Stradella and the old man's daughter wherever they found them. The
Venetian also furnished them with letters from Mons. l'Abbé d'Estrades,
then embassador of France at Venice, addressed to the Marquis of
Villars, the French embassador at Turin. The purport of these letters
was a recommendation of the bearers of them, who were therein
represented to be merchants, to the protection of the embassador, if at
any time they should stand in need of it.

"The Duchess of Savoy was at that time regent; and she having been
informed of the arrival of Stradella and Hortensia, and the occasion of
their precipitate flight from Rome; and knowing the vindictive temper of
the Venetians, placed the lady in a convent, and retained Stradella in
her palace as her principal musician. In a situation of such security as
this seemed to be, Stradella's fears for the safety of himself and his
mistress began to abate, till one evening, walking for the air upon the
ramparts of the city, he was set upon by the three assassins above
mentioned, that is to say, the father of Hortensia, and the two
ruffians, who each gave him a stab with a dagger in the breast, and
immediately betook themselves to the house of the French embassador as
to a sanctuary.

"The attack on Stradella having been made in the sight of numbers of
people, who were walking in the same place, occasioned an uproar in the
city, which soon reached the ears of the duchess: she ordered the gates
to be shut, and diligent search to be made for the three assassins; and
being informed that they had taken refuge in the house of the French
embassador, she went to demand them. The embassador insisting on the
privileges which those of his function claimed from the law of nations,
refused to deliver them up. In the interim Stradella was cured of his
wounds, and the Marquis de Villars, to make short of the question about