Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 2.djvu/24

4 was prepared to enforce the censures of the Church with the strong hand. It stood not 'with his honour to execute such censures,' he said, 'and the same not to be regarded.' But there was no wish to spare Henry; and if Francis could be detached from his ally, and if the condition of the rest of Christendom became such as to favour the enterprise, England might evidently look for the worst which the Pope, with the Catholic powers, could execute. If the Papal Court was roused into so menacing a mood by the mere intimation of the secret marriage, it was easy to foresee what would ensue when the news arrived of the proceedings at Dunstable. Bennet entreated that the process should be delayed till the interview; but the Pope answered coldly that he had done his best and could do no more; the Imperialists were urgent, and he saw no reason to refuse their petition. This was Clement's usual language, but there was something peculiar in his manner. He had been often violent, but he had never shown resolution, and the English agents were perplexed. The mystery was soon explained. He had secured himself on the side of France; and Francis, who at Calais had told Henry that his negotiations with the See of Rome were solely for the interests of England, that for Henry's sake he was marrying his son into a family beneath him in