Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-16

bent upon eXpiating the supposed sin of
| his marriage than it was upon getting a
younger and prettier wife. There is no
doubt, however, that at the outset his
| mind. made morbid by the death of so
| many of his children, he did believe him.
self under the dire displeasure of the
Deity.
The story of that divorce must be told
briefly; the evidence in the suit cannot.
because of its nature. be recounted at
all. The king claimed that his marriage
to Katherine was null and void from the
first because she was his brothers wild
oW, and marriage with a brother s
| widow or deceased wife's sister was
unlawful. That the Pope had granted
! special dispensation for his mar
riage did not alter the case, even though
that dispensation was asked for by the
king himself For, he pleaded, the Pope
could not issue a dispensation to permit
a man to commit a deadly sin, and fur
thermore he. Henry, was too young to
know what he asked when he besought
this unrighteous privilege.
Katherine for her part pleaded that
the papal dispensation absolutely legal
lied her marriage, and on that point she
rested her case with Rome But she
went on to aver that because of her
first husbands youth the marriage was
one in name only. and therefore null and
void. The evidence taken on this plea
of the queens was much more suitable
for court of archbshops in the fif-
teentn century IMAM Tor American news
paper readers today.
Rome stood by the queen. Though
new Pope was on the throne, he knew he
must uphold the act of his predecessor.
But instead of deciding the case he di
plomatized, postponed. and delayed.
Henry, eager for his nuptials. would
brook delay. His ENJOYS haunted
Rome. His agents sought to allay the
feeling among the people of London
whose sympathy was with the queen.
l,r y,a;fI how. t1,n
the people.
Matters hung fire for years. Rather
inc was obdurate; the king procrasti
mated: Mrs. Boleyn would listen to moth
ing short of full marriage ceremony.
and Henry was frantic with. rage and
disappointed desire.
True to Him to the End.
OF course, amid the throng of cardi-
nails and bishops by whom Henry was
surrounded there were plenty to advise
him to do the thing he wished and be
sure 1t would find favor in the eyes of
the Almighty. Most successful Of these
clerical courtiers was Thomas 'Cranmer,
who wrote a book to prove the mar
rage null and void, and was rewarded
by being made Archbishop Of Canter-
bury, from which place Wolsey. who
had advised against the divorce. was
coIdly turned out. Had l but served
my God as diligently as / served my
king" said the deposed cardinal plain
lively, ''he would not have given my
gray hairs over to adversely.
But by this time Henry was done with
Popes and cardinals. Matters rushed
swiftly to conclusion. A second trial
of the issue of the legality of his mar
rage held under the complainant Gran
mer. granted the divorce which Wolseys
court had refused. The Pope refused
to approve the finding. and Henry turn
ed in rage to stamp Catholicism out of
England Heads fell, priests were burn
ed at the stake, monasterieS sdcked. AS
for Katherine, she was imprisoned. de-
prived by act of parliament of her title
and station and her daughter, Mary
Tudor, taken from her. When the poor
woman died in 1886 it was believed that
she had been poisoned. but proof was
lacking. Strangely enough. she main
tanned to the end her fealty to the brute
who so misused her. and her last words.
written in the Latin she knew SO well,
We're:
..Oculi mel tie solum desiderant. Vale.
mime eyes desire thee only. Fare
WELL"