from
his reputed piety and learning being Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, whose
subsequent punishment has been the text for so many eloquent invectives.
Writing on the 27th of September to the Emperor, Chapuys says: "The good
Bishop of Rochester has sent to me to notify that the arms of the Pope
against these obstinate men are softer than lead, and that your Majesty
must set your hand to it, in which you will do a work as agreeable to God
as a war against the Turk."[246] This was not all. The Bishop had gone on
to advise a measure which would lead immediately and intentionally to a
revival of the Wars of the Roses. "If matters come to a rupture, the
Bishop said it would be well for your Majesty to attach to yourself the
son of the Princess Mary's governess [the Countess of Salisbury, mother
of Reginald Pole], daughter of the Duke of Clarence, to whom, according to
the opinion of many, the kingdom would belong. He is now studying at
Padua. On account of the pretensions which he and his brother would have
to the crown, the Queen would like to bestow the Princess on him in
marriage, and the Princess would not refuse. He and his brothers have many
kinsmen and allies, of whose services your Majesty might make use and gain
the greater part of the realm."[247]

The Bishop of Rochester might plead a higher allegiance as an excuse for
conspiring to dethrone his Sovereign. But those who play such desperate
games stake their lives upon the issue, and if they fail must pay the
forfeit. The Bishop was not the only person who thus advised Chapuys.
Rebellion and invasion became the settled thought of the King's opponents,
and Catherine was expected to lend her countenance. The Regent's Council
at Brussels, bolder than the Spanish, were for immediate war. A German
force might be thrown across the Channel. The Flemish nobles might
hesitate, but would allow ships to carry an army to Scotland. The army
might then march south; Catherine would join it, and appear in the
field.[248] Catherine herself bade Chapuys charge the Pope in her name to
proceed to the execution of the sentence[249] "in the most rigorous terms
of justice possible;" the King, she said, would then be brought to reason
when he felt the bit. She did not advocate violence in words, though what
she did advocate implied violence and made it inevitable. Fisher was
prepared for any extremity. "The good and holy Bishop of Rochester,"
Chapuys repeated, "would like your Majesty to tak