ich wealth had kept closed. Whereupon Lamberto,
one day, calling the other two, reminded them how great had been their
father's magnificence and how great their own and setting before them
what wealth had been theirs and the poverty to which they were come
through their inordinate expenditure, exhorted them, as best he knew,
ere their distress should become more apparent, to sell what little
was left them and get them gone, together with himself. They did as he
counselled them and departing Florence, without leavetaking or
ceremony, stayed not till they came to England, where, taking a little
house in London and spending very little, they addressed themselves
with the utmost diligence to lend money at usance. In this fortune was
so favourable to them that in a few years they amassed a vast sum of
money, wherewith, returning to Florence, one after another, they
bought back great part of their estates and purchased others to boot
and took unto themselves wives.

Nevertheless, they still continued to lend money in England and sent
thither, to look to their affairs, a young man, a nephew of theirs,
Alessandro by name, whilst themselves all three at Florence, for all
they were become fathers of families, forgetting to what a pass
inordinate expenditure had aforetime brought them, began to spend more
extravagantly than ever and were high in credit with all the
merchants, who trusted them for any sum of money, however great. The
monies remitted them by Alessandro, who had fallen to lending to the
barons upon their castles and other their possessions, which brought
him great profit, helped them for some years to support these
expenses; but, presently, what while the three brothers spent thus
freely and lacking money, borrowed, still reckoning with all assurance
upon England, it chanced that, contrary to all expectation, there
broke out war in England between the king and his son, through which
the whole island was divided into two parties, some holding with the
one and some with the other; and by reason thereof all the barons'
castles were taken from Alessandro nor was there any other source of
revenue that answered him aught. Hoping that from day to day peace
should be made between father and son and consequently everything
restored to him, both interest and capital, Alessandro departed not
the island and the three brothers in Florence no wise abated their
extravagant expenditure, borrowing more and more every day. But, when,