him, for the more precarious life of a courtier; and the excuses he made were, for this time, admitted. "No man ever strove harder," says Erasmus, "to gain admittance at court, than More endeavoured to keep out of it." As a preliminary step to further concessions, he was, however, prevailed upon by Wolsey to accept the mission in question. The affair appears to have been protracted longer than was quite agreeable to More, though it produced him, on his return, the offer of a pension. To this offer the king's desire to retain More in his service doubtless materially contributed. In a letter written to Erasmus, shortly after his return, we have a very agreeable account of this expedition. "Our embassy," he writes, "for in this, as well as in every thing else that concerns me, you are kind enough to interest yourself, has proceeded favourably enough, save that the affair was protracted beyond the time I had looked for. On my leaving home, I had expected an absence of hardly two months, whereas above six have been consumed in the business. Yet, a result by no means disagreeable arose from this long delay. But seeing the affair on which I went concluded, and observing that other matters, arising one out of the other, appeared the initials of still greater delay-a circumstance never wanting in diplomatic affairs, I wrote to the cardinal for leave to return, and used, among other friends, the kind offices of Pace [the cardinal's secretary]. On my way home, I met him unexpectedly at Gravelines, and in such a hurry that he could hardly stop to greet me.

"This office of ambassador never pleased me. Indeed, it is not likely to suit us laymen, however it may you ecclesiastics, who have no wives and children to leave at home behind you. We, when we have been ever so little a time absent, long to be home again on their account. When an ecclesiastic sets out, he and all belonging to him are maintained abroad at the expense of kings, so that he has no

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But such is not

establishment to keep up at home. the case with me; when absent, I have a double family to support, one at home and one abroad. The provision made by the king for those I took with me was liberal enough; but no account was taken of those I had to leave at home; and yet, you well know, I was not the man to allow of any stint during my absence as a husband, a father, and a master, I hope I know my duty better. Lastly, princes have ways of requiting such as you without any cost to themselves; but with regard to us it is quite another matter; there is no such cheap way of compensating our services. True it is, however, that, on my return, pension would have been settled on me by the king an offer in point of honour and profit not to be slighted-but I have hitherto declined it, and think I shall continue so to do. The fact is, that if I accept it, my present situation in the city, which I prefer to a higher one, must either be relinquished, or, which I should be very much against, be held not without some dissatisfaction to our citizens. Thus it is should any question arise between them and their prince as to privileges, as is sometimes the case, they could not help looking upon me as less true to their cause, if indebted to the king for my pension. As for the rest, there were some things occurred on this embassy which afforded me particular pleasure. In the first place, my long and constant intercourse with Tunstall, than whom no man is better versed in every elegant acquirement, no man more correct in his conduct, or agreeable in his conversation. And then I formed an acquaintance with Busleiden, whose handsome means enabled him to treat me not only courteously, but magnificently. The elegance of his house, his admirable domestic arrangements, the monuments of antiquity which he possesses, (and in which, you know, I take particular delight), and lastly, his exquisite library, and that fund of learning and eloquence which he possesses in

himself, completely astonished me. Nor in the whole of my peregrinations was any thing more agreeable to me, than the company of your good and valuable friend Ægidius, of Antwerp; a man so truly learned, modest, good-humoured, and friendly withal, that may I be hanged if I would not freely give half I am worth in the world to have the good fortune constantly to enjoy his society." The former of the persons here so warmly spoken of was Jerome Busleiden, an ecclesiastic of the Low Countries, who died soon after the period in question, and bequeathed his property to the University of Louvain, in order to establish professorships of the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages; the latter is the person to whom More dedicated his celebrated Utopia, which was written at this period, during the leisure hours of his diplomatic avocations; for his mind was too expansive to be confined to the dull routine of professional duty. This work, the most popular of all More's productions, evinces great playfulness of fancy, joined to an originality of thinking, which was in advance of his age. It will demand a more detailed account in another place. (See Volume of Selections.)

That able minister and exemplary ecclesiastic, the good Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, had often solicited permission to retire from the chancery, in order to be able to devote his whole attention to the exercise of his episcopal functions. At length the king accepted his resignation, and tendered the seals to Wolsey. Stapleton has preserved a letter written to the prelate by More, on this occasion, and accompanied by a copy of the Utopia, which had just made its appearance. The letter is more particularly interesting as anticipating sentiments which were afterwards to be More's own, under the circumstances of a similar resignation. A translation of this letter, which is in Latin, is here offered to the reader.

Most Reverend Father:-I have ever reckoned

yours a happy lot-happy, while you discharged with so much honour to yourself and advantage to the nation, the office of chancellor; happier still when, having now resigned that office, you have sought repose, as a sanctuary in which you may live to God and to yourself—a repose, not only more agreeable than the employment you filled, but more dignified than all the honours you enjoyed for many, and sometimes the worst of men, may be in office. You filled the highest in the state, one investing with ample authority him who executes, and rendering obnoxious to abundant calumny him who resigns it. To lay it down then, as you did, of your own accord the permission for which cost you much trouble, none but a modest man would have wished, none but an innocent one have dared. There are not wanting men to appreciate your conduct, and to admire it as it deserves; and, at a moment like the present, I hope not to be found the last among the admirers of the step you have had the courage to take. Indeed, I know not which to applaud the most, your modesty in voluntarily relinquishing so high and splendid an office, your magnanimity in despising dignities which others so dearly prize, or the innocency of your administration in remaining fearless of consequences. Your conduct was certainly wise and praiseworthy; nor have I words to express the feeling with which I would congratulate the rare felicity that is yours, or to tell you, most Reverend Father, how sincerely I rejoice to see you aloof from secular employment and forensic tumult, enjoying the honourable glory and well-earned fame of an office nobly administered by you, and still more nobly resigned; and, conscious of a life well-spent, calmly devoting the evening of your days to letters and philosophy. I am led to reflect daily more and more upon the happiness of your lot, as contrasted with the misery of mine. For, though I have no occupations worth the naming, yet as trifles become things of magnitude to the little, I

am so busy, that I have no leisure to pay my respects to you in person, and scarcely time to apologize by letter for my omission. Thus I have barely time to write you this, for the purpose of recommending to your indulgence the inclosed ill-digested little work, which a too partial friend of mine in Antwerp, hasty and unpolished as the performance is, thought worthy of the press, and printed without my knowledge. Though fully aware how unworthy it is of your dignity, learning, and experience, yet, knowing your candour and indulgence to every endeavour of mine, which I have so often experienced, I have summoned up courage enough to send it to you: and should the writing be deemed of little worth, the writer is solieitous to find favour.

Most worthy prelate, fare you well.

As we are upon the subject of the good Warham, it should not be forgotten that Erasmus has paid a just and most eloquent tribute to his memory. He died in 1533, as a bishop should die poor, though he had filled two of the highest and most wealthy dignities in the church and state. At his death he left no more than was sufficient to defray his debts and the expenses of his funeral. When near his end, he told his steward to bestow a certain sum in charity. "My lord," said the steward, "there is but thirty pounds left us in the world." "Well, well," he cheerfully replied; "satis viatici ad cœlum-that is enough to last me out to heaven.' A short time before his death, says Wood, he announced to those around him, in something like a prophetic spirit, that "he should have for his successor, a Thomas [Cranmer], who would as much by his vicious living and wicked heresies, dishonour, waste, and destroy the see of Canterbury, and the whole church of England, as the former bishop and martyr of that name did before benefit, bless, adorn, and honour the same."

When Wolsey, in his journey to France, commanded the superior clergy who attended him to

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