, such as she had seen
in the pictures of Guido and Raffaelle, moved to and fro in these
apartments, seeming full of joy and happiness: these were the ministers
to the pleasures of Francesco, who, rich as a king, every night revelled
in the orgies of Alexander, the wedding revels of Lucrezia, and the
excesses of Tiberius at Capri. After an hour, the door closed, and
the seductive vision vanished, leaving Beatrice full of trouble and
amazement.

The night following, the same apparition again presented itself, only,
on this occasion, Francesco Cenci, undressed, entered his daughter's
room and invited her to join the fete. Hardly knowing what she did,
Beatrice yet perceived the impropriety of yielding to her father's
wishes: she replied that, not seeing her stepmother, Lucrezia Petroni,
among all these women, she dared not leave her bed to mix with persons
who were unknown to her. Francesco threatened and prayed, but threats
and prayers were of no avail. Beatrice wrapped herself up in the
bedclothes, and obstinately refused to obey.

The next night she threw herself on her bed without undressing. At the
accustomed hour the door opened, and the nocturnal spectacle reappeared.
This time, Lucrezia Petroni was among the women who passed before
Beatrice's door; violence had compelled her to undergo this humiliation.
Beatrice was too far off to see her blushes and her tears. Francesco
pointed out her stepmother, whom she had looked for in vain the previous
evening; and as she could no longer make any opposition, he led her,
covered with blushes and confusion, into the middle of this orgy.

Beatrice there saw incredible and infamous things....

Nevertheless, she resisted a long time: an inward voice told her that
this was horrible; but Francesco had the slow persistence of a demon.
To these sights, calculated to stimulate her passions, he added
heresies designed to warp her mind; he told her that the greatest saints
venerated by the Church were the issue of fathers and daughters, and in
the end Beatrice committed a crime without even knowing it to be a sin.

His brutality then knew no bounds. He forced Lucrezia and Beatrice to
share the same bed, threatening his wife to kill her if she disclosed to
his daughter by a single word that there was anything odious in such an
intercourse. So matters went on for about three years.

At this time Francesco was obliged to make a journey, and leave the
women alone and free. The first t