ther Pope
Alexander VI., and his sister Lucrezia, one of a
trio who have become a proverb for infamy of every
kind. His father, Roderigo, was by birth a
Spaniard, and by education a lawyer, in which
profession he gained much distinction, till
suddenly, with an impetuosity strange in a man who
did everything by calculation, he threw up his
legal career for that of a soldier. But the rough
life was repugnant to one of his temperament,
which demanded ease and luxury, so after a little
active service, when his courage, during some
sharp engagements, was proved beyond a doubt, he
abandoned the army also, and retired to live in
comfort on the large fortune lately bequeathed to
him by his father.

It required some pressing on the part of his
uncle, Calixtus III., recently made Pope, to
induce him to leave his native land and his
secular existence, for Italy and a Cardinalate.
But no sooner did he occupy his new position, than
a set of base qualities, which had hitherto lain
dormant, suddenly developed themselves, and from
this moment he became one of the cleverest and
most successful hypocrites of his age.

It was in 1492, the year that saw the landing of
Columbus in America, and the death of Lorenzo the
Magnificent at Florence, that the Cardinal Borgia
obtained, by means of huge bribes, his election to
the Papal Throne, and took the name of Alexander
VI. His first care was to establish (for his own
credit's sake) order and security in Rome, and
this done, he turned his thoughts to the
aggrandisement of his family. For when Roderigo
sailed for Italy he was shortly followed by his
four children, Francis, Caesar, Lucrezia and
Geoffrey, and their mother Rosa Vanozza. All four,
but more particularly Caesar and Lucrezia,
inherited in the highest degree their father's
beauty, talents and wickedness. Honours of every
kind were showered upon them, marriages made and
unmade to suit the requirements of the moment,
murders committed to ensure them wealth and
possessions. For eleven years the roll of crime