in the tower of the Duomo at Modena.
Meantime, while Passerino had done everything to settle himself
comfortably and permanently in the tyranny of Mantua, his worthless
son Francesco fell in love with the wife of Filippino Gonzaga.

According to the old Mantuan chronicles the Gonzagas were of a royal
German line, and had fixed themselves in the Mantuan territory in 770
where they built a castle beyond Po, and began at once to take part in
public affairs. They had now grown to be a family of such consequence
that they could not be offended with impunity, and it was a great
misfortune to the Bonacolsi that Francesco happened to covet Filippino
Gonzaga's wife. As to the poor lady herself, it is of infinite
consequence to her eternal health whether she was guilty or no, but to
us still on earth, it seems scarcely worth while to inquire, after so
great lapse of time. History, however, rather favors the notion of
her innocence; and it is said that Francesco, unable to overcome her
virtue, took away her good fame by evil reports. At the same time he
was greatly wroth--it is scarcely possible to write seriously of these
ridiculous, wicked old shadows--that this lady's husband should have
fallen in love with a pretty concubine of his, Bonacolsi's; and, after
publicly defaming Filippino's wife, he threatened to kill him for this
passion. The insult and the menace sank deep into the bitter hearts
of the Gonzagas; and the head of that proud race, Filippino's uncle,
Luigi Gonzaga, resolved to avenge the family dishonor. He was a secret
and taciturn man, and a pious adulator of his line has praised him
for the success with which he dissembled his hatred of the Bonacolsi,
while conspiring to sweep them and their dominion away. He won over
adherents among the Mantuans, and then made a league with Can Grande
of Verona to divide the spoils of the Bonacolsi; and so, one morning,
having bribed the guards to open the city gates, he entered Mantua
at the head of the banded forces. The population was roused with
patriotic cries of "Long live the Mantuan people!" and, as usual,
believed, poor souls, that some good was meant them by those who came
to overthrow their tyrants. The Bonacolsi were dreaming that pleasant
morning of anything but ruin, and they offered no resistance to the
insurrection till it burst out in the great square before the Castello
di Corte. They then made a feeble sally from the castle, but were
swiftly driven back, and P