3 became univerfal; and refiftance ceafed in almost every part, but where the king was in perfon, who fought now, not for fame or victory, but for fafety. Though wounded in feveral places, and thrown from his horfe which was killed under him, Francis defended himself on foot with an heroic courage. Many of his braveft officers gathering round him, and endeavouring to fave his life at the expence of their own, fell at his feet. Among these was Bonnivet, the author of this great calamity, who alone died unlamented. The king exhaufted with fatigue, and fcarce capable of farther refiftance, was left almoft alone, expofed to the fury of fome Spanish foldiers, ftrangers to his rank, and enraged at his obftinacy. At that moment came up Pomperant, a French gentleman, who had entered together with Bourbon into the Emperor's fervice, and placing himself by the fide of the monarch against whom he had rebciled, affifted in protecting him from the violence of the foldiers; at the fame time befeeching him to furrender to Bourbon, who was not far diftant. Imminent as the danger was which now furrounded Francis, he rejected with indignation the thoughts of an action which would have afforded fuch matter of triumph to his traitorous fubject; and calling for Lannoy, who happened likewife to be near at hand, gave up his fword to him; which he, kneeling to kifs the king's hand, received with profound refpect; and taking his own fword from his fide, prefented it to him, faying, that it did not become fo great a monarch to remain difarmed in the prefence of one of the Emperor's fubjects, Ten thousand men fell on this day, one of the most fatal France had ever feen. Among these were many noblemen of the higheft diftinction, who chose rather to perifh than to turn their backs with difhonour. Not a few were taken prisoners, of whom the mosft illuftrious was Henry D'Albret, the unfortunate king of Navarre. A fmall body of the rear-guard made its escape under the command of the duke Alenfon; the feeble garrison of Milan on the first news of the defeat, retired without being purfyed, by another road; and in two weeks after the battle, not a Frenchman remained in Italy. Lannoy, though he treated Francis with all the outward marks of honour due to his rank and character, guarded him with the utmost attention. He was folicitous, not only to prevent any poffibility of his escaping, but afraid that his own troops might feize his perfon, and detain it as the beft fecurity for the payment of their arrears. In order to provide against both thefe dangers, he conducted Francis, the day after the battle, to the strong caftle of Pizzi hitone near Cremona, committing him to the cuftody of Don Ferdinand Alarcon, general of the Spanish infantry, an officer of great bravery, and of ftrict honour, honour, but remarkable for that severe and fcrupulous vigilance which fuch a truft required. • Meanwhile Francis, who formed a judgment of the Emperor's difpofitions by his own, was extremely defirous that Charles fhould be informed of his fituation, fondly hoping that from his generofity or sympathy, he would obtain speedy relief. The Imperial generals were no lefs impatient to give their fo vereign an early account of the decifive victory which they had gained, and to receive his inftructions with regard to their future conduct. As the most certain and expeditious method of conveying intelligence to Spain, at that season of the year, was by land, Francis gave the Commendador Pennalofa, who was charged with Lannoy's dispatches, a passport to travel through France. Charles received the account of this fignal and unexpected fuccefs that had crowned his arms, with a moderation, which if it had been real, would have done him more honour than the greatest victory. Without uttering one word expreffive of exultation, or of intemperate joy, he retired immediately into his chapel, and having spent an hour in offering up his thankf givings to heaven, returned to the prefence-chamber, which by that time was filled with grandees and foreign ambassadors, affembled in order to congratulate him: he accepted of their compliments with a modeft deportment; he lamented the misfortune of the captive king, as a striking example of the fad reverfe of fortune, to which the most powerful monarchs are fubject; he forbad any public rejoicings, as indecent in a war car ried on among Chriftians, referving them until he should obtain a victory equally illuftrious over the Infidels; and feemed to take pleasure in the advantage he had gained, only as it would prove the occafion of restoring peace to Christendom. Charles, however, had already begun to form fchemes in his own mind, which little fuited fuch external -appearances. Ambition, not generofity, was the ruling paffion in his mind; and the victory at Pavia opened fuch new and unbounded profpects of gratifying it, as allured him with irrefiftible force: but it being no ealy matter to execute the vaft defigns which he meditated, he thought it neceffary, while proper meafures were taking for that purpose, to affect the greatest moderation, hoping under that veil to conceal his real intentions from the other princes of Europe. Meanwhile France was filled with confternation. The king himself had early tranfmitted an account of the rout at Pavia in a letter to his mother delivered by Pennalofa, which contained only these words, "Madam, all is loft, except our honour." Those who survived, when they arrived from Italy, brought GA fuch あ a fuch a melancholy detail of particulars as made all ranks of men fenfibly feel the greatnefs and extent of the calamity.' After the most unfeeling and unprincely treatment of his royal captive, Charles at length fet him at liberty, having first made him fign a rigorous treaty. By this treaty, Charles Aattered himself that he had not only effectually humbled his rival, but that he had taken fuch precautions as would for ever prevent his re-attaining any formidable degree of power. The opinion, which the wifeft politicians formed concerning it, was very different; they could not perfuade themselves that Francis, after obtaining his liberty, ⚫ would execute these articles against which he had struggled fo long, and to which even amidst the horrors of captivity he had confented with fuch reluctance. Ambition and refentment, they knew, would confpire in prompting him to violate the hard conditions to which he had been conftrained to fubmit; nor would arguments and cafuiftry be wanting to represent that which was fo manifeftly advantageous, to be necessary and just. If one part of Francis's conduct had been known, at that time, this opinion might have been founded, not in conjecture, but in certainty. A few hours before he figned the treaty, he affembled fuch of his counsellors as were then in Madrid, and hav ing exacted from them a folemn oath of fecrecy, he made a long enumeration in their prefence of all the dishonourable arts, as well as unprincely rigour, which the Emperor had employed in order to enfnare and intimidate him. For that reafon, he took a formal proteft in the hands of notaries, that his confent to the treaty fhould be confidered as an involuntary deed, and be deemed null and void. By this difingenuous artifice, for which even the treatment he had met with was no apology, Francis endeavoured to fatisfy his honour and confcience in figning the treaty, and to provide at the same time a pretext on which to break it.' It was not long before a pretext was found, and these two rival monarchs ftruggled against each other with alternate fuccefs, from this time, that is, the year 1526, to the year 1547, when Francis, always jealous of the emperor's power, formed a great confederacy against him, which alarmed the Emperor. But there was one circumftance which afforded him fome profpect of escaping the danger. The French king's health began to decline. A difeafe, the effect of his intemperance and inconfiderate pursuit of pleasure, preyed gradually on his conftitution. The preparations for war, as well as the negociations in the different courts, began to languish, together with the monarch, who gave fpirit to both. The Genoefe, during that interval, reduced Montobbio, took Jerome Fiefco prifoner, and putting him together with his chief adherents to death, death, extinguished all remains of the confpiracy. Several of the Imperial cities in Germany, despairing of timely affistance from France, fubmitted to the Emperor. Even the Landgrave feemed difpofed to abandon the Elector, and to bring matters to a speedy accommodation, on fuch terms as he could obtain. In the mean time, Charles waited with impatience the iffue of a diftemper, which was to decide whether he must relinquish all other schemes, in order to prepare for refifting a combination of the greater part of Europe againft him, or whether he might proceed to invade Saxony, without interruption or fear of danger. The good fortune, fo remarkably propitious to his family, that some hiftorians have called it the ftar of the house of Auftria, did not defert him on this occafion. Francis died at Rambouillet, on the last day of March, in the fifty-third year of his age, and the thirty-third of his reign. During twenty-eight years of that time, an avowed rivalship fubfifted between him and the Emperor, which involved not only their own dominions, but the greater part of Europe in wars, profecuted with more violent animofity, and drawn out to a greater length than had been known in any former period. Many circumftances contributed to both. Their animofity was founded in oppofition of intereft, heightened by perfonal emulation, and exafperated not only by mutual injuries, but by reciprocal infults. At the fame time, whatever advantage one feemed to poffefs towards gaining the afcendant, was wonderfully ballanced by fome favourable circumstance, peculiar to the other. The Emperor's dominions were of great extent, the French king's lay more compact; Francis governed his kingdom with abfolute power; that of Charles was limited, but he fupplied the want of authority by addrefs; the troops of the former were more impetuous and enterprizing; thofe of the latter better difciplined, and more patient of fatigue. The talents and abilities of the two monarchs, were as different as the advantages which they poffeffed, and contributed no less to prolong the contest between them. Francis took his refolutions fuddenly, profecuted them at first with warmth, and pushed them into execution with a moft adventrous courage; but being deftitute of the perfeverance neceffary to furmount difficulties, he often abandoned his defigns, or relaxed the vigour of purfuit, from impatience, and sometimes from levity. Charles deliberated long, and determined with coolness; but, having once fixed his plan, he adhered to it with inflexible obstinacy, and neither danger nor difcouragement could turn him aside from the execution of it. The fuccefs of their enterprizes was as different as their characters, and was uniformly influenced by them. Francis, by his impetuous activity, often difconcerted the Emperor's beft laid schemes; Charles, Charles, by a more calm but fteady profecution of his defigns, checked the rapidity of, his rival's career, and baffled or repulfed his moft vigorous efforts. The former, at the opening of a war or a campaign, broke in upon his enemy with the violence of a torrent, and carried all before him; the latter, waiting until he faw the force of his rival begin to abate, recovered in the end not only all that he had loft, but made new acquifitions. Few of the French monarch's attempts towards conqueft, whatever promifing afpect they might wear at first, were conducted to an happy iffue; many of the Emperor's enterprizes, even after they appeared defperate and impracticable, terminated in the most .profperous manner. Francis was dazzled with the splendour of an undertaking; Charles was allured by the profpect of its turning to his advantage. The degree, however, of their comparative merit and reputation, has not been fixed either by a Brict fcrutiny into their abilities for government, or by an impartial confideration of the greatness and fuccefs of their undertakings; and Francis is one of those monarchs who occupies a -higher rank in the temple of fame, than either his talents or performances entitle him to hold. This pre-eminence he owed to many different circumstances. The fuperiority which Charles acquired by the victory of Pavia, and which from that period he preserved through the remainder of his reign, was fo manifeft, that Francis's struggle against his exorbitant and growing dominion was viewed by moft of the other powers, not only with the partiality which naturally arises for those who gallantly maintain an unequal conteft, but with the favour due to one who was refifting a common enemy, and endeavouring to set bounds to a monarch equally formidable to them all. The characters of princes, too, especially among their contemporaries, depend not only opon their talents for government, but upon their qualities as men. Francis, notwithstanding the many errors confpicuous in his foreign policy and domestic adminiftration, was nevertheless humane, beneficent, generous. He poffeffed dignity without pride; affability free from meanness; and courtesy exempt from deceit. All who had access to him, and -no man of merit was ever denied that privilege, refpected and loved him. Captivated with his perfonal qualities, his fubjects forgot his defects as a monarch, and admiring him as the most accomplished and amiable gentleman in his dominions, they never murmured at acts of male-administration, which in a prince of lefs engaging difpofitions, would have been deemed unpardonable. This admiration, however, muft have been temporary only, and would have died away with the courtiers who bestowed it; the illufion arifing from his private virtues must have ceafed, and posterity would have judged of his public conduct with its ufual impartiality; but another circumstance pre |