Page:Public School History of England and Canada (1892).djvu/76

 were at the head of the Roman Catholic party. Cromwell, to strengthen the Protestant cause, made a match between Henry and the Princess Anne of Cleves, a German Protestant. In this way he hoped to bring the Protestant States of Germany into a closer alliance with England. Anne was very awkward and homely, and Henry, as soon as he saw her, took a strong dislike to her. In a few months he had put her away by a divorce, and had made Cromwell feel the fierceness of his disappointment and anger. Cromwell had so many enemies in the King’s council, that he knew his fate was sealed when the King deserted him. Charged with treason, he flung his cap on the ground, exclaiming, “This, then, is the guerdon for the services I have done.” He was at once attainted, and without being given'a chance of making a defence, was hurried to the block.

13. Last Days of Henry.—Twice more was Henry married. His fifth wife was a beautiful girl, Catharine Howard, niece of the Duke of Norfolk. In a little while she was shown to have been unchaste before her marriage, and, like Anne Boleyn, she was beheaded. Then he married Katharine Parr, a widow, who by her tact managed to outlive him.

Meantime, a great change had come over Henry since his accession. The joyous, frank, handsome young king, had become cold, selfish, suspicious, and cruel. His very form had changed; he was now coarse, unwieldy, and disfigured by a grossness that was repulsive and disgusting. His temper was so uncertain, and he changed his views so often, that his subjects seldom knew what they were expected to do or believe. When the Duke of Norfolk was in his favor, laws were passed against Protestants; and when Cromwell and Cranmer guided him, laws were passed against Roman Catholics. So we find in this reign men and women executed, some because they did not believe Henry's Protestant opinions, others because they were opposed to the Roman Catholic creed, part of which Henry retained in his laws. Towards the close of his reign the Earl of Hertford, Jane Seymour’s brother, had great influence, and he induced the king to put Norfolk’s son, the accomplished Surrey, to death. Norfolk himself was sent to the Tower and would have lost his head, had not Henry, to the great relief of his court, died in 1547.