TWO UNANSWERED LETTERS
During the night the yacht "Hallena" had steamed down through the Channel Piombino, and the Tuscan Archipelago, studded with islands, and had passed Rome, the Eternal City.
"Naples cannot be far off," thought Leo, for to the southeast is seen the smoking torch of Mt. Vesuvius, southwest is the island of Ischia with its extinct volcano, and beyond is Cape Miseno. The "Hallena" cautiously felt her way among the luxuriant islands that guard the broad and beautiful Bay of Naples and the Siren City. Her passengers had ample opportunity to study the attractions of this justly celebrated locality.
Vesuvius, reflected in the smooth waters of the bay, lifts high her peak, the ascending smoke coloring the white clouds above. At her feet lies ancient Hurculaneum, submerged on the 24th of August, A.D. 79, by a flood of molten lava.
Nearer the bay and only five miles from the volcano, is ancient Pompeii, which was overwhelmed by the same eruption of Vesuvius. Pompeii was buried, not with lava, but with tufa, ashes and scoriæ, and since 1755 has thus been the more easily and extensively uncovered. This ancient Roman city was enclosed by walls and entered by several gates. Its numerous streets were paved with lava. The traveler of to-day beholds uncovered the one story and terraced houses, shops, mansions, the market place, temples, theatres, and baths. In some of the houses were found furniture, statues, paintings, books, medals, urns, jewels, utensils, manuscripts, etc., all less injured than one would suppose.
Today more modern towns are located about the curved shore of this unrivaled bay. The sparkling waters, the winding shore, the bold cliffs, the threatening lava cone, the buried cities, all combine under the bluest skies to make the Bay of Naples a Mecca for worshipers of the beautiful.
On the deck of the "Hallena" stood the group of American tourists, enchanted with the picturesque environment of historic Naples. The city is built along the shore and up the sides of adjacent mountains. A mole, with lighthouse, projects into the bay and forms a small harbor.
The sun had climbed towards the zenith, and shone full upon this fair city, as the yacht entered the harbor. Many of the buildings are white, five or six stories in height, with flat roofs covered with plants and shrubbery. If the weather is favorable the inmates resort at sunset to their roof-gardens to enjoy lovely views and the cool breezes from the bay.
The Spiaggia, a popular thoroughfare, is adorned with statues, and extends along the shore to the Tomb of Virgil, and the mole. It is crowded every evening with Neapolitans in equipages, some elegant, and some grotesque.
Two or three days were spent in studying the palaces and art galleries of Naples. Of special interest is the national Museo Borbonico, which is remarkable for its collection of antiquities. In the palmy days of Borne, Naples was a luxurious retreat for emperors and wealthy citizens of the great empire. Naples was the scene of a most disgraceful outrage in May, 1848, when it was plundered by the Lazzaroni, or Begging Community, and fifteen hundred lives were lost.
When the sight-seeing in Naples was completed Captain Hall offered to take the Harrises in his yacht back to Rome, but his offer was declined. Good-byes were cordially exchanged and the "Hallena" steamed south to Palermo, en route to Athens and other Levantine cities, while the Harrises took the express for Rome.
Leo was glad to see the "Hallena" steam away, and to be with Lucille aboard a train moving towards Rome. When the station in the eastern part of the city was reached, a carriage conveyed the Harrises along the Corso which at the hour of their driving was enlivened by many vehicles and foot-passengers.
Leo told Lucille of the popular festivals at Rome, especially of the Carnival that extends over several days, which consists of daily processions in the Corso, accompanied by the throwing of bouquets and comfits; the whole concluding with a horse race from the Piazza del Popolo to Piazza di Venezia, upwards of a mile. On the last, or the Moccoli evening, tapers are lighted immediately after sunset. Balconies most suitable for observing these animated scenes are expensive, but always in great demand, especially by tourists.
Colonel Harris took his family and Leo to an excellent hotel on the Piazza de Popolo. The weather being uncomfortably warm, it was decided to spend only a few days in the city, and go as soon as possible to the country. Leo was very familiar with Rome, ancient and modern, and he felt that weeks were absolutely necessary to study and comprehend the grandeur of a city that for so many centuries had been mistress of the world. He agreed with Niebuhr, "As the streams lose themselves in the mightier ocean, so the history of the people once distributed along the Mediterranean shores is absorbed in that of the mighty mistress of the world."
Leo back again in Rome was in an ecstasy of joy. Here Greece had laid at the feet of Rome her conqueror, the accumulated art treasures of ages. Here Leo could have keenest delight, where he moved among the noblest examples of antique sculpture, which filled the galleries and chambers of the Vatican and Capitol. Most of the night he lay awake, planning how he could in so short a time exhibit to his American friends Rome and her wealth of art. At breakfast he said, "A whole day is needed to inspect the Forum Romanum, a day each, for the Capitoline Hill, the Appian Way, and many other historic localities in this seven-hilled city."
Leo, acting as guide, took his party to the Pincian Hill near the northern wall, a fashionable resort with fine boulevards and frequent band music. From the summit, he pointed out the yellow Tiber, which winds for seventeen miles to the sea. The larger part of modern Rome lies on the left bank of the Tiber, and covers three historic hills. Towering above the tops of the buildings are the domes and spires of nearly four hundred churches of which the dome of St. Peter's is the most imposing. In sight beyond are the Capitol, the ruins of the Colosseum, and ancient tombs along the Appian Way. To the west on the Palatine Hill are the ruins of the palace of the Cæsars, and outside the walls, on the broad Campagna, are the remains of several aqueducts converging on the city, some of which, restored, are in use to-day.
The day's ride included a visit to Agrippa's Pantheon, now denuded of its bronze roofing and marble exterior. A circular opening in the huge dome admits both light and rain. Leo standing with Lucille by the tomb of Raphael in one of the recesses, for a moment was silent. Then he said, "Lucille, it is impossible to fully appreciate the many and beautiful works of this 'prince of painters.' He was born on Good Friday, 1483, and lived exactly thirty-seven years. He was of slight build, sallow, and had brown eyes. Over nine hundred prints of his works are known. Besides his works in fresco at the Vatican, for a time he had charge of the construction of St. Peter's, and he also painted masterpieces now at Bologna, Dresden, Madrid, Hampton Court, and executed numerous commissions for Leo X.; and Madonnas, holy families, portraits, etc., for others. Raphael stands unrivaled, chiefly in his power to portray lofty sentiments which persons of all nationalities can feel, but few can describe. He also excelled in invention, composition, simplicity and grandeur. For moral force in allegory and history, and for fidelity in portrait, Raphael was unsurpassed. His last and most celebrated oil picture, the transfiguration, unfinished, stood at his head as his body lay in state."
Colonel Harris was interested in the restored Triumphal Arch of Titus erected to commemorate the defeat of the Jews A.D. 70, also in the beautiful Arch to Severus. At the end of the Rostra, or Orators' Tribune was the Umbilicus Urbis Romae, or ideal center of Rome and the Roman Empire. True it was that all roads led to Rome. Leo and Lucille visited by moonlight the ruins of the great Colosseum, and the lights and shadows in the huge old stone and brick amphitheater, made it look all the more imposing and picturesque.
On the morning of the second day Leo Colonna guided his friends down the Via di Ripetta, stopping at the Mausoleum of Augustus, which in the middle ages was used by the Colonnas as a fortress. Then continuing down the left bank of the Tiber, the Ponte S. Angelo was reached. This ancient bridge of five arches leads directly to the Castello S. Angelo, the citadel of Rome, which originally was a tomb erected by Hadrian for himself and successor. The tomb is 240 feet in diameter, and must have been very beautiful, as it was once encrusted with marble. Statues stood around the margin of the top, and above all a colossal statue of Hadrian himself. Later the Goths, veritable iconoclasts, converted this tomb of the emperors into a fortress, hurling the marble statues down on the besiegers. For centuries this castle-tomb was used as a stronghold by the party in power to maintain their sway over the people. In 1822 Pius IX. refortified the castle. In it was seen the gloomy dungeon where Beatrice Cenci and others were incarcerated.
The Harrises drove down the Borgo Nuovo to the church of St. Peter. Its approach is through a magnificent piazza ornamented on the right and left by two semicircular porticoes of 284 columns, which are surmounted by an entablature, and 192 statues, each eleven feet in height. It is claimed that the origin of the Cathedral of St. Peter is due to the impulse given by Pope Julius II. who decided to erect a grand monument for himself in his life-time, and the new edifice was needed to shield it. St. Peter's was begun in 1506 and dedicated in 1626.
Bramante's wonderful plans were accepted, and both Michael Angelo and Raphael aided in its construction. From a Greek cross rises a gigantic dome, which is one of the boldest and most wonderful efforts of architecture. Lucille recalled Byron's description,
"The vast and wondrous dome,
To which Diana's marvel was a cell."
Entering this mighty cathedral, Colonel Harris was bewildered with its grand and harmonious interior. The height from the pavement to the cross rivals the height of the Washington monument. The nave is 607 feet in length, and the transept is 445 feet. St. Paul's at London covers only two acres, St. Peter's five acres. The cost of the former was $3,750,000, the cost of the latter from $60,000,000 to $80,000,000.
The Harrises visited St. John Lateran, the mother-church of the Eternal City, where Popes were crowned, and where on Ascension Day, from one of its balconies, the Pope's benediction to the people is pronounced.
They also visited the restored St. Paul's Church outside the walls. Its interior is of vast dimensions. It was built of valuable materials, and the whole is very imposing. Especially was Lucille impressed with the long series of portrait medallions of all the Popes from St. Peter to Leo X. worked in mosaic above the polished columns.
Many monuments in St. Peter's were erected to the memory of several of the famous Popes. The Vatican, the largest palace in Europe, is where the Popes came to reside after their return from Avignon, France, in 1377, for here they felt much security in the vicinity of the Castle S. Angelo, with which it communicated by a covered gallery. For a time the Popes vied with each other in enlarging and embellishing the Vatican, which covers an immense space, and is a collection of separate buildings; the length is 1150 feet, and the breath 767 feet. The Vatican is said to contain 20 courts, and 11,000 halls, chapels, salons, and private apartments, most of which are occupied by collections and show-rooms, while only a small part is set apart for the papal court.
The Harrises visited the most celebrated portions of the Vatican; the Scala Regia, covered with frescoes of events in Papal history, the Sistine Chapel, adorned with fine frescoes by Michael Angelo, including the Last Judgment. Here the Cardinals meet to elect the Pope, and here many of the most gorgeous ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church are performed.
Equally enthusiastic were Leo and Lucille over Raphael's superb frescoes in the Loggie, and in the chambers adjoining. The few pictures in the gallery are scarcely surpassed. The museum contains some of the noblest treasures of art, including the Laocoon, and Apollo Belvidere. The library is very valuable. The superb palace of the Quirinal has beautiful gardens.
Besides the several elegant public palaces in Rome, there are in and near the city over sixty private palaces or villas; the finest of which is the Barberini Palace. Several of the villas are located above terraces amid orange and citron groves, and they are ornamented with statues and fountains. Leo with pride took his friends to see the Colonna Palace, which contained many old portraits of his family.
After dinner a drive was taken outside the Porta del Popolo to the magnificent Villa Borghese and the Pincian Hill. It was planned to visit on the morrow the gallery Borghese, next to the Vatican, the most important in Rome. It was dark as Leo returned with his party to the hotel. The landlord handed him a gentleman's card which read,
Mr. Ferdinand Francisco Colonna.
Piazza Colonna, Rome.
The landlord said that this gentleman was waiting for Leo in the reception-room. Leo at once recognized the card as that of his cousin, who was an attorney in Rome, and he hurried to meet his relative. They grasped hands warmly, and soon were in earnest conversation.
Ferdinand, taking a large official envelope from his pocket, opened it and began reading what he called a very important paper. It was a copy of the will of their rich uncle, who had just died, while inspecting his possession in Sicily. Leo Colonna bore the name of this uncle, his father's oldest brother, who was fond of art, and who was never married. He had always been attached to Leo, his nephew, and in his will Leo was made his sole heir. Great was Leo's surprise to learn that he was now not only the owner of a fine palace southeast of Rome, but of large possessions in Rome, Sicily, and South America.
Leo leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed, his face changed color and the muscles of his hands and face twitched as if he were in pain. Suddenly he recovered possession of himself and said, "Ferdinand, you almost paralyze me by the news you bring. Am I dreaming, or not?"
"No, no, Leo. This is a copy of the will of our uncle. The original will is in my safe. By this same will I am to have 100,000 lira for assisting you. I am now at your service."
"Ferdinand, you bring sad and glorious news. What is your advice?"
"That we file the original will at once in the proper court, and that you proceed with me immediately to Marino to take possession there of your palace and property."
"Agreed, Ferdinand. We will leave Rome for Marino at noon tomorrow. Meet me here, as I may have friends to join us."
Leo hastened at once to tell the good news to the Harrises, who were nearly as much elated as himself, and it was agreed that all would join Leo in his proposed trip. It was late that night when Leo and Lucille separated in the parlor below. Each had dreamed of castles in Spain, but now it looked as if Leo and possibly Lucille, might actually possess castles in Italy.
That night Leo told Lucille much about the princely Colonna family of Italy, which originated in the 11th century. Pope Martin V., several others who took part in the contest between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, and many others of the Colonna family had attained to historical and literary distinction.
Lucille was interested in the story of the great naval battle of Lepanto in which Marc Antonio Colonna aided Don Juan of Austria to gain a world-renowned victory for Christianity against the Turks, the first effective triumph of the cross over the crescent. Leo recited the story of the life of the illustrious Vittoria Colonna, pictures of a bust of whom Lucille had seen that day in Rome.
Vittoria, and the son of the Marquis of Pescara, when children four years old, were affianced, and in their seventeenth year they were married. The young bride bravely sent her husband to the wars with a pavilion, an embroidered standard, and palm leaves, expressing the hope that he would return with honors, for she was proud of the Colonna name.
Vittoria full of genius and grace, idealized her young showy cavalier, who was gallant and chivalrous. Her brave knight Pescara, among other victories, won the battle of Pavia, and finally died of his wounds in Milan before she could reach his side. Vittoria Colonna buried her love in Pescara's grave at Naples. Her widowhood was a period of sorrow, song, friendship, and saintly life. She was tall, stately, and dignified; of gracious manners, and united much charm with her culture and virtue. She is considered the fairest and noblest lady of the Italian Renaissance.
Vittoria Colonna was on intimate terms with the great men and women of her day, and in close sympathy with the Italian reformers. Michael Angelo was warmly her friend. His strong verses full of feeling to Vittoria were replied to in gentle, graceful strains. She died as the sun sank in the Mediterranean on the afternoon of February 25, 1547, Michael Angelo regretting as he saw her, lying on her death-bed, that he had not kissed her forehead and face as he had kissed her hand.
As Lucille retired that night she felt the force of Vittoria's noble life, and longed to emulate one so related to her friend Leo. She felt her own heart drawing nearer to Leo's, and in the silent hours of the night, she sometimes wondered if she should ever bear the honored name of Colonna.
Next day at 12 o'clock promptly, Leo's cousin came, and the Harrises and Leo took the Rome and Naples line for Marino, located sixteen miles southeast of Rome, where Vittoria Colonna had lived, and where Leo expected to find and take possession of his own palace and property.
The Roman tombs of the Via Appia on the right were soon left behind. A dozen miles out and Frascate a summer resort was conspicuous with its many lovely villas. Later the party left the train and enjoyed a beautiful drive of three miles to Marino, a small town famous for its wine, and located on the Alban Mountains. In the middle ages, the Orsini defended themselves here in a stronghold against their enemies the Colonna, but the latter under Martin V. captured Marino, which with the surrounding country has remained a fief of the Colonna family to the present day.
Ferdinand had already attended to much of the detail at Marino, so that Leo, as owner of the vast Colonna estate, was loyally received by the villagers, the tenants, and the old servants. Leo made his friends, the Harrises, most welcome at his unexpected and palatial home. The Harrises were delighted at what they saw. Leo and Lucille took several drives together over the large estate. Once they drove along the shady roads, commanding extensive views, through the beautiful park of Colonna, and down a well wooded valley to the clear waters of the Alban Lake. Often Leo wished that Alfonso had accompanied him.
For some time before leaving Rome, Lucille had complained of a dull headache and chills at night. In France Mrs. Harris was fearful that the summer trip to Italy was not wise, but Leo and her family thought the yacht voyage to Naples would be charming. On the morning of the third day at Marino, Lucille was unable to leave her bed. Leo hastily called a physician who found her pulse very low. She experienced great thirst and nausea, and the heat of her body was much increased. When the doctor learned that Colonel Harris's daughter had slept in Rome with the window open, he at once declared to the family that Lucille had Roman fever, that dreaded malaria which is engendered in summer months near the marshes of Italy. Leo summoned to Marino the ablest physicians of Rome, who were in constant attendance, and heroic treatment was adopted.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Harris were half crazed with the fear of losing their beautiful daughter, and Leo himself was nearly frantic. Lucille grew rapidly worse. Her strength and courage failed her, she became unconscious, and as the tall white lily in the midday sun loses its beauty and life, so Lucille passed from earth, her agonizing mother holding the dead daughter's slender white hands.
Leo fell insensible and was removed from the death-chamber by his servants. Womanly courage returned to the mother after a few moments of intense grief, and aided by others the necessary preparations were made for the removal of Lucille to America.
Captain Harry Hall with his yacht en route to Athens had called at Brindisi to get a reply from a most important letter of his mailed to Lucille at Palermo. As he stepped ashore a telegram was handed him announcing the sudden death of the woman he loved. He was so shocked that his friends were alarmed. After a short conference Harry wired Colonel Harris the use of his yacht to carry back to America the remains of beautiful Lucille.
While Colonel Harris was writing an acceptance of Captain Hall's services, a second telegram came announcing the death, by drowning, of his only son Alfonso in the Zuider Zee at Amsterdam. How true that misfortunes never come singly!
Beneath the pillow on which Lucille died, were found two unanswered letters, proposals of marriage, one from Leo and one from Captain Hall. The broken hearted mother took charge of these letters, and before the metallic coffin was sealed, the unanswered letters were placed in Lucille's white hand, over the heart that could not now decide.
Later the casket was put on board the yacht "Hallena" at Rome, and Captain Hall with his flag at half-mast steamed towards America with the woman, who could never on earth accept the tribute of his heart. Leo, now Marquis Colonna, true chevalier that he was, insisted that he be permitted to accompany Colonel Harris to Amsterdam in search of his son Alfonso.