ourite shrine.
There in those last days of the year Beatrice might constantly be seen,
spending hours in prayer at the tomb of the young princess, and musing
sadly on the vanity of human joys. But no one dreamt how soon her own
end was at hand.

On Monday, the 2nd of January, the Duchess Beatrice drove in her chariot
through the park of the Castello and along the streets of the city to
the Porta Vercellina and the Church of S. Maria delle Grazie, where even
then Leonardo was at work upon his great fresco. In the eyes of the
people who saw her pass, she seemed in excellent health, and returned
their loyal greetings with the same gracious charm. But when she reached
the Dominican church, and had paid her devotions at Our Lady's altar,
and prayed for the repose of her daughter's soul, she lingered by the
new-made tomb, rapt in sorrowful thought, and it was long before her
ladies could persuade her to come away. After her return to the Castello
that afternoon, there was dancing in her rooms in the Rocchetta until
eight o'clock in the evening, when she was suddenly taken ill. Three
hours later she gave birth to a still-born son, and half an hour after
midnight her spirit passed away.

That night, contemporary writers tell us, "the sky above the Castello of
Milan was all a-blaze with fiery flames, and the walls of the duchess's
own garden fell with a sudden crash to the ground, although there was
neither wind nor earthquake. And these things were held to be evil
omens." "And from that time," adds Marino Sanuto, "the duke began to be
sore troubled, and to suffer great woes, having up to that time lived
very happily."

Beatrice was gone, and with her all the joy and delight of the duke's
life had passed away. The court was turned from an earthly paradise into
the blackest hell, and ruin overtook the Moro and the whole realm of
Milan, as the poet of the house of Este sang in his _Orlando Furioso_--

"Come ella poi lascera il mondo,
Cosi degli infelici andra nel fondo."

FOOTNOTES:

[63] Dr. Muller-Walde in _Jahrbuch d. pr. Kunst_, 1897.

[64] Luzio-Renier, _op. cit._, p. 639.

CHAPTER XXVII

Grief of the Duke of Milan--His letters to Mantua and Pavia--Interview
with Costabili--Funeral of Duchess Beatrice--Mourning of her
husband--Letters of the Emperor Maximilian and Chiara Gonzaga--Tomb of
Beatrice in Santa Maria delle Grazie--Leonardo's Cenacolo, and portraits
of the duke and duchess--Lucrezia Crivelli.

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