The diocese of Pianura holds a
fief known as the Caccia del Vescovo, long noted as the most lawless
district of the duchy. Before the death of the late Pope, Trescorre had
prevailed on the Duke to annex it to the principality; but the dreadful
fate of Ganganelli has checked bolder sovereigns than his Highness in
their attempts on the immunities of the Church, and one of the fairest
regions of our unhappy state remains a barren waste, the lair of outlaws
and assassins, and a menace to the surrounding country. His Highness is
not incapable of generous impulses and his occasional acts of humanity
might endear him to his people were it not that they despise him for
being the creature of his favourites. Thus, the gift of Boscofolto to
the Belverde has excited the bitterest discontent; for the Countess is
notorious for her cruel exactions, and it is certain that at her death
this rich fief will revert to the Church. And now," Gamba ended with a
smile, "I have made known to your excellency the chief characters in the
masque, as rumour depicts them to the vulgar. As to the court, like the
government, it is divided into two parties: the Duke's, headed by the
Belverde, and containing the staider and more conservative members of
the Church and nobility; and the Duchess's, composed of every fribble
and flatterer, every gamester and rake, every intriguing woman and
vulgar parvenu that can worm a way into her favour. In such an
atmosphere you may fancy how knowledge thrives.
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