that, on the gth of Oktober, he took Water at St. Mary Overy's, and landed at Bath-place, where he was visited by Wolfey and divers of the Nobility and Gentry. Af

ter

The Spaniard, ty'd by Blood and Favour to her,
Must now confess, if they have any Goodness,
The Trial juft and noble. All the Clerks,
I mean the learned ones in Christian Kingdoms,
Have their free Voices. Rome, the Nurse of Judgment,
Invited by your Noble Self, hath sent
One gen'ral Tongue unto us, this good Man,
This just and learned Priest, Cardinal Campeius,
Whom once more I present unto your Highness.

King. And once more, in my Arms, I bid him Welcome,
And thank the holy Conclave for their Loves,
They've sent me such a Man I would have wifh'd for.

Cam. Your Grace mult needs deserve all Strangers Loves,
You are so noble; to your Highness's Hand
I tender my Commission, by whose Virtue
(The Court of Rome commanding) you, my Lord,
Cardinal of York, are join'd with me, their Servant,
In the impartial Judging of this business.

King. Two equal Men! the Queen shall be acquainted
Forthwith for what

you come.

Where's Gardiner ?
Wol. I know your Majesty has always lov'd her
So dear in Heart, not to deny her what
A Woman of less place might ask by Law,
Scholars allow'd freely to argue for her,

King. Ay, and the best the shall have ; and my Favour
To him that does best, God forbid else. Cardinal,
Pr'ythee call Gardiner to me, my new Secretary,
I find him a fit Fellow.

Enter Gardiner.
Wol. Give me your Hand; much Joy and Favour to you į
You are the King's now.

Gard. But to be commanded
For ever by your Grace, whose Hand has rais'd me.
King. Come hither, Gardiner !

[Walks and whispers. Deliver this with Modefty to the Queen.

[Exit Gardiner, The most convenient Place that I can think of, For such Receit of Learning, is Black-fryars: There ye shall meet about this weighty Bufiness. My Wolsey, fee it furnish'd. O! my Lord, Would it not grieve an able Man to leave So sweet a Bedfellow? But Conscience, Conscience Q! 'tis a tender Place, and I must leave her!

[Excunt.

ter he was a little recovered, though not able to walk, he was carried in a Chair by four Persons, and introduced to the King's Presence by the Cardinal of York, and both Cardinals being seated on the Right-hand of the King's Throne, Francesco, Campeius's Secretary, addrefled himself to the King in Latin, in which he related “ with what Cruelty the Emperor's Soldiers “ had handled the Pope, the Tyranny they had shew" ed to the Cardinals and Priests, the Sacrilege and “ Spoil they had committed in St. Peter's Church ; “ how they had violated Virgins, ravished Men's “ Wives, spoiled, robbed, and tormented all the Ros mans and Inhabitants in the City of Rome ; then re“ cited what Friendship the College of Rome had met “ with at the Royal Hands of the Kings of England " and France, in the Time of that Tribulation ; that,

l “ if they had not joined together, the City of Rome " with all their Governors had been brought to Ruin: “ For which Pope Clement, and all his College of Car“ dinals, the Senators, with all the Citizens, rendered “ to the King their hearty Thanks, and promised him 6 their Love, Favour, and Amity perpetual.”

To this Speech Dr. Fox, Provost of Cambridge, made answer, and as to the first Point declared, “ That the King much lamented to hear his Friends, or any

other Christian Men, should be handled with Tyranny:" To the second, “ That the King had “ done but the Duty of a Christian Prince, to relieve “ his Friends in Distress, for which he desired that the “ whole City of Rome would give Thanks to God, " and not to him."

Whilft Matters were preparing for the Trial Campeius had an Audience of the Queen, when he took Occasion to acquaint her of the Danger of the present Difpute, and, endeavouring to persuade her to retire to a Monastery, seemed to charge her with some unseasonable Freedoms and Misconduct in her Behaviour ; for that, since the granting of the Legate's Commission, she

was

was observed to allow Dancing and Court-diversions more than before, and to appear in Publick with an unusual Air of Chearfulneis and Spirit ; whereas the Condition of her Circumstances ought to have made her more grave, and recollect, that the Perplexity of the King's Conscience, not to mention other gloomy Appearances, were no Motives for Satisfaction.

The Queen, by no means pleased with this Dic course, replied positively, That she was resolved to stand by the Marriage allowed by the Apoftolick See : So that Campeius, finding there was no good to be done with the Queen, took his Leave, and returned to his Majesty, to acquaint him with what had passed.

Stow says, “ The common People talked largely in respect to Campeius's Arrival in England, by fay

ing, the King wanted another Wife, and had sent “ for this Legate in order to get rid of his Queen : “ Particularly the Women charged him with Incon

tenency, and that there was more Passion than Coizscience in this Application.”

The King, hearing of the daily Grumblings of his People, thought proper to call before him the great Men of his Kingdom, both Spiritual and Temporal, besides others of inferior Degree were adınitted ; to whom he made the following Speech.

2

1

V

The King's Oration, Spoken on the Ides of Novem

ber, 1528. ENERABLE and dear Assembly of Prelates,

Peers and Counsellors, which the common “ Care of Administring well for the Republick and our

Kingdom has brought together. It is no Secret “ to you, that, by Divine Providence, we have these “ twenty Yearst almost governed this our Realm with " so much Happiness, that in all that Time it was free “ from hostile Incursions ; and we, in those Wars

" which * Mr. Parker's Ant. Brit. p. 475. + Eighteen of which the Cardinal had the Conducting of Affairs.

" which we had undertaken, always came off victo" rious; and though we may justly glory, that the

Subject never reaped greater Tranquillity, Riches, or Honours, in former Ages, under the Reigns of

our Predecessors and Progenitors, the Kings of Eng“ land, than in our Days : Yet, when the Thoughts “ of this Glory and Death meet together, we tremble, " left, by our Death, wichout lawful Issue, you should “ undergo Calamities greater than the Advantages “ received in our Life-time. The Memory of those

bloody Times must be still fresh in the Minds of “ some of you, when Richard the IIId brought upon “ the Carpet and disputed the Title of our Grandlire, “ Edward the IVth, by the Mother's Side, and deprived “ his Heirs and Issue of the Kingdom and Life. The “ dire Slaughter of the People, while the Houses of “ York and Lancaster contended for the Kingdom and

Empire, are but too well known in History; and, if " the Marriage lawfully contracted between Henry the « VIIth, and the Lady Elizabeth, our renowned Pa

rents, should be extinguished in us, and the Royal

Offspring, which God forbid, of our Marriage, which “ ought afterwards lawfully to reign, should not be “ born, this Kingdom may waste itself with civil or " intestine Troubles, or fall into the Hands and Pof“ session of Foreigners: For though we have had the

Lady Mary, singular both in Beauty and Shape, 66 “ which was of great Comfort to us, by the most 56 noble Lady Catherine, yet we have been lately in“ formed, by pious and learned Divines, that we had « married her who was formerly the Wife of Prince " Arthur, our Brother ; that our Marriage was prohi“ bited by Divine Writ; and that the Issue of such

Marriage would not be esteemed legitimate: And “ that which gives us much greater Pain and Torment " is, having fent Ambassadors last Year to negotiate “ a Marriage between the Duke of Orleans and our Daughter Mary, with Francis King of France, it

was

was answered by one of his Counsellors, Thet, before the treating of such an fair, whether Mary was a legitimate Child should be first enquired into ? It be

ing evident, added he, that she was begotten of the Lady « Catherine, his Brother's Reliet, ard that such a Mar“ riage is, by Divine Right, prohibited.

“ With what Fear and Horror has this Speech dif6 turbed our Mind ! for the Matter imports no less " than the Hazard of eternal Salvation both of Body " and Soul, and with what perplexed Thoughts does “ it possess our Conscience! we are persuaded you can

not be ignorant ; you, whose Lives and Fortunes “ would be in Danger, but much more the Loss of “ Souls, if you did not apply proper Remedies. 66 This one Thing, which, witness God, we aífirm on

our Royal Word, pushes us on, that by our Am“ bassadors we should seek the Opinions of the most “ learned Divines throughout the whole Christian « World, and fend for the Roman Pontiff's Legate, in “ order to pronounce a true and juit Sentence in so

great a Cause, that afterward we may be able to “ live with a calm and safe Conscience, in lawful Ma

trimony: And, if it should clearly and manifestly " appear by Holy Writ, that the conjugal State, in 6 which we have lived almost twenty Years, be per“ mitted by Divine Right, nothing shall be more “ wished for or agreeable to us, as well for the Tran

quillity of our Conscience, as the lovely Qualities " with which the Queen is endowed and adorned.

For, besides her being of royal and noble Birth, “ attended with so much conjugal Duty and Affabi

lity, together with other Ornaments of her Mind, « and Qualities which illustrate Nobility, that she « has seemed to us to have so far excelled all other “ Women these twenty Years, that, were we now

single and free from Marriage, and that it was “ lawful by Divine Right, we would, preferably to all “ other Women, join her by a lasting and firm ConVol. IV.

Ff

a

66 tract