ht-time to carry them himself to
certain persons in his confidence who would have them passed in, as had
been arranged, at the dinner-hour. Then, when the deeds were quite ready
and the servants also, Francesco went out with them, leaving the two
women to dream golden dreams of their future greatness.

From the first dawn of day the people hurried anew, as ardent and
interested as on the evening before, to the Piazza of the Vatican,
where; at the ordinary time, that is, at ten o'clock in the
morning,--the smoke rose again as usual, evoking laughter and murmuring,
as it announced that none of the cardinals had secured the majority. A
report, however, began to be spread about that the chances were divided
between three candidates, who were Roderigo Borgia, Giuliano delta
Rovera, and Ascanio Sforza; for the people as yet knew nothing of the
four mules laden with plate and silver which had been led to Sforza's
house, by reason of which he had given up his own votes to his rival.
In the midst of the agitation excited in the crowd by this new report
a solemn chanting was heard; it proceeded from a procession, led by the
Cardinal Camerlengo, with the object of obtaining from Heaven the speedy
election of a pope: this procession, starting from the church of Ara
Coeli at the Capitol, was to make stations before the principal Madannas
and the most frequented churches. As soon as the silver crucifix was
perceived which went in front, the most profound silence prevailed, and
everyone fell on his knees; thus a supreme calm followed the tumult
and uproar which had been heard a few minutes before, and which at each
appearance of the smoke had assumed a more threatening character:
there was a shrewd suspicion that the procession, as well as having
a religious end in view, had a political object also, and that its
influence was intended to be as great on earth as in heaven. In any
case, if such had been the design of the Cardinal Camerlengo, he had
not deceived himself, and the effect was what he desired: when the
procession had gone past, the laughing and joking continued, but the
cries and threats had completely ceased.

The whole day passed thus; for in Rome nobody works. You are either a
cardinal or a lacquey, and you live, nobody knows how. The crowd was
still extremely numerous, when, towards two o'clock in the afternoon,
another procession, which had quite as much power of provoking noise as
the first of imposing silence, traver