These things were put away in boxes, an inventory was taken, and they were valued at four thousand two hundred sequins, or more than three thousand pounds. The King on his side was generous. When he went away he presented each of the young noblemen who had attended him with a chain worth a hundred ducats, and gave a collar worth three hundred to his host, Foscari. The captain of his guard received a silver basin and ewer worth a hundred crowns. For the halberdiers of the guard there were three hundred crowns, eighty for the trumpeters and sixty for the drummers. His Majesty left a thousand crowns for the workmen of the Arsenal, two hundred for the rowers of the Bucentaur, one hundred for the major-domo, and fifty to the chief steward of the house. The Duke of Savoy, who accompanied the King of France, also left some splendid presents. To the wife [Illustration: THE PIAZZA] of Luigi Mocenigo, in whose house he had been staying, he gave a belt composed of thirty gold rosettes, ornamented with fine pearls and valuable precious stones. The Duke was doubtless unaware that as soon as he was gone the handsome ornament would have to be handed over to the Provveditori delle Pompe, not to be worn again unless a special and elaborate decree could be obtained for the purpose. In the first year of the reign of Sixtus V. Japan sent ambassadors to the Pope ‘to recognise him officially as Christ’s vicar on earth.’ These [Sidenote: _1585. Rom. vi. 387._] personages, who were converts to Christianity, were received with demonstrations of the greatest joy and esteem when they visited Venice, and were regaled with spectacles which were partly religious in character and partly secular. A procession was organised against which the Pope himself protested in the most formal manner; but the Republic paid no more attention than usual to this expression of papal displeasure. It was always the dream of Venice to be Roman Catholic without Rome. The Japanese envoys looked on while all the clergy of the city passed in review before them, as well as all the guilds bearing the images of their [Sidenote: _Giustina Renier Michiel, Origini._] patron saints and their standards; these were followed by cars carrying enormous erections of gold and silver vessels, built up in the form of pyramids, and of columns, stars, eagles, lions, and symbolic beasts. Other cars came after these with platforms, on which actors represented scenes from the lives of saints, even including martyrdom. The [Illustration: PIGEONS IN THE PIAZZA] Japanese may have been more amazed than edified by these performances.