his nickname of Fracassa, marched to the very
gates of Ferrara, and planted the Lion of St. Mark on the peacocks'
house in the ducal park. Meanwhile the plague had broken out in Ferrara,
and so great was the scarcity of wheat in the beleaguered city, that
Battista Guarino, the tutor of the young Princess Isabella, applied to
her betrothed husband Francesco Gonzaga for a grant of corn to save him
from starvation. Worse than all, Duke Ercole himself lay dangerously ill
within the Castello, and a report of his death was circulated through
the city. At this critical moment Duchess Leonora once more showed her
courage and presence of mind. Seeing the greatness of the danger, she
sent her children with a safe escort to Modena, and calling the
magistrates together, she harangued them from the garden loggia, and
bade them be true to their old lords of the house of Este. The citizens,
moved to tears at the sight of Leonora's majesty and courage, shouted
with one voice, "Diamante!"--the watchword of the house of Este, and
vowed to die for their duke. In their enthusiasm, the people broke open
the palace doors, and rushing into the chamber where Ercole lay on his
sick-bed, covered his hands with kisses, and would not be satisfied
until they had heard his voice again and knew him to be alive. After
this outburst of loyalty, they rallied bravely to the defence of the
city. Every man who could bear arms in Ferrara helped to man the walls,
and the country-folk, rising in thousands, harassed the invading army
and cut off their supplies. Fortunately, help was at hand. On the one
hand, Lodovico Sforza's troops checked the advance of the Venetians on
the side of Modena; on the other, Ercole's brother-in-law, Alfonso, Duke
of Calabria, himself rode at the head of fifty horsemen and a troop of
infantry to the help of the beleaguered city.

Throughout the long struggle that followed, Lodovico Sforza proved
himself a wise and faithful friend of the house of Este, and it was
chiefly owing to him that Ferrara preserved her independence. But the
duke and his people had to make great sacrifices on their part, and at
the peace of Bagnolo, which was finally concluded in 1484, seven towns
were ceded to Venice, and the fertile district of Rovigo in the
Polesina, "_un petit pays_," in the words of Commines, "_tout environne
d'eau et abondant a merveille en tous biens_."

A period of renewed peace and prosperity followed upon these disastrous
wars. Er