surprise and
confusion.

The failure of the attack upon Katharine in the summer of 1546 marks the
decline of the Catholic party in the Council. Peace was made with France
in the autumn; and Katharine did her part in the splendid reception of the
Admiral of France and the great rejoicings over the new peace treaty
(September 1546). Almost simultaneously came the news of fresh dissensions
between the Emperor and Francis; for the terms of the peace of Crespy were
flagrantly evaded, and it began to be seen now that the treaty had for its
sole object the keeping of France quiet and England at war whilst the
German Protestants were crushed. Not in France alone, but in England too,
the revulsion of feeling against the Emperor's aims was great. The
treacherous attack upon his own vassals in order to force orthodoxy upon
them at the sword's point had been successful, and it was seen to
constitute a menace to all the world. Again Protestant envoys came to
England and obtained a loan from Henry: again the Duke Philip of Bavaria,
who said that he had never heard mass in his life until he arrived in
England, came to claim the hand of the Princess Mary;[259] and the
Catholics in the King's Council, forced to stand upon the defensive,
became, not the conspirators but those conspired against. Hertford and
Dudley, now Lord Admiral, were the King's principal companions, both in
his pastimes and his business; and the imperial ambassador expressed his
fears for the future to a caucus of the Council consisting of Gardiner,
Wriothesley, and Paulet, deploring, as he said, that "not only had the
Protestants their openly declared champions ... but I had even heard that
some of them had gained great favour with the King, though I wished they
were as far away from Court as they were last year. I did not mention
names, but the persons I referred to were the Earl of Hertford and the
Lord Admiral. The councillors made no reply, but they clearly showed that
they understood me, and continued in their great devotion to your
Majesty."[260]

Late in September the King fell seriously ill, and his life for a time was
despaired of. Dr. Butts had died some months before, and the Queen was
indefatigable in her attendance; and the Seymours, as uncles of the heir,
rose in importance as the danger to the King increased. The only strong
men on the Council on the Catholic side were Gardiner, who was extremely
unpopular and already beaten, and Norfolk. Paulet was