lighted at discovering so much knowledge | rushing upon them simultaneously, opened their way towards the imperial tent, killing or disabling every one who opposed them. The Emperor, with great difficulty, escaped being taken prisoner on this occasion, to the no small regret of the Brescians. in their unwilling visitor, and to show their high esteem for his talents they proposed at once to his choice, either to serve the ancient city of Brescia according to his craft, or to be set up as a target for their cross-bows. The good Castilian did not stand to deliberate, but applied himself lustily to work for his new employers, and with such efficacy, that they were soon provided with wooden towers, batteringrams, manganos, trabuccos, and other destructive implements for demolishing parapets, and hurling stones, as well as their adversaries. The siege had been going on for some days, when the detestable Frederic, irritated at the accuracy with which they aimed pieces of iron and heavy fragments of rock at his breast-works and machinery, which they broke and scattered, frequently killing the soldiers who managed them, had recourse to the expedient of bringing several Brescian prisoners from Cremona, and tying them to his engines, so that their friends and relatives might be obliged to desist from further attempts, or kill their unfortunate kinsmen in the act. It is not certain whether the besieged were driven by despair to continue their defence as before, or whether they desisted from battering the imperial works at so fearful a sight. But goaded on, and belabored so piteously by the unfeeling adversary, they retaliated on his cruel device, stringing up by the heels the numerous Germans they had in their possession, and exposing them all along the outside of the ramparts to the strokes of their brutal Emperor. What irritated Frederic still more were the sorties which these shrewd and daring Italians effected at intervals on his troops, retiring into the gates of their stronghold almost before the heavy Germans knew where the blows came from. These sorties were of great damage to the imperial army. It is recorded, especially, that on the night of October 9th, while the soldiers were sleeping away the fatigues of the day in the camp, the Brescians, led out by their chieftains, contrived to get near the place where Frederic lay, without being observed by the German guards. They roused the guards with terrific shouts, and, He soon became disgusted with the siege. Every effort against the town proved unsuccessful, and seemed only to increase the daring of the citizens. It became unsafe even to walk at any distance from the camp. While the Emperor had collected all his forces in the design of overwhelming Brescia, the Milanese, seeing the country clear, spread their armed men over the neighborhood, giving a severe lesson to several of the towns where Frederic had been well received. They even bearded the Emperor in his own quarters. For, having learned from the scouts, whom they always kept on the alert, that a certain part of the imperial lines was rather negligently guarded, on account of the security afforded by its position, they equipped a band of the hardiest adventurers in their service, who, coming unexpectedly upon the vulnerable point, attacked it so desperately as to force it under the nose of the Emperor, and throw themselves into the town to reinforce its heroic garrison. At length, seeing that all his endeavors to carry the place were fruitless, he set fire to his machines, and sullenly drew off his army, retreating towards Cremona. This event seriously injured the reputation of Frederic II., and increased the glory of the free city of Brescia, who celebrated his departure with becoming exultation. Our hero, Ezzelino, never cared to work under a superior, however he might value his assistance or protection. Leaving, therefore, the Emperor at an early period to wear out the lives of his men and his own patience under the walls of Brescia, he had engaged in a scheme of his own, which had for its object the conquest of the rich and powerful city of Padua. Ezzelino effected its capture by an adroit use of the fear excited by the presence in Italy of Frederic and his powerful army, and by means of a treacherous correspondence which he kept up with the Ghibelline faction in the city. The city had no sooner fallen into the power of the imperial party, than Ezzelino made himself its Governor. He inflicted a cruel revenge | infidel, and the other was known to hold upon the inhabitants, for their constant adherence to the Guelphs, and the trouble they had formerly given him. The indignities which he committed against the best and most noble citizens, procured a number of enemies for him and his party, so that a secret invitation was sent to the Marquis of Este, to come and deliver Padua from the tyrant and his German satellites. The brave Marquis accepted, perhaps too hastily, the invitation thus tendered to him, and moved rapidly towards Padua, in hopes that his friends would open one of its gates to him, as they had promised. But in place of this he came upon Ezzelino, who was in readiness for him, and who gave him a reception as warm as it was unexpected. This terrified his followers so much that, struck with a sudden panic, they deserted their ensigns almost to a man, and the Marquis owed the preservation of his life to his horse, that bore him nobly beyond the reach of danger. The Marquis resolved to be more cautious for the future, in his proceedings with the Ghibellines, a purpose which afterwards saved him more than once from their toils. Ezzelino, as a reprisal, occupied the town of Este, whose garrison, a few days afterwards, was filled with Germans and Saracens. He also made an attempt to storm Montagnana, another feud, which he hoped to carry as easily as that of Este. But the people resisted him with great determination; and even set fire, in broad day-light, to a tower under which he was at the time, and from which he made a very narrow escape. He retired from before the town, and returned to Padua. Ezzelino had the honor of giving a splendid reception there to Frederic and his suite, and of spending nearly two months with him and the Empress, in the monastery of Santa Justina. They passed their time in hunting, and in taking long walks over the surrounding country, which abounds in beautiful and romantic scenery. A venerable Italian chronicler tells us, with pardonable indignation, that "these two subjects, to wit, Emperor Frederic and Messer Ezzelino, were perhaps the two greatest Generals, and, without a doubt, the two greatest scoundrels of their day and life-time. For one was a beast of an familiar intercourse with the devil." It would be interesting, perhaps, though not edifying, to have an outline of the conversations held by two worthies of this description, amidst some of the most charming tracts of the most beautiful country in the world. We are informed that their time was chiefly employed in devising plans for the destruction of Azzo, Marquis of Este, whom Ezzelino styled "the head of the serpent, against which the first strokes should be directed, in order to have an easy victory over the body." Feriendus est serpens in capite, ut corpus facilius devincatur. He alluded to the serpent in the coat of arms of the House of Este, and the Guelph party, of which the Marquis was the chief. They soon began to work upon this principle, and their first step was to send a friendly invitation to the Marquis, to wait upon the Emperor in Padua. Although willing to take part in any proceedings which might tend to allay their animosities, the Marquis refused to move, unless a security were given to him in the Emperor's name, and signed by the imperial hand. Having received this, he went to Padua, accompanied by several of his adherents. The bad faith of the Ghibellines soon began to show itself. The Emperor had the castle of the Marquis quietly surrounded by German outposts. Soon after, under some specious pretext, he secured the person of Rinaldo, son of the Marquis, and kept him as a hostage. The malicious Ezzelino placed numerous spies near his visitor during his stay in Padua, and was informed by them of the names and quality of the persons with whom he had intercourse, in order to punish them, as he afterwards did, by exile, imprisonment, or death. The wary Marquis was continually on the alert, and he soon had more than mere suspicion to mistrust the faith of his adversaries ;for he learned that Frederic had resolved, and even given directions to have him taken out of the way. He forefended the stroke by leaving Padua secretly, and without notice. Once out of the lion's den, he rallied his followers, and collecting all the forces he could, he marched boldly upon Este, and other towns occupied by the enemy, reducing them once more into his power. This rapid and fortunate movement caused the death of every one in Padua, who was a friend of the Marquis, or whom Ezzelino chose to consider as such. The cruelty of this chief increased as he became older. An unguarded word, a vague suspicion, a groundless accusation, was enough for him to cast his unhappy victims into the horrid dungeons, erected by his order in every town where he obtained command. The architect who served him was the first to die in one of these prisons, when its erection was completed. He burned the towers and palaces of the nobles who failed to obtain his favor; tormented and maimed in the most frightful manner their owners, frequently ordering their limbs to be cast into the fire before their eyes. brought to Padua, and loudly protesting that they were not such, Ezzelino, who was at dinner, came out at the noise, and refused to listen to any explanation or defence. Monte, driven almost to insanity by his hopeless condition, rushed wildly at the tyrant, threw him to the ground, and being unarmed himself, searched Ezzelino's person for a dagger, but at the moment he too was unarmed. Monte having grap pled him by the throat, was making a desperate effort to choke him. Both Monte and Araldo, however, were cut to pieces by the soldiers of Ezzelino, who narrowly escaped with his life, and was confined to his bed for several days in consequence of the wounds inflicted upon him by Monte's teeth and nails. Had he not been found unarmed, that would have been the last day of his life. He made several attempts to establish his sway in several cities hostile to Frede- The complaints of the wretched Paduans, ric, among the rest, but without success, the remonstrances of the Marquis of Este, in Parma and Belluno. The lamentations and the entreaties of the whole nation of the unfortunate Paduans, lay and cleri- against this horrible man, became so loud, cal, groaning under his iron yoke, became that Pope Alexander IV., as the common so loud that in 1248, Pope Innocent IV. father, could no longer refuse his assistexcommunicated him, as he had done al- ance towards delivering the country from ready with the profligate and ambitious so great an evil. Accordingly, he created Frederic. Ezzelino, in place of being Phillip, Archbishop elect of Ravenna, Lehumbled by the sentence, as the Pope ex-gate Apostolic in the Marca Trevigiana, pressly desired, became worse and worse. He continued his assassinations and imprisonments, strengthened his forces, and seeing the power of Frederic decline with his health, he formed the project of adding to the proud title of Signor of Padua, which he had assumed, the command over other cities, and domineering in his own name. He took and sacked the little city of Monselice, and forced its citadel, deemed impregnable, to capitulate. It is said that some of the machines which he employed on this occasion, heaved stones of twelve thousand pounds weight, a circumstance which may be deemed incredible. Frederic II. died in 1250. After having afflicted the church like his grandfather Frederic Barbarossa, he came to a similarly unfortunate end, although he is believed to have previously repented of his misdeeds. We have only alluded to him, where his history comes in contact with that of Ezzelino, his friend and fellow-bandit. who published a crusade against Ezzelino, as an enemy of his religion and his country. He collected an army in Venice, composed partly of Paduan refugees; and notwithstanding the efforts of Ansedisio, nephew to Ezzelino, and Governor of Padua in his name, he took all the fortified places in the vicinity, and finally stormed a gate of the city itself. While the crusaders were battering the gate, the besieged poured down upon their machines such a large quantity of hot rosin, sulphur, pitch, and other combustibles, that the gate itself caught fire and was reduced to ashes, affording an easy entrance to the aggressors. They were soon in possession of the city, and threw open the gloomy dungeons of Ezzelino, thus giving freedom to an incredible number of victims of his cruelty, who could scarcely be recognized by their relatives, so haggard and spectre-like was their appearance. Ezzelino, who was then marauding on the territory of Mantua, moved in the diMonte and Araldo, two nobles of Mon-rection of Padua, at the news of its being selice, accused as traitors, having been besieged. At the ford of the Minc prisoner himself. Having been brought into the presence of the tyrant, he was asked by Ezzelino how he expected to be treated. Phillip replied, in a calm and steady voice, "With the honors usually given to a Legate of our Holy Father, the Pope;" an answer which caused even the haughty Ezzelino to respect him during his confinement. man stood before him, covered with dust | ing Brescia, but he was defeated and taken and sweat. "What news?" said the tyrant. "Bad! Padua is lost." Ezzelino ordered the messenger to be hanged in stantly, and proceeded onward. Meeting another messenger, he asked the same question: "What news?" He answered that, by his good leave, he would wish to speak to him in private. This second man was more prudent than his forerunner, and departed unharmed. Ezzelino pressed forward without giving his weary soldiers a moment's rest. On arriving at Verona, a sudden suspicion crossed his mind regarding the faith of the Paduans who accompanied him. He instantly ordered them to be arrested, deprived of all they had, and inclosed in the famous amphitheatre of that city, where, with unexampled barbarity, the greater part of them were murdered on the spot. The others died of suffering and starvation, so that out of nearly twelve thousand, between nobles and plebeians, not more than two hundred ever found their way back to Padua. The The pontifical army had been reinforced by several commanders-among others, by the famous Friar John, at the head of a band of merry Bolognese, and by Alberico da Romano, who, though a most cruel and lawless bandit himself, was scarcely ever on peaceful terms with his brother Ezzelino. The latter was driven from before Padua, and retreated, burning with shame and rage, to Verona, where he consoled himself by torturing to death his nephew, Ansedisio, for having lost Padua. Paduans passed a decree, which is still extant, ordering the happy liberation of their city from so cruel an oppressor to be solemnized every year by a general procession, accompanied with hymns of gratitude to the Almighty-a festival which, if report be true, is continued down to the present day. It would be long to narrate the intrigues through which Ezzelino succeeded in obtaining command of the noble city of Brescia. The events which led to it may be all reduced to one cause-the accursed discord of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, which rendered an easy prey to a domestic tyrant, the same town which had defied the whole imperial army, with the proud Frederic at its head. Philip, Archbishop of Ravenna, made every attempt in his power to prevent Ezzelino from enter Brescia was doomed to suffer the tyranny of so cruel a master only for a short time. Buoso da Doara and the Marquis Oberto Pelavicino, who, from friends and allies of the tyrant, had become his most bitter foes on account of his treacherous attempts against them, were on the banks of the river Oglio with the forces of Cremona, as well as Azzo d'Este with those of Ferrara and Mantua. Ezzelino, having bribed and bought over several of the nobles of Milan, had attempted to carry that city, but was rebutted by Martino della Torre. A similar attempt had been likewise made against Monza, which also failing, Ezzelino found himself in the midst of a hostile country, with deep and rapid rivers between him and Brescia; and he heard that his old enemy, the Marquis of Este, had fortified the bridge of Cassano, having scattered the detachment left there by Ezzelino. He resolved to make a desperate attempt to force this pass, and gain the opposite bank. It is said that a devil had predicted to him that he would die at Assano. Now Ezzelino kept always a number of astrologers in his pay, and had great faith in devils and witches; but interpreting this for the city of Bassano, near which he was born, he had wisely resolved to keep away from it for the future. He trembled at the mention of Cassano. His onslaught upon the people of the Marquis was so violent, that his followers had all but carried the bridge, when an arrow, discharged at random by a Guelph crossbow-man, pierced deeply into his left foot. This accident spread a panic through his army, which he was compelled to draw back to Vimercato, where, having had his wound opened and the arrow extracted, he bravely mounted horse again, resolved to push forward towards the Adda, across a shallow part of which he conducted his men. had already reached the opposite shore, but his foes had regulated their move He ments so accurately that the forces of Cremona, under Buoso and Oberto, and those of Ferrara and Mantua, under the Marquis of Este, bore upon him simultaneously, and fairly brought him to a stand. Though hemmed in upon all sides, he did not lose his wonted ardor; but in the very moment of danger, the Brescians gave rein to their horses, and saved themselves by flight. In vain did he attempt to keep his men together, and effect a retreat in good order towards Bergamo. The allies attacked his disbanded troops, making a great number of prisoners. Ezzelino, belabored on all sides, fought with the fury of a tiger, covered with blood, and in the midst of a circle of dead bodies; and at length, finding himself nearly alone, he furiously put spurs to his horse, and made a desperate effort to escape. He was, however, pursued and overtaken by a large number of horsemen, who made him prisoner. The same instant, a soldier, whose brother had been mutilated by order of Ezzelino, struck him on the head and wounded him thrice in revenge. Others say that he was thus wounded before his capture, in an encounter with Mazzoldo dei Lavelonghi, a Guelph nobleman of Brescia. The day on which this memorable victory, which gladdened the heart of all Italy, took place, was the feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, September 27th, in the year of grace 1259. The people crowded upon the road by which he was conveyed to Soncino, all being desirous of seeing the man whom the stoutest soldier had never approached hitherto without trembling. To one of the many who, covering him with reproaches and insults, threatened moreover to finish him, he turned with eyes of fire, and a frown of his dark brow: "And wouldst thou have courage (he said) to lay thy hands upon Ezzelino ?" The growl of the caged lion was sufficient to strike terror into the heart of the man, and of all the bystanders. He soon reached Soncino, where he was protected from further injury by the noble Marquis of Este, who provided him with surgeons, and commanded that every attention and respect should be paid to him. His wounds, however, were so deep as to baffle the skill of his attendants. He refused to partake of any food, and without giving any sign of repentance, he died some days after, in the seventieth year of his age, rejecting even the consolations of religion. His brother Alberico was put to death the year after, together with all his sons, in force of a barbarous sentence suggested by the fear, that if even a scion remained of so evil a race, it would one day grow up to be the curse of the country. So, to the unspeakable relief of all Italy, perished Ezzelino, il Crudele, or the Cruel, who, endowed with great military genius, might have been a hero, and chose to be the scourge of his country, and the detestation of posterity. His shrewdness was equal to his cruelty; for at a glance he read the deepest secrets of the heart, and was known to scrutinize and study every face upon which he turned his gaze. He was of athletic mould, and gifted with nerves like whip-thongs and sinews of iron. His hair and eye-brows were dark and bushy, his features pale but marked with extraordinary expression, and his eyes like those of the viper. There is a portrait of him in the Pitti Gallery at Florence, worthy the study of the traveller. He was so wantonly cruel, that sometimes, on the capture of a town, he would order all the inhabitants to be deprived of their legs, or arms, or noses, or otherwise shamefully mutilated. Having heard that a quantity of blind and disabled persons, who went around begging through the Italian cities, asserted that they had been reduced to that state by Ezzelino, he issued a proclamation inviting those unhappy poor to present themselves to him, with the assurance that they would be nourished and provided for. Three thousand miserable wretches came to him, whom he inclosed in a large building, ordering it to be set on fire, so that the whole number perished in the flames. He had great faith in magic and judicial astrology, an imposition very prevalent in those days, although its practices were forbidden under severe penalties. While he was moving against the city of Feltre, it is said that a magpie hovering around his banner, finally rested upon it. Whether that he considered the fact a good omen, or felt a kindred sympathy for that bird of prey, Ezzelino was delighted with the animal, which was so tame as to |