a little too high with relation to the Popes Resentments he makes them as abject as can be in their own particulars since they own that the ground of their courage in serving the Holy Seâ— on dangerous occasions was the Sacredness of their persons which must be maintained otherwise it could not be expected that they would expose themselves any more There is no courage when a man knows he is invulnerable It seems Mr. Varillas thinks that the Colledge of Cardinals have not the spirit of Martyrdom among them now tho it is very likely that this may be true yet Mr. Varillas had shewed more respect if he had suppressed it 6. The Sentence which Mr. Varillas represents as past at this time but not pronounced was passed two years before this the first of September 1535. so little is he exact that he does not examin the days of printed Bulls 7. Mr. Varillas represents this present Negotiation as in the year 1538. which he sets on his Margin yet the final publishing of the Sentence was on the 17. of December 1538. So that all this delay of the Sentence and that which follows could not belong to this year but it must come in here for Amours giving a lustre to Romances our Author thought it was necessary to make them have a large share in all his Relations and if the dates of matters will not agree there is no help for it he must pass over such inconsiderable things 8. Zealous Catholicks again for Rebels XI He goes on to dream and fancies that since the Daughter of France was Christned by King Henry both Francis and he would be obliged to send to Rome for a Dispensation and that the Pope resolved not to grant it but after that England should be reconciled to the Holy See Therefore to facilitate this matter the Pope sent for Pool who was then at Padua and he made him a Cardinal and sent him to France to set on that Design which Pool who loved his Countrey to excess undertook with all possible Zeal But the King of England by a fatal Blindness rejected all this And here he pretends to tell what might be the secret Reasons of it in his way that is to say very impertinently He adds that King Henry sent to Francis to demand Cardinal Pool as a Fugitive and a Traytor and that he cited the examples of Charles the Fifth and of his Father who had delivered up Princes of the House of York to the Kings of England and in conclusion that Henry threatned Francis that if he did not grant his desire he would break the League in which he was with him and would make one with the Emperour against him If Mr. Varillas had seen Card. Pools Book against King Henry which he pretends to have lying before him he would have known that it was printed in the year 1536. in which he had used the King in a stile that no Crowned Head in the World could al ow of but the conclusion of it was beyond all the rest for he conjured the Emperour to turn his Arms rather against the King than against the Turk and it was known in England that he had obtained this Commission to be sent to France only that he might set on a League between the two Crowns against England and so it was no wonder if the King resented his being well received in the Court of France 2. It is not to be imagined that when Charles the fifth was contriving how to make War upon England and was the person that chiefly supported Cardinal Pool that I say King Henry would be so highly displeased with the civility of the Court of France to the Cardinal as to threaten upon that to join with the Emperour who was the Kings chief Enemy and the spring that set Pool in motion therefore all this whole negotiation is to be reckoned among our Authors Fictions since he gives no Proofs of it XII Mr. Varillas says that King Henry set fifty thousand Crowns on Cardinal Pools head and upon this he grafts a new Fable But in the Sentence and Act of Attaindor against Pool there is not a word of any sum set on his head so this was a small decoration that was not to be omitted by a man that does not trouble himself to examin whether what he writes is true or not XIII If Mr. Varillas were not so excessively Ignorant as he is of the History of England he would not have passed over the great advantage he had here of reproaching King Henry with that which was indeed the greatest blemish of his whole Reign and that was first practised on the Countess of Salisbury Cardinal Pools Mother whom by an affectation contrary to our Rules he calls Princess Margaret the Title Princess being affected in England to our Kings Children and not being so much as given to their Brothers Children who are only called Ladies this piece of Tyranny was that she was condemned without being brought to make her Defence or to be heard Answer for herself Now I leave it to the Reader to judge how well informed Mr. Varillas is who is ignorant of that which is to be found in every one of our Writers that have given the History of that time and which would have furnished him with the best Article of his whole Satyr against King Henry XIV He tells us that Calvin writ an Apology for King Henry's conduct in that matter upon which he makes a long excursion But I know nothing of this matter I believe it not a whit the better because Mr. Varillas sayes it and it does not appear among his printed Works He adds that the accusation was false that was brought against Card. Pool as if he had formed a design to raise Troops in Picardy and Normandy and to make a descent with them to assist the Zealous Catholicks of England one reason that he gives to prove it false is that the English were at that time Masters of the Sea The good opinion that Mr. Varillas has of the Rebellions of the Zealous Catholicks of England returns often in this kind Epithet that he bestows on them But for this accusation of Cardinal Pools our Author may very well answer it for I believe it was never made by any before himself yet so unhappy is he that he must discover his Ignorance in every Page and Line of his Book The Kings of England had then no Fleets and so they were not Masters of the Sea unless he means that the Soveraignty of the four Sea 's belonged to the Crown of England in which sense I acknowledg that not only then but at all times the King of England is Master of the Sea XV. Mr. Varillas after he had carried his Romance to make the round to other parts returns back to England but I do not know by what ill luck it is that there is not one single Paragraph that relates to our Affairs that is true
our Author had known the Story better he should have valued them as Confessors for tho they comply'd in a great many things yet it appers that they were still true to their old perswasions upon which they fell in trouble and were not only turned out illegally but kept in prison for several years till Queen Mary set them at liberty XLVII He says that King Henry had ordered the Bible to be printed correctly and that he had put with it Erasmus's last Paraphrase on the New Testament but the Duke of Somerset found this Translation did not agree so well with the Doctrine of the Sacramentary's so he ordered a new Translation to be made that was more favorable to their figurative expressions At which the Pressâ—s wrought so long till there was not only a sufficient number of Copies printed off for all the Parish Churches but likewise for all that could read There was no new Translation of the Bible thought on during this reign for that was done in Queen Elisabeth's time so that King Henry's continued all this Reign Nor had King Henry put Erasmus's Paraphrase either with the Bible or in the Churches for that was done by the Duke of Somerset and Gardiners Letters to him are yet extant and in print complaining of that Paraphrase in a great many particulars So constantly mistaken is our Auâ—hor even in matters concerning which it had been easy for him to have found better Information XLVIII Mr. Varillas tells us that the Archbishop of York and the Bishops of Chester Mena and Sadore comply'd outwardly as Sacramentaries but lived in the secret practice of the Catholick Religion Somerset was informed of this so he ordered some to tell them that they were the only Prelates of England that were opposite to the publick Religion and therefore the King desired to be satisfied in that matter so the tryal that was required of them was that they should marry which tho it was somewhat uneasy to men past threescore yet they comply'd even in this and Somerset having by this means rendred them very contemptible did not only banish them but put them in prison and he treated other Bishops in the same manner for their defending the Catholick Religion in full Parliament tho they had done it very feebly 1. I find Mr. Varillas is as Ignorant in Geography as he is in Chronology for among all the Bishopricks of England he will neither find Mena nor Sadore 2. There is indeed an Island that lyes between England and Ireland that is a Soveraignty belonging to the Earl of Derby But the Island is Man or in Latin Mona but was never called Mena. In this Island there is a Bishop who is called Bishop of Man but he writes it in Latin Sodore so this is wrong put by Mr. Varillas Sadore yet these may be faults of the press but the making two Bishopricks out of one and the making this Bishop subject to the King of England and receiving Orders from the Protector are Faults that he cannot turn over upon his Compositor 3. It does not appear that either the Archbishop of York or the Bishop of Chester did ever oppose any thing in Parliament for tho many of the other Bishops voted against the changes that were made in matters of Religion as appears by the Journals of the House of Lords yet these two concurred in every thing and all Henry's time Holgate was considered still as one united to Cranmer and he was by his Interest raised to the See of York as for the Bishop of Chester I confess I know no particulars 4. It is true that they were both married for I found a Commission issued out by Queen Mary for turning them out because of their Marriage but it is certain that they were neither in disgrace nor in prison all King Edwards Reign for the Archbishop of York was all this while in High Favour 5. England is not a Countrey in which the displeasure of a Regent or even Letters under the Cachet can either banish or imprison men chiefly when that is founded only on some suspitions No it is a Countrey governed by Law but it seems Mr. Varillas had his head full of somewhat nearer him when he writ this XLIX He sets out the Constancy of Queen Mary during her Brothers Reign and that She continued firm in the Religion of her Ancestors that tho Somerset brought the Italian Divines Martyr and Ochin to her to convince her She answered all their Objections with great vigor She spoke stoutly to Somerset She interrupted the Privy Councellours when they spoke to her of those matters and She would â—ever hear any of their Sermons but one only In short that she threatned those that threatned her and told them a time would come in which they should answer for that Her constancy was such that at last Somerset desired only that she would at least shut her Chappel doors when Mass was said but even in that she satisfied him as little as in other things Here are so many lovely strokes that it is a great Pity they are all false 1. Some Letters past between the Protector and her that are in print but it does not appear that ever he spoke to her upon this subject 2. She never pretended to be of the Religion of her Ancestors but by all her Letters she declared she was of the Religion that her Father had setled and she always insisted on his Laws pretending that in a Minority they could not be altered 3. She spoke French well and understood Latin but she could neither speak Italian nor Latin so she could have no conversations neither with P. Martyr nor Ochin nor is this named among all the Letters that were writ concerning this business 4. She would never hear any one Sermon so here the Character was as much slackened as it was raised in the other parts of this paragraph For when Bishop Ridley went to her and offered to preach before her she told him plainly that she would never hear any one of them 5. The Princess was too discreet to threaten her Brothers Ministers or to talk of a time in which they might be called to an account for what they did for such Language never comes from Collateral Heirs unless they are extream indiscreet 6. The great dispute with the Princess fell out after Somerset's disgrace and was chiefly set on by the King her Brother who could hardly be prevailed with by the Privy Conncil to consent to her having Mass still said in her Chappel and after he had talked with her himself upon that matter he sets down these words concerning the Resolution that was taken in his Journal The Bishops of Canterbury London Rochester did consider to give licence to sin was sin to suffer and wink at it for a time might be born so all hast possible might be used L. He says There was no appearance that King Edward could live till he should be of Age
Heaven which reigned among them and of the discoveries made of the Instruments of coyning in several Houses and of the False Relicks and the Impostures discovered in some Images of which the Eyes and Mouth were made to move by secret Springs for these things that were laid open in the publickest parts of the Nation disposed men to bear with the dissolution which perhaps would not have been otherwise so easily brought about 4. Nor does our Author know that three years before the general dissolution all the small Monasteries were dissolved In short the great discoveries I had made of the progress of this matter might have engaged a man even of an ordinary degree of carelesness to have read what I had writ concerning it But Mr. Varillas must be an Original in every thing XIX He says This Petition was no sooner read in Parliament than on the 28. of April 1539. they appointed that all the Monasteries in England should be set open and that their Lands should be appropriated to the King for the encrease of his Revenue upon this all was seised on and there was so much wealth found among them that out of the Church of Thomas Becket alone there were six Cart load of Plate and other things carried away and for such of the Religious Persons as would not quit their Profession nor their Lands they proceeded against those who were of a meaner rank as guilty of a Contempt of an Act of Parliament and those that were more considered were attainted of Treason because some Libels that had been writ upon the Kings divorce were found among their Papers in which the Kings Amours were painted to the life for these they were accused as having not only concealed them but preserved them to posterity and by a new subtilty the Crime of lese Majesty was added to that of High Treason and here he comes over again with that of King Edward's being cut out of his Mothers belly as if the frequent repeating of Falsehoods would gain them the more credit 1. Dates are unhappy things for Mr. Varillas for this Act did not pass before the 28. of Iune 2. This Act did only confirm what was already done but did not at all threaten any that would not surrender 3. There were eighteen Abbots present when the Act was first read and seventeen when it passed in the House of Lords and yet none of them opposed it 4. There was no petition read in either House of Parliament that had been made by the Monks for this Act neither dissolved nor opened any Monasteries but only confirmed the Kings Title upon their Surrenders 5. His Author Sanders had raised up Two Chests of the Plate that belonged to Beckets Shrine to Twenty six Cart Load but it seems Mr. Varillas thought this a little too Extravagant so that he reduces it to a modester number of six but yet he should stick to his Author And here I must call to mind a passage of our Author's that had escaped me concerning Thomas Beckets Bones being raised and burnt as if the King had reviewed his Process and by a formal Sentence degraded him of his Saintship whereas this matter passed without any sort of Ceremony Becket did things that were of another nature than all that has been lately done in the business of the Regale he was not content to disobey but thundred against the King and the Clergy and the whole Nation that would not concur with him in his Violences which were such that at this day they would not pass unpunished even in Spain it self and tho he was killed without any Order of the King 's it is known not only what Pennance the King was forced to do but what a Superstition for his Memory there followed upon his Canonisation there were Two Holy Days assigned him there was a Iubily every fifty year with Plenary Indulgences to all who visited his Tomb which brought sometimes an hundred thousand persons together and his Altar was so much more valued than either Christ's or the Virgins that by the old accounts yet extant it appears that some years there were no Offerings at all made at Christ's Altar and tho there were indeed some made at the Virgin 's Altar yet those of Thomas Becket's made a sum about twenty times more So it was no wonder if King Henry put an end to this Superstition and therefore he ordered the Shrine to be broken and the Bones to be buried as our Authors say positively tho the Italians say they were burned for so it is specified in the Bull and indeed there had been no great fault if they had been burnt 6. No man could be punished for refusing to surrender for the Act of Parliament required none to do it 7. Those who were attainted of Treason had been either in the Rebellion or had sent their Plate to the Rebels 8. Our Author shews how well he understands our Law when he pretends to make a difference between High Treason and the Crime of lese Majesty for they are one and the same thing we do not use to express the highest sort of Crimes against the State by the term of Lese Majesty but only by that of High Treason 9. Those Libels of which he speaks were only found among the Carthusians and tho some of that Order were put to death upon other accounts yet these Libels were only made use of to frighten them to surrender up their House sure here are faults enough for one Paragraph XX. He gives us a long prospect of what Cromwel thought on and of what he should have thought on both being alike true and equally judicious then he goes on to tell us the Interests of the Duke of Cleves and of his Sister's Qualities and to shew us how well he was informed of her greatest Secrets he sayes that she was fit for Marriage before she was twelve year old but that tho she had been courted by many Princes her Brother was resolved to reserve her for such an Alliance as might protect him against the House of Austria She was a Lutheran which did not please Henry yet at last the Marriage was agreed on and She came to England and was married the third of Ianuary 1540. 1. She had been contracted to Prince of Lorraine and tho this was really of no force in Law yet it was afterwards pretended to dissolve her Marriage with Henry as appears by the Sentence So much is our Author a stranger to her Story tho he would make us fancy that he had Memoirs concerning her from her Chamber-maids since he tells us when she was fit for Marriage 2. I have often warned our Author to avoid the giving of Dates for he is unhappy in them all this Marriage was made the 6. of Ianuary yet it is much for him to have hit the Moneth right for he is not always so exact XXI He says The King was so well pleased with this Match that immediately upon it
so that Princess Mary was considered not only as the Presumptive but as the necessary Heir of the Crown But at this time the Prince of Spain lost his Wife and Charles the fifth comforted himself with the hopes of uniting England to his other Dominions by marrying his Son to her so that Emperour resolved to protect her and sent Vargas both to entreat and if that prevailed not to threaten Somerset in case he gave any further disturbance to her upon which he was forced to let that matter fall All this is so false that the Emperour set on a Treaty of Marriage for the Princess with the Prince of Portugal of which I gave an account in my History but since that time a Volum of Original Letters has been sent me by the Heirs of Sr. Philip Hobby who was then Ambassadour in the Emperours Court in which I find more particulars relating both to this Marriage and to the Princesses permission for having Mass in her House There is one Letter dated the 19. of March 1550. signed by all the Council in which they write that since the Infant of Portugal was only the Kings Brother they give up the Treaty for the Match yet the Emperour insisted on the Proposition that he had made so there is another Original Letter dated the 20. of April thereafter in which they desire to hear all the particulars that related to the Infant of Portugal and in that they write That as for the Lady Mary 's Mass they had formerly connived at it but now stricter Laws were made they had connived so long hoping that at last she would be prevailed upon but that a diversity of Rites in matters of Religion was not tolerable therefore they would grant her no Licence yet they would connive at her a little longer but She abused the young Kings Goodness for she kept as it were open Church both for her Servants and Neighbours They therefore conclude wishing that the Emperour would give her good Advice in this matter This Letter of which I had the Original long in my hands is signed by ten Privy Councellours and will be I suppose a little better believed than the quotation that Mr. Varillas sets on his Margin of Vargas's Negotiation and all this was transfacted after the Duke of Somersets Disgrace LI. He tells us a long story of the methods that the Admiral used to compass the Marriage of the Queen Dowager and the ways he took to engage his Brother Somerset to consent to it Somerset moved it to the King who consented to it likewise so that the Marriage was made up in hast and without any solemnity Mr. Varillas knows this matter as he does other things notwithstanding the shew he makes by citing on the Margin the Relation of that Intrigue which is another of his Impostures for by the Articles that were objected to the Admiral which are in print and of which the Original is yet extant in the Council Book it appears that the Admiral had first courted the Kings Sister Elisabeth and that failing in this design he afterwards married the Queen Dowager so secretly that none knew of it and so indecently that if she had become with Child soon after the marriage there would have been a great doubt whether the Child should have been accounted K. Henry's or His that he kept the Marriage long secret he prevailed with the King to write to the Q. Dowager and with his Brother to speak to her in his Favour and when all this was done then the Marriage was declared So that all his Fictions of Somerset's design of marrying his Daughter to the King and of the Remonstrances that the Admiral made to his Brother as well as his Citation are manifestly false LII He sets out the common story of the Dutchess of Somerset's Disputing the Place with the Q. Dowager and as if it had been a great Affair he spends two Pages arguing both their Pretensions He reckons up the Duke of Somersets Dignities 1. He was the Kings Governour 2. He was Regent of the Kingdom 3. He was Protector of the English Nation a dignity inferiour to none of the other which was not much inferiour to the Dictatorship among the Ancient Romans and on the other hand the Admiral was the second Office of the Crown and a Charge for Life So that here was as he thought a Section fit to be copied out by those who would treat of Precedence But 1. I have shewed fully that all this quarrel of Precedence among the Ladies seems a Fiction for it is not mentioned in all that time 2. The Offices of state in England do not communicate any Honour to the Wife So that the Queen Dowager had either still her rank of Queen Dowager or she was only a Baroness her Husband the Admiral being only a Baron As the Dutchess of Somerset had only the rank of a Dutchess 3. It is clear that the Q. Dowager retained her rank and was mentioned in all the publick Prayers even before the Kings Sister 4. All those three places that Mr. Varillas gives Somerset were but one single Office and held by one single Patent for to be Protector and Regent is the same thing in England His comparing the Protectors Dignity to that of the Roman Dictators is another stroke of his ill-will to the Crown of England for among the Romans all other Offices ceased when there was a Dictator so if this were in the English Law here were a short way of Dethroning our Kings 5. The Admiral is far from being the second Office of the Crown for it only has the Precedence of all those that are of the same rank so that the Admiral was only in rank the first Baron of England and tho the great Navyes that have been built since that time have made it indeed the first Office as to the real value of it yet it was but an ordinary elevation when there were no Royal Fleets 6. The Admiral 's charge is forfeitable as well as any other in England and of this a remarkable Instance appeared in the year 1673. 7. The true occasion of the Quarrel between the Brothers was that tho the Protector was Governour of the King's person yet these two trusts had been sometimes divided so the Admiral pretended to be made the Governour of the King's person and this gave his Brother just cause of Jealousy He had engaged all that were about the King in his Interests and had once got the young King to write a Letter to the Parliament recommending it to them The Protector was twice willing to be reconciled to him after great Quarrellings but his Ambition was incurable Now since all this Process and the Articles against the Admiral are printed from the Original Records it is like Mr. Varillas to falsify this matter as he does LIII He tells a long Story of a Sermon of Latimers in which he named the Admiral as one that disturbed the Regency and this