s I mean
the host of enemies. Now any one of these enemies who does his worst can
cause injuries far more powerful than any help that is at all likely to
come from a hundred friends and their lying promises. If you and your
brothers walk in the path of virtue which we shall now open for you,
every wish of your heart shall be instantly accomplished; but if you
take the other path, if you have ever hoped that our affection will wink
at disorderly life, then you will very soon find out that we are truly
pope, Father of the Church, not father of the family; that, vicar of
Christ as we are, we shall act as we deem best for Christendom, and not
as you deem best for your own private good. And now that we have come to
a thorough understanding, Caesar, receive our pontifical blessing." And
with these words, Alexander VI rose up, laid his hands upon his
son's head, for Caesar was still kneeling, and then retired into his
apartments, without inviting him to follow.

The young man remained awhile stupefied at this discourse, so utterly
unexpected, so utterly destructive at one fell blow to his most
cherished hopes. He rose giddy and staggering like a drunken man, and at
once leaving the Vatican, hurried to his mother, whom he had forgotten
before, but sought now in his despair. Rosa Vanozza possessed all the
vices and all the virtues of a Spanish courtesan; her devotion to
the Virgin amounted to superstition, her fondness for her children to
weakness, and her love for Roderigo to sensuality. In the depth of her
heart she relied on the influence she had been able to exercise over him
for nearly thirty years; and like a snake, she knew haw to envelop him
in her coils when the fascination of her glance had lost its power. Rosa
knew of old the profound hypocrisy of her lover, and thus she was in no
difficulty about reassuring Caesar.

Lucrezia was with her mother when Caesar arrived; the two young people
exchanged a lover-like kiss beneath her very eyes: and before he left
Caesar had made an appointment for the same evening with Lucrezia, who
was now living apart from her husband, to whom Roderigo paid a pension
in her palace of the Via del Pelegrino, opposite the Campo dei Fiori,
and there enjoying perfect liberty.

In the evening, at the hour fixed, Caesar appeared at Lucrezia's; but
he found there his brother Francesco. The two young men had never
been friends. Still, as their tastes were very different, hatred with
Francesco was