Bab Bab 28 · Chapter XXVIII

.

After the famous sedition on St. Martin’s day, it may be said that

abundance flowed into Milan, as if by enchantment. The shops were well

stored with bread, the price of which was no higher than in the most

fruitful years; those who, on that terrible day, had howled through the

streets, and committed every excess in their power, had now reason to

congratulate themselves. But, with the cessation of their alarm, they

had not resumed their accustomed quiet; on the squares, and in the inns,

there were congratulations and boastings (although in an under tone) at

having hit on a mode of reducing the price of bread. However, in the

midst of these popular rejoicings, there reigned a vague apprehension

and presentiment that this happiness would be of short duration. They

besieged the bakers and vendors of flour with the same pertinacity as

during the period of the former factitious and transient abundance,

produced by the first tariff of Antony Ferrer. He who had some pence by

him converted them immediately into bread and flour, which was piled in

chests, in small casks, and even in vessels of earthen ware. In thus

attempting to extend the advantages of the moment, their long duration

was rendered, I do not say impossible, for it was so already; but even

their momentary continuance thus became still more difficult.

On the fifteenth of November, Antony Ferrer, “_by the order of his

excellency_,” published a decree in which it was forbidden to any one,

having any quantity of grain or flour in his house, to purchase more;

and to the rest of the people to buy bread beyond that which was

necessary for two days, “_under pecuniary and corporal penalties at the

discretion of his excellency_.” The decree ordered the _anziani_

(officers of justice), and invited every body, as a duty, to denounce

the offenders; it commanded the judges to cause search to be made in

every house which might be mentioned to them, issuing at the same time a

new command to the bakers to keep their shops well furnished with bread,

“_under penalty of five years in the galleys, and still greater

punishment at the discretion of his excellency_.” A great effort of

imagination would be required to believe that such orders were easy of

execution.

In commanding the bakers to make such a quantity of bread, means ought

to have been afforded for the supply of the material of which it was to

be made. In seasons of scarcity, there is always an endeavour to make

into bread various kinds of aliment, which, under ordinary

circumstances, are consumed under other forms. In this way rice was

introduced into the composition of a bread which was called mistura.[33]

On the 23d of November, there was a decree issued, which placed at the

order of the vicar and twelve members of provision the half of the rice

that each possessed; under penalty for selling it without the permission

of those lords of the loss of the entire commodity, and a fine of three

crowns the bushel.

[33] Mixture.

But this rice had to be paid for at a price very disproportioned to that

of bread. The burden of supplying this enormous difference was imposed

on the city: but the council of ten resolved to send a remonstrance to

the governor, on the impossibility of sustaining such a tax; and the

governor fixed, by a decree of the 13th of December, the price of rice

at twelve livres the bushel. It is also probable, though nowhere

expressly stated, that the maximum price for other sorts of grain was

fixed by other proclamations. Whilst, by these various measures, bread

and flour were kept at a low price in Milan, it consequently happened

that crowds of people rushed into the city to supply their wants. Don

Gonzalo, to remedy this inconvenience, forbade, by another decree of the

15th of December, the carrying out of the city bread to the value of

more than twenty pence; the penalty was a fine of “_twenty-five crowns,

and in case of inability, a public flogging, and greater punishments

still, at the discretion of his excellency_.”

The populace wished to procure abundance by pillage and conflagration,

the legal power wished to maintain it by the galleys and the rope. Every

method was resorted to to accomplish their purpose, but the reader will

soon learn the total failure of them all. It is, besides, easy to see,

and not useless to observe, that these strange means had an intimate and

necessary connection with each other; each was the inevitable

consequence of the preceding, and all, in fact, flowed from the first

error, that of fixing upon bread a price so disproportioned to that

which ought to have resulted from the real state of things. Such an

expedient, however, has always appeared to the populace not only

conformable to equity, but very simple and easy of execution; it is then

very natural that in the agonies and misery which are the necessary

effects of scarcity, they should, if it be in their power, adopt it. But

as the consequences begin to be felt, the government is obliged to

repair the evil by new laws, forbidding men to do that which previous

laws had recently prescribed to them.

The principal fruits of the insurrection were these; the destruction or

loss of much provision in the insurrection itself, and the rapid

consumption of the small quantity of grain then on hand, which should

otherwise have lasted until the next harvest. To these general effects

may be added, the punishment of four of the populace, who were hung as

leaders of the sedition, two before the baker’s shop of the crutches,

and two at the corner of the street in which was situated the house of

the superintendent of provision.

The historical relations of this epoch are handed down to us with so

little clearness, that it is difficult to ascertain when this arbitrary

tariff ceased. But we have numerous accounts of the situation of the

country, and especially the city, in the winter of that year and the

following spring. In every quarter shops were closed; and the

manufactories were, for the most part, deserted; the streets afforded a

terrible spectacle of sorrow and desolation; mendicants by profession,

now the smallest number, were confounded with the new multitude,

disputing for alms with those from whom they had formerly been

accustomed to receive them; clerks and servants, dismissed by the

merchants and shopkeepers, hardly existing upon some scanty savings;

merchants and shopkeepers themselves failing and ruined by the stoppage

of trade; artificers wandering from door to door, lying along the

pavement, by the houses and churches, soliciting charity, and hesitating

between want and shame, emaciated and feeble, reduced by long fasting,

and the rigours of the cold which penetrated their tattered clothing;

servants, dismissed by their masters, who were incapable of maintaining

their accustomed numerous and sumptuous establishments; and the numerous

dependents upon the labour of these various classes, old men, women, and

children, grouped around their former supporters, or wandered in search

of support elsewhere.

Among the wretched crowds also might be distinguished, by their _long

lock_, by the remnants of their magnificent apparel, by their carriage

and gestures, and by the traces which habit impresses on the

countenance, many _bravoes_, who, having lost in the common misery their

criminal means of support, were reduced to an equality of suffering, and

with difficulty dragged themselves along the city that they had so often

traversed with a proud and ferocious bearing, magnificently armed and

attired; they now extended with humility the hand which they had so

frequently raised to menace with insolence, or to strike with treachery.

But the most dense, livid, and hideous swarm was that of the villagers.

These were seen in entire families; husbands with their wives, dragging

along their little ones, and supporting in their arms their wretched

babies, whilst their own aged and helpless parents followed behind,—all

flocked into the city in hopes of obtaining bread. Some, whose houses

had been invaded and despoiled by the soldiery, had fled in despair;

some, to excite compassion, and render their misery more striking,

showed the wounds and bruises they had received in defending their

homes; and others, whom this scourge had not reached, had been driven,

by the two scourges from which no corner of the country was exempt,

sterility and the consequent increase on the price of provisions, to the

city, as to the abode of abundance and pious munificence. The new comers

might be recognised by their air of angry astonishment and

disappointment at finding such an excess of misery where they had hoped

to be themselves the peculiar objects of compassion and benevolence.

Here, too, might be recognised, in all their varieties of ragged

habiliments, in the midst of the general wretchedness, the pale dweller

of the marsh, the bronzed countenance of the plain or hill countryman,

and the sanguine complexion of the mountaineer, all, however, alike in

the hollow eye, ferocious or insane countenance, knotted hair, long and

matted beard, attenuated body, shrivelled skin and bony breast,—all

alike reduced to the lowest condition of languor, of infantine debility.

Heaps of straw and stubble were seen along the walls, and by the

gutters, which appeared to be a particular provision of charity for

these unfortunate creatures; there their limbs reposed during the night;

and in the day they were occupied by those who, exhausted by fatigue and

suffering, could no longer bear the weight of their emaciated bodies;

sometimes, upon the damp straw a dead body lay extended; sometimes, the

miserable spark of life was rekindled in its feeble tenement by timely

succour from a hand rich in the means and in the disposition to do

good, the hand of the pious Frederick.

He had made choice of six priests of ardent charity and robust

constitution; and, dividing them into three companies, assigned to each

the third of the city as their charge; they were accompanied by porters,

laden with food, cordials, and clothing. Each morning these worthy

messengers of benevolence passed through the streets, approached those

whom they beheld stretched on the pavement, and gave to each their

kindly assistance. Those who were too ill to be benefited by temporal

succour received from them the last offices of religion.

Their assistance was not limited to present relief: the good bishop

requested them, wherever it was possible, to furnish more efficacious

and permanent comfort, by giving to those who should be in some measure

restored to strength money for their future necessities, lest returning

want should again plunge them into wretchedness and misery; and to

obtain shelter for others who lay exposed in the street in the

neighbouring houses, by requesting their inhabitants to receive the poor

afflicted ones as boarders, whose expenses would be paid by the cardinal

himself.

Frederick had not waited for the evil to attain its height, in order to

exercise his benevolence, and to devote all the powers of his mind

towards its amelioration. By uniting all his means, by practising strict

economy, by drawing upon the sums destined to other liberalities, and

which had now become of secondary importance, he endeavoured to amass

money, in order to employ it entirely for those who were suffering from

hunger and its consequences. He bought a quantity of grain, and sent it

to the most destitute parts of his diocese; but as the succour was far

from adequate to the necessity, he sent with it a great quantity of

salt, “with which,” says Ripamonti[34], relating the fact, “the herbs of

the field and the leaves of trees were made food for men.” He

distributed grain and money to the curates of the city; and he himself

travelled over it, administering alms, and secretly aiding many indigent

families. In the episcopal palace, rice was boiled every day, and dealt

out to the necessities of the people, to the extent of 2000 measures.

Besides these splendid efforts of a single individual, many other

excellent persons, though with less powerful means, strove to mitigate

the horrible sufferings of the people: of these sufferers, thousands

struggled to grasp the broth or other food provided at different

quarters, and thus prolong for a day, at least, their miserable lives;

but thousands were still left behind in the struggle, and these

generally the weakest,—the aged women and children; and these might be

seen, dead and dying from inanition, in every part. But in the midst of

these calamities not the least disposition to insurrection appeared.

[34] Historia Patriæ, decad. v. lib. vi. p. 386.

The void that mortality created each day in the miserable multitude was

each day more than replenished; there was a perpetual concourse, at

first from the neighbouring villages, then from the more distant

territories, and, finally, from the Milanese cities.

The ordinary spectacle of ordinary times, the contrast of magnificent

apparel with rags, and of luxury with poverty, had entirely disappeared.

The nobility even wore coarse clothing; some, because the general misery

had affected their fortune; others, because they would not insult the

wretchedness of the people, or because they feared to provoke the

general despair by the display of luxury at such a time.

Thus passed the winter and the spring; already had the Tribunal of

Health remonstrated with the Tribunal of Provision on the danger to

which such mass of misery exposed the city. To prevent contagious

diseases, a proposal was made to confine the vagabond beggars in the

various hospitals. Whilst this project was under discussion, some

approving and others condemning, dead bodies incumbered the streets. The

Tribunal of Provision, however, proposed another expedient as more easy

and expeditious, which was, to shut up all the mendicants, healthy or

diseased, in the lazaretto, and to maintain them there at the expense of

the city. This measure was resolved upon, notwithstanding the

remonstrances of the Tribunal of Health, who objected that, in so

numerous an assemblage, the evil to which they wished to apply a remedy

would be greatly augmented.

The little order that reigned in the lazaretto, the bad quality of the

food, and the standing water which was drank plentifully, soon created

numerous maladies. To these causes of mortality, so much the more active

from operating on bodies already exhausted or enfeebled, was added the

unfavourableness of the season; obstinate rains, followed by more

obstinate drought, and violent heat. To these physical evils were added

others of a moral nature, despair and wearisomeness in captivity, desire

for accustomed habits, regret for cherished beings of whom these

unfortunate beings had been deprived; painful apprehension for those who

were living, and the continual dread of death, which had itself become a

new and powerful cause of the extension of disease. It is not to be

wondered at that mortality increased in this species of prison to such a

degree as to assume the appearance and deserve the name of _pestilence_.

The number of deaths in the lazaretto soon amounted to a hundred daily.

Whilst within these wretched walls, grief, fear, anguish, and rage

prevailed, in the Tribunal of Provision, shame, astonishment, and

irresolution were equally apparent. They consulted, and now listened to

the advice of the Tribunal of Health: finding they could do no better

than to undo what they had done, at so much expense and trouble, they

opened the doors of the lazaretto, and released all who were well enough

to leave it. The city was thus again filled with its former cries, but

feebler, and more interrupted; the sick were transported to Santa Maria

della Stella, which was then the hospital for the poor, and the greater

part perished there.

However, the fields began to yield the harvest so long desired, and the

troops of peasants left the city for their long prayed for and

accustomed labours. The ingenious and inexhaustible charity of the good

Frederick still exerted itself; he made a present of a giulio[35] and a

sickle to each peasant, who solicited it at the palace.

[35] A coin worth about 6_d._

With a plentiful harvest, scarcity ceased to be felt; the mortality,

however, continued, in a greater or less degree, until the middle of

autumn. It was on the point of ceasing, when a new scourge overwhelmed

the city and country.

Many events of high historical importance had occurred in this interval

of time. The Cardinal Richelieu, after having taken Rochelle, and made a

treaty of peace with England, had proposed, effected by his powerful

influence in the councils of the French king, that efficacious aid

should be sent to the Duke of Nevers; he had also persuaded the king to

lead the expedition in person. Whilst the preparations were in progress,

the Count of Nassau, imperial commissary, suggested to the new duke in

Mantua the expediency of replacing his states in the hands of Ferdinand;

intimating that, in case of refusal, an army would be immediately sent

by the emperor to occupy them. The duke, who in the most desperate

circumstances had rejected so hard a condition, encouraged now by the

promised succours from France, was determined still longer to defend

himself. The commissary departed, declaring that force would soon decide

the matter.

In the month of March, the Cardinal Richelieu with the king, at the head

of an army, demanded a free passage from the Duke of Savoy; he entered

into treaties for the purpose, but nothing was concluded. After a

rencounter, in which the French obtained the advantage, a new treaty was

entered into, in which the duke stipulated that Don Gonzalo de Cordova

should raise the siege of Casale, engaging, in case of his refusal, to

unite with the French, and invade the duchy of Milan. Don Gonzalo raised

the siege of Casale, and a body of French troops entered it, to

reinforce the garrison. The Cardinal Richelieu decided to return to

France, on business which he regarded as more urgent; but Girolamo

Soranzo, envoy from Venice, offered the most powerful reasons to divert

him from this resolution. To these the king and the cardinal paid no

attention; they returned with the greatest part of the army, leaving

only 6000 men at Suza to occupy the passes and maintain the treaty.

Whilst this army departed on one side, that of Ferdinand, commanded by

the Count of Collato, advanced on the other. It had invaded the country

of the Grisons, and the Valtelline, and was preparing to come down on

the Milanese. Besides the usual terrors which such an expectation was

calculated to excite, the report was spread, that the plague lurked in

the imperial army. Alessandro Tadino, one of the conservators of the

public health, was charged by the tribunal to state to the governor the

frightful danger which threatened the country, if this army should

obtain the pass which opened on Mantua. It appears from all the actions

of Gonzalo, that he was possessed by a desire to occupy a great place in

history; but, as often happens, history has failed to register one of

his most remarkable acts, the answer he returned to this Doctor Tadino;

which was, “that he knew not what could be done; that reasons of

interest and honour, which had induced the march of the army, were of

greater weight than the danger represented; that he would, however,

endeavour to act for the best, and that they must trust to Providence.”

In order, then, to act for the best, their two physicians proposed to

the tribunal to forbid, under the most severe penalty, the purchase of

any articles of clothing from the soldiers who were about to pass. As to

Don Gonzalo, his reply to Doctor Tadino was one of his last acts at

Milan, as the ill success of the war, which had been instigated and

directed by him, caused him to be displaced in the course of the summer.

He was succeeded by Marquis Ambrosio Spinola, who had already acquired

the military celebrity in the wars of Flanders which still endures.

Meanwhile the German troops had received definite orders to march upon

Mantua, and in the month of September they entered the duchy of Milan.

At this epoch armies were composed, for the greater part, of

adventurers, enlisted by _condottieri_, who held their commission from

some prince, and who sometimes pursued the occupation on their own

account, so as to be able to sell themselves and followers together. Men

were drawn to this vocation much less by the pay which was assigned to

them, than by the hope of pillage, and the charms of licence. There was

no fixed or general discipline; and as their pay was very uncertain, the

spoils of the countries which they over-ran were tacitly accorded to

them by their commanders.

It was a saying of the celebrated Wallenstein’s, that it was easier to

maintain an army of 100,000 men than one of 12,000. And this army of

which we are now speaking was part of that which in the thirty years’

war had desolated all Germany; it was commanded by one of Wallenstein’s

lieutenants, and consisted of 28,000 infantry, and 7000 horse. In

descending from the Valtelline towards Milan, they had to coast along

the Adda, to the place where it empties into the Po; eight days’ march

in the duchy of Milan.

A great proportion of the inhabitants retired to the mountains, carrying

with them their most precious possessions; some remained to watch the

sick, or to preserve their dwellings from the flames, or to watch the

valuable property which they had buried or concealed; and others

remained because they had nothing to lose. When the first detachment

arrived at the place where they were to halt, the soldiers scattered

themselves through the country; and subjected it at once to pillage; all

that could be eaten or carried off disappeared; fields were destroyed,

and cottages burnt to the ground; every hiding-place, every method to

which people had resorted, in their despair, for the defence of their

property, became useless, nay, often resulted in the peculiar injury of

the proprietor. Strict search was made throughout every house by the

soldiers; they easily detected in the gardens the earth which had been

newly dug; they penetrated the caverns in search of the opulent

inhabitants, who had taken refuge there, and dragging them to their

houses, forced them to declare where they had concealed their treasures.

At last they departed; their drums and trumpets were heard receding in

the distance, and a temporary calm succeeded to these hours of tumult

and affright; but, alas! the sound of drums was again heard, announcing

the arrival of another detachment, the soldiers of which, furious at not

finding booty, destroyed what the first work of desolation had spared;

burned the furniture and the houses, and manifested the most cruel and

savage disposition towards the inhabitants. This continued for a period

of twenty days, the army containing that number of divisions.

Colico was the first territory of the duchy that these demons invaded;

they then threw themselves on Bellano, from which they entered and

spread themselves in the Valsassina, whence they marched into the

territory of Lecco.