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Book FirstPart XXXVII
Part XXXVII
I Pursued my business of artilleryman, and every day performed some
extraordinary feat, whereby the credit and the favour I acquired with the Pope
was something indescribable. There never passed a day but what I killed one or
another of our enemies in the besieging army. On one occasion the Pope was
walking round the circular keep, ^1 when he observed a Spanish Colonel in the
Prati; he recognised the man by certain indications, seeing that this officer
had formerly been in his service; and while he fixed his eyes on him, he kept
talking about him. I, above by the Angel, knew nothing of all this, but spied
a fellow down there, busying himself about the trenches with a javelin in his
hand; he was dressed entirely in rose-colour; and so, studying the worst
that I could do against him, I selected a gerfalcon which I had at hand; it is
a piece of ordnance larger and longer than a swivel, and about the size of a
demiculverin. This I emptied, and loaded it again with a good charge of fine
powder mixed with the coarser sort; then I aimed it exactly at the man in red,
elevating prodigiously, because a piece of that calibre could hardly be
expected to carry true at such a distance. I fired, and hit my man exactly in
the middle. He had trussed his sword in front, ^2 for swagger, after a way
those Spaniards have; and my ball, when it struck him, broke upon the blade,
and one could see the fellow cut in two fair halves. The Pope, who was
expecting nothing of this kind, derived great pleasure and amazement from the
sight, both because it seemed to him impossible that one should aim and hit
the mark at such a distance, and also because the man was cut in two, and he
could not comprehend how this should happen. He sent for me, and asked about
it. I explained all the devices I had used in firing; but told him that why
the man was cut in halves, neither he nor I could know. Upon my bended knees I
then besought him to give me the pardon of his blessing for that homicide; and
for all the others I had committed in the castle in the service of the Church.
Thereat the Pope, raising his hand, and making a large open sign of the cross
upon my face, told me that he blessed me, and that he gave me pardon for all
murders I had ever perpetrated, or should ever perpetrate, in the service of
the Apostolic Church. When I felt him, I went aloft, and never stayed from
firing to the utmost of my power; and few were the shots of mine that missed
their mark. My drawing, and my fine studies in my craft, and my charming art
of music, all were swallowed up in the din of that artillery; and if I were to
relate in detail all the splendid things I did in that infernal work of
cruelty, I should make the world stand by and wonder. But, not to be too
prolix, I will pass them over. Only I must tell a few of the most remarkable,
which are, as it were, forced in upon me.
[Footnote 1: The Mastio or main body of Hadrian`s Mausoleum, which was
converted into a fortress during the Middle Ages.]
[Footnote 2: S`aveva messo la spada dinanzi. Perhaps was bearing his sword in
front of him.]
To begin then: pondering day and night what I could render for my own
part in defence of Holy Church, and having noticed that the enemy changed
guard and marched past through the great gate of Santo Spirito, which was
within a reasonable range, I thereupon directed my attention to that spot;
but, having to shoot sideways, I could not do the damage that I wished,
although I killed a fair percentage every day. This induced our adversaries,
when they saw their passage covered by my guns, to load the roof of a certain
house one night with thirty gabions, which obstructed the view I formerly
enjoyed. Taking better thought than I had done of the whole situation, I now
turned all my five pieces of artillery directly on the gabions, and waited
till the evening hour, when they changed guard. Our enemies, thinking they
were safe, came on at greater ease and in a closer body than usual; whereupon
I set fire to my blow-pipes, ^3 Not merely did I dash to pieces the gabions
which stood in my way; but, what was better, by that one blast I slaughtered
more than thirty men. In consequence of this manoeuvre, which I repeated
twice, the soldiers were thrown into such disorder, that being, moreover,
encumbered with the spoils of that great sack, and some of them desirous of
enjoying the fruits of their labour, they oftentimes showed a mind to mutiny
and take themselves away from Rome. However, after coming to terms with their
valiant captain, Gian di Urbino, ^4 they were ultimately compelled, at their
excessive inconvenience, to take another road when they changed guard. It cost
them three miles of march, whereas before they had but half a mile. Having
achieved this feat, I was entreated with prodigious favours by all the men of
quality who were invested in the castle. This incident was so important that I
thought it well to relate it, before finishing the history of things outside
my art, the which is the real object of my writing: forsooth, if I wanted to
ornament my biography with such matters, I should have far too much to tell.
There is only one more circumstance which, now that the occasion offers, I
propose to record.
[Footnote 3: Soffioni, the cannon being like tubes to blow a fire up.]
[Footnote 4: This captain was a Spaniard, who played a very considerable
figure in the war, distinguishing himself at the capture of Genoa and the
battle of Lodi in 1522, and afterwards acting as Lieutenant-General to the
Prince of Orange. He held Naples against Orazio Baglioni in 1528, and died
before Spello in 1529.]
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