an owl, hoping the king would be incensed upon him." For, like all reformers, Colet had plenty of enemies, men who loved darkness rather than light. But now we shall see that at this time, at least, Henry was generous and candid, and knew a good man when he saw him. "His Majesty commands Colet to come before him at Greenwich. He goes into the garden of the monastery of the Franciscans, which was near, and presently dismisseth his attendants. When they two were alone the king bid Colet cover his head, and speak his mind freely; and then his Highness began thus: Dean, be not surprised with needless fear; I did not send for you hither to disturb your most holy labours (which I resolve to cherish as much as I can), but to unload my conscience of some scruples, and to desire your advice concerning my duty.' The conference lasted almost an hour and a half, and I must not relate it all. In the mean while Bricot (the Franciscan bishop) was in the court stark wild, hoping that Colet had been in great danger, whereas the king and he agreed in every particular very well.. When they returned from the garden to the court, the king, being about to dismiss Colet, called for a cup, and drank to him, embracing him most kindly, and promising him all the favours that could be expected from a most loving prince, dimissed him. And now the courtiers standing round the king expected to hear the issue of this long conference; and the king, in the hearing of them all, said, 'Well, let other men choose what doctors they please, and make much of them; this man shall be my doctor.' Whereupon Bricot, with the rest of the gaping wolves, departed, and from that day forward never dared trouble Colet any more." 28. Still it is to be feared that the effect of the sermon was Sir Thomas More. rather like that of St. Anthony to the fishes.* Much the same too, may be said of the wise words of Sir Thomas More, the youngest of the Oxford Reformers, and perhaps the best beloved. It was he who wrote the lives of Edward V. and Richard III., of which we have already heard. He afterwards put his thoughts about government, and education, and social life into one of the most charming little books an Englishman ever wrote. All his ideas on those topics "The sermon now ended, To his business each wended; Much delighted were they, were so different from the facts he saw about him that he was obliged to invent a country where they could be realized. In that country war was detested; pomp and luxury were despised; gold and silver were used to make chains and fetters for criminals; pearls and diamonds were the toys and ornaments of children. But the things which really make life happy were shared in abundance by all. Every one had a pleasant house and a beautiful garden; every one knew how to read and write, and had leisure to do so. No one was allowed to work too hard; no one was allowed to be idle; no one quarrelled about his religion, nor was any one punished on account of it. The rulers ruled for the sake of the people, to make them wise, safe, and happy, and not for any pride or profit of their own. This land was a distant island far away in the southern seas. It was called Utopia, or "the Land of Nowhere." Perhaps if More could revisit the earth and his old home now, he might think we are still a long way off from "Utopia." LECTURE XLI,-THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. Cardinal Wolsey. His rise and greatness. Henry and Katherine. Fall of Wolsey. The Pope's supremacy renounced. The king declared head of the Church. Deaths of More and Fisher. 1513. Battle of 1. WHILE Henry was in France, winning a few easy victories which did no good whatever to the country, the Scotch as usual took the opportunity of quarrelling with England, and the great battle of Flodden Field was fought, in which the English wiped away the disgrace of Bannockburn by entirely defeating the Scotch, and of which we can read an animated account in Marmion.' In this battle the Scotch king and many of the highest nobles of the land were killed. Flodden Field. 2. Some time after this England and France made peace, and the two kings met. There was a fine young King of France now, as well as of England, and their interview was of a very different kind from that of Edward IV. and the French king through the gratings on the bridge. This royal meeting was so grand and splendid that it was called the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." There were fine tournaments, and shows of all sorts, plenty of compliments and embraces, and the two young kings called each other brothers. But no great good came of it at all, for in another year or two the two sworn brothers went to war again. 1519. Wolsey. 3. We must now hear a little about the man who arranged this, and who guided and advised the king in all matters, great and small. This was the man before referred to as the very type of a clever, proud, and worldly churchman, Cardinal Wolsey. We have often observed already how a man even of the very lowest class, if he had talents and capabilities, might rise to the highest rank in the Church, so as to be equal and even superior to kings and emperors. Wolsey was one who rose thus. The man who wrote his life, of which we shall read a few extracts, was a gentleman in his service; for in those days great lords and bishops had many gentlemen in their households who were proud to be called their servants. Cavendish tells us that his master was "an honest poor man's sonne of Ipswich;" he is apparently too delicate to say that, in fact, he was the son of a butcher. 4. The child proving to be richly gifted, he received an excellent education, and went very young to Oxford, where he did so well that he took his degree at fifteen years His rise. old, and was called all through the university the Boy Bachelor. After that by his talents and industry he got on in the world very fast, and by and bye came to be chaplain to Henry VII., and was much noticed by some of the counsellors. But the way he first gained the king's favour was rather curious. Henry had to send a message to the Emperor Maximilian, who was at that time in Flanders; and his counsellors recommended as messenger this chaplain Wolsey, whom it does not seem the king had ever noticed before. The king conversed with him, "perceived his wit to be very fine," and gave him his instructions. We can now get from London to Brussels in ten hours by the help of trains and steamboats; but in those days it was quite a long and difficult journey. Most of it had to be done on horseback, with relays of post-horses; and there was generally a good deal of waiting here, and waiting there, waiting for horses, waiting for the boat, and so on. But Wolsey made such haste and such excellent arrangements that he waited nowhere. He travelled night and day, caught the Calais boat at the right moment, saw the emperor, arranged the business, and came back again. All this he did so quickly that, supposing he left the king at Richmond on Monday at twelve o'clock, he came back again by Thursday night, and saw the king on Friday morning just as he came out of his bed-room. 5. The king, never guessing how busy he had been, "checked" or rebuked him "for that he was not on his journey ;" and when he found that he had already been and come back again, "he rejoiced inwardly not a little, and gave him princely thanks." This was the beginning of Wolsey's high favour in the king's esteem. He had shown such zeal and industry, "such excellent wit," and had managed the whole affair so well, that he was straightway made Dean of Lincoln, and from that time continually rose higher and higher. When Henry VIII. became king he at once made Wolsey one of his chief counsellors. Henry loved his own will and his own way, but at the same time, being still young, he loved pleasure better than business. Wolsey soon perceived that the best manner in which he could hope to rise as high as he intended would be by helping the king to indulge those tastes. All he aimed at was " to advance the king's only will and pleasure, having no respect unto the cause." 6. Nothing could have answered better, as far as those two were concerned. Wolsey was quite willing to work; no trouble was too great for him; he did all the king wanted, took all the labour on himself, and so let the king have leisure to amuse himself, and yet get everything done as he wished. Thus Wolsey got enormous power into his own hands; he was at the head of all the affairs of the country; he had charge of the royal treasury, and, being Lord Chancellor, he was the highest judge in the kingdom. He was also supreme in the Church, and had all the bishops, abbots, and clergy under his control. With all this he still only worked as the king's servant, and to carry out his will. He received in return enormous rewards, pensions, bishoprics, and all sorts of wealth. He was not only Lord Chancellor, but Archbishop of York, and a cardinal. He hoped to be Pope by and bye; nothing seemed too great for him to aim at. He becomes chancellor, archbishop, and cardinal. His lord liness. 7. He now lived in wonderful style. In his household, attending on him, and holding various offices, were a good number of lords and gentlemen to begin with; under them innumerable servants of all degrees, clerks of the kitchen, yeomen of the scullery, yeomen of his chariot and his stirrup, cupbearers, carvers, and grooms. His head cook "went daily in velvet or in satin, with a chain of gold." He had doctors, and chaplains, and choristers innumerable, filling two or three large pages of Cavendish's book. When he went out in the morning his cardinal's hat was borne before him "by a lord or some gentleman of worship right solemnly;" also two great crosses. "Then cried the gentlemen ushers, going beforė him bareheaded, and said, 'On before, my lords and masters, on before, and make way for my Lord Cardinal.' Thus went he down through the hall, with a sergeant-of-arms before him bearing a great mace of silver, and two gentlemen carrying two great pillars of silver; and when he came to the hall door, then his mule stood all trapped in crimson velvet, with a saddle of the same, and gilt stirrups. Then was there attending upon him when he was mounted his two cross-bearers, and his pillar-bearers, in like case, upon great horses trapped all in fine scarlet. Then marched he forward with a train of noblemen and gentlemen, having his footmen, four in number, about him, bearing each of them a gilt |