The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

l8
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
Ferrara.i By December 30th it was no longer possible to
send any news into the conclave or to receive any communi-
cations from within. 2 As a matter of fact, the agents of the
Italian princes were quite unable to give much information
as to what was happening in the Vatican. In these straits
Camillo Luzzara had to console himself with setting forth the
reasons why the election was bound to be a long one ;^ he
succeeded in finding eighteen such reasons, based on general
principles,"* and eleven more which he based upon the character
of individual Cardinals, and the like.
Thanks to the strict enclosure of the conclave, and the
attitude of reserve maintained by the foreign powers, the
Cardinals on this occasion found themselves less subject to
external influences than had ever been the case in the memory
of man. Goings and comings such as Vargas had contrived
at the previous conclave were out of the question now, and the
decision lay entirely in the hands of the electors, and of the
three party leaders, Borromeo, Farnese and Ippolito d'Este.
Another circumstance of good augury lay in the great
influence which Borromeo was likely to exercise as the leader
of his party. It was customary that the Cardinals created
by the late Pope should submit themselves in the conclave
to the judgment of the nephews.^ If Borromeo, the most
important nephew from the spiritual point of view, had taken
1 Ibid. 63.
2 lUd. 67.
^ *To the castellan of Mantua, Dec. 29, 1565, Gonzaga Archives,
Mantua. Requesens sent the same or exactly similar information
to Philip II. (December 30). Corresp. dip]., I., 69.
* " The number of the electors is large, and each of the parties
among them is small ; some of -the Cardinals are old, others
are noble ; some are rich, others are poor ; some are hostile,
others friends. All these things are to him reasons which support
his contention ; every foreign Catholic power and every Italian
prince affords him a further reason." Loc. cit.
^ " Se tiene por muy mal que en la primera election de Papa
no acudan las creatures a sus sobrinos." Pacheco to Philip II,,
Dec. 20, 1565, Corresp. dipL, I., 53.