r as much as he might require of them. Unfortunately he took so
much that the three boys incontinently died of his phlebotomy, and the
Hebrew was obliged to take to flight to save his own life, for the Pope,
being informed of what had taken place, execrated the deed and ordered
the physician's arrest. "Judeus quidem aufugit, et Papa sanatus not
est," concludes Infessura.

1 The silly interpretation of this afforded by later writers, that this
physician attempted transfusion of blood--silly, because unthinkable in
an age which knew nothing of the circulation of the blood--has already
been exploded.

Innocent VIII breathed his last on July 25, 1492.

CHAPTER III. ALEXANDER VI

The ceremonies connected with the obsequies of Pope Innocent VIII
lasted--as prescribed--nine days; they were concluded on August 5, 1492,
and, says Infessura naively, "sic finita fuit eius memoria."

The Sacred College consisted at the time of twenty-seven cardinals, four
of whom were absent at distant sees and unable to reach Rome in time
for the immuring of the Conclave. The twenty-three present were, in the
order of their seniority: Roderigo Borgia, Oliviero Caraffa, Giuliano
della Rovere, Battista Zeno, Giovanni Michieli, Giorgio Costa, Girolamo
della Rovere, Paolo Fregosi, Domenico della Rovere, Giovanni dei
Conti, Giovanni Giacomo Sclafetani, Lorenzo Cibo, Ardicino della Porta,
Antoniotto Pallavicino, Maffeo Gerardo, Francesco Piccolomini, Raffaele
Riario, Giovanni Battista Savelli, Giovanni Colonna, Giovanni Orsini,
Ascanio Maria Sforza, Giovanni de'Medici, and Francesco Sanseverino.

On August 6 they assembled in St. Peter's to hear the Sacred Mass of the
Holy Ghost, which was said by Giuliano della Rovere on the tomb of the
Prince of the Apostles, and to listen to the discourse "Pro eligendo
Pontefice," delivered by the learned and eloquent Bishop of Carthage.
Thereafter the Cardinals swore upon the Gospels faithfully to observe
their trust, and thereupon the Conclave was immured.

According to the dispatches of Valori, the Ferrarese ambassador in Rome,
it was expected that either the Cardinal of Naples (Oliviero Caraffa)
or the Cardinal of Lisbon (Giorgio Costa) would be elected to the
Pontificate; and according to the dispatch of Cavalieri the ambassador
of Modena, the King of France had deposited 200,000 ducats with a Roman
banker to forward the election of Giuliano della Rovere. Nevertheless,
early on the morning of