the only woman who had ever really loved him—had impressed his egotistic mind with such a notion of the supreme preciousness of his person, that he expected a great struggle now with Anne in giving him up; and when he found that, so far from this, Anne surrendered him, not only freely, but with unmistakable satisfaction, he could scarcely believe his own ears.
He did not, however, neglect to take some revenge upon her, by compelling her to sign a declaration that the marriage had never been consummated, and to write a letter to her brother, expressing her entire consent to and satisfaction with the arrangement; and, moreover, in writing to the members of his privy council, who managed these matters betwixt himself and Anne, of her womanishness, and being a mere woman, and the like language, which he was very fond of applying to ladies. He had talked of Anne Boleyn being "only a woman;" and he now stated to these commissioners from the council that Anne's letter to her brother must be made stronger than she had first written it; for, unless this was the case, "all shall remain uncertain upon a woman's promise;" and care must be taken "that she will be no woman,—the accomplishment whereof on her behalf is as difficult in the refraining of a woman's will, upon occasion, as in changing her womanish nature, which is impossible."
All this was but to soothe his own mortified vanity, for Anne showed them that she was only too glad to escape from him without the loss of her head. On a present of £500 being sent to her, she not only signed a paper promising all this, but drew off her wedding-ring, and sent it back to him, with a complaisant letter in German, the substance of which the commissioners explained to him. Cranmer was then called upon to pronounce the divorce—the third which he had to pronounce in less than seven years, so that well might the French ambassador write to Francis, "The king is a marvellous man, and hath marvellous people about him." All this being done, the commissioners proceeded to Richmond, on the 17th of July, with the king's warrant, to break up Anne's household as queen, and to introduce the establishment prepared for her as the Lady Anne of Cleves, and the king's adopted sister.
Anne went through the whole with the best possible grace. She took a kind leave of her old servants, and pleasantly welcomed the new ones. She repeated her great obligations to the king, and, as if to give him back his phrases about "womanishness," she bade the commissioners assure him that "she would be found no woman by inconstancy and mutability, though all the world should move her to the contrary, neither her mother, brother, nor any other person living." There was, in fact, no fear of Anne changing, for she must have despised and loathed Henry's character as much as he could dislike her person, and her whole life after showed how entirely satisfied she was with the change. Anne's brother, however, the Duke of Cleves, was excessively incensed at the divorce, and seemed resolved to create for Henry trouble about it; but Anne wrote to induce him to take the matter calmly, saying she "was merry, and honourably treated, and had written him her mind in all things." But at the end of her letter, as if fearing that her brother might do something to raise the terrible ire of her amiable adopted brother, she added, "Only this I require of you, that you so conduct yourself as, for your untowardness in this matter, I fare not the worse, whereunto I trust you will have regard." That care was necessary she had at once a striking example, for, within a fortnight of her divorce, she saw both Cromwell and Dr. Barnes, who had been the principal agents in her marriage, sent, one to the block, and the other to the flames. Her brother, though he kept quiet, never would admit the invalidity of the marriage.
Anne received some of the spoils of the fallen Cromwell in different estates which were made over to her for life, including Denham Hall, in Essex. She resided principally at her palace of Richmond, and at Ham House; but we find her living at different times at Bletchingley, Hever Castle, Penshurst, and Dartford. Though she was queen only about six mouths, she continued to live in England for seventeen years—seeing two queens after her, and Edward VI. and Queen Mary on the throne—greatly honoured by all who knew her, and much beloved by both the princesses Mary and Elizabeth. Not in seventeen years, but in sixteen months, she saw the fall and tragedy of the queen who supplanted her, so that one of her maids of honour, Elizabeth Bassett, could not help exclaiming at the news, "What a man the king is! How many wives will he have?" For which very natural expression the poor girl was very near getting into trouble. As for Anne herself, she appeared quite a new woman when she had got clear of her terrible and coarse-minded tyrant, so that the French ambassador, Marillac, wrote to his master that "Madame of Cleves has a more joyous countenance than over. She wears a great variety of dresses, and passes all her time in sports and recreations." No sooner was she divorced than Henry paid her a visit, and was so delighted by her pleasant and respectful reception of him, that he supped with her merrily, and not only went often again to see her, but invited her to Hampton, whither she went, not at all troubling herself that another was acting the queen.
Anne's marriage was annulled by Parliament on the 9th of July, and on the 8th of August Catherine Howard appeared at Court as the acknowledged queen. For twelve months all went on well, and the king repeatedly declared that he had never been happy in love or matrimony till now; that the queen was the most perfect of women, and the most affectionate of wives. To gratify his new queen, and to accomplish some objects of importance, Henry this summer made a progress into the north, and took Catherine with him. One object was to judge for himself of the state of the northern counties where the late insurrections, in behalf of the old religion had broken out. He promised himself that his presence would intimidate the disaffected; that he should be able to punish those who remained troublesome, and make all quiet; but still more was he anxious for an interview with his nephew, James V. of Scotland. The principles of the Reformation had been making rapid progress in that country, and the fires of persecution had been lit up by the clergy. Patrick Hamilton, a young man of noble family, who had imbibed the new doctrines abroad, and Friar Forrest, a zealous preacher of the same, had suffered at the stake. But far more dangerous to the stability of the Catholic Church, there was the fact that the Scottish nobility, poor and ambitious, had learned a significant
