in, on learning the near
arrival of the Pope, had sent to meet him and give brilliancy to his
reception.

Stephen passed the winter at St. Denis, and gained the favor of the
people as well as that of the King. Astolphus peremptorily refused to
listen to the remonstrances of Pepin, who called upon him to evacuate
the towns in the exarchate of Ravenna, and to leave the Pope unmolested
in the environs of Rome as well as in Rome itself. At the March parade
held at Braine, in the spring of 754, the Franks approved of the war
against the Lombards; and at the end of the summer Pepin and his army
descended into Italy by Mount Cenis, the Lombards trying in vain to stop
them as they debouched into the valley of Suza. Astolphus, beaten, and,
before long, shut up in Pavia, promised all that was demanded of him;
and Pepin and his warriors, laden with booty, returned to France,
leaving at Rome the Pope, who conjured them to remain awhile in Italy,
for to a certainty, he said, King Astolphus would not keep his promises.
The pope was right. So soon as the Franks had gone, the King of the
Lombards continued occupying the places in the exarchate and molesting
the neighborhood of Rome.

The Pope, in despair and doubtful of his auxiliaries' return, conceived
the idea of sending "to the King, the chiefs, and the people of the
Franks, a letter written, he said, by Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God, to announce to them that, if they came in haste,
he would aid them as if he were alive according to the flesh among them,
that they would conquer all their enemies and make themselves sure of
eternal life!" The plan was perfectly successful: the Franks once more
crossed the Alps with enthusiasm, once more succeeded in beating the
Lombards, and once more shut up in Pavia King Astolphus, who was eager
to purchase peace at any price. He obtained it on two principal
conditions: (1) That he would not again make a hostile attack on Roman
territory, or wage war against the Pope or people of Rome; (2) that he
would henceforth recognize the sovereignty of the Franks, pay them
tribute, and cede forthwith to Pepin the towns and all the lands
belonging to the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire, which were at that
time occupied by the Lombards. By virtue of these conditions Ravenna,
Rimini, Pesaro, that is to say, the Romagna, the duchy of Urbino, and a
portion of the Marches of Ancona, were at once given up to Pepin, who,
regarding them as