rd and a horrible groan,
As of hundreds of cats with mollrowing and moan:
'Oh!' said he to himself, 'sure the devil is come.'"

--_Mr. Jones and the Cats_.

The celebrated Church of San Lorenzo is a grand museum of art, even among
the many of its kind in Florence. It was originally a Roman Christian
basilica, built by the matron Giuliana, which edifice was consecrated
A.D. 373 by Saint Ambrose, and called the Basilica Ambrosiana. It was
partially rebuilt by Brunelleschi in 1435, and completed with sad
alteration, and finished by Antonio Manetti. As is well known, or has
been made known by many great poets, it contains the grandest statuary by
Michael Angelo in its monuments of Lorenzo de' Medici and his uncle
Giuliano.

This church served as a sanctuary in the olden time, and of this there is
a tale told in the old collections of facetiae, which, though trifling,
is worth recalling as connected with it.

IL DEBITORE.

"Messer Paolo dell' Ottonaio, a Canon of San Lorenzo in Florence, a
cheerful and facetious man, found a certain citizen one of his friends,
who had taken refuge as a debtor in the church; and the latter stood in
sorrowful and pensive attitude, having in no wise the appearance of one
who had found a treasure, or who was going to be married, or to dine with
the Duke, or anything of the kind.

"'Man, what aileth thee?' cried the Canon. 'Has thy wife beaten thee, or
the cat broken thy best crockery, or thy favourite housemaid run away?'

"'What I have,' replied the poor man, 'is ten times worse than all that
put together.' And so, _havendo caro di sfogarsi_, being glad to relieve
himself, he told Messer Paolo all his sorrows, wailing that his
creditors, having taken all his property, threatened his person, swearing
that they would put him in the _Stinche_, which was so horrible a prison
that it was infamous even then all the world over as an _inferno_ where
every one confined at once became _infermo_, or a hell which made men
ill, and that, being in despair, he would have taken his own life had he
not come across a charming book on patience which had consoled him.

"Messer Paolo asked him whether the creditors had been paid in full.

"'Alas, no!' replied the debtor; 'not one half; nor will they ever get
the rest, for I have naught.'

"'In that case,' answered the Canon, 'it seems to me that it is your
creditor