both just then governed by women regents, the sovereigns of both
principalities being children, Charles John Aime and William John, aged
respectively six and eight.

The two regents appeared before Charles VIII, one at Turin, one at
Casale, each at the head of a numerous and brilliant court, and both
glittering with jewels and precious stones. Charles, although he quite
well knew that for all these friendly demonstrations they were both bound
by treaty to his enemy, Alfonso of Naples, treated them all the same with
the greatest politeness, and when they made protestations of friendship,
asked them to let him have a proof of it, suggesting that they should
lend him the diamonds they were covered with. The two regents could do
no less than obey the invitation which was really a command. They took
off necklaces, rings, and earrings. Charles VIII gave them a receipt
accurately drawn up, and pledged the jewels for 20,000 ducats. Then,
enriched by this money, he resumed his journey and made his way towards
Asti. The Duke of Orleans held the sovereignty of Asti, as we said
before, and hither came to meet Charles both Ludovico Sforza and his
father-in-law, Hercules d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. They brought with them
not only the promised troops and money, but also a court composed of the
loveliest women in Italy.

The balls, fetes, and tourneys began with a magnificence surpassing
anything that Italy had ever seen before. But suddenly they were
interrupted by the king's illness. This was the first example in Italy
of the disease brought by Christopher Columbus from the New World, and
was called by Italians the French, by Frenchmen the Italian disease. The
probability is that some of Columbus's crew who were at Genoa or
thereabouts had already brought over this strange and cruel complaint
that counter balanced the gains of the American gold-mines.