You wrought to be a legate; by which power
You maimed the jurisdiction of all bishops.

Nor. Then, that, in all you writ to Rome, or else To foreign princes, Ego et Rex meus

Was still inscribed; in which you brought the king
To be your servant.

Suf.
Then, that, without the knowledge
Either of king or council, when you went
Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold
To carry into Flanders the great seal.

Sur. Item, you sent a large commission
To Gregory de Cassalis, to conclude,

Without the king's will, or the state's allowance,
A league between his highness and Ferrara.

Suf. That, out of mere ambition, you have caused Your holy hat to be stamped on the king's coin.1

Sur. Then, that you have sent innumerable sub

stance

(By what means got, I leave to your own conscience)
To furnish Rome, and to prepare the ways
You have for dignities; to the mere 2 undoing
Of all the kingdom. Many more there are;
Which, since they are of you, and odious,

I will not taint my mouth with.

Cham.

O my lord,
Press not a falling man too far; 'tis virtue :
His faults lie open to the laws; let them,

Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see him
So little of his great self.

Sur.

I forgive him.

Suf. Lord cardinal, the king's further pleasure is,Because all those things you have done of late, By your power legatine, within this kingdom, Fall into the compass of a præmunire,3—

This was one of the articles exhibited against Wolsey, but rather with a view to swell the catalogue than from any serious cause of accusation; inasmuch as the archbishops Cranmer, Bainbridge, and Warham, were indulged with the same privileges.

2 Absolute.

3 The judgment in a writ of præmunire (a barbarous word used instead of præmonere) is, that the defendant shall be out of the king's protection ; and his lands and tenements, goods and chattels, forfeited to the king; and

That therefore such a writ be sued against you;
To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be

Out of the king's protection.-This is my charge.
Nor. And so we'll leave you to your meditations
How to live better. For your stubborn answer,
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The king shall know it, and, no doubt, shall thank
So fare you well, my little good lord cardinal.

you.

[Exeunt all but WOLSEY. Wol. So farewell to the little good you bear me. Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness! This is the state of man; to-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms, And bears his blushing honors thick upon him; The third day, comes a frost, a killing frost; And-when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a ripening,-nips his root, And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured, Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, This many summers in a sea of glory; But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride At length broke under me; and now has left me, Weary, and old with service, to the mercy Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me. Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye: I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors! There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to, That sweet aspéct of princes, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.

Enter CROMWELL, amazedly.

Why, how now, Cromwell?

Crom. I have no power to speak, sir.

that his body shall remain in prison at the king's pleasure. The old copy reads, erroneously, castles instead of cattels, the old word for chattels, as it is found in Holinshed, p. 909.

VOL. V.

26

Wol.

At

What, amazed

my misfortunes? Can thy spirit wonder, A great man should decline? Nay, an you weep, I am fallen indeed.

Crom.

Wol.

How does your grace?

Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell.
I know myself now; and I feel within me

A peace above all earthly dignities,

Why, well;

A still and quiet conscience. The king has cured me,
I humbly thank his grace; and from these shoulders,
These ruined pillars, out of pity, taken

A load would sink a navy, too much honor.
O, 'tis a burden, Cromwell, 'tis a burden,
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven.

Crom. I am glad your grace has made that right use of it.

Wol. I hope I have.

I am able now, methinks,

(Out of a fortitude of soul I feel,)

To endure more miseries, and greater far,
Than my weak-hearted enemies dare offer.
What news abroad?

Crom.

The heaviest, and the worst,

God bless him!

Is your displeasure with the king.

Wol.

Crom. The next is, that sir Thomas More is

chosen

Lord chancellor in your place.

That's somewhat sudden;

Wol.
But he's a learned man. May he continue
Long in his highness' favor, and do justice

For truth's sake, and his conscience; that his bones,
When he has run his course, and sleeps in blessings,
May have a tomb of orphans' tears wept on 'em!
What more?

Crom. That Cranmer is returned with welcome, Installed lord archbishop of Canterbury.

Wol. That's news, indeed.

Crom.

Last, that the lady Anne,

Whom the king hath in secrecy long married,

This day was viewed in open,' as his queen,
Going to chapel; and the voice is now
Only about her coronation.

Wol. There was the weight that pulled me down! O Cromwell,

The king has gone beyond me; all my glories

In that one woman I have lost forever.

No sun shall ever usher forth mine honors,

Or gild again the noble troops that waited

Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Cromwell;
I am a poor fallen man, unworthy now

To be thy lord and master. Seek the king;
That sun, I pray, may never set! I have told him
What and how true thou art: he will advance thee;
Some little memory of me will stir him

(I know his noble nature) not to let

2

Thy hopeful service perish too. Good Cromwell,
Neglect him not; make use now, and provide
For thine own future safety.

Crom.
O my lord,
Must I then leave you? Must I needs forego
So good, so noble and so true a master?
Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron,
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord.—
The king shall have my service; but my prayers
Forever, and forever, shall be yours.

Wol. Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let's dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And when I am forgotten, as I shall be;
And sleep in dull, cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of-say, I taught thee;
Say, Wolsey-that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor-
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ;
A sure and safe one, though thy master missed it.
Mark but my fall, and that that ruined me.

1 In open is a Latinism.

2 i. e. interest.

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition;
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by't?

Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee; Corruption wins not more than honesty ;

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,

To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at, be thy country's,

Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,

Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. Serve the king:

And, Pr'ythee, lead me in:

There take an inventory of all I have,1

To the last penny: 'tis the king's: my robe,

And my integrity to Heaven, is all

I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell,
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.2

Crom. Good sir, have patience.
Wol.

So I have. Farewell

The hopes of court! my hopes in heaven do dwell.

[Exeunt.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. A Street in Westminster.

Enter two Gentlemen, meeting.

1 Gent. You are well met once again. 2 Gent.

And so are you.

1 Gent. You come to take your stand here, and behold The lady Anne pass from her coronation?

1 This inventory is still to be seen among the Harleian MSS. No. 599. 2 This was actually said by the cardinal when on his death-bed, in a conversation with sir William Kingston; the whole of which is very interesting.