s the jests and kisses die.
And, lo! the heart is seized by infinite woe,
With arms outstretched they gaze as on they go--
'O waken, boy! O waken from thy dream!
Say what thou seest below the ages stream,
Tell us, is life's enigma known to thee?
Give us thy own fair immortality!'
But ere he from his revery wakens they
Have with the river drifted far away."

[Illustration: View through the Key-hole of the Gate of the Villa of the
Knights of Malta]

[Illustration]

L'ENVOI

A keyhole glimpse at Rome they show
'Twixt cypresses, a stately row,
Where all who pass are free to see
The villa of the Priory.
Here belted knights, with cross on breast,
In days of old were wont to rest,
And 'neath the ilex hedges tall
Oft paced the subtle Cardinal,
His robe upon the pavement cool
Mantling like some ensanguined pool.

St. Peter's keys, traditions tell,
Open the gates of Heaven and Hell.
O'er many a villa gate they 're shown,
With triple crown carved deep in stone.
If, then, you crave a fuller view
Than keyhole glimpses give to you,
Unlock and enter. You shall know
A Heaven of art, a Hell of woe.

THE END

FOOTNOTES:

[1] His magnificent villa of Caprarola and the still more entrancing
villa of Lante are linked with legends of Giulio Farnese and Vittoria
Accoramboni in the author's _Romance of Italian Villas_, which with the
_Romance of the Renaissance Chateaux_ will be found supplementary to the
present volume.

[2] From _The Italian Rhapsody_, by permission of Mr. Robert Underwood
Johnson.

[3] Translated by E. Frere Champney.

[4] A song composed by Lorenzo de' Medici. "How lovely is our youth, and
yet how fast it flies! Those who wish for joy must snatch it now. Trust
not to to-morrow; seize it now, seize it now!"

[5] The earliest cards were not inscribed with hearts, diamonds, clubs,
and spades, but with swords, money, clubs, and cups. The same emblems
are still used on the Spanish playing-cards.

[6] The French historians call him Richart de Cornouailles, the Italians
Ricciardo.

[7] A _stornello a fiore_ consists generally of a couplet beginning with
an invocation to a flower, as:

Fior di limone!
Limone e agro e non si puoi mangiare
Ma son piu agre le pene d'amore.

Fior di granato!
Se li sospiri mie fossere fuocco,
Tutto il mondo sarebbe buciato.

See also the