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316 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. beheading" of a second, and the speedy death of his third, not even a throne could tempt a princess of any pretensions to accept the hand of the tyrant, now no longer young. He had tried all his eloquence in vain at the French court, and the witty Duchess Dowager of Milan had refused with the very natural but cutting remark, that "she had but one head, and could not afford to lose it !" Cromwell in a luckless hour for himself, proposed the Princess Anne of Cleves, and Henry having yielded a ready assent, a treaty was entered into with Duke John. Many impediments however delaying the con- clusion of this, it was finally arranged by Duke William, Anne's brother, after his father's death, in spite of the strong opposi- tion raised by the Elector of Saxony who had married her sister Sybilla. Although policy was the basis of this marriage, the ideas of Henry relative to the sex were so peculiarly delicate, that he was excessively desirous to behold the object of his choice, and Hans Holbein was appointed to paint the portrait of Anne to satisfy his curiosity. This minature was enclosed in a box of ivory, delicately carved, in the form of a white rose. It unscrewed in two places ; in one of which appeared the por- trait of Henry, and in the other that of Anne of Cleves. Both box and minatures were exquisite works of art, and they are still preserved at Goodrich Court, in the collection of articles of high historic value made by the late Sir Samuel Meyrick. A tall robust woman had been portrayed to the mind of the English king as his future wife;, and no sooner had he beheld the portrait than he gave orders for Anne instantly to com- mence her journey to England. It is impossible to describe in the narrow limits here allotted, the royal progress of the princess from Dusseldorf. Anne quitted her native city of Dusseldorf in the month of October, 1539. She traveled on the first day as far as Berg, a distance of twenty English miles ; her next stage was from Berg to Cleve, thence to Ravenstein. after that to Berlingburg, Tilburg, Haggenstrete, and then to Antwerp, at which place four miles from the town, she was met by many English merchants attired in velvet coats with chains of gold. On entering the town itself, Anne, was received "with twice fourscore torches, beginning in the day- light," and so brought to her English lodging, where she was honorably received, and open house kept for he: and for her train during one day. The following morning she was