derstand that the prince of Wales, the king of Great Britain's son, is lately arrived there, carried with a hope of catholic marriage. Our desire is that he should not stay in vain in the courts of those to whom the defence of the pope's authority, and care of advancing religion, hath procured the renowned name of catholic. Wherefore, by apostolic letters, we exhort his catholic majesty that he would gently endeavour sweetly to reduce the prince to the obedience of the Roman church, to which the ancient kings of Great Britain have, with Heaven's approbation, submitted their crowns and sceptres. Now, to the attaining of this victory, which to the conquered promiseth triumphs and principalities of heavenly felicity, we need not exhaust the king's treasures, nor levy armies of furious soldiers, but we must fetch from heaven the armour of light, whose divine splendour may allure the prince's eye, and gently expel all errors from his mind. Now, in the managing of these businesses, what power and art you have, we have well known long ago; wherefore, we wish you to go like a religious counsellor to the catholic king, and to try all ways which, by this present occasion, may benefit the kingdom of Britain and the church of Rome. The matter is of great weight and moment, and therefore not to be amplified with words. Whoever shall inflame the mind of this royal youth with the love of the catholic religion, and breed a hate in him of heretical impiety, shall begin to open the kingdom of heaven to the prince of Britain, and to gain the kingdom of Britain to the apostolic see."
It was easy to foresee that this absurd journey would lead to these determined attempts to regain the rich islands of Great Britain to the catholic church. The catholics everywhere regarded the rupture to have been occasioned by Henry VIII.'s protestant marriage, and nothing appeared so likely as that a catholic marriage would heal it. It was not so easy to foresee that Charles, at the age of twenty-three, should so consummately act the hypocrite. He wrote to the pope, in reply to a most gracious and paternal letter from his holiness, calling him "Most Holy Father," telling him how much he deplored the division of the churches, and longed to restore union. Gregory was dead before this extraordinary epistle arrived at Rome, but Urban VIII., the new pope, lifted up his hands in joyful astonishment on reading it, and "gave thanks to the Father of Mercies, that on the very entrance of his reign a British prince performed this kind of obeisance to the pope of Rome." Having apparently so favourable a subject to operate upon, Olivarez now told Charles that the treaty entered into through the earl of Bristol had been rather for show than use, and that now, as the prince and his able adviser were there themselves, they would make a real and effective compact. Accordingly, in spite of the strenuous remonstrances of the two British ambassadors against re-opening the question already settled, Charles and Buckingham permitted it; and the Spanish minister found little difficulty in introducing several new and more favourable clauses. There was, in fact, a public and a private treaty agreed to. By the public one the marriage was to be celebrated in Spain, and afterwards in England; the children were to remain in the care of their mother till ten years of age; the Infanta was to have an open church and chapel for the free exercise of her religion. and her chaplains were to be Spaniards under the control of their own bishops. By the private treaty it was engaged that the penal laws against catholics should be suspended; that catholic worship should be freely performed in private houses; that no attempts should be made to seduce the princess from her hereditary faith; and that the king should swear to obtain the repeal of the penal statutes by parliament.
When this treaty was sent home, James was struck with consternation. He had pledged himself to Charles and Buckingham not to communicate any of their proceedings to the council; but the present responsibility was over-whelming, and he therefore opened his difficulty to the council. After making what the secretary of the council calls "a most sad, fatherly, kind, wise, pious, manly, stout speech as ever was heard," the lords of the council came to the conclusion, though reluctantly, and with fear, that the prince's honour must be maintained, and the oath to keep the treaty taken. This, however, was only the public treaty; James kept the private one to himself, and swore to it separately.
Having got the English court, as they supposed, thus secured, both the pope and the Spaniard raised their heads still higher, and showed that they meant to exact the utmost possible concession. In Spain the papal dispensation for the marriage was already in the hands of the nuncio, but he refused to deliver it till the king of England, according to his oath, had obtained the repeal of the penal statutes by parliament; whilst in England James refused to go a step further till the marriage was celebrated, and the first installment of the dower paid. When the king's resolve was known, it was conceded that the marriage should at once take place, but that the princess and the dower should remain in Spain till the stipulated indulgence to the English catholics was obtained from parliament. James refused this, and sent word that the marriage must be celebrated and the prince bring home his bride, or come without the wedding: this brought the Spaniards down a little. The ambassadors in London assured James that a royal proclamation would satisfy them; but he replied that a proclamation without the added sanction of parliament was no law; that, however, he would issue an order for catholic indulgence under the great seal. This they were obliged to be satisfied with; but when it came to the lord-keeper Williams, he refused to put the great seal to it, as a most dangerous act, without precedent.
As there was no prospect of a speedy settlement, Charles, who had probably grown tired of a princess surrounded by such a hedge of difficulties and delays, desired his father to send him an order for his recall. It would appear as if the prince had planned the mode of his retreat, for the preparations for the marriage of the Infanta went on, on the understanding that she was to continue in Spain till spring. James was apparently occupied in preparing grand wedding presents for the bride, and a small fleet to bring her home. This, if carried out, must have been very onerous to him; for he had made already doleful representations to Charles and Buckingham, of the exhaustion of his treasury by his remittance of five thousand pounds, and three, thousand pounds for their "tilting stuff," &c. At
