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Ursini was stoned at the foot of the altar. The chap.dangerous office of tribune was successively oc-cupied by two plebeians, Cerroni and Baron-celli. The mildness of Cerroni was unequal tothe times; and after a faint struggle, he retiredwith a fair reputation and a decent fortune tothe comfort of rural life. Devoid of eloquenceor genius, Baroncelli was distinguished by aresolute spirit: he spoke the language of a pa-triot, and tj'ode j n the footsteps of tyrants; hissuspicion was a sentence of death, and his owndeath was the reward of his cruelties. Amidstthe public misfortunes, the faults of Rienzi wereforgotten; and the Romans sighed for the peaceand prosperity of the good estate .* 1
After an exile of seven years, the first deli- Adventure*verer was again restored to his country. In the of Rien11 'disguise of a monk or a pilgrim, he escapedfrom the castle of St. Angelo, implored thefriendship of the kings of Hungary and Naples,tempted the ambition of every bold adventurer,mingled at Rome with the pilgrims of the jubi-lee, lay concealed among the hermits of the Ap-pennine, and wandered through the cities ofItaly, Germany, and Bohemia . His person wasinvisible, his name was yet formidable; and theanxiety of the court of Avignon supposes, andeven magnifies, his personal merit. The empe-ror Charles the fourth gave audience to a stran-ger, who frankly revealed himself as the tribune
* The troubles of Rome , from the departure to the return of Rienzi»are related by IVIatteo Villani (1. ii, c. 47 , I. iii, c. 33, 57, 78) andThomas Fortifiocca (U iii, c. 1-4). I have slightly passed over thesetecondary characters, who imitated the original tribune.