Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

the two goddesses, producing the melancholy fact that he who enjoys the gifts of the one, must not hope for those of the other? or, is it that genius, fearful that Fortune might corrupt her children, keeps them for ever out of her way? Ariosto, like the generality of the sons of Genius, had little to boast of any other kindness, save that lavished on him by her; but, unhappily, her dazzling gifts though they lead to fame and secure the good will of posterity, do not often defend their possessor from the bitter pangs of poverty, or the still more bitter ones entailed by dependence. Allied by the ties of kindred to the ducal family of Ferrara, he found but a niggard and rude patron in the Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, whose brutality of speech when the poet presented him his works, not even the change in the phrase by Tiraboschi has been able to excuse. Vexed at the refusal of Ariosto to accompany him into Hungary, there to remain for two years, at a time when neither the health nor the finances of Ariosto were in a state to admit of such a step, he treated him with marked coldness, and left him to seek the protection of the Duke Alphonso.

This protection, like that extended by this prince to other poets, left Ariosto little indebted for any substantial benefits; though manifold were the services he rendered to his patron, who employed him on several missions, demanding not only zeal, but tact and judgment.

Ariosto's sense of the illiberal treatment which he

experienced from his patrons, is strongly indicated by a device of his, on which was represented a beehive, from which a rustic was expelling and destroying its inmates by the smoke of a straw fire, in order to extract the honey they had made; the motto was Ex bono malum.

Though professing to like his works, and certainly vain that his court should possess their author, the Duke d'Este far from bestowing the means of a comfortable existence on Ariosto, which would have enabled him to devote his time to the Muses, permitted him to be tormented through long years by every species of pecuniary embarrassment; and so precluded him from bequeathing to posterity works, which, judging from those he had written, would have greatly added to his fame.

It is deplorable to think, that while Alfonso could find money to build a theatre, in order that the comedies of Ariosto should be produced with greater éclat, and spared no expense in the decorations of it, he, for whose works this expense was incurred, was suffered to remain, if not in actual indigence, at least, in great pecuniary embarrassment. The comedies performed in this new theatre were "La Cassaria," "I Suppositi," "Il Negromante," and "La Lena;" some written in his early youth, and the others many years previous to their being enacted.

Ariosto's temper, though generally mild, could occasionally be excited into warmth. An instance of

this disposition is related, which evinces, that though docile to the counsel and criticism of his literary friends, to which he is said to have listened with a patience not often found in authors, he could be aroused into anger, if his amour propre was wounded. Passing one day the shop of a potter, he heard the luckless workman reciting some of his verses, in a manner that greatly deteriorated their merit, which so enraged him that he broke several of the vases. When the potter complained of the injury he had sustained, the angry poet declared that his vengeance had been but too mild in destroying a few worthless vessels, as a punishment for their master's having destroyed his beautiful verses.

An instance of the esteem with which the poet was regarded by his countrymen, even those amongst them supposed to be the least likely to be moved with veneration for him, is recorded. When governor of Garfagnana, an appointment conferred on him by the Duke Alfonso d'Este, after the death of the Cardinal Ippolito, he found that province beset by rebellious men, who had taken up arms against their sovereign, and leagued with the brigands and smugglers who had long infested the neighbourhood. Having one day occasion to pass through a wood, followed only by a few attendants, he encountered a formidable number of armed men, who to his great surprise, and no less satisfaction, permitted him and his attendants to pass them unmolested; the captain of the band merely demanding of one of the servitors

the name of his master. No sooner had he learned that it was Ariosto, than he followed him, to the no slight alarm of the poet, who, however, drew up and awaited his pursuer; who approached him with every demonstration of profound respect, and offered his apologies for having, through ignorance of who he was, suffered him to pass his troop without paying him the homage so justly due to his merit.

Another example of his extraordinary popularity is told, which occurred also while he was governor of Garfagnana. Having one morning in a fit of abstraction, wandered forth from the castle in his robe-de-chambre and slippers, he was not conscious of his imprudence, till at a considerable distance from any habitation, he found himself made a prisoner by a troop of banditti, who were proceeding to use violence towards him, when one of the lawless band recollecting the face of Ariosto, informed his companions. The captain of the brigands* saluted him in the most respectful terms, assuring him that the author of the "Orlando Furioso," had nothing to fear, and insisted on escorting the poet in safety to the castle; expatiating while they pursued the route, on the various fine passages of that poem, with many of which the men displayed an intimate acquaintance, and loading its author with praise.

PADUA.-There is something in the solitude and silence of this place that pleases me. It seems to

* Pacchione.

respire the repose, I will not call it dullness, peculiar to towns containing universities; and the inhabitants have in their air and manner a gravity that harmonises well with the character of the town. Two rivers flow through Padua, which not only beautify but add to its healthiness.

The Paduans attribute the foundation of their town to Antenor, and resent as an insult any doubt on this point.

Whether regarded for its ancient origin,-an origin of which even Tacitus relates that its natives were so proud, and which Virgil notices in his Æneid, i. 242, or for having founded its splendid neighbour, Venice, Padua must always be viewed with interest. Allied with Rome in the glorious days of the imperial city, it was, like her, preyed on by the barbarian hordes who invaded Italy, and was compelled to bow to the yoke of her enslavers. Leagued in after years with the states of Mantua, Ferrara, Verona, and Vicenza, it shared the fate common to all republics, that of frequently groaning beneath a tyranny, under the name of liberty, more despotic than is to be encountered in most monarchical governments.

Here dwelt James Carrara, one of the rulers of Padua, but like his son Francis, better remembered as the friend of Petrarch, and as having encouraged the revival of literature.

Padua has long been distinguished for her love of science, and for her university. But in addition

« AnteriorContinuar »