When High Mass began it was found that Giuliano was not present, and Francesco de’ Pazzi and Bandini were sent to persuade him to come—­a Judas-like errand indeed.  On the way back, it is said, one of them affectionately placed his arm round Giuliano—­to see if he wore a shirt of mail—­remarking, to cover the action, that he was getting fat.  On his arrival, Giuliano took his place at the north side of the circular choir, near the door which leads to the Via de’ Servi, while Lorenzo stood at the opposite side.  At the given signal Bandini and Pazzi were to stab Giuliano and the two priests were to stab Lorenzo.  The signal was the breaking of the Eucharistic wafer, and at this solemn moment Giuliano was instantly killed, with one stab in the heart and nineteen elsewhere, Francesco so overdoing his attack that he severely wounded himself too; but Lorenzo was in time to see the beginning of the assault, and, making a movement to escape, he prevented the priest from doing aught but inflict a gash in his neck, and, springing away, dashed behind the altar to the old sacristy, where certain of his friends who followed him banged the heavy bronze doors on the pursuing foe.  Those in the cathedral, mean-while, were in a state of hysterical alarm; the youthful cardinal was hurried into the new sacristy; Guglielmo de’ Pazzi bellowed forth his innocence in loud tones; and his murderous brother and Bandini got off.

Order being restored, Lorenzo was led by a strong bodyguard to the Palazzo Medici, where he appeared at a window to convince the momentarily increasing crowd that he was still living.  Meanwhile things were going not much more satisfactorily for the Pazzi at the Palazzo Vecchio, where, according to the plan, the gonfalonier, Cesare Petrucci, was to be either killed or secured.  The Archbishop Salviati, who was to effect this, managed his interview so clumsily that Petrucci suspected something, those being suspicious times, and, instead of submitting to capture, himself turned the key on his visitors.  The Pazzi faction in the city, meanwhile, hoping that all had gone well in the Palazzo Vecchio, as well as in the cathedral (as they thought), were running through the streets calling “Viva la Liberta!” to be met with counter cries of “Palle! palle!”—­the palle being the balls on the Medici escutcheon, still to be seen all over Florence and its vicinity and on every curtain in the Uffizi.

The truth gradually spreading, the city then rose for the Medici and justice began to be done.  The Archbishop was handed at once, just as he was, from a window of the Palazzo Vecchio.  Francesco de’ Pazzi, who had got home to bed, was dragged to the Palazzo and hanged too.  The mob meanwhile were not idle, and most of the Pazzi were accounted for, together with many followers—­although Lorenzo publicly implored them to be merciful.  Poliziano, the scholar-poet and friend of Lorenzo, has left a vivid account of the day.  With his own eyes he saw the hanging Salviati, in his last