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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

SIXTHS THE FIFTH.

Vol. n.

LONDON : PBINTED BT
SrOTTISWOODB AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUABE
AND PABLIAJIENT STREET

THE
LIFE AND TIMES

OF

SIXTUS THE FIFTH

BY

BABON HtJBNEE, IM '
FOEMEHLT AMBASSADOR OF AUSTRIA IN PARIS
AND m ROME.

FROM UNPUBLISHED DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE IN THE STATE ARCHIVES
OF THE VATICAN, SIMANCAS, VENICE, PARIS, VIENNA, AND FLORENCE,

TBANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAI. FRENCH
BY
HUBERT E. H. JEENINGHAM.
in two volumes.
Vol. II.

LONDON :
LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO.
1872.
All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

OF

THE SECOND VOLUME.

PART THE FIFTH.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Congregations . . . . .1
II. The Pope and the King of Spain . . 19
III. The Society of Jesus . . . .38
IV. Changes in the College of Cardinals . . 55

PART THE SIXTH.

I. Feudal Rome and Rome of the Renaissance . 73
II. Rome in the Days of Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V. 86
III. Public Works of Sixtus V. . . . 118
rv. Relations of Sixtus V. with his Family . 137

vi CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

PART THE SEVENTH.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The League . • • 146
II. Prospects of Catholicity in France . . 161
III. The Policy of Sixtus with reference to the
French Kingdom . . . .174
rv. The Murder of the Duke and the Cardinal op
Guise, and its Consequences . . . 196
V. Changes of Policy after the Death op Henry HI. 282
VI. Efforts of Henry op Navarre to gain the Pope
OVER . . . . . .265
VII. Question of Succession to the Throne of France. 296
Vni. The Duke of Sessa's Mission . . .322

PART THE EIGHTH.
I. Dkath op the Pope .... 345
II. Portrait of Sixtus V. and the Men of his times 358
Genealogy op the Family of Peretii . . 373

INDEX . . .... 375

SIXTUS THE FIFTH.

PART THE FIFTH.
CHAPTER I.
THE CONGREGATIONS.
At the time of which we write the Pope ruled with
the advice of the cardinals. They assembled for the
purpose in a Consistory, wherein, with the assistance of
other prelates of different grades and positions, matters
concerning the Church throughout the world were
treated. The Pope submitted to them those questions
which they had to examine, and, after hearing what
they had to say, gave his final decision. In former
times this mode of proceeding sufficed to meet the
requirements of the moment, and enabled the members
of the Consistory to have constantly before their eyes
the spiritual necessities of the world, and to be well
informed of the great political questions which are so
often intimately connected with reUgious interests. It
also insured their taking a part in the government of
the Church ; for an opinion once adopted unanimously
VOL. II. B

2 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V.
or by a strong majority, and expressed with eloquence
and erudition, must necessarily constitute an important
element in the deliberations and final resolves of the
Pontiff. Since, however, Christianity had extended its
rule, and since matters of ecclesiastical interest had
multiplied in proportion with the growth of the Chris
tian populations, with the hopes and requirements
resulting from the progress of society, this primitive
manner of transacting business in open courts gave
rise to serious inconveniences, if not to insurmountable
difficulties. Many of the predecessors of Sixtus V. had
considered it advisable, whenever there was a pressing
or important question, to ask, before submitting it to
the Consistory, the opinion of a few cardinals, whose
experience, knowledge, and antecedents warranted their
being consulted on such matters. Under Gregory XIIL
there were Congregations (hat treated severally of the
affairs of Germany, of France, of the Index, of bishops,
&c. But these limited gatherings were of an essentially
intimate and transitory character. They did not form
a part of the general administration of the Church,
nor did they satisfy, except momentarily, requirements
of a permanent nature.-^ Paul III. was the first who
instituted a permanent Congregation. The Protestant
Reformation was the cause of it. It was called the
Congregation of the Holy Office, or of the Inquisition.
Apart from the questions of dogma which specially
concerned it, the immense weight of ecclesiastical
government fell entirely upon the Consistories, which,
• Antonio Tiepolo, 1578.

Chap. I.] THE CONSISTORY. 3
even with the help of the imperfectly constituted Con
gregations of Gregory XIIL, were not able to cope
with the pressure of business.
Sixtus V. resolved that the evil should be remedied.
He gave the Church, with regard to its spiritual direc
tion, the constitution which is now in force. The
principal reason which urged him to this organisation
was, undoubtedly, as he said himself, a desire to
obviate the inconveniences which we have noticed,
and to promote the administrative working of the
Church. Another consideration had influenced him —
the composition of the Sacred College. In that college
sat men belonging to reigning families, who were
naturally devoted to their house ; protectors of Ger
many, France, Spain, Poland, Venice, Savoy, who were
officially called upon to plead the causes of their
sovereigns ; and, lastly, vassals and foreign subjects^
who were obliged, or, at least, induced, to remain
faithful to the prince to whom they owed their
preferments. Next to rehgious interests, therefore,
came interests of a dynastic, or political, or personal
character, which were foreign, and often opposed to
those with which the Consistory had to deal. Hence
many cardinals were placed in a false position, not to
say in a dependence which, at times, was incompatible
with their dignity as senators of the Church. If the
work could be divided, if the members of the Congre
gations could be selected with discretion, all these
inconveniences would either disappear, or, at least, be
considerably reduced.
Did Sixtus V. mean more, and wish to break the
B 2

4 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Pari V.
opposition which he might meet in general assemblies
to the consolidation and enhancement of the Pope's
absolute power ? He has often been accused of it, and
even now-a-days it is sometimes maintained that the
institution of the Congregations was an attempt to break
the legitimate influence of the Sacred College, by unduly
concentrating in the hands of a restricted number of
individuals not so much the decision, which it always
belongs to the Pope to give, as the preliminary labour
upon which that decision naturally rests. This opinion
is seldom expressed in words, but it subsists, and is, per
haps, connected with wider and more radical views. It
forms one of the elements of the opposition to be met
with in the ecclesiastical world, as, indeed, everywhere
else, and which has a real cause, for life means a
struggle. When the struggle ceases, life ends. Oppo
sition is, therefore, a sign of vitality ; and woe be to
the Governments which, nol contented with being able
to master the opposition, wish to pursue their victory
even to its annihilation. Apart, then, from questions
of dogma, Rome, which alone has overriden the storms
of eighteen centuries, has never struggled to excess,
but has always left a large margin to imagination, and
more than once has declined to express that opinion
which was asked for by contending parties.^
Sixtus v., who was eminently an autocratic sovereign,
and had a cardinal camerlingo put under arrest for in
subordination, never punished those who opposed him
in the Consistory, or who loudly complained in these
' We may here recall tlie celebrated cause which gave rise to Padre
Molina's book, ' De Concordia Gratise et Liberi Arbitrii,' which waa pub
lished in Lisbon, in 1.585.

Chap. I.] THE POPE IN CONSISTORY. 5
assemblies of the measures which he had adopted as
Head of the Church. It is not very likely, therefore,
that he wished, by means of the Congregations, to
extend or facihtate the exercise of his supreme power.
To the advantages of his position, to his energetic will,
and to the prestige of his name, he joined an unques
tionable superiority in intelligence, in learning, and in
common practical sense. He had no reason to avoid,
nor did he avoid, discussion. On the contrary, he
brought it on, and all the more so that he felt the Want
of, and had a passion for, public speaking.
In the Consistories he loved to fire up, and over
whelm those who contradicted him, by speeches, not to
say by sermons, wherein numerous quotations from the
Scriptures recalled the former Cordelier monk, but
which, replete with witty remarks and sarcasms, sub
dued an adversary, unless the irresistible logic of the
latter could silence him. These oratorical tilts were
as necessary to his health as bodily exercise is for
men who lead a sedentary existence. His conduct
proved what importance he attached to these assem
blies. Up to the time of his death he never failed to
hold a Consistory once a week, and to put before it
important questions of either ecclesiastical ot financial
or political interest. When secrecy was absolutely
necessary, he preferred having recourse to the Con
gregations, or intrusted the matter to the secret con
sideration of the cardinals in Consistory, under penalty
of excommunication, or of the loss of their cafdinalshipsj
or even of their lives. -^
1 Badoer to the Doge, July 1, 158^.

6 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V;
Whenever his proposals were met by silence he became
impatient, and insisted that each should express himself
freely. On one occasion ^ he announced his intention
of appointing two new cardinals, and gave their names.
Everyone was silent. The Pope several times asked
the cardinals to express their opinion. At last
silence was broken, and there ensued a general out
cry, not against the two candidates mentioned by the
Pope, but against the frequent nominations made by
His Hohness. One of the cardinals, Paleotto, was
remarkable for his vehement opposition. The Pope
listened to him, gave his reasons, and said that he was
not like Pius IV., who made twenty-five cardinals at
once, of whom one was the cardinal who now so
strenuously opposed the appointment of only two.
We know by the echoes from the Sacred College,
by the correspondence of the ambassadors, how Httle
Sixtus gave heed to the advice of his cardinals. It is
nevertheless certain that he listened to them, discussed
matters with them, often modified his own views after
hearing theirs, without, however, allowing it, and was
very anxious, when it was a question of taking an
important decision, to secure the adhesion of the
Consistory. The cardinals, on the other hand, were
not so alarmed as it has been said. Whenever
questions of a difficult nature arose in the Consistory,
the ambassadors, who besides were often present, easily
obtained reports of the discussion which had taken place
upon them. These documents clearly prove that these
1 Giitti to the Doge, December 17, 1688.

Chap. I.] SYSTEM OF CONGREGATIONS. 7
meetings were not assemblies composed of men easily
led, or even ready to bow before the official oracle.
Certainly aU the members of a numerous assembly are
not equally gifted with rare qualities, and are not all
heroes ; but before that fiery old man, who could so
well inspire terror, all the cardinals, with at least very
few exceptions, gave frequent proofs of a laudable
independence. On entering the Sala Ducale, where the Consistories
were generally held, the Pope used to hear such of the
cardinals as might wish to speak to him in private^
The others, however, could indulge in an 'a parte '
among themselves, and change places if necessary, but
resumed their own always when the Pontiff had opened
the meeting.^ The latter, all the while that he was
talking, followed with his eye the movements of the
cardinals, and especially those who, like Medici, De
Joyeuse, and De Sens, were always the most active. His
eyesight was excellent ; he could guess with a rare acute-
ness all the Httle plots that were being devised. He
could judge at a glance with a rapidity and a justness
which was astonishing. It is said that on entering the
room he saw who were absent. Woe to those who
could not explain their absence. He attacked them
with his customary vehemence, calling forth the mur
murs or the mirth of the assembly according to the
tone which he adopted. Such were the Consistories.
A brief exposition may here be given of the new
system of the Congregations estabhshed by the cele-
» Cardinal de Joyeuse to Henry III., March 30, 1688.

8 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V.
brated bull of Sixtus V., ' Immensa seterni Dei.' There
is no doubt that the document was written out by him
self. God, it is said in it, has implanted an admirable
harmony in the works of the creation, each helping
the other, and mutually completing one another.
Then follows a comparison between the celestial and
earthly Jerusalem. In the one the beatified spirits
are classified into categories, God's wiU being that the
most gifted among them should come to the help of
those inferior to them, whereas here below Providence
has instituted a hierarchy composed of men of various
positions who are all called upon to group themselves,
each according to his rank, around the sovereign
Pontiff. He it is who sends the missionaries to the
distant lands, where they are to look after his flock,
but who keeps by him, as Moses did, the old men, as
Our Lord did the Apostles — seventy cardinals who are
the most illustrious members of the Church, and who
have to aid him by their advice, and to bear with him
the immense weight of the interests of Christianity.
To him alone has God given the power of binding
or unbinding. After this exordium, which secures for
the Pope the full absolute power, and points to the
advising character of the votes of the cardinals, the
bull gives as a reason why Congregations should be
created, with the consent of the Sacred College, and
how necessary it is that business should be accelerated.
The estabhshed Congregations^ of which those that
¦relate to the spiritual power of the Pope still exist,
were fifteen in number. The first, the Congregation of
the Holy Office, instituted by Paul III., was confirmed

Chap. I.] CONGREGATION OF RITES AND CEREMONIES. 9
by a bull of Sixtus V., which reorganised it. To it
were referred all the questions relating to faith, to
manifest heresies, to schisms, apostasies, sacrilege, or
abuse of the sacraments. Of all the Congregations it is
the only one that has the power and attributes of a
tribunal. It is presided over by the Pope himself, and
extends its jurisdiction all over the globe, wherever
the Catholic religion exists. It was and still is the
most important of the Congregations.
To the ' signature ' of graces belongs the inquiry
into the request made for favours or grace whenever
they cannot be granted by the ordinary tribunals. To
the Congregation 'for the Erection of Churches and
Consistorial Provisions ' are referred aU requests for
building patriarchal or metropohtan churches, cathe
drals, or chapters, according to the decree of the Council
of Trent.
The Congregation called ' The Abundance of the
Ecclesiastical State,' has the supreme direction of all
that relates to the provisioning of Rome and its
provinces, especially in the interest of the poorer
classes. Sixtus V. gave this Congregation 200,000
scudi, which, as he said, were the result of his savings,
and were destined to be the inheritance of the poor.
By a special bull he recommended that his successors
should keep this sum whole, if they could not in
crease it.
The Congregation of Rites and Ceremonies had
to see that the established customs observed in the
ceremonies of the Church should be upheld, and to
reform the abuses that might have crept in. The

10 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V.
pontifical chapel, and all the churches of the universe
are imder its control, and questions of canonisation
come within its scope.
The Pope had conceived the idea of having a
pontifical navy. The Congregation of the Naval Army
was intrusted with the management of all that con
cerned naval work. ' After having exterminated, with
the help of God,' says the bull, ' the brigands that
infested the Mediterranean lands, so that now every
man can five quietly at home in his vineyard, and
under the shade of his fig-tree, we intend to sweep the
pirates from the sea, in order that we may afford
security not only to our own subjects, but also to
the numerous strangers who visit Rome.' The fleet
was to be composed of ten galleys.
The Congregation of the Index has charge of the
list of books prohibited on the ground that they
contain heretical doctrines. It is in communication
with the Universities of Paris, Bologna, Salamanca,
and Louvain. By establishing these relations, the
Pope intended to attack the evil at its root. He was
evidently less desirous of preparing Usts, which must
necessarily be incomplete, of books not allowed to be
read, than of preventing, with the help of those
Universities, the adoption and propagation of doctrines
which the Church condemned.
The Congregation of the Council of Trent had to
interpret all the acts of that council relating to the
reform of manners and of ecclesiastical discipline. It
had the whole world to deal with. But as regards all
questions of dogma treated in that council, tbe Pope.

Chap. I.] TWO CLASSES OF CONGREGATIONS. 11
reserved to himself the absolute right of interpreta
tion. Other Congregations were established, to come in aid
of ecclesiastics, and to govern the University called the
Sapienza, which Leo X. had instituted. Sixtus V. liqui
dated the debts of that establishment, and added the
two wings of the building which still exist.
The Congregation of the ' Regulars ' is entrusted with
all matters relating to litigation between convents,
excepting quarrels between individuals, which are
settled by the superiors of the convent in which they
occur. The Congregation of the Bishops takes notice of all
the requests and proposals made by patriarchs, primates,
archbishops, bishops, and non-regular prelates, and
intervenes in the event of a contest between them.
A Congregation looks after the roads, bridges, and
aqueducts of the Pontifical State.
Another presides over the printing establishment
of the Vatican, which, instituted by Pius IV., was
added to and enriched by Sixtus V., who made use of
it for the publication of his edition of the - Fathers of
the Church,' and of the ' Vulgate.'
Finally, there was the Congregation for State Con
sultations, a kind of tribunal of appeal, which revised,
subject to the Pontifi's final decision, all suits, whether
civil or criminal.
The Congregations were thus of two classes. Seven
had charge of the Pontifical administration, of public
instruction, of justice, of marine, of poor law, of the
supply of provisions, of pubhc works, roads, bridges

12 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V.
and aqueducts, and, lastly, of printing. With the
exception of the Congregation now called ' degh studii,'
and which, according to the wish of Sixtus V., was to
control the teaching in the University, they have all
been merged in the ' dicasterii ' of the State, which are
of recent creation. The other eight relate to the whole
world, and comprise every branch of Church govern
ment : dogma, indulgences, the disposal of a diocese
and all that relates to it, rites and ceremonies, censure
of the press, interpretation of the acts of the Council,
the relation between the bishops and the Holy See,
and the litigation between monastic orders.
The Pope's intention was to change annually, or at
least every two years, the composition of these Congre
gations, so that all the members of the Sacred College
should pass successively through each of them, and
thus acquire a practical acquaintance with all the affairs
relating to the State or to the Church.'^
Sixtus V. had the greatest respect for the opinions
expressed by the Congregations, and very seldom
followed a course different to that which they recom
mended. The absolution of the Comte de Soissons,
which had been asked by Henry III. and the Cardinal
de Bourbon, constitutes one exception. The Congre
gation to which he had referred the question with a
strong recommendation in favour of the Count, had
unanimously voted against the absolution. To the
great astonishment of the Sacred College, the Pope
' G. Gritti to the Doge, April 2, 1588. He points to the use of such a
regulation, but fears that it may generalise in the cardinals a superficial
knowledge of each matter.

Chap. I.] THE POPE AND HIS FAMILY. 13
on this occasion, moved by political considerations of a
high character, disregarded the vote.^
The estabUshment of these restricted but permanent
assemblies was variously appreciated ; but the criticism
of cardinals and prelates, as well as of the public, fell
especially upon their composition. Many wounded
susceptibilities or questions of self-love came into play,
but no principle was attacked.^ As an institution the
Congregations have shown what they were worth.
They still subsist,' though they have been modified and
increased in number according to the requirements of
the times. Sixtus has the honour of having organised
the work of the Church.
He took particular interest in the manner in which
the Sacred College was composed. Following prece
dents, which happily had become less ft-equent and
were generally condemned, he had had the weakness
to yield to his love for his family, and to make a
cardinal of a boy of thirteen. The remarks of some
cardinals and the significant silence of others, as well
as the reproaches of his own conscience, soon proved
to him that he had committed an error, and that his
authority as Pope would be much shaken'if he perse
vered in the unfortunate fine of turning the Papacy to

1 Olivares to Philip II., September 20, 1688.
2 G. Gritti to the Doge, January 30, 1587.
^ Here is the list of the Congregations that exist nowadays : — Romana
ed universale Inquisizione, Consistoriale, Visita Apostolica, Vesoovi e
Reo-olari, Concilio, Residenza de' Vescovi, Sopra lo stato de' Regolari,
Immunita ecclesiastica, De propaganda fide, Indice, Sacri Riti, Ceremo-
niale, Disciplina regolare, Indulgenze e sacre reliquie, Esarae de' Vescovi,
Fabbrica di San Pietro, Lauretana, Aifari eoclesiastici straordinarii,
Studii.

14 SLXTUS THE FIFTH. [Past V.
the advantage of his family. From that moment he
selected his cardinals with the utmost care. He did
not, however, escape criticism on that head, and was
much blamed because he promoted his former cup
bearer, Galli. Those whom he made cardinals were
generally all of them pious men, who belonged to the
reformed section, and who in every respect were worthy
of the high appointment conferred upon them. One
of them, Aldobrandini, was to become Pope. Hugh
de Verdates was Grand Master of the Knights of Malta.
Alan, an Englishman, was remarkable for his noble
character ; Cusani for his learning ; Morosini, a Venetian,
as a diplomatist ; Pierbenedetti, for the energy and
severity of his administration as Governor of Rome.
Gaetani figured in the history of the League as the
Pope's legate in France, and the very last name on the
last fist of the Pope's appointments to cardinalships is
that of Pepoh, a member of that family whose chief
had been put to death by his orders. It is said that
Pepoli owed his cardinal's hat to the Pope's wish to
appear impartial. It may be that Sixtus, who was now
near his end, looked back with regret to the death
of a noble old man who had been the victim of the
requirements of an extreme case.
Nothing displeased him more than to find that
foreign cardinals of recent creation sought to avoid the
obhgation of coming to Rome. He declared in a Con
sistory that they should not receive the cardinal's hat
nor enjoy their prerogatives before doing so. The
delay of Cardinal Draskovich gave rise to an angry
correspondence between the Courts of Rome and of

Chap. L] SELECTION OF CARDINALS. 15
Prague. The ever-important question relative to
foreign cardinals was often discussed in the Consistories.
The Pope complained ^ that he was beset by requests
from foreign princes, who seemed as if they wanted to
force him to promote individuals who were not worthy
of the honour. He appointed a Congregation to
determine what quahties were needed in those who were
to be made cardinals. According to the terms of the
bull ' Postquam verus Hie,' ^ the number of cardinals is
hmited to seventy. The appointments of those who
exceeded this number were to be considered nuU and
void. Cardinals were as much as possible to be chosen
among all the Christian nations ; deacons must be at
least twenty-two years of age before they could be
eligible as cardinals. There must be at least four
doctors in theology among the seventy cardinals, belong
ing to the regular mendicant orders. To be a cardinal
a man must have received the minor orders, and have
worn the cassock and tonsure for at least a year. Car
dinals not in Rome at the time of their appointment
are bound to be in Rome some time during the year
which follows the date of their appointment.
In one of the last letters which he wrote before his
death. Cardinal d'Este ' presents certain considerations
to M. de ViUeroy's appreciation, which have not lost
the interest of reality. ' I know not,' he said, ' what
idea will be formed of a cardinal, nor whether those
whom he (Sixtus V.) has appointed will come up to
that standard ; but I do know this that the Council of
' Cardinal d'Este to Villeroy, December 17, 1585.
^ December 1585. ' November 17, 1686.

16 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V.
Trent has very wisely decreed that cardinals should
as much as possible be chosen from among all the
Christian nations. Now it would be reasonable if
France, which is the first and chief kingdom of
Christendom (after the Holy Empire), should have a
number of cardinals in proportion to its extent of
territory and its greatness and merit before the Holy
See. But they should also remember that they are
advisers of the Holy See and of the Universal Church,
and should sometimes come and reside in Rome. This
residence in Rome has brought about, in my opinion,
a result which would otherwise be considered intoler
able, namely, that Italy, which is one of the smallest
countries in the Cathohc world, supplies more than
two-thirds and almost three-fourths of the present
number of cardinals. It follows that it is ipso facto
impossible for any other nation to have one of its
natives Pope. Be it understood that the Pope is Pope
of all Christendom and not of the Italians only. The
dignities of a cardinal and of a Pope should be open to
men of merit of all nations, and in proportion to the
importance of each community.'
When a promotion took place, Sixtus V. liked to set
off the grounds on which their election was based. He
took pleasure in mentioning the merits of the various
cardinals to Gritti, saying that he did not do as Gre
gory Xin. did, who could not come to a decision, but
at the end of a Consistory suddenly pulled out of his
pocket a paper on which nineteen names were written,
and merely read the names over, adding : ' Ad sedan-
das murmurationes creamus cardinalem primum ad

Chap. L] SUCCESSION TO THE PAPACY. IV
instantiam Cassaris . . .' ' Wliile we have the greatest
difficulty in finding a few rare individuals who are
worthy of the honour, and who possess the qualities
necessary for discharging the duties of a cardinal, we do
not make a sweeping election of nineteen, as Gregory
did, who only thought of benefiting his family and his
favourites.' He wished to show thereby that numerous
appointments at the end of a pontificate always indi
cate, on the part of their author, a hope that after him
some Pope will be elected who will be favourable to
his family. ' There is no greater mistake,' says he,
' than to wish to influence the choice of a successor
for the sake of personal interests. Before his death,
Paul rv. created a great number of cardinals, so as to
ensure the election of Carpi as Pope ; but, instead of
Carpi, Medichino (Pius^IV.) was elected, and he had
all the nephews of his predecessor strangled. Pius IV.
wanted the Cardinal of Pisa to be his successor, but it
did not come to pass. Pius V. wanted Morone to succeed
him, but Gregory was appointed, who, of all the car
dinals, was the one for whom he had the least sympathy.
Gregory wanted as his successor a cardinal who is still
alive, and whom we shall not name, and to insure his
election he appointed nineteen cardinals at one time.
We were elected, and everybody knows how hostile
he was to us. But what is the good of speaking of it ?
St. Peter wanted Clement to be Pope after him, and
Linus was his successor. Yet St. Peter could only commit
venial sin, for he had been visited by the Holy Ghost,
who confirmed him in a state of grace. We are the
vicars of Christ, and Christ is our Bishop ; and as it
VOL. II. c

18 SrXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei V.
would be a great stupidity on the part of a dying
vicar to name his successor, instead of leaving the
choice of it to the bishop, so would it be folly if the
Popes imagined that they could make the vicars of
Christ. This task must be left entirely to the Bishop,
who is Christ, ' qui est episcopus animse nostras,' for He
knows what Pope to elect. He wishes to elect them,
and does not wish others to do so for Him.'

CHip. IL] THE POPE AND THE IQNG OF SPAIN. 1 9

CHAPTER n.
THR POPE AND THE KING OP SPAIN.
As regards the interests of religion, no country gave
the Pope so much pleasure as Spain, for the Reforma
tion, which at one time seemed likely to invade it, was
completely vanquished. On this point there was not
the slightest doubt. Philip II. deserved the title of
Catholic King. His devotion to the cause of the faith
and of the Holy See could not be doubted. No other
sovereign showed more zeal in the defence of the
dogmas of the Church, and no one, whatever his poli
tical motives, or the extent of his ambition, had done
more to combat heresy. No prince was more inte
rested in conquering it, for, by the force of circum
stances alone, and all religious opinions set aside, his
power was identified with the cause of religion.-^ If
Germany, France, Poland, and Sweden gave great
anxiety to the Holy Father, and if the state of England
filled him with grief and sorrow, Spain afforded him
' ' I cattolici (of France), si dice, non spendono in questa guerra altri
denari che reali di Spagna. E se e vero il re fa bene ; perohe non sarebbe
punto suo servizio che Francia diventasse luterana, per rispetto dalle
cose di Fiandra, e nncora per quelle di Spagna, le quali in tal caso fareb-
bero qualche novita ; e si crede che quei popoli di Spagna aspettino e
desiderino una occasione tale.' — Babbi to the Grand-Duke, May 25,
1585. Arch. fior. f. 3,604.

20 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V,
great consolation. And yet no country gave him
more trouble, or more cause for irritation and anger.
As we have said, Phihp II. believed himself called
upon by Providence not only to defend the Church
and to protect it, but also to watch over it, and, in a
measure, to share with the Pope the somewhat difficult
task of being the Apostle of Christendom. Everyone
knows how numerous were the quarrels with respect to
ecclesiastical jurisdictions, and other similar questions,
which divided the two Courts ; but we are too prone
to see in them the ever-recurring conflict between the
temporal and spiritual power of the Popes. Philip was
equally jealous of his royal prerogatives, but his greatest
fears were not awakened by the encroachments of the
Holy See upon his sovereign rights. In this respect
even he was, as a true submissive son of the Church,
ever ready to make concessions. What he would not
admit was that the Pope should exercise his full ecclesias
tical jurisdiction in Spain without his intervention. He
claimed his share as a protector of the Church — as re
sponsible before God not only for the temporal good, but
also for the salvation of the souls of his subjects ; and
this spiritual mission he was rather disposed to beheve
he could extend to the whole Catholic world. There is,
however, a marked distinction between these preten
sions and the usual conflicts between the Church and
the State. Sovereigns who are at feud with Rome
defend, according to their own view, the interests of
the State against what is called the encroachments of
the Holy See, or seek to maintain, without being
separated from Rome, principles which Rome secretly

Chap. H.] PRETENSIONS OF THE SPANISH KING. 21
abhors if she does not openly condemn them. Philip,
on the contrary, fought in the interests of the Church,
as he understood them ; for he looked upon himself as
a kind of civil vicar of Christ. Whenever, in the fulfil
ment of this imaginary mission, he met with a doubt, he
sometimes laid it before his ministers, but he preferred
to submit it to his confessor or to theologians, or to
committees specially appointed to examine it, or to
congregations composed of doctors of theology. He
believed he had two missions to fulfil. He was king,
and also a little of a pontiff; just as the Pope is
first a pontiff, then king. In this groove ran all
his ideas. Sixtus V. indignantly rejected such
pretensions. ' He says,' writes Philip to the Duke of Sessa,^ then
his special ambassador in Rome, ' that secular princes
must take no part in ecclesiastical matters. He might
be answered that in reahty that is so, but they have
always had the right to submit to the Pope their
counsels and their requests as to what they ought to
do in the interest and for the preservation of the
Christian religion ; and the Popes have always shown
deference to their advice. In the anxious state in
which the Church finds itself nowadays, there are
many reasons why His Holiness should believe my
words, admit my observations, and listen to my advice
with that readiness and deference which his predeces
sors have in similar cases shown to mine.'
The deeply-rooted conviction that he was the civil
' Philip II. to Sessa, June 12, 1590.

22 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
vicar of Christ on earth can be frequently traced in his
letters, and is reproduced in the language of his agents.
When the Duke of Sessa was on his way to Rome, he
was complimented at Livorno by the Ministers of the
Grand-Duke Ferdinand. To their complaint of the
reserved attitude of the Spanish envoy at Florence,^ he
repUed, 'What His Majesty does is done for the service
of Our Lord, and for the universal good of Christendom
and of the Catholic religion. This is a known fact.
The Grand-Duke has only to afford him his sincere
co-operation, and he will act in the just cause. It will
be the means of doing away with any distrust which
His Majesty may entertain with regard to him.' It is
always for this reason that the diplomatists of Philip E.
were never weary of. writing to him on matters of a
purely ecclesiastical nature. Their complaints as to
the abuse and arbitrary acts of Sixtus V. in regard to
provisions are endless. Olivares, who hated the Pope,
even went so far as to insinuate the idea of a General
Council, and besides this a National Council, to be con
voked at Toledo, which should inquire into abuses—
that is to say, should constitute itself into a tribunal
and judge the Pope.
He wrote to the King^ that, after taking the advice
of a well-informed and learned person, whose name
must not be mentioned, ' he has called attention to the
scandalous proceedings of the Pontifical Court in regard
to provisions, preferments, and indulgences, which are
so prejudicial to the good in general, and especially
' Sessa to Ydiaquez, August 1, 1690.
= Olivares to Philip IL, April 14, 1690.

Chap. H.] ELECTION OF POPES. 23
to the subjects of His Majesty. That person is of
opinion that the Cardinal of Toledo, as Primate of
Spain, might, without the King's intervention, convoke
a National Council, composed of all the prelates of the
kingdom, and treat vrith them of the remedies which
such evils require. This would only be following thei
example of other councils at Toledo, which have been
called, to the great benefit of the Church and of God's
cause.' This opinion he hastened to lay before the
King. The Duke of Sessa had no sooner arrived than he
adopted Count Olivares' way of thinking. ' To leave
matters as they now are,' he wrote to Ydiaquez (1590),
' is to lose our reputation here, and with it all that
belongs to it ; for, to tell the truth, the Pope does not
like us because we do not satisfy his cupidity ' (as if it
were not Philip H. who was always asking money of
Sixtus v.), ' and he does not fear us because we tolerate
the unjust acts which he commits, and the harm he
does to the world in general and to Spain in particular.
Everyone is unanimous in saying that what takes place
under this pontificate is unheard of.'
The two Spanish ambassadors thought that Sixtus
intended to modify by a buU the rules which regu
late the election of pontiffs. ' For upwards of four
hundred years,' writes Olivares to the King (May 29,
1590), ' the election of the Pope has always required
a majority of two-thirds of the electors. This rule,
which has been dictated by the Holy Ghost, is the
work of the Council of Lateran, which was held in the
time of Alexander III. ; and to this rule is due the

24 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet Y.
cessation of scandal and disorder which had formerly*,
attended such elections. There is now reason to believe
that His Hohness intends to proclaim by a bull that
half the votes shall be sufficient. His intention would
be thus to facihtate the election of his nephew as the
next Pope.' The ambassador dilated on the evil con
sequences of such a resolution, which was beforehand
condemned by every member of the Sacred College,
who would, however, in the event of his proposing it,
for the most part vote for his proposal. He feared that,
with the aid of Cardinal Montalto, the Grand-Duke
Ferdinand would succeed at the next Conclave in deter
mining the election of a cardinal ' who would be hostile
to the cause of Our Lord and of your Majesty.' The
Duke of Sessa was also afraid of the Grand-Duke's
influence, which, he said, was very great in Rome,
owing to his intimacy with the nephew of Sixtus V.,
with many cardinals, and most of the Roman nobihty.
' As His Holiness,' writes Olivares, ' is in the habit of
clearing ditches when not too wide, it may be useful
that your Majesty should write to him of your own
hand, declaring that a Pope who is elected by a
majority less than that which is at present required
shall not be recognised in Spain ; and that, moreover,
the property of such Spanish cardinals as may have
joined in such an election would be confiscated until
another choice had been made according to law. We
must,' he added, ' make use of strong threats, and not
of requests, which would have a contrary effect.' He
had consulted Cardinals Madruccio and Deza on this
subject. The former had replied that he deferred to

Chap. II.] REGULATIOX OF PAPAL ELECTIONS. 25
the opinion expressed by the theologians ; the latter,
that obedience is not due to those Popes who act con-
trarily to the interests of the Church. The state of the
Pope's health, who had only a few more months to
live, seemed to give anxiety to the ambassador, inas
much as he found that his illness did not make suffi
ciently rapid progress. He therefore recommended
the King to write eventually, and in the same sense, to
the Sacred College a letter, which should be given to
it in the event of a vacancy of the Holy See occurring.
In a postscript the ambassador added, that by his bull
the Pope intended to do away with the election by
' adoration,' and to prescribe that henceforth elections
should be exclusively carried by ballot. Olivares was
obliged to allow that such a measure would be contrary
to the interests of the Pope's nephew and of the Grand-
Duke of Tuscany. He also informed the King, though
evidently against his will, of the motives which had
suggested such a plan. It was with the view of destroy
ing the influence which cardinal-nephews of Popes
generally exercise in the Conclave, in their capacity of
heads of factions, to the prejudice of other cardinals,
who are often obliged to vote against what their own
conscience suggests to them, and are thus deprived of
any real part in the election.
With his usual reserve, and the prudence with which
he always transacted business, the King shared but
feebly the views of his ambassador. He wrote to the
Duke of Sessa, not to Olivares, whose violence had
somewhat discredited him in the eyes of the King, that
he had learned with regret the proposed plan ; that

26 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
innovations, especially in serious matters, were always
dangerous ; that, even were the good to result from
such change evident, great caution would still be
necessary ; that a long experience and the short dura
tion of the last Conclaves pleaded in favour of the
existing laws and customs ; and that such an innovation
would considerably add to the existing confusion as
well as to the dangers which surrounded the Church,
already so compromised. The King expected that the
Pope's zeal and learning would make him appre
ciate advice, which he said was inspired only by his
devotion and his duty to the common cause of Chris
tendom, in which he had so great a share.-"^ Sessa was
instructed to concert with Olivares as to the language
he should hold to the Pope in conformity with his
instructions. The two ambassadors were hkewise
authorised to add to the arguments which he suggested
other considerations which would be likely to produce
an effect. But the passage saying this is scratched out
in the draft of the despatch, and is evidently in the
King's own hand. He was clearly afraid lest his
representatives should go beyond the limits within
which he wished them to act, and within which he
knew so well how to maintain himself. If, on the
arrival of these instructions, the Pope had given up his
project they were to make no representation whatever,
so as not to warn His Holiness, or to treat the rumoiu:
as false. There is not a threat, or anything that could
be interpreted as an attempt at intimidation, in the
whole letter. ' 'De que tanta parte nie cabe.'

Chap. H.] QUESTION OF ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS. 27
Another innovation, respecting a far less important
matter — the costume of the bishops — had alarmed the
King, He found that the long black cassock of the
Spanish prelates was dignified, grave, and in harmony
with the ministry of a priest. No change could alter
it for the better. To shorten it, or change the black,
which he loved, for violet, would be to lessen the
authority of the high clergy, and open the way to
other inconveniences, which he enumerated at length.
' No doubt,' he said, ' the cassock is not the most im
portant thing in a priest, but it has its importance.'
The King, therefore, was most anxious that the Pope
should reconsider his decision, at least as regarded
Spain. He instructed Olivares to observe to the Pope
that some regard must be shown to the customs and
ideas of each country, and that everything does not
suit everybody. He asked that outside the church the
Spanish bishops should preserve their actual dress, but
made no objection to their adopting in church the
usages of Rome.^
Ohvares and, following- his example, the Duke of
Sessa watched, criticised, and condemned every measure
of the Pope's personal government, gave an exact
account of the facts, but put the worst interpretation
upon them. Their pen is steeped in vinegar. To
their system of provocation, which was dictated by a
blind hatred of the Pope, Philip opposed a great
freedom of spirit and calmness which nothing could
move. He never lost sight of his supposed mission,
nor ever forgot the respect he owed to the Pontiff. Lost
1 Philip II. to Olivares, 1588.

28 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
in his daily work, he, for all that, never ceased looking
at the general interests of the Catholic world, for which
he was ready to sacrifice any personal susceptibility,
and even his own dignity, of which he was so jealous.
When we examine him closely in his correspondence,
either written by himself or corrected by him, and in
his unceasing labours, we cannot but render justice to
the firmness of his character and incline to an appre
ciation of the man very different from that which we
have seen in the writings of numerous historians.
The publication of a new edition of the Bible ^ gave
rise to some sharp discussions and criticisms in the
ecclesiastical world. The Council of Trent had ordered
that the Vulgate should be revised. This work, which
had been entrusted by Pius IV. to a few cardinals, had
been continued under Pius V., and almost abandoned
under the pontificate of Gregory XIII., was taken up
by Sixtus V., who worked at it himself, and succeeded
so well, with the co-operation of Padre Toledo and a
few learned monks, that its printing was commenced in
the last year of his life. Walking, on one occasion,
with the Venetian envoy Badoer at his country house,
he told him that, ' notwithstanding the desire of the
Council, the work had never been seriously undertaken;
that he had, therefore, intrusted it to some cardinals,
with whose work, however, he had been dissatisfied, and
had then been obliged to work at it himself; that he was
near the end of his troubles, since he had already come
' It was only finished during the pontificate of Clement VIII., under
the title of ' Biblia Sacra Vulgata editionis, Sixti V. pont. max. jussa
recognita et Clementis auctoritate edita.'

Chap. H.] REVISION OF THE BIBLE. 29
to the Apocalypse, and that the Book of Wisdom was
then under pubhcation.' He added that, when his
(the ambassador's) visit was announced, he was then
at work at the book, in which occupation he delighted,
and in the framing of which he proceeded thus : as
soon as he had done a sheet, he passed it over to
Padre Toledo and to a few Austin friars who were
very learned in these matters, and these reviewed and
corrected the sheets, which were then sent to the
printers.^ A biography of Pius V. had been published under
the auspices of Sixtus V. The sale of the book was
prohibited in Milan. ' The Spaniards,' wrote Cardinal
d'Este to M. de Villeroy (October 6, 1586), ' would like
' Cardinal Santa Seveiina, who is quoted by Tempesti, gives other
motives for the discontent expressed by Sixtus V. According to him,
the Pope, on examining the edition, fifty copies of which had been pub
lished, discovered that it was full of faults of printing, and found himself
obliged to forbid the sale. Some copies had been already distributed.
The Barberini Library possessed one already. This version deserves
more credence than the details given to Olivares by his friend. Cardinal
Caraffa, who bad been personally injured by the Pope. 'His Holiness,'
said the Spanish ambassador to Philip, ' has just published a Bible. He
had a quarrel with Cardinal CarafFa, whom he has even threatened to
send before the tribunal of the Inquisition, because he had contested
his right to alter anything whatsoever in the text of the Bible. Since
then the Pope has withdrawn his power to revise, and has taken the task
upon himself, consulting Dr, Toledo upon the most difficult passages, but
without telling him that he intended to adhere to his opinion. Padre
Toledo knows, on the contrary, that in many places he has not followed
his version, and that at other times he has modified it. In one passage
he actually suppressed five lines, so that Toledo thinks that the edition
will benefit the heretics more than the faithful, and that, if no otlier
reason existed, this fact alone would prove how necessary was the con
vocation of a General Council. (It was then much recommended.) The
Holy Father is to give copies to the cardinals, and to send one to your
Majesty ; but I shall put you in the way, sire, of previously having the
work examined.' — Olivares to Philip II., May 7, 1500.

30 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Pakx V.
all things in the world to submit to them. They are
put out that history, as concerns them, should have
obeyed the first law, which is truth, and told it about
them as well as about others when the opportunity
offered. So they have forbidden the sale and pubhca
tion of the book in Milan and other places where they
command.' The Pope, who was angry at this, said
that ' to forbid the publication of the life of so holy a
Pontiff is an act worse than any which could be
committed by a heretic'
To put an end to deplorable abuses, Sixtus V. had
published a decree declaring that henceforth no holder
of a preferment should resign his living in favour of
anyone unless the case had been examined by a
committee of three cardinals. This measure was
looked upon, both in Paris and in Madrid, as an
encroachment upon the rights of the Crown.^ When
Count Olivares offered, according to custom, the
' ghinea,' which represented the tribute which Naples
paid to the Holy See, and which the latter exacted
from the former as a fief of the Church, but which
the Court of Spain treated merely as an old custom,
Sixtus V. exclaimed : ' We accept it as a thing which
is due to us.' ^ These words gave rise to a violent
scene during the private audience which followed
the above-mentioned ceremony. The voices of the two
disputants might be heard in the antechamber, and the
Pope, on dismissing Olivares from his presence, was so

' Cardinal d'Este to Villeroy, June 2, 1586.
- ' Acceptamus prout contingit.'

Chap. H.] REVENUES OF VACANT LIVINGS. 31
irritated that he threw down his napkin and his pocket-
handkerchief. The causes of displeasure went on increasing. The
Holy Father required that the bishops should all come
to Rome at least once. This injunction was particularly
disagreeable to the Spanish bishops. They sought a
pretext not to come, but their excuses were severely
criticised by the Nuncio, who recalled the example
shown to them by the bishops of Poland, who, though
less rich, and further off from Rome, and having a
much more painful journey before them, fulfilled, how
ever, this duty with pleasure. The angry feelings of
those high in office at Madrid burst forth into com
plaints against the Pope, whom they accused of being
uneasy and intractable, and even of following the errors
of Paul IV.^
The Council of Castile held that, in conformity with
the canonical laws, the revenues of the vacant hvings
did not belong to the Apostohc Chamber, as was
supposed in Rome. This gave rise to a long debate.
The Pope made a violent speech in a Consistory against
the Council of Castile, and indirectly against the person
of the King. Philip, who in a particular case had just
made a concession on this point, asked for the return
of the document conveying the intelligence which had
been remitted to the Nuncio, and instructed the
President of the Council to take possession of it at any
cost. The Nuncio, on the other hand, declared that
he would rather die than endure such an humihation.
' Tomasino Contarini to the Doge. Madrid, October 3, 1589.

32 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
The affair was noised about, and the King let it
drop.^ The Nuncio complained constantly of the difficulty
he had in obtaining access to the King. He was
finally obhged by an order from Rome to insist on
being received once a week. AU innovations were
odious to Philip, who, feeling how inconvenient it
is for a sovereign to treat of a matter personally
with a foreign representative, had a great repugnance
to granting an audience. He, however, was resigned
on this occasion, and acceded to the Pope's request,^
The bull pubhshed towards the end of 1589, and
ordering a jubilee in consequence of the affairs in
France, gave every priest the right of absolving from
the crime of heresy.
This clause was opposed in Madrid. The Archbishop
of Toledo found that it infringed the privileges of the
Inquisition, while the King's ministers discovered that
it was prejudicial to the revenue, which largely profited
by condemnations for heresy. Philip disapproved of
it because it was an indirect means of facilitating the
return of the King of Navarre to the fold of the
Catholic Church, and at the same time his entrance to
the Louvre. This last consideration had not escaped
the notice of Count Olivares, who, without waiting for
instructions, had vehemently protested. This time he
was approved by his master. The Nuncio, who had
been requested by the King to ask for further instruc
tions from Rome before the publication of the bull,
' H. Lippomano to the Doge. Madrid, August 12, 1588.
' T. Contarini to the Doge, September 3, 1589.

Chap. H.] ABSOLUTION FOR HERESY. 33
gave way to these solicitations, and Philip hastened to
place his objections in the hands of his ambassador.
They were the following: — To forgive so easily so
great a fault would be to encourage its committal :
the authority of the Inquisition would thereby be
lessened, and, after the divine mercy, it was to the
tribunal of the Inquisition that the preservation of the
faith in aU its purity in Spain was due. In France,
facilities for absolution from heresy might engender
two evils : heretics would profit by a feigned conversion,
and so would the lukewarm, who put their interests
and rehgion on the same level. Besides which it is a
dangerous thing to intrust ignorant and dissolute men,
like most of the French priests, with the power of
absolving heresy. The essential point, however, was
to obtain that the French clergy should expressly be
forbidden to give absolution to Henry ' the Bearnais.'
' This is the principal end,' says the King in his
despatch, ' on which you must bring aU your power
to bear. It is the one important point. On the success
of your endeavours depends the salvation or the loss of
the kingdom of France, and of so great a portion of the
Christian world.'
The somewhat lavish use of excommunication in
Spain had produced great indifference to it. It was no
longer noticed ; for while it was so easily encurred, it
might with equal ease be removed. The civil autho
rities began to refuse to lend their co-operation to the
bishops. Hence the Nuncio's complaints, and at Court
a general outcry against what was called the encroach
ments and bad character of the Pope. The King's
VOL. II. D

34 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
intervention always aimed at appeasing matters and
preventing a rupture.^ His conduct was explained by
the fear which he was supposed to entertain, that
Sixtus V. would have recourse to extreme measures,
especially with regard to the kingdom of Naples, whose
disaffection might at once have been turned into open
rebellion had Sixtus chosen to free the Italian subjects
of Spain from their allegiance to Philip. But the latter
had better and more important grounds for humouring
the Pontiff. Contarini, who was Venetian Envoy in
Madrid, was often the witness of Philip's outbursts of
anger against Rome. ' They so exaggerate their grie
vances,' he wrote to the Doge, ' that one would think
that they want the Pope to be hated by everybody ; but
though I do not approve all the evil they speak of him,
I let them talk, for the more they occupy themselves
about him, the less they think of your Serenity's
supposed sympathies for the King of Navarre, of which
so much was said here.'
The celebrated convent of the nuns of ' las Huelgas,'
near Burgos, also gave rise to an angry discussion. In
consequence of a visit, which, from his great anxiety for
the maintenance of discipline in the religious orders, had
been ordered by the King, certain changes had been
introduced into the convent. The Pope asked for an
official report of the visit, which had been authorised
by the Nuncio in Madrid, who withdrew from the
1 ' Nondimeno qui conoscendosi la natura del papa altiera, come di-
cono, e volendosi troncare ogni matiera di scandalo e di romore, si va con
gran destrezza soUevando i motivi che si fanno e temporeggiando i dis-
ordini che succedono.' — Tomaso Contarini to the Doge. Madrid,
December 18, 1689. Arch. Ven. Disp. Espagne, fil. 21.

CH.VP. n.] CAUSES OF IRRITATION. 35
Bishop of Osma the authorisation he had given him for
the purpose. The King was much displeased, and
informed the Nuncio that he would not receive him
any longer in private audience, except in cases of
special importance, and that for all other business he
should address him in writing. On the other hand
Sixtus V. declared the visit to be null and void.^
The abbreviator (Secretary of the Nuncio), on whom
the dignity of king's chaplain had been conferred,
believing that he would have some credit in the eyes of
the Pope for doing so, conceived the unfortunate idea
of informing the Papal Government of the appointment.
The answer came back in the form of an order that
the Nuncio should at once withdraw that honour from
him. The King bore all this ill-treatment in silence, but
the Court and the town were much annoyed.
Such was in ecclesiastical matters the nature of the
relations between Sixtus V. and Philip II. If a com
plete rupture was not declared, it was owing to the
King's prudence and to the similarity of the interests
of both. This solidarity of interests, which is always
the strongest possible hnk whenever the interests in
question are not intrusted to madmen, allowed Sixtus
to act as he pleased, and Philip to endure everything
without loss of dignity. He could even blame his
ambassador when the latter asked, not for a breaking
off of relations with Rome, but for the humiliation of
the Pope and the convocation of a General Council
^ Alberto Badoer to the Doge, July 1, 1589. T. Contarini, Madrid,
February 3, 1689. D 2

36 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
which should deal with all Church matters, and depose
the Pope who was so little inclined to Spain, or at least
paralyse his liberty of action, which was so important
and so much to be dreaded at a time when France
was engaged in so deadly a struggle. From his own
point of view, Olivares was not mistaken as to the
Pope's object, for, we repeat it, he did not want a
schism ; but he was deceived as to the measures which
he advised the King to adopt, and which that sovereign
was wise enough to repudiate. Among sovereigns, as
among individuals, there are no more inconvenient
links than those which are formed by a similarity of
interests combined with incompatibihty of temper.
Such links become insupportable chains which a man
may long and yet not dare to break, because he knows
that to break them is to lose himself. It then almost
always happens that one of the parties so hnked adopts
a high tone, while the other maintains silence. The
one appears to be the master, the other the slave ; but
in reality both are equally strong, because both are
equally powerless in throwing off the yoke which con
stitutes at the same time their security and their
martyrdom. Sixtus V. concealed no after-thought.
He only wished the good of the Church. Phihp's
wishes were of a more complex nature. He aimed at
the maintenance of the Catholic religion, which had
become the moral basis of his power. He also aimed
at satisfying his ambition, which was not inordinate,
but necessarily unlimited, if only because his interests
were mixed up with those of the Church whose mission
is to conquer the universe. The Pope and the King

Chap. H.] CONTRAST BETWEEN SIXTUS AND PHILIP. 37
wanted the same thing ; they both wished for unity of
faith. Sixtus saw in it the triumph of the Church in
the world, and Philip the establishment of a universal
monarchy under the sceptre of one of his family. In
analysing the relations between these two men, we are
struck by a curious contrast, — on the one side, too
passionate a nature, too impetuous a character, a com
plete absence of tact or manner ; and on the other
a calm, prudent, and dignified attitude. In this
respect the comparison is aU in Philip's favour. But
the case is reversed when matters are sifted to the
bottom. The ambition of Sixtus was the sense of his
first duty ; that of the King, a dream which circum
stances can explain, which history notes, and should
condemn if illusions and errors of judgment were not
open to indulgent criticism.

38 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.

CHAPTER in.
THE SOCIETY OF JESUS.
We have already spoken of the great position which
the Society of Jesus held in the Cathohc world.^ ' It
is marvellous,' Montaigne writes in his journal at Rome,
' how great is the part which that society plays in the
Christian world, and I believe there never was an
association or corporation among us which ever held
such a rank, or produced such results as these will
effect if they persevere in their designs. They will
soon have power over the whole of Christendom. It
is a nursery of men great in every kind of greatness.
It is the body among aU our orders that most threatens
the heretics of our day.' ' In the matter of doctrine
and worth,' wrote Tiepolo on his return from his
embassy to Pius V. and Gregory XHI., ' the Jesuits
hold the first place among all the rehgious orders.'
' Those fathers,' wrote the Tuscan ambassador to the
Grand-Duke Francis, ' are the sinews of our rehgion.'
Such was the prevalent opinion. It was based upon
successes, the marvellous character of which no one
could contest, but which are easily explained. The
' ' Historia Societatis Jesu, quinta pars ' (Romse, 1661). Tiepolo,
1576. Alberti, 1587. Lenzoni, 1589. Montaigne, 'Journal de son
voyage en Italie.' Avissi, 1588, Babbi, 1585.

Chap. HI.] GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION. 39
reactionary movement which followed the Reformation
had given birth to the order at the very time that a
change in the world had taken place.
The Protestant religion had succeeded in England
and in Scandinavia, and the sovereigns of both these
countries were Protestants. In Germany the 'recess '
of Augsburg (1555) had legitimised all the conquests
of the Reformation. The freedom of individual judg
ment in matters of rehgion, which had been recognised
in principle, was granted in reality only to those who
had vindicated their right to it by the power of the
sword, to sovereign princes, free towns, and 'immediate'
nobles. The ' confession ' of Augsburg, which has also
been called the ' peace of rehgion at Augsburg,' pro
claimed the monstrous principle, contrary also to the
liberty of conscience which it sought to establish, that
subjects were to follow the rehgion of their territorial
chief — ' cujus regio ejus religio.' When a prince or a
free town, or an ' immediate ' noble, adopted the Re
formed creed, his subjects were obliged to do the same,
or to migrate and sell their property. The double hnk
of spiritual and temporal unity was broken. Until then,
that unity had constituted the basis of the Christian
world. It is true that political unity under the sceptre
of the Emperor had long ceased to exist. It had never
even been completely reahsed, but the kingdoms which
had been formed outside of the Empire had all remained
within the obedience of the Church. The citizen who
denied that obedience was ipso facto banished from
society, became an outlaw, and was exposed to prose
cution by the ecclesiastical authorities, who could always

40 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei V.
depend upon the co-operation of the civil authorities. .
The curate in his parish, and the religious orders on a
vaster field, combated heresy in the confessional and in
the pulpit, while theologians carried on the war by their
writings, and from their professorial chairs in those uni
versities in which Catholic doctrines were exclusively
taught. Whenever a rehgious teacher met with opposi
tion, he called for the help of the civil power, and in the
event of resistance the prefect could call for the inter
vention of the pohce or of the soldiery. Henceforth
division existed not only among individuals but in
the State itself. To oppose the enemy there was no
longer the secular power to depend upon, which in
half of Europe belonged precisely to the opposite side.
It was necessary to adopt new measures and a new
mode of proceeding. Attention must be paid to altered
times and circumstances. The state of the country in
which a man resided was to be taken into consideration,
as well as a study to be made of men and things. It
was necessary to know how to temporise, to take the
offensive, to choose the time when to act and when to
expect, to take a comprehensive view of the situation,
not to give in in matters of principle, but to make
great allowances for circumstances. This mission of
the counter-reaction offers some resemblance to the
activity of the diplomatist as compared with that of
the administrator. The establishment of Protestantism
in Germany, in England, and in the Scandinavian States,
and the religious peace of Augsburg, had changed the
aspect of the world. The most radical revolution that
Europe had seen since the introduction of Christianity

Chap. IH.] AIM OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. 41
had taken place, and created a totally new position of
affairs. It required on the part of the defenders of the
Church new tactics, a new strategy, new arms, and
fresh combatants. Is it therefore surprising that the
great monastic orders of the Middle Ages, which had
been formed under other circumstances, should, though
still frill of life, be unequal to their task? It was
evident that to cope with totally new difficulties entirely
new elements were necessary. Out of this necessity
was born the Society of Jesus. To its organisation,
and to the remarkable men that enhsted in its ranks,
the order owed its great success. By its organisation, it
became a powerful instrument in the hands of its chiefs,
and those chiefs were eminent men, such as a great
crisis ever produces ; for a crisis stirs up society, calls
forth its latent strength, brings it to the rescue of an
idea, attracts, inflames, carries it on, and discovers the
seductive prospects of success. At such moments,
which history from time to time recalls, men come forth
from the ranks of the multitude, who display, either in
the cause of good or of evil, faculties of an extraor
dinary power, astonish the world by the greatness of
their efforts, after surprising it by the boldness of their
conceptions. In the midst of this struggle between
convictions, if only they are sincere, genius starts up,
the fire of enthusiasm is fit, and the power of intelli
gence, strength of mind, and firmness of character
shine forth. Then are great men born and great
things done. Other changes take place in the life of a
people, which are attempted and achieved under false
pretences by actors who simulate an enthusiasm which

42 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
they cannot experience, who cover their interested
motives under the mask of high-sounding phrases, who
are surrounded by accomplices and followed by a crowd
of dupes, able only to destroy, and remarkable for the
absence of either genius or virtues, but who also
astonish the world, inasmuch as the world wonders
how such small people could produce such evil results.
This was not the case in the struggles of the sixteenth
century. It cannot be denied that in the Protestant
camp there were, side by side with interested motives,
sincere and deep convictions.
The Reformation began the attack. The Catholic
world, taken unawares, armed hastily. On both sides
the struggle was carried on with extreme ardour. The
arsenals of the Middle Ages were empty, or, if arms
remained, the arquebuse and the ordinary gun were no
longer sufficient. More powerful engines of war were
required, and these were the Jesuits. They entered
the ranks armed with piety, with knowledge, and
especially with obedience. They were disciplined
and capable of holding their own against the great
Protestant Reformers. Hence their success, the ever-
increasing esteem in which they were held, and the
support which the Popes gave them.
Sixtus V. alone was cold and reserved towards
them. The prestige of the incipient order, and the
prerogatives which it owed to Paul IH., had excited
jealousy^ and wounded many susceptibilities, as well
as created much envy. It was especially among the
other religious orders that the fathers of the Society
of Jesus had many and powerful adversaries. Sixtus V.,

Chap. IH.] AGGRESSIVE CHAEACTER OF THE ORDER. 43
the old friar, also objected to some of the rules of
Ignatius, which were so different from those of other
monastic institutions, and so contrary to his ideas,
his tastes and ordinary habits. In the first years of
his pontificate, however, he did not show his dishke
by any outward act, recognised on various occasions
the merits of the order, and once even took up its
defence. Some of the fathers were much hked by
him. The celebrated Padre Toledo, ' that rare man,'
as Montaigne says, 'profound in learning and in
character,' continued, as in the time of Gregory, to
preach often at the Vatican in the Sala Costantina.
But these were exceptions. Some remarks of the
Holy Father respecting them made men reflect. Thus
he had scarcely ascended the pontifical throne when,
to meet certain pressing wants, he suppressed the
pensions which had been granted by his predecessor
to certain colleges in Rome and in Italy, and exhorted
the fathers who had charge of these colleges to be
patient ; adding that he could not, as far as the Jesuits
were concerned, have any regret, for they were rich
enough. The order, spread as it was throughout the
world, was naturally influenced by the political and
rehgious state of the various countries. In Germany,
where religious difficulties were scarcely and very
imperfectly ended, where peace between the several
creeds was more hke a truce upon which no de
pendence could be placed, the Jesuits were looked
upon by the Cathohc princes as the spiritual staff of
their army, and by the Catholic populations as the
rampart of the faith. Princes and people equally

44 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
favoured the society, followed anxiously its strategic
movements, and blended their own interests with theirs,
since they both fought for the same cause.
In Spain and in Italy, however, then: position was
very different. There the dangers of the Reformation,
which had given rise to the order, had disappeared, or
were no longer threatening. The religious innova
tions of Germany and of the South of France had for a
time threatened to invade both peninsulas ; but, thanks
to repressive measures of extreme severity, thanks also
to the Pyrenees, which even now-a-days railways have
not been able to level, Spain had maintained its unity
of faith. By less violent, though not less efficacious
means, Rome had also succeeded in averting the
danger from Italy. The anxious times of the Council
of Trent had gone by ; the suits instituted against high
dignitaries of the Church accused of heresy had ceased.
But, although men no longer felt the vague fears
which made Cardinal Morone exclaim, ' It is all up
with the Cathohc religion ! ' all signs of danger had not
really disappeared. If Dauphine remained in the hands
of the Huguenots, if Saluzzo were delivered up to
them, if the Reformation should be estabhshed in
Styria and in Carniola, and if it became mistress of
the Alpine passes, Italy would again be exposed to
the invasion of heresy. But things had not come to
such a pass. In Madrid and in Rome there was in
this respect a degree of security which was unknown
to the two preceding generations, and such security
made men forget the merit of those to whom mostly
it was due. In both countries there was, side by side

Chap. HI.] DISLHiE OF THE ORDER. 45
with the great majority of those who favoured the Jesuits,
a party that was opposed to them. The Dominicans
in Spain were at the head of the latter, so were the
King and Inquisition, but only to a certain degree,
and for other reasons. In Italy their principal op
ponents were the old monastic orders, who were jealous
of their prerogatives, of their successes, and of their
officially declared intention to persevere in the new line
they had traced for themselves. Underhand struggles
took place, but the Jesuits, with the support of the Head
of the Church and of Catholic opinion, which was in
their favour, always got the best of it. The first real
blow which they received was in Spain.
Charles V. did not like them. His antipathy, how
ever, came only from his dislike to all innovations.
Philip H. never forgave them the great influence they x
had exercised in Portugal under the two last kings,
and which they still retained. The Inquisition com
plained that the General and Superiors of the order
enjoyed too much power over the other members of
the society. It was in the eyes of the Inquisition an
encroachment upon its prerogatives, and in those of the
King a means of depriving him of the influence and
control which he beheved himself called upon to
exercise over the clergy in general. He therefore
embraced the cause of the Inquisition against the
Jesuits, and instructed Olivares to demand that the
regulations of Ignatius should be revised. He also
insisted upon a Provincial being appointed for Spain.
It would be the means of weakening the influence of
the General of the order, who resided in Rome, and

46 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
therefore of strengthening his own. Another com
plaint referred to the refusal of the Spanish Jesuits to
accept the bull of the ' cruzada.' They refused to
profit by the dispensations and favours which it con
ferred, but were ready to pay the money which was to
be given in return. After personally listening to the
objections of Padre Acquaviva, then General of the
order, Sixtus V. referred the matter for consideration
to the cardinals of the Holy Office, who gave their
decision in favour of the Jesuits, and offered to make
known their decision themselves to the Archbishop of
Toledo ; but the Pope preferred diplomatic communica
tions, and instructed his Nuncio in Madrid to dismiss
the petition of the Inquisition. Through the inter
vention of the Pope, who found that the Spanish
pretensions were as much an attempt against the rights
of the Holy See as against the privileges of the society,'
the storm was allayed.
At the Gesii men had begun to breathe freely', when
serious intelligence arrived from Spain. The Inquisi
tion had ordered the colleges of the order to remit
into its hands all the copies of their constitution. One
of the rectors. Padre de Villagarzoni, a celebrated
preacher, having refused, was arrested and thrown
into prison. Other fathers who were slow in obey
ing the order shared the same fate. Meantime the
King issued an ordinance forbidding any Jesuit to leave
the kingdom without his authority. This was indirectly
depriving the General of the company of the power of
disposing of the members of the society, and in this
case of calling to Rome some of the fathers who had

Chap. HI.] COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE ORDER. 47
been gained over by court influence and who openly
spoke in favour of the pretensions of the Inquisition.
At Rome Olivares became the spokesman of the
Inquisition. Backed by the peremptory orders of his
sovereign, he never ceased to importune Sixtus V.,
who, though he complained, still listened to the am
bassador. It was soon perceived that his inclinations,
which had never been very favourable to the Jesuits,
were positively against them. About a year before
his death he called for Cardinal Caraffa, and requested
him to examine the rules of their society, pointing out
to him at the same time what points needed revision.
These points were the too extensive powers of the
General and Superiors of the order, the appointment
by the General and Assisting Fathers, and not by the
Chapter as in other communities, to the various dignities
of the order, the numerous degrees in the order, the
name of the order, the too long duration of the
novitiate, the fraternal corrections and blind obedience,
&c. He also regretted that the Jesuits had no choir.
To all these accusations against the founder of his
order, the able and courageous Padre Acquaviva re
plied by arguments which carried the Sacred College
in his favour. He succeeded in converting to his
cause the most important member, Cardinal Caraffa
himself, but could do nothing with the Holy Father.
Through him colleges abroad had been informed
of the danger which threatened them. The echo of
their complaints' was soon heard from every part of
Europe. Everywhere, but nowhere so much as in
Germany, the event caused a deep sensation. The

48 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
Cathohc princes of the Empire, Duke Wilham of
Bavaria, King Sigismund of Poland, archbishops,
prelates, zealous noblemen, all remonstrated with the
Pontiff, and implored him not to destroy an order
which was so useful both in defending the faith
and attacking its enemies, and which was so in
dispensable at that time. The Emperor, whose
Council was entirely devoted to the company, was
asked by the German princes to join in their repre
sentations, but he declined any interference. All his
sympathies, he said, were for the Jesuits ; but, as the
question was for the Pope's decision, it must be left
with him. Cardinal Madruccio was, however, authorised
to support in Rome the steps taken on behalf of the
order. The protestation was therefore universal. It
came from the north, from those countries of which
Protestantism had half possessed itself, and was directed*
against the Superiors of the great monastic orders,
against the Catholic King, and in a certain measure
against the Pope himself — a curious state of things,
by which Sixtus V. and Phihp II., who were the chief
defenders of the faith, seemed, according to the testi
mony of the society's apologists to have gone astray,
being deceived as to the true nature of things, and
having lost sight of what was essential in order to look
to secondary matters — the one forgetting that he was
Pope, and remembering only that he had been a monk;
the other wanting to act as Pope. Thus the German
princes seemed, through their intervention, to com
promise the very cause Avhich they wished to serve,
and to which Padre Acquaviva alone remained faithful,

Chap. III.] THE RULES OF THE ORDER OF JESUS. 49
fighting courageously for the rules, that is for the very
existence of his order, which he could not, however,
have saved if fate had not served him.
Sixtus v., who was indignant that civilians should
interfere with purely ecclesiastical matters, merely
answered that he did not intend to do away with
the order, nor even modify its constitution, but wished
to correct its defects. These corrections certainly went
far. To deprive a society of its principal rules is to
destroy it. To deprive it of its name is to confirm its
demise. If from the rules of St. Ignatius Loyola, those
of blind obedience and the powers of the Superiors
were cut off, the society would be levelled to the posi
tion of other orders, which were found to be inadequate
to cope with the new evil. In other words, the precious
instrument would be broken which force of circum
stances and the necessities of the moment had created,
and which had rendered, and could still render, such
important services.
Meanwhile in Rome the current of public opinion
was daily becoming more favourable to the Jesuits.
Even Cardinal Caraffa tried to save them by prolong
ing the inquest. The Pope perceived it. ' You wish
to gain time,' he said, ' but you are mistaken. Our
decision is formed : we shall soon make it known.' He
withdrew his commission, and transferred it to the
Congregation of the Cardinals of the Holy Office, with
orders that the final decision should be drawn up by
four theolocfians.
While this was going on, an incident which was
much to be regretted by those in favour of the order
VOL. II. E

50 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
took place in Spain, and was notified by the Nuncio in
Madrid. The reader has seen how high party spirit
ran against the Pope in that capital. His quarrels with
the King, and his supposed sympathy with Henry of
Navarre, had produced a great effervescence of public
spirit, which Philip's ministers took care not to allay.
Everywhere, in the streets, at the ' Puerta del Sol,' at
the ' tertulias,' in the ante-rooms of the grandees, there
were loud cries against the Pope and the Government
of Venice, which was likewise supposed to favour
' the Bearnais.' Even from the pulpit there were
preachers who dared to attack the Pope most violently.
A young Jesuit — one of those ' enfants terribles ' who
are never wanting, whether in rehgious communities or
in families — Padre Juan Geronimo, ventured to use
these words while preaching : ' Cry, oh ! cry, all of
you, for a republic, princes, a Pope . . (then placing
his finger on his mouth) but hush ! hush 1 ... all
favour and help the heretical King of Navarre.'
The Pope was furious. He told the fact to Badoer,
the Venetian envoy, who, in his report to the Doge,
added ' that he tried as much as possible to excite the
Pope's anger against those preachers, upon whom, in
the times they were in, it was even more necessary to
keep a sharp look-out than on the forces of a declared
enemy. '^ The commotion which this incident pro
duced in the diplomatic circle of Madrid may be
conceived. The rector of the college threw himself at
the feet of the Venetian envoy ; the indiscreet preacher
* A. Badoer, July 28, 1500.

Chap. HI.] AGITATION IN MADRID. 51
made a written and verbal apology ; and Contarini, on
writing to the Doge, declared himself satisfied with the
repentance of the culprit, and especially with the con
duct of the rector and of the other fathers. But the
Pope was not so easily appeased. He ordered Padre
Acquaviva to send for Padre Juan, intending to punish
him as he deserved. He even went so far as to ask
whether the Jesuits had become the enemies of the
Gospel ! In a Consistory which he held a fortnight
before his death, on August 13, he thus spoke of the
incident : ' To mention it is to increase our sorrow.
Matters have come to such a pass that in Madrid a
father of the Society actually accused us of being a
promoter of heresy.' ^ He then passed in review the
day, the place, and occasion on which these words had
been uttered, and the person who had spoken them.
To preach such things at such a time was to give
scandal and to speak against facts, for since the death
of Henry IH., as before that event, he (the Pope) had
done his utmost to extirpate heresy from France. A
man who held that the Holy Father could favour
heresy could not be a Catholic ; for if the Pope, who is
the head of the Catholics, favoured heresy, then he
would cease to be Pope ; but by the express avowal of
all the Fathers of the Church and of the Councils, the
solution of the question whether the Pope is Pope
belongs to God alone, and he who maintains the con-
trary cannot be a Catholic. He quoted, in support of
his opinion, the words of the Council which declared
^ ' Decifrailo : lo que passo en el consistorio do los 1.3 de agosto de
1590.' E 2

52 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
to Pope Marcelkis : ' Tuo te ore condemnas,' and
' Suprema sedes a nemine judicatur.' The aid of the
Holy Ghost having been promised to the Popes, they
could not be promoters of heresy. And it was clear
from the words : ' Ego rogavi pro te, Petre, ut non
deficiat fides tua,' and ' Ego era vohiscuin usque ad
consumviationem sceculi.' After many other quotations
from the Scriptures, he at last came to an examination
of the character of the person who had accused him of
heresy. It was, he said, a father of the Society of
Jesus, which was under such obligations to the Holy
See, and to him particularly that he could justly say
that it was a viper which he had fostered. He was,
however, happy to say that there were a great many
good men in that order, and that some of the fathers
had taken a great part in the recent conversion of the
Margrave of Baden. Then he broke forth against
Philip. 'And where,' he exclaimed, ' did one dare
not only give out, but preach such a calumny.? In
Madrid — in the Catholic capital of so Christian a
prince — without its having even been considered neces
sary to punish the preacher, whose only penance had
been the secret one ordered by his rector of making
him eat in private, so as to secure him from the
punishments which otlier tribunals might inflict upon
him.' He compared the lukewarmness of the Spanish
Court in a matter which so nearly concerned the Head
of the Church with the zeal which it habitually dis
played in ecclesiastical matters when its own interests
were at stake, adding — for sarcasm was seldom left
out of his harangues — that the Court would have been

Chap. IIL] THE NAME OF THE ORDER OF JESUS. 5.3
otherwise moved if the Jesuit father had preached
against the ' cruzada.'
Then it was that he made his wishes known with
respect to the rules of the order. Cardinals Santa
Severina and Castagna (the latter was to be Pope K
within a month) went to see Padre Acquaviva. He
received them at the Roman College, and learnt from
them the final decision to which the theologians had
come, under the direct inspiration of the Pope. On
some points Sixtus V. had admitted the observations of
the Padre Generale ; but on others, and the chief ones
(such especially as the name), he would not give in.
He insisted that the order should cease to be styled
the Society of Jesus. The name, he urged, was pre
judicial to other rehgious institutions, and to the
faithfril in general. It was not proper, as the holy
name of Jesus might be dragged before a tribunal ;
nor convenient, because each time the name- of the
society was brought into conversation, the respectful
and pious would have to leave their occupation, make
the sign of the cross, and uncover. Padre Acquaviva
saw that aU further resistance was useless, and pro
mised that he would forbid the members of the society
henceforth to call themselves by their present name.
From regard, perhaps, for those princes who had
interceded in favour of the society, the Pope asked
that, in the decree abolishing the name, the General
should make no mention of his intervention, and that
the document should bear a date anterior to that of -
the decision. But this Padre Acquaviva steadfastly
refused to do. His conscience did not allow him, of

54 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part V.
his own accord, to violate the rules laid down by the
founder of his order : he submitted, as was his duty, to
the wishes of the Head of the Church, but such an act
of submission, which alone could justify his conduct,
must be inscribed in the Circular. These arguments
were unanswerable, and the two cardinals did not
insist. The General prepared his decree, and though
ordered to present it without delay, he asked that it
might be first submitted to the Pope, for the approval
of His Holiness. This was at the beginning of August.
On the 27th Sixtus V. died. The document was found
among his papers. It has never seen the light of day.
The Jesuits kept their name and their rules ; and
Gregory XIV., who ascended the Pontifical throne at
the end of the year, hastened to confirm the institutions
of St. Ignatius Loyola.

Chap. IV.] DEATH OF CARDINAL D'ESTE. 55

CHAPTER IV.
CILVXCiES IX THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS.
Since the election of Sixtus V., death had caused
many vacancies among the cardinals. Sirletto only
survived a few months his disappointed expectations,
but left behind him the reputation of a real saint, as
well as universal regret, besides a few debts, which his
unlimited charity had caused him to incur, and a fine
library, which Olivares wished to purchase, but which
the Pope bought for the Vatican.^
In Cardinal Cessi, who died a year after Sirletto, the
Pope lost one of the few friends he had in the Sacred
College ; Donna Camilla, a useful adviser and a friend,
ever disposed to recommend that her brother should
be liberal towards her ; and the Court of Tuscany one
of its most devoted adherents.^
Cardinal d'Este, who had been long ailing, was occu
pied in the service of his king, and was dictating a letter
to M. de Villeroy, when he felt the approach of death.^
Having received the sacrament during the night, he at
> Babbi to the Grand-Duke, October 7, 1685.
' Gritti to the Doge, October 4, 1586.
' Cardinal d'Eate to Villeroy, December 30, 1686. There is no signa
ture to the letter, but the Secretary added as a postscript, ' The accident
which occurred to the cardinal my master, whom God absolve, ended
fatally this day, December 31.'

56 SIXTUS THE FIFTn. [Paei V.
daybreak called for Pisany, to teU him, as he was
breathing his last, that in him the King lost a good
and faithful servant. ^ He was only forty-seven years?
of age. This premature death, though foreseen, not
only deprived Henry HI. of a tried friend, and of the
only support he had at Rome, but created a vacancy in
the Sacred College which it was difficult to fill.
Cardinal de Joyeuse took the place of Cardinal d'Este
as Protector of France. He had been made cardinal
by Gregory XIIL, and owed the honour to the favour
in which his brother, the Due de Joyeuse, was held '
by Henry III. On arriving in Rome, several months
after the death of his predecessor, he was only twenty-
five years of age. In Rome the choice made of him
was not liked, because he could not speak the lan
guage, and because the cardinal-protectors were always
chosen from among the Italian prelates. In the end he
was accepted. He was a clever man. His letters
prove it even if they were, as often alleged, written by
his abbe-secretary, afterwards the celebrated D'Orsat.
Joyeuse originated them. His vivacity, his boasting,
and his worldliness displeased the Pope, who never lost
an opportunity of treating him harshly, of making him
feel how little he cared for him and his master ; but
Sixtus seldom succeeded in intimidating him. When
Cardinal de Joyeuse received the news of the death of
the Duke, his brother, and of another brother, both
killed at the battle of Coutras, he retired to Ostia.
The Holy Father ordered him to return and to be pre-
1 Pit^any to Henry IIL, March 10, 1587.

Chap. IV.] THE CARDINAL DE JOYEUSE. 57
sent at the ceremonies in the chapel in his red garments,
though the other Cardinals were in violet, owing to its
being Advent. He told Pisany that mourning was out of
place, and that ' the Cardinal ought to be much pleased
and thank God that his brother had spent his life in the
defence of so just a cause ;' but the ambassador found
the message somewhat extravagant. The cardinal
begged to be excused, and did not appear in chapel.^
In the consistories this young man dared oppose the
old Pontiff, almost always preserved his presence of
mind and coolness, and, to the secret delight of the
cardinals, often replied wittily to the sarcasms and
syllogisms of the Pope. He was neither the soul nor
the head, but the spokesman of the Opposition. What
a great and celebrated theatre was that upon which
these individual combats took place ! The most deli
cate questions were there discussed : the League, the
murder of the Guises, the fate of France, the com
promised interests of that country, the fate of the
Cathohc rehgion there, and the succession to the French
throne. The Cardinal was of high stature, with black
hair and beard. One of his eyes was blear, which
gave him a savage aspect. It is said that later, after
the death of Sixtus V., when three Pontiffs had succeeded
each other in less than two years, fate would have it
that Joyeuse, who was constantly traveUing, should
arrive in Rome immediately before the death of the
Pope. This gave him the reputation of possessing the
evil eye, and eligible cardinals were much afraid of him.^
' Pisany to Henry III., December 1, 1587.
' Amayden. ' Summorum Pontificum et omnium Cardinalium elogia.'

58 SrSTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
The two nephews of Gregory, San Sisto and the
camerlingo Guastavillani, who were both still young,
died also shortly after their retirement from pubhc hfe,
in which, during their uncle's pontificate, or during the
Conclave, they had played a considerable part.
Cardinal Savello, who was so near becoming Pope, and
who, with Farnese, was the last survivor of the creatures
of Paul IIL, died, at the age of sixty-five years, on
December 5, 1587. He had long been the Pope's
vicar, and was buried with great pomp at the Gesii in
the chapel which he had built there, and which is now
the magnificent chapel of St. Ignatius.
Decio Azzolino also died, being only thirty-eight
years old, and a cardinal of two years' standing.
Sixtus V. was much grieved at his loss. His former
secretary, he wrote under the Pope's direct dictation all
the despatches to the Nuncio, and other diplomatic
correspondence. The fatal hour at last came for Farnese, ' the great
cardinal,' who was seventy years of age (March 1589).
Although in the reign of Sixtus V. Farnese had com
pletely retired into private life, and at the last from all
intercourse with the world, his death caused neverthe
less a painful sensation in Rome. The Venetian am
bassador, Badoer, wrote to the Doge that ' the most
illustrious Cardinal Farnese, after having last Tuesday
called his treasurer and given orders that 4,000 scudi
should be given to the Orphan Hospital, 2,000 to the
" converts," and 4,000 to various pious institutions, sat
down to breakfast as well and as lively as his state
would allow, when in the midst of breakfast he had an

Chap. IV.] DEATH OF CARDINAL FARNESE. 59
attack of apoplexy. Though consciousness returned,
and even gave hope of recovery for a while, a fresh
attack took place during the night of Wednesday to
Thursday, and since then his state has always gone
from bad to worse. He received the sacraments, settled
his affairs, and, full of confidence in the Divine mercy,
spent his last moments in uninterrupted acts of devotion
and piety. On Thursday, towards the twentieth hour, '
he gave up his soul to his Creator and Redeemer,
consoling all present by his edifying death. Thus
Rome has lost a cardinal who, from his experience, his
judgment, his hberality, his charity to the poor, and his
kindness to everyone, had no equal. It is also impos
sible to describe how universal is the public grief, and
how great is the loss for the town and for those impar
tial men who were able to appreciate the noble and
royal quahties of the deceased.' ^ His funeral took place
in presence of an immense concourse of people, and,
what had never been seen before, forty-two cardinals >
followed the hearse. His body lies buried at the Gesii,
before the high altar. The people attributed his death,
we hope wrongly for his own sake, to the grief which
he experienced at finding himself deprived, by a general
bull concerning governments, of those of Viterbo and
other places, which he had held during the two pre
ceding pontificates.
Another vacancy had taken place in the Sacred
College, not by the death of a cardinal, but by that of
a sovereign. On October 19, 1587, the Grand-Duke
1 Badoer to the Dof^e, March 3, 1589.

60 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei V,
of Tuscany died, after a short illness. He was at his
country house of Pozzo, with his wife Bianca Capello,
his brother, the cardinal, who had just arrived from
Rome, and the Cardinal of Florence. On October 8,
after dinner, he was seized with vomiting and shivering
fits. Not wishing, however, to alarm the Grand-Duchess,
he played piquet with Ferdinand, took then the fashion
able remedy, called the ' bezoard,' and spent the
remainder of the afternoon in the drawing-room with
his wife, the cardinals, and several noblemen. At the
hour of the ' Ave Maria,' he felt worse, and his brother's
doctor was called in. He went to bed, took manna in
broth, and was twee bled. The doctors believed it to
be an attack of ' tierce ' fever, occasioned by an indi
gestion after eating mushrooms. The doctors, who
were four in number, treated the illness according to
the ideas of the day, by administering emetics and
purgatives, and by bleeding him. The Nuncio, who
gave all these details to the Pope, began to fear a fatal
termination. The treatment of the patient, who was
notwithstanding allowed to continue eating ices, justified
such sinister forebodings. The Grand-Duke, however,
continued to work with his secretaries of state. On
October 18, he sent for his confessor from Florence,
received the sacraments, and died on the following day
at about the nineteenth hour. Bianca Capello, who
was ill a few days, died on October 20, and Cardinal
Ferdinand de' Medici ascended the throne of Tuscany.
At Florence the people maintained that he had been
poisoned, and that the Grand-Duchess had given him,
by mistake, the poison which was destined for the

Chap. IV.] DEATH OF THE DUIvE OF TUSCANY. 61
Cardinal. This story was not beheved by those who
mixed in the official circles, and who knew better the
nature of the relations between Bianca and her brother-
in-law. It is, however, remarkable that such an im
putation could be laid to her charge.
The Pope was at supper, talking familiarly with his
friends, when Monsignor Sangaletto entered the dining-
room and announced the Tuscan envoy. Sixtus guessed
what was the matter, and, being told of what had
occurred by his private cameriere, burst into tears.
Monsignor Alberti was at once admitted, and notified
the decease of his sovereign at the same time that he
announced the peacefid accession of the Cardinal.
The Holy Father's grief was sincere and well founded.
He lost in the Grand-Duke a tried friend, who had ex
tended a hand to him during the worst days in his life,
and had in a thousand ways made himself agreeable to
him during his pontificate. Francis was wont to com
municate to him the news from the various Courts : kept
him acquainted with the course of events in Germany,
in France, and in Spain — upon which Ohvares, to the
Pope's great displeasure, was always silent — showed
him endless attention, sent him the early fruits from his
garden, and never asked him for money.^ The ques
tion of capturing the brigand Malatesta had at one
time clouded their intimacy, but both parties had soon
renewed their good relations. The bad sovereign had
proved a good friend, and the Pope deeply felt his
loss. ' Sangaletto to the Grand-Duke, March 10, 1688. Pisany to Henry III.,
March 7, 1588.

62 SLXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V,
FoUowing on the steps of his father and of his brother,
the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, after taking possession of
his throne, with a sympathy on the part of his sub
jects which showed but little enthusiasm, sought his
principal support in the person of the Pope. He took
great care to ingratiate himself in a quarter so necessary
to the fulfilment of his views, and to the game which
he intended to play, by turning to his own advantage
the antagonism which existed between France and
Spain. Sixtus V. had occasional attacks of fever. His
supernatural activity, his frequent irritation of temper,
his almost perpetual quarrels with the Spanish ambas
sador, acted as a slow poison upon his powerful
constitution, and were altogether to extinguish, at no
distant period, the vital strength of the old man. This
issue pre-occupied Ferdinand. His good relations
with the Pope were a means of gaining for him the
confidence of Cardinal Montalto, who was already
very devoted to him, and through him, the leader
of the reigning Pontiff's creatures, of insuring at the
future Conclave the election of a Pope who would
prove favourable to his interests. This, at the time
of which we are speaking, was his dominant idea. In
pursuing it, he displayed the defects and good points
of his character. No one could be more amiable
when he washed, and he wished to be so and was so
with Sixtus v., except when his proud nature caused
him to forget the precepts of prudence.
The Pope did not hke him. He had at bottom
remained a Cordelier monk, and the aristocratic ways,
the worldly tastes, and inde]iendence of the cardinal-

Chap. IV.] M.\RRLVGE OF DUIvE FERDINAND. 63
prince had always displeased him, and he had made
de' Medici feel the effects of his displeasure. Whether
the Sovereign of Tuscany Avould remember the dis
appointments of the cardinal, was a question which the
Holy Father had asked himself on hearing of the death
of Francis. He, therefore, graceftiUy accepted his
advances, and promised to cultivate his friendship ; but
he, even more perhaps than Ferdinand, allowed himself
to be mastered by his defects of character. There
resulted a general good understanding between Rome
and Florence, occasionally broken by quarrels of rather
violent character, but never of long duration.
The idea of seeing a member of the Sacred College
give up the cardinal's hat and the ecclesiastical profes
sion was already painful to Sixtus. That of seeing a
prince of the Church marry deeply shocked him,
although Ferdinand was only a deacon, and had
received the minor orders only. Marriage was forced
by state • reasons, and the Pope unhesitatingly granted /
the necessary dispensation, though he did it with a
bad grace. To the great displeasure of the Courts of
Prague and Madrid, the Grand-Duke wis about to marry
Princess Christine of Lorraine. The Holy Father, on
the contrary, approved the alliance, and had even lent
his support in the negotiations which brought it about,
though the marriage of one who had been a cardinal
was not the less unpalatable to him. His indignation
exploded when he learnt that the Grand-Duke was still
wearing his purple garments while triumphal arches
aud porticoes were already being raised at Florence
for the solemn entrance of the princess. He called

64 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
the Tuscan envoy, and told hira that this was scandalous ;
that his master should send him back his cardinal's hat
at once ; that he could not allow Europe to laugh and
talk on the subject of the nuptials of a cardinal. He
forbade the cardinals to go who had been invited to
the ceremonies, and among them were Joyeuse and
Rusticucci. Ferdinand, who was deeply mortified,
wrote a sharp letter to his agent, directing him to read
it to the Pope. He ended the letter by saying that it
was time His Holiness should cease to look upon him
as a cardinal, and should begin to consider him Grand-
Duke of Tuscany. Sixtus V. rephed in his own hand
writing :^ ' Your ambassador has read me a very long
letter, full of vain illusions. So far as it concerns me
and my family, I must inform you that what you say is
purely chimerical. You possess extensive States and a
great people. You would therefore do well to give up
innovations, and to occupy yourself with what is much
more important. If I tell you these things roughly,
believe me it is the great affection I have for you which
makes me act thus. I have sent you word about
certain matters. Since then I have neither written nor
made you speak, because it was sufficient for me to let
you know my opinion. I hope, therefore, that you
will calm yourself I have nothing more to say, and
wish you all possible good.' The tone of this letter, as j
that of similar ones, justifies apparently the sus'cep-
tibihty of Ferdinand. Thus on the occasion of the
creation of some cardinals Sixtus wrote : ' I shall try
and satisfy you, but I do not like your versatihty. It
' July 25, 1588.

Chap. IV.] CRITICISMS OF SESSA. 65
does not appear to me to be well that you should
behave with so little respect towards the Holy See.'^
After the storm came fine weather. The impetuosity
of character which was common to both led them apart
for a time, but the similarity of their positions always
brought them together again. This intimacy, which no
quarrel could break, gave matter for much reflection on
the part of the Spanish diplomatists. ' There is nothing
exaggerated in the account we give the King,' wrote Sessa
to Ydiaquez (August 1, 1590), ' of the bad state in which
matters stand here, and of the Pope's bad behaviour.
On the contrary, we write in measured terms. He is
extremely intimate with the Venetians and with the
Grand-Duke, who loses no opportunity of gaining favour
and consohdating his credit in Rome, as regards not
only ecclesiastical but also temporal affairs. He aims at
standing well with the present Pope as well as with the
next, in order that the Pope who shall succeed may be
as favourable to him as the present, if not more so.'
Of the two, the one most interested in keeping up good
relations was the Grand-Duke, but the Pope considered
them desirable. He appreciated all the worth of
Ferdinand, who was far cleverer than his brother, and
took advantage of it when practicable.
He understood of course that the Grand-Duke was
a different man from what the cardinal had been ; that
defects in a Sacred CoUege might become virtues on a
throne, and that clearly a crown better suited Ferdi
nand's head than did a cardinal's hat.''
^ December 5, 1587.
' Gritti, 1588. Badoer, March 12, 1689. Lippomano, January 20,
1588. Pisany, November, 1687. Nicolini, November 25, 1588.
VOL. II. P

66 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei V.
By the death of Savello, the vicarship of the Church
had become vacant. It was an excellent opportunity
for getting rid of Rusticucci. That cardinal, it may be
remembered, had boasted on the election of Sixtus V.
that he would govern the State under the sceptre of
the ' good old man.' He had, on the contrary, been
obhged to submit to the humiliation of being left in
ignorance of the affairs of the department of which he
was the head. He exchanged it for the vicarship of
the Church, which the Pope hastened to offer to him,
left the Vatican and established himself in the palace
he had lately built on the Piazza St. Peter. The
foreign affairs were given to young Montalto. Azzolino,
before his death, had placed in his hands the charge of
the department over which he had presided, so that
this child was, in virtue of the two offices he held,
practically at the head of the temporal Government.
Yet the storm was gathering everywhere, and the sky
was getting darker and darker. Speaking with a
cardinal a year before his death, Sixtus V. said : ' I am
much concerned that all the princes of the earth are
against us.' He looked upon France as lost to the
Church, and dreaded the disappointments which his
other enemies were preparing for him, and complained
bitterly of Spain. He astonished his interlocutor by
the bitterness of his remarks against Philip II. , the
Spanish nation, and the little respect they showed the
Holy Father. Of the Emperor he said that he wanted
good advice, and that in the affairs of Poland he had
almost destroyed the good effects of the Legate's labori
ous endeavours. The Duke of Savoy had turned against

Chap. TV.] THE POPE AND HIS GRAND-NEPHEW. G7
him because he had refused to give him pecuniary
help for his expedition against Geneva. The Grand-
Duke of Tuscany (they were at that moment at feud)
no longer communicated to him the news from abroad.
Ferrara was ill-disposed, and Mantua not satisfied.
Even Venice was not behaving well in the matter of the
Slavonian barques, so that he foresaw the time when
he would be obliged to break off relations with Venice.
These dark prospects preoccupied him, as he con
fessed, but did not frighten him. It is perhaps an un
precedented fact that an old man of nearly seventy and
a young man barely sixteen years of age should have
held, at the same time, the reins of the State, should
have satisfied the wants of the moment, and been equal
to their task ; the one by his clear intellect, his strength
of win, his courage, and the other by a devotion which
was equal to the tenderness of which he was the object,
by a reserve and a discretion which nothing could
change, and by an attention to business surprisingly
great for so young a man. In his dealings with
the representatives of the great courts, the Pope
naturally could not make use of his grand-nephew.
He then had recourse to the intervention of various
cardinals, especially of Santa Severina, of Gesualdo, and
of Aragon. But these cases were rare, for to the last
days of his hfe he saw the ambassadors himself.
When the latter asked young Montalto to speak to his
uncle about their affairs, he mildly declined, saying
that he dared not do so, but assured them of his kind
disposition towards their sovereign. His silence was
only equal to his politeness, and at a later time to his
p 2

68 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
taste for the arts, his Christian virtues, and his piety
The young Secretary of State, whose old clothes had
shocked the Venetian ambassador when he saw him
for the first time in the humble abode of Donna
Camilla, was fond of dress, wore his purple gown
gracefully, did not disdain a good table, and was rather
effeminate. Some instructions, which were to guide the young
cardinal, and which were supposed to have been written
for that purpose, have been preserved. They define the
duties of the Pope, of the Sacred College, of the Cardinal-
nephew, and give certain details respecting the manner
in which men should be treated and affairs conducted.
The whole is mixed up with general maxims. Here are
some respecting sovereigns and their representatives;
' Princes are proud, ambitious of acquiring territory
and glory, and are jealous of the progress which others
are capable of making. They like to be feared, do not
stand reproach or freedom of expression, and never
allow that they are in the wrong, although it be evident
that they are. They raise many pretensions, which
are not always justified, and are often illusive. They
are afraid of a snare and of the fall of their power.
They are suspicious of one another ; watch each other
jealously, observe each other's movements, especially
when they are neighbours. Any concession of pri
vileges, titles, help, or favour bestowed upon one
causes the others to ask for similar favours. A refusal
offends them, and even a httle difficulty in the way or
a slight hesitation is sufficient to wound their suscepti
bility. They seldom give proof of attachment or of

Chap. IV.] POLITICAL MAXIMS OF THE POPE. 69
confidence. Few people exercise an influence over
them. They look to their interests, are often obliged
to feign and to dissemble, and are profuse in their pro
testations of devotion to the Holy See. They become
allied and " disally," according to what suits them best
individually. The ill-luck which attends others is not
always displeasing to them. On the contrary, they
profit by it to acquire for themselves and to increase
the loss of others. They do not run after doubtful or
distant success, nor even after that which it is difficult
and expensive to obtain, and they object to referring
to the arbitration of other princes. Interviews among
them are not productive of friendship, but sometimes
of spite and dissensions. They like excess in every
thing, and lend a willing ear to those who flatter them
by exaggerating their greatness. They like to exhibit
their power, and wish to appear liberal. They like
presents, especially rare things or those of a perfect
workmanship or useful for the preservation of life.
They beheve themselves free to do anything, when it
is a question of adding to their power. . . . Ambas
sadors are generally able, sagacious, and insinuating
men, who can talk well, are amiable in conversation,
prudent when it is necessary to adopt a sudden plan,
courageous in replying and in resisting, and inde
fatigable with their pen. They seek to know where
affection lies, where hatreds exist, where lie the
strength and purpose of the Prince and his Court.
They observe everything, and, with the aid of con
jectures and shght indications, they smell and rout out
important facts. They take great notice of those who

70 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei V.
give information, and seek to get at news by every
means. In other courts their sole occupation is to
increase the influence and consideration of their sove
reign ; but in Rome, which is a Republic common to
all, they also look to their private interests. They like
to be considered faithful to their masters and agreeable
to the prince at whose court they reside. If there are
several ambassadors, the same emulation exists among
them that exists among the princes, and in Rome they
always have an eye to the future.'
The young Cardinal is then recommended to avoid,
as so many dangers, frequent and intimate conversations
with many people, especially with pubhc and inquisitive
men ; ' for we thereby give them the opportunity of
observing and of penetrating a secret ; besides, such
familiarity is not in accordance with that dignity which
you should maintain in their presence. Even before
our servants too much kindness is often misplaced ; for,
if useful occasionally, it gives rise oftener to serious
inconveniences. To great people we must communicate
those motives which have made us act, but to the
others it is only necessary to communicate our decisions.
It is well to listen patiently to a long statement. It
gives one time to reflect over the answers to be
returned, and pleases the speaker, for everyone likes to
be listened to. It is most usefril to note afterwards the
essential points of the conversation. We have heard
it said that Queen Catharine of Poland did it. On
leaving an audience or the Prince's closet we must be
careful, even should we have cause to be displeased,
not to change countenance, and to preserve our cus-

Chap. IV. 1 THE COURT OF ROME. 71
tomary look. It is the means by which we prevent
the person to whom we talk or those who see us
coming out, from penetrating our thoughts.'
' He who does not cease to reflect does not begin to
act.' . . . ' It is in the interest of the Pope and in
yours, to keep an eye open upon his intimate and
favourite servants, to conciliate them, or to maintain
them in their fidelity.' . . . ' Choose well your time
when you want to transact business with the Pope,
Do not importune him. Begin by the easy and pleasant
things, then go on to the most serious ones requiring
an immediate solution.'
Here is a picture of Rome drawn by Sixtus V. ;
' The Court of Rome is the rendezvous and the common
fatherland of aU the Christian nations. Each has a
share in it, each person can go there, hope, and aspire
to aU the honours which are conferred there, even that
of the pontificate. The authority of princes is impor
tant for Rome, and so far as they are concerned private
sympathies and likings are divided there. In conse
quence of this participation of everyone in the affairs
of the State, the form of the government is that of a
republic, dependent, however, upon the supreme and
absolute regal authority of the Pope. In Rome a man
succeeds by great virtue, by nobility, by servitude, by
money, by favour, and by other means. Patience is
encouraged by hope, which is a solid support, since it
survives other disappointments. Much speculation goes
on as to the frequent mutations in office and change
able favours of those who are in power. That is the
only kind of perseverance to be met with in Rome,

73 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet V.
which is full of cleverness and talent, but which knows
more than it should. Rome is rich in livings, in great
employments, in activity, in splendour, and is dear
even to foreigners who are not yet tainted with heresy.
Rome detests war at home and against her. She hates
it less when others wage it. She likes the changes
to which the government and the powers of each
are liable, and does not like stability. Friendships are
easily made, but as easily undone. It is with the
Romans as with ships, that change their course accord
ing to the wind. True friends are rare. Rome is
insinuating, courteous, grand in her promises, ready to
help, but dexterous in avoiding an engagement, and
prompt in demolishing. Owing to the frequent
changes, each person must be taken into account, and,
as the Pope's friends and servants are numerous, the
customs and aspect of Rome change somewhat with
the character of the new pontiff; but at bottom Rome
is always Rome. She is anxious and curious to know
what goes on in the world, sagacious and often quick-
sighted as to the future, which is the constant object of
all her thoughts.' ^
' Istruzioni al cardinale Montalto. I found copies of these instruc
tions, bearing the date of the 17th century, in the state archives at
Florence, ' Carte Strozzane,' 368, and in the MS. collection of the late
Prince de Santa Croce, in Rome. They were printed in the Tesoro Poli
tico, Vicenza, 1602 — that is, only twelve years after the death of the
Pope. Is that document authentic ? I cannot assert it. What is un
doubted is that it bears the mark of the character of Sixtus V., and
recalls even phrases employed by him when speaking to ambassadors,
and which the latter quoted in their reports. If he is not the author of
these instructions, he very probably inspired them ; or perhaps one of hifl
followers may have collected under that form what he had heard fall
from the lips of hia master.

73

PART THE SIXTH.
CHAPTER I.
xjiuDAL KOME AND ROME OF THE RENAISSANCE.
The reorganisation of the government of souls, which
we described at the outset of the preceding book, could
only be appreciated by the generations which followed,
when experience had shown the value of the innova
tions introduced by Sixtus the Fifth. The political
action of that Pope, the great part which we shall
show him to have taken in the solution of the vital
questions which were then agitating France, were
wrapped in a secrecy which during his life only a few of
his contemporaries— members of the Sacred College, or
a few public men of eminence — were allowed to share.
What, in the eyes of the people, served to envelop
Sixtus, even during his pontificate, in a halo of glory,
which has not yet faded, were, besides his re-establish
ment of public security, the immense works which he
promoted. Is it necessary to say that a mere list of
these works could not give the reader a just idea of
their importance or of their value ? We must take a

74 SIKTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VI.
rapid glance at the development of art, and especially of
architecture, during the preceding period — that is, since
Rome had risen from her ashes — and at the aspect of
the town ; and to this digression we must add another.
Before speaking of France*, we must pass in review
the social life of those who occupy the principal part
in our narrative.
During the second half of the sixteenth century, the
great masters of the seventeenth, whose taste was not
to equal that of the creative geniuses of the earlier age,
had not yet imprinted on the capital of Christendom
that character of bold, exaggerated, and whimsical
magnificence which it has preserved ever since. Since
the reigns of Paul II., Sixtus IV., and Alexander VI.,
however, the modern ideas, which are essentially
methodical and love the straight line, had broken
in upon the chaos of gigantic remains of the old
world and mean-looking dwellings of a poverty-stricken
population.^ The state in which the Popes found Rome on their
return from Avignon is well known. Fields, vine-
' Paul II. set the example by rectifying the Corso from the arch of
Portugal, near the Palazzo Fiano, to his palace of San Marco (now the
Austrian Embassy). Sixtus IV. undertook the reconstruction of Rome
on a large scale, pulled down a number of obscure porticoes, enlarged and
paved many piazzas and streets (Opusculum de mirabilibus novae et
veteris urbis Romse, auctore Francisco Albertino Florentino : Eomse,
1615). Alexander VT. had the Via Alessandrina straightened (Borgo-
nuovo) ; Julius IL laid out the Via Giulia ; Leo X. the Leonina, now
called the Eipetta ; Pius IV. the Via Pia, which Sixtus V. finished ;
Paul III. the Via Paolina and that of Ara Coeli ; Cardinal Alesaandrino,
nephew of Pius V., the Via Alessandrina, which leads from the Forum of
Trajan to the Temple of Peace ; Gregory XIII. the Via Gregoriana,
which leads to the Pincio ; and Sixtus V. the five great roads across
the Monti, of which we will speak.

Ciup. I.] MEDLEVAL AND MODERN ROME. 75
yards, pasture lands had invaded the residence of the
Coesars. The hills which now form the ' Monti ' quarter,
the Aventine quarter, the richest of Rome in the time
of the Teutonic emperors, the thermas, the pilasters and
vaults of the Palatine, the Colosseum, which had all
been more or less turned by the feudal barons into
embattled fortresses, the Pantheon, and a few standing
columns, alone spoke of its past grandeur. The vene
rable basihcas and a few isolated convents alone told
of the decay of Christianity, which was so near
leaving a spot doomed, as it seemed, to perpetual ruin.
Cattle fed in the Forum, which has to this day preserved
the name of ' Campo Vaccino.' Three-quarters of the
space encircled by the walls of Aurelian and Belisarius
had become deserted. A little life had maintained
itself in the Campo Martio, in the plain which extends
between the Tiber, the Pincio, and the Capitol. There,
side by side with the remains of baronial residences
which had been destroyed according to the barbarous
custom of the conqueror, were seen huts and mean
cottages without any pretension to architecture. What
most struck a stranger were the square and often lofty
towers of the aristocracy, studded with loopholes for
firearms, dark witnesses of the social condition of such
perpetual warfare in that unfortunate city. There
were, especially, a great number of these buildings in
the Transtevero quarter, on the right bank of the Tiber.
The Papi,Romani, Normanni, Stefaneschi, all had houses
there, and each possessed one or more towers. That
of the Anguilara still exists. The towers of the Fran-
gipani rose in the island Tiberiana. Those of the Orsini

76 SLSTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei VI.
stood on the left bank of the river at the Monte Giordano
and the Campo Fiore, above the ruins of the theatre of
Pompey, now the Palazzo Pio; those of the Massimi on
the spot where Balthazar Peruzzi was to build their fine
Palazzo delle Colonne. The Bonfih, Amaneschi, Capi-
zucchi, Boccapaduli, and Buccamazza lived at the foot of
the Capitol, in the Ponte, Parione, Regola, and St. Angelo
quarters. Their abodes were so many fortresses. Since
the fourteenth century the SaveUi had taken the place of
the Pierleoni in the possession of the theatre of MarceUus,
now the Orsini Palace. From the Porta del Popolo to
the Quirinal — that is, in the splendid quarter of Trajan,
Hadrian, and the Antonines, which then was but a
ruined-covered desert — the Colonna reigned supreme.
Monte Citorio and the Mausoleum of Augustus con
stituted their advanced and detached forts, while the
western slope of the Quirinal formed the centre of
their power. The towers of the Melini and of the
Sanguig-ni are still seen on the spot of Domitian's
stadium ; those of the Sinibaldi and Crescenzi were
conspicuous in the Pantheon quarter. The largest
baronial residences, however, were to be found in
ancient Rome, on the side of the hills that look towards
the Forum. The Colosseum, the Septizone of the Pala
tine, the arches of Titus, of Constantine, and of Janus
' quadrifrons,' constituted a vast system of fortifications,
which in the thirteenth century were stiU in the pos
session of the Frangipani. The Aventine Hill belonged
to the SaveUi. Between the Esquiline and the Quirinal
rose the colossal tower of the Conti, which was mostly

Chap, L] DECAY OF ROME, 77
pulled down during the reign of Alexander VII. ; and
not far off that of the ' milizie ' of the Gaetani, who
were also masters of the Campo di Bove on the Via
Appia, better known under its classic appellation of
the Tomb of Cecilia Metella. The palaces, or rather
fortresses, belonging to all these families were com
posed of high but smaU houses, connected by embattled
walls and protected by towers. The partisans and
vassals hved in the neighbourhood. During the night,
in time of war, the streets were closed by means of
heavy iron chains. Of the seven hUls only one had
not faUen into the hands of the barons. The Capitol
belonged to the people. There, on the spot which it
still occupies, and upon antique substructions, rose the
solid palace, with battlements and a tower at each
comer caUed the ' palatium senatorum.'
The impulse given to art, which was so great in the
thirteenth century, had died away before the departure
of the Popes. The school of the Cosmati had dis
appeared. The teaching of Giotto was forgotten. From
every point barbarism had invaded Rome. When the
Popes returned, the popidation of Rome was reduced
to 17,000 inhabitants. Nothing proves so forcibly the
state of ruin and decomposition into which the Eternal
City had fallen in the beginning of the fifteenth century
than a careful examination of the houses inhabited by
the middle classes. Besides the towers, which had
been partly puUed down and converted into dwellings,
a great number of which were to be found in the
Transtevero, and of which some have been preserved

78 SrXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VI,
on the left bank, few houses claimed an earlier date
than the time of Martin V. or Eugenius IV.^
Traditions had been forgotten. The professions
necessary to the development of art no longer existed.
Foreign aid had to be caUed in. Tuscany, and after
wards Umbria, furnished the architects, the sculptors,
and even the workmen.
Eugenius IV. sent for Antonio di Filarete, the friend
of DonateUo, to make the brazen doors of St. Peter.
Paul n. had the palace and portico of the Church of
San Marco built by the Florentine Giuliano di Majano.
Under Sixtus IV. and the two succeeding pontificates,
Baccio Pintelh spread about Rome the boldness of
taste of his master Brunellesco, who was the first to
study on the spot the monuments of ancient Rome.^
This was the time of the first Renaissance, with its
charms and its defects, its timid and at the same time
capricious character, when the models of antiquity
were imitated especially in detail, but proportions,
however important, were disregarded ; when special
attention was given to accessories, and ornamentation
borrowed from the ancients was profusely spread over
the whole, these ornaments being adapted to the ideas
and requirements of the times. The fundamental prin-
' I do not take into account the Casa di PUato, Via de' Crescenzi — which
is of the eleventh century — and other small edifices, which formed evi
dently a part of the baronial halls. Buildings of a date prior to the fif
teenth century are very rare in Fiance and in Germany, but that can be
explained by the fact that buildings were mostly constructed of wood.
^ He designed St. Augustin, Santa Maria del Popolo, St. Peter ia
Montorio, the Sistine Chapel, the facade of St. Peter ad Vincula and of
the Holy Apostles ; also the Hospital, and probably the Steeple, of the
Church of the Holy Ghost : finally, the Governo Vecchio, the residence
of the Boroirts.

Chap. L] BR.VMANTE. 79
ciple of architectiu-e, which requires that the exterior
of the building should be in harmony with the use to
which the interior is to be put, was unknown. To
break the monotony, the front of a building was
framed and decorated, and, in fact, no means, whatever
they might be, were spared to please the eye. An
architect was also a painter, and most of the artists of
the day were both. It is towards the end of the
century — towards the year 1500 — that this style
attained its zenith. At that moment, as in the order of
things, it had outlived itself A change had become
necessary, or a decline was imminent.
Bramante was the man wanted. Leaving Umbria
at an early age, the uncle of Raphael had formed him
self in the north of Italy. There, where stones are
wanting, bricks were employed, and hence the importa
tion of a new and hitherto unknown style of buUdiug
into Rome, for the construction of which the ancient
monuments served as quarries. This want of cut
stone, and, stiU more, the contact of the German
spirit of the Longobardians with the Byzantine
taste at Ravenna gave birth to the Lombard style.
Bramante imported it into Rome, and brought with
him also that which the first Renaissance alto
gether lacked — his exquisite conception of propor
tions. He marks the period of transition between the
first and what by general consent is caUed the great
Renaissance — the golden period of modern architec
ture in Italy. He left in Rome memorable traces of
his stay. His works ^ were the dehght of his con-
' The Court of St. Damasio, the Belvidere, the galleries of the Vati-

80 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VI,_
temporaries. They first diffused the sense of just pro
portions, of correct perspective, and of the harmony
which should exist between the whole and the details.
They changed the taste, and were an epoch in the
history of profane architecture. Public security, which
was unknown in the preceding centuries, came to his
aid. The great barons began to see that the tower
and the battle blockhouse were not the perfection of
art or of delight. The ' mezzo ceto,' or middle- classes,
were no longer satisfied with only what was necessary.
They sought beauty, and learned to reahse its ideal in
buildings of modest proportions. What, as a house of
this kind, can be compared to the Bramante dwelling
of an apostolic writer situated in the Strada Papale,
opposite the Governo Vecchio ? ^
Bramante did not long survive Juhus H. It was
then the golden epoch of that golden age. Raphael,
Michael Angelo, Giulio Romano, Balthazar Peruzzi were
at the zenith of their glory. ^ The Villa Madama of
Giuho Romano became the type of a country house,
and the Massimo and Farnesina Palaces of Peruzzi the
models of the modern palaces.^ Raphael, much more
as a painter than an architect, drew the designs of the
Vidoni Palace. It was the great period when simple

can, his di-awings for the reconstruction of St. Peter, the small temple
near San Pietro in Montono, and the Giraud Palace.
' It bears the inscription : ' Petrus Fuscino, novariensis a Uteris apos-
tolicis scribendis, dictandisque, anno ssecularis 1500 fecit.'
" Besides the Villa Madama, the Villa Sante and the palaces of Cic/-
ciaporti and Cenci are the work of Giulio Romano : the Farnesina aud
the palaces of Massimo dei Collonne, of Peruzzi.
' The Vidoni and Pandolfi Palaces, and the Chigi Chapel at Sta. Maria
del Popolo, are attributed to him.

Chap. L] INFLUENCE OP MICHAEL ANGELO. 81
grandeur was admned— when petty finery was despised
— when a given idea was nobly rendered. The models
of antiquity were followed, but transformed. As a
clever judge in such matters has described it, modern
ideas were expressed in the sonorous but dead and
foreign language of the Romans. It was especially in
the ornamentation of the interior that the man could
freely give way to his inspirations, and free himself
without scruple ft-om the severe rules which had been
laid down for the general composition of a drawing.
Unhappily, this was sowing the seeds of decline.
Pubhc taste soon betrayed its preference for the
eccentricities of a fantastical, exuberant, and, as
it was believed, inexhaustible imagination. Michael
Angelo was the first at Florence, in the chapel of the
Medici, to indulge in these freaks of fancy There are
niches, windows, and ornaments there which delight
the eye, but for the insertion of which no reason can
be assigned.^ Later only, under the pontificate of
Paul IV., the painter of the 'Last Judgment,' the
sculptor of ' Moses,' appeared in Rome as an architect,
biult the Farnese Palace of Antonio di San Gallo, and
astonished the world by reconstructing St. Peter. His
style was soon adopted. Simplicity gave way to rich
ness of details ; logic to caprice. Unlimited freedom
succeeded that voluntary restraint which the masters of
the great epoch had imposed upon themselves. There
occurred, however, some moments of respite. As
in all things human, there was action and reaction.
Rather on the whole than in detail did Vignola at
' Burckhardt, ' Cicerone in Italieu ' (Basel, 1855).
VOL. II. G

82 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VI,
Rome, PaUadio at Vicenza, and, to a certain degree,
Scamozzi at Venice, bring back architecture to the
sobriety of the beginning of the century. But in Rome
the death of Michael Angelo (1563) had set aU the
architects at bay. For thirty years he had reigned
supreme. The Popes had had confidence in no one
else, and obliged the artists whom they employed to
follow in his wake. Pietro Ligorio was dismissed
because he had shown a tendency to depart from the
plans laid down by Michael Angelo. By ofiicially
protecting the deceased master's remains, they hoped
to transfer his genius to those who survived him. The
error was a great and a fatal one.
ISTever were buildings carried on to such an extent in
Rome as during the closing portion of the sixteenth
century. If we examine carefuUy the buUdings and
monuments of that epoch, we soon discover the silent
struggle going on between the blind foUowers of
Buonarroti and the men of progress, who were de
sirous, yet from lack of invention were incapable, of
freeing themselves from the old routine.-' The one
tired the public by an exaggerated reproduction of the
affected subjects so often repeated of Michael Angelo,
while the others did the same by uselessly endeavouring
to obtain simplicity through monotony. It was merely
turning in a circle.
' Giacomo della Porta, especially in his yoiith, Martino Longhi tbe
eldest, Giovanni del Duca, all followed Michael Angelo. Domenico
Fontana, who was the architect of Sixtus V., sometimes strove to
emancipate himself from the style. Carlo Maderno and Ottaviano
Mascherini himg between tbe two styles, simplicity and exaggeration,
while the public were divided into Conservatives and Progressists.

Chap. I.] LATER ARCHITECTURAL STYLES. 83
We ought to stop here, for we have arrived at the
period of Sixtus V. But perhaps we may be allowed
to add a few words respecting the subsequent develop
ment of the Roman architecture. The past is often
better judged when compared with subsequent times.
To get out of the difficulty into which men had
drifted, a new style was necessary, and boldness was
needed to obtain such a style. If with boldness it was
possible to join talent, then nothing remained but to
dare in order to please a sickened public, who, by con
templating and admiring too much an eccentric and
arbitrary style, had lost the faculty of appreciating real
beauty and logical design. Had Bramante reappeared
then, he would have been hooted.-'
It was the propitious hour when the baroque style
was to triumph. Prepared by Michael Angelo, stopped
in a measure by his pupU Vignola, praised by the
imitators of the first, slightly and feebly resisted by the
school of the latter, finally adopted, it was carried to
the last extremes of mental aberration by the great
masters of the seventeenth century — by Bernini, by
Borromini, by Pietro di Cortone, by the Rossi, and the
Rainaldi. An abuse of ' crossettes ' and of antique
devices, which they turned into objects of decoration,
together with other ornaments of a more comphcated
character, and especiaUy exaggerated cornices, to pro
duce a greater shade, excited universal admiration.
Stones no longer conveyed an impression of solidity,
^ ' The Giraud Palace,' says a French traveller^ who visited Rome under
the pontificate of Paul V., 'is not esteemed so much for its structure aa
for the infinite number of rare and singular treasures which it contains,'
o 2

84 SrSTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei VI,
Men passed under huge projecting architraves, which
seemed as though ready to fall beneath the weight of
the groups of statues marvellously suspended upon them,
and which .appeared as if shaken by a storm. All
the parts of the building — frontal, frame, frieze —
are moved, agitated, dance and prance. These
madmen ran after what is impossible, solved the most
senseless problems, owing to their great talent and the
riches of a perverted imagination, and owing to that
genius which cannot be denied them ; for often, with
the same stroke, they produced a horror and a master
piece. They are not, however, altogether without
lucid intervals. Confident in the authority they had
acquired, they dared go against the public taste, to
deny their own idols, and return for a time to a true
admiration of the beautiful. The Colonnade of St.
Peter, by Bernini, is a proof of this. Ancient Rome
never produced anything superior to it.
After changing the aspect of the Eternal City, and
reigning supreme for nearly a century, they suddenly
found the sceptre vanish from their sacrUegious hands.
The pubhc got tired and disgusted, and no longer
looked on them with favour. The public is versatile
by nature and it only belongs to classical perfection to
vanquish its inconstancy. The turn of the ' acade
micians ' had now come. They tried to steep their
energies in the waters of classical genius, by studying
the antiques and the drawings of Vignola, who had at
first properly gauged them. With the exception, how
ever, of Fuga and Vanvitelli, who possess some merit,
Italy in the eighteenth century seems to have been

Chap. I.] DECAY OF ARCHITECTURE. 85
struck barren. One would say that her long debauch
had exhausted the sources of life, and extinguished the
creative powers. France, in future, was to take the
lead. Her architecture presents the spectacle of the
same changes,^ and produced the same results. Those
two styles, the baroque and the classic, those brothers
who are enemies, had fought incessantly, and had alter
nately been successful, but by constant struggle had
exhausted themselves. After having put a stop, in the
countries where it was born, to the Gothic style of
architecture, they dealt each other a death-blow, and
left behind them that dearth of style which is the
characteristic of our century. 1 1362-1370.

86 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VI.

CHAPTER n.
ROME IN THE DAYS OF GEBGORT XIII. AND SIXTUS V.
With the exception of the Lateran, which was rebuilt
by Urban V.,^ and of St. Peter, which was then being
buUt, aU the basUicas of Rome bore stUl, at the acces
sion of Sixtus V ., the mark of the early ages of Chris
tianity. The Cosmati had, it is true, introduced the
taste of the Middle Ages in the pulpits and confes
sionals, but had not touched the construction of
churches. Few churches, hke that of Ara Coeh, had
been much changed. Sta. Maria deUa Minerva alone
represented the Gothic style which the Pisani had
introduced. There were a few churches of the Renais
sance, a few others, which were buUt towards the
middle of the century, under the influence of the taste
introduced by Michael Angelo,^ and, lastly, the newest,
which was destined to become a model, the work of
Vignola — the Church of Gesh Farnesiano.^
The palaces, which were much less numerous then
than they are now, almost all belonged to the period
' 1362-1370,
^ St. Catherine of the Funari (1664) is the most graceful specimen of
that epoch in our opinion, St. Louis of the French, St. John of the
Florentines, St. Maria in VaUicella were not finished.
^ So that Church is called in the documents of that epoch— such, for
instance, as the ' Pompei Ugonis Romani oratio in funera Jacobi Savelli
cardinalis habita in templo Jesu Farnesiano. (Romse, 1588).'

Chap. H,] THE PORTA DEL POPOLO. 87
of the Renaissance ; those of San Marco and Capranica
to an earher date, and to the style which had been
introduced by Florence. Then came the masterpieces
of which we have spoken.
In more humble proportions, and with a timidity
which much resembles awkwardness — without, how
ever, lacking charm, and at times, though seldom,
with the pretensions of a parvenu — the houses of the
middle classes followed the changes which the baronial
residences underwent.
But let us penetrate into the Rome of Gregory XIII,
and of Sixtus V.
We stand before the Porta del Popolo, TraveUers
give their names to the bargello, dispute with the
Customs officers, who examine their luggage, and, as
a measure of precaution, confiscate the books which
they find, only to restore them afterwards should the
Holy Office permit it. A crowd of idlers surround the
traveUer, criticise him, and laugh at his nasal accent, if
he be a Frenchman, — Frenchmen, as one of them re
marks, being badly protected in Rome because the Very
Christian King is not as lavish of pensions as the Catholic
King. J£ they are people of rank they alight at the
' Bear,' an hotel much in vogue for some time, and
probably since Sixtus IV., whose epoch can be traced
in the octagonal pillars of the old house.^
' That old establishment stiU exists, but only receives merchants and
cart-drivers. During its existence of upwards of 400 years it has seen
better days. Its small rooms could tell a deal of the secret history of
Rome, Everybody, from a cardinal to a young fortune-seeker, alighted
there, Cai'dinal Andrew of Austria hoped to live quietly there, but was
recognised while looking out of the window, and made to go and live at
the Vatican. There it was that he died in the arms of Clement Vlll.,
after a short illness.

88 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VL
The Piazza del Popolo is irregular, and not yet
adorned with the obehsk which Sixtus V. is shortly to
erect there. In the centre a number of women are
washing linen in a large basin. Muleteers with their-
beasts of burden, foreigners on horseback and on foot,
are ever passing to and fro. The latter are trying to
get to the best inhabited and more animated quarters
of the town.
We come into the Corso, which was the Via Lata of
the ancients, and is already the chief, though not the
most animated, street in Rome, Commerce has not
yet invaded it : few great personages have taken up
their abode there, but the fashionable world already
make it the object of their walk at the appointed hours.
On leaving the Piazza del Popolo, we pass, between
some vineyards and kitchen gardens, before some
isolated houses of mean appearance. The only
building that attracts attention is just finished : it is
the magnificent Ruspoli Palace which the Florentine
banker Ruccellai has caused his countryman Barto-
lommeo Ammanati to build for him.
We have arrived at the entrance of the Via Condotti,
which leads to the Piazza della Trinita (di Spagna)
through an unhealthy and ill-famed quarter.-^ By a
straight and somewhat steep ascent, but shaded by
beautiful trees, we reach the aerial heights of the
Pincio, the Church of the Trinitk dei Monti, and the
Villa Medici, the summer residence of Cardinal Ferdi-

' The triangle formed by the Corso, the Via Condotti, and the Bab-
buino constituted the quarter of the prostitutes, and also the unhealthiest
portion of the town.

CHAr, II,] THE SEVEN HILLS. 89
nand (now the French Academy.) Cardinal Alexander
de' Medici, who is to become Leo XI. for a month, is
about to plant before that solemn building that group
of trees, and to erect that fountain, which constitute
now one of the most poetically picturesque spots in
Rome. The Pincio had not yet become a promenade,
and the coUis hortulorum of the Romans was still
occupied by the villa's garden, by vineyards and arable
land. The fashionable world was contented with the
avenue of the Porta del Popolo, and had not yet trans
ported themselves to those delicious regions where they
might breathe the pure air of the evening, and enjoy a
view which cannot be matched. The painters of the
coming genei'ation were the men who, braving the
bad chmate and bad neighbourhood, were to settle in
the adjoining quarter, and to bring out the beauties of
the situation. Caracci, Domenichino, Guido, and, after
them, Salvator Rosa,^ were to be the first to walk
there with their many friends, exchanging angry looks
with their rivals, and pointed out by the first cice
roni to the first tourists. Now, under Sixtus, solitude
reigns there, but the splendid view which we obtain
compensates for it. Rome extends at our feet.^ On
our left appear the principal culminating points : the
seven hiUs, the towers of the Capitol, the remains of
the Palace of the Caesars upon the Palatine and in the
Farnese gardens, the steeple of Santa Maria Maggiore,
minus the two chapels of Sixtus V. and Borghese, upon
the Esquiline ; the Quirinal, which does not as yet
' Passari, ' Pittori.'
^ The view one has from the loggie of the Villa Medici.

90 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Pabi VI,
show forth the imposing mass of the Pontifical Palace.
The RospigUosi Palace is not yet in existence; the
villa of Cardinal Sforza has not yet become the Bar
berini Palace. When we turn our eyes to the lower
town, to the inhabited Rome, we are surprised to find
that there are so few cupolas, in fact not more than
two or three.^
On the other hand a complete forest of towers rises
on every side. Some are of a prodigious height. On
the left bank many of those feudal remnants have dis
appeared, and are replaced by the loggie in the new
palaces ; but the Transtevero, which is equaUy turbu
lent and conservative, is still fiiU of these remnants, and
presents the appearance of a reversed comb. What
strikes us if we look down upon the capital of the
Christian world, and lend our ears to the confused
sounds which sweU the air and reach us, is the smaU
number of churches, and the rare sounds of a bell
toUing. The Catholic reaction which for fifty years
has been moving the souls has not yet begun to move
the stones. The next century is to give to Rome the
stamp of a triumphant Church. If there are few
churches and few sounds of beUs in the midst of the
noise that comes forth from the animated quarters,
there are also few pictures inside the churches.
Strangers are shocked because they forget that in Italy,
during the whole of the Middle Ages, churches con
tained but one single altar, which was situated between
the apse and the great nave ; that mass was celebrated
' St, Augustin, Sta. Maria del Popolo, Sta, Maiia di Loretta, the Fomari
and Gesu.

Chap. H.] THE CORSO. 91
only on that altar ; that mosaics and, later, frescoes
were only the foUowers of architecture, and that it is
only in the second half of the sixteenth century that
altars and oU paintings were introduced into the
chapels. When we retrace our steps we come to the Corso,
near the arch of Marcus Aurelius, which divides that
street into two distinct parts, and which Alexander VII.
was to sacrifice to the requirements of traffic, and
to the indefeasible rights of the straight line. That
fine ruin and the adjacent fortress (Fiano Palace) are
called the Arch and Palace of Portugal, because the
latter has been the residence of several cardinals and
envoys of that nation. It is only when we have
passed under the triumphal monument of the great
Emperor that we really find ourselves in Rome. High
houses with unglazed windows, no balconies, and all
covered with frescoes, prevent the sun, except in the
middle of the day, from penetrating into that long and
narrow artery. At the end we see, beneath the Pala-
zetto of San Marco, the embattled convent of Ara Coeli,
and the towers of the Capitol. After passing under
the windows of Count Olivares, before the Urbino
Palace, on the ground of which the three palaces of
Panfili (Doria) are to be built, we issue on to the
Piazza San Marco of Venice. Here the palace of that
name presents its enormous embattled facades, with
guelf windows, and a colossal tower. It strikes and
stops the passing foreigner by its majestic and sombre
appearance. BuUt with the remains of another monu
ment of sorrowful memory, which has seen the blood

92 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paki VI,
of martyrs spilt upon its stone, and long the residence
of the Pope, it has played a part in the history of the
city and of the world ' urbis et orbis.' In its large
court the Romans perceive for the first time, not with
out experiencing some sinister forebodings, a park of
artillery brought there by Charles VIII. In that same
court was born the Roman Renaissance. Its arcades
are the first awkward imitations of the architecture of
the Colosseum. ' More of a castle than a palace,' ex
claimed Giovanni Corraro, ' it is the noblest edifice in
Rome.' Pius IV., twenty-three years before, had made
a present of it to the Republic, and it was some day
to pass into the hands of Austria.
We find ourselves between the approach to the
Capitol, the favourite quarters of Paul HI., the last
Pope who inhabited the Palace of San Marco, and the
western slope of the Quirinal, which no longer belongs
to, but still breathes of, the Colonna. These powerful
lords still reside, and wUl for centuries reside, in their
palace, which is many hundred years old, and the
courtyard of which used to be their fortress. Hard by
rises the Church and Convent of the Apostles, where
Fr^ Felice saw many more bad than fortunate days,
and where, on becoming Superior, he rejoiced in
making his monks lead a hard life — where for two
generations his two cells are to become an object of
curiosity, and which some day are to be inhabited by
another celebrated conventual brother, Ganganelh,
afterwards Clement XIV. Among the traditions of
the convent one anecdote is likely to be preserved.
When the monks of the Apostles, on the occasion of

CnAr. H.] THE CAPITOL, 93
his exaltation, came to pay their respects to Sixtus V,
and profit by the circumstance to ask many favours
and graces of him, their former colleague in orders
received them very ill. At the end of the audience
the cook of the order approached the Pope, and said :
' Holy Father, you may remember the bad repasts you
had when with us.' His Holiness agreed. ' It is the
fault of want of water : give us water.' The Pope
found this the only reasonable request which had been
made to him, and had a beautiful fountain erected in
one of the yards of the convent.
We proceed towards the Capitol, and pass before
the Gesii, the church of Farnese, which with the small
adjoining house of the fathers of the society, where
St, Ignatius died, and where St. Francis Borgia has just
expired, gave its name to the Piazza of the Altieri, the
houses of which stUl bore the print of the Middle Ages,
before their Pope built there one of the most sump
tuous palaces of Rome.
Opposite to this Paul IH., on the occasion of a visit
of Charles V., opened a street in communication with
the Capitol. Many of the houses and sombre-looking
palaces on either side of the street and piazza of Ara
Coeh belong to his pontificate. The high and narrow
doorways surrounded by large stones, and better
adapted to the entrance of a horseman than a carriage,
the few and large windows, the whole architecture in
fact, give to that quarter a solemn and severe aspect ;
but a sign of the golden period which had but so lately
departed can be traced in the purity of design, in the
fine proportions of the houses.

94 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Part VI.
We ascend the ' cordonata ' of Michael Angelo, and
find ourselves on the piazza of the Capitol, which is
covered with scaffolding, and is being transformed on
a large scale.
We shall not go down to the Forum, which is stiU
given up to cattle and to the seekers after old statues.
We shall not penetrate, as we pass through the Arch of
Titus, into almost deserted parts which seem to be
doomed for ever to solitude, to silence, and to prayer.
We hasten to the centre of the town, the focus of aU
the worldly activity that moves the Rome of modern
times — temporal Rome — the great triangle formed by
the Corso, the Tiber, and the Capitol.
Long, but narrow and vrinding streets, cross it in
the direction of Fort St. Angelo. The Via Giulia, and
that of Montserrato, which is the Faubourg St. Ger
main of other times, are the richest in palaces and
also the less animated thoroughfares. It is in the
' bianchi ' in the Strada Papale, and on the other side
of the Piazza ISTavone, in the rich quarters of the
Spaniards, in the Coronari and Tordinone streets, that
the Rome of Sixtus V. exhibits aU its activity, its riches,
and its exuberant vitality. From morning to night,
until the Ave Maria, the crowd throngs its badly
paved thoroughfares, where freshness and shade are
never wanting. The nearer we come to the bridge the
more numerous become the modern palaces — that is to
say, those which have been built within the last thirty
years.^ These are the dwelhngs of the upstarts, of
' Paolo Paruta, Venetian ambassador in Rome a year and a half after
the death of Sixtus V., says that nowhere has luxury made such progress

Chap. H.] THE PANTHEON AND THE MINERVA. 95
prelates who have risen by merit, or by chance, or by
purchase, but who are not rich enough to imitate the
cardinals who seek and find upon the hills that air and
space which they require for their large palaces and
the gardens which surround them. The great bankers
also, who give their name to the quarter, have there
their banking-houses as well as their almost princely
residences. The crowds in the streets astonish the
foreigners. They find that in Paris the ' Marais ' is
scarcely as animated, and that only Venice can surpass it.
Round the Pantheon and the Minerva nothing but
foreign languages are heard spoken, and especially
French. The house-letting agents find their best market
there. The apartments are luxurious, hung with Cor
dova leather, and furnished with sculptured and gilt
articles. Notwithstanding the dearness of rent, it is
not easy to find an apartment ; for the foreigners are
not mere tourists. The hope of making a fortune has
brought them to Rome, and hope has always an open
hand. It depends upon the future — upon the unknown
— which has so many charms, and does not look too
much to expense. What is wanting in these establish
ments is cleanhness, and linen ; but luxury and all that
glitters exist in profusion.
Carriages can hardly move. Their number is great.
Whoever has any regard for himself can scarcely do
¦without one. Even Charles Borromeo had said that
two things were necessary in Rome : ' Love God and
have a carriage.' The form of the carriage reminds
as in Rome, nor do fortunes appear anywhere to be larger or more libe
rally spent,

90 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pari VI.
one of the Spanish ' tar tana.' It is a mere cylinder
opened at both ends, with a door on each side, and
hung over a basket on four large wheels. The fashion
able have an opening in the roof in order to look at
the pretty women who love to show themselves at the
windows. ' They make an astrolabe of it,' exclaimed
an eloquent and popular preacher, who, according to
Montaigne, discoursed with a deal of self-sufficiency, as
well as excellency of language. Towards the piazza
and the bridge of St. Angelo the crowd is dense during
most of the day. One would say it was jubilee time,
when, under Boniface VIII., the police took measures
of precaution to ensure circulation.^ How great is the
sensation whenever Sixtus passes through the crowded
streets to ' make a chapel,' carried on a litter, which is
open on all sides, preceded and followed by officers (his
Swiss guard), cardinals and bishops on mules.^
Strangers are surprised to find so few ladies of rank ;
for they seldom go out, and never except in a carriage.
The coaches are filled with ecclesiastics, -with prelates,
' Come i Roman, per 1' esercito molto,
L' anno del Giubbileo, su per lo ponte
Hanno a passar la gente modo tolto ;
Che dair un lato tutti hanno la fronte
Verso '1 oastello, e vanno a Santo Pietro,
Dall' altra sponda vanno verso '1 monte [Giordano].
Dante, Inferno, c, iviii.
^ 'He is carried,' says a French traveller, ' on a litter open on all
sides, and lined both inside and outside with red velvet and gold and
silver fringes. His arms are behind. He is seated as if in a cart, with
his usual vestments. Eight men dressed in scarlet silk carry the litter
on their shoulders. Then, after the suite of cardinals and prelates, there
follows another litter, which is empty, and is carried by two mules. The
whole procession is closed by a squadron of lancers,' — Paris,

Chap. H.] SOCIETY IN ROME, 97
monks, and Jesuits. The lords also prefer a carriage to
a horse. It is only in the Corso, at the hour of walking,
and to show themselves to the ladies, that they ride,
either to form an escort to the Pope or to some ambas
sador, or to celebrate the feast of the saint of their
quarter, or of the church the magnificent chapels of
which contain the ashes of their forefathers, until their
own are deposited beneath them. ' They are,' says Mon
taigne, ' very simply dressed in black, and in Florence
serge, on aU occasions. Being a little darker in com
plexion than we are, they have not, I know not why, the
manners of dukes, counts, and marquesses which they
imitate, but a somewhat vulgar appearance. They are,
however, courteous and most gracious.' Like Italians in
general, they are exceUent riders, and only second to the
Spanish, who, owing to the bull-fights which have not
yet been given up to the mercenary toreros of the people,
have learnt the art of breaking and training a horse.
The riding schools of Italy have a great reputation.
They yearly attract from France and Germany a great
number of gentlemen, and in this respect are more suc
cessful than the universities, and compete with the
holy places of Italy. The most celebrated schools are
close to the Lateran and to the Colosseum. Here
strangers make acquaintance with the young nobility of
Rome ; for a ' drawing-room ' is not yet known. Home
life, or coteries, replace that habitual and continuous
communion which is to constitute what some day wUl
be called society. On great occasions only are there
assembhes on a large scale. Here and at the Corso,
during Carnival, or at theatrical entertainments, women
VOL. II. H

98 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pari VI.
of rank may be spoken to. These are less beautiful
than the women of the lower classes, but are very
agreeable, and always attired with pearls and precious
stones whenever they appear in public. Montaigne
finds ' that there are fewer ugly women in Rome than in
France.' Their head is infinitely better set on their
shoulders. The body in France is better made ; but
the Roman countenance has more majesty, softness, and
gentleness.' They are never seen -with men in pubhc ;
even husband and vdfe seldom go out in the same
coach. It was a demonstrative age. Men, when they met
in the streets, made a deep bow to one another. Friends
embraced each other vdth effusion. Women who
passed in carriages were saluted. People of whom
favours were asked saw the supplicants at their feet.
Whenever it was a question of showing sympathy
either to congratulate anyone or to condole with him,
tears were ever ready.
Repasts were copious and of inordinate length. In
the room where dinner was served (for dining-rooms
had not yet been invented) was exposed upon sculp
tured sideboards aU the silver plate, which was generally
very fine, and preserving the style of the cinque cento.
The chief guests took their place either opposite or by
the side of the master of the house. The ladies seldom
appeared at dinner ; vane was poured into goblets,
and each guest mixed it with water presented to them
in silver tankards by servants in rich liveries. The
guests who sat near the master of the house were alone
served by the house-cupbearers ; those at the ends of

Chap. H.] ROMAN COOKERY. 99
the table helped themselves by putting their hands into
the dishes. The most distinguished guests rinsed their
mouth before and after dinner. Social distinctions were
everywhere rigidly maintained. The fuU-bodied wines of
Greece, and especiaUy the Malvoisie, as well as the Nea-
pohtan vintages, like the Lacrima and theMangiaguerra,^
were most appreciated. If the cuhnary art was not much
developed, the school left much room for improvement,
and presupposed a supernatural digestion. The great
Vatel of the sixteenth century, Bartolommeo Scappi,
the "secret cook,' as he was officiaUy styled, of that
Holy Pope Pius V., who never spent more than six juli
for his own repasts, but who hked to entertain his
friends in a manner worthy of the Vatican, no longer
existed, but his memory had not ceased to inspire the
artists of the foUovidng generations. Thanks to his
book,^ posterity is competent to judge of his theories,
which have been happUy given up in practice.
' A prudent cook,' says he, ' and one who is equal to
his task, who wishes to begin weU, to continue and
to finish weU also, must imitate the architect, who, after
' Bernardo Navagero, 1558. 'E possente e gagliai'do, nero e tanto
spesso che si potria quasi tagliare.'
* The book is very rare, and its exact title is this : Opera di M. Rar-
tholomeo Scappi, cuoco secreto di papa Ho Quinto, divisa in sei libri. — ' Nel
primo si contiene il ragionamento che fa I'autore con Gio suo discepolo,
Nel secondo si tratta di diverse vivande di came, si di quadrupedi come
di Volatili, Nel terzo si parla della statura e stagione de' pesci, Nel
quarto si mostrano le Uste del presentar le vivande in tavola, cosi di grasso
come di magro, Nel quinto si contiene I'ordine di far diverse sorti di
paste, et altri lavori. Nel sesto et ultimo libro si ragiona de' convales-
centi, et molte altre sorti di vivande per gli infermi. Con il discorso
funerale che fu fatto neUe essequie di papa Paulo III, Con le figure che
fanno bisogno nella lucina, et alii leverendissimi nel conclave,' Venetia,
1570, 4to.
h2

100 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part VI,
making his plans, lays down his foundations, and erects
upon that soUd basis the marvels of his art. . . ,' 'A
cook must take notice of the diversity of tastes, and his
dishes must not only please the palate, but also charm
the eye by the beauty of their appearance and their
colour. He must possess a great acquaintance with
the productions of nature in every species-r-poultry,
quadrupeds, fish, fruit, and vegetables. He must him
self be nimble, patient, modest in all he does, and
sober as much as possible ; for if he is not sober he is
deficient in patience, and if he loses patience he loses
delicacy of taste. He must have his master's and his own
honour at heart, and, save honour, his master's interest
must go before everything. He must be fertUe in ex
pedients, and capable, if necessary, to give to the same
matter the most multifarious tastes and forms.' After
humihty and the other qualities pointed to, comes the
cleanliness of his person. ' He must study the taste of
the prince or lord whom he is ser-ving, and never trust
those who aid him, or the scuUions, for, as the proverb
says, " He who trusts much is much deceived." ' The
great chef, as may be seen, had, hke all Uis successors
who were worthy of their caUing, a high notion of
his mission. We cannot foUow him in the exposition
which he gives of his art, nor penetrate its mysteries,
nor examine with him his numerous bills of fare. We
must confine ourselves to saying that in big dmners
there were four courses. The first consisted of pre
served fruit, and of pastry ornamented with the Pope's
arms, containing game. The others were composed
of a multitude of dishes of various kinds— of poultry

Chap, n.] THE CARNIVAL, 101
with the feathers ; of capons cooked in bottles ; of meat,
fish, game, and sweet dishes aU jumbled together in a
manner which puzzles all our modern ideas of cookery.
Some dishes were prepared with rose-water, and the
most incongruous substances often found themselves
together in the same dish. Indeed, incongruity was
looked upon as the sublime in the art. Before dessert,
the table was cleared, the guests washed their hands,
and on the table were then spread a number of sweet
dishes strongly perfumed, preserved eggs and syrups.
On rising, fiowers Avere distributed aU round. Suppers
were all the fashion during Carnival time.-^ At these
the ladies were present. They alone could sit down,
and were served by their husbands, who stood behind
their chairs. When supper was over, the table was
removed, and beneath it there was another with the
dessert. Rome was never more animated than during the
ten days that precede Ash- Wednesday. Paul II. , who
dehghted in seeing those around him enjoy themselves,
had transferred to the Corso the traditional games of
the Piazza Navone. Seated in the small room which
forms the corner of the Palazetto of San Marco, which
commanded the whole of the street, he liked to witness
the amusements of the last days of Carnival, and the
arrival of the barberi (small race-horses), which were
and are now always stopped beneath these windows.
Hence dates the ' servitude ' attributed to that room.
For four hundred years the Governor of Rome, in his
1 The Shrove Tuesday suppers have been maintained in princely and
paany other families. On that day everybody is invited.

102 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Part VI.
official robes, which have not varied in cut, has gone
thither with his suite during the time that this mad
gaiety lasts. Under Gregory XIII. the races had
much degenerated. Not only horses, but buffalos, and
even Jews and children, were made to run. Licen
tiousness exceeded all hmits. Sixtus V. re-estabhshed
order by certain decrees which regulated whUe slightly
modifying these modern saturnalia.
In Rome, as throughout Italy, except in Milan, where,
owing to the captivity of the Archduke Maximilian,
the Governor had forbidden any pubhc rejoicings, the
Carnival of 1588 was particularly lively. The severity
of the first years of the pontificate of Sixtus had re-esta
blished order and tranquillity. From that time there
were fewer executions, fewer examples of extreme
severity. Rome resumed her former aspect, that which
she wiU always preserve if circumstances permit : the
aspect of a town that likes amusement. Even in the
higher spheres amusement was in favour. Pohtical
matters were seen under a less dark aspect. The
Armada of PhUip II. was about to leave the ports of
Spain. The Guises were not yet murdered. Vague
hopes of a better future fluttered in the minds of every
one. Those who saw the Holy Father found him in
very good spirits. He even gave permission that the
wandering comedians should be aUowed to play in
private houses. The prohibition of the masks was
raised. Everyone might put on a fancy dress on paying
half a grosso for some charitable object. A decree
inflicted the severest punishments on those who insulted
a Jew in the Corso. The feast of the bridge of Horace

Chap. H.] THE ROIMAN STAGE. 103
was aUowed to take place at the Piazza Navone, when
the organizers had delivered their hostages into the
hands of the Government as a guarantee of their pre
serving order. The Pope, being so well disposed,
was asked to authorise the Desiosi, the best and most
celebrated troup of actors in Italy, to give pubhc enter
tainments ; and he gave the permission on the dis
tinct understanding that they should be day representa
tions, that men should play women's parts, and that the
pubhc should not carry arms. AU went off admirably.
A little scandal took place, it is true. Thus the cele
brated Sicilian beauty Angela was found in the coach
of Monsignor Volta, the governor of the Borgo. The
case was a serious one. No woman of her kind could
show herself in a carriage, and yet she was found in
that of a prelate ; but clemency was the rule of the day.
The lady was not punished according to law, and
Monsignor Volta was not deemed responsible for the
persons whom his coachman chose to drive about Rome.
Jesters who had created a disturbance at the Corso
were only forbidden to go out for the remainder of the
Carnival. A man disguised as a woman shocked the
sbirri by his loose ways. He got three lashes ; but, as
he was a gentleman, his incognito was carefully pre
served, and he was allowed to keep his mask whUe he
was being flogged. This was the event of Shrove
Tuesday. On Ash Wednesday the Pope left his viUa,
where he had spent the preceding days, to hold a chapel
at St. Sabine, and to give the ashes according to custom.
Cardinal Aldobrandini officiated.
Several great marriages were celebrated during the

104 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pari VI.
Carnival. Donna Camilla and several Roman ladies
were present at the nuptial banquets. The wedding of
Signer Gottofredi was magnificent. The supper cost
500 scudi. All the ladies of the aristocracy and four
out of eleven invited cardinals condescended to come.
The cardinals supped apart. The ambassadors also gave
entertainments. Pisany gave a luncheon at the Lanti
Palace to the cardinals, noblemen, and ladies friendly
to France. From the windows the guests witnessed
with admiration a kind of tournament given by the
fashionable youth of Rome. The next day a similar
entertainment, by other Roman noblemen, of which Oli
vares did the honours, was given at the Corso before the
Urbino Palace, to the friends of Spain. The Holy Father,
in his way, took a part also in the Carnival festivities.
After a sermon preached by Padre Toledo in the Sala
Costantina, His Holiness had his sister. Cardinal Mon
talto, Don Michel Peretti, and their two sisters to
supper. Donna CamiUa then retired with the younger
ones to the Pope's apartment in the palace of the arch-
priest of St. Peter's, and witnessed an entertainment
which the Desiosi had the honour of giving them there.
On another evening Donna Camilla and her grand
children were present at the comedy given in the palace
of Signer Ridolfi, Among the audience were nine
cardinals and all the ladies of the aristocracy. Similar
amusements took place at the houses of Virginio Orsini,
Federico Cesi, Giuliano Cesarini, and Orazio Ruccellai.
Cardinal Sforza gave a theatrical entertainment in his
palace, quite a private affair, only to a few cardinals
and prelates.

Chap. H.] THE DRAMA EST ROME, 105
The love of play-going was very wide-spread. There
were as yet no theatres, but princes began to erect
stages inside their palaces. The Olympic Academy of
Florence had set the example,^ and the theatre of
PaUadio is still to be seen there. The Grand-Duke of
Como appropriated to this use one of the rooms of the
Uffizi.^ The ancients were studied and imitated. The
stage scenery and machinery caUed forth the admira
tion of the spectators, but the pieces given show how
hterature had fallen.^ Exterior form was all that was
sought for ; originality of thought, invention, poetry,
were almost entirely wanting. The comedies lacked
the wit of Machiavelli, but not his licentiousness. The
situations were more than equivocal, and the language
wholly unmeasured. Among the writers of plays most
in renown were Pietro Aretino, Grazzini, better known
under the name of Lasca, one of the founders of the
Academy of the Crusca, the official enemy of Tasso,
Lodovico Dolce, and Matteo Galladei. The plays most
admired were ' Constant Love,' ' Unjust Scorn,' ' La
Calandra,' and ' Alexander.'* On the occasion of the
marriage of Duke Charles Emmanuel with the Infanta
Catherine, Guavini created the pastoral style. We can
hardly conceive how the ' Pastor fido ' can have created
such enthusiasm. The much- admired tragedies were
^ The theatre was completed after the death of the architect, 1580.
The Famesian theatre at Parma was built in 1618 only,
' Andrea Garsoni, 1576,
' See 'Descrizione dell' apparato e degli intermedi fatti per la comedia
rappresentata in Firenze, nolle nozze dei serenissimi Don Fernando
Medici e Madama Christina di Loreno, Grand-Duchi di Toscana.'
Florence, 1589.
* ' Prologue of the ' Amore Scolastica,' of RaffaeUo Martini, 1670.

106 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pari VI.
but clumsy and insipid imitations of the Greek. They
were given in the coUeges of the Jesuits and in the
houses of cardinals where the ' Mandragola ' was out of
season. At the courts of princes they were tolerated
only on condition that the richness of the dresses and
the scenery should make the interminable speeches of
the gods of Olympus endurable. There were also
melodramas, interspersed with -witty remarks, happily
few in number, setting forth the Christian phUosophy,
the intervals between them being fiUed up by burlesque
scenes, calculated to disgust anyone with the morahty
thus propounded.-^ Besides companies of amateurs
which were got up in almost every town of any impor
tance, there were troups of wandering comedians who
played alternately in aU the principal towns of Italy.
They formed a link between the several portions of the
Peninsula, and greatly contributed to the disappearance
of the special dialects common to the higher and inferior
classes that went to the theatre.
Without the author's knowledge, a first edition, but an
incorrect and faulty one, of the ' Gerusalemme Liberata '
had just been published. Notvrithstanding the enmity of
the Grand-Duke against the poet, and of the Academy of
the Crusca, the work of Tasso had an immense success,
which was mostly due to the beauty of its style. Diction
was enough for the essentiaUy prosaic generation of that
day, who cared only for elegance of form, and was too
much absorbed by the cares of real hfe to bestow any
serious attention upon literature, or to seek for aught
^ ' La Conversions del Peccatore a Dio.' By Battista Leoni. 1601.

Chap. H.] ROMAN CRITICISM. 107 «
else in a theatrical representation or in a poem than a
passing pleasure, an opportunity to laugh, to admire
fine scenery or a pretty woman.^
To form an idea of the taste of that age, it is neces
sary to peruse the numerous critical essays which were
then published in the form of dialogues. The merit of
Ariosto was questioned, Dante was condemned. ' That
poet,' says Giuseppe Malatesta, ' has borrowed his wings
of Icarus, in order that he might fly as far from the
common as he could ; but, in seeking the sublime too
much, he has faUen into a sea dark with obscurities. He
is a philosopher and a theologian : of the poet he has
but the form. To compass his " Inferno," his " Purga-
torio," and his " Paradiso," an astrolabe is required. To
imderstand them one ought ever to have a theologian
at one's command, who could give an explanation of
their meaning. His style is often crude and barbarous.
He seeks to be mysterious and revolting where he could
most easUy be clear and elegant, and resembles in this
those princes and great people who write a good hand,
but who, out of affectation, scrawl illegibly.'
We penetrate into one of the palaces of the aris
tocracy. The court, which is not a large one as yet (for
the spacious ' cortile ' belongs to the seventeenth century
only), and is encased by arcades, is fuU of footmen and
valets belonging to the guests. Each man holds a torch.
A narrow and steep staircase leads to the sala, where the
servants of the house sit. We cross the second room,
^ In Rome women were strictly forbidden to appear on the stage, but
in other parts of Italy this was not the case.

108 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Part VI.
where the butlers are, and find ourselves hi the ' anti-
camera nobile,' where we are received by one of the
gentlemen in attendance. He makes us go through a
series of rooms with painted or sculptured roofs. If
sculptured or gilt, large frescoes encircle the top of the
room. The walls are hung with ' arazzi,' or gilt
leather, but seldom adorned with frescoes. Such paint
ings do not arrest our attention. We see that the
artists work rapidly and cheaply ; that they mechanically
reproduce certain subjects of Michael Angelo ; that the
supernatural efforts of the figures in their works are
only to be explained by the desire of being remarked;
that great effects are produced without any apparent
cause, and that the exaggerated nature of the compo
sition does not hide the deficiency of the composer.
Our fancy is caught by the frames, the arabesques, the
fruits, flowers — in fact all that makes up the superfluous
portion of a picture, for the essential part of it is beneath
contempt. Vasari, who has been dead some years, the
Zuccaro brothers, especially Federico, are the most
appreciated. Painters of less reputation, such as Paris
Nogari, Cesare Nebbia, Salimbeni, whose best produc
tions are the works of their youth, RoncaUi detto il
Pomerancio, the author of the horrors of St. Stephen's
' rotondo,' all are in full activity.^ They decorate the
apartments of the nobihty, and cover the fa9ades of the
houses of the middle classes with colossal frescoes that
are not likely to resist the storms of winter. Until the
coming of the Caracci, who by their celebrated frescoes
' Their works can be seen in the Villa Peretti.

Chap. H.] ROMAN SCULPTURE. 109
in the Farnese Palace were shortly to introduce a new
school, the art of painting was fast disappearing.
We meet with few of those graceful nothings which
future generations wiU hke to cram into their rooms.
In this respect Rome is very backward as compared
with Venice. The smaU cabinets are stiU rare, but the
plate suggests the influence of Benvenuto CeUini, who
has been dead only some fifteen years. The Roman
sUversmiths are, and ever will be, artists.
Sculpture had as a rule escaped the general falhng
off better than painting and architecture. The style
of Michael Angelo was predominant. They were un
doubtedly pigmies, who tried to foUow in the steps of
the giant and could only imitate his errors ; but a care
ful examination of their works discovers some smaU
and even some great treasures.
The taste for antiques was very common. The
great and wealthy ornamented the courts of their
houses with statues found everywhere — at the Thermse,
at the Palatine, and round the Capitol. Sixtus V. had
authorised excavations. They produced good results,
but laid bare many remains of Roman architecture
which the students of that art pulled down without
remorse.-' ' See the French MSS, already mentioned : ' Le antichita della citta
di Roma, opera non fatta piii mai da scrittor alcuno ' (Venice, 1558), con
tains a description of the collections of antiques which existed then
at the Vatican, at the Capitol, and in the private houses. In speaking
the Venus of Belvedere, the author says : ' Gli antichi la dipin-
sero ignuda, perohe apparessero le sue gran bellezze, o pure perche gli
amanti, che lei ed il figliuolo seguono, mostrano tutti ignudi i loro pen-
sieri, e fanno molto a I'aperto le loro cose, non credendo pero, che altri le
¦vegga,'

110 SIXTUS TilE FIFTH. [Part VI.
StiU led by the attendant, we at last reach the very
imperfectly lighted stanza wherein sit aU those who are
assembled in the house. The ladies are seated along
the waUs in arm-chairs or upon gilt stools. The men
are standing in groups. If a cardinal is present, he is
treated with almost regal honours. The heads of
families and grandees are approached vrith a great show
of respect, but conversation is familiar and free.
People talk loud and laugh. Men and women say
what they think, and call everything by its name. The
' cancans ' of the town and of the court constitute the
topics of conversation. We are afready far from the
time when the Italian society of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries was distinguished (in a lesser degree
than in Rome) by its refinement. The pleasure of
talking of arts and sciences is left to the Universities, or
a few meetings of hterary men who are very inferior
to the humanists of the Renaissance. Formerly, learned
men might be met vrith at the Massa Palace in the
Piazza Navone, at Cardinal Borromeo's and at Cardinal
Farnese's ; now the wits are to be met at a private
house in the Corso, for literature is no longer in fashion,
The times are too serious. Reform has penetrated
into the palaces, and the customs of society have felt
the effects of it. While morahty may have gained,
society is less amusmg than formerly. The mind is
less cultivated. There is no longer a Pic of the Iffiran-
dola, nor are those women to be seen who a hundred
years ago delighted in reading the Greek classics. The
social position of the great lady is altogether changed.
She is less independent, more Christian, and a better

Chap. IL] FACTIONS IN ROME. Ill
mother of a famUy. She goes out only to church,
employs the money of which she can dispose in works
of charity or in building and ornamenting chapels, or
perhaps her husband's tomb if she be a widow.
Though the simphcity and ingenuity of the Itahan
spirit shines forth occasionaUy, the ease of former days
has been replaced by the severity of the Spanish etiquette,
which has invaded the Peninsula and Rome especiaUy ;
while the manners and tastes of the Florentines are
transported to the Court of France, untU that of
Louis XIV. gives, in its turn, the tone to the society
of Italy and of Europe.
The men wear their dress remarkably well : the
tight-fitting coat, the ruffle, the short mantle, and the
rapier. We are not of Montaigne's opinion. We find
that they have a noble deportment, and an aristocratic
type. Foreigners who come in contact with them
praise their exquisite politeness and kind attention.
Society, if we may make use of the expression, is not
very numerous as yet, and is always divided into two
great factions, not that of the Colonna and the Orsini,
but of Spain and of France. It is not an open quarrel,
but there exists a coldness, and, excepting when there is
an official reception, people avoid meeting those who
do not share their political opinions. In the Roman
aristocracy, the Orsini and Colonna hold unques
tionably the first rank. The Gaetani and Conti come
immediately after ; the Massimi lay claim to a direct
descent from Fabius Maximus Cunctator ; the Cesarini
from the Ceesars. The latter take pride in possessing,
in the person of Donna Cleha, natural daughter of

112 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pari Vl.
Cardinal Farnese and wife of Giovanni Cesarini, the
greatest beauty of the times, ' the woman,' says
Montaigne, ' who, if she is not the most agreeable, is
unquestionably the most amiable in Rome or anywhere
else.' The Altieri in the eleventh century were rivals
of the Colonnesi, whom the Capranici had always fol
lowed. The Cesi and Mattel were of the richest, and
the Patrizi of the noblest famUies in Rome ; the Vitelli,
LanceUotti, Santacroce, TeodoU, Bocapaduh, Cenci,
Macaroni, Serlupi, Muti, Costaguti, and others have
resided from time immemorial in their antique palaces.
Since the beginning of the century, several foreign
families have estabhshed themselves in Rome, have
taken root there, and aUied themselves to the nobility
of the place. The Fieschi, counts of Lavagno of
Genoa,^ the RuceUai of Florence, the Ludovisi of
Bologna, are among the most important. The Chigi,
whose fortune was made in commerce, shone under the
pontificates of Julius 11. and Leo X. For a time their
star is on the wane. They have disappeared from the
scene, but better days are in store for them. Among
the naturahsed foreigners, Mario Sforza is the most
conspicuous. A worthy descendant of the last ' con-
' He had two palaces bearing his name. The one situated near the
new church was bought by Gregory XHI. for Giacomo Buoncompagni,
and is stUl called the Sora Palace. It has been erroneously attributed to
Bramante. The other Fieschi palace was composed of a group of houses
of the middle of the fifteenth century, the two of which looking on to
the Borgo Vecchio have been preserved ; those looking on to the Borgo
Nuovo and the Piazza Scorsa Cavalli have been demolished, and replaced
by modem houses bearing the Nos. 50-63. That palace had become the
property of Cardinal Savelli, who, when he retired to Frascati, shortly
before his death, sold it to Donna Camilla. — Marcardio, Ritratti di Roma
Moderna.

Chap. IL] TITLES OF XOBILITY. 113
dottiere,' that soldier of fortune Avho became Duke of
Milan, he had successively fought for France and for
Spain, and then served in the Pope's army. Owing to
his personal merit, and also to the marriage of his
charming sister. Donna Costanza, with Duke Sora, he has
been most kindly treated by Gregory XIIL, appointed
Assistant to the Pontifical Throne, and Lieutenant-
General of Holy Church.^ It has been seen, how, not
withstanding the unportance of this personage, Sixtus V.
deprived him of both his appointments. But Mario
continues to five in Rome. He has married a noble
and great heiress, orUy daughter of Giovanni Battista
Conti, and fives at the palace of Riario della Lungava
(Corsini) in great state, and bearing up courageously
against his disgrace.
Count Altemps, Marquess of Galese, who was created
duke by Sixtus V., is a young man, the legitimised
natural son of Cardinal Marco Silico. The reader
remembers his misadventure. Having obtained his
pardon, he is obhged to live far from Rome, and is
serving at Avignon in the Pontifical troops. The
Altemps have bought the fine palace built by Peruzzi,
which the cardinal inhabits, and which is to remain in
the family.
The titles of princes, dukes, marquesses, and counts
derived from lands formerly held in fief begin to
multiply, but the famUy name, not the title, is taken
into consideration. The usage of sovereigns conferring
their orders upon foreigners is already prevalent. The
' In the Villa Ludovisi there are portraits of the first duke and his
wife, Donna Costanza, which were painted at the time.
VOL. IT. I

114 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [PariM.
Golden Fleece avhich the Emperor and the King of
Spain granted only in rare instances, and to people of
the highest birth or distinction, is the most esteemed of
all the orders. Those of the Pope, the orders of St.Peter,
of St, Paul, of St. George, of Loretto, and of the Lily,
are less appreciated. Next to the Golden Fleece comes
the French Order of St. Michael, which is given mostly
for acts of bravery, but only to Frenchmen. In vain
does the Cardinal de Joyeuse solicit that honour for the
son of Bernardino Savello. ' It is not enough,' rephes
Henry III., ' to have been naturalized a Frenchman ; a
man must be born in France, aud reside there, as pre
scribed by the statute of the order which I have sworn
to obey.' The Venetian patriciate is also much es
teemed. Doctors and professors of letters are looked
upon as nobles. Provincial aristocracy is considered
inferior to that of Rome.
A military career ennobles a man. The times of
the 'condottieri' have passed, but the Roman youth like
to serve either under the Emperor, or under the French
and Spanish Kings, or under the Republic. The troops
of the Holy See are commanded by mihtary men of
renown. The Pope does not consider their nationality,
for everyone is at home in Rome, but he selects those
who inspire him with most confidence. The greatest
celebrity in Rome has just died. Marco Antonio
Colonna, the Great Constable of the Kingdom of Naples,
who commanded the Pontifical squadron at Lepanto, is
no more (he died in Spain on August 2, 1584). Latino
Orsini is considered a good officer. Cardinal Marco
Antonio Colonna, who is a gaUant soldier, has, as maybe

Chap. H.] ETIQUETTE AND PRECEDENCE. 115
remembered, expeUed from the States the biigands
who infested them at the outset of the pontificate of
Sixtus V. Ottavio Cesi will be less fortunate when the
brigands reappear at the close of that same pontificate.
Questions of etiquette begin to be somewhat more
complicated. The Spanish etiquette, as we have said,
is generaUy adopted. Rank is much esteemed, and
never given up ; even near relations hold to it among
themselves. Young Michael Peretti has disputes with
his brother the cardinal with respect to precedence.
The relations between famUies are necessarily affected
by it, and the Pope is obhged to instruct the ' Congre-
gration of the Ceremonies ' to prepare a table of prece
dence among the Roman families. Incessant discussions
on points of etiquette take place in official assem
blies, at the great ceremonies of the Church, in the
processions of the Pope, or at the reception of ambas
sadors. Matters have come to such a pass that, to
avoid any chsagreeable scene, Duke Sessa made his
entrance at three o'clock (after the Ave Maria). The
barons notwithstanding went to meet him. At least
fifty coaches were waiting at the Ponte MoUe, and
sixty-seven following the coach of Olivares and of the
Ambassador-Extraordinary. On this occasion Orsini
and Ottavio Cesi quarrelled as to precedence. Swords
were drawn, and both were wounded.
If dueUing, which was condemned by the Council of
Trent and is visited by excommunication, never as yet
has taken much root in the customs of Italy, it is not for
want of books treating upon the subject. They admit
the ' ordalie ' or judgment of God, but nlso the in-
t2

116 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Part VI.
fluence of stars, and explain the nature of a chaUenge,
the requisite qualities in an adversary and in the
seconds, and finally the rules of fighting. The Roman
barons cared little about it. Single combat was almost
unknown.^ When they had a quarrel to settle, they
went out of Rome with their servants and friends, and
gave battle to one another in the open country, or laid
Avaste each other's property. Sometimes the ' bravi ' were
called in, and these -were ever ready, for a small sum, to
lay a trap or to fire an arquebuse in broad dayhght.
Such were the customs a few years back, but Sixtus V.
lias changed all that. The police is so active, and
justice so promptly administered, that acts of violence
have become very rare. Under his reign the barons
do not amuse themselves much in Rome, and are there
only in comparatively small numbers. Moreover a
whole century of misery and anarchy still weighs upon
them. Fortunes have suffered from it, but are slowly
mending. The nobihty is much richer than the middle
classes.^ With the exception, however, of the Colonna,
the Orsini,^ the Duke of Sermoneta, head of the Gaetani,
the Cesarini,* and a few others, such as the Vitelli and
the Mattel, the Roman aristocracy cannot cope with
' The following works contain curious information respecting the
ideas and customs of the second half of the 16th century : ' II duello di
Messer G. B. Pigna, al serenissimo Don Alfonso di Este, Prmcipe di
Ferrara.' Venice, 1560. ' II duello di M. Dario Atiendoli.' Venice,
1564. ' Duello dell' eccellentissimo e clarissimo giurisconsulto M.
Andrea Alciato.' Venice, 1564. ' Discorsi del Conte Annibale Eomei,
gentiluomo Ferrarese.' Venice, 1594.
^ Instructions of Sixtus Quintus to Cardinal Montalto.
' S. Nicolini to the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, January 28, 1589,
? Babbi to the Grand-Duke Francis, October 1, 1585.

CfiAp. IL] GRExVT FAMILIES OF MODERN ITALY. 117
the magnificence and influence of the ' great ' cardinals
and foreign families settled in Rome, nor indeed
scarcely with the prelates who are following their
career, or are attached to the Government, which, while
it changes often, offers more opportunity for success.
The Aldobrandini, the Borghese, the Barberini, the
Panfili, have not yet appeared on the ' world's stage : '
the Ludovisi, the RospigUosi, the Odescalchi, the
Ottoboni, who are important personages in their own
country, are not so yet in Rome ; the Chigi have not
mended their fortune ; the Altieri, who belong to the
oldest patrician famihes in Rome, have not yet seen*
one of their people crowned with the tiara. The
following century is to disclose these great names.

118 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paki Vl.

CHAPTER III.
PUBLIC WORKS OF SIXTUS V.
SiXTUS V. had a love, it might almost be said a passion,
for building. He equally understood the art and
possessed a technical knowledge of it. It may be re
membered that he himself presided over the works
which were undertaken for him whUe he was a cardinal.
During the many years spent in retreat in the hfe-
time of Gregory XIH. he had evidently conceived
and matured several plans. Whoever has a mind for
architecture, and no means of indulging his taste, is
liable to such freaks of fancy. Such was the case with
the hermit of the Villa Peretti, But when he became
Pope, it only depended upon him whether the dreams
of the poor cardinal should be realized. All his plans
Avere perfectly drawn out in his own mind. He had
but to choose and to order — to wdll, in fact, and he was
not deficient in wUl. The activity shown by the Pope
is really marvellous. But what strikes us much more
than the extent and importance of his constructions,
which were begun and finished in five years, is the
mental labour which must have preceded the exe
cution of the works. Such labour requires time. An
idea, no doubt, comes with the rapidity of lightning,
but it must be matured. In the buildinss of Sixtus V.

Chap. HI.] PLEAS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF ROME, ll9
every part shows reflection, everything holds together
and has an object, nothing is arbitrary or superfluous.
When Cardinal Montalto, jolted in his coach, slowly
drove through a thousand by-streets down the Esqui
line to the Vatican, he traced in his mind's eye the
long avenues which were wanting to connect the
basilicas, and, at the same time, to throw open those
barely inhabited regions to the activity and movement
of an increased population.
When he perceived next to the old sacristy of St.
Peter's, Nero's Obelisk, or The Needle as it was then
called, half buried in the earth, he remembered liow
many Popes had wished to raise that monument from
its burial-place and erect it in front of the church.
When they said it was impossible to do so, he was
silent ; a smile of contempt and of scepticism played
upon his lips.
When he had returned to his villa, through quarters
deserted owing to lack of water, he could from
his window perceive the Latin Mountains, which are
rich in springs. Those waters formerly reached
Rome. But the aqueducts of the ancients had fallen
into decay, and no one thought of repairing them or of
replacing them by others, Was this possible? Cer
tainly not, he was told, because there was no money,
and the country besides was in the hands of the
brigands. Another difficulty threatened to put a dead stop
to the works which had been continuously carried on
at St, Peter's since the days of Juhus II. Matters had
reached a crisis. The piUars of Bramante, which avctc

120 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Part VF,
destined to bear the cupola, had been strengthened.
Since the death of Michael Angelo, the upper gaUery
had been completed according to his designs. Nothing
remained but to place the cupola upon it. The
expense and the risk frightened everyone. The cost
was valued at a million gold scudi, and the time
calculated at ten years for the performance of so
gigantic a task.^ Public opinion was beginning to
entertain a fixed idea that St. Peter's would remain
unfinished. These several questions — the construction of the
cupola, the necessity of providing with water those
quarters of Rome where it was wanting, the, opening
of new streets, and the transfer of the Needle — were the
principal ones of the day. They were everywhere
discussed, and no doubt Cardinal Montalto was medi
tating upon them also. He and the young Fontana to
gether formed plans, discussed and settled them. Though
chimerical then, they suddenly took a very practical
form when once he had become Pope. He then had
but to recall them to his memory. His ideas were
quite settled. It was only a question of realizing
them. ^
This was not known among the people, who, when
not blinded by passion, are generally quick in observing
and good in judging given facts, but httle disposed, to
' 'Numismata summorum pontiiicum templi Va|ticani fabricam indl-
cantia.' By P. Philip Bonami. 1715,
^ We have no documents in support of what we state, because no one
has taken the trouble of recording the intimate conversations of the dis
graced cardinal with Fontana ; but the fact that these questions did
occupy hia mind is evident from the state of affairs in Rome,

CiiAP. m.] ENERGY OF THE POPE. 121
analyse the causes of such effects. To do all that
Sixtus V. did in five years, was really to reach the last
limits of the possible ; to conceive and mature his pro
jects, in the midst of so many other occupations, was to
perform a miracle. Such is, however, the impression
which he produced upon his contemporaries,^ and that
which has been handed down by tradition and by
history. People were convinced that he had conceived
and created all at once. By raising the Obehsk before
St. Peter's, by crowning that edifice, by opening five
wide streets, one of which is two and a half miles long,
by bringing plenty of water into the town, and by
accompMshing in five years what had been considered
impossible for the last fifty years, irrespectively of the
other works of which we shaU speak presently, Sixtus V.
gained for himself a kind of supernatural prestige.
The truth is, that that extraordinary man had prepared
everything beforehand. In politics, in the adminis
tration of the Church and of the State, in building, he
had ready-made programmes. He had but to set them
aU to work, except one which he had to abandon when
he found himself called upon to put it into execution —
his pohtical programme. Of all arts that of governing
is the most difficult and can be learnt only by the
exercise of power.
No one of his undertakings has so much attracted
attention as the raising of the Needle of Nero in the
centre of the Piazza of St, Peter. That obelisk was half
buried, though still standing on the western flank of
the church near the old sacristy. Paul III. had been
' Babbi to the Grand-Duke, September 28, 1585,

122 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paei VL
the first to conceive the idea of having it transported
to the piazj;a. He consulted Michael Angelo, and
Antonio di Sangallo, who were the first architects of
the day. They were unanimous in declaring the
undertaking to be impracticable. Their opinion being
law, the idea was given up. The new Pope came back
to it. Four months after his accession he proposed
the plan to a commission, which was composed of four
cardinals, four prelates, the senator of Rome, and a
few men learned in such matters.-' It was decided
that a competition should be opened ; and a choice
soon became possible from a multitude of plans which
were sent or brought to Rome by their designers, and
which came from every part of Italy, and even from
Sicily and from Greece. That of Fontana was chosen.
But, considering the architect to be too young, the
commission intrusted Giacomo della Porta and Barto
lommeo Ammanati, of Florence, with the carrying out
of the works fr-om the plans of Fontana. The latter
complained to the Pope that ' No one can better carry
out a plan than the man who has conceived it, for
nobody can perfectly master the thoughts of another.'
Struck by the justice of this observation, Sixtus V.
intrusted the whole business to his former mason.
Rome was loud in its condemnation, and thought that
the enterprise would not succeed. The celebrated
Bartolommeo Ammanati, who had asked the Pope to
allow him a year's reflection before he submitted his
^ 'Delia trasportazione dell' obelisco Vaticano o delle fabriche di nostro
Sigilore papa Sisto V.' By Domenico Fontana. 1500.

CHAr. HI.] THE OBELISK OF NERO. 123
plan to him, returned to Florence, there to die of grief
when he heard of his obscure rival's success.
The points to be determined were, how to raise
the Obelisk, to place it horizontally upon a sledge,
and to remove it to the Piazza di St. Pietro, where it
was to be erected. If the boldness of the enterprise
had struck every mind while it called forth the scep
ticism of some, people were no less amazed at the
magnitude of the preparations and at the rapidity
with which the works were carried on. The iron
apparatus alone weighed 40,000 pounds. All the
iron workshops in Rome, in Ronciglione, and in
Subiaco were engaged upon it. The fine forests of
Nettuno furnished the beams, which were of enormous
size. To transport each one of them, fourteen buffaloes
were required. The planks, which were of elm and
oak wood, were brought from San Severa. Not only
Rome, but the whole of Europe, watched the works
with anxious cm-iosity. In October work had begun,
and already on May 7 of the following year (1586),
the most hazardous portion of the undertaking, that of
laying the obehsk horizontally upon the sledges, could
be attempted. The crowd of spectators was immense.
The cardinals, and prelates, and nobles were present.
An order from the Governor prescribed the most abso
lute sUence on the part of the crowd. This precaution
was necessary to allow of the workmen hearing the
orders given. In the morning Fontana had been to
ask the blessing of the Pope, who, according to tra
dition, told him, by way of encouragement, that if any
accident occurred he would have his head cut off—
a threat which so alarmed the young man that he

124 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VI.
caused horses to be in readiness at every gate of Rome.
At the same time the ' bargello ' is supposed to have
had a scaffold raised before the tribunes of the spec
tators with a proportionate number of executioners in
readiness ; but this is one of the numerous fables in
vented long after the death of Sixtus, and received as
true stories on the authority of Gregorio Leti, With the
help of 900 workmen, and of a great number of horses,
the works went on rapidly in the midst of the most
profound sUence, interrupted only at times by the word
of command from Domenico Fontana, and by the dull
noise of the cables and the beams, when, all of a sudden,
a stentorian voice called out, ' Water on the ropes ! '
These were on fire. The fire was, however, easily put
out, and the woman — for it was a woman, who, con
trary to the orders of the Governor, had saved the
Obehsk by breaking the iuforced silence — had the
honour of kissing the Pope's foot. She was a Genoese,
of the name of Bresca, and had a garden on the banks
of the river. She obtained for herself and for her
descendants the privUege of providing the palm
branches on Palm Sunday for the processions at St,
Peter's. Her family has enjoyed the privilege down
to this day.^
The ground from which the Obelisk was to be re*
moved being at a greater height than the centre of the
Piazza of St. Peter, a dam had been dug between the
two points, and on June 13 the Obelisk was removed
tliither and deposited horizontally within it. Owing
to the great heat, the erection of the Needle was post'
' l^he story, variously told, is true historically,

CH.iP. IIL] THE RAISING OF THE OBELISK. 125
poned until the autumn. On September 10 the
Obelisk was erected upon its pedestal, with perfect
success, and in the midst of a great concourse of people.
M. de Pisany and the Duke of Luxembourg were both
to make their entrance that day ; the one to resume his
post after a momentary absence, with the cause of
which the reader is acquainted, and the other to sub
mit to the Pope in the name of the King. Some days
before, Sixtus V., while holding a chapel at Sta. Maria
del Popolo, had seen the marquis there incognito. The
idea then came to him that he would make the am
bassadors witnesses that day of the power of his will,
and of the boldness and ability of the architect he had
selected. During mass he called Monsignor AUa-
leone, his master of ceremonies, to warn him, and it
was agreed that, contrary to usage, the two ambassadors
should come, not by the Porta del Popolo, but by the
Angehca Gate, which leads direct to St. Peter's. Thus,
wrote M. de Pisany to Henry HI. : ^ ' We were present at
the erection of the Needle which was going on, so that,
considering the multitudes who crowded to see this
great and admirable machine raised, and those who
wished to accompany us on our entrance into Rome, I
do not think that there was anyone who did not go out on
that day.' The operation had commenced before day
break, and the last rays of the setting sun were gilding
the Obelisk of Nero on the spot where we now see it.
The cannon from Fort St. Angelo, and the enthusiastic
cheers of the spectators, greeted that solemn moment.
The Pope Avas on his way from the Quirinal to the
1 Pisany to Henry IIL, September 8, 1586,

120 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VI.
Vatican, there to receive Luxembourg and Pisany, and
was passing through the Bianchi when the fire of the
guns and the shouts of the Romans told him of the ,
happy accomplishment of the enterprise. That even
ing all the trumpets of Rome, accompanied by drums,
serenaded the fortunate architect. The Holy Father
made him a knight and a nobleman of the city of
Rome, gave him a gold chain, as well as ten prebends
of the Lauretana knighthood, which yielded each 400
scudi,. and all the material that had been used in the
work. These liberalities astonished those who did not
know the character of Sixtus. He was very shy of
spending his money when he did not trust those who
asked him for money, or when it was a question of
favouring undertakings which were not to his liking,
but exceedingly liberal when he put his own ideas into
execution, and intrusted them to agents of merit, who
were worthy of his confidence.^ He felt the impor
tance of that work. Full of joy at its successful termi
nation, he spoke of it to Gritti, and told him that it was
a great honour for the ambassadors of France to have
been aUowed to enter Rome at the very time that the
Obehsk of St. Peter was being raised.^
The correspondence of the period ; the accounts given
by diplomatists ; the comedies, that precious source of
history whenever it is a question not of analysing facts,
but of appreciating pubhc opinion ; the numberless
pieces of poetry which celebrated the event, and even
' Gritti to the Doge, June 0, 1587. ' Si come in alcune cose non si
puo negare che il papa non si guarda molto dal spender, cosi in alcune
altre niuno par che tenga il danaio in manco stima di lui,'
' Gritti to the Doge, Sept, 13, 1586.

Chap. HI.] CONSECRATION OF THE OBELIj^K. 127
the plans ^ of Rome for the use of foreigners, all show,
by the exaggerated proportions given to the Obelisk,
how great was the European interest taken in an enter
prise which had been declared impracticable by the
highest authorities in art and in mechanism. Foreigners
on arriving in Rome ran to see the Needle. The
Pope wished to consecrate the Obelisk to the service of
the Cathohc rehgion. It was ' purified ' and exorcised
in presence of the Patriarch of Constantinople and of a
numerous assembly. A cross in gilt bronze, which rested
on the arms of the Peretti, was then hoisted and placed
upon the summit, amidst the booming of the artillery
from Fort St. Angelo, Avhilst the clergy sung ' 0 crux,
ave, spes unica.'
That ceremony was the expression of the intimate
thought of the Pope. After astonishing the world by
the power of his will, which could conquer every
obstacle, he hked to edify the faithful grouped around
that monument which had been witness of the
horrors of Nero's circus. From year to year and from
generation to generation they will come and ask the
blessing of the Vicar of Christ upon that same piazza.
Making use of Fontana, the Pope pressed forward
with equal activity and at the same time the works
necessary for providing water for the mountainous
quarters of Rome, and for enlarging the streets. He
had bought, for 25,000 scudi, of Marzio Colonna, the
brother of the cardinal, a copious fountain which was
situated some twenty miles to the south-east of Rome,
^ See the plan of Rome in the Imperial Library in Paris, It cannot
date before the year 1589 or 1690.

128 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VI.
and not far from Palestrina. These waters, which were
caUed after him, were to be brought to Rome by
means of an aqueduct which is still used. His personal
intervention was necessary to bring this undertaking
to a satisfactory conclusion. Accompanied by only
three cardinals, he went to the spot, and accepted at
Zagarola the hospitality of Marzio Colonna, and re
turned to Rome after five days' absence. After many
difficulties, outbursts of passion, and by dint of great
constancy and energy, that colossal work, which was
begun shortly after his accession, was terminated in the
space of three years. The ' acqua FeUce ' was hence
forth to benefit regions which hitherto had been deserted
and sterile. Houses could now be built along those
avenues which the Pope designed across vineyards and
plantations, across a few modern structures and antique
monuments which he mercilessly sacrificed whenever
they found themselves in the way of these new endless
alleys. Even a church and some chapels were victims
to the straight line. From all parts the murmurs
of the people were heard, Monsignor Gerino echoes
these complaints in writing to the Grand-Duke : ' To
make new streets,' says he, 'houses are puUed down,
even places of devotion : to build a library at the Belve
dere (of the Vatican), the perspective of the noble theatre
(Bramante's Court) is spoilt. Not even the portico of St,
Peters and the fine masterpiece of GioUo, caUed the
Navicella, are excepted. Not only do the architects and
intelligent men exclaim, but even the Sacred College
complains ; but here neither men nor buildings are
spared. Fort St. Angelo alone triumphs ; for, instead of

Chap. IH.] OPENING OF NEW STREETS. 129
stones, it is getting full of gold.' Notwithstanding
these outbreaks, which were partiaUy justified, the
great streets which cross a part of Rome, that part
which is the least inhabited and the most hiUy, were
finished. Houses and a few palaces, such as that of the
Mattel with the four fountains (Albani, now Del Diago),
rose as if by enchantment. Coaches could hence
forth drive in a straight and the shortest line from
the Trinity dei Monti to Santa Maria Maggiore and
thence to the Palace of San Marco, from the St. Law
rence Gate to the above-named basihca, and from that
same gate to the Therms of Diocletian ; from the
Lateran to the Colosseum, and from the Porta Salaria to
the Strada Pia. Earthworks were raised and rendered
easier the approach to Santa Maria Maggiore. The
long avenue which connects that church with St. John
Lateran was also raised. We have seen and do see
greater works now-a-days ; but if the impulse comes
from the Government, the work is carried on by credit,
speculation, and by capital which seeks an employment.
Nothing of the kind existed in the time of Sixtus V.
He had conceived the works, he directed them, he paid
for them, and he it was who found the means of
spending considerable sums, while he regulated the
price of wages. He sold to private individuals the
lands which had hitherto been rendered barren by lack
of water, or inaccessible because there were no streets
that led to them, and because they were covered with
ruins. He it was who knew how to meet his expenses,
and yet fill the St. Angelo fort with gold instead of
stones, as he was reproached with doing.
yoi., H, IL

. 130 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VL
The Europe of his day, seeing all that he had done
in five years, was mute with astonishment. This is
easily explained when the ignorance of men as regards
mechanical arts at that time is taken into consideration,
and when it is remembered that steam was. not yet
known as a motive power ; that the means of transport
now at our disposal were wanting ; that there were
no railways, and few roads upoii which vehicles could
be driven.
In five years the Pope completed the building of his
chapel at Santa Maria Maggiore,^ which was begun
when he was a cardinal, caused the old Chapel of the
Manger to be whoUy transported there, levelled the
hill, and erected the obelisk which stands there now,
He brought to the summit of the Quirinal the waters
from the Felice Fountain, twenty miles from Rome.
He built the south side of St. John Lateran, called the
loggia of Sixtus V. because from it he gave his blessing,
erected the obelisk in front of the loggia, cleared the
piazza, built the great Palace of the Lateran, ar^c] trans
ferred the holy stairs to the neighbourhood.
After raising and levelling the Via Pia so as to
allow the gate of that name to be seen from the
Quirinal, he rebuilt the small palace of Cardinal d'Este
which had been turned by Gregory XHI. into a
summer residence for the Popes. The main body of
the building, forming an angle of the great palace
which now stands there, is his work He had scan
dalised the Venetian ambassadors by telling them
that he had replaced his predecessor's arms by his
[' It is now being restored, at the expense of His Holiness Pins IX, '

.CH.iP, HI,] THE VATICAN. 1,^1

own. Paid V,, who had added to the buUding and
transformed the two portals, acted in a similar way.
The Borghese Dragon succeeded the bear and the
pear of the Peretti. Sixtus V. further erected before
the palace, at the spot where they now stand, the cele
brated antiques which give to that hill tlie popular
naine of 'Monte CavaUo.'
On the Piazza di Vaticano. he erected the Obelisk of
Nero, aud built the Ubrary, but destroyed, alas, for
that purpose, the splendid court of Bramante: con
nected the apartments vrith the church by a staircase
which began at the sacristy of the Sistine Chapel, and
finished at that of the Gregorian or Holy Saviour.^
He raised the great tower of the Belvedere ; and finaUy
began and completed in the space of twenty-two months
that marvel of the world, the cupola of St. Peter. Men
were at work on it both day and night and even on
feast-days, Sundays excepted. When he died all that
was wanting was the lead covering and the lantern.
His last work was the wing of the palace of the
Vatican, which was finished by Clement VIIL, and
which has never since ceased to be the residence of
the Popes.
We have already enumerated the large streets which
, he had planned. Along some of these avenues, some
thickly populated districts have arisen. In other parts,
silence and solitude continue to reign. Owing to the rail
way station, to the increasing influx of strangers, and to
the fresh buoyancy of pubhc speculation, the favourite
quarter of Sixtus V, is now being built up with fine and
' It is now used by the Holy Father to go to St. Peter's,

1^2 SISTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei VL
graceful houses. If the Pope could be wUness of the
activity which reigns in that part of the town, he might
perhaps regret to see that right of dispossessing the holder
of a house, which he had himself so summarUy used,
appUed to his own dear vineyard ; but he would perhaps
be a little consoled on finding that Rome continues to be
the Eternal City, since she is not condemned to inactivity,
but advances with the times, slowly and prudently.
What Sixtus did in that very quarter of the town
has since been done to his own grounds. To facilitate
access to the railway terminus, some of the portals
of his garden have been pulled down, just as he puhed
down the magnificent pillars and vaults of the Thermse
to build his palace, and levelled the piazza before the
church of Michael Angelo. In the book which Dome
nico Fontana published under the Pope's auspices,
and copies of which were presented to the ambassadors,
giving an account of the buildings raised during the reign
of Sixtus, Fontana actuaUy was ingenuous enough to
number these demoUtions among the works which re
flected credit upon his master. ' The Holy Father,' says
he, 'has spoilt (guastare) the antique ruins which ob
structed the entrance to Sta. Maria de' Angeh.' That
architect also states, without malice, however, or any
desire to allude to the calling which, according to
Pasquino, the Pope's sister had foUowed in her youth,
that, in the middle of the piazza which was sur
rounded by the shops of Donna Camilla, His
Holiness had caused a public lavatory to be built
for the use of the washerwomen, and another near the
Trevi Fount?iin, \yhich had not yet ;ts |3aroque ^nd toq

Chap. HI.] RESTORATION OF CHURCHES. 133
much praised decoration, but the delicious waters of
which possessed already in the mind of the people the
power of bringing back to Rome the strangers who
had drunk of them.
Never forgetting his Slavonian origin, Sixtus
erected the Church and Hospital of St. Jerome of the
Slavonians, which still exist. He intended to connect
with that foundation the college which they possessed
at Loretto, and to found another for the use of the
Poles. He wanted for tliis purpose to buy the neigh
bouring palace of Cardinal Deza, which, as it may be
remembered, had become the Palace of the Borghese.
The mendicants, who formerly infested the streets of
Rome, were against their wUl sent to the asylum built "
by the Pope near the Sistine bridge. It is now the
Asylum of the Hundred Priests, which is a hospital for
sick priests.
We must not forget to mention the restoration of
the columns of Trajan and of Antonine, which were
henceforth consecrated to religion, and crowned with
gilt bronze statues of the apostles St. Peter and
St, Paul,
Among the numerous churches repaired at his ex
pense, that of St. Sabine, on the Aventine Mount, is
the most important. The CoUege of the 'Marchigiani,'
his compatriots at Bologna, the aqueduct which sup
plies Civita Vecchia, the improvement of the towns
of Loretto and Montalto, are also due to Sixtus V.
AU these works were directed by Fontana, except
indeed the cupola of St. Peter, which was executed

134 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VL -
after the designs of Michael Angelo by one of his most
devoted pupils, Giacomo della Porta, who was then a
septuagenarian. Owmg to his advanced age, the Pope's
architect was commissioned to help him ; and though
Giacomo figures in history as the constructor of the
cupola, a great portion of the merit reverts to Dome
nico Fontana. That extraordinary man — if one may so
call a man who is wanting in genius — united, with that
single important exception, all the qualities which
could render him pleasing to his master. Quick-
sighted, honest, and courageous, he was unequalled
among his contemporaries in technical science. Pre
eminent as a mason and engineer, he was a second-
rate artist. With few exceptions, his designs are want
ing in grace and elegance, though not in grandeur.
His style, as we have said, was something between
the classic tendencies of Vignola and the baroque
style which was already begimiing to be fashionable,
Such as he was, Fontana was the man wanted. A
man of genius would have revolted against the im-
]3erioU3 exigencies of Sixtus V., who disposed of times
aud places as he did of men and things, but who
also wanted to rule over the Muses, and forgot that the
sacred fire is not lit when a man wishes it, but burns in
its own time, and goes out when brought into contact
with the profane. Fontana did not run the same risk.
He claimed nothing for inspiration. His drawings are
those of a thorough engineer-architect, who fears no
obstacles because he knows how to get over them ; who
spares his means, looks to the essential ; adds, or sim-

Chap. III.] CHARACTER Oi" FONTANA. 135
plifies, or repeats, according to his master's wish, the:
same subjects or the same decorations ; who seldom fails
in his proportions, and never in his knowledge of the
laws of mechanism ; who certainly does not reach an
ideal of beauty, but does not fall short of that ideal com
pletely. In less than five years Sixtus V. would have
completely exhausted and ruined a Bramante. The works
of Fontana show no indication of fatigu.e. They have
not the same character of originality, for, as we have
seen, they were prepared a long time beforehand, not
on paper, but in the mind of the Pope and of his archi
tect. They are somewhat like the products from a
manufactory ; but it must be owned that that manufac
tory was wonderfully well organized and well directed.
He was a remarkable man who could direct it, and give
to the workmen the activity, energy, and constancy
with which he was himself imbued. If, on the one
hand, Fontana owes his celebrity less to the artistic
value than to the number and extent of his works, to
the fabulous rapidity with which they were executed —
in fact to Sixtus himself, who employed him, and
whom he resembles in many respects — it must be
allowed, on the other hand, that the latter owes to
Fontana a great portion of the prestige which sur
rounded him.
'I am in Rome,' writes, shortly after the Pope's
death, the witty Abbe of the Benedictines of Mantua^
Padre Don Angelo Grillo, 'after an absence of ten
years, and do not recognise it, so new does all appear
to me to be : monuments, streets, piazzas, fountains;

136 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paei VL
aqueducts, obelisks, and other wonders, all the work of
Sixtus V  If I were a poet I would say that to
the imperious sound of the trumpet of that magnani
mous Pope, the wakened limbs of that half-buried and
gigantic body which spreads over the Latin Campagna
have replied — that, thanks to the power of that fervent
and exuberant spirit, a new Rome has arisen from
its ashes,' ^ 1 Lettere di D, Angelo Grillo, Venice, 1612.

Chap. IV.] 137

Hff

CHAPTER IV.
RELATIONS OP SIXTUS V. WITH HIS FAMILY.
Notwithstanding the enormous expense to which his
buUdings gave rise, notwithstanding the miUion of
scudi annually deposited in the coffers of the
State, Sixtus V. was rich enough too to be generous
to his family. An enemy of nepotism in principle, and
therefore less given to it than most of the Popes
of his century, or those of the century which followed
his, he was under the influence of the spirit of the
day, which aUowed each Pope to bring into the
Roman nobility a fresh princely family. As we have
seen, he had made a cardinal of his grand-nephew,
Alexander, who was only thirteen years of age, and
his brother Michael was only eight years old when
he was appointed General of Holy Church. The
salaries were appropriate to the dignity. Donna
CamiUa amassed considerable riches, and indulged in
profitable speculations by buying land, and covering a
portion of the EsqtiUine with shops,^ which she let out
at a large rent. No more did she despise the gifts
which King PhiUp, the Republic of Venice, the Grand^
• * ' Where are the Thermae ? The Signora Camilla had built a palace and
thirty shops on one side which are finished, and as many to the other,
Ivhich will bring her in a Idrge reyenue.'-i-MS. in the Bibl, Imp, Paris.

l38 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VI.
Duke of Tuscany, and other important personages,
presented to her occasionally. She was not afraid
even of embarking in important speculations. She
thus intended to purchase of the Prince of Besignano
the ' gabelle ' levied on the silks of Calabria, which
brought in 80,000 scudi ; but the Pope opposed this
wish.^ He, however, overwhelmed her with different
presents. He made her a gift of several freeholds,
and, amongst others, of his vineyard and viUa at the
Thermse, and supphed her with a household, which
was composed of a lady-in-waiting, two equerries, a
majordomo, a chaplain and a secretary, a cook, two
footmen, two pages, two messengers, and a few valets,
who wore the ripe pear and green leaf-coloured livery
which the Pope had devised when he was a cardinal.
He gave her, besides, two carriages, each drawn by
two mules, and a pension of 1,000 scudi a month. It
was a small and well-organised estabUshment, that had
nothing exaggerated in its composition. Sixtus V. is
said ^ to have chosen the occasion to advise his sister
not to forget her humble origin, nor ever to give
scandal by exhibiting too much luxury, or wishing to
mix herself up with State affafrs. Donna Camilla fol
lowed the advice of her brother, at least as long as he
lived. After his death, it is true, she was a httle
talked of, owing to the splendour of her household and
the number of her carriages ; but generally she hved
very simply, occasionally had cardinals to dinner, gave
her grandsons, during Carnival time, the pleasure of a
' Badoer to the Doge, 15D0.
^ Codice Ottobonico, quoted br Prince Massimo.

Ghap. IV'.] DONNA CAmLLA. l39
theatrical entertainment, and once or twice accepted at
Palo the princely hospitality of Cardinal Farnese.^
Like aU who came from the Marches, she had retained
a great hking for her country, and, on the only occa
sion when she revisited it, left many traces of her
munificence. Her manners were perfect, and every
one admired the tact and case with which she had
learnt the ways and tone of society. Although a com
plete stranger to business, she daily saw her brother.
When it was a question of obtaming smaU favours or
secondary appointments, she could be of some use.
We do not fear being unfair to her memory if We
admit that this was a means of her making money.
It has been seen how broad the views of the day were
on such matters. The ambassadors of Venice, of Tus
cany, and all the smaller diplomatists, paid her great
court. M. de Pisany and Count Olivares, though less
attentive, had an excellent understanding with her and
her famUy. No political cloud ever disturbed the
serenity of this understanding.^ The sister and grand-
nephews Were provided for, and, if we are to credit
public opinion, they were provided for too well. Some
times the Pope felt that he must excuse his weakness
ht them. He told Badoer one day that the Abbey of
Three Fountains, that of the Cardinal of VercelU, and
many others were vacant, but that he would not do as
' In 1594 Donna Camilla and her two grandsons had ten carriages^
tile number of private carnages then in Rome being 883.
^ The register of the parish of Santa Maria in Via Lata shows that on
February 17, 1590, a daughter of Count Olivares was held over the bap
tismal font lay Donna Flavia Orsina Peretti, grand-niece of SixtU* V.,
at the reiy time that the Pope and Olivarfes were most at war.

140 SHlTUS the fifth. [Paei \l.
his predecessors had done. The cardinals begged of
him to give them to Montalto, but he would dispose of
them otherwise. He complained of the freedom of
speech used against him, of the sarcastic remarks of
which he was the object, and ordered the Governor to
seize the guilty, and to send them before the Tribunal
of the Inquisition.
The two granddaughters of Donna Camilla, Flavia
and Orsina (Ursula), were stiU children, but Sixtus V.
felt he had no time to lose — he must marry them. He
first thought of Ranuzio, hereditary Prince of Parma.
The secret opposition of Philip IL foiled the Pope's
plan of placing a Peretti on an Italian throne. The
King was afraid that such a union, by bringing more
together the Court of Parma and Cardinal Montalto
and the creatures of Sixtus V., might insure the election
of Cardinal Farnese.^ The Pope condescended to be
revenged on Duke Alexander by ordering a revision
of the titles of the fiefs situated round Orvieto, one of
which, Castighone, belonged to that prince.
After a long negotiation, during which the Pope
interfered personally, a marriage was arranged between
Flavia Peretti and Don Virginio Orsino, Duke of
Bracciano, son of Paolo Giordano, who murdered the
uncle of the bride, and of Isabella sister of the Grand-
Duke of Tuscany ; another marriage was arranged
between Orsina Peretti and Don Marco Antonio
Colonna, Great Constable of the Kingdom of Naples,
nephew of the illustrious Marco Antonio Colonna. The
two sisters received each 100,000 scudi as a dowry^
' Badoer to the Doge, June 10, 1589.

Chap. R'.] MARRIAGE OF ORSINI PERETTI. 141
and 20,000 scudi pin-money placed out in ' Montis' at
six per cent., ' in order,' said Sixtus V., ' that they may
buy a pair of shoes without asking their husbands'
permission.' Duke Bracciano, who was then absent from Rome,
was represented at the wedding by Monsignor Usim-
baldi. Bishop of Arezzo.
The Constable was only twelve years of age, and
his bride ten. The Patriarch of Jerusalem married
them. After the ceremony the little bride took out
of her pocket a document, which she gave to Cardinal
Ascanio Colonna, and which was the bull by which
the Pope conferred the priory of Venice upon him, as
well as the gratuity which she herself offered him on
the occasion of her marriage. The presents were con
siderable on both sides. A solitaire and a necklace of
pearls sent by the Grand-Duke of Tuscany to his new
niece, the Duchess Bracciano, were specially admired.
When, a few months later, the husband arrived in Rome,
the Pope invited the young couple to a family repast,
which was to take place in his apartment ; but bad
news having that morning come from Poland, from
France, and from Venice, he did not deem it right to
assist. His guests dined alone, and were afterwards
taken to his wardrobe, where they selected some
precious articles. There were also many madrigals
composed. The love of rhyming was as great then
as in the time of Petrarch, of Count Boiardo and of
Ariosto, but the hues were not so good. It would
even be difficult to find some that are worse, Sixtus
appointed the two husbands, who were the two heads

142 SIXTHS THE FHi'TH. [Paei VL
of the principal branch of the Houses of Colonna and
Orsini, assistant princes to the Pontifical throne, and
decided that the age of the holders of these appoint
ments would in future regulate the longrdisputed
question of precedence among those two illustrious
famihes. That dignity, which is the highest that a
Pope can confer upon a civilian, has been maintained
in those families up to the present day.
The future of the Peretti, who had so suddenly
reached the summit of grandeur, was entirely centred
in the person of Michael. He was to contiiiue the
family, and his great uncle was to give him the means
of doing honour to his name, which lately was so
obscure, but henceforth belonged to history, and to
help him to contract a great marriage. Future genera
tions would thus perpetuate the illustrious memory of
Sixtus V. The Pope did all that his conscience, which
to our mirid was not sufiiciently scrupxdous in these
matters, could allow of his doing. Michael Peretti,
General of Mother Church, Governor of the Borgo,
Captain of the Pontifical Guard — since the purchase
by the Pope in 1589,^ for 187,500 scudi, of the land
situated in the States of the Duke of Mantua, Marquess
of Incisa and Count of Calusio — was instituted universal
legatee of Donna CamiUa.^ That lady employed the
money which she had economized and the private
fortune which her brother left to her in purchasing
from the Orsini the Marquisate of Mentana, from the
^ In anticipation of Michael's death, the Pope invested the two brothers
conjointly. " See the notary acts of Picchinelli, April 22, 1589, and the donation,
' inter vivos' of September 20, 1590.

¦Chap, R'.] MARRIAGE OF MICHAEL PERETTL 143
Piccolomini the towns of Venafro and Piscina, andColmo
situated in the kingdom of Naples, All these various
fiefs and domains became the property of Michael,^ to
whom PhiUp H. gave the title of Prince of Venafro,
At the age of thirteen he married Donna Margarita
Cavasio della Somaglia, only daughter of Count Alfonso
of MUan, and of a 'Cabrera of Bovadilla, Countess of
Chinchon. She was one of the richest heiresses of
Europe. Philip II. facilitated the marriage by author
izing Michael, contrary to the laws of the country, to
enjoy the revenues of his wife's dowry without residing
in the duchy of Milan,''' Certainly, were Providence to
delight in promoting the views of the Pope, the
Peretti were destined henceforth to shine from century
to century side by side with the proudest Roman
dynasties, among whom some claim a descent from
Caesar, or from the heroes of the Republic, and others,
more humbly, from nephews of Popes only.
In his anxiety for the future of his family, Sixtus
did not forget the past. He had not forgotten the son
of his sister who had been so much regretted, the
unfortunate Francesco, the husband of the still more
unfortunate Accoramboni. The Sistine Chapel in
Santa Maria Maggiore, destined to serve as a vault for
the Peretti, was hardly finished when the Pope had
the body of Francesco, which had been buried in the
Church of Santa Maria dei Angeh, transported thither.

' By a fresh will of Donna Camilla, 1596,
' The young Countess della Somaglia brought her husband a dowry of
25,000 gold scudi. Her father's fortune -yvas valued at 20,000 scudi »
year clear. — Avviii.

144 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pabi VL
That mournful ceremony was performed with great
splendour. Eighteen cardinals, created by Sixtus V., in
violet copes, their mourning vestments, surrounded the
catafalque which had been raised beneath the vast
vaults of the Thermae, which Michael Angelo had
transformed into a temple. The Patriarch of Jerusa
lem pronounced the absolution. The canons of the
Liberian BasUica, the pontifical chapel, monks of
various orders, and especially of that to which the Pope
had belonged, followed or preceded the funeral car,
each bearing a torch. All Rome was on foot to wit
ness this immense procession, which came down slowly
along the Esquihne slope, round the gardens of the
Villa Peretti, up the steep avenue of the Basilica, to
the sumptuous mausoleum of the dead man's uncle.
Here were deposited the remains of the unknown
young man who never attracted pubhc attention except
by his tragic end, who now attracted it a second time
by the splendours of his funeral, and was likely to be
forgotten so soon as the tomb should have been closed
over him. That day Sixtus V. shed many tears. Bit
terness, perhaps remorse, would have mingled with his
tears had he foreseen that, at no far distant time, death
would strike the last member of his famUy, that the
riches gathered by his too tender care would disappear,
and that nothing was to remain of the Peretti except
the imperishable memory of his own pontificate.

145

PART THE SEVENTH.
CHAPTER I.
THE LEAGUE.
France, torn by internal dissensions, and exhausted by
a long series of intestine wars, seemed doomed to an
imminent and inevitable ruin. In the midst of party
conflicts the power of royalty had vanished, and the
last prestige of sovereignty held by Henry III, had
disappeared. The Protestants were grouped around
the King of Navarre, the partisans of the League round
the Guises. Political men there were also who sought
for success in alternately helping the defenders and the
enemies of the old faith. But the heads of each party
aimed at the same end, the possession of power, and to
succeed to the Valois, whose line was about to become
extinct. They aU called for help. The Duke of
Guise expected it from the King of Spain : Henry of
Navarre and the Prince of Conde from the Queen of
England and the Protestant princes of the Empire. All
were resolved to sacrifice their common country to their
individual ambition, and were resigned beforehand if
VOL. II. L

146 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
necessary to share the spoUs either between them or
with the foreigner. They were, in fact, determined to
dismember France.
Since the Edict of the Pacification, signed, in 1580,
at the ' Chateau de Fleix,' which put an end to the
' Lovers' War,' a sort of truce had followed the open
hostilities ; but that peace, which was not peace, had
benefited neither the Crown nor the country. It had
merely allowed the governors of provinces to become
so many petty kings, and, by consolidating their as
sumed power, completely to do away with the royal
authority. It was thus that the Duke of Guise, and
his brothers, the Dukes of Mayenne and Aumale,
governed in Champagne, in Lorraine, and in Picardy ;
their cousin, the Duke of Mercoeur, in Brittany ; Les-
diguieres in the Dauphine, Henry of Beam in Guienne,
and Marshal Montmorency in Languedoc. In the
year which preceded the election of Sixtus V., the
death of the Duke of Anjou, the King's brother, had
revived the hopes and active efforts of the Duke of
Guise. Afraid of becoming himself a candidate for the
throne, he agreed with the old chiefs of the Holy Union
and with PhiUp IL. that the Cardinal de Bourbon should
be put forward as the successor of Henry IIL, in the
event of the latter dying without issue, a result of
which there was no question. Three months before
the Pope's election the Dukes of Guise and Mayenne
signed, on January 16, 1585, with the representatives
of Spain and of the Cardinal de Bourbon, the secret
convention known as the Treaty of Joinville. By this
treaty the Cardinal de Bourbon was acknowledged to be

Chap. L] POWER OF THE LEAGUE. 147
the heir to the crown of France, on condition that
all heretic princes be excluded from the succession.
King Philip engaged to support the League with troops.
AU navigation in the direction of the Catholic
King's possessions beyond the sea was considered
iUicit ; and this concession, which was so preju
dicial to French commerce, was like a first instalment
of the much more important sacrifices which the mem
bers of the Coahtion seemed to be prepared to bear in
order to secure the help of Spain. This treaty alarmed
the Protestant party, who, at the caU of Henry of
Navarre, had recourse to arms.
It may be conceived how angry, how anxious, and
how perplexed were the inmates of the Louvre. Civil
war was about to break out afresh, this time with the
connivance and the secret but active support of the
King of Spain. While Queen Catharine implored her
son to come to an understanding with his rebellious
vassals, the latter, on the contrary, feigned a willingness
to call the Protestants to his aid. He listened to the
advances of the King of Navarre, of Queen Elizabeth,
of the Dutch insurgents : received in solemn audience
a deputation from the latter, and the Order of the Garter
from an English embassy. To the King's demonstra
tion the heads of the League replied by actions. On
March .30, at Peronne, they published their manifesto,
signed by Cardinal de Bourbon, first prince of the blood
royal. In April they were masters of Champagne, of
a portion of Picardy, of Burgundy, Normandy, Brit
tany, and of several important towns. The King's
generals, the Dukes of Epernon and Joyeuse, had, it is
L 2

148 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH'.
true, a few advantages on the Loire and in Normandy,
and an attempt at insurrection at Marsedles broke
down. These insignificant successes, however, could
not counterbalance the enormous losses which the
Crown had experienced from the very first days of this
fresh revolt.
Matters were in this state when the King of Navarre,
in order to attract Henry III. into his camp, pubhshed
his Declaration of Bergerac on June 10, 1585. He
believed, he said, in the doctrines of the Cathohc faith,
and bowed to the decrees of the ancient and legitimate
councils. He was ready to restore to the King the
places of safety which had been intrusted to his keeping
and to that of the Prince of Conde, if the heads of the
League gave up their own governorships. To prevent
any effusion of blood, he conceived the strange notion
of calling out the Duke of Guise in single combat.
These advances were not productive of any results.
For two months the Queen-Mother had been nego
tiating with the heads of the Coalition, and it was soon
seen that her son's apparent wish to secede from the
Catholic party, which for a time had alarmed the
Catholic world, was but a vain and powerless threat.
When Sixtus V. became Pope, the atmosphere of the
Vatican was entirely Spanish. The great majority in
the Sacred College sympathised with Spain. In all
that concerned France, Gregory XIII. had been in
fluenced by Spanish opinions. Was not Phihp the
great defender, and Henry of Navarre the declared
enemy, of the Catholic religion ? That alone would
have been sufficient to determine the policy of the old

Chap. L] SPANISH INFLUENCE IN ROME. 149
Pontiff, even had not his prime minister, the Cardinal of
Como, together with his Court, most of the cardinals,
and Count Olivares, taken care that he should follow
in that line, and, if at all hesitating, be maintained in
it. In official regions the influence of Spain was such
that, to escape it, Gregory must have had very different
convictions to those which he possessed, and an energy
of character which he completely lacked. Opposition
to Spain was, however, not wanting. The National
opinion, or, as it was already called, ' Italian,' though in
a very different sense from that which we know it by
now-a-days, ruled supreme outside the doors of the
Vatican. That opinion called, not for the union of aU,
the Italian States into one single State, but for the inde
pendence of each State in Italy from foreign inter
ference. Many a time did that public opinion force its
way into the Vatican and stop the Pope at critical
moments. Thus the heads of the League had asked
Gregory to pubhsh a biiU declaring himself in their
favour. The Spanish ambassador had strenuously sup
ported their request, but this time Gregory resisted.
He dared not go against his conscience and against
that national opinion which, though excluded from a
voice in the State, was nevertheless strong enough to
force him to take notice of its tendency. The Pope
refused to publish the bull, but he authorised Cardinal
de Sens to transmit words of comfort to the Duke of
Guise, and gave similar messages to Father Matthew,
of the Society of Jesus, who was constantly going to
and fro between Paris and Rome. This is all that
Gregory did by way of intervention ; but the heads of

150 SIXTHS THE FDFTH. [Paei VH.
the League changed the character of the letter of the
Cardinal de Sens, and spread the report that, by a bull,
the Pope had sanctioned their doings.
While Henry IIL, who was very anxious as to the
position taken up by the Vatican, forwarded his com
plaints and his threats to the cardinal-protector of his
interests at Rome, and while the latter reassured him
as to the intentions of the Court of Rome, Gregory
XIII. departed this hfe. It mattered little henceforth
that his timid sympathy for the League and his name
should be made use of in its cause. But what was to
be the line of conduct of his successor ? The question
was freely asked. Henry III. felt how great had been
his mistake in apparently and not really drawing nearer
to the chief of the Huguenots. He therefore hastened
to profess his fidelity to the Pope, and to make ex
cuses for his former conduct. ' A prince, such as I
am and wish to be as long as I live,' he wrote to
Cardinal d'Este, ' does not deserve to be censured and
accused of want of respect and want of zeal in the
religious cause, as I am, to my regret.'
The representatives and adherents of both parties in
Rome, of the League or Spanish party, and of the
French or National party (for thus they must be desig
nated), at once set to work. Without taking account
of the majority in the Sacred College, of the Pope's
surroundings, and of the numerous agents of the Holy
Union, Count Olivares and the Cardinal of Sens were
the principal advocates of the Coalition. Cardinal
d'Este and the Marquis of Pisanv were in the opposite
camp, so was the Venetian envoy, who, though he only

Chap. L] PLEADESTGS ON BEHALF OF THE LEAGUE. 151
appeared in a secondary position, and surrounded him
self by a thousand precautions, was in reality more
influential than the ofiicial agents of Henry III. These
were supported by Itahan opinion, and caused a host
of people to interfere on their behalf, who for some
reason or another had access to the newly-elected
Pontiff, The correspondents of the Grand-Duke of
Tuscany were among the number. Ohvares and the
Cardinal of Sens appealed to the religiotis feelings of
Sixtus V. The League, they said, defends the faith.
The blessing and avowed support of the Church must
therefore be granted to it. Cardinal d'Este and Pisany
appealed to his feelings as a sovereign. According to
them, the partisans of the League were mere rebels,
who hid behind the mask of rehgion their ambitious
and anti-national designs, and who jeopardized religion,
for they forced the King to throw himself into the arms
of the Huguenots. PriuU, the Venetian diplomatist,
expatiated on the political merits of the question.
According to him, the League was not strong enough
to conquer heresy. It required a support. That
support must come from Spain. Spain would gain
the victory and reap the rewards of victory.
The fight once begun, it was carried on with ani
mosity on all sides in Rome, Unlike what had been
done in France, no pamphlets were published, and the
street was no party to the fighting going on in the
ante-rooms and closet of the Pope ; but the war was
waged severely, and the combatants did not always use
the most civil language towards one another. Several
scenes took place between the cardinals of Este and of

152 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH,
Sens which were not creditable to Princes of the Church,
and which amused the society and public of the Holy
City. The cardinal-protector declared ' that he would
not have any further acquaintance, or anything to do
in future, with that bad and pernicious nature which
delights in making mischief and in speaking Ul of every
one,' Matters had reached such a point that it became
a serious question whether they should not both be
sent away. Political considerations overruled the de
cision. Sixtus V. did not carry out his threat, and
the two antagonists continued to fight each time they
met. Cardinal de Sens amused the Pope, who did not
always consider him in earnest, and laughed at the
violent politician, who, believing himself to be the best
informed cardinal in the Sacred College, never brought
' the Pope any news except that which was false or
stale. Sixtus v., seeing that he was a prey to these in
trigues, and being very imperfectly acquainted with the
true state of things in France ; finding, on the other
hand, that the Vatican was entirely invaded by Spanish
influences,, with which he did not sympathise, but to
which he could not help yielding in a certain measure,
vainly sought to get out of the labyrinth of difficulties
in which he was entangled. His inexperience in such
matters, his long absence from power, which was the
necessary consequence of his disgrace, added to his
perplexities. That Henry of Navarre was a heretic,
unworthy of any regard, who should be condemned
and excluded from the succession to the throne, was
what the Pope firmly beheved. This side of the

Chap. L] ARRIVAL OF THE DUIvE OF NE^•ERS, 153
question he erroneously looked at with the eyes of a
priest only, and was, in this respect, of the opinion
which had been expressed to him by Olivares and by
the Cardinal of Sens. But Avhat was he to do, now
that the deplorable division between the King and the
Guises had been renewed, and that by it the Catholics
were divided into two camps, and France was delivered
over as it were to the Spaniards? His instinct and
judgment came to his rescue. He felt that it was
necessary to put an end to these dissensions, and to try
and unite aU the Catholics of France under one banner.
Was it possible ? He hoped so, and this error tends
further to show how ignorant he was of France and
of its men. In fine all his sympathies went with
Henry HI., not as a prince, for he had a small opinion of
him, but as the legitimate king. The partisans of the
League were rebels, who were unfortunately the de
fenders of the faith, so they at least professed themselves
to be, while the Very Christian King threatened to
apostatize. How could he then refuse to listen to
them? how could he help supporting them, or en-
hghtening or directing them towards that great ob
ject which was not to occupy territories belonging to
their sovereign, but to combat and annihilate heresy
and the heretics ? Going therefore against his feehngs,
his instinct, and his judgment, Sixtus V. showed
himself disposed to favour the League.
About this time, the Duke of Nevers, accompanied
by the Cardinal de Vaudemont, arrived in Rome.
He was sent by the Coalition. On the 1st of June
1585 he made his solemn entry. His brother-in-law

154 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
Cardinal d'Este, Cardinal de' Medici, and aU the French
cardinals went to meet him. On alighting from his
carriage he received a letter from the Spanish ambas
sador full of information and of useful advice. He at
once placed himself in communication with that power
ful auxihary. Not to attract too much attention by
too frequent interviews, they made use of a common
friend, Scipio Gonzaga, as an intermediary. Nevers
did nothing without consulting Ohvares, and the latter
endeavoured to soften down every difficulty for the
ambassador of the Guises.
The Duke's mission was to obtain a bull, which, in
the eyes of the world, would give the League the
official support of the Holy See, and to ask besides for
a buU declaring Henry of Navarre and the Prince of
Conde incapable of ever succeeding to the throne of
France. These two questions formed the subject of many a
long discussion between Nevers and PhUip's ambassador.
' Insist,' said the latter, ' upon the Pope's seeing the
drafts of the letters which the Cardinal of Sens wrote
formerly with the sanction of Pope Gregory, Appeal
specially to the religious sentiments of His Holiness,
for he is full of zeal for all that concerns the faith.' As
to the ' depriving ' bull, Olivares, at the instance of his
master, asked that not only Henry of Beam and the
Prince of Conde, but that hkewise the Cathohc
children of the latter should be excluded. The Duke
opposed it. ' An extension of the declaration of in
capacity to Catholic princes would,' he said, ' displease
the Parliament as weU as the French pubhc, who

Chap. L] NEVERS AND OLIVARJiS, 155
would say that it was the result of a pohtical not of a
religious measure, and who would in fact see in it only
a suggestion of Spain. It would be found to be neither
just nor reasonable. This was also the opinion of the
tribunal of the Inquisition, to which Sixtus had already
referred the matter. It declared that the Pope alone
could, if he thought fit, declare Catholic children to be
debarred from the succession, but ex officio and without
the interference of the interested parties.
Nevers did not hide from Ohvares how unpopular
the Court of Spain was, not only with the royalists, but
even with the partisans of the League, while he agreed
that there was a great community of interests between
the League and the Court of Spain. ' We, no doubt,'
he said, ' want the support of the Catholic King, but
His Majesty wants us also. If a Protestant prince
ascends the throne of France it is aU over with the
Cathohc rehgion, not only with us, but also in Flanders ;
and very probably the Netherlands would be lost to
Spain. His Majesty must help us, and give us money;
but he must do so secretly; for such are the prejudices,
the passions, and the ignorance of the French pubhc,
that the very name of Spain is sufficient to excite sus
picion, and to make the aUies unpopular. If the Pope
gives a subsidy, it can be supposed that the Spanish
subsidies also come from Rome.'
But Sixtus V. had no idea of spending any money.
Ohvares knew it weU. When he learnt that Pisany
and Cardinal d'Este had asked for a monthly subsidy
of 4,000 scudi for Henry IH., in order to carry on war
against the heretics, he advised Nevers to do the same

156 SIXTHS THE FEFTH. [Paei VH.
for the League. ' Tell His Hohness that to refuse to
you what he would give to the King would be to de
clare himself the enemy of God's cause, which is that of
the League ; and mention the favourites of the King, into
whose hands the money would probably find its way.'
This ruse had the success which Olivares expected.
Tlie representatives of Henry HI. could obtain nothing.
The Holy Father had received the envoys from the
Guises most graciously. He did not spare them, how
ever, and scolded them weU for having rebelled against
their sovereign. He allowed, however, that there were
extenuating circumstances, and excused them, as it
were, by setting forth the indirect approval which his
predecessor had given them. He had, said he, favoured
the League and had been a consenting party to it.
Nevers and Vaudemont thought they saw in the Pope
similar dispositions. Sixtus justified the distrust with
which their king inspired them, but strongly insisted
on the necessity of coming to an understanding. ' Place
yourselves,' he said, ' in communication with Pisany and
with D'Este. Treat with them in a kind and friendly
manner. Concert among you for some means of ar
rangement. Show me your plans, and we will advise.
If you cannot agree, we will ourselves take up the
matter.' To their repeated requests about the buU, he
replied evasively.
After a stay of two weeks, the Duke and the Cardinal
left Rome on their return to France. Besides a few
amiable but vain encouragements, they brought home,
not a bull — for they were not able to obtain one, owing,
to the Pope's distrust — but a brief, addressed to the

Chap. L] THE FRENCH SUCCi!SSION. 157
Cardinal of Bourbon and his friends, which was less
explicit, but which they hoped to turn to use.
Two events marked the departure of this embassy.
The Duke of Nevers, when about to mount his horse,
felt suddenly a scruple of conscience. Had he done
right to join the League ? was it not a breach of faith —
an act of rebellion ? He went at once to Cardinal
Madruccio and opened his heart to him. It required
two hours of oratorical endeavours before his timid
soul could be satisfied. The Duke's anxiety was not a
sudden one. It coincided with the arrival of letters
from France, which, thanks to the active diplomacy of
the Queen-Mother, announced as certain the peace
made between the King and the League, Some
laughter was therefore caused by the political remorse
of Nevers, who left amidst the jeering of the Romans.
The great question was always that of depriving
the King of Navarre of the succession, which had been
solicited by the delegates of the Holy Union. At
their last audience, the Cardinal de Vaudemont made
a final effort. The Holy Father rejDlied gently, ' We
cannot do what you ask for, because it is not usual
with us to condemn people without hearing them. It
wiU always be time enough to do this.' When the
Cardinal insisted, he answered roughly, 'We have
told you why we must not do such a thing ; now we
teU you we will not do it.'
But, notwithstanding this categorical refusal, the
Pope's mind was half made up. In his opinion the
excommunication and exclusion from the succession of
the King of Navarre had almost become a necessity.

158 SIXTHS TIDE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
Such an act, however, was to be shorn of any political
character, and, instead of appearing as the result of the
steps taken by the League, to seem as if it emanated
direct from the Pope. The Inquisition and the Sacred
College were still debating the matter when the news
arrived of the peace of Nemours (signed on the 9th of
July 1585), which had been so carefully arranged by
the Queen-Mother, and by which Henry III. engaged
not to tolerate the new religion, to give governments
and places as securities to the principal leaders of the
League, and to revoke the edicts ofpeace and tolerance.
All this was an additional reason why the bull should
be fulminated, why the abyss should be widened which
in future was to separate the Huguenot king from the
French Catholics of every shade of political opinion.
Cardinal d'Este and Pisany had fought against a
resolution which seemed to them to be derogatory to
the independence of France, and when they learnt
what had passed between the Pope and the Cardinal
de Vaudemont, they fancied themselves victorious.
Sixtus V. hastened to disenchant them. He called for
d'Este, and told him of his resolution, ' taken partly,'
he said, ' in order to strengthen the King, for those who
will find themselves excluded from the succession will
think twice before they conspire against their legiti
mate sovereign.' Monsignor de Lenoncourt, who, at
the request of Henry III., had gone to ' the Bearnais ' to
instruct him in matters of religion, received peremptory
orders from the Pope to return to his diocese. On the
9th of September the bull was placarded in Rome at
the accustomed places. Henry of Beam, supposed

Chap, I,] THE LEAGUE AND THE ROYALISTS. 159
King of Navarre, and Henry of Bourbon, supposed
King of Conde, were declared heretics, deprived, them
selves and their heirs, of aU their sovereign rights, and
pronounced incapable of succeeding to the kingdom of
France, or to any other dukedom or principality. Their
vassals and subjects were released from their oath of
allegiance. This was the first act of Sixtus V. in regard to
French affairs, and the act was a mistake which he
soon regretted, for which he reproached himself
secretly, and which he actually admitted whilst trying
to excuse it in his conversations with intimate friends.
But, apart from this fault, which his inexperience
and Spanish influence may explain, he had the
merit of understanding, from the very first day, that
the solution of the problem in France lay in the union
of all the French Catholics beyond any Spanish inter
ference. On this capital point he judged clearly.
Where he hesitated was as to the means of execution ;
and what the principal actors and witnesses in the
matter took for indecision of character and fickleness,
was in reality but a natural consequence of certain
given circumstances. Sometimes disposed, though
feebly, to favour the League, he strove to dissolve it
by effecting its union with the Royalists. This fact
once accomplished, though rather in appearance than
in reahty, and not through his intermediary, as he had
hoped at one time, but through the negotiations of the
Queen-Mother, he fulminated his edict against the
leader of the Huguenots. Henceforth the position of
affairs was less intricate. There were no longer more

160 SLXTUS THE FIFTH, [Paei VH
than two parties in France — the defenders and the
enemies of religion. If the reconcUiation was sincere,
if the late coalesced members of the League frankly
joined their legitimate king, then the whole of Cathohc
France would march against the heretics, and religion,
as well as France, would be saved. The grave question
of succession could then be discussed ; it could then
be solved, and, what was essential, it could be settled
without the interference of Spain.
Such was the reasoning of Sixtus V. It was a just
one, though only on one condition, which was that the
reconciliation now officially proclaimed by the Treaty
of Nemours between the King and the heads of the
League should be sincere. This he believed to be
possible, because as yet he did not know France ; but
this hope appeared a delusive one to those who knew
that country.

Chap. H] 161

CHAPTER II,
PROSPECTS OP CATHOLICITY IN FRANCE.
It is scarcely necessary to summarize here the events
which followed the conclusion of the Peace of Ne
mours, — the vicissitudes of the war, the repugnance
which the King experienced to confide his armies to
the command of the Guises, the scandals of his journey
to Lyons, the injurious expressions used by him and by
the envoys of the Electors and other Protestant princes
during a public audience, his wrath, the invasion of
Protestant Germany, the defeat of Joyeuse at Coutras,
and the destruction of the German Reiters or volun
teer cavalry.
These events run through two years of anxiety and
care for Sixtus. Though doing his best to reconcile
the King with the League, and the Royalists with the
partisans of the princes, he soon lost all illusion as to
the solidity of the union which the last treaty had
estabhshed. FuU of distrust, and still more of disgust
for the person of Henry IIL, he had some trouble in
disguising his contempt and his sinister forebodings.
When the Ambassador of Venice, who came to con
gratulate him on his accession, offered to interpose his
good offices in favour of Henry HI. by begging of the
Pope to grant that prince authority to alienate a por-
VOL. n. M

162 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
tion of the property of the clergy, the Pope replied
coldly, 'We would wish to see His Majesty evince
more zeal in the prosecution of the war against the
Huguenots. We are surprised that so great a king,
notwithstanding the enormous taxes which he levies
upon his people, has not considered it advisable to
economise for extraordinary cases. He should think
seriously, and not fail in his duty ; then we would
help him.'
The weakness, foUy, and want of loyalty apparent
at that Court, greatly discouraged the Pope. Not only
was the League stiU in existence, and had not sincerely
espoused the cause of the King, but matters had daily
grown "worse, and distrust on both sides seemed to be
justified. As in the past, France lay between a civil
war or the triumph of heresy, and a Spanish intervention,
which meant its own dismemberment. Sixtus V. stiU
hoped that Queen Elizabeth might be converted. Was
the conversion of Henry of Navarre necessarUy simu
lated, as he was assured by the Spaniards and by the
partisans of the League ? He was disposed to beheve it.
A doubt was, however, permissible ; and on such occa
sions he regretted the buU against him. Bulls may be
revoked. Such things had been done, and this Philip
dreaded. ' There are people,' he wrote to Ohvares
(1586), 'who hope to shake the determination of the
Pope, and to bring him to revoke his bull against Henry
of Beam, and to believe in the sincerity of his conversion,
which can but be feigned. I cannot believe it ; but the
matter is too serious for me not to consider it neces
sary to call the attention of His Holiness to the subject.

Chap. H.] REMONSTRANCES OF PHILIP IL 163
You will give him the inclosed letter, of which I annex
a copy, and will tell him from me that I am sure he
intends to maintain the little that stiU remains of
Christendom. Call to his memory how great France
is. Tell him that as long as heresy has not invaded
the head of the State there is hope ; but that if the
evil takes possession of the sovereign, the whole edifice
must fall at once. We have so many instances of this
under our eyes, as a punishment for our sins, that it
would be useless to enumerate them. I am told from
France that steps are taken with His Holiness to obtain
that he should aUow " the Bearnais " to recant ; and
thus it is hoped to insure for him the possession of the
kingdom. This would be simply setting fire to Prance.
You will make the Pope understand that the present
step is not taken through any fear which I may have
of " the Bearnais." He is for ever asking me favours
and help, and offers aU kinds of securities, which I would
fain accept ; but I act only and exclusively in the ser
vice of Our Lord. Let His Holiness be undeceived
with regard to the supposed sincerity of " the Bearnais."
We might believe in it if he only asked to retire into a
monastery and to do penance ; but as it is the means
for him to succeed to the throne, it is clear it is only
a pretence. The Church and the Inquisition declare
relapse into heresy to be deserving of capital punish
ment. A fortiori one ought to prevent a man guilty
of such a crime from becoming the master of a kingdom
like France, which would soon be fuU of heretics. You
will warn His Holiness that, rather than consent to
expose my subjects to the danger of heresy by assent-
M 2

164 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH,
ing to the proposed revocation, I would take upon
myself to favour and protect the Catholics of France.
CivU war would be the consequence, and perhaps the
dismemberment of France, which, as long as it remains
Catholic, is, by its unity and strength, of great use to
Christendom, but which, if perverted and doomed to
perdition, would present so many dangers for the
Christian world that it would become absolutely neces
sary to reduce its power.^ To intimidate His Beati
tude, he is told that if I insist upon the exclusion
of Beam, and advise the continuance of war on the part
of the Catholics, it is because I aim at destroying the
strength of each party, and, after their fall, to march
upon Italy. Pray combat this error — not in my name,
and as if you had to excuse my conduct, but by declar
ing that if I see that the succession of a heretic to the
throne of France is encouraged, I shall come to the
rescue of the Catholics. It is the way which will lead
to the dismemberment of that kingdom, for whoever
can will take a bit of it. The means of preserving
its integrity is, that there should be ah understanding
between His Holiness, ourselves, and the Very Christian
King, if he chooses, or between the French Cathohcs.
The object of such an understanding must be the ex
clusion of all heretical candidates, and the choice of a
Catholic who may be able to put an end to the evils in
France, in the event of the King not being able to do

' ' Con que habria disensiones j' guerras y podrian quiza dividirse las
'uerzas y poder de aquel Reyno que asi como unido y catolico son may
iitiles & la cristiandad, asi perbertido y danado serian tan temerosas a
toda Ella que en tal caso seria fuerza procurar que quedasen menorea.'

Chap, H.] DISLffiE OF PIHLIP FOR HENRY IV. 165
SO during his lifetime — an issue of which His Holiness,
by aU he knows, can judge whether it is to be hoped.'
Such is the manner in which the King of Spain con
sidered the question of succession. In his mind it was
paramount in importance, while it was only secondary
in the eyes of Sixtus V. To become eligible Henry of
Navarre wUl return to Catholicism. Philip foresees it.
His conversion, therefore, must be a pretence. Upon
this hypothesis is his reasoning based. He cannot,
then, in the interest of rehgion in general, and of
his kingdom in particular, admit the candidature of
Henry. If the Pope accepts the conversion of the
latter, His Hohness puts forward his candidature and
PhUip wUl combat it. He will even have recourse to
arms, and, as he says, the dismemberment of France
will ensue. He writes this himself to Sixtus V., and
instructs his ambassador to speak to him in the same
sense. The latter is expressly told not to excuse him
to the Pope, but merely to signify his wishes to him.
Who wiU be the Catholic prince whom they will con
jointly select as a successor to Henry IH. ? Philip is
careful not to mention anyone. The question had
already been discussed between him and Olivares under
the preceding pontificate. The ambassador had gone
against the Cardinal de Bourbon, who, he thought, was
a dangerous man, and had insinuated the Duke of
Montpensier. The King had replied that, while appre
ciating his arguments, he considered it more prudent
not to take as yet any engagement in favour of Mont
pensier or any other candidate. ' It is sufficient,' he
wrote to Olivares (1584), ' that we should for the

166 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
present prevent, by anticipating them, any results which
might prove to be prejudicial to the service of God
and the good of the public. We must reserve to
ourselves the hberty of examining the titles and weigh
ing the strength of the several pretenders, and act
according to circumstances.' Thus situated between
the pretensions of the King of Spain, who aimed at
becoming the arbiter of the destinies of France until
he could himself become its master, and his duties as
Head of the Church, the Pope spoke much, too much
in fact, but did nothing. He watched the progress of
events. He let others act, and merely looked on,
though not with indifference. The constant complaints
of Olivares about the versatility of Sixtus are, we repeat,
unfounded. The men and affairs of France varied, but
he did not. When the Nuncio, at the beginning of
1587, vrrote to him that Henry HI., alarmed by the
turbulent disposition of the Parisians, by the attitude
taken up by the Guises, and by the general Cathohc
spirit prevalent in his kingdom, had broken off the
negotiations with the King of Navarre, and drawn
himself nearer to the Cathohc princes, the Pope sent his
apostolic blessing not only to the heads of the League, at
the request of Cardinal de Sens, but also to the King,
exhorting him not to separate his cause from that of
religion. And yet Olivares spoke against the ignorance
and instabiUty of the Pope! It is true that he was
pleased that the Guises should again be in favour ; but
his pleasure was not unalloyed, for, according to him,
the Pope was not only of a desperately changeable
disposition, but his conduct also showed a deplorable

Chap. H.] HENRY IH. AND THE HUGUENOTS. 1G7
duplicity. As a proof the ambassador mentioned the
secret messages of ' the Bearnais ' respecting his conver
sion, which seem to indicate the existence of intimate
relations with the Vatican.
When, at the end of that same year, Henry IIL, on
the advice of the Duke of Epernon, stopped the Duke
of Lorraine and his army on their way, and declared
that, if they entered France, he wouldjoin the heretics,
Sixtus despaired of him. The Nuncio had informed
him of the coUecting of troops belonging to the League
for the purpose of attacking the King : ' Well,' said he,
showing the despatch to Olivares, ' let the coalesced
parties unite, make a grand effort, and finish the matter I
If the house is to come down, better puU it down than
let it faU upon our heads. If Henry III. carries out
his threat of allying himself to the Huguenots, the
aUies wUl do weU to attack him, and your king will
do wisely to turn against France the expedition he has
prepared against England.'
He caUed for M. de Pisany and the Cardinal de
Joyeuse, and made them write to the King, that if he
thought of peace with the Huguenots, he, the Pope,
would oppose him. He reminded them that formerly
he had always tried to reassure them whenever they
spoke to him of the fears they entertained of finding
the armaments of Spain some day turned against
France. He had, in fact, assured them that the
Catholic King had no such intention ; and even were
he to have such intentions, he had promised them not
to allow it ; but now he declared to them solemnly,
that he not only withdrew his promise, but was re-

168 SIXTHS THE FEFTH. [Paei VH.
solved, if Henry III. did not change his conduct, to
persuade the King of Spain to make use of his forces
in order to save France. Olivares, who was dehghted >
with this change, immediately informed his master of
it, but expressed a doubt as to the durability of the
sentiment. ' When,' said he, ' the affairs of the League
are going on weU, the Pope turns in its favour, but
this time he has surpassed himself The ambassador
was in error. Sixtus V. wished for the triumph of
Cathohcism in France. His support was naturaUy
granted to those who Avere best disposed and able to
promote the cause. As to the manner in which he
had received the secret messages of the King of
Navarre, the watchful ambassador of Spain could only
form conjectures. He guessed rather than knew that
the Pope had not wholly given up the solution which
he most dreaded, and the prospect of which irritated
him and awakened his suspicion.
The Pope at first, after the Peace of Nemours — when
Henry IIL, of whom he then had a more favourable
opinion, seemed to be seriously engaged in war against the
Huguenots, and when the League disclosed its interested
and anti-national projects — ^tried to be useful to the
King by bringing back to his allegiance the partisans
of the King of Navarre. He attempted this with the
Duke of Montmorency, who held Languedoc for ' the
Bearnais.' Rather sharp words passed between him
and the French representative on this subject.
At the time of the ' embassy of obedience,' Sixtus V.
StiU had some hope. After the banquet which he had
given to the Duke of Luxembourg and M. de Pisany,

Chap. H.] CONDUCT OF THE FRENCH KING. 169
he spoke to them with effusion. Pisany wrote on
September 17, 1586, to Henry III. : ' He expressed him
self sorry at the misfortunes of our country, and greatly
blamed the authors of them. He added that God
would be merciful to your Majesty, would restore peace
to France, and give you a successor ; and that he would
then propose certain undertakings to occupy the mind
and courage of the French, who cannot be idle or leave
matters alone. He said that, in the teeth of the Spaniards,
we would together go to Tunis, which they had lost so
easily, and conquer Algiers ; that such were the wars
which he discussed and proposed, but not wars against
Christians, whatever others might say, since aU he
wished for was their repentance and their conversion.'
In such moments of iUusion, when he hoped to see
Henry HI. act with energy and perseverance, the League
was no better in his eyes than a rebeUious faction. ' The
barons of Rome,' he told the two ambassadors, ' wanted
to rebel at the outset of our pontificate. They soon,
however, resolved to be good, foreseeing that their
fives were in danger, so resolved were we. The same
means,' he imprudently added, ' would be efficacious as
a remedy in the King's hands.' 'The advice,' said
Pisany, at the end of his report to the King, ' referred to
the principal personages of the kingdom, who would
wish to alter the State, or refuse to obey your Majesty's
laws and commands : whereupon he dismissed us.'
These good dispositions could not be maintained. The
negotiations of the Queen-Mother with Henry of
Navarre destroyed in him the last remnants of con
fidence in or affection for the King. More than once

170 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
Pisany tried to convince him of the necessity under
which his king was of treating with the Huguenots,
The Pope replied (1587) that he had already told him
that to do so was to give time to Navarre to complete
his armaments. On another occasion he became very
angry. ' The King,' said he, ' is deceived by those
who surround him ; they give him bad advice, and
encourage him to treat with the Huguenots, without
regard to his dignity or reputation.'
The leader of the Huguenots had addressed himself
to the Holy Father, complaining that the bull had
been pubhshed before he had been heard ; that he
was treated with less indulgence than the infidels, to
whom missionaries were sent. If a theologian were
sent to him, he would willingly listen to him, and
would give him every security which he might desire.
To this the Pope had replied that the Apostles and dis
ciples did not require security for their persons, and
that it would be lost time to send any theologian to the
King of Navarre.
Events, in fact, were not of a nature to warrant hope
for the conversion of Henry. The execution of Mary
Stuart at the beginning of the year had revived the
courage and the hopes of the Huguenots. Protestant
Germany was arming with the purpose of coming to
their aid, and preparing to invade France. Sixtus V.
was, therefore, full again of the idea of a common
action of the armies of the King and of the League.
He no longer recommended that the chief rebels should
lose their heads, but, on the contrary, that they should
be received with open arms. Such an understanding

•Chap. H.] BATTLE OF COUTRAS. 171
suited the position of affairs. It was natural that men
whom only a common danger was to unite, should
separate as soon as the danger was over.
Towards the end of the year two events— the defeat
of the Duke of Joyeuse, and the destruction of the
Protestant Reiters — afflicted and consoled the belli
gerents. Henry of Navarre had conquered at Coutras ;
the Duke of Guise had pursued and defeated the Reiters.
Famine, epidemics, and flight had finished them.
After the defeat which his favourite had received, and
on the occasion of the victory won by his rival,
Hemy HI, made a triumphal entry into his capital,
amidst the indifference and sarcastic remarks of the
Parisians. He wanted to pass for a hero, and was
only laughed at. Heroes there were in France, but he
was not one of them. Henceforth there were but two
men, the King of Navarre and the Duke of Guise.
The Pope viewed the supposed prowess of Henry in
the same light with his people. When M. de Pisany
announced to him the defeat of the German cavalry,
he received the news coldly and remained silent.
When Cardinal de Joyeuse begged that the event
should be celebrated in Rome by public rejoicings and
thanksgivings, he replied that God had done all, and
men nothing. Pisany saw in these words the influence
of the Cardinal of Sens, and Joyeuse the regret which
the Pope experienced at not having aided the King.
The truth is, he did not like to attribute to the King a
merit which was due to another ; and did not wish to
aggravate matters by rejoicing over the victory of the
Guises. To get out of the difficulty he therefore

172 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
attributed the successes obtained to the interference of
Divine Providence ; that is, to the iUness which had
carried off the remains of the German army. M. de
Pisany questioned him respecting his sUence, which
was so offensive to his king : ' Having spoken to me
in this wise,' he wrote to Henry IH., ' he apparently
changed greatly, for, as we were walking up and down
his room, he made two or three turns without saying
a word, but beating his hands, as is his wont whenever
anything annoys him, and then, turning to me, said
that he saw two things, which were : the first, that
God should be thanked for so signal a miracle per
formed by Him in favour of religion and of France ;
and the other, that the event deserved no rejoicings or
pubUc marks of pleasure, except that in his heart each
man should thank God, for no man had had a share in
that victory, and, in fact, that no one had done any
thing, but, on the contrary, all had left much undone
which they could have done. He followed this remark
by a number of stories from the Bible, upon which he
dilated a long time.'
In the Consistory the Pope expressed himself in a
simUar sense, but took care not to name Henry. He
was observed while speaking to be much moved, and
also to make efforts not to aUow a word to escape him
which might be disobliging to the King of France.
When he had finished, the Cardinal de Joyeuse got up
to speak of the merits of the Very Christian King, but
a look from the Pope stopped him. Frightened by
this look, he confined himself to speaking in private to
the Pope when the meeting was over, and was very

Chap. H] REPUTATION OF HENRY HI. 173
cautious in his language. But, at the very first words
he uttered, the Pope exclaimed, in a passion, ' I tell
you that no man has had a share in that victory.' The
Cardinal held his tongue, following in this the advice
of M. de Pisany, ' not to break with that man, whose
hatred and anger might injure the King much more
than his good graces could benefit him.' In the
original of the letter in which the Cardinal recalls
these words, the words just quoted are underlined in
the handwriting of M. de VUleroy. The dash of the
minister, though faded as it is by the action of three
centuries, is more eloquent than the long report of the
Cardinal. It proves that both parties, at the Louvre '
and at the Vatican, knew how to judge each other
weU ; that Henry HI. was discredited in Rome, and
that on this point neither his Secretary of State nor his
ambassador remained under any iUusion.

174 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.

CHAPTER III.
THE POLICY OF SIXTUS WITH REFERENCE TO THE
FRENCH KINGDOM
The emotions of pohtics, and those especially which
the growing bad news from France produced upon
him, began to tell upon the constitution of the Pope,
though at his election ^ it was still very strong. He
occasionally had feverish attacks, and, judging of the
medical science of that day, we may suppose that each
slight indisposition might easily degenerate into a fatal
disease.^ He was a bad invalid, ate ' bravely his wine
soup,' laughed at doctors, believed himself to be a better
doctor than they, and loved to discuss scientifically
the nature of his maladies. His activity had never
diminished, but his strength decayed daily, Gritti was
struck on finding him seated, too tired to get up or to
walk, as was his wont during an audience. The Pope
told him his little grievances. The last ceremony had
been a long one. His mantle of scarlet cloth, and his
hood lined with ermine, had appeared to him rather
heavy. His awkward master of the ceremonies,
' ' E sanissimo,' Babbi. April 24, 1685.
^ ' 11 Tesoro della vita humana dell' excellente dottore e eavaliere
M. Leonardo Fioravanti, Bolognese. Venezia, 1690.' The book makes
one shudder.

Chap. IH.] DECLINING STRENGTH OF THE POPE. 175
AUaleone, could not help him. Hence his illness. In
fact he grew physically old, and those about him were
anxious. He had spent the Carnival pleasantly in his own way,
and, to celebrate the fourth anniversary of his election
he had invited the ambassadors of France and of
Venice to dine with him. It was on a Sunday, after
mass, and after an audience which he gave to a few
cardinals, that he received his two guests in the stanza
called the ' Bologna.' He sat down at a little separate
table which almost touched that of the ambassadors.
Notwithstanding the homily which was usuaUy read to
him during dinner, he showed them every civility,
begging them to eat and to drink, and to cover them
selves. During dinner, which was well served and
well prepared. Donna Camilla sent a few dainty dishes ;
and when, according to custom, the tables had been
cleared, the Pope again begged of Pisany and Gritti to
remain covered, and to sit nearer to him. Fascinating
when he wished to be so, which was not often, Sixtus V.
was especiaUy fascinating on the present occasion. He
gave his guests a medal which had been struck in
commemoration of the four years of his pontificate,
told them the history of his election, assured them of
his good intentions, and even went so far as to excuse
his hastiness, which, he said, was never on account of
the princes themselves, but only on account of their
sins. He did not forget to speak of the banditti, a
favourite topic with him, and dwelt at length upon the
pohtics of the day and of past times. As was his
wont, he did not spare Gregory XIIL, to whom he

176 SISTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
attributed almost all the evUs to which the world was
subject : banditti. Huguenots, and civU war in France.
The Gregorian Calendar, which is one of the glories of
that pontificate, did not escape his criticism. He
found the innovation contrary to the teaching of the
Councils, of the Popes, and of St, Ambrose, held that it
had produced a confusion in Greece and in Germany
to the detriment of the Papacy, and drew his argu
ments from mathematics, with which he said he was
well acquainted. He at one time had thought of
resuming the old calendar, but in belying a Pope he
was afraid of diminishing the authority of the Popes,
' although,' he added, ' it is of little consequence if they
err in matters which are not of faith.' On this subject
he was never weary of speaking. His dislike of his
predecessor displayed itself even in his dreams. During
two consecutive nights he had seen Gregory XIH, sur
rounded by flames. Happily it was not to heU, but only
to purgatory, that Gregory had gone. In his not over
flattering anxiety for Pope Buoncompagni, he had mass
said in several churches for the repose of his soul.
Foreign diplomatists smiled at this weakness, were
exasperated by his unmeasured language, and despaired
of his apparent but not real versatihty. Though sharp
and cunning, he was, we again say it, naturally loyal ;
and notwithstanding changes of temper, which are
easily explained if his position be seriously considered,
he was much more consistent than he appeared. Of
an impressionable and quick temperament, he could not
restrain himself, and was imprudent enough to speak as
he felt. His feelings changed with circumstances and

Chap, HI.] CHARGES OF INCONSISTENCY, 177
his language changed with his impressions. There
was sometimes also a calculated motive in that loquacity,
which often better than silence deceived the person
to whom he spoke, left him in ignorance of what he
thought, and tired his memory by endless reasonings.
To say all is to say nothing ; and long interviews, when
it is a question of large interests, almost always prove
that a man neither wishes to agree nor can do so.
Without suspecting or without caring what use the
ambassadors might make of his confidence, or, perhaps,
to put them off the right scent, he was wont to tell
the one what he had said to the other. People with
evil intentions could easily find out contradictions in
his language. Olivares always took note of them,
sent them home, and represented the Holy Father as
false and versatile in character. This was Olivares'
revenge, for Sixtus had committed the grave error,
which great people treating with ambassadors would
do weU to avoid, of personally wounding him. The
latter took pleasure, not in misrepresenting facts which
came under his notice, but in putting them in a fight
which suited his own appreciation of the fact, and his
appreciation was that of a man who was unreasonable,
and, during the last years of the Pope's life, that of a
sworn enemy.
In 1588 events followed each other rapidly. The
heads of the League met at Soissons, after having
already met a first time at Nancy in January, They
entered into an arrangement with the secret municipal
Council of the Sixteen of Paris, settled about the dis
turbances, and entered Paris during the ' day of the
VOL, II, N

178 SKTUS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
barricades.' The King fled, revolution triumphed,
,and the Duke of Guise was master of Paris. We may
conceive the sensation which this news produced in
Rome, and the perplexity into which it threw the Pope.
¦When he was informed that the Duke, who was then
supposed to be the soul of the Paris insurrection, had
entered the Louvre, all his feehngs of a sovereign were
wounded. ' Why,' exclaimed the Pope, ' could not the
King muster twenty armed men to stop that rebel, shut
him up, and dispose of him as he best liked?' Then,
looking at the pohtical side of the event, he saw the Guises
masters of Paris. They were undoubtedly rebels, but
at the same time they were defenders of the faith, and
nothing could any longer be hoped either for faith or for
France from that weak and unworthy prince. Looked
at in this fight, the conduct of the Duke of Guise
appeared to him less deserving of reproach. He openly
avowed it to the Marquis of Pisany. When he heard
that the King intended to serve Guise a bad turn, and
perhaps make an attempt on his life, the Pope informed
the latter of this fact, and recommended his being on his
guard, AU this he himself told to such ambassadors
or cardinals as approached him, but especiaUy to the
Cardinal of Sens, who acted often as intermediary
between him and Ohvares. The latter coUected all
these sayings, and drew up from them quite an act of
impeachment. 'From what precedes,' says he, in a
letter to PhiUp, ' your Majesty can form an idea, if you
have not done so already, of the character of His
Hohness; how httle his word can be reUed upon,
and how disposed he is ever to side with the strongest,'
Sixtus did wish that the strongest might succeed, but

Chap, HI,] THE A^ENETIAN REPUBLIC. 179
only those who were strongest in the defence of the
Cathohc religion. On this point he never varied.
Hitherto his intervention had not been an active one.
Besides the ' act of privation ' which he had published
shortly after his election against Henry of Navarre, and
which had been prompted chiefly by his priestly
feehngs, he had confined himself to preaching the
necessity of a reconciliation to both Catholic camps,
and to recommending a common action against the
Huguenots. A short time before the disturbances in
Paris he had written in that sense, at the request of
M, de Pisany, to the Duke of Guise.
The events of which we have spoken, the day of the
barricades, the flight of the King from Paris, and the
triumph of the League, had produced a great sensation
in Venice. The Repubhc instructed its ambassador in
Rome to use his influence with the Pope on behalf of
Henry IH. Before doing this, Gritti wished to come
to an understanding with the French representative.
M. de Pisany complained bitterly of Sixtus V. Ac
cording to him the latter had always favoured the
Guises, and excused their conduct, by at times pleading
religion, or, at others, the succession to the throne as a
pretext, and each time supposing that they were acting
in the interest of the King. Even now that their
rebelUon was manifest, he stUl defended them. The
ambassador believed that the motives of this conduct
were to be found in the great maritime expedition of
PhUip n. against England, and the Pope's wish that
the ports of France should be open to its ships.
n2

180 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
Gritti had his audience. ' The senate,' he said,
'Holy Father, has learnt with regret how matters
have gone on in France; for that country being the
ornament and the right eye of Christianity, as weU
as the world's pivot, it is impossible for anyone to
witness the troubles of that noble kingdom without
being exceedingly impressed. It is now a question of
rehgion, and, therefore, the first of all questions. It is
a matter likewise of peace in Christendom as weU as
in Italy. The Senate fears that the King, in order to
get out of trouble, may have recourse to means which
might be prejudicial to the Catholic faith. His friends
already point to such a possibility ; and nothing can
console the Republic, unless it be its confidence in the
prudence and judgment of your Holiness, in your
charity, in your zeal for the pubhc good, and in your
supreme authority. Venice hopes that you will make
use of that authority, in order to avoid the dangers
which appear to be imminent, and to avert the evil
which threatens the existence of that noble kingdom.'
The Pope sighed deeply, and said, ' Your Govern
ment are right. Their cornplaints are, unhappily, but
too well founded ; but we like to hear them, for as
long as a bad tooth does not hurt us we do not notice
it : it is only when it does that we think of a remedy.
France is a noble kingdom, and the Church has always
derived great advantages from her. We are much
attached to France, and learn with pleasure that the
Government of Venice shares our affection. Upon the
subject in question, we will tell you that, having leariit
through the Jesuits, previously to the departure of our

Chap HL] CONVERSATION WITH GRITTI. 181
Nuncio for France, that the Queen of England showed
a disposition to return to the Cathohc faith, and knowing
that the King was in relations with her, we begged His
Majesty, through our Nuncio, to make known to the
Queen that, if she became a convert, we would, not
withstanding the ' depriving act ' of Pius V., recognize
her as Queen, would give her every concession which
she might desire, protect her against her subjects and
the King of Denmark, who, as was then said, gave her
some anxiety, and, in fact, would grant her everything.
The Nuncio did what he was told, but the King has
done nothing. He later asked us for help, and we
offered him 20,000 foot and 8,000 horsemen, at our ex
pense. Thus we would have punished the heretics and
the rebels ; but now they are the masters. We proposed
to him this because if we only sent him 3,000 or 4,000
men we should have given him the means of settling
matters with the heretics, and of doing as he did under
the pontificate of Gregory XHI., who sent him a small
aid, which he turned to his own account, and not to
that of the Papacy. If we help him, it is in view of
his exterminating the heretics, and not of making peace
with them. Enough, however, of the past. Let us
consider now the last events in Paris. The Duke of
Guise went there with only eight horsemen, aud when
he had alighted at the house of the Queen-Mother, the
latter asked him how it was that he came without
being announced. He answered that, having learnt
that the King intended to massacre all the Catholics
that were in Paris, he, as a Catholic, had come to die
with the others. The Duke did wrong in giving such

182 SLXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VII.
an answer, nor do we excuse it. The Queen assured
him that such was not the case, and advised him to go
and see the King. The Duke consented. The King
was informed of his arrival, and repUed that he had
long been made aware of it, and that, if the Duke took
as a pretext his quarrels with Epernon, he would not
receive him. Guise replied that his quarrel with Eper
non did not require a pretext ; that such questions were
settled by the sword and by the dagger ; that he had
come to Paris, and wished to see the King. The latter
consented, and the Queen-Mother took the Duke in
her coach to the reigning Queen. After making them
wait two hours, the King came. They spoke together
in amicable terms. The Duke stayed a long time, then
took his leave, and went home. The King had then
an idea of caUing the Swiss Guard to Paris, and of
asldng from the middle classes a man from each house,
in order to strengthen his body-guard. Of the latter,
one man came. Wlien the Swiss entered Paris, the
Parisians revolted, because they contend that no foreign
soldier should be called into Paris, and that if the
King is in want of soldiers, he must, in conformity with
the privileges of the town, ask them of the town, which
wiU procure them for him. Great disturbances there
fore ensued, and many of the Swiss were massacred.
During the riot our Nuncio was called to the palace,
and requested to interfere, in order to quell the disturb
ance, Morosini, who behaved very well, accompanied
the Diike to the King, and both the King and the Duke
walked together through the town, the Duke holding
his cap in his hand the whole time, and being always in

Chap, HI,] POPE'S COMMENTS ON FKENCIl EVENTS, 183
attendance upon .the King. They returned, each to his
home ; and at night, without saying a word to a soul,
the King left for Chartros. We a^k what the King
could fear, since the Duke had placed himself in his
hands, and had gone to him alone. Why did he caU
the Swiss ? Either he suspected the Duke, or he did
not. If he did, why did he not retain him ? and if he
had found that by retaining him a disturbance ensued
(which would have proved the Duke's culpabUity),
why not cut his head ofl", and throw it into the street ?
People would have been appeased. If he had no sus
picion, why did he caU the Swiss ? and if he did not
do so at the time of the first visit, Avhy did he at the
time of the second? It is said that, if the Duke were
killed, the 'Lorrain,' who was armed, would have
created a disturbance, aud revenged himself Nothing
of the kind would have occurred. Not a soul would
have moved. Now the King has left Paris. What had
he to fear ? And if he had anything to fear, how can
he seek his salvation in a flight from his capital ? If,
in the riots which have taken place at Venice, your
forefathers had fled, would they have left you that
hberty (the independence of the Repubhc) which you
enjoy? Why fly fr'om Paris? From fear of being
kiUed ? If he had been killed, he would at least have
died as a king. This is the state in which matters
stand. Now we are asked to send a legate. This we
do not intend to do. We do not wish to compromise
our reputation. Cardinal Orsino was sent to France
as legate, and was not received. Cardinal Riario^
envoy m Spain, coidd not obtain an audience. We do

184 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
not wish to expose ourselves to a similar insult, which
we could never endure. On the occasion of the cap
tivity of Archduke MaximiUan, the King of Spain, the
Emperor, and the King of Poland had asked us to send
a legate. It was only after reading ourselves the in
structions of the internuncio of Poland, and when we
had ascertained that the king of that country really
wished it, that we decided on sending one. We will
send a chevaher, a bishop, an archbishop, even a car
dinal, if it be desired, but no legate. We proposed to
the King to let us manage matters, and engaged to re
establish order in his kingdom in a short time ; but if
he wishes to act for himself, let him do so. Now we
are asked to request Guise to leave Paris. We cannot
order in Paris except as regards matters of heresy, sin,
or the Church, nor have we anything to do in the pre
sent question, which is not an ecclesiastical matter.
The King said that he intended to join the Huguenots,
If he does, he will see what we shall do. Notwith
standing all, we wrote to him to console and encourage
him, and we shall think of what there is to be done ;
for, besides the rehgious considerations, there are state
reasons of the highest importance, which require that
we should see to the preservation of that kingdom,'^
Gritti discussed some of the arguments which he
had just heard. He observed that if the Duke of
' The above is a literal translation of the important report of Gritti to
tke Doge, June 4, 1588. The Pope spoke on the faith of the reports which
he got front his Nuncio. It is the only official account of those events
which I have seen, and the only one, I believe, that has been published,
I found at the Vatican Morosini's ciphered despatch, but not its trans
lation.

Chap, HI.] LETTER OF HENRY HI. TO PISANY. 185
Giuse had entered Paris with only eight horsemen, this
fact proved that he was in secret intelUgence with the
authorities of the town ; and when the Pope spoke of
the errors committed by the King, he did not disagree,
but contended that it was no longer a question of
criticising events, but of remedying an evil. To this
Sixtus replied that it was true, and that he had
written to the Duke of Guise recommending him
strongly to submit to the King.
Henry HI., on arriving at Chartres,^ wrote to Pisany,
He exposed his grievances, his good disposition as
regards a reconciliation, and his intention of convoking
the States-General, but he did not faU to hint at his
future possible union with the Huguenots. As a kind
of warning he told him of the presence at Boulogne
of some English vessels, which were to assist the royal
troops against the Duke of Aumale and the Spaniards,
(apparently under the Duke of Parma), who were be-
seiging them. It was the beginning of an alliance
which he could only explain by the jealous spirit of
the Queen of England.
' Such is, sir,' he wrote to his ambassador, ' the state
in which matters now stand, and I continue to be of
the same mind and will, as when I last wrote to you ;
that is, to throw water upon the fire, and to put it out
by kindness, if God gives me the opportunity ; but if
not, to neglect no means by which my person and my
dignity may be preserved. I am very sorry that the Holy
Father has more faith in the inventions of my enemies
than in the truth and sincerity of my acts, and that he
' Henry III. to Pisany, May 23, 1588,

18G SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
favours or assists them in any way, as indeed they pro
claim him to do. Tlois would oblige me to adopt a
course which has never entered my thoughts, and
which never will, unless I am compelled by a dire
necessity, which I want to escape from and to avoid
with aU my heart.' The ambassador obeyed the orders
contained in that letter, which he said might weU be
called ' a masterpiece of style.' He told the Pope of the
insults which the Guises had offered to Henry III. ; and
the Holy Father, ' beating his hands and tramphng with
his feet, asked whether all that he said was true, and
added that, if it were so, God would punish the guilty.'
But when Pisany insisted on his openly declaring for
the King, and writing at once three briefs to this effect,
addressed respectively to the King, the French clergy,
and a ' very bitter ' one to the partisans of the League,
Sixtus replied that the Pope's letters, and those from
the Holy See, were not generally ' anvilled.' He
promised, however, to appoint a Congregation to con
sider the matter. As Cardinal de Joyeuse had already
done once,^ Pisany endeavoured to find out how the
Pope would act in the event of the delicate as weU as
grave question arising of the King breaking definitively
with the League. But Sixtus remained silent.
The Duke of Guise meanwhile strengthened his
position in Paris, took the Bastille without striking a
blow, and prepared to fight the King's troops. At the
same time, and through the initiative of the Queen-
Mother, negotiations were entered into with the King.
Monsignor Morosini was the most active instrument in
1 June 15, 1588i

Chap. IH.] THE NUNCIO MOROSINI. 187
the matter.^ Obhged by the position which he held
to join the King, he caUed on the Duke of Guise before
leaving Paris. He found with him the Cardinal of
Bourbon, the Archbishop of Lyons, and other nota-
bihties of the League. He urged a reconcUiation, and
the Duke replied, as usual, that all he wished was that
heresy should be exterminated. ' If,' replied the
Nnncio, ' you have no other intention, it will be easy
for you to agree with the King. Do you authorise me
to inform hun that you are prepared and determined to
obey him as a good and loyal subject, if he furnishes
you with the means of waging war against the Hugue
nots, either in common with His Majesty, or on your
own responsibiUty ? ' In other words this was offering
him the command of the army, at least the Duke un
derstood it so, and, notwithstanding the objections raised
by those present, he agreed to the Nuncio's propositions,
and the latter at once conveyed them to the King. On
arriving at the wandering Court of Henry IIL, Morosini
found that the ground was but too favourable to his
plans. He found the Court in the greatest confusion.
Fear and presumption alternately mastered the King,
but fear always predominated. It was clear that,
whatever the requests of the coalesced parties might
be, Henry III. would end by acceding to them. The
Nuncio therefore, under such circumstances, had no
difiiculty in obtaining what he wished. He returned
to Paris bearing the King's promise ' to intrust to the
Duke of Guise all the functions necessary for him to
wage war against the Huguenots.' M. de ViUeroy fol-
1 Pisany to Henry IIL, .lune 28, 1588.

188 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
lowed immediately after, with orders to regulate aU
matters of detail, and to draw up the act of reconcilia
tion. The triumphant rebels merely asked that the
Crown should submit. The Duke of Guise would not
hear of the conditions that he had accepted during his
first interview with the Nuncio ; put forth new con
ditions which the Nuncio considered to be inadmissible,
and, in fact, took the airs of a man who feels himself
to be and is in reality master of the situation. On
the other hand Morosini, who was mortified, and had
compromised himself with the Court, retired from the
negotiations, and communicated to his sovereign all the
humihation which he felt. ' They are bad,' he said in
speaking of the leaders of the League — ' bad and of
questionable goodwill.' He sent word to the King
again, that he might depend upon the support of the
Holy See, if he would only ' honestly ' resolve to go
to war against the Huguenots. But the unfortunate
Henry IH., who was more and more alarmed, capitu
lated, and, having passed through the Caudine forks of
the League, signed the edict of the Union, which was
pubhshed in Rouen on the 19th, and in Paris on the 20th
of July. The Duke of Guise was appointed lieutenant-
general of the armies of France. Shortly before ratifying
so important an act, Henry IIL had written to Cardinal
de Joyeuse.^ His letter was but one long complaint.
He showed him the state in which France was, the
hostilities which the partisans of the League had
already entered into with the Royalists, the progress
' July i, 1588, This letter is not published in the Oai'dinal's Life.

Chap. HI.] MOROSINT AS LEGATE, 189
made in Languedoc and in the Dauphine by the
Huguenots, his troubles, his despair. He asked for
help of the Pope, but showed how undecided he still
was as to what to do — whether he would have peace or
war — whether he would make the one with, or wage the
other against, the Huguenots or the League. To hasten
the sending of money, and also the nomination of a
legate, he dispatched to Rome Cardinal de Gondi, who
succeeded not only in making the Pope give up his
aversion to legates in general, but in obtaining that
Morosini, who was particularly liked at the Court of
France, where he resided as Nuncio, should, at the re
quest of the King, be promoted to that important
position.^ As a natural consequence, he was also made
a cardinal.^ A remarkable change had evidently taken place in
the mind of Sixtus V. The information which he re
ceived from France, the explanations of the Cardinal
de Gondi, the facts told him by the King himself in
his letters, aU concurred in making him look upon the
day of the barricades and the events which foUowed it
in a hght which was not favourable to the Guises.
'They have brought up their guns to Melun,' wrote
Henry, 'to fight me, and in doing so have declared
and begun war against the Cathohcs.' The Pope was
indignant, and assured Cardinal de Gondi 'that he
would not abandon the King, either by faiUng in giving
him advice, or by procuring him men and money — of
which he beheves he has more than any living prince —
' Henry IH, to Sixtus the Fifth, 1588,
2 Cardinal de Gondi to Henry HL, July 13, 1588.

190 • SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paei VH.
provided His Majesty keeps to his good resolution,' His
former project of intervention in France with 20,000 or
25,000 men came back to his mind. The correspond
ence of Monsignor Morosini was calculated to operate
such a change, and to maintain the Pope in his good
intentions. Sixtus V, generally chose his representa
tives abroad among the most distinguished members of
the clergy, and among the men who were specially
honoured with his confidence. He never had recourse
to the vile practice of making secret and inferior agents
watch and control the proceedings of those who, besides
the honour, had the responsibility of officially repre
senting their sovereign. ' One word from the Nuncio,'
said the Cardinal de Joyeuse, ' has more weight with
the Pope, and influences him more, than whatever the
interested parties may write ' (1587).
Morosini, born of an illustrious Venetian family, had
a weU-deserved reputation as a diplomatist. Wherever
he had been as an ambassador — at Turin, in Poland, in
Madrid — he had left the pleasantest recoUections. As
' baiUi ' (deputy) at Constantinople, he had intimidated
the Sultan by a proud answer at the very time when
the latter condemned him to death. He then left
the diplomatic career, became Bishop of Brescia, and,
at the request of Cardinal de Joyeuse, was appointed
Nuncio in Paris after the death of the Archbishop of
Nazareth. As a Venetian he had always been favourable
to France. In his new capacity he could render the
greatest services to Henry III. Pisany and De Joyeuse
never ceased praising his ' tact and his ability, which
are so necessary in considering the temper of the man

Chap. IH.] POLICY OF MOROSINI. 191
(Sixtus V.) with whom he has to deal.' Morosini
managed matters so well that he succeeded, at least for
a time, in gaining the confidence of both the Pope and
the King. Thus it was that seeing the embarrass
ment of Henry IIL, the attitude of the League, the
progress of the Huguenots in the south, and '^earning,
by his correspondence from Rome, that the Pope had
become a colder partisan of the Guises, Morosini, who
likewise took into account the position of the King of
Spain, whose Armada was then sailing towards Eng
land, proposed, on his own responsibility, to the King
and Queen a pohtical combination which, had it been
reahzed or capable of being so, would suddenly and
materiaUy have changed the aspect of Europe. He pro
posed an intimate alhance, or union as it was then called,
between Phihp and Henry. Sixtus V. caught at the
idea with enthusiasm. Was it not in fact his own idea —
was it not what he had always advised ? If the two
kings were sincerely united, and acted honestly together
and with him, heresy in France and in the Netherlands
would soon be at an end. England and Germany
would afterwards foUow, and, as he would always have
the upper hand, he would be able to watch over the
safety of France and the maintenance of the European
equUibrium. He therefore enthusiastically adopted
the views of his legate, called for Gondi, spoke to him
at length upon the subject of the Spanish policy and
especially of the relations between the Courts of Madrid
and the leaders of the League, and told him of his
correspondence with Philip on the subject. ' He had
written,' he said, ' formerly to the King of Spain to

192 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei YIl.
beg of him not to encourage the enemies of. the Very
Christian King. His Majesty in reply had acknow
ledged ' that he gave help to the League, not by way
of arming them against their sovereign, but to protect
them against their enemy. As to the enterprise
against England, the Court of Rome had signed a
convention with the King of Spain, which he intended
to read in public consistory as soon as the Armada had
made its appearance in British waters. The world
would then know whether the Holy Father had or had
not taken care of the interests of France. To do other
wise would have been unbecoming the duties of a Pope.'
The day after this interview, Sixtus V. spoke about
it to Olivares.^ He told him that Morosini had sug-
guested the idea of a union between the two kings ;
that he had spoken of it to the Spanish ambassador in
Paris ; that Don Bernardino de Mendoza had received
these overtures with favour, and made no doubt of his
sovereign's assent. He told him how advantageous
such an alliance would be, as regards Flemish affairs
and the war with England. Olivares, who was igno
rant of his sovereign's intentions, proposed to send
an extraordinary messenger to Madrid, bearing the
proposals and letters of His Holiness. What struck
the ambassador most was, that Sixtus V. evinced a
desire to take upon himself to mediate between the '
two sovereigns.
Meanwhile Henry III, had, through the medium of
Mendoza, taken a direct step in Madrid. But Phihp II.
' Cardinal de Gondi to Henry IIL, July 25, 1588.

):(

Chap. HI.] EMBARRASSMENT OF THE FRENCH IQNG. 193
was obstinately silent. Months elapsed before he
could or would make his wishes known. Sixtus V.
was exceedingly displeased, and Olivares thought it
prudent to recommend Philip not to delay his answer
any longer, and especially to let the Pope be the first
to receive it. He had besides some difficulty in pene
trating the secret motives of those who recommended
and desired such a combination. Nothing was more
natural than that the unfortunate Henry, should seek
for help wherever he could find it, even in the enemy's
camp. But what about the Pope and Morosini?
There were certain points which he could not clear up.
' The cardinal-legate is a Venetian,' he wrote to Philip.
' How can he propose an alliance between France and
Spain, which must be odious to the Republic and to
the whole of Italy ? The Grand-Duke of Tuscany
will be seriously injured.' The ambassador was per
haps right in attributing the motives to the personal
ambition of Morosini. Would not a cardinal who had
worked the miracle of uniting those two kingdoms,
and who therefore must seem to be neutral and yet in
good understanding with both crowns, possess great
chances at the next Conclave? As to the Pope, who
offered to become the mediator, he must evidently have
hoped to have the whip-hand of both parties, if only by
letting them suppose that such an alliance might be con
cluded. To raise these expectations in Paris and in
Madrid might probably prove more important for him
than their reaUsation, or than the achievement of a union
so difficult to bring about and still more difficult to main
tain. Such were the suppositions of the Spanish ambas-
VOL. 11. o

194 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paei VH
sador. In our eyes the perfect sincerity of Sixtus V,
can no more be doubted than his wish to become
the supreme arbiter between the two Powers. He had
no illusions as to the difficulties and impossibihty of a
long and lasting alliance between the two States whose
rivalry constituted as it were an element cf their poli
tical existence. A temporary reconciliation, however
' — a common action against the common enemy, the
Huguenots — did not seem to him to be chimerical.
But, even in this respect, his hopes were soon dis
pelled. The news from France was bad. He learnt with
feelings of anger, as well as of contempt for Henry HI,
that Lesdiguieres had taken absolute possession of the
Dauphine. ' We are asked,' he said to Pisany, ' to
give 3,000 scudi a month, merely to spare Lesdiguieres!
Since your king loses his provinces one by one, each
man taking what he likes, we shall do the same. We
will send 12,000 men into Dauphin^, and shaU take
possession of that province, without prejudice to the
King, since it no longei^ belongs to him.' ^
When the convocation of the States at Blois was
known. Cardinal de Joyeuse ^ observed to the Pope that
the States had always proved the best remedy against
the pubhc evil, and that kings were generally those
who would not hear of convoking them ; but that on this
occasion it was the King who had proposed that they
should meet, and convoked them of his own accord:
that all well- thinking persons, therefore, hoped greatly
' Pisany to Henry IIL, August 8, 1588.
' Cardinal de Joyeuse to Henry HL, September 1588.

Chap. IV.] MEETING OF THE STATES AT BLOIS, 195
that the results would turn out satisfactorily for the
welfare of the kingdom and of His Majesty's authority,
Sixtus disapproved of the measure, saying that ' the
Princes will be there also, and will not do all the good
that can be wished.'
Events soon proved him to be in the right.
The States met at Blois in the middle of September.
The spirit of the League, and, as we now call them,
radical opinions, prevailed among the members. The
royal prestige was daily getting lowered. Henry III.
encountered a series of defeats one after the other, and
one step more would make the Duke of Guise King of
France.

0 2

l96 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paei VH,

CHAPTER TV.
THE MUKDEE OF THE DUKE AND THE CARDINAL OP GUISE,
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
The first news of the murder of the Duke and of the
Cardinal of Guise, which was committed at the chateau of
Blois on the 23rd and 24th of December 1588, reached
Rome by a messenger of the Savoy embassy. It was
confirmed on the following day (January 5, 1589) by
the despatches of the Legate, and the King's letters to
M. de Pisany.-^ The author of the crime felt that he
must excuse himself. ' The late Duke of Guise,' wrote
the King, ' was thinking of nothing short of depriving
me of my life and of my crown. The peace of my
subjects was also at stake. . . . You will inform His
Holiness of this, and will tell him that his holy and
personal admonitions, as well as the example which
justice required, have taken away any scruples I might
have had. I feel confident that the Pope will praise what
I have done, which was not only lawful but pious,
since it had for its object to insure the peace of the
public by the death of a private individual.' To cap
tivate the Pope, he conceived the incredible notion of
1 Henry III. to Pisany ; Blois, December 24, 1588. The original,
¦which formed a part of the collection of Lucas of Montigny, has been
published in ' Revue retrospective.'

Ghap. IV.] INTERVIEW OF MOROSINI WITH HENRY HI. 197
adding, ' I have been thinking of recognising the good
offices of Cardinal Montalto, by sending him a portion
of the things which belonged to the Cardinal of Guise,
and you may speak to him on the subject if you think
fit. I forgot,^ he added, as a postscripturn to the letter,
which bore the date of the second murder, that of the
Cardinal of Guise — ' I forgot to tell you that I have
also got rid of the Cardinal of Guise, who had the
impudence to say that he would not die before he had
held my head to shave it and make me a monk. . . .
You may also teU His Holiness that it suited me to act
in this wise, unless I wished to allow so dangerous an
element of discord to go about free among my subjects.*
The Legate's reports gave the details of this catas
trophe. Cardinal Morosini resided at Blois. When he
heard of the murder of the Duke, he vainly sought to
enter the palace. He cculd only see the King on the
morrow after the death of the Cardinal of Guise,
at the time named by Henry IH., who was still quite
intoxicated by his triumph. 'Monseigneur Legate,'
the King had written, ' I am now king. I have resolved
no longer to tolerate injustice or Ul-treatment. " I shall
maintain this good resolution to the prejudice of who
soever may oppose it, following in this the example of
our Holy Father, of whose words I have kept a good
recollection, when he continually declared to me that I
must be obeyed, and punish those who offend me. Since
I have attained my end, I shall receive you to-morrow,
if you please. Good-bye.'^ The Legate's reports
' Correspondence of Morosini with Montalto.

198 SIXTHS TI-IB TTFTH. [Paei VH,
bear the mark of great embarrassment. He deplores
the act, and blames it, but cautiously. He finds him
self in a difficult position. If he says aU he knows and
thinks, he runs the risk of putting the Pope in too
violent a passion, and of making him commit an act
which would be too compromising : if, as Legate, he has
recourse to a scandal, such as his departure from Court
or the excommunication of the murderer would pro
duce, he would become responsible for the policy of the
Holy See. If he remained — if he confined himself to
merely blaming the King to the King, he runs the risk
of incurring his master's displeasure ; but then at least his
master, the Head of the Church, wiU be spared, if he
himself is compromised. This last plan, therefore, he
adopted. Though it was the wisest, the most generous,
and the most meritorious, it was at the same time the
most ungrateful, and the least likely to be ap
preciated. Such it was then ; such wiU it ever
be. When passion rules tlie counsels of kings, the
diplomatic agent, who is sufficiently enlightened and
courageous not to make himself the instrument of
these passions, is sure to displease ; but he is also sure
to serve the interests of his country. Morosini there
fore merely confined himself to giving an account
of his interview with the King, of the exhortations
he made while walking with him in the park of
the palace, and to describing the generally bad im
pression which the murder had left on the public. The
> enemies of the Guises alone, he saw, rejoiced over their
death. Men of sense expressed pity, but not appro-

Qhap. IV.] THE POPE'S COMMENTS ON THE MURDER. 199
bation. Among these was the Queen-Mother, who was
ill, and almost dying. With her great experience and
her sound judgment — which was more just than that
of her son, of a less prejudiced and less passionate
nature — she did not deceive herself as to the gravity
of the crime, and foresaw its disastrous consequences,
M, de Pisany was received on the 6th : he commu
nicated the facts, and found the Pope less angry than
he had expected. The Holy Father spoke to him with
calmness, and did not fail, on this occasion, to allude
unkindly to the pohcy of his predecessor. He accused
the Cardinals of Sens and of Como of being, after
Gregory XIH., the principal authors of aU these evils.^
After the French ambassador, the Venetian envoy
was announced.^ ' What do you say ? ' exclaimed the
Pope, when he saw Gritti. ' We cannot praise, but must
condemn the Duke of Guise's first act, which was to
arm and ally himself to other princes against his King,
It was not his business to take up arms against his
sovereign ; and, though he chose to put forward religion
as his pretext, he had no right to go against his King,
nor to dictate the law to him. It was a breach of duty,
and a sin ; for no vassal can command or force his
master. He may warn, exhort, persuade him, but to
revolt is not to be excused ; it is a sin. If for this
reason therefore the King had proceeded against him,
and punished him, nothing could have been said ; for
he was the King's subject, and the decision could not
but have been approved. The Duke's second act was
' Cardinal de Joyeuse to Henry IIL, January 9, 1589.
^ G. Gritti to the Doge, January 7, 1588.

200 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
his arrival in Paris, a few months ago, foUowed by only
seven horsemen. He went to the Queen-Mother, and
then to the King. If the latter had wished to proceed
against him, he could have done it then ; he could have
had him arrested and punished, and if he had put him
to death, and thrown his body out of the window, no
One would have moved a step, and there would have
been an end of the matter. The King was wrong not
to do so then. He would have been applauded by every
one ; but, as you know, he fled and went to Chartres,
Now the third act has taken place. The King is a
sovereign, and the Duke a subject ; and the King can
chastise that subject. He is not obliged to give an
account of his conduct to anyone. But when he had
been reconciled with him, when he had admitted him as
a member of his Council and to his intimacy, to call the
Duke to his room, and to have the man massacred who
went to him in all confidence — that is an act which we
cannot approve, for it is not an act of justice, but a
homicide. He should have had him arrested, have
had him impeached, and then act as he thought fit ; for
he is a king, and all would have been right, because
thela'^s and ordinary forms of justice would have been
Respected. Had an insurrection taken place, he could
have had him killed without trial (tumultuariamente);
but to kill him as he did was a homicide and a sin,
not justice, and we are grieved that the King shoidd
have done so. As regards the Cardinal, if the King had
any complaints against him, why did he not address
himself to us ? We would have summoned the Cardinal
to Rome, and all would have been settled. If he had

Chap. TV.] COMMENTS OF THE SPANISH FACTION. 201
not come, we would have punished his disobedience by
depriving him of his cardinalship, and then the King
could have dealt with him as he pleased. We said so
to the ambassador who was here before you, and we
asked him what prince ever dared kill a cardinal? In fine,
the King has done wrong in thus treating people with
whom he had become reconciled.' The Pope seemed
grieved and troubled : he complained of the heavy
responsibUity of his duties, while he acknowledged that
everyone 'prefers his troubles to those of others, and
that St. Augustine had said with justice that, if the
sufferings of humanity were shut up in a room, and
if men were allowed to choose which of them they
would prefer, each man would rather have his own
than those of his neighbour. And yet we are the
Pope ! When we were only cardinal, we lived in much
greater peace of mind, and had not to ponder the
question as to whether we should excommunicate a
king, or summon him to Rome, or take some such step,'
Towards the evening, and although it was not his
day for an audience, Olivares went to the Vatican.
He returned the next day, and to the great dis
pleasure of Cardinal de Joyeuse remained there ' a
whole hour.'
The Sacred College, on hearing of the murder of one
of its members, had expressed its indignation. ' The
Spanish faction,' wrote Joyeuse to Henry IIL, ' exag
gerates the event ; so much so that, had your Majesty
put to death the Spanish ambassador who is at your
Court, these Spaniards could not have shown greater
regret.' He supposed, with truth, that during his two

202 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
audiences, Olivares 'had considerably embittered the
judgment of His Hohness,' ^ The latter found the Pope
somewhat perplexed.'^ 'AU depends,' he wrote to
Phihp, ' upon the turn which affairs will take in France,
and upon the attitude which your Majesty wiU assume,
I shall try and give courage to His Holiness, and
excite him as much as I can, without, however, pledging
your Majesty too much, unless the requirements of the
moment compel me to do so.' The King's instructions
to him were not long coming. Philip was resolved to
go to war. The Duke of Guise had been his confidant,
his agent, and the principal instrument of his wiU. He
must now tear the veil which had been so transparent
to everyone, and appear on the scene. Olivares was
ordered to excite the anger of the Holy Father ; the
Duke of Parma was instructed to revive the courage of
Mayenne, to hold himself in readiness, and, as soon as
war was declared, to take possession of Cambrai;
finally Don Bernardino de Mendoza was told to pre
pare in Paris the means of resistance.' ^
After the ambassador came Cardinal de Joyeuse.*
He had hardly begun when the Pope cut him short.
An animated discussion took place between them, if it
can be called a discussion, when two people, without
listening to one another, strive as to who shall speak the
loudest. ' Having by his anger raised my own ire,' he
wrote to the King, ' he so acted that I listened to him
no more, and we both screamed at each other.' The
' Olivares to Philip, January 9, 1589, ^ ' Un poco de perplexidad,'
^ H, Lippomano to the Doge, January 18, 1588,
* Joyeuse to Henry HI., January 9, 1589.

Chap. IV.] REFERENCE TO THE CONSISTORY. 203
Pope repeated what he had said to Gritti, and the
Cardinal reminded the Pope of his own words, on the
occasion of the ' day of the barricades,' when he re
gretted that the King had not thrown Guise out of the
window. Sixtus V. was obliged to allow this, ' but
coidd not parry or do else than get angry.'
The protector of France held that, as regards the
Duke's death, his sovereign was responsible only to God,
and that it was only out of honesty and from his respect
for the Head of the Church, that His Majesty had
mentioned the fact to him. As to the Cardinal, the
King not only informed the Pope of what had taken
place, but asked for his forgiveness. Sixtus replied
that His Majesty must write himself to request abso
lution, and that meanwhile he would speak of it to the
cardinals. It was the resolution taken by the Holy Father of
communicating these events to the Consistory that
chiefly alarmed the representatives of Henrj^ III.
Neither Pisany nor Joyeuse, who both had a second
audience on the 8th, could dissuade him.
The Consistory took place on the following day.
According to custom, the cardinals had private inter
views each with the Pope before he opened the meeting.
Their resentment, and the observations which they
made to him,^ were such as to increase the indignation
he felt, and the grief and fears which he experienced.
' See Olivares' report to Philip, quoted previously : — ' Todos concuer-
dan en que el Papa hablo con grande afecto y accedio Men a lo que en la
siUa le dijeron los Cardinales.'

204 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
When, according to usage, on the seventh occasion
of his appointing to cardinalships, he had heard
the new cardinals, a great sUence pervaded the sala.
With visible emotion on his countenance, the Pope
was long in breaking it. At last he exclaimed : ' It
is with the deepest sorrow that we announce to you the
perpetration of an unheard-of crime : the murder —
the murder — the murder of a cardinal, kiUed without
trial, without being judged, and contrary to the law, by
secular force, without our authorization or that of the
Holy See.' He continued in this tone, confining him
self, however, to speaking of the Cardinal, and making
no reference to the Duke of Guise. His aUocution
was a long and eloquent pleading against Henry IH.,
whom he accused of being unjust, cruel, ungrateful,
and disrespectful to the Holy See. He called upon
him the punishment of Heaven, and claimed for him
self the right and the duty of chastising him. The
King's ambassadors,' he said, ' have thrown themselves
at our feet. They have requested absolution for their
master, but the latter, in writing to us, does not even
allude to it. Parricidal and sacrilegious, he has no
word of repentance to express for his crime.' He
gave vent to all his indignation when he told how the
King, in his letter, insinuated, that in committing this
crime, he had followed his example.^ He quoted
modern and ancient history, announced the appoint
ment of a Congregation ad hoc, and made a violent
sally against some cardinals, who, forgetting their own
' This passage is omitted in Tempesti's official text

Chap. IV.] THE POPE'S ALLOCUTION. 205
dignity, and to his great surprise, had ventured in his
presence to excuse the crime, without reflecting that
it concerned the honour and the safety of the whole
Sacred College. ' We do not ask again to become car
dinal ourselves. We are not likely to ask a prince or
king to intervene in our favour so that we may obtain
a purple gown. It is not of us that we are speaking,
but of you — of you who seem to wish to be deprived of
the hberty, honours, pensions, and privileges which
you enjoy, and to become the objects of contempt to
princes and kings ! Be sure that if we allowed the
assassination of a cardinal to go unpunished, you might
aU of you run the risk of sharing his fate.'
Cardinal de Joyeuse, to whom these words were
specially addressed, got up to answer, but the Pope, in
a weakened tone of voice, ordered him to be silent and
to sit down ; and as the intrepid protector of the in
terests of France stood up notwithstanding, the Pope
ordered him out of the room.-"- Cardinal Santa Seve
rina, who was appointed to preside over the Congrega
tion, interposed in favour of Joyeuse when the Con
sistory was over, pleaded his youth and his ignorance
of the rules as an excuse for his conduct, and did this
so well that, at the next Consistory, Joyeuse, who had
first wanted to leave Rome, threw himself at the Pope's
feet, and consented to ask his pardon for the affront
which His Holiness had inflicted upon him.
The first result and natural consequence of the
murder of the Guises was a momentary amelioration in
' In his letter to Henry III. the Cardinal speaks of his efforts to speak,
but hides the fact of his being expelled.

206 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
the relations between Sixtus and Spain. His dream of
an alliance between Philip and Henry III. was over,
Olivares noted with pleasure that the Congregation
appointed to inquire into the crime was weU com
posed. Santi Quattro, Facchinetti, Lancelloto, Pinelh,
Mattel, were all men after his own heart, except
perhaps the last, who might be rather inchned to
France ; ' but the nature of the question, he thought,
must prevent any faltering. In these days of great
excitement, he often saw the Holy Father, and found
him very much irritated against the Legate. The note
especially which Henry III. had written to him made
him fear some treasonable act. He suspected Moro
sini of having advised the murder, and intended to
make him expiate his fault dearly. He no longer
called him otherwise than the secretary of the King of
France, but hesitated as to replacing him by another.
His anger and his anxiety showed themselves in
imprudent speeches, which were carefully noted and
sent to Madrid by his sworn enemy the Spanish
ambassador. Cardinal de Sens, who was known to be
a liar, related what the Pope had said, or what he
pretended that the Pope had told him. He said that
he had been once the witness of a farewell audience
granted by the Pope to an agent of the Duke of Guise,
the Abb6 d'Orbais, who was leaving for France, and
that the Pope had thus expressed himself : ' TeU " His
Majesty " the Duke of Guise to hold himself in readiness.
We shaU presently break with the King,' Ohvares
' Olivares to Philip IL, January 11, 1589,

Chap. IV.] REPORTS OF OLIVARES.
beheved and repeated all that the cardinal had toldl
him, giving however his authority ; for no man of so-
passionate a nature could be more prudent or more con
scientious. He made this a pretext to call his master's
attention to the question of the succession, which was
then being much discussed in Rome, where, since the
events at Blois, Henry IH. was looked upon as an
obstacle to the pacification of France. It was even
questioned whether it would not be wise to ' deprive '
him, and to elect already a successor to him.
Olivares was convinced that in this matter Sixtus
would foUow out the wishes of Philip, if only because
it was impossible for him to do otherwise. ' The news
from Paris,' he wrote, ' is good. Everyone is alive.
We must not let the French have time to calm down.'
He even took upon himself — so imminent did the
crisis appear to him — to recommend the Governor of
Milan, the Duke of Terranuova, to make military pre
parations and to hold himself ready to co-operate with
the Duke of Mayenne. The latter had lost no time in
making Phihp aware of his intention to revenge his
two brothers. He was master, he said, of Le Htlvre,
Burgundy, and Champagne, and quite resolved to
march upon Paris. Through the medium of the
Spanish ambassador at Turin, Don Jose de Acuna, who
addressed himself with this object to the Duke of
Terranuova, he asked and obtained a subsidy of 50,000
ducats.^ For Sixtus V. these were evil days. Both parties
' Acuaa to Philip H, Turin, January 12, 1589.

208 SESTUS THE FIFTH. * [Pakt VII.
were very violent around him. The Spanish faction
and the agents of the League insisted on his declaring
openly in favour of the Union. The ambassadors of
Henry IIL, M de Pisany, and Jerome de Gondy who
had lately arrived in Rome as a special envoy to treat
of the affairs at Saluzzo, and all the French partisans,
who were warmly but prudently supported by Gritti,
tried to calm him, spoke of the dangers of a Spanish
intervention, and implored of him not to enter into a
common hue of action with Philip. To gain time, and
to act according to events, Sixtus alleged that he must,
before he could do anything, learn what the Congrega
tion had decided. In this crisis, and under the
impression of the news from France, which was daily
more favourable to the League, while Mayenne was
marching on Paris, while the Sorbonne declared the
people free from their allegiance to the King, while
Henry III. sought for an aUiance, or, as he timidly
called it, a truce with the King of Navarre ; and while
the ambassadors of Spain, France, and Venice were
besieging the Vatican, the anti-Spanish feeling showed
itself everywhere, notwithstanding the immense in
fluence which Philip exercised in Rome. ' It is the
maxim of this Court,' Olivares wrote to the King, ' that
the King of France must be supported ; for, although
he inspires distrust, yet they think that, if France faUs,
Italy must become the slave of your Majesty.'
The Pope had sent word to M. de Pisany that he
must not attend chapel. He reftised to see him in
private audience, and no longer received him except
at his particular request and as an exception, wishing

Chap. TV.'] ALARM OF OLIVARES. 209
thereby to show the horror which he felt at the
murders committed at Blois.
On the other hand, Olivares saw him almost every day.
His interviews were of the highest importance. Since
the letter by which Phihp had made known his intention
of interfering in France by force of arms, in the event
of Rome accepting the conversion of ' the Bearnais,'
Olivares had received no further instructions respecting
the affairs of France. He had nevertheless taken upon
himself, as we have seen, to recommend the Governor
of MUan to support the Duke of Mayenne. Now he
gave the Holy Father the last news from Paris. That
city asked that Duke Alexander of Parma should make
a mihtary demonstration in its favour on the frontiers
of Flanders. What did His Holiness think of it ?
Sixtus replied that the idea did not seem to him to be
a bad one. The ambassador found him lukewarm and
reserved. Far from appearing to resent strongly the
conduct of Henry HL, the Pope, as he had heard, had
actually tried to palhate his speech in the Consistory to
M. de Pisany. To give to this manifestation, however,
the widest publicity, Olivares took care to spread a num
ber of copies about the country in France and in Italy.
He consoled himself besides in thinking that if matters
went iU in France, ' Sixtus would become a bar, and
deny that he had ever spared that prince.' One word
of the Pope had, however, alarmed him. The Legate
had written to say that Henry of Navarre had offered
to join the King of France. The Holy Father did not
believe the statement, but the announcement took away-
VOL, II. p

210 SIXTUS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
sleep from Olivares. He went back to the palace, and
the Pontiff assured him that if the union between the
two Hemys did take place, it would not be through
his intervention.
The end of January 1589 had come,^ and already
such a contingency had suggested itself as possible to aU
minds. Everyone felt that, sooner or later, Henry III.
would appeal to the Huguenots. Many of those about
the Vatican encouraged the idea, which, according to
them, was the only solution in conformity with the
interests of Italy. When Quigi Dovara, who had been
sent to Rome by the Grand-Duke Ferdinand to invite
people to the Duke's wedding, took leave of Olivares,
he told the latter ingenuously that he had maintained
before the Pope, who did not seem to be of a con
trary opinion, how advantageous it would be to pacify
France by such means. Of course Henry of Navarre
must first abjure, but a National Council might be called
for this purpose, and then the Pope would make no
difficulty in granting absolution.
The anger and anguish of the ambassador may be
conceived. He lost no time in going to Sixtus. ' The
King of France,' said he, ' is treating with Henry of
Beam : he intends to propose to the States of Blois that
that heretic should succeed him, and " the Bearnais " wiU
have' no scruple in solemnly recanting, or falsely convert
ing himself to Catholicism, because he will be approved
of beforehand by the Queen of England and by her
Protestant ministers.' He recapitulated his master's
intentions, and the Pope replied evasively, praising in
> Olivares to Philip IL, January 15, 21, and 23, 1589,

Chap. IV.] INDECISION OF THE POPE. 211
a somewhat lukewarm manner the zeal of the King for
the holy religion, but considering an aUiance between
the Kings of France and Navarre as probable. He,
however, promised not to come to any decision without
previously informing the Court of Madrid. In the eyes
of the ambassador this pledge was not enough, but the
Pope would not do more. Olivares therefore left with
distrust and apprehensions of aU kinds.
His fears, however, were not justified. Sixtus V. had
no settled plan. He held exactly the same language
to the envoys of Venice and of France. To Gritti he
spoke fully, blaming the Republic for having secretly
favoured the King of France. He told him that a
union between the Kins; and the heretics was no longer
doubtful, and that, on the whole, Henry of Navarre
was better than Henry IH., who would probably meet
with the fate of the Guises, which he had himself pre
pared. Then followed unjust accusations against the
Legate, on whom he heaped unmerited reproaches. He
even went so far as to tax him with having connived
at the murders at Blois. The assertion of Henry HI.
that he had followed his example, and his gross attempt
to bribe him by offering a portion of the deceased
Cardinal's spoUs to the Pope's grand-nephew, had
wounded him to the quick. ' If,' said he, ' we are,
as the King says, the example of justice, we will show
him how we administer justice in his case. We are
not likely to dispense with its forms and procedure.
To kiU a man without judging him is not to administer
justice, but merely to commit an act of revenge. If
the King has acted out of revenge, he will be punished
p2

212 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
whenever God wiUs it. If he has acted according to
justice, where are the proofs of the trial, and where is
the defence made by the accused ? He actuaUy con
siders himself also called upon to judge an ecclesiastic.
It would be heresy. We have done for him aU that
he asked. On our accession, Monseigneur de Nevers
asked us to give our adherence to the League. May
God forgive those who are the authors of it — Pope
Gregory, Como and Sens. The King knows what we
replied. We said that subjects must not rise against
their sovereigns — that if the King neglects his duty to
fight the heretics, they must not dictate the law to him ;
that we, not they, should exhort him to do his duty.
He asked us permission to alienate the temporal goods
of the clergy — we granted it ; he asked us to make a
cardinal — ^we did it ; to give him a nuncio — we sent him
one ; a cardinal legate, and, against all the rules of the
Church, we again in this respect satisfied his wishes.
He asked dispensation for a knight of Malta, and, what
had never been done before, we gave the dispensation
to a brother of Joyeuse. We have done his wiU in
all things. But see the state into which his affairs
are drifting. You know the history of Pharaoh : he
had exhausted God's patience. When he saw the
people of Israel walk through the waves, and himself
and his foUowers swallowed up by the sea, he ex
claimed, " Digitus Dei est hid" and what occurs is, in
fact, the manifestation of the finger of God.'
As he insisted on the King sending him a person to
ask for absolution, Henry confided this mission to

Chap. W.] mSSION OF THE BISHOP OF LE MANS. 213
Claude d'Angennes, Bishop of Le Mans.^ This prelate,
on passing through Florence, found that the Grand-
Duke Ferdinand was very well disposed towards
Henry, and openly approved of the murder of the
Guises. When he arrived in Rome, towards the end
of February, he alighted at the house of Cardinal de
Joyeuse, thinking it was not proper that he should
lodge in the house of an ambassador, ' who was a
soldier and a married man.' Though suffering from
the gout, Gritti was one of the first to visit him. He
praised uncommonly the tact, dignity, and agreeable
manners of the French prelate. The day after his
arrival the Bishop had, with M. de Pisany, an audience
of the Pope, and explained at length how the King
had been situated, endeavouring to represent the
catastrophe at Blois as an act of self-defence which
absolute necessity had alone brought about. He con
tended, as M. de Pisany had done before him, that the
King, as sovereign, had no account to give of the
punishments which he inflicted upon his rebellious
subjects ; that it was only out of respect for the Holy
Path er that he mentioned at all the death of the Duke
of Guise ; that, as regards the Cardinal, his brother,
' the King's scruples had been awakened by his being
told that he was a member of the Sacred College — a
fact which His Majesty had not previously thought of,
looking as he had only to his manner and acts.' He
ended by asking the Pope to give the King ' his holy
blessing and prudent and wise advice.'
1 Bishop of Mans to Henry IIL, May 16, 1589, OlivarSs to Philip II.
May 26, 1589. Gritti to the Doge, March 4, 11, and 18, 1589. Alberto
Badoer to the Doge, April 29 and May 6, 1589.

214 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
Sixtus at first replied calmly, but getting more
excited as he spoke, and with that loquacity which was
his characteristic, although he said ' that he did not
like long discourses.' The information which the
Bishop gave respecting French affairs was not altogether
the same, indeed was in many respects different to that
which he himself received. ' If the King had been
in trouble, he was the cause of his own troubles. Re
specting the death of the Duke of Guise, he spoke not,
since the Duke was a subject of His Majesty, and knew
that the King was a sovereign. As regards, however, the
homicide committed by the King in killing a man with
out trial, the King was a subject of the Church and
therefore of the Pope, the successor of St. Peter,
since the King acknowledged that he belonged to the
fold of Christ, But he allowed this to pass hghtly,
having only to complain bitterly that the King should
have touched a cardinal, a member of the Holy See, a
privileged being, who was a subject not of the King
but of the Pope.' Here he set forward a series of
quotations from history, proving how no other sove
reign had committed such a crime under similar cir
cumstances. If, by his conduct, the Cardinal had given
cause for suspicion, he should have been referred to the
Legate, who was a great friend of the King (this was
said sarcastically), and sent to Rome. The Pope, ' who
was known to be a zealous prince and a lover of justice,'
would have seen that the trial of the Cardinal was
regularly conducted, and would in any case have pre
vented any prejudice resulting from it to the King.

Chap. TV.] QUESTIONS OF REGAL JURISDICTION. 215
He ended by requesting the Bishop to put the object
of his mission in writing.
The Bishop of Le Mans said that he was not author
ised to give a written document, but granted that
cardinals and bishops were subjects of the Church as
regards their spiritual duties, adding that as to tem
poral matters they were responsible to the King, and
were not at liberty to disturb the pubhc peace.
The Holy Father did not contend that it was not
forbidden to churchmen to be the instruments of
sedition ; but w^hen the Bishop insisted on the right
of his sovereign to punish a cardinal, he stopped him
angrily. ' Take care,' said he ; ' beware of what you
say ! e vedete di non cascar in qualche disordine.' He
was surprised that the King should presume to ask for
his blessing when he stiU held a cardinal and a bishop
in prison. In fine, that first and long audience ended
somewhat ill.
In a second audience, which took place also in pre
sence of M. de Pisany, the Bishop again touched upon
pohtical matters, but the Pope interrupted him at once.
' We have already heard all that,' he said. ' We cannot
stop there. That is not the question. The question is
about the death of a cardinal. Where is the written
document that we told you to give us ? As for the
King's letters, we do not understand them, nor do we
make out what he asks for : absolution, blessing — what
does he want ? Whoever requires absolution of his
sins must confess his sins, acknowledge them, and
humbly ask pardon — have a salutary horror of them,
and not continue in sin, as the King does, who keeps an

216 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. > [Paet VH.
archbishop prisoner.' He enumerated all his grievances
against Henry, the blessings which he had poured upon
him, and insisted that Cardinal de Bourbon should be
sent to Rome, if the King feared his presence in France,
When the Bishop observed that such a journey across
France, in the present state of the country, was not
possible, the Holy Father proposed that he should be
escorted by infantry from the Duke of Parma's army.
At. this Pisany lost patience. 'The King,' said he drily,
'does not wish the Duke of Parma to meddle with his
affairs ; ' whereupon the Pope smUed.
In his third audience the Bishop abstained from aU
political considerations, but had the courage again to
speak upon the question of light. ' The King,' said he,
' acted rightly in self-defence, and there are certain
privileged cases in France in which royal judges have
a jurisdiction over the bench.'
The Pope, quite beside himself, stopped him short.
' We wonder,' said he, ' at hearing you talk such non
sense. In France the Scriptures are badly interpreted.
The New Testament of Luther, of Calvin, of other such
heretics, as well as of the Queen of England (of whom,
said the Bishop in his report, he spoke wiUingly, because
she was a woman of courage, and could make herself
be obeyed), the New Testament of the Duke of Saxony
and others, is the same which we have, only they do
not properly interpret it, and are therefore heretics,'
He put two conditions ; the one that the King should
ask simply for absolution, and the other that he should
liberate, or place in the hands of the Legate, both the
cardinal and the archbishop who were imprisoned. If

Chap. IV.] FAILURE OF THE FRENCH MISSION. 217
not. His Majesty would be excommunicated, his subjects
no longer bound to their oath of allegiance to him, and
his envoy, the Bishop of Le Mans, sent to prison.
No sooner had he expressed these threats than
Pisany replied, with a boldness and a dignity of
manner which were much appreciated in the diplo
matic circle, ' that the King had, by sending the
Bishop of Le Mans, given proof of respect and obe
dience to the Holy Father ; that ministers were at
liberty to give their master's reasons in full, without
fear of intimidation, or being threatened vrith imprison
ment. As to the respect due to His Holiness, he and
the Bishop would always bow their heads before him ;
but in the service of His Majesty they would do their
duty as loyal and faithful subjects, and would not be
afraid of being put in prison, but would fulfil their
mission as they ought, even at the peril of their lives.' ^
The Pope did not answer, but changed the subject.
When Henry HI. heard what little success his
representatives met with, he decided upon asking for
absolution. The Bishop, aided by M. de Pisany, ful
filled this painful duty in his fourth and last audience.
He now was acquainted with the ' humour of that
Court and the different aims of each,' the never-ceasing
intrigues of the Spanish ambassador, and the little esteem
in which the King of France was held, who had not
even been able to turn his crime to profit. When he
presented himself before Sixtus V., he began by re
tracting the question of right which he had upheld in
' ' And with the risk that their heads should be carried to the end of the
bridge.'

218 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
his preceding audience, and, according to his fresh
instructions, knelt down, as well as Pisany, and then
said, ' Holy Father, I ask your absolution for the Very
Christian King.' The Holy Father told them to get up
and to resume their seats. He expressed his pleasure,
and added — ' sighing loudly, and exclaiming that the
affairs of the kingdom of France gave him much
concern and no rest — that it should be governed with
prudence and judgment, and that a cardinal could be
guarded against in a less scandalous manner, and one
which would have been equaUy effective.' He quoted
instances, saying ' that the Emperor Charles V., though
inwardly delighted that Rome was sacked, and the
Pope Clement made a prisoner, ordered the Court
nevertheless to wear mourning, and processions to take
place for the delivery of the Pope ; that King Philip,
when he was victorious over Paul IV., who had waged
war against him, returned all the towns he had taken,
and commissioned the Duke of Alba to go to Rome
and sue the Pope for absolution.' The end of this
long historical statement was that he would grant abso
lution only when the cardinal and archbishop had been
placed in the hands of the Legate. As a last concession,
he said he would be satisfied with a written document,
declaring that these two personages were detained by
the King's people in the name of the Legate. Such was
the end of the mission.
A great event and a small incident contributed to its
faUure. Despatches from Cardinal Morosini announced
the aUiance of the King of France with Henry of
Navarre, while at the same time the Legate recorded

Chap. IV.] ACTION OF MOROSESTI. 219
his departure from the Court of Henry III. This was
the event ; but the incident was the arrest at Roanne
of the Bishop of Mans' majordomo. The letters
found upon his person were sent to Rome. The
bishop and the ambassador both wrote to the King
thai His Hohness only wished to humble him ; that a
little firmness would soon make him change ; that
besides there was little to hope from him.^ The Pope
showed himself exceedingly displeased, and to his
anger the failure of the Bishop's mission was in part
atttributed. The fact is more naturally explained by
the turn which events had taken in France since the
assassination of the Guises. Notwithstanding his ill-
treatment of Henry's envoy, he was not desirous of
breaking altogether with him, for fear of throwing him
entirely into the hands of the Huguenots. The cardi
nals of the Congregation appointed for the examination
of French affairs, were divided as to the opportuneness
of recaUing the Legate, as the latter seemed ardently to
desire. But the Pope, rightly supposing that such a
measure would be interpreted as a declaration of the
Holy See in favour of the League, ordered the Legate
to remain at his post.
That eminent statesman, though unjustly reproached
by Sixtus V., had made every effort to prevent an
alhance between France and Navarre. He had seized
the opportunity of the death of Catherine de' Medici,
which he said was favourable to moving her son's
heart, to represent to him how great was his sin.
^ ' Sua Santita gli anderebbe con la baretta in mano.' The Pope gave
these details himself to Badoer. — Badoer, June 17, 1589.

220 SLXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
' Strive, sire,' he said, ' to get reconciled with God,
who is very wroth with you for past offences.' He
implored of him not to seek an aUiance with a heretic
and a man who was condemned by the Church.
Henry IIL, though already in communication with
Navarre, swore and gave his word that he would
never aUy himself to that prince.-^ The Legate was
tired of remonstrating in vain, when he received a
messenger who was bearer of despatches censuring his
conduct. Although Cardinal Montalto had timidly
endeavoured to modify the expression of his uncle's
displeasure, the despatches left no doubt as to the
disgrace into which the Legate had fallen. Morosini
replied wdth dignity : he had executed the orders of
His Hohness, and had acted according to the spirit
of his instructions ; his conscience therefore did not
reproach him.^
On the other hand the King continued to put him
off with honeyed words, which were only so many hes,
and at the same time avoided seeing him. When the
Legate learnt that Cardinal de Bourbon and the Arch
bishop of Lyons, instead of being set at liberty, were
to be transferred to the Castle of Amboise, he took
advantage of his privileges as an ambassador, and went
to the King without asking for an audience. He was
told that His Majesty was dressing, but the cardinal
would not be stopped. He went into the King's
dressing-room, and reproached him warmly. Henry
1 Morosini to Montalto. Blois, January 15, 1589; deciphered in
Rome, Feb. 4.
2 Morosini to Montalto, January 26, 1589; deciphered in Eome,
Feb. 9.

Chap. TV.] TRUCE BETWEEN FRANCE AND NAVARRE. 221
replied that this was one of those cases in which a father
does not forgive his son, and that His Holiness would
himself advise him during his lifetime to prevent by
every means in his power that any other than himself
should be King of France. "^
The relations between that prince and the repre
sentative of the Holy See became more and more
difficult. When the King proposed to the Legate that
he should precede him to Mouhns, the latter accepted
the suggestion with joy, and the more willingly, he
said, as it was on the road to Italy. He, however, was
not blind to the real cause, which was Henry's desire
to get rid of a disagreeable witness while messengers
were passing to and fro from Blois and the camp of
the King of Navarre.^
On AprU 3 a truce was signed between the latter
and Henry HI. The Legate considered that the mo
ment had come when he must take his departure : he
went to Moulins. The picture he drew of the state of
the country through which he passed was appaUing,
and exceeded in horror and misery all that now-a-days
we have seen of the kind under similar circumstances.
Morosini was much struck by it. He beheved that if the
foreign auxiliaries called to the help of both parties, the
League and Henry III., were allowed to come, France
must be ruined for ever. The excitement of the par
tisans of the League was such, and their hatred of the
King so great, that there was no chance of a recon-
cihation. In Lyons a Dominican friar had publicly
' Morosini to Cardinal Montalto. Blois, January 31, 1589; deciphered
in Rome, Feb. 14.
* Morosini to Cardinal Montalto. Blois, Feb. 23, 1689 ; deciphered
March 9.

222 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
declared in church that the King was a heretic. The
Legate renewed his prayer to be recalled. When
Henry III, announced his presence in Mouhns, Mon
signor Morosini, who was ill, and without news
from Rome (for his messengers were stopped), left the
town in a hurry. His personal dignity, as well as his
official position, did not allow of his seeing again a
prince who had become the ally of an heretic. Although
the roads were infested with marauders and bands of
robbers, he started on his homeward journey. He at
last reached Lyons, after experiencing much danger ;
and protected by the brother of the Duke of Nemours,
the Marquis of Saint-Sorlin, he hoped to await in safety,
in that town, the authorisation which he had so often
asked to return to Rome. Nothing of the kind
came. Terror reigned in the town ; the popula
tion was fanaticised. Suspected people were arrested,
some put to death ; he himself was not tmsted, because
he was supposed to be favourable to the King. He
was received, it is true, with all the honours due to his
exalted rank ; but the municipal authorities did not
disguise from him how embarrassed they were by his
presence among them. He was obhged to explain his
conduct to them since the ' unfortunate 23rd of De
cember.' He pacified them with difficulty, but not
withstanding the kind protection of the Marquis of
Saint-Sorlin, his position was untenable.^ Besides, he
no longer doubted that the King of Navarre must finally
triumph. What took place before his eyes, in the centre
of the League, only confirmed him in this opinion. He
' Morosini to Montalto. Lyons, July 26, 1589; deciphered August 5. '•

Chap. TV.] MOROSINI AT LYONS. 223
saw, however, in his victory the victory also of heresy ;
and when the rumour of the death of the leader
of the Huguenots, which for several days had been
spread all over Lyons, was confirmed, he wrote as
foUows to Montalto : ' It has not pleased God to
grant us such a blessing, for that death alone could
prevent this kingdom falhng under the dominion of
the heretics.' The consequence of this news being
denied was that a deputation of thirty-six provosts of
the town came to him, praying that, considering the
feverish excitement of the population, he would leave
Lyons. He was accused of keeping up secret in
telligence with the enemy's camp ; of having pledged
the Catholic princes and prelates to join the two
Henrys ; of organizing in the town a rising in their
favour. He tried to undeceive them, and invited
them to search his house. ' The arms which you will
find in my house,' he said, ' are breviaries.' He finally
refused to leave, and he remained.^
In Rome Count OUvares, who highly censured the
Pope's lukewarmness, tried to force him to issue a
monition. On the other hand Alberto Badoer, who
had replaced Gritti, incessantly called the Pope's atten
tion to the inconvenience to which such a measure
would give rise. His language in this respect was in
strict conformity with his positive instructions : ' Repre
sent to the Pope,' wrote the Doge, ' how serious matters
have become. In Constantinople there is already a
rejoicing at the expected general conflagration which
must fatally arise out of the difficulties in France unless
the fire is at once put out. The Holy Father must
' Morosini to Montalto. Lyons, August 9, 1589; deciphered August 19.

224 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
think of it, and interfere. He must not always be too
rigorous, but indulgent, to Henry IIL, and take into
consideration the circumstances and difficulties of the
times : he should foUow the impulse of his kind heart.' ^
These respectful and friendly remonstrances only in
creased the Pope's difficulties. ' What can we do,' he
replied, shrugging his shoulders, ' if the King wiU not
be saved ? We have shown great patience. He goes
ft'om bad to worse. What can we do ? '
' Take courage,' replied the ambassador ; ' you wiU
find in your wisdom the means of remedying past evils,
and preventing greater evils which seem imminent.'
' God help us ! ' exclaimed Sixtus V., 'we are at a
loss what to do.'
The intervention of the Republic of Venice in favour
of Henry III. had not escaped the notice of Ohvares,
who, when Badoer called on him for the purpose of
explaining its true nature, censured the partiality of
the Venetian Government, and let out that in Madrid
it was well known that Venice had sent sums of money
to Henry III. He declared that the union between the
two Henrys had totally changed the position of affairs ;
that his master was about to pronounce himself openly
in favour of the League ; that the tenderness shown by
Venice to France was strange, and testified little zeal
for the Catholic faith, since its moral support, which
was apparently lent to Henry IIL, was in reahty given
to ' the Bearnais.'
After long hesitation, the Pope at last came to a
' Doge to Alberto Badoer, April 29, 1589.

Chap. TV.-] MONITORY TO HENRY HL 225
decision. On the 5th of May he held a Consistory ;
commanded all the cardinals present to maintain the
most absolute secrecy ; drew a dark picture of the state
of France ; caused some diplomatic correspondence to be
read, and ended by communicating the project of moni
tion, which the Assembly hastened to approve. On the
12th the document was sent to the Legate, with orders
that it should be pubhshed on the very day of its pub
lication in Rome. By it, the King was summoned,
under the penalty of excommunication, to set at liberty
the Cardinal de Bourbon and the Archbishop of Lyons
within ten days, and to appear, either himself or by
representative, in Rome within sixty days. Some days
later the monitory was communicated to the ambas
sadors of France, Spain, Venice, Savoy, and Tuscany.
The Pope sent a prelate to Olivares to explain how he
had been under the necessity of coming to this ; ' as
if,' wrote Ohvares to Philip, ' it was necessary for him
to excuse that act, instead of excusing rather his slow
ness and want of resolution.' The Pope spoke of it to
Badoer. His arms were always open, he said, to
receive the King, and it was only out of a feeling of
propriety (per modestia) that in the monitory he had
made no allusion to His Majesty's union with the
heretics ; but in reality it was that very union that
had determined the head of the Church to issue his
summons. The Chevalier Verita, who was Secretary of State to
the Grand-Duke, had on that day a long audience of
the Pope. The Holy Father reproached him severely,
considered his master's conduct to be monstrous,
VOL. IL Q

226 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
favourable as it was to the King of France, and so
contrary to the obligations under which his family
were to Charles V. and to Phihp ; and equally impru
dent, since it exposed the Grand-Duke to aU the resent
ment of the Spaniards, and Italy to the difficulties
which must arise out of it. These words are signi
ficant, and deserve to be noticed ; for they serve to show,
among other signs, that at that time Sixtus V. saw no
hope of salvation except in an aUiance with Spain.
The representatives of Henry III. vainly tried to
obtain that the publication of the document should be
delayed ; but, seeing that this was not possible, they
hastened their departure before it could be pubhshed.
Cardinal de Joyeuse and the Bishop of Mans both
took leave of the Pope. The latter, stiU under the
impression left by the Bishop's letters which had
been intercepted, said to him, ' Tell the King what
you have seen here, and, above all, no lies ! ' Pisany
considered it more becoming his rank to leave without
an audience. Excepting his domestic happiness, which
he found in Rome, by his marriage with a charming
Italian lady, a Savella, he never experienced at the
Pontifical Court anything but humiliation and dis
appointment, and both his embassies ended in a
quarrel. On his way to France, he feU in, between
Florence and Pisa, with the messenger from Lyons,
and amused himself by confiscating the Pope's letters
and those of Cardinal de Sens.^ Bad luck seemed to
follow in his wake. His boat was taken by the famous
' Badoer to the Doge, June 17, 1689.

Chap, TV.] PUBLICATION OF THE MONITORY. 227
corsair Barboset. The Bishop of Le Mans gave himself
up a prisoner. Pisany was allowed to remain in his
own boat, under the surveillance of the corsair's men.
During the night he and his followers fell upon the
latter ; a sanguinary encounter ensued, and the mUitary
diplomatist fought bravely, killed a number of corsairs,
and managed to reach in safety a small harbour near
Narbonne. When the Pope heard of it he forgot aU
his grievances, and praised * the fine determination ' of
the former ambassador.^
A few hours after his departure, however, on the
morning of the 24th, the monitory was placarded in
Rome, at the usual places, in the midst of a crowd of
people curious and anxious to read it. The public
looked upon the act as an important event. It really
was such, for it confirmed the rupture which existed
between the Valois and the Holy See. It confirmed
that rupture, but did not produce it. In proof of this
we have but to compare the dates of the events in
France with the progress of the Bishop's mission. The
interviews of the Bishop, who arrived in Rome on
February 25, come down to the middle of the ensuing
month. During that time Henry III. foUowed up a
double negotiation : one with the League, which rejected
his advances, the other with the King of Navarre, who
met them. The news received from the King's agents
in Rome was not favourable. He was, however, led
to hope that if he would consent to ask pardon, while
maintaining a proud attitude, the Pope might be inti-
' Badoer to the Doge, July 29, 1589.
a 2

228 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
midated, and the incident which had arisen out of the
death of the Guises might be dropped, to his satisfac
tion. Following this advice, the King asked for
absolution, but refused to set free the Cardinal de
Bourbon and the Archbishop of Lyons. The fourth
audience, during which the Bishop of Mans communi-
'cated his determination to the Pope, took place at the
end of April. Yet, on the 3rd of that same month,
a truce had been signed between the Kings of France
and Navarre, and on the 21st the treaty had begun to
be put into force by the handing over of Saumur to
the troops of Navarre. The alhance between Henry
III. and the leader of the Huguenots was therefore
henceforth an accomplished fact, and it was on hearing
of this that, in the Consistory of the 5th of May, the Pope,
with the approbation of the whole of the Sacred CoUege,
decided on drawing up a monition. He hesitated for
another week as to publishing it, and it was only on
the 12th that the document was sent to the Legate,
who never received it. • On the 24th its publication
took place in Paris and in Rome. Since AprU 30 the
interview between the two kings had sealed their
alliance. It is wrong, therefore, to attribute to Sixtus V.
the fact of its being brought about. The union
between the two princes was inevitable : it was the
necessary and fatal result of the attitude assumed by the
Duke of Mayenne after the bloody coup d'etat of Blois.
Henry HI. had aimed a blow at the leadership of the
League, not at its heart. Instead of destroying, he had
given to it new strength. After this there remained
for him nothing but a union with Henry of Navarre.

Chap. IV.] WISHES OF THE POPE. 229
As regards Rome the whole question lay here. The
murder of a member of the Sacred College, and the
imprisonment of another, were merely insisted on pro
forma. The real motive of the quarrel was Henry's
abandonment of the cause of rehgion. Such at least
his aUiance vdth ' the Bearnais ' was supposed to be in.
Rome. That aUiance was not necessarily the triumph,
or in the future the necessary succession to the throne
of France, of a Protestant prince, but it might probably
lead to that result. In the eyes of Sixtus V., the
serious event was not the catastrophe of Blois, but its
consequences — the fusion of the interests of the two
kings. It did not belong to him, nor even would it
have been prudent, to speak from the chair of St. Peter
of the temporal interests of a foreign country. The
pubhc temper of the times would not have aUowed
the interference of the Papacy in the internal affairs of
other States. The Pope, therefore — or, as he said to
Badoer, ' out of modesty ' — did not speak of the union
of the two kings, either in his monition or in his con
versations with the Bishop of Le Mans. As it often hap
pens in diplomatic transactions, he had touched upon
the question without naming it, in an indirect man
ner, whUe confining himself to the facts which rightly
came under his notice, and which were connected
with the murder and the imprisonment of a member of
the Sacred College. To him, the monition was not
necessarUy a rupture. As a priest and a Pontiff, he
still hoped that Henry III. would repent. As a
man of politics he wished it more than he hoped for it.
The world thought otherwise. The King of Spain,

230 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VU.
Olivares, the Duke of Mayenne, the League, aU looked
upon Henry's defeat and ruin as an accomphshed fact.
The friends of the latter declared that he could not
submit to the monitory decree, /Among those who
censured Sixtus V., the Duke of Nevers, who had
joined the King since his return from Rome, was
one of the loudest in his expressions of blame. He
committed them aU to writing, in a letter to his agent in
Rome, Camillo della Volta, a Bolognese gentleman, who
was one of the most officious and troublesome members
of the diplomatic body, and, unfortunately for the Holy
See, a Roman subject, who, on that account, did not
enjoy the privileges of diplomatic immunity./ Volta
was commissioned to see the Pope, and dexterously to
express to him the Duke's feelings of grief and sorrow,
to make him beware of false or exaggerated reports
which he might receive from France, to acquaint him
with the prosperous state of the King's affairs, the
distress of the League, and, finaUy, the reinforcements
which Henry III. expected from Switzerland and from
Germany, Volta, who was personally hostile to the
Pope, took great pleasure in making this letter as
pubhc as he could.^ The Holy Father did not disguise
how hurt he felt. ' That Duke,' said he to Badoer,
' came formerly to teU us all kinds of horrors respecting
the King, imploring us to join the League, and asserting
that King Phihp, the Archduke Ferdinand, the Duke
of Parma, and other princes would do the same, and
that it was the only means of saving the kingdom ; but
' Duke of Nevers to Volta, July 6, 1589.

Chap, IV,] MURDER OF HENRY HI. 231
we would not listen to him. Now that same Duke of
Nevers wishes to act as mediator, and to excuse the
union of the King with the heretics ; but we tell you
that, if the King does not repent, he may meet with the
fate of Saul ; he wiU end badly.' ^ Those prophetic
words were uttered two days before Henry IH. was
stabbed by Jacques Clement. Soon after, vague ru
mours of an attempt against the King's person floated
about Rome ; but, owing to the interruption of com
munications in the south of France, it was only on
August 20, in the evening, that the Pope received, by
a messenger from the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, official
inteUigence of the assassination,^ Even in Lyons, it was
only known for a certainty on August 16, through a
note dated Paris, August 2, written by the Duke of
Mayenne to the Duke of Nevers, which the latter had
communicated to his brother, the Marquis of Saint-
Sorhn, ' Our Lord God,' said the letter, ' has looked
down upon us with an eye of mercy at the time of
our greatest distress. It is a miracle. The bearer of
this letter wiU give you every detail. Do not doubt it,
our worst enemy is dead.' ^
» A. Badoer to the Doge, July 29, 1589.
' A. Badoer to the Doge, August 20, 1589.
' Morosini to Montalto, August 16, 1589, The Legate translated the
French note into Italian,

232 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH,

CHAPTER V,
CHANGES OF POLICY AFTER THE DEATH OF HENRY III,
In consequence of the death of the last of the Valois, the
affairs of France had assumed a new phase. The pro
clamation of Henry IV,, the act which rallied to
him all the heads of the Cathohc nobihty, vrithout his
consenting to embrace their creed, produced the most
painful im'pression at the Vatican. ' Henceforth,' it was
said in Rome, ' there are but two camps : on the one
hand the League, on the other the leader of the
Huguenots, who, it is true, is recognised by many
Catholics, but who, besides his personal capacity, is
strong by the powerful army which he commands, and
the nucleus of which is Protestant. If Henry comes
out victorious, as is almost certain if the League is left
to its single forces, heresy must triumph with him, for
it is evident that the Protestant element is in the
ascendant among his adherents. It is also very clear
that those who placed him on the throne of France
will not allow their efforts to benefit the Catholic
religion : they are not hkely to give up the cause for
which they have fought and conquered.' This perfectly
logical reasoning was based besides upon the position
of affairs at the time, such as it appeared immediately
after the death of Henry IIL, or, at least, such as it

Chap. V.] POSITION OF THE CHURCH IN FRANCE. 233
was known, or supposed to be, in Rome towards the
end of the month of August. H, however, noblemen,
prelates, and Catholic cities continued to espouse the
cause of Henry, he would no longer be only the repre
sentative of the Huguenot element. The day might
even come when the parts would be changed, when the
Protestant troops would not be in the majority, and in
that case the triumph of Navarre would not necessarily
be that of heresy. To understand the conduct of
Sixtus V. it is absolutely necessary to bear in mind these
two possible contingencies, the second of which had not
yet entered his mind at the time of which we are speak
ing, that is hi September and until the end of the year.
Then, in his opinion, faith ran the greatest risks in
France. To save it at any price, even if Philip (though
he hated the thought) should become the arbiter of
that country's destinies, appeared to him to be a
sacred duty — one of imperative necessity, and second
to no other consideration. H Henry HL, after he had
broken with the League, had been obhged by the force
of circumstances to become alhed to Henry of Navarre,
it was his duty as Head of the Church, when he saw a
portion of the Catholic nobility rally round a heretical
prince, to strive to save the Church of France by an
aUiance with the League. H (as he presumed) the
League was too weak of itself, then, he must ask the
King of Spain for protection.
PhUip H. had learnt the death of Henry only at the
end of August. His dehght was great, but not unal
loyed ; and his Court cried with one eye while it smiled
with the other. All the governors of the Spanish

234 SKTUS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH,
Provinces which were bordering upon France received
orders to coUect men, and the Duke of Parma was
commanded to concentrate his troops in Flanders,^
When Sixtus V. assembled the ' Congregation of
the Signature ' on the 1st of September, he expressed
himself with much reserve as to the course he intended
to adopt. He did not, he said, intend to mix himself
up with the affairs of others.^ On the 9th, in the Con
sistory, he spoke of the King's death. It was a not
very flattering funeral oration which began by the
words, ' A Domino factum est istud.' He then enu
merated the favours he had showered upon that unfor
tunate prince, who had thus been miraculously punished
for his crimes. Owing to his not having repented, he
regretted he could not order obsequies in his honour.
As regarded the League, he had not been asked for
help ; he would therefore act according to circum
stances, and, before he granted subsidies, he should
wait until the coahtion had made some real progress.
M. de Dieu, who was sent by the Duke of Iilayenne,
was received on his arrival, but not suffered to assume
the character of an ambassador. He was not aUowed
to make a solemn entrance, or to have a seat at the
chapels. Notwithstanding these official reticences,
Sixtus decided on adopting the course to wliich we have
pointed — namely, that of strengthening his ties with
the leaders of the Coalition, and at the same time with
PhiUp. As Henry HL, during the last days of his life, had
' Tomaso Contarini to the Doge, Madrid, September 3, 1589.
* Alberto Badoer to the Doge, September 1, 1589,

Chap. V.] INTERESTS OF RELIGION IN FRANCE. 235
faUen in the Catholic opinion, the question of succession
had assumed greater importance. What were the in
tentions of the King of Spain ? None could tell ; all
that men knew was, that the Duke of Mayenne had
ambitious but powerless views. The Grand-Duke of
Tuscany had lost no time in taking steps in Rome,
in favour of his father-in-law, the Duke of Lorraine.
Sixtus v., without deciding on this point, approved the
proclamation of the Cardinal of Bourbon, which had
been published in Paris and in the camp of 'the League.
He found that it gave time for an understanding with
the Duke of Mayenne, vrith the Grand-Duke, with
Venice, and especiaUy with Phihp, who, according to
him, had also an opinion to give. ' You,' said he to
Nicohni, Ferdinand's envoy — ' you never think of any
but Itahan affairs. We likewise think of them ; but, as
Pope, we must think stUl more of religion. We must
exterminate the heretics, that is Navarre, and to do so
we want the shoulders of Spain.' He spoke in the
same sense to Badoer, and to aU who came near him.
At that moment it formed his sole and intimate pre
occupation. ' No doubt,' said he, ' that France is a good
and a noble kingdom, which possesses an infinity of
hvings, and is particularly dear to us : let us therefore
try to save it ; but we care more for religion than we
do for France.' Filled with these ideas, he finally re-
caUed Morosini and appointed another legate. Cardinal
Gaetano, 'as particularly agreeable to the King of Spain,
and on good terms with the others.' This change of
policy was most distasteful to him, nor did he make
any secret of it ; but it seemed to him the only one he
could adopt.

236 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VHi
Cardinal Gaetano started on the 2nd of October.
He received on the previous day his instructions, which
were prepared by the Congregation of France. Its
principal points were the following : —
' 1st. Your illustrious lordship wiU not lose sight of
the object of this mission, which is to preserve the
Catholic faith throughout the kingdom of France, to
extirpate heresy, get rid of the heretics, unite in har
mony princes, nobles, and people for the service of
God, the public good, and the preservation of the
realm, in order that, under a good king, they may five
in peace in the Catholic rehgion. Your duty wiU be
constantly to meditate upon the best means of arriving
at this end.
' 2nd. You will conform to aU the private advices
which His Hohness has given you as to what you are
to do, during your journey as well as after your arrival
in France.'
These private advices are then given in detail. The
Legate is to travel as quickly as he can, to see the
Grand-Duke of Tuscany, and give him the brief of His
Holiness, teU him the object of his mission, and ask his
advice. He must also visit the other Courts of Italy,
but these wiU evidently be only visits of ceremony.
That which he is to pay to the Duke of Savoy, how
ever, must be of a different character. He is to be
asked, in the name of the Pope, to join, with all his
power, in that ' holy enterprise,' and he must recommend
him to avoid that which might awaken suspicion in the
minds of the Catholic princes. In Lyons, which was
one of the great centres of the Holy Union, he is to

,Chap. V-] MISSION OF CARDESTAL GAETANO. 237
give solemnly, in the Cathedral, the apostolic bene
diction, and is to transmit to the Marquis of Saint-
Sorlin the private blessing of the Pope. He is to
convoke the council and aldermen of that town, and
beseech them to persevere in that holy union of the
Cathohcs. He is then, as the state of the country may allow, to
choose between the road of the Bourbonnais and that
of Burgundy. If he chooses the first road, he must
pass through Mouhns, Nevers, la Charite, Montargis,
Orleans, and Etampes. If he prefers the Burgundy
line, he must go through Micon, and continue through
Chalon, Dijon, and Troyes. During his stay at Lyons,
he must inquire how the town and parliament of
Grenoble are disposed ; and should they be well dis
posed towards the League and the Catholics, he will
send them the Pope's brief through one of the prelates
of his suite. He will instruct another prelate to do the
same in Provence, especially Marseilles, Aix, and Aries,
and in Languedoc, where he must communicate with
the Duke of Montmorency. He wUl then go to Tou
louse to see Marshal de Joyeuse, and to Bordeaux, and
will place himself in communication with the town
and parhament, as weU as the governor. Marshal de
Matignon, if it be true that the latter has gone against
Henry of Navarre. To all these people and bodies
politic he will, if he thinks fit, remit the Pope's ' brief.
These private missions must be fulfilled in conformity
with the object of the Legation, and the verbal instruc
tions of His Holiness. Wherever the Legate shall pass,
he must revive the zeal of the Catholics, and try to
bring back the lukewarm to a more fervent faith, and

238 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
the undecided to the cause of rehgion and of the Holy
Union, Sixtus V. attached special importance to the Duke
of Nevers being brought round. He was one of the
principal personages who had taken up the cause of
Henry IV. The Legate is to see the Duke, to tell
him the object of his mission, to give him the brief
of the Pope and his blessing, to insist on the Pope's
good intentions towards the kingdom and aU the
Cathohcs of France, and to express his concern for
their salvation : to represent to him that, as a Christian,
as a nobleman, as a prince, his duty obUges him to side
with the Catholics, and therefore to leave off aU rela
tions with the Protestants, and, as he did in other times,
to unite with the other Catholic princes, in order to
exterminate heresy, to preserve the kingdom, and to
elect a king who shall be a good and a zealous
Catholic. The Legate must likewise strive to detach
the son-in-law of Nevers, the Duke of LonguevUle, from
the service of the pretended King of Navarre.
His instructions point out the towns which he is
to visit, and the prelates and noblemen whom he is to
gain over or confirm in their good resolutions.
He is to enter Paris with the greatest solemnity, and
to give the apostolic benediction in Notre-Dame. If
the king (Cardinal de Bourbon) is liberated, he is to
treat with him, but if he be still a prisoner, with the Duke
of Mayenne, with the ' General Council ' of the League,
and with such princes as may be in Paris. He must
state the object of his mission, and assure them of the
' paternal love,' the fervent zeal, desire, and intention of

Chap. V.] INSTRUCTIONS TO CARDINAL GAETANO, 239
His Hohness to help them, to favour their cause, and to
be useful by all the means of which he can dispose.
His letters of credence were addressed to the Duke
of Mayenne and to the ' General Council.' He was to
negotiate, as the case might be, with the Municipal
Council, the University, the Sorbonne, and the prin
cipal personages. If the Duke of Mayenne should be
absent, he was not to await his return, but to place
himself in direct communication with him. As re
garded the 100,000 scudi which His Hohness had
given him in letters of credit, and which were destined
as a subvention for the Cathohcs of the League, as well
as the sums which were stUl to be sent, the Legate was
to conform to his private instructions concerning the
mode and time of payment.
The instructions did not touch upon the question of
succession. A member of the Congregation, Fachinetti,
had proposed an article providing for the election of
the Cardinal de Vend6me after the death of Cardinal
de Bourbon, The Congregation considered the ques
tion as inopportune. The Legate was simply told to
take in that case the Pope's instructions. He was
finaUy to oppose by every means, and even to recom
mend the Duke of Mayenne to resist by force of arms,
the assembling of a national council, and as much as
possible the convocation of a general assembly of the
princes and noblemen who were partisans of the late
King, and were now the allies of the King of Navarre.
This document, and the mention of the large sums
placed at the disposal of the Legate, show clearly how
resolved Sixtus V. was to resist 'the Bearnais.' The

240 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
instructions are equaUy clear as to the aUiance which
the Pope was contracting with the League ; but they
show at the same time what his wish was — namely, to
detach the old royahst-Cathohcs from the party of
Henry IV., to effect a union between them and the
League, and in fact to collect all the French under a
single standard. It w^as one way of doing away with
the League. With this object in view, he wrote to the
one and to the other, sending his blessing indiscrimi
nately to the Dukes of Nevers and Mayenne. This
was what he called 'neutrahty.' He wanted to be
neutral, not as regards Henry, but between his Catholic
adherents and the League. He also wished as much
as possible to preserve his own liberty of action. It
was with this object, as much as for the purpose of
bringing Catholic Europe to a coalition, that he re
sumed his former idea of an intimate alUance between
the Courts of Italy, and specially of Venice and
Tuscany. He requested the Government of the Re
public to instruct their envoy in France to reside in
future at Paris, and to communicate with the Legate,
who was commissioned to act in conformity with the
course taken by Mocenigo. He hoped that this alhance,
which he intended to extend, would become the means
of restraining both the anti-national dispositions of the
League and the ambition of Philip.
The news which he received from Venice was not
satisfactory. The Republic was evidently in favour of
Henry IV. Badoer denied that the Repubhc hac'
styled him King, but confessed that there was a good
understanding between them, which the Pope could

Chap. V.] ARREST OF CAJHLLO DELLA VOLTA. 241
not disapprove of, since it was always far better to
soften things down than to embitter them. Sixtus,
however, made him understand that he would have to
leave Rome, and the Nuncio would be recalled from
Venice, should the Repubhc recognise Henry as King
of France.
About this time a sanguinary act of justice, if so we
may call it, was performed in Rome. On the 7th of
September, as he was coming out of his house, Camillo
della Volta was arrested and shut up in the prison of
Tordinona. This agent of the Duke of Nevers, of
whom we have already spoken, belonged to that class
of intriguing men who may be met with in all the great
pohtical centres, and who contrive by the back stairs to
see those in power, give them the news of the day,
whether it be true or false, hear the word of command
and spread it about. Such men are ready to serve all
parties. They make up for the loyalty and discre
tion which they lack, sometimes by cleverness, but
always by audacity, and make themselves useful at
times, though they generally end by compromising
those who are imprudent enough and have the bad
taste to make use of them.^ Volta, who was a clever
man, was known to be a ' mauvaise langue.' M. de Pisany
' CamiUo Volta to the Duke of Nevers. He wrote that, at the
Vatican, the news of the murder of the Guises had been hailed with
pleasure, and that everyone waa delighted that His Majesty was king
at last, but that people regretted that the cardinal was not spared :
the Pope and the Sacred College were put out at this, but hoped the
King would not release the prisoners (!), would treat them well, but
keep them in the fear of losing their lives as hostages. All this was
a tissue of falsehoods, which were intended to please the King and the
Duke of Nevera, but which are suiRcient to justify our appreciation of
their author.
VOL. II. n

242 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH,
had to complain of him. Morosini corresponded with
him.^ His arrest caused some sensation in the diplomatic
world. The ambassadors had some difficulty in dis
covering the cause. They were told that he had
spoken rather ft-eely of His Holiness in letters addressed
to the Duke of Nevers which had been intercepted,
and had therein stated that the Pope had shown
great dehght on hearing of the death of Henry IH.^
Some time after it was said that Volta's trial was to
be based upon three heads of accusation. The one
was that he had advised the Duke of Nevers to rally
the party of the King of Navarre ; the second that he
had shown a letter which he said came from the Duke,
but which he had himself forged, and in which the
Pope was said to have been pleased at seeing France
perish, as, of old, Nero from his tower had amused him
self in looking down upon the fire of Rome ; and,
finally, that he had proposed the convocation of a
National Council in France and the election of a
Patriarch. The Inquisition being intrusted with the
trial, the agent's friends began to fear for his life. His
son fled to Venice, taking with him the ciphers and
compromising papers belonging to his father .The latter
was found guilty of having censured the Pope's con
duct, and that of other high ecclesiastical authorities
' Here is a sample of that correspondence : ' To look out for the rules
of the policy followed here, would be to look for the rules of folly. Such
however, is the ungrateful task which has fallen to my lot.' And again:
' We live here without a king, without a queen, without war, without
peace, and without melons,'
' Various correspondence from Badoer, Nicolini, Mario Volta, the Duke
of Neverfe, Monseigneur de Nazareth, Pisany, and Villeroy, 1586-1589. •

Chap. V.] EXECUTION OF VOLTA. 243
in the affairs of France, and to have kept up relations
with the Huguenots. During the night of the 14th of
October he was beheaded in prison. The next day
his body was exposed for two hours at the bridge of
St. Angelo, was then carried to St. John of the Floren
tines, and buried that same evening at the Minerva with
aU the honours due to a gentleman. This example of
severity against so well-known a man was almost un
heeded. Cardinal de Sens was the only one who
availed himself of it to frighten a secretary of the
Cardinal de Gondi, Bishop of Paris, who had come to
Rome with messages from the Cathohc royalists. He
predicted to him the fate of the agent of Nevers, and
the abbe, who was nearly dead with fright, took refuge
at the Tuscan embassy.
A more serious event made men forget the tragic
end of Volta. It was the unexpected arrival of the
Nuncio from Venice, who, without asking for orders,
had broken off relations with the Republic. A quarrel
therefore between the Repubhc, and the Holy See
seemed inevitable. This is what had taken place.
The Venetian Government had noticed, with increas
ing anxiety, during the last month, the turn whi(;h
French affairs were taking. They deplored the murder
of Blois, not that they had too great a partiality for
the victims, but because, with their usual foresight, they
felt what its consequences would be.^ Not the least
among the dangers resulting from the murder was that
' Mocenigo, who was gifted with less foresight than his Government,
called the event at Blois an act of great wisdom and of absolute necessity
His despatch was published by M. de Mas-Latrie in 1867, Paris.
E 2

244 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VD.
of seeing Sixtus V. give way to the pressure of Spanish
diplomacy, and every effort was made to prevent it.
The Senate sent message after message to the Pope
to say that if he opposed Henry III. (then stiU ahve),
the united forces of the latter and of the King of
Navarre, which were daily increased by the rallying of
Catholic gentlemen, and by the natural reaction which
the excesses of the League produced in France, might,
at a given time, turn against Rome herself, and expose
Europe to a universal war, by giving the Turks an
opportunity of resuming hostUities. In support of
these remonstrances, the Senate produced the reports
which it received from Constantinople and from all
the Christian Courts, The Senate, in fact, spoke sense ;
and Sixtus V. never lent a deaf ear to such advice.
' We have but one wish,' the Doge wrote to Badoer,
' and that is to preserve peace throughout Europe,
We cannot believe that Sixtus V,, who is so great a Pope,
will fail in his duty, which is to avert the dangers which
threaten the Christian world ; and that, following the
example of Him whom he represents upon earth, he
wiU use clemency, and will not have recourse to acts
which would drive the King to desperation,' The
question as regards the Republic lay entirely there.
If the Pope interfered by force of arms, and in
concert with Philip IL, the existence of France was
threatened, the Republic could no longer maintain its
neutrality, and (which he most dreaded) would be
attacked by the Sultan. ' We are aware,' added the
Doge, ' that every prince must be respectful to the
Church, and that this is a first principle ; but there

Chap. V.] QUARREL WITH VENICE. 245
are extreme cases which compel a departure from rules
laid down, and constrain us to accommodate ourselves
to the necessities of the times and of circumstances.
Besides which, it is not asking too much of the Holy
See to take sometimes into account the interests and
wishes of princes, since they have so often fought for
the preservation of the Church.' ^ When the Republic
learnt that the monitory letter had been published,
there was no concealment of its disappointment ; but,
undaunted, it continued its good offices in Rome, and
especiaUy endeavoured to bring the Pope to stop on
that fatal slope which led to a Spanish alliance. It
.did not forget its illustrious countryman. Cardinal
Morosini, whom Sixtus V. had treated so ill. It de
fended him weU, and succeeded so far as to cause the
Legate to be reinstated in the Pope's good graces.
As long as the Venetian Government confined itself
to amicable representations, which were not unfavour
ably received by the Pope, whose anti -Spanish sym
pathies were shared by Venice, the relations between
the two Courts continued, as usual, to be intimate and
friendly. But when the Pope learnt that the Republic
intended to suit their actions to their words, his fury
knew no bounds. He had already been very much
put out by the Republic having styled Henry IIL
' most serene,' when he was already under sentence
from Rome, and his displeasure was greater still when
he heard that, after the King's death, the Venetian envoy
had received orders to present himself before Henry
of Navarre. The Senate, being more than ever afraid
• Badoer to the Doge, and the Doge to Badoer, September Ifl&9.

246 SIXTUS the fifth. [FaetVH,
of the Spanish preponderance, thought proper to make
excuses. ' A wise prince,' said the Doge, ' endeavours, on
political grounds, to maintain he friendship of others.
This Republic is specially in the habit of doing so*
The King of Navarre, having informed our envoy
Mocenigo, through princes of the blood and through
cardinals, that, after the King's death, the principal per
sonages in France had sworn fealty to him, and that he
had given his promise to maintain the Cathohc religion,
and expressed his desire to estabhsh good relations with
Venice, we w^ere obliged to reply by comphments which
do not commit us in any way. But, in following the sage
advice of His Holiness, we are resolved to observe the
march of events, and to abstain ft-om all intervention,'
The appointment of a new Legate, who should
reside in Paris ; the nature of the person selected for
Ihe mission ; his hurried departure (the Pope would
not wait for the arrival of the Duke of Luxemburg,
which had been : announced) ; and, finally, the desire
of His Holiness that the Venetian embassy should be
transferred to Paris — all these facts united were likely
to increase the suspicions and fears of the Government
of the Republic. The rumour of an agreement be^
tween the Pope, Philip, and the Duke of Savoy gained
ground daily, and in Venice it was thought that the
Pope's words did not much correspond with his acts.
' His conduct,' the Doge informed Badoer, ' is such as
to attract the heretics into the camp of the Cathohc
royalists, and to increase rather than prevent the
danger of a general conflagration,
Thcfe complaints were, however, addressed only to

Chap. V.] THE FRENCH ENVOY AT VENICE. 247
the ambassador, and could scarcely appear in the
respectftil language which he was to hold to the Holy
Father. He was to instruct him, but not to irritate
him, for if once put out he would throw himself into
the arms of Spain, If not enlightened, he would per
haps fall into them unawares, simply because he was
ignorant of the real state of affairs — such, at least, as
tbe Republic considered that state to be, and such as
Badoer was to represent it in Rome.
While the Venetian diplomatists were using at the
Vatican all the precautions necessary in their speeches,
were sparing the passionate humour of the Pope, and
were careful not to offend the rehgious feelings of the
priest; while they silently, but actively, struggled
against the efforts of the Spanish party and of the
agents of the League, the Nuncio at Venice, Mon
signor Matteuci, who was of a less penetrating and more
timorous character, fearing to displease if he were too
easy, thought to do weU by creating a scandal.
In the first days of October, M. de Maisse, who had
been the late King's envoy, received orders from Henry
of Navarre to appear at Court as the ambassador of
France at Venice. The Nuncio at once informed the
Doge that if that French gentleman appeared at the
pubhc ceremonies which were to take place that day
he would leave Venice by order of the Pope. As
M, de Maisse had not yet delivered his letters of cre
dence, he was not invited, on that ground. A few days
afterwards he informed the Government that his
letters had arrived, and requested a pubhc audience
as the ambassador of Henry IV. The very next day

248 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH)
Monsignor Matteuci went to the Senate, and inquired
whether they intended to treat with the representative
of Navarre. He ended his 'uncommon and extra
ordinary mission ' by an eventual protest against the
admission of M. de Maisse. ' In consequence,' said the
Doge, ' of this serious step, which has troubled our
soul,' Badoer was instructed to inform His Holiness
' that the Government of the Republic are ever de
cided to strive to maintain peace, if threatened, and
to remain neutral ; but equally resolved to benefit by
all rights of sovereignty, and to receive and hear the
foreign ambassadors ; and in this to follow the example
of the Pope and of the Emperor, who has likewise
received the agents of the King of Navarre,' To give
further explanations on the subject, an envoy-extra
ordinary was to be sent to the Holy Father.^
Monsignor Matteuci had protested. He left the
house as M. de Maisse was received in pubhc audience.
In the evening, without taking leave, he left Venice for
Rome.^
It can be easily understood what a sensation such a de
parture produced in the CouncU and amongst the people.
Cabinet messengers were dispatched that same day to
Prague, Madrid, Turin, and Florence, bearing instruc
tions to the several envoys of the Republic, to make
known variously to the Emperor, to the King of Spain,
to the Grand-Duke, to the Duke of Savoy, or, if the
latter were absent, to the Infanta, and to the Duke of
Terranuova through the Venetian Secretary at Milan,
1 The Doge to Badoer, October 11, L589.
^ The DogG to Badoer, October 14, 1689.

Chap. V.] MISSION OF LEONARDO DONATO, 249
the facts which we have related — the reception of the
envoy from France, and the departure of the Nuncio.
The Spanish ambassador was invited to come to the
Senate, there to receive similar information. The
Senate in these despatches, which were all written with
admirable clearness of style, in measured terms, and
in a manner suited to the dispositions of the several
princes to whom they were addressed, while they never
deviated fi-om the truth, expressed a hope that peace
would be preserved, announced their firm resolution to
maintain neutrality in the event of a war, and urged
especially upon Philip that to receive an ambassador
from Henry was merely an act of international courtesy
which in no way committed the policy of the Republic.
This last point constituted the principal, and, let us say
it, the weakest argument in these documents.^
Leonardo Donato, who had been envoy at the Court
of Gregory XIH., and who comphmented Sixtus on
his accession, was intrusted with the difficult mission
of appeasing the wrath of the Pontiff, and of keeping
him, if possible, from assuming any but a neutral
attitude. He was instructed to mention the facts as
they had taken place, and to employ all the arguments
we have already made known, to defend the Venetian
Government against any unfair imputation, to bring
out especially how dangerous would be a war with the
¦Sultan, whose armies were already being concentrated
on the Pohsh frontier, and whose harbours presented the
somewhat alarming spectacle of an unusual activity —
who, in fact, was evidently preparing a maritime expe-
' The Doge to the Venetian Ambassador at Prague, October 14) 1689.

250 SIXTHS THE FIFTH- [^aet VII,
dition, and who seemed to be resolved to invade the
Adriatic.^ The Nuncio's conduct was severely censured, but
with measured expressions. His protest was a breach
of sovereign rights, that inestimable treasure handed
down from generation to generation in the Repubhc
of St. Mark. If princes there were who were interested
in the independence of Venice, they must be the Italian
sovereigns, and none among them more than the Pope.
In acting as the Republic had done, in giving the title
of King of France to the King of Navarre, in receiving
M. de Maisse in his new capacity, the Republic had
only exercised a prerogative, and had acted with pru
dence, following the customs and usages common to
aU nations. It had acted according to precedent,
given by Popes and by Emperors ; and had obeyed an
undoubted maxim of international politeness, which
requires that even the envoys of Powers with whom a
State is at war should be graciously received. The
Holy Father did not object to the Republic receiving
M. de Maisse as the ambassador of the King of Navarre,
but objected to his being received as the envoy of
France, The Repubhc, on the other hand, would not
admit the difference, on the ground that it had no right
to solve impUcitly the question of succession in France,
and that it would be entirely in the wrong if, through
such an assumption of right, it brought upon the coun
try the wrath of a prince who had been proclaimed
•king by the army under the very eyes and with the
consent of the dying Henry III. ; who had been hailed
• ^ Instructions to Leonardo Donato, October 21, 1689.

Chap, V.] POLICY OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC. 251
by princes of the blood, by cardinals, by many pre
lates, and by a great part of the French nobUity ; who
was besides desirous to preserve the Catholic religion
in the country, and had sworn to do so ; and who was
himself disposed to become a Catholic. Navarre had
also raised a hope, which appeared to be justifiable, that
he would soon quell the rebellion in France ; but how
dangerous might he become if, driven to desperation
by all issues being closed to him, he were, by the
help of the Germans and of all those who daily in
creased his ranks, to turn against the Catholic princes,
and to seek a refuge in a general war, which would set
the whole of Christianity on fire, and of which Italy
and Rome would no doubt be the first victims ! Such
were the instructions of the envoy-extraordinary. To
facihtate his mission at its outset, M. de Maisse was
requested not to appear at the public ceremonies.
While the Repubhc was trying to avoid difficulties
with Rome, events in France were producing some
what of a reaction upon the feelings of Sixtus V. At
times the possibility of Henry's conversion struck him
in a less unfavourable light than formerly, when he
was at the head of the Huguenots, when he could hope
for victory only through them, and when his victory
implied the triumph of Protestantism. The adhesion
ef so many members of the high aristocracy and
nobility of France had changed matters. If he gained
a victory he would owe it principally to them, and
his conversion would foUow as a natural consequence.
It would not be necessarily a pretended one, for it
would no longer be a means of success, since the

252 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [PaeiVH.
Catholics would not have asked it of him before joining
his standard. It might even be sincere, and this in
the Pope's mind was the essential point. Henry, be
sides, must in all probability be victorious, and un
doubtedly so if Spain did not interfere. Such inter
ference, however, could be much less easily justified
after Henry's abjuration, and after his obtaining the
forgiveness of the Head of the Church. At one time,
but for a moment only, Sixtus V. entertained this
idea ; and, without belying his previous language, he
showed himself more disposed to hsten to the argu
ments of Henry IV.
On his return from Sermoneta, from one of his rare
and short excursions, this change, which was but
momentary, was noticed,^ The Pope had at first in
sisted on the Republic holding no official intercourse
with the envoy of the King of Navarre, but afterwards
relented, without, however, agreeing to his being re
cognised as ambassador of the King of France. Now
he even conceded this point, but on the condition that
M. de Maisse should not reside permanently in, Venice.
On leaving his post at Venice, Monsignor Matteuci
had lost not a minute in reaching Rome. He had
arrived during the absence of the Pope, who, on his
return, showed his displeasure and would not receive
him. He made no secret of it to Badoer, who sug
gested that the Nuncio should be ordered back to his
post, which, he said, would be the best means of satis
fying the Government of Venice, Without a moments
reflection, the Pope rang the bell and told Monsignor
' Badoer to the Doge, October 21, 1589,

Chap. V.] INTERVIEW OF BADOER WITH THE POPE. 253
Bertinat, who was his ' cameriere segreto,' ' to inform
Archbishop Matteuci that as he came incognito, he was
to return at once by the way he had arrived ; that he
was to get on horseback without delay, and that he
wished to know that very evening whether he was
gone, as he allowed no answer.' It was evident that
he was better disposed. Towards the end of this
audience, the conversation took a more important turn,
and exceeded all the hopes of Badoer. Sixtus always
maintained that an ordinary French ambassador was
not to be admitted, that the Emperor acted so, and
had never rephed to the letters of the King : that he
even thought he had committed a sin in reading them,
but that on this head His Majesty was mistaken, since
one could not sin involuntarily, and he repeated several
times that the Republic had a fine opportunity of ad
vising Navarre to be reconciled with the Church. ' If
he did so, he would be much favoured, and we would
all of us embrace him.' WhUe these intimate out
pourings were still going on, the unfortunate arch
bishop mounted his horse on his way back to Veruce,
to which place he travelled as quickly as he had tra-
veUed from it.'
While the Venetian envoy was much delighted, the
Spanish ambassador was in the same measure despond
ing. One word from the latter produced a certain im
pression upon the Pope, and almost made him regret
that he had sent back his nuncio. 'If,' said Olivares,
' M. de Maisse is received, both the King, my master,
and the Duke of Savoy wiU recall their ministers, and
there will remain at Venice none but the representatives

254 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paki VH.
of the Pope and of a heretic' The word told. In the
next Consistory Sixtus V. excused the fact of his having
sent back Monsignor Matteuci by saying that he had
left of his own accord, but added that he was always
determined to recall him should M. de Maisse be re
ceived as resident envoy at Venice. The great majority
in the Sacred College approved this resolution, and
Cardinal Cornaro went to Badoer's to tell him what
had passed, as well as of an interview which he had
had with the Pope.
' You men of Venice,' said the Pope, ' have caused
us much trouble, though you are reputed to be wise,
slow in making up your minds, and clever in turn
ing time to your advantage whenever there is a doubtful
question. We have seen old engravings representmg
old Venetians, with glasses to their eyes, and looking
at others ; and we have heard it said that, as regards
the Papacy, the Venetians always liked to look out of
the window. Now they are acting with haste, wish to
receive a resident envoy from a heretic who has been
excommunicated, and do that which no prince, great
or small, has ever done. Where is the prudence of
those who pronounce in favour of a man who is still
armed, and whose final success and victory are yet
uncertain ? It is said that Christian princes had nego
tiated with the Queen of England without incurring
the ecclesiastical censure ; but Elizabeth was crowned
a Catholic, and, though she has been declared to be
deprived of her kingdom, she has never lost possession
of it. We love and respect the Republic. We know
that there are many honest people in Venice, but there

Chap. V,] REAL FEELINGS OF THE POPE FOR VENICE. 255
are also many bad ones, and the old people are
frightened by the young, who have not all the neces
sary prudence. We must wait for the arrival of
Donato, who knows so well how to defend the interests
of his country, except those which concern religion ;
but eloquence is not sufiicient where there are no good
reasons to allege. We have nothing to reproach the
King of Navarre with, except as regards religion ; we
would not excommunicate him because we would
not drive him to despair, because we wished to leave a
door open to negotiations, which we can no longer
do unless he himself begins them ; but when we were
elected, the bidl was ready, there only remained to
put the name of Sixtus V. mstead of that of Gregory.
God has ever protected us ; He will still do so in the
event of our being obhged to make some manifestation
against the Republic'
The noise made by Monsignor Matteuci's imme
diate return to his post had not ceased. So violent
were the outcries of the Spanish faction that the Pope
in another Consistory finished by upbraiding the Re
pubhc of Venice. In presence of Badoer, however,
his ofiicial anger ceased ; his zeal and deep love for
Venice showed itself; and what most struck the intel-
hgent ambassador was, that the idea of a reconciliation,
to be brought about by the Repubhc, through the in
tervention of M. de Maisse, was getting a stronger hold
over his mind. During his interviews, Badoer gave
proofs of infinite tact, cleverness, and readiness. The
Holy Father asked him ' whether the Republic would
have more respect for an excommunicated sovereign

256 SIXTHS a:HE fifth, [paki vn;
than for the Head of the Church ? ' ' Would your Holi
ness be led away into doing the business of others ? '
' Certainly not,' replied the Pope, whUst he complained
of the terrible and tiresome activity of certain am
bassadors at his Court, By touching upon the tender
point of the pressure exercised by Olivares, and
by turning to profit the secret and deeply rooted sus
ceptibilities of the Pontiff, Badoer succeeded in averting
the storm from breaking, in preventing any fresh dis
agreeable demonstration, and in preparing the way for
Leonardo Donato,
The attitude of the Republic of Venice, which was
more and more favourable to Henry, had, as may be
remembered, brought down upon it the displeasure of
Phihp II, Venice tried to justify its conduct either
through its ambassador in Madrid or through Badoer,
who was always most attentive in his manner towards
Olivares. Contarini, who succeeded in getting an
audience of the Catholic King, explained the pohcy of
his Government, and in a few words hinted at the en
croachments of the Papacy upon the temporal power of
sovereigns. He knew it was a means of pleasing Philip,
who received him graciously, and with that cold but
courteous affability which he always showed to repre
sentatives of foreign Courts, on the rare occasions when
they were aUowed to see him. Not a word of re
proach escaped his lips ; nothing showed any wish on
his part to enter into a discussion. Such was not the
duty of a king. Ministers, not sovereigns, were the
proper people to discuss matters. To the studied and
long statement of Contarini he replied in vague words.

Chap. V,] ARRIVAL OF DONATO IN ROME, 257
Two expressions of his, however, struck the ambassador.
' In French matters,' said the King, 'faith is in question.
That is why they are important.' This was equiva
lent to his saying, ' My mind is made up ; I shall
support the League to the end, because the question is
one of faith, and upon such questions it is impossible
to compound.' With regard to Donato's mission to
Eome, the King expressed his conviction that that
ambassador would easily succeed in calming the Holy
Father. The somewhat sarcastic tone in which these
words were uttered made Contarini beUeve that, in the
opinion of the King, the understanding between Rome
and Venice was more complete and more sohd than
was generaUy beheved. These two Uttle phrases pro
duced a greater effect upon the Venetian envoy than
did aU the vociferations of the Madrid public, which
at that time was much excited against Venice, or the
vehement discourses of the preachers, or the strong
remonstrances of the ministers.
It was only towards the end of November that the
Nestor of Venetian diplomacy, who had been so im
patiently expected, arrived in Rome, Accompanied
by Badoer, he had at once an audience of the Pope,
and was received both graciously and cordially,^ The
question respecting M. de Maisse was discussed, and
both sides used the arguments known already to the
reader. ' How,' exclaimed the Pope, ' could the good
old sages commit such a frolic ? They are not fools
enough to do that which no other prince has ever
' Badoer and Donato to the Doge, November 25, 1689,
VOL. n. s

258 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Part VH.
done ! ' He spoke of the eyeglass as being the emblem
of the prudence of Venice, spared no blame, but con
trolled his temper and spoke with good humour and
all the openness of a true and faithful friend who,
reeretting the fault that has been committed, is
anxious to help in repairing it. On neither side was
anything said which might be disagreeable to PhUip.
The Venetian envoys, however, in complaining of the
ill-natured rumours which had been purposely spread,
made a shght allusion to Spanish diplomacy. Sixtus
at once asserted that Olivares always showed himself
most kindly disposed towards the Repubhc. This
mutual reserve shows how great at that critical mo
ment was the influence of Spain in the Cathohc party.
Donato and Badoer wished especially to flnd out what
the Pontiff" really thought of Henry's conversion. ' It
cannot be painful to His Hohness,' they said, 'to
learn that there is an agent of Navarre in Venice. It
wUl be the means which will enable the Repubhc to
interpose its good offices.' The Pope was, in fact, of
that opinion. He had himself declared it several times
to Badoer, but would not enter into any transaction of
the kind without the knowledge of the Spanish diplo
matists. ' No,' he replied, ' we do not ask, nor do we
wish that the Republic should act as intermediary with
Navarre. That would produce a contrary effect, would
make the man more assuming and more proud than he
is already. Three prinCes were excommunicated — the
late King, the Prince of Conde, and Navarre. The
two first have ended miserably. We do not doubt
that Navarre wUl finish his days in the same way.'

Chap. V,] AUDIENCES OF DONATO WITH THE POPE. 259
The audience lasted two hours, and both ambassadors
took leave Avith the impression that, unless unforeseen
circumstances occurred, the Pope would not break with
Venice. ' He is fuU of good sense,' they wrote to the
Doge, ' and takes a sincere interest in the affairs of the
Repubhc. His interests are ours, and both parties will
try and settle the difficulty.'
The second audience was less satisfactory. Donato
had begun by asking leave to return to Venice, for,
he said, he believed his explanations had satisfied His
Hohness, and hence his mission was at an end. The
Pope was not of that opinion ; a long discussion
ensued. The same arguments were repeated over and
over again, the Pope got more and more excited, while
the ambassadors kept as calm as possible in the midst
of the storm. 'You are afraid of Navarre! Why?
Let us see, let us talk between ourselves ! He will have
much to do to ingratiate himself with his subjects, and
to quiet a country so torn by factions and revolts as
France. The Repubhc has nothing to be afraid of
from him, H necessary, we ourselves shall defend
Venice ; we shaU give her money and soldiers, and we
are wanting in neither. We can do you more good
than he can do you harm. The Catholic King issued
his decision as regards titles, which was an offence
against us. He revoked the decision. The governor
at Gaeta insisted on our galleys being the first to salute
the forts ; we interdicted him, and would have done
even more had not the Cathohc King arranged matters
to our satisfaction. Why did he do it ? Because he
was afraid ? But as regards material force, we are but

260 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
a fly and he is an elephant. He did it out of respect
for the vicar of Christ upon earth. So should those
good old senators act, who everyone of them are
capable of governing the world. We do not ask that
Maisse be expelled from, or not received at the Senate,
but only that he should not be received with all the
carpets and honours due to the rank of a French
ambassador. It would be an insult to us, an encourage
ment to Navarre, who is a heretic and excommunicated,
and a serious injury to the Catholics,'
The ambassadors left the Pope's closet in an anxious
but not a despairing frame of mind. The Holy Father
did not intend to break, but required that some outward
mark, however shght it might be, should prove that
the Repubhc did not intend to be the first and only
Catholic power to recognise Henry as King of France.
The ambassadors understood this, and tried to find the
means of satisfying the Pope in this respect. It often
happens in diplomatic transactions that matters of
primary interest are discussed under the guise of a
secondary, if not a most unimportant question. > Here
was a question as to the succession to the throne of
France, the preservation of the Catholic religion in that
country, of the position of Europe and the independence
of the Holy See. If Venice was alone to recognize Henry,
before the latter had recanted, a new phase, and in the
eyes of the Pope a bad phase, would be entered upon.
Unable to solve the matter according to his own wish,
he tried to postpone it. The Republic must be stopped,
without breaking with it ; for if he broke with it,
then it could not be stopped. This very serious com-

Chap. V.] THIRD AUDIENCE. 26 1
phcation, the most serious one of that day, appeared
under the guise of a question of etiquette. One carpet
more or less could decide the state of France and of
Europe, just as a smaU iron bar or a point out of
order can cause a train to run off the raUs. That
means, then, was to be found. Twice the Pope had
spoken of a carpet. Was it that of the ante-chamber
of the coUege of senators, or another ? That is what
the ambassadors inquire of each other, for the Pope
has not explained himself more explicitly. Perhaps it
would be enough if the Doge remained sitting when
M. de Maisse was ushered into his presence, or if
the latter were received in the Doge's private apart
ments instead of in the senate-hall. Donato decided
on postponing his departure, and on requesting the
instructions of his Government as to these childish
points, under cover of which momentous interests were
being discussed.
Six days after they had their third audience. At its
outset the Pope appeared to be exceedingly angry, and
stopped Donato every time the latter wished to speak.
He had always, he said, intended to provide for the
succession in France, in concert with the Emperor,
with Spain, and with the Republic ; but the latter
wished to act alone, nor was it true that it was
obhged to act so because the Emperor had likewise
abstained. Meanwhile, the ambassadors had received despatches
from the Doge, ordering them to abide by their in
structions. The Government of Venice seemed to be
resolved not to give way. Out of respect for the Holy

262 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Part VH.
Father, M, de Maisse was informed that he would do
well not to appear at public ceremonies. It was im
possible not to receive him as a minister-resident. If
the Pope, as he had repeatedly told Badoer, desired
their unofficial intervention in getting Henry to become
more friendly with Rome, they were quite prepared to
use every endeavour for that purpose. The Duke of
Luxemburg had announced himself as the bearer of
letters from the King and the Catholic princes of the
blood royal, notifying the death of Henry HI. and the
accession of the King of Navarre. The Duke must be
received ; but, contrary to usage, no deputation was to
be' sent to meet him. Finally the Doge declared, as
regards the Pope's new request (about the carpet
which had so perplexed Donato and Badoer), that he
neither could nor would make any further concessions.^
These peremptory orders put an end to the last
hopes of an understanding. When, on the 15th of
December, the two representatives had another au
dience of the Pope, they found him very much
excited. He had heard of the arrival in Venice of the
Duke of Luxemburg, blamed the manner in which he
had been received, and gave way to his angry feelings.
He told Donato that if he wanted to leave he might do
so that same evening, that he (the Pope) would not
retain him, and that Badoer was equally at hberty to
depart. At one time the rupture seemed to be com
plete. But the old diplomatist would not allow that
he was beaten. He had nothing new to say. He
therefore made use of the same arguments, but pre-
Correspondence of the Doge with Donato and Badoer, 1589,

Chap. V.] SUCCESS OF DONATO. 263
sented them in an eloquent and kind tone, and in so
logical a hght that the Pontiff became calmer. He no
longer spoke of dismissing him, but on the contrary
recommended him to stay. He wished to reflect
during the time of Christmas, and await the arrival
in Rome of the Duke of Luxemburg before he gave
his final decision.
At this point Donato was happily inspired. 'What,'
said he, 'your Holiness wishes to wait for the arrival
of the Duke before giving me leave to depart ? But
would not this be a contradiction of your Holiness's
words ? Would it not be giving to my mission the
appearance of its relating to the affairs of France,
whereas it is foreign to it, and whereas it only refers
to a question of etiquette ? ' The Pope was silent for a
few moments : then ' inspired by God,' wrote the am
bassadors, ' or perhaps also by the force of our argu
ments at a time when we least expected it, he said,
' You have conquered us, but we must speak of it to the
Cardinals and to the Congregation of France. We
will teU them that we got angry with you, but that
you got the best of us. You may write in this sense to
the Senate, but add, that as regards matters of religion
they must in future act with more prudence and cir
cumspection and with all the deference due to the Holy
See.' A few days later Donato took leave of the Pope, who
kissed him, repeated to him his former good advice,
and added a few words of friendship, even of tenderness,
for the Repubhc, showing how evidently pleased he
was that, notwithstanding the Spanish pressure, he had

264 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pabt VH,
avoided a rupture with the first Itahan State, and how
stiU more deUghted he was at having thereby main
tained the friendly relations between the Cathohc
States, which he considered to be now more important
than ever. If Navarre did not repent, the coalition
against him was safe, and, as wiU be seen, it was then
that Sixtus was engaged in forming it. That coahtion
was to crush Henry, and their religion would be saved,
though it is true at the expense of the integrity of
French territory. But if Navarre recanted, as the
Pope did not cease to hope, though he only allowed it
in moments of freedom with his intimate friends, that
union between the Catholic countries would be stUl
more useful, as it would make him the supreme ruler,
and would allow him — by making use of the fears which
Spain inspired at Venice, at Florence, in Germany, and
even at Prague — to check Philip's ambition with the
help of those very countries, and thus to save France
and religion at the same time.

Chap, VI.] 265

CHAPTER VI.
EFFORTS OF HENRY OF NAVAEEE TO GAIN THE POPE OVEE.
The union of Henry of Navarre with the princes of
the blood and with the Catholic nobility of France,
of which country he had been proclaimed King,
brought the Duke of Luxemburg again upon the
stage of the world. He reappeared in Italy, passed
through Venice, Mantua, Ferrara, and Florence, at each
of which places he remitted letters from the King, the
princes, the cardinals, and the great Catholic dignitaries
of the State. As has been seen, he was received un-
officiaUy as a temporary ambassador of the King of
France. The Grand-Duke Ferdinand, while he received
him most graciously, refused to take the King's letter,
and only read those brought to him from the princes.
He explained his conduct by his deference to the
Head of the Church, to whom he wished to leave
the initiative in this matter. The Duke of Mantua did
the same. The Duke of Ferrara had received the
King's letters, but sent them to the Pope, saying that
they had been deposited upon his table without his
perceiving them. With the exception, therefore, of
the Duke of Savoy, who was a vassal of Spain, all the
other Italian princes went with the Pope.
On the first of the year (1589) Sixtus V. called aU

266 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [PAet VH.
the cardinals and ambassadors into the room where he
was wont to dress before going to chapel. He wished
them a happy new year, told them the last news from
France and from Poland, and announced the coming
arrival of the Duke of Luxemburg. As he was leaving
the room, Badoer, seeing the Pope so well disposed,
took a favourable opportunity of whispering into the
Pontiff's ear, ' You must pray God that He inspire
Navarre. The day your Holiness gives him the kiss
of peace, but that day only, France wiU be all right
again. Humanly speaking, there is no other means of
pacifying that kingdom.' The Pope merely answered
that God would do everything for the best, and that
as for himself, he was content to wait.
The Duke of Luxemburg arrived in the first days of
January, and, to the great displeasure of Olivares and
of the Spanish faction, was received two days after. A
gracious message from the Pope to the French envoy,
which was taken to him by Cardinal Montalto, seemed
to augur favourably.
The Duke went to the Vatican with his suite in
twenty-two coaches ; but, when he arrived at the
palace, he found the door of the Pope's apartment
shut, the guard strengthened, and the officers in waiting
ordered to require that every Frenchman, except the
ambassador, should give up his sword. When they
anived at the ' bursola,' which is the door of the
Pope's closet, the Duke and three gentlemen of his
suite were alone allowed to enter. Besides the indig
nation to which the Frenchmen gave way, there was a
fear on their part that a trap had been laid for them.

Chap, VI.] INDECISION OF THE POPE. 267
Luxemburg himself had some vague apprehension, and
was much surprised to find himself received with open
arms by the Pope, who asked him news of his journey,
and told him that he would have liked to give him
hospitality in the Vatican, made him sit down — an
honour which the ambassadors of kings could alon^
expect — and listened patiently to the long statement
which the Duke made to him. When the latter had
finished, the Pope confessed to him that he had not
perfectly understood him (the Duke had spoken in
French), and begged of him to bring an interpreter
with him at the next audience. These receptions,
' intra et extra muros,' were not at all aUke, but an
swered rather well to the position taken up by Sixtus Y.,
who had half engaged himself to the League, by
Gaetano's mission to Philip, by his recent steps, which
we are about to describe, and was more and more
shaken in his resolution by reflecting over what Donato
had said, and regretted already that he had gone too
far with Spain.
Luxemburg did not forget to pay the customary
visits to the Pope's grand-nephews, to Donna Camilla —
to whom he hinted that Henry IV. had no intention of
taking away from Cardinal Montalto the rich abbey
which Henry IH. had promised him — and to all the
members of the Sacred CoUege. According to the
etiquette of the day, each visit was to last two hours,
On the day following his first audience he had another,
and again found the guard strengthened, the doors
shut, and, on being introduced into the Pope's pre
sence, the same cordial greeting from the latter. Up

268 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
to that time Luxemburg had only spoken of the state
of France, and, by drawing the darkest picture of the
country, had produced a great impression upon His
Holiness. In his first audience he had prudently
avoided speaking of the object of his mission. He had
not mentioned the name of Henry of Navarre. This
time he broke the ice. He had on leaving taken the
orders of His Majesty. ' What do you wish me, sire, to
tell the Pope from you ? ' ' TeU him,' the King had
replied, ' that I am not an heretic ; that if I am in error
he should point it out to me, and I shaU give it up.
Remind His Holiness that I have begged of him to let
me know the truth, in order that I may embrace it.'
' It is true, it is true,' exclaimed the Pope. ' Now,'
added the Duke, ' this is what the King told me whUst
talking familiarly with me as behoves relations, " We
aU beheve the same thing, since we believe in the
Apostles' Creed." " Your Majesty," said I, " beheves in
the Creed, but that is not all. You beheve in God, sire,
but do not beheve in His omnipotence." " How so ? "
said the King. " Since you do not believe," I replied,
" that He can actually be present in the consecrated host
and in the sacrament of the altar." " In this respect,"
said the King, " we are wrong ; and, as for me, I believe
in it firmly; and, if there lare no other difficiUties,
we wiU soon agree." ' ' God be praised,' exclaimed
Sixtus v., joyously ; ' that is really good news which
you bring us. But is all you say quite true? How
can we believe it ? ' ' Because I tell it you. Holy
Father.' The Duke then touched upon the practical
conclusions of the question, and asked authority for

Chap. VL] THE FRENCH AND SPANISH FACTIONS. 269
those Cathohcs who had joined the King to continue
their aUegiance to him without incurring the penalties
of the Church. He also asked that priests should be
sent to the King to instruct him in the Catholic religion,
in order to save his soul and those of many of his
subjects. The Pope agreed to the latter request, but
did not acquiesce in the former. He asked the Duke
himself to name the person whom he would like to see
intrusted with this mission. The Duke replied that he
left it entirely with His Holiness, who then proposed
Monsignor Seraphino, who was then the French ' auditore
di rota,' and showed by such a selection, much more
than by his gracious language, how kindly disposed he
was towards France.^
While Henry's envoy was daUy gaining ground at
the Vatican, the struggle between the two parties was
carried on with increased vigour. The Spanish faction
was numericaUy the strongest, as well as the most
influential, in the Sacred College ; and the most power
ful, because it was backed by the armies of Philip, who
was master of one-third of Italy, and was then levying
men in the kingdom of Naples and in the Milanese.
These troops were, it is true, destined to support the
League, but would, if necessary, be also employed
against Rome. OUvares, the Cardinals Madruccio, Deza,
and Mendoza, had daily interviews. Sometimes Car
dinals Rusticucci and Como took part in these de-
hberations. From these assemblies the word of com
mand was sent to M. de Dieu and to the Cardinal of
' Sixtus himself gave aU these details to the Venetian Envoy, Badoer
to the Doge, January 20, 1689,

270 SKTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
Sens. No means of pressure, of persuasion, or of
intimidation was spared. On the other hand, the Duke
of Luxemburg and the Venetian ambassador, who
acted in concert, tried to frustrate as well as they could
the intrigues of their adversaries. The pontifical palace
was turned into a field of battle.
Olivares and his friends asked that the Duke of
Luxemburg should be dismissed. Sixtus positively
refused, and said • to the Spanish cardinals, ' You want
to teach us what we are to do ! What have you to
teU us that we do not know ? We were a monk at the
age of nine ; we have constantly since then read and
studied the canons of the Church, sacred history, the
writings of the theologians, and, especially, the decisions
of the Popes and of the Councils. We do not choose
that everyone should deem himself caUed upon to
become our teacher, because it is evident that we
know more than any of you.' Such reasoning could
not go far with Olivares ; but the Pope kept to his
purpose, and the Duke remained in Rome. How
could this resistance, then, be conquered? Olivares
tried another means. He softened down in his lan
guage, and, speculating upon the Holy Father's aversion
to give money, he prevailed upon M. de Dieu to
declare, in the name of the Duke of Mayenne, that,
now that the Holy Union was supported by the Catholic
king, it no longer required the subsidies which it had
asked of the Holy See. To support the agent of the
League, Olivares made an official overture in which
the Spanish king solemnly declared that, in mixing
himself up in the affairs of France, he had but one

Chap. VL] REPRESENTATIONS OF BADOER, 271
desire, which was to give France a truly Catholic king,
which, therefore, could under no circumstances be
Henry of Beam.
Assuming also the Pope's zeal in the cause of reli
gion, and his economical habits, as points of departure,
Badoer represented to him how impossible it was to
make France accept a king who should be a foreigner,
or not born of royal French blood, and concluded that
Henry of Beam was the only important, in fact the
only possible, candidate. K His Holiness be led into
the error of supporting other combinations he would
be involved in heavy expenses, and perhaps left to
support alone the whole weight of the war, while he
would be chargeable with bringing it upon Italy and
upon Rome. If, on the contrary, the Pope lent him
self to the conversion of Henry, not only would he
save the soul of that prince, but the souls of millions
of Frenchmen who, though heretics now, would in all
probability foUow the example of their sovereign, and
would insure to the Church the rich livings, abbeys,
and rehcs of that kingdom, and, finally, save her
finances. ' What can we do, what can we do ? ' the
old Pontiff exclaimed, wringing his hands. Presently
he added: 'M. de Dieu told us that according to a
rumour come from France, it was said the King of
Spain had caused himself to be proclaimed Protector of
the League and of the Catholic rehgion in France. So
much the better, because that wUl make the French
unite against the Spaniards, and may be that " inter
duos litigantes, tertius hseres gauderet." We do not
intend to dismiss Luxemburg. We are pleased to have

272 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
him here. If he had not come we should have been
obhged to caU for him, inasmuch as he is an hostage.
Not that we intend to treat him as one — quite the con
trary, but he is a guarantee of the sincerity of those
who sent him to us, and as long as he is here they
cannot make game of us. If it be God's wUl that we
are to make use of that means, we are not likely to
shut it out,' The Pope cried, and assured the Vene
tian diplomatist that his words had most done him
good during these terrible trials.
At one time he had a notion, which he soon aban
doned however, on its being condemned by the Con
gregation of France, of intrusting to a certain number
of bishops and French prelates the care of examining
and instructing the King of Navarre, with permission
to absolve him if there should be occasion to do so.
The very day that the Congregation had declared
against this notion one of its members was seen, as
soon as the sitting was over, to drive in great haste to
' Santa Maria in Via Lata,' which stood next to the
Spanish embassy, and confer with Ohvares in one
of the chapels of the church.
At the Consistory held on the foUowing Monday, the
Pope gave way to a violent outburst of anger. ' There
are blind and imprudent men,' he said, ' who condemn
us because we are courteous in our treatment of the
Duke of Luxemburg ; because we do not dismiss him,
and do not excommunicate those who have joined the
King of Navarre ; but those who speak thus do not
know how we should behave with heretics. We know
it. There is a wide difference between treating and

Chap. VI.] LEANINGS OF THE POPE. 273
compounding, and not only shall we listen to Navarre,
but also to the Turk, to the Persian, to all the heretics
of the world, nay to the devil himself if he come
here.' But Luxemburg was growing impatient. He re
newed his requests for an answer to his letters, and
gave out that he intended to leave. The Holy Father
rephed with much kindness that he was at liberty to
go, but that his doing so woidd give great pleasure to
those who did not care about his presence in Rome.
Henry's ambassador therefore remained, and a few
days later received briefs from the Pope for the Car
dinal Vendome and the princes and dignitaries of the
Court. These were answers to letters written by them
to the Pope. He moreover obtained that, by a fresh
instruction, the Legate should be commissioned to
confer with the Cathohc partisans of the King outside
Paris, in a place which should not appear suspicious.
' By this means,' said Sixtus to Badoer, ' we will begin
the parley which, if God wills it, will have a favour
able result.'
The bitter remarks which the Pope made in the
Consistories against several cardinals, and indirectly
against the Spanish Ambassador; his complaints of
Gaetano's conduct, who, he said, instead of remaining
neutral, had made himself the agent of the League,
and promised on his own authority both money
and men ; the whole attitude, in fact, of the Pope
showed plainly that he had firmly resolved upon com
ing to an understanding with Navarre. The Duke
of Luxemburg told him on one occasion that Henry
VOL. II, T

274 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH.
would write to His Hohness, and would send an
embassy for the purpose of asking for his absolution.
The Pope replied, ' May God wiU it so, for in that case
matters would soon come to an end.'
It was true, therefore, that he was about to escape
from the inffuence of Spain. After using in vain every
means of persuasion, and every promise, Olivares had
recourse to intimidation. Penetrated with the gravity
of the imminent crisis, he took upon himself to give
out that coercive measures might be used, that hos
tilities might ensue ; in fact, that a war with Spain
might be brought about. The Pope spoke of it to
Badoer. ' The Spaniards,' he said, ' threaten us with
war, and want to oblige us to do their wiU by frighten
ing us ; but they have mistaken the way,' ' Holy
Father,' answered the cunning ambassador, 'you do
not, I hope, doubt the piety, prudence, and respect
of the Catholic King for your Holiness ? ' ' No,' said
the Pope, 'but his ministers speak and write in the
tone we have mentioned to you. We do not mean to
say that we are not afraid of men, but we fear men
less than God ; and if we serve God, we care little for
the rest. It may be that, if we settle the Navarre busi
ness quickly, we may give them something to reflect
upon ; and when that dog will hang to their ear, they
wiU lose the desire to tease us. We cannot believe that
the King has reaUy the intention which is ascribed to
him, since, notwithstanding the war waged against him
by Paul IV., he sent the Duke of Alva to Rome to
ask for his forgiveness, and never went to war against
the Holy See when Pius IV. granted precedence to

Chap. VL] RESULTS OF DONATO'S mSSION. 275
France notwithstanding all his protestations. His
ministers now are very loud in their remarks, are
wanting in respect towards us, and constantly threaten
us; but dogs that bark do not bite.' He spoke like
this for two hours, striving to give himself courage,
but showing his anxiety, and ending, to the astonish
ment of Badoer, by asking him to reflect upon the
possibihty of a defensive aUiance between the Pope, the
Repubhc, and some other Italian prince. After pro
mising to give his opinion at his next audience, Badoer
took leave, with feelings of surprise and of anxiousness.
There was reason for it.
This is what had taken place. The reader remem
bers the instructions given to the Legate on leaving
Rome in the beginning of October, at a time when the
affairs of the League were going on very iU, and when
the only thought in the Pope's mind was to save reh
gion at any price. With various modifications that
tendency of spirit lasted throughout the remainder of
the year. It has been seen how the Pope had, in a
conversation with Verita, condemned the anti-Spanish
tendencies of the Grand-Duke of Tuscany. We have
spoken of the vehemence with which he had opposed
the reception of M. de Maisse in Venice, and that only
towards Christmas, owing to the eloquence, cleverness,
and presence of mind of Donato, he had decided not
to break with the Repubhc. Donato's mission had a
further result. He had enUghtened the Holy Father
upon the state of affairs, had given a fresh impulse to his
Spanish antipathy, and revived the hope of coming to
an understanding with the King of Navarre. The
X 2

276 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
Duke of Luxemburg, who arrived at that moment,
which was a propitious one for him, completed the
change which the Venetian envoy had begun, and
finished by convincing the Pope that Henry fully
intended to be converted to Cathohcism. Up to that
time — that is, from September to the middle of Decem
ber — the Pope, though he sometimes entertained con
trary wishes, had looked only to the League for
salvation. This being the case, he had, according to
his active nature, entered zealously into the new line
of action. The events in France, Philip's usual slow
ness, and especially the pending interruption of re
lations with the Republic, alarmed him. There was
evidently some danger brooding at home. It was
under the force of these impressions, and during the
negotiations with Donato, which, with the present
attitude of the Republic, seemed likely to fail, that he
took the initiative, in regard to Philip, of measures of
the highest importance. Conferences on the subject
which had begun with Olivares, and had been carried
on by Cardinal Gesualdo, who was devoted to Spain,
were concluded about this time. On December 15
Donato had an audience. It was to be the last, for
the Holy Father, who had been informed of the refusal
of the Venetian Senate to make the concessions which
he asked for, no longer doubted that the Repubhc
wanted to shake off his influence. A quarrel with
Venice, however painful it might be, had in his opinion
become inevitable. It has been seen how at the last
moment Donato succeeded all of a sudden, and when
he himself expected it least, in calming the Pope, and

Chap. VL] PROPOSED ALLIANCE WITH SPAIN. 277
in preventing a rupture between Rome and the
Republic. The audience had therefore ended in a
double surprise, for both the envoy of Venice nnd
Sixtus V. had despaired of arriving at such a result.
By one of those singular coincidences which sometimes
occur at the time of a great crisis, and less seldom than
one thinks — for fate is often mahcious — while the Pope
' aUowed himself to be conquered,' as he said, by the
eloquence and logic of Donato, as much as by his great
desire not to break with the Republic, on that same
day, and at that same hour. Count OUvares was sending
off a messenger bearing the proposals of the Court
of Rome, which we are about to make known. The
foUowing morning, December 16, the day on which
the messenger left for Madrid, Cardinal Gesualdo
brought to the embassy an account of his last inter
view with the Holy Father. It was the complement
of the preceding overtures. Thus, at the time when
one of the principal motives of this grave resolution,
the impending quarrel with Venice, had disappeared,
Sixtus found himself morally engaged to Philip.
The proposals of which we are speaking were writ
ten down in the form of verbal notes, which Cardinal
Gesualdo, by order of his master, had placed in the
hands of Ohvares, and of which the following is the
substance. His Holiness is disposed and resolved to conclude an
alhance with his Catholic Majesty. The object will be
to save rehgion, so gravely endangered in France, in
the event of an heretic becoming king of that country,
and to preserve the bordering States from the con-

278 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
tagion. In the event of the death of Cardinal de
Bourbon, His Hohness will favour the candidate whom
King Phihp may recommend. Promptitude of action
and vigorous measures being necessary, the Pope is
ready to help in the same proportion as the King, or
even more so. He specially recommends activity, and
hopes that by the spring the allies will be able to take
the held. He intrusts to Philip the care of working
the plans of the campaign. Meanwhile he is of opinion
that the greatest secrecy is requisite. He, therefore,
will not as yet recommend the other princes of Italy to
enter into the alliance. The adhesion of the Duke of
Savoy may be depended upon. The Grand-Duke has
considerable forces at his command, but he must him
self ask to form part of the alliance. Mantua and
Ferrara are weak. The Venetians wUl certainly try to
remain neutral. If they assumed a hostile attitude, the
Pope would undertake to keep them in check.
On December 16^ the Cardinal gave the ambassador
of Spain another note, which reproduced the language
held by the Pope, subsequently to the framing of the
document we have just analysed. The Pope implored
the King not to lose time — not to aUow the adver
sary to profit by it — and recommended him to foUow
the example of Csesar, whose name was synonymous
with emperor, and of Charles V., whom he caUs one of
the greatest of sovereigns. He estimated at 15,000 the
number of soldiers in the pay of the King of Navarre,

^ Copia del segundo papel que entrego el cardenal Gesualdo en las
cosaa de Francia para embiar a S. M,, December 16, 1589,

Chap. VL] REASONS FOR THE DELAY. 279
including the auxihary troops of the Queen of England
and of the Protestant princes, and beheved that, if he
and the Catholic King could muster 40,000 or 50,000
men, they might depend upon great success from the
outset. Here a question presents itself, to which we can
answer only by suppositions. Why did not the Pope
stop the Spanish messenger when he had decided not
to break with the Venetian Republic? Why did he
not, while it was yet time — that is, between the 15th
and 16th of December — fall back upon his proposals
which tended to an alliance with Philip and the
League ? In aU probability for the following reasons : —
First, because, intimidated as he then was, he dared
not — because he dreaded the ^nger and violence of
Count Olivares ; and also because the position taken up
by Venice was stiU very equivocal. The possibility of
seeing her declare in favour of Henry still existed.
This being the case, he would not run the risk of a
quarrel with Philip, by withdrawing his proposals at
the very time that he was making them. Finally, at
that time (middle of December) he still considered war
with the Huguenots as the only means of restoring
unity of faith in France. On this point, the future
conversion of Henry, he had been shaken in his behef
by Donato, but not yet convinced. It was only gra-
duaUy that the wise words of that diplomatist acted
upon his mind ; and the favourable change as regards
Henry took place only when the Duke of Luxemburg,
who arrived a fortnight after the events we have
related, had succeeded in making him beUeve in the

280 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
King of Navarre's serious intention of returning to the
old faith.
The messenger of Olivares had arrived in Madrid on
January 17. On the 28th Philip replied,^ that, hav
ing himself no other interest than that of religion, the
understanding between him and the Pope as regards
the succession question must be easy. He accepted
the military co-operation of His Holiness, and took
note of his offer to bear the greater part of the expenses
of the undertaking. He believed with the Pope that
forty or fifty thousand men would be enough. He had
ordered a levy of arms in Flanders and in his Itahan
dominions, and the command of these troops would,
according to the wish of His Holiness, be intrusted
to a ' captain-general ' chosen by the Pope.^ He ap
proved the idea of keeping the alliance secret for the
present ; but, later, it would be necessary to invite
the princes of Italy to co-operate, and even to use
spiritual arms against those who, directly or indu'ectly,
would act against so holy an enterprise. That answer,
which was communicated under flying seal, arrived
in Rome on February 22. Signed by Ohvares,
who bore witness to its authority, and translated into
Italian, it was the same day taken to the Pope by
Cardinal Gesualdo.^ We know what change had taken
^ Lo que su magestad es servida que se responda de su parte a Su
Santidad sobre lo que ha propuesto por los dos escritos que el cardenal
Gesualdo did al conde de Olivares para remedio de las cosas de Francia.
" That important point, showing the Pope's desire to be the Supreme
Head of the movement, is not mentioned by Gesualdo, so it must have
been transmitted to Madrid by Olivares.
^ Repuesta de S. S. por el cardenal Gesualdo, sobre la offerta de
ayudar A las cosas de Francia. — Simancas.

Chap. VI.] URGENCY OF THE SPANISH COURT. 281
place in the Pope's mind during the two months that
had elapsed since the first sending off of His Holiness's
proposals on December 16. When he had read
the answer, Sixtus expressed himself vaguely, saying
that he was always ready to act with the King in the
settlement of the affairs of France ; that, since the
murder of the Cardinal de Guise, he had spoken of it
to Count Ohvares ; that, in this order of ideas, he
had fulminated a monitory against the late King, and
assumed a still more hostile position on receiving the
news of the death of His Very Christian Majesty, He
confined himself to these generalities. The Cardinal
became pressing, and asked what reply he should give
to the Spaniards. The Pope answered, that he must
first hear from the Legate ; that there was a division in the
League ; that Mayenne had coldly received the offer of
foreign troops which had been made to him by Cardinal
Gaetano ; that peace was spoken of between the Duke
and Henry of Navarre, and that, notwithstanding the
opposition of the Legate, hasty manifestations might
only accelerate such an end.
The Cardinal spoke much of the necessity of excom
municating those Catholics who adhered to Beam.
The Holy Father, on the other hand, reminded him
that the Legate was instructed to place himself in com
munication with them, and to try and gain them over
by kindness ; but that he was also authorised to ex
communicate them should persuasive means fail, in
which case he would himself do it.
When Gesualdo ventured to remark that, under the
present circumstances, it would be weU to act promptly

282 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pakt VH.
and severely, he was told that it was necessary to
observe the canonical laws — that is, to pubhsh the
monitories first, and then to excommunicate if ne
cessary. In such a spirit had the instructions sent to
Gaetano been conceived.
Replying to the arguments used by the Cardinal to
obtain the dismissal of Luxemburg, the Pope said that
it was not he who encouraged culpable hopes, and de
veloped his idea at length, condemning the heretics,
blaming Hemy, deploring the captivity of Cardinal de
Bourbon ; but, in fact, holding that it was impossible
for him to send back Luxemburg so abruptly.
This vague but significant language, which was at
once reported to Olivares, put the latter beside himself
He had on February 28 a most stormy interview
with the Pope. He read letters from his sovereign
which aUuded to the proposals made by Sixtus V.,
and announced that a Spanish corps d'armee had
been organised in Italy, under the command of Don
Pietro de' Medici, which was composed of a thousand
German lansquenets, six thousand Spaniards, and six
thousand Italians, These troops were destined to go to
war against the Huguenots. The King was doing his
duty ; the Pope must do his, and at once send the Duke
of Luxemburg back to France, declare Navarre inca
pable of ever succeeding to the crown of France, and
excommunicate without further delay all the cardinals,
prelates, princes, and lords that had embraced his
cause. Should His Holiness refuse, the King would
advise for himself, and place all his forces at the service
of the cause of Our Lord,

Chap. VI. ] IRRITATION OF THE POPE. 283
Sixtus V. had several times tried to interrupt him,
and, when the violent ambassador had done, he began
in his turn : ' The King's letters did not appear to him
to be authentic. He had received others which were
fuU of kind words and were altogether different, and
which he, Olivares, had read to him. Either these
letters came from the King or they did not. If they
did not come from the King, then the ambassador's
conduct was not that of a gentleman ; if they did come
from the King, he would reply that His Majesty had
signed a truce with the Turks without informing him,
as was his duty ; that he had entered into an alhance
with the heretical King of Denmark, without the fact
being notified in Rome ; that at Prague his ambassador
was the only one who, among the agents of the Catholic
powers, had given scandal by visiting and feasting the
Danish envoy ; that now His Majesty wanted to dictate
the law to him and teach him how to treat the heretics.
Let the King beware ! He would see what a Pope
could do if justly irritated. If the King went on so,
he would excommunicate him, and make his subjects
in Spain and elsewhere rise against him ; would deprive
him of every grace, and summon him to give an
account of the miUion in gold which he had drawn
from the property of the Church.' Having said this, he
got up, turned his back upon the ambassador, and left
the room. Olivares, who was pale with rage, quitted
the room abruptly, crossed the ante-rooms without
even trying to hide his emotion from the prying San
galetto and the crowd of courtiers who were present.

284 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Pabt VH,
and who were not long before they filled Rome with
the rumour of a quarrel with Spain,
The secret, however, was well kept. Nicolini, who
was the Grand-Duke's agent, could not get at it, though
Cardinal Gesualdo had hinted so much.
On both sides it was felt that each had gone too far.
The Cardinal and a few of the initiated interposed,
Sixtus promised to receive the ambassador on con
dition that the latter should not speak to him upon
the burning question. It had been hinted to the latter
that His Holiness was quite ready to recede if he
could do so with honour, Olivares declared that he
was ready to help the Pope in doing so. These pre
liminaries being at an end, Philip's representative
heard mass on February 28, received communion,
and then went to the Vatican. But the audience of
reconciliation was far from reassuring him. When he
entered, the Pope spoke, and continued for a whole
hour, without giving him an opportunity of saying a
word. He could not, he said, dismiss Luxemburg as
yet, but would do so under certain circumstances; but
he must be able to do so with honour. In any case he
must wait for the Legate's reports. Some fresh inci
dent must take place which can justify the Duke's
dismissal. When he had said all he could on the sub
ject, it was impossible not to let the ambassador speak.
The latter this time was courteous in his manner, but
insisted on the immediate departure of the Duke. He
was anxious to communicate the fact of his dismissal as
soon as he could to the King. The Pope replied that

Chap. VI.] MENTAL STRUGGLES OF THE POPE. 285
Gaetano's despatches were to arrive in a few days, and
Ohvares declared that he was ready to postpone until
the Saturday the departure of his messenger. That
was his 'ultimatum.' He himself wanted to gain a
few days, because, to intimidate the Holy Father, he
conceived an extreme measure ; this was to have a
protest against the stay of the Duke of Luxemburg in
Rome read out in the next public Consistory in the
name of the King. He did not deceive himself as to
the sense of the evasive words he had just heard.
These days were for Sixtus V. days of anxiety and
hesitation. He fought, but became weaker. The
language he held with the principal actors in the
drama, with Ohvares, Gesualdo, Seraphino, who was
always expecting his order to leave for Henry's camp,
and with his confidant Badoer, bears the mark of
the state in which he was. Moments of despair alter
nated with energetic resolutions, which were more in
harmony with his character and with his predilections.
When he speaks to Badoer of the concessions made to
Olivares he paUiates their importance. He shows him
self to have been more courageous than he actually was
when he tells him of the scenes which he has had with
Ohvares, This reserve, however, does not deceive any
one. It only points, on the contrary, to the struggle
which is going on within him. To the Duke of Luxem
burg he repeats his ardent hope that Navarre may
sincerely return to the Catholic faith ; to Seraphino he
speaks in the same sense, and in saying this he only utters
that which he truly wishes. These expressions are so
many wishes, and not engagements ; it is not even any

286 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
longer the solution for which he hoped, because he had
evidently been intimidated. He in fact almost allowed
it to his friend Badoer. ' The Spaniards are terrible,'
he said to him. He has learnt by the despatches of
the Nuncio at Naples that their armament is being car
ried out on a large scale. Then all of a sudden he asks
whether he has refiected upon a league to be formed
between Rome, Venice, and an Italian prince ; and
when Badoer replies that Venice would never consent
to enter into such an alliance, the Pope does not know
what to say — speaks of Philip as the head of the pro
jected league, loses hiniself in a mass of contradictory
argument, and gives to the Venetian envoy the impres
sion that the Spaniards are for the present masters of
the situation.
Badoer was not mistaken. The Pope struggled, but
was giving way. The 3rd of March, the date fixed by
Olivares, had gone by. That day Olivares went to the
Vatican to hear the Pope's final decision as to the three
requests made to him : the immediate departure of
Luxemburg, the declaration against the Bearnais, and
the excommunication of the Catholic Royalists. Sixtus
tried to diminish the importance of the concessions he
had made at the last audience. He even said that it
would be imprudent to exasperate the King of Navarre
in the event of his being successful. The ambassador
thought the moment propitious ' reaUy to frighten the
Pope.' He declared that His Majesty was surprised
to find that the acts of His Holiness corresponded so
little with his words, and that he intended to protest
publicly, with the aid of Doctor Martos, who was presi-

Chap. VI.] THE SPANISH PROTEST. 287
dent of the 'Summaria' at Naples. He therefore
asked the Pope's authority. A long discussion ensued.
The Pope began ' to howl with rage,' ^ and threatened
to excommunicate Olivares and aU those who should
assist him in this impious act, and to dismiss them and
himself from Rome. He even appears to have said
that he would have them kUled.^ OUvares, who was
cold and impassable, let him speak without interrupt
ing him. When the old man could speak no more
from fatigue, he briefiy replied that ambassadors en
joyed certain immuinties. If His Holiness intended to
violate them by putting his threats into execution, and
wished even to go to the last limits, it would not be a
reason for him to abandon the instructions he had
received from his Eng. He therefore intended, with
his permission, to cause the protest to be read in the
next Consistory. ' Does the King,' asked Sixtus, ' wish
to make himself Pope? In this case we will first
make him a cardinal ! ' ' No,' repUed OUvares, ' my
master does not wish to go beyond his rights ; ' and he
agam asked to have the protest read; but the Pope
refused. ' ' Empezo a chirriar con gran coraje.'
' Alberto Badoer to the Doge, March 10, 1590. This is what the
Pope told Badoer himself. But we know that he was wont to colour a
little when he repeated to his friends the conversations he had had with
ambassadors. Apart from this, the account of the audiences as told by
Badoer does not materially differ from that of Olivares, who, on the other
hand, also tries to modify the sense of the sharp words he had used. It
is this violent scene that has given rise to the popular legend that has
been reproduced in the MSS. of the period, and confirmed by Leti, that
the Pope, incensed with Olivares, actually had the scaffold raised before
the Spanish Embassy. This act of courage constituted in the minds of
the Roman people one of the glories of that Pontificate ; but in reaUty
he was more frightened than Olivares,

288 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Pari VII.^
The ambassador took his leave, decided upon push
ing matters to an extremity, though he was uncertain
as to what would be the issue of the crisis. He
expected to be dismissed, and was resolved not to give
way except against armed force. In the expectation
of such an event, he begged the King to give the neces
sary instructions to the Duke of Sessa, who was already
announced as an Ambassador Extraordinary, and who
was shortly to arrive in Rome,
Olivares intended never again to go to an audience,
while the Pope purposed never again to receive him.
Cardinal Gesualdo again interposed, A fresh respite
was agreed to. The Duke of Luxemburg would leave
Rome temporarily, and give as a pretext that he was
going to Loretto, Olivares was to postpone his pubhc
protest, and take the King's orders. On March 7
Luxemburg started for Loretto, leaving a portion of
his suite in Rome. Both the town and the Court
were persuaded that he was going to Paris, and would
not return, Badoer was of that opinion too, because
he knew that the Pope, through Monsignor Seraphino,
had recommended the Duke to leave Rome, On the
9th the messenger of Ohvares left for Madrid. He was
bearer of a letter from the Pope to PhUip. Sixtus
assured the King of his love for him, reminded him of
the obligation under which he was to Usten to heretics,
protested against the threats of councUs and schisms,
and declared that he could not admit that secular
princes could constitute themselves judges of the Vicar
of Christ, In a postscript he added, in his own hand,
that to facihtate the reading of it, he had had the

Chap, VI,] STORMY INTERVIEW WITH OLIVARi^S. 289
letter copied, but that it had been composed by
himself. In Rome the Spaniards considered themselves vic
torious. Their rejoicings reached the ears of Sixtus, who
stoutly denied having changed politics. He told Badoer
that he was always the same, but the latter did not believe
it. He rephed by a few respectful words, but abstained
from making any remonstrance, which, he wrote to
the Doge, ' might have been compromising, since they
would have irritated the Pope as much as the Spani
ards, and would have been useless, since the thing is
done.' ^
The truce which had been negotiated by Cardinal
Gesualdo did not last twenty-four hours. At his next
audience, on the foUowing Saturday, Olivares no longer
spoke of Luxemburg, who was gone, but asked for the
immediate excommunication of the Catholic adherents
of the King of Navarre. Then foUowed another of
those lamentable scenes in which the Pope fiew into
a passion, caUed Olivares the stone of scandal, accused
him of being a har, and of acting against the orders of
his master, threatened him with prison, and fled from
his closet.^ With Badoer he came back to the idea
of a league, and found that envoy, whose previous
refusal to entertain the proposal had been approved by
the Republic, quite as little disposed as formerly to
enter into such an alliance. What was to be done ?
Abandoned by everybody ; bereft of the support which
he had hoped to find in Venice ; seeing the armaments
' Badoer to the Doge, March 10, 1590. » Id. March 17, 1590,
VOL. II. U

290 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
of PhUip both at MUan and Naples carried on with
extreme energy, contrary to the customary slow habits
of the Spaniards ; the old Pontiff seemed to sink beneath
the weight of the dangers that surrounded him, of the
threats showered upon him, of the anxiety which broke
his rest, of the fever that undermined him. When
he laid the state of things before the Congregation of
France, the cardinals were surprised to find him so
careworn and so depressed. He read to them the in
structions which had been drawn up with Olivares, and
which he had just sent to the Legate, with a view of
coming to an understanding with Mayenne, who had
quarrelled with Aumale and Nemours, and who seemed
disposed to come to terms with the King of Navarre :
an aUiance which Gaetano, with the aid of Mendoza,
was to try to prevent. He read to them the letter
to Philip. The members of the Congregation found
all these documents very weakly written, and much
beneath the requirements of the situation. One of the
cardinals, though dependent upon Spain, had the
courage to say that it would be better to authorise
the protest, and to answer with dignity, than to aUow
himself to be thus discouraged. The Pope listened in
silence, but the remark deeply impressed him.
Olivares could perceive this at his famous audience
of the following Saturday. The whole of Rome was
excited. No one knew exactly what was the matter,
but everyone was aware that the Pope's closet was the
theatre of a desperate struggle. When the ambas
sador came in, Monsignor Sangaletto, the httle monk
(el monacillo), as Ohvares used to call him con-

Chap. VL] REFERENCE TO A CONGREGATION. 291
temptuously, lifted the door curtain, and, profiting by
the opportunity, saw that the Count was scarcely
kneeling, and that the Pope was seated, and did not
look at him in the face. The same demands were
made on the one hand, the same reftisals were repeated
on the other. Three times Olivares threw himself at
the feet of the Pope, asking to be allowed to make his
protest, and demanded that the Catholic royalists
should be excommunicated, and Navarre declared inca
pable of succeeding to the throne of France. The Pope
made him get up, became more and more animated,
and taxed him with being the author of all the evils.
When Olivares declared that, if the Pope refused, the
Kino- would free himself of his obedience to the Pope,
and would himself see to the requirements of God's
cause, the Pope abruptly left the room, after over
whelming the Spanish diplomatist with the harshest
terms. The Count himself lifted the curtain, went to
Cardinal Montalto, and declared to him that he main
tained every one of his requests ; for he had rather
have his head cut off by the Pope than lose it by the
order of his King,
Sixtus, who saw no issue out of the difficulty, and
was a prey to mortal anguish, convoked a Congrega
tion, which was purposely composed of cardinals
belonging to the Spanish faction. The vote of such
an assembly could not be doubtful. This wretched
means — the only one which seemed left to the unfor
tunate Pontiff— was adopted in order that he might
justify, by the advice of the Sacred CoUege, the last
step he was about to take — the step which was to
V 2

292 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH
consummate his submission to the will of Phihp. On
the eve of the meeting, during the night, Gesualdo,
and other agents of Olivares, took the word of com
mand to the twenty-three cardinals who were to form
part of the Congregation. The sitting took place on
March 19. The Pope, having in measured terms re
counted the facts with which the reader is acquainted,
put the questions which required an answer. Must he
allow the protest of Dr. Martos? Must he at once
excommunicate the adherents of the King of Navarre ?
He himself asked for a delay of fifteen days.
Cardinal San Giorgio, as the oldest there, stood up
and said that he left the matter to the discretion of the
Pontiff. Cardinal Gesualdo then spoke at length, and rather
vaguely. He, however, said that on both heads the
answer should be a pure and simple acceptance of
the Spanish demands. Madruccio, Deja, and Como
were of the same opinion.
The Cardinal Bishop of Aragon said, ' that having
sworn to shed his blood, if necessary, in the service of
the Church, he was all the more disposed to express
his opinion freely ; that he beheved that, by so doing,
he would best serve the interests of his sovereign and
benefactor, the Cathohc King, whom he should betray
if on this occasion he did not express his ideas frankly
and honestly. Nothing could be more prejudicial to
His Majesty than to overstep the limits of obedience
to His Holiness, or, in questions of rehgion, to protest
agamst the acts of the Sovereign Pontiff. EvUs and
-scandals without end would ensue, not only in Spain,

Chap. VI.] SPEECH OF THE BISHOP OF ARAGON. 293
but in the whole of Christendom. In France such a
protest would produce an effect quite contrary to the
interests of His Majesty. The whole of the nobility,
and nearly all the clergy — that is, the whole kingdom
— would suddenly be excommunicated by the wiU of
the King, and not by that of His Hohness, who, on the
contrary, by his Brief, had given them prospects of
obtaining his blessing. The result would be that,
contrary to the intentions of the King, who wished to see
France Cathohc, that country would, in despair, sepa
rate itself from the Church. It would produce the,
apostasy of that kingdom, and later of the Avhole
world ; or a national council would be convoked, and
then a schism would ensue.' Going to another subject,
the wise and courageous vassal of Philip II. added :
' Deeply wounded in their honour and in their interests
by such a measure, and situated as they were between
" the Bearnais," who was ready to defend them, and the
opposite party, who were apparently httle disposed to
receive them, the nobihty of France, and a great
portion of the French people, would elect to support
Navarre. To declare the w^hole House of Bourbon
incapable of succeeding to the throne of France was
only to revive the ancient love of Frenchmen for their
princes of the blood. Thus, for two reasons — the one
of rehgion and the other of state — and in the interest
of the Catholic King himself, the ambassador's re
quests should not be acceded to. It would be weU
to delay the excommunication of the adherents of
Navarre untU the result of the endeavours which
Gaetano was instructed to make with them should be

294 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH,
known, and to fulminate the spiritual censure only at
the last moment ; and not against the whole body, but
individuaUy, so as to await for a few days the Legate's
despatches.' In finishing his speech, the Cardinal pro
posed, out of respect for the ambassador, that he
should be informed of the discussion, and of the
conclusions at which the Congregation might arrive.
It was with an increasing astonishment that the
assembly of cardinals had listened to that eloquent
discourse, which was so Uttle expected, and which was
so powerftUly logical as to make all the other cardi
nals, who were themselves surprised at the courage
they showed, adhere to the vote of Aragon. The Pope
could not believe his ears. He commissioned, on the
spot. Cardinals Colonna the elder and Sforza to go,
not in his name, but in that of the Congregation, to
give an account to Olivares of the result of the deU-
berations. That day he breathed more freely. When un
dressing in the evening he appeared quite hvely. ' It
is God,' he said to his attendants — ' it is God who takes
care of us. It cannot be said that we chose our own
men : the Spaniards themselves drew up the Ust of the
cardinals that were to form part of the Congregation,
and yet our counsels have been foUowed.'
The next day, against all expectation, and to the
great displeasure of Olivares and of his friends, but to
the great joy of the French faction and of the Venetian
envoy, the Duke of Luxemburg, who, it was thought,
had returned to France, came back unexpectedly from
his pUgrimage. The atmosphere seemed changed. It

Chap. VI.] RELIEF OF THE POPE. 295
was not a solution of the difficulty : far from it. But
it was hke a charge of powder that had been blown
off, and in a great crisis. They who think themselves
lost enjoy even a moment's respite, and cling to the
least symptoms which appear to be of good augury ;
for man hkes to hope. With hope, however little it
may be justified, he regains the courage that had
deserted him, the presence of mind that had left him,
and a resolution to fight to the last. He finds, in fact,
aU those quahties which, though they do not insure
success, at least make it possible. In fact, only a fort
night's respite had been gained ; but they were fifteen
very precious days. If heaven, that had performed
the miracle of obtaining a vote given against Spain by
Spanish cardinals, and was evidently propitious, should
interfere a second time during that short period — if
it should send some news, and proclaim some great
event, such as ' a good and great battle,' then the old
Pontiff would be himself again — would hold out against
the terrible Olivares and that little Neapohtan doctor
who held in his portfolio the abdication of the Papacy
or the schism of Spain. ' A second and greater miracle
is necessary,' it was whispered about at the Venetian
Embassy and in the Navarre coteries ; ' and, if it fails,
France must be dismembered, and universal monarchy
be estabhshed.'

296 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet Vn»

CHAPTER VII.
QUESTION OF SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE OF FRANCE.
That much-desired event was not long in coming. It
had even taken place five days before the memorable
Congregation of March 19. On the 14th the Duke of
Mayenne had been hopelessly defeated. His army was
destroyed, and Henry's victory was complete. The
latter, it seemed, had only to march against Paris to
take possession of it, and thus to become the arbiter of
France. The great news of the battle of Ivry, which
first reached Rome as a kind of vague rumour, was
only officiaUy confirmed during the last days of the
month. It produced at the Vatican and at the Escu-
rial very different impressions. It revived the zeal of
Philip, and slackened that of Sixtus. ' The expedition
must be hastened,' said Philip to his ministers. ' We
must not irritate Navarre too much now, when he
appears to be victorious,' thought the Pope. He did
not attempt to disguise this belief from Count Olivares.
In a friendly conversation vrith Badoer, he added : ' If
Henry becomes sincerely converted to religion, aU will
go well.' He even admitted that it would be insanity
to ask the King of Navarre to recant at such a time,
when more than ever he seemed to require the help of
the Huguenots. He repeated this opinion in private.

Chap. VH..] EFFECT OF THE BATTLE OF IVRY. 297
One evening, at supper, after a long silence, and as if
he was waking from a dream, he suddenly exclaimed :
'How could Navarre become a Catholic now? lie
would at once be left in the lurch by the Queen of
England and the German princes, and th^e King of
Spain would suck him as an egg ? ' ^ These words
were reported to the Spanish Embassy, and transmitted
to Madrid.
To Luxemburg he was less exphcit. When the
latter brought him kind messages from his master, and
spoke to him of Henry's intention to declare himself a
Cathohc as soon as Paris was taken, he Ustened to him
kindly, even with pleasure, but silently. In the Con
gregations, which met almost daily, he complained
bitterly of OUvares, of the Legate, of Philip, who had
not repUed to three of his letters. But he always
made a distinction between the respectful King and
his representative — ' that stone of scandal, that villain,'
who was, in his opinion, the cause of every evil. Ever
alarmed when there was a gathering of troops on the
frontier of Naples (the sack of Rome and the defeat of
' the army of Paul IV. justified these apprehensions), he
asked the Congregation of France on one occasion if it
would be well to dismiss the Spanish ambassador, and
to raise troops to meet the difficulties which might
arise. On both points the cardinals answered in the
negative. The Count laughed at the chimerical fears
of the Holy Father. ' They are only a few recruits
and valetudinarians,' he wrote to Philip. He, how-
> Sessa to Philip H., August 20, 1590.
' Olivarfis to Philip II. Rome, 1590.

298 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
ever, changed his tone, went seldom to the audience,
no longer spoke of a protest, and sent back Dr, Martos
to Naples. On the other hand, Sixtus withdrew the
order by which, under penalty of excommunication, he
had prohibited any member of the Sacred CoUege
communicating with the Spanish ambassador. It was
a kind of truce, which was based on the fifteen days
agreed to under the pretext of waiting for despatches
from the Legate, but really upon news received by
Ohvares from Madrid. He had learnt that the King
disapproved his conduct. Meanwhile, the Nuncio
wrote that the King had personally, and in affectionate
terms, begged of him to represent to His Holiness the
state of France, and to recommend to him a vigorous
intervention against Henry of Beam.
What was, then, the position of Sixtus V. ? It is
necessary to make it out in order to understand the
line he had taken. He himself explained it in one of
the Congregations, and in his interviews with Badoer,
The frankness of his speech, which sometimes is even
too ingenuous, helps us in clearing up the sort of party
intrigues, and the rather apparent than really irresolute
or contradictory character of the Pope.
It may be remembered that, during nearly a whole
year, which had elapsed since the murder of the
Guises, he lived under the impression that religion in
France could be saved only by the help of Spain,
and by supporting the League. To insure the co
operation of the Catholic King, he had made up
his mind to accept beforehand as the future King
of France the candidate whom Philip might choose
to name. To render the Spanish co-operation

Chap. YH.] STATE OF AFFAIRS IN FRANCE. 299
efficacious, he had reserved to himself the supreme
direction of the enterprise, and had, for that purpose,
offered to furnish a greater number of troops than the
King. It was, at the same time, the means of giving
greater authority to his word, when, after the victory,
the moment would have arrived definitively to settle the
fate of France. To believe that he would thus succeed
in paralysing the preponderance of the King of Spain
was an illusion. He knew it ; but it was necessary,
above all, to save rehgion ; and, if necessary, to sacri
fice France. Apart from some feeble desires in
another direction, these were his ideas during the
whole of the year 1589 ; and it was according to
these that he framed his instructions to the legate
Gaetano, as well as the important overtures which he
made to Spain through Cardinal Gesualdo. We know
what changes took place in his views after the Donato
embassy, and after Henry's message, which the Duke
of Luxemburg had brought, and which actually did
convince him, as it was intended to do, that the King
of Navarre seriously intended to recant. The news
from France favoured these new ideas. Nothing de
cisive had taken place ; but there were two positive
facts, upon which everyone henceforth must agree — the
powerlessness of the League if unsupported, and the
certainty of Henry's victory if no foreigner intervened ;
nay, further, the force and vitahty of the Cathohc
spirit in France — a fact which no one would have
beheved untU then. No ; France would not be faith
less to the Cathohc creed. The proof was, that almost
aU the nobility, and a great portion of the clergy, and
two cardinals, were among Henry's adherents, con-

300 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
vinced, they said, and probably with truth, that he
would return to the religion of the country as soon as
he could dispense with the aid of the Huguenots. And
would Sixtus v., who wanted to save both France and
religion, at such a moment abandon that noble land
to the ambition of Philip, and himself lend his money
and his . men to sacrifice France, Italy, Europe, the
Papacy — in fact, the independence of the Holy See,
which would no longer be anything more than the
first living, of which the monarch of the universe
could dispose ? But, alas ! that terrible Gaetano was
fulfilling to the letter the unfortunate instructions he
had received. What about those two despatches of
Gesualdo ? The reader remembers the Pope's anguish,
remorse, and wish to disengage himself Was he really
engaged ? That question he often asked himself. When
a man initiates a proposal, and when the person to
whom the proposal is made accepts it, it appears to us
that the proposer is moraUy engaged, urUess events
of a momentous character modify affairs meanwhile.
The overtures made by Gesualdo, which were sent
from Rome on December 16, had arrived in Madrid on
January 17 ; and the King's answer, which was sent
on January 28, was put into the Pope's hands on '
February 22.^ It was impossible to have it in less
time. The Pope's complaints as to Phihp's silence
were only caused by his desire to escape his engage
ment. But perhaps events that had taken place
' Philip II. wrote from San Lorenzo on June 12, 1590, to the Duke of
Sena : ' Ne se puede deoir que se le did tarde esta respuesta, pues habien-
do Uegado su despacho a 17 de Enero a Madrid, tubo S. S. la respuesta i
22 Ebrero.'

Chap. VH,] DILEMMA OF THE POPE, 301
between December 10 and February 22 could be
brought to explain the change. No ; Henry had not
yet been victorious at Ivry, and when that success was
known in Madrid, it only stimulated the King to
greater activity. There was undoubtedly an event
which, in the eyes of the Pope, was far more important
than the defeat of Mayenne ; and that was the con
viction he had acquired during the two last months
that Henry seriously thought of becoming a Catholic.
This fact he could not aUege to PhiUp, who had ever
given out as an axiom, which the Pope had admitted,
that Henry's conversion must necessarily be feigned,
and should not therefore be accepted. Sixtus was,
therefore, in a dilemma. Either he must act with
Phihp, as he had himself proposed ; or disengage him
self, declare himself neutral, and let the king be named
by PhUip. In the first case, he himself helped the
issue he most dreaded, next to the fatal results for the
Catholic rehgion — namely, the establishment of a uni
versal monarchy. In the second case, he would have
been accused, with seeming justice, of disloyalty, have
contradicted himself, have been said to favour heresy,
and very hkely been besieged in Rome, as Clement VII.
and Paul IV. had been, vanquished in all probability,
and for ever dishonoured.
In this dUemma he did what a man generally does
under such circumstances — he tried to gain time. He
strove above all to postpone the crisis, to hide from the
pubhc the tme state of things, to avoid all scandal,
and therefore to prevent the Spaniards from protesting.
We have seen how he fought against the merciless

302 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
Olivares ; how he succeeded, after scenes which were
much to be regretted and which produced a great effect
in PhUip's cabinet, in obtaining an order that the Count
should behave with more respect, and should dismiss
the president of the Court of Naples. To screen him
self against fresh attempts of the kind, he commissioned
two cardinals, Matteo and PineUi, to draw up a consti
tution based upon the words of Christ — ' Quodcunque
ligaveris ' — and which reserve to the Pontiff alone the
right of absolving the King of Navarre. That work
was not persevered in.
To gain time, which was the esssential point, he
defended himself on the plea that it was necessary for
him to be better informed of what was going on in
France, not by hearsay only, but by the despatches
from his Legate. Meanwhile he blamed the latter,
partly on just partly on unjust grounds, calling him the
Legate of Spain and not his Legate, making use of
words little worthy of coming from the mouth of a
pontiff, as well as not being logical at that moment,
since he declared that he wanted to regulate his con
duct according to the information which he expected
to receive from an agent whom he suspected of not
being faithful to him, and considered to be unequal to
his duties. Gaetano was not wanting in loyalty, but
he had no political instinct, nor was he clear-sighted.
He kept to his first instructions, without taking into
account the progress of events.
It is time^ that we should retrace our steps and foUow
* I write the mission of the legate Gaetano from original reports pre
served in the archives of the Vatican, They fill up the half of two files

Chap. \'n.] ARRIVAL OF THE LEGATE AT DIJON. 303
that statesman in his long and perilous peregrination
through the South of France. He was frequently
stopped, owing to the war, and escorted from town to
town, giving everywhere the apostolic blessing, and
promising help from the Pope. At last he arrived, not
in Paris but in Dijon, after ten weeks' travelling, having
been detained several days by the order of the Duke of
Mayenne at Lyons. From Dijon then, on December
21, he sent off his first despatches. The reader
remembers his instructions, which were to obtain the
liberation of Cardinal de Bourbon, to organize the war
against Henry, to support the Duke of Mayenne, to try
and detach from their aUegiance to Henry, by dint of
persuasion, the principal Catholic adherents to his cause,
and especially the Cardinal of Vendome and the Duke
of Nevers. It is clear that even in allying himself to
the League the Pope did not trust the leaders. His
only thought was to unite in one camp all the Catholics
of France.
When he reached Dijon the Legate already expe
rienced the influence of the atmosphere which he
breathed there. His first despatches prove it. In these
he insisted that the Pope should at once send him
help, and explicitly excommunicate all the followers of
the King of Navarre. He begged the Holy Father to
declare without delay that aU the dignitaries of the
Church and all the prelates whom he was to try to
of papers, containing — the one, the despatches ' in claris,' the ciphered
despatches signed by the Cardinal; the other, deciphered despatches.
Many passages are underlined, probably by Sixtus himself. History
requires ihat we should note how alike are all the reports given by
Olivares and by Badoer of the Pope's conversations.

304 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VU.
gain over by kindness had forfeited their rank, and
were incapable henceforth of holding any preferment
in the Church. These despatches arrived on February
11, at the very time of the Pope's desperate struggle
with Olivares, who was asking precisely what the
Legate advised him to do.
Towards the end of January the Legate entered Paris.
The Duke of Mayenne at once came to meet him. He
told him that the issue of the war lay in the possession
of Paris, but that the state of that city was distressing.
If considerable subsidies were not sent at once, it must
faU into the hands of Navarre. ' There are,' said the
Duke, ' three classes of men in Paris : the merchants,
the officers of the peace, and the people. The mer
chants only think of doing their business, do not want
war, and are recommending peace. The men of the law
are composed partly of good Cathohcs and partly of
pohticians and partisans of Navarre. The latter never
cease to excite the people. The people are easily kept
under as long as they live in abundance, but each time
provisions become a little dearer they become turbulent.
We have no hold upon them.' ^ The Legate at the
conclusion of the first interview gave Mayenne 50,000
scudi, which was the half of the credit aUowed him by
the Pope. He thought it right to do this, he wrote to
Montalto, in order to save the Duke from an imminent
danger, to give authority to his own mission, and finally
to belie the false rumour which the enemy had spread
of the Pope refusing to lend his support to the Holy
1 In this respect the Duke was mistaken, as the long siege of Paris
proved.

Chap. MI.] THE LEGATE IN PARIS. 305
Union. He congratulates himself, and thanks God that
he arrived in time. ' People,' says he, ' in this country
are much afraid of His Hohness. The knowledge that
in Rome the drum is being beat (soldiers are being
levied) is a sufiicient reason vrith many noblemen for
looking to their interests and abandoning Navarre.
But money and troops, cavalry and infantry, are needed.
With such help, and the excommunications, we must
conquer the Huguenots or despair of the salvation of
this kingdom.'
Mayenne sounded him as to the plan which had
already been thought of by the heads of the League of
appointing Phihp Protector of the Crown of France.
The Legate asked that that honour might be reserved
for the Pope. He finaUy transmitted the wishes of the
Duke, who recommended a close aUiance between
Rome and Madrid.
If we put ourselves in the position of Sixtus V., who,
instead of finding in his agent's reports the arguments
he wanted against Olivares, found on the contrary the
same requests repeated, we can understand his wrath,
which was so far unjust that his agent not only
had orders to support the adversaries of Henry, but
was justified on other grounds. The Legate only saw
through the eyes of the League, and forgot an essen
tial part of his mission, which was to negotiate with
the Catholic royalists.
FormaUy, however (for he did not expect any result
from such a step), Gaetano had placed himself in com
munication with the Cardinal of Vendome. The latter
sent him word that the only means of tranquiUising
VOL. II. X

306 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VH,
France was to ' reduce Navarre to the Cathohc reli
gion ; let the Legate cite him and exhort him} and then
we shall see.' Gaetano finds no words strong enough
to condemn the Cardinal's bhndness and lukewarm
nature. He reverts to the dangerous state of affairs ; to
the urgent necessity there is for the Pope to open hos
tUities, to the intention which, as he supposes, Henry
has, if victorious in France, of penetrating into Italy and
of marching upon Rome. All the phraseology of the
League-partisans and of the Spanish agents is to be
met with in his reports ; and each messenger sent by
him roused afresh at the Vatican the anger of the
Pope. Knowing what value Sixtus attached to an under
standing with the Duke of Nevers, the Legate attempted
to bring it about, but was convinced beforehand that
such an attempt must fail. ' He is,' said he, ' a very
inteUigent knight. But, to say the truth, he has an
exalted opinion of himself, and is strongly pledged to
the House of Bourbon. He cannot see the Duke of
Mayenne in the position held by the latter. His mind
is so devoted to speculation that he often pursues an
illusion.' When Mayenne, who was almost at complete variance
with Nemours and Aumale, thought of making peace
with Henry, the Legate tried to prevent him. In fact,
he was certain that Paris would already have surren
dered to the King of Navarre if he had not prevented
such a fatal issue by the 50,000 scudi which he gave to
Mayenne from His Hohness.
' These words are evidently underlined by Sixtus himself.

Chap. VIL] ACTION OF GAETANO. 307
The despatches of Cardinal Montalto being ever full
of expressions showing how displeased the Pope was,
Gaetano begged of his brother, the Patriarch of
Alexandria, to go to Rome, to justify his conduct, and
to insist on money being sent untU the arrival of the
Pope's auxihary troops, and to impress especially upon
the ndnd of His HoUness that Henry, who was an
obstinate heretic, should never be allowed to recant.^
Pledged on the one hand, and far too much so, to
the League, in good understanding with Spain, then
kept back by subsequent orders at the time of the
great change that took place, as the reader knows, at
the Vatican, the unfortunate Legate lost his head com
pletely, and did not know how to escape with credit
from a position which was daily becoming more false.
Shortly after the battle of Ivry, he had at Noisy an
interview with Marshal de Biron. The time was cer
tainly not well chosen for an attempt to detach that
personage from Henry's cause. That meeting also had
no practical result. The Marshal scandahsed the Legate
by his lukewarmness,^ saying that he was not serving
the cause of heresy, but that of the legitimate King,
with the well-grounded belief and hope that he would
soon become Catholic.
It was after this interview that the representative of
the Holy See published the censure of the Church. He
wrote to Cardinal de Vend6me and to the prelates who
were partisans of Henry, and who had congregated at
' The Legate's instruction to his brother is now in the possession of the
Duke of Sermoneta, and was published in French in the Revue dii Monde
catholique of April 10, 1867.
' ' Se conocia en el muy poca religion.' — Olivares to Philip II.
I 2

308 SIXTHS THE FEFTH. [Paet VII
Tours, that they were all excommunicated. Vendome
replied that they were with the King by authority of
the Pope ; that they were trying to convert him, and
that therefore, as for himself, he „could not hide from
the Legate the astonishment he felt at seeing how little
informed he was of the Pope's desires.
As to the eventual conversion of Henry, the Legate
did not believe in it. That prince, said he, pretends
that the occupations of the war prevent his having time
to be instructed ; but this pretext is a false one, since
few Frenchmen are better informed on matters of faith.
He thinks of other things than of religion, and already
meditates being crowned King of the Romans. FinaUy
the Legate sent word that at Tours, which was the
principal seat of the ecclesiastical heads who had become
followers of Henry, a Dominican friar had preached
that, far from proceeding against the foUowers of the
King, the Pope was ardently hoping for the conversion
of his Majesty, and was most gracious to the Duke of
Luxemburg. Sixtus V. had these letters read before the Congre-
gregation of France. He praised the discretion of
Biron ; approved the answer given by Cardinal de
Vendome ; and strongly condemned the conduct of the
Legate, who did nothing, or acted when it was not
necessary, who himself said that nothing could make
the League less popular in the eyes of Frenchmen than
the union of its leaders with Spain ; and yet, in the
face of that assertion, called public attention to his
intimacy with Mendoza by showing himself every day
in his company in the streets of Paris. In fact he

Chap. ^TL] TEMPORISING POLICY OF THE POPE, 309
spoilt every plan. He knew, and constantly repeated
that the name of Spain was quite sufficient to exaspe
rate France, and yet he had the imprudence to declare
that Henry could not be king because PhUip would
not aUow it. He was right to carry on confidential
relations with the Spaniards, as his first instructions
had prescribed his doing so; but he was wanting
altogether in tact, and compromised his own Govern
ment, by daily announcing to the Parisians that the
Holy See was going to send aid, when, since the defeat
of Ivry, the League was no more than a corpse.
Seeing the progress of the King of Navarre, seeing
the rebeUion in Flanders, which prevented the Duke of
Parma from coming to the rescue of Paris, and seeing
the general state of things, he did not intend any
longer to give either men or money. ' We are accused,'
said he, ' of being avaricious. We are not so, but do
not wish to spend the treasures piled up in Fort St.
Angelo except for a good motive, such as for building
monuments or erecting obelisks (and he enumerated
aU he was doing), impelled as we are by a certain
desire for glory from which we do not defend our
selves : ^ but what we wUl not do is to throw money
away without deriving any benefit from it, or without
any other result than more and more to offend the
now victorious King of Navarre, and to prevent his
giving heed to the good intentions which he may pos
sess.' For all these reasons the Pope wished to tem
porise, whUe each messenger from the Legate brought
him despatches recommending him to act.
' 'Certi spiiiti di gloria.'

310 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VII,
The Spanish ambassador watched jealously the pro
ceedings of the Congregation of France, and especially
of the Congregation called ' The General.' In his cor
respondence with Philip he gave an account of the
position taken up by the cardinals who were vassals or
pensioners of the Catholic King ; he established a dis
tinction between those who ' during the storm ' behaved
well, that is, in favour of, and those who voted against,
the interests of Spain, He proposed rewards, praises,
or the expression of the King's displeasure and punish
ments, according to what each had deserved. If the
]:)leasure which the conduct of certain cardinals gave
him shows the wretched dependence of some members
of the Sacred College, his rage against others indicates
that there were some who dared go against the wrath
of the powerful monarch. ' In those sittings,' writes
Olivares, ' the Pope explains matters in his own way,
justifies his conduct by words uttered with the inten
tion of not acting up to them, or which he never said,
or even heard said. He communicates or keeps back
whatever suits him, gets angry whenever the slightest
objection is made to him, and declares everyone to be
rebellious against the Pope who is not of his opinion.
From his twenty-three creatures he exacts an implicit
obedience to his wiU. The old cardinals (those who
were promoted by former Popes) are afraid of making
an enemy of Montalto ; others fear the passionate
nature of the Pope, who is very capable of doing them
a bad turn.' The truth is that the great majority of
the cardinals were favourable to Phihp, and if Ohvares
complained of Sixtus V. the latter regretted pubhcly

Chap. VH.] LEANINGS TO HENRY TV. 311
how devoted to Spain were most of the cardinals, who
wanted, he said, to make him spend the money of the
State, and thus to place the Holy See under the con
trol of other princes.^
Out of regard for the King of Spain, the question of
recaUing the Legate had been negatived. The Car
dinal's brother, the Patriarch of Alexandria, arrived ;
but he could not appease the Pontiff, who even avaUed
himself of a httle circumstance to put him under arrest.
Two preachers, a Capuchin monk and a Theatine,
had, at the instance of the Patriarch, recommended the
faithful to pray for the success of the League. They
were both imprisoned. An order was pubhshed at the
same time, prohibiting any preacher, under the severest
penalties, from making any allusion to political matters.
It was thus that the spring and a portion of the sum
mer went by. Ohvares held secret meetings outside the
Porta del Popolo with Deza, Sens, and other cardinals
of his way of thinking ; while Sixtus, who was almost
alone, confided his sorrows to the Venetian ambas
sador. With Ohvares he confined himself to vague
expressions and frequently contradicted himself, as often
happens with people who tali much, and therefore
forget what they said or kept back at other times.
He, however, showed but too plainly to Ohvares that
his sympathies were all with Henry, who, he was sure,
only wanted to get Paris to become a Catholic ; to
Badoer that he had been obliged to make concessions
to the Spaniards, and to all how anxious he was to
^ Olivares to Philip, June 19, 1690; and various correspondence of
Badoer with the Dose.

312 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
disengage himself from the pledges he had given. He
mistook times and dates, tried to make his various sen
timents at both epochs agree, and was daUy sinking in
strength. But he wanted to be well, as he was re
solved to die standing, to fight to the last with that
terrible Spaniard who disregarded orders and entered
the old man's closet whenever it suited him, who
poisoned his life, and humbled him in his own eyes,
since he frightened a man who had never before
known what fear was.
We have seen that the Venetian ambassador con
stantly called the Pope's attention to the dangers
which threatened Europe on the part of Turkey. This
he had done for a long time, and especially so since
Philip IL had openly declared in favour of the League
— a source of increasing anxiety for every Government.
What would the Sultan's conduct be in the great
European conflagration which appeared to be immi
nent? All felt sure that he would not remain
idle. That very apprehension had induced the Venetian
Government — which, next to the Empire, was tiie
Power most directly interested in the maintenance of
peace — to depart from its policy of abstention, and
to favour indirectly a prompt solution of the pending
questions in France. The prolongation of civil war
in that country, and a participation in it of other
countries, would necessarUy bring the Turks again
upon the scene. According to a rumour prevalent in
Pera, the Sultan, at the request of the Queen of
England, was meditating a naval expedition, with the

Chap. VH.] HENRY IV. AND THE SULT.VN. 313
co-operation of the Dey of Algiers, against the coast of
Provence, and with the object of taking possession of
MarseUles. Henry of Navarre, who was anxious to make use
of such powerful auxiharies, not to bring them into
France, but to direct them against Spain, wrote to the
Sultan and to the Grand Vizier, at the time that he
was himself besieging Paris.^ After telhng him briefly
of the assassination of Henry III,, which he attributed
to his rebellious subjects, who hoped thereby to take
possession of the crown of France, he notified to him
his own accession as the legitimate sovereign of that
country. The rebeUion, it is true, he said, still continues.
It is supported by Spain, which is the enemy of all
monarchies, and especiaUy of that of the Sultan. Hence
the obhgation under which he hes to provide for the
war which has hitherto been fortunate to his arms. He
informs the Sultan of his victory at Ivry, of his taking
many towns and provinces, and of the hope which he
has of soon becoming possessed of Paris. He finishes
by excusing himself for having so long delayed (owing
to the war which he carries on in person) to resume
with the Sultan those amicable relations which so
happily existed between the Sultans and the Kings of
France, his predecessors. But he wUl shortly make
up for this omission — he wiU send an ambassador who
is worthy of the confidence of both himself and the
Sultan. The man at Constantinople then, M, de Lan-
come, does not deserve that confidence, having espoused
' M. Jacques Savarie, ambassador of France at Constantinople since
1585^ got hold of a copy of Henry's letter.

314 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
the cause of the rebels, and the King begs the Sultan
not to consider him any longer as the representative
of France.
This letter which, excepting the significant sally
against Spain and the passage against M. de Lanc6me,
is not out of the common, was sent to M. de Maisse at
Venice, and through him to the British agent at Con
stantinople. It arrived there on the loth of July, and
was a few days later placed by that diplomatist in
the hands of the Sultan. The First Pasha, as he was
then called, showed himself much pleased with this
step of the King's, and was very happy, he said, to find
on the throne of France a prince who was both an
enemy of Spain and of the Pope, the Sublime Porte
being always opened to those who sought the friend
ship of the Sultan. The next day M. de Lancome
was informed by a servant that he had to give up his
functions. His endeavours with the Grand Vizier
resulted in a permission to prolong his stay in Pera.
He had expected worse, and congratulated himself
upon getting off with the loss only of his oflUcial cha
racter. Turkey being looked upon as in a perpetual
state of hostility towards the Christian Powers, the am
bassadors from foreign States at Constantinople were
not placed under the guarantee of international rights,
and many times had to undergo very severe treatment.
If we may believe M. de Lanc6me, both M. de Maisse,
by his correspondence, and the representatives of
England and Venice at Constantinople, by their per
suasive arguments and by their presents, tried to make
the Turks declare in favour of Henry, and create a

Chap. VH.] DEATH OF CARDINAL DE BOURBON. 315
diversion by directing upon Marseilles or upon the
coast of Spain the two hundred galleys which they had
armed at the express request of the Queen of England,
An English squadron was in the spring to land troops
in Portugal, and to revive the insurrection, under the
direction of Don Antonio,
Such was the news which the French ambassador
gave M. de Dieu, the agent of the Duke of Mayenne
in Rome, requesting him to stop at Lyons the messen
gers bearing the correspondence of Henry and Elizabeth
with the enemy of Christianity.^
Meanwhile an event of great importance had taken
place in France. Cardinal de Bourbon, the Charles X.
of the League, had died.^ For the League, and for
PhUip, the throne of France was now vacant. A
successor must be found, and the question henceforth
was aU-important. According to the Legate, who
speaks of it in one of his reports, there was no prince in
Prance who could satisfy the people, Navarre being a
heretic, and therefore ineUgible. Cardinal de Vendome
was too intimate with Henry, and not a soldier ; the
Prince of Conti was almost deaf and dumb ; Soissons
was suspicious, rehgiously speaking ; the young Prince
of Conde was a bastard and a heietic ; the Duke of
Montpensier and his son were weak and incapable.
After thus excluding all the princes of the blood, he
examined aU the members of the houses of Guise and
Lorrame, who were ineligible, being strangers; the
' Lancome to M. de Dieu, July 21, 1690. Henry to Amurath,
April 28, 1.590,
' May 8, 1590. Badoer to the Doge, June 9, 1590.

316 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
Duke of Savoy, who was detested because of his attack
upon Saluzzo, as weU as for being a foreigner. That
being the case, Gaetano concludes that God must be
asked to provide.
Such was not the opinion of Sixtus V. According
to him, one man alone was eligible, and that was
Henry, who, master of Paris, would become Catholic,
and be then proclaimed King by universal acclamation.
The Legate's conclusions, however, satisfied Phihp ;
for if Henry of Navarre, if the princes of the blood, if
the Guises and the Lorraines were excluded, it was
evident that the King of Spain w^ould solve the ques
tion. In his instructions which he addressed in May
and in June to his Lieutenant-General Tarsis, to the
commandant Moreo, and to Don Bernardino de
Mendoza, Philip expressed his intimate thoughts. He
commissioned Parma, he said, to enter France with all
the troops at his disposal. He could not do more,
and Mayenne must try and obtain the aid of His Hoh
ness, who, there was reason to hope, would join the
undertaking. French territory once invaded, they
would profit by the opportunity to take possession of
Cambrai. An effort must be made to dispel the sus
picions which existed in the League against the Duke of
Savoy. A good understanding was necessary between
the latter and the Duke of Mayenne. The Duke of
Savoy, by occupying Provence, could prevent the
Turks from setting foot upon that territory. The Duke
of Lorraine was an important member of the League.
He must be helped, and both Mendoza and Tarsis
would take care to give him at once 20,000 ducats.

Chap, VH.] DESIGNS OF KING PIHLIP, 317
and a similar amount later under certain specified
circumstances. They must offer him the Golden Fleece,
and obtain an edict prohibiting any communication
with ' the Bearnais.' The King was disposed to accept,
either for himself or in common with Sixtus V., the
title of Protector of the League. His representatives
must be careful to get the Legate to ' stimulate ' the zeal
of the Pope. They must sound the Duke of Mayenne
as to the question of succession. ' The Infanta, my
eldest daughter,' the instructions go on to say, ' has
undoubted rights not only to certain portions of, but
to the whole of, the kingdom of France.^ The Salic
law and the customs of France cannot be alleged
as obstacles. A marriage of the Infanta can also be
hinted at.'
There were two great dangers to be avoided : first,
the rehabUitation of Beam, and the Pope's acquiescence
in his abjuration, notwithstanding the contrary en-
*fgagements entered into by His Holiness. The other
danger consisted in an agreement entered into with
Henry by the Catholic towns and people who might
be tired of the sufferings they endured. Mendoza,
Moreo, and Tarsis, must oppose any such solution.
They must therefore make use for that purpose of
the Legate's support.
In a second instruction^ the King entered more fully
into the examination of the question of succession.
He applauded the courage and perseverance shown by
' IsabeUe Claire-Eugenie, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth of France,
daughter of Henry IL and Cathei-ine de M^dicis.
2 June 1590.

318 SISTUS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH,
the inhabitants of Paris, who were then besieged by
the troops of Henry, promised his co-operation, and
instructed his agents to issue public declarations re
specting the succession. It would, however, be neces
sary to come to an understanding with Mayenne, to
dispel any suspicion he might conceive, to tell him that
in any case and whatever prince might be called to the
throne of France, he would occupy the second dignity
of the kingdom as its heutenan1>general. Here the
King wrote, manu propria, in the margin, a note saying
that it might perhaps be best not to tell him this,^
The passage was therefore modified. The young Duke
of Guise, who was still a prisoner, was to be provided
for. As soon as an understanding should have been
come to with Mayenne, an agreement with the Legate
was to be arrived at. It would be dangerous to as
semble the States-General, and to intrust to them the
election of a King. It would, perhaps, be better to
have him elected by the Parliament of Paris, in which
case the other towns would follow the example of the
capital. If His Majesty's will were asked as to whom
he would like to see on the throne of France, the am
bassadors were first to give evasive answers, and say
that their master would prefer the candidate who
should be looked upon as the strongest, and most
likely to restore the Catholic religion in the kingdom.
Hence the exclusion of Cardinal Vendome and of aU
the members of the House of Bourbon, since aU of
them had fought for the cause of heresy. This point
' 'No 8(5 si es bien decide esto, ni yo lo intiendo muy bien y asi se mire
como se pondra.' The secretary added the word ' mudarse.

Chap. VH.] DECLARATION OF SPANISH POLICY. 319
once settled, they were adroitly to hint at the claims
of the Infanta specified in the instruction, and they
would combat any opposition on the ground of the
Salic law, that law being a fiction, as aUowed by the
best French lavfyers. The matter must be treated with
a great deal of tact, and all causes of irritation must be
studiously avoided in the discussion. His ambassadors
must let him know how matters go on, and await
his instructions as to the various candidates ; but if the
election were hastUy carried on, he did not object to
the choice of the Marquis de Pons nor to that of the
Duke of Guise, and aU the more so that in either case
Mayenne would retain the second dignity in the State,
which was due to him, together with the highest
authority, and the absolute control of the army. In
the event of an election, the capitulation signed by him
and the Cardinal de Bourbon must be ratified, and the
clause respecting the restitution of Cambrai must at once
be executed. The new king would pledge himself not
to marry except in conformity with the desire of
Phihp. In the event of a second armada against
England, it must be settled what French harbours of
refuge might be placed at the disposal of the Spanish
fleet, and what assistance France could afford. If the
choice feU on a son of the Duke of Lorraine it must
be stipulated that that duchy should never revert to
France, but must be ceded to Spain, and thus form a
hnk between Burgundy (Franche Comte) and the
Netherlands. If the cession could not be made, the
agents must insist, at least, on the duchy going to the
second brother of the Duke of Lorraine, and to his

320 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
descendants. The question of the marriage of the
Infanta was more dehcate. If others put it forward,
the plenipotentiaries must neither allow nor refuse its
being discussed, but confine themselves to a declara
tion that they did not know His Majesty's wishes re
specting that point. They must add that their master
loved his daughter dearly, that France was a country
much divided by factions ; in fact, they must try by
happy insinuations to produce a conviction that such
a union would be of very great advantage to France.
They must give out that aU the Infanta's titles, rights,
and privileges would go over to the crown of France ;
and, further, that that kingdom might henceforth
depend upon the favour and protection of the King of
Spain. Lastly, his Majesty, said the instruction, con
fided in the ability of his plenipotentiaries, and stiU
more in the success of his armies under the Duke of
Parma. In fine, according even to Cardinal Gaetano, no prince
of the blood, except one whom he rejects, Henry of
Navarre, had the slightest chance of being accepted, .
The members of the Houses of Guise and Lorraine
and the Duke of Savoy were in a similar predicament.
All foreign princes would be rejected by the country,
if the country were allowed to choose their king.
This opinion was that of everyone, and nobody dared
contest it. This being the case, there remained only a
last alternative, which was to let either France or Spain
elect a king according to the success of either one or
the other in war. Should the French be successful,
Henry's election was certain : should Phihp bo vie-

Chap. VIL] PROSPECTS OF THE FRENCH lONGDOM. 321
torious, he might dispose of the Idngdom at will. He
would place his daughter on the throne and marry her
to a French prince ; he would make her reign in spite of
the Salic law, or France must be dismembered.^ This
last solution especially flattered Mayenne's ambition.
As the reward of his election, he offered PhUip the
cession of Burgundy, Provence, Dauphin^, and Brit
tany I This proposal he transmitted through his agent
in Rome, Cardinal de Sens ; and, as the latter was about
to leave Rome for France, he made it known to Olivares
through a common friend.
By the force of circumstances, and not by the wUl
of man, in virtue of the individual incapacity of those
who were called by birth to succeed to the throne of
France, Henry of Navarre, by his superiority and birth,
as weU as by the position in which he found himself,
was the only possible king of France, and France could
exist but vrith him. If he failed, then France, under
whatever title, must become a fief of Spain.
' Olivares to Don Bernardino de Mendoza, July 26, 1590. Simancas.

VOL. IL

322 SIXTHS THE FIFTH., [Paet VH,

CHAPTER Vm.
THE DUKE OF SESSA'S MISSION,
The Duke of Sessa, who had been announced for
several months, was expected by the Pope with an
anxiety which he could not disguise, by Olivares ^
with an impatience which was not without a touch of
spite, and by the Court and people of Rome as the
man who was destined to put an end to the great
crisis, and obhge Sixtus V, to adopt the poUcy of
Philip, or throw him into the arms of the Huguenots,
That diplomatist had lost several weeks in the port of
Carthagena, waiting for the galleys which were to take
him over to Italy, He arrived at last, on the 21st of
June. Tw^o days later he was introduced, by the am
bassador OUvares, to the Pope, and had his first audience.
The Duke of Sessa, who was a son of the former
Governor of MUan, was, notwithstanding his youthful
age, the confidant of his master, and the instrument
chosen by him to accomphsh, if possible, by gentleness,^
what OUvares had not been able to do, owing to his
' OlivarSs to Philip IL, June 19 and 20, 1590, Simancas,
' Sessa to Philip H., June 30, 1690. ' Conforms lo que V, Magestad
me ordena en mis instrucciones probar con S. S. el camino de los medios
suaves y apurar si correspondieran las obras con la buena voluntad que
en BUS palabras mostraba.'

Chap. VHI.] INTERVIEW WITH THE POPE. 323
violence, which, in Phihp's opinion, had been carried
too far.
The object of his mission was to obtain the immediate
and fuU execution of the proposals of the 16 th of
December, which, for reasons afready known to the
reader, the Pope had thus far left unheeded. Besides
the true object of the mUitary intervention, which was
to be organised without delay, the Duke was to pre
pare the way for the solution of another question, which
was that of the succession to the throne of France, in
the sense of the instructions given by the King to his
agents in Paris.
The first audience passed off in mutual exchange of
affectionate greetings on the Pope's part, and deferential
comphments on that of the young ambassador. It was
only at the second audience that matters began to be
discussed in earnest. The Pope's emotion was visible,
WhUe the Duke spoke, in his master's sense, of the
misfortunes that beset France, and of the means of
remedying them, the Pope's hands trembled convulsively,
not with rage, but wdth emotion and with fear, so says
Ohvares, who was present. Evidently Sixtus had ex
pected a more energetic tone, harsher reproaches,
greater demands, and had come to the audience under
the fear, which weighed upon him as a nightmare,
of being forced to carry out what he called his pro
posals, and the Spaniards his pledges, according to the
terms proposed by Cardinal Gesualdo. But nothing
in Sessa's language pointed to any demand of the sort.
Sixtus took courage, and with his courage he resumed,
in subsequent audiences, his old manner of speaking.
T 2

324; SIXTHS the fifth. [Paet vh.
He gesticulated, got angry, and screamed, says Oh
vares, until he was hoarse.
The Duke recalled, in respectful tones, the engage
ment entered into on the 16th of December, expressed
the King's regret at the delay which had occurred in
its fulfilment, and showed that there was real danger
to be apprehended. He finaUy made a peremptory
request for the immediate formation of an army, and for
the decrees of excommunication, but did not mention
subsidies. The Pope replied ' that he had always maintained
Gesualdo's proposals ; that they had not been framed
as a convention ; that if he had done nothing, the
King had done but little, and indeed nothing to suc
cour the Duke of Mayenne during the siege of Dieppe ;
that he was constantly threatened with protests, but
that nevertheless, leaving the past alone, he was ready
to make a convention (a capitulation as it was then
called) ; that he was able to raise men in the space of a
fortnight ; that, nevertheless, he was resolved to throw
all his money into the Tiber rather than send it to the
Duke of Mayenne ; that in giving funds to that duke
his Legate had gone beyond his instructions, and that
as for him he was resolved never to aid the League,
because the enmity between the Houses of Bourbon
and of Guise was the result of old jealousies and had
nothing in common with the interests of religion ; that
for this reason many cardinals, princes, and noblemen,
who were enemies of Mayenne, had joined Navarre,
and that for this reason he would not appear as the
protector of Mayenne. In being neutral, and loudly

-Chap. VHL] DISLHvE OF THE LEAGUE. 325
declaring that the Pontifical and Spanish intervention
was exclusively for the purpose of giving a Catholic
king to France, and not to favour the League,
he saw the only means of uniting all the Catholics
of France under a single standard.' These wise
words are the true expression of the intimate thoughts
of Sixtus V. He was perfectly sincere in this respect,
but he went no further. He did not say the last word,
which was, that he was convinced that that Catholic
king, the only possible one in France, and the only one
definitively excluded by Philip, was Henry of Navarre.
To these pohtical arguments, which were designed to
explain his firm intention not to identify himself with
the passions and essentially anti-national tendencies of
the League, he added a long Ust of grievances against
the Duke of Mayenne. The latter, he said, had been
wanting in respect towards him in the person of
the Legate, whom he detained a long time in Lyons,
and did not properly receive in Paris. He had sent
to Rome, as his ambassador, first a bookseller and next
a poor knight of Malta. He was in general wanting in
respect towards the Holy See, and allowed his soldiers
to commit aU kinds of horrors. The Duke's conduct,
that of the Legate, and the little confidence with which
they both inspired him, were the causes of his inaction.
He was also told from Spain, though he could scarcely
believe it, that the King had no other object than to
make him spend the money he had economised.
The ambassadors replied that the Spanish contin
gent was ready in Savoy, and prepared to march
into France at the same moment with the Duke of

326 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH,
Parma at the head of the Army of Flanders, ' That is
the way,' said the Pope, 'to spend money uselessly.
Nothing is worse than to scatter one's forces, to leave
them idle, and to pay them without deriving any profit
out of them. If it suits the King, he may do so, since
his gaUeons bring him yearly aU the riches of India.
But we are not so situated. We shaU enter into the
campaign as soon as we are ready, and then, if neces
sary, we would sell even our mitre. As regards
the spiritual measures spoken of by the Duke, he
should, to discuss the question properly, have studied
theology. "We have studied it, and know what must
be done under the circumstances, and when that shoidd
be done. We do not, besides, intend to drive the
Catholic partisans of Navarre to despair.'
He then touched upon the most important point of
the Duke of Sessa's mission, which was to establish unity
of action as regards the succession. On this head, his
language, which has a touch of irony, was intended to
hide his real meaning. He first maintained his oft-
repeated declaration, that he would accept Phihp's
candidate. If Philip wanted France for himself, let
him take it ; he, the Pope, would not prevent him ; he
would even help him. This was a great secret, ' which,'
says Sessa, in his report of the conversation, 'he has told
to a hundred thousand people,' If the King decided
in favour of the Dukes of Savoy and of Lorraine, or
even of Mayenne, though he did not like the latter, he
would make no opposition. Every king was good for
him, provided he be Cathohc ; and Sixtus said to him
self : While we are negotiating here, Henry will have

Chap, VHI.] REAL WISHES OF THE POPE, 327
taken Paris, been converted, and been proclaimed King
of France,
Touching then upon the mode of election, he held
that it was not the French nation, but the Pope who
should choose the king, as had twice been done at the
time of Pepin and Hugh Capet, Such a claim was
not a serious one, but it helped to gain time.
At last, notwithstanding the remonstrances from
both ambassadors, who insisted on his executing
simply and absolutely the terms of the proposals of
the 16th of December, it was agreed that two cardinals
shoiUd be appointed by His HoUness to arrange with
Phihp's representatives what the text of the convention
should be.
The audience had lasted several hours, and the am
bassadors, who were quite overwhelmed by the flood
of words from the Pope's mouth, the sense of which they
scarcely understood, took leave with the firm convic
tion that Sixtus only intended to temporise and dis
engage himself. Their third audience on the 30th of
June confirmed them in this opinion. On the other
hand, the Pope had told Graziosi — who was agent of
the Duke of Urbino, and who took care to repeat the
remark at once to the Spanish ambassadors — that he saw
through the designs of Philip and of the Duke of
Mayenne, and that these were to dismember France.
While Sessa tried to impress the Holy Father with
the necessity of fulfiUing his engagements, a messenger
brought him fresh instructions, together with an auto
graph letter from the King to the Pope.^ Philip
' Philip n, to Sessa, San Lorenzo, June 12, 1690. Simancas.

,328 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH,
justified his not having answered the Pope's letters, and
insisted upon the prompt execution of the proposals of
-the 16th of December ; quoted, to show his earnest
ness, the dates we have already given ; and concluded,
that the Court of Rome was pledged. He shared the
suspicions of Olivares, and finally asked that the moni
tory against the Catholic partisans of Navarre might be
issued, and Luxemburg be dismissed. This instruction
contained nothing new, but shows that, apart from his
threats of bringing about a schism or a war, and
apart from his arrogant ways, Olivares had not gone
beyond his master's wishes.
The King's letter was an answer to that which the
Pope had written to him on the 8th of March, and of
which we have spoken above. To the complaints of
the Pope, PhUip LE. answered by bitter reproaches.
' Nothing,' said he, ' has surprised me more than to see
your Hohness, after an act inspired by God (the buU
against Henry of Navarre), leaving time to the heretics
to take root in France, without even ordering that the
CathoUc partisans of " the Bearnais" should separate
from his cause. The Church is on the eve of losing one
of its members ; Christendom is on the point of being set
on fire by the united heretics ; Italy runs the greatest
danger, and, in the presence of the enemy, we look on
and we temporise ! And the blame is put upon me,
because, looking at those interests as if they were mine,
I hasten to your Holiness as to a father whom I love
and respect, and as a good son remind him of the
duties of the Holy See I By God's mercy, where have
you found in the whole course of my life reasons for

.Chap. VHI.] REMONSTRANCES OF PHILIP. 329
-thinking of me as you tell me men think of me, and by
what right do you tell it me ? God and the whole world
know my love for the Holy See, and nothing will ever
make me deviate from it, not even your Holiness by the
great injustice you do me in writing such things to me.
But the greater my devotion, the less I shall consent
to your failing in your duty towards God and towards
the Church, Avho have given you the means of acting ;
and, at the risk of being importunate to your Holiness
and displeasing to you, I shall insist on your setting to
the task. . . . Whatever occurs, however, I depend
upon the Divine protection, that will enlighten me and
giude my steps, and as for the rest I subscribe to what
•the Duke of Sessa wUl teU your Holiness.'
Sixtus did not wish to push matters too far. He'
wanted to appear tractable. He therefore did not see
the Duke of Luxemburg any more, but continued to
receive Monsignor Seraphino, who, as Olivares said,
was the soul of the Bearnese cabal. The Patriarch of
Alexandria, brother to the Legate Gaetani, and the
two monks who had preached in favour of the League
were released ; and the Cardinal of Aragon, who had
become reconciled with Olivares, was, with Cardinal
Santa Severina, who also belonged to the Spanish
faction, commissioned to treat with the ambassadors.
A meeting took place at once ; other meetings were
•rapidly held in succession; and on the 19th of July
a draft of a convention was agreed to of which the
principal clauses were these : —
Article I., the mtroduction, declares the intention of
His Hohness to interfere in the affairs of France by a

330 SIXTUS THE FIFTH, [Pabt VH,
military occupation and without delay, as he would
have done already had there not been some impedi
ments.^ The object of the intervention is to maintain
the interests of the Catholic rehgion in France, to
unite the princes and people of that kingdom, to
protect them against the violence of the heretics, to
facilitate to them the means of electing a CathoUc and
Very Christian king, and of insuring the independence
and integrity of the kingdom.
Here the ambassadors added in the margin : ' His
Holiness wished to avoid inserting in the treaty
anything that could be interpreted as an intention
on his part to favour the League (here foUow the
Pope's words on the subject, which we have quoted
above). On this point His Hohness has been inexor
able, and we have been obhged to content ourselves
with a draft which should not be contrary to the
wishes expressed by your Majesty, or arrived- at
between your Majesty and the League.'
Article II. shows that PhiUp and the Pope are
both animated with the same desire of preserving the
Catholic religion, of exterminating heresy, of preserving
the crown of France, and of re-estabUshing peace and
tranquillity in that kingdom. No mention is made of
its integrity. It is to the accomplishment of that
object that Phihp is pledged.
The following articles bear upon the nomination of
the Duke of Hrbino to the chief command of the Vou-
tifical and Spanish troops, upon the number of troops,
which is fixed at 15,000 infantry and a thousand hght
cavalry in the pay of the Pope, and at 25,000 troops
• Sessa to Philip IL, July 8, 1590.

Chap, VHL] TERMS OF THE CONVENTION. 331
furnished by the King of Spain. This engagement is
entered into by both parties for the space of a year.
If in that space of time the King of France is not
chosen, it is understood that the intervention ceases,
unless a prolongation be stipulated for by both the
contracting parties.
The Pope's contingent was smaller than what he
had led the King to hope it would have been ; but
¦PhUip's plenipotentiaries, on the strong recommenda
tion of tbe two cardinals, accepted the diminished
number, in order, as they remarked in the margin, not
to give him an opportunity of breaking off the nego
tiations. The last article (16th) reserved to the Pope authority
to invite the 'potentates' of Italy to join in this holy
enterprise. By a secret capitulation,^ the Holy Father
engaged to accept and to recognise as King of France,
provided he were Catholic, the prince whom PhUip
should name. He put, however, the foUowing con
ditions : The nomination and declaration of a king of
France must be made in conformity, it is trae, with the
wish of the CathoUc King, but by means of an election,
or m any other way that may be just and legitimate,
after the King of Spain shaU have informed the Pope
confidentially of the name of the prince he has fixed
upon. Such a choice wUl be kept secret, and the
election wiU take place at latest within three months
after the troops of His HoUness and of His Majesty
shall have together, or separately, evacuated French
^ Capitulacion secreta entre S. S. y Su Magestad sobre las cosas de
Francia, — M. Sessa's Report of July 19, 1590.

332 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, IPaei VH.
territory. The future king must pledge himself never
to contract an aUiance with infidels, heretics, or
schismatics ; must pubhsh in his kingdom the decrees
of the CouncU of Trent, maintain the Tribunal of the
Inquisition, and re-establish it there where it has been
suppressed ; put an end to the hateftil sin of simony ;
maintain aU the immunities and liberties of the clergy,
and, finally, call into his Council, as weU as into the
Council of State, such a number of prelates or other
ecclesiastics as shall not be less than a third of the
number of members of such councils. — The Spanish
plenipotentiaries exclaimed. One of those clauses es
peciaUy appeared to them to be premature and com
promising (that which said that the evacuation of the
territory should precede the election). But His Holiness,
they added in the margin, is decided upon breaking off
>the negotiations, so all they can do is to agree.
The framing of the last article cost them most
trouble. The Pope insisted that Brittany and Provence,
which were called ' countries of obedience,' should be
restored to the authority of the Holy See as regarded
the preferments in the Church and other ecclesiastical
matters. The ambassadors made a separate and dis
tinct article, by which their sovereign engaged to ask
of the King of France the concessions above mentioned.
In this wise, while conforming, as regards Brittany, to
the wishes of the Pope, they did not say that it was of
the future King of France that Philip would have to
demand these concessions ; for that would have impUed,
to the prejudice of the claims of the Infanta, the recog
nition of Brittany as an integral portion of France,

Chap. VIH.] RENEWAL OF DELAYS. 333
The care bestowed by the ambassadors upon the
framing of that article had not escaped the Pope. Ex
planations took place, and the Spanish diplomatists
were caUed upon to declare what was the intention of
their king. They declared that His Majesty was in
any case decided upon an expedition against Brittany,
and to maintain the rights of the Infanta, but that he
would settle that question afterwards by the marriage
of his daughter with the future King of France, and
by giving her Brittany as her marriage-portion.
These last difficulties were finally settled, and the
articles expressed in the way we have pointed out.
The difficult negotiations were therefore successful, and
the document to be binding upon the two sovereigns only
required the signature of the plenipotentiaries. That
formahty had not yet been fulfiUed, but was to be so
shortly, when the Pope, who was Ul with fever, called
the Congregation of France into his room. To the
inexpressible astonishment of the cardinals of that Con
gregation, who believed, with the ambassadors, that an
understanding had been arrived at with Philip, Sixtus
submitted to them the question whether, if the throne
of France were vacant, it belonged to the Pope to elect
a king : ' an electio regis Franci^e, vacante principe, ex
corpore sanguinis, spectet ad pontificem ? ' This came
upon Olivares and Sessa, who expected much, like a
thunderbolt. They could not see the Pope, on account
of his Ulness ; but they sent him endless messages,
requests, and iU-disguised threats. He begged of them
to be patient, to beUeve that he was animated with the
best intentions, but to give him a little rest during the

334 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
great heats. They insisted, nevertheless, and used
every means. At last they sent an ultimatum. If the
Pope had not given his sanction to the convention by
the 1st of August, they would send off their messenger,
and dispatch the documents to Philip, telUng him of
what they termed the Pope's treason. But Sixtus did
not give his sanction. He pleaded his duties as Head
of the Church, which obliged him to maintain the
rights of the Holy See. He had warned the Duke of
Urbino, and told him to be ready, for he was to
take the command of the troops which he was about
to raise but had not raised as yet. Before finally
pledging himself to the Catholic King, His Holiness
wished to be enlightened upon the question which he
had put to the Congregation. That was his answer.
The ambassadors could not obtain another, and the
1st of August having come, they dispatched their
messenger, bearing the draft of a convention which
was no convention, which was but a document without
any official character, and anything but a treaty, since
it had no signature.
During these days of crisis, whUe the ambassadors
and the two cardinals were working towards engaging
Phihp and the Pope to one another, the adverse party
had not remained inactive. Badoer was its most in
teUigent and most important agent. Notwithstanding
the dog-days, and the Pope's fever — ' that fearful cold
which has tormented him for the last few months,' —
the Venetian diplomatist peered into the intentions of
Sixtus and guessed them. He enhghtened the Pope as
to the true state of France, and brought him the last

Chap. VHI.] CORRESPONDENCE OF BADOER. 335
news from Paris, which was reduced to the greatest
misery, and the taking of which was a mere question
of days or hours. However secret the negotiations
had been kept, Badoer had got at their purpose. He
knew all, but said nothing to anyone, except to the
Doge, in his correspondence, which, always interesting,
is just at this time especially valuable, not only for his
Government, but also for the historian, who, after three
hundred yeai's, finds in it the key to the hitherto in-
exphcable behaviour of the Pope, his intimate thoughts,
and the means employed by him to get rid of the in
fluence of Spain, in order that he might save France,
and together with France the independence of the
Church and of Europe.
On the 14th of July, Badoer had already become
acquainted with the principal articles of the conven
tion, the framing of which was settled only five days
later. ' If the Pope signs,' he wrote to the Doge (July 14,
1590), ' it is in the hope that the Spanish armaments
wiU not be finished at the time fixed by the treaty.
He intends to make it a pretext for disengaging himself
God grant that His Holiness may not be mistaken, and
that, once the convention is settled, it may not be im
possible for him to retire,' On one occasion he told
the Pope aU he had heard respecting the negotiations.
The Pope shook his head. ' We do not know as much,'
he said ; ' the Spaniards promise much, but do little.
If we were to have beheved them, Provence was to have
been taken by the Duke of Savoy last December ; but
up to the present time operations have not even begun.

336 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
Now they wish suddenly to make great preparations'.
We shall see,' he added, with an air of increduUty, ' and
then we will speak of the affair. They speak of nothing
but the Duke of Urbino, of troops and other miracles.
Well ! we shall see, and when we have seen vrith our
own eyes we shall speak ; but meanwhile we do not
believe, more than is necessary, aU that they tell us.'
The ambassador praised the Pope's prudence ; but ' I
could not,' he wrote to the Doge, ' prevent myself from
putting in a word respecting the advantages of neu
trality, which is so much in harmony with the duties'
of the Universal Father. As long as he will remain
so he will always be the master of his actions, and able
to act according to his Divine inspirations ; but once
saddled with another party, it will be difficult for him
to retrace his steps, and in any case he will have for
feited the good opinion of the adverse party, much
to the prejudice of his reputation if matters go wrong,
and certainly will have endured much anxiety and
spent enormous sums.'
The Holy Father was of his opinion, but did not say
a word respecting the negotiations which were being-
carried on. He told Badoer what he had heard from
France and from Flanders. AU was wrong in Spain.
The Nuncio at Cologne had written to say that the
army of the Duke of Parma was not paid, that sedition
had appeared in the ranks, that the general had much
to do to maintain himself in the Netherlands, and, ' that
being the case,' added the Pope, ' they speak of the-
armies which they are to send to France. They would
like to conquer the world, and are not capable of taking-

Chap. VUl.] REFUSAL TO SIGN THE CONVENTION. 337
Cambrai. An attempt to re-victual Paris had failed.
The convoys, the troops, the artUlery, aU had fallen into
the enemy's hands. The King of Navarre wrote to
Luxemburg that he occupied the bridges of Charenton
and of St. Cloud, and that the Parisians were reduced
to fasting. The Legate had shut himself up in Paris,
and was eating grass hke a pig : he only has what he
deserves. He tries to excite the people to resist ; but,
when Mayenne is next defeated, they will think more
of their interests than of the Legate's exhortations.'
That audience left a hope in the ambassador that the
treaty would not be signed.
¦ A fortnight after, on the 28th of July, just at the
most critical moment, Badoer found the language of
the Pope much more exphcit. His resolution was
evidently taken. He would not sign the convention.
'We will not,' he said, ' enter into an agreement with
Spain ; but we must do something for France. We
shall follow the example of three of our predecessors.
We shaU not do anything without informing the
Repubhc, in order that, shoidd it suit them, they may
advise and support us. We do not wish to oblige the
Republic to do so ; but it will be enough for us to learn
that the Government of Venice have said : " The Pope
has done well." In fact we want to re-estabhsh peace
in France without pandering to the passions of others.'
The ambassador, who felt much re-assured, bowed and
said nothing. ' We think,' continued the Pope, ' that
it is better to work for the good of France, rather
than join any other Power. That wUl spare us much
anxiety and much expense. Jfnecessary, we shall come
VOL. II. z

338 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
to the rescue of the elected king, without troubUng any
one.' But who was that future king in the Pope's
mind? asked the ambassador of himself. He tried to
find out. ' But, Holy Father,' said he, ' it wiU not be
easy to get rid of Navarre, powerful and victorious as
he is ; and if he became a Cathohc what would your
Holiness do?' 'We are not likely to exclude him
more than others,' rejoined the Pope, ' and certainly
if he becomes a Catholic, he will be elected, and be
the master of that kingdom, and no one can oppose
him. But you wUl soon know aU ; meanwhUe write
what we have told you.'
The Congregation of France had finished its exami
nation of the question as to the succession to the throne
of France. After listening to the several opinions
expressed, the Holy Father gave his own, ' I have
maturely considered,' said he, 'the opinions of the
cardinals, and after a careful examination of them I
have arrived at the decision that I shall send two
cardinals, the one Monsignor Seraphino, to the princes
of the blood, to the prelates, and to the nobility of
the kingdom of France ; and the other, Monsignor
Borghese, to the towns and other places belonging to
the League, there to invite everyone to assemble with
in a certain time for the purpose of electing a Cathohc
king. Both prelates are to strive their utmost so that
the votes of all may faU upon one candidate only,'
The king thus elected might depend upon the support
of the Holy See, the Pope being resolved to help him
by every temporal or spiritual means in his power.
He then asked the opinion of the cardinals.

Chap. VHI.] AUDIENCE OF THE 7ih OF AUGUST. 339
Santa Severina spoke first, and said that His Holi
ness would do as he pleased ; but that, for himself, he
could never approve the mission of a Papal agent to
the Court of a heretic. The anger of the Pope got
the better of him, and a violent discussion ensued.
The opinions of the other members of the Congrega
tion were divided, but it was finally agreed that a
memorandum of the proceedings should be drawn up
and communicated to the Spanish ambassadors. That
document was to start on the principle that the wish
of His Holiness and that of the King were identical,
namely, to give to France a Catholic king, and then to
show that the means adopted by the Congregation were
justified by precedents. It was lastly resolved upon,
for the justification of the Pope himself, that the
memorandum should be sent to all the Christian
princes. The ambassadors did not wait for the official com
munication of a resolution which evidently aimed at
accelerating the conversion and election of Henry.
By dint of pressing requests, and notwithstanding the
excuses of the Pope for not receiving them, and the
great heat, which he put forward as a pretext for
dechning thefr hateful visits, they contrived to have
an audience. It was on the 7th of August. When the
Pope saw them coming in, he at once spoke to them,
and indulged in interminable repetitions respecting the
state of affairs in France, the successes of Hemy, the
mistakes of Mayenne, and the unwarrantable conduct
of the Legate. Those who have treated matters of
z 2

340 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH;
the kind know what efforts are necessary not to be
dismayed by the calculated prolixity of the adversary,
which rather tends to make the other lose his presence
of mind than to disguise his own thoughts. The two
Spanish ambassadors listened quietly and patiently. At
last an explanation was necessary, and the Pope told
them that before sending troops he had decided on
sending prelates. Count Olivares asked him whether it
was true, as it was rumoured, that Monsignor Seraphino
was to be one of the delegates to Henry of Navarre,
' And if it were true,' exclaimed the Pope, ' what
would be the consequences ? ' The Duke of Sessa
asked what advantages the Pope intended to derive
from this mission. ' We are not bound to tell you
our secrets,' was the reply. The Duke, who was for
ever interrupted by the Pope's angry remarks, replied
that ' it was not a question of a secret, but of matters
known to everyone, of news that was spread about
the streets ; and that the mission of a pontifical agent
to an heretical prince was a scandal, a bad means of
detaching from his cause his Cathohc followers, and a
cruel offence to the King of Spain, since, after offering
to send an army to France, the Holy Father merely
sent an embassy. In fact,' he added, ' if Monsignor
Seraphino leaves for the camp of Beam, both he and
the Count would write to their King that they had
nothing more to expect of His Holiness,' Sixtus ex
claimed that they had come to insult him in his own
closet ; that the King was a good prince, but that his
ambassadors falsified his intentions. ' How do you
know,' asked the Pope, ' that His Majesty will take it

Chap. MIL] EXPOSTULATIONS OF THE POPE. 341
Ul if I act as I propose ? We are not the slaves of
the King, and obliged always to do his wiU, or to
render him an account of our actions. We are the
Spiritual Father, and it does not behove the children
to give him advice when he has not asked for it.
When, shortly after our election, we dismissed the
French ambassador, when we published the monitory
against the Very Christian King because he had killed
a cardinal, we did not act after His Majesty's advice,
but of our own free wiU ; and you who wear swords —
you pretend to know more of theology than we who have
taken our degrees in theology, in medicine, and other
faculties ! By what right do you come and threaten us ?
Because of rumours that you have heard in the streets ?
Why, after all, did you come to Rome ? You were an
nounced in December last only, and now already you
want to compel us. It would have been better for you
not to have come. What prevented the King from
prosecuting the war ? What has he done in France ?
Nothing important.' Here the ambassadors put for
ward the merits of their sovereign, but the Pope
interrupted them. ' The CathoUcs of France,' he said,
'have been victorious up to the moment when the
King aUied himself to Mayenne. From that time
their reverses begin, and God grant similar disasters
may not occur in Spain.' At last he offered to delay
the mission of Monsignor Seraphino untU he should
have received later news from Paris.^ The ambassadors
took leave, and were convinced that he intended to
> On August 18 the Pope told the story of this audience to Badoer,
who then saw him for the last time.

342 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
profit by their violent language to break altogether
with Spain.^
In the Congregation which took place immediately
after that stormy audience, the Holy Father com
plained of the behaviour of Sessa and OUvares ; and
Cardinals Santa Severina and Facchinetti then hastened
to the former to beg of them to let the Pope have his
own way. To insist further in their opinion would
only confirm him more and more in his determination
to give up the expedition to France.
The mission of the Duke of Sessa had evidently failed.
The ambassadors themselves were not mistaken on this
point, ^ ' The Duke,' VTrote OUvares to Ydiaquez, ' has
shown himself as adroit as could be desired, but his
embassy has had no result.' This failure he attributed
to the gentleness recommended by the King, while in
his mind it was fear, and fear only, that could have
broken the opposition of the Pope.^ Besides, Olivares
was disgusted with his duties. The smaU satisfaction
which he derived from the Duke's want of success was
counterbalanced by his, devotion to the King. The
part of wise mentor to the young Duke which he was
made to play did not suit him, and he begged his
friend, the Secretary of State, to express to their
master how much he regretted that he should be re
moved from the number of those who were looked
upon as having deserved well of His Majesty.
Both he and the Duke did not cease, however, to
' Sessa to Philip IL, August 7, 1590,
" Olivares to Ydiaquez, August 19, 1690.
' ' La via del rigor.'

Chap. VIIL] RENEWED FIRMNESS OF THE POPE, 343
beset the old Pontiff, who was daUy getting more Ul,
but who was not yet broken, and fought bravely
against fever, and against Philip's representatives, the
sight of whom fiUed him no longer with fear, but with
disgust and anger. Curiously enough in the last days
of his life, from the time when he had the courage to
let the messenger of Ohvares go off with the unsigned
convention, he had got back aU the energy of his
character, and was resolved no longer to allow himself
to be alarmed. He hoped from day to day to hear of
the surrender of Paris. He trusted to accomplished
facts which time would bring about ; for time, as every
one felt, was favourable to the cause of Henry, which
was that of France, and at the same time that also of
the Papacy. ' They wiU kiU us,' he said to Badoer,"-
a fortnight before his death ; ' they will not let us live,
those Spaniards, and they wish to tell us what we have
to do, but we do not want their teaching. We shall
send troops to France, but not now, and not with
Spain, but to uphold the Catholic prince that shall
have been elected King of France, and meanwhUe we
shall send prelates there.'
On Sunday, the 19th, Olivares and Sessa came to the
Vatican. Sixtus was very Ul ; and, to revenge himself,
he obhged them to leave their cool residence of Urbino
in the middle of the day, to ascend to the Quirinal,
where he resided in the summer. That audience
lasted but a few minutes. The ambassadors pressed
their demands, protested against the mission of Mon-
1 August 11, 1590.

344 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VH.
signer Seraphino, and insisted on his levying troops
according to the engagement he had, 'as it were,'
taken. ^ The Pope got angry, and made use of very harsh
expressions ; and when they declared that, if he again
treated them thus, they would never again present
themselves before him, he said that they might at once
leave the room, which they did, never again to see
him. On the 21st Sixtus V. called the Congregation
of France, renewed his complaints ^ against the repre
sentatives of PhiUp, and asked whether the prelates
were or were not to start on their mission to France.
The cardinals advised that their departure should be
delayed, in order not to appear to have acted out of
spite, as well as out of regard for His Cathohc Majesty.
His Holiness agreed, and got calmer, for at that
moment nothing served his purpose so weU as delay .^
' The Pope gave these details himself to Graziosi, the agent of the
Duke of Urbino, — ' Relacion de lo que paso con Gracioso, agente del
Duque de Urbino ' (Monday, August 20, 1590), addressed to the Duke
of Sessa.
2 Sessa to Philip H., August 22, 1590 ; with the Report of the Pro
ceedings of the Congregation of France, by Cardinal d' Aragon. Simancas.
' Badoer to the Doge, August 28, 1690. ' Forse perche la dilatione fa
piu a proposito deUa sua intentione d'og-ni altra cosa,' Venice,

345

PART THE EIGHTH.
CHAPTER I,
DEATH OP THE POPE.
We have reached the end of these long and painful per
plexities. Sixtus V. came out victoriously. His mind
was made up. Everybody understood it. The Papacy
was not to be the instrument of political ambition. It
would lend its ecclesiastical powers and its treasures
hoarded in Fort St. Angelo neither to Phihp nor to the
League. It would serve the cause of religion, which
is, at the same time, that of society, France was to
remain CathoUc, and not to disappear from the map of
Europe. The European equihbrium was to be main
tained. It was the end of the crisis which for eighteen
months had kept the world in suspense. It was the
Pope's final word. His task w^§- done. He had now
only to die.
Since the spring, since that terrible month of March
which had been spent in incessant discussion with
Philip's ambassador, his health, had visibly decUned.^
' Badoer's various correspondence v^ith the Doge, 1590. Nicolini to
the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, May 11, 1690. Olivares to Philip, April 27,
1590.

346 SIXTHS THE FHTH. [Paei VIH.
A catarrhal fever, of which proper care had not been
taken, assumed an intermittent character. Was it
tertian or quartan fever ? No one knew ; for he obsti
nately refused to have his pulse felt, and instead of
foUowing the diet prescribed in such cases, he did as
many of the peasantry do in Italy, he tried to drown
the fever in a few extra glasses of wine. At first,
reliance was placed upon the strong constitution of the
patient ; but his state soon gave cause for great
anxiety.^ On the day of the Ascension, he was seized,
during mass at St. Peter's, with an attack of fever.
His sick look was noticed ; his weakness was perceived,'-^
When the great heats of July and August came on,
these attacks became more frequent, of longer dura
tion, and more violent in character. He had an attack
while speaking of the affairs of Poland in a pubhc Con
sistory ; another when presiding over the Congregation
of France ; others when he gave audiences to the
ambassadors. He was with difficulty prevailed upon
to lie in a bed for a few days. His strong nature,
coupled with his great energy, struggled against the
disease ; but he seemed himself to feel that his days were
' ' Por haversele renovado a S. S. un terribilisimo catarro que en otra
compleccion se pudiese tener por sospechoso, pero en contrapeso de la
buena que Su Santidad tiene hace grandes desordenes y bebe mas can-
tidad de la que bebia cuando estubo sin 61, y no quiere haverse ningun
remedio. Con todo esto no ha tenido hasta agora calentura que se sepa,
porque 61 no quiere dar el pulso S. medico.' — Olivares to Philip H.,
April 27, 1590. Arch. Simancasj S. de E. Rome, Leg. 956.
^ ' Con gran flaqueza, caimiento y melancolia, y a la misa es cierto que
tubo gran calentura, y le ardian mucho las manos. No b4, acabado este
ardor, si es erratica o cuartana, porque ha despedido los medicos y
quedadose con el suyo ordinario, y de aquel hace lo que le parece. Tiene
con gran miedo a los suyos ver que con haberle venido evacuacion natural de
sangre, en lugar de mejorai ha empeorado,'— Olivares to Philip IL, 1590.

Chap. L] IHS LAST ALLOCUTION. 347
numbered. On August 13 he held his last Consistory.
The aUocution, which he made, while it touched upon
several subjects, was hke an historical summary of his
pontificate, as an adieu to his cardinals. After pro
posing Cardinal Alessandrino for the church of VercelU,
he said : ' As Jesus Christ shared the good and the evil
days with His Apostles, so he, His vicar upon earth,
made it his duty to communicate to his cardinals both
his rejoicings and his afflictions. He had that day
three announcements to make to them. The first was
a very happy one — viz,, the conversion of the Margrave
of Baden, respecting which he entered into many
detaUs. He then told them of other cau,ses for
rejoicing, such as the taking of three corsairs by his
galleys, ' the first success of his navy, which was
evidently favoured by Providence, since he had
created it only for the purpose of sweeping the pirates
from off the seas, and not to molest any Christian
prince.' After this good news came the bad news : the
Ucence indulged in by Spanish preachers, the sermon of
the Jesuit father who had dared to accuse the Pope of
favouring the heretics. He spoke at length upon that
subject, and pomted out that it was in Madrid, at the
Cathohc Court of so Christian a prince, that such a
scandal had taken place. But he depended upon the
help of Providence, who would protect hhn, the
Church, and his States, which at that time were much
tried, m. consequence of a bad harvest. If, however,
the Pope's granaries were empty, his coffers were full
of gold ; and he proposed to the Congregation to

348 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VHI.
appropriate a sum of 500,000 ducats to the reUef of
his distressed subjects. He was happy to be able to
give easUy such important sums, but still more so, by
so doing, to convince the world that he had hoarded
up these treasures only in order to have the means, in
times of distress, of helping his subjects, and not with
the view of waging war.
The misery of the people and the famine of 1590
were not the only evils that, in those last days of his
life, arose to cloud the brilUancy of his reign, and to
give a terrible denial to the proud words which, on his
accession, he had addressed to the municipal autho
rities of Rome, when he promised that during his
pontificate they should never lack abundance. The
banditti likewise reappeared :^ Piccolomini in Tus
cany, others on the frontiers of the Papal States,
During the last days which preceded the death of the
Pope, brigands were seen even at the gates of Rome,
Ottavio Cesi was sent in pursuit of them, but he was
obliged to return, his soldiers having refused to fight.
This bad news had been at first concealed from
the Pope : when he heard it he experienced the
deepest affliction, and at once ordered most strenuous
measures. But he was near his end. On Sunday, the 19th, he
had received the Spanish ambassadors. The emotions
of that interview caused him a restless night. On the
Monday he had an attack of fever. On the foUowing
Tuesday morning he convoked (for the last time) the
' Badoer, OlivarSs, 1690. Avvisi, July 4 and 18, and August 4,
1590.

Chap. L] INCREASED ILLNESS. 349
Congregation of France;^ complained, as usual, of the
Spaniards ; and said that Philip, who intended to have
himself proclaimed God, would meet with the fate of
Nebuchadnezzar ; and hoped that Henry might be
converted. Seraphino, he said, would be made a
cardinal if he succeeded in making him recant ; and
then, in answer to a question of the Cardinal of
Aragon, he asserted that he would not recognise
Henry as king. His speech was the confused, in
coherent, and contradictory language of a man who
is a prey to an attack of fever. When the Con-
gi-egation was over, and towards the end of the day,
the Pope had a crisis which might, it was feared,
prove fatal. Doctors were hastily called in. Towards
2 in the night (10 o'clock), the attack came on
with great violence. Cardinal Aldobrandini, who, as
' datario,' lodged near the Quirinal, arrived in all
haste ; and for two hours the Pope seemed as if he
were about to leave this earth. Notwithstanding all
the supplications of the doctors, he got up the next
morning, and dined off a melon and a few glasses of
wine. He then transacted business for a long time, as
was his wont, with Aldobrandini, with the Governor of
Rome, and other people. On Thursday the 2 3rd, though
very weak, he got up, said mass, and presided during
four hours over the Congregation of the Inquisition.
Towards the end of the day there came on another
attack. On Friday, the 24th, he found himself obliged
to put off the audience which he was to give that day to
1 Sessa to Philip H., August 22, 1590. 'Relacion del Cardenal
Aragon de lo que paso en la congregaoion de Francia, Martes, 21 da
Agosto de 1590.' Badoer, August 25, 1590.

350 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paet VHI.
the diplomatic agents at Rome. The doctors declared
that the fever was of a continuous nature, coupled with
an intermittent character. They deemed the state of
His Holiness to be dangerous, rather on account of the
impossibility of making him follow any diet, than of
the gravity of the malady from which he was suffering.
In transmitting the bulletins to the Doge, Badoer
added : ' May it please God, in these days of great
calamity, to preserve the Ufe of this good and wise
Pope, who is so anxious for the peace and prosperity
of that poor kingdom of France.'
The Pope's old friend and private ' cameriere ' took
care of him. ' If,' he wrote to Monsignor Usimbardi,
' he would obey the doctors, he would soon get weU ;
but if not, not. This evening he wUl be told so
crudely. He will be informed of the state in which
he is, and I have to break the ice, for no one else wiU
dare to do it ; but your Sangaletto is a martyr when
it is a question of serving His Holiness.'
On Sunday, the 26th, he suffered greatly. The
Pope allowed the physicians to do as they pleased.
His strength was rapidly declining. Mass was said in
his room, and Donna Camilla, entering without being
announced, embraced her brother, and remained
crying near his bedside for many hours. On the
following morning, Monday, August 27, after spending
a restless night, he asked to hear mass. During the
elevation of the host, he tried to kneel, which he
could only do with the aid of Sangaletto. Towards
twelve he fell into a swoon : at one time it was thought
that he was dead, and Donna Camilla, Cardinals Gius-

Chap. L] HIS DEATH. 351
tiniani, PineUi, Aldobrandini, and his confessor were
caUed in all haste. Young Montalto, who was heart
broken, feU to the ground. The attacks were several
times renewed. At intervals the sick man rallied,
groaned, and opened his eyes, to shut them imme
diately after. They administered to him the sacra
ment of the extreme unction, and at seven in the
evening, while a violent thunderstorm was breaking
over Rome, Pope Sixtus the Fifth breathed his last.'
> Sangaletto to the Grand-Duke Ferdinand, August 27, 1590, It is
the letter of a man who has lost his head under the weight of his respon
sibility, and who was frightened because he had not warned the Pope in
time of his dangerous state, and left him to die without the sacra
ments. At the end of his letter, which he closed a few minutes before
the Pope's death, it is said that His Holiness had confessed at 6 o'clock,
but that it was impossible to give him the communion. In another
letter, of the 29th, he wrote to the Grand-Duke thus : ' That good and
holy old man wished to die. He has received every attention, both tem
poral and spiritual, which he required.' This manner of gliding over the
question of the sacraments, which had preoccupied him so much in his
former letter, written at the bedside of the dying man, confirms the
reports of the Spanish ambassadors, who wrote to the King that the Pope
had died without confession, and who would not have asserted the fact
if it were not positive. "We should not notice the circumstance if Olivares
and Sessa had not profited by it to satisfy their hatred against the Pope
by accusing him of want of piety. Many writers have asserted that
Sixtus was poisoned by the Spaniards. Such a fable does not even
deserve contradiction, or, rather, is contradicted by the despatches of
Badoer and of Sangaletto. Had there been the least suspicion, the least
rumour of the kind, neither one nor the other would have remained
silent. It is evidently one of the numerous inventions of Gregorio Leti,
published seventy-nine years after the Pope's death. Olivares and Sessa
undoubtedly helped to shorten the life of the PontiflF, but not with
poison. In an ' avviso ' of Rome, August 29, 1590, it is said : ' The ill
ness was 80 violent, and His Holiness was so lukewarm as regards the
salvation of his soul, that he could not finish his confession  his
body has been opened, and found to be in a perfect state (nettissimo),
from which it is supposed that his illness was caused by an abuse of
pure and young wines.' The author of this notice is no friend of
Sixtus, and looked upon his death as an act of Divine mercy. Had the
rumours of a violent death been spread in Rome, he would have delighted
in reporting it.

352 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VHI,
Ambassadors dispatched their messengers, who had
been expecting the great news, one foot in the stirrup.
Impressions written hurriedly almost always render
faithfully the minds of their authors. Badoer tells
briefly to the Doge the last phase and fatal ending of
the illness of Sixtus V. ' His family and his friends
are in tears,' he adds, ¦* and all good people are really
anxious. This death comes at a most inopportune
moment. For me, I mourn over it sincerely, on
account of your Serenity ; for, notwithstanding the
natural severity of His Holiness, and thanks to his very
favourable disposition towards the Republic, we could
always, with patience and ability, depend upon a good
result in every negotiation we had with him.'
All the hatred of Olivares, and the savage dehght
which the Pope's death caused him, appear in the few
lines which he wrote to Philip. ' The attack was so
violent that His Holiness died without confession, and
even worse, worse, worse [peor, peor, peor) : may
God be merciful to him I ' He already saw him in
the deepest recesses of hell. The Duke of Sessa wrote
to Ydiaquez : ' This evening, at seven, the Pope died,
without confession. There is a cardinal who says that
he has not confessed for years. May God welcome him
above ! He could not have died at a worse moment for
his reputation, for he will leave a worse name than any
other Pope that has reigned for many years.'
Badoer wrote to the Doge an account of the days
that followed the death of Sixtus V. ' Here,' he said,
' there were few signs of mourning. On the contrary,
on the following morning, a crowd of gentlemen and

Chap, L] PROVISIONAL ARRANGEMENTS. 353
of common people proceeded to the Capitol to pull
down the statue of his Hohness. The tumult was
with difficulty appeased by the Constable Colonna
(the husband of the Pope's grand-niece), who was ac
companied by a great many noblemen, and by Mario
Sforza, who had been sent thither by the Sacred Col
lege. The people were told that for a time the statue
should be covered up. It was also resolved that, while
henceforth no statue should be raised to a living
Pontiff, so neither shoidd any be erected after his death
imless he had proved himself worthy of the honour.
' Now, thanks to the wise precautions of the noble
men, matters are qmet. In the first Congregation,
Don Michael Peretti, grand-nephew of the late Pope,
has been appointed commander of the army, and at
the request of Montalto, who wishes to place that family
under obhgation to him, Duke Onorato Gaetano has
been appointed the commander's second. The latter
has been charged with the levying with the shortest
delay possible two thousand infantry for the defence of
Rome. At present the Roman people themselves
through their " caporioni " have undertaken that task
efficiently.' He adds, that the Pope's measures against
the banditti have been modified by the cardinals.
' Besides the three milhons of gold scudi which, accord
ing to the late Pope's will, cannot be appropriated to
any other purpose than to the pressing requirements
of the Church,' adds Badoer, ' another miUion and
150,000 scudi, which were at the disposal of the Pope,
have been found in Fort St. Angelo. The latter sums
have in the space of an hour been distributed by the
VOL. H. A A

354 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VUI
cardinals as follows : 500,000 scudi to the towns of the
States ; 400,000 scudi to buy corn for Rome ; and the
other 250,000 scudi to pay the expenses of the Con
clave. . . . Cardinal Gaetano is to be confirmed in his
post as Legate in France, and to receive a subsidy of
25,000 scudi. That will take place at the request of
his family, and still more under the pressure of the
Spanish grandees and of the ambassador of the League.
Thus in one day everything has been turned upside
down.' Such is the history, told soberly, of the reaction
which is wont to begin in the higher as in the lower
spheres, whenever pigmies succeed to giants, and, en
joying their new liberty, are desirous of profiting by
it, if they can, so as promptly to destroy the works of
the man who has ceased to exist. They enjoyed his
favours, but his superiority weighed upon them. Now
they take their revenge and satisfy their petty ran
cour, generally to their own hurt, by doing the con
trary of what he had done. If, in telling the facts as
they took place, the intelligent Venetian diplomatist has
no regret to express at this sudden change in favour of
Spain and of the League, it is because he knows the
Sacred College well. Whoever shall come out of the
Conclave as Pope will not, he knows, be a Sixtus V.
His favour or his hostility cannot be of much weight
in the scale.
The news of the Pope's death was received with un
alloyed pleasure both in Spain and in the camp of the
League ; with indolent sympathy at Prague ;^ with regret
' Curzio Picchena, chargi? d'afi'aires of Tuscany, to the Grand-Duke

Chap. L] FORTUNES OF THE PERETTI FAMILY, 355
at Venice ; and throughout Europe as an event of the
highest importance. Contarini wrote on this subject
to the Doge from Madrid, and said : ' The more men
reflect over the death of the Pope here, the more they
rejoice over it. Everyone speaks of it with much
freedom and little respect. It is thought, and some
assert loudly, that whosoever may succeed him cannot
be more opposed to the policy of this Government, or
more hostUe to the League of France than was the last
Pope.' The Doge, in the name of the Government of the
Republic, addressed letters of condolence, which were
couched in warm terms, to the sister and grand-nephew
of the deceased Pontiff.
Donna CamiUa survived her brother many years,
and died at an advanced age in the Cancelleria
Palace. Cardinal Alexander Montalto, who disposed of the
numerous faction of his great-uncle's creatures, filled
an important part in the Conclaves which resulted in
the elections of Urban VTL, Gregory XIV., Innocent
LK., Clement VHL, Leo XL, and Paul V. No one
knew better the sentiments with which each Pope was
animated, and no one could turn them to better
advantage. He had less mind, however, than heart ;
and the memory of his charity and his munificence has,
under the form of anecdotes, been preserved by popular
tradition. When he died, still young, in 1623, every
Ferdinand, September 7, 1590. He was the first to give the news of the
Pope's death to the Emperor, as his Majesty was leaving chapel.
Rodolph's features changed, but he said nothing.
A A 2

356 SIXTUS THE FIFTH. [Paet VIH,
shop was shut as a sign of mourning. All Rome pro
ceeded to the CanceUeria, and wished to assist at his
funeral, which took place at the Church of St. Andrea
del VaUe, which had been built mostly at his expense.
His brother, Don Michael, had two children of his
first wife, the Countess della Somaglia, one of whom was
Cardinal Francesco, and the other Donna Maria Felice,
who died in 1656. By his second wife, Anna Maria
de Cesi, he had no children. His daughter, Maria
Felice, married Bernardino Savelli, and gave birth to a
daughter and two sons. One was Cardinal Paul, and
the other Giulio Savelli, the last descendant of the
principal branch of that illustrious family. The
daughter, Donna Margarita, married Duke Giuliano,
the last of the Cesarini, They had only one daughter.
Donna Livia, the heiress of the Cesarini, Savelh,
Peretti, Somaglia, Cabrera, and Boadilla. She married
Federico Sforza, who took the title of Duke Cesarini
Sforza (1673). With his mother's brother. Cardinal
Francesco Peretti, who died in the Conclave which
elected Alexander VH. (1655), the name of Peretti
disappeared. This name was only an adopted one,
the family's real name being Damasceni. Giulio, who
was the last of the principal branch of the family of
SaveUi, and the last of the Peretti through his mother.
Donna Maria Fehce, died on March 5, 1712, almost a
ruined man, and obliged to ahenate the greater part of
the large estates of the two famihes of which he was
the representative. The obligation under which the
heirs of Don Michael w'ere of returning to the house
of Cesi the marriage portion of his second wife, had

Chap. H.] LAST YEARS OF DOMENICO FORTANI. 357
made the first breach in the colossal fortune of the
Peretti. The debts incurred by Cardinals Alexander
and Francesco Montalto hastened the ruin. When the
fortune came into the hands of the Sforza it was so im
paired that httle of it remained except a few lands that
had belonged to Donna Margarita Somaglia, first wife
of Michael Peretti.
We must not omit to mention the man who had
done so much to enhance the prestige of Sixtus V.,
and had lived in his intimacy. Domenico Fontana
coidd not escape the effects of the reaction. From the
moment of the accession of Clement VIII. he fell into
unmerited disgrace. Deprived of his post as pontifical
architect of St. Peter's, and ordered to render an
account of the expenses of building during the pon
tificate of his iUustrious protector, he left Rome, and at
the caU of Count Miranda, Viceroy of Naples, accepted
the position of royal architect and chief engineer of
the kingdom. Under him, as well as under Olivares,
who succeeded Miranda, he executed many works of
importance both in the capital and in the provinces.
After changing the aspect of Rome, he embellished
Naples, and died in that town ' rich in years, in money,
and in honours.' ^
' In 1607, Milizia, Architetti, 1785. He straightened the Chiaia
and Santa Lucia: built the royal palace and the Museum (Studij) ;
erected the beautiful fountain called the Miranda, and constructed some
great hydraulic works in the provinces.

358 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VIH.

CHAPTER n.
PORTEAIT OF SIXTUS V. AND THE MEN OF HIS TIMES.
We shaU not try to give for the second time the
portrait of Sixtus V. He has painted himself by his
words, which have been recorded upon the testimony
of those to whom they were addressed, and by his
acts, which have been told in the official reports written
by the principal witnesses. The reader who has had
the patience to foUow us in this long narrative is able
to form his judgment. We shall not impose our own
upon him. But we may be allowed to throw a glance
back upon the most important portion of the reign of
this Pope ; that is, upon his intervention in French
affairs. In presence of the events of which France was the
theatre, he aimed at two things : the preservation of
the Catholic rehgion, which was seriously compromised,
and the maintenance of France in the rank of the first
Powers of Europe. He was convinced that if the new
creed should be enthroned in France it was all over for
some time, nay, perhaps for generations, with the
Catholic religion in Europe, Its defenders would
succumb in Germany ; Italy would be invaded by
heresy ; Rome would fall. Spain also could scarcely
resist the invasion. It is not a supposition of our own ;

Chap. H.] IMPORTANCE OF FRANCE IN EUROPE. 359
it is one which he was constantly expressing. In many
instances it Avas reported by ambassadors, by cardinals,
by those who approached him ; and, what is more, that
opinion, or rather that conviction, was shared by every
one. It is met wdth in both the hostUe camps. The one
dreads its possible realisation as the greatest of evils ;
the other caUs for it with aU possible energy as the com
plete realisation of aU its dearest wishes. Such was
the general state of Europe, and so great were already
the prestige, power, and influence of France that she
was to decide the issue of the crisis. If she embraced
the reformed creed, it was said, then the Catholic
rehgion must disappear from the civihzed world.
The Catholic rehgion must therefore be saved in
France. But if France was to faU from the rank
of a first Power, if she was to become a vassal of
Spain, she would undoubtedly remain officially Catho
hc, but the centre and great focus of the faith would
lose its independence, and become the first living at
the disposal of the Cathohc Kings. The Catholic reh
gion, mortally struck, must then have slowly but in
evitably perished. Whether this opinion was a right
one or not is not the question. What we have to note,
as we have done by numberless quotations, is that for
Sixtus v., as weU as for the chief personages of his
time, the question was an anxious, an incontestable
truth. Here, then, are the conclusions at which those had
arrived who were interested in the maintenance of the
Catholic rehgion, and naturally no one was more in
terested in it than the Head of the Church. . Rehgion

360 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paei VIH.
and France must be saved ; and if this could not be done,
then France must be sacrificed to save religion. It was a
hard and extreme alternative, which should be avoided
as much as possible, but which must be faced when all
other means had failed. When a man is in presence
of two dangers, the one imminent and the other far off,
it is clear that he will endeavour to avoid the nearest.
Such was the state of mind of Sixtus V. as regards
France, or rather such was the manner in which he
and the rest of Europe understood the dilemma.
What was Philip's policy ? We do not intend to
examine the personal worth of that prince ; we merely
attach ourselves to facts and to things. In consequence
of the division of the Empire of Charles V, between
the two branches of the house of Austria, Spain, that
is the Iberian peninsula, the kingdoms, principalities,
earldoms, and colonies beyond the sea were placed in
a new position under the sceptre of Philip IV. ; and it
was not long before it became clear that their position
was not tenable. That great pohtical act, which had
been caused by the natural love of a father for a son,
and by a crowd of other reasons of a higher order, be
came, while it extended the power of Spain, an element
of dissolution. The two Flanders, Franche Comt4,
the Milanese, the kingdom of Naples, which, with the
exception of the latter, all lay in the centre of the
great European movement, must in future gravitate
towards the Iberian peninsula, which that movement
could never altogether reach, owing to the character
and insular existence of the Castilian population.
Moreover, those countries were separated from the

Chap. H,] OBJECTS OF PHILIP'S POLICY. 361
peninsula either by the sea or by France. What was
the moral hnk, what was the community of interests
and of traditions, which united them to Spain ? There
was none whatever. On abdicating, the Emperor, who
was ill and disgusted, had made a present to his son of
aU his States. They were in future mere provinces, or
at best Spanish colonies, and to such a fate they would
not submit. Had they been given to Ferdinand, their
individual existence was guaranteed. They would have
become indirectly, not legaUy but de facto, members of
the Holy Empire as long as the Hapsburgs should wear
the imperial crown. What foUowed ? The Netherlands
revolted. An army and the greatest commanders of
the age, the blood of Spain and the precious metals of
the new world, were required to put down a portion
only of the revolted provinces, which were occupied
by overwhelming forces. The Milanese presented the
aspect of an immense camp. The Neapolitans, who
were of a less martial nature, were more easily
governed ; but even there there were periodical at
tempts at insurrection. Almost every two or three
years a number of people were seen in Rome who had
fled from Naples and escaped the scaffold, which was
permanently erected, and the prisons, which were
crowded. Was it the fault of the Government in
Madrid? Partly so, perhaps. The influehce of the
new rehgious feeling, which formed so important an
element in the Dutch insurrection, must also be taken
into account. But the principal cause of these hos
tile dispositions is, we beheve, to be found in the
peculiar character of these States, which were formerly

362 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VHI.
independent, and were now annexed to Spain. This
is, however, a question which we could not touch
upon without going beyond the limits of our subject.
To maintain a power over these countries, and not to
lose, either sooner or later, the Transatlantic posses
sions, two things were necessary in which Spain was
wanting — insured communication with Italy and with
Flanders, on the one hand, and the dominion of the
seas, which Spain had possessed, but which she was
fast losing through the growing navy of England. The
Spain of Philip, such as his father had made it for him,
was either too big or too small.
This explains and even justifies the policy followed
by the King ; for he had a right, and even it was his
duty, to maintain the kingdom in the state in which
he had received it, and he could not do so vrithout
enlarging it. It was impossible for him to stop. If
he advanced, he would be entitled to be caUed the
arbiter of Europe. But if he drew back, Spain would
become what we now see it. To insure his com
munications with the detached members of that body,
to preserve New Spain — in other words, to maintain his
monarchy — it was necessary for him to have Brittany,
so as to recover his dominion of the seas, and to have
the supremacy in France, in order to be able to com
municate freely with Flanders, with Italy, and with
Franche Comte. Such were the incentives of the policy
he pursued. This is no mere fancy, for he himself has
made them known to us ; we know it from his own
words, and on this head his contemporaries never

Chap. H.] IDEAS OF UNIVERSAL MONARCHY. 363
questioned his perfect sincerity. It was only when he
gave out religion to be his chief, and indeed his only
motive for doing what he did, that they disbelieved
him. The reader besides has been able to read his
most intimate thoughts, which are laid bare in the series
of secret instructions given to his agents, OUvares,
Mendoza, Tarsis. ' I shall in any case,' he said, ' carry
out the expedition against Brittany, Brittany belongs
to my daughter, the Infanta.' In truth, he needed
Brittany, Had he possessed it the Armada would not
have perished, and, probably, he would have become
the arbiter of the destinies of England. ' If the Duke
of Lorraine,' he again said, ' is elected King of France,
the duchy of that name must come into the hands
of Spain. It wUl form the means of communication
between Burgundy and Flanders ; but, in any case, it
cannot be annexed to France.' The Duke of Mayenne,
who knew the King's mind on this subject, hinted to
him that he might receive, as the reward for helping
him to be elected, not only Provence, but the Dauphine,
Burgundy, and Brittany. And, as if he wanted to
sUence his own conscience, he said to himself, ' France
not long ago did not possess those provinces, and was
already a great kingdom.' PhUip, on the other hand,
by a course not uncommon in such cases, tried to
justify, by moral principles, a conduct which the force
of circumstances obhged him to follow. This is the
reasoning by which he tried to persuade himself that
his pretensions were just. We have more than once
seen him declare that he was the arm, the secular

364 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VIH.
vicar of God upon earth. ' It is my mission,' he
said. I must have the power which God has given
me ; to preserve that power I must have France and
the sea.' He was, undoubtedly, the most powerful
pillar of the Church ; and he was so in the opinion of
all the Catholics, as well as in that of Sixtus V. We
know it from the Pope himself ; for here, we cannot too
often repeat it, we confine ourselves to the evidence of
contemporary witnesses. On this head the Pope and
the King were agreed ; only, and this explains the
conduct of Sixtus V., Philip saw the salvation of Spain
in the possession of France and of the sea alone — that is,
in a universal monarchy under his own rule ; whereas
the Pope considered a universal monarchy to be in
compatible with the existence of the Church.
Let us now consider the King of Navarre, one of the
three principal characters of that great historical drama.
On the election of Sixtus V., France, at least apparently
so, was divided into only two camps, the Catholics and
the Protestants. If Henry of Navarre was victorious,
he would be so at the head of the Huguenots, with
auxihary troops furnished to him by the Queen of
England, by Germany, and by Switzerland. His victory
would be the final and complete triumph of the new
creed. That is what everyone believed ; for Europe
lived under the regime of the principle ' cujus regio
ejus religio': subjects followed the religious creed of
their sovereigns. In virtue of this maxim, to which in
Germany the Augsburg Diet had given the force of a
law, England had twice been seen to pass from one
religion to another. It might therefore be believed.

Chap. H.] ATTITUDE OF HENRY OF NAVARRE. 365
and everyone Avas convinced of it, that at that time
Henry's triumph would be equivalent to the total
annihilation of the Catholic religion in France.
Thus it Avas that, shortly after his election, Sixtus ful
minated his 'privatory' bull against the King of Navarre.
MeanAS'hile he offered to Henry HI. his armed inter
ference. In doing this he Avas consistent with himself.
He pursued his high object, which Avas to save at the
same time both religion and France. But, new as he
AA'as then to politics, he made a mistake in his appre
ciation of men and things. He believed in the possi-
bUity of the success of both the Catholic parties, by
their oavu means ; Avhich implied an honest but really
impossible reconciliation between Henry IH. and the
League. The murder of the Guises changed the situa
tion. AffaUs assumed a ncAv phase, which first brought
PhUip upon the stage. As long as the League and
Henry HI. had fought together — in the hope of re
ceiving the help which Sixtus had offered, but which
he had not given, owing to the contempt he had con
ceived for Henry III., and to the httle confidence he had
in the heads of the League — it was to be hoped, and
even it was possible, that the Huguenots might be van
quished without the co-operation of the League. That
chance had now vanished. Another fact, of still greater
importance, was to be taken into account ; and that
was the aUiance of the two Henrys, and the number of
Cathohcs who had joined the party of the united kings.
Some time after the King was assassinated, and Henry
of Navarre became the sovereign of a portion of France.
'Vhat were the elements of his strength ? In the first

366 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VlH.
place he had the Huguenot army, then the suffrages
of the national party, of the Catholic-royalists. If
he were victorious, as he would undoubtedly be, pro
vided Spain, which was always slow, did not interfere,
this is the position in which France would have been :
the Huguenot element would predominate, and Catholics
would be granted the free exercise of their rehgion,
which would thus fall into the rank of a tolerated
creed. Henry might even go so far as to give up Pro
testantism, but such a conversion would necessarily be
feigned. The Catholic religion would not be saved ; it
would at best be an adjournment of its ruin. It was,
therefore, through fear of such a result that the Pope
chose the lesser of two evUs, that of sacrificing France to
save religion. He therefore threw himself into the arms
of Spain. He sent Gaetano to the Duke of Mayenne with
the instructions with which the reader has been made
acquainted ; and proposed in Madrid, through Gesualdo,
an armed invervention in common Avith Philip. Judging
of French affairs by the light in which he viewed them,
he could not do otherwise. To give ' that poor king
dom' a last favourable chance, he intended to keep
the whip-hand — that is, the supreme direction in the
undertaking — and offered to furnish the largest number
of troops, asking, at the same time, that the united
forces might be placed under the command of a general
of his choice.
Meanwhile in Henry's camp adhesions to his rule
came pouring in. From every quarter the Pope heard
that the King would recant. The Cathohc spirit
of the country showed itself with such force that the

Chap. H.] CHANCES OF HENRY'S CONVERSION, 367
conversion of the future sovereign was no longer a
useful means of success, but an actual condition of his
accession to the throne. France was Cathohc, and
would remain Catholic. France Avas a great and in
dependent kingdom, that Avished to remain so, and
could do so only under the rule of Henry, all the other
princes being either foreigners or incapable of reigning ;
nor coulil Henry fulfil such a mission except by
embracing the faith of the country over which he was
to reign. Even in his army the parts were changed.
The Huguenots were in a minority. There was a time
when Henry commanded Huguenots only, when he
had only Protestant alUes. Then the Catholic-royalists
joined his cause ; the two creeds were represented ,
in his camp, Avhere the Huguenot element was in
the majority. Then^ — and this is the last phase — the
Huguenots became mere auxiliaries, who were still
valuable and were to be considered, but with whom after
victory there could in the future be but little reckoning.
If Henry triumphed, the Catholic religion must triumph
with him. He would scarcely owe anything to his old
co-religionists. During the first period Henry's con
version was impossible. During the second, it was
probable, but feigned, and therefore inadmissible in
the eyes of the Head of the Church. In the last, it
had become necessary and inevitable, and imposed
upon him by the Avill of France, over which he was to
reign, because he was the only one who could reign.
Then why and by what right did the Pope refuse him
absolution ? It was not all of a sudden, but little by
little, that these ideas found their Avay into the mind of

368 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VHL
the Pontiff. When he had got well imbued with them,
when events confirmed what his good sense suggested
to him, when they justified the reasoning of the Duke
of Luxemburg, of Monsignor Seraphino, of Donato, of
Badoer, he changed his line of conduct, not his policy,
for he had always aimed and still aimed at the same
results. The Spanish ambassadors accused him of being
influenced by events ; and no doubt the successes of
Henry — the votes of Catholic France which were daily
given to him — did exercise a great influence over the
Pope's conduct. He acted as the tactician who directs
his operations according to those of the adversary,
who changes his line of battle, orders a march and a
countermarch, advances or falls back, according to the
requirements of the moment, but Avho pursues the same
aim, that of beating the enemy ; and the Pope's enemy
was the new creed and the ambition of Philip. He
therefore tried to get rid of his engagements with
Spain, certain as he was that France would now issue
from the crisis both Catholic in religion and inde
pendent as a nation,
Then begins that long and terrible struggle with the
representatives of the son of Charles V., which fiUs,
while it shortens, the remaining period of his life. No
one can deny, and everyone is at liberty to appreciate
as he pleases, the fact that in this duel he opposed
craft to strength, that he made use of the arms which
were at his disposal, that he entrenched himself behind
his scruples as a Pontiff in order to gain the delay
which alone could give the solution he hoped for;
just as a woman appeals, as a last resource, to the

Chap. H.] FORESIGHT OF SLXTUS V. 369
weakness of her sex. The truth is that, Avith many
fluctuations and temporary Aveaknesses, with much
heroic courage, he fought for the same cause, which he
never deserted, and did so vigorously, constantly, and
to the last. The tree that defies the elements, groans
and bends beneath the fury of the hurricane, loses its
foliage and breaks its branches, but yet resists and
stands erect.
Another question remains to be cleared. We have
to elucidate the part taken by Sixtus V. in the final
solution, the triumph of Henry. We shall not write
here history founded on mere conjectures. Everyone
knoAvs how difficult it is, even as regards events which
have come under our notice, to form an opinion of
any value upon possible issues, or to say that such and
such a thing might have occurred supposing so and so
to have taken place. This time also we shall confine
ourselves to quoting the authority of contemporary
Avitnesses, We shaU speciaUy caU attention to what
the most eminent statesmen of the period — the keenest
observers, and the best judges in political matters —
the Venetian ambassadors, thought on the subject,
Badoer and the Senate, which Avas composed of ' those
good old sages' for whom Sixtus V, had so much
respect, looked upon the great league between Spain
and the Pope, and the simultaneous intervention of a
Spanish and Pontifical army, under the supreme direc
tion of the Pope, and under the command of a general
chosen by and dependent on him, as the destruction of
France. That opinion we adopt without reserve. It
is corroborated by that of aU the pohtical men of that
VOL, It. B B

370 SIXTHS THE FIFTH, [Paei VHL
day, and by the facts which then occurred as well as
by subsequent events. The Duke of Parma was, it is
true, in a critical position. He had rebelUon to con
tend with in the rear and on his flanks, as well as
sedition in his ranks ; yet he was able to march against
Paris, and obhge Henry to raise the siege. The latter
had to wait nearly four years before he could enter Paris.
When Sixtus V. put his financial and military means
(and he had, as he often acknowledged, more money
than any other prince) into the scale, Avith Spain and
the League, he might, by pushing operations under
the command of a general chosen by himself, and by
communicating his energy, his quickness, his constancy
to all, as he well knew how to do, have crushed in a
few weeks, with 50,000 well-equipped and well-paid
men, the weak forces of which Henry could dispose.
But, the victory once obtained-, when, in the negotia
tions, the plenipotentiaries of the three allies, the Pope,
Philip, and the Duke of Mayenne, would have pro
ceeded to the question of a successor to the throne of
France, the influence of the Pope (had he still been
alive), however great it might have been during the
war, would have faded before the claims of the King
of Spain and of the Chief of the League. That is
evident, from the engagements into which he had
entered, and is confirmed by the opinion of the
Venetian ambassador. Sixtus V., after emptying his
treasury, which he could only have very slowly fiUed,
would have found himself in the presence of Philip, as
he himself said, ' like the fly before the elephant.' To
restrain the ambition of his ally he could not have

Chap. H.] HIS WORK AND ITS RESULTS. 371
recourse to spiritual means. He could not excommu
nicate His Catholic Majesty in order to prevent him
from solving the question of succession in the way he
pleased, since he had beforehand agreed to recognise
as King of France any candidate proposed or favoured
by Phihp. He had been obhged to make this engage
ment, because at that time it was a powerful means of
obtaining the active, efficacious, and prompt interven
tion of Spain. This is evident, as we have said, from
the position of affairs and from the documents of which
we have made known the principal passages, 'The
Pope,' says Badoer, ' intends to withdraw later, I fear
that he may be mistaken if he joins Spain in a league.*
The secret instructions of the King to Mendoza and to
Tarsis, as weU as the subsequent events, show what the
consequences might have been of a victory of Philip and
of the Sovereign Pontiff. What would have been the
aspect of Europe then? Spain, beyond all doubt, would,
either directly or indirectly, have been everywhere
the preponderating Power : her dominion would have
been impatiently endured, and sooner or later upset-
The Papacy would have been humbled ; Rome would
have been moraUy transferred to Madrid ; the Cathohc
rehgion would have been confounded with ' espagnol-
isme,' and would have run the greatest risk of being
carried away in a common ruin, so soon as Spain should
succumb under the blows of coalesced Europe ; the
French people would have been condemned for a long
time, before it could become the great and noble nation
which it is, to fearful convulsions, perhaps to cen
turies of struggles and catastrophes, bloodshed and

372 SIXTHS THE FIFTH. [Paet VH.
tears. Such is the dark picture which unfolds itself
before our imagination. HappUy, Europe has been
spared these trials. These contingencies have not
arisen. They are phantoms that escape the criticism
of the historian and of the politician.
But what may be asserted is that Sixtus the Fifth
saved France from incalculable miseries, and has
deserved well of the Church and of humanity.

GENEALOGY OF THE FAMILY OF PERETTI.

PIERGENTIL PERETTI,
farmer.

MARIANNA, eervflnt of
Donna Diana de' Ventl.
 I

Fbijx (SIXTUS y.), b. 1C21, d. 1690.

GlANnA'ITTSTA MlQNUOCI.

Camilla, b. . . ., d. 1G05.

ISABKU^E DE MfeDICIS,
d. 1576. I 1st marriage.

Paolo Giordako Orsint,
Duke of Bracciano, d, IGSri.
 j [ 2nd miirriago.

YrrrouiA Accouambana,
d. \[>sr>.
( I Istmarriagp.

Francf^iki I'Eru'riTi
(MIGNUUCI), d. IGbl.

Fahio Damasceni,
d. 1595.

Maria- Felice Peretti
(MiGNUcci), d, 1584.

1

Virginio Orsini,
Duke oE Brac
ciano.

FiAviA Peretti (Dama
sceni), d. 1606.

I
Felix Orsina
PERirri'i
(Damaaceni).

Alf-h.^andiio Peretti
(1JAMA.SCENI), Cardinal
of Monlalto, d. [{JTd.

Michel Peretti (Dahasceni),
Prince of Venafro, d. 1631.

Marc- Antonio
Colonna, G-rand-
Constable of tbe
kingdom of Naples.
1589. 1st marriage.

Mahzio Sforza,
Marquis of
Caravaggio.
1595. 2nd mar
riage.

Count DELLA
Somaglia. I 

Countess Cabrera
Y Boadilla.
 ^1

I
MARGARrrA DELLA
Somaglia. I Isl marriage.

Anna Maria
Cesi, d. 1647.
2nd marriage. |

I

Henbi II., Duke
of Montmorency, executed at
Toulouse, 1632.
I 

Mabia-Felice Orsina,

Francesco Pehetti, cardmal, A. 1655.

Bernardino Savelli, Prince of Albano.
1 

I

Maria-Felice Peretti, d. 1656.
I

Don GiuuANO Cesarini, last male MA-RGARITA
representative of his family. Saveltj.
I 

Paolo Savelu,
cardinal.

Giulio Savelli, d. 1712. (With him the
chief branch of the Savelli became extinct.)

I

Federico Sforza, takes the title of
Duke of Cesarini Sforza, 1673.

Donna Livia Cesarini, heir^s of C^arini, Savelli,
Peretti, Somaglia, Cabrera, and Boadilla.

INDEX.

ACC
ACCORAMBONI, Vittoria, murder of
her husband, i. 195, 228. Her
beauty and fascinations, 229. Her
lover, Orsini, 195, 229. Her parent
age, 229. Her story, 229, 232-238.
Count Gnoli's work respecting her,
238 note. Comes into the presence of
Sixtus v., 2o5. Death of her hus
band, who constitutes her his heiress,
315. Ill-treated by her brother-in-
law, Ludovico, 316. Escapes to
Padua, 316. Murdered with her
brother, Flaminio, 316, 317
— Marcello, calls out Francesco Pe
retti, who is murdered, i. 233. Tried
and executed at Venice, 235 Tiote,
315. Escapes from assassins, 316,
317
Acjuaviva, Padre, his objections to the
dispensations and favours of the bull
of the ' cruzada,' ii. 46. Answers
objections to the Jesuits, and con
verts CarafFa, 47. Fights courage
ously for the rules of Ignatius, 49.
Promises to forbid the use of the
name of the Society to the members
of the Order, 53. But the name
continued by the death of Sixtus V.,
64
Actors, dramatic, in Italy, ii. 103, 106.
Contribute to the disappearance of
the special Italian dialects, 106
Admirati of Italian towns, i. 103
Adrian VI., Pope, his origin, i. 79
Affarfanti of Italian towns, i. 103
Alan, Monsignor, promoted at the re
quest of Philip II., i. 352. Intended
to be sent as Legate to England, 352.
Made a Cardinal, 357 ; ii- 14- His
noble character, 14
Alberti, Monsignor, envoy from Tuscany
to Eome, his correspondence with the
Grand-Duke, i. 1.^2

ALT
Alchemy, fresh zest with which it was
pursued, i. 45
Aldobrandini, Cardinal, notice of, i.
436. His mission to Poland, 437.
His opposition to Papal abuses, 437
note. His instructions from Eome,
439. Eeceives a magnificent recep
tion from King Sigismund, 439.
Goes to Prague to make arrange
ments with the Emperor, 439.
Makes a splendid entry into Eome,
442. Promoted by Sixtus V., ii. 14.
Sits up with Sixtus V. in his last ill
ness, 349
Alessandrino, Cardinal, looks after the
interests of the Duke of Savoy in
Eome, i. 151. His influence in the
Sacred College, 151. Promise to
vote with Medici against Farnese,
158. Account of him, 192. Hia
palace in Eome, 1 92. His part in the
Conclave, 200. Appointed by Sixtus
V. to the direction of ecclesiastical
affiiirs, 252. His remark to San-
torio, 253
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Ferrara.
See Farnese
— VI., Pope, looked up to by his con
temporaries as a great pope, i. 60
Alexandria, Patriarch of, put under
arrest at Eome, and cannot appease
the Pope, ii. 311
Algiers, hopes of Sixtus V. of the con
quest of, i. 343. Proposes to the
Spanish ambassador a war against,
343, 345. Extent of the enterprise,
345
Allacrimanti of Italian towns, i. 103
Altemps, Cardinal, his house at Mon-
dragone, i. 141. Love of Pope
Gregory XIII. for a visit to, 141.
His vain and sombre character, 157.
Promises to vote with Medici against

376

INDEX.

ALT
Farnese, 158. Ceases bis negotia
tions with Cardinal San Sislo, and
joins Medici, 168. Account of him,
192. At the election of Sixtus V.,
192. His part in the Conclave, 199.
Sells his Villa Mondragone to Cardi
nal Como, i. 252
Altemps, Count, Marquess of Galese,
created a duke by Sixtus V., ii. 113.
His parentage, 113
Altemps family, their palace in Eome,
ii. 113
— Eobert d', imprisoned in Fort St.
Angelo, i. 277. Eeleased at his
uncle's request, 277
jAltieri family in Eome, ii. 112
Ambasssadors expressly forbidden to
receive presents, i. 384. Salaries of
the Venetian and other ambassadors,
386 note. View of Venice of the
rights of, ii. 250
Amboise, the Cardinal de Bourbon and
and the Archbishop of Lyons pri
soners in the castle of, ii. 220
Ammanati, Bartolonieo, his work in
Florence,!. 118. Builds the Euspoli
palace in Eome, 88. Appointed to
carry out the plans for raising Nero's
Obelisk, 122. Eeturns to Florence,
and dies of grief, 122, 123
— Giovanni, his work in Florence, i.
118. His statue of Cosmo de' Medici,
118
Andrew of Austria, Cardinal, at the
election of Sixtus V., i. 191. Notice
of him, and of his parentage, 191.
His arrival at Eome, 195. In the
Conclave, 195. His residences in
Eome, ii. 87 note. His death there,
87 note
Ancona, made a free port by Sixtus V.,
i. 329. Eoad from Eome to, 97,
329
Angela, the Sicilian beauty, in Eome,
ii. 103
Angelico, Fra, de Fiesole, not influenced
by the ' humanists,' i. 43
Angelo, Michael, what he would have
been without Eome, i. 82. His
works in Florence, 118. Cardinal
Farnese, his friend and protector,
173. His freaks of fancy in the
Chapel of the Medici at Florence, ii.
81. Appears in Eome as an archi
tect, 81. His works there, 81. His
death, 82. His followers, and the
men of progress, 82. His subjects
reproduced mechanically by cheap

AST
and rapid artists, 108. His style
predominant in the sixteenth cen
tury, 109
Angennes, Claude d', Bishop of Le
Mans, sent by Henry III. to ask the
Pope for absolution for the King, ii.
213. Goes to Florence and Eome,
213. Alights at the house of the
Cardinal de Joyeuse, 213. Visited
by Gritti, 213. His tact, dignity, and
manners, 213. Goes with M. de
Pisany to the Pope, 213, 215, 216.
The Pope's threats, 217. Failure of
the mission, 218, 219. Arrest of the "
bishop's majordomo, 219. Leaves
Eome, 226. Made prisoner by a cor
sair, 227
Antiques, taste for, in Eome, ii. 109
Antonine column, consecrated to re
ligion, ii. 133
Antonio, Don, offers to resign his pre
tensions to the throne of Portugal, i.
379
Aragon, Cardinal Bishop of, his remarks
on the proposed excommunication of
Henry iV., ii. 292, 293
Arazzi tapestry in the Vatican, i. 185
Architecture, in Eome, ii. 73. Works
of Bramante there, 80. And of
Michael Angelo, 81. Roman archi
tecture subsequently to the reign of
Sixtus v., 83. Triumph of the
baroque style, 83. Dearth of style
of the eighteenth century, 85. Old
Roman architecture laid bare by ex
cavations, 109
Archives, pontifical, farmed out by
Sixtus V. to Paulo Falconieri, i. 333
Aretino, Pietro, his plays, ii. 105
Ai'iano, Marquis of, with armed fol
lowers attacks one of the Aguilars, i.
266
Ariosto, his praises of Lucrezia Borgia,
i. 50. Popularity of his poems in
Venice, in the sixteenth century, Ul.
His merit questioned, 107
Armada, the Invincible, end of it, i.
347. The Pope one of the chief in
stigators of it, 362. Causes of the
expedition, 355-357. Anxieties of
Sixtus V. regarding it, 368, 369. Its
fatal delay, 372, 373. Its destruc
tion, 374-376
Arts, influence of the ' humanists ' on
the, i. 43, 44
Assassini of Italy in the sixteenth
century, i. 100
Astrology, widespread among Chris-

INDEX.

377

AST

BIE

tians, i. 45. And amongst the Moors
of Spain, 45
Asylum of the Hundred Priests, built
by Sixtus v., ii. 133
Attremanti of Italian towns, i. 103
Augsburg, effect of the 'recess' of, ii.
39. Monstrous principle of the
' Confession ' of, 39
Augustus, Duke of Saxony, his death, i.
423. Fears of his adherents of tlie
acts of Sixtus v., 424
Aumale, Duke of, prevented from mak
ing peace with the Duke of Mayenne,
ii. 306
Austria, peace concluded between, and
Poland, i. 439, 440
Avoisi from Venice, welcomed in every
capital, i. 12. Use made of them,
20
Avila, Padre John d', the apostle of
Andalusia, power of his eloquence, i.
63
— city of. its reaction in favour of
. faith, i. 63
Azzolini, secretary to Sixtus V., i. 2.34
Azzolino, Captain Niccolino, executed
for wounding an ensign, i. 278
— Cardinal, sent by Sixtus V. after the
German ambassadors, i. 420. His
death, ii. 58. His services to Sixtus
v., 58

BABBI, Abbi, private secretary of
Cardinal de' Medici, his corres
pondence with the Grand Duke, i.
152. His opinions regarding the
severity of Sixtus V., 281
Badoer, Alberto, Venetian ambassador
to Rome, expounds a code of etiquette
to the Pope, i. 358, 393, whom he
calms, 368, 359. His qualities, 393.
His pleasure at the immediate re
turn of Monsignor Mattenci to Venice,
ii. 253. Visit of Cardinal Cornaro to
him, 264. Badoer's tact and readi
ness, 255. His attention to Count
Olivares, 256. His interviews with
the Pope, 257, 259. Whispers in the
Pontiff's ear, 266. Supports Henry
IV. of France, 271. Peers into the
intentions of Sixtus V., and guesses
them, ii. 334, 335. His account of
the death of Sixtus, ii. 352
Baglione di Peruggia, one of them
taken into the service of the Pope, i.
272
3aglioni, his frescoes, i. 227

Banditti of Italy in the sixteenth cen
tury, i. 100. The great curse of the
country, aud especially of the Roman
States, 104. Terrorism caused by, in
the states of the Church, 261. Those
of the kingdom of Naples, 261.
And of Central Italy, 262. The
priest Guercino and his doings, 265.
Brigandage in all ages, 266, 267.
Popular opinion on it, 269. Number
of men infesting the Papal States in
the time of Gregory XIII., i. 270-
273 and note. Measures of Sixtus
V. against them, 272-275. The ex
istence of the Papal States menaced
by them, 273. Question of what is
to be done with them, 274. Their
appearance even at the gates of
Rome, ii. 348
Barbaro, Marcautonio, one of the am
bassadors from Venice to Sixtus V.,
i. 387
Barbary, war against, proposed by
Sixtus v., i. 343. Extent of the ex
pedition, 346
Baroque style of architecture, triumph
of the, li. 83. Its fight with the
classic style, 85
Baschi, Count Attilio, of Bologna, in
prison for forty years, i. 278. Tried
and executed by Sixtus V., 278
Basilica at Eome, described, i. 179, 180
Bataglia, near Padua, in the sixteenth
century, i. 118
Belvedere, Palace of the, in Eome, i.
181-183. Great tower of the, raised
by Sixtus v., ii. 131
Bembo, Pietro, the renovator of the
Latin and Italian languages, i. 68
Bergamo, Monsignor, Nimcio at Paris,
replaced by the Bishop of Nazareth,
i. 297
Bergerac, declaration of, ii. 148
Bernini, his works in architecture, ii.
83, 84
Besignano, Prince of, holds the ' gabelle'
levied on the silks of Calabria, ii. 138
Bianti (or devout), sellers of false dis
pensations in Italian towns, i. 103
Bible, publication of a new edition of
the, ii. 28. History of the work, 28,
29
Bishoprics, plurality in, abolished by
the Council of Trent, i. 83
Bishops, Congregation of the, duties of
the, ii. 11
Biron, Marshal de, his interview with
the Legate, Cardinal Gaetano, ii.

378

INDEX.

BOA

CAE

307. Scandalises the Legate by his
lukewarmness, 307. His discretion
praised by the Pope, 308
Boar, wild, haunts of the, in the six
teenth century, i. 96
Boiardo, Count, his poem, i. 42
Bologna, odd factions at, i. 114. Public
works and buildings at, 114. The
government of, given to Castagna,
257
Books in MS. much appreciated by the
learned, i. 42. Printed, only pur
chased by the poorer classes, 42
Bordoni, or false pilgrims, of Italian
towns, in the sixteenth century, i.
103
Borgia, Lucrezia, praises of Ariosto of,
i. 60
— St. Francis, Cardinal Farnese the
friend of, i. 173. Inspires the Car
dinal with the idea of erecting the
Church of Jesus, 173 note
Borromeo, St. Charles, i. 65. His
purity of life, 65. His untimely
death, 67. One of the stars of the
College, 60. Patronises the erection
of the statue of Neptune at Bologna,
116. His death, 156, 167
Borromini, his works in architecture, ii.
83
Bourbon, Cardinal de, acknowledged by
the Treaty of Joinville to be heir to
the Crown of France, ii. 146. Signs
a manifesto of the League, 147. Im
prisoned by Henry III. of France,
216. Sent to the Castle of Amboise,
220. Ordered by the Pope to be set
at liberty, 225. But the summons
disregarded, 228. His liberation to
be obtained by Cardinal Gaetano,
303. His death, 315
Bozio, visits Fra Felice, i. 216
Bracciano, Duke of. See Orsini
Bramante, his education in architecture,
ii. 79. Imports the Lombard style
into Eome, 79. His works there, 79,
80. His court destroyed by Sixtus
v., 131
Brenta, adorned on both banks with
gardens, i. 106
Bresca, a woman named, saves the
Obelisk of Nero, ii. 124
Bridges and bridge-making in Italy, in
the sixteenth century, i. 97
Brill, Paolo, his frescoes, i. 227
Brunellesco, — — , the first to study the
monuments of ancient Rome, ii. 78.
His works in the city, 78 note

Bucentaur, the, with the Doge on
board, on the grand canal of Venice,
i. Ill
Bull of Sixtus V. ' Immensa aeterni Dei,'
ii. 8
Buoncompagni, founder of the family of
the, i. 133
Buoncompagni, Cardinal, sent with a
brilliant embassy to Spain, 220
Buoncompagni, Signor Giacomo, his un
friendliness with Prosper Colonna,
i. 264. On the commission formed
against the brigands, 272. Disgraced
and replaced in his command, 276
Buonvisi, the first family in Lucca, i.
122. Dances in the palace of the, 124

CAMERIERE, Cardinal, the Pope's
treatment of, i. 322
Campagna, government of, given to
Lancellotto, i. 267
Canals, the Milanese masters of the art
. of cutting, in the sixteenth century,
i. 97
Capella, Bianca, her marriage to Fran
cis of Medici, i. 33. Her personal
appearance, 119. Her letters to the
Cardinal of Medici, 119. Honoured
with the title of Daughter of the Re
public on her marriage, 389 note.
Loses her husband, ii. 60. Her
death, 60. Her memory charged with
the murder of her husband, 61
Capello, Don Annibal, a newsmonger,
cruelly executed, i. 282
Capranici family in Eome, ii. 112
Caracci, their frescoes in the Farnese
Palace, ii, 109
Caracciolo, St. Fabricius, i. 65
— St. Francis, i. 66
— governor of Charles V. in Milan,
i. 68
Caraffa, Cardinal, ordered by Sixtus V.
to examine the rules of the Jesuits,
ii. 47. Converted by Padre Acqua
viva, 47. Withdraws his commission,
49. See Paul IV.
 nephew, of Paul IV., condemned
to death and strangled, i. 147 note
' Caravans,' dangers caused by those of
the knights of Malta and of St.
Stephen, i. 37
Cardiera, Lionardo de, beheaded, i. 147
note
Cardinals, those appointed by Sixtus
v., ii. 13, 14. A Congregation ap
pointed to determine what qualities

INDEX.

379

CAE

CHA

were needed in those who were to be
made, 15. Terms of the bull 'Post
quam serus iUe,' 16
'Cardinal's dish, the poor,' i. 221
Carmagnola, fortress of, proposal of
Philip II. that it should be handed
over to the Duke of Terranuova,i. 416
Carmelites, Barefooted, foundation of
the Older of, i. 64
Carnival, time of the, in Eome, ii. 101.
Fondness of Paul II. for the games of
the, 101. That of 1688, 102-104
Carpi, Cardinal, his prayers to God for
Rome, i. 59. Takes Fra Felice under
his protection, 218. At Fra Felice's
sermons, i. 215.
Carraceia frescoes, date of the, i. 174
note
Carriages, in general use in Eome in the
16th century, i. 85. Custom of tra
velling in, begun in Italy, 97. Car
riages of the Duke of Ferrara, in
1581, 97
Castagna, Cardinal, at the election of
Sixtus v., i. 191. Appointed to the
government of Bologna, 257. Invited
to the banquets of the Venetian Am
bassadors Extraordinary, 391
Castile, Council of, its decree as to the
revenues of vacant livings, ii. 31.
Violent speech of Sixtus V. against
it, 31
Castrucci, plants trees at the Villa
Peretti, i. 228
Catherine, the Infanta, married to
Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy,
i. 396, 398-400
Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France,
implores her son to come to an under
standing with his vassals, ii. 147.
Negotiates with the heads of the
Coalition, 148. Her negotiations with
Henry of Navarre, 169. Her death,
219
Catholic reaction, headed by the Popes
and brought to a satisfactory conclu
sion, i. 76, 76. Its fight with the
science of the Renaissance, 116.
Reaches the artistic sphere, and en
lists theDominicans and greatmasters
among the painters, 116. Sympa
thetic tolerance of the Catholic
church for the glories of the pagan
world, 174
Cavalieri servanti, origin of the, in
Italy, i. 109
CavaUo, Monte, antiques of, erected by
Sixtus V. at, ii. 131

Cellini, Benvenuto, influence of hia
works, ii. 109
Centino, bridge of, due to Pope Gregory
XIIL, i. 97
Cervantes, damages chivalry for ever in
public opinion, i. 37
Cesarini family, descent of the, ii. Ill
— Giovanni, his wife, her descent and
beauty, ii. Ill
Cesarius, Duke, patron of the church at
Grottamare, i. 208 note
Cesi, Frederic, i. 69
— Cardinal, thought of for Pope, i.
164. His life and esteem in which
he was held, 164. Excluded by
Henry III. of France, 167. Has
little chance, 177. Appointed go
vernor of the- Marches, 257. His
death, ii. 55
— family in Rome, ii. 112
— Ottavio, his military career, ii. 115.
Quarrels with Orsini as to precedence,
115. Sent in pursuit of the brigands,
348
Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy,
marries the daughter of Philip II. , i.
34, 151, 396. Busies himself least
with pontifical elections, 151. His
affairs protected by Cardinal Ales
sandrino in Rome, 151. Affection of
Sixtus V. for him, 396. Submits a
dispute with the Duke of Mantua to
the decision of Sixtus, 396. His
entry into Saragossa, 397. His mar
riage ceremonies, 398-400. His
adoption of Spanish ways, 400. Con
ceives an expedition to Geneva, 401.
Assisted by Sixtus V., 402. Abandons
the expedition, but again resumes
hostilities, 403. Vainly endeavours
to obtain the title of King of Sar
dinia, 404. His devouring ambition,
404. Invades and occupies the
Marquisate of Saluzzo, 405, 406.
Publishes a declaration, which is dis
approved by the Pope, 407. His
father-in-law openly takes part with
him, 416. Proposal of Philip for the
surrender of Carmagnola, 416. Mes
sage from Sixtus V. to, ii. 286. His
proposed part in the League, 316
Charles V., Emperor of Germany, his
talent for negotiation, i. 6. His an
tipathy to the Jesuits, ii. 46
Charles of Styria, Archduke, a candidate
for the dignity of King of the Romans,
i. 426. His ambition revived by his
wife, the Archduchess Mary, 427

380

INDEX.

CHI

CON

Chigi family in Eome; ii. 112
Chivalry, becomes more dangerous than
useful, i. 37. Damaged for ever by
Cervantes, 37
Christianity, gradual disappearance of
the fundamental notions of, i. 46
Christine of Lorraine, Princess, married
to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, ii. 63
Church of Jesus, at Eome, i. 173 note,
174
Cigogna, Pascal, becomes Doge of
Venice, i. 31
Civita Vecchia, aqueduct supplying, of
Sixtus v., ii. 133
Classical studies, causes of the vehe
mence of the general impulse towards,
in Italy, i. 43
Clelia, Donna, natural daughter of the
Cardinal Farnese, her beauty, ii. 111.
Married to Giovanni Cesarini, 112
Clement VII., Pope, unfortunate events
of his pontificate, i. 63
Clement VIII., Pope, his origin, i. 80
Clement, Jacques, murders Henry III.
of France, ii. 231
Cleopatra's Corridors, in the Vatican,
i. 181
Coalitions, dislike of Sixtus V. for, i.
393, 394
Cocchini of Italian towns, i. 103
College, Sacred, composition of the, ii. 3
Cologne, Ernest, Archbishop of, his
efforts to take Neuss, i. 421. En
deavours to borrow money of Sixtus
v., 421
Colonna, Cardinal,,one of those appoint
ed to watch over the public safety, i.
142. Appointed governor of the Ro-
magna, 257. Takes command of the
Papal troops, and disperses the
brigands, 276; ii. 114, 115. Sent to
Olivarfes with the news of the day's
proceedings in a Congregation, 294
— faction in Eome, ii. 111. Rank of
the family, 111
— Marc Antonio, Grand Constab'e,
governs Sicily, i. 37. Acquaintance
of Frk Felice with, i. 216. Marries
Ursula Peretti, 222. His death, ii. 114
¦ — Mazzio, brother of the Cardinal, sells
a fountain to Sixtus V., ii. 127. En
tertains the Pope at Zagarola, 128
— Prosper, a conflict between him and
the Duke of Sora feared, i. 143. His
armed men in the streets of Eome,
176. Leaves for Zagarola, 176.
His unfriendliness with Baron
Giacomo, 264. Acts of his soldiers.

270. Gives up his command to his
brother, 276
Colonnesi family in Eome, ii. 112
Comedies, and comedians of Italy, in
the sixteenth century, i. 123
Como, the Grand Duke of, understands
the importance of good roads, i. 97
— Cardinal of (Galli), entrusted by
Gregory XIII. with the reins Of
government, i. 136. His disagree-
ableness and politeness, 137. For
merly a retainer of Monsignor Gar-
imberto, 137. Decline and disap
pearance of his star, 192. At the
election of Sixtus V., 192. Eetires
for good to his palace, 252. Pur
chases the Villa Mondragone, 252
Conclave, proceedings of the, for the
election of Pope, i. 187-204
Conde, Henry of Bourbon, Prince of, ,
declared a heretic and deprived of the
succession by a bull, ii. 159. His
claims to the throne of France, 315
'C'onfession' of Augsburg, monstrous
principle of the, ii. 39
Congregations, permanent, established,
ii. 2. Of the Holy Ofllce, and its
jurisdiction, 9. For the Erection of
churches and Consistorial Provisions,
9. The Abundance of the Ecclesi
astical State, and its duties, 9. Of
Eites and Ceremonies, 9. For the
Naval Army, 10. Of the Index, 10.
Of the Council of Trent, 10. Of the
University of the Sapienza, 11. Of
the ' Regulars,' 11. Of the Bishops,
11, Of the roads, bridges, and
aqueducts, 11. Of the printing
office of the Vatican, 11. For State
Consultations, 11. Degli Studii, 12.
List of the Congregations which exist
now-a-days, 13 note.
Cononisation, questions of, control
under which they were placed by
Sixtus v., ii. 10
Consistories, in what they consisted, ii.
1. Business of the, 1, 7.
Contarini, Gasparo, his eminence as a
writer and statesman, i. 68. As Ven
etian envoy at Madrid, his remarks
respecting the anger of Philip II.
against Rome, ii. 34. His audience
with Philip, 256.
Conti family, ii. Ill
— Giovanni Battista, his daughter
married to Mario Sforza, ii. 113. Her
portrait, 113 note. His claims to the
throne of France, 315

INDEX.

381

CON

DUE

Convents, uses of in Catholic counti'ies,
i. 213
Cookery, Roman, of the sixteenth
century, ii. 98
Cornaro, Cardinal, visits Signor Badoer,
the Venetian ambassador, ii. 251.
His remarks, 2.54
— Giovanni, his account of Eome in
the sixteenth century, i. 86
Corsairs infesting the Mediterranean in
the sixteenth century, i. 101, 102.
Towers constructed for watching them
along the coast, 102
Cortone, Pietro di, his works in archi
tecture, ii. 83
Cosmo de' Medici, Grand - Duke of
Tuscany, annexes Sienna to Florence,
i. 34. His character and accomplish
ments, 34. His relations with the
Pope, 35. And with Austria, 35.
The most admired and most hated
man in Italy, 35
Couriers, envoys', their appearance and
adventures, in the sixteenth century,
i. 100. Their rapid journeys, 100
Courtesans, regulations of Venice res
pecting, i. 1 1 3
Coutras, battle of, ii. 161, l7l
Cracow, Palatine of, his Embassy to the
Emperor Eodolph II., i. 441. Accom
panies the Archduke to the frontier,
442
Curtius, Dr., one of the ambassadors to
Sixtus V. from the Emperor, i. 279 ,
418. Receives from the Grand-Duke
Francis the model of a machine for
cutting diamonds, 418. Eetires from
the Pope in anger, 420. The mission
unsuccessful, 425
Curtseying of the ladies in Tuscany and
Urbino, i. 124
Cusani. his learning, ii. 14. Made a
cardinal, 14

DAJIASCENI, Ursula, married to
the Gi-eat Constable Marco An
tonio Colonna, i. 222
Dancing at Lucca, in the sixteenth
century, i. 123, 124. ' Caprioles and
moulinets,' 124
Dante, his merit condemned, ii. 107
Dauphin^, successes of the Huguenots
inthe, ii. 189, 194
Daun de Zimbern, Count, sent with Dr.
Curtius on an embassy from the
Emperor to Sixtus V., i. 279, 418.
His ailger at the punishment of one

of his sorvants, 279. His flattering
welcome at Florence, 418. The
Emperor's instructions to him, 419.
Eetires from Sixtus V. in anger, 420.
His unsuccessful mission, 125
Desiosi, a troup of actors, their public
entertainment in Eome, ii. 103. Givo
one in the apartments of Sixtus V.,
lot. Eenowned as comedians, 123
Deza, Cai'dinal, has secret meetings
with Count Olivarfe, ii. 311
lliamonds, machine of the Grand-Duke
Francis for cutting, i. 418
Dieu, M. de, sent by the Duke of
Mayenne to Sixtus V., ii. 234. His
reception at Rome, 234
Diocletian, Baths of, i. 226, 228
Diplomacy, modern, birth of, i. 6
Diplomatic agents, their sense of duty
and honour, and value of their infor
mation, i. 17, 19, 20
Diplomatists, faults of, in new-born
courts, i. 301
Divizia, celebrated peasant woman of
Lucca, in the sixteenth century, i. 124
Doctors looked upon as nobles, ii. 114
Dolce, Lodovico, his plays, ii, 105
Donato, Leonardo, one of the ambassa
dors from Venice to Rome, i. 387.
His speech to Sixtus V., 387. Com
pliments Sixtus V. on his accession,
ii. 249. Sent on a special mission
from Venice to Sixtus, 249. His
instructions, 250, 251. Arrives in
Rome, and cordially received by the
Pope, 257, 259, 262. Postpones his
return to Venice, 261. His argu
ments with the Pope, 263. Returns
to Venice, 263. Results of his
mission, 275
Drainage, the Milanese masters of the
art of, in the sixteenth century, i. 97
Drake, Admiral, his captures of Spanish
galleons, i. 347, 355. His universal
fame, 353, 354. His victories,
368, 369. In the West Indies, 373
Drams, the, in Rome, ii. 103, 104. At
Florence, 105. The plays most ad
mired, 105. Creation of the pastoral
style, 105. Tragedies of the begin
ning of the seventeenth century, 106
Dress, ecclesiastical, views of Philip II.
respecting, ii. 27. Of Italians in the
sixteenth century. 111
Duelling condemned by the Council of
Trent, and visited by excommunica
tion, ii. 115. Books of the sixteenth
century respecting, 115, 116 ?iote

382

INDEX.

ELI

FAC

ELIZABETH, Queen of England,
consideration with which she was
regarded at Rome, i. 26, 26. Her
saying of Sixtus V., 322. Hopes for
the conversion of, entertained by
Sixtus v., 343, 344. Proposal to de
throne her, and set King James on
the throne, 345. Results of the Ar
mada, in consolidating "her on her
throne, 347. A formidable enemy
to Spain, 347. Endeavours of the
Pope to bring her back to Catholic
ism, 348, 349. Laughs at them,
350. Proposals to assassinate her,
350. Change in the Pope's personal
affection for her, 361. Opinion of
Sixtus V. of her, 368. The Duke of
Mayenne requested to stop her mes
senger at Lyons, ii. 316
Emanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy,
his family ties, i. 31. His early life,
31. Portrait of him, according to
Venetian agents, 32. His pre-occu-
pations, 32. His relations with King
Philip II., 33. Understands the im
portance of good roads, 97
Empire, Germanic, views of the Euro
pean princes respecting the, i. 427
England, idea of an expedition against,
i. 345. Results of the Armada, 347.
Efforts of Sixtus V. to bring back
the country to Catholicism, 347.
Anxiety of Sixtus V. for the fate of
the Catholics of England, 351. Views
of Gregory XIII. respecting the dis
posal of the crown of, 353
Epernon, Duke of, his successes, ii. 147
Epicureans, their denial of a future
existence, i. 45
Ernest of Hapsburg, predilection of the
Emperor Eodolph II. for, as King
of the Eomans, i. 426. His chances
of the dignity, 427
Este, Alphonso d', reduction of his
power at Ferrara, i. 38. His genius
and misfortunes rendered illustrious
by Tasso, 38
— Cardinal d', protector of France,
with the Marquis de Pisany, invested
with the full powers of Henry III. of
France,!. 13. His description of the
political condition of Italy in the
sixteenth century, 37. His praise of
the defunct Pope Gregory XIIL, 144.
His royalist views, 149. His pres
sing letters to King Henry III., 150.

His character and views, 166. His
impenetrable reserve during the Con
clave, 165. Allied to the royal house
of Valois, 166. Devoted to Henry
III. of France, 166. His ill-health,
167. His hospitality, 166, 167.
His action with the College, 168.
Said by Sixtus V. to have ' made him
Pope,' 247. His letter to the French
King respecting Sixtus, 249. Joins
Cardinal de' Medici in opposing the
appointment of the Bishop of Naza
reth, 298. D'Este's imworthy act,
299, 300. Intercedes with the Pope
for M. de Pisany, 306. His fruitless
efforts, 307. Advises submission to
the Pope, 307. Obtains precedence
for Pisany, 310. Ill with fever, 312.
Endeavours to induce Sixtus V. to
engage in an enterprise against Eng
land, 345. His warnings respecting
the ambition of Philip II., 354. His
alarm at the proposals of Philip II.,
371. Invited to the banquets of the
Venetian Ambassadors - Extraordi
nary, 391. Eeproaches Sixtus V. for
his love of official pomp, 391. Speaks
to Sixtus V. about the expedition
against Geneva, 403. His death,
407 ; ii. 55, 56. His remarks re
specting cardinals, 16. Opposed
to the League, 150. Appeals to
Sixtus v., 151. Quarrels with Car
dinal de Sens, 162. Asks Sixtus for
a subsidy for Henry IIL, 156. Goes
to meet the Duke of Nevers, 154.
Eesolution of Sixtus V. respecting
the League, 158
— Hippolyte d', his munificence and
statesmanship, i. 69
— Villa d', near Tivoli, in the sixteenth
century, i. 118
Etiquette, importance of, i. 309, 311.
Questions of, complicated in the six
teenth century, ii. 115. Table of
precedence of Sixtus V., 115. Quarrels
as to precedence, 116
Eugenius IV., Pope, engages Antonio di
Filarete to make the bronze doors of
St. Peter's, ii. 78
Europe, state of, at the death of Pope
Gregory XIIL, i. 24
Excommunication, effect of the lavish
use of, in Spain, ii. 33

FACCHINETTI, Cardinal, at the
election of Sixtus V., 191. In-

INDEX.

383

¥AI

FON

vited to the banquets of the Ambassa
dors-Extraordinary from Venice, i.
391. His proposal regarding the
succession to the French throne, ii.
239
Faith, disappearance of, i. 45
Falconieri, Paolo, farms the archives for
nine years, i. 333 ,
Famine of 1590, ii. 348
IWnese, reduction of their power at
Parma, i. 38
— Alexander, Duke of Ferrara, his ac
cession, i. 296
 the Great Cardinal, proves a
star of the College, i. 68. Hatred of
Cardinal Ferdinand de' Medici for,
154, 157. Heads one of the two
parties in the Sacred College, 165.
Intrigues of the Medici against him,
159-163. His chances of the tiara
go down, 167, 171. Put aside, 170.
His position one of the first in Italy,
171. Called the Pope-maker, 172.
His parentage and connections, 172.
His career, 172. His friends, 173.
The masterpieces in art inspired by
him, 173. His palace in Rome, 174.
His Church of Jesus, 173 note, 174.
His hospitality, 175 »oie. His death,
i. 174 note; ii. 58, 59. His charac
ter, i. 1 75. His personal appearance,
176. Excluded, 177. Complains of
the severity of Sixtus V., 278. With
whom he avoids intercourse, 278.
Refused permission by the Pope to
levy troops in the Papal States for
Ferrara, 296. His character by the
the Venetian ambassador Badoer, ii.
58, 59. Popular account of the cause
of his death, 69
— Palace in Rome, works of art in the,
i. 174. Now the property of the
King of Naples, 174 noU. The
Duke of Massa at, 176. Frescoes of
the Caracci in the, ii. 109
— Ottavio, receives the state of Came-
rino instead of Parma, i. 55
— Pierluigi, son of Pope Paul III., re
ceives Camerino, and afterwards
Parma and Piacenza, i. 55. Assassi
nated, 55
Fashion, effects of, i. 43
Fatalism takes the place of faith, i. 45
Fencing-masters of Padua, in the six
teenth century, i. 105
Ferdinand de' Medici, son of Grand-
Duke Cosmo, at the election of Sixtus
v., i. 36. See Medici

Ferdinand de' Medici , archduke of Tyrol,
his morganatic marriage with Philip
pine Wetzler, and their son Cardinal
Andrew, i. 191 note
— of Hapsburg, his intrigues for the
dignity of King of the Romans, i.
426
Ferrara, Duke of. See Farnese
— reduction of the power of Alphonso
d'Este at, i. 36. The court at, 114.
Want of animation at, 114. Present
condition of, 114
Fieschi family established in Rome, ii.
112. Palaces of the, 112
Filarete, Antonio di, makes the brasen
doors of St. Peter's, at Eome, ii. 78
Financial system of Sixtus V., i. 327
Fisher, John, his piety, learning, and
martyrdom, i. 68
Florence, Eepublic of, importance of, in
the fifteenth century, i. 14. Formed
into a grand-duchy by Pope Pius V.,
34. Hotels in, in the sixteenth
century, 99. Beauty of, 115.
Absence of political life in, 115.
Terrorism of Cosmo and Francis de'
Medici, 117. Hidden wealth of the
citizens, 117. Torpor in almost
everything, 117, 118. 'The silk
manufacture, 118. The raxia, and
its exportation in the sixteenth cen
tury, 118. The works of Michael
Angelo, in the city, 118. The Court
of the Medici in Florence, 118, 119.
Places visited in the sixteenth century,
118. The city on the fetes of St.
John's Day, 120. The Olympic
Academy of, ii. 105
Florent, Adrian, becomes Pope as Adrian
VI., i. 79
Foudi, beauty of, in the sixteenth cen
tury, i. 126
Foscari, palace, in Venice, i. 113.
Works of Titian in the, 113
Foscarini, Giacomo, one of the ambas
sadors from Venice to Sixtus V., i.
387
Fossombrone, Captain, tort.ured and
executed for murder, i. 278
Fontana, Domenico, his work for Car
dinal Montalto, i. 226. His Villa
Peretti, 227. His plans and im
provements in Rome, discussed with
Cardinal Montalto, ii. 120. His
plan for raising Nero's Needle chosen,
122. Success of the undertaking,
123-125. Serenaded for his success,
126. His works on the buildings of

384.

INDEX.

PEA

GEE

.Sixtus v., 132, 133. His part in the
cupola of St. Peter's, 134. His
.qualities, 134. Leaves Eome and
accepts a position at Naples, 357.
His works there, 357
France, dangers to, from the heads of
each party in the country, ii. 145.
The peace of Nemours signed, 158.
Prospects of Catholicity in, 161.
Events which followed the peace,
161. Policy of Sixtus V. respecting
the French kingdom, 174-194. Re
marks of Gritti, the Venetian am
bassador, as to the affairs of, 180.
Observations of Sixtus V. on the same
subject, 183, 184. Idea of Morosini
of a political union between France
and Spain, 191. Horrors and miseries
of France in 1589, 221. Changes in
policy after the murder of Henry IIL,
232. Importance of the question
of succession, 235, 239. The ques
tion of succession to the French
throne, 296. The Pope's impres
sion as to the state of religion in, 298.
Draft of a convention agreed to re
specting the affairs of, 330. Dan
gers to her if she became a vassal of
Spain, 359
Francis Borgia, St., his humility and
sanctity, i. 62. Renounces the world,
63
— of Medici, his marriages, i. 36. His
policy) and manner of living and
dressing, 36
Frangipani, Monsignor Fabio Mirto,
Archbishop of Nazareth, sent as
Nuncio to Paris, i. 297. Opposition
of the Cardinal de' Medici, who is
joined by the Cardinal d'Este, 298.
His appointment maintained, and he
starts for Paris, 299. Stopped at
Lyons, 300. Proceeds to Paris, 309.
His death and character, 312
Frederick, Duke, of Urbino, his' hospi
tality, i. 96
Frescoes in the Villa Peretti, i. 227.
Their present condition, 227
Fuorusciti, bands formed of, in Italy, i.
262. Enjoy immunity in the country,
264
GAETA, Mola di, beauty of, in the
sixteenth century, i. 126
Gaetani, Cardinal, importance of the
reports of, i. 15
— Pope's legate in France, made a
cardinal, ii. 14

Gaetani, Cardinal, appointed legate to
France, ii. 236. His instructions,
236, 237. His private missions, 237
Gaetani family, ii. Ill
— Cardinal  , Olivaris' complaints
of him, ii. 273. Endeavours he is in
structed to make with the adherents
of Henry IV., 293. Fulfils his in
structions to tJie letter, 300. His
character, and question of his fitness
for his mission, 302. His travels
through France, 303. Enters Paris,
304. Met by the Duke of Mayenne,
304. To whom he gives 60,000 scudi,
304. His reports to the Pope, 305.
Forgets an essential part of his mis
sion, 305. Places himself in com
munication with Cardinal de Ven-
d&me, 305. His opinion of the Duke
of Nevers, 306. Prevents the recon
ciliation of Mayenne with Nevers
and Aumale, 306. Cardinal Mon-
talto's despatches about him, 307.
Requests his brother, the Patriarch
of Alexandria, to justify his conduct
at Rome, 307. Loses his head, 307.
Has an interview with Marshal
Biron, 307. Who scandalises him
with his lukewarmness, 307. Pub
lishes the censure of the Church
against the partisans of Henry IV.,
307, 308. Refuses to believe in the
conversion of Henry, 308. Con
demned by the Pope, 308. Spoils
every plan, 309
— Duke Onorato, appointed second in
command of the Papal army, ii. 353
Galladei, Matteo, his plays, ii. 106
Garzetta, the brigand chief, intention
of the Venetian Republic to make a
nobleman of, i. 288
Gascon mercenaries in Italy, in the six
teenth century, i. 103
Geneva, the rendezvous of the Pro
testant refugees, i. 401. The Duke
Savoy conceives an expedition against,
401. Adverse opinion of European
statesmen, 402. Remonstrance of
France against it, 402. The expedi
tion abandoned, 403
Genoa, reduction of her political great
ness, i. 36
Genoese, the best bankers in the world,
i. 328
Gerini, Mon.signor, his correspondence
from Rome with the Grand-Duke of
Tuscany, i. 152. His complaints to
the Grand-Duke of Sixtus V., ii. 128

INDEX.

.383

GER

r,R.i

German College, in Eome, founded, i.
71
— mercenaries in Italy, in the sixteenth
centiu'y, i. UI3
Germany, condition of the Society of
Jesus in, ii. 43
Geronimo, Padre Juan, his attack of
the Pope in a sermon, ii. 60. Apolo
gists, 51. Ordered to be brought to
Eome for punishment, 61
Geseraldo, Cardinal, his virtues, i. 69
Oesualdo, Cardinal, a candidate for the
tiara, i. 190. Founds St. Andrea
della Valle, 190. His care of his
person, 191. His part in the Con
clave, 198-200. His conferences
with Sixtus y. on behalf of Spain,
ii. 276. His iirguments respecting
France, 2S1, 282. Negotiates a truce
between the Pope and Count Olivares,
288. His vague speech in the Con
gregation, 293. Overtures made by
him from Eome, 300
Gesuates, the order of the, suppressed
in Vicenza, i. ] 05. Church of the,
in Venice, 105 note
Ghislieri, Cardinal, at Fra Felice's
serinon=:. i. 215, 216. Becomes Pope
Pius v.. 221
Giacomo, Signor, son of, amuses Pope
Gregory XIIL, i. 132
Giraud Palace, its fortunes, i. 137 note,
190 note. Cardinal Como retires for
good to the, 252. The architecture
of, aud the treasures contained in the
buildina-, ii. 83
Gondi, Cardinal de, snnt by Henry III.
to .Sixtus v., ii. 189. His successes
with the Pope, 189
Gonzaga, Cardinal, invited to the
banquets of the Venetian Ambassa
dors-Extraordinary, i. 391
Gonzagas, reduction of- their power at
Mantua, i. 38
Gonzalez, Padre, carries the Holy War
into Morocco, i. 62
Governing, difficulty of the art of, ii.
121
Granvella, Cardinal, friend of the
Emperor Charles V., i. 69. His
accomplishments and abilities, 69.
His reputation as a statesman, 189.
His death, 355. Period of, 365.
Marries the Duke of Savoy and the
Infanta Catherine, 398. And again
performs the marriage in the Cathe
dral of Saragossa, 399, 400
Grazzini (or Lasca), his plays, ii. 105
VOL. II. ^ C

Greek, mania for the study of, i, 41.
But takes refuge in the schools, 42.
Principal ceutro.s of Greek teaching
in Italy, 42
Gregory, XIIL, Pope, his death, i, 24.
His attention to the education of
youth, 71. His origin, 80. His
roads in Italy, 97. The latter years
of his life, 131. Enjoys music and
dances, 132. Superstitious forewarn
ing of his death, 132. His last
illness, 132. His birth and parput-
age, 133. Eminent men among his
audience, 134. [lis character as a
pontiff, and as a temporal sovereign,
134. His natural son, the .Uuke of
Sora, 138. His government, 139.
His personal appearance, 139. His
failings, 140. His love of the
country, 140. His treatment of the
Venetian ambassador, 141. Fears
and consternation of the public when
the Pope's death occurred, 142. His
body exposed for three days in the
Gregorian chapel, 143. His obsequies,
144. News of his death, how re
ceived in various capitals, 145.
Electorial canvassing for his suc
cessor in the Papal chair, 146.
Outrages in Italy during his pon
tificate, 263-273. His measures
against them in the Papal States,
272. His compromise with the
bandit chief Piccolomini, 273.
Supports the League, 342 note. En
tertains relations with Persia, 344.
His views respecting the disposal of
the crown of England, 3-33. Influence
of Spanish opinions over him, ii. 148,
149. His answer to the heads of
the League, 149. His death, 150.
Orders an inquest into the murder of
Francesco Peretti, 235. Issues a
monitory prohibiting Vittoria Accor-
amboni's second marriage, 236
Gregorian Calendar, criticism of Sixtus
V. of the, ii, 176
Grillo, Padre Don Angelo, his remarks
on the City of Eome under Sixtus V.,
ii. 135
Grimani, Monsignor, sent to congratu
late Prince Alexander of Parma, i.
422
Gritti, Giovanni, Venetian Envoy, his
account of Sixtus V., i. 211. Conver
sations of Sixtus V. with, respecting
brigandage, 288. The Pope's confi
dence in him, i. 366, 367- Becomes

386

INDEX.

GEO

HEN

Ambassador from Venice.-*© Jlome,
S93. His qualities, 393. - -His' remon
strances with the Pope about the
affair of Saluzzo, 408. His refiiarks
to Sixtus V. on affairs in France, ii.
180. His report to the Doge on the
subject, 182-185
Groniani, Marino, one of the ambassa
dors from the Venetian Republic to
Sixtus v., i. 387
Grottamare, the birthplace -of Sixtus V.,
i. 208. Reminders of th6 Pope in
the town, 208
Guastavillani, Cardinal, nephew-. .- of
Gregory XIIL, has no share- of
power, 138. Assumes the direction
of the State at the death of Pope
Gregory, 142. Attempts of the
Medici party to gain him over, 168.
His irresolution, 163. Gained over
to Montalto's cause, 201. Arrested,
277. Remark of Sixtus V. about the
matter, 277. A scoundrel who called
himself a relation of the Cardinal
executed, 283. His death, ii. 59
Guarini, Chevalier, his ' Pastor Fido,' i.
95. His journey from Vienna to
Warsaw, 96. Creates the pastoral
style, ii. 105
Guercino, the priest, a chief of the
banditti, suspends the Bishop of
, Anagni from his functions, i. 265.
Threatens Mgr. Odescalchi, and com
mits various atrocities, 265. Pardon
granted to him by Gregory XIIL,
265. Killed, 275
Guidely, M., his information picked up
at Simancas, i. 149 note
Guidobaldo I., his hospitality at
Urbino, i. 95
Guiliano da Majano, his colonnades in
the Paradise Garden, in Rome, i. 179
Guise, Cardinal of, murdered, ii. 196,
197. Indignation of the Sacred
College at the crime, 201. Complaints
of the Pope at the murder, 214
¦ — Duke of, murder of, i. 415. Signs
the Treaty of Joinville, ii. 146.
Notion of Henry of Navarre in calling
him out to single combat, 148. Pur
sues and defeats the German reiters,
. 171. Becomes master of Paris, 178.
In danger from Henry III., and put
on his guard, 178, 179. Walks with
the King through Paris, 182, 183.
Takes the Bastille, and prepares to
fight the royal troops, 186. His
reply to Morosini, 187. Promised by

Henry III. to be entrusted with the
functions for carrying on the war
against the Huguenots, 187. Ap
pointed lieutenant general of the
armies of France, 188. His successes,
189, 194. Murdered, 196
Guises, the, defend religion, i. 342.
Partisans of the League grouped
around them, ii. 145

HELLENISTS, the, of the Renais
sance, i. 41. See Greek.
Henry III., King of France, divisions
among the members of his party in
the election of a Pope, i. 149. Cardinal
d' Este's pressing letters to him, the
King, 150. Advice and assistance
of Cardinal d'Este to him, 166. His
delight at the news of the election of
Sixtus v., 249. Stops the Papal
Nuncio at Lyons, 300. His ambas
sador ordered to quit Rome, 305.
Recalls the ambassador, 306. Ee-
ceives flattering letters from the
Pope, who calls him King of Chris
tendom, 308. His complaint of the
Pope's insult, 309. Their reconcilia
tion, 309. Orders a magnificent
funeral for the Archbishop of Naza
reth, 312. Sympathies of Rome for
Henry as legitimate King, 342.
Appeal of Philip II. to him, 369.
Henry's answer, 370. Engaged with
the League and the Huguenots, 383.
Receives notice that Charles Em
manuel intends to occupy the Mar
quisate of Saluzzo, 406. His rights
strenuously upheld by Cardinal
Joyeuse, 435. Implored by his
mother to come to an understanding
with his vassals, ii. 147: Feigns a
willingness to call in the aid of the
Protestants, 147. His vain and
powerless threat, 148. Scandals of
his journey to Lyons, 161. Eemarks
of Sixtus V. respecting him, 162.
Stops the Duke of Lorraine and his
army, and declares he will join the
heretics, 167. Wishes to be thought
a hero, 171- Discredited in Eome,
173. Eeceives the Duke of Guise,
181. Calls the Swiss Guard to Paris,
182. Eiots in consequence, 182.
Walks through the city with the
Duke of Guise, 182, 183. Exposes
his grievances to Pisany, 185. Cap
itulates and signs the edict of tli9

INDEX.

387

• HEN
Union, 188. Appoints the Duke of
Guise lieutenant-general of theariuies
of France, 188. His letter to Cardinal
do Joyeuse, 188. Proposal for a
union between him and Philip II.,
192. Encounters a series of defeats
one after the other, 194, 195. The
royal prestige daily lowered, 195.
Excuses himself for the murder of the
Duke and Cardinal of Guise, 196.
His remarks to Cardinal Morosini,
197. The Pope's observations on
the murder, }99, 200. Letter from
Cardinal de Joyeuse on the subject,
201. The accusations of Sixtus V.
anainst him, 204. Suppused by
Sixtus V. to have been secretly
fevoured by Venice, 211. His at
tempts to bribe the Pope, 211. Sends
the Bishop of Le Mans to ask the
Pope for absolution, 213. His
alliance with Henry of Navarre, 218,
228. Failure of his mission to the
Pope, 218, 219. Death of his mother,
219. Intervention of Venice in fiivour
of him, 224. Summoned by the
Pope to set at liberty the Cardinal de
Bourbon and Archbishop of Lyons,
22-3. Which he refuses to do, 228.
Gives new strength to the League,
228. Causes of his quarrel with the
Pope, 229. His ruin looked upon as
an accomplished fact, 230. Murdered,
i. 429 Kote ; 231. The Pope's
funeral oration, 234. Question of
his successor, 235.
Henry IV., King of France, bin popu
larity, i. 25. Great consideration with
which he was regarded at Rome, 25,
26. His views of universal mon
archy, 28. Excommunicated for
heresy, 342. Objections of Philip
II. to his absolution, 32, 33. Calls
the French Protestants to arms, 147.
Publishes his Declaration of Bergerac,
148. His strange proposals, 148.
Views of Sixtus V. respecting him,
152. Object of the bull required
by the Duke of Nevers against, 164.
Bull depriving him of the succession,
159. Negotiations of Henry with
the Queen-Mother, 169. Addresses
complaints to Sixtus V., 170. Gains
the battle of Coutras, 161, 171.
Enters into an alliance with Henry
III., 218, 228. Ascends the French
throne, 232. His proclamation, and
first acts, 232. Painful impression

produced at the \'alican by the event,
232. Determination of Sixins V. to
resist Henry I\'., 230. Venice in
favour of Henry, 240. His efforts to
gain over the Pope, 265. Supported
at Eome by Badoer, the Venetian
envoy, 271. The Pope's resolution
to come to an understanding with
Henry, 273. His victory at Ivry,
296. His power in France, 296.
Sends letters to the Sultan and Grand
Alzier', 313. The Duke of Mayenno
requested to stop his messenger at
Lyons, 315. The only man eligible
for the throne, in the opinion of
Sixtus v., 316. Paris besieged by
his troops, 318. Portrait of him, 364
Hohenembs, Count, obtains the release
of his nephew, i. 277
Hotels, in Italy in the eighteenth cen
tury, i. 105
Houses of the Roman aristocracy of the
end of the sixteenth century, ii. 107,
108
Huguenots, endeavours of the French
Huguenots to influence the Lutheran
princes, i. 425. Inability of the Em
peror to prevent the Calvinistie
princes from sending aid to them, 425.
See also Protestants of France.
' Humanists,' their power and pros
perity, i. 41. Become odious and fall
into general discredit, 41. Carry
away learning and art, 42-48. Fears
of Pope Paul U. for their orthodoxy,
49. Results of humanism, 61. Ef
fects of the sack of Eome upon them,
64. Eeaction against them, 56

INCOEONATI, Marco Antonio, ar
rested, i. 276
Index, Congregation of the, and its
objects, ii. 10. In communication
with certain Universities, 10
Indulgences, suspension of the granting
of, throughout Christendom, i. 71
Inquisition, the, not permitted in
Naples, i. 127. At Milan, 372.
The cause of the, in Spain, embraced
by Philip II. against the Jesuits, ii. -
45. AVho are thrown into prison, 46
Isabella Claire-Eug6nie, Infanta of
Spain, her rights to the throne of
France, ii. 317, 321. Question of her
marriage, 320. At her sister Cathe
rine's marriage, 399. Her witness of
her sister's marriage, 400

C C 3

388

index:

ITA
Italian mercenaries, in the sixteenth
century, i. 103
Italy, state of, in the sixteenth century,
i. 37-39. Description of, by the Car
dinal d' Este, 37. Mania for writing
and conversing in Greek in, 42. But
the mother tongue falls into discredit,
42. Brilliancy of the arts and
sciences, and laxity of public morals,
in the fifteenth century, 46, 47.
Terror inspired by brigandage in, 86.
Inns of, 92-94. Unequalled in
Europe for refinements and luxury of
habits at this time, 94. Eoutes
which led to Eome from the north of
Italy, 95,. State of the roads in, 97.
The ' Via Buoncompagna,' 97. Tra
velling in, generally performed on
horseback, 98. A traveller's ordinary
expenses in the sixteenth century, 98
note. Posting at the same period, 98
note, 99. Hotels in, 99 note, 105.'
Mendicants and vagabonds in the
towns of, 103. Effect of the severity
of Sixtus V. on the nobles of the
Papal States, 281. Proposed inva
sion of the country under the Protest
ant princes, and destruction of the
Papacy, 292. The moment a fa
vourable one for the independence of
the country, 383. Eemarks of Sixtus
V. respecting the affairs and condition
of, 389, 393. Position of the Society
of Jesus in, ii. 44. Causes which in
fluenced the disappearance of the
special Italian dialects, 106. The art
of painting fast disappearing in, 108,
109. Sculpture in the sixteenth cen
tury, 109. Dress and manners of
gentlemen of, of the sixteenth cen
tury, 111. Public opinion in, in the
sixteenth century, 149
Ivry, battle of, ii. 296

JAPANESE princes at the coronation
of Sixtus v., i. 258, 259
Jeanne, Archduchess of Austria, mar
ried to Francis de' Medici, i. 36.
Her death, 36
Jerome, St., of the Slavonians, church
of, at Rome, erected by Sixtus V., ii.
133
Jesuits, penetrate England in disguise,
i. 348
Jesus. Society of, state of, at the death
of Loyola, i. 62. Foundation of the,
61. Sanctioned by Paul JII., 61.

JOT
Spread over the world, 61, 62.
Montaigne's account of, ii. 38. Other
opinions, 38. Aim of the Society, 41.
Arms with which they fought, 42.
Aggressive character of the order, 43.
Dislike of it in Spain, 46. Com
plaints against them, 47. An ex
amination of their rules ordered by
the Pope, 47. Protest of the Catho
lic princes of the empire, 48. Public
opinion in Rome in their favour, 49.
The name of the Society objected to
by Sixtus V., and promised to be dis
continued by Padre Acquaviva, 53.
Death of Sixtus V., and continuance
of the name, 54. The institutions of
the orderoonfirmedby Gregory XIV.,
54
Jews, not allowed to reside in Naples,
in the sixteenth century, i. 126. Pro-
. tected by Sixtus V., 320. Their
terror at the report of the Pope's
death, 330
John of God, St., foundation of the
' Fate Bene Fratelli,' i. 63. Effect
of the example of the founder of, 63
 the Cross, St., the compatriot and
collaborator of St. Theresa, 64.
Martyred by his refractory monks,
65
— Baptist of the Conception, the
founder of the Barefooted ' Trini-
tarii,' i. 65
— of Bologna, his statue of Neptune,
i. 114
Joinville, Treaty of, ii. 146
Joyeuse, Cardiuril, succeeds to the pro
tectorate of France, i. 13. His letters,
published by the Abb^ d'Orsat, 13.
Forbidden by the Pope to be present
at the Grand-Duke Ferdinand's mar
riage, 64. Holds out against Sixtus
v., 381. Becomes Protector of
France on the death of Cardinal
d'Este, 407; ii. 56. His inter™w
with Sixtus V. respecting the inva
sion of Saluzzo, 408. The Pope's re
marks to him, 408. Causes of his
promotion, ii. 56. His character, 56.
Disliked by Sixtus V.. 56. His op
position to Sixtus 57. His per
sonal appearance, 57. Had the re
putation of the evil eye, 67. Made
by Sixtus V. to write his views to
Henry III., 167. Gets up to speak
of the merits of Henry, but stopped
by the Pope, 172, Endeavours to
obtain a promise from the Pope, 186.

INDEX.

389

JOY

LUC

Letter from Henry III. to him,
respecting his position, 188. His
displeasure at the Pope's reception of
Count Olivarfe, 201. His letter to
Henry III., 201. His angry inter
view with the Pope, 202. Affront
inflicted upon him by the Pope. 205.
Strenuously upholds the rights of
Henry III., 435
Joyeuse, Duke of, his successes, ii. 147.
His defeat at Coutras, 161, 171
Juan, Don, of Rodoxi, his challenge to
fight any one, i. 400
Julius II., Pope, his mundane or poli
tical preoccupations, i. 50. His col
lection of antiquities in the Vatican,
i. 182
— m.. Pope, suspends throughout
Christendom the granting of indulg
ences, and prohibits the reading of
impious books, i. 71. Helps to found
the German College in Rome, 71.
Regarded as a zesilot, 216

XHEVENHULLER, Baron, _,.. 
loudly against the decree of Philip
II. respecting titles, and announces
his departure, i 360
Knights of the Holy Church created by
Sistus v., i. 391

LANCELLOTTO, appointed governor
of the Campagna, i. 257
Lancome, M. de, French ambassador at
Constantinople, opinion of Henry IV.
of him, ii. 313. Informed that he
had to give up his functions, 314.
Allowed to prolong his stay at Pera,
314
Languedoc, successes of the Huguenots
in, ii. 189
Lateran, palace of the, occupied by Pope
Sixtus v., i. 259. Built by him, ii.
130.
La Villa, baths of, i. 123
League, the, supported by Pope Gregory
XIIL, i. 342 note. Partisans of the,
grouped around the Guises, ii. 145.
To be supported with troops by Philip
II., 147. Manifesto of the, signed
by Cardinal de Bourbon, 147. Inter
vention of Gregory XIII. in the cause
of the, 149. The Coalition advocated
by Count Olivaris and the Cardinal
de Sens, 160. Character of the wars
of the, 161. The peace of Nemours

signed, 157. Views of Sixtus V. re
specting it, 169. Meeting at Nancy
and Soissons, 177. The edict Of
Union signed, 188. Its successes in
the Dauphin^ and Languedoc, 189,
194. New strength given to it by
the murder of the Guises, 228. Mode
of Sixtus V. of doing away with the
League, 240. Its powerlessness if
unsupported, 298. Conversation of
Cardinal Gaetano and the Duke of
Mayenne regarding it, 305. The
Cardinal's reports, 306. Arrange
ments of Philip II. respecting it, 316.
Philip disposed to accept the title
of protector of the League, 317.
Dangers to be avoided, 317. The
Pope's declarations against it, 324
Leonardi, John, i. 66
Leoni, Battista, his ' Conversione del
Peccatore a Dio,' ii. 106
Lesdiguiferes, Marshal, takes possession
of Dauphin^, ii. 194
Leti, Gregorio, character and popularity
of his work on Sixtus V., i. 1, 2
Ligorio, Pietro, his tendency to depart
from the plans laid down by Michael
Angelo, for which he is dismissed,
ii. 82
Lippomano, Girolamo, his description
of Naples, in the sixteenth century,
i. 126. Flatters himself he dis
covers the real views of the Catholic
King, 415. His conversations with
Ydiaquez, 416
Livings, revenues of vacant decree of
Sixtus V. respecting, ii. 30. Decision
of the Council of Castile as to, 31
Loggie of the Vatican, i. 184
Longueville, Duke of, wishes of Sixtus
V. to detach him from the service of
Henry IV., ii. 238
Loredano palace, in Venice, now an Inn,
i. 113
Lorenzo, San, in Florence, visit to, in
the sixteenth century, i. 118
Loretto, shrine of Our Lady at, i. 96.
Road from Rome to, 97. Improve
ments of the town of, of Sixtus V.,
ii. 133
Lorraine, Duke of, his part in the
League, ii. 316
' Lovers' War,' the, ii. 146
Loyola, Ignatius, at Fra Felice's ser
mons, i. 215, 216. His foundation
of the Society of Jesus, i. 61. Car
dinal Farnese the friend of, 173
Lucca, reduction of her political great-

390

INDEX.

LUD
ness, i. 36. Hotels at, in the sixteenth
century, 99 note. Palaces and houses
of, 122. Life in, in the sixteenth
century, 123. Baths of, 123. Amuse
ments of, 123. Gaiety of the people
at, 124
Ludovisi family established in Rome,
ii. 112
Luxemburg, Duke of, sent to the Pope
to make an act of submission, i. 309.
The precedence over the Duke ob
tained for M. de Pisany by the Car
dinal d'Este, 310. Enters Rome with
M. de Pisany, 311. Present at the
raising of the Obelisk of Nero, ii. 125.
Arrives in Venice, and is received
there, 262. Venice blamed by the
Pope, for his reception, 262. Re
ceived as a temporary ambassador of
the King of France, 265. Reaches
Eome, 266. Received by the Pope
two days afterwards, 266. Visits the
Pope's relations, 267. His dismissal
requested of the Pope by Count
Olivares, ii. 270. The request re
fused, 272. Leaves Rome temporarily,
288. But returns, 294. Remarks of
the Pope to him, 297. Request of
Philip II. that he be dismissed, 328.
Does not appear again at the Vatican,
, 329
Lyons, Archbishop of, imprisoned by
Henry III. of France, ii. 216. Sent
to the castle of Amboise, 220. Or
dered by the Pope to be set at liberty,
225. But the King refuses to do so,
228

MACHIAVEL, his assertion respect
ing the Christian religion, i. 45
Maderno, Carlo, his plans for St. Peter's,
i. 180
Madrid, agitation against Sixtus V. in,
ii. 60. Violent sermons against the
Pope, 60
Madruccio, Barbn, his reputation as
ambassador fr.)m the Emperor of
Germany to the Court of Rome, i. 13.
His praise of the defunct Gregory
XIII., 144
— Cardinal, Archbishop of Trent,
assists his brother, the Baton, i. 13.
Entrusted with the ' Prince's secrets,'
160. Dreaded by the French govern
ment, 167. A candidate for the
tiara, 189. His moral and physical
advantages, 190. Loss of his papers.

MAE
190 note. His arrival in Rome, 198.
At the Conclave, 198, 199. Remarks
of Sixtus V. to him, 247. Fails to
obtain money from the Pope for the
Emperor, 434
Madruccio, Fortunate, Lord of Ala, hia
manners and ways, i. 190
— Ludovico, his abilities, i. 69
Maecenas, garden of, i. 226
Maisse, M. de, envoy from Henry IV. to
Venice, requests a public audience of
the Doge, ii. 247. The Pope's re
marks on the subject, 267. Vehe
mence of the Pope's objections to him,
276
Majano, Giuliano di, builds the palace
and portico of the Church of San
Marco at Rome, ii. 78
Malandrini of Italy in the sixteenth
century, i. 100
Malta, knights of, dangers caused by
the ' caravans' of, i. 37
Malatesta, Giuseppe, his criticism of .
Dante, ii. 107
— Lamberto, the brigand chief^ his
illustrious family, i. 290. His au
dacity and the terror caused by him,
290. Demands of the Pope from the
Grand-Duke respecting him, 291.
Arrested by the Grand-Duke, and
given up to Rome, 292. His trial
and execution, 292, 293
Mantegna, his frescoes removed from
the Vatican, i. 182
Mantua, reduction of the power of the
Gonzagas at, i. 36
MarceUus IL, Pope, stigmatises ne
potism, and protests against the in
terference of tbe Popes in political
matters, i. 71. Reforms sacred music,
71. His mass, 71
Marches, government of, given to Cesi,
i. 257. Banditti of the, 262
Marchigiani College of the, of Sixtus
v., ii. 133
' Maremme,' wild animals of the, i.
96. The Grand-Duke Leopold's work
in the, 96. The inhabitants of,
96.
Maria Maggiore, Santa, building of the,
completed by Sixtus V., ii. 130
Maritime communication, in Italy, in
the sixteenth century, i. 101
Marseilles, failure of an attempt at in
surrection at, ii. 148
Martin V., Pope, his work in the recon
struction of the temporal power of
the Popes, i. 40

INDEX.

391

JIAE
Martos, Dr., his protest, ii. 293. Con
tents of his portfolio, 295. Sent back
to Naples, 298
Mary Stuart, notion of placing her on
the throne of Elizabeth, i. 346. Pitied
bv Sixtus v., 346. Effect of herdenth
on the Pope, 360. On Philip IL, 360.
And at Rome, 351
Masnadieri, bands formed of, in Italy,
i. 262
Mass of Pope MarceUus, i. 71
Massa Palace, i. 190
Massimi family, its descent, ii. Ill
Matthew, Father, messages sent from
Pope Gregory XIII. by, to the League,
ii. 149
Matteuci, Monsignor, Nuncio at Venice,
ii. 247. Protests against the ad
mission of the French envoy, M.
de Maisse, 248. Leaves Venice,
248. Reaches Eome, but ordered
to return to Venice immediately,
253
Mattel family in Rome, ii. 112
Mattia of Sienna, his frescoes, i. 227
Mayenne, Duke of, signs the Treaty of
Joinville, ii. 146. Intends to revenge
the murder of his two brothers, 207.
Resolves to march upon Paris, 207.
Asks for, and obtains, a subsidy, 207.
Quarrels with the Dukes of Aumale
and Nemours, 290. His army de
feated at Ivry, 296. Cardinal Gaetano
ordered to support him, 303. Detains
Cardinal Gaetano in Lyons, 303.
Meets him in Paris, 304. And re
ceives 60,000 scudi from him, 304.
Recommends a close alliance between
Rome and Madrid, 305. Prevented
from mak-ing peace with Nemours and
Aumale, 306. Requested to stop the
messengers of Henry IV. and Queen
Elizabeth, 315. Proposed, under aU
circumstances, to remain lieutenant-
general of the kingdom, 318. Result
of the attitude assumed by him, 228.
His letter announcing the murder of
Henry IIL, 234. Sends M. de
Dica to Sixtus v., 234. The
Pope's grievances against him, 324,
325
Maximilian, Archduke, his chances as
King of the Romans, i. 427. A candi-
didate for the throne of Poland, 433.
Defeated and imprisoned, 434, 435.
The Pope's remarks on the event, 434.
Measures of Philip IL and of the
Grand Duke of Tuscany to release

JIED
him, 435. Released, but refuses to
take the oath to observe the treaty,
i. 442
Meals in Italy, in the sixteenth century,
i. 122, 123
Medichino, Cardinal, elected Pope as
Pius XIV., ii. 17
Medici, Cardinal Alexander de', his trees
on the Pincio, in Eome, ii. 88. Be
comes aftorwaids Leo XI. for a month,
89
— — , Ferdinand de', at the public
breakfasts in Florence, 119. The
Duchess's letters to him, 119. Has
his eye upon the Duke of Sora for
what use he maybe, 139. One of
those appointed to watch over the
public safety, 142. His daily cor
respondence with his brother, the
Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 162. His
position and character, 153. His
personal appearance, 154. His rival.
Cardinal Farnese, 154. Becomes
Grand-Duke' of Tuscany, 154 note.
His efforts against Cardinal Farnese,
157, 158. His early success, 169.
His mortification at King Philip's
action, 160. His intrigues at Prague
160, 161. And at Eome, 162. In
tentions of his brother the Grand-
Duke made known to him, 165.
Beaten, but conceives other tactics,
167-170. Great as an intriguer, 169.
His conduct intheelection of Pope,193-
202. Hopes to have charge of affairs
of state, 205. Causes Alphonso
Piccolomini, the brigand chief, to be
hung, 271 n-ote. His brother's advice,
251. Crowns Sixtus V., 258. His
part in compromising matters with
the brigands, 273. Complains of the
severity of Sixtus V., 278. His op
position to the Bishop of Nazareth,
298. Joined by the Cardinal d'Este
in this opposition, 298. Accused by
the Pope of causing the stoppage of
Nazareth on his journey, 304. Holds
out against Sixtus V., 381. Invited
to the banquets of the Venetian
Ambassadors-Extraordinary, 391. In
creases the salary of Cardinal Aldo
brandini on his mission to Poland,
438. Ascends the throne of Tuscany,
ii. 62. Gains the confidence of Car
dinal' Montalto, 62. Disliked by
Sixtus v., 62, 63. Marries Princess
Christine of Lorraine, 63. His letter
to the Pope, and the Pope's answer,

392

INDEX.

MED
64. Interested in keeping good rela
tions with Rome, 66. His worth
and cleverness, 65. Goes out to meet
the Duke of Nevers, 164.
from Sixtus V. to him, 286
Medici, Duke Cosmo de' ,'his terrorism in
his duchy, i. 117
— Donna Isabella de', her marriage and
tragic end, i. 195
— Francesco de' Grand-Duke of Tus
cany, message from Sixtus V. to him,
i. 250. His answer to his brother,
the Cardinal, 251. His foreign and
home government, 117. Hispersonal
appearance and thatof the Duchess,
Bianca Capello, 119. His breakfast
in public, 119. His part in the fetes
of St. John, 120, 121. His informa
tion respecting the politics of the
Vatican, 152. His correspondents,
152. Comes over to his brother's, the
Cardinals, views, 161. Sends his
State Councillor Vinta with his in
tentions to the Cardinal, 165. His
scandalous inactivity respecting bri
gandage, 272. Communications from
the Pope as to the suppression of
brigandage, 286. Conduct of the
Grand-Duke, 299. Determination of
the Pope to go to war with him, 291.
Renewal of their friendship, 293.
Gives a model of a machine for
cutting diamonds to Dr. Curtius, 420.
Pleads for the captive Archduke
Maximilian, 435. His illness and
death, ii. 60. His kindness to Sixtus
v., 61
— Villa, in Eome, view from the, ii.
89
Medina Sidonia, Duke of, appointed to
the command of the Invincible
Armada, i. 373
Mendicants infesting the streets of
Eome, ii. 133. Sent to the asylum
built by the Pope, 133
Mendoza, Don Bernardino de, Spanish
ambassador at Paris, i. 374. Re
ceives Morosini's overtures with
favour, ii. 193. Ordered by Philip
II. to prepare Paris for resistance,
202. His instructions from King
Philip, 316
Mignucci, Maria, fortunes of her chil
dren, i. 222. Her marriage to Fabio
Damasceni, 222
Milan, city of, in the sixteenth century,
i. 104. Garrison of, at this time,
105. The Inquisition at, 372

MOE
Military career, the, ennobled a man in
the sixteenth century, ii. 114
Mocenigo, Luigi, his accounts of the
progress of Protestantism, i. 69.
His remarks on advancement in the
Eoman Church, 78. And on the
changes in manners in Eome, 84
Molina, Padre, bis book, ' De Concordia
Gratise et Liberi Arbitrii,' ii. 4
note
Monarchy, universal, dangers of a, under
Philip IL, i. 353, 354
Mondragone, Cardinal Altemps' house.
Pope Gregory XIII. at, i. 141. The
Pope's treatment of Tiepolo at, 141
Montaigne, his account of society in
Rome, in his time, ii. 97, 98
Montalto, Cardinal, his position in the
election for Pope, 177. His life, 189.
A candidate for the tiara, 189.
Elected as Sixtus V., 162, 204. Ste
Sixtus V.
 Alexander, grand-nephew of Sixtus
v., signs the Pope's documents, i. 6.
Portrait of, at Montalto, 209 note.
His parentage, 222. His child
hood, 223. Has charge of the foreign
affairs, ii. 66. His uncle's mode of
dealing with him, 67. His character
and tastes, 68. Instructions for his
guidance, 68. His despatches about
France and the conduct of Cardinal
Gaetano, 307. Receives the title
ef a Venetian nobleman, 387. In
vited to the banqaets of the Venetian
Ambassadors - Extraordinary, 391.
Account of him, 356
— town of, description of, i. 209. Visit
to, 209. Reminiscences of the Peretti
family at, 209 note. Cathedral of,
209 note. Foundations of Sixtus V.
at, 209 note. View from the Convent
of, 210. Taken and ruined by the
Duke of Urbino, 212. Improvement
of Sixtus V. in the town of, ii. 133
Monte, Cardinal del, i. 69
¦ — Giovanni Battista, Signor del, his
violent deeds and banishment, i. 270
Montemoli-no, Count Francesco, killed
at Padua, i. 317.
Monti, vacabile and non vacabile, i. 332
Montpensier, Duke of. a candidate for
the French throne, ii. 165, 315
Moreo, Commandant, his instructions
from King Philip, ii. 316
Moretto, Marcautonio, his sermon before
the Cardinals, i. 187
Morone, Cardinal, his despair for the

INDEX.

393

MOE
Catholic religion, i. 60. Helps to
found the German College in Rome,
71. Thrown into prison in Fort St.
Angelo, 68. Terminates the labours
of the Council of Trent, 68. Called
the well of St. Patricius, 69. AVnnted
by Pius V. to be his successor, ii. 17
Morosini palace, in Venice, i. 113
— a diplomatist made a Cardinal,
ii. 14. Importance of his reports,
16. Accompanies the Duke of Guise
to Henry III., 1S2. His ciphered
despatch in the Vatican, 186 note.
Calls on the Duke of Guise, to confer
with him, 187. Bears the promise of
the King to the Duke, 187. Made a
Cardinal and appointed Legate to
France, 189. His career, 190. His
tact and ability, 190, 191. His idea
of a combination between Spain and
France, 191. His account of the
murders of the Duke and Cardinal of
Guise, 197, 198. His difficult
position, 198. Suspected by Sixtus
V. of having advised the murders,
205. Announces the alliance of
Henry III. and Henry of Navarre,
and leaves the Court of Henry III.,
218, 219. Ordered to remain at his
post, 219. His dignified answer,
220. Precedes the king to Moulins,
221. Reaches Lyons, 222. Pro
tected by the Marquis of St. Sorlin,
222. Requested to leave Lyons, 223.
Recalled by the Pope, 235. Rein
stated in the good graces of Sixtus
v., 245
IJother, a, executed by Sixtus V. for
having sold her daughter's honour, i.
283
Music, sacred, reformed by Pope Mar
ceUus IL, i. 71

NAPLES, communication in, in the
sixteenth century, i. 97. Road
from Rome to, 124, 125. The pro-
caccio, or caravan, to, 125. French
men seldom in Naples at this time,
125. Treatment of persons leaving
the city, 126. Beauty of the various
, sites on the road, 126. Ignorance of
the people of, 126. Lippomano's
description of the city quoted, 126-
128. People of, and their revolts,
127, 128. The luxury and magnifi
cence of the viceroy of, 129. Ban
ditti and political prisoners of, 261.

OPE
Inefficiency of the officers of tho
viceroys of, 261
Navy, pontifical, of Sixtus V., and its
objects, ii. 10
Nebbia, Cosare, his frescoes, i. 227. His
paintings, ii. 108
Necromancy, fresh zest with which it
was pursued, i. 46
Nemours, treaty of, i. 303; ii. 168
Neptune, statue of, at Bologna, 'i. 114.
Admiration for it, 116. Put up
under the patronage of St. Charles
Borromeo, 116
Neri, Philip, Cardinal Farnese the friend
of i. 173. At Fra Felice's sermons,
216, 216. His opposition to the
nepotism of the Papacy, 437
Netherlands, revolt of the, ii. 361
Neuss besieged by Duke Alexander of
Parma, i. 419. Taken by Archbishop
Truchsess, 421. Besieged and taken
by Prince Alexander of Parma, 422
Nevers, Duke of, sent by the League to
Rome, ii. 153. Object of his mission
164. Places himself in communica
tion with Count Olivares, 154. Their
discussions, 154, 166. Eeturns to
France with a brief, 157. Conscience
stricken when about to leave Eome,
157. Censures the Pope, and joins
the King of France, 230. Commis
sions Della Volta to see the Pope,
230. Eemarks of Sixtus V. about
him, 231. Has news of the death of
Henry IIL, 231. The Pope's instruc
tions to Cardinal Gaetano to be con
veyed to him, 238. Cardinal Gaetano
ordered to endeavour to detach him
from his allegiance to Henry IV.,
303. The Legate's opinion of him,
306. Prevented from making peace
with the Duke of Mayenne, 306
Newsmongers, Draconian laws against,
i. 276
Nicholas V., Pope. See Parentu colli.
Nobili di Fermo, Colonel Lorenzo dei,
killed at Padua, i. 317
Nogari, Paris, his paintings, ii. 108
Notizie, or newspapers, of Eome in time
of Sixtus v., i. 260 note
Nuncios, the Pope's, from whom chosen,
i. 15
Nunez, Padre, carries the Holy War
into Abyssinia, i. 62

OBELISK, raised by Sixtus V., i. 31 1 ;
ii. 121. Attention attracted to

394

INDEX.

OBS

oiis

¦ the work, 121. Progress of the
works, 123-125. Purified and exor
cised, 127
Observatory, or Galileo's tower, in
Eome, 183. Archives there, 183
note
Offices, public, disposal of, by Sixtus
v., i. 330, 331. The vacabile and
non vacabile offices, 330, 331
Olifa, Count, beheaded, i. 147 note.
The decree reversed, 147 note
Olivares, Count, Spanish ambassador at
Eome, his praise of the defunct Pope
Gregory XIIL, i. 146. His quarrels
with the -French ambassador the
Marquis de Pisany, 144. His zeal
for Spanish interests, 149. Announces
the determination of King Philip to
Cardinal de' Medici, 160. Feels a
want of security at the election of
Cardinal Montalto, 247. Answers of
the Pope to his demands for subsidies,
377. His expressions to the Holy
Father, 378. His advice to his
master, 379. Account of him, 338.
His arrival in Eome, 339. His house
there, 339. Stopped short by Sixtus
v., 340. His later fortunes, 341.
His son, the Count-duke, 341. His
antagonism with Sixtus, 342. Hates
Sixtus v., and proposes calling a
Council, ii. 22. Watches and criti
cises every measure of the Pope's
, personal government, 27. His ac
count of the Pope's edition of the
Bible, 29. Protests vehemently
against the right of absolving from
heresy, 32. Instructed by the King
to demand a revision of the regula
tions of Ignatius, and insist upon a
provincial for Spain, 45. Complaints
of the Count against the Jesuits to
the Pope, 47. Wishes to purchase
the library of Cardinal Sirletto, 56.
Gives an entertainment at the Urbino
Palace to the friends of Spain, 104.
His understanding with the family of
Donna Camilla, 139. Advocates the
League, 150. Consulted by the am
bassador of the Guises, the Duke of
Nevers, 154. Their discussions,
154, 155. Letters of Philip to him
respecting the French succession,
162-166. His opinion of Sixtus V.,
166, 177, 178. Proposes to send a
messenger from Rome to his Sover
eign, 192. His observations about
Morosini, 193. Goes to the Pope at

the Vatican, to the displeasure of
Cardinal de Joyeuse, 201. Ordered
by Philip II. to excite the anger of
Sixtus VI., 203. Believes and repeats
all the Cardinal de Sens tells him,
206. Importance of his interviews
with the Pope, 209. Censures the
Pope's lukewarmness, and asks him
to issue a monition, 223. His
displeasure at the reception of the
Duke of Luxemburg, 266. Quarrels
of the Spanish and French factions
in Eome, 269. His remarks respect
ing several cardinals and complaints
of Cardinal Gaetano's conduct, 273.
His stormy interviews with the
Pope, 282, 283, 287, 289. Wishes to
have his protest read at the next
Consistory, but the Pope refuses, 287.
Takes his leave, and decides upon
pushing matters to an extremity, 288.
Sends a letter by a messenger to
Madrid, and takes one from the Pope
to Philip IL, 288. Receives an ac
count of the deliberations of a Con
gregation chosen by Spain, 296. The
Pope's opinion of him, 298. Sends
Dr. Martos back to Naples, 298.
Watches the Congregations of
Cardinals, and reports to his master,
310. His reports of the Pope's con
duct, 310. His secret meetings with
Deza, Sens, and others, 311. Released,
329. Blamed by his master, 322,
323. Goes with the Duke of Sessa
to Sixtus v., 339-341. Again with
the Pope at the Quirinal, 343. His
account of the death of Sixtus V.,
362. Becomes Viceroy of Naples,
357
Orazio, his horseman.sHp, in the six
teenth century, i. 125
Orbitello, fever among the Spanish gar
rison at, i. 86
Orders conferred by monarchs upon
foreigners, ii. 113. The Order of the
Golden Fleece, 114. The Orders of
the Pope, 114. The French Order of
St. Michael, 114. The Venetian
patriciate, 114
Orsat, Abbe d', publishes the Car
dinal Joyeuse's letters and his own,
i. 13
Orsini faction in Rome, ii. 111. Rank
of the family. 111
— Antonio, has the command of Papal
troops against Geneva, i. 402
— de Pitigliano, Viela, supports his

INDEX.

395

ons

PA (J

' kinsman, Alphonso Piccolomini, the
brigand, i. 272
Orsini, Don Virginio, Duke of Bracciano
married to Donna Flavia Peretti, ii.
140, 141
— Flavia, Duchess of Bracciano, i.
222
— Latino, mixed up in his brother's
affairs, i. 230. Considered a, good
officer, ii. 114. Quarrels with Cesi as
to precedence, 116
— Ludovico^ avenges his brother Eai-
mondo, i. 230. Becomes a bandit,
231, Enters the service of Venice,
231. Becomes Governor of Corfu,
269. His murder of Vicenzo Vitolli,
278. Appointed to the command of
Corfu, 316. Ill-treats his brother's
widow, 316. Whom he is suspected
of murdering, 317. Tried and exe
cuted, 318
— Paolo Giordiano, Duke of Bracciano,
lover of Vittoria Accoramboni, and
nephew of Cardinal Peretti, i. 195.
Married to Donna Isabella de' Medici,
195 note. Endeavours to prevent
the election of Montalto, 203. Offers
marriage to Vittoria Accoramboni,
229. His first wife Isabella de'
Medici, 230. Her end, 230. His in
fluence at Eome, 230. His palaces
there, 230. Supposed to have caused
the murder of Francesco Peretti, 234,
235. Marries the widow three times,
237, 238. Comes into the presence
of Sixtus v., 255. Besides at Salo,
314. Endeavours to obtain his ex
tradition, 314. His death, 315. His
liberality and amiable life remem
bered, 316
— Eairaondo, kiUed in a fight in Eome,
i. 263
— Virginio, arrested, i. 276
Ossuna, Duke of, governs Naples for
Spain, i. 37

PACHECO, Pedro, one of the stars of
the Council of Trent, i. 69
Padua, expenses of travellers in, i. 99
note
— in the sixteenth century, i. 105
Paganism of the fifteenth century, its
rule not solidly established when the
Popes returned to Eome, i. 46. Sub
sides in presence of the Eeformation,
46. Progress made by the Pagan
'nihilism,' 52

Painting.rapid disappearance of the art
nf, ii."l08, 109
Paleotto, Cardinal, his learning ami
purity of life, i. 69. A candidate for
the tiara, 189. His opposition to the
frequent nominations of Sixtus V., ii.
6. The Pope's answer to him, 6
Palestrina, Pierluigi, his mass of Pope
MarceUus, i. 71
PaUadio, restores architecture to sim
plicity at Vicenza, ii. 82. Histheatro
at Florence, 105
PaUentieri, chevalier, his statement as
to tlie murder of Francesco Peretti, i.
236. His escape from Rome, 236 "
Palliano, Duke, kills his wife, and is bo-
headed, i. 147 note. The decree
revei'sed by Pope Pius V., 147
Paradise Garden in Rome, i. 179. Pil
grims in the, 179. Colonnades of
Giuliano da Majano in the, 179
Parentucelli, Thomas (afterwards Pope'
Nicholas V.), founds the Vatican
library, i. 48. His fondness for
letters, 48
Paris, triumph of revolution in, ii. 178.
The 'day of the barricades,' 178, 179.
The Swiss Guard called to, and riots
in consequence, 182. The Bastille
taken by the Duke of Guise, who pre
pares to fight the King's troops, 186.
Condition of the city on the arrival
of Cardinal Gaetano, 304. Besieged
by the troops of Henry IV., 318.
Failure of an attempt to rev-ctual it,
337
Parma, reduction of the power of the
Farnese at, i. 38. Given to Pierluigi
Farnese by his father, Paul IIL,
55
— ¦ Alexander, Prince of, his ever-
victorious career, and its influence, i.
1 59. Remonstrates at Rome through
his uncle. Cardinal Farnese, about
the affair of Saluzzo, 414. In the
zenith of his fame, 419. Besieges
Neuss, 419, 422. Which he takes,
422. Congratulated by Sixtus V.,
422. Ordered by Philip II. to hold
himself in readiness for a war with
France, ii. 202. Commissioned by
his master to enter France with all
the troops at his disposal, 316. State
of his army, 336
Pastor Fido, enthusiasm caused by the,
ii. 106
Patrizi family in Rome, ii. 112
Paul II. , Pope, his fears as to the ortho-

396

INDEX.

PATT
doxy of the ' humanists,' i. 49. Who
heap insults upon him, 49. Building
of, at Rome, 180. His improvements
in Rome, ii. 74 note, 78
Paul IIL, Pope, his birth and education,
i. 54. His early life in Rome, 64,
65. His son, Pierluigi Farnese, 55.
And grandson, Ottavio, 65. His life
and regrets, 55. His nephews, 69.
His work of reform, 70. Institutes
the Congregation of the Inquisition,
70. His tomb, by William della
Porta, 173. His favourite residence
in Rome, 176
— IV., Pope, his energy and ardour, i.
56. Governed by his nephews,
whom he expels from Rome, 56. The
severity of his inquisitors exaggerated
during his pontificate, 70. His
virtues and errors, 71. Reform of
the morals of the clergy in his time,
83. Population of Eome at this
period, 83. Fails to ensure the elec
tion of Carpi as Pope, ii. 17
— v.. Pope, abandons the plans of
Michael Angelo for St. Peter's for
those of Carlo Maderno, i. 180
Paulucci, Olivarotta, killed at Padua, i.
317
Pepoli family of Bologna, i. 279
— Count Giovanni, i. 279. Refuses to
deliver up a bandit who had taken
refuge in his castle, 280. Sentenced
to death by Sixtus 'V., and strangled
in prison, 280. His property confis
cated, 281. Mourned by the Bolog
nese, 281. Effect of his execution, i.
281
Pepoli, made a cardinal, ii. 14
Peretti, Alexander, made cardinal at
twelve years of age, ii. 137. See also
Montalto
. — Donna Camilla, medallion and
church of, at Grottamare, i. 208 note.
Her portrait at Montalto, 209 note.
Her letters there, 209 note. Sent for
by her brother when cardinal, 221.
Her value to him, 222. Her family,
222. Her residence in Rome, 223.
Her modest simplicity, 233. Endea
vours to dissuade Francesco Peretti
from leaving his house, 233. Death
of her adviser and friend. Cardinal
Cessi, ii. 56. Present at dramatic
performances in Rome, 104. Pur
chases the Fieschi palace in Rome,
113 note. Her profitable speculations,
137, 138. Her household supplied

PER
by the Pope, 138. Her splendour
after her brother's death, 138. At
Palo, 139. Her liking for the
Marches, 139. Court paid to her,
139. Marriage of her granddaughters,
140. At the Pope's death-bed, 350.
Survives her brother many years,
355
Peretti, Donna Flavia Orsina at the bap
tism of a daughter of Count Olivares,
ii. 139 note. Married to Don Marco
Antonio Colonna, 140
— Donna Flavia, grand niece of Sixtus
v., married to the Duke of Brac
ciano, ii. 140
— Fra Felice, takes the habit of St.
Francis, i. 209. His letters at Mon
talto, 209 note. Date of his birth,
213. See Sixtus V.
— Francesco, Cardinal, his nephew
Paolo Giordano Orsini, i. 196
— Francesco, statement of Chevalier
PaUentieri respecting, i. 235. Mur
dered in the streets of Rome,
228, 233. Inquest into the murder,
235. The real criminal, 234, 236.
The MS. in the Vatican, 236 note.
His body transported by Sixtus V.
to the Sistine Chapel, ii. 143, 144
— CardinalFrancis, great -grand-nephew
of Sixtus v., portrait of, at Montalto,
i. 209 note. Has disputes with his
brother Michael as to precedence, ii.
115
— Era Salvador, his character, i. 213
— Michel, Prince of Venafro, his pa
rentage, i. 222. Made General of
the Papal troops, 276. Receives the
Duke of Luxemburg and M. de Pisany
at Rome, 311. His marriage with
Margaret, daughter of Count de la
Somaglia, 364. Eeceives the title of
a Venetian nobleman, 387. Meets
the Venetian ambassadors in Eome,
387- Invited to the banquets given
to the Venetian Ambassadors-Extra
ordinary, 391. The Pope's tender
ness for him, 391. Has disputes
with his brother, the Cardinal, as to
precedence, ii. 115. Made General
of Holy Church at eight years of age,
137. His titles, fiefs, and domains,
142, 143. Becomes Prince of Vena
fro, 143. His family, 366
— disappearance of the name of, ii. 356.
Genealogy of the family of, 373
— Piergentile, father of Sixtus V., i.
212

INDEX.

397

PEE
Peretti, ViUa, now tbe Villa Massimi,
in Eome, i. 226, 227. The classical
ground on which it stands, 226. Fres
coes at the, 227. Charm of, 227.
View from it, 228
— Zanetto, establishes himself at Mon
talto, i. 212
Persia, relations of Gregory XIII. with,
344
Peruggia, government of, given to
Spinola, i. 257
Peruzzi, Baldassare, his masterpieces
inspired by Cardinal Farnese, i. 173
Peter, St., of Alcantara, his reformation
of his order of ' RecoUetti ' in Portu
gal, i. 65. His retreat in the Sierra
d'Arabida, 65
.— wants Clement to be his successor,
but is disappointed, ii. 17- Could
only commit venial sin, according to
Sixtus v.. 17
Philip II., King of Spain, his important
marginal notes on the reports from
his agents abroad, i. 6, 7. Character
of his agents and of their work, 8.
His treatment of them, 9. State of
his kingdom at the death of Pope
Gregory XIIL, 24. Meditates the
conquest of England, 24. His views
of universal monarchy, 28. His
friendship with Duke Cosmo consi
dered doubtful, 35. Receives a letter
from Count Olivares respecting a new
edition of the Bible, 29 note. Debate
respecting the revenues of vacant
livings, 31. Submits to receive the
Nuncio once a week, 32. His views
as to the proposed absolution for
heresy, 33. His claims to influence
the election of a Pope, 149. His
action in the election of Pope, 159.
Congratulates Sixtus V. on his sup
pression of brigandage, 288. His
coffers always empty, 323. Obtains
a subsidy from the Pope for the inva
sion of England, 334. Proposals of
Sixtus V. to him, 338. Recommended
by the Pope to attack Barbary, 345.
Result of his expedition against Eng
land, 347. His grief at the death of
Mary Stuart, 350. Dangers of a
universal monarchy under him, 363,
354. Reasons for his Armada against
England, 366, 357. His disagree
ments with the Pope, 359. His
decree respecting titles, and its effects
on the diplomatic body at Madrid and
elsewhere, 359 and note. Umbrage

riir
tixken at the decrees 360. His answer
to the objectors, 361. Decline of his
health, 364, 365. The Pope's sus
picious of him, 367, 369. His apyieal
to Henry III. of France, 369. His
intention respecting England and the
English throne, 370. Makes over
tures to the Emperor Rodolph II.,
371. Destiiiction of his Armada,
373-376. His grief and ill-health,
375. Dangerous illness of his son
PhiUp, 376. Advice of Count OUvares
to him, 379. Falls in the opinion of
Sixtus v., 382. Marriage of his
daughter Catherine with the Duke of
Savoy, 396. Meeting of the King
and Duke, and their contests of po
liteness, 397, 398. The King's ex
cessive cleanliness, 399. Witnesses
the Duke's marriage in the cathedral,
400. At the festivities in the even
ing, 400. Anxious and displeased
with the conduct of the Duke, 407.
Becomes almost inaccessible, 416.
Openly takes part with the Duke of
Savoy, 416. Prepares for a war with
France, 417. Offers to have the Vale
of Tar neutralised, 420. His indig
nation at the imprisonment of the
Archduke Maximilian, 435. Writes
to the Pope on the subject, 435. De
serves the title of the Catholic King,
ii. 19. Conflicts between the Court
of Rome and that of Spain, 20.
Philip's views as to his being tha
civil vicar of Christ, 21. Advice of
his ambassadors at Rome, 23-25.
Writes to the Duke of Sessa, 25.
His views respecting ecclesiastical
dress, 27. His anger against Eome,
34. Causes of the irritation, 35.
Contrast between Sixtus V. a,nd
Philip, 36, 37. Embraces the cause
of the Inquisition against the Jesuit",
45. Instructs Count Olivares to
demand that the regulations of Igna
tius should be revised, and insists
upon a provincial for Spain, 45. Cem-
plaint of Sixtus V. of his lukewarm
ness in a matter which nearly concerns
the head of the Church, 53. Secretly
opposes the proposed marriage of
the hereditary Prince of Parma, Ra
nuzio, with a grand niece of Sixtus
v., 140. Confers the title of Prince
of Venafro on Michael Peretti, 143.
Engages to support the League with
troops, 147. His disbelief in the

398

INDEX,

PHI

PIS

sincerity of Henry of Navarre, 163.
His letters to Count Olivarte on the
subject, 162-165. Proposal for a
union between him and Henry III.
of France, 192. Philip's obstinate
silence, 192, 193. Resolves to go to
¦n'ar with France, 202. His delight
at the death of Henry III. of France,
and conduct of his Court, 233. His
orders to the governors of the border
provinces, 234. His reception of
Contarini in audience, 256. His
vague answers to him, 256. His re
marks respecting France, and the
mission of Donato to Rome, 257.
Struggles of the French and Spanish
factions in Eome, 269. Proposals of
the Pope to him, 277. The protest
of Olivarfes, 287. Who sends to
Madrid a letter for Philip, 288. His
instructions to his generals after the
death of the Cardinal de Bourbon,
316. Disposed to accept the title
of protector of the League, 317. Ap
plauds the courage of the Parisians,
318. His instructions as to the
throne of h'rance, 316-318. His de
mands from the Pope, and reproaches,
328. Accepts a small contingent
from the Pope, 331. His policy re
specting France, 360
Philip IIL, King of Spain, when Prince,
his dangerous illness, i. 376. His
fever how arrested, 376 note
Piacenza given to Pierluigi Farnese by
Paul 111., i. 55. Inns at, in the
sixteenth century, 105
Piccolomini, Alphonso, the brigand
chief, i. 271. His acts, and punish
ment, 271. His personal appear
ance, 271. Excommunicated, but the
sentence removed, 273. Reappears
in Tuscany, ii. 348
Pierbenedetti, Monsignor, appointed
Governor of Rome, i. 276. Intro-
. duces a reign of terror, 276. Made
a cardinal, ii. 14
Pietro Perugino, does not believe in the
immortality of the soul, i. 46 note.
; Accused of want of Christian faith
and kind of fifteenth century Pagan
ism, 46 note
Pilgrims, appearance and character of
the, in the sixteenth century, i. 102.
The bardoni, or false pilgrims of
Italian towns, 103
Pincio, the, in the time of Gregory XIII.
and Sixtus V., ii. 89

Pintelli, Baccio, his works in Eome, ii.
78
Pinturichio, his frescoes removed rom
the Vatican, i. 182
Pio-Clementino Museum, in the Vatican,
i. 181. Formation of, 182
Piombino, Prince, represents the fa
milies of Buoncompagni and Ludo
visi,
— Sebastiano del, his master-pieces in
spired by Cardinal Farnese, i. 173
Pisa, Cardinal, wanted by Pius IV.
as his successor to the Papacy, ii. 17
Pisany, Marquis de, with Cardinal
d'Este, invested with the full powers
of Henry III. of France, i. 13. Am
bassador from France to Rome, 144.
His quarrels with the Spanish am
bassador. Count Olivarfes, 144. His
residence at the Lanti Palace, 154
note. Becomes a close aUy with the
Cardinal de' Medici, 167. His ac
count of the youth of Sixtus V., 214
note. His first impressions of Sixtus
v., 246. Informs Sixtus V. of the
stoppage of the Nuncio at Lyons, 300.
His bravery and loyalty, 301. His
habits, 302. Hi» conversation with
Sixtus v., 303, 304. Ordered to
leave Eome within twenty-four hours,
305. Remains at TivoU, 306. Re
called to France, 306. Returns to
Rome, 309-311. Resumes his func
tions, 312. His comraunicn tions re
specting the conversion of Queen
Elizabeth, 349. Gives a luncheon at
the Lanti Palace to the friends, of
France, ii. 104. Present at the rais
ing of Nero's ObeUsk, 125. His
understanding with the family of
Donna Camilla, 139. Opposed to
the League, 150. Appeals to Sixtus
v., 161. Asks Sixtus for a subsidy
for Henry III., 155. Made by Sixtus
V. to write his views to Henry II I.,
167. His advice respecting the Pope,
173. With whom he dines, 175. Ee
ceives instructions from Henry III.,
186. Eequests three briefs from the
Pope, 186. Obtains a promise of a
Congregation from the Pope, 186.
Goes with the Bishop of Le Mans to
Sixtus v., 213, 215, 216. His bold
and dignified answer to Sixtus V.,
217. Asks the Pope for absolution
for his master, 217. Leaves Eome,
226. Taken by the corsair Barvoset,
227. Whose men he kUls, and

INDEX.

399

PIS
escapes, 227. His ' fine determina
tion' praised by Sixtus V., 227
Pistoja, the family of Eospigliosi at, i.
122. Hospitality of Taddeo Ros
pigUosi to Montaigne at, 122
Pitti Palace, in Florence, work of Am
manati on the, i. 118
Pius II., Pope, his multifarious occupa
tions, i. 49. His anxiety to fight the
infidels. 49. His death, 49. Monu
ment of, in Eome, 179
— IV., Pope, importance of his protec
tion, i. 36. Eeaction against the
humanists under, 66. The severity
of the inquisitors lessened during his
pontificate, 70. Eeforms morals, 70.
The Council of Trent during his pon
tificate, 72. His origin, 79. Popu
lation of Eome in his time, 8.''.
Changes of manners in the city, 85.
His unheard-of severity, 147 and
note. Wants the Cardinal of Pisa to
become his successor, ii. 1 7. Entrusts
a revision of the Bible to a few Car
dinals, 28
— v.. Pope, complete reaction against
the humanists under, i. 66. Con
demns nepotism, and publishes the
buU ' Admonet nos,' 57. His efforts
against Protestantism, and wish to
reform the Church, 57. His work,
71. His origin, 79. Ascends the
Papal chair, 221. Appoints Fra
Felice Peretti to the bishopric of St.
Agatha and a cardinal, 221. His
death, 223. His burial-place, 225.
Wishes Morone ta be his successor,
ii. 17. Continues a new edition of
the Bible, 28. His life prohibited at
Milan, 29. Forms the Grand-Duchy
of Tuscany, 34. Austere aspect of
Eome in his time, 86
— XIV., Pope, election of, ii. 17. Has his
{/.-edecessor's nephews strangled, 17
Poland, projects of Sixtus V. respecting,
i. 432. Death of King Stephen,
433. Pretenders to the throne, 433.
Affairs of the country discussed in
several consistories, 435. Decision
of Sixtus v., 435. Sends Cardinal
Aldobrandi there, 436, 437. Peace
concluded with Austria, 439
Pole, Eeginald, his election to the Papal
throne by ' adoration,' i. 68
Pons, Marquis de, thought of for the
throne of France- ii. 3 1 9
Ponte, Nicolas de. Doge of Venice, his
death, i. 30

PCS
Pope, phases of the Papacy, i. 47.
Pious popes and political pontiffs,
47-50. 'Their nepotism, 52. En
croachment of the dynastic feeling
upon Papal obligations, 63. Nepo
tism condemned, 56. The reforming
popes, 70. The usual course of pro
ceeding of the Conclave on the death
of a pope, 146, 147. Eights and
duties of Spain in the election of a
pope, 149. Little attention paid by
Austria to Eoman politics, 150.
Causes of the abstention of Venice in
Eoman affairs, 151. Influence of the
Dukes of Urbino and Savoy in the
Papal elections, 151. Coteries formed
during the pontificate of Gregory
XIIL, 154 Proceedings by exclusion
and inclusion, 157, 169. Action of
Philip II. , 159. His stanze in the
Vatican, 184, 185 note. His bed and
bedroom there, 185 note. Proposed
destruction of the Papacy by tho
Protestant princes, 292. Wealthy
and poor popes, 337. Nepotism of the
Papacy, 437. The Pope in Consis
tory, ii. 3. Failure of an existing
pope to influence the succession to the
Papacy, 17. Relations of the popes
with the States of Europe, 27. Hope
of re-establishing their supremacy on
its former footing, 28. Eelations
between the Pope and Grand-Duke
of Tuscany, 35. Reconstruction of
the temporal power, 40. The popes
head the Catholic reaction, and bring
the Council of Trent to a satisfactory
conclusion, 75, 77. The popes as
pontiffs and kings, 77. Maximum
space of time they reign, 77. And
mean time, 78. The Paoal Court in
Rome, 80. The material aspect of
Rome changes with its pontiffs, 83
Porta, Giacomo della, appointed to
superintend the raising of Nero's
ObeUsk, ii. 122. His part in the
cupola of St. Peter's, 134
Porta, William della, his tomb of Pope
Paul IIL, i. 174
Portugal, reformed by St. Peter of Al
cantara, i. 65. Brigand Miguelists
in, in 1842, 267
Possevin, Father, his abiUty and expe
rience in business, i. 62. A confi
dant of King Stephen Bathori,
432
Postal communications in Italy and the
Continent in the sixteenth century,

400

INDEX.

PEA

EOD

i. 99. Use of post horses in the same
period, 99
PratoUno, in l?lorence, in the sixteenth
century, i. 118
Princes, remarks respecting, ii. 68
Printing office of the Vatican, congrega
tion of the, ii. 11
Priuli, Lorenzo, Venetian ambassador to
Rome, his account of the election of
Pope Sixtus v., i. 203. And of the
Pope himself, 211. His account of
the murder of Francesco Peretti,
234 note. His first impression of
Sixtus v., 247. Address of the Pope
to him, 248. His reputation as a poli-
ieian, 384. Notice of hira and his
career, 384, 'Wins the confidence
of Sixtus V. 386. Accompanies the
Venetian ambassadors to the audi
ences of Sixtus v., 388. End of his
mission, 392. His view of the
League, ii. 151
Procaccio, or caravan, from Rome to
Naples, i. 125
Professors of letters looked upon as
nobles, ii. 114
Protestantism, efforts of Pope Pius V.
against, i. 57- Its encroachments in
Italy, 68. Mocenigo's ac-ount of its
progress, 59. Success of, in England
and in Scandinavia, ii. 39. Recon
ciliation of the Protestants, if possi
ble, with the Catholics, an object of
the Council of Trent, i. 74, 75
Protestants, French, alarmed at the
Treaty of JoinvlUe, ii. 147. Called
to arms by Henry of Navarre,
147. The Duke of Guise entrusted
with the functions necessary to carry
on war against them, 187. Their
successes in Languedoc and the
Dauphin^, 189, 194
QUIXOTIC Uterature" of Spain, in
the seventeenth century, i. 2
¦pADZIWILL, Cardinal, his embassy
XL to the Emperor Rodolph II. , i. 441
Rainaldi, his works in architecture, ii.
83
Eanke, Leopold von, his characteristics
of Sixtus v., i. 4. His masterly
work, 4
Ranuzio, hereditary prince of Parma,
thought of as a husband for a grand
niece of Sixtus V., ii. 140. But the
proposal secretly opposed by Philip
IL, 140

Raphael, what he would have been
without Rome, i. 82. Draws the de,
signs of the Vidoni Palace at Eome
ii. 80. Other designs attributed to
him, 80 note
Eascia, exportation of, from Florence,
in the sixteenth century, i. 118
Ravenna, the marsh of, drained by Pope
Gregory XIIL, i. 97
' Regulars,' congregation of the, esta
blishment and duties of the, ii. 11
Reliquari, or sellers of spurious relics
in Italian towns, i. 103
Renaissance, rise of the age of the, i. 40.
Leaders of the, 41. Principal
centres of Greek teaching in Italy,
42. Faults of the first, ii. 78. Archi
tects of this period, 78, 79. The
period of transition between it and
the Great Renaissance, 79
Eidottis, in Venice, i. 110
Eisticucci, Cardinal, notice of him, i.
193. His palace in Eome, 193. For
bidden by Sixtus V. to be present at
the Grand-Duke Ferdinand's marri
age, ii. 64. Made vicar of the,
' Church, 67
Eoad from Rome to Naples, the old Via
Appia, i. 124. Roads in Italy in the
sixteenth century, 96, 97. Those
made by Sixtus V., 329
Roads, bridges, and aqueducts. Congrega
tion of the, ii. 11
Eodolph II., Emperorof Germany, pays
little attention to Roman affairs, i.
12, 150. His ambassador to the
Court of Rome, Baron Madruccio, 13.
His irresolution, 161. . Overtures of
Philip II. to him, 371. The least
ambitious of reigning sovereigns, 383.
Sends an Embassy to congratulate
Sixtus v., 418. His instructions to
the ambassadors, 419. Reassured
by Sixtus V., 424. Causes which
turned him against the Pope, 425.
Pamphlets directed against him, 425.
Acknowledges his powerlessness to
the Nuncio, 426. Inability of the
Pope to do anything for the Emperor,
426. The Emperor's Court at that
time, 426. Asks for the Infanta of
Spain in marriage, 427. His two
ideas, 428. His pastimes, 428. His
treasury, 429. His sterling qualities,
429. And weakness, 430. Receives
an Embassy from Sigismund, King
of Poland, 441. Swears to observe
the treaty with Poland, 442. Sup-

INDEX.

401

KOM
ports the Jesuits against the Pope,
ii. 48
Eomagna, government of, given by
Sixtus V. to Colonna, i. 267. Ban
ditti of the, 262
Eome, diplomatic agents of various
princes and powers accredited to the
Court of, i. 8-14. The Pope's Nuncios,
from whom chosen, 15. Results of
the sack of, on the humanists, 54.
The German CoUege in . founded, 7 1 .
Beauty of the city and Papal Court,
81. Change of its material aspect
with its pontiffs, 83. Population of
the city in the times of Paul IV. aud
Pius IV., 83. Its austere aspect
during the pontificate of Pius V., 85.
Its appearance during the reign of
Gregory XIIL, 86. The three cate
gories of travellers in, in the sixteenth
century, 87. Routes which lead from
the north of Italy to Rome, 95.
Roads from Rome to the north of
Italy, 97. From Eome to Loretto
and Ancona, 97. The Giraud Palace
in, in the sixteenth century, 116.
PubUc buildings in, 115, 116. The
portal of the Sciarra Palace on the
Corso, how regarded by travellers a
century since, 116. Eoad from the
' city to Naples, 124. Eise of the
cupola of St. Peter's, 129. Emotions
caused by the first view of Eome,
130. The Palazzo Fiorentino and its
splendour, 163. And subsequent
history, 163 note. The Lanti Palace,
154 note. The Farnese Palace, and
its beauties, 174. The Venetian (now
the Austrian) palace, 176. The
obelisk of Heliopolis, and colonnades
of Bernini, 178. The Paradise
Garden, 179. The BasiUca, 179, 180.
The gaUery of St. Peter's, 179. The
Vatican, 181, Appointments of Fra
FeUce Peretti at, 219. Erection of a
monument in, to the memory of Pope
Nicholas IV., 225. The Villa Peretti,
now the ViUa Massimi, and its
gardens, 226. Garden of Mfficenas,
226. Baths of Dioclerian, 226.
Answer of Pope Sixtus V. to the
custodians of the city. 252. Outrages
in the city at the latter end of his
pontificate of Gregory XIIL, 263-
266. The Pope's measures, 272.
Active measures of Sixtus V., 275.
A new Governor appointed by Sixtus
v., 276. His Draconian sentences.

EOM
276. The statues of Marforio and
I'asquino and their liberties of speech,
283. Return of the Freneli ambas
sador to the city, 311. Transfer of
the Obeli.^k at, to the Piazza of St.
Peter, 311. Funds how obtained for
the building of the Sixtus Bridge and
the cupola of St. Peter's, 334. Former
and present prices in Eome, 337 note.
Picture of Sixtus V. of the Court of
Eome, ii. 71. Acoount of feudal
Rome and Rome of the Renaissance,
73. State of the city on the return
of the Popes from Avignon, 74, 75.
Towers of the aristocracy, and their
fortresses at, 75, 76. Invasion of
barbarism, and decay of the city, 77.
Foreign aid brought in, 78. First
study of the works of the ancient
city, 78. Works of Bramante in,
80. Of Michael Angelo in, 81.
Beauty of Bernini's colonnade of
St. Peter's, 84. Eome in the days of
Gregory Xm. and Sixtus V., 86.
The traveller in Eome in the times of
these two Popes, 87. The Piazza del
Popolo at that time, 87, 88. The
Corso and Euspoli Palace, 89, 91.
The seven hiUs, 88, 89. The Trans
tevero, 90. Birthplace of the Eoman
Eenaissance, 92. The Capital in tha
time of Sixtus V., 93. The city of
modern times, 94. Progress of
luxury in the time of Sixtus V., 94
note. The Pantheon and the Minerva,
96. Carriages at this period, 96.
Society in the city, 97. Courtesies of
gentlemen in the street, 98. Roman
cookeijy, 98-''.00. The Carnival, 101.
The Eoman stage, 103-105. The
stage in, 103, 104. Women forbidden
in Eome to appear on the stage, 107
note. Houses of the aristocracy in,
107, 108. Silversmiths' work, 109.
Excavations authorised by Sixtus V.,
109. The taste for antiques common
among the great and wealthy, 109.
Dress and manners in the sixteenth
century. 111. Factions in the city,
111. FamiUes of the city, 112.
Foreign families who have taken root
there, 112. Works accomplished in
the city by Sixtus V. in five years,
121. His churches, 133. The co
lumns of Trajan and Antonine re
stored, 133. Eemarks of Padre Don
Angelo Grillo on the appearance of
the city under Sixtus V., 135

VOL. II.

D D

402

INDEX.

EON

SCI

Eonealli detto il Pomerancio, his paint
ings, ii. 108
Eospigliosi, family of, at Pistoja, i. 122
— Taddeo, of Pistoja, his hospitality,
i. 122
Rossi, their works in architecture, ii. 83
Eovere, Duke della, reduction of his
power at Urbino, i. 38
— Francisco Mariadella, his hospitality
at Urbino, i. 95
EuceUai family of Florence, established
in Eome, ii. 112
Rusticucci, Cardinal, appointed by
Sixtus V. Director of the Prince's
affairs, i. 251. His incapacity for
business, 253
^- Ottavio, killed in a fight in Rome,
i. 263

SACRED CoUege, in Eome, at the
latter end of the sixteenth cen
tury, i. 67. High opinion formed of
it, 193
Sadolet, his eminence as a Latin scholar,
i. 68
Saint-Sorlin, Marquis de. Private
blessing of Sixtus V. sent to, ii. 237
— Peter's, at Eome, the gallery of, i.
179. Beauty of the colonnade of, by
Bernini, ii. 84. The edifice crowned
by Sixtus V., 121, 131, 134
Saletto, Cardinal. His piety and good
ness, i. 188. A candidate for the
tiara, 188
Salimbene, his frescoes, i. 227. His
paintings, ii. 108
Saluzzo, Marquisate of, invaded and
occupied by Charles Emmanuel, Duke
of Savoy, i. 406, 406. Part of Sixtus
V. in the affair, 405 note. Discussions
with the Pope respecting the affairs
of, 415. Definitely annexed to Pied
mont, 417 note
Sangaletto, Monsignor, his reports, i.
14. Secret Chamberlain to Sixtus
v., 162. His correspondence with
the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, 152.
The faithful but indiscreet friend of
Sixtus v., 381. His account of the
last hours of Sixtus V., ii. 361 note
Sftn-Giorgio, Monsignor, afterwards
Cardinal, fills the household of
Sixtus V. with creatures of Pius V.,
i. 262. Eemoved from the Governor
ship of Rome, 276. His remarks on
the proposed excommunication of
Henry IV., ii. 292

San Sisto, Cardinal, administers the
communion to the dying Gregory
XIIL, i. 133. Has no share of
power, 137. Indignantly rejects
the offers of Medici, 152. Separated
from Guastavillani and Sora, 170.
Becomes head of the creatures of
Gregory XIIL, 156. Attempts of
Cardinal de' Medici to gain him over,
168. Secret proposals to Sau Sisto,
158. His pusiUanimity and defec
tion, 204. Evidently had broken his
word, 205. His death, ii. 58
Sansovino, Jacopo, his ball-room raft
on the grand canal at Venice, i. 111.
His works in the city, 113
Santa Severina, Cardinal, carries the
wishes of Sixtus V. to Padre Acqua
viva, ii. 53. Becomes Pope Gregory
XIV., and confirms the institutions of
the Jesuits, 54. Interposes in favour
of Cardinal de Joyeuse, 206. His
speech about the affairs of France,
339
Sapienza, Congregation of the Univer
sity of the. established, ii. 11
Saragossa, dull magnificence of the
Court of Philip II. at, i. 396
Sarno, Count, has command of Papal
troops against Geneva, i. 402
Savelli, Monsignor Mario, attacked in
the streets of Rome, and killed, i.
265
S.Lvello, Cardinal, chances of his elec
tion, i. 167. Put aside, 168. Ex
cluded, 177. His unpopularity, 188.
His palaces, 188. A candidate for
the tiara, 188. Never appears at
the palace of Sixtus V., and lives in
retirement at Frascati, 278. His
death and burial-place, ii. 68
Savoy, how regarded under King Em
manuel PhiUbert, i. 31. His policy
.there, 33. His Influence of the Duke
of, in pontifical elections in Eome,
161. A part of Savoy ceded to
France, 417 note
Sbirri of the Italian towns, in the
sixteenth century, i. 100
Scanozzi, his work in Venetian houses,
\. 113. Restores architecture to
simplicity at Venice, ii. 82
Scappi, Bartolommeo, his cookery, ii.
99. His book, 99 note. His maxims,
99, 100
Sciarra Palace, at Rome, considered as
the eighth wonder of the world, a
hundred years ago, i. 116

INDEX.

405

SCI
Scipio's sarcophagus, in Rome, i. 181
Sculpture in Italy in the sixteenth cen
tury, ii. 109
Sega, Monsignor, Papal Nuncio at the
Court of Prague, his attitude and
language, and want of tact, i. 425,
426. Causes of the disaun-eemeut with
the Court of Prague. 426. Ceases to
communicate personally with the
Vice-Chauoellor of the empire, 426
Sens, Cardinal of, his views in favour
of the League, i. 149. His influence
in tlie election of a Pope. 149. At
the election of Sixtus V., i. 191.
Authorised by Gregory XIII. to trans
mit words of comfort to the Duke of
Guise, ii. 149. Advocates the coali
tion, 150. Quarrels with the Cardinal
d'Este, 152. Amuses Sixtus V., 152.
His secret meetings with Count OU
vares, 311
Seraphino, Monsignor, received by
Sixtus v., ii. 329. The soul of the
'Bearnese' cabal, 329. Decided to
be sent to the princes of the blood
and others of France, 338. Pro
posal to send him to Henry IV., 340.
His reward if he converts Henry IV.,
349
Ses~a. Cardinal, his criticisms of Sixtus
v., ii. 65
— Duke of, ambassador from Philip II.
to Rome, letter from the King to, ii.
21. Complimented at Livorno, 22.
Adopts the views of Count Olivares,
23. Afraid of the influence of the
Grand-Duke Ferdinand, 24. Watches
and criticises every measure of the
Pope's personal government, 27.
Anxiety with which he was expected
by the Pope, 322. His arrival at
Rome, 322. His audiences, 322-327.
Object of his mission, 323. With
Count Olivares contrives an audience
with the Pope, 339-341. Failure
of his mission, 342. Again with the
Pope at the Quirinal, 343. His ac
count of the death of Sixtus V.,
352
Seza, Cardinal, at the election of Sixtus
v., i. 191. An enemy of France,
191
Sfondrati, Cardinal, at the election of
Sixtus v., i. 191
Sforza, Battista, her hospitality at
Urbino, i. 95
— Donna Costanza, married to the
Duke of Sora, i. 138

SIX
Sforza, IMario, lieutenant of tho Duke of
Sora, in Eome, i. 143. Removed from
his office by Sixtus V., 252, 258.
Acts of his soldiers, 270. Account
of him and his fortunes, ii. 112, 113,
His sister married to Duke Sora, 113,
Jlarries the daughter of Giovanni
Battista Conti and lives in Rome,
113. His portrait, 113 note
— Ascanio, arrested, i. 276
— Cardinal, threatened by Sixtus V., i.
277. Sent by the Pope to Count
Olivares, ii. 294
Sicily, governed by the Grand-Con
stable Marc Antonio Colonna, i. 37
Sienna, homage of the people of, to tho
Grand-Duke of Tuscany on St. John's
Eve, i. 120
Sigismund of Sweden, Prince, a can
didate for the throne of Poland, i.
433. Has the sympathies of the
Pope, 433. Becomes King de facto,
434
Silico, Cardinal Marco, his natural son
the Marquess of Galese, ii. 113
Silks of Calabria, 'gabelle' levied on
the, ii. 138
Silversmiths, excellence of the works of
Roman, ii. 109
Simancas, value and importance of the
archives of, i. 4
Simonetta, the lawyer, i. 68
Sirletto, Cardinal, altogether abandoned,
i. 177. His death, ii. 55. His library
purchased by the Pope for the Vati
can, 55
— Guglielmo, his knowledge and virtues,
i. 69
Sistine Chapel, objects of art in the,
Michael Angelo's ' Last Judgment' in
the, i. 185
Sixtus IV., Pope, his reconstruction of
Eome on a large scale, ii. 74 note,
78
Sixtus v.. Pope, works relating to his
life and pontificate, i. 1
— his character, according to Gregorio
Leti, 3
— and according to Padre Tempesti
and Von Eanke, i. 3, 4
— transacts business personally, i. 4
— his despatches and instructions, i. 5
— his secret relations with the Court of
Spain, i. 5
— his criminal justice, i. 17
— state of Europe when he became
Pope, i. 27-39
— his parentage, i. 80, 208

D D 2

404

INDEX.

SIX
Sixtus v.. Pope, charged by Cardinal
d'Este with becoming more lively after
supper, i. 120
— elected Pope, i. 162, 204
— a secret opposition formed against
him, i. 206
— his election, how brought about, i.
207
— his family, i. 208, 211, 212
— birthplace and country of his youth,
i. 208-211
— his buildings at Montalto, i. 209
note
— portrait of him there, i. 209 note
— account of his father, i. 212
— date of the Pope's birth, i. 213
• — his humble occupations, i. 214
— his rapid progress with his learning,
i. 214
— as a preacher, i. 216
— commencement of his fortune, i. 216
— his faults, i. 217
— as a monk, i. 217
— at Ferrara, and Eimini, i. 218
• — at Venice, and Eome, i. 218, 219
— accompanies Cardinal Buoncompagni
to Spain, i. 220
— becomes an Archbishop and Car
dinal, i. 221
— his house in Eome, i. 221, 223
— his income there, i. 223
— assists at the bedside of Pius V., i.
223
— his pension taken away by Gregory
XIIL, i. 224
— his residence in retirement, i. 224,
225
— his monument to Nicholas IV. in
Rome, i. 225
— his addition of the Chapel of the
Cradle to the basilica, i. 226
— his burial-place, i. 226
— his country-house and vineyard, i.
225, 226
— gifts to him from the Grand-Duke of
Tuscany, i. 226
— his palace of the Termini, i. 227
— frescoes adorning his Palazzetto, i.
227
— plants trees there, i. 228
— his horror and sorrow at the murder
of his nephew, i. 234
— the crutches of Cardinal Montalto, i.
239
— conditions of his success, i. 240-243
— his personal appearance, i. 244
— his early administration, i. 244
— first impressions of him, i. 247

SIX
SixtusV., Pope, his election, how received
abroad, i. 248
— makes important appointments on
the first day of his election, i. 251
— his answer to the custodians of Rome,
i. 252
— his inflexible firmness, i. 267
— appoints governors to the provinces,
i. 267
— his coronation in St. Peter's, i. 258
— occupies the Lateran, i. 258, 259
— gives the purple gown to his grand
nephew, i. 259
— his danger, when a Cardinal, in the
streets of Rome, i. 263
— his servant killed, i. 263
— his measures against the brigands, i.
275, 284
— his severity, i. 277
— and indomitable energy, i. 282, 320
— his correspondence with the Grand-
Duke and "Venice respecting brigand
age, i. 284-289
— his coldness with the Grand-Duke,
with whom he determines to go to
war, i. 291
— the brigand chief, Malatesta, given
up to him by the Grand-Duke, i. 292,
293
— his throne and power in
from Protestant princes, i. 292
— extinguishes brigandage in the Papal
States, i. 293
— resumes his affectionate relations
with the Grand-Duke, i. 293
— his remarks on the former reign, i.
294 .
— his conversations with Cardinal Joy
euse, i. 294
— his motives for his acts, i. 295
— his remark to Cardinal Farnese, i.
297
— sends the Bishop of Nazareth as
Nuncio to Paris, i. 297
— orders the French ambassador to
quit Rome within a day, i. 306
— but receives him again, i. 309-311
— his illness, i. 312
— his treatment of the Duke of Terra
nuova, i. 313
— and of the Viceroy of Naples, i. 313
— his promptitude, i. 320, 321
— his opinion of the elements of a good
government, i. 325
— his wealth, i. 323, 324
— his subsidies to Catholic princes, i.
325
— his financial system, i. 327

INDEX.

405

SIX
Sixtus v.. Pope, revives trade, builds
bridges, and consti'ucts roads, i. 329
— his disposal of pubUe offices, i. 330,
331
— his Monti, i. 332
— levies a tax on wine, but hastens to
suppress it, i. 334, 335
— his success and prosperity, i. 336
— condemnation of his financial svstem,
i. 336 ¦
— his relations with the courts of Spain
and France, i. 338
— his antagonism with Count Olivares,
i. 343
— political difficulties at his accession,
i. 343
— not taken for a great politician by
his contemporaries, i. 343, 344
— gains more authority in Madrid, i.
347
— his threats against Henry III. of
France, i. 346
— his efforts to bring back England to
CathoUcism, i. 348
— change in his personal affection for
Queen Elizabeth, i. 351
— his admiration for her courage, i.
361
— his anx'ety for the fate of the
EngUsh Catholics, i. 361
— impression produced upon him by
news from France and Spain, i. 361
— his good understanding with Philip
n., i. 357
— his susceptibilities as to etiquette, i.
358, 359
— his half quarrel with Philip, i. 361,
362
— his supposed schemes, i. 363
— his confidence in Gritti, the Venetian
ambassador, i. 366, 367
— his desire for the conquest of the
Holy Land, i. 367, 368
— his opinion of Queen Elizabeth, i.
368
— his remarks about Drake, i. 368
— his anxieties regarding the Spanish
Armada, i. 369
— receives news of its disaster, i. 377
— his answers to Count Olivares, i. 377
— his insight into the fall of the Spanish
monarchy, i. 380
— his relations with Philip II. after the
failure of the Armada, i. 381
— his relations with the Venetian Re
public and other ItaUan states, i. 383
_ the whole of his Italian programme,
i. 386

SIX
Sixtus v.. Pope, his growing intimacy
with Venice, i.387
— sheds tears at the speech of Donato,
the Venetian ambassador, i. 387
— his remarks respecting the Turka
and Italy, and his advice to the
\'enetians, i. 389, 393
— his complaint of the want of secrecy
of the EepubUc, i. 390
— his fondness for official pomp, i.
391
— creates knights of the Holy Church,
3. 391
¦ — his irascible temper and freedom of
expression, and their effects, i. 392
— his dislike of coalitions, i. 393
— his Italian policy, i. 395
— his affection for Charles Emmanuel,
Duke of Savoy, i. 396
— gives the Duke of Savoy monetary
help against Geneva, i. 402
— abandonment of the expedition, and
the Pope's withdrawal of his account,
i. 403
— helps the Duke of Savoy against
Saluzzo, i. 405-407
— makes the best defence he can, i.
408-412
— receives an Embassy from tho Em
peror Eodolph, II., i. 419
— anger of the ambassadors at the reply
of the Pope, i. 420
— sends Cardinal Azzolino after them,
i. 420
— sends a Nuncio to the Archbishop of
Cologne, but refuses money, i. 421,
422
— reassures the Emperor Eodolph IL,
i. 424
— publishes a bull, i. 424, 425
— regrets the decay of the German
branch of Hapsburg, and his inability
to do anything for Eodolph II., i,
426, 430
— his expressions of contempt when
speaking of the Emperor, i. 430
— his projects respecting the kingdom
of Poland, i. 432
— his grief at the death of King Stephen
Bathori, i. 432
— his oration on the event, i. 433
— gives his sympathies to Prince Sigis
mund of Sweden, i. 433
— wishes to preserve intact the interests
of the Church of Poland, i. 433
— his remarks on the defeat and im
prisonment of the Archduke Maximi
Uan, i. 434

406

INDEX.

SIX

SIX

Sixtus v.. Pope, declines to lend money
to Eodolph IL, i. 434
— receives letters from the Dowager
Empress, Philip IL, and the Grand-
Duke of Tuscany, respecting the
Archduke Maximilian, i. 436
— news of a peace between Austria and
Poland, i. 440
— the fundamental notions of his policy,
i. 444
— his remedies for imperfections in the
Consistories, ii. 3
— his treatment of members differing
from him, ii. 4
— his love of public speaking, ii. 6
— his answer to Cardinal Paleotto,
ii. 6
— gives little heed to the advice of his
cardinals, ii. 6
— his conduct in the Consistory, ii. 7
— new system of congregations esta
blished by his bull ' Immensa geterni
Dei,' u. 8
— his pontifical navy, ii. 1 0
— disregards the vote of a Congregation,
ii. 13
— organises the work of the Church,
ii. 13
— his love for his family, and its iU
effects, ii. 13
— his creation of a cardinal of a boy
of thirteen, ii. 1 3
— promotes his former cup-bearer Galli,
ii. 14
— his cardinals all pious men, ii. 14
— his declaration respecting foreign
cardinals, ii. 15
— his remarks as to a Pope naming his
successor, ii. 17
— interest he felt for Spain, ii. 19
— but indignantly rejects the preten
sions of Philip IL, ii. 21
— said to have intended alterations in
papal elections, ii. 23-26
.— his part in the revision of the Bible,
ii. 28
— offended at the prohibition at Milan
of the Life of Pius V., ii. 29
— his decree respecting revenues of
vacant livings, ii. 30
— requires all bishops to be at Eome
once in a year, ii. 31
— his violent speech against the Council
of Castile, ii. 31
¦ — publishes a bull ordering a jubilee in
France, ii. 32
— irritation of the Courts of Rome and
Madrid, ii. 36

Sixtus v., Pope, contrast between Sixtus
V. and Philip IL, ii. 36, 37
— objects to some of the rules of Igna
tius Loyola, ii.-43
— decides in favour of the Society of
Jesus against Philip IL, ii. 46
— his inclinations against them, ii. 47
— orders an examination of their rules,
ii. 47
— effects of this on the order, ii. 49
— fury of the Pope at the preachers of
Madrid, ii. 50
— orders Padre Juan Geronimo to be
brought to Rome, ii. 61
— of whom he complains to the Con
sistory, ii. 51
— insists upon the name of the Society
of Jesus being changed, ii. 53
— hears of the death of the Grand-
Duke Francis, ii. 61
— accepts the advances of the new
Grand-Duke Ferdinand, ii. 63
— to whom he writes sharply, ii. 64
— criticisms of Sessa of the Pope's con
duct, ii. 66
— his dark prospects, ii. 66, 67
— his grand-nephew, ii. 67
— his picture of the Court of Rome,
ii. 71
— immense works which he promoted,
ii. 73
— his improvements in Eome, ii. 74
note, 76-96
— erects a fountain in the convent of
the Convent of the Apostles, ii. 93
— carried through Eome on a litter, ii.
96 and note
— his entertainments at the Carnival
of 1588, ii. 104
— authorises excavations in the city,
ii. 109
— his public works, ii. 118
— his passion for building, ii. 118
• — work he accomplished in five years,
ii. 121
— raises the Obelisk of Nero, ii. 123-
125
— brings water (the ' aqua Felice') into
the mountainous quarters of Rome,
ii. 127
— his improvements in the streets of
the city, ii. 129
— his latest works, ii. 130-132
— his churches, ii. 133
— his relations with his family, ii.
137-144
— threatens Cardinals d'Este and de
Sens with being sent away, ii. 152

INDEX.

407

SIX

SIX

Sixtus v.. Pope, his views respecting
Henry of Navarre and the League,
ii. 152, 163
— refuses to exclude the King of
Navarre, ii. 157
— whom he deprives by a buU, and
regrets the act, ii. 159
— his reasoning, ii. 159, 160
— his anxiety and care after the peace of
Nemours, ii. 161
— his contempt for Henry III. and
sinister forebodings, ii. 161, 162
— opinion of OUvares of him, ii. 166,
177
— his remarks about Henry, ii. 167
— makes M. de Pisany and Cardinal
de Joyeuse write to Henry, tlireaten-
ing him, ii. 167
— his views respecting the League, ii.
169
— angry with Henry III. and his ad
visers, ii. 170
— his poUcy respecting France, ii. 174-
195
— failure of his health, ii. 174
¦ — invites M. de Pisany and Gritti to
dinner, ii. 175
— his conversation and criticisms, ii.
175-177
— his dislike of his predecessor, ii. 176
— his remarks on French affairs, ii.
183, 184
— promises M. de Pisany to appoint a
Congregation on the subject, ii. 186
— his assurances that he wiU support
the King of France, ii. 189
— catches at the idea of a political
union between Spain and France, ii.
191
— his remarks on th e murders of the
Duke and Cardinal of Guise, ii. 199
— his angry interview with Cardinal
de Joyeuse, ii. 202
— his resolution to communicate the
events in France to the Consistory,
ii. 203
— his remarks to the Consistory, ii.
204
— suspects Morosini of having advised
the murder of the Guises, ii. 206
— his difficulties, ii. 208
— implored by the French partisans not
to enter into a common line of action
with Philip n., ii. 208
— shows his horror of the murders of
the Guises, ii. 209, 211
— blames Venice for having secretly
favoured Henry III. of France, ii. 21 1

Sixtus v., Pope, received ambassadors
from Henry IIL, of whom he com
plains, ii. 214
— enumerates his grievances against the
King, ii. 216
— whom he threatens, ii. 217
— M. de Pisany's bold and dignified
answer to Sixtus, ii. 217
— requested by Olivaris to issue a
monition, ii. 223
— the monition issued, ii. 225
— reproaches the Secretary of State to
the Grand-Duke severely, ii. 225
— his view of the consequences of the
murder of the Guises, ii. 229
— hurt at a message from the Duke of
Nevers, ii. 230
— the Pope's prophetic words about
Henry IH., n. 231
— painful impression produced in the
Vatican by the accession of Henry
IV. to the French throne, ii. 232
— the Pope's conduct, and remarks in a
Congregation and Consistory, ii. 233,
234
— course he proposes toadopt,ii.234, 236
— recaUs Morosini and appoints Gae
tano as legate to France, ii. 235, 236
— to whom he gives public and private
instructions, ii. 236, 237
— sends the legate speciaUy to the
Duke of Nevers, ii. 238
— his mode of doing away with the
League, ii. 240
— his ' neutrality,' ii. 240
— news he receives from Venice, ii. 240
— his relations with Venice broken off,
ii. 243
— becomes more disposed to listen to
the arguments of Henry IV., ii. 252
— sends back Monsignor Matteuci to
Venice, ii. 253
— upbraids Venice, ii. 255
— receives the Venetian envoys, ii.
257, 269
— his opinion of the position of Henry
IV. and of his ambassador at Venice,
ii. 269, 260
— blames Venice for its reception of
the Duke of Luxemburg, ii. 262
 refuses to dismiss the Duke of
Luxemburg at the request of Count
Olivares, ii. 270, 271
— resolves to come to an understanding
with Henry IV. of France, ii. 273
— and to escape from the infiuence of
Spain, ii. 274, 275
— his proposals to Spain, ii. 277

408

INDEX.

SIX

SPA

Sixtus v.. Pope, his vague answers to
Gesualdo, n. 281, 282
— his stormy interview with Count
Olivarte, ii. 282, 283
— gives Olivarfes an audience of recon-
eiUation, ii. 284
— breaks with OUvares, ii. 288
— sends a letter by a messenger of
Olivares to King Philip, ii. 288
— his opinion of Olivares, ii. 297
— and of the state of religion in France,
ii. 298
— and of the course he ought to pursue,
ii. 300
— his dilemma, ii. 301
— commissions two cardinals to draw
up a constitution based upon the
words of Christ, ' Quodcunque liga
veris,' ii. 302
— blames his legate in France, ii. 302
— his conversations, according to
Olivarfes and Badoer, ii. 303 note
— reports of Cardinal Gaetano from
France, ii. 305
— the Pope's contradictory statements,
ii. 310
.— prohibits any preacher from alluding
to political matters, ii. 311
— his sympathies with Henry IV., ii.
311
— considers Henry the only eligible
claimant to the throne of France, ii.
316
— his anxiety for the arrival of the
Duke of Sessa, u. 322
— takes courage at their interviews, ii.
323
— his intimate thoughts, ii. 325
— his grievances against the Duke of
Mayenne, ii. 325
— draft of a convention agreed to re
specting the affairs of France, ii. 329
— his secret capitulation as to that
country, ii. 331
— his illness and wish for postpone
ment, ii. 333
— receives an ultimatum from the
Spanish ambassadors, ii. 334, 335
— his intentions fathomed by the
Venetian envoy, Badoer, ii. 33-1
— refuses to sign the Convention, ii.
337
— his opinion of the French succession,
ii. 338
¦ — audience contrived by the Spanish
ambassadors, ii. 339
— gets daily more ill, ii. 343
— again receives the Spanish ambassa
dors, ii. 344

Sixtus v., Pope, visible decline in his
health, ii. 345
— nature of his illness, ii. 346
— his last Consistory and aUocution, ii.
347
— his gift to the poor, ii. 348
— convokes for the last time the Con
gregation of France, ii. 349
— attacked in the night by fever, ii. 349
— transacts business the next day, ii.
349
— his last mass, ii. 350
— his death, ii. 351
— his wealth, how distributed by the
Cardinals, ii. 364
— his death, how regarded in Europe,
ii. 354
• — portrait of him, and of men of his
time, ii. 358
Society in the sixteenth century, in
Rome, ii. Ill
Soissons, Duke of, his claims to the
throne of France, ii. 315
Solano, St. Francis, of Cordova, the
apostle of Peru, i. 65
Somaglia, Donna Margarita Cavasio
della, married to Michael Peretti, ii.
142. Dowry she brings her husband,
143 note
Sora Palace in Eome, account of the, ii.
113
— Giacomo, Duke of, natural son of
Gregory XIIL, i. 138. The happi
ness and torment of his father, 138.
Always in debt, 138. His wife.
Donna Costanza Sforza, 138. Be
comes Governor of Holy Church and
military governor of Eome, 139.
His appointments confirmed, 143. A
conflict between him and Prosper
Colonna feared, 143. But ordered
away from before, 143. Becomes a
devoted agent of Cardinal de' Medici,
163. His dangers, 163, 170. Sepa
rated from Guastavillani and San
Sisto, 170. Confirmed in his office by
Sixtus v., i. 252. The appointment
not thought to be a serious one, 263.
Acts of his soldiers, i. 270. Marries
Donna Costanza Sforza, ii. 113
Soranzo, Girolamo, his account of the
progress of Protestantism, i. 59. And
of the city and Papal Court of Eome,
80
Sosiego, of Spaniards, i. 129, 145
Spain, Quixotic literature of, i. 2. In
fluence and authority of the ambassa
dors of, at the Court of Eome, 5.
State of the kingdom at the death of

INDEX.

409

SPA
Gregory XIIL, 24. Extirpation of
the Eeformation in, 19. Effect of the
lavish use of excommunication in, ii.
33. Position of the Society of Jesus
in, ii. 44. Who are disliked by the
Dominicans tliere, and opposed by
Philip II., 45. -Igitation against '
Sixtus V. in the capital of, 50. In
fluence of Spanish opinions at the
Vatican in matters connected with
France, 14S. Idea of Morosini of a
political union between Spain and
France, 191
Spanish mercenaries in Italy, in the
sixteenth century, i. 103
Spinola, Cardinal, inclines to vote with
Medici against Farnese, i. 158.
Appointed governor of Peruggia, 257
Stanze of the Vatican, i. 184. The
Pope's, 185
Stephen, St., dangers caused by the
Tuscan knights of, i. 37
Stephen Bathori, King of Poland, his
character, i. 432. His confidant, Fa
ther Possevin, 432. Projects of Sixtus
V. respecting Poland, 432. His
death, and oration of Sixtus V. on
the event, 434, 435
Success, poUtical, conditions of, i. 241-
243
Superstition, occult sciences and prac
tices common to, i. 45. Its rupture
with faith, 45
Swiss mercenaries in the sixteenth cen
tury, i. 103
Swiss Guard of Henry III. of France,
called to Paris, ii. 182. Many of
them massacred in a riot in the city,
182
Sylvio, .3Eneas. See Pius II.
Symmachus, Pope, weU of, in Eome, i.
180
TAPESTEY, Arazzi, in the Vatican, i.
185
Tar, Vale of, held by Count Claudio
Landi, i. 418. Confiscated by the
Duke of Parma, 419. Offers of
Philip II. to have it neutralised, 420
Tarsis, Lieutenant-General, his in
structions from King Philip, ii. 316
Tasso, Torquato, the first ecUtion of his
' Gerusalemme Liberata,' ii. 106. Its
success, and beauty of its style, 106.
Its popularity in the sixteenth cen
tury, i. Ill
Telegraph signals in Italy, in the six
teenth cenutry, i. 102

TUR
Tempesti, Padro, his work on Sixtus V.,
i. 3. Origin of his details, 17.
Grossly imposed upon, 18 note
Terracina, beauty of, in the sixteenth
century, i. 124
Terranuova, Don Carloa of Aragon,
Duke of, governs the Milanese, i. 37.
His importance and influence, 37.
Governor of Milan, ordered by
Sixtus V, to take down his seat in
the Cathedral, 313. Ordered to make
preparations for a war with France,
ii. 207
Theresa, St., her hesitations put an end
to, i. 63. Her work in her native
city, Avila, 63. Her death, 64
Tieopolo, Paolo, ambassador from
Venice to the Papal court, his treat
ment by Gregory XIII. at Mondra
gone, 141
Titian, his works in the Foscari palace
in Venice, i. 113
Toledo, Archbishop of, condemned for
heresy, i. 220
Toledo, Padre, his authority in Rome, i.
62. Assists in a new edition of the
Bible, ii. 29. Continues in the
time of Sixtus V. to preach in Rome,
43. His sermon in the Sala Con-
stantina, in Rome, 104
Tolomei, Scipio, plants trees at the ViUa
Peretti, i. 228
Torso, in the Vatican, the celebrated, i.
181
Tourism, birth of, i. 87. Englishmen
the first to practise it, 87
Trajan's column, consecrated to religion,
ii 133
Travellers and travelling in the end of
the sixteenth century, i. 87. How
tourists are regarded in places but
little visited, 88. Their habits, 89.
GeneraUy perform their journeys on
horseback, 103. In Venice, 1 12. In
Ferrara, 114. In Bologna, 114. In
Tuscany, 116
Trent, Council of, its great success, i.
72. Demand for it, 73. Result of
it, 74, 75. Reformations caused by
the, 83
— Congregation of the Council of, its
establishment and duties, ii. 10
Truchsess, Archbishop, formerly arch
bishop of Cologne, embraces the faith
of Calvin, i. 421. Takes the town of
Neuss, 421
Turin, city of, in the sixteenth century,
i. 104

410

INDEX.

TUE
Turkey — Dangers which threatened
Europe on the part of Turkey, ii.
312. The Sultan's proposed descent
upon the coast of Provence, 313
Turks, relations of the, with the Ven
etians, i. 30. Remarks of Sixtus V.
respecting them, 388, 389. Austria
and Poland become the safeguards
against their entry into Central
Europe, 443. King Sobieski's relief
of Vienna, against them, 443
Tuscany, power and influence of the
Grand-Duchy of, i. 14. Roads in,
97. Hotels of, in the sixteenth
century, 99 note. Beauty of, 114,
115. Its prosperity under the Medici,
121. Fertility and cultivation of the
soil, and honesty of the people, 122.
Grand-Duke of, protected against the
rancour of Spain by the Pope, 161.
His other protectors, 151, 162. Ad
vice of Sixtus V. to the Venetian
ambassadors respecting, 389. Public
disturbances in, 262
UDINE, Giovanni, his frescoes removed
from the Vatican, i. 182
Umbria — Poetical landscapes of, seen
in the works of the old masters of, i. 96
Urbani, Chevalier, his efforts at Prague
for Cardinal Medici, i. 161
 ambassador of the Grand-Duke
of Tuscany to the Court of Rome, his
picture of the Court of Prague under
Rodolph IL, i. 426-428
Urbino, loss of the power of the Duke
della Rovere at, i. 36. Hospitality
of Duke Frederick and his wife at,
95. Called the Athens of Italy, 96.
Palace of the Dukes of, 95. The
road to, abandoned, 96. The palace
not considered remarkable by Mon
taigne, 115. Keeps up intimate
relations with ca.rdinals and prelates
in Eome, 151. His inactivity respect
ing brigandage, 272. Nominated to
1 he chief command of the Pontifical
and Spanish troops, ii. 330. Number
of men under his command, 330
YAGA, Pierino del, his masterpieces
inspired by Cardinal Farnese, i. 173
Vasari, appreciation of his paintings ii
108 r 6 , .
Vatican — Account of it, i. 181. Restored
by the Popes, 181. The Pio-Clemen
tino Museum, 181. The Sala del

VEN
Torso, 181. The Belvedere Palace
181-183. GaUeries of Bramante,
184. The Sala Eegia, 184. Stanze
and loggie of the, 184, 185. Con
gregation of the printing office of the,
ii. 13. The library of Cardinal
Sirletto purchased by Sixtus V. for
the, 55. The wing of, finished by
Clement VIIL, built by Sixtus V.,
the residence of the Popes, 131
Vaudemont, Cardinal de, sent by the
League to Eome, ii. 163. Eeturnsto
France with a brief, 167
Venafro, Prince of. See Peretti, Michel.
Vendome, Cardinal de, informed by the
Legate that he is excommunicated, i.
307, 308. The Cardinal's reply, 308.
His answer approved by the Pope,
308. Proposed for the French throne
after the death of the Cardinal de
Bourbon, ii. 239. Endeavours to
detach him from his allegiance to
Henry IV., 303. His advice to
Cardinal Gaetano, 306, 306. His
claims as a successor to the French
throne, 315. Excluded in King
Philip's opinion, 319
Venice — The esposizioni, dispacci, and
relazioni of, i. 11, 12. Avvisi from
Venice, 12. Importance of the
ambassadors of Venice at the Court
of Eome, 6. Seeks the guarantees
of her existence in the balance
of power, 27. Her caution, 29.
Leans towards France and England,
29. Her relations with Turkey, 30.
Dangers to, caused by the Knights of
Malta and of St. Stephen, 37. Ex
penses of travellers in, 99 note. Inns
of, in the sixteenth century, 105-107.
The banks of the Brenta on the way to
the city, 105, 106. Her police organi
zation, as noted by Montaigne, 108.
Pleasures in, 108, 109. Ladies' and
gentlemen's dress, 110. Festivities
in, 110, 111. Caution of Venetian
gentlemen, 110. Amusements on the
grand canal. 111. Open-air conversa-
tionsin the city, 111, Vivacity and ani
mation peculiarto Venice, 112. Palaces
in, 112. Glass windows in, 112. State
of society in, 113. Courtesans in, 113.
Causes of the abstension of Venice in
Eoman affairs, 161. Opposition to Fra
FeUce Peretti at, 218, 219. Favour
able dispositions of Sixtus V. to the
Republic, 251. Brigandage put down
by the capelletti in the territories of.

INDEX.

411

VEN
262. Proposals of Sixtus V. to, re
specting brigandage, 286. Salary
allowed to the ambassador of the
Republic, 385 note. Flattering re
ception given by the Pope to the
Venetian embassy, 387. Growing
intimacy of Sixtus V. with Venice,
387. Attitude of Cardinal Cornaro
in, and its effects, 392. Advice of
Sixtus V. to, 389, 393, 394. Blamed
by Sixtus V. for having secretly
favoured Henry III. of France, ii.
211. The partiality of Venice cen
sured by Count OUvares, 224. The
EepubUc evidently in favour of Henry
IV. of France, ii. 240. Eelations
between Eome and Venice broken off,
243, 248. Effect of the attitude of
the Eepublic, 256
Ventograno, Prince, escapes into the
Papal territory, i. 128
Venus of the Belvedere, criticism of the,
in 1668, ii. 109 note
VerceUi, Cardinal, his arrival at the
Conclave, i. 201
Verdates, Hugh de. Grand Master of
the Knights of Malta, made a Cardinal,
ii. 14
Vergognosi of Italian towns, i. 103
Verita, the Chevalier, Secretary of State
to the Grand-Duke, reproached by
Sixtus V. for his master's conduct, ii.
225
Verona, city of, in the sixteenth century,
i. 106. 'Little Horse' inn at, 105
Veronese, Paul, his ball-room raft on
the grand canal at Venice, i. 111.
His works in Venetian houses, 113
Vespasian of Bistucci, his fondness for
letters, i. 48. Works produced under
his direction, 48, 49
Via Appia from Rome to Naples, i. 1 24
Vicenza, its beauty and position, i. 105
Vidoni Palace, at Rome, Raphael's
designs for the, ii. 81
Vienna, siege of, by the Turks, i. 443.
ReUeved by King Sobieski, 443
Vignola, restores architecture to sim
plicity in Rome, ii. 81. A pupil of
Michael Angelo, 83

ZUC
Villagarzoni, Padro de, imprisoned by
the Inquisition in Spain, ii. 46
Villeroy, M. de, his despatches, i. 13
Visconti, Giovanni Battista, his forma
tion of the Pio-Clementino Museum
in the Vatican, i. 182
Volta, Camillo della, his character, ii.
230. Commissioned to see the Pope
for the Duke of Nevers, 230. Hurts
the Pope's feelings, 230. Account of
him, 240 n<ite. Arrested in Rome,
240. Charges against him, 242.
Tried and beheaded, 242, 243

WATERS, mineral, drunk in the
sixteenth century, i. 88
Wetzler, Philippine, her morganatic
marriage with the Archduke of Tyrol,
i. 191 note. Their son, Cardinal
Andrew of Austria, 191
William of Bavaria, his efforts to take
the town of Neuss, i. 421. Endeavours
to obtain assistance from the Pope,
421
Window-glass in use in Venice in the
sixteenth century, i. 112
Wine, tax on, levied by Sixtus V., but
soon suppressed, i. 335
Women of Eome in the time of Sixtus
v., ii. 96-98
— forbidden in Eome to appear on the
stage, ii. 107 note. In their houses
in Eome, 110. A great lady of the
end of the sixteenth century, 110
Works, public, of Pope Sixtus V., ii.
118
XA'VIEE, Francis, carries on the
holy war in the Indies, i. 61, 62
YDIAQUEZ, his conversations with
Lippomano, i. 416. Writes to the
Doge, 416

yUCCARI, his frescoes, i. 227
Zuccaro, Frederic, his paintings, ii. 108

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