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Tasso ’s family was one of the noblest in Lombardy and his father was as conspicuous for bis parts as for bis misfortunes; but his son surpassed bim in botb, and baving forfeited the friendship of bis master, the duke of Ferrara, was obHged after a long and shameful imprisonment to wander a wbile tbrougb many parts of Italy, ratber in the garb of a beggar than in the dress of a gentleman.
I bave seen an edition of the first cantos of bis poem printed in his life-time, in the preface of whicb tbis remarkable anecdote is related. Tasso one day arrived a foot and most wretcbedly equipped at one of the gates of Turin. The guards wouldnot let bim enter the town, because instead of producing a passport, he could give no other account of bimself but that he was Tasso the poet. He was tberefore obliged to turn back, and go to a neighbouring convent of capuchins, to beg for some food as he was almost starved to death. But he bad scarcely began to eat wben the duke of Savoy, baving been casually informed of what bad passed at the gate, sent a coach and six to fetch the noble pilgrim at the capuchins, received bim with the most generous kindness and, after baving feasted bim for some days, put him in a condition to follow his journey with more decency towards Rome.
It is probable that such a reception from one of the greatest heroes of that age bad a very good effect on the mind of Tasso, not only much disturbed by the perverse animosity of the academicians della Crusca against bim, but almost distracted by a hopeless love; yet he died soon after in Rome, to the great reg^et of his very antagonists, who then adopted bis Works amongst the models of Italian language, for a specimen of whicb I transcribe from the second canto the eloquent speech of Alete, the ambassador of the king of Egypt, to Goffredo, the leader of the Christian army to the siege of Jerusalem:
O degno sol cui d’ubbidire or degni questa adunanza di famosi eroi, ecc. (’).
(I) II, st. 62-79 [Ed-]
