The Honour of Savelli: A Romance
caught a glimpse of the three churches of the Aventine, namely S.
Sabina, S. Maria Aventina, and St. Alessio, 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 towered a huge obelisk
surrounded by four lions. At length we came to the Vicola di San
Sabina, and at the corner of the street rose the grey walls and square
tower of the castle of the Savelli. I drew rein, and looked at it with
a bitter heart, and a sigh I could not control escaped me, as I saw
the breeze catch and spread to the wind the silken folds of the
standard of the Chigi, who bore quartered on their shield the star of
the Savelli and the tree of De la Rovere. It flaunted there, in all
the insolent pomp of a new house, whose moneybags 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 jarred on me, and without replying
I moved on, silently raising my sword to the salute, as I passed the
grim gates from which my ancestors held the road as far as the river,
and almost held Rome itself.
As we went past the Island, I did not even raise my head to see the
Theatre of Marcellus, within which lay another and the oldest of our
family houses, having come to us through Pierleone towards the close
of the eleventh century.
Jacopo was for going straight on past the monastery of the Aracoeli,
on the Capitol; but unluckily I 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 Vaccino, formerly the Forum of Rome. It
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 thereon, and the tinkling 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 vapour 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 a 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 a shoe, I sat down on a rough bench,
my horse being fastened to a wooden post, and Jacopo holding his nag
by the bridle 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 a large crowd,
evidently enjoying a show of jugglery, and from their cries of
wonderment and pleasure, they seemed to be having their money's worth.
So I rose and elbowed my way to a good place, unfortunately only in
time to see the end of the affair. The juggler was robed in a doctor's
gown, and after performing a trick, he distributed nostrums for
various ailments, free of payment. Imagine my surprise, in recognising
in him no other than Mathew Corte; and as I came up, he placed a
tambourine in his little dog's mouth, and bade him carry it round for
subscriptions. Coppers were freely flung in, and as the little animal
stopped before me, I dropped in a florin, and stooped to pat its head.
As I rose I caught Corte's eye, and saw he knew me, but as he made no
sign I stayed quiet. Collecting his money, the doctor bowed his
thanks, and began packing up the instruments of his trade. I went back
to my seat, and watched the smith at work on my horse, thinking that
Corte must have somehow come into funds, and wondering how he had
managed it. After a little time I felt a touch on my shoulder, and
turning round saw him beside me. I invited him to a seat, inquiring
after his health.
"It grows better day by day," he answered, "now that my work is begun.
And you, signore?"
"I can say the same," I answered; "I grow better day by day, now that
my work is begun."
"There is a favour I ask, Messer Donati," he went on.
"What is it?"
"It is this, and do not think me ungrateful. I am here playing a part.
We will meet again, perhaps, under different surroundings. All I ask
is that if we do, you will make no sign of recognition, nor mention to
anyone that you know me."
"As you wish, Messer Corte."
"A hundred thanks, and yet another thing--short reckonings make long
friends," and he pressed into my palm two gold pieces, the amount of
the sum I had left with him the night his daughter died. I had no
desire to take them back, not knowing how Corte stood; but he assured
me he would be deeply offended if I did not, and that he was well
provided with the sinews of war. Where he had got them I know not, and
of course I had no option but to receive back the money I had given
him, though I did this most unwillingly. When this was over, he
pressed my hand once more, and, wishing me good night, hurried off.
By this time the blacksmith had completed his task, and we delayed no
longer, but went off at once. It was fortunate that Jacopo knew Rome
as he did, or we might have been hopelessly 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 thirty thousand in number, of whom at
least ten thousand, men and women, were beings who had lost all claim
to the respect of mankind, and were capable of almost any crime. These
are hard words, but true, nor indeed have I ever seen a place where
all that was bad was so shamelessly exposed, as in Rome when Roderigo
Borgia was Pope. At length we reached the Strangers' Quarters, but
Jacopo's hostel was not to be found, and after searching for it in
vain, we were content to pull up before the door of a small inn built
on the lower slope of Monte Pincio, barely a bow-shot from S. Trinita
de' Monte, the church erected by Charles of France in 1495, and a
little beyond the convent of the Dames du Sacre Coeur. I cannot say
that the hostel was an inviting-looking place; in fact it was little
better than one of the common _osterie_ or wineshops with which Rome
abounded; but it was too late to pick and choose, and for the night at
least, I determined to stay here. Our first duty was to attend to the
horses, which we had stabled in stalls, immediately below the room to
be occupied by me, Jacopo having to put up with lodgings in the
stables for the night. After the beasts had been fed and groomed, I
set myself to a plain dinner, washed down with the contents of a
straw-covered _mezzo fiasco_ of Frascati. Jacopo waited on me, and
when I was done, contentedly devoured the remainder of the _manzo_ or
boiled beef, and cooled his throat with a bottle of Marino, which I
presented to him. Whilst he was thus engaged, I went down and had
another look at the horses, and as I patted their necks, and they
whinnied at me, I thought regretfully of the good beast who lay dead
on the Leghorn road, and wondered what had become of Brico, of whom,
notwithstanding his villainy, I could hardly think of without smiling.
It was in truth strange that a man, so arrant a poltroon at heart,
should desert his natural occupation of a lackey, to play the bravo,
and pose as a soldier. How he had ever even obtained the rank of
ancient was a matter of surprise and wonder to me. At length I
dismissed him from my mind, and coming back, found Jacopo at the end
of his meal and his bottle. It was late enough now, and giving him
warning to sleep lightly, and to arouse me at once if necessity arose,
for I liked not the look of the place, I climbed up the ladder leading
to the loft above the stables, which was to serve me as a chamber for
the night.
CHAPTER XIV.
GEORGE OF AMBOISE.
I should mention that before retiring I had obtained from the landlord
a good-sized lanthorn, which I had carefully filled with oil, and
trimmed under my own eyes. Holding this in my hand I ascended the
ladder leading to the chamber, or rather loft I was to occupy, and on
gaining my point I placed it on the floor, near the opening by which
the ladder led into the room, and so directed the light that its glare
passed downwards, and up to the entrance of the stables, leaving the
sides of the stables in darkness, although my own room was bright
enough. This was a precautionary measure, as it would discover any one
attempting to come in by the stable entrance, which had no door, and
would enable me at any time to see to rush down quickly to the aid of
Jacopo, should he need it. I debated a short while as to whether I
should undress for the night; but so little did I like the looks of
the place, which was more like a house of call for bravos than
anything I had seen, that I did nothing beyond removing my boots, and
flinging myself as I was on the vile truckle-bed in the room, I placed
my drawn sword by my side, and sought to sleep, struggling resolutely
to get this, despite the legions of inhabitants the bed contained, who
with one accord sallied forth to feast upon me. But sleep I was
determined to have, as I had work for to-morrow, and knowing Jacopo to
own sharp eyes and quick ears felt no scruple about getting my rest,
determining however, to make it up the next day to my knave for his
vigil, which I was sure would be faithfully kept. Finally, despite the
attacks of my enemies, I dropped off into a light slumber, which
lasted for two or three hours, when I was startled by hearing a shrill
whistle, the clash of swords, the kicking and plunging of the horses,
and Jacopo's voice shouting out my name. I woke up at once, with all
my wits about me, and on the instant ran down the ladder, sword in
hand, parrying more by accident than design, a cut that was made at me
by some one as I descended.
As I touched ground, two men darted out of the door, and ran across
the half-ruined yard in front of the stables. A third, whom I
recognised as Jacopo, was about to follow, but I held him back by the
shoulder, having no mind to run risks around dark corners whilst I had
my letter to deliver. Jacopo yielded to me very unwillingly, and in
answer to my hurried inquiry, gave me an account of the affair which
had been as brief as it was noisy.
"When your worship retired," said he, "leaving the lanthorn to so to
conveniently light up the stable entrance, I had another look at the
horses, and then settled myself down on that heap of straw yonder, my
back to the wall, and my sword in my right hand. So an hour, or may be
two, passed, and then I heard voices outside, and some one swearing at
the light. Oh ho! says I to myself, there's a night-hawk about, and I
remained on the alert, not thinking it worth while to give tongue
then. After a while the voices dropped away--and, excellency, I am
sorry, but I must have slipped off into a doze, and beshrew me! if I
did not dream I was aboard that cursed ship again, and being made to
play pea-in-the-drum once more. I therefore made haste to awaken, and
as I opened my eyes heard a crackling noise outside. I rose slowly and
crept towards the entrance, and just as I reached within three feet of
it a handful of pebbles was thrown in, and one of the horses started a
bit. The stones were clearly flung from outside to see if any one was
awake; but of course I made no sign, and the next minute two men
appeared at the open entrance. I gave a whistle to rouse your honour,