quarrel with Francis, for the purpose of affording him.self a pretext for retaining the emoluments of his see.

The arrangements for the intended interview between Leo X. and Francis I. at Bologna being now completed, Leo communicated his intention to the college of cardinals, some of whom ventured to insinuate that it would be derogatory to the dignity of the pontiff to receive the king in any other place than Rome. Without regarding their suggestions, he directed the cardinals to meet together at Viterbo on the approaching festival of All Souls; and to the absent cardinals he addressed a circular letter to the same effect. On his quitting the city, with the intention of paying a visit to Florence, before he proceeded to Bologna, he intrusted the chief authority to the cardinal Soderini, brother of the late Gonfaloniere, as his legate; not on account of his own attachment to him, but, as it was supposed, because he was apprehensive that if the cardinal accompanied him to Florence, his presence might remind the citizens of their former liberties. It was the intention of the pontiff to have proceeded from Rome to Siena, but the number of his followers, consisting of twenty cardinals with their attendants, and an immense train of prelates and officers of the court, alarmed the inhabitants of that place, who sent a deputation to him whilst yet on the road, to apprise him, that in the scarcity of provisions under which they laboured it would be impossible for them to provide for such a multitude. He therefore changed his route, and proceeded towards Cortona, where he was magnificently entertained for three days in the house of Giulio Passerini, one of the nobles attendant on his court, and gave audience to six of the principal inhabitants of Florence, who were deputed to meet and to pay him homage in the names of their fellow-citizens. On leaving Cortona he passed through Arezzo, and arrived on the twenty-sixth day of November in the vicinity of Florence, where he took up his residence for a few days at Marignolle, the villa of Jacopo Gianfiliazzi, until the preparations making for his reception within the city could be completed. These preparations were much impeded by a long continuance of rainy weather, but the inclemency of the season did not prevent the inhabitants from displaying their usual magnificence and invention; and the exhibitions upon this occasion employed the talents of the first professors, in a

city which was the centre of the arts, and at a period when they had attained their highest excellence.*

At the approach of the pontiff the gates and part of the walls of the city were thrown down, and the exultation of the populace was unbounded, whilst his presence reminded them, at the same time, of the honour which his high rank conferred on them, and of the happiness which they had enjoyed under the mild and paternal authority of his ancestors. At the entrance of the city was erected a triumphal arch, richly decorated with historical sculpture, the workmanship of Jacopo di Sandro, and Baccio da Montelupo. Another arch in the Piazza di S. Felice was completed by Giuliano del Tasso; in which was placed the statue of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the father of the pontiff, with a motto pathetically appropriate, although perhaps, profanely applied ; at the sight of which the pope appeared to be deeply affected. The same artist also exhibited at the S. Trinită a bust of Romulus and several beautiful statues, and erected in the Mercato nuovo a column resembling that of Trajan at Rome. Antonio da S. Gallo built, in the Piazza de' Signori, an octangular temple, and Baccio Bandinelli placed in the Loggie a colossal figure of Hercules. Between the monastery and the palace a triumphal arch was erected by Francesco Granacci, and Aristotile da S. Gallo; and another in the quarter of the Bischeri by Rosso Rossi, with great variety of ornaments and figures, and with appropriate inscriptions in honour of the pontiff. But the work which was chiefly admired was the front of the church of S. Maria del Fiore, which was covered with a temporary façade, from the design of Jacopo Sansovino, who decorated it with statues and bassi rilievi; in addition to which the pencil of Andrea de Sarto enriched it with historical subjects in chiaro-scuro, executed in such a manner as to produce a most striking effect; a mode of ornament the invention of which is attributed, by Vasari, to Lorenzo, father of the pontiff, and which was highly commended by Leo X., who declared that the structure could not have appeared more beautiful if the whole had been built of marble. Many other works of art are commemorated by contemporary writers, some of which were executed from the designs

* Cambii, Hist. Flor. ap. Moreni.

Hic est filius meus dilectus.

of Baccio Bandinelli, and were displayed in such profusion as almost to fill the streets through which the pontiff had to pass.12

The ceremonial order of the procession was arranged with great attention by Paris de Grassis, 13 from the inferior ranks of valets, heralds, and horsemen, to the great officers of the pope's household, nobles, ambassadors, and independent princes of Italian states. In this task he found, however, no small difficulty; for as there were three ambassadors from France, and only one from Spain, the Spanish envoy insisted on being placed next to the first of the French envoys, so that the other two should follow him. To this the French envoys positively objected; alleging that, on a former occasion, when there were three Spanish ambassadors and one from England, and the English envoy claimed the privilege of following after the first of the Spaniards, they refused to allow themselves to be separated, and insisting that the same rule should be applied to them which they had applied to others; whereupon the Spaniard quitted the procession in disgust. To the ambassadors succeeded the magistrates of Florence, on foot, the guards of the pope, and Lorenzo de' Medici with fifty followers. The host was preceded by tapers, and placed under a canopy supported by canons of the church. Next appeared the cardinals, according to their distinctions of deacons, priests, and bishops, who were succeeded by one hundred young men of noble families, superbly and uniformly dressed. The master of the papal ceremonies, Paris de Grassis, bishop of Pesaro, with his assistants, immediately preceded the pope, who appeared under a canopy, which was carried by the Gonfaloniere, and chief magistrates of Florence, and followed by the chamberlains, physicians, secretaries, and other officers of the pope's household. Among these was his treasurer, who, during their progress, distributed money among the crowd; for which purpose the pope had appropriated a sum of three thousand ducats. A long train of prelates and ecclesiastics followed, and the horse-guards of the pope brought up the rear. In this manner the procession passed towards the church of S. Maria del Fiore, the pope frequently stopping to observe the inscriptions and trophies which appeared in his way. On his arrival at the church, he found an elevated path prepared, on which he proceeded, with a few attendants, from the entrance to the high altar, whilst the rest of his followers remained ir

the church below. Here he continued in prayer a longer time than usual; after which, the cardinal, Giulio de' Medici, as archbishop of Florence, chanted the service, and recited the oration. The pope then gave his benediction and plenary indulgence to all present, after which he retired to relax from his fatigues, in the adjacent monastery of S. Maria Novella, whilst the evening was passed by the populace in joyful acclamations. The repose of the night was disturbed by the firing of cannon, which the prudent master of the ceremonies had strictly prohibited during the day, lest the horses of the secular attendants and the terrified mules of the ecclesiastics should throw their riders on the pavement.

On the following day, the pope visited the church of the Annunciata, where, having some doubts whether he should unveil the celebrated image of the Virgin, he consulted the cardinals present on this important question, by whose advice the veil was drawn aside at three short intervals. Thence he proceeded to take up his residence at his paternal mansion, where he found his brother, Giuliano, confined to his bed by a tedious and hopeless complaint. The third day after his arrival, being the first Sunday in Advent, was devoted to the performance of divine service in the chapel of the Medici family, dedicated to S. Lorenzo. On the conclusion of the ceremony, Leo X. turned to the spot where the remains of his father were deposited, and whilst he prostrated himself in the attitude of supplication, he was observed by his attendants to shed tears.

On the evening of the last-mentioned day, the pontiff quitted the city of Florence and proceeded to Bologna, where he met with a very different reception from that with which he had been honoured in his native place. The inhabitants, still attached to their banished chiefs of the family of Bentivoli, and mindful of the severities exercised upon them by Julius II., received the pope in sullen silence; except when the sound of Serra, Serra* resounded in his ears, as he passed in procession through the streets. This circumstance gave great offence to many of the cardinals, who thought that the pontiff should have manifested his displeasure on such an occasion. Leo.

* A saw, the impresa, or arms, of the Bentivoli.

however, judged much better than his attendants, and availed himself of this opportunity of displaying his moderation and forbearance; qualities for which he was remarkable, and which in general not only disarm resentment, but often convert an unjust or mistaken adversary into a faithful friend.

Three days afterwards, Francis I., who had been accompanied from Parma by four prelates sent for that purpose by the pope, was received on the confines of the ecclesiastical state by the cardinals de' Medici and Flisco, and conducted to Bologna, where all the members of the sacred college proceeded to meet him beyond the gate of S. Felice. After they had waited there a short time, the king made his appearance between the two pontifical legates, and was welcomed by a short address in Latin from the cardinal bishop of Ostia, who remained uncovered whilst he delivered it, as did also the other cardinals. To this the king, who was also uncovered, replied in French, assuring them that he considered himself as the son of his holiness, that he was thoroughly devoted to the apostolic see, and desirous of rendering every service in his power to the college of cardinals, as being his fathers and his brethren. Having addressed himself particularly to every one of the cardinals, they then approached him in succession, and gave him a fraternal kiss; the master of the pontifical ceremonies at the same time informing him of the name and quality of each cardinal as he approached. After this exhibition, they proceeded together towards the city, the king being placed between the cardinals Sanseverino and Este; but the attendants of the monarch disregarded the admonitions of the officer whose duty it was to regulate the proceedings of the day, and followed in a disorderly and tumultuous manner. He was thus conducted to the apartments provided for him in the palace, where four cardinals remained as his companions and dined with him at the same table. The pope, having in the mean time been arrayed in his pontifical garments and seated in full consistory, expected the approach of the king, who was introduced by the master of the ceremonies between two cardinals, attended by six prelates, and followed by such an immense multitude, as well of the populace as of French and Romans, that great apprehensions were entertained for the safety of the building. The king was himself upwards of half an hour in