style her the King's adopted sister. With these doings Anne expressed herself satisfied, and openly took leave of her old servants and welcomed her new ones. Shortly afterwards, the same commissioners brought her valuable presents from the King, and she, in return, sent him back her wedding ring, as a further proof that she acquiesced in the divorce ; whilst, to assure her brother that she considered the loss of her capricious and tyrannical husband a happy event for herself, she called in a nephew of Ostigers, who was about proceeding to the court of Cloves, and charged him to assure her relations and friends that she had been most kindly treated by Henry, that she intended to end her days in England, and that she was perfectly happy, and quite contented with her lot. That Anne might be retained as an hostage for the good faith of her brother and his allies, her income was made to depend upon her remaining within the realm. As she acted up to the wise policy of avoiding giving offence to Henry, by either word or deed, she was naturalized with due form in January, 1541, and on the sixth of August visited at the palace of Richmond, where she continued to reside after the divorce, by Henry himself, who showed her such marked attention, that many believed he was about to again make her his Queen. His real purpose was, doubtless, to learn how she would take his marriage with Catherine Howard—his graciousness and joy, the result of her complacent acquiescence to the match. The Duke of Cleves, on learning Anne's disgrace, and her own desire that he should not intercede for her, became greatly enraged, and although the Bishop of Bath was sent to gain him over if possible, he resolutely maintained that the marriage was lawful and valid ; and neither threats, promises, nor bribery, could obtain his consent to the contrary. Anne, whose sound discretion preserved her from joining in political intrigues, or giving ear or circulation to court scandal, lived in happy and undisturhed retirement, till the news of the fall of her successor, Catherine Howard, reached her quiet court at Richmond, and startled some of her ladies into giving utterance to expressions which so offended the royal ear, that two of her household were summoned before the council, and committed to prison for their imprudence in saying, "What an extraordinary King his Grace is—how many wives does he intend to have ? — Providence is surely paving tho way to make the good Anne of Cleves Queen again ;" and other things equally frivolous. Their imprisonment, however, was of short duration, and Anne in no way implicated in the matter. A few days afterwards, Anne being confined to her chamber by illness, an unfounded scandal was whispered abroad that she had become tho mother of a fair boy, the King being his father. A colour was given to this report by the fact that Henry had paid Anne several privato visits at Richmond, and that more recently she had returned the compliment, by passing several days at Hampton Court as the guest of the King and his consort. It placed Henry in a very awkward position : his privy council was already occupied in investigating the conduct of his last consort, Katherine Howard, and he now found it expedient to direct their attention to this report, which they traced to its origin, and found to be an idie tale grown out of a remark made by one of the degraded Queen's domestics, to the effect that if Anne could only give birth to a boy, the King would doubtless restore her to her former dignity. The council, however, sent two persons to the Tower, Frances Lilgrave for fabricating and circulating the report, and Richard Taverner, clerk of the signet, for concealing the same for more than a fortnight. Immediately after the decapitation of the unfortunate Katherine Howard, the Duke of Cloves and the Protestant party endeavoured to increase their strength by effecting the re-union of Henry and Anne ; hut the German princess, warned by the fate of her fair rival, felt no inclination to again place her life at the