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to Wolsey, on account of some pecuniary embarrassments, of no very creditable nature, in which, according to tradition, he was involved. A statement currently reported either during the life, or shortly after the death or Wolsey, affirmed him to have employed, without authority, various sums taken from the treasury of Magdalen College, of which he was bursar, in the erection of the great tower which was completed at that College during his continuance in office: and he is even said to have used violent means to possess himself of the money necessary for that purpose. The details of this transaction have not, however, reached us, and it seems doubtful if there be any foundation at all for reports so injurious to his reputation. It must, however, be observed, that always painful and often unwise as it is, to draw conclusions unfavourable to the motives and actions of our fellow men, there is no reason to infer from the subsequent conduct of Wolsey that his principles of integrity, in relation to pecuniary affairs, were very exact; or that he would not have sacrificed to ambition, or to any object which he had in view, that sense of honour, without which the greatest qualities can neither redeem the character from meanness, nor save the reputation from dishonour.

Wolsey obtained his first church preferment in Oct. 30, 1500, when he had attained his twenty-ninth year. His ordinary deportment partook, in too great a degree, as far as morality was concerned, of the licentiousness in which the clergy of those times, perhaps more than any other class of men, indulged. It is uncertain for what excess Wolsey at this time incurred a chastisement, which he had neither the wisdom to forget, nor the generosity to forgive. The affair, according to tradition, originated thus: Sir Amias Pawlet, a knight and justice of the peace, residing in the neighbourhood, discovered the Rector of Lymington in a state of drunkenness at a fair, and deemed it essential to punish the offender by placing him in the stocks; and the aspiring Wolsey was obliged to endure that ignominious mode of confinement, which the compassion or refinement of our present notions has almost abolished in our villages. A curious specimen of the manners of the times, where a beneficed clergyman could

Fiddes's Life of Wolsey, p. 6.

thus be held up to popular derision, is afforded by this incident, which was deeply felt, and long resented by the delinquent. Many years afterwards, when the Chancellor of England had not the liberality to pardon the insult offered to the Rector of Lymington, he sent for the country magistrate, and, after a severe reproof, commanded him to wait within the precincts of the court, until, at the pleasure of the council, he should be allowed to depart. Sir Amias knew how necessary it was in that age of despotism to bend to circumstances; and contrived to appease the Chancellor, in the course of five or six years, by embellishing the exterior of his own house, situate at the gate of the Middie Temple, with the badges and cogni zances of Wolsey, and with a Cardinal's hat and arms.*

Upon the death of the Marquis of Dorset, in 1501, the obscurity of a country parsonage, without hope of pre.. ferment, becoming intolerable to Wolsey, he determined to quit his retirement, and to make his essay upon the theatre of the great world. He was soon fortunate enough to obtain the situation of chaplain in the household of Dean, then Archbishop of Canterbury, who extended his favour towards the young churchman, more from regard for his personal qualities, than from any interest exerted in behalf of Wolsey by the few powerful friends of whom he could boast. Upon the Archbishop's death 1502. he was again deprived of a valuable patron; but the favour of others, or even the superior strength of his own understanding, was not all he had to depend upon. At this early period of his life he possessed that courteous dignity of manner which may be improved by intercourse with polife society, but cannot be imparted by that advantage, when the mind is naturally coarse or frivolous. Combining the accomplishments described by one who has not dealt sparingly with his vices,+ "Doctus, et oratione dulcis-Corporis etiam gestu, et habitu concinnus," Wolsey verified the description given of him by Shakespeare, that "he was fashioned to much honour from the cradle," and displayed in his deportment every thing which inspires regard, and enforces respect. Accordingly we find that he, who was reputed a low and

Cavendish, p. 68.

+ Archbishop Parker-to whom we owe, in a great measure, the formation of our excellent Liturgy. + See Fiddes, Note, p. 16.

disorderly man at Lymington, acquired the favour of Sir John Nanfan, a "grave and very ancient knight," with whom he chanced to become acquainted. Sir John at this time held the important office of treasurer to the city of Calais, where Wolsey attended him in the capacity of chaplain; but it was not long before the knight, discovering the abilities and industry of his inmate, confided to him almost the entire charge of his public business. This confidence remained unimpaired; and Nanfan, upon his retiring from office on the score of old age, recommended Wolsey to Henry the Seventh in such earnest terms, that the king made him one of his chaplains. Wolsey may now be considered as in the avenue to greatness. There was, indeed, little probability of his attaining, over the mind of that wary and calculating prince, the influence which he afterwards acquired with his successor. Henry the Seventh, perhaps one of the most prudent and successful kings that ever sat upon the British throne, directed all the energies of an acute and active mind to objects of public interest. Approving of literature, he had yet neither sufficient enthusiasm to be fascinated with the wit of Wolsey, nor sufficient knowledge to appreciate his learning. He considered business as the paramount, if not the sole object of importance in life; and he expected in those around him the same assiduity and regularity of habits, of which he gave them the example. His ministers were, as might be expected, laborious and indefatigable servants of the crown, who exercised in their several departments, and required in their inferiors, exactness, steadiness, and dispatch. When they observed that Wolsey, after saying mass in the closet before the king, spent not forth the day in vain idleness, but gave his attendance upon those whom he thought to bear most rule in the council," ," they naturally gave their confidence to a man who exhibited that self-denial, and power of application, without which no votary of ambition has ever attained pre-eminence in public affairs.

66

The ministers who chiefly enjoyed the favour of Henry the Seventh were Fox, Bishop of Winchester, and Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. Fox had retained his post the longest, and most resembled his royal master in his notions of economical management, which

Cavendish, p. 76.

amounted to penuriousness: but Surrey, from his military reputation, and from his office of Lord Treasurer, might be considered the most powerful of these two distinguished subjects. By Fox, the abilities of Wolsey were discovered early, and appreciated justly; and both regard and confidence were manifested by the bishop towards his former dependant, to the latest period of his own existence. Sir Thomas Lovel, master of the king's wards, and constable of the Tower, was another valuable friend, whom Wolsey, by his merits or address, contrived to secure among the privy councillors. This knight, who had the character of being both witty and wise, retained his favourable sentiments towards Wolsey until his death; and bequeathed to the object of his early preference, a golden standing cup and four hundred marks of gold, in testimony of his affection.*

Aided by these powerful friends, Wolsey soon obtained an opportunity of displaying his zeal in the service of the king. It was at this time that a treaty of marriage was contemplated between Henry the Seventh and the Duchess of Savoy. It was necessary to treat with Maximilian, Emperor of Germany, the father of the duchess; and a person qualified to undertake this mission was required by the king. Conversing one day upon this subject with Bishop Fox and Sir Thomas Lovel, Henry was persuaded to send for Wolsey, whom his two friends commended in high terms, as possessing the eloquence, address, and prudence necessary to conduct an important and delicate negotiation. Wolsey, on being introduced into the presence of the king, displayed so much discretion and ability, that Henry commanded him to prepare immediately for his journey, and to receive the instructions necessary for his undertaking, from the council. Wolsey resolved to exert his powers to the utmost, in order to secure the favour of the monarch, whom he contrived still further to propitiate in the subsequent interviews, previous to his departure. Having obtained his dispatches, Wolsey, after taking leave of the king at Richmond, about noon, reached London at four o'clock; he proceeded to Gravesend, where he arrived in three hours; hastened from Gravesend to Dover, which he entered on the following morning, just in time to step into the

Cavendish, edited by Singer.

passage boats which were under sail for Calais. From Calais he hurried onwards to the emperor, who was at a place not far from that city; and after obtaining an immediate and favourable audience with that exalted personage, he was allowed to depart shortly after the interview. Wolsey now hastened homewards with as much expedition as he could command: his activity met with its due reward; for he succeeded in arriving at Richmond before the king had even dreamed of his having left England. The diligence with which he performed his mission was considered the more remarkable at that time, when travelling was impeded by scanty accommodation, by the danger of highway robbery, and by the badness of the roads; the first act for the regular repair of which was not passed until twenty years afterwards. The king was so little prepared for the extraordinary promptness of his messenger, that on Wolsey's entering the royal chamber, he began to reprove him for his dilatoriness, in so long delaying his departure. But he, producing the letters of credit which he had brought from the emperor, acquainted Henry with the details of his mission, in which he had somewhat trangressed the limits of his instructions. The king was delighted with the zeal and address of his messenger, and was even pleased with the manner in which, upon his own responsibility, he had ventured to exceed his commission. It was not, however, the habit of Henry the Seventh either to promise lavishly, or to reward liberally, the services of his subjects. With his accustomed reserve, he dissembled his surprise at the quick return of Wolsey; yet it was not long before he recompensed his zeal, by installing him in the Deanery of Lincoln,+ at that time the most valuable beneFeb. fice under a bishoprick; and 1508. soon afterwards, the rising churchman was appointed almoner to the king. The incident which procured these distinctions, was probably regarded by Wolsey as extremely conducive to his advancement; for long after it had occurred, when the vicissitudes of his life caused him, perhaps, to dwell with a pleasurable regret upon earlier and happier days, he related to Cavendish the circumstances of his first trans

In the fourteenth and fifteenth years of Henry the Eighth. Until the reign of Charles the Second,

the roads were repaired by the landholders in the respective counties, upon whom a rate was imposed. ANDERSON'S Hist. of Commerce, vol. ii., p. 44. + Le Neve's Fasti, p. 146.

action in state affairs, with a minuteness which has been faithfully copied by that admirable biographer.*

The death of Henry the Seventh, which took place in 1509, had been anticipated by the persons in attendance upon him, for some time before Wolsey was introduced to his notice. That Wolsey, warned by the precarious state of the king's health, endeavoured, before his decease, to insinuate himself into the favour of the heir-apparent, appears probable; for one of the first acts of Henry the Eighth, upon his accession to the throne, was to make the almoner privy-councillor, and to present him with the house and gardens, at Bridewell, in Fleet Street, formerly belonging to Sir Richard Empson, but falling, upon his attainder, to the crown. This mansion, on the site of which Salisbury Square and Dorset Street now stand, was surrounded with gardens, extending to the river, twelve in number, and with orchards corresponding in size. It was for some time the scene of Wolsey's splendour, and of Henry's revels, until the favourite became the possessor of York House, and the builder of Hampton Court and of Esher. But, notwithstanding the favour manifested by this donation, the greatness of Wolsey cannot be said to have commenced immediately upon the accession of the young king. Compelled, for some time, to play a subordinate part in the council, it was his successful endeavour, before attaining any political influence, to secure that secret empire over the mind of his sovereign, which should prove more powerful than either tried capacity or long service. It would not have been practicable for mean abilities to acquire, in any large measure, the esteem of Henry the Eighth, who, before his understanding was undermined by conceit, and cramped by prejudice, was a youth of such promise, that, to use the words of his biographer, had the performance of his riper years answered it, "none of his predecessors would have exceeded him: but as his exquisite endowments of nature engaged him often to become a prey to those allurements and temptations which are ordinarily incident to them, so his courage was observed, little by little, to receive into it some mixture of self-will and cruelty."+ The arts by which Wolsey sought to recommend himself, while they flattered the passions of the gay and ardent

Cavendish, p. 77. + Herbert, p.2.

monarch, were addressed, likewise, to his intellectual qualities. Perceiving the inclination which he betrayed for the pleasures calculated to allure a youth of eighteen, the crafty churchman advised the king to follow the bent of his desires, and to leave the management of state affairs to his councillors, with whom he promised to make arrangements, by which propositions might be reported when they had been digested by older heads, and all the trouble of discussion should have been concluded. At the same time that Wolsey proffered this suggestion, he counselled the king to pursue those studies to which his attention had been directed from his childhood; and especially to continue a diligent perusal of the works of Aquinas, for whose doctrines Henry entertained a lively partiality. With discourses of this nature, Wolsey mingled instructions on the art of government, and disquisitions on important subjects of every nature: so that while Henry regarded him with pleasure as the promoter of his enjoyments, he could not fail to view him with admiration as a politician, and with reverence as a divine. It was, however, no easy task for a man arrived at his period of life, to combine his habits with the ideas and pursuits of a young prince not half his age, who might prefer the society of so many gay and gallant courtiers, all emulously seeking his favour. But Wolsey, with singular address, instead of driving his youthful rivals from the presence of the king, endeavoured to conciliate them by those attractions of wit and eloquence which he possessed in an eminent degree. It is natural for the inexperience of youth to be flattered by every tribute of regard paid to their imagined consequence by those who have outlived the follies, without losing the elasticity, of that fickle age. From those among the male favourites of Henry, who were most endeared to the king by their merits and accomplishments, Wolsey playfully demanded a compact of mutual fidelity and good offices. With the highly-born ladies by whom the court revels were shared and adorned, he was equally solicitous of favour. "Whosoever of them was great, to her he was familiar, and gave her gifts." He was courteous and liberal to all; he sported, he jested, he sang, he even danced; forgetting, or perhaps holding in lower account, the decorum proper to his sacred habit.

Strype's Eccl. Memorials, vol. i. p. 189.

Exertions, so well directed, soon obtained for him such influence at the court, as had not been enjoyed by any minister in the preceding reign. Those who had hitherto employed him as an agent, now sued to him as a superior. The two contending parties in the council quailed before his ascendancy. The Earl of Surrey, who had hitherto seen in him only the humble but useful ally of Fox, now began to fear him as a rival. Fox, who had endeavoured to accelerate his rise in the hope of his aid to resist the encroachments of Surrey, perceived that he had fostered a man so gifted by nature, and so energetic from habit, that he could never be chased from the road to preferment, after he had once entered upon the right track. Such of the nobility and courtiers as had suits to prefer, or were anxious to recommend themselves to the notice of the king, found it expedient to ensure a welcome through the mediation of Wolsey. The court had been little attended during the reign of Henry the Seventh; divisions, resulting from the civil wars, had prevented many of the nobles from presenting themselves to the Lancastrian monarch; poverty had detained some, and the absence of all attraction in an economical and gloomy court, had kept many within their remote but more hospitable mansions. Now the scene was changed, and suitors, long withheld from these various motives, thronged around the king and Wolsey. So plentiful, as Cavendish tells us, were the presents proffered to Wolsey, in order to procure his good offices, that "he wanted nothing, either to please his fantasy, or to enrich his coffers, fortune so smiled upon him; but to what end she brought him, you shall hear."* Meanwhile honours were showered upon him by the king, with a lavish hand; he was presented to several livings of value, in addition to those which he already enjoyed; he was appointed Registrar of the Order of the Garter, and was not 1510. long afterwards intrusted with an office still more active and important, to keep him about the person of the king.

Scarcely was Henry the Eighth seated on the throne, than inducements were held out to him to enter into hostilities against France; and his vanity rendered such propositions too acceptable to be rejected. It would have required, indeed, but little political skill to have preserved the country in that Cavendish, p. 82.

state of tranquillity in which his prudent father had left it. Ferdinand, King of Spain, was solicitous to remain at peace with England, an union with which had been cemented by the marriage of Henry with his daughter. Maximilian, Emperor of Germany, was too anxious to secure the possessions of Burgundy, and the Low Countries, which he had obtained in right of his wife, to offend so important and warlike a nation as the English. The pope, Julius the Second, sought to secure the alliance of England, which he hoped to engage in his own designs against France. He paid the utmost deference to Henry, to whom he sent a golden rose, dipped in chrism, and perfumed with musk, to be presented to the king at high mass, with the benediction of his holiness. But this emblem of peace and sanctity was accompanied by a letter from the pope, breathing sentiments of the utmost hostility against Louis the Twelfth of France, and representing that monarch as one who, having no regard either to God or to a good conscience, designed to build his own greatness upon the entire conquest of Italy.

Henry the Eighth, like his predecessors of the Lancastrian line, had set out in his career with professions of profound veneration for the holy see. Actuated partly by the necessity of appearing consistent with his declarations, but more by the ambition of signalizing his name as the restorer of the conquered territories in France to the English crown, and by the desire of asserting his title to the throne of France, the gay, impetuous king resolved to attack the dominions of his neighbour, and to take the command of the invading army in person.

It was scarcely probable that Wolsey would oppose a design which must have been so acceptable to the pope, whom, as a churchman, he was inclined by education, and bound by interest, to conciliate. It is at the same time likely that he perceived the folly and inutility of the scheme, which plunged a secure and prosperous nation into unnecessary difficulty and expense. Whatever may have been his secret opinions, he possessed not, in all probability, at this time, influence sufficient to change the course of events; and it is to be feared that he was not disinterested enough to desire it. War was accordingly declared: the league into which Henry entered with Max

imilian and Ferdinand, was dignified by the name " Holy," although it originated in motives varying widely from the avowed desire of protecting the pope from the incursions of France. Surrounded by all the martial portion of his own subjects, and displaying in his own person youth, strength, and warlike ardour, Henry felt that his triumphs would be adorned, and his anxieties diminished, by the presence of Wolsey, on whose counsels he had learned to depend, and whose society he had begun to think indispensable to his enjoyments. The important, but inglorious office of victualler to the forces was, therefore, conferred upon Wolsey. In accepting it, he at once evinced good sense in disregarding the illiberal sarcasms cast upon his birth, and displayed the variety of his knowledge, and the versatility of his talents, by which he was enabled to undertake business of a nature totally unlike any in which he had hitherto been engaged. He felt, doubtless, the importance of remaining in constant personal communication with the king, who was at an age when impressions are easily made, and swiftly effaced; and he was rewarded for his exertions as victualler, by an appointment of a higher description.

All preparations being at length completed, the king set sail from Dover, on the last day of June, 1512, and after resting a short time at Calais, proceeded to Therouenne in Artois, before which part of the English army had already encamped. Wolsey, with his retinue, followed in the rear, accompanied by the Bishop of Winchester: their united retinues amounted in number to eight hundred men, under the command of Sir William Compton. The place having yielded to the English troops, it was thought expedient to raze it to the ground, excepting the religious houses only; and the victorious army proceeded to invest Tournay, which surrendered, after a short siege. This place, being a bishop's see, having a cathedral, and several churches and monasteries, was deemed worthy of a better fate than that which had been decreed to Therouenne. The interested advice of Wolsey has been assigned as the cause of a preference which seemed directly opposed to good policy. Therouenne, which was near the English pale, might justly be considered as a more valuable fortress than Tournay, an acquisition of comparatively little moment. The indiscretion which sa

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