FRA 
which happened to be in the fervice of the day : Bonum ejl 
mi hi affligi\ Domine , vt difcam flatuta tua ; “Lord, it is a 
good thing for me to be afflicted, that I may learn thy 
ftatutes.” Francis kept up his fpirits extremely well the 
whole day after he was taken prifoner, till he was going 
to bed, and found no one attending to take off his armour, 
all his officers being either taken prifoners or killed. A 
French gentleman, however, of the name of Montpezat, 
of the province of Quercy, an officer of the duke of 
Bourbon’s army, came forward, and offered his fovereign 
his affiftance to undrefs him. Francis on this burfl info 
tears and embraced M. de Montpezat, and was ever af¬ 
terwards much attached to him. Though Lannoy treated 
his royal captive with every mark of honour due to his 
elevated rank, he was equally folicitous to prevent his 
efcape ; and conduced him, the day after the battle, to 
the ftrong cattle of Pizzhigintone, near Cremona, where he 
was committed to the cuftody of Don Ferdinand Alarcon, 
an officer of fevere vigilance and incorruptible integrity. 
The firft intelligence of the rout at Pavia was tranf- 
mitted by the king himfelf to his mother, in a letter, 
which contained thefe words : “ Madam, all is loft, ex¬ 
cept our honour.’’ The former paftions of Louifa had 
endangered the kingdom, but her abilities were now ex¬ 
erted to fave it. In this trying hour, her magnanimity 
never deferted her; and inftead of giving herfelf up to 
the lamentations of a woman, fhe difeovered all the fore- 
fight and (kill of a confummate politician. She affembled 
the nobles at Lyons, and animated them by her example 
and language ; the collected the remains of the army 
which had ferved in Italy, and enabled it again to take 
the field ; fhe levied new troops, and raifed extraordinary 
fums to defray the expence of them; but her chief care 
was directed to conciliate the friendfhip, and to obtain 
the protection, of the king of England. Henry beheld 
with concer n the balance of power, which he had affeCted 
to maintain, thus deftroyed ; and he trembled for the in- 
dependance of all Europe, menaced by the rifing greatnefs 
of an ambitious prince; he therefore liftenedwith a mix¬ 
ture of admiration and pity to the gallantry of the unfor¬ 
tunate Francis, and fecretly allured Louifa of his fupport. 
Meanwhile in Italy the imperial generals were little 
lefs embarrafted than the foes they had vanquiftied : Mi¬ 
lan was, indeed, entirely evacuated by the French ; but 
Lannoy, for want of money, was obliged to difmifs the 
greateft part of his army. The emperor Charles, inftead 
of making one great effort to penetrate into France, de- 
feended to the arts of intrigue and negociation. He or¬ 
dered the count de Rouex to vifit his royal captive, and 
to propofe the following conditions as the price of his li¬ 
berty : That be ftiould reftore Burgundy to the emperor, 
from vvhofe anceftors it had been wrefted : that he ftiould 
furrender Provence and Dauphine, to form a kingdom 
lor Bourbon; that he ftiould fatisfy the claims of the 
king of England, and finally renounce all pretenfions to 
any territory in Italy. When Francis heard thefe rigo¬ 
rous proposals, he was fo tranfported with indignation, 
that, dravving his dagger haftily, he exclaimed, “’Twere 
better that 2 king ftiould die thus!” Alarcon, alarmed at 
his vehemence, laid hold on his hand ; but though lie 
foon recovered greater compofure, he ftill declared "in the 
moft folemn manner, that he would rather remain a pri¬ 
foner through life than purchafe liberty by fuch ignomi¬ 
nious conceffions. But Lannoy, defirous of conveying 
his captive fafe into Spain, flattered Francis with the 
hope that a perfonal interview with the emperor would 
haftenhis deliverance on more equitable terms; and the 
French king, eager on a fcheme which feenied to open 
forne profpeCt ot liberty, furniftied the gallies neceffary 
for the voyage; and commanded his admiral Doria to 
Atfter them to pafs without oppofition. Bourbon and 
Pefcara were deceived by the pretence that Lannoy meant 
to convey his prifoner to the caftle of Naples; but the 
latter officer, embarking with the king at Portofiero, 
landed in a few days at Barcelona : from whence Francis 
VoL.Vfl. N0.461, 
N C E. 701 
was conveyed to Madrid, and lodged in the Alcazar un¬ 
der the care of the vigilant Alarcon. 
Inftead of tlie generous interview with which he had 
been flattered, the king of France found himfelf clofely 
guarded in a folitary prifon, and the only recreation that 
was permitted him, was to take the air on a mule, fur- 
rounded by fo’diers. The continuance of this harfti 
treatment for fix months threw him into a fever ; and 
the emperor Charles V. terrified left death might deprive 
himof the advantages which he expected to derive from his 
releafe, condefcended to make him a co'Lolqtory vifit, 
and to animate him with the hopes of (peedy freedom. 
Thefe fallacious expectations vaniftied with the king’s 
return of health ; and Francis, in defpair, entrufted to 
his fifter, the duchefs of Alencon, a deed, by which he 
refigned his kingdom to the dauphin. The dread of this 
meafure, and the confederacy which he beheld forming 
againft him, at length influenced the emperor ferioufly to 
• think of his releafe. The death of the marquis of Pef- 
cara had allowed the emperor Charles to fatisfy the claims 
of Bourbon, by appointing him to the command in Italy 
together with the duchy of Milan forfeited by Sforza. 
In refpeCt to the principal article which regarded Bur¬ 
gundy, the French king engaged to reftore that country 
to the emperor in full fovereignty ; and Charles confented 
that this reftitution ftiould not be made until the king was 
At at liberty ; in order to fecure the performance or this 
as well as the other conditions, Francis agreed that at the 
fame inftant he himfelf was releafed, he would deliver, 
as hoftages, his eldeft foil the dauphin, his fecond fon tire 
duke of Orleans, or in lieu of the latter, twelve of his 
principal nobility, to be named by the emperor. By the 
other articles, the king of France renounced all preten¬ 
fions in Italy; difclaimed any title to the fovereignty of 
Flanders and Artois ; promifed full reparation for the 
damages full lined by Bourbon, or his adherents ; and en¬ 
gaged to ufe Iris intereft with Henry d’Albret to abandon 
his claim on Navarre. In fupport of this union, Francis 
was to marry the emperor’s lifter, the queen dowager of 
Portugal ; and to caufe all the articles of this treaty to 
be ratified by the ftates, and regiftered in the parliaments 
of his kingdom ; that upon the emperor’s receiving this 
ratification, the hoftages ftiould be let at liberty ; but in 
their place the duke of Angoulefnte, the king’s third fon, 
ftiould be delivered to the emperor Charles, to be edu¬ 
cated at the imperial court ; and that if Francis did not 
fulfil the ftipulations -within the time limited, he ftiould 
engage, upon his honour and oath, to return into Spain, 
and to furrender himfelf again a prifoner to the emperor. 
Such was the tenor of the celebrated treaty of Ma¬ 
drid, by which the emperor flattered himfelf chat he had 
effectually difarmed his rival ; but his minifters had al¬ 
ready reprefented how improbable it was that Francis 
would execute articles which he had fubferibed with fo 
much reluCtance; and the French monarch, while yet at 
Madrid, afl’embled the few counfellors that he could con¬ 
fide in ; and after exacting from them a folemn oath of fe- 
crecy, lie formally protefted that his content to the treaty 
ftiould be confidered as an involuntary deed, and be deemed 
null and void. Yet both monarchs maintained the appear¬ 
ance of cordiality ; the ceremonies of the marriage between 
Francis and the queen of Portugal were performed ; but 
Charles would not permit the confummation until the re¬ 
turn of the ratification from France. As foon as that ar¬ 
rived, Francis was conduced to the river Bidalfoa, near 
Fontarabia. On the oppofite bank were the dauphin 
Francis, and his brother Henry duke of Orleans, who 
were to be delivered up as hoftages for the due execution 
of the treaty. The exchange was made in 1 526 ; Francis, 
after a fliort embrace to his children, leaped into the boat, 
and reached the French fliore ; he mounted that inftant 
an Arabian horfe, waved his band over bis bead, and with 
a joyful voice crying aloud feveral times, “ I am yet a 
king,” galloped full fpeed to St. John de Luz, and from 
thence to Bayonne, 
The 
