naventuri became the mother of a little girl, to
whom the name Pellegrina--her own dear mother's name--was given. The
days of convalescence quickly passed, and Francesco paid his
_innamorata_ increasing court. Upon Pietro and Bianca he bestowed a
charming palace, on the Lung 'Arno, and provided them with ample means
to maintain themselves and it. He appointed Pietro Keeper of his
Wardrobe and Clerk of his Privy Closet, on condition that his
fascinating girl-wife should be regarded pretty much as "_La cosa di
Francesco_."

The more the Prince saw of Bianca the stronger grew his passion. She was
perfectly irresistible. After the fashion of the day, he poured forth
his devotion in graceful madrigals--the first of which, began as
follows:--

"A rich and shining Gem hath Dame Nature
Taken out of Heaven's treasury, and
Wrapping it in a lustrous human veil
Hath bestowed it on me, saying, 'To thee
I give this beauteous Flora for thine own.'"

Meanwhile preparations were going forward for the reception and marriage
of the Austrian Archduchess, who reached Florence on 16th November 1565.
Reports of her husband's infatuation for Bianca Buonaventuri had of
course travelled to Vienna, and Giovanna had not long to wait for their
verification. She could not brook the fouling of the marriage-bed nor
permit the _liaison_ to go on undenounced.

Francesco met her ill-humour with a frown. He pointed to the morals of
her father's court, and to the Florentine cult of Platonism, and he bade
her mind her own business and not make troubles. Her appeals to Duke
Cosimo and to her brother the Emperor Maximilian were in vain. Francesco
plainly hinted that she might go back to Vienna if she liked, for
nothing that she could say or do would alter his admiration and his
devotion for Bianca Buonaventuri. The strictness of married life had
long ago disappeared from the conventions of Florentine society. Mutual
relationships proved that men might live as they pleased, so long as
they did not renounce the offspring, even when they were assured that it
was not their own. The term "_Partiti_"--"Sharers" or "Partners"--
perhaps less literally but more emphatically, "kindred souls," was
bestowed upon this relationship. Still at no time was Francesco a
sensuous man or a libertine like his father. His devotionally-affected
mother, Eleanora de Toledo, had trained him in moral ways, and had
called forth in him regard for religion and sympathy for charitable