n, and Ercole d'Este was urged to it under suasion of the
King of France, out of fear of the growing might of Cesare, and out of
consideration for the splendid dowry which he demanded and in the matter
of which he displayed a spirit which Alexander contemptuously described
as that of a tradesman. Nor would Ercole send the escort to Rome for the
bride until he had in his hands the Bull of investiture in the fiefs
of Cento and Pieve, which, with 100,000 ducats, constituted Lucrezia's
dowry. Altogether a most unromantic affair.

The following letter from the Ferrarese ambassador in Rome, dated
September 23, is of interest in connection with this marriage:

"MOST ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE AND MOST NOBLE LORD,

"His Holiness the Pope, taking into consideration such matters as
might occasion displeasure not only to your Excellency and to the Most
Illustrious Don Alfonso, but also to the duchess and even to himself,
has charged us to write to your Excellency to urge you so to contrive
that the Lord Giovanni of Pesaro, who, as your Excellency is aware,
is in Mantua, shall not be in Ferrara at the time of the nuptials.
Notwithstanding that his divorce from the said duchess is absolutely
legitimate and accomplished in accordance with pure truth, as is
publicly known not only from the proceedings of the trial but also from
the free confession of the said Don Giovanni, it is possible that he may
still be actuated by some lingering ill-will; wherefore, should he
find himself in any place where the said lady might be seen by him, her
Excellency might, in consequence, be compelled to withdraw into privacy,
to be spared the memory of the past. Wherefore, his Holiness exhorts
your Excellency to provide with your habitual prudence against such a
contingency."

Meanwhile, the festivities wherewith her betrothal was celebrated went
merrily amain, and into the midst of them, to bear his share, came
Cesare crowned with fresh laurels gained in the Neapolitan war. No
merry-makings ever held under the auspices of Pope Alexander VI at the
Vatican had escaped being the source of much scandalous rumour, but none
had been so scandalous and disgraceful as the stories put abroad on
this occasion. These found a fitting climax in that anonymous Letter to
Silvio Savelli, published in Germany--which at the time, be it borne in
mind, was extremely inimical to the Pope, viewing with jaundiced eyes
his ever-growing power, and stirred perhaps to this unspeak