eputation. Nevertheless,
his character shone resplendently when contrasted with that of his rival
Alessandro.

Ippolito de' Medici left a son by his mistress, Asdrubale, who became a
soldier and a knight of Malta.

Neither Pope nor Emperor made any very energetic protests to Alessandro,
but were busy with anxious personal enterprises--and self-interests
usually exclude any other. True, Charles wrote to the Duke and
questioned him about the death of Ippolito, and required that all the
facts of the case should be laid before him, but the matter ended there.
Alessandro made no reply!

In six months the sensation had blown over, and the Emperor visited
Florence in gorgeous State on 24th April. He was royally entertained by
Alessandro, but he made no friends among the nobles, and departed
without bestowing the usual honours. The Medici Palace had been
redecorated, and it witnessed a revival of the lavish hospitality of
Lorenzo il Magnifico.

Margaret of Austria entered the city for her marriage with Alessandro on
19th July 1536. She came from Naples accompanied by the Vice-Queen and
Cardinals Santi Quattro and Cibo. The nuptial Mass was sung at San
Lorenzo, and then the whole city was given over to feasting and
debauchery. "The young Duchess was serenely happy, for the Duke paid
her great court, and she knew not that he paid as much to other women of
all grades!" Banquets, masked balls, street pageants, _Giostre_, and
musical comedies crowded one upon another.

Among the wedding guests was Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, who
held the Lordship of Piombino, the lineal descendant and heir of Cosimo,
"_Il Padre della Patria's_" brother Lorenzo. His father died when he was
an infant, but his mother, Maria de' Soderini--a woman possessed of all
the prudence and culture of her family--devoted herself to his rearing
and education. Just twenty-three years old, he was small of stature and
slightly built, dark complexioned, and of a melancholy aspect. His
health was indifferent, and he was liable to uncontrollable fits of
passion: he was restless and dissatisfied, and the associate of low and
evil companions.

In Rome--where he had lived in the Medici "happy family" of the Pope--he
acquired the reputation of a coward and a provoker of disturbances. He
was fond of defacing and mutilating ancient monuments, and became liable
to pains and penalties from which Cardinal Ippolito rescued him. By his
depraved and foolish habits h