Grandfather of this Henry had matched with one that was very near the Crown and Cosen German to K. Iames the 4th's and Sister to Hamilton Earl of Aran this Lord Darly's Mother was also Uterine Sister to K. Iames the 5. being the Daughter to the Queen Dowager of Scotland that was K. Henry the 8th's Sister who by her second mariage with the Earl of Angus Dowglass had Lady Isabel Dowglass who was bred in the Court of England and whom K. Henry the 8. maried to the Earl of Lennox that had by her this Lord Darly who as he was the Queen of Scotland's Cosin German was also the next Heir to the Crown of England after her and might have been a dangerous Competitour to her in that Succession having been born and bred in England so that this mariage was so far from making her contemptible to her Subjects that it was considered as the wisest act of her life and Mr. Var. could not Imagine any thing more honourable to the Earl of Morny's memory than to make him the adviser of so wise a choice It is no wonder to see Mr. Var. make so bold with meaner persons when he takes so much liberty wiht the Royal Family of England as to stain their descent for which if the consideration of the Crowns they wear did not restrain him yet the particular regard to the King that now reigns ought to have taught him so much respect as not to have ventured to blot his Scutcheon so far as to call his Great Grandfather a single Gentleman and if he had payd the respect he owed to the Memory of that unfortunate Princess he had no◠enlarged so much on her Story but I know what is due to the Memory of a crowned Head even when it is laid in ashes and thô he makes an easy weakness to be her prevailing Character upon which he would discharge all her Misfortunes this Picture is so different from the Truth that she was certainly one of the wittiest and highest spirited Women that ever lived But it seems Mr. Varillas has pretended to some Pension from the Crown of England and in revenge for the disappointment he has resolved to debase the Race all he can Here he affords our Kings the honour to be descended at least from a Gentleman thô one of the ordin ariest sort but upon another occasion he is not so liberal for in his History he says that Henry the 8th had reasons to desire the mariage of his Bastard Son the Duke of Richmond with his Daughter Mary that were too well known for libels had been spread over all Europe reproaching him that his Great Grandfather was not a Gentleman but that by his credit at Court and by the vast riches that he had acquired he had obtained leave to marry a Daughter of the Family of the Plantaganets that was then 16. degrees distant from the Crown and yet by that means his Grand-child came to reign upon which he makes a long speculation concerning the King's Reflections on that matter and the reasons that restrained him from writing on that subject as if it were an ordinary thing for Princes to become their own Heralds He also tells us how he comforted himself by the remembrance of the meanness of Arbaces K. of Persia that was the Son of a Locksmith whose Posterity had reigned so long and with so much glory and therefore he says he designed to marry his Natural Son and his Daughter together Here is such a mixture of Impertinencies that it is not easy to know at what one is to begin and if there were but this one period it is enough to let the World see how incapable Mr. Varillas is of writing History I shall not in this place shew the falsehood of that Imputation on Henry the 8th that he designed this incestuous Match for that will come in more property upon another occasion only if his Birth was defective on his Great Grandfathers side it was an odd method for the correcting of it to think of adding a new blot and of bringing a Bastard into the 5th Succession so the reason is as foolish as the matter of fact is false and the Ignorance that Mr. Var. shews here is the more remarkable because this matter belongs to the most extraordinary transaction that is in the whole French History in which he pretends to be so conversant I need not say any more to prove the Tudors to be Gentlemen but to tell that they are Welshmen of the Race of the Ancient Britons who do all pretend to the highest Birth of any in the English Nation and do run up their Pedigrees to Iulius Cesar's time among whom is the Race of the the Ap Theodore's or the Sons of Theodore that by a corruption of some Ages were called Tudors but knows Mr. Varillas so little of the French History as to have forgot that the Daughter of France that was maried to Henry the 5th of England in whose right both Henry the 5th and her son Henry the sixth were crowned Kings of France in Paris did after King Henry the 5th's death marry Owen Tudor by whom she had 3. Sons the two eldest were made the Earls of Richmont and Pembroke being the Kings Uterine Brothers and the next heirs to that Title that he claimed to the Crown of France in the right of his Mother which I am far from thinking was a good one This being the case it was no extraordinary thing for a man of the Earl of Richmont's rank to marry a Lady that was then at such a distance from the Crown thô it was only in the 6th and not the 16th degree but I do not insist on this because it may be only the fault of the Printer and I will not descend to a doubtful fault when I have such material ones in my way I know there are a sort of men that are much more ashamed when their Ignorance is discovered than when their other vices are laid open since degenerate minds are more jealous of the reputation of their understanding than of their honour And as Mr. Varillas is very like to be of this temper so if a simpathy with Mr. Maimbourg has not wrought him up to the like pitch of assurance such discoveries as these ought to affect him a little and here a man is apt to lose his patience when he finds such a Scribler pretend to defame the Noblest blood in the world There is nothing else in the first Prophetick Rhapsody that relates to our matters so I was inclined to go from hence to a more particular enquiry into our English affairs only the Ignorance that he discovers in the next paragraph is so surprising that I will bestow a short remark on it He says that the Switzers were so prevailed on by this pretext that their separating themselves from the Roman Communion was the best expedient to preserve them from falling under the Dominion of the House of Austria
scrupulosity of writing truth yet that profound Policy to which he always pretends should oblige him to take a little care that the falsehoods that he advances may not be easily discovered 3. He says Henry the 8th was 12. year old when his Brother died and that his Father had designed him for the Ecclesiastical State This was taken up by the Writers of the last Age to make the Parallel between Iulian the Emperour and him seem to agree that as Iulian had been a Reader in the Church so King Henry should be represented as an Abbot with a little band But as King Henry was not 12 year old when his Brother died for he wanted some Months of 11 and as at that Age young Princes considering the respect that is payed to them in their Education have seldome been found far advanced in Learning so it does not appear that he had then any other Education different from what was given his Brother who understood Latin and some of the beginnings of Learning Learning was then in great reputation and K. Henry the 7th engaged his Children to study either to raise their Authority the higher by that means or perhaps to amuse them with Learning that they might not think of pretending to the Crown during his Life since the undoubted Title to it resting in the Person of their Mother it had devolved upon them by her Death thô they did not think fit to claim their Right 4. He says that when K. Henry the 7th intended to marry his younger Son to P. Arthur's Widdow the Privy Council of England approuved it the more easily because of the precaution that had been taken to hinder the consummation of the former Mariage and to confirm this he cites on the Margent the Petition that the Parliament of England offered upon this matter to P. Alexander the 6th But as the Depositions are yet extant of the Duke of Norfolk that was then a Privy Councellour and of two others that there was no precaution used to hinder the consummation so Warham that was at that time Archbishop of Canterbury opposed the second Mariage as being neither honourable nor well-pleasing to God as he himself did afterwards depose upon Oath The Parliament took no cognisance of the matter nor did it make any address to the Pope so that this citation is to be considered as an effect of Mr Varillas his notion of Religion 5. He runs out in his manner into a long speculation concerning the different interests of England and Spain that made the Spaniards go backwards and forwards in the agreeing to the Match that was proposed for P. Henry and the Princess whom by an extravagant affectation he calls always Duke of York and makes the Princesse's Parents represent to K. Henry the 7th the danger of his Son 's growing weary of the Princess since he was 4 year younger than she was and that in order to the procuring of a dissolution of the Mariage from the Court of Rome he might pretend that his Father had forced him to marry her whenever he should grow weary of her All the other Writers of that time put K. Henry the 7th's desiring this second Mariage meerly on his covetousness which made him equally unwilling to repay the Portion or to send a great jointure yearly after the Princess and the Prince of Wales was too great a Match to be so uneasily admitted by the King and Queen of Spain He whom he calls by the Title of the Duke of York was indeed only Duke of York for some Months after his Brother's Death during which time it was supposed that the Princess might be with child by his Brother which proves beyond exception that it was believed that the first Mariage was consummated But when there was no more reason to apprehend that then he carried the Title that belongs to the Heir apparent of our Crown But it seems the King and Queen of Spain were more easily satisfied in this matter than Mr. Varillas would make us believe they were for two years after the Bull was granted when P. Henry came to be of Age he instead of entring into any engagement to marry the Princess made a solemn protestation in the hands of the Bishop of Winchester by which he recalled the consent that he had given during his Minority and declared that he would never marry her But it is very likely Mr. Varillas had never heard of this thô the instrument of that Protestation was not only mentioned but printed by many of the Writers of that Age and it is confessed by Sanders himself who after all Mr. Varillas's flourish with his Letters is his only Author And for this foresight that he thinks he may justly ascribe to the King and Queen of Spain because they are represented by the Writers of that time to have had an extraordinary Sagacity the reason that he makes them give shews it was a contrivance of his own since a moral force such as the Authority of a Father was never so much as pretended to be a just ground to annul a Mariage after it was made and consummated otherwise most of the Mariages that have been made might have been dissolved 6. He adds to this another speculation that is worthy of him he pretends that the King and Queen of Spain apprehended that K. Henry the 7th had acquired the Crown of England and by consequence had a right to dispose of it at his pleasure upon which the Crown of Spain was afraid least he should have disinherited his Son and given the Crown to the Duke of Suffolk that was then at Brussels and was preparing an Invasion of England from which they did not know but K. Henry the 7th might save himself by declaring Suffolk his Successour and that upon those fears they were unwilling to consent to the Match Here is such a mixture of Follies that it is not easy to tell which of them is the most remarkable This Doctrine of the Crown of England's being alienable at the King's pleasure might have passed well with those that some years ago thought to have shut out the next Heir and yet even these did not pretend that it could have been done by the King alone But here is a new Theory of Politicks for which we are sure Mr. Varillas can cite no Authorities from the Laws and Constitutions of England K. Henry the 7th had indeed acquired the Crown by defeating that Tyrant and Usurper Richard the 3 d but as he pretended to be Heir of the Lancastrian Race himself so by marrying to the Heir of the House of York that was the right Heir he by a conjunction of all Titles made the matter sure But this gave him no right to alienate the Crown at his pleasure and to fancy that a King might be induced to give away his Crown from his own Son to the Person in the World that he hated most and whom at his Death he ordered his Son never
China or Iapan but it is so gross an imposition on such as know the Methods of the Courts of Europe that Mr. Varillas presumed too much on the credulity of his Readers when he thought that this could be believed and si non è vero il è ben trovato is so necessary a Character for a Man to maintain that would have his Books sell well which I am told is Mr. Varillas's chief Design that he had best find out some Judge of his Pieces that has a true Understanding since it is plain that he has not sence enough himself to make a right Judgment in such matters 27. He says when Cardinal Wolsey went over into France he caried a Commission to consult the Universities of France touching the King's Divorce but that the change of Affairs in Italy made the King to recal him who was strangely surprised when he found that the King had no thoughts of marrying the Dutchess of Alençon and that he was become so much in love with Anne Boleyn that he was resolved to marry her on any Terms It is an unfortunate thing for a Man to have heard too much and to have read too little of History for as the one gives him much confidence so the other exposes him to many Errours Mr. Varillas had heard that K. Henry had consulted many Universities but not knowing where to place this he fancied that it must be the first step in the whole Matter But he knew not that this was not thought on till after a Sute of above two Years continuance in which the King saw how he was deluded by the Court of Rome and upon that he took the other Method of consulting the Universities All his speculations concerning Card. Wolsey are built on the common Mistake that supposes him ignorant of the King's intentions for Anne Boleyn the falsehood of which I have sufficiently demonstrated 28. He tells us that Card. Wolsey having once several Bishops to dine with them the King knowing of it went to them after Dinner and made a Writing to be read to them that set forth the Reasons against his Mariage the Bishops did not approve it quite yet they were so complying as to say that if those things were true his scruples were well grounded This was too important a thing not be made appear probable by some of his pretended Vouchers thô it is most certainly false for a Resolution signed by all the Bishops of England except Fisher was produced before the Legates to shew how well the King's scruples were grounded 29. He says the Privy Councel acted more steadily and intended to give the King an undeniable proof of his Mistresses Lewdness for Sr. Thomas Wiat that had obtained of her the last favours was willing to let the King know it and so being of the Privy Councel he not only owned the matter to the rest of that Board but was content to let the King know it and when he found that the King would not believe it he offered to make the King himself an Eye-witness to their Privacies but thô the Duke of Suffolk made this bold Proposition to the King he was so far from hearkning to it that Wiat was disgraced upon it and by this means the Mistress was covered from such dangerous Discoveries for the future Such a Story as this might have passed from a Sanders that knew the World little but in earnest it seems the fits of Mr. Varillas's Religion are strong even to Extasy since they make him write as extravagantly of humane Affairs as if he had passed his whole Life in a Desert A Man that knows what humane Nature is cannot think that Wiat would have either so far betraied Mrs. Boleyn or exposed himself as to have made such a Discovery it being more natural for a Man that was assured of a young Lady's Favour to contribute to her Elevation since that must have raised himself than to contrive her Ruin And K. Henry whose imperious temper gave him a particular Disposition to Jealousy must have been of different composition from all the rest of Mankind if he could have rejected a Discovery of this nature And when the secrets of Jealousies are opened to Princes it is too gross even for a Romance to make the Discoverer to begin with the Councel-board and to procure a Deputation from them to acquaint the King with them But as Wiat does not appear to have been a Privy Councelour till near the end of K. Henry's Reign so it is plain enough he was never disgraced but continued to be still imploied by the King in some forreign Embassies to the end of his Life 30. He says Anne Boleyn endeavoured thô in vain to engage Sr. Thomas More to negociate her Affair but he being proof against all corruption Gardiner that was a Canonist was made Secretary of State and was sent to Rome with My-Lord Brian who scandalised all Rome with his lewd behaviour and had the impudence to assure the Pope that the Queen desired to be divorced that so she might retire into a Monastery And made other offers of great advantage to the Pope in case he would allow the Divorce Mr. Varillas cannot say too much in Sr. Thomas More 's commendation but since he was a Man of so much Sincerity it is certain that he approved of the Divorce for in a Letter that his own Family printed among his other Works in Q. Mary's Reign he writing to Cromwel owns that he had approved of the Divorce and that he had great hopes of the King's success in it as long as it was prosecuted in the Court of Rome and founded on the defects that were pretended to be in the Bull and after that most of the Universities and of the learned Men of Europe had given their Opinions in favours of the Divorce four years after it was first moved he being then Chancellour went down to the House of Commons and made those Decisions to be read there and upon that he desired the Members of Parliament to report in their Countries that which they had heard and seen and added these very Words and then all Men will openly perceive that the King has not attempted this Matter for his Will and Pleasure but only for the discharge of his Conscience Upon Wolsey's Disgrace he was made Chancellour and continued in that high trust almost three years which is an evident sign that he did not then oppose the Divorce nor did he grow disgusted of the Court till he saw that the King was upon the point of breaking with the See of Rome So that he would have liked the Divorce if the Pope could have been prevailed with to allow it but he did not approve of the King 's procuring it another way Mr. Varillas is no happier in the other parts of this Article for Gardiner was not sent first to Rome to negotiate this matter Knight that was Secretary of State was first imploied and Gardiner was