XXV
We were up betimes. The town was ours, except the citadel. Checco hadgone to the fortress, which stood above the town, to one side, and hadsummoned the Castellan to surrender. He had refused, as we expected; butwe were not much troubled, for we had Caterina and her children in ourpower, and by their means thought we could get hold of the castle.
Checco had called a meeting of the Council to decide what should be donewith the town. It was purely a measure of politeness, for he had alreadymade up his mind and taken steps in accordance. With the town sotroubled, the citadel still in our opponent's hands, and the armies ofLodovico Moro at Milan, it was hopeless to suggest standing alone; andChecco had decided to offer Forli to the Pope. This would give aprotection against external enemies and would not greatly interfere withthe internal relations. The real power would belong to the chiefcitizen, and Checco knew well enough whom that was. Further, the laxgrasp of the Pope would soon be loosed by death, and in the confusion ofa long conclave and a change of rulers, it would not be impossible tochange the state of dependence into real liberty, and for Checco to addthe rights and titles of lordship to the power. On the previous night hehad sent a messenger to the Protonotary Savello, the papal governor ofCesena, with an account of what had happened and the offer of the town.Checco had requested an immediate reply, and was expecting it everyminute.
The Council was called for ten o'clock. At nine Checco receivedSavello's secret consent.
The President of the Council was Niccolo Tornielli, and he opened thesitting by reminding his hearers of their object, and calling for theiropinions. At first no one would speak. They did not know what was inChecco's mind, and they had no wish to say anything that might beoffensive to him. The Forlivesi are a cautious race! After a while anold man got up and timidly expressed the thanks of the citizens for thefreedom which Checco had bestowed upon them, suggesting also that heshould speak first. The lead thus given, the worthies rose, one afteranother, and said the same things with an air of profound originality.
Then Antonio Sassi stood up. It was he who had advised Girolamo toimpose the taxes on the town; and he was known to be a deadly enemy ofChecco. The others had been sufficiently astonished when they saw himenter the Council chamber, for it was thought that he had left the town,as Ercole Piacentini and others of the Count's favourites had done. Whenhe prepared to speak, the surprise was universal.
'Our good friend, Niccolo,' he said, 'has called upon us to decide whatshall be done with the town.
'Your thoughts seem to be inclining to one foreign master or another.But my thoughts are inclining to the Liberty, in whose name the town hasbeen won.
'Let us maintain the Liberty which these men have conquered at the riskof their lives....
'Why should we doubt our ability to preserve the Liberty of ourancestors? Why should we think that we, who are descended from suchfathers, born from their blood, bred in their houses, should havedegenerated so far as to be incapable of seizing the opportunity whichis presented to us?
'Let us not fear that the Mighty Monarch, who defends and protects himwho walks the path of the Just, will fail to give us spirit and strengthto introduce and firmly to implant in this city the blessed state ofLiberty.'
At the end of the sentence Antonio Sassi paused to see the effect on hisauditors.
He went on,--
'But as the example of Our Master has shown us that the shepherd isnecessary for the preservation of the flock; and as He seems to pointout our guardian by the success which He has granted to his arms in theextermination of the Wolf, I propose that we surrender our Liberty tothe hands of him who is best able to preserve it--Checco d'Orsi.'
A cry of astonishment burst from the Councillors. Was this AntonioSassi? They looked at Checco, but he was impassive; not even the shadowof a thought could be read on his face. They asked themselves whetherthis was pre-arranged, whether Checco had bought his enemy, or whetherit was a sudden device of Antonio to make his peace with the victor. Onecould see the agitation of their minds. They were tortured: they did notknow what Checco thought. Should they speak or be silent? There was alook of supplication in their faces which was quite pitiful. Finally,one of them made up his mind, and rose to second Antonio Sassi's motion.Then others took their courage in both hands and made speeches full ofpraise for Checco, begging him to accept the sovereignty.
A grave smile appeared on Checco's face, but it disappeared at once.When he thought there had been sufficient talking he rose to his feet,and, after thanking his predecessors for their eulogies, said,--
'It is true that we have conquered the city at the risk of our lives;but it was for the city, not for ourselves.... No thought of our ownprofit entered our minds, but we were possessed by a grave sense of ourduty towards our fellowmen. Our watch-words were Liberty and theCommonweal! From the bottom of my heart I thank Antonio Sassi and all ofyou who have such confidence in me that you are willing to surrender thetown to my keeping. In their good opinion I find a sufficient reward forall I have done. But, God knows, I have no desire to rule. I want thelove of my fellow-citizens, not the fear of subjects; I look with dismayupon the toils of a ruler. And who would believe in my disinterestednesswhen he saw me take up the sceptre which the lifeless hand has dropped?
'Forgive me; I cannot accept your gift.
'But there is one who can and will. The Church is not wont to close herbreast to him who seeks refuge beneath her sacred cloak, and she willpardon us for having shaken from our necks the hard yoke of Tyranny. Letus give ourselves to the Holy Father--'
He was interrupted by the applause of the councillors: they did not wantto hear further, but agreed unanimously; and it was forthwith arrangedthat an embassy should be sent to the Governor of Cesena to make theoffer. The meeting was broken up amidst shouts of praise for Checco. Ifhe had been strong before, he was ten times stronger now, for the betterclasses had been afraid of the mob and angry that he should depend onthem; now they were won too.
The people knew that the Council was assembled to consult on thedestinies of the town, and they had come together in thousands outsidethe Council House. The news was made known to them at once, and whenChecco appeared at the top of the stairs a mighty shout burst from them,and they closed round him with cries and cheers.
'Bravo! Bravo!'
He began to walk homewards, and the crowd followed, making the old greystreets ring with their shouts. On each side people were thronging andstood on tiptoe to see him, the men waving their caps and throwing themin the air, the women madly flourishing handkerchiefs; children werehoisted up that they might see the great man pass, and joined theirshrill cries to the tumult. Then it occurred to someone to spread hiscloak for Checco to walk on, and at once everyone followed his example,and the people pressed and struggled to lay their garments before hisfeet. And baskets of flowers were obtained and scattered before him, andthe heavy scent of the narcissi filled the air. The shouts were of allkinds; but at last one arose, and gathered strength, and replaced theothers, till ten thousand throats were shouting,--
_'Pater Patriae! Pater Patriae!'_
Checco walked along with bare head, his eyes cast down, his face quitewhite. His triumph was so great--that he was afraid!
The great procession entered the street in which stood the Palazzo Orsi,and at the same moment, from the gates of the palace issued Checco'swife and his children. They came towards us, followed by a troop ofnoble ladies. They met and Checco, opening his arms, clasped his wife tohis breast and kissed her tenderly; then, with his arm round her waist,the children on each side, he proceeded towards his house. If theenthusiasm had been great before, now it was ten times greater. Thepeople did not know what to do to show their joy; no words could expresstheir emotion; they could only give a huge deafening shout,--
_'Pater Patriae! Pater Patriae!'_