French army had arrived
at Rome, that his ally Ferdinand had deceived him, and that Alexander
had pronounced the sentence of his downfall, he understood that all
was lost; but he did not wish it to be said that he had abandoned his
kingdom without even attempting to save it. So he charged his two new
condottieri, Fabrizio Calonna and Ranuzia di Marciano, to check the
French before Capua with 300 men-at-arms, some light horse, and 3000
infantry; in person he occupied Aversa with another division of his
army, while Prospero Colonna was sent to defend Naples with the rest,
and make a stand against the Spaniards on the side of Calabria.

These dispositions were scarcely made when d'Aubigny, having passed the
Volturno, approached to lay siege to Capua, and invested the town on
both sides of the river. Scarcely were the French encamped before the
ramparts than they began to set up their batteries, which were soon
in play, much to the terror of the besieged, who, poor creatures, were
almost all strangers to the town, and had fled thither from every side,
expecting to find protection beneath the walls. So, although bravely
repulsed by Fabrizio Colonna, the French, from the moment of their first
assault, inspired so great and blind a terror that everyone began to
talk of opening the gates, and it was only with great difficulty that
Calonna made this multitude understand that at least they ought to reap
some benefit from the check the besiegers had received and obtain good
terms of capitulation. When he had brought them round to his view, he
sent out to demand a parley with d'Aubigny, and a conference was fixed
for the next day but one, in which they were to treat of the surrender
of the town.

But this was not Caesar Borgia's idea at all: he had stayed behind to
confer with the pope, and had joined the French army with some of his
troops on the very day on which the conference had been arranged for two
days later: and a capitulation of any nature would rob him of his share
of the booty and the promise of such pleasure as would come from
the capture of a city so rich and populous as Capua. So he opened up
negotiations on his own account with a captain who was on guard at one
of the gates such negotiations, made with cunning supported by bribery,
proved as usual more prompt and efficacious than any others. At the very
moment when Fabrizio Colonna in a fortified outpost was discussing the
conditions of capitulation with the Frenc