treachery of
Malatesta and the state of the city, so affected the ex-Gonfalonier
that he died of a fever after seven days. Nardi, an excellent
authority on all that concerns Florence during the siege, confirms the
account that Michelangelo left his post together with Corsini under a
panic; "by common agreement, or through fear of war, as man's
fragility is often wont to do." Vasari, who in his account of this
episode seems to have had Varchi's narrative under his eyes, adds a
trifle of information, to the effect that Michelangelo was accompanied
upon his flight, not only by Antonio Mini, but also by his old friend
Piloto. It may be worth adding that while reading in the Archivio
Buonarroti, I discovered two letters from a friend named Piero Paesano
addressed to Michelangelo on January 1, 1530, and April 21, 1532, both
of which speak of his having "fled from Florence." The earlier plainly
says: "I heard from Santi Quattro (the Cardinal, probably) that you
have left Florence in order to escape from the annoyance and also from
the evil fortune of the war in which the country is engaged." These
letters, which have not been edited, and the first of which is
important, since it was sent to Michelangelo in Florence, help to
prove that Michelangelo's friends believed he had run away from
Florence.

It was necessary to enter into these particulars, partly in order that
the reader may form his own judgment of the motives which prompted
Michelangelo to desert his official post at Florence, and partly
because we have now to consider the _Ricordo_ above mentioned, with
the puzzling date, September 10. This document is a note of expenses
incurred during a residence of fourteen days at Venice. It runs as
follows:--

"Honoured Sir. In Venice, this tenth day of September.... Ten ducats
to Rinaldo Corsini. Five ducats to Messer Loredan for the rent of the
house. Seventeen lire for the stockings of Antonio (Mini, perhaps).
For two stools, a table to eat on, and a coffer, half a ducat. Eight
soldi for straw. Forty soldi for the hire of the bed. Ten lire to the
man (_fante_) who came from Florence. Three ducats to Bondino for the
journey to Venice with boats. Twenty soldi to Piloto for a pair of
shoes. Fourteen days' board in Venice, twenty lire."

It has been argued from the date of the unfinished letter below which
these items are jotted down, that Michelangelo must have been in
Venice early in September, before his flight from Flore