Him I pray, with all my heart, that He will show His mercy to those who have brought about my death. I accuse no man. When I am dead, remember that I revered your good King, whom I have found gracious and kindly; full of good gifts, such as fear of God, love of his people, and other virtues of which I shall not now speak. You will be happy if God grants him a long life. Pray, yes, pray with me, that God will now receive my soul." 6. The end had come. She looked about for help, but all her women were blind with weeping. She untied her bands, and taking the collar from her neck, caught up her hair in a linen cap. By this time some of her maids had come to her, and before laying her head on the block, she took a final leave of them. "And you, my damsels, who whilst I lived were good and diligent in my service, and who are now present in my last hour and mortal agony, as in my good fortune you were faithful to me, so even in this my miserable death you have not forsaken me! I cannot reward you your true service, but I pray you to take comfort for my loss. Never forget me. Be faithful to the King's grace, and to her whom, with a happier fortune, you may have as Queen. honour far beyond your life; and in your prayers to the Lord Jesu, never forget to pray for me." Turning to the dearest friend she had on earth, the good and gentle Margaret Lee, she gave this lady her book of Psalms, her last present, and sent a greeting to her old friend and poet-laureate. Then dropping on her knees, and bending towards the for Esteem your block, she made a signal to the muffled holder of the sword. His blade was raised, and with a swirl, he struck her while the cry was on her lips, "Lord Jesus, receive my soul." CHAPTER XI. The King. 1536. 1. NOT far away a second group was waiting for the Queen. Under a greenwood tree, rising on a high level, overlooking the Thames, within earshot of the Tower guns, a group of sportsmen were enjoying breakfast. Horses, ready for the chase, were picketed about, and dogs were held by men in uniforms of green and white. The merriest of that merry party was the King. It was a sort of bridal feast; for though the thing was yet a secret, he had sent for his new mistress, and he meant to marry her before his murdered wife was cold. He knew the time at which the sword would set him free; for he had fixed that hour when ordering out his dogs. As it approached, he listened for the boom of guns, and when the signal struck his ear, he rose and shouted gaily, "Ah, ah, it is done! The business is done! Uncouple the hounds; let us follow the sport!" 2. Before Anne's heart was cold, her husband married Jane Seymour. "I have no doubt," said Charles' sister, Maria, Queen of Hungary, "that when the King is tired of his new wife, he will find the means of getting rid of her as easily." Chapuys, who never veiled his scorn of Henry, wrote of Queen Jane a passage throwing a flood of light on his conspiracy against Queen Anne. "She is low in stature and of no great beauty. If they want a divorce from her, they will find plenty of witnesses against her." Happily for Jane, she bore a sonand died. NOTES AND DOCUMENTS. BOOK THE TWENTY-FIRST. (Continued.) CHAP. V.-1. Chapuys to Charles, Feb. 22, April 23, May 10, 1530; Latimer, Sermons and Remains, 297; Parliamentary History, III. 40; Herbert, Henry the Eighth, 303; Cavendish, Life of Wolsey, 273. 2. Parl. Hist. III. 57-9; Selden, Privileges of the Baronage of England, 126; Bailey, Life and Death of John Fisher, 1655; Foxe, Acts and Monuments, IV. 611-612. 3. Parl. Hist. III. 59-65; Lewis, Life of Fisher, II. 30-8; De Causa Matrimonii Serenissimi Regis Angliæ liber Johanne Rossensi Episcopo autore, Compluto, 1530. Of the great work done by this Parliament Mr. Froude has given a clear and full account (see Hist. Engl. I. c. 3). 4. Chapuys to Charles, Feb. 22, Mar. 16, April 23, 1530; Pocock,. Records of Reform, II. 130, 400. 5. Scarpinello to Sforza, June 28, 1530; Chapuys to Charles, April 23. 6. Catharine to Ortiz, April 14, 1530-Arch. Gen. Sim. Est. leg. 806, f. 32; Ulloa, Vita di Carlo Quinto, 1. III. 121; Theiner, Vetera Monumenta, 594-7. 7. Sanuto Diaries, Mar. 10, 16, Aug. 4, 1530; State Papers, VII. 234-53; Le Grand, Preuves, III. 418, 453. 8. Chapuys to Charles, Aug. 2, 1530; Sanuto Diaries, June 28, 1530; Herbert, Henry the Eighth, 303; Parl. Hist. III. 68, 79; Collier, Coll. Rec. IX. 86, 93. CHAP. VI.-I. Cavendish, Life of Wolsey, 285; Foxe, Acts and Monuments, IV. 610-13; Leti, Vie d'Elizabeth, 62, |