It will be noticed that he proceeded slowly and surely in the case of each annexation, licking over his prey after he had throttled it and before he swallowed it, like a boa-constrictor.
There remained no power in Italy, except the Republic of Florence and the exiled but invincible Francesco da Carrara, to withstand his further progress.

Florence delayed his conquests in Tuscany.

Francesco managed to return to Padua.

Still the peril which threatened the whole of Italy was imminent.

The Duke of Milan was in the plenitude of manhood--rich, prosperous, and full of mental force.