then continued his march to Naples, which he reached on the 22d of February.  He overran and subjugated the whole kingdom, and, having consolidated his conquest, entered Naples on a white steed, beneath imperial banners, and arrogantly assumed the title of King of Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem.  Alphonso, King of Naples, in despair, abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdinand; and Ferdinand, unable to oppose any effectual resistance, abandoned his kingdom to the conqueror, and fled to the island of Ischia.

These alarming aggressions on the part of France, already very powerful, excited general consternation throughout Europe.  Maximilian, as emperor, was highly incensed, and roused all his energies to check the progress of so dangerous a rival.  The Austrian States alone could by no means cope with the kingdom of France.  Maximilian sent agents to the pope, to the Dukes of Milan and Florence, and to the King of Arragon, and formed a secret league to expel the French from Italy, and restore Ferdinand to Naples.  It was understood that the strength of France was such, that this enterprise could only be achieved through a long war, and that the allies must continue united to prevent France, when once expelled from Italy, from renewing her aggressions.  The league was to continue twenty-two years.  The pope was to furnish six thousand men, and the other Italian States twelve thousand.  Maximilian promised to furnish nine thousand.  Venice granted the troops of the emperor a free passage through her dominions.

These important first steps being thus taken secretly and securely, the emperor summoned a diet of Germany to enlist the States of the empire in the enterprise.  This was the most difficult task, and yet nothing could be accomplished without the cooeperation of Germany.  But the Germanic States, loosely held together, jealous of each other, each grasping solely at its own aggrandizement, reluctantly delegating any power to the emperor, were slow to promise cooeperation in any general enterprise, and having promised, were still slower to perform.  The emperor had no power to enforce the fulfillment of agreements, and could only supplicate.  During the long reign of Frederic the imperial dignity had lapsed more and more into an empty title; and Maximilian had an arduous task before him in securing even respectful attention to his demands.  He was fully aware of the difficulties, and made arrangements accordingly.

The memorable diet was summoned at Worms, on the 26th of May, 1496.  The emperor had succeeded, by great exertion, in assembling a more numerous concourse of the princes and nobles of the empire than had ever met on a similar occasion.  He presided in person, and in a long and earnest address endeavored to rouse the empire to a sense of its own dignity and its own high mission as the regulator of the affairs of Europe.  He spoke earnestly of their duty to combine and chastise the insolence of the Turks; but waiving that for the