But there is not the least ground to suppose that she appeared at court with any design upon the king; she favoured the suit of Percy, and had no reason to suppose that it was in her power to induce the king to make her his wife. When convinced that this was a possible event, we cannot be surprised that a young female of twenty, educated in courts, should not refuse to become a queen, if it could be arranged in a lawful manner; her conduct in listening to such a proposal as that now made was very wrong, but it is an evidence that the maxims learned and practised at courts are contrary to correct principles.

Of the assertions made by Romish historians respecting Anne Boleyn's family, as well as herself, it is sufficient to say, that they are utterly unfounded. Not one real authority can be adduced in their support; while those who examine them will find, that they are so contradictory as to refute themselves. She absented herself from court; and the earliest date of her written correspondence with Henry bears the date of April, 1528, at which time the pope's sanction to the divorce was expected. The preservation of these letters is singular. "They are in the Vatican library at Rome, having, it is conjectured, been pilfered by some agent, and conveyed there by Campeggio, probably in the hope that they might afford materials against Henry and Anne; but they completely disprove the coarse falsehoods of Saunders and other papal advocates. They exhibit Anne Boleyn unduly willing to take the rank of queen, but they certainly do not imply any unlawful intercourse between them. They justify Turner's statement, that "these letters are written in very decorous, affectionate, and earnest terms, and with the feelings and phrase that men use to honourable and modest women.' Not in the refined phraseology of modern times; in some passages the expressions sound coarse to modern ears; but certainly the letters are written in good faith, and without artifice, and do not justify the assertions of Romish writers.

At this time the sweating sickness raged again. This singular disease frequently proved fatal in three or four hours. The French ambassador, then in England, thus describes it: "We have a little pain in the head and heart, we suddenly begin to sweat, and need no physician; for whoever uncover themselves the least in the world, or cover themselves too much, are dead in four hours, and sometimes in two or three." But though so quickly fatal, it was rather an alarming than a mortal epidemic; the far larger proportion recovered. At one time, the same writer stated, "of forty thousand affected, only two thousand have died.” Persons of the highest rank were exposed to this alarming malady: the lord treasurer was attacked by it; some of the royal household died. Henry moved from place to place when the infection appeared. He described himself at this period to be living alone and shut up, having made his will and taken the sacrament, which he regarded, as unhappily many now do, as a sort of pledge or assurance of heavenly happiness.

By the desire of Wolsey, cardinal Campeggio was joined with him as commissioner, to inquire respecting the divorce. The pope had given a hint, that it would be better for Henry to proceed in his legantine court before Wolsey alone: the prelates of England also objected to a Romish commissioner; but Wolsey thought he should thereby be better enabled to shelter himself, and to hinder the union with Anne Boleyn. He now felt that he was involved in mazes from whence he could hardly escape; at times he expressed a desire to withdraw from the world, to dedicate himself to religious duties, though it was evident that he never would adopt that course while he could retain rank and power. The advice given by the pope was characteristic of Romish craft. He recommended the king to marry another wife, if he felt satisfied in his own conscience, and to leave him (the pope) to decide whether it was right! This step would have left Henry wholly subject to the papal will; he saw the snare,

and avoided it, by pressing for an immediate determination of the question.

Campeggio was appointed in April, 1528, but delayed his journey on various pretexts, so as not to arrive in England till October. He brought with him the pope's bull dissolving the marriage; but was not to allow it to go out of his own possession, and he was to try to persuade Catherine to remove all difficulties by retiring to a nunnery. He was directed to delay matters as long as possible; when he could procrastinate no longer, he was to refer the sentence to the pope. Wolsey's objects were more complicated: to disappoint Anne Boleyn, to punish Catherine, to be revenged on the emperor, and to show and maintain his own power and influence. This was too difficult a course to be successful, and the rather, because Wolsey had committed the nation to a very unpopular, though a short war with the emperor. Wolsey tried to cast blame on the herald employed to threaten hostilities, but it was brought home to himself. The king was displeased, and forced to take measures to remove the popular discontent.

The attempt to induce Catherine to consent to a divorce was unsuccessful. In a private conference, she boldly reproached Wolsey for his vices, and charged him with originating the proceedings against her. To Campeggio she declared, that she would not agree to any course that compromised her daughter Mary's claims to the throne.

The cardinals held their court at Bridewell, then a palace, where they sat as judges, in May, 1529. Catherine, after protesting against the whole proceeding, personally appealed to the king, refused to answer, and departed. The king presented the evidence in support of his application; but the point really for consideration was, whether it would be safe to proceed. Wolsey was willing, but Campeggio refused to go for- ward; thus the affair was protracted. Some of the courtiers gave Henry proofs of Wolsey's double-dealing.

Meanwhile, the state of affairs in Italy enabled the emperor to control the pope: Francis also made peace with Charles; so that Henry's desires were not likely to be fulfilled. In July, Campeggio adjourned the legantine court till October, and in the interval announced that the pope had removed all further proceedings to his own tribunal at Rome, leaving Henry justly displeased at the duplicity of the whole proceeding. When the legantine court was adjourned, the duke of Suffolk exclaimed, that the old saying was true, that never did cardinal bring good to England.

The downfall of Wolsey was at hand. On accompanying Campeggio to take leave of the king, then at Grafton, Northamptonshire, to his great astonishment he was told, that no apartment had been provided for him. Sir Henry Norris offered him the use of his own chamber. When in conversation with the king, the latter was seen to show Wolsey a letter, which he charged him with having written. The next day, the cardinal departed to London, out of favour with the king, and betraying childish weakness under the apprehended loss of his dignities. Anne Boleyn evidently used her influence to prevent the king from listening to his excuses. The courtiers forsook him; on October 17th, Wolsey was required to give up the great seal, and to confine himself to his palace at Esher. Knowing that the invariable result of the loss of power was the privation of property, he prepared to surrender his most valuable effects before they were forcibly taken. Cavendish says, "Then went my lord cardinal, and called his officers before him, and took account of them, for all such stuff and things whereof they had charge. And in his gallery were set divers tables whereupon lay a great number of goodly rich stuffs; as whole pieces of silk of all colours, velvet, satin, damask, tufted taffeta, grogram, sarcenet, and other things. Also there lay on these tables a thousand pieces of fine holland. And there were books made, in manner of inventories, wherein he took great pains

to set all in order against the king's coming. Then had he two chambers adjoining to the gallery, the one called most commonly the gilt chamber,' and the other 'the council chamber.' In the gilt chamber were set out nothing but gilt plate; and in the council chamber was all white and parcel gilt plate, and books set by them purporting every kind of plate."

Cavendish records another circumstance, which had considerable influence on subsequent events. This was Thomas Cromwell's leaving the service of the cardinal, to place himself in the royal employ; he was seen in tears, and declared his intention to go immediately to the court, "either to make or mar ere he came again." Pole afterwards stated that Cromwell suggested to Henry to throw off the papal yoke, to which he probably added the prospect of obtaining pecuniary spoils from the monastic establishments. These ideas must have been familiar to any trusted servant of Wolsey; both had been urged by the cardinal, when instigating the French ambassador to question the pope's power to dispense with the Divine law. But Campeggio then reproved Wolsey, and spoke of the papal authority as "infinite." Wolsey, as we have seen, also himself commenced the spoliation of the monasteries. This haughty and hypocritical statesman fell by his own devices, and it is probable that he was aware of the suggestions of his late retainer.

Cromwell showed fidelity to his former master, by successfully opposing an act of impeachment brought forward by Wolsey's enemies against him, for exercising a legantine authority derived from the pope, that interfered with the royal prerogative: for this he had the king's license;—but the sun was hastening to its setting.

The close of Wolsey's life may be here briefly narrated. He was compelled to give up his principal palace, York House, afterwards Whitehall, and to sue humbly for pardon. In the spring of 1530, he was permitted to go to York, where, after bitterly lamenting

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