n of his esteem. "I have not been able to do so yet, because
Urbino was away. Now that he has returned, I shall give expression to
my sentiments. They tell me that a fine pearl necklace of some value
would be very proper. I have sent a goldsmith, Urbino's friend, in
search of such an ornament, and hope to find it; but say nothing to
her, and if you would like me to choose another article, please let me
know." This letter winds up with a strange admonition: "Look to
living, reflect and weigh things well; for the number of widows in the
world is always larger than that of the widowers." Ultimately he
decided upon two rings, one a diamond, the other a ruby. He tells
Lionardo to have the stones valued in case he has been cheated,
because he does not understand such things; and is glad to hear in due
course that the jewels are genuine. After the proper interval,
Cassandra expected her confinement, and Michelangelo corresponded with
his nephew as to the child's name in case it was a boy. "I shall be
very pleased if the name of Buonarroto does not die out of our family,
it having lasted three hundred years with us." The child was born upon
the 16th of May 1544, turned out a boy, and received the name of
Buonarroto. Though Lionardo had seven other children, including
Michelangelo the younger (born November 4, 1568), this Buonarroto
alone continued the male line of the family. The old man in Rome
remarked resignedly during his later years, when he heard the news of
a baby born and dead, that "I am not surprised; there was never in our
family more than one at a time to keep it going."

Buonarroto was christened with some pomp, and Vasari wrote to
Michelangelo describing the festivities. In the year 1554, Cosimo de'
Medici had thrown his net round Siena. The Marquis of Marignano
reduced the city first to extremities by famine, and finally to
enslavement by capitulation. These facts account for the tone of
Michelangelo's answer to Vasari's letter: "Yours has given me the
greatest pleasure, because it assures me that you remember the poor
old man; and more perhaps because you were present at the triumph you
narrate, of seeing another Buonarroto reborn. I thank you heartily for
the information. But I must say that I am displeased with so much pomp
and show. Man ought not to laugh when the whole world weeps. So I
think that Lionardo has not displayed great judgment, particularly in
celebrating a nativity with all that joy and gladness