CHA P. poffeffion, he applied to Francis, and defired him to beXXVIII. stow on Gaillart fome fee of equal value in France, and

to obtain his refignation of Tournay. Francis, who still 1515. hoped to recover poffeffion of that city, and who feared, that the full establishment of Wolfey in the bishopric. would prove an obftacle to his purpose, had hitherto neglected to gratify the haughty prelate; and the bishop of Tournay, by applying to the court of Rome, had obtained a bull for his fettlement in that fee. Wolfey, who expected to be complied with in every request, and who exacted refpect even from the greatest monarchs, refented the flight put upon him by Francis; and he pushed his master to feek an occafion for wreaking his vengeance against that monarch N.

MAXIMILIAN the emperor was ready to embrace every propofal of a new enterprize; efpecially if attended with an offer of money, of which he was very greedy, very prodigal, and very neceffitous. Richard Pace, formerly fecretary to cardinal Bambridge, now fecretary of ftate, was difpatched to the court of Vienna, and had a commiffion to propofe fome confiderable payments to Maximilian % He thence made a journey into Switzerland; and by like motives engaged fome of the cantons to furnish troops to the emperor. That prince invaded Italy with a confiderable army; but being repulfed from before Milan, he retreated with his army into Germany, made peace with France and Venice, delivered Verona to that republic for a sum of money, and thus excluded himself, in some measure, from all future access into Italy. And Henry found, that, after expending five or fix hundred thousand ducats, in order to gratify the cardinal's refentment, he had only loofened his alliance with Francis, without diminishing the power of that prince.

THERE were many reasons, which engaged the king not to proceed farther at prefent in his enmity against France: He could hope for affiftance from no power in Europe. Ferdinand, his father in-law, who had often deceived him, was now declining faft through age and infirmities; and a speedy period was looked for to the long and profperous reign of that great monarch. Charles prince of Spain, fovereign of the Low Countries, defired nothing

N Polydore Virgil, lib. 27. • Petrus de Angleria, epift. 568.

nothing but peace with Francis, who had it so much in CHA P. his power, if provoked, to obftru& his peaceable acceffion XXVIII. to that rich inheritance, which was awaiting him. The pope was overawed by the power of France, and Venice 1515. was engaged in a close alliance with that monarchy P. Henry therefore was constrained to remain in tranquillity during fome time; and seemed to give himself no concern with regard to the affairs of the continent. In vain did Maximilian endeavour to allure him into some expence, by offering to make a refignation of the imperial crown in his favour. That artifice was too grofs to fucceed even with a prince fo little politic as Henry; and Pace, his envoy, who was perfectly well acquainted with the emperor's motives and character, gave him warning that the fole view of that prince, in making him fo liberal an offer, was to draw money from him.

WHILE an univerfal peace prevailed in Europe, that 1516. event happened, which had fo long been looked for, and from which fuch important confequences were expected, the death of Ferdinand the Chatholic, and the fucceffion of his grandson, Charles, to his extenfive dominions. No commotion, however, or alteration followed immediately upon that great incident. This young prince, who 15th Jan. had not yet reached his fixteenth year, was already an able ftatefman, from the excellent education which he had received, and from the mature and folid judgment, with which nature had endowed him. He was fenfible how important it was to preserve peace with foreigners, till he should have established his authority in his new dominions; and finding Francis defirous to take advantage of his prefent fituation, he made him an offer of fuch terms as gained the friendship and alliance of that monarch. He engaged to marry Francis's daughter, tho' only an infant of a year old; to receive as her dowry all her father's pretenfions on the kingdom of Naples; to pay him a hundred thousand crowns a year, till the confummation of the marriage; and to give the king of Navarre fatiffaction with regard to his dominions. Charles, having finished this treaty at Noyon by his minifters, and having thus left every thing in fecurity behind him, departed for Spain, and was willingly received to the government

P Guicciardini, lib. 12. pard, tom. ii.

of

CHA P. of the united kingdoms of Caftile and Arragon. The XXVIII. right of fucceffion lay in his mother, Joan, who was still alive; but as she was ufually disordered in her judgment, Ferdinand had left the adminiftration to his grandfon, Charles; and the ftates, both of Caftile and Arragon, gave their confent to this destination.

1517.

1518.

THE more Charles advanced in power and authority, the more was Francis fenfible of the neceffity he lay under of gaining the confidence and friendship of Henry; and he took at last the only method by which he could obtain fuccess, the paying court, by prefents and flattery, to the haughty cardinal.

BONNIVET, admiral of France, was difpatched to London, and he was directed to employ all his infinuation and addrefs, qualities in which he excelled, to procure himself a place in Wolfey's good graces. After the ambaffador had fucceeded in his purpose, he took an opportunity of expreffing his mafter's regret, that, by mistakes and mifapprehenfions, he had been fo unfortunate as to lofe a friendship, which he fo much valued as that of his eminence. Wolfey was not deaf to thefe honourable advances from fo great a monarch; and he was thenceforth obferved to exprefs himself, on all occafions, in favour of the French alliance. The more to engage him in his interefts, Francis entered into fuch confidence with him, that he asked his advice even in the moft fecret affairs; and on all difficult emergencies had recourse to him as to an oracle of wisdom and profound policy. The cardinal made no secret to the king of this private correspondence; and Henry was fo prepoffeffed in favour of the great capacity of his minifter, that, he faid, he verily believed he would govern Francis as well as himself R.

WHEN matters feemed fufficiently prepared, Bonnivet opened to the cardinal his master's defire of recovering Tournay; and Wolfey immediately, without hefitation, engaged to effectuate his purpose. He took an opportunity of reprefenting to the king and council, that Tournay lay fo remote from Calais, that it would be very difficult, if not impoffible, in cafe of a war, to keep the communication open between these two places: That as it was fituate on the frontiers both of France and the Netherlands, it was expofed to attacks from both these countries, and must neceffarily, either by force or famine,

R Polydore Virgil, lib. 27.

fall

1518.

fall into the hands of the firft affailant: That even in time CHA P. of peace, it could not be preserved without a large gar- XXVIII. rifon, to restrain the numerous and mutinous inhabitants, ever difcontented with the English government: And that the poffeffion of Tournay, as it was thus precarious and expensive, so was it entirely useless, and gave little or no means to annoy, on occafion, the dominions, either of Charles or of Francis.

THESE reasons were of themselves convincing, and were fure of meeting with no oppofition, when they came from the mouth of the cardinal. A treaty there- Tournay fore was entered into for the delivering up of Tournay; delivered and in order to give to that measure a more graceful ap- to France. pearance, it was agreed, that the dauphin and the princefs Mary, both of them infants, fhould be betrothed, and that this city fhould be confidered as the dowry of the princess. Such kinds of agreement were then common among fovereigns, though it was very rare, that the interests and views of the parties continued fo fteady as to render the intended marriages effectual. But as Henry had been at confiderable expence in building a citadel at Tournay, Francis agreed to pay him 600,000 crowns at twelve yearly payments, and to put into his hands eight hoftages, all of them men of quality, for the performance of the article s. And left the cardinal should think himfelf neglected in these ftipulations, he promised him a yearly penfion of twelve thousand livres, as an equivalent for his administration of the bishopric of Tournay. He also engaged to recall Albany from Scotland.

FRANCIS having fucceeded fo well in this negociation, began to enlarge his views, and to hope for more confiderable advantages, by practifing on the vanity and felf-conceit of this favourite. He redoubled his flatteries to the cardinal, confulted him more frequently in every doubt or difficulty, called him in each letter, father, tutor, governor, and profeffed the most unbounded deference to his advice and opinion. All thofe careffes were preparatives to a negociation for the delivery of Calais, in confideration of a fum of money to be paid for it; and if we may credit Polydore Virgil, who bears a particular spite to Wolfey, on account of his being difpoffeffed of his employment and thrown into prifon by that minifter, fo extraordinary

5 Memoires du Bellay, liv. 1

1518.

CHA P. traordinary a propofal met with a very favourable recepXXVIII. tion from the cardinal. He ventured not, however, to lay the matter before the council: He was contented to found privately the opinions of the other minifters, by dropping hints in converfation, as if he thought Calais a ufeless burthen to the kingdom T: But when he found, that all men were ftrongly riveted in a contrary perfuafion, he thought it dangerous to proceed any farther in his purpose; and falling, foon after, into new connexions. with the king of Spain, the great friendship between Francis and him began gradually to decline.

Wolley appointed le

gate.

THE enormous pride of Wolfey was now farther encreafed by a great acceffion of dignity and power which he had received. Cardinal Campeggio had been fent as legate into England, in order to procure a tythe from the clergy, for enabling the pope to oppofe the progress of the Turks; a danger which was become real, and was formidable to all Christendom, but which had been fo often employed to serve the interested purposes of the court of Rome, that it had loft all influence on the minds of the people. The clergy refufed to comply with Leo's demands: Campeggio was recalled; and the king defired of the pope, that Wolfey, who had been joined in this commiffion, might alone be invested with the legantine power; together with the right of vifiting all the clergy and monafteries, and even with fufpending all the laws of the church during a twelve-month. Wolfey, having obtained this new dignity, made a new display of that state and parade, to which he was fo much addicted. On folemn feaft-days, he was not contented without faying mass after the manner of the pope himfelf: Not only he had bishops and abbots to ferve him; he even engaged the first nobility to give him water and the towel. He affe&ed a rank fuperior to what had ever been claimed by any churchman in England. Warham, the primate, having wrote him a letter where he fubfcribed himself, your loving brother, Wolfey complained of his prefumption, in thus challenging an equality with him. When Warham was told what offence he had given, he made light of the matter. "Know ye not," said he, "that this man is drunk with too much prosperity?" BUT Wolfey carried the matter much farther than vain pomp and oftentation. He erected an office, which

T Polydore Virgil, lib. 27.

he