Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1874-04-04
NUMBER 20
BEATRICE DE CENCI.
BY IsfT, ELAH.


I In the picture gallery of the Barbe
riui Palace ut Rome hangs q pOL -aali
of a young ROmTl girl, painted by
| Guido. It is a beautiful but melan-
/ choly face, whose ''sOuth look OF
| sweet, sorroWfu' eyes" and "tOuch OF
| prison paleness, - reproduced IN chrO'
mo, are SO frequently seen IN parlor
and shop window. For OF al the IA
nous paintings in Rome, none is bet
/ ter known or more copied than this.
1t derives peculiar interest from the
history of her whose features It IS
| said to represent.
Francisco Cenci, the head OF one Of
| the oldest and Wealthiest families OF
| Rome, was a man Of violent temper,
and. in his household, intolerably
cruel. Two Of his sons were assassin
ated at his instigation. At length,
unable longer to endure his cruelties
and tyranny, his family appealed TO
the Pope, Clement VIII, for protec-
tiOn. The petitions miscaTried. and
remained, of course, unanswered.
On the night of the 18th of Septelp-
Der, 1885, francesca WTs murdercth,
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 ia
the work. One OF them was finally
captured, and npon examination,
charged the wife, a son.s.ustlli .t,le
dsttrglItvr, B0atrn.z, - ti.l
ptZd tp-s-tkss =. = - s..-iic
testified, put the victim 70 sleep by
administering a narcotic draught, and
then had introduced himself a2d his
accomplice 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 during the middle ages,
subjected to the tOrtUres of the rack
to force them to confess TO the crime.
As was frequently the case with the
accused, whether gailty or not, pre-
ferring death to this lingering agony,
the mother and brother made confess
sion. But for nearly year Beatrice
continued firm IN her declarations of
innoce .ce. At last a new method of
torture was devised, to inhict which
would make it I acessary to cut OF her
hair, which is described as being ''the
most silken, the longest, the Lost
in color ever SEEN" At
this she turned pale. "Touch not
my head" she cried. Let me die
withC It mutilatiOni' And to save
her tresses, she too yielded.
Her beauty, the belief IN her inno- |
cence, the courage and frmness 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 pes uade TO do |
when at the trial her cause was most /
pleaded by Il Q counsel ap- |
pointed for the defense, and it was !
shown how probably a man so gener-
ally disliked and dreaded as Frances
20, should have had enemies outside |
MS own bousehOld to plot against his
life. Other murders of similar char |
lcter occurring about this time, how
ever, inducing him to refuse pardon, |
md it is thought his decision was IN /
iucnced by the considerations that IN |
The event of their condemnation the |
property of the prisoners would come |
ntO the possession of the church. |
Hboy were therefore publicly executed |
)n the piazza of the bridg of st. An |
gelo, September 9th, 1E"9. All the |
windows, roofs and balconies in the |
vicinity were flied with people as
sembled to witness the scene, so great |
vas the intei st left for the beautiful |
Young heroine.
The portrait by Guido is said to ]
nave been painted igst before her ex-
,cution, and during her confinement !
n the prison. Her story has furnish
ID food for many a 70 nPnce, and has /
,ften been II )resonted' 7 pom theistage. |
She is still generally supposed to have
lcen innocent of connection with the |
,rime, and for every one recalling |
his passage of history, che picture |
las n strange fascination.