a dishonourable thing to concern
oneself with art or industry, nothing more than a rich merchant, with
whom it would be absurd to stand upon any very strict ceremony. So
Charles VIII received him on horseback, and addressing him with a haughty
air, as a master might address a servant, demanded whence came this pride
of his that made him dispute his entrance into Tuscany. Piero dei Medici
replied, that, with the actual consent of Louis XI, his father Lorenzo
had concluded a treaty of alliance with Ferdinand of Naples; that
accordingly he had acted in obedience to prior obligations, but as he
did, not wish to push too far his devotion to the house of Aragon or his
opposition to France, he was ready to do whatever Charles VIII might
demand of him. The king, who had never looked for such humility in his
enemy, demanded that Sarzano should be given up to him: to this Piero dei
Medici at once consented. Then the conqueror, wishing to see how far the
ambassador of the magnificent republic would extend his politeness,
replied that this concession was far from satisfying him, and that he
still must have the keys of Pietra Santa, Pisa, Librafatta, and Livorno.
Piero saw no more difficulty about these than about Sarzano, and
consented on Charles's mere promise by word of mouth to restore the town
when he had achieved the conquest of Naples. At last Charles VIII,
seeing that this man who had been sent out to negotiate with him was very
easy to manage, exacted as a final condition, a 'sine qua non', however,
of his royal protection, that the magnificent republic should lend him
the sum of 200,000 florins. Piero found it no harder to dispose of money
than of fortresses, and replied that his fellow-citizens would be happy
to render this service to their new ally. Then Charles VIII set him on
horseback, and ordered him to go on in front, so as to begin to carry out
his promises by yielding up the four fortresses he had insisted on
having. Piero obeyed, and the French army, led by the grandson of Cosimo
the Great and the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, continued its triumphal
march through Tuscany.

On his arrival at Lucca, Piero dei Medici learnt that his concessions to
the King of France were making a terrible commotion at Florence. The
magnificent republic had supposed that what Charles VIII wanted was
simply a passage through her territory, so when the news came there was a
general feeling of discontent, which was augmented b