ENTRY OF THE BRIDE 343 was as far as possible repaired. But the entry of the Duke and his bride was put off, and did not take place until the 16th of November. The Duchess had been seriously unwell, and the ceremony of her reception was considerably curtailed in consequence.1 The Duke of Milan, who had been invited to assist at the festivities, remained at Vigevano, and Isabella alone, surrounded by her faithful subjects, welcomed Federico's bride to the splendid home where her coming had been long and anxiously expected. 1 M. Sanuto, lvi. 158. CHAPTER XLI 1531-1536 Isabella at Venice-Death of Margherita Cantelma-Marriage of Ferrante Gonzaga-Duchess Margherita Paleologa-Ariosto and Bernardo Tasso send the Marchesa their poems-Visit of the Emperor Charles V. to Mantua-Marriage and death of the Marquis of Monferrato-His State annexed to Mantua— Birth of a son to Duke Federico-Titian paints Isabella's portrait from the original by Francia. THE marriage of her eldest son was the last occasion on which Isabella took any active part in public affairs. Her vigorous frame began to show signs of decay, and she became slowly conscious of advancing age. In August 1581, she made her will,1 and in the following spring, besides taking her usual trip to Venice, visited the baths of Albano for the good of her health. On the 22nd of May, the Marchesa lost one of her oldest friends, Margherita, the widow of Sigismondo Cantelmo, Duke of Sora, who had spent the last years of her life at Mantua. This lady bequeathed a considerable fortune to Isabella, begging her to found a convent of canonesses for the help of poor ladies of rank, and to erect a monument in memory of Sigismondo and his sons in the church of S. Maria della Presentazione. Both of Margherita's last wishes were faithfully carried out, and the imposing tomb of the Cantelmi, which 1 Luzio e Renier, Mantova, p. 282. • D'Arco, Notizie d'Isabella, p. 221. MARGHERITA CANTELMA'S DEATH 345 was executed from Giulio Romano's designs in 1534, is still preserved in a chapel of S. Andrea. These two objects naturally absorbed the greater part of the fortune which Isabella inherited from her dead friend, and she was justly annoyed when her son Ferrante wrote to beg for an advance of money, on the strength of this large legacy. "If I did not see," she replied, "that you evidently share the popular fallacy that Signora Cantelma's bequest has greatly enriched me, I should be extremely surprised at your boldness in daring to ask me for 3000 ducats. You know that it has never been my habit to hoard money, although certainly, if report spoke true, I should have no difficulty in satisfying you!"1 Ferrante had always been the most extravagant of Isabella's sons, and the most unscrupulous in his demands upon his mother's purse. But, he had lately married the wealthy heiress Isabella of Capua and had bought the principality of Guastalla, to the south of Mantua, from the Torelli family, so that Isabella felt justified in resisting his importunities on this occasion. Both her sons' marriages, however, turned out happily, and Isabella became fondly attached to her daughter-in-law, Margherita Paleologa. This gentle and virtuous princess, without possessing any remarkable talents or making herself in any way conspicuous, soon won the love of her husband and subjects. In the first years of her married life the young Duchess suffered from the insolence and hatred of Isabella Boschetti, who still retained, in a measure, her hold upon Federico. But before long this old intrigue ended in a tragic manner. It was reported in Mantua 1 Luzio in Nuova Antologia, 1896. 346 THE ORLANDO FURIOSO that the Duke's mother-in-law, the Marchesa Anna, indignant at the slights which her daughter received, had tried to poison Federico's mistress. Upon this, her husband, Francesco Gonzaga, entered into a conspiracy against the Duke, and was betrayed and put to death at Ferrara.1 In the autumn of 1531, the Marchesa went back to Venice, and while she was staying there her old friend Ariosto sent her a copy of the third edition of his Orlando Furioso. When her son Ferrante was born, in 1507, the poet had read her some cantos from his unpublished poem, and when the epic was first printed, in 1516, he came to Mantua in person and offered her the first copy. Now he gave her this new edition, containing the famous passage in honour of the house of Este, and the following lines in her praise : "D'opere illustre e di bei studi amica Ch'io non so ben se più leggiadra e bella, Per l'avvenir vo che ciascuna ch'aggia, The Marchesa replied on the 15th of October in the following cordial terms: "Your book of Orlando Furioso, which you have sent me, is most welcome in all respects, and most of all, since, as you 1 G. B. Intra in Arch, St. Lomb., 1887. * Cantos xlii., xiii. 59 and xxix. 26. DEATH OF ARIOSTO your 347 tell me, you have newly revised and enlarged it. I shall no doubt find new pleasure and delight in reading the poem. I thank you, more than I can express, for kind allusions to me, and you may be quite sure that I shall always be ready to serve you, whenever an occasion presents itself, because of the great affection and admiration which I have always felt for your rare talents, which are indeed deserving of the highest favour. So, from my heart, I place myself wholly at your disposal.”1 Isabella was as good as her word, and when, a fortnight later, Charles V. again visited Mantua, Ariosto was invited to meet him, and presented His Cæsarean Majesty with a copy of his Orlando. Seven months later, the great poet died, on the 6th of July 1533, and Girolamo da Sestola informed the Marchesa of his death. "Yesterday, at seven o'clock in the evening, our Messer Lodovico Ariosto died. He is certainly a very great loss. May God receive him!" 2 Isabella replied a week later in a warm letter, full of regret and affection. "All Ferrara," she writes, "must weep for him, since we have lost in him not only a gentleman who was full of goodness, but one whose rare and excellent talents made him the greatest ornament of our country." Another old friend, Bernardo Tasso, the author of the Amadigi, sent Isabella a copy of his poems, entitled Il Libro degli Amori, on the 5th of December 1531, with the following graceful epistle: "I should care little for the small praise or blame these verses may bring me, were they not submitted to the judgment of Your Excellency, which is perfect in 1 D'Arco, op. cit., p. 324. 2 Luzio in Giorn. St. d. Lett., 1900. |