oliness,
and he was soon joined by one of Paul's nephews, the duke of Montebello,
with a slender reinforcement. It was determined to cross the Neapolitan
frontier at once, and to begin operations by the siege of Campli.

This was a considerable place, situated in the midst of a fruitful
territory. The native population had been greatly increased by the
influx of people from the surrounding country, who had taken refuge in
Campli as a place of security. But they did little for its defence. It
did not long resist the impetuosity of the French, who carried the town
by storm. The men--all who made resistance--were put to the sword. The
women were abandoned to the licentious soldiery. The houses, first
pillaged, were then fired; and the once flourishing place was soon
converted into a heap of smouldering ruins. The booty was great, for the
people of the neighborhood had brought their effects thither for safety,
and a large amount of gold and silver was found in the dwellings. The
cellars, too, were filled with delicate wines; and the victors abandoned
themselves to feasting and wassail, while the wretched citizens wandered
like spectres amidst the ruins of their ancient habitations.[157]

[Sidenote: SIEGE OF CIVITELLA.]

The fate of Italy, in the sixteenth century, was hard indeed. She had
advanced far beyond the age in most of the arts which belong to a
civilized community. Her cities, even her smaller towns, throughout the
country, displayed the evidences of architectural taste. They were
filled with stately temples and elegant mansions; the squares were
ornamented with fountains of elaborate workmanship; the rivers were
spanned by arches of solid masonry. The private as well as public
edifices were furnished with costly works of art, of which the value was
less in the material than in the execution. A generation had scarcely
passed since Michael Angelo and Raphael had produced their miracles of
sculpture and of painting; and now Correggio, Paul Veronese, and Titian
were filling their country with those immortal productions which have
been the delight and the despair of succeeding ages. Letters kept pace
with art. The magical strains of Ariosto had scarcely died away when a
greater bard had arisen in Tasso, to take up the tale of Christian
chivalry. This extraordinary combination of elegant art and literary
culture was the more remarkable, from the contrast presented by the
condition of the rest of Europe, then first ris