As some of the partisans of king Alphonso still held the citadel of Naples, the Castel Nuovo, and the Castel del Ovo, king Charles ordered them to be instantly attacked, although one side of the citadel was washed by the sea. He had his battering artillery pointed against the Castel Nuovo; and the captains of the guard for the king were sir Gabriel de Montfaucon, Jean de la Grange, and others of rank. Not to prolong matters, the citadel was gained after a very severe attack; and the Germans, Neapolitans, and Spaniards, of the party adverse to the king of France, burnt the outworks and hastily retreated to join their associates in the Castel Nuovo. In the citadel were found the largest cannons that had ever been seen, with such quantities of other things of an extraordinary appearance that it was more than eight days before the place could be cleared, by employing numbers of people and carts. Wednesday, the 25th day of February, the king, after hearing mass in the church of the Annonciada went to dine with the lord de Montpensier, and thence, accompanied by his lords, repaired to the citadel to examine how it had been battered, and to consult on the best means of conquering the Castel Nuovo. The next day the garrison demanded a parley, on which the artillery ceased firing,--and the lord Angilbert of Cleves, the lord of Ligny, the bailiff of Dijon, and the great chamberlain to the queen advanced to confer with them. The first demand of the garrison was, that the king would grant them a truce for twenty-four hours, which was cheerfully acceded to: the next, that they might, on the morrow, march away with arms and baggage, which was refused. On the twenty-four hours being expired, the artillery played more fiercely than before,--and it was a pitiful sight to view the ruins of this Castel Nuovo, which was exceedingly strong. The besieged fired a piece of artillery against the church of the Franciscans of the observantine order, which broke through the roof, but did not the least mischief to crowds of persons, of both sexes, then in the church. The incessant firing of the batteries lasted from Thursday to the Monday following,--and there were so many breaches, for the king was there in person, that the garrison again demanded a cessation of arms for another parley. The lord Angilbert of Cleves and the bailiff of Dijon, who spoke German, met the deputies from the castle. They demanded permission to march away in safety with their baggage, to receive three months pay to serve the king, if it should be agreeable to him; otherwise, to receive passports for them to go whither-soever they pleased.