to revenge the honor of a young lady of his
family." "The Mausoleum that is in the side facing the Place encloses
the Martin II.'s ashes.... This building is sumptuous and wonderful
because it stands on four columns, each of which has an architrave
of nine feet. On the beams stands a very large square of marble that
forms the floor, on which stands the urn of the Defunct. Four other
columns support the vault that covers the urn; and the rest is adorned
by facts of Old Testament. Upon the Summit is the equestrian statue as
large as life." Of "Can Signorius," whose tomb is the most splendid
of all, the "Notices" say: "He spent two thousand florins of gold,
in order to prepare his own sepulchre while he was yet alive, and
to surpass the magnificence of his predecessors. The monument is as
magnificent as the contracted space allows. Six columns support the
floor of marble on which it stands covered with figures. Six other
columns support the top, on that is the Scaliger's statues....
The monument is surrounded by an enclosure of red marble, with six
pillars, on which are square capitols with armed Saints. The rails of
iron with the Arms of the Scala, are worked with a beauty wonderful
for that age," or, I may add, for any age. These "rails" are an
exquisite net-work of iron wrought by hand, with an art emulous of
that of Nicolo Caparra at Florence. The chief device employed is a
ladder (_scala_) constantly repeated in the centres of quatre-foils;
and the whole fabric is still so flexible and perfect, after the lapse
of centuries, that the net may be shaken throughout by a touch. Four
other tombs of the Scaligeri are here, among which the "Notices"
particularly mention that of Alboin della Scala: "He was one of the
Ghibelline party, as the arms on his urn schew, that is a staircase
risen by an eagle--wherefore Dante said, _In sulla Scala porta il
santo Uccello_."

I should have been glad to meet the author of these delightful
histories, but in his absence we fared well enough with the sacristan.
When, a few hours before we left Verona, we came for a last look it
the beautiful sepulchres, he recognized us, and seeing a sketch-book
in the party, he invited us within the inclosure again, and then ran
and fetched chairs for us to sit upon--nay, even placed chairs for
us to rest our feet on. Winning and exuberant courtesy of the Italian
race! If I had never acknowledged it before, I must do homage to it
now, remembering the swee