Charles was exceedingly amazed at what he saw in
his passage through the city of its overflowing population,
for not only were the streets through which he rode
almost impassable on account of the crowd, but the
houses, from roof to cellar, seemed to be bursting with
people. It is probable, indeed, that Florence contained
at this time something like a hundred and fifty thousand
souls.
On the following day the deputies called again upon
the King at the appointed hour and were admitted to
his presence, when the discussion began anew. At last,
when it became evident that they could reach no under-
standing, the royal secretary, who was standing at the
foot of the throne upon which Charles sat with his head



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76 THE BOEGIAS.
covered, unfolded a paper and began to read the terms
proposed by the King of France. But before the read-
ing was a third done, the discussion broke out again
hotter than ever, and when Charles declared that those
terms should be accepted or he would order his trumpets
to sound, Pietro Capponi, the secretary of the republic,
often called the Scipio of Florence, snatched the shame-
ful capitulation from the hands of the King's secretary
and tore it in pieces.
" Sound your trumpets, if you choose, Sire," he cried,
" and we will sound our bells."

With that he threw the pieces in the face of the
stupefied reader, and rushed from the chamber to give
the terrible word which would turn Florence into a
bloody battlefield.
