ere too raw and ill paid, for him to attempt an assault; so he
remained in his camp at Annona, and contented himself with cutting off
the supplies of the beleaguered city.

Towards the end of April, the imperial envoys were at length despatched
with the long-promised privileges, and in the middle of May they reached
Milan, where they were magnificently entertained by the duke and duchess
in the Castello. On the 26th of May, the festival of S. Felicissimo, the
great ceremony took place. An imposing tribunal, hung with crimson satin
embroidered with gold mulberry leaves and berries, was erected for the
occasion on the piazza at the doors of the Duomo, and here, after
attending high mass, Lodovico Sforza was solemnly proclaimed Duke of
Milan, Count of Pavia and Angera, by the grace of God and the will of
his Cesarean Majesty, Maximilian, Emperor-elect and chief of the Holy
Roman Empire. The imperial delegates, Melchior, Bishop of Brixen, and
Conrad Sturzl, Chancellor of the King of the Romans, first read aloud
the privileges in their master's name, and then invested Lodovico with
the ducal cap and mantle, and placed the sceptre and sword of state in
his hands. Giasone del Maino, the celebrated Pavian jurist, recited a
Latin oration, after which the duke, accompanied by the imperial
ambassadors, and followed by the duchess and a brilliant suite of
courtiers and ladies, rode in procession to the ancient basilica of S.
Ambrogio to return thanks for his accession. Then the whole company
returned, "with immense rejoicing and triumph," to the Castello, where a
series of splendid _fetes_ were given in honour of the occasion, and
rich presents were made to the imperial ambassadors and court officials.
Two days afterwards another imposing ceremony was held in the Castello,
when the heads of houses from the different quarters of the city were
assembled, and each citizen in turn swore fealty, first to Duke Lodovico
and afterwards to Duchess Beatrice, whom, in the event of his own death,
he had appointed to be regent of the State and guardian of his sons. The
Marquis of Mantua was among the guests present, and Beatrice felt the
keenest regret that the marchioness was unable to accompany him and
witness the wonderful scene before the Duomo, which, she exclaims in her
youthful enthusiasm," was the grandest spectacle and noblest solemnity
that our eyes have ever beheld."

It was the proudest day of Lodovico's life, and his adored wife, w