our verses, man, and leave Truth alone."

"Agreed--if your excellency will stick to Truth and quit writing verses.
I offer the compact in the interest of humanity, which will be the
gainer."

The company shook with laughter at this direct and offensive hit. But my
Lord Gambara seemed nowise incensed. Indeed, I was beginning to conclude
that the man had a sweetness and tolerance of nature that bordered on
the saintly.

He sipped his wine thoughtfully, and held it up to the light so that the
deep ruby of it sparkled in the Venetian crystal.

"You remind me that I have written a new song," said he.

"Then have I sinned indeed," groaned Caro.

But Gambara, disregarding the interruption, his glass still raised, his
mild eyes upon the wine, began to recite:

"Bacchus saepe visitans
Mulierum genus
Facit eas subditas
Tibi, O tu Venus!"

Without completely understanding it, yet scandalized beyond measure at
as much as I understood, to hear such sentiments upon his priestly lips,
I stared at him in candid horror.

But he got no farther. Caro smote the table with his fist.

"When wrote you that, my lord?" he cried.

"When?" quoth the Cardinal, frowning at the interruption. "Why,
yestereve."

"Ha!" It was something between a bark and a laugh from Messer Caro. "In
that case, my lord, memory usurped the place of invention. That song was
sung at Pavia when I was a student--which is more years ago than I care
to think of."

The Cardinal smiled upon him, unabashed. "And what then, pray? Can we
avoid these things? Why, the very Virgil whom you plagiarize so freely
was himself a plagiarist."

Now this, as you may well conceive, provoked a discussion about the
board, in which all joined, not excepting Fifanti's lady and Donna
Leocadia.

I listened in some amazement and deep interest to matters that were
entirely strange to me, to the arguing of mysteries which seemed to
me--even from what I heard of them--to be strangely attractive.

Anon Fifanti joined in the discussion, and I observed how as soon as he
began to speak they all fell silent, all listened to him as to a master,
what time he delivered himself of his opinions and criticisms of this
Virgil, with a force, a lucidity and an eloquence that revealed his
learning even to one so ignorant as myself.

He was listened to with deference by all, if we except perhaps my Lord
Gambara, who had no respect for anything and who preferred to whisper