s servant! Pursue thy
journey without delay. Seek not to bring ruin on this city, and thereby
rouse the anger of the Lord against thee."

So at last, on November 28th, at the twenty-second hour of the day, the
King departed with his army, leaving the people of Florence very badly
disposed toward him. Among their many just causes of complaint was
the sack of the splendid palace in which he had been so liberally and
trustfully entertained. Nor were common soldiers and inferior officers
alone concerned in this robbery; the hands of generals and barons were
equally busy, and the King himself carried off objects of the greatest
value; among other things a precious intaglio representing a unicorn,
estimated by Comines to be worth about seven thousand ducats. With such
an example set by their sovereign, it may be easily imagined how the
others behaved; and Comines himself tells us that "they shamelessly took
possession of everything that tempted their greed." Thus the rich and
marvellous collections formed by the Medici were all lost, excepting what
had been placed in safety at St. Mark's, for the few things left
behind by the French were so much damaged that they had to be sold.
Nevertheless, the inhabitants were so rejoiced to be finally rid of their
dangerous guests that no one mourned over these thefts. On the contrary,
public thanksgivings were offered up in the churches, the people went
about the streets with their old gayety and lightheartedness, and the
authorities began to take measures to pro vide for the urgent necessities
of the new republic.

During this interval the aspect of Florentine affairs had entirely
changed. The partisans of the Medici had disappeared from the city as if
by magic; the popular party ruled over everything, and Savonarola ruled
the will of the whole population. He was unanimously declared to have
been a prophet of all that had occurred, the only man that had succeeded
in controlling the King's conduct on his entry into Florence, the only
man who had induced him to depart; accordingly all hung on Savonarola's
lips for counsel, aid, and direction as to their future proceedings. And,
as though the men of the old state saw the need of effacing themselves to
make way for new blood, several prominent representatives and friends of
the Medici house died during this period. Angelo Poliziano had passed
away this year, on September 24th, "loaded with as much infamy and public
opprobrium as a man coul