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judices of the people were in general bent against a conjugal union between fuch near relations; and the late king, though he had folemnized the efpoufals, when his fon was but twelve years of age, gave many intimations that he intended to annul them at a proper opportunity. Thefe intentions might have given Henry fome doubts and fcruples concerning the legitimacy of his marriage; but as he had three children by the princefs, and as her character and conduct were blameless, he for a while kept his fuggeftions private. But fhe was fix years older than him; and the decay of her beauty, together with particular infirmities and difeafes, had contributed to make him defirous of another confort. However, though he felt a fecret diflike to her perfon, yet for a long time he broke out into no flagrant act of contempt; contented to range from beauty to beauty among the ladies of his court, and his rank always procuring him a ready compliance. But Henry was carried forward, though perhaps not at first excited by a motive much more powerful than the tacit fuggeftions of his confcience. It happened that among the maids of honour, then attending the queen, there was one Anna Bullen, the daughter of Sir Thomas Bullen, a gentleman of diftinction, and related to most of the nobility. He had been employed by the king in feveral embaffies, and was married to a daughter of the duke of Norfolk. The beauty of Anna furpaffed whatever had hitherto appeared at this voluptuous court, and her education, which had been at Paris, tended to fet off her perfonal charms. Her features were regular, mild, and attractive, her ftature elegant, though below the middle fize, while her wit and vivacity exceeded even her other allurements. Henry, who had never learned the art of restraining any paffion that he defired to gratify,

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faw and loved her; but after feveral efforts to induce her to comply with his criminal defires, he found that, without marriage, he could have no chance of fucceeding. This obftacle, therefore, he hardily undertook to remove; and as his own queen was now become hateful to him, in order to procure a divorce, he alleged that his confcience rebuked him for having fo long lived in inceft with the wife of his brother. In this pretended perplexity therefore, he applied to Clement the feventh, who owed him many obligations, defiring to diffolve the bull of the former pope, which had given him permiffion to marry Catharine; and to declare that it was not in the power, even of the holy fee, to difpenfe with a law so strictly enjoined in fcripture. The unfortunate pope was now in the utmost perplexity; queen Catharine was aunt to the emperor, who had lately made him a prifoner, and whofe refentment he dreaded to rekindle by thus injuring fo near a relation befide, he could not in prudence declare the bull of the former pope illicit, for this would be giving a blow to the doctrine of papal infallibility. On the other hand, Henry was his protector and friend, the dominions of England were the chief resource from whence his finances were fupplied, and the king of France, fome time before, had got a bull of divorce in fomewhat fimilar circumftances. In this exigence he thought the wifeft method would be to fpin out the affair by a negotiation; and, in the mean time, fent over a commiffion to Wolfey, in conjunction with the archbishop of Canterbury, or any other English prelate, to examine the validity of the king's marriage, and the former difpenfation; granting them alfo a provifional difpenfation for the king's marriage, with any other perfon. When this meffage was laid before the council in England, they prudently

dently confidered that an advice given by the pope in this fecret manner, might very eafily be difavowed in public; and that a clandeftine marriage would totally invalidate the legitimacy of any iflue the king fhould have by fuch a match. In confequence of this, fresh meffengers were dispatched to Rome, and evasive answers returned, the pope ftill continuing to promife, recant, difpute, and temporize; hoping that the king's paffion would never hold out during the tedious courfe of an ecclefiaftical controverfy. In this he was entirely mistaken. Henry had been long taught to difpute as well as he, and quickly found, or wrefted, many texts of fcripture to favour his opinions.or his paffions. To his arguments he added threats, affuring the pope, that the English were already but too well difpofed to withdraw from the holy fee; and that if he continued uncomplying, the whole country would readily follow the example of a monarch, who, ftung by ingratitude, fhould deny all obedience to a pontiff by whom he had always been treated with falfehood and duplicity. The king even propofed to his holinefs, whether in cafe he were not permitted to put away his prefent queen, he might not have a difpenfation for having two wives at a time.

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The pope, perceiving the eagerness of the king, at one time had thoughts of complying with his folicitations, and fent cardinal Campegio, legate, to London, who, with Wolfey, opened a court for trying the legitimacy of the king's prefent marriage, and cited the king and the queen to appear before them. They both prefented themfelves; and the king anfwered in his name when called; but the queen, inftead of anfwering to hers, rofe from her feat, and throwing herfelf at

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the king's feet, in the most pathetic manner, entreated him to have pity upon 1529. her helplefs fituation. A ftranger, unprotected, unfriended, the could only rely on him as her guardian and defender, on him alone who knew her fubmiffion and her innocence, and not upon any court, in which her enemies prevailed, and would wreft the laws against her; the, therefore, refused the prefent trial, where the could expect neither justice nor impartiality. Yet notwithstanding the queen's objections, her trial went forward; and Henry fhortly hoped to be gratified in his molt fanguine expectations. The principal point which came before the legates, was the proof of prince Arthur's confummation of his marriage with Catharine, which fome of his own expreffions to that purpose tended to confirm. Other topics were preparing, tending to prove the inability of the pope himself to grant fuch a difpenfation; and the bufinefs feemed now to be drawing near a period, when, to the great furprize of all, Campegio, all of a fudden, without any warning, and upon very frivolous pretences, prorogued the court; and fhortly after transferred the caufe before the court of Rome.

During the course of these perplexing negotiations, on the iffue of which Henry's happiness feemed to depend, he had at first expected to find in his favourite Wolfey, a warm defender, and a fteady adherent; but in this he found himself miftaken. Wolfey feemed to be in pretty much the fame dilemma with the pope. On the one hand, he was to please his mafter the king, from whom he had received a thousand marks of favour; and on the other hand, he feared to difoblige the pope, whofe fervant he more immediately was, and who

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befides had power to punifh his difobedience. He, therefore, refolved to continue neuter in this controversy; and though of all men the most haughty, he gave way on this occafion to his colleague Campegio in all things, pretending a deference to his skill in canon law. Wolfey's fcheme of temporizing was highly difpleafing to the king, but for a while he endeavoured to ftifle his relentment, until it could act with more fatal certainty. He for fome time looked out for a man of equal abilities and lefs art; and was not long before accident threw into his way one Thomas Cranmer, of greater talents, and probably of more integrity. Cranmer was a doctor of divinity, and a profeffor at Cambridge, but had lofthis office upon marrying contrary to the inftitutes of the canon law, which enjoined celibacy to all the clergy. He had travelled in his youth into Germany; and it was there he became acquainted with Luther's works, and embraced his doctrines This man happening to fall one evening into company with Gardiner fecretary of state, and Fox the king's almoner, the bufinefs of the divorce became the fubject of converfation. He gave it as his opinion, that the readiest way to quiet the king's confcience, or to extort the pope's confent, would be to confult all the universities of Europe upon the affair; an advice which being brought to the king, pleafed him fo much, that Cranmer was defired to follow the

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The king finding himfelf provided with a perfon who could fupply Wolfey's place, appeared lefs referved in his refentments against that prelate. The attorney-general was ordered to prepare a bill of indictment against him; and he was foon after commanded to refign the great feal. Crimes are easily found against a favourite in difgrace, and the courtiers did not fail to increase the cata

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