France, Navarre, and the Low Countries were at times the seat of the
long contest which ensued; but chiefly Italy. The duchy of Milan had
been conquered by Francis in 1515. It was again wrested from the French
by the emperor in 1522. In 1523, a strong confederacy was formed against
France, by the Pope, the Emperor, the King of England, the Archduke
Ferdinand, to whom his brother Charles had ceded the German dominions of
the House of Austria, the states of Milan, Venice, and Genoa; all united
against a single power. And in addition, the celebrated Constable of
Bourbon became a traitor to France to gratify his revenge; brought his
brilliant military talents to the emperor's service, and was invested
with the command of the Imperial troops in Italy. To this formidable
enemy Francis opposed his weak and presumptuous favorite, the Admiral
Bonnivet, who was driven out of Italy in 1524, the year in which the
gallant Bayard lost his life in striving to redeem his commander's
errors.

The confidence of Francis seemed to increase with his dangers, and his
faults with his confidence. He again entered the Milanese in 1525, and
retook the capital. But Bonnivet was his only counsellor; and under such
guidance the siege of Pavia was prosecuted with inconceivable rashness,
and the battle of Pavia fought without a chance of gaining it. Francis
was taken prisoner, and wrote thus to his mother, the Duchess of
Angouleme: "Everything is lost, except our honor." This Spartan spirit
has been much admired; but whether justly, may be a question. From a
Bayard, nothing could have been better; but the honor of a king is not
confined to fighting a battle; and this specimen, like the conduct of
Francis in general, proves him to have been the mirror of knighthood,
rather than of royalty.

Charles, notwithstanding his victory at Pavia, did not invade France,
but, as the price of freedom, he prescribed the harshest conditions to
the captive king. At first they were rejected, but his haughty spirit
and conscience were at length both reconciled to the casuistry that the
fulfilment of forced promises may be eluded. Francis, therefore,
consented to the treaty of Madrid, made in 1526, by which it was
stipulated that he should give up his claims in Italy and the Low
Countries; surrender the Duchy of Burgundy to Spain; and return into
captivity if these conditions were not fulfilled in six weeks. When once
at large, instead of executing the treaty, he form