Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/55

29 PARTITION OF NAPLES. 29 who at length were prevailed on to draw off, and chapter disperse to their quarters. The next morning, the '- — appalling spectacle of the lifeless body of the Bis- cajan, hanging by the neck from a window of the house in which he had been quartered, admonished the army that there were limits to the general's forbearance it was not prudent to overstep. ^^ An unexpected event, which took place at this juncture, contributed even more than this monitory lesson to restore subordination to the army. This was the capture of a Genoese galleon with a valu- able freight, chiefly iron, bound to some Turkish port, as it was said, in the Levant, which Gonsalvo, moved no doubt by his zeal for the Christian cause, ordered to be seized by the Spanish cruisers ; and the cargo to be disposed of for the satisfaction of his troops. Giovio charitably excuses this act of hos- tility against a friendly power with the remark, that " when the Great Captain did any thing contrary to law, he vvas wont to say, ' A general must secure the victory at all hazards, right or wrong; and, when he has done this, he can compensate those whom he has injured with tenfold benefits.' " ^° The unexpected length of the siege of Tarento, Bolder pian r O O ' of attack. determined Gonsalvo, at length, to adopt bolder measures for quickening its termination. The city, whose insulated position has been noticed, was bounded on the north by a lake, or rather arm of 39 Chr6nica del Gran Capitan, "W Giovio, Vita Magni Gonsalvi, cap. 34. — Quintana, Espafioles lib. 1, p. 233. C61ebres, torn. i. pp. 252, 253. — Giovio, Vitae lUust. Virorum, p. 232. — Carta de Gonzalo, MS.