rumental
pieces of his own composition, preserved among the manuscripts at the
British Museum,[57] rank among the best productions of the time; and
one of his anthems, "O Lorde, the Maker of all thyng," is of the
highest order of merit, and still remains a favourite in English
cathedrals.

[Footnote 53: _Hist. MSS. Comm._, 5th Rep., App.,
p. 549.]

[Footnote 54: _L. and P._, i., 4314.]

[Footnote 55: _L. and P._, ii., 410, 4024.]

[Footnote 56: _Ven. Cal._, ii., 780; _L. and P._,
ii., 2401, 3455.]

[Footnote 57: _E.g._, _Add. MS. 31922_.]

In April, 1502, at the age of ten, Henry became the heir-apparent to
the English throne. He succeeded at once to the dukedom of Cornwall,
but again a precedent was set which was followed but yesterday; and
ten months were allowed to elapse before he was, on 18th February,
1503, created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, the dukedom of York
becoming void until a king or an heir apparent should again have a
second son.[58] The first sign of his increased importance was his
implication in the maze of matrimonial intrigues which formed so large
a part of sixteenth-century diplomacy. The last thing kings (p. 026)
considered was the domestic felicity of their children; their marriages
were pieces in the diplomatic game and sometimes the means by which
States were built up. While Duke of York, Henry had been proposed as a
husband for Eleanor,[59] daughter of the Archduke Philip; and his
sister Mary as the bride of Philip's son Charles, who, as the heir of
the houses of Castile and of Aragon, of Burgundy and of Austria, was
from the cradle destined to wield the imperial sceptre of Caesar. No
further steps were taken at the time, and Prince Arthur's death
brought other projects to the front.

[Footnote 58: The next prince to hold the title was
Charles, afterwards Charles I., who was created
Duke of York on 6th Jan., 1605.]

[Footnote 59: Afterwards Queen of Portugal and then
of France. _L. and P._, _Henry VII._, i., 285,
425.]

Immediately on receiving the news, and two days before they dated
their letter of condolence to Henry VII., Ferdinand and Isabella
commissioned the Duke of Estrada to negotiate a marriage between the
widowe