VIII. 1547. BOOK dictated by Charles on this occasion, he, in conformity to his original plan, took care that nothing relating to religion should be inserted; and to such a degree were the confederates humbled or overawed, that, forgetting the zeal which had so long animated them, they were solicitous only about their own safety, without venturing to insist on a point, the mention of which they saw the Emperor avoiding with so much industry. The inhabitants of Memmingen alone made some feeble efforts to procure a promise of protection in the exercise of their religion, but were checked so severely by the Imperial ministers, that they instantly fell from their demand. THE Elector of Cologne, whom, notwithstanding the sentence of excommunication issued against him by the Pope, Charles had hitherto allowed to remain in possession of the archiepiscopal see, being now required by the Emperor to submit to the censures of the church, this virtuous and disinterested prelate, unwilling to expose his subjects to the miseries of war on his own account, voluntarily resigned that Jan. 25. high dignity. With a moderation becoming his age and The elector returns to Saxony, and reco session of it. character, he chose to enjoy truth, together with the exercise of his religion, in the retirement of a private life, rather than to disturb society by engaging in a doubtful and violent struggle in order to retain his offices. DURING these transactions, the Elector of Saxony reached the frontiers of his country unmolested. As Maurice could assemble no force equal to the army which accompanied vers pos- him, he, in a short time, not only recovered possession of his own territories, but over-ran Misnia, and stripped his rival of all that belonged to him, except Dresden and Leipsic, which, being towns of some strength, could not be suddenly reduced. Maurice, obliged to quit the field, and to shut himself up in his capital, dispatched courier after courier to the Emperor, representing his dangerous situation, and soliciting him with the most earnest importunity to march immediately to his relief. But Charles, busy at that time s Sleid. 418. Thuan. lib. iv. 128. VIII. 1547. in prescribing terms to such members of the league as were BOOK daily returning to their allegiance, thought it sufficient to detach Albert Marquis of Brandenburg-Anspach with three thousand men to his assistance. Albert, though an enterprising and active officer, was unexpectedly surprised by the Elector, who killed many of his troops, dispersed the remainder, and took him prisoner. Maurice continued as much exposed as formerly; and if his enemy had known. how to improve the opportunity which presented itself, his ruin must have been immediate and unavoidable. But the Elector, no less slow and dilatory when invested with the sole command, than he had been formerly when joined in authority with a partner, never gave any proof of military activity but in this enterprise against Albert. Instead of marching directly towards Maurice, whom the defeat of his ally had greatly alarmed, he inconsiderately listened to overtures of accommodation, which his artful antagonist proposed with no other intention than to amuse him and to slacken the vigour of his operations. ror pre SUCH, indeed, was the posture of the Emperor's affairs, The empe that he could not march instantly to the relief of his ally. vented Soon after the separation of the confederate army, he, in from atorder to ease himself of the burden of maintaining a super- Elector and tacking the fluous number of troops, had dismissed the Count of Buren Landgrave. with his Flemings ", imagining that the Spaniards and Germans, together with the papal forces, would be fully sufficient to crush any degree of vigour that yet remained among the members of the league. But Paul, growing wise too late, began now to discern the imprudence of that measure, from which the more sagacious Venetians had endeavoured in vain to dissuade him. The rapid progress of the Imperial arms, and the ease with which they had broken a combination that appeared no less firm than powerful, opened his eyes at length, and made him not only forget all the advantages which he had expected from such a complete triumph over heresy, but placed, in the strongest light, his VIII. 1547. The pope recals his troops. BOOK own impolitic conduct, in having contributed towards acquir ing for Charles such an immense increase of power, as would enable him, after oppressing the liberties of Germany, to give law with absolute authority to all the states of Italy. The moment that he perceived his error, he endeavoured to correct it. Without giving the Emperor any warning of his intention, he ordered Farnese, his grandson, to return instantly to Italy with all the troops under his command, and at the same time recalled the licence which he had granted Charles, of appropriating to his own use, a large share of the church lands in Spain. He was not destitute of pretences to justify this abrupt desertion of his ally. The term of six months, during which the stipulations in their treaty were to continue in force, was now expired; the league, in opposition to which their alliance had been framed, seemed to be entirely dissipated; Charles, in all his negociations with the Princes and cities which had submitted to his will, had neither consulted the Pope, nor had allotted him any part of the conquests which he had made, nor had allowed him any share in the vast contributions which he had raised. He had not even made any provision for the suppression of heresy, or the re-establishment of the Catholic religion, which were Paul's chief inducements to bestow the treasures of the church so liberally in carrying on the war. These colours, however specious, did not conceal from the Emperor that secret jealousy which was the true motive of the Pope's conduct. But, as Paul's orders with regard to the march of his troops were no less peremptory than unexpected, it was im-. possible to prevent their retreat. Charles exclaimed loudly. against his treachery, in abandoning him so unseasonably, while he was prosecuting a war undertaken in obedience to the papal injunctions, and from which, if successful, so much honour and advantage would redound to the church. To. complaints he added threats and expostulations. But Paul remained inflexible; his troops continued their march to wards the ecclesiastical state; and in an elaborate memorial, intended as an apology for his conduct, he discovered new and: more manifest symptoms of alienation from the Emperor, together with a deep-rooted dread of his power. Charles, x F. Paul, 208. Pallavic. par. ii. p. 5. Thuan. 126.. VIII. 1547. weakened by the withdrawing of so great a body from his B O O K army, which was already much diminished by the number of garrisons that he had been obliged to throw into the towns which had capitulated, found it necessary to recruit his forces by new levies, before he could venture to march in person towards Saxony. ment of THE fame and splendour of his success could not have A conspi failed of attracting such multitudes of soldiers into his ser- overturn vice from all the extensive territories now subject to his au- the governthority, as must have soon put him in a condition of taking Genoa. the field against the Elector; but the sudden and violent eruption of a conspiracy at Genoa, as well as the great revo lutions which that event, extremely mysterious in its first appearances, seemed to portend, obliged him to avoid entangling himself in new operations in Germany, until he had fully discovered its source and tendency. The form of government which had been established in Genoa, at the time when Andrew Doria restored liberty to his country, though calculated to obliterate the memory of former dissentions, and received at first with eager approbation, did not, after a trial of near twenty years, give universal satisfaction to those turbulent and factious republicans. As the entire administration of affairs was now lodged in a certain number of noble families, many envying them that pre-eminence, The object wished for the restitution of a popular government, to which of the conspirators. they had been accustomed; and though all reverenced the disinterested virtue of Doria, and admired his talents, not a few were jealous of that ascendant which he had acquired in the councils of the commonwealth. His age, however, his moderation, and his love of liberty, afforded ample security to his countrymen that he would not abuse his power, nor stain the close of his days by attempting to overturn that fabric, which it had been the labour and pride of his life to erect. But the authority and influence which in his hands were innocent, they easily saw would prove destructive, if usurped by any citizen of greater ambition, or less virtue. A citizen of this dangerous character had actually formed such pretensions, and with some prospect of success. Giannetino Doria, whom his grand uncle Andrew destined to be the heir of VIII. 1547. BOOK his private fortune, aimed likewise at being his successor in power. His temper haughty, insolent, and overbearing to such a degree as would hardly have been tolerated in one born to reign, was altogether insupportable in the citizen of a free state. The more sagacious among the Genoese already feared and hated him as the enemy of those liberties for which they were indebted to his uncle. While Andrew himself, blinded by that violent and undiscerning affection which persons in advanced age often contract for the younger members of their family, set no bounds to the indulgence. with which he treated him; seeming less solicitous to secure and perpetuate the freedom of the commonwealth, than to aggrandize that undeserving kinsman. Fiesco racy. BUT whatever suspicion of Doria's designs, or whatever dissatisfaction with the system of administration in the commonwealth, these circumstances might have occasioned, they would have ended, it is probable, in nothing more than murmurings and complaints, if John Lewis Fiesco, Count of Lavagna, observing this growing disgust, had not been encouraged by it to attempt one of the boldest actions recorded in history. That young nobleman, the richest and most illustrious subject in the republic, possessed, in an emithe head of nent degree, all the qualities which win upon the human the conspi- heart, which command respect, or secure attachment. He was graceful and majestic in his person; magnificent even to profusion; of a generosity that anticipated the wishes of his friends, and exceeded the expectations of strangers; of an insinuating address, gentle manners, and a flowing affability. But under the appearance of these virtues, which seemed to form him for enjoying and adorning social life, he concealed all the dispositions which marked men out for taking the lead in the most dangerous and dark conspiracies; an insatiable and restless ambition, a courage unacquainted with fear, and a mind that disdained subordination. Such a temper could ill brook that station of inferiority, wherein he was placed in the republic; and as he envied the power which the elder Doria had acquired, he was filled with indignation at the thoughts of its descending, like an hereditary possession, to Giannetino. These various passions, 1 |