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His favour at court, however, did not continue much longer. He had procured for one of his nephews the command of the Venetian army, and one of his natural sons had entered into the service of the emperor. Possessing considerable estates between the territories of Bern and of the Grisons, he took letters of citizenship from both these republics, and in the treaty which he made with them, he declared that he possessed the estate of Vigerano as an engagement for his services, and that it was dismembered from the domain of the dukedom of Milan. Receiving information that the king was suspicious of him for these practices, he crossed the Alps in winter, and repaired to the king, who received him with such harshness, as proved a mortal stroke to him. His health declined, and he died at Châtres in 1518, aged 71. Trivulzio was an able general, and of a restless intriguing disposition, which involved him in perpetual disquiets and vicissitudes, as he himself expressed in the epitaph he wrote for his tomb, "Hic requiescit qui nunquam quievit." No man had a higher opinion of the value of money in worldly affairs. When Lewis XII. asked him what was necessary to ensure success in his war with Sforza, "Three things, Sire," said he, "Money, money, money!" He took care to provide himself with plenty of this article, and was said to be the richest person in Italy. On occasions of ostentation he was also one of the most prodigal; and at a festival which he gave to the king of France, it is said that there were 1200 ladies, each of whom had a squire carver to help her, and that there were 160 maîtres d'hôtel, each distinguished by a truncheon covered with blue velvet. He encouraged learning, and was accustomed, even in advanced age, to frequent the public schools, in order to hear the professors.

JOHN BLANE, a noble of Perpignan, who ably defended his native town in 1474 against the French. He refused to deliver the fortress, although famine raged around him, and though the enemy, irritated by his obstinate resistance, sacrificed his son, who had fallen into their hands.

PETER da FERRAIL de BAYARD, esteemed by his contemporaries the model of soldiers and men of honour, and denominated the Knight without fear and without reproach, was descended from an ancient and noble family. He was a native of Dauphine, and was with Charles VIII. at the conquest of the kingdom of Naples, where he gave remarkable proofs of his valour, especially at the battle of Fornuovo. He was dangerously wounded at the taking of Brescia; and there restored to the daughters of his host 2000 pistoles, which their mother had directed them to give him, in order to prevent the house from being plundered; an action that has been celebrated by many historians. At his return to France, he was made lieutenant-general of Dauphine. He fought by the side of Francis I. at the battle of Marignano; and that prince after

wards insisted on being knighted by his hand, after the manner of the ancient knights. The chevalier Bayard defended Meziers during six weeks, against Charles V.'s army. In 1524, at the retreat of Rebec, the general Bonivet having been wounded and obliged to quit the field, the conduct of the rear was committed to the chevalier Bayard, who, though so much a stranger to the arts of a court, that he never rose to the chief command, was always called, in time of real danger, to posts of the greatest difficulty and importance. He put himself at the head of the men at arms; and animating them by his presence and example, to sustain the whole shock of the enemy's troops, he gained time for the rest of his countrymen to make good their retreat. But in this service he received a wound which he immediately perceived to be mortal; and being unable to continue on horseback, he ordered an attendant to place him under a tree, with his face towards the enemy; then fixing his eyes on his sword, which he held up instead of a cross, he addressed his prayers to God; and in this posture, which became his character both as a soldier and as a Christian, he calmly waited the approach of death. Bourbon, who led the foremost of the enemy's troops, found him in this situation, and expressed regret and pity at the sight. "Pity not me," cried the highspirited chevalier, "I die as a man of honour ought, in the discharge of my duty; they indeed are objects of pity, who fight against their king, their country, and their oath." The marquis de Pescara, passing soon after, manifested his admiration of Bayard's virtue, as well as his sorrow for his fate, with the generosity of a gallant enemy; and finding that he could not be removed with safety from that spot, ordered a tent to be pitched there, and appointed proper persons to attend him. He died notwithstanding their care, as his ancestors for several generations had done, in the field of battle. Pescara ordered his body to be embalmed, and sent to his relations; and such was the respect paid to military merit in that age, that the duke of Savoy commanded it to be received with royal honours in all the cities of his dominions; in Dauphine, Bayard's native country, the people of all ranks came out in a solemn procession to meet it.

FRANCIS, earl of Rochefoucault, descended of an illustrious family, was chamberlain to Charles VIII. and Lewis XII. He died in 1517, with the character of a worthy man and an excellent statesman.

LOUIS DE LA TREMOILLE, or TRIMOUILLE, viscount de Thouars, a French general, born in 1460. At the age of eighteen he was made general of the French forces, and at the battle of St. Aubin-du-Cormier, in 1488, he took prisoner Orleans, afterwards Lewis XII. He possessed equal abilities as a negociator, and was employed as ambassador in

Brittany, at Vienna, and Rome. Lewis XII., when raised to the throne, forgot the injuries he had received, and entrusted Tremoille with the armies of Italy. Tremoille was wounded at Novara, but bravely defended Dijon against the Swiss, and protected Picardy and Provence. He fell gloriously at the battle of Pavia, in 1525, aged 65.

LEWIS XII., king of France, son of Charles, duke of Orleans, a branch of the royal family of France, descended from Charles V., was born at Blois, in 1462. At his accession he was in his thirty-sixth year, and had long been taught in the school of adversity. During the administration of the lady Beaujeau, he had been constantly in disgrace; after his connections with the duke of Brittany, he had spent a considerable time in prison; and though afterwards set at liberty by Charles, he had never possessed any share of his favour. Towards the conclusion of that reign, he fell under the displeasure of the queen; and had continued at his castle of Blois till he was called to the crown. He had been married in early life, and against his will, to Joan, the younger daughter of Lewis XI., a princess of an amiable disposition, but deformed, and supposed to be incapable of bearing children. Afterwards he entertained thoughts of having this marriage dissolved, and was supposed to possess the affection of the duchess of Brittany, before she became queen of France. After the death of her husband, that princess retired to Brittany, where she pretended to assume an independent sovereignty; but Lewis, having got his marriage with Joan dissolved by pope Alexander VI., quickly after made proposals to the queen dowager, which were accepted; but it was stipulated, that if she should have two sons, the younger should inherit Brittany. As Lewis, while duke of Orleans, had some pretensions to Naples, he instantly set about realizing them. On his accession, he found matters in that country much more favourable to his designs than formerly. The pope was in his interest, he had conciliated the friendship of the Venetians; he concluded a truce with the archduke Philip, and renewed his alliances with the crowns of England, Scotland, and Denmark. He then entered Italy with an army of 20,000 men; and assisted by the Venetians, quickly conquered one part of the duchy, while they conquered the other; the duke himself being obliged to fly with his family to Ipswich. He then attacked Ferdinand of Spain with three armies at once, two to act by land, and one by sea; but none of these performing any thing remarkable, he evacuated Naples in 1504. In 1506 the Genoese revolted, drove out the nobility, chose eight tribunes, and declared Paul Nuova, a silk-dyer, their duke; after which they expelled the French governor, and reduced a great part of the Riviera. This occasioned Lewis's return into Italy; where, in 1507, he

obliged the Genoese to surrender at discretion; and, in 1508, entered into the league of Cambray with the other princes, who at that time wanted to reduce the overgrown power of the Venetians. Pope Julius II., who had been the first contriver of this league, very soon repented of it; and declared, that if the Venetians would restore the cities of Facuza and Rimina, which had been unjustly taken from him, he would be contented. This was refused; and, in 1509, the forces of the republic received such an entire defeat from Lewis, that they agreed to restore not only the two cities, but whatever else the allies required. The pope now, instead of executing his treaties, made war on the king of France without the least provocation. Lewis called an assembly of his clergy, where it was determined, that in some cases it was lawful to make war upon the pope; upon which the king declared war against him, and committed the care of his army to marshal de Trivulzio. He soon obliged the pope to retire to Ravenna; and, in 1511, Gaston, duke of Nemours, gained a great victory at Ravenna, but was killed in the engagement. After his death the army disbanded for want of pay; and the French affairs in Italy, and every where else, fell into confusion. They recovered the duchy of Milan, and lost it again in a few weeks. Henry VIII. of England, invaded France, and took Terruen and Tournay; and the Swiss invaded Burgundy with an army of 25,000 men. In this desperate state of affairs the queen died, and Lewis put an end to the opposition of his most dangerous enemies by negociating marriages. To Ferdinand of Spain he offered his second daughter for either of his grandsons, Charles or Ferdinand, and to renounce, in favour of that marriage, his claims on Milan and Genoa. This proposal was accepted; and Lewis himself married the princess Mary, sister to Henry VIII., of England. This marriage he did not long survive, but died Jan. 1, 1515, in the fifty-third year of his age, and seventeenth of his reign. He left no male issue.

Although the public events of the reign of Lewis XII. afford no high idea of his talents for government, yet he possessed so many private virtues and amiable qualities, that he is ranked among the best of the French monarchs. The title of father of his people, was given him by the assembled states of the kingdom; and history has taken pleasure in recording, that when, according to the custom, the criers announced his death, it was done in these words, "The good king Lewis, the father of his people, is dead." He appears to have been sincerely desirous of alleviating the burdens of his subjects, and would probably have done it effectually, had it not been for the wars into which he was unfortunately plunged. He was naturally inclined to economy, and held as a principle, that "the justice of a prince obliged him to owe nothing, rather than his great

ness to give much." And when his frugality wàs made a topic of public ridicule, he said, "I had rather see my courtiers. laugh at my avarice, than my people weep at my extravagance." He has been censured for employing, as one of his resources for raising money, the sale of offices; but he did not extend it to the offices of judicature, where it is most dangerous. Such was his regard to the pure administration of justice, that he enjoined by an edict "that the laws should be always followed, notwithstanding any orders contrary to law, which importunity might wrest from the monarch;" but to make such a rule effectual, a protection should be assured to the supporters of law, which is incompatible with the genius of absolute monarchy. In his manners and conversation Lewis was affable, mild, and cheerful; prone to sallies of innocent pleasantry, and fond of literature. He assembled men of learning at his court, and employed them in public affairs. Greek was first taught at the French universities in his reign.

ODEL DE FOIX, a French general, who fought under Lewis XII., at the battle of Ravenna, in 1512, where he was wounded; Francis I. appointed him governor of Milan. The success of Colonna drove him from Milan, Pavia, Lodi, Parma, and Placentia; and after the unfortunate battle of Bicogne he retired to Guienne, in 1522. In 1528 he re-entered Italy, took Pavia, and boldly besieged Naples, before which he died.

GASTON DE FOIX, duke of Nemours, son of the count d'Etampes, and Mary, the sister of Lewis XII., distinguished himself in Italy. He defeated the Swiss, and obtained a victory at Ravenna, and soon after fell in the field of battle, in 1512, aged 24.

CHARLES, duke of Bourbon, constable of France, son of Gilbert, count of Montpensier, was born in 1489. Francis I. conferred on him the constable's staff at the age of twenty-six. He was afterwards made viceroy of the Milanese, in which office he was highly respected by the people. He evinced his courage in the famous battle of Marignano, where he was in great danger of his life, but a few cavaliers enclosed and protected him at the hazard of their own lives. The hatred of Louisa, the king's mother, against the house of Bourbon, was, unfortunately, the means of infusing a jealousy of the constable into her son's breast; one of the fruits of which was his sudden recal from the government of Milan. On the death of his duchess, Louisa exchanged her enmity for love, and, notwithstanding their difference of age, caused a treaty of marriage, between herself and the constable, to be proposed to him. On his rejection of her advances, with some expressions of contempt, she resumed her hatred with aggravation, and resolved upon his ruin. To this end, with the aid of the infamous chancellor Du Prat, she instituted a process against

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