whisper discontent to the mercenaries that accompany him on his mission,
and induce them to our plan."

"I thought of that before," returned Montreal; "it shall be done. For
the present, farewell!"

"'His barb, and his sword,
And his lady, the peerless,
Are all that are prized
By Orlando the fearless.

"'Success to the Norman,
The darling of story;
His glory is pleasure--
His pleasure is glory.'"

Chanting this rude ditty as he resumed his mantle, the Knight waved his
hand to Rienzi, and departed.

Rienzi watched the receding form of his guest with an expression of hate
and fear upon his countenance. "Give that man the power," he muttered,
"and he may be a second Totila. (Innocent VI., some years afterwards,
proclaimed Montreal to be worse than Totila.) Methinks I see, in his
griping and ferocious nature,--through all the gloss of its gaiety and
knightly grace,--the very personification of our old Gothic foes. I
trust I have lulled him! Verily, two suns could no more blaze in one
hemisphere, than Walter de Montreal and Cola di Rienzi live in the same
city. The star-seers tell us that we feel a secret and uncontrollable
antipathy to those whose astral influences destine them to work us evil;
such antipathy do I feel for yon fair-faced homicide. Cross not my path,