CHAPTER II. THE GOVERNOR OF MILAN
We rode again upon the morrow as he had said, and with us went Falconeand the same goodly company of twenty lances that had escorted me fromMonte Orsaro. But I took little thought for them or pride in such anescort now. My heart was leaden. I had not seen Bianca again ere Ideparted, and Heaven knew when we should return to Pagliano. Thus atleast was I answered by Galeotto when I made bold to ask the question.
Two days we rode, going by easy stages, and came at last upon thatwondrously fair and imposing city of Milan, in the very heart of thevast plain of Lombardy with the distant Alps for background and northernrampart.
Our destination was the castle; and in a splendid ante-chamber, packedwith rustling, silken courtiers and clanking captains in steel, asprinkling of prelates and handsome, insolent-eyed women, more than oneof whom reminded me of Giuliana, and every one of whom I disparaged bycomparing her with Bianca, Galeotto and I stood waiting.
To many there he seemed known, and several came to greet him and some towhisper in his ear. At last a pert boy in a satin suit that was stripedin the Imperial livery of black and yellow, pushed his way through thethrong.
"Messer Galeotto," his shrill voice announced, "his excellency awaitsyou."
Galeotto took my arm, and drew me forward with him. Thus we went througha lane that opened out before us in that courtly throng, and came to acurtained door. An usher raised the curtain for us at a sign from thepage, who, opening, announced us to the personage within.
We stood in a small closet, whose tall, slender windows overlookedthe courtyard, and from the table, on which there was a wealth ofparchments, rose a very courtly gentleman to receive us out of agilded chair, the arms of which were curiously carved into the shape ofserpents' heads.
He was a well-nourished, florid man of middle height, with a resolutemouth, high cheek-bones, and crafty, prominent eyes that remindedme vaguely of the eyes of the taverner of Pojetta. He was splendidlydressed in a long gown of crimson damask edged with lynx fur, andthe fingers of his fat hands and one of his thumbs were burdened withjewels.
This was Ferrante Gonzaga, Prince of Molfetta, Duke of Ariano, theEmperor's Lieutenant and Governor of the State of Milan.
The smile with which he had been ready to greet Galeotto froze slightlyat sight of me. But before he could voice the question obviously in hismind my companion had presented me.
"Here, my lord, is one upon whom I trust that we may count when the timecomes. This is Agostino d'Anguissola, of Mondolfo and Carmina."
Surprise overspread Gonzaga's face. He seemed about to speak, andchecked, and his eyes were very searchingly bent upon Galeotto's face,which remained inscrutable as stone. Then the Governor looked at me, andfrom me back again at Galeotto. At last he smiled, whilst I bowed beforehim, but very vaguely conscious of what might impend.
"The time," he said, "seems to be none too distant. The Duke ofCastro--this Pier Luigi Farnese--is so confident of ultimate successthat already he has taken up his residence in Piacenza, and already, Iam informed, is being spoken of as Duke of Parma and Piacenza."
"He has cause," said Galeotto. "Who is to withstand his election sincethe Emperor, like Pilate, has washed his hands of the affair?"
A smile overspread Gonzaga's crafty face. "Do not assume too muchconcerning the Emperor's wishes in the matter. His answer to the Popewas that if Parma and Piacenza are Imperial fiefs--integral parts of theState of Milan--it would ill become the Emperor to alienate them froman empire which he holds merely in trust; whereas if they can be shownrightly to belong to the Holy See, why then the matter concerns him not,and the Holy See may settle it."
Galeotto shrugged and his face grew dark. "It amounts to an assent," hesaid.
"Not so," purred Gonzaga, seating himself once more. "It amounts tonothing. It is a Sibylline answer which nowise prejudices what he may doin future. We still hope," he added, "that the Sacred College may refusethe investiture. Pier Luigi Farnese is not in good odour in the Curia."
"The Sacred College cannot withstand the Pope's desires. He has bribedit with the undertaking to restore Nepi and Camerino to the States ofthe Church in exchange for Parma and Piacenza, which are to form a Statefor his son. How long, my lord, do you think the College will resisthim?"
"The Spanish Cardinals all have the Emperor's desires at heart."
"The Spanish Cardinals may oppose the measure until they chokethemselves with their vehemence," was the ready answer. "There areenough of the Pope's creatures to carry the election, and if there werenot it would be his to create more until there should be sufficient forhis purpose. It is an old subterfuge."
"Well, then," said Gonzaga, smiling, "since you are so assured, itis for you and the nobles of Piacenza to be up and doing. The Emperordepends upon you; and you may depend upon him."
Galeotto looked at the Governor out of his scarred face, and his eyeswere very grave.
"I had hoped otherwise," he said. "That is why I have been slow to move.That is why I have waited, why I have even committed the treacheryof permitting Pier Luigi to suppose me ready at need to engage in hisservice."
"Ah, there you play a dangerous game," said Gonzaga frankly.
"I'll play a more dangerous still ere I have done," he answered stoutly."Neither Pope nor Devil shall dismay me. I have great wrongs to right,as none knows better than your excellency, and if my life should go inthe course of it, why"--he shrugged and sneered--"it is all that is leftme; and life is a little thing when a man has lost all else."
"I know, I know," said the sly Governor, wagging his big head, "else Ihad not warned you. For we need you, Messer Galeotto."
"Ay, you need me; you'll make a tool of me--you and your Emperor. You'lluse me as a cat's-paw to pull down this inconvenient duke."
Gonzaga rose, frowning. "You go a little far, Messer Galeotto," he said.
"I go no farther than you urge me," answered the other.
"But patience, patience!" the Lieutenant soothed him, growing sleekagain in tone and manner. "Consider now the position. What the Emperorhas answered the Pope is no more than the bare and precise truth. It isnot clear whether the States of Parma and Piacenza belong to theEmpire or the Holy See. But let the people rise and show themselvesill-governed, let them revolt against Farnese once he has been createdtheir duke and when thus the State shall have been alienated from theHoly See, and then you may count upon the Emperor to step in as yourliberator and to buttress up your revolt."
"Do you promise us so much?" asked Galeotto.
"Explicitly," was the ready answer, "upon my most sacred honour. Sendme word that you are in arms, that the first blow has been struck, andI shall be with you with all the force that I can raise in the Emperor'sname."
"Your excellency has warrant for this?" demanded Galeotto.
"Should I promise it else? About it, sir. You may work with confidence."
"With confidence, yes," replied Galeotto gloomily, "but with no greathope. The Pontifical government has ground the spirit out of halfthe nobles of the Val di Taro. They have suffered so much and sorepeatedly--in property, in liberty, in life itself--that they are grownrabbit-hearted, and would sooner cling to the little liberty that isstill theirs than strike a blow to gain what belongs to them by everyright. Oh, I know them of old! What man can do, I shall do; but..." Heshrugged, and shook his head sorrowfully.
"Can you count on none?" asked Gonzaga, very serious, stroking hissmooth, fat chin.
"I can count upon one," answered Galeotto. "The Lord of Pagliano; he isghibelline to the very marrow, and he belongs to me. At my bidding thereis nothing he will not do. There is an old debt between us, and he isa noble soul who will not leave his debts unpaid. Upon him I can count;and he is rich and powerful. But then, he is not really a Piacentinohimself. He holds his fief direct from the Emperor. Pagliano is part ofthe State of Milan, and Cavalcanti is no subject of Farnese. His case,therefore, is exceptional and he has less than the usual cause fortimidity. But the others..."
Again he shrugged. "What man can do to stirthem, that will I do. You shall hear from me soon again, my lord."
Gonzaga looked at me. "Did you not say that here was another?"
Galeotto smiled sadly. "Ay--just one arm and one sword. That is all.Unless this emprise succeeds he is never like to rule in Mondolfo. Hemay be counted upon; but he brings no lances with him."
"I see," said Gonzaga, his lip between thumb and forefinger. "But hisname..."
"That and his wrongs shall be used, depend upon it, my lord--the wrongswhich are his by inheritance."
I said no word. A certain resentment filled me to hear myself sodisposed of without being consulted; and yet it was tempered by acertain trust in Galeotto, a faith that he would lead me into nothingunworthy.
Gonzaga conducted us to the door of the closet. "I shall look to hearfrom you, Ser Galeotto," he said. "And if at first the nobles of theVal di Taro are not to be moved, perhaps after they have had a tasteof Messer Pier Luigi's ways they will gather courage out of despair.I think we may be hopeful if patient. Meanwhile, my master the Emperorshall be informed."
Another moment and we were out of that florid, crafty, well-nourishedpresence. The curtains had dropped behind us, and we were thrusting ourway through the press in the ante-chamber, Galeotto muttering to himselfthings which as we gained the open air I gathered to be curses directedagainst the Emperor and his Milanese Lieutenant.
In the inn of the sign of the Sun, by the gigantic Duomo of Visconti'sbuilding, he opened the gates to his anger and let it freely forth.
"It is a world of cravens," he said, "a world of slothful, self-seeking,supine cowards, Agostino. In the Emperor, at least, I conceived that weshould have found a man who would not be averse to acting boldly wherehis interests must be served. More I had not expected of him; but that,at least. And even in that he fails me. Oh, this Charles V!" he cried."This prince upon whose dominions the sun never sets! Fortune hasbestowed upon him all the favours in her gift, yet for himself he can donothing.
"He is crafty, cruel, irresolute, and mistrustful of all. He is withoutgreatness of any sort, and he is all but Emperor of the World! Othersmust do his work for him; others must compass the conquests which he isto enjoy.
"Ah, well!" he ended, with a sneer, "perhaps as the world views thesethings there is a certain greatness in that--the greatness of the fox."
Naturally there was much in this upon which I needed explanation, and Imade bold to intrude upon his anger to crave it. And it was then that Ilearnt the true position of affairs.
Between France and the Empire, the State of Milan had been in contentionuntil quite lately, when Henri II had abandoned it to Charles V. Andin the State of Milan were the States of Parma and Piacenza, which PopeJulius II had wrested from it and incorporated in the domain of theChurch. The act, however, was unlawful, and although these Stateshad ever since been under Pontifical rule, it was to Milan that theybelonged, though Milan never yet had had the power to enforce herrights. She had that power at last, now that the Emperor's rule therewas a thing determined, and it was in this moment that papal nepotismwas to make a further alienation of them by constituting them intoa duchy for the Farnese bastard, Pier Luigi, who was already Duke ofCastro.
Under papal rule the nobles--more particularly the ghibellines--andthe lesser tyrants of the Val di Taro had suffered rudely, plundered byPontifical brigandage, enduring confiscations and extortions until theywere reduced to a miserable condition. It was against the beginnings ofthis that my father had raised his standard, to be crushed thorough thesupineness of his peers, who would not support him to save themselvesfrom being consumed in the capacious maw of Rome.
But what they had suffered hitherto would be as nothing to what theymust suffer if the Pope now had his way and if Pier Luigi Farnese wereto become their duke--an independent prince. He would break the noblesutterly, to remain undisputed master of the territory. That was aconclusion foregone. And yet our princelings saw the evil approachingthem, and cowered irresolute to await and suffer it.
They had depended, perhaps, upon the Emperor, who, it was known, didnot favour the investiture, nor would confirm it. It was remembered thatOttavio Farnese--Pier Luigi's son--was married to Margaret of Austria,the Emperor's daughter, and that if a Farnese dominion there was to bein Parma and Piacenza, the Emperor would prefer that it should be thatof his own son-in-law, who would hold the duchy as a fief of the Empire.Further was it known that Ottavio was intriguing with Pope and Emperorto gain the investiture in his own father's stead.
"The unnatural son!" I exclaimed upon learning that.
Galeotto looked at me, and smiled darkly, stroking his great beard.
"Say, rather, the unnatural father," he replied. "More honour to OttavioFarnese in that he has chosen to forget that he is Pier Luigi's son.It is not a parentage in which any man--be he the most abandoned--couldtake pride."
"How so?" quoth I.
"You have, indeed, lived out of the world if you know nothing of PierLuigi Farnese. I should have imagined that some echo of his turpitudesmust have penetrated even to a hermitage--that they would be writtenupon the very face of Nature, which he outrages at every step of hisinfamous life. He is a monster, a sort of antichrist; the most ruthless,bloody, vicious man that ever drew the breath of life. Indeed, there arenot wanting those who call him a warlock, a dealer in black magic whohas sold his soul to the Devil. Though, for that matter, they say thesame of the Pope his father, and I doubt not that his magic is just themagic of a wickedness that is scarcely human.
"There is a fellow named Paolo Giovio, Bishop of Nocera, a charlatan anda wretched dabbler in necromancy and something of an alchemist, who haslately written the life of another Pope's son--Cesare Borgia, wholived nigh upon half a century ago, and who did more than any man toconsolidate the States of the Church, though his true aim, like PierLuigi's, was to found a State for himself. I am given to think that forhis model of a Pope's bastard this Giovio has taken the wretched Farneserogue, and attributed to the son of Alexander VI the vices and infamiesof this son of Paul III.
"Even to attempt to draw a parallel is to insult the memory of theBorgia; for he, at least, was a great captain and a great ruler, and heknew how to endear to himself the fold that he governed; so that when Iwas a lad--thirty years ago--there were still those in the Romagna whoawaited the Borgia's return, and prayed for it as earnestly as pray thefaithful for the second coming of the Messiah, refusing to believe thathe was dead. But this Pier Luigi!" He thrust out a lip contemptuously."He is no better than a thief, a murderer, a defiler, a bestial,lecherous dog!"
And with that he began to relate some of the deeds of this man; and hislife, it seemed, was written in blood and filth--a tale of murdersand rapes and worse. And when as a climax he told me of the horrible,inhuman outrage done to Cosimo Gheri, the young Bishop of Fano, I beggedhim to cease, for my horror turned me almost physically sick.1
1 The incident to which Agostino here alludes is fully set forth byBenedetto Varchi at the end of Book XVI of his Storia Fiorentina.
"That bishop was a holy man, of very saintly life," Galeotto insisted,"and the deed permitted the German Lutherans to say that here was a newform of martyrdom for saints invented by the Pope's son. And his fatherpardoned him the deed, and others as bad, by a secret bull, absolvinghim from all pains and penalties that he might have incurred throughyouthful frailty or human incontinence!"
It was the relation of those horrors, I think, which, stirring myindignation, spurred me even more than the thought of redressing thewrongs which the Pontifical or Farnesian government would permit mymother to do me.
I held out my hand to Galeotto. "To the utmost of my little might,"said I, "you may depend upon me in this good cause in which you haveengaged."
"There speaks the son of the house of Anguissola," said he, a lightof affection in his steel-coloured eyes. "And there are your father'swrongs to right as well as the wrongs of humanity, remember. By thisPier Luigi was he crushed; whilst th
ose who bore arms with him atPerugia and were taken alive..." He paused and turned livid, great beadsof perspiration standing upon his brow. "I cannot," he faltered, "Icannot even now, after all these years, bear to think upon those horrorsperpetrated by that monster."
I was strangely moved at the sight of emotion in one who seemedemotionless as iron.
"I left the hermitage," said I, "in the hope that I might the better beable to serve God in the world. I think you are showing me the way, SerGaleotto."