suffer endless torments hereafter. Moreover, if the
king of any country did aught contravening the Pope's pleasure, his
people were excommunicated, and anathemas published against them to the
whole of Europe. Thus were the nations led by the nose like a string of
camels." He then proceeds to state how Henry, by holding forth to his
nobles the prospect of participation in the rich possessions of the
church, induced them to join him in the enterprize of destroying the
papal ascendency. "He then commanded the name of the Pope to be expunged
from the _khotbah_, and his own to be substituted as head of the church;
while the _idols_ and pictures were removed from the churches, and not
allowed to be again used in worship; and the confiscated property was
divided into three parts, one of which he reserved for himself, the
second he gave to the nobles who had assisted him, and distributed the
third among the clergy of the new or reformed religion.

"The Pope's wrath was kindled at these proceedings, and he
excommunicated the king, who trampled the edict under his feet. The Pope
then wrote to the princes of Christendom, exhorting them all to
undertake a _holy war_ against Henry, who was not only a heretic, but an
infidel; adding, that if they did not, fire would be rained on them from
heaven as a punishment for their neglect. Some of the Christian
monarchs, as the King of Spain, declared war accordingly against Henry,
and sent ships to the coast of England; but all their attempts failed;
and the King of Denmark and other potentates, perceiving that the
Pope's threats were not accomplished, and that no fire fell from heaven,
followed Henry's example in expelling the Pope's clergy from their
dominions, and adopted measures of reform similar to his. From this time
the Pope's power began to decline in all the countries of Europe, so
that at the present day his name is read in the _khotbah_ only in the
city of Rome and the small territory which is yet left him in its
neighbourhood; and the old practice of excommunication seems to have
entirely ceased; while the reformed religion introduced by Henry, and
which is so different from the ancient faith, has existed in England
ever since, a period of above three hundred years."

We need not pursue further our extracts from the Khan's speculations on
English history, of which the passages already given afford a sufficient
specimen; but we may notice that he mentions James I. as the first
E