Behind him hung a golden
shield upon which was figured, between two upright columns each surmounted
by a crown, the double-headed black eagle of Austria; a scroll intertwining
the pillars was charged with the motto "PLUS ULTRA."
At the back of the court stood the curious who had come to see the show,
held in bounds by a steel line of Spanish halberdiers. But the concourse
was slight, for the folk of Piacenza still had weightier matters to concern
them than the trial of a wife-stealer.
I had ridden in with an escort of twenty lances. But I left these in the
square when I entered the palace and formally made surrender to the officer
who met me. This officer led me at once into the Chamber of Justice, two
men-at-arms opening a lane for me through the people with the butts of
their pikes, so that I came into the open space before my judges, and bowed
profoundly to Gonzaga.
Coldly he returned the salutation, his prominent eyes regarding me from out
of that florid, crafty countenance.
On my left, but high up the room and immediately at right angles to the
judges' tables, sat Galeotto, full-armed. He was flanked on the one side
by Fra Gervasio, who greeted me with a melancholy smile, and on the other
by Falcone, who sat rigid.
Opposite to this group on the judges' other hand stood Cosimo.
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