CHA P. great monarchies, and their frugal maxims in granting XXIX. money, the revenues of the princes were extremely narrow, and even the fmall armies, which they kept on 1525. foot, could not be regularly paid by them. The imperial forces, commanded by Bourbon, Pescara, and Lannoy, exceeded not twenty thousand men; they were the only body of troops maintained by the emperor (for he had not been able to levy any army for the invafion of France, either on the fide of Spain or Flanders.) Yet fo poor was that mighty monarch, that he could transmit no money for the payment of this army; and it was chiefly the hopes of fharing the plunder of the French camp, which had made them advance, and kept them to their standards. Had Francis raifed the fiege before their approach, and retired to Milan, they muft immediately have dif perfed themselves; and he had obtained a complete victory, without danger or bloodshed. But it was the character of this monarch, to become obftinate in proportion to the difficulties which he encountered; and having once faid, that he would take Pavia, or perish before it, he was refolved rather to endure the utmoft extremities than depart from this refolution. 25th Fe- The imperial generals, after cannonading the French bruary. camp for several days, at laft gave a general affault, and Battle of broke into the entrenchments. Leyva fallied from the Pavia,and town, and threw the befiegers into ftill greater confuficaptivity on. The Swiss infantry, contrary to their usual practice, of Francis. behaved in a daftardly manner, and deferted their poft. Francis's whole army was put to rout; and he himself, furrounded by his enemies, after fighting with heroic valour, and killing feven men with his own hand, was at laft obliged to furrender himself prifoner. Almost the whole army, full of nobility and brave officers, either perifhed by the fword, or were drowned in the river. The few, who escaped with their lives, fell into the hands of the enemy. The imperial generals had fo little authority over their own troops, even after this fignal victory, that Lannoy, apprehenfive left the Lanfquenets fhould feize Francis as fecurity for the pay due to them, immediately removed him from the camp, and fent him to Pizzighitone. And taking advantage of the terrors, which had seized the pope, the Florentines, the duke of Ferrara, and other Italian ftates, he obliged them, though fecretly fecretly enemies, to advance money for the fubfiftence of CHA P. his army. XXIX. THE emperor received this news by Pennalofa, who paffed through France, by means of a fafe-conduct, 1525. granted him by the captive king. The moderation, which he displayed on this occafion, had it been fincere, would have done him great honour. Inftead of rejoicing, he expreffed fympathy with Francis's ill fortune, and discovered his fente of those calamities, to which the greatest monarchs are expofed B. He refufed the city of Madrid permiffion to make any public expreffions of triumph; and faid that he reserved all his exultation, till he fhould be able to obtain some victory over the infidels. He fent orders to his frontier garrifons to commit no hoftilities upon France. He fpoke of concluding immediately a peace on reasonable terms. But all this feeming equity was only hypocrify, so much the more dangerous, as it was profound. And his fole occupation was the forming fchemes, how, from this great incident, he might draw the utmost advantage, and gratify that exorbitant ambition, by which, in all his actions, he was wholly governed. THE fame Pennalofa, in paffing through France, carried álio a letter from Francis to his mother, whom he had left regent, and who then refided at Lyons. It contained only thefe few words, Madam, all is loft, except our honour. The princefs was ftruck with the greatnefs of the calamity. She faw the kingdom without a sovereign, without an army, without generals, without money; furrounded on every hand by implacable and victorious enemies: And her fole refource, in her prefent diftreffes, were the hopes, which the entertained, of peace, and even of affiftance from the king of England. HAD the king entered into the war against France from any concerted political views, it is evident, that the victory of Pavia, and the captivity of Francis, were the moft fortunate incidents which could have befallen him, and the only ones which could render his fchemes effectual. While the war was carried on in the former feeble manner, without any decifive advantage, he might have been able to poffefs himself of fome frontier towns, or perhaps of a small territory, of which he could not have kept E 2 poffeffion, Vera, hift. de Charl V. CHA P. poffeffion, without expending much more than its value. XXIX. By fome fignal calamity alone, which annihilated the power of France, could he hope to acquire the domi1525. nion of confiderable provinces, or difmember that great monarchy, so affectionate to its own government and its own fovereigns. But as it is probable, that Henry had never before carried his reflections fo far; he was startled at this important event, and became fenfible of his own darger, as well as that of all Europe, from the lofs of a proper counterpoife to the power of Charles. Henry em- Instead of taking advantage, therefore, of the diftreffed braces the condition of France, he was determined to lend her asalliance of fiftance in her prefent calamities; and as the glory of France. generofity, in raifing a fallen enemy, concurred with hist political interefts, he hesitated the lefs in embracing these new measures. SOME difgufts also had previoufly taken place between Charles and Henry, and ftill more between Charles and Wolfey; and that powerful minifter waited only for a favourable opportunity of revenging the disappointments which he had met with. The behaviour of Charles, immediately after the victory of Pavia, gave him occafion to revive the king's jealousy and fufpicions of his ally. The emperor fupported fo ill the appearance of moderation, which he at firft affumed, that he had already changed his usual style to Henry; and instead of writing to him with his own hand, and fubfcribing himself your affectionate fon and coufin; he dictated his letters to his fecretary, and fimply fubfcribed himself Charles C. Wolfey alfo perceived a diminution in the careffes and profeffions, with which the emperor's letters to him were usually loaded; and this laft imprudence, proceeding from the intoxication of fuccefs, was probably more dangerous to Charles's interefts than the other. HENRY, though immediately determined to embrace new measures, was careful to fave appearances in the change; and he caufed rejoicings to be every where made on account of the victory of Pavia, and the captivity of Francis. He publicly difmiffed a French envoy, whom he had formerly allowed, notwithstanding the war, to refide at London D: But upon the regent of France's fubmiffive Guicciardini, lib. 16. P. 221. Du Bellay, liv. iii. Stowe, 1525. fubmiffive application to him, he again opened a corref- CHA P. pondence with her; and besides affuring her of his friend- XXIX. fhip and protection, he exacted a promife, that she never would confent to the difmembering any province of the monarchy for her fon's ransom. With the emperor, however, he put on the appearance of vigour and enterprize; and in order to have a pretence for breaking with him, he dispatched Tonftal, bishop of London, to Madrid, with proposals for a powerful invafion of France. He required, that Charles fhould immediately enter Guienne at the head of a great army, in order to put him in poffeffion of that province; and he demanded the payment of large fums of money, which that prince had borrowed from him in his laft vifit at London. He knew, that the emperor was in no condition of fulfilling either of these demands; and that he had as little inclination to make him mafter of fuch confiderable territories upon the frontiers of Spain. TONSTAL likewife, after his arrival at Madrid, informed his matter, that Charles, on his part, wanted not complaints against England; and in particular was dif pleased with Henry, because last year he had neither continued his monthly payments to Bourbon, nor invaded Picardy, according to his ftipulations; that, inftead of expreffing his intentions to efpoufe Mary, when she fhould be marriageable, he had hearkened to proposals, for marrying his niece Ifabella, princess of Portugal; and that he had entered into a feparate treaty with Francis, and feemed determined to reap alone all the advantages of the fuccefs, with which fortune had crowned his arms. THE king, influenced by all these motives, concluded 30th Aug. at Moore his alliance with the regent of France, and engaged to procure her fon his liberty on reasonable conditions: The regent alfo, in another treaty, acknowledged the kingdom to be Henry's debtor for one million eight hundred thousand crowns, to be discharged in half yearly payments of fifty thousand crowns: After which, Henry was to receive, during his own life, a yearly pension of a hundred thousand crowns. Notwithstanding his generofity, he could not forbear taking advantage of the cala, mitous fituation of France, in order to exact this lucrative E Du Tillet, Recueil des Traites de Leonard, tom. 2. Herbert. CHA P. tive condition from her. A large prefent of a hundred XXIX. thousand crowns was alfo made to Wolfey, for his good offices, but covered under the pretence of arrears due on 1525. the penfion granted him for relinquishing the adminiftration of Tournay. MEANWHILE, as Henry forefaw, that this treaty with France might involve him in a war with the emperor, he was alto determined to fill his treasury by impofitions upon his own fubjects; and as the parliament had difcovered fome reluctance in complying with his demands, he followed the advice of Wolley, and refolved to make ufe of his prerogative alone for that purpose. He iffued tents of the out commiffions to all the counties of England, for levyEnglife. ing four shillings in the pound from the clergy, three fhil Discon lings and four pence from the laity, and fo uncontroulablė did he deem his authority, that he took no care to cover, as formerly, this arbitrary exa&tion, even under the flender pretence of a loan. But he foon found, that he had prefumed too far on the paffive fubmiffion of his fubjects. The people, displeased with an exaction beyond what was usually levied in thofe days, and farther disgusted with the illegal method of imposing it, broke out in murmurs, complaints, oppofition to the commiffioners; and their refractory difpofition even threatened a general infurrection. Henry had the prudence to stop short, in that dangerous path, into which he had entered. He fent letters to all the counties; declaring, that he meant no force by this laft impofition, and that he would take nothing of his fubjects but by way of benevolence. He flattered himself, that this condefcenfion in employing that difguife would fatisfy the people, and that no one would dare render himfelf obnoxious to royal authority, by refufing any payment required of him in this manner; But the fpirit of oppofition was once roufed, and could not fo eafily be quieted at pleasure. A lawyer in the city objecting the ftatute of Richard the third, by which benevolences were for ever abolished, it was replied by the court, that Richard being an ufurper, and his parliaments factious affemblies, his ftatutes could not bind a lawful and abfolute monarch, who held his crown by hereditary right, and need not to court the favour of a licentious populace. The judges even went fo far as to : F Herbert. Hall. affirm |