er to celebrate. At the entrance of the hall, an effigy of
the hero on horseback was placed under a triumphal arch, with an
inscription recalling his greatness, and saying that by virtue of these
mighty exploits his children now triumph and hold festival in his
honour.

At the same time, orders were sent in the duke's name to the seneschals
of the castles and towns between Pavia and Milan to see that the roads
and bridges were repaired and widened, in order that the bridal party
might be able to travel without hindrance or inconvenience. On the 18th
of January, invitations were issued to the chief lords in the state, as
well as to those foreign princes who were connected by marriage with the
Sforza and Este families, the Marquis of Montferrat, the Marquis of
Mantua, Giovanni Bentivoglio of Bologna, and others, requesting them to
honour with their presence a three-days' tournament to be held on the
great _piazza_ in front of the Castello, during the last week in
January.

While Lodovico was personally superintending the final arrangements,
seeing that the last touches were given to the frescoes in the duchess's
_Camerino_, or discussing to the masques and comedies that were to be
performed, with Bramante and Leonardo, his bride remained at Pavia with
her family and friends. The princesses of Este were well content, for
not only were all the treasures of the Castello and library at their
disposal, but they had the best of company in the person of Messer
Galeazzo di Sanseverino, who had been charged by his father-in-law,
Signor Lodovico, to supply his place during the interval of his enforced
absence. And certainly no better squire of dames could have been found
than this courteous and brilliant cavalier. He took Isabella and
Beatrice out riding in the park, and showed them some of the beauties
of that wide domain, which in the French chronicler's eyes seemed more
like the garden of Eden than any earthly spot. They could not, it is
true, admire those flowery lawns watered by crystal streams, and groves
of plane and cypress and myrtle, which charmed the travellers from the
north, and made Commines exclaim there was no other region in the world
as divinely beautiful as the Milanese land. But they could visit the
pleasure-houses and pavilions in the gardens, and hunt the stags and red
deer that ran wild in the park. For their amusement Messer Galeazzo let
fly some of those good falcons of his, with their jewelled hoods and