Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-03-13
BEATRICE CENsF.


In the picture gallery OF the Berbe-
rina Palace, at Rome, hangs the por-
trait of young Roman girl, painted
/ by Guido. It is beautiful but melan-
cnoly zee, whose ''south look of sweet,
; sorrowfni eyes and ''touch Of prison
paleness," reproduced in cro1no, are
! 50 frequently seen in parlor and shop
! windows. For Of all the famous paint
/ ings i'll Rome. none is better known or
more copied than this. It derives pc
cllIiar interest from the history Of her
whose features it is said to represent
+ Francesca Cenci, the head OF one of
the oldest and weaIthiest families OF
Rome, was a man Of violent temper.
and, i'll his household, intolerably
| cruel. Two OF his sons were assassi-
mated at his instigation. At length,
! unable longer to endure his cruelties
! and tyranny, his family appealed to
/ the Pope, Clement VII, for protec-
! ton, the petition was miscarried, and
/ remained, of course, unanswered.
! On the night of the 10Th OF Septem-
Der, 1893, francesca was murdered.
He was found with an enormous nail
driven into each Of his eyes-a mode
of assassination which indicated that
at least two persons were engaged in
the work. One of them was finally
captured, and upon examination,
charged the wife, son, and the
daughter, Beatrice, with having promp-
ted the deed. They had, he testified,
put the victim to sleep by administer
ing q narcotic draught, and then had
introduced himself and his accomplish
into Francesco's chamber. They were
arrested and imprisoned in the Castle
Of St. Angelo, where they were from
time to time, as was the practice du-
ring the middle ages, subjected to the
fortunes Of the rack to force them to
confess the crime. As was frequently
the case with the accused, whether
guilty or not, preferring death TO this
lingering agony, the mother and
brother made confession. But for
nearly q year Beatrice continued firm
IN her declarations Of innocence. AT
last a new method of torture was &C.
vised, to infict which would make it
necessary to cut Off her hair, which IS
described as being 1.-The most siiken,
the longest, and the most marvellous
in color ever seem At this she turned
pale. Touch not my head" she
cried. LET me die without nlutila-
ton. And to save her tresses she,
too, yielded.
Her beauty, the belief III her limo
cence, the courage she had shown, had
won the sympathy and compassion OF
the whole Roman populace, and the
Pope was besieged with petitions to
grant her pardon. This he was nearly
persuaded to do, when at the trial her
cause was most eloquently pleaded by
the counsel appointed for the defense,
and 1t was shown how probably man
SO generally disiikeI and dreaded as
outside his own household to plot
against his life Other murders of
similar character occurring abo,1t this
time, induced the Pope to refuse par
don, and it is thought that his dec, ion
was influenced by the considerations
that in the event of the!r condemnation
the property of the prisoners would
come into the possession OF the church.
They were, therefore. publicly executed
on the piazza Of the bridge Of 81. Al
gelo, September the Gth. 1893. III the
windows. roofs and balconies IN the
vicinity Were filed with people 10 wit
ness the scene, 50 great was the inter
est felt for tie beautiful and Young
heroine.
The portrait by Gaido is sad 70
have been painted just before her exc
cution, and during her confinement III
prison. Her story has furnished food
for many a romance, and las often
been represented upon the stage. She
is still generally supposed to have been
innocent Of connection with the CRAZE
snd for every one recalling this pas
sage of history, the picture h@s
strange fascination.