pon it with any
smile of welcome. Many of the newcomers were artists, sculptors and
painters, who were attracted by the wealth of classic and Renaissance
art which Rome contained, or they were expatriates for one of a number
of reasons. One of the most distinguished women of this foreign colony
was Madame Bonaparte, Napoleon's mother, who took up her residence in
Rome after 1815, and lived there until 1836, the year of her death. She
was a woman of fine presence and great courage, content with a simple
mode of life which was quite in contrast with the princely tastes of her
sons and daughters. Pauline Bonaparte, the emperor's favorite sister,
had lived in Rome for a number of years, as she had married, in 1803,
Camillo, Prince Borghese. She was soon separated from her husband, but
continued to reside in Rome, bearing the title of Duchess of Guastalla;
there she was housed in a fine palace, where she dwelt in a style of
easy magnificence. Pauline was one of the most beautiful women of this
time, and much of her charm and grace has been preserved in Canova's
famous statue, the _Venus Victrix_, for which she served as model.

The most hospitable palace in all Rome during the first quarter of the
century was that presided over by Signora Torlonia, Duchess of
Bracciano. Her husband, "old Torlonia," as he was familiarly called, was
a banker during the working hours of the day; but in the evening he
became the Duke of Bracciano, and no one questioned his right to the
title, as he was known to have paid good money for it. He had made
princes of his sons and noble ladies of his daughters, and his great
wealth had undoubtedly aided his plans. Madame Lenormant says of him:
"he was avaricious as a Jew, and sumptuous as the most magnificent
grand seigneur," and he seems to have been a most interesting character.
He lived in a beautiful palace upon the Corso, wherein was placed
Canova's _Hercules and Lycas_, and there he and his wife dispensed a
most open-handed hospitality. Madame Torlonia had been a beauty in her
day, and she was a very handsome woman even in her later years. Kind and
good-natured, she was like the majority of Italian women of her time--a
curious combination of devotion and gallantry. It is related of her that
she confided to a friend one day that she had taken great care to
prevent her husband's peace of mind from being disturbed by her somewhat
questionable conduct, and then added: "But he will be very much
surpr