ars.
His own city of Ghent was in open revolt, and Francis after all was but a
fickle ally. If once more the French King turned from him and made friends
with the Turk and the Lutherans, then indeed would the imperial power have
cause to tremble and Henry to rejoice. Cromwell had striven hard to cement
the Protestant combination; but again and again he had been thwarted by
his rivals. The passage of the Six Articles against his wish, although the
execution of the Act was suspended at Cromwell's instance, had caused the
gravest distrust on the part of Hans Frederick and the Landgrave of Hesse;
and if Henry were encouraged to repudiate his German wife, not only would
her brother--already in negotiation with the imperial agents for the
investiture of Gueldres, and his marriage with the Emperor's niece, the
Duchess of Milan--be at once driven into opposition to England, but Hans
Frederick and Hesse would also abandon Henry to the tender mercies of his
enemies.

The only way to avoid such a disaster following upon the repudiation of
Anne was first to drive a wedge of distrust between Charles and Francis,
now in close confederacy. In January the Emperor had surprised the world
by his boldness in traversing France to his Flemish dominions. He was
feasted splendidly by Francis, and escaped unbetrayed; but during his stay
in France desperate attempts were made by Wyatt, Henry's ambassador with
Charles, Bonner, the ambassador in France, and by the Duke of Norfolk, who
went in February on a special mission, to sow discord between the allied
sovereigns, and not without some degree of success. Charles during his
stay in France was badgered by Wyatt into saying some hasty words, which
were deliberately twisted by Norfolk into a menace to France and England
alike. Francis was reminded with irritating iteration that Charles had
plenty of smiles and soft words for his French friends, but avoided
keeping his promises about the cession of Milan or anything else. So in
France those who were in favour of the imperial alliance, the
Montmorencies and the Queen, declined in their hold over Francis, and
their opponents, the Birons, the Queen of Navarre, Francis' sister, and
the Duchess of Etampes, his mistress, planned with Henry's agents for an
understanding with England. This, as may be supposed, was not primarily
Cromwell's policy, but that of Norfolk and his friends, because its
success would inevitably mean the conciliation of the German pr