love with the man who was to be the worst of all the French kings. But he was only twenty-three years old then, he was half a Medici by blood, and all of one by his passionate nature. Veronica loved him with all her heart, and amidst all the evil he did there was at least one good result, for when he was gone she would not be consoled, nor would she ever look on another man, but mended her life and lived in a retirement to which she sought to attract other penitent women. She had a picture of the King painted, and no doubt he was vividly present in her thoughts when she wrote the following sonnet, which is attributed to her, and which I do into prose for greater accuracy:-- Begone, deceiving thoughts and empty hope, Greedy and blind desires, and bitter cravings, Begone, ye burning sighs and bitter woes, Companions ever of my unending pain. Go memories sweet, go galling chains, Of a heart that is loosed from you at last, That gathers up again the rein of reason, Dropped for a while, and now goes forth in freedom. And thou, my soul, entangled in so many sorrows, Unbind thyself and to thy divine Lord Rejoicing turn thy thoughts; Now bravely force thy fate, Break through thy bonds; then, glad and free, Direct thy steps in the securer way! In order to give my readers some idea of what was done to furnish the Palazzo Foscari for Henry’s visit, I quote some items of the expenditure from the _Souvenirs_ of Armand Baschet:-- ‘Crimson silk and gold hangings, fifty-eight pieces making three hundred and seven braccia and a half at a ducat for each braccio and twelve inches. White silk and silver stuff; shot-silk and silver stuff; white satin with gold lines, etc. Cushions of brocade embroidered with gold and of blue velvet with gold and fringes etc. at forty ducats each. A bed quilt with gold lines and scarlet checks, twenty ducats. Yellow damask with little checks at one ducat the braccio. A rep rug of gold edged with blue velvet and lined with red silk, sixty ducats. A tablecloth of silver and gold brocade with white and gold fringe, thirty-four ducats. Green and blue velvet for the floor, at one ducat the braccio. Complete hangings for a room of yellow satin with gold and silver fringe and gold lace, over seven hundred and thirty ducats.’ Further, we find for the royal gondolas the following items:-- ‘Felse of scarlet satin, one hundred and fifty-six ducats. A boat’s carpet of violet Alexandria velvet; a felse of the same velvet lined with silk, fifty-five ducats. Another velvet carpet of the same colour, two canopies, one of violet satin fringed and embroidered with gold, the other of white satin, and two cushions of scarlet satin and gold.’