ing more power among
individuals on the Council forced them to indict their firebrand. No
means were spared, however base; forgery and false witness were as
nothing. The summons arrived on April 8th, 1497, when Savonarola was
at S. Marco. The monks, who adored him, refused to let him go, and
for a whole day the convent was under siege. But might, of course,
prevailed, and Savonarola was dragged from the church to the Palazzo
Vecchio and prosecuted for the offence of claiming to have supernatural
power and fomenting political disturbance. He was imprisoned in a tiny
cell in the tower for many days, and under constant torture he no doubt
uttered words which would never have passed his lips had he been in
control of himself; but we may dismiss, as false, the evidence which
makes them into confessions. Evidence there had to be, and evidence
naturally was forthcoming; and sentence of death was passed.

In that cell, when not under torture, he managed to write meditations
on the thirteenth psalm, "In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped," and a little
work entitled "A Rule for Living a Christian Life". Before the last
day he administered the Sacrament to his two companions, who were to
die with him, with perfect composure, and the night preceding they
spent together in prayer in the Great Hall which he had once dominated.

The execution was on May 23rd, 1498. A gallows was erected in
the Piazza della Signoria on the spot now marked by the bronze
tablet. Beneath the gallows was a bonfire. All those members of the
Government who could endure the scene were present, either on the
platform of the Palazzo Vecchio or in the Loggia de' Lanzi. The crowd
filled the Piazza. The three monks went to their death unafraid. When
his friar's gown was taken from him, Savonarola said: "Holy gown,
thou wert granted to me by God's grace and I have ever kept thee
unstained. Now I forsake thee not but am bereft of thee." (This very
garment is in the glass case in Savonarola's cell at S. Marco.) The
Bishop replied hastily: "I separate thee from the Church militant
and triumphant". "Militant," replied Savonarola, "not triumphant, for
that rests not with you." The monks were first hanged and then burned.

The larger picture of the execution which hangs in Savonarola's
cell, although interesting and up to a point credible, is of course
not right. The square must have been crowded: in fact we know it
was. The picture has still other claims on the attention, fo