disappeared!" wrote Benedetto Dei, in his _Cronica_. "The Burial
Confraternity of the Magi laid his body in the sacristy of San Lorenzo,
and the next day the funeral obsequies were held without pomp--as is the
custom of the _Signori_--but quite simply. Truly it may be said that
however gorgeous the ceremonies might have been, they would have proved
altogether too mean for so great a man."

This relates to the death of Lorenzo il Magnifico, which occurred on 8th
April 1492. That year is one of the most memorable in modern history:
Columbus discovered America; Roderigo Borgia was elected Pope; Charles
VIII. became the most prominent political figure in Europe; and the
power of Florence had reached its zenith.

She was not only the Head of the Tuscan League and the chief Republic in
Europe, but also the first of modern states. If the spirit of the
Greeks inspired the physical prowess of the Romans, the enlightenment of
the Florentines brought forth the renascence of the arts and crafts of
Italy and of the world.

Cosimo, "_Il Padre della Patria_," laid the foundation-stone of Medici
renown in the iron grip of his powerful personality, and Piero, his son,
maintained unimpaired its eminence by his urbanity and good sense. To
Lorenzo, however, was reserved the distinction of placing upon that
mighty column its magnificent copestone, and he adorned it with the
sevenfold balls of his escutcheon, whilst on the summit he held unfurled
the great Red Cross Oriflamme of Florence.

Lorenzo left three sons and three daughters to uphold that ensign and to
exhibit the glory of their house. To the first-born, Piero, came the
great inheritance of his father's place and power, and no man ever