stricken with fever, and some even
died during the night, owing to sunstroke from exposure during the three
hours occupied by the execution.

The Tuesday following, the 14th of September, being the Feast of the
Holy Cross, the brotherhood of San Marcello, by special licence of the
pope, set at liberty the unhappy Bernardo Cenci, with the condition of
paying within the year two thousand five hundred Roman crowns to the
brotherhood of the most Holy Trinity of Pope Sixtus, as may be found
to-day recorded in their archives.

Having now seen the tomb, if you desire to form a more vivid impression
of the principal actors in this tragedy than can be derived from a
narrative, pay a visit to the Barberini Gallery, where you will see,
with five other masterpieces by Guido, the portrait of Beatrice, taken,
some say the night before her execution, others during her progress
to the scaffold; it is the head of a lovely girl, wearing a headdress
composed of a turban with a lappet. The hair is of a rich fair chestnut
hue; the dark eyes are moistened with recent tears; a perfectly formed
nose surmounts an infantile mouth; unfortunately, the loss of tone
in the picture since it was painted has destroyed the original fair
complexion. The age of the subject may be twenty, or perhaps twenty-two
years.

Near this portrait is that of Lucrezia Petrani: the small head indicates
a person below the middle height; the attributes are those of a Roman
matron in her pride; her high complexion, graceful contour, straight
nose, black eyebrows, and expression at the same time imperious and
voluptuous indicate this character to the life; a smile still seems to
linger on the charming dimpled cheeks and perfect mouth mentioned by
the chronicler, and her face is exquisitely framed by luxuriant curls
falling from her forehead in graceful profusion.

As for Giacomo and Bernardo, as no portraits of them are in existence,
we are obliged to gather an idea of their appearance from the manuscript
which has enabled us to compile this sanguinary history; they are thus
described by the eye-witness of the closing scene--Giacomo was short,
well-made and strong, with black hair and beard; he appeared to be about
twenty-six years of age.

Poor Bernardo was the image of his sister, so nearly resembling her,
that when he mounted the scaffold his long hair and girlish face led
people to suppose him to be Beatrice herself: he might be fourteen or
fifteen years of age.