event, in the opinion of Lord Herbert, was the foundation of Henry's subsequent determination to become the head of the church; for, after having once tasted ecclesiastical power, he felt little inclination to relinquish it. That historian imputes likewise to Wolsey a disposition to be extremely arbitrary in church affairs, which his history corroborates and so well was his character in this respect understood, that a report, at this time, prevailed among the Imperialists, that the Cardinal of York designed to make himself Pontiff both in France and in England. Wolsey now

bade Francis farewell; and, journeying to Sept. 16. Calais, soon touched the shores of England, and arriving at Richmond, was received with apparent affection and approbation by the king.*

As the privy council were not informed by the cardinal of the motives which produced the negociation, little joy was manifested at the conclusion of a peace concerning which the people knew so little. Wolsey, however, assembling the mayor and aldermen of London, the judges, and justices of every shire, and the lords spiritual and temporal, extolled, in a pompous harangue, the advantages to be derived from the alliance lately concerted with France, by which he prognosticated that the king, his master, would become

* Herbert, p. 209.

one of the richest among princes, from the yearly treasure which he was promised to receive from that country. This oration, according to the chroniclers of the times, was regarded with contempt by those who were present, as actually conducing not to the glory of the king, but of the cardinal.

Soon after the return of Wolsey, Montmorenci, afterwards Constable of France, and Du Bellay, Bishop of Bayonne, landed at Dover, on their mission from the court of France, the chief object of which was to invest Henry with the order of St. Michael; while, on the other hand, Viscount Lisle, the natural son of Edward the Fourth, was dispatched to France to present to Francis the collar and habit of a knight of St. George. The ceremony of receiving the order of St. Michael was performed at Greenwich, and was succeeded by the usual round of diversions, which were closed by a play, performed by children, representing the captivity of the pope, the intercession of Cardinal Wolsey with the kings of France and England in his behalf; and the successful interference of Wolsey, in obtaining the liberation of the young princes who were left as hostages in the power of Spain. But soon afterwards the favour of Wolsey was shaken by his indiscretion in the following proceeding. *Hall, p. 737.

During the course of this year, Gerald, Earl of Kildare, deputy governor of Ireland, was summoned by the privy council to answer for his conduct in favouring the party of the Earl of Desmond, who had been detected in intriguing with the French court. Kildare, who was a man of boldness and spirit, replied to the declamation which Wolsey delivered against him, in the council, with great ingenuity; but was committed to the Tower, as it was proved that some of his family had taken an active part in the disturbances which harassed Ireland. The king, however, had no intention of putting him to death; but Wolsey, who owed him some old grievances, had the audacity to send a warrant for his execution. The officer who was entrusted with this commission, favouring Kildare, informed the king of the proceeding, who, indignant at the presumption of the cardinal, reproved him severely for it; and, not only pardoned the earl, but sent him back into his own country. This conduct on the part of Wolsey, which was not only illegal and imprudent, but unjust and cruel, was soon after followed by other disclosures, which incensed Henry yet more against his minister, and contributed to shake the stability of the eminence to which that aspiring politician had now attained.

CHAP. II.

Mortifications sustained by Henry with regard to the Princess Mary. Meditates a divorce.-Causes of his indifference to the Queen: - his supposed infidelity. - Sir John Perrot. The conduct of Wolsey: - reason of his dislike to Katharine.

The King's attachment to Anne Bullen: her engagement to Lord Percy; its discovery and conclusion. - Character of the Earl of Northumberland: - of his son. Aversion of Anne Bullen to Wolsey. -Prudent conduct of the Queen.-Dangers of Wolsey's situation. The Dutchess of Alençon proposed as a wife to Henry:—who confesses his passion for Anne to Wolsey. The Bishops summoned : their indecision. Decree of the English and foreign Universities; of the Bishops, finally. - Embassy to Rome. The artifice and delays of Clement. Dispensation and commission of Legacy granted.-Campeggio, as Legate, delays going to England.

Wolsey's letter to him. - Proceedings of Katharine. — Invention of a Breve, to support her cause, by the Emperor: -her resolute conduct. Charles determines to protest against the Divorce: Uncomfortable state of affairs.

THE

HE pride of Henry had received a severe mortification in the negociations with 1527-8. France, which had recently occupied

the attention of his council; and the wound thus inflicted, had revived the recollec

tion, and renewed the bitterness, of other grievances. The objections, offered by the Bishop of Tarbe, against the legitimacy of the Princess Mary, had added a fresh sting to the similar allegations with which Charles the Fifth had excused his breach of contract with regard to that princess. The repentance which Henry the Seventh had, on his death-bed, expressed for the permission which he had given to the marriage between Henry and the widow of his brother; and the attestation of Archbishop Warham, "that it could be acceptable neither to God nor to man," now derived an importance in the eyes of the king which they had not possessed, when, after the death of his father, expediency and inclination had prompted a confirmation of this union.

There existed, however, secret reasons, which more powerfully influenced the mind of Henry, on this occasion, than the opinions of others, or the insults offered to the heir apparent of his throne. At the period of his marriage with Katharine, youth, propinquity, and the amiable temper of the queen, made him forget the discrepancy of their age, and the dissimilarity of their dispositions. Katharine was, however, grave and reserved, was indifferent to amusements, and joined in them only as