f his pride, the pope the aggrandisement of his house.
He pointed out that armed fleets were in the ports of Villefranche,
Marseilles, and Genoa, and that these armaments would be lost; he
reminded him that he had sent Pierre d'Urfe, his grand equerry, on in
advance, to have splendid accommodation prepared in the Spinola and Doria
palaces. Lastly, he urged that ridicule and disgrace would fall on him
from every side if he renounced an enterprise so loudly vaunted
beforehand, for whose successful execution, moreover, he had been obliged
to sign three treaties of peace that were all vexatious enough, viz. with
Henry VII, with Maximilian, and with Ferdinand the Catholic. Giuliano
della Rovere had exercised true insight in probing the vanity of the
young king, and Charles did not hesitate for a single moment. He ordered
his cousin, the Duke of Orleans (who later on became Louis XII) to take
command of the French fleet and bring it to Genoa; he despatched a
courier to Antoine de Bessay, Baron de Tricastel, bidding him take to
Asti the 2000 Swiss foot-soldiers he had levied in the cantons; lastly,
he started himself from Vienne, in Dauphine, on the 23rd of August, 1494,
crossed the Alps by Mont Genevre, without encountering a single body of
troops to dispute his passage, descended into Piedmont and Monferrato,
both just then governed by women regents, the sovereigns of both
principalities being children, Charles John Aime and William John, aged
respectively six and eight.

The two regents appeared before Charles VIII, one at Turin, one at
Casale, each at the head of a numerous and brilliant court, and both
glittering with jewels and precious stones. Charles, although he quite
well knew that for all these friendly demonstrations they were both bound
by treaty to his enemy, Alfonso of Naples, treated them all the same with
the greatest politeness, and when they made protestations of friendship,
asked them to let him have a proof of it, suggesting that they should
lend him the diamonds they were covered with. The two regents could do
no less than obey the invitation which was really a command. They took
off necklaces, rings, and earrings. Charles VIII gave them a receipt
accurately drawn up, and pledged the jewels for 20,000 ducats. Then,
enriched by this money, he resumed his journey and made his way towards
Asti. The Duke of Orleans held the sovereignty of Asti, as we said
before, and hither came to meet Charles both Lu