Benvenuto next fell in love with a fair Sicilian, who having suddenly left Rome with her mother, he committed innumerable extravagancies in search of her, of which he says it would be tedious to give a circumstantial account; he became acquainted with a professor of necromancy, witnessed his magical spells, and beheld a legion of devils, who, in answer to his request, that he might be in company with his Sicilian mistress, declared that it should come to pass in a month, and it did actually take place on the very day the month expired, at Naples; to which place he had retired, in consequence of having broken the head of a certain Beneditto.

To Rome, however, he was soon recalled, by the Cardinal de Medici, and shortly afterwards Pope Clement the Seventh died. Pompeo, one of the favorites of the deceased Pontiff, and an ancient foe, having offered a public insult to Benvenuto, he fell upon Pompeo, when surrounded by ten armed men, and, forcing his way through them, killed him on the spot. In this affair, Cardinals Cornaro and de Medici contended for the honor of protecting our author. A safe conduct was made out for him by order of Cardinal Farnese, just elected Pope under the title of Paul the Third, and he was re-instated in his place of Stamp Master. The death of Pompeo, however, entailed a succession of adventures and troubles upon our hero, chiefly by the machinations of an illegitimate son of the Pope, Pier-Luigi, whose favorite had married Pompeo's daughter. This PierLuigi had other motives than affection for his favorite, for undertaking to revenge the death of Pompeo ;-it is insinuated that he had laid hands upon the portion of Pompeo's daughter. The first attempt was made through a Corsican soldier, who was hired to assassinate Benvenuto. The following is an account of their meeting.

"One day, just after dinner, they sent for me, in the name of Signor Pier-Luigi: I went directly, as that lord had often talked to me about several pieces of plate, of new invention, which he proposed to have executed. I left my house in a hurry with my usual arms, and went down the street Julia, not thinking to meet any body, at that time of day: when I was at the top of the street, and preparing to turn towards the Farnese Palace, it being customary, with me, to take the round-about way, I saw the Corsican bravo quit the place, where he was sitting, and advance to the middle of the street without being in the least disconcerted, I kept myself in readiness, and having slackened my pace a little, approached the wall as close as I could, to make way for the Corsican, and the better to defend myself. He drew towards the wall, and we were near to each other, when I plainly perceived, by his gestures, that he had a design upoir me, and seeing me alone in that manner, imagined it would succeed. I was the first that broke silence: Valiant soldier, said I, if it were night-time, you might possi

bly have mistaken me for another, but, as it is broad day-light, you must be sensible who I am, and that I had never any connection with you, nor ever gave you offence, but should rather be disposed to serve you, were it in my power. Upon my uttering these words, he, with a resolute air, and without ever quitting his ground, told me that he did not know what I meant. I replied, but I know very well what you mean; yet your enterprise is more dangerous than you are aware of; and the success may be very different from what you imagine: I must tell you, that you have a man to deal with, who will sell his life very dear; neither does your design become such a brave soldier, as you appear to be. All this while I stood upon my guard, with a stern and watchful eye, and we both changed colour. By this time a crowd was gathered about us, and the people perceived what we were talking of, so that not having the spirit to attack me, under those circumstances, he only said, we shall see one another again. I answered, I am always glad to see gallant men, and those that behave themselves like such. Having left him, I went to Signor Pier-Luigi, but he had not sent for

me.

From thence, I returned to my shop, when the Corsican gave me notice, by means of a particular friend, of his and mine, that I need be, no longer, under any apprehensions from him, since he would, for the future, consider me as a brother; but that I should beware of others, for many persons of distinction had sworn they would have my life. Í returned him thanks by the messenger, and kept upon my guard, the best I could. A few days after, I was told, by an intimate friend, that Signor Pier-Luigi had given express orders for taking me that evening; this I heard at six o'clock.

At eight he took post for Florence, and on his arrival at that city was made Stamp Master to the Mint by Duke Alexander de Medici, whom, however, he soon left for Rome, under a safe conduct from the Pope, to clear himself from the charge of murder, at the feast of the Virgin Mary, by walking in procession; on which occasion the usual formality of his surrendering himself to prison, was, at his earnest entreaty, dispensed with. Passing over several incidents recorded by the author; such as his presentation, by the direction of the Pope, of a highly ornamented Prayer Book, whose cover of massive gold had been curiously wrought by him, to the Emperor Charles the Fifth on his entry into Rome; and his short stay at Padua with Cardinal Bembo, from whom he received flattering attention; we find him at Paris soliciting an interview with Francis the First, which he accomplished at Fontainbleau, where he had a favorable audience for a whole hour. He journeyed in the retinue of the court to Lyons, where he fell ill, and became so disgusted with the French court, that on his recovery he set off incontinently to Rome. Whilst assiduously pursuing his business at this city, he received a very flattering account from the Cardinal Ferrara, whose friendship he had cultivated whilst in France, of the manner in which his most Christian Majesty had expressed

his wish to have the artist in his service. Benvenuto instantly wrote in answer, professing his readiness to obey the king's pleasure. In the mean time, however, he was accused of having in his possession an immense treasure, consisting of jewels and other costly things belonging to the church, to the amount of eighty-thousand ducats, which it was alleged he had abstracted from the Castle of St. Angelo at the sack of Rome.

Pier-Luigi obtained a grant of this vast treasure. Notwithstanding the accused artist demonstrated his innocence, by shewing that all the jewels belonging to Clement the Seventh were registered, and that none of them were now missing, he was committed a prisoner to the Castle of St. Angelo, which he had before so bravely defended. Whilst he was allowed to walk about the castle, he scorned to make his escape, which he might easily have done; but when, through the odd fancies of the crazy constable, he was committed a close prisoner, he publicly declared he would make his escape in spite of them all. Having prepared every thing necessary with the greatest patience and ingenuity, he fixed upon the night of a holiday to make the attempt.

"Two hours before day break I took the iron plates from the door, with great trouble and difficulty, for the bolt, and the wood that received it, made great resistance, so that I could not open them, but was obliged to cut the wood: I, however, at last, forced the door; and, having taken with me the above-mentioned slips of linen, which I had rolled up in bundles, with the utmost care, I went out, and got upon the right side of the tower, and having observed, from within, two tiles of the roof, I leaped upon them with the utmost ease. I was in a white doublet, and had on a pair of white spatterdashes, over which I wore a pair of little light boots, that reached half way up my legs, and in one of these I put my dagger. I then took the end of one of my bundles of long slips, which I had made out of the sheets of my bed, and fastened it to one of the tiles of the roof, that happened to jet out four inches; and the long string of slips was fastened to the tiles in the manner of a stirrup: when I had fixed it firmly, I addressed myself to the Deity in these terms: Almighty God! favour my cause, for thou knowest it is a just one, and I am not, on my part, wanting in my utmost efforts to make it succeed. Then letting myself down gently, and the whole weight of my body being concentrated in my arm, last reached the ground. It was not a moon-light night, but the stars shone with a resplendent lustre. When I touched the ground, I first contemplated the great height, which I had descended with so much courage; and then walked away in high joy, thinking I had recovered my liberty; but I soon found myself mistaken, for the constable had caused two pretty high walls to be erected on that side, which made an inclosure for a stable and a yard to keep his poultry in: this place was shut, with great bolts on the outside. When I saw myself immured in this inclosure, I felt the greatest anxiety imaginable. Whilst I was walking backwards and forwards, my foot happened to hit against a

I at

long pole covered with straw; this, I, with much difficulty, fixed against the wall, and, by the strength of my arms, climbed to the top of it but, as the wall was sharp, I could not get a sufficient hold to enable me to descend, by the pole, to the other side; I, therefore, resolved to have recourse to my other string of slips, for I had left one tied to the great tower; so I took the string, and having fastened it properly, I descended down the steep wall; this put me to a great deal of pains and trouble, and likewise tore the skin off the palms of my hands, insomuch, that they were all over bloody, for which reason I rested myself a little. When I thought I had sufficiently recruited my strength, I came to the last wall, which looked towards the meadows, and, having prepared my string of long slips, which I wanted to get about one of the nitched battlements, in order to descend this as I had done the other higher wall, a sentinel perceived what I was about. Finding my design obstructed, and myself in danger of my life, I resolved to cope with the soldier, who, seeing me advance towards him, resolutely, with my drawn dagger in my hand, thought it most adviseable to keep out of the way. After I had gone a little way from my string, I instantly returned to it, and though I was seen by another of the soldiers upon guard, the man did not care to take any notice of me. So I fastened my string to the nitched battlement, and began to let myself down: whether it was owing to my being near the ground, and preparing to give a leap, or whether my hands were quite tired, I do not know, but being unable to hold out any longer, I fell, and becoming quite insensible, continued in that state about an hour and a half, as nearly as I can guess: having, afterwards, for a while, refreshed myself with sleep, and the day beginning to break, the cool breeze that precedes the rising of the sun brought me to myself; but I had not yet thoroughly recovered my senses, for I had conceived a strange notion that I had been beheaded, and was then in purgatory. I, however, by degrees, recovered my strength and powers, and, perceiving that I had got out of the castle, I soon recollected all that had befallen me. As I perceived that my senses had been affected, before I took notice that my leg was broke, I clapped my hands to my head, and found them all bloody: I afterwards searched my body all over, and thought I had received no hurt of any consequence; but, upon attempting to rise from the ground, I found that my right leg was cut three inches deep, just above the heel, which threw me into a terrible consternation. I, thereupon, pulled my dagger out of the scabbard, which had a sharp point, for that occasioned the hurt to my leg; as the bone could not bend either way, it broke in that place; I, therefore, threw away the scabbard, and cutting the part of my string of slips that I still had left, I bandaged my leg the best I could; I then crept on, upon all four, towards the gate, with my dagger in my hand, and, upon coming up to it, found it shut; but, observing a stone under the gate, and thinking that it did not stick very fast, I prepared to push it away; clapping my hands to it, I found that I could move it with ease, so I soon pulled it out, and effected my entrance. It was above five hundred paces from the place where I had had my fall, to the gate, at which I entered the city. As soon as I got in, some mastiff dogs came

up, and bit me severely; finding that they persisted to worry me, I took my dagger, and gave one of them so severe a stab, that he set up a loud howling; whereupon, all the dogs in the neighbourhood, as it is the nature of those animals, ran up to him; and I made all the haste I could, to crawl towards the church of St. Mary Transpontina."

Whilst he was crawling along, he was observed by the servants of Cardinal Cornaro, and carried to his apartments. During his convalescence, he was visited by great numbers of nobility, gentry, and friends, and received a variety of valuable presents. His enemies stirred heaven and earth to effect his recaption, and he was finally sacrificed, by the good cardinal, for a bishopric. Transferred once more to the custody of the mad constable, he was carried to a dark subterraneous cell, covered with water, full of tarantulas and other noxious insects; his only furniture, a mattress and blanket; and his only companions, a Bible and the Chronicles of Villani. With a broken leg, wasted body, and consuming spirits, he dosed away the night and the day in this wretched den, except for about an hour and a half, during which time only he could see to read the Bible. He attempted to destroy himself, but was prevented by an invisible being. He made a composition of some rotten bricks, gnawed a splinter of wood from his prison door, and after waiting impatiently for his modicum of sun-shine, wrote a sonnet with the composition in his Bible, in a sort of dialogue between his body and his soul. He got accustomed to this purgatory, recovered his strength, and resumed his cheerfulness of mind, and continued to read his Bible three hours a-day. The rest he passed in pious meditation and singing psalms, or drawing images upon the wall, and writing, with the compound brick-dust, stanzas in praise of the prison and on other subjects. His nails grew to an immoderate length and his teeth began to rot. After remaining in this situation four months, he was removed, and placed in the deepest subterranean cell of the castle. The whole of the first day he solemnized with God, and, at the end of the second, was taken back to his old prison, where he wept with joy and gladness of heart, at the sight of the images he had drawn on the wall.

So many fatigues and cruelties, operating on a man of such intensity of feeling, produced a high degree of nervous excitement. He continually fancied himself in the presence of the invisible guardian, before mentioned, and held conversations with him. Deprived, for so long, of the blessed light of the sun, he prayed fervently that he might once more behold that glorious luminary. He was immediately hurried away, by his invisible guardian, to an apartment, where he unveiled himself in a human form, having the figure of a youth, with the first down upon his cheeks, and of a most beautiful countenance, on which