King's children, except Prince Arthur, who was then the eldest
son, were being educated. When we came into the hall, the attendants
not only of the palace, but also of Mountjoy's household, were all
assembled. In the midst stood Prince Henry, now nine years old, and
having already something of royalty in his demeanour in which there
was a certain dignity combined with singular courtesy. On his right
was Margaret, about eleven years of age, afterwards married to James,
King of Scots; and on his left played Mary, a child of four. Edmund
was an infant in arms. More, with his companion Arnold, after (p. 023)
paying his respects to the boy Henry, the same that is now King of
England, presented him with some writing. For my part, not having
expected anything of the sort, I had nothing to offer, but promised
that, on another occasion, I would in some way declare my duty towards
him. Meantime, I was angry with More for not having warned me, especially
as the boy sent me a little note, while we were at dinner, to challenge
something from my pen. I went home, and in the Muses' spite, from whom
I had been so long divorced, finished the poem within three days." The
poem,[50] in which Britain speaks her own praise and that of her
princes, Henry VII. and his children, was dedicated to the Duke of
York and accompanied by a letter in which Erasmus commended Henry's
devotion to learning. Seven years later Erasmus again wrote to Henry,
now Prince of Wales, condoling with him upon the death of his
brother-in-law, Philip of Burgundy, King of Castile. Henry replied in
cordial manner, inviting the great scholar to continue the correspondence.
The style of his letter so impressed Erasmus that he suspected, as he
says,[51] "some help from others in the ideas and expressions. In a
conversation I afterwards had with William, Lord Mountjoy, he tried by
various arguments to dispel that suspicion, and when he found he could
not do so he gave up the point and let it pass until he was
sufficiently instructed in the case. On another occasion, when we were
talking alone together, he brought out a number of the Prince's
letters, some to other people and some to himself, and among them one
which answered to mine: in these letters were manifest signs of (p. 024)
comment, addition, suppression, correction and alteration--You might
recognise the first drafting of a letter, and you might make out the
second and third, and sometimes even the fourth corr