to his sovereign by feelings of gratitude, and his mildness and simplicity were occasionally borne down by the violence of Henry's temper*; but though he was sometimes betrayed into errors, which his sincerest admirers must lament, we cannot observe the principal events of his life, and the prevailing bias of his mind, without admiring the wisdom of Providence, in raising up such instruments as are best adapted for carrying on its designs. The intrepid Luther, the cautious Erasmus, and the pliant and virtuous Cranmer, were each suited to the sphere in which they were placed; and probably effected more than could have been accomplished in their respective circumstances, either by each other, or by men of still superior characters. But little praise is due to Henry for placing so good a man at the head of the English clergy. His own character was unprincipled and inconsistent, as every person's must be, who is governed by the impulse of the moment; and he had probably nothing further in view, than to advance an ecclesiastic who had shown himself a skilful casuist, and who was well qualified to support him in those vigorous measures which he had now determined to pursue. Very soon after his consecration, the pri mate was called upon to decide the cause which had so long occupied the public attention, by passing a final sentence of divorce. Queen Catharine had for some time retired to Ampthill, near St. Alban's, where there was a royal mansion. She lived in privacy, conducting herself with great discretion, and attracting general pity and respect, by the quiet fortitude and dignity with which she sustained her unmerited degradation. She was now cited to appear before Cranmer, in a court opened for that purpose at Dunstable, a town situated about four miles from the queen's residence: she did not obey the summons, and after the court had been, according to law, kept open for fifteen days, Catharine was pronounced contumacious, and the final sentence of divorce was passed. The king had already been privately married to Anne Boleyn; these nuptials were confirmed by Cranmer, in another court held at Lambeth, a week after sentence had been pronounced at Dunstable. This was on the 28th of May, and on the 1st of June the new queen was crowned with unusual magnificence: all the nobility of England attended the ceremony, and processions, triumphal arches, and tournaments, proclaimed the exaltation of her, who, though now the idol, was soon to become the victim of a capricious despot. On the 7th of September, in the same year, the princess Elizabeth was born, and the king ordered the archbishop to be her godfather*. The actual completion of the divorce occasioned great clamour in the court of Rome, and threats of excommunication were freely uttered. The king and the primate appealed to a general council, and entrusted their appeal to Bonner, afterwards bishop of London: he executed his commission with such vehemence and indecorum, that the pope was greatly incensed, and talked of throwing him into a cauldron of melted lead, or of burning him alive. The ambassador, alarmed at these threatenings, precipitately left Marseilles, where the pope was then residing†. A few years before this event, Francis the First had been taken prisoner at the battle of Pavia, and his generous mind still retained a lively recollection of Henry's interference in his behalf. He had seen with real concern the progress of the breach between the king of England and the court of Rome, and being now at Bayonne, he resolved to prove his gratitude for Henry's former kindness, by endeavouring, if possible, to bring about a reconciliation between * Gilpin, p. 21-23. Lingard, p. 194-197. him and the pope. He made the attempt, but Clement was so much irritated, that it was with the utmost difficulty he was brought to declare, that Henry might expect a favourable sentence if he would make his submission before an appointed day. But in effecting this, Francis accomplished only half his purpose: Henry was as lofty and intractable as the pope, and unless he could be brought to accede to the proposed terms, all that had been done must prove unavailing. There was at this time in the retinue of Francis, a churchman of eminent abilities, Bellay, bishop of Bayonne. A circumstance had just occurred on the pope's entry into Marseilles, which afforded him an opportunity of proving himself to be a man of uncommon promptitude and address; and to him Francis resolved to entrust the difficult task of persuading Henry to comply with the requisitions of the pope. Bellay, to great knowledge of human nature, united a facility of adapting himself to the foibles of those with whom he conversed. Aware of Henry's anxiety to be regarded as a patron of learning, he turned the discourse from the business in hand to literature, often reminding the king of the reputation he had acquired by his writings, and remarking how much the catholic cause was indebted to his pen. By artfully dwelling on these topics, he insensibly led his royal auditor to feel more inclined towards a reconciliation with the head of the church, and at length engaged him to accept the accommodation which had been obtained by the king of France, and to despatch a courier with his submission to Rome, whither the pontiff appears to have returned. The object of Bellay's interviews with Henry was either known, or suspected, by the protestant party in England, and they were at once convinced of the fickleness of the king's temper, and the fallaciousness of the hopes they had indulged. No one was more distressed than the archbishop; but he suffered in silence, preserving his accustomed calmness, and trusting, for the protection of religion, to that Almighty Hand which had appeared to be preparing the way for its reformation. Men of a different character, whose principles were influenced by court favour, began already to waver, and to talk publicly of the danger attending those innovations which had lately been made in the established faith. In the mean time, the bishop of Bayonne had undertaken a voyage to Rome, that he might be ready to support Henry's cause, if it should be necessary. The English courier having been detained by contrary winds, did not make his |