at the very same time, his father had a At this time he was making a silver Cellini got out his gun, and prepared for action; and hardly had he done so, when his house was attacked by a band of infuriated Spaniards, nor was it till some Roman gentlemen came to his assistance that the assailants retired. Cellini threatened to lay the whole affair before the pope, but ultimately armed himself, and with his servant carrying the disputed vase, he sought the bishop's presence, and, after some demur, he obtained pay ment. When the pope did hear of it, Cellini's conduct met with his warm approval, and commissions from cardinals and grandees flowed in upon him, especially for those medallions which it was then the fashion to wear in the hat. This induced him to study seal-engraving, at which he became a great adept, making many of the cardinals' seals. He also practised enamelling, which was of great use to him in his jewelry. Then came a plague in Rome, and he amused himself by going into the country shooting. Of course, his skill exceeded everybody else's, if his own statements are to be accepted as facts, killing pigeons, etc., invariably with a single bullet. He next turned his attention to damas. cening on steel and silver, and some of his steel rings inlaid with gold fetched over forty crowns, which was less than half of what a brother artist, Caradosso, obtained for his work. This was all very well in the piping times of peace, but war was at hand, and all the potentates of Italy got mixed up in the quarrel between Francis the First and Charles the Fifth. Cellini took up arms in defence of Rome, and, according to his own account, performed prodigies of valor. On the night of May 5th, 1527, Charles de Bourbon suddenly arrived before Rome with an army of forty thousand men, and next morning assaulted the city, where he was killed, early in the day, by a musket shot, whilst he was leading on his troops, scaling-ladder in hand. Of course, our hero claimed to have shot him, nor only so, but when Clement betook himself to the Castle of St. Angelo for safety, Cellini had command of a portion of the ord nance, where, to the pope's admiration, he killed large numbers of the enemy, and said he wounded the Prince of Orange. One sample of his own version of his deeds of prowess may be given: "I saw a man who was employed in getting the trenches repaired, and who stood with a spear in his hand, dressed in rose-color, and I began to deliberate how I could lay him flat. I took my swivel, which was almost equal to a demi-culverin, turned it round, and charging it with a good quantity of fine and coarse powder mixed, aimed at him exactly. Though he was at so great a distance that it could not be expected any effort of art should make such pieces carry so far, I fired off the gun, and hit the man in red exactly in the middle. He had arrogantly placed his sword before him in a sort of Spanish bravado, but the ball of my piece hit against his sword, and the man was seen severed in two pieces. The pope, who did not dream of any such thing, was highly delighted and surprised at what he saw, as well because he thought it impossible that such a piece could carry so far, as that he could not conceive how the man could be cut into two pieces." Things grew desperate, and before the capitulation on June 5th, 1527, Clement employed Cellini to take all the jewels of the regalia from their settings, and melt down the gold, which weighed about a hundred pounds. The jewels, for safety, were sewn into the skirts of the dresses both of the pontiff and his master of the horse. After the capitulation, Cellini returned to Florence, where he found his father well; and, having administered to his necessities, he went to Mantua, where he visited Giulio Romano, who recommended him to the duke, from whom he speedily Here he stayed some little time, and was visited by Michael Angelo; but at last the pope, hearing he was at Florence, begged him to come to Rome, and offered him very advantageous terms. But he coquetted before he consented, and when he did go, he refrained for some time from visiting the pope. At last they met, and Clement gave him a commission, which turned out one of his masterpieces, to make him a morse, or clasp, for his pontifical cape. He afterwards designed and struck some medals and coins, and was appointed stamp-master to the mint, with a liberal salary. And now follows an episode which shows the general lawlessness of those days. Brawling, street-fighting, and assassination were of every-day occurrence, and swords leaped lightly from their scabbards on slender pretence, when worn by these impulsive Italians. journeymen, and was entrusted by the pope with all his jewels for resettingbut these he narrowly escaped losing, owing to a burglary at his house, which was partially defeated through the sagac ity of his dog, who afterwards met the thief in the street, flew at him, and would not be beaten off. There was nothing left for the thief to do but to confess, and this he did, making full restitution of the stolen property; so that Cellini and his dog were satisfied there always is a halo of romance about everything connected with this wonderful man. The pope was highly delighted with his morse, and made Cellini one of his macebearers, who preceded the pontiff carrying rods. He also gave him an order to make a chalice, and the design was worthy of the master. Instead of an ordinary stem the cup was upheld by three figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and on the foot were three bosses, on which were represented, in basso-relievo, three stories relating to the figures. And it was over this chalice that he and his friend and protector, the pope, quarrelled. No sooner was the design shown to his Holiness, and duly admired, than Benvenuto must needs ask for more preferment; this time a place worth over eight hundred crowns yearly. The pope refused, saying, if he enriched the artist he would no longer care to work; but at last consented to give him the next good piece of preferment that fell vacant, provided he made haste and finished the chalice. The pope went to Bologna, and Cellini says he made great progress with his work, but could not get on for want of more gold, which he could not obtain from the papal treasury. Besides which, he says he suffered from bad eyes, so much so that he thought he should lose his sight. His brother who was in Rome, in the service of Alessandro de' Medici of course got quarrelsome, a fight occurred, and he was shot in the leg. Benvenuto immediately joined in the mêlée, and would have killed the musqueteer who shot his brother, had not the man escaped. The surgeons proposed cutting off the brother's leg, but their patient would not hear of it, and consequently died. Benvenuto sorrowed deeply for him, and brooded over revenge, until he found out the habitation of the unfortunate musqueteer. Him he found standing at his door, and, without more ado, he smote and felled him with a blow from a long dagger; and, when the poor wretch could not help himself, he stabbed him in the collarbone and neck with such force that he could not extract the dagger. Having thus assassinated his enemy, he left the dagger in the corpse, and immediately sought Duke Alessandro, who at once accorded him his protection, and told him to go on with the work he had in hand for his Holiness. And all the notice ever taken of this outrage, was that at their next interview, the pope slightly frowned on Cellini, and said significantly to him: But intrigues were going on against "Now that you have recovered your him. Through the influence of Cardinal bealth, Benvenuto, take care of yourself." Salviati who was no friend to Benve He was now in high favor, kept five | nuto—a rival goldsmith, named Tobbia, On his return, the pope sent for him, and was so displeased with him for the little progress that he had made in his work, that he fell in a violent passion, and said, "As there is truth in God, I assure you, since you value no living soul, that, if a regard for decency did not prevent me, I would order both you and your work to be thrown this moment out of the window." Cellini still pleaded his blindness, and in a few days the pope sent for him, and spoke kindly to him. was introduced to Clement, and in a com- | information, and lost no time in flying He was taken before the governor of Rome; but neither threats nor cajolings prevailed, and the matter ended in his having his own way, returning the money, and keeping the unfinished chalice. It must, however, have been some comfort to him to find that the pontiff did not appreciate his rival's work. He filed to Naples, where the viceroy would fain have kept him, but Cardinal de' Medici having written to him to return to Rome without delay, he did so, and immediately set about a medal for the pope, commemorating the universal peace between 1530 and 1536. He continued to enjoy Clement's favor until his death in 1534, at which time he had a quarrel with, and killed, a man named Pompeo, so had to seek the protection of some powerful friend, whom he found in Cardinal Cornaro; and the new pope, Paul the Third-Cardinal Alessandro Farnese- gave him not only a safe-conduct, but at once employed him in the mint. But having aroused the enmity of Signor Pier Luigi Farnese, who hired a disbanded soldier to assassinate him, he thought it time to move, and went to Florence. Presumably, Cellini considered this por- Duke Alessandro de' Medici received tion of his life as tame, so he launches him very kindly, and would have had him out in a cock and bull story of his study stay, but he went with two friends of his sculptors ing necromancy in company with a Sicil to Venice, where they ian priest. They employed a boy as a stopped a short time, and then returned medium, and there were the usual clouds to Florence, where he employed himself of incense-burning, perfumes, etc., until | at the mint and in making jewelry, until the medium declared they were sur- a safe-conduct arrived for him from the rounded by a million fierce men, besides pope, with his commands that he should four armed giants. This even daunted immediately repair to Rome. our hero; but at last, although at one time the place was full of devils, they gradually disappeared, until only a few were left, who accompanied them on their way home, playfully leaping and skipping, sometimes running on the roofs of the houses, and sometimes on the ground. This seems to have been his worst en counter with spirits, and he settled down once more to his trade, until his bad temper again got him into trouble. This time he quarrelled with a Signor Benedetto, who provoked him beyond endurance by telling him that he and his partner, Felice, were both scoundrels. Cellini's hot blood fired up at this, and, scooping up a handful of mud out of the street, he threw it at Benedetto. Unfortunately, there was a sharp flint with the dirt, which stunned him, and so cut his head that it bled profusely. Some meddler told the pope that Benvenuto had just murdered his rival Tobbia, and the pope, in a passion, ordered the governor of Rome to seize Cellini, and hang him at once. Luckily for him he got instant On his arrival, the magistrates, who were not aware of his protection, sent some of the city guards to arrest him for the murder of Pompeo, but they retired upon seeing the document, and Cellini had his pardon properly registered. After this he had a violent illness, and nearly died; and he attributes his recovery to drinking plentifully of cold water whilst in a violent fever. But even his convalescence must be attended with some extraordinary occurrence, for he vomited a hairy worm, about a quarter of a cubit long; the hairs were very long, and the worm was shockingly ugly, having spots of different colors, green, black, and red; in fact, quite an artistic worm, worthy of having emanated from such a genius. He required his native air of Florence to restore him to health, but found the duke much prejudiced against him, owing to malicious reports; so, after a short stay, he returned to Rome, and very soon after, Alessandro was assassinated by Lorenzo de' Medici, 6th January, 1537, and Cosmo reigned in his stead. At this time Charles the Fifth paid a visit to Rome, and the pope thought to make him some extraordinary present. Cellini suggested a gold crucifix in which he could utilize the statuettes and orna. ments of his beloved chalice, but Paul decided to give a superbly illuminated missal, and Cellini was to make the cover, which was to be of gold, adorned with jewels worth about six thousand crowns, and he was also deputed to be the bearer of the present to the emperor, who reciprocated the pope's gift by a diamond which had cost him twelve thousand crowns, which Cellini afterwards set as a ring for Pope Paul. But he complained that he was not paid commensurately for his labor, either in the ring or the bookcover, so he determined to go to France, and finally accomplished the journey, wonderful to relate, without any marvellous adventures, but only the ordinary incidents of travel. He arrived in Paris, saw, and was graciously received by Francis the First, started with him on his journey to Lyons, where it was arranged that Cellini should stay, and then, unstable as water, because he was taken ill, and his attendant, Ascanio, had the ague, he was disgusted with France, and determined to return to Rome, which he reached in safety, and continued his business peacefully, having eight assis tants. One of these, however, treacherously and falsely told the secretary of his old enemy, Pier Luigi, that Benvenuto was worth at least eighty thousand ducats, the greatest portion of which belonged to the Church, and which he had stolen when in the Castle of St. Angelo during the siege of Rome. This was a bait too great for the avarice of the pope, so one fine morning poor Cellini found himself in custody of the city guard, and safely lodged in the Castle of St. Angelo, he being at this time but thirty-seven years of age. After a delay of some days he was examined, and made a good defence, but to no purpose. Pier Luigi had asked his father for Cellini's money, and the pope had granted his prayer; and even the remonstrances of King Francis the First were uselessfor he was told that Benvenuto was a turbulent, troublesome fellow, and his Majesty was advised not to interfere, because he was kept in prison for committing murder and other crimes. The king even begged for his release on the grounds that as he had visited France with the pope's permission, and with the intention of remaining, he was virtually his subject; but even this reasoning could not prevail, and Cellini must remain in durance. The constable of St. Angelo was a Florentine, and greatly tempered the severity of Cellini's incarceration by allow ing him to walk freely about the castle on parole. But it seems that the constable was subject to annual fits of monomania. One year he fancied himself a pitcher of oil; another year, a frog, and would leap about as such; and this year he was a bat, and, believing in his own powers of volition, he fancied that Cellini's ingenuity might also enable him to fly, and thus escape. So his parole was taken from him, and he was shut up. This naturally made Benvenuto anxious to escape, and, having torn up his sheets, and inade lengths of rope therewith, he managed to steal a pair of pincers. With these latter, he drew the nails which fastened the iron plates to the door, making false heads with wax and iron rust. Matters being thus prepared, he made his attempt one night, and succeeded in getting outside, but at the cost of a broken leg. In his helpless condition some mastiffs set upon him, and he had a desperate fight with them. A water-carrier gave him a lift, and got him farther away, and then he crawled and dragged himself on hands and knees, trying to reach the house of the Duchess Ottavio, who had formerly been the wife of the murdered Alessandro de' Medici. However, luckily, a servant of Cardinal Cornaro saw him in this plight, and immediately told his master, who at once had him fetched in and his injuries seen to. • The cardinal next went to the pope to intercede for his protégé, and at first Paul seemed inclined to pardon, for he himself had once broken out of St. Angelo, where he had been imprisoned for forging a papal brief. But Cellini's evil genius, Pier Luigi, was present; his counsels had too much weight, and the unfortunate artist was taken, nominally as a guest of the pontiff, to the papal palace, and after a little time he was conveyed again to the Castle of St. Angelo. Here the crazy governor, in order to keep him safely, confined him in a very dark room under the garden, the floor of which was covered with water, and which was, besides, tenanted by tarantulas and other noxious insects. Deprived of all society, and with no books save a Bible and the Chronicles of Villani, Cellini's reason seems to have partially given way, and he records numerous visions seen, which, it is needless to say, were of the most astounding nature. Indeed the pope believed him mad, and sent word to the governor of St. Angelo to take no further heed of him, but to mind the salvation of his own soul for though the governor had recovered his reason, his health was undermined. With returning sense, he treated his prisoner better, giving him pens, ink, and paper, besides modelling-wax and implements, so that his lot was much amelioで rated; nay, just before his death, he allowed Cellini almost the same liberty he had enjoyed when first he was imprisoned a privilege which was confirmed by his successor, Antonio Ugolini. About this time, Cellini says, an attempt was made to poison him by mixing pounded diamonds with his food, but this was defeated by the avarice of the person employed to make the powder, who kept the real stone and pounded a counterfeit. After this the governor sent him food from his own table, and one of his servants tasted it. Brighter days were now in store for our hero, for the Cardinal of Ferrara, coming to Rome from the court of France, find ing the pope one day in a good humor, asked, as a boon, in the name of the king his master, the liberation of Cellini, which was graciously accorded, and he was at once released before the news could come to the ears of his enemy, Pier Luigi. a Chinese to a Spaniard. And then I had We were received by a bright-faced, pleasant young fellow, who turned out to be Mr. Chancellor's private secretarythe ornamental secretary that is - the Hon. Wallace Wyvern, a link with the great world into which his chief was try ing to gain an entrance. Hence Mr. Wyvern was entertaining Mr. Chancellor's friends on board his yacht, while his two fellow-secretaries were fathoms deep in blue-books and margined foolscap at Whitehall. 66 Delighted to see you, old chap," cried Mr. Wyvern, grasping Tommie warmly by the hand; "and your friend, too, is welcome. And now to present you to our chiefs in command." As we approached the yacht, people were looking out at us from under the awning on board the yacht, among whom I fancied I recognized the slender, graceful form of Hilda Chudleigh; while, on our side Tom Courtney was making energetic signals of welcome and recognition. In a few moments Hilda and I would meet. I should be received, no doubt, as And Wyvern tripped lightly before us a mere acquaintance - an old friend who along the deck, leading the way to a small had been lost sight of for years, and group of young women, at the sight of whose reappearance would be the subject whom my heart had begun to beat the of a little commonplace surprise. Better rataplan. But, after all, the tall, graceful to remain unknown than to be received figure I had seen was not Hilda-she like this. And then the thought occurred: was not upon deck — but proved to be 'Why not remain unknown? Five years in India had turned me from a fair young Englishman into a copper-colored individual of any possible nationality, from Miss Chancellor, a slight and pretty girl with something of a northern accent, which, with a little nervous awkwardness at times, gave her an individuality not at |