Castruccio

“ Please you, Count Castruccio,
To lead Bianca?
CASTRUCCIO.
Your pardon, lady, for a brief delay;
Let me look round this hall, I knew it not.
ARREZI.
'Tis never open'd but when some high guest
Honours us with his presence; and we ask
Our ancestors to aid us in his greeting.
CASTRUCCIO.
I like the custom. It is from the dead
The living must their noblest lessons learn;
The dead are as the stars that light the past:
We see how time has honoured them, and hope
Ourselves for equal honour. ”

“ There is no path of fortune where thy step
Has not cross'd mine; in war, ambition, love,
Still hast thou been my rival! call thy guards,
Tyrant! but, ere they come, I'll try my sword.
CASTRUCCIO.
I'll call no other guard than my right hand.
(They fight.—As he disarms Leoni, Cesario and the
Attendants rush in.)
CASTRUCCIO.
Bear hence the traitor! you are just in time.
CESARIO.
He bleeds to death.
LEONI.
But yet with strength enough
For hatred and defiance; 'tis in vain—
Fate is against me—curse the hand and sword
That have betray'd me in my utmost need! ”

“ Euthanasia feared Castruccio as the enemy of Florence; but she avoided Florence as his enemy. Disappointed in her dearest hopes, her very heart destroyed, she hated society, and felt solace in the contemplation of nature alone; that solace which the mind gathers, in communing with its sorrows, and, having lost every other resource, clings as to a friend, to the feelings of woe with which it is penetrated. ”

“ Castruccio came. If it were in human virtue to resist the invitation of this angelic girl, his was not the mind, strictly disciplined to right, self-examining and jealous of its own integrity that should thus weigh its actions, and move only as approved by conscience. He was frank and noble in his manner; his nature was generous; and, though there lurked in his heart the germ of an evil-bearing tree, it was as yet undeveloped and inanimated; and, in obeying the summons of Beatrice, he passively gave himself up to the strong excitements of curiosity and wonder. ”

“ CASTRUCCIO.
Fate mocks at us; a few brief hours suffice
To stand between us and our happiness,
Thenceforth I had those gentle hopes no more,
That make the spirit gentle where they dwell.
Lucca was then my all—I had no hopes
But for the glory of my native city;
To see her free and prosperous, became
Life's sole great object.
CLARICHA.
Not for my sake shall Lucca's hero pause
Upon his glorious path; not for my sake
Forget life's noblest duties.
CASTRUCCIO.
Thou art more strong than I am—yet not so,
I see thy cheek is pale, thine eye is wet,
I cannot leave thee. ”

“ Castruccio was ever at war; peace subsisted between him and Florence; but the siege of Genoa by the Ghibelines of Lombardy, gave him occasion to turn his arms on that side; and, his march extending from Lucca to beyond the Magra, he deluged the country in blood, and obtained that which he desired, dominion and fame.
It were curious to mark the changes that now operated in his character. Every success made him extend his views to something beyond; and every obstacle surmounted, made him still more impatient of those that presented themselves in succession. He became all in all to himself ”

“ Castruccio journeyed slowly on. He was weak and unable to endure continued exercise. Yet his mind recovered by degrees its wonted strength; and imagination, ever at work, pictured future life, brilliant with glowing love, transcendant with glory and success. ”

“ Castruccio was unlike these tyrants, in that we hear nothing of his taste for books, or music, or art; indeed, by his ruthless devastation of the environs of Florence, incalculable treasures, representing early Italian art, were irretrievably lost; and though we know that Castruccio had sons and other kinsmen, there was no successor to the great "soldier of fortune who had raised himself to be Duke of Lucca, Lord of Pisa, Pistoja, Volterra, and much of the Genoese Riviera." ”

“ What of Castruccio's fate—what of our chief?
CESARIO.
The treachery of the nobles has prevail'd.
Castruccio lies within the city prison,
Thither convey'd by Ludolph's foreign band;
A thousand dangers circle him around,
The secret dagger, and the open scaffold.
2nd citizen.
Well, now we have no friend!
CESARIO.
He was your friend; the meanest citizen
Found, in the shadow of Castruccio's name,
His best security.
2nd citizen.
He never wrung from us our hard-earn'd gains.
1st citizen.
Our lives were precious to him; must he die? ”

“ Castruccio was a staunch Ghibeline, and his soul was set on the advancement of that party; he did not sympathize with Euthanasia, but he appeared to do so, for he loved her, and listened, his eyes shining with pleasure, while she spoke in silver tones, and all appeared wise and good that came from her lips. Often her gentle eloquence would for a while carry him along with it, and he would talk of republics, and the energy and virtue that every citizen acquires, when each, acting under the censure of each, yet possesses power ”

“ Castruccio was introduced into his chamber, where he lay peacefully sleeping on a magnificent couch, his adopted child, the lovely Beatrice, watching before him, who, when she beheld Castruccio, blushed deeply, while, in spite of every effort, a smile of delight spread itself over her expressive countenance.
"He is not very ill," she said in a low voice, in answer to Castruccio's enquiries; "the fever has left him entirely; he is weak, but recovering. ”

“ If for a moment her will paused, and love, breaking every bank she had carefully built up to regulate her mind's course, burst in at once, and carried away in its untameable course reason, conscience, and even memory, Castruccio himself came to repair the breach, and to restrain the current; some castle burnt, some town taken by assault, some friend or enemy remorselessly banished, filled her with shame and anger, that she should love a tyrant; a slave to his own passions, the avenger of those of others. ”

“ Euthanasia smiled, and said, "Well may it please one so nearly useless as I am, that I can save the lives of some of my fellow-citizens. Do you not know, dearest Castruccio, that when you draw your sword against the Florentines, it is always wetted with the blood of my best friends? Love you indeed I always must; but I know, for I have studied my own heart, that it would not unite itself to yours, if, instead of these thoughts of peace and concord, you were to scheme war and conquest."
"You measure your love in nice scales," replied Castruccio, reproachfully ”

“ I will be her judge and executioner."
"Castruccio?"
"Do not look so pale, Vanni; you do not understand. A few hours hence I will tell you more. Now leave me."
Solitude is a coy companion for a prince, and one he little loves. But Castruccio had much to occupy his thoughts, much that agonized him. "Revenge!" He clenched his hand, and, throwing his eyes upward, he cried: "Yes, revenge is among those few goods in life, which compensate for its many evils. Yet it is poor: it is a passion which can have no end. ”

“ As she spoke, she threw back the hood of her young companion; and Castruccio gazed on her exquisite and almost divine beauty. Her deep black eyes, half concealed by their heavy lids, her curved lips, and face formed in a perfect oval, the rising colour that glowed in her cheeks which, though her complexion was pure and delicate, were tinged by the suns of Italy, formed a picture such as Guido has since imagined, when he painted a Virgin or an Ariadne, or which he copied from the life when he painted the unfortunate Beatrice Cenci. ”

“ That never turn aside their sad reproach.
I'll after him, and wring a slow consent.
CESARIO.
Your pardon, lady; do not seek the count,
Let his just anger cool; think you how false,
How vile has been Arrezi's part to-night!
With flattering words he pray'd Castruccio's presence,
Made his own child the lure, yet, in his heart,
Lurk'd the assassin, and he plann'd to make
His home—his sacred home—the place for murder! ”

“ Castruccio ascended the hill immediately above the town, to seek for the habitation of Guinigi. The autumnal wind swept over it, scattering the fallen leaves of the chesnut wood; and the swift clouds, driven over the boundless plain, gave it the appearance, as their shadows came and went, of a heaving sea of dusky waters. Castruccio found Guinigi sitting at the door of his house; it was a low-roofed cottage, that seemed more fit for the habitation of a peasant, than of a man bred in camps and palaces. ”

“ The next morning, accompanied by Marco, Castruccio quitted Florence. In his mind there was a mixture of grief at having left, and joy at having once more seen, Euthanasia. Every word that she had said, and every look of her lovely eyes, were treasured in his soul—to be a consolation and support in trouble, and an incentive to noble endeavour. Adimari had taken an affectionate leave of him, telling him, that, as far as a poor blind man could, he would promote his interests, and seize the first opportunity, if such should offer, of procuring a repeal for his exile. ”

“ After a time the other visitors departed; and Euthanasia was left alone with Castruccio. For a while they were silent; the changeful colours of her cheek might shew, that love had not forgotten its accustomed course, but rushed in a warm flood to her heart, and then ebbed, commanded by a power hardly less strong than that which bids the ocean pause; the power of virtue in a well formed human heart. Castruccio watched her ”

“ The elder traveller suddenly arose, and, embracing Castruccio warmly, bestowed on him a brotherly kiss, and then turning to Tadeo, said: "This morning I introduced to you a stranger whose merit with me was that of having saved my life at the imminent risk of his own; now I introduce to you a gallant soldier, whose name has been spread through France, as that of the bravest warrior and the ablest commander that fought in the Low Countries: the Sieur Castruccio is a name which even the children in France lisp with gratitude, and the Flemings tremble to hear." ”

“ We only ask of victory for peace.
Enter Cesario.
CESARIO.
The envoys of the emperor await
Your leisure, to acknowledge you the lord
Of Lucca.
CASTRUCCIO.
Then Lucca's freedom is assured. High Heaven
I thank thee! (Addressing the crowd.) My friends,
Not on a day of victory and peace,
Shall justice sternly ask its penalty
Freely ye will forgive your enemies.
Last night's conspirators I pardon here—
Be they set free.
OFFICER.
⁠That has been done by death!
There lies the Count Arrezi.
(The crowd opens, and Claricha is seen lying by the
bier.) ”

“ Castruccio could not stand the questioning of her soft yet earnest eyes; he withdrew himself from her arms, and taking her hands in his, kissed them silently. "How is my noble lord?" she repeated, "have you had ill news? are you again banished? that cannot be, or methinks my heart would have told me the secret. Yet, if you are, be not unhappy:—your own Beatrice, with prophetic words, and signs from heaven that lead the multitude, will conduct you to greater glory and greater power than you before possessed. ”

“ Castruccio listened with uncontrolable astonishment. He looked at the wrinkled and hardly human face of the speaker, his uncouth gait and manners, and could scarcely restrain his contempt; he remembered Pepi's want of every principle and his boasted cruelty; and disgust overcame every other feeling; but, considering that it was as well to understand the whole of the man's drift, after a moment's pause he replied: "And where are the keys of the town which you say are in your possession?" ”

“ Atawel introduced him at court; and, if the haughty barons of England viewed with a supercilious smile the youthful beauty and accomplishments of the stranger, Edward was pleased to behold one, who by his foreign air, and the refinement of his manners, recalled the memory of his exiled favourite. He distinguished Castruccio among the crowd; and the youth, dazzled perhaps by royal favour, easily altered his prepossessions in favour of the barons, into love and pity for their oppressed sovereign. At balls and tournaments Castruccio shone among the throng. ”

“ Twenty-five years later they were divided against each other, in the wild days when Lewis the Bavarian, excommunicated and at war with the Pope, was crowned and consecrated Emperor, by the efforts of an extraordinary man of genius, Castruccio degli Interminelli, known better as Castruccio Castracane, the Ghibelline lord of Lucca who made Italy ring with his deeds for twenty years, and died of a fever, in the height of his success and glory, at the age of forty-seven years. ”

“ None question'd, then, our rightful sovereignty.
LEONI.
Which half the citizens now laugh to scorn.
As yet I have not been an hour in Lucca,
Yet I can see all things are changed.
ARREZI.
⁠Too true!
LEONI.
Your servants are your masters; where are gone
Your old respect and high authority?
ARREZI.
I do not know the times in which I live.
So much of change lies heavy on each hour!
Castruccio comes to-night—now greet him fair. ”

“ Castruccio divided his little band, and sent his men to the protection of several of the palaces, while he and Arrigo rode all night about the town; and, having the watchword of the emperor, they succeeded in rescuing some poor wretches from the brutality of the insolent soldiers. Several days followed, bringing with them a repetition of the same scenes; and the hardest heart might have been struck with compassion, to see the misery painted on the faces of many, whose former lives had been a continual dream of pleasure ”