PO?F, SIXTUS y. 
313 
Anjong these were the Colonna family, and F. Gliisilieri, by wh.qse 
reQoirtimendation he was appointed inquisitor general at Venice ; but_ 
he exerGised that office with so much severity, that he was obliged tq 
flee; precipitately from that city. Upon this he uent to Rome, where 
he WHS made procurator general of his order, and soon after accom- 
panied cardinal Biion. Compagnon into Spain, as acliaplain and con;- 
sultor to the inquisition ; vvhere he was treated with great respect. 
Fius IV. dying, FatherGhisilieri, or cardinal Alexandrine, succeeded 
him, under the name of Pius V ; and Montalto was immediately invest- 
ed by the pontift' with new dignities. He was made general of his 
order, bishop of St. Agatha, raised to the dignity of cardinal, and 
received a pension. About this time he was employed by the Pope 
to draw up the hill of excommunication against queen Elizabeth. He 
began now to look towards the papacy; and, to obtain it, formed and 
executed a plan of hypocrisy with unparalleled constancy and suc- 
cess. He became humble, patient, and affable. He changed his 
dress, his words, and his actions, so completely that his most intimate 
friends declared him a new man. Never was there such an absolute 
victory gained over the passions ; never was a fictitious character so 
well maintained, nor the foibles of human nature so artfully con- 
cealed. He had formerly treated his relations with the greatest ten? 
derness, but he now changed his behaviour to them entirely. ^ 
When Pius V. died in 1572, he entered the conclave with the other 
cardinals, but seemed altogether indifferent about the election, and 
never left his apartment, except to his devotion. When cardinal 
Buon. Compagnon, or Gregory Xlll. was elected, Montalto flattered 
him ; but the new pope treated him with the greatest contempt, and 
deprived him of his pension. He now assumed all the infirmities of 
old age j his head hung down upon his shoulders; he tottered as he 
walked, and supported himself on a staff. His voice became feeble, 
and \yas often interrupted by a cough, so exceedingly severe, that it 
seemed every moment to threaten his dissolution. He interfered in 
no public transactions, but spent his whole time in acts of devotion 
and benevolence. Meantime he constantly employed the ablest spies, 
who brought him intelligence of every particular. 
When Gregory XIII. died in 1585, he entered the conclave with re- 
luctance, and appeared perfectly indifferent about the event of the elec- 
tion. He joined no party, yet flattered all. He knew that there would be 
divisions in the conclave, and that when the leaders of the different parties 
were disappointed in their own views, they often agreed upon the election 
of some old and infirm cardinal, the brevity of whose life would sopri 
occasion a new vacancy. Three cardinals, the leaders of opposite fac- 
tions being unable to procure the election which each of them wished, 
unanimously agreed to make choice of Montalto. When they came 
to acquaint him with their intention, he fell into a violent fit of cough- 
ing, and told him that his reign would last but a few days, and conjured 
them to take the whole weight of affairs upon their own shoulders. 
The cardinals swallowed the bait, and Montalto was elected. lie 
now pulled off the mask which he had worn for fourteen years. No 
sooner was his election secured, than he started from his seat, arid 
appeared almost a foot taller than he had done, for several years'. 
2 R 
