The Winslow mail., 1900-03-22
"Tush!o l replied. and Remembered at

Turk, was a hostage in Rome, practically
prisoner in the hands of Alexander, a
legacy he had inherited from the Cibo, and
which brought him 10000 ducats annually.
l could understand Diem in eastern costume,
but the pope masquerading in broad day
light as a Moor! 1t was as wonderful as
it was disgusting to me. And then the re-
membrance of Corte's daughter came to my
mind, and as they approached, could hard
ly refrain from making dash to rid the
world of the monster who sat in st. Peters
chair.
When they had gone, Jacopo arose from
his knees, and dusting them with his hands
whilst he looked up at me, said: "Corpo di
Bacco But | gave up all for lost. VOW
candle to St. Mary of forget where-but
to the shrine nearest to the place we dine
for this lucky escape"
"Come, sirrah!" | said, little annoyed,
mount There never was any DANGER
''Very well, your worship!" and Jacopo
drew a little to the front. "There they go,
he said, shading his eyes with his hands,
and turning to the left, where dun cloud of
dust on the Via della Marmorata marked
the progress Of the Borgia "The best way,
signore," he continued, 'is over the hill;
we will get view from there, and then
passing by the places you want to see, make
for quiet hostel 1 know of in the Strangers
Quarters"
Following him, we rode up the Aventine,
until we reached the old wall of Servius
Tullius. Here we stopped to observe the
view. To the west and southwest we could
see the green of the Campagna merging into
the distant gray of the Roman Maremma.
whilst beyond that clear blue line below
the flush of the coming sunset, marked the
sea- Beneath US lay the Tiber and the is
land, the yellow water of the river stirred
into ripples by the breeze, and looking from
the distance like hammered brass. Beyond
the Tiber rose Monte Gianicolo, beyond
which the top of the Vatican hill was lust
visible. To the north the view was little
shut in by the Palatne and the church of
st. Prisca above us, and far off rose the
cone of Soratte Northeast and east lay the
Palatine, the Esquiline, with the campaniles
of Santa Maria Maggiore and San Pietro
in Vincol. Over Monte Coelio we could
see the heights of the Sabine hills, and run
ming our eyes along the Appian way, we
could almost descry the Alban lake, the
mountains being distinctly visible. We
stayed for few moments drinking in the
view, and then going onwards, turned
northwest, past st. Prisca, and began the
descent, by winding way, held in by vine
yards. Coming down we caught glimpse
of the three churches of the Aventine, name
ly, s. Sabina, S. Maria Aventina and st.
Alesso, which was held by the monastery of
st. Jerome, whose walls rose hard at hand
A look to the right showed us the Circus
Maximus, above which lowered a huge obe-
lisk surrounded by four lions. At length
we came to the Vicola di San Sabina, and
at the corner of the street rose the gray
walls and square tower of the castle of the
Sateli. | drew rein, and looked at it with
bitter heart, and a sigh | could not con-
troll escaped me, as saw the breeze catch
and spread to the wind the silken folds Of
the standard of the Chigi, who bore quar-
tered on their shield the star of the Savelli
and the tree of De la Rovere. 1t faunted
there, in all the insolent pomp of new
house, whose money bags were full and the
sight Of it was enough for me. Jacopo must
have caught the look on my face, for he said,
kindly:
"Who knows, excellency-luck may turn"
Well meant as the words were, they
Jared on me, and, without replying, moved
on, silently raising my sword to the salute,
as l passed the grim gates from which my
ancestors held the road as far as the river,
and almost held Rome itself.
Jacopo was for going straight on past the
monastery of the Aracoeli, on the Capitol;
but, unluckily, | discovered that my horse
had cast a shoe, and this was a matter not
to be neglected. So we turned to the right
and entered the Campo Vaccine, formerly
the Forum of Rome. 1t being now sunset,
here were collected hundreds of oxen and
buffaloes, and from the height of Monte
Caprino we could hear the bleating of the
herds of goats which were pastured there
on, and the tinllling of their bells as they
moved slowly down towards their shelter
for the night. A hundred fires were blazing
cheerfully, and served to dissipate the blue
vapor which began to hang over the place.
Round these fires were groups of people,
mostly countrymen, who seemed in the best
of spirits, as they listened to songs, or
watched numbers of their party, who danced
merrily to the tune OF pipe. Hard by were
a number of sheds, used by mechanics, and
the blaze, which showed a forge in work,
soon attracting our attention, we made
there at once, and had the horse attended to.
Whilst the smith was beating out shoe,
| sat down on a rough bench, my horse be-
ing fastened to a wooden post, and Jacopo
holding his nag by the bride paced up and
down, occasionally stamping his feet on the
ground to free them, as he said, from the
ants In other words, he was suffering
slightly from cramp. To my right was
large crowd, evidently enjoying show Of
jugglery, and from their cries of wonder
ment and pleasure they seemed to be hav-
ing their moneys worth. So | rose and el-
bowed my way to good place, unfortunate.
ly only in time to see the end of the affair.
The iuggler was robed in a doctors gown,
and after performing trick he distributed
nostrums for various ailments, free of pay
ment. Imagine my surprise in recognizing
in him no other than Mathew Corte; and as
| came up he placed tambourine in his lit
tie dogs mouth and bade him carry it
round for subscriptions. Coppers were free
ly flung in, and as the little animal stopped
before me | dropped in form and stopped
to pat its head. AS rose l caught Corte's
eye, and saw he knew me, but as he made
no sign | stayed quiet. Collecting his money,
the doctor bowed his thanks and began
packing up the instruments of his trade |
went back to my seat and watched the smith
at work on my horse, thinking that Corte
must have somehow come into funds.
By this time the blacksmith had completed
his task, and we delayed no longer, but went
off at once. 1t was fortunate that Jacopo
knew Rome as he did, or we might have been
hopeessly lost in the labyrinth of streets,
some of them in total ruin, some of them
entirely uninhabited, for at the time so
hideous was the misgovernment of the city
that all who could do so had fled from
Rome, and those who remained could not
have exceeded 10000 in number, of whom
ut least 10000, men and women, were beings