it is dangerous. Ser Pantaleone, you may

now go."

"Have mercy on him, your Highness! He is young! he is good!"

"He is the Honour of our Court!-But we must also look to the Honour of our Family."

My Life on his !”

Enough. I will care for him. Have no

Fears."

And he waved his Hand, which was as much as to bid me retire. I did fo, with a full Heart. And he affumed a reflective Air, which was occafionally his Wont, when he was about to meditate something Cruel.

CHAPTER VI.

Of Ser Pantaleone's Breakfast al Fresco.

W

You

HEN a Prince, and that Prince an Italian, gets it into his Head that the Honour of his House is affronted, or in any Way endangered, there is no knowing what may come next. lofe Sight of your Man! What has become of him? No One knows. Peradventure he is fick, or fulky, or has abfconded from his Creditors, or has been fent on some secret Miffion of importance. No One knows, for no One inquires; till, fome Day or other, he is found at the Bottom of a Well; or a Fish-pond proves to have its Secrets as well as the Lake of Lerna; or a Bit of his Hair or

his Cloak is perceived fticking out of the Ground, and People search and find his bloody Corpfe, and shrug their Shoulders, and go their Ways.

Befides, there are other and quieter Ways of fettling these Matters. Drugged Wines, poisoned Gloves, poisoned Fruits, Ices, and Sweetmeats, Acqua di Toffania, Trap-doors, Chefts with Spring-locks.

His Highness's firft Duchefs had been removed. That had not hindered him of winning a fecond; a young and beautiful Archduchefs, too! What a mere Trifle, then, would be the removal of a young Poet, with no Family or Faction to fupport him! Taffo was, indeed, well born, his Connexions were excellent, but they would not take up his Quarrel. Befides, quarrel? with a reigning Duke? Pfha!

Altogether, I felt very uneafy about my young Friend. He was endeared to me by his pleasant Ways even more than by his noble Gifts; he was agreeable to me, interefting to me,-I loved him. Befides, my

Nature was tender;-though bred a Soldier, I had never drawn Blood in a private Quarrel, being of a placable and amiable Difpofition; had never bit my Thumb at a Man, never lain in Wait, never hired a Bravo. We had had no Occurrences of the Sort in our Family, which, indeed, made its Annals rather tame, but was agreeable to its Representatives; fince if we were not arrogant, we had certainly never given Reason for our Neighbours to call us cowardly. We were of the younger Branch of the Gambacorti, who had fided with the Este Guelfs ever fince the Days of Eccelino da Romano, and had never swerved in the least Degree to the Ghibellines; yet were not, for that Reason, always trying to pick a Bone with them, treading on their Heels, or plucking their Beards. My Great-grandfather, Gentile, had even overlooked having his Head nearly broken by a Flower-pot being caft down upon it (purposely), from the third Story of the Palazzo Discaduto, by the Heir of that House, then in his fixth Year; and had merely remarked, "By a Child's

being pert no Honour is hurt," instead of rushing into the House, ftriking off the Offender's right Hand, and burying it in a Flower-pot; and yet he had fo boldly fought the Turks that no Man dared accuse him of Pufillanimity. It may be faid that I inherited his Difpofition-which likewife came to me, through my Mother, from the Soavi, who were chiefly Men of Peace, and addicted to the Patronage and Cultivation of Letters.

Now, as I came forth from the Duke's Clofet, I noted without noting, if One may fay fo, a Fold in the Curtain over the Door that looked uncommonly fat and full, which I afterwards extremely regretted I had not pricked with my Sword, for I was perfuaded that if I had, I fhould have heard a little Squeak. In fact, Events gave me Reason to fufpect that it was highly probable the Duke, who had been playing the Spy, had in his Turn been spied by that Monkey Page Maddalo, or him whom we were accustomed to call Brunello, on Account of his mischievous,