The country of The ring and the book . nent part in the greattrial at Rome. At this period there was a maidservantin the house with the pretty name of Maria MargheritaContenti. She had succeeded that Angelica whose vividimpressions of the inner life of the Franceschini had sodisturbed her late master. Maria Contenti was underGuidos thumb. She was—as was subsequently shown—a woman of the lowest character. She pretended to bethe medium of communication between her young mis-tress and the priest. It was she who manipulated thespurious billets doux. It was she who brought fictitiousmessages of lov
The country of The ring and the book . nent part in the greattrial at Rome. At this period there was a maidservantin the house with the pretty name of Maria MargheritaContenti. She had succeeded that Angelica whose vividimpressions of the inner life of the Franceschini had sodisturbed her late master. Maria Contenti was underGuidos thumb. She was—as was subsequently shown—a woman of the lowest character. She pretended to bethe medium of communication between her young mis-tress and the priest. It was she who manipulated thespurious billets doux. It was she who brought fictitiousmessages of love from the priest, whom she never saw,to the victim whom she was bribed to entrap. In the meantime Guido assumed the pose of thejealous and injured husband. He railed against Capon-sacchi as the destroyer of his peace, as the serpent thathad crept into his happy home. He accused Pompiliaof encouraging the canon, and so tormented her bycontinual outbursts of simulated jealousy that she was11 reduced, as she says, to desperation. 4o. 17.—THE VIA DEL GOVERNO VECCHIO, ROME. Pompilia at Bay One day, as Caponsacchi was passing the house, sheleaned from the balcony and begged him not to passthat way, because she had suffered so much from her hus-band on his account. Caponsacchi, who knew nothingof the letters and had no inkling of the plot, re-plied, with a defiant laugh, that no Guido should stophim from passing along the street if he wished, and bythat way he would go whenever he was so answer to this defiance Guido became the morepersistent in his cruelty, and threatened many times tokill his victim, assuring her that her evil conduct justi-fied him in doing so. The story now comes to the beginning of April,1697, at which time Pompilia realised that she was aboutto become a mother. She was then nearly her own life, for her own safety, for her owncomfort, she had little care. For over three years shehad dragged through a life of wretchedness, under thed
Size: 1418px × 1763px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1913
