ancient custom) did sit as associate with him; but he would not stick to determine sundry causes, neither rightly decided nor adjudged by order of law."* He would even reprove sharply those judges who had allowed themselves to be imposed upon by false evidence, and who had not well considered the testimony of both parties. A degree of celerity in the dispatch of legal business was ensured by Wolsey, deserving of gratitude, both from his contemporaries and from posterity. Upon the representation of the Cardinal, the king granted a commission to the master of the rolls, the chief baron of the exchequer, and four of eighteen persons specified, to hear and determine causes in chancery when the chancellor should happen to be engaged in state affairs. This privilege has continued, with some variations, until the present day. Disgusted by the ignorance of the lawyers, and even of the judges, he planned an institution in the metropolis, by which opportunities for studying that science should be afforded to the diligent; but this project, like several beneficent and liberal designs of the Cardinal, was never realized. The model of the building was long treasured in the palace of Greenwich, after the death of Wolsey, as a fine specimen of architectural taste. During this period of our history the Chancellor had the sole power of bringing Bills into Parliament, which he exercised by means of committees of his own appointment. An examination therefore of the Statutes passed during the term that Wolsey held the Seals, would show the principles of government on which he acted, and would throw additional light on his general character. Two-thirds of them would be found to be enacted for the protection of trade and manufactures, all of which are now either repealed or have fallen into disuse. These acts, by the number of their minute and painful restrictions, sometimes on the manufacturer and importer, and sometimes on the consumer, evince at once the laudable anxiety of the minister for the welfare of the industrious classes, and his profound ignorance of the great truth, that commerce is always fettered and never served by the officiousness of legal interference. The excellences and defects of Wolsey's legal administration (so far as it was honest) seem to spring Holinshed's Chronicles, p. 615. from the same source-the industry with which he carried legislation into a rigid and minute detail. His amendments in the various processes of the law,his reform of church discipline, especially in his attack on pluralities,-are favourable instances, and ought not to be forgotten in the balance of his merits. Indeed, even with respect to his interference with the freedom of trade, he ought, perhaps, rather to be praised for having so distinctly seen the value of the object, than censured for having mistaken, in common with men of later days and better lights, the means by which the object was to be obtained. In his administration of the affairs of the church, the conduct of Wolsey was far less exemplary than in his legislative functions; and were it not for the liberal views which he afterwards manifested in the promulgation of learning among the clergy, he would have merited from that body the severest reprobation. A new dignity was now added to the accumulated honours which Wolsey had gained. Leo the Tenth, desirous of establishing a league among all the princes of Christendom against the Turks, sent Cardinal Campeggio into England for the purpose of entering into a negotiation with Henry to that effect; at the same time the legate was empowered to collect a tithe from the English clergy, and to visit and reform the monastic institutions in this country. In order to conciliate the British mo- 1518. narch, Leo not only enjoined Campeggio to cultivate assiduously the friendship of Wolsey, but consented to invest the Cardinal of York with the legatine authority also; and Campeggio was detained at Paris, until a commission to that effect should arrive. This delay was suggested by the vanity of Wolsey, who both objected to admit any one invested with greater ecclesiastical power than himself; and who desired that Campeggio should be supplied with the means of supporting the dignity of his high office, which derived, in the eyes of Wolsey, additional importance, from his being joined with Campeggio as a colleague. With this design, a quantity of scarlet cloth was dispatched to Calais to supply the retinue of Campeggio with new attire, of which it stood in great need. This precaution having been adopted, and the bull of the pope received by Campeggio, that legate was permitted to cross to Dover, and to enter London with the accustomed parade; yet Wolsey, not satisfied with the reported appearance of Campeggio and his train, sent twelve mules laden with baggage to increase the procession of his colleague. These chests were supposed to contain rich articles of jewellery, plate, and garments, of which the Italian legate was understood to possess a superabundant portion: but unhappily for the credit of Campeggio, one of the mules fell, and the coffer which it carried being burst open by the accident, old habiliments, and pieces of broken bread, or meat, put into the chest as ballast, were exposed to the spectators, too well disposed to sneer at the mock grandeur of the procession.* Campeggio having paid his tribute of respect to the king, in company with Wolsey, the business of the legation commenced. No success attended the demand made upon the clergy, who refused to pay the tithe; and the visitation of the monasteries remained the sole object of the commission. On this subject it is probable that Wolsey had long formed his opinion, and that it was possibly his desire to effect his great designs without the fear of dissent, or interruption from a colleague. He dispatched Doctor John Clarke, therefore, to Rome, with a petition that the legatine power in England might be vested solely in himself, and that Campeggio might be recalled. The reasons assigned for this request related to the immoralities and ignorance of the clergy, which were enumerated by Wolsey in strong, and probably just terms. Doctor Clarke, acting both at the instigation of Wolsey, and by the command of Henry, proved a successful negotiator. He obtained a bull from Leo, constituting Wolsey legate a latere, with power to visit and to reform the monasteries and the clergy of England; and with the unusual and hazardous privilege of dispensing with all church laws for the term of one year after the date of the bull. June 10, This extension of autho1519. rity gave great offence to the bishops, whose powers it abridged; and was displeasing to the nation at large, who having already beheld Wolsey and Campeggio endowed with the privilege of granting remission for sins, after they had celebrated mass, deemed that the overweening greatness Hall's Chronicles, p. 593, † Herbert, p. 79. of Wolsey was dangerous to the people, and injurious to the honour of the king. Invested with authority which was. likely to have an intoxicating influence over his own mind, and which was sure to excite the jealousy of others, Wol-. sey possessed not prudence, nor, indeed, integrity sufficient to defend him from the snares which sudden prosperity spreads for wisdom and virtue. His first act, as a legate, was to erect a court, in which a kind of inquisitorial jurisdiction was assumed over the clergy. Irregularities and offences, which had either escaped the cognizance of the law, or were not within its prescribed limits, were the objects of inquiry and of punishment at the new tribunal which Wolsey instituted. If the injustice and extortion imputed to him in the exercise of these functions be proved, the conduct of Wolsey in this department is more than ordinarily reprehensible, as the worst feature of the corruption which he had undertaken to abolish. The chief evidence against him in this respect is derived from the history of Polydore Vergil, a foreigner naturalized in England, whom Wolsey had rendered his enemy by committing him, for some offence, to prison. According to this writer, the legatine court was a scene of oppression and exaction of the most scandalous kind. All ecclesiastical persons, suspected of any misdemeanour, were summoned before the president, and were obliged, in many instances, to compromise, by large sums of money, charges from which they could not directly clear themselves. Executors of wills were called to severe account; livings in the gift of the nobility were given by Wolsey to his dependents; and the registration and proof of wills, hitherto the sources of profit to some of the dignitaries of the church, were now monopolized by the Cardinal. John Aleyn, a priest, who was the person appointed by Wolsey to preside over the court, was, according to Polydore Vergil, a man of abandoned character, with whom all honest individuals dreaded to have any concern. These alleged abuses, which were repeated as accusations in the articles afterwards exhibited against Wolsey, in all probability existed to a certain extent. The sense of justice which Wolsey manifested in all his other legislative functions, is at variance with the out Henry's History of England, vol. xii. p. 11, rageous iniquities which he is affirmed to have countenanced; while, at the same time, his undoubted eagerness for gain may have acted, in some cases, as a counterpoise to the valuable and upright parts of his character. Wolsey was too much feared and hated to do evil without detection. Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, the constant, but temperate opponent of Wolsey's arrogance, informed the King of the reports which taxed his favourite with injustice and extortion. Father," replied Henry, "no man is so blind as in his own house; I pray you, go to Wolsey, and tell him, if any thing be amiss, that he amend it." This command was obeyed by Warham, who disliked the innovations, as much as the insolence of his rival. The admonition of the primate produced, however, no other effect than that of increasing the hatred of Wolsey towards him; but the information which Warham had imparted to the king was not wholly inefficacious. It opened the eyes of the King to the fallibility of his minister; and some time afterwards, when Aleyn was accused of illegal practices, Wolsey received a severe rebuke from the king, for tolerating the conduct which he ought to have condemned. From this incident, according to the confident opinion of some historians of that period, the decline of Wolsey may be dated.* While these circumstances were gradually undermining his influence at home, it remained, to all outward appearance, undiminished; and, at foreign courts, his will was the pivot upon which all important operations moved. One leading principle, governing all the actions of the Cardinal, may be observed, from about this period, until all hope of attaining the object of his wishes was eventually precluded. He had been already exalted to a station, eminent beyond that which any former subject of a British monarch ever enjoyed; yet, like Alexander, he sighed for a new sphere over which he might extend his dominion; and the ambitious and restless ecclesiastic now directed his hopes to the papal crown. At what period of his life this desire was first kindled in the breast of the Cardinal, must be a matter of conjecture: but, perhaps, like many other aspiring men, the earliest yearnings of his soul for distinction were encouraged by a remote and apparently futile hope of Herbert, p. 81. attaining the highest point to which persons of his class and profession could arrive. The principal influence among the conclave of cardinals, who held the papal election in their hands, was divided between France and Spain; and Wolsey was for some time undecided to which of these continental powers he should devote himself in expectation of assistance. Francis the First possessed fourteen votes in the conclave; he offered his interest to the Cardinal, and seconded his promises by presents and pensions. For some time Wolsey was disposed to adhere to the King of France, but wavered when he saw the young King of Spain raised to the imperial throne. The wisdom and energy already displayed by the young emperor, and the extent of his dominions, ensured to him a degree of importance in the affairs of Europe, which, as Wolsey easily foresaw, would eventually preponderate. The eagerness which Charles displayed to conciliate the British minister, his flattering epithets of "most dear friend," and his pension of three thousand livres, decided the choice of Wolsey, and he may from henceforth be regarded for some years as the secret and powerful ally of the Spanish court. His own mind being determined, Wolsey was not tardy in turning his master to the side of the young emperor; but Henry was constrained for some time to dissemble his intentions. It had been agreed, in the treaty with France, during the preceding year, that an interview between the two kings should take place at an early period, within the English territory in France. Honour, policy, and inclination forbade the breach of this engagement on the part of Henry; nor was Wolsey reluctant to display to admiring France his greatness, as the proudest and most powerful subject in the train of his sovereign. The celebrated meeting at the field of Ardres, merits, from its novelty in the annals of Europe, and from its magnificence, the minute description which it obtained in some of our English chronicles, and in the lively memoires of the Marquis de Fleuranges, one of the nobles who accompanied Francis, and who was commanded by that monarch to commemorate the event. It was the last semblance of chivalry, which expired with Henry the Eighth, the festive diversions in the reign of Elizabeth being but the shadow of knightly prowess. It was the most splendid incident in the life of Henry, and Wolsey shared its glories and its luxuries. Precluded by his sacred office from a participation in those exercises which delighted the young and gallant monarchs, Wolsey, however, appeared in costly and pompous array, as was his usage on all festive and ceremonious occasions. It was his courtesy which directed the ornaments, his judgment which prescribed the regulations of the meeting. As a political affair, the personal communication between Francis and Henry was followed by no important effects. Their union was rather prevented than cemented by the event. The utmost courtesy and deference were, it is true, displayed on either part, both by the princes and their attendant nobles. Yet, in the midst of the most peaceful interchange of compliments and presents, the discerning spectator might have detected the secret aversion of Wolsey from an alliance with France; the ill-disguised distrust of the courtiers and people assembled on both sides; the irresolution of Henry, and the apprehension of Francis that his hold was insecure over the favour of his apparent friend. The scene must have been curious and interesting; unhappily it was soon to be followed by one of a solemn and afflicting character. On quitting Ardres, Henry repaired almost immediately to Gravelines, where he was joined by the emperor, with whom an understanding had been already commenced in a visit which Charles had recently made to the King of England. Neither Henry nor Wolsey considered it any derogation from their honours to encourage the alliance of this rival of the French king, at the very time that every manifestation of friendship had been displayed towards Francis. The subtle policy of Wolsey was visited with retribution, and he sunk eventually into snares prepared by his own insincerity and vacillation. Engaged as he was with diplomatic manoeuvres, his mind was also disturbed by the evident hatred and jealousy of the English nobles. Whilst the higher classes of the community outwardly paid homage to his rank and power, they secretly railed at the haughtiness, and recalled with contemptuous bitterness the lowly origin of the Cardinal. Among those highly born individuals, who, in those days of comparative darkness and ignorance, regarded no distinctions as worthy of consideration, except the accidental circumstance of ancient and noble descent, none looked with more indignant disdain upon Wolsey, than Stafford, duke of Buckingham. Allied to the family of Plantagenet both by the male and female line, the proud and aspiring character of the duke had even rendered the suspicion probable, that he was not without hopes of one day ascending the throne, in case of the king's death without issue: if Buckingham ever cherished treasonable designs, the birth of the Princess Mary must have dispelled all confident expectations of success. Previous to that event, he had, unhappily, been induced to hold conferences with those who first tempted him to the premeditation of guilt, and then betrayed his secret. Unconscious of the impending danger, Buckingham accompanied Henry to the field of Ardres, and shone there, one of the most splendid of the English courtiers, who, on that occasion, were said to have far surpassed the French in magnificence. Perhaps the very display which was in part intended to do him honour, exasperated the jealous frenzy of Henry. Shortly after the return of the king and Wolsey from France, Buckingham felt the effects of the gathering storm. He was apprehended, arraigned for high treason, tried, and condemned. His sentence, accelerated by the evidence of his dependents, produced universal regret among his fellow-subjects, and lamentation abroad. Like all other passing events, the execution of Buckingham was imputed to the Cardinal. Even the emperor is declared to have said that the "butcher's dog had slain the finest buck in England." At home, it was supposed that a trifling incident had occasioned that bitter enmity in Wolsey towards the duke, to which his cruel fate was attributed. It was the custom for the highest of the nobility to hold the sacred water, present the ewer, and perform other offices of respect, at mass, when Wolsey assisted at the service. The more obsequious or more cautious courtiers submitted to the necessity which there appeared to be for these acts of humiliation, knowing and dreading the consequences of a refusal. Buckingham, however, inwardly chafed at the constrained semblance of reverence and even observing merely that Wolsey had the presumption to dip his hands in an ewer of water which the duke handed to the king, he could not brook the reflection that he had been. involuntarily made to perform a service to a priest. Losing all self-command, he hastily and contemptuously poured the contents of the vessel upon the feet of the Cardinal. For this affront he swore that he would have his revenge, by sitting on the duke's skirts; a figure of speech more intelligible in the days of long trains than in the present time. Wolsey was, however, disappointed by Buckingham's appearing at court on the following day without any skirts to his coat, assigning as a reason for this new fashion that he was resolved to baffle the malicious designs of the Cardinal. For this childish and ridiculous warfare, if Wolsey be justly considered as the originator of Buckingham's ruin, the duke paid dearly. It is certain that, had Wolsey desired to rescue this proud noble from a degrading death, he possessed the power of saving him, for Henry, at this time, would have granted the privilege of mercy to his minister. It is perhaps unfair, however, to consider the conduct of Wolsey on this occasion as wholly dictated by the meanness of revenge. He may have deemed it a necessary act of caution to check, by the death of Buckingham, those aspiring views in the nobles allied to the crown, by which the peace and security of the country might be troubled. There is reason also to believe that Buckingham was not entirely guiltless of the designs imputed to him; and the example of his father, who had once meditated asserting a claim to the English crown, was not obliterated from the recollection of the public. The most discreditable feature in the proceedings against him was the care taken by Wolsey to procure the absence of those friends and relatives of the unhappy duke, whose intercession might have averted his fate. Twenty-six peers only sat on the trial; and the sentence was pronounced with tears by the Duke of Norfolk, too subservient a courtier to decline this sad office, although the personal friend of the prisoner. Some indications of mercy were manifested on the part of the king; and while his obnoxious measures are imputed to the influence of Wolsey, it is but fair to ascribe to the same source those which betokened a milder spirit. The decree by which the punishment of hanging was adjudged to Buckingham, was changed into the sentence of decapitation, and part of the forfeited estates were restored to the eldest son. Popular feeling was, however, in a state of unabated irritation against Wolsey, for some time after the death of Buckingham. The galling remark, that a "butcher's son must naturally delight in shedding blood," and other effusions of public resentment, were probably neither unfelt nor unobserved by the Cardinal; and he found, perhaps, relief from some annoyance in the mission which he was at this time induced to undertake, with the avowed object of composing the differ- 1521. ences now verging towards hostility, between the emperor and the king of France. The actual end to which the exertions of Wolsey were directed in the negotiation was to form a confederacy with Charles against Francis on the part of England; and, on his own account, to obtain a promise from the emperor, in case of the decease of the reigning Pontiff, to aid his long-cherished wishes on that point. Charles readily, but without sincerity, accorded the favour requested; secretly resolving, as his subsequent actions proved, to suit his own convenience in the result. A treaty was concluded between the pope, the emperor, and the king of England, to the exclusion of Francis, against whom hostilities were meditated. CHAPTER THIRD. The part taken by Wolsey in the Controversy between Henry the Eighth and Luther.-His desire for the Revival of Learning. His Schemes with respect to the Monastic Institutions. Erection of the Cardinal's College at Oxford.-His Regulation of the Royal Households.-Embassy of the Cardinal to France.-His decline in the favour of Henry.-The Great Seal taken from Wolsey.-His Humiliation,-Impeachment, I ness,-Death, Character,-Burial. Ir is necessary to take a cursory view of the life of Wolsey at this period, in order to arrive at 1521. those benevolent designs, and at the great though imperfect achievements which constitute the real glory of this celebrated man; and which afforded a far nobler exercise for his genius than the diplomatic intrigues in which he played a conspicuous, but an unworthy part. It is, however, to be regretted, that he was allured by the voice of ambition, while he cherished the schemes of a philanthropist: yet a more cautious |