mock parliament was assembled, consisting only of the partizans of the Medici, under whose vote the principal champions of Florentine liberty were banished, tortured, or put to death, and Alexander de' Medici proclaimed first Grand Duke of Flo

rence.

THE CYPRUS WAR.

A. D. 1570.

THE island of Cyprus was one of the most valuable possessions of the Venetians, and yielded them abundance of corn, fruit, and wine. They had obtained possession of it in the year 1473, by a singular artifice.

Richard Coeur de Lion had conquered Cyprus, and bestowed it on Guy de Lusignan, in whose family it remained till the death of James de' Lusignan, who had contracted the singular relation of son-in-law to the Venetian republic, which had be- ! stowed on him the hand of its adopted daughter, Catharine Cornaro. No sooner was Catharine left a widow than her self-nominated parents faithlessly seized on the island, obliged her to abdicate her | kingdom in their favour, and assigned her, as a poor compensation, a castle and revenue in Lombardy.

From that time, Cyprus became the undisputed property of the Venetians, but the sultans of Turkey had long regarded it with greedy eyes; and in the year 1570, Selim the Second gave Venice the insulting choice of encountering the resistless might of his arms, or of surrendering the island, which he affirmed was the asylum of pirates, who plundered his subjects.

To so insolent a demand, only one answer could be returned. The Turks had already stripped Venice of nearly all her islands except Cyprus and Candia, which were too valuable to yield without a struggle, and a furious war immediately broke

out.

There were only two fortresses of any strength on the island, Nicosia and Famagosta, the garrisons of which, consisting originally of three thousand men, had been gradually diminished by sickness; but this small force defended Cyprus with a bravery and constancy that has rarely, if ever, been equalled.

An immense army of Turks landed, and commenced a fierce assault on the two fortresses. The signory, trembling for their besieged countrymen, used extraordinary efforts in fitting out, with the utmost expedition, a fleet of a hundred galleys, which was not unworthy of the better days of the republic. But the Turkish armament far exceeded

it in number; and though the Venetians succeeded in conveying a few reinforcements to Famagosta, they were unable to obtain any decisive advantage over the enemy, who had obtained complete possession of the Mediterranean. The senate in vain solicited the assistance of neighbouring powers, and were obliged to depend entirely on their own

resources.

While the garrisons of Cyprus were exposed to all the horrors of a close siege, the rival fleets encountered in the Gulf of Lepanto. Their vessels covered an extent of four miles; and a furious battle ensued, surpassing the most gigantic and sanguinary encounter which the world had ever seen, and terminating in a complete triumph of the Venetians. Thirty thousand Turks were slain; two hundred of their vessels captured or destroyed. But the victory was dearly purchased, by the loss of five thousand of the bravest Venetians; and they were so exhausted by the battle, as to be unable to offer further opposition to the Turks, who swept the Mediterranean in the following year with a new fleet no less formidable than the first. Nicosia had already fallen into the hands of the enemy; and the garrison of Famagosta, after enduring unheard-of sufferings, was forced to capitulate on honourable terms, which the Turks immediately violated. Repose was equally needed

by both parties; and a peace was concluded which confirmed the Turks in the possession of what had been won at such an immense sacrifice of human life.

BEDAMAR'S CONSPIRACY.

A. D. 1618.

THE Italian history during the seventeenth century is extremely barren of incident. Reduced beneath the yoke of Spain and Austria, the peninsula was no longer distinguished in arts or arms, but slumbered in a deathlike repose. Florence was the slave of domestic tyrants; Genoa, alternately the prey of Spain, Savoy, and France; Naples groaned under the oppression of Spanish viceroys; and the minor states had sunk into total insignificance. Venice alone preserved some remains of her ancient energy, which was displayed in her contest with the pirates of Dalmatia, who were finally dispersed, in spite of their being protected by the Austrian government.

In the year 1618, a conspiracy was discovered in Venice, on which Otway afterwards formed the tragedy that has immortalized his name. The plot of his drama, however, was founded on the

work of the Abbé de St. Real, which was at first regarded as authentic history, but has since been proved to be only an interesting political romance. The few incidents which are really known of the story appear very barren after the visions we have conjured up of Jaffier's misfortunes and Pierre's virtue.

Although Venice and Spain were not declared enemies, there existed the greatest jealousy between them. The Marquis of Bedamar was Spanish ambassador at Venice; and, as his good intentions towards the republic were very doubtful, the council of Ten kept a close watch upon his proceedings.

One morning, the Venetians were much surprised and dismayed, on entering their usual place of resort, the square of St. Mark, at beholding suspended from the pillars the bodies of several strangers, who had been executed during the night. Nobody could tell who they were, or what had been their crime. The following morning, several others were found suspended in a similar manner; and, shortly after, news was received of the summary execution of Jaques Pierre while on foreign service, a sea-captain not entirely free from the suspicion of piracy, who had deserted the viceroy of Naples, and engaged himself to Venice. The proceedings of the signory were always conducted