nd words; and of
these there had been too many. The English government had fed upon "the
cameleon's dish," "eating the air promise crammed," till they were weary
of so weak a diet, and they desired something more substantial. If the
pope, replied Cromwell, be really well disposed, let him show his
disposition in some public manner, "of his own accord, with a desire
only for the truth, and without waiting till the King's Majesty entreat
him."[423] It would have been more courteous, and perhaps it would have
been more just, if the French overtures had been met in a warmer spirit;
for the policy of Francis required for the time a cordial understanding
with England; and his conduct seems to prove that he was sincerely
anxious to win the pope to complacency.[424] But Henry's experience
guided him wisely with the Roman Bishop; and if he had been entangled
into confidence in Farnese, he would have been entangled to his ruin.

[Sidenote: The language of the papacy had been inconsistent, but its
conduct had been uniform.]

The spring of 1535 was consumed in promises, negotiations, and a
repetition of the profitless story of the preceding years. Suddenly, in
the midst of the unreality, it became clear that one man at least was
serious. Henry, with an insurgent Ireland and a mutinous England upon
his hands, had no leisure for diplomatic finesse; he had learnt his
lesson with Clement, and was not to be again deceived. The language of
the Roman see had been inconsistent, but the actions of it had been
always uniform. From the first beginning of the dispute to the final
break and excommunication, in the teeth of his promises, his flatteries,
his acknowledgments, Clement had been the partisan of Catherine. When
the English agents were collecting the opinions of the Italian
universities, they were thwarted by his emissaries. He had intrigued
against Henry in Scotland; he had tampered with Henry's English and
Irish subjects; he had maintained a secret correspondence with Catherine
herself. And so well had his true feelings and the true position of the
question been understood by the papal party in England, that at the very
time when at Marseilles and elsewhere the pope himself was admitting the
justice of the king's demand, the religious orders who were most
unwavering in their allegiance to the papacy, were pressing their
opposition to the divorce into rebellion.

[Sidenote: Until the pope, therefore, shows some change in action, the