whole English Court went down to see the launch of the _Princess
Mary_. Henry himself "acted as pilot and wore a sailor's coat and
trousers, made of cloth of gold, and a gold chain with the inscription,
'Dieu _est_ mon droit,' to which was suspended a whistle, which he
blew nearly as loud as a trumpet".[355] The launch of a ship was then
almost a religious ceremony, and the place of the modern bottle of
champagne was taken by a mass, which was said by the Bishop of Durham.
In 1518 Giustinian tells how Henry went to Southampton to see the
Venetian galleys, and caused some new guns to be "fired again and (p. 128)
again, marking their range, as he is very curious about matters of
this kind".[356]

[Footnote 352: _Ibid._, i., 3807. In 1513 an
English consul was appointed at Scio (_ibid._, i.,
3854).]

[Footnote 353: _L. and P._, iii., 1440; _cf.
ibid._, 2421.]

[Footnote 354: _Ibid._, iii., 748.]

[Footnote 355: _Ibid._, ii., 1113.]

[Footnote 356: _L. and P._, ii., 4232.]

It was not long before Henry developed an active participation in
serious matters other than theological disputes and naval affairs. It
is not possible to trace its growth with any clearness because no
record remains of the verbal communications which were sufficient to
indicate his will during the constant attendance of Wolsey upon him.
But, as soon as monarch and minister were for some cause or another
apart, evidence of Henry's activity in political matters becomes more
available. Thus, in 1515, we find Wolsey sending the King, at his own
request, the Act of Apparel, just passed by Parliament, for Henry's
"examination and correction".[357] He also desires Henry's determination
about the visit of the Queen of Scotland, that he may make the
necessary arrangements. In 1518 Henry made a prolonged stay at
Abingdon, partly from fear of the plague, and partly, as he told Pace,
because at Abingdon people were not continually coming to tell him of
deaths, as they did daily in London. During this absence from London,
Henry insisted upon the attendance of sufficient councillors to enable
him to transact business; he established a relay of posts every seven
hours between himself and Wolsey; and we hear of his reading "every
word of all the letters" sent by his minister.[358] Every week Wolsey
despatched a