Ippolito beckoned me to him; and placed me with my back against it, making it my charge. I kept silence: but my looks told him of my gratitude.
Gioffredo escaped from his tormentor; and taking the comb from his pouch, tidied his ruffled hair, and resumed his nightcap.
Ippolito and the Cardinal of Valencia disposed themselves on the black cushions. The former drew up the low ivory tables of wine and sweetmeats, beginning to chew fresh sage-leaves from a vase: but the latter degusted spoonfuls of a confection of prickly pear. Anon Gioffredo joined himself to them. But I munched coriander-seeds steeped in marjoram-vinegar and crusted with sugar, which by chance I had in my comfit-box. They bring a special commodity to the memory, o Prospero.
Cesare abruptly asked Ippolito how much he knew of affairs.
Ippolito responded, saying that he very assiduously had been playing at great-ball since his return to the City, and had not paid much attention to affairs. He knew, of course, that Alexander, magnificent, invincible, had interned Himself in the castle; and that the Keltic king was occupying part of the City on the other side of Tiber. Also he knew, from rumour, that the said king’s nose resembled a raw ham, that a pink birth-flare surrounded his left eye, that his twelve-toed shanks had no more form than women’s spindles, that he had brought into the City a new disease which he who was speaking called Morbus Gallicus, but Prince Tarquinio here present called it Morbus Kelticus, and the Cardinal of Valencia might decide between us. Finally, resuming his gravity, Ippolito named the rumour which said that the said Keltic king, finding our Lord the Paparch to be quite impregnable, was forced to conclude some sort of peace.
Cesare silently produced the pectoral cross which was attached to his neck-chain. It was set with great table-rubies. Unfastening its clasp, he disengaged a ring, huge, massive, which hung by its side. I never had seen so enormous a ring then. It was made of gilded bronze, viiij barleycorns in diameter. Its oblong bezel was set with a cabochon rock-crystal, highly projecting. One shoulder was carved with the Borgia armorials, videlicet Sol a Bull passant Mars on a closet Venus flory proper within a bordure Mars semée of flammels Sol.[3] The Triple Crown and the Keys were carved on the other shoulder. The legend papa aler vi was carved on the hoop. This ring, as thou knowst, o Prospero, is the most precious thing in my proper treasury at the time of writing: for which cause I am able to describe it, although at the time of which I write I was not able to see more than its tremendous magnitude and its reddish colour.
While he was disentangling this ponderous jewel, Cesare was cursing in the urbane and simple manner of a real Roman of Rome, saying:
“That a Worship of my Respectability should be compelled to carry so vulgar an ingot, a sordid lump only intended for couriers to wave at post-houses in passing by, a blasted gyve which even a blind postmaster could not fail to see!”
With which words he presented the said ring to the Cardinal of Ferrara.
Ippolito kneeled, applying his ear to it with surprise and reverence,[4] ejaculating:
“Credentials?”
Cesare assented:
“Credentials on the part of our Most Holy Father.”
Ippolito maliciously inquired:
“Father?”
Cesare jumped up; and put himself to stride about the room. At first he shouted: but anon his voice sank into the tone of self-communion; and finally, resuming his seat, he returned to an ordinary mode of speech.
He said:
“Father? Yes, father. Pater patrum. Thine as well as Ours. Oh We catch the sneer of thy meaning, o Cardinal of Ferrara. But We mean Father after the spirit. Whether after the flesh also, who knoweth? Not We, for one. He is generous to Us: but He is not fatherlike to Us. Nor do We Ourself believe—no, We do not believe. There be secret mysteries, incongruities. Yet We dare not ask her. But she was the other’s before she was His. And the time of Our birth coincideth. Did We ever tell thee, o Cardinal of Ferrara of the woman who screamed at Us out of the crowd at Naples when We took Gioffredo to his marriage? See the Dellarovere, she cried, wagging a stark finger at Us. But enough. Thou takest cognizance of this Our credentials?”
Remember, o Prospero, that thy father heard those pregnant words, while his eyes saw that splendid creature laying bare his mind. So thou shalt know truly who was the actual father of Cesare whom men called Borgia.
He put the great ring on his right middle finger.
Ippolito again offered his ear to be touched by the ring; and responded, saying:
“We recognize; and We are ready to obey.”
Cesare began to deliver his message, saying:
“Then listen: for time is short. Thou knowest nothing of affairs. Well, We will treat thee honestly. Always We save Ourself pains so. First, thou shalt know that the Christian King, on pretence of a crusade against the Grand Turk, obtained leave from our Lord the Paparch to march his troops through Italy. On the way, he conceived a claim to the towns of Aragon, Naples, Both Sicilies, and Hierusalem. At Fiorenza, he intrigued with the maniac Fra Girolamo,[5] whose proper place should be Santo Spirito.[6] When anon the said Christian King reached the City, finding himself with an army at his back, he dared to require our said Lord the Paparch to confirm his claim, knowing that (without such recognition) he can wear no crown. But Alexander, magnificent, invincible, having no particular grievance against King Don Alonzo of Naples and the rest, who already is in possession, refused to depose that sovereign in favour of the Christian King. Wherefore that Keltic monkey, in revenge, conspired with the traitor Cardinal-bishop Giuliano Dellarovere, and with his friends the traitor barons Colonna, Orsini, Savelli, Sanseverini, Cajetani; and he even hath won the Cardinal-vicechancellor Sforza-Visconti with Cardinal-presbyter Sanseverini and Cardinal-Δ. Lunati. Then he appealed to the arbitrement of war. What cared the invincible Alexander? Having laid hands on those iij treacherous purpled persons, He nipped them in the dungeons of the castle. Taking the Sultán Jam[7] along with Him, He Himself also retired into the castle, snapping a thumb and finger at the Christian King.”
Ippolito interrupted, demanding the reason for the sequestration of the said Sultán Jam.
To whom Cesare responded, saying:
“The Sultán Jam is of inestimable value to our Lord the Paparch, by cause that he is the brother and rival of the Grand Turk. The said potentate, by name the Sultán Bajazet, preferreth not to be dethroned by the Sultán Jam. Wherefore he agreed to pay xlm ducats yearly to the Supreme Pontiff, so long as that He shall keep the said brother and rival from Byzantion. Lately no ducats have been paid; and the Grand Turk now demandeth the person of the Sultán Jam. But the Sanctity of the Paparch knoweth ij things. First, that the Sultán Bajazet hath a mind to kill and slay his brother; and the magnificent Alexander will not become a proximate occasion of fratricide. Secondly, that so long as that Christian hands retain the Sultán Jam, so long will the Muslim Infidel refrain from advancing nefariously on Hungary and Vienna, lest Christendom, postponing private quarrels, should combine to set up the Sultán Jam in his despite, having obtained warranties of good behaviour. Wherefore, although the said Sultán Jam actually is our pensioner, our Lord the Paparch generously permitteth him to keep his own court here with Him in the security of the Castle of Santangelo.”
Ippolito ejaculated:
“Good, good![8] Either the Paparch’s Blessedness or Thy Worship’s Respectability, We know not which, is as expert and as artificial with the wits of the head as We are with the sinews of Our body.”
Cesare continued, saying:
“These things having been understood, thou art to know that the Christian King made a show of siege, sitting down before the Castle of Santangelo with a gaggle of the common queans of the City and the stinking strumpets of the stews. But, after this diversion, he seeth that the paparchal fortress is too hard a nut to crack. As the Sieur de Commines confessed to Us, he hath become aware that the deposition of our Lord the Paparch is beyond his power. As Messer Demosthenes saith, The mouse hath found o
ut that he is eating pitch.[9] And so the said Christian King will be wholly glad to go away, if he can save his face. Our Lord the Paparch, on the other hand, doth not enjoy sitting in the castle like a cat in a cherry-bay-tree, even though that dog of a Kelt can do no more than yelp at him. But the Christian King is totally ignorant of this. He knoweth no more than that he hath failed to capture Santangelo, and that the invincible Alexander most mercifully doth deign to give him these terms. First, the Christian King may raise the siege, departing in peace from the inviolable City and from Peter’s Patrimony: whither, our Lord the Paparch saith not—Gaul, Crusade, Naples, His Sanctity specifieth not whither: but the Christian King must go. His attempted intimidation of the Roman Paparch was very blamable: but he will be permitted to retire unmolested. Secondly, our Lord the Paparch maketh no engagement concerning the crowns of Naples and the rest: but the Christian King must go. Thirdly, our Lord the Paparch deigneth to give hostages for vj months to the said Christian King, sop to uncurbable conceit. Whom will He give, dost thou ask, as hostages in such a grave case? First, He hath given Sultán Jam; and the second’s Ourself.”
[1] Cesare (whom the nineteenth century was apt to call “Borgia”) ranked as a pontifical nephew: hence his proper epithets were “Osservantissimo” and “Colendissimo.” The other cardinals were “Illustrissimo.” The style “Most Eminent” and “Eminency” was not invented in 1495.
[2] The sapphire is the proper stone for a cardinal’s ring, as the amethyst is for a bishop’s or an archbishop’s.
[3] The tinctures are given by Don Tarquinio as in the arms of princes. Sol = or, Mars = gules, Venus = vert.
[4] This would appear to be the Roman method of answering an official citation—as old as Horace, anyhow.
[5] This would be Savonarola.
[6] The Roman “Bedlam.”
[7] This Oriental personage appears to have been somewhat of a Man-in-the-Iron-Mask in the Borgian Era.
[8] “εὖγε, εὖγε” in the original holograph.
[9] ἄρτι μῦς γεύεται πίττης (Demosthenes)
XI
We iij, o Prospero, fetched our breath faster; and our eyes dilated, but, speaking no word, we listened.
Cesare continued, saying:
“Now these terms are not what the Keltic monkey wanted: but they are the best which he can get. Being a fool, never constant to a single idea, he hath determined to hasten southward, and to conquer Naples on his own initiative: having persuaded himself that, if he could return some day with the crowns of Naples and the rest in his hand, the Father of princes and kings would not refuse to put them on his head. So the treaty hath been signed. And, touching the matter of Sultán Jam, Our fellow-hostage, thou shalt suppose that, since the Grand Turk hath ceased to pay, he is but a burthen on our Lord the Paparch. Also thou shalt suppose that it mattereth not a jot in whose ward he is, so long as that warden be Christian. Wherefore the magnificent Alexander most sagaciously will shift him on to the shoulders of the Christian King, whence he can be reclaimed at any time by a threat of the Dirae.[1] So much for Sultán Jam.”
The speaker thrust out the protruded middle finger of his ringed right hand; and continued, saying:
“But We also are an hostage; and, after the mass of dawn, We ride in the train of the Christian King.”
My bowels began to beat like armourers’ hammers. My lips retired, and left my teeth bare. I drew breath through the last, softly whistling: but as yet I knew not the true cause of mine emotions. The words which I had heard were terrible. Very great affairs were afoot: yet it did not seem that they concerned me. I was only an unnoted prince, profoundly but inexplicably agitated, with my back against an ivory door.
Gioffredo left the cardinals on the cushions, with a snort of incredulity, or despair, or disgust; and came and threw his arm around my neck, nestling against me.
But the Cardinal of Valencia continued, saying:
“Long speeches are better than short ones.[2] They give understanding, without which no action of great import can be accomplished. Dost thou admit the validity of my credentials, o Cardinal of Ferrara?”
Ippolito again offered his ear to be touched by the gigantic ring; and, standing, he asseverated:
“We are the son and servant of our Lord the Paparch, and of The Most Respectable Worship of thee speaking to Us in His name. In the words of Plato, immortal, beaming on all things, All Our money is at thy service.[3]
But now Cesare seemed to fall into a muse, yawning, playing with our impatience as the tawny tiger at our castle of Deira used to play with goats and deer.
Gioffredo left me; and went nearer, lying on the black carpet, supporting his chin on his hands, widely stretching his legs.
Ippolito sat intent, erect, on the black cushions.
I stood transfixed, staring at that queer fateful Cardinal of Valencia, who could afford to play when iiij hours would see him an hostage and a prisoner in an enemy’s camp. Very strange it is to say, but I will tell thee, o Prospero, that, though there were iiij able-bodied lusty adolescents at that moment in that secret chamber, nevertheless the minds of iij of them were in complete abeyance; and only the mind of the fourth predominated. Wherefore we iij had naught to do but to listen to the mind of the Cardinal of Valencia, who at length resumed his discourse, saying:
“This ring is one of a score, which have been journeying round Christendom, on the hands of paparchal ablegates, to the Elect-Emperor Maximilian Always August, to the Catholic King[4] and Queen Don Hernando and Doña Isabella, to the Sacred King[5] Henry of the Anglicans, to the Majesties and Tranquillities and Valvasours and Supernities and Celsitudes and Magnificencies and Sublimities and Highnesses and Mightinesses and Splendours and Potencies of the Empire and Portugal and Poland and Hungary and Naples and Milan and Ferrara and Sabaudia and Genoa and Venice and Fiorenza and Mantua and Parma and Padua and Piacenza.”
I am unable to tell thee, o Prospero, why I refrained from roaring. But I perceived that this most feline cardinal would tell his tale in his own way and in none other. It pleased him to dally with us, watching the surging of our emotions. But anon, being satisfied, he struck with the swift talons of his stratagem, saying:
“Our Lord the Paparch is by no means at the end of His resources; and let no man think the contrary.[6] Once let Him deliver Himself from the Christian King, once let Him rid Peter’s Patrimony of that pestiferous monkey, and the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, the Italian kingdoms and duchies and republics, Christendom, will league with Alexander against Gaul. In which galley We Ourself are to hold the rudder. To get the Christian King away from the City, the Sultán Jam was conducted to his camp an hour ago. When We leave this palace, We also will join the Keltic army, exposing Our life to the chances of fate.”[7]
Gioffredo burst in with an oath and an offer.
Cesare silenced him; and continued, saying:
“No, Gioffredo: We will go alone. But now, o Cardinal of Ferrara, lend Us both thine ears. After the dawn-mass, We ride from the City, southward by the Appian Way toward the kingdom of Naples. So Our spies have brought news. Three hours later, We reach Velletri, beyond the frontier: where the Christian King intendeth himself to dine and sleep.”
Ippolito rose, mightily towering, torvidly storming, saying:
“Hear Us now. The Most Respectable Worship of thee is the most valuable of all the Paparch’s lieges. The loss of thee will be like the chopping off of Alexander’s right hand. Wherefore, if it be really and truly necessary for thee to leave the City as thou sayst, let thy going be but a feint. We have here ccc armed barbarians to serve thee, and the trained forces of Ferrara at call. We Ourself are as strong as any man; and, with a mace, a mace of tempered steel, and Our Arabian stallion between these thighs, We, even We, will be at Velletri for Thy Worship’s rescue.”
Gioffredo jumped up; and chattered, saying:
“Let Us go in thy stead, o Valencia. Are We not Alexander’s son? Do We not command a troop? Is not Our
wife a princess of Aragon of Naples? If there be question of ransom, are We not worth as much as thou?”
But I still maintained phrenetic silence, keen, alert, strenuously desiring to do something, not knowing what to do.
Cesare waved his hand in a furry manner, saying:
“We will not have valorously violent rescues. None in the City may be known as conniving at Our escape: that would insure the Christian King’s return. This is an affair for the head, not for massive limbs. A cunning sage is here more precious than a palatine, o heraklean Ippolito. And as for thee, Gioffredo, know that there is no time in which to change Our plans. The action already is begun. The obligation is made; and cannot be evaded. But it may be annulled. If it is to be annulled, that must be done in such a way that the Christian King will not be able to prove complicity on the part of any Roman. Our Lord the Paparch must not be found out participating in conspiracy. We, His servants, must combine the columbine manner of doves with the serpentine actions of snakes. Wherefore, what is to be done must be done by others, beyond Roman territory, and (to all seeming) quite spontaneously.”
It was clear that we were expected only to listen, not to advise. We were not a council: but merely pupils, in the presence of a master, who was unfolding schemes already cut and dried. We composed our bodies; and our minds attended. Cesare continued, saying:
“That blear-eyed ape of Gaul must be pinned in the kingdom of Naples as vermin is pinned in a trap. His teeth and talons must be drawn there. His army never again must return to Gaul. It must be annihilated in Italy. Wherefore, to lead the said Christian King into this trap, We Ourself will be the bait. We will go with him beyond the Roman frontier. At Velletri, We will halt with him, during the heat of the day. And, from Velletri, We will escape; and return to the City, promptly assuming direction of the league against Gaul.”
Don Tarquinio: A Kataleptic Phantasmatic Romance (Valancourt eClassics) Page 7