1515, Wolsey was, in many respects, almost as much at the head of the Government as the King himself. Honours and riches, to which he by no means shewed himself indifferent, accrued to him in rapid succession and in great abundance; in 1514 he became Archbishop of York; in 1515 Cardinal; in 1516 the Pope's Legate; and his revenues from so many places, ecclesiastical preferments, presents and pensions (3) from foreign powers, rose to an amount till then unknown.

Out of this revenue he defrayed his extraordinary large expenditure, maintained a splendid retinue, was charitable to the poor, encouraged the sciences, and founded Colleges in Ipswich and Oxford; he was fond of having men of learning about him, and the ablest among those who afterwards became Officers of State were trained by him. He proved himself equal to the Office of Chancellor, which he also received from the hands of the King, and exercised strict justice against thieves and robbers, and no less against the arbitrary conduct of the rich and great. By this he became at first odious to the latter, and afterwards, by favouring the King's mode of taxation, to the people; and it was said of him, he is affable only to his inferiors, proud and arrogant to equals and superiors, prepossessed in favour of his own opinions, equivocal in words, not to be depended upon in his promises, liberal from vanity, blameable in his connections

with the other sex. He everywhere displays his natural superiority with such ostentation, that one is compelled to think of the meanness of his origin; and notwithstanding the agreeableness of his manners, the last polish is wanting. These complaints were even now not entirely concealed from the King, but it was a matter of importance in his eyes to maintain a favourite who was entirely devoted to him. Besides, there was not among Wolsey's adversaries any one capable of filling his place as a Statesman.

The measures which were adopted even in his time with respect to the foreign relations of the kingdom, have indeed been severely blamed; but, on the one hand, they cannot be ascribed exclusively to Wolsey; and, on the other, they may be more easily justified than much that was done afterwards, when vanity, passion, predilection, and hatred, often influenced the King. For instance, at the time when England took part in the first war of Charles V. against Francis, the latter appeared to many to be the aggressor, and the more dangerous; while others were of opinion that it would be more easy to obtain some concessions from him; thus conflicting views confirmed the avaricious monarch in the plan of assisting Charles. According to the treaty concluded between them, it was stipulated that neither party should make peace without the consent of the other, and that

any dispute between the Allies should be settled by Wolsey, as Papal Legate. All the Scotch and French who were in England at the breaking out of the war were deprived of their property, a white cross was affixed to their clothes, and they were banished the country.

The war might have been carried on with greater spirit and success, had not the extravagance of the King exhausted the treasures accumulated by his father. A tax which he imposed, under the palliating name of a loan, gave rise to so many complaints, and brought in so little money, that he was obliged to call a Parliament, and lay his wants before it. It was resolved that every person whose property exceeded 50%. should pay, by fixed instalments, and in an increasing proportion, according to his property, so much per cent. But as even this was not sufficient, the King levied in one year, what ought to have been paid in four, and, contrary to the law, included also those whose property was not above 407. Although the Parliament passed over in silence these and similar infringements upon the rights of the people, the King was nevertheless so much dissatisfied with it, that he did not assemble another Parliament for seven years. Many complained that the Cardinal Legate urged such violent measures, in reliance on the protection of his ecclesiastical dignity; but as the whole Privy Council had sanctioned them,

it would be unjust to throw all the blame upon him. Even the Clergy, after a very energetic reprimand, were now likewise induced to vote a grant, and as they politely expressed themselves, for the very learned and never to be too highly praised book by which he had overthrown the Lutheran heresy.

This work, on the Seven Sacraments, the King had presented to the Pope on the 10th of October, 1521. As a reward for this service, and perhaps no less because in the Treaty with Charles V. he had got the condition inserted, “That the rights of the Pope should in no way be abridged," the King received from Leo X. the title of Defender of the Faith, and Wolsey, in conformity to the Papal directions, (5) adopted the most rigorous measures against the followers of Luther and the diffusion of his writings. Such ready compliance, probably, induced Clement VII. in 1524, to consent to the suppression of certain Monasteries, the income of which, altogether, was 3000 ducats. The Monks were placed in other Monasteries, and Wolsey conscientiously employed the money for ecclesiastical purposes, particularly for the foundation of institutions for the education of learned Divines, who might successfully encounter the innovators.

Dangerous plans into which the Duke of Buckingham had suffered himself to be misled, by

soothsaying, were discovered, and he himself executed on the 17th of May, 1521, having been declared guilty by four and twenty Lords. (6) Far more important consequences arose from the change of the foreign relations.

Wolsey found himself twice disappointed in his hope (7) of being elevated to the Papal chair, namely, after the death of Leo X. and Adrian VI., and laid the blame, though erroneously, chiefly upon the Emperor. Their friendship, already so diminished on this account, was entirely broken by the battle of Pavia; but the English were dissatisfied with the new alliance with France, and with the war against Charles, partly because the brisk trade with the Netherlands was thereby interrupted; and partly because Henry, in order to defray the increased expenditure, again levied taxes by his own authority: when, on complaints being made, he changed the name of his demands, and called them benevolencies; it was answered, that these also were prohibited by Richard III.; but Henry affirmed that the resolutions of that Usurper could not bind a legal, unlimited Sovereign; and the Judges, as well as the Privy Council, declared that the King had the right to levy any sum at his pleasure. Those who resisted were compelled to obey, and it was not till Henry ordered, in the year 1526, without the consent of Parliament, that the Laity should pay a sixth, the Clergy a fourth part of