Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/194

168 168 ITALIAN WARS. PART assiduity of their later writers. II. Among these, occasionally consult- ed by me, are Varillas, whose " Hisloire de Louis XII.," loose as it is, rests on a somewhat more solid basis than his metaphysical rever- ies, assuming the title of " Politi- que de Ferdinand," already repeat- edly noticed ; Garnier, wliose per- spicuous narrative, if inferior to that of Gaillard in acuteness and epigrammatic point, makes a much nearer approach to truth ; and, lastly, Sismondi, who, if he may be charged, in his " Histoire des Frangais," with some of the de- fects incident to indiscreet rapidity of composition, succeeds by a few brief and animated touches in open- ing deeper views into character and conduct than can be got from vol- umes of ordinary writers. The want of authentic materials for a perfect acquaintance with the reign of Louis XII. is a subject of complaint with Frencli writers themselves. The memoirs of the period, occupied with the more daz- zling military transactions, make no attempt to instruct us in the interior organization or policy of the gov- ernment. One might imagine, that their autiiors lived a century be- fore Philippe de Comines, instead of coming after him, so inferior are they, in ail the great properties of historic composition, to this emi- nent statesman. The French sava?}^ have made slender contributions to the stock of original documents, collected more than two centuries ago by Godefroy for the illustration of this reign. It can scarcely be supi)osed, however, that the labors of this early antiquary exhausted thedepartment, in which the French are ricli beyond all others, and that lliose, who work the same mine hereafter, should not fnui valuable materials for a broader foundation of this interesting portion of their history. It is fortunate that the reserve of the Frencii in regard to their rela- tions with Italy, at this tune, lias been abundantly compensated by the labors of tiie most eminent con- temporary writers of the latter country, as Bembo, Macliiavelli, Giovio, and the philosophic Guic- ciardini ; whose situation as Ital- ians enabled them to maintain the balance of historic truth undisturb- ed, at least by undue partiality for either of the two great rival pow- ers ; whose high public stations introduced them to the principal characters of the day, and to springs of action hidden from vulgar eyes; and whose superior science, as well as genius, qualified them for rising above the humble level of garrulous chronicle and memoir to the classic dignity of history. It is with regret that we must now strike into a track unillummed by the la- bors of these great masters of their art in modern times. Since the publication of this History, the Spanish Minister at Washington, Don Angel Calde- ron de la Barca, did me tiie fa- vor to send me a copy of the biography above noticed as the " Sumario de los Hechos del Gran Capitan." It is a recent reprint from tiie ancient edition of 1527, of which the industrious editor, Don F. Martinez de la Rosa, was able to find but one copy in Spain. In its new form, it covers about a hundred duodecimo pages. It has positive value, as a contem- porary document, and as such I gladly avail myself of it. But the greater part is devoted to the early history of Gonsalvo, over which my limits have compelled me to pass lightly ; and, for the rest, I am happy to find, on the perusal of it, nothing of moment, which conflicts with the statements drawn from other sources. The able ed- itor has also combined an interest- ing notice of its author, Pulgar, El de las Ildzaiias, one of those iieroes whose doughty feats shed the illu- sions of knight-errantry over the war of Granada.