had his cannons directed towards the Holy Father's dwelling-place; but
the pope was unmoved by these demonstrations; and obstinate as he was,
this time it was the French king who gave way.

This article, therefore, was set aside, and the following conditions were
agreed upon:

That there should be from this day forward between His Majesty the King
of France and the Holy Father a sincere friendship and a firm alliance;

Before the completion of the conquest of the kingdom of Naples, the King
of France should occupy, for the advantage and accommodation of his army,
the fortresses of Civita Vecchia, Terracina, and Spoleto;

Lastly, the Cardinal Valentino (this was now the name of Caesar Borgia,
after his archbishopric of Valencia) should accompany the king in the
capacity of apostolic ambassador, really as a hostage.

These conditions fixed, the ceremonial of an interview was arranged. The
king left the Palazzo di Venezia and went to live in the Vatican. At the
appointed time he entered by the door of a garden that adjoined the
palace, while the pope, who had not had to quit the Castle S. Angelo,
thanks to a corridor communicating between the two palaces, came down
into the same garden by another gate. The result of this arrangement was
that the king the next moment perceived the pope, and knelt down, but the
pope pretended not to see him, and the king advancing a few paces, knelt
a second time; as His Holiness was at that moment screened by some
masonry, this supplied him with another excuse, and the king went on with
the performance, got up again, once mare advanced several steps, and was
on the point of kneeling down the third time face to face, when the Holy