ajesty should desire him so to do. In reply, he
was assured by the French ambassador and Cardinal Sanseverino of the
continued protection of Louis, and that France would aid him to maintain
his dominions in Italy and reconquer any that might have seceded; and
of this declaration copies were sent to Florence, Venice, and Bologna on
September 1, as a warning to those Powers not to engage in anything to
the hurt of Valentinois.

Thus sped the time of the novendiali--the nine days' obsequies of the
dead Pope--which were commenced on September 4.

As during the conclave that was immediately to follow it was against
the law for armed men to be in Rome, Cesare was desired by the Sacred
College to withdraw his troops. He did so on September 2, and himself
went with them.

Cardinal Sanseverino and the French ambassador escorted him out of Rome
and saw him take the road to Nepi--a weak, fever-ravaged, emaciated man,
borne in a litter by a dozen of his halberdiers, his youth, his beauty,
his matchless strength of body all sapped from him by the insidious
disease which had but grudgingly spared his very life.

At Nepi he was awaited by his brother Giuffredo, who had preceded him
thither from Rome. A shadowy personage this Giuffredo, whose unimportant
personality is tantalizingly elusive in the pages where mention is made
of him. His incontinent wife, Dona Sancia, had gone to Naples under the
escort of Prospero Colonna, having left the Castle of Sant' Angelo where
for some time she had been confined by order of her father-in-law, the
Pope, on account of the disorders of her frivolous life.

And now the advices of the fresh treaty between Cesare Borgia and the
King of France were producing their effect upon Venice and Florence, who
were given additional pause by the fierce jealousy of each other, which
was second only to their jealousy of the duke.

From Venice--with or without the sanction of his Government--Bartolomeo
d'Alviano had ridden south into the Romagna with his condotta
immediately upon receiving news of the death of Alexander, and, finding
Pandolfaccio Malatesta at Ravenna, he proceeded to accompany him back
to that Rimini which the tyrant had sold to Cesare. Rimini, however,
refused to receive him back, and showed fight to the forces under
d'Alviano. So that, for the moment, nothing was accomplished. Whereupon
the Republic, which at first had raised a feeble, make-believe protest
at the action of her condottiero, n