"Venice, May 27, 1493."

"Era stupendissima cesa a vedere! It was a magnificent sight!" exclaimed Beatrice. And indeed the scene was one which would have stirred a less impressionable nature than that of this young princess, who was so keenly alive to joy and beauty, and who now for the first time saw "this most triumphant city of the world," in all the loveliness of the summer evening. Both the Milanese ambassador and the Marquis of Mantua said they had never seen the like. The blue waters of the lagoon swarmed with boats and gondolas decked with flowers and streamers of the gayest hues, the Venetian Gothic palaces along the canal were hung with Indian and Persian carpets. The rich colours of Oriental stuffs relieved the dazzling whiteness of Istrian stone, and festoons of fresh leaves and flowers were twisted round their columns of porphyry and serpentine. From each carved balcony and painted window fair Venetian ladies looked down in their sumptuous robes, glittering with gold and gems, and the air rang with the Vivas of the crowds who filled the gondolas or flocked along the Riva to see the gay pageant. It was a spectacle such as Venice alone could offer in these days of her glory, when the Canal Grande was, as Commines justly said, the finest street in the whole world.

And the Palazzo to which the old Doge conducted Beatrice and her mother was the oldest and one of the grandest in that long avenue of palaces. Originally built for the Pesaro family, it had been presented to Niccolo II. of Este in gratitude for his services when, a hundred years before, he had supplied the Republic with corn during the long war against Genoa. Since then the house had been repeatedly sequestered during the wars between Venice and Ferrara, and had only been restored to Duke Ercole after the conclusion of the peace of Bagnolo. Now its ancient walls, dating as far back as the year 900, had been freshly decorated with frescoes, and the long arcades and loggias, with their massive pillars and Byzantine capitals of grey marble, were enriched with shields carved with the unicorns and lilies of the house of Este. Within, the spacious halls were lavishly adorned with gilding and variegated marble, with fine pictures and the painted cassoni and chairs which we still admire on old Venetian palaces, while the tapestries and hangings bearing Sforza devices and the Moro's favourite mottoes met Beatrice's eyes at every turn. As she wrote in her joyous letters to her husband, there was nothing lacking that could charm the eyes or please the mind, and the courtesy and hospitality of the venerable old Doge and of the Venetian Signory left nothing to be desired.

FOOTNOTES:

[40] "Storia di Venezia nella Vita privata," p. 60.

[41] Luzio-Renier, op. cit., p. 376.

[42] Molmenti, op. cit., p. 693.



CHAPTER XVII

Fetes at Venice in honour of the Duchess of Ferrara and Duchess of Bari—Beatrice d'Este has an audience with the Doge and Signory—Explains Lodovico's position and his treaties with France and Germany—Visit to St. Mark's and the Treasury—Fete in the ducal palace—The Duchess visits the Great Council—Takes leave of the Doge—Return to Ferrara.

1493

A series of fetes had been arranged by the Doge and Signory of Venice in honour of their illustrious guests, and the order in which they took place is given by the Marquis of Mantua in a letter to his wife. On Tuesday races were held in the piazza for a pallinum of twenty yards of crimson velvet; on Wednesday afternoon a regatta took place on the Riva. Amongst other amusing contests, Pietro Bembo tells us there was a race between boats rowed by four women, a thing never before seen in Venice, and which, on account of its novelty, excited the greatest amusement. "In which marvellous contention," says Bembo, "a thing happened which added greatly to the pleasure of the spectacle and to the general mirth. A bark won the race that was rowed by a mother and her two daughters and one daughter-in-law, this being arranged out of compliment to Duchess Leonora, who has herself two daughters and one daughter-in-law."

On the morning after her arrival, Beatrice received a visit from three gentlemen sent by the Doge to confer with her on the object of her mission. Much to their surprise and admiration, says Romanini, the Venetian historian, the young duchess, who was not yet twenty years of age, requested to be allowed the honour of an audience with the Signory. Before leaving the Este palace these gentlemen assisted at mass, which was privately celebrated in the duchess's rooms, and heard Cordier sing, as we learn from a short note addressed to Lodovico on the morning of the 28th.

"This morning," she writes, "as soon as I was dressed, I heard mass sung in my own rooms. Messer Cordier sang, and, as usual, did his part admirably, which pleased me greatly, both on account of the rare delight which his talent gives me, and because on this occasion the gentlemen who had been sent to see me by the Doge were also present, and expressed the greatest admiration for his singing."

Beatrice and the four Milanese ambassadors were then escorted to the ducal palace, where the young duchess was admitted to the Sala del Collegio, and laid her husband's memorial before the Signory. But, as M. Delaborde remarks, the language which Beatrice employed on this occasion differed considerably from the written instructions which had been given to the Milanese envoys by Lodovico. During the interval, Belgiojoso's despatches relating to the Treaty of Senlis, and announcing the French king's fixed intention of undertaking an expedition against Naples, had produced a sensible alteration in Lodovico's policy. In the letter of the 10th of May, the ambassadors were desired to congratulate the Venetian Signory in the most cordial terms on the conclusion of the league between Milan, the Pope, and the Republic, and to dwell especially on the importance of being in readiness to resist foreign invasions at this critical time when the French monarch and the King of the Romans were about to settle their differences. But when Beatrice herself addressed the Signory, she insisted on the excellent relations of Lodovico as Regent of Milan with both France and Germany, and, after setting forth the pains which her lord had taken to oppose the French expedition, laid Belgiojoso's latest despatch before the Signory. In this missive the Milanese envoy informed Lodovico of Charles the Eighth's intention to send an envoy to Milan, Venice, and Rome, and seek the help of these powers in carrying out his designs for the conquest of Naples. Beatrice, addressing the Venetian Signory in her lord's name, asked their advice as to the answer which he should give to the French king, and ended by informing them of his negotiations with Maximilian for the investiture of the duchy of Milan, which, she added, were already far advanced. After some deliberation, the Signory returned a courteous but evasive answer, begging the duchess to assure her husband of their most friendly sentiments, but saying that the French king's proposals required grave consideration, and that they must, first of all, communicate with the Pope as head of the League.

At a second conference which the Doge had with the young duchess on the 1st of June, Beatrice, acting under Lodovico's directions, laid stress on the fact that her husband as regent was all-powerful in Milan, and could dispose of the treasure and castles of Lombardy at his pleasure. The Doge understood by this, as we learn from the secret records of the Venetian Government, that the real aim of the duchess was to discover how far the Republic was disposed to uphold Lodovico's claim to the ducal title, but he merely returned a civil answer and repeated his professions of friendship. If Beatrice's mission, however, secured no very tangible result from the wise and crafty Venetian, her charms made a deep impression upon the old councillors, who one and all marvelled at her wisdom and eloquence, and grudged no pains or expense to give her pleasure. "No honours," writes Cardinal Bembo, "were held too great for these royal ladies, who in those joyous times had come to see the city, nor was any kind of pleasure or generous liberality lacking in the splendid fetes with which they were entertained on this memorable occasion." As for Beatrice herself, she was enchanted with the beauties of Venice and the courtesy of her hosts, and longed to see and hear all the wonders of the famous city. The greater part of these days was spent in visiting the chief sights of the place—the great Dominican and Franciscan churches, S. Zanipolo with the tombs of the doges and the Gothic shrine of S. Maria Gloriosa with Giovanni Bellini's newly painted Madonnas in all their radiant loveliness, the graceful Renaissance buildings of S. Maria dei Miracoli and the Scuola di S. Marco, which the Lombardi had lately finished. Like all royal visitors, the duchesses were conducted over the arsenal, which Commines justly calls the finest thing of the kind in the whole world, and were shown not only the fleet of a hundred ships in port, but the galleys in course of construction, the men making the oars, the women and children at work on the sails and ropes, the sulphur and saltpetre mills, and the splendid armoury, all enclosed within lofty walls, and guarded by twin towers crowned with the winged lion. And they saw what was indeed one of the wonders of the world—the glorious front of St. Mark's just as we see it in Gentile Bellini's great picture, with the many domes and myriads of pillars, the glittering mosaics and famous bronze horses, and the crimson standards floating from the three tall Venetian masts on the Piazza. We are not told whether Beatrice, like her sister Isabella d'Este, ascended the Campanile to enjoy the wonderful prospect over the lagoons, but we know that she went to hear the singing of the Augustinian nuns, a community of noble Venetian maidens as famous for the many scandals attached to their society as for the perfection of their musical services. Above all things in Venice, the duchesses admired the magnificent pile of the ducal palace and the noble mural paintings on which the Bellini and their fellow-artists were at work in the Great Hall, a sight of which the great fire of the sixteenth century has deprived future generations.

But the most splendid fete given in Beatrice's honour was the banquet, ball, and torchlight procession that were held on Thursday in the ducal palace. That same morning the duchesses attended mass in state at St. Mark's, and by the Doge's request the Milanese choir took part in the service. Beatrice's letters to her husband give a full account of the day's festivities—

"MOST EXCELLENT AND ILLUSTRIOUS LORD, MY DEAREST HUSBAND,

"To continue my relation of what is happening here day by day, I must now inform you that this morning my illustrious mother, Don Alfonso, Madonna Anna, and I, with all our company, set out for St. Mark's, where the Prince invited both us and our singers to assist at mass and see the Treasury. But before reaching St. Mark's, we landed at the Rialto, and went on foot up those streets which are called the Merceria, where we saw the shops of spices and silks and other merchandise, all in fair order and excellent both in quality and in the great quantity and variety of goods for sale. And of other crafts there was also a goodly display, so much so that we stopped constantly to look at now one thing, now at another, and were quite sorry when we reached St. Mark's. Here our trumpets sounded from a loggia in front of the church, and we found the prince, who advanced to meet us at the doors of St. Mark's, and placing himself as before, between my illustrious mother and myself, led us to the high altar, where we found the priest already vested. There we knelt down with the prince and said the confession, and then took the seats prepared for us and heard mass, which the priest and his assistants sang with great solemnity, and our singers did their part, and their singing greatly pleased both the Prince and all who were present, especially that of Cordier, who always takes great pains to do honour to your Highness. After mass, we accompanied the Prince to see the Treasury, but had the greatest difficulty in the world to get in, because of the crowds of people who were assembled there, as well as in the streets, although every one tried to make room for us, even the Prince crying out to try and clear the way. But at last the Prince himself was forced to retire on account of the great pressure of the crowd, and left us to enter with only a few others, and even then we had the greatest difficulty to get in. Once safely inside the Treasury we saw everything, which was a great pleasure, for there was an infinite quantity of most beautiful jewels and some magnificent cups and chalices. When we came out of the Treasury, we went on the Piazza of St. Mark, among the shops of the Ascensiontide fair which is still going on, and found such a magnificent show of beautiful Venetian glass, that we were fairly bewildered, and were obliged to remain there for a long time. And as we walked along from shop to shop, every one turned to look at the jewels which I wore in the velvet cap on my head, and on the vest embroidered with the towers of the Port of Genoa, and especially at the large diamond which I wore at my breast. And I heard people saying one to the other—'That is the wife of Signor Lodovico. Look what fine jewels she wears! What splendid rubies and diamonds she has!'

"At last, since the hour was already late, we went home to dine, and by this time it was nearly two o'clock.[43]

"Venice, May 30, 1493."

The day's labours, however, were hardly begun, and in her next letter Beatrice resumes her story—

"After dinner and a little rest, a large company of gentlemen came to conduct us to the festa at the palace. We travelled in barges, and, when we reached the palace, were conducted into the Great Hall. There a grand tribunal was erected at one end of the hall, in two divisions running the whole length of the walls, and in the centre of the hall a square stage was placed for dancing and theatrical representations. We ascended the tribunal, where we found a number of noble Venetian ladies, one hundred and thirty-two in all, richly adorned with jewels. On the wing to our right as we entered sat the Lord of the Company of 'the Potenti'—'a group of the famous company of La Calza, which included the wealthiest and most illustrious youths of Venice'—seated on a throne under a canopy of gold brocade, with Don Alfonso as a member of the company on his right hand. We took our seat on the left wing, and sent Madonna Anna to take her place by the Lord of the Company. The Prince was not present on this occasion, being too old and infirm to take part in such fatiguing entertainments; but a certain Messer Constantino Privolo occupied his place, as the oldest member of the Signory. The chiefs of the festa led out several ladies to dance, two or three at a time, and then came to ask if some of our ladies and gentlemen would not also take part in the dance. So, to show our friendly intentions, we agreed, and Conte Girolamo da Figino and a few others danced. Of the women, the wife of Count Francesco Sforza, the daughters Messer Sigismondo and of Messer Raynaldo, and a few others, also danced. During the dancing, by reason of the excessive heat of the room, my head began to ache, and as my throat also felt a little sore, I left the hall and retired to rest in another room for an hour. When I returned, it was already dark. A hundred lighted torches hung from the ceiling, and a representation was given on the stage, in which two big animals with large horns appeared, ridden by two figures, bearing golden balls and cups wreathed with verdure. These two were followed by a triumphal chariot, in which Justice sat enthroned, holding a drawn sword in her hand inscribed with the motto Concordia, and wreathed with palms and olive. In the same car was an ox with his feet resting on a figure of St. Mark and the adder. This, as your Highness will readily understand, was meant to signify the League, and as in all their discourses to me the Prince and these gentlemen speak of your Highness as the author of peace and tranquillity of Italy, so in this representation they placed your head on the triumphal arch above the others. Behind the chariot came two serpents, ridden by two other youths, dressed like the first riders. All these figures mounted the tribunal in the centre of the hall, and danced round Justice, and after dancing for a while, their balls exploded, and out of the flames, an ox, a lion, an adder, and a Moor's head suddenly appeared, and all of these danced together round the figure of Justice. Then the banquet followed, and the different dishes and confetti were carried in to the sound of trumpets, accompanied by an infinite number of torches. First of all came figures of the Pope, the Doge, and the Duke of Milan, with their armorial bearings and those of your Highness; then St. Mark, the adder, and the diamond, and many other objects, In coloured and gilded sugar, making as many as three hundred in all, together with every variety of cakes and confectionery, and gold and silver drinking-cups, all of which were spread out along the hall, and made a splendid show. Among other things, I saw a figure of the Pope surrounded by ten cardinals, which was said to be a prophecy of the ten cardinals whom the Pope is going to make to-morrow! The banquet was spread out upon the stage, and the dishes were handed round with many of these triumphs, and the Pope and the Duke and Duchess of Milan fell to my share. When the banquet was finished, we had another representation, in which the two youths on serpents played the chief part. A messenger arrived, riding on a triumphal car in a boat, bearing a letter in a packet, which he presented to the Lord of the Company, who opened it, and, after reading the letter, handed it back to him; then he entered the boat again and left the hall, followed by the others on their serpents. This last figure was said to be a herald who had been sent to announce the proclamation of the League, and a little while afterwards the triumphal car of the League, as described above, appeared again, followed by four giants. The first one carried a horn of foliage and fruit, the two next bore two clubs with gold and silver balls, or catapults, while the last carried a cornucopia, similar to that borne by the first giant in his hand. Then came four animals in the shape of Chimeras ridden by four naked Moors, sounding tambourines and cymbals or clapping their hands. They were followed by four triumphal cars, bearing figures of Diana, Death, the mother of Meleager, and several armed men—four or five persons in each chariot, the whole intended to represent the story of Meleager, which was fully set forth, from his birth to his death, with interludes of dances. The whole fable would take too long to repeat, but Gian Giacomo Gillino will be able to recite it from beginning to end, if you care to hear it. This was the conclusion of the whole festa. After this we entered our boats, and the clock struck one before we got home. The bishop of Como was sitting by me all the evening, and his infinite weariness at the length of the performance, and his dislike of the great heat in that crowded hall, made me laugh as I never laughed before. And in order to tease him and have more fun, I kept on telling him that there was still more to come, and that the acting would go on till to-morrow morning; and it was most amusing to see him stretch himself first on one leg, then on the other, and to hear him complain, 'My legs are worn out. When will this festa ever come to an end? Never again will I come to another.' I really think that his sighs and groans gave me as much pleasure as the festa itself. When at length we reached home, I supped frugally and then went to bed, as it was already three o'clock. The gown that I wore after dinner was of crimson and gold watered silk, with my jewelled cap on my head, and the rope of pearls with the Marone as a pendant. I commend myself to your Highness. Your Excellency's most affectionate wife,

"BEATRICE SFORTIA VISCOMTIS.[44]

Venetina, May 31, 1493."

On the back of this letter are the words—

"To the most illustrious Prince and excellent Lord, my dearest husband, the Lord Lodovico Maria Sfortia, etc. Ubi. sit. cito. cito."

On Saturday, the 1st of June, Beatrice wrote another letter, in which she describes her visit to the Great Council and final interview with the Doge, but makes no mention of political affairs, which were no doubt reserved for a separate despatch.

"To-day after dinner," she begins, "we went to the palace, honourably attended by many Venetian gentlemen, to visit the Great Council, and were conducted into the Great Hall. Here in the centre of the hall we found the Prince, who had descended from his rooms to meet us, and who accompanied us to the Tribunal, where we sat in our usual order, and the Council began to vote by ballot for elections to two different offices. When this was over, my lady mother thanked the Prince for all the honours which had been paid us, and took her leave. When she had finished speaking, I did the same; then, following the instructions which you had given me in your letter, I offered myself as a daughter to obey all the Doge's commands. The Prince replied that he needed no thanks, for he had only done what might be expected from a father for a beloved daughter, excusing himself if anything had been left undone, and begging I would not impute what was lacking to him, but to the failure of his servants to discharge their duties, and assuring me once more that his will could not be better disposed towards me. Then he once more expressed the paternal love which he cherished towards our most illustrious duke, towards your Highness and myself, and again placed himself and his Government at the disposal of your Excellency, with many very generous expressions, begging me to salute your Highness and beg you to be of good courage, and tell you that the Signory accepted all my offers, and would, if need be, avail themselves gratefully of your help. After this, I replied again in similar terms, and he again desired me to greet you warmly from him, and beg you to take good care of your own health and person. Our councillors were then presented to him, and Monsignore da Como returned thanks very courteously and repeated our expressions of gratitude, as was convenient, and then took leave. He also replied in suitable terms to all that the Prince had said to me, which speech I will not repeat here, for fear of wearying your Excellency.

"The Prince then rose and accompanied us to the foot of the great staircase, and here shook hands and left us. After that we went to visit the Queen of Cyprus at Murano, where she received us with great honour and gave us a beautiful entertainment. We also visited the shrine of St. Lucia, and so ends my tale for to-day. To-morrow morning, by the grace of God, we hope to set out on our journey at eight o'clock. I commend myself to your Excellency.

"Your most illustrious lordship's wife, BEATRICE SFORTIA.

Venice, 1st of June, 1493."

And so, with a pleasant trip across the sunny waters of the lagoon and a festa in the beautiful gardens of Caterina Cornaro, that royal lady who never neglected an opportunity of showing her friendship for the house of Este, Beatrice's week at Venice came to an end. The success of her visit had been complete, and both the Milanese ambassador and Niccolo de' Negri were eloquent on the splendour of the fetes held in her honour and the favourable impression which she had made on these grave and reverend signers.

The secretary especially, in his letters to Lodovico, dwells with complacency on the admiration which the young duchess's gowns and jewels, and still more her own charms, had excited among the Venetians. "On every occasion the duchess appeared clad in new and beautiful robes and glittering jewels. Her jewels, indeed, were the wonder of the whole town. But I shall not be wrong if I say that the finest jewel of all is herself—my dear and most excellent Madonna, whose gracious ways and charming manners filled all the people of Venice with the utmost delight and enthusiasm, so that your Highness may well count himself what he is—the happiest and most fortunate prince in the whole world."

FOOTNOTES:

[43] E. Motta, op. cit., p. 390, etc.

[44] Motta e Molmenti, op. cit.



CHAPTER XVIII

Return of Beatrice to Milan—Visit of Duke Ercole and Alfonso to Pavia —Death of Duchess Leonora—Beatrice's camora and Niccolo da Correggio's fantasia dei vinci—Marriage of Bianca Maria Sforza to Maximilian, King of the Romans, celebrated at Milan—Letter of Beatrice to Isabella d'Este—Wedding fetes and journey of the bride to Innsbruck—Maximilian's relations with his wife—Bianca's future life.

1493

On the 2nd of June, Beatrice and her mother left Venice and returned to Ferrara, where she once more embraced her infant son and enjoyed a few days' rest after all her fetes and journeyings. The 7th of June was spent at Belriguardo, and from this favourite villa the young duchess wrote to her sister, expressing her regret that she would be unable to visit Mantua on her return to Milan.

"I would most willingly come to see you at Mantua, as I had hoped to do, and as you know I still desire, and should very much enjoy a few days with you in the country, but my husband is exceedingly anxious for my return. So I must beg your Highness to let me enjoy a sight of you in the bucentaur, and not to insist upon my landing this time."

Isabella complied with her sister's request, and went to meet the duchess at Revere, where Beatrice stopped for a few hours on her way up the Po, to join her husband at Pavia. Lodovico was naturally impatient, not only to see his wife again, but to hear from her own lips all that had happened at Venice. And he on his part had much to tell her of the news which Belgiojoso had brought from France, and of the despatches which he received from Erasmo Brasca in Germany.

The summer months were spent in the Castello of Pavia, where Beatrice nursed her husband in a slight attack of fever, and afterwards received a visit from her father and brother. They arrived on the 25th of August, bringing with them a troop of actors to perform the Menaechmi and some of the other comedies which had pleased Lodovico so much at Ferrara. Duke Ercole himself, as usual, took keen interest in these theatricals, and before he left home sent to borrow two complete Turkish costumes and turbans from the Marquis of Mantua, in order to supply deficiencies in his actors' wardrobe. Three days after his arrival, Borso da Correggio, a young nephew of Niccolo, who had travelled to Pavia with the duke, sent the following note to give his cousin Isabella the latest news of her family:—

"MOST ILLUSTRIOUS SISTER AND HONOURED LADY,

"We arrived on the 25th at Pavia, and were received by these excellent lords and ladies with the usual formalities. We find both of the duchesses well and happy, one of them, indeed—her of Milan—expects the birth of another child shortly, but our own duchess is as gay and joyous as ever. On the 27th the comedy of The Captives was acted, and the performance went off very well. To-day The Merchant is to be given, and will, I hope, prove equally successful. To-morrow we are to have a third. Our way of living is as follows. Early in the morning we go out riding. After dinner we play at scartino, or else at 'raising dead men' and 'l'imperiale,' and other card games, till it is bed-time. The players are, as a rule, the Duke and Duchess of Bari together, Ambrogio da Corte, and some third man, whoever may happen to be present. To-day your father the duke, Don Alfonso, and Messer Galeaz Visconti are playing at pall-mall against Messer Galeaz Sanseverino, Signor Girolamo Tuttavilla, and myself. The Duchess of Milan does not join us in these games, and only appears at the theatricals. The Duke of Bari is more devoted to the duchess than ever, and is constantly caressing and embracing her. My lord your father is altogether intent on the comedies. When they are ended, hunting-parties will begin, and we shall all be ready for the quails."

These amusements were unexpectedly interrupted by the news of Duchess Leonora's serious illness, a gastric affection which ended fatally on the 11th of October. The death of this virtuous and admirable lady was deeply lamented both by the members of her immediate family circle and by the subjects to whom she had endeared herself by her goodness of heart. Funeral orations in her honour were delivered both at Mantua and Milan, and Ariosto pronounced a panegyric in verse over her grave. The young Duchess Beatrice, who had been with her mother at Venice so lately, wept bitter tears, and for several weeks could scarcely be persuaded to leave her room. Some anxiety was felt respecting her sister Isabella, who, after being married for three years, was now expecting the birth of her first child, and during ten days the news was concealed from her. But by the end of that time the Marchesa began to be uneasy, and to inquire why she received no letter from Ferrara. Soon the sad news reached her from Milan, "whether out of mere imprudence or by some malicious design, we cannot discover," wrote one of her ladies to the absent marquis. Isabella, however, showed her usual prudence and self-control. After the first burst of grief, she bore her loss with fortitude, and found distraction in putting herself, her rooms, and her household into mourning. In her anxiety to appear elegant, even in her grief, we find her asking Beatrice to send her some of the white lawn veils that were made in Milan, since she could find none to her taste in Mantua. And at the same time, she begged one of her friends at the Milanese court to give her minute details as to the colour and material of the mourning worn by the duchess. On the 25th of October, her correspondent replied—

"Although I have not yet been able to see the Duchess of Bari, since she still remains entirely in her room, yet, in order to satisfy your Highness, I have made inquiries as to the kind of mourning that she wears. Her Excellency is clad in a robe of black cloth, with sleeves of the same, and a very long mantle, also of black cloth, and wears on her head a black silk cap with muslin folds, which are neither grey nor yellow, but pure white. She hardly ever leaves her room, and Signor Lodovico spends most of his time with her, and they two and Messer Galeaz have their meals alone in their rooms."[45]

A fortnight later, Beatrice roused herself from her grief to help her husband in the preparations for his niece Bianca Sforza's wedding to the Emperor Maximilian. The death of the old Emperor Frederic III., who breathed his last at Linz on the 19th of August, and the elevation of his son to the imperial throne, had hastened the development of Lodovico's plans. The King of the Romans, as he was still called, until he could be solemnly invested with the imperial insignia, now proposed to send ambassadors to Milan, before the end of the year, to solemnize his espousals with the Princess Bianca and bring his bride across the Alps to Innsbruck. The date of the wedding was fixed for the last week in November, and Lodovico prepared to celebrate the event with fitting splendour. The widowed Duchess Bona was transported with joy at the prospect of this exalted alliance, and forgave the Moro all his sins in her delight at seeing her daughter become an empress. On her part, Beatrice prepared to lay aside her mourning for the occasion, and appear in a new and wonderful robe at her niece's wedding.

Accordingly she wrote to Isabella on the 12th of November, asking her sister's leave to make use of a design for a new camora, which had been suggested by Niccolo da Correggio.

"I cannot remember if your Highness has yet carried out the idea of that pattern of linked tracery which Messer Niccolo da Correggio suggested to you when we were last together. If you have not yet ordered the execution of this design, I am thinking of having his invention carried out in massive gold, on a camora of purple velvet, to wear on the day of Madonna Bianca's wedding, since my husband desires the whole court to lay aside mourning for that one day and to appear in colours. This being the case, I cannot refrain from wearing colours on this occasion, although the heavy loss we have had in our dear mother's death has left me with little care for new inventions. But since this is necessary, I have decided to make a trial of this pattern, if your Highness has not yet made use of it, and send the present courier, begging you not to detain him, but to let me know at once if you have yet tried this new design or not."[46]

The courier to Mantua brought back word that the marchioness had not yet made use of Niccolo's invention, and begged that her sister would feel herself at liberty to adopt the idea and "satisfy her appetite." Beatrice ordered the camora to be put in hand without delay, and Messer Niccolo had the satisfaction of seeing the duchess appear in this robe at the imperial wedding. The subject is of special interest, because this same pattern is repeated in the sleeves of Ambrogio de Predis' portrait of Lodovico's fair young daughter Bianca, which must have been painted about this time, and was probably adopted at the wish of Beatrice, who was fondly attached to her youthful step-daughter. Again, this same linked tracery or "fantasia dei vinci," as it is called in Beatrice and her sister's letters, is to be seen both in the decorations that adorn the ceiling of a hall in the Castello of Milan, and on the vaulting of the sacristy in St. Maria delle Grazie. And as Mr. Muntz[47] has lately pointed out, this same interlaced ornament, or vinci, in which the Belgian professor, M. Errera, sees a play upon the great painter's name, forms the motive of the famous circular engravings bearing the words "Academia Leonardi Vinci," which have given rise to so many conjectures as to the existence of that mysterious institution. All these repetitions of the pattern invented by Niccolo da Correggio, and adopted by Beatrice d'Este for her wedding robe, show how fashionable the fantasia dei vinci became at the Milanese court, and lead us to imagine that Leonardo himself may have had some part in the original design.

On the 5th of November, Lodovico wrote a note to Vigevano, where he and Beatrice had retired after Duchess Leonora's death, informing his father-in-law that he was on the point of returning to Milan to receive the imperial ambassadors, Gaspar Melchior, Bishop of Brixen, and Jean Bontemps. These important personages arrived on the 7th, and were met by Lodovico and his nephew, the Duke of Milan, at the Porta Orientale, opposite the newly erected Lazzaretto, and conducted in state to their rooms in the Castello. Here the German envoys were loaded with gifts, and magnificently entertained during the next three weeks. The nuptial ceremony was put off a week, to allow time for the arrival of the special envoys whom at the last moment Charles VIII. had decided to send, to do homage to his allies, and finally took place on St. Andrew's festival, the 30th of November, in the Duomo of Milan.

The street decorations on this occasion surpassed anything which had been seen before; the doors and windows were wreathed with ivy, laurel, and myrtle boughs, and the walls hung with tapestries and brocades embroidered with the armorial bearings of the different royal houses connected with the Sforza family. The adder of the Visconti, the cross of Savoy, and the imperial eagle were seen side by side with the mulberry-tree and other favourite devices of the Moro and his race, while all manner of strange and fantastic emblems were introduced by private owners, and one house exhibited the effigy of a crocodile, "a creature never before seen," remarks the historian, Tristan Calco, "in our city." But the most striking feature of the whole was the triumphal arch erected on the piazza in front of the Castello, and, by Lodovico's orders, crowned with Leonardo's model for the colossal equestrian statue of the great captain, Francesco Sforza. This clay horse, to which the Florentine master had devoted so many years of arduous labour, and which had cost him such infinite thought and care, was now at length completed, and the Milanese poets with one voice celebrated the praise of Lodovico, who had ordered the work,—

"Per memoria del padre un gran colosso;"

and the fame of Leonardo, whose rare genius had produced this unrivalled statue—

"Guarde pur come e bello quel cavallo Leonardo Vinci a farli sol s'e mosso Statura bon pictore, e bon geometra Un tanto ingegno rar dal ciel s'impetra."

So Baldassare Taccone sang in his poem on Bianca's wedding, while a greater scholar, Lancinus Curtius, recorded the completion of the long-expected work in the following epigram:—

"Expectant animi, molemque futuram Suspiciunt; fluat aes; vox erit: Ecce deus!"

The court poet Taccone waxes eloquent over the splendour of the procession, led by Messer Galeazzo, captain-general of the armies, and the beauty of the bride, whose tall and slender figure showed to advantage in her gorgeous apparel, with her long fair hair flowing over her shoulders, as she rode through the streets bowing in response to the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd. He paints the marvellous scene inside the Duomo, where the venerable Archbishop of Milan sang mass in the presence of the most brilliant assembly ever seen within its walls, and the firing of guns and ringing of bells marked the moment when the Bishop of Brixen placed the imperial crown on the bride's head. Taccone describes the glittering array of chandeliers and vases, designed after Signor Lodovico's favourite antique fashion, which adorned the high altar, the blaze of a thousand wax lights which illumined the majestic choir, the sweet perfumes of incense and celestial harmonies of the music that filled the air. And, like a true courtier, he contrives to make everything, decorations, music, and processions, redound to the praise of the great Moro, the author of all the glories of Milan.

But we have an equally minute and perhaps more interesting description of the scene from Beatrice's own pen, in a letter which she sent to her sister Isabella from Vigevano on the 29th of December. The marchioness, whose state of health prevented her from being present on the important occasion, had begged her sister to send her full accounts of the ceremony, but, owing to the fetes which followed the wedding and the journey of the court as far as Como with the imperial bride, a whole month elapsed before Beatrice was able to fulfil her promise.

"MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LADY AND DEAREST SISTER,

"I told you some time ago that I would let you have a full account of the triumphant display held in Milan, at the marriage of her Most Serene Highness the Queen of the Romans, and I certainly desired the chancellor to send you this account. But since you write that it has never reached you, the fault must rest with the said chancellor, and you must excuse me for this apparent neglect.

"On the last day of the past month the nuptials took place, and in preparation for this solemnity, a portico was erected in front of the Chiesa Maggiore of the city of Milan, with pillars on either side, supporting a purple canopy, embroidered with doves. Within the church, the aisles were hung with brocade as far as the choir, in front of which a triumphal arch had been erected on massive pillars. This was entirely painted, and bore in the centre an effigy of Duke Francesco on horseback, in his ducal robes, with the ducal arms and those of the King of the Romans above. This triumphal arch was square in shape, and ornamented with pictures of antique feasts, and the imperial insignia and the arms of my husband were placed on the side towards the high altar. Beyond this arch were steps that led up to a great tribunal erected in front of the high altar. On the left was a small tribunal from which the Gospel was sung, hung with gold brocade; on the right was another, adorned with silver brocade; and behind these tribunals were seats ranged in order and covered with draperies, for the councillors and other feudatories and gentlemen. In the extreme corners of the choir were two raised stages, one for the singers, the other for the trumpeters, and in the space between were seated the doctors of law and medicine, with their birettas and capes lined with fur, each according to his rank. The altar itself was sumptuously adorned with all the silver vases and images of saints which you saw in the Rocchetta when you were at Milan.

"The street leading to the Duomo was beautifully decorated. There were columns wreathed with ivy all the way from the bastions of the Castello to the end of the piazza, and between the columns were festoons of boughs bearing antique devices, and round shields with the imperial arms and those of our house, and Sforzesca draperies were hung above the street all the way from the Castello to the Duomo. Many of the doors had their pillars wreathed with ivy and green boughs, so that the season seemed to be May-time rather than November. On both sides of the street, the walls were hung with satin, excepting those houses which have lately been adorned with frescoes, and which are no less beautiful than tapestries.

"On the morning of the day, at about nine o'clock, the reverend and magnificent ambassadors of the King of the Romans rode to the church, honourably attended by the Marchese Ermes, the Count of Caiazzo, Count Francesco Sforza, the Count of Melzo, and Messer Lodovico da Fojano, and took their seats on the grand tribunal, close to the small tribunal covered with cloth of gold, on the left as you go in, this being counted the most honourable place, as it is the Gospel side. At ten o'clock, her serene Highness the Queen ascended the triumphal car which our dearest mother of blessed memory gave me when I was at Ferrara, and which was drawn on this occasion by four snow-white horses. The queen wore a vest of crimson satin, embroidered in gold thread and covered with jewels. Her train was immensely long, and the sleeves were made to look like two wings, which had a very fine appearance. On her head she wore an ornament of magnificent diamonds and pearls. And to add to the solemnity of the occasion, Messer Galeazzo Pallavicino carried the train, and Count Conrado de' Lando and Count Manfredo Torniello each of them supported one of the sleeves. Before the bride walked all the chamberlains, courtiers, officials, gentlemen, feudatories, and last of all the councillors. The queen seated herself in the centre of the car, the Duchess Isabella being on her right, and myself on her left. The said duchess wore a camora of crimson satin, with gold cords looped over it, as in my grey cloth camora, which you must remember; and I wore my purple velvet camora, with the pattern of the links worked in massive gold and green and white enamel, about six inches deep on the front and back of my bodice, and on both sleeves. The camora was lined with cloth of gold, and with it I wore a girdle of St. Francis made of large pearls, with a beautiful clear-cut ruby for clasp. On the other side of the chariot were Madonna Fiordelisa"—an illegitimate daughter of Duke Francesco Sforza, who occupied rooms in the Castello,—"Madonna Bianca, the wife of Messer Galeazzo; and the wife of Count Francesco Sforza. The chariot was followed by the ambassadors who have been sent by his Most Christian Majesty of France to honour these nuptials, and after them came the envoys of the different Italian powers, according to their rank, then the lord duke and my husband on horseback. These were followed by about twelve chariots containing the noblest maidens of Milan, who had been especially chosen and invited to attend the solemnity, and the ladies of the queen, all wearing the same livery, with tan-coloured camoras and mantles of bright green satin. Both the Duchess Isabella's ladies and mine were riding in these chariots. And as we drove to the Duomo in this procession, all the shops and windows on the road were hung with satin draperies and filled with men and women, and it was impossible to count the crowds of people who thronged every part of the streets.

"When we reached the gates of the Duomo, we alighted from the chariots and found Madonna Beatrice waiting to receive the bride, with a number of noble ladies, and we proceeded as far as the steps of the tribunal, where the ambassadors of the King of the Romans advanced to meet the queen, whom they conducted to her place on the great tribunal in front of the high altar. Then we all took our proper places—that is to say, the ambassadors mounted the tribunal covered with cloth of gold, the queen was led to the tribunal of silver brocade, between the French ambassadors, while behind them were seated the envoys of the other powers, the duke and my husband, Duchess Isabella and myself. The other honourable relatives of the bride occupied a lower range of seats, and the central part of the tribunal was filled with a large number of ladies. On the queen's side, the councillors, feudatories, and other courtiers, officials, and chamberlains occupied the remainder of the seats. As for the rest of the people, the church, which is a very large one, could not contain them all.

"When we were all in our places, the Most Reverend Archbishop of Milan entered in full vestments, with the priests in ordinary, and began to celebrate mass with the greatest pomp and solemnity, to the sound of trumpets, flutes, and organ-music, together with the voices of the chapel choir, who adapted their singing to Monsignore's time. At the singing of the Gospel, two of the priests in ordinary of the cathedral bore the incense, the one to the ambassadors of the King Maximilian, and the other to the queen, the duke and duchess, and my husband and myself, who were opposite. The Pax was given, when the right time came, by the Bishop of Piacenza to the king's representatives, and to us others who sat on the other tribunal by the Bishop of Como. After mass had been celebrated with the greatest solemnity, the queen rose from her place between the ambassadors of his Most Christian Majesty, and, accompanied by the duke and my husband, Duchess Isabella and myself, and followed by all the princes of the blood, advanced to the altar. The ambassadors of King Maximilian advanced on their side, and we all stood before the altar, where Monsignore the Archbishop pronounced the marriage service, and the Bishop of Brixen first gave the ring to the queen, and then, assisted by the archbishop, placed on her head the crown, which act was accompanied with great blowing of trumpets, ringing of bells, and firing of guns and shells. And the said crown was of gold, enriched with rubies, pearls, and diamonds, set in the form of arches meeting in the shape of a cross, and on the top of all was a figure of the globe, crowned with a small imperial cross, after the pattern given by the ambassadors, in obedience to the king's directions.

"After this, every one walked in procession to the gates of the Duomo, the above-named feudatories bearing the train and sleeves. Then the women, as well as the men, mounted horses, and a baldacchino of white damask lined with ermine was prepared, under which the queen rode, preceded by the ambassadors and the whole court, with the duke and my husband at their head. Next to the queen rode the ambassadors of her husband the king, the Bishop of Brixen being on the left hand, outside the baldacchino, and so the long procession moved towards the Castello. All the clergy of the city of Milan, richly apparelled and very devout in appearance, were drawn up between the Castello and Duomo, both on the way thither and on the return journey. Messer Zoan Francesco Pallavicino and Messer Francesco Bernardo Visconti acted as the queen's staff-bearers, from the Duomo to the Castello. The baldacchino was carried all the way by doctors robed in the manner described above, and behind the queen rode the duchess and myself, followed by the relatives, courtiers, and invited guests, all on horseback. Then came the ladies of the queen, those of the duchess, and my own, all sumptuously clad and making a splendid show, and finest of all was the queen, with the imperial crown on her head. Nothing but gold and silver brocade was to be seen, and the least well-dressed persons wore crimson velvet, so that the costumes were a marvellous sight, besides the infinite number of gold chains worn by knights and others. All those who were present agreed that they had never seen so glorious a spectacle. And the ambassador of Russia, who was among the spectators, declared that he had never seen such extraordinary pomp. The nuncio of His Holiness the Pope said the same, as well as the French ambassador, who declared that, although he had been present at the Pope's coronation and at that of his own king and queen, he had never seen as splendid a sight. Your Highness may judge from this how full of pleasure and glory these nuptials have been. All the people shouted for joy, and so at length we reached the Castello of Milan, where the procession broke up and the crowd dispersed. I wished for your presence many times during the whole ceremony, but since this desire of mine could not be satisfied, I thought I would give you this account with my own hand. Commending myself to your Highness as ever,

"Your sister, BEATRIX SFORTIA VICECOMES ESTENSIS DUCHISA BRI.[48]

Vigevano, December 29, 1493.

To my illustrious lady and most dear sister the lady Isabella di Gonzaga Estensis, Marchionissae Mantuae."

The splendours which Beatrice describes with so much enthusiasm did not end with the bride's return to the Castello. Here Bianca's magnificent trousseau was exhibited before the admiring eyes of the ladies of Milan. It was valued at 100,000 ducats, and included not only rich clothes and costly jewels, but gold and silver plate for use in the royal chapel and on the dinner-table, altar fittings and bed-hangings, mirrors and perfumes, and a vast store of fine linen, carpets, saddles and horse-trappings of the most sumptuous description. The court poet goes on to tell how Duchess Bona welcomed her daughter with tears of joy, and how during the next two days high festival was held in the Castello. There was a tournament, in which the "gran Sanseverini" once more proved their valour, and Messer Galeaz as usual bore off the prize, followed by much feasting and dancing, and a grand display of fireworks. "So many torches and lights illumined the darkness of night, that all Milan blazed as if the city were on fire."

On the third day after the marriage ceremony, the queen started on her journey across the Alps, attended by Maximilian's ambassadors and a numerous suite, which included her brother, Ermes Sforza; her cousin, Francesco Sforza; the Archbishop of Milan; the poet Gaspare Visconti; and the great jurist Giasone del Maino, as well as Erasmo Brasca, who was to resume his post of envoy to the King of the Romans. The Duke and Duchess of Milan, Lodovico and Beatrice, and Bona of Savoy all accompanied Bianca as far as Como, where the bishop and clergy came out to meet her, and conducted her in state to the cathedral. After a solemn thanksgiving service, at which all the court assisted, the queen and the German ambassadors spent the night in the episcopal palace, while the other princes and princesses were entertained in the houses of distinguished courtiers in the town. On the following morning the bride took leave of her family, and embarked on a richly decorated barge fitted out by the royal citizens of Torno and rowed by forty sailors, while her suite followed in thirty smaller boats, painted and decked out with laurel boughs and tapestries. Niccolo da Correggio, whose daughter Leonora was one of the ladies chosen to accompany Bianca on her journey, has described the beauty of the scene that morning, the blue waters of the lake covered with glittering sails, the shores crowded with people in holiday attire, and the joyous sounds of music that filled the air as the gay cortege left Como. The bridal party reached Bellagio in safety, and after spending the night at the Marchesino Stanga's castle, started on their journey towards the upper end of the lake. But hardly had they left the shore, than the weather changed and a violent storm scattered the fleet in all directions. The poor young queen and her ladies wept and cried aloud to God for mercy, and their companions were scarcely less terrified. Only Giasone del Maino preserved his composure and smiled at the terror of the courtiers, who gave themselves up for lost, while he exhorted the frightened boatmen to keep their heads. Fortunately, towards nightfall the tempest subsided, and after tossing on the waves for several hours, the queen's barge with part of the fleet managed to put back into Bellagio. The next day a more prosperous start was made, and on the 8th of December the party set off on horseback to cross the mountain passes. But the hardships of the journey were not yet over. A rough mule-track was the only road that led in those days over the Alps that divided the Valtellina from the Tyrol, "that fearful and cruel mountain of Nombray," as the Venetian chronicler calls the pass now crossed by the Stelvio road. No wonder the sight of those precipitous cliffs filled the Milanese ladies with terror, and they shrank from exploring such barbarous regions in the depth of winter. One maid of honour had to be left behind at Gravedona, unable to bear the fatigues of the journey, and Bianca herself complained bitterly to Erasmo Brasca of the hardships which she had to endure. "The queen," wrote the ambassador to Lodovico, "conducts herself well on the whole, but often complains that I deceive her, by telling her, each morning when she mounts her horse, that she will not find the road so rough to-day, and then, as ill luck will have it, it turns out to be worse than ever." At length, however, on the 23rd of December, the travellers reached Innsbruck, and Bianca was kindly received by Maximilian's uncle, the Archduke Sigismund of Austria, and his wife, with whom she spent Christmas and beguiled the winter days with dancing and games, while Erasmo Brasca went on to meet the King of the Romans at Vienna. Even then some weeks passed before this laggard bridegroom joined his newly wedded wife, and Erasmo Brasca's mind was sorely perturbed at his prolonged delays and excuses. Bianca, however, whose childish mind was easily distracted, found plenty of amusement in her new surroundings and wrote long and affectionate letters to her uncle Lodovico, telling him how she and the Archduchess Barbara had been dressing up their ladies a la Tedesca and a la Lombarda, and how the court painter, Ambrogio de Predis, who had accompanied her from Milan to paint Maximilian's portrait, had just made a picture of the archduchess, which greatly pleased her. And she informs her uncle that the German princess had sent to ask her for a portrait of Signor Lodovico, which she had been very anxious to see and had studied with the greatest interest.

Finally, on the 9th of March, Maximilian arrived at the castle of Hall, where his bride met him, and the marriage was at length consummated, "to the confusion of all our enemies," as Brasca wrote triumphantly to his master on the following morning. This union, in which Lodovico's friends and foes alike acknowledged a master-stroke of successful diplomacy, was not destined to prove a very happy one. From the first Maximilian looked with critical eyes on this bride of twenty-one, who was thirteen years younger than himself, and told Erasmo Brasca that Bianca was quite as fair as his first wife, Mary of Burgundy, but inferior in wisdom and good sense to that princess, adding that perhaps she might improve in time. He treated her kindly to begin with, and gratified her by the handsome robes which he gave her in order that she might appear attired in German fashion at her coronation. Before long, however, he began to find fault with her extravagant habits, and complained that she had spent 2000 florins, presented to her by the city of Cologne, in one single day. Brasca himself felt obliged to remonstrate with her on her foolish tricks, especially for eating her meals on the floor instead of at table, and other bad habits which annoyed the emperor, while the violent friendship which she made with one of her ladies, Violante by name, led to continual intrigues and quarrels. Maximilian soon began to find her presence wearisome, and to leave her mostly to herself, and when he found that his hopes of an heir did not seem likely to be realized, he allowed the poor empress to lead a very dull and solitary life. Left alone, as she often was for weeks, in the vast, gloomy castle of Innsbruck, Bianca pined for the bright and sunny villas and palaces of Milan, and looked back sadly on the gay years of her old life. She was constantly writing affectionate letters to her uncle, asking him to give places and pensions to her old friends and servants in Milan, and begging him for portraits of himself and Beatrice, as well as for the silks and feathers, the jewels and perfumes, with which her thoughts were always busy.[49]

But, to do her justice, she proved a loyal friend to Lodovico in his darkest days, and when his children lived in exile at Innsbruck, they found a kind and loving protector in the empress during the few remaining years of her life. From the year after her marriage her health began to droop, and she became gradually weaker, until in 1510 she died of this lingering illness, and was buried in the Franciscan church of Innsbruck, where the bronze effigy of Maximilian's Lombard bride, robed in the rich brocades which she loved so well, still adorns his sumptuous mausoleum.

FOOTNOTES:

[45] Luzio-Renier. op. cit., pp. 380-382.

[46] Luzio-Renier, op. cit., p. 383.

[47] "Leonardo da Vinci," by Eugene Muntz, vol. i. p. 226.

[48] Luzio-Renier, op. cit., p. 388.

[49] F. Calvi, Bianca Maria Sforza



CHAPTER XIX

State of political affairs in Italy—Vacillating policy of Lodovico Sforza—Death of King Ferrante of Naples—Alliance between his successor Alfonso and Pope Alexander VI.—Lodovico urges Charles VIII. to invade Naples—Sends Galeazzo di Sanseverino to Lyons—Cardinal della Rovere's flight from Rome—Alfonso of Naples declares war—Beatrice at Vigevano—The Gonzagas and the Moro—Duchess Isabella and her husband at Pavia.

1493-1494

While Lodovico's newly-formed alliance with Maximilian strengthened his hands on the one hand, on the other it helped to aggravate the strained relations already existing between himself and the royal family of Naples. The promise of the investiture of Milan, which he had received from the emperor, soon became known; it was freely discussed that autumn both in Rome and Venice, and gave Alfonso of Calabria good reason to take up arms in defence of his son-in-law Gian Galeazzo's rights. But King Ferrante still hesitated to declare war against Milan, and, while he raised forces and made preparations for the defence of his dominions, was far more concerned to detach Lodovico from the French alliance than to interfere in the domestic affairs of Milan on behalf of his granddaughter and her husband. In August he succeeded in making peace with Pope Alexander, and even consented to a marriage contract between his granddaughter Sancia, and Godfrey Borgia, the Pope's young son. This new departure alarmed Lodovico seriously, and produced a marked alteration in his foreign policy. When Charles the Eighth's envoy, Perron de' Baschi, visited Milan in June, he met with polite but vague answers from the Moro, and received no distinct promise of support in the conquest of Naples. But early in September, Count Belgiojoso returned to France, and lost no time in seeking an interview with the king. "Is your Majesty going to undertake the expedition or not?" were his first words. "Signor Lodovico is anxious to learn your intention."

"I have already told Signor Lodovico my intentions a thousand times over, by envoys and letters," replied the king, petulantly, and proceeded to intimate that if the Moro played him false, he would support the Duke of Orleans in reviving his old claims on the Milanese. Belgiojoso hastened to assure Charles of his master's friendly sentiments, upon which the king's ill temper mollified, and he said, "Then I will regard him as a father, and seek his advice in everything."

All the same, when Charles repeated his request that Lodovico should send him Messer Galeazzo, and expressed his great wish to see the hero of so many tournaments in person, the Moro once more gave an evasive answer, and told Belgiojoso that he could not spare his son-in-law at present. The Pope showed his friendliness to the house of Este by including Beatrice's brother Ippolito, a lad of fifteen, among the twelve cardinals whom he created that September, his own son, Cesar Borgia, being another of the number. In November he sent Lodovico his cordial congratulations on his niece's marriage with the emperor, and presented Maximilian with a consecrated sword.

"This is the state of affairs in Italy at present," wrote the chronicler Malipiero on the 25th of September, 1493. "The Pope is in league with Lodovico of Milan. Maximilian, King of the Romans, has been elected emperor, and has taken Bianca Sforza to wife with 400,000 ducats, and Lodovico is to be invested with the duchy of Milan by him as emperor. At Rome Cardinal Ascanio's affairs prosper, and Lodovico of Milan is on intimate terms with the Pope and all of his allies. And Duke Ercole has sent his son Alfonso to France to tell King Charles that his troops will have free passage to Naples through his dominions, because he is the father-in-law of Lodovico."

Under these circumstances, old King Ferrante, becoming desperate, made a last effort to win over Lodovico to his side, and implored him to use his influence to stop the French monarch, warning him that the tide of events might in the end prove too strong for him. "The time will come," replied Lodovico proudly, "when all Italy will turn to me and pray to be delivered from the coming evils." In his anxiety to recover the Moro's friendship, the old king even thought of coming to Genoa himself to meet his granddaughter's husband, and arrive at some agreement. But early in the new year he fell ill, and died of fever on the 25th of January, at the age of seventy.

The death of Ferrante and accession of his son Alfonso, the father of Duchess Isabella, and a personal enemy of the Moro, brought matters to a crisis. The old king could never conquer his dislike of the Pope, and had only given a reluctant consent to the proposed marriage of his granddaughter with a Borgia. Alfonso, on the contrary, was ready to agree to any terms which might conciliate Alexander VI., and employed every artifice to obtain the Pope's support, and that of Piero de' Medici against France and Milan. In spite of the compliments that were exchanged on both sides upon his accession, Alfonso's enmity to Lodovico Sforza was well known at Naples, and the Milanese ambassador, Antonio Stanga, warned Lodovico to beware of assassins and prisoners, since, to his certain knowledge, the "new king has paid large sums of money to several Neapolitans of bad repute, who have been sent to Milan on some evil errand." After much vacillation on the Pope's part, and prolonged negotiations with both France and Naples, he was induced by the Orsini, who were staunch allies of the house of Aragon, to grant Alfonso the investiture of Naples, and to send his son, Cardinal Juan Borgia, to officiate at his coronation. A papal bull was addressed to Charles VIII., warning him not to invade Italy at the peril of his soul, and Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, whose influence had been hitherto all-powerful with the Pope, left the Vatican and retired to his own palace. The Pope's change of front finally determined Lodovico's policy. From this moment he threw himself heart and soul into the alliance with France, and left no stone unturned to bring Charles VIII. into Italy. In an important letter which, on the 10th of March, he addressed to his brother, Cardinal Ascanio, who shared all his secrets, he reminds him that he had originally been no friend to the French invasion.

"It is not true," he writes, "that the whole movement proceeds from me. It was the Most Christian King who took the initiative, which is proved by the appeal for the investiture of Naples, which he addressed to the late Pope Innocent, and also by many letters written on the subject by our own hand. When the Treaty of Senlis was signed, he sent his envoy to tell me that he meant to invade Italy. At that moment, seeing how badly the King of Naples had behaved against the Holy Father, I was not sorry to come to the help of His Holiness. I ceased to dissuade the Most Christian King from the enterprise. I approved his resolution, and now he is at Lyons."

As late as the 6th of February, Lodovico had again declined to send Messer Galeazzo to France, saying that every one would think he had come to hasten the king's movements, and that in this way Charles would lose the honour of the campaign. But when the news of the alliance between Alfonso and the Pope reached him, he made no further difficulties, and on the 1st of April, Galeazzo started for Lyons. On the 5th, he entered the town secretly, disguised as a German, and, accompanied only by four riders, made his way to the royal lodgings, and saw the king privately, this being the day which had been selected by Lodovico's astrologer, Ambrogio da Rosate, for his arrival at court. On the following morning he made his public entry, attended by a suite of a hundred horsemen clad in the French fashion, which Messer Galeazzo himself commonly affected. The king received him with the utmost cordiality, and conducted him immediately to see the queen, whom he presented with a magnificent Spanish robe in Lodovico's name, together with choice specimens of Milanese armour, jennets from his own famous breed, and several handsome silver flagons filled with fragrant perfumes, in which Charles took especial delight. The French king fell an easy victim to this brilliant cavalier's personal charm. He insisted on seeing him ride in a tilting match before the court, and could talk of nothing but Messer Galeazzo's feats of horsemanship, whether in council or at table, and even when he went to bed. He bestowed the order of St. Michel upon his guest, and, among other marks of favour, he invited Galeazzo to his private rooms, where he sat with a few of his favourites, and, taking one of the fairest maidens by the hand, presented her to his visitor. Then the king himself sat down by another, and so they remained for some hours in pleasant conversation."

In his reply to Belgiojoso, who duly reported these events to his master, Lodovico dwells with infinite satisfaction on the great honours which have been paid to his dear son, and rejoices to hear that his Majesty has introduced him into his private apartments, and even shared his domestic pleasures with him. The presence of Galeazzo di Sanseverino at Lyons had, no doubt, the effect of counteracting the intrigues of the Duke of Orleans and the Aragonese party at the French court, and the confidence with which he inspired Charles dissipated any doubts which the king may have entertained of Lodovico's honesty. "The mission of Signor Galeazzo," wrote Belgiojoso, "has been crowned with success. Without his coming, the enterprise would have been utterly ruined."

Another and still more powerful advocate of the expedition now appeared at Lyons in the person of Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, who, in Guicciardini's opinion, "was the fatall instrument of all the miseries of Italy." This bitter enemy of the Borgias had been repeatedly threatened with assassination by the Pope's creatures, and, feeling that Ostia was no safe place for him, he embarked one night in a fisherman's bark and fled first to Savona and thence to Genoa. Here, with Lodovico's assistance, he managed to proceed on his journey to France, and on the 1st of June reached Lyons, where his vehement invectives against the Pope and urgent entreaties helped to hasten the king's preparations. At the same time Erasmo Brasca, acting under Lodovico's orders, succeeded in disarming Maximilian's opposition to the French king's invasion of Italy, and wrote to his master on the 14th of June, informing him that the French ambassador had just left Worms with an assurance from the emperor that he would not impede that monarch's designs upon Naples. When, ten days later, Galeazzo di Sanseverino returned to Milan, the die was cast, and the French invasion of Italy was at length finally determined. Meanwhile the long-expected rupture between Milan and Naples had taken place. On the 8th of May, Alfonso was crowned by the papal nuncio, Juan Borgia, after the marriage of the Princess Sancia to Godfrey Borgia had been solemnized on the previous day. A fortnight later, as the king rode in state, accompanied by all the foreign ambassadors, to church on the Feast of Corpus Christi, he took occasion to ask the Milanese envoy, Antonio Stanga, if the news which reached him from Lyons were true, and the French king's enterprise, after being almost given up, had now been decided upon, owing to Messer Galeazzo's visit. The ambassador listened deferentially, cap in hand, but courteously disclaimed all knowledge of such information.

"Tell Signor Lodovico," returned the king, "that he will be the first to rue the day when the French set foot in Italy."

"Before I had time to reply," writes Stanga, "the other ambassadors had arrived to salute his Majesty, and I did not see him again alone."

A few days later the Milanese envoy was abruptly dismissed, and war declared against Milan. Alfonso committed the first open act of hostilities by seizing Lodovico's principality of Bari. At the same time a fleet was equipped to attack Genoa, and the land forces prepared to join the papal army and march through Romagna against the Milanese.

The winter of 1494, "that most unhappie year for Italy," writes Guicciardini, "for that in it was made open the way to infinite and horrible calamities," was spent by Lodovico and his wife at their favourite palace of Vigevano. After Bianca's wedding they had retired there, to spend the remaining period of Beatrice's mourning at this country retreat, and did not leave until the spring was well advanced. From here Beatrice wrote on the 3rd of January to rejoice with her sister Isabella on the birth of her first child, a daughter, who received the name of Leonora, after their beloved mother. The duchess congratulated her sister in affectionate terms, and signed herself, "Quella che desidera vedere la Signoria Vostra." She who desires to see your Highness,

"BEATRICE SFORZA D'ESTE."[50]

Below she added messages from her baby-boy: "Ercole begs me to commend him to your Highness, and to his new cousin."

Perhaps Beatrice was the more cordial and warm in expressing her affection for her sister because of the difference that had lately arisen between her husband and the marquis, who had lately been invited to take the command of the King of Naples' troops in the war against Milan. This offer he eventually declined, as well as an invitation from the French king to enter his service; but on this and other occasions his attitude excited Lodovico's displeasure, while the Moro's somewhat imperious request annoyed both Gianfrancesco and his wife. For one thing, Isabella could not forgive the way in which her brother-in-law desired that fish from the lake of Garda should to sent to Milan at his pleasure, and wrote to her husband on the 1st of February in the following terms:—

"I am quite willing to see that fish should be sent to Milan occasionally, but not every week, as he requests in his imperious fashion, as if we were his feudatories, lest it should appear as if we were compelled to send it, and it were a kind of tribute."

But although Beatrice's exalted position and the splendour of the Milanese court sometimes excited Isabella's envy, and Lodovico's pretensions ruffled her equanimity, nothing ever disturbed the happy relations between the sisters. Beatrice was always frank and generous in her behaviour to Isabella, and the marchioness remained sincerely attached to her, and in her letters to her beloved sister-in-law, the Duchess of Urbino, constantly assures her that she holds the next place in her heart to that occupied by her only sister, "la sorella mia unica, la Duchessa di Bari."

It was at Vigevano that winter, on the 28th of January, that Lodovico drew up the deed of gift by which he endowed his wife with his palace lands of Cussago, as well as the Sforzesca and other lands in the district of Novara and Pavia. The deed, signed with his own hand, and richly illuminated by some excellent miniature painter of the Milanese school, is preserved in the British Museum, and is an admirable example of contemporary Lombard art. Medallion portraits of Lodovico and Beatrice are painted on the vellum, together with a frieze of lovely putti, supporting their armorial bearings, and a variety of Sforza devices and mottoes, interspersed with festoons of foliage and fruit, torches and cornucopias. Lodovico's strongly marked features and long dark hair are relieved by the richness of his dark blue mantle sown with gold stars, while Beatrice wears a gold ferroniere on her brow. Her dark brown hair is coiled in a jewelled net, a lock strays over her cheek, as in Zenale's portrait in the Brera altar-piece. Her mauve bodice is enriched with gold arabesques, and a cross of pearls hangs from a long chain she wears round her throat.

There were no fetes that spring at Milan or Pavia. The treasury was exhausted by the great expenses of the Empress Bianca's wedding, and the court was still in mourning, while Lodovico's time and thoughts were absorbed in diplomatic correspondence and preparations for war. But there were gay hunting-parties at Vigevano, in which Beatrice joined with all her wonted spirit and love of sport.

"I must thank you for your pleasant account of my brother's hunting-expeditions," wrote Lodovico on the 18th of March to his old favourite, Count Tuttavilla, who was staying in Rome with Cardinal Ascanio; "but I really think, if my brother were here and could join in our hunting-parties, he would find them even more delightful." In the same letter he gives Girolamo a hint of the deed of investiture which he was hoping to receive from Maximilian.

"I have nothing else to say, saving that, by reason of the warm friendship we entertain with his serene Majesty the King of the Romans, as well as with the Most Christian King, to which we may add the love which his Holiness bears us, I hope soon to give you some good news which will greatly please you."[51]

Girolamo Tuttavilla, the old and tried servant to whom this letter was addressed, had left Milan in February, owing to a quarrel with Galeazzo di Sanseverino and his brothers, whose haughty manners gave frequent offence to other Milanese courtiers. Both Lodovico and Beatrice, to whom Tuttavilla was sincerely attached, did their best to allay his displeasure, and Cardinal Ascanio tried to induce his guest to use greater moderation in speaking of Messer Galeazzo and his brothers; but, although Girolamo kept up friendly relations with the duke and duchess, the wound was never healed, and he refused to return to Milan. He afterwards entered the service of the young King Ferrante of Naples, and when a league was formed to oppose the French invaders, was appointed to command the cavalry, but found himself once more brought into contact with his old rivals Galeazzo and Fracassa, who were at the head of the Milanese contingent, and soon parted company with them, complaining that Messer Galeazzo would obey no one. But he never renounced his allegiance to Lodovico, and sent him and Beatrice his most hearty congratulations when the Moro became Duke of Milan.

The Sanseverini brothers seem frequently to have given offence to Lodovico's other ministers by their proud bearing. Even the mild and patient Erasmo Brasca incurred Messer Galeazzo's displeasure by repeating some reports about his French leanings which had reached the German court, and had to send an apology before he could obtain pardon for his mistake. But nothing could diminish the favour with which Lodovico regarded his son-in-law, and during his absence at Lyons we find him busy in preparing a new and splendid palace at Vigevano to receive Messer Galeazzo and his youthful bride. In a letter which the Moro addressed on the 11th of May to his superintendent of works, the Marchesino Stanga, we find a mention of this building, as well as of the decoration of several rooms in the Castello of Milan.

"MARCHESINO,—We have given orders that the rooms which are being added on the garden side should be furnished according to the enclosed list, and desire that you should provide Messer Gualtero with the necessary money, 127-1/2 ducats, which you will charge on the extraordinary fund. You will provide in the same way for the moneys which I have assigned for the building of Messer Galeazzo's palace, and for the conduits for watering the Giardinato and the adjoining lavatories, also for the painting of the hall and dining-room occupied by the chamberlain of my illustrious consort, so that they may be fit for use, as arranged, by the end of the month."[52]

Neither the pressure of political affairs nor the anxieties of approaching conflict could destroy Lodovico's interest in artistic matters in the decorations of the Castello or the furnishing of his new rooms. The object which at this time lay nearest to his heart was the completion of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the Dominican church which he had taken under his especial protection, and which he intended to be the burial-place of his family. Even now Bramante was engaged in constructing the new cupola, and before long his favourite painter Leonardo was to set to work on his great Cenacolo in the refectory.

While Lodovico and Beatrice were pursuing these different objects of their ambition, the unfortunate Duchess Isabella was eating out her heart in the Castello of Pavia. After the imperial wedding, at which she had made so brave a show, she and Gian Galeazzo retired to Pavia, and were rarely seen in public again. The duke's health and mental condition became every day more enfeebled, and his wife devoted herself wholly to him and her children. That winter she gave birth to a second daughter, who was named Ippolita after her grandmother, but died at the age of seven. And now, as if to increase the sadness of her forlorn condition, came the prospect of war with Naples, and the invasion of her father's dominions by a foreign monarch, who entered Italy as the ally of Lodovico, the usurper of her husband's throne. But melancholy as her surroundings were, and keenly as she felt the sight of her rival Beatrice's prosperity, the privations which she and her husband were forced to endure have been greatly exaggerated. According to Corio, they were often destitute of food and necessaries, and reduced to the verge of starvation. This chronicler, however, was not only frequently inaccurate in his statements, but had a spite against Duchess Beatrice, whose character and actions he totally misrepresented, while, after Lodovico's fall, his ingratitude towards his former master drew down upon him the bitter reproaches and invective of Lancinius Curtius. In this instance his statements are refuted by the bills for the expenses of the ducal household, which are still preserved in the Milanese archives. From these records we learn that Isabella's ladies were as numerous and as richly dressed as those of any reigning sovereign, and that her camoras and jewels were as sumptuous as Beatrice's own. Gian Galeazzo's stables were always well filled with horses and hounds, for Lodovico was too wise to grudge his nephew anything that tended to occupy his thoughts and distract them from public affairs. And during his last illness the unfortunate duke announced his intention of giving dowries to a hundred poor maidens on his recovery, which affords another proof that his poverty was not so great as Corio has declared. But none the less it was a bitter mortification for a king's daughter of the proud house of Aragon to see herself and her husband left with the mere semblance of power, while her cousin reigned in her place.

FOOTNOTES:

[50] Luzio-Renier, op. cit., p. 389.

[51] Gabotto, G. Tuttavilla.

[52] Luca Beltrami, Il Castello di Milano.



CHAPTER XX

Arrival of the Duke of Orleans at Asti—The Neapolitan fleet sent against Genoa—The forces of Naples repulsed at Rapallo—Charles VIII. at Asti—Beatrice d'Este entertains him at Annona—The king's illness—His visit to Vigevano and Pavia—His interview with the Duke and Duchess of Milan—Last illness and death of Giangaleazzo Sforza—Lodovico proclaimed Duke at Milan—Mission of Maffeo Pirovano to Maximilian.

1494

On the 10th of July, the Duke of Orleans crossed the Alps with the advanced guard of the French army, and arrived at his own city of Asti, the fief which had formed part of the dowry of his grandmother, Valentina Visconti. Lodovico Sforza went to meet him at Alexandria on the 13th of July, and held a council of war there. The naval preparations that were being made at Genoa were the chief subject of discussion, and Orleans asked for a loan of sixty thousand ducats, which the Moro undertook to arrange. This was the first meeting between these two princes, who were destined to become such bitter enemies in days to come. Even now it was well known that the Duke of Orleans assumed the title of Dux Mediolani, and his deeply rooted aversion to the Moro was no secret at Milan. But both princes had the same courtly and polished manners, and Lodovico on his part took care that nothing should be wanting in the entertainment of his rival. The other ambassadors watched the scene with curious eyes, but the first impression which Louis of Orleans made upon them was distinctly unfavourable. "He has a small head with not much room for brains," wrote Pietro Alamanni to Piero de' Medici; "Lodovico will soon get the better of him."

Much interest was excited among the Milanese ladies by the arrival of the French duke, and Benedetto Capilupi, who had been sent from Mantua to invite Beatrice to the christening of her infant niece, Leonora Gonzaga, wrote to Isabella on the 23rd of July—

"The duchess says that when the Duke of Orleans comes here, she will have to leave off her mourning and dance, and be kissed by the duke, who will kiss all the maids of honour and all the court ladies after the French fashion. Barone, the jester, says that when he has kissed Madonna Polissena d'Este, he will be tired of it and will go no further. When the Count Dauphin and other princes of the blood royal arrive, the duchess sends your Highness word that you will have to come too and receive some of these kisses."

The Duke of Orleans, however, had no time to waste in paying his respects to the ladies of Beatrice's court. Directly after his interview with Lodovico, he went on to Genoa to fit out the French fleet to oppose that in which Alfonso's brother, Don Federigo, had already sailed to attack Genova. Twice over during the next few weeks the Neapolitan forces landed at Porto Venere and Rapallo, but each time they were repulsed by the Genoese and French troops, supported by a strong Milanese contingent under the gallant Fracassa and Antonio di Sanseverino, after which Don Federigo retired to the harbour of Leghorn, and was soon recalled to defend Naples itself against the French. On the 27th of July, the Count of Caiazzo received the baton of command from Lodovico's hands on the piazza in front of the Castello of Milan, and started at the head of fifteen hundred foot soldiers and light cavalry to join the French army that was marching into Romagna to meet the forces led by Ferrante Duke of Calabria. On the 23rd of August, Isabella d'Este came to Parma at her brother-in-law's invitation to meet him and the French ambassador, and see the first French troops under La Tremouille and Stuart d'Aubigny—the Marchese d'Obegnino, as the Italians called him—march through the town. The spectacle, however, was less imposing than she expected, only about four hundred light cavalry riding past, as she describes it, in some confusion and disorder.

Meanwhile Charles VIII. had at length crossed the Alps and after pawning the jewels of his allies, the Marchioness of Montferrat and Duchess of Savoy, to pay his troops, arrived at Asti on the 9th of September. Here he was received with great honour by Lodovico and his father-in-law, Duke Ercole, who rode out to meet him on his entry into the town. The magistrates and citizens welcomed him as their liege lord, and the illiterate French barons were amazed to hear a child of eleven, Margareta Solari, declaim a Latin oration with perfect ease and fluency. Two days afterwards Beatrice herself arrived at the castle of Annona, in the neighbourhood of Asti, bringing her choir of singers and musicians, and accompanied by eighty ladies especially chosen for their beauty and rich attire, and gave the king a magnificent reception. Charles advanced, cap in hand, to greet the duchess, and, beginning with Beatrice and Bianca, the young wife of Messer Galeazzo, kissed all the ladies present. The beauty and vivacity of the young duchess made a deep impression upon the susceptible French monarch, who could not take his eyes off her, and after spending some time with her in lively conversation, begged her to allow him to see her dance. Beatrice readily complied with his request, as she tells Isabella in the following letter, written from Annona on the 12th of September:—

"About noonday the king came here to pay me a friendly visit with the chief lords of his court, and remained for about three hours with me and my ladies, conversing with the greatest familiarity and affection. I assure you that no prince in the world could have made himself more agreeable. He desired to see my ladies dance, and then begged me to dance before him, which seemed to give him great pleasure."[53]

The young king himself, short and ill proportioned as he was, with round shoulders and a large head, a very wide mouth and big nose, cut but a very sorry figure by the side of the stately Moro and the handsome Sanseverini brothers; but his good nature and genial manners atoned for his want of presence, and surprised Beatrice and her ladies, who had expected a far more formidable personage. "He was little in stature and of small sense, very timid in speech owing to the way in which he had been treated as a child, and as feeble in mind as he was in body, but the kindest and gentlest creature alive," says Commines, who accompanied Charles to Asti, and was sent on as ambassador to Venice. Guicciardini's judgment is more severe—

"And for the increasing of the infelicities of Italy, he whose coming brought all these calamities, was void of almost all the gifts of nature and the mind. For it is most certaine that King Charles from his infancie was of complexion very delicate and of body unsound and diseased, of small stature, and of face, if the aspect and dignitie of his eyes had been taken away, foule and deformed, his other members bearing such equal proportion that he seemed more a monster than a man. He was not only without all knowledge of good sciences, but scarcely he knew the distinct characters of letters; his mind desirous to command, but more proper to any other thing, for that being environed alwayes with his familiars and favourites, he retained with them no majestie or authoritie; he rejected all affaires and businesse, and yet if he did debate and consider in any he showed a weak discretion and judgment. And if he had anything in him that carried appearance of merite of praise, yet being thoroughly weighed and sounded, it was found farther off from vertue than vice. He had an inclination to glory, but it was tempered more with rashness and fury than with moderation and counsell: his liberalities were without discretion, measure, or distinction, immoveable oftentimes in his purposes, but that was rather an ill-grounded obstinacy than constancie, and that which many call bountie deserved more reasonably in his the name of coldnesse and slacknesse of spirit."[54]

The splendours of the court of Milan, and more especially the toilettes of the Duchess Beatrice and her ladies, amazed the French chroniclers, who have left us a graphic description of the scene at the castle of Annona. The poet Andre de la Vigne, in his rhyming chronicle "Le Vergier d'honneur," describes Beatrice's sumptuous apparel in the following lines:—

"Avecques luy fist venir sa partie Qui de Ferrare fille du duc estait; De fin drap d'or en tout ou en partie De jour en jour volontiers se vestait Chaines, colliers, affiquetz, pierrerie, Ainsi qu'on dit en ung commun proverbe, Tant en avait que c'etait diablerie. Brief mieulx valait le lyen que le gerbe. Autour du col bagues, joyaulx carcaus, Et pour son chief de richesse estoffer, Bordures d'or, devises et brocans."

And in his "Histoire de Charles VIII." (1684) Godefroy quotes the following letter, written by an eye-witness from the French camp to the king's sister, Anne Duchess of Bourbon, for whose benefit Charles had Beatrice's portrait painted by Jean Perreal and sent to Moulins:—

"People crowd to meet and welcome the king from all parts, princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses. Only this morning a new one has arrived, the description of whose dress will, I am sure, please you. First of all, when she arrived she was on a horse with trappings of gold and crimson velvet, and she herself wore a robe of gold and green brocade, and a fine linen gorgerette turned back over it, and her head was richly adorned with pearls, and her hair hung down behind in one long coil with a silk ribbon twisted round it. She wore a crimson silk hat, made very much like our own, with five or six red and grey feathers, and with all that on her head, sat up on horseback as straight as if she had been a man. And with her came the wife of Seigneur Galeaz' and many other ladies, as many as twenty-two, all riding handsome and richly apparelled horses, and six chariots hung with cloth of gold and green velvet, all full of ladies. They had intended to visit the king in his lodgings, but this he would not allow, and, in order to appear gracious, said that he would visit them, but he did not go to their lodgings that day, feeling unwell. The next day, after dinner, he went to see this lady, whom he found magnificently arrayed, after the fashion of the country, in a green satin robe. The bodice of her gown was loaded with diamonds, pearls, and rubies, both in front and behind, and the sleeves were made very tight and slashed so as to show the white chemise underneath, and tied up with a wide grey silk ribbon, which hung almost down to the ground. Her throat was bare and adorned with a necklace of very large pearls, with a ruby as big as your 'Grand Valloy,' and her head was dressed just the same as yesterday, only that instead of a hat she wore a velvet cap with an aigrette of feathers fastened with a clasp made of two rubies, a diamond, and a pear-shaped pearl, like your own, only larger. After that the king had paid her a visit, he returned to his house, but first he had some conversation with her, and made her dance in the French fashion, with some of her ladies. And I can assure you, madame, that she danced wonderfully well in the French fashion, although she said she had never danced in this manner before. If the king were not going to send you her picture, to show you the fashion of her dress, I would have endeavoured to obtain one to send you myself."