The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-05-28
4 Love Story the World

There is no evidence that Dante's love 2 Was returned, rather the contrary-for, on the occasion of marriage feast, years af- ter, when both had grown to young manhood and womanhood, Dante's confu- sion at the sight of her was he records a matter of mirth for her and her friends Otherwise, she seems to have been uncon- scious unregardful of his love. Their meetings seem to have been few and casual passing glimpses of her in the street, or in church, or at a feast And then she mar ried, to die soon after. Of such slight ma terial this great love story made the creation of d great poets dreaming and adorinS heart, for whom, a s the years went by, Beatrice was more and more to grow the hallowed symbol of the mystic, immor- tai beauty in the universe.
 Dante was himself soon to marry. But two years after Beatrice was desired in the high heaven" G292) he married Gemma, daughter of Manetto Donati, q rel atiVe of COrso Donati, afterward one of DanteS btterest enemies. There is req son for thinking the marriage otherwise than happy, and there came of it two sons and two daughterS-one of whom was named Beatrice. It would seem-as, at all events, it is romantic to imagine-that this daughter Beatrice was his companion at the last, when he died In exile at Ravenna; for it is on record that, after his death, she took the veil, and died, a nun, in that city. It was to this daughter, thirty years after her fathers death, that the Republic of Florence, or one of it's guilds, offered the first sign of it's repentance by sending through the hands of his biographer, BOc- caccio, gift of ten golden Horins. And now le5 us briefly outline the series of events which made Dante an exile from Florence immeritus'' as he was fond of of ain lotto hot oF which he scornfuIly describes himself in the original title of his Divine Comedy as "a FIorentine by birth, but not in morals Cit is scarcely necessary to say that Dante was good hater)
 Complicated our American politics may seem they are simplicity itself compared with the politics of Italy in Dante's time and, for that matter, ever since. This pas sage from Lowell, however, gives a clear general outline for our guidance. Long be- fore Dantes birth, the rival German families of WeIfs and WeibIgens had given their names, softened into Guelfi and Ghbelini to two parties in northern Italy, representing respectively the adherents of the Pope and of the Emperor, but serving very well rallying points in all manner of intercalary and subsidiary quarrelS The nobles, especially the greater ones-per- haps from instinct, perhaps in part from hereditary traGl,ion, as being more or less Ieutonic by descent-were commonly Chi belineS or ImperialiSts: the bourgeoisie were very commonly Guephs or supporters of the Pope, partly from natural antipathy to the nobleS and partly perhaps because they believed themselves to be espOusing the more purely Italian side. Sometimes, however, the party relation of nobles and Durghers to each other were reversed, but the names of Guelph and Ghibelline al- ways substantially represented the same thinGS.'
 For sixty years before Dantes birth private feud such as that of Montague and Capulet in "ROmeo and Juliet" hadA Ain- Volved Florence in the larger struggle of Guelph and Ghibelline. with much bloody fighting and many changes of government. At length, in 12S2, the Guelphs had tenn porarily gained the upper hand and form of republic was organized, the officers of which were chosen from the various guilds and were called ''priorS." Of these there were six, holding office for two months. One of these guilds of 'the greater arts" was termed "Spezfali'-being composed of druggists and dealers in all manner of Oriental goods, and in books" Of this guild Dante became member. and by vir-