Milan, it would be necessary not only to confirm his alliances with those powers who were in amity with France, but also to obviate, as far as possible, the opposition of such as might be hostile to his views. His first overtures were therefore directed to the young archduke Charles, who, although then only fifteen years of age, had assumed the government of the Netherlands, which he inherited in right of his grandmother Mary, daughter of Charles, last duke of Burgundy. The situation of the archduke rendered such an alliance highly expedient to him; and the conditions were speedily concluded on. By this treaty the contracting parties promised to aid each other in the defence of the dominions which they then respectively held, or which they might thereafter possess; and that if either of them should undertake any just conquest, the other should, upon a proper representation, afford his assistance, in such a manner as might be agreed upon. Many regulations were also introduced respecting the territories held by the archduke as fiefs from the crown of France, and the contract for the marriage of the archduke with the princess Renée was again revived under certain stipulations, which it would be superfluous to enumerate, as the marriage never took place.1

The friendship of Henry VIII. was not less an object of importance to the French monarch than that of the archduke, and he therefore sent instructions to the president of Rouen, his ambassador in England, to propose a renewal of the treaty made with Louis XII., which, upon Francis entering into a new obligation for the payment of the million of crowns for which Louis had engaged himself, was willingly assented to, and the treaty was signed at Westminster on the fourth day of April, 1515. Leo X. is named therein, with other sovereigns, as the ally of both the contracting parties; but it is particularly specified that this nomination shall have no reference to the states of Milan, which the French king claims as his right; and through the whole treaty he has cautiously affixed to his other titles those of duke of Milan and lord of Genoa.2

The negotiations of Francis with Ferdinand of Aragon, and the emperor elect, Maximilian, were not, however, attended with the expected success. To the former he proposed the renewal of the treaty which had subsisted between him and Louis XII. omitting only the article which guaranteed the

tranquillity of Milan; but as this held out to Ferdinand no adequate advantages for a concession which might prove eventually dangerous to his Italian possessions, it is not surprising that he rejected the proposition; and the emperor elect, who at this time regarded Ferdinand as an oracle of political wisdom, was easily prevailed upon to join his irresolute and feeble aid in opposing the designs of the French monarch. Whilst these negotiations were depending, Francis had forborne to treat with the Venetians, who still remained firmly attached to the cause of the French; but no sooner were his propositions to the two sovereigns rejected, than he agreed with the senate to renew the treaty of Blois, by which Louis XII. had promised to assist them in recovering the possessions of which they had been deprived by the emperor elect in Lombardy. At the same time he assured the Venetian ambassador, that before the expiration of four months, he would unite his arms with those of the republic on the banks of the Adda.*

The Swiss, whom the breach of the treaty of Dijon had rendered irreconcilable enemies of France, still continued to breathe from their mountains defiance and revenge. A herald, whom Francis sent to demand passports for his ambassadors, instead of obtaining the object of his mission, was ordered to return and inform his sovereign that he might soon expect another visit from them, unless he speedily fulfilled the treaty. In one respect this avowed hostility was, however, serviceable to the king, as it enabled him, under the pretext of opposing the Swiss, to carry on, without exciting the jealousy of surrounding states, those formidable preparations which he intended to direct towards another quarter.

Under this alarming aspect of public affairs, which evidently portended new calamities to Europe, Leo availed himself of the friendly terms which he had cautiously maintained with the contending powers, to decline taking an active part in favour of any of them, whilst he continued as the chief of Christendom to administer his advice to all. In this conduct, which was no less consistent with the dignity of his office than with his own private interest, he was for some time encouraged to persevere, by the open sanction or the tacit assent of all parties. Francis I. instead of pressing him to favour an enterprise, towards the

* Ligue de Camb. liv iv. tom. ii. p. 402.

success of which he well knew the pope was decidedly adverse, contented himself with sending an embassy to request that he would not enter into any engagements which might prevent those friendly connexions that would probably take place between them, in case his expedition against Milan should prove successful; and to assure him that there was no one who esteemed more highly the favour of the holy see, or who would make greater sacrifices for the service of the pontiff and the honour of his family, than himself.* This communication, which in fact left the pope at full liberty to preserve his neutrality until the event of the contest was known, induced him to decline the offers which were made to him about the same period, by the emperor elect, the king of Aragon, and the Helvetic states, to enter into the league which they had lately concluded for the defence of the Milanese, and in which a power had been reserved for the pope to accede to it within a limited time. By this treaty it had been agreed that the Swiss should send a powerful body of troops to the defence of Milan, and should at the same time march an army into the duchy of Burgundy, for the purpose of occupying the French monarch in the defence of his own dominions; for which services they were to receive a monthly subsidy of forty thousand crowns. Ferdinand, on his part, undertook to attack the dominions of Francis on the side of Perpignan and Fontarabia; whilst Maximilian, on this as on other occasions, seemed to consider the imperial sanction as a sufficient contribution, in lieu both of money and troops.t

In determining the pope to the neutrality which he manifested on this occasion, other reasons of no inconsiderable importance concurred. Early in the month of February, 1515, the matrimonial engagement which had been entered into at the close of the preceding year between Giuliano de' Medici and Filiberta of Savoy, sister of Louisa, duchess of Angoulême, the mother of Francis I., was carried into effect; on which occasion Giuliano paid a visit to the French court, where he so far obtained the favourable opinion of Francis, that he declared he esteemed the connexion as highly as if it had been formed with the most powerful sovereign. Besides the revenues of

* Guicciard. lib. xii. vol. ii. p. 84. + Ligue de Camb. liv. iv. tom. ii. p. 405.

Parma and Piacenza, which Leo had already conferred on his brother, and which amounted to the clear annual sum of twenty-eight thousand ducats, he assigned to him the income to arise from the city of Modena, which was supposed to amount to about twenty thousand more. He also conferred on him the title of captain-general of the church, to the exclusion of the duke of Urbino, to which he added a monthly salary of four hundred and eight ducats, whilst a separate revenue of three hundred ducats per month was granted to the bride for her own use, although, in respect of her high alliances, she had been received without a portion.* Other considerable sums were disbursed in preparing a suitable residence for Giuliano and his bride at Rome, where it was intended they should maintain a secular court; and in the rejoicings which took place in that city on their arrival, the pope is said to have incurred the enormous expense of one hundred and fifty thousand ducats.† Extraordinary festivals were also celebrated at Turin, where Giuliano and his wife resided for a month after their marriage; and again at Florence, where all the inhabitants, either through affection or through fear, were anxious to show their respect to the family of the Medici. But in case the king proved successful in his enterprise against Milan, the territory from which Giuliano derived a great part of his revenues lay at the mercy of that monarch, and it would therefore have been not only indecorous but imprudent in the pope, at such a juncture, to have espoused the cause of his adversaries, and blighted the expectations which Giuliano might reasonably form from the continuance of his favour.

During the absence of Giuliano de' Medici from Rome, he received frequent information respecting the critical state of public affairs, and the dispositions and views of the European powers, as well from Lodovico Canossa, the pontifical legate at the court of France, as from the cardinal da Bibbiena at Rome. The letters from Canossa on this occasion contain the fullest assurances of the kind dispositions, as well of the king as of his mother Louisa, towards the family of the Medici; and the strongest exhortations to him not to neglect so favourable an opportunity of cementing, by a stricter alliance, a connexion so *Lettere di Principi, vol. i. p. 15. Murat. Ann. vol. x. p. 110.

happily begun. But the letters of the cardinal da Bibbiena,. who was at this period intrusted with the most secret intentions. of the Roman court, are of a much more curious nature, and throw such light on the state of public affairs, the situation of the different members of the Medici family, and the ambitious designs which were formed by them, as might render a speci men of them not uninteresting, even if it were not written by the lively pen of the author of the "Calandra.'

TO THE MAGNIFICENT GIULIANO DE' MEDICI, CAPTAIN OF THE CHURCH.*

"His holiness has expressed great surprise and dissatisfaction at having heard nothing respecting you during so many: days, and complains grievously of your attendants, who have been so negligent, that since your arrival at Nice, no intelligence has been received of your proceedings. The blame of this is chiefly attributed, both by his holiness and myself, to M. Latino, whose province it was to have written. It is no excuse to say, that from the remote situation of the place he knew not how to forward his letters, because the expense would have been well laid out in sending a special messenger, who might at any time have proceeded either to Genoa or Piacenza, to inform the pope of that which is dearer to him than any other object the state of your own health and person. If you therefore wish to relieve his holiness from this anxiety, and afford him real consolation, take care that he may in future be more particularly apprised of your welfare.

"Not only the pope, and your own family, your brother, nephew, and sister, but the whole court, are in the most earnest expectation of receiving news from you and your illustrious consort; nor do I think that the arrival of any person in any place was ever expected with an impatience equal to that which she has excited at Rome, as well from her own accomplishments, on which account every one is desirous to see and to honour her, as from the great favour with which you are yourself regarded here. You will therefore inform us, with all possible

* Lettere di Principi, vol. i. p. 14.

One of the secretaries of Leo X.