II.
Dec., 1536] A PALACE IN RUINS
The city of Pavia had always been loyal to the House of Sforza. In no part of the duchy was there greater rejoicing on the restoration of Duke Francesco II.; nowhere was his premature death more deeply lamented. Several of Christina's most faithful servants were natives of Pavia; among others, Benedetto da Corte, the master of her household, and Bottigella, who had been so active in the preparations for her reception. Now the people of Pavia welcomed her coming warmly, and exerted themselves to see that nothing was lacking to her comfort. But the city and Castello had suffered terribly in the protracted struggle with France. The palace which had been the pride of the Sforza Dukes was stripped of its fairest treasures. The frescoes and tapestries were destroyed, the famous library was now in the castle of Blois, and a great part of the walls had been thrown down by French guns and allowed to crumble to pieces. So dilapidated was the state of the building that it was difficult to find habitable rooms for the Duchess and her suite.
On the 21st of December, ten days after Christina's arrival, she was forced to address a request to the chief magistrate, Lodovico Pellizone, begging that her bedroom might be supplied with a wooden ceiling, as the room was lofty and bitterly cold in this winter season. Pellizone wrote without delay to the Governor of Milan, but received no reply, and on New Year's Day Montmorency himself wrote to remind the Cardinal of the Duchess's request, urging that the work might be done without delay, and putting in a plea for a better provision of mattresses to accommodate the members of her household. Still no redress was obtained, and at length the Captain of the Archers took the law into his own hands, and sent for carpenters to panel the Duchess's bedroom.[141] But in spite of these drawbacks, in spite of the wind that whistled through the long corridors and the comfortless air of the empty halls, Christina's health and spirits were excellent. Her spirits quickly recovered their natural buoyancy in these new surroundings, her eyes shone with the old brightness, and the sound of merry laughter was once more heard in the spacious halls and desolate gardens. On the 3rd of January, only two days after Montmorency addressed his fruitless remonstrance to the Viceroy, Christina herself wrote a letter to the same illustrious personage in a very different strain. She had, it appears, seen a very handsome white horse in the hostelry of the Fountain in Pavia, and was seized with a passionate desire to have the palfrey for her own use. So she wrote in the most persuasive language to her good Father the Cardinal, begging his leave to buy the horse, which she is convinced will suit her exactly. But, since she fears that her monthly allowance will not suffice to defray the cost, she begs His Eminence to advance the necessary sum, and charge it to the extraordinary expenses for which she is not responsible. This letter, written in her large round hand, was sent to Milan by one of the Duchess's lackeys, with the words "Cito, cito" on the cover, and an urgent plea for an immediate answer.[142] The kindly old Cardinal, who had a soft side for the youthful Princess, could hardly refuse so pressing a request, and Christina probably bought the white horse, and had the pleasure of mounting it when she rode out to visit the friars of the Certosa or hunted in their park.
Feb., 1537] THE EMPEROR'S SERVANT
She had another good friend and devoted servant in the Sieur de Courrières—Monsignor di Corea, as he was called in Italy. This gallant gentleman had grown up in close intimacy with the Emperor from his boyhood. He accompanied Charles to Spain as cupbearer, and was appointed Captain of the Archers' Guard on attaining his majority. In 1535 he followed his master to Africa at the head of a chosen band of archers, fifty of whom remained with him as an escort for the Duchess. By Charles's orders, he sent constant reports to His Majesty from Pavia. The correspondence fills a whole volume, and is extremely interesting if only because it shows the familiarity with which the great Emperor treated his old servant, and the freedom which Montmorency allowed himself in addressing his master.
On the 15th of February, Charles wrote from Valladolid, thanking De Courrières cordially for the services which he had rendered the Duchess, approving highly of her residence at Pavia, and promising to pay for the maintenance of his archers. He alludes pleasantly to Montmorency's meeting with another of his confidential servants, Simonet, whom he had left at Milan.
"Simonet was right to put off his return to Flanders until the worst rigours of winter were over, and was fortunate in meeting you, for old folks of the same country are very glad to meet in foreign lands, even if they are not natives of Brabant. Farewell, cher et féal, for the present, and God have you in His holy keeping!"
Five weeks later he wrote again, expressing his satisfaction at hearing of his dear niece's health and happiness, and saying how entirely he trusted Montmorency to provide for her comfort.
"At the same time," he continued, "we cannot help feeling, both with regard to the Duchess's widowed condition and the troubled state of Italy, that she would be better with our sister, the Queen of Hungary, in our own country, par-deça, where some suitable marriage might be found for her. Accordingly we have written to our sister on the subject, and desired Cardinal Caracciolo to make all needful preparation for her journey. You had better see that she has a proper escort and all else that is necessary to her comfort, without making these things public, until we hear from our sister."[143]
Mary on her part was most anxious for her niece's return, and lost no time in letting Charles know how impatiently she expected her. But, with characteristic dilatoriness, the Imperial Council, which met at Monzone on the 2nd of June, pronounced that it was highly expedient for the Widow of Milan to go to Flanders, but that the Queen's wishes must first of all be consulted.[144] Meanwhile Count Massimiliano Stampa returned from Spain with instructions from the Emperor to make arrangements for the Duchess's journey with the Cardinal and Montmorency, and Charles wrote again to beg the Captain to start without delay. But this, as Montmorency replied, was not so easy. Three months' pay was due to his men, and in his penniless condition it was hard to provide them with food or their horses with fodder.
"I will do my utmost, Sire," he wrote on the 15th of June, "but some things are impossible. As I told you when you left me at Genoa, six months' wages were due to me, and I can only beg you to have pity on your poor Captain; for we are in sore straits, and you alone can help us, for, as the Scripture saith, Tua est potentia."
At the same time, like the brave soldier that he was, the writer cannot refrain from expressing his joy at the good news of the capture of S. Pol, which had just arrived from Flanders.
Aug., 1537] CAPTAIN OF THE ARCHERS
"Sire, I hear grand news from S. Pol, and am sure, when you return to your Low Countries, you will find that the Queen has been very vigilant in charge of your affairs, and will be welcomed by very humble and loyal subjects. But you will have something to say to the citizens of Ghent, for I fear those gentlemen are not as wise as they might be. Sire, I hear that, after the surrender of Hesdin, your sister the Queen of France came to the camp in rich attire, with a number of ladies all in white. Such insolence cannot last long, as S. Pol—both the town and the Apostle—bear witness. I hear that Madame the new Duchesse d'Étampes was nowhere. Sic transit gloria mundi. All this Latin is to show Your Majesty that I have not wasted my time in Pavia, any more than Don Beltrami did at Louvain. Once more I beg you to have pity on La Chrétiennete, who needs your help more than ever."
But the summer months went by, and still no orders and no money came from Spain. Pavia became unhealthy, and the Duchess and all the members of her household fell ill of fever.
"Hardly one has escaped," wrote Montmorency on the 22nd of August, "but now, thank God, my Lady has recovered, and I am trying to raise money to carry out your orders, although I fear my purse is not long enough to feed my poor archers."[145]
A month later the Captain went to Milan to expedite matters, but as yet could hear nothing from Spain, and on his return to Pavia early in October, he addressed long remonstrances both to Charles and Granvelle.
"Sire," wrote the irate Captain, "I have been ordered to take my Lady Duchess to Flanders, but not a word has been said as to the route that I am to take. Since it is your pleasure, it shall be done; but if any harm comes to her in Germany, seeing the poor escort we shall have, who will be to blame? My fear is that, as we pass through the duchy of Würtemberg, the Duke's son may fall upon us with his Landsknechten, and my Lady would certainly not be a bad match for him! Your Majesty has not given me a single letter or warrant for the journey, and has not written me a word. And when I get par-deça, I know not what I am to do or say. My Lady, too, is much surprised not to have received a letter from Your Majesty before her departure, but of this, of course, I have no right to speak."
In a postscript he adds that he has raised 500 gold crowns, and given each of his men 10 crowns to buy new saddles, as they hope to start on the 15th of October. He ends by humbly reminding His Majesty that he is growing old, and is almost fifty, and that if he does not soon take a wife it will be too late.
"All this coming and going ages a man, and before long I shall be as wrinkled as the rest. So when I reach the Queen, I hope some little token of honour may be given me, that men may see Your Majesty has not wholly forgotten me. And you will, I hope, tell me what I am to do when I have taken Her Excellency to Flanders, as I have written to Granvelle repeatedly, and had no answer, but suppose he is busy with great affairs. And I pray that all prosperity may attend Your Majesty, and that this year, which has begun so well, may end by seeing you back in Piedmont."[146]
Oct., 1537] CHRISTINA'S DEPARTURE
On the 14th of October Christina herself wrote to inform the Emperor of her intended departure, and of the good order of her affairs, thanks to the Cardinal and Seigneur de Courrières. "We hope to start to-morrow, and travel by way of Mantua and Trent, and through Germany, taking whichever seems to be the shortest and safest route." There had, it appears, been much discussion over the revenues assigned to the Duchess as her dower, and in the end she was deprived of the town and Castello of Vigevano, which the Duke had left her by his will. But by the terms of her marriage contract she remained absolute mistress of the city of Tortona, and informed the Emperor that, acting on the advice of the Cardinal, as Lady of Tortona, she had appointed a certain Gabriele Panigarola to be Governor of the town, and begged his approval. At the same time she sent her uncle a memorial, drawn up by Montmorency, explaining that, since she had not received the arrears of her dowry, she was not able to pay her servants, and had been forced to contract many debts at Pavia, and to spend money on the repair of the rooms which she occupied in the Castello.
Many last requests were addressed to the Duchess by the poor and needy whom she had befriended, and from her own servants, who with one voice begged to be allowed to follow her to Flanders. One of the most pressing came from an old Milanese couple, whose son, Niccolò Belloni, was Christina's secretary, and at their earnest prayer she decided to allow the young man to remain in her service as one of the four Italians who accompanied her to Flanders by the Emperor's orders. And the last letter which the Duchess wrote to the Cardinal, on the eve of her departure, was to plead for a community of noble ladies in Pavia who were reduced to dire poverty owing to the late wars, and begged humbly for a remission of taxes.[147] During the ten months which she had spent at Pavia the young Duchess had made herself beloved by all classes of people, and her departure was lamented by the whole city.