The conduct of the Spaniards was regarded with universal contempt and disgust. As they withdrew towards the Neapolitan territory, a formidable band four or five thousand strong, the men of Gubbio stood on their defence, but those of Fabriano, less alert, were surprised and pillaged to the value of 2000 scudi. "But if the wretches sinned at Fabriano, they did penance at Ripatrasone; for, in trying to sack it also, many of them were slain, and the survivors were taken to Gerbe, in Africa, where they nearly all died,--some from drinking too much, some from drinking too little. The former by great good luck were drowned, and the latter, marching through that country in the parching summer heats, with water scarce, and no wine, perished of thirst; so that they had better have followed the Duke to marvellous enterprises and mighty gains, rather than have left to the world a degraded name." There is something quaint in the concentrated rancour wherewith Giraldi thus dismisses these selfish adventurers; and not less so in the following rustic memorial. Grateful for their escape, comparatively scathless, from perils which nearly menaced them, the people of Maciola, a village two miles from Urbino, placed in their church a votive picture to the Madonna, which is still inscribed with these simple verses:-- "A horrible war [raged] in the state of Urbino, In fifteen hundred and seventeen, [With] many troops brave and chosen Led by the Duke Lorenzino, When Francesco Maria into his duchy Was returned, with capital troops, Spaniards, Mantuans, and other clans, Each one a paladin in arms; Urbino then, and all the district, Being in great peril and dread. Oh, Virgin Mother! ever kind to us, Often did the host approach our walls, And God alone it was who defended them: Therefore has been dedicated to thee this image by thy worshippers Of Maciola, with their grateful vows." In the war thus concluded, Francesco Maria struggled for eight months, single-handed and penniless, against the temporal and spiritual influence of the Holy See, backed by all the continental powers. Unable to carry his object by a coup-de-main, he was in the end vanquished by the superior resources of his oppressor. In a parting address to his subjects, he assumed the tone of victory, asserting that he withdrew, not under compulsion, but from consideration of their interests, which a prolonged struggle must have deeply compromised. Thus retiring with honour, he promised to return to them with glory, when he could do so without detriment to their welfare. He was escorted by l'Escu as far as Cento, whence he rejoined his family at Mantua, presenting his consort with sixty-four standards, taken during this brief and unequal campaign, wherein his talents had been developed, his character strengthened, his fame extended.