* Most illustrious my Lord, having ...
* Greatly do I rejoice, most illustrious my Lord, at your ...
So greatly have I rejoiced, most illustrious my Lord, at the almost restored health of your Excellency — at the longed-for recovery of your health — that my own illness has all but fled from me. But it grieves me much that I have not been able wholly to satisfy the wishes of your Excellency, by reason of the malice of that deceiver, for whom I left nothing undone by which I might have helped him — that was not done by me on his behalf. And firstly, his allowance was paid to him immediately, before the time, which I believe he would gladly deny — [and did deny] — had I not the written attestation in the interpreter's hand. And seeing that no work was done for me except when others' work failed him, of which he was a diligent seeker-out, I begged him to eat with me and work at the files beside me, because, besides doing the work well, he would acquire the Italian tongue (he always promised this and never would do it). And I did this also because that Giovan the German who makes mirrors was every day there in the workshop and wanted to see and understand whatever was done, and spread it about the district, disparaging and vilifying what he did not understand. And this I did because he ate with the man of the pope's guard, and then went off in company, with fowling-pieces killing birds among these ruins; and so he continued from after dinner till evening. And if I sent Lorenzo to press on the work with him, he grew angry and said he did not want so many masters over his head and that his work was for the wardrobe of your Excellency; and two months passed and so it went on. And one day, finding Giannicolò of the wardrobe, I asked him whether the German had finished the works of the Magnifico; and he told me it was not true, but that he had only given him two fowling-pieces to clean. Then, when I had him pressed, he left the workshop and began to work in his room, and lost much time making another vice and files and other screw-instruments; and there he worked at little mills for twisting silk and gold, which he hid whenever any of my people came in, and with a thousand curses and reproaches, so that none of my people would go in any more.
So greatly have I rejoiced, most illustrious my Lord, at the longed-for recovery of your health, that my own illness has almost fled from me. But it grieves me much that I have not been able wholly to satisfy the wishes of your Excellency, by reason of the malice of that German deceiver, for whom I left nothing undone by which I believed I might please him. And firstly, [I offered] to invite him to lodge and live with me, whereby I should continually see the work he did and could easily correct his errors, and besides this he would learn the Italian language, by means of which he could easily speak without an interpreter. And firstly, his money was always given him before the time — indeed it all was. Then this man's demand was to have the models finished in wood, just as they were to be of iron, which he wished to carry off to his own country. This I refused him, telling him I would give him in drawing the breadth, length, thickness and shape of what he had to make; and so we parted ill-content. The second thing was that he set up another workshop with new vices and instruments in the room where he slept, and there worked for others. Then he went to dine with the Swiss of the guard, where there are idle folk, whom he surpassed in all this. From there he went out, and most times two or three of them would go off with fowling-pieces killing birds among the ruins, and this lasted till evening.
At last I have found how this master Giovanni of the mirrors is the one who has done it all, for two reasons. The first is that he has had to say that my coming here has taken from him the acquaintance and favour of your Lordship, which always ...; the other is that he says the room of this ironworker suits him for working the mirrors, and of this there has been proof, in that, besides making this man my enemy, he has made him sell all his ... and leave him his workshop, in which he works with many workmen many mirrors to send to the fairs.