Now Giorgio knew that the youth thus expected was himself, and that the place to which Francesco was looking forward had been reserved for him; but he would not say any thing of that fact for the moment, seeing that a certain doubt had entered his mind as to whether the Cardinal might not have another person in view besides himself; he was therefore unwilling to advance an assertion which might afterwards be found incorrect. Vasari had brought a letter from the above-mentioned Commissary Nerli to the Cardinal, but this, in the five days during which he had then been in Rome, he had not yet presented; at length, however, he went with Francesco to the palace, where, in what is now the Hall of the Kings, they found Messer Marco da Lodi, who had formerly been in the service of the Cardinal of Cortona, as we have said, but had since entered that of the Medici. Presenting himself to Messer Marco, therefore, Vasari told him that he had brought a letter from the Commissary at Arezzo, which was to be delivered to the Cardinal, and which he begged Messer Marco to present. While the latter was promising to do this immediately, it so chanced that the Cardinal himself came in, and Giorgio, hastening towards him, delivered the letter at the same time that he kissed his hands. He was very favourably received by the Prelate, who instantly commanded the Steward of the tiousehold, Jacopone di Bibbiena, to find rooms for him, and to give him a place at the table of the Pages. It seemed a little strange to Francesco that Giorgio had not confided the matter to him, but he was nevertheless persuaded that he had acted from right motives, and done what he thought the best; when the said Jacopone, therefore, had given Giorgio rooms behind the Santo Spirito, which was very near to the dwelling of Francesco, the two young men worked hard together throughout the winter, studying the productions of art in company, to the great profit of both, insomuch that they left nothing, whether in the Palace[1] or elsewhere, that they did not fully copy, or at least partially design.
It is true that when the Pope was in the Palace they could not do this so commodiously as they might have desired, but no
- ↑ The Vatican.
rejoice in the birth of him who made the remark. The tendencies of so deplorable a state of things as this will be obvious to all.
