olour to say, "He was
required of the commission by the ambassador of England, and denying the
same, he was, eftsoons, required by M. de Lautrec to grant the said
commission, inasmuch as it was but a letter of justice." And by this colour
he would cover the matter so that it might appear unto the emperour that
the pope did it not as he that would gladly do displeasure unto the
emperour, but as an indifferent judge, that could not nor might deny
justice, specially being required by such personages; and immediately he
would despatch a commission bearing date after the time that M. de Lautrec
had been with him or was nigh unto him. The pope most instantly beseecheth
your Grace to be a mean that the King's Highness may accept this in a good
part, and that he will take patience for this little time, which, as it is
supposed, will be but short.--Knight to Wolsey and the King, Jan. 1,
1527-8: BURNET _Collections_, 12, 13.

[144] Such at least was the ultimate conclusion of a curious discussion.
When the French herald declared war, the English herald accompanied him
into the emperor's presence, and when his companion had concluded, followed
up his words with an intimation that unless the French demands were
complied with, England would unite to enforce them. The Emperor replied to
Francis with defiance. To the English herald he expressed a hope that peace
on that side would still be maintained. For the moment the two countries
were uncertain whether they were at war or not. The Spanish ambassador in
London did not know, and the court could not tell him. The English
ambassador in Spain did not leave his post, but he was placed under
surveillance. An embargo on Spanish and English property was laid
respectively in the ports of the two kingdoms; and the merchants and
residents were placed under arrest. Alarmed by the outcry in London, the
king hastily concluded a truce with the Regent of the Netherlands, the
language of which implied a state of war; but when peace was concluded
between France and Spain, England appeared only as a contracting party, not
as a principal, and in 1542 it was decided that the antecedent treaties
between England and the empire continued in force.--See LORD HERBERT;
HOLINSHED; _State Papers_, vols. vii. viii. and ix.; with the treaties in
RYMER, vol. vi. part 2.

[145] Gardiner to the King: BURNET'S _Collectanea_, p. 426.

[146] Duke of Suffolk to Henry the Eighth: _State Papers_, vol. vii, p.
183.

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