The king was to renounce this vain and blasphemous arrogance of wishing to be himself head of his Church. He was to turn away from the spirit of novelty and heresy, and again become a faithful and devout Catholic.
But in order that they might attain this end, Catharine must be removed from him; he must no longer behold her rosy and beautiful face, and no longer allow himself to be diverted by her sensible discourse and her keen wit.
“We shall not be able to overthrow the queen,” said Earl Douglas to Gardiner, as the two stood in the king’s anteroom, and as Catharine’s cheerful chit-chat and the king’s merry laugh came pealing to them from the adjoining room. “No, no, Gardiner, she is too powerful and too crafty. The king loves her very much; and she is such an agreeable and refreshing recreation to him.”
“Just on that account we must withdraw her from him,” said Gardiner, with a dark frown. “He must turn away his heart from this earthly love; and after we shall have mortified this love in him, this savage and arrogant man will return to us and to God, contrite and humble.” But we shall not be able to mortify it, friend. It is so ardent and selfish a love.
“So much the greater will be the triumph, if our holy admonitions are successful in touching his heart, Douglas. It is true he will suffer very much if he is obliged to give up this woman. But he needs precisely this suffering in order to become contrite and penitent. His mind must first be entirely darkened, so that we can illuminate it with the light of faith. He must first be rendered perfectly isolated and comfortless in order to bring him back to the holy communion of the Church, and to, find him again accessible to the consolations of that faith which alone can save.”
“Ah,” sighed Douglas, “I fear that this will be a useless struggle. The king is so vain of his self-constituted high-priesthood!”
“But he is such a weak man, and such a great sinner!” said Gardiner, with a cold smile. “He trembles so much at death and God’s judgment, and our holy mother the Church can give him absolution, and by her holy sacraments render death easy to him. He is a wicked sinner and has stings of conscience. This it is that will bring him back again to the bosom of the Catholic Church.”
“But when will that come to pass? The king is sick, and any day may put an end to his life. Woe to us, if he die before he has given the power into our hands, and nominated us his executors! Woe to us, if the queen is appointed regent, and the king selects the Seymours as her ministers! Oh, my wise and pious father, the work that you wish to do must be done soon, or it must remain forever unaccomplished.”
“It shall be done this very day,” said Gardiner, solemnly; and bending down closer to the earl’s ear, he continued: “we have lulled the queen into assurance and self-confidence, and by this means she shall be ruined this very day. She relies so strongly on her power over the king’s disposition, that she often summons up courage even to contradict him, and to set her own will in opposition to his. That shall be her ruin this very day! For mark well, earl; the king is now again like a tiger that has been long fasting. He thirsts for blood! The queen has an aversion to human blood, and she is horrified when she hears of executions. So we must manage that these opposing inclinations may come into contact, and contend with each other.”
“Oh, I understand now,” whispered Douglas; “and I bow in reverence before the wisdom of your highness. You will let them both contend with their own weapons.”