_Euthanasia's Court continued.--Pepi arrives._
Castruccio had not joined the amusements of the day; for he had returned
to Lucca, and assembled his council to deliberate on some knotty
question in the Lucchese policy. Having dispatched this weighty affair,
he mounted his horse, and turned his head the accustomed road to the
castle of Valperga. As he quitted the gate of the town, he heard a voice
behind calling him; and, reining in his horse, he saw approach at a
tremendously high trot, Benedetto the Rich of Cremona. Although at some
distance he instantly recognized his old fellow-traveller, by his
uncouth dress which was still unchanged, his high shoulders, strait back
and bent in knees. Pepi, approaching with a humble salutation, said that
he had affairs of importance to communicate to the noble consul of
Lucca, and intreated him to give him audience.
"Willingly," said Castruccio: "I am going to ride to yonder castle; do
you accompany me; we will discourse on the way; and when there you will
find hospitality as well as I."
"You must check your steed then," said Pepi, "for mine will hardly
gallop after the hard day's journey he has had."
They rode on together, and Pepi seemed oppressed by a weighty secret,
which he longed, yet did not know how, to disclose. He praised the
fortifications of Lucca, the fertility of its plain, and its mountains,
those inexpensive barriers against the incursions of enemies; and then
he paused,--coughed,--scolded his horse,--and sunk into silence.
"And now," asked Castruccio, "what is this affair of importance
concerning which you would speak to me?"
"Ah! _Messer lo Console_, it is a matter of such consequence that I
hardly know how to disclose it; and methinks you are in too merry a mood
to listen with requisite attention, so for the present I will waive the
subject."
"As you please; but, when we arrive at yonder castle, we shall find
little opportunity to talk of business; for amusement and gaiety are
there the order of the day."
"Gaiety!--Well; it perhaps will do my heart good to see merry faces once
again; I have seen few of them since you were on the donjon of my
palace. Cremona has not yet recovered its cruel siege and storm; many of
its palaces still lie in their ashes; and many good and fertile acres
have been sold at a low rate, to trim the despoiled apartments in the
guise they once were. Yet the Guelphs have again attained the upper hand
there; my townsmen are proud and rebellious, and have not acquired
through their misfortunes the humility of poverty, which sits better on
a subject than the insolence of prosperity. Were I a prince, all my
subjects should be poor; it makes them obedient towards their master,
and daring towards their foes, on whose spoils they depend for riches.
Yet, alas! so obstinate is man in his wickedness, that, as we see in
Cremona, famine, fire and slaughter cannot tame their factious spirits."
"Ah! Messer Benedetto, you are ever the same; you have neither changed
your dress nor opinions since I saw you last; ever immersed in
politics."
"Indeed, my good lord, I am fuller of those than ever, and that of
necessity; as, when you hear what I have to say, you will perceive. Ah!
the Cremonese are still proud, though they ought to be humble; yet a
small power might now easily overcome them, for they are thinking more
how to replant their burnt vineyards, than to resist their lawful
prince. Sovereigns make war in a strangely expensive way, when they
collect armies and man fleets against a country: a dozen bold fellows
with fire-brands, when all the town is asleep in their beds, will do as
well to the full, as an hundred thousand armed men by broad day-light: a
well timed burning of harvests is a better chastiser of rebels, than an
army headed by all the sovereigns of Europe. I was ever an admirer of
the Hebrew warrior who sent foxes with torches to their tails among the
enemy's corn; these are sleights of war that are much neglected, but
which are of inestimable benefit."
"Messer Benedetto, I listen with admiration to your wisdom; but trust
the word of a friend, and do not talk thus openly in yonder castle; or
if you cannot rein your tongue now, turn your horse's head towards
Lucca. They are Guelphs up here."
"Strange company for me to enter; for in Cremona I never cap to a
Guelph, whoever he may be; but if you, my lord, are safe, surely so am
I, and trust Benedetto Pepi for discretion. You are I believe my friend,
and a Ghibeline; and, being now lord of this noble country, you can well
judge of the truth of my remarks. As it is I am glad to enter the
company of Guelphs, and glad to find that you are well with them; for it
is always expedient to have a spy in the enemy's camp."
If Castruccio had not fully understood the eccentric mood of his
companion, he might have been offended at this speech; and even now he
felt his cheek flush at the name of spy being thus as it were applied to
him; but he replied laughing; "Aye, Messer Benedetto, there will be fine
sport for you; the lady of the castle is holding a court, and to-morrow
we have a tournament; will you not enter the lists against these
priest-ridden knights?"
"Not the less powerful for being priest-ridden; not the less powerful if
they were priests themselves; as I well know to my misfortune, having
been beaten almost to death by a young canon who was my enemy; and that
took place many years ago, when I was younger, and more active than I am
now. But I was revenged; aye, Benedetto Pepi was never yet injured in a
hair of his head, but the heart's anguish of his enemy paid for it."
Pepi looked at his companion with the elevated brows of triumph and
vanity, while his sharp eyes spoke, not ferocity, but successful
cunning. Castruccio regarded him with a glance of distrust, which he did
not observe, but continued:--"This young rascal had been forced into the
priestly dress, but had not yet made vows, when he resolved to supplant
me with a rich, young heiress whom I intended to marry. I was well off
in the world, with a good estate, and a noble palace, so the father gave
his consent, and all went on prosperously; till this roguish priest laid
a plot for my destruction. He waylaid me on the wedding day, as I was
conducting the bride to my own house; she loved him, and left me; aye,
at the first whistle of this brave dame-hunter I felt her snatch her
hand from mine, and saw her throw herself into his arms. I resisted,
more as an angry, than a wise man, for they were armed, and I
defenceless: so, as I told you, the villain beat me, till I was carried
home nearly dead from the blows I received. During my recovery, as I lay
there in my bed, my bones aching with the bruises I had received, I
formed my plan of revenge, which I carried on, till he and she, and his
kin and her kin, knelt to me for mercy; but I did not bend, and was most
gloriously revenged. And now where is he? a grey-haired wretch; old
before his time, rotting in the dungeons of the Inquisition. She has
long been dead; of grief, they say,--at least she never enjoyed a moment
with her paramour."
Castruccio started, as he heard the devilish confession of his
companion. He did not reply; but he no longer felt that careless
amusement which he had formerly done, in his conversation and uncouth
manners; but watched him warily as if he had been an old and wrinkled
serpent, whose fangs had fallen to decay, but whose venom still lurked
in his toothless gums.
Pepi rode on, unconscious of the emotions he had excited; he imagined
that he had just recited the finest passage of his life. For this old
craftsman was folly impregnated with the Italian policy, which has
stained the history of her lords and princes with the foul blots of
fraud and cruelty: he did not admire the conqueror of a nation (although
that were almost an object of adoration to him), so much as he
worshipped the contriver of frauds, the base intriguer, who, not by the
open combat of power and passion, but by dastardly and underhand means,
brings his enemy on his knees before him.
When they arrived at the castle, they were conducted to the fountain of
the rock, and Castruccio introduced Pepi to the company. The Cremonese
bowed to the fair countess; and then darted his quick glances around, to
discover if he knew any of the company; many he had seen before, and he
could not help muttering as he seated himself--"Guelphs to the core! a
pretty nest of hornets this!"
The company in the mean time were examining with curious eyes the garb
and manners of their visitor. His dress was more shabby than that of the
poorest of the jugglers; for he had not brought his gold-fringed cloak
with him on this occasion; and, but for the introduction of Castruccio,
and the gold spurs which he wore, he would have hazarded the disgrace of
being dismissed to the company of the valets of the castle. Pepi
observed their contempt, and addressed them as follows.
"For you, noble lords and ladies, who with upturned lips sneer at my
homely garb, listen to my story, and do not despise my words, because
they are those of a Ghibeline. You shine in silk, and jewels, and costly
furs; I am clothed in sheep-skin and sclavina, and perhaps my capuchin
may have a hole in its well worn texture; but look at my golden spurs; I
am a knight, and have a palace, and a tower, and a good horse, as an
Italian nobleman should have. Now listen, and then tell me whether I am
right or wrong, in not throwing away the produce of my fields in
trinkets and trumpery.
"I dare say that you all know, that there was once an emperor of the
West, called Charlemagne. He was a great conqueror, and during his life
lorded it nobly over all Europe, even from the tepid waters of the
Mediterranean to the frozen Baltic sea; Italy did not murmur against his
sway, and Germany was obliged to submit to the force of his arms. It was
a glorious thing to see this great prince ride out among his followers,
clothed, as I may be, in common skins, and greater than the meanest
soldier in his camp only through his superior prowess and wisdom. But
the nobles of his court were such as the nobles have continued to be to
this day; and the money they should have kept for the maintenance of
their followers, and the furniture and works of war, they expended upon
dress and foppery.
"One day Charlemagne was at the town of Fugolano, clothed as I have said
in a well worn vest of fox's fur, and his only jewel the well-tempered
blade of his trusty sword. The courtiers gathered round this royal
eagle, and he was indignant at heart to view their tawdry attire: they
had just come from Pavia, which place, then as now, the Venetians made
the mart for all the rich merchandize they brought from the East. They
were dressed with every extravagance of luxury; they wore tippets of the
feathers of Phœnician birds, lined with silk; robes of rich brocade,
trimmed with the feathers of the back and neck of peacocks. Their
flowing cloaks of fur were made of the skins of a thousand minute
animals, brought from the wilds of Tartary, and in their caps they had
jewels and feathers of extraordinary price. Thus they jutted up and down
before their master, fancying that he would admire them, he who loved a
well hacked helmet, boots bespattered with riding after fugitive
enemies, a blood-stained sword, and a spirited war horse, more than ten
armies of such fair-weather birds. 'Come, my brave comrades,' cried the
emperor, 'we have no battle and no siege to amuse us; and the gloomy day
with its drizzling rain makes the quiet of my palace irksome to me;
mount your steeds and let us away to the chase.'
"It had been a fine sight, to see the courtiers, as they gave a last
pitying glance to their gay dresses, and bestrode their horses to follow
their master. He led the way; no ditch or hedge or thick cover of
copse-wood, could obstruct his path; his noble steed surmounted all, and
every bramble had rich spoils from his companions: silk, fur, and
feathers strewed the ground, and hung on the thorns by the roadside;
what escaped the dangers of land, was shipwrecked by water, for the rain
wetted them to the skin, and the materials of their clothes, in losing
their gloss, had lost all their value.
"When they returned, they bitterly complained among themselves for the
losses they had sustained: the emperor was advised of their murmurs, and
sent to command their attendance. They obeyed, and approached his throne
in a guise much unlike the gay figure they had exhibited in the morning;
their feathers broken, their jewels lost, their silk torn, and their
furs, which had been wet, and afterwards dried by the fire, were shrunk,
disfigured and spoiled. 'Oh, most foolish mortals!' cried Charlemage,
'how are these furs precious or useful? Mine cost only a few pence;
yours cost not only silver, but many pounds of gold!'"
Pepi ended his most apposite tale by a laugh of triumph; and it might
easily be perceived that some of the young nobles were by no means
pleased with the uncouth manners of their teacher. But the sun had now
set, and the bell of the _Ave Maria_ rung from the chapel of Valperga;
so the company descended the rock, and joined in the devotions of the
priest, who celebrated vespers, attended by all the more humble guests
of the castle.
In the evening several mimes were represented under the direction of
Borsiere. No nation can excel the Italians in the expression of passion
by the language of gesture alone, or in the talent of extemporarily
giving words to a series of action which they intend to represent; even
in those ruder times they were able to draw tears from the audience, or
shake them with convulsions of laughter. The actors now at the castle,
first performed the touching story of Palamon and Arcite, and afterwards
the favourite tale of the loves of Troilus and Cressida, and told with
animated action the story of the ill repaid constancy of the worthy
knight of Troy, and the black treachery of the faithless Cressida; so
that few eyes were undimmed with tears, when this unhappy knight, who
had sought death in vain, but who survived his country and his friends,
was supposed to stand beside the half choked cistern of a once often
visited fountain among the ruins and burnt palaces of Troy, and to
behold Cressida, in a mean garb, and deformed by disease, bearing a
heavy pitcher on her head, come to draw water from the spring; and every
bosom thrilled at the bitter grief of Troilus, and the humble repentance
and heart-felt self-reproaches of his once wanton mistress, as, calling
for pardon, she died. To relieve the company from their painful
sympathy, the mimes came forward to act the antic pantomimes of the day:
these were neither very decent nor very clever; a miller and a priest
were over-reached in their love, and were left shivering in the snow
during a winter-night, while two young students of Bologna, whom the
other worthies had combined to trick, enjoyed that for which in their
dreary condition they ardently pined. Night had now run half its course;
and the company retired, after bestowing the praises well due to
Borsiere's successful exertions.
The next morning before daylight Castruccio heard some one enter his
apartment. It was Pepi, who approached his bed, and said: "My lord, I
come to take my leave of you. After what passed last night, you may well
believe that the young countess would rather not count me among her
guests. I am about to return to Cremona, but would first ask you,
whether you would not prefer that a staunch friend of yours should be
lord of that town, than that it should remain in the hands of the
people, who have become Guelphs and traitors, body and soul?"
Castruccio's thoughts instantly fixed on Galeazzo Visconti, or Cane
della Scala, as the promised lord of Cremona; and he replied eagerly:
"Messer Benedetto, you would do me an inestimable benefit, if by any
means, either in your power, or with which you are acquainted, you could
place the government of your town in the hands of one of my friends."
"And are you prepared to assist in such an undertaking?"
"Now I cannot; but I have promised to be in Lombardy at the end of the
month of July. In August I will visit you at Cremona; and, if you will
disclose to me the contrivers and instruments of this change,--"
"Now I can tell you nothing. Come to me on the fifteenth of August,
alone, or with but one attendant; but come not with the shew of a
prince; on that day, at five o'clock in the evening, you will meet a
person on the bridge of the rivulet you cross about half a mile from
Cremona; say to him the word, Lucca, and he will conduct you to my
palace by an obscure way, and then I will disclose every thing to you.
As you may not be able to command your time to a day, I will wait for
you one month, until the fifteenth of September; then if you do not
appear, the enterprise must proceed by other means. During this interval
promise me inviolable secrecy."
"What, may I not tell----?"
"No living soul must hear of this--If you impart that with which I have
intrusted you, my plan must instantly fail. I trust to your discretion."
"It is well, Messer Benedetto," replied Castruccio, recalling to mind
the impressions of the preceding evening, and gazing on his companion
with distrust: "I do not clearly understand your plans, and cannot
promise to assist in them; but I assure you of my secrecy, and that you
shall see me before the fifteenth of September."
"I am satisfied; farewel. The stars are disappearing, and I would reach
your town before sunrise."
Pepi departed with a brow of care; while every heart in the castle of
Valperga was light, and every countenance expressed gaiety. This was the
third day of the court, the day for which a tournament had been
proclaimed. But it would be tedious to dilate on the remainder of these
ceremonies, and from what has been related a judgement may be formed of
those which were yet to come.
The summer months passed on, and the time approached when Castruccio had
promised Galeazzo Visconti to meet him at Rovigo. Euthanasia desired
during the autumn to revisit her native city, from which she had been
long absent. They agreed to journey thither together; and on
Castruccio's return from Lombardy their long delayed marriage was to
take place.
END OF VOLUME I.