at his son had taken
Sinigaglia, and gave him an invitation to come the next morning and talk
over the good news. The cardinal, delighted at this increase of favour,
did not miss his appointment. So, in the morning, he started an
horseback for the Vatican; but at a turn of the first street he met the
governor of Rome with a detachment of cavalry, who congratulated himself
on the happy chance that they were taking the same road, and accompanied
him to the threshold of the Vatican. There the cardinal dismounted, and
began to ascend the stairs; scarcely, however, had he reached the first
landing before his mules and carriages were seized and shut in the palace
stables. When he entered the hall of the Perropont, he found that he and
all his suite were surrounded by armed men, who led him into another
apartment, called the Vicar's Hall, where he found the Abbate Alviano,
the protonotary Orsino, Jacopo Santa Croce, and Rinaldo Orsino, who were
all prisoners like himself; at the same time the governor received orders
to seize the castle of Monte Giardino, which belonged to the Orsini, and
take away all the jewels, all the hangings, all the furniture, and all
the silver that he might find.

The governor carried out his orders conscientiously, and brought to the
Vatican everything he seized, down to the cardinal's account-book. On
consulting this book, the pope found out two things: first, that a sum of
2000 ducats was due to the cardinal, no debtor's name being mentioned;
secondly, that the cardinal had bought three months before, for 1500
Roman crowns, a magnificent pearl which could not be found among the
objects belonging to him: on which Alexander ordered that from that very
moment until the negligence in the cardinal's accounts was repaired, the
men who were in the habit of bringing him food twice a day on behalf of
his mother should not be admitted into the Castle Sant' Angelo. The same
day, the cardinal's mother sent the pope the 2000 ducats, and the next
day his mistress, in man's attire, came in person to bring the missing
pearl. His Holiness, however, was so struck with her beauty in this
costume, that, we are told, he let her keep the pearl for the same price
she had paid for it.

Then the pope allowed the cardinal to have his food brought as before,
and he died of poison on the 22nd of February--that is, two days after
his accounts had been set right.

That same night the Prince of Squillace set off to take