“Item. He will have our seigneurs the Cardinals ad Vincula and Gurk return to Rome and the Pope agrees to treat them with all friendliness and gentleness as his good brothers, of which the King shall assure them, at the same time exhorting them to obey and respect our Holy Father. “All of which the King promises on his word as King to maintain, observe, and keep, and in whatever concerns the estate of Mgr. de Valence regarding the said counties he will have the same ratified and agreed to by the chamber of accounts. “And so far as the other articles are concerned the King will give the Bishop of Cette and the Archdeacon of Chalais such private letters as the Pope may wish and which will be sent with the memorandum, &c., &c.” When news reached Rome that Caesar had received the coveted order of St. Michael from the King there was a great celebration in the city and bonfires were lighted by order of the Pope before the palaces of Cardinals Orsini and St. Dionysius and also before that of Lucretia; the evening of May 23rd the Spaniards indulged in an orgy which Burchard says was a disgrace to the Pope and the Holy See. From the secret agreement it is clear that the conquest of Milan and the expedition against Naples had been decided upon. The King of France, now sure of the Pope and Caesar, signed a treaty of alliance, both offensive and defensive, with Venice April 15, 1499, which was directed against all the Italian princes. The negotiations had been kept secret from Ludovico il Moro; that prince _sans foi et sans loi_, whose destruction was determined upon, was the last to learn of it. The price the Venetians demanded for joining the league was the cities of Cremona and Chiari. Although the Duke of Savoy was in accord with Louis XII. he did not formally join the alliance. Ludovico il Moro was the most hated man in Italy: he had betrayed Florence, Venice, and the King of France one after the other; without regard to the other powers of Italy he had treated with Charles VIII. when the French first descended into the peninsula. Consequently when he was again threatened he found himself without friend or ally. Louis’s pretensions to Milan were based, not only on his inheritance of the rights of Charles VIII. but also on the claims of his grandmother, Valentina Visconti, and as he was also determined to recover Naples he was wise in securing a strong place in the north. Before attempting the conquest of Milan Louis renewed the treaties of Charles VIII. with his neighbours. The Duke of Savoy gave him permission to pass through his territory and promised him troops; in return for Venice’s assistance Louis agreed to give her the two places she had demanded; the Pope and Caesar had already been paid. [Illustration: LUDOVICO SFORZA. _From the woodcut in Antonio Campo’s “Istoria di Cremona.”_ To face p. 136.]