“It hath escaped the author—as it hath indeed all mankind—that as the first syllable of Fortuna is _fort_ (Latin _fortis_), so the true beginning of luck is strength; and if we are to understand by _una_, ‘one’ or ‘only,’ we may even believe that the name means strength alone or vigorous will, in accordance with which the ancients declared that ‘Fortune favours the bold,’ and also _Fortuna contentionis studiosa est_—‘Fortune delights in strife.’ Therefore she is ever fleeting in this world. _Fortuna simul cum moribus immutatur_, as Boethius hath it.” THE STORY OF THE UNFINISHED PALACE A LEGEND OF THE VIA DEL PROCONSOLO “‘Yes, you have cheated me,’ howled the devil to the architect. ‘But I lay a curse upon your work. It shall never be finished.’”—_Snow and Planche’s_ “_Legends of the Rhine_.” All great and ancient buildings which were never finished have a legend referring to their incompleteness. There was one relative to the Cathedral of Cologne, which may be found in Planche’s “Legends of the Rhine,” and as there is a _palazzo non finito_ in Florence, I at once scented an old story; nor was I disappointed, it being unearthed in due time, and written out for me as follows: IL PALAZZO NON FINITO. “On the corner of the Via del Proconsole and the Borgo degli Albizzi there is an unfinished palace. “The great Signore Alessandro Strozzi had a friend who, when dying, confided to him the care of his only son. And it was a troublesome task, for the youth was of a strange temper. And a vast property was left to the young man, his father imploring him not to waste it, and to live in friendship with his guardian. “But his father had hardly closed his eyes in death before this youth began to act wildly, and above all things to gamble terribly. And as the saying is, _Il diavolo ha parte in ogni giuoco_—‘The devil has a hand in every game,’ so he soon brought himself into company with the gamester. Now, as you have heard, ’tis _la lingua o la bocca e quella che fa il giuoco_. “‘Every game, as it is sung, Is won by mouth, or else by tongue.’ “So this devil or imp by smooth talk succeeded in deceiving the young heir, and leading him into a compact by which he was to achieve for the Signore all the work which might be required of him for a hundred years, no matter what it was, and then the heir must forfeit his soul. “For some time the young man was satisfied with always winning at gambling. Yes, he ruined scores, hundreds, and piled up gold till he got sick of the sight of cards. You know the saying, ‘When the belly is full the eyes are tired,’ and ‘A crammed dove hates to fly.’