ra,
nevertheless, had no need to resort to the dye pots of Venice, as Mother
Nature had been generous in the extreme, and the poet was inspired by
the truth, if the painters of the time were not. How unfortunate, then,
that a serious illness was the means of her being shorn of this crowning
glory! Her attending physician decided upon one occasion that it would
be necessary to cut her hair to save her life, but later events proved
that he had been over anxious and that this desperate remedy had been
entirely uncalled for. Ariosto, as may well be believed, was indignant
at the sacrifice, and wrote three sonnets regarding it before he cooled
his anger. In one of these passionate protests occur the following
lines, which will give some idea of his highly colored style and at the
same time show us what an important place Alessandra Strozzi must have
held in his affections: "When I think, as I do a thousand times a day,
upon those golden tresses, which neither wisdom nor necessity but hasty
folly tore, alas! from that fair head, I am enraged, my cheeks burn with
anger, even tears gush forth bathing my face and bosom. I would die,
could I but be avenged upon the impious stupidity of that rash hand. O
Love, if such wrong goes unpunished, thine be the reproach!... Wilt thou
suffer the loveliest and dearest of thy possessions to be boldly
ravished and yet bear it in silence?"

Though Ariosto had come to Florence to spend but a summer day or two at
Saint John's feast, his visit lengthened into weeks, and full six months
had rolled around before he could tear himself away after that first
eventful evening. As his time was spent with his friend Vespucci,
Alessandra's brother-in-law, he had ample opportunity to bask in her
smiles without exciting unfavorable comment; and when he finally did
depart, he left his heart behind him. From that day until the time of
his death it was known that he loved her, but their names were never
coupled in any scandalous way, and it was only after the death of the
poet that the fact was known that they had been secretly married. No one
has been able to give the exact date of this marriage, but there is now
little doubt with regard to the fact itself, and certain evidence leads
to the conclusion that the wedding must have taken place in the year
1522. Why this matter was kept a secret has given rise to much
speculation, for it would appear to the superficial observer that a
public acknowledgment of the