ll, he advised him to try to join the French
army, which was still advancing on Naples, in the midst of which he
would alone find safety. Caesar resolved to retire to Bracciano, where
Gian Giordano Orsino, who had once gone with him to France, and who was
the only member of the family who had not declared against him, offered
him an asylum in the name of Cardinal dumbest: so one morning he ordered
his troops to march for this town, and, taking his place in their midst,
he left Rome.

But though Caesar had kept his intentions quiet, the Orsini had been
forewarned, and, taking out all the troops they had by the gate of San
Pancracio, they had made along detour and blocked Caesar's way; so,
when the latter arrived at Storta, he found the Orsini's army drawn up
awaiting him in numbers exceeding his own by at least one-half.

Caesar saw that to come to blows in his then feeble state was to rush
on certain destruction; so he ordered his troops to retire, and, being
a first-rate strategist, echelonned his retreat so skilfully that his
enemies, though they followed, dared not attack him, and he re-entered
the pontifical town without the loss of a single man.

This time Caesar went straight to the Vatican, to put himself more
directly under the pope's protection; he distributed his soldiers about
the palace, so as to guard all its exits. Now the Orsini, resolved to
make an end of Caesar, had determined to attack him wheresoever he might
be, with no regard to the sanctity of the place: this they attempted,
but without success, as Caesar's men kept a good guard on every side,
and offered a strong defence.

Then the Orsini, not being able to force the guard of the Castle Sant'
Angelo, hoped to succeed better with the duke by leaving Rome and then
returning by the Torione gate; but Caesar anticipated this move, and
they found the gate guarded and barricaded. None the less, they pursued
their design, seeking by open violence the vengeance that they had hoped
to obtain by craft; and, having surprised the approaches to the gate,
set fire to it: a passage gained, they made their way into the gardens
of the castle, where they found Caesar awaiting them at the head of his
cavalry.

Face to face with danger, the duke had found his old strength: and he
was the first to rush upon his enemies, loudly challenging Orsino in the
hope of killing him should they meet; but either Orsino did not hear
him or dared not fight; and after an excitin