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 were false and malicious. So far from wishing to injure England, the Emperor wished to help and support it, and could not believe that he would ever be obliged to act otherwise; and as to consenting to the divorce, if the Pope declared for it he would submit to the Pope's judgment; otherwise the world would not turn him from the path which he meant to follow. He was acting as the King's best friend, as the King would acknowledge if he could forget his passion for the Lady and consider seriously his relations with the Emperor. He begged the Council, therefore, to prevent such rumours from being circulated if they did not wish Chapuys to contradict them himself.

The Ambassador was keeping within the truth when he said that Charles was not meditating war. Chapuys's instructions when first sent to England had been not to make matters worse than they were, not to threaten war, nor to imply in any way that there was danger of war. He had himself, however, insisted that there was no alternative. He had encouraged Catherine's friends with hope of eventual help, and continued to convey to the Emperor their passionate wish that "his Majesty's hand would soon reach England," before "the accursed woman" made an end of the Queen and of them—to tell him that, were his forces once on land, they might raise as many men as they pleased, and the London citizens would stand by, "keep the enlistment money," and wait to see which party won. As long, however, as his master was undecided he would not, he said, take measures which would do no good, and only lead to inconvenience. He had merely given the Council "a piece of his