concealed beneath the cloak of
humility an inflexible, tough, and durable heart.

On the death of Maximilian, Henry had some notion of preempting the
vacant throne, but soon discovered that Charles V. of Spain had a prior
lien to the same, and thus, in 1520, this new potentate became the
greatest power in the civilized world. It is hard to believe in the
nineteenth or twentieth century that Spain ever had any influence with
anybody of sound mind, but such the veracious historian tells us was
once the case.

Francis, the French king, was so grieved and mortified over the success
of his Spanish rival that he turned to Henry for comfort, and at
Calais the two disgruntled monarchs spent a fortnight jousting,
tourneying, in-falling, out-falling, merry-making, swashbuckling, and
general acute gastritis.

[Illustration: THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD.]

It was a magnificent meeting, however, Wolsey acting as costumer, and
was called "The Field of the Cloth of Gold." Large, portly men with
whiskers wore purple velvet opera-cloaks trimmed with fur, and
Gainsborough hats with ostrich feathers worth four pounds apiece
(sterling). These corpulent warriors, who at Calais shortly before had
run till overtaken by nervous prostration and general debility, now wore
more millinery and breastpins and slashed velvet and satin facings and
tinsel than the most successful and highly painted and decorated
courtesans of that period.

The treaty here made with so much pyrotechnical display and _eclat_ and
hand-embroidery was soon broken, Charles having caught the ear of Wolsey
with a promise of the papal throne upon the death of Leo X., which event
he joyfully anticipated.

Henry, in 1521, scored a triumph and earned the title of Defender of the
Faith by writing a defence of Catholicism in answer to an article
written by Martin Luther attacking it. Leo died soon after, and, much to
the chagrin of Wolsey, was succeeded by Adrian VI.

[Illustration: HENRY WRITES A TREATISE IN DEFENCE OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH.]

War was now waged with France by the new alliance of Spain and
England; but success waited not upon the English arms, while, worse than
all, the king was greatly embarrassed for want of more scudii. Nothing
can be more pitiful, perhaps, than a shabby king waiting till all his
retainers have gone away before he dare leave the throne, fearing that
his threadbare retreat may not be protected. Henry tried to wring
something from Parli