All the energies of the
pope were apparently enlisted, and he raised, through all the domains of
the Church, large sums of money for the holy enterprise of driving the
invading infidels out of Europe. England and France both proffered their
co-operation, and England, opening her inexhaustible purse, presented a
subsidy of ten thousand pounds. The German nobles rallied in large
numbers under the banner of the cross. But disappointment seemed to be
the doom of the emperor. The King of France sent no aid. The pope,
iniquitously squandered all the money he had raised upon his infamous,
dissolute son, Caesar Borgia. And the emperor himself was drawn into a
war with Bavaria, to settle the right of succession between two rival
claimants. The settlement of the question devolved upon Maximilian as
emperor, and his dignity was involved in securing respect for his
decision. Thus the whole gorgeous plan of a war against the Turks, such
as Europe had never beheld, vanished into thin air, and Maximilian was
found at the head of fourteen thousand infantry, and twelve thousand
horse, engaged in a quarrel in the heart of Germany. In this war
Maximilian was successful, and he rewarded himself by annexing to
Austria several small provinces, the sum total of which quite enlarged
his small domains.
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