n France and by the
Catholic party at home, began to undermine the Regent's position by
intrigue, and ultimately, partly by coaxing, partly by threats, won from
him a promise to surrender his power into her hands.

In the meantime Cardan was waiting for further intelligence and directions
as to his journey. The end of January had been fixed as the date of the
meeting at Paris, and it was not until the middle of February that any
further tidings came to him. Then he received a letter from Cassanate and
a remittance to cover the expenses of his journey.[140] He set out at once
on February 22, undaunted by the prospect of a winter crossing of the
Simplon, and, having travelled by way of Sion and Geneva, arrived at Lyons
on March 13. In Cassanate's first letter Paris had been named as the place
of meeting; but, as a concession to Cardan's convenience, Lyons was added
as an alternative, in case he should find it impossible to spare time for
a longer journey. Cardan accordingly halted at Lyons, but neither
Archbishop nor physician was there to meet him. After he had waited for
more than a month, Cassanate appeared alone, and brought with him a heavy
purse of money for the cost of the long journey to Scotland, which he now
begged Cardan to undertake, and a letter from the Archbishop himself, who
wrote word that, though he had fully determined in the first instance to
repair to Paris, or even to Lyons, to meet Cardan, he found himself at
present mastered by the turn of circumstances, and compelled to stay at
home. He promised Cardan a generous reward, and a reception of a nature to
convince him that the Scots are not such Scythians as they might perchance
be deemed in Milan.[141] Cardan's temper was evidently upset by this turn
of affairs, and his suspicions aroused; for he sets down his belief that
patient and physician had from the first worked with the intention of
dragging him all the way to Scotland, but that they had waited till he was
across the Alps before showing their hand, fearing lest if the word
Scotland should have been used at the outset, he would never have moved
from Milan.[142] In describing his journey he writes:--"I tarried in Lyons
forty-six days, seeing nothing of the Archbishop, nor of the physician
whom I expected, nevertheless I gained more than I spent. I met there
Ludovico Birago, a gentleman of Milan, and commander of the King's
foot-soldiers, and with him I contracted a close friendship, so much so
t