republic. They were none the less strong
because the chief of the spoilers was France, for Henry and his people
were imbued with an inborn antipathy to everything French.[97] Before
he came to the throne he was reported to be France's enemy; and
speculations were rife as to the chances of his invading it and
imitating the exploits of his ancestor Henry V. It needed no
persuasion from Ferdinand to induce him to intervene in favour of
Venice. Within a few weeks of his accession he refused to publish the
papal bull which cast the halo of crusaders over the bandits of
Cambrai. The day after his coronation he deplored to Badoer Louis'
victory at Agnadello, and a week later he wrote to the sovereigns of
Europe urging the injustice of their Venetian crusade. In September he
sent Bainbridge, Cardinal-Archbishop of York, to reside at the Papal
Court, and watch over the interests of Venice as well as of England.
"Italy," wrote Badoer, "was entirely rescued from the barbarians by
the movements of the English King; and, but for that, Ferdinand would
have done nothing."[98] Henry vainly endeavoured to persuade
Maximilian, the Venetian's lifelong foe, to accept arbitration; but he
succeeded in inducing the Doge to make his peace with the Pope, and
Julius to remove his ecclesiastical censures. To Ferdinand he declared
that Venice must be preserved as a wall against the Turk, and he
hinted that Ferdinand's own dominions in Italy would, if Venice were
destroyed, "be unable to resist the ambitious designs of certain (p. 054)
Christian princes".[99] The danger was as patent to Julius and
Ferdinand as it was to Henry; and as soon as Ferdinand had induced
Louis to give a favourable verdict in his suit with the Emperor, the
Catholic King was ready to join Henry and the Pope in a league of
defence.

[Footnote 97: _Ven. Cal._, i., 941, 942, 945; ii.,
1.]

[Footnote 98: _L. and P._, i., 922, 932, 3333;
_Ven. Cal._, ii., 5, 7, 9, 19-22, 28, 33, 39, 40,
45, 51.]

[Footnote 99: _Sp. Cal._, ii., 23.]

But, in spite of Venetian, Spanish and papal instigations to "recover
his noble inheritance in France," in spite of his own indignation at
the treatment of Venice, and the orders issued in the first year of
his reign to his subjects to furnish themselves with weapons of war,
for which the long peace had left them unprepared,[100] H