'Yes, you have cheated me,' howled the devil to the architect. 'But
I lay a curse upon your work. It shall never be finished.'"--_Snow
and Planche's_ "_Legends of the Rhine_."

All great and ancient buildings which were never finished have a legend
referring to their incompleteness. There was one relative to the
Cathedral of Cologne, which may be found in Planche's "Legends of the
Rhine," and as there is a _palazzo non finito_ in Florence, I at once
scented an old story; nor was I disappointed, it being unearthed in due
time, and written out for me as follows:

IL PALAZZO NON FINITO.

"On the corner of the Via del Proconsole and the Borgo degli Albizzi
there is an unfinished palace.

"The great Signore Alessandro Strozzi had a friend who, when dying,
confided to him the care of his only son. And it was a troublesome task,
for the youth was of a strange temper. And a vast property was left to
the young man, his father imploring him not to waste it, and to live in
friendship with his guardian.

"But his father had hardly closed his eyes in death before this youth
began to act wildly, and above all things to gamble terribly. And as the
saying is, _Il diavolo ha parte in ogni giuoco_--'The devil has a hand in
every game,' so he soon brought himself into company with the gamester.
Now, as you have heard, 'tis _la lingua o la bocca e quella che fa il
giuoco_.

"'Every game, as it is sung,
Is won by mouth, or else by tongue.'

"So this devil or imp by smooth talk succeeded in deceiving the young
heir, and leading him into a compact by which he was to achieve for the
Signore all the work which might be required of him for a hundred years,
no matter what it was, and then the heir must forfeit his soul.

"For some time the young man was satisfied with always winning at
gambling. Yes, he ruined scores, hundreds, and piled up gold till he got
sick of the sight of cards. You know the saying, 'When the belly is full
the eyes are tired,' and 'A crammed dove hates to fly.'

"So for a while he kept the devil busy, bringing him a girl here, and
building him a tower there, sending him to India for diamonds, or setting
him at work to keep off storm and hail from his vineyards, which the
devil found hard work enough, I promise you, Signore, for then he had to
fight other devils and witches. Then he put him at a harder job. There
was a ghost of a _stregone_ or wizard who haunted h