rench troops were scattered
through the country, and they had to follow a roundabout course to reach
the city by the sea. They had very little money, and had gone only a
short distance when this small amount was exhausted. By that time they
had reached the city of Bologna, and there they turned aside.

Like most of the Italian cities Bologna tried to keep itself
independent, and to this end the ruling family had made a strange law
with regard to foreigners. Every stranger entering the city gates had to
present himself before the governor and receive from him a seal of red
wax on the thumb. If a stranger neglected to do this, he was liable to
be thrown into prison and fined.

The boy Michael Angelo and his two friends knew nothing of this odd law,
and entered the city gaily, without having the necessary wax on their
thumbs. As soon as this was noticed they were seized, taken before a
judge, and sentenced to pay six hundred and fifty lire. They had not
that much money between them, and so for a short time were placed under
lock and key.

Fortunately news of the boys' arrest came to a nobleman of the city who
was much interested in art and who had already heard of Michael Angelo's
ability. He at once had the boys set free, and invited Michael Angelo to
visit him at his home. But Michael did not wish to leave his friends,
and felt that it would be an imposition for the three of them to accept
the invitation.

When he spoke in this fashion to the nobleman the latter was very much
amused. "Ah, well," said he, "if things stand so I must beg of you to
take me also with your two friends to roam about the world at your
expense." The joke showed the boy the absurd side of the matter. He gave
his friends the little money he had left, said good-bye to them, and
accepted the invitation to stay in Bologna.

A very short time after, Piero de' Medici, driven from Florence by an
angry people, came to Bologna and met his old friend of Lorenzo's
gardens. For a short time the boys were together, then the young Medici
set out to seek aid from other cities, in an attempt to rebuild his
family fortunes.

Meanwhile the nobleman who had offered Michael Angelo a home was
delighted with his young friend. He found him keenly interested in Dante
and Petrarch, and equally gifted as a sculptor and painter. He gave him
work to do in the Church of San Petronio, and Michael did so well there
that the artists of Bologna grew jealous of him, and at