Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 19, Scripture-SUG

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reduced, without being able to make himfelf matter of
•V—’ one place within the French frontier. Charles was more
fortunate in Spain : he toon quelled the tumults which
had there arifen in his abfence.
While the Chriftian princes were thus watting each
other’s ftrength, Solyman the Magnificent entered Hun¬
gary, and made himfelf matter of Belgrade, reckoned
the chief barrier of that kingdom againtt the Turkith
power. Encouraged by this fuccefs, he turned his
victorious arms againtt the ifland of Rhodes, at that
time the feat of the knights of St John of Jerufalem ;
and though every prince in that age acknowledged
liiesta- Rhodes to be the great bulwark of Chrittendom in the
!it 17So* eajt, fo violent was their animofity againtt each other,
[ 5<=9 1
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Spain.
104
that they futFered Solyman without ditturbance to carry
on his operations againtt that city and ifland. Lifle
Adam, the grandmatter, made a gallant defence ; but,
after incredible efforts of courage, patience, and military
conduCt, during a tiege of fix months, he was obliged to
furrender the place, having obtained an honourable ca¬
pitulation from the fultan, who admired and refpeCted
his heroic qualities (fee Rhodes and Malta). Charles
and Francis were equally athamed of having occa-
fioned fuch a lofs to Chriftendom by their contefts 5 and
the emperor, by way of reparation, granted to the
knights of St John the fmall ifland of Malta, where
they fixed their refidence, and continued long to retain
their ancient fpirit, though much diminifhed in power
and fplendour.
Adrian VI. though the creature of the emperor, and
devoted to his intereft, endeavoured to aflume the im¬
partiality which became the common father of Chriften¬
dom, and laboured to reconcile the contending princes,
that they might unite in a league againft Solyman,
whofe conqueft of Rhodes rendered him more formida¬
ble than ever to Europe. The Italian ftates were no
lefs defirous of peace than the pope : and fo much re¬
gard was paid by the hoftile powers to the exhortations
of his holinefs, and to a bull which he ifiued, requiring
all Chriftian princes to confent to a truce for three
years, that the imperial, the French, and the Englifh
ambafladors at Rome, were empowered to treat of that
matter 5 but while they wafted their time in fruitlefs
negociations, their matters were continuing their prepa¬
rations for war 5 and other negociations foon took place.
The confederacy againft France became more formida¬
ble than ever,
j>rful The Venetians, who had hitherto adhered to the
. acy French intereft, formed engagements with the emperor
1 for fecuring Francis Sforza in the pofleflion of the
duchy of Milan ; and the pope, from a perfuafion that
the ambition of the French monarch was the only ob-
ftacle to peace, acceded to the fame alliance. The
Florentines, the dukes of Ferrara and Mantua, and all
the Italian powers, followed this example. Francis was
left without a Angle ally, to refill the efforts of a mul¬
titude of enemies, whofe armies everywhere threatened,
and whofe territories encompaffed his dominions. The
emperor in perfon menaced France with an invafion on
the fide of Guienne j the forces of England and the Ne¬
therlands hovered over Picardy, and a numerous body
of Germans was preparing to ravage Burgundy.
The dread of fo many and fuch powerful adverfaries,
it was thought, would have obliged Francis to keep
wholly on the defenlive, or at leaft have prevented him
3
from entertaining any thoughts of marching into Italy.
But before his enemies were able to ftrike a blow,
Francis had affembled a great army, with which he ho¬
ped to difconcert all the emperor’s fchemes, by march- Io6
ing it in perfon into Italy : and this bold meafure, the Francis
more formidable becaufe unexpefted, could fcarcely have marches to-
failed of the defired effedl, had it been immediately car- wards Italy.
ried into execution. But the difcovery of a domefticbuVs ob!l'
confpiracy, which threatened the deftruftion of hisfum^yT
kingdom, obliged Francis to flop Ihort at Lyons. domeftic
Charles duke of Bourbon, lord high conftable ofconfpiracy«
France, was a prince of the molt Ihining merit : his
great talents equally fitted him for the council or the
field, while his eminent fervices to the crown entitled
him to its firft favour. But unhappily Louifa duchefs-
of Angouleme, the king’s mother, had contracted a
violent averfion againft the houfe of Bourbon, and had
taught her fon, over whom Ihe had acquired an abfolute
afcendant, to view all the conftable’s aCtions with a jea¬
lous eye. After repeated affronts he retired from court*,
and began to liften to the advances of the emperor’s
minifters. Meantime the duchefs of Bourbon died ; and
as the conftable was no lefs amiable than accomplilhed,
the duchefs of Angouleme, Hill fufceptible of the tender
paflions, formed the fcheme of marrying him. But
Bourbon, who might have expedled every thing to
which an ambitious mind can afpire, from the floating
fondnefs of a woman who governed her fon and the
kingdom, incapable of imitating Louifa in her fudden
tranfition from hate to love, or of meanly counterfeit¬
ing a paflion for one who had fo long purfued him with
unprovoked malice, rcjefted the match withdifdain, and
turned the propofal into ridicule. At once defpifed and
iniulted by the man whom love only could have made
her ceafe to perfecute, Louifa was filled with all the
rage of difappointed woman ; ftie refolved to ruin, fince
ihe could not marry Bourbon. For this purpofe ihe
commenced an iniquitous fuit againft him 5 and by the
chicanery of Chancellor du Prat, the conftable was drip¬
ped of his whole family-eftate. Driven to defpair by
fo many injuries, he entered into a fecret correfpond-
ence with the emperor and the king of England ; and
he propofed, as foon as Francis ihould have croffed the
Alps, to raife an infurrefiion among his numerous vaf-
fals, and introduce foreign enemies into the heart of
France.
Happily Francis got intimation of this confpiracy
before he left the kingdom ; but not being fufficiently
convinced of the conftable’s guilt, he fuffered fo danger¬
ous a foe to efcape ; and Bourbon entering into the em¬
peror’s fervice, employed all the force of his enterpri-
fing genius, and his great talents for war, to the preju¬
dice of his prince and his native country.
In confequence of the difcovery of this plot, and the
efcape of the powerful confpirator, Francis relinquithed
his intention of leading his army in perfon into Italy.
He Avas ignorant how far the infeftion had fpread among
his fubjedts, and afraid that his abfence might encourage
them to make fome defperate attempt in favour of a man
fo much beloved. He did not, how'ever, abandon his a French
defign on the Milanefe, but fent forward an army of army enters
30,000 men, under the command of Admiral Bonnivet. I,taly*
Colonna, who was entrufted with the defence of that
duchy, w^as in no condition to refift fuch a force ; and
the city of Milan, on which the whole territory de¬
pends,.