The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-04-08

lery OF the Berberina Palace. at Rome,
hangs the portrait of young Roman
girl. painted by Guido. It is beauti-
iui but melancholy face, whose "South
look OF sweet, sorrowfnl eyes," and
";ouoh OF prison pa!eness," reproduced
In chrome. are 80 frequently seen in
parlor and shop windows. For Of all
the famous paintings in Rome, none is
bettsr known OF more copied than this.
1t derives peculiar interest from the his
tory of her whose features it is said to
represent. francesca Cenci, the head
OF one OF the oldest and wealthest fami-
lies OF Rome, was q man of violent tom
per, and, in his household, intolerably
cruel Two of his sons were assaesi-
mated Mt his instigation. At length, un-
able longer to endure his cruc!ties and
tyranny, his family appealed tc the
rope, Clement VIII. for protection; The
petition was miscarried. and remained,
Of course. unanswered. On the night
oi the 18th of September, 1893, Fran
cesco was murdered. He was found
with all enormous nail driven into euch
OF his eyes-a mode OF assassination
which indicated that Mt least two per
SONS were engaged in the work. One OF
them Was finally captured, anu upon ex-
animation. charged the wife, son, uud
the daughter, Beatrice, with having
prompted the deed. They had, lie tes.
titled, put the victim to sleep by adm-
nisteriug narcotic dranght, and then
had introduced himself aud his accom-.
pllce into Frnncesco's chamber. They
wore arrested and imprisoned in the
Castle OF St Angelo, where they were,
from time to time, as was the practice
during the middle ages, sub ected to the
tortnres 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 aud bro
ther made confession. But for nearly q
year Beatrice continued firm in her de-
claratlons OF lnnoceuce. at last q new
method Of torture was devised, to inflict
which would make it necessary to cut
oil her hair. which is described as being
"tAe most silken, the longest, and the
most marvellous in color ever seen" At
this she turned pale. "Touch not nv
head" she cried; "lct mo die without
mutiiation." AMI to save her tr.sses,
she, too. yielded. Her beauty. the be-
lief IN her innocence. the courage she
had shown, had won the sympathy and
compassion OF the whole Roman Dopu-
lace. and the Pope was tesieged with
petitions to grant her pardon. This he
was nearly persuaded to do when, ut the
trial, her cause WAS most clouuentlY
pleaded by The counsc! appo.t".l for
tho defence, and it was shown how pro.
badly man 80 generally disIked aud
dreaded as francesca should have had
enemies outside his own household to
plot against his life.
Other murders of similar character oc.
curing about this time, induced the
Pope to refuse pardon, and it is thought
that his decision was Influenced by the
considerations that in the event OF their
condemnation the property Of The
prisoners would come into possession
OF the church. They were, therefore,
publicly executed on the piazza of the
bridge of st. Angelo, September the
9th. 1899. All the windows, roofs and
balconies in the vicinity were filed with
people to witness tho scene, 80 great was
the interest felt for the beautiful and
young heroine. The portrait by Guido
is said to have been painted inst before
her execution, and during her coufine-
ment IN prison. Her story has fur
nished food for many a romance. and
has often been represented upon the
stage. She is still generally supposed
to have been Innocent of connection
with the crime, and for every one re.
calling this passage OF history, the pic
tnre has strange fascination.