Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 26.djvu/85

 and imperialists were marching steadily upon Milan, and the French shut the gates in alarm. But the needy Maximilian, who had been trying to get the pay of the Swiss into his own hands, plainly told the English agents, Pace and Wingfield, on Easter Tuesday (25 March), that he must desist from the enterprise, as he could not give the Swiss in his own service their stipulated pay until the king's money should come. Regardless of his honour he recrossed the Adda and retired towards Germany, still pretending the utmost desire to prosecute the war, and even extorting sixty thousand florins from Pace on threat that he would otherwise be driven to make terms with France. The king, however, by Wolsey's advice, determined to overlook these irregularities and keep Maximilian still his friend without allowing him to dispose of his money further.

On 18 Feb. 1516 was born Mary, the only child of Henry's first marriage who survived infancy. On 3 May he met his sister Margaret, queen of Scots, at Tottenham, when she came to seek refuge at his court, after having been driven out of Scotland. She remained in England till May following, when an arrangement was made for her return to Scotland on condition that she took no part in the government.

In the same year (1516) Charles, prince of Castile, had become king of Spain by the death of Ferdinand, and, though anxious to keep on the best possible terms with England, negotiated secretly with Francis the treaty of Noyon. Maximilian in all his intercourse with England had professed himself anxious to avert this result, and to make his grandson Charles a party to the league against France. For this purpose he promised to come down to the Low Countries and remove the evil councillors who were leading his grandson Charles astray. He would meet Henry there and do everything to satisfy him; he would even resign the imperial crown to him (he had previously offered him the duchy of Milan); only he must have a little money for his journey. Henry cared little for these wild proposals, and he had not intended to give the emperor any money; but the latter, by acting on the weakness of the English ambassador Wingfield, contrived to divert to his own use some that had been destined for the Swiss. Henry, however, felt it important still to keep him in good humour, and even after the treaty of Noyon was concluded gave a willing reception to the cardinal of Sion, whom Maximilian sent to England in October, though the object of his mission was evidently to extract further contributions lest Verona should fall into the hands of the French. Sion's unblushing effrontery seems, once at least, to have made Wolsey intensely angry, but he was successful in obtaining forty thousand crowns for his master. By this Maximilian and Margaret of Savoy were so encouraged that they made yet further attempts on Henry's pocket later in the year, even when Maximilian himself had accepted the treaty of Noyon, and had surrendered Verona to the French for two hundred thousand ducats. But Henry was not so much deceived as he appeared to be. He accepted Maximilian's threadbare excuses, and appeared still to be on the best of terms with him, with the result that he brought the emperor into suspicion with his new ally Francis, and into contempt with the councillors of his grandson, Charles of Castile, who soon learned to look on Henry rather than Francis as their friend, and were able next year through his aid to secure their master in peaceful possession of his new kingdom.

In 1517 occurred the riot of Evil May-day in London. Henry was much displeased that none of the more substantial men of the city had interfered to stop the violence done to foreigners, and severely censured the city authorities for their remissness, while, at the same time, he pardoned all the rioters except one. The prisoners, over four hundred in number, were brought before him in Westminster Hall, with halters round their necks, and were told by Wolsey that they had merited death, but the lords interceded for them and they were pardoned. In the following summer the country suffered severely from the ravages of the sweating sickness, and the king passed about from place to place with few attendants to escape the danger.

In 1518 the pope sent Cardinal Campeggio to England as legate with a view to raising contributions for a crusade against the Turks. He was not admitted into the kingdom, however, until the pope had made Wolsey joint legate with him, after which he was received in great state. In September a great embassy arrived from France, and a peace was arranged with provisions for the re-delivery of Tournay, and for the marriage of the dauphin and the Princess Mary. Again the most cordial relations were established with France, and the renewal of the amity was celebrated with banquetings and rejoicings. For two years or more the two kings were to all appearance very good friends.

There was none the less a wide diversity of aim between them in European politics. The Emperor Maximilian died in January 1519, and his grandson, Charles of Castile, became at once a candidate for the succession. But Francis I was a formidable