to the
influence which such a passionate and reckless rival would have upon his
relations with the Holy See. Francesco was the subject of watchfulness
upon the part of the Medici agents in Rome, where Giovanni de'
Tornabuoni set himself to thwart any hostile movement which might be
made.

Among prominent men with whom Francesco de' Pazzi was thrown into
contact were Archbishop Francesco de' Salviati and Count Girolamo de'
Riari. The Archbishop and Francesco were no strangers to one another;
their families had risen to affluence and power side by side in
Florence, actuated by like sentiments and engaged in like
activities--hatred of the Medici was mutual.

Sixtus had proposed, in 1474, to bestow upon Francesco de' Salviati the
Archbishopric of Florence, but the _Signoria_, instigated by Lorenzo,
refused to confirm his appointment and declined to grant him the
temporalities of the See. The Pope yielded very ungraciously to the
representations of the Florentine Government and named Rinaldo d'Orsini,
Lorenzo's brother-in-law, to the vacancy. This intervention was adduced
by Sixtus afterwards as insubordination worthy of punishment, and he did
not forget to take his revenge.

The following year Francesco de' Salviati was chosen as
Archbishop-designate of Pisa, and again the Florentines objected--being
joined by the Pisans, who conspired to prevent him taking possession.
The Archbishop was, according to Agnolo Poliziano--the devoted historian
and poet-laureate of Lorenzo il Magnifico--"An ignorant man, a contemner
of all law--human and divine--a man steeped in crime, and a disgrace to
his family and the whole State."

Count Girolamo de' Riari, accounted a nephew of Sixtus, was, like his
elder brother Piero and Caterina his sister, a natural child of the
Pope. The three were treated with parental affection by the pontiff, and
had their home in his private apartments, being waited upon by their
unrecognised mother in the guise of nurse and guardian.

Piero de' Riari was created a Cardinal when a spoilt boy, and became, as
a man, infamous for his debauchery and villainy. Sixtus had the
effrontery to select him as successor to Archbishop Orsini in Florence,
but his action was prompted by a motive, which was firmly fixed in his
heart. This was nothing less than the supplanting of Lorenzo de' Medici
by Piero or Girolamo! So far, however, as Cardinal de' Riari was
concerned, Sixtus' ambitions were wholly disappointed by his s