556 
Mistery. deracy similar to that which had so lately humbled Ve- 
he om nice. The Pope, Leo X. was to Sergundy! the King 
eset » Cham ; the Swiss, indy ; 
with a of England, Piewly ; and the King of Spain, Guienne 
and Languedoc, But the elements of this confederacy 
were too discordant long to hang together : the Pope was 
not fond of war; the emperor ed subsidies, but 
neglected to supply an army ; and Ferdinand looked to 
his more immediate —- as well vr. a an ~~ sd 
terprise, in seizing on the kingdom of Navarre. 
the coulidarates, Hharelat Henry, King of England, was 
the only formidable one that remained ; and he was eager 
after : this he obtained at the battle of Spurs. But 
the Swiss, who had entered Dauphiné, having retreated, 
and the rest of the allies, as we have mentioned, havin 
deserted the cause, the King of England, on the piers 
of winter, re-embarked for his own country. 
Anne of Bretagne died the following year, 1514, and 
Louis, in the hope of having an heir, and in order to 
“Barrics the destroy effectually the confederacy against him, married 
sister of the the sister of the King of England. Louis was much old- 
ae. be er than his wife; this he forgot; and in three months 
me ey after his nuptials, he was seized with a violent disorder, 
which carried him off. In him expired the older branch 
of the house of Orleans, and the crown of France passed 
to that of Angouleme. 
The taxes, which had been lessened by Charles VIIL, 
were still further diminished by Louis, while, at the same 
time, by a judicious mode of levying and collecting them, 
he rendered those which were continued less irksome 
and unpopular. Even in the midst of his Italian wars, 
he laid on no new burdens. It is true, he extended and 
systematized the practice of disposing of offices for money, 
but he carefully excepted the judicial functions from this 
danger and disgrace ; they were always filled by men 
distinguished for their intelligence and virtue. The par- 
liament of Paris not being adequate to the discharge of 
its duties, since it had been made sedentary, Philip the 
Fair and his successors had instituted several other par- 
liaments. Louis XII. still further increased their num- 
ber, and he issued an edict, by which he gave them autho- 
rity to recal him to the fundamental laws of the state, if 
ever he discovered a disposition to evade or abrogate 
them ;—a proof this of his wish to govern according to 
law, but no surety of the object which he had in View. 
It is said that he always kept two lists, one of the places 
and favours which he had to bestow, the other of the 
persons in each province most fit to fill or enjoy them ; 
and on such alone they were conferred. This monarch 
made a wise, just, and humane distinction between those 
who offended him in his private character, and those who 
offended him as the sovereign of France: the last he 
punished, because he was of opinion that he thus best 
secured the safety and prosperity of the state ; the for- 
mer he suffered to pass unpunished. Perhaps in no 
part of his conduct did he display more good sense, or 
better consult the welfare of his subjects, than in the 
choice of his ministers ; and in the case of the Cardinal 
Amboise, he even seems to have had the merit, or the 
talent, of making the same man, under him, the instru- 
ment of happiness, who, under another, would probably 
have been the instrument of oppression and misery, 
Francis I. = A's soon as it was ascertained that the widow of Louis 
AD, 151% NTT, was not t, Francis, Count of ileme, 
and Duke of Valois, took the title of king. He was at 
this time 21 years of age, full of spirit and confidence, 
- 
FRANCE. 
fond of war and glory, and disposed, as well as enabled, 
from the circumstances in which he was placed, to give “-Y—~ 
way to that - ity. Before he ascended the throne, : 
he married Claude, the daughter of the late monarch, by 
Anne of Bretagne. Mary the widow of Louis bestowed 
her hand on Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. ' 
The first and darling object of the new 
the recovery of the Milanese ; and he resolved ‘to profit 
by the preparations which had been made by his 
cessor ; but as money was still wanting, Francis, by the 
advice of his lor Duprat, not’ only restored the 
taxes which Louis had abolished, but” the offices 
of the crown to sale, and endeavouréd to augment his 
treasures, by means, if possible, still more unjust, impo- 
litic, and arbitrary. As soon as he deemed ‘himself 
uite prepared for the conquest, he openly avowed his 
deterunitation to march against Milan. As his designs 
had been suspected, a confed had been formed as 
gainst him, consisting of Maximilian, Ferdinand of Ars 
ragon, Leo X., Sforza, and the Swiss. But the chas 
racter of Francis was of such a cast, that the knowledge 
of this confederacy, instead of leading him to drop or A 
suspend his designs, only prompted him to their more J 
speedy and resolute execution. As the Swiss guarded ‘ 
the Alps, it was necessary either to force the passes of 
the mountains, or to elude the vi ce of their 
tors. Francis chose the latter. ‘ His soldiers, into whom 
he had inspired his own zeal and ardour, cut new roads; 
and his forces were in Italy, before his opponents 
that he had disentangled himself from the Alps. 
first enemy which the forces of Francis encountered, were 
the papal troops, which were i , and ys 
Si hey aghh ‘Shcadngiel tes Oot tees oe he BO n 
these the French poured down, so t and with 
80 much violence, that they were speedily and dis- Defeats the 
comfited. Hitherto Francis had 1 ed in his own Pspal ~ 
kingdom ; but as soon as he learnt’ of this be or 
hastened to put himself at the head of his armies, leaving 
his mother, Louisa of Savoy, t during his absence, 
As soon as Francis assumed the command, he enter- 
ed the Milanese, and pressed forward to its capital, For 
its ea and defence, only the Swiss troops were 
repared ; they were encam about a league from the 
city, at a be called Mari o. Francis knew that 
they were brave ; but lie also suspected that they might 
be allured to withdraw from their post. His suspicions 
were not unfounded. nk offer of lene crowns made 
as impression on them, an were ri : 
to yield Milan up to the French king, when t ween ; 
joined by 10,000 of their own countrymen. These troops - : 
were not di to desert the cause in which they were — 
embarked, and Francis found, that if Milan were to be } 
his, the Swiss must be fought and conquered. ‘ } 
The Swiss, probably ashamed of having listened to Battle of 
the offers of Francis, and Papen to wipe off their dis- Marig ae / 
grace, ht with more than their usual bra’ and per- September, — 
Crain The battle began about four in tie aher: a 
noon, in the month of September 1515, and three hours 
after dark, the combatants, fatigued with their exertions, h 
separated, but only to renew the contest, if possible, with 
more valour and animosity next aoue a For some 
time the issue was dubious, for the Swiss, though inferior 
to the French, ht only on that account more obsti- 
nately: At last they were obliged to give way; 10,000 
of them perished on the field of battle ; the rest fled, but 
in their flight they remembered’ their — and no 7 
