at Grenada on the
11th of November, 1500, between Louis XII and Ferdinand the Catholic, a
treaty which up, to that time had been secret. Alexander, foreseeing the
probable future, had, by the death of Alfonso, loosened all the bonds
that attached him to the house of Aragon, and then began by making some
difficulty about it. It was demonstrated that the arrangement had only
been undertaken to provide the Christian princes with another weapon for
attacking the Ottoman Empire, and before this consideration, one may
readily suppose, all the pope's scruples vanished; on the 25th of June,
therefore, it was decided to call a consistory which was to declare
Frederic deposed from the throne of Naples. When Frederic heard all at
once that the French army had arrived at Rome, that his ally Ferdinand
had deceived him, and that Alexander had pronounced the sentence of his
downfall, he understood that all was lost; but he did not wish it to be
said that he had abandoned his kingdom without even attempting to save
it. So he charged his two new condottieri, Fabrizio Calonna and Ranuzia
di Marciano, to check the French before Capua with 300 men-at-arms, some
light horse, and 3000 infantry; in person he occupied Aversa with another
division of his army, while Prospero Colonna was sent to defend Naples
with the rest, and make a stand against the Spaniards on the side of
Calabria.

These dispositions were scarcely made when d'Aubigny, having passed the
Volturno, approached to lay siege to Capua, and invested the town on both
sides of the river. Scarcely were the French encamped before the
ramparts than they began to set up their batteries, which were soon in
play, much to the terror of the besieged, who, poor creatures, were
almost all strangers to the town, and had fled thither from every side,
expecting to find protection beneath the walls. So, although bravely
repulsed by Fabrizio Colonna, the French, from the moment of their first
assault, inspired so great and blind a terror that everyone began to talk
of opening the gates, and it was only with great difficulty that Calonna
made this multitude understand that at least they ought to reap some
benefit from the check the besiegers had received and obtain good terms
of capitulation. When he had brought them round to his view, he sent out
to demand a parley with d'Aubigny, and a conference was fixed for the
next day but one, in which they were to treat of the surrender of the
town.