nsion of 200 ducats. Her next sitters were the young queen Elizabeth
of Valois, known in Spain as Isabel of the Peace, then in the bloom of
bridal beauty, and the unhappy boy, Don Carlos. By the desire of Pope
Pius IV., she made a second portrait of the Queen, sent to his Holiness
with a dutiful letter, which Vasari has preserved, as well as the
gracious reply of the pontiff, who assures her that her painting shall
be placed among his most precious treasures. Sofonisba held the post of
lady-in-waiting to the queen, and was for some time governess to her
daughter, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia,--an appointment which
proves that she must have resided in Spain for some time after 1566, the
year of that princess' birth.

SOFONISBA'S MARRIAGES.

Her royal patrons at last married their fair artist, now arrived to a
mature age, to Don Fabrizio de Moncada, a noble Sicilian, giving her a
dowry of 12,000 ducats and a pension of 1,000, besides many rich
presents in tapestries and jewels. The newly wedded pair retired to
Palermo, where the husband died some years after. Sofonisba was then
invited back to the court of Madrid, but excused herself on account of
her desire to see Cremona and her kindred once more. Embarking for this
purpose on board of a Genoese galley, she was entertained with such
gallant courtesy by the captain, Orazio Lomellini, one of the merchant
princes of the "city of Palaces," that she fell in love with him, and,
according to Soprani, offered him her hand in marriage, which he
accepted. On hearing of her second nuptials, their Catholic Majesties
added 400 crowns to her pension.

SOFONISBA'S RESIDENCE AT GENOA, AND HER INTERCOURSE WITH VANDYCK.

After her second marriage, Sofonisba continued to pursue the art at
Genoa, where her house became the resort of all the polished and
intellectual society of the Republic. The Empress of Germany paid her a
visit on her way to Spain, and accepted a little picture,--one of the
most finished and beautiful of her works. She was also visited by her
former charge, the Infanta, then the wife of the Archduke Albert, and
with him co-sovereign of Flanders. That princess spent many hours in
conversing with her of by-gone days and family affairs; she also sat for
her portrait, and presented Sofonisba with a gold chain enriched with
jewels, as a memorial of their friendship. Thus courted in the society
of Genoa, and caressed by royalty, this eminent paintress