osa_. Rodrigo Borgia, thou hast shared the couch of my mother and
myself, and wast the first that dishonoured Lucretia, my daughter and
thine. Who can number all those whom thou hast secretly poisoned and
assassinated? Yet thou art not less a pope. Rome trembles before thee,
and all Christianity adores thee. Every thing depends upon the situation
in which men are when they commit crimes. I am the mother of both,
Rodrigo, and I knew that Caesar would murder Francisco.

_Pope_. Thou wretch!

_Vanosa_. Am I? If I be, I have become so in thy school. It was right
that the timorous and gentle Francisco should give place to the fiery,
the enterprising Caesar, in order that the glittering hopes may be
fulfilled which thou didst confide to me upon thy elevation to the papal
chair. Francisco was intended by nature to be a monk; my Caesar to be a
conqueror--and I call him so already in prophetic spirit. He alone has
power to annihilate the great and petty tyrants of Italy, and to win
himself a crown. Appoint him standard-bearer to the papal see, and he
will make the Borgias kings of the Italian realms. Is not this thy most
ardent wish? All thy poisonings and murders will have been to no more
purpose if Caesar remains a cardinal, than they would have been if yon
feeble driveller had lived. Only from Caesar can I expect protection
when thou art no more. He loves his mother; but the other boy neglected
me, and only flattered thee, from whom he expected his greatness. Caesar
feels that a woman like me, who could bring forth a hero, can likewise
point out to him the way to immortal deeds. Brighten up, Rodrigo, and be
wise; for know that the hand which dispatched thy favourite was directed
by a daring spirit, who would not hesitate to take thy own life wert thou
to remove the veil which has been flung over this deed of necessity.

_Pope_. The solidity of thy arguments restores me to myself, and thy
eloquence exalts my soul, although it makes me shudder. Francisco is
dead; Caesar lives: let him live, and take his brother's place, since
fate will have it so.

He rang the bell, caused refreshments to be brought, and was in excellent
spirits.

Francisco was forgotten, and the Pope thought of nothing else than to
open to the daring Caesar a wider field in which he might exercise his
dangerous talents. The latter, in the mean time, crowned the King of
Naples, with hands yet reeking with fraternal blood. He returned