than Charles desired.[1201] This
and reiterated assurances of the same tenor, after his arrival, did not
remove the scruples of Michel de l'Hospital. The latter insisted that
the authority which the Pope pretended to confer upon his legate was in
direct contravention of the resolution of the recent States General,
that ecclesiastical benefices should henceforth be at the disposition,
not of the Pope, but of the prelates in their respective dioceses, and
that no papal dispensations should hereafter be received. He therefore
declined to give to the pontifical warrant the official ratification
without which it was of no validity in the kingdom; and he was supported
in his refusal by the majority of the royal council. He was, however,
overruled. It would be highly improper, the Cardinal of Ferrara
persuaded Catharine and her advisers to believe, that a prelate allied
to the royal house of France should be the first legate to be denied the
customary honors. And so L'Hospital, after receiving a direct order from
the king, and having had several altercations with the legate,
reluctantly affixed the great seal of France, taking care to relieve
himself of all responsibility by writing below it the words, _Me non
consentiente_. This addition for the present rendered the document
entirely useless, for parliament promptly refused to receive or register
that which had failed to meet with the chancellor's approbation.[1202]

[Sidenote: The legate's successful intrigues.]

[Sidenote: His excessive complaisance.]

The first great aim of Ferrara was to prevent the assembly of prelates
at Poissy from assuming in any degree the character of a national
council by undertaking a genuine reformation of doctrine or practice,
and to induce the reference of all such questions as ought there to have
been discussed, to the Council of Trent.[1203] How well he succeeded was
shown by the event. By purposely delaying his arrival until the assembly
had convened, he avoided the defeat that he might have experienced had
he been on the spot and opposed its opening.[1204] He was sufficiently
early, however, to effect all that was really of moment. His manners
were conciliatory and paved the way for his intrigues. Catharine was the
more friendly both to him and to Santa Croce, because of the contrast
between their deportment and that of Gualtieri, whom she hated for his
sour disposition and boorish ways.[1205] Navarre and the princes
suspected of a leanin