CHARACTE RS. 
renzo, in the same garb, appeared 
to him again, and had enforced his 
orders with a violent blow on the 
cheek. M. Angelo now, with great 
earnestness, insisting on his imme- 
diate compliance with the com- 
mands of the vision, Cardiere set 
off directly for Careggi, a villa of 
the family, about three miles distance 
from Florence; but having scarcely 
got half way, met Piero with. his 
suite returning to town, and instant- 
ly acquainted him with what he had 
seen, heard, and suffered. He was 
laughed at by Piero, and ridiculed 
by his attendants, one of whom, 
Divizio, afierwards cardinal di Bi- 
biena, told him he was mad to 
fancy Lorenzo would charge a 
stranger wiih a message he might 
deliver himself to his son, Dis- 
missed in this manner, he returned 
to M. Angelo, and prevailed on 
him to quit Flerence and go to Bo- 
logna, where he had scarcely settled 
in the house of Gian Francesco Al- 
drovandi, before the predicted re- 
volution took place, and the expul- 
sion of the whole family of the 
Medici with all their party con- 
firmed the vision of Cardiere, 
whether * fancy-bred,’ or communi- 
cated by ‘ spirit blest or goblin 
damned.” 
LEONARDO DA VINCI. 
Leonardo da Vinci, made up of 
all the eiements, without the pre- 
ponderance of any one, gave uni- 
versal hints, and wasted life insatiate 
in experiment; now on the wing 
after beauty, then grovelling on the 
ground after deformity; now look- 
[*9 
ing full in the face of terror, then 
decking it with shards, * and shells, 
and masks: equally attracted by 
character and caricature, by style 
and common nature, he has drawn 
rudiments of all, but, like a stream 
lost in ramification, vanished with- 
out a trace. 
Want of perseverance alone could 
make him abandon his cartoon 
-of the celebrated group of horse 
men, destined for the great coun- 
cil chamber at Florence, withe 
out painting the picture. For to 
him who could organize the limbs 
of that composition, Michael Ane 
gelo himself gould be no object of 
fear. And that he was able to or- 
ganize it, we may be certain from 
the sketch that remains of it, how- 
ever pitiful in the © Etruria Pittricé,’ 
lately published, but still more from 
the admirable print of Edelinck, 
after a drawing of Rubens, who 
was his great admirer, and has said 
much to impress us with the beau- 
ties of his Last Supper at Milan, 
which he abandoned likewise with- 
out finishing the head of Christ, ex- 
hausted by a wild chace after models 
for the heads and hands of the 
apostles. Had he been able to con- 
ceive the centre, the radii must 
have followed of course. Whether 
he considered that magic of light. 
and shade, which he possessed in an 
unparalleled degree in his smaller 
pictures, as an inferior principle in 
a work of such dignity, or was un- 
able to diffuse it over numerous 
groups, cannot now be determined ; 
but he left his fresco flat, and with- 
out that solemnity of twilight, which 
* Shells of beetles. This requires some explanation: Leonardo was employed 
to paint a head of Medusa. 
A beautiful woman sat to him for the face. 
he 
adjuncts of horror he sought for in the fields, bringing home for them occasionally 
in his walks, nettles, thorns, beetles, spiders, toads, adders, &c. 
