needed help and that poor lad, that Buvat, almost died of fear on seeing blood.'
'I know, forgive me, but I have an excellent piece of news,' said I, wishing to inform her of the agreement I had reached with Atto concerning the dowry for our little girls.
'Forget it, you will tell me later. Now let us put on our costumes, I would not miss seeing the bride for anything in the world.'
We retainers and servants of the Villa Spada had indeed been permitted by the Major-Domo, Don Paschatio Melchiorri, to attend the wedding, but attired in peasants' fine festive costumes specially made up for us. Thus, we would provide a rustic setting for the celebration of the nuptials, in perfect harmony with our rural setting.
I arrived first. Cloridia stayed behind to wait for our two little lasses whom she had allowed to join us for the occasion so that they too would get a brief glimpse of the spouses.
When I arrived at the little chapel, the wedding ceremony had already been underway for quite some time. Don Tibaldu- tio was about to launch into the homily. They were all gathered together in the sacristy, where the wedding proper traditionally took place, the men behind the bridegroom, the women behind the bride. Don Tibaldutio began:
'We are gathered here, most illustrious and excellent signories, to celebrate a union. And union is the greatest treasure of human life. That, I shall shortly demonstrate to you. Four are the things which preserve the states of the world above all else. The first of these is religion. And, as we can readily observe, where there is no religion, there is no fear of God, and no justice. And where there is no justice, there is no peace. And where there's no peace, there is no union. And where there is no union, there can be no true state. Surely from this we can see how important is religion and a proper fear of Almighty God, upon whom all our actions depend. For such is His divine goodness that He gives us being and well-being in this world and, in the next, eternal rest. The second thing in order of importance is justice, whereby the wicked and villainous are punished and the good rewarded. And, by means of justice, the peace is preserved: something most necessary for the preservation of states. The third thing is peace itself, without which states could not endure: for where there is no peace, there is no union. The fourth and last thing, and the most important of all, is therefore union itself, without which religion would be weak, justice perturbed and peace unenforceable. Wherefore, if there's no union in the state, religion will be little practised, justice will sleep and the peace will fall apart.'
While the sermon continued, I observed the spouses. From where I stood, I could, however, see very little of the bride's wedding gown and headdress. From time to time, I would cast a glance in the direction of the maidservants among whom I was expecting to see my Cloridia; and very soon she did indeed appear, bringing our two little ones with her. My spouse was lovelier than ever in her hymeneal white, red and gold peasant's costume. Nor were my daughters less lovely: they were both perfectly attired in costumes specially sewn for them by their mother: the elder in a reversible yellow gown with sleeves of pink damask embroidered with false gold thread, and the little one with a flesh-coloured mocaiale garnished with dark blue trimmings. In their hands they held little twigs covered in white flowers which were to be joyfully waved at the end of the ceremony by them and the other female servants of the Villa Spada in the retinue of the bride.
'Where there is no union,' declared the chaplain, fervently, 'there reigns enmity, the cause of all ruination in the world, as I shall now prove with the authority of ancient history. The first enmity that ever was took place in heaven between the Greatest Good and Lucifer; the second, between Adam and the serpent; the third, between Cain and Abel; the fourth, between Joseph and his brothers; the fifth, between Pompey and Caesar; the sixth between Alexander and Darius; the seventh, between Mark Antony and Caesar Augustus: all of which examples of enmity were the cause of the most dreadful ruin. Union is therefore the greatest fortress and treasure of human life, and preserves all the world's states. But, how is this union to be attained? The philosopher opined that husband and wife must correspond to one another in body, in other words that they must experience a mutual physical attraction; and that produces infinite and most beautiful effects. It is also, however, true that there must be correspondence between souls, whereupon the most excellent fruits will be produced.'
I noticed of a sudden that Cloridia and her friends were chattering most intensely among themselves and, with their hands before their mouths, struggling hard to restrain their laughter. I was able to understand the cause of this a little later, when the bride turned briefly in my direction and I was able momentarily to catch sight of her features: Maria Pulcheria Rocci was, despite her name, hardly a model of pulchritude; to be more precise, she was indeed rather ugly.
'It was not by chance that the ancients were accustomed to light five lamps when celebrating nuptials,' continued the chaplain, 'as they held it for certain that the figure three, an uneven number, symbolised the spiritual form, and even numbers, like two, the material. Matrimony must, in short, involve a congruous connubial blending of form and matter, in which man, a being spiritual and active, and woman, who is passive and material, can be recognised. Indeed, the ancients, when conducting ceremonies matrimonial, would traditionally make the man touch fire and the woman, water, signifying that fire illumines and water receives the light; but also that fire by its nature purges and water cleanses, so that from this custom we may also infer something more, namely that matrimony must be clear, pure, chaste and celebrated between similar beings.'
Olive pockmarked skin, lips so fine as to seem non-existent, cheeks swollen and pallid, a low forehead, small lustreless eyes: all these things gave Maria Pulcheria Rocci the profile and colouring of a turbot.
Don Tibaldutio's reference to mutual physical attraction could hardly have been less opportune, I thought with some mirth; but the laughter died in my throat when an inner voice reminded me that I, with my stature, could hardly be accounted an Adonis…
My vague gaze wandered towards Cloridia. For a long time I dwelt on her lovely image: skin with the sweetness of violets; sacred, gently smiling spouse and mother. Yet, she had chosen me, and had chosen freely. The same could hardly be said of the bridegroom, Clemente Spada: the reasons which had led him at last to wed the unlovely Rocci maiden must have been founded upon considerations far more prosaic than those which had first so adventurously and tenderly united Cloridia and myself.
'Matrimony must be approached with love,' Don Tibaldutio warned at last, becoming aware of some yawning among the illustrious congregation, 'nor must the laws and customs ordered by our Holy Mother the Catholic Christian Church in anyway be contravened. Marriage must be held indissoluble and conserved with faith, as a sacrament. Above all, the use of matrimony must be to procreate and to avoid the sin of incontinence. Whosoever has any other view thereof does not deserve to be accounted a Christian.'
After the long sermon with which the chaplain greeted the spouses, the nuptial rite was at last celebrated.
'The ring on the finger, the necklace on the bosom, the crown on the head,' Don Tibaldutio recited solemnly, while some maids of honour placed the three objects on the spouses' bench for the blessing. 'The ring denotes the purity of the act, just as giving one's hand bears witness to the limpidity of the spouse's faith. The necklace manifests sincerity of heart; and the crown, clarity of mind, for in the head dwells the perspicacity of the intellect.'
It was then, during Don Tibaldutio's blessing that I saw him: resplendent and coruscating among the two- headed eagles of the imperial banners, attired rigorously in the Spanish style as a mark of his fidelity to the House of Habsburg, the Count von Lamberg, Imperial Ambassador to the pontifical court, was following the ceremony with severe faith and the profile of a sphinx. I sought Atto with my eyes and at once I found him: his forehead showing pearls of perspiration, a face covered with an over-generous coating of ceruse and cheeks shining with carmine red, beribboned ad absurdum with tassels and fringes of yellow and red (his favourite colours). Abbot Melani's tense, inquisitive gaze did not leave von Lamberg for one moment. The Ambassador, meanwhile, far more severely adorned in lead-coloured brocade with rigid silver lace trimmings, showed no sign of being aware of the spasmodic attention focused upon his person and stared indifferently in the direction of the chaplain. My mind moved to those mysterious deaths at the Spanish court and the suspicion of poisoning that hung over his party and to Maria Mancini's fears for Atto's life. The Abbot had written of his intention to confront the Ambassador face to face. Would von Lamberg grant him an audience?
Dismissed with the swarm of other retainers at the end of the nuptial ceremony, I saw my consort coming towards me with our two little girls skipping around her, like Diana surrounded by her nymphs. With their flowering branches they had been part of the festive procession that accompanied the bride towards her new married life and they were still overexcited by the honour bestowed upon them. The orchestra accompanied the exodus of guests with a sublime melodic paean by Maestro Corelli, a most sweet counterpart to Don Tibaldutio's homily.
Cloridia, who had to go and take a look at the Princess of Forano's infant, left me the task of feeding our two
