t brief had run out. The
French Cardinals did not relinquish their efforts. They demanded a
suspension of six months, till Henry and Francis could meet again and
arrange something which the Pope could accept. The Pope, false himself,
suspected every one to be as false as he was. He suspected that a private
arrangement was being made between Henry and the Emperor, and Cifuentes
himself could not or would not relieve his misgivings. In the midst of
the uncertainty a courier came in from England with an appeal _ad futurum
Concilium_--when a council could be held that was above suspicion. The
word "council" always drove Clement distracted. He complained to Francis,
and Francis, provoked at finding his efforts paralysed, said angrily that,
were it not for his present need of the King of England's friendship lest
others should forestall him there, he would play him a trick that he
should remember. The suspension of the censures for an indefinite time was
granted, however, after a debate in the Consistory. The English Council,
when the proposal for the hearing of the cause at Cambray was submitted to
them, hesitated over their answer. They told Chapuys that such a
compromise as the Pope offered might once have been entertained, but
nothing now would induce the King to sacrifice the interests of his
new-born daughter; "all the Ambassadors in the world would not move him,
nor even the Pope himself, if he came to visit him."[256]

Nevertheless, so anxious were all parties now at the last moment to find
some conditions or other to prevent the division of Christendom that the
Cardinal de Tarbes's proposition, or something like it, might have been
accepted. The Emperor, however, had made his consent contingent on
Catherine's acquiescence, and Catherine herself refused--refused
resolutely, absolutely, and finally. Charles had written to her as he had
promised. Chapuys sent her down the letter with a draft of the terms
proposed, and he himself strongly exhorted her to agree. He asked for a
distinct "Yes" or "No," and Catherine answered "No." Her cause should be
heard in Rome, she said, and nowhere but in Rome; the removal to Cambray
meant only delay, and from delay she had suffered long enough; should Anne
Boleyn have a son meanwhile, the King would be more obstinate than ever.
The Pope must be required to end the cause himself and to end it quickly.
The Emperor knew her determination and might have spared his
application.[257] She wro