ENGLAND UNDER HENRY VIII

gave the King the title of Defender of the

Faith. The King and Cardinal also issued

flaming warnings to the people not to read

Luther's books, on pain of excommunica-

tion. But they did read them for all that; and

the rumour of what was in them spread far

and wide.

When this great change was thus going

on, the King began to show himself in his

truest and worst colours. Anne Boleyn, the pretty little girl who had gone abroad to France with her sister, was by this time grown up to be very

beautiful, and was one of the ladies in attendance on Queen Catherine. Queen Catherine was no longer young or pretty, and it is likely that she was not particularly good-tempered, having been always rather melan-choly, and having been made more so by deaths of four of her children when they were very young. So, the King fell in love with the fair Anne Boleyn. He wanted to get rid of his wife and marry Anne.

Queen Catherine had been the wife of

Henry's brother Arthur. So the King called

his favourite priests about him, and said

that he thought that it had not been lawful

for him to marry the Queen.

They answered that it was a serious busi-

ness, and perhaps the best way to make it

right, would be for His Majesty to be de-

vorced. That was the answer the King was

pleased with; so they all went to work.

Many intrigues and plots took place to

get this devorce. Finally, the Pope issueda commission to Cardinal Wolsey and Cardinal Campeggio (whom he sent over from Italy for the purpose), to try the whole case in England. It is supposed that Wolsey was the Queen's enemy, because she had reproved him for his manner of life. But, he did not at first know that the King wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, and when he did know it, he even went down on his knees, in the endeavour to dissuade him.

The Cardinals opened their court in the Convent of the Black friars, in