bode until the French and Italians had met on the
River Taro and joined battle at Fornovo, of which encounter both sides
claimed the victory. If Charles's only object was to win through, then
the victory undoubtedly was his, for he certainly succeeded in cutting
a way through the Italians who disputed his passage. But he suffered
heavily, and left behind him most of his precious artillery, his tents
and carriages, and the immense Neapolitan booty he was taking home, with
which he had loaded (says Gregorovius) twenty thousand mules. All this
fell into the hands of the Italian allies under Gonzaga of Mantua,
whilst from Fornovo Charles's retreat was more in the nature of
a flight. Thus he won back to France, no whit the better for his
expedition, and the only mark of his passage which he left behind him
was an obscene ailment, which, with the coming of the French into Italy,
first manifested itself in Europe, and which the Italians paid them the
questionable compliment of calling "the French disease"--morbo gallico,
or il mal francese.

During the Pope's visit to Perugia an incident occurred which is not
without importance to students of his character, and of the character
left of him by his contemporaries and others.

There lived in Perugia at this time a young nun of the Order of St.
Dominic, who walked in the way of St. Catherine of Siena, Colomba da
Rieti by name. You will find some marvellous things about her in the
Perugian chronicles of Matarazzo, which, for that matter, abound in
marvellous things--too marvellous mostly to be true.

When he deals with events happening beyond the walls of his native town
Matarazzo, as an historian, is contemptible to a degree second only to
that of those who quote him as an authority. When he deals with matters
that, so to speak, befell under his very eyes, he is worthy, if not of
credit at least of attention, for his "atmosphere" is valuable.

Of this Sister Colomba Matarazzo tells us that she ate not nor drank,
save sometimes some jujube fruit, and even these but rarely. "On the day
of her coming to Perugia (which happened in 1488), as she was Crossing
the Bridge of St. Gianni some young men attempted to lay hands upon her,
for she was comely and beautiful; but as they did so, she showed them
the jujube fruit which she carried in a white cloth, whereupon they
instantly stood bereft of strength and wits."

Next he tells us how she would pass from life for an hour or two, and