ul in Ferrara, where they now lie. Thus
passed away one of the most conspicuous and unfortunate persons of his
age, of whom it has been said that he was "a politician, unlucky in
the choice of his party; a client, unlucky in the choice of his
patrons; and a poet, unlucky in the choice of his theme."

The fatigue and sorrow connected with this bereavement brought on a
severe illness, from which Torquato recovered with a sense of
loneliness and depression which only deepened as the years went on.
From this melancholy he enjoyed, however, a temporary respite by a
visit to Paris. The house of Este by frequent intermarriages was
connected with the French court, in consequence of which they had a
right to use the golden lilies of France in their armorial bearings;
and many of the ecclesiastics of the family held rich benefices in
that country as well as in their own. Cardinal Lewis, the brother of
the reigning duke, resolved to inspect the abbeys that belonged to him
in France, and to strengthen the Roman Catholic cause, which had
received a severe blow from the Reformation; and among the gentlemen
of his train he took with him Tasso, in order to introduce him to his
cousin Charles IX., who himself dabbled in poetry and had a fine
literary taste. From the French monarch the poet obtained a gracious
reception; and by the whole court he was warmly welcomed as one who
had worthily commemorated the gallant deeds of the Paladins of France
at the siege of Jerusalem. For nearly a year he resided in different
parts of France, and notwithstanding the numerous distractions of such
a novel mode of life, he added many admirable stanzas to his great
epic, inspired by the very scenes among which his hero, Godfrey, and
his knights had lived. He left just in time to escape the dreadful
massacre of St. Bartholomew; but he may be said to have suffered
indirectly on account of it. Though treated with distinction by the
French court, his personal wants were left unsupplied, and his patron,
Cardinal Lewis, did not make up for this meanness. Voltaire,
therefore, had reason to indulge in a cynical sneer at the glowing
accounts of his visit given by Italian writers; and Balzac's statement
that Tasso left France in the same suit of clothes that he brought
with him, after having worn it for a year, is not without foundation.
This shabby treatment, however, was part of a wider State policy. The
year of Tasso's residence in France was one of preparation