We, Marco Barbarigo, Lorenzo Capello, and Lorenzo Donato, chiefs of the council of Ten, and Tommaso Michieli and Francesco Loredano, avogadors of the commune, with our council of Ten, command thee to repair forthwith to Brescia, to Count Carmagnola, our captain-general, to whom, after the customary salutations, you will say, that it being now full time that something should be done for the honour and glory of our state, various plans have suggested themselves to us for a summer campaign. Much difference of opinion existing, and the count enjoying peculiarly intimate conversance with Lombardy on either side of the Po, we recommend and pray him to come here so soon as may be, to consult with us and the lord of Mantua; and if he consent to come accordingly, you will ascertain and appraise us on what day he may be expected. But should he decline to comply, you will with the utmost secrecy communicate to our captains at Brescia and to our proveditor-general our resolution to have the said Count Carmagnola arrested; and you will concert with them the best means for carrying out this our will, and for securing his person in our fortress of Brescia. We also desire that, when the count himself shall have been safely lodged, the countess his wife be similarly detained, and that all documents, money, and other property, be seized, and an inventory thereof taken. Above all, we wish and charge thee, before seeking an interview with the count, to disclose confidentially to the authorities at Brescia and to the proveditor-general the nature of these presents (since we ourselves have not communicated with them), enjoining them, under pain of their goods and heads, in case the count be contumacious, to execute our behests.
On the 30th, in consequence of an afterthought that Carmagnola might penetrate the plans of the seigniory, and endeavour to escape, the necessary orders were forwarded to the governors and captains of the republic to second Da Impero, and if the general fled to any spot within their jurisdiction, to detain him till further notice; and a circular, superscribed by the doge, was sent to all the officers serving immediately under Carmagnola, bidding them not be surprised at these proceedings, assuring them of the earnest good-will of the government, and soliciting their implicit obedience to the directions, which they might receive through the authorities at Brescia and the proveditor-general, Francesco Garzoni, Cornaro’s successor.
Having arrived at his destination, secretary Da Impero closeted himself in the first instance with the podesta of Brescia and the proveditor-general, and afterward proceeded to the quarters of the count at or near Tercera. “After the customary salutations,” he presented his credentials, which were as follows:
To the Magnificent Count Carmagnola, Captain-General:
The prudent and circumspect person Giovanni da Impero, our secretary, has been charged by us (i.e., the Ten) to speak about certain matters to your magnificence, wherefore be pleased to repose in him the faith you would give to ourselves.
Carmagnola, too glad to have an excuse for quitting camp, blindly fell into the snare, and immediately started with the secretary of the Ten for Venice. At Padua, he was received with military honours by the local authorities; and he passed one night there, sharing the bed of Federigo Contarini, captain of Padua, “his very good friend.” On the 7th of April he reached the capital. A deputation of eight nobles was in waiting to receive him. At the entrance of the palace, Da Impero vanished, and the personal followers of the count were turned back with an announcement that “their master will dine with the doge, and will come home after dinner.” But his other companions remained, and ushered him into the hall of St. Mark’s.
As he passed through, the general observed that the doors closed behind him. He at once inquired where the doge was, declaring his wish to have an audience, “as he had much to say to his serenity.”
Leonardo Mocenigo, one of the sages of the council, stepped up to him and told him that Foscari, having had an accident in descending the staircase, was confined to his room, and could not receive him till the morrow.
Carmagnola then turned, with a gesture of impatience, on his heel, and prepared to retrace his steps, remarking: “The hour is late, and it is time for me to go home.”