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XII.

1557.

BOOK his army, during the remainder of the campaign, in the sieges of Ham and Catelet. Of these he soon became master; and the reduction of two such petty towns, together with the acquisition of St Quintin, were all the advantages which he derived from one of the most decisive victories gained in that century. Philip himself, however, continued in high exultation on account of his success; and as all his passions were tinged with superstition, he, in memory of the battle of St. Quintin, which had been fought on the day consecrated to St. Laurence, vowed to build a church, a monastery, and a palace, in honour of that saint and martyr. Before the expiration of the year, he laid the foundation of an edifice, in which all these were united, at the Escurial in the neighbourhood of Madrid; and the same principle which dictated the vow, directed the building. For the plan of the work was so formed as to resemble a gridiron, which, according to the legendary tale, had been the instrument of St. Laurence's martyrdom. Notwithstanding the great and expensive schemes in which his restless ambition involved him, Philip continued the building with such perseverance for twenty-two years, and reserved such large sums for this monument of his devotion and vanity, that the monarchs of Spain are indebted to him for a royal residence, which, though not the most elegant, is certainly the most sumptuous and magnificent of any in Europe ".

The French army re

called out

of Italy.

THE first account of that fatal blow which the French had received at St. Quintin was carried to Rome by the courier whom Henry had sent to recal the Duke of Guise. As Paul, even with the assistance of his French auxiliaries, had hardly been able to check the progress of the Spanish arms, he foresaw that, as soon as he was deprived of their protection, his territories must be over-run in a moment. remonstrated therefore with the greatest violence against the departure of the French army, reproaching the Duke of Guise for his ill-conduct, which had brought him into such an unhappy situation; and complaining of the King for deserting him so ungenerously under such circumstances. The

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XII.

1557.

Duke of Guise's orders, however, were peremptory. Paul, BOOK inflexible as he was, found it necessary to accommodate his conduct to the exigency of his affairs, and to employ the mediation of the Venetians, and of Cosmo di Medici, in order to obtain peace. Philip, who had been forced unwillingly to a rupture with the Pope, and who, even while success crowned his arms, doubted so much the justice of his own cause, that he had made frequent overtures of pacification, listened eagerly to the first proposals of this nature from Paul, and discovered such moderation in his demands, as could hardly have been expected from a Prince elated with victory.

peace between the

Philip.

THE Duke of Alva on the part of Philip, and the Cardi- A treaty of nal Caraffa in the name of his uncle, met at Cavi, and both being equally disposed to peace, they, after a short confer- pope and ence terminated the war by a treaty on the following terms: That Paul should renounce his league with France, and maintain for the future such a neutrality as became the common father of Christendom; That Philip should instantly restore all the towns of the ecclesiastical territory of which he had taken possession; That the claims of the Caraffas to the dutchy of Paliano, and other demesnes of the Colonnas, should be referred to the decision of the republic of Venice; That the Duke of Alva should repair in person to Rome, and after asking pardon of Paul in his own name, and in that of his master, for having invaded the patrimony of the church, should receive the Pope's absolution from that crime. Thus Paul, through Philip's scrupulous timidity, finished an unprosperous war without any detriment to the Papal See. The conqueror appeared humble, and acknowledged his error; while he who had been vanquished retained his usual haughtiness, and was treated with every mark of superiority". The Duke of Alva, in terms of the treaty, repaired to Rome, and, in the posture of a supplicant, kissed the feet, and implored the forgiveness of that very person whom his arms had reduced to the last extremity. Such was the superstitious veneration of the Spaniards for the Pa

o Pallav. lib. xiii. 183. F. Paul, 380. Herrera, vol. i. 310.

XII.

BOOK pal character, that Alva, though perhaps the proudest man of the age, and accustomed from his infancy to a familiar intercourse with Princes, acknowledged that when he approached the Pope, he was so much overawed, that his voice failed, and his presence of mind forsook him P.

1557.

Philip re

stores Placentia to Octavio Farnese.

Cosmo di
Medici's

measures

BUT though this war, which at its commencement threatened mighty revolutions, was brought to an end without occasioning any alteration in those States which were its immediate object, it had produced during its progress effects of considerable consequence in other parts of Italy. As Philip was extremely solicitous to terminate his quarrel with Paul as speedily as possible, he was willing to make any sacrifice in order to gain those Princes, who, by joining their troops to the Papal and French army, might have prolonged the war. With this view, he entered into a negociation with Octavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, and, in order to seduce him from his alliance with France, he restored to him the city of Placentia, with the territory depending on it, which Charles V. had seized in the year one thousand five hundred and forty-seven, had kept from that time in his possession, and had transmitted, together with his other dominions, to Philip.

THIS step made such a discovery of Philip's character and views to Cosmo di Medici, the most sagacious as well for obtain as provident of all the Italian Princes, that he conceived ing Siena. hopes of accomplishing his favourite scheme of adding Siena

and its territories to his dominions in Tuscany. As his success in this attempt depended entirely on the delicacy of address with which it should be conducted, he employed all the refinements of policy in the negociation which he set on foot for this purpose. He began with soliciting Philip, whose treasury he knew to be entirely drained by the expense of the war, to repay the great sums which he had advanced to the Emperor during the siege of Siena. When Philip endeavoured to elude a demand which he was unable to satisfy, Cosmo affected to be extremely disquieted, and

p Pallav. lib. xiii. 185. Summonté Istoria di Napoli, iv. 286.

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1557.

making no secret of his disgust, instructed his ambassador B O OK at Rome to open a negociation with the Pope, which seemed to be the effect of it. The ambassador executed his commission with such dexterity, that Paul, imagining Cosmo to be entirely alienated from the Spanish interest, proposed to him an alliance with France, which should be cemented by the marriage of his eldest son to one of Henry's daughters. Cosmo received the overture with such apparent satisfaction, and with so many professions of gratitude for the high honour of which he had the prospect, that not only the Pope's ministers, but the French envoy at Rome, talked confidently, and with little reserve, of the accession of that important ally, as a matter certain and decided. The account of this was quickly carried to Philip; and Cosmo, who foresaw how much it would alarm him, had dispatched his nephew Ludovico de Toledo into the Netherlands, that he might be at hand to observe and take advantage of his consternation, before the first impression which it made should in any degree abate. Cosmo was extremely fortunate in the choice of the instrument whom he employed. Toledo waited with patience, until he discovered with certainty, that Philip had received such intelligence of his uncle's negociations at Rome, as must have filled his suspicious mind with fear and jealousy; and then craving an audience, he required payment of the money which had been borrowed by the Emperor, in the most earnest and peremptory terms. In urging that point, he artfully threw out several dark hints, and ambiguous declarations, concerning the extremities to which Cosmo might be driven by a refusal of this just demand, as well as by other grievances of which he had good reason to complain,

PHILIP, astonished at an address in such a strain, from Their suca Prince so far his inferior as the Duke of Tuscany, and cess, comparing what he now heard with the information which he had received from Italy, immediately concluded that Cosmo had ventured to assume this bold and unusual tone, on the prospect of his union with France. In order to prevent the Pope and Henry from acquiring an ally, who, by his abilities, as well as the situation of his dominions, would

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XII.

1557.

BOOK have added both reputation and strength to their confederacy, he offered to grant Cosmo the investiture of Siena, if he would consent to accept of it as an equivalent for the sums due to him, and engage to furnish a body of troops towards the defence of Philip's territories in Italy, against any power who should attack them. As soon as Cosmo had brought Philip to make this concession, which was the object of all his artifices and intrigues, he did not protract the negociation by any unnecessary delay, or any excess of refinement, but closed eagerly with the proposal, and Philip, in spite of the remonstrances of his ablest counsellors, signed a treaty with him to that effect.

Sept. 29.

The duke

As no Prince was ever more tenacious of his rights than Philip, or less willing to relinquish any territory which he possessed, by what tenure soever he held it, these unusual concessions to the Dukes of Parma and Tuscany, by which he wantonly gave up countries, in acquiring or defending which his father had employed many years, and wasted much blood and treasure, cannot be accounted for from any motive, but his superstitious desire of extricating himself out of the war which he had been forced to wage against the Pope. By these treaties, however, the balance of power among the Italian States was poised with greater equality, and rendered less variable than it had been since it received the first violent shock from the invasion of Charles VIII. of France. From this period Italy ceased to be the great theatre, on which the monarchs of Spain, France, and Germany, contended for power or for fame. Their dissentions and hostilities, though as frequent and violent as ever, being excited by new objects, stained other regions of Europe with blood, and rendered them miserable, in their turn, by the devastations of war.

THE Duke of Guise left Rome on the same day that his of Guise's adversary the Duke of Alva made his humiliating submisreception sion to the Pope. He was received in France as the guardian angel of the kingdom. His late ill success in Italy

in France.

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Thuan. lib. xviii. 624. Herrera, i. 263. 275. Pallav. lib. xiii. 180.

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