicofani that he must either write or give over the attempt4 ,he started at the command1 for in imagination he had been far away in a thatch-roofed cottage behind hawthorne hedges1 where ,anne1 faithful ,anne1 had so often welcomed her wild lover4 ,their wills had clashed after their marriage4 ,she had objected unreasonably when his career led him to ,london1 had been sceptical as to his success1 and even1 so it seemed to him1 as to his genius4 ,there had been angry reproaches and bitter recriminations1 but at heart he had never doubted her affection and had always intended to convince her of his own when he could also prove that in following the call of his talent he had acted for her best interest4 ,his stay at the ,villa ,medici and its very hostess seemed to him now a hallucination whose passing left no trace upon his sober senses1 but could ,anne understand this8 ,if she believed him erring was the high-spirited wife capable of forgiveness8 ,he saw himself condemned and shame-stricken before the tribunal of her unswerving rectitude but none the less he ventured his plea in lines that had been forming themselves1 as always when he was under the stress of emotion1 with the clarity and perfection of a crystal born from the drip and ooze of some dark cavern4 ,it is of all his sonnets the one which rings most true1 ending with its appeal for reconciliation after long estrangement4 ,your heart ,my home of love2 if ,i have ranged1 ,like him that travels1 ,i return again6 ,he was not certain that he would be permitted to rejoin her1 but he would not sadden ,anne by his foreboding4 ,his heart had returned to its allegiance2 this was the important thing1 and this she should know4 ,i leave you now1 said ,radicofani as ,brandilancia handed him the letters1 for ,i must make speed to wait upon the ,grand ,duke at ,florence4 ,regard yourself as my guest rather than as a prisoner4 ,i leave only a few old servants charged to make you as comfortable as the ruinous condition of this old castle of my ancestors will permit4 ,the length of your stay is conditioned only upon the promptitude of your friends in complying with my conditions4 ,i see that your letters are written in ,english4 ,no matter1 ,i have no desire to pry into your private affairs and shall send them by the earliest opportunity4 ,brandilancia bowed ceremoniously1 but sank exhausted into his chair4 ,he was shivering in a violent chill1 the first stages of ,roman fever1 brought on by his experiences in the subterranean aqueduct4 ,for weeks he tossed upon his pallet alternately freezing and burning1 much of the time delirious--now wandering with ,anne through ,english meadows with daisies pied and babbling of green fields--and anon scorching the wings of his soul in the flame of ,italian beauty and passion4 ,with the passing of the fever he eagerly demanded an interview with ,radicofani but was informed that the ,captain was still at ,florence4 ,he had written that no response of any kind had been received from either of the letters sent to ,england1 though ample time had elapsed for their arrival4 ,brandilancia was not1 however1 to be set at liberty on this account1 and days lengthened to weeks and weeks to months and he was still a prisoner4 ,the lofty situation of the castle far above the malaria of the valleys1 swept by every wind of heaven1 had completed his cure1 and as he paced the sightly platform he found himself hungering for liberty and action4 ,in this reflux of returning health and energy1 on one exhilarating morning in early spring1 when all nature seemed calling to him to escape1 ,brandilancia hailed with gratitude the arrival of the secretary ,malespini bringing the almost despaired of tidings that his prison doors were open and he was at last free to depart4 ,the ,grand ,duke has commanded this1 ,brandilancia asked1 through the intervention of my faithful friend the ,earl of ,essex8 ,not so1 ,malespini responded drily4 ,you may thank friends nearer at hand1 for the ,grand ,duke knows as little of your existence as your ,english friends apparently care for it4 ,then it is the ,signorina who has effected my deliverance8 ,malespini shook his head4 ,the ,signorina believes1 as we all did until recently1 that you made your escape to your own country4 ,she is entirely absorbed at present with her approaching marriage1 for your embassy was successful4 ,your papers1 which ,radicofani carried to the ,grand ,duke1 initiated negotiations that have been carried to a successful termination4 ,the ,duke of ,nevers1 who is a ,gonzaga1 and a cousin of the ,marquis of ,mantua has come to ,italy1 as proxy of the ,french king1 to betroth the ,signorina4 ,may she have all happiness1 ,brandilancia exclaimed fervently1 but to whom then do ,i owe my release8 ,partly to the friend now before you1 but in great measure also to one whom you will hardly guess1 that little package of ruse and malice ,leonora ,dosi4 ,not the ,owlet6 ,my friend you might have rotted in this mountain dungeon but for her cleverness1 and ,radicofani's stupidity4 ,the ,grand ,duke sent him a fortnight since to escort us all from the ,villa ,medici to ,mantua1 where the ,marchioness ,eleonora de' ,medici ,gonzaga is preparing a brilliant fete in honour of her sister's approaching marriage4 ,on the way ,radicofani1 who is loquacious in his cups1 bragged to ,leonora of how neatly he had captured you4 ,the ,owlet took counsel with me1 and together we so intimidated the ,captain with threats to report him to the ,grand ,duke1 convincing him at the same time of your utter insignificance 7for ,leonora declares that you confessed to her mistress in her presence that you were not the ,earl of ,essex71 that he consented to your release4 ,by good luck ,i am commissioned to present a comedy in the palace and am now supposed to be travelling in search of artists to assist in the performance4 ,you shall return with me in that capacity4 ,though the ,signorina knows not as yet of your presence in ,italy she will be rejoiced to see you again and will speed you on your homeward journey1--for ,mantua is on your way to ,venice whence you told me you would take ship4 ,i would be overjoyed to carry out your plan1 my good friend1 replied ,brandilancia1 but shall ,i be safe8 ,i have found such difficulty in tearing myself away from the hospitalities of ,italy that ,i am wary of accepting further entertainment4 ,i wonder not at your reluctance1 but with the ,gonzagas at ,mantua you will be beyond the power of the ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany1 who though he is indeed expected to attend the festivities1 will never suspect that you played another role at his ,roman villa4 ,the play is to be acted in part by noble amateurs1 and the ,signorina herself will take the principal part4 ,it is the comedy which you dramatised from ,ser ,giovanni's story of the heiress of ,belmont1 for nothing else would suit the ,signorina4 ,you shall impersonate the successful lover4 ,there have been many aspirants for that role but ,i have held it for you4 ,can you resist my lord8 ,no1 ,malespini1 ,i cannot resist1 for ,i am indeed what you would have me seem1 a simple player4 ,i will go with you since you need my service1 and will bid your mistress and the ,owlet also a grateful farewell4 ,thus1 though he had thought never again to see the woman who had so powerfully influenced his imagination and because he honestly believed her influence at an end1 ,brandilancia ventured himself again within its domain4 ,tranquil1 lily-starred lakes1 blue as the heavens they mirror1 lapped with caressing ripples the foundations of the immense ,gonzaga palace and gave it the same enchanting environment on the morning of his arrival as to-day4 ,its rosy walls glowed in the morning light like a cluster of pink lotus-blossoms1 while1 a little apart from the main group of buildings1 a slender tower shot into the air1 and suspended from its summit1 like some bell-shaped flower which droops its head1 an iron cage was sharply etched against the glowing sky4 ,is that a beacon8 asked ,brandilancia4 ,if so1 though unlighted1 ,i accept it as a good omen1 as it were a signal hung out for my welcome4 ,heaven forfend that it should have aught to do with you1 my lord1 or you with it1 replied ,malespini4 ,the flame of many a poor fellow's life has gone out in that sinister cresset2 but think not of it1 for my lady awaits you within the palace4 ,you are to learn how the ,medici love1 not how they hate4 ,through interminable apartments regal with paintings and statues1 collected earlier in the century by ,isabella d',este ,gonzaga1 the secretary led ,brandilancia to the small writing-room of the ,marchesa4 ,marie de' ,medici was standing alone at the window gazing at the darkening lake4 ,she turned as he entered1 and her cry1 ,at last you have returned1 at last1 ,o my beloved6 broken by sobs and wild caresses1 made good ,malespini's promise4 ,she believed that the ,king of ,france1 instead of sending the promised proxy1 had himself returned to betroth her at the approaching festival1 when he would doubtless declare himself publicly4 ,since it pleased him1 to make further proof of her affection1 she accepted his confession that he was only a poor comedian with apparent faith and with protestations of unshaken love4 ,she told him of the despair with which she faced her brilliant future1 of the loathing which overcame her at the thought of any husband but himself2 and she begged him to rescue her from so hideous a fate4 ,how could he brutally tell so adorable a creature that the burning words1 which he had spoken on the night before his flight from the ,villa ,medici1 were but a poetic rhapsody1 inspired by a frenzy which had passed with the glamour that evoked it8 ,he strove instead to recall her to a sense of her own position1 and he urged every consideration of honour and of interest1 apparently with some success2 for she became calmer1 and promised to do whatever he desired1 if he would but remain and sustain her through the ordeal of her betrothal4 ,he believed himself abandoned by the woman whom he had loved1 but his heart was cold4 ,he told himself that he would live henceforth without love1 but would endeavour in purest friendship to save this woman who leaned on him for strength from making shipwreck of her life4 ,they met constantly in the intimacy of rehearsals1 and as these proceeded personal sentiments were occasionally introduced into the lines4 ,illustration3 ,choosing the ,casket ,from the painting by ,f4 ,barth4 ,permission of the ,berlin ,photographic ,co4 ,ah1 me6 this word choose1 ,marie de' ,medici exclaimed on one occasion4 ,i may neither choose whom ,i would nor refuse whom ,i dislike4 ,so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father4 ,on the evening of the final presentation of the play she startled ,brandilancia by laying her hand in his as she interpolated the declaration3 ,my spirit commits itself to yours to be directed1 as by her lord1 her governor1 and king4 ,the play ended1 she led him to a portico overlooking the lake4 ,i have only a moment1 she said1 while ,i am supposed to be dressing for the dance which follows4 ,you doubtless recognised in the small dark man seated at my uncle's side the ,duke of ,nevers1 and you have probably informed him of your presence here2 but my uncle little suspects that we have anticipated their negotiation4 ,now surely is the proper time to announce yourself4 ,wait in the ante-room of the ,marquis1 it adjoins the library1 and after the ,grand ,duke has set his signature to the settlement1 and the ,duke of ,nevers is about to sign for the ,king of ,france1 enter1 take the pen from his hand1 and sign for yourself4 ,if you wish ,i will accompany you1 and we will confess that we are already affianced4 ,why do you hesitate8 ,surely this is now the only thing to do4 ,he gazed at her in uncomprehending astonishment4 ,nay1 dearest lady1 he protested1 put this wild fancy from your mind4 ,your uncle would never accept me as your suitor2 you would gain only dishonour by such a course4 ,bid me farewell1 and forget me in the glory of your new life2 and ,god help us both4 ,nay1 ,i can not1 ,i can not give you up1 she cried passionately her arms about his neck1 you have made me love you4 ,i shall die if you leave me4 ,if this is true1 he stammered1 if by some miracle you do indeed love me beyond all earthly considerations1 and your heart is great enough to sacrifice all for the devotion of a heart that will at least be loyal1 then fly with me from this world of shame and cruelty1 to some paradise beyond the power of all who know us4 ,fly1 she repeated in bewilderment1 and leave your kingdom1 your crown8 ,oh6 what is fame1 what is honour1 he cried1 to love like yours8 ,listen1 it is perfectly feasible4 ,when ,i parted with my friends at ,cadiz ,essex told me he would return with the fleet as soon as he could refit1 and cruise about the ,azores1 hoping to intercept the ,spanish treasure-fleet4 ,he should be there at this time1 and ,raleigh with him4 ,but ,raleigh purposed after aiding his friend in his enterprise to continue his voyage to the new world1 where he has planted a colony4 ,in ,venice we can take passage with some merchant-man and join ,raleigh at ,flores4 ,come with me1 my ,queen to the new world1 where we will found a new dynasty1 for ,i can wait for my kingdom4 ,i can write my plays and my poems there1 in some lodge in the forest1 and years hence1 when cities have sprung up in that wilderness great actors will give them presentation before men who can appreciate them1 who will honour our memory and glory that we were ,americans4 ,she regarded him with eyes widening with alarm4 ,surely you are mad1 she said1 to throw away the ,crown of ,france for which you have fought so bravely4 ,the crown of bay and laurel for which ,i am fighting has no root in ,france1 sweetheart1 but in ,english soil1 he replied wonderingly4 ,good ,god6 she cried1 then you are not--not ,henry of ,navarre8 ,nay1 how could that be possible8 ,i am1 as ,i long since told you1 only a simple ,english playwright who1 much against his will1 came hither on the business of his friend the ,earl of ,essex4 ,if you love me not ,i would to ,god that ,i had never so come1 since1 by some strange delusion1 ,i have troubled your pure heart and have brought upon myself grief1 and dishonour4 ,but forgive me1 sweet lady1 this madness shall be as though it had not been1 soon forgotten by you and safely hidden in the deepest chamber of my heart4 ,for a moment she gazed at him astounded1 for her mind refused to credit the truth4 ,in despite of his words she believed that he was putting her disinterestedness to a supreme test which she must not fail4 ,she clung to him convulsively4 ,i love you1 you alone1 she declared1 and ,i will go to ,el ,dorado4 ,i will meet you to-morrow at this hour at the water-gate of the palace4 ,i will come in the ,gonzaga barge1 and we will flee together to ,venice1 and thence whither you will4 ,as she spoke the door leading into the palace was flung open1 and the ,grand ,duke followed by courtiers and ladies came toward them4 ,ah6 here are our actors1 he exclaimed1 bring the laurel crowns4 ,this for my niece and this for the gifted artist who has honoured our festival4 ,come forward ,brandilancia and receive the token of our appreciation4 ,but as the wreath was presented the ,grand ,duchess caught her husband's arm1 exclaiming3 ,ferdinando1 this is the false ,earl of ,essex who deceived us all in ,rome4 ,ask ,radicofani1 ask your niece1 she cannot have failed to recognise him4 ,nay1 ask the ,french envoy1 replied ,marie de' ,medici1 his ,highness the ,duke of ,nevers will tell you whom we have the honour to entertain as our guest4 ,i1 ,mademoiselle1 exclaimed the representative of the ,french ,king1 truly1 ,i have never before looked upon his face4 ,declare yourself ,sire1 ,i beseech of you1 ,marie de' ,medici implored1 and ,brandilancia answered calmly3 ,i am the authorised representative of the ,earl of ,essex4 ,brandilancia is the ,italian equivalent of my name1 which in ,english is plain ,will ,shakespeare4 ,that ,i am an actor and playwright you have graciously conceded1 and that is the only distinction which ,i have ever claimed4 ,his words carried overwhelming conviction to the brain of the deluded girl1 and she sank fainting into the arms of the man whom she had so misunderstood and who was still far from comprehending the cause of her emotion4 ,leave my niece to the care of her women1 the ,grand ,duke commanded sternly4 ,radicofani1 is this indeed the rogue who slipped from your clutches8 ,it is1 my lord1 replied that worthy1 as he grasped the actor's arm4 ,then consign him to the hospitalities of our sky-parlour4 ,in the cage suspended from that tower1 young man1 you may await my investigation of your case4 ,from his lofty outlook in the iron cage1 dizzily suspended between earth and heaven1 our adventurer obtained a new and wider view4 ,the palace and its life dwindled to a speck4 ,far away to the north he could discern the white summits of the mountains that cradle the blue lake of ,garda1 while at his feet the ,mincio flowed peacefully toward the ,adriatic1 where a good ship 7on which1 but for his folly in pausing at ,mantua1 he might on the morrow be voyaging homeward7 was impatiently tugging at her moorings4 ,fool that he was1 he had made his bed and must lie on it4 ,it was a very uncomfortable bed at the present moment1 for he could neither stretch himself at full length nor stand erect1 but sat with his hands clasping his knees and his head bowed upon them4 ,how long must he retain this cramped position8 ,malespini's words came to him with sinister emphasis4 ,would he be left here until starvation released him from agony and his bones bleached in the sun8 ,the ,angelus chimed from the belfries1 the only structures which reached his plane1 and gave him a sense of human companionship1 but the tones of the bells sounded thin in the empty air1 and his loneliness increased with their cessation4 ,the sun climbed the heavens and beat unmercifully upon his unprotected head1 but just as his thirst became intolerable and he groaned in agony1 a low1 chuckling laugh replied from a window in the tower near his cage1 and turning his head he saw the malicious face of the dwarf ,leonora ,dosi4 ,repugnant as she was to him he greeted her appearance now1 for it flashed through his mind that she might have brought him some message from ,marie de' ,medici4 ,it is good of you1 ,signorina1 he said1 to think of me in my trouble2 or is it perchance your mistress who has sent you8 ,he could not have asked a question which would have angered her more4 ,my mistress may not have clean forgotten her singing-bird1 she replied1 but she has forgotten to order that his cage should be supplied with water and seed cups1 and ,i cajoled ,radicofani till he let me supply this neglect4 ,as she spoke she held aloft a flask of water whose crystal clearness seemed to ,brandilancia's blood-shot eyes the most desirable thing in all the world4 ,ah6 ,signorina how can ,i ever thank you8 and how can you get it to me8 ,oh6 ,i have thought of that4 ,see ,i have brought a pole long enough to reach your cage1 and the bottle is so slender that it will pass between the bars4 ,she attached the flask to one end of the pole with tantalising deliberation1 pausing after it was fastened to pour and drink a glass of the water with expressive gusto4 ,the gurgle of the liquid was more than the tortured man could bear4 ,dear ,signorina for the love of ,heaven be quick4 ,i die of thirst4 ,oh6 no1 ,signor1 one does not die so soon1 or with so little suffering4 ,men in your predicament have been known to live three days before they went mad1 and four more before they died4 ,you hell cat6 he cried1 have you come to gloat over and increase my agony8 ,that is not a pretty name1 she said slowly1 ,i like better the 'dear ,signorina' with which you honoured me just now4 ,you are too hasty1 ,signor ,brandilancia1 too hasty in your conclusions1 and in speaking them forth4 ,it might strike a wiser man in your situation that it would be worth while not to antagonise a friend who has come to serve you4 ,in proof that you have misunderstood my motives ,i now pass you the water4 ,it was good8 ,you would like more8 ,presently4 ,it is not well to drink too much when one is as thirsty as you are1 besides ,i want to talk with you4 ,do you realise that you are in a very serious position8 ,have ,i been condemned to death8 ,not so4 ,there will be no trial1 no execution4 ,you will simply be forgotten1 left here to die4 ,the ,grand ,duke believes you to be the lover of his niece4 ,that fact would not in the least distress him1 were it not for her approaching marriage1 which he fears may be interrupted by some rash act on your part4 ,tell the ,grand ,duke1 if you come from him1 and the ,signorina also to have no fear1 that madness is past4 ,if ,i am released ,i will repair to ,england and never trouble her again4 ,scorn curled the dwarf's lips4 ,think you1 the ,duke would trust your promise8 ,and as for the ,signorina she desires nothing of the sort1 for she loves you passionately4 ,poor lady1 he groaned4 ,but for me she might have reconciled herself to her destiny1 wretch that ,i am to break the heart of one who loves me4 ,tell her from me1 that if she desires me to do so1 and ,god in ,his mercy delivers me from this bed of death ,i will keep my promise to snatch her from the fate she dreads1 and we will begin the new life in the new world of which we dreamed4 ,the face of the dwarf was contorted with merriment which made it the more hideous4 ,is the life of a savage in the wilderness a fit one for a daughter of the ,medici8 she demanded4 ,you need neither of you die or forego a single luxury which your hearts desire1 if you will gather your wits together and listen to me4 ,possibly you think that ,i have no influence with the ,grand ,duke1 but if so you greatly mistake4 ,i know the secret of my parentage1 and have so disposed matters that my death would bring it to light4 ,ferdinando de' ,medici will grant any request of mine4 ,i am to go to ,paris1 not as the servant but as the ,lady in ,waiting of the ,queen of ,france4 ,will it please you to join her train as ,manager of her ,royal ,theatre and ,purveyor of ,sports to the ,french ,court8 ,you could then enjoy the society of the ,queen without scandal4 ,his heart was hot with indignation but he restrained his anger4 ,if indeed1 he said1 there is no escape from this loathed marriage for that sweet lady1 ,i shall pray that no memory of me may ever intrude upon her happiness4 ,surely what you suggest is as impossible as it is infamous4 ,the ,grand ,duke would never allow me to follow his niece to ,paris4 ,the ,grand ,duke cares not one whit what his niece may choose to do after she is once securely married4 ,what ,i suggest is perfectly possible4 ,i have taken a fancy to you1 ,brandilancia4 ,if ,i ask the ,grand ,duke to give you to me as my husband he will not refuse me2 on the contrary it will be a welcome solution of the problem before him4 ,if perchance any inconvenient inquiries should in future be made by ,england concerning your welfare he will be spared all responsibility4 ,his niece will have the plaything she desired1 and will no longer mope4 ,he will have secured my gratitude and can trust me to preserve the conventionalities2 and as for you1 my popinjay1 your fortune is made4 ,do not fancy that you will remain a mere montebank4 ,you shall exchange your cap and bells for a ducal coronet1 chateaux jewels1 honours1 wealth in what form you will shall be yours4 ,you will be ,king in everything but name4 ,henry of ,navarre shall in reality be nothing but your condottiere1 and ,i will not be exigeante4 ,i know that ,i am misshapen1 hideous4 ,i ask only a little gratitude4 ,that word stopped his mouth1 for he was about to curse her as a minister of ,satan1 but a touch of pity softened his anger and contempt4 ,you know not what you ask1 he said4 ,she would despise me1 and ,i would abhor myself4 ,let me die without forfeiting her respect4 ,she6 the dwarf sneered1 and was suddenly silent4 ,her keen insight told her that if she betrayed to this strangely constituted man that the scheme had originated with her mistress he would loathe where he now pitied and every chance of success be lost4 ,what were you about to say8 he asked4 ,only that you little know the love you slight4 ,she would forgive you anything but desertion4 ,yours is a strange code of honour1 that can win the affection of a noble lady and then throw it lightly away4 ,i am going now4 ,once for all ,i ask1 will you accept my offer8 ,and tempt that innocent soul to a life of perfidy and shame8--,god send me death quickly and spare me such villainy as that4 ,your prayer will not be answered1 she sneered4 ,death will come1 but not quickly1--unless you beat your brains out against the bars of your cage1 and before that you will shriek and call for me1 but ,i will not come4 ,you have known how the women of the ,medici love4 ,learn now how they hate4 ,her footsteps died away and despair settled upon his heart4 ,how long1 how long1 he asked himself1 must he endure this agony before death would come to his release4 ,the dwarf had left food and water on the window-sill in plain sight but beyond his reach4 ,he closed his eyes but the odour of the viands reached him and increased his faintness4 ,the hours lagged on1 and toward evening a light breeze sprang up and he fell into a troubled sleep which somewhat dulled his suffering4 ,from this he was rudely awakened by the swaying and jolting of his cage1 and he realised that it was being hauled hastily and not too gently into the tower4 ,men dragged him from it1 a physician gave him a reviving draught and assisted him down the staircase at whose foot he fell into the arms of the faithful ,malespini4 ,is it she1 who has rescued me8 he asked as the secretary seated him in a row-boat which shot toward the palace4 ,nay1 you are released by the ,grand ,duke's orders1 ,malespini replied4 ,i bring you great news1 ,signor4 ,a gentleman has arrived from ,england who demands your safe return in the ,queen's name4 ,even the ,medici could not gainsay a summons signed ',elizabeth' and emphasised by one of her ,majesty's ships of war4 ,say naught of the hospitality just accorded you1 ,i beseech you1 until well out of ,italy1 else you may excite the ,english admiral who is the bearer of the ,queen's message to some rash act1 for he seems to me a man of short temper1 and it were well that the ,grand ,duke in his chagrin were not tried too far4 ,the ,english ,admiral6 repeated the astonished ,brandilancia1--sent for me by ,queen ,elizabeth4 ,it is not possible6 ,but1 as the torchlight fell upon the gallant figure impatiently pacing the landing which they were approaching1 he cried ,miracle of ,god6 it is indeed ,essex6 ,it is ,i1 ,will1 of a surety1 replied the other4 ,did you think ,i would suffer you to die in the trap into which you had ventured for love of me8 ,i have been consumed with anxiety1 especially after the ,grand ,duke in answer to my importunity assured me that you left the ,villa ,medici months since and that he was ignorant of your whereabouts4 ,i had quarrelled with the ,queen when that news arrived1 and she had ordered me to the ,azores4 ,i asked for an audience1 but she would not receive me1 and ,i left ,england determined to push on to ,italy without her knowledge and rescue you vi et armis4 ,you should not have done that1 my good friend4 ,elizabeth has beheaded men for slighter disregard of her authority4 ,i outran not my orders1 ,will1 for ,i had scarcely left ,england when a swift sailing packet overtook me with letters from the ,queen1 one for the ,grand ,duke desiring your immediate return1 the other my instructions to use all despatch in securing your person4 ,but if you received no letter from me and had no speech with the ,queen1 ,i do not understand how her ,majesty learned of my predicament4 ,through your wife1 ,will4 ,when ,i returned to ,england from my expedition to ,cadiz she sought me out1 and demanded why ,i had not brought you4 ,then1 as the time passed by at which ,i had told her she might expect you1 it seems she grew wild with anxiety1 and1 journeying to ,london1 laid the matter before the ,queen1 who admires your talent as a playwright and has herself some ambition in that direction4 ,anne1 the artful wench1 very tactfully persuaded her ,majesty that1 with you for a collaborator1 she might write a comedy which would redound to her eternal fame4 ,therefore1 our royal mistress bids you think of some plot which shall bring again upon the boards that arch-rogue1 ,john ,falstaff4 ,i am to bring you to ,windsor ,castle1 where you are to prepare this masterpiece1 at the ,queen's dictation 7,heaven save the mark671 in time for its presentation before the ,court during the ,twelfth ,night festivities4 ,and ,anne1 whom ,i thought so indifferent to my career1 to my very existence1 did this for me8 ,yes1 ,will1 't is a good girl and a handsome1 and one you have not treated overly well1 as it seems to me2 but you will make it all up over your ,christmas pudding4 ,as he spoke the great clock of the palace slowly clanged midnight1 and ,brandilancia turned white and caught ,essex's arm for support4 ,would to ,god that ,i might go with you1 he groaned2 would that ,i had never come to ,italy upon your cursed business4 ,i stand here a doubly perjured man4 ,how1 ,i scarcely know 7for ,i swear ,i set not about it cold-bloodedly71 ,i have won the love of the peerless ,marie de' ,medici4 ,for me she has discarded the ,king of ,france1 and has promised to meet me at this spot and at this very hour and fly with me to ,el ,dorado4 ,i left her stricken to the heart by my misfortunes4 ,if ,i desert her now her death will be upon my head4 ,see you not the ,gonzaga barge is approaching in which she promised to forsake the world with me4 ,make yourself easy on the score of my mistress1 exclaimed ,malespini4 ,you have kept your appointment1 but when she made hers she had no intention of keeping it with a man of your quality4 ,under a strange hallucination she has fancied all along that you were the ,king of ,france1 and her fainting fit was occasioned by her dismay and humiliation on discovering that you were only the king of poets4 ,i will not say that she did not find you agreeable4 ,she was pleased when she learned that your friend had arrived in time to rescue you1 and ere she left for ,florence this afternoon bade me wish you bon voyage1 and to thank you for much merry entertainment4 ,the ,earl of ,essex whistled softly1 and an expression of infinite relief relaxed the contorted features of ,brandilancia4 ,i have learned how the women of the ,medici love1 he murmured4 ,thank ,god1 our ,english women love in a different fashion4 ,illustration3 ,,colonna ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,ladies ,,of ,,palliano 7,,being ,a ,,relation ,,by ,,the ,,condottiere ,,luigi ,,rodomonte ,,gonzaga ,,of ,,certain ,,of ,,his ,,adventures ,,during ,,the ,,campaigns ,,of #aebe ,,to #aebh7 ,i ,,the ,,nest ,,of ,,the ,,phoenix ',tis an incredible fable that of the phoenix1 the crimson wonder-bird1 which springs in immortal youth from the flames which destroy its eyrie4 ,but it is not more strange than one which ,i could tell of how ,i found ,fenice1 and snatched the joy and glory of my life from the conflagration of her ancestral town and castle1 in which1 but for my efforts1 her pure soul would have vanished from the earth4 ,fenice1 flame-bird1 radiant and peerless1 ,i had named her at our first meeting1 long before the tragic burning of ,palliano1 for it seemed to me that in her vivacity and brilliancy she resembled a little dancing flame4 ,i well remember also how at that time the longing came to me to warm my numbed heart forever in her presence4 ,i am no poet1 but a plain man of war1 and this phantasy of the phoenix came into my head in a very natural and simple way1 for ,fenice when first ,i saw her was sending up little fire-balloons from the garden of the ,colonna palace4 ,it was an unusual and a dangerous pastime for a young girl1 but the sudden flashing from the gloom of those flickering lights1 that illumined for an instant the beautiful face which the darkness as quickly obliterated1 gave an additional zest to my enjoyment of the vision4 ,i strode to her side and affected great interest in her occupation4 ,the balloons were ingeniously constructed to represent birds with spread wings1 and it was the alchemist of the family who dwelt at ,palliano who had invented them4 ,it is his conceit1 she explained1 that rising from the flames they resemble the phoenix1 a bird peerless in beauty and song1 which appears upon earth but twice in a thousand years4 ,then that shall be my name for you1 ,i said1 for we were alone for the instant2 but will you as tranquilly soar away from me1 leaving the world the darker for your passing8 ,though she gave me not at that time the answer ,i coveted1 ,i liked none the less the modesty which made her winning difficult4 ,there were also other matters of importance to the world at large1 which ,i must now digress to explain1 that at first hindered1 but in the end abetted that winning4 ,it was in the spring of the eventful year of #aebe that my cousin1 ,federigo ,gonzaga1 ,marquis of ,mantua1 requested me to escort his mother1 the worshipful ,marchesa ,isabella d',este ,gonzaga1 upon her journey to ,rome4 ,this demand was the more reasonable in that the ,marchesa was a most loving and munificent patroness of my sister ,giulia1 for whose orphaned condition the great lady had shown the most tender sympathy1 removing her from our lonely ancestral castle1 and bringing the girl up in her own brilliant court4 ,giulia was now at the height of the attractiveness which was soon to be so extravagantly sung1 many still maintaining her the most beautiful woman of our time4 ,from that estimate her brother must be allowed to differ4 ,a superbly regal creature she certainly was1 but too grandly made for my ideals4 ,let the question rest1 for her heart was ever as great as her body1 and ,i deny her supremacy to but one other4 ,at this time ,i loved her better than any woman in the world1 and as she was to accompany the ,marchesa1 ,i was the more willing to lend my protection to the cortege4 ,it was an inauspicious season for ladies to choose for a pleasure jaunt1 for their ,majesties the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 and ,francis ,i4 had entered upon their struggle for the possession of ,italy4 ,the ,french had already entered ,lombardy1 and the ,imperial forces under the ,viceroy of ,naples1 ,pescara and ,bourbon were marching to meet them1 but the ,marchesa was of an adventurous and fearless disposition1 and was moreover bent in her present expedition upon something more than pleasure4 ,never have ,i known man or woman of such marvellous finesse as well as courage1 and she desired above all things to obtain the cardinal's hat for ,ercole1 her second son4 ,therefore it seemed good to her1 while the actual fighting was still confined to the north of ,italy1 to hasten to ,rome1 and obtain this coveted prize1 before the ,emperor should succeed in deposing ,pope ,clement and possibly set up another pontiff less friendly to the ,house of ,gonzaga4 ,illustration3 ,colonna ,palace1 ,rome--,the ,grand ,salon ,at the same time1 that ,charles ,v4 might have no cause to complain of her lack of loyalty1 she sent her third son1 ,ferrante1 to ,spain to assure the ,emperor of her entire sympathy with his cause and to ask for a command in the ,imperial army4 ,rome at this time was a place where there were wheels within wheels4 ,while on the surface all was gay and peaceful1 and old enemies hobnobbed with one another1 daggers lurked under the olive branches1 old feuds were not forgotten1 plots were hatched1 and secrets were wormed from comrades over the wine-cup4 ,while ,i could not emulate the consummate ruse with which the ,marchesa trimmed her sails to every possible wind ,i had my own little surprise to spring at the auspicious moment4 ,i believed that the firm hand of the ,emperor alone could give peace to ,italy4 ,i had lost faith in the ,medicean popes1 and especially in this weak and crafty cousin of ,leo ,x4 ,as a condottiere by profession ,i could have sold my services to the ,french but ,i preferred to offer them to ,charles ,v41 and ,i had a secret commission in my pocket from his representative1 the ,marquis of ,pescara1 then near ,pavia1 authorising me to raise and command the ,italian contingent to the ,imperial army4 ,the ,marquis desired me to take counsel with his wife's kindred1 the ,colonnas1 who were always inimical to the ,pope1 as to the best means of effecting a junction with their troops in case an attack upon ,rome should be decided upon the coming year4 ,when ,i add that the head of the house1 ,vespasian ,colonna1 had offered the hospitalities of his palace to the ,marchesa ,isabella d',este ,gonzaga1 it will be understood how marvellously this lady's visit to ,rome fell in with my schemes4 ,as we made our entry into that most beautiful room of all the world1 the sala de gala of the ,colonna palace1 my sister clutched my arm tightly4 ,a glimpse of the glories of heaven could not in sooth have been more transporting to the rapt gaze of an anchorite1 for ,giulia was essentially of this world and a superb mundane life was her highest ambition4 ,she had profited by her tutelage at the court of the ,marchesa1 the most cultured in the north of ,italy1 but this dazzling room surpassed any in the ,mantuan palace as far as her own beauty outshone that of her protectress4 ,so as her foolish little heart cried out ,oh6 that ,i might reign here as ,queen1 she looked up into the admiring eyes of ,vespasian ,colonna and heard the echo of her unuttered cry--,reign here as ,queen4 ,illustration3 ,garden of the ,colonna ,palace1 ,rome ,with permission of ,mr4 ,charles ,a4 ,platt ,for ,vespasian was a widower1 and the snows of age had not cooled the volcanic fires of his heart4 ,he offered his arm to the ,marchesa1 and together they made the rounds of the regal apartments4 ,but ever as we paused before a portrait and he explained that this was some fair ancestress his backward glance at ,giulia told that in his estimation she surpassed them all4 ,the interior of the palace inspected we passed over a bridge1 which spanned a side street1 to the terraced garden crowned by the ruins of the old ,roman ,temple of the ,sun4 ,here were also statues and fountains1 square-cut hedges1 and sun-warmed1 marble seats1 and the air was heavy with the perfume of roses and jasmine4 ,but the glory of the garden1 as ,colonna told us1 was its outlook over ,rome4 ,this we could not now fully appreciate for dusk was falling and the city was in a purple haze1 which deepened as we looked4 ,soon coloured lights glimmered forth in the dark allees1 and suddenly from the summit of the ruin there rose slowly a fire balloon and twinkling far away into the blue seemed to seek its companion stars4 ,it is the conceit of my daughter ,isabella1 ,vespasian explained1 a fete of fire-works in honour of your coming4 ,i delayed to hear no more1 but drawn by some mysterious attraction sought and found the ,signorina ,colonna4 ,the flame signals flashed in her cheeks as her eyes met mine1 for my glance seemed to her doubtless overbold1 though it held naught of disrespect ,god wot4 ,and then she explained the mechanism of her fire balloon which was simple enough though it had been invented by a ,moorish alchemist1 who still practised the black art in a tower of the family castle in the ,campagna4 ,if you ever come to ,palliano we will greet you with a still more brilliant illumination1 she promised1 little realising how well she would keep that pledge4 ,it was then as ,i have already said that ,i bestowed upon her the name of ,fenice1 making what improvement ,i could of my scant opportunities4 ,these were suddenly cut short1 for ,ippolito de' ,medici1 the ,pope's handsome and dissipated nephew1 presently joined us and bore ,fenice away with the air of a proprietor4 ,such indeed he had a right to regard himself1 as ,i ascertained on the next day during a conference with ,vespasian ,colonna and his nephew the ,cardinal ,pompeo4 ,illustration3 ,castle of ,vittoria ,colonna at ,ischia4 ,i had arrived at the understanding desired by their kinsman the ,marquis of ,pescara1 for they very willingly agreed that whenever desired all the clansmen of the ,colonna would be ready to combine with the ,imperial forces in the siege of ,rome4 ,pompeo1 the most truculent of the race in spite of the fact that he was a churchman1 would take command1 but ,ascanio ,colonna who was now in ,naples with his sister ,vittoria1 the ,marchesa di ,pescara1 might be counted upon with his sturdy vassals from the ,abruzzi4 ,we were jubilant1 for news had just arrived that the ,emperor's troops had won the battle of ,pavia and that ,francis ,i4 was a prisoner4 ,the ,pope was reported nearly crazed with fear1 and our plot of taking ,rome for ,charles ,v4 seemed perfectly feasible4 ,in any event1 said ,vespasian1 our compact of friendship stands1 and ,i hold you and your family in such high esteem that ,i desire to make our alliance not merely that of comrades-in-arms but a much closer relationship4 ,i wish to propose a marriage1 which ,pompeo here shall celebrate1 in our ancestral home before you leave us4 ,my hopes rose high for ,i thought he had perceived my love for ,fenice and ,i sank upon one knee in a transport of gratitude4 ,nay1 rise my brother1 he continued1 ,i count myself honoured in your acceptance of that relation4 ,your sister's beauty will confer undying lustre upon our house4 ,believe me she runs no danger as my wife1 for even should the chances of war reverse the present position of ,king and ,emperor1 ,i have assured myself with the ,pope1 since my daughter is betrothed to his nephew ,ippolito4 ,he will not break with me for she will be one of the richest heiresses in ,italy1 well able to aid her husband in his ambition to become the ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany4 ,my heart1 which had been so hot1 was like ice4 ,so wretched was ,i that ,i got no comfort from the thought of the brilliant future opening before my sister4 ,i terminated my interview with ,vespasian in all haste1 and strode into the garden1 pacing its walks like a madman4 ,here1 as my good fortune willed1 ,i came upon ,ippolito de' ,medici1 seated with all the familiarity of an accepted lover by the side of ,fenice4 ,it was true that the young couple were chaperoned by my sister1 and that ,ippolito1 who was holding a skein which she was winding1 was leaning forward in rapt attention listening to some merry story which ,giulia was relating2 but1 instead of congratulating myself that ,fenice had now a protectress who was devoted to my interest1 ,i was filled with rage to see ,ippolito thus received into the intimacy of the family4 ,my sister by a light gesture indicated that there was room for me on the marble bench near ,fenice1 and the girl1 to give me room1 moved a trifle nearer to her betrothed4 ,this angered me1 and1 instead of seating myself1 ,i glowered at a little distance until ,giulia1 having finished her winding and her story1 came toward me1 leaving ,ippolito free to address himself to ,fenice4 ,to my surprise he did not avail himself of the opportunity1 but1 springing up1 begged my sister to walk with him to another part of the garden4 ,delighted by this unexpected turn of affairs1 ,i seated myself by the side of ,fenice and rallied her upon her lover's neglect4 ,he could not have pleased me more1 she replied4 ,the ,signorina ,gonzaga would be my good angel if she could rid me of him forever4 ,this admission was like the striking of a spark in the darkness4 ,it was not only illuminating as to ,fenice's feeling toward her fiance1 but it fired the mine of passion stored in my heart4 ,how ,i told her ,i know not2 the words exploded from me with such violence that ,i fear ,i frightened her1 and yet--and yet she was not displeased1 for when ,giulia returned to us she found ,fenice striving to cool my hot cheeks with her small hands1 but succeeding only in inflaming them the more by her gentle caresses4 ,my sister paused before us with her arms akimbo4 ,here is a coil1 she said1 and ,i beg you to tell me how ,i am to explain it to the ,signor ,ippolito de' ,medici4 ,ah6 dearest lady1 can you think of no way of persuading the ,signor ,ippolito to renounce his suit8 cried ,fenice4 ,very easily1 ,giulia replied1 since he has just besought me to pray you to release him from his engagement that he may be free to marry me2 but upon reflection ,i am not sure that this expedient would please your honoured father4 ,with that we all fell a-laughing1 though the situation was serious enough4 ,it grew rapidly more so1 for my sister1 apparently forgetting her new vows1 manifested the utmost pleasure in ,ippolito's society1 and drove me wild with her coquetry4 ,i remonstrated with her1 telling her plainly that ,i could not understand her behaviour4 ,have you no sense of decency1 ,i cried1 to contract yourself to a noble gentleman1 who1 though he is no longer young1 is still distinguished in appearance and possessed of many attractions--one whose fortune and rank immeasurably surpass your own1 and who1 moreover1 loves you beyond your desert8 ,are you not ashamed1 ,i insist1 to accept all this and then to treat your affianced husband with such indignity8 ,if you must take a lover1 wait at least till your honeymoon is over1 and then choose one who will contrast less unfavourably with the man whom you so dishonour4 ,she laughed at me when ,i began1 but as ,i waxed more imprudent in my chiding her cheek flamed and she retorted ,truly1 since you misunderstand me thus1 ,i scorn to explain my conduct4 ,nor did she deign to amend it1 and so anxious was ,i1 that 7a temporary peace delaying any warlike demonstration71 ,i lingered on in ,rome to protect her against herself1 and to see her safely married4 ,the wedding took place in midsummer1 but the aged bridegroom was in no happy frame of mind1 for ,giulia had led him a lively dance during their short engagement1 and had so practised upon ,ippolito de' ,medici by her wiles that the infatuated young man had broken his compact with the ,colonnas4 ,suspecting that my sister had caused this defection ,vespasian hastened his marriage and retired with his bride and his daughter to ,palliano the strongest of his castles4 ,nor was ,i invited to accompany the party for1 having dared to ask her father for the hand of ,fenice1 ,i met with an angry refusal and was accused of having by my attentions given ,ippolito an excuse for breaking his word4 ,but ,fenice promised with many tears to be true to me1 and with her pledge to await my coming ,i was forced to be content4 ,rome having now no further attraction for me ,i returned to ,lombardy1 leaving the ,marchesa1 who still awaited her son's cardinalate1 in the security of a peace which at that time promised to be lasting4 ,no sooner1 however1 was ,francis ,i4 released from his ,spanish captivity than the ,pope began again to intrigue with him1 and the ,emperor1 learning that ,clement had broken faith1 ordered the attack upon ,rome4 ,then1 at last1 the ,pope1 realising how much he needed the friendship of the ,gonzagas1 sent the ,marchesa ,ercole's red hat4 ,that triumph achieved she would gladly have returned to ,mantua but it was now too late1 for ,bourbon had arrived before the city4 ,the siege had begun1 and neither man nor woman might leave ,rome4 ,at the ,pope's own villa upon ,mount ,mario 7the ,villa ,madama71 without the walls1 ,i met ,cardinal ,pompeo ,colonna and heard the news that his uncle ,vespasian had died1 and that ,giulia and ,fenice were still at ,palliano1 where ,i vowed soon to join them4 ,of the sack of ,rome which intervened ,i shall say nothing4 ,would ,god that ,i could as easily dismiss its memory from my mind4 ,i entered the city with the youngest son of the ,marchesa ,isabella d',este1 ,ferrante ,gonzaga1 who commanded a division of ,spaniards1 and we made our way at once to the ,colonna palace which refuge the ,marchesa had packed with her friends4 ,their lives we saved and the palace from burning and plundering4 ,cardinal ,pompeo himself paid the ransoms of many of its guests1 and rescued from the ,spanish soldiery upwards of five hundred nuns4 ,far be it from me to extenuate the life of that profligate prelate1 but his brave and generous acts at this fearful time must be counted to his credit4 ,after that horror of cruelty and wanton destruction abated ,i counted on being free to seek ,fenice and my sister1 but greatly to my disgust1 ,i was constituted the warden of the ,pope1 who was confined a close prisoner in the castle of ,st4 ,angelo4 ,though this seemed to me at the time a great hardship it proved in the end the best that could have happened1 for so ,i came to know ,clement most intimately and even to feel a pity for one so beset4 ,i well remember his dismay when ,ippolito de' ,medici came to him with the alarming news that the ,orsini1 who1 under cover of their devotion to the ,pope embraced every opportunity to fight the ,colonnas1 had refused to recognise that the war was ended and were now burning and pillaging the castles of their rivals throughout the ,campagna4 ,ippolito reported that ,fenice and my sister were for the present safe1 having fortified themselves in ,palliano1 but he desired the ,pope to send him with orders to ,napoleone ,orsini to restrain his wild clansmen1 and also to grant him a far greater favour4 ,this was no less than absolution from clerical vows1 which he had taken at the time of my sister's marriage1 and permission1 since she was now a widow1 to ask for her hand4 ,but ,clement knew that ,ippolito's next move would be to use my sister's wealth to secure the government of ,florence1 which his ,holiness desired for his more favoured nephew ,alessandro4 ,he therefore refused to release ,ippolito from his vows as a churchman1 salving the wound by creating him a cardinal and promising that he should one day succeed to the tiara4 ,then1 imagining that he had thus disposed forever of so slight a thing as a young man's passion1 he bade him make all speed to the pacifying of the truculent ,orsini1 for he well knew that unless this were instantly done the ,emperor would call him in question for their unruliness4 ,i had been present during this interview1 as was my duty1 and the ,pope now turned to me and bade me assist ,ippolito by all means in my power1 and we went forth together to prepare for the expedition4 ,but ,ippolito's face was all aflame1 and he could at first speak of nothing but his disappointment4 ,by the ,blood6 he cried1 his ,holiness shall rue his interference in my love affairs1 for ,i will balk him yet4 ,have you forgotten1 ,i asked1 that you have just been made a cardinal8 ,and what of that8 ,is not ,pompeo ,colonna a cardinal8 ,he can find no fault with me if ,i follow his example4 ,i tell you that ,i love your sister and that she loves me4 ,is there any power that can divide us8 ,yea1 ,i answered that of ,god1 and there is also my power with which it seems you have forgotten to reckon4 ,he looked at me and laughed4 ,that for your power1 he scoffed1 snapping his fingers4 ,we had planned to ride to ,nemi to find ,napoleone ,orsini but at ,frascati we were met by a messenger who gave ,ippolito a letter4 ,on reading it he told me excitedly that ,pompeo ,colonna was besieged in his monastery of ,subiaco by a rabble of the ,orsini4 ,go1 and hold them in play1 he commanded1 and ,i will hasten on to ,nemi and fetch ,napoleone with me1 to command his clansmen to raise the siege4 ,the plan commended itself to my reason and1 suspecting no treachery1 ,i galloped off with my troop for the relief of ,pompeo4 ,ippolito shouted to me to await his coming at ,subiaco1 and ,i might have remained there until this day had ,i obeyed him4 ,but at the monastery to my surprise ,i found all quiet nor had there been any fighting since the previous year1 when the papal troops had been beaten by the monks and left their banner behind them4 ,both ,cardinal ,pompeo and ,i were puzzled by the false news which had brought me in such haste1 but1 being where we were1 we accepted the hospitality of the monastery and rested and refreshed ourselves for three hours and no more4 ,for1 at the expiration of that time1 came an aged man clad in ,oriental garments1 who had escaped from ,palliano that morning while ,napoleone ,orsini was sacking the town4 ,the castle on the summit of the cliff was unstormed when he left1 but its fall was inevitable unless help should speedily arrive4 ,then ,i knew how ,ippolito de' ,medici had tricked me1 for he desired not my company at ,palliano1 where he wished to pose as the sole rescuer of its ladies4 ,the messenger whom my sister had sent to ,subiaco was the ,moorish alchemist who had taught ,fenice to make the fire balloons1 and ,i was at first encouraged by his assurance that the fortress was well munitioned1 and that he had manufactured great quantities of gunpowder which was stored in its donjon4 ,but ,i reflected that this circumstance was but an added danger as the assailants were endeavouring to fire the castle4 ,with this news the ,cardinal ordered his bravi to horse1 and the monks girded up their gowns for the march4 ,as fighting men the latter suffered no disparagement when matched with my soldiery save in their weapons1 for1 as their vows forbade them to take the sword1 they were forced to content themselves with battle-axes4 ,wearied as were our horses my troop took the lead1 and all night by toilsome ways over the mountains we rode toward ,palliano1 in the vain hope of arriving there before ,ippolito in spite of the long detour which he had foisted upon us2 and ,i felt no fatigue1 for ,i rode for my sister's honour and the life of her ,i loved4 ,but1 in the grey dawn1 at the little town of ,genazzano1 some six miles from the ,colonna stronghold1 ,i met ,ippolito and his escort returning from ,palliano1 for he1 too1 had ridden hard4 ,his face was drawn and white1 but he faced me unflinchingly4 ,you need not have come1 he said1 for ,i have given ,napoleone ,orsini the mandate of his ,holiness4 ,he will draw off his men4 ,they will leave the castle of ,palliano unattacked4 ,i was too late to save the town4 ,and my sister8 for ,fenice's name stuck in my throat4 ,your sister is capable of taking care of herself1 he answered bitterly2 at least that was the reply she gave me when ,i offered to remain for her defence4 ,nay1 look not so black for ,i am not the villain that my mad words of yesterday stamped me4 ,let me right myself in your estimation4 ,i offered her no insult1 but honourable marriage1 for ,i have not yet been consecrated1 and ,i would have repudiated the cardinalcy and every other bribe of the devil1 if she could have loved me4 ,but she told me plainly that she had never done so1 that she had but coquetted with me in the old days to prove me fickle and false to my betrothed1 and thus leave ,fenice free to wed with you2 and that this ,vespasian ,colonna understood and left you his blessing ere he died4 ,say you so6 ,ippolito1 ,i cried4 ,then ,i have not made this journey in vain1 and you are a better man than ,i thought4 ,i will plead your cause with my sister4 ,you shall win her yet4 ,but he shook his head though he wrung my hand for he knew her mind better than ,i4 ,so ,i rode on with my men1 and it was well that ,i did so1 for ,orsini after the departure of ,ippolito had returned to the attack of ,palliano1 and as we came in sight of the promontory on which it stands1 the sky was crimson1 not with sunrise1 but with the reflection of burning houses4 ,the citadel towered gaunt and black above the ruined town like the phoenix in its flaming nest1 and ,i acknowledged that my darling had kept her promise to greet my coming with a festival of fire4 ,i wondered if from one of those dark windows she were looking forth anxiously for succour1 and ,i called the alchemist to my side and bade him send up a fire balloon as a signal that help was at hand4 ,it will notify the enemy of our approach1 he protested1 but ,i replied that ,i cared not1 and from the silken guidon of my troop he fashioned the balloon so that as it soared aloft the device of the ,gonzagas was displayed to all onlookers4 ,then1 with hardly an interval1 there shot from the platform of the great tower of the castle in quick succession a flight of answering flame signals--one1 two1 three1 a half-dozen2 ,i counted them as they rose and drifted away on the light morning breeze4 ,there flashed forth lights also below in the camp of the ,orsini which ringed the town1 for the sentries had sounded the alarm1 and when we came up with their outposts the army had formed in battle array4 ,i was glad of this1 for it has never been my practice to fall upon and massacre sleeping men4 ,my trumpeter sounded a parley and with a white handkerchief on the staff from which ,i had stripped my ensign ,i rode out to meet ,napoleone4 ,i told him that ,i came as messenger from the ,pope to bid him keep the peace1 for the war was over4 ,he replied that he had already received that news from ,ippolito de' ,medici1 who on the previous evening had come and gone2 but that it was not easy to pacify such men as the ,orsini when their blood was up4 ,then ,i will pacify them1 ,i cried1 for peace ,i will have1 though ,i fight for it4 ,that is the peace for me1 he replied1 and at it we went4 ,i banged them well1 and the monks of ,subiaco coming up in good time when we were nearly spent1 joined in the fray with their war-cry of ,the ,holy ,column6 and ,christ for ,colonna6 ,my sister's vassals also made a sally from the castle but were driven back1 certain of ,orsini's men following them closely and throwing firebrands upon them as they dashed through the postern gate4 ,that was the great disaster and tragedy of the day1 for the tower in which the fugitives had sought shelter was the powder-magazine and a spark from the fiery missile thrown1 guided by the evil one1 found its way to a little trail of the devil's dust1 which had been scattered on the stairs1 and so fired the mine in that pent-up hell4 ,with a noise as of the rending of mountains the tower belched a volcano of flame and the battle-field was as ,sodom and ,gomorrah when the heavens rained brimstone4 ,by good fortune the occupants of the castle were chiefly in a tower upon the other side of the court1 at whose foot the main battle was now raging1 so that the loss of life was not so great as it might otherwise have been4 ,as it was we were all so terrified that we ceased from our fighting1 ,orsini's men fleeing in hot haste1 nor did our troops pursue1 but busied themselves in giving help to the wounded4 ,at the same time those within the castle1 seeing that the battle was over1 opened its gates1 and to my unutterable joy ,i beheld ,fenice and my sister standing unharmed within its portal4 ,so it was that we pacified the wild ,orsini1 and later a new castle was born phoenix-like from the ashes of the old4 ,but for a while it was deserted1 for ,cardinal ,pompeo would no longer risk the lives of his relatives at ,palliano1 but leaving the wounded in the care of the monks we escorted the ladies to the ,colonna palace at ,rome which was thereafter my sister's residence4 ,illustration3 ,villa ,madama--,interior ,by all the canons of romance-writing my story should end here at its climax1 but this is not the way of real life1 which goes on spinning new threads1 and intertwining them so with the old that there is no coming to the end until the shears of death cut the skein4 ,my duty as the ,pope's body-guard kept me at his side1 and my cousin ,ferrante ,gonzaga having less to do1 was constantly at the ,colonna palace1 where he incontinently fell in love with ,fenice4 ,this had indeed been planned out long before by his mother1 for the ,marchesa had lived long enough in the ,colonna palace to fall under its spell and she had marked the ,colonna heiress as a suitable parti for ,ferrante4 ,therefore at the great reconciliation between the ,emperor and the ,pope which took place at ,bologna1 where ,clement crowned ,charles1 and they parcelled out to their favourites the dignities of ,italy1 ,ferrante ,gonzaga besought the hand of ,fenice in recognition of the services of his house4 ,to this request both the ,emperor and the ,pope agreed1 but when the parties to be contracted were called into their presence1 ,cardinal ,pompeo ,colonna and ,i came with them and forbade the banns4 ,being asked why we thus defied the will of the greatest powers of ,christendom1 ,i confessed how in the crimson dawn of the peace of ,palliano1 being determined that no power in heaven or earth or hell should henceforth jeopardise our happiness1 ,fenice and ,i had been secretly but soundly married by the ,cardinal1 deferring only the public festivities of the wedding to a merrier morn4 ,with that the ,emperor declared the jest a good one1 and that one ,gonzaga was as good as another4 ,and better1 whispered his ,holiness in my ear1 as ,i knelt before him for his blessing4 ,,ii ,,other ,,birds ,,of ,,the ,,flaming ,,nest ,centuries ago--here the ,colonna came1 ,vittoria with them1 ,angelo himself ,gazing upon her as she gravely moved1 ,and sighing for her1 while ,fabrizio's sword ,clanged on the gravel--here the d',este came ,from ,tivoli1 where o'er dark cypresses ,their villa looks above the billowy land ,of the ,campagna4 ,,william ,,wetmore ,,story4 ,it was with the ,villa ,conti-,torlonia at ,frascati that ,story rightly associated the men and women of the ,colonna in the lines which ,i have quoted4 ,illustration3 ,the ,haunted ,pool ,villa ,conti ,torlonia1 ,frascati ,hither certainly came the ladies of ,palliano#h from their castle in the neighbouring hills1 for the ,conti were cousins of the ,colonna1 and fond of entertaining their kindred on the terraces of their ancestral villa4 ,here ,giulia ,gonzaga must have met another renowned woman of the family1 ,giovanna of ,aragon1 the wife of ,ascanio ,colonna1 with their little son ,marcantonio1 from the ,castle of ,marino1 hardly three miles away4 ,this boy was to become the most renowned man of his race1 and was to form a link between the lives of two women of ,palliano1 to whom brief reference must be made1 for the pity and horror of their fate are not surpassed in all the annals of tragedy4 ,at first glance it may seem strange that the ,colonnas possessed no suburban villa which could rival that of the ,conti4 ,castles in plenty were theirs1 ,marino1 ,palliano1 ,palestrina1 and a score of others1 but though these sheltered comfortless1 so-called palaces within their strong walls1 there was never an attempt made here to indulge in such a feat of landscape-gardening as the ,conti's fountain stairs1 ,down which the sheeted water leaps alive4 ,the reason of this lack of the amenities of life is not far to seek4 ,the magnificent ,colonna palace at ,rome1 with its beautiful garden1 answered every purpose of an elaborate villa4 ,here they flaunted in seasons of prosperity1 retiring to their mountain fastnesses in times of trouble4 ,for five hundred years succeeding generations have added to the sumptuousness and charm of the ,roman palace1 and the portraits of the fair ladies who once gave those regal rooms their chief attraction still look down upon us from their walls4 ,they hold us still with an all-compelling fascination3 the noble ,vittoria ,colonna1 whom ,michael ,angelo worshipped2 that ,duchessa ,lucrezia1 whom ,van ,dyck painted in her velvet robe and jewelled ruff2 ,felice ,orsini and her children2 and the bewitching ,marie ,mancini1 as ,mignard makes her known in her arch and innocent girlhood1 and again with world-weary disillusion betraying itself through ,netscher's pomp and opulence4 ,illustration3 ,vittoria ,colonna ,from a portrait in the ,colonna ,gallery ,illustration3 ,marie ,mancini1 ,princess ,colonna ,from a portrait in later life by ,netscher ,it is the women who interest us most1 for the men of the race1 masterful and brave1 heroic even in certain great crisis1 have often shown themselves brutally cruel4 ,the ceilings of the ,colonna palace blaze with the victory of ,lepanto whose hero ,marcantonio ,colonna is the glory of his family2 but you will find no portrait of his murdered mistress ,eufrosina1 or of the most famous of all the duchesses of ,palliano1 whose ghost might well haunt that gloomy castle4 ,violante de ,cardona was1 in the latter part of the sixteenth century1 the most charming woman in ,naples4 ,her wonderful eyes alone rendered her irresistible to most men1 and she added to remarkable beauty the fascinations of wit and culture4 ,all of the young bloods of ,naples were captives at her chariot wheels1 all but young ,marcantonio ,colonna1 who must have known her for he dwelt at this time at the ,castle of ,ischia inherited from his aunt ,vittoria ,colonna4 ,violante made choice among her adorers of ,giovanni ,caraffa1 nephew of ,pope ,paul ,,iv4 whom ,marcantonio had cause to hate1 for ,paul had despoiled him of ,palliano1 under pretext of his mother's heretical opinions1 and had given the fief to this very ,giovanni4 ,thus ,violante to her great misfortune became the usurping ,duchess of ,palliano1 for her husband made her life a martyrdom and was ultimately responsible for her death4 ,he was not so utterly depraved as his brother ,cardinal ,carlo ,caraffa but his maniacal jealousy was more dangerous than the ,cardinal's vices1 and he made himself rich by the maladministration of the papal revenues4 ,the ,pope though bigoted and fanatical was sternly upright1 and discovering the crimes of his nephews visited unsparing retribution upon them4 ,cardinal ,carlo's offences were most flagrant4 ,he had quarrelled openly with a young gallant1 ,marcello ,capecce1 for the favours of ,martuccia one of the most notorious courtesans of ,rome1 drawing his sword upon ,capecce at a banquet where he had denied the ,cardinal's right to appear as ,martuccia's escort4 ,though the ,pope had banished the brothers from ,rome they might have lived in peace and obscurity but for ,carlo's attempt to revenge himself upon ,capecce4 ,it happened most opportunely for the ,cardinal's purpose that ,capecce had long cherished a hopeless passion for the ,duchess of ,palliano4 ,the ,cardinal fanned this flame and ,marcello1 believing himself encouraged followed ,violante to her villa4 ,here the ,cardinal managed to bring the ,duke at the very moment of the compromising visit4 ,why ,carlo ,caraffa should thus have endangered the life and reputation of his sister-in-law as well as that of his enemy is not definitely stated4 ,perhaps he counted on the ,duke's love for his wife and intended simply to enrage his brother against a presuming but unfavoured lover4 ,whatever the accusation the jealous husband was not at first absolutely convinced1 and he placed the matter for investigation in the hands of his wife's brother the ,count ,aliffe1 who spied upon ,capecce and reported that he was undoubtedly in love with the ,duchess of ,palliano for his desk was filled with poems in her honour4 ,de ,stendhal tells us vividly how ,capecce was arrested on the charge of having attempted to poison the ,duke1 who1 to avoid public scandal stabbed him to death in prison4 ,he also murdered the ,duchess's lady-in-waiting1 but seems not to have had the heart to kill his wife with his own hands4 ,nevertheless he believed it incumbent upon him as a wronged husband to exercise justice upon her1 and he deputed the deed to her brother1 who was nothing loth to wipe out the stain upon his family honour4 ,on the night of the twenty-fifth of ,august1 #aeei1 the ,count ,aliffe1 with his friend ,leonardo del ,cardine1 a friar1 and some soldiers1 appeared at the villa and told his sister his errand4 ,she received her sentence with the haughtiest disdain4 ,never had she been so thoroughly a duchess4 ,when urged to confess she protested her innocence1 and assisted her brother in bandaging her own eyes4 ,he hesitated for a moment2 perhaps if she had appealed to his affection his heart might have given way2 but she raised the handkerchief and coolly asked3 ,well1 what are we about1 then8 ,thus taunted he turned the wand in the noose about her neck1 and so strangled her4 ,the ,pope seems to have approved the act or to have been indifferent to it2 but it created a thrill of horror even at that time1 for the beautiful ,duchess had been greatly loved and was believed to be innocent4 ,strange to say1 the man who was to avenge her fate was he whose heritage she had usurped4 ,marcantonio ,colonna had used all his influence at the ,court of ,spain until ,philip declared war upon ,pope ,paul ,,iv41 and deputed the ,duke of ,alva and the ,spanish ,army to wage the famous war of the ,campagna4 ,thus ,marcantonio came to his own again1 and the ,pope1 who was near his end1 in bitterness of soul signed the capitulation which saved ,rome from a second sack by the ,spaniards4 ,news that the ,pope was dying ran through ,rome1 and the populace liberated the prisoners of the ,inquisition and burned the building4 ,they howled for the ,dominican monks1 the guardians of the tribunal1 that they might burn them also1 but at the entrance to the monastery they were stopped by five mounted knights keeping guard over the doomed monks4 ,they were all of them nobles1 and all had suffered from the ,pope1 and they were led by ,marcantonio ,colonna1 whose father and mother had been persecuted by the ,inquisition4 ,they had ridden in haste to ,rome when they heard that ,paul was dying to preserve order in the city4 ,and at the sight of those calm knights1 says ,marion ,crawford1 sitting their horses without armour and with sheathed swords1 the people drew back while ,colonna spoke2 and because he also had suffered much at ,paul's hands they listened to him1 and the great monastery was saved from fire and the monks from death4 ,but though ,revenge was restrained1 ,justice claimed the murderers of the ,duchess of ,palliano4 ,their trial was deliberate1 but in the end ,cardinal ,carlo ,caraffa met the same death which she had suffered1 while her husband1 her brother1 and their accomplice were beheaded in the ,torre di ,nona4 ,the first use made by ,colonna of his revenues was to equip the battleship which he commanded at ,lepanto1 where he won the title of ,champion of ,christendom4 ,the pitiful story of ,eufrosina1 who for a brief period was mistress of ,palliano1 is a sad blot upon the ,champion's otherwise honourable career4 ,some authorities maintain that she was of good family1 and that ,marcantonio had killed her husband for love of her2 others that she was a slave girl whom he had brought back from the ,orient4 ,all agree that she was beautiful1 but ,colonna had not made her his duchess4 ,strangely enough he offered the tiara of the murdered ,violante to ,felice ,orsini1 daughter of the very man who had striven in vain to win ,palliano by force of arms4 ,it was a tempting marriage1 for it united the two great rival houses of ,rome1 and ,eufrosina was heartlessly cast aside4 ,her after-history is a tragedy beside which the story just related pales to an idyl4 ,illustration3 ,court of the ,massimi ,palace ,that she was a woman of extraordinary powers of fascination is proved by the fact that1 though it was notorious that she had been abandoned by ,marcantonio1 ,lelio ,massimi1 then the representative of one of the proudest patrician families of ,rome1 did not hesitate to make her his wife4 ,massimi was an old man and a widower1 whose first wife1 ,gerolema ,savelli1 had given him six sons1 notable for their herculean strength and arrogance and their father's remarriage to such a woman was an insult to their mother's memory which they could not condone4 ,they entered ,massimi's apartment upon his wedding night and shot his bride to death in his arms4 ,the old man cursed his sons excepting only the youngest1 ,pompeo1 who had taken no part in the assassination1 and shortly afterward died broken-hearted1 foretelling that ,pompeo alone would continue the line as all of his brothers would die violent deaths4#i ,the record of the hearts of flame which have burned themselves out in the old nest of the phoenix might be indefinitely prolonged1 for though battered by many sieges ,palliano was never totally destroyed1 and formed the background of many a sinister drama4 ,marie ,mancini ,colonna1 ,principessa di ,palliano1 writes that fear of imprisonment in the dungeon of her titular castle was the principal motive of her flight from her husband in #afgb4 ,she had been threatened with such a fate and the threat was not without precedent4 ,as a prison the ,castle of ,palliano exists at the present day4 ,has its symbol of the phoenix attained a new meaning1 and is it possible that erring souls issue from its gates1 their stains burned clean by purgatorial flame8 ,illustration3 ,marie ,mancini ,colonna1 ,principessa di ,palliano1 by ,mignard ,photographische ,gesellschaft1 ,berlin ,illustration ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,lure ,,of ,,old ,,rome ,,antinous ,brother1 't is vain to hide ,that thou dost know of things mysterious1 ,immortal1 starry2 such alone could thus ,weigh down thy nature4 ,hast thou sinned in aught ,offensive to the heavenly powers8 ,caught ,a ,paphian dove upon a message sent8 ,thy doubtful bow against some deer herd bent ,sacred to ,dian8 ,haply thou hast seen ,her naked limbs among the alders green ,and that1 alas is death4 ,,keats4 ,it is impossible to saunter even so aimlessly as we have done through the villas of the cardinals of the ,renaissance and not feel the potency of the charm by which their builders were enthralled1 the glamour of the world antique4 ,we may struggle against the spell1 telling ourselves that the scope and limits of the present volume will not permit of a glance at the villas of ancient ,rome1 but they insidiously steal upon us through those of the ,renaissance4 ,particularly is this true of the ,villa d',este and the ,villa ,albani1 magic gateways both leading directly into that earlier1 and only real1 ,rome4 ,for1 though separated by the gulf of many centuries from the villa of the ,emperor ,hadrian at ,tivoli1 they are virtually ante-chambers to that once magnificent palace4 ,we might turn from the attractive vista which they reveal but for an alluring phantom which can never be disassociated from those imperial ruins1 a face whose beauty and pathos draws us on irresistibly to solve the mystery of its gentle sadness4 ,who1 that has stood before the matchless relief of ,antinous in the villa ,albani1 does not agree with the assertion1 that it is no shadow of sin which gives the pure brow its gravity1 and that whatever may be the burden which bows the beautiful head1 he bears it with a noble resignation which proves him superior to his suffering and unsullied by his doom4 ,illustration3 ,antinous ,bas-relief found at ,hadrian's ,villa1 now in the ,villa ,albani ,in the general resurrection of ancient masterpieces which took place during the ,renaissance only one1 the ,apollo ,belvedere1 commanded wider admiration as a type of manly beauty4 ,but the ,apollo is a theatrical manifestation of the popular conception of god-like perfection1 while ,antinous makes appeals directly to the heart through his very humanity4 ,one hundred and thirty-six of his portrait statues1 busts1 and reliefs have come down to us1 and as many engraved gems and coins bearing varying interpretations of his familiar and unmistakable personality2 so that it is common to speak of the ,antinous type as the last ideal creation of ancient art4 ,and yet we are assured on the highest authority that ,antinous really lived1 and that there is historical foundation for the authenticity of these portraits4 ,he has a distinct individuality always recognisable1 says ,gregorovius4 ,in every case we see a face bowed down1 full of melancholy beauty1 with deep-set eyes1 slightly arched eyebrows1 and abundant curls falling over the forehead4 ,it is the beautiful expression of a nature which combined the ,greek and the ,asiatic characteristics only slightly idealised4 ,we read the fate of ,antinous in this sorrowful figure1 for the artists knew of the death of sacrifice to which he dedicated himself1 and this mysterious sadness would attract the observer even if he could not give the name to the statue4 ,but history only whets our curiosity1 for ancient writers are neglectful or tantalisingly bald in their allusions to ,antinous4 ,we are told only that he was the favourite of ,hadrian1 the most magnificent and enlightened of all the ,roman emperors1 who loved the gentle ,bithynian youth so extravagantly that he made him his inseparable companion and even contemplated him as his successor2 that during the fateful ,egyptian journey an oracle announced that the ,emperor must shortly die unless a voluntary victim could be found to take upon himself the doom with which he was threatened2 and that ,antinous unhesitatingly laid down his life for his patron4 ,greater love hath no man than this1 and ,hadrian's ostentatious lamentation1 and even his deification of his friend1 seems puerile in comparison with the devotion of ,antinous4 ,no modern author has developed this alluring theme in a satisfactory manner4 ,ebers in his novel ,the ,emperor1 is inadequate4 ,he laboriously loads its pages with his carefully verified material1 but his imagination is wingless1 the result far from convincing4 ,illustration3 ,ruins of a ,gallery of ,statues in ,hadrian's ,villa ,from an etching by ,piranesi ,one poet there was1 he whose lines head this chapter1 endowed with the inspiration to divine1 and the power to worthily reveal the secret of the sadness in that haunting face1 to which sculptors alone have done full justice4 ,there are hints scattered through his poems that startlingly supplement the vague clues which now tantalise and baffle as we trace the story of ,antinous in ,hadrian's villa4 ,for where history and literature fail us archaeology supplies its circumstantial evidence1 and if we scan1 through the crystal lenses of uncoloured truth1 the stage where the drama which we seek was enacted we shall see the sculptured semblances of the vanished actors1 and be able to surmise in part the lost book of the play4 ,the ruins of the great pleasure-palace1 where the ,emperor and his favourite resided during the opening scenes of their history1 now lie bleak and bare1 exposed to the burning sun and the wandering winds1 despoiled even of the vines and flowers with which nature has striven to hide the ravages of man4 ,we must go back to their excavation in the early part of the sixteenth century if we would study the tell-tale mise-en-scene4 ,it was ,pirro ,ligorio who in #aech made for ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este ,,ii4 the first systematic exploration and authoritative map of ,hadrian's villa4 ,a ,neapolitan by birth1 but called to ,rome by his friend ,pope ,paul ,,iv4 7,caraffa71 ,ligorio1 upon his arrival was associated with the aged ,michael ,angelo in the building of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,with the arrogance of youth he quarrelled with the great master and did not hesitate to speak of him openly as a dotard who had outlived his usefulness and should yield his place to a younger genius4 ,paul ,,iv4 had the wisdom to retain ,michael ,angelo in his important post1 and the tact to take the sting from ,ligorio's removal by giving him the commission for the casino in the ,vatican ,gardens which 7as it was not finished until the pontificate of ,pius ,,iv47 was destined to bear the name of the ,villa ,pia4 ,learned authorities have endeavoured to find the original of ,ligorio's masterpiece in some ancient building1 whereas the perfect adaptability of its plan to new requirements proves that it could never have been produced earlier than the ,renaissance4 ,it has been well epitomised as the day-dream of an artist who has saturated his mind with the past4 ,illustration3 ,antinous as ,bacchus1 in the ,museum of the ,vatican ,permission of ,alinari4 ,in the profusion of joyous mythological deities which give the facade of the ,casino the richness of decoration of a jewel-casket1 nymphs and graces dance1 ,pan flutes1 and marine monsters frolic with all the abandon of classical feeling1 and it is in the ornamental details1 not in the conception of the ensemble1 that we detect the influence of the ,villa of ,hadrian4 ,when the papal villa was approaching completion1 ,ligorio attracted the attention of ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este ,,ii4 7the patron of ,tasso7 a connoisseur and dilettante in all the arts1 who wisely entrusted to the young architect the construction of his famous villa at ,tivoli4 ,the ,cardinal had the right to quarry materials from the neighbouring ruins1 and among the first of the great discoveries which ,ligorio records is that of a statue of ,antinous4 ,it depicted the youth under the attributes of ,bacchus1 and was possibly a replica of the beautiful statue found later at ,praeneste and now in the ,sala ,rotonda of the ,vatican4 ,from the hour that it was carried in triumph to the terraces of ,villa d',este1 ,ligorio and his patron as well1 were taken captive by a new enthusiasm1 for a lucky chance had guided the excavators to the most richly ornamented of all the apartments in the ,emperor's wonderful palace--the heavy-folded curtain of ,time had rolled upward disclosing the scene of the happiest hours in the short life of ,antinous4 ,an exquisite circular palazzita lay before them1 islanded by a marble-lined canal five metres broad from an encircling portico1 whose roof was supported by forty ,corinthian columns of precious giallo antico4 ,noting the important part played by water in this construction1 the canal fed by fountains1 whose pipes and mechanism plainly showed within the statues which ornamented the rotunda1 ,ligorio hastily concluded that this was the ,emperor's natatorium or swimming pool4 ,but the feminine elegance of the fairy-like suite of apartments1 to which the canal served as a moat2 the presence of drawbridges worked from the centre1 thus cutting off or affording communication with the colonnade at the will of the occupant1 and evidences that the canal itself was a nympheum or aquatic garden1 among whose rose-coloured lotus blossoms white swans glided1 flamingoes darted1 and tall clusters of papyrus screened the porticoes from the gaze of passers1 favoured the conclusion that this pavilion of all delight was designed for some beautiful woman royally beloved4 ,the frieze of loves1 mounted upon hippocampi imitating the games of the circus1 which ,ligorio copied in the vestibule of the ,villa ,pia formed a part of the decoration lavished here4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,villa ,pia in the ,garden of the ,vatican ,pirro ,ligorio1 architect ,the conspicuous situation of the palazzita between the basilica and the imperial apartments1 to which its encircling colonnade served as a corridor of communication1 indicated that the lady was not a favourite of low degree1 to be hidden away in some ,rosalind's bower of the immense labyrinthine palace1 while the most valuable statues in the entire villa1 such as the replica of the ,cnidian ,venus by ,praxiteles1 the ,eros bending the bow1 by the same master1 made this temple of love and ,venus a fitting pavilion for an empress4 ,such it may well have been1 for here was found the sculptured portrait of ,faustina1 the wife of ,antoninus ,pius1 ,hadrian's successor1 who resided in the villa both before and after the death of ,antinous4 ,she was the beautiful mother of a more beautiful daughter of the same name1 an empress in her turn1 and both branded by a historian of the time as infamous4 ,swinburne's apostrophe in ,ave ,faustina ,imperatrix applies equally to the portrait bust of mother or daughter3 ,your throat1 ,strong1 heavy1 throwing out the face1 ,and hard1 bright chin ,and shameful1 scornful lips that grace ,their shame1 ,faustine4 ,but it is possible that ,swinburne was too hasty in accepting ancient gossip1 and that both the ,faustinas were maligned4 ,modern scholarship1 says ,monsieur ,victor ,duruy1 argues for their rehabilitation1 and chiefly because the husbands of each1 good and wise men both1 have left such unequivocal testimony of their respect4 ,to the gods1 wrote ,marcus ,aurelius of the younger ,faustina1 ,i am indebted that ,i have such a wife1 so obedient1 so affectionate1 and so simple4 ,and after the death of his wife 7,faustina the elder7 ,antoninus ,pius cried in his grief3 ,o ,god1 ,i would rather live with her in a desert than without her in this palace4 ,in this enchanting palazzita the younger ,faustina may have passed her childhood1 while the scholarly boy1 ,marcus ,aurelius1 her cousin1 listened to the disquisitions of the philosophers as they discussed great problems with the ,emperor4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,villa ,pia1 ,vatican ,the ,rotondo--,pirro ,ligorio1 architect ,hadrian loved the lad1 and for his absolute truthfulness nicknamed him ,verissimus1 making him a knight at the age of six4 ,he was the comrade of ,antinous1 and as they passed to and fro together through colonnaded rotonda they must have often noted the young mother 7she was sixteen when married7 and her bewitching child1 waving white hands from across the lily-padded moat4 ,here1 then1 are certain of the actors1 as well as our mise-en-scene1 and ,marcus ,aurelius1 in his ,meditations1 has himself given us a hint as to the drama4 ,forget not1 he writes1 that in times gone by everything has already happened just as it is happening4 ,place before thine eyes whole dramas with the same endings1 the same scenes1 just as thou knowest them by thine own experience1 or from earlier history--such1 for example1 as the whole ,court of ,hadrian4 ,if with these instructions we remember ,marcus ,aurelius's still more significant words1 ,even in a palace life may be well led1 each of us can according to his own fancy divine the secret which ,antinous kept so well4 ,had ,ligorio given to literature the sympathetic imagination which he displayed in his art it might have been worthily revealed4 ,for ten years he explored with the most intense enthusiasm the interminable apartments which were to prove an inexhaustible mine of art for modern museums1 and whose bibliography would fill a library4 ,then in #aegb his munificent patron died1 and the work suddenly came to an end4 ,for two centuries the ,villa of ,hadrian lay neglected until new discoveries revived popular interest1 and a young ,german scholar was called to superintend the building and installation of the last of the great villas erected in ,rome by a member of its hierarchical aristocracy4 ,there exists such striking parallelism in the history of the ,villa d',este and the ,villa ,albani1 and on such identical lines was the work carried on that it would almost seem that1 the duration of human life not being sufficient to complete it1 ,cardinal ,ippolito and ,pirro ,ligorio were granted reincarnation for another fifty years in ,cardinal ,albani and his friend ,winckelmann4 ,illustration3 ,eros ,bending the ,bow ,capitoline ,museum ,illustration3 ,faun of ,praxiteles ,capitoline ,museum ,notwithstanding the many masterpieces secured by ,cardinal d',este it was known from ancient records that the greatest treasures of the ,villa ,hadriana had escaped his eager search1 having been so securely hidden on the invasion of the ,goths1 that they evaded as well all other plunderers4 ,but early in the eighteenth century ,gavin ,hamilton1 commissioned to secure antiques for the ,british ,museum1 drained an extensive marsh called the ,pantello and found it to be the depository in which ,belisarius had secreted the missing statues on the approach of ,totila4#aj ,from this hiding-place there emerged between #agcj and #aghj1 the ,antinous of the museum of the ,capitol and the relief of the ,villa ,albani together with the ,resting ,faun of ,praxiteles which so captivated the imagination of ,hawthorne1 and many another famous work of art now the glory of some far distant museum4 ,fortunately for ,italy1 ,england found a contesting bidder in ,cardinal ,albani1 and the majority of the statues found in the ,pantello were purchased by him4 ,at the same time the magnificent collection of ,cardinal ,ippolito d',este1 was offered at public sale by the degenerate spendthrift who inherited it1 and sixty of the finest statues were secured for ,villa ,albani and rejoined their old companions4 ,winckelmann gloated over their beauty1 for he united the artist's appreciation to the connoisseurship of the archaeologist4 ,what solicitude for its appropriate setting1 only surpassed by that of ,hadrian himself1 did he bestow on the placing of each individual statue1 and with what exultation he records its arrival4 ,the ,cardinal has brought from ,tivoli on a carro drawn by sixteen bullocks a female river deity of colossal size well preserved 7and still to be seen reclining on the margin of a reservoir74 ,to the relief of ,antinous ,winckelmann gave the place of honour which it now occupies4 ,let us read his own record of the esteem in which he held it4 ,the glory and the crown of sculpture in this age as well as in all ages he does not hesitate to assert1 are two likenesses of ,antinous4 ,one of them1 in the ,albani villa1 is in relief1 the other is a colossal head in the ,mondragone villa4 ,the former disinterred from ,hadrian's villa is1 says ,winckelmann1 only a fragment of an entire figure which probably stood on a chariot4 ,for the right hand1 which is empty1 is in a position that leads me to conclude that it must have held the reins4 ,in this work therefore would have been represented the deification of ,antinous as we know that figures so honoured were placed upon cars to signify their translation to the gods4 ,illustration3 ,villa ,albani ,illustration3 ,casino1 ,villa ,albani ,alinari ,illustration3 ,alinari ,candelabrum from ,hadrian's ,villa ,museum of the ,vatican ,illustration3 ,alinari ,candelabrum from ,hadrian's ,villa ,museum of the ,vatican ,the colossal head in the ,mondragone villa 7now in the ,louvre7 ,i hold it no heresy to say is1 next to the ,vatican ,apollo and the ,laocoon1 the most beautiful work which has come down to us4 ,the two friends lived a charmed life more in the past than in the ,rome of their own day until the spree was rudely broken by ,winckelmann's tragic death at the hands of a vulgar robber1 and the grey-haired cardinal wandered alone among his cherished marbles4 ,many of these he donated to the ,capitoline ,museum and to the ,vatican1 but the relief of ,antinous he held among his most cherished possessions4 ,it would have broken the good man's heart to have known that these statues were doomed to wander far from the home which he had provided for them4 ,the ,french took possession of ,italy1 and the masterpieces of the ,villa ,albani formed only a fraction of the wholesale robberies which for a time enriched the museum of the ,louvre4 ,on the fall of ,napoleon the ,pope chose the sculptor ,canova as his envoy to negotiate with the allies for the return of the art treasures of ,italy4 ,canova was successful1 for he pleaded from a full heart2 but although he secured the restitution of the two hundred and ninety-four statues which ,napoleon had taken from the ,villa ,albani1 ,cardinal ,giuseppe ,albani1 an unworthy successor of the great collector1 sold all but one in order to avoid the cost of their return transportation4 ,the poor peripatetic philosophers1 emperors1 empresses1 gods1 and goddesses trooped on like uneasy ghosts1 not a few of them finding shelter in the ,glyptothek at ,munich4 ,the one piece of sculpture reserved from this fate of expatriation1 and reinstated in triumph in its old position in the salon at the left of the main gallery of the villa1 it is hardly necessary to state1 was the relief of ,antinous4 ,here it remains and lures us1 according to our bent1 to study or to dream of the life which its original so passionately lived1 and instinctively we search for some statue of a woman of equal charm to link with it in our dreams4 ,ebers thought he had found it in the loveliest of the nine muses which ,ligorio discovered in the theatre of ,hadrian's villa4 ,in #afhi ,velasquez was sent to ,rome to acquire them for ,philip ,v4 ,eight of them may still be seen in the ,museum of ,madrid1 but the ninth muse1 ,urania1 from which the d',estes could not then be induced to part1 is now in the ,sala delle ,muse of the ,vatican4 ,this is the ,urania which ,ebers imagines to have been carved by the young ,alexandrine sculptor1 ,pollux1 from the ,selene whom we are told ,antinous vainly loved4 ,the face is very winsome and the romance might satisfy us1 but for a portrait-statue of a genuine ,selene1 found by ,ligorio near the palazzita and now in the casino of the ,villa ,albani4 ,illustration3 ,alinari ,urania ,museum of the ,vatican ,it is catalogued as ,iris ,descending1 but mistakenly1 says ,monsieur ,guzman1 for ,iris was invariably represented with wings1 and this graceful figure is wingless1 a torch in hand1 and floating downward so gently that her motion scarcely agitates her soft drapery4 ,authorities are now agreed that the lovely figure represents ,selene1 the moon-goddess1 who1 enamoured with ,endymion1 kept tryst with him in his dreams1 and a beautiful ,sleeping ,youth was actually discovered beneath the descending ,selene1 thus completing the composition and verifying the assumption as to its subject4 ,that the recumbent youth was not at once recognised as intended to represent ,endymion is due to the inability of the scientific mind to grasp more than one idea at a time1 for the features bore so marked a resemblance to those of ,antoninus ,pius that it was rightly considered a portrait of that ,emperor in his youth4 ,only recently have archaeologists accepted the title1 ,antoninus ,pius as ,endymion and it seems probable that the ,selene of ,villa ,albani portrayed the ,empress ,faustina1 and that this group was a tribute of the ,emperor's to his beautiful wife1 his ,diva ,faustina1 who stooped to him like the moon-goddess from the sky4 ,is it not equally possible that he caused the symbols of ,selene to be cut upon her signet that she might use it in her intimate correspondence1 that the charm of this wonderful woman was associated in his mind with the magic of moonlight1 gentle1 love-compelling1 and pure8 ,such a testimonial does in fact exist in a medal struck by the command of ,antoninus ,pius after the death of the ,empress1 representing ,faustina bearing two torches1 but returning to heaven1 and depriving him of the light which had illumined their wedded life2 and lest there should be any doubt that the deity typified in this apotheosis is ,selene the ,emperor caused the words ,luna lucifera to be engraved beneath the name of ,faustina4 ,the myth of the love of the lady-moon has nowhere been so exquisitely rendered as in the ,endymion of ,keats1 and his description of the descent of ,selene applies well to the moon-maiden of the ,villa ,albani3 ,i raised ,my sight right upward1 but it was quite daz'd ,by a bright something sailing down apace1 ,making me quickly veil my eyes and face4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 ,her locks were simply gordianed up and braided ,leaving in naked comeliness unshaded ,her pearl round ears1 white neck1 and orbed brow4 4 4 4 ,i see her hovering feet ,more bluely veined1 more whitely sweet ,than those of sea-born ,venus when she rose ,from out her cradle shell4 ,the wind out-blows ,her scarf into a fluttering pavilion1 ',tis blue and over-spangled with a million ,of little eyes1 as though thou wert to shed ,over the darkest lushest blue-bell bed ,handfuls of daisies4#aa ,faustina may have known ,antinous before her marriage1 while ,hadrian still hoped to make him his successor1 ere the clamours of the people forced him to make the wiser choice4 ,had ,antinous been so favoured1 is there any doubt whether ,faustina would not have inclined to him instead of to the good man with the serious1 anxious face1 who was more than twice her age when he became her husband8 ,the statues of ,antinous fully realise ,keats's ideal of ,endymion4 ,his youth was fully blown ,shining like ,ganymede to manhood grown1 ,a smile was on his countenance2 he seemed ,to common lookers-on like one who dreamed ,of idleness in groves ,elysian ,but there were some who feelingly could scan ,a lurking trouble in his nether lip4 ,then would they sigh1 ',ah6 well-a-day ,why should our young ,endymion pine away8' ,we know not on what authority ,ebers links the name of ,antinous1 ,endymion-like1 with that of ,selene4 ,was there some missive sealed by a moon-beam torch1 or addressed to the lady moon which went astray and set the gossip of the ,court crackling like a flame in dry grass8 ,or was it merely his aspiration for the throne of the ,caesars which was signified by the common expression1 he longed for the moon1 and not a love hopeless1 but beyond his power to conquer for the unattainable ,selene1 which saddened his young life so deeply1 and determined him to throw it away when the occasion seemed to demand the sacrifice4 ,both research and fancy will lead you far1 for it was in ,egypt that the most dramatic part of the story was enacted1 and that ,antinous1 believing that in so doing he saved ,hadrian's life1 launched forth upon the ,nile during a terrific tempest1 and standing erect in the unguided canoe sought a voluntary death in the storm-lashed waters4 ,the ,emperor's grief was wildly extravagant4 ,he gave the beautiful body a king's burial in a tomb flanked by obelisks and guarded by a sphinx2 and he built about it a magnificent city which he called ,antinopolis1 a city which exists to this day though no man lives within its desolate columned streets4 ,but the deserted city has been identified in the ruins called by the ,egyptians1 ,antinoe4 ,its hippodrome1 and theatres1 and temple tomb have all been mapped by archaeologists1 and its ,arch of ,triumph1 of ,roman bricks faced with white marble1 its long colonnades of ,corinthian columns1 and its melancholy waving palms have been photographed by troops of unreflecting tourists4 ,while erecting memorials to his friend1 ,hadrian was not unmindful of his own sepulchral monument1 the present castle of ,st4 ,angelo4 ,it served as a mausoleum for the imperial family4 ,the ashes of ,faustina 7to whose memory her husband erected the beautiful temple bearing her name7 were placed here1 their urn guarded by two bronze peacocks1 the emblems of an empress4 ,these peacocks with the pineapple1 which crowned the summit of the tomb1 now ornament the ,court of the ,belvedere of the ,vatican1 in whose galleries may be found some of the statues with which ,hadrian decorated the upper colonnade of the mausoleum1 and which were wrenched from their pedestals and toppled upon the heads of the ,goths when ,totila besieged ,rome4 ,gregorovius in his scholarly biography of ,hadrian thus sums up his achievements and estimates his character3 ,he ruled the empire like a noble ,roman1 with prudence and strength4 ,he enjoyed life with the joy of the ancients4 ,he travelled throughout the world and found it worth the trouble4 ,he restored it and embellished it with new beauty4 ,he was lavish on a great scale4 ,we certainly do not know what he thought of his whole life at the end of it4 ,he might have agreed with the estimate of ,marcus ,aurelius3 ,all that belongs to the soul is a dream and a delusion2 life is a struggle and a wandering among strangers1 and fame after death is forgetfulness4 ,that he had some vague belief in the immortality of the soul the well-known poem written shortly before his death certainly shows3 ,animula1 vagula1 blandula2 ,hospes1 comesque corporis1 ,quae nunc abibis in loca2 ,pallidula1 rigida1 nudula1 ,nec ut soles dabis jocos8 ,celestial spirit1 evanescent fay1 ,supernal guest and sharer of my might1 ,wherefore and whither dost thou fly away1 ,exquisite phantom1 nude and ghostly white1 ,never with me again to flit and play1 ,never with me to play8 ,reluctantly1 after all our search1 we find that archaeology1 while it tells us much of ,hadrian1 leaves ,antinous still a mystery4 ,the forsaken pleasure palace is silent and empty save for ghosts of the imagination4 ,we see the imperial barges glide up the ,nile as in a pageant1 but it is all a wordless pantomime1 though the beautiful immortal figure stands4 ,still there where he a thousand years hath stood ,and watched1 with gaze intent1 the ages' flood ,his graceful limbs reflecting1 then as now ,his lotus crown the sadness on his brow1 ,and races new in line unending glide ,along in shells upon the flowing tide2 ,but aye as they approach and look on him ,athwart their joy there falls a sorrow dim1 ,the citherns cease that rang as they drew nigh1 ,on glowing lips the jests and kisses die4 ,and1 lo6 the heart is seized by infinite woe1 ,with arms outstretched they gaze as on they go-- ',o waken1 boy6 ,o waken from thy dream6 ,say what thou seest below the ages stream1 ,tell us1 is life's enigma known to thee8 ,give us thy own fair immortality6' ,but ere he from his revery wakens they ,have with the river drifted far away4 ,illustration3 ,view through the ,key-hole of the ,gate of the ,villa of the ,knights of ,malta ,illustration ,l',,envoi ,a keyhole glimpse at ,rome they show ',twixt cypresses1 a stately row1 ,where all who pass are free to see ,the villa of the ,priory4 ,here belted knights1 with cross on breast1 ,in days of old were wont to rest1 ,and 'neath the ilex hedges tall ,oft paced the subtle ,cardinal1 ,his robe upon the pavement cool ,mantling like some ensanguined pool4 ,st4 ,peter's keys1 traditions tell1 ,open the gates of ,heaven and ,hell4 ,o'er many a villa gate they 're shown1 ,with triple crown carved deep in stone4 ,if1 then1 you crave a fuller view ,than keyhole glimpses give to you1 ,unlock and enter4 ,you shall know ,a ,heaven of art1 a ,hell of woe4 ,,the ,,end ,,footnotes3 #a ,his magnificent villa of ,caprarola and the still more entrancing villa of ,lante are linked with legends of ,giulio ,farnese and ,vittoria ,accoramboni in the author's ,romance of ,italian ,villas1 which with the ,romance of the ,renaissance ,chateaux will be found supplementary to the present volume4 #b ,from ,the ,italian ,rhapsody1 by permission of ,mr4 ,robert ,underwood ,johnson4 #c ,translated by ,e4 ,frere ,champney4 #d ,a song composed by ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,how lovely is our youth1 and yet how fast it flies6 ,those who wish for joy must snatch it now4 ,trust not to to-morrow2 seize it now1 seize it now6 #e ,the earliest cards were not inscribed with hearts1 diamonds1 clubs1 and spades1 but with swords1 money1 clubs1 and cups4 ,the same emblems are still used on the ,spanish playing-cards4 #f ,the ,french historians call him ,richart de ,cornouailles1 the ,italians ,ricciardo4 #g ,a stornello a fiore consists generally of a couplet beginning with an invocation to a flower1 as3 ,fior di limone6 ,limone e agro e non si puoi mangiare ,ma son piu agre le pene d'amore4 ,fior di granato6 ,se li sospiri mie fossere fuocco1 ,tutto il mondo sarebbe buciato4 ,see also the stornelli in ,browning's ,fra ,lippo ,lippi of two of which ,richard's are variants4 #h ,palliano or ,pagliano1 for the name is variously spelled4 #i ,john ,addington ,symonds further relates in what strange ways fate fulfilled this prediction4 ,disaster fell on each of the five brothers4 ,the first of them1 ,ottavio1 was killed by a cannon-ball at sea in honorable combat with the ,turk4 ,another1 ,girolamo1 who sought refuge in ,france1 was shot down in an ambuscade while pursuing his amours with a gentle lady4 ,a third1 ,alessandro1 died under arms before ,paris in the troops of ,general ,farnese4 ,a fourth1 ,luca1 was imprisoned at ,rome for his share of the step-mother's murder1 but was released on the plea that he had avenged the wounded honour of his race4 ,he died1 however1 poisoned by his own brother ,marcantoni in #aeii4 ,marcantoni was arrested on suspicion and imprisoned in ,torre di ,nona1 where he confessed his guilt4 ,he was shortly afterward beheaded on the little square before the bridge of ,st4 ,angelo4 #aj ,hamilton was aided in his work by ,piranesi whose engravings record the state of the ruins at this time4 #aa ,the same figure is depicted in the frescoes of ,pompeii1 and here the deep blue of an ,italian night glittering with stars gives the added touch of colour4