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The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic, V3 by William H. Prescott

W >> William H. Prescott >> The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic, V3



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HISTORY OF THE REIGN OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, THE CATHOLIC.

BY
WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT.

IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.




CONTENTS OF VOLUME III.


PART SECOND. [CONTINUED.]

CHAPTER X
ITALIAN WARS.--PARTITION OF NAPLES.--GONSALVO OVERRUNS CALABRIA.
LOUIS XII.'S DESIGNS ON ITALY
POLITICS OF THAT COUNTRY
THE FRENCH CONQUER MILAN
ALARM OF THE SPANISH COURT
REMONSTRANCE TO THE POPE
BOLDNESS OF GARCILASSO DE LA VEGA
NEGOTIATIONS WITH VENICE AND THE EMPEROR
LOUIS OPENLY MENACES NAPLES
VIEWS OF FERDINAND
FLEET FITTED OUT UNDER GONSALVO DE CORDOVA
PARTITION OF NAPLES
GROUND OF FERDINAND'S CLAIM
GONSALVO SAILS AGAINST THE TURKS
STORMING OF ST. GEORGE
HONORS PAID TO GONSALVO
THE POPE CONFIRMS THE PARTITION
ASTONISHMENT OF ITALY
SUCCESS AND CRUELTIES OF THE FRENCH
FATE OF FREDERIC
GONSALVO INVADES CALABRIA
INVESTS TARENTO
DISCONTENTS IN THE ARMY
MUNIFICENCE OF GONSALVO
HE PUNISHES A MUTINY
BOLDER PLAN OF ATTACK
TARENTO SURRENDERS
PERJURY OF GONSALVO

CHAPTER XI.
ITALIAN WARS.--RUPTURE WITH FRANCE.--GONSALVO BESIEGED IN BARLETA.
MUTUAL DISTRUST OF THE FRENCH AND SPANIARDS
CAUSE OF RUPTURE
THE FRENCH BEGIN HOSTILITIES
THE ITALIANS FAVOR THEM
THE FRENCH ARMY
INFERIORITY OF THE SPANIARDS
GONSALVO RETIRES TO BARLETA
SIEGE OF CANOSA
CHIVALROUS CHARACTER OF THE WAR
TOURNAMENT NEAR TRANI
DUEL BETWEEN BAYARD AND SOTOMAYOR
DISTRESS OF THE SPANIARDS
SPIRIT OF GONSALVO
THE FRENCH REDUCE CALABRIA
CONSTANCY OF THE SPANIARDS
NEMOURS DEFIES THE SPANIARDS
ROUT OF THE FRENCH REAR-GUARD
ARRIVAL OF SUPPLIES
DESIGN ON RUVO
GONSALVO STORMS AND TAKES IT
HIS TREATMENT OF THE PRISONERS
PREPARES TO LEAVE BARLETA

CHAPTER XII.
ITALIAN WARS.--NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRANCE.--VICTORY OF CERIGNOLA.--
SURRENDER OF NAPLES.
BIRTH OF CHARLES V
PHILIP AND JOANNA VISIT SPAIN
RECOGNIZED BY CORTES
PHILIP'S DISCONTENT
LEAVES SPAIN FOR FRANCE
NEGOTIATES A TREATY WITH LOUIS XII
TREATY OF LYONS
THE GREAT CAPTAIN REFUSES TO COMPLY WITH IT
MARCHES OUT OF BARLETA
DISTRESS OF THE TROOPS
ENCAMPS BEFORE CERIGNOLA
NEMOURS PURSUES
THE SPANISH FORCES
THE FRENCH FORCES
BATTLE OF CERIGNOLA
DEATH OF NEMOURS
ROUT OF THE FRENCH
THEIR LOSS
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY
D'AUBIGNY DEFEATED
SUBMISSION OF NAPLES
TRIUMPHANT ENTRY OF GONSALVO
FORTRESSES OF NAPLES
CASTEL NUOVO STORMED
NEARLY ALL THE KINGDOM REDUCED

CHAPTER XIII.
NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRANCE--UNSUCCESSFUL INVASION OF SPAIN.--TRUCE.
TREATY OF LYONS
REJECTED BY FERDINAND
HIS POLICY EXAMINED
JOANNA'S DESPONDENCY
FIRST SYMPTOMS OF HER INSANITY
THE QUEEN HASTENS TO HER
ISABELLA'S DISTRESS
HER ILLNESS AND FORTITUDE
THE FRENCH INVADE SPAIN
SIEGE OF SALSAS
ISABELLA'S EXERTIONS
FERDINAND'S SUCCESSES
TRUCE WITH FRANCE
REFLECTIONS ON THE CAMPAIGN
IMPEDIMENTS TO HISTORIC ACCURACY
SPECULATIVE WRITERS

CHAPTER XIV.
ITALIAN WARS.--CONDITION OF ITALY.--FRENCH AND SPANISH ARMIES ON THE
GARIGLIANO.
MELANCHOLY CONDITION OF ITALY
VIEWS OF THE ITALIAN STATES
OF THE EMPEROR
GREAT PREPARATIONS OF LOUIS XII
DEATH OF ALEXANDER VI
ELECTIONEERING INTRIGUES
JULIUS II
GONSALVO REPULSED BEFORE GAETA
STRENGTH OF HIS FORCES
OCCUPIES SAN GERMANO
THE FRENCH ENCAMP ON THE GARIGLIANO
PASSAGE OF THE BRIDGE
DESPERATE RESISTANCE
THE FRENCH RESUME THEIR QUARTERS
ANXIOUS EXPECTATION OF ITALY
GONSALVO STRENGTHENS HIS POSITION
GREAT DISTRESS OF THE ARMY
GONSALVO'S RESOLUTION
REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF IT
PATIENCE OF THE SPANIARDS
SITUATION OF THE FRENCH
THEIR INSUBORDINATION
SALUZZO TAKES THE COMMAND
HEROISM OF PAREDES AND BAYARD

CHAPTER XV.
ITALIAN WARS.--ROUT OF THE GARIGLIANO.--TREATY WITH FRANCE.--GONSALVO'S
MILITARY CONDUCT.
GONSALVO SECURES THE ORSINI
ASSUMES THE OFFENSIVE
PLAN OF ATTACK
CONSTERNATION OF THE FRENCH
THEY RETREAT ON GAETA
ACTION AT THE BRIDGE OF MOLA
HOTLY CONTESTED
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANISH REAR
THE FRENCH ROUTED
THEIR LOSS
GALLANTRY OF THEIR CHIVALRY
CAPITULATION OF GAETA
GONSALVO'S COURTESY
CHAGRIN OF LOUIS XII
SUFFERINGS OF THE FRENCH
THE SPANIARDS OCCUPY GAETA
PUBLIC ENTHUSIASM EXTORTIONS OF THE SPANISH TROOPS
GONSALVO'S LIBERALITY TO HIS OFFICERS
APPREHENSIONS OF LOUIS XII
TREATY WITH FRANCE
GALLANTRY OF LOUIS D'ARS
CAUSES OF THE FRENCH FAILURES
REVIEW OF GONSALVO'S CONDUCT
HIS REFORM OF THE SERVICE
INFLUENCE OVER THE ARMY
HIS CONFIDENCE IN THEIR CHARACTER
POSITION OF THE ARMY
RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGNS
MEMOIRS OF GONSALVO DE CORDOVA
FRENCH CHRONICLES

CHAPTER XVI.
ILLNESS AND DEATH OF ISABELLA.--HER CHARACTER.
DECLINE OF THE QUEEN'S HEALTH
MAD CONDUCT OF JOANNA
THE QUEEN SEIZED WITH A FEVER
RETAINS HER ENERGIES
ALARM OF THE NATION
HER TESTAMENT
SETTLES THE SUCCESSION
FERDINAND NAMED REGENT
PROVISION FOR HIM
HER CODICIL
SHE FAILS RAPIDLY
HER RESIGNATION AND DEATH
HER REMAINS TRANSPORTED TO GRANADA
LAID IN THE ALHAMBRA
ISABELLA'S PERSON
HER MANNERS
HER MAGNANIMITY
HER PIETY
HER BIGOTRY
COMMON TO HER AGE
AND LATER TIMES
HER STRENGTH OF PRINCIPLE
HER PRACTICAL SENSE
HER UNWEARIED ACTIVITY
HER COURAGE
HER SENSIBILITY
PARALLEL WITH QUEEN ELIZABETH
UNIVERSAL HOMAGE TO HER VIRTUES

CHAPTER XVII.
FERDINAND REGENT.--HIS SECOND MARRIAGE.--DISSENSIONS WITH PHILIP.--
RESIGNATION OF THE REGENCY.
PHILIP AND JOANNA PROCLAIMED
DISCONTENT OF THE NOBLES
DON JUAN MANUEL
PHILIP'S PRETENSIONS
HIS PARTY INCREASES
HE TAMPERS WITH GONSALVO DE CORDOVA
FERDINAND'S PERPLEXITIES
PROPOSALS FOR A SECOND MARRIAGE
POLICY OF LOUIS XII
TREATY WITH FRANCE
ITS IMPOLICY
CONCORD OR SALAMANCA
PHILIP AND JOANNA EMBARK
REACH CORUNA
PHILIP JOINED BY THE NOBLES
HIS CHARACTER
FERDINAND UNPOPULAR
INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP
COURTEOUS DEPORTMENT OF FERDINAND
PHILIP'S DISTRUST
FERDINAND RESIGNS THE REGENCY
HIS PRIVATE PROTEST
HIS MOTIVES
SECOND INTERVIEW
DEPARTURE OF FERDINAND
AUTHORITIES FOR THE ACCOUNT OF PHILIP

CHAPTER XVIII.
COLUMBUS.--HIS RETURN TO SPAIN.--HIS DEATH.
COLUMBUS'S LAST VOYAGE
HE LEARNS ISABELLA'S DEATH
HIS ILLNESS
HE VISITS THE COURT
FERDINAND'S UNJUST TREATMENT OF HIM
HE DECLINES IN HEALTH AND SPIRITS
HIS DEATH
HIS PERSON AND HABITS
HIS ENTHUSIASM
HIS LOFTY CHARACTER

CHAPTER XIX.
REIGN AND DEATH OF PHILIP I.--PROCEEDINGS IN CASTILE.--FERDINAND VISITS
NAPLES.
PHILIP AND JOANNA
PHILIP'S ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT
RECKLESS EXTRAVAGANCE
TROUBLES FROM THE INQUISITION
FERDINAND'S DISTRUST OF GONSALVO
HE SAILS FOR NAPLES
GONSALVO'S LOYALTY
DEATH OF PHILIP
HIS CHARACTER
PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
JOANNA'S CONDITION
CONVOCATION OF CORTES
FERDINAND RECEIVED WITH ENTHUSIASM
HIS ENTRY INTO NAPLES
RESTORES THE ANGEVINS
GENERAL DISSATISFACTION

CHAPTER XX.
FERDINAND'S RETURN AND REGENCY.--GONSALVO'S HONORS AND RETIREMENT.
MEETING OF CORTES
JOANNA'S INSANE CONDUCT
SHE CHANGES HER MINISTERS
DISORDERLY STATE OF CASTILE
DISTRESS OF THE KINGDOM
FERDINAND'S POLITIC BEHAVIOR
HE LEAVES NAPLES
GONSALVO DE CORDOVA
GRIEF OF THE NEAPOLITANS
BRILLIANT INTERVIEW OF FERDINAND AND LOUIS
COMPLIMENTS TO GONSALVO
THE KING'S RECEPTION IN CASTILE
JOANNA'S RETIREMENT
IRREGULARITY OF FERDINAND'S PROCEEDINGS
GENERAL AMNESTY
HE ESTABLISHES A GUARD
HIS EXCESSIVE SEVERITY
DISGUST OF THE NOBLES
GONSALVO'S PROGRESS THROUGH THE COUNTRY
FERDINAND BREAKS HIS WORD
THE QUEEN'S COOLNESS
GONSALVO WITHDRAWS FROM COURT
SPLENDOR OF HIS RETIREMENT

CHAPTER XXI.
XIMENES.--CONQUESTS IN AFRICA.--UNIVERSITY OF ALCALA--POLYGLOT BIBLE.
POLICY OF FERDINAND'S SEVERITY
ENTHUSIASM OF XIMENES
HIS DESIGNS AGAINST ORAN
HIS WARLIKE PREPARATIONS
HIS PERSEVERANCE
SENDS AN ARMY TO AFRICA
ADDRESSES THE TROOPS
THE COMMAND LEFT TO NAVARRO
BATTLE BEFORE ORAN
THE CITY STORMED
MOORISH LOSS
XIMENES ENTERS ORAN
OPPOSITION OF HIS GENERAL
HIS DISTRUST OF FERDINAND
XIMENES RETURNS TO SPAIN
REFUSES PUBLIC HONORS
NAVARRO'S AFRICAN CONQUESTS
COLLEGE OF XIMENES AT ALCALA
ITS MAGNIFICENCE
PROVISIONS FOR EDUCATION
THE KING VISITS THE UNIVERSITY
POLYGLOT EDITION OF THE BIBLE
DIFFICULTIES OF THE TASK
GRAND PROJECTS OF XIMENES

CHAPTER XXII.
WARS AND POLITICS OF ITALY.
PROJECTS AGAINST VENICE
LEAGUE OF CAMBRAY
ITS ORIGIN
LOUIS XII. INVADES ITALY 01
RESOLUTION OF VENICE
ALARM OF FERDINAND
INVESTITURE OF NAPLES
HOLY LEAGUE
GASTON DE FOIX
BATTLE OF RAVENNA
DEATH OF GASTON DE FOIX
HIS CHARACTER
THE FRENCH RETREAT
VENICE DISGUSTED
BATTLE OF NOVARA
OF LA MOTTA
THE SPANIARDS VICTORIOUS
DARU'S "HISTOIRE DE VENISE"

CHAPTER XXIII.
CONQUEST OF NAVARRE.
SOVEREIGNS OF NAVARRE
DISTRUST OF SPAIN
NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRANCE
FERDINAND DEMANDS A PASSAGE
NAVARRE ALLIED TO FRANCE
INVADED BY ALVA
AND CONQUERED
CHARACTER OF JEAN D'ALBRET
DISCONTENT OF THE ENGLISH
DISCOMFITURE OF THE FRENCH
TREATY OF ORTHES
FERDINAND SETTLES HIS CONQUESTS
UNITED WITH CASTILE
THE KING'S CONDUCT EXAMINED
RIGHT OF PASSAGE
IMPRUDENCE OF NAVARRE
IT AUTHORIZES WAR
GROSS ABUSE OF VICTORY
AUTHORITIES FOR THE HISTORY OF NAVARRE

CHAPTER XXIV.
DEATH OF GONSALVO DE CORDOVA.--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF FERDINAND.--HIS
CHARACTER.
MAXIMILIAN'S PRETENSIONS
GONSALVO ORDERED TO ITALY
GENERAL ENTHUSIASM
THE KING'S DISTRUST
GONSALVO GOES INTO RETIREMENT
THE KING'S DESIRE FOR CHILDREN
DECLINE OF HIS HEALTH
GONSALVO'S ILLNESS AND DEATH
PUBLIC GRIEF
HIS CHARACTER
HIS PRIVATE VIRTUES HIS WANT OF FAITH
HIS LOYALTY
FERDINAND'S ILLNESS INCREASES
HIS INSENSIBILITY TO HIS SITUATION
HIS LAST HOURS
HIS DEATH AND TESTAMENT
HIS BODY TRANSPORTED TO GRANADA
HIS PERSON AND CHARACTER
HIS TEMPERANCE AND ECONOMY
HIS BIGOTRY
ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY
HIS PERFIDY
HIS SHREWD POLICY
HIS INSENSIBILITY
CONTRAST WITH ISABELLA
GLOOMY CLOSE OF HIS LIFE
HIS KINGLY QUALITIES
JUDGMENT OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES

CHAPTER XXV.
ADMINISTRATION, DEATH, AND CHARACTER OF CARDINAL XIMENES.
DISPUTES RESPECTING THE REGENCY
CHARLES PROCLAIMED KING
ANECDOTE OF XIMENES
HIS MILITARY ORDINANCE
HIS DOMESTIC POLICY
HIS FOREIGN POLICY
ASSUMES THE SOLE POWER
INTIMIDATES THE NOBLES
PUBLIC DISCONTENTS
TREATY OF NOYON
CHARLES LANDS IN SPAIN
HIS UNGRATEFUL LETTER
THE CARDINAL'S LAST ILLNESS
HIS DEATH
HIS CHARACTER
HIS VERSATILITY OF TALENT
HIS DESPOTIC GOVERNMENT
HIS MORAL PRINCIPLE
HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS
HIS MONASTIC AUSTERITIES
HIS ECONOMY OF TIME
HIS PERSON
PARALLEL WITH RICHELIEU
NOTICE OF GALINDEZ DE CARBAJAL

CHAPTER XXVI.
GENERAL REVIEW OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
POLICY OF THE CROWN
DEPRESSION OF THE NOBLES
THEIR GREAT POWER
TREATMENT OF THE CHURCH
CARE OF MORALS
STATE OF THE COMMONS
THEIR CONSIDERATION
ROYAL ORDINANCES
ARBITRARY MEASURES OF FERDINAND
ADVANCEMENT OF PREROGATIVE
LEGAL COMPILATIONS
ORGANIZATION OF COUNCILS
LEGAL PROFESSION ADVANCED
CHARACTER OF THE LAWS
ERRONEOUS PRINCIPLES OF LEGISLATION
PRINCIPAL EXPORTS
MANUFACTURES
AGRICULTURE
ECONOMICAL POLICY
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
INCREASE OF EMPIRE
GOVERNMENT OF NAPLES
REVENUES FROM THE INDIES
SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE
PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY
EXCESSES OF THE SPANIARDS
SLAVERY IN THE COLONIES
COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION
GENERAL PROSPERITY
PUBLIC EMBELLISHMENTS
AUGMENTATION OF REVENUE
INCREASE OF POPULATION
PATRIOTIC PRINCIPLE
CHIVALROUS SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE
SPIRIT OF BIGOTRY
BENEFICENT IMPULSE
THE PERIOD OF NATIONAL GLORY




PART SECOND. [CONTINUED.]


CHAPTER X.

ITALIAN WARS.--PARTITION OF NAPLES.--GONSALVO OVERRUNS CALABRIA.

1498-1502.

Louis XII.'s Designs on Italy.--Alarm of the Spanish Court.--Bold Conduct
of its Minister at Rome.--Celebrated Partition of Naples.--Gonsalvo Sails
against the Turks.--Success and Cruelties of the French.--Gonsalvo Invades
Calabria.--He Punishes a Mutiny.--His Munificent Spirit.--He Captures
Tarento.--Seizes the Duke of Calabria.


During the last four years of our narrative, in which the unsettled state
of the kingdom and the progress of foreign discovery appeared to demand
the whole attention of the sovereigns, a most important revolution was
going forward in the affairs of Italy. The death of Charles the Eighth
would seem to have dissolved the relations recently arisen between that
country and the rest of Europe, and to have restored it to its ancient
independence. It might naturally have been expected that France, under her
new monarch, who had reached a mature age, rendered still more mature by
the lessons he had received in the school of adversity, would feel the
folly of reviving ambitious schemes, which had cost so dear and ended so
disastrously. Italy, too, it might have been presumed, lacerated and still
bleeding at every pore, would have learned the fatal consequence of
invoking foreign aid in her domestic quarrels, and of throwing open the
gates to a torrent, sure to sweep down friend and foe indiscriminately in
its progress. But experience, alas! did not bring wisdom, and passion
triumphed as usual.

Louis the Twelfth, on ascending the throne, assumed the titles of Duke of
Milan and King of Naples, thus unequivocally announcing his intention of
asserting his claims, derived through the Visconti family, to the former,
and through the Angevin dynasty, to the latter state. His aspiring temper
was stimulated rather than satisfied by the martial renown he had acquired
in the Italian wars; and he was urged on by the great body of the French
chivalry, who, disgusted with a life of inaction, longed for a field where
they might win new laurels, and indulge in the joyous license of military
adventure.

Unhappily, the court of France found ready instruments for its purpose in
the profligate politicians of Italy. The Roman pontiff, in particular,
Alexander the Sixth, whose criminal ambition assumes something respectable
by contrast with the low vices in which he was habitually steeped,
willingly lent himself to a monarch, who could so effectually serve his
selfish schemes of building up the fortunes of his family. The ancient
republic of Venice, departing from her usual sagacious policy, and
yielding to her hatred of Lodovico Sforza, and to the lust of territorial
acquisition, consented to unite her arms with those of France against
Milan, in consideration of a share (not the lion's share) of the spoils of
victory. Florence, and many other inferior powers, whether from fear or
weakness, or the short-sighted hope of assistance in their petty
international feuds, consented either to throw their weight into the same
scale, or to remain neutral. [1]

Having thus secured himself from molestation in Italy, Louis the Twelfth
entered into negotiations with such other European powers, as were most
likely to interfere with his designs. The emperor Maximilian, whose
relations with Milan would most naturally have demanded his interposition,
was deeply entangled in a war with the Swiss. The neutrality of Spain was
secured by the treaty of Marcoussis, August 5th, 1498, which settled all
the existing differences with that country. And a treaty with Savoy in the
following year guaranteed a free passage through her mountain passes to
the French army into Italy. [2]

Having completed these arrangements, Louis lost no time in mustering his
forces, which, descending like a torrent on the fair plains of Lombardy,
effected the conquest of the entire duchy in little more than a fortnight;
and, although the prize was snatched for a moment from his grasp, yet
French valor and Swiss perfidy soon restored it. The miserable Sforza, the
dupe of arts which he had so long practised, was transported into France,
where he lingered out the remainder of his days in doleful captivity. He
had first called the _barbarians_ into Italy, and it was a righteous
retribution which made him their earliest victim. [3]

By the conquest of Milan, France now took her place among the Italian
powers. A preponderating weight was thus thrown into the scale, which
disturbed the ancient political balance, and which, if the projects on
Naples should be realized, would wholly annihilate it. These consequences,
to which the Italian states seemed strangely insensible, had long been
foreseen by the sagacious eye of Ferdinand the Catholic, who watched the
movements of his powerful neighbor with the deepest anxiety. He had
endeavored, before the invasion of Milan, to awaken the different
governments in Italy to a sense of their danger, and to stir them up to
some efficient combination against it. [4] Both he and the queen had
beheld with disquietude the increasing corruptions of the papal court, and
that shameless cupidity and lust of power, which made it the convenient
tool of the French monarch.

By their orders, Garcilasso de la Vega, the Spanish ambassador, read a
letter from his sovereigns in the presence of his Holiness, commenting on
his scandalous immorality, his invasion of ecclesiastical rights
appertaining to the Spanish crown, his schemes of selfish aggrandizement,
and especially his avowed purpose of transferring his son Caesar Borgia,
from a sacred to a secular dignity; a circumstance that must necessarily
make him, from the manner in which it was to be conducted, the instrument
of Louis the Twelfth. [5]

This unsavory rebuke, which probably lost nothing of its pungency from the
tone in which it was delivered, so incensed the pope that he attempted to
seize the paper and tear it in pieces, giving vent at the same time to the
most indecent reproaches against the minister and his sovereigns.
Garcilasso coolly waited till the storm had subsided, and then replied
undauntedly, "That he had uttered no more than became a loyal subject of
Castile; that he should never shrink from declaring freely what his
sovereigns commanded, or what he conceived to be for the good of
Christendom; and, if his Holiness were displeased with it, he could
dismiss him from his court, where he was convinced, indeed, his residence
could be no longer useful." [6]

Ferdinand had no better fortune at Venice, where his negotiations were
conducted by Lorenzo Suarez de la Vega, an adroit diplomatist, brother of
Garcilasso. [7] These negotiations were resumed after the occupation of
Milan by the French, when the minister availed himself of the jealousy
occasioned by that event to excite a determined resistance to the proposed
aggression on Naples. But the republic was too sorely pressed by the
Turkish war,--which Sforza, in the hope of creating a diversion in his own
favor, had brought on his country,--to allow leisure for other operations.
Nor did the Spanish court succeed any better at this crisis with the
emperor Maximilian, whose magnificent pretensions were ridiculously
contrasted with his limited authority, and still more limited revenues, so
scanty, indeed, as to gain him the contemptuous epithet among the Italians
of _pochi denari_, or "the Moneyless." He had conceived himself, indeed,
greatly injured, both on the score of his imperial rights and his
connection with Sforza, by the conquest of Milan; but, with the levity and
cupidity essential to his character, he suffered himself, notwithstanding
the remonstrances of the Spanish court, to be bribed into a truce with
King Louis, which gave the latter full scope for his meditated enterprise
on Naples. [8]

Thus disembarrassed of the most formidable means of annoyance, the French
monarch went briskly forward with his preparations, the object of which he
did not affect to conceal. Frederic, the unfortunate king of Naples, saw
himself with dismay now menaced with the loss of empire, before he had
time to taste the sweets of it. He knew not where to turn for refuge, in
his desolate condition, from the impending storm. His treasury was
drained, and his kingdom wasted, by the late war. His subjects, although
attached to his person, were too familiar with revolutions to stake their
lives or fortunes on the cast. His countrymen, the Italians, were in the
interest of his enemy; and his nearest neighbor, the pope, had drawn from
personal pique motives for the most deadly hostility. [9] He had as little
reliance on the king of Spain, his natural ally and kinsman, who, he well
knew, had always regarded the crown of Naples as his own rightful
inheritance. He resolved, therefore, to apply at once to the French
monarch; and he endeavored to propitiate him by the most humiliating
concessions,--the offer of an annual tribute, and the surrender into his
hands of some of the principal fortresses in the kingdom. Finding these
advances coldly received, he invoked, in the extremity of his distress,
the aid of the Turkish sultan, Bajazet, the terror of Christendom,
requesting such supplies of troops as should enable him to make head
against their common foe. This desperate step produced no other result
than that of furnishing the enemies of the unhappy prince with a plausible
ground of accusation against him, of which they did not fail to make good
use. [10]

The Spanish government, in the mean time, made the most vivid
remonstrances through its resident minister, or agents expressly
accredited for the purpose, against the proposed expedition of Louis the
Twelfth. It even went so far as to guarantee the faithful discharge of the
tribute proffered by the king of Naples. [11] But the reckless ambition of
the French monarch, overleaping the barriers of prudence, and indeed of
common sense, disdained the fruits of conquest without the name.

Ferdinand now found himself apparently reduced to the alternative of
abandoning the prize at once to the French king, or of making battle with
him in defence of his royal kinsman. The first of these measures, which
would bring a restless and powerful rival on the borders of the Sicilian
dominions, was not to be thought of for a moment. The latter, which
pledged him a second time to the support of pretensions hostile to his
own, was scarcely more palatable. A third expedient suggested itself; the
partition of the kingdom, as hinted in the negotiations with Charles the
Eighth, [12] by which means the Spanish government, if it could not rescue
the whole prize from the grasp of Louis, would at least divide it with
him.

Instructions were accordingly given to Gralla, the minister at the court
of Paris, to sound the government on this head, bringing it forward as his
own private suggestion. Care was taken at the same time to secure a party
in the French councils to the interests of Ferdinand. [13] The suggestions
of the Spanish envoy received additional weight from the report of a
considerable armament then equipping in the port of Malaga. Its ostensible
purpose was to co-operate with the Venetians in the defence of their
possessions in the Levant. Its main object, however, was to cover the
coasts of Sicily in any event from the French, and to afford means for
prompt action on any point where circumstances might require it. The fleet
consisted of about sixty sail, large and small, and carried forces
amounting to six hundred horse and four thousand foot, picked men, many of
them drawn from the hardy regions of the north, which had been taxed least
severely in the Moorish wars. [14]

The command of the whole was intrusted to the Great Captain, Gonsalvo of
Cordova, who since his return home had fully sustained the high
reputation, which his brilliant military talents had acquired for him
abroad. Numerous volunteers, comprehending the noblest of the young
chivalry of Spain, pressed forward to serve under the banner of this
accomplished and popular chieftain. Among them may be particularly noticed
Diego de Mendoza, son of the grand cardinal, Pedro de la Paz, [15] Gonzalo
Pizarro, father of the celebrated adventurer of Peru, and Diego de
Paredes, whose personal prowess and feats of extravagant daring furnished
many an incredible legend for chronicle and romance. With this gallant
armament the Great Captain weighed anchor in the port of Malaga, in May,
1500, designing to touch at Sicily before proceeding against the Turks.
[16]

Meanwhile, the negotiations between France and Spain, respecting Naples,
were brought to a close, by a treaty for the equal partition of that
kingdom between the two powers, ratified at Granada, November 11th, 1500.
This extraordinary document, after enlarging on the unmixed evils flowing
from war, and the obligation on all Christians to preserve inviolate the
blessed peace bequeathed them by the Saviour, proceeds to state that no
other prince, save the kings of France and Aragon, can pretend to a title
to the throne of Naples; and as King Frederic, its present occupant, has
seen fit to endanger the safety of all Christendom, by bringing on it its
bitterest enemy the Turks, the contracting parties, in order to rescue it
from this imminent peril, and preserve inviolate the bond of peace, agree
to take possession of his kingdom and divide it between them. It is then
provided that the northern portion, comprehending the Terra di Lavoro and
Abruzzo, be assigned to France, with the title of King of Naples and
Jerusalem, and the southern, consisting of Apulia and Calabria, with the
title of Duke of those provinces, to Spain. The _dogana_, an important
duty levied on the flocks of the Capitanate, was to be collected by the
officers of the Spanish government, and divided equally with France.
Lastly, any inequality between the respective territories was to be so
adjusted, that the revenues accruing to each of the parties should be
precisely equal. The treaty was to be kept profoundly secret, until
preparations were completed for the simultaneous occupation of the devoted
territory by the combined powers. [17]

Letter: Gender roles in the Cinderella story

Doctors assure us that wherever you find an elderly, pompous old writer long past his prime you will find a bottle of scotch nearby. If only that were the case. Hilly hid mine after I fell up the stairs when I came home from the Garrick yesterday, and I've had to make do with a bottle of Blue Nun I found in the maid's parlour. Not that I am an alcoholic. Dipsomaniacs are a breed of the lower orders you meet on street corners: people like myself are bon viveurs who happen to like a drink. Or 12.

My primary observation is that drinking makes the daily grind of dealing with people so much easier. You drink a pint of whisky and become the life and soul of the party. You then start insulting people, before sweating heavily and wetting yourself involuntarily. You will usually find that everyone quickly avoids you, thereby relieving you of the need to make conversation. This is why I prefer to do much of my drinking at home. It saves so much time.

There are a great many drinks on the market - spirits, wines and beers - and I've probably drunk them all. Usually in some kind of combination with one another. Mixing cocktails is one of my favourite hobbies. Here's one I invented last week for my great sycophant, Christopher Hitchens.

The Hitch

One bottle of Babycham

One bottle of absinthe

Five shots of Angostura very bitters

Two tablespoons of bile

Two or three glasses of this tincture can give you a lifetime of self-satisfaction.

At some time you will probably be forced to invite people to your home and they may expect a drink. My advice is to offer them the cheapest tipple you can find; my local off-licence does a ghastly Mosel at 70p a bottle. I've never cared for even the best wines, and this should guarantee those poncing off you neither ask for top-ups nor stay long, thereby leaving you more money and time for the pub.

It is well known that only the very dullest of petit-bourgeois minds fail to over-imbibe on a daily basis, so I regard hangovers as a price worth paying for my brilliance. That said, I have found ways of coping with this metaphysical malaise. The first is to fuck someone; preferably somebody else's wife, but if your own is the only one around then she will do. The second is to read a book by that little shit Mart; it will either remind you you're not that bad a writer or give you some sleep.

The one downside to drinking is that it can make you fat. This is remedied by cutting out food entirely and drinking all spirits without mixers. My weight has gone down to 19st with this diet. There isn't much more to say, but as I'm being paid by the column I'd better repeat myself. And now that I'm dead, there's no harm in Bloomsbury repackaging the same material several times in the same collection.

I don't really like wine. Gin is for pansies, though a snifter with water doesn't go amiss. Liqueurs are best left to patent-shoed Wops. Or Americans. Champagne is an overrated girl's drink, though it can be drunk with any food; as such, it's a perfect breakfast drink because a scotch before 10am is very non-U.

I loathe pubs with loud music, but my utmost detestation is reserved for sanctimonious ex-topers. There's nothing worse than a man who doesn't drink. I once tried not drinking for several hours and my wives and mistresses said how dull it was that I was conscious and they were spared removing my soiled trousers from my bloated legs.

Whisky is my favourite tipple, though I recommend never giving it to a Welshman as it's wasted on someone with an IQ of less than 80. Have I mentioned that I'm partial to a Macallan? Gosh is that the time? Hilly's coming to change my IV drip before I fall unconscious again. The publisher can bloody well pad out the rest of the book with a pointless quiz without me.

Q: Who will buy this?

A: No one.

The digested read digested: The old pub bore.

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Jury clears judge of libelling mother
Sales of 'misery memoirs' fall after they boomed beyond all expectations since Dave Pelzer wrote A Child Called It

Constance Briscoe wins Ugly libel case

A judge who was sued for libel by her mother over allegations of childhood cruelty and neglect in her bestselling "misery memoir" won her case yesterday.

Constance Briscoe burst into tears at the high court in London as a jury unanimously cleared her and publishers Hodder & Stoughton over the claims in Ugly, which her mother Carmen Briscoe-Mitchell, 74, had alleged were a "piece of fiction".

During the 10-day trial, Briscoe, 51, who was one of the first black women judges in the UK, told the court her mother repeatedly beat her with a stick for bed-wetting and called her a "dirty little whore", a "potato-head" and "miss piss-a-bed".

She described trying to kill herself by drinking diluted bleach after failing to get taken into care, and told the jury she used a university grant to have plastic surgery to remove the "ugliness" her mother had taunted her over.

Briscoe, of Clapham, south London, also said that when she was nine, her mother had deliberately cut her on the inside of her arm with a knife in a row over the preparation of a chicken.

Ugly, published in 2006, has sold more than 400,000 copies in the UK. Briscoe and Hodder & Stoughton had denied libel and said the book was substantially true. Andrew Caldecott QC, for Briscoe, said the events occurred between 1964 and 1975.

Briscoe-Mitchell, from Southwark, south-east London, left court without making any immediate comment about her legal defeat. During the trial she had denied all the allegations of verbal and physical abuse and claimed she and her daughter had enjoyed a loving relationship within a happy family.

Her counsel, William Panton, told the jury Briscoe was "spinning a yarn", claiming his client had struggled to bring up her 11 children and had provided for them equally to the best of her ability.

Outside court, Briscoe told reporters she was "very happy" with the jury's verdict, which came after more than a day of deliberation.

"It is sad that my mother still feels the need to pursue me," she said. "Now I just want to get on with my career. I would like to thank all my readers who have sent me messages of support, including the very many children who provided helpful advice.

"I can quite understand why my family went into collective denial but whilst child abuse may be committed behind closed doors it should never be swept under the carpet."

Hodder & Stoughton said it was pleased with the verdict. "We are very proud to be Constance Briscoe's publisher," a statement said. "Her books Ugly and Beyond Ugly have touched hundreds of thousands of readers, many of them children. Sadly, as we know from the news over the past few weeks, child abuse is all too common and nothing and no one should ever stand in the way of the truth."

Asked during the trial why she wrote the book, Briscoe said: "I didn't believe for a split second that I owed my mother a bond of silence. I don't. I had a story to tell and that story really is that I, someone who from dirt poverty, from absolutely nowhere, with absolutely no assistance whatsoever, who faced adversity at every turn, could come through."

The court heard she had cleaned offices for two hours every day before school until her studies took her to Newcastle University, the criminal bar and, eventually, to become one of the country's few black women judges.

"I wanted to say to whoever read the book ... you can be whatever you want to be," Briscoe said. "You just have to believe in yourself ... you do not have to be posh or privileged to be at the Bar.

"You just need to believe in yourself and I truly, truly believe that my book has done an enormous amount of good."

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