THE CERTOSA OF FLORENCE 
planned on the same vastness of scale. Churches, 
convents, altars, in Greece, in Naples, and Tuscany 
are to perpetuate his name ; hundreds of poor are to 
be clothed yearly in memory of his father ; masses 
to be said by thousands for the repose of his soul and 
those dear to him. The whole of his lands in the 
Val d’Ema are to endow the Certosa, and the convent 
itself is to be the finest in Italy. 
The real greatness of the man was best shown in 
the hour of trial. However extreme the peril, how¬ 
ever sudden the emergency, his serenity never forsook 
him. Elis fortitude in defeat and exile excited general 
admiration, and his biographers speak with wonder of 
his behaviour on hearing of his son Lorenzo’s death. 
This, his eldest son, described as “ a youth of a most 
lovely countenance, tried in arms, and eminent for 
his graceful manners and his gracious and noble 
aspect,” was Niccolo’s pride and joy, the darling of 
his heart, and hope of his house. Already he had 
won his first laurels in the defence of Melfi ; and now 
he had received the honour of knighthood and been 
betrothed to a daughter of the proud house of Sanse- 
verino, when a sudden death cut him off in the flower 
of his manhood. The Grand Seneschal was at Gaeta, 
providing for the defence of the realm, when the news 
reached him. For a moment his constancy forsook 
him, and, strong man as he was, he quailed under the 
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