River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-01-03
Woman Versus
Woman
By SADIE OLCOTT

the De AIedici family fOuriShed, was
in many respects a sinkhOle of iniqui-
ty. 1t was common practice to get
rid of an enemy by means of poison.
The De MediciS derived their name
from the fact that the founder of the
family was what today would be
called a patent medicine eXploiter.
This man who established a family
lived many years before that family
became the most prominent in Italy,
giving sOvereignS to Europe as we'll as
popes. This story pertains to one Ce-
celia Del Carpo, whose mother was
De Medici.
One evening q young artist named
Ricardo Cenci was StrOlling on the
street in Florence that leads from the
cathedral to the POnte Vecchio, an an
Gent bridge that crosses the River
AVnO. AS he entered upon the bridge
he met Cecilia face to face. Ricardo
was as handsome as Cecilia was beau
tiful.
Ricardo was betrothed to Lucrecia
Marini, as lovely a girl as there was
IN Florence. He did not notice Cecilia
as he passed her, for he was going at
the time to visit Lucrecia and was
thinking of her alone. Cecilia in
Quired OF a friend who was with her
who Ricardo was and learned not only
that he was promising artist but also
where his studio was.
The next day Cecilia appeared at Ri
cardO'S studio and offered him large
price to paint her portrait. Ricardo
declined because he was expecting an
order to do some mural painting in
st. Peters at Rome. But Cecilia beg
ged SO hard, saying he could do her
work at such times as he chose, that
he yielded.
Cecilia, who had great influence at
Rome, wrote to a relative there to de-
lay the order for the mural painting
and her object was accomplished. She
came every day to Ricardo's studio
and applied all her arts to win him.
Sometimes she would appear gentle
and innocent as q dove. Sometimes
she would appeal to him through his
art. Sometimes she would attempt to
master him by dominating his will,
and he resolved to foil her by marrying
someone else.
1t was not long before Ricardo be-
gan to dread her power over him and,
fearing that he might wrong his be-
trOthed, proposed to Lucrecia that they
should be married. Lucrecia, who had
learned Of the situation, aSsented and
they went to priest and were united
without the banns being published and
without witnesses.
The day Cecelia's portrait was fin
ished Ricardo announced to her that
he had been married. She flew into
q rage that caused the artist to fear
her more than ever, but in a different
way She left the studio in this mood,
but presently returned in different
one. She said that it was only selfish
of her to berate him for loving an
other, and since she could not possess
him she would claim him for her
friend She hoped also to make a
friend of his wife.
Ricardo was partly convinced by
these professions and asked her to call
on the woman who had vanquished
her. He did not think it worth while
to put Lucrecia on her guard, for he
did not see any wrong that Cecilia
could iniure her and he did not wish
to further incur the latter'S enmity.
The two women met and, on the sur
face at least, were so friendly that
Ricardo believed there was no rancOr
between them.
Cecilia invited them to sup with
her in her palazzio, as they call fine
dwellings in Italy. Lucrecia did not
wish to accept the invitation, but her
husband desired to avoid offending
their would-be hostess and persuaded
her to do so.
At the appointed time Ricardo and
his wife repaired to Cecelias palaZZiO
and were received by the hostess in
the most friendly manner. Ricardo
was deceived. The only sensible thing
he did after meeting the woman who
was bent on bewitching him was TO
acknowledge to himself that she would
succeed. But now he was acting very
stupidity.
Lucrecia, being q woman matched
against a woman, was on her guard.
She pretended to have taken a des-
perate fancy to Cecilia and hoped that
they might always be friends, but all
the while during the dinner, if Cecilia
forced upon her any dainty she de-
clned it on the ground that it would
not agree with her. She would drink
no wine because there was govt IN
her family.
Finally Cecilia offered her little
| dish of corrections, saying: Surely
one Of these will not hurt you" Luz
! crecia took one of the sweets, saying
that she loved something of the kind
before going to bed. She would eat
it at that time.
| Cecilia turned pale, but she did not
| oppose her guest. Soon after this all
arose from the table and after brief
| sitting together at window overlook
ing the AvnO, whose banks were beau
/ tifully lighted, Ricardo and his wife
/ IN tboir homo