THE FRENCH DRIVEN FROM NAPLES. J 53 cess, to catch inspiration from so glorious a theme ; chapter XV trusting doubtless that his liberal hand would not '- - stint the recompense to the precise measure of de- sert. Amid this general burst of adulation, the muse of Sannazaro, worth all his tribe, was alone silent ; for the trophies of the conqueror were raised on the ruins of that rojal house, under which the bard had been so long sheltered ; and this silence, so rare in his tuneful brethren, must be admitted to reflect more credit on his name, than the best he ever sung.'^ The first business of Gonsalvo was to call to- Extortions of the Span- gether the different orders of the state, and receive ishtroocs their oaths of allegiance to King Ferdinand. He next occupied himself with the necessary arrange- ments for the reorganization of the government, and for reforming various abuses which had crept into the administration of justice, more particularly. In these attempts to introduce order, he was not a little thwarted, however, by the insubordination of his own soldiery. They loudly clamored for the discharge of the arrears, still shamefully protracted, till, their discontents swelling to open mutiny, they forcibly seized on two of the principal places in the kingdom as security for the payment. Gonsalvo chastised their insolence by disbanding several of the most refractory companies, and sending them home for punishment. He endeavoured to relieve them in part by raising contributions from the Neapolitans. But the soldiers took the matter into 19 Giovio, Yitae Illust. Virorum, fol. 271. VOL. in. 20
