On the Eve of St John Baptist,—the Patron Saint of Florence,— every member of the Guild was required to visit the church, and to deposit a wax candle of the weight of nearly half a pound as an offering to the Patron Saint.

The "Merchants of the Calimala" bound themselves never to use blasphemous language. Usury was forbidden "because it is

a sin specially displeasing to God."

Among the pious uses of the Guild were numerous annual contributions to the monasteries of money and gifts in kind for the relief of the poor and sick of the city. Several hospitals also were maintained at the cost of the “ Calimala.”

In matters of food and drink moderation and abstinence were advocated among all persons connected with the Guild. Forty pounds per annum was the very modest sum allocated for the table of the Consuls, who were boarded during their six months of office at the expense of the Guild at the Residence in the Via di Calimala.

The workmen employed by the "Calimala” in the repairs and decoration of the churches of San Giovanni and of San Miniato al Monte were subject to strict rules of conduct. They, and indeed all the members of the Guild, were admonished, under pain of heavy penalties,—including exclusion,-to maintain unblemished lives, and to treat women, children, and domestic servants with respect and kindness.

The Second Part of the Statutes contains forty-five Sections, which have to do with legal questions, pecuniary matters, disputes affecting members of the Guild, rules of membership and apprenticeship, and regulations affecting trading companies and associations of operatives.

The First Section deals with the powers of the Consuls, who are decreed to be supreme over all persons and causes within the Guild. Methods of procedure, employment of legal assistance, and obedience to the ruling of the Court of Consuls, are all fully explained.

The Statutes dealing with the customs and laws of debtor and

creditor are emphatic, and provision is made for winding up estates in bankruptcy. The sale of a bankrupt's effects could only be made at the instance of the Consuls in Council. Earnest money, ranging from ten to fifty per cent., was due at the initial stage of all transactions, and payments are required to be made by instalment. by instalment. All receipts required the seal of a cashier, before whom they were signed, and they were attested by the Syndic of the Treasurer. Defaulting merchants, or agents, were posted at the Guild Office in the Via di Calimala; but a time limit of ten days was allowed before resource to extreme

measures.

All disputes, whether with respect to the interpretation of Statutes and Bye-laws of the Guild, or of the associated companies, or affecting the interests or customs of the Guild, were submitted to the Consuls in Court. A Special Commission of merchants was appointed by the Consuls, at their pleasure, to examine into all such matters.

Merchants were not allowed to sell any other kind of cloth except that which was named in the Statutes, nor to export fine wool and any of the ingredients necessary for the industry. Sales were confined to the interior of shops, and pieces of cloth for sale were not permitted to be exposed outside. The exchange of stuffs between the warehouses of merchants was also forbidden. Nobody was authorized to deal in foreign cloth, unless furnished with the formal permission of the Consuls. Persons seeking such

authorization were required to make an affidavit, before the Guild Notary, of the respectability of their family connections, the integrity of their own character, and the probity of their pecuniary relations.

Membership and participation in the privileges of the Guild were only obtainable through Matriculation, as the formal and public recognition of the applicant's fitness. Accepted candidates made a money deposit by way of caution-money. They were required to have exercised, at least for one year previously, one or other of the callings in connection with the "Calimala," and to

have been in habitual attendance at the Offices of the Guild, and at the warehouses of members. Sponsors were required for good behaviour. The Matriculation-fee averaged four lire. Members of the Guild could introduce their sons without guarantees, and without the payment of fees, but they were held responsible for their good conduct until they had reached maturity.

It was competent for the Consuls, upon advice of the Notary, and with the consent of the General and Special Councils, to withdraw the privileges of membership, but a full statement of delinquency was required to be prepared, and to be posted in the "Calimala" Offices. The property of absconding merchants was confiscated by the Guild, and disposed of as determined by the Consuls.

Operative societies, or companies, were affiliated to the "Calimala" only with the view of avoiding confusion with similar organizations under the Wool Guild. Their privileges, and scope of operations, were strictly limited. No workmen, or group of

workers, were permitted to work for both Guilds. The "Calimala" operatives were exclusively engaged in dealing with foreign-made woollen cloth. As a rule the "Calimala" employed sets of families rather than aggregates of individuals. The Statutes and Bye-laws of the "Calimala" are full of records of names and Occupations where these limitations are obvious.

On the other hand "Calimala "merchants welcomed the sons of merchants of the other Guilds, and especially of the Guilds of 'Judges and Notaries" and "Doctors and Apothecaries." The sole condition of the apprenticeship in such cases was abstention from the avocation of the parents. Sometimes premiums were paid for introduction into the leading mercantile houses, but generally a mutual arrangement was effected, which not unfrequently had a matrimonial alliance in view.

Apprentices were obliged to be the offspring of Florentine parents, but the actual place of birth was immaterial. They were forbidden to work for other masters than their own. When living under their master's roof,-as was the rule, they were not

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