ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 



and lodged in Bembo's house, sent her old friend 

 cheeses and salted tongues, or cases of lemons from 

 the shores of the Lago di Garda ; while boxes of 

 sweetmeats, preserved citrons, and pink sugar confetti 

 came from the General of the Augustinians at Venice. 

 Bembo's own gifts of strawberries or flowers to his 

 friends at Padua were generally accompanied with a 

 sonnet or a canzone " a few rhymes which saw the 

 light this summer in the idleness of this do Ice Noniano, 

 and were born so lately that the ink on the page is 

 hardly yet dry." " You are too courteous, my dear 

 Ramusio," he exclaimed, when a richly bound copy 

 of the donor's Gallia arrived, together with a fine 

 young tree and a jar of olives from the Venetian 

 historian. 



From all parts of Italy, scholars and poets sent their 

 masterpieces to receive the benefit of Bembo's advice 

 and criticism. Sannazzaro sent his De Partu Vir- 

 ginis from Naples, Castiglione wrote from Toledo to 

 beg that Bembo would revise the proof of his 

 Cortegiano, Ariosto brought the new edition of his 

 Orlando to lay before him. Trifone and Nava- 

 gero, Molza and Tebaldeo, Bernardo Tasso of Ferrara, 

 and the Veronese poet Fracostoro, Vittoria Colonna 

 and Veronica Gambara, all consulted "this oracle of 

 Apollo 1 ' regarding their productions, while countless 



other poets whose names are forgotten followed their 



150 



