consistency with which he maintained the position he had taken up, at
the plenary Parliament in 1469, and subsequently, made him, by the
contrariety of circumstances, the most redoubtable rival of the
ambitious and impulsive _Capo della Repubblica_.

The trusty pilot, who had so effectively steered the ship of State
through the troubled waters of the interregnum, was, quite
unintentionally and unwillingly, the greatest obstacle in the way of
the young captain! Everybody who had a grievance--real or
imaginary--against the government of Lorenzo, sought Messer Tommaso's
advice and sympathy, so that the situation became charged with
difficulties and embarrassments. The very merest change in the whim of a
fickle people might upset the Medici, and then the Soderini would be
called upon to fill the vacancy. Messer Tommaso's presence in Florence
was both a source of strength to Lorenzo and his house, and a menace.

When the subject of the embassy to Rome--the chief diplomatic
appointment of the Republic--was broached, Messer Tommaso, with the
utmost sincerity, expressed his fervent wish to meet Lorenzo's views in
every respect, but he expressed, quite emphatically, his disinclination
to undertake such an arduous duty. Not only did he plead the infirmities
of age, but declared that his wife, Madonna Dianora, would never leave
Florence. Her love of her own city and its people equalled that of her
sister, the Domina Magnifica Lucrezia--their social, charitable and
literary interests were alike and equal.

Here was a condition of affairs which called for the exercise of the
greatest tact and ingenuity, and Lorenzo committed the task of
overcoming the scruples of his uncle and aunt to his mother. Her efforts
were entirely successful, and Lorenzo, with a deep sigh of relief,