ine ambassador at the French court to Piero de' Medici,
"that the king should support Signor Lodovico in a thing so harmful to
the interests of his cousin the Duke of Orleans' claims, but so it is,
and this will show you the influence that now predominates in the royal
counsels."

Belgiojoso reached Torgiara, in the district of Parma, on the 4th of
June, and on the 24th, Maximilian sent the despatch from the castle of
Gmunden, by which he accepted the hand of Bianca Sforza in marriage, and
promised Lodovico Sforza the investiture of the duchy of Milan as soon
as he himself should receive the imperial dignity. In the same month of
June, the marriage of the Pope's daughter, Lucrezia Borgia, to Giovanni
Sforza of Pesaro was celebrated with great pomp in the Vatican, and the
Pope and cardinals joined in the orgies which followed. But old King
Ferrante gnashed his teeth with rage, and his son Alfonso vowed
vengeance against the hated Moro and all his crew. And in the Duomo of
Florence, the fiery Dominican friar, Fra Girolamo of San Marco,
preaching with passionate fervour to the crowds who hung on his lips,
boldly denounced the shameless profligacy that reigned in high places,
and warned the Church and the world of the avenging sword of the Lord.

FOOTNOTES:

[37] Luzio-Renier, _op. cit._, p. 374.

[38] Muratori, R. L. S., xxiv. 284.

[39] E. Motta in _Giorn. st. d. lett. Ital._, vii. 387.

CHAPTER XVI

Visit of Beatrice and her mother to Venice--Letters of Lodovico to his
wife--Reception of the duchesses by the Doge at S. Clemente--Their
triumphal entry--Procession and _fetes_ in the Grand Canal--Letter of
Beatrice to her husband--The palace of the Dukes of Ferrara in Venice.

1493

The spring of 1493, as we have already said, proved a turning-point in
Lodovico Sforza's policy. And it also marked a new period in the life of
Beatrice d'Este. Up to this time the young duchess was a bright and
joyous child, intellectual and cultivated like the other ladies of her
family, but eager, above all, to enjoy the splendour and gaiety of her
new life, to taste of every pleasure, and fling herself into every
passing amusement. But now she appears in a new light. For the first
time, on this visit to Venice, she takes a leading part in political
affairs, and comes before the Doge and Senate as her husband's
ambassador and spokeswoman. Here we see this princess, who was not yet
eighteen years of age, assuming the charact