changed by His Majesty's desire to Maximilian, and who is called Count
of Pavia, and a second named Sforza." A succession of _fetes_ and
hunting-parties was given by the duke for the entertainment of his
imperial guest during the next week, and ending with a "_Caccia
bellissima_" to which the cardinal-legate, all the princes, ambassadors,
and courtiers were invited. Two hundred riders took part in the hunt
that day, and "I myself," adds the grave historian, "was there and saw a
hare caught by a leopard."

On the 23rd of September the emperor took leave of the Duchess Beatrice,
who presented him, as a parting gift, with a superb litter, made of
woven gold, richly adorned with fine needlework--"the most beautiful
thing which I have ever seen," writes Sanuto, "and valued at a thousand
ducats." The duke accompanied his guest as far as Tortona, where he
left Maximilian to go on to Genoa, and thence by sea to Pisa.

"There are, people say, three reasons," remarked Marino Sanuto, "why His
Imperial Majesty is such fast friends with the Duke of Milan. In the
first place, he sees that Lodovico has great power and authority
throughout Italy. In the second, he hopes to get some money out of him.
And in the third place, he looks on him as a useful ally against the
King of France."

Happily for both the emperor and the Duke of Milan's peace of mind, the
French king's military ardour had soon died away, and although Trivulzio
was sent to Asti, and Orleans would gladly have followed him, Charles
the Eighth spent his time in jousts and hunting-parties, and forgot his
unhappy subjects in Southern Italy. Ferrante, assisted by a Venetian
force under Francesco Gonzaga, recovered one fortress after another. On
the 29th of July, Montpensier, after holding the fortified city of
Atella during many months, was forced to capitulate with his five
thousand men, and himself died of fever a few weeks later at Pozzuoli.
Most of his troops shared the same fate, and few of that gallant army
lived to return to France. Suddenly, in the midst of his victorious
career, the young king Ferrante, who had a few months before obtained a
papal dispensation to marry his father's youthful half-sister, Princess
Joan, died of fever, brought on by the fatigues and hardships to which
he had exposed himself in the previous campaign. His death was deeply
lamented alike by his subjects and his relatives at Milan and Mantua,
who retained a sincere affection for this br