HISTORY OF KING HENRY VIII. 419 



a comfortable thing for kings to have, yet it draweth 

 the subjects 1 eyes a little aside. And yet being a 

 married man in those young years, it promised hope 

 of speedy issue to succeed in the crown. Neither 

 was there any queen-mother, who might share any 

 way in the government, or clash with his counsellors 

 for authority, while the king intended his pleasure. 

 No such thing as any great and mighty subject, who 

 might any wise eclipse or overshade the imperial 

 power. And for the people and state in general, 

 they were in such lowness of obedience, as subjects 

 were like to yield, who had lived almost four and 

 twenty years under so politic a king as his father ; 

 being also one who came partly in by the sword ; 

 and had so high courage in all points of regality ; 

 and was ever victorious in rebellions and seditions of 

 the people. The crown extremely rich, and full of 

 treasure, and the kingdom like to be so in a short 

 time. For there was no war, no dearth, no stop of 

 trade, or commerce : it was only the crown which 

 had sucked too hard, and now being full, and upon 

 the head of a young king, was like to draw less. 

 Lastly, he was inheritor of his father s reputation, 

 which was great throughout the world. He had 

 strait alliance with the two neighbour states, an 

 ancient enemy in former times, and an ancient friend, 

 Scotland and Burgundy. He had peace and amity 

 with France, under the assurance, not only of treaty 

 and league, but of necessity and inability in the 

 French to do him hurt, in respect that the French 

 king s designs were wholly bent upon Italy : so that 



