grew heavier day by day, till at last the
chastisement came, and the Borgias, who had
invited several of the Cardinals to supper for the
purpose of poisoning them and seizing on their
revenues, were themselves served with the draught
they had intended for their guests. The Pope died
after eight days, in mortal agony, but, owing to
his having drunk less of the wine, Caesar slowly
recovered, and resumed his old trade of arms. The
talents which had made him one of the first
captains in Italy caused him to be the dread of
all his enemies, and finally led to his capture
(by violation of a safe-conduct), at the hands of
Gonsalvo de Cordova, Captain of the Forces of
Ferdinand of Spain.]

It was in June 1504 that Caesar Borgia, General of the Church and Duke of
Romagna and Valentinois, was conducted to the Castle of Medina del Campo
in Spain. For two years Caesar waited in prison, hoping that his old
ally, Louis XII., whose cousin Mlle. d'Albret he had married, would come
to his assistance. But he waited in vain and his courage began to give
way, when one day something happened which proved to him that he had
still one friend left, his faithful Michelotto, a soldier of fortune who
had followed him to Spain, and was now hidden in the neighbourhood of
the prison. It was breakfast time, and Caesar was in the act of cutting
his bread when he suddenly touched a hard substance, and found a file,
and a small bottle containing a narcotic, and a note concealed in the
loaf. The note was from Michelotto, and informed Caesar that he and the
Count of Benevento would hide themselves every night on the road between
the castle and the village, in company with three good horses, and that
he must make the best use he could of the file and the sleeping
draught.[27]

Two years' imprisonment had weighed too heavily on Caesar for him to
waste a single moment in trying to regain his freedom. He, therefore,
lost no time in beginning to work on one of the bars of his window,
which opened on an inside court, and soon contrived to cut through so
far, that a violent shake would enable him to remove it altogether. But
the window was nearly seventy feet above the ground, while the only way
of leaving the court was by a door reserved for the governor alone, the
key of which was always carried about his person