s to be found. Of his horses in clay with men on
their backs or under them, similar to those already mentioned, there are
many in the houses of citizens, which were presented by him to his
various friends, for he was very courteous, and not, like most men of
his class, mean and discourteous. And Dionigi da Diacceto, an excellent
and honourable gentleman, who also kept the accounts of Giovan
Francesco, like Niccolo Buoni, and was his friend, had from him many
low-reliefs.

There never was a man more amusing or fanciful than Giovan Francesco,
nor one that delighted more in animals. He had made a porcupine so tame,
that it stayed under the table like a dog, and at times it rubbed
against people's legs in such a manner, that they drew them in very
quickly. He had an eagle, and also a raven that said a great number of
things so clearly, that it was just like a human being. He also gave his
attention to the study of necromancy, and by means of that I am told
that he gave strange frights to his servants and assistants; and thus he
lived without a care. Having built a room almost in the manner of a
fish-pond, and keeping in it many serpents, or rather, grass-snakes,
which could not escape, he used to take the greatest pleasure in
standing, particularly in summer, to observe the mad pranks that they
played, and their fury.

There used to assemble in his rooms at the Sapienza a company of good
fellows who called themselves the Company of the Paiuolo;[10] and these,
whose numbers were limited to twelve, were our Giovan Francesco, Andrea
del Sarto, the painter Spillo, Domenico Puligo, the goldsmith Robetta,
Aristotile da San Gallo, Francesco di Pellegrino, Niccolo Buoni,
Domenico Baccelli, who played and sang divinely, the sculptor Solosmeo,
Lorenzo called Guazzetto, and the painter Ruberto di Filippo Lippi, who
was their proveditor. Each of these twelve could bring to certain
suppers and entertainments of theirs four friends and no more. The
manner of the suppers, which I am very willing to describe because these
companies have fallen almost entirely out of fashion, was that each man
should bring some dish for supper, prepared with some beautiful
invention, which, on arriving at the proper place, he presented to the
master of the feast, who was always one of their number, and who then
gave it to whomsoever he pleased, each man thus exchanging his dish for
that of another. When they were at table, they all offered each other
some