ow deemed it as well to find a
pretext for supporting him. So Venice alleged that a courier of hers had
been stripped of a letter, and, with such an overwhelming cause as that
for hostilities, dispatched reinforcements to d'Alviano to the end that
he might restore Pandolfaccio to a dominion in which he was abhorred.
Further, d'Alviano was thereafter to proceed to do the like office for
Giovanni Sforza, who already had taken ship for Pesaro, and who was
restored to his lordship on September 3.

Thence, carrying the war into the Romagna itself, d'Alviano marched upon
Cesena. But the Romagna was staunch and loyal to her duke. The governor
had shut himself up in Cesena with what troops he could muster,
including a thousand veterans under the valiant Dionigio di Naldo,
and there, standing firm and resolute, he awaited the onslaught of the
Venetians.

D'Alviano advanced rapidly and cruelly, a devastator laying waste the
country in his passage, until to check him came suddenly the Borgia
troops, which had ventured upon a sally. The Venetians were routed and
put to flight.

On September 16 the restored tyrants of Rimini, Pesaro, Castello,
Perugia, Camerino, Urbino, and Sinigaglia entered into and signed at
Perugia a league, whose chiefs were Bartolomeo d'Alviano and Gianpaolo
Baglioni, for their common protection.

Florence was invited to join the allies. Intimidated, however, by
France, not only did the Signory refuse to be included, but--in her
usual manner--actually went so far as to advise Cesare Borgia of that
refusal and to offer him her services and help.

On the same date the Sacred College assembled in Rome, at the Mass of
the Holy Spirit, to beseech the grace of inspiration in the election of
the new Pontiff. The part usually played by the divine afflatus in
these matters was so fully understood and appreciated that the Venetian
ambassador received instructions from the Republic(1) to order the
Venetian cardinals to vote for Giuliano della Rovere, whilst the King of
France sent a letter--in his own hand--to the Sacred College desiring it
to elect his friend the Cardinal d'Amboise, and Spain, at the same time,
sought to influence the election of Carvajal.

1 See Sanuto's Diarrii.

The chances of the last-named do not appear ever to have amounted
to very much. The three best supported candidates were della Rovere,
d'Amboise, and Ascanio Sforza--who made his reappearance in Rome,
released from his French