ied Elizabeth Howard, daughter of the first
duke of Norfolk. This noble alliance brought Sir Thomas Boleyn into
close connection with royalty, and led to the appointment of his
daughter to the high post which she held at the court of Queen
Catharine. It is probable that the king suppressed his passion for
some time; and it would have been longer concealed, even from its
object, had not his jealousy been excited by her attachment to Percy,
son of the Earl of Northumberland. The king at last made known his
passion; but the daughter of the Howards was too proud, or too
politic, or too high principled, to listen to his overtures. It was
only _as queen of England_, that she would return the passion of her
royal lover. Moreover, she resolved to be revenged on the all-powerful
cardinal, for assisting in her separation from Percy, whom she loved
with romantic attachment. The king waited four years, but Anne
remained inflexibly virtuous. He then meditated the divorce from
Catharine, as the only way to accomplish the object which now seemed
to animate his existence. He confided the matter to his favorite
minister; but Wolsey was thunderstruck at the disclosure, and remained
with him four hours on his knees, to dissuade him from a step which
he justly regarded as madness. Here Wolsey appears as an honest man
and a true friend; but royal infatuation knows neither wisdom,
justice, nor humanity. Wolsey, as a man of the world, here made a
blunder, and departed from the policy he had hitherto pursued--that of
flattering the humors of his absolute master. Wolsey, however,
recommended the king to consult the divines; for Henry pretended that,
after nearly twenty years of married life, he had conscientious
scruples about the lawfulness of his marriage. The learned English
doctors were afraid to pronounce their opinions, and suggested a
reference to the fathers. But the king was not content with their
authority; he appealed to the pope, and to the decisions of half of
the universities of Europe. It seems very singular that a sovereign so
unprincipled, unscrupulous, and passionate, and yet so absolute and
powerful as was Henry, should have wasted his time and money in
seeking countenance to an act on which he was fully determined, and
which countenance he never could reasonably hope to secure. But his
character was made up of contradictions. His caprice, violence, and
want of good faith, were strangely blended with superstition and
reverenc