52 ITALIAN WARS. PART same unruffled cheerfulness as before, and endeav- ^ — oured to infuse it into the hearts of others. He perfectly understood the character of his country- men, knew all their resources, and tried to rouse every latent principle of honor, loyalty, pride, and national feeling ; and such was the authority which he acquired over their minds, and so deep the affec- tion which he inspired, by the amenity of his man- ners and the generosity of his disposition, that not a murmur or symptom of insubordination escaped them during the whole of this long and painful siege. But neither the excellence of his troops, nor the resources of his own genius, would have been sufficient to extricate Gonsalvo from the diffi- culties of his situation, without the most flagrant errors on the part of his opponent. The Spanish general, who understood the character of the French commander perfectly well, lay patiently awaiting his opportunity, like a skilful fencer, ready to make a decisive thrust at the first vulnerable point that should be presented. Such an occasion at length offered itself early in the following year.^^ Nemours Thc Frcnch, no less weary than their adversaries defies the ' -^ Spaniards, ^f thclr loug Inactlon, sallied out from Canosa, where the viceroy had established his head-quarters, and 1503. crossing the Ofanto, marched up directly under the January. " . . walls of Barleta, with the intention of drawing out the garrison from the " old den," as they called it, and deciding the quarrel in a pitched battle. The 25 Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V., fol, Rey Hernando, torn. i. lib. 6, II. — Giovio, VitEelllust. Virorum, cap. 9. torn. i. p. 247. — Zurita, Hist, del
