on his way to that portion of his kingdom, by way of Lyons, where he
arrived a few days afterwards. The reference to this march of the
king fixes beyond all question the date of the letter, as really
intended for the 4th of August, 1524.

The movements of Francis at this crisis become important in view of
the possibility of the publication in any form of the Verrazzano
letter at Lyons, at the last mentioned date, or of the possession of
a copy of it there as claimed by Carli in his letter. The army of
the emperor, under Pescara and Bourbon, crossed the Alps and entered
Provence early in July, and before the date of the Verrazzano
letter. [Footnote: Letter of Bourbon. Dyer's Europe, 442.] The
intention to do so was known by Francis some time previously. He
wrote on the 28th of June from Amboise, near Tours, to the
Provencaux that he would march immediately to their relief;
[Footnote: Sismondi, xvi. 216, 217.] and on the 2d of July he
announced in a letter to his parliament: "I am going to Lyons to
prevent the enemy from entering the kingdom, and I can assure you
that Charles de Bourbon is not yet in France." [Footnote: Gaillard,
Histoire de Francois Premier, tom. III, 172 (Paris, 1769).] He had
left his residence at Blois and his capital, and was thus actually
engaged in collecting his forces together, on the 8th of July, when
the Verrazzano letter is dated. He did not reach Lyons until after
the 4th of August, as is correctly stated in the Carli letter.
[Footnote: Letter of Moncada in Doc. ined. para la Hist. de Espana.
tom. XXIV, 403, and Letters of Pace to Wolsey in State Papers of the
reign of Henry VIII, vol. IV, Part I, 589, 606.]

The author of the Carli letter, whether the person he pretends to
have been or not, asserts that news of the arrival of Verrazzano at