remember, Doctor Ridley, a very small person in stature, but surely a great and an excellent clerk in divinity.

The court being thus furnished and ordered, the judges commanded the crier to proclaim silence; then was the judges' commission read openly before all the audience. That done, the crier called the king, by the name of King Henry of England, come into the court, 10 &c." With that the king answered and said, "Here, my lords!" Then he called also the queen, by the name of "Katharine Queen of England, come into the court, &c.;" who made no answer to the same, but rose up incontinent out of her chair, and took pain to go about unto the king, kneeling down at his feet in the sight of all the court and assembly, to whom she said in effect, in broken English, as followeth : Sir," quoth she, "I beseech you for all the 20 loves that hath been between us, and for the love of God, let me have justice and right, take of me some pity and compassion, for I am a poor woman and a stranger born out of your dominion, I have here no assured friend, and much less indifferent counsel; I flee to you as to the head of justice within this realm. Alas! Sir, wherein have I offended you, or what occasion of displeasure? Have I designed against your will and pleasure; intending (as I perceive) to put me 30 from you? I take God and all the world to

witness, that I have been to you a true humble

and obedient wife, ever conformable to your will and pleasure, that never said or did any thing to the contrary thereof. This twenty years I have been your true wife or more, and by me ye have had divers children, although it hath pleased God to call them out of this world, which hath been no default in me.

And when ye had me at the first, I take God to be my judge, I was a true maid.

If there be

any just cause by the law that ye can allege 10 against me, I am well content to depart to my great shame; and if there be none, then here I most lowly beseech you let me remain in my former estate. The king your father was of such estimation throughout the world for his excellent wisdom, that he was called of all men the second Solomon; and my father Ferdinand, King of Spain, who was esteemed to be one of the wittiest princes that reigned in Spain, were both wise and excellent kings in wisdom and princely behaviour. 20 They elected and gathered wise counsellors about them, who thought then the marriage between you and me good and lawful. Therefore it is a wonder to hear what new inventions are now invented against me. And cause me to stand to the order and judgment of this new court, wherein ye may do me much wrong, if ye intend any cruelty; for ye may condemn me for lack of sufficient answer, having no indifferent counsel, but such as be assigned me, with whose 30 wisdom and learning I am not acquainted. Ye

must consider that they cannot be indifferent counsellors for my part which be your subjects, and dare not, for your displeasure, disobey your will and intent. Therefore I most humbly require you, in the way of charity, and for the love of God, to spare me the extremity of this new court, until I may be advertised what way my friends in Spain will advise me to take. And if ye will not extend to me so much indifferent favour, your 10 pleasure then be fulfilled, and to God I commit my cause!"

And with that she rose up, making a low courtesy to the king, and so departed from thence. She took her way straight out of the house, leaning (as she was wont always to do) upon the arm of her General Receiver, called Master Griffith. And the king commanded the crier to call her again, who called her by the name of "Katharine Queen of England, come 20 into the court, &c." With that quoth Master Griffith, "Madam, ye be called again." "On, on," quoth she, "it maketh no matter, for it is no indifferent court for me, therefore I will not tarry. Go on your ways." And thus she departed out of that court, nor would never appear at any other court after.

The king, calling to his Grace's memory all her lament words, said thus in effect: "For as much," quoth he, "as the queen is gone, I will, in her 30 absence, declare unto you all my lords here assembled, she hath been to me as true, as

obedient, and as conformable a wife as I could wish or desire. She hath all the virtuous qualities that ought to be in a woman of her dignity, or in any other of baser estate." With that quoth my Lord Cardinal, "Sir, I most humbly beseech your highness to declare me before all this audience, whether I have been the chief inventor or first mover of this matter unto your majesty; for I am greatly suspected of all men herein." My Lord Cardinal," quoth the king, "I can well 10 excuse you herein. Marry (quoth he), ye have been rather against me in attempting thereof. And to put you all out of doubt, I will declare unto you the special cause that moved me hereunto; it was a certain scrupulosity that pricked my conscience upon divers words that were spoken by the Bishop of Bayonne, the French king's ambassador, who had been here long upon the debating for the conclusion of a marriage to be concluded between the princess our daughter 20 Mary, and the Duke of Orleans, the French king's second son.

"And he desired respite to advertise the king his master thereof, whether our daughter Mary should be legitimate, in respect of the marriage which was sometime between the queen here, and my brother the late Prince Arthur. These words bred a doubt within my breast, which doubt pricked, vexed, and troubled so my mind, that I was in great doubt of God's indignation; much 30 the rather for that he hath not sent me any issue

male; for all such issue male as I have received of the queen died incontinent after they were born; so that I doubt the punishment of God in that behalf. Thus being troubled in waves of a scrupulous conscience, and partly in despair of any issue male, it drave me at last to consider the estate of this realm, and the danger it stood in for lack of issue male to succeed me. I thought it good therefore in relief of the weighty burden 10 of scrupulous conscience, and the quiet estate of this noble realm, to attempt the law therein, and whether I might take another wife. I moved first this matter in confession to you, my Lord of Lincoln, my ghostly father. And yourself moved me to ask farther counsel of all you my lords; wherein I moved you first my Lord of Canterbury, to put this matter in question; and so I did of all you my lords, to the which ye have all granted by writing under all your seals." "That is truth," 20 quoth the Bishop of Canterbury, "I doubt not but all my brethren here present will affirm the same." "No, Sir, not I," quoth the Bishop of Rochester, ye have not my consent thereto." "No! ha' the!" quoth the king, "look here upon this, is not this your hand with seal?" and showed him the instrument and seals. "No forsooth, Sire," quoth the Bishop of Rochester, "it is not my hand nor seal!" To that quoth the king to my Lord of Canterbury, "Sir, how say ye, is it not his hand. 30 and seal ? " "Yes, Sir," quoth my Lord of Canterbury. "That is not so," quoth the Bishop