ead of the house of the Capelli. He had one son and
one daughter, but not by his wife then living, who, in
consequence, was stepmother to his children. With the son, our
narrative is not concerned; the daughter, Bianca Capello, was a
charming girl of the age of fifteen or sixteen, of a pale
complexion, on which the blood, at every emotion, would appear,
and pass like a roseate cloud; her hair, of that rich flaxen
which Raphael has made so beautiful; her eyes dark and full of
lustre, her figure slight and flexile, but of that flexibility
which denotes no weakness, but force of character; prompt, as
another Juliet, to love, and waiting only till some Romeo
should cross her path, to say, like the maid of Verona--'I will
be to thee or to the tomb!'

"She saw Pietro Bonaventuri: the window of his chamber looked
out upon hers; they exchanged glances, signs, promises of love.
Arrived at this point, the distance from each other was their
sole obstacle: this obstacle Bianca was the first to overcome.

"Each night, when all had retired to rest in the house of the
Salviati, when the nurse who had reared Bianca, had betaken
herself to the next chamber, and the young girl, standing
listening against the partition, had assured herself that this
last Argus was asleep, she threw over her shoulders a dark
cloak to be the less visible in the night, descended on tiptoe,
and light as a shadow, the marble stairs of the paternal
palace, unbarred the gate, and crossed the street. On the
threshold of the opposite door, her lover was standing to
receive her; and the two together, with stifled breath and
silent caresses, ascended the stairs that led to the little
chamber of Pietro. Before the break of day, Bianca retired in
the same manner to her own room, where her nurse found her in
the morning, in a sleep as profound at least as the sleep of
innocence.

"One night whilst our Juliet was with her Romeo, a baker's boy,
who had just been to light his oven in the neighbourhood, saw a
gate half open, and thought he did good service by closing it.
Ten minutes afterwards, Bianca descended, and saw that it was
impossible to re-enter her father's house.

"Bianca was one of those energetic spirits whose resolutions
are taken at once, and for ever. She saw that her whole future
destiny was chang