Henry VIII., when informed of this state of things, thought that he ought to avail himself of it for his own advantage. His favorite notion was to engage the King of Scotland to make his country independent of Rome, and as James was his nephew he did not despair of success. As long ago as 1535 he had sent Barlow to him with books against the authority of the pope. That measure failed. Next he had despatched Lord Howard to James, who was still unmarried, to offer to him the hand of his daughter Mary, and with her the prospect of the crown of England, if he would establish the royal supremacy in the Church. Another failure. In 1540 Henry had charged Sir Ralph Sadler to set before James the advantages which he would obtain from a Reformation, and to propose an interview with him. Sadler, in order to counteract beforehand the cardinal’s influence, communicated to the King of Scotland some letters from that prelate to the pope, which had been intercepted by the English, and from which it was manifest that Beatoun’s aim was to place the state in subjection to the Romish Church. The prince answered with a smile that the cardinal had already shown him those letters.[241] All the endeavors of the English envoy had proved futile. At bottom, the end which Beatoun was pursuing was the ruin of Henry VIII.; and in order the more surely to attain it, he was ambitious to be appointed legate _a latere_, a dignity which would invest him in Scotland with the extraordinary powers which he did actually obtain. He did everything to conduct to a happy issue the alliance against England which had been previously projected by the pope. The English Council of the North wrote to Cromwell--‘We think that the cardinal of Scotland intendeth to take his journey towards Rome in Lent next coming, and we think it should appear by the schedule of instructions herein inclosed, which was taken on a ship lost at Bamborough, that the Scots intend some mystery with some of their allies.’[242] Henry, alarmed at this news, caused fresh entreaties to be pressed on his nephew. His ambassadors promised James that if he would go to York to confer with his uncle, the meeting would have the happiest consequences for him, and would afford him the most unanswerable proof of the love which Henry bore him.[243] It appears even that one of them, speaking of the feeble health of prince Edward, held before the eyes of James Stuart the brilliant prospect of the crown of England, leaving Mary and Elizabeth entirely out of sight. The nobles of Scotland, natural enemies of the priests, urged the king to agree to the interview with his uncle. Articles were drawn up at the beginning of December 1541, by the commissioners of Scotland and England. They purported that King James would meet his dear uncle, the King of England, on January 15, 1542, at the city of York, for the purpose of mutual communications tending to increase their cordial love, to draw closer the ties of