who showed us no less love and obedience than he
would have shown had he been our own son. I cannot tell you with
what satisfaction and contentment we took leave of each other. You
may be certain that his Majesty stands ready to place his own
person and every thing he has in the world at our service.

We hope that all differences and quarrels in regard to the Colonna
will be completely laid aside in three or four days. At present I
have nothing more to say than to warn you to be careful of your
health and constantly to pray to the Madonna. Given in Rome in S.
Peter's, July 24, 1494.[34]

This letter is the first of the few extant written by Alexander to his
daughter. His reproof was due to the sudden departure of his
mistress--contrary to his original instructions--from Pesaro before
August. From there Giulia went to Capodimonte to look after her sick
brother Angiolo. According to a Venetian letter written by Marino
Sanuto, she had left Rome chiefly for the purpose of attending the
wedding of one of her kinsmen, and the writer describes her in this
place as "the Pope's favorite, a young woman of great beauty and
understanding, gracious and gentle."

Alexander's letter shows us that his mistress remained in communication
with him after her departure from Rome.

FOOTNOTES:

[31] This letter is printed in Atti e Memorie Modenesi, i. 433.

[32] Despatch of Giorgio Brognolo to the Marchese, Rome, May 6 and 15,
1494. Archives of Mantua.

[33] Despatch of Jacomo Trotti to Duke Ercole, Milan, June 11, 1494. May
1st the women were still in Rome, for on that date Madonna Adriana wrote
a letter from there to the Marchesa of Mantua recommending a friend to
her. The letter is in the Mantuan archives.

[34] The letter is published in Ugolino's Storia dei Conti e Duchi
d'Urbino, II. Document No. 13. I saw the original in the state archives
of Florence; only the address is in Alexander's hand, the rest is
written by the Chancellor Juan Lopez, who signs himself Jo. Datarius.

CHAPTER X

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF PESARO

The storm which suddenly broke upon Alexander did not disturb Lucretia,
for on the eighth of June, 1494, she and her spouse entered Pesaro. In a
pouring rain, which interrupted the reception festivities, she took
possession of the palace of the Sforza, which was now to be her home.

The history of Pesaro up to that time is briefly as follows:

Ancie