XIII. CHAP, obliged to retire before the French in all directions, or should avail himself of the opportu nity which might yet remain of a reconciliation with the French monarch. In consulting his principal advisers, he found at this important crisis a great diversity of opinion among them. The cardinal da Bibbiena and other courtiers, actuated rather by their fears of the French than by a deliberate consideration of the circumstances in which the Roman pontiff was placed, earnestly advised him to humiliate himself to the king. They represented to him that the duke of Ferrara would undoubtedly seize this opportunity to recover the cities of Modena and Reggio, and that the Bentivoli would in like manner repossess themselves of Bologna; on which account it would be more prudent for the pope rather to relinquish those places voluntarily, than by an obstinate and hopeless defence to endanger the safety of the states of the church. This pusillanimous advice was, however, opposed by the firmness of the cardinal de' Medici, who having lately been appointed legate of Bologna, and conceiving that the disgrace of its surrender would be imputed to his counsels, exhorted the pope not to relinquish to its former tyrants one of the finest cities in the ecclesiastical state, nor to desert at such a A. D. 1515. A. Pont. III A. Et. 40. XIII. crisis those noble and respectable inhabitants, CHAP. who had adhered with such unshaken fidelity to his interests.(a) These representations, which the cardinal enforced by frequent mes sengers from Bologna, are said to have had a great effect on the mind of the pope, who re solved not to surrender any part of his territories until he was compelled to it by irresisti ble necessity. If, however, on the one hand he did not abandon himself to despair; on the other, he did not think it advisable to take the most conspicuous part among the allies in opposing the progress of the king; but directed his general Lorenzo to keep his station on the south of the Po. At the same time, he dispatched to Francis I. his confidential envoy Cinthio da Tivoli, for the purpose of endeavouring, by the assistance of the duke of Savoy, to effect a new treaty; or at least for the purpose, as it has been with no small probability conjectured, that in case the monarch should prove successful, the pope might be found in open negotiation with him.(b) Nor (a)" Etiamsi honor noster vobis vilior esset, salutem "certe charam futuram puto tot nobilium fidelissimorumque "hominum, qui omnia sua devoverunt Romano Pontifici, "ut patriam tyrannis liberarent." Ep. Julii Med. Card. ad Pont. ap. Fabr. in vita Leon x. 90. (b) Ligue de Cambr, liv. iv. ii, 423. Guicciard, lib. xii. ii. 92. A. D. 1515. A. Et. 40. A. Pont. III. CHAP. XIII. The Swiss French. Nor did the allies of the pope, the Swiss alone excepted, discover any greater inclination than himself to oppose the progress of the French. The emperor elect did not appear on this occasion, either in his own person or by resolve to his representatives. The viceroy Cardona at oppose the the head of the Spanish army, after having long waited in vain at Verona for the reinforcements in men and money which Maximilian had promised to furnish, quitted that place and proceeded to Piacenza, to join the troops under the command of Lorenzo de' Medici In the mean time Francis had arrived with the remainder of his army at Turin, where he had met with a splendid reception from his near relation Charles III. duke of Savoy. As the Swiss found themselves closely pressed by the French and wholly unsupported by their allies, who ought to have felt a much greater interest in the cause than themselves, they listened to the representations of the duke of Savoy, who had endeavoured to effect a reconciliation between them and the king. Nor is it unlikely that his efforts would have been successful, had they not been frustrated by the remonstrances and exhortations of the cardinal of Sion, who being irreconcileably adverse to the cause of the French and possessing great influence among his countrymen, stimulated them by every means in his power to perse A. D. 1515. A. Et. 40. A. Pont. IH. XIII. vere in the cause. He also repaired to Pia- CHAP. çenza, where he prevailed on Cardona to furnish him with a supply of seventy thousand ducats and a body of five hundred cavalry under the command of Lodovico Orsino count of Pitigliano, with which he returned to his countrymen ; who upon this reinforcement rejected the overtures of the king, and determined to seize the first favourable opportunity of bringing him to a decisive engagement. The arrival at this juncture of fresh levies of their countrymen confirmed them in this resolution; and although some of their leaders were still desirous of an accomodation, yet the increasing ac tivity and energetic harangues of the cardinal had inflamed their resentment to such a degree, that the greater part of the army breathed only war and revenge.(a) During these negotiations the Swiss had quitted Novara on the approach of the king, who after a cannonade of sonie days compelled the inhabitants to surrender, on terms which secured to them their safety and effects. He thence hastened to Pavia, which instantly surrendered to his arms, and passing the river Tesino (a) Guicciard. lib. xii. ii. 95. A. D. 1515. A. Et. 40. A. Pont. III. Francis summons the city of Milan to surrender, XIII. A. Et. 40. A. Pont. III. cause. CHAP. Tesino he dispatched Trivulzio with the advanced guard towards Milan, in expectation A. D. 1515. that the inhabitants would openly espouse his In this, however, he was disappointed. The sufferings which they had experienced on the last incursion of the French had taught them the danger of a premature avowal of their sentiments, and they therefore determined to remain neuter, if possible, until the event of the contest was known. In order, however, to mitigate the resentment of the king, who had already advanced as far as Bufalora, they dispatched an embassy to him, to entreat that he would not attribute their reluctance to obey his summons to any disrespect either to his person or government, but that after having suffered so much on a former occasion by their attachment to his predecessor, they trusted they should not now be called upon to adopt such a conduct as might expose them to the resentment of his enemies. The difficulty of their situation justified in the mind of the monarch the temporizing neutrality which they professed; and with equal prudence and generosity he declared himself satisfied with their excuse.(a) (a) Ligue de Cambray, liv. v. ii. 432. From |