of the Great Captain. He was as generous in victory as vigorous in
battle, and as courteous and genial with all he met as if he had been a
courtier instead of a soldier. In the end, his striking and unbroken
success in war aroused the envy and jealousy of King Ferdinand, and after
the return of Gonsalvo to Spain the unjust monarch kept him in retirement
till his death, putting smaller men at the head of his armies rather than
permit the greatest soldier of the century to throw his own exploits more
deeply into the shade.

A KING IN CAPTIVITY.

Two great rivals were on the thrones of France and Spain,--Francis I., who
came to power in France in 1515, and Charles I., who became king of Spain
in 1516. In 1519 they were rivals for the imperial power in Germany.
Charles gained the German throne, being afterwards known as the emperor
Charles V., and during the remainder of their reigns these rival monarchs
were frequently at war. A league was formed against the French king by
Charles V., Henry VIII. of England, and Pope Leo X., as a result of which
the French were driven from the territory of Milan, in Italy. In 1524 they
were defeated at the battle of Sesia, the famous Chevalier Bayard here
falling with a mortal wound; and in 1525 they met with a more disastrous
defeat at the battle of Pavia, whose result is said to have caused Francis
to write to his mother, "_Madame, tout est perdu fors l'honneur_" ("All is
lost but honor").

The reason for these words may be briefly given. Francis was besieging
Pavia, with hopes of a speedy surrender, when the forces of Charles
marched to its relief. The most experienced French generals advised the
king to retire, but he refused. He had said he would take Pavia or perish
in the attempt, and a romantic notion of honor held him fast. The result
was ruinous, as may be expected where sentiment outweighs prudence.
Strongly as the French were intrenched, they were broken and put to rout,
and soon there was no resistance except where the king obstinately
continued to fight.

Wounded in several places, and thrown from his horse, which was killed
under him, Francis defended himself on foot with heroic valor, while the
group of brave officers who sought to save his life, one after another,
lost their own. At length, exhausted with his efforts, and barely able to
wield his sword, the king was left almost alone, exposed to the fierce
assault of some Spanish soldiers, who were enraged by