Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/113

87 CHAPTER XIII. NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRANCE. — UNSUCCESSFUL INVASION OF SPAIN. — TRUCE. 1503. Ferdinand's Policy examined. — First Symptoms of Joanna's Insanity. — Isabella's Distress and Fortitude. — Efforts of France. — Siege of Salsas. — Isabella's Levies. — Ferdinand's Successes. — Reflections on the Campaign. The events noticed in the preceding chapter chapter glided away as rapidly as the flitting phantoms of '- a dream. Scarcely had Louis the Twelfth re- Lyons. ceived the unwelcome intelligence of Gonsalvo de Cordova's refusal to obey the mandate of the arch duke Philip, before he was astounded with the tidings of the victory of Cerignola, the march on Naples, and the surrender of that capital, as well as of the greater part of the kingdom, following one another in breathless succession. It seemed as if the very means, on which the French king had so confidently relied for calming the tempest, had been the signal for awakening all its fury, and bringing it on his devoted head. Mortified and incensed at being made the dupe of what he deemed a perfid- ious policy, he demanded an explanation of the archduke, who was still in France. The latter, vehemently protesting his own innocence, felt, or affected to feel so sensibly the ridiculous and, as it