in these
dungeons, could not think of the guilty and wretched pair bowing
themselves to the headsman's stroke in the gloomy chamber under the
Hall of Aurora; nor of the Marquis, in his night-long walk, breaking
at last into frantic remorse and tears to know that his will had been
accomplished. Nay, there upon its very scene, the whole tragedy faded
from us; and, seeing our wonder so cold, the custodian tried to kindle
it by saying that in the time of the event these cells were much
dreadfuller than now, which was no doubt true. The floors of the
dungeons are both below the level of the moat, and the narrow windows,
or rather crevices to admit the light, were cut in the prodigiously
thick wall just above the water, and were defended with four
successive iron gratings. The dungeons are some distance apart: that
of Hugo was separated from the outer wall of the castle by a narrow
passage-way, while Parisina's window opened directly upon the moat.

When we ascended again to the court of the castle, the custodian,
abetted by his wife, would have interested us in two memorable wells
there, between which, he said, Hugo was beheaded; and unabashed by the
small success of this fable, he pointed out two windows in converging
angles overhead, from one of which the Marquis, looking into the
other, discovered the guilt of the lovers. The windows are now walled
up, but are neatly represented to the credulous eye by a fresco of
lattices.

Valery mentions another claim upon the interest of the tourist which
this castle may make, in the fact that it once sheltered John Calvin,
who was protected by the Marchioness Renee, wife of Hercules II.; and
my _Servitore di Piazza_ (the one who knows how to read and write)
gives the following account of the matter, in speaking of the domestic
chapel which Renee had built in the castle: "This lady was learned in
belles-lettres and in the schismatic doctrines which at that time were
insinuating themselves throughout France and Germany, and with
which Calvin, Luther, and other proselytes, agitated the people,
and threatened war to the Catholic religion. Nationally fond of
innovation, and averse to the court of Rome on account of the
dissensions between her father and Pope Julius II., Renee began
to receive the teachings of Calvin, with whom she maintained
correspondence. Indeed, Calvin himself, under the name of Huppeville,
visited her in Ferrara, in 1536, and ended by corrupting her mind and
seduc