riendship, the king of Scots
paid his addresses to Magdalen, daughter of the French monarch; and
this prince had no other objection to the match than what arose from the
infirm state of his daughter's health, which seemed to threaten her
with an approaching end. But James having gained the affections of the
princess, and obtained her consent, the father would no longer oppose
the united desires of his daughter and his friend: they were accordingly
married, and soon after set sail for Scotland, where the young queen, as
was foreseen, died in a little time after her arrival. Francis, however,
was afraid lest his ally Henry, whom he likewise looked on as his
friend, and who lived with him on a more cordial footing than is usual
among great princes, should be displeased that this close confederacy
between France and Scotland was concluded without his participation. He
therefore despatched Pommeraye to London, in order to apologize for this
measure; but Henry, with his usual openness and freedom, expressed such
displeasure, that he refused even to confer with the ambassador; and
Francis was apprehensive of a rupture with a prince who regulated
his measures more by humor and passion than by the rules of political
prudence. But the king was so fettered by the opposition in which he
was engaged against the pope and the emperor, that he pursued no further
this disgust against Francis; and in the end, every thing remained in
tranquillity both on the side of France and of Scotland.

The domestic peace of England seemed to be exposed to more hazard by the
violent innovations in religion; and it may be affirmed that, in this
dangerous conjuncture, nothing insured public tranquillity so much as
the decisive authority acquired by the king, and his great ascendant
over all his subjects. Not only the devotion paid to the crown was
profound during that age: the personal respect inspired by Henry was
considerable; and even the terrors with which he overawed every one,
were not attended with any considerable degree of hatred. His frankness,
his sincerity, his magnificence, his generosity, were virtues which
counterbalanced his violence, cruelty, and impetuosity. And the
important rank which his vigor, more than his address, acquired him in
all foreign negotiations, flattered the vanity of Englishmen, and made
them the more willingly endure those domestic hardships to which they
were exposed. The king, conscious of his advantages, was now pr