of Violante’s guilt.  Marcello was put to the torture, and eventually confessed.  The Duke stabbed him to death with his own hands, and afterwards cut Diana’s throat for her share in the business.  Both bodies were thrown into the prison-sewer.  Meanwhile Paul IV. had retained the young Cardinal, Alfonso Caraffa, son of the Marquis of Montebello, near his person.  This prelate thought it right to inform his grand-uncle of the occurrences at Soriano.  The Pope only answered:  ‘And the Duchess?  What have they done with her?’ Paul IV. died in August, and the Conclave, which ended in the election of Pius IV., was opened.  During the important intrigues of that moment, Cardinal Alfonso found time to write to the Duke, imploring him not to leave so dark a stain upon his honor, but to exercise justice on a guilty wife.  On August 28, 1559, the Duke sent the Count Aliffe, and Don Leonardo del Cardine, with a company of soldiers to Gallese.  They told Violante that they had arrived to kill her, and offered her the offices of two Franciscan monks.  Before her death, the Duchess repeatedly insisted on her innocence, and received the Sacrament from the hands of Friar Antonio of Pavia.  The Count, her brother, then proceeded to her execution.  She covered her eyes with a handkerchief, which she, with perfect sang froid, drew somewhat lower in order to shut his sight out.  Then he adjusted the cord to her neck; but, finding that it would not exactly fit, he removed it and walked away.  The Duchess raised the bandage from her face, and said:  “Well! what are we about then?” He answered:  “The cord was not quite right, and I am going to get another, in order that you may not suffer.”  When he returned to the room, he arranged the handkerchief again, fixed the cord, turned the wand in the knot behind her neck, and strangled her.  The whole incident, on the part of the Duchess, passed in the tone of ordinary conversation.  She died like a good Christian, frequently repeating the words Credo, Credo.

Contrary to the usual custom and opinion of the age, this murder of an erring wife and sister formed part of the accusations brought against the Duke of Palliano and Count Aliffe.  It will be remembered that they were executed in Rome, together with the elder Cardinal Caraffa, during the pontificate of Pius IV.

Wife-Murders.

It would be difficult to give any adequate notion of the frequency of wife-murders at this epoch in the higher ranks of society.  I will, however, mention a few, noticed by me in the course of study.  Donna Pellegrina, daughter of Bianca Capello before her marriage with the Grand Duke of Tuscany, was killed at Bologna in 1598 by four masked assassins at the order of her husband, Count Ulisse Bentivoglio.  She had been suspected or convicted of adultery; and the Court of Florence sent word to the Count, ’che essendo vero quanto scriveva, facesse quello che conveniva a cavaliere di honore.’  In the light of