The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

VARGAS AND THE FRENCH PARTY. 39
that he wished for something more ;
on account of the honour
of his house, he expected from the king the title of prince
for his brother. Vargas could only reassure him by enlarging
on the magnanimity and generosity of his master, " a half
word from whom was of greater value than all the promises
and assurances of other princes."^ Soon afterwards, in order
to offer an equivalent to the offers of the French,- he made
Carafa general assurances and promises,^ and finally, after
repeated deliberations with the most important members
of the Spanish party, he had recourse to the grave measure
of exceeding his authority and giving Carafa a written promise
of the desired reward. At the same time, however, he im-
pressed upon him that it would prove far more advantageous
for him to leave everything to the royal generosity of Philip.'*
All these efforts, however, were in vain. The French were
actively soliciting the friendship of Carafa at the same time
as Vargas, and their leader, Este, was, as described by Philip's
ambassador, the most formidable opponent in negotiations
of that kind, that had ever been seen.^ The French, moreover,
did not need to limit themselves to vague promises with little
security behind them. Catherine de' Medici had, at their
request, addressed a flattering letter to Carafa in which she
expressly assured him that all promises made to him and
his house would be certain to obtain the approval of the French
court.® Catherine's letter arrived about the same time as
that of the Spanish king. Carafa, therefore, declared to the
French that he was for the moment bound by his promise
for Carpi ; on the very day, however, that Carpi withdrew
from his candidature he would retire from his adherence to the
1 Vargas in Dollinger, L, 297.
^ They are said to have already offered him the Marquisate of
Saluzzo (on the French-Italian frontier) and 30,000 ducats in
silver, as well as the promise of all his benefices in Italy. Gian-
figliazzi, in Petrucelli, 121 ; cf. 130. Muller, 147.
' Vargas, loc. cit.
* Ibid., 299 seq.
^ " el mas terrible hombre que se ha visto ;
« MiJLLER, 169 seq.
" ibid., 297.