asters which will
happen elsewhere. Therefore be steadfast in good works, O people of
Florence; be steadfast in peace! If thou wouldst have the Lord steadfast
in mercy, be thou merciful toward thy brethren, thy friends, and thy
enemies; otherwise thou too shalt be smitten by the scourges prepared for
the rest of Italy. '_Misericordiam volo_,' crieth the Lord unto ye. Woe
to him that obeyeth not his commands!" After delivering this discourse
he started for Pisa, where the other ambassadors, and also the King,
speedily arrived.

Meanwhile disturbances went on increasing, and the populace seemed
already intoxicated with license. The dwellings of Giovanni Guidi, notary
and chancellor of the Riformagioni, and of Antonio Miniati, manager of
the Monte, were put to the sack, for both these men, having been faithful
tools of the Medici, and their subtle counsellors in the art of burdening
the people with insupportable taxes, were objects of general hatred. The
house of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici was also pillaged, together with
the garden by St. Mark's, in which so many treasures of art had been
collected by Lorenzo. So far, with the exception of a few dagger-thrusts,
no blood had been shed; but many were eager for conflict, and it would
have certainly begun had not Savonarola's partisans done their best to
keep the peace, and had not the friar been hourly expected from Pisa,
whither he had repaired on the 13th day of the month with a second
embassy. The seigniory also endeavored to quell the disturbances by means
of edicts of the severest kind.

But the popular discontent was now heightened by the arrival of other
envoys from Pisa with very unsatisfactory tidings. They had informed the
King that Florence was friendly to him, and already preparing to welcome
him with all the honors due to his royalty; they only asked that, being
received as a friend, he should bear himself in that light, and deign to
name his terms at once, so that free vent might be given to the public
joy. But the only reply Charles condescended to give was that, "Once in
the great town, all should be arranged." And it was evident from his
majesty's coldness that the solicitations of Piero de' Medici, his
earnest prayers, lavish promises of money, and submissive obedience had
turned him not in his favor. Consequently the ambassadors had to leave
without any definite answer, and could only say that the monarch was by
no means well disposed to the republic.