XIII
One day the alchemist, Messer Galeotto Sacrobosco, undertook to experiment with the 'Rod of Mercury,' under which name were known all those staves of myrtle, almond, tamarind, or other 'astrological' woods, which were supposed to have a kinship with metals, and the property of discovering veins of gold, silver, and copper in the rocks. Accompanied by Messer Gerolamo, he went to the east side of the lake of Lecco, known to be rich in ores; and Leonardo joined the company, though he had no faith in the 'Rod of Mercury,' and mocked at it no less than at the other delusions of the alchemists.
Near the village of Mandello, at the foot of Monte Campione, there was an abandoned iron mine. Some years before the ground had fallen in and buried a number of the miners; and it was reported that sulphurous exhalations rose from a rent in the lowest depths of the mine, into which, if a stone were thrown, it fell, and fell, and fell, but was never heard to strike the bottom, for the sufficient reason that the pit was bottomless. Leonardo's curiosity was excited by these tales, and he determined to explore the mine while his companions were busied with the magic rod. Not without difficulty, for the peasants believed the mine to be the dwelling-place of a devil, he obtained the services of an old man as guide. A subterranean passage, very steep and dark, and with broken and slippery stairs, led to the central shaft. The guide walked stolidly in front with a lantern, and Leonardo followed, carrying Francesco, who had insisted on accompanying his friend. They descended more than two hundred steps, and were still going down, the passage becoming ever narrower and more steep. A stifling smell of subterranean damp assailed the nostrils. Leonardo struck the wall with a spade, listened to the sound it made, and examined the piece of rock he had detached, the nature and layers of the soil, and the bright mica sparkling in the veins of granite.
He felt the child clinging to him very tightly, and he asked with a smile whether his little comrade were afraid.
'With you, I am never afraid,' said Francesco; presently he added shyly, 'is it true what my babbo says, that you are going to leave us?'
'Yes, Francesco.'
'Where are you going?'
'To Romagna; to the Duke Valentino.'
'Is it very far?'
'Several days' journey.'
'Several days!' sighed Francesco; 'then shall we never see you again?'
'Why not? The first minute I can, I will come and see you.'
The boy became thoughtful. Squeezing Leonardo's neck tightly with his two arms, he cried:—
'Take me with you! Oh, Messer Leonardo, take me with you.'
'Alack, my child! How is it possible? There is war there.'
'I don't care for the war. Have I not said that with you I am never afraid? Even if it be more fearsome than it is in this place where we are now, I shall not be afraid. I will be your servant, brush your clothes, carry hay to your horses; and I will seek shells for you, and make you drawings of leaves. Did you not say to me I drew them well? I will do everything like a man. I will obey you in whatever you command. Take me with you, Messer Leonardo!'
'And how about Messer Gerolamo? Would he consent?'
'He will consent if I cry for it. And if he doesn't consent, then I will run away. Say you will take me with you! Say it!'
'No, Francesco; it is idle talk. I know thou would'st not leave thy father. He grows old, and thou must have a fondness for him.'
'Of a surety I have a fondness for him. But for you, too, Messer Leonardo! You think me very little, but truly I comprehend everything. Aunt Bona says you are a sorcerer, and Don Lorenzo, my schoolmaster, says it likewise, and that you are wicked, and that with you I shall lose my soul. But when he speaks ill of you, I answer him in such wise that he comes near beating me.'
Suddenly Francesco's eyes filled and the corners of his lips drooped.
'I understand,' he said; 'I understand why you don't want me. You don't love me. And I——.' He burst into tears.
'Hush! hush! Thou should'st cry shame to weep! Hearken to what I tell thee. In a few years, when thou art grown, then I will take thee for my disciple, and keep thee always at my side.'
The child raised his eyes, tears still trembling on their long lashes.
'But do you mean it? or is it said to comfort me, and afterwards will you forget?'
'No, Francesco, I promise.'
'You promise? And how long must I wait?'
'Eight or nine years; till thou art at the least fifteen.'
'Eight years,' sighed the child, reckoning on his fingers 'and I shall be always with you?'
'Unless we die.'
'Eight years! Well, if you say it, it is certain.'
Francesco smiled, and rubbed his cheek against Leonardo's with a pretty gesture peculiar to himself.
'Messer Leonardo, once I dreamed I was in the dark, going down a long, long stair like this one, only it had no beginning and no end. But I was not frightened, for some one was carrying me. I thought it was my mother, who died ere ever I saw her; but now I know it was you. I am as happy with you as if I was with her.'
Leonardo looked at the child with inexpressible tenderness. The innocent eyes shone; he put out his bright lips as confidingly as to a mother, and when Leonardo kissed them he felt the child was giving him his soul. Thus, with the little heart beating against his own, he descended with firm steps into the subterranean night.