“On the ninth day,” writes Galluzzi, “the illness of the Grand Duke augmented, and the fever was not purged by two bleedings. It increased and breathlessness came on, so that he died on the night of the 19th October. He had always insisted on treating himself according to his own fashion, as to food and iced drinks, and as he was devoured by ardent thirst during the whole course of illness it was thought that he died burnt up by the heating meats and drinks in which he always immoderately indulged. In the post-mortem examination the chief seat of the malady was found to be the liver; this gave him a bad digestion and a harshness of the stomach, which led him to indulge in elixirs and such-like drinks for comfort. When the Grand Duke felt that death was near he called his brother the Cardinal to his bed-side, and after begging his pardon for past events, gave him the pass-word for the fortresses, and recommended to his care his wife, Don Antonio,[6] his ministers and all his friends. Cardinal Ferdinando comforted him as best he could, but when he saw that all hope was lost he sent to take possession of the fortresses and ordered the militia and the troops to be called under arms. As soon as Francesco was dead, Cardinal Ferdinando left Poggio a Cajano for Florence in order to be on the spot if any disorders occurred, but before leaving he paid a visit to the Grand Duchess Bianca, and ordered that her husband’s death should be kept from her. He tried to comfort her with hopes of a speedy recovery and consigned her to the care of Bishop Abbioso, her daughter Pellegrina and her son-in-law Ulisse Bentivoglio. Her illness was less severe than that of the Grand Duke, but she was weakened by former maladies and by the violent medicines she had taken in the hopes of bearing children. The outrageous noise, the trampling of many feet and the tearful eyes of those about her made her aware of what had happened, she lost consciousness and died at 18 o’clock on the 20th October.”[7]