This was worse than a crime--it was blunder of the very first magnitude,
and such a blunder as could only have been made by a very stupid as well as
a very arrogant man. Doria by this time was a warrior of European
celebrity, and one to whom even kings used the language of persuasion; to
attempt to browbeat him was to court disaster.
Francis sent the Vicomte de Tours to Genoa to levy the fine, but the
Vicomte did not prosper on his mission. Outside of Genoa he was met by the
outraged admiral on horseback at the head of some fifty Genoese nobles and
a numerous company of foot-soldiers. De Tours reported that the name and
authority of the King of France was held in derision by the fierce old
admiral, who so alarmed the envoy himself that he thought it prudent to
retire to Florence, from whence he wrote a long letter to his master
complaining of his reception by Doria.
This attempt to levy a fine on Genoa was not, however, the only deadly blow
which the King of France was aiming at her. The children of Francis were at
this time in Madrid, as hostages for the good behaviour of their father,
and that monarch was in treaty secretly with Charles to restore Italy to
the _status quo ante bellum_, which would have had the effect of handing
over Genoa to Antony Adorno. He also began the fortification of Savona, in
order that from there he might be in a position to strike at the
Genoese--from a military point of view, if necessary--but in any event to
cripple the trade of that city.
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