CHAPTER X.

THE CONSPIRACY.

IN 1533, AFTER THE CORONATION of Anne, the discontented elements of the nation had been scattered and unorganised; and before they had had time to coalesce, Cromwell's quick hand had carried the principal July, measures of the government. But at the trial of Lord Dacres the peers had become aware of their own strength; they had learned that they were nearly all secretly disaffected, and that the crown would not easily obtain from them a verdict against any member of their order. Knowing this, they grew bolder; they opened their minds to one another, and looked about for remedies for the maladies of the time.

The lords having numerous adherents among the gentry, they very easily formed a strong party of resistance. As early as the 17th of September, 1534, Eustache Chapuis received a message from two rich and influential gentlemen, who, afraid of exciting suspicion, would not come to his house, but asked him to meet them as if by chance at an appointed place in the fields. The ambassador went, and they openly told him that they wanted the emperor's help against the tyranny of the king. Several ladies, thinking that their movements were less watched, dared to go to the ambassador's house, and brought Chapuis the same request in their own and in their husbands' names. So strong were the feelings of these fair plotters that one of them, a lady of high rank, forgot all prudence. She threw herself on her knees before Chapuis, and implored him to obtain the emperor's aid. Happily for her, her gentlewomen and the servants of Chapuis stood far off, and although they saw her kneel they could not hear what she said.

A week later a person of very considerable importance appeared on the scene, and communicated with Chapuis. This was Lord Hussey, who until 1533 had been lord chamberlain to the Princess Mary. He owned very large estates in the midland counties, and had considerable influence at court. He now sent word that before leaving town he washed privately to speak with the ambassador. To prevent suspicion they had only a short conference, Hussey briefly stating that most of the nobility were extremely dissatisfied with the government, that they had consulted together, and that they wished to be assisted by imperial troops in forcing Henry to dismiss Anne, and to give up the course he was pursuing. For further particulars he referred Chapuis to Lord Darcy, another member of the conspiracy.

The ambassador, eager to know the whole business, sent on the following day a confidential agent to Darcy, who immediately disclosed their designs at greater length. In the northern counties alone, he said, there were already sixteen earls and barons, who in this matter were all of the same opinion. If the emperor sent men of war and a few troops to the mouth of the Thames, and if a band of good hack-butters, some experienced officers and a supply of arms and ammunition were landed in the north, the lords would rise against the king. They would unfurl the imperial standard, adding a crucifix to it. Their forces were already considerable-Darcy himself undertook to raise eight thousand men-and many others would certainly join them. Of his associates Darcy named but two, the Earl of Derby and Lord Dacres of Greystock, the peer who had just been acquitted of a charge of high treason. Of possible opponents in the north, Darcy knew of none except the Earl of Northumberland; and he might be easily arrested, as he had no following, and his own servants would not support him. Charles was advised to befriend James V. of Scotland, who secretly aspired to the hand of his cousin, Princess Mary; and the intention of the conspirators seems to have been to proclaim James and Mary under the auspices of the emperor as feudal overlord. According to Darcy, they had no doubt of success.

The communication was so important, the details given by Darcy seemed so likely to be accurate, that Chapuis wrote at once to the emperor to ask for instructions. He did not venture to offer an opinion directly, but he clearly showed that he thought the plan feasible; and he was persuaded that if it could be carried out it would be of the greatest advantage.

Charles V. Charles received the ambassador's letter just after the Count of Nassau had been despatched to the French court. From a simply political point of view, the offer was tempting enough, since it might enable the emperor to obtain a firm footing in England, and secure for him a strong alliance against France. It had also a most seductive aspect for Charles's fancy. He was the last emperor who seriously thought of regaining the power that had been wielded by Charles the Great. He dreamt of being recognised as the supreme lord of the western world, of establishing that monarchy which Dante had praised, which was to heal all wounds and strife, and to extend the rule of Christendom over the whole earth. Two kingdoms had been foremost among those which had refused to submit to the authority of the Kaiser-France and England. Long ago an English king had been obliged to take an oath of fealty to the emperor, but Richard I. had forgotten his promises as soon as he had recovered his liberty, and they had been wholly disregarded by his successors. For more than three centuries no emperor had pretended to exercise power in England, and only a few forms remained to remind the curious and the learned of the ancient tie.

But now the English nobles, writhing under the tyranny of Henry, appealed to the emperor. Admitting their dependence upon him, they wished to legalise their rising by fealty to the higher lord, and offered to unfurl his standard. The English leopards were to be superseded by the Roman eagle, the imperial power in England was to become a reality. It was a splendid prospect, and the resolution to turn from it must have cost Charles V. a bitter pang. But dreamer as the emperor was, he was also a keen and farsighted politician. For the present, with Soliman, Barbarossa, and Francis I. threatening him, he could not wish for a rising which might prove the signal for general war. He wanted to fight Barbarossa separately, and for that purpose it was necessary to have peace with France, which rebellion in England would render impossible. So the English were to wait until Tunis was taken.

Chapuis was ordered to give general assurances of good will, and to remain in communication with Hussey, Darcy, and their confederates, but not to go any further. He was directed, too, to obtain information about Reginald Pole, regarding whom the emperor had lately received a report from Venice, describing him as a person of some importance. With this part of his instructions Chapuis easily complied. Reginald was closely related to Lord Abergavenny, the ambassador's old friend, to the Earl of Westmoreland, and to Lord Latimer; and his mother, Countess of Salisbury in her own right, had been the governess of the princess and was universally respected and admired. Lord Montague, the elder brother of Reginald, and Sir Geoffrey Pole, his younger brother, had already communicated with Chapuis, and were ready to fight for Mary; and Chapuis thought that if a rising took place, and if imperial troops were sent to support it, his presence would add considerably to the popularity of the insurrection.

Chapuis received his instructions at a moment when it seemed as if no rising would be necessary to drive Anne from power; for during the few weeks which had elapsed between the despatch of his letter and the arrival of Charles's reply, the conservative party had gained an important ally. In the spring of 1534 Henry had already shown signs of being weary of the woman he now called his wife. Eighteen months of possession were a long time for so fickle a lover, and he had begun to pay marked attention to a young and very handsome lady at court. Who she was I have not been able to discover; neither Chapuis nor the French ambassador mention her name in the despatches which have been preserved. The only thing certain is, that she was not Anne's later rival, Jane Seymour.

Henry's affection for Anne had seemed to revive when she had led him to believe that there was again a chance of his having a male heir; but when she was obliged to confess that she had been mistaken he returned to the young lady, and paid court to her in a more public manner than ever. Anne became very angry, and in her bold and overbearing way tried to send her rival away from court. But she presumed too much on Henry's weakness, overlooking the fact that she had no authority except what she derived from the influence she exerted over him. As soon as he heard of her attempt to interfere with his amours, he sent her a most insulting message, informing her that she had good reason to be content with what he had done for her, because if it were still to be done he would not do it. Let her, he said, remember where she had come from, and not be overbearing.

The new favourite proved to be a strong adherent of Catherine; and she went so far as to send a message to Mary to be of good cheer, for things might change very soon. Whenever she could, she would do her best to serve the princess.

In proportion as the power of the lady increased, that of Anne decreased; and the courtiers, ever ready to abandon a falling favourite, were eager to desert Anne, whom most of them hated. They soon had an opportunity of showing how little they really cared for her. In October Mary and little Elizabeth were taken to Richmond from the More, where they had been spending the autumn, and where Mary had been visited by the gentry of the neighbourhood. When they...