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THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book III,

up a peace between France and him, at price ofZain’s being rendered over to the Lord of Seine,

for which an interview succeeded in Rome of

1495

his Holiness, Charles VIII., and the MoslemPrince. At which interview this last so courteously-requested the first to recommend him, and then sowarmly, and with such noble frankness urged themonarch to accept him as his captive, kissing hisroyal hand and shoulder with such generous confi-dence and dignity, that the juvenile descendant ofSt. Louis could not but glow with correspondingsentiments ; and as frankly received him into hisprotection at once, and hurried off with him to hiscamp towards the Neapolitan. But on the Papal sideit was all a cruel deception, it is said. And likewisethat most people about the Roman Court were notdispleased to be thus revenged of one who deprivedthem of such a capital opportunity of thoroughlyfleecing a Paynim; therefore sent him regularlyprimed for the feast. And he had just at that hour thefull dose within him; and Alexander well knew itwhen he was giving him to Charles with every showof courtesy; the infernal drug acting slowly, nordiscovering itself the least, until the poor victimhad reached the end of a day’s journey. Whetherat Velletri, Terracina, Gaeta, or Capua , 1 that he

1 Guicciardini: Colle Note di Rossini, lib. ii., caput, ii.,fol. i., 256,