ned to him
that he had inhabited before with Lucrezia, in that part of the building
which is known as the Torre Nuova.

Great lists were prepared on the Piazza of St. Peter's; the streets
about it were barricaded, and the windows of the surrounding houses
served as boxes for the spectators. The pope and his court took their
places on the balconies of the Vatican.

The fete was started by professional toreadors: after they had exhibited
their strength and skill, Alfonso and Caesar in their turn descended to
the arena, and to offer a proof of their mutual kindness, settled that
the bull which pursued Caesar should be killed by Alfonso, and the bull
that pursued Alfonso by Caesar.

Then Caesar remained alone an horseback within the lists, Alfonso going
out by an improvised door which was kept ajar, in order that he might go
back on the instant if he judged that his presence was necessary. At the
same time, from the opposite side of the lists the bull was introduced,
and was at the same moment pierced all over with darts and arrows, some
of them containing explosives, which took fire, and irritated the bull
to such a paint that he rolled about with pain, and then got up in a
fury, and perceiving a man on horseback, rushed instantly upon him. It
was now, in this narrow arena, pursued by his swift enemy, that Caesar
displayed all that skill which made him one of the finest horsemen of
the period. Still, clever as he was, he could not have remained safe
long in that restricted area from an adversary against whom he had no
other resource than flight, had not Alfonso appeared suddenly, just when
the bull was beginning to gain upon him, waving a red cloak in his left
hand, and holding in his right a long delicate Aragon sword. It was high
time: the bull was only a few paces distant from Caesar, and the risk
he was running appeared so imminent that a woman's scream was heard from
one of the windows. But at the sight of a man on foot the bull stopped
short, and judging that he would do better business with the new enemy
than the old one, he turned upon him instead. For a moment he stood
motionless, roaring, kicking up the dust with his hind feet, and lashing
his sides with his tail. Then he rushed upon Alfonso, his eyes all
bloodshot, his horns tearing up the ground. Alfonso awaited him with a
tranquil air; then, when he was only three paces away, he made a
bound to one sides and presented instead of his body his sword, which
di