DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42861#0191
AT MANTUA
155
sought shelter at the Gonzagas’ court; and through
these refugees, who were in constant correspondence
with the exiled Duke at Innsbruck, Isabella heard
of the plots that were secretly made for his restora-
tion. And she heard from her friends Leonardo da
Vinci and Luca Pacioli, the great mathematician,
who visited Mantua on their way to Venice, how
cordially the people of Milan hated the French
invaders, and how confidently they looked for
Lodovico’s return. When, in the first days of
February, the Moro crossed the Valtelline Alps
and entered Milan, amidst the acclamations of his
subjects, it was to Isabella that his first letter from
his old capital was addressed. He felt confident
of her sympathy in his triumph, as he had been in
his reverses, and he fondly imagined that he could
depend on the support of his brother-in-law. We
can imagine the breathless excitement, mingled with
anxious fears for those she loved best, with which
Isabella watched the course of events during those
thrilling days. Her own impulse was to throw
herself heart and soul into the Moro’s cause, and
she wrote not only to her brother-in-law, but to
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, saying that she longed to
fly to Milan, and fight against the French herself.
The Cardinal replied, not without meaning, that her
husband’s presence would be more useful. But
Francesco was too cautious a man to commit him-
self to so desperate a venture. He returned evasive
answers to his brother-in-law’s passionate entreaties
for help, and all he did was to send his brother
Giovanni with a troop of horse to join Lodovico
before Novara.1 By this time the Moro’s doom was
1 Prato, CronaceL Milanese ; Arch. St. It., iii, 244.
155
sought shelter at the Gonzagas’ court; and through
these refugees, who were in constant correspondence
with the exiled Duke at Innsbruck, Isabella heard
of the plots that were secretly made for his restora-
tion. And she heard from her friends Leonardo da
Vinci and Luca Pacioli, the great mathematician,
who visited Mantua on their way to Venice, how
cordially the people of Milan hated the French
invaders, and how confidently they looked for
Lodovico’s return. When, in the first days of
February, the Moro crossed the Valtelline Alps
and entered Milan, amidst the acclamations of his
subjects, it was to Isabella that his first letter from
his old capital was addressed. He felt confident
of her sympathy in his triumph, as he had been in
his reverses, and he fondly imagined that he could
depend on the support of his brother-in-law. We
can imagine the breathless excitement, mingled with
anxious fears for those she loved best, with which
Isabella watched the course of events during those
thrilling days. Her own impulse was to throw
herself heart and soul into the Moro’s cause, and
she wrote not only to her brother-in-law, but to
Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, saying that she longed to
fly to Milan, and fight against the French herself.
The Cardinal replied, not without meaning, that her
husband’s presence would be more useful. But
Francesco was too cautious a man to commit him-
self to so desperate a venture. He returned evasive
answers to his brother-in-law’s passionate entreaties
for help, and all he did was to send his brother
Giovanni with a troop of horse to join Lodovico
before Novara.1 By this time the Moro’s doom was
1 Prato, CronaceL Milanese ; Arch. St. It., iii, 244.