Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 3.djvu/270

250 step which would undo their victory in Parliament. The occasion was not allowed to cool. Parliament was prorogued on the 11th of May, with an intimation from the Crown that the religious question was not to be regarded as finally settled. The treaty with Cleves was so far advanced on the 17th of July that Lord Hertford was able to congratulate Cromwell on the consent of Anne's brother and mother. The lady had been previously intended for a son of a Duke of Lorraine; and Henry, whom experience had made anxious, was alarmed at the name of a 'pre-contract.' But Dr Wotton, who was sent over to arrange the preliminaries, and was instructed to see the difficulty cleared, was informed and believed that the engagement had never advanced to a form which brought with it legal obligations, and that Anne was at liberty to marry wherever she pleased. Of her personal attractions