t, though stripped of their gold and jewels, the
emblems that spoke of departed rank;--the broken wand of the Councillor;
the General's baton; the Priestly Mitre! The foul and livid exhalations
gathered like flesh itself, fungous and putrid, upon the walls, and
the--

But who shall detail the ineffable and unimaginable horrors that reigned
over the Palace where the Great King received the prisoners whom the
sword of the Pestilence had subdued?

But through all that crowded court--crowded with beauty and with birth,
with the strength of the young and the honours of the old, and the
valour of the brave, and the wisdom of the learned, and the wit of
the scorner, and the piety of the faithful--one only figure attracted
Adrian's eye. Apart from the rest, a latecomer--the long locks streaming
far and dark over arm and breast--lay a female, the face turned
partially aside, the little seen not recognisable even by the mother
of the dead,--but wrapped round in that fatal mantle, on which, though
blackened and tarnished, was yet visible the starry heraldry assumed by
those who claimed the name of the proud Tribune of Rome. Adrian saw no
more--he fell back in the arms of the gravediggers: when he recovered,
he was still without the gates of Florence--reclined upon a green
mound--his guide stood beside him--holding his steed by the bridle as it
grazed patiently on the neglected grass. The other brethren of the axe
had resumed their seat under the shed.

"So, you have revived! Ah! I thought it was only the effluvia; few stand
it as we do. And so, as your search is over, deeming you would now be
quitting Florence if you have any sense left to you, I went for your
good horse. I have fed him since your departure from the palace. Indeed
I fancied he would be my perquisite, but there are plenty as good. Come,
young sir, mount. I feel a pity for you, I know not why, except that you
are the only one I have met for weeks who seem to care for another
more than for yourself. I hope you are satisfied now that I showed some
brains, eh! in your service; and as I have kept my promise, you'll keep
yours."

"Friend," said Adrian, "here is gold enough to make thee rich; here,
too, is a jewel that merchants will tell thee princes might vie to
purchase. Thou seemest honest, despite thy calling, or thou mightest
have robbed and murdered me long since. Do me one favour more."

"By my poor mother's soul, yes."

"Take yon--yon clay from that fearfu