such a treaty no longer existed, as they had banished the
man who made it; that he had conquered Florence, as he proved the night
before, when he entered lance in hand; that he should retain the
sovereignty, and would make any further decision whenever it pleased him
to do so; further, he would let them know later on whether he would
reinstate the Medici or whether he would delegate his authority to the
Signoria: all they had to do was to come back the next day, and he would
give them his ultimatum in writing.

This reply threw Florence into a great state of consternation; but the
Florentines were confirmed in their resolution of making a stand.
Charles, for his part, had been astonished by the great number of the
inhabitants; not only was every street he had passed through thickly
lined with people, but every house from garret to basement seemed
overflowing with human beings. Florence indeed, thanks to her rapid
increase in population, could muster nearly 150,000 souls.

The next day, at the appointed hour, the deputies made their appearance
to meet the king. They were again introduced into his presence, and the
discussion was reopened. At last, as they were coming to no sort of
understanding, the royal secretary, standing at the foot of the throne
upon which Charles viii sat with covered head, unfolded a paper and began
to read, article by article, the conditions imposed by the King of
France. But scarcely had he read a third of the document when the
discussion began more hotly than ever before. Then Charles VIII said
that thus it should be, or he would order his trumpets to be sounded.
Hereupon Piero Capponi, secretary to the republic, commonly called the
Scipio of Florence, snatched from the royal secretary's hand the shameful
proposal of capitulation, and tearing it to pieces, exclaimed:--

"Very good, sire; blow your trumpets, and we will ring our bells."

He threw the pieces in the face of the amazed reader, and dashed out of
the room to give the terrible order that would convert the street of
Florence into a battlefield.

Still, against all probabilities, this bold answer saved the town. The
French supposed, from such audacious words, addressed as they were to men
who so far had encountered no single obstacle, that the Florentines were
possessed of sure resources, to them unknown: the few prudent men who
retained any influence over the king advised him accordingly to abate his
pretensions; the result w