Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/414

384 the liberation of her brother less rigorous than those which the emperor seemed determined to extort. L’Isle Adam gladly accepted the commission, as it would enable him to obtain a personal interview with both monarchs, an object he had much at heart, lie proceeded to Marseilles, for the purpose of escorting the lovely princess to her destination. This action gave great umbrage to the emperor’s ministers in Italy, who conceived that such a step was a declaration of support to the French cause; they therefore at once sequestered the whole of the Order’s property in that country; L’Isle Adam did not allow this arbitrary act to prevent him from pursuing the course he had proposed; he therefore accompanied the duchess to Madrid, and aided her with all the keenness of his political sagacity in treating for the liberation of her brother. In this matter he was, in fact, the more successful of the two. At the expiration of her safe conduct she was compelled to return to France, and it was after her departure that L’Isle Adam succeeded in concluding a treaty between the two kings, whereby Francis regained his liberty. The favourable issue of this negotiation, which had in vain been attempted by the leading politicians of Europe, reflected the highest credit on the tactics of L’Isle Adam, who now added the character of a talented diplomatist to that he already had acquired of being one of the leading captains in Europe.

A heavy ransom having been one of the conditions upon which the liberty of the French monarch depended, a general levy was made throughout his dominions to raise the necessary funds. The privileges of the Order of St. John exempted its property in France from any share in this contribution,