[Illustration: The History and Romance of Crime FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY colophon THE GROLIER SOCIETY LONDON] [Illustration: _Alexander VI and Machiavelli_ _From the painting by Francesco Iacovacci In the National Gallery, Rome_ The distinguished author Machiavelli holding conversation with Pope Alexander VI, in whose reign a contemporary writer says: “There is nothing so wicked or so criminal as not to be done publicly at Rome.” Machiavelli was imprisoned and put to the torture in 1513, but was released and seems to have escaped the fate of many. Alexander VI died by poison, which he and his son Cesare Borgia had prepared for a cardinal, who was invited to dine with them in their garden. ] Italian Prisons ST. ANGELO--THE PIOMBI--THE VICARIA PRISONS OF THE ROMAN INQUISITION _by_ MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS _Late Inspector of Prisons in Great Britain_ _Author of “The Mysteries of Police and Crime,” “Fifty Years of Public Service,” etc._ [Illustration: colophon] THE GROLIER SOCIETY EDITION NATIONALE Limited to one thousand registered and numbered sets. NUMBER 307 INTRODUCTION