On Monday, the 15th of December, the king left Viterbo, dined at the small town of Roussillon[136], and lay at a little town called Naples[137], where he halted until Friday, when he advanced to Bracciano, belonging to the lord Virgilio d'Orsini, where he dined and lay. He there encamped, and while thus occupied, he received an embassy from the pope to agree to his entering Rome with his army. During this interval, the lord de Ligny marched a strong detachment of Germans, to take possession of Ostia, a strong place at the mouth of the Tiber, and a convenient seaport. The duke of Calabria was at this time in Rome, and, from his boastings, it was thought he would achieve wonders against the French,--but he was soon forced to make a precipitate retreat into La Puglia; and immediately after, the lord de la Trimouille and the marshal de Gié marked the quarters for the army in Rome as undisturbed as they would have been in any town of France. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 135: Poggiobonzi,--21 miles from Florence.] [Footnote 136: Roussillon,--Ronciglione, 10 miles from Viterbo.] [Footnote 137: Naples. Q.] CHAP. LII. THE KING OF FRANCE ENTERS ROME WITH HIS ARMY.--WHAT PASSED THERE. On the last day of December, king Charles, with his princes, lords, and gens d'armes, entered the city of Rome as a conqueror, with his whole army, and train of artillery, in such handsome array as astonished the Romans. But as it was nearly night, an immense number of torches were lighted, and he entered the city by the Porta Flaminia, near to the church of Santa Maria del Populo. He traversed part of Rome to his lodgings in the palace of San Marco, where he had his park of artillery, and the rest of his army marched to the quarters that had been marked for them by the before mentioned lords. Pope Alexander VI. hearing of the great army which the king of France had marched into the city, shut himself up in the castle of St Angelo, fearing some commotions. But by advice of the council, the king sent to him the counts of Foix, of Bresse, and of Ligny, with the marshal of Gié and master John de Rely bishop of Angers, who harangued the pope in such wise that he took courage,--and henceforward there was a good intelligence between the king, the pope, and the other nobles. The king, though daily occupied by his council on the business he was engaged in, found means to visit the churches and holy places in Rome, with much devotion; and he was shown wonderful relics and precious treasures, to which he and his company paid singular respect. The king displayed his sovereignty in Rome by having three or four gallows erected, and by ordering some thieves and malefactors to be thereon hanged. He caused others to be whipped, drowned, or deprived of their ears, to demonstrate that, as a true son of the church and most Christian king, he enjoyed the same powers of executing justice in Rome as in his town of Paris.