from a tribunal erected on the piazza in front of the
Castello di Corte at Mantua, and the duke wrote a graceful note to his
sister-in-law, thanking her for her good offices in the matter. He still
constantly sent her presents of choice fruits or wines and venison,
while Isabella, in return, sent him salmon-trout from Garda, and
Evangelista, the marquis's famous trainer, tamed the duke's horses. In
July Lodovico sent her a basket of peaches, wishing they had been even
finer than they were, to be more worthy of her acceptance, and Isabella
wrote in reply: "The peaches sent by your Excellency are most welcome,
not only because they are the first ripe ones I have tasted this summer,
but far more because they are a proof of your gracious remembrance, for
which I can never thank your Excellency enough." On New Year's Day,
1499, Lodovico sent the marchioness two barrels of wine--"_vino
amabile_"--and two chests of lemons, and in February wrote to thank her
for the fish, which were very fine and good and had reached him
opportunely, as it was Friday in Lent.

Gifts of artichokes, which were then esteemed a great delicacy, were
often sent to the duke by Genoese nobles, and in March, 1499, we find
Giovanni Adorno, the brother-in-law of the San Severini, who evidently
knew Lodovico's taste for flowers, sending a basket of forty artichokes
together with a bouquet of the finest roses. Another characteristic note
was the following, written by the Moro to Francesco Gonzaga, in
January:--

"I always take great delight in seeing the swans which you sent us some
years ago, sailing on the castle moat under these windows. So if you
have any others to spare, I beg you to send me some, for which I shall
be very grateful."[73]

Two of the last letters, which Isabella addressed to her brother-in-law,
are of especial interest, as relating to Giangaleazzo's widow, the
Duchess Isabella of Aragon. A few weeks after Beatrice's death, this
unfortunate lady had been desired by the duke to leave her rooms in the
Castello, and take up her abode in the old palace near the Duomo. Some
contention arose respecting the boy Francesco Sforza, whom Lodovico
wished to keep with his own sons in the Rocchetta, and who remained
there for a time, only visiting his mother once a week. "You have taken
my son's crown away," said the duchess, indignantly, "and now you would
take his mother too!" Lodovico is said to have replied, "Madam, you are
a woman, so I will n