him to proceed further. Upon which he added, 'Se vidisse Cæsarem obstupefactmn.' 'I write the words,' continued Sir Gregory, 'exactly as the Pope related them to me. Whether he really spoke in this way, I cannot tell; of this, however, I am sure, that on the day of our conversation he had taken the blessed sacrament. He assured me further, that he had laboured to induce the Emperor to permit him to satisfy your Majesty. I recommended him that when next the Emperor spoke with him upon the subject, he should enter at greater length on the question of justice, and that some other person should be present at the conference, that there might be no room left for suspicion.'[1]
The manner of Clement was so unlike what Cassalis had been in the habit of witnessing in him, that he was unable, as we see, wholly to persuade himself that the change was sincere: the letter, however, was despatched to England, and was followed in a few days by Bonner, who brought with him the result of the Pope's good will in the form of definite propositions—instructions of similar purport having been forwarded at the same time to the Papal nuncio in England. The Pope, so Henry was informed, was now really well disposed to do what was required; he had urged upon the Emperor the necessity of concessions, and the cause might be settled in one of two ways, to either of which he was himself ready to consent. Catherine had appealed against judgment
- ↑ Sir Gregory Cassalis to the King: Rolls House MS., endorsed by Henry, Litteræ in Pontificis dicta declaratoriæ quæ maxime causam nostram probant.
