Note 353 — Chapter III · INTELLECTUAL INFLUENCE

Another anecdote of the court of Urbino. A Bergamese peasant had just entered the service of a nobleman. The princesses were told that there had arrived a retainer of Cardinal Borgia, who was a fine musician, a dancer, and a great oddity. They fetched him in, welcomed him, sat him down among them, and lionised him with great respect. Unhappily the good man spoke an indescribable jargon. The author of the trick made the princesses believe that he was shamming the Lombard peasant for fun. The scene lasted a rather long time, while those in the secret were splitting their sides.