Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-04-08
Some Interesting Stories of This
Quaint Old City Of oft Told
Tales.
Doorway OF Casa Dante, Leading TO
the Birthplace of the Great
Poet.
The Ancient Monastery of La Certosa,
Which Belonged to Old Midi
eval Italy.

Rider Haggard's novel, King Solomoa's
Mines, he was the recipient of a letter
from a school girl In America thanking him
most gratefully for writing a novel with
out d woman III i. The young lady was
| IN all probability very unusual girl.
Are there not many men who have gained
wonderful interest by linking their
name with d woman's? Who can ever
diSseyer Dante and Beatrice, ''she with
gentle voice and soft, whose eyes were
tnan the star Of day?" This thought was
upperm0st IN my mind as we walked up
via San MARITIME and stood before the
narrow doorway Of Casa" Dante. The
inscription on the antique door tells US
| that hf was born in this house in 1865.
The door being directly on the narrow
street, we were at once ushered in the
dimly lighted hall, up the stairway, into a
long, narrow chamber, two windows Ill
the end serving to light it. Ny mind was
SC occupied with the gloominess peryad-
ing everything that | have entirely for
gotten the contents OF the house. 1t was
uDlnhablted and only few relics are to
be seen. It these thick walls enclosing
these darsened chambers were the home of
his childhood, small wonder" that he
should envelop himself during his lifetime
=. a
doors below the street terminated in
the Piazza or open space around the
DuomO. The stone on the pavement
is shown whtre be was in the
habit OF liking Lis chair, and sitting
silently b5 the hour, while the common pao-
pie, passing to and fro. would sprak of
MN 90 one another under their breath as
! tee man VINO had Leeu to nell" His
, temper VA s. severe and bitter that
Petrarea is credited with saying chat he
rose up from bell like 4 giant refreshed.
because paradise had fewer wants for him
to satisfy than hell" He certainly took
great pleasure n concerning, aud re
morseless!y assigned the Florentjne citi.
zens to their several localities in his In
ferno. let they are very proud of him as
poet, and have made many vain efforts to
persuade Ravenna to part with the ashes
OF the man they exiled for life while liv-
ing. Iney obey one of the commandments.
at any rate, viz, "Love them that curse
you" The Inferno must seem to the
FlorentiHes book of their ancestry. but
it surely IS perfectly unintelligibe to one
unaCquainted with Florentine history. II
seems strange that a man occupying such
an exalted position in the world as the
greatest poet of the nation should leave be-
hind tim so little recorded OF his domestic
life. They tell us that Beatrice P0rtinari's
father lived just across the street, and we
know that when she died he married Gem
me D0natl. As the Donati house adiOincd
the house where Dante lived with lis
widowed mother, We may Ssuppose that
it was q case of propinquity, He also
married one of his daughters, Beatrice.
who became nun and died in Ravenna.
| think the world generally have felt that
the ''eternal fitness of consistency would
have been better met had he remained tIu
to the ideal Beatrice, and some biogra
piers tell us that it was not happy
marriage. Whether or not it is certain
that his wife and family did not follow
him into exile.
In the streets of Florence the spirit Of the
past takes you by force and holds your
thoughts, yet her streets are just as full of
life as other more modern cities Crowds
jostIe one another, boys play and fight,
beggars sit on the steps Of the ioggias and
| warm themselves in the sun; the jewelers.
| shops on Ponte Vecchio and Torpabouna
| Che gayeSt street In Florence) are throng-
! ed with we'll dressed crowds, and the I'M
| blqultCus American with business in his
| eye, Is not wanting to give touch Oh
the modern to the scene. In the midst of
this common lite there is something con-
stantly taking place that is unique and
| linked with the PASTOR instance: One
| day, on our way to the DuOmo, we en-
Countered two strange figures clothed from
| head to foot in long black garments, even
| their heads envelOped in black cloth.
| with only aperatures for their eyes. They
| carried between them litter, which was
| also covered.
| Upon inquiry we discovered chat they
were brothers of the Order of Misericord1a
| devoted to charity. Their chapel being
! Immediately opposite the Duomo, we
| went IN and found a room furnished with
shelves divided into pigeon-holes, where
| these strange garments we're kept. This
| society embraced some of the most noble
| ia miles in Florence, and each member
was pledged, in his turn, to come to the
| chapel Immediately upon the ringing IF
! the bell Of the CampaniIe: which was the
! signal that some accident had taken
place, or that assistance of some kind
/ was reeded. They straightway left their
| business or pleasure, and putting on the
garb of their order. reported for duty
| We subsequently, learned that about 1910,
| at the time when the Florentine wool
manufacturers were sought by all the
cities of the world, there were two great
fairs held during the year, making large
increase of business and the place
assigned I or the pOrters stand was in the
frajga of the Baptistry. 1t SO happened
that one Of their number. Tiero di Lucca
Bnssi who was much afflicted by the
quantity of biasphemy and bad language
used, induced them to consent TO fine for
every such offense. In time quite a sum
accumulated, and he proposed to spend it
IN providing SIX litters, one for each ward,
and to appoint every week two Of
their number to each litter for the pur-
pose of carrying poor sick persons to the
hospitals, or those meeting with
sudden accidents, or were killed il The
streets. This numo.o society has lasted 600
year..
Accompanied by charming Italian
f lend ore sunny atteTnC on, we visited the
CarthUsian monastery of La Certosa, three
Il les distant from Florence. This ancient
convent is situated on a commanding
eminence and has very much the appear
ance of medival fortress. The
surrounding country looked exceedingly
barren.
This convent belongs to old medieval
Italy. 1t was founded by Niccolo Accai
jnoli, descendant of an old Guelphic
family OF Bergamo, who sought refuge IN
Florence from the barbarites Of Frederick
BarbaTosa, lib, his mother was Pazzie,
q name undissolubiy connected with
Florentine history, belonging as it does to
one of the Inflated fac iols that were hos
tile to the d. Medici A member of this
family was chief in a cOnsDiracv against