pope and emperor. And
after all this display of his pride and grandeur, he found himself much
enriched by the offerings which the pilgrims had made; for these were so
large, that in one church alone (as we are told) two of the clergy were
employed day and night in gathering them in with long rakes. If this be
anything like the truth, the whole amount collected from the pilgrims at
the jubilee must have been very large indeed.

PART II.

Boniface got into serious quarrels with princes and others; but the most
serious of them all was a quarrel with Philip IV. of France, who is
called _The Fair_ on account of his good looks--not that there was any
fairness in his character, for it would not be easy to name any one more
utterly _un_fair. If Boniface wished to exalt himself above princes,
Philip, who was a thoroughly hard, cold, selfish man, was no less
desirous to get the mastery over the clergy; and it was natural that
between two such persons unpleasant differences should arise. I need
not mention the particulars, except that Boniface wrote letters which
seemed to forbid the clergy of any kingdom to pay taxes and such-like
dues to their sovereign, and to claim for the pope a right to dispose of
the kingdoms of the earth. Philip, provoked by this, held meetings of
what were called the _estates_ of France,--clergy, nobles, and
commons,--and charged the pope with all sorts of vices and crimes, even
with disbelief of the Christian faith. The estates declared against the
pope's claims; and when Boniface summoned a council of bishops from all
countries to meet at Rome, Philip forbade the French bishops to obey,
and all but a few stayed away. One of the pope's letters to the king was
cut in pieces and thrown into the fire, and the burning was proclaimed
through the streets of Paris with the sound of the trumpet.

The pope was greatly enraged by Philip's conduct. He prepared a bull by
which the king was declared to be excommunicated and to be deprived of
his crown; and it was intended to publish this bull on the 8th of
September, 1303, at Anagni, Boniface's native place, where he was
spending the summer months. But on the day before something took place
which hindered the carrying out of the pope's design.

Early in his reign Boniface had been engaged in a quarrel with the
Colonnas, one of the most powerful among the great princely families of
Rome. He had persecuted them bitterly, had deprived them of their
estates and hon