148

INTRIGUES WITH VENICE

palaces, and admired Mantegna’s glorious frescoes,
and the treasures of art which Isabella had collected
in her studio. The Marquis gave a series of tourna-
ments and comedies in honour of his illustrious guest,
but the Venetians watched these proceedings jealously
and Sanuto remarked that the Marchesana was evi-
dently anxious to draw her husband to the Duke of
Milan’s side, and, like her father Ercole of Ferrara, was
all against Venice.
Still Francesco wavered, and sent messages to the
Signory through his brother Giovanni, who was
known to be attached to Venice, and whose wife,
Laura Bentivoglio, paid frequent visits to the con-
vent of S. Giorgio. On the 20th of October, he
came to Venice and threw himself at the Doge’s feet,
placing his services and those of his family at his
disposal. But, although the Signory was ready to
pay him the same salary as before, they would not
agree to give him the title of captain-general, and he
left Venice in disgust. The next day news came from
Milan that the Marchesa had concluded an agree-
ment with Lodovico, and that her little daughter
Leonora was to be affianced to her cousin, Maxi-
milian, the young Count of Pavia. “Every one
agreed,” wrote Sanuto, “ that the Marquis had treated
our Signory very scurvily, and the Pope is said to
have remarked that we are well rid of a great fool.”
On this occasion Isabella certainly seems to have
urged her husband to come to terms with Lodovico,
and herself took an active part in the negotiations.
When, early in November, the Marchesino Stanga
and Gaspare San Severino came to Mantua and the
agreement with Francesco was finally concluded, they
visited Isabella in the Castello, and told the Duke