a royal commissioner to Petrella to exhume the body and make minute inquiries, if there appeared to be adequate grounds for doing so.  On his arrival all the domestics in the castle were placed under arrest and sent in chains to Naples.  No incriminating proofs, however, were found, except in the evidence of the laundress, who deposed that Beatrice had given her a bloodstained sheet to wash.  This, clue led to terrible consequences; for, further questioned she declared that she could not believe the explanation given to account for its condition.  The evidence was sent to the Roman court; but at that period it did not appear strong enough to warrant the arrest of the Cenci family, who remained undisturbed for many months, during which time the youngest boy died.  Of the five brothers there only remained Giacomo, the eldest, and Bernardo, the youngest but one.  Nothing prevented them from escaping to Venice or Florence; but they remained quietly in Rome.

Meantime Monsignor Guerra received private information that, shortly before the death of Francesco, Marzio and Olympio had been seen prowling round the castle, and that the Neapolitan police had received orders to arrest them.

The monsignor was a most wary man, and very difficult to catch napping when warned in time.  He immediately hired two other sbirri to assassinate Marzio and Olympio.  The one commissioned to put Olympio out of the way came across him at Terni, and conscientiously did his work with a poniard, but Marzio’s man unfortunately arrived at Naples too late, and found his bird already in the hands of the police.

He was put to the torture, and confessed everything.  His deposition was sent to Rome, whither he shortly afterwards followed it, to be confronted with the accused.  Warrants were immediately issued for the arrest of Giacomo, Bernardo, Lucrezia, and Beatrice; they were at first confined in the Cenci palace under a strong guard, but the proofs against them becoming stronger and stronger, they were removed to the castle of Corte Savella, where they were confronted with Marzio; but they obstinately denied both any complicity in the crime and any knowledge of the assassin.  Beatrice, above all, displayed the greatest assurance, demanding to be the first to be confronted with Marzio; whose mendacity she affirmed with such calm dignity, that he, more than ever smitten by her beauty, determined, since he could not live for her, to save her by his death.  Consequently, he declared all his statements to be false, and asked forgiveness from God and from Beatrice; neither threats nor tortures could make him recant, and he died firm in his denial, under frightful tortures.  The Cenci then thought themselves safe.

God’s justice, however, still pursued them.  The sbirro who had killed Olympio happened to be arrested for another crime, and, making a clean breast, confessed that he had been employed by Monsignor Guerra—­to put out of the way a fellow-assassin named Olympio, who knew too many of the monsignor’s secrets.