flashing
of fire, and a smell which was even worse than that of the streets of
Siena in summer-time--which is often so fearful that the poorer natives
commonly carry fennel (as people do perfumed vinaigrettes in other
places) to sniff at, as a relief from the horrible odour.

"And when all this was done, the _mago_ revealed to the maiden that her
parents, who were still living, were very great and wealthy people, so
that there was soon a grand reunion, a general recognition, and a happy
marriage.

"'Maidens, beware lest witches catch you;
Think of the Via Vacchereccia;
And tourists dining in the same,
Note how the street once got its name.'"

THE WITCH OF THE PORTA ALLA CROCE

"If any secret should sacred be,
Though it guarded the life of a family,
And any woman be there about,
She will die but what she will find it out;
And though it hurried her soul to--well--
That secret she _must_ immediately tell."

--_Sage Stuffing for Young Ducks_.

There are in Italy, as elsewhere, families to whom a fatality or
tradition is attached. The following is a curious legend of the kind:

LA FATTUCHIERA DELLA PORTA ALLA CROCE.

"There was a very old Florentine family which lived in a castle in the
country. The elder or head of this family had always one room in which
no one was ever allowed to enter. There he passed hours alone every day,
and woe to any one who dared disturb him while there. And this had been
the case for generations, and no one had ever found out what the secret
was. This was, of course, a great vexation to the ladies of the
family--_perche la donna e sempre churiosa_--women being always
inquisitive.

"And most inquisitive of all was a niece of the old man, who had got it
into her head that the secret was simply a great treasure which she might
obtain. Therefore she resolved to consult with a certain witch, who
would tell her what it was, and how she could enter the mysterious room.
This sorceress lived hard by the Porta alla Croce, for there are always
many witches in that quarter.

"The witch, who was a very large tall woman, made the niece go with her
to an isolated small house, and thence along a path, the lady in advance.
While so doing, the latter turned her head to look behind her, and at
that instant heard the cry of a _civetta_ or small owl. The witch
exclaimed, 'My dear lady, what y