Page:The Chronicle of Clemendy.pdf/243



UPON THE northern slope of the Mountain di San Giuliano a good many stones have been piled together and erected into walls and towers, the which taken together make up a considerable castle, and seem to have been well arranged, for they show no signs of old age or decay, though they have stood there for five hundred years and more. This fine building is the nest of the Dukes of San Giuliano, who trace their line very far back, and are mixed up with the old Patricians and pagan knights, till at last you find yourself in a thick brake on a Sabine hill, the which brake is the resort of a nymph or some such special wanton, and here civil people stop short, for it is well known these nymphs did not relish being peeped at, and were used to be respectfully spoken of. And inquisitive intermeddling personages who wished to know more than other people they taught manners and afflicted them grievously, turning them into stags, softening their brains, and altogether making examples of them, so that others might clearly understand that nymphs are best left alone. Wherefore we will not enquire further into the far-back affairs of this noble house; but merely say that they chose the mountain for their abode so long ago as the time of