^IWANOtltr^ 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 CJ 
 
 '%J> 
 
 
 # 
 
 2 
 
 <^ 
 
 3- su 
 
 •J^ 
 
 iiO:^ 
 
 '^ 
 
 CO 
 
 ao 
 < 
 
 .•5>' 
 
 CD 
 
 5 5^ ^- 
 
 OS. WH 
 
 Z<'^ 
 
 r. 
 
 '\t-UBRAR^^- 
 
 
 '^(^Ab 
 
 
 M . Jt)^ '^^ 
 
 09 
 
 ^J^DNVSOl'^ 
 
 
 5 
 
 ^ 
 
 g 
 
 Or 
 
 %a3AINI13WV^ 
 
 
 %a3AiNrtmv 
 
 ^OF-CAllfOft<^ ^.OFCAllF0/?/i^ 
 
 
 Be < 
 
 CO 
 
 *>XtUBRARYfl^. ,.5X\EUNIVERy/A .vvlOS-ANCn^A
 
 
 ■^/sajAiNfljwv 
 
 -j^nionMn \W ^5^?:-uDnrtn vu/: 
 
 '%OJI1VJ-)0>' 
 
 '^<!/0JnV3'ilO'^ 
 
 < 
 
 ^lOSANCElfXA 
 
 Q 
 
 ^OffAllFO% ^OfCAllFO/?/^ 
 
 "^/siiaAiNomv ^^Aaviian-^ 
 
 
 •i^i 
 
 
 ^OFCALIF0% 
 
 ^^'^vaan#' 
 
 
 ^>clOSANCn% 
 
 ^<!/0JnV3'JIO'^ <f5l3DNV"S0# %a3AINfi-1ftV^ 
 
 
 ^TiUONVSOl^ 
 
 %a3AINrtmV^ 
 
 i?" 
 
 ^lOS-ANCElfj*^ ^Of- 
 
 
 ^lOSANCflfx^ 
 
 %miniiiv«!^ 
 
 CO 
 
 so 
 
 I 
 
 ^I'UBRARYQ^ 
 
 '^^'Aava8n-#' 
 
 ^HIBRARYOc. 
 
 § 
 
 ^OF'CAllFORi^ 
 
 ^^Aavaan^' 
 
 r 
 
 <^: 
 
 ,#UBRARYQ^. <^IUNIVER% ^;^10SANCEI%
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 LOMDON 
 PRINTED BY S. AND K- BENTLEY, DORSRT STREET,
 
 "ALLA GIORNATA;" 
 
 OR, 
 
 TO THE DAY. 
 
 •' When I go musing all alone, 
 
 Thinking of divers things foreknown; 
 When 1 build casiles in tlie air, 
 Void of sorrow, and void of fear, 
 Pleasing myself wiili phantasms sweet, 
 Methinks tlie time rims very fli-et." 
 
 Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. 
 
 1826. 

 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 Above the door-way of a marble palace 
 which stands on the banks of Arno, m 
 Pisa, the inscription that gives the follow- 
 ing story its title, is to this day read. 
 
 The words " Alla Giornata," or 
 To the Day, allude to a fact which has 
 often been a subject of inquiry, and which 
 the following romantic legend will tend to 
 explain. — May its perusal afford a degree 
 of interest to those, who, like myself, have 
 wandered by Arno's side, and have per- 
 haps asked in vain for the meaning of 
 these mysterious words. 
 
 VOL. I. 

 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF 
 ILDEGARDA GHERARDESCA. 
 
 Se a ciascun si vedesse in fronte scritto 
 
 I guai di altrui, 
 
 Quanto mai che ci invidio fanno, 
 
 Ci farebbero pieta. 
 
 Ildegarda Gherardesca was an only daugh- 
 ter, — her mother died in giving her birth ; the 
 most melancholy event that can mark the en- 
 trance of an individual into this world of trial, 
 and one which too often throws a corresponding 
 shade over the mind of such offspring, when ar- 
 rived at years of reason. Thus, over the yoiing 
 Ildegarda hung a gloom, which, however dis- 
 
 B 2
 
 4 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 pei'bed at times by a natural gaiety of disposi- 
 tion, habitually tended to colour her existence- 
 Her moments of cheerfulness were brief; like 
 the sunbeams which pass over nature's face 
 during its dark and autumn showers, which 
 " glisten but — and die." One brother, some 
 years older tiian herself, had been the com- 
 panion of her childhood, and his youth gave 
 the fairest promise of perfection. But he was 
 one of those stars, which ofttimes shoot athwart 
 the horizon of life, to tell only of brighter things 
 that may be known hereafter ; their brilliancy 
 as exquisite, as their earthly duration is brief. 
 
 Guglielmo had, at the early age of twenty, 
 made campaigns in the wars of Genoa and 
 Florence, and had returned crowned with ho- 
 nours and victory ; but envy could not endure 
 the glory of his career, and he fell, the victim 
 of treachery and poison, into an early grave ! 
 
 Ildegarda mourned over her dying brother 
 with that unsubdued sentiment of grief, which 
 wrings the young and entliusiast mind, untu-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 5 
 
 tored by previous sorrow, and unresigned to the 
 lessons of religion. Great sums of money had 
 been expended in bringing medical aid to his 
 assistance from all parts of the world, particu- 
 larly from Germany ; and Guglielmo^s life was 
 thus protracted by care and skill long enough to 
 allow of his exacting a solemn promise from his 
 father and sister, that they would drop all en- 
 deavours to discover his murderer. But this 
 very demand convinced Ildegarda that she 
 was acquainted with the object on whom his 
 suspicions rested, and that object was Pafetta 
 di Montescudajo. To this person she had 
 been betrothed; and for him, till then, had 
 felt as towards her future lord, a tender regard 
 and esteem. The necessity of breaking all ties, 
 with one she had been used to look upon in such 
 a very different light, but who now appeared 
 as the assassin of her brother, tended to give a 
 fatal turn to her mind, which took hencefortii 
 a mistaken view of human nature in general. 
 Idohzed, admired, had Ildegarda drank from no
 
 6 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 other chalice than such flower-covered bowl as 
 the universal homage of those around her raised 
 ever to her lips, she might have ended in being 
 at best a selfish creature. But there are great 
 lessons learnt at a death-bed ; and who, that in 
 early youtli has witnessed the appalling scene, 
 entirely forgets the salutary thoughts such scene 
 suggests ? 
 
 The death of Guglielmo rendered her more 
 than ever her father's companion : she became 
 the sole object of his affection — the sole heiress 
 of his ancestral honours — the sole inheritor of 
 his immense wealth. The princely income of 
 Gherardesca had partly devolved to him from 
 his paternal possessions, and had been partly 
 amassed during his successful wars in the East. 
 Of his possessions, rumour told a thousand tales 
 — tales which might have graced the chronicles 
 of romance ; but in great measure they were 
 nevertheless true, for he had riches in unusupl 
 store ; and, as in those unsettled and precarious 
 times the treasures of the great lay vested in
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 7 
 
 jewels and actual specie, secured in their castles 
 and palaces, it was not surprising the vulgar 
 should ascribe to supernatural, or rather infer- 
 nal agency, the acquisition of those wonders 
 which they occasionally beheld. 
 
 The mode of life also of the Marchese, his 
 superstitious love of judicial astrology and its 
 professors, drew around him characters of va- 
 rious descriptions, and tended to give strength to 
 these false and ignorant conclusions. His affec- 
 tion and pride in Ildegarda, however, had 
 prompted him likewise to court persons of real 
 talent of every nation, in order that their in- 
 tercourse might instruct and direct the opening 
 mind of his child. 
 
 Though Goffredo Gherardesca was himself a 
 man of rugged mould, who had spent his youth 
 in camps, where neither leisure nor assistance had 
 afforded him opportunity to consider any other 
 subject than that which lay at the sword's point, 
 he was yet endowed with a natural quickness of 
 intellect, and sensibility of soul, which, in his
 
 O ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 declining years, taught him to seek that recrea- 
 tion from others, which intellectual attainments 
 ever impart ; and, above all, to look for those 
 heavenly consolations, which religion alone sheds 
 over every scene of life. The natural light of 
 his mind had created a distrust in him, touch- 
 ing the efficacy of those minute ceremonials, and 
 the superstitious ritual which made up the reli- 
 gion of his own church. He sought with eager- 
 ness, proportioned to the deficiencies which he 
 found there, for some one to guide him in the 
 way of truth, — nor did he seek in vain. 
 
 There were springing up secretly in different 
 parts of Europe, particularly in Germany, and 
 towards the North, numbers of enlightened per- 
 sons, who, at this period, entertained opinions 
 totally opposite to those in general acceptation ; 
 and who, to carry on their investigations, found 
 it necessary to league themselves together, and 
 make a sort of brotherhood, in mystical and se- 
 cret bands of association ; which, however, were
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 9 
 
 not SO secret but that they excited the suspicion 
 of the great body of the priesthood ; and having 
 drawn down upon themselves the dread and dis- 
 pleasure of this preponderating part of the com- 
 munity, they found it difficult to reside any 
 where in safety. To persons of this class, thus 
 unprotected, and exposed to constant persecution 
 from general opinion, GoiFredo Gherardesca 
 eagerly offered an asylum and countenance ; 
 he was delighted with the boldness of their 
 tenets and the freedom of the faith they pro- 
 fessed. He felt able to understand the broad 
 basis of their religion, purified as it was from 
 the grossness of superstition : and whilst its 
 novelty amused, the ardent and sincere spirit 
 which it breathed coincided with the natural 
 bent of his own disposition. 
 
 Instructed and nurtured in this school, it is 
 not surprising that the young Ildegarda became 
 different from the rest of her own age and sex ; 
 but in casting off the bigotry which swayed the 
 
 B 5
 
 10 ALLA GIORNATA, 
 
 actions and opinions of the bulk of society 
 around her, there was, nevertheless, danger to an 
 inexperienced mind. For it is not enough that 
 prejudices should be bad, or opinions errone- 
 ous, to authorize their change and abolition — 
 the same effect which is requisite to operate that 
 change, produces too often convulsions both in 
 individuals and in states, which, destroying fixed 
 principles of action, leave the mind exposed to 
 the blind and misguiding government of way- 
 ward and destructive passions. 
 
 It is the hand of experience alone, which 
 possesses the power to direct the tempestuous 
 workings of such a revolution, and the dangers 
 incident to the attempt were not avoided by 
 Ildegarda. 
 
 Fortunately for woman, it is the nature of their 
 very weakness when unseduced by sophisticated 
 reasonings, to seek for strength where only it 
 can be found, so that the natural bent of their 
 feelings leads them to piety. Fortunately for
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 11 
 
 lidegarda, she possessed this safeguard against 
 the dangers of scepticism, but she fell into the 
 snare of confounding an independent spirit with 
 obstinacy and self-will ; for how hard is it to 
 stop at the precise point where the shade of a 
 vice steals on the brilliancy of a virtue ! 
 
 In addition to the strength of character which 
 the habit of thinking for herself bestowed, one 
 favourite pursuit had sufficed to save her from 
 the trivial follies and insignificance of her sex — 
 the desire of doing good, and of diffusing hap- 
 piness around her. She followed her father 
 from one domain to another, and to each she 
 carried love and joy. The elastic power of 
 her enthusiastic spirit never deserted her, and 
 her means of other kind appeared to her equally 
 unlimited and exhaustless. GofFredo would point 
 to his hoarded treasures and say* — " This, and 
 this, my child, is thine— all thine ; do with it as it 
 seems good to thee." And thus accustomed to 
 the power of riches, she learnt to consider the
 
 12 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 advantages which she possessed in that hght 
 alone, in which they ought to be considered — 
 she looked upon, and used them as the means 
 of making others happy. In themselves they 
 afforded to her neither delight nor surprise, for 
 she attached no selfish ideas of gratification in 
 the indulgence of vain parade. In other cir- 
 cumstances she would have been different, per- 
 haps ; but Ildegarda had no want of accessory 
 greatness. Greatness was hers by birth, and 
 the immediate barter of gold for merchandize, 
 did not come within her speculation. It was 
 a false, delusive state she lived in; false, be- 
 cause the very springs of her beneficence were 
 undervalued by her — but yet did it not exalt the 
 nature of her being ? One, and one only circum- 
 stance cast its present shadow athwart her path, 
 and marred the felicity of Ildegarda. 
 
 Her father, with an anxiety equal to the im- 
 portance of the object, pressed her to think of 
 marriage, but for its very name Ildegarda felt
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 13 
 
 unfeigned abhorrence. She viewed a married hfe 
 in woman as that dependance which she scorned ; 
 she considered it as being too often a sacrifice of 
 the heart's feelings to interest ; she saw its holy 
 state by too many of her sex polluted, and made 
 a cloak for vice, an excuse for hcentiousness ; 
 and that pure and free spirit, which governed 
 her every thought and action, bade her beware 
 of a step which exposed her alike to the hazard 
 of such misery, the imputation of such mean- 
 ness, or the danger of such guilt. Since she had 
 already escaped its bonds in the dismissal of her 
 once betrothed husband Pafetta, the remem- 
 brance of the cause which had broken oft' her 
 engagement became, however falsely, insepara- 
 bly connected in her mind with all engagements 
 of a similar nature ; and she turned from a con- 
 templation of the subject on every occasion with 
 a feeling of horror, involving in general de- 
 gradation the holiest and most cherished of all 
 earthly ties.
 
 14 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 How often does early disappointment fix a 
 sombre colouring on all our future prospects ! 
 distrust and false estimates of human life are the 
 natural produce of a mind thus blighted in its 
 spring time, while the reason and experience of 
 maturer years can alone convince us of an error 
 so fatal to peace, and show us the many grada- 
 tions of happiness which we may make our own, 
 even when the first dream of felicity is rudely 
 destroyed. 
 
 Ildegarda, however, did not meet her father 
 with positive contradiction or refusal, when the 
 subject, thus become so painful, was pressed 
 upon her ; nor was it indeed ever her habit to 
 do so. When she listened to proposals that 
 were at variance with her own wishes, her dissent 
 was conveyed in a gentle breath, and with a 
 skill which is woman's nature. She turned the 
 tide of his thoughts another way, giving no 
 place to contention or to arguments ; for these, 
 alas ! tear asunder the finer filaments of tender-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 15 
 
 nessj those delicate threads which give to affec- 
 tion its most valuable aud precious texture, and 
 which, if once rudely destroyed, can scarcely ever 
 be wove together again. 
 
 Ildegarda''s ardent love for her parent, as well 
 as a deep sense of the duty she owed him in that 
 character, forbade her doing this; but when 
 Goffredo, with more than usual earnestness, 
 dwelt on his wish for her marriage, she would 
 reply — " Far rather, dearest father, would I fol- 
 low thee in the sports of the chace, or visiting 
 your domains, than be the wife of any husband, 
 by him to become a prisoner within the close 
 walls of some melancholy palace, to work the 
 live-long day on tapestry, or cull simples in a 
 walled garden ; to be surrounded by silly maid- 
 ens, and be made the slave of domestic cares. 
 You cannot wonder, when you have taught me 
 to value other pleasures, and bade me take de- 
 light in other objects, that I would fain not fol- 
 low these. How could I delight thus to occupy
 
 16 ALLA GTORNATA. 
 
 myself, who have loved to hear you, my father, 
 dwell on high themes of conquest and dominion ? 
 'tis true, I am but woman ; it is true, I turn 
 away from spectacles of blood, and the contem- 
 plation of the destroyuig march of war ; the 
 death even of the noxious animals we hunt 
 down in the chase affords me pain, but still, 
 still I delight in glory, and my heart bounds 
 at the recital of the valorous deeds of chivalry. 
 You taught me thus to feel, dearest father, and 
 can I forget thus to do so ?" " Thou art my 
 brave, heroic giri,"" the old warrior kindling at 
 her words would reply, unmindful how little it 
 suited Ildegarda to indulge in visions of power 
 and rule; but the words " you taught me thus 
 to feel," fell like music on his ear, and led his 
 better reason captive. Thus Ildegarda became 
 more and more his pride, his glory, and he acted 
 but fro)n the persuasive counsels of her will. 
 
 Time went on ; the beautiful girl became the 
 perfect woman, and still no prayers could move
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 17 
 
 her to change her purpose, or win her from her 
 single state. At this epoch of Ildegarda's Hfe, 
 Venice was engaged in endeavouring to make a 
 last Crusade to the Holy Land ; but the torrent 
 of chivalric enthusiasm had spent itself; the 
 pride of reason took the place of enthusiasm, 
 and calculations depressed the buoyancy of im- 
 pulses. The attempt was but partially made 
 by a few scattered individuals, whose interested 
 views and monied speculations, rather than their 
 love of fame or glow of piety, instigated them 
 to replace the holy sepulchre in the hands of 
 Christians. The wealth of Goffredo was a ral- 
 lying point for all adventurers, and the ready 
 ear which the venerable knight lent to any en- 
 terprise to which the idea of military glory 
 could be attached, together with the lively inte- 
 rest felt by Ildegarda in every arduous and ro- 
 mantic undertaking, made them both th.e easy 
 prey of the artful and interested characters who 
 projected this enterprise. Amongst these ad-
 
 18 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 venturers, however, there were exceptions ; per- 
 sons of talent and probity, who entered into the 
 cause from motives of the purest zeal, and these 
 Ildegarda selected as objects of preference, with 
 a pecuhar keenness of instinctive penetration. 
 But while she and Goffredo thus gained the 
 admiration and gratitude of those whose inte- 
 rests they espoused, they acquired, on the other 
 hand, innumerable enemies. 
 
 The swarms of the lower order of ecclesiastics 
 especially, whose frauds were not countenanced 
 by them, and of many, of whose presumptuous 
 miracles they unequivocally denied belief, be- 
 came their enemies; enemies of no inconsider- 
 able importance. These attacked Goffredo in 
 his most vulnerable part, his fondness for Il- 
 degarda. Those liberal opinions which might 
 be pardoned in him, as an uninstructed and 
 rugged warrior, became, they protested, a hei- 
 nous offence in one of her sex and youth. — 
 Her love of independence ; her reliance upon
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 19 
 
 her own judgment, as her sole guide in the 
 choice of the objects her charity relieved, by 
 which her contempt of the authority of the 
 priests became evident, were sufficient causes 
 to excite their alarm and remonstrances, and 
 made them determined to check the progress 
 of such dangerous excess of liberty in one 
 whom they considered as their pecuhar charge, 
 and whose fatal example might lead others 
 astray. 
 
 One instance in particular, the report of 
 which reached the knowledge of the higher 
 authorities of the church, was well calculated 
 to excite a distrust and suspicion of her opi- 
 nion respecting the true faith. It was on an 
 occasion of a grand solemnity of the priesthood, 
 held in honour of a saint, whose name had 
 recently been admitted into the crowded ca- 
 lendar, but whose title to this apotheosis, the 
 daughter of Gherardesca very heretically ques- 
 tioned, that she had shown in a manner more
 
 20 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 decided than heretofore her conteiihpt for the mi- 
 serable delusions practised on the people. The 
 circumstances which led to the enrolment of Fra 
 Awostino's name in the list of the beatified will 
 best explain Ildegarda's want of respect to his 
 memory. 
 
 Fra Agostino was a monk of the order of 
 St. Francis ; his wonderful acts of piety had 
 gained him great renown, and his total absti- 
 nence from all animal food, (a miracle of it- 
 self, amidst the good cheer of convents,) had 
 added considerably to his fame. Worn out, 
 however, by the unwearied diligence of his 
 ministry, and by long and severe penances, 
 the good man at last fell sick, and lay at 
 the point of death. His physicians, knowing 
 his austerity of life, pronounced that with- 
 out nutritious food to support and invigorate 
 him, nature must soon yield to the want of nou- 
 rishment, and his valuable life be terminated. 
 But to all their representations Fra Agostino op-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. SI 
 
 posed his vow, that no animal food should pass 
 his lips. Persisting in his penance, he would 
 quickly have fallen a sacrifice to it, when lo ! 
 as the holy friar rose to partake of his wonted 
 frugal fare, artichokes, fennel, and the like, to 
 j which, however, at the earnest entreaty of his 
 brethren, was added a slender portion of fish, 
 there appeared, to the astonishment of the 
 anxious crowd around him^ a pullet of fairest 
 whiteness, that seemed miraculously to usurp 
 the platter on which the fish was laid, and to 
 present itself to him ! Mingled joy and won- 
 der seized the brotherhood, who falling' on 
 their knees, hailed the sacred viand as sent 
 from Heaven to release him from his vow ; 
 and the good father, no longer able to resist 
 this manifest ordination in his favour, pre- 
 pared to eat witii no ungrateful appetite. 
 
 It is needless to say, that the food which 
 so wonderfully appeared to save his life, ac- 
 complished its destined purpose in every way.
 
 22 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 adding greatly to Fra Agostino's sanctified 
 name, and to the liberty he afterwards enjoyed 
 of partaking of the best of cheer. The tes- 
 timonies of this miracle, registered and attested 
 in proper form, received, on discharging the 
 fees, the full sanction of the Pontiff's seal ; and 
 when at length Agostino paid the debt of 
 nature, he was admitted into the red book of 
 the Vatican, and then permitted to receive 
 in common with many others, and with equal 
 right, his share of well-earned homage. His 
 bones, a valuable treasure which he left behind, 
 and a portion of which, (though we believe he 
 possessed no greater number than his neigh- 
 bours, yet,) every church in Italy boasted of 
 obtaining, proved a valuable legacy to his con- 
 vent, and were added to the mass of spiritual 
 weapons employed to compel or terrify an 
 unenlightened multitude to compliance with 
 the wishes of their pastors. 
 
 It was a solemnity in honour of this saint, 
 that Ildegarda refused to attend, and with more
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 23 
 
 sarcasm than prudence, pleaded, as an excuse, 
 the illness of a favourite dog, which at the mo- 
 ment occupied her most anxious care. This 
 excuse was considered, as may well be imagin- 
 ed, contemptuous and insulting in the highest 
 degree towards the fraternity, and as her con- 
 duct had already evinced on many other occasions 
 a similar spirit of insubordination and defiance, 
 a deputation of priests waited upon GofFredo 
 to lay the matter in secret before him, and to 
 beseech him for her own sake to represent to his 
 daughter the fatal tendency of her actions, as 
 well as to warn himself that her continuance in 
 such contumely and disrespect, must at last draw 
 down upon him, powerful as was his rank and 
 situation, the dreaded displeasure of the Pontiff. 
 Ildegarda, on her part, laughed at their re- 
 monstrance, while she assured this body of 
 reverend fathers, that she knew the Pope to be 
 too courteous to hurl his thunder against a de- 
 fenceless lady, and that he would rather com- 
 mend than punish the tenderness of heart which
 
 24 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 had kept her absent from the shrine of San 
 Agostino di Tomaso. Her father was too well 
 acquainted with those dissemblers, who wore 
 the mask of religious zeal, to be at any loss 
 how to rid himself of their bold rebukes, and, 
 by giving them money for their community, he 
 affected to be deceived by the specious pretext 
 under which all contributions of the church were 
 levied, and dismissed them, well content. 
 
 The storm was thus for the moment hush- 
 ed, but Ildegarda pursued her wonted line 
 of conduct, unadmonished by what had pass- 
 ed ; careless of the recent, as she had been of 
 numberless other reproofs of the same kind, 
 and changed neither her behaviour nor her opi- 
 nions. — She was by nature wilful, and the 
 op[x»sition she experienced to any of her wishes, 
 made her only more ardent in her pursuit 
 of them ; it awoke a proud desire in her for 
 victory ; and, therefore, whilst goaded by the 
 interference of these meddling priests, she 
 amused herself in creating dissensions among
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 25 
 
 them, by giving the preference to one class of ec- 
 clesiastics, from whose number she chose a confi- 
 dential adviser and friend. Meanwhile, misfor- 
 tune of a more immediate nature, threatened the 
 happiness of Ildegarda — her father's health be- 
 gan to decline, and warned her with melancholy 
 presage of a separation, which the law of Nature 
 condemns us to endure, but which it can never 
 teach us to look forward to without pain. She 
 had now many wayward humours to soothe, and 
 many wearisome hours to beguile, in her parent'^s 
 declining existence. Whether this circumstance 
 threw a gloom over the society of GofFredo, and 
 that Ildegarda's undivided attention to him gave 
 her less means of contributing to the pleasures of 
 those who had hitherto made the palace their con- 
 stant resort, or whether the serious alarm arising 
 from the professed opinions of its owner, were 
 the cause of disaffection in their acquaintance 
 and followers, it is difficult to say ; but Ildegarda 
 saw the throng which had been used to gather 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 round her, and to form a circle at once power- 
 ful from its influence, and brilliant from its 
 talent, wholly dispersed. Although she scorn- 
 ed the motive, and in some degree the cha- 
 racters of those persons who could thus be in- 
 fluenced, still she felt a pang at their desertion ; 
 a mortification, that in the midst of power is 
 often secretly experienced ; a latent conviction ; 
 that we are ourselves nothing to the generality 
 of our acquaintance — that we owe to adven- 
 titious circumstances alone, the homage we re- 
 ceive; and that not even wealth or power, and 
 far less talent or worth, can command the smiles 
 of fashion, or the caprices of mankind. The 
 women, — for women of talent will still be wo- 
 men, — thought they discovered Ildegarda's 
 dress to be wild and fantastic, that she was 
 not of matchless beauty, and that there was 
 a crowd of persons hovering about her, whose 
 talents and intellectual qualities were their
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 27 
 
 only merit, but to whom she paid as much, 
 if not more deference, than to themselves, who 
 were the noble of the land. The men dis- 
 covered Goffredo to be old and silly, one who 
 was falling into second childhood, and whis- 
 pered their apprehensions, that both himself 
 and his daughter were doing much harm, and 
 would effect changes prejudicial to their inte- 
 rests. Ildegarda would have felt this loss of 
 po])ularity and consideration more painfully, 
 had her mind not been absorbed in the duties 
 of ministering to her father's growing infir- 
 mities; but notwithstanding this circumstance, 
 there were hours when the change in her 
 worldly situation would present itself in all 
 its gloom to her consideration, and weigh 
 heavily on her heart. 
 
 These painful feelings arose not entirely 
 from wounded pride or disappointed ambition, 
 but from motives more noble, proceeding from 
 
 c2
 
 28 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the conviction thus forced upon her, of the 
 meanness and ingratitude of those on whom 
 her hopes and expectations had heen built; 
 and a consequent despair of being able, by her 
 influence, to effect any substantial public good. 
 Another deeper source of unhappiness was felt 
 by her in the void which her heart experienced : 
 there were around her those who flattered, 
 who admired her, but not one who felt strictly 
 in unison with her ; not one who was capable 
 of entering into her views with feelings con- 
 genial to her own, or whose mind was so far 
 freed from the trammels of prejudice, as to dare 
 explore the themes on which she meditated 
 day and night — the freedom of her country, 
 and its emancipation from the state of humi- 
 liating degradation in which she beheld it 
 plunged. One evening, when her father had 
 retired to rest, she sought her favourite terrace, 
 and gazing on the setting sun, her enthusias- 
 tic fancy caught the reflection of its glory. She
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 29 
 
 called to remembrance the greatness of the land 
 of her birth — its genius — its unrivalled taste — 
 its light of literature — its endless resources — its 
 climate — its powers of fascination — its painting, 
 and its poetry. And to what pure region above 
 the earth did she seem raised while under this 
 exciting influence ! But the natural sun sunk 
 down, and the moral sun, too, became obscured, 
 and the dark side of things presented itself by 
 contrast in still denser obscurity to her mind. 
 Her intense sense of self-debasement, in that of 
 the moral and constitutional degradation of the 
 land of her fathers, clouded her magnificent 
 brow ; yet it was something to indulge these 
 feelings unchecked in solitude : for how often 
 had they, when expressed, been dashed back 
 upon herself by some cold calculating reason- 
 ing brought in action against her inspiring 
 hopes, or been mocked by a smile of sceptic 
 contempt ? " No," she thought, " there is no 
 heart that beats with mine, save my dear fa-
 
 30 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 ther's — and soon, how soon that may be stilled 
 for ever !"" At this idea her feelings quickly 
 flowed in another channel, and the cold chill 
 of reversed emotion crept through her veins. 
 " My child," uttered a gentle voice, " Fan- 
 ciulla ! (that endearing sound, in which the 
 Italian language speaks so sweetly to the sense, 
 and falls Uke music on the ear,) FanciuUa, why 
 do you weep ?" " I was unconscious that I 
 wept," said Ildegarda, tui'ning to her favourite 
 Camaldolese ; " tears are rare Avith me — I often 
 wish they were not so ; there is a stifling of the 
 breath they might relieve ; but these big drops 
 that obscure my sight are, I fear, the fore- 
 runners of gloom and tempest, not the soft 
 showers that succeed the storm. I have been 
 thinking of many things ; of my country — of my 
 father — of myself. The glory of the one has 
 set in darkness, and the gloom of sorrow and 
 degradation overhangs this once bright and no- 
 ble land. My father— -oh, misery ! the light of
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 31 
 
 his declining sun is sinking fast too ! and for 
 myself, why should I remain ? worthless, insig- 
 nificant that I am, to cumber this spot of earth 
 with my existence !" " Why do you thus pur- 
 sue shadows, and then mourn that they elude 
 your grasp ? why call before you phantoms, and 
 then speculate upon the appalling forms which 
 they present, as though they were indeed em- 
 bodied evils ? why seek for sorrow earlier than 
 she need be found ? Your country is not what 
 it might be ; but there is more of bliss in it 
 nevertheless, than in half the other nations upon 
 earth. Though the children of its soil be im- 
 poverished, though they be crushed by the 
 tyrant and vexed by the stranger, they go forth 
 into their fields, and the very beauty around 
 that meets them, the very earth itself which 
 they tread, luxuriant in its produce and smiling 
 in plenty, bids them forget their wrongs. True, 
 they reason not upon these beauties — they do 
 not analyze the cause of their contentment ; but
 
 32 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 content they are, and their happiness is the less 
 troubled from being the less reasoned upon. 
 For your father — ah ! gentle soul, there I feel 
 all that you can fell : but we are forbidden to 
 anticipate our griefs, or by untunely sorrow to 
 lose the power of fulfilling present duties. 
 When this blow shall fall, you may indeed 
 mourn, but the consolation of having been a good 
 and tender child will be yours ; and Providence 
 orders that, in the common course of events, pa- 
 rents depart before their offspring. Happy is it 
 when the law of nature is not reversed ! It is 
 our part to bow resignedly to the pain, and 
 time heals the wounds which resist every other 
 remedy. As to yourself, my child, you are 
 highly gifted ; you are neither worthless nor 
 insignificant — none of God's creatures can pro- 
 perly be said to be so : they have all their al- 
 lotted stations to fill, and form a part of that 
 vast system of creation, which, though some- 
 times beyond our finite understandings to ac-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 33 
 
 count for, a pious and well-ordered mind still 
 knows must be right : some persons, indeed, may 
 make themselves worthless, but God never made 
 them so. That you are an exception you ought 
 not to think, and though it is well for you to 
 feel that you are surrounded by dangers as the 
 first safeguard and security against them, yet, 
 in your instance, the greatest of all dangers 
 are of your own creating. Trust me, my child, 
 moderate your wishes, employ the power you 
 possess (and it is not small) in doing all the 
 good you can ; but no longer, I entreat, indulge 
 your imagination in speculative theories, whose 
 only tendency will be to render you miserable, 
 by the disappointment they will bring with 
 them." 
 
 Ildegarda assented to the truth of this coun- 
 sel ; but the idea that she might be destined to 
 forward the great end of restoring her country 
 to its liberties and glory — that she might be 
 the means of ameliorating the condition of its 
 
 c 5
 
 34 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 citizens, and of advancing intellectual and mo- 
 ral improvement, to that standard of perfection 
 which she had established in her own mind, 
 was too bright an illusion to be resigned, while 
 youth and hope, and the ardent feeling of en- 
 terprise glowed in her bosom in their first un- 
 blighted vigour. Her friend continued : " That 
 free government, of which you dream, must be 
 the work of more than one individual ; it must 
 be, if ever it is to be, the fruit of time ; the 
 united efforts of congregated bodies of men, 
 who even then must leave the work unfinished 
 
 to their children"'s children ; but " 
 
 " Granted," interrupted Ildegarda impa- 
 tiently, " but if no one commence, how can the 
 work be prosecuted, or conducted to an end ? 
 You are aware, that there are many at this 
 moment, imbued with the noble spirit fit for 
 this glorious enterprize : a restless desire to 
 break the bonds of the slavery which oppresses 
 burns within them. They only want some
 
 ALLA GIOKNATA. 35 
 
 one to lead them on, and be their rallying 
 point ! some one whose wealth could aid, 
 whose influence might give nerve and sinew to 
 their efforts. Why, good father, why might 
 I not aspire to this office — so high and so illus- 
 trious ? I feel the ardent impulse which bids 
 me forward to aid it by every means within my 
 power. And, oh ! what would I not do for 
 thee, my poor loved country !" 
 
 " Lady !" interrupted Fredolfo, laying his 
 hand gently on her arm, " Cease, I beseech 
 you. I will weep for you — pray for you — im- 
 plore you ; but I must not listen to the wild 
 and stormy projects of your enthusiastic fancy ! 
 My path lies by the waters of peace and rest : 
 I would allay the fever of your mind, but 
 must not partake its aberrations ; nor can I 
 listen to subjects so intimately connected, so 
 strictly interwoven with all those rules and 
 laws which my duty calls on me to respect and 
 guard inviolate. I must entreat your pardon ;
 
 36 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 I must withdraw myself from a discussion 
 which it would pain me to prolong." Ildegarda 
 followed him with her eyes, as he walked with 
 quick and perturbed step away. " And you 
 also," she said mournfully, '^ you, even you 
 forsake and leave me in doubt, whether it be 
 some good or evil angel which propels me in 
 my path." Ildegarda was not happy.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A CONTINUATION OF ILDEGARDA S LIFE, HER PAS- 
 TIMES AND DELIGHTS. 
 
 Malice seldom invents ; she exercises a more refined 
 cruelty, by raising accusation on some one admitted 
 fact, indifferent perhaps in itself, but which, being 
 perverted, is made to assume the semblance of guilt. 
 It is harder for innocence to explain than refute ; when 
 something is conceded as true, more than what is true, 
 will always be suspected or believed. 
 
 Dr. Nott's Life of Sir Thomas Wyatt. 
 
 Go FF RE DO died — died without performing 
 the last ceremonial rites of the church ; and it 
 was confidently reported that a figure clad in 
 scarlet was seen to ascend through the roof of 
 his castle at the moment his soul took its de- 
 parture ; which figure disappeared suddenly in 
 
 .D' t' IKY^'
 
 38 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 a sulphureous cloud: no money was given to 
 the neighbouring convents, that masses might 
 be sung for the deceased, and it was decided 
 in consequence that it could not have fared 
 well with his spirit. Story grew on story : at 
 length it was related, with many circumstances 
 which gave weight to the tale, that a large tract 
 of land, not far from Goffredo's Volterranian 
 possessions, had become the prey of sorcerers 
 and demons, who were nightly seen by the 
 terrified spectators, walking about in the midst 
 of flames, that sported to and fro over the 
 earth, and that in short the whole country 
 would soon be rendered uninhabitable if the 
 Castle of Gherardesca was not rased to the 
 earth. 
 
 In the first months of sorrow she whom 
 these relations most concerned, gave no heed to 
 them whatever ; but when a lapse of time had 
 restored her to tranquillity, she threatened the 
 bearers of these idle tales with her heaviest
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 39 
 
 displeasure, if they continued to repeat them ; 
 " for they are," she added, " injurious to the 
 memory of my departed parent, disrespectful 
 to myself, and disgracefid to common sense." 
 " Ay, that common sense will be the ruin of 
 you,"" uttered Maestrillo the Fool, as he went 
 out from her presence ; " that name is ever in 
 my lady's mouth. One would think he was some 
 saint of power, and I declare I never heard of 
 him, though I have the whole catalogue by 
 heart. Eh ! che vi pare ! was ever fish turned 
 into a fowl for him?" 
 
 The death of GofFredo had plunged his 
 daughter into the deepest sorrow — a sorrow, 
 which, though the keen edge of its anguish 
 had passed away, still continued its influence 
 over her heart. Ildegarda had obtained none 
 of those novel accessions of power, or wealth, 
 or liberty, which too often blunt the edge of 
 natural grief, in the moment of their acquire- 
 ment ; for she had possessed the full enjoyment
 
 40 ALL A GiOllNATA. 
 
 of all these in her father's lifetime, and there- 
 fore she experienced by his death the loss 
 only of that sympathy in her feelings and ideas 
 which she had met with from him alone. II- 
 degarda was unlike the generality of women ; 
 not from any silly or affected love of eccentricity, 
 but from the peculiar circumstances in which 
 she was situated. These were all calculated to 
 give her character that stamp of originality 
 which placed her, as it were, on an eminence of 
 melancholy superiority ; from whence she could 
 not descend to taste of humbler or more com- 
 mon pleasures, but which in itself did not 
 confer happiness. How could it ? for, though 
 her mind grasped at the immensity of the out- 
 stretched prospect before her, her heart remained 
 unoccupied, a desert territory. " I am monarch 
 of all I survey," might she have exclaimed with 
 the cast-away, and with a sense of no less de- 
 solation ; — but to whom are all things given ? 
 It is wisdom, it is virtue, to enjoy what is be-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 4l 
 
 stowed ; to make the endeavour even confers 
 a species of happiness. Much of mortal hap- 
 piness necessarily springs from exertion. To 
 sigh and repine for what is not within our reach, 
 is the self-creation of misery. Ildegarda was 
 guilty of this folly ; and who was ever entirely 
 and at all times exempt from it ? " Why was I 
 born an Italian .'*" she would impatiently exclaim; 
 " or, being so born, why were other thoughts 
 awakened within me than those of the generality 
 of my sex, who lead a life of empty pleasure ; 
 flutter in the sunbeam of youth and beauty, and 
 then sink to old age and death, unreverenced and 
 unremembered .?" As Ildegarda spake, she saw, 
 at a distance, her once favourite friend, the Ca- 
 maldolese, (once favourite, for a length of time 
 had elapsed without his having sought or con- 
 versed with her,) walking to and fro, as though 
 he wished to approach, yet durst not. Since their 
 last interview on the terrace, there had been a 
 tacit knowledge in both that the one had of-
 
 42 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 fended, and the other had been offended, yet 
 neither of them would make the first advance 
 towards a reconcihation. Ildegarda's heart, 
 however, could not long retain a sentiment of 
 anger, and it bounded with a feeling of delight 
 to which she had long been a stranger, on re- 
 cognizing her friend. An impulse of generous 
 kindness got the better of false pride ; she ad- 
 vanced to meet him with that quickness of step, 
 and glow of good-will beaming in her counte- 
 nance, which tells at once that the heart loves 
 to forget its coldness. 
 
 *' 'Tis long since I have seen you," she said ; 
 " it is most pleasant to meet you again. I had 
 expected you would have come to me when I 
 was in affliction, and I felt your absence was un- 
 kind ; but perhaps — " She stopped and colour- 
 ed ; for she was conscious that her own wilfulness 
 and contemptuous behaviour had alone estranged 
 him from her society. " Lady," he answered, 
 " I see your candour has pleaded my apology ; 
 no more of that subject at this moment ; though
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 43 
 
 it will be my duty, at a future period, to repre- 
 sent to 3'ou once again (and for the last time) 
 the danger and impropriety of your conduct. 
 But I come now with the hope of interesting 
 you in a story, the investigation of which may 
 both direct your mind into another channel, and 
 be of service to your temporal interests. May 
 I be permitted to make it known to you ?" 
 
 Ildegarda's eager assent was followed by the 
 Frate's narration. — 
 
 " Two children of the valley of Cecina dwelt 
 with their mother, a poor woman of the low- 
 est extraction, who resides, or did reside, in the 
 mountainous district beyond Volterra. They 
 were sent by her, a long time ago, entrusted 
 with a message and a gift to a vine-dresser, who 
 lives close to your palace. The gift consisted of 
 a cheese, the product of the goats they tended, 
 and a young whelp of a particular species of 
 dog, famous for Its sagacity and fidelity in 
 guarding: the flocks it is educated to watch
 
 44 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 over. The boy and girl took charge of their 
 embassy and presents ; and furnished with a suf- 
 ficient provision of beans and dried grapes to 
 refresh them on their httle journey, they set 
 forth with light steps and light hearts, for they 
 were proud to be entrusted with matters (which 
 appeared to them to be) of such consequence. It 
 was the middle of December, and the cold 
 mistrale blew from the Appenines with unusual 
 keenness ; nevertheless the little travellers con- 
 tinued to beguile their way by the pleasure of 
 exercise, by having recourse to an occasional 
 supply of the refreshments they carried with 
 them, and by their own innocent converse. But 
 the sky grew darker and darker, and when they 
 had reached half way to the place of their des- 
 tination, they were covered, with what to them 
 seemed a prodigy ; for in their short lives they 
 had only once seen a snow-storm, when a general 
 festivity prevailed, and holidays were given to 
 children, as if the season of frost and snow were
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 45 
 
 a time to rejoice in. The flakes now fell faster 
 and faster, and melted not as they fell, but 
 covered the face of the earth with a white and 
 glittering sheet. At length a sentiment of 
 terror came over the children, and made them 
 pause : they looked anxiously around, — ' It is a 
 very white rain,' said the little girl, endeavour- 
 ing to cheer her companion, ' only see how it 
 dances and skips about, here is a tuft of it 
 like feathers.' ' But it is very cold,' answered 
 Edoardo, and he began to weep. His tears 
 affected his sister ; she could no longer conceal 
 her own alarm; 'But (said she afterwards, in 
 relating her little story) ' I did not let him 
 know how much I was terrified, and how near 
 I was lying down and crying too, in despair of 
 assistance.' Then looking anxiously about, she 
 
 beheld, to her great joy, at some little distance 
 
 I 
 from the road, a small chapel dedicated to the 
 
 Virgin, in which she hoped to find a shelter. 
 
 The little Rachaella's account of her scruples at
 
 46 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 entering into this holy place from any motive 
 save that of prayer, was extremely touching. 
 ' But at last,' she said, ' I saw my brother 
 completely covered with a sort of shining 
 white crust, and I thought he would soon 
 be liid altogether from my eyes, if I did 
 not shelter him as quickly as possible.' Then 
 she described the difficulty she had in climbing 
 up a slippery pointed rock, with the cheese, 
 the dog, and the little Edoardo ; her subsequent 
 delight at finding herself, together with all these 
 objects of her care, safely housed, and the thou-, 
 sand times that she repeated ' Blessed be the 
 holy Virgin !' making her brother repeat it too, 
 although his teeth chattered so as to make his 
 words scarcely intelligible. But this relief was 
 only temporary ; for, though sheltered above 
 from the falling snow, nothing could screen 
 them from the intense cold; which as night 
 drew on became more and riiore severe, and 
 was peculiarly painful to children unused to the
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 47 
 
 rigour of so piercing an atmosphere. The little 
 boy grew clamorous in his complaints, and 
 wept till his sister's heart was nigh broken. 
 She would fain, she related, have sat down and 
 cried with him, but again she remembered that 
 that would do no good, and turned in her mind 
 what might possibly be of service ; so she des- 
 poiled herself of part of her clothes in order to 
 wrap her brother in them, and she had shortly 
 afterwards the satisfaction of seeing him lulled 
 into comparative comfort and repose. But thus 
 deprived of great part of her clothing, the ago- 
 ny of extreme cold made her think that death ^,j. 
 had already seized her. ' I could not pray 
 properly,"' said the innocent Rachaella, ' for no 
 one had ever taught me to pray \ but in my dis- 
 tress I called upon the name of God, and was 
 strengthened/ The little dog lay at a distance 
 from me : it came into my head that he would 
 warm me, so I placed him across my breast, 
 and the heat of his body made me so comforta-
 
 48 ALT,A GIORNATA. 
 
 ble, that I knew nothing more till I awoke the 
 next day*' Well, signora, when the poor children 
 opened their eyes, what was their dismay to 
 behold, in a glittering sunlight, nothing of all 
 they had seen before — nothing but one vast 
 sheet of dazzling brightness which covered every 
 object save the tops of the trees. No track of 
 road remained, no trace of any thing which 
 could guide them on their way. They looked 
 at each other in mute astonishment, and at last 
 Edoardo piteously exclaimed, * We shall never 
 get home again, and I am so hungry !' " What 
 shall we do ?"" said Rachaella mournfully ; ' the 
 beans and dried grapes too are eaten.' ' Oh ! 
 but the cheese,"' quickly rejoined her brother, 
 ' the cheese, let us eat that.' ' The cheese you 
 know, dear Edoardo, is safe, but it is not our 
 own ; we were entrusted vath it, and we must 
 not eat it ; indeed, indeed we must not break 
 our promise — it is better to die with hunger than 
 to do that !'
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 49 
 
 " The difficulty this little heroine had in paci- 
 fying her brother was very great; and it may 
 be doubted whether she would not have yielded 
 her strong; sense of honour to the calls of liun- 
 ger, had not a powerful sunshine come in aid 
 of her resolution, which, by melting the looser 
 part of the snow, discovered many bushes and 
 briers, from whose friendly branches she ga- 
 thered various berries, that for the moment 
 satisfied their craving appetite. 
 
 " Thus refreshed, and the road becoming here 
 and there again visible, they once more pro- 
 ceeded on their way ; but they had not gone 
 far, when a quantity of drifted snow completely 
 barred their progress — the skies again lowered, 
 and a fresh storm came on. In vain they at- 
 tempted to retrace their steps to the shelter of 
 the preceding night ; wearied and terrified, they 
 sunk down on the ground, in utter hopelessness. 
 The arrowy sleet blew directly in their eyes ; 
 the piercing wind chilled their blood, and they 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 thought only of death. Again the little Edoar- 
 do appealed piteously to his sister for the 
 cheese. ' Not yet, dear brother; God may 
 help us yet in some other way. You know, the 
 cheese was made, with much trouble and cost, 
 purposely for Francesco, who has been so very 
 good to us and to Marinella ; and we have no 
 way of repaying him, except by giving him this 
 cheese : — indeed, indeed, we must not eat of it, 
 till we are starving.' — ' But I am starving,"* 
 cried the httle boy. Once more Rachaella pa- 
 cified him by saying, she was sure, that, seeing 
 the snow-storm, Marinella would be alarmed for 
 their safety, and would seek for them and save 
 them. 
 
 " In soothing and reasoning with others, it 
 chances oft that we are soothed and rendered 
 rational ourselves ; and thus it fared with Ra- 
 chaella. But still the snow came down faster 
 and faster, and it was in vain that she worked 
 wildly with her hands to prevent its settling
 
 ' ALLA GIORNATA. 51 
 
 upon her brother's face and head ; wlien shortly 
 a mass of loosened snow, blown from a heio-ht, 
 completely buried the children within its bosom. 
 To this circumstance, terrible as it appeared, 
 they owed their lives ; and a merciful Providence 
 rendered it the means of preserving them, when 
 aU mortal aid seemed vain. Relieved from the 
 piercing effects of the outward air, Rachaella had 
 power once more to think of prayer, and she re- 
 peated the great name of Him who is able to save 
 to the uttermost, till at length she felt her voice 
 die away, and she was no longer able to articu- 
 late. At this juncture, a joyful sound of foot- 
 steps, accompanied with loud halloos, came to her 
 listening ear, mingled with repeated cries of her 
 own and Edoardo's name : nearer and more 
 near they came, till they reached the very spot 
 where the children were lying. Rachaella en- 
 deavoured to speak ; she could not utter : she 
 tried to awaken her brother in vain ; he was 
 sunk in the sleep which precedes death. The 
 
 D 2
 
 52 ALLA GIOKNATA. 
 
 dog ! the dog alone remained able to save 
 them . roused by the noise, the animal barked 
 perpetually : and, oh ! the joy to poor Racha- 
 ella's heart, when she distinguished that those 
 who sought them were guided by his voice to 
 remove the snow that covered them. The re- 
 mainder of the story may be shortly related : 
 every thing had been prepared which could be 
 deemed necessary to comfort, cheei', and revive 
 the lost ones ; and they were conveyed home- 
 wards on panniers swung across a mule. 
 
 " Rachaella was soon sufficiently recovered to 
 speak, and told her story in an artless manner, 
 that touched all hearts, except (strange to say !) 
 the heart of her it ought most to have affected : 
 but Marinella, instead of commending her for 
 that nice sense of honour and fidelity, which 
 made her so tenacious of her trust, chided her 
 roughly for not having given the cheese imme- 
 diately to Edoardo, as if wholly regardless of 
 tlie principle of duty and fidelity which Nature 
 
 I
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 53 
 
 had implanted in the heart of that sweet child. 
 ' I wonder,' muttered this strange being, " what 
 business she had to refuse him ? What sio;nifies a 
 woman''s life? Women are born to wretched- 
 ness : it matters not whether they live or die : 
 happiest are those who soonest pass away from 
 their misery. I would have every third woman 
 strangled in the birth. But men, men in truth, 
 have something worth living for in this world.' 
 * Why did you not go then yourself, old croak- 
 ing crone, with your messages, instead of send- 
 ing these poor babes, and making slaves of 
 them, as you do on all occasions ? ' rejoined one 
 of the persons who had come to assist in finding 
 the children. ' Hush !"* cried the rest, gather- 
 ing round the speaker, and whispering to him, 
 ' do not offend her : — Marinella, you know, is 
 not one of us :' and they shook their heads sig- 
 nificantly. To this observation more attention 
 and credence was given, when, putting a few 
 soldi into the hands of each man whom she had
 
 54 ALLA GIOllKATA. 
 
 called upon to aid her in the search, she bade 
 them begone, in a tone and with a gesture of 
 command, they did not feel disposed to disobey ; 
 then, seizing the bridle of the mule, she hur- 
 ried it away, with a pace of no common swiftness. 
 " Nothing more has been heard of these children 
 since the vine-dresser related the story to me as 
 an event which happened six years ago ; ' but,' 
 he added, with a countenance expressive of alarm 
 and misgiving, ' such strange sights are seen, 
 and such unusual sounds are heard, in the 
 wild part of the country where they are said 
 to have lived, that no one ever passes by that 
 way after dark, — they had rather travel miles 
 about, than run such risk. And I fancy your 
 friends at the Palazzo Gherardesca can tell 
 you something about it, since Marinella is seen 
 gliding in and out there at all hours ; and yovi 
 know, caro fi^ate^ that, since Goffredo's death, 
 there has been little peace in the country ; nor 
 will there, so long as that castle stands where
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 55 
 
 it does/" The /rate ceased speaking, and 
 awaited Ildegarda's observations with anxiety, 
 on the story he had related. During its narra- 
 tion, she had evinced a deep and pleased in- 
 terest, till in the latter part, when her father's 
 name had been mentioned, as she thought, 
 with a want of due respect, and the clouds 
 of displeasure gathered upon her brow. 
 
 When the narrative was ended, she merely 
 said, " Such is the baneful effects of supersti- 
 tion, and pardon me if I may add of priestcraft. 
 Thus is every action which rises above the 
 common level, misrepresented by the folly or 
 wickedness of men, who find it their interest to 
 crush or conceal from public notice every one 
 likely to become of more consequence than 
 themselves." Then pausing, she recovered her 
 equanimity ; and shortly after questioned Fre- 
 dolfo as to his meaning in saying that this 
 story might afford her an opportunity of si- 
 lencing evil speakers, and advancing her tern-
 
 56 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 poral interests, while, at the same time, she 
 would be doing an act of charity. " Lady, 
 I meant simply this: if you investigate the 
 above relation thoroughly, and go yourself to 
 that part of the country whence these idle re- 
 ports have their origin, you will probably find 
 that the flames and sulphureous exhalations do 
 really exist, but are phoenomena of Nature; 
 and that all the rest of the supernatural ad- 
 juncts are merely fabrications of the terrified 
 and unlettered peasantry. As to Marinella, 
 her treatment of Rachaella seems to bespeak 
 her a worthless character ; and it will be well to 
 detect and expose one who is probably the 
 fabricator of all the tales which thus offend 
 you. In themselves they are beneath notice, 
 I allow ; but, considering the temper of the 
 times in which we live, and the enemies who 
 surround you, they demand your serious at- 
 tention." Ildegarda did not immediately re- 
 ply ; but after an interval of silence, hav-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 57 
 
 ing thanked her friend for his kind surges- 
 tion, she withdrew to reflect upon his woids. 
 The lively interest with which his account 
 of the children had inspired her, was not 
 likely to die away. "It does me good," she 
 said, pursuing her reflections, " to know that, 
 in unsophisticated natures, there does exist 
 such a principle of integrity as the little Ra- 
 chaella evinced ; and shall I not seek her out, 
 foster and cherish her ?" But then again there 
 arose a repelling sentiment of suspicion in her 
 mind ; for Ildegarda had learnt that terrible 
 lesson of experience which teaches to suspect 
 latent evil under seeming good — a melancholy 
 price, which is too often paid for knowledge of 
 the world ; and she conceived that some super- 
 stitious rites might be deemed necessary — some 
 ceremonies of exorcisms be forced upon her 
 by those who should accompany her to the 
 place of imaginary terror, where the objects of 
 her search were said to dwell. 
 
 D 5
 
 58 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 To suffer this would be to give sanction to 
 those falsehoods which the malice and calum- 
 niating spirit of her enemies had already spread 
 abroad. The fact was, tliat Fredolfo had long 
 known the awful stigma of heresy was attached 
 to her name ; and, unless she could disprove 
 some of the circumstances which it was said 
 unbelief had brought upon her, he foresaw that 
 she would probably be involved in utter ruin. 
 Fredolfo's intentions were always friendly, pure, 
 and disinterested towards Ildegarda, as those 
 of a parent ; but the wilfulness of her charac- 
 ter was her stumbling-block, and she rarely lis- 
 tened to his counsels. The desire, however, 
 which she felt to see Rachaella and Edoardo, 
 got the better, on this occasion, of the disin- 
 genuous and less amiable resolutions which she 
 would otherwise perhaps have formed. Accord- 
 ingly, sending for Fredolfo, slie said to him : " I 
 desire that, if these children of whom you have 
 spoken to me are to be fouiid, you will faci-
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 59 
 
 litate and procure for me an interview witli 
 them : yet stay,"" she added ; " I would rather 
 go myself in quest of them ; there is no mes- 
 senger so sure on any embassy as one''s-self. If 
 there were fewer delegated authorities, there 
 would be less injustice; and miscarriages, in 
 the conduct of affairs, would be of rarer oc- 
 currence. 
 
 Frate Fredolfo encouraged this determina- 
 tion ; and she fixed the following day for her 
 excursion, commanding him to be in readiness 
 to attend her. " Most willingly," was the 
 Frate's reply ; " but," hesitating he added, 
 " will it not be better, lad}^, that we have some 
 of my brethren likewise ?'''' " Wherefore, good 
 Frate ?^ and then, not waiting his ansM^er : " Oh ! 
 you know you dare not tell me wherefore!*' 
 — " Lady," he said, " there is safety in a multi- 
 tude." — " But not in a multitude of priests V 
 rejoined Ildcgarda, " No, no ; you are my 
 friend, (laughing) but not my confessor !
 
 60 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 though you are believed to be such. You, and 
 you only, of your brethren shall accompany me, 
 with some of my own attendants ; but I will 
 have no church processions — no nonsense!" Fre- 
 dolfo looked distressed, but withdrew in silence. 
 The admiration Ildegarda felt for the cha- 
 racter of the little Rachaella grew upon her, the 
 more she reflected on the trait of genuine worth 
 related of her. Her imagination kindled at the 
 thought of such native heroism ; and she deter- 
 mined that, if the children were still alive, she 
 would discover their abode, and attach them to 
 her service. To will and to do were one and 
 the same thing with Ildegarda. Fortunately 
 her will had hitherto sprung always from a no- 
 ble impulse ; and, although it had borne her far 
 on a sea of trouble, it had never yet induced her 
 to make shipwreck of integrity or principle : — 
 still she was like the mariner who dares a peril- 
 ous voyage, without helm or compass to guide 
 him in his course. The system which in theory
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 61 
 
 she disclaimed, she frequently upheld in prac- 
 tice, without being aware that she did so : — in 
 short, she was absolute, she was impetuous, 
 and consequently liable to great error. 
 
 Ildegarda now busied herself in making ar- 
 rangements for her proposed expedition : she 
 gave all the directions, and took a pleasure, un- 
 usual with her, in entering into the details of 
 the preparations. She ordered her finest mules 
 to be in readiness, her favourite barb richly ca- 
 parisoned, and sumpter, beasts to convey vari- 
 ous refreshments, and likewise vestments of gay 
 and costly apparel — every thing, in short, by 
 which she thought to win Marinella's consent to 
 her attaching the children to her service. 
 
 Ildegarda was ready for her departure long 
 before any of her train. They pleaded her own 
 orders for an hour not yet arrived ; while she 
 declared they had mistaken her injunctions, and 
 that the hour she had appointed was long since
 
 G'2 
 
 ALL A GIOUNATA. 
 
 At length the cavalcade were assembled : Ilde- 
 garda stood ready to mount her black Arabian; 
 Fredolfo his white mule ; her poet, and her 
 painter, Zanobi, and Cino, took their stations 
 immediately behind her, with a long line of 
 serving-men in their rear, amongst whom the 
 jester or fool Maestrillo, and her favourite 
 page Bruno Grillo, were most conspicuous. 
 Bruno Grillo was a dwarf of deformed figure : 
 but he had a peculiar claim to her favour ; for 
 he was her foster-brother, and owed the misfor- 
 tune of his untoward shape to the carelessness 
 of an hireling nurse, to whom his mother con- 
 signed him when she suckled the infant Ilde- 
 garda. From this circumstance, both herself, 
 and GofFredo her father, had in consequence 
 made him more peculiarly the object of their 
 protection ; and Bruno Grillo, by sharing the 
 education of his mistress, was worthy of being 
 beloved b}' her ever afterwards witli the nfFec- 
 tion of a sister. Such was the party who now
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 63 
 
 stood ready to obey Ildegarda's signal of depar- 
 ture. The voice of Maestrillo first broke forth. 
 " It is proper," he cried, in a shrill, discordant 
 tone, before even his mistress was seated on her 
 steed — " it is proper that a fool should be first 
 on a fooFs errand : so, by your leave, Illustris- 
 sima, and with all due respect, allow me to be, 
 on this occasion, one step before my liege lady ; 
 I shall not go far:" and on he passed, singing as 
 he went — 
 
 " That dogs before their masters go, 
 The reason would you find ; 
 'Tis plainly, when, I 'd have you know. 
 The masters go behind. 
 
 That's a pretty song, when it's well sung." 
 " Stay, stay," cried Radegunda, running out 
 with fritture and rosolio^ " how can you think 
 of going away unprovided with the chiefest 
 dainty in the world, to faint on the road, per- 
 haps, without a drop of stimolante to keep up 
 your spirits ! And my beauteous nursling, and
 
 64 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 my own sweet boy there : what is to become 
 of them, without their old Radegunda's care? 
 There, Francia ; here, take this basket and 
 these flasks. Mercy ! what would you all do, I 
 say, were it not for me ? — There, do not break 
 the bottles ; and be wary, sweet hearts : now do 
 not go too fast, remember Chi va piano va sano. 
 You know the rest. — A word in season. Poor 
 Radegunda will be counting the hours till you 
 come back. Mercy on me ! look sharp after 
 that horse : how he pricks up his ears, and 
 twirls about his eyes; while his nostrils play 
 more like a pair of bellows than any thing else ! 
 I have heard that at this time of the year, the 
 flies make the horses very skittish. There ! now, 
 San Ranieri protect me, if he has not sent all 
 the foam of his mouth over my best silk hood."" 
 " Enough, enough, good Radegunda," said 
 her mistress impatiently, " we shall do no- 
 thing but take care of ourselves, depend upon 
 that."
 
 ALLA GICRNATA. 65 
 
 Bruno Grillo, in the meanwhile, had spread 
 the mantle of honour on the ground, on which 
 the well-trained barb of Ildeg-arda bent its knees 
 to receive its beauteous burden. The rest of the 
 party leapt, or scrambled as best they could, 
 upon their several steeds, and the whole caval- 
 cade set gaily forth.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ILDEGARDA FINDS A FRIEND. 
 
 For all the loveliness, and light, and bloom. 
 
 That yet are thine, surviving many a storm, 
 Are but as Heaven's warm radiance on the tomb ! 
 
 The rose's blush that masks the canker wonn : 
 And thou art desolate ! — thy morn hath pass'd. 
 
 So dazzling in the splendour of its way. 
 That the dark shades the night hath o'er thee cast. 
 
 Throw tenfold gloom around thy deep decay. 
 Once proud in freedom, still in ruin fair. 
 Thy fate hath been unmatch'd in glory and despair ! 
 Modern Greece, by Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 The shades of night were not yet entirely scat- 
 tered by the sun ; the freshness of the first breath 
 of Nature still rested upon leaf and flower, and 
 these, as if in grateful return, sent forth that
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 67 
 
 mingled odour of undefined sweetness, which 
 acts powerfully upon the senses of the higher 
 beings in creation. The chasms and rents of 
 the surrounduig country of Volterra fornifid a 
 curious fretwork on the surface of the ground, 
 over which an endless variety of shadows be- 
 gan to dart their mysterious and ever-shifting 
 forms ; long lines of darkness were opposed to 
 the biightest hues of light, and the pearly tints 
 of the West were beautifully contrasted with the 
 broad golden blaze of the coming day. 
 
 lidegarda, for the first time since her father's 
 death, felt a renovation of enjoyment. Alive to 
 the charms of Nature, excited by curiosity, and 
 those vague expectations of delight, which health 
 and youth and romance never fail to inspire, she 
 journeyed on for many hours without being 
 conscious of fatigue ; at length she drew up her 
 horse under the shade of a cluster of ilexes, to 
 the no small joy of some of her followers, whose 
 imaginations were not proof against the realities
 
 68 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 of hunger and weariness. " Prepare our repast,'" 
 she said : " methinks we shall all fare the better 
 for refreshment." — Fare !"" rejoined Maestrillo ; 
 " I should have bid you farewell for ever, if I 
 had not soon some comforting cheer to keep 
 life and soul together." During this grumbling 
 speech the active little Bruno Grillo was at his 
 mistress's side, ready to hold her horse''s reins ; " 
 and then Maestrillo hastened to cast himself on 
 the grovmd, that lldegarda might place her foot 
 on him as she alighted. " The earth is not 
 worthy of your footstep," he said pompously. 
 " Messer Zanobi, I am not the first fool who has 
 mistaken his trade ; but indeed a fooFs busi- 
 ness is every body's business ; otherwise, why are 
 you not on the alert with your words and your 
 wiles ? Where are your ladies the Muses ? Me- 
 thinks they cast their servants often in the mire. 
 Now I hold it better for the servant to cast him- 
 self in the mire, than to let any mistress do it 
 for him.""
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 69 
 
 " Maestrillo, thou wantest not words, at least 
 such as they are; and if quantity made amends 
 for quality, thou wouldest not easily be passed 
 over : as it is, thou art answered thus :" — and Il~ 
 degarda leapt lightly from her steed, disregard- 
 ing his speeches and his services. Messer Za- 
 nobi was aroused from a reverie by the address 
 which had just been made; and, coming forward, 
 declared most innocently that he was not think- 
 ing about any thing present. " I did not call 
 you/"' rejoined Ildegarda, smiling at the com- 
 pliment ; " it was this fool Maestrillo who dis- 
 turbed your contemplations." 
 
 " Say that again, I beseech you, Messer 
 Poet," cried Maestrillo, regardless of his mis- 
 tress's observation, — " say that again, in order 
 that, when I am at a loss for a polite speech, I 
 may have it in readiness. Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! 
 what a topsy-turvy world this is, where I am 
 called a fool, and he is called a poet." 
 
 " Cease prating, Maestrillo, and come all my
 
 70 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 good friends, to partake of the banquet, which 
 Bruno Grillo is so busily preparing; and then, 
 being refreshed, let each contribute a share of 
 his wits to the amusement of the hour." 
 
 " And as I have no wits," cried Maestrillo, 
 " my only business will be to eat and drink, — 
 that 's good !" 
 
 Cushions were now placed for Ildegarda, and 
 pieces of tapestry laid for the rest of the com- 
 pany. It was a pleasant sight to see them with 
 their gay habiliments, grouped under the dark 
 ilexes, and forming a line object in the fore- 
 ground of the beautiful picture that lay outspread 
 before them : except a quarrel which took place 
 between the dwarf and the fool, as to Avhich of 
 them should serve their mistress, all was har- 
 mony; and this little contention was soon allayed 
 by Ildegarda's declining the services of either. 
 
 " If this be the case, lady, you must learn to 
 know whose service you have disclahned,"" said 
 Maestrillo, drawing out his lean, long figure to
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 71 
 
 a length almost incredible; then, laying his 
 hand on his heart, he recited his string of titles, 
 which lasted while he had breath to utter them ; 
 and at length, to the relief of his auditors, they 
 concluded thus : 
 
 Arm of iron, heart of fire, 
 Sword that ne'er would flinch or tire. 
 Lord of valour, peerless worth. 
 She who gave the Phoenix l>irth. 
 Made him knight of rueful face. 
 And dubb'd him lord of ladies' irrace. 
 
 "Who is a poet now, prithee? Crown me 
 with bells — no, give him, Zanobi, there the bells, 
 and crown me the poet for evermore." " A truce, 
 I beseech thee, with thy talking ; begone, drink 
 this and be silent," filling him a goblet of wine ; 
 *' we are wearied of thy fooleries." — " And yet, if 
 all fools, lady, were sent away from company, I 
 wonder where the company would be."" — "Bruno 
 Grillo, I pray thee, stop the mouth of thy com- 
 rade, and take him into thy keeping." — "My
 
 72 ALLA GIOENATA. 
 
 keeping ? " said Bruno Gnllo,lifting up his beau- 
 tiful face, which seemed not to belong to his low 
 and deformed figure. " It is my misfortune that 
 ever I am condemned to sit at board with such 
 an one. Lady, I would serve thee willingly, and 
 do all thy bidding, late and early, without mur- 
 mur or complaint ; but to be the jest-stock of 
 such an illiterate varlet ! Oh, lady, I see I must 
 leave thee at last." And here the poor little 
 Bruno Grillo strove in vain to conceal his emo- 
 tion. " Be pacified, I pray thee, mine own good 
 page,"" said Ildegarda mildly, " and make not 
 this day, which I have set apart for pleasure, a 
 time of such unseemly broils. Maestrillo, I com- 
 mand you to respect my servant Bruno Grillo : 
 and thou, Bruno, forgive Maestrillo ; he is but a 
 fool." — " Ay, ay, if it must be so, it must, — 
 the but is hard to swallow, only 'tis a hard mor- 
 sel that will resist a hungry man ; and so, good 
 Bruno, (lifting him on his shoulders,) come thy 
 way ; and, since it must be, I will not only gulp
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 73 
 
 thee down, but thy shoulders'' hillock into the 
 bargain. Peace being thus enforced, and re- 
 freshment taken, Messer Cino came forward 
 with an offering of his art. " Here is a design 
 I have been making, to commemorate this day ; 
 what think you of it, Illustrissima .'* Without 
 your approbation I shall not myself approve of 
 it.'' " Beware of flattery," cried Ildegarda ; 
 " you know it is unsaleable merchandise with 
 me." " I spake the truth, Excellenza, for I have 
 observed often that there was a justice in your 
 remark upon works of art, that I have seldom 
 met with in one who did not practise the art 
 themselves. There is no petty criticjsm of de- 
 tached parts in your eye when it looks on any 
 of our works, but it takes in the general feeling 
 which the artist intended to convey ; and al- 
 though the means by which that feeling pro- 
 duced its effect, may not be understood by you 
 in its mechanical operation, yet in the success or 
 failure of the conception itself I have seldom 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 ALLA GIORXATA. 
 
 seen you mistaken." Flattery takes so many 
 shapes, it is difficult always to detect it. Ilde- 
 garda enjoyed this praise so pleasantly presented 
 to her, with her own genuine bonhommie of feel- 
 ing. They do err who say they like not flat- 
 tery ; it is the mode, and not the matter, that is 
 offensive. Gazing intently on the Abozza, Ilde- 
 garda smiled as she said, "It were to belie what 
 you have been asserting in respect to my judg- 
 ment, did I not acknowledge the truth and 
 beauty of what I now behold. Yet, to prove 
 to you that I am always sincere, and can find 
 fault, as well as admire at random, it may be ; 
 but still that I can do both, I will now remark 
 in this charming work, even at the risk of be- 
 traying ignorance, and observe that the figures 
 are rather stiff in their positions, and want the 
 freedom of nature and of life ; this is all the 
 defect I can (ind out." " Per Bacco f exclaimed 
 Messer Cino, with his accustomed oath, " how 
 right she is ! The position of the figures must
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 75 
 
 be changed, totally changed. Give me one hour, 
 a painter's hour, lady ; and, if I do not ask too 
 much of your gracious patience, please to re- 
 sume your places : I feel that I shall do better." 
 This request was the more readily granted, as it 
 became necessary to find some peasant of the 
 district, to direct the party in the road they 
 ought to pursue, for the spot they sought lay 
 over a wild tract of country, little frequented 
 but by goatherds and their flocks. " While 
 we are waiting," said Ildegarda, " for a guide, 
 you, Messer Cino, shall retouch your work ; you, 
 Fredolfo, shall rest from fatigue ; you, Maes- 
 trillo, shall hold your tongue ; you, Bruno 
 Grillo, count these pearls," as she took a string 
 from her arm, " and tell me how much money 
 they will fetch you ; and you, Messer Zanobi, 
 if your fancy so incline you, may tune your lute 
 in praise of love or glory." 
 
 " Ah !" cried Bruno Grillo, kissing the pearls, 
 " I do not ask gold from you, my mistress, but 
 
 e2
 
 76 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 favour and countenance ; what else have I, dis- 
 graced by nature as I am, but the grace of 
 your favour to reconcile me to my unhappy 
 fate." 
 
 " Good Bruno, be not so childish ; rest as- 
 sured that I have much pleasure in your ser- 
 vice, and good-will ; and do not alloAv Maes- 
 trillo's jeers to affect your spirits." 
 
 Now Bruno Grillo bowed low, and withdrev,' 
 behind Udegarda, while he caressed her favour- 
 ite dogj and Maestrillo, with rueful countenance, 
 placed his finger on his lips, while Messer Za- 
 nobi proceeded to obey her commands also ; 
 and Cino Cenini to retouch his picture. 
 
 Zanobi paused for a moment over his lute, and 
 having given one poet's look to earth and hea- 
 ven, he said, " This is your song, Bruno Grillo, 
 that I am about to sing; its sentiments will 
 suit your feelings."
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 77 
 
 SONG. 
 
 How blest to be that lady's page, 
 
 And live at lier command; 
 To give or leave her soft message. 
 
 Or glove her lily hand. 
 
 How sweet to watch her meaning eye. 
 And ere she breathes a prayer. 
 
 Guess, and perform it instantly. 
 Then read her kind thanks there. 
 
 How blest to catch her raven hair, 
 
 Tliat lucky chance unties : 
 The beauteous mischief to repair. 
 
 And touch the silken prize. 
 
 What joy to place within her arms 
 
 The lute she loves so well ; 
 For, o'er it as she bends her charms^ 
 
 It seems my love to tell. 
 
 For, as her fingers press the strings, 
 
 It yields a softer tone. 
 And from her touch divine there springs 
 
 Sounds all to earth unknown.
 
 78 ALLA GIORN'ATA, 
 
 But of these visions heav'nly bright^. 
 
 Which pass in fair array, 
 I '11 be content to dream by nighty 
 
 And sigh for all the day. 
 
 Let me but be that lady's page, 
 
 I ask not fare or fee: 
 To do her bidding I '11 engage, 
 
 Whate'er that bidding be. 
 
 I '11 place my pride in serving her. 
 
 My fame beneath her feet : 
 I '11 live and die deserving her. 
 
 And think such death is sweet. 
 
 The tender-hearted Bruno Grillo vainly en- 
 deavoured to hide some starting tears, but con- 
 quering in a degree his feelings, he said, " It 
 is very cruel in you, Messer Zanobi, to laugh 
 at my poor deformed figure (unmeet, indeed, to 
 aspire to lady"'s love), or by putting love lays in 
 my mouth to render me ridiculous. I forgive 
 you, however, in consideration of the delight 
 your song afforded me." 
 
 The song was sung, the Abozzo completed.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 79 
 
 arid her commendation gained, in whose honour 
 tliese talents were exerted ; then came the suide 
 opportunely to conduct them another way, which 
 they again pursued. 
 
 They now passed the Baize di Volterra, con- 
 sisting of immense pits, interspersed by conical 
 hills, Avhose sharp outlines were broken into 
 innumerable fantastic forms, as if the elements 
 of fire and water had moulded them in their 
 wrath ; while the ground on which the travellers 
 stood was rapidly crumbling away under their 
 horses' feet ; for the whole face of the country 
 was composed of a soft sand stone, which is for 
 ever assuming new shapes. As they passed 
 along they felt as though on the verge of de- 
 struction, and this possibility of danger, with- 
 out its actual existence, lent an additional in- 
 terest to the scene. 
 
 The whole tract of road presented the ap- 
 pearance of a vast museum of minerals, mar- 
 bles, and fossils ; and Ildegarda at every step la-
 
 80 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 mented that her ignorance of their qualities and 
 properties deprived her of a gratifying source 
 of entertainment. " I will come back here/' 
 she said, " when I have improved my mind, 
 and learned to appreciate the value of all the 
 wonders I now gaze upon in ignorant admira- 
 tion ;■" but such resolutions, it is to be lamented, 
 are seldom fulfilled. In youth they are perpe- 
 tually formed and broken, and formed afresh, 
 but at length the mould in v/hich tliey are cast, 
 l)ecomes itself injured and defaced. The know- 
 ledge we acquire, that what is not done at the 
 time is seldom or ever executed afterwards, 
 makes us slow to believe in the return of those 
 pleasures which we are obliged at the present 
 moment to pass by untasted. 
 
 Ildegarda''s experience had not yet arrived at 
 this melancholy certainty, and Maestrillo and 
 Bruno Grillo were laden with all the brilliant 
 coloured earths and ores which caught her eye 
 as she passed along. " These," she said, " will 
 be mementoes, which may keep alive my wish of
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. SI 
 
 returning hither." But are there any mementoes 
 gifted with power to secure the continuance of 
 any sentiment ? — Alas ! too often we look at 
 them again oaly to learn the worthless muta- 
 bility of the human heart and all its wishes. 
 
 The party now reached the small village of 
 Pomerancia, and beheld at a distance, on the op- 
 posite side of the valley, the ruins of a fortress, 
 to which Sylla is said to have retired for refuge 
 in the times of the civil wars, which is still 
 called Fortezza di Sylla, and which still frowns 
 majestically over the landscape. The path that 
 Ildegarda and her suite entered upon, had been 
 described by the guide to be very good ; but 
 it proved rather a ledge of rocks made prac- 
 ticable by the tracks left from winter-torrents, 
 than any road formed by the industry of man. 
 The mountains around nevertheless assumed a 
 more decorated aspect, and were partially tufted 
 with dwarf ilex; while the mailed holly was 
 armed with prickles, and was mixed with brush 
 
 E 5
 
 S2 ALLA GIOUNATA. 
 
 wood, myrtle, lavender, and various aromatic 
 and odoriferous plants. But the fortress was the 
 leading feature of the scene; it seemed to follow 
 the traveller, as it were, in every winding of 
 his way, presenting itself in various points 
 of view, with an imposing mien of greatness 
 even in decay. "The idea," said Fredolfo, 
 " that this desert was once populous with life, 
 and that all the warring passions of men were 
 once at work in this spot, where all is now 
 the lonely domain of nature and her ele- 
 ments, conveys a feeling of inexpressible awe, 
 but one which, while it humiliates, instructs the 
 human mind ; for it admonishes not to expect 
 any permanent habitation, any enduring city in 
 this earthly Canaan, but bids us ever raise our 
 thoughts towards that better country, where 
 shall be heavenly and eternal rest. Ildegarda— . 
 Lady, is not this a great lesson ?" She un- 
 derstood the appeal, but her mind was tuned 
 to another key; and she replied, " Though all
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 83 
 
 is perishable and imperfect in this our world, 
 it does not follow that each generation is to pass 
 away without using the means delegated toman, 
 to ameliorate and ennoble his condition whilst 
 on earth. If reflecting only upon the precari- 
 ousness of our sojourn here, Ave were content to 
 slumber on in the ignorance in which we were 
 lx)rn, where would be the intellectual pre-emi- 
 nence of man above the animal creation, and 
 where the noble struggles for liberty and inde- 
 pendence, which, if they fail during one genera- 
 tion, will sow seeds that may ripen to a glorious 
 harvest in the next? It is well to be humble to- 
 wards Heaven ; but ... .if I enter into a discus- 
 sion of all that your question might give birth 
 to, I should cease to enjoy the present moment, 
 which I wish to taste in uninterrupted delight. 
 I shall not, however, forget the subject:" and 
 she glanced the vivid lightning of her dark eye 
 full upon Fredolfo. He sighed over the ruin he 
 foresaw, and relapsed into silence. Again a
 
 84 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 change came over the face of the country : first 
 there was a total absence of trees and shrubs, 
 then a lack of every kind of herbage ; and, in 
 its place, incrustations of what appeared enamel 
 woi'k, of various hues, which covered large por- 
 tions of ground, and mingled with the glitter- 
 ing ores by which it was interspersed. Rents 
 and fissures, that crossed each othei in various 
 directions, from time to time, emitted dense va- 
 pours that almost impeded sight and respiration. 
 On every side of the travellers' path, at irregular 
 distances, were seen boiling cauldrons formed 
 by the hand of nature, filled Avith ferruginous 
 matter in a liquid state ; around these played 
 various coloured flames, flickering over the ag- 
 gregated masses of baked earth, which at inter- 
 vals heaved with volcanic convulsion. 
 
 It appeared no longer astonishing to Ildegar- 
 da, that the uneducated peasantry should have 
 ascribed these wonders to demoniacal agency, 
 and her boasted philosophy was shaken by a
 
 ALLA GIORXATA. 85 
 
 sensation of awe she did not choose to confess, 
 even to herself. 
 
 Suddenly her horse became totally unma- 
 nageable, and obstinately refused to move a 
 step in advance, notwithstanding all the caresses 
 and threats by which he was alternately soothed 
 and urged to proceed : his nostrils were dis- 
 tended, his mane stood erect, and he trembled 
 in every limb. " It is useless," cried the guide ; 
 " you need not urge the animal further ; no 
 one but a foot passenger can pass through 
 these enchanted and accursed regions." " But 
 where does the Contadina Marinella reside .'*'" 
 cried Ildegarda : " She is a human being like 
 ourselves, and wherever she resides there must 
 be some way of reaching her abode." " Ma- 
 rinella did reside at the foot of yon opposite 
 mountain, on which the fortress stands," said 
 the guide, " but it is a year and more since I 
 was at her den ; and she came herself to Vol- 
 terra, or its neighbourhood, to seek her own
 
 86 ALLA GIORXATA. 
 
 food, which she conveys back on her mule, so 
 that she has no occasion to see or converse with 
 anybody ; and, to speak the truth, no one is 
 very anxious to see or converse with her, far 
 less to question her ; therefore, little else is 
 known concerning Marinella, than v/hat I have 
 just related." " But you know the way to 
 her den, as you call it," reiterated Ildegarda ; 
 " and is it not possible for me to follow you 
 thither ?" " I did know my way, Illustrissima; 
 but I would not answer for knowing it now, 
 because the earth opens its mouth in one place, 
 and shuts it in another, every two or three 
 days. There, lady, look ! look !" and at the 
 moment a slight connnotion was felt, as of 
 the heaving of a ship over a heavy sea, and 
 at no great distance from them the parched 
 ground yawned Avith a crackling sound, like 
 thorns burning, while volumes of blue vapour 
 issued from the fissure. " O San Hanieri-f 
 have mercy \ipon us," cried Maestrillo, bowing
 
 ALL A GIOBNATA. 87 
 
 very low, and quaking from head to foot ; " if 
 you, Mr. Earth, are hungry, pray swallow any- 
 body but me ; I am but a lean morsel, whose bones 
 are not worthy of being cracked by your great 
 potency ; there is little Bruno Grillo is dainty 
 picking ; his hunch alone will serve you to 
 mumble at a long time ;" pushing him forward 
 as he spoke. " Peace, fool !"" — " I will not hold 
 my peace, while I have a tongue to ring alarum 
 with ; and here is danger enough to set all the 
 alarums v/agging from Volterra to Assisi ; take 
 a fooPs wisdom for once, and you will find 
 yourself none the poorer, lady. Mount your 
 palfrey, and home ; you may go further, and 
 fare worse ; it will be too late when you are 
 just going to be swallowed in one of those 
 earthly yawns, to remember the old trite adage, 
 stava bene ma — a word to the wise, says the 
 proverb — but methinks a word from the fool, 
 now and then, is not amiss, although the wise 
 man turns fool, and will not hear it. Fool, or
 
 88 ALLA GIOIINATA. 
 
 wise, go on who will ; I will be a wise fool, 
 and go home. Fool, and wise — wise, and fool — 
 which is which ? Are you me, Illustrissima, or 
 I you ? — first one, then the other — every fool 
 has his brother — ay, and sister too." 
 
 " Maestrillo, I command thee, silence," said 
 Ildegarda ; then turning to the guide, " Is 
 there no way of reaching Marinella's abode, but 
 across this sulphureous region ?''"' 
 
 " None, that I know of,*" was the reply. 
 
 " Well, will you go with me, and endeavour 
 to find a path : let those, who like, remain 
 behind .?" 
 
 " Lady," cried Fredolfo, interposing, " I 
 deeply regret that I should have been the in- 
 nocent cause of bringing you here ; allow me, 
 at least, to entreat you not to push the re- 
 search further at present. If Rachaella is still 
 with the Contadina, I promise to bring her to 
 the Palazzo, and do not you endanger your 
 safety, I entreat, by proceeding, under the
 
 ALL A GIORXATA. 89 
 
 present circumstances, so fraught with diffi- 
 culty and dismay." 
 
 " Indeed," said the guide, " this is not the 
 time of the moon for crossing these lands." 
 
 *' Ah ! there you see," interrupted Maes- 
 trillo, " did I not tell you, that there v/as 
 danger — the moon, and an old woman — two of 
 the most diabolical things I know. Is it not 
 by moonlight, that all poor fools, like me, are 
 set to serenade cruel beauties under balconies 
 without even a drop of lemonade for our pains : 
 and is it not by moonlight that our wits all go 
 a wandering? Has not that vile moonlight 
 stolen all mine long ago ; trust me, lady, have 
 nothino; to do with old women and moonshine." 
 
 " Come," said Ildegarda, regardless of every 
 thing, except her eager desire to find the object 
 of her journey, " I am weary of all this foolery, 
 so follow me who will — the rest remain behind. 
 Give me thine arm, (to the guide) and lead me 
 on." So saying, she passed with a trembling
 
 90 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 heart, though with a firm step, into the midst 
 of a rolhng vapour, which immediately con- 
 cealed her from the sight of her attendants. 
 
 Maestrillo now darted at Fredolfo, and tear- 
 ing the rosary from his side, dashed into the 
 smoke after his mistress, crying loudly on San 
 Ranieri for aid ; and on Ildegarda, to wait for 
 him. The faithful Httle Bruno Grillo had 
 glided after his mistress, unperceived ; and 
 last of all, with a sentiment of concern for his 
 friend, and no little regret for himself, slowly 
 paced on the good Fredolfo, with wary step, 
 to avoid the chasms and gulplis of the parted 
 earth, which often impeded his progress. 
 
 Messer Cino and Zanobi were wholly ab- 
 stracted from all that had passed ; the one, 
 secretly determined to build his everlasting 
 fame by the composition of an epic poem on 
 'Orpheus, was busily engaged in a description 
 of Tartarus, which he had now an unhoped- 
 for opportunity of drawing from the life ; while
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 91 
 
 the other was as deeply engaged in observing 
 the effects of refractions of lights and colours, 
 such as he had never witnessed before ; but 
 when they found themselves left alone, and 
 were informed by the grooms, that Ildegarda 
 had been gone on some time, they could not, 
 for shame, tarry longer behind, although they 
 had no great wish to go further. 
 
 " ' Tis always the case," grumbled Cino, 
 " with women, be they as superior and as clever 
 as you choose; they are ever wrong-headed, 
 violent, wilful. Now, why could she not be 
 content with looking at this scene in a reason- 
 able way ? It is, to be sure, very fine, and well 
 worth studying ; but then to pass through it 
 when there can be nothing gained by so doing — 
 how very strange !"" 
 
 " Yes," rejoined Messer Zanobi, " and, what 
 is worse, there can be nothino; to be thought 
 either, except that one is going to be suffocated. 
 I will go a little way, and then I will return,
 
 92 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 for, depend ujjon it, the Signora herself will be 
 obliged to do so." 
 
 " Bless me," exclaimed Cino, " do you see 
 that refracted ray of orange mingling with the 
 red ? Just stop a moment ; I must note that 
 down in my tablets — wonderfully fine, to be 
 sure !" 
 
 And here followed a page or two of the first 
 work that ever appeared on the nature and 
 cause of colours. The poem of Orpheus too, 
 received some brilhant additions to its ninth 
 canto ; but unfortunately that composition pe- 
 rished in a conflagration, and its author being 
 no more, it is lost to the Avorld for ever. 
 
 While these artists were thus forgetting their 
 allegiance, in the pursuit of their respective arts, 
 Ildegarda's light pace had carried her far be- 
 yond these sulphureous regions ; and she found 
 her foot treading on a fine smooth emerald 
 sward, through which a most limpid rivulet 
 was gurgling along as if never interrupted, or
 
 AtLA GIORNATA, 93 
 
 tarnished by its mephitic neiglibours. Beyond 
 it arose some abrupt and finely broken rocks, 
 hollowed into caves, over which the tamarisk 
 hung pendent, with its feathery boughs toss- 
 ing their delicate heads to the breeze; below 
 blushed the scarlet pomegranates, mingled with 
 shrubby myrtle. Goats were browsing amongst 
 the latter, and a young damsel of slender form 
 stood near the flock, spinning from a distaff 
 made of reeds. She sang the while in a soft 
 uncertain strain, which she occasionally inter- 
 rupted, to call her flock from straying too far ; 
 and the names Zerrinella, Pedronella, as she fa- 
 miliarly addressed them, were re-echoed among 
 the mountains in many a musical repetition. 
 
 On observing Ildegarda, who had paused for 
 some time admiring her, she suddenly ceased 
 singing ; and, as though struck by necromancy, 
 she stood rooted to the place. Ildegarda ap- 
 proached her — still she moved not ; she took 
 her hand, and began to speak to her. — " Santa
 
 94 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Rosolia !"" cried the wondering girl. " She 
 speaks ! she touches me ! Are you really like 
 myself ? one of flesh like me ? and not a fair 
 compact of coloured air, as I believed ? It is 
 very wonderful ; why, I never saw such a per- 
 son before ! And this," she added, touching 
 Ildegarda's hair, with an expression of reve- 
 rence and admiration ; " how very soft — how 
 very beautiful ! I never saw any thing to 
 compare with thee before, but the radiant bow 
 of Heaven !"" 
 
 "If you are surprised to see me, fair crea- 
 ture, I am not the less so at beholding you ; 
 but answer me, if you can answer me ! Do 
 you know aught of a young boy and girl who 
 are said to live in or near this spot ? They 
 were some years ago nearly lost in a sno^' 
 storm !" 
 
 Ildegarda had already answered the ques- 
 tion to herself; and, in fact, it was Rachaella 
 who now stood before her.
 
 ALLA GIORKATA. 95 
 
 The sentiment of admiration and astonish- 
 ment with which tliey viewed each other was 
 quite mutual, though arising from different 
 feelings; for if Ildegarda appeared in the eyes 
 of Rachaella something beyond mortal, Ra- 
 chaella was in her's a creature of a hio-her 
 order than any she had yet beheld. Rachaella's 
 beauty was of a species which is scarcely ever 
 seen in Italy: her glittering crisped hair was 
 partly confined by a fillet of blue cloth, partly 
 scattered over her shoulders; her arms and 
 feet were bare; and, though exposed to the 
 fervour of the sun, had as yet escaped, with no 
 other injury to their beauty, save a few freckles, 
 that by contrast heightened their whiteness. 
 There was a peculiarity, however, in the car- 
 riage of her head ; which, though graceful, was 
 soon discovered to be not quite natural; it 
 leant a little to one side, so that when she 
 gazed intently, which she was apt to do, on the 
 countenance of those she addressed, her clear
 
 96 ALLA GIORlS'ATA. 
 
 blue eyes were upturned with an expression of 
 soft inquiry, that enhanced the charms of her 
 animated countenance. It is strange how a 
 slight defect becomes often a grace in Nature's 
 beautiful handy-works. It was in consequence 
 of the paralysing cold which Rachaella had 
 endured, when in the snow-storm she had wrap- 
 ped her garments round her perishing brother, 
 that the muscles of her throat had been af- 
 fected, and never afterwards entirely recovered 
 their functions. 
 
 During Ildegarda's interview with Ra- 
 chaella, question followed question ; the answers 
 she received confirmed her in her intention 
 of becoming the friend and protectress of 
 this charming damsel ; and at length, impa- 
 tient to express her wishes, she said, " "Will 
 you come with me, live with me, and do me 
 loving service ? I promise it shall be repaid 
 back in kind."" 
 
 " Oh ! fortunate creature that I am !" an-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 97 
 
 swered Rachaella, " do I hear aright ? What 
 happiness ! How shall I ever repay such kind- 
 ness ! Will I live with you ? Will I go with 
 you ? Oh yes ! with delight. Yet stay, Illus- 
 trissima ! I am not my own mistress — I have a 
 mother !" and here her voice faltered, and she 
 wept. 
 
 " Do you love her, then, so well ? She shall 
 come also." 
 
 " She, lady ? Oh you know her not ! She 
 would not dwell with any one, or bear that any 
 one should dwell with her ! I am the only 
 creature who is of use to her ; for my brother 
 is here, and there, and every where ; but I am 
 always with her : and if I leave her, what will 
 become of her ! But, lUustrissima, if I dare 
 to ask you so great a favour, come to our cave ; 
 it is in one of the neighbouring rocks ! Mari- 
 nella is there at this moment ; who knows what 
 she may say ! perhaps she will allow me to go 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 with you ; . . . perhaps .... for she is fond of 
 gold." 
 
 They now proceeded towards the cave, which 
 appeared to be near, but was, in fact, a con- 
 siderable way off; and ere they reached it, 
 Ildegarda's attendants joined her. 
 
 Maestrillo was the first of the throng. — 
 *' Thanks to St. Ranieri !" he cried, " here we 
 are, all alive, Illustrissima ! but in no odour of 
 sanctity, (smelling his clothes, which were pow- 
 erfully impregnated with the sulphureous va- 
 pour) that is certain ! So prithee, Frate Fre- 
 dolfo, come forward and shrive us from the sin 
 of having passed through such a wicked place ! 
 Ah ! if I had not been a fool I should never 
 have come to this pass, not so long as I was in 
 the land of the living, at least ; however, I only 
 followed my betters ; and it would have been 
 better for them if they had followed the fool 
 Maestrillo ! He would have shown tliem that 
 the retrograde patii is the best in sure roads ;
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 99 
 
 but here is thy rosary, take it, Frate ! I 
 thought you were too good to require its aid in 
 danger ; now again it is quite at your service." 
 
 " We must pardon you, in consideration of 
 your profession," answered Fredolfo, somewhat 
 angrily ; " but beware another time how thou 
 dealest with sacred things !" 
 
 " Just what I was going to have said to 
 you," rejoined Maestrillo, " good Frate, on your 
 having brought me here."" 
 
 Fredolfo frowned : and he had a frown tha 
 could command even a fooFs silence ! 
 
 The attention of every one was now attracted 
 by a figure that burst upon their view, and 
 made them all pause. In turning the abrupt 
 corner of a rock, it appeared descending from a 
 precipitous path above them, and approached 
 with the swiftness and silence of those vapoury 
 forms that are driven by storms and winds 
 along the face of the mountains. No decrepi- 
 tude betokened a weight of years ; slender and 
 
 f2
 
 100 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 low of stature this woman seemed to skim the 
 earth ; nor was it till she turned her counte- 
 nance full upon Ildegarda, that it was seen to 
 be aged; and so wild and strange was her terrific 
 mien, that it chilled the beholder to gaze upon. 
 Colourless and passionless were her regular 
 features ; her large eyes seemed fixed in glassy 
 stillness, and her long straight hair of hueless 
 tint hung on either side of her person, and de- 
 scended like the driven hoar-frost to her knees. 
 Before Ildegarda recovered her surprise, Mari- 
 nella said in a sharp but low tone of voice, 
 which resembled in its sound the whistling of 
 the wintry blast, " I know why thou art come 
 here ; and I saw thee doubtful whether or not 
 to tempt my faithful guardians, but thy cou- 
 rage has stood thee in good stead, and brave 
 spirits give power to the brave. Thou hast pas- 
 sed the cloud and the fire and the smoke ; and 
 three things of similar power thou shalt over- 
 pass — but of the fourth beware : it is the view-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 101 
 
 less sword, for that shall pass through thee ; 
 but it is thy destiny, and walk thou on ! What 
 wouldst thou more?"" Ildegarda was awed, 
 but shaking off the weakness which, in spite of 
 herself had assailed her, she replied, " I came 
 not to inquire of you concerning my destiny ; 
 that is in the hands of an Almighty Providence, 
 and it is a matter which becomes not us to 
 speculate upon. I came to speak of the chil- 
 dren in your care ; and now that I have seen 
 and conversed with your Rachaella, I wish to ob- 
 tain a great boon of you. Will you consent to 
 my taking her as my own for ever ; not to live with 
 me as an attendant, for she shall be to me as a 
 younger sister — will you ? I pray you do !" 
 Marinella laughed long and fearfully, without 
 any correspondent emotion being expressed in 
 her countenance, and having thus indulged her 
 humour, replied, " Thou mayest carry Ra- 
 chaella away with thee for the price of two hun- 
 dred scudi, and one hundred more — but be
 
 102 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 swift ; Marinella waits for no one, although 
 many a one hath waited, and shall wait for her. 
 Quick, lay down the gold, and away with thee ; 
 but approach not my abode nearer than thou 
 hast already done ; the wild beast's lair is best 
 avoided by the lamb — hence then, begone ! — 
 What wouldest thou more? wouldest thou obtain 
 thy wish, without paying its price ? That can- 
 not be — all things have their cost.'- " Not so," 
 joined Ildegarda, recovering her presence of 
 mind, in spite of the astonishment and disgust 
 she felt at this address — " not so, I would pay 
 a great price to obtain your Rachaella ; but I 
 will not be the dupe of your avarice." " Then 
 thou wilt not have the damsel — come, child, back 
 to your cave ;*" and she wrapped her long lean 
 arms around her. Ildegarda shuddered as she 
 beheld the blooming Rachaella pressed in such 
 a terrible embrace, and covered with the mist- 
 like hair of this unnatural creature. " Oh ! 
 not so, — not so!" she cried, overcome at the 
 sight ; "here take the gold, the worthless gold.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 103 
 
 Bruno Grillo, my purse — quick." And snatch- 
 ing it from him, she counted the money, adding 
 heedlessly to the covenanted heap — " there," 
 muttered the unnatural Marinella, " there it is ; 
 I knew how it would end ; 'tis good merchan- 
 dise that pleaseth the merchant — 
 
 Thou likest the girl, I like the gold ; 
 
 'Tis fair that 's bought, 'tis fair that 's sold : 
 
 But there is more in store for thee 
 
 Than meets a common destiny; 
 
 Through fire, clouds, smoke, thou shalt pass free. 
 
 But a viewless sword shall pass through thee." 
 
 So saying, she again laughed long and loud, 
 and hastily gathering the money in the folds of 
 her garment, this spectral being passed away 
 with the price of her offspring in that bosom 
 where once it had lain an infant, the tender 
 object of her care. Could this be so? is nature 
 ever so debased ? 
 
 " St. Ranieri be praised !" cried Maestrillo, 
 his teeth chattering together as he spoke, 
 " she is gone ; but no good can come of having
 
 104 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 seen her, that is certain ; and I am sure you 
 will find that beautiful girl there, whom you 
 have just bought with your gold, lUustrissima, 
 is a sorry bargain : who knows what she may 
 hide under that fair skin of her's; we shall 
 all feel the weight of her demoniacal mother''s 
 power some day or other." 
 
 " Fool, be silent," cried Ildegarda, on seeing 
 that Rachaella looked distressed. 
 
 " Now befool me, lady, as much as you will ; 
 but I pray you do not take away my preroga- 
 tive : why my tongue is the very crown of my 
 glory, the pick-axe that hewed my way to for- 
 tune, the finger-post that showed the road to 
 my lady''s favour, the tinkling bell that wakens 
 other men's fancies, the very essence of foolery, 
 the sceptre of my state, and the bond of my 
 relationship with all the great upon earth."" 
 
 " Well, well, good Maestrillo, keep thy 
 prate only for fitting times and seasons, and I 
 will confirm thee in its right."
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 105 
 
 The fool was wise enough to know the com- 
 mands which might or might not be disobeyed ; 
 so turning himself round three times, and settling 
 his head with his two hands on his shoulders, 
 he walked in stately silence after lidegarda. 
 The latter, at Rachaella's earnest solicitation, 
 forbore to indulge her curiosity by following 
 Marinella, and yielded to the damsePs en- 
 treaties to hasten away, lest she should change 
 her determination, and recall her to her care. 
 
 " And now, beauteous lady, one only kind- 
 ness more have I to crave ; it is the company 
 of my favourite. He who was the means of 
 saving my life — see, he is close to me ; never has 
 he left me for a moment." And here Rachaella 
 caressed a most picturesque dog of enormous 
 growth, whose beautiful white hair and jet black 
 eyes might alone have commanded admiration ; 
 but when the story attached to him, lent its 
 interest in addition to his personal attractions, 
 it would have been as unkind as it was unlike 
 
 F 5
 
 106 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Ildegarda, to have refused the request. Ilde- 
 gai'da now retraced her steps to cross the same 
 sulphureous regions, over which she had so lately 
 passed ; but with what different feelings ! for 
 now she led a newly acquired treasure along 
 with her. The very nature of the place seemed 
 changed, and to have assumed a gentler as- 
 pect. The earth withheld its fires — the strange 
 beauty of the coloured substances which ena- 
 melled the ground could now be looked upon 
 in safety, and the path, lately so terrific, was 
 traversed in perfect security. 
 
 The whole adventure had excited Ildeoarda 
 beyond her most imaginative anticipations, and 
 in that excitement she found the qualification 
 which she had hitherto sought for in vain. — 
 There was mystery, and beauty, and surprise, 
 and something almost supernatural in the 
 scenes and beings she had beheld. — She wearied 
 not of asking questions of Rachaella, the fresh- 
 ness of whose mind was an unrifled Eden,
 
 ALLA GIOnNATA. 107 
 
 profuse of flower and fragrance. The Palazzo 
 Gherardesca received its mistress once more 
 safely within its portals, and Rachaella was 
 declared the friend and favourite, who was 
 henceforth destined to be to Ildegarda a se- 
 cond self.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RACHAELLA RELATES WHAT SHE KNOWS OF HER OWf* 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 Romantic dreams, perchance, yet l)eautiful ! 
 When truth and reason these bright visions dull. 
 Say, will they aught of sterling worth impart. 
 To rouse the languor of the dreary heart ? 
 O time ! what dreadful secrets lie concealed 
 VVithm thy womb, one day to be revealed ! 
 And, as our web is wove out year by year. 
 See what deep stains, what grained spots appear ! 
 Remorse may furrow that fair open brow. 
 And grief may break the heart exulting now. 
 
 " Imagination," that beautiful Poem by L. P. 
 
 The dawn of a first friendship possesses 
 an enchantment in common with that of love, 
 namely, that it discovers to us interests and
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 109 
 
 feelings of which we were unconscious, till this 
 sentiment reveals them. Like those beautiful 
 effects which the rising sun produces on the 
 natural world, the glow of affection invests with 
 an imaginary charm objects too frequently of 
 little intrinsic value. Hence to the young and 
 inexperienced, whose hearts are new to this de- 
 licious feeling, its indulgence is full of dan- 
 ger. And ah ! what heart can guard itself 
 from the treachery of a friend. But if there be 
 a chance of escaping this dreadful possibility, 
 it is to pause, whatever it may cost us, ere the 
 sweet impulse be yielded to, ere the attraction 
 gains the mastery over reason and principle, and 
 to ask of God, and of that never-erring monitor 
 within our own breasts, if the attachment we 
 would form be such as may in innocence en- 
 dure here, and such as we can hope may be per- 
 mitted to exist hereafter. 
 
 Ildegarda learned from Rachaella that ever
 
 110 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 since she could remember, she had seen no 
 place save the cavern and its immediate vici- 
 nage, with the exception of that one day, when, 
 eight years ago, she had been sent, as before 
 related, to the vine-dresser. Her sole employ- 
 ments were tending the flocks and providing the 
 food and raiment necessary to existence. 
 
 As to her brother, he had left them about 
 a year after that sole event which had ever 
 marked an epoch in her life, and she had wept 
 many a day and night for him, but Marinella 
 had replied to her tears and questions only by 
 telling her, that men governed the world, and 
 had a destiny of nobler kind to fulfil than that 
 of woman : all the latter had to do on earth 
 was to learn to obey and be silent, to feed on 
 tears till their source was dry, and when that 
 time arrived, to live as they could upon the 
 fruits of their experience, and laugh at those 
 who had still tears to shed. 
 
 " I led a joyless life, lady," continued Ra-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. Ill 
 
 chaella, " and yet sometimes I was very happy 
 too." 
 
 " Poor child, how could you be happy ?" 
 
 " Oh, lady ! not happy as I am now ; yet 
 when I sang to the stars, and talked to the 
 clouds, and made garlands, and dressed ray 
 goats with them, I felt all these things to be 
 as if they were living friends who loved me : I 
 gave them names, and looked for them, and 
 joyed in their coming, and sorrowed in their 
 going, as now I look for your presence, or feel 
 in your absence: and then I always hoped 
 Edoardo would come back to his poor Ra- 
 chaella, who had so dearly loved and cherished 
 him." 
 
 " Did Marinella never talk to you ; never 
 caress you ?" 
 
 " Sometimes, but very seldom ; and when she 
 did, she said such things that made me feel as 
 though I were turning into stone : — thus would 
 she speak. ' Miserable wretch! you had better
 
 112 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 never have been born :' then leading me to the 
 rivulet, she would bid me look into it, saying, 
 ' Seest thou those flowery cheeks, those star- 
 like eyes, that crisped hair of thine, damsel ? — 
 wherefore are they given to make thee wretch- 
 ed ?' At such times she would press me for 
 a moment in her arms, but I shrunk from the 
 pressure ; I hope I was not wicked ; I could 
 not love her. Sometimes I used to ask her if 
 she would never take me to Edoardo ; I told 
 her I should like to go where he was, wherever 
 that might be ; I should like to see other crea- 
 tures like ourselves ; and then I felt I uttered 
 what was not true — I wished not to see more 
 beings like poor Marinella. At such questions, 
 at such declarations, she would laugh wildly 
 ' Child of sorrow/ she would say, ' have you 
 too learnt to lie ? then indeed must the evil one 
 pervade all nature. No, you cannot wish to see 
 such as I am — but neither do I believe that 
 another like myself exists — nor are there many
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 113 
 
 like thyself; nor is it such thou wishest to see; 
 but the star of thy destiny leads thee on, and 
 it is well ; why should I alone be the sufferer ?' 
 " It was with words such as these that Ma- 
 rinella often disturbed my quiet ; I could not 
 understand their meaning ; but after conversing 
 with her, I felt as though the flowers were wi- 
 thered, the stars were rayless, and the brook 
 seemed to murmur hoarsely. I had no friend, 
 and now th^t Edoardo was away, no earthly 
 comforter. My brother had in his long rambles 
 seen the peasants praying at holy shrines, and 
 he used to tell me of the Great Power that 
 overrules all things, and who hears us when we 
 cry unto him. He told me too of the images 
 and relics to which those happy people ad- 
 dressed themselves in all their wants and wishes ; 
 but I was not permitted to have these links 
 which bind the earth to heaven ; I was cut off 
 from such soothing communion ; and once, when 
 Edoardo brought me a rosary, Marinella tore
 
 114 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 it from me, and said, ' it was a chain that 
 enslaved thousands to their undoing.' Oh ! 
 lady, what would I not have given to have 
 possessed the shrine I remembered so well, in 
 w^hich we took refuge the night we were nearly 
 lost in the storm — to have had it placed on 
 my favourite hill, to have dressed it every day, 
 and to have prayed to it. You, lUustrissima, 
 can have no idea of the loneliness of my heart, 
 with nothing on earth, nothing in heaven to 
 commune with. I tried, however, within my- 
 self to pray ; for I never forgot the peace that 
 was poured down upon me in the day and 
 night of our great distress, when I raised my 
 thoughts to God." 
 
 It was to such innocent confidences as these 
 that Ildegarda lent a willing ear, and the dark- 
 ness of her own spirit seemed illumined under 
 the sunny influence of her young friend's. 
 
 Fredolfo was delighted to have procured 
 such a companion for her, and spared no pains
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 115 
 
 to cherish the piety with which Rachaella was 
 gifted, and to fix it on a more firm basis than 
 that of the mere impulses of natural feeling, by 
 which it had hitherto been excited. It was not 
 the love of power which impelled this ecclesias- 
 tic to obtain an influence over the proud un- 
 bending Ildegarda. He had a parental fond- 
 ness for her ; he loved her for her own sake, and 
 for that of her father ; and as he had long fore- 
 seen with alarm the blow which an insulted 
 Hierarchy threatened to strike her, he made it 
 the business of his life to endeavour to avert 
 it, and by working some effectual change in 
 Ildegarda's conduct, at least, save herself from 
 the wrath to which she had so rashly exposed 
 herself. In Rachaella he found a docile and 
 apt scholar, and as he hoped a useful, because 
 an unexpected, assistant in his efforts with her 
 friend. The information he carried to her, 
 respecting the ceremonial rites of his church, 
 afforded much delightful occupation to her
 
 116 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 timid yet fervent mind, which now, for the 
 first time, received religious instruction. But 
 Rachaella was led on by others, less sincere and 
 good, through all the intricacies of the Roman 
 Catholic faith, till her tender enthusiastic spirit 
 soared in a state of mystic aberration. She was, 
 however, looked up to, by the whole body of 
 the priesthood, as one of the Church's brightest 
 female ornaments, and above all, as to a person 
 through whose means Ildegarda and her riches 
 would ultimately be brought within their power. 
 This base design would have been speedily 
 frustrated, had the disinterested Fredolfo re- 
 mained to watch over her ; but unfortunately 
 he was called away to a distant duty, and the 
 man to whom he delegated his authority was 
 of a very different character. 
 
 Under the guidance and instruction of Nino 
 Pucci, Rachaella imbibed superstitious notions, 
 from which all the enlightened arguments of her 
 friend could not in after-times free her mind ;
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 117 
 
 and while that friend was forming plans for the 
 liberal improvement of those around her, endea- 
 vouring to unchain their minds from prejudice, 
 distributing rewards to such as met her wishes, 
 and labouring with unwearied zeal to convert 
 those who did not, Rachaella was imbibing the 
 very spirit of intolerance and bigotry under the 
 mask of devotion. 
 
 But this period was nevertheless a green spot 
 in the sandy Araby of Ildegarda's path. It is 
 pleasant to linger here, and view her acting with 
 all the generous impulse of her nature, and feel- 
 ing that spirit of native greatness within her, 
 which required only the restraining hand of 
 prudence to render her the most deserving, as 
 she was already the most noble of her sex. How 
 often did Ildegarda afterwards look back upon 
 this moment of her existence, and recall the 
 vision as one replete with the purest happi- 
 ness. 
 
 While her mind was thus intent on a high.
 
 118 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 though improbable, object of attainment, her 
 heart was engaged in the mild intercourse of 
 friendship, and her days flowed on in an uninter- 
 rupted course of self-satisfaction and improve- 
 ment. Alternation of rest and activity, of society 
 and solitude, is perhaps the most favourable 
 union of circumstances to strengthen the mental 
 constitution ; but if one or other of these is not 
 attainable, there surely can be no hesitation in 
 saying, that a life passed among scenes of nature 
 and in contemplative repose, is far more likely 
 to form a truly great character, than a busy 
 life devoted to the world, where amidst all the 
 scene of human passions, bubbling as it were in 
 one vast cauldron, a process invariably takes 
 place, which, if it does not wholly debase, never 
 fails to harden the heart, and to produce an in- 
 voluntary selfishness, even in the most tender 
 and ingenuous dispositions. 
 
 The world, thus adhered to, inevitably be- 
 comes our master, and is any thing but an easy
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 119 
 
 master, even to those, who, possessing all its ad- 
 vantages, are best entitled to its smiles. There 
 is a servility in flattering its votaries, in over- 
 looking vice, and disregarding virtue ; in level- 
 ling all the higher attributes of man's nature to 
 mere conventional forms of custom or opinion, 
 which is most awfully prejudicial to the real in- 
 terests of the soul. The greater number of per- 
 sons who compose the busy mob of fashionable 
 life, have reached its dizzy sphere by the mere 
 whip and spur of their own exertions : it is piti- 
 able to think how much invaluable time is wasted 
 by them in a race in which they are distanced 
 by the younger, and the fairer, the more witty, 
 and the more prosperous. It is truly melan- 
 choly for a person indifferent to this kind of 
 distinction, or one to whom it pertains by right 
 of birth and circumstance, and who is conse- 
 quently not the slave of such exertions, to see 
 even the naturally good and sensible, drawn 
 into the vortex, and squandering the essence
 
 120 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 of their existence, in the same heartless pur- 
 suits with the frivolous and depraved part of 
 mankind. 
 
 The present period of Ildegarda's life appear- 
 ed to her to be the seed-time of an abundant 
 and joyful harvest. Under her judicious ma- 
 nagement, the condition of the peasantry, in the 
 immediate district around her, was ameliorated 
 to a degree that caused the envy and ill-will of 
 the rest of the country. Nor was this class alone 
 the object of her care. The arts flourished be- 
 neath her palace roof, and all who had rare ma- 
 nuscripts to dispose of, or other matters condu- 
 cive to intellectual improvement or the revival 
 of literature, flocked to the Gherardesca, ever 
 sure to find in her a ready purchaser for their 
 treasures. 
 
 A year passed away. The change which, 
 during this lapse of time, had rapidly taken 
 place in Rachaella's mind, remained unnoticed 
 by her friend, whose thoughts were too deeply
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 121 
 
 engaged in her own high pursuits to be alive to 
 the alteration ; and she was the more easily 
 blinded, because the species of intercourse 
 which existed between them, flowed on in an 
 iniinterrnpted course, wholly apart from the 
 enlarged views which Ildegai*da took of life. 
 The difference of their age and situation pre- 
 cluded discussions which would have forced the 
 truth upon her ; and thus the sweetness of their 
 intercourse was yet pure and unalloyed. 
 
 Matters were in this condition at the Fortezza 
 Gherardesca, when Ildegarda caused proclama- 
 tion to be made through the adjacent country, 
 that a trial of skill in the game of pallone would 
 take place within the precincts of her palace, to 
 which she invited all candidates for fame in 
 that well-known amusement. 
 
 It was an ancient game of Italy, and Ilde- 
 garda loved to foster every national remem- 
 brance which could keep alive the spirit of her 
 country. But that there might be food for 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 various fancies, she made it known, that she 
 should at the same time hold a court of love 
 and gallantry, to which all minstrels were sum- 
 moned to sing the beauty of their ladies, and 
 the valour of their knights. In a mingled spi- 
 rit of defiance and good-will, Ildegarda sent 
 invitations to all those persons who had with - 
 drawn from her circle, that she might prove the 
 force of good cheer and brilliant society over 
 prejudice and bigotry. It was a speculation 
 not less amusing in those days than in the pre- 
 sent, for men's passions are much the same in 
 all ages, though variously developed or dis- 
 guised, according to the influence and fashion 
 of the times. In the days of Ildegarda, there 
 were the same jealousies, the same stirring and 
 heart-burnings, and the same wish to be divert- 
 ed, if it could be contrived with safety to 
 worldly interests, as exists now. There were 
 whisperings to know if others of their own class 
 and consideration, who had deserted before,
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 123 
 
 meant on the present occasion to rally around 
 the former object of their attention and their 
 jealousy, for she had been alternately such to 
 all. Yes, discussions such as these took place 
 then, as they do now, and the result was nearly 
 the same ; for it was decided, that however ne- 
 cessary it might be to decline an intimacy with 
 so suspicious and dangerous a character, there 
 could be no reflection cast upon them for being 
 present at a large and public assembly, such as 
 they were now bidden to. Names of consequence 
 were repeated with an air of encouraging au- 
 thority from mouth to mouth, as among the in- 
 tended visitors, and these served as precedents 
 for the attendance of others, whose timidity 
 might have prevented their accepting the invi- 
 tation. Certain reservations, however, consi- 
 dered prudential to their interests, were made 
 by the more cautious, such as, " They would 
 go, but should retire most certainly at an early 
 hour; they would not remain to partake the 
 
 G 2
 
 124 ALLA GIOKNATA. 
 
 banquet ; they would walk round to see the 
 show, and no more :" and thus by these and 
 similar salvos to their consciences, they one 
 and all agreed to see what was to be seen, and 
 to enjoy the festivities of the day ; all, save 
 one — and one whose presence Ildegarda would 
 rather have obtained than that of the whole 
 multitude : this person was the Signora Lan- 
 freducci, the mother of Ranieri Lanfreducci, a 
 man looked up to by all as the worthy son of 
 so distinguished a mother. It had long been 
 an ardent wish of Ildegarda's to know and be 
 known by the Lanfreducci. She was a woman 
 of retired habits, who hid herself from the gaze 
 of the public eye, and whose virtues were of 
 that grave and severe cast which commanded the 
 respect she did not deign to solicit. Still she 
 was respected ; and however lavishly the incense 
 of flattery mav be wafted round the shrine of 
 beauty and of fascination, there is wanting a 
 more secure and permanent right to applai^se
 
 ALLA GIOKNATA. 125 
 
 than such perishable material can ensure. No 
 one was more sensible of this than Ildegarda ; 
 and few things would have pleased her more 
 than to have obtained the friendship of the 
 Lanfreducci. On the present occasion, she had 
 trusted to have seen this lady ; for Ranieri was 
 celebrated as being one of the most skilful players 
 at the game of Pallone. He was said to be a 
 poet also. 
 
 On these circumstances, Ildegarda founded 
 the hope, that maternal love and ' . > 
 
 parable, as she thought, from a parcm's fonCji- 
 ness, would not resist the triumph of witnessing 
 her child's success in the proposed contest. Ilde- 
 garda was, however, disappointed : Ermenegilda 
 declined her invitation in terms of coldness, 
 though of courtesy. 
 
 '* Her son," she said, " would feel honoured 
 to attend the Signora Gherardesca ; but, for 
 herself, she never went to shows or pageants." 
 
 " Oh ! if I could but see," thought Ildegarda,
 
 126 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 with a latent hope, that if she were seen herself 
 by her, her presence would effect what all her 
 previous endeavours had failed to do. " If I 
 could but know, and be known to that one su- 
 perior being, the fame of whose exalted virtues 
 has reached me through all the means she takes 
 
 to conceal them. But, perhaps " (and the 
 
 frailty of human nature for a moment found 
 admission to Ildegarda''s thoughts,) " this seclu- 
 sion — this measured propriety — this affectation 
 of humility, may be but the effect of a common- 
 place insipid character. But why should I 
 think more of this .'' Doubtless, Ranieri is of the 
 same cast : Well ! 'tis no matter : time will de- 
 velope what I now doubt upon."" Yet, while 
 she spoke, she felt the sting she wished to ex- 
 tract, and it rankled the deeper, because sharp- 
 ened by offended self-love.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE GIUOCO DI PALLONE. 
 ILDEGARDA IS IN DANGER. 
 
 Le meilleur remede contre toutes les contrarietes qui 
 m'attendent, c'est de fortifier en moi la resolution de 
 faire de gi-andes choses; car je me connais assez pour 
 etre sur que I'espoir ou la confiance d'etre utile au 
 bien general, a, par dessus toutes choses la vertu de 
 me rendre intr^pide et tranquille. 
 
 Lettre de Jean de Mutter . 
 
 The busy noise of preparation for the coming 
 festival rang through the castle walls, and every 
 inhabitant of its courts and offices was occupied 
 in fulfilling the wishes of its noble mistress, to 
 render the scene magnificent and enchanting.
 
 128 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Rumour meanwhile, without doors, did not 
 remain idle ; and among many others, one cause 
 assigned for the celebration of this festivity, was 
 a passion of Ildegarda''s for some unknown ob- 
 ject ; while other persons, more bold in their 
 conjectures, pronounced at once a marriage to 
 be the end in view. Old prejudices were said 
 to be laid aside. The Conte Pafetta di Montes- 
 cudajo, her once discarded lover, (but of whose 
 guilt no proofs existed,) was now, they said, re- 
 called, to be reinstated in all his pristine favour. 
 He had, indeed, been invited to the festival in 
 common with the rest, and on this simple act of 
 courtesy was raised these idle and unfounded 
 conjectures. To give increased importance to 
 this conclusion, the chief magistrates of the Re- 
 public (it was added) had at one time forbidden 
 the proceedings of the proposed assembly, as of 
 dangerous precedent, in drawing so large a con- 
 course of people together, who might under 
 similar pretences convene, if not in the present
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 129 
 
 instance, at some future time, foz' secret pur- 
 poses against the State. But since Pafetta, Avho 
 was nearly related to one of their body, gave his 
 assurance that the intended festivities were quite 
 innocent, and devoid of all sinister intentions 
 whatever, every doubt had ceased on the pro- 
 priety of the business, and it was confidently as- 
 serted, he had his reasons for countenancino- 
 Ildegarda, and sanctioning her festival. 
 
 At length, the long expected day arrived ; 
 and the sun shone brightly forth, as though 
 joyful to honour Ildegarda's holiday. The 
 oblong square, appointed for the games, was 
 strewed with a fine red sand, so that the arena 
 glittered hke gold. Around its limits rose a 
 strong lattice-work of brass, dividing the gal- 
 leries, from whence the spectators, safe from 
 the rebounding balls, might witness the skilful 
 combatants. The great court of the castle 
 opened wide its portals, hung with festoons of 
 flowers, to receive the expected throng ; its area 
 
 g5
 
 130 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 was carpetted with tapestry, and the foun- 
 tain in the midst sent forth on that day a 
 stream of perfumed waters into its sculptured 
 basin. Bands of musicians were placed in con- 
 cealments under the vaulted arcades, adding 
 by their art to the charm of the surrounding 
 scene. From the court, the guests passed on 
 through a terraced garden, whose flowers, and 
 fountains, and statues, mingled their various 
 beauties. They then continued their way imder 
 trellises of most exquisite workmanship, and 
 ascended by marble steps to a saloon ; at 
 the entrance of which the attendants of II- 
 degarda stood ready to conduct them to her 
 presence. She had taken her station at the 
 end of the saloon, which was decorated with no 
 ornament save the banners and trophies won 
 by her father, and the large escutcheons of 
 arms, with the manifold quarterings and in- 
 signias of foreign honours, which had been 
 conferred on him by various governments and
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 131 
 
 princes of his day, in commemoration of, and 
 gratitude for, his splendid services. 
 
 Ildegarda wore the dress of an unmarried 
 citizen of Pisa; her raven hair was plaited 
 with silken cords of alternate red and blue and 
 silver, which was wound round the back part 
 of the head, and fixed with bodkins of silver 
 and gold. Her garment was long and ample, 
 flowing in full and graceful folds ; over it 
 hung a shorter tunic, which reached only to the 
 knees, of a different colour, and lighter texture 
 than the one beneath. A zone of coral and 
 lapis lazuli bound her waist, and a rich scarf of 
 divers colours, wrought with gold, was thrown 
 around her neck, and, falling over her shoul- 
 ders, descended to the ground. Behind her 
 stood Rachaella, with this difference only in 
 their attire, that her hair hung down in luxu- 
 riant ringlets from beneath a crown of flowers, 
 which circled her brow : at a little distance in 
 the background, were Maestrillo, Bruno Grillo,
 
 132 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 and the nurse Radegonda, all gorgeously ap- 
 parelled, and wearing on their sleeve a badge 
 of servitude, set with precious stones. 
 
 Thus attired and attended, Ildegarda re- 
 ceived her guests. She felt a secret triumph, 
 not unmixed with disdain, at beholding those 
 who had forsaken and deserted her in the true 
 spirit of the world's caprice, now approach Avith 
 pleased looks and words of homage. 
 
 While gazing on this crowd, who offered 
 their insipid adulation to her who contemned 
 them in her heart, two persons of very dif- 
 ferent stamp suddenly arrested her attention. 
 Ranieri Lanfreducci and Pafetta di Montescu- 
 dajo entered the apartment together. Ilde- 
 garda had not seen the latter for many years ; 
 his person had attained much grandeur, and a 
 more haughty expression sat on his brow ; but 
 it was not his comeliness or noble port that 
 arrested the freedom of her respiration, and ri- 
 vet ted her to the spot on which she stood ; it
 
 ALLA GiORTfAtA. 133 
 
 was a vision of the past : it was a confused 
 bewildering remembrance of vows and tender- 
 ness to which she once liad listened, and which 
 now mingled with a chilling recollection of the 
 events that had dissolved them for ever, and 
 banished him from her presence- 
 Can a woman behold a once loved object, 
 and be wholly unmoved ? Love may be ex- 
 tinct in her bosom, but, as one escaped from 
 shipwreck looks on the ocean which yawned to 
 engulph its prey, so does she gaze on the being 
 who once held over her a power of life or 
 death ; but who can never be any thing again 
 to her, either of dehght or of danger. 
 
 With this undisguised expression of emotion 
 on her countenance, Ildegarda listened in si- 
 lence to the address of Pafetta ; and while, 
 with a searching glance, he uttered his well- 
 turned compliment in a measured speech, his 
 cool self-possession gave him full opportunity 
 to examine the effect which he produced on
 
 134 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 her. Ildegarda trembled whilst undergoing 
 this scrutiny, and twice she assayed to speak 
 but could not ! Pafetta saw her agitation and 
 smiled ; but Pafetta's smile was no generous ex- 
 pression of delight ; there was fascination in it, 
 but it was the fascination of terror ; " the hght- 
 ning of a collied night !" 
 
 As he ceased speaking, he led forward another 
 person, who, although admired by the spec- 
 tators, had hitherto been unnoticed by Ilde- 
 garda, Ranieri Lanfreducci, who was now pre- 
 sented to her. He stood in silence before her, 
 abstracted and confused, as if overcome by some 
 bewildering emotion, and unable to command 
 the usual phrases spoken on such occasions. 
 When Pafetta, however, uttered his name, the 
 Gherardesca started, and a sense of what was 
 passing at the present moment around her, 
 seemed to return at the sound. 
 
 " Lanfreducci," she said, while the colour 
 which had left her cheek returned with deeper
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 135 
 
 dye, " I grieve that I see not the Contessa your 
 mother here ; allow me to add, that not even 
 the presence of her son dispels the gloom her 
 absence occasions, although I am happy to bid 
 him welcome." 
 
 In speaking thus, Ildegarda had recovered 
 her natural dignity ; she expressed freely what 
 she felt, and she never looked so beautiful as 
 when her genuine feelings found an unconstrain- 
 ed utterance. All concealment, either in thought 
 or word, sat peculiarly ill upon her, for it was 
 not her nature ever to be unnatural. How cap- 
 tivating she appeared at this moment to Lan- 
 freducci, others might read in his eyes; but 
 he was himself wholly unable to express ; and 
 having bowed low, he passed her in a hurried 
 manner, as though happy to escape her fasci- 
 nating presence. Pafetta too retired, but only 
 to return and hover still near her footsteps, as 
 if drawn by some speU he could not avoid ; and 
 wherever she moved he followed.
 
 136 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Meanwhile the numerous guests that thronged 
 the palace and its gardens were gratifying their 
 curiosity in beholding all the wonders these af- 
 forded. The noble apartments were displayed, 
 rich in the works of art, while at intervals, from 
 their spacious casements, the most magnifi- 
 cent views of the adjacent country presented pic- 
 tures of Nature, surpassing all the boast of the 
 
 pencil. 
 
 Around the walls were placed cabinets and 
 cases, in which the riches of the East were col- 
 lected ; while on termini of precious marbles, 
 reposed the sculptured works of ancient Greece, 
 Ildegarda had mingled these various objects 
 together, in a manner at once striking and un- 
 usual. Her own pursuits and taste might be 
 read in their arrangement and their choice ; 
 her spirit pervaded the whole, and even those 
 who were incapable of entering into all the re- 
 finements of her taste, still acknowledged the 
 power of a charm, which, for the time, raised
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 137 
 
 them above themselves, and endowed them with 
 a perception of an enjoyment they had never 
 before experienced. 
 
 While the higher orders of the assembled 
 multitude were thus examining the interior of 
 the palace, the crowd of villagers and retainers 
 were not less gratified by the care which had 
 been taken of their pastimes and amusements. 
 The various games of the country were all pre- 
 pared for them, and the only forbidden di- 
 versions were those which could inflict pain on 
 any living thing. Tables were laden with ex- 
 <juisite viands, fruits and wines were placed on 
 the terraces, and sweetmeats in the shape of 
 saints, and gods, and goddesses, were piled toge- 
 ther in glittering pyramids, to attract the eye 
 and tempt the appetite. 
 
 The festivities of the day commenced with 
 the Giiioco di Palloue, that the players might 
 have the benefit of the morning's freshness. 
 The Pallone is a game of antique origin, and the
 
 138 ALLA GTORNATA. 
 
 beautiful attitudes into which those engaged in 
 it necessarily throw themselves, combined with 
 the changing chances of the contest, give per- 
 petual variety to this exhibition. 
 
 Half way up the right arm of the combatant 
 is placed a leathern cistus, which serves both as 
 a guard, and, at the same time, to give an im- 
 petus to the ball ; while the arm itself grace- 
 fully extended, the head thrown back, and the 
 muscles of the figure finely displayed, recall 
 to the recollection the finest works of Grecian 
 sculpture. Doubtless it was in exhibitions of 
 this nature, so prevalent in ancient Greece, 
 that her artists found those opportunities of 
 studying the human form, which enabled them 
 to attain a perfection, to which the genius of 
 succeeding ages has aspired in vain. 
 
 The ladies, with such of the guests as took no 
 active part in the contest, were stationed within 
 a gallery, defended by a net of brass-work, as 
 has been already mentioned. Around this gal-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 139 
 
 lery were suspended, to the eyes of the eager 
 combatants, coronets of ilex, destined to grace 
 the victor'*s brows. Full opportunity of observ- 
 ing the Conti di Montescudajo was afforded to 
 Ildegarda during the game ; and it was impos- 
 sible to view, without admiration, the symmetry 
 of his form, and the perfect grace with which he 
 directed its movements. A general murmur of 
 applause ran repeatedly through the crowd of 
 admiring spectators, as his exertions called into 
 various action the fine turn of his limbs, and 
 now displayed the force of an Athleta, and now 
 the grace of an Apollo. But the heart of Ilde- 
 garda involuntarily shrunk back from joining the 
 loud clamour of approbation which rent the air ; 
 for a recollection of past suspicions rushed into 
 her mind ; and when the contest ended, that he 
 was declared the victoi", and approached to re- 
 ceive the destined crown from the hands of 
 Ildegarda, she hastily arose and fled from the 
 scene. A sudden and portentous silence en-
 
 140 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 sued, and the hilarit}^ of the meeting was sus- 
 pended, as if from some invisible and baneful 
 influence. Twelve years had not wholly effaced 
 the fond recollection of those virtues which had 
 enshrined the deceased Guglielmo Gheradesca 
 in the hearts of his countrymen; and whispers 
 now were circulated, that his sister, struck by 
 some powerful, though unseen motive, could not 
 crown the man with honours who had been the 
 supposed cause of her brother's death. There 
 was a pause of mingled surprise and horror, 
 which arrested the whole multitude ; and al- 
 though the Conte di Montescudajo, with ad- 
 mirable presence of mind, affected a great in- 
 terest on the sudden indisposition of Ildegarda, 
 to which he artfully attributed her disappear- 
 ance, the impression left on the greater part of 
 the assembly was, that Ildegarda had been struck 
 by remorse, and was unable to go through the 
 ceremony. 
 
 It was not long after that she had retired to
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 141 
 
 the privacy of her own apartment, when a sense 
 of propriety returned She recalled her scat- 
 tered senses, — she lamented having yielded to a 
 momentary impulse, — she acknowledged the im- 
 prudence and unworthiness of her conduct, and 
 with a feeling of indignation against herself, for 
 having thus violated the rights of hospitality, 
 she determined to plead illness as an apology, 
 and endeavour to supply, by redoubled attention 
 and courtesy to Montescudajo, her injudicious 
 and hasty conduct. Ildegarda, with a disturbed 
 and agitated air and manner, returned to her 
 guests, and endeavoured to do away the effect of 
 her behaviour ; but she was not an adept at 
 concealment ; and though Pafetta, with appa- 
 rently undisturbed tranquillity, received her ex- 
 cuses, and accepted the ilex crown she tendered 
 to him, he nevertheless was thoroughly aware 
 of her real feelings ; and, in his breast, secretly 
 vowed revenge. The rest of the guests quickly 
 returned to their own subjects of amusement.
 
 142 
 
 ALLA (ilORNATA. 
 
 as soon as the cause which had interrupted these 
 was removed, and thought little more of the 
 matter j for the world never cares for any event 
 beyond the passing moment, which does not 
 affect their own interests. 
 
 The heat of the day being intense, the higher 
 order of visitors sought the shade of the palace- 
 chambers ; the rest, that of the bowers and 
 treillises, where their refreshments and their 
 amusements had been duly attended to. 
 
 Enjoyment was again restored to all, save 
 to Ildegarda; a cruel vision had dispelled her 
 mirthful feeUngs, and the mere crowd of com- 
 mon-place adulators that surrounded her, could 
 not banish the train of thought which it had 
 suggested. Had the Signora Lanfreducci been 
 among them, she felt that there would have 
 been one of her own sex pre-eminent in virtue 
 and distinction, to have sanctioned by her pre- 
 sence the splendour and gaiety which, as it was,
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 143 
 
 seemed to her but a silly vain show, that she 
 repented of having devised. 
 
 Thus the proud Ildegarda, commanding by 
 her rank and wealth the homage of the mul- 
 titude, felt that something was wanting to her 
 self-approbation, while the most distinguished 
 person of her own sex declined not only her 
 intimacy, but her society. 
 
 There was a stamp of feminine dignity and 
 feminine virtue on the character of Lanfre- 
 ducci, which those who affect to undervalue 
 never fail to repent of. 
 
 The painful reverie in which these reflections 
 threw Ildegarda, was interrupted by Bruno 
 Grillo announcing that the library was opened 
 for the inspection of the curious, and that the 
 librarian was in waiting, as well as Messer Cino, 
 to explain the wonders over which they pre- 
 sided. Thither then the crowd impetuously 
 rushed with the eagerness of children to catch
 
 144 ' ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 some new plaything ; but how few among the 
 number were gifted with powers to appreciate 
 what they vacantly gazed upon ? It must how- 
 ever be acknowledged, that the love of the arts 
 is indigenous to the very soil of Italy ; and that, 
 with a few exceptions, it is amongst its lowest 
 ranks that the genuine love and admiration of 
 these is most clearly displayed. Where, in any 
 other nation, can precious works liable to injury 
 be publicly exposed to the populace, and yet 
 suffer no damage ? Where, in any other nation, 
 will be overheard such feeling and pertinent re- 
 marks on the merits of such works, as are to be 
 heard from the lips of mountain-peasants, and 
 artisans, when gazing, it may be, for the first time 
 on these the pride and boast of their country ? 
 Does any idea of ribaldry or grossness suggest 
 itself to their imagination ? — No, their mind is 
 formed, as it seems, by Nature, to receive the 
 grand and simple impressions which the high- 
 est works of art are intended alone to inspire,
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 145 
 
 Ildegarda was not aware of this beautiful 
 distinction of her fellow-citizens and country- 
 men, because she knew not that these objects 
 could be productive of less pure or high in- 
 fluences; but she wholly forgot that she was 
 the mistress of the superb collection now dis- 
 played, in that more generous delight which 
 the mere view of their beauties conferred upon 
 herself, as well as upon those around her. 
 
 " How very enchanting it is," observed Ra- 
 nieri, turning towards her, " to observe such 
 a vivid admiration of these sublime arts, as that 
 which you, Signora, express." 
 
 Ildegarda scarcely heard him, and replied, 
 rather carrying on the train of her own 
 thoughts than answering to his, " Yes, it is in- 
 deed a pursuit worthy of creatures gifted with 
 reason, to save such works from negloct and 
 decay, that they may excite others to emulate 
 their perfection. How insignificant are all ho- 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 nours compared to those, which tlie suffrage of 
 ages has conferred upon them." 
 
 Ildegarda paused, and casting her eyes on 
 those of her companion, she beheld them 
 irradiated with a splendid expression of ad- 
 miration, and something of mixed feeling, purer 
 and tenderer still, which she ascribed more to 
 the nature of the subject conversed upon, than 
 to her own attractions. 
 
 If there is a circumstance pre-eminently ad- 
 vantageous to a man's success in life, it is to 
 have his first feelings directed, his first prin- 
 ciples implanted, by a woman of virtuous and 
 superior mind. There is a noble enthusiasm 
 roused by the influence of such a guide, which 
 an intercourse with the world may damage, but 
 which it seldom destroys. Such had been the 
 result of Ranieri's education, under the eye 
 of his mother, and his deep conviction of her 
 excellence had fixed his standard of perfec- 
 tion very high ; yet high as that standard was
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 147 
 
 placed, he thought Ildegarda moved above it. 
 In her, youth, beauty, genius, were united to 
 an expression of mind so vigorous and noble, 
 thati from that moment, he thought to love her 
 was to aspire to every thing that could exalt 
 his being. Instead, therefore, of making a direct 
 reply to her observation, he exclaimed, " Why 
 does my mother not know you ?" Ildegarda, 
 by her silence, by her glowing cheeks and 
 troubled air, answered his question more em- 
 phatically than she could have done by words. 
 Then, suddenly recovering herself, her coun- 
 tenance underwent a change of expression, and 
 she replied in a cool disdainful manner, " The 
 Contessa doubtless has good reasons for not 
 acx^epting my proffered acquaintance." 
 
 Ranieri could make no answer — but he felt 
 the more intensely, and determined in his own 
 mind that an introduction between them should 
 take place. After a pause of silence, painful 
 enough to either party, Ildegarda and Lan- 
 
 H 2
 
 148 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 freducci recovered from the train of thought 
 to which the latter part of their conversation 
 had led, and they continued to wander from 
 one ohject of investigation to another till the 
 setting sun announced the hour for the court 
 of love to hold its judicature. 
 
 The Conte di Montescudajo, meanwhile, had 
 followed their footsteps, accompanied by the 
 Signora Zerlina, and overheard some part of 
 their discourse. " What fools women make of 
 themselves when they attempt to move out 
 of their proper sphere," said the former to his 
 companion. This proud Ildegarda would be 
 an empress, and thinks the way to arrive at the 
 object of her ambition is by overturning all the 
 powers that do exist- The Signora Lanfreducci, 
 it is true, is not less havighty and overbearing, 
 but she hides her impertinence under a mask 
 of sanctity, which is the safer plan of the two. 
 Nevertheless, my fair Zerlina, both these women 
 are insufferable, and we shall be able, I hope,
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 149 
 
 to overturn them and their plots : even now 
 they do not hke one another, though curiosity 
 prompts them to desire an interview j but my 
 word for it they shall yet hate each other with 
 all the bitterness of which you gentle crea- 
 tures are capable. I have no patience with this 
 Ildegarda : why should she alone employ poets 
 and painters to commemorate her charms 
 when my Zerlina is in existence ? This shall 
 not be so. 
 
 Zerlina's anger and envy, which had been 
 sufficiently excited, now gave place to the hope 
 of outshining her rival ; and, with a thirst for 
 revenge in her heart, and a smile of fiendish 
 hypocrisy on her lips, she pressed forwards 
 through the crowd to rejoin Ildegarda and 
 Ranieri ; saying to the former, " Oh ! lady, 
 what varied powers you possess by which to 
 captivate us ! you are not satisfied with your 
 own personal charms, but you call in science, 
 philosophy, and the arts, to your aid. Why,
 
 150 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 all your sex must die with envy — ail, save those 
 who love you as I do," she added, coaxingly 
 placing her arm within that of Ildegarda's ; 
 " but do you know, I have a secret to com- 
 municate, which, as being your friend, I must 
 really tell you. Although to one as innocent 
 and kind as you are, it is almost cruel to repeat 
 any thing so very ill-natured — but come, as we 
 walk to the theatre, 1 will recount this anecdote 
 to you. — Do you know, my dear, that that vile 
 Contessa Lanfreducci entertains the bitterest 
 spite against you ; and I actually yesterday 
 saw a note in her own hand-writing, desiring 
 the Anziani to keep a sharp look out vipon you, 
 for tliat yon were the most mischievous and 
 designing person in the world. Your late long 
 retirement was only a cloak, she said, to the 
 machinations which you had secretly been 
 carrying on, since your father's death, against 
 church and state ; nay, it was even reported, 
 that you had enlisted the black art of astrology
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 151 
 
 into your service, in order to effect your pur- 
 poses." Here Ildegarda looked at her with 
 sovereign contempt. " Nay, but hear me, 
 Signora," rejoined Zerhna, " I abhor and de- 
 spise the malice and falsehood of such accu- 
 sations; but I know, nevertheless, that they 
 ought to be guarded against." 
 
 " Oh .'■" said Ildegarda, " it is an honour to 
 be hated by the mean, and the idle, and the 
 suspicious. I cannot believe the Signora Lan- 
 freducci is such ; she, whose character has re- 
 deemed that of her whole insignificant country- 
 women: and, therefore, I give no credence to 
 her having written such a farrago of lies and 
 nonsense. Your eyes must have deceived you, 
 my good Contessa : are you sure that you can 
 read writing easily ?'' 
 
 Zerlina blushed, and bit her lips in spite ; 
 determining that, for every sting this speech 
 contained, Ildegarda should have tv/o inflicted 
 upon her in return.
 
 152 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 " Well, well, I see how it is, the handsome 
 son has made the peace of the proud mother ; 
 but, believe me, you may yet rue the day when 
 you disregarded my counsel." 
 
 They were now arrived at the amphitheatre, 
 in which were already assembled the minstrels 
 and trouveurs, and improvisatrici of the day, all 
 habited in their several costumes, all bearing 
 the insignia of their vocation, and the devices of 
 their several mistresses. A crescent of benches 
 rose one above another, shaded on three sides 
 by a dark ilex grove ; and on the fourth, com- 
 manded a fine extensive view, bounded in the 
 distance by the Siena hills. 
 
 The whole concourse of persons were now 
 assembled, and took their places in this sylvan 
 theatre. It was a pleasant sight, and grateful 
 to the mind of Ildegarda to observe that many 
 of the lowest classes appeared more delighted 
 with this part of the exhibition than with any 
 of the previous sports. " And will they tell me,"
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 153 
 
 said she to Ranieri, (commenting on this cir- 
 cumstance,) " will they tell me^ that these 
 beings are not like us, capable of instruction 
 and improvement? And are their feelings to 
 be for ever trampled upon ; their natures de- 
 based by slavery, their virtues slighted, their 
 vices alone condemned, while the higher classes 
 are allowed to riot in luxury, and live in sen- 
 suality with impunity ? Can you believe this, 
 Ranieri ?" 
 
 " Believe it ! no, lady ; but what can be 
 done? Where is the arm that could for ever 
 strike off their fetters ? Where is the heart to 
 conceive a plan for such an arm to execute ?" 
 
 " It is a question," answered Ildegarda, 
 " which must not be lightly answered : our 
 acquaintance,"" she added, with a slight tremor, 
 " is but short — may it not end here ! and at 
 some more convenient time we may discuss this 
 subject — but now to the amusements of the 
 hour." Ranieri bowed, and was silent. 
 
 H 5
 
 154 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 The trouveurs of Provence were the first 
 who displayed their skill; they had many quaint 
 devices in their lays ; all were amorous, some 
 were pretty, but their general character was not 
 forcible ; it was the language of gallantry, but 
 not of true passion. They expressed a disdain of 
 the Muses, who were now, they said, antiquated 
 ladies, and they sought for inspiratipn from the 
 eyes of living dames alone. A marble Muse 
 w^as a cold mistress, but a laughter-loving eye, 
 and tender smile, kindled a flame in all who ap- 
 proached to behold its power, and if permitted 
 only one favouring glance, one sweet approving- 
 pressure of the hand, the poet's fame was se- 
 cured for ever. He was lifted up far above this 
 earth, and claimed kindred with ideal beings of 
 perfection. 
 
 These lays were followed by many conceits of 
 love and gallantry; among others, a vase, made 
 in form of a heart, which was fixed on an al^ar, 
 suddenly opened, and forth issued a flock of
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 155 
 
 turtle-doves, who had a parchment scroll at- 
 tached to their wings, and the trouveurs be- 
 sought the ladies to catch these, their messen- 
 gers, and to accept the messages which they 
 were to convey. The ladies were rewarded for 
 their pains, by finding in every little parcel some 
 madrigal or stanza in praise of their charms : 
 many of these were written with much ing-enuitv 
 and pains, in the shape of birds, dogs, cats, or 
 whatever other animal might be the favourite of 
 the lady for whom they were intended ; and by 
 a little contrivance, each of the doves carried 
 his packet to the person for whom it was des- 
 tined. 
 
 After the trouveurs had ended all their re- 
 citations, and that these and other similar 
 conceits were played off, a masque composed of 
 hired performers, enacted one of the mysteries 
 then in fashion, which was founded on the le- 
 gend of a favourite saint. This representation 
 had not proceeded long, when Nino Pucci, fol-
 
 156 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 lowed by a train of ecclesiastics, entered the 
 theatre ; and scattering ashes on their heads 
 while they smote their breasts, cried out, " We 
 denounce the curses of the Church on all such 
 heretical entertainments ; and if they are prose- 
 cuted further, let those who command in this do- 
 main look to themselves, and those who obey 
 such commands, or give a tacit approval by 
 sanctioning them with their presence, expect the 
 body's sufferance here, and the soul's hereafter.'" 
 He then proceeded to pronounce ^n anathema, 
 which froze the very blood within tlie veins, in 
 the event of non-obedience against all those 
 who sliould so offend ; after which he prostrat- 
 ed himself, with all his brethren, to the earth, 
 then shook the dust from his sandals, and to 
 the sound of tolling bells from the neighbour- 
 ing convent, marched away as he had entered, 
 singing the curses he had said. So unexpected 
 had been this event, that even Ildegarda was 
 unprepared to make any reply, but when she
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 157 
 
 recovered from her first surprise, and while yet 
 Nino Pucci and his brethren were within hear- 
 ing, she arose from her place and spoke thus, 
 " As it is my bounden duty to do, I reverence 
 religion ; I meant not to offend the opinions of 
 any by these (as I thought) harmless amuse- 
 ments. The representation of these mysteries 
 are sanctioned by the customs of the times ; 
 they have been honoured by the presence of 
 churchmen ; they are intended to impress with 
 awe and devotional feeling the minds of the 
 unlearned ; — are they, then, only to be ac- 
 counted heretical because they are perform- 
 ed in my presence? and within the precincts 
 of my palace, am I thus to be made the victim 
 of new opinions and doctrines, and my friends 
 and acquaintance put far from me at the ma- 
 licious suggestions of a disappointed jealous 
 priest ? I beseech you," observing that a mute 
 silence, accompanied by terrified looks, pervaded 
 the assembly? " I beseech you, friends and coun-
 
 158 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 trymen, deprive me not of the honour of your 
 presence for such a cause as this. I will imme- 
 diately countermand this part of the entertam- 
 ment, which it appears gives so much offence, 
 and has afforded my friends a handle to give me 
 pain ; but let not those desert me who ought 
 now to show, by their countenance and support, 
 that they are my friends."" 
 
 This animated appeal, spoken with all the 
 warm feeling of the moment, nevertheless failed 
 to procure attention ; seat after seat was deserted, 
 and the gay crowd pressed together with symp- 
 toms of utter dismay. The trouveurs and per- 
 formers snatched up the instruments of their 
 arts, and disappeared, while, to add to the gene- 
 ral consternation, a tempest arose that suddenly 
 darkened the air with its terrific gloom, and 
 then burst in magnificent fury, pouring down 
 torrents of rain, and sending forth lightnings 
 that ran along the earth in all directions. Ilde- 
 garda sought shelter in her palace, breathless,
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 159 
 
 astounded, alone ; even there the walls only 
 seemed to offer her protection, for, in an incre- 
 dibly short space of time, every guest had fled 
 far away, and not even one of her own domes- 
 tics could she see, not even ilachaella. 
 
 For a few moments she stood in this solitude, 
 hearing only the warring elements : she called 
 her domestics, but no one replied ; no human 
 creature remained where late so many were 
 assembled. She felt struck by some invisible 
 power, and scarcely knew whether she was not 
 indeed the child of guilt and the object of 
 Heaven's wrath. At this instant the crash of 
 falling thunder was succeeded by the destruc- 
 tion of that part of the edifice in which she 
 stood ; and recovering from the first shock which 
 momentarily had deprived her of her senses, 
 she thought the last hour of the world was 
 come, and expected to be involved in the ge- 
 neral destruction. There was an instant's awful 
 pause, a sort of swinging motion succeeded, and
 
 160 ALI^A GIORNATA. 
 
 she beheld the walls of the apartment in which 
 she stood precipitated to the, earth, while she 
 herself remained poised on the fragment of a 
 beam of wood, which alone escaped the wreck, 
 and on which she was miraculously preserved. 
 Scarcely had she time to reflect upon the danger 
 of her situation, when she heard voices of wail 
 and lamentation, intermingled with her own 
 name, and she beheld Bruno Grillo and Ra- 
 chaella, who were making the air ring with 
 accents of despair : a shout of delight burst 
 from them when they first beheld Ildegarda 
 still alive ; but dismay quickly succeeded when 
 they thought of the peril she was in, and the 
 almost impossible chance of procuring her 
 assistance from her terrible situation. Ranieri 
 Lanfreducci joined the troop of tenants who 
 now came forward to release their mistress^ and 
 with well-timed presence of mind, instead of 
 adding by useless lamentations to the general 
 sentiment of terror, he considered by what
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 161 
 
 means this mis^ht best be effected. *' I could," 
 said he, " reach the rafter on -which she stands, 
 by means of those projecting stones, and having 
 made fast some ropes, might form a temporary 
 ladder, by which the Signora could descend ; 
 but the still falling particles of plaster from 
 beneath the very beam which supports her 
 prove to me that my weight might be fatal to 
 both, and I should probably, with my own de- 
 struction, hasten hers." 
 
 " Perhaps I might do this with safety," cried 
 Brvmo Grillo ; " oh ! let me attempt it ; I am 
 very light — do you think I may .^" 
 
 " There 's my brave one !" answered Ranieri, 
 looking at him with admiration. " Yes, your 
 weight is scarcely that of a feather ; but can 
 you — will you venture ? — be it so. Look, boy, 
 at that single brick, on which you must take, 
 your footing, with hardly any thing for your 
 hands to grapple by, save yon splinter of wood ; 
 do vou think vou can do this .'"
 
 162 ALLA GIORNATA, 
 
 " I know not, but I can but fail ; and of what 
 use is my worthless life ? — only let me make the 
 trial." 
 
 Ranieri called to Ildegarda to beg she 
 would not stir, seeing her make a slight move- 
 ment ; and having procured an iron hook and 
 ropes, he constructed, in a few minutes, a sort 
 of ladder. — "Now, Bruno, can you bear this 
 weight, and yet climb yon fearful wall ?" 
 
 " Yes ; place it on my back. Oh ! my hunch ! 
 my hunch ! I shall love you evermore,"" said 
 the poor boy, " if you serve me in this stead." 
 
 During these active exertions for the relief of 
 Ildegarda, Rachaella was prostrate in prayer, 
 bathing the earth with her tears. Ildegarda, who 
 had anxiously watched the preparations made to 
 procure safety for her, now thought the means 
 so uncertain, and attended with such danger to 
 her poor faithful page, that she entreated them 
 to pause, saying, " I have thought of a way 
 myself, by which I can descend, without much
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 163 
 
 risk : hear me, I entreat you, and suspend this 
 useless contrivance."' Scarcely had she spoken, 
 when Radegonda came hobbling forward in a 
 state of distraction, followed by Benozzo and 
 Cino in vain endeavouring; to hold her back : 
 her coif had fallen, her garments were torn, her 
 white hair streaming, and her bony arms ex- 
 tended on high. " My Bruno Grillo ! my 
 beauteous boy ! — and must I lose you too, and 
 the other darling also ? Come down ! come 
 down ! Bruno Grillo, if you would not see 
 your mother die on the spot, and die by your 
 means : oh ! send up Maestrillo ; go up all of 
 you, but not my precious one!"" and then 
 looking again at her mistress ; " oh ! my 
 sweet Ildegarda, jump down, and I will catch 
 you : have I not often tossed you on high, and 
 caught you again safely in my arms, and you 
 smiled and chuckled, and looked always sweetly 
 on your old nurse. Come down, I say, dear 
 lady ! gentle dove ! Do not let your poor
 
 164 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 slave, do not let my Bruno kill his own fond 
 mother !" and then she screamed fearfully. 
 
 " Take her, take her away !" said Bruno 
 Grillo. "Dearest mother, there is no fear," 
 (pausing on the dreadful eminence to which he 
 had already attained) but another scream from 
 Radegonda, and — " I drop my hold !" 
 
 " Oh I dear Bruno Grillo, return ! return i"" 
 reiterated Ildegarda, " return, I beseech you ; 
 and you, Maestrillo. Bring all the beds and 
 cushions in the house, and place them beneath 
 me. I command you to do this." But ere this 
 command could be obeyed, a gesture of wild 
 despair, accompanied by another scream from 
 the unfortunate Radegonda, determined Ilde- 
 garda to a hazardous resolve, and the next 
 instant she cast herself from the fearful height 
 on which she stood. A moment — a tremendous 
 moment of silence followed ; the spectators held 
 their breath: Bruno Grillo was forgotten ; all
 
 ALLA GIOUNATA. 165 
 
 ran to Ildegarda: she was taken up senseless, 
 and some thought her dead ; but owing to a 
 quantity of sand which had been placed in 
 the lower part of the palace, for the purpose 
 of strewing the arena, where the games had 
 been performed that morning, Ildegarda's life 
 was saved. Bruno Grillo was at her side in 
 a moment ; and wild and childish expressions of 
 transport, uttered by Radegonda, succeeded to 
 those of despair. Ildegarda, only shook and 
 stunned by the fall, gradually showed signs 
 of returning life ; but Ranieri, not waiting to 
 know how far medical aid might be necessary, 
 no sooner saw her once more alive, as it were, 
 than he resigned her to the care of her female 
 attendants, mounted the first horse he could 
 find, and went off to Siena for his friend, the 
 famed Doctor Cassini. In the interim remedies 
 were not wanting ; the senses of old Radegonda 
 returned, and she used all her most delicate
 
 166 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 arts to restore her second child, her mistress ! 
 her dearest, next to Bruno Grillo, her dearest 
 Ildegarda ! 
 
 The next night, when Cassini arrived, he 
 found Ildegarda going on well ; but the shock 
 she had received left her weak and feverish. 
 He thought it necessary, not only in compli- 
 ance with Ranieri"'s entreaties, but for the sake 
 of his patient, to remain some days watching 
 her. When her convalescence rendered this 
 attendance no longer requisite, her entreaties 
 that he should stay on, and the delight of her 
 society, which all felt and acknowledged, easily 
 persuaded the amiable Cassini and his friend to 
 prolong their sojourn. 
 
 When Ranieri showed Cassini the spot from 
 whence Ildegarda had so rashly, but so gene- 
 rously endangered her life, to save that of Bruno 
 Grillo, he held up his hands, and after some 
 moments of mute astonishment, fervently eja-
 
 ALLA filORNATA. 167 
 
 culated, while the tears of admiration were in 
 his eyes, " God bless her !" 
 
 " Had any body related this," rejoined Ra- 
 nieri, " as having been your expression, when 
 made acquainted with the story, without naming 
 you, I should have felt sure that it was uttered 
 by you." 
 
 Day after day glided imperceptibly by : Ilde- 
 garda was restored to perfect health, and able 
 to enjoy the society of those who were now her 
 only guests. They talked over the late tremen- 
 dous storm, its suddenness, the unparalleled de- 
 vastation it had caused ; and in walking about 
 the adjoining territories, they beheld vestiges 
 of its fury scattered around, which renewed a 
 grateful sense of the providential escape of those 
 who had been spared from the effects of its 
 wrath. Fragments of rock, broken, and hurled 
 to a vast distance from their original position ; 
 prostrate trees, which had withstood the lapse
 
 168 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 of centuries uninjured: streamlets swelled to 
 torrents : all nature disorganized. Such were 
 the mementoes which surrounded them in their 
 rambles ; and by none could they be more 
 deeply, or poetically felt than by Ildegarda. To 
 all who had suffered in their fortunes and their 
 homes, she applied effectual relief; and to the 
 beautiful objects which lay torn and mutilated 
 in her path, she felt towards them as though 
 they had been creatures endued with mortal life 
 and sensation. " Nothing," she said, " in nature 
 inspires me with a more mournful sensation, 
 though it is one not unmixed with feelings of 
 greatness, than a lordly tree, the monarch of the 
 forest, uptorn from its bed, and laying its beau- 
 tiful foliage, faded and soiled, in the dust ! 
 Image of all that is fresh and flourishing, and 
 secure, in one moment rooted out, laid low, and 
 witliered !" then changing her tone with a change 
 of thought, " Do you know," she added, smiling, 
 "to what this anger of the elements is as-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 169 
 
 cribed ? to no less an agent than myself ! — Ra- 
 chaella has told me all about it. Is it not so, 
 Rachaella ? am I not very like Jove's thunder ? 
 or it may be, a witch riding on and directing 
 the storm." 
 
 Rachaella looked down, while a singular ex- 
 pression of pain displayed itself on her counte- 
 nance, an expression which she struggled in vain 
 to conceal. 
 
 " Come, my sweet Rachaella, relate your 
 story : I insist upon your doing so." 
 
 Rachaelle unwilHngly obeyed. " Oh, Illus- 
 trissima! I beheve nought to your prejudice: 
 I do believe you are the fairest and best of 
 mortals : but there are evil spirits who may 
 mislead even the best ; and you should pray to 
 the saints more fervently than you do, to keep 
 them from you ; and call in the aid of our holy 
 monks also. Oh ! pardon your Rachaella, if 
 she offends you : but I have learnt deep secrets 
 since you brought me here ; and I do not speak 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 ALLA GIOllNATA. 
 
 from my own impulse alone, but impelled by 
 that power which commands me.''' 
 
 Rachaella's eyes were now lifted to Heaven, 
 and assumed unwonted brilliancy and fire : as 
 she stood clothed in her snowy i-aiment, with 
 her upraised arm, she might have passed for an 
 embodied spirit of inspiration. 
 
 " On the day of your jubilee, lady, I would 
 rather say of your misfortune, it is certain that 
 the most extraordinary and fearful sights were 
 seen ; and that last band of trouveurs, who were 
 enacting that most Avicked mystery, were all 
 observed to have cloven feet, which was not dis- 
 cerned, owing to the length of their garments, 
 till after Padre Baldassare came, and exorcised 
 them ; and then when they were hurled away, 
 as it were, all in a moment, they forgot their 
 disguise, and appeared with the forms which 
 really belonged to them. Then followed the 
 appalling tempest i that tempest, lady, which 
 to the last day of my life I shall never for-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 171 
 
 get : and, oh ! how nearly had the evil ones got 
 possession of you. You know not, lady, but 
 most true it is, that I have, through Providence, 
 been the means of saving you." The auditors 
 looked at each other in astonishment. " It is true, 
 lady, indeed ; for through the fury of the storm I 
 flew to the chapel, and at the feet of our patron 
 saint, besought his influence in your favour, when 
 I was suddenly blessed, with the thought of 
 seeking the pious aid of Baldassare, who came 
 bringing with him many of his brethren, car- 
 rying sainted relics; with these they marched 
 round the ruins of the fallen tower, in which 
 you were so fearfully placed, so wonderfully 
 saved, while I remained praying for them and 
 for you. The issue of the story is known to 
 you all ; and, oh ! may you, my dear and ho- 
 noured mistress, may you redeem your lost 
 time ; and may the veil which the wicked one 
 places before your eyes fall off, or you will yet 
 be hurled from that high and dangerous emi- 
 
 T 9.
 
 172 ALLA GlOllXATA. 
 
 neiice on which you are now placed, to rise no 
 more." 
 
 The alteration which had taken place in the 
 wliole aspect of Rachaella, who suddenly, and as 
 it were supernaturally, exchanged the timid ap- 
 pearance of a shrinking trembling girl, for the 
 tone of decision, the voice of command, her 
 emphatic gesture, her prophetic denouncement 
 of evil, all so combined to astoimd her hearers, 
 that for a time they gazed at her as if doubtful 
 of their senses, Ildegarda first recovered her 
 ,«elf-possession, and embracing her tenderly, she 
 said, while she looked sorrowfully at her, " And 
 are you, my poor pet dove, caught in the net of 
 hypocrisy and artifice ? Have the arts of the 
 maUcious succeeded, and art thou irrevocably 
 snared in their toils ? This is indeed no trifling 
 matter." Having paused thoughtfully a mo- 
 ment, she continued, '* Rachaella, I thank thee 
 for thy care ; I feel thy love, but above all, I 
 feel my own misfortune. Retire at present, and
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 173 
 
 busy thyself as thou choOsest : we will resume 
 this subject at another time." 
 
 " Am I indeed without one friend ?" said 11- 
 degarda, when the last fold of Rachdella's gar- 
 ment passed out of sight, — " am I indeed placed 
 within a circle of sorcery, from whence all 
 good things are chased away ? or am I destined 
 to break the ignominious slavery under which 
 the minds of my countrymen lie buried, and 
 show them a light which may guide them to 
 better things ? Say you, that now hear me— 
 Cassini — Ranieri — say what you think, and let 
 me gather from the voice of experience the 
 lessons of wisdom.'" She went on rapidly to 
 relate her education, her life, her opinions, her 
 feelings. 
 
 "Wonderful creature!" cried Cassini raptu- 
 rously ; and then mournfully shaking his head : 
 " You are indeed a star amid the darkness ; but 
 your own light betrays you, and says I shine 
 above your sphere. This is most dangerous.
 
 174 ALLA GIORNATA, 
 
 Hear the voice of age, — that voice which, like a 
 stream that has coursed through many lands, 
 gathers in its waters many substances ; and 
 happy is it when these disturb not the purity of 
 its first source. In the honest pride of my 
 heart I will say, because I feel it to be true, 
 this is my case ; and the worthless and polluting 
 things that have been borne upon my stream of 
 life have not mingled therein ; but they have 
 warned and given me prudence, by suggesting 
 wariness and caution. Take, then, from me, 
 lady, that lesson, which the less it meets your 
 taste, you may be sure is the more necessary to 
 your welfare. Your track of life lies, indeed, 
 along lofty and perilous regions ; take, then, the 
 blinding fillet of presumptuous security from 
 your eyes, so shall you walk unharmed. You 
 may indeed, lady, accomplish noble things ; but 
 with all the power your ancestry and wealth 
 confer upon you, you cannot effect them alone, or 
 at once. My calling has led me to the chambers
 
 ALLA GIOBNATA. 175 
 
 of suffering mortality, and you may therefore 
 conceive that I am not a competent judge of the 
 very different situation in which you, Illustrissi- 
 ma, are placed. But the workings of human 
 passions are the great mainspring of all human 
 affairs ; and he who studies these most deeply 
 is best fitted to judge of every department of 
 life: — from the humblest pallet to the silken 
 couch, I have ever remarked that prejudices 
 are the idols of poor human nature. Do not 
 attempt to cast them down at once : it is for a 
 higher authority than that which is delegated to 
 man to take this course. Conceal your too open 
 contempt of these, and by stooping under the 
 wave of power, suffer it to pass over you harm- 
 lessly. If you resist its strength, it will dash 
 you to pieces." 
 
 " But how," interrupted Ildegarda, somewhat 
 hastily, " how am I to stoop ? Can I be false, 
 and profess the thing I do not feel. Is it my 
 fault, if the instant I prefer one being to ano-
 
 17b ALLA GIOENATA, 
 
 ther, or single them out to be my friends, that 
 creature is dissevered from my society, and 
 their very absence is made a cause of reproach 
 to me. Yes, there is no person whom I have 
 ever loved, but the withering secret machina- 
 tions of the monks have banished them from 
 my presence. Fredolfo, for instance, first hesi- 
 tated, then lingered, and at last left me. Ra- 
 ' chaella's heart is with me still; but I foresee 
 she will shortly be weaned from me. Messer 
 Cino and Benozzo, the creatures of my bounty, 
 have declared to me, that, in consideration of 
 their friends, and their families, and their fame, 
 they must forsake my society ; — and what have 
 I done ? I have no vices to confess to the 
 priests, but a soul that scorns to submit to 
 tlieir falsehoods, and which feels for the sub- 
 jects and wrongs of my degraded country ; 
 I would gladly sacrifice my all of fortune and 
 of life, to see it restored to liberty and glory.
 
 AtLA GIORNATA. 177 
 
 This is my crime ; and am I for this to stoop 
 to court the very creatures I despise ?" 
 
 Ranieri gazed at her in mingled astonish- 
 ment and admiration. Cassini also, with an 
 expression of admiration, but not of approval, 
 testified how much he honoured her sentiments, 
 though he condemned their public avowal. 
 
 Then, with that harmonizing power, which 
 no one ever possessed in equal degree, and 
 which was the result of conciliatory sweetness 
 blending with fixed principle, he dexterously 
 avoided all jarring and useless discussion ; and 
 coming at once to his point, said, " Cara Lei, 
 the matter in question appears to me to be 
 thus : not at present what state your country 
 is in, or what you are in reality, but wJiat im- 
 mediate step you ought to take to silence evil 
 reports, to ensure your own peace, and retain 
 the services and affections of those who are de- 
 servedly dear to you, but who, without any }>e- 
 
 I 5
 
 178 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 culiar fault of their own, from a complication 
 of adverse circumstances, are likely to become 
 estranged from you. Now, if I may presume to 
 give my opinion, this step is, that you forthwith 
 remove to Pisa : live there quietly enjoying the 
 company of those most dear and congenial to 
 you ; and whatever be the objects at which you 
 aim, do not let your arrows fly till you can 
 clearly discern what direction they will take. 
 The re-erection of that wing of your palace 
 which has suffered by the tempest, is a suffi- 
 cient reason to account for your removal, which 
 cannot, therefore, draw down upon you the 
 imputation of weakness or timidity ; and your 
 placing yourself under the immediate eyes of 
 the Anziani will be a guarantee for your ac- 
 tions that will defy the power of malice itself." 
 If ever tongue was gifted with persuasion, it 
 was Cassini's ; and this wise counsel sunk deep 
 into the mind of Ildegarda, producing the 
 desired effect.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 179 
 
 A few more days saw her established in her 
 palace at Pisa ; and a few more weeks found 
 her in the daily habit of passing many hours 
 within the long aisles of the Campo Santo, es- 
 corted by Ranieri, and feeding on all the poetry 
 of the pencil produced by the magnificent con- 
 ceptions delineated on its walls.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ildegarda's boasted liberty is gone ! 
 
 Oh ! tis one scene of parting here ; 
 
 Love's watch-word is farewell ! 
 
 And almost starts the following tear 
 
 Ere dried the last that fell. 
 
 'Tis but to feel that one most dear 
 
 Grows needful to the heart ; 
 
 And straight a voice is muttering near — 
 
 Imperious ! we must part. 
 
 Anonymous. 
 
 Of all the enchanting ways of being enchant- 
 ed, (and how numerous they are !) is there any so 
 inebriating as that of contemplating with one 
 of congenial tastes, scenes of high interest, and 
 objects of powerful conception ? These objects
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 181 
 
 and these scenes elicit all that is finest in our 
 own natures, and they cast a reflected light of 
 brightness more beautiful from that very reason, 
 — that it is reflected. The reciprocation of these 
 feelings sets the seal to this perfection of the 
 enjoyment of our nature ; and the second self, 
 with whom this enjoyment is tasted, becomes 
 incorporated with all tlie affections of our be- 
 ing before we know they are so. 
 
 Such was the first origin of the loves of 
 Ranieri and Ildegarda. It were a pity that 
 any thing should disturb the course of so 
 ennobling, so peaceful a passion. Peaceful ? — 
 Yes, virtuous love is peaceful, till the storms 
 of life, its envy and its malice, blow over it, 
 and mingle extraneous circumstances with its 
 nature, poisoning and polluting its purity. 
 
 In the daily walks of these lovers to their 
 favourite Campo Santo, they became, in a short 
 time, more intimately acquainted with each 
 other's minds and sentiments than they could
 
 182 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 have been in years of ceremonious meetings in 
 the cold assemblages of formal society. One 
 morning they stopped opposite to that fine poeti- 
 cal embodying of morahty, where death with his 
 sweeping scythe passes by the wretches who 
 are maimed, diseased, in poverty and misery, 
 and takes aim amid a gay company of ladies 
 and cavahers sitting in a flowery bower, with 
 lutes and harps, and hawks, and hounds, and 
 all objects of pleasurable pastime scattered 
 around them. 
 
 Ildegarda involuntarily shuddered. " What, 
 if that were our fate !" she said, pointing to the 
 tremendous messenger. " What, if that scythe 
 of terror swept us away ! — I should not like to 
 
 die now /" 
 
 " Die !" re-echoed Ranieri ; and his eyes met 
 those of Ildegarda — his hands pressed hers ; 
 and they mutually knew all that they had not 
 dreamt of previously, or rather all that they 
 had only dreamt of : then came the swimming
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 183 
 
 circles that rise before the eyes, obscuring out- 
 ward vision ; then came that sense of bhss, too 
 intensely sweet till the soul sickens with its 
 sweetness ; then came the body's chillness, and 
 the hearfs fire ; then bloomed and vanished in 
 one transient moment the leaf and the flower of 
 happy love. 
 
 A letter from the Signora Lanfreducci was 
 brought to Ranieri ; it assigned no cause, but 
 besought him, by his allegiance as a son, and 
 his duty as a citizen, to attend her immediately. 
 Ranieri, with an expression of dismay, instantly 
 put the letter into Ildegarda's hands. She 
 glanced her eye over it, and in that glance 
 read her doom. 
 
 " You must go !" said Ildegarda, with as- 
 sumed composure. There is a secret charm, 
 even when mingled with pain, in knowing that 
 we can command a beloved object; which ren- 
 dered her task more endurable. " You must go, 
 and I must remain ! This is another proof, that
 
 184 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 what I have so often averred is true. It is no 
 fancy of an overheated imagination : no sooner 
 does the glow of affection shed a charm on my 
 existence, than it is chilled and extinguished 
 by some unseen, but ever active power, that 
 appears to follow my footsteps, and blast my 
 most innocent hopes r An expression of deep 
 despair clouded the fine brow of Ildegarda as 
 she uttered these words. 
 
 " Hear me," said Lanfreducci, in his gentle 
 quiet voice, not the less forceful because no 
 burst of passion swelled its harmonious intona- 
 tion to loud or sudden exclamation — " hear me, 
 ildegarda ; I swear by the holy earth on which 
 we tread ; by the sanctity of honour and truth, 
 never to be one of those who forsake you ! I have 
 secretly dedicated to you my life, a poor and in- 
 adequate offering for the prize to which I aspire ; 
 and when I have proved myself not unworthj' of 
 you, I will then — but enough at tlie present mo- 
 ment. I go to obey my mother, — to obey you."
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 185 
 
 Ildegarda shook her head mournfully. 
 
 "And you will return- — when ?"' 
 
 " Whenever you may appohit : name now 
 the time." 
 
 " This day month,"' was the answer. 
 
 " Methinks, lady, you have fixed my exile to 
 a distant period." 
 
 " And purposely have I done so," she replied : 
 " we shall both have greater leisure to reflect on 
 the late circumstances of our lives. Something 
 of its actual aroma must evaporate, and all the 
 redolence of this perfumed existence will have 
 subsided into the common atmosphere of human 
 life." 
 
 "Can you wish it should?" questioned Ra- 
 nieri eagerly ; — " do you wish it ?" 
 
 " Not if it could last for ever ; but if it is to 
 cease at all, it had better cease quickly." 
 
 "All things depend on you,"" rejoined her 
 lover. 
 
 " Well then, Ranieri, this day month — this
 
 l86 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 day month return to me, and then "" but 
 
 checking the flow of tenderness that languished 
 in her eyes, — " till then, adieu V 
 
 " They parted ; Ranieri to prepare for his 
 journey, Ildegarda to the silence of her chamber, 
 and the garrulity of her heart. The love she had 
 inspired, above all, the love she felt (for it is 
 the generous nature of true love to revel more 
 even in what it gives than in what it receives,) 
 was the inexhaustible theme on which she dwelt, 
 with ever renewing enchantment : and then to 
 live, not in an inglorious indulgence of vul- 
 gar passion, which cloys and surfeits by the 
 sameness of its coarse sweets, but in the per- 
 petual improvement of her faculties ; stimulated 
 to exertion by the intellectual superiority of him 
 she loved, exalting her own nature by her admi- 
 ration of his. Oh ! what worlds of blissful 
 projects passed in rapid succession before the 
 high-minded, impassioned Ildegarda, till giddy 
 with excitement she rested her head on her
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 187 
 
 hands, and no image remained painted distinctly 
 on her fancy save that of Ranieri. 
 
 She was aroused from this state of dreaming 
 delight by the announcement of the Conte di 
 Montescudajo. It was a rude awakening. She 
 blushed at his approach, and betrayed a con- 
 fusion of manner, as though he could have read 
 her inmost thoughts. 
 
 "I fear I intrude upon yovu' privacy, Signora; 
 but when the cause of my visit is made known, 
 I trust you will pardon me." Ildegarda placed 
 a seat, and, in the confusion of the moment, wel- 
 comed him with an apparent eagerness she would 
 not have done had her self-possession not de- 
 serted her. But he was not deceived by this 
 flurried courtesy, although he affected so to be. 
 " I am come," he said, " actuated by a remem- 
 brance of the friendship which ever existed be- 
 tween our families : I speak not of that vvhich I 
 once flattered myself existed between ourselves, 
 though something of it, perchance, still attaches
 
 188 ALL A GlOliNATA. 
 
 to me, in spite of scorn and absence ; and your 
 late invitation to me encourages me to hope tliat 
 still ^' 
 
 "What?"" interrupted Ildegarda hastily, and 
 in a terrified tone. 
 
 " Nay, lady, be not alarmed," he rejoined in 
 a calm manner, which made her shrink within 
 herself, ashamed of the precipitancy of her un- 
 grounded fears: " be not alarmed;" I was only 
 going to add, that such return of favour made 
 me hope that you will listen to some informa- 
 tion I have now to impart." 
 
 Ildegarda bowed her head, and he proceeded. 
 " You must be aware, that from my very near 
 relationship to the Anziani, I am well ac- 
 quainted with their opinions and intentions, 
 as well as with the general affairs of their go- 
 vernment. Now, Signora, I know that they 
 unfortunately regard you (however unjustly) 
 with an eye of suspicion : the tidings of the 
 late events at your castle near Volterra, have
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 189 
 
 flown far and wide over the country ; and 
 the lower order of persons do not hesitate to 
 give you the most opprobrious names, while 
 the higher observe with an eye of jealousy 
 your talents, your possessions, and your power. 
 I come, therefore, to offer you the especial 
 protection of those whose good opinion it is 
 of most consequence to you to obtain ; and 
 they have delegated their authority to me to 
 say, that if you will accept a guard of honour 
 to wait upon you in consideration of your fa- 
 ther's services in foreign lands, they will be 
 happv to afford you such a mark of distinc- 
 tion, — a distinction which will at once be an 
 honour conferred, and an implied assurance of 
 their favour and protection.**' 
 
 Ildegarda had gradually recovered her self- 
 possession during this preamble, and she had 
 fixed her eyes on the speaker with steady and 
 searching scrutiny. When he came to a con- 
 clusion, she said, " I thank you, Signer, for the
 
 190 ALLA GIOBNATA. 
 
 kind interest you express in my welfare. I 
 thank your noble relations for their intended 
 honour ; but I would rather be guarded by my 
 own innocence, and the attachment of my own 
 people, than have any legal spies to watch 
 over my footsteps and repeat every trivial cir- 
 cumstance of my life as though I were a guilty 
 criminal. The whole world are welcome to 
 know my principles ; they are those of my fore- 
 fathers who fought for their country in its best 
 days of pride and glory ; and it is the joy of 
 my heart, to feel that my attachment to these 
 should be so generally believed, and so tho- 
 roughly understood. I pray you take this 
 message back from me ; and add to it that I am 
 not desirous to brave the powers of my coun- 
 try or the persons of its magistrates; so far 
 from it, that I left my residence at Volterra to 
 place myself within the walls of Pisa, under the 
 eyes of its rulers ; and that I gladly claim their
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. 101 
 
 countenance and protection, though I decline 
 their guards." 
 
 " I am afraid, Signora, that your words and 
 your feehngs are somewhat at variance ; to 
 decline the honour offered as a proof of their 
 countenance and protection itself, is, at least, 
 subject to this interpretation." 
 
 Ildegarda, who never disguised her feelings, 
 replied haughtily, " A favour ceases to be one 
 when it is forced upon the receiver : an honour 
 becomes a disgrace, when the mind of the ho- 
 noured feels itself degraded by its acceptance : 
 for the rest, accept my best thanks."" So saying, 
 she curtseyed and withdrew, leaving Pafetta to 
 think over her refusal of his pretended services. 
 
 Scarcely had she passed into an adjoining 
 apartment, when the trampling of horses drew 
 Ildegarda to the window, and she beheld Ranieri 
 slowly passing through the street on his way 
 to Volterra. He Avas followed by a numerous
 
 192 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 train of attendants, and accompanied by Messer 
 Clno. She hastily threw open the casement, 
 and as he passed her, lie bowed respectfully, 
 and checking his rein for a brief moment, said, 
 " Alia Giornata ;" and then passed on. 
 
 On the occurrence of any dreaded event to 
 which Ave have wound up our courage, we seem 
 at first endued with a kind of supernatural 
 strength that deceives us with an exaggerated 
 conception of our own powers of endurance. 
 Too soon, alas ! this strength gives way, and 
 leaves the mind exhausted from unnatural and 
 forced exertion. 
 
 " I have acted rightly," said Ildegarda : " I 
 did not attempt to detain him from his duty 
 and he will return to me, and we shall mutually 
 be more satisfied with ourselves, and each 
 other, than if I had used my influence to de- 
 tain him, and had been successful."" 
 
 This was true : but then came the dread of 
 change, — the dread that his austere mother, that
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 193 
 
 mother who had sedulously avoided even her 
 acquaintance, would demand of him to resign 
 his love for her. " Will he not listen to her 
 representations ? and if he does not, ought I 
 to accept the proffered hand that brings with 
 it a parent's wrath ?" She hesitated not in her 
 reply to this self-examination. But did that 
 answer bring peace with it ? Oh, no ! an over- 
 whelming tide of feelings burst over her soul, 
 which deprived her of the power of reflecting 
 distinctly on her situation. How fortunate, how 
 wisely ordered is it that such periods of ex- 
 istence are necessarily shortened by the inter- 
 vention of common occurrences ! Radegonda 
 peeped in at the door curtain : " Alone, sweet- 
 heart — and weeping; ay, ay, I thought it 
 would be thus. Why did you let him go, dear 
 lady .'' Why the bread was on the rise, and the 
 yeast worked rarely ; why set it aside to cool ? 
 You know not how it may be when it comes 
 near the fire again; the frosts may have har- 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 ALLA GIORXATA. 
 
 dened, the vermin nibbled it. Dear heart, dear 
 heart, if you had consulted your old Rade- 
 gonda, she would have told you another way to 
 set to work." 
 
 " What mean you, good nurse ? you speak in 
 riddles." 
 
 *' A riddle that you can read though, lady. I 
 have not dandled you on my knees for naught. 
 You know the meaning of Radegonda's words, 
 as well as she knows the meaning of your eyes. 
 Signora ! Signora, when the bird is in the cage, 
 and you like its song, you should not open the 
 cage door." 
 
 " I would keep no bird against its will, good 
 nurse ; and no song would be sweet to my ears, 
 sung from a prison's grate," 
 
 *' Ah ! sweet soul, I know another tale, 
 though thou art encaged thyself; and it is better 
 to sing a merry song together, than a cheerless 
 one alone — the Signora Lanfreducci." 
 
 "What of her?"
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 195 
 
 a 
 
 She is a proud one, and is of the Bergohni 
 faction ; she never will allow Ranieri to return 
 here. Mark my words, lady, he will never re- 
 turn ; or if he does, his wings will be chpped. 
 He will be no longer able to fly hither and thi- 
 ther, at thy will and bidding."" 
 
 " The Signora Lanfreducci," rejoined Ilde- 
 garda, thoughtfully, " is a wise and virtuous 
 person. She will not commit injustice: and al- 
 though her views and mine are at variance, I 
 feel certain that she will not voluntarily wrong 
 me, nor any one else." 
 
 " I know what I know," said Radegonda, 
 with tenacious wilfulness ; *' there are many 
 things, sweet heart, which you can boast of 
 knowing, of which I am ignorant. But a nurse 
 is a nurse, and cannot be cheated : she has not 
 dandled the young suckling on her knees, with- 
 out understanding something of the plant when 
 it is full grown. But, dry up thine eyes, sweet ; 
 old Radegonda would give two tears for every 
 
 K 2
 
 196 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 one of thine : these thieves of beauty have no 
 right to thy blooming cheeks ; let them course on 
 mine, where there are channels enough ready 
 made for them to run in." 
 
 " Poor, gentle soul," said Ildegarda, forget- 
 tins: for a moment her own cares; " ever since I 
 have known thee thou hast fared delicately, 
 and no one to vex thee. What caused thy for- 
 mer tears ? Tell me of thy life : what befel thee 
 before I knew thee ?" 
 
 Radegonda shook her head. " No, no ; 
 when the heavy road is trod, why should we go 
 back to it ? there is a miry, thorny way, which 
 every one must meet with — but return to it ! 
 oh ! no. I will tell you a story though. Yet, 
 stay ! — ^no, not now, — not now. The thrush has 
 hardly built its nest : its eggs are not laid yet. 
 The anemony''s blossom is not opened above the 
 green spike of the corn : neither is the season 
 come for my story. Good morrow : be of good 
 heart, come what may. But St. Gregorio be
 
 ALL A (HORN ATA. 197 
 
 blessed ! there is Bruno Grillo and Maestrillo, 
 waiting for their fritture^ and here am I chat- 
 tering, as if my tongue was not made for scold- 
 ing instead of running on thus with thee."" 
 
 Away hastened Radegonda, and with her the 
 curiosity which she had for a moment excited : 
 back flew the spring of tho-ught in Ildegarda's 
 mind to its primary position, and all matters ir- 
 relevant to that faded into forgetfulness. Again 
 her privacy was broken in upon. 
 
 " Signora," said Rachaella, entering, " I 
 come to crave a boon of thee. Give me my li- 
 berty for a few days : I wish to go to the I sola 
 della Gorgona, there to remain for a time in 
 solitary contemplation and devotion." 
 
 Ildegarda started from her reverie, and hastily 
 exclaimed, " To the Isola della Gorgona ! Who 
 has put that idea into your mind ? To whom are 
 you going ? and who is to be the companion of 
 your journey ?" 
 
 " No one will accompany me : I shall be un-
 
 198 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 der the protection of San Gregorio ; and I shall 
 reside in the convent belonging to the sisterhood 
 of that order." 
 
 ** Who has inspired you with this wish, Ra- 
 chaella ? But I need not ask, for in this I read 
 the designing artifice of Nino Pucci : his reasons 
 I cannot divine ; but that they are mischievous, 
 I feel assured. Be advised, my gentle Racha- 
 ella : go not into that dreary sohtude, there is 
 danger lurking about ; I see there is." 
 
 " Illustrissima, I am the child of thy bounty, 
 and dependant on thy will; but I am much more 
 than that — I am bound to thee in heart and 
 soul ; I shall ever do what thou commandest : — 
 yet hear me ;" and she knelt as she spoke, while 
 her whole soul pleaded in her eyes. " Hear 
 me, Signora, I entreat you ; as you value my 
 everlasting welfare, do not, do not prevent my 
 going to that holy asylum."" 
 
 It was an awful expression which now broke 
 with stormy radiance over the countenance of II-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 199 
 
 degarda. She started on her feet, and with out- 
 stretched arms she apostrophized Heaven, and 
 demanded of what crime she had been guilty, 
 to merit the disaffection of all who were dear 
 to her. Then turning to Rachaella, " Go," she 
 said, " and know that Ildegarda never did, and 
 never can, wish for the sake of any selfish gra- 
 tification wliich is to be obtained by the forced 
 obedience of any of her servants : the heart's 
 service is all I seek; when I lose that, then 
 all is lost to me. But Rachaella, to go alone 
 and unattended on such a pilgrimage, would 
 be so unseemly for a girl of your age, that I 
 must not sanction such a mode of proceeding; 
 Radegonda shall accompany you, and any of 
 ray serving-men you may appoint. Thus much 
 concede to my friendship, dear Rachaella, and 
 to my superior knowledge of the world's dan- 
 gers." 
 
 " lUustrissima, dearly loved mistress, you 
 are all goodness, at least you are all goodness
 
 200 ALLA GIOENATA. 
 
 to me : how shall I ever repay you ? I am con- 
 tent and grateful to be thus under the guidance 
 of your fostering care."" 
 
 " When would you go ?" 
 
 " To-morrow''s dawn must not see me in 
 Pisa." 
 
 " Be it so ; and may you find in your tem- 
 porary seclusion that peace which your friend 
 will not find here within the splendid walls of a 
 palace." 
 
 " Woe is me ! my loved, my honoured lady, 
 Rachaella will pray for you," said she, going 
 very near her, and kissing her forehead, — " Ra- 
 chaella will pray for you." She then rushed 
 from her presence, and Ildegarda was again 
 alone.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RANIERI 8 RECEPTION BY THE LANFREDUCCI. 
 
 ''Perhaps without that high state of nervous sen- 
 sibility which borders on insanity there is no superior 
 genius in the arts which require tenderness of feeling." 
 
 Life of Mozart. 
 
 When Ranieri left Pisa, he proceeded in the 
 same road nearly by which he had accompanied 
 Ildegarda. From her castle to that city every 
 step of the way had been marked by some word 
 of interest, or some glance of dearer interest 
 still. He wondered that the various objects he 
 surveyed should no longer present the same 
 mien they wore when he had then beheld them. 
 He vainly now sought inspiration from their 
 
 K 5
 
 202 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 influence ; all those bright imaginations which 
 they had at that time lighted up in his mind, 
 had now vanished, and he moved mechanically 
 on his way, till he was roused from this dream- 
 ing state of being by finding himself in his 
 mother"'s palace. Ermenegilda was still mag- 
 nificently beautiful, and her presence operated 
 upon him almost as a magic spell, when she 
 welcomed him with the touching affection of a 
 heart entirely devoted to him. He forgot for 
 a moment that any other tie than that which 
 bound him to her, had twined itself round his 
 heart. Ermenegilda's soft voice sank into the 
 ears of all who heard it with irresistible power 
 of fascination : what then was its influence on 
 her son, in whom she had, from earliest infancy, 
 fostered every noble sentiment, and who knew 
 himself indebted to her for every excellence 
 he possessed ? For a time they discoursed on 
 matters comparatively indifferent to that which 
 occupied mutually their thoughts, but which nei-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 20S 
 
 ther wished to be the first to open upon. Where 
 this is the case, where there exists a great 
 central point of interest which engrosses our 
 minds, yet which we dread to discuss, the 
 flow of conversation is impeded, and to 
 discourse becomes insufferably painful. Ra- 
 nieri rose from his chair, sat down, and rose 
 again; he walked to the casement, gazed on 
 vacancy, and then returning to the portrait of 
 one of his ancestors that hung on the wall op- 
 posite, he said — 
 
 " How finely painted it is ; every time I 
 behold it after an absence, it seems ready to 
 start from the pannel into actual existence." 
 
 " True, my son ; but the strongest interest it 
 excites in me is the remembrance of the acts of 
 virtue and the deeds of glory which dignified the 
 life and preserves the memory of that warrior." 
 
 "Yes, dearest mother, I enter into your 
 sentiments ; but something of admiration too is 
 due apart to the noble art itself, which gives us
 
 204 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 such a lively representation of the person thus 
 honoured as makes us feel to be still living in 
 his presence ; and mentioning this reminds me 
 that I forgot to tell you I brought Messer Cino 
 with me. He will be anxious to pay his respects 
 to you : may I introduce him ?" 
 
 What tumult does a name, which is in the 
 most distant manner connected with that of the 
 one beloved object, create in the senses. Ra- 
 nieri touched a link of the chain, distant indeed 
 from the object, yet, in naming the painter 
 whom Ildegarda patronized, he had at once 
 laid open his souPs secret. 
 
 Ermenegilda knew it all, and bitterly lamented 
 the fact ; but she replied, with unruffled tone, '" I 
 shall be glad to see Messer Cino in due time 
 and place ; but you know, my son, I never ap- 
 proved of putting persons of this description 
 out of their sphere : remove them from their 
 bottegas, give them the famiUar intercourse 
 which is held with our equals, and we lose our
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 205 
 
 own dignity without imparting aught of it to 
 them; besides, there is generally a laxity of 
 moral virtue in these figuranti on the scene -of 
 life, which renders them dangerous as well as 
 debasing companions. I would remunerate their 
 services highly, but " 
 
 " Ah ! dearest mother, the soul cannot be 
 paid with gold ; and without soul what is paint- 
 ing ? what, poetry ? what, music ? Did you ever 
 see one of the professors of these arts who could 
 or would put forth their powers merely for 
 gain ? There is that in the arts themselves 
 which forbids this ; and is not this in itself a 
 proof that their professions spring from noble 
 sources ?" 
 
 " It may be, Ranieri, that if persons so 
 gifted possessed the advantages of a strict and 
 pious education, they might become worthy 
 of being admitted into the intimacy of those 
 of high rank; but in general it is far other- 
 wise : so much time is necessarily employed
 
 206 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 by artists to enable them to gain a livelihood, 
 that they can have little left for better things. 
 And after all the boasted pride of your ge- 
 niuses, there is a polish in the manners of 
 those of noble blood to which the former can 
 never attain. But granting this to be a trivial 
 advantage, which at least you will not deny 
 to it, the gracelessness of the characters in ge- 
 neral of such persons, renders them very unfit 
 associates for those who aspire to purity of life : — 
 no, there is nothing worthy the pursuit of one 
 of exalted station, but glory in the field and 
 superior sanctity in the church." 
 
 " Pardon me if I entirely differ from you. 
 These are not the only honourable careers wor- 
 thy of an exalted mind. In the natural world 
 what a distance separates the stupendous rock 
 from the pebble that paves the rivulet, the 
 cedar from the floweret ; yet they are all valuable 
 in creation, and alike the work of a wise Creator. 
 So in the moral world, there is infinite variety in 
 
 character, in feeling, and consequently in the 
 
 r
 
 ALLA GIOUNATA. 207 
 
 modes of usefulness for which each person may 
 be best adapted ; Jbut this is not regulated by 
 any conventional prejudices of any particular 
 class of society ; but by the direction given to 
 them from the unerring power who made them : 
 yet each one, though unconsciously, may carry 
 on, and doubtless does, the designs of the great 
 first cause, though following the bent of their 
 different inclinations, all alike honourable in 
 his eyes, all tending to fulfil his behest. How 
 frequently do irresistible circumstances deter- 
 mine the line of life we follow ! If I look 
 back on my own career, how much events be- 
 yond my control have influenced my pursuits ! 
 I wasted the precious hours of youth in spe- 
 culations of glory, in visionary hopes of soar- 
 ing above the sphere of every day existence. 
 But soon I found that to struggle for militaiy 
 fame was to sacrifice every principle of justice. 
 Disgusted with the tumults of war, I then sought 
 distinction by the cultivation of the arts : — there 
 we are still great — there the pure and indepen-
 
 208 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 dent spirit may soar in ideal worlds of glory, 
 that the vulgar and the base can never attain. 
 And do you call the followers of the arts ignoble ? 
 on the contrary, they can ennoble the mean- 
 est, and raise the lowest to a sphere that mere 
 rank never can reach. If some individuals dis- 
 grace their professions, that is no stain on its 
 general character. Those who follow this walk 
 in life, cannot be low or vulgar in their minds ; 
 nay, I will maintain, that however little they 
 may have mingled with the customs and fashions 
 of the day, their manners are never rendered 
 ridiculous by contrasting them with all the gay 
 and the practised in the school of fashion : there 
 is a native untaught dignity arising from higher 
 s<iurces, that is always theirs." 
 
 Ranieri spoke with more assurance in his own 
 powers of reasoning, than he had ever done in 
 his mother's presence ; for the thought of Ilde- 
 garda, and her endeavours to rouse the fine but 
 desponding qualities of his mind into action,
 
 ALLA GIORICATA. 209 
 
 had worked with powerful effect. As the sub- 
 ject which he had treated, however secretly con- 
 nected in his own breast with that first object 
 of his interest, had apparently run wide of the 
 mark to which he first dreaded it Avas approach- 
 ing, he had entirely recovered his self-posses- 
 sion, and expressed himself with a fluency and 
 force of which but a short time before he did 
 not know himself to be master. He was the 
 more astonished when Ermenegilda replied in 
 the same gentle voice, and without any appa- 
 rent anger^-" It is then as I feared. In a few 
 months my son has been taught to despise the 
 principles in which he has been educated, — the 
 lesson of years — to disregard all the advantages 
 of his birth and situation, and to give into 
 a speculative philosophy, which is only the 
 covering for infidelity and treason. Ranieri, 
 Ildegarda is the serpent who has beguiled 
 thee ; but the tempter, I trust, has not whol- 
 ly estranged my son from me ; that danger-
 
 210 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 ous woman has not so far gained her point as 
 to prevent my child obeying my summons ; I 
 thank thee, heavenly powers, at least for this," 
 she added, kissing the crucifix that hung at her 
 neck, while her faltering tones now betrayed 
 her hitherto suppressed agitation. 
 
 Ranieri, too much hurt, too much astonished 
 to reply, remained silent ; and recovering her 
 composure, she continued : *=' Ranieri, I ask 
 no questions : I desire not to know what has 
 passed between you and the Gherardesca ; but 
 this I tell you—choose between her and your 
 mother, for from this moment you must either 
 forsake the one or the other. That my son 
 should further the plans of the evil one, that 
 the ferment of misrule in church and state 
 should possibly be aided by my offspring, is a 
 calamity for which I was not prepared, but it 
 is my humihation. I have been too lofty in my 
 hopes, too confident in my success ; but ere I 
 writhe under the disgrace of seeing my Ranieri
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 211 
 
 do aught that is unworthy of the noble line of 
 ancestry from whence he is sprung, this heart 
 will cease to beat." Tears started from the 
 eyes of Ermenegilda, and her unhappy son 
 stood the mute image of despair. At length 
 he broke silence — " Oh ! mother, beloved mo- 
 ther ! so much have I to say, that I know not 
 how to choose my words, or where to commence ; 
 suffice it to declare, that from Ildegarda I 
 have learnt nothing but what is good, nothing 
 but what is pure. I love her, it is true ; and if 
 your prejudices stand between me and the hap- 
 piness I aspire to, although I never will dis- 
 obey my parent by making Ildegarda my wife, 
 I will never marry another woman. This I 
 swear by the cross you wear, and by the sword 
 I never have dishonoured, at the end of one 
 month I return to Ildegarda, I repeat to her 
 your resolves and my own, I obey you in what- 
 ever else you may command ; and you may lie 
 down on your pillow with the consciousness that
 
 S12 ALLA GTORKATA. 
 
 if you persist in your resolve, you make your 
 son wretched." 
 
 " My beloved child, my own excellent Ra- 
 nieri, I honour your sincerity ; and I place such 
 perfect confidence in your truth, that hence- 
 forth I will never again broach this subject to 
 you more ; you know my unalterable resolve, 
 let that suffice." 
 
 Here this unexpected and melancholy con- 
 ference ended. During the time that Ranieri re- 
 mained with his mother, true to her promise, she 
 never adverted to the subject on which she had 
 so decidedly pronounced her will. She relaxed 
 much of her rigid hauteur in favour of her son's 
 friend, Cino, whom she even admitted to the 
 honours of her board ; and she left no means 
 unemployed to ingratiate herself with Ranieri, 
 whose interests, as far as one human being can 
 judge for another, she had most deeply and 
 sincerely at heart. She spoke much of Pafetta, 
 and of the Raspanti faction ; she rejoiced, she
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 213 
 
 said, to see what strength that party acquired 
 in Pisa ; and she besought him to seek and con- 
 ciliate the good will of so powerful and excellent 
 a man. 
 
 " Powerful he is," rejoined her son, " but his 
 excellence remains to be proved.*" The supposed 
 murder of Ildeffarda's brother was the circum- 
 stance that occurred to him at the moment, in 
 contradiction to this commendation. 
 
 " Scandal," replied his mother, " is ever busy, 
 and the Bergolinis are not idle agents in spread- 
 ing its poison : but look to the course of Pafetta*'s 
 life ; look to the convents he has endowed, the 
 religious seminaries he has founded. I feel cer- 
 tain that he is under the peculiar care and bless- 
 ing of Heaven ; and, depend upon it, all things 
 will prosper with .him. May the protection even 
 of his very shadow fall upon you, dearest son ! 
 and, next to that of Heaven, your mother can 
 form no higher wish for your welfare." 
 
 Ranieri stifled his indignation. Messer Cino,
 
 214 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 who was present with them at their repast, 
 forced the sallad he was eating more quickly 
 into his mouth, and washed it down with a plen- 
 tiful spoonful of oil. Ermenegilda changed the 
 subject, and all things relapsed into their regu- 
 lar tenor. 
 
 While time passed thus at the Palazzo Lan- 
 freducci, Rachaella was safely lodged in the 
 female Benedictine Convent, in the I sola della 
 Gorgona; and, under the director of Nino Pucci, 
 was performing acts of penitence for imaginary 
 sin^s which she had never committed, that were 
 far beyond her physical strength to endure, and 
 far beyond her comprehension, as well as that of 
 any rational person, to understand the mean- 
 ing of. 
 
 Who that ever had seen the delicate form of 
 Rachaella, clad in the coarsest garment of horse- 
 hair, a cord around her waist, with which she 
 inflicted sharp strokes on her ivory hmbs, that 
 sometimes covered them with blood — who that 
 had seen her in this state, could have recog-
 
 ALLA GIOllNATA. 215 
 
 nised the late cherished girl, whom her mistress 
 delighted to decorate with costly ornaments, and 
 whose beauty she fostered as carefully as if it 
 had been her own ! 
 
 As to the nurse Radegonda, she was very 
 near dead, not with her own acts of penance, 
 for she submitted to none, and had taken care 
 to provide herself with sufficient comforts, but 
 from the anguish of heart she endured at wit- 
 nessing the sufferings of the innocent Rachaella ; 
 and for every bead she told, there was a murmur 
 and execration against the Abbess, that once or 
 twice had nearly cost her dear. The only re- 
 laxation from these rigorous exercises which the 
 young penitent allowed herself was a Sunday's 
 walk, at the foot of the rock on which the con- 
 vent was situated, and in contemplating the 
 lovely beauty of the place, she indulged that 
 romantic melancholy which had lately taken 
 entire possession of her. 
 
 The whole island was not above five miles in 
 circumference, and its being dropped a lonely
 
 216 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 and miniature gem, as it were, in the ocean, 
 added to the interest its beauty inspired. The 
 greater part of it is covered, notwithstanding its 
 exposed situation, with thick masses of wood. 
 The maple and the beech tree flourished in 
 the richest luxuriance. There were few in- 
 habitants on the island, save fishermen and 
 shepherds. In the highest pinnacle of its high- 
 est rock stood a fortress, which contained 
 soldiers, who were posted there in order to give 
 notice if any pirates or unknown vessels ap- 
 proached the coast ; and others were stationed in 
 similar buildings on a reef of rocks on the shore 
 below, to guard the only pass by which the 
 island could be entered, namely, a steep and rug- 
 ged flight of steps cut in the sides of the rock. 
 Such was the place to which Rachaella had vo- 
 luntarily banished herself, but why or where- 
 fore no one knew save herself. 
 
 Radegonda had speedily shown symptoms of 
 disapprobation at sojourning in such a pene-
 
 ALLA GTORNATA. 217 
 
 tentiary, and declared that if Rachaella per- 
 sisted in remaining there, she would return to 
 Pisa, and send her mistress to take her thence 
 To threats and entreaties Rachaella remained 
 unmoved; she gently replied that she was serving 
 Ildegarda by remaining where she was, and that 
 till her work was finished, she would not return 
 to Pisa. The only circumstance which occur- 
 red to vary her monotonous life and the painful 
 round of her self-inflicted sufferings, was the fol- 
 lowing. In one of her rambles by the sea-shore, 
 the farthest point from the convent, as she was 
 admiring the effect of a small fishing-boat, that 
 lay on its oars hard by, while it rose and fell 
 upon the element, of which it seemed to be a 
 living offspring, her attention was caught by the 
 voices of some persons in it, who, in those me- 
 lodious tones which may be said to be indige- 
 nous to the throats of the Italians, sung the 
 following words. 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 !218 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 THE FISHERMAN'S SONG. 
 
 The sun is sunk, the night is grey, 
 
 The ripple is on the tide. 
 Come, shoot your nets in the sheltering bay, 
 
 WTiere our barks may safely ride ; 
 And the measured stroke of the oarS alone. 
 To the fisher's song makes pleasing moan. 
 
 We have no care beyond our nets, 
 
 No thought save wind and weather. 
 And while the courtier fumes and frets. 
 
 We laugh and sing together ; 
 For the measured stroke of our oars alone. 
 Gives us a joy they have never known. 
 
 " I never heard fishermen sing so in my 
 days," said Radegonda. 
 
 " Hush !" cried Rachaella, " listen ; I have 
 surely heard that clear high voice somewhere | 
 
 before ; but be silent, I pray you." 
 
 We envy not the rich or great. 
 
 We have the wide sea's domain ; 
 And happier far is the fisher's fate. 
 
 Who can such vain gear disdain. 
 And in measured stroke of their oars alone 
 Enjoy a delight to those unknown.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 219 
 
 'Tis better far these storms to know. 
 
 Than those of a troubled mind, 
 For the waves and winds may roll and blow, 
 
 But a harbour still we find ; 
 And by measured stroke of our oars alone. 
 Can ride on the billow's stormy throne. 
 
 But that which warreth loud within, 
 
 The strife of unquiet souls. 
 Is the tempest dire of care and sin. 
 
 And nought its wild strife controls ; 
 It is not a stroke of our oars alone 
 Can bear such barks to a haven known. 
 
 Come, listen to the fisher's song, 
 
 'Tis fraught with good- will and peace, 
 
 For as our light barks glide soft along. 
 Our hearts are all love and ease. 
 
 And the measured stroke of our oars the while 
 
 Makes melody that our cares beguile. 
 
 " That is a voice familiar to my ear. I 
 should like to persuade these men to come near, 
 that I may question them. — Perhaps — it is pos- 
 sible ! — Can it be my long lost brother P" She 
 was endeavouring to make a signal to the boat, 
 
 L 2
 
 220 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 when the bell of the cloister rang for the four 
 hours' prayers; and recollecting that she had 
 far to go to the convent, she hurried away as 
 fast as her now debilitated frame allowed her to 
 move. The moment she arrived she proceeded 
 to her cell, and with many reproaches imposed 
 upon herself a double penance for her negli- 
 gence, and spent the greater part of the night 
 in a course of prayer and personal castigation, 
 till exhausted nature kindly came to her re- 
 lief, and closed her eyes in temporary forget- 
 fulness. 
 
 T{ie next day she was unable to leave the 
 mat on which she had sunii down ; and when 
 Radegonda came to her, she found her, as she 
 thought, in a dying state. The attentions of 
 the latter, however, and the application of re- 
 storatives, soon produced a favourable change 
 in the young and vigorous constitution of the 
 penitent, who was quickly able to resume the 
 course of life she had vowed for a time to pur-
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 221 
 
 sue. The only recreation she allowed herself 
 at intervals was rambling about the shore. 
 One day, however, after their usual walk, Ra- 
 degonda, weary of the tedium of the existence 
 they led, and really anxious for the safety of 
 her young charge, began to show determined 
 symptoms of putting an end to such idle non- 
 sense, as she termed their present mode of life, 
 and, in consequence, declared that come of it 
 what might, she would return to Pisa. 
 
 " How do I know all the while we are praying 
 and fasting, and whipping ourselves here, what 
 may betide my own sweet nurseling there .'' and 
 then my own flesh and blood, my beautiful brave 
 Bruno Grillo ! that vile knave Maestrillo may 
 have half killed him for aught 1 know. In short, 
 if you are not tired of whipcord and starvation, 
 fair Rachaella, I am : and home I will go. So 
 tell me what message I shall bear to the Signora 
 Gherardesca, whom, in my opinion, thou art 
 treating very ill. Has she not chosen thee to be
 
 i222 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 her solace and her playmate, and here thou art 
 forsooth, doing nothing that can please any one 
 except the apothecary, from whom you must 
 buy plaister to heal your broken skin/' 
 
 " Patience, good nurse, I beseech you ! one 
 week, only one week longer." 
 
 "Oh, the Fates! — who can have patience 
 with such freaks as these ? One wovdd think 
 thou wert bidding me have patience for some 
 natural wish of a young heart, and that the 
 youngling was petitioning for a look of her 
 beloved, instead of pleading to remain enjoying 
 a stony bed and starvation. Truly, I think the 
 evil one has gotten possession of the poor child, 
 to be thus bent on self-destruction ; why, even 
 now thou lookest half ready for the grave." 
 
 " Ah !" cried Hachaella, who had hitherto 
 appeared unmoved, " Ah !" she ejaculated with 
 a face of terror, and in a tone of voice hollow 
 and sepulchral, " Is it really so ? and is there 
 nothing I can do to avert this terrible destiny ?
 
 ALLA GIOKNATA. 22S 
 
 Must I indeed become the prey of the dark 
 fiend ? — and my poor mistress, my excellent, 
 my kind, my noble Ildegarda, must she too be 
 sacrificed ? And is it indeed beyond the power 
 of her devoted Rachaella to save her?" Then, 
 as if lost in despair, she flew to a projecting 
 point of rock, and, kneeling down, seemed only 
 to bury herself in prayer, previous to leaping 
 headlong into the sea; but fortunately Rade- 
 gonda, clambering with hands and feet to the 
 spot, arrived in time to seize the poor deluded 
 Rachaella, and holding her fast exclaimed, 
 " Now I have you, and it shall go hard with me 
 but I will keep you." 
 
 Breathless with fatigue and terror as Rade- 
 gonda was, she could not exert much strength, 
 had she met with any strenuous resistance ; but 
 fortunately for her, Rachaella was now complete- 
 ly overcome by the struggle of her own feehngs, 
 and she suffered Radegonda, after a few minutes 
 of apparent insensibility, to lead her back to
 
 224) ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the church of the convent. Here she fell into 
 a sort of trance, from which she recovered so 
 far at intervals as to say, with a wild incoherent 
 tone and phraseology, — 
 
 " If, indeed, there are no hopes for me, let 
 all Ildegarda's sins be heaped tenfold on my 
 devoted head ; but spare, oh ! spare that gene- 
 rous and most kind mistress !"" 
 
 " They have turned her brain, poor child ! 
 Many a misfortune I have seen arise from 
 pressing too much on the same subject. St. 
 Gregorio knows that if I had been plagued 
 longer with my poor dear husband, Santa Ro- 
 solia, shrive his sins ! I should not have been 
 here now : and then, indeed, what would have 
 become of Bruno Grillo, the brave one ? or the 
 Signora, my mistress.^ or you yourself? No, 
 no : when things come to a height, down they 
 roll again ; and either you or Nino Pucci must 
 be cut off very shortly." 
 
 " Oh ! you pronounce my doom," faintly eja- 
 culated Rachaella, crossing herself; and then
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 225 
 
 she sank on the pavement of the chapel, to 
 which they had returned. 
 
 This time, Radegonda did indeed beheve 
 that the unfortunate girl was gone for ever ! 
 Loudly did she scream, and call on every name 
 within the convent walls to come to her aid. 
 
 The first person who appeared was Nino 
 Pucci himself, and in the unchecked ebullition 
 of her wrath, Radegonda spared no severe 
 truth in relating to him, how she believed it to 
 be by his cruel art alone, that Rachaella had 
 gradually been led on, to practise the austeri- 
 ties which had nearly deprived her of her rea- 
 son and her life. 
 
 Nino Pucci seemed alarmed, for he replied 
 not as he would otherwise have done to tlie 
 invectives which were poured upon him by a 
 person in such humble life as Radegonda. He 
 soothed her to silence, howevei', and lent his 
 assistance to convey Rachaella to the sisterhood 
 of the convent, who collected around the in- 
 
 L 5
 
 226 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 sensible girl ; and testified their sorrow and 
 alarm by giving her every succour in their 
 power. 
 
 " It is useless (cried the incensed old nurse) 
 to give her any relief, if you intend to persist 
 in your late treatment of her ; it is only bring- 
 ing her to life to cast her back to death again ! 
 and I will myself go with a petition to the 
 Anziani, to claim a just vengeance on your 
 head, before you put the finishing stroke to 
 your villainy !" 
 
 " Softly, good nurse ; beware how you med- 
 dle with the affairs of the Church ! You and 
 your proud mistress will live perhaps to rue 
 the day that you have set up your foolish wills 
 in contradiction to powers you cannot conquer. 
 If you do not fear the powers of darkness, fear 
 those of a justly offended brotherhood !" 
 
 " Ah ! you say right enough," cried Rade- 
 gonda, nothing daunted. " You are all of 
 you much worse than the evil one ; for I can 
 pray to St. Ranieri or St. Gregorio against
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 227 
 
 him ; and my prayers will be heard : but it is 
 in vain that I pray to you, hearts of stone 
 that you are !" 
 
 During this abusive colloquy, Rachaella was 
 gradually recovering from the fainting fit into 
 which exhaustion of bodily strength and ex- 
 citement of feelings had thrown her. Rade- 
 gonda administered one of the comforting 
 doses which she had kept carefully concealed 
 in her own cell ; and having moreover brought 
 from thence some good bedding, which she had 
 obtained from some fishermen who procured it 
 from Leghorn for her, Rachaella, the penitent, 
 being placed thereon, instead of the mat on which 
 she had hitherto lain, was gradually restored to 
 life; but her recovery to natural strength proved 
 at this time so tedious and imperfect, that Nino 
 Pucci himself advised her returning to Pisa ; 
 for it by no means entered into his views 
 that she should die — having sent a messenger to 
 Ildegarda. A conveyance was quickly in readi- 
 ness to bear Rachaella in safety to her home.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RACHAELLA S RETURN TO ILDEGARDA, — THE MEETING 
 
 OF THE LATTER WITH RANIERI. RACHAELLA's 
 
 NARRATIVE. 
 
 " It is within the experience of many medical prac- 
 titioners, that a patient, with strange and unusual 
 symptoms of disease, has been more distressed in mind, 
 more wretched, from the fact of being unintelligible to 
 himself and others, than from the pain or danger of the 
 
 disease." 
 
 Coleridge's Biographiana. 
 
 And if this be indeed the case in a physical 
 sense, how much more frequently is \t so in the 
 moral developement of minds and tempers ! 
 how often are they rendered wretcled from 
 their incapacity to make others knovV what 
 they feel !
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 220 
 
 Neither ought this wretchedness to be as- 
 cribed to caprice or waywardness : it is very 
 frequently owing to the pecuhar and complicated 
 texture of that inexplicable mixture of mind 
 and matter, which is in itself an inexhaustible 
 source of wonder and entertainment to the spe- 
 culative and sane observer. 
 
 When Ildegarda pressed her young friend 
 once more in her arms, she started involunta- 
 rily at the touch of her almost fleshless frame. 
 Nothing remained unchanged of the late bloom- 
 ing Rachaella, save her large blue eyes, and long 
 fair hair. 
 
 " Who has done this ? " cried her mistress, 
 " what canker-worm has fostered upon my 
 flower ? And thou, Radegonda, what hast thou 
 not to answer for ? why didst thou not tell me 
 of this havoc ? why didst thou not send for 
 me ? how dost thou dare to present my adopted 
 sister thus disfigured to me ?""
 
 230 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 " Peace, gentle Ildegarda ! peace, lUustris- 
 siuia," softly answered Rachaella ; and Rade- 
 gonda being at the moment busily employed 
 with smothering Bruno Grillo in her embraces, 
 the altered damsel had leisure to make the an- 
 swer herself. 
 
 " Blame no one, my beloved lady, if you see 
 me colourless and emaciated. You know, I be- 
 long to one who is of no colour." And a yet 
 more ashy paleness covered her face, as she 
 spoke. "Do you not remember Marinella?" 
 Ildesarda did remember Marinella, and in- 
 voluntarily shuddered ; but recalling her judg- 
 ment into action she could not believe that 
 Rachaella was Marinella's child ; still less that 
 any evil and supernatural agency had taken 
 effect upon the innocent girl; and she only 
 gazed at her with an intense and mournful in- 
 terest, while Rachaella's words impressed the 
 sad belief, that her senses had, by some means 
 or other, been alienated. The poor damsel
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. £31 
 
 meanwhile went on to say, as audibly as the weak 
 tone of her voice permitted her, " Promise me, 
 lady, to blame no one. If you see me altered, 
 it is a blessed alteration ; I was but falsely 
 painted, with hues that were not my own i" 
 
 " There, now," cried Maestrillo, interrupt- 
 ing her, as he was assisting her into her apart- 
 ment, " There, now," winking, and looking 
 portentously at Ildegarda, " did not I tell you 
 so, Signora ? did not I tell you so ? nothing that 
 was real, or as it should be, could come out of 
 that sulphureous nest. It must be a comical 
 bird, who would hatch her nestlings there, and 
 her plumes would smell of the singeing, into 
 whatever other climes she miglit fly. 'Twas a 
 sad day when she roosted in our tower, that 's 
 for certain." 
 
 " Begone ! " cried Ildegarda angrily, " or 
 tuna your note to less offensive music : you, at 
 least, are a graceless menial, unworthy of my 
 protection."
 
 S32 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 i( 
 
 It is all right," sweetly uttered Rachaella, 
 pressing her long white fingers on the fooFs 
 shoulders as she spoke, " it is all right: re- 
 buke him not. These are the tauntings which 
 make the down of Rachaella's pillow. Your 
 honeyed words are the thorns in my path. Ma- 
 estrillo is right. I find every one, except thy- 
 self, dearest mistress, reads my doom written 
 on my features." 
 
 It was now past all doubt, in Ildegarda's 
 melancholy conviction, that owing to some un- 
 known cause, her young and innocent friend's 
 reason had been warped, till it no longer could 
 resist the pressure, and had burst the natural 
 limits of its range, to wander amid shapeless 
 forms of terror. 
 
 Ildegarda felt the blood's cold revulsion at 
 her heart, when this conviction impressed it- 
 self on her mind : but how this sudden cala- 
 mity had come upon her, was another consi- 
 deration. If by the trick of priestcraft it had
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 233 
 
 been effected, she determined most strenuously 
 to use every means in her power, to hold forth 
 the perpetrators of so foul a deed to public de- 
 testation. 
 
 Having seen Rachaella reinstated in her 
 apartment, and safe under the care of her wo- 
 men, she summoned her old nurse to her pre- 
 sence. 
 
 " How is this .f*" imperiously demanded of her 
 the agitated Ildcgarda; " how is this, that my 
 favourite damsel is restored to me in such a 
 state?" 
 
 " Ay, how indeed, my own nursling : you 
 may well ask the question. But never before, 
 sweet heart, didst thou receive Radegonda with 
 a gloomy brow. Has thy poor nurse given thee 
 her earliest and latest fruits of kindness and of 
 care, fed thee with her milk, sustained thy in- 
 fancy with her arms, thy blooming womanhood 
 with her services, to reap such a service as this 
 in return ? I would sooner give my mantle of
 
 234 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 gold brocade, and my best tirings along with it, 
 than meet with such another reception." And 
 here a passion of tears quenched all harsher 
 passion. 
 
 Ildegai'da''s anger was in a moment appeased. 
 " Nay, now, my good nurse, my dear and honour- 
 ed Radegonda, why dost thou grieve so ? Good 
 heart, I meant not to vex thee thus; but, in truth, 
 my spirit grew indignant at sight of the poor 
 child, so changed, so feeble, as I fear in such a dy- 
 ing condition. My suspicions of the perpetrators 
 of this most cruel deed are vague and general ; 
 but you cannot marvel that I should be moved 
 at the sight. Oh I who can have turned the 
 wholesome flower of that young creature's blood 
 in one little month"'s time, to the deadly chill of 
 the poisoned current that now seems to run in 
 her veins ? Some fiendish soul has worked thij; 
 withering change : and canst thou marvel I am 
 wroth ? Oh ! not at thee, good dear Radegonda, 
 not at thee : hush thy sobbings, for they be-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 235 
 
 come infectious ; and if thou wouldst have an- 
 swering tears to stay thine own, mine are not 
 backward to flow. Forgive me, if I wounded 
 thee ; but relate, I pray thee, what thou knowest 
 concerning this sorcery."" 
 
 " Ay, there now," still with broken sobbings 
 spoke the tender nurse, " there, now I know 
 my sweet nursling again. Marvel, ay, that thou 
 mayest well do, and so do I, to see the altered 
 creature that I have brought back, from that 
 which I took out with me ; but, indeed, so far 
 from chiding and frowning at thy old faithful 
 Radegonda, thou mayest thank and bless her for 
 having brought thee the poor child back alive." 
 Here Radegonda recounted all that she had dis- 
 covered, and all that she had not discovered of 
 Rachaella's sufferings, and of the life she led at 
 the convent ; and ended by declaring that she 
 believed Nino Pucci to be a very wicked man ; 
 and if she had not (to use her own words) set 
 her back up against him, and claimed the young
 
 236 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 chick out of his clutches by main force, there 
 would have been a willow over her head, and 
 a cross at her feet by this time ; and that is all 
 you would have seen of her. 
 
 " Thanks, my good friend," rejoined Ilde- 
 garda. " Thou hast indeed merited far other 
 reward at my hand, than those harsh words ; 
 but thou hast forgiven me, — say thou hast. And 
 now it only remains for me to reflect on the best 
 means to be pursued to save this ill-fated dam- 
 sel, ere yet she is wholly lost." 
 
 Ildegarda sought Rachaella ; and having in 
 vain attempted to elicit any rational account of 
 her situation from her own lips, she forbore to 
 tease her, and wisely left it to time and nature 
 to restore her to her wonted placidity. 
 
 Having sent for her great friend, and most 
 trusty counsellor, Cassini — he in whose breast, 
 as in a secure place of refuge, did the old and 
 the young of all parties, and of all humours, de-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 237 
 
 posit their secrets — Ildegarda made known to 
 him the state of her unhappy favourite ; and 
 having heard her with that attentive ear, which 
 suffered no subject presented to his consideration 
 to be hghtly entertained, he repHed that, by what 
 he could judge, the malady was in the mind ; 
 and till entreaty, or gentle compulsion, could 
 ehcit the truth of the original cause from her, 
 there was nothing to be done, save to prevent 
 the approach of any one who was likely to excite 
 her feelings or her imagination; while every 
 soothing care that could present pleasurable 
 subjects to her, should assiduously be employed. 
 " And to whom," he said, " can I delegate this 
 gentle commission ; who will execute it half as 
 well as yourself ?" 
 
 " To no one who will more eagerly attempt 
 its fulfilment, I may, at least, assure you." 
 And although a deeper interest still throbbed 
 in every pulse, Ildegarda, with unremitting
 
 938 ALLA GIOKNATA. 
 
 tenderness, watched over her favourite Ra- 
 chaella. 
 
 The last day of the month was now arrived, 
 which had been fixed upon by Ildegarda for 
 llanieri's return. The whole flow of her feelings, 
 which had been temporarily directed from their 
 channel by the unaccountable illness of her 
 friend, now rushed back with redoubled impe- 
 tuosity to their source of primary interest, and 
 there was not a pulsation in her frame which 
 did not beat with the agony of suspense. Ildegar- 
 da possessed the inspiration of unpremeditated 
 verse ; and she had recourse to this relief from 
 the vehemence of her feelings, which to some 
 not so gifted, and of less imaginative mould, 
 must appear unnatural — but by others, diffe- 
 rently organised, it is known to be perfectly 
 compatible with the most impetuous and over- 
 whelming sensations of which the human heart 
 is capable. 
 
 As Ildegarda sat beneath her high Venetian
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. 239 
 
 latticed windows, listening to every sound that 
 passed beneath in the street, with that agony 
 of tumultuous curiosity to know what caused 
 it, which is intelligible only to those who like 
 her have waited for the sound of footsteps which 
 conveyed the life or death of happiness — as she 
 sat thus, one hand supporting her beating tem- 
 ples, the other traced impetuously the follow- 
 ing words, which best will show the anarch v 
 that reigned within her breast, and the nature 
 of that sentiment which made such havoc 
 there. 
 
 ^Vhat pain to catch each passing sound 
 
 Till hearing's sense gi'ows dull. 
 To watch the minutes tardy round. 
 
 With beating pulses fuU : 
 
 Full of the tremor and the pain 
 
 Of dread uncertainty ! 
 WTiile hope and fear alternate reign. 
 And strive for mastery. 
 
 'Tis jBash on flash a tempest dire 
 
 Of mental hurricane. 
 Lightning that sets the brain on fire, 
 
 While reason's on the wane.
 
 240 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 How different is this mental stomi 
 
 From nature's kindlier strife. 
 Salubrious airs, more pure, more warm, 
 
 To nature give new life. 
 
 When Heaven's wild lurid fires are past. 
 
 It smiles serenely bright ; 
 But once the mind is overcast. 
 
 What can restore its light? 
 
 The mental storm, and strife may end. 
 
 But desolation's there. 
 And Death is then the only friend. 
 
 To cure that dark despair. . 
 
 It was early days for Ildegarda to despair. 
 
 But who does not despair a hundred times, 
 
 that has ever loved.'* and who that has lived, 
 
 through such moments will deny, that, even on 
 
 reflection, they yield not in agony to any other 
 
 grief with which humanity is doomed to be 
 
 afflicted. Poor Ildegarda ! in that one last day 
 
 of the appointed time which thou hadst named 
 
 for thy lover's absence, thou didst endure a 
 
 thousand years of common anguish ; for, 
 
 " It is not the length of oui* life which can give 
 One idea of what it is really to live : 
 Ah ! no ; 'tis the heart that lives more in one minute, 
 Than an age of monotonous indifference has in it."
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 241 
 
 " Hark !" cried lldegarda ; and the trampling 
 of horses sounded uncertainly in the distance. 
 She arose, and placed her ear to the casement ; 
 the sounds became more distinct — grew louder 
 and more loud — quicker and more quick came 
 the horses' hoofs clattering on the pavement : 
 they arrived at, and crossed the bridge : nearer 
 still they came, and more impetuously, till they 
 ^topped at her Court door. Then passed over 
 her, that closing of the hearing, that swimming 
 of the sight, that pressure of the breath, which 
 follows the intense feeling of suspense, resolved 
 into a glad certitude. She moved not from the 
 place where she was standing, but her eyes 
 were fixed on the door ; its heavy curtain was 
 hastily drawn aside, and Ranieri gUded in with 
 that quiet but rapid step, which told her all she 
 wished to know. 
 
 " Alia Giornata !" he said, in a low breathless 
 tone, pressing her hand to his lips. 
 
 " Blessed be it !" she answered convulsively. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 "' Blessed it shall be, then," he replied, with 
 more of rapture in the tone than he usually 
 allowed himself. 
 
 Some moments of silence, delicious silence, 
 restored these lovers to their self-possession. 
 Again Ildegarda covdd hear and see ; the mys- 
 tery of her feelings had subsided to a conscious- 
 ness of sweet and comparatively calm satisfac- 
 tion ; she covdd gaze with tranquil delight on 
 the finely moulded features of Ranieri; she 
 could listen to the music of his quiet voice, and 
 reply to a thousand common place questions, 
 which assumed a character of important inte- 
 rest, or of exceeding beauty, when proceeding 
 from his lips : — ^but when this stage of enchant- 
 ment in its tvu'n gradually subsided, and that 
 the inquiring heart sent out new questions con- 
 nected with the futurity of its wishes — then 
 sank the spirits, and the brow of Ildegarda 
 owned a shade of anxiety even in her Ranieri's 
 presence. The great point, the nucleus on which
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 243 
 
 turned the liappiness of her Hfe, was sus- 
 pended ; for Ranieri had not yet spoken of his 
 mother. A heavy weight was at his heart, and 
 the first rapturous moments of reunion having 
 passed away, his thoughts, like hers, in despite 
 of present joy, reverted to that point, M'hich 
 involved not only the actual moment, but the 
 future. They both sighed, and were silent. 
 
 But there is something in the human spirit 
 which suffers us not to dwell on the actual mo- 
 ment. There is no present to us on earth — 
 no isolated single instant of bliss, which we can 
 unlink from the great chain of existence, and, 
 completely blest, exclaim — " This at least is 
 ours.'" Such may not be — is not ; but there mav 
 be illusory moments (and surely there have been 
 in every one's life, or dull has been that life,) 
 which, hanging as it were between Heaven and 
 earth, have owned the electric touch of each : 
 the beam from above, or the vapour from be- 
 neath, have cast a splendour or a blight on 
 
 M 2
 
 244 ALLA GIOENATA. 
 
 that suspended instant ; and Heaven or earth, 
 or both, have claimed it for their own ; — and 
 such, perhaps, was the mixed nature of this, to 
 the saddened lovers. 
 
 Ranieri's thoughts were quickly reflected in 
 his countenance : his brow resumed the serious- 
 ness with which it was habitually crowned. 
 Ildegarda quickly caught the infection of that 
 concern, and their protracted silence might have 
 been chilling, were it not for that intuitive sense 
 which exists between two united souls, and 
 makes each one conscious that it is with the 
 other their thoughts are busied, although not 
 even a glance of explanation passes. At length 
 Ranieri, in stifled accents, and with an un- 
 natural haste, which betrayed the misery it was 
 intended to conceal, related his unavailing at- 
 tempt to persuade his mother to yield to his 
 wishes ; and then he added, in a voice barely 
 audible, " I cannot disobey, and draw down a 
 parent's curse upon us: neither will I obey.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 245 
 
 She knows the strength of my attachment to 
 you : she knows I aspire only to be worthy of 
 your hand ; and if I do not obtain that lofty 
 prize, death on a field of glory is all which is left 
 for me.'" 
 
 The charm was broken ; Ildegarda's illusion 
 vanished with these words ; and she foresaw, in 
 long and drear array, the lonely journey of life 
 that lay outstretched before her. Her apparent 
 calmness, however, might have deceived a less 
 interested observer than he who now beheld the 
 dignified despair that overcast her features. 
 
 " I was in some degree prepared for this deci- 
 sion of the Lanfreducci's. How could I imagine, 
 that one whose opinions, whose habits, whose ob- 
 ject in life are so different from mine, could con- 
 sent that her only child should be united to me ? 
 was indeed wholly irrational: but who is not li- 
 able to their own heart's deceptions ? Thus, then, 
 the circle of sorcery which appears to be drawn 
 around me, expels another being, the last and
 
 246 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 dearest, from ray intercourse. Ah ! that circle 
 ■will daily and hourly contract, — I feel it will, — 
 till life itself must yield to the pressvu'e : but, 
 indeed, what matters it ? if the life of life is 
 taken away, how valueless is breath !"" 
 
 " I cannot endure to hear you speak thus, 
 Ildegarda; say not so, I implore you ! You, 
 who are surrounded by thousands, whom your 
 bounty feeds, v/hom your goodness attaches, 
 whom your beauty enchants. — No ! it is as it 
 should be ; your sun shines brightly in the ho- 
 rizon of life, some few clouds overshadow it; 
 perchance : and it is a high distinction to have 
 you own that the present circumstance may 
 obscure, for a time, the brilliancy of your 
 destiny ; but these clouds will pass away, and 
 it is I whose destiny is indeed blasted. I am 
 a lonely man, unhonoured, useless ; forget me, 
 Ildegarda, forget me, or rather think of me 
 only with compassion. I would not lose all at
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 247 
 
 once ; I could not bear that and live : let your 
 generous pity, your friendship soothe ray sor- 
 row. It was, perhaps, too much of happiness to 
 think of calling you mine ; but let me, at least, 
 pass from such a pinnacle of felicity, to some- 
 thing less terrible than that total forgetfulness 
 I but this moment pleaded for." 
 
 Thus, like one overwhelmed in the tempestu- 
 ous waves, who catches at some frail substance 
 for support, Ranieri continued to grasp at and 
 press on the word friendship, till he believed he 
 had substituted its actual measured feeling for 
 that immeasurable one, which was not thus to 
 be supplied. Yet so well, and with such artless 
 art did he press his suit, that the lovers parted 
 almost as well contented in the prospect of con- 
 stantly meeting, which this new illusion held 
 out to them, as in their late most passionate 
 hope. It was all well, so long as they saw each 
 other and talked together, but no sooner was
 
 948 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Ildegarda left alone to reflection, than her mind 
 acknowledged the deception which love had 
 placed on love. 
 
 A visit from Cassini awoke her from the long 
 stupor which had followed the tumult of emo- 
 tion which raged in her breast, and she tendered 
 her hand to her friend as though she were grasp- 
 ing a rock of support." Then, in a more hurried 
 manner than was natural to her, she entered 
 upon Rachaella's case, that she might draw off 
 his attention from herself, but in vain. Cassini 
 had studied the mental as well as the physical 
 world. He saw, and guessed that matters were 
 not right with herself; one glance of her now 
 flushed cheek, her glittering eye, her brow of 
 pain, told him all her story ; and it only re- 
 mained for him to know how far Rachaella's 
 case was connected with Ildegarda's, in order to 
 judge of both. 
 
 " Let us see the damsel," he answered in 
 reply to Ildegarda's questions concerning the
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. 249 
 
 cause and nature of her malady : " we cannot, 
 like the Persian doctors, give our opinion with- 
 out seeing the patient." Then turning to Ra- 
 degonda, who had ushered him in — " Good 
 nurse, I prithee bring us your young charge : 
 but do not alarm the timid girl ; tell her an old 
 man wants to admire her beauty, and be ground 
 young again in the sun of her eyes !" 
 
 " Ay, ay ! let Radegonda alone for executing 
 a commission well that requires management. 
 Why to be sure we sugar the edge of the cup 
 that contains nauseous medicine ; not that I 
 mean it is nauseous medicine to behold the 
 wise doctor, the good friend of all, and more 
 especially the guardian angel of the poor ; 
 blessed be the skirt of his garment ! but I 
 know that it is nauseous to youth tx) have 
 their little secrets pryed into, and to be obliged 
 to turn themselves inside out, as it were, before 
 
 any one 
 
 t is a wise 
 
 M 5 
 
 " She is a wise creature," cried Cassini,
 
 250 ALLA GlORKATA. 
 
 smiling : " I never knew a nurse in my life 
 that was not ; it is their business to observe : 
 and all practical knowledge comes from obser- 
 vation ; and the knowledge that is not prac- 
 tical, of what use is it? They may say what 
 they like in derision of old women and nurses, 
 but the Avorld would fare very ill without 
 them !" Then turning to Ildegarda, and taking 
 her hand with parental affection, he added, 
 " Young or old, what should we do without 
 you ? You turn all our heads at one age, and 
 kindly soothe them when they are weighty 
 with care and disease at another. Ay, ay ! go 
 along, good Radegonda ; spread out your gar- 
 ment, well may it swell with honest pride !" as 
 she bustled out of the room like a ship in full 
 sail. " Bring Rachaella quickl3\ But, Signora," 
 addressing Ildegarda, and with an expression 
 of concern in his countenance, " allow me to 
 say, in the meantime, you are not quite as you 
 should be yourself."
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 251 
 
 " Oh ! quite well," replied Ildegarda, evading 
 a direct answer, and colouring, " quite Avell." 
 He shook his head. " Or if I am not, medi- 
 cine has no healing balm to cure my ills !" 
 
 "But friendship may ! — There now, good 
 soul," seeing her look disti'essed ; " not a word 
 more ! I want no secrets : why I have such a 
 budget of them already, as would fill the Bap- 
 tistery were they all collected, in manuscript : 
 fortunately I forget the old ones, as the new 
 come forward, or I should never find room for 
 them in my head. No," he continued, in a dif- 
 ferent tone, " I want no secrets ; but only re 
 collect, you ha\e in me a friend; and for the 
 sake of those of your family who were my ear- 
 liest ones, there is nothing in my power to do 
 that I would not do for you." 
 
 Ildegarda felt that his words were indeed 
 words of truth, and that she had one city of re- 
 fuge to flee to, as long as Cassini was spared 
 to her.
 
 252 ALLA GIGIINATA. 
 
 Rachaella joined them, but not as it was her 
 wont to do, bounding in as if her light step dis- 
 dained the earth. She was leaning on the arm of 
 Radegonda, pale, emaciated, breathless. " Why, 
 my dear young creature,'" said the kind Cassini, 
 hiding his real feelings in beholding her, " I 
 fear they have been making thee do too hard 
 a task at the Isola della Gorgona. I must tell 
 my good friends there in the Benedictine Con- 
 vent, that they shall have no more of my com- 
 forting prescriptions, unless they distinguish 
 better in future between a young budding 
 flower and an old dried stick. I am happy, 
 indeed, that thou art returned to this excellent 
 kind Signora : here you will find your lost roses 
 again ; and I shall again lose my heart. But tell 
 us, I pray, what befel you during your absence ; 
 and let us know why you are thus changed ? 
 
 " I am not changed," replied Rachaella, 
 with a voice made firm by exertion, but 
 which was evidently forced into steadiness ; " T
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 253 
 
 am not changed ; I am only returned to my- 
 self: I ought to be hideous, for I am a 
 lost one."" For an instant Cassini was grave ; 
 but quickly recovering his own heavenly sun- 
 shine of countenance, he replied, taking her 
 hand, " Come, come; if this is so, let us know- 
 all concerning the wonderful fact ; surely your 
 best friends should be made acquainted how 
 this affair came about. Sit down and let us 
 converse on the subject."" 
 
 Rachaella obeyed, but only for a moment ; 
 then rose up restlessly : " I cannot stay long 
 in one place," she said ; " I have a deal of 
 work to do, and I cannot make you understand 
 what is my malady ; that is one of the things 
 that torments me most. I have a pain here 
 sometimes," she said, putting her hand to her 
 head : " but that is not what troubles me ; I 
 do not mind pain; on the contrary, I never 
 felt so much relieved, as when I used to cas- 
 tigate myself severely*"
 
 254 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 " Humph !" said Cassini, looking from un- 
 der his projecting brow with that keen clear blue 
 eye, that, like a beam from Heaven, searched 
 the very soul. " Now, tell me, fair Rachaella, 
 v/ould it not be most effectual to let one of the 
 Signora's servant-men, Maestrillo or Giuseppe, 
 take a good long whip, and save you the trou- 
 ble of going all the way to the Isola della Gor- 
 gona to do it yourself." 
 
 There was something so comically serious in 
 the question, that Rachaella looked astounded, 
 but she neither laughed, nor made answer. 
 
 " Well, but my own damsel, answer me, if you 
 will not answer our friend ; and tell me, are you 
 not glad to return to me, your own sister, who 
 loves to consider you as such, and who was so 
 lonely in your absence." 
 
 " Yes, yes, dearest Signora, I love, I must 
 ever love you ; but I fear it is impossible to 
 make either you or the Signor Dottore under- 
 stand this matter ; it is too hard for you."
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 255 
 
 To this assertion they made no reply, but 
 looked at each other "with significant and sorrow- 
 ing glances. Cassini having felt her pulse, and 
 made himself master, as much as possible, of 
 the nature of this aberration of mind, dismissed 
 her ; and when she was gone, he said, in reply 
 to Ildegarda's inquiring eyes, " I trust this 
 malady is only temporary : the pulse is very 
 much affected ; there is considerable fever ; and 
 I have every reason to hope that some affection 
 of the heart has occasioned this partial insanity, 
 and that it has been increased by bodily suf- 
 fering. We must amuse and divert her mind : 
 that will be the chief remedy ; while wholesome 
 food and some slight medicine will co-operate to 
 work the cure. I have sanguine trust that we 
 shall restore this damsel to you." 
 
 " Ah !"" rejoined Ildegarda, " I have sad 
 doubts : — these priests are very demons, and 
 
 they r 
 
 " Hush ! dear Signora," interrupting her ; " the
 
 256 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 walls have ears, especially where those gentry 
 are concerned : — prudence, prudence.'" 
 
 As he spoke the last word, Rachaella re-enter- 
 ed the apartment, bringing with her something 
 which appeared of high value, in her estimation ; 
 for it was rolled in many pieces of costly silk, and , 
 fastened round with a chain of gold, — the first 
 present that Ildegarda had ever made her. 
 
 '' If any thing can explain to you," she said, 
 " the nature of my disease, it is this history— 
 my travels." 
 
 Cassini and Ildegarda looked at each other 
 significantly. " Your travels ! Rachaella," re- 
 peated the latter, in rather an ironical tone. 
 
 " Nay," whispered Cassini, " do not check 
 her too abruptly ; this is not the moment to 
 reason with her. Let us elicit from her all that 
 we can : the more we see into her imagination, 
 the better can we judge in what the disease f 
 consists." 
 
 " Behold the history of my travels 1" cried
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. 257 
 
 Rachaella, presenting her manuscript with an 
 expression of delight, while a faint roseate hue 
 reanimated her pallid cheek. " Behold how 
 beauteous it is !" and she displayed a long roll 
 of paper, on which were painted many quaint 
 devices, many figures of birds and beasts, 
 and creeping things, and men and women cu- 
 riously arrayed ; besides these, were maps and 
 views of places, inlaid with gold, and beautiful 
 in their imaginative aspects. 
 
 " Ah ! ah !" said Cassini, " you intend this 
 doubtless as an heir loom to be laid up in 
 the precious collection of manuscripts belong- 
 ing to your mistress, to illustrate the history of 
 the present times." 
 
 " What I wish,*" rejoined Rachaella, apparent- 
 ly pleased that he entered into this object of her 
 interest with attention, " is to make you both 
 understand what is the matter with me, and 
 then perhaps, you Avill be able to know what is 
 the matter with yourselves.*^
 
 258 ALL A GIORXATA. 
 
 " Very true," gravely answered Cassini ; 
 " and you will give us leave to read this curious 
 transcript of your adventures, which will throw 
 light upon the subject." 
 
 " Doubtless," she rejoined ; " I brought it 
 for that purpose. I cannot stay to read it, 
 but if there is any thing that requires explana* 
 tion, make your notes, and refer to me after- 
 wards ; when I will be happy to do my best in 
 making the obscure intelligible."" 
 
 " Many thanks, dear one,"" replied Ildegarda, 
 taking her cue from Cassini ; " we will com- 
 mence this interesting lecture immediatel3^■'"' 
 
 Rachaella withdrew ; and Ildegarda turning 
 to the Doctor, said, " But have you leisure 
 now to examine this strange document with me?"" 
 
 " Leisure ! certainly, it is my duty so to do : 
 it is only the idle, dear Signora, who have no 
 time for any thing."" 
 
 The manuscript was written in imitation of 
 the long Chinese rolls. It was embellished with
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 2d9 
 
 much colour ; saints and devils abounded, and 
 creatures of every denomination. The text was 
 written in a fair German character, such as II- 
 degarda herself had been taught, and had in- 
 structed her to write in. The Signer Dottore 
 put on his most attentive face, settled his velvet 
 cap on his head, drew his large cloak around 
 him, and leaning over Ildegarda, listened with 
 all the simple delight of the youngest mind to 
 the following wild story.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF A LOST ONE. 
 
 *' L'homme ne salt a quel rang se mettre : il est visible- 
 ment egare, et sent en lui des restes d' un etat heureux 
 dont il est d^clin, et qu'il ne peut retrouver." Pascal. 
 
 " What I might have been before I was at 
 Volterra, Heaven alone, or a worse place, can 
 tell. I had a warning of my fate when I was 
 once lost in the snow, but that did not make 
 me what it ought to have made me : I was saved 
 then, and forgot it. I looked fair when I saw 
 my image reflected in the rivulet near the cave 
 where we dwelt, but I was only a painted cheat. 
 I had even then a restlessness about me, which 
 made me unwilling ever to remain in one spot.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 261 
 
 My happiest times were when I made acquaint- 
 ance with the stars and clouds : the former used 
 to throw long glittering hnes in the rivulet at 
 night, and I used to catch them, but there were 
 often hooks at the ends that drew me painfully- 
 upward : and then, again, the clouds that I admi- 
 red, would turn all black, and, pressing upon me, 
 force me down once more upon the earth. Such 
 was my strange existence, till Ildegarda came 
 for me : she was sent by a higher power than 
 she knew of, to take me to be her playmate; for 
 I am destined to be of siornal service to her. 
 But, before I proceed in ray relation, it is ne- 
 cessary to state, that two principles, the one of 
 evil, and the other of good, hover perpetually 
 over her ; and she, unfortunately, is mostly go- 
 verned by the bad one. This, I have learnt, is 
 no uncommon case among the children of men. 
 " I had not been long within the walls of her 
 palace, before her good angel said to me, ' You 
 are a lost one ! There is only one way to re-
 
 262 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 gain your station in the scale of earthly beings 
 who have a chance of happiness, and that is, 
 by saving other sovils who are under the evil 
 influence; and whom, by your sacrifices and 
 sufferings, you may place under the benign 
 influence of the good Spirit. Should you fail in 
 this, nothing remains for you but to be whirled 
 from one planet to another; from rocks to 
 oceans, and from fires to snows, in one perpetual 
 tempest of contrasted sufferings. 
 
 " ' But why am I a lost one ?'' said I, ap- 
 palled — ' What have I done that merits so 
 terrible a doom ?' 
 
 " ' You are the offspring," said my favouring 
 Spirit, ' of sacrilegious and heretical parents !' 
 Then, indeed, I heard the thmider roll, and 
 saw the lightning flash, — but such a storm ! 
 Oh ! I could never see such another, and live ! 
 ' Cheer up,' said the good angel ; ' cheer up, 
 and set about your Avork. If in the space of 
 time allotted to you for that purpose, you
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 263 
 
 can turn three souls to the right path, you will 
 evade the terrible destiny that otherwise awaits 
 you.' 
 
 " Well, these words sounded in my ears late 
 and early : I did what I could. Ildegarda knows 
 how regularly I attended at the neighbouring 
 convent ; how earnestly I besought her to 
 listen to the sage councils of Nino Pucci, as well 
 as to Fredolfo ; how often I assured her it was 
 all one, as long as they were priests, which of 
 thera attended her ; but woe is me, I saw with 
 grief of heart, that even Maestrillo diverted her 
 more than they, and that Bruno Grillo was 
 much more beloved than any of them. By 
 this I judged some evil was pending over her, 
 which would soon end in her destruction. 
 What am I to do? what can I do ? I often 
 exclaimed, in the dead of the night, as well as 
 at morn and in the noon day. I cried to the 
 winds — the clouds — the stars : they had spoken 
 to me before, but they would not speak now.
 
 264 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Well, the evil one came indeed : down fell 
 Ildegarda's castle; the gay throng fled from 
 her, and she herself became a prey to wretched- 
 ness. Then Rachaella cast off her gay attire, 
 and went about sorrowing — but, oh ! to no pur- 
 pose. ^ 
 
 *' At last, one evening, as I sat on the topmost 
 gallery of our beautiful leaning-tower, gazing 
 around me, I heard a voice say, ' Rachaella, 
 go to the Isola della Gorgona ; lose not a mo- 
 ment ; go there, and you have a chance of 
 befriending Ildegarda.' Although to the last U- 
 degarda's evil genius prevailed in some degree, 
 and she did all in her power by her entreaties 
 and her displeasure, to prevent my putting my 
 intention into execution, I did go there, and 
 from thence my travels began . 
 
 " Radegonda was a great hindrance to my 
 flights ; for just as I began to soar, she said 
 something every now and then, that drew me 
 back to earth again. * Never mind,' whispered 
 my genius, ' there are many such good people
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 265 
 
 in the world, but they only torment — they do 
 not succeed. In fine, notwithstanding all these 
 impediments, I made good my determination ; 
 and every night I set off on my travels — and 
 saw such things ! I cannot, may not, write of 
 them all ; but of those which I may, here is the 
 detail. 
 
 " I was conveyed in a sort of transparent 
 globe, of the most beautiful colours : this globe 
 had two wings composed of a silvery substance : 
 all the time that I moved rapidly in the air, 
 I felt a delicious sensation ; and when I wished 
 to accelerate my speed, I found that by merely 
 pressing my feet downwards, the wings flapped 
 quicker, and away I swung with swifter motion 
 hither and thither like a hght cloud. ' Where 
 can I be going to,' said I : '^ Never mind ;' 
 answered the well-known voice at my ear. ' Do 
 not ask any questions yet : I am your friend, 
 though you have never seen me; and I will 
 
 VOL. I. jj
 
 266 ALL A GIOKXATA. 
 
 do all in my power to amuse and delight and 
 serve you.' 
 
 " After some hours passed in this flying car, 
 I found myself descending, and saw beneath 
 me a magnificent tract of country, and one 
 long line of light that edged a dark blue 
 sea: at the same time I beheld a car, with a 
 transcendently beautiful youth seated on it. I 
 never saw mortal to compare with him save the 
 Lanfreducci. He was guiding fiery coursers, 
 and a number of fair maidens were dancing 
 round them strewing flowers; at his back was 
 an effulgent blaze of glory ; and, as he passed 
 onwards, all below apyieared irradiated with 
 light and beauty. The shadows retired before 
 him ; and exquisite was the fragrance which dis- 
 tilled from the scattered flowers of the dam- 
 sels. I marvelled where this group Vv^ere going, 
 and from w^ience they had come; and, not- 
 withstanding my friend's injunction 1 asked the 
 question. ' Many a one. like you, has asked
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 267 
 
 and will ask it ; but had they eyes to view it as 
 it is, a thing of spirit, they would know it is an 
 emanation sprung from the brightest fancy, 
 and will ever continue to astound and delight 
 all who gaze upon it. Nay, even wh^n it shall 
 pass away, it will leave a track of light to sa}^ 
 where its path has been !"* I confess I was not 
 much the wiser for this answer ; but, ashamed 
 of my own dulness, I gazed in unsatisfied 
 curiosity : and the pleasure the vision afforded 
 me was not the less exquisite for being wholly 
 unaccountable. What is there worth under- 
 standing, as it is called .'' It is a sufJicient plea- 
 sure to float about in a charming confusion, as I 
 and my car did, without seeking any other cer- 
 tainty. Well, the whole land, now beneath me, 
 lay in the broad blaze of day, and I found my- 
 self gently set down upon it. I picked up se- 
 veral of the flowers, which the dancing maid- 
 ens had scattered ; and their fragrance was 
 still very delicious, though not quite so much 
 
 ts 9.
 
 268 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 SO as before they had touched the earth. I 
 was walking on a velvet sward of the gayest 
 lightest green, save where the shade of some 
 giant cypresses cast a dark stripe across its 
 tender hue. The smell of the vine flowers, 
 which hung pendant from tree to tree; the 
 brilliant hues of the anemonies that clustered 
 at my feet ; and the soimd of running Avaters, 
 which brought a feeling of freshness to the spirit 
 as well as to the senses — made me think myself 
 in paradise, 'yes,' I said, ' I am dead, and this 
 is Elysium.' 
 
 " * Not so,"* whispered my friend, ' you are 
 but a young traveller yet : you are now going 
 over scenes that are to come, presently you shall 
 go over scenes that are past, only do not forget 
 them ; whether they delight, or whether they 
 weary you, take note of what you see. For it is a 
 crime against spiritual intelligence to be allowed 
 such sights, and to pass through such scenes, 
 and not to treasure them up to the purification
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 269 
 
 and Improvement of your being. Here are 
 tablets ; write what you see. 
 
 " So saying, he gave me this very roll of 
 paper, only it was so small, and of so fine a 
 texture, and so full of cells, something like a 
 honeycomb, I could not have believed it would 
 have contained half of what it has done ; in truth 
 it seems elastic, and the more that is put in it, 
 the more it seems to have room for. 
 
 " ' Fear not,' said my friendly genius ; who 
 often answered my thoughts even when I did 
 not utter them : ' whoever writes on these ta- 
 blets, his lines are not effaced ; they are called 
 the tablets of memory.' 
 
 " I find his words, as all his words ever have 
 been, were true. No one ever yet forgot what 
 he really wished to remember. Well, I took the 
 roll he offered me, and then I sauntered along 
 an avenue that seemed to have no termination ; 
 and yet its sameness did not weary me, so beau- 
 tiful were the surrounding objects, so fresh and
 
 270 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 green the turf ben.eath my feet. Suddenly, 
 however, and when I least expected it, there 
 was an end to its tranquil charm ; a change of 
 scene took place. I found myself on a thymy 
 sprinkled earth, I might say pavement, for the 
 rocky ground on which I now trod, seemed bare 
 of soil ; and it was marvellous how the lavender 
 and dwarf shrubs 'broidered it with their odo- 
 riferous leaves; as if nature would be orna- 
 mented even in her most rugged works. At a 
 distance not very great lay a widely broken 
 stream, that seemed often to have forsaken its 
 regular course and chosen a new one, then ca- 
 priciously to have returned to its original chan- 
 nel, leaving between high banks or far extended 
 beds of gravel, on which the sunbeam or the 
 cloud delighted to revel, and decorated also with 
 a garb of beauty. Beyond this lay a zone of 
 hills, circling the horizon, that might sometimes 
 have been mistaken for clouds, had not, here 
 and there, the projecting brow of some of them
 
 ALL A GIOUNATA. 
 
 271 
 
 received intenser colour, and given assurance 
 of its reality. With this change of scene, my 
 spirit also within me seemed to undergo a 
 change, and I was less tranquil, but more 
 interested in its hardier beauty. I moved to- 
 wards the river, and choosing one of its many 
 streams of water, followed it upwards, thinking 
 to find its source. After passing several chasms, 
 and much stony ground, I came to a narrow 
 glen, the sides of which were high, and work- 
 ed with thick and en tert wining foliage ; green 
 smooth ledges of verdant beauty occasionally 
 presented themselves ; and the falling of un- 
 seen waters nmrmured lullingly. At every step 
 I took, an indescribable sensation of tenderness 
 stole over me, and my heart swelled with that 
 feeling to such intense degree, that its nature 
 was turned into pain. Languid and exhausted, 
 I chose a spot where a thick cluster of laurels 
 spread the densest shade around; and, yielding 
 to the sudden sickness of my soul, I reposed
 
 272 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 beneath their extended branches. Scarcely had 
 I lain down, when a gentle sound of music stole 
 upon my senses — it ceased ; and voices, sweeter 
 and softer even than the music, recited many 
 touching ditties. Some of them passed away 
 notwithstanding my tablets, on which I endea- 
 voured to note them down ; but one strain, far 
 more endearing than all the rest, I was for- 
 tunate enough to retain : although, doubtless, 
 very imperfectly, and with many inaccuracies. 
 
 Bless'd be the day, the month, the year. 
 The season, minute, time, and hour. 
 The beauteous country, place, and power, 
 
 Where I was bound by eyes so dear, — 
 
 Where I was joined first by love; 
 
 Bless'd the sweet anguish which I felt. 
 The bow, the arrows, whence were dealt 
 
 The wound which in my breast I prove ; 
 And bless'd tlie sounds I 've uttered, 
 
 Calling on my Madonna's name. 
 
 Tears, sighs, desires, I 've numbered ; 
 And bless'd the written leaves I've spread. 
 
 For her acquiring lasting fame. 
 While all my thoughts intent on one, allow none else 
 a claim.
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 273 
 
 " Scarcely had the strain lapsed into silence, 
 when another, as sweet but more sad, com- 
 menced : — 
 
 ZEFFRO TORNA, E L BEL TEMPO RIMENA, &c. 
 
 Zephyr returns, brings back the beauteous time, 
 
 And flowers and herbage, his sweet family ; 
 And Philomel and Prognes' twittering chime ; 
 
 And Spring, with every white and vermel dye ; 
 Laughing the fields, serene again the sky. 
 
 Jove, to behold his daughter, doth rejoice; 
 Air, earth, and ocean 's fill'd with Love's fond cry. 
 
 And every creature joins the general voice ! 
 But ah ! for me remains the heavy sigh, 
 
 That from the depth of my sad heart is drawn. 
 By her who holds the key and dwells on high : 
 
 For singing birds, and flowery decked lawn. 
 And beauteous fair, with all their witchery. 
 Are but a wild, waste wilderness to me ] 
 
 " Then all was hushed again, till a rustling 
 of the laurels about me made me look round , 
 and I saw, as through a veil of mist, a beau- 
 tiful figure plucking a bough of the green fo- 
 
 N 5
 
 274 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 liage, and then, ascending heaven-ward, it waved 
 its hand to another fio-ure who was standing; at 
 a distance, with upUfted hands and eyes, gazing 
 after it. A lyre lay at his feet, and the laurel- 
 bough was dropped by the departing spirit : 
 he caught it eagerly, bovind it round his brows, 
 and disappeared from my sight. I was much 
 interested in tliis transaction ; and although 
 melancholy possessed my soul, there was in it 
 so much of attraction that I would not have 
 exchanged it for joy. The shades of night now 
 began to lengthen over the landscape ; and a 
 nightingale perched above me, singing at in- 
 tervals, in melting, interrupted, and as it were 
 doubtful notes ; till bursting into a full and 
 rapturous flood of harmony, it woke the echoes 
 to reply ; then again it dropped into broken 
 trills again ; and then took up a long cadence, 
 on which the listening ear hung in breathless 
 delight. The sweet sound grew fainter and 
 fainter, till it died quite away : and now the
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 275 
 
 moon arose, and with her attendant stars gave 
 light to a vast multitude of persons, who sud- 
 denly appeared upon the scene; they approach- 
 ed the spot where I had beheld the figures 
 part, and where now a tomb arose. But, me- 
 thought, this motley assembly Avas wholly un- 
 fitted to the time and the place ; some came 
 with mincing step, bearing what appeared to 
 me to be wreaths of artificial flowers, whicii 
 they hung round the tomb ; while the studied 
 attitudes they assumed, betrayed more thought 
 of their own appearance, than of the spot they 
 pretended to honour. Others again, with vio- 
 lent and frantic gestures, alike unsuited to the 
 shrine, threatened to immolate themselves on 
 the tomb ; and these had at least the merit of 
 momentary sincerity ; but I observed that they 
 had scarcely passed onwards, when the flames 
 that had played about their heads, evaporated 
 in smoke : some fell down and rolled about 
 most ignobly, whilst otiiers passed gaily on,
 
 /^' 
 
 276 ALLA GIORNATA, 
 
 singing and dancing, and making gestures as 
 they went, as though glad to have passed the 
 spot. 
 
 " There were others of this notable crowd 
 who came along very measuredly, and with a 
 sort of forced gravity, as if they were doing 
 some necessary duty. These examined care- 
 fidly every part of the tomb, and made long 
 tiresome notes and far-fetched criticisms, on 
 every feather and every straw which had ac- 
 cidentally fallen thereon ; and no one of them 
 all seemed more contented with themselves: but 
 I remarked that all those whom they compelled 
 to listen to them, yawned frequently, and only 
 watched a favourable moment to escape. One 
 point the whole multitude seemed agreed about, 
 and that was that each one should bear away 
 some branch or leaf of a certain laurel, that over- 
 shadowed the tomb, and of which there would, 
 most assuredly, not have been left one little 
 stem, had their endeavours been successful ; but
 
 ':\ 
 
 ALLA GIORKATA. 277 
 
 of all those who grasped or tore at the tree, 
 scarcely one person in reality succeeded in car- 
 rying away the least bit of its leafy honours. 
 They imagined they did, though ; but I saw that, 
 as they passed onwards, each one laughed at his 
 neighbour's foolish presumption, and almost 
 all went away without having in fact obtained 
 the least particle of the tree. Apart from this 
 crowd, and at long, lone intervals, there were a 
 few isolated beings, who came forward to the 
 tomb, apparently wrapped up in their own 
 thoughts ; and when they reached it they stood 
 by it in mute homage, or sat at its foot and 
 read, with agitated voices, the lines engraved 
 thereon. One of these, whose noble port and 
 intellectual brow, could not be mistaken for any 
 one save Ranieri's, brought with him a small 
 volume, which, when unclasped, seemed to emit 
 a gentle, purple light, and having perused it for 
 some time, he placed it in his breast, and then, 
 as if spontaneously, said —
 
 278 ALLA GIOIINATA 
 
 ' Tis precious ! — and this kiss of mine 
 
 Is breath'd with reverent fear. 
 An offering at a well-known shrine — 
 
 For Love is worshipp'd here ; 
 And pilgrim hearts, who know to feel 
 
 The, fond delirium well, 
 A dear, delicious balm will steal 
 
 Where Love hath set his seal : 
 His gentle accents ever sweet. 
 
 Though tuned to others' ear. 
 An echo in their souls will meet. 
 
 For love must Love revere. 
 Be bless'd, be virtuous, blazing soul. 
 
 In sweet, innocuous fires, 
 RoU on in flames, for ever roil. 
 
 Still fed with pure desires ; 
 'Till life with love, in gentle guise. 
 
 Shall blissful pass away : 
 And when in brighter worlds ye rise. 
 
 Wake to Love's endless day !" 
 
 " When he had finished pronouncing these 
 words, the laurel-tree shivered of its own ac- 
 cord ; and one leaf, self-loosened, fell on his 
 breast. He pressed it fervently to his lips, and 
 then looking furtively around, as if ashamed 
 that any one should have seen the action, he 
 passed into a lonely path, that no one els
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. ^79 
 
 seemed to have chosen, and was soon lost to 
 my view. ' Ah ! ' thought I, ' how much I 
 should like to accompany you ;' but I was not 
 destined for that ; for, again overcome vnth all 
 that I had seen, and the feehngs such sights 
 gave birth to, I fell into a gentle trance ; and 
 when I awoke I was in my own cell, in the 
 I sola della Gorgona, and the voice of an evil 
 one, threatening me with destruction, alone 
 sounded in my ear ; that voice which so perpe- 
 tually assails me with indescribable horror."" 
 
 Here ended this curious MS. And when II- 
 degarda had reached its termination, she looked 
 at Cassini inquiringly, to know his opinion. 
 " Truly, Rachaella is no common person." 
 
 " Why, my dearest Signora, here is sufficient 
 imagination to turn twenty heads : but do you 
 not see the drift of the whole ? do you not see 
 the prominent feature of every part of this wild
 
 280 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 Story. Ranieri is first and last and entirely, the 
 object of this poor girl's idolatry." 
 
 " How?" rejoined Ildegarda, colouring; though 
 her heart had already answered the question. 
 
 " Why, truly the matter is plain ; that dear 
 girl has conceived a passion for him, which, 
 aided by other circumstances, has for a time de- 
 prived her of her reason." 
 
 " What is there then to be done.?" faintly 
 articulated Ildegarda. 
 
 "One of two things, lUustrissima ; marry 
 her to Ranieri, or convince her that her love is 
 hopeless." 
 
 An expression of agony convulsed Ildegarda's 
 features She paused, as if unwilling, or unable, 
 to reply ; but, too sincere to hesitate long, she 
 conquered her feelings, and spoke quickly, like 
 one who would get the better of a subject, that 
 must be discussed, cost what it may. " With 
 you, Cassini, I can have no concealment. Ra- 
 nieri loves me ; and I should have listened to
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 281 
 
 his suit ; averse as I am to resign my liberty — 
 but why speak of this ?" continued she, her cheek 
 flushing deeper red, and her voice becoming 
 more inarticulate, " the Lanfreducci hates me — 
 and hates me with the hate of prejudice — a sen- 
 timent which you well know nothing conquers. 
 There then lies the insurmountable bar to our 
 union ; and why, knowing this to exist, should I 
 selfishly say there is no hope for my Rachaella. 
 Far from viewing the matter in this light, in Ra- 
 chaella's character I see the very traits that are 
 most likely to ensure her the good will of the 
 Contessa. Her birth, indeed, is at present un- 
 known ; bvit who can say that it will always 
 remain so. Her air, her whole deportment, give 
 assurance that she comes of no ignoble stock. 
 Should this turn out to be true, who then can 
 affirm there is no hope for Rachaella ? and why 
 should I mar her happiness, when, by so doing, 
 I cannot add to mine own ? No, Cassini,"" (seeing 
 him about to interrupt her) " hear me. Do not
 
 282 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 imagine that I should conceive myself called 
 upon to forego my own heart's wishes, could 
 they be gratified ; but, convinced as I am that 
 the Lanfreducci's prejudices are dearer to her 
 than even Ranieri himself, — I know that for 
 me no hope remains." 
 
 "Generous, good soul," cried Cassini, the 
 tears starting to his eyes, while he vainly at- 
 tempted to repress them, — " Upon my faith 
 thou art a noble being ; yet hold, Signora, there 
 is too much of haste in your decision on this sub- 
 ject. Pause and consider, ere you act upon 
 this impulse. Ranieri has professed to love you ; 
 and could he have been deserving of a moment's 
 return, — nay, even of your good opinion, — could 
 he so very soon make a transfer of his affections ; 
 why, it pains me to exchange one of my old 
 velvet caps for a new one, and is the heart a 
 matter of no greater moment .'' no, no, this can- 
 not be. I do not think so ill of Messer Ranieri ; 
 I do not think he deserves to be so judged by 
 you ; and my advice is, that you inform Ra-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 283 
 
 chaella of the truth, and root out at once her ill 
 fated attachment, by removing her from an in- 
 tercourse with the person by whom, however in- 
 nocently, it has been excited. The time of Car- 
 nival is not far distant ; procure for her all the 
 gaiety which that season affords. Let her be- 
 come acquainted with other cavaliers ; perchance 
 her tender heart may be touched by some object 
 who is more likely to return her affection.'" 
 
 " I am incredulous," answered Ildegarda ; 
 " I fear the malady lies deeper than you think 
 it does. It is her very youth, and the absence 
 of all previous impressions, which make me be- 
 lieve that the one she has now unfortunately re- 
 ceived, has a deeper stamp than you imagine. 
 Moreover, I am very doubtful, how far, as a 
 matter of conscience, I ought to act upon such 
 a plan as that which you propose. One thing 
 is most certain ; Ildegarda's happiness can 
 never be founded on the misery of another ; and 
 that other her own adopted sister."" 
 
 " Doubtless it could not, nor would I have you
 
 284 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 attempt to secure your own felicity at her expense. 
 There is much to be done in this case, as in most 
 others, by gentle means ; by not imagining that 
 there is no intermediate stage between wretch- 
 edness and felicity ; or that the disappointment 
 of a first attachment is necessarily to destroy the 
 felicity of Rachaella for life. Dear, honoured 
 Signora, have recourse to your own good sense. 
 Time and absence will effect her cure. Think 
 leisurely of the words of your old friend, and so 
 farewell — and all good things attend you !'■'
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ILDEGARDA JEALOUSY. 
 
 " It is impossible to attend to characters destitute 
 of sense, and delightful to observe particular follies 
 usurping the reason of those who, in all other respects, 
 are wise. Fools who accidentally have sapience, are too 
 despicable to be heeded ; but the wise man who is ac- 
 cidentally a fool, is an instructive picture of human 
 nature, and worthy the most profound meditation." 
 
 Mrs. Lichbald. 
 
 It is not the knowledge of faults and vices 
 in others alone, which renders our advance in 
 life dark and burthensome ; it is the knowledge 
 which we acquire of ourselves, and of our own 
 defects, which saddens and depresses us. Happy 
 those who turn this knowledge to profit, and 
 who seek a remedy in self-improvement !
 
 286 
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 Ildegarda sank into a species of supine in- 
 difference to every thing and to every person, 
 and seemed little conscious of all that was pass- 
 ing around her; she frequently, however, ca- 
 ressed Rachaella, but these were the caresses 
 which are bestowed on a child ; and sometimes 
 she would command her from her presence 
 abruptly. 
 
 Meanwhile Rachaella's health, under the ju- 
 dicious treatment of Cassini, daily improved. 
 Her mind in some degree recovered its sanity, 
 yet still was she frequently assailed by wild 
 incoherent fancies, the precise nature of which 
 could not be ascertained ; as it was j udged pru- 
 dent to abstain from all inquiries which might 
 tend to irritate her. 
 
 During this time, though Ranieri sought 
 the society of Ildegarda, he evidently imposed 
 upon himself a restraint in the measured reserve 
 of his words and manner, which rendered their 
 communications very painful. She attributed
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 287 
 
 this behaviour to a far different cause from the 
 real one. He appeared, she thought, too well 
 satisfied with the line of conduct he had adopt- 
 ed ; to be distantly and coldly attentive seemed 
 too easy a task ; and she felt inclined to quarrel 
 with him for obeying her commands so literally. 
 Rachaella's amended health, her return to the 
 enjoyments of life, certainly gave Ildegarda plea- 
 sure ; but perhaps her innocent delight, the girl- 
 ish joyousness of her manners, her unrepressed 
 admiration of Ranieri, was not altogether so 
 pleasing. Ildegarda would not allow the exist- 
 ence of this feeling, even to herself ; but there 
 was a restlessness in her mind, an almost peev- 
 ish distaste for the world, very unlike her disposi- 
 tion in its natural state. One day in particular, 
 while surrounded by her real friends and those 
 who admired her most, she indulged in the 
 expression of this humour, and distorted every 
 subject to the crooked shapes with which her 
 distempered feelings temporarily invested them.
 
 288 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 " I will tell you," said Cassini, " this world, 
 Signora, which you rail at, and which people 
 have ao-reed to call the world, but which means 
 in fact only a very small part of mankind among 
 which each individual figures ; this world then, 
 as it is denominated, is a mighty pleasant good 
 creature, believe me ; but to make use of a very 
 homely phrase, ' you cannot have more of a cat 
 than its skin,"* and the reason why people inveigh 
 so bitterly against it, and are, as they imagine, 
 so disgusted with it, is neither more nor less than 
 because they expect from it what it never did, 
 and never can, bestow. No, no ; we may all allow 
 beautiful women occasionally to be captious, be- 
 cause all defects are pardonable in them — for 
 a while ; but whenever I hear one of my own 
 sex finding fault with the world, I always 
 look at him with a suspicious eye, and think, 
 friend, thou art either fool or knave, or it may 
 be both. Believe me, the world is a mighty 
 pleasant creature ; only do not, as I said before,
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 289 
 
 expect too much from it. In the hour of peace, 
 of prosperity and relaxation, seek the world : 
 in moderation, taste of it as you would of a 
 strong cordial ; but lose not the remembrance 
 that it turns bitter on the lees : drink it not to 
 excess, or it will lead to folly, ignominy, or death. 
 Hope nothing from the world in the hour of 
 sorrow. Hope little even from friends : try them 
 not too much ; it is painful to find them want- 
 ing. Trust only in that world which is not now, 
 but which must come to all, whether they will 
 or not. Look at the great word written over 
 the portal of death — Eternity ; — and seek your 
 comfort there." 
 
 Cassini had intended to probe Ildegarda's 
 feelings, and awaken them, by a wholesome 
 smarting, to a healthful and true tone. Nor 
 were his intentions fruitless : when alone, she 
 examined her own mind, and acknowledged the 
 false medium through which she had regarded 
 every thing; and she determined to eradicate 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 290 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the evil that was discolouring her existence. II- 
 degarda''s good resolutions were further con- 
 firmed by the unexpected arrival of Fredolfo. 
 His mission had happily terminated ; and his 
 return diffused universal satisfaction over the 
 whole household. His coming; was welcomed 
 by a general rush of all the servants, to meet 
 him. They crowded around him, eager to kiss 
 his hand, or even his garment ; and his " caro, 
 caro," bestowed on all sides, in a voice of benig- 
 nity and protection, brought with it confidence 
 and joy. Before she saw him, Ildegarda was 
 inclined to assume a cold and distant manner 
 to this respected ecclesiastic. But her better 
 heart prevailed, and she said in a tremulous 
 voice, 
 
 " You are returned, then. I never expected 
 it." 
 
 " Signora, you wronged me ; and, if from a 
 sincere interest in your welfare I offended you, I 
 fear I shall be likely again to incur your dis-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 201 
 
 pleasure ; for there are some matters of which I 
 shall think it my bounden duty to speak to you 
 that will not, it may be, meet your taste or 
 approbation. But ere you punish me with your 
 anger, reflect, I pray you, on your declared sen- 
 timents respecting freedom of discussion ; and 
 suffer me to declare my sentiments under the 
 sanction of your own tenets. Allow me to re- 
 mind you of my long and devoted attachment 
 to all your house : and let me beseech you, not 
 to cast off one, who, though of small estimation, 
 and humble in his pretensions to power or in- 
 terest, may yet, by his countenance and counsel, 
 serve you in an hour of need. — lUustrissima ! 
 speak, and let me know what I am to expect." 
 
 ** Doubt not, good father," she replied, " that 
 I am affectionately attached to you ; but if you 
 are delegated by any body of priests, to at- 
 tempt making me recant one of my principles, 
 or stoop to their mummeries, I tell you frankly, 
 you spend your breath in vain." 
 
 o 2
 
 292 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 " Ma donna, listen, I beseech you. I would 
 not attempt impossibilities ; but there is a pru- 
 dence, which is not deceit ; and it is that which 
 I would entreat you not to scorn. Be it known 
 then to you, that your sentiments have been re- 
 peated in the very ears of the Pontiff, and the 
 eyes of the whole Conclave are upon you. The 
 late disasters which occurred at yovir castle at 
 Volterra have been all related, and exaggerated ; 
 and I should not wonder, if, as an enemy to the 
 state, you were imprisoned for life: for, not- 
 withstanding his Holiness's liberal sentiments, 
 and Indulgent consideration for the weaker sex, 
 there are not wanting severer members of the 
 Church to impose, every now and then, some 
 striking punishment, on a victim singled out for 
 the purpose, in order to keep the public mind 
 quiet." 
 
 " Infamous policy ! good father. I fear it 
 not: that will never happen to injure me, so
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 293 
 
 long as one of the Bergolini faction remain alive 
 to protect me." 
 
 " But why not avoid the evil altogether, rather 
 than brave it. Hearken to me. Is it not true that 
 Rachaella's mind underwent a very alarming 
 change in my absence ? Allow me to resume 
 my care of her; and observe, if, in conjunction 
 with the good doctor, I do not effect a complete 
 cure. Should this most desirable end be brought 
 to bear, let it plead with me, ma donna, in ob- 
 taining for me that confidence which you have 
 so unjustly withdrawn." 
 
 Ildegarda was silent, but she listened atten- 
 tively, and with a soothed expression of counte- 
 nance, while he continued : 
 
 " Your having sought shelter in Pisa, under 
 the eyes of the chief magistrates, has been a 
 most favourable circumstance : whoever advised 
 that resolve, advised you with the counsel of 
 true friendship. If to back this happy event,
 
 294 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the Lanfreducci could be prevailed upon to come 
 within your palace-gate, all malicious tongues 
 would be put to silence." 
 
 " I would do much indeed," cried Ildegarda, 
 breathlessly, " to obtain the friendship of the 
 Lanfreducci, much even to see her, — ^but no- 
 thing that could make of Ildegarda another 
 creature from what she really is, nothing that 
 savoured of deceit or false humility." 
 
 " Leave that to me," cried Fredolfo ; "for 
 once trust to me : only this once be guided by 
 me ; and if I fail in serving you, in your own 
 way, it is time enough then to refuse me." 
 
 Ildegarda yielded to his entreaties, and he 
 resumed his station in her household. 
 
 Rachaella became daily more consistent and 
 calm under his spiritual direction, and every 
 thing around wore a smiling and peaceful as- 
 pect; but Ildegarda was far from sharing 
 really in this peace. She appeared placid in- 
 deed to the eye of common observers; but to
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. 295 
 
 those who knew and loved her well, a sickliness 
 of soul seemed preying on her very life. 
 
 " Do, my dear nursling, — sweet, honoured 
 lady,"" cried the old Radegonda to her, one day, 
 " do cheer up, and let not this moping mood 
 get the mastery over thee. Ah I Radegonda 
 does not say much, but she can see, and she can 
 foresee more things that are, and that are to 
 come, than many a one whose tongue wags 
 quicker. Did I not tell thee that when Ranieri 
 returned from the Lanfreducci, he would come 
 back with his wings clipped ? — and so he has : 
 but there never yet was silken mantle so fine, 
 that a finer might not be : and if I was such a 
 Signora as you, Illustrissima, I would show 
 them another kind of behaviour — eh, come ! — not 
 to dare to be in love with you, indeed ! The 
 flame that is to be put out so easily is not worth 
 having raised ; why, in my time, the more storm, 
 the wilder and fiercer a fire of love would blaze ; 
 there was climbing up to windows, and tum- ,
 
 296 ALL A GIORNATA. 
 
 bling down towers, ay, and breaking through 
 convent walls too ; alas, the day ! but, poor 
 souls ! they are dead and turned to dust ; woe 
 is me when I think of that ! then all my blood 
 curdles. But to come again to what I was first 
 saying — could you not give me a litlle honey 
 word, think you, sweetheart, to comfort that 
 poor youth, who, I dare say, is pining and 
 sighing his soul out ? To be sure it would be sad 
 days for Rachaella, but there is other food for 
 her: she is the young vine, and her green youth, 
 like a tendril, will cling for support to any prop. 
 Let me have the charge of her, and I promise 
 you she will think no more of this freak, than if 
 it had never happened. It is the Avorst thing in 
 the world to immure young creatures in convents, 
 and though it is our custom, I know it is a bad 
 one. Why there you see our poor RachaelJa 
 was worked upon in such a manner by that 
 wicked priest, that the poor innocent damsel 
 thought herself as full of sin. Heaven bless her !
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 297 
 
 as Pranzetti is of Rosolia ; and, after all, her 
 fancies ended in love; ay, ay, that is the 
 beginning, and middle, and end of all poor 
 woman's wretchedness. I know a story — but 
 mercy on me ! — what noise is that ?" and she 
 hastened to the window, and pushed open the 
 bhnds: "some dreadful accident has happen- 
 ed : here is a lady has fallen down, and is appa- 
 rently much hurt; and here is Cassini and 
 Ranieri." 
 
 " Powers of might !" cried Ildegarda, look- 
 ing out, " it is the Lanfreducci ;" and Hying 
 past Radegonda, she was in the portico below 
 stairs in a moment. The travelling litter of the 
 Contessa was returning from the country, when 
 the two horses both fell at the same instant ; she 
 was precipitated on the pavement, and taken 
 up quite insensible. Her son, who had come 
 to meet her, witnessed the accident, and as it 
 chanced Fredolfo was at the same moment 
 going out of Ildegarda's palace, and now sup- 
 
 o5
 
 298 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 ported by Cassini, gave orders for her to be 
 conveyed immediately under its roof. Every 
 thing was arranged quickly : the wound on 
 the temple examined, the dislocation of the an- 
 cle attended to, her own suite summoned to wait 
 upon her, and every precaution taken that the 
 most delicate skill and attention could devise. 
 The doctor, par excellence, sent oif for the Con- 
 tessa^s favourite Esculapius ; and having done 
 what was immediately requisite, awaited the 
 arrival of his brother professor before he would 
 pronounce any judgment. They went through 
 the secrets of their calling alone ; and then both 
 declared they were precisely of the same opinion, 
 as they always do when they do not intend to 
 quarrel with one another ; which opinion was 
 summed up in an order that the Lanfreducci 
 should remain perfectly tranquil, and not think 
 of being removed from her present abode. 
 
 What did not this event excite of interest in 
 the breast of Ildegarda. Here, then, was llanieri's
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. 299 
 
 * 
 
 mother within her palace walls, dependent upon 
 her for the rites of hospitality ; and here too was 
 Ranieri himself, almost an inmate, after having 
 been absent for a length of time from her society. 
 Ildegarda felt that there was no service she 
 would not gladly have performed, that could 
 have mitigated the sufferings, or soothed the 
 confinement of ErmenegiJda ; and many hours 
 did she watch behind her curtain door, unwil- 
 ling to obtrude herself into her presence, yet 
 breathless with anxiety to know how it fared 
 with her. Once, and once only, did Ranieri 
 discover her thus employed, and she hastened 
 away with a feeling of mortified pride, that he 
 should know the tenderness which made her 
 thus servilely attend a being, who for her own 
 sake alone, could not be dear to her. 
 
 As soon as Ranieri considered his mother to 
 be out of danger, his heart vibrated with de- 
 light at the thought that the two persons he 
 loved most were thus drawn, as it were by fate,
 
 300 ALLA GIORXATA. 
 
 together. What hopes arose in Ranieri's breast ! 
 It was impossible, he thought, that any one who 
 had an opportunity of observing Ildegarda's cha- 
 racter, could long retain any prejudice to her 
 disadvantage ; nay more, that it was impossible 
 to know and not to love her. It was thus he ar- 
 gued : but the heart undergoes strange changes 
 in its journey through the world ; and those who 
 have reached some distance on its road, have 
 passed through too many thorny paths, not to 
 walk warily, and to mistrust unknown ways, 
 
 4 
 
 however beautiful and alluring their promise 
 may be. 
 
 When the Lanfreducci first recovered suffi- 
 ciently to know whose roof she was under, she 
 turned immediately sick at heart ; and if she 
 could have reproached her son for conveying 
 her thither, she would have done so, but the 
 presence of the two physicians, Fredolfo, and 
 her attendants, put a check on this inclination ;
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 301 
 
 and she contented herself, with cahnly observ- 
 ing, that she felt extreme regret in being the 
 cause of so much trouble and inconvenience to 
 any one, especially to a person to v/hom she 
 was a stranger. 
 
 " Ah !" said Cassini, " misfortunes reduce 
 all men to one level ; and as we are all ahke 
 subject to these, there is no saying to whom we 
 may lie under obligations. The question has 
 always appeared to me to be, how we could 
 most thankfully acknowledge our obligations to 
 our fellow-creatures when they are shown to 
 us — not lament that we incurred them. I have 
 gone through an ample space of existence, and 
 1 have always found the give and take of life as 
 broad as it was long." 
 
 This philosophy was not much to the taste of 
 the patient, but she swallowed it with her other 
 medicines. 
 
 Ranieri was indefatigable in his attentions on
 
 302 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 his mother, and left her nothing to complain of. 
 She had heard, besides, from others, as well as 
 from himself, that he had given up all thoughts 
 of any immediate union with Ildegarda; and 
 that his behaviour had tallied with his profes- 
 sions. She thought it wisest, therefore, to tem- 
 porise ; and disguising her uneasiness and dis- 
 like at being compelled to reside under her roof, 
 she mentioned the Gherardesca's name with 
 a respectful sentiment of thanks for her cour- 
 teous hospitality ; and added, that as soon as 
 she was able to walk, she M^ould request an 
 interview to make these acknowledgments in 
 person. 
 
 Ranieri''s eyes testified his delight, while he 
 endeavoured to modify their expression by some 
 common-place answer. 
 
 We often deceive ourselves, when we think 
 that we deceive others, and this was the case at 
 present. Ranieri's heart lay open to his mother,
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 303 
 
 and she foresaw, that whatever his conduct might 
 have been, his passion for Ildegarda was in no 
 degree abated. 
 
 Lons; before the Contessa Lanfreducci could 
 leave her apartment, Rachaella had been sent to 
 her by Ildegarda, with manuscripts, pictures, 
 flowers, and delicacies of every kind, that could 
 possibly deceive or hghten the tedious hours of 
 convalescence. 
 
 The damsel's gentleness, her youth and ap- 
 parent dociUty, won upon the unbending Er- 
 menesilda ; and when she further discovered that 
 every saint in the calender received alternately 
 the vows and adorations of this deceived girl, 
 she became attached to her by all the preju- 
 dices, as well as by all the principles, of her 
 nature. 
 
 At length, during the tedium of a reco- 
 very protracted far beyond the expectations 
 of the medical attendants, Rachaella became
 
 304 ALLA gior^jata. 
 
 so necessary to the Lanfreducci, that the hours 
 passed heavily without her. 
 
 Poor Ildegarda ! in thine own palace, and 
 under thine own eye, the chosen sister of thy 
 affections was weaned from thee ; thy lover was 
 forcibly estranged; thy friends, from pohcy, 
 absented themselves, in order that they might 
 administer to thine enemies' pleasures, — and still 
 thou wert happy— happy, because it is the ge- 
 nerous nature of woman to live always more 
 for others than herself, and to find her highest 
 e-ratification in self-devotion ! 
 
 On the day appointed for the first meeting of 
 Ermenegilda and Ildegarda, the latter sum- 
 moned up all her fortitude, and though ft-ee 
 from petty and ignoble pride, she yet felt her 
 own worth, and her native dignity came to her 
 support. 
 
 The speeches customary on similar occasions 
 flowed with peculiar courtesy and interest from 
 her tongue; and there was a sincerity of kindness.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 305 
 
 mingled with self-possession, that commanded 
 both respect and love. The Lanfreducci was 
 astonished ; — she had settled it in her own mind 
 that every woman professing liberal sentiments, 
 must needs have a forward, flippant carriage, 
 a masculine appearance, and a loud dictatorial 
 voice. In every one of these points she found 
 herself wholly mistaken ; and, notwithstanding 
 the haughty cold caution, with which she had 
 determined to behave, she found herself, as it 
 were, compelled by a superior power, to acknow- 
 ledge her obligation for the kindness she had 
 received, and to pay homage to the noble sim- 
 plicity of Ildegarda's character and manners 
 She could not resist, however, in the course of 
 conversation, touching upon certain topics which 
 might induce the Gherardesca unguardedly to 
 betray the evil spirit she had in vain looked for. 
 But she was disappointed in this also ; for Ilde- 
 garda, without one grain of low cunning, was 
 not devoid of that quickness of perception which
 
 306 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA, 
 
 is the peculiar attribute of her sex ; and she 
 very dexterously evaded some points, and very 
 rationally replied to others, in a dignified, com- 
 posed manner, that wholly defeated every at- 
 tempt the Lanfreducci made to expose or con- 
 demn her by her own words. Ermenegilda read 
 the silent triumph that glistened in her son's 
 eye during this interview ; and although he 
 appeared to be engaged in conversation with 
 Rachaella, she well knew that not one word was 
 lost upon him. When Ermenegilda arose to 
 take leave, she could not avoid inviting Ilde- 
 garda to come and see her ; but she did this 
 measuredly, and there was a marked difference 
 in the tone and expression which prayed that 
 Rachaella might often be permitted to come and 
 pass some time with her. 
 
 " There is a pious purity about that young 
 creature,"" she said, " which it is highly edifying 
 to witness." 
 
 ' I shall ever be happy," replied Ildegarda,
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 307 
 
 a 
 
 to promote Rachaella's welfare, and I feel sure 
 that I cannot do so more effectually than by 
 complying with your wishes to have her with 
 you." 
 
 Having paid the last courtesies of hospitality 
 to the Lanfreducci, Ildegarda parted with her, 
 in fact, as little acquainted with her as she had 
 been before the meeting. But not so the Lan- 
 freducci in regard to Ildegarda ; she had found 
 a woman who was to her an anomaly in the 
 human species ; yet, strange to say, although 
 compelled to admire her, a latent suspicion, and 
 even fear, lurked in her mind respecting her ; 
 so distorting is the power of prejudice. 
 
 After this event, a few ceremonious meetings 
 took place between the parties : at each one 
 Ildegarda's heart felt more chilled ; for her's was 
 not a heart to stand still at one point, and have 
 its vibrations limited by prudential maxims. 
 It was the daily advance in intercourse, in kind- 
 ness, in affection, of what she liked, which con-
 
 308 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 stituted her great delight : in liking, it was an 
 interminable vista of an increase of these senti- 
 ments which she sought for in intercourse with 
 those she loved. But, thus repelled, she fell 
 back many degrees from that glow of open- 
 heartedness, and involuntarily retreated within 
 herself; till, at length, the intimacy passed into 
 distant civihty. 
 
 " You do not like my mother,"" said Ranieri 
 to her one day when they accidentally met in 
 the Campo Santo ; " you do not like Aer," he 
 said peevishly ; " and yet you cannot conceive 
 how much she was struck by you !" 
 
 There was something harsh in his manner of 
 uttering these words ; at least Ildegarda thought 
 so, and she replied rather angrily, " Methinks, 
 Messer Ranieri, it were better to judge by 
 my actions in what measure of esteem I hold 
 the Signora Lanfreducci, without indiscreetly 
 obliging me to answer categorically to a question
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 309 
 
 that you seem already to have decided upon in 
 your own mind." 
 
 " Pardon me, Signora ; I meant not to 
 offend : but we do not understand each other 
 now ; we speak an unknown language, and we 
 do so here in this spot, even here where once 
 we understood each other ere our lips had pro- 
 nounced our words." 
 
 He uttered this sentence so mournfully that 
 the well-remembered tones which had been so 
 long hushed, came over her afresh, like the 
 trickling of living waters in a thirsty land. 
 How greedily did her ears drink in the sounds ! 
 how rapturously did her heart swell as she 
 caught them ! 
 
 " Perhaps I was ruffled, Ranieri ; perhaps I 
 spoke unadvisedly : certainly I did so, if I gave 
 you pain ; it was not friendly to do so. Say 
 that you are not hurt !" 
 
 An entreaty from one beloved, spoken in
 
 310 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 a tender voice, wlio can withstand ? Again the 
 flood-gates of love were opened ; the preceding 
 coldness vanished like the snows before the 
 spring. Oh ! the blush of flowers and sun- 
 shine that seemed to succeed the late wintry 
 state of their hearts. 
 
 The falling out of lovers is the renewal of 
 love, says the old wise proverb ; and, in this 
 case, its veracity was not belled ; the paction of ' 
 friendship was wholly and for ever forgotten ! 
 Yet, though they tacitly knew it was so, they 
 did not dare acknowledge the fact to each 
 other ; but yielding themselves up again to the 
 delirium of hope, they sought no further to 
 explore the book of destiny — the present open 
 leaf was all they wished to read in. Oh ! the 
 danger of being again in that spot where the 
 first influence of love stole over them ! — even 
 where the shadow of a beloved object has 
 passed along, the very ground seems to retain 
 the vision still.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 311 
 
 The holy cahn, the placid, and Imposing as- 
 pect of the Campo Santo, replete with the high- 
 est conceptions of moral feeling, described in 
 the most poetical imagery, was of all places the 
 most likely to nourish and revive a deep-rooted 
 attachment. Like all truly beautiful things, it 
 dehghts the more the oftener it is resorted to, 
 and the more intensely it is contemplated. The 
 gay worldling might not seek its lone tranquil- 
 lity. But let those who have ever acknow- 
 ledged a master passion in their breast, resort to 
 the Campo Santo, to its long cloister, its walls 
 of wondrous decoration, and say, if that pas- 
 sion did not recur to them in all its freshness of 
 feeling, and in all its glowing purity, while mus- 
 ing in its marble sohtude. With Ildegarda 
 this was more especially the case, and all things 
 returned to her feelings, and to her mode of ex- 
 istence, in their former channel. Life was life 
 again; and brighter than ever, from the late 
 contrast of gloom. Rachaella was once more
 
 312 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the healthful, laughing girl. The usual tribes 
 of artists and professors again sounded their 
 sweetest strains, or exhibited the works of their 
 art to the gifted eye of Ildegarda. Nay, even 
 the common crowd of flatterers and idlers flock- 
 ed around. But she beheld them under the 
 beautifying influence of happiness ; and there 
 was an overflowing of kindness from her heart, 
 which extended even to the meanest objects. 
 
 It is curious to observe the effect which pros- 
 perity produces in different dispositions and 
 characters : on the really noble and kind, it 
 unlocks a thousand sources of benevolence; 
 but, when acting on the mean, and hard of 
 soul, it indurates still more, still more inflates 
 with foolish pride. 
 
 Ildegarda felt as though she would fain make 
 the whole world as blessed as she was herself; 
 and as she walked forth in brightness, and in 
 beauty, her soul was all humility ; all thankful- 
 ness and love. Every thing around her assumed
 
 ALLA GIORXATA. 313 
 
 an air of joyousness and festivity. She redou- 
 bled all her charities : largesses were given to 
 convents and hospitals ; and one of the former, 
 under the immediate protection of the Lanfre- 
 ducci, was gifted with ornaments, and endowed 
 with riches to great amount. Some said lide- 
 garda was making her peace with the offended 
 church ; some, that she was doing penance for 
 her sins ; others, that she indulged her love of 
 ostentation and power ; when, in fact, the whole 
 truth might have been resolved into this one 
 source — Ildegarda loved, and was happy ; and 
 would have gifted the whole world v/ith love 
 and happiness, could she so have done. But to 
 aU these surmises she remained indifferent. 
 
 If those who live upon busying themselves 
 with the affairs of others, could but know with 
 what sovereign contempt, or rather apathy, a 
 being like her regards their observations, suspici- 
 ons and evil forebodings, how surprised and mor- 
 tified would they often be ! Nothing disconcerts 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 314 ALLA GIORXATA. 
 
 intriguing spirits so much, as to have no in- 
 trigue : perfect openness of character is seldom 
 believed in, because it is so very rare. And as 
 it is a tacit reproach to the generality of man- 
 kind, they agree to undervalue it, or perhaps 
 wholly to doubt its existence. In the present 
 instance, they talked and surmised in vain : 
 they threw no shadoAv on the happiness of her 
 who soared far above them, in a bright sphere, 
 to which they could never reach. 
 
 Ildegarda, who was of late indifferent to her 
 personal charms and appearance, now took plea- 
 sure in her resplendent attire, and the conscious- 
 ness of her beauty. She sat for her picture and 
 her sculptuied likeness to various artists, and 
 during the execution of these works, Ranieri 
 delightedly watched every stroke of the chisel, 
 everv touch of the pencil. His two predomi- 
 nant passions were indeed happily blended; 
 and for a lover of the arts to be a lover also, 
 and to watch the beloved image starting into
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 315 
 
 mimic life, is to enjoy all of pure felicity that 
 can be known. 
 
 " I love an artist's room," said Ildegarda ; " I 
 would not forego the pleasure of being allowed 
 to come to it, to obtain admission to all the re- 
 gal chambers of the great, where silk and satin 
 vie with gold and precious stones." The room 
 of Messer Cino, or, as he humbly called it, his 
 " Bottega,"' was a place of no common interest ; 
 for besides the absolute requisites of his art, 
 each of which presented a thousand varied com- 
 binations to elicit imagination, he had accu- 
 mulated many fanciful objects of beauty and 
 of use, all of which he declared were neces- 
 sary to aid his powers of composing. His win- 
 dow, constructed with no research of art, was 
 only shaded at pleasure by a large purple cur- 
 tain, through whose half-faded dye the light 
 emitted finer demi-coloured tints, than if, in the 
 fulness of its stream, it had sent forth an over- 
 powering brilliancy. It was the practice of Cino 
 
 p 2
 
 316 
 
 ALL A GIORNAJA. 
 
 to paint under the natural light of day ; for he 
 said that Avhen the difficulty could be overcome, 
 there was a truth and force in objects thus de- 
 lineated which no contrived accident of light or 
 shade could impart. In one corner of the room, 
 lay piled up against the wall some rich cushions 
 of eastern manufacture, the texture and beauty 
 of which, affording a fine back-ground to many 
 of his pictures, rendered them not merely the 
 indulgence of luxury-, but accessories to his art. 
 On tables of carved ebony were illuminated 
 manuscripts ; on others, golden plate and vases 
 of Venice workmanship ; whose beauty was 
 enhanced by the fruit that lay on the one, and 
 the flowers which dropped from the other. Near 
 these sumptuous objects of taste were seen some 
 of less costly materials, but not inferior in their 
 beauty of form. These were the metal pitchers 
 in common use even to this day, and the wooden 
 dishes of the perfumed cypress wood, whose de- 
 licious odour reminds those who inhale it of all
 
 ALLA GIORVATA. 317 
 
 the cities of Tuscany, where its fragrance may 
 be enjoyed at every carpenter's shop. In other 
 corners of this apartment Avere placed, on high- 
 backed wooden chairs, peasants' garments; a 
 veil, a silken scarf, and a lute ; while on some 
 of the falling folds of the drapery, a magnificent 
 cat, of the wild breed of the Apennines, nestled 
 in amicable, though unusual harmony, with a 
 couple of the picturesque dogs of the Bolognese 
 race. Add to the objects here detailed, the 
 queen-like beauty of Ildegarda, the visionary 
 form of the young Rachaella, Ranieri's match- 
 less grace, the light of his commanding fore- 
 head and reflective brow ; together with the 
 attendant page, and his cliaracteristic mother, 
 the nurse Radegonda ; and truly the Bottega 
 of Messer Cino comprised a rare assemblage of 
 all that could give inspiration to the pencil. 
 
 It was here that many delightful hours 
 danced by unheeded. The poet Zanobi was 
 always a welcome visitor, and it was to him no
 
 318 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 barren ground. He gathered many a mvrtle 
 wreath, and many a laurel crown, in this fasci- 
 nating scene; and while he received rich trea- 
 sures for his own delight, he imparted pleasure 
 to those around him. 
 
 The party thus engaged lived in a little world 
 of their own creation ; all those who were not 
 admitted to it, and who would not have enjoyed 
 it if they had been, were yet envious of the dis- 
 tinction, and sought by ill-natured innuendos 
 to cast ridicule on this academia. This name 
 was given to it more in derision than in any 
 other spirit ; and there were even some doggrel 
 rhymes chanted about the streets, in which the 
 individuals who constituted these meetings were 
 satirized. No sooner did this scandal reach Cas- 
 sini's ears, than he came himself to join the 
 party, and was received by all with that delight 
 which he was sure to convey. Yet so charm- 
 ed was he with the whole group, that having 
 sat down to admire Ildegarda's portrait, he
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 319 
 
 could not bring himself to give her pain by 
 relating this new persecution, and he literally 
 ended by forgetting his errand, in the charm of 
 their society. He was not suffered, however, 
 long thus to lose himself in relaxation ; for 
 there came various messengers seeking him, from 
 all the great and powerful of the land — some 
 required his advice as a physician, others as a 
 friend, and all wanted his presence. 
 
 " Cannot you make one holiday for your- 
 self," said Ildegarda, " when there are so many 
 * Giorni di feste' for idle saints, not to be com- 
 pared with you in merit ? Now let us institute one 
 for a truly deserving man, and I will honour it 
 most conscientiously : — yes, yes, bar his passage, 
 let him not leave us," cried Ildegarda to Ra- 
 chaella, who was playfully extending her arms 
 to detain him. 
 
 " Hush, Cara Lei," said Cassini ; "that tongue 
 of yours, ungoverned as it is, will undo you : 
 cannot you let these matters rest ? they trouble
 
 320 ALLA GIORXATA. 
 
 you not at present, but they may, and will, if 
 thus you infringe on their prerogatives."" 
 
 " Oh ! if I must weigh out all my innocent 
 thoughts, and put my words in chains, I shall 
 become, like the rest of the world, unnatural." 
 
 " Well, well. Donna mia,"" said Cassini, lift- 
 ing his hands above his head, " if you will not 
 list to the voice of experience, you will one 
 day rue your wilfulness," 
 
 " My dear revered friend," cried Ildegarda 
 eagerly, for she could not bear to give him pain ; 
 " there is nothing I would not do for you, — 
 nothing."'''-— Cassini looked at her reproachfully. 
 " Nothing except become that which I am 
 not." 
 
 " May all good angels guard and guide you 
 in your dangerous course !" replied this gcwd 
 and wise counsellor. 
 
 But she refused to hear the friendly voice ; 
 and he was no sooner gone, than the whole party 
 forgot every thing but a scheme of pleasure in.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 321 
 
 which they were all engaged. This weighty 
 matter was the preparation of a masque or 
 pageant, which Ildegarda had first conceived, 
 and which was to take place m the coming car- 
 nival. For this Messer Cino's skill was pecu- 
 liarly put in requisition. Already had he made 
 several designs for the procession, the beauty 
 of which fired Ildegarda''s fancy. She was to 
 figure as Bellona, to have chained captives at- 
 tached to her car, while her attendants were to 
 personate other characters analogous to the sto- 
 ry, and the Giuoco del Ponte was to be the 
 scene in which this brilliant pageant was to 
 figure with unprecedented splendour. 
 
 p5
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 IL GIUOCO DEL PONTE. 
 
 Ah ! contra i forti e i rci 
 
 Non val ragione in poverta di stato. 
 
 Passerini. 
 
 1 T was in March, on one of those evenings of 
 Italian spring, when the glowing firmament 
 sheds its early effulgence over that favoured 
 land, that the pageant of the Giuoco del Ponte 
 took place, in which Ildegarda and her train 
 had proposed to figure with unwonted mag- 
 nificence. 
 
 The celebration of the Giuoco del Ponte was 
 commemorated in past times by a feat of arms, 
 which began in sport of gallant hardihood, but
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 323 
 
 which too often terminated in real hostility. 
 Its original and avowed purpose had been the 
 maintenance of a warlike spirit and chivalrous 
 courage in the Pisans, but it at last proved the 
 cause of many secret feuds, and gave rise to 
 many serious encounters. With the progress- 
 ive refinements of society, it therefore gradually 
 sunk into disuse, and in latter days has been 
 abolished. 
 
 It was the custom to celebrate this festival 
 every third year, during Carnival, when all the 
 pomp of art, and pride of nature in her first 
 garb of beauty, combined to give effect to the 
 scene. 
 
 On this occasion the inhabitants of Pisa were 
 divided into two parties, the Santa Maria and 
 the Sant' Antonio. Six hundred men, the chosen 
 of the land, were selected to fight for the honour 
 of arms, and the love of their lady ; and the sen- 
 timent which glowed in their breasts invested 
 every countenance with an expression of noble
 
 324 ALLA GIOENATA. 
 
 emulation, and seemed to exalt them above their 
 common bearing. 
 
 A more beauteous display could not be seen 
 than that which Pisa exhibited, when Ildegarda 
 set forth with her well-appointed attendants to 
 witness the battle of the bridge. 
 
 The deep roseate hue of the setting sun 
 illumined the Arno like a glowing gem, and 
 turned the meanest things it touched to beau- 
 ty ; the very roofs of the houses and palaces 
 seemed broidered velvet, and the innumerable 
 colours which tinted the walls, resembled the 
 precious inlaid work of a rich cabinet, rather 
 than the stains and depredations of time and 
 weather, — such a magician in the sun of southern 
 climes. Yet this minute detail of objects did 
 not lessen their general effect ; over this glit- 
 tering brilliancy a veil of middle tone was 
 spread, shrouding its effulgence, and uniting 
 it by a thousand delicate reflexes with the 
 deeper shadows. The clearness of these very
 
 ALLA GIOENATA. QQo 
 
 shadows was a thing to wonder at apart, while 
 the whole picture absorbed attention, as being 
 entire and harmonious, although in its several 
 markings distinct, detailed, and defined. 
 
 The ancient tower which flanked the Ponte 
 Vecchio, rose darkly against the panoply of the 
 golden sky ; yet the small Moresque arches 
 which so gracefully support its widening brow, 
 together with every projecting moulding and 
 prominence in the deep-toned mass, were traced 
 in clear and shai-p outline. Beyond the tower, 
 the eye stretched to the distant reach of 
 the river, studded with boats, which gave a 
 heightened value to the landscape, opposing 
 their dark brown and orange hues to the flood 
 of light that beamed around them, while the 
 parting orb of day again returning, streamed 
 over the beautiful building of St. Paolo, situate 
 on the southern bank, and which cast its softened 
 image in the stream. Lower down rose the fairy 
 Spina, a mixture of Saracenic and Moresque
 
 v326 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 taste, which, rich in foliage, figures and fretwork, 
 deUghts the eye in despite of all the rules of ar- 
 chitecture. Opposite to this, marble palaces 
 shone in bright array, backed by the squjire 
 towers, which reared their massive forms, the 
 lofty and permanent monuments of family 
 greatness. Such was the fashion of the times,— 
 and every noble house boasted one or more of 
 these fabrics as marks of proud distinction. 
 Beyond them, the eye passed over the receding 
 buildings of the town, till it reached the forked 
 Apennines, which framed as it were this most 
 beauteous picture. 
 
 Such was the season and the scene, when 
 Pisa's warriors stood arrayed in martial order 
 for the mimic combat; and her children of 
 all ages, of all sexes, and all degrees, poured 
 forth to witness the valour of their fellow citi- 
 zens, to cheer and to encourage each his re- 
 spective party, in the impending conflict. The 
 windows of the Lung' Arno were crowded with
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 327 
 
 beauty, and no pains had been spared that 
 woman's art could devise, to heighten and add 
 lustre to the effect of their charms. 
 
 The jewels and gold which decorated the fair 
 spectators on that day, were the means, in after- 
 times, which aided the enemies of Pisa to found 
 their rival opulence ; and by which Florence, in 
 particular, was enabled to raise many a stupen- 
 dous edifice, the memorial of her conquered 
 sister ! 
 
 But among all the beauteous women whose 
 presence graced this pageant, Ildegarda Ghe- 
 rardesca was confessed to be supereminently 
 fair. She had assumed the masked guise of Bel- 
 lona triumphant ; and she figured in the scene 
 with something more than mortal beauty ; for 
 her fancy and her mind cast a radiance about 
 her, which mere beauty of person never bestows. 
 She was mounted on a car drawn by eight black 
 steeds, housed in embroidered trappings, and 
 led by Moors, whose half naked forms set off by
 
 328 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 contrast the glittering badges of their servitude. 
 But what attracted (next to Ildegarda's self) 
 the most attention in this scintillating mass of 
 gems and beauty, were four youths of noble 
 birth, who condescended to play the parts of 
 her captive slaves. They were chained to the 
 car with golden chains, which Bellona was to 
 unloose, when the signal of combat was given, 
 bidding them fight for her honour, and for her 
 favour, — that favour which all aspired to, and 
 which none had as yet openly obtained. 
 
 Ildegarda rested on a spear ; her raven hair, 
 parted on her Juno-like forehead, hung in rich 
 masses beneath a plumed casque, and reached 
 the bottom of her shining breastplate, which 
 covered a form of faultless mould. Other 
 nymphs, habited as Amazons, attended in her 
 train ; and one of these was a blue-eyed girl, 
 who seemed rather a favourite handmaid of 
 Venus, than a warlike companion of her whom 
 Ildegarda personated.
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 329 
 
 As the car passed along the gazing multi- 
 tude, a whisper of admiration ran through the 
 crowd : the higher class uttered that murmur 
 of applause so electric to the being who excites 
 it, while the noisy clamour of the lower orders 
 (less coarse, however, in such public expression 
 of their feeling than those of other climes) com- 
 pleted the triumph of the hour ; and while 
 viva's resounded from eveiy tongue, and that 
 endearing expression of tenderer rapture still, 
 Cara ! cara ! burst from the enthusiastic throng, 
 Ildegarda drank the inebriating cup of flattery, 
 which was the more dangerous as she could 
 not doubt its sincerity. Individual homage is 
 dearer, how much dearer ! but the voice of a 
 multitude, the universal suffrage of public feel- 
 ing, is the most fatal of all intoxications : it is 
 difficult for one accustomed to its vivid excite- 
 ment to lower the tone of self-love, or ever to 
 feel gratified by less intoxicating praise. Ilde-» 
 garda thought not of this; she dreamt not of
 
 S30 ALLA GIORKATA. 
 
 danger, but pursued her triumphant way : the 
 present moment was eagerly enjoyed, and she 
 continued her path amidst a moving mass of 
 spectators, who seemed to have forgotten that 
 they had assembled to look at aught else, save 
 herself and her brilliant retinue. 
 
 Some few, indeed, among the throng, the 
 })arents or friends of the young nobles who 
 played parts in this pageant, which their fami- 
 lies considered to be deffradino; to them as men 
 and citizens, viewed Ildegarda with different 
 feelings, and failed not secretly in their hearts 
 to curse her fatal beauty, and to promise ven- 
 geance on those personal attractions, which 
 enabled her thus to mock at all rules of cus- 
 tom, to laugh at what was called decorum, 
 (where virtue had no real share in the action) 
 and sometimes, unconsciously sometimes — in 
 the pride of power, to trample on long esta- 
 blished prejudices with haughty disdain ;
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 331 
 
 a sin never forgiven by human nature, and least 
 of all pardoned in woman. 
 
 Whatever licence exists tacitly in society, 
 as to matters of real moment, prejudices in 
 every country are gods of idolatry, which may 
 not be thrown down with impunity ; and, what- 
 ever be the degree of immorality sanctioned by 
 custom, there is a veil of decorum thrown over 
 manners in public, to which the women of Italy 
 are tyrannically obliged to submit. The quiet 
 Signora, escorted by Cicisbei and Paetiti, might 
 then, as she may now, lead her dull round of 
 insignificant monotonous vice, unreproved, unre- 
 garded; but a young unmarried female to assume 
 independence in her mode of life, to have avow- 
 ed admirers, yet no professed protector, and to 
 declare that she was mistress of herself, was a 
 crime of too heinous a nature not to be taken 
 notice of at that day, even by the highest of the 
 state. The knowledge that this was the case,
 
 332 AtLA GIORNaTA. 
 
 gave additional zest to the ambition and vanity 
 of Ildegarda : she aspired to be something supe- 
 rior to all those around her, whom she despised 
 as the weak slaves of prejudice ; yet a woman's 
 scorn, when its expression is indulged, is a wea- 
 pon w'liich always recoils upon herself: — but to 
 the tale. 
 
 The warrior bands at the Bridge now drew 
 up in array, and proceeded to the Duomo, to 
 the sound of martial music. There the cere- 
 mony of blessing the banners took place, pre- 
 vious to the engagement ; and thither the mot- 
 ley crowd hastened, rolling and roaring along 
 like an impeded torrent, that pours its waters 
 through many channels to its destined course. 
 It rushed down the byways and lanes to reach 
 the spot before the combatants,, and to obtain 
 room in the cathedral to view the rite ; but still, 
 in tlie midst of this confusion, all gave way to 
 Ildegarda, and opened to her a passage through 
 their ranks, as though she had been destined
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 33^5 
 
 by right to occvipy the place of distinction. 
 It so chanced, that Zerhna, the favourite of 
 Pafetta, Conte di Montescudajo, had been in 
 possession of a seat erected close to the font 
 of Nicholo Pisano ; but some one of the higher 
 dignitaries of the state, regardless of this cir- 
 cumstance, turned the Signora Zerlina away, 
 and with a degree of rudeness made her quit 
 her post, to give place to Ildegarda. The lat- 
 ter did not, at first, perceive the measures 
 taken to accommodate her ; but the moment 
 she was made aware that the Contessa Zer- 
 lina had been uncourteously dispossessed of 
 her seat, on her own account, she hastily 
 quitted the spot, and making her way through 
 the crowd, apologized to the Contessa for a cir- 
 cumstance which she would on no account 
 have permitted, had she been acquainted with 
 it. At the same time leading her back to her 
 place, Ildegarda withdrew, contenting herself 
 by remaining in one where she could not view
 
 334 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the ceremony. This act of courtesy and atone- 
 ment, instead of appeasing the person she had 
 been so innocently the cause of offending, worked 
 a different effect on Zerhna's mind — she vowed 
 vengeance against Ildegarda ; and this circum- 
 stance, instead of appeasing, excited her malice. 
 Deep and bitter, we know, is the vengeance of 
 a furious woman ; and truly is it said to be no 
 summer storm. 
 
 The Cardinal, who presided at the ceremony, 
 having blessed the banners of each of the par- 
 ties, and the children ' (whose office it was on 
 that occasion) having covered them with flowers, 
 clouds of incense rose from the chased censers 
 of the priests, wafting their grateful odours 
 through the lofty and lengthened aisles, while 
 vocal music, of the most inspiring strains, com- 
 bined to shed that illusive charm over the cere- 
 mony, which made the assembled multitude feel 
 as if they were engaged in some glorious enter-
 
 ALLA GIOKNATA. 335 
 
 prise of patriotism, in which every noble faculty 
 of the soul was called forth. Under the influ- 
 ence of these impressions, the accustomed rites 
 closed; when the throng, rushing out of the 
 Duomo in the same tumultuous manner in which 
 they had reached it, once more lined the Lung' 
 Arno, that was again covered ^vith thousands 
 of spectators. From every open window and 
 balcony, gorgeous hangings, of varied hue and 
 texture, were suspended; heads crowded over 
 heads, and the jewels which adorned them 
 sparkled in the last beams of the glorious 
 sunset ; cavalcades of horses, and rows of cars 
 and litters, were drawn up along the river side ; 
 when gradually the loud clamour of voices, and 
 the variety of eager gesticulations, sunk into 
 quiescence. No sound now was heard ; every one 
 seemed to hold in their very breath ; when the 
 loud deep bell of the Duomo, accompanied by 
 answering bells from every church and convent
 
 336 ALL A GIOKNATA. 
 
 in the city, sounded at the same instant, pro- 
 ducing a most appalling* signal for the com- 
 mencement of the strife. 
 
 The combatants flew to the charge ; and it 
 was a fearful sight to see them rising like waves 
 above the parapets of the bridge ; now heaving, 
 then sinking, and then swelling again, as if they 
 must overflow, and be precipitated into the wa- 
 ters beneath, or be crushed under the feet of 
 advancing multitudes. 
 
 This strife had lasted about half an hour, and 
 the battle of the bridge had been lost and won 
 several times by each party. Shouts of " Viva 
 Sant' Antonio !" " Viva Santa Maria !" had al- 
 ternately prevailed, when suddenly the knights 
 were observed to suspend their efforts in order 
 to give place to two combatants, Pafetta di 
 Montescudajo, and Ranieri Lanfreducci, who 
 had singled out each other from their respective 
 ranks, and were engaged with more personal 
 animosity than was allowed in this mimic com-
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 337 
 
 bat, for it must be remembered that the Giuoco 
 del Ponte was intended only to give proof of 
 porwess and dexterity in the aggregate, nor was it 
 lawful for single combatants to engage apart from 
 the rest: the rank, however, of these knights, and 
 their noble bearing, obtained for them a license 
 and respect, that appeared for the moment to 
 hold the multitude in a spell of silent inac- 
 tion ; till the conflict at length assumed a cha- 
 racter which created a general murmur of dis- 
 approbation among the spectators, and the 
 magistracy were on the point of interfering, 
 when suddenly a cry of " treachery !" was ut- 
 tered by one of the combatants, and Messer 
 Ranieri, dropping his talagone, (a triangular 
 piece of wood, the only weapon permitted in 
 these conflicts,) closed with his adversary breast 
 to breast, by one desperate struggle raised 
 him in the air, and by the next cast him head- 
 long over the battlement into the stream be- 
 neath. Cries from all voices of " Traitor ! Mon- 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 338 
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 ster !" were poured forth against Ranieri. He was 
 surrounded and seized ; but it was soon dis- 
 covered he was in no state to answer the ques- 
 tions that were mingled with the reproaches of 
 the multitude ; or to defend himself from their 
 threatened vengeance. Faint from loss of blood, 
 he sunk senseless into the arms of the persons 
 nearest to him, and a poniard, found at his feet, 
 seemed to imply the premeditated assassination. 
 All was now confusion and tumult, in a scene 
 which festive joy had so late pervaded : a thou- 
 sand boats, that had been plying about in case 
 of accidents, crowded to the relief of Pafetta, 
 who was still struggling in the Arno ; while the 
 busy multitude above, hastened to bear away 
 Ranieri, that assistance might be given him, 
 if life was not already flown. The signal bell 
 for assembling the company of the Misericor- 
 dia tolled dolefully through Pisa ; cars, litters, 
 steeds, all crowded together, and neighing, 
 jostling and entangled with each other, created a
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 339 
 
 general confusion, the women screaming, the 
 men declaiming in all the violence of their pas- 
 sion, and gesticulating with that unutterable 
 energy of action that invests rage with magnifi- 
 cence. The rumour of the event spread quickly 
 into the adjacent villages, and a stream of pea- 
 santry soon joined the townsmen, so that the 
 multitude increased every moment. The friends 
 of both parties were loud in calhng for justice, 
 and maintained that they were each in the right. 
 Thus in the midst of their clamours for mutual 
 vengeance, one voice was asking questions while 
 twenty drowned its vociferations by telling the 
 tale each in his own way, and no two alike. 
 Nevertheless, in whatever colours the partisans 
 of Pafetta represented the affair, the moment 
 it was ascertained how severely Ranieri Lan- 
 freducci had been wounded, and that Pafetta 
 had only received a few contusions, (though he 
 narrowly escaped drowning,) than the general 
 voice was in favour of the former. But Pafetta
 
 340 , AT. LA GIOllNATA. 
 
 Stood in near relationship to the Anziani, or 
 chief magistrate ; and where in this earth does 
 not might frequently overcome right ? 
 
 Each of the offending parties were put under 
 honourable custody in their own palaces, till 
 the business could be investigated; and in the 
 mean time, the crowd were ordered to disperse. 
 Slowly and sadly all now prepared to retire to 
 their homes, talking, as they went, over this 
 stransre event. The serious viewed it with con- 
 cern, from the consequences to which it was 
 likely to give rise ; whilst the most thoughtless 
 owned a shade of sorrow from a circumstance 
 which, for a time, deprived them of their pro- 
 mised amusement. But upon no one did the 
 catastrophe act with greater force, or make so 
 deep an impression, as upon Ildegarda. What 
 hei feelings had been during the acting of that 
 terrible scene, words can ill describe ! and when 
 she returned to the quiet of her home, her men- 
 tal sufferings were aggravated by the state of
 
 ALLA OIOKNATA. 341 
 
 agitation into which this event had plunged 
 Rachaella. It is, however, always salutary to be 
 obliged to act ; and this necessity now came to 
 Ildegarda's assistance. Accounts were brought 
 to her also, favourable to her wishes. Ranieri's 
 wounds were not dangerous; he had fainted 
 from loss of blood, but there was every reason 
 to hope he would quickly be restored. Pafetta, 
 it was said, had received a dangerous con- 
 tusion, by coming in contact with one of the 
 piers of the bridge. But, by all Ildegarda 
 could learn, these accounts were much exagge- 
 rated, for reasons best known to the party. A 
 fews days of suspense passed by, and Rachaella, 
 alternately reasoned or soothed into calmness, be- 
 came restored to her wonted condition of mind. 
 But still a doubt every now and then that the 
 persons around her were deceiving her, and that 
 Ranieri was dead, took possession of her fancy, 
 and nothing but Ildegarda's conversation could 
 then pacify her. She would listen delightedly to 
 
 a 3
 
 842 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 the sound of her voice, even when her words were 
 addressed to others ; and though often unable 
 to enter into the full comprehension of her dis- 
 course, it never failed to work as a soothing spell 
 upon her. But in the state of suspense in which 
 Ildegarda remained, regarding the ultimate is- 
 sue of the late mysterious and dreadful transac- 
 tion, she could know no rest ; and a thousand 
 contradictory wishes and wild schemes coursed 
 each other through her fancy. Under these in- 
 fluences she frequently gave vent tc the agita- 
 tion of her mind in broken sentences, which were 
 poured forth to an ear, capable indeed of all the 
 sympathy she could desire, but unacquainted 
 with, and unable to comprehend the vastness of 
 that intellect which gave rise to them. Rachaella 
 had poignantly felt the terrible event she had 
 witnessed. But now when tidings were brought 
 that both parties were in a fair way of recovery, 
 all else seemed to her of no import ; and she 
 marvelled that the Signora Gherardesca was not
 
 ALLA GIORNATA. 343 
 
 more cheered than she appeared to be. Under 
 this impression of wonder, fresh suspicions oc- 
 casionally arose in her mind, that she was de- 
 ceived ; and she would frequently gaze intentl}^ 
 on Ildegarda ; but, checking the desire she had 
 to question her, awaited in anxious silence the 
 intelligence she did not dare to ask for. 
 
 " Rachaella,"" said Ildegarda, too much ab- 
 sorbed in her own reflections to attend to those 
 of her friend, " Rachaella, let me lean on thee, 
 while I walk out to breathe the freshness of the 
 hour." 
 
 They continued for some time slowly to pace 
 the open arcade, which commanded a view of 
 the Luchese hills, seen as distinctly in the white 
 moonlight as in the mid-day beam : then giving 
 utterance to her thoughts, in broken phrase, she 
 said : 
 
 " No, it will never do : so many, many states, 
 so fine, so great a people, thus parcelled out, be- 
 come the alternate slaves of misrule or of ty-
 
 344 ALLA GIORNATA. 
 
 ranny. Under one government they might 
 again become the world's masters : but thus 
 split and divided — never. Oh ! might I be- 
 come the means of binding their jarring and 
 contending interests in one ! A Queen ! — why 
 not ? many a wise people have decreed that a 
 Queen may reign : and such things have been 
 from less beginnings." Then turning to Ra- 
 chaella, as in derision of herself, she added : 
 *' Rachaella ! child, wouldest thou like to see 
 me a Queen ?''"' 
 
 " What! lUustrissima.'' I know not what you 
 mean. All titles are at your command : are they 
 not.?" replied the simple Rachaella. "Yet, 
 nevertheless (she continued), were I as great 
 a lady as you are, the title of wife to the 
 noble Lanfreducci, would be my highest aim 
 of glory and happiness." 
 
 " Foolish child ! thou knowest not what thou 
 sayest. I could command an hundred, in com- 
 parison of whom Ranieri would be but as a 
 weed among flowers."
 
 ALL A GIORNATA. 345 
 
 lldegarda spoke to be contradicted ; or she 
 would not have spoken thus. 
 
 " Really," rejoined Rachaella, incredulously ; 
 " why then the world is more replete with rare 
 flowers than I had imagined, and methinks I 
 should be content to live a thousand years to 
 enjoy them. Still, still, he whom you name 
 would be the fairest flower to me." 
 
 " Thou art a country damsel, and gapest at 
 every thing for wonder. I would call thee fool, 
 but that thou art a pretty fool ; and it pleases 
 me to banter thee : I would give thee gold, and 
 send thee back to thine own wild Volterra, for 
 in good truth, thou art unfit for the bustling 
 world. There in thy native caves, thou wouldst 
 tend thy goats, free from the snares that sur- 
 round thee here; and thou mightest indulge 
 thy wild phantasies without danger or reproof : 
 but if thou goest on thus in all this freedom of 
 thoughtless speech, there are many will hold 
 thee to be a very light and worthless maiden." 
 
 " Illustrissima," replied Rachaella, fearfully.
 
 346 ALLA GIOIINATA. 
 
 " I will not offend again by my speech : but I 
 thought, lady, you had chosen Rachaella to be 
 your companion, to say all she felt : and, indeed, 
 I knew not that it was wrong to speak as I did ; 
 it is so natural to admire what is lovely. I talk 
 of a flower, of the hveries of the heavens, of the 
 hues of nature, of the moulding of a country, or 
 the forms of yon mountains ; and what are all 
 these to the lineaments of the human counte- 
 nance. If the beams of light are reflected in a 
 thousand different varieties of beauty in a land- 
 scape or a flower, how much more glorious are 
 those which intellect diffuses on the human 
 countenance. You have taught me to know and 
 to feel all this : can it be wrong then to talk 
 of it ? can it be wrong or dangerous thus to 
 admire ; or to speak of what we admire ?"" 
 
 " Wrong .?'' rejoined Ildegarda, mournfully. 
 " Woe is me ! you have asked me a question I 
 cannot answer. All I know is, my innocent 
 Rachaella, that it must not be." 
 
 " Well, Signora, what you say I feel sure is
 
 ALLA gioii:;ata. 347 
 
 right, although neither of us understand why it 
 is so : only, I beseech you, dear and honoured 
 mistress, talk not of sending me away from you ; 
 no gold which you could give me would make 
 me happy, were I banished your presence. 
 Once, indeed, I knew nothing beyond my 
 caves, my goats, and my spindle ; — but you have 
 taught me other things, — have awakened other 
 feelings ; above all, I am called by a voice, you 
 cannot hear, to a mighty work, and you would 
 be — may I say it ? — you would be unwise, you 
 would be unjust, to turn me back to what I 
 was. You cannot give me back myself, such 
 as I was when you first found me. Of all the 
 evils, that which I dread most is to leave you. 
 Oh ! pain unutterable ! I feel it here," she said, 
 pressing her hand to her bosom, which throbbed 
 with momentary apprehension ; " I look to you, 
 lady, as to a thing of light and wonder — a star 
 that shines above me ; and having come within 
 its beam, I think I should exist no more were 
 that beam withdrawn."
 
 348 AI .A GIORNATA. 
 
 Tliis was a language sweet to the ear of II- 
 degarda ; it was not to be purchased for rubies 
 or precious gold. It was flattery, to be sure, 
 if flattery be indeed a proper term for all the 
 gentlenesses of life, yet it was the language of 
 truth from Rachaella, and not the base adula- 
 tion which flows from servile lips. 
 
 " Rachaella, fear not," said Ildegarda : " I 
 have adopted you as the sister of my affection ; 
 it will be your own fault if you forfeit your 
 claim to this title. I did but try you.**' 
 
 Rachaella kissed the hand that was extended 
 to her ; and Ildegarda sealed the promise with 
 an answering kiss on her forehead: — seals of 
 love and of affection, but sealed too often in vain, 
 whether impressed by friendsliip or by passion. 
 
 END OF VOL I. 
 
 Gip: 
 
 
 LONDON : 
 PUINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET.
 
 <^ 
 
 
 %a3AiNiiik^^ ^^mmyi^P" ^^h^myi^ 
 
 A^lOS-AHC!l£r^ ^OF-CAl!F0/?^/. .<.OF-CAlfF0^^^. 
 
 or f 
 
 
 <^™R^-''^'^- <^r.?iMivn?r/k .m^iwrn^^ 
 
 
 1(^ ^OF-CAUFOi?^ 
 
 " O ii. 
 
 
 'V/ya3AiNnr " 
 
 
 ^^HJBRARYOc^ 
 
 
 OS 
 
 r
 
 ^loS'AUcnerA 
 
 University ol Calilornia, Los Angeles 
 
 
 § 
 
 L 006 212 790 7 
 
 AA 000 368137 6 ^ 
 
 
 !& 
 
 
 
 .m^ 
 
 IS 
 
 (J 
 
 C5 
 
 ^ V J i I I s^ J * 
 
 ■•^ J J^'i « JU I 
 
 Jl Ig 
 
 fi)^ 
 
 r- 
 
 rr 
 
 \i 
 
 .5 
 
 f. ^V 
 
 « 
 
 
 <: 
 
 if 
 
 V/sa3AINn-3WV 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 CO 
 
 =3 
 
 .tC.IIDDADV/^. 
 
 r^aC.ltllll/CDCi. 
 
 . inr iktreir<