ort of so grave an imputation.

"On the 7th April, Henry is said to have addressed the King of France
on the subject of his claims, and in reference to the embassy which
Charles had signified his intention of sending to discuss them. No
part[75] of the correspondence on this occasion occurs in the
Foedera, and it is very slightly alluded to by our historians. "To
the first of those letters Charles replied on the 16th of April, and
to the last on the 26th of that month; it is therefore evident (p. 092)
that Henry did not wait for the answer to the first before the second
was written. These documents occur in contemporary writers; and, as
the internal evidence which they contain of being genuine is very
strong, there is no cause to doubt their authenticity. Their most
striking features are falsehood, hypocrisy, and impiety; for Henry's
solemn assurance that he was not actuated by his own ambition, but by
the wishes of his subjects, is rendered very doubtful by the fact
that, on the day after the Chancellor had solicited supplies for the
invasion of France, the Commons _merely stated_ that they granted
_them for the defence of the realm, and the safety of the seas_. The
justice claimed was, that France should be dismembered of many
important territories; and that, with the hand of Katharine, Henry
should receive a sum as unprecedented as it was exorbitant. But this
was not all, for his first demand was the crown of France itself; and
it was not until he was convinced of the impossibility of such a
concession, that he required those points to which his letters refer.
If then there was FALSEHOOD in his assertion that his demands were
dictated by the wishes of his people rather than by his own, there was
HYPOCRISY in the assurances of his moderation and love of peace, and
IMPIETY in calling the Almighty to witness the sincerity of his
protestation, and in profaning the holy writings by citing them on
such an occasion. These letters, which were probably dictated by
Cardinal Beaufort, are remarkable for the style in which they (p. 093)
are written; in some places they approach nearly to eloquence, and they
are throughout clear, nervous, and impressive."

[Footnote 75: That a correspondence took place,
there can be no doubt; but very much doubt is
thrown upon the accuracy of these documents; they
do not appear in such a shape that we can rely u