Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 4.djvu/484

464 character had aimed at achievements beyond his ability. He had attempted the work of a giant with the strength of a woman, and in his failures he was passionate and unmanageable; while the princely name and the princely splendour which he affected, the vast fortune which he had amassed amidst the ruin of the national finances, and the palace which was rising before the eyes of the world amidst the national defeats and misfortunes, combined to embitter the irritation with which the council regarded him.

In the presence, therefore, of the fruits of Somerset's bad management, it is idle to look for the causes of his deposition from power in private intrigue or personal ambition. Both intrigue and ambition there may have been; but, assuredly, the remaining executors of the will of Henry VIII. would have been as negligent as Somerset was incapable, if they had allowed the interests of the nation to remain any longer in his hands. He had been sworn to act in no matter of importance without their advice and consent; he had acted alone—he had not sought their advice, and he would not listen to their remonstrances, and the consequences were before them. Warwick, Southampton, Russell, Herbert, St John, Arundel, Paget, might possibly govern no better, but they had not failed as yet, and Somerset had failed. Their advice, if taken in time, would have saved Boulogne and perhaps prevented the rebellion; and whether others were fit or unfit, the existing state of England was a fatal testimony of the incapacity of the Protector. The council therefore resolved to interfere.