e had not dared to say so, she was grateful for
his visit; and, though he must not come on himself, a party of his suite
might show themselves before the gates.

Thus the next morning, under the bright July sky, a picturesque Spanish
cavalcade was seen parading under the windows of Kimbolton, "to the great
consolation of the ladies of the household, who spoke to them from the
battlements; and with astonishment and joy among the peasantry, as if the
Messiah had actually come." The Walsingham pilgrimage was abandoned, lest
it should be thought to have been the real object of the journey; and
Chapuys, with polite irony, sent the King word that he had relinquished it
in deference to his Majesty's wishes. He returned to London by another
road, to make a wider impression upon the people.

"The Emperor," he said, in relating his expedition, "would now see how
matters stood. The Queen might be almost called the King's prisoner. The
house," he said, "was well kept and well found, though there were
complaints of shortness of provisions. She had five or six servants, and
as many ladies-in-waiting, besides the men whom she looked on as her
guards."[290]

CHAPTER XVI.

Prosecution of Lord Dacre--Failure of the Crown--Rebellion in Ireland--
Lord Thomas Fitzgerald--Delight of the Catholic party--Preparations for a
rising in England--The Princess Mary--Lord Hussey and Lord Darcy--Schemes
for insurrection submitted to Chapuys--General disaffection among the
English Peers--Death of Clement VII.--Election of Paul III.--Expectation
at Rome that Henry would now submit--The expectation disappointed--The Act
of Supremacy--The Italian conjuror--Reginald Pole--Violence and insolence
of Anne Boleyn--Spread of Lutheranism--Intended escape of the Princess
Mary out of England.

The English Peers are supposed to have been the servile instruments of
Henry VIII.'s tyrannies and caprices, to have been ready to divorce or
murder a wife, or to execute a bishop, as it might please the King to
command. They were about to show that there were limits to their
obedience, and that when they saw occasion they could assert their
independence. Lord Dacre of Naworth was one of the most powerful of the
northern nobles. He had distinguished himself as a supporter of Queen
Catherine, and was particularly detested by the Lady Anne. His name
appears prominently in the lists supplied to Chapuys of those who could be
counted upon in the event of a rising. Th