remitted to Pascal Ziobà. The desired
receipt was given to me, which I gave to Toldo.
A week passed by, when I received a second
visit from Messer Antonio, who said, ' I am
not satisfied with the student Ziobà; he is a
dissipated young fellow; he has spent my money
in debauchery, and I shall withdraw my
protection from him. Take the receipt, and go
and demand the money back. If Pascal refuses
to pay, denounce him at the office of the
Cinque.'

"Pascal refused to pay. I denounced him
at the office of the Cinque, without being made
acquainted with the reasons of Toldo for acting
thus. The young man allowed his name to
appear in the black list, and I am ignorant of
what followed."

This declaration confirmed all the suspicions
which the statement of Francesco Contarini had
given rise to. The enemy, whose name Pascal
concealed, was the jeweller Toldo.
Notwithstanding the suspicion which was always
attached to the evidence of a Jew when the life
or the interests of a Christian were at stake,
still the words of Macchabæus, of Brindisi,
coincided in so remarkable a manner with a
part of the note found in the pocket of the
murdered man: " To-morrow, he whom thou has
persecuted will forgive thee thy malice." Did
not the phrase allude to his adventure in the
prison of the Cinque, where Pascal would no
doubt have pined away if the romantic rencontre
with the noble Contarini had not saved him
from the snare laid for him by Messer Toldo?
Was it not reasonable, then, to suppose that
Pascal had reason to fear a second attempt at
revenge on the part of Toldo, and that he had
got rid of so dangerous an enemy by assassination?

It was difficult to refute these arguments of
the prosecution. Hard pressed by cross-questioning,
the answers of Ziobà became evasive.
He repeated that he was not acquainted with
Messer Antonio; that if that man nourished
evil designs against him, he was not aware of
it, and that they originated probably in calumnies
said behind his back by some unknown
enemy. These denials proved the weakness of
the defence. To convict the accused, all that
justice required was to discover what cause of
hatred there could be between the student and
the jeweller Toldo. It was from Pascal himself
that the confession was to be extracted. When
the tribunals of Venice saw a glimmer of truth,
they had means at their disposal for bringing
it out fully. They resolved to put Pascal to
the torture.

To escape this terrible ordeal, Pascal made a
bold move. Turning to the noble Francesco
Contarini, he said:

"Noble sir, in wishing to serve me, you have
done me a bad turn; but as the intention was
a generous one, I owe you my thanks. I entreat
your excellency to render me one more service,
that is, to take immediately to the most excellent
Council of Ten the following declaration:

"My name is not Ziobà. I am no foundling.
The story of the gipsies is a fabrication. My
name is Pascal Gambara, and I am the son of
the Lord of Gambara, of Brescia, exiled by this
great republic, and whose confiscated estates
were given in 1516 to Jean-Jacques Trivulce, a
French officer. Before being put to the
torture by this most respectable tribunal, I most
humbly propose to the high Council of Ten that
my case be brought before the supreme council,
as connected with political matters of the greatest
importance. I promise to reveal to the said
council all that I know respecting the Gambara
and their partisans, and also the whole truth
respecting the murder of Antonio Toldo."

Contarini promised Pascal to execute his
commission, and proceeded forthwith to the ducal
palace.

Fully to understand the importance of the
declaration made by Pascal Ziobà, the position
of the republic of Venice at that moment must
be called to mind. For five-and-twenty years,
the greatness of Venice had been gradually on
the decline. Her political bad faith had led to
many misfortunes, and the League of Cambray
had made a severe onslaught on her credit.
Andreas Gritti, having saved the state by
cunning and intrigue, had introduced a system
of temporising and venality. In 1516, when
Francis the First, after his victory at Marignano,
talked of subjugating all Italy, Venice, eager
to join the strongest, entered into close alliance
with France. Trivulce commanded the French
troops at the siege of Brescia, with a view to
restore it to the Venetians. The Gambara, a
noble family of high interest at Brescia, were
exiled by the Council of Ten, and their possessions
were conferred upon Trivulce as a reward
for the service he had rendered to the republic.
Shortly afterwards, the French, beaten in their
turn, evacuated the Milanese territory. Venice
drew closer to Spain. The Gambara endeavoured
to procure a return to favour; but the Council
of Ten, being desirous of having friends at the
court of France, in case of a turn of fortune, did
not think it advisable to offend the Trivulce,
who had often proved of essential service. At
the close of the year 1524, when Francis the
First re-entered Italy at the head of a large
army, the Venetians congratulated themselves at
having acted with delicacy towards so powerful
a monarch. Yet the Spanish army was equally
strong, and Charles the Fifth was also to be
feared. Venice did not know which way to turn.
Both monarchs were dallied with by kind words
and false promises. Francis the First crossed
the Alps, and the Spanish army encamped near
Pavia. The instructions given by the republic
of Venice to its ambassadors at this juncture
display the utmost hesitation and perplexity.
One month before the struggle, the Council of
Ten signed a secret treaty with France in the
pope's cabinet. The republic predicted that
fortune would, as usual, favour the arms of
France at first, and then deprive her of the
fruits of victory, as France was accustomed to
lose Italy just as fast as she conquered it.
Venice proposed to follow her old policy— to