wipe out the infamy of the one who is dead, may petition that the
court go on to give an opinion, and that it be declared that the dead
one had not committed crime." And he affirms the same under the
following number.

And indeed this is not without manifest reason. For just as the Fisc
may go further in the investigation of a crime that had been
perpetrated during the lifetime of the one now dead, even for the
purpose of damning his memory [Citations], likewise it cannot be
denied by the principal himself, as the beneficiary heir and successor
of the same Pompilia and Pietro Comparini, that inasmuch as her
innocence is evident he may insist upon carrying away a sentence of
absolution; for in other cases any one at all may have a chance to
defend one who is dead. [Citations.]

And to delay such a judgment it is not right that the flight again be
alleged, which the said Pompilia made in the company of Canon
Caponsacchi, with whom she was arrested at the inn of Castelnuovo. For
to remove that charge it is quite enough for one to allege the
judgment of this Most Illustrious Congregation, given under the date
of February 18, last past, against Guido Franceschini, because of
which he was publicly put to death on the twenty-second day following,
notwithstanding the fact that, to avoid the penalty of wife-murder, he
insisted solely upon the asserted adultery, which he claimed had
resulted from the aforesaid flight from home. All suspicion whatsoever
of her dishonesty ceases because of the defences then made and
because, in the very prosecution, there was apparent a very just
reason, on account of which the wretched wife attempted to flee thus
from the home of her husband. Nor was it for the purpose of satisfying
lust with the asserted lover, but that she might go back to her own
hearth, and there, with her parents, might live a safe and honest
life. This cause is very plainly proved by the notorious quarrels
which arose on account of the poverty of the domestic establishment
immediately after her arrival at the City of Arezzo along with Pietro
and Violante Comparini in execution of the agreement included in the
marriage-contract. And on account of this poverty the Comparini were
obliged, after a few months, to go back to the City, with no small
bitterness on account of the deception which they had detected. This
is evident from the letters of Abate Paolo Franceschini, which
presuppose these complaints that resulted from the said deception, and
especially from the letter written March 6, 1694: "I write again to
you that I do not wish to imitate him in his manner of writing, not
being of his mind to sow broadcast in my letters such words as would
well merit response by deeds, and not by words. And these are so
offensive that I have kept them for his reproof and mortification."
And further on: "So that if you give trouble, which I will never
believe, you yourself will not be exempt therefrom." It is also
evident from the letters given in my past information, and especially
in § _Videns igitur_, with the one following. And although this does
not show the nature of the altercation, yet, since Abate Paolo has not
shown the letters written to himself, the presumption presses upon him
very strongly that the complaints were just and that the cause of
their quarrels and altercations was well founded. [Citations.]

It is also true that a very bitter lawsuit was brought by Pietro
Comparini for the nullification of the dowry contract and for the
proof of the pretence of birth, which had been made by Violante, the
mother, both to deceive her husband and to bar his creditors, who were
pressing him hard at the time. And since the dowry included all the
property and the entire patrimony of Comparini, which was of no small
value when we consider the rank of the persons concerned, controversy
had indeed been raised for a considerable amount by the father-in-law.
And this, as experience teaches from time to time, is accustomed to
bring forth implacable hatred and deadly enmity. [Citations.] It
produced indeed such an effect for this unfortunate wife, so that the
love of her husband, which had long been disturbed by the preceding
altercations, was finally quite extinct. And this was so to such an
extent that she often found herself exposed to deadly peril because of
the severity of her husband, who at times pursued her with abuse, and
again even with a pistol. And it cannot be questioned that such perils
are quite suited to strike fear even into any hardy man. [Citations.]
Hence it can be much more affirmed of Francesca Pompilia, a girl of
tender age, who was destitute of all aid, and away from her own home
and her parents. [Citations.] And Mogolon [Citation] declares that the
mere sight of arms, even if the one who has them does not use them nor
unsheath them, is just cause for fear; and in § 7, _No._ 15, he
considers the absence of relatives as a ground for fear. And D.
Rainaldi [Citation] says that it is enough if one sees signs or acts
of manifest desire, or such as are preparatory.

Therefore, since so many very relevant circumstances concur, on
account of which Pompilia was moved to desert her husband's bed by
flight, all suspicion whatsoever of dishonesty and of violated
conjugal faith is utterly removed. For whenever we have two causes,
one of which is lawful and permissible, while the other is iniquitous
and abominable, the former is to be fully received, and thereby the
charge of crime is quite excluded. [Citations.] [And this is true] in
spite of the fact that this lawful cause may seem to be excluded
[first] by the letter written by Francesca Pompilia to Abate Paolo.
For in the letter, after she had thanked Abate Paolo because he had
joined her in marriage with his brother, pretence is made that her
parents gave her the depraved counsel to destroy the entire home and
to go back to the City with her lover; [it also makes pretence] that
since their departure she was enjoying a quiet and tranquil life.
[Second] from the company of the Canon Giuseppe Caponsacchi, with whom
she had fled; because of which he was banished to Civita Vecchia for
three years.

For however it may be with the asserted letter, whether it is
substantiated or not, and whether or not the qualification should be
considered probable, which is added in her sworn testimony by the same
Pompilia, namely that her husband had marked the characters and she
had blackened them with ink by tracing them with a pen, because she
herself did not know how to write; yet it is certain that if the
letter be read attentively it will be absolutely impossible to assert
that she had written it with a calm mind. For who can be found so
unmindful of filial love and duty toward parents as to persuade
himself that this tender girl could have laid upon her parents such
detestable crimes? Because at the time she was not more than fourteen
years old, according to the certificate of baptism given in the
Summary of the Fisc, in the second setting forth of the cause, No. 2.
And she was away from her own home and still grieving for the very
recent departure of her parents, and was badly treated in the home of
her husband, as is clearly shown by the continual complaints and
recourse made not merely to the most reverend Bishop, but also to the
Lord-Commissioner of the city. Nor is it probable that she would have
informed her brother-in-law, who was so very unsympathetic toward her,
of these matters unless, as she has frankly confessed in her sworn
examination, she was compelled thereto by her husband. Nor without
very evident peril of death could she show any reluctance to him
because of his excessive severity, which she had very often felt
before. And as this improbability is well suited to strike horror into
those who read it, so likewise it very well shows that the letter was
not written voluntarily, but under compulsion. [Citations.] Caballus
asserts that what no sane mind would approve is inadmissible.
[Citation.] And indeed such excessive cunning in extorting the said
letter from the wife plainly proves Guido's craft, and the fact that
the letter was obtained by false pretence, in order that he might
quiet the mind of the same Abate, his brother. For the latter had been
harassed by continual complaints on account of ill treatment of the
wife, and had not ceased to criticise Guido daily for them.
[Citation.]

As to her association with Canon Caponsacchi, this likewise does not
seem enough to establish the blot of dishonour. For the most wretched
wife was utterly destitute of all earthly aid and had vainly entreated
the authority of the most reverend Bishop, and of the Lord-Comissioner,
to free her from deadly peril; and on account of her age and sex it
was not suitable that she should flee alone or in the company of some
low-born serving-woman, for in that way she would carelessly expose
herself to graver peril, as might have happened to her if she had been
overtaken while alone on the journey. For then it could be said of
her: "She fell upon Scylla while trying to avoid Charybdis." Therefore
we should not be surprised if she took the aforesaid Canon as a
companion. For he had been proposed to her by both Canon Conti and
Gregorio Guillichini, who were related to Pompilia's husband. And it
is utterly incredible that they would have consented to such a flight
if they had not known it was quite necessary to evade the peril of
death, which they very well knew was threatening the luckless wife,
and if they had not had strong faith in the honesty and integrity of
her companion. Therefore, as such a necessity was pressing so hard
upon her, her prudent choice of the lesser evil eliminates any shadow
whatsoever of her pretended dishonesty. [Citations.]

[This is especially true when we] consider the manner in which the
flight was executed, by taking the most direct road to the City with
the utmost possible speed. And it very well shows that the sole motive
was to save her life, and not to debase herself by licentious
delights. For if this latter had indeed been the principal cause, she
would not have gone to Rome by the shortest road, where she might
immediately be taken by her brother-in-law and her parents, but would
have gone to some more distant regions, or else she would not have
gone with such swiftness, but would have delayed out of the public
highway, and in a place where her husband could not find her, and
where she could fulfil to satiety her lust.

This utter improbability therefore very well shows the truth of the
cause for flight adduced by the wife in her sworn testimony--namely
that she had gone swiftly to the City in order that she might there
place her life and honour in safety in the home of her parents. For
just as the strongest sentence of blame may arise from mere
probability, so likewise no less presumption of innocence should arise
from this improbability. [Citations.]

And this is strongly urged by the frank protestation made in the very
act of arrest at the inn of Castelnuovo to the husband himself by the
Canon, who rebuked him concerning this flight: "I am a gallant man,
and what I have done, I have done to free your wife from the peril of
death." So testifies Jacopo, son of the former Simon, a witness for
the Fisc, in the prosecution for flight (page 50). And an example was
offered by me in my allegation as regards that flight, namely that of
Scipio Africanus. For when the beautiful young wife of Aleucius, the
chief of the Celtiberi, had been captured by Scipio's soldiers, he
said in restoring her to her husband: "Your wife has been with me as
she would be with her own parents. Her virtue has been preserved for
you so that she can be given back to you again, a gift unviolated and
worthy of me and you." Titus Livius bears witness to this in his
_Histories_, book 26, and page 493 in my volume.

And although it may be very difficult for a beautiful woman to
preserve the decorum of her honour while journeying in the company of
a young lover, yet it is not utterly impossible, as the examples seem
to show, which were related in my allegation, § _Quidqud dicat_. And
to these I add that of Penelope, of whom Ovid sings in book 3 of his
elegies [_Amores_, III., 4, 23]: "Although she lacked a guard,
Penelope continued chaste among so many suitors."

And this is especially true since neither the journey nor the company
of the Canon were voluntary, but were merely for the purpose of
avoiding the peril of death. And since such necessity was present, the
presumption drawn from Ovid's _Ars Amandi_ is rendered still further
inapplicable, namely that "From a passionate young man, can she be
believed to have returned a virgin?" [_Heroides_, 5, 129.]

Nor do the letters which were found in the closet of the inn at
Castelnuovo seem to stand in the way and hinder the sentence
petitioned, and impose a blot of infamy upon Francesca Pompilia. It is
claimed that these were written by her to the Canon on account of the
very devoted love with which she was pursuing him. But the exceptions
and responses made in the past informations hold good. The first is
that they were not acknowledged by her, nor was the identity of the
handwriting proved; and some uncertainty is still present, since it is
not evident to whom they were directed; nor would it be improbable
that they might have been framed by the husband. For he was present at
the capture and search, and hoped, indeed, that therefrom might result
more readily the fixing of the crime of adultery. And he insisted very
strongly upon this, in order that he might gain the desired dowry and
lucre. This mere possibility to the contrary is enough to avoid the
proof, which it is claimed may be drawn from them. [Citations.]

The second response is that, even though such exceptions as the above
might not hold good, yet no proof of violated conjugal faith and of
dishonour can be drawn from these letters. For even though proof of
adultery may result from love-letters, it is utterly excluded in our
case when we see that they were directed to a licit end, namely toward
soliciting the Canon that he might afford her aid in her flight and
that she might avoid deadly peril. For then, just as the end is
permissible, so should the means also be considered lawful and
permissible, even though suspicion is not lacking; for these should be
considered, not in themselves, but on account of their end.
[Citations.] But indeed, unless from the love-letters themselves there
result an implicit confession of fornication, proof of adultery cannot
be drawn from them. [Citations.]

It should be specially noted that she had very strong confidence in
her own continence and in the integrity of the Canon. And she trusted
him much, and hoped that he would conduct himself modestly during the
journey, since it is evident from these same letters that she had
found fault with him for his freedom once: "And I marvel, that you who
have been so chaste, have composed and copied matters that are so
dishonourable." And further on: "But I would not have you do in any
case as you have done in these books. The first of them is honourable,
but the other octaves are quite the contrary. I cannot believe that
you, who have been of such honour, have become so bold." For such
sincere objurgation and the very tenor of the letters in which no
dishonesty is read, clearly show and declare the spirit of Pompilia,
who wrote them. For just as words are to be understood according to
the thought of the one proffering them, so likewise should letters be
interpreted according to the intention of the one writing them.
[Citations.]

Since therefore the honour and modesty of Pompilia is vindicated from
the flight and the letters, of still lighter weight are the other
proofs of pretended dishonour. These are deduced from the approach of
the Canon to her home for the purpose of speaking to her; from the
insidious manner in which the flight was prepared and put into
execution, by means of an opiate administered to her husband and the
servants; from their mutual kisses on the journey; and from their
sleeping together at the inn of Castelnuovo. For beside the general
response that no conclusive proof is offered for all these, such as
would be necessary to establish Pompilia as guilty of adultery, there
is a separate response for each of them.

The entry and egress at night time into the home of Francesca rests
merely upon the deposition of a single witness, Maria Margherita
Contenti, who is under two very relevant exceptions: namely those of
singleness and of harlotry. Her word therefore can impose no blot of
infamy. [Citations.] And since such approach would tend toward the
single end of arranging for the flight and rescue of the unfortunate
wife from the very imminent peril of death, it should not be presumed
to be for an evil end. For when an express cause is plainly present,
to which a matter may be referred, and this cause is entirely lawful,
the matter should not be attributed to a cause that is illicit and
criminal. [Citation.]

The insidious manner, also, whereby Francesca Pompilia put into
execution the flight, by preparing an opiate for her husband and all
the household (aside from the fact that it is not proved), would
afford proof of sagacity rather than of dishonour, even if it were
proved. For the wife would have been very foolish if she had attempted
flight without such a precaution.

Under the same lack of proof labours the asserted mutual kissing
during the journey; for that proof is entirely too slight, which is
pretended to result from the deposition of a single witness of the
lowest class. Especially since his word is shown to be too much
prejudiced; for he swears that, while he was driving the carriage
swiftly at night time, he saw Francesca Pompilia and the Canon kissing
each other. Nor does he give any reason, as that the moon was shining,
or that some artificial light was present to dispel the darkness.
Inasmuch as such a detail is necessary in a witness who is testifying
about a deed at night time, its omission takes away all confidence in
him. [Citations.] For there is to be added another very strong
improbability, namely that, while he was driving the carriage with
such velocity that it seemed to fly rather than to run, he could see
their mutual kissing by looking backward. Still more is this
improbability increased by the very word of this same witness, since
he swears that he had driven Pompilia without knowing that it was she,
until afterward returning to Arezzo, he had met Guido Franceschini,
her husband, following her. Because if he had seen her kiss, he would
have recognised her straightway, since he had often seen her before
and she was well known to him. And therefore it should be absolutely
declared that, either influenced by the tedium of his secret prison,
he had been compelled to swear so, or, as is more probable, since on
account of the very great speed of the carriage the bumping together
of those seated therein might chance, he had believed that this chance
jostling of their heads and faces was for the base purpose of kissing.
Hence the proof arising from his deposition was justly held in
contempt in the prosecution for flight. And it would have been
considered if it had had any probability.

Finally the proof of dishonour drawn from the asserted sleeping
together in the same tavern at Castelnuovo is far weaker, since it was
constantly denied by both Pompilia and Caponsacchi in their testimony.
And only a single witness, the house-man of the same tavern, swears to
it; and this also not from certain knowledge, but presumptively,
because they had asked him for a room with a single bed. Canon
Caponsacchi frankly confesses why he had ordered that only a single
bed should be prepared--namely that Francesca Pompilia, who was worn
out because of ill-health and the discomfort of their precipitate
journey, might rest a little, while he himself kept guard. Such an act
should not be assigned to an illicit cause, as Cravetta [Citation]
advises in such circumstances. And in No. 15, he says that
interpretation should always incline to the humaner side, even when
the rigorous side may seem the more likely. And the same author
continues thus in _Nos._ 20 _and_ 21. For it would not suffice as a
full proof of adultery that any one be found alone and naked with her
alone and naked, and that a young man be found unclothed and with
shoes off in a closed chamber with a woman. Much less can such proof
arise from a very brief delay in the same chamber for the purpose of
keeping watch.

Very slightly does it stand in the way that Francesca Pompilia, in her
cross-examination, concealed this delay by asserting that she had
arrived at the tavern at dawn. For she was very well aware of the
credulousness of her husband, and possibly asserted this to avert
further suspicion of violated honour, which certainly might have
arisen if she had confessed that she had spent a longer time in the
tavern. As even if she had not denied such a stay, the confession
under circumstances that still argue for the preservation of her
modesty would not have been to her prejudice, so likewise the lie can
do no injury. [Citations.]

But all suspicion of pretended dishonour is quite eliminated by the
assertion of the most unfortunate woman, which was made in the very
face of death, after many severe wounds had been inflicted upon her by
her husband. [For she declared that] she had never sinned against her
marriage vow, as is very evident from the numerous depositions of
religious men, who ministered to her in death. They assert that they
heard her continually praying that she might be given no forgiveness
by the Divine Clemency for such a sin. This assertion made in the very
face of death, deserves all faith, since no one placed in that
condition is presumed to be so unmindful of eternal safety as to be
willing to lie. [Citations.]

Finally, no foundation for accusing the memory of Francesca Pompilia
of dishonesty can be established upon the asserted decree of this most
Illustrious Congregation, by whom Canon Caponsacchi was condemned to
three years' banishment in Civita Vecchia, with a statement made of
his running away and criminal knowledge of Francesca Pompilia. For, as
the Fisc himself admits, there was demanded by me, though not _in
extenso_, the modification of that title by the honourable Judges,
with the approval of his Excellency the Governor. And therefore, in
the order for imprisonment, these words were suppressed and others
were put in their place: _Pro causa de qua in actis_.

All further difficulty is removed from the mere consideration that
such a decree had been issued, while no defences had been made for
Francesca Pompilia, and while she was still utterly without a hearing.
For she had not the slightest knowledge of it, since she had not been
notified. But in the decree for the assignment of the home as a
prison, only a cause relative to the trial was expressed. Hence it
could not injure her, since it was issued against a third party while
she herself had not been cited. [Citations.] And in the circumstances
that a sentence given against an adulterer can do no injury to the
adulteress when she has not been cited is the text. [Citations.] "If
he is condemned, the wife is not condemned thereby, but shall carry on
her own case." [Citation.]

This is especially true since we are not now contending to free the
husband from wife-murder, and to infer a just cause apart from belief
in the dishonour of the wife resulting from the said decree, and which
would excuse him from the penalty of the Cornelian law. In this case,
the changing of the said decree might possibly serve for an escape.
But we are contending about the damning of the memory of a woman now
dead, and about rescuing her and her family from infamy. And in the
latter case just as such a harsh decree could not injure her during
her lifetime, so likewise it cannot do her injury after her death.

     ANTONIO LAMPARELLI, _Procurator of Charity_.
     [in old writing.]

And according to the letter of Carolo Antonio Ugolinucci, May 17,
1698, I understand that the Criminal Court after two votes, decided on
absolution.

INSTRUMENT OF FINAL JUDGMENT

[PAMPHLET 18.]

Given for the restoration of the good name and reputation of Francesca
Pompilia, now dead; formerly the wife of Guido Franceschini of Arezzo,
now dead; for acquittal in favour of Domenico Tighetti, as an heir
beneficiary of the same Francesca Pompilia, from all disquietude, all
molestations, vexations, and perturbations, brought or threatened to
be brought by the Venerable Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene of the
Convertites in the Corso; together with the citations lawfully
executed in observation of the four terms to instruct themselves as to
the appeal and its legal prosecution, in order that the same sentence
might pass on, as it has passed on, to judgment, because no appeal has
been interposed.

     In the name of God, Amen.

September 9, 1698, under the sixth declaration in the eighth year of
the Pontificate of the Most Sacred Father in Christ, etc., Innocent
XII., Pope by Divine Providence. This is a copy, or transcript, of the
citations made by my own act, and written below, and of the sentence
rendered respectively of the following tenor, namely:

  The Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Governor in criminal matters:

Let the undernamed principals on the other side be cited, etc., to
appear in the Criminal Court to-morrow, which will be the nineteenth
day of the current month, at the accustomed hour of convening court,
lest it seem good that each and all the terms be repeated as ill
founded, and that they therefore are to be held and observed as null
and void in their force for any powers whatsoever, and lest the one so
insisting be freed from censures, so far as, etc., it be concluded, or
seem best to be concluded in the case, and that the final sentence be
heard in due form according to the aforesaid insistence by Domenico
Tighetti, heir-beneficiary of the former Francesca Pompilia, the wife
of the former Guido Franceschini, as principal, or, etc.

     NOTARY FOR THE POOR.

     The Most Illustrious Francesco de Gambi, Procurator General of
     the Fisc, and of the Reverend Apostolic Chamber.

     The Honourable Giovanni Maria Serbucci, Procurator and Manager
     of the lawsuit brought by the former Guido Franceschini.

     The Honourable Francesco Paracciani, Procurator of the
     Venerable Monastery Santa Maria Magdalena of the Convertites in
     the Corso.

Against the Procurator General of the Fisc, etc. He says that no
sentence can be given, unless in favour of the Fisc, and so far as,
etc., insists that he be granted delay for the purpose, and in the
meantime they cannot go on to any expediting of the cause, except for
reason given in full court, and by the vote of the Lords thereof, and
by testimony of the opposition in prison, and without citing all who
have interest, etc., this 18th day of August, 1698.

     FRANCESCO GAMBI, _Procurator General of the Fisc_.

I have made the above citation against the Fisc personally this day,
and against the others by copy, which was sent to their homes, this
August 18, 1698.

     BALATRESIUS.
     ALOYSIUS PICHIUS, _Substitute for the Fiscal General_.

     _August 19, 1698._

When he had made statement of fact, Antonio Lamparelli, Procurator,
presented his case and petitioned as above. Thereupon the Most
Illustrious and Most Excellent Lord, Marcus Antonius Venturinus,
J.V.D., who holds the judicial bench, for the Most Illustrious and
Most Reverend Governor of our dear City in criminal cases, gave
sentence, as in this schedule, which he has taken in his own hands,
has seen, read, and subscribed, and given and consigned to me as a
notary for publication of the following tenor, etc., in the presence
of Antonio Bernardino Piceno and Antonio Toparino of Caprarola,
witnesses, etc.

In favour of Domenico Tighetti, in the name, etc., against the Fisc
and those consorting with him in the suit.

In the name of Christ, whom we have invoked, we who sit for this
Tribunal, and who have only God before our eyes, give this as our
definitive sentence, which we offer in these writings by the advice of
those skilled in law, in the cause or causes which have been tried
before ourselves in the first place, or in the second, and which are
now being considered, between Domenico Tighetti, as heir-beneficiary
of the former Francesca Pompilia, wife of the former Guido
Franceschini of Arezzo, on the one part; and the Fisc and Giovanni
Maria Serbucci as Procurator and Manager of the lawsuit of the former
Guido Franceschini, and Francesco Paracciani, Procurator of the
Monastery of Santa Maria Magdalena of the Convertites in the Corso,
for all their rights and parts in that interest, on the other part;
concerning and upon the pretended adultery committed by the said
former Francesca Pompilia with Canon Giuseppe Maria Caponsacchi, and
as regards other matters in the conduct of the cause or causes of this
kind, more fully deduced, etc. By authority of the decree for the
remission of the case, which was made by the Most Illustrious and Most
Reverend Auditor S.S., by the acts of Pascasius, concerning which in
the conduct, etc., and for cause given in the Court, and by vote of
the same, we say, pronounce, declare, and finally adjudge from what
has been newly deduced, that _proof is not established as regards the
pretended adultery_, and therefore the memory of the same Francesca
Pompilia should be and is _entirely_ restored to her pristine good
name and reputation; and that the same Domenico Tighetti, in whose
name the above was deduced, should be and is absolved and liberated
from each and all disquietudes, molestations, vexations, and
perturbations brought, or threatened to be brought, by occasion of
these as on account of the statement of these we have restored,
absolved, and freed him, as above. And for this restitution and
absolution and freedom, we wish and command that it be held as law
that the suit or suits, of whatever nature, which have been brought
thereupon be abolished, as we abolish them. And we charge that
perpetual silence be imposed upon the Fisc and his consorts in the
suit. And we have thus spoken, pronounced, declared, and finally given
sentence, not only, etc.

I, Marcus Antonius Venturinus, who hold the judicial bench have so
pronounced.

Given on this 19th day of August, in the presence of Antonio
Bernardino Piceno, and Antonio Toparino of Caprarola, Witnesses, etc.

     By the Most Illustrious Governor of the City in criminal cases,
     or the Most Excellent Lord Venturini.

Let the undernamed be cited for learning the appeal, and its lawful
prosecution for the first time, at the aforesaid instance of Domenico
Tighetti, as principal heir-beneficiary of the aforesaid Francesca
Pompilia, formerly wife of Guido Franceschini:

     CHARITAS.

     The Honourable Giovanni Maria Serbucci, as Procurator and
     Manager of the legal proceedings of the said former Guido
     Franceschini, as principal on the other side.

     The Honourable Francesco Paracciani, the Procurator of the
     Venerable Monastery and Convent of St. Mary Magdalene of the
     Convertites in the Corso for all, etc.

I have made the said citation at his home, August 31, 1698.

     MOLINELLUS.

     _September 1, 1698._

When we had made statement of fact, R. D. Alexander Cassar, Substitute
Procurator of Charity, appeared, petitioned, and was granted, as
above.

     By the Most Illustrious Governor of the City in criminal causes,
     or by the Most Excellent Lord Venturini.

Let those named below be cited for learning of the appeal and its
legitimate prosecution this second time, at the aforesaid instance of
Domenico Tighetti, heir-beneficiary of the former Francesca Pompilia,
formerly wife of the former Guido Franceschini, principal, or, etc.

     CHARITAS.

     D. Giovanni Maria Serbucci, as Procurator and Manager of the
     lawsuit brought by the former Guido Franceschini, as the
     principal on the other side.

     D. Francesco Paracciani, Procurator on the other side for the
     Venerable Monastery and Convent of St. Mary Magdalene of the
     Convertites in the Corso, for all, etc.

September 1, 1698, I have made this.

     MOLINELLUS.

     By the Most Illustrious Governor in criminal causes, or by the
     Most Excellent Lord Venturini.

September 3. When he had made statement of fact, R. D. Alexander
Cassar, Substitute Procurator of the Poor, appeared, petitioned, and
was granted, as above.

Let those named below, be cited for learning of the appeal and its
lawful prosecution, this third time, at the aforesaid instance of
Domenico Tighetti, heir-beneficiary of the former Francesca Pompilia,
wife of the former Guido Franceschini, as principal, or, etc.

     CHARITAS.

     D. Giovanni Maria Serbucci, as Procurator and Manager of the
     lawsuit brought by the former Guido Franceschini, as principal
     on the other side.

     D. Francesco Paracciani, Procurator of the other side for the
     Venerable Monastery and Convent of Santa Maria Magdalena of the
     Convertites in the Corso, for all, etc.

I made this September 3, 1698.

     MOLINELLUS.

     SEPTEMBER 4, 1698.

When he had made statement of fact, R. D. Alexander Cassar, Substitute
Procurator of the Poor, appeared, petitioned, and was granted as
above.

    By the Governor in criminal causes, or the Most Excellent Lord
    Venturini.

Let those named below be cited for learning of the appeal and its
lawful prosecution, this fourth time, and of the final presentation,
and the decree, etc., at the aforesaid instance of Domenico Tighetti,
heir-beneficiary of the former Francesca Pompilia, formerly wife of
the former Guido Franceschini, as principal, or, etc.

     CHARITAS.

     D. Giovanni Maria Serbucci, as Procurator and Manager of the
     lawsuit brought by the former Guido Franceschini as principal
     on the other side.

     D. Francesco Paracciani, as Procurator of the Venerable
     Monastery and Convent of Santa Maria Magdalena in the Corso,
     for all, etc.

I have done this, September 4, 1698

     BALATRESIUS.

     _September 5, 1698._

When he had made statement of fact, R. D. Alexander Cassar, Substitute
Procurator of the Poor, appeared, petitioned, and was granted, as
above.

I, Domenico Barlocci, Notary of the Court of Criminal Causes of the
Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Governor of the City, as Notary for
the Poor, have found this copy correct by collating it, although it
was extracted from the original documents by one who is trustworthy in
my eyes, etc. In pledge of the above, I have subscribed and have
published it, as I am required to do.

[The seal of the said Notary.]

THE SECONDARY SOURCE

OF

THE RING AND THE BOOK

A CONTEMPORARY MANUSCRIPT PAMPHLET

"The following pages contain a MS. contemporaneous account of the
execution of the principal actors in the tragedy which has been
immortalised in the poem of the _Ring and the Book_.

"I am enabled by the kindness of my friend, Mr. Browning, to give it a
place in these Miscellanies of the Philobiblion Society."

     JOHN SIMEON.

(I shall not attempt to say with what a feeling I correct proof-sheets
received on the day subsequent to that which brought the intelligence
of the death of this great-hearted and noble-minded man,
characteristically good and gracious to the very last.)

     R. B., May 24, 1870.

The above words are the introduction by Sir John Simeon and the
comment by the poet (Philobiblion Society Miscellanies, xii. 1868-9),
on the reprint of the subsequent pamphlet in the original Italian.

It was found in London by one of Browning's acquaintances, who,
knowing the poet's interest in the subject, sent it to him. Internal
evidence indicates that it was probably written (but not published)
some few years after the crime, and it is more popular in style than
any part of _The Book_. The writer during the first half of his
pamphlet follows closely the affidavit of Pompilia and the second
anonymous pamphlet [No. 15] of _The Book_. He then adds much
interesting information as to the murder and the pursuit, arrest,
trial, and execution of the criminals. Browning uses almost every
scrap of additional information it affords. He accepts its fact with
the same fidelity he shows in using _The Book_, and uses it
extensively and without discounting its value as compared with the
official record. It is therefore treated as an essential portion of
the present source-study. Its new matter will be indicated by italics
in the following translation.

Mrs. Orr has published somewhat less than half of the pamphlet in her
_Handbook_ in translation, which has been reprinted in the Camberwell
Browning, and in the _Browning Guide Book_ by G. W. Cook. The present
version is made directly from the Italian text of the Philobiblion
Society reprint.

THE DEATH OF THE WIFE-MURDERER GUIDO FRANCESCHINI, BY BEHEADING

Guido Franceschini, a nobleman of Arezzo, in Tuscany, had stayed for
some time here in Rome in the service of a person of some eminence. He
decided to take a wife with dowry enough to be of advantage to his own
house. When he had revealed this desire to a certain hairdresser _near
the Piazza Colonna_, she proposed to him the Signora Francesca
Pompilia, thirteen years of age, the daughter of a certain Pietro
Comparini and Violante Peruzzi. For beside the promised dowry, she was
heir to the reversionary interest in bonds and other properties worth
about 12,000 scudi. When he had heard of this advantageous dowry,
which seemed to him to be quite to his point, he lost no time in
revealing it to his brother Abate Paolo, who had dwelt here in Rome
for many years in the service of a Cardinal. He went along with Guido
to the mother of the young woman, as they flattered themselves that
they would succeed better in this way than by demanding her of the
father, who was somewhat hard to approach. When they had made it
appear that their income was of considerable amount, they succeeded in
their intent; although it was then found out that their entire capital
did not amount to the total of their income as given in that note.

It was easy for Franceschini to win over this woman, as _she was
driven by the ambition of establishing her daughter in the home of
persons of good birth_. She gave her own consent, and so worked upon
her husband as to induce him to sign the marriage bond. Then when
Comparini had been informed by a person who knew the resources of
Franceschini, that they were quite different from what they had been
represented to him, he changed his mind, nor did he wish under any
consideration to carry out the marriage. _He gave as a pretext the
very tender age of his daughter_, along with other reasons. The mother
of Francesca, however, not seeing any chance to give her daughter to
Franceschini, had her secretly _married during December_, 1693, _in
San Lorenzo in Lucina_.

When this marriage reached the ears of Comparini, he was much angered
at Violante. But she had such a gift of gab that Comparini not only
agreed to it, but beside the dowry of 2,600 scudi, _on which he had
already paid 700 scudi, he also made gift of his entire
possessions to the couple_.

After several days, Franceschini decided to conduct his wife and her
parents back to Arezzo, _and this took place in the same December_.
When they had arrived there, the parents of the wife could see that
the state of their son-in-law was much worse than they had imagined
it. Therefore they were all the more embittered at the penuriousness
they showed in the food, and many other matters. _One morning while
they were at the table they heard their daughter_ [Violante according
to _The Book_] _denied fire for warming her bed_, and saw the
Franceschini practise many other cruelties toward her. They were much
troubled at it, and _all the more so when they saw a Canon of the
Franceschini household, a brother of the husband, rush upon their
daughter_ [Violante according to _The Book_]. _He struck Francesca
with a dagger in his hand, who had to make her escape by running into
a room and shutting the door. Then one evening her father went to
visit a friend, and when he had come back home he found the door shut.
Therefore his daughter, who was still awake, was obliged to go
downstairs to open it for him, but not without first having called her
husband, who never even opened an eye. Then when she had gone down to
open the door and had gone outside a few steps to meet her father, all
of a sudden she found herself shut outside the house along with her
father. For that reason they were both of them obliged to sleep
outside of the house that night, her father at the inn and the
daughter at one of the neighbours._ Therefore, more and more, as the
days passed, the Comparini decided to return to Rome. But as they were
without money they were obliged to beg it of Franceschini, who
_scarcely gave them the necessary expenses of the journey_.

When the old Comparini had departed, Franceschini thought to hide what
had happened. He constrained his wife to write to Rome to the Abate,
his brother, to tell him that she cherished in her heart his memory.
This letter was dictated by the husband himself. The ignorant girl did
as Guido wished, whose purpose was to have it believed that his
parents-in-law were the fomentors of the dissension which prevailed
between the couple and the relatives of Franceschini.

When the Comparini had reached Rome, ill-contented as they were with
the house of their son-in-law, for whom they now saw they had
sacrificed their daughter, they did not know how to hold their peace
about that matter, of which they themselves had been the cause. All
the more so when they were harassed for the remainder of the dowry,
beside the fact that they saw the rest of their property in danger.
While affairs were in this state a Jubilee was announced; under these
circumstances Violante Comparini revealed in confession that Francesca
Pompilia, who was married to Franceschini, was not their daughter, but
that the birth had been pretended. She had in fact been born of a
_poor widow, a foreigner_, and had then been adopted to bring it about
that the reversionary interest would fall to their house, and hence to
make good the many debts of her husband. _When the confessor heard
this, he charged her to reveal all the affair to her husband himself.
Violante obeyed, and Comparini was greatly surprised at it, and
rebuked his wife sharply._ He then submitted the matter to judgment
before Monsignor Tomati; the following was spoken in sentence: It
should be maintained that Francesca Pompilia shall be and is in
quasi-possession of her relationship as daughter. Therefore appeal was
taken by Comparini to the Tribunal of the Sacred Rota, but the suit
still remains undecided. In the meantime the Franceschini, seeing that
they had been deluded by this circumstance, since they could not get
possession of the residue of the dowry, redoubled their cruelties to
the poor Pompilia even to the point of threatening her with death.
Hence she was very often obliged to save herself by fleeing into some
other house, or before the authorities, or even into the presence of
the Bishop, _whom she finally begged to save her by putting her in
some monastery_. But this prelate thought it better to send her back
to her husband's home, urging him not to mistreat her.

When the unfortunate woman saw that the admonitions of this Bishop had
been useless, and that this way of softening the heart of her husband
and his relatives had proved vain, and when they reproved her for
sterility and for coquetry, and for other faults of their own
imagining, she betook herself to an Augustinian, Romano, that he might
write to his Superiors or to her parents to find some provision for
her. But although the Father promised to do as she desired, his
letters never reached their destination. The wretched woman was
therefore desperate and determined to get to Rome in some manner or
other. She told the whole matter to Canon Conti, a relative of the
Franceschini, to whom she made a most pathetic picture of her
situation. He was moved thereby, and answered that he would aid her,
as he did, by offering to have her taken to Rome by Canon
Caponsacchi, his friend, since he himself ought not and could not do
it. When the circumstances had been told to Caponsacchi, he was
opposed to it, for fear of incurring the anger of the Franceschini;
but when he had been urged both by Conti and the woman, he consented
thereto. And on the last Monday of April the wife arose from bed as
soon as day dawned, without her husband knowing about it. She took
some things of her own, some jewels, and money, left the house, and at
the gate of the city found Caponsacchi, who was awaiting her with a
carriage. They mounted together and set out on the road toward Rome.

When Franceschini awoke and discovered the flight of his wife, as he
already suspected that she had started for Rome, he began to pursue
her, and on the following Tuesday [should be Wednesday] overtook her
at Castelnuovo in the post-house, where she was in company with
Caponsacchi. The young woman was not at all terrified at the sight of
her husband, but on the contrary she mustered her courage and reproved
him for all the cruelties practised upon her, because of which she had
been forced to this step. Then Franceschini was thunderstruck, and did
not know how or what to respond. Hence he thought it best to have
recourse to the authorities. The fugitives were arrested by the
Governor of the place, and both of them were taken to Rome and placed
in the New Prisons, and were charged with adultery because they had
run away together. He tried to prove the charge by certain
love-letters which had been found, and by the deposition of the
driver. But as the adultery was not proved, the Canon was condemned
for three years to Civita Vecchia, and the wife was shut into the
monastery of the Scalette on the Lungara.

When the husband therefore saw that this had not helped him in gaining
the dowry, he decided to go back to his own country, leaving the care
of his case in the hands of his brother, the Abate, who was in the
service of a Cardinal. But although the Abate tried by many a turn to
succeed in his intent before the tribunals, he could not achieve it.
Hence he also decided to leave Rome. And he was spurred all the more
by its becoming known that his sister Pompilia was with child. For
this reason, the Governor of Rome had constrained him to consent that
she should keep her own home as a prison, under security of 300 scudi
to present herself at every demand of the Tribunal. The Abate indeed
was unwilling to give his consent unless Pietro Comparini should first
assume obligation, by an official document, to furnish her with food.
_And then, when he had obtained the permission of his Cardinal, he
sold his furniture and books_, and when he had made them pay over the
47 scudi which had been found upon Pompilia at Castelnuovo, he left
Rome. After that Pompilia bore a son, _whom she named Gaetano, after
the saint to whom she made her vows_.

Franceschini, who was now overwhelmed with manifold troubles, and was
urged on now by honour and again by self-interest to take vengeance,
at last yielded to his base thoughts and planned to kill his
sixteen-year-old wife and her parents. When four other criminals had
been admitted to the scheme, he left Arezzo, _and on Christmas eve
reached Rome. He stopped at Ponte Milvio, where there was a villa of
his brother. There he remained in hiding with his followers until a
time opportune for the execution of his designs should come._

They spied out all the ways of the Comparini family, and on January 2,
_which was Thursday_, at about seven o'clock in the evening, he
approached the Comparini home with his companions. He left on guard at
the street door Biagio Agostinelli and Domenico Gambassini, and
knocked at the door. When he had said that he brought a letter of
Canon Caponsacchi from Civita Vecchia the door was opened to him.
Immediately this cut-throat Franceschini, assisted by the other two
criminals, leaped upon Violante who had opened it and struck her dead
to the ground. Pompilia in this crisis extinguished the light, hoping
thus to escape the assassins, _and ran to the neighbouring door of a
locksmith crying out for help. But when she saw that Franceschini was
provided with a lantern she went to hide under the bed_; but she was
dragged from there, and was barbarously slain _with 22 wounds_ by the
hand of her husband. Not content with that, he dragged her to the feet
of Comparini, who was likewise wounded by one of the other assassins,
_and was crying out_ "_confession_."

_When the uproar of this horrible slaughter was heard abroad, people
ran thither, but the criminals succeeded in escaping. But in their
haste one of them left his cloak, and Franceschini his cap, which
betrayed him afterward._ The unfortunate Francesca Pompilia, under the
burden of such wounds as those with which she had been cut to pieces,
_implored the Holy Virgin for the favour of confession, and obtained
her prayer_. Hence she survived some little while, and _was able to
tell about this horrible crime. She told that after the deed was done
her husband had asked of one of the cut-throats who had done the
murder with him, if she were indeed dead. When that one had assured
him, he replied: "Let us lose no time, but return to the vineyard."_
And so they made their escape. _In the meantime the police had been
summoned, and came with a captain. A confessor was quickly called and
also a surgeon who gave his attention to the luckless girl._

When the Governor had been informed of the outcome, he _immediately
despatched Captain Patrizi_ to arrest the criminals. _When the posse
arrived at the vineyard, he found that these were no longer there, but
that about an hour ago they had left in the direction of the highway.
Then Patrizi followed without interrupting his journey, and when he
had reached the inn he learned from the host that Franceschini had
demanded horses with threat of violence, but they had been denied him,
because he lacked the necessary order._ Hence he had travelled afoot
with his companions toward Baccano. _Patrizi continued his march, and,
after taking the necessary precautions_, arrived at the tavern of
Merluzza. There he found the assassins, who were straightway arrested.
On them were found, still stained with blood, those daggers with which
they had done the murders, and _upon Franceschini were found 150 scudi
in money. This arrest indeed cost the life of Patrizi, because having
been overheated and wounded with a slight scratch he died in a few
days._

_Franceschini's dagger was of a Genoese pattern, triangular, and with
certain hooks made in such a way that in wounding they could not be
drawn from the wound without such laceration as to render the wound
incurable._

_When the criminals were known to be at Ponte Milvio, in that very inn
they were heard on their preliminary examinations by notaries and
judges sent there expressly, and satisfactory confession was had._

_When the capture of the delinquents was known in Rome, a countless
throng of people rushed thither to see them, while all the criminals
were tied to their horses and conducted to Rome. It is told that
Franceschini, while making the journey, asked one of the officers how
in the world the crime had ever been discovered. And when he was
answered that his wife, whom they had found still living, had revealed
it, he was so astounded that he was, as it were, deprived of his
senses. About five o'clock in the evening they reached the prisons. A
certain Francesco Pasquini, of the town of Castello, and Alessandro
Baldeschi of the same town, both of them 22 years old, along with
Guido Franceschini had been the slayers of the Comparini. And
Gambassini and Agostinelli were those who had stood guard at the
street door._

_In the meantime there were exposed in San Lorenzo, in Lucina the
bodies of the assassinated Comparini, who were so disfigured, and
especially the wife of Franceschini, by wounds in the face that they
were no longer recognisable._ The unfortunate Francesca, when she had
taken sacrament and had pardoned her murderers, and had made her own
will, died, not yet having completed her seventeenth year. This was on
the 6th, which was the day of the Epiphany. She was able to justify
herself against all the calumnies inflicted by her husband. _The
surprise of the people at seeing the said bodies was great, because of
the atrocity of the deed, which truly made them shudder_, seeing that
two old septuagenarians and a young girl of 17 years had so wretchedly
perished.

As the trial of the criminals advanced, there were many arguments made
on the matter, laying stress on all the more aggravating circumstances
which accompanied this horrible massacre. Others also were made in the
defence with much erudition, especially by the Advocate of the Poor,
who was a certain Monsignor Spreti. He succeeded in delaying the
sentence, because Baldeschi made denial, even though "the cord" was
administered to him twice, under which he swooned. Finally he
confessed, and the others did likewise. _They also revealed that they
had planned to kill Franceschini himself, and to rob him of his money,
because he had not kept his word to pay them as soon as they left
Rome._

On February 22 was seen _in the Piazza del Popolo a great platform
with mannaia, and two great gallows, which had been built for the
execution of the criminals. Many stands were constructed for the
accommodation of those curious to see such a terrible execution, and
so great was the concourse of people that some windows brought as much
as six dollars each. At the eighth hour [2 a.m.] Franceschini and his
companions were informed of their death and were placed in the
Consorteria. There they were assisted by Abate Panciatichi and
Cardinal Acciajoli, nor did they delay in preparing themselves to die
well. At the 20th hour [2 p.m.] the Company of Death and of Pity
arrived at the Prisons. The condemned were made to go downstairs, and
were placed upon separate carts to be drawn to the place of
execution._

_The first to mount the cart was Agostinelli, the second Gambassini,
the third Pasquini, the fourth Baldeschi, and the fifth Franceschini,
who showed more intrepidity and composure than the others, to the
wonder of all._

_They left the Prison and followed the Pilgrims Street, the Street_
_of the Governor, of Pasquini, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Piazza
Colonna, and the Corso._

_The first who was executed was Agostinelli, the second Gambassini,
the third Pasquini, the fourth Baldeschi, and the last Franceschini.
When the last-named had mounted the platform, he asked pardon for his
sins, and begged them to pray for his soul, adding that they should
say a Pater, an Ave, and Salve Regina for him. When he had made the
confessor announce that he was reconciled, he adjusted his neck upon
mannaia and, with the name of Jesus on his lips, he was beheaded. The
head was then shown to the people by the executioner._

_Franceschini was low of stature, thin and pallid, with prominent
nose, black hair and a heavy beard, and was_ fifty years of age. _He
wore the same garb as when he committed the crime--that is a coat of
brown cloth, black shirt, a vest of goatshair, a white hat and cotton
cap; clothed presumably as he had been when he had set out from
Arezzo._

The execution took place during the _Pontificate of Innocent XII._, in
1698.

TRIAL AND DEATH OF

FRANCESCHINI AND HIS COMPANIONS

FOR THE

MURDER OF COMPARINI, HIS WIFE, AND DAUGHTER

WHICH HAPPENED DURING THE TIME OF INNOCENT XII.

EDITORIAL NOTE

The following additional account of the Franceschini murder case was
discovered a few years ago in the Royal Casanatense Library, Rome
(Misc. MS. 2037), in a volume entitled _Varii successi curiosi e degni
di esser considerate_, containing thirteen pamphlets by various
authors, most of them concerning famous criminal trials, from Rome of
the seventeenth century. The volume is in a hand of the early
eighteenth century, and contains an endorsement to the effect that a
copy was made from it in 1746. The Franceschini murder is the subject
of the tenth narrative of the volume. Internal evidences indicate that
it was written somewhat later than the secondary source pamphlet, by
one who has considerable knowledge of the crime and whose attitude of
mind shows him to have been a priest. It presents a better story and a
fuller account of the motives of the actors, especially those of Abate
Paolo and Violante, together with a number of additional matters of
fact not contained in _The Book_. It never fell in Browning's way, and
hence has no immediate source-relation to the poem, but it does prove
in some cases the accuracy of Browning's conjectures of unknown facts
when definite data failed him.

The pamphlet was printed in translation by W. Hall Griffin in the
_Monthly Review_, November 1900. The present version has been made by
the editor from a transcript of the original Italian executed by a
friend in Rome.--C.W.H.

TRIAL AND DEATH OF FRANCESCHINI AND

HIS COMPANIONS

FOR THE

MURDER OF COMPARINI, HIS WIFE,

AND DAUGHTER

WHICH HAPPENED DURING THE TIME OF

INNOCENT XII.

The Abate Franceschini, born in Arezzo, Tuscany, of a family which was
noble, but poor of estate, having the cleverness to advance his own
fortunes, proceeded to the city of Rome, and was admitted by Cardinal
Lauria into his household as Secretary of the Embassy. His inherent
mental aptness won for him the favour of the Cardinal, who was held in
great esteem in the Sacred College by reason of his learning, and who
stood so high that he might well have aspired to the Papal Chair. In
this lucky juncture, Abate Paolo, wishing to take advantage of his
good fortune, thought to provide a wife for his brother Guido and to
recoup his family fortunes by a rich dowry. Guido had served Cardinal
Nerli in the same capacity, as Secretary of the Embassy; but either
because he had not the good luck or the ability of his brother he left
that service. Although Paolo knew that the idle state of his brother
would be hurtful to his claims of dowry, he did not cease aspiring to
a very advantageous one, flattering himself that his own distinction
might make up for the shortcomings of his brother.

Now Guido had reached full maturity, was of weak temperament, ordinary
in appearance, of a disposition more gloomy than pleasant, and,
moreover, was of scant means. Hence, unless Abate Paolo should use his
own influence, he could have little expectation for Guido. After
having attempted several alliances of high rank, Paolo fixed his
thought on Francesca Pompilia, the daughter of Pietro and Violante
Comparini. As she was their only child, and as her parents were too
far advanced in years to have other offspring, she would fall heir to
a reversionary interest of 12,000 scudi; and he hoped that he could
easily make the match, as the Comparini were rather inferior to him in
birth.

A certain hairdresser frequented the home of the Comparini with the
familiarity admitted by those women who desire to make themselves
appear more beautiful to their husbands' eyes than they are and which
some husbands tolerate who rely too much upon the fidelity of their
wives. Paolo considered this woman to be the best means for aiding his
designs for the marriage of Guido, and the latter often went to her
shop with the purpose of winning her confidence by odd jobs. When he
had often turned the talk to the subject of taking a wife, she told
him one day he might readily apply for the daughter of the Comparini,
for she had a suitable dowry, besides being heiress to a reversionary
interest, and was of a small family connection, which were his very
requirements. When through her efforts he had succeeded in achieving
the marriage, it was understood he should reward her with 200 scudi.
The hairdresser lost no time in broaching the matter to Violante, who,
anxious for the advancement of her daughter and for the establishment
of her own interests, agreed to speak of it to her husband, and, if
the matter were as stated, to persuade him to effect it. Violante
spoke to her husband about it and he did not reject the proposal,
provided that the vaunted riches of the Franceschini were verified,
but he said this would have to be given in a written statement
attested by well-known and reliable persons. When the hairdresser had
carried back this word to the Franceschini, they sent a statement of
their real estate in Arezzo, with an income amounting to 1700 scudi,
attested by persons well known to the Comparini, and who confirmed it
to them orally.

Abate Paolo, fearing lest this fortune might escape him, gave them no
time to change their minds, and in order to make the matter surer he
desired to secure it by the hand of Cardinal Lauria, his patron, by
whom he had the marriage agreement drawn up; for his Eminence was
pleased to show kindness to the advantage of a man whom he regarded
with some favour. Meanwhile Comparini had become better informed of
the rank and property of the Franceschini and found them far different
from the preceding account, both in rank and in property. Therefore he
had a warm dispute with his wife, who persisted in the marriage, and
declared that he had been advised by persons envious of the good
fortune of one or the other house, and who wished to hinder it, and
that she was not shaken in her original desire; for she was very sure,
from other truthful witnesses, that the Franceschini were of the
first rank of nobility of Arezzo, and not of the second, as those had
said, and that the property given in the list had been untampered
with. But the more she warmed to the matter, the cooler became Pietro;
for being very diplomatic, if he could not gain, at least he wished
not to lose by the marriage of his daughter. But what does not a man
lose when he allows his wife to rule him? He loved her so tenderly
that from the first day of their marriage he had constituted her the
arbitress of his wishes. Violante, nevertheless, fearing lest Pietro,
in a case of such importance, might be more influenced by reason than
by flattery, could suffer no delay in making secure the reversionary
interest which another house could claim if the Comparini were without
an heir; she therefore resolved to have the marriage performed without
the knowledge of Pietro. When she had secured the consent of the
daughter, who was always obedient to her commands, and had made an
appointment with Guido, she conducted her, suitably clothed, one
morning to San Lorenzo, in Lucina, and espoused the two.

Pietro felt the blow keenly, but being unable to find any remedy for
it, he cloaked his anger with the show of being displeased at not
having been present, and this displeasure would cease in him with the
joy of the nuptial feast, which should be in their house. He assigned
to his daughter as dowry twenty-six bonds, with future succession to
the remainder. On the very same day, after talking of the advantages
which would result to both houses from the union of their interests,
they decided upon the removal of the Comparini to Arezzo, which
followed in a few days, and with it the absolute administration of the
property by Guido.

When they had reached Arezzo the Comparini were received by the mother
and relatives of Franceschini with all that show of love which is
customary on such occasions. But very soon, from constant association,
disturbances arose, and thence they passed to hostilities. The mother
of Guido, a proud, avaricious woman, who governed the household
despotically, took to stinting it even in the necessary food. This
moved the Comparini to complaints, to which the Franceschini first
responded with insults and then with threats. This was a thing
Violante could not tolerate, for, being a woman, she had her own share
of natural arrogance. So she began tormenting Pietro, cursing the day
when he had decided to move to Arezzo, laying the blame on him for all
that of which she had been the cause. And Pietro, who was one of those
men who let themselves be overcome by a couple of crocodile tears of
their wives, instead of reproving her for the undertaking (although
she had concluded the marriage against his wish and without his
knowledge), entreated her affectionately to bear with patience the
abuses, which would possibly cease when the Franceschini saw them
defended by their daughter.

At that time [November 30, 1693] passed from this life to Heaven
Cardinal Lauria, a churchman of merit beyond all praise. Then Abate
Paolo was elected Secretary in Rome of the Religious Order of Malta.
At this the haughtiness of the Franceschini increased so much that
they considered it grand good fortune for the Comparini to be
considered their friends, not to say their relatives. Violante being
no longer able to live under the proud command of another woman, since
she had been in the habit of domineering, as her husband had been
subject to her wishes, so tormented him that she induced him to take
up his residence in Rome again. For this purpose the Franceschini gave
them a sum of money sufficient for the journey and for the most
necessary furniture in the home.

Scarcely had they reached Rome when, to the surprise of everybody, it
was reported that Pietro had dispatched a judicial warning, in which
he set forth that Francesca Pompilia was not really his own daughter
and that therefore he was not obliged to pay the dowry. He brought the
attestation of Violante his wife, who had declared that to check her
husband's creditors in the matter of the trust fund and to enjoy the
income of the bonds she had feigned to be pregnant and, that her
husband might not discover the trick, she agreed with him that when
she became pregnant they should abstain from association until after
the birth of their child. And so, on the very day of this pretence,
they took separate bedrooms; still further, by well-arranged clothes,
she feigned the swelling of the womb, and by suitable drugs made
pretence of nausea until her time was come. She then took advantage of
a day when Pietro was occupied in his lawsuits, to bring forth the
pretended birth, which was well carried out by the sagacity of a
midwife in the secret, who provided whatever was necessary. And that
the house servant might not detect the trick, they sent him to the
apothecary to secure certain medicines. At the same time the midwife
went to get a little creature whom she had received the day before
from a neighbour, who was already in the secret. When she had returned
to the house she summoned a familiar friend of the Comparini from a
window. Matters were so well arranged that when the woman arrived,
there was nothing more to do than to make her believe what was not
really so. And to trick more surely the thought of this neighbour,
they feigned that when Violante wished to pass from the bed to a
chair, she fainted into the arms of the woman by reason of her pains,
since the midwife could not run up in time.

This unexpected act of Pietro, which became known in Rome immediately,
was heard with less wonder than scorn. The just anger of the
Franceschini would have undertaken due vengeance if it had not been
mitigated by the hope that, since Pompilia was not the true and
legitimate daughter of Pietro and Violante, the marriage would be
annulled and Guido's wounded reputation would be healed. But when he
had taken counsel with several authorities and found they were of
different opinions, he was unwilling to risk so doubtful an affair, in
the promotion of which they would necessarily confess and presuppose
that she was not the daughter of the Comparini, and by this confession
they would be prejudiced in their claims to the dowry. They opposed
the judicial notice, and obtained for Pompilia the continuance of her
quasi-relation as daughter, together with a decree for the transfer of
the dowry bonds. But Pietro appealed to the Signature of Justice so
trickily that the Franceschini had the expense of the transfer, but
not the enjoyment of the income, since they obtained from it not even
a two months' payment.

The unfortunate Pompilia was the victim of the hatred of these two
houses; for she was left alone in Arezzo at the will of her husband,
her mother-in-law, and her relatives, who were mortally offended at
her parents, and she was hourly threatened with death. In so
deplorable a state the courage even of a more mature woman would have
failed, not to speak of that of a girl only sixteen years old. For she
was innocent of the wiles of her mother and of the duplicity of her
father and by her own good qualities she was worthy of tenderness
rather than cruelty. The unhappy one suffered as best she could these
tyrannies which were ever increasing, but despairing of all hope of
peace, she often had recourse to the Governor of the City, that he
might interpose his authority with the Franceschini. As this was of no
avail, she threw herself at the feet of the Bishop, who had Guido come
into his presence and who tried to reconcile him. But Guido's anger
increased all the more because of this public recourse, and he
threatened Pompilia with certain death if she should ever try it
again.

When the poor child saw every way to peace closed against her she
appealed to Canon Conti, a relative of the Franceschini, who was very
well informed of her wretchedness because he visited the house, and
she begged him to save her life, which was in continual peril. He was
moved to pity, for he knew that she had no other remedy than flight.
As he could not personally assist in this, lest he would have to bear
the hatred of the entire family connection, he suggested to her that
the very person for such an enterprise was the Canon Caponsacchi, his
intimate friend and somewhat related to him by blood, whose courage
was no less ready to meet danger than to overcome it.

Pompilia accepted the counsel of Conti, who lost no time in opening
the affair with Caponsacchi. He at first showed some unwillingness, as
he hesitated to carry away a wife from her husband, even with the sole
purpose of conducting her to her own parents. But when he had been
fully informed of the insufferable abuses of Guido and his relatives
his pity prevailed over all other considerations and he accepted the
undertaking. Pompilia, who was eager for this, tried to win him by
letters and amorous verses, yet always keeping herself true to her
marriage vows, as one may read in her letters. In some of these she
praises the modesty of Caponsacchi, in others she reproves him for
having sent some octaves which were slightly reprehensible, and she
urged him to keep unstained that nobility of which he boasted. On the
day appointed for flight, with the assistance of Canon Conti, the two
took their places in a carriage and travelled as fast as they could,
without resting save when it was necessary to change horses. They
arrived the second morning at dawn at Castelnuovo, and, in spite of
the fact that the host had assigned them a bed for repose, Pompilia
seated herself in a chair and Caponsacchi went down to the stable to
urge on the driver.

When Guido awoke after the flight of Pompilia and perceived that she
was not in bed, he arose in a fury, and, seeing the jewel-box open and
minus the jewels and money, which it had contained, he surmised what
had happened to him. Accordingly, on a good horse, he sped along the
Roman road and overtook the fugitives at the abovesaid inn of
Castelnuovo an hour after their arrival. When Pompilia saw him, with
that courage which desperation may arouse even in the weakest spirits,
she seized Caponsacchi's sword which lay upon the table, unsheathed
it, and thrust at his life, calling him betrayer and tyrant. Guido,
fearing lest her spirit no less than the valour of Caponsacchi might
bring his death rather than revenge, turned his horse and rushed to
the authorities. He had the fugitives arrested and conveyed to the New
Prisons, where he entered charge of flight and adultery against them.

The Abate Paolo who, as has been said, was the Secretary of the
Religious Order of Malta in Rome, made noisy recourse for his honour
to the Pope, and he put a petition before Monsignor Pallavicino, the
Governor, demanding that he declare Caponsacchi the seducer of his
sister-in-law, and both of them guilty of adultery, and that his
brother for that reason was entitled to gain the entire dowry. Legal
proceedings were instituted against them according to the most
rigorous forms of law, but no proof of guilt was found against
Caponsacchi and Pompilia except the love-letters written at the time
of the arranging of the flight, the undertaking of the flight itself,
and the deposition of the driver. For the latter declared that he had
sometimes seen, when he had turned back during the journey, that they
were joined face to face, that is cheek to cheek, a matter which did
not make full proof of fault, since the rough roads and the headlong
speed of the journey jostling them about might have been the cause of
it. Wherefore the Court deemed it prudent and just to sentence
Caponsacchi to three years' relegation in Civita Vecchia for his
rashness in running away with a wife from her husband, even though the
motive was pity. While the case of the Franceschini against Pompilia
was on trial, Pompilia was transported with their consent, as their
prisoner, into the Monastery of the Scalette on the Lungara, with the
obligation that Guido, her husband, should provide her food. There,
after a little while, it was discovered that she was pregnant, and as
it no longer comported with the reverence of that place that she
should remain there, with the consent of Abate Paolo, who had power of
attorney for his brother, Monsignor the Governor ordered that she
should pass into the home of the Comparini, her parents, under
security of 300 scudi to keep it as a secure prison; and he declared
that Guido's obligation for her food should cease the very day she
left the monastery.

This cause, in which the Franceschini were not obliged to have hand
for mere honour's sake, was seen to have its chief motive in
selfishness. Therefore there was not a company where the conduct of
one or the other party was not censured. For this reason the Religious
Order of Malta gave secret intimation to Abate Paolo that he should
resign his office. At the loss of this honourable post, rein was given
to the evil tongues of his adversaries. This put Abate Paolo in such
straits that, ashamed to meet his dearest friends, he decided to
leave Rome and to pass to a clime where information of the dishonour
that so afflicted him would never come.

When Guido was informed of the departure of his brother and of the
obligation resting on him of repairing the honour of his house, he
thought that to go into voluntary exile, as his brother had done,
would only prove the baseness of his own mind. For he had been justly
charged with this, since at the time he had overtaken his wife with
her abductor he had failed in that very place to take the vengeance
which was demanded at his hands.

In due time Pompilia had given birth to a son, who was sent out of the
house by the Comparini to nurse. Thereupon every one believed, and
especially Violante, that the ties of blood would move Guido to a
reconciliation with his wife. For in spite of their declaration that
Pompilia was not their daughter, the minds of the Comparini might
still be disposed to some reconciliation. But Guido's thought was
quite different, for he was continually stirred, even in the absence
of Abate Paolo, to plot the removal from this world of the entire
memory of his dishonour by the death of Pompilia, Pietro, and
Violante, and possibly of still others.

Guido had in his employ, in the country, a daring and wicked labourer
[Alessandro Baldeschi] to whom he often exaggerated the shame which
his wife and the Comparini had brought upon his house. To him Guido
revealed that with his assistance he wished to purge with their blood
the stain to his honour. The cut-throat straightway accepted and
declared that, if there were need of other company, he had three or
four friends for whom he would vouch. Guido replied that he should
take three bold and trusty ones to make sure against any possible
resistance, and should use all care to secure them at the lowest
possible price.

When all had been agreed upon, and arms suitable for the affair had
been prepared, Guido, with his four companions in disguise, secretly
took the road to Rome. Reaching the home of the Comparini at eight
o'clock in the evening, one of them knocked at the door, and when
Pietro responded, the murderer told him that he had a letter to give
him which had been sent from Civita Vecchia by Caponsacchi. When the
women heard this they told Pietro to have him come back again next
morning, urging him not to open the door. But he was curious about the
news from Caponsacchi, and when the murderer replied that he could not
come back in the morning, as he was obliged to leave that night, he
opened the fatal door and thereby admitted his own death and that of
Violante and Pompilia.

Guido in a transport of rage leaped in with two companions, leaving
the others on guard. They first dealt the poor old man many blows, and
deprived him of life before he could lift his voice. Scarcely had the
unfortunate women seen this when, transfixed with like wounds, they
suffered the same fate. Upon the unfortunate Pompilia fell the blows
of her husband, accompanied with countless insults, and after he had
trampled her several times under foot and wounded her anew, not
trusting his own fury, he told his companions to see if she were
really dead. One of them lifted her by the hair and let her fall
again, and assured Guido that she was no longer alive.

When this barbarous murder had been concluded and the money agreed
upon had been paid to the cut-throats, Guido wished to leave them, but
they would not allow him to desert them for fear that one might kill
another, as frequently happens for hiding such misdeeds. Or else the
murderers, while united with their leader, had agreed to kill Guido as
they thought he might have a large sum of money. Hence they did not
consent to his leaving them and they took the road toward Arezzo
together, which they agreed to make on foot, as they could not secure
posthorses.

From these repeated wounds Pietro and Violante were quite dead, but
not Pompilia, though her wounds were more numerous. For because of her
innocence she was especially helped by the divine mercy, and she knew
so well how to feign death that she deceived the murderers. When she
saw that they were gone, with her dying breath she mustered sufficient
strength of voice to make the neighbours hear her cries for help.

They found her in the last extremities, and eagerly ministered first
to her soul and then to her body. Her wounds were so numerous and of
such a nature that although they did not immediately kill her, they
made her death certain. This occurred a few days later, to the sorrow
of all those who assisted her and who had knowledge of this pitiable
case. The fortitude with which she suffered the pains of her treatment
caused as much wonder as her resignation to the Divine Will caused
love. She not only did not blame the cruelty of her husband, but with
fervent prayers she besought God to pardon him. The compassion of her
assistants both for her soul and for her body I attest by the
following sworn statement concerning not only her innocence, but the
happy passage of her pure soul to heaven. [Then follow the affidavits
of Fra Celestino and others given in _The Book_].

Divine justice, which would not suffer so atrocious a deed to go
unpunished, caused the criminals to be overtaken by the authorities at
the break of dawn at an inn a few miles from Rome. For when they had
eaten a little, they went to sleep by the fire, fatigued by the
journey and overcome with drowsiness. The police rushed violently in
upon them and, pointing carbines at their breasts, assailed and bound
them at once. They were straightway taken to the New Prisons, and the
Governor apprised the Pope of this barbarous murder and of the arrest
of the guilty. He gave commands that, without delay and with all
rigour, trial should be brought, this being a case which, by reason of
the consequences which might arise from it, should be examined into
with very special attention.

Far less torment than would seem to be necessary had to be applied to
get the confession of the murderers and of Guido, who more than the
rest had stood by his denial. But at the sight of torment he had not
the heart to resist longer and confessed fully, saying indeed that the
crime had had no other motive than the reparation of his honour which
had been so publicly offended. This was a matter which any common man
would have undertaken, not to speak of himself, who was a gentleman;
and if on his first examination he denied the truth of this, he had
done so lest he might injure his companions, who had aided him in a
deed worthy of all sympathy, because he had honour as his sole end.

With the confession of Guido and its ratification by the rest, the
process was finished, and they were sentenced, the cut-throats to the
gallows and Guido to mannaia, a means of death conceded rather out of
respect for his being in clerical orders than for any other reason.
The Advocate and Procurator of the Poor had written so ably in their
defence on the point of honour that there is no memory of more learned
arguments. But the features of the crime were so many (and all of them
punishable with death) that they were overcome no less by their nature
than by their number. Among such features was the bearing of arms
prohibited under capital penalty, the death of Pietro and Violante who
were not accomplices in the flight of Pompilia, the murder while a
lawsuit was pending, and in their own home, which place the
authorities had with the consent of Guido assigned to Pompilia as a
secure prison. The many other weighty charges which displayed the
great learning of the defenders were the just cause of the death of
the accused. Yet with the usual hope of all those who make confession
of capital crime, Guido flattered himself that he could save his life
by reason of his honour. At the unexpected announcement he did not
give up to such a frenzy as frequently follows in those who experience
so terrible a disaster, but, as if stupefied, after a few minutes he
heaved a deep sigh, accompanied by a few tears, which by their
extraordinary size showed dying symptoms. He said: "I well feared a
heavy sentence, but not that of death. My crime is great, but love of
honour has never suffered me to perceive what it was until now that
sentence has been passed, which I hold in such reverence that I wish
to appeal only to God, to whom alone I turn for the only mercy.
Without His will I should never have reached this awful pass, which
may be a comfort to me and not a source of bitterness, that I may gain
by entire resignation to His will the merit of His pardon." And then
he threw himself into the arms of the compassionate Frati and showed
such signs of true contrition that their prayers were accompanied by
tears rather than by exhortations.

His four accomplices did not submit themselves with the same
readiness, for as they were of lower birth so were they less swayed by
reason, which would render them impressible to the punishment they had
merited. The oldest [Baldeschi] and youngest [Agostinelli] were the
most obstinate, the one from having a heart hardened by so many years
of evil life, and the other being all too sensitive to so harsh a
punishment for a single crime, in the very flower of his youth,
without ever having spilled a drop of blood, and with the sole fault
of having been induced to stand as guard at a door through which Guido
had had to pass, to purge himself of the stains to his honour by the
blood of his foes. As the hour of execution drew nearer, the
stubbornness of these wretches so increased that the Frati despaired
of their repentance. At last the Divine Mercy, which works miracles
when we least expect it, entered their hearts and gloriously
demonstrated His omnipotence. They finally trusted in God, and the
memory of those faults which had made them obstinate, and which were
now illuminated by the Divine Grace that disposed them to penitence,
fitted them for pardon. When these souls had been secured for God
after such a hard contest, the execution passed from the New Prisons
at Tor di Nonna to the scaffold raised in the Piazza del Popolo in
view of the gate and of the Corso. In the midst was the block on a
lofty scaffold, larger than usual and with steps made with particular
care; on the two sides the gallows were placed at equal distances. In
spite of the vastness of the Piazza, not a single foot was left which
had not been occupied by stands, which were covered with tapestry and
other ornaments forming a theatre for festal celebrations rather than
for a solemn tragedy.

His four companions preceded Guido, each of them in a separate cart,
assisted by the devotion of the accustomed Frati [The Brotherhood of
Death], and followed by a countless concourse of people praying for a
blessed departure, which in view of their contrite resignation seemed
not at all doubtful and even a certain hope. Rarely did Guido
Franceschini turn his eyes from the crucifix, except when nature,
overwearied by the steadfastness of his gaze, made him turn away his
head but not his heart, which had been wholly given to his Creator so
that none was left for himself.

When he had reached the Piazza di Pasquino, and the cart had stopped
before the church of Agonizzanti, where on days of public execution it
is customary to offer the Sacrament to the delinquents condemned to
death and therewith to bless them, Guido knelt and began to recite, in
a voice quite audible to bystanders, certain verses of the _Miserere_,
and among them this, "Hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine
iniquities." He accompanied this with such signs of sorrow and
penitence that the people by their tears showed no less grief than the
one condemned.

With equal devotion his companions received the same blessing, but the
behaviour of the youngest [Agostinelli] was remarkable beyond belief,
who beside himself with his love of Heaven and of God, by his
expressions which exceeded his own capacity, confounded the wisdom of
his pious assistants.

Thence by the most densely populated streets they continued the
journey to the Piazza del Popolo, where they all died, Guido last,
with those acts of contrition which their preparation had shown. As
the youngest had displayed most blessed signs during life, so it
pleased God that he met his death likewise, for at the moment the
executioner did his work, he clasped between his breast and his hands
the image of that crucifix whereby they had become certain of Divine
Pardon. This assured the people of his salvation as his untimely death
had aroused their pity.

Rome has never seen an execution with a greater concourse of people,
nor does it remember a case on which there was such general talk as
on this. Some defended the Comparini, because they had suffered abuse,
others the Franceschini as it was a matter of honour. But, on looking
at the matter dispassionately, they were adjudged to be equally
guilty, except that Pompilia, who was entirely ignorant of the truth,
was without blame; for she had consented to the marriage at the
command of her mother without the knowledge of her father, and had
fled from her husband for fear of death with which he had often
unjustly threatened her.

From trickery arose the union of these two houses, from the
Franceschini in frauds regarding property they did not possess, from
the Comparini by the pretended birth, or by this very pretence if the
birth were real. The trick arose from greed of gain in Pietro to
secure the trust moneys for himself, and in the Franceschini to
minister to their own ease; so all was done contrary to laws both
human and divine. Hence a bad beginning was followed with a wretched
ending, as has been told above.

NOTES AND COMMENT

1. _Title-page_ (p. 1). The manuscript title-page of the _Book_ is
closely paraphrased by Browning, _R.B._ 1. 122-31, the word "position"
being used as the equivalent of Italian _posizione_.

2. _The Index_ (p. 3) (Italian, _indice_) is a manuscript table of
contents, evidently supplied by the original collector.

3. _A Transcript of the sentence against Pompilia_ (pp. 5-7) in the
Criminal Courts of Arezzo, dated February 15, 1697 (for 1698).
Parallel with the Process of Flight (_see_ Note 18) in Rome, the
Franceschini family evidently instituted criminal proceedings in
Arezzo against the fugitive Pompilia, charging her with theft and
adultery. Signor Guillichini and the driver Borsi were included in the
action as accessory to the crime. The Franceschini were able to secure
the condemnation here which was not obtainable in Rome. Under security
of this sentence, granted in December 1697, Guido could safely go on
with the assassination of his wife, so far as Tuscan law was
concerned. The transcript in the _Book_ is dated February 15, while
the murder trial was at a crisis, and was probably sent to Rome by
Signor Cencini to assist Guido in his peril. It is noteworthy that
Guido did not include Caponsacchi in his accusation in Arezzo.

4. _Romana Homicidiorum._ The frequently repeated designation of the
case--_Romana causa homicidiorum_--Roman trial for murders.

5. _Hyacinthus de Archangelis_ (Italian, _Giacinto Arcangeli_),
_Procurator Pauperum_, was Guido's chief defender, not an attorney
employed privately by the defendant, but an official States' attorney
for the defence. The Roman court procedure in all cases assumed the
right and obligation of the State to conduct both sides of a criminal
case.

6. _Desiderius Spretus, Advocatus Pauperum_, was the co-defender of
the accused. Humphrey's _Urbs et Orbis_, p. 428, makes plain the
respective functions of the two attorneys: "The advocate is a man
skilled in civil and canon law, who defends causes in writing or by
word of mouth, on the point of law, setting before the judges that
which is true in law, or best founded in law, or the principles of law
which ought to be applied in a particular case. His is the scientific
part of the cause, and he speaks only to the point of law. Matters of
fact are to be established by the procurators, and it is upon these
established facts that the advocate develops his judicial
conclusions."

7. _Joannes Baptista Bottinius, Fisci et Cam. Apost. Advoc._ (Advocate
of the Fisc, or Treasury, and of the Reverend Apostolic Chamber), the
chief prosecutor of the criminals, with functions equivalent to those
of the prosecuting or States Attorney in the Common Law. Browning
continually used the clipt form, Fisc.

8. _Franciscus de Gambis, Procurator Fisci_, was the coadjutor in the
prosecution, opening the case in Pamphlet 5, but thereafter playing
little part in the case.

9. _Antonius Lamparellus, Procurator Charitatis_, the attorney who, in
Pamphlet 17, defended the memory of the dead Pompilia for her heir and
against both the Franceschini family and the Nunnery of Convertites
(_see_ Note 10), both of whom were accusing her memory to gain her
estate. This trial in the criminal court of the Governor, took place
between the death of Guido, February 22, and May 17, 1698. The
decision "for absolution" was made _definitive_ by the decree of
court, September 9, 1698 (Pamphlet 18).

10. _The Nunnery of the Convertites._ Within a month after the death
of Pompilia the Nunnery of _Sta. Maria Maddalena delle Convertite al
Corso_ (founded 1520 _pro mulieribus ab inhonesta vita ad honestam se
convertentibus_) laid claim to the whole of Pompilia's property on the
ground of their privilege of receiving the property of women of evil
life who died in Rome.

11. _Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Lord Governor._ All the
arguments and the summaries of evidence in the murder case are
addressed to the Governor of Rome, but the Vice-Governor, Judge
Venturini, seems to have presided in his stead.

12. The title and imprint on the right half of the final page of each
of these official pamphlets was evidently for convenience in filing
the documents when folded into bundles. The imprint _Typis Rev. Cam.
Apost._ (Type of the Reverend Apostolic Chamber), is the official
imprint of the Papal press.

13. _The Deposition of Angelica_ (pp. 49-53). Angelica, a domestic in
the Franceschini home during January 1697, while the Comparini were
living in Arezzo with their son-in-law, was probably carried back to
Rome by the Comparini on their return to Rome that she might serve as
a witness to the poverty and parsimony of Guido. She makes her
affidavit at Rome, June 24, 1694, evidently for use in the suit
brought by Comparini to recover the dowry paid with Pompilia. How far
it is true and how far it is the prejudiced and bitter word of a
resentful servant who had been kicked out of doors, we cannot say. But
its publication through court procedure must have been bitterly
humiliating to the Franceschini. What was worse, the Comparini
probably used this as a part of the slanderous stories they took pains
to print and circulate in Rome (p. 181).

14. _Diverse Attestations_ (p. 53). These attestations, made June 17,
1697, nearly seven weeks after the arrest of Pompilia at Castelnuovo,
were evidently secured by her lawyers for her defence in the Process
of Flight (Note 18).

15. _The letters of Signori Romani and Albergotti_ are undated, but
were probably written soon after the departure of the Comparini from
Arezzo in 1694.

16. _Pompilia's Letter to Abate Paolo_ (pp. 56-7). The much discussed
letter of Pompilia to Abate Paolo, dated June 14, 1694, full of
calumniation of her parents, who had left Arezzo only three months
before, could not have been written by the fourteen-year-old girl
voluntarily. Guido must have composed it as a counter attack on the
Comparini, who were bringing suit against him at Rome, and were
loading him with shame.

17. _The Attestations of Fra Celestino and Others_ (pp. 57-60), dated
January 10, only four days after the death of Pompilia, was given at
the instance of Pompilia's executor, Tighetti. It is a most important
piece of evidence, and is cited repeatedly during the trial. Its
genuineness and sincerity are beyond question, and Browning gained
from it most of his faith in the innocence and saintly patience of
Pompilia.

18. _Process of Flight._ After the arrest of Pompilia and Caponsacchi
at Castelnuovo they were taken to Rome and lodged in prison. They were
soon brought to trial on the criminal charge of adulterous elopement.
The case seems to have been in the same court which tried Guido for
murder eight months later, and probably continued in a desultory
fashion all summer. In this case both of the accused made the
deposition later included in the _Book_. In this trial also, Guido
tried to introduce the testimony of the harlot-servant, Maria
Margherita, and the love-letters. The case was never decided so far as
Pompilia was concerned.

19. _The Deposition of Pompilia_ (pp. 90-5), dated May 13, 1697, two
weeks after her arrest at Castelnuovo, giving the causes of her flight
from her husband's home, was made by Pompilia for her own defence in
the Process of Flight. The marginal comments, adverse to her, are, of
course, the prejudiced comments of Guido's lawyers.

20. _The Deposition of Caponsacchi_ (pp. 95-8), made about the same
time and under the same circumstances for the Process of Flight, was
reintroduced as evidence in the murder case, but there is no reason to
think that Caponsacchi was brought into the latter case in any other
way.

21. _The Love-Letters_ (pp. 99-106). These letters are one of the most
elaborately discussed pieces of evidence in the _Book_. Guido claimed
to have found them at the inn of Castelnuovo after the arrest of the
fugitives, and he offered them in court during the Process of Flight,
as a proof of adultery in his wife, but they were thrown out by the
court. Their conventional fine-letter-writing, their studied innuendo
and finesse, were quite beyond the capacity of an illiterate girl like
Pompilia. They were probably composed by Guido, and if so, they prove
that he was basely scheming to drive his wife into dishonourable
flight that he might disgrace her and cast her off. The eighteenth
letter was specifically denied by Caponsacchi in his cross-examination.

22. _The Sentence of Relegation_ (p. 106) for three years in Civita
Vecchia was decreed against Caponsacchi at the close of the Process of
Flight in September, 1697. It is commensurate with priestly
indiscretion rather than with crime.

23. _The Account of Fact_ (Pamphlet 10). This anonymous Italian
pamphlet is not at all a part of the official record of the murder
case. It has no imprint and is in entirely different face of type, and
must have been printed privately for circulation outside the courts.
While much less technical and formal than the arguments of the
lawyers, and much more studious of popular effects, it slips back
repeatedly into the thought and the language of Arcangeli, the
defender of Guido. It probably suggested Half-Rome in _The Ring and
the Book_.

24. _The Response_ (Pamphlet 15) is a highly rhetorical, but
effective, retort to the anonymous writer. It was written during the
later stage of the murder trial, and was probably the work of Signor
Bottini. It likewise is without imprint and signature, but may have
been broadly scattered throughout Rome.

25. "_To keep to this home of Pietro ... as a prison_," _Domus pro
Carcere_ (p. 159). For a month after the sentence against Caponsacchi,
Pompilia was kept prisoner in the refuge called the _Scalette_--a
provision for her safekeeping, not a punishment. On October 12, she
was permitted to give bond to keep the home of her foster parents, the
Comparini, as a prison, _Domus pro carcere_, sentence against her
being suspended.

26. _The Scalette._ The _Conservatorio di S. Croce della Penitenza
alla Lungara_ was an institution for penitent women, founded 1615, and
popularly called _Scalette_, because of the two adjoining stairways.
Browning confuses this institution with the Convertites (Note 10).

27. _Baptismal Record of Pompilia_ (p. 159). This note, taken from the
parish record of San Lorenzo, in Lucina, enables Browning to make the
exact statement of Pompilia's age and her full name, as given in the
opening lines of her monologue.

28. _Pompilia's Letter_ (p. 160) to her foster parents, written from
prison at Castelnuovo only two days after her arrest, is her plea to
them for assistance. It was probably cited as evidence in the Process
of Flight.

29. _The Will of Pietro Comparini_ (pp. 160-1), evidently drawn up
after he had learned Pompilia was not his own daughter, and before her
return to Rome, aimed to prevent her being disinherited for that
reason. Its personal tone is good, and it is almost the only
first-hand evidence of the character of Pietro to be found in the
_Book_.

30. _Power of Attorney_ (p. 162). Under date of October 7, 1694, Guido
grants full power of attorney to Abate Paolo, who was representing him
in the lawsuits in Rome and in other matters of business.

31. _Arcangeli's Manuscript Letter_ (pp. 235-6). On February 22, 1698,
only a few hours after the execution of Guido, Signor Arcangeli, his
legal defender, announces the end of the case to Signor Cencini, the
Florentine lawyer who collected the _Book_, and who seems to have been
professionally related to the Franceschini family, as he had sent
certain "proofs" to assist the cause of Guido, probably including the
report of the criminal condemnation of Pompilia in the Tuscan courts.
(_See_ Note 3). This letter is reproduced by Browning, _R. B._ XII.
239-98.

32. _The Other Letters_ (pp. 237-8), written on the same day and to
Signor Cencini, give a few additional details. The writers seem to
have been professionally associated with the Franceschini family.

33. _Francesca Pompilia_, foster daughter of the Comparini, _b._ July
17, 1680; was married to Guido Franceschini, December 1693; fled from
her husband's home in Arezzo, April 29, 1697; arrested at Castelnuovo,
May 1; wrote to her foster parents from her prison at Castelnuovo, May
3; made deposition in Rome concerning her flight, May 13; was on trial
for flight and adultery during the summer of 1697; was placed in the
convent of the _Scalette_, September 1697; removed to the home of the
Comparini as prison, October 12, 1697; gave birth to a son, Gaetano,
December 18, 1697; was assassinated January 2, 1698; died January 6.

34. _Giuseppe Maria Caponsacchi_, _b._ May 26, 1673, was invested
Canon of the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve, November 26, 1693, and
resigned "of his own accord," May 15, 1702. He is referred to in the
_Book_ as a man of courage, and his words as he faced Guido at
Castelnuovo are significant: "I am a man, and have done what I have
that I might save your wife from death." His affidavit is convincingly
straightforward, in spite of certain discrepancies with Pompilia's
statements, and there is evident moral indignation in his replies
under cross-examination. His participation in the dangerous flight in
mere amorous intrigue seems unbelievably foolish, and could hardly
have been carried through save on the motive he assigns, courageous
"Christian compassion." In September 1697 he went to Civita Vecchia
under sentence of three years' relegation.

35. _Canon Conti_, called the "mediator in the flight," was brother of
Count Aldobrandini, who had married Guido's sister, and Conti is
accordingly spoken of as a "relative and frequenter of the
Franceschini home." He had been invested Canon of the Pieve, August
14, 1692. He must have been fully informed of Pompilia's sufferings,
and to him she turned at last for help. Deeming it improper for
himself to afford her relief, he urged his friend Caponsacchi to
accompany her. No criminal procedure was instituted against him in
Arezzo when Pompilia and Guillichini were accused. He died January
1698, and the Second Anonymous Pamphleteer hints that this was due to
foul play.

36. _Guido Franceschini_, _b._ January 24, 1658, the youngest son of
an impoverished, second-rate, noble family of Arezzo, had sought his
fortunes in Rome, where he became secretary of Cardinal Nerli. He
dropped out of this service in middle life, with hardly a dollar in
his pocket, and planned to recoup his fortunes by marriage with
Pompilia, the heiress of the well-to-do Comparini. After the marriage
in December 1693, the Comparini accompanied him back to Arezzo. He
seems to have been unattractive and saturnine, and later on proved
himself both crafty and brutal.

37. _Abate Paolo Franceschini_, _b._ October 28, 1650, the older,
shrewder, and more able brother of Guido, was more successful in
seeking his fortunes in the official world of Rome. He became
secretary of the powerful Cardinal Lauria, and on the death of the
latter, November 30, 1693, obtained the lucrative office of Secretary
of the Order of St. John of Malta. He assisted Guido in effecting the
marriage with Pompilia, and was his active agent in Rome during the
lawsuits which followed. In 1697 he lost his secretaryship because of
the ignominy which had come upon him in Guido's shameful troubles, and
left Rome, possibly, as he is accused by the Second Anonymous
Pamphleteer, to assist in planning the murder of the Comparini.

38. _Honoris Causa._ As the fact of the murders by Guido and his
cut-throats was subject to no dispute, the whole law case turns on the
question whether these murders had been _for the sake of honour_, the
ever repeated plea of the unwritten law for the right of the husband
to slay a wife sinning against her wifehood. The lawyer's devote
themselves to ascertaining the limitations and privileges of this
plea.

39. _Incontinenti, Ex Intervallo._ There is much argument on the
justification for honour's sake in murder done _immediately_ after the
insult, or _after an interval_ of time has elapsed. In the latter
case, the murder becomes premeditated, and is not justifiable on the
ground of excusable heat of passion at an insult.

40. _The Aggravating Circumstances._ The prosecution makes much of the
attendant criminal circumstances which surrounded the main crime of
murder. These are first, the assembling of a band of armed men,
constituting the crime of rebellion; second, the murder of a prisoner
while under the care of the courts, Pompilia being technically a
prisoner detained in the Process of Flight; third, the assault upon
opponents in a pending lawsuit, the Comparini then being at law with
Guido; fourth, the violent breaking into a private home; fifth, the
commission of crime under cover of disguise; sixth, the use of certain
types of barbarous weapon, the very possession of which was a capital
offence. The first three of these were _laesa majestas_, criminal
insult to the majesty of the law.

41. _San Lorenzo in Lucina._ This church in the heart of Rome just off
the Corso, and not very far from the home of the Comparini at the
corner of Via Vittoria, and Strada Paolina, was evidently the parish
church of the Comparini, as both the birth and death of Pompilia are
entered in its register.

42. _Castelnuovo._ A village of but a few houses, fifteen miles north
of Rome. The inn and posthouse where Pompilia and Caponsacchi were
overtaken by Guido thus became one of the most important scenes in the
tragedy.

43. _Torture of the Vigil._ Guido and his companions were tortured
thus, to get fuller testimony from them. This torture consisted
originally in merely keeping the victim awake until he told his crime.
Later on his confession was accelerated by auxiliary devices for
intensifying the suffering of the subject.

44. Browning has taken the peroration used in the first lawyer's
monologue, _R. B._ VIII. 1637-1736, directly from the peroration of
Arcangeli in Pamphlet 8, p. 130.

45. The description of the execution as given in _R. B._ XII. 113 _et
seq._, is taken from the additional Italian pamphlet, pp. 265-6.

46. In like manner _R. B._ VIII. 587-683, is closely drawn from the
_Book_, pp. 153-4, with an interpolation in lines 640-57 from page
226. More than fifty of such word to word borrowings from the _Book_
are made in this monologue.

MINUTE OF THE DEFINITE ORDER OF EVENTS IN THE CASE

    July 17, 1680. Pompilia born. (Note 27).

    December (?) 1693. Pompilia married to Guido Franceschini.

    December 1693. The Comparini accompany the bride to Arezzo.

    Four months residence together in Arezzo.

    Domestic broils in Arezzo, January and February, 1694.

    March 1694. The Comparini return to Rome.

    April or May 1694. Violante reveals base parentage of Pompilia.

    June 14, 1694. Pompilia's letter to Abate Paolo. (Note 16).

    June 24, 1694. Affidavit of Angelica. (Note 13).

    Summer of 1694. Pietro Comparini prosecutes suit to recover
    dowry.

    August 2, 1694. Letter of the Governor to Abate Paolo.

    September 15, 1694. Letter of the Bishop of Arezzo to Abate
    Paolo.

    March 1697. Pompilia seeks aid of Confessor Romano.

    April, 1697. Seeks aid of Guillichini, Conti, and Caponsacchi.

    April 29 (1 a.m.). Pompilia flees.

    April 30 (in the evening). Fugitives arrive at Castelnuovo.

    May 1 (early in the morning). Guido overtakes fugitives and has
    them arrested.

    May 3. Pompilia writes from the prison of Castelnuovo.

    May 13. Pompilia makes her deposition. (Note 19).

    May 21. Pompilia is further cross-examined.

    June 17, 1697. Certain persons in Arezzo make affidavit in
    Pompilia's behalf. (Note 14).

    Summer of 1697. The Process of Flight. (Note 18).

    September 24, 1697. Caponsacchi sentenced to relegation. (Note
    22).

    October 12. Pompilia permitted to return home under bond. (Note
    25).

    Fall of 1697. Pompilia institutes suit for divorce.

    Fall of 1697. The Franceschini push a criminal suit against
    Pompilia in the criminal courts of Arezzo. (Note 3).

    Fall of 1697. Abate Paolo loses his secretaryship of the Order
    of St. John.

    December 18, 1697. Pompilia gives birth to a son.

    December 24, 1697. Guido and his cut-throats arrive in Rome.

    January 2, 1698. Guido murders his wife and the Comparini.

    January 3. Guido and his associates arrested and imprisoned.

    January 6. Pompilia dies.

    January 19. Fra Celestino makes affidavit. (Note 17).

    January 1698. The murder trial begins.

    January 1698. Conti dies in Arezzo.

    January 1698. Sta. Maria Maddalena delle Convertite institutes
    suit to gain Pompilia's estate. (Note 10).

    End of January. The torture of the Vigil. (Note 43).

    February 1698. The second stage of the murder trial.

    February 9. Certificate of the baptismal record of Pompilia
    obtained. (Note 27).

    February 15. Certificate of the Tuscan criminal prosecution of
    Pompilia obtained. (Note 3).

    February 18. Guido declared guilty, but a stay of sentence
    granted.

    February 21. Execution set for following day. The Pope overrules
    delay.

    February 22, 1698. The murderers are executed.

    Spring of 1698. The Franceschini bring suit to recover
    Pompilia's property.

    May 17. The criminal court decides in favour of Pompilia's
    executor.

    September 1-9, 1698. Final decree of court, utterly clearing
    Pompilia's reputation.

Browning uses all the above chronology with scrupulous accuracy, save
when, for good artistic reasons, he changes the flight from April 29
to the 23rd, St. George's day.

MINUTE OF THE PERSONAL NAMES FOUND IN THE BOOK AND PAMPHLET AND USED
BY BROWNING IN HIS POEM

     Franceschini, Signor Guido. (Note 36).

     Franceschini, Abate Paolo. (Note 37).

     Franceschini, Canon Girolamo, _b._ August 5, 1654, brother of
     Guido.

     Franceschini, Donna Beatrice, 1631-1701, mother of Guido.

     Franceschini, Count Tommaso, father of Guido.

     Comparini, Signor Pietro, father of Pompilia.

     Comparini, Violante, mother of Pompilia.

     Comparini, Pompilia. (Note 33).

     Canon Conti. (Note 35).

     Canon Giuseppe Caponsacchi. (Note 34).

     Signor Guillichini, helper in the flight.

     Borsi, the driver.

     Signor Marzi-Medici, Governor of Arezzo.

     Bishop of Arezzo, Giovanni Matteo Marchetti, 1691-1704.

     The Confessor Romano.

     Maria Margherita Contenti, servant in the Franceschini home.

     Monna Baldi (Albergotti).

     Cardinal Panciatichi }
     Cardinal Acciajuoli  } Guido's confessors on the eve of execution.

     Signor Tighetti, trustee of Pompilia's estate.

     The babe, Gaetano.

     Fra Celestino, confessor of the dying Pompilia.

     Signor Giacinto Arcangeli. (Note 5).

     Signor Bottini. (Note 7).

     Signor Spreti. (Note 6).

     Signor Cencini, a Florentine lawyer interested in the murder
     trials.

     Alessandro Baldeschi }
     Domenico Gambassini  } The assassins.
     Francesco Pasquini   }
     Biagio Agostinelli   }

     Curate Ottoboni, Curate at San Lorenzo, in Lucina.

     Judge Tommati, Auditor Curiae.

     Judge Molines, of the Ruota.

     Marco Antonio Venturini, Vice-Governor, presiding in the murder
     case.