were buried the Duke of Gandia and Gian Borgia, and perhaps Alexander
was drawn thither by same relics of devotion, or may be by the
recollection of his love for his former mistress, Rosa Vanazza, whose
image, in the guise of the Madonna, was exposed for the veneration of
the faithful in a chapel on the left of the high altar. Stopping before
this altar, the pope offered to the church the gift of a magnificent
chalice in which were three hundred gold crowns, which the Cardinal of
Siena poured out into a silver paten before the eyes of all, much to the
gratification of the pontifical vanity.

But before he left Rome to complete the conquest of the Romagna, the
Duke of Valentinois had been reflecting that the marriage, once so
ardently desired, between Lucrezia and Alfonso had been quite useless to
himself and his father. There was more than this to be considered: Louis
XII's rest in Lombardy was only a halt, and Milan was evidently but the
stage before Naples. It was very possible that Louis was annoyed about
the marriage which converted his enemy's nephew into the son-in-law of
his ally. Whereas, if Alfonso were dead, Lucrezia would be the position
to marry some powerful lord of Ferrara or Brescia, who would be able to
help his brother-in-law in the conquest of Romagna. Alfonso was now not
only useless but dangerous, which to anyone with the character of the
Borgias perhaps seemed worse, the death of Alfonso was resolved upon.
But Lucrezia's husband, who had understand for a long time past what
danger he incurred by living near his terrible father-in-law, had
retired to Naples. Since, however, neither Alexander nor Caesar had
changed in their perpetual dissimulation towards him, he was beginning
to lose his fear, when he received an invitation from the pope and his
son to take part in a bull-fight which was to be held in the Spanish
fashion in honour of the duke before his departure: In the present
precarious position of Naples it would not have been good policy far
Alfonso to afford Alexander any sort of pretext for a rupture, so he
could not refuse without a motive, and betook himself to Rome. It was
thought of no use to consult Lucrezia in this affair, for she had two
or three times displayed an absurd attachment for her husband, and they
left her undisturbed in her government of Spoleto.

Alfonso was received by the pope and the duke with every demonstration
of sincere friendship, and rooms in the Vatican were assig