bride of three
nights was not _enceinte_! Had she only possessed the attributes of
coming motherhood, Lucrezia's origin might have been condoned. But
surely it was foul cruelty which fixed the fault on her alone. As it
was, the poor young Duchess was accorded at her husband's court the
position of a '_Cosa della lussuria_'--to be set aside as soon as the
novelty had passed away!"

The Duchess determined, possessed as she undoubtedly was, though so
young, of much of the force of character of her family, to put a good
face upon things. Her letters to her parents, written during the
Carnival, are full of pleasant details of her new life. She was
enjoying, with girlish zest, the gaieties around her, and entering fully
into the merry prospects of the Court masquerades. Whether her
expressions are quite sincere, is, perhaps, immaterial under the
circumstances--she knew her father's disposition too well to make
complaints.

The anniversary of her wedding came round to find her childless and
devoid of any prospect of issue. Duke Alfonso was far too much engaged
in politics and pleasure to give his due to his wife, who yearned in
vain for the fulfilment of the conjugal vow. Duchess Renata had her
party at Court, a party opposed, as she was, to anything and everything
Florentine: her son gave heed to her cautions, and thus the breach
widened.

Alfonso's long absences from home, and his disinclination for his wife's
society, left Lucrezia to seek necessary consolations elsewhere. She did
not fail of admirers in that giddy Court: the wonder is that she
maintained her dignity as well as she did. The Duke became jealous, of
course, of his neglected wife--all faithless husbands are the same. He
paid spies to report to him the daily occupations of the Duchess, with
the names of her visitors and friends. Thus evil eyes and ears were
opened, and evil tongues began to wag, until they caused the utter
undoing of the innocent young Duchess.

Alfonso, in vain, tried to fix the lovers of his wife--she was as
tactful as they were prudent--but he was not without means to his end.
The Duchess early gave symptoms of ill-health. In Florence she was the
strongest of all her father's family, but at Ferrara she became delicate
and a victim to incessant sickness. What could it be?

The Court physician hinted at pregnancy, but the Duke knew that was
impossible, so far as he was personally concerned, nevertheless it
served its purpose. The winte