[8] 



was Boggio Bracciolini, one of the Papal Secretaries. A 

 friendship soon sprang up between the two, which re- 

 sulted in Bracciolini returning to England with Bishop 

 afterwards Cardinal Beaufort, in the autumn of 1418. 

 After a year or two spent with Beaufort, the late Secre- 

 tary became dissatisfied with his lot, complaining bitterly 

 in his letters to his friend, Niccolo Niccoli, of the many 

 unfulfilled promises of the Cardinal. At last he was 

 offered, and duly accepted, a small living of 120 florins 

 a year, which he soon afterwards exchanged for one worth 

 40 a year, and having fewer duties attached to it, 

 which gave him more leisure time for study, and, con- 

 sequently, made him considerably happier, for his passion 

 for studying ancient authors was as intense as his know- 

 ledge of the classic languages was profound. 



In a very short time, however, he became again dis- 

 satisfied with his lot, and begged the Cardinal to supply 

 him with an honorary canonry, so that he might visit 

 Italy and prosecute his studies, at the same time that he 

 drew a snug little salary from England. He was not 

 successful, for the Cardinal probably had many such 

 applications, and found more suitable objects upon which 

 to bestow his favours. 



Just at this time the rage for finding old MSS. increased 

 enormously, owing to the large sums of money given by 

 the Vatican to the lucky finders, who, as a rule, were 

 simply villains of the monk type and the most impudent 

 forgers. Bracciolini, whose passion for money was even 

 greater than his passion for knowledge, bitterly bewailed 

 his fate, and longed for an opportunity to turn his wits 

 to account, and thus secure some of the fine prizes 

 which were being so lavishly bestowed by his Holiness 

 upon indigent Italian and Hungarian monks. While he 

 was despairing of any such good fortune turning up he 

 unexpectedly received from Piero Lamberteschi of 

 Florence, agent to Cosmo de Medici, an offer which 

 greatly gratified him, and which he could plainly see 

 emanated in the first instance from his old friend 

 Niccoli. The nature of this offer was, for obvious 

 reasons, kept strictly secret ; but, from a perusal of some 

 of the letters which passed between Bracciolini and 

 Niccoli, no doubt now exists that it was really a proposal 



