e was in this wise: a large number of mattresses, well
filled with wool, were slung with stout cords from the top of the tower to
the bottom, covering parts likely to be hit. And as the cornice projected
considerably, the mattresses hung out from the main wall of the bell-tower
more than six hands, so that the cannon-balls of the enemy, partly on
account of the distance from which they were fired, and partly by the
opposition of these mattresses, did little or no damage, not even injuring
the mattresses themselves, because they were so yielding. Thus he held
that tower all the time of the siege, which lasted a year, without its
suffering any injury, and rejoicing greatly in the salvation of the land
and the damage he did to the enemy.

XLIV. But afterwards the enemy entered the city by treachery, and many of
the citizens were taken and killed. The court sent to the house of Michael
Angelo to seize him; all the rooms and the chests were searched by them,
even to the chimney and closet; but Michael Angelo, afraid of what might
follow, had taken refuge in the house of a great friend. Here he remained
in hiding many days, no one knowing that he was there except the friend
who saved him. When the fury was over, Pope Clement wrote to Florence that
Michael Angelo must be sought out, and ordered that, when found, he should
be set at liberty if he would go on with the work of the Medici tombs
formerly begun, and that he must be used courteously. Michael Angelo,
hearing this, came out; and, although it was some fifteen years since he
had touched the chisel, yet he set himself so earnestly to his task that
in a few months he carved all the statues now to be seen in the sacristy
of San Lorenzo, urged on more by fear than by love.(50) It is true that
none of these statues have received their last touches; nevertheless, they
are carried so far that the excellence of the workmanship can be very well
seen; nor does the lack of finish impair the perfection and the beauty of
the work.

XLV. The statues are four, placed in a sacristy erected for this purpose
on the left of the church opposite the old sacristy; and although each
figure balances the other in design and general shape, nevertheless, they
are quite different in form, idea, and action. The sarcophagi are placed
against the side walls, and above their lids recline two figures, larger
than life--that is to say, a man and a woman, signifying Day and Night; and
by the two of them T