macco saw, besides, a long line of other folks he had befooled,
cajoled, cozened and bemocked. Closing the rear, marched with crozier,
mitre and cope, the great Sant' Ercolano, whom in a merry mood he had
represented in the Great Square of Perugia, girt about with a garland of
gudgeons.

All as they passed paid their compliment to the ape which had avenged
them; and the monster, opening a great mouth wider than the jaws of
hell, broke into a mocking laugh.

For the first time in his life Buffalmacco had a downright bad night's
rest.

THE LADY OF VERONA

TO HUGUES REBELL

THE LADY OF VERONA

"_Puella autem moriens dixit: 'Satanas, trado tibi corpus meum cum
anima mea.'" (Quadragesimale opus declamatum Parisiis in ecclesia Sti.
Johannis in Gravia per venerabilem patrem Sacrae scripturae
interpretem eximium Ol. Maillardum, 1511._)[1]

[Footnote 1: "But the dying girl said, 'Satan, I give over my body to
you along with my soul.'" (Lenten Sermon preached at Paris in the Church
of St. Jean-en-Greve by that venerable father and excellent expounder of
Holy Scripture, Olivier Maillard, 1511.)]

_The following was found by the Reverend Father Adone Doni, in the
Archives of the Monastery of Santa Croce, at Verona._

Signora Eletta of Verona was so wondrous fair and of so perfect a grace
of body, that the learned of the city, they who had knowledge of history
and legend, were used to call her lady mother by the names of Latona,
Leda and Semele, making implication thereby of their belief that the
fruit of her womb had been framed in her by a god, Jupiter, rather than
by any mortal man, such as were her husband and lovers. But the wiser
heads, notably the Fra Battista, whose successor I am as Superior of
Santa Croce, held that such exceeding beauty of the flesh came of the
operation of the Devil, who is an artist in the sense the dying Nero
understood the word when he said, "_Qualis artifex pereo!_"[1] And we
may be sure Satan, the enemy of God, who is cunning to work the metals,
excels likewise in the moulding of human flesh.

[Footnote 1: "What an artist dies in me!" "Oh! the loss to Art! the loss
to Art!"]

I myself, who am writing these lines, possessing no small acquaintance
with the world, have many a time seen church bells and figures of men
wrought by the Enemy of Mankind--and the craftsmanship thereof
admirable. Likewise have I had knowledge of children engendered in women
by the Devil, b