Gregorovius inclines to the theory of poison, but Burchard records no such suspicion. The corpse was “monstrously swollen and discoloured--black, a most horrible thing to behold, and many suspected poison,” wrote Beltrando Costabili to his master, Ercole of Ferrara. “Never since the beginning of Christianity has there been seen such a terrible and horrible thing. It was the most bestial, monstrous, and horrible body, without the form or face of a man.” Wonderful were the stories told; while he lay ill Alexander had even seen the devil in the form of a monkey enter his room to bear his soul away. The grounds for believing that the Pope had been poisoned are so slight that they may be disregarded. It is clear from the statements of Burchard and Giustinian, who was hostile to the Borgia, that Alexander VI. died of a tertian fever, or the plague, which in that year destroyed a vast number of people in Italy. The Pope was a fleshy man, well advanced in years, and the appearance of the corpse, even if it were as hideous as it was described, would not necessarily indicate that he had died of poison. Beltrando Costabili, the Ferrarese orator, concluded a letter dated August 14th with the remark: “It is not strange that the Pope and Caesar are sick, because almost all the prominent men in Rome are ill--and especially in the Vatican, owing to the bad air.” Stories of the poisoning began to circulate as soon as the rapidity with which the body putrefied became known. Guicciardini’s account has been followed by all later writers until the present day, and he was one of the bitterest of the enemies of the Borgia. According to his statement, before Caesar’s departure for the field he and the Pope were invited to dine with Cardinal Adriano di Corneto. Romolino, Valentino’s intimate, and two other cardinals were also present. One of the Borgia, desiring to secure possession of their host’s property, decided to poison him, but the servants confused the glasses and gave Alexander and Caesar the envenomed cups. This account was based on a letter written by Peter Martyr of Anghiara, from Segovia, November 10, 1503--that is, about three months after the death of the Pope. None of the ambassadors in Rome, who were closely following events in the Vatican, even hinted at poison at the time.