Immediate preparations were made for fitting up the galleys of Rhodes in which the pope was to sail. All was bustle in the harbour. Those long low barks were supplied with everything necessary for subsistence, for sailing, and even for attack and defence. The oars were fixed in their places; the yards and sails were set; the flags were hoisted.... Then the imperialists, trying to outwit the pope, had recourse to a new stratagem; they were smitten with a sudden fondness for Coron.—'Coron, that city in the south of Greece,' they said to the pope, 'a city of such great importance to christendom, is attacked by the Turks; we require the galleys of Rhodes to defend it; we must deliver the Greeks our brothers from slavery, and restore the empire of the East.'... The pope understood; it was difficult to beat him in cunning. 'Well, well,' said he, 'make haste; fly to the help of christendom.... I will lend you the said galleys, and will add my own ... and ... I will make the passage on board the galleys of France.'[460]
Then the emperor turned to the Swiss; the Dukes of Savoy and Milan, also, fearing that at the projected interview something would be brewed to their detriment, united with him. These three princes attempted to induce the catholic cantons to enter the Italian league. If these terrible Helvetic bands pass the Alps, all idea of travelling will be abandoned by the pope. How could he expose himself to pikes and arquebuses? Clement VII. had not the warlike disposition of Julius II. 'The King of France favours the protestants,' said Charles's deputies to the catholic cantons; 'he desires to put the evangelical cantons in a condition to avenge the defeat at Cappel; but if you join us, you have nothing to fear.' At these words the catholics became eager[461] to enter the league against the king and the pope; but Francis sent them money to keep quiet, and they did not move.[462]
Were all his manœuvres to fail? Never had a marriage been heard of against which so many obstacles had been raised; but it was written in the book of fate, said many; the arms forged against it could not succeed; and the haughty Charles vainly agitated all Europe—Swiss, Germans, Greeks, and Turks. His ministers now had recourse to another stratagem. Everybody knew that the pope was not brave. They revived their tender affection for his person; and as Switzerland was not to be tempted, they turned to Africa. 'Let your Holiness beware,' they said; 'if you undertake this voyage, you will certainly fall into the hands of the Moors.[463] ... A fleet of pirates, lurking behind the islands of Hyères, will suddenly appear, fall on the ship in which you are sailing, and carry you off.'[464] This time the pope was staggered. The terror inspired by the barbarian ships was at that time very great. To be carried away by the Moors! A pope captive in Algiers or Tunis! What a dreadful thought!
Will he go or will he not? was the question Europe set itself. But the matter was violently canvassed at Rome, where Guelphs and Ghibelines almost came to blows. Arguments for the marriage, and consequently for the voyage, were not wanting. 'The time has come,' said the papists, 'for a bold stroke to prevent France from being lost like Germany and England.' There were loud discussions in the convents and churches, and even in the public places. A Franciscan of the Low Countries, Herbom by name, a monk of fiery fanaticism, stirred up the pontifical city. 'Luther, Zwingle, and Œcolampadius,' he said, 'are soldiers of Pilate; they have crucified Jesus Christ.... But, alas! alas! this crime is repeated in our days ... at Paris. Yes, even at Paris, by certain disciples of Erasmus.' It was clearly necessary for the pope and his little niece to hasten to France, in order to prevent what these blaspheming monks dared to call the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
=THE POPE DETERMINES TO GO.=
At last Clement made up his mind. He would brave the fury of the waves, and risk the attacks of the corsairs, in order to conquer the soldiers of Pilate and give a royal husband to his niece. The galleys of France, commanded by the Duke of Albany, left Marseilles in September to fetch the pope, who had gone to Pisa, making a boast, wherever he went, of the most noble disinterestedness. 'I am going to this interview,' he said, 'in order to procure the peace of Europe, to prepare an expedition against the infidels, to lead back the King of England to the right path, and, in a word, solely for the interests of christendom.' Then, after thus disguising himself, like the wolf in the fable, under a borrowed dress, he showed the tip of his ear, and begged the Duke of Albany to escort their common relative to Nice, where she would wait for further orders. The honour done to his family was so great that doubts were continually arising in his mind about the trustworthiness of the French king's promises. He would not take his niece with him to Marseilles, for fear he should have to bring her back. He will see Francis alone first; he will speak to him and sound him. Clement believed that his piercing eye would read the king's heart to the very bottom. When all his fears are removed, Catherine shall come to France; but until then, she shall only go part of the way.[465]
The young lady departed for Nice, and people said, pointing to her as they saw her going on board ship: 'There is the real cause of the strange journey of a pope to France! If it were a matter touching the safety of the Church, Clement would not do so much; but it is to place a Medici beside a throne, and perhaps set her upon it.'... The French fleet put to sea: the ship, on whose mainmast the standard of France had been hoisted, exhibited a sight at once gay and sad. Beneath the flags and banners, at the side of the Duke of Albany, and in the midst of a brilliant retinue, might be seen a kind of little fairy, who was then making her first appearance in the world. She was a young creature, of middle stature, with sparkling eyes and bell-like voice, who appeared to possess some supernatural power, and singularly fascinated every one that came near her. Her enchantments and her philtres were the subtle poison on which the papacy relied for destroying heresy. This child, between thirteen and fourteen years of age, skipped with joy about the stately ship. 'I am going to be the daughter-in-law of the glorious King of France,' she said to herself. Death, with whom this strange creature seemed to have made a secret and terrible treaty, was in truth erelong to raise her to the summit of power. The galleys of Albany, after having conveyed the girl to Nice (it is Guicciardini's word), returned to Leghorn, the port of Pisa, and on the 4th of October the pope, with the cardinals and all his household, put to sea.
=PAPAL PLANS, FRENCH HOPES.=
The papal fleet, all fluttering with banners, had a smooth passage.[466] Clement could without interruption meditate on a thousand different projects. Marry Catherine to the son of the King of France; free himself, thanks to the support of this prince, from the patronage of the emperor whom he detested; put off indefinitely the council which Charles had been so bold as to promise to the protestants; and finally crush the Reformation, both in France and elsewhere.... Such were Clement's projects during the voyage. Before leaving Rome, he had drawn up (1st of September) a bull against the heretics; he had it on board the ship, and he purposed demanding its immediate execution from Francis, as a wedding present. The winds blew softly in the direction of Marseilles; all congratulated themselves on the beauty of the passage; but this fleet, in appearance so inoffensive, which glided so smoothly over the waters of the Mediterranean, carried, like the bark of Ulysses, stores of future tempests.
Opinions were much divided in France about the pope's voyage. If Clement satisfied Francis, the Reform was ruined; if he thwarted the king, France would follow the example of England. Everybody admitted the hypothesis that pleased him best. 'Francis and Clement,' said the reformed, 'follow such opposite courses, that it is impossible for them to coincide.'—'The king and the pope,' said the ultramontanists, 'are about to be united by indissoluble bonds, and popery will be restored in France in all its exclusive supremacy.'[467] There were however some of the school of Erasmus who remained in doubt. 'As for me,' wrote Professor Sturm to Bucer, 'I desire much that popery should be overthrown, but ... I fear greatly that it will be restored.'[468] Sturm did not compromise himself. To which side will Marseilles make Francis I. incline? Historians have decided that he was won over to Rome; but after hearing the historians, we must listen to history.