Records Volume 39: Letters and Memorials of Fr Robert Persons, S.J.

Publications of the Catholic Record Society

GENERAL EDITOR

ALPHONSUS BONNAR, O.F.M. , D.D.

Vol. XXXIX

THE Catholic Record Society was founded 10 June 1904, for printing Registers and other old Records of the Faith, chiefly personal and genealogical, since the Reformation in England and Wales .

Catholic Record Society

LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF FATHER

ROBERT PERSONS, S.J.

FRAGMENTENTA

COLLIGE PEREANT

WHITEHEAD & SON LTD., LEEDS

PREFACE

Studentsofthe Elizabethan and early Jacobean period ofour history, particularly those interested in the story of our Catholic forefathers during those days of severe persecution, have long desired that the letters of Father Persons should be published, even as those of his friend and co-worker in the Catholiccause , CardinalAllen, had been in the indispensable work of Fr. Knox: andmypredecessor , Fr. J. H. Pollen, S.J., who had alreadyedited for the CatholicRecord Society several of Persons'smemoirs , had in mind to complete those memoirs by an edition of his letters. Unfortunately, pressure of other historical work prevented him from carrying out his intention. Before his lamented death, however, he had made a very considerable collection of the letters; and of those which have been subsequently added to it there is hardly one which was unknownto him, even though he had had no suitable opportunity for transcribingit. Certainly, withouthis previous preparatory work and without the aid of the valuable notes taken by him in his researches in various archives both at home and abroad, this present edition would have been held up for a very considerable time.

To another Jesuit, Fr. Christopher Grene, whose life spanned the years from 1629 to 1698, this present edition is also greatly indebted. An indefatigabletranscriber of documents , many of which have since perished, he helped Bartoli in this capacity in preparing his Inghilterra. As Fr. Morris has justlyremarked , "he was a great lover of the English Martyrs and he has done more than any other man to save the records of their sufferings from perishing, and to transmit to us the materials for the history of the times of persecution " In addition to the records of actual martyrdoms, among the documents copied or synopsised by him are letters of Allen, Persons, Garnet, Barret, Gerard, Blount, Southwell , Walpole and others. His copies and synopses of Persons's Lettersare to be found in Collectanea P , now preserved at Stonyhurst, which originally in four volumes is nowbound in two, though the folios are numbered consecutively as though forming but one volume. Not all of the original Collectanea has survived, for in his list of Persons's letters Fr. Grene refers to one copied by him on folio 855, whereas the extant work only goes to folio 609. Reference to this Collectanea will frequently

PREFACE

be made in the following pages and still more frequently in the volumeor volumes of letters connected with the later period of Persons's life.

The present volume includes all thelettersthat couldbefound up to 1588,i.e. tothetimeimmediatelypreceding Persons'ssecond journey to Spain An appendix has been added of several documents, which are either related to Persons's activities or concern persons, such as Owen Lewis for instance, who were prominent figures in the history of the period In the notes my aim has been to elucidate the text, to supply further information on the subjects to whichit refersoften from sources inaccessible to the general readeror to indicate where additional matter may be found. TheIntroduction is takenup with a chronological account of Persons's life during these years, together with such a concise indication of the political background as should suffice for the better understanding of the letters No estimate of the man will be found there; rather has it been my aim to get at the facts, often disputed, upon which such an estimate must eventually be based . In any case such an estimate must wait until theedition of the letters is completed To that time must also be deferred a detailed index: in the meantime an index chiefly of the names occurringin the documents is appended

In editing the letters it has been thought advisable to expand the usual contractions so frequently found in the documents of the period. The reader's indulgence is asked for any errors that may appear, and more particularly with regard to the document headed " Considerationi per le quali, " etc. (p 289). Thephotographer atSimancas did not realise thatthe last twoor threelines of the document were on another folio, and omittedto makeafilm ofthem . Ratherthanarrangefor thesefewlines tobephotographed and so expose the publication of the letters to further delay, whichin these days of war might be considerable, it was thought better to print the English translation of these lines from the Spanish Calendar. The war also precluded obtaininga copyfrom the Vatican Archives of the note sent to the Nuncio in Paris by Persons under the name of Gerard Bentivoglio on July the 16th , 1582 , for whichunfortunately applicationwas made too late . The omission , it is hoped, will be made good in the next volume of the letters.

Itremains for meto thankthose who have kindlyaided me in preparing the work To E. Chadwick, Esq , I owe a particular

debt of gratitude Not only did he generously offer his time and labour for the difficult task of translating the letters, but in the collecting and collating of documents his help has been most readily given, and in the general task of editing, his counsel has proved of great assistance . I have also to thank Mgr. Mercati andthestaffofthe VaticanArchives, and DomAnselmo Albareda , O.S.B. , of the Vatican Library, and his staff, for facilitating research in those two great repositories of records, and particularly for finding documents where faulty references were given Thanks are also due to the Directors of the Biblioteca Nazionale and ofthe Archivio di Stato at Naples and their respective staffs for facilities accorded me for research in those archives; to Mgr. Macmillan , the Rectorof the English College, Rome,(1) and tothe Rev. H. E. G. Rope, its archivist; to the Rev. P. Leturia, S.J., ofthe Gregorian University, and the Rev. F. Cereceda, S.J. , who very kindly arranged to have documents in the archives at Simancas photographed ; to the Secretary of the Record Office , who, despite the removal of documents from Londonto a safer locality, most obligingly had copied for me the letterof Persons dated August the 26th, 1582; to the Rev. P. Watts, S.J., the archivist at Stonyhurst, and to the Rev. A. Bonnar, O.F.M. , the General Editor of the Catholic Record Society, whose aid was continually called upon in seeing the work through the press.

In conclusion mayI beganyreader, who should come toknow of any extant letter of Persons, written during this period ofhis life, which is not contained in the present volume , to inform me , so that it may be included in a later volume before the edition is completed .

(1) For his kind permission to publish two letters of Persons , preserved in the archives of the College (infra, pp 201, 255)

Bartoli, Inghilterra

C.R.S.

Dasent

D.N.B ...

ABBREVIATIONS

=D Bartoli, S.J., Dell' Istoria della Compagnia di Giesu, l'Inghilterra, Roma, 1667 .

=The publications of the Catholic Record Society. =Acts ofthe Privy Council ofEngland, edited byJ. R. Dasent; 32 vols , London, 1890-1907 . =Dictionary of National Biography.

DocumentosIneditos Colección de Documentos Ineditos para la historia de Foley

Gillow España; 112 vols , Madrid, 1842-1895

=H. Foley, S.J., Records of the English Provinceofthe Society of Jesus; 7 vols. , London, 1875-1883 .

=J. Gillow , A literary and biographical history, or bibliographical dictionary of the English Catholics from the breach with Rome to the present time; 5 vols , London, 1885-1903 .

Knox, Douay Diaries =T. F. Knox, D.D., Records of the English Catholics

Knox , Allen under the Penal Laws IThe First and Second Diaries of the English College, Douay; London , 1878

=T . F. Knox, Records of the English Catholicsunder the Penal Laws IIThe Letters and Memorials of William , Cardinal Allen; London, 1882

Kretzschmar , Invasionsprojekte

=J. Kretzschmar, Die Invasionsprojekteder katolischen Mächte gegen England zur Zeit Elisabeths ; Leipzig, 1892

Persons, Apologie

Simpson , Campion

Tierney-Dodd

= R . Persons, S.J., A Briefe Apologie in Defence of the Catholike Hierarchie

=R Simpson, Edmund Campion; London, 1867

=C . Dodd, The Church History of Englandfrom 1500 to the year 1688. Edited by M. A. Tierney, 5 vols.; London, 1839-43

IINTRODUCTION

Early Life, 1546-1575 .

Fr. Personswas a West-country man, born in NetherStowey, Somersetshire, in 1546. His parents were of humble worldly condition, but honourable, of somewhat better rank than their neighbours, and at heart Catholics, thoughthey apparentlyconformed for a time to theStatereligion At theturn ofthecentury, intheheatof controversy over the appointmentoftheArchpriest, when attempts to defame him as well as the Society exceeded all bounds he was then in the middle fiftiesdoubts were cast by his adversaries on his legitimacy Suffice it to say that not an atom ofproof was ever offered for the assertion , that Persons appealed to the register of his birth at NetherStowey, which was then extant , that no dispensation was required either for his entrance into the Society or for his ordination and that all the extant evidence warrantsthe verdict of those who made enquiry into the matter at the time, that the charge of illegitimacy was a 'lewd slander '(1)

Aftera fewyears' schooling at Stogursey and Taunton , he proceeded to Oxford, where he took his degree and becamea Fellow and later Bursar of Balliol As a Tutor he seems to have been much in request, manyfrom the West country and from London entrustingtheir sons to him. Like manyanother at theUniversity and elsewhere, though inwardly inclined to the Old Faith, he yielded to the times for the sake of material advantage After making a vain effort with the aid of Campion to avoid it,hetwice took the oath of Supremacy. In 1570 RichardGarnet, his intimate friend, was ejected from his fellowship at Balliol on account of his religious sympathies, and a few months later Campion retired from the University rather than do further violence to his religious convictions . But Persons remained; and in the decree of October the eighth, proclaimingRichard Garnet ' non-socius , ' his name appears as the last Fellow to sign

In 1575 , however, his own turn came for him to leave his College and the University. As to the causes of his goingthere has been a conflict of opinions Somethirtyyears later his adversariesalleged that he had been expelled, and gave quite a variety of reasonsfor it, including bastardy, incontinence, later specified as incest , and appropriation of the College funds to the sum of one hundred marks Persons's own account is given in fullest form in his Apologie in Defence of the Catholic Ecclesiastical Hierarchy There he relates that the immediate occasion of the trouble was the stealing away of one of his pupilsby Christopher Bagshaw, a junior Fellow of the same College Persons, there-

(1) Cf. C.R.S. ii, 13 , and 37-47: also Garnet'sletterof the 18th of October , 1601 , in the Appendix, infra, p. 315 .

INTRODUCTION

fore, as Dean for that year, called a meeting of the Fellows to look into the matter But the Master of Balliol, Adam Squire, instead of considering it, picked a quarrel with Personsconcerning religion, saying that he perverted a great number of students and that it was not meet for a man of his backwardness in religionto have so many pupils of quality He proposed, therefore, that, as Persons had already broached the idea of going abroad , he should resign his fellowship, being given time to make all suitable preparations , and enjoyingmeanwhile all the privileges of hisfellowshipand the offices he held They, on their part, would swear to keep his resignation secret . Should he not agree to this, then that very night they would have him and all his stuff out of the College, and he could seekwhat remedy he might After consultation with two Catholic-minded Fellows, who pointed out to him that there was small chance of remedy from the visiting ' inquisitor,' the ProtestantBishop of Lincoln, Personsconsented to the proposal and accordingly resigned. A little later, however , when, as acting Dean, he attempted to enforce the prohibition ofeatingmeat duringLent, someof his adversaries, who had been guiltyofthis and of enticinghis students to do the same , obtained a letter from the Earl of Leicester, the Chancellor of the University, forbidding such an attempt on the part of one ill-affected in religion. Fortified with this, his opponents ' becameinsolent , ' revealed against their oaths that he was no longer a Fellow and, ringing the bells of S. Mary Magdalen's, shut him out of the College

Such in summaryis Persons'saccount. It may benotedthat unlikehis adversaries, who in their printed works were careful not to make any mentionof the Collegeregister, Persons stated categorically that " his voluntary departure and resignation of his fellowship" was to be found there subscribed by his own handa point never countered by his opponents; that he appealed by name for verification of his account to four persons who were still alive at the time of his writing it; that there is no record of his adversaries ever attempting to prove its falsity by recourse to these witnesses, whichthey could easily have done; and finally that, so far as they go, both the register of Balliol and the testimony of his brother support his account of the matter.(2)

At all events , wherever the truth may lie,,the incident closed hiscareer attheUniversity, and, leavingOxforda few days later, he repaired to London. For some time past he had entertained the idea of studyingmedicine abroad, andafter some five months' stay in theMetropolis, he decided, on the advice ofhis friend Lord (2) Cf. Persons, Apologie , f. 193v ff., and C.R.S. ii, 20-22 Abbot's letter , there referred to by Father Pollen, S.J. , is printed in Bliss's edition of the Athenae Oxonienses (ii, 65), from H. Foulis, History of Romish Treasons and Usurpations, London, 1671; but the marginal notes to the letter are not Abbot's, since a book is there mentioned which was published wellafterthe date of the letter Cf. also Garnet's letter of the 18th of October, 1601 , in the Appendix, infra, p 315 .

INTRODUCTION

Buckhurst, to go to Padua for the purpose On the journey he haltedfora while at Louvain andthere made the Spiritual Exercises under the directionof Fr. William Good, an EnglishJesuit, most probably being reconciled to the Church on the same occasion After a briefvisitto Romeforthebeginning oftheHolyYear, he returned to Padua, and, having established himself in a commodious house with his two friends, Astlow and John Lane, he began his course of medicine, whilst they applied themselves to thestudy oflaw But his mind wasnot at rest: medicine no longer appealed to him: he felt called to higher things. Soin May, 1575 , after he had spent but two or three months at Padua, he left the city without letting his companions knowhis destination , and journeyedon foot to Rome. There on Julythefourth, a fewweeks after his arrival, he was received into the Society of Jesus (3)

II-

First years as a Jesuit in Rome, 1575-1580.

After, probably, but one year's residence in the novitiate of Sant' Andrea, he began his theological studies at the Roman College. There in due course he was ordained, probably in 1578 . Whilst still continuing his studies he acted for a time as English Penitentiaryat St. Peter's, and had also the charge ofthenovices ofthe secondyear; amongst themwas the future martyr, Robert Southwell.

As the studentsof the English seminary recently founded in Romeattended lectures atthe Roman College, hewouldhave been well acquainted with them; and during the troubles that ensued under the government of Dr. Maurice Clenock between the Welsh and the English, his advice was frequently sought. What he did in their behalf is not known in detail, but he himself claims to have suggested the idea of testing their sincerity by the mission oath, and to have procured the intercession ofthe two influential Jesuits, Fr. Toletus, thefuture Cardinal, and Fr. Benedict Palmio, with theHoly Father. For the rest, though his sympathies were clearlywithhis fellow countrymen , the prudence and magnanimity with which he acted throughout are manifest in his letter to Fr. William Good and easily explainwhy, when the English Hospice was handed over to the seminary and the seminary itself committed to the Jesuits, he himself was chosen by the General to have charge of it for several weeks until the new Rector, Fr. Alfonso Agazzari, was able to take up his post there.(4)

Concurrentlywiththe troubles at the English Collegeanother matter occupied a great deal of his attention As by this date a considerable number of Englishmen had entered the Society, andthe readinessand desire of many of these to work in England

(3) Persons in his Autobiography says that he entered on St. James's Day, June the 25th (C.R.S. ii, 25); but in a contemporary list ofthose who entered the novitiate of S. Andrea, Rome, 1569-1584 , the date is given as July the 4th (Arch S.J. Rom 171 A, f 35)

(4) Cf. C.R.S. ii, 194

INTRODUCTION

was not unknown, it was but natural that the idea should be broachedofsending English Jesuits to taketheir partinthemission field of their country In his long letter to Fr. Good , Persons , indeed, asserts that, " had nottheenemy castan impedimentwhich no man looked for, " his correspondent " might have been pulled out of his furs in Suetia, " where he was accompanying a papal mission to the king of that country. But Persons clearlyforesaw the objections that might be urged against the project of sending Jesuits to England. You know, " he writes in the same letter, " what great difficulties are in the enterprise which many men do not consider: until therefore I might see myself in my own opinion able to resolve the same, and until a way might be laid down how the Company might begin and go through with the matter to some purpose, I knewthere was no hope to move the matter: But when I was somewhat satisfied in that point I began the assault , and it had such success as I thinkyou would marvel to understand theparticulars, which I dare not here writetoyou. Now it is enough for Fr. Darbishireand me, if we can keep our Englishmen of the Company together and from other missions " From all this it seems clear that the initiative withinthe Society began with Fr. Persons. When, then, Allen, who had been summoned to Rome after the troubles in the Collegehad been settled, again began the assaulthe had already broached the matter in 1576the decision was soon taken to send a Jesuit mission to England (5) Quite contrary to his own expectations, Personswas chosen to be among the first to go, and to be the Superior of the party.(6)

For their guidance the General, Everard Mercurian , drew up a set of Instructions, which with slight modifications were reissuedfor other bands of Jesuit missioners that were subsequently sent to England One or two of these instructionscall for notice here, especially as they run counter to traditional popular conceptions Thus, the object of the mission is clearly stated: missioners are sent primarily to preserve and augment the Faith among Catholics, and in the second place to bring back to it those who had been led astraythrough ignorance or at the instigation of others With heretics, on the other hand, they are to avoid allcontact , and particularly all disputations , unlessnecessity demand it. In a word, their field of operation was limited to those who were not at heart hostile to the Faith. The mission had more the character of a move defensive ofthe old Faith than ofan offensive measureagainst the new Protestantism No doubt to someextent these shade into each other, but from the instructionsthere isnodoubt where the emphasislies. In another section the missioners are warned not to meddle in affairs of state, nor to recount political news in their letters; they are not to start con(5) For the discussion as to whether Jesuits were to be sent to England, cf. Persons's Life of Campion, Coll P, c 13 (6)Ibid , c 13

versations against the Queen ; nor are they to give ear to those whodo so, except it be in the company ofthose whom they know to be exceptionallyreliable and of long-tried fidelity. In part an advice of a precautionarynature, it was essentially a measure to exclude fromthe mission all that might give it a politicalcolouring, and to bring into relief its purely spiritual character The rest of the instructions are taken up with advice for maintaining zeal and fervour in the spiritual life in surroundings alien and often inimical to it.

III-

Journey to and First Days in England, 1580.(7)

Before the missioners started on their journey, they obtained from the Pope a declaration that the Bull of Excommunication did not bind Catholics as things stooda declaration that was intended to, and did in effect, relieve Catholics from all scruples in recognizing Elizabeth as their sovereign in the temporal order

To the Jesuits chosenfor the mission were joined threepriests from the English Collegeand two lay students, togetherwithfour formerchaplains of the EnglishHospice. It was more than doubtful wisdom to send so many together, even on the journey to Rheims, as it advertised what should for safety's sake have been kept as secret as possible. But surprisinglylittle attention seems to have been paid to such considerations ; and in effect theEnglish Government were made cognisant of their coming before they arrived in England .

Having obtained the blessing of the Pope and taken their leave of him, they set out from Rome on the 18th of April, and after a journey of some six weeksmostly on foot, for they had only afewhorses for suchas neededan occasionalrest fromwalking -they arrived on the last day of May at Rheims, where they received an enthusiastic welcome There they learned forthe first time from Allen, who had himselfreceived the news from Spain, that Dr. Sanders, by order of the papal nuncio to the Spanish court, had gone into Ireland " to comfort and assist certain Irish Lordsthat were said to have taken arms a little before in defence of their religion, and had asked help, counsel and comfort of His Holiness therein " " Forwhichjourney of Dr. Sanders, " continues Persons, "though being made by order of his Superiors, it belonged not to us to mislike, yet were we heartily sorry partlyfor that we had just cause to suspect and fear that which came to pass, that so rare and worthy a man should be lost in that action ; and secondly for that we did easily foresee that this would be laid against us and other priests that should be takenin England as though we had been privy or partakers thereof, as in very truth we were not, nor ever heard or suspected the same until

(7) The chief authorities for the mission period of his life, apart from his letters, are his Life of Campionand his De Vita Campiani, both of which areto befound at Stonyhurst,Coll P. Cf. also his Memoirsin C.R.S. ii and iv.

INTRODUCTION

this day. But seeing that it was so and that it lay not in our hands to remedy the matter, our consciences being clear , we resolved ourselveswith the Apostle, per infamiamet bonam famam, togo forward only with the spiritual action we had in hand, and if God had appointed that any of us should suffer in England under a wrongtitle, as Himselfdid upon the case of a malefactor , we should lose nothing thereby but rather gain with Him who knew the truth, and to whom only in this enterprise we desired to pleaseand with this consideration we comforted ourselves."(8)

Aftera stayofa weekat Rheims the party split upintosmaller groups so as to avoid for greater precaution all entering England together and by the sameroute The Jesuits accordingly , accompanied by Persons's brother George, whom they had met at Rheims, made their way to St. Omer, where the Society had a college which by its situation offered them a choice of ports for embarkationDunkirk, Graveline or Calais. At St. Omer, however, they found the Flemish Jesuits strongly averseto their continuing the journey to England. The Queen and the Council, they urged, had been advertised of their coming and were much exasperated thereby. Divers spies that knew them by name, in fact had lived with them in Rome and could describe their persons and habits, had given such particular notice, even their very portraits, to the Council, and the Council in turn to all the ports, that it wasimpossible to enter thecountrywithout being captured

To these arguments Persons and Campion replied that the mission itself had been decided upon by their Superiors after mature deliberationand that only the manner, time and place were left to their own discretion. Granted that the dangers were asgreat as the Flemish fathers imagined, they wouldonly increase by delay. It imported little that the Council knew their names , for they had licence to change them and take others at their pleasure. The like might be said of their apparel, which would be very different from that which they wore at Rome Spies could hardly have such detailed knowledge of their personsas to be able to discover them under their disguise; nor was it credible that they could have had their portraits drawn in Romestill less that they could have made many copies since their coming. In fine, the mind oftheir Superiors was, they were persuaded, that they should go forwardon theirjourney with all dispatch. With these reasons and the aid of an English exile, Mr. Chamberlain, a discreet man well qualifiedto evaluate the reportsandrumours that had come from England, they convinced their Flemish brethren; but it was decided that for greater securitythey should proceed to England separately, Persons enteringthe first in the guise of a captain returning from Flanders, and if all went well, Campion following as a merchant of jewels, attended by Ralph Emerson as his servant (9)

(8) Persons's Life of Campion, c 17

(9) Persons's Life of Campion, c 18

INTRODUCTION

In this, again, Chamberlain came to their aid, supplyingPersons with a veryfit suit ofa captain's apparel of his own, which was of bufflaid with gold and with hat and feather suited tothe same , and with another convenient suit of apparel for one that went with him for his man " Thus attired, Persons embarked atCalais, and arrived at Doverthe morningof the 16th of June. There the searcher commissioned to examine him "found no cause of doubt in him, but let him pass withall favour, procuring him both horse and all other things necessaryfor his journey to Gravesend"(10)

To pave thewayfor Campion's entry, Persons toldthesearcher that a merchant friend of his, lying at St. Omer , of the name of Edmonds, would shortly follow him to England and asked that like favour might be shown him. He also left with him a letter to be forwarded to St. Omer, reporting the great courtesy shown to him , and stating that " since his departure he had thought upon some special and urgent causes why it was convenient for Mr. Edmonds to make haste to London for utterance of jewels, which he would help him to sell if he made haste after him. " It was not merelyto summon him over that Persons wrotethis, but that Campion might have a letter explaining his coming, which he could show to anyone and particularly to the searcher , and so facilitate his passage to London (10)

This settled, hemadehis wayto Gravesend,whereheembarked that night in a tilt-boat forLondon The journey was not without its anxiety and fear of discovery, for " he found himself in the midst of a company of gentlemen of the Inns of Court and some of the Queen's household, as they seemed, with divers musicians who had been to make merry in Kent. " However , the music , which lasted far into the night, distracted their attention from their fellow passenger ; and very earlyin the morning, before they were thoroughly awake, he took the opportunity to transferhimself and his servant to a wherry, which landed him safely at Southwark about four o'clock of the morning.

Anewdifficultythere presented itself: he could find no lodging in the wholeof Southwark, " partlyfor that he brought no horse with him, and partly by reason of the new proclamations and rumoursagainst suspicious people that were to come, and every inn where he went seemed to be afraid to receive him, and so much the more for that they might guess by the fashion of his apparelthat he was come from beyond the seas" In a fruitless search he passed nearlythe whole morning. Finally, despairing of finding a lodging, he went to the Marshalsea and " enquired for one Mr. Thomas Pound, Esquire, that had lain there and in other prisons many years for the faith. " Pound received him withthe greatest joy, and told him that he and his fellow prisoners had heard oftheircoming and had prayedearnestly for theirsafe arrival After dinner a Mr. Edward Brookesby, who happened

(10) Persons's Life of Campion, c 18,

INTRODUCTION

also to be paying Pound a visit, took Persons awaywith him to hislodgingin thecity; and " there hefoundboth priests and other gentlemen, "and among themGeorgeGilbert, whom hehad already met some time before in Rome, and who was to prove his inseparable companion for the greater part of his stay in England, aidinghim and providingfor him on everypossibleoccasion. After giving a description of Campion and Emerson so that they might be recognised should they arrive in his absence, and leaving instructionsfor Campion to await his return and in the meantime to"employhimselfin the best manner he could to the comfort of Catholics , " hewithdrew at the request of some principalCatholics to a neighbouring shire (11)

Meanwhile Campion, having received Persons's letter, left St. Omer for Calais and thence , accompanied by Ralph Emerson , he crossed to Dover on the night of June the 25th Despite all the efforts that had been made to facilitate his passage to England, things at first did not run too smoothly for him In the short interval since Persons's arrival stricter orders had come from the Council to the searcher " to look more diligently to his charge with some check and reprehension also for him and the Mayor of the town; for that it had been understood that certain priests had come that way into England of late days." Added to this, a spy had advertised the Council that Allen's brother, Gabriel, was to come about this time to England to visit his friends in Lancashire, and had forwarded a description which by ill chance happened to tally in the main with "the person, stature and physiognomy of Campion. " The Mayorand the searcher , accordingly, mistaking Campion for Allen's brother, arrested him on landing at Dover, and determined to send him under guard to London . It was a ticklish moment. Fortunately the Mayor, for no apparentreason, changed his mind It may be that Campion showed Persons'sletter to the searcher, and so convinced him of his mistaken identity At all events, Campion was released and allowed to depart whither he would. His further anxiety as to what he should do when he came to London, for he knew not whither to go, was quickly dispelled on his arrival there. Thanks to Persons'sdescription of him and to the smallstature of Ralph Emerson, a Catholic , Thomas James, who was watchingfor their coming, immediatelyrecognised the travellers, and stepping down to the boat's side, said to Campion : " Mr. Edmonds, giveme your hand:I stayhereforyoutolead youtoyour friends," and straightway he took them to the same house that had received Persons , presumablythat of Edward Brookesby, where soon a number of young and eager Catholics came to welcome them. In the first two days in London forty or more came to confession to him The zeal and fervour of these young men were, indeed , a source of joy and admiration to both the Jesuit missioners.(12)

(11) Persons's Life of Campion, c 18 . (12) Persons's Life of Campion, c 19

INTRODUCTION

It needed not the instructionswhich Persons had left for him for Campion to do all he could for their comfort; and as they implored him to preach forthemon the29th, thefeast of SS Peter and Paul, he readily consented " The difficulty was about the place, for ifit were in a private house there could not resort so manyas would desire, and if it were in a public place the danger was of discovery . But at length it was concluded to have itin Lord Paget's palacenear Smithfield, in the great hall, and sundry gentlemen of worship and honour offered to be both conveyors of the hearers and porters for their security, and so it was; and Campion preached upon the Gospel of St. Peter's feast, to wit as well upon these words ofSt. Peter's confession, 'Tu es Christus , filius Dei vivi, ' as also of Christ His answer and promise to him again, 'Et ego dicotibi quiatu es petrus et superhancpetram ædificabo Ecclesiammeam . '"(13) It was a great sermon and moved manyof his hearers to tears, animating them to " the true confession of Christ in that faith and religionof His which He first sent toour nation when it was converted from paganism. " But in the circumstancesit was hardly prudent. Wiser counsels, indeed, soon prevailed " After this , " writes Persons , " he preached no more so publicly, for that some muttering of it having broken forth, the diligence and search began to be very great for his apprehension , which the Council at the beginning thought to have compassed by some stratagem of sending some false brethren to hear him and so to apprehend him in the fact " " Divers spies, " he dryly continues , were sent abroad and willed to sigh after Catholic sermons and to show great devotion and desire of the same, especiallyifanyof the Jesuits might beheard "(14) Campion himselfseems to have realised the need for greater precaution,for Persons on his return to London a few days later found him "retired for his more safety into a certain poor man's house in Southwark near the Thames, where men might repair without great show of suspicion both by land and water."(15)

It had, indeed, been far from wise for so many priests and Catholic exiles to pass to England in quick succession In addition to the twelve who had journeyed from Rome, there were some six or seven others who entered the country aboutthis time . At all events it seems that greater care might have been exercised to keep the matter secret. The news of their coming soon got noisedabroad On the Catholics, no doubt, the effect was exhilarating: they seemed, as Persons relates, " to be veryglad and much comforted by their coming and to hope some speedy mercy at God's hand for their relief." " And as for the common people, theywereyet more moved withthismatter and as it wereamazed, not knowingwhat to say or thinkofthe same; foronthe one side

(13) For the names of some of the young men present at the sermon cf. P. Bombinus, Vita et Martyrium Edmundi Campiani, Mantua, 1620,p 104 (14) Persons's Life of Campion, c 18 . (15) Persons's Life of Campion, c 21 b

INTRODUCTION

they were told ofcertain men named Jesuits that were come into theland and were enemies ofher Majestyand to the new religion and to the state of the realm, and that they were sought for diligently as most perilous persons to the weal public, and yet on the other side they understood that they were ecclesiastical men that came without weapons only to preach and teach the old ancient doctrineoftheirforefathers, fasting, praying, confession , restitution ofgoods wrongly takenaway, and thelike, and to dispute withtheirministers about these points, whoselives they well knewto befar distantfromanyofthesethings, soas theyremained doubtful what would follow or no in matters ofreligion. "(16) But the effect on the Government, whichcould notfail to be cognisant oftheir coming , was far otherwise Already, some years earlier , they had realised thattheSeminary ofDouaythreatened to defeat what had been their aim from the beginning of the reign, the deCatholicising of England, and would inevitably force them to releasetheir strangle-hold on the Church by ensuring a continuous supply of priests to keep the old Faith alive and give it renewed vigour. In consequencethey made efforts, fortunately in vain , to have the seminary suppressed And from the time that the first seminarypriests arrived and signs of the incipient Catholic revival and its rapid progress and diffusion began to multiply, they endeavoured to counterit by ever-increasing pressure upon Catholics and ever-severer measuresof persecution When, then , they learnt of the coming of more missioners, not merely from Douay but also from the Seminary in Rome, and Jesuits too , they were, as Persons phrased it, "extremelystung" and quickly sent their spies abroad to search for them.(17)

Norwere they unsuccessful in their efforts , for alreadybyJuly fiveor six ofthe newcomers had been arrested In London, particularly, " the searches, " writes Persons , "grew to be so eager and frequent at this time and the spies so many and diligent as every hour almostwe heard of some taken, either upon suspicion or detection against them, wherefore we were counselled by our friends to abbreviateour stay and so despatch such things with all speed as were needful to be determined before our departure, for that our abode there could for the present be but subject to very great danger."(18)

IV . "Synod of Southwark . "

Before they left for their missionary tour of the country, as therewas no Superior ofthe clergyresiding in England, Dr. Allen at Rheims being considered such for all practical purposes, Persons and Campion decided to pay their respects to the more influential priests remainingin London and to discuss with them certain mattersof importance The meeting was held at St. Mary

(16)Persons's Life of Campion, c 20

(17) Persons's Life of Campion, c 17 .

(18) Persons's Life of Campion, c 21

Ovaries, Southwark, and was attended by such older missioners as Blackwell, Metham and Tyrwhitt, as well as by several ofthe priests recently arrived and some of the principal laymen . The first point proposed was " what answer or satisfaction should or might be given generally as well to Catholics as to Protestants ,if occasion were offered, about the rumour raised against this late coming inofJesuits and otherpriests to wit, thatitwasfortreason , conspiracy and matter of state and not for religion, wherebyit wasto be feared that all their spiritual and ecclesiastical functions might be brought into obloquy and hatred with the people. " It was answered that two means only were left to them to clear themselves: the first, " by their oaths and protestations which they made before Almighty God and their consciences that their coming only was apostolical to treat of matters ofreligionintruth and simplicity, and to attendto thegainingofsoulswithout knowledge or intention in the world of mattersof state And for this the Jesuits showed also their particular instructions" And "as for the entering of Dr. Sanders into Ireland they knewno more than the child new born, but only heard thereof at their passage by Rheims. " This solemn protestation on oath , they felt sure, would be accepted not only by Catholics, but also by " such civil Protestants as were devoid of passion, " since it was not in reason "that all these priests would make so light of their souls as to cast them away by wilful perjury at the beginning . " The second means of defencewas " to stand upon the denial before God and man and for their adversaries to prove some one point in particular against them, which they were sure no man living would ever be able to do, for that there never was such matter in fact or thought."(19)

But here objection was made that the Government in their hatred would not stand for proofs; mere conjectures would suffice to induce thejuryto convictthem. In that case, itwas countered, were they allowed to speak in their own defence, "it would be easy to allege more founded conjectures on their behalf than against them , for who doth not see that if foreign princes would have sent men hither to treat of matters of state they would have chosen other manner of men than they who all their lives had been mere scholars, nor would they have sent them so manytogether, nor so openly as they had come; neither would they themselves have come on foot and so poorly apparelled ; and finallyhad they to deal with any men in these supposedmattersof state, it must be with Catholics, and what catholic in England would believe them or look upon them hereafter, if after all these oaths and protestations, hewould see them begin with him to the contrary? If all this would not serve , then must they protest the same at their deaths and seal it with their blood. "

It may have been either on that occasion or when they met again after theirfirst missionary tour that a certainpriestnamed

(19) Persons's Life of Campion, c 22

INTRODUCTION

Wilson, at the bidding of some lay Catholics who feared the rising persecution, came to propose that the Jesuits should leave the country until calmer times prevailed To this request Persons replied that, as it was by theauthority ofthe Popethatthe mission had been undertaken , so only by his command could they relinquish it. Their presence , however, would not be hurtful to those the priest represented, as theywouldapproach no place ofCatholics unless expressly invited to do so; and when this present storm had subsided they would be readyto serve those or anyCatholics "though it were with danger of their lives." With this answer Mr. Wilson was very well contented, " and so satisfied theparties whohad sent them that he persuaded them or most ofthem soon after to deal confidently with the Fathers, even in the midstof this persecution. "(20)

The second question discussed was of paramount interest to their lay patrons By the Act of Uniformity of 1559 not only had the Mass been prohibited but attendance at the Protestant service wasrequired on Sundaysand festivals under pain ofoneshillingfine for everyfailure to complywith the law. This attendance at the service was the means deliberatelychosen by the Government to Protestantise the country, and was an act of more than Turkish tyranny ; for even the Turks, at that time the hereditary foe of Christendom, did not force their subject Christians into their mosques. Underthe constant pressure of the law many Catholics had given way and tried to salve their consciences by specious reasons Always a crucial question, it was to crop up again and again to the very end of the reign. At the meeting several cases were considered and the question asked whether a dispensation might not be obtained from the Pope to permit it. To all these points it was answered that it could not be allowed ; " that the godliest and best learned men of foreign Christian kingdoms with whom this affair had been consulted were of the same opinion considering the substance and circumstances of the business, and that his Holiness was also of the same mind and could not be inducedtothink of any dispensation in so notorious a case , where men are called openly to confess or deny God's true religion by so evident a sign distinctive and so public an act as is thegoing to the church of the contrary religion where profession is made to impugn the truth and deface, alienate and bring in hatred Christ's Catholic Church Andtherefore a Catholic cannot without great impiety bindhimselfto be present at thoseacts. " Eventually it was concluded that "this should be the sum of that which all priests should teach and insinuate into Catholics in all places, as hitherto they had done "

Thethird discussion concerned the days offastingandabstinence The number of such days observed in England whilst it was Catholic, though practice varied in different parts of the country, was greater than the custom of Rome and the general (20) Cf. C.R.S. iv, 177–178 .

INTRODUCTION

law ofthe Church prescribed. Contrary to the older clergy, the new generation of priests, who had all been educated abroad, inclinedto favour the Roman rule, especially as it was not always easy to establish what had been the local custom On this matter the decision ofthe synod was a compromise: the Roman rule was to be assumedas a basis of common observance, but local custom was also to be observed, when it could be certainly ascertained; otherwise Catholics were to be free to do as they liked (21)

Besides settlingthesethree points, whichwasthemainbusiness of the synod, the priests who had recentlyarrived were assigned to various provinces and shires. " Atmy first entry into England, " wrote Persons some months later, "I cast my eyes around so far as I could to determine which portion of the whole kingdomwas in greatest need of our help and which portion as time went on would be best able to further our cause It was apparentthat there were three regions into which as yet priests had not penetrated." The first was Wales, which " owing to the lack of labourers had sunkinto a state ofignorance and evenofsomelittle approvalof heresy, due to a certain familiarity withit. " Another such region was the county of Cambridgeshire, whichtheUniversity, entirely heretical, had deeply infected The third province wasthe largest of them all, situatednear the boundaryofEngland and Scotland, and comprising four or five countiesa province of supreme importance "both on account of its being close to Scotland and on account of the open-handed and generousdisposition of its inhabitants" (22) It seems probable that it was on the occasion of this synod that priests were assigned to these districts: but whetherat this time or later, the wisdom andforesight of the plan was proved by its success .

The business of the synod having been settled, the members went their separate ways. It was high time; for the danger of such an assembly had become manifest . Shortly before its close Henry Orton, a former lay student of the English College, had actually been on his way to the house when he was recognised by the spy, Sledd, who had known him in Rome. Fortunately, Sledd grew tired of following him in the hope that he would lead him to some priests, and caused him to be arrested in the streets. Had he continuedbut a little longer he would have made a great capture It was a Marvaile , " writes Persons, " that Mr. Blackwell and we all together had not bin taken. "(23) "

V. " The Challenge"-First Missionary Tour, 18 JulyOctober , 1580.

On leaving the synod, Persons and Campion at once prepared themselves for their missionary expedition in the counties A

(21) Persons treats at length of the " Synod of Southwark" in hisLife of Campion, c 22

(22) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581

(23) Cf. Persons's Life of Campion, c 22, and C.R.S. ii, 27.

INTRODUCTION

number ofwell-to-do youngmen, who wished to share the danger with them , volunteered to attend them wherever they wished to go. Of these, two seem to have been selected for their constant companions, George Gilbert accompanying Persons ,and"another like to him and his very dear friend"-possibly Charles Bassetescorting Campion Gilbert also fitted them out with clothes , money, two riding horses with their grooms, books, furniture for the church and all other necessities for their journey. As Persons and Campion were living at the time in different lodgings, they agreed to meet again and take their final leave of each other at Hoxton, then a small village outside London . There they betook themselves about the 18th of July, going by night for greater precaution . Next morning,when they were on the point of departing,there arrived their fellow Jesuit, Thomas Pound, who had been thefirst to welcome Persons in his prison chamber at the Marshalsea Having secured a few hours' liberty he had hurried to them with a final suggestion from himself and his fellow prisoners. False rumours , he said, had already been spread that their coming to England was for rebellion and matter of state These would certainly be increased as the conversions in the shires got bruited abroad . If by God's permission one of them should be captured, he would be shut away in a dark prison, openly slandered nor ever allowed to state his case in public. After his death, books would come forth to defame him according to the fashion of the Government , whereby many well-meaning people might be deceived and the Catholic cause not a little slandered To secure betimes some remedy for this eventuality, it was thought most effectualthatsome brief declaration should be left byeachof them in writing, stating the causes of their coming, what they "meant, desiredand pretended." Thesedeclarations, signedwiththeirown hands and fast sealed, might be left with some certain and sure friend, who, if the necessity arose, could make them public and so provide for their defence and justification. This suggestion Persons seems to have welcomed at once , Campion not so readily; but " being a man ofsingular good nature and easily persuaded to whatsoever religion and piety inclined most , " he also after a few questions agreed to it, and in half an hour had penned the paper directed to the Lords of the Privy Council, which soon came to be known as the Challenge At the same time Persons composedan addressto the Magistrates ofthe city of Londonhis Confessio Fideilacking, it is true, the virtue of brevity conspicuous in the Challenge, but followingthe main lines of the same and in itself a solid piece of work, wellfitted to the purpose in view The originals they kept each in his own possession, but they handed signed copies to Pound on the understanding that they were not to be divulged unless the occasion demanded it; Persons, unlike Campion, taking the further precaution of sealing his paper. Thus successfulin his quest, Pound took leave of them and rode backto London(24)

(24) Life of Campion, c . 24 : Persons to Agazzari, 17 November , 1580

INTRODUCTION

The two fathers, then, having arranged to meet again about Michaelmas, started on the tour of the counties which they had previously determinedPersonsto make a circuit ofNorthampton, Derby, Worcester and Gloucester, Campion a smaller one through Berkshire, Oxford and Northampton Teir tour and that of the other priests proved most encouraging " We passed throughthe most part of the shires of England," writes Persons in retrospect, preaching and administering the sacraments in almost every gentleman and nobleman's house that we passed by, whetherhe himselfwere a Catholic orno, ifhehad anyCatholics in thehouse" Their method was as follows For the most part they " entered asacquaintances or kinsfolkof some person within the house, and, when that failed, as passengers or friends of some gentleman that accompanied them After the ordinary salutations, they were shown to their quarters, which the Catholics procured to be in some part of the house retired from the rest There they put on priestly dress, conferred secretly and generally late at night with the Catholics of the household and those who could come from outside, and heard theirconfessions. Next morningMasswassaid and Communion given, followed by a sermon or exhortation. "(25) Afterthis they got ready to depart, unless longer and more liberal staywasgranted , when theseexercises were more frequented. The men cameinlarge numbers to conversewiththem, listened eagerly to their instructions, although forbidden under the severest penalties by public decrees recently promulgated , and altogether displayed such a spirit of courage, sacrifice and generosity inthe common cause as to astonish them. " More often than not , " he writes of his own experience, " they put at my disposal their persons and all their chattels ; and their zeal and fervour is worthy of astonishment principally in these three matters: first, in hearing Mass, at whichthey assist with such sighs and such a flood of tears that they move even me, dry as I am , to weep against my will The second thing is the devotionand reverence they have for the Supreme Pontiff, for, whilst his authorityis held among them, as it ought to be, in the greatest esteem , this is not greater than their love; and so soon as they hear those words intheLitany, Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Gregorio, ' itis a wonderfulthing to see with what feeling they stretchtheir arms to heaven and answer all together The third thing is their wonderfulfortitude of soul, which makes them readyto undergo any labour in the cause of religion. " Thework, indeed, imposed a considerable strain on the missioners: they were so busy, he reports, that they had neither time nor strength sufficient : he himself was forced, in addition to other labours, to preach two or threetimesa day He begged , therefore, Agazzari, the Rector of the English College, Rome, to plead with the General to send more workers into this vast field of useful labours that gave such hopes of abundant harvest (62)

(25)Life of Campion, Bk ii, c 1 : Persons to Agazzari, 5 August, 1580

(26) Life of Campion, Bk ii, c. 1 .

INTRODUCTION

The Government, meanwhile, was not idle. " It was notlong after our departure," he writes, " that the Council, bytheirspies and other persons whom they apprehended, had notice of our journey and presently they sent divers pursuivants after us into most shires of England with large authority to apprehend us wheresoever they should meet with us. But we had always warning by the diligence of the Catholics so as we easily avoided them and they lost their labour "(27) A further counter measure of the Government at this time was " to call to Londonall such principal personsas they thought most forwardand zealous in the Catholic religion, and especially such as refused to go to their hereticalchurches, all which or the most part eithertheysentto prison or by great suit were content to let them be prisoners in other men's houses for a time and some few in their own."(28)

VI Return to London, October , 1580.

Persons was the first to return to London, probably early in October, only to find the persecution there very muchastir, and a hue and cryafter Campion in particular. The reason for the latter was this For some reason or another, possibly on the occasion of his being removed in September to stricter custody at Bishop Stortford, Pound, havingread the paper whichCampion had entrusted to him the previous July, handed a copy of itto another and he to a second, " so that in a few days the thing reached the hands of a countless number, including the Queen's Councillors " and" at ordinary tables and otherpublic meetings there was no other talk but of this " Campion's paper had been intended as a final appeal to the people against a tyrannical Government thatwouldconstrain him to perpetual silence: thanks to its premature publication, it now appeared by its confident demand of disputation as a throwing down of the gauntlet to Protestantism ; and, while it, no doubt, enspirited the Catholics, it causedthe Government to rage furiously against him It was no longer safe for him to enter the city So, warned by Persons , who quickly realised the situation, he halted on his way back at Uxbridge, finding a lodging in the house of a Catholic, named William Griffiths (29)

There Persons went to meet him, and later other priests also foregathered. "At theirfirst meeting, " he writes, " they related the one to the other the mercies that God had showed them in the time oftheir being abroad in the country, what shires , towns , houses they had visited, what success they had had, what perils they had escaped , what disposition they found in themselves and others for the time to come. " Later, plans for the future were

(27)Life of Campion, Bk ii, c 1

(28) Life ofCampion, Bk ii, c 1. Cf. also Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580, and C.R.S. ii, 27.

(29) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580. Cf. also Life of Campion, Bk. ii, c 3 , and De Vita Campiani, c 13

INTRODUCTION

discussed and decided Persons was for the present to stay in or about London, so far as the persecution and the necessity of business allowed, while Campion, who was demanded in several shires, withdrew to Lancashire There were several reasons for preferring this county to another : it was at a good distance from London, its people were " more generally affected " to the old Faith, and not least there was more hope there of finding "commodity ofbooks" ; for it wasexpected that attacks on theChallenge would soon be forthcoming, which it would be expedient to answer (30)

"

It was further suggested that Campion should write something in the Latin tongue unto the Universities , considering the love and good opinion he had among them for his style in times past. " Various topics were proposed Finally Campion replied that if the choice wasleftto him he wouldwrite " de hæresi desperata, to show that heresy did now despair in England" At this all who were present laughed and wondered to hear him fallupon that argument at such a time when its adherents " seemed most to flourish and triumph in England and to threaten persecution. Even for this cause, said he, seemeth that argument most fit at this time , for that this manner of their cruel proceeding byterror is the greatest argument that may be of their desperation, for if they had any confidence at all in the truthof their cause , they would never proceed in this manner . " " And truly," continues Persons, "I can affirmofmy knowledge that it was Fr. Campion's perpetual opinion that heresy in Englandwas desperate, and that few or no men of judgment did think in their consciences that doctrineto be true and defensible that was commonly taught and practised, the absurdities thereofbeing so many and manifest as they were; but that some , of policy, some for present government , others for ease, others for gain, honour, and preferment , and all commonly for some temporal interest or other, did stretch out a hand to hold it for a time by force and violence. " The book as conceived by Campion was never composed, for the answer of Charke to his Challenge drew him to another line of argument whichhe developed in his Ten Reasonsthough, as Personspoints out, the first chapter of that work shows that when hefirst set out to write it, his meaning was to have penneda treatiseon the desperation of heresy .

It was also decided " to send some priests to the said Universities to helpand direct suchyouths as God should movetoaffect His true religionand desire to go over the seas to the seminaries . Forwhichpurposewere appointed twogodly and sufficient priests, the first Mr. Hartley, that afterwards was a most blessed martyr, and the other Mr. Arthur Pitts, who being also taken was hardly handled in the Tower of London and in the end banished . "

There was onemore business both had agreedto doto report tothe General how matters had passed withthemand topetition

(30) Life of Campion, Bk ii, c 3.

INTRODUCTION

for more Jesuits to be sent to England But as the searches and persecution became so hot and vehement, it was thought better that Campion accompanied by Ralph Emerson should set out immediately and draw up his report whilst on the road So , on the 16thofNovember, "afterprayerand some exhortationsmade , " relates Persons , " and confessing themselves the one with the other, and renewing their vows according to the custom of the Society, they departed and committed each his fellowto thegrace ofAlmighty Godwiththe tendernessof heart whichin such a case andsodangerousa timemaybeimagined, when theymighthardly hope to see ever the one the other again. "(31)

Even whilst the meetings were being held in October at Uxbridge, the Council, so Persons avers, had published in London and throughout the realm a new proclamation , the third of the series,for the discovery and apprehension of priests and Jesuits , and"the danger and molestation was so great that ensuedeverywhere by means of pursuivants , constables, searchersand other catch-poles that Campion found marvellous difficulty to pass the counties where he was to go, and oftentimes fellupon the searchers themselves, though they not upon him . "(32)

Meanwhile , the even greater dangers that beset Persons were only countered by his continued alertness and circumspection. " For though I have many places in London where I can stay,' he writes the day after Campion's departure, " yet in none do I remainbeyond two days, owing to the extremelycareful searches that have been made to capture me I think, however, that by God's favour I am sufficientlysafe from them owingto the precaution I take and am going to take of being in different places from morningtilllateat night "(83) In the same monthofNovember a further proclamationwas publishedthe fourth since their entrance into Englandwhichgave to every man " the power and authority to present appeach or accuse anyone whosoever he be upon every least circumstance which might induce suspicion or surmise of the Catholic religion"(34) Feeling, in consequence , that he could no longer rely exclusively on finding a lodging in the homes of Catholics, Persons prepared a house on the banks of the Thames at Bridewell as a central refuge for himself and others . There he stored vestments, books, crucifixes, rosaries and the like, and met in all probability those who came to consult him oftenfrom a distance: there, too, at times, other priests would foregather at night for a little relaxation(35) Often, however , he

(31) Life of Campion, Bk ii, c 3

(32) Life of Campion, Bk ii, c. 4.

33

(33) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 . (34) Persons, Epistle of Persecution , p 130; De Vita Campiani, c 14 (35) De Vita Campiani, c 14. It was in thishouse that Bd Ralph Sherwin chatted with Persons and others the night before he was captured Ibid , c 15 , C.R.S. ii, 27 , and " A Letter of a Certain Priest " (Persons), August, 1581. On the search ofthe house, cf. Allen to Agazzari, 23 June, 1581 (Knox, Allen, p 95); De Vita Campiani, c 21; C.R.S. iv, 17 , and C.R.S. ii, 182, 27

INTRODUCTION

was compelled to leave the city and find safer quarters in the surrounding country. It was only by unceasing vigilancethat he escaped the hands of his pursuers.(36)

The persecution, indeed, had become increasingly severe , and wasfasttaking on the character, so evident in thelasttwo decades ofthe reign , ofsystematised brutality Even in theearlierdecades the men in power had acted at times withgreat severity, but they had not created a system of ruthlessness. There had been no need for it for accomplishing their aim of de-Catholicising the country The continuous , thoughnot extreme, pressure brought to bear upon the people from the beginning of the reign, particularly in the matter of attendance at the Protestant service, coupled with the gradual extinction of the Marian priests, would inevitably bring about the disappearance of Catholicism. That plan, however , had now been defeated by the establishment of the seminaries and the advent of the missioners and Jesuits The kernel ofthesituationwasclearly expressed by a "hot Protestant , " Fleetwood, a Justice of the Peace in Lancashire Hearing of the arrival in that county of the seminary priest, Laurence Johnson , vere Richardson, the future martyr, he exclaimed " Nay, we strive in vain We hoped that these Papistical priests dying, all Papistry should have died and ended with them, but this brood will never be rooted out; it is impossible ever to be rid of them , nor toextirpate the Papistical faith out ofthe land. "(87) New measureswere called for if the end was to be achieved An attack, accordingly , was made on the seminaries, the source of the mischief, by attempting to cut off the supply of new recruits and to cripple them financially. By the proclamationof the 10th of January, 1581 , all who had children, wards, kinsfolk or any othertowhose maintenance or relief beyond the seas they contributed, were to give a list of these within ten days to the Ordinary, and to procure their return within four months, notifying the same immediately on their arrival back in the country No further help was to be sent directly or indirectly, and should anyone know of such contribution on the part of another, he was to disclose the same , failing which he would incur the Queen's displeasure and further punishment . Aftersix days fromthedate ofpublicationmerchants were forbiddenunder like penalty to exchange, convey, deliver or procure any money for the maintenance of any person beyond the seas ,nor was anyone to leave thecountry without the Queen's special licence . In addition it was forbidden, under pain ofcontempt and severe punishment , to harbour, maintain or succour any Jesuit or seminary priest within the realm. They or any vagrant suspectedto be suchwere to be denounced to the nearest public officer , and imprisoned in the nearest gaol, there to await what further chastisement the Queen thought meet. Finally, informers were to be rewarded, for every person disclosed and

(36) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580.

(37)T. Worthington , A Relation of Sixteen Martyrs, 1601 , p. 57 .

INTRODUCTION

apprehended, by " such sum of money as should be honourable due reward for so good service . "(38)

The penal law of the Parliamentwhich opened its session on January the 16th, 1581, revealed a further advance in oppression directed against the incoming priests and recusants Anyonewho reconciled another or was himself reconciled to the " Romish Religion was now declared guilty of high treason, while the severe penalties attached to misprision of treason were incurred by one who aided or maintained such persons, or knowing the fact ofreconciliationdid not disclosethe same within twentydays. Hitherto, the fine for non-attendance at the Protestant service had been a shilling for every offence, which though oppressive to the poor was not an excessive burden to the rich. Now the penalty was increased to a crushing extent Anyone over the age ofsixteen years was to be mulcted twenty pounds per lunar month for non-attendance: should he absent himselffor a whole year he was to be boundover to good behaviour until he attended in two sureties of two hundred pounds Imprisonment for a year was declared the penalty for anyone saying or hearing Mass. addition the former paid a fine of 200 marks (£133 13s 4d), the latter one of 100. A further clause aimed at preventingchildren being educated at home by a Catholic tutor. Whoever kept a schoolmaster who did not attend the Protestantservice forfeited £10 per month, while the schoolmaster himselfwas disabled from teaching and suffered a year's imprisonment . The ferocity ofsuch astatute needs no comment. It denoted a changein the character of the persecution. It was of a kind, as Persons relates,that had not been heard of since the conversion of England Hitherto the Government had relied on the visitation of commissioners, on bishops and churchwardens, for the enforcement of the state religionon the people Now government officials andpursuivants with ample powers are more in evidence Priest-hunting becomes a trade : the professional spy and the paid informercarry on their nefarious business countenanced and encouraged by the men in power. The privacy of the home is increasingly violated: searches at any hour of the day or night are of frequent occurrence, when everynook and cranny is explored, little regard at times paid to the decencies of life, and theft of other than "papistical stuff" not uncommon Imprisonmentof the recusants reachessuch proportions that the old prisons no longer suffice, but new ones up and down the country have to be found Though its use was contrary to the common law of England, torture, of which there were seven different forms in the Tower, is more and more employed, either to strike terror in others or to extract information from its victims: it becomes a regular feature of the persecution, culminating in the barbarities of a Topcliffe Even as early as December the 1st, 1580, the Council ordered certain priests to be broughtfromother prisonsand committed totheTower, " meaning

(38) Cf. Strype, Annals, iii, 1 , 57

INTRODUCTION

to make some example of them by punishment to the terror of others . "(39) And to give colourto such stark severity, sham plots were concocted, and hypothetical crimes, which did not enter into their indictments, were bruited abroad, even at the scaffold itself, in order to make the victims odious to the people.

Propaganda, to which, indeed, historians have paid too little attention, had always been recognised and used by the Government as an effective means of implanting the new religion. Now itwas employed on a muchlargerscale In" pamphlets, sermons, unseemly pictures, more than scurrilous outcries against him, in comedies and countless other ways," the Pope's authority was made of no account and brought into derision "Not only were Catholics dragged to prison, noblemen and those of humble birth, men , women and even children, but in proclamations as well as in discourses and sermons they were made infamous in the eyes of the people under the name of traitors and rebels"(40) The Jesuits in particular were singled out for abuse. " There is tremendous talk here of Jesuits, " writes Persons , "and more fables perhaps are told about them than were told of old about monsters . For as to the origin of these men, their way oflife, theirinstitute , their morals and teaching, their plans andactions , stories ofall sorts are spread abroad, not only in private conversations but also in public sermons and printed books, and these contradictone another and have a striking resemblanceto dreams This, however, is the main indictment: that they, as well as all the other priests, have been sent by theSupreme Pontiff to investigate conditions and to betray and overthrow states . "(41)

Several reasons might be alleged for the severityof the persecutionthe Irish rebellion with its Papal and Spanish support; the increaseinthe power of Spain bythe acquisitionofPortugal; ' the threat to English power in Scotland by the growing favour oftheyoungprince towards D'Aubigny; theuncertaintyregarding relations with France owing tothevaryingfortunes ofthemarriage negotiations and the like.(42) All these, no doubt, contributed their influence, but the root cause was the revival of Catholicism brought about by the seminary priests and Jesuits, the realisation of the failure to de-Catholicise the country by ensuring the slow death of the old Faith, and of the need of more violent measuresiftheoriginalaim ofthe Government wastobeachieved . Severethoughthe persecution was, the Catholics refused tobe intimidated. Although public decrees, " writes Persons , " forbid all intercourse with us, yet everywhere we are sought out most eagerly, and wheresoever we go we are received with the utmost pleasure Many people undertake long journeysin order merely to talk with us, and they place themselves and all their

(39) Dasent, xii, 270. Cf. also The Diary of the Tower . (40) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 (41) "A Letter of a Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581 (42) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November , 1580

INTRODUCTION

possessions at our disposal: clothes, horses, and all other equipment they press on us in abundance everywhere. " Their strictness and constancy in avoidingand repudiatingthe Protestant churches moved his particular admiration, " almost everyday givingthem- selves up to prison of their own accord rather than even pay a formal visit to the heretics " Wives withstood their husbands when they, out of fear, were on the point ofyielding, " threatening togiveup living withthem if out of human respect they withdrew from their obedience to God and the Church, " and sons for the same reason left their parents' roof "I should never come to an end , " he writes again, "ifI began to talk about the zeal and fervour ofthe Catholics. When a priest comes to lodge with them they greet him in the first instance as though he were a stranger and unknowntothem, then theyconduct him to an innerchamber where anoratory has been set up There they all prostratethem- selves on their knees and beg very humbly the priest's blessing Next they enquire how long he is going to stay with them and this they would like to be as long as possible If he says hewill be leaving on the following day (which is the common practice, in order to avoid risk from a longer stay) on that same evening they all prepare themselves for the confession of their sins and the next morningthey hear Massand fortify themselves withthe most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist ; after that an address is given and they again beg the priest's blessing and he departs; and almost invariably some young men of birth accompany him on his journey. "(43)

" TheCatholics in various partsoftheir houses have a number ofsecretplaces (as we read wasthe custom in theprimitive church) in which to hide the priests from the violence of the officials, who make sudden incursions But now, owing to their being in use for a long time (as always happens), and also by reason ofthe treacheryof false brethren, they have come forthe most part to the knowledge ofthe pursuivants . It is the custom oftheCatholics themselves to take to the woods and thickets, to ditches and holes even ,for concealment when their houses are broken into at night. Sometimeswhen we are sitting at tablequitecheerfully, conversing familiarly about matters of faith or piety (for this is the most frequent subject of conversation of all), if it happens that some one rings at the front door a little insistently, so that he can be put down as an official, immediately, like deer that have heard the voice of hunters and prick their ears and become alert, all stand to attention, stop eating and commend themselves to God in the briefest of prayers: no word or sound is heard until the servants report what is the matter; and if it turns out that there is no danger, after the scarethey have had, they becomestill more cheerful . It can be truly said of themthat they carry theirlives always in their hands "(44)

(43) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 (44)"A Letter of a Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581.

INTRODUCTION

One aspect of their fervour which struck him particularly was their devotion to Mass "No one, " he writes, " is found in these parts to complain that services last too long Nay, if at any time Mass fails to last nearlya whole hour, this is not much tothe taste of many of them. If six, eight, or even more services are held on the same day and in the same place, whichhappens not infrequently when priests are holding meetings among themselves ,the same congregation will be present at all of them . " Such are some oftheglimpses of the constancy and zeal ofthe Catholics , revealed in Persons's letters (45)

"After

Meanwhile , he himself was overwhelmed with work. Mass has been said , " he relates, " and sermons preached -I am compelled sometimes to preach twice on the same day--Istruggle with almost unending business. This consists mainly in solving cases of conscience which occur, in directing otherprieststo suitable places and occupations, in reconciling schismatics to the Church, in writing letters to those who are tempted at times in the course of this persecution, in trying to arrange temporal aid for the support of those who are in prison and in want; for every day they sendto me laying bare their needs . In short the burdens ofthis kind are so manythat, unless I perceived clearlythat the honourof God requiredwhat we are doing, and that very badly, I should not hesitate to say thatI am weary Butwearinessmust never be acknowledged in these affairs For I am firmly convinced that, unless my sins prevent it, God will always be with us as He has been with us up to nowin our efforts; and no weariness ofbody or mind is of any account in comparison with the consolation we receive from the joy, which is almost unbelievable , of the people at our coming. " Still with all this, the burden was so great that he could not easily support it, he said, without fresh help; and he therefore begged for others to be sentfive if possibleto share it(46)

VII. Written Works: the Secret Press.

The most hazardous work, however, during these monthswas the setting up of a secret press and the publishing of books . Catholic works had, indeed, been imported into England from time to time, but no one had as yet dared to print such in the country itself. Yet the faculties accorded by the Holy See to the Jesuits show that such a possibilityhad been contemplated from the inception of the mission . It was Campion, apparently, who urged the matter during the meeting at Uxbridge, and the project was supported by several of the senior priests, such as Edward Chambers, Nicholas Tyrrwhit, Robert Gwynn and Richard Norris , as well as by George Blackwell, George Birkett and William Maurice (47) A suitable house about sixor seven miles fromLondon (45)"A Letter of a Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581. (46) Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 (47) De Vita Campiani, c . 17 .

INTRODUCTION

wasfoundat Greenstreet, then a hamlet, near Barking. Its owner , Mr. Brooks (or Brookesby), of Leicestershire, did not know the purpose for which it was to be used, but acceded to the request of his son, William, a zealous companion of Persons , to lend it to a gentleman for a short time, as he himself was not residing in it. There Stephen Brinkley, another friend of Persons, who was to look after the printers and manage the press, took up his residence. " There were very great difficulties, " writes Persons , "in carryingout the project. Everything had to be broughtfrom London and the press had to be worked so that Mr. Brookesby should not know what was going on . Then the parish officials began to cause troubleby wantingus to go to their church . There were rumours, too, that the press was suspected, and that owing to an incautious purchase of paper we should certainly be taken. In truth Catholics were daily being arrested in London , and one day Brinkley's man was captured and haled off to be tortured. That night Gilbert and I fled Next day, as we had nowhere to go to, we returnedand sent my servant, Robert Alfield, to explore He did not come back, which increased our suspicions, especially as his father was a Protestantminister. So we fled again. However he returned the next day, but I was never again free from fear in his regard. At last, by God's favour, we completed the impression amid great difficultiesand dangers, and Brinkley dismantledthe press. "(48) It was thus that Persons'sfirst work saw the lightA Briefdiscourscontayning certayne Reasons WhyCatholiques refuse to go to Church.(49)

Difficultiesand risks, however, did not cease withthe printing. The books had then to be distributed. "With no less zeal , " he writes, " and with like disregard of danger on the part of the priests, they are circulatedso that what is written may reach the hands of all. Their method is to bring all the books to London before a single copy is given out Then they are consignedto the priests in parcels of fifty or a hundred, and sent at exactly the same time to differentparts of the kingdom Afterthe day when the pursuivants begin their wonted searches of Catholic houses for these books, a number of young gentlemen will be ready to distribute other copies at night in the dwellings of the heretics, in the workshops, as well as in the palaces of the nobles, in the court also and about the streets, so that the Catholics alone may not be charged with being in possession of them . "(50)

This first book of Persons'sappeared at an opportune moment, for great pressure was being brought to bear upon Catholics to (48) De Vita Campiani, c 17. Cf. also C.R.S. ii, 28, 179ff., and C.R.S. iv, 3 (49) If the date of Chambers's letter cited in Domesticall Difficulties " (C.R.S. ii, 179) is correct, then the Reasons Why Catholiques Refuse was printed and circulated before November the 6th, 1580. The Vita Campiani (c. 17) givesone to understandthat the press was only set up after Campion's departure from Uxbridge; and from other details there related (c 18) it would seem more probable that this work of Persons did not appear until December . (50) "A Letter of a Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581

attend the Protestant service. By its exposition of nine reasons against the lawfulness of such attendance, it strengthened the Catholics in their refusal and at the same time showedthe Government thatthey refused "not from rebellion or contempt, but from obligation." It was in fact a plea to the Queen for liberty of conscience and toleration, of which Personswas always an advocate The book, as the author states, was cut short, for it was also to contain in the second and third parts matter for the encouragement of Catholics during the persecution. It is probable that the material for these parts was later elaborated into the Christian Directory.

The same question of attendance at heretical services again engaged his attention a little later, when he learnt that a work in manuscript was being circulated among Catholic prisoners, advocating that such attendance was permissible. This work was ascribed to William Clitheroe, a Catholic student of law , but, as Persons discovered, its real author was the priest, Dr. Alban Langdale, who was acting as chaplain to Lord Montague. In it Langdale endeavoured to support his specious reasons by the authority of the Fathers To counteract the effect of this work, forit had already begun to shake the constancy of some Catholics, Persons , with the aid of Blackwell, composedan answer, dealing particularly with the opinion of the Fathers upon the question. The work was never printed, but its circulationin writing among the Catholics sufficed to check the harm which otherwise might have ensued (51)

In the meantime, two books in answer to Campion's Challenge had come to Persons's handsone by William Charke, a Puritan divine and former Fellow of Peterhouse, the other by Meredith Hanmer, who later rose to high preferment in Ireland That very day Brinkley had finished dismantling and removing the press from Greenstreet and was lookingforward to spending a pleasant evening with Persons after the dangers and difficultiesofthe past few weeks But he found him in very low spirits It was not only that great slanders were circulatedby the books of the two Protestant divines, but that hesawno means at hand to counteract them. Brinkley, however, offered to set up the press again if Persons would composean answer But they had now no house for the press and no books, and the servant Alfield was causing increasing uneasiness . At last Francis Browne, the brother of Lord Montague, offered house, books, food and servants . Alfield was sent back, as he had wished, to his father, and ten days later appeared Persons's BriefCensure .(52)

To provide a well-written antidotefor it is simple but excellent proseso rapidly was certainly no mean feat, even (51) Cf. C.R.S. ii, 28 and 178-181 , and C.R.S. iv, 65 (52) De Vita Campiani, c 18; "A Letter of a Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581; Persons's letterof February or March, 1581 , and Knox, Douay Diaries, p. 177 . C

INTRODUCTION

though Charke and Hanmer were not very doughty opponents. Persons, indeed, had no great opinion of them . Meredith Hanmer , " he writes, " answereth quietly, playnly, andmore goodfellow-like excepting a foule lye or two whereof I must tel him where place serveth He offereth also liberally forhispartdisputation, who notwithstandingis not lyke to be one ofthe disputers, ifthe matter should come to that passe. He had gathered some notes out of Sleidan, Kemnitius, and frier Bale against the Pope, and in dirision of the Catholique religion which he strugglethto utter in dyvers places, without occasion geven. He oppugneth feerlesslyeand confirmethdivers things, nether sayed, nor denyed, nor thought of by Mr. Campion. He frameth to himselfe an adversarye in the aire, and manfully fighteth and assaulteth the same. Finallye his book seemeth to very little purpose, but onely to spread abrode the copies of the other resonable offer, which was some labour before, to wryte out to so many handes as desired it.

"William Charke dealeth more suttelly: for he reporteththe Challenge onely for his purpose, and that also sometimes falsified, except it came corruptly to his handes. He uttereth also much more malice, by drawingeverythingto disloyaltyeand rebellion, which is done by the Catholiques for conscienceand religion. He flattereth the higher states, which can pleasure him, palpably. He weariethhis hearer with the infinite repetition of the worne out tearmes , of Pope and poperye He exceedeth in invention of rayletive [railing] speach He undertakethal manner of lyes without blushing , and ventureth uponn any assertion what so ever , for the bringinge of the Jesuites in discredite with the reader "

It was , in fact, against Charke's book that Persons directed his attack, Hanmer's being mentioned but very occasionally and incidentally; and the greater part of the work is taken up with an exposure of Charke's misinterpretation and false presentation of the Catholic doctrine maintainedby the Jesuits But perhaps the most interesting portion of the work is the reply to the Government's attitude towards Catholicism embodied in Charke's assertion, that " no man can teach or maintain the Catholic religion but he must be thereby an enemy to God and a traitor to the state . " In final count he places the responsibilityofthe persecution on the Puritan clergy It is but thecruelandbloody spirite of your ministers, " he writes, " which by your books and sermons seeke to sturre up bothe Prince and majestrate to afflict Catholiques more and more in Englandand to accounte them as disloyal subjectes: whereby you will one daye prove that you hinder your cause more then by anye one thing. For it cometh not of that spirit which you would seeme to have, nether is it the waye to gayne men to God's religion. As to the late racking and tormenting of those vertuous priests for their consciences in the Tower , whereof all Christendome at this day talketh , what

hath it gotten to your religion?(53) Nothing but the castingof men's hearts into a horrorof suchstraunge and unwonted dealings, and if you should drive men by such means to desperation what gaineth your religionor the state thereby?"

" A month or so after the appearance of the Censure , Persons's pen was again requisitioned by the stir caused by the recantation of John Nichols In defect of more weightyconverts tothestate religion, this youngman, thoughundistinguished in any way , was lauded to the skies by the Protestants, for as Persons remarked , even the Eagle herself must baite on flies when she can finger no feathered fowl. " At one time John Nichols had been a Protestant minister Then crossing the seas he had yieldedhimself to the Inquisition in Rome and made his abjuration. Later he was received into the English College, possibly owing to Dr. Clenock's partiality for his countrymen But after two years, during which he showed little aptitude for study, heleft without taking any orders. He is next found as a prisoner in England, treated with suspicious honour, as though he were a man highly esteemed among Catholics, selected from the rest for the distinction of a cell in the Tower Protestant ministers at once had the entrée to him, and after nine days, on February the 5th, he mounted the pulpit of the Tower Parish Church, St. Peter ad vincula, and delivered an harangue against "popery" TheCatholic prisoners had been forced to attend, but they proved a distinctly discouraging audience, interrupting him when they could and loudlyreproaching his treachery when he had finished. Whether itwastocombat theseobjections broughtbytheCatholic prisoners, the rumour of which outside the Tower could not be suppressed, or merelyto stage a triumph over the Catholics, whichseems more probable, the fact is that the reputation of Nichols was exalted beyond all measure. "It is almost unbelievable, " writes Persons , " howthis fellow is everywhere talked of in terms of the highest praise He is held to be the most learned of all Jesuits, a Pope's scholar, a preacher to the Cardinals, a theologian, a philosopher, a scholar of Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean, most skilled inalllanguages and sciences . He published a printed recantationof his faith, and in it are an infinity of lies about Rome, the Pope, the Cardinals, your College, the Jesuits, the scholars, and about every kind of monk and priest The pamphlet was hailed as a signal success bythe heretics and distributedabroad; but almost within a month a secondbook saw the light entitled A DiscoverieofJohn Nichols, in whichitwas proved on the clearest grounds that hewasneither a Jesuit nor a priest nor a theologian or philosopher, and that he had never made an address to the Pope or Cardinals (except that once or twice he had abjured the Calvinist heresy in the presence ofthe Inquisitors), and that he had no knowledge ofany

(53) Bd ThomasCottam, S.J., suffered the torture known as the Scavenger's Daughter on Decemberthe 10th; Bd Ralph Sherwin was racked on December the 15th, 16th and 19th; and John Hart on Decemberthe 31st (Diary of the Tower).

INTRODUCTION

learned tongueor of any science, but was a very unlearned grammarian , a wandering vagabond, and a most deceitfulfellow. Moreover, this gave good excuse for makingextensive explanation of mattersin Rome, the works of charity that are carried on in the city, thevery celebrated undertakings carried out by His Holiness and the illustrious Cardinals, the signal piety of the religious orders; sothat the heretics were not a little regretfulthat by that composition of his they had providedthe necessaryoccasion for a declaration of that kind; and that owing to this very many people had seen throughthe fraud and had begun todistrust their own side and attach themselves to ours " Certainly, quick to realise the possibilities of the situation, Persons had scored a hit by his book . Not only had he effectivelyexposedthe pretensions of Nichols, and revealed the methods of his patrons, but he had described the many excellent organisations of charity that flourished in Rome , and the help and encouragement given to learning by the Pope and Cardinals in the numerous societiesand Colleges there, to which there was nothing comparable in England, and at the sametime had expounded a good deal of Catholicdoctrine on the nature of the true church, its marks and thelike. ,,

Buttoreturn toNichols Undeterred by thereception accorded by the Catholic prisoners to the sermon of Februarythe 5th , Sir Owen Hopton repeated the experiment on the 19th of Marchand to add to its effect invited a considerable number of courtiers, including the Earl of Leicester, to be present The Catholic prisoners, however, were by no meansoverawed, and Cottam, the future martyr, greatly distinguished himselfby the boldness with which he reproved the apostate for his shamelessness. To the confusion of his patrons, Nichols made but a sorryshow , and was not called on again to preach He endeavoured to retrieve his reputation by publishing his Oration and Sermon made at Rome , and promised further disclosures of the iniquity of Rome in his Pilgrimage which he was preparing for the press But Persons's severe indictment, added to the exhibition he had made of himself on Marchthe 19th, was too muchfor him. A note of comedy was added when the Council thought that " he should be comforted by a contribution to be paid by all the bishops"-though, doubtless,thejoke waslost on theirLordships. Finally, inSeptember, when his promised Pilgrimage appeared, the Councilhadhad enough of him, and rather meanlyfound a victim of their disappointment in Aylmer, Bishop of London, sternly rebuking him for allowing its publication. Nichols then touched the lowest point ofhis degradation Heturned spy and informer, and helped to arrest priests The use, however, of the false evidence he had given in his books to bring about the unjust condemnation of Campion and his companions seems to have sickened him . He confessed his penitence to Luke Kirby, one ofthe condemned, and again fled from England At Rouen he wasimprisoned, and though he protested that he was still a Protestant, he retracted the

calumnies and falsehoods he had circulated by his books . With that he disappears. (54)

VIII. The Decem Rationes Campion comes South: his Capture.

Whilst Persons was thus using his pen to good effectin the south, Campion in the north was composing his Decem Rationes in the leisure left to him from preaching and administeringthe sacraments. When completed, themanuscript was sent to Persons , probablytowards the end of March, 1581. He was delightedwith it; but noting the numerous quotations in it, and foreseeingthat these would be closely examined by the adversaries , he prudently insisted on their verification. Thomas FitzherbertofSwynnerton , who had known Campion at Oxford, was asked to undertakethe task, as a layman would have easier and safer access to libraries than a priest.(55) Then the dangerous business of setting upthe press had once more to be faced. Brinkley again offered to take charge of it, and William Maurice was commissioned to get together gradually the printing materials needed But there was great difficulty in finding a suitable house Eventually, after much searching, the house or possibly the lodge of Lady Stonor at Henley was procured, which had the advantage of being surrounded by a wood and of being accessible both by road and water.

One night, shortly after they had installed themselves there , the priest Hartley, afterwards a martyr, told them that the servant of Roland Jenks, a Catholic bookbinder of Oxford, had been betrayed by his servant Persons at once realised the significance of the news, for not long before he had employed that same servant to bind books for him in his lodgings at Bridewell. But he was too late to savehis property, for next day the gentleman he had sent to London to explore found that the previous night the rooms had been raided and books, letters, vestments, rosaries and other pious objects had all been seized Worse still, Alexander Bryant had been taken during the same search in a neighbouring house This, indeed, was a sad blow to Persons. Bryant had been his pupil at Oxford On returning to England as a priest he had assistedhis father when he lay dying, and since Persons himself came to the country he had been his frequent companion. The Government apparently knew of this close association, and subjected Bryant to frightful tortures, exposing (54) Cf. "A Letterofa Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581, andnotes there, 15-18 . In his Apologie (f 182), referring to the works composed by him whilst in England, Persons writes: "And the bookes written by him , as namely the Censure against Charke, the discovery of John Nicols , the reasons of refusalofgoing to the Protestant Churche , a treatiseofPilgrimages and some others" Beyond the three mentioned in the text no other work of Persons composed during his stay in England is known. (55) T. Fitzherbert's Relation on Campion, Westminster Archives, ii, 181. Cf. also C.R.S. iv, 17

INTRODUCTION

him to hunger and thirst, committing him to solitary confinement in the Pit, thrusting needles under his nails, and racking him more than once, all in order to make him reveal material which would lead to Persons's capture.(56)

Campion in the meantime had come south, probably during Whit-week He had been asked to do so by Personsin order to help in seeing his book through the press, and had been advised by him for his greater security to avoid the houses of Catholics on his wayand tostayratherat the publicinns. NewsofBryant's torture reached them at Stonor Park, and "for almost the whole of one night, " Persons relates, " Campion and I sat up talking of what we should do, were we taken, a fate which befel him soon after." They both realised the danger of continuing their stay at Stonor Park, for there was no knowingwhat even a man of Bryant's character might reveal under the extremity of torture. But it was necessary, Campion thought, for Personsto be there , solong as theprinting ofthe book wasnot completed So Persons remained . In point of fact no torture could subdue theintrepid spirit of Bryant, and the Government were no wiser as regards Persons'smovements when they had finished their barbarity than when they began (57) Thesafety of another companion of Persons, GeorgeGilbert, also caused them concern. The pursuit of him by the Government , indeed, was so hot that it becamegreater labour and anxiety to take care of him than of themselves, so finally he was persuaded not without difficulty to cross the seas .(58)

Eventually the printing of the Decem Rationes, which was necessarilyslow owing totheirsmallstock oftype, was completed Bound copies were thenentrusted to the priest Hartley, who took them to Oxfordin preparationfor the Academical exercise, called by Persons the Act This took place in St. Mary's and lasted several days. With great dexterity and no less daring Hartley managed to leave copies on the benches , concealed , may be, under the paper of theses which were distributed on such occasions . Next day he looked in again after the exercise had begun, and sawat a glance thatthe youngmen for whom the Decem Rationes was intended were payingno attention to the officialspeaker, but were preoccupied with the little book. He then quietly withdrew and rode back to assure those at Stonor Park that the book had certainly hit the mark at which it was aimed (59) That it was a success was shown by the strenuous efforts of the Government to produce an answer to it, and by its popularityenhanced, no doubt, by the subsequent martyrdom of its author Successful, however, though the Oxford exploit had been, it had from one (56) "ALetterofa Certain Priest" (Persons), August, 1581, and notes there , 30 and 31 , and De Vita Campiani, c 25 . (57) Ibid.; De Vita Campiani, cc 24-26; C.R.S. iv, 17, and C.R.S. ii, 29. (58) Persons to GregoryXIII, 14 June, and toCardinal San Sisto, 14June, 1581. Cf. C.R.S. iv, 11 (59) De Vita Campiani, c. 26.

aspect a less happyresult; for it was the gatheringofyoungOxonians at Lyford, whoseeagerness to hear Campion had been stimulated by the book, that led to his capture on July the 17th, little more than a fortnight later

IX. Persons leaves England Work at Rouen Winter , 1581 .

On the receipt of the news of Campion's arrest, Persons withdrew from London to Henley, and when the prisoners were being led to the city, as it was not thought safe for him to go himself, he sent his servant, Robert Alfield, to follow the procession for somewayasit passed.(60) He broughtbackthereportofCampion's constancy, joy and contentment. But though, no doubt ,thiswas some comfort to him, it must have been with a sad heart that Personsreturnedto the press, where there were still books to be printed.(61) Further disaster was to follow all too quickly. Only two or three weeks after Campion's capture, Stonor Park itself was suddenly searched; the press and allthe materialwere seized , and John Stonor,William Hartley,and Stephen Brinkley, together with four printers, hurried off to prison It was providentialthat Personshappened not to be there at the time, as he had not long left the place, intendingto return, and was in fact at a housenot far off in Windsor Forest He immediately withdrew to Michelgrove in Sussex, the home of William Shelley, who was at that time a prisoner for the faith There by chance he fell in with a party of Catholics, priests and laymen, who were crossing to France. They offered to take him with them, if he thought fit to use the opportunity. It was a quick decision he had to take , and it was not easyto make up his mind On the one side there were several reasonsurging him to accept the offer. Both he and Allen had set great store upon Catholic books as a means for preserving and propagating the faith in England: at this very time he himselfhad two or three books ready or partiallyready for the press yet there was little or no chance of continuing to print in England, whileif he slipped abroad he might set the work going again. By stayinga little while in France hemight transact businessfar betterthan he could hope to do in England. Hemight write freely and fully to the General, tell him without theincumbrance of long ciphers and cryptic forms of address all that had occurred, explain the importance of new plans, such as that of sending Jesuit missioners to Scotland, beg sanction forthem, and plead for the necessary subsidies in men and money. Heywood and Holt, who had arrived two or three days before Campion's capture, were already settled in their allotted stations and could surely get on without him for a month or two In conversation with Allen he might discuss the needs of the mission and settle mattersmuchmore expeditiouslythan by the slow and dangerous

(60) De Vita Campiani, c 31 , and C.R.S. iv, 19

(61) De Vita Campiani, c 32

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methodof messages. Yet on the other hand, his goingmight be misunderstood. Friends might think he had deserted his post in the hour of danger; adversaries might so spread it abroad and triumph by it; the effect on Catholics might be harmful and considerable, seeing the prominent position he had occupied since his coming to England No doubt that would be remedied, or at least mitigated, by his return But were he not to return, what then ? And there was always the possibility of that He himself had come to the conclusion that the Jesuit mission " could not be continued and maintainedin England unless there were some one to be agent beyond the seas for many matters"; and much as he intended for his part to return to the country, and even desired with the favour of God there to lay down his lifeforthe faith, he was not his own master, and superiors might think it advisable for him to stay abroad. Far into the night he prayed to knowand debated withhimself what would be the bettercourse to take. Finally, about midnight, the others came to tell him that the master of the ship had arrived, and that they were about to make their way to the sea to embark. Thereupon he decided to go with them. It was a decision that required considerable moral courage to make, but, thoughhe never doubted its prudence, and though the General fully endorsed it, the memory of it in after years filled him with sadness . In the event the partydid notsail that morning A contrary wind prevented their boat from reachingthe shipthat was to convey them, and for three or fourdays they had to hide in a barn for fear of discovery. Eventually they were able to embark and reached France without further mishap (62)

Persons then at once hurriedto Rouen to see his great friend and benefactor, George Gilbert, and advise him as to his future. Possibly Charles Basset was also there Certainly, a little later, both he and Gilbert, no doubt by Persons'sadvice, journeyedtogether to Rome and entered the English College(63) From Rouen Personswroteto Heywood, nominatinghim Superior forthetime being in England He also informed the General of his reasons for coming to France and of the needs of the mission Accompanied by Gilbert, he then went to Rheims to confer with Allen andto hand him the money he had brought over for the production oftheNew Testament inEnglish, theprinting ofwhich,though thetranslationwas completed and eagerly desiredbytheCatholics in England, had hitherto been held up by the lack offunds. The meeting or meetings with Allen must have been held in secret, because for many months to come he was careful to conceal his presence in France fromall savea veryfew, suchasJames Beaton , the Archbishop of Glasgow, and his own immediate superior,

(62) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581 .

(63) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581, and note there, 8. Cf. also C.R.S. iv, 23. Persons's letter recommendingBasset, andAllen's recommending Gilbert, are both dated August the 30th, 1581; and the Annals ofthe English College assert that the two friends enteredon the same day.

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Father Claude Matthieu, the Jesuit Provincialin Paris. He even continued to write letters to the Rector of the English College in Rome, and to his friends in England, as though he were still in his native country It is probable that he used the good offices of the Jesuit Provincialin a vain attempt to move the King of France to intervene with Elizabeth on behalf of the persecuted English Catholics ; just as a little later he endeavoured by means offriendsin England to obtain for them the intercession of Jean Bodin, who arrived in Englandin the train of Alencon at the end of October, and later still sent the priestGratleyto Alencon himself, that he might petition the Queen in favour of Campion and his companions after their condemnation .

At the same time he strove to hasten the sending of Jesuits to Scotland The idea of such a mission had been mooted for some time past ; but as the English faction, under the Regent Morton, were in complete control there, and the power of the ministers of the Kirk unchecked, it had seemed both to the Pope and to the Queen of Scots that little if any good could beeffected bymissionary priests In thelast few months, however, the situation had changed Morton's positionhad been at first threatened bythe rise infavour ofthe young Prince ofhiscousinEsméStuart, Sieur d'Aubigny; then at the beginning of 1581 Morton himself had been arrested and six months later executed for complicity in the murder of Darnley. In July of the same year James had quarrelledopenly with the Kirk over the appointmentof a successor to Boyd, the ProtestantArchbishopof Glasgow, and in the following month D'Aubigny, already elevated to the rank of Earl, was promoted to the Dukedom of Lennox . It is true that the favour of the Prince and the reins of government were shared by James Ochiltree, recentlycreated Earl of Arran, who wasregarded and had acted hitherto as a staunch Protestant , and that Lennox himself outwardly adhered to the Kirk, and was for months to come distrusted by the Queen of Scots. Yet the knowledge that hewasat heart a Catholic and that some leading members ofthe old Marian party, both Protestant and Catholic, who had been excluded from power under Morton's régime, were now shown increasing favour, gave promise of better conditions for the Catholics (64)

The importance of Scotland for the return of Englandto the faith was clearly perceived by Persons. " On the conversion of Scotland , " he wrote a few months later, " depends every hope, humanlyspeaking, of the conversion of England; and if the King [James] should once be confirmed in heresy (with which thereis no doubt that he is very dangerously infected) no help or refuge would be left for the unhappy English " It seemed to him that Scotland might provide a temporary refuge for the persecuted English Catholics When, therefore, at the beginning ofsummer , 1581 , whilst the state of affairs described above was developing , (64) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581

INTRODUCTION

Watts, one of the priests who the year before had by Persons's advice goneto labourinthenortherncounties ofEngland, returned to London and reported that not only was there good hope for Catholicism in those parts, despite the severe persecution, but that passage thence to Scotland was no difficult matter, Persons at once seizedthe opportunity to send him to the northern kingdom to investigate He" laid down," he relates to the General a little later, " the heads of certainmatters which he was to broach with the King if opportunity of access was given him , or even with the nobles , if hewas not allowed to approach the King. " The first was to ask him to take upon himself the protection of the distressed Catholics, especially such as should flee to Scotland , on the ground that Catholics alone would support him in upholding his hereditary right to the English crown . Watts was further instructed to put forward compelling reasons which should move the King to favour the Catholics and their religion and to eschew heretics, such as security in his own kingdom, the hope of succeeding to the kingdom of England (which he could only obtain throughtheaid of the Catholics), his friendshipwith neighbouring Catholic princes, reverence for his mother (who, though void of offence, had been driven out of the kingdom and confined to prison), the murder of his father by the heretics, and the plots against his own life, so often initiated by them, which had been discovered and frustrated by the help of Catholics. In fine he was to offer the King the support of Catholics both Scots and English, and especially of the priests, in bringing backScotland to the ancient faith Watts then left for Scotland and crossed the border about August the 26th.(65)

With this same end in view, Persons as soon as hehadarrived in France began to urge the sending of Jesuits to the northern country. One of his suggestions seems to have been to send an Italian there, who, introducedinto the court ofJames as his tutor in that language, might instruct him in the Catholic faith There were others of course, such as ArchbishopBeaton, the Queen of Scots' ambassadorin Paris, with whom Persons conferred on the matter, and the Jesuit, Creighton, who by reason of the changed situation now renewed their petition to the General to send some of his subjects to Scotland : but Persons's advocacy and the reasons he gave for such a mission undoubtedly influenced the General and the Pope, without whosepermission Aquaviva would not act in the matter, to come to the favourabledecision which was eventually taken in December , 1581. As will appear, the mission developed later a political aspect, which was not present in its conception (66)

X. Books published at Rouen, 1581-1582.

The winter of 1581 Persons passed at Rouen, Archdeacon Monsignor de Monsi, a relative of the Cardinal Archbishop ofthe (65) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581 . (66) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581 , and notes there , 4 and 30 .

"

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city, generously giving him hospitality and providingforhis needs Ias if he had been his own brother" There he again set up his press, entrusting its management to " a very pious and zealous merchant named George Flinton, " and printed, when completed, the books which he had in hand before his departure from England (67) The first of these was his De PersecutioneAnglicana, published in 1581 , a small volume which analyses the penal laws and gives a general view of the persecution, and illustrates it by various incidents Withinless than a yearthere appeared besides translations of the workin German, Italian, French, and English, four further editions in Latin, one of which, that of Ferrari in Rome, contained six engravings, representing the sufferings ofthe Englishmartyrs This wide circulationwas due to the work being used to stimulate interest in connection with the appeal made byGregory XIII for supportof the seminary at Rheims (68) The book certainlyachieved the object Personshad in view , ofbringing home to the Catholics on the Continent the severe persecution their co-religionists were undergoing in England. It was later incorporated in the Concertatio Ecclesiæ Anglicana.

In the first months of 1582 there followed from his pen two other worksThe Defence of the Censure and The First Book of the Christian Exerciseappertayning to Resolution The former was Persons'sanswer to Charke's reply to his earlier Censure , and contained, as one writer remarks, " a very able attack" on the Protestant minister.(69) The unequal conditions imposed on Campion in the disputations in the Tower, " being but one , unbookt, unprovided , wearied with imprisonment , and almost dismembered with the rack, threatened and terrified with death to come, appointed only to answer, and never to oppose, " and the report of Charke's conduct on that occasion, and still more of his following Campion to the gallows, as a conqueror, " with bygge lookes, sterne countenance, prowde wordes, and merciless behaviour , " roused Persons'sindignation, and he poured scorn and indignation on the minister's boastful pretentiousness "As for learning, " he writes, " there are shewed so many brode examples heer, ofyour grosse ignorance, and thatin verye common matters, both of divinitie, and philosophie : as no man that hathjudgement can frame any other opinion of your skyll therin, than as ofa thing utterly ungrounded in any of these two sciences: wherin it is well knowne that M. Campion was most excellent, and consequently, you had little cause to seeke triumph over hym , as you did in this matter.

(67) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581, and note there, 9. Cf. also C.R.S. iv, 31-33

(68) The Brief, Omnipotens Deus, 21 January, 1582 , Bullarium , Luxemburg, 1727 , ii, 486. Hume (Spanish Calendar , iii, 661) erroneouslyattributes the De Persecutione Anglicana to Allen, but the latter explicitly states that theworkis not his but Persons's (Allen to Agazzari, 3 March and 28 March , 1582 Knox, Allen, pp 122, 125)

(69) Cf. D.N.B., sub William Charke

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" Mary as touching the second, which is false dealing to deceyve: you may have the principalitie, not onelie over hym, whoe had (to saye the trueth) no talent therein: but even above the cheefe maisters ofyour owne syde, most expertin thatfacultie. For I assure you, that ofall shamlesmen that ever I read (wherof this age, God amend them, hath brought forth many) you may weare the garland, for bothe audacitie, and constancie in avouchyng open untruthes against youre own conscience The treatise folowyng will make this playne by almost infinit examples. " If Charke's conduct was as reported, the castigation administered to him by Personswascertainly deserved However, the main theme ofthe book is the root errors retailedby Charke of Luther, Calvin, and other leaders of the Protestant revolt. These called for the careful consideration and refutation which Persons did not fail to give. These two books, good of their kind though they be, were overshadowed by his First Book of the Christian Exercise appertayning to Resolution, which is by far the most important work produced by him at this period It came into being in the following manner . Some years earlier Stephen Brinkley, underthe initials J.S. (James Sanker), published at Paris his translation of the Essercitio della Vita Christiana, a popular devotional treatise, written in Italian by the Spanish Jesuit, Gaspar Loarte Whilst in England, Personshad noted the good effects wrought by this translation Indeed, there is evidence that a further edition of it was produced at his own secret press, of which Brinkley had charge Persons's first idea at this time was merely to re-edit this translation with some additions . As, however, Loarte'sbook wasaimed atinstructing those already resolved to lead aChristian life, Persons , having particularly in view conditions in England, thought to preface it with such considerations as would induce those not yet converted to take the initial resolutionon the path of virtue. The preface grew into a work of no inconsiderable size, and though not completed according to the design of the author, containingas it did but one ofthe three parts or divisions planned by him, it was published in 1582 under the title The First Book of the Christian Exercise. The promised second and third parts never saw thelight, but Persons'sown secondeditionof thework , modified and increasedby additionalchapters todouble its original length, appeared in 1585 under the new title A Christian Directorie Guiding Men to their Salvation.(70) His first plan, however , ofre-editing the translation of Loarte'sbook, thoughit was postponed for the moment owing to the increasing pressure on his time, was not relinquished and was in fact carried out in 1584 , when Brinkley, having been released from the Tower, had crossed the sea and was again in charge ofthe press.

Of the great success of the work little need be said. In February, 1584 , Birkheadreported from Englandthat it had " borne (70) Cf. the Preface and the Advertisement to the Readerin the edition of 1585.

INTRODUCTION

immense fruit , " and that " the number of heretics converted by reading it can scarcely be believed."(71) Perhapsit wasonaccount of this that the Protestantminister EdmundBunny brought out in the same year, 1584, a pirated edition of the work, having previously expurgated it of all " Catholic errors and corruption," and craftily added to it as an appendix his own Treatise Tending to Pacification, urgingwithan appearance of moderation just that degree of conformity to the state religion which spelt the ruin of all Catholic principle.(72) Before Persons's death in 1610 his work had been reprinted four times by Catholics and at least fifteen Protestant editions had been published inadditiontoseven Protestant editions of this secondpart Later, whilea Protestant translated it into Welsh, Catholic versions appeared in French , Scotch, German, Latin and Italian, and of this Italian version there were some nine editions The work becamein fact the most widely read treatise of that age and its popularity continued almost unimpairedfor nearly two hundred years (73)

XI. Watts's Journey to and Negotiations in Scotland.

In the middle of September, whilst busily engaged in these and otherlabours, Persons received a letter fromWatts, thepriest who had gone to Scotland the previous month His report was mildly hopeful. He had met a number of the Scotch nobility, had been wellreceived and had even been introducedto theyoung prince himself. Several of the nobleshe gave their namesshowed themselves favourableto the old faith, thoughthey were farfrom being good Catholics as yet However, they unanimously promised to guarantee the safety ofthe Englishmissioners, as they would not be subject to the Scotch laws They even urged that the priests should be sent quickly Only learned men must be chosen for the mission, and provision must be made for their support, so as not to be a burden to the Scotch nobles, for that would destroy all chance of success Persons himselfwas to go to Scotland to meet some of these nobles on September the 26th , and from a remark of one of the Lairds, Watts judged that it would be better for him to obtain previously a letter of recommendation from the Queen of Scots In the event Persons was unable to keep the appointment A further highly confidential message was to be delivered orally, but the messenger whom Watts had sent to London with the letter, not finding Persons there, was unable to deliver it

On the receipt of this letter Persons acted with commendable despatch. He informed Lord Seton of the reasonsofhisdelay in (71) Birkhead to Agazzari, 13 August, 1584 (C.R.S. iv, 153) (72) Cf. the Preface in the edition of 1585 . (73) For furtherdetails of the influenceof the work cf. H. Thurston, S.J. , " Catholic Writers and Elizabethan Readers," The Month, December , 1894 , and Marie Hagerdorn, Reformation und Spanische Andachtsliteratur, Leipzig, 1934, p 110 ff.

INTRODUCTION

going to Scotland as he and his fellow Scotch nobles desired , and exhorted him to continue in his good desires He sent a message to England that the project was to be referred to the Queen of Scots by whatever means were available, and had conveyed to Watts what money he could for his immediate support, telling him to wait for the present on the border Safe and easy communication was established by appointing two young merchants who, in that guise, would be able to travel to and fro between France and the two countries, and steps were takenthat Catholic books should in future be supplied to Scotland in the same way as they were to England . He then reported fullyto the General and asked for instructions; for on the one hand he understood that his presence was urgentlyneeded in England, yet on the other he was being pressed to proceed with this Scotch mission , since the conversion of Scotland would be of supreme importance not only for England, but for the whole of Europe As has been said, his expositionof the situation weighed both with the Pope and with the General in the final decision to send Jesuits to Scotland .(74)

In addition tothe task committedto him by Persons, Watts, atthe instigation of the Spanish Ambassador in London, appears tohave beencommissioned bysix oftheprincipalEnglishCatholics to convey a secret message to Lennox (75) The chief points ofit were: thatif Jamesbecamea Catholic, manyof theEnglishnobles and a great part of the people would at once side withhim; have him declared heir to the English throne and release his mother; and that help from the Pope and Philip II would be forthcoming for that end . On the other hand, should James not become a Catholic, then would they opposehim more than did the heretics, and would endeavour to forward the claims of another

With this secret message, then, Watts journeyed toScotland , crossing the border, as has been stated above, about August the (74) Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October , 1581 . (75) This is stated on the suppositionthat the anonymouscleric mentioned in Mendoza'sdespatchof Septemberthe 7th, 1581 (SpanishCalendar , p 169), is to be identified with Watts The reasons persuadingto this identification are given in note 3 to Persons's letter to Agazzari, 3 February, 1582. But though these reasons seem decisive, some difficulties remain For instance, to mention but one, Watts had an interview with the young prince before September the 15th, for he mentions the fact in his letter which Persons received on that date; yet the cleric of Mendoza'sdespatchdoes not appear to have had such an interview until November (cf. Mendoza's despatch of October the 20th with that ofDecember the 11th, SpanishCalendar , pp. 194 , 235)

Many of the documents for these and later negotiations concerning Scotland are to be found in A. Teulet, RelationsPolitiquesde la Franceetde l'Espagne avec l'Ecosse au XVIe Siècle, Paris, 1862 , vols iii, iv and v. For the Roman documents cf. J. Kretzschmar, Die Invasionsprojekte der hatolischen Mächte gegen England zur Zeit Elisabeths , Leipzig, 1892 , and T. F. Knox , Letters and Memorials ofWilliam, Cardinal Allen Many ofthe documents ofwhich Hume in the Spanish Calendar gives a full synopsis are to be found in Documentos Ineditospara la Historia de España, vol. xcii , Madrid , 1888

INTRODUCTION

26th He was back in London by October the 20th(76) to report on the progress he had made in his mission The Scotch nobles with whom he had dealt had assured him that priests would be admitted. They would also arrange for their preaching to the King and themselvesin private, and, if necessary,fortheir holding disputation with the ministers of the Kirk. By this latter means the priests would be able to declare their doctrines in public without causing any disturbance among the people by their arrival. He had pointedout to the Scotch nobles howimportant it was for the aggrandisement of James by the inheritanceofthe crown of England, that their Parliamentshould allowthe English Catholics, who fled to Scotland for conscience sake, to remain there of course at their own expense; and they had promised that they would try to procure it He had avoided an entire disclosure of his mission, until he should assure himself of them with regard to religion, nor had he opened out further to Lennox , as he depended on France and was now avowedlyschismatic (77) With Lord Seton, however, seeing that he was well disposed he had gone more deeply into matters, and had pointed out that the best argument for James's conversion to the faith, apart from its being the true road to salvation, was to show him that this was the only way he could unite the crowns of England and Ireland with his own and so become a powerful monarch To achieve this, alliance with Spain was essential; France wouldnot aid him, as Alencon was trying to marry Elizabeth. Not, indeed , that he need turn his backonthe French who for so long had been bound in friendshipwith Scotland He could still be on friendly terms with them, yet not so intimate as to deprive him ofthe greatness whichthe Spanish alliance wouldbring him. Seton thenpromised to have the King informed privately when he was out hunting, to encourage him with brilliantprospects, and to let Watts know theresultwhen he arrivedbackinScotland withthe missioners.(78)

To arrange for and hasten the despatch of these missioners was in fact the primary object of Watts's return to London . He himself was of opinion that the most suitablepriests for such a mission were Personsand Heywood, the latterof whom had also been called to Londonfor consultationon the point After minute discussion ofthe question it was agreed that, though this was the case , and the cure of this important limb of Scotland was imperative, yet was it inexpedientto deprive the brain, " as Mendoza reports, " of its principal support , which we should do if both these men were to leave here, where their presence is so necessary

(76) Mendoza in his despatch of that date reports that he has returned (Spanish Calendar, p 194).

(77) Even later, on Decemberthe 11th, referring to a letter of Watts's after his return to Scotland, Mendoza reports that he had been unwillingto lay barehis wholemissionuntil he should have satisfiedhimselfofthe sincerity ofthe Prince and his ministers Watts thought he would be able to do this before Christmas (Spanish Calendar , p 235).

(78)Mendoza to Philip II, 20 October, 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p 194).

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to governand distribute the priests who are in this country as well as for conducting matters of religion which crop up every day and helping Catholics in many ways. "(79) It was thought better, therefore, that Persons should remain in England, whilst Heywood with two other priests went to Scotland , and it was decided to write to Allen in this sense . For the moment , however , Personswas unable to return to England: he was busily engaged with his press and his books, and was awaiting the General's decision as to whether he should depart for the Scotch mission . So Heywood stayed on in Englandand Holt was sent backwith Watts to Scotland

On December the 11th Mendoza reported further progressin the negotiations . Seton had evidently informed the King as he had promised and Watts himself had spoken with him of his mission, thoughonly in part. He wouldnot make a full disclosure until he was quite satisfied of the sincerity of James and his ministers. This he hoped to do before Christmas. TheKinghad received what he said extremelywell and had repliedthatthough for certain reasons it was advisable for him to appear in favour of the French, in his heart he would rather be Spanish Meanwhile Watts had been urged by those with whom he dealt to write and ask for more priests to be sent and their despatch hastened. With regard to this, however, the former plan had to be changed. Persons , when already waiting for embarkation, received a message from Mendoza, probablyby way ofAllen, not to come backto England Both he and Allen had been declared traitors by the English Government He could not now return without great risk, nor would he be of any use, since anyone who sheltered or conversed with him would be liable to the death penalty(80) Heywood, moreover, had been ill withsciatica:better , therefore, for him to remain in Englandwhile Persons , with five or six other priests, went to Scotland.(81)

XII

Crichton's Mission to Scotland : Foundationof a School at Eu.

On November the 29th Watts again wrote to expeditethe mission of priests to Scotland, but Persons was still awaiting orders from Rome, occupied meanwhile in writing his books. This letter Mendoza reported to Philip II on January the 17th , and a little later, on January the 25th, received a communication from the Spanish King, highly approvingthe despatch of priests to Scotland and enclosing a draft of 2,000 crowns for their expenses (82) The Spanish Ambassador, therefore, despatched an express messengerto Allen and Persons to hurry on the latter's (79) Mendoza to Philip II, 20 October, 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p. 194). (80) After the penal law of 1585 this was the case of any priest ordained beyond the seas by the authorityof the Pope. (81) Mendoza to Philip II, 11 December , 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p 235) (82) Mendoza to Philip II, 17 January and 27 January, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , pp 265 , 276)

departure for Scotland, sendinghim sufficient funds forhisjourney, andsaying among other thingsthat" it wasnotimetobewriting books when it was a question of the salvation of kingdoms . "(83) Allen wrote to the same effect, so that Persons was on the point of setting out when there came to him at Rouen FatherWilliam Crichton, who now that the General had at length resolved to send Jesuits to Scotland had been allotted that field of work together with Father Edmund Hay.(84) The General, however , had left the time and manner of the mission to be decided bythe Archbishop of Glasgow, Persons , and others; and Crichton had thus come to Rouen to consult Persons on the matter After discussing plans they went to see the Duke of Guise at Eu in Normandy, not far from Dieppe, where they conferred about the advancement of the Catholic cause in both realms of England and Scotland and the deliverance of the Queen of Scots. In the end it was thought better that Crichton should go first alone to examine in what state things were, and that Father Hay should follow later. "With this opportunity the going of Persons , " as he himself relates , Iwas again deferred, partly to wait for the said answer and partly that he might have time to finish the books begun. "(85) It is not improbable that this decision of sendingCrichtonwas influenced by thedivisionofopinionwhether the priests for this mission should be Englishor Scotch Mendoza maintainedfor the reasons already stated that they should be English, and that the Scots themselves had asked for them . The Queen of Scots on the other hand thought it better that they should be natives of the country, as the Englishwere not popular in Scotland, particularly among the common people, and English priests would be able to do little good because of their ignorance of the language In fact she desired her ambassador in Paris , the Archbishop of Glasgow, to go himself and take with him some Scotch theologians The sending of Crichton was a sort of compromise a Scotch Jesuit being sent to explore the situation. He left for Scotland at the beginning of Lent, accompanied by Brother Ralph Emerson (86)

(83) C.R.S. iv, 57 (84) Cf. letters of Aquaviva to Persons, to the Archbishop of Glasgow, and to Fathers Hay and Crichton, announcingthe decision(Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., ff. 114-115v., and Gen. ad Aquit , f 98v.)

(85) C.R.S. ii, 30, and C.R.S. iv, 57-59.

(86) Taxis, Philip II's agent in Paris, ascribes the sendingof Crichton to Scotland to the Nuncio in Paris and to the Archbishop of Glasgow (Beaton) (Taxis to Philip II, 18 May, 1582: SpanishCalendar , p. 370) Mendoza states that Crichton went there at the request of the ScotchAmbassador(Beaton) and byorder of the Pope (Mendoza to PhilipII, 26 April, 1582: ibid ,p. 349). Beaton, in a letterto the Cardinal of Como , 26 May, 1582 , says that he was responsible for his going, though he was already destined for the Scotch mission by the General of the Society (Arch Vat Inghilterra, i, 229). A list ofsuchtheologiansmentionedin the text is to be found in Arch Vat. Inghilterra, ii, 301, and Nunz di Francia, xvi, 460. Ash Wednesdayin 1582 was on February the 28th, so Crichton would have left for Scotland at the end of February or at the beginning of March . d

INTRODUCTION

One outcome of this visit to the Dukeof Guisewas the establishmentat Eu of a school for the sons of EnglishCatholics In England Personshad been asked by parents what to do fortheir boys' education ; and later, when discussingthematterwithAllen, the latter had pointed out to him "the inconvenience which young men coming from England suffered, through not having learnt enough Latin to continue their studies in the theological sciences " At Douay there had been the Jesuit College close at hand to which they could be sent; but at Rheims there was no such facility;" sending them to the school at Pont-a-Moussonfor the purpose, as had hitherto been done, cost much trouble and expense. " The establishment of a school for Catholic boys from Englandwould certainly obviate some of the difficulties. On his visit to the Duke of Guise, Persons had noticed the advantages offered by Eu for such an undertaking, both because ofits proximity to Dieppe, which was easily and quickly accessible from England , and because there was already established therea school conducted by the French Jesuits, where, as previouslyat Douay, the boys could receive at least a good part of their education. Circumstances favoured his project. The Dukehad recentlybuilt there a new college for the Jesuits, and their old house remained almost empty. This Persons begged from the Provincial , Claude Matthieu, who readilylent it to him TheDuke also, at Persons's request, assigned to the new venture an income of 400 crowns a year. A secular priest named Mann, or Chambers, was put in charge, and thus was established the first post-reformation Catholic school for English boys. Its numbers were never large, twenty or thirty at the most, but it served its purpose for the time being and was later continued on a larger scale at St. Omer, where the first pupils were schoolboys from Eu The school at Eu was thus the direct predecessor of the present College of Stonyhurst .(87)

Meanwhile in Scotland matters had been progressing About the end ofJanuary, 1582, Holt wassent backby Watts toLondon togivean account of thesituationand to convey certain proposals from those whofavoured the Catholic causetheDukeof Lennox , the Earls of Huntly, Eglinton, Argyll, Caithness, and others On his arrival the Jesuit was conducted by a priest to the person to whom he was to report, and was not a little surprised tofind that this was the Spanish Ambassador: for though Watts was in the secret, Holt himself had no idea that Mendoza was " a prime mover in the business . " Hitherto the ambassadorhad kept himself in the background, acting through two of the principal lay Catholics. But, as Watts learned that these were now in prison, hehad no choice but todeal directlywith the ambassador himself The message Holt brought from the Scots was as follows They (87) C.R.S. iv, 35, and ii, 31. In a letterto Father ClaudeMatthieu ofthe 18th of April, 1582, Aquaviva writes " CollegiumAugense [Eu] quod Anglis etiam et Scotis utile et opportunum futurum sit valde gaudemus " (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f. 126v.).

INTRODUCTION

were determined to do their best to reinstate the old faith, and suggested four means for effecting it: (1) to convert the young prince bypreaching and admonition; (2) ifthis failed, to constrain him to open his eyes and ears to the truth, with proper regard to the respect and reverence due to the royal dignity; (3) to transport him out of the kingdomto some place where he might be converted; or (4) as a last resource to depose him until the Queen of Scots arrived. Should they not succeed nor obtain libertyofconscience , then theywouldleave thecountrywiththeir wives and families, abandoning all their property. One way to forward these expedients was to have the support of a foreign power, to the extent of some two thousand troops With these they might for some time subject the minister and heretics , and provideagainst any invasion from Englandin their support, such as the English Queen had constantlypromised. France, however, they knew could not help them; the Pope was toofar off and was occupied with the Turks: Spain also was embarrassed with the war in Flanders and other enterprises. Their only resource was that the Queen of Scots by personal intervention might yet prevailupon the Pope and Philip II to affordthenecessaryaid (88)

After hearing and discussing these proposals Mendoza at once sent Holt back to Scotland, for he feared that any delay might make it more difficult to cross the border on account of the increasing vigilance there, and might also lead the Scotch nobles to lose heart. In the letter he sent with him, he gave them a general assurance that if they were resolved to carry through the business , PhilipIIwouldnot fail to help them . Hefurtherinformed the Queen of Scots, without disclosing the particular proposals, that, were she determined that her son should be a Catholicat all cost, the Scotch Lords would adopt whatever course she might command; thus giving her to understand that the main part of the businesswas in her hands.(89) Finally he sent a full report to Philip II, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages ofthe proposals of the Scotch Lords At the same time Holt himself wrote in a similar strain to Allen, who forwarded the letter to Rome (90)

(88) Mendoza to Philip II, 9 February, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p. 291 , no 213). Hume erroneouslyidentifies the messenger with Crichton . For Philip II's commentson these proposals cf. Philip II to Mendoza , 23 April, 1582 (Spanish Calendar, p 342). Cf. also Granvelle'sMemorandum , 3 March, 1582 (ibid , p 307) For Holt's letter on the same cf. Allen to the Cardinal of Como , 18 February, 1582 (Knox, Allen, p 114) Knox is in error in identifying the writer with Watts, for it is clear from Mendoza's despatch of February the 9th that it was Holt (89) Mendoza to Philip II, 9 February, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p 291) Later, on April the 1st, the Ambassadorwrote " The Queen [ofScots] virtually manages all these matters, and the Scots are unwilling to conduct themselves otherwisethan by her instructions and directions" (ibid , p. 323). (90) Cf. note 88.

INTRODUCTION

XIII Lennox's Proposals: Return of Crichton . Conferences in Paris, April, May, 1582

With the above message, which was to be amplified verbally according to instructionsgiven to him by Mendoza, Holt reached EdinburghshortlybeforeMarch the 7th, 1582, tofindthatCrichton had arrived in Scotland and was in conference with Lennox A new step forwardwasnowtaken The resultofit was that Lennox , no doubt influenced by Crichton'ssanguine view of Papal assistance, and by Mendoza's assurance of Spanish support, drew up plans and made demands of men and supplies on quite a large scale, compared withwhichtheformerproposalsseemed tameand insignificant. Crichton himself pointed out that the demandswere high, but Lennox replied that he left it to the discretion of the Duke of Guise to modify them, which in the event he did.(91) Lennox then sent the Scotch Jesuit back to France with the proposals and with letters to the Pope, the Duke of Guise, the Nuncio , Monsignor Castelli, Bishop ofRimini, and toJuan Bautista de Taxis, Philip II's agent in Paris.(92) About the same timea priest, probablyWatts, made his way on foot to Londondisguised as a "toothdrawer, " to report to Mendoza, taking with him also a letter from Lennox to the Queen of Scots (93) It was about the middle ofApril that Crichton arrived back in France , (94) and he was just in time to prevent Persons going to Scotland, where Mendoza had advised him to hasten in order to try by preaching and instructionto convert the King (95) No time was lost in communicating the plans of Lennox to the Archbishopof Glasgow , the Dukeof Guise and Allen. The Archbishop passed on information to Taxis whilst the Duke of Guise had two interviews on the subject with the Nuncio Several conferencesfor discussion of the plans were held in Paris in April and the first week of May , at which Archbishop Beaton, the Duke of Guise, Allen, Crichton , and possibly Claude Matthieu, the Jesuit Provincial,were present. From the extant evidence it is improbable that Personsattended these, for, though he was most conversant with English affairs, he appearsto have held backfrom going to Paris until his presence was considerednecessary. The reason ofthis was that he was still anxious to concealhis departure from Englandfromallbuta very limited number of persons with whom he had to deal, and as he

(91) The articles are printed in Kretzschmar , Invasionsprojekte , p 124; the modifications ibid , p 128

(92) Lennox to the Pope, 7 March, 1582 (Kretzschmar, op cit , p 123); to Taxis, 7 March (Teulet, Relations Politiques de la France et de l'Espagne avecl'Ecosse au xvie siècle , vol v: SpanishCalendar , p 316) Lennox's letters tothe Nuncioandtothe Dukeof Guise are mentionedinthe Nuncio'sdespatch ofMay the 8th (Kretzschmar, op cit , p 129).

(93) Lennox to the Queen of Scots , 7 March, 1582 (Teulet, op cit. , v: Spanish Calendar , p 333)

(94) Persons,relying on his memory, states thatCrichton returned "directly after Easter , " which in 1582 fell on April the 15th (C.R.S. iv, 59); Mendoza that he returned on April the 14th (Mendoza to Philip II, 15 May, 1582: Spanish Calendar , p 362).

(95) Mendoza to Philip II, 15 May, 1582.

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was well known in Paris, his presence might lead to his being recognisedand hissecretbeing betrayed (96) Illness further delayed his going, for on May the 8th the Nunciowrotethat matters had been held up because Personswas down withfever at Rouen, and that if he did not come shortly the Scotch Jesuitwould be sent to himno doubt to report on what had been concluded in his absence (97) After a few days, however, he was able to makethe journey, and on his arrival a further conference was held with the Duke of Guise, Archbishop Beaton and Allen (98) Alterations of the Lennox plan were discussed ,(99) and it was agreed that as the affair was a question of religion and of such greatimportance and necessity, " Crichton should go to Rome and Personsto Spain, to report on the enterprise to the Pope and PhilipII, and solicittheir support forit (100) Atfirst it had beensuggestedthat the two sons of Lord Seton should be sent as envoys with letters ofcredencefromthe Queen ofScots, but she had stronglyobjected to this and insisted on negotiations being conducted in sucha way that it would never be discovered that they were undertaken with her authority (101) It is possible, therefore, that the Jesuits were in reality substitutedfor the Setons. According to Persons the two Fathers raised objections to going on such long journeys, but "the Nuncio imposed it on them and the others persuaded them . "(102) It may be that Persons raised the question in his interview with the Nuncio shortly to be narrated; butapparently it was the Dukeof Guise who was the prime mover in thematter, and it was from him in lieu apparentlyof the Queenof Scots and in ordertosafeguardher in case ofdiscovery, asshe haddemanded , that the two Fathers received their instructions(103)

(96) A month or so earlier Persons had avoided going there for the same reason , and had sent Brother Ralph Emerson in his stead On February the 17th Aquaviva wrote to Father Claude Matthieu : "Accepi etiam literas aPatre Roberto Personio qui scribit se fratrem quemdamRodulphum nomine exAnglia emissurumParisios , quoniam sine magnojam periculo, quod notissimus est,illicapparerenonpotest" (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp. Gen. ,f 121)

(97) The Nuncio in Paris (Castelli) to the Cardinal of Como , 8 May, 1582 (Kretzschmar, op cit , p 129)

(98) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 22 May, 1582 (ibid , p 131) Cf. alsoMendozato Philip II, 15 May, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p 362). (99) Taxis to Philip II, 18 May, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p 370) Cf. Mendoza to Philip II, 15 May, 1582

(100) AsAllen's letters recommendingCrichton are datedthe 24th ofApril, 1582, this must have been resolved upon at least by that date He writes " We have decided that at the first opportunityand at the same time, Fr. Crichton should be sentto your Holiness and Fr. Persons (who is most cognisant with English affairs and the whole cause) to the King ofSpain. "Allen to GregoryXIII, 24 April, 1582, and to the Cardinal of Como, 24 April, 1582 (Knox, Allen, pp 129, 130) The Nuncio's letterof recommendationis dated the 22ndofMay, 1582(Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv, 455) TheArchbishop writes recommendingCrichton onMaythe 26th, 1582: BeatontoGregoryXIII and to the Cardinal of Como (Arch Vat Nunz di Inghilterra , i, 229, 230).

(101) Queen of Scots to Mendoza , 6 and 8 April, 1582; Mendoza to Philip II, 26 April, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , pp 330 , 349).

(102) C.R.S. iv, 61

(103) Mendoza to Philip II, 15 May, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p. 362).

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After the conference the Duke left Paris for a few days, and in the interval the Jesuits had an interview with Taxis(104) Crichton described the state of Scotland and gave a summary of the Lennox plans, and Persons then informedhim ofthe position of affairs in England He assured him that the Catholics were extremely desirous of some such enterprise, and that if it were undertaken seriously and success rendered probable, numbers of them, especially in the north, would rise and join the Scots On Taxis asking what assurance he had of this and whether any persons of position had pledged themselves in writing, Persons replied that all this was known from what many of them had declared whilst he was treatingwiththemabouttheir consciences : the matter had gone so far that there could be no doubtaboutit. Taxis listened sympathetically , neither diverting nor encouraging them, but expressed a wish that all might succeed as they designed (105)

A little later, before the Duke of Guise returned to Paris , Persons alsovisitedtheNuncioand presentedhimwithamemorial , in which he showed the necessity of Allen being appointed tothe Bishopric of Durhamas a preliminaryto the enterprise, suggested that Owen Lewis should be employed in it as he would have influence with his own countrymen of Wales, and urged the necessity of secrecy and despatch (106)

On the return of the Duke of Guise to Paris, Beaton , Allen, Persons and Crichton went again with him to visit the Nuncio, and a memorial (107) was read about the whole enterprise, which Crichton and Personswere to take with them on their respective journeys. Taxis also was later called into a consultationat night

(104) Taxis to Philip II, 18 May, 1582 (ibid , p 370) Cf. also Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 22 May, 1582 (Kretzschmar, op. cit., p. 131).

(105) The Spanishruns que todo este se sabia per lo que muchos dellos se havian declarado, tratando de sus consciencias con ellos " (Taxis to Philip II, 18 May, 1582Teulet, op. cit., v, 250). This is not thesamething as saying that Persons " lost no opportunityof acquainting himself with the political state and sentiments of the Catholic laity " (Knox, Allen , xxxiii), nor that Persons " made himself master of the military situation and ofthe secrets of the malcontent nobles " (T. G. Law, Edinburgh Review , April, 1898, p 321).

(106) Kretzschmar has made a curious mistake over this and another memorial The Nuncio, Castelli, in his despatchof May the 22nd, states that Persons has handed him a memorial, which he encloses, and which from the Nuncio's words clearly refersto the one concerningthe appointment ofAllen tothe see of Durham This, infact, he does enclose Kretzschmar strangely identifies it with the memorial mentioned above, which was read when the Duke of Guise and the others visited the Nuncio This the latter states explicitlyCrichton was carrying with him to Rome Owing to this mistake Kretzschmar makes Persons the author of this second memorial, for which there is no evidence .Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 22 May, 1582 (Kretzschmar , Invasionsprojekte , p 131); the second memorial ibid, p. 135 , and infra, p 148 , where it is printed, note 1 .

(107) The Italian version of this memorial is printed in Kretzschmar , op. cit, p 135; the Spanishin De Conquestu Angliae per Hispanos, ex MSS . Phillipps, 1869, p 2 (see preceding note).

INTRODUCTION

in the house of Archbishop Beaton and, shortly after, the two Jesuits started on their mission, Personsleaving Paris on May the 28th, a few days after Crichton.(108)

XIV. Persons's negotiations in Spain, June -September, 1582: illness, and return to France, May, 1583

This is not the place to narratein detail the reactions caused bythesuggestedenterprise in the Papal and Spanish courts, nor the diplomatic exchanges connected with it În reporting it to Rome the Nuncio in France warmly espoused it, and the Pope himself welcomed it as if it were a crusade for the Holy Land Twice within a month, once in a letter, propria manu, he urged Philip II to undertake it; and Persons's journey to Spain was considered very opportune , particularly as he wouldarrive at the Spanish court about the same time as the Pope's first letter, which would give his mission more substantial backing (109) But havinghad formerexperience of such paper schemes and knowing the dilatory habits ofthe Spanish court, Gregory XIII was unwilling to assign money for theenterprise until he felt assuredthatit was to be undertaken vigorously For Spain the request for support came at an inopportune moment In 1580, when Philip II laid claim to the Portuguese throne, the island of Terceira had declared for Antonio, his rival candidate, and it was still holding out with the aid of a considerable French force under the condottiere, Fillipo Strozzi When Persons arrived at Lisbon on June the 15th, (110) the Spanish fleet was about to sail to the Azores in order to engage the French forces and reduce the island to subjection The King, too, was taken ill soon after the Jesuit's arrival and was unable to give him audience. In fact Persons does not appear to have spoken withthe King until several weeks later. He was able, however, to communicate his business to him by means of the Secretary, Don Juan de Idiaquez . (111) On July the4th Cardinal Granvelle drew upa memorandum mildlyfavouring the project and ended by stating that either the business should not be undertaken at all or it should be carried through vigorously and all preparations adopted for the enterprise be carriedout at the stated time, October, in whichcase " God may help us for our good intention, and enable a part of ourfleet now leavingPortugalto be available for the enterprise."(112) Philip II, however, apparently judged it to be inexpedient, for Persons reportedthatthe King did not thinkanythingcouldbeconcluded

(108) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 22 May, 1582; Taxis to Philip II, 29 May, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p 377)

(109) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 8 and 22 May, 1582; the Cardinal of Como to Castelli, 28 May and 11 June, 1582 (Kretzschmar, op cit , pp. 129, 131 , 146 , 147) The same to the same, 25 June, 1582 (ibid , p 148)

(110) C.R.S. ii, 30

(111) Castellito the Cardinal of Como , 31 July, 1582 (Arch Vat . Nunz di Francia, xv, 518); Persons to Watts or Holt, 26 August, 1582 .

(112) Cf. Granvelle'smemorandum, 4 July, 1582 (SpanishCalendar, p. 382).

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by October.(113) The real crux of the matter was that the Pope had madeno definite offer offinancialsupport and when eventually he did so it was considered too small In fact the diplomatic activity between Rome and Spain resolved itself into a duel as to the extent the Pope and Philip II were respectively to foot the bill. In such circumstances Persons'stask was next to impossible and he wearied himselfin the hopeless attempt to get Spain to act. "I have laboured so vehemently, " he wrote on August the 26th, " that I am almost worn out body and mind. Infinite overthwartsof late have I had and many times almost despaired the success . And nowagain Iamin hope and thatshortly tohave good success . "(114) A little later he reported still hopefullyofthe King's zeal and of his desire to see the enterprise executed (115) Very probably his confidence was inspired by the resolutionof Philip, on hearing that Lennox's life was threatened by the intrigues of Elizabeth, to send him help in money, encouraging him to stand firm. (116) But such hope proved groundless Though the report of it had not yet reached Spain, the Raid of Ruthven had by this already taken place. The Earl of Gowrie, with his associates, urged on and supported by money from the English Government, had seized James and overthrownthe government of Lennox , who fled to Dumbarton(117) Philip II was actually giving audience to Persons when the news arrived and his final reply was , that though he wished every good to the King of Scotland, and had great sympathywith him in such dangers, not only of body, living as he did amid such violent disorders , but also of soul, because of heresy, nevertheless as things were, he did not see what else he could do but wait for the outcome of affairsin Scotland, promising that he would always beready on every possible occasion to do good to that kingdom and to the King and Catholics there. "(118) " And so fell all that attempt to the ground "(119) "

(113) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como , 31 July (ut supra)

(114) Persons to Watts or Holt, 26 August, 1582 . (115) Castellito the Cardinal of Como (8 October), 1582 (Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv, 552)

(116) Philip II to Taxis, 24 September , 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p 401); the Cardinal of Como to theNuncioin Spain (Taberna) (Kretzschmar, op.cit. , p. 159). Persons's report is summarisedin the despatchof Taberna, October 20/30, 1582 (ibid , p 156).

(117) The Raid of Ruthen took place on August the22nd (118) C.R.S. iv, 63 . (119) C.R.S. ii, 31. In 1598 Charles Pagetdrew up a list ofcharges against the Jesuits and against Persons in particular , and sent the document to the English Government in the hope of regaining its favour From Paget these charges or some of them passed into the books of the Appellant Priests The first of these was that notwithstanding the General's instructions to the contrary Persons during his stay in England busied himself with affairs of state more than with anything else; the third declaredthat he and Father Claude Matthieu persuaded the Duke of Guise to undertake the invasion of England. By a friend in England who managedto obtain Paget's document for a short time, a copy of it was sent to Persons, who in turn forwarded it

INTRODUCTION

Shortly after this Persons took his leave of the King,(120) but before his departure from Lisbon he obtained from him a yearly pension of 2,000 crowns for the seminary at Rheims , andfurther received some sort of promise that Spain would support Allen's elevation tothe cardinalate (121) On his returnjourney he reached Madrid on October the 19/29th, and there according to the King's instructionshad an interview with the Nuncio Two days later, having deposited with him a memorial of his negotiations at Lisbon , which the Nuncio summarised and sent to Romeits accuracy is attested by the extant documentshe resumed his journey.(122) But the labours and worries of the last few months had told on him and he arrived at Bilbao a very sick man. The maladministrationsofthedoctorwho attended him made matters worse and brought him to death's door Fortunately, his Jesuit friend, FatherGil Gonzales, heard of his plight and sent a brother to Cardinal Cajetan, Protector of England, together with his own answers to the charges (Arch Vat Nunz Diverse, 264, ff 224-240 ) Persons there categorically deniedthat hehadengaged inaffairsofstate whilst inEnglandan answer which is in striking contrast to that given by him to the third charge This he did not deny, but pertinently pointed out that the same accusation might have been levelled against the Archbishop of Glasgow , Dr. Allen and the Nuncio in Parishimself, since it was by the commoncounsel of all these that the matter was decided; but that Paget in his desire to do harm to the Jesuits made his accusationagainst these alone And, further, when by his own importunity he was admitted to the conferences --having previously been excludedfrom them because the Duke of Guise did not trust himPaget himself had urgedthe Duke in every way to undertake thevery thing which he now censured (cf. infra), promising great assistance and in order to obtain it offering to go to England, which in fact he did, though when there he acted in a contrary manner and returned without effecting anything. Paget, it may be said, is not a reliable witness: in his resentment against Persons he made several statements demonstrably false. Father Pollen, S.J., has shown that extant evidence supports Persons's statement that he did not engage in politicalactivity during his stay in England (cf. "The Politics of English Catholics during the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , " The Month, March, 1902, p 296 ff.) Against this there has sometimes been urged the statement of the Nuncio in Paris that Persons had come from England, " where he had been the last two years treating of this affair" (Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 8 May, 1582Kretzschmar , Invasionsprojekte, p 129) But it must be remembered that the Nuncio was writing before he had ever seen Persons, and that were his words to be taken " au pied de la lettre" they would certainly be inaccurate; forit is clear thatthe political movement had only been in progress some six or eight months , and that Mendoza was the prime mover (compare Mendoza's despatch of the 7thofSeptember , 1581 , with that of June the 2nd, 1581, Documentos Ineditos, xcii, 106 and 33; SpanishCalendar , pp 169 and 121) Norcan anyonemaintain the contention of Knox, which reallytakes its origin from the books of the Appellant Priests, that Persons led Allen into politics (cf.L. Hicks, S.J. , "Cardinal Allen and the Society, " The Month, December , 1932, p. 528 ff.). (120) Philip II to Taxis, 24 September , 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p. 403) (121) C.R.S. ii, 31 , and iv, 63; Allen to the Cardinal of Como , 9 March , 1583 (Knox, Allen, p 179); T. Worthington, Relation of Sixteen Martyrs, 1601, p 73. The pension is also mentionedin Taxis to PhilipII, 29 December , 1582 , and Philip II to Taxis, 24 January, 1583 (Spanish Calendar , pp 426, 436) (122) Tabernato the Cardinal of Como, 20/30 October, 1582 (Kretzschmar, Invasionsprojekte , p 156)

INTRODUCTION

to find him and take care of him, and in January, when he had sufficiently recovered to travel, he was brought to the nearest Jesuit College at Oñate (123) Rumours, indeed, of his death had been started at Rheims, for on December the 30th Allen wrote: VVerily we fear he has died on the journey. We haveawaited him these two months with tears, and still he comes not " Even atOñate it took Personsthree months before he regained strength enough to resume his journey. " Before returning to France he had another audience with the King at Madrid, possibly in connection with a new plan for the enterprise which the Duke of Guise had suggested The King received him kindly and gave him the impression that he was dispostissimo a l'impresa " and of the opinion that it should be attempted thisyear (124) On April the 30thheleftMadridandafter about a month on the road arrived back at Paris at the end of May. His coming had been eagerly awaited by Allen, and shortly after he had had news of his arrival he went from Rheims to see him. On June the 26th, on his return to Rheims, he wrote to Agazzari : "I had gone to Paris to see Father Robert and the heat and fatigue of the journey had affected my health, but in the mutual joy of our meeting all else was of no account "(125)

XV. New Plans for the Impresa Persons goes to Rome

August-September, 1583

At the time of Persons'sreturn, the Catholicleaders in Paris, who had never entirely abandoned the idea of an appeal to arms in orderto restore the faithin England and Scotland , were again giving it serious consideration. Lennox'sdeath on May the 26th had undoubtedlybeena serious blowtothecause . Butthereseemed now brighter prospects of an agreement between the Pope and Philip II, and of their future support of the enterprise. De Mainville, whom the King of France had sent, at the same time as De la Mothe Fénélon, to aid James by diplomaticrepresentations to regain his liberty, had returnedwith a report on the situation which, if not very promising, at least showed that James hated the ministers of the Kirk, and was far from acquiescing in his position and that the partyof Ruthven were inspiredbyno deep religious convictions nor were so united among themselves that some ofthemmight not bebroughtby pensionsand giftsofmoney to changetheir side Both the Queen of Scotland and Lord Seton had written to the Duke of Guise urging him strongly to undertake the enterprise (126)

(123) Persons's letterof the 16th of January, 1583, and C.R.S. ii, 31 , and iv, 63 . (124) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como, 20/30 May, 1583 (Kretzschmar, op. cit., p. 163).

(125) Allen to Agazzari, 26 June, 1583 (Knox, Allen, p 197) Howeagerly Allen awaited his coming can be seen in his letters of March the 16th , May the 20th and 30th, and June the 10th, 1583 (Knox, Allen, pp 184, 192 , 193 and 195).

(126) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como , 20/30 May, 1583 (Kretzschmar, op. cit , pp 164, 165) Cf. also Taxis to Philip II, 24 June, 1583 (Spanish Calendar , p. 479)

INTRODUCTION

The Duke immediately responded to this appeal. Early in June a meeting was held in the house of the Nuncio in Paris, attended by the Duke, Taxis, De Mainville, Archbishop Beaton and FatherClaude Matthieu, inwhoseintegrityand zeal theDuke , and indeed the whole party, had confidence . Having read a memorial or plan of the enterprise the Duke gave a copy to Taxis, who took it away to revise and later brought it back to the Nuncio .(127) Persons, who wasstayingat St. Cloud, andAllen, who came to Paris at this time, appear to have been called into consultation,and after various changes had been made , the plan was forwarded to the Pope and Philip II. The general idea ofthe plan wasthat a Spanishforce should land in the North of England or South of Scotland, preferablyat the Pile of Foudreyin Lancashire , and that, immediately on its arrival, a smallerFrench force should land in the south Meanwhile the Laird of Fentry, Archbishop Beaton's nephew, was to go to Scotland witha certain sum of money which Spain and Rome had deposited at Paris for emergencies , by means of which he would continue the work of De Mainville in winning over supporters for the cause Thedate suggestedfor the expeditionwas September, but both Taxis and the Nuncio, despite all his enthusiasm for the enterprise, doubted whether it could be effected by that date, and suspectedthat the DukeofGuisealso wasof that opinion The news that James had at length regained his liberty and was showing hostility to the English faction, and a favourablereport of the state ofaffairsin Scotland brought by Lord Seton, further heartened theparty.(127)

Further conferenceswere therefore held in Paris, and though differences of opinion appeared between the Scotch and the English as to the best way to carry out the enterprise, they in no way affected the determinationto proceed with it Thomas Morgan and Charles Paget were now admitted to the confidences of the party, a step attended later by far-reaching consequences . There is some evidence that the General at this time suggested that Persons should go to Rome, possibly to confer with him about the trouble Father Heywood was causingin England But whether this were so or not andthe party simply used the opportunity offered tothem, they certainly decided that Personsshould make the journey and lay the affair of the enterprise before the Pope At the same time Paget was despatched to England to enquire what help the Catholics might be able to lendthe expedition and to gather such information as he could as to the best places for landing and so forth. He was also to assure all that the expeditionwas ordained not for the conquest ofthe country but for its liberation, for the re-establishment of Catholicism and

(127) Castelli to the Cardinal of Como , 1/11 June, and 10/20 June, 1583 (Kretzschmar , op. cit , pp 166, 168) ; Taxis to Philip II, 24 June and 9 July, 1583; (Fentry) to De Mainville , 13 July, 1583 (Spanish Calendar , pp 479 , 487, 488) Cf. also D. Masson , Privy Council Register of Scotland, pp iii, lv, and 574-575

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for the elevation of Mary to the English throne which by right belonged to her.(128)

In response to the urging of the Nuncio in Paris, the Pope took up the matter energetically To the offer already made of payinga quarterof the expenses , he nowsuggestedan alternative, should Philip desire it, of raising 400,000 crowns by two instalments on ecclesiastical property in Spain. Mgr Sega, Bishopof Piacenza, who had beena general favouritewhen formerly Nuncio to the Spanish court, he hurriedly sent to Philip ; and thoughthe bishop had other affairs to negotiate, the Pope made it appear as though he were sent primarily to urge the King to support the enterprise. But nothing, perhaps, shows more plainly the earnestnessof the Pope in the negotiations than the willingness and despatch with which he conceded the briefs which Persons, according to his instructions , solicited from him . They included one renewing the excommunication of Elizabeth, and others appointing Allen to the See of Durham and papal legate. These briefs, however, remained unpublished and inoperative. The occasion of publishingthem never arrived, for as Philip II could not see his way to aid it, the expedition as planned neverbecame a reality (129)

Alreadyintheearlydays of September theKing,whilemaking due acknowledgment of the Pope's zeal, showed marked disinclination to offer any support Two weekslater, after more than one meeting of the Council ofStatehad been held to consider the matter, the Nuncio , Taberna, who had strongly solicited his aid for the enterprise, had to reportthe King's definitive answer that hewould take no part in it Il Prudente preferred to wait, as he had waited before, and as he would have waited until the end, had not the ravages of Drake's filibusters driven him at length to action. Thus, the matter was already concluded even before Mgr. Sega had sailed from Italy on his special mission; and when after arriving in Spain he was given audience, Philip returnedthe same answer, adding to the reasons previouslygiven to theNuncio, Taberna, that the Duke of Guise had informed him thatthepreparations and co-operation of the EnglishCatholics were notsuch as he had been led to expect.(130)

Despite this refusal, hope was again renewed earlyin the following year, 1584, by reports of James's increasingly favourable attitude towards Catholics, his upholdingthe cause of his mother, (128) TheInstructions drawn up bytheDuke of Guise forMelino (Persons) are dated the 22nd of August, those for Paget the 28th (Teulet, Relations Politiques de la France et de l'Espagne avec l'Ecosse au xvie siècle, vol v, 308, 312: Spanish Calendar, pp 503, 505) Allen's letter to Gregory XIII recommending Persons is printed in Knox, Allen, p 206 (129) The Cardinal of Como to Castelli, 5/15 August, 1583 (Kretzschmar, Invasionsprojekte , p 173); Taberna to Como , 2/12 September , 1583 (ibid , p 175); Sega's Relation of his mission (ibid, p 212) The moreimportant briefs are printed infra in the Appendix. (130) Tabernato the Cardinal ofComo, 2 Septemberand 14/24 September , 1583 (ibid., pp. 175, 177) Sega's Relation .

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and his willingness to aid the enterprise. In Januaryand February he wrote to the Duke of Guise and to the Pope asking for help against the intrigues of the EnglishGovernment (131) In response to this, it was once more decided that the Duke of Guise should lead an expeditionagainst Englandor Scotland Later, the overthrow of the Gowrie Conspiracy, the execution of its leader on May the 2nd and the exile of his associates made the prospects look even brighter. The Pope through his Nuncio again urged Philip II to lend his aid, but again in vain; and without that aid he was unwilling to act (182) In June the death of the Duke of Alencon,the heirto thethroneof France, whichleft the Huguenot Henry of Navarre next in succession , portended the coming strugglefor the French crown, and made it imperative for the Duke of Guise, the leader of the Catholic League, not to leave the country. At the end of the year, James, unwilling to wait longer for help from the Catholic powers, abandoned his mother's cause, and made thefirst moves towards reconciliation withElizabeth, which eventually resulted in a league between theirrespective countries.

XVI. Persons returns to Paris, October the 19th , 1583 .

But to return to Persons . Even before Philip II on October the 16th, 1583, had announced to Sega his definitive refusal of support, the Jesuit was well on his way backto France. His stay in Rome had been very briefthree or four weeks at the most. Having concluded his negotiationwith the Pope by obtainingthe desired briefs, and consulted the General on the affairs of the English mission, he left the city towards the end of September and arrived back in Paris on October the 19th His mission to Rome may be said to have terminated his activity as a political negotiator With Allen he still continued to write on Catholic politics, offered advice to Catholic statesmen, and urged them at times to devote themselves to the interests of his English coreligionists, but he never again acted as an envoy. Of his political lettersor memorials there are two extant for the year 1584, one in conjunctionwith Allen, dated January the 16th , the other an extract from a letter of March the 8th, which was apparently delivered by an intermediaryto the Cardinal Secretary ofState, as it is found among the latter's papers. They are both equally unimportant for any effect they had on the political situation, but the latter is of interest by its criticism of the Spanish King, and more particularly of Mendoza, his former ambassador to (131) James to the Duke of Guise, 24 January and 19 February, 1584; to the Pope, 19 February, 1584; the Duke of Guise to the Pope, 15 April, 1584 (Theiner, Annales, pp 801, 802, 805, 807) The Duke of Guise to the Nuncio in Paris (Ragazzoni ), March, 1584 (Kretzschmar, op cit, p. 181); Taxis to Philip II, 18 April, 1584 (Spanish Calendar , p 518)

(132) Cf. the letters oftheCardinal ofComoto Tabernaand to Ragazzoni, and vice versa (Kretzschmar, op cit , pp 184-194); Olivares to Philip II, 15 May, and Philip II to Olivares , 1 June, 1584 (Spanish Calendar , pp 524 , 527).

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England. " Knowing," he writes, " the leisurely ways and procrastinationof the King, our entire hope is in his Holiness , that he will stir him to action As for Mendoza, no good whatsoever is to be expected of him on account of the implacablehostility he has for Don [Juan de] Taxis, his colleague at Paris , whichhe indulges to such an extent that he seems unwilling to promote any plan which the other approves. He would very much prefer also that the other were left out of it and he alone be kept at Paris to manage this affair; but there are others, too, with whom it seems unlikely that he will agree. Finally, in all this thereis a great deal ofvanity; I amsorryto say this but Iknowto whom I write. " (133) A great changehad evidentlycomein therelations between the two men Time was when Personsat the request of the English Catholics had prayed that Mendoza might come to Paris, if he had to leave England, and this prayer both he and Allen had asked the Cardinal Secretary of State to second. Now it was far otherwise; and the lack of evidence that the Jesuit had any further dealings with the Spanish ambassador at Paris, after Mendoza had assumed that post, can cause no surprise. In September, after Throgmorton's confessions were actually published, Personshad to confess that Elizabeth's Government knew tutta quasi la historia ofthe proposedenterprise, and he appears to have considered Mendoza's bungling to have been responsible for it (134)

Apart from these two documents there is little mentionofthe enterprise in his letters of this period Both he and Allen were wearied and disheartened by the dilatory ways of the Spanish court, the ineffectual result of their labours and by the divisions within the Catholic party itself. In October, 1584, in answer to a letter ofthe Queen of Scots, he writes: " Not long before ,Doctor Allen and I having had a meeting togetherhad concluded upon consideration of our thwarts and opposition that we receive daily in all our doings and from men of our own side, and of the small success our former labours had brought forth, we had resolved , I say, to leave cogitation of such matters and to follow only our spiritual course whereupon all dependeth, though in longer time, persuading ourselves that God would not permit such letts and hindrances from among ourselvesexcept his divine providence did foreseethatitwasnotyet time to relieve us temporally."(135) Hope however, had sprung up again by a recent message from Spain bidding them to deal with the Duke of Parma, but even so the only prospect of success lay in the escape ofthe captiveQueen, to which he strongly urged her and offered his help. As for her son , (133) Persons to Agazzari, 28 October, 1584 . (134) The Nuncio (Ragazzoni ) to the Cardinal of Como , 3 September, 1584 (Knox, Allen, p 425) Persons in his letterto Englefield, 24 July, 1584 , again commentsadversely on Mendoza (135) Persons to the Queen of Scots, 10 (October), 1584. His letter only reached the Queen of Scots on the 25th of April, 1585. Cf. also Allen to the Queen of Scots, 3 February, 1585 (Knox, Allen, p 247)

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Spain would give no further help unless he became a Catholic But by the time the English Government, whichhadintercepted this letter, had forwarded it to the Queen , she was so closely guarded that escape had become impossible

XVII. Persons in Flanders, Winter, 1584. It will have been noticed that the letter of March the 8th, 1585, referred to a little previously, was addressed from Tournay. There Personshad gone to reside, according to his own statement, towardsthe end of the year 1583. The reason of this change is given in his own Memoirs . The Duke of Parma, he writes, had asked for him in order to make use of his advice for adjusting certain affairs concerning the English Catholics, who were there [Flanders] in great numbers. As Father Persons had forwarded the General's letter above-mentioned to Father Heywood, by which order was given to him to come at once to Rouen to confer with Persons, it did not seem right that he should leave France. Still, as the Duke insisted on his coming, and wrote to Father Oliver Manare, who wasVisitor for Flanders, that itwasnecessary he should come at once to help in settling the said affairs, he resolved to go Hewent, therefore, towards the end ofthis year, leaving orders that if Father Jasper arrived, he was to waitfor him thereor to come on to Flanders. On arriving Personsfound many English Catholic gentlemen and soldiers, who had come to serve under the Duke in the enterprise he had in hand of taking Antwerp.(136) It was their wish that a separate regiment of English Catholics should be formed, which was done, under the command of the Earl of Westmorland The Duke also arranged with Persons that he should procure some learned priests for chaplains, who should instruct and confirm thesoldiersin Christian faith and piety A liberal provision was offered and was also given Among those appointed chaplains to the regiment were the above-mentioned William Watts, who had been on the Scottish mission, and Captain Pullen, who had been sent to France by the Earl of Northumberlandon behalf of his sons . It maybethatitwason thisoccasionthat Personssecuredacaptaincy for William Tresham , who had beenhis companion on his journey to Spain.(187)

XVIII

Persons returns to Paris, May, 1584: His work there.

Towards the end of May, 1584, Persons returned to France (138) Hestayed the whole ofthat summer at Paris, thoughitis probable (136) On July the 18th, 1582 , Parma wrote to Mendoza that he had taken into his pay five hundred Englishmen who had deserted from the rebels (Mendoza to Philip II, 30 August, 1582Spanish Calendar , p 382) (137) C.R.S. ii, 31 , 33, and iv, 125 , 129. In his Punti dellaMissionePersons states that he went to Flanderstowards the end of 1583. It will be noticed, however, that his extant letters up to January the 21st, 1584 , are addressed from Paris (188) Taxis reports his returnin his despatchof May the 27th (Spanish Calendar , p 526).

INTRODUCTION

that he made fairly frequent journeys to Rouen, which appears to have been the centre for looking after the transportation of priests and their equipment to England His lettersof this period are taken up with news as regards the situation of affairs in England and Scotland, the severity of the persecution, raging worse than at any time previouslyagainst the Catholics, requests to the General for more Jesuits to be sent to England, the dire financial straits in whichthe seminary at Rheims found itself on account of the increasing number of exiles fleeing from the persecution to seek relief and support at the hands of Allen, the growing discontent among some of the students at the English College, Rome, and the opposition encountered by Allen and himselffrom the faction led by Thomas Morgan and hisassociate , Charles Paget.

Shortly after his return to Paris, Persons received word from the General that he was to take charge of the Scotch in addition to the English mission ofthe Society (139) In reply Persons gave reasonswhy such a step seemed inexpedient ; and the Provincial, Father Odo Pigenat, S.J., also wrote in the same sense , fearing that the ancient hostility between the two nations might cause difficulties, and that the Scotch Jesuits, older in years and inthe Society than Persons, might feel aggrieved. (140) The General, however held to his decision, fearingno such consequences , since, ashe pointedout, it was those at the head of affairs ofthat nationwho had themselves desired and petitioned for Persons's appointment.(141) The General at this time was frequently beingurged to send more Jesuits to Scotland ; but he hesitated to do so, fearing that such a mission might only increase the opposition of the ministers of the Kirk to James The Pope, too, appears to have been of the same opinion Eventually the General, having consulted with the Pope, agreed to leave the decision to those in Paris conversant with the situation in Scotland, adding, however , that Allen's opinionin the matter must carry great weight Their decision proved favourable , and accordinglyFathers Crichtonand Gordon set out at the beginning of August, 1584.(142) Theywere , however, intercepted at sea by some Dutch Calvinists, who after allowing Gordon to go free, kept Crichton and a secular priest, Patrick Addy, who had been captured at the same time, and within about a month handed them over to the English Government (143) There had, indeed, been some suggestion that Persons himselfshould go to Scotland ; but theGeneraljudged italtogether inexpedient for the same considerations as prevented his return

(139) Aquaviva to P. ClaudeMatthieu, 4 June, 1584 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen. , f. 50v.).

(140) Persons to Aquaviva, 23 July, and Odo Pigenat (Provincial) to the same , 20 August, 1584 (ibid , Epp Gall , xiv, f 59)

(141) Aquaviva to Odo Pigenat, 22 September , 1584 (ibid , Gall Epp. Gen., f. 58v )

(142) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva , 23 July, and note 8 to that letter

(143) Persons to Aquaviva, 14 October, 1584, and note there, no. 2.

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to England-"particularly," he added ,

as Queen Elizabeth would get to know of it and would be incensed thereby more than by anything else " Holt, too, also wrote from Scotland advising against it.(144)

Meanwhile in England only one Jesuit, it appears, remained at liberty. Pound had been for some years in restraint; and in the early days of December Heywood had been sent tothe Tower to join Bosgrave and Hart, who for two years had been prisoners there. He had been told by the General to cross to the Continent in order to consult with Persons at Rouen, but really with the intention ofrecallinghim from the mission, and had beencaptured on the journey. There remained only Father John Curry, who, though he had scarcely begun his noviceship, had been sentback by Persons to England, in order to deal with the troubles caused there by Heywood In these circumstances it seemed to some that the Society should make a bigger effort to help the mission(145); but the General replied that it was not the will that was lacking, but the means He had already decided to send Father Weston to England, but though the Father received the letter on the23rd ofDecember, 1583, he had been unable to leaveSeville, where he was stationed, before April the 7th, 1584 , and owingto further difficulties on the journey did not arrive at Paris until the beginning of June.(146)

In the meantime , on account ofthe severityofthepersecution, somehad advisedagainst sendingmore Jesuits to England,and the Provincial, Father Odo Pigenat, had written to the General in this sense . It is possible that such advice was unknowingly connected withthe obscureintrigue ofAldred and Bateson, who were dealing with some of the English counsellors, supposedly for a degree of moderationin matters of religion Be this as it may, certain it is that Persons himself, whilst still in Flanders, was moved by the insistence offriends to write to the General advising delayin sending any more Jesuits to England, at least for some months . Having arrived back in Paris, however, and talked the matter over with Allen, he strongly urged the General against any furtherdelay.(147) In reply, Aquavivarelated whathe had written tothe Provincialon the subject ;that he had askedfor information how the Jesuits were to be sent, in what place they were to live, what prospects there were of helping souls and of not being discovered; for it did not seem advisable to send men merely to suffer and edify others bytheir torments , seeingthat their going might very possibly be harmful to many and increase the afflictions of Catholics in Englandwithout further result In any case ,

(144) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva , 23 July, 1584, and note there, no 9

(145) Aquaviva to John Mush, 29 December , 1583 (Arch S.J. Rom. Gall. Epp Gen. , f. 35v.)

(146) Weston to Aquaviva, 12 June, 1584 (ibid , Epp Gall , xiv, f. 43).

(147) Persons to Aquaviva, 11 June, 1584, and note there, no 4; thesame to the same , 23 July, 1584 , and note there, no 18 e

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as was usualin such matters, Allen's advice must be sought (148) Persons's letter, however, appears to have convinced Aquaviva, for a few days later, on July the 15th, he wrote that he had informed the Pope of Allen's opinion and of the general desire ofCatholics that more Jesuits should be sent to England, and His Holiness had approved He had, therefore, assigned Fathers Weston and Marshall to that mission (149) In the event only Weston, accompanied by Brother Ralph Emerson, crossed to England , as Personsdoubted whetherMarshallwas suitable At this time there was considerable difficulty in finding a passage , for all the ordinary ways of access to Englandwere closed Fortunately, a few weeks before they sailed, Emerson, as Persons relates in a letter of August the 20th, had done wonders by contriving two new ways of crossing Soon after they had landed safely enough Emerson was taken in London, together with a consignment of books which he had brought with him , among which were copies of Leicester's Commonwealth , a political work, written under the guise of a " chronique scandaleuse , " probably by Charles Arundel It was only at the beginning of James I's reign that the Brother regained his liberty, and bythat timehis long imprisonment of nearly twenty years had so broken his health that he survived but a few months after his release.

Of the character of his work during these months in France Persons hasleft a description inhis letter to Ribadeneira . "During these last days, " he writes, " there had been a most violent and searching persecution, and the English ports have been guarded so carefully that there was no way open either to enter or to leave the country And so it seemed necessaryfor some one to be in this place near the coast and to employ industry and money in devising new ways whereby members of our Society and other Catholics might be able to pass to and fro. And by God's favour this has been accomplished. For Dr. Allen, who is a long way from the coast and is tied to his seminary at Rheims by endless cares and business , could not take on this task as well And so we have shared the business between us, he sending me priests from the seminary, and I arranging, to the best of my power, for their safe transport to England To do this and a number of other things required for the equipment of this spiritual war , I am obliged to maintain a modest establishment at Rouen, which is a most convenient city on account of its nearness to the sea , so that from there some can make trips to the coast to arrange for boats to convey people across (for they cannot use either the public boats or the ordinary ports that are well known) whilst others take charge of the preparationand introduction into the country of books, written in English, both on spiritual and devotional subjects, and on matters of controversy and in answer to (148) Aquaviva to Persons, 3 July, 1584 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp. Gen. , f. 53v.). (149) Aquaviva to Persons, 15 July, 1584 (ibid , f 55v)

INTRODUCTION

the calumnies with which the heretics assail us; and I hope to send you shortly a specimen of these, translated into Latin. Then, too, there are the holy oils, chalices, vestments and bibles to be sent over, and many other servicesare rendered from here tending to the convenience and assistance of those who are labouringwithin the island. "(150) The expenses of suchwork were heavy Commenting on this aspect of it in a letter totheRector of the English College, Rome, Persons states that since he had been in those parts he had transmitted to England material to the value of more than 4,000 crowns. " It is true , " he continues , " that sometimes they sendbackmoney in return for these goods, but it is done with great uncertainty and with much loss and danger. It is not fourtydays since I spent upwards of 80 crowns just in gifts to needy priests, 10 crowns to one, 8 to another , " etc. And a monthlater he reports that four priests and810books hadrecentlybeen sent into England, and adds, " ma ci ha costato bene . "(151) This co-operation with Allen was highly appreciated bythe latter, who wroteto the General saying howmuchPersons was helping him.(152)

In the midst ofthis ' staff' work, he did not allow his pen to remain idle; for it was at this time that he prepared the second and much enlarged edition of his Christian Directory, being aided in this byWeston up to the time of his departure for England.(153) The work appeared in 1585. From the frequent referencesto it in his letter of this period it would seem that he had also some part in the Latin translation of Allen's True, Sincere and Modest Defence of English Catholics , or at least that he undertookto see the translation through the press.(154)

But despite this activityin aid of his fellow Catholics , a certain nostalgia for actual mission work in England at times assailed him Thus, in a letter to the General announcing the capture of Ralph Emerson, he writes : " The news of this happening has distressed us not a little; yet when we consider that this is the purpose of this mission of ours or at least an accident obviously incidentalto it, we consoleone another with that hope of things eternal which the kindness of God bestows on us . Nor does it lessen our courage, but rather it increases and inflames our zeal. Only in my case (to tell your paternity the truth) does a slight feelingofsadness ariseat times when I consider howmany, indeed , nearly all, of my companions who set out together with me on this work (their number was thirteen), have attainedtheirreward

(150) Persons to Ribadeneira, 10 September, 1584 .

(151) Persons to Agazzari, 23 July and 20 August, 1584 . (152) Cf. Aquaviva to Allen, 15 July, 1584 (C.R.S. ix, 96), in answerto a letter of Allen's not now extant

(153) C.R.S. iv, 157

(154) Allen's work was in answer to Burghley's Execution of Justice in England , in which the English statesman endeavoured , though unsuccessfully, to show that there was no persecutionin England.

INTRODUCTION

or are still undergoing their contest, whilst I alone am left out for my sins . Yet even in this matter I have something to console me or to support me, when I consider the providence of God; nor am I altogether without hope that some day also God will arrange matters through your Paternity that my longings may be in some degreefulfilled."(155)

XIX. Persons retires to Rouen, September, 1584 .

In September of 1584 Persons , havingbought "dyverse sortes ofgood books , "left Paris and retired to Rouen, partlyon account ofthe plague raging in the French capital , and partly, no doubt, to devote more of his time to writing.(156) Hecontinued, however , to make occasional visits to Paris and stayed some weeks there On one occasionin November, when called there by Allen, hehad to come secretly, for there was fear of an attempt on his life by enemies from England . The matter remains obscure, but it may be that the danger arose from the importation of copies of Leicester's Commonwealthinto England, which were seized with other books when RalphEmerson was captured The book caused a certain amount of stir in Government circles, and the brother being known to be a Jesuit, it would naturally be thought that Persons was in some way connected with the book, thoughthe authorship was attributed to Morgan, aided by Paget, Charles Arundel and Tresham .(157) In January, at all events , Morgan wroteto the Queen of Scots with reference to the work, that" an Englishman is here newlyarrived by the practices of Leicester to kill Charles Arundel and others . "(158) Be this as it may, there can be no doubt that Persons was considered to be in serious danger, not only in Paris but elsewhere Letters of the Jesuit Provincial, of Edmund Hay, and ofthe General himself, all testify to this. Thelatter, indeed, suggestedthat it might be better for Persons to come to Rome where he would be safe, and that he was to confer with Allen on the matter and decide what was best (159)

For some time past the financial straits of the seminary at Rheims had been causing grave anxiety Further difficultieshad been added by the number of English Catholics fleeing to the Continentto escape thepersecutionragingagainst them in England. Allen did what he could to aid them, but his resources were quite inadequate to sustain the burden By September matters had reached such a stage that he wrote to the Cardinal Secretary of

(155) Persons to Aquaviva , 12 November, 1584 .

(156) C.R.S. ii, 35, and Persons to Agazzari, 30 September , 1584 .

(157) Walsingham to Leicester, 29 September , 1584 (B.M. Titus B., vii, f. 10)

(158) T. Morgan to Mary, Queen of Scots, 15 January, 1585 (Murdin, State Papers , f. 456)

(159) Persons to Aquaviva , 25 November, 1584, and note there, no 1 , where the authorities are cited

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Statethat unlessspecial help was forthcomingthe seminary could hardly continue The reply was not encouraging, for theCardinal rather reprimanded him for taking more students than the funds could support and indicated that the remedy was in his own hands and he must cut down the numbers to suit his revenue (160) There are several references to this state of things in Persons's letters,(161) and it was to discuss these difficulties with Allen as well as to consultwith Archbishop Beaton and Father Tyrie as to sending more Jesuits to Scotland that he had made the secret journey to Paris, referred to above (162) In his letter to theGeneral of November the 25th he lays bare the difficulties they were experiencing andstronglysupports the conduct ofAllen as regards the seminary . " In two days time Dr. Allen will come to me , so that we may talk over our sorrows, gains, hopes and consolations and makesomearrangements for dealing with the present necessities ofall our people In Belgium a great manyof the principal Englishmen have died, and that for the most part from want of necessaries . Thosethat remain are oppressed by unbearable want; they are scattering in various directions, but the majority come to theSeminary at Rheims to continue there theirstudy ofletters, for they are nearlyall young men of good birth I have here in my possession a letter from the Catholic King to the Prince of Parma recommending the formation or revival of some Companies of English Catholics; but I do not think I shall send it on to the Prince, because I almost despair of success innegotiations of that sort . The Apostolic Nuncio, who reported our state of want , hashad an answerfrom Rome, thatthe Seminary of Rheims ought to be limited to a definite number and not be open to everybody ; and there was some blame imputed to Dr. Allen too for not carrying this out It is quite impossible, however, to carry this out under the present circumstances unless we want to bring everything to ruin. You will realise this shortly when the reasons areput beforeyou.(163) Wehave theutmostconfidence in the providence of God who will not fail this holy undertaking in the end, even though He permits great difficulties, as He does in every good work. I am so weighed down by the anxieties of the times and the necessity of submitting to them that it would not be well for me to write more this time."(164)

(160) Cf. L. Hicks, S.J., " Father Persons and the Seminaries in Spain, " The Month, March, 1931, pp 201, 202 , and the authorities there cited

(161) Cf. Persons to Ribadeneira, 10 September , and to Aquaviva, 15 September, 1584

(162) Persons to Aquaviva, 25 November, 1584. Cf. Aquaviva to Odo Pigenat, 15 November, to Edmund Hay, 29 November, 1584; to the Archbishop of Glasgow, 1 January, to James Tyrie, 1 January, and to Edmund Hay, 10 February, 1585 (Arch S.J.Rom., ff 63, 64, 65, 65v . ,and68v .). Cf. also James Tyrie to Aquaviva, 10 December , 1584 (ibid , Epp Gall xiv, f 45)

(163) Cf. Allen to the Cardinal of Como , 16 January, 1585 (Knox, Allen , p. 244).

(164) Persons to Aquaviva , 25 November, 1584

INTRODUCTION

XX. Persons at St. Omer, March-July, 1585. Persons stayed the whole of that winter at Rouen , but left at the end of March, 1585, to fix his residence eventually at St. Omer (165) What purpose he had in withdrawing to Flanders cannot now be ascertained He evidentlygave an explanationto Aquaviva, but this letter is not now extant; and the General in his reply of the 31st of May merely states that he approves of his plan for the samereasons as Persons had represented to him , without, however, declaring what these were, and that he has commended him and his affairs to the Provincial of that Province (166) It is possible that Rouen, where Walsingham's spies were active, had for that very reason been found unsuitablefor the work of transmitting priests and material to England St. Omer seems to have been chosenfor its proximity to the sea , and certainly priests were sent there by Allen for Personsto find passage for them (167) It seems probable, however, that the chief reason for his goingto Flanders was in connection with the exiles there, to plead, it may be, for the formation of those English companies for which Philip IIsome months before hadgivenhim a letter to the Prince of Parma This, at least, is suggested as well by his visit to Father Oliver Manare, who had called him to Flanders for a similar reason on a former occasion as by his mentionofa visit to thecamp, presumably that ofthearmyaround Antwerp, with the siege ofwhichcity Parma was occupied during the whole of Persons's stay in the Low Countries Doubtless, thoughtherewas no immediate prospect of executing it, hewould have discussed the enterprise of Englandwiththe Prince; for but a few monthspreviouslyPhilip II had resolved to employParma in the attempt whenever it was to be carriedout, and had counselled him to treat of it only with Allen, Persons and Hugh Owen (168) From his subsequent letters, it appears that during his stayin Flanders he cameto be on very friendly termswiththe Prince's secretary, Cosimo Massi , and the members of his household (169)

XXI. Persons and Allen go to Rome, September, 1585. Whateveritwas that called him to Flanders, certain it is that Persons regretted the necessity of having to return there, as did

(165) Owing to the dearth of documentsrelating to this period of his life it is difficult to follow Persons's movements While still at Rouenhe wrote totheQueen ofScots : "I amcommandedby obedience to retireto Lorraine " (letter of the 15th of February, 1585). In the next extant letter addressed to Agazzari from Louvain, on May the 10th, he states that he left Rouen in the middle of Lent, and is about to leavefor St. Omer in four or five days. Yet nine days later, on May the 19th , Father Oliver Manare writing from Trier reports that Persons is there and willremain until the Generalor necessity callhim elsewhere (Arch S.J. Rom Epp Germ , 26, f. 600).

(166) Aquaviva to Persons , 31 May, 1585 (ibid., Flanders, Epp. Gen. ,f. 83).

(167) Persons to Agazzari, 10 May and 12 July, 1585

(168) Cf. Persons to the Queen of Scots, 10 (October), 1584 , and Allen to the same , 5 February, 1585 (Knox, Allen, p 247)

(169)Cf. Persons to Massi , 20 September , 1585 , and 6 April, 1586

INTRODUCTION

also the General; for it prevented his going to Rome (170) Actually the Flandersbusiness only delayed his journey there for a few months. Already by the beginning of August Persons was back at Rheims ready to take the road Romewards in company with Allen, but the latter was away at Spa recuperating from an illness and was not expected back until the 18th (171) In the event they did not set out until the 23rd of September (172) It has been suggestedthat both Sixtus V , who had been elected to succeedGregory XIII on April the 24th, 1585, and Philip II, who was not long in discovering that the new Pope would be more energetic than his predecessorin promoting the attempt against England, desired the presence of Allen and Persons in Rome to giveinformation about English affairs and more particularly with regard to the ' enterprise,' and that they summoned them there for that purpose (173) This is certainly incorrect in Persons's case. His going to Rome had been decided upon before the election of Sixtus V, and the purpose of his going was that he might do his third year of probation, passing some months in spiritual exercises , as is customary in the Society, preparatoryto his taking his last vows (174) Even with regard to Allen it must be remembered that theonly extant document that gives a reason for his going to Romethe commendatory letter oftheNuncioat Colognestates explicitly that the purpose of the journey was primarily concerned with the desperate financial condition ofthe seminary at Rheims(175); and it certainly seems odd and not without a touchofhumourthattheNuncioshould begthe Cardinal Secretary of State to give ear to Allen and to present him to the Pope, had Allen in fact been called to Rome by the Pope himself to give information connected with the enterprise. This is not

(170) Aquaviva to Persons, 31 May, 1585 (Arch S.J. Rom . Flanders, Epp Gen. , f. 83)

(171) In a letter of July the 4th, 1585, Barret reports that Persons is expected at Rheims in August, and in one of the 14th or 15th ofAugust that he had arrived there some six days previously (Arch S.J. Rom. Anglia, 37, ff 213, 214) Cf. Knox , Douay Diaries, p 207 .

(172)Writing from Paris, Septemberthe 29th, 1585, Barret states that Allen and Persons are now 13 daysontheirjourney(Stonyhurst,Anglia, i, 64) Father Knox (Allen, p lxxii), relying on this letter, places their departure about the 16th of September . But in a subsequent letter of October the 8th Barret explicitly corrects his former statement and reports that they had postponed theirdeparture until the 23rd (Arch S.J. Rom Anglia, 37 , f 214)

(173) Knox, Allen, p lxxii

(174) Aquaviva to Persons , 9 April, 1585 (ibid , Gall Epp Gen., f 77)

In this letter the General states that he had had in mind to call him to Rome , but agreed to defer his coming until September , should Persons thinkthat time more suitable From a letter of the General on the 31st of May, 1585 , it appears that Persons had decided not to wait until September , but then had come the business in Flanders which had hindered him going to Rome "As to your regret, " the General writes, " that your journey to Flanders has prevented your coming to Rome, we also regret it, for we wanted very much to see you " (Arch S.J. Rom. Fland , Epp Gen., f 85).

(175) The Nuncio at Cologne (Bishop of Vercelli) to the Cardinal of Como , 12 September , 1585 (Arch Vat Nunz di Colonia, iv, f 112)

INTRODUCTION

to deny that Allen and Personsintended to employthe occasion to urge the Pope in the matter of theimpresa, northattheSpanish Government had a mind to use them forthat purpose: it fell into line with Philip II's policy as regards the Pope; for it is a trait of Spanish diplomacyat this period to have Sixtus V eager for the enterprise, in order that the King might represent it as the Pope's affair rather than his, and so demand of him greater financialsupport for it (176) A few days before Allen and Persons set out, they received a letter from Parma commending their affairsand the person of Allen (177) Travelling slowly, no doubt on account of Allen's weak health, they arrived at Rome on November the 4th, Allen then going to reside at the English College, where he stayed until he was made Cardinal, and Persons probably to the professed house of the Society.

XXII

Work

at

Rome, 1585 -October, 1588.

With the arrival of Persons at Rome his correspondencewith the General and with the Rector of the EnglishCollege comes to an end for the time being, as all business could now be carried on by wordofmouth. As it was to these personsthat byfarthe greater number of his letters had hitherto been directed, thereis in consequence a dearth of material for the story ofthis portion of his life Nor can the defect be made up to any appreciable extent from other sources No mention of him is found in the Papal diplomatic documents of the period, and even in the Spanish papers for 1586 his name occurs but threetimes. Very occasional, too, are references to him in the reports of English spies on the Continent, and these must always be accepted with great caution. From one of these it is learnt that Persons early in 1586 retired to the novitiate of San Andrea to put himself into the spiritual exercises "-probablya correct statement , signifying that he was making the retreat of thirty days, whichis a prominent feature of the third year of probation .(178)

But his time this year was not wholly occupied with things of the spirit;for a few months after his arrival in Rome he published his editionof Sanders'sDe Schismate Anglicano, whichfrom the large additions interspersed throughout the bookhe may be

(176) This is clearly seen in the despatch ofCount Olivares, the Spanish Ambassadorin Rome , of February the 24th, 1586, with its enclosure , and in Philip II'sreply to it of July the 22nd (Spanish Calendar, pp 560-569 , 593-595).

(177) Persons to Massi , 20 September, 1585. To whom the letter was directed does not appearpossiblyto the Prince'suncle , Cardinal Farnese , or to theSpanish Ambassador . The affair' may have been the enterpriseor the elevation of Allen to the purple Cf. Persons to Idiaquez, (February) 1586 , and Persons to Parma, 20 August, 1587, where he thanks the Prince for his support of Allen's candidature

(178) SolomonAldred to Walsingham, 30 March/6 April, 1586 (R.O. Dom . Eliz., Addenda II, No. 95).

INTRODUCTION

concluded to have beenworkingon before hiscoming to Rome.(179) He continued also to direct from Rome the Society's mission to England, and obtained from the General what he had long sought, the despatch there of Father Henry Garnet On May the 8th, 1586, he accompanied him and his companion, Father Robert Southwell, the future martyr, as far as Ponto Milvio to take an affecting leave of them.(180) Fromthe fact that his extant letters of June and August are addressed from the English College, it would seem that he resided there for some months of the year. That of August the 22nd to Cardinal Farnese shows that the seminary at Rheims was in so critical a state financially as to be in danger of being dissolved, and that in spite of his efforts to bring home to Sixtus V this serious state of affairs, Cardinal Cajetan, recently appointed Protector of England,(181) had been unsuccessfulin obtainingfrom him any additional support for it Persons's letter contains a fine encomium of the seminary and revealsatthesame time theindomitablespirit ofAllenand himself, whoin the midst of these dark days, placing all their reliance on God, remained confident that his Divine Providence would not allow the great work to come to an untimely end. On a former occasion of similar, if not so acute, difficulty, Gregory XIII had issued a brief to the faithful exhorting them to come to the aid ofthe seminary, and Allen and Personsendeavoured at this time to obtainfrom SixtusV a similar appeal Happily Persons'sfears that this favour also would be refused proved groundless, and within a fortnight after the above letter to Cardinal Farnese the Pope complied with their request.(182)

Soon after the date of this letter, Persons must have left the English Collegeto resideagain at the professed house, forhe acted as Latin secretary to the General for five or six months, beginning his new office early in October It was doubtless in the adjoining church of the Gesù that he took his final vows on May the9th , 1587. In the following year he held the post of Rector of the English College, probablyreplacing Father Holt, who on February the 18th, at the instance of Cardinal Allen, was sent with Father Creswell to Flanders to be in readiness for the Armada.(183)

In the political sphereduring his stayin Rome , asinthe years immediatelypreceding, the Spanish papers show Persons to have (179) He senta copy ofit to Don Juan Idiaquez on Maythe 20th (Persons to Idiaquez ofthat date) For the voguewhich this edition had ontheContinent cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., " Dr. Nicholas Sanders , " English Historical Review , January, 1891 . (180) More, Historia Provinciae Anglicanae, S.J., p 168 (181) The Briefappointing him Protector is dated the 30th of June, 1586 (182) The Brief, Afflictae et crudeliter vexatae , is dated the 3rd of September, 1586. Cf. also L. Hicks, S.J., " Father Persons and the Seminaries in Spain , " The Month, March, 1931, p. 203 (183) Cf. Liber Ruber, Arch Coll Ven Rome, No. 204. Cf. also L. Hicks, S.J. , " Cardinal Allen and the Society, " p. 111 , The Month, December , 1932 , wheretheauthorities are cited Cf. also Persons to Massi, 24 February, 1587 .

INTRODUCTION

been in complete accord with Allen Intimatelyconsciousofthe deplorable ruin caused to souls by heresy, and of the miseries inflicted on their fellow Catholics in England, they were eagerfor, andto the best of their power promoted , the impresa as the surest andquickestmeansof checking these evils and bringingbackthe countrytotheancient faith Theywereinno positionto appreciate thedifficultieswithwhichPhilip II had to contend northe hazardousnatureofthe enterprise, fullyrealised by the Kinghimself;and in consequence they chafed at the continued delays oftheSpanish court Allen and Melino (Persons), " writes Count Olivares, the Spanish Ambassador in Rome, " have readywit and speech about the affairs of England, and they find means to draw from everything arguments and thoughtsin proofthat each moment ,whichever it be , is the most suitablefor the accomplishment oftheir desires , both as regards the principalaffairand Allen'spromotion; for every moment lost they regard as a serious set-back. "(184) It was quite in keeping with this spirit that Persons when writing to the Spanish Secretary of State, Don Juan Idiaquez, did not hesitate to emphasisewhat increasing difficultiespast delays had brought with them and imploredhim by the love of Jesus Christ to haveregard to the needs oftheir cause whichwere so pressing at that moment, adding that it would assuredly be lost if some assistancewere not quickly forthcoming(185) From time totime, too, their advice was sought by Count Olivares, more particularly as regards the question of succession to the EnglishThrone, when and how far it was suitable to speak to the Pope on the matter , and the formulating of reasons justifying the enterprise. ' Yet, when allis said, their influence on the course of events was slight, and must not be exaggerated. It would certainly be erroneous to state that they urged Philip II to a course whichwithout their insistence he would not have followed, or even that they made him anticipate his own time for embracing it It was not the urging of Allen and Persons, nor yet indeed that of Sixtus V himself, that spurred the King to action: it was the ravages of Drake in the Indies, the flames of Cadiz and the havoc wrought on his own coasts that forced the conviction on Philip II that fight he must , even for his own temporalinterests, apart from his very real desire to champion the Catholic cause

From the Spanish papers of the period it is also clear that though Allen and Persons worked together as but one mind, it was Allen, not Persons, who occupied the position of leadera fact whichonewouldnaturally beled to expect from theeminence the former enjoyed as head of the seminary as well as from his strongcharacter and greater age In one ofthe earliest occasions after their arrival in Rome when these two Catholicprotagonists are mentioned in the despatchesof Olivares, the Spanish Ambas-

(184) Olivares to Philip II, 27 January, 1587 (Spanish Calendar , iv, 1587-1603 , p. 9) (185) Persons to Idiaquez, 20 May, 1586 .

INTRODUCTION

sador , after suggesting to Philip II that it would be wellto give some financial assistance to Allen, adds " This I say, becauseit is veryimportant to laythis man under an obligationas he must bethe one to lead the whole dance and will have great influence with the Pope in settling the question of the succession. "(186) It is Allen who has audiences with the Pope and conducts negotiations with him (187) One reason, indeed, suggested for making him a cardinal was that when the time came for pressing the businesshome, he might thereby speak more frequently and efficaciously with SixtusV about the papal subsidy forthe enterprise and that more weight might be given to his opinion about the succession (188) It was Allen, again, who according to theinstructions of Philip II was asked to draw up a statementjustifying the enterprise,(189) and it was at Allen's instance that the two Jesuits, Holt and Creswell,were sentto Flanders to be in readiness for the Armada (190)

In one matter, however, and only in one, is it Persons and not Allen who takes the initiative, namelyin the negotiationfor the latter's elevation to the purple And this is easily intelligible: Allen's innate selflessness and utter absence of ambition would naturally have held him back from taking the lead in negotiations for his own promotion. In the already mentioned despatch of February the 24th, 1586, Olivares states definitely that it is the Jesuit " who speaks about the cardinalate " Persons, in fact, had alreadytreated of thematter when at Lisbonin 1582 , and appears to have extracted on that occasion some sort of promise from Philip IIof his support of Allen's candidature . (191) His idea was to gain for his friend a more authoritative positionandmakehim bythat a rallying point for all the EnglishCatholics, at the same time heartening them by the promotion of their fellow-countryman. Here, again, delay chafed him, and when he learnt in 1586 that Philip II as yet had sent no definite instructions to his Ambassador in Rome as to petitioning the Pope to make Allen a cardinal, he drew up a paper givingreasonswhy thematter should be proceeded with without waiting for a replyfrom Spain (192)

(186) Olivares to Philip II, 24 February, 1586 (Knox, Allen, p 251)

(187) Instructions, 1 March, 1587 (ibid , p 289) On January the 2nd , 1586 , Philip II had written to Olivares to make Allen go on begging the Pope to press Philip to undertake the enterprise, all of course with view that he might more easily force the Pope to contribute a great portion of the expensesoftheexpedition (Arch Simancas, Sec de Estado, Leg 947, f 102)

(188) Olivaresto Philip II, 3 September , 1586 (Spanish Calendar , p. 619).

(189) Olivares to Philip II, 2 March, 1587 (Spanish Calendar , p. 29).

(190) Creswellto Philip II, 12 September , 1592: " My superiors sent me from Rome to Flandersat the instanceof Cardinal Allen and Count Olivares to serve the Duke of Parma in the English undertaking in 1588." Knox , Allen, p cxi, is in error in stating that the two Fathers who werethus sent to Flanderswere John Gerard, S.J. , and Edward Oldcorne , S.J. Cf. L. Hicks, S.J., "Cardinal Allen and the Society, " The Month, December , 1932 , p. 354.

(191) Persons to Idiaquez, 20 May, 1586. Cf. C.R.S. ii, 31

(192) Cf. infra the document headed " Cause et Ragioni per le quali, " etc. , p. 285

INTRODUCTION

From the fact that this document in Persons's own hand is to befoundamong theCarte Farnesianeat Naples, it maybe inferred that it was sent to Cardinal Farnesein order that he might urge the matter with the Pope. Later, when Sixtus V himself, after he had received a petition for the promotionfrom Philip II, still delayed in effecting it, Personssuggestedto Olivares that it might be well to advocate Allen's being appointed Archbishopof Canterburya suggestion wisely discountenanced by the Ambassador on the ground that " the Pope would be diverted by it from the subject of the hat "(193) A few months later, on August the 7th, 1587 , Allen was created cardinal In a letter to Thomas Bailey, Vice-President of the seminary at Rheims, soon after the reception ofthe new dignity, Allen wrote" You are all gladandrejoice for my promotion God grant it be, as I trust it is, to his more honourand good of our country, for else I had rather havekept my black cape still But how much soeveryou have to rejoice in this behalf, so much more, all you that love me so dearly, are bound by a new obligation to love and be grateful to the whole Society, and namely to our own special good father and chief co-operator. For next under heaven F. Persons made me Cardinal."(194) From a letter to the Prince of Parma of the 20th of August, 1587 , thanking him for the great part the Prince had played in obtaining the promotion, it appears that Persons had previously, probablywhen he wasin Flanders, engagedthe Prince to support it. "And in this matter," he writes, " just as perhaps no one else of our nation will have had better opportunity than myselfofknowinghowmuchwe owe toyour Highness, so I would desire in the name of all of them to thank you for it and show the gratitude that is due . "(195)

The elevation of Allen to the purple so far as PhilipII was concerned, though not altogether so in the mind of Persons, was effected in view of the Armada With the defeat of the Spanish fleet in the encounter that followed, a definite period in Persons's life may be said to have ended A little less than a month after the definitive news of that defeat had reached Rome, he set out for Spain, where he was to pass the next eight or nine years in the foundation and management of English seminaries there.

(193) Olivares to Philip II, 16 March, 1587 (Spanish Calendar , p 40; Knox, Allen, p 272)

(194) Cited by Thomas Worthington in his Relation of Sixteen Martyrs, Douay, 1601, p 77

(195) Persons to the Prince of Parma, 20 August, 1588

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

PERSONS TO CAMPION . Rome, 28 November, 1578 .

Stonyhurst, Anglia 1 , n 5. Holograph: printed in Simpson, Campion , p. 91

Pax Christi. Jesus.

Having receavid(1) this letter(2) almost a monethe gone from Mr martin I deferred to send it untill this tyme to thendI myght accompanie it with sum newes touchinge our Englishe matters. you shall understand therefore thatSir Thomas Stewkly who was made heer Marques before his departure, is now dead in Africa with the King of Portugall. the particulars of his deathe I have nott receavid: he toke here away with him at mydnight owt of ther bedde all the Irishemen in Rome and one Englishe gentleman named mr Minors nevew to Cardinall Poole whoe had good enterteynment heer of the pope befor, that is to say XX crownes in goold a monethe (3) This Mynhurstwith one Sedgrave(4) an Irishman which once had byn of our companie, Sir Thomas being on the sea uppon what cause I know not would have hanged them , and being p[ro]hibited to doe it by the earnest request of certain Italian capitayns that went with him, he deferred the matter untyll he came to Portugall and ther arryvingecondemnedbothe of them to the gallayes for terme of lyfe, and so led them slaves with them into Africa, but sence his deathe they ar delyvered by the new kinge of Portugall, which is the Cardinall, and thus muche minors hath wrotenhyther him selfe and other provision that went with Sir Thomas all is dispersed and so this enterprise is cum to nothinge Heer in Rome the Englishe Seminarie goethe fourthe well for ther be almost 40 persons under the government

(1) Simpson misreads" read . "

(2) Persons is probably referring to the letter ofGregoryMartinto Edmund Campion, 22 August, 1578, printed in Knox, Douay Diaries, p 317

(3) Stucley's seizingof the Irishmen in Romeand forcing them to accompany him is mentioned by the contemporary, G. Maffei, S.J. (d. 1602), in his Annali di Gregorio XIII, Roma , 1742, i, 356. Theattitudeofthe Irishtowards Stucleyis shownbytheirrefusaltoacceptthe pay offered byhim . Cf. Calendar ofState Papers, Rome, ii, 449. In this volume much information concerning Stucley is to be found additional to that contained in the older notices of R.Simpsonand Professor A. F. Pollard Cf. also M. V. Ronan , TheReformation in Ireland under Elizabeth , London , 1930 .

(4) Nicholas Sedgrave, son of James Sedgrave and Mary Bath, was born in Dublin 1548. He entered theSociety in Rome February 2 , 1573 , but left Having entered a second time, November 24, 1573, he left again, probably on account of ill-health, in November, 1574. He was one of those who on board Stucley's ship refused to accept the offered pay (Arch S.J. Rom Romana 169 and 171a) Cf. E. Hogan, S.J., Ibernia Ignatiana, Dublin, 1880, p. 19

ofIII ofour companie. We ar heer at Rome now24 Inglishemen of the Societie, wherof fyve hath entered within this monethe one named Mr. Holt which was once of Oriall colledge master of Art, and the other fower came hyther from Parisse all excellent towardly yowths and all have endydthe courses of philosophia. II of them ar yor countrymen borne in Pater noster row, one named Harwood and thother Smithe, lytle doctor Smythe the physitionsnevew (5) One Inglishe of good learninge is presentely now heerhence sent towards Japponia I hope er it be long wee shall [find] a vent an other waye Father Darbishire (6) is cum hyther from Parisse, and it may be that I shall goe ere it be long in his place thyther Mr. Lane(7) as I wroteto yowbefore is gone to Alcala in Spayne, and arryved thyther hathe wroten your commendations in a letter to me. And this is as muche [as] I have to wryte to you at this tyme mr Marten (8) was called away herhencebymrD. Allen his letters, I think they were half afrayd of him what myght becum of hym, but mr Horlte(9) entering of late, hathe muche amased them. I pray yow mr Campian pray for me forI have great need ofit, all our countrymen heer dothe commend themselfes hartely to yow. from Roome this xxviii of November 1578. Your servaunt in Chryst Rob: Persons.

[Addressed] Al molto Reverendo in Christo Padre il padre Edmondo Campiano Inglese nel collegio della Compagnia di Giesù in Praga. si può lasciar con il reverendo padre rettore del collegio di Inspruke per inviarla a praga.

[Endorsed by Fr. Grene] Fr Persons to fr Campian 28 Nov. 1578 .

(5) The five who entered within a month are Bd Robert Southwell and Matthew Marshall (17 October); Nicholas Smith and Edward Harwood (29 October); and William Holt (7 November) (Arch Rom., S.J., 171a; N. Southwell, S.J., Catalogus Primorum Patrum, p 59 ; Knox, Douay Diaries, p 48).

(6) Fr. ThomasDarbyshire, nephew of Bishop Bonner, entered the Society in Rome on the 1st of May, 1563

(7) John Lane, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, a great friend of Persons , and his companion at Padua, enteredthe Societyin Rome some eight months after Persons, on February the 2nd, 1576. He died at Alcala on the 14th of May, 1579 (N. Southwell, Catalogus , p 52; Knox, Douay Diaries, p 103; Persons, Apologie , p 194; Autobiography , C.R.S. ii, 24 , 39 , 64 , 191) Persons erroneouslygives the year of his death as 1578 .

(8) GregoryMartin, to whom we owethe Douay translation of the Bible, had been, like Lane, the companion of Campion and Persons at Oxford Leaving England because the Old Faith was there proscribed, he became professorof Hebrew at Douay On account of the hostility shown to the English Seminarybythe town authorities, he left Douay for Romeon November the 9th, 1576 (G. Martin to Campion, Rome , 22 February, 1577; Knox, Douay Diaries, p 314) Whilst in Rome he helped in the foundation of the English College. He returned on July the 23rd, 1578 , to the EnglishSeminary, which during his absence had been removedfromDouay to Rheims He died in the latter city on October the 28th, 1582 (Knox, Douay Diaries; Persons, DomesticallDifficulties, C.R.S. ii, passim)

(9) Simpson misreads" Horltus " Persons is referring to Fr. Holt

PERSONS TO ALLEN .

Rome, 30 March, 1579

Printed in C.R.S. ii, 135 , from the manuscript of Persons's Domesticall Difficulties, Stonyhurst, A.I.18 Knox, Allen, p 74, printed the part of the letter given in Grene's copy of DomesticallDifficulties, Stonyhurst, Coll P, f. 381

Good Mr. Doctor, I shall not need to wryte much at this tyme, partely for that I suppose the Priests and Schollers do (and I have done also myselfe at other tymes) and partely for that I hope to see you here shortely, at what tyme we may more comodiously talke of all matters in presence , yet for that I am requested by some here to touchcertayne points unto you, I shall do that breefely, to witt first what hath passed here in this great contention, and secondly the importance of your speedy coming hither

For the first, thoughthe issue of this contention hath brought forth some good effects for benefitt of this new Colledge, which perhapes woulde not have ensued (or at least not so soone) if this sharpe bickarment had not fallen out; yet have there many things passed therein which I could wishe had byn undone , or at least done with some more moderation on all hands , and this for the creditt of our whole Nation.

Touching Mr. Morrice his government , I thinke verelyand do partly knowe also that it was insufficient for such a multitude: and how could it be otherwise he being alone without help and never practized in such a mannage before, the schollers also were very evill provided for necessaries, sometymes going all ragged, and in worse case (some of them at least, and these of the principall) as I have seene with myne eyes; nationall partialyties also in distribution of thinges I thinke was not so carefullyavoyded as ought to have byn, yet could I have wished the schollers to have dealt more moderately for redresse, if it might have byn; and at least I would the difference betwixte Welch and English (had not beenso)(1) often named or so muchurged hereamongstrangers, seeing that of both nations there be very good and vertuous people at(2) home and abroad, who by this open contentionmay be driven into division, but who can stay yonge men or ould eyther once incensed on both sides by nationall contentions You know what passeth in Oxford in like occasions IfI should tell you of particular excesses passed on both sides , youwould laugh, and yet it would greeveyou, as it doth me Whenall the English were put out of the Colledge, one Hugh Griffen , Nephew to Mr. Archdeacon Lewes , is said to have given a leape intothe Colledge Hall sayinge Whoe now but a Welchman, which when(3) it came to the others eares you may think how it sett them on, though little heed is to be given to his words or deeds, being very free in both , for since that tyme, when one night he came very late

(1) Greneinserts " had not been so " with a query in the margin

(2) Grene inserts " both. "

(3) After which Grene has left a blank of about a page, and continues thus you see" etc.

home the gates being shutt, and I having charge of the Colledg, sent to knowe the cause of his being forth so late, he said I was a K. and with that answered all On the other side a certaine Cardinall being desirous to know the difference betwene Welch and English, one answered well (as yt semeth to me) that it is almost (67) like the difference between the Biscayans and Castilians in Spaine, where the first are the reliques of the ouldeinhabitante Spaniards, and the second are more new, coming of the Gothes that conquered the country, but my L. Prior of St. Johns hearing of this answere was offended therewith and said the difference was rather as betwene the Moores and Castilians, applying the Moores to the Welchmen, who yet see not in reason howit can stand, seeing the Moores are later in Spayne than the Castilians, but thus(3) you see when the Nationall dissention is once raysed up, how hard it is to appease it, for which causethe more necessaryis thought your speedyrepare hither, and to that end have we procured you bothlicense of his holinessto comeand sent you also some Viaticum, so as we trust to see you shortely .

To show you here the comodities and utilityes which may ensue ofyourjorney, it shallbe to small purpose, foryour wisdome will farre better conceave it then we, yet these poynts have we proposed heere to moove his Holiness and others Superiours to consent and desire your coming, first the pacifying of grudges betwenethe two Nations , seeing Mr. D. Lewis is your greatfrende, then the uniting and combining of this Colledge to yours therein all good correspondence, and these two were sufficient for His Holiness: but further to ourselves we have proposed the confirmation and encrease ofthat Seminaries pension by his Holiness: the right informing also of F. Generall of the Society in our English affayres, where perhaps you may induce him to joyne some of his also (seeing God hath sent so manynowof our nation intothe Society) with our other Priests to go into England, seeing otherwise you and others have wrytten that it is much desired by Catholikes there, and here I am sure there wanteth not desire in diversto adventure there bloudin that mission, among whome I dare put myselfe for one, if HolyObedience imploy me therein, forseeingI have offered my selfe a good while agoe to the Mission ofthe Indies and cannot obtayne it, it may be God willhave me go to this other , but whether I goe or noe, I thinke the combination of other Fathers of the Society with our Priests ofthe Seminaries is so importing(4) a thing and of so great consequence , as if by your coming you brought no other thing to passe but this, you would(5) thinke it well bestowed in tyme, but I hope you shall do this and much more, whereof we shall talke more largely at our meeting, and so to that tyme I remitt all therest, withmy most hartiest comendations to yourself and Mr. D. Bristowe, to

(4) Grene has " important. "

(5)Grene has " you would have well bestowed your time. "

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

Mr. Licentiate Martyn, and all the rest From Rome this 30 of March, 1579. Yours wholy ever

Robert Persons.

PERSONS TO WILLIAM GOOD.

(1) Rome, after 19 March 1579.(2)

Printed in C.R.S. ii, 140, from Persons's DomesticallDifficulties, Stonyhurst, A.I.18 Grene transcribed another copy of the same work of Persons in his Coll. P , and with itthisletter, butwith omissions (Coll P, ff 386-406).

Reverend and loving Father , I wrote unto you oflate byF. Possevinus briefly as my business and the tyme then permitted me of English matters Now because greater accidents hath fallen out synce that tyme and also because never as yet after your departure I could have leasure to wryte to you at larg, I meane to cumber you with this longe Letter, albeit I know that longe Letters are wont to be more cumberous to the wryters then to the readers.

First therefore touching our Society, God be thanked, it proceedeth every day more and more in spirit and charity one towards another, and in greate fervour of desire to advance the honour of God, and to suffer for the same

We have had of late heere Father Moranes, Portugall, Visitor of the Romayne Colledg, who albeit I thinke he hath had little to reforme , yet that great wisdome and charity ofhis , whichyou knowe of ould, also his vehement fervour of spirit expressedin his exhortations , hath inflamed much the mynde of all this Colledge, and hath left hoate coles in the bosome of many a one , which may in tyme perhaps breake out to the healing of other men besides themselves, and I would to God of me too Missions since your departure hath byn dyvers of importance namelytwo or three to the East Indyes, (3)wherehence, and especially from Japonia, we have had letters of great consolation which are newly printed (3) And amongst these Missions was one English-

(1)It was under Fr. William Good that Persons, after leaving England in 1574 , made the Spiritual Exercises at Louvain (Persons , Autobiography , C.R.S.ii, 23). William Good , Fellow of CorpusChristi College, Oxford, and Canon of Wells, left England on the accession of Elizabeth, and entered the Society of Tournai on the 3rd of June, 1562. He was sentto Ireland in 1564 as companion to Richard Creagh , Archbishop of Armagh He returned to Flanders in 1570, was called to Rome in 1577 and thence accompanied Fr. Possevin to Sweden and Poland Called back to Rome for the Congregation of 1581 which elected Fr. Aquaviva General , he became soon after confessor to the English College there, and was responsiblelateralong with George Gilbert for the paintings there of the English saints and martyrs He died at Naples on the 5th of July, 1586. Cf. E. Hogan, S.J., Ibernia Ignatiana, p. 14, N. Southwell, S.J., Catalogus, p 9. Forhis works cf. Sommervogel, Bibliothèque , S.J., vol iv, 1606

(2) The latest date referred to in the body of the letteris " St. Joseph's day, " March 19 , 1579 . (3) Omitted by Grene .

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS, S.J.

man, that is Thomas Stevens(4) a yong man of great fervour and a reasonable talent, whome I would have diverted towards a certayne North India, but the lett you shall know after . To the West Indyes also there hath byn three or foure Missions,(5) and that in good multitude, for that there came therhence from two divers contryes two Fathers of ours, demaunding with great instance both of the Pope and of our Generall fresh aydes, for that there was of late divers greate Countryes newly descryed, ready to receeve the Gospell, and amongst others one king who did possess alone a thousand myles in breadth, and much more in length, and all this in a pleasant playne ground and without hills, who sent unto our Fathers forty Embassadours, requesting them to come and preach the Law of God in his Kingdoms, but to bring no Spaniards with them who sought for their gouldand not for their soules ; and because betwixt these Countries where our Fathers now abyd and those kingdomes, there were some hilles, and some great rivers, this King offered to send so many of his subjects, as should both make brigges over the rivers, and hew thoroughthe hilles, wayes for them to passe And because this King hath importunatly continewed his sute, I thinke our Fathers willtake the enterprise in hand, but they must have help. ofmanypersons And also there hath byn a Mission into Mesopotamia and Syria, and a part of that is diverted to Constantinople, God prosper them. The late Mission to Cracovia into Poloniaat the King's earnest request, you have heard of I thinke , and F. Stephanus Hungarus, who comendeth himselfe to you, expecteth hereto depart everyday, as soone as the Polon Embassadour (who is now in Venice) shall arive at Rome, he hath to go, as I thinke you have hard, at the instance and charge of the said King of Polonia, to found a Colledg presently in Transilvania, and therhence to make excursions as occasionshall serveinto his owne Contreywhich is Hungary. In the meane space he hath not byn idle here, for he hath labored with the Pope for the erection of a Seminary for his Nation, and as is thoughtcerteynlythe matter is concluded, it shalbe at St. Stephano Rotondo , where certayne Friars of Hungary were wont to be The like Seminary is said to be concluded for the Flemings, and this good Gregorye's purse is extended to every nation. But now you will say, heere are Missions for all Contryes but only for Englandwhich seemeth to

(4) Thomas Stephens entered the Society at the age of 26 , on October the 20th, 1575 (not, as Foley and othersstate, on Octoberthe 11th) Hewas at the Roman College with Garnet and Persons, studying philosophy with the former , whilst the latter was engaged in theology Sent to India in 1578 , he arrived at Goa the following year. Forforty years he labouredin themission of Salsette, being at one time Rector of the " college " there He died in 1619 (Arch. S.J. Rom. 171A , f. 37; N. Southwell, S.J., Catalogus, p 50) For his works cf. Sommervogel , Bibliothèque S.J., vol ii, 468 sub Busten" R. Hakluyt prints a letter ofthis father, November 10, 1579, in ThePrincipal Navigation, voiages, traffiques and discoveries of the English Nation , London , 1598-1600, ii, 89

(5) Grene omits the following, leaving a blankspace to be filled in later, and resumes " But now , " etc.

be abandoned above all others. To this I answere, that you perhaps are much in falt of this, who had not solicited the cause, when you were heere and had more help than I now have , or can looke for. But yet I will tell you, that had not the enimy cast in an impediment which no man loked for , you had hard good newes perhappsbeforethistyme, and wemyghthave chanced to have pulled you out of your furres in Suetia You knowwhat great difficulties are in the entreprise, which many men do not consider; untill therefore that I see myselfe in my owne opinion able to resolve the same, and untill a way might be laid downe how the Company might beginne and go throughwith the matter to some purpose, I knew there was not hope to moove thematter: when I wassomewhat satisfied in that poynt,I beganethe assault and it had such successe , as I thinke you wouldmarvelltounderstand the particulars which I dare not heere wryte to you, but the impediment you shall understand by that whichIwrytehere under: now it is enough for F. Darbishire and me if we can keep our Englishe men of the Company togeather, and from other Missions, which also we shall not be able to do long, for albeit our Superiours do not gladly grant any Englishe man to any other Mission, for desire they have to reserve themfor England, yet the multitude of us dayly encreasing (for there hath entered at Rome 8 or 9 this yeare, besides divers in other places) and also manyEnglishe men dayly for the greate zealeand desire they have to suffer somewhat for Christ, demanding instantly underhand and privily (for in this thing they will not lett us be of their councell, whome they know will lett them) to be sent in other Missions, seeing Englandis shutt from them For these causes I say it is hard but sometymes, some of them shall obtayne to be sent away, which will be a diminishment of fit labourers when the tyme of harvest shall come, which is now indede more than ever. If only the way weare broken, whichmay bebythe Grace of God hereafter, albeit for the present it be letted Thus muchI can assure you not only of the Englishmen, but also of all others that abid in the English Colledg, so great and marvelous is the affection they beare to England, and to English Catholikes , that if our Superiours would but once give a signe of consent to sett open the Colledge gates towards the enterprise of England, they would all runne out, even from the Rectorhimselfe to the lowest scholler in the Colledg, and this I well perceavedin the handling of this matter past, for albeit none of them knewe ofthe matter, yet suspecting some such thing by my often recourse to the Generall, it was a thing wonderful to see , how many, and they who were of the best, made suits and insinuations to me , that if any such matter should fall out, that they might be named in the enterprise. But since that tyme they have much more confirmed their desire to joyne with Englishmen by the matters which have fallen out in these sturres since, which hath wrought such effect of all men here in their mynds, that it is impossible to imaginewhat conceat they have of D. Allen and those ofhis

schoole, as of their rare spirite and coragein matters of adversity and conscience , whichthey have seene inschollers of the Seminary heere. For to come therfore to the principall matter whereof I purpose at this tyme to let you understand, so it is, that oflate there hath fallen out here an open breach betwixt the schollers ofthe Seminary and Mr. Archdeacon(6) and consequently betwixt Englishmen and Welchmen, the which I will recount unto you as a man indifferent in that matter, and voyde of all affectionof both parties, and as an enimy to the raysing of them , so a more enimy to the continuinge of them Albeit it may be that God will turne all to the best, and wrest out good of that which the Divell meant to have used to our hurt I will judge of nothing, neyther touch any mans intention in this comedy, for yt may be that all parts have had a good meaninge, only I will put downe the simple fact, and that which hath past, which I have partly seene myself, partly understood by the schollers, since the matter was ended You shall understand therefore, that as you wished me at your departure, whichnow is (I thinke) almost foure yeares, and as you counseledme also by your letters after to be a sure frendtoMr. Archdeaconin allthingsthat I could, so I have sought sence by all meanes I could to use that faythfull and charitable service towards him as might be used by a Religious man , and onethat medled not in wordly matters farther than meerecharity should for the help of other men drive me to do Wherfore soone after your departure, seing in the harts of English men heere a great alienation from Mr. Archdeacon and his proceedings (I meane not of the L. Prior(7) and his party, of whichmislike you know of ould, but of the whole Nation Englishe besides , I except also the schollers for they were yet in good opinionwith him , and he with them) I did advise Mr. Archdeacon of the same , and of the sequele that might follow of it, and exhorted him to seeke to stopp that gappe, showing him the causes of breach , and my simple judgment of the easy repaire that then might have been

(6) Owen Lewis, Archdeaconof Hainault , was at this time very influential in Rome , though his influence had probably begun to decline owing to the fiasco of Stucley's expedition, which he had strongly supported A little whileafter the troubles in the English College were settled he was persuaded by the Pope to leave Rome, and went to Milan, where he became VicarGeneral to St. Charles Borromeo (Owen Lewis to Charles Borromeo, 30 April, 1580 ,Ambrosian Library, Milan, f 56 Inf 1 , 248; Borromeoto Como , 24 July, 1580, Arch Vat Lettere di Cardinall 93 , f 89; cf. also Persons, Domesticall Difficulties, C.R.S. ii, 88, 162, 163). After the death ofSt. Charles (14 November, 1584), he returned to Rome and was much in evidencein the quarrels that arose among the English exiles , being greatly favoured by the party opposed to Allen, Persons and the Spaniards At the nomination ofPhilip II he was madeBishop ofCassano in 1587 , the king's object beingapparently to remove him from Rome (Olivares to Philip II, 22 February, 1588 , Spanish Calendar , p 212); but cf. Cardinal de Melino to Philip II, 30 June, 1587 , and the notice of Owen Lewis by Giulio Battaglino, Cardinal Melino's agent, infra. He died in Rome on October the 14th, 1595

(7)Sir Richard Shelley, Grand Prior of the Knights of St. John For his opposition to Owen Lewis at thistime cf. Persons , DomesticallDifficulties, C.R.S.ii, 162 ,ff. Thereis a short notice of him in theD.N.B.

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OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

made. Well, there passed on six monthes, and I saw that greefes grew on , and offenses multiplied, and every day the Nation more exasperated against him than other, whereupon I had recourse to my former conference with Mr. Archdeacon, opening to him the grounds of all and the causes of these greifes and stomach conceaved, which consisted principally in these two points, that he separated himselfe against the Englishe Nation, and only conferred with his Countryman Mr. Morrisse, (8) and consequently dealt partially in preferring the causes of the one and thother Nation, and besides this many particularities dependant of these two principall points. Upon conferencewith Mr. Archdeacon and my reasons laid downe to prove the importance of the sequents ofthese divisions and howthey weare to be stoppt at the beginninge, I always found him reasonablein answerand, as he seemed , willing to remedy the same ; but what better consideration ofthe matter after permitted him to put in practice for the redresse , that can I not tell : but to my great griefe I saw the grudgings dayly grow on and some repyninge sometymes at Mr. D. Allen's evill providence in this case, that had comended, and put in creditt (as they said) a man that oppugned the whole Nation

When I saw that by my labour I could do no good with neyther part, I lett them both alone, and comitted the matter to God , and our frend Mr. Licentiate Martyn as weary of Rome asI of this cause, retyred him to Rhemes about this tyme.

Now all this while went our Seminary a little and a little forward, andthe number grew towards 40, whereof 7 were Welchmen and the rest Englishe : and about the end of the summer past, by importunatesute they obtayned thither forthe direction of discipline two of our Company(9) under Mr. Morrice , much against the inclination of superiors, and against the will of us Englishmen ofthe Company, who better acquainted with English matters and the natures of some men, with whome we should dealein this case, could better suspecte and forefeare some ofthat, that fell out after, than straungers. For we having hard before of the great necessities of divers of the schollers in things convenient for their state, of which cause they might hope to have byn eased and provided for by our Fathers going thither, which we knew they could not bee, all the money being in other mens handes, for these causes I say and for divers others which I may not now recount, we Englishmen of the Company were loth that our Fathers should go thither to se the nakednessof our Nation , and the impossibility to redresse it But importunity of sute obtayned them thither, and coming thitherthe schollers straight-

(8) Maurice Clenock, at one time Bishop Designateof Bangor. Cf. Gillow i, 501

(9) John Paul Navarola and Ferdinand Capeci Cf. G. Martin to Campion, Rome, 21 May, 1578; Knox, Douay Diaries, p 316. Allen's letter of thanks to the General, Fr. Everard Mercurian, 26 October, 1578, is given in Sacchinus, Historia Societatis Jesu, Pars III-IV, Rome, 1648, p 208 , and in shortened form in Knox, Allen, p 68

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS

, S.j.

ways opened their wants unto the Fathers, and by them to Mr. Morrice, but seing neytherby themselves, neytherby our Fathers meanes they could be providedfor, and seeing(as they say) great partiality in the distribution of things betwixt them and Mr. Morrice his countreymen, they resolved presently to seeke redress otherwyse, but being by our Fathers earnest exhortations , and the counsell of some of the most ancient schollers themselves for that tyme appeased , they aboadeso for the space of eight monthes that is untill Christmas last past, at what tyme there came out a Brevefrom the Popes Holines comanding all the ould Chaplines to depart within 15 dayes, and assigning all the rents of the Hospitall unto the use of the Seminary, which was presently obayed by the said Priests And then Cardinall Morone who published the Breve appoynted for the tyme to come both Rector and Custos Mr. Morrisse (10)

This fact albeit it were very gratefull to most, for the better applying of the revenewes of the Hospitall unto the Seminary , yet was it cause of evil will against Mr. Archdeacon for some respects: one, for that those honest and vertuous Priests were put out, as malefactors without any provision (11) ; the other for that he could choose no man of the Englishe Nation to givethat rome , but only Mr. Morrice, of whome neyther the Englishemen abroad , and much lesse the schollers of the Seminary for his former government remayned satisfied Wherefore many now beganne both within and without to suspect Mr. Archdeacons intent and drifte in this matter, doubting lest all his former labouring for the Seminary were not to this ende to advance his friends. And now begane many particulars to fall out For Mr. Morriceperceivingthe schollers somewhat revolting from him, proceeded (as it seemed to them) with more rigour towards them then towards his Contreymen, makingfor theminallthingsabundant provision, and denying to Englishmen things necessary . I willaffirm nothing in any part, but yet I have seene and knowen somewhat which causedmy hart to ake, concerning the necessities of theseyouthes Thus I can say that after in the sturres they avouched to the Pope in word and wrytinge that many of the Priests and best borne Englishe went all this wynter with naked thighes and full

(10) Cardinal Moroni was Cardinal Protector of the English Nation From Persons's statement above, it would seem that Cardinal Gasquetwas in error whenhe wrote " Beyondthe fact that it was subsequentlystatedby DrAllen that the choice of Dr Clenock was made by Dr Owen Lewis, there does not appear to have been anyformal appointment of the actual Warden asfirst Rector " (A History of the Venerable English College, Rome, London, 1920 , p 67) Further evidence that Dr. Clenock was formally appointed Rector in May, 1578 , by Cardinal Moroni is given in a letter of Richard Haddock toAllen, 9 March, 1579. He thererelateshowthe studentscharged Dr.Clenock with falsifying this formal appointment of May, 1578, to make it appear as a new and recent appointment of 1579 (Tierney-Dodd, vol ii, Appendix, CCCLIII-CCCLIV) Persons, too, refers to the same incident infra .

(11) The Archdeaconeventually did secure pensions for the chaplainswho had been so displaced (Owen Lewis to Allen, 10 March, 1579 , Tierney-Dodd, vol. ii, Appendix CCCLXIV)

of lice, and all the Welchmen double apareled Besidesthis there now appeared amongst them diversity of spirits; for some of Mr. Morrice his frendes, not only refused to be Priests, but also discovered that they had no intention to go into England ,(12) dissuading also others from that entent ; which things being brought to Mr. Morrice, were not only not redressed , but (as they said) openly favoured, and they threatned expulsion which preached or exhorted the contrary, which was named to be sedition .

recount the things as they have passed in wryting. I avouch nothing, albeit I know what I have hard, and ofwhome . These things being so, the schollers begane to deale withsome oftheirfriends abroad, and I being advised of the tumultliketo be , I went to Mr. Archdeacon and told him of all the matter, and recapitulating unto him all our former conferences of matters of difference betwixt him and the Nation, requesting him for Gods cause andfor the avoydinge of all scandalls, that by his andthe schollers falling out might ensue, that he would staythis matter, (and somewhat satisfie them,) and showed him my opinion with what little care and diligence put in the matter, for the redresse of these things that went awry, all matters might be ended He promised me; whereupon I dealtwith the schollers to repare unto him, which also they were willing to do of themselves, for that they had moved him 7 months before (as they said) of the insufficiency of Mr. Morrice, and had a promise both of him and Mr. Morrice to establishe matters better. Well, after 2 or 3 conferenceswith Mr. Archdeacon they remayned less satisfied at his handesthen before; the whichwhen I saw , and alsowhen I talking with Mr. Archdeacon and Mr. Morrice togeather, I perceived the schollers request was, after the removing of Mr. Morrice, to have our Society there to governe them; whereof Mr. Morrice before me infered that we had eyther suborned or comforted them in this their requestI retyredmyselfe and would meddle no more.

At this tyme it fell so out, that the Father John Paul which hadthe care there must needes depart presently to be Rector at Siena Whereupon the schollers more moved, out of hand gave a supplication unto the Cardinall Morone contayningthe former two poynts, which was the insufficiency of Mr. Morrice for that place and necessity of our Society for their government for that place (13) This act misliked much the Cardinall, as it seemed, for

(12) Cf. The First Memorial given to Cardinal Moroni and the Defectus in praesenti administrationeSeminarii Anglicani, C.R.S. ii, 103, 106. Later, however, in 1579 , ofthe 48 scholars in the seminary, only threetwoWelshmen and one Englishmanrefused the Mission oath.

(13) Persons appears to be in error here . What is given in his Domesticall Difficulties as The First Memorial presented bythe scholars to Cardinal Moroni makes no mention of the Society This second point " is only brought forward in the Second Memorial . Cf. C.R.S. ii, 103-105 Some years ago Fr. Pollen pointed out the error in the dates assigned by Persons to these Memorials; but there is no reason to suppose that Persons was alsomistaken in the order in which they werepresented In his Apologie , f 45 , he mentions Memorials to Cardinal Moroni of January the 20th, 28th, and 30th , and to the Pope of February the2nd and 23rd

albeit he gave them good wordes that he would curare omnia gravamina illorum (for so he said) he underhand call[ing] unto him Father John Paulus at his departure, inquired ofthese seditious youthes that had given up that supplication . The Father tould him his opinion of the difference betwixt them and Mr. Morrice, and began to speake somewhat of his opinion of these scholars , but not all, for that the Cardinall seemed not willinge to here him. Surelythis Fatherhad a great good opinionoftheir vertue, and bore more than an English hart unto them But the conclusion was that he should from the Cardinall pacifie them for that tyme, and shortly they should have a new order from him: which thing was done and all was quieted for a tyme. In this meane space whilst this order was looked for, albeit there were given out manyindirect words against our Society, as drawingtheminto suspicion that they desired this goverment, whichmuch greeved our Superiors so to be rewarded for their paynes taken. therfore F. Generall labored by all menes possible to gett away from the place them of the Company, yet notwithstandingI did not abstayne to deale agayne with both partyes, exhorting them to make some agreement betwixt themselves, and this I did by Mr. Archdeacons request But finding the matter very hard to do, for Mr. Archdeacon would have had them to relent, and referre all the matter simpliciter into his hand; but they in no case would expect he would promise to deliver them from Mr. Morrices his government, which had more offended them then before (as they said) with new injury; and this thing Mr. Archdeacon thought it not good to grante, and so I lost my labour.

And whilst these things were talked of, and the schollers much desiring to have audience of the Cardinall which they almost despeared , for that the Cardinall had given out that he would heare no more of their complaynts ; ecce , upon a suddayne cometh a citation from the Cardinall appointing both Mr. Morrisse and themalltoappear beforehim. Whichbeing done,and theCardinall making a sharp reprehension unto them for their sturre , threatening them expulsion, except they admitted quiettlythe goverment appointed , otherwise yf they would be quiett, promising muchfavour, ended so his talke, and would have dismissed them .

But when it was looked that they should have departed, one of them stood up and begane to give a reason of their doing and how they could not with safe conscience remayne under Mr. Morrice , for feare of worse inconvenience, and this was I thinke Mr. Martyn Array or Mr. Sherwyn, but he was of the Lord Cardinall byd hould his peace with some choler . But with that stood up on the other side Mr. Gore, and with marvelous liberty and protestationthat it wasCausaChristispokethreetymes more then the other, and touched Mr. Morrisses goverment so pithely and vehemently that Mr. Morrice stood up and said, Illustrissime Domine, iste est Gorus ille, qui decipit et seducit bonos hos juvenes. Wherewithhis Gracewas very angrywithMr. Gore, butpresently all the Company spoke of one voyce, that they were all of the

mynd that Mr. Gore was, whereat the Cardinall was yet more angry. Then on the other side stood up Mr. Haddock, D. Allens nephew, and more at larg spoke and more vehemently then they all, and so answered the threateningof expulsion, and how little they all esteemed that in respect of the least hurt that might be of their conscience , and how ready they were not only to begge but also to dy forthe least part of a just cause, thatthe Cardinall did never after threatenthem more expulsion, but for the space of an hower harkened most patiently to all that they said; and they so handled their cause in that space, one answering and confirming the others sayings, and giving reason upon reason whie they could never attaineuntothe end whichthey pretended under Mr. Morrices goverment (Mr. Morrice being there present), that in the end the Cardinall promised them to consider better oftheir matter, and willed them to give him in wryting both the defects of Mr. Morrisse in particular, and the manner of goverment they desired This act of thers before the Cardinall was straightway knowne and talked of all over Rome, for there were at it all the familyoftheCardinalland did wonder to se suchlibertyofspeech, before so great a personage . And albeit I thinke there must needes passe many excesses amongst so much as was spoken in that place, of so many Youthes ; yet many men did imagine to see a certayne company of Lawrences , Sebastians and the like intractable fellowes, who brought Emperours and princes to desperation to deal with them, for that they could neytherwith giving or taking away, neyther with faire wordes nor with foule bring them to condesend to any one little poynt that they misliked Manyalso strangers made this consequent; if thesefellowes stand thus immovable before such Princes in Rome, what will they do in Englandbefore the Heretiques ? And many said that they doubted before of things reported of English Priests in England, and of their bould answere, reported by Letters, but now they could believe anything of them.

Immediately after this according as the Cardinall comanded them the schollers gave up in wrytinge to the Cardinallboth the defects of the present goverment, and their desire of a new(14); and because they both in their wordes before the Cardinall and in their wrytingsthe next dayhad earnestly requestedourSociety to governe them, now there begane a new storme against our Society, and it was cast abroad vehemently that we were the causes of this, or at the least wayes that we might stay them , if we would. And to make the matter more probable, it was said, and by one of that party avouched to F. Oliver(15) that the schollers the day before had openly affirmed before the Cardinall (14) These papers appear to be the Second Memorial and that entitled Defectus in praesenti administrations, etc. , printed in C.R.S. ii, 104-106 (15) Oliver Manare, the eminent Belgian Jesuit, was at thisdate Assistant (for Germany) to the General , Fr. Everard Mercurian For a briefsketch of his life cf. A. Poncelet , S.J., Histoire de la Compagnie deJésus dans les Anciens Pays-Bas, Brussels, 1927, i, 346-351 .

that they did nothingwithout the counsell ofthe Fathers . There was added more also by the same party against F. Darbyshire and me in particular, and of me he said that I was vehemently suspected because I was familiar with them that were seditious F. Oliver asked who were those seditious persons, he answered Angli. F. Oliver replied Et non estis omnes Angli ? Ego hoc non noveram , esse aliquos Anglos per excellentiam . He added more over, that I, when I was in Oxford, was not a friend to their Nation neyther very quiet of behaviour . To which F. Oliver answered him as he thought best, and told him that he knew me to be a great good willer of Mr. Archdeacons, but yetthat I must use mylibertyof a Religious man, whichwas to dealeindifferently with all men, and especially with my contreymen. Thus you see Father that God wanteth not to give occasion of patience, and to see my defects which other men see better than I, and I pray God I may see them too, to my bettering And in good fayth I love the man that spoke it the better for itt, as also I am sure that F. Darbyshire doth, who by that party (I knownot whether bythat man or noe, for nether of us have had great acquaintance with him) was touched much deeper then I; for he was accused first to the Cardinall, and many things were cast out of his behaviour against Welchmen in Oxford, and how he caused many of them to be expelled out of Broadgate, and that in Paris he was thought to love nether Scottishmen, Irishemen or Welchmen. Also words of his were brought and urged odiously against him to our Superiors Many upon examination were found to be nothing so , but spoken by the good ould man to a very good end , and of themselvesindifferent, as I marveled to see themso wrested by them which had byn his frendes albeit no man would appeare to the avouching of them But albeit F. Generall were nothing moved with these particular complaynts against F. Darbyshire and me, as also against these poore Fathers (which to their great greefeand ours were constrayned to live in the Seminary amongst the schollers, for they could nether gett leave to come away, neytheryet staythere without suspicion offavouringtheschollers), notwithstanding I say F. Generall thought it good to examine more diligently whether the schollers had touched the Society so before the Cardinall as was reported . And upon examinationall the Priests and cheefe dealers and speakersthere denied to have eyther spokenor hardspokenanysuchwordes beforetheCardinall , and yet the Cardinall was informedthat they were spoken there But the next day upon further examination one of the yonger schollers confessed that he hard such words spoken behindes in the multitude, whilst other men spake with the Cardinall, and he said that they were spoken by Mr. Archdeacons nephew contending against one of the Englishmen . This made some marvell, albeit it may be that Mr. Archdeacon might be deceavedin this matter, as well as other, and so beleeve and report that the Englishmen had spokenyt Notwithstandingthese and other like rumors were divulgatedeveryday against our Society, in so much

that to avoyd the same , we much consulted what was best to doe, and every day F. Benedictus Palmius(16) went to Cardinall Morone to gett away our Fathers from the Seminary: but it would not be, and Mr. Archdeacon cried out that if they went away the matters would go much worse , and the Seminary not be able to stand three dayes, wherein I think that he was not deceived Marry, he insinuated that our Fathers might restrayne more the schollers by putting scruples on their consciences and prohibiting them the use of Sacraments, which was impossible for that they made their consciences the ground of all their proceedings . The Englishmen also of the Nation were halfe afrayd, and much more the schollers themselves, to converse with those of our Company, lest they should give occasion of encrease or confirmation of this sclaunder raysed upon our Company.

In this mean space the mattersgoing everyday worse against the schollers , for they had no man to speake for them , and Mr. Archdeacon, Mr. Morrisse and the Cardinall everyday more and more offended with them, and their matter being given out odiously as a matter of malice only against the other Nation .

Also Monsignor Spetiano(17) a Prelate (as you knowe) ofgreat reputation, of singular creditt with the Cardinall and a sure frend of Mr. Archdeacon, vehemently reprehending them, and one day offering by one and one an oathfor the obedienceof Mr. Morrice, whichthey all refused , but yet look[ed] for some hard determination against them daylie In all these adversities they quayled not, but went and got audience of the Pope, and there so handled the matter with him, that the next Sunday after, contrary to all mens expectation, the Cardinall having byn with his Holiness called them all to him, and there in the presence of them all accepted Mr. Morrisses resignation, and gave themleave to chuse a new Governour ; this mutation made more talks about Rome of the matter then before But heere because the schollers per- sisted in their desire to have our Society to governe them, and myndedto give up certayne reasons in wryting for the same , the matter wastakenevill, and rumours before cast out, nowrenewed and amplified, insomuch that Mr. Archdeacon himselfe of good will towards us, as he pretended, and it was so taken, came unto F. Generall and told him of great scandall like to come towards the Society by this meanes except it were prevented, for it was thought that Both our Fathers with counsell at home and discipline abroade might staythemmore than they did F. Generall answeredhim for the tyme as seemed best, thatis that the Society was evill handled for her paynes taken to be so slaundered, and

(16) Benedetto Palmio, born in 1525 and admitted into the Society by St.Ignatius in 1547 , at this date represented ItalyasAssistant to the General, and had therefore a direct interest in the two Italian Jesuitsat the seminary, as members of his Assistancy.

(17) Hehad been Vicar-General ofSt. Charles Borromeoat Milan , and was atthistime acting as his agentin Rome . In 1585 he became BishopofNovara , and six years later was translated to the see of Cremona . He died in 1607 .

that in so manifest a falsity, for besides that no man could lay in particular any cause of such suspicion to the dealing of any of our Company And besides that the schollers all did offer to purge the Society by their oath. Besides this (I say) the Popes Holiness and all the Cardinalls knew what great sute our Society had used to be delivered of other the like charges whichthey sustayned, and therefore were farre of from seeking new charges by sedition. And besides this F. Generall thinking more on thematter that night following, was somewhat more mooved at the dealing of some men, and therfore the morningfollowing sent F. Oliver and F. Alphonsus, (18) which hath the care of the Seminary, and me to Mr. Archdeacon to request him to utter in particular some further cause of that feare, which he had of daunger imminent towards the Company, and if he could not do soe, then to signifie to him that the Company, knowing herselfe free in this poynt should be constrayned to impute all daunger that should follow unto him and his, for that no man would go about to burden the Company in this thinge, except they werethecauses thereof. After this F. Alphonsus added, touching the relaxation of discipline misliked by Mr. Archdeacon, that he could not nowrestrayneit, seeing that by the Cardinalls commandement they had begone and prosecuted the sute touchingthe defectsof the present goverment, and other then the prosecuting of that sute he could not complayne of any particular disorder of the one partie Marry, of some of those that depended of Mr. Morrisse he had great cause to complayne, and had complayned to Mr. Morrisse , but no redresse was putt

After 4 or5 dayesthe schollershavinggiven upto the Cardinalls Morone and Como in wrytinge the reasons whie they demanded the Company (for from this they could not be brought by no persuasion of ours nor of F. Generall, whichtalked with them about the matter, neitherwithrespect ofany daunger whichmight come to our Company or to themselves by this demaund) after I say they had given up to these Cardinalls and unto the Pope himselfe these reasons(19) (whichthe Pope and Cardinalls much commended for wisdome afterwardes) also havinggiven up to the Pope a discourse howthe agreementsof the Hospitall might be broughtinto one with great comodityof the Nation, and saving charges to his Holiness (and to have the Pope at more opportunityfoureofthem went twenty myles on foote out of Rome to speake with his Holiness where then he aboad for his recreation)-notwithstanding say all this, and the consent and request of the wholeNation, I (18) AlphonsusAgazzari, S.J., who became the first Jesuit Rector ofthe English College after it had been committed to the care of the Society. He had evidently at this time taken the place of Paul Navarola, who had been called away from the College to take up the post of Rector of Siena (19) This Memorial seems to be that printed in Domesticall Difficulties, C.R.S. ii, 108. From Haddock's letter to Allen, 9 March, 1579 (ut supra), it would seem to have been presented to the Pope on February the 25th. Cf. also Owen Lewis to Allen, 10 March, 1579; Tierney-Dodd, ii, Appendix, CCLXI

which they gave up to the Pope in wryting with theirhandes to it in favour of the schollers sute,(20)-yet say the importunate sute and the power of the contrary part was so great, that they reversed all agayne, and the Cardinall Morone recalled all that he had done before, and begane to establish Mr. Morrice againe, whereof ensued a marvelous tumult, and all their expulsions which begane as followeth

Mr. Morrisse seing now all sure agayne on his side , beganeto beare himselfe as Rector agayne, which the schollers resisted strayght; whereupon immediatelythey being all together nowin spirituall conferences in their congregation, Mr. Meredith , who hath byn very earnestfor Mr. Morrice in all thesebusines , brought to them from Mr. Archdeacon and Mr. Morrisse (as was taken) a Bill to subscribe, contayning a promise to obay Mr. Morrice, whereto they all resisted, and therewith some of the Priests used some hote wordes against Mr. Archdeacon and Mr. Morrice

Whereupon at dinner Mr. Morrisse caused to be read certayne patents from the Cardinall, whereby he was appointed Rector , which astonied the schollers much Marry at the end, albeit the dayofthemonthwrytten infigures werescrapedout and changed, yet the yeare which was wrytten in letters remayned, and so the date appeared to be for the yeare past, and when Mr. Pitts, who read that day at table came thither, he stayed and saied falsatum est (21) Whereupon there followed straight such a contention at table betweene Welchmen and Inglishmen , that if our Fathers had not byn there, some evill perhaps had byn comitted . The which daunger also followed soone after betwixt the said parties, for a certayne supplication which the schollers found wrytten bythe contrarypart very bitterlyto theCardinallagainst Irishmen , but our Fathers stayed all matters for the present, and immediately4 or 5 of the Priests went to the Cardinallto complayne of these disorders. But he would not heare of them, but showing himselfe very angry with them all, threatened them expulsion, except they presently obayed Mr. Morrice. And tothat effect the next morning came Mr. Morrisse with the Cardinalls Chaplaine, and brought from the Cardinall the names of foure, that is Mr. Haddocke and Mr. Martine Priests, Mr. Gore and Mr. Mushe schollers, who were all commanded presently to subscribe to the Obedience of Mr. Morrice or els depositis palliis decedere . Who receyving this commandment chose to depart, making presently in the presence of the same Chaplyn a shortexhortation to their companions to remayne and obay Mr. Morrice , whichthey said, You may perhaps do with a good conscience and to your comodity but we cannott To that all answered No, Noe: sed ibimus et moriemur vobiscum , and among other things that made

(20) This willbe the paperprinted inDomesticallDifficulties, C.R.S. ii, 109 (21) This incident occurred on March the 1st Cf. Haddock to Allen ut supra From this letter and from that of Owen Lewis to Allen , 10 March , the subsequent events narrated by Persons can be dated. B

this Italian Chaplyn wonder to se was, that little Cristofer Owen (I thinke you know him; he is Mr. Owens sonne of Godstow) having halfe an ague in his chamber, came running downe and would go out too, and said, Volo potius mergi in Tiberim, quam sine istis hic manere The Cardinallhad now underhand sent for our Fathers of the Seminary, to encourage them to joyne with Mr. Morrice in governing the rest of the schollers, which he presupposedwould befearedand so quieted, thesefourebeingexpulsed. But when they cameto the pallace, they foundtherebefore them all the schollers, and first those foure before named with a short preamble tould the Cardinallthat whereashe had comandedthem to do one of two things, which was eyther to obay Mr. Morrice or to depart, and because they could not do the first with safe conscience and without feare of greater daungers, because he maintayned factions amongst them, they ment to obey his Grace in the other poynt and to depart, and so they tooketheir leave , wherewiththe Cardinall was content ; but presently all the rest doing the like at the example of the first, he was much moved, but yet to all their resignations he said, [If] you cannot abide with safe consciences , Ite, et salvate animas vestras and so dismissed them . The schollers turning about and seing our Fathers there thanked them hartily for their paynes taken, and to the end the Cardinall might the better perceave and be satisfied in their proceedings and meaning in all these matters and tumults , they gave their Confessorthen openly leave to tell to the Cardinall all their meanings and intents and all their consciences from the beginning in these matters , and all other sence the Fathers came to governe them. This act wasmuchnoted and talked of, ofmany in Rome, and this was on Shrove Munday.

The next daye betymes they repaired to the Pope, and gave him a supplicationcontayningbreefly the summe of all their suts past and the cause of their departing from Rome, craving in the end to depart in his Holiness favour, and to be admitted to kisse his foote at their departinge.(22) In the delivery of this supplication, which was as the Pope came out of St. Peters Church, Mr. Sherwin begane to presse somewhat importunaly to his Holiness , and to speake somewhat in their matter, but the Pope cutt him of saying: Si non potestis obedire, recedatis And so that sameday after dinner Mr. Morrice from the Cardinall comanded them to avoyd the Seminary, which they did presently , and with carts conveyed all their stuffe to Mr. Creeds house the Englishman, whome you know, who very gently receeved them and provided beddes for them all And at their going out Mr. Morricewould have had themleft their gownes behind them, but they tould him they would leave them at the Popes feet when they tooke their leave ofhim , for nowto their formersupplicationwas subscribed (22) This memorial is printed in Domesticall Difficulties, C.R.S. ii, 121 . It was presented , according to the text, on Shrove Tuesday, which in 1579 was on March the 3rd This, too, is the date given by Haddock and Lewis in their respective letters ut supra.

by the Popes hande that before they went they should come and kisse his feet. And so they all departed the Seminary (23) And The avoydingtheSeminary ofso manyyouthes ofthatquality (for they were 33 all Divines and Philosophers) moved manymen much, not only Englishmen but also strangers For my part I could not looke on them, wherfore I spent most ofthe day forth , and being partly with our Generall, partly with Oliverius , Ihad a pull of weeping with each ofthem, as also with Mr. Darbishire and Mr. Holt and others, and when I had now done then came F. Ferdinandus , one whodwellethamongst themat the Seminary, and could not stay within when they were gone. He came , I say, to the Roman Colledge, and with his teares brought meto my ould byasse agayne Thus did we celebrate Shrove Tuesday when all the towne was full of joy and maskes But surely the teares whichwere shed were not for compassionof the yong men , for theywere most mery and should have byn well providedfor, but forvery love and joy that God had sent to our countreysuch youthes of such conscience , patience in adversity and other the like vertues as in these their tribulations did appeare. amongst other things it did much move me to see strangers not joynedunto them by any bond of nature (and they wise men too) so to weep at their departure. I may not tell you their names who they were; the wonderfull commendation which was given also of all those our Fathers which ever had goverment of them , for as for F. John Paulus of whom I spoke before, and who in the beginning of these troubles was takenfrom themand sent Rector to Siena, being a man of himselfmuch revered and austere, yet he so fell in lovewith their vertue, and gave themsucha comendation at his departure to our Superiors, that they marveled . And touchinghis successor F. Alphonsus he in very small tyme took such a liking of them that one dayin the midst of his troubles, being warned very gravelyby F. Generall to take heedofmedling anythingsin their matter, but tostaythem what hecould, because of the rumours cast against the Company, he answered that so he had done and would doe " Marry notwithstanding" said he "I must tell your fatherhood that I cannot but love the yong men , and if you will prohibite me that, you must take me from thence, for if your Fatherhood did live there amongst them as we do and know their consciences , and se their acts as I doe ,you could not but extremely love them too. " And after that he recounted a particular fact of one Mr. Gore a good gentleman, and of nature verycholericke,yet one day being very bitterlyused by words and injurious tearmes by Mr. Archdeaconsnephew,(24) gave (23) Persons seems to think that the scholars left the College on Shrove Tuesday They indeed intended to leave that night, but were persuadedto stay, anddid notactually leave until early the following morning Cf. Letters of Haddock and Lewis ut supra. (24) Hugh Griffin or Griffith Allen in his letter to Owen Lewis 12 May, 1579, writes:" You must temper yourcousin Hughe'stongue and behaviour, who is of a bitter and incompatible nature; for so , not the students there anyofthem , but I assure you othershave signified, thathisdisorderedhumours

him never a word in answere, and the said F. Alphonsus hearing and wondering of the matter (knowingthe mans nature) called him and asked howhe had borne that so patiently He answered that not only he was ready to beare wordes but also blowes and deathtoo, in that, or any other just cause for Christs sake And touchingthe keeping of charity with them of the contrary part, when they were admonished by me divers tymes in the heate of the contention, they alwayes answered me, that they were not only ready to pardon whatsoever the Welchmen had done against them, or should do, but also were ready to kisse their feet, and to serve them at table, and otherwise wherein soever they should have neede, upon the condition that they would be content to joyne in the procurement of a good goverment and discipline. And albeit I tooke these words then as spoken from their harts, yetI have more beleevedsince the end ofthe matter, for as sone as ever the goverment was comittedto our Fathers, they came in my presence to their Rector, and requested him very earnestly, that for the uniting better of the two Nations togeather and the better satisfaction of the contrary part, that in the beginning of discipline all matters of burden and payne might be layd upon the Englishmen, and all prerogatives, both in apparell, bookes , chambers and all other thing might be givento the contrarypart, which act much edified our Fathers, and giveth great hope of a good union shortly to be made. Marry truth it is, that one English Gentleman named Mr. Pasquall, stept up and said that he understood this in all things except in his portion of meate , wherein he desired to be equall to any of the other partye, for that his appetite or stomacke yelded to none of theirs.(25)

But to go forward in the matter, marvelous it was to see the oeconomy and goverment of these youthes, also their provision for themselves when they were out First they appoynted out amongst themselves all officers, so that some bought the meate, some dressed yt, some servedthe table, some did read, someother provided money, and I thinke they kept better orderand discipline that little tyme they were out then in two months before in the Seminary For money they had made this provision; first everyman cast into the common purse all they had more or lesse , and he that had nothing lived and was provided for as well as he that had most Mr. Pasquall which I named before cast into the gazophylacium a chaine of an hundred crownes, some other soulde their bookes and made money of them, and as for almes they had probability to find good store, for my Lord Bishopp of St. Asaphe havinggiven them 60 crownes a little before in bookes which they now sould, he now promised them a hundred more, have been a great cause ofyourhatred and all these garboils And some here have told me , I did not an ill deed to send him up, who for cholerand other singularities was insupportable amonghis fellows here " (Knox, Allen, p. 80). By order of the Cardinal Protector he was dismissed fromthe English College and later became a canon of Cambrai (25) Omitted by Grene, who, however, leaves a space to be filled in later.

and one other Englishman promised 50; and generallyall the whole Nation was ready to spoyle themselves to furnishe them. F. Alphonsus also whome I named before havingassigned before 30 crownes unto the poore Colledge of Siena where he was borne , which money came to his disposition eyther by patrimony or by almes, but he straightwaywrote to Siena to our Rector there, not only to stay that to these schollers use, but also to provide some other good almes for them against their coming to Siena Mr. Hart also receyving a Bill of xls cast it to the comon purse. But yet besides all theseand manyother secret meanesthatgood men made for money for them, they had distributed out amongst themselves all Rome to aske almes, appoynting to every two a circuite. And besides this they beganne to be recomended in all Sermons throughe Rome, and one of our Fathers preaching at St. Lorences in Damasso began the matter there in their asking of almes , yet uttered nothing of the cause of their departurefor not offending any man, but they proposed their case to be such that 33 young men, some Priests, the rest schollers, coming out of England for their consciences were now to returne thitherto defend the Catholike Fayth against the Heretikes and lacked some Viaticum for so long a jorney, and this kind of asking was compassionable to all men.

All this tyme albeit I thinke surely that Mr. Archdeacon were very sory to see them out, and I thinke never thought that they would have stood to yt to such extremity, yet was I hartilysory to see what wonderfull and great displeasure was taken against him for this their expulsion, of all Englishmen and of as many strangers as hard of the matter too And to encrease the Englishmens displeasuretowards himwre reported certayne odiouswordes that he should speake, as to say that he cared not for their departure, for that he would fill up their places with Irishmen and Scotts (26) Also that he had three enimyes, Boyes, Jesuits and Pratlers, by pratlers understanding the whole Nation besides the schollers(27); the which words althoughhe spoke them nott perhaps in thatformality as they were reported, (for so he saidafterward) yet because they and thelike more bitterwordes were then from him reported, it mooved all men very much : and I thinke yf they had not byn recalled againe the sooner, many men of great authorityewithout request madeto theminthatbehalfe, had of very compassion, and to stay so great a scandall as might by their departure from Rome have ensued to the Church , would have dealt in their case, but the great and exceedinggoodness of the Popes holiness prevented all.

For upon Ash-wednesday at afternoone, understanding that they were departed the Seminary, he could no longer hold himselfenor hide the love which he bare towards them, but straight way sent oneofhischamber forthem,and theregavethemaudience

(26) Cf. C.R.S. ii, 128 , ff.

(27) Cf. Haddock's letter of 9 March ut supra.

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.j.

for almost an hower with such signes of an exceeding fatherly tendernes towardes them, that neytherthey nor he could hould teares. For he making them to kisse his feet twice, asked them with great affect oftentymes, Whie wentyou out withoutcoming to me first: and they answering that they had 3 comaundements byMr. Morriceto depart beforethey went out, heansweredthem: Nunquam erat animus noster ut vos decederetis Roma: and with that comended much unto them the comodities of Rome for the profiting both in learning and vertue And then he asked them againe if they were expulstfrom the Seminary Theyansweredas before, and added that Mr. Morrice comanded them to leave their gownes also, but that they answered that they would leave them at his Holines feet, at which the good ould man put his hand to his brest and shooke his head. I must omitt muchother talke marvelous familiar and loving that he had with them , for he asked them very particularly in whose house they were receaved, what they eat that day at dinner, where they had money to payfor it, howit was drest. And then a little boy named Gratleyanswered , Pater Sancte his nostris manibus, whereat the old man tookemuch delight. And havingtalked of this much past about their goverment, the Pope finally said: De praeteritis transeat, defuturis considerabimus et providebimus, and willed them to give him the next day in wryting their desire. And because a certaine care of temporality was to be had there and to receavecertayne pilgrymes of the Nation, which care he would have remayne in the nation, he willed them to name one or two of theirNation, whichseemed fitt to them to have that care, which they did the next day with expedition . But at their departure from the Pope, his Holines willed them all in any case to returne to the Colledge, and asked them twice, Vultis ut ego mittam unum ex meis vobiscum , andthey said Yea Whereupon straight he rung his little bell, and with that therecame in his Chamberlaynes, ofthe whichhecomanded one of them to accompany theminto their Seminary and there in his name to restore them to their former possession. Which was done with great honor and solemnity, for he led them through the citty in the sight of all men and so replaced them in their Colledge with the benediction and blessing of the Pope.

In this act one thing fell out pretily There were two youths sent and arrived at Rome a month before this act fell out, and by no meanescould be admitted into the Seminary, but had their answere from the Cardinall twice to depart againe And albeit [it] was said that D. Allen had recommended them , yet therewas answeremade Si Alanus misit, Alanus provideateis, whichmoved muchEnglishmen ,(28) forthey doubted much what should become of those who after should be from that place sent by him , and yf his recommendation served not, who must be the fountayne to serve the Seminary here, then was all hope past Whereupon the schollers themselves went to the Cardinall requesting him that, (28) Omitted by Grene, who resumes " But within two days, " etc.

seing these youthes were like to perishe in the streets for want, that his Gracewould be contenttogive them leave to dividetheir portion with them, and so to save themfrom perishing This was Mr. Martyn Array his request withothers, wherewith theCardinall seemed somewhat moved, but yet commanded them to shift for themselves for the present, notwithstanding he would talke with his Holynes about them: and after having talked, I thinke Mr. Morrice brought a new commandement for them to depart, for that they could not bereceaved But within two days after, when all the Englishschollers were departed the Seminary, signification wasgiventhemthat they might have new places ; but they would not, and retyredthemselves to the houseoftheschollers, meaning to depart Rome with them, and so went to the Pope with them , and ther hence the Pope sent them into the Seminary with the rest, and by this meane they got their interest as the others . It was insinuated also in this tyme of vacuity and desolation that the ould Chaplaynes should perhaps returne againe, but they also refused it

Thenext daythe schollersin their supplication , after manifold thankes and the manner they desired of goverment for learning and dissipline, they named for the care of the temporalyties Mr. D. Murton,(29) and Mr. D. Bavand, (30) giving reasons whie they named eyther of them. And after one day they had answereby the Master of his Holines Chamber (who hath byn a specialland singular deare frend in all these their suits, and hath given them audiencetothe Pope when Patriarches have stood by)(31) that they should repare to Cardinall Como (who is Secretary) for their answere; and reparing to him they had very good wordes and comfortable of him, promising them despach of their matter within two dayes, repeating twice or thrice that they should be bono animo for that his Holines had mirum animum erga illos. Upon this answere they stayed 9 or 10 days, and hearing of no

(29) Dr. Morton, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge , by the charter of its foundation, left England soon after the accession of Elizabeth , and became Penitentiary at St. Peter's. He returned to England in 1569 tosound the inclination of the people, particularlythe nobles, as regardsthe reduction of the kingdom He was one of the witnesses in the judicial process against Elizabeth prior to the Bull of Excommunication In 1580 he left Rome with the intention of goingto England to workas a missionarypriest, but after arrivingat Paris he was advised not to proceed further owing to thestrict watch kept at all the ports, and returned to Liège. Hedied about 1587

(30) Dr. Bavant, Fellow of St. John's College,Oxford, had been tutor to Bd Edmund Campionand GregoryMartin Later he left England to pursue his theologicalstudies at Rheimsand Rome,and became a Doctor ofDivinity. Afterthe troubles in theEnglish College werefinallysettled, he returned with Allen to Rheimsin 1580 and next yearwent to labour on theEnglishMission. On the appointment of the Archpriest Blackwell, in 1598 , he became one of his Assistants Gillow (I. 156) is in error in stating that he probably died soon after 1598 in prison at Wisbech, for there is extant a holographletter of his to Persons, dated 29 March, 1610 (Arch S.J. Rom. Anglia 31.11.374)

(31) This was Mgr Bianchetti The students' letter of thanks and congratulatoryverses to him are printed in DomesticallDifficulties, C.R.S. ii, 125

resolution , and seeing Mr. Archdeacon and Mr. Morrice very busy every day at the Court as also at the Cardinall Morones house, feared some alteration and repared again to Como , who answered them as before very lovingly that intra biduum they should be dispatched. But within three or foure dayes after this, they were informed of certayne new devises which troubled them much, which was that there was a division betwixt the Seminary and Hospitall thought upon, and that the Seminary should have only 700 crowns a yeare out of the Hospitall, and the rest whichshould be about 1000 crowns or more, should remayne to Mr. Morrice with the best part of the house for the pilgrimmes .(32). Also it was given out that M. Archdeacon should demaund Viaticum of his Holines for ten of the cheefe schollers presently to be sent towards England, and that the number certayne of the Seminary for the tyme to come was to be reduced to 30 persons only, because the provisionwould serve for no more Theseintelligences eyther true or false, but as they thought grounded upon evident signes and reports, moved very much not only the schollers but also the Nation; whereupon the Lord of St. Asaphe, D. Murton and other had made their supplications ready to go to the Pope, but in the meane space the Schollers expecting in CardinallComo his Antichamberto speake with him, had understanding of certayne talke past betwixt the said Cardinall and another man , which had some compassion of the schollers cause, and how that the Cardinallsaid unto this man that he for his part utterly misliked of this Englishmens matter, for although they requested nothing but equity, yet he would not have granted it to them , but for his part wouldhave lett themgone their wayeswhen they were goinge, but that a certain compassion of the Pope himselfe had stayed them To this that man replyed, that the matter was greate and touched a whole Nation, and seing that division betwixt Welchmen and Englishemen was such and so naturall,it would be hard to make a combinationof the two parts, especially subjecting the greater Nation, and that which hadthe kingdome at home to the lesse part, and to that whichwas subject at home . Whereto the Cardinall answered that he understood that the diversity betwixt Englishmen and Welchmen was nothing more than might be betwixt two divers provinces (as) Tuscan[y] and Romagnia Whereto replyed this man(33) that he understood the matter farre otherwise, and thought that his Grace was not informed in the matter, for that the Welchmen and Englishmen were (putting aside Religion) as might be Mores and Spaniards. For as the Spaniards got Spayne from the Mores and after held them under , so Englishmen had done in tymes past the ould Britans, which were now called Welchmen, albeit in successe of tyme they have now imparted to them their privileges and freedoms, and do account of them as of Englishmen naturall, except(32) Cf. The Memorial printed in DomesticallDifficulties, C.R.S. ii, 128 (33) Omitted by Grene , who, however, left a space to be filled in later Grene resumes " and therefore, " etc.

ing only that they use great moderation in promoting them to honours at home; and therefore naturally it is asmuch repugned to Englishmens hartsto be subject to the goverment of Welchmen as Spaniards to Mores or Frenchmen to Spaniards These words seemed not a little to move the Cardinall, whereupon after a little pause he brake out and said, I knew not of this so fully before, but as for the Popes order, it is passed to CardinallMorone 8 dayes past and yt is that they be governed in all things as the German Colledge is, and I marvell that it is not yet published

When the schollers hard of this, albeit it were late at night, they repared home and wached up that night and wrote a very earnest supplicationto his Holines,(34) showing how great need ofdispatchthey had not only for the lacke of discipline , but also of all other things necessary; and after that very vehemently touched the dealings against them of Mr. Archdeacon and Mr. Morrice, and what designments were given out, and expressly beseeched his Holines to deliver them once from all dealing with Mr. Archdeacon, who did oppugne the whole Nation, etc. The which supplicationwhen it was knowen that they had given up in the morning betymes, there was much fearing what the event would bee, and I knowwho were right sory that they had touched Mr. Archdeacon so farre. But this supplication straightway wrought the dispach of that which they desired, for the Pope immediately sent the same to the Cardinall Morone, and he the next morning betymes, which was St. Josephes day, sent for our Generall, and there in the Popes name tould him that his Holynes commanded him expressly to take the whole charge of this Seminary upon him in all respects, as he had the charge ofthe German Colledge

And when F. Generall began to request him to here his resons and difficultyes that he had to the contrary, why in no wise he was able to take such a new burden, being over much pressed with the ould the which he had in Rome, and of which he had sued to his Holines to be eased of,-the Cardinall answered that the Pope had expressly commanded him in this matter to take no reply, but for other charges and necessities of the Company they should be considered of, but in this the Pope was utterly determined to satisfie the schollers request, and to found for the present a Seminary of 50 schollers to be governed in all things as the German Colledg. And therefore (said he) f Generall, be you content, and send me hither presentlythe two Fatherswho remayne there And so he tooke his leave, and presently sent the two Fathers thither, who had long talke with him, and the Cardinall protested marvelously his love towards the yong men , and the furderance of the Seminary, saying that therewas great hope conceaved of yt, and of the good that yt may do to the Church: and that the Pope had taken particular care to advance it, and thatforthe present there should beadmittedtothenumber

(34) This seems to be the paper printed in Tierney-Dodd, ii, Appendix CCCXLVI

of 50: and that althoughthe Divell had sought to extinguishe it, or at the least muchto hinder it at this beginning, yet God had wone: and did thinke verely this sturre would be a great cause of florishing of yt hereafter. And to comfort our Fathers the more in this labour, he removed all difficultiesthat they proposed, to their contentation For whereasthey said that they perceaved that there should remayne a Custos for the pilgryms, whereupon there would be some difficulties for the Chambers, to which he answered that this Custoship was but a by thing for the tyme, which his Holines would have remayne, but the wholeconsiderationmust be had of the Seminary, whichthe Pope meant to make a matter both of perpetuity and of great account. Wherefore, said he , we give up all the whole buildingswith other appertenances into your hands to the use of the Colledge, and you shall this day take possession of all, and displace allthat be nowthere, giving them such convenient lodgings without the Seminary, as you can best spare,(35) Which was executed that day, for the Cardinall appoynted Monsignor Spetiano, Mr. Archdeacon, and Mr. Morrice, and Fr. Alphonsus to devide the houses, and so they did to the schollers great contentation , for they have now all themselves and may make roome for a little cost for 200 schollers, ifit were need. Which number I pray God we mayonce see here , as I trust I shall yf I live in Rome two yeares, and if they be not slacke whomay bring it to passe as I hope they willnot ,for they shall want no calling in Another difficultie was that our Fathers proposed toavoidall petty dealings with other men in this matter, but only with his Grace He answered that they should haveto deale with no man, but immediately with the Pope and him. Another was that there was a great need of money at the first entrance both for reformingof Chambersand otherbuildings, and also because there was present want of provision for such amultitude; he answered them that the Popes purse should supply all necessityes Finally when they saw all difficultiesresolved, with promise of his favour, counsell and protection in the bearing of theseburdens, they tooke upon themthe whole charge,andbegane that very same day to put it in execution; forwith great quietnes they devided the house, so that all the body of the Hospitall with divers other romes annexed are for the Seminary And Mr. Morrice, who for the present is Custos, hath convenient romes appoynted him in a house next adjoyninge . Also Mr. Talkerne andSir Robertthe Chaplayne thelike, also my Lord ofSt. Asaphe hath two chambers appoynted him in the same place; who is marvelous well contented therewith and like a good man as soone asever he hardofthis resolution, came downeinhast,andstraight(35) The final settlement can be read in the Bull of Gregory XIIIfor the foundation of the College, which, though it was not ready until many months later, was dated the 23rd ofApril (the feastof St. George), 1579. It is printed in Tierney-Dodd, ii, Appendix CCCXXXVII Cardinal Moroni's signed suggestions for the government of the College, dated the 12th of June, 1579 , should alsobe consulted They are printed in A. O. Meyer, England and the CatholicChurch under Queen Elizabeth , p. 481

ways avoyded his former chambers and resigned them to the Seminary, before he was spoken to, and before he ever asked any provision of new. And to say generally of all the Nation, there was such generall joy at the newes of this resolution , as Ithinke St. Josephes day was never so celebrated of Englishmen before, and throughout Rome in many places Gratiarum Actiones were given of Religious men, and other which had hardofthe schollers cause and matter And for our Company although we had cause to be sory for the burden layd upon us, yet was there no man from the highest to the lowest which exceedingly rejoiced not for the schollers sake Thus muchmust I say (FatherGood) that had you byn in Rome thatday to see the affection of strangers uttered towards Englishmen, you would haverememberedit allthe dayes of your life . For never matter handled in Rome made England, Englishmatters, or Englishmens natures so knowne in Rome, as this hath done I pray God all may be to His glory.

Thus you see (Father Good and good Father) that I have troubled you with an unmeasurable long letter, but pardon me , it shall suffice for my negligence these two yeares past, and you may read yt little by little at your leisure, as I wroteyt. Now ifyou will have my judgment of the whole matter, or atleastof some sequellspartly already fallen out, partlylikelytofollow of all thesetroubles and ofso goodan end, Iwillin part saymyminde , but without judging of any mans intention, as I protested before, and without justifyingor condemning of any party. For it may be that every man hath proceeded in this matter with good intention and zeale, albeit it hath not perhaps so seemed to others. Let us therefore leave that to God."

First therefore these broyles hath utterly ceased the practise of the bringing our Company into England, and as I judgis not like to go forward, except some other men take yt in hand , the causes hereof you may better gesse, than I can putt downe. Secondly our Society, albeit it hath receaved great blowes in the dealing of these mattersby slanderous reports first given out against her , and finally by the burden wholy laid upon her here: yet (to confess the truth to you) I thinke she hath not a little encreast her love and good will towards the whole Nation, by seeing the extreme great affections that these schollersand all our Englishmen here hath showedtowards her in the handlingof this matter, and in the great honor, which they have done her , in declaring their opinionofthis Religionin those reasons whichthey gave to the Pope and the Cardinalls of their request. And consequently I know that in all things that possibly hereafter she shalbe able to show her selfe gratefull to them, she will not want. And here as you see cometh inmymatter againe ofthe Mission to England, the which ifit went forwardwell before, it willnowgo ten tymes better, if we may gett a fitt man to follow yt, which I pray you that it may be D. Allen, for if he take it in hand , knowe he shalbe able to bring it to passe with such helpe as he shall finde.

Thirdly touching the schollers , I will not take upon me to justifie all that they have done: but this I can say oftheir constancy and couragein proceeding in this matter, especially having no man to speake for them and such potent adversaries against them, hath caused a wonderfull opinion of Mr. D. Allen and his schoole, and what these fellows will doe in tyme in England, which have showed themselves so invincible heer And so farre as may appeare by the events here, the Pope and the Cardinalls have conceaved the same too, and for the Popes part he is so animated to dothem and all England good, that yfit befollowed, while tyme and occasion doth serve , he will establish us refuges for all tymes of adversity, and if these occasions be let slipp, they shall beare the falt who might have taken them and would not The Divell will not want to put in impediments and doth daylie, and perhaps by th[ose], which should in deed and would seeme in wordes cheefly to favour yt But I must say unto you good Fatherto my great greefe, I would there were inallour Countrymen that spirite, zeale and conscience , whichin men banished for so good a cause should be: but omnes quaerunt, quae sua sunt . Only almost is there that good D. Allen who is allgood mens hope, and if he sturres not to goe forward manfully, as he hath begone, and as I persuad myselfe he will, to establishe thesematterswhile he hath tyme and occasion, they are like by other mens slackness or perversityto stand eyther still or go backe againe But if he nowtake the tyme, I trust shortly things shalbepast goingbacke againe

Touching Mr. Archdeacon, I am right sory to se things so stand as they doe, for I see bothe the schollers and all the Nation heere at such square with him and to have conceaved so deepe and rooted a mislike of his proceedings in English matters (how justly God knoweth) that in mans reasonit is impossible to thinke it able to bring them to deale with him againe, or to come any more to him, I have laboured in yt, but I lost my labour, and do utterly despayre in the same; and therefore what this difference may import to the hindrance of good matters I do much feare

CONFESSIO FIDEI PATRIS ROBERTI PERSONII AD MAGISTRATUS

LONDINII. [19 July, 1580.](1)

Arch. S.J. Rom Anglia 30.1.151v , a contemporary Latin Translation.

Nobilissimi Domini,

Quoniam ab ipso die quo in Angliam per superiores meos sum delegatus ad hunc finem quem posthac vobis quam potest dici, ingenue declarabo, non praetermisi illa omnia mihi proponere quae hujusmodi negotium aggredienti impendebant. Utpotequod (1) The approximate dateofthis document, or rather oftheEnglishoriginal of which this is a translation, and of Campion's Challenge, can be fixed by the following data Persons in his life of Campion gives it to be understood that they had left London the previous day and had gone to Hoggesdon

possim vel a vobis apprehendi, vel in manus vestras incidere: etiam quod possit vos Deus permittere, rigida quaequeet extrema in me exercere, et id ferendum mihi quod in aliis diversisque regionibus socii mei indies vel patiumtur, vel expectant in eadem causa ab hostibus Christi et jam dictae fidei Insuperquod ante meum istuc adventum certior fiebam (quam id vere nec latet, sed nunc et me et alios res ipsa docebit verumne sit) homines catholicos comprehensoset coram Honoribus vestris delatoset hoc apud inferiores et e plebe magistratus multo magis non ferri, vel quae fidei suae patrocinium, vel suarum rationem conferentiarum continent, illa afferre aliquem, sed in ipso quasi limine alienis plane quaestionibus e penatibus natis petitisque plerumque statutis opprimi, ut eorumdem concludantur limitibus, et ut inde populo fides fiat, hos homines plecti non plane religionis ergo, et suarum conscientiarum (quae duo verbotenus clamant Protestantes esse debere libera) sed nomine laesae majestatis, et publicarum Regni legum violationis praetextu , et idcirco tacite includuntur carceribus, ut in iisdem vel exedantur, consumanturque sicut socii, aut si ita visum fuerit, ut statuti alicujus, velo morte mulctati conficiantur quod denique mihi significatumfuit, homini semel nomine Catholici comprehenso et incluso(maxime si quam sustinueriteruditionis opinionem) spem nullam fore reliquamadmittendiad verba , quibus id cumque precibus humiliter submisseque contenderit Quid! quod sic inclusus non de novo loqui permitteretur, sed etiam quae prius attulerat verba et rationes omnes supprimerentur , aut translata penitus immutarentur, tacite concitatis de illo vocibus plane contrariis , aut ascriptis illi falsis quibusdam etimmanibus flagitiis, qualia sunt conjuratio, rebellio, aut laesae majestatis crimen, aut similia ! tantum ut in fraudem istam vocatus ille in minori apud populum sit pretio ! a quibus haud Christianis etcrudelibus factis et ipse plurimum abhorrens, et partim mihi timens , ne in me aliquando exercerentur, idque fortasse ad majora aliorum damna , quam ad meum incommodum, aequum esse judicavi, et ad responsamea, et ad rationem actionis, me (si quando in vestras manus traderer) prorsus non imparatum accedere Quamobrem , quae tum praemeditatus sum, et nunc in scriptis breviterdeposui ad memoriam meam et aliorumintellectum, humillime vestris hic exhibeo honoribus, orans vos per illum qui olim debet vos pariter ac me judicare, et illam senteniam dicere, a qua nulla est futura appellatio, ut legantur et per vos ponderentur , et quemadmodum vestris Honoribus haec quae declaravi, honesta, et quae petii, justa

(Hoxton), then a village outside the city, where they were to take leave of one another before going into the provinces on their missionary work . The approximate date of their leaving London can be ascertainedfrom Persons's letter to Agazzari, 5th August, 1580, where he states that he had written a letter about eighteendays ago in haste, as he was on the point of leaving London. They left London, therefore, on or about the eighteenth of July and this Confessio Fidei and Campion's Challenge were written about the nineteenth Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J. , Blessed Edmund Campion's"Challenge, " The Month, January, 1910; and The English Catholics in the Reign ofQueen Elizabeth (London, 1920), p 348 .

videbuntur, sic ut mecum agatis, memoressemper (quod vestrae dominationes nolle oblivisci spero) utcunque a vobis in ipsa verae Religionis opinione dissentiam, nec meam vestris conscientiam pro arbitrio conformare possim, esse me nihilominusChristianum , adeoque anglum, cui coeteris omnibus posthabitis respectibus tantum est humanitatis concedendum quantum aequitas ipsa praescribit, a vobis praesertim ejus gentis hominibus, cujus egregia nobilitas etiam ante fidem Christianam receptam, magnam cujusdam humanitatisabipsa naturapetitae laudem semperhabuissepraedicatur; omnemque tyrannorum barbaricam crudelitatemveluti pestem aliquam abhorruisse Responsionem hanc meam in aliqua praecipua capita quanto possum ordine reducam . Imprimis igitur ego me Catholicum esse confiteor , nec id solum, verum etiam Sacerdotem, quamvis huic tantae vocationi parum admodum respondeam: porro vero professionereligiosum , et exiguum quoddam Societatis Jesu membrum Quae omnia ut ego summa Dei beneficia recognosco , sic ea nunc ad solam ipsius ut spero gloriam profiteor, meamque minimamindignitatemingenue fateor Quod ad illus Jesuitae nomen, quamvis illud hoc in loco , hoc praesertim tempore, et apud hos judices, non tamfavorisquam odii, nec tam securitatis quam periculi materiamesse cognoscam, non tamen hujus metu tribunalis, aut negareillud, aut dissimulare debeo, cum tantis me Dei beneficiis Societasilla beatissima cumulaverit, ut nulla confesionemea, vel ipso etiamobsignata sanguine satis ei gratus esse possim qui me in eandem vocaverit. Etenim existimo inter alia salutis media post confessionis nimirum communionisque sanctissima sacramenta meum in Societatem ingressum praecipuum quoddam vehementissimumque fuisse, ubi plura pietatis exempla quam verba, et longe aliter quam in hoc mundo solet evenire, plures honestatis professores quam ejusdem praedicatores inveni. Quoad fidem vero meam, et ratam de religione sententiam , quamvis eam Catholici nomen satis indicaverit, apertius tamen si fieri possit explicare cupio. Intelligant igitur Honores vestri me Juvenem diu falsis pseudopraedicantiumvocibus huc et illuc adductum fuisse, multo vero magis cum in academiam venissem, ubi multis annis novam patriae nostrae professionem induere, necnon alienissimam abeademconscientiam paulatimrenovare cupiebam, eoquodomnes Regni promotiones eidem delatas esse conspicerem, Deo tamen habeogratias quod ille nunquam fluctuantemanimum meum in ea defixum haerere permiserit , licet ipse novos indies magistros et audiebam et legebam, ut hac me peste, quam arcere Deus voluit, inficerem. Quo plus autem legerem , eo semper mihi videbar et incertior, et inquietior: Ubi vero sacra patrum scripta revolvere coepissem , ita quaevis in illis huic novitati repugnantia perspexi, ut Deo pariter, ac meipso ulterius abuti puderet. In illis enim non solum unamquamque fere lineam novae nostri tempo- ris doctrinae multum adversari videbam, sed operum inscriptiones intuens , integros etiamlibros a primitivae PatribusEcclesiaeconscriptos,id, quodnunc impie docetur, damnare reperi Quid enim

aliud ille Pauli discipulus in suc libro de sacramentorum illorum usu, et institutione, quae a protestantibus ubique negantur,in quo modus oleum consecrandi praescribitur Post quem alios etiam patres Catholicam integrislibris astruere sententiam animadverti Quorum alius de velandis virginibus, de vita, regulis, et habitu monachorum alius, alius de liberoarbitrio, dequecura pro mortuis agenda tractatum instituit Egregios illos denique contraVigilantium et Jovinianumlibros, quorum prior sanctosnecadorandos,nec invocandos esse censuit, posterior vero virginitati matrimonium aequavit, accuratissime pervolvens, hanc subitoconsequentiamdeduxi,nimirum aut omnes hos patres primitiasut ita dicam ,Spiritus habentes, erravisse, vel nostros mendacesesse magistros. Ubivero doctrinamet pietatem eorum, cum horumcaecitate simul ac impietate contulissem, nullius quidem judicii fuissem, si qui sequendi essent, ulterius dubitarem. Hinc et majori cum Catholicis conferentia,omnem antiquitatem, authoritatem, gravitatem, doctrinam , rationem, et honestatem apud eos inveniens, illi me constanter fidei consecrare deinceps incoepi, in qua perseveravi quidem hactenus , etin ea me spero moriturum Unde me illa omnia firmiter credere sciatis, quae Catholic Christi ecclesia ulla ratione credenda proponit Illam autem ecclesiamintelligo, quae semperin terris Ecclesia Christi visibilis agnita fuit, cujus ego Romanam Ecclesiam dignissimam partem existimo, ejusdemque sanctum Episcopum universae Pastorem et supremum totius gubernatorem proxime post Deum ab ipso constitutum existimo: omnes autem haereticos tam antiquos quam novos, qui ex hac ecclesia vel exierunt, vel deinceps exibunt, novam aliquam fidem excogitantes ad mortem usque detestor, maxime vero nostri temporis haeresiarchas Lutherum, Zvinglium, Calvinum, Bezam, et ejusdemfarinae homines porrocongregationes omnes et sectas Puritanorum, familiarum amoris, familiarum charitatis, Adamitarum, aut aliarum quaruncunque fantasticaruminventionum, quas Daemon in Angliam posthac introduxerit, plane mihi persuadensnon majis esse posse fidem aut religionem novam, quam novum aliquem Deum, aut alium Christum, quam in quem religiose credimus. Nunc quid in has me partes hoc tempore venire commoverit , aperte fideliterqueproponam. Non est vobis, ut opinor, ignotum Societatem esse quandam a speciali vitae salvatoris imitatione Jesu dictam, cui de professione sua semper incumbere fortassis audivistis, in quamvis orbis universae partem transmitti, utEvangelium Christi nulla periculi habita ratione praedicent. Hanc ob causam tot hisce paucis annis praeteritis in eandem per collegia diversa convenerunt, in quibus necessariis tantae pugnae semetipsos armis instruunt, partim sedulamliteris operam navantes,partim etiam viriumsuarum ad hoc tantum opus rationemineuntes, Christi quidem in eo consilium implentes, qui turrim aedificaturo sumptus ad id requisitos computare, necnon pugnam sanguinis praesertim plenissimam ingredienti suas hortatur vires inspicere, Quibus ita peractis, cum se jam sensualem omnem affectionem deposuisse, plenamque de semetipsis victoriam reportasse conspi-

ciunt, adeo ut maximas quasque hujus mundi promotiones Christi causa despicere, et sua se libertate privare, seque totos praelatorumsuorum dispositioni committere resolverint , nulluminexequendis eorum jussibus vitae periculumobtendentes, tum demum sic exutisterrenis omnibus affectibus, quaecunque (precibus pro more semper emissis ) illis assignata fuerit missio, eam ad honorem Dei semper amplectuntur, nihil reformidantes, quin imo suum intellectum et affectum omnemin obsequium Christicaptivantes , ejusque sibi propitium auxilium pollicentes, cujus ob causam negotium istud in se suscipiunt Nec Deum illis hactenus quidem defuisse, tot ab illis ubique fere praeclare gesta testantur

Hactenus ego vobis hujus aperui Societatis rationem ,utme propriamin hocingressuvoluntatemminime secutumfuisse(proutveritas est) intelligatis, sed obedientiam, cui me voto devinxeram fecisse , ne magis hanc ego provinciam recusarem, quam si velinIndiam, aut Turciam prout socii mei, transmissus fuissem, in quas partes transire, nec recusaredebuissem, nec ullo modo recusassem Hinc apparet, quam illud adversarii nostri solo veritatis odio, falsissime confingant, nos rebelliones, et impias nescioquas, in pacifico regno nostro seditiones excitatum venire, quo nihil certe minus cogitamus. Nos enim illi miserunt, qui status hujus temporalis vestri cognitionem prorsus nullam habent, et tantum abest, ut eidem se velint immiscere, ut ne Catholici quidem principes, quamvis hoc apud eos vehementissime contenderint , in ullam suae politiaesecularis cogitationem adducere potuerunt . Non solum igitur nunc hunc ad finem nos miserunt, sed omnem de rebus vestris politicis loquelam interdixerunt, nec de iisdem ullo modo loquentes audire voluerunt.(2) Hoc igitur ego Deum ipsum attestor, (quamvishaud facile juraresoleo) verissimum esse. Quidquidigiturde me tandem evenerit, in ipsa voce sacerdotis, me meosqueomnes hac iniquissima suspicione libero Non aliud enim nos hic proponimus,quam quod in aliis partibussocii nostri, nimirum eos, qui nos recipient , christianos, catholicae fidei rudimenta docere , eorumque mores sanctissimis Deipraeceptis conformare Eam vero quam Principi suo debent obedientiam, non minus, imo longe magis quam Protestantium ullus, inculcamus Nos enim Principibusnon solum poenae timore, vel scandali vitandi causa, sed etiam propter conscientiam obediri deberepraedicamus: et posse damnari quiPrincipi suo vel in cubiculo suo secretissimo, ubi nulla scandali, vel poenae timor occurrit, non obedierit Contra vero, Protestantes nullam observari legem ob ullum conscientiae respectum volunt , quae si frangatur, scandalum non includat, ita ut jubeat quantum voluerit Princeps, a carnibus abstinere, eam tamen libertininostri secretomanducabunt , nec se conscientiam suam in hoc laesisse suspicantur; quod ut in poenalibus locum obtineat , in aliis tamen nos contrarium plane tenemus Nos populo salutarem mandatorum Dei observationem adeonecessariamesse praedicamus, utsine qua nuda fides parum profuerit Quisquis igitur non ex animo, tam factis quam verbis, enormen suam vitam emendaredecreve(2) Cf. The Instructions infra § 18 .

rit: qui furtum, luxuriam, corruptionem, et ejus generis alia peccata prorsus deponere noluerit, hic in ecclesia nostra salubriter vivere, aut ulla peccatorum absolutione (quam Ecclesia Catholica pro illa ligandi solvendique potestate sibi a Christo relicta possidet) potiri nullo modo potest Nos amicos et servos vestros honestiori multo conversatione praeditos, ad vosremittimus, quam cum ad nos primum accederent. Haud paucas centenaslibras ab illis qui nos audiunt, ipsis etiam protestantibusclam restitui procuravimus: nos magnorum redituum dominos illatas hominibus injurias, secreto resarcire, et majorem deinceps in eos exercere charitatem hortamur Si quis est in istis obstinatior, ad Ecclesiae gremium non admittimus Nos populum denique vestrum ad omnem patientiam inflectimus , et quamvis poenam ipsis ab Honoribus vestris inflictam, sinerepugnantia , solo conscientiaebonaetestimonio relevati perferre consulimus Tantum autem abest ut ullo modo cujusquam authoritati resistere suadeamus , ut Deum pro nobis omnibus orare, in Christo Domino multum hortamur, qui longe plura nostra causa perpessus , tanta quaevis patientia sustinere voluit, ut os aperire noluerit Hoc malum, si tamen est malum, huic vestrae reipublicae nostrae professionis homines inferunt: quod si malitiae condemnare volueritis, nos poenam ei debitam nullo modo recusamus .

De meipso quidem audacter assero, ita me Regno huic, vobisve nunc ejusdemgubernatoribus bene precari, ut vel ipso vitae meae pretio, sanguine propterhoc effuso, ulli vestrumanimae suae salutem procurarem Superest humilis quaedam supplicatio Parliamento ne vos opinionem aliam de me, meove jam ingressu concipere velitis, quam aequum est Illum enim solummodo finemrespexi, quem proposui, et non alium Deinde quoniam ad hoc tribunal vestrum , permissione divina, pro Catholicae fidei confessione sumdelatus,etsime multis hujus Ecclesiae, adeoqueSocietatis,cujus exiguum ego membrum sum, millibus inferiorem agnosco , divinae tamen opi confidens, et ipsa causae veritate multum animatus, ad hujus fidei defensionem admitti requiro, si non ob studium veritatis, quo nihilvobis essedeberet charius, cum ex ea vestrarum animarum salus dependent, saltem ob evitandum indignamillam famam , de qua prius mentionem feci, quae multorum auribus increbuit, ignaros vestros Ministros non ausos esse unquam in aliquod disputationis examen descendere; Hanc, inquam ob causaminstantissime peto, ut vel hic vel alibi pro vestra voluntate, pugnam aliquam disputationisin aliquos ministros , vel praelatos vestros instituam Neminem eorum excipio, sed hac in causa simul omnes vendico , probe sciens, quod simulata quadam ostentationis facie deposita, nihil prosuis paradoxis veritatisafferre possint:Nonenim dubito, quin excussis paucis aridissimis orationumflosculis , magnam eorum nuditatem, ignominiae plenissimam, Honores vestri luce clarius perspicient. Ad quod me certamen si vos admittere nolueritis, hac tamen petitione nostram indifferentiam, eorumque nimiam insufficientiamabunde testabimur. Postremo qua possum vehementia rogo, ne petitionemhanc meam arrogantiae, vel obstiC

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS, S.J.

naciae, seu similis alicujus humoris insimulare velitis,quae abobedientia, officio, et zelo quodam conscientiae proficiscitur

Illa quibus nunc sum exposituspericula, longa praemeditatione cogitatafuerunt: quae si majorafuissent, negotium hoc a Superioribus meis, in quibus ego Dei personamrevereor, impositum, nequaquam impedire debuissent Nec mihi potest aliquid ita cruentum accidere, quod vel eos ne mittant , vel alios ne missi veniant, ulla ratione perterreat. Ita sunt ad mortem fideiCatholicae causa ferendam paratissimi Porre dicam oportet , plus minus quinquecentena virorum, inilla sancta Societate degentium, inter quos vel utinter aquilas muscareperior, omni tam piae causae necessitati subvenire firmiter statuisse.

Quod ad meipsum attinet, unicam tantummodovitam habeo , Deo semel a quo eam recepi praesentandam, nec unquam eam offerre melius possum, quam hac in causa, si vos eam auferre volueritis: spero tamen Honores Vestros tirannicum hunc nobiscum rigorem non inituros, nec manus vestras eorum sanguine polluturos, qui vobis nullo modo malum, sed in omnibus optime precantur Quod si voshanc spem nostram exinanire Divina majestaspermiserit, nobis quidem pro viribus a Deo concessis ferendum est, quicquid illudsit crudelitatisquod nobis inferrevolueritis, scientes hoc totum in honorem Dei, et ipsius inimicorum confusionem tandem cessurum . Hoc interim scitote, vobis his animas (quod a vobis Deus malum avertat) cruentis minime defuturamesse materiam . Incorporationem enim quandam persequimini nunquam interituram, et ante sanguine satiata corda, manusque deficient, quam homines doctrina, virtuteque clarissimi , qui ab ea societate missi, suum hac in causa sanguinem effusioni vestrae subjicient. De reliquo igitur, Deum optimum Maximum obtestor , ut sua vos illustraregratia dignetur, quo Divinaegloriae, nec non animarum vestrarum saluti consulatis Consuletis autem maxime clementia, cum aliam erga nos indignationis causam non habetis , praeterquam necessariam conscientiae fideique nostrae defensionem , quam pro arbitrio vanare non possumus, et propterea Protestantes aliis in Regnis liberam esse voluerunt Post annospaucos, vel dies etiam fortassis aliquot (nobilissimi Domini) severissimo Dei tribunali, prout ego nunc huic vestro, simul omnes astabimus, ubi non se judicabit ulterius homo, ubi majorem e clementia proximis nostris exhibita, quam e rigore consolationem habebimus, inde spem quandam divinae misericordiae concipientes: quam quidem piam humanitatem , in eos qui sunt contrariae religionis, utin aliis exoptavi semper, ita pro tenui mea facultatesaepius exercui. Testis illa nostra meorum Anglicoprotestantiumin locis Catholicis , ubi leges haeresimpersequuntur , protectio: Quos homines , non infimae quidem conditionis , si nominare liberet, omni majores exceptione cognosco sed nullum hanc ob gratiam favorem imploro: solum causae meae dignissimam aequitatem, et Christianorum , maxime autem nobilium humanitatem urgeo; Etenim quid vos de me statuere volueritis, libentissime quidem attendo: quodomne si Deus ad honorem suam converterit, hoc mihi nomine gratissimum erit. Ille vos in hac vita nobiles, in illa vita futura nobiliores efficiat

Translation

PERSONS'S CONFESSION OF FAITH FOR THE LONDON MAGISTRATES 19 July, 1580.(1)

Most Noble Lords, From the very day on which I was appointedto England by my superiors for this purpose which I am presentlyabout to declare with the utmost candour, I did not fail to weigh in my mind all the things that were in store for one who undertakes an affair of this sort: as for instance, that you may arrest me or that I may happen to fall into your hands: again, that God may permit you to take every harsh and extremeaction against me, and that I may have to undergo what in various parts of the world my comrades are suffering every day, or expecting to suffer, in this same cause from the enemies of Christ and of the aforesaid faith; moreover, the fact that, before I came here ,I was informed (though to be sure the fact is not hidden, and now we are about to learn from actual experience whetherit is true) that men who are Catholics have been arrested and brought before Your Worships, and that magistrates of lower rank and sprung from the people are still less inclined than you to tolerate any man producing in his defence any thing containing a vindication of his faith or an account of his conferences; nay, that, on the very threshold as it were, they are overwhelmed with questions that are clearly irrelevant andoftheir own home invention and usually by recourse to the statutes so that they may be brought within the scope of these and thereby the people be made to believe that these men are punished, not for their religion and for conscience' sake, as is plainly the case (two things which , so far as words go, the Protestants proclaim should be free) but on the count of high treason and on the pretext of violation of the general laws of the realm; and for this they are quietly shut up in prison, either to be consumed and waste away there, as being implicated in these matters, or, if they should so decide, to be condemned to death under cover of some decree or other and done away with; lastlythe fact that it was made known to me that once a man was arrested as a Catholic and shut up (especially if he bore some reputation forlearning) there was no hope left of his being allowed to speak, however humble and abject the prayers with which he strove for permission ; nay, that anyone thus imprisoned was not only refused permission to speak again, but that even the words and arguments he had previously used were all suppressed or were reproduced in an entirely changed form , sayings of his being slyly quoted in a distorted sense, or certain monstrous crimes being falsely attributed to him , such as conspiracy, rebellion, or the crimeof high treason or such like! this with the sole object that he may be involved in the meshes of this deceitand so be less in favour withthe people. And becauseI myselfhave the greatest horror ofthese unchristian and cruel deeds, and partly because I was afraid in my heart that they might be employed one day against me, and this perhaps with greater injury to others than inconvenience to myself, I therefore considered it reasonable that I should approach the task of my defence and of giving account of my actions (if ever I shouldbe delivered into your hands) not entirely without preparation And so what Ithen plannedin mymind, I have nowset downbriefly in writing, to be a reminder to myself and to enlighten other people, and I here very humbly bring it to Your Worships' notice, And I beg you by Him , who one day will have to judge you as well as me and to pro-

nounce that sentence from which there is no future appeal, to read and ponder over it and, in so far as these declarations I have made seem to Your Worships to be honourable and my requests to be just, to deal with me in this same spirit, remembering always (and I hope Your Worships will never forget it) that, however I may differ from you in my actual view of what is the true religion and be unable at will to make my conscience agree with yours , nevertheless I am a Christian and also an Englishman, to whom apart from all other considerations such a measure of humanity should be granted as equity itself dictates; and this especially byyou, men ofthat race whose rare nobility, even prior to receivingthe Christianfaith, is extolled as having always won praise for a certainhumanity suchas natureherself demands , and as havingshrunk from all the barbarous cruelty of tyrants as from some kind ofdisease . Ishall reduce this my defence to certainprincipal headings, in due order to the best of my power.

To begin with, then, I confess that I am a Catholic , and not only that but a priest as well, little credit thoughI do to such a highcalling; andfurtherthat I am a professed religious and an insignificantmember of the Societyof Jesus All this I acknowledge as the greatest blessing from God and in the same way I proclaim it now solelyfor His glory, as I hope; and I frankly confess the depth of my own unworthiness Now in regard to this name of Jesuit' although in this place, and in these times especially, and in the eyes of the judges here , I know that it is a source not of favour but of hatred, not of safety but of danger, yet I ought not from fear of this tribunal either to disown it orto dissemble For this most blessed Society has so loaded me with benefits from God that by no confession of mine, even though it were sealed by my very blood, can I adequately show my gratitude to Him who gave me my vocation to it. For it is my opinion that of the means to my salvation, other of course than the most holy sacraments of Confession and Communion , my entrance into the Societywas the principal and strongest, for in it I have found examples of piety more frequent than mention of it, and, far otherwise than is commonly the case in this world , I have found men who cultivate a goodnessto outnumber those who preach it.

Now with regard to my faith and considered religious principles, althoughthe descriptionof ' Catholic' has adequatelyindicated them , yet I desire to explain them more clearly, if possible Let YourWorships then know that as a young man I had for long been led hitherand thither by the misleading utterances of false preachers , and this was accentuated after I had come to the University. There for manyyears I desired to accept the attitude newly adopted by my country and by degrees to reconcile my conscience which was very opposed to it; for I perceived that all promotion in the service of the kingdom had been made to depend on this. I have to thankGod, however, that Henever allowed my wavering soul, though I was daily listening to andreading the new teachers, to adhere to them so obstinately as to be infected with this plague which it was God's will to keep from me. Yet the more I kept reading, ever the more uncertain and restless I seemed to become But after I had begun to peruse the sacred writings of the Fathers, I perceived that everything they contained was so repugnant to this new doctrine that I was ashamed any longer to tempt God and do violence to my own convictions. For in those writings not only was I finding almostevery line quite contrary to the new doctrine ofourtimes ,but, when Ilookedat the titles oftheir works, I discovered

alsothat what is now being impiously taught is condemned by entire volumes written by the Fathers of the primitive Church. For what else is to be inferred from that book by the disciple of Paul on theuse and institution of those very sacraments which are universallyrejected by the Protestants , in which the manner of consecrating the oil is prescribed ! And after this I noticed that others of the Fathers in whole volumes build up the Catholicposition And of these, one writes about virgins taking the veil, anotherabout the life, rule and dress of monks, another composes a treatise on free will, and on the care that should be had for the dead Finally when I perused very carefully those wonderful books against Vigilantius and Jovinianus, of whom the former held that Saints should neither be honoured nor invoked , the latterput matrimony on the same plane as virginity,I immediately made this deduction , to wit, that either all those Fathers , who had as it were the first fruits of the Holy Ghost, had erred, or that our teachers were liars So when I had compared the teachingand piety of the former with the latters' blindness combined with impiety, Ihad been ofno discernment if I had had any further doubtswhich ofthem should be followed Discoveringin this way and by greater intercourse withCatholicsthat all precedent, authority , weight of argument, erudition, reason and right thinkingwere on their side, thereafter I began to devotemyself with constancyto that faith, and I have persevered in it indeed up to now and I hope to die in it And so be it known to you that I firmly believe all that which the CatholicChurchof Christ in any way proposes for belief And I mean by this that churchwhich has always been acknowledged as the visible churchof Christ on earth. Of this I hold the Roman churchis to be the most honoured part, and I hold the holy Bishop of that See to have been constituted by God , next after Himself, as the universal Pastor and supreme Governorof the whole of it; and all heretics, both ancient and modern, who have left the Church or shall leave it in the time to come, inventing some new form of belief, I hate to the death, and especially the heresiarchs of our day, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin , Beza and men of the same kidney, as for instance all the congregations and sects of the Puritans, the Familyof Love, the Family of Charity, the Adamites, and any other fantastic inventionswhich the devil shall introduce into Englandhereafter; for I am firmly convinced that there can no more be a newfaith or religion than there can be some new God , or a Christ other than Him in whom we conscientiously believe .

And now Iwillset down openly and truthfully what hasbeen the motive ofmy coming to these parts at this time It is not unknown to you, I imagine, that there is a certain Societycalled, from its imitatingin a special way the life of our Saviour, the Society of Jesus ; and you haveheardperhaps that by its profession it incursthe liabilityof being sent to any part of the whole world to preach the gospel of Christ , withouttaking any accountofdanger It is with this endin viewthat so many men in these last few years have flocked to it through the various Colleges, in which they arm themselves with the weapons Lecessary for so great a conflict. Here they spend their time partly in giving earnest attention to letters, partly also in taking stock of the strength for so great a labour as this; thereby fulfilling the counsel of Christ, who exhorts him who will build a tower to reckon the expense necessaryforit, and so too him whois enteringona battle, especially when it is a most bloody one, to hold an inspectionof his forces And when this has been done and they perceive thatthey have

laid aside all sensual love and have won a complete victoryoverthemselves , so as to be resolved to despisefor Christ's sake even thegreatest advancement in this world and to give up their own liberty and yield themselves wholly to the disposition of their superiors, holding no danger to be an excuse from carrying out their commands , then at length, when they have put off all earthly affections , whatevermission may be assigned to them, they welcome it invariably for the honour of God (alwaysafter the customaryoutpouring of prayer) without any dread at all, nay more, subjugatingto the service of Christ their intellects and all their inclinations, and promising themselves the favour and help of Him for whose sake they are undertaking this enterprise Andthat God has not failed them up to now, the many gloriousdeeds they have done in nearly all parts of the world bear witness .

I have explainedto you thus far the principles of this Society in order that you may realize (as is the truth) that in enteringthis kingdom I had by no means followed my own inclinations, but had performed an act of obedience to which I had bound myself by vow, and I could not refuse to go to this province any more than ifI had been sent to India or Turkey, as comrades of mine have been sent . And to these latter places I should have had no right to refuse to go nor would I have done so on any account Hence clearly it is in singular hatred of truth that our adversaries most falsely pretend that we are come to stir up rebellion and I know not what unholy plots in our peaceful kingdom; for there is nothing that is less our aim. For we have been sent by men who have practically no knowledge of your secular conditions here, and so far is it from being their wish to be involved in them, that not even the Catholic Princes, though they pressed them very strongly in the matter, were able to inducethem to mix themselves in any way in their secular government Not only therefore is this the end for which they have now sent us, but they have banned all conversation about your politics and have been unwilling to listen to any who made mention of them .(2)

This then I call God Himself to witness (though it is not my habit lightly to take an oath) that what I have said is the absolutetruth. Whatever therefore shall eventually happen to me, on my word as a priest I repudiate on behalf of myself and all my comrades this most unjust suspicion. For we are proposingto do here nothing more than our comrades are doing in other parts ofthe world, viz to teach those Christians who shall receive us, the rudiments of the Catholic faith and to make their habits conform to the most holy commandments of God And that obedience which they owe to their Sovereign we inculcatenot less but truly muchmorethan does any of theProtestants. For we preach that Princes should be obeyed not merely for fear of punishment or for the sake of avoiding scandal but for conscience's sake as well; and that he may be condemned who does not obey his Prince even inthe utmost secrecy of his closet, where no fear of punishment or scandal exists Whereas on the contrary the Protestants would have no law, which if broken does not give rise to scandal , to be kept for any reason of conscience; so that a Prince may command abstinence from meat as much as he likes, yet these libertines of ours will eat it in secret and have no suspicion that they have hurt their consciences by doing so And though this holds good in the case of penal laws, yet in other cases we maintain clearly the opposite We preach to the people that a salutary observance of the commandments of God is so essential that, lacking it, bare faith will be of littlevalue.

And so whosoever has not determined from his heart to amend both in word and deed the irregularities of his life, who is not willing to put away once for all stealing, licentiousness, bribery and other sins of that kind, such a one can nowise live a healthy life in our Church or obtain any absolutionfor his sins (which the Catholic Church has power to give by reason of that authority to bind and loose left her by Christ). We restore to you your friends and servants instilled with much higher principles of conduct than when they first approached us. Through our intervention not a few hundreds of pounds have been secretlygiven back even to the Protestants themselves by men who listen to us. We exhort those who command large incomes to repair secretly the injuries they have done to men and henceforward to use greater charity towards them If any one is inclined to be unyieldingin such matters, we do not admit him to the bosom of the Church In fine we incline your people to patience in all things and counsel them to endure any punishment , which Your Worshipsmay yourselves inflict, without resentment , taking comfort only in the testimony of a good conscience And so far are we from encouraging resistance in any way to any person's authority, that we exhort them much to pray Godfor us all in Christ our Lord, who, though for our sakes He suffered far more , was willing to endure it all with such patience that He would not open His mouth This is the evil, if evil indeed it be, which the men of our profession are bringing on your commonwealth ; and if you shall wishto condemn it as malice, we nowise decline to pay thepenalty due to it.

For myself indeed I assert boldly, that I am so well disposed to this realm or rather to you who are now its rulers, that even at the price of my life and with the shedding of my blood for that end I would procurethe salvation of the soul of any one of you. It remains to speak of a certain humble petition to Parliament, viz. that you will refuse to form your judgment concerning me, and my havingcome here , otherwisethan fairly; for I have had in view this purpose onlywhich I have stated and none other Well then, since it is on account ofmy confessing to the Catholic faith that I have been brought by divine permission before your Court here , although I acknowledge myself to be inferior to many thousands in the Church, and so also in theSociety of which I am an insignificant member, yet, trusting in divine assistance and greatly encouraged by the very truth of my cause , I demand to be allowed to defend this faith; and this I do relying, ifnot onyour zeal for truthand nothing should be dearer to you than that, since the salvation of your souls depends on itat least on your wish to counteractthat invidious report of which I have made mention before , which has become insistent in the ears of men: that your ignorant Ministers have never dared to submit to the test of any disputation . For this reason I say, I beg most earnestly that either here or elsewhere at your pleasure I may join battle in some kind of disputation with some of your ministers or prelates. I bar none of them, but in this cause I challenge the lot of them , knowing full well that when they have been stripped of a certain sort of parade and pretence, theycan make no defence of their perversions of the truth For I have no doubt that, when a few small withered flowers of oratory have been lopped off, YourWorshipswill perceive clearer than light the complete nakedness of these men and the fullness of their ignominy. Andifyou shallnot consent to allowme this contest, stillby the fact ofthepetition we shallgiveabundanttestimonyofconfidence onour part andontheirs

of exceeding incompetence

Finally I ask, with all the earnestness I am capable of, that you will not attribute my petition to arrogance or obstinacyor any suchlike humour, for it proceeds from obedience , a sense of duty, and a certain conscientious zeal

Those dangers to which I am exposed now had been long anticipated and pondered over; and had they been greater they ought nowise to have hindered this enterprise committed to me by my Superiors, in whom I reverence the person of God. Nor is it possible for anything to happen to me of so bloodthirsty a nature as to intimidate in any way either them from sending men or other men from coming if sent; so entirely ready are they to suffer deathfor the sake of the Catholic faith In truth I ought to tell you that five hundredmen moreor less , belonging to that holy Society, among whom I find myself rather like a fly among eagles, have firmly resolved to assist this holy cause in its necessities

For my own part I have one life only, which I must yield one day to God from whom I received it, and I can never offer it in a better causethan this, ifyou wish to deprive me of it. I hope, however ,that Your Worships are not going to put in use against us a tyrannical severityofthis sort andstain your hands in the blood ofmen who wish you no evil whatsoever but are very well disposed to youin everyway. But if the divine Majesty shall permit you to make void this hope of ours , wemust indeed bear it with such strength as God gives us , whatever may be the degree of cruelty that you will to inflict on us; for we know that it will all eventually bear fruit to the honour of God and the confusion of His enemies In the meantime know this: that if your intentions are bloodthirsty (from which evil may God defend you) there will be no lack of scope for them . For you are persecuting a corporation that will never die, and sooner will your hearts and hands, sated with blood, fail you, than will there be lacking men , eminentfor virtue and learning, who will be sent by this Societyand allow their blood to be shed by you for this cause .

Fortherest then I entreat God Almightyto deign to enlightenyou by his grace, so that you may have regardfor the divine glory andfor the salvationofyour souls And you will do this especially by clemency, for you have no other cause for indignation with us exceptthe defence we must necessarily make of our conscience and faith. This faith we cannot make void at will; and it is for this reason that Protestants in other kingdoms have been willing for it to be free After a few years, or possiblyeven a few days hence, most noble Lords, we shall all be standingtogether before that most strict tribunal of God, just as now I stand before this court of yours, where no longer will man be his own judge, and where we shall get more comfort from the mercy we have shown to our neighbours than from severity; for from the former we shall derive some hope of the divine clemency. Now this kindly consideration towards those who are of a different religion, just as I have wishedtofind it alwaysin others, so according to the slight opportunity I have had, I have quite often practised Witness to this is the protection we give to my fellow Englishmen who are Protestantsin Catholic countries where heresy is persecuted by law. And I know of suchmen , by no means of the lowest station, ifI liked to name them , men of position without any exception; but I beg for no favour in return for this graciousness to them; I urge only the equity andworthiness of my cause and the consideration due from Christians , especially from those of noble birth For indeed I am most content to await

whateverdetermination you shall come to about me; and if God shall turn it all to His honour, from that aspect it will be most welcome to me. May He make you, who are nobles in this life, more noblestill in the life that is to come

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI 5 August, 1580 .

Biblioteca Vallicelliana , Rome, M. No. 23, f 179. Contemporary Copy. Another copy ibid., f. 156 .

Latin translation , Arch S.J. Rom Anglia, 30, i, f. 153v.

Itis mentioned brieflyin Knox, Douay Diaries, p. 171, and is quoted by Bartoli, Inghilterra , p 124, though under the wrong date, 17 November (A part translation is to be found in J. H. Pollen, S.J., English Catholics in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth (London, 1920), p. 362.)

Molto Reverendo Padre, Scrissi al Reverendo Padre Everardo (1) circa a 18 giorni sono in freta una littera partendomi da Londres, la qual' desidero li sia capitata. Ma perchè in quel tempo, sì come anch'al presente, vi era molta difficultà di mandarle, rispetto alle dilligentissimeguardie , che si fanno a porti, ho voluto scrivere di viaggio a Vostra Reverenza questa seconda , la quale per le moltestratagemme, che bisogna trovare per inviarla, dubito ariveràin mano sua più tardi diquello. Vorrei, quantunque io habbi imposto al nostro Nicolo,(2) il quale ha carico di mandarla, che ne facci due copie, et quelle per due diverse strade le invii Le cose di qua sono hora neltermine che udirete Il Padre Edmondo, (3) et io siamo partiti da Londres in villa, con intentione di ritornarvi fra due o tre mesi , et Questo habbiamo fatto parte, perchè pensiamo più ultimente poter impiegar l'opra nostra questo Autumno in villa, che nella Città, essendo che quasi tutti i nobili in questo tempo dimoran in villa; part' anc'hora perchè più crudele è hoggi la persecutione in Londres, che sin hora sia stata, la qual' habiamo voluto per a tempo schivare Avanti la nostra partenza siamo stati (per divina bontà) provisti abondamente delle cose necessarie, imperochè a ciscuno di noi spontamente furono offerte veste, danari, et due cavalcature co' servitore (4) In oltrealcuni Giovani nobiliet ricchi,(5)cisi

(1) Fr. Everard Mercurian, the General of the Society He died on the 1st of August, just a few days before Persons wrote this letter.

(2) This may be Brother Nicholas Owen, the future martyr A copy of a letter, addressed " Nicolao Fratri Nostro" from the General and dated 15 April, 1580, is preserved in the state archives at Brussels, whenceit was transcribed by R. Cardwell, S.J. (Cardwell'stranscripts Stonyhurst, A.IV.12). This letter , with others of the same date, was doubtless taken to England by Persons, as it was written three days before his departure from Rome (3) Bd Edmund Campion

(4) The benefactor responsiblefor thus providing for the needs of the missioners was George Gilbert. Cf. Persons, Life of Campion, Stonyhurst Coll P,ff. 125 , 135: Persons to the Pope, and to Cardinal San Sisto, 14June, 1581 , infra . (5) Persons gives a list of these young men in his lifeofCampion, Coll. P, ff. 126, 127. J. H. Pollen, S.J., has shown that there is no evidencefor Simpson'sstatement that theyformed a regular " sodality. " Cf. The Month, June, 1905, p. 592

, S.J.

sono offerti per compagni dovunque volessimo andare, dissegnando partecipar con esso di tutti i nostri pericoli Et ioavanti venisse il Padre Edmondo havevo procurato , et quadagnato dimoltiamici , et alberghi per star' in villa pocchi giorni Prima ci partissimo insieme fummoin Londres di compagnia, dove habbiamo esortato gl'altri, et consigliatici insieme Indi partiti, non più ci siamo riveduti, ne habbiamo inteso l'uno dell' altro nuova veruna. Non dubito però che le cose li succederanno prosperamente, sì come sin' hora succedono a me Perciò che li homini pii, di quali si ritrova qui gran numero, sono desiderosissimi della nostra conversatione, et con molta avidittà ascoltano le instruttioni , tutto che con editi publici nuovamente publicati, però senza nome , sotto asprissime pene sia loro vietato (6) Et per dirlo in pocche parole, qui è un larghissimo campo da lavorare con utilità, se ne fossero abastanza homini sufficienti della nostra Compagnia Sl che sopra tutte l'altre cose preghiamo Vostra Reverenza che quantoprima nemandi buon numero di sogetti sufficienti . Il negotio impostomi è di grandissimo momento, sì per la riputatione della compagnia, sì per la ricuperatione di questo regno, come anco per la causa universale della Chiesa Catolica Si è gia cominciata contradinoi una gravissima persecutione, di maniera che nissun giorno habbiamo securo da pericoli(7) Ma sono non altre che l'istesse cose , le quale quando eravamo con esso noi, molto bene havemo previste, onde qualsivogliacosa sia per avenirci, non ci corra, speriamo, all' improvisa, è pero ferma opinione così di noi come di coloro, che ci amano, che le Paternità Vostra, tutto che di noi avenisse, come tosto avenir può, non sienogià mai per abandonar questa impresa, il che mentre sarò vivo, et anche doppo morte, non mancherò già mai di dimandarcosì alla Santità di N.S. come alla Paternità Vostra Veggio ch'il continuar questa missione è di grandissima importanza alla ricuperatione di tutto il settentrione, et che non si può dismettere senza grandissimo danno di molte anime, et di tutta la religione Catolica. Impero chè già nelle prediche Catoliche si è divulgato, che li Gesuiti hanno mossa questa guerra per ordine di sua Beatitudine , et ch' a loro s'apartiene non lasciarla sotto pretesto di qualsivogliapericulo: onde essendo la compagnia a guisa di corpo politico composta, si stima più tosto dover venir meno agli adversarii la forza di tormentar, che agli huomini della compagnia voluntà di pattire per honordi Christo, et di Santa Chiesa . Noi come è gia detto, ci troviamoin molti pericoli maggiori di quelli che habbino ad incontrar a chi

(6) Cf. Persons, Life of Campion, Coll P , ff 121-124 Among "other writings and reports" heis probably referring to the proclamation ofthe15th of July, 1580, for which see H. Dyson, Proclamations , and Steele and Crawford, Tudor and Stuart Proclamations , Oxford, 1910, p 80, n 751 .

(7) Evidence of the severity of the persecution can be seen in Dasent , XII, as well as in the Domestic Calendar Cf. also Mendoza to Philip II, 26 June, 23 July, 7 August, 1580; Spanish Calendar, pp. 38, 43, 45. (The letters are given in their original Spanishin Documentos Ineditos XCI, 493, 501, 504); Allen to Como, 12 September , 1580 (Knox, Allen, p. 90), and J. H. Pollen, English Catholics in the Reign ofQueen Elizabeth (London, 1920), p 353ff.

verrà doppo noi, sì perchè ritroverannomolti luoghi da noi preparati, si anche perchè li adversarii hanno sommamente in odio noi primi precursori, et a noi procurano ogni malo; Però non sono tali i pericoli , che per molti anni, o almeno mesi non li possiamo schivare, et spero li fugiremo, se bene, non siamo pur di un sol giorno sicuri.

Fra tanto ce ne stiamo alegrissimi et siamo da tutte le parti si ampiamente da Nostro Signore consolati, che ci par di esser in uno amenissimo Paradiso, delli quali consolationi le cause sono queste; primo il pericolo che ne sopra sta, non è se nonpernostro infinito bene poi che stiamo ogni giorno a periculo di recever il supremo di tutti i benefittii divini, ch'è patir qualche cose per il suo santo Nome Al qual atto se la bontà di Nostro Signore si degnarà un giorno di condurre, speriamo con la gratia sua, che non solamente i cuori ma anco le risposte, le quali teniamo gian scritte, sacramo di tal sorte, che nè all' honor di sua Santità nè alla riputatione della compagnia saranno di danno veruno Poi mentreNostroSignore ci lasseràgoder di questa libertà è grandissima la speranza del frutto, imperochè siamo tanto accarezziati, et occupati da Catolici, che non ci basta ne il tempo ne le forze Io sono costretto ogni giorno due, o tre volte in questo mio perigrinaggio far sermoni a nobili, i quali sentono dello spirito di Dio, che sono paratissimi a qualsivoglia segnalata opera. Il più delle volte mi offeriscono se stessi et tutta la robba loro, et è il loro zelo, e fervore degno di maraviglia massimamente in queste tre cose Prima nell' udir la Messa alla quale assistono con tali singhiozzi e con tanta copia di lacrime che muovono a pianger contra mia voglia, anchor me così arido, como sono L'altra cosa è l' osservanza e riverenza che portano all Sommo Pontefice la cui autorità tutto che sia come dovrebbe apresso di loro, in grandissimo contonon è però maggior che l'amore, onde che subito nelle litanie odonoquelle parole, Oremuspro Pontifice Nostro Gregorio, è cosa maravigliosa con quanto affetto stendono al cielo le mani et le voci tutti unitamente . La terza è quella mirabil fortezza d'animo apparacchiata a sofrir qualsivoglia travaglio per conto della Religione. Del che è occorso a me in questi giorni un famoso essempiodi un personaggiodotto, nobile, et prudente, et anc'hor appresso i suoi ricco, et potente Cavalier, il qual havendo inteso, che venti giorni doppo essersi per mezzo mio riconciliato con la Santa Chiesa, gli erano mandate lettere dal Consiglio Regio, con ordine che ovvero ritornasse allo scisma, ovvero fosse posto prigione, subito dispose le cose sue, et chiamandome mi assegno una certa parte de suoi beni, per distribuire a poveri, et con animo et volto allegrissimo mi affermo esser prontissimo ad intrar in qualsivoglia Prigione, il cui essempio so da molti sarà seguitato imperochè hora si è mossa gravissima persecutione contra i Catolici, et in ogni Provinciadiputate nuove prigioni,(8) che già le vecchie (8) Cf. Dasent,xii, 124: The Council to the Earl of Arundel, 5 July, and to Sandys , Archbishop ofYork, 9 August, 1580 (Ibid., pp. 82, 144); Sandys to John Wicliffe,22 August, 1580 (Dom Eliz ,cxli, n 34) Mendoza reports the samefact in hisletter of 7 August Cf. also R. Simpson, Campion , p 165

son piene di persone ricusanti, che cosi chiamano i Catolici che non vogliono andare alle chiese et Prediche loro. Ma cosi questa come l'altre cose le quali disegno contra di noi risulterannoin nostra utilità finalmente , perciò che dovendo esser richiusi prigioni tutti i piu nobili, et ricchi gentilhuomini, che esercitavano l'ospitalità negl'occhi di lor proprii padri, fratelli, parenti, etamici Che motivi sieno per nascere è facil cosa imaginarlo Ma di questo non più che già sono richiamatodallo scrivere per la fretta di miei compagni. Solo prego Vostra Reverenza mi procuri da Sua Santità, et dal nostro padre soccorso di homini della Compagnia, dotti, et che non siano meno di quatro o tre di quali uno sia Spagnolo, l'altro Italiano, se è possibile ma siano idonei di lettere, acciò fermandosi in Londres, dove seranno sicurissimi dichiarinoi casi di conscientia, et i dubi che occorreno. Vorrei si mandassero separatamente da Sacerdoti del Collegio Anglicano, acciò vengano più secratamente, et che manco si sappia la loro venuta Sappi Vostra Reverenza che moltoimporta questo nuovo sussidio, prima che noi siamo chiusi. Saluto tutti. Di viaggio li 5 diAgosto 1580 .

Translation.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI , RECTOR OF THE ENGLISH COLLEGE .

Very Reverend Father ,

5 Aug., 1580

I wrote a letter to Rev. Fr. Everard(1) about eighteen days ago , in haste , when I was leaving London and I am anxious that it should reach him But at that time, as is also the case at present, there was great difficultyin sending letters on account of the very close watch which is kept at the ports, and therefore I have decided to writethis second one to your Rev., while I am on my journey; and since many stratagems have to be employed in order to send it, I suspect that it will reach your hand at a later date than the former one . I should likeand I have so instructed our Nicolas (2) who is entrusted withits despatchtwo copies of it to be made and those to be sent by two different routes Affairs here are now in the condition which I am going to relate. Fr. Edmund(3) and I have left Londonfor the country, with the intention of returning therein two or threemonthstime; and we have done so partlybecausewe thinkthatwecan employourlabours during this autumn more usefully in the country than in town , owing to nearly all the upper classes residing in the country at this season; partly also because to-day in London the persecution is more severe than it has ever been up to now and we have resolved to escapeitfor the time being Before leaving we were abundantly provided (by the goodnessof God) with what was necessary; for each of us, withouthis asking, received an offer of clothes, money and two riding horses with their grooms (4) Besides this, a number of well-to-do young men of the upper class(5) has volunteered to accompany us wherever we may wish to go, their intention being to share with us in this way all our dangers And before Fr. Edmund came I had made it my business to acquirea number of friends and to arrange with inns, with a view to staying in the country for a few days Before we left in company, we

were together in London, and there we exhorted the other Catholics and took counsel together. Afterwards we separated and we have not met again nor have we had any news at all of one another. I have no doubt, however, that things will go prosperously with him as they are doing so far with me For the pious men, whom we come across in large numbers here, are most anxious to converse with us and listen to our instructions with great eagerness , for all that it is forbidden to them under the severest penalties by public decrees which have been lately promulgated , though without mentioningnames (6) And, toput it in a nutshell, there is a very large field here for useful labour ifwe had a sufficiency of capable men of our Society So that above everything elsewebeg your Reverence to send us as soon as possible a goodly number of competent persons The mission entrusted to me is ofthe greatest importanceboth for the reputation of the Societyand for the restoration of this kingdom as also for the cause in general of the CatholicChurch. Already theyhave begun to persecute us veryseverely, sothat wenever have a single day free from danger (7) But these are just the very things which weforesaw quite plainly when we were with you, and so , whatever is going to happen to us, it will not, we hope, take us by surprise It is, however, the firm opinion both ofusandof those who love us, that, whatever may happen to us, as soon it may happen, your Paternitiesmust never give up this undertaking; and as long as I live, and after my death as well, I shall not fail to entreat this always both of his Holiness the Pope and of your Paternity. I can see that the continuation of this mission is of the greatest importance for the restoration of the whole of the North and that it cannot be given up without exceeding hurt of many souls and of the whole Catholic religion For already it has been bruited abroad in Catholic sermons that the Jesuits have started this battle by order of his Holiness and that it is their duty to refuse to abandon it under whatsoever pretext of danger ; and so, the Societybeing constituted after the manner of a political body, it is considered that the power of our enemies to torture is more likelyto collapse than is the will of members ofthe Societyin suffering forthe honourofChrist and of HolyChurch As has been said before, we are encountering many dangersgreater than those which are likelyto be met withby those whowill come after us, seeingthat they will have the benefit of many habitations arranged by us, and also becausethe enemy have a special hatredfor us who are the first to come, as precursors, and they are planning every sort of evil for us But the dangers are not such as we cannot escape from during many years, or at any rate months; and I hope we shall avoid them, although indeed we are not certain of a single day.

Meanwhilewe stay here full of joy and we are so amply consoled by our Lord in every way that we seem to be in a most delectable paradise, and the reasons for our consolation are as follows: in thefirst place the danger that hangs over us is not other than for our infinite good, inasmuch as we are standing every day in danger of receiving what is the highest of all the divine gifts, which consists in suffering something for His holy Name And if our Lord in His goodness shall deign one day to lead us to do this, we hope that with His grace we may dedicate not only our hearts but also the defence which we have gotwritten out,in such sort thatit will do no harm eitherto the honour of his Holiness or to the reputation of the Society As long, then , as our Lord shall leave us to enjoy this freedom, the hope of a harvest is excellent , for we are so spoilt by the Catholics and kept so busy

that we have neither time nor strength sufficient. I am forced two or three times every day on this my tour to give discourses to men of rank, and they are touched by the spiritofGod andare mostreadyfor any distinguishedservice Moreoften than notthey put at my disposal their persons andall their chattels, and their zeal andfervour is worthy of astonishment principally in these three matters: first in hearing Mass, at which they assist with such sighs and such a flood of tears that they move even me, dry as I am , to weep against my will. The second thing is the devotion and reverence they have for the Supreme Pontiff, for, whilst his authority is held among them, as it ought to be , in the greatest esteem, this is not greaterthan their love; and so , as soon as they hear those words in the Litany, Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Gregorio, ' it is a wonderful thing to see with what feelingthey stretch their arms to heaven and answer all together The third thing is that wonderful fortitude of soul that makes them ready to undergo any labour in the cause of religion. And of this I have come across an outstandinginstance in these last days in the case ofa learned man, of good birth, discreet, rich in his station of life, and a gentleman of influence This man, having been informed, twenty days after he had been reconciled to Holy Church by my means, that letters had been sent from the Royal Councilwith orders that he should either return to schism or be put in prison, immediately put his affairsin orderand , summoningme , assigned to me a certain proportion of his goods to distribute to the poor With a countenance full of courage and joy he declared to me that he was most ready to enter any prison whatsoever; and his example, I know, will be followedby many; for now a very severe persecution has been set on foot against the Catholics and in every county new prisons (8) have been assigned; for the old ones are already full of Recusants, as they call the Catholics who will not go to their churches and sermons But this, as well as the otherthings they contrive against us, will result in advantageto us in the end; for they will have to shut up in prison all the men of higherrankand the wealthy gentlemenwho used to dispense hospitalitybefore the eyes of their own fathers, brothers, relations and friends What commotion is likely to spring from this can easily be imagined! But no moreofthis forI amnowcalled awayfrom my writing bythe impatience of my companions Only I beg your Rev. to get for me from his Holiness andfrom our Fr. General the help of men of the Society, men of learning, not fewer than three or four And let one of them be a Spaniard , another an Italian, if possible; but let them be of suitable education , so that they may stop in London, where they will be quite safe, and solve the cases of conscience and of doubt that are brought to them . I should like them to be sent separately from the priests of the English College, so that they may come more secretly and their arrival be hardly known Be assured, your Rev., that this freshassistance before we are shut up is a matter of great importance. I salute you all On my journey, 5th of August, 1580

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

London, 17 November , 1580 .

Arch S.J. Rom Anglia, 30.1.155 Contemporary copy Another con temporary copy, ibid , p 181. The document" Extractum ex literis patris Roberti Personii, 17 Septembris" (Arch Vat., A. A. Arm. i-xviii, 4006) is a very much abbreviated copyofthis letter, and contains slight verbal variations This abbreviated form was printed by Theiner in his AnnalesEcclesiastici, iii, 216 , and translations of it are given in Simpson (Campion, p. 172)

and in Foley (iii, 666) Grene, in his Collectanea P, f 299, copiedtheletter from the holograph of Persons, but with large omissions , marked, as was his custom, by dashes . The parts he copied agree verbatim with the text here printed. De Ribadeneira (Historia Ecclesiastica del Scisma del Regno de Inglaterra, Madrid 1595 , p 573), More (Historia Provinciae Anglicanae Societatis Jesu, pp 52, 78) and Bartoli (Inghilterra , pp. 121, 166) all quote this letter.(1)

Reverende Pater, Pax Christi,

(2)Perscribam ad te breviter statum rerum nostrarum ne forte priores meaeliteraequas diversis temporibus scripsiad Reverendum Patrem Generalem(3) nuper (ut audio) mortuum et ad Patrem Oliverium(4) aliquo casu vel intercipiantur, aut tardius ad vos perveniant . Tres Sacerdotesex ultima vestra missionehoc ipso die cum ipsorum nostraeque laetitia vidimus , accepimus, et amplexati sumus, eisquevestitum, libros , equos, caeterumque omnem apparatum sine mora tribuimus. Horum erant nomina : Tirellus,(5) Birchettus,(6) Grateleus,(7) summa per discrimina ad nos appulerunt ex ipsis inquisitorum manibus in quas inciderant, divino

(1) TheVatican manuscript, which willbe referred to as V., bears thedate 17 Septembris, 1580. Grene, after giving the concluding words of the letter with the date 17 Novembris, 1580 , adds the following note: " Ita desinit Personius sed nota quod in autographo vox ille 'Novembris' reposita est (an a Personioan ab alio ignoro) loco Septembris , quodapparetprius scriptum fuisse et deindedeletum Die 17 Novembris coronata fuit regina, ita Stous" Both Persons and Grene are in error here, for it was the accession of the queen that occurredon the 17th of November: the Coronationtookplace on January 15 of the next year Andit is to the accession that Persons intends to refer at the end of the letter The date therefore of the letter will be the 17th of November

(2)V. omits the first paragraph

(3) Everard Mercurian.

(4) Oliver Manare acted as Vicar-General until the election of the new General, Claudius Aquaviva, at the 4th General Congregation , on the 19th of February, 1581 .

(5) Anthony Tyrrell, who apostatised and recanted severaltimes After his last fall in 1588 he took a wife He lived for many years as a Protestant minister ; but in his old age he was induced by his Catholic brother to retire to the Continent where he was reconciled to the Church His own account of his first fall was edited by J. Morris, S.J. , in his Troubles , Second Series , London, 1875, pp 287-501 Morris at the time knew of only two copies of the work, but the British Museum has since acquired a third (Additional MSS. 35330) Thereis a Life ofTyrrellin the D.N.B.which, however, should be supplementedby the account of J. H. Pollen, S.J. , in his Mary, Queen of Scots , and the Babington Plot, Scot Hist Soc , 1922

(6) George Birkhead, who in 1608, on the acceptance of the Oath of Allegiance by Blackwell, was appointed Archpriest There is a short notice of him in the D.N.B.

(7) Edward Grately, who worked for some timeas a missionerin England. He subsequentlyjoined the Morgan-Paget faction against Allen and Persons and, probably unawarethat Gilbert Gifford was an agent-provocateur ofthe English Government, became his associate While Gifford composed a book or pamphlet against Allen, he with the aid of Morgan wrote one against the Jesuits and the Spaniards Both works were taken over to Walsingham by Gifford with a view to their publication Later, Grately entered into correspondence with the Secretaryand was also in the pay ofthe English ambas-

prope miraculoliberati, expectamus plures quotidie, sed quantum fieri potest maturos, licet tardius ad nos veniant. Persecutionis aestus, quae modo per universum hoc regnum in catholicos fit, vehementissimus est, et qualis a conversione Angliae non est auditus, trahuntur ubique in carceres nobiles, ignobiles, viri, feminae, ipsi et pueri, vinciuntur catenis ferreis, spoliantur bonis, privantur lumine, et publicis tam edictis quam sermonibus, concionibusque infamantur apud vulgus proditorum et rebelliumnominibus.

(8)Causae hujus persecutionis certo non sciuntur, pretenduntur tamen non paucae: ut sunt malus Anglorumsuccessus in Hybernia contrasummi pontificis (ut dicunt) exercitum , ad quem profligandum nostri hic superintendentes,(9) et reliquus clerus, subsidium nuper tam hominumquam pecuniae, subministraruntet inde jam incipit ecclesiasticum dici bellum, soletque vulgo jactari experientia fore brevi manifestam [utrum] evangeliuman papismus Armis sit potentior. Hucaccedit Hispanicae classis per superiorem aestatem intentatio, praeterea metus ex Scotia, cujus Rex jam adolescens dubitatur ne proclivior sit ad fidem Catholicam cum tantam apud illum potentiam, quantam nemo alius habeat, vir quidam princeps Gallus Mons Dabeus(10) Catholicus, ex altera parte suspecta Gallorum fides ex rejecto matrimonio(11) auctaque Hispaniae potentiaex adjecta lusitania(12) non nihil eos sollicitos reddit;ultrahaec omnia, est adventus Jesuitarumin hanc insulam , et magna hominum ex eorum adventuad ecclesiae unitatem conversio quae tantam admirationem tantumquestuporem Hereticis injecit, ut quid dicant faciantve videantur plane non habere ,

sadorin Paris. Some months after the arrest ofGifford in Paris in December , 1587 , and in consequence of Gifford's confessions, Grately, at the instance of Allen , was himself arrested at Padua. He appears to havepassed therest ofhis days in prison

Besides the various references in the State Papers and in the Hatfield Calendar , there is a document, Notata contra Gratleum , dated 20 March, 1588 (Simancas , Sec de Estado Leg 950, f 113), whichwith the Notata contra Giffordium was sent in a letter of the Spanish ambassadorin Rome to Philip II, 13 June, 1588 .

(8) V. reduces this paragraph to a quarter of its size , giving the bare essentials

(9) This was the name the Catholics of that day sometimes used forthe Protestant Bishops

(10) Esmé Stuart, Lord D'Aubigny He arrived in Scotland in September, 1579, at the invitation of his cousin, the young Prince James , and soon became a great favourite of his Cf. infra

(11) The projected marriage between Francis, Duke of Anjou, brother of Henry III of France, and Queen Elizabeth, had been rejected by the latter in February, 1580, but she still desired a league with France The French , however , rejectedthe termsof the allianceand still urged the marriage. Negotiations for the latter were finally broken off by the departure of Anjou in February, 1582, after his second visit to England Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J. , English Catholics , pp 314-325, and Conyers Read, Mr. Secretary Walsingham, Oxford, 1925, ii, 117, ff

(12) After the death ofKing Henryof Portugal in January, 1580,PhilipII asserted his claim to the throne by force of arms His troops crossed the frontier at the end of June and by the end of August had taken possession of the country.

maxime ex una re consternati , quam casu tamen non consilio, certum est Jesuitas fecisse, res autem hoc modo se habent . In primo Jesuitarumad Insulamingressu cum intelligerenteam esse adversariorum astutiam, ut si quos doctiores, aut majoris apud populum opinionis hominesapprehendissent, eos tenebrosiscarceribus perpetuo includerent disseminatis interim falsis de eorum vel recantatione, vel obstinata cecitate rumoribus nunquam permitterent, ut causam suam publice dicerent, ipsi, ut huic incommodo salutariquadam providentiamederentur, responsiones suas scriptis praeparant, easque apud amicum quemdam fidelem deponunt, eo animo atque proposito, ut si aliquo tempore capti fuissent, illas repeterent, suisquenominibus subsignatas consilio afferentRegio(13)

Interim accidit ut ille cujus custodiae res commissaest, nescioquo casu exemplar horum scriptorum alteri communicaverit et ille alteri, sic ut paucis diebus res in manus infinitorum hominum et ipsorum etiam consiliariorum Reginae pervenerit et quoniam in eo scripto facta mentio est de fraude hereticorum , qua imponunt plebi de vera causa adventus Jesuitarum non ut seditiones concitarent, sicut falso ab adversariis dicebatur, sed ut pacate homines ab erroribus ad veritatem et a malis moribus ad virtutem traducerent, seque paratos esse ad hoc prolandum vel juramento vel ostentatione ipsius mandati superiorum suorum quo prohibitum illis est, ne rebus status se immisceant, quoniam etiam expositum est eam esse mentem Suae Sanctitatisut nunquam deficiant ab eo sancto zelo quo coepit omnibus modis Anglicanam heresim debellare: illud etiam esse propositum superiorum Societatis Jesu, ut perpetuo persequantur hoc opus in nomine Dei coeptum nec ullis periculis humanis terreri posse, ut ab incepto desistant, dum haberent viros, quos mitterent, sed prius defecturam adversariis ad interficiendos homines potentiam quam illis ad subministrandos novos charitatem Denique quoniam de se ipsis significabant paratissimos essead omnem eventumnecquicquam magis cuperequam pro Dei gloria vitam effundere, prius tamen veritatis manifestandae causa petere certamen publicum disputationis cum hereticis quibuscumque derebus controversis in Religione quoniam inquam haec et similia eo scripto continebantur , quorumlectione Catholicorum animi crescere hereticorum consternari videbantur valde exarserunt adversarii adeo ut multa edicta contra nos facta sint et publicus Regni thesaurarius Cecilius nomine, cum his diebus juramentum novo Consuli londinensi Reginae nomine exhiberet , publice questus est gravissime de papa, et Jesuitis quos dixitconspirasse in provinciamAnglorum. Nobiles, qui carceribus inclusi sunt his superioribus mensibus Catholicae Religionis causa multi sunt et cum illustres , tum divites, et suisquein locis perpotentes Praecipui tamen sunt(14) Pageot-

(18)Campion's Challenge and Persons's Confessio Fidei.

(14) The persons namedcan be better identified froma similar but longer list in Persons's Life of Campion, Coll P, p 139. Cf. also his Autobiography , C.R.S. ii, 27; DomesticallDifficulties, ibid., p. 178, and De Vita Campiani, Coll P, p 151 . D

tus, (15) Arundelius , (16) Colpepernus, (17) Talbottus,(18) Shelleius,(19) Sodvuorchus,(20) Throcmortonus ,(21) Giffordus,(22) Gageus ,(23) Uzeus,(24) et alii plurimi minorisnominis ita ut non solum veteres carceres Angliae verum etiammulti novi quos adhuc fecerunt jam Catholicis recipiendis non sufficiant , et tamen indies inquisitores mittuntur ad alios querendos, et capiendos et eorum numerus per Dei gratiam sic excrescit quotidie, ut ipsi prope defatigentur. Intelligimus enim jam ante unum mensemoblata esse nomina plus quam quinquaginta millium,(25) qui recusabant adire ecclesias

(15) Thomas , third Lord Paget, brother of Charles Paget, who figures prominently in the historyof the Catholic exiles The Council in a letter of the 7th of August, 1580, summonedLord Paget to appearbeforethem; and in one of the 15th of August ordered the Dean of Windsor to guard and conferwith him andendeavourto " reducehim from his errors " (Dasent, xii, 134, 157). In a letter to the Council of the 17th of November, 1580, Paget states that he has been restrained of his liberty for fourteen weeks (Dom Cal., 1547-1580 , p 688. Cf. also C.R.S. xiii, 89, and xxii, 88)

(16) Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, commonly known as " the great Arundell , " was the uncle of Bd Thomas Bosgrave and patron of Bd John Cornelius, S.J. Foley (iii, 437), relying on Dodd, is in error in stating that he was an occasional conformist He was, in fact, a noted recusant and frequently suffered restraint on that account (cf. C.R.S. xiii, 90, 142, and xxii, 76, 120, 123) Hedied late in 1590 (cf. Notes and Queries, 11th series ,iv , 32).

(17) Sir Alexander Culpepperor Colpepper. Cf. C.R.S.xiii, 99, and xxii, 10, 120. In the list given in Persons's Life of Campion mention is alsomade of a Richard Culpepper.

(18) John Talbot of Grafton Cf. John Talbot to the Earl of Leicester , 17 August 1580 (Dom Cal , 1547-1580 , p 671) In August he enteredappearances and two days later was committed to the chargeof the Dean of Westminster (Dasent, xii, 166, 169) Cf. also C.R.S. xiii, 121; xviii, 364; xxii, 65 , and the prison lists in C.R.S. ii, 220

(19)William Shelley of Michael Grove, appeared before the Council on the 11th of August and was committed to the Fleet in close custody(Dasent , xii, 150 , 152). Cf. also Prison Lists in C.R.S. ii, 222; C.R.S. xiii, 98 , and xxii, 77 , 81.

(20) Sir John Southworth, a noted recusant Cf. C.R.S. xiii, 91; xxii, 69 , 71 , 120, and xviii, 157. There was an order from the Privy Council , the 22nd of June, 1581, for his release from prison, if he would comply withthe conditions (Dasent, xiii, 98)

(21) Two Throckmortons are mentionedin the list given in Persons's Life of CampionFrancis, who was executed on the 10th of July, 1584 , and Thomas, his brother. A Thomas Throckmorton entered appearances before the Council on the 21st of August, 1580 (Dasent, xii, 165).

(22)A John Gifford of Brudeentered appearances the 29thof August, 1580 (Dasent, xii, 178, 179) TheCouncilon the 8thofNovember , 1580, licensed the removal ofa John Gifford from the Marshalsea to some place neartoorwithin London (Dasent, xii, 264)

(23) John Gage of Firle, a noted recusant, appeared before the Council on the 29th of August, 1580, and was committed to close custody in the Marshalsea He was released on bail on the 20th of June, 1581 (Dasent , xii, 150, 152; xiii, 93. Cf. C.R.S. xiii, 98, 118)

(24) Possibly a copyist's error for Vaux .

(25) Cf. Mendoza to Philip II, 23 October, 1580: " Within the last month and a half more than 500 Catholic English gentlemenhave been imprisoned forfear thattheymight risein consequence ofthe news from Ireland . " Hume , in the Spanish Calendar (p 62), mistranslates Cf. Documentos Ineditos, xci, 518. Cf. also Mendoza to PhilipII, 21 August, 1580, Spanish Calendar , p 50

Hereticorum , postea inventa sunt, opinor plura Ex his conjici potest quanta multitudo sit secreto Catholicorum cum tot reperiantur, qui publice in vitae bonorumque omniumdiscrimen se offerant, potius quam velint ipsa tecta hereticorum conventiculorum subire . id quod heretici exigunt a Catholicis, cum eos in carceres conjiciunt est ut dignentur solum venire ad eclesias seu conventicula sua , et ut intersint concionibus et officiis ut appellant divinis, quodunumsi catholici concederant adversariis se eo forecontentos dicunt etlibertatem conscientiae inceteris promittunt , verumfreti et dissimulantersicut experientia nos edocuit, nam cum in principio Regni istius Reginae nondum satis perspecto hujus schismatis periculo per decem annos continuos omnes fere catholici ecclesias illorum sine discrimine frequentarent tunc ea dissimulatione non contentiadversarii juramentapromissionis fidei communionemque exigebant, qua re animadversa, catholiciprudenteret pie se penitus ab illis separarunt, quem pium illorum zelum tam fuisse Deo gratum conspicimus quam ostendit infinitarum animarum luchrum post illud tempus consequutum.

Mirabile itaqueest videre modo in hoc Regnoseveritatem constantiamque Catholicorum in fugiendis detestandisque ecclesiis hereticorum quodque fere quotidie sponte se carceribus offerunt , potiusquam vel limina hereticorum salutent propositum fuit nuper quibusdam nobilibus, ut si vel semel in anno ecclesias hereticorum adirent , et protestatione prius facta se non religionis aut approbandae illius doctrinaw causa venire, sed solum ut exhibeant externam Reginae obedientiam, eo solofacto fore ut statim e carceribus liberarentur. Responderunt illi, se tuta conscientia hoc facere non posse. Cuidam matronae nobili hanc optionem dederunt ut vel maneret in carcere , vel transiret tantum per mediam ecclesiam nullam ibi moramfaciens nec ullum signum reverentiaeexhibens, dum heretici ibidem sacra facerent : at illa Respondit se integra conscientia ingressam esse carcerem, eademque integritate egressuramesse alioquin velle ibidem perpetuo manere puerqui- dam decem opinor annorum fraude quadam suorum conductus, ut sponsamquandam ipso nuptiarum die (sicuti mosest) praecederet in ecclesiamet reprehensuspostea a suis equalibus quod eo facto in schismaincidisset flere coepit inconsolabiliter nec ullam admittere consolationem voluit, usque dum me post paucos dies invenisset, ad quem accurrens et ad pedes procumbens meos petiitin maxima lachrimarumcopia, ut confessionem peccati sui facereposset, promittens potius omni se genere tormentorum cruciandum quam iterum ad tantum peccatum consensurum, alia similia infinita praetereo.

(26)Nostra hic conditiohujusmodi est. licet edictis publicispro- hibeatur omnibus nostra conversatio, tamen avidissime ubique expetimur, et summa cum laetitia, quacunque imus, recipimur, multi longa itinera, ut solum nos colloquantur , suscipiunt, seque

(26)V. compresses this next paragraph to less than a third of its length

et sua omnia in manibus nostris deponunt, vestes , equos, omnemquereliquumapparatum abundanter ubique obtrudunt, sacerdotes seculares in omnibus summa cum benevolentia nobis consentiunt vel potius obediunt , denique tanta est Societatis nostrae apud omnesopinio, utvereamur quemadmodum possimuseandemtueri, maxime cum absimus longissime ab ea perfectione quam illi in nobis suspicantur quo magis indigemus vestris precibus: tempus hucusque hoc modo expendimus totam superiorem estatem Ruri utilissime concionando consumsimusdeducti in singulis Provinciis per juvenes quosdam nobiles quorummagnus hic numerus est qui famulatui nostro (ut ipsi loquuntur) se offerunt quique expensas tam suas quam nostras liberalissime faciunt, finita estate recepimus nos londinum, et locis certis convenientes quam primum ea quae Societatis sunt peregeramusiterum nos divisimuset esterno die Pater Edmundus cum Rodulfoegressus in Provincias sibi assignatas. Ego hic relictus cum pluribus negociis onustus quae non facilesinenovo subsidio ferre possum, ideo obtestor tuam Reverentiam ut urgeat omnibus modis novam nostrorum missionem, et si fieri potest non paucioresquam quinque mittantur, unus Hispanus, alter Italus, et tres Angli, quos ego cuperem fore etiam duo, ut doctissimi sint. pernecessariumest ad tuendam conceptam opinionem de Societate nostra in his partibus. Maxime Hispanus, qui mittitur illustris esse debet, ut possit omnibus casibusconscientiae , qui gravissimi hic occurrunt satisfacere debebunt etiam amplas facultates a Sua Sanctitate petere quibus uti possimusadhonorem Dei, et ad fidei catholicae propagationem quae valde impeditur dubiis et implicatis casibus qui contingunt ex eo quod nullus hic facultates Apostolicas habeat nec possumus sine infinitis periculis Sedem apostolicam de omnibus consulere cum crimen sit laesae majestatis hinc Sedem apostolicam de quocunque consulere vel quodcunque instrumentum publicum super quacunque re ab illa Sede accipere.(27)

(28)Ingens est necessitas Episcopi alicujus, qui nobis oleum sacrum ad baptismum , et extremam unctionem conficiat ob cujus defectum redacti sumusin maximas angustias et nisi sua Sanctitas maturenobis in hac re succurrat, nescimus quid brevi sit faciendum utinam Reverendissimus Asaphensis ad nos usquam sicut optabat pervenisset Ego enim illi omnia necessaria , et loca tuta et secura procuraveram, sed illius conatus successum non habuerunt Speramus Suam Sanctitatem brevi nobis aliquem alium corpore vegetiorem subministraturum , certe interest ad communem causam , ut aliquem cito habeamus Salutantvos ex carcerePater

(27) The idea apparently was to have Italian and Spanish Fathers as consultors and confessors, acting as chaplains, and protected by the ambassador The suggestion is made again by Persons (cf. infra) Itis more than doubtful that they would have been left immune by the English Government (cf. E. R. Adair, The Exterritoriality of Ambassadors in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, London, 1929, c X).

(28)V. reduces this paragraphto a quarter of its size, omittingall details and names

Sherwinus,(29) Pater Lucas,(30) Pater Jhonsonus,(31) Pater Hartus, (32) Pasqualis,(33) Hortonus.(34) Pater Sherwinus ante quatriduum est captus casu quodam dum alium quererent in illumincidebant insignem fecit suae fidei apud pseudoepiscopumLondinensem confessionem oneratur adhuc vinculis tamen ut ad me scribit exultanter ea fert et cum intuetur se abstinere a risu non potest, misi ad eum hodie et pecunias, et vestes torquet valde adversarios quod nulla crudelitatis via possunt, vel unum hic catholicum a propositosuo dimovere immo ne puellulas quidem quandam enim virginem nobilem sexdecim annorum interrogatam a pseudoepiscopo Londinensi de summo pontifice quia constanter respondebat et publiceei illudebat, homo barbarus eam ad publicum scortorum habitaculumrelegabat, sed illainter eundum omnes alta voce admonebat se conscientiae et fidei catholicae causa non inhonestatis ad tam turpem locum ablegari. (35)Nobilisquidam Pirata Dracus nomine, natione Anglusnuper huc apulit cum magna preda plusquam duorum milliorum auri (sicut Orator hispanus nobis amicissimus mihi retulit) vietfraude

(29) Bd. Ralph Sherwin, priest of the English College, set out from Rome with Campion and Persons. He crossed to England on the 1st of August, 1580 ,and was arrestedin the firstdaysofNovemberofthe same year (Dasent, xii, 264) He was removedto the Tower on the 4th of December , 1580. Tried and condemned with Campion, he suffered martyrdom onthe 1stofDecember , 1581

(30) Bd Luke Kirby, priest of the English College, was the companion of Campion and Persons on their journey from Rome He was arrestedon landing in England andimprisoned in the Gatehouse , whence he was removed to the Tower , 4 December , 1580. He was tried and condemned with Campion and suffered martyrdom 30 May, 1582 .

(31) Bd Robert Johnson, a Douay priest, crossed to England 2 May, 1580 He was soon arrestedand imprisoned in the PoultryCounter on the 12th of July, 1580. He was transferred to the Tower on the 4th of December of that year Tried and condemned with Campion and his companions, he was martyred the 28th of May, 1582

(32) John Hart, a Douay priest, crossed to England about the middle of June, 1580, was arrested and imprisoned in the Marshalsea , whence he was transferred to the Tower the 29thof December of that year Tried and sentenced with Campion, he faltered for a brief space, was reprieved but still confined to prison Later he remainedconstant under torture He was exiled in 1585. Whilst still a prisoner in the Tower he was receivedinto the Society.

(33) John Paschal , a student of the English College, left Rome with Campion and his companions He crossed to England, was arrested and imprisonedin the PoultryCounter On the 24th of December , 1580 , an order was sent to have him examined under torture He was transferred to the Tower on the 29th of December , 1580, and on January the 15th, 1581, as heconsented to go to the Protestant Church, he was liberated It is recorded that later he repented of his weakness

(34) Henry Orton, a layman and a friend of Persons, returned from Rome with Allen early in 1580. Crossing to England he was arrested with Bd. Robert Johnsonand imprisoned in the PoultryCounter on the 12th of July, 1580. He was transferredto the Toweron the 4thof December , 1580. Though tried and condemned with Campion, the sentence was not carried out, but he remained in the Tower until 1585 when with several other prisoners he was banished

(35)V. reduces the rest of the letter very considerably

ab hispanisin Indiis ablati Orator Regissui nominepredamrepetit. sed Regina tergiversatur , et causas querit remretinendi Causatur enim Regem hispanis dedisse Portum navibus Pontificis proficiscentibus in Hiberniam Respondit OratorRegemnon posse negare hujusmodi officia summo Pontifici primo quia summus Pontifex est id est omnium principum Christianorum Pater, deinde quia princeps temporalis est sic conjunctus statibus Regis Catholiciut ea etiam causamulto majora officia Rex teneatur Suae Sanctitati praestare. At inquit illa, quid injurius nobis Pontifex est ? Quid habet causae cur, non lacessitus, sic infestet nostrum Regnum. Respondit ille se non esse oratorem pontificium, nec sibi commissum esse utillius negotia tractet, amôre tamen communis Catholicae causae se coactum hoc unum dicere videri sibi justissimas causas habere Suam Sanctitatem faciendi quod facere perhibetur seque non parum mirari quod plura non attentet contra Reginam a qua tam indigne tractatur ut non solum negentur ei omnia privilegia et jura ecclesiastica quae ab antiquissimis temporibus ab Angliae Regibus Sedi apostolicae tributa fuerunt verum etiam libellis, concionibus, picturis inhonestis, convitiis, plusquam scurrilibus, comediis, et infinitis aliis modis ejus authoritasinfametur in vulgus et in omniumhominumcontemptumadducatur. Quis inquit aequo animo ferre posset talia non solum ad Pontificis sed ad totius Ecclesiaeet Dei contumeliam facta, certe inquit, si ego illius loco puto me experturumfuisse omnes meas vires omnemque potentiam longe ante hunc diem advindictam sumendam de tantis injuriis, ad haec illa nihil Respondit sed apud se cogitabunda tacuit posteatamen cuidam nobili viro dixit, datas esse sibi literas a summo Pontifice iisque significatum essevelle Pontificem omnem cultum ecclesiasticum quo utuntur hodie in Anglia Protestantes approbare si ipsa illi in compensationem hujus rei titulum supremi capitis Ecclesiae restitueret sed de hujusmodi fictis literis saepe his in partibus fit sermo . Modus tutissimus ad nos mittendi e Belgio, est per quemdam a quo securissime omnia certis temporibus ad me transmittentur ille etiam habet certum locum Londini, ubi literae quas mittit me reperiant . Ego enim licet multa loca habeam Londini ubi morari possim, tamen nullibi ultra biduum consisto propterinquisitiones dilligentissimas quae ad me capiendum fuit a quibus tamen puto me per Dei gratiam satis securum ea cautela qua usus sum , et utar in locis mutandis a summo mane usque ad multam noctem Post persoluta divina officia factasque conciones quas binas nonnunquam eodem die coger facere conluctor cum negotiis fere infinitis praecipua tamen sunt in solvendis casibus conscientiae qui occurrunt, in dirigendis aliis sacerdotibus ad loca et munera convenientia , in reconciliandis ecclesiae schismaticis, in scribendis literis ad eos qui aliquando tentantur in hac persecutione, in pro- curandis subsidiis temporalibus ad sustendandoseos, qui egent in carcere: quotidie enim ad me mittunt, exponentes necessitates suas. breviter tot sunt hujusmodi onera, ut nisi evidenter cernerem pertinere ad honorem Dei, idqueplurimum quod agimus facile

jam potuissem defatigatum me dicere, sed nulla est admittenda in his rebus defatigatio quia certo mihi persuadeo : nisi peccata mea impediantDeum affuturumsemper, ut hactenusadfuit nostris conatibus et nulla corporis aut animi defatigatio tanti estquanti illa consolatio, quamcapimus ex incredibili prope laetitia istorum hominum ex nostro huc adventu Oret quaeso sua Reverentiaet procuret et preces suorum pro nobis, ut possimusaliqua ex parte satisfacere officio huic nostro et expectationi nimis magnae hominum de nobis, praeparet et nobis nova subsidia ex Collegio Suae Sanctitatis ad hanc pugnam animosorum et multorum militum, animosis opus est, ut subeant fortiter certamen quod ineundum hic est, laboris , infamiae, incarcerationis, penuriae, et contumeliosissimae mortis multos essenecesse est, tumquiavinea grandis et non potest a paucisnisilonge tempore cultivari tum etiamquia nonnulli ex iis qui mittentur necessario in hereticorum manus incident. quapropter omnes hic Catholici extensisad caelum manibus agunt gratias Deo et Suae Sanctitati quod tale collegium Romae praeter omnem illorum expectationem constituerit. Deinde suam sanctitatem seduis (36) precibus per viscera misericordiae salvatoris nostri obtestantur ut illum collegium tueatur, et pro necessitate hujus praesentis temporis augeat, ut ex eodem sperari possit amplum subsidium eruditorum sacerdotum ad gerendum spirituale bellum cum Dei et ecclesiae conjuratishostibus tuamautem Reverentiam obnixe rogo, ut non nisiparatos et in controversiis maxime instructosmittat majoris enim momenti hic est doctus unus quam illiterati centum

Expectatur hic brevi , ut duo Sacerdotes publice afficiantur morte, quorum nomina sunt Cottamus(37) et Cliftonius(38) quorum postremus cum antea biduum peronustus catenis ferreis incederet per plateas ad examen, tam hilari vultu gradiebaturut populus miraretur quo illeanimadverso, coepit alacritervalde ridere, quod magis admirans vulgus petiit, cur ille rideret solusin casu suotam misero, cujus coeteri omnes commiseratione afficiebantur. Respondit ille quia ipse plusquam coeteri erat ex ea re percepturus emolumenti , et miramini, inquit quod quisque in suolucrogaudet ! Principio hujus persecutionis nonnulli in quadam Angliaeprovin-

(36) A copyist's error, presumably for sedulis . (37) Bd Thomas Cottam, S.J., was arrested with John Hart when he landed at Dover about the middle of June, 1580. Hewas sentup to London in the custody of Dr. Ely, a Catholic professorof Law, who was travelling under thealias of Havard. On reachingLondon Dr. Ely allowed his prisoner to go free But a few days later, rather than permit the professorto suffer for this action, Cottam voluntarily surrenderedhimself and was committed to the Marshalsea on the 27th of June, 1580. On December the4th he was transferred to the Tower, where he was subjected to torture Tried and condemned with Campion, he sufferedmartyrdom the 30th of May, 1582 .

(38) Thomas Clifton, a Douay priest, left the seminary for England on the 7th of January, 1580, was captured the same year and early in 1581 condemned to perpetual imprisonment for maintaining the Pope's supremacy (Knox, Douay Diaries, p. 175; C.R.S. ii, 236, and iv, 153, 155, 230). His death in prison is recorded in a letter of Henry Garnet, 17 March , 1593 (C.R.S. v, 230)

cia timore perterriti cesserunt importunitati Commisariorum Reginae et promiserunt se venturos deinceps ad ecclesias protestantium. quo audito uxores eorum restiterunt minitantes decessum aconvictu eorum si ipsi propter humanos respectusab obedientia Dei et ecclesiae discederent Similia multa contigerunt infiliisqui ob eandem causam parentibus suis Vale dicerent Utinam tua Reverentia habeat aliquam occasionem offerendi nos et nostra omnia Suae Sanctitati et ut nostrorum omniumnomine osculetur sacros pedes Suae Sanctitatis cujus sanctae protectioni Catholici hic omneshumillime se commendant. sperantesalioquin nonnullam alleviationem suorum laborumSuae Sanctitatisauxilio se percepturos cujus rei ut sperant nunc tempus appropinquat Illustrissimis Cardinalibus Patronis nostri Morone Borromeo et Paleottotua Reverentia non ignorat quantum cupiamus commendari et Reverendo Patri Oliverio et Rectoribus Collegii Romani, Germanici , Penitentiariae Sancti Andreae et caeteris omnibus nostris. Vale Londini 17 Novembris quo die omnes campanae sonant in honorem Coronationis Reginae. Tuus Robertus.

Translation .

PERSONS TO THE RECTOR OF THE ENGLISH COLLEGE , ROME .

Reverend FatherPax Christi, London, 17 Nov., 1580

(2)Iamgoing to writeyoubrieflyanaccount ofthestateofouraffairs , for fear lest the previous letters which I wrote at various times to Rev. Father General, (3) who I hear has died, and to Fr. Oliver,(4) shouldeither chance to be interceptedor be somewhat late in reaching you The three priests of your last draft we have this very day seen , taken in and made welcome, to theirgreat joy and ours, and we have provided them without delay with clothing, books, horses and every other sort of equipment Their names were Tyrrell,(5) Birkhead,(6) and Grately.(7) They reached us after passing through extremedanger, having been delivered almost bya miracleof God from the very hands of the Pursuivantsinto whose power they had fallen We are hoping to receive more every day, but, so far as possible, men who have reached maturity, even though they should come to us less soon.

The violence of the persecution , which is now inflicted on the Catholics throughout the whole kingdom, is most intense and it is of a kind that has not been heard of since the conversion of England. Everywherethere are being dragged to prison, noblemen and thoseof humblebirth, men, women and even children; they are bound inchains of iron; robbed of their possessions , deprived of light, and in proclamations as well as in discourses and sermons they are made infamous in the eyes of the people under the name of traitors and rebels. (8) The causes of this persecution are not known with certainty , but not a few are suggested: as for instance the ill-success ofthe English in Ireland against the army of the Supreme Pontiff (as they call it); with the object of destroyingthis, our pseudo-bishops(9) here and the rest of the clergy have lately contributed subsidies both of men and money, and for that reason it is now beginningto be called a war of

the churches , and the boast is constantly made to the people that in a short time the event will make it clear whetherthe gospel or Popery is more powerful in force of arms ! In addition to this there wasthe attack bythe Spanish fleet during last summer, and besides thatthe fear of Scotland, whose king, now grown up, they suspect may be more inclined to the Catholic Faith, now that a Frenchman of high station, d'Aubigny,(10) who is a Catholic, has more influence with him than anyone else; then again, suspicion as to the good faith of the French after the rejection of the marriage proposals,(11) and the increase in the power of Spain in consequence of her acquisition of Portugal,(12) render them not a little nervous ; and besides all this there is the coming of the Jesuits to this island and, in consequence of that coming, a widespread conversion of men to the unity of the Church . This has instilled in the heretics such wonder and amazement that they seem simply to be incapable of speech or action . Especiallyare they alarmed by one thing, which however it iscertain that the Jesuits have done by accident , not of set purpose. This is the way it came about. When they first came into this island , the Jesuits heard that the cunning of their adversaries was such that, if they captured any men who were distinguishedfor learning or had a considerable reputation with the people, they were wont to keep them shut upin dark prisons and, spreading meanwhile false rumourseither of their recantation or of their obstinate refusal to see the light, never allowed them to tell their case in public And so by way of providing a cure for this inconvenience by a salutary piece of foresight, they prepared in advance written answers and deposited them with a loyal friend of theirs, with the intention and purpose that, if they shouldbe taken prisoners at any time, they would ask for them back and, with their signatures attached , take them to the Royal Council(13) In the meantimeit came to pass that the person, to whose charge thematter had been entrusted for some reason or other handed a copy of these documents to another man, and he to a second; so that in a few days time the thing reached the hands of a countless number of men , including the Queen's Councillors themselves. Now in the document therewas mentionmade ofthe fraud onthe part ofthe heretics whereby they impose on the populace as to the true reason of the coming of the Jesuits, this being not in order to arouse seditions, as the enemy were falsely saying, but to bring men over peaceably from theirerrors to the truth and from evil habits to virtue: moreover theywere ready to vouch for this either by oath or by producing the actual order of their superiors, forbidding them to intrude themselves into affairs of state; and also it was declared thereinthat the intention ofHis Holiness was that they should never fail in that holy zeal which had led him to combat the English heresy by every means; and that it had been laid down also by the superiors of the Society of Jesus that they were always to continue this work, begun in the name of God , and that they couldneverbe frightenedbyany dangers from men into abandoning the undertaking so long as they had men to send, but that the power to kill their men would fail their enemy sooner than would charity be wanting to themselves to supply new ones Finally, for their own part they made it clear that they were readyfor any event and desired nothing more than to shed their life's blood for the glory of God , but yet begged that, in order to make the truth manifest, they might first have a public contest and disputation with the heretics on any matters of religious controversy they liked; and because , I say,

these and similar things were contained in that document , by the readingofwhich the spirits of the Catholics seemedto be raised , whilst the heretics were dumbfounded , the enemy were inflamedwith angerso much so that many proclamationswere made against us , and the public treasurer , Cecil by name, when administering the oath lately in the Queen's name to the newMayor of London, publicly complained in very grave terms of the Pope and the Jesuits, who, he said, had conspired against the English state.

The gentlemen who during these last months have been confined in prison for the sake of the Catholic religion are numerous and are men of high position as well as being rich and possessed of very great influence in their own districts. The chief(14) of them are Paget,(15) Arundel, (16) Culpepper ,(17) Talbot,(18) Shelley,(19) Southworth,(20) Throckmorton,(21) Gifford,(22) Gage, (23) Vaux(24) (?), and manyothers of less distinguishednames Thus it comes about that not onlythe old prisons of England but even the many new ones which they have so far made do not suffice nowto harbour the Catholics And yet every day pursuivants are sent to seek out others and take them prisoners and the number of them grows by God's grace to such an extent each day that the very pursuivants are wearied out For we hear that a month ago the names of more than 50,000(25) had already been given in, whowere refusingto attend the churches of the heretics ; afterwards I think more were discovered From these it can be guessed what an immense numberof secret Catholics there are, when so many arefound openly to incur the risk of losing their lives and all their fortunes rather than consent even togo beneath the roofs of the heretics' meeting places. What the heretics require of the Catholics, when they throw them into prison, is that they should condescend merely to come to their churches or meeting places and be present at the sermons and divine service, as they call it; and if they were to yield to the enemy in this one point they say they would be content with that, and they promise libertyof conscience in other matters. But they areimposing on them and dissembling , as experience has taught us For at the beginningof the reign of this Queen, when the danger of this schism was not very well realized, for ten consecutive years practically all Catholics without distinction used to go to their churches, yet at that time the enemy were not satisfied with this kind of pretence but required oaths to pledge their faith and participation in communion. This was noted by the Catholics and prudently and piously they have severed themselves completely from them; and we see how pleasing toGodwas their holy zeal, this being shown in the harvestof innumerable souls that ensued after that period.

And so it is a wonderfulthingto see now in this kingdomthe strictness and constancyof the Catholics in avoiding and repudiating the churches of the heretics, and how almost every day they are giving themselves up to prison of their own accord rather than even pay a formal visit to the heretics An offer was made lately to some gentlemen that, if they would attend the churches of the heretics once a year only, making a declaration in advance that they came not for the sake of religion or of approving the doctrine there but merely to yield external obedience to the Queen, if that alone were done, they would be immediately released from prison Their answer was that theycould not do it conscientiously A certain matron of gentlebirth was given this choice: either she was to remain in prison, or she was merely to pass through the middle of the church, whilst the heretics

were holding service there, makingno stay and giving no sign ofreverence: butsheanswered shehad entered the prisonwitha clear conscience and with the same clear conscience she would leave it, otherwiseshe was willing to stay therefor ever. A certainboy, ten years old Ithink , was induced by some trick on the part of his friends to walk in procession to the church in front of a bride on the day of her marriage (as is the custom), and on being taken to task afterwardsby his fellows because by so doing he had fallen into schism, as they said, he began to weep inconsolablyand refused to accept any consolation until after a few days he chanced to meet me, whereupon he ran to me andfalling at my feet begged me with a flood of tears that he might make confession of his sins, promisingthat he would be rackedwith every kind of torment rather than again consent to so great a sin. There are innumerable other similar stories, which I refrain from telling (26) This is how things are with us here: although public decrees forbid all intercourse with us, yet everywhere we are sought out most eagerly, and wheresoever we go we are received with the utmost pleasure. Many people undertakelong journeysin ordermerelyto talk with us, and they place themselves and all their possessions at our disposal; clothes, horses and all other equipment they press on us in abundance everywhere ; the secular priests co-operate with us , orrather I should say they obey us in all things with the greatest goodwill: in fine the reputation of our Society with everybody is so great that we are in fear as to how we can preserve it, especially as we are very far from that perfectionwhich they suppose us to have; and so we need your prayers allthe more We have spent our time hitherto in this way: all last summer we spent very usefully preaching in the country, being escorted in each county by a number of young men of gentle birth, of whomthere are quite a lot here whovolunteerto be our servants (as they themselves term it) Very generously they pay our expenses as well as their own When summer was over we withdrew to London , assembling in places that had been agreed, and as soon as we had carried out the duties which the Societyimposes we separated again, and yesterday Fr. Edmund set out with Rudolph for the counties assigned to him I am left here, with the burden of much business , which I cannoteasilysupportwithout fresh help Therefore I implore your Reverence to press by every means for a new draft of men of our Society; and if possible let not fewer than five be sent , one a Spaniard , one an Italian, and three Englishmen , two of whom also I should like to be as learned men as possible; this is very necessary with a view to maintaining the good opinion that has been conceived of our Societyin this part ofthe world. Especiallyought the Spaniard who is sent to be a first-rate man, so that he may be able to dealwith all the cases of conscience that occur here and are very grave ones . They will do well also to askfor ample facultiesfrom His Holiness so that we can use them for the honour of God and the spread ofthe Catholic faith, which is greatly hindered by doubtful and complicated cases which occur owing to no one here having Apostolicfaculties; nor is it possible for us except with extremeperil to consult the Apostolic See about everything, since it is an offence of high treason to consult with the Apostolic See from here on any matter, or to receive any sort of public instrument on any matter from that See (27)

(28) There is crying need of a Bishop of some sort, to supply us with holyoil for Baptism and Extreme Unction For lack of this we are reduced to the greatest straits and unless His Holiness soon gives

us relief in this matter we do not know what in a short time we shall have to do Would that the Reverend Bishop of St. Asaph had succeeded in reaching us here, as he wished For I had procured everything necessary for him , and found places that were safe and secure . But his efforts did not meet with success We are hoping that His Holiness will very soon supply us with someone else of more vigorous body. It is certainly in the interest of the common cause that we get someone soon Fr. Sherwin ,(29) Fr. Luke,(30) Fr. Johnson, (31) Fr. Hart, (32) Fr. Paschal, (33) Fr. Orton, (34) send you their greetings from prison Fr. Sherwinwas takenfour daysago by accident ; while looking for someone else they chanced upon him He made a splendid confession of his faith before the pseudo-Bishop of London He is loaded with chains so far; yet, as he writes to me, he wears them with delight, and when he looks at them he cannot refrain from laughter: I sent him to-day both money and clothes It irritates the enemy extremely that they are not able by any cruelty to move even one Catholic here from his resolutionnay, not even younggirls For therewas a maiden of gentle birth, sixteen years of age, who was questioned about the Supreme Pontiff by the pseudo-Bishop of London, and, because she was loyal in her answers and openly made mock of him, the barbarous man consigned her to the dwelling of the common prostitutes But on the way there she kept informing everyone at the top of her voice that it was for the sake of her conscience and the Catholic faith that she was being committed to such a disgracefulplace, and not for any misconduct on her part.

(35) A certain gentleman pirate, Drake by name, of Englishnationality, has arrived here lately with a booty of more than two millions of gold (according to what the Spanish Ambassador , who is most friendly to us , reported to me) ; this he had seized from the Spanish in the Indies by violence and guile The King's Ambassadordemanded in his name the return of the booty, but the Queen is reluctant and seeks excuses for holding matters up The pretext is made that theKing gave harbour to the Spanish ships of the Pope whenthey were setting out for Ireland The Ambassador replied that the King could not refuse services of this sort to the Supreme Pontiff, firstly because he istheSupreme Pontiffthatis to say thefatherofall Christianprincessecondly because he is a temporal prince, situated so close to the states belonging to the Catholic King that on this account as well the King is constrained to providemuch greater service to His Holiness "But, " quoth she, "whyis the Pope unjust to us ? What reason has he , when he is not molested, for harassing our kingdomin this way " He replied that he wasnot the Pope's spokesman nor had he been commissioned todealwith his affairs ; still he was impelledbyhis love for the common cause of Catholicity to make this one remark: that it seemed to him that His Holiness was perfectly justified in doing what he is reported to be doing, and that he was not a little surprised that he does not make more extensive attacks upon a Queen by whom he is treated with such indignity that not only are all the ecclesiastical privileges and rights, which from the most ancient times have been yielded by the Kings of England to the Holy See , denied to him, but also by means of pamphlets , sermons, unseemly pictures, by more than scurrilous outcries against him, in comedies, and in countless other ways, his authority is publicly made of no account , and is brought into derision before all men. Who," quoth he, " could bear with equanimity things of this sort , done in contempt not alone of the Pope but "

of the wholeChurchandof God Certainly, " quoth he, " if I had been in his placeIthink I should have endeavoured withall my strengthand with all my power long before to-day to take vengeance for these great injuries. " To this she made no reply, but became very thoughtful and was silent Later, however, she told a certain gentlemanthat letters had been given to her from the Supreme Pontiff, and thatin them it had been indicated to her that the Pope was willing to approve all the forms of worship in the church which the Protestantsare using to-day in England if she , in return for this, would restore to him the title of Supreme Head of the Church In these parts, however , there is often talk of pretended letters of this sort

The safest way of sending to me from Belgium is through a certain person by whom at fixed times everything is transmitted to mequite securely He has also an appointedplace in London where the letters whichhe sendscan reach me. For thoughI have manyplaces in London where I can stay, yet in none of them do I remain beyond two days, owing to the extremely careful searches that have been made to capture me I think, however, that by the Grace of God I am sufficiently safe from them owingto the precautionI take, and am going to take, of being in different places from early morning till late at night. After divine service has been performed and sermons preached -I am compelled to preach twice on the same day sometimes -I struggle with almost unending business This consists mainly in solving cases of conscience which occur, in directing other priests to suitable places and occupations , in reconcilingschismatics to the Church , in writing letters to those who are tempted at times in the course of this persecution , in trying to arrange temporal aid for the support of those who are in prison and in want For every day they send to me, laying baretheir needs . In short the burdens of this kind are so many that, unless I perceived clearly that the honour of God requiredwhat we are doing, and that very badly, I should not hesitate to say that I am weary. But weariness must never be acknowledged in these affairs ForI am firmly convinced that, unless my sins prevent it, God will always be withus as He has beenwithus up to nowin our efforts ; andnoweariness of body or mind is of any account in comparison with that consolation we receive from thejoy,which is almostunbelievable , of the people here at our coming. Pray for us, I beg Your Reverence, and get us the prayers of your subjects also, that we may be able in some degree to fulfil our duty here andthe over-great expectations which men have of us Get ready for us also fresh reserves from the College of His Holiness of numerous soldiers, courageous for the battle; there is need for them to be courageous to undertake the contest that must be waged here , bringing labours, ill report, prison, poverty and ignominiousdeath: they must be numerous, not only becausethe vineyard is large and cannot be cultivated by a few missioners, exceptin a long periodof time, but also because some of those who are sent necessarily fall into the hands of the heretics This is why all the Catholics here raise their arms to heaven andgive thanks to God and to His Holiness for having founded a College of this sort at Rome, beyond anything they had hoped for Finally they beseech His Holiness with earnest prayer, through the bowels of the mercyof Our Saviour, to watchover that College and make it grow to the measure of our present needs , so that from itwe may be able to look for ample helpof well-educated priests to carryon the spiritual battle with the swornenemies of God and the Church But to Your Reverence with all earnestness I make

this request, that you send us only men who are well prepared and especially men who are well trained in Controversy , for one learned man is worth more here than a hundred illiterate ones

It is expected here thatin a short time two priestsare to be publicly put to death: their names are Cottam(37) and Clifton (38) When the latter two days ago was walking through the streets to his examination, loaded down with chains of iron, he marched along with sucha joyful countenance that the people were amazed Noticing this he began to laugh very heartily . Still more astonished at this, the crowd asked him why he was the only one to laugh when his state was so miserable, whilst everyone else was moved to compassion He replied that it was because he, rather than other people, was going to derive profitfrom the affair; "andyou are surprised, " quoth he, "that every man rejoices at his own gain " At the beginningof this persecution there were some people in one of the English counties who were overwhelmed by fear and, yielding to the insistence ofthe Queen's Commissioners , promised that they would come henceforward to the Protestant churches. On hearing this their wives withstood them, threatening to give up living with them if out of human respect they withdrew from their obedience to God and the Church Many similar cases occurred of sons for the same reason saying good-bye to their parents. I would that Your Reverence may have some opportunity of bringing us and all our affairs to the notice of His Holiness, and that in the name of us all you would kiss his sacred feet To his holy protection all the Catholics here humbly commend themselves, hoping moreover to receive some relief of their troubles by the help of His Holiness; and now , as they hope, the time for this drawsnigh Your Reverence is not unaware how much we desire to be commended to our patrons, their Eminences the Cardinals Morone, Borromeo , and Paleotto , to Rev. Fr. Oliver also and to the Rectors of the Roman and German Colleges and of the Penitentiary of St. Andrew , and to all the rest of our brethren Farewell From London on the 17th of November , on which day all the bells are ringing in honourof the Queen's coronation

Yours, Robert .

Ex LITERIS P. ROBERTI(1) SOCIETATIS JESU DE STATU REGNI ANGLICANI.

s.d. [February or March, 1581.]

Arch Vat A. A. Arm 1 -XVIII, 4062, f 1. Contemporary copy.

Hocipso dietuas accepi plenissimas bonaespei sanctissimaeque consolationis, quas brevi meis ad te longissimis compensaturus

(1) The Fr. Robert is no doubt Persons From its contents the letter appears to have been writtenwhilst he was still in England, and whenParliament was sitting The year, therefore, will be 1581 , as the only session of Parliament held during Persons's stay in England wasfromJanuary the16th to March the 18th of that year The penal legislation with which theletter states the Catholics to be threatened points to the "Act for retaining the Queen's subjects in their due obedience " of 1581. The date may possibly be further determined by the uncertainty expressed as to whether suchpenal legislation would be passed and the following data given by D'Ewes as to the passage ofthe abovestatute The subjectwasintroduced in theCommons bya speech ofSirWalter Mildmay on January the 25th. A bill for" obedience to the Queen's Majesty against the See of Rome" was read the first timein the house on February the 8th; but as the Lords had also read a similar bill for the first time, it was decided that a committee of the Commons should

sum , si Deus vitam libertatemquedederit, iisque complectar rerum nostrarum praesentemconditionem, quod modo facerenon possum partim quia jam jam equum conscensurus sum ad necessarianegotia extra civitatem peragenda, tum etiam quia tam dubia parlamenti nostri expectatione, res omnes hic pendent, ut nemo quicquam certi de eventu divinare possit magna enim et inaudita tentantur contra Catholicos, scilicet ut in omnes proscriptio et poena capitis decernatur; urgent, ambiunt extrema quaeque experiunturPuritani, ut lexferatur, habent multos , magnos, potentes ferventesque fautores : Catholici contra in parlamento paucos, eosque satis timidosproptermetumphariseorum, sed tamen tanta est divina bonitas tamque clara virtus eorum qui carceribus detinentur, ut Regina ipsa, multique ex praecipuis Protestantibus rem hucusque impedierint Quid tandem concludetur , incertum est; nos optimasperamus, ad pessima autem quaequenosmetipsosparamus, infinita interim consolatio est, videre hic tot nobilium virorum, foeminarum , puerorum ad omne genus iniuriae et affiictionis pro Christi causa tolerandumconstantiam . Intrepidoplaneanimo incredibiliquelaetitia expectant quotidie mortis crudelissimaeque proscriptionis sententiam, et tamen perinde ac si nil tale agatur, rident lepideque jocantur, quoties me vident, aut literis compellant. De nulla (alia) re hic est nunc sermo quam de Jesuitis , maxime post editos nuper duoslibrosanglico idiomate, quosomnes fere putant abipsis compositos, alterumin defensionemCatholicorum, qui carceredetinentur, alterumin SocietatemJesuduobusjam libellis a Protestantibus calumniarum propugnationem,(2) quibus responsionibus incredibilis fere est quantus animorum motus excitatus est.

Translation.

FROM PERSONS'S LETTERS ABOUT THE STATE OF ENGLAND . 1581 .

This very day I have received your letter, which is overflowing with hopefulness and most blessed consolation ; and soon I shall repay have conference with the Upper House On March the 4th the final form of the penal statute was read in the Commonsfor the first and second times , and order was given that it should be engrossed It was sent to the Lords on March the 6th and read the first time on the following day The royal assent was given on March the 18th, before Parliament was prorogued Cf. D'Ewes, The Journals ofall the Parliamentsduring the reign of Queen Elizabeth (London, 1682), pp 285, 293, 302, and 272 .

(2) The first book referred to is Persons's Brief Discours contayningcertayne Reasons why Catholiques refuse to go to Church (1580), which , after a lengthy introductory epistle signed J. Howlet, begins : " The answer of a virtuous and learnedMan to a Gentlemanin England touching theimprisonment of Catholiquesther. " The description of the second book given in the letter corresponds with Persons's Brief Censure uppon two books written in answer to M.EdmondCampion's offer ofdisputationnamely thoseofWilliam Charke and Meredith Hanmer. These two replies to Campion were licensed respectivelyonDecember the 20th, 1580, andJanuary the3rd, 1581 (E.Arber , A Transcript of the Registers of the Company of Stationers in London, 15541640 (London and Birmingham, 1875-1894), ii, 176) Persons's replyto these two books appeared before January 12 , 1581 (Coll P , De Vita Edmundi Campiani, c 18) The first was secretly printed at the press Persons had contrived to set up at Green Street; the second either at Green Streetorat the house of Francis Browne

PERSONS , S.J.

you by a very long one in return, if God grants me life and liberty, and in it I will describe the present state of our affairs. This I cannot do just now, partly becauseat this very momentI am about to mount my horse in order to transact some necessary business outside the city, and also becauseeverything here depends on what is to be looked for from our Parliament; and this is so doubtful that no one can make any reliable guess at what will happen. For great and unheard of attacksare being essayedagainst theCatholicsyea, even to theextent of proscription and capital punishment being decreed against them. The Puritans are pressing andplotting for this and using everyresource to attain it, and they have many men of weight, who are influential and enthusiastic , to help them pass the bill. The Catholics, on the other hand, have few men in Parliament, and these are somewhat timid through fear of the Pharisees Yet such is the goodness of God , and so evident is the virtue of the men who are beingkept in prison, that the Queen herself and many ofthe principal Protestants have prevented the thing up to now What the result will be in the end is uncertain We are hopingfor the best, but preparingourselves for the worst that can happen. Meanwhile it is an infinite consolation to see here the constancy of so many men, women and children of noble birth in enduring every kind of injury and distress for Christ's sake. With dauntless spirit, that is plain to see , and with wonderfuljoy they await from day to day the cruel sentence of death and outlawry, andin spite of it, just as though nothing of the kind was in store, they laugh and make witty jests as often as they see me or address letters to me . Nothing is spoken of here now but the Jesuits, especially after the recent publication of two books in English, which nearly everybody thinks were written by them, one in defence ofthe imprisoned Catholics, the other controverting the calumnies against the Society of Jesus contained in two books written by Protestants(2); and it is almost unbelievable what a stir has been caused by these rejoinders.

PERSONS TO POPE GREGORY XIII 14 June, 1581.

Arch. Vat Litt. Princip. 32, f. 460 (olim 224). Holograph. It has been printed by Theiner in his Annales (iii, 367)(1), and is quoted by Sacchinus (Pars Quinta, v iii) A translation is given in Foley, iii, 676 . Beatissime Pater , Etsi de rebus nostris, SanctitatemVestram, ex aliis ad quos scripsi satis jam cognovissesperem: nactus tamen hunc opportunum nuncium cui aliquid literarum necessario dandum fuerat, volui de statu nostro quaedam brevissime adjungere hodie decessere Londinolegati Gallici, (2) re infecta, ut vulgoexistimatur, magnum enim jam silentium est de matrimonio expectamus jam quotidie novam procellam asperrimam persecutionis, quia ante biduum exiit mandatum a concilio regio, ad omnes partes regni, ut inquiratur in Catholicos, ut appellant, Recusantes secundum

(1) Theiner erroneouslygives the date as the 24th of June, perhapsunder the impressionthat he was giving the date accordingto the New Style; but the new GregorianCalendar was not adopted until 1582 .

(2) The Commissioners sent fromFranceto treat ofthe marriageof Elizabeth with Alençon (Anjou) arrived in London the 21st of April, 1581 , and left on the 14th of June (Mendoza to Philip II, 15 June, Spanish Calendar, pp. 110 , 131)

formam novi statuti(3) proximis comitiis superioribus facti, quo, singuli supra aetatem 16 annorum condemnantur ad solutionem 80 scutorum pro singulis mensibus, quibus recusaverint ad Ecclesias protestantiumvenire. et licet Catholicorum paucissimi sint qui solvendo sunt, ideoque perpetuos carceres pleriqueexpectent : tamen laetissimi sunt, minimeque de hac re solliciti, sperantessic cum illis agi ut cum Israelitis, ut majoris pressurae impositio, celerioris redemptionis expectatio sit In nos edicta minacissima,(4) libri, conciones, rithmi, convitia, fictiones, comoedia, divulgantur populus tamen avidissime nos recipit, fovet, protegit. numerus credentium mirifice augetur, et ex infestissimis hostibus fleximus multos convertimus nonnullos. certamen acre est, deus nobis humilitatem, patientiam et fortitudinem concedat quandocumque sacerdotemaliumveintercipiunt,quem nostrarumrerumconscium suspicentur, equuleo vel catasta torquent ut nos prodat, et unum nuperrime vehementissimetorserunt, nihiltamen elicerepotuerunt interim nos satis securi in eorum oculis habitamus, loquimur, concionamur, scribimus , caeteraqueprosequimur quaead resistendum pertinent, omnes cruciatus expectantes, cum capti fuerimus, interea tamen per dei bonitatem, tranquillo animo dormimus Suppetias novorum hominumvehementer expetimus, easque veloces, ne prius intercipiamur, quam illi nobis succurrere possint atque haecbreviter de rebus religionis. nunc restat ut aliquid Sanctitati Vestrae significem de latore harumliterarum, qui ut verum fatear , praecipua causa fuit hujus meae scriptionis juvenis est nobilis, Georgius Gilbertus (5) nomine, qui universae Angliae spectaculum factus est rarissimum . hic enim cum amplo esset patrimonio, magnaque apud aulam in gratia, se suaque omnia pro religionis Catholicae defensione devovit primo enim ingredientibusnobis in insulam , cum caeteri vel timerent vel dubitarent, ipse solus nos recepit, fovit, vestivit, et aluit,: pecuniis, equis, famulisnos juvit,: deinde per insulam nos suis sumptibus circumduxit,: ipse simul nobiscum peragravit; libros caeteraque necessaria dedit , proelum nobis comparavit , possessiones quasdem vendidit, ex eisquepecuniis bonam summam nobis ad omnes usus attribuit, quibuscausa Catholica promoveri possit nec hoc solum fecit, verum etiam incarceratos omnes pro fide Catholica, continuis eleemosynisreficiebat, quibus rebus tam odiosus brevi tempore hereticis factus est (praesertim quia partibuseorum aliquando adhaeserat) ut ubique locorum eum persequerentur, acerbissimamque mortem minaren-

(3) The Penal Statute, 23 Elizabeth , c 1.

(4) On the 10th ofJanuary, 1581, there was a furtherproclamation issued fortherevocationofstudentsbeyondthe seas and against"returning Jesuits" Cf. Steele and Crawford, Tudor and Stuart Proclamations (Oxford, 1910), p 81, n 755; Dyson, A Booke ContainingAll Such Proclamations as were pub- lished during the raigne of the late Queen Elizabeth (London, 1618), p. 211 ; Strype, Annals (1824), iii, 1 , c iv

(5) For a biography of George Gilbert cf. Foley iii, 658 ff Cf. alsoC.R.S. ii, 201; Allen to Agazzari 23 June (Knox, Allen, p. 97), Allen to Agazzari 30 August, recommendingthe bearer of the letter, George Gilbert; and the same to the same 20 December , 1581 (C.R.S, ix, 35, 39).

, S.J.

tur, si capi possit; quod licet ille parum curaret, tamen cum amplius illum laborare non posse cernerem, nec in Anglia morari sine manifesto vitae periculo , majorque nobis esset laborac sollicitudo in illo quam in nobis protegendis: persuasi illi tandem , ut relictis omnibus mare transfretaret, et meliori tempori se reservaret: Nunc igitur SanctitatemVestram humillime supplico, vel supplicamus potius sacerdotes omnes, quorum patronus benignissimus hicjuvenis exstit, ut eum respiciat et consoletur Vestra Sanctitas, pro ea consolatione qua ipseviscera nostra refecit, vel causampotius communem sustinuit; si quid enim unquam boni effecerimus, ejus magna pars huicjuveni tribuenda est Unde si istic par ei charitas reddatur; res erit apud omnes magnae aedificationis, et apud sui similes non exiguumcalcar, ut illius factain posterum imitentur Benignissimus Jesus diutissime nobis tuamSanctitatem conservet, ut hic intimis affectibus Catholici omnes die nocteque precantur, cui tantum se devinctos propter infinita et maxima beneficia existimant, utnunquam cessent de beatitudinetua loqui, denique pro longaeva tua in hac vita, incolumitate, aeternaquefuturi saeculi faelicitate exorare Datum Londini 14 Junii, 1581.

Vestrae Beatitudinis indignissimus filius Robertus personius

[Addressed (f. 465v)] Smo Dmno Ntro

[Endorsed and sealed, though the endorsement is almostimpossible to read.]

Translation

PERSONS TO GREGORY XIII

Holy Father ,

London, 14 June, 1581

Although Ihope your Holiness has beenalreadysufficientlyinformed about our affairs by others to whom I have written, yet as I had the timely opportunity of this courier, to whom it was necessary to give some sort of letter, I wished to add a few brief remarks about our conditions To-day the French representatives (2) left London: it is commonlythought that nothing was accomplished, for thereis a great silence about the marriage We are in daily expectationofa newand bitter storm of persecution : for two days ago an edict was issued by the royal council to every part of the realm , that inquisition be made for Recusant Catholics, as they call them, according to the letter of the new statute(3) made at the last session of the upper Chamber. Bythis all above the age of 16 years are condemned to pay 80 crowns a month if they refuse to attend a Protestant church And since there are very few Catholics who are able to pay, most of them look forward to perpetual imprisonment Yet they are most cheerfuland not in the least anxious about the matter; for they hope it will be with them as it was with the Israelitesthe greater the pressure put upon them , the sooner the hope of relief They are publishing most threatening proclamations (4) against us, as well as books, sermons , ballads, libels, fables, comedies: the people, however, are mosteager to receive us , comfort us, and protect us There is a marvellousincrease

in the number of believers ; and among those who were our bitterest enemies we have made an impression on many, and some we have converted . It is a bitter fight : God grant us humility, patience and strength Every priest or other person whomthey captureand suspect of having knowledge ofour affairs they torture on the rack or scaffold , to make him betray us One of them they tortured most cruelly the other day, but could get nothing out of him In the meantimeweare livingundertheir eyes with considerable safety, conversing, preaching , writing, and pursuing the courses that make for resistance, expecting torture of all kinds when we are captured, but meanwhile through the goodnessofGod sleeping with peaceful minds We are urgently requesting a supply of newrecruits: that they come quickly also, lest we be captured before they can relieveus This is briefly what I have to say on the subject of religion It remains for me to make known toyour Holiness something aboutthe bearer of this letter, for, to tellthe truth, it is principally on his account that I am writing He is a young man ofgood birth, George Gilbert(5) by name, who has become the cynosure of all England Thoughhe was of ample fortune, and in greatfavour at Court, he has dedicated himself and all his possessions to the defence of the Catholic religion. When we first entered this island, whilst others were either afraid or hesitant, he was the only one who took us in, comforted us, clothed and fed us; with his money, horses , and servants he gave us aid; later at his own expense he took us round the island ; he himself travelled along with us; he gave us books and other necessaries ; he contrived a printing press for us; he sold some of his property and from the proceeds assigned to us a goodly sum of money for all the purposes wherebythe Catholic cause can be promoted: nor was this all, for he continually relieved by his alms all those who are imprisoned for the Catholic faith These deeds soon made him so hateful to the heretics (the more so because he had at one time belonged to their party) that they pursued him wherever he went and threatened him with a most cruel death, could hebe captured. And though he recked little of this, yet I saw that he couldnot labour any further , nor stay in England, without manifest danger of his life, and that we should have greater labour and anxiety over taking care of him than of ourselves So at last I persuaded him to leave everything and to cross the seas and reserve himselffor a better opportunity. Sonow I, or rather all we priests whose munificent patron this young man has so kindly been, humbly beg that your Holiness will look favourably upon him and showhim that same compassion with which he has refreshed our hearts, or I should rather say has bornetheweight of our common cause For if at any time we have done any good, we mustattribute a large share initto this youngman And so ifin Rome he be repaid with a little kindness, it will be great edification for all and no small spur to those of his kind to emulate his deeds in the time to come May Jesus, most merciful, preseive your Holiness long to us, as all Catholics here pray day and night with deepest devotion: for they consider that they are under such obligations to you for immense and unceasing benefits that they never stop speaking of your Holiness , and in fine from praying earnestlyfor your continual safety in this life , and everlasting happiness in the world to come Given at London, the 14th of June, 1581

Your Holiness's most unworthy son

Robert Persons

PERSONS TO CARDINAL DI SANTO SISTO .(1) 14 June, 1581

Extractquoted in Punti , Coll P, f 17 , and printed in C.R.S. iv, 12

Quapropter hic scribendi finem facerem nisi aliquidmihi necessario de latore(2) harum litterarum dicendum esset, qui nobis in Anglia, nostrisque conatibus causaeque Catholicae, tam utilis ac beneficusfuit, ut ingratissimus sim nisi illum apud tuam Illusam Dominationem quanto possumstudio commendem Ille enim nos excepit, ille texit, fovit et aluit : ille multorum amicitias nobis conciliavit, ille plurimorum domos nobis aperuit, ille semper nobis praesto fuit, conciliarius, comes, famulus, patronus ; et tandem post devenditam patrimoniipart[e]m ad nostram sustentationem , sesuaque omnia et vitam etiamipsam in frequentissima discriminapro fidei Catholicae propugnatione obtulit. Denique vix dici potest quantum debeamushuicnobili et perinsigni juveni quem vehementer cupimus eam gratiam apud tuam Illusm Dominationem suamque Sanctitatem obtinere quam ipsius virtus et egregia merita postulant.

Translation .

PERSONS TO THE CARDINAL OF SANTO SISTO (1) 14 June, 1581

And therefore I should bring my letter to an end here , were it not necessary for me to say something about the bearer of this letter,(2) who has been so helpful and bountiful to us in England, in furthering our efforts and in the cause of Christianity, that I should be most ungrateful ifI did not commend him to your Eminence with all the earnestness I can For he was the man who welcomed us to his house, sheltered us, fed and supported us; it was he who won for us the friendshipof so many people, who opened the doors of so many housesto us: it was he who was always at our side as adviser, comrade , attendant, patron; andfinally, after he had sold a partof his patrimony for our support, he exposed his person and all his possessions , andeven his life, to very frequent danger in championing the Catholic faith And in fine we can hardly express the obligation we are under to this noble and distinguishedyoung man, and we desire exceedinglythat he may obtain from your Eminence and from his Holiness that favourable treatment which his virtue and his outstanding merits demand

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . 16 June , 1581

Extract quoted in Punti , Coll P, f. 16 , and printed in C.R.S. iv, 8. Sleddus(1) plus aliis nos persequitur, habet enim a Concilio regio potestatem in domos omnium prorumpendi pro libitu locaque omniaperscrutandi , quod ille diligentissime praestat, ubicunque vel minima spes praedaeaffulget. Incredibile est dictu quantum ab his proditoribus affligamur

(1) Nephew of Pope Gregory XIII

(2) George Gilbert

(1) Sledd , Slade or Slaydon had been a servant in the English College, Rome It is possible that even there he was acting as an emissary of the English Government, though outwardly behaving as a fervent Catholic He

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . Translation.

16 June, 1581

Sledd(1) is on our trackmore than others , for hehas authority from the Royal Council to break into all men's houses as he will and to search all places, which he does diligently, wherever thereisa gleam of hope of booty It is incrediblehow much we are harassed by these traitors

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA, GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY . 16 June , 1581

Extract quoted by Bartoli , Inghilterra , p 66, of which Foley gives a translation, iii, 610

Il nostro Pondo(1) diviso, è lungi da tutti gli altri prigioni, è strettissimamente guardato in un solitario castello : equivilamaggior parte del tempo sta con addosso un carico di pesantissimi ferri, in pena etiandio del liberorimproverarche fa lelorotristezze a gli Evangelici , che cosi chiamo qui se stessi i Predicanti. Il penetrargli alla carcere, appena era possibile, e in gran maniera pericoloso: e un sacerdote che furtivamente gli portava il divin Sacramento, fu sorpreso, e imprigionato Hora, la Dio mercè si è agevolata un poco la via; tal che e noi mandiamo a lui, ed egli a noi scambievolmente rimanda lettere, e ambasciate; e in quella conta del sovente contendere, e battagliare che fa co' Predicanti Dicono, che la sua prigione è quasi tutta sepellita sotterra, buia , e cieca affatto; sì che egli altro lume non vede, che quello d'una lucernetta: e questo non l'ha mica sempre che il vuole, ne mai l'ha altrimenti, che comperandolo con danari, o con prieghi. I capegli, al non mai tosarlo, gli si son fatti lunghissimi . Dorme il più delle notti sopra il terreno ignudo, e legato hor con una , hor con due, e tal volta con tre catene di ferro : e non per tanto, scrivendoci, piacevoleggia con noi, come nulla fosse della sua carcere , ne de' suoi patimenti.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA .

....

Translation

London, 16 June , 1581

Our brother, Pound ,(1) put apart, far away from the other prisoners, is guarded very strictly in an isolated castle; and there he stays, most of the time with a load of very heavy irons on his back , in punishment of his having freely reproached, to their vexation, the Gospellers, as the preachers here call themselves To get to him in prison was hardly possible, and dangerous to a degree. A priest who

appears to have returned to England in 1580 and to have become at oncea spy and a pursuivant By his acquaintancewith the students oftheEnglish College he was able to cause the arrest of morethan one of our martyrs and confessors , against whom he was also employed by the English Government to bearfalse witness Cf. Allen, A Briefe Historie Of the GloriousMartyrdom of Twelve Reverend Priests, edited by J. H. Pollen, S.J. (London, 1908), pp. 28, 75, 83; Concertatio Ecclesiae Catholicae (ed. 1594), pp. 62, 221; Persons , Autobiographyand DomesticallDifficulties, C.R.S. ii, 27 , 181 ; Persons's letter of August, infra, and Simpson, Campion , p 127 . (1) For a biography of Pound cf. Foley, iii, 567-657 .

stealthily took him the Blessed Sacrament was surprised and imprisoned. Now , thanks be to God, communicationhas been facilitated a little, so that both we are sending him letters and messages and he in turn to us: and in these he tells of the frequent contests and battles he has with the Preachers. They say that his prison is almost wholly buried under the ground, gloomy and without any window at all; so that he sees no other light except that of a small lamp; and this he has by no means as often as he likes, nor does he ever get it otherwise than by purchasing it with money or by entreaty. His hair, owing to its never being cut, has become very long He sleeps most nights on the bare earth, bound sometimes with one, sometimes with two, and at times with three iron chains; and notwithstanding, when he writes to us, he jests with us, as though his prison and his sufferings did not exist

EUSEBIUS (PERSONS) TO ALLEN

. 4 July, 1581

Arch Vat Inghilterra , 1 , f. 269 (olim 209). Holograph, printed in Knox , Allen, p 98

Scripsi ad te paucos dies de negotio non exigui momenti(1): hoc est de D. Bernardini Mendoza Oratoris hispanici a nobis discessu , qui quoniam approquinquare existimatur, resque ad causam fidei valde pertinet, iterum cogor, Catholicorum rogatu de eadem re te admonere summa autem rei haec est: quod cum Catholici intelligant praedictum Don Bernardinum paucos post menses discessurum Anglia, (2) idque regem Catholicumstatuisse ipsius petitione, partim propter oculorum infirmitatem , partim quia tam est suspectus et odiosus haereticis, propter religionis zelum, quem habet singularem ut non possit jam amplius causae Catholicae tantum prodesse quantum fortasse alius qui gratior esset adversariis: propterhas (inquam) causas , cum Catholici, cum magno dolore, videant, pene necessarium esse ut Anglia decedat: Cuperent tamen (si fieri posset) ut aliquo in loco vicino subsistat, e quo non minori solatio ipsis totique causae futurus esset, quantum hactenus fuit. hoc autem putant commodissime fieri posse, si, mediante sua sanctitate, apud regem Catholicum, in Gallia collocetur, ubi multa plura operari posset in utilitatem fidei et ad conversionem hujus regni, quam hicfacere poterat, aut quam quisquam alius qui res nostras cognitas non habet. hic enim vir jam Anglicarum rerum Gallicarum et Scoticarum peritissimus est , et in Anglia non solum res, verum etiam homines omnes, causasque et conditiones in particulari intelligit, tantaque prudentiaet fide hactenus se gessit apud omnes , ut nemo sit Catholicorum qui se suaque omnia illi non credat, quod alteri non facerent nisi post longam experientiam , zelus etiamipsius tantusest inpromovendo

(1) The letter to which Persons refers is no longer extant.

(2) ActuallyBernardino Mendoza did not leave England at this time , but remained as ambassador until 1584 , when he was forced to leave by the English Government on account of his connection with the Throckmorton plot. Not many monthsafter his dismissalhewas appointed in thesame year ambassador totheFrenchcourt. Cf. Mendoza to PhilipII, 26 and 30 January, 1584 , Spanish Calendar , pp. 513-517

fide, ut incredibiliter fere sit. huc accedit quod me ceterosque nostri ordinis penitus quam quisquam alius cognoscit, agendi modum et ordinem tenet, unde si parisiis commoraretur,sinedubio nobisnostraeque causae,mirabili futurusessetsubsidio,etilliusope plurima brevi tempore, in causa fidei (deo adjuvante) efficeremus , nec solum rebus Anglicis, verum etiam Gallicis, Scoticisque eo in loco utilissime inserviret Quapropter Catholici omnes summopere terogant, ut quantapossit et celeritateet vehementia, eorum nomine, hoc petas a sua Sanctitate , ut intercedere digneturapudmajestatemCatholicam , pro obtentione hujus magni beneficii arbitror (3) velle hac de re etiam scribere, sed quoniam fieri potestut nequeat tam cito quam temporis ratio postulant [sic]: petunt Catholici ut tu negotium tuis literis praevenias, eisquefrequentibus et acerrimis ego etiam quantum possum te rogo ut justo eorum desiderio satisfacias praecipue quia dei causa est. Vale. 4 Julii, 1581.(4)

Tuus

Euseb

[Addressed (f. 269v)] Magco Dno Dno Gulielmo Alano [Franco Antverpiam erased] Rhemos

Translation

EUSEBIUS (PERSONS) TO ALLEN . Jesus 4 July, 1581

Iwrote toyou a few days ago(1) abouta matter ofnosmall moment, viz., about the departure from us of Señor Bernardino Mendoza , the Spanish Ambassador This is thought to be imminent, and as it has a considerable bearing on the cause of the faith, I am obliged at the request of the Catholics to call your attention to it again. Now this is how the matter stands : the Catholics are informed that the above mentioned Señor Bernardinowill be leaving Englandin a few months' time(2) and that the CatholicKing has so decided at the Ambassador's own request, partly because of the failure of his eyesight, partly becausehe has incurredthe hatredand suspicion of the heretics through his zealforreligion, which is extraordinary; and this to such an extent that now he can no longer help the Catholic cause as much as could perhaps another man who was more persona grata to our opponents For these reasons, I say, the Catholics see with great sorrow thatit is almost a necessity that he leave England; yet they would likehim , if it were possible, to remain somewhere near at hand whence he could be in the future no less a source of solace to them and to the wholecause than he has been hitherto. And they think that themost convenient way of bringing this about is for his Holiness to use his offices with the Catholic King to have him stationedin France, where

(3) A cipher sign, presumably, for the name of some personwhom it is now impossible to identify. (4)In the same volume, Inghilterra, f 268, there is a holograph letter on the same subject fromAllen to the Cardinal ofComo dated 8 August, 1581 It is printed in Knox , Allen (p 99) Later, at the request of the English Catholics, Allen wrote to the Cardina! of Como, 20 December , asking that Mendoza should be retained in England (ibid., p. 106)

he could work for the advantage of the faith and the conversion of this realm much more effectively than he could here, or than some other man could who lacked knowledge of our affairs . For the man is now an expert on English, French and Scottish matters; and in England he has knowledge not only of all their affairs, but of the men themselves, and of their individual interests and circumstances ; and he has treated them up to now with such discretion and good faith that there is not a Catholicwho would not trust him with his life and fortunea thingthey would not do to another man except after long experience of him The zeal of this man, too, in promoting the faith is almost incredible; and added to this is the fact that he knows me and the other members of our Ordermore intimately than does anyone else , and that he knows how andwhento do things; so thatif he were to remain in Paris thereis no doubt that he would become a wonderful support to us and our cause, and that by his aid in a short time (with the help of God) we should do great things in the cause of the faith. Nor would it be Englishinterests alone that he would serve , butplaced there he would be most useful for French and Scottish affairs as well For this reason the Catholics all request you most earnestlyto ask of his Holiness in their name, as soon as possible and with the utmost insistence , to be so good as to intercede with his Catholic Majesty so as to obtain this greatbenefit I gatherthat (3) also wishes to write about this, but, as possiblyhe may not be able to do so as soon as its urgency demands, the Catholics beg that you will forestall him in the matter by your letters and that these may be frequent and to the point I, too, beseechyou to the utmostof my power to carry out their just desire, especially as it is the cause of God Farewell 4 July, 1581.(4)

Yours

Eusebius.

A

CERTAIN PRIEST (PERSONS) TO AGAZZARI (1)

July, 1582 (vere August, 1581).

Printed in Persons's edition of Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano, Rome , 1586, pp 446-462 It is quoted by Ribadeneira, Historia Ecclesiastica del Scisma del Regno de Inglaterra (Madrid, 1595), p 573; and by Bartoli, Inghilterra, pp 211, 30 and 215. Part ofit is translated in Simpson , Campion,p 204

Cum hominem certum ac fidelem nactus sim, qui recta ad vos profecturum se dicat, percurram breviter earumdem rerumcapita, (1) This letter, which is printed in the edition of Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano , prepared by Persons and published in Rome, 1586 , is introduced by the words Non erit alienum nonnulla hic apponere , excerpta a literis, quas sacerdos quidam ex Anglia, postquam annum in ea vinea laboraverat, cum ad alios, tum ad ReverendumAlphonsum Agazarum, AnglicanoCollegio Romae praesidentemplurimumque pro hac ipsa causa laborantum , scripsit, mense Julio, anno Domini 1582, quae universo fere rerum seriem quae illo anno contigere , his verbis complectuntur. "

From this one would gather that the letter was either a circular to Father Agazzari and othersPersons, indeed, seems to have written another such letter in 1584 (cf. infra)-or on the other hand it may be a conflation from several letters sent at different dates to Agazzari and other correspondents . There are, in fact, mentioned in it incidents which have been reported in earlier letters of Persons; but the openingparagraphoftheletteritself, unless it be a mereliterary device, favours theformer hypothesis. The date of the letter certainly seems to be incorrectly given, both as regards the year and the month The reference to the martyrdom of Bd

quae aliis literis ad vos perscripsi, ne illae forte difficillimis his temporibus , ad manus vestras pervenire non potuerint.

Üniversa (ut ita loquar) mercatura nostra bene habet; ut enim non desunt contemptores multi, impugnatores etiam plurimi ; ita reperiunturemptores non pauci, admiratores multo plures. Ingens hic sermo de Jesuitis est, de quibus plures fortasse fabulae feruntur, quam olim de monstris De origine enim horum hominum , & genere vitae, & instituto, de moribus ac doctrina , de consiliis & actionibus, varia simul & contrariasomniorum simillima, non privatis tantum colloquiis , sed publicis etiam concionibus librisque impressis divulgantur(2): quorumillud tamen caputest, quod tam ipsi quam caeteri omnes sacerdotes , missi dicantura summo Pontifice, ut exploratores statuum, rerumque publicarumproditoresac eversores . Horum duo nominantur praecipui , Campianus & Personius; quorum hic Londini consistere post nonnullas regni peregratas provincias ; ille vero per agros adhuc discurrere dicitur (3)

Everard Hanse (which took place on July the 31st, 1581 ) as just having occurredhoc ipso menseshows that the year must be 1581 and not 1582 . Moreover, had the author penned the letteron the only day of Julyconsistent with the dayof martyrdom, namely July 31 , he would havewritten hoc ipso die, and not hoc ipso mense: but writing within a monthof the event , and not at the time recalling that it actually took place on the last dayofJuly, he might well have used the latter phrase. It appears, therefore , that the letter was written in August, 1581

In Sandersthe author is said to be a certain priest Bartoli (Inghilterra, pp 121 , 215), however, cites the letter as one of Persons's, and Christopher Grene (Coll P, f 314) asserts that it was undoubtedly writtenbyhim . Later writers ,withthe exceptionofSimpson , wholeaves the author tohisanonymity , maintain the same This identification of the priest author with Persons certainly seems correct from internal evidence , which in this case is really all that there is At the time of writing the author had spent a year in the mission field, as Persons had done by August, 1581. The phrases Tyrillus vester , ' 'Cervinus vester' and ' Pondus noster ' are all to be found in earlier letters of Persons, the ' vester' denoting a former scholar of the English College, Rome, whenhe writes to Agazzari (e.g., Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 , supra), the ' noster' a member of the Society, as was Pound (e.g., Persons to Aquaviva, 16 June, 1581 , supra), andindicating that thewriter also was a Jesuit Further, the intimate acquaintance of the writer with George Gilbert , Charles Basset and Thomas Pound, the detailed knowledge displayed of Persons's books and of the time and circumstancesof their production at his private printing press, as well as of the threefold escape from dangerof the said Fatherall point to the identification ofthe writer with Persons Finally, in his De Vita Campiani (c 15), which consists really of notes for Campion's life, Persons states that shortly before Sherwin's capture in his Autobiographyit is the night before (C.R.S. ii, 27)-he and Sherwin had passed the night under the same roof Quae colloquia, " he adds, " quae spiritualia aperuit mihi desiderium moriendi "; and then , after relating how Sherwin was captured, he continues: " Dicantur deinde quae fecit in carcere cum illis de familia amoris, quod ad me scripsit. " All this agrees well with what the anonymous author in the last paragraph of the letter relates of himself and Sherwin, and affords another indication of his identity with Persons

(2) For the books cf. Arber , A Transcript of the Registers of theCompany of Stationers in London , 1554-1640 , ii, 176 ff

(3) In his De Vita Campiani Persons refers to their departure from the house ofLady Stonor as occurring die Lunae Julii. ' Persons then wentto London and Campion to Norfolk , but stopped on his way at Lyford, where

Unde his ultimis comitiisaboratore quodam dictus est alter, lupus latitans, alter vero circumvolitans& libere vagans Jesuita Occupatissimus uterque dicitur Concionantur fere quotidie summo mane; deinde scribunt; post prandium fere loca commutant, in equo meditantes quod die postero concionentur ; a coena confessiones accipiunt, vel casus quos vocant conscientiae resolvunt.(4) Atque haec fere tam eorum , quam caeterorum etiam sacerdotum quorum hic copia non exigua est, vitae ratio narratur.

Magnusfit omniumordinumpraecipue vere juvenumnobilium ad eos concursus: non tantum ut doctrina Catholica imbuantur, sed etiamut eos de via concomitentur & defendant, opera opibusque juvent, omnibusque officiis praesto sint Vidi cum Campiano in itinere aliquos, sed plures his diebus Lodini cum Personio: quorum maxime assiduus est Georgius ille Gilbertusdequo alias scripsi, individuus fere Personii comes, qui cum magnusfuerit his annis superioribus Calvinianae doctrinae sectator; nunc eo zelo fidem Catholicam tuetur, et non minus haereticis odiosussit, quam Jesuitae, quia ipsius maxime sumptibus & authoritate, sustentati fuisse hactenus creduntur. In eum ergo fit maximainquisitio, & bona ejus undique invaduntur & rapiuntur, & nuper difficillime persequentium manus evasit; quo factum est, ut invitus plane superiori hebdomada,(5) a Personio coactus sit regno excedere , ut tempori ad tempus cedat: illum secuturus est statim Carolus Bassetus,(6) Thomae Mori Pronepos, paris cum Georgio nobilitatis, zeli & pietatis juvenis Utrumque Roman venturum existimo. Remanent alii qui causam promoveant tam in aula quam alibi Unus item praelo praeest singulari fide ac diligentia, multarum etiam dotum varietatereligionisque zelo praeditus; id enim praeterea mirabili quadam solertia effectum essedicitur, utin his summis rerum difficultatibus, praelum etiam& impressoreshabeantur, qui clam in speluncis terraeque cavernis libros imprimant, locum saepissime& nomina permutantes ne detegantur (7)

Hinc fit ut magna fuerit hoc anno libris scriptis digladiatio, nechaeretici quicquam potuerint edere, quod statimferenonfuerit acerrime impugnatum . Chiarcus & Hanmerus Calvinianiministri

a search was made on Sunday, July the 16th, which resulted in his capture the following morning In Persons's autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 29) the date oftheirdeparture is given as August the 8th,andin his DomesticallDifficulties (C.R.S. ii, 182) as Monday, August the 18th July the 10th, which was a Monday in 1581, is undoubtedly the correct date.

(4) Compare Campion to Everard Mercurian, November (Beati Edmundi Campiani Opuscula , Bononiae, 1888, p 31 ; Simpson, Campion, p. 175), where similar details are given

(5)Ifsuperiore hebdomadais taken strictly, the date is incorrect Persons's letters recommending Gilbert are dated 14 June, 1581 , and Allen on June the 23rd of that year writes that Gilbert is with him at Rheims (Allen to Agazzari, 23 June, 1581Knox, Allen, p 97).

(6) Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 30 August, 1581, supra

(7)The press was in the charge ofStephenBrinkley, about whominformation will be found in Persons's various Memoirs (C.R.S. ii, 25-29, 182-183 , and C.R.S. iv , 3 ff., 17-27). Cf. also Persons's De Vita Campiani, passim , and Knox, Douay Diaries, p 182 .

primo quoque tempore in Campianum scripserunt, universum Jesuitarum ordinem & nominatim Ignatii Loyolae vitam miris modis exagitantes (8) Sed infra decem deinde dies apparuit censura quaedam brevis ignoti authoris , typis impressa, quae tot mendacia in ministros hos regessit, ut tam eos, quam eorum sequaces vehementissime puduerit (9); haec eadem ministri iterum jam vel tertio, ad disputandicertamen fuerunt provocati: quare cum plurimum offenderentur, Campianuslibellumluculentissimum latineedidit ad Academicosquo illius postulatirationes reddidit.(10)

Exierant nonnullaReginae edicta contumeliosissima, in omnes Jesuitas, Sacerdotes , Seminariorum alumnos, & in ipsam denique Collegiorum institutionem Sed his, tanta prudentia, moderatione rerumque pondere, doctissimi viri GulielmiAlani (qui hujus vineae pater meritissime dici potest) apologia statim satisfecit ; ut ipsi haeretici, alioquin offensi, maximis laudibus opus ipsum extulerint; Catholici incrementum maximumex eo coeperint (11) Incurrerat eodem ipso tempore in librum quendam ejusdem Alani ante multos annos de Purgatorio scriptum Fulcus minister, (12) idque non tam vincendi studio quam gloriae quaerendaeex tali adversario; sed hunc juveniliter & ridicule exultantem, repressit citissime penitusque fregit, vir gravissimus, & omni eruditionislaude florentissimus Ricardus Bristous, Rhemensis Seminarii studiorum praefectus.(13)

Coierant his ipsis diebus regni ordines, & Catholicos decontumacia condemnaturi dicebantur , quod Protestantium sacra, ju- bente Regina, adirerecusarent: exhibitus est ergoinipsis Comitiis

(8) William Charke's book, An Answer to a seditious pamphlet lateliecaste abroade by a Jesuite with a discovery ofthat blasphemous sect , waslicensed the 20th of December , 1580: Meredith Hanmer's The Graet Bragge and Challenge of master Campion on January the 3rd, 1581 (E. Arber, op. cit., ii, 176). On Campion's Challenge cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J. , The Month, January, 1910, p 50, ff. The Douai Diaries mention that the replyto these was written'post decem dies' (Knox, p. 177). Cf. also the prefatory letter to Charkein Persons's Defence of the Censure

(9) Persons's Brief Censure etc. , imprinted at Doway by John Lyon, 1581 . It was printed, in fact, at his private press, accordingto his De Vita Campiani (c . 18) in the house of Francis Browne, but according to his Domesticall Difficulties (C.R.S. ii, 182) at Green Street

(10) Campion's Decem Rationes, printed at the private press at Stonor Park Cf. J. Morris, S.J., Bd Edmund Campion and his Ten Reasons , ' and J. H. Pollen, S.J., Bd Edmund Campion's'Decem Rationes , ' The Month , July, 1889, p 372 ff , and January, 1905, p 11 ff

(11) An Apologie and True Declaration of the institution and endeavours of the two English colleges , etc. , Mounts in Henault, 1581. It replies to the Edict of the 15th of July, 1580. Cf. Allen to Agazzari, 23 June, 1581 (Knox , Allen, pp 96, 98)

(12) A Defence and Declarationof the CatholicChurches' Doctrinetouching Purgatory and Prayersfor the Soules Departed , Antverpiae, 1565. Fulke's workis the second part ofhis Two Treaties written againstthe Papists, London , 1577 .

(13)A Replyto William Fulke in Defence ofM.D. Allen's Scrole ofArticles and Books of Purgatorie, Louvain, 1580. Fulke replied by A rejoynderto Bristow's Replie, etc. , London , 1581 .

libellus Anglice scriptus & in Anglia impressus, qui plurimas ac gravissimas hujus rei rationes reddit; quibus nec ipsi adversarii (nisi ut Athei universam conscientiae rationem Catholicis penitus contemnendas [sic] censeant ) refragari possunt (14)

De Joannis Nicolai apostasia & relapsu, qui ex Ministro Calviniano fictus aliquando Collegii vestri alumnus fuerat, jam antea scripsi (15) Hic in castro Londinensi ad captivos presbyteros qui vi ad ecclesiampertrahuntur, aliquoties concionatus est, praesente maximaaulicorumcaterva ad comaediam cohonestandam.(16) Incredibilefere est, quantisubique laudibus hic homulus celebretur . Jesuita omnium doctissimus, Pontificis Alumnus , Cardinalium Ecclesiastes, Theologus, Philosophus, Graecus , Hebraeus, Chaldaeus, omnium linguarum & scientiarum peritissimus habetur. Abnegationem fideitypis emisit; in quainfinita deRoma, de Pontifice, de Cardinalibus , de vestro Collegio, de Jesuitis, de alumnis, de omni monarchorum & sacerdotum genere mentitur (17) Libellus insigni triumpho ab Haereticis exceptus est & sparsus: sed

(14) This was Persons's first work, A Briefe Discourse contayningcertayne Reasons why Catholiques refuse to go to Church, imprinted at Doway by John Lyon, 1580. It was really printed at the private press in Green Street, appar- entlybefore Novemberthe 6th, 1580 (cf. De Vita Campiani, c 17 ,andDomesticall Difficulties, C.R.S. ii, 179). The penal law imposing a fine of £20 a month for not repairing to the Protestant Church was passed in the Parliamentary session of 1581. Persons states that a copy ofthe aboveworkwas then produced, but in the meagre extant records of the debates on the Bill there is no reference to the work

(15) The notice of John Nichols in the D.N.B. should be supplemented by the references to him in the various Memoirs of Persons , C.R.S. vols ii and iv, Allen's letters and the Douay Diaries. The letter of Bd. Luke Kirby, 10 January, 1582 , concerning Nichols's repentance is printed in Allen , A Briefe Historie, 1908, p 74. Nichols'stwoletters to Allen, 18 and 19 February, 1583 , and his palinode, were published in A True Report ofthe lateApprehension and Imprisonment of John Nichols, Minister, at Roan, Rheims, 1583 (cf. Allen to Agazzari, 14 April, 20 and 30 May, 1583Knox, Allen, pp 188 , 192 and 194: Barret toAgazzari, 14 April, 1583Knox, DouayDiaries, p 324) A Latin translation of this was incorporated into the Concertatio Ecclesiae Catholicae in Anglia, Rheims, 1588, pp 231–234 .

(16) Cf. The Diary ofthe Tower, sub the 5th of February and the 19th of March, 1581; Persons, Autobiography , C.R.S. ii, 27; and his Punti, C.R.S. iv, 7, 11 .

(17) Persons is referring to A Declaration of the recantation of John Nichols, imprinted at London by Christopher Barker, 1581 , February 14 The sermon preached in the Tower on February the 5th, 1581 , takes up fourfifths of the book, about 160 pages ! In the Diary of the Tower it is stated that the prisoners ofthe Faith, who were compelledby force to listen to his ranting, interrupted him at intervals, and when the sermon was finished railed at him anddrove him offwith hisses. If the sermon waspreached as it was printed, its inordinate length, apart from its contents and the circumstances , might well excuse them The practice of forcing Catholic prisoners in the Tower to hear sermons by Protestant ministers was continued after the Nichols experiment Cf. The Diary of the Tower , sub the 20thand 27th of March, 1581 , and W. Fulke, A Sermon preached upon Sunday being the twelfth ofMarch anno 1581 within the TowerofLondon, in the hearingofobstinate Papistes as then were prisoners there, London, 1581 , and John Kellridge, Two Sermons Godlie and learned appointed and preached before the Jesuites Seminaries , etc. in the Tower of London , on May7 and 20, anno 1581 , London , 1581

proximofere mense prodiit liber alter, qui Nicolai Detectio inscribebatur,(18) in quo postquam evidentissimis rationibusdemonstratum est, illum nec Jesuitam esse, nec sacerdotem, nec Theologum aut Philosophum, nec unquam apud Pontificem aut Cardinales concionatum (nisi quod semel, aut iterum Romae apud Inquisitores Calvini haeresim abjurasset), nec ullam eruditae linguaeaut Scientiae cognitionem habere, sed relapsum tantum ministrum esse , indoctissimum grammaticum , erronem vagabundum, acmendacissimum homuncionem: tot & tanta praeterea hac justissima occasione , explicatafueruntde Romanis rebus, de charitatisoperibus quae in urbe fiunt, de praeclarissimis suae sanctitatis ac illustrissimorum Cardinalium rebus gestis , de omnium religiosorum ordinum insigni pietate; ut haereticosnon mediocriterjam pigeat, hoc suc commento ejusmodi se narrationi necessitatempraebuisse; qua plurimi perspecta fraude, partibus ipsorum diffidere, nostris vero adhaerescere coeperant.

Atque haec de libris, qui non minori sacerdotum diligentia, autetiampericulo disseminantur, utin manus omnium perveniant, quam scribuntur Modusautem est, ut omnes libri Londinumnullo evulgato comportenturibique in sacerdotum manus per centenos aut quinquagenos distributi, eodem plane tempore in universas regni oras divulgentur: postero autem die, cum de more, lictores Catholicorum domos ob hos libros sparsos scrutariincipiunt, non desunt copioso numero juvenes nobiles, qui de nocte hos libros in haereticorum aedes, officinas, ac palatia inferant, per aulam etiam disseminent, & per plateas, ut soli Catholici de his non accusentur

Nunquam facerem dicendi finem, si de Catholicorum zelo ac ardore sermonem ingrederer Cum sacerdos ad eos divertit, salutant primum ut externum& ignotum, tunc ad cubiculuminterius adducunt , quo oratorium constitutum est: ibi omnes provoluti in genua sacerdotis benedictionem humillime petunt; interrogantdeinde quanto tempore apud eos mansurus sit, quod esse vellent quam longissimum : si die sequenti discessurum se dicat (quod fere solent, ne longiori mora periculumcreetur) ; omnes eo ipso vesperi ad peccatorum se confessionemparant, postero mane audito sacro, sanctissimo Eucharistiae sacramento se muniunt; postea, habita concione atque iterum impertita benedictione sacerdos discedit, quem nobiles aliquot juvenes ut plurimum fere in itinere concomitantur

Habent Catholiciin variis aedium partibus (sicutin primitiva Ecclesia usitatum fuisse legimus) non pauca loca secretioraquibus sacerdotesabirrumpentiumlictorum vi abscondantur (19) Sed jam (18) This was Persons's third bookA Discoverie of J. Nichols, minister, misreported a Jesuite, latelye recanted in the Tower of London It was printed either at the house of Francis Browne or at Green Street (cf. note 9 supra), and published probably some time in March, 1581. Nichols refersto it in his Oration and Sermon made at Rome by J. Nichols 27 May 1578 , now brought into the English tongue, which bears the date 1581 , April 25 . (19) Cf. Granville Squiers , Secret Hiding Places , 1933

, S.J.

longo usu (ut fit) & nonnullorum etiam falsorumfratrum proditione, magna ex partein persecutatorum cognitionem pervenerunt. Ipsi Catholiciin sylvas ac dumeta, in fossas etiamac lacunas, cum de nocte fit irruptio, se abdere solent Cum sedemus aliquandoad mensam hilariores, & familiarius de rebus fidei ac devotionis (is enim omnium frequentissimus est sermo) conferentes, si aliquis forte ad januam rapidiusinsonuerit , ita ut lictor existimari possit; omnes statim, non aliter quam cervi audita venatorumvoce, erectis auribus & animis, astant, cibis abstinent , brevissima oratione se Deo commendant, nec vox aut sonitus ullus auditur, quousque famuli quid rei sit renuncient ; quod si nihil periculi fuerit, ex injecto tamen metu fiunt laetiores Vere de his dici potest, quod animae eorum in manibus ipsorum semper.

Nullus his in partibus reperitur, qui de nimia sacrorum duratione queratur; imo, si Missa quavis ad horam fereintegram non duret, vix multis probatur Si sex, octo aut plura etiam sacra eodem die ac loco fiant, quod non raro concurrentibus invicem sacerdotibus contingit, non deerunt in omnibus iidem ipsi auditores. Si sacerdos non desit, octavo quoque die peccata expiant salutari confessione Lites vix unquam inter Catholicos audiuntur de rebus ullis; si quid controversiae occurrat, id totum sacerdotum fere arbitrio permittitur: cum haereticis nec matrimoniumlibenter contrahunt, nec preces faciunt, nec quicquam commercii habere volunt. Cum nobili foeminae his ipsis diebus oblatum esset , ut carcereliberaretur,si vel unam ecclesiampertransire tantum vellet; illa respuit, adjiciens, se integra conscientia carcerem esseingressam , & eadem illaesa velle aut egredi aut mori (20) Vide quaeso quid Dei spiritus per hanc persecutionem effecerit Henrici Regis Temporibus, qui pater hujus Elizabethae fuit, universum fere hoc regnum (in quo erant, episcopi praelati, ac docti viri plurimi) ad unam tyranni vocem, fidem ac Pontificis Romani autoritatemabjuravit: nunc vero per summam Dei misericordiam , persequente Henrici filia, non desunt pueri ac foeminae, qui palam & ad tribunalianonsolum fidem intrepideprofiteantur, verum morteetiam proposita renuant ea facere quae leviora nonnullis videri fortasse possent, haec est vere mutatio dexterae Dei excelsi,(21) & in summis ejus beneficiis erga hanc nationem numeranda Explicari non potest quantum Dei gloriam Seminaria illa transmarinapropagaverint, quaehaereticosmagis terrent,quam ulla principumCatholicorum arma.

Poundus noster arctissime custoditur Londini, conjectus in castrum quoddam obscurissimum ob linguae libertatem, qua nuper ministros quosdam perstrinxit & ad certamen cum sacerdotibus Catholicis provacavit; qua una re nihil illi illubentius audiunt: humi jacet loco subterraneo, nec ullus ei luminis usus permittitur,

(20) This is reported by Persons in his letter to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 , supra.

(21) Ps lxxvi, 11

maximis etiam ferreis compedibus oneratur, & tamen mecum per literas his diebus mirabili quodam artificio emissas, suavissimejocatur, perinde ac si in delitiis viveret Cum autem per eandem viam, qua literas illas receperam sacerdotem quendam ad eum , direxissem (prout postulabat) ut sanctissimam Eucharistiam ei praeberet, eo quod omnes itineris ac ingressus circumstantias a Poundo praescriptas non observasset , captus est; sed iterum postea mirabiliter liberatus.(22)

In similem captivitatis locum, his ipsis diebus post tot annorum carceresLondini perpessos, conjecti sunt gravissimi ac reverendissimi viri, Episcopus Lincolniensis, Abbas Vestmonasteriensis, aliique multi In arcem enim Visbicensem, insaluberrimum locum, saevissimoPuritanocustodiendi,in hac veneranda suasenectute mittuntur, ubi certissimum est diu eos non superfuturos (23) Etenim ultra carceris incommoditateminhumaniter etiam & barbare a custode tractantur Omnespenitus libri praeter una Biblia, illis auferuntur, nec scriptorum suorum aut annotationum codicilli permittuntur Superbissimi ministri saepe inexpectato immittuntur, qui imparatos aggrediantur ac convitiis proscindant ; falsa deinde & ridicula frequenter de eis publicantur, eaque nonnunquam libris impressis, quo omnis eorum existimatio, qua plurimum valent , imminuatur (24) Foemina quaedam impudica superiori mense , in eorum cubicula insciis, inclusa est, ut inde opinionem incurrerentincontinentiae (25) Nullus ad eos permittitur accessus , unde hoc artificio quod modo dicam uti compellimur Cum aliquis ex nostris quicquameis eleemosynaedare voluerit, praecedenti die ambulat per agros vicinos, & tanquam venaturus vocem attollit: quo signo dato, eorum aliquis per fenestras prospicit, & signo dato animadvertit, venatorem illum aliquid in usus ipsorum habere. Postera ergo nocte dormientibuscaeteris, accedit ille cautus ad muros, & per eandem fenestram ex qua signum datum fuerat, inclusorum aliquis dimittit sportulam , qua eleemosynam recipiat. Atque haec eadem fere ratio in caeteris etiam carceribus tenetur; licet pro locorum varietate, varia etiam media tentanda sint, in quibus excogitandis , summoque cum periculo exequendis, mirabilis sane elucet Catholicorum ardor, charitas, ac fortitudo. Hartus & Cotamus eodem in carcere sunt, quorum posterior, utsocium sua causacomprehensum e periculo liberaret, sponte se lictoribus obtulit: Prior in ingressu ad insulamcaptus, & ad Reginae Consiliarios ductus, eo quod pulcherrimus juvenis, magnis

(22) Much ofthis paragraphis to be found in Persons's letter to Aquaviva, 16 June, 1581

(23) Concerningthe removal of Thomas Watson and John Feckenham , Abbot of Westminster, cf. Memorandum of Burghley, R. O. Dom Eliz Add XXVI, n 21; Dom Cal Eliz , p 8; The Council to the Bishop of Ely, 26 June, 1580, and a furtherletter oftheCouncil 15 August, 1580 (Dasent,xii, 90 and 157)

(

24) Cf. W. Fulke, Conferentia cum pontificiis in castro Wisbicensi , 4 October, 1580, London, 1580; and Strype, Annals II, pt. ii, 352

(25) This incident is reported in a Latin letter writtenby a Catholicpriest in the Tower , R. O. Dom Eliz CXLIX, n 61 .

, S.J.

etiam talentispraeditus ; & parentibus nobilibus ortusesset , dimissus est Oxonium ; ut cum doctissimis illius universitatisTheologis conferret, si qua forte spes eum pervertendi appareret Sed cum post duorum aut trium mensium spacium, nihil quicquam in eo genere proficerent, carceribus tradendumexistimarunt, ubilaetissimus vivit, & duriorain posterum expectat ob praeteritos favores. Tirellus vester, postquam huc appulisset & me amplexatus fuisset , prodiens quodam die in publicum, visus est et proditus a Joanne Nicolao exclamante & populum ad perduellem capiendum (sic enim loquuntur) excitante (26) Non miror Apostolumtam vehementer questum esse , de falsis fratribus; nobis sunt hic molestissimi, & aliorum omnium maxime capitales Sledus qui paucis ante nos diebus Roma discessit, egit aliquandiuproditoremclanculum , nunc publice persecutorem Compraehendit Jonsonium per plateas transeuntem, paulo etiam post Ortonum nihil minus quam tale quid suspicantem. Si proditor paululumse cohibuisset & ad hospitium usque profectus fuisset, caepissetuna Campianum, Personum & Gilbertum, (ad illos enim Ortonus properabat) quibus tribus hominibus nescio an Regina quidquam magis expetat.(27)

Sed Dei non sua fuit voluntas , qui tam ipsos, quam alios , variis in dies periculisliberat; saltem Personii tria, ipso narranteaccepi: primum, cum obsessa domo in qua fuit, in foenite quod domui adhaerebat se abdens persequentes evasit(28): alterum, quod ad hospitiumquoddam publicumsub noctem invitatus (ea enim praecipue hora sacerdotes solent egredi) ut quemdam nobilem e longinquo venientem Ecclesiae gremio reconciliaret , licet optimelocum cognovisset, & tridue ante ibidem fuisset, ita tamen inter eundem mutatus est sensus ejus, ut ad domum veniens illam non agnosceret, necjam eam ulla ratione aut diligentia, etiamsi diuquaereret, & a vicinis saepe multumque peteret, invenire potuit, unde maestus abscedere coactusest Postero vero die, intellexit januam illam a lictoribus interiusfuisse clausam & obessam , qui adventum ejus expectabant . Comprehenderunt autem eodem tempore septem alios qui eadem de causa illuc veniebant , & in iis Rushtonum , vestri collegii alumnum.(29) Tertium erat, quod cum Personius domum quandam ad Tamesis ripam positam haberet in qua de nocte sacerdotes convenire & sarcinulas suas nonnunquam deponere solebant; haec a quondam librorum compactore, qui operas in ea exercuerat, magistratui indicata fuit, qui statim Personio

(26) Cf. Persons, Punti , C.R.S. iv, 9. Allen reported to Agazzari 23 June, 1581 (Knox,Allen, p 98), that Tyrrell was arrestedthe day after the apprehension of Bd. Alexander Briant Briant was taken about April the 28th , 1581 (Allen, A Briefe Historie, p 48), and on May the 3rd was orderedto be sent to the Tower for examination (Dasent, xii, 37)

(27) Cf. Persons, Autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 27); Life of Campion, c 22 , and De Vita Campiani, p 10 .

(28)In his autobiography Persons states that the incident occurredwhen he was in a house at Tuttlefields with Mr. Barnes (C.R.S. ii, 29)

(29) Cf. Persons, Autobiographyand DomesticallDifficulties (C.R.S. ii, 28 and 182). The Douay Diaries in December , 1580, report Rishton as being in prison.

vix egresso, maximo armatorumnumero locum obsedit, omniaque diripuit cruces, medallia, grana benedicta, Agnos Dei, & caetera ejusmodi non pauca(30); coeperunt etiam in domo vicina Alexandrum Briantum presbyterum, quem postea variis cruciatibusafflixerunt, non solum equulei sicut caeteros sacerdotes , sed acutissimis etiam acubus sub ungues immissis, inaudito quodam crudelitatis genere.(31)

Et profecto mirabile plane est, quam ingeniosam se praebeat haereticorum malitia ad novas afflictiones in Catholicos excogitandas. Ex castro Londinensi scribunt , septem ibi esse variorum tormentorumac cruciatuumgenera, quibus in dies Catholiciexercentur. Hic, etiam Superintendens & PseudoepiscopusElmerus, ut est natura truculenta, & olim inter Gladiatores non infimi nominis, sic sua etiam peculiaria habet (32) Et his proximis diebus, cum virginem quamdam nobilem ad arbitrium suum flectere non potuisset, ut haereticorum sacra adiret, in locum quemdam infamemcompegit, ubiflagris tanquamscortum caedenda esset (33) Sed aliqua visa est statim poena eum secuta, cum enim ipsam filiam suam quam unice diligebat concionatori cuidam Ministro in matrimonio tradidisset (in eadem enim ministrorumtribusolent omnes utplurimum contrahere) eumquein honoremfiliae, Archidiaconum Londinensem constituisset ; ille provinciamvisitaturusexiens, comprehensusest a magistratucum alteriusuxore; qua re socero patefacta, gener,(34) ut eum aequiorem haberet, voluit injuriam augere. Finxit itaque literas libidinis plenas, uxoris nomine ad equitem quemdam auratum, easque tanquama se interceptas, in erroris sui compensationem socero obtulit, quibus ille mirabiliter afflictus , cum postea intellexisset , rem totam a generocompositam esse ; in furorem actus, non baculo pastorali , sed Lanionis fuste Archidiaconum gravissime verberassedicitur. Atquecum ejusmodi quidem praelatis est nostra concertatio Hactenus ille.

De edictis atrocissimis, legibusque saevissimis contra omne genus sacerdotum, ac Catholicorum editis, satis jam vos, cum ex meis tum ex aliorem etiamliteris, & ex ipsis rebus ad vos perlatis intellexisse non dubito Primus haereticorum impetus in illos erat maxime , qui sacra haereticorum adire noluerunt; quos ex eo deinceps Recusantesappellare consueverunt, cujus generis, plus quam

(30) The search wasdue tothetreacheryof a servant, employedby Roland Jenks , the bookbinder of Oxford, who was assistingPersons with the books . On April the 28th Jenks was orderedto be sent from Oxford to London for examination touching " Papistical books " (Dasent xii, 34; cf. also Persons , De Vita Campiani, c 25, and C.R.S. ii, 27, 182, and iv, 17)

(31) Cf. The Diary ofthe Towerafter March 27 , and Briant's letter printed in Allen's Briefe Historie, p 51

(32) John Aylmer succeeded Sandys as Protestant Bishop of London in 1576. Agreat persecutorboth ofCatholicsand Protestants, he was branded not undeservedly by the people as a " man of blood . "

(83) Apart from thewhipping, the incident is reported in Persons's letter to Agazzari 17 November, 1580

(34) The son-in-law ofAylmer was Adam Squire, ArchdeaconofMiddlesex Cf. Strype, Life of Aylmer, p. 122

quinquaginta millia statim se obtulerunt,(35) iique ex omni fere regni provincia ornatissimi , ac universo populo probatissimi viri, quorum constantia mirabiliter offensi adversarii, in presbyteros tanquam hujus rei praecipuos autores, universalem iracundiae molem converterunt . Unum itaque, hoc ipso mense in crucem egerunt EverardiumHansium,(36) & plures videntur brevi eandem sortem subituri, ad quam omnes paratissimis esse videntur animis. Hansius certe invicta patientiacertamen pertulit; proximus ei successurus videtur Cliftonus presbyter, qui jam aliquot mensibus sic ab haereticis inter latrones in antro quodam subterraneo, fame , frigore, ferrisque afflictus est, ut supra naturamplane existimetur , quod spiritum adhuc ducat. Hic cum his diebus ad tribunal per plateas ingentibus onustus ferris inter fures duceretur, sociis gementibus & universo fere populo commiseratione affecto, ipse solus hilaris et subridenti similis compedes trahebat. Cum autem quidam peteret, cur ille prae caeteris in casu suo tam misero rideret, quia (inquit) ego plus quam caeteri ex hac calamitateemolumenti sum percepturus, & justum est opinor, ut quisque de suo lucro gaudeat (37)

Cervinus vester qui tanto zelo Romae ardebat, non minori spiritus ardore sex integros fere menses(38) per diversas regni provincias concionando consumpsit, qua in re insignem plane gratiam & auctoritatem habebat ; voluitque Dei providentia, ut in tantorum laborum compensationem, in ipsa tandem concione caperetur Londini in domo cujusdam nobilisjuvenis, cui Roscaroco (39) nomen est, qui una cum Cervino in carcerem est traditus, & postea equuleo tortus dicitur. Cervino cum in atrium interius carceris adductus esset, aptarunt compedes gravissimos, quos vix movere poterat : quo facto discesserunt ad tempus custodes ut viderent in quodnam antrum vel cubiculum compingendus deinde esset; ille autem, cum undique circumspiciens solum se videret, suspexit in caelum laetissimo vultu & gratias Deoegit: tamen iterum pedes aspexit onustos catenis, & experiebatur an movere eos posset, cumque movendo audiret catenae sonitum , continere se non potuit, quin magno risu, effusis etiam prae gaudio lacrymis, & manibus oculisque in caelum sublatis, ingentem laetitiae suae affectum exprimeret. Quam rem totam videntes haeretici quidam duo de Familia Amoris , qui proximo quodam in loco captivi tenebantur , nullum mirandi finem facere potuerunt, & universam rei gestae seriem saepissimepostea narrare consueverunt. IdemCervinus cum

(35) This figure is also given in Persons's letter to Agazzari 17 November , 1580. (36) Bd Everard Hanse was sentenced at the Old Bailey on July the28th and suffered martyrdom at Tyburn July the 31st , 1581 .

(37) The incident in the text is reported in Persons's letter to Agazzari 17 November, 1580, q.v., and note there (n 38)

(38) The six months is an error Sherwin wrote to Agazzari from Rouen onhiswaytoEngland 1 August, 1580 (Stonyhurst, Anglia, vol i, n. 9) Hewas apprehended in England beforeNovember of the same year (Dasentxii, 264).

(39) For a brief sketch of his life see L.I. Guiney, Recusant Poets , London , 1938, p 199

, S.J.

biduo antequam caperetur, mecum pernoctasset, & propter frigoris vehementiam (erat enim hyems) ad focum exiguum quem habueramus, inter duos tresve aegre se inseruisset; hacderepostsex opinordies , quam in carcerefuisset, sic ad me scripsit.(40) Eleemosynam quam heri ad me misisti, accepi . Deus tibi rependat; tantillum etiamantea habueram, quod ubi expensumfuerit, descendam ad fratres meos latrones in lacum ut ex communi eleemosynarum sportula vivam & descendam profecto libentius, quam unquam hactenus ad ullum convivium; illius enim sportulae panis, eritmihi Domini mei causa, omni melle & universis dapium generibus dulcior. Habeo jam ad pedes ac tibias tintinabula quaedam, quae me admoneant, qui sim & cujus sim, nunquam alias sensi tam suavem harmoniam; si vobiscum jam essem, facerent mihi locum ad ignem accedenti, nec me comprimeretis Ora pro me , ut compleam fortiter ac fideliter cursum.

Translation.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Aug., 1581 .

As I have obtainedthe servicesofa sure and faithful manwho says he is going to set out foryou at once, I am goingto run through briefly the principal points about which I have already written to you in other letters; for fear that in these very difficult times they may not have been able to reach you

Our business , so to speak, is in every way in a good state. For , though there are plenty who despise us and very many too whofight against us , yet not a few are found to buy our goods and many more who admire them. There is tremendous talk here of Jesuits, and more fables perhaps are told aboutthemthan were told ofold aboutmonsters . For as to the origin of these men, their way of life, their institute, their morals and teaching , their plans and actions, stories of all sorts are spread abroad, not only in private conversation but also in public sermons and printed books, and these contradict one anotherand have a striking resemblance to dreams (2) This, however, is the main indictment: that they, as well as all the other priests, have been sent by the Supreme Pontiff to investigate conditions and to betray and overthrow states Two among them are especially mentioned: Campion and Persons . The latteris said to be stayingin Londonafter a journey through various counties of the kingdom; the former to be still at large in the country (3) And so in this last Parliament one of them was spoken of as a lurking wolf, ' the other as an interfering and ubiquitousJesuit' Both are said to be very busy They preach nearly every day, first thing in the morning; then they write : after dinner they usually change their quarters, meditating on what they are to preach next day, as they ride along : after supper they hear confessions or settle cases of conscience, as they call them (4) This is the mode of life that is said to be followedusually both by them and the other priests, of whom there is no small number here. Greatis the throng that comes to them, ofall classes, but especially ofyoungmen of birth. They come to them not merelyfor the purpose of imbibing the Catholic doctrinebut also to escort them on theirway and protect them, to assist them with the help of their wealth and to (40) Cf. Persons to Agazzari 17 November, 1580, and note 1 supra.

beat handfor everykind of service. I saw someofthem with Campion on his journey, but more with Personsduring these last days in London The most persistent of them is that George Gilbert, about whom I havewrittenin other letters, Persons's almost inseparable companion. This man , though in these previousyears he has been a distinguished follower of Calvin's doctrine, now protectsthe Catholicfaith with such zeal that he is not less hated by the heretics than are the Jesuits , because it is mainly by his money and influence that they are believed to have been supported up till now It is for him, therefore, that the hue and cry is greatest and his property is raided and pillaged everywhere, and lately it has been most difficult for him to escape the pursuivants' hands And so it came about last week(5) that he was persuaded by Persons to leave the kingdom, though with evident reluctance, and to yield for the time to circumstances Charles Basset(6) is to follow him immediately; he is Thomas More's great grandson, of good familylike George, a young man of zeal and piety I think both ofthemwillcome to Rome There are others left to promoteour cause both atCourt and elsewhere . There is one also in charge ofthe printing press, a man of exceptional faith and energy, endowed as wellwith a great varietyof talents and with a zeal for religion; and it is spoken of, moreover , as a wonderfully clever thing to have managed in these extremely difficult circumstances to have a press and printers to print books secretly, using caves and holes in the ground and changing the place and their names very frequently to avoid detection.(7)

It is this which enabled a great fight to be put up this year by the writing of books, to ensure that the heretics should not be able to publish anything without its being almost immediately attacked most vigorously Charke and Hanmer, Calvinist ministers, at first also wrote againstCampion , abusingin wonderful fashionthe whole Jesuit order and condemning expressly the life of Ignatius Loyola (8) But within ten days there appeared a short criticism by an unknown author, printed in type, which taxed those ministers with so many lies that both they and their followerswere mightily ashamed (9) Two or three times the ministers had been challenged to a contestto argue these same matters; and as they were very much offended at this, Campion brought out a most brilliant little book, addressed to the members of the University, in which he gave the reasons for that demand (10)

The Queen had issued some very abusive edicts againstall Jesuits, Priests, Seminary scholars, and against the very foundation of the Colleges But these were at once countered by a defence, written by that most learned man, William Allen (who can most deservedly be called the father of this vineyard), with such discretionand restraint and with such weight of argumentthat the heretics themselves , though otherwise annoyed, heaped great praise on the actual work, and the Catholics got immense encouragement from it (11) At the very same time the minister, Fulke, (12) had made an attack on a certain book bythe same Allen, written many years ago, about Purgatorynot so much because he wished to defeat him, as seeking the glory of having sucha famousadversary But this man, whowas braggingridiculously likea boy, was very quickly repressed and all but broken by a manof great authority , who rejoices in the highest reputation for learning, Richard Bristow, prefect of studies in the seminaryat Rheims (13)

During these same days the estates of the realm had assembled and were said to be going to condemn the Catholics for contumacy,

in that they refused to attend Protestant rites at the bidding of the Queen. And in this connection there was on view in the Parliament itself a little book, written in English and printed in England, which gives many very weighty arguments for the refusal ; and not even our adversaries are able to refute these (unless like the Atheists they are of opinion that Catholics ought to hold in complete contempt the unanimous verdict of conscience) (14)

I have written before about the relapse and apostasy of John Nichols,(15) who, after being a Calvinist minister, had at one time masqueraded asa scholar ofyour College. This man sometimes preached in the Tower of Londonto the priests imprisoned there, whoare dragged forcibly to the church in the presence of a large crowd of courtiers assembled to grace the comedy.(16) It is almost unbelievable how this fellow is everywhere talked of in terms of the highest praise. Heis held to be the most learned of all Jesuits, a Pope's scholar , a Preacher to the Cardinals , a Theologian , a Philosopher , a scholar of Greek , Hebrew , Chaldæan, most skilled in all languages and sciences . He published a printed recantation of his faith, and in it are an infinity of lies about Rome, the Pope, the Cardinals , your College, the Jesuits, the scholars , about every kind of monk and priest (17) The pamphlet was hailed as a signal success by the heretics and distributed abroad; but almost within a month a second book saw the light, entitled "A Discoverie of J. Nichols, " (18) in which it was proved on the clearest grounds that he was neither a Jesuit nor a priest, nor a Theologian or Philosopher , and that he had never made an address to the Pope or Cardinals (except once or twice at Rome in the presence of the Inquisitors, when he abjured the Calvinist heresy) and that he had no knowledge of any learned tongue or of any science, but was only a relapsed minister, a very unskilledgrammarian, a wandering vagabond, and a most deceitfulfellow. Moreover this gave good excuseformaking extensive explanations of matters in Rome, the works of charitythat are carried on in the city, the very celebrated undertakings carried out by His Holiness and the illustrious Cardinals, the signal pietyof the religious orders ; so that the heretics were not a little regretful that by that compositionof his they had provided the necessary occasion for a declarationof that kind; and that owingto this very many people had seen through the fraud and had begun to distrust their own side and attach themselves to ours

Somuchfor the books With no less zeal on the part ofthepriests they are circulated, even at the cost of danger, in order that what is written may reach the hands of all Their method is as follows: all the books are brought togetherto Londonwithoutany being issued , and, after being distributed into the hands of the priests in parcels of a hundred or fifty, are issued at exactly the same time to all parts of the kingdom Now on the next day, when according to theirwont the officials begin to search the housesof Catholics becausethese books have been distributed, there are plenty of young men of birth ready to introduce these books by night into the dwellings of the heretics , into workshops as well as palaces, to scatter them in the Court also and about the streets, so that it may not be Catholics only who are accused in the matter

I should never come to an end if I began to talk about the zeal andfervour ofthe Catholics . Whena priest comes to lodge with them they greet him in the first instance as though he were a strangerand unknown to them; then they conduct him to an inner chamber where

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

an oratory has been set up. There they all kneel downand veryhumbly beg the priest's blessing Next they enquire how long he is going to stay with them and this they would like to be as long as possible If he says he will be leaving on the following day (which is the common practicein order to avoid risk from a longer stay) on that sameevening they all prepare themselves for the confession of their sins and the next morning they hear Mass and fortify themselves with the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist; after that an address is given and they again beg the priest's blessing and he departs ; and almostinvariably some young men of birth accompany him on his journey.

The Catholics in various parts of their houses have a number of secret places (as we read was the custom in the primitive church) in which to hide the priests from the violence of the officials , who make sudden incursions (19) But now , owingto their being in use for a long time (as always happens), and also by reason of the treacheryofsome false brethren, for the most part they have come to the knowledge of the pursuivants It is the customof the Catholics themselves totake to the woods and thickets, to ditches and holes even, for concealment , when their houses are broken into at night Sometimes when we are sitting at table quite cheerfully, conversing familiarlyabout matters offaith or piety (for this is the most frequent subject of conversation of all), if it happens that someone rings at the front door a little more insistently than usual so that he can be put down as an official, immediately, like deer that have heardthe voices of huntersand prick their ears and become alert, all stand to attention, stop eating, and commend themselves to God in the briefest of prayers : no word or sound of any sort is heard until the servants report what is the matter; and ifit turns out that there is no danger, after the scare they have had, they become still more cheerful It can truly be said ofthem that they carry their lives always in their hands.

No one is found in these parts to complain that services last too long. Nay, if at any time Mass fails to last neary an wholehour , this is not much to the taste of many of them. If six , eight, or even more Massesare said on the same day and in the same place, which happens not infrequently when priestsare holding meetings among themselves , the same congregation will be present at all of them If the priest does notfail them they purgetheir sins by a salutary confession every eighth day Quarrels between Catholics on any matters are almost unheardof; ifany difference of opinion takes place as a rule it is submitted entirely to the decision of the priests They neither contract marriage willinglywith heretics nor pray with them, nor do they like to have any intercourse with them When lately a noble lady was offered her freedom from prison if she would so much as pass through even one of their churches, she indignantly refused, adding that she had entered the prison with a good conscience and that she desired withouthurt to it either to leave the prison or to die (20) See, I beg you, what the spirit of God has effected by means of this persecution. In the time of King Henry, the father of the present queen Elizabeth, practically thewholeofthis kingdom (in which therewere a greatmany bishops, prelates and learned men) at the first summons of the tyrant renounced its faith and the authority of the Roman Pontiff : now , however , by the supreme mercy of God, when Henry's daughteris persecuting them, there are not lacking boys and women not onlyto profess openly and courageously their faith even before the tribunals, but who, with death as the alternative, refuse to do what mightseem

to somepeople to be thingsofminor importance This is trulya change brought aboutbythe righthandof God on high(21) and to be accounted among the most signal benefits conferred on this nation Wordscannot say to what an extent those Seminaries beyond the Seas have spread the glory of God: it is these that alarm the heretics, more than the armies of any Catholic princes

Our friend Pound is most strictlyguarded in London and has been thrown into a gloomy castle on account of the freedom of tonguewith which he lately belaboured certain ministers and challenged them to a contest with Catholic priests. This is the one thing that they are least willing to listen to He lies on the groundin a cellar and isallowed no use of a light; he is loaded as well with enormous iron fetters; and yet in letters, which by some marvellous device he has sent out in the last few days, he jokes with me in a most gentle fashion, just as though he were living in luxury When, however , at his request I directed acertainpriestto use the samechannel by whichI had received these lettersand go andaffordhim the benefitofthe most holy Eucharist, owing to his failure to observe all the details for his journey and admittance prescribed by Pound, he was taken prisoner ; but afterwards again, wonderful to relate, he was set free (22)

Into a similar place of captivity, within the last few days, after enduring the London prisons for so many years, were thrown those very respected and reverend gentlemen, the Bishop of Lincoln, the Abbot of Westminster, and many others. In their venerable old age they are now sent to the castle of Wisbeach, a most unhealthy spot, to be in the charge of a very cruel Puritan, andit is quite certain that they will not long survive there. (23) For besides the discomfort of the prison they are also being treated inhumanely and barbarously by the gaoler. They are deprivedof all books whatsoever, exceptone bible, and they are not allowed compositions in their own writing or their notes Most overbearing ministers often break in upon them unexpectedlyso as to attack them when unprepared and taunt and insult them Afterwards they often publish falsehoods and ridiculous stories about them, and at times even in printed books, so as to impair their reputation everywhere, which is very high (24) Last month a woman of easy virtue was introduced into their bedrooms without their knowledge that so they might acquire a reputation for unchastity.(25) No access is allowed to them and so we are forced to make use of this device which I will now describe When any of our people wishes to give them an alms, on the previousday he walksover the adjoining fields and utters a cry as though he were about to hunt game; when this signal is given, one of them looks out of the window and is made aware by the signal that the sportsman has something destined for their use. Then, on the following night, while other people are asleep, he approaches cautiouslyto the walls and through thesame window from which the signal had been given, one of the inmates lets down a little basket and receives the alms in it Muchthe same method is employed in the other prisons also, though for different localities different methods have to be tried, and in inventing these and putting them into executionat very great risk to themselves the Catholics are distinguishing themselves in a truly wonderful way by their zeal , charity and bravery.

Hart and Cottam are in the same prison : the latter of his own free will surrendered to the officers in order to get his companion out

of trouble, who had been arrested on his account ; the former was captured as he was coming into the island and was taken beforethe Queen's Counsellors, and being a very good-looking young man and endowed also with great talents and sprung from noble parents , he was sent away to Oxford to have a conference with the most learned theologians of that University, in case there should turn out to beany hope of pervertinghim Butas, after an interval of two or threemonths, they were making no progress at all in that respect, they concluded that he must be committed to prison and there he lives very cheerfully, andis expectingharsher treatment in future to make up for past indulgences Your man, Tyrrel, after landing here and greeting me, went out one day openly, and was seen and betrayedby John Nichols, who made a commotion and urged the populace to lay hold of the public enemy (for that is the way they talk).(26) I am not surprised at the Apostlecomplaining so bitterly of false brethren: here they are most troublesome to us and more deadly than anything else . Sledd , who left Rome a few days before us, acted as a traitor secretlyat one time: nowhe openlyhuntsus down. Hetook Johnson as he was walking about the streets, and shortly afterwards Orton, who was expecting anything rather than that. If the traitor had exercised a little restraint and had proceeded as far as the inn, he would at one blow havetaken Campion, Persons and Gilbert (for Orton was making his way to them) and I know of nothing that the Queen craves so much as the capture of those three brave men (27)

But it fell out not according to his but God's will for He is daily saving those men as well as others from dangers of various kinds Three instances in the caseof Persons at any rate I have heardfrom his own lips: first, when the house, in which he was, was invested , and hehid himselfina barnwhichadjoinedthe houseandgave the pursuivantsthe slip(28); secondly, when he was summoned to a certain public hostelry towards nightfall (for it is at that hour that priests usually go abroad) in order to reconcile to the bosom of the church a noblemanwho was coming from a great distance, and, though he was perfectly familiar with the place and had been there three days before, yet, as he was on his way there, his powers of perceptionwere so altered that, when he came to the house, he failed to recognize it and was now unableto find it for all his careful efforts, in spite of his searching for it fora long time and making frequent inquiries of people about it; and so he was forced to go sorrowfully away Next day, however, he heard that the door of the inn had been shut from the inside by the officers and a watch kept, expecting his coming. They arrested, however , on that occasion, seven others whowere coming there on the same errand, and among them Rushton, an alumnus of your College The third occasion was at the time when Persons had a house situated near the bank of the Thames where of a night priests were wont to assemble, and at times to leave their packs there Information about this house had been given to the magistrates by a bookbinder, who had practised his trade in it, and, Persons having barely gone out of it, they forthwith occupied it with a great crowd of armed men and plunderedit of everythingcrucifixes, medals, blessed grains, Agnus Deis, and manyother articles ofthe same kind.(30) They capturedalsoAlexander Briant, a priest, in a neighbouring house, and afterwards inflicted varioustortures on himnot just the rack as on other priests,butthey inserted very sharp needles under his nails, an unheard of kind of cruelty.(31)

And in truth it is really wonderful what ingenuity and malicethe heretics show in thinking out new ways of afflicting the Catholics From the Tower of London they write that there are seven different kinds of torments and tortures there which are used on the Catholics daily. Here also Aylmer, the superintendent and pseudo-Bishop, being bynatureferocious and atone timeofno mean reputation as agladiator, gives vent to his peculiar ways(32) And within these last few days, because he had been unable to bend a certain girl of gentle birth to his will and make her attend the rites of the heretics, he thrust her into a place of ill fame, where she was to be beaten with whips as a prostitute (33) But vengeance of a sort seems to have pursued him immediately; for he had married his own daughter, whom he especially loved, to a certain preaching minister (for they usually all marry for the most part within their own tribe of ministers), and to enhance his daughter'sposition had made him Archdeacon of London This man , whilst ona visitation of his district, was caught bythe magistrates with anotherman'swife This having beenbroughtto thenoticeofthefatherin-law, the son-in-law,(34) in order to induce him to takea more lenient view of the matter, was willing to add to his offence. So heforged, in his wife's name, a letter full of passion, to a certain knight, and, pretending that he had interceptedit, produced it to his father-in-law as an excuse for his lapse The latter was extremely distressed , but when he found out afterwardsthat the whole affair had been invented by his son-in-law, he flew into a passion and is said to have given the Archdeacon a tremendous thrashing, not with the pastoral staff , but with a butcher's cudgel It is with prelates of this sort forsooth that we are fighting So he wrote

I doubt not that you have had sufficient information about the most ruthless edicts and savage laws that have been enacted against the whole race of priests and Catholics, both from my letters and those of others, and from the very facts that have been brought to your notice The heretics' first onset was chiefly against those who would not attend the heretical rites and, owing to this refusal, they have since formed the custom of calling them Recusants More than fifty thousand at once proclaimed themselves as such(35) and these were the most distinguishedmen in nearly every county of the kingdom , men who were held in the highest respect by the people every- where. Our enemies were extremely annoyed by their constancy and have turned the whole weight of their wrath against the priests as being the chief instigatorsofthis refusal And so this very month they have hanged one of them, Everard Hanse,(36) and more seem likely shortlyto undergo the same fate They are all apparently quite prepared in mind for this. Hanse indeed has brought his contest to a close with unconquered patience Clifton, a priest, seems likelytobe the next to follow him Already for several months he has been so tortured by the heretics with hunger, cold, and fetters among robbers in a cave underground , that it is considered to be clearly supernatural that he still draws breath When during the last few days he was being conducted through the streets to the court, in the midst ofthe thievesand loaded withhuge chains, whilehiscomrades weptandnearly all the populace was touched with pity, he alone, cheerfully and as though smiling to himself, dragged his fetters along. And when someone asked him why he of all others laughed, being in such terrible case , "It is because, " he said, "I more than others am going to get profit from this unfortunate affair, and it is right, I imagine, for every man to rejoice at his own gains !"(37)

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

Sherwin, one ofyour men, whoin Rome used to burn with such zeal , has spent, with no less ardour of spirit, almost six whole months(38) in preachingthroughout various counties of the kingdom; and in this undertaking he was given graces and influence which were truly outstanding. And God in His providence willed that in reward of such great labours he should be taken eventually in the act of preaching in Londonat the house ofa certain noble youthnamed Roscarrock,(39) who has been committed to prison along with Sherwin, and it is said that he was afterwards tortured on the rack. When Sherwin had been brought to the inner court of the prison, they fastened very heavy fetters on him which he could hardly move; this done, the warders went away for the time being to see into what cave or room he was next to be thrust He, however, when he had looked around everywhere and saw that he was alone, looked up to heaven witha countenance full of joy and gave thanks to God; again, however, he lookedat his feet loaded with fetters and tried whether he could move them; and when , on moving them, he heard the sound of the chain, he could not contain himself, but, with a loud laugh and shedding tears ofjoy as well , and raising his hands and eyes to heaven, he gave vent to his feelingofintense joy

The whole of this was witnessed by two heretics , members of the family of Love, who were being held prisoners in a place hard by, and they were never able to cease from astonishment , and afterwards were in the habit of relating very often the whole sequenceof what he had done This same Sherwin had spent the night with me two days before he was taken, and on accountof theextreme cold (for it was winter) had pushed himself in with difficulty between two or three others at the little fire which we had In reference to this, when he had been six days, I think, in prison, he wrote to me thus (40) : "I have received the alms you sent me yesterday; may God repay you I had had a small sum , too, before, that, when it is finished, I shall go down to my brother robbers in the pit so as tolive from the common basket of alms , and I shall go down assuredly much morewillinglythan I have ever gone to any feast before . For the bread out of that basket will represent the cause of my God, sweeter than all honey and than banquets of every kind. I have now some little bells on my feet and legs, to remind me who I am and whose I am; I have never experienced such sweet harmony elsewhere . If I were with you now , they would win me a place when I approached to the fire, andyou would not press me out Pray for me thatI may complete my course bravely and faithfully"

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI. 30 August, 1581 .

Extract quoted in Punti , Coll P, f 17, and printed in C.R.S. iv, 14

Superioribus meis litteris commendavi vobis quantopotui affectu filium meum amicum, patronum, et liberalissimum benefactorem Georgium Gilbertum, cui tantum faveo quantum potes existimare, tantum debeoquantum non possum explicare. Nunc illi commendationi adjungo presentium latorem, Carolum Bassetum(1)

(1) Charles Basset was the great-grandsonof St. ThomasMore, his mother being Mary, youngest daughter of William Roper and Margaret, More's favourite child He is mentioned by Persons among the young men who so greatly assisted theCatholic cause on the arrival ofthe Jesuit missionaries in England (Persons, Life of Campion, Coll P, c 21) He was the intimate

laudum earum quas Georgio meo tribui non immerito participem , quippe cujus virtutes tales sunt, ut gratiam me a vobis reportaturum non dubitem eo quod ipsum ad vestrumCollegium direxerim, quasque experientiapotius vestra quam sermonemeo malim innotescere. Juvenis estfamiliaeillustris, et divitis quique si cetera non essent eo solo nomine vobis carus esse deberet quod pronepos sit Illustrissimi Martiris Thomae Mori sed habet adhuc alia in seipso clariora, habet enimingenium, mores, virtutes, dignas se suisque majoribus , et nisi fallor dignissimas illo vestro sancto contubernio, cujus hos duosjuvenes, duo luminaria esse volui, ut luceant omnibus qui in illa Domo sunt, sicut jam Angliae nostrae aliquamdiu preluxerunt.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . Translation

30 Aug., 1581 .

In my former letter I commended to you, with all the affection I could, my son, friend, patron and most generous benefactor , George Gilbert, to whom my good will is as great as you can conceive, and my indebtedness greater than I can explain. Now to that commendation Iassociate the bearer of the present letter, Charles Bassett,(1)who may deservedlyhave his part in the praises which I have given to my dear George. Suchare his virtues that I doubt not you will be grateful to me forhavingdirected him to your college. I had rather havethem known to you by your own experience than by any words of mine. Heis a youthof an illustrious and wealthy family. Had he no other recommendations he should be dear to you on this sole accountthat he is the great-grandson of the illustrious martyr Thomas More. But he has better gifts in himself: he has talents, manners , virtues worthy of himselfand his ancestors, and, ifI mistakenot, quite worthyofthe holy companyofyour college, of whichI have wished these twoyouths to be two lights to shine upon all who are in that house, as already for some time they have shone forth upon our England.

PERSONS

TO AQUAVIVA

Extract quoted by Bartoli, Inghilterra , p. 158.

30 August, 1581 .

Per lettere del consiglio di stato fu commandato di condurli per tutto il più lungo di Londra, ch'è di due in tre miglia, e attraversarne le piazze, sino a meterli nel castello che qui chiamiamo la Torre .(1) L'ordine della cavalcata, era questo. Venivainnanzi

friend of George Gilbert , and once, when deputising for him in receivingthe money from the sale of some of the latter's property , was arrested by Sir George Careyand sentto the Marshalsea (Persons, AutobiographyandDomesticall Difficulties, C.R.S. ii, 28, 183) Leaving England in the autumn of 1581 , he enteredthe English College, Rome , on October 8thof that year (Diary of the English College, Foley, vi, 153) He left the College in 1583 on account ofill-health , andwent to Rheims (Allen to Agazzari, 30 May, 16 and 20 June, 1583 Knox, Allen, pp 194, 195, 197), where he appears to have died late in the following year (Persons, Punti, C.R.S. iv, 70) (1) Campion was taken to the Tower on Saturday, the 22nd of July Bartoli states that Persons had this account from an eye-witness Cf. also Allen to Agazzari, 8 August 1581 (Knox, Allen, p 102); Allen, A Briefe Historie, 1908, p 12, and Persons, Punti and Autobiography (C.R.S. iv, 19 , and ii, 30).

PERSONS , S.J.

a tuttiilvisconte della Provinciadi Bark, perchèinlei furon presi, con in pugno il baston bianco della giustitia Dopo lui immediatamente il P. Campiano, su'l più alto cavallo, senza mantelloindosso, con le braccia legategli dietro alle reni, e i piedi con una fune strettigli sotto'l ventre al cavallo Dall'un lato e dall'altro, cavalcavano accostati a lui, due lance guardandolo, che nè egli parlasse aniuno, nè niuno con lui, Intorno al cappello gli haveano aggirata una carta, scrittovi in letteroni maiuscoli, EDMONDO CAMPIANO GESUITA SEDIZIOSO Gli altri seguivano dopo lui, tutti similmente legati, ma non col cartello, di che l'onorato fu il solo P. Campiano. Lor dietro (oltre a cinquantalance di guardia che gli accompagnarono in tutto il viaggio) veniva una gran molitudined'altri, chi a cavallo, chi a piedi , che, usciti a vederequesto spettacolo, non abbandonarono il padre sino all'entrar suo nel castello. Contavammi assai di questi l'itrepido e allegro sembiante , con che il P. Edmondo, e gli altri, portavano quel vitupero. Mantener sempreun piacevolissimo volto, e sorridevano anchetalvolta Avvenne loro di passar lungola croce di Chepseseid (ch'è quanto dire, piazza del mercato, nel cui mezzo era posta), la qual sola in tutto il regno, per la sua gran bellezza, non l'hanno atterrata; e in vederla il Campiano le fece di capo, inchinandola in atto di riverenza, e , comeil meglio potè conle mani dietrolegate, segnòssi : e come lui, altresì i compagni, che gli venivano appresso; il che osservato dal popolo, cagionò gran maraviglia, nè perciò, se non sol da pochi, ne furono dileggiati Giunto alla porta del castello, che altresì è prigione, rivoltosi il P. Edmondo, ringratiò, e diede un corteseaddio a que' che l'havevanoaccompagnato: il che intenerì tanto il cuore ad alcuni cattolici, massimamente nobile gioventù, che non potendo ritener quivi stesso le lagrime, tornatisi prestamente a casa, allora, e per più di appressocontinuaron piangendo.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA . Translation.

London, 30th Aug., 1581

By letters from the Council of State orders were given for him to be led through allthe length of London, a matter oftwo to threemiles , and to pass through the open squares, and finally to be put in the fortress whichwe here call The Tower (1) Theorderofthecavalcade was asfollows: In frontofeverybodycame the Under-Sheriffof theCounty of Berkshire , for the reason that they were captured in that county, holding in his fist the white staff of Justice Immediately after him came Fr. Campion, on a very tall horse, without cloak on his back , his arms tied behind his loins, and his feet confined by a rope beneath his horse's belly On each side of him rode two lancers, close by his side, guarding him lest he should speak to anyone or anyone to him Around the hair of his head they encircled an inscription, written in great big capital letters: EDMUND CAMPION, THE SEDITIOUS JESUIT. The others followedafter him, all likewisebound, but withoutthe title: Fr.Campion was the only one to be honoured inthat way. Behind them , in addition to a guard of 50 lancers who accompanied him on the whole journey, came a large crowd of other people, some on horseback , some on foot, who had come outto witness the spectacle

anddid notdesert the Fatheruntilhisentrance into thefortress Agood many of these related to me with how fearless and glad a countenance Fr. Edmund and the others endured that ignominy They wore at all times a look full of peace, and smiled also at times. It happened that they passed by the cross of Cheapside, that is to say the market place in the middle of which it was situated It was the only one in all the kingdom which, on account of its great beauty, they had not thrown down; and as soon as Campion caught sight of it he made much accountofit, inclining his head to it in sign of reverence , and, as well as he could with his hands tied behind him, he made the sign of the cross. And in the same way as he did, so likewise did his companions who came after him. This, being noticed by the populace, occasioned much wonder ; nor were they on that account mocked at, except only by a few. Closeto the gate of the fortress , whichislikewise a prison, Fr. Edmund turned round, thanked and said a polite farewell tothose who had accompanied him. Thismeltedthe hearts ofa number of Catholics , mainly young men of the upper class, to such an extent that,being unable to keepbacktheir tears thereat thespot,they returned hurriedly to their homes, and then for a longtime afterwardscontinued to weep .

SYNOPSIS OF A LETTER OF PERSONS

. London, 30 August, 1581

Arch S.J. Rom., Anglia 38 (olim Angl Hist ix, Sect B, f 17) (1)

Personius Londra, 30 Augusto, 1581 .

Non può scrivere a lungo perchè non può fermarsi a pena tanto che finesca di scrivere un foglio.

Preso Campiano convenne che si nascondesse in certe ville rusticane perchè era grande la furia al cercarlo (2)

Erano stati insieme circa 12 giorni c R. Emerson consultando le cose e aspettando l'arrivo di Gaspare e P. Guglielmo (3) (venero poi ma più tardi)-rinnovarono i voti & e si divessero Campiano mandò Emerson a certa Provincia 6 giornati lontanaa prenderne suoi libri e le cose di celebrare.

D'Elioto dice che era fugitto dal suo padrone per certe sceleraggini(4); non dice da chi; si offerse a prender P. Campiano

(1) This volume , Anglia 38, contains notes and synopses of letters made byBartoli, or by Grene for Bartoli, in preparation for the latter'sInghilterra (2)In his Autobiographyand Punti Persons states that he went into Sussex and eventually to Michelgrove, the house of a Mr. Shelley, who wasa prisoner for the faith Cf. C.R.S. ii, 30, andiv, 27; and Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1581, note 19 .

(3) Fr. JasperHeywoodand Fr. William Holt,who had arrived in England shortly before Cf. Aquaviva toAllen, 28 May and 14 October, 1581 (C.R.S. ix, 79, 80).

(4) In his De Vita Edmundi Campion Persons writes: " Fuerat multis annis Eliottus Catholicus, sed spiritu superbiae ut retulit mihi CarolusBassettus qui eundem familiariternoverat in domo avunculi sui Roperi: solebat rixari saepe cum Ministro illiusloci Tandeminciditin amorempuellaecujusdam in illa domo: item vocatus fuerat in suspicionem latrocinii commissi de quo fide jussores dederant responsum et re praesentaturum se in proximis comitiis His duabus rebus afflictus adiit senatumdocet de statu suo, petiit patrocinium et obtinuitet sic primo extulit domo puellam,et Paynum rogavit ut matrimonio conjungeret, qui quum hominem reprehenderetquod inscio

Gli vene in mente Liford casa religiosarum dove anche eran monache(5); il padrone in carcere per la fede; le monache cacciate d'Inghilterra in Fiandraindi ricacciate in Inghilterra: Liford da Londra quasi o intorno 50 miglia

Pervenit eo die dominica quae fuit 16 Julii ultimo.

Audita concione cum 60 circiter Catholicis abiere Intra unam horam rediere cum 100 circiter armatis (dueilli Eliot et alt. sacerdotes; 7 nobiles laici).

Tota narratio seq. opt.

In una mese 10 sacerdoti son presi da Eliote. Volebant heretici vivum comburi Campianum ut heresis magistrum

Dicit etiam 66 aureos et 20 libras ac Comitia habita mense Martio postremo &.(6)

Translation .

SYNOPSIS OF A LETTER OF PERSONS .

London , 30 Aug., 1581.

He is not ableto write a long letter because he can with difficulty stop anywhere long enough to finish writing one page.

Campion being captured , it was best for him to hide himself in certain country houses because the fury of the search for him was immense.(2)

They had been together for about 12 days with Br. R. Emerson , consulting about their affairs and awaiting the arrival of Fr. Jasper and Fr.William.(3) (Theycame aboutthattime butlater) theyrenewed their vows , etc., and separated.

Campion sent Emerson to a certain county, six days' journey away, to take there his books and equipmentfor sayingMass

Of Eliot he says that he was a fugitive from his master on account of certain misdemeanours(4); he does not say from whom (he was fleeing); he volunteered to capture Fr. Campion. Lyford occurred to his mind, a house of religious women , where there were also nuns (5); the owner was in prison for the faith; the nuns expelled from England to Flanders, and from there driven back again to England Lyford is some 50 miles or less from London

He arrived there on Sunday, which was the 16th of July last

After listening to a sermon, about 60 Catholics being present, they went away Within an hour they returned with about 100 armed men . (Thosetwo, Eliot and another, priests and seven laymenofthe nobility.)

The whole splendid story follows

In one month ten priests were taken by Eliot.

domino extulisset domo, apprehendit ipsum Paynum summumamicum suum et postea ficta criminatione ad mortem usque persecutus est Deinde petiit lictorem a Senatu ut exiret ad quaerendumaliquem Jesuitam, non enim certo sciebat ubi aliquis esset" (Coll P , f 155) Cf. Elliot's letters, Brit Mus , Lansdowne, 33, nn 60, 61, and Simpson, Campion, p 218. He repeatedhis accusationsat the trial of Campion and his companions , and the subsequent trial of Bd . John Payne Cf. Brit Mus , Sloane MSS 1132, f. 18, and Allen, A Briefe Historie, 1908, pp 89-91, where are also to be read the countercharges of Payne against Elliot, given in open court, which bear out the statement of Persons above Cf. also Diary ofthe Towerunder Julythe14th , 1581

(5) Cf. Simpson, Campion, p 220

(6) He is referring, presumably, to the fines imposed by the Statute of 1581

Theheretics were anxious for Campion to be burnt alive as a teacher of heresy He speaks of 66 gold pieces and 20 pounds and the Parliament held in the month of March last (6)

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA (1)

[21 October, 1581.]

Printed inMore, Historia ProvinciaeAnglicanae(Audomari, 1660), pp 113121. It is translated in part in Forbes -Leiths, S.J., Narratives of Scottish Catholics (Edinburgh, 1885), pp 166-174, and referred to by Bartoli, Inghil- terra, pp 110, 243

Admodum Reverende Pater, Pax Christi , Copiosead vestram Paternitatemscripsi de rebus nostris mense superiore, nunc quoniam alia majoris longe momenti occurrunt, significanda quoque sine mora existimavi, Pater Campianus post tormenta bis illi exhibita, quatuor habuit in carcere cum adversariis disputationes ,(2) magno sane fructu communis causae , & multarum animarum lucro, ut posthac forsan magis in particulari audietis ; ego ut ante significavi , nactus exeundi commoditatem , in Galliam transmisi ,(3) ut, expedirem quaedam necessaria negotia

(1) This long letter was apparently not writtenon one day. In thecourse of it Persons writes of Septemberthe 26thas 'to-day, ' and he refers to the refusaloftheKingof France to intercedefor the persecuted EnglishCatholics, which the Nuncio in Paris reports in his despatch of Septemberthe 26th (Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv, 303) On the other hand he mentions the four disputations of Campion, the last of which took placeon Septemberthe 27th Again in one portion of the letter he mentions that Father Heywood is far from London, but later, after referring to letters which he received to-day, ' he states that he had to come to London last week Bartoli(Inghilterra, p 110) cites freely a portion of the letter as of one dated October the 21st , and Aquaviva, also on December the 23rd, 1581 (Arch S.J. Rom., Gall. Epp Gen. 115v), replies to the points raised in it as in answerto one of Persons's of October the 21st The letter, therefore, would seem to have been written in various stages and to have received its final form on the latter date

(2) Campion'sfour disputations in the Tower began on August the 31st, and ended on September the 27th, 1581 .

(3) The date of Persons's departure from England can be fixed with a high degree of probability between narrow limits In his Autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 30) he states that it was after the seizure of Stephen Brinkley and the private press, at Stonor House, and his being led captive to London The order for the search of Stonor House was given on August the 4th (Dasent, xiii, 151), and Brinkleyand his companionswere sentto theTower on August the 13th (Diary of the Tower, printed at the end of Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano, 1586) Further, Persons gives as his fourthreasonfor leavingto find means for rousing the King of France to intercede with Elizabeth for the Catholics in England The request to the King to do so , made by the Nuncio in Paris, is reported in his dispatch of August the 21st (Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv, 291), and would seem to be connected with Persons's fourth reason for leaving England (cf. infra, note 5) Persons in this case would have been in Franceby that date He would have left, then , some day between the 13th and the 21st August

Reasons for his leaving England are also given in his Autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 30), and in his Punti (C.R.S. iv, 27-29), where he adds that he had business to transact with George Gilbert about the latter's choice of a state of life, which could be done better by a personalinterview than by letter Cf. also Persons, Apologie, f. 183v .

quae absente me per literas fieri non poterant Quorum primum erat, ut conferrem cum Domino Alano de multis, imo plurimis ad opus nostrum & vineam pertinentibus , quae sane literis committi non poterant 2. Ut praelum aliquod in aliquo loco vicino compararem, quo libri pro occasione data a nostratibus Anglice scripti imprimi possent; quia nihil tam juvat, nec juvit, nec tuebitur in posterum & propagabit nostram causamquam impressio librorum Catholicorum , tam de controversiis, quam de devotione 3. Erat ut colloquerer Parisiis cum Archepiscopo Glascoviensi, Reginae Scotiae Oratore de juvanda Scotia, ex qua conversio Angliae maxime dependet & ut excitarem illum meis rationibus& cohortatione ad ferventem zelum de mittendis in Scotiam idoneis hominibus, maxime hoc tempore, cum praesertim ex nece Mortoni, & Principis indole, spes non exigua elucescat(4); & illi etiamimpertirer secretanonnullaconsilia haeriticorum ad evertendam penitus Scotiam, quomodo illis obviare posset Quartumerat ut invenirem aliquamedia quibus excitari Rex Galliae posset ad intercedendum pro Catholicis apud Reginam,(5) saltem dealleviationeillius gravis(4) The idea of sendingmissioners to Scotland had been mootedfor some time past, but neither the Pope nor Mary, Queen of Scots, had thoughtit opportune (Aquaviva to Claude Matthieu, 12 January, 1580, Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 68) The rise of D'Aubigny in the favourofthe young prince, James , and the overthrow and, later, the executionofthe EarlofMorton (June 2, 1581) had made the situation more favourable for Catholics (cf. Persons, Punti, C.R.S. iv, 21) ; andthough there is no cleartraceofthe meeting of Persons with Archbishop Beatonreferredtoin the letter above , it is evident from the correspondence of Aquaviva yet extant in the Roman archives of the Society that Persons's influence had a great deal to do with the final resolution to send Jesuit missioners to Scotland It is probable that the consequences ofPersons's discussion with the Archbishop are alreadyreferred to when Aquaviva writes, Septemberthe 7th, 1581, in answer to a letter of Crichton of August 21: " Parisiis flagitarunt ut plures ad eam provinciam [i.e., Scotland] destinemus " On November the 25th the Generalwrites to the Bishop of Ross that the matter had not yet been decidedand that the Pope would have to be consulted on such an important undertaking He informed Archbishop Beaton on Decemberthe 22nd that the Popeapproved and that Frs. Edmund Hay and William Crichton had been chosen for the mission , as those in Paris had suggested The following day he madeknown thedecisionto the twofathers, informing Fr. Haythat he had put Persons's views contained in this letter of October the 21st beforethe Pope, who had thoroughly approved them . It was left, however, to the prudenceof Archbishop Beaton, Persons and othersin Paris to determinethe time and manner of the mission, and by these it was thought better that Fr. Crichton should first go and see how things stood in Scotland (cf. C.R.S. iv, 23 , and ii, 30) (5) Ofthis negotiation, also, there is no very clear trace. It wasanobvious part of Papal diplomacy of the period to suggest the intervention of the French king with Elizabeth on behalf of the English Catholics. Allen had mooted it in the preceding February (Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv, 66), and in June the Nuncio recorded receiving an order to pleadwith the King of Francein the matterand on July the 8th reported that he had done so and that the King had said that he would try and help for the Pope'ssake (Arch Vat. Nunz di Francia, xvi, 12; xv, 217, 221) Yet it is surely more than a mere coincidence that the Nuncio should have renewed his instance on August the 21st, and shouldhavereported on August the26th the answer that Persons refers to in the above letter (Ibid. xv, 291, 303). It seems , therefore, probable that, as in the business of sending Jesuit missionersto Scotland, Persons had also some connection with the Nuncio's action in this

simae poenae pecuniariae quam nuper lege quadam imposuerunt recusantibus frequentare Ecclesias protestantium , quod omnes Catholici facere recusant. Haec fuerunt praecipua negocia quae me in has partes impulerunt; quorum priora tria juvante Deo optimeexpeditasunt, ad magnam spero totius causae utilitatem ; postremum vero penitus haeret Rex enim rogatus a Nuncio Apostolico, suae Sanctitatisnomine, ut pro afflictisAngliaeCatholicis ad Reginam scriberet,respondit se non posse propterquaedam secreta consideratione digna. Nos tamen non desistimus , sed in confractione cum Moyse stare nitimur, & in spem contra spem progredimur Modo sum Rhotomagi (6) occupatissimus & expecto reditum famuli(7) ex Anglia, quem multis cum literis adCatholicos consolandos tanquam ex septentrionali parte misi. Nullus enim ex iis in Anglia noverat meum egressum ; nec ullis in his partibus innotesco,(8) nisi Domino Alano Rhemis, & Archiepiscopo Glascoviensi Parisiis ; & hic Rhotomagi D. Michaeli de Monsi(9) Nepoti

matter. Not indeed that he saw the Nuncio personally, or was known to him; for he wished his being in France to be secret and discovered himself , as he says, only to Allen and Archbishop Beaton, etc., and withoutdoubt to the Jesuit Provincial, Claude Matthieu (C.R.S. ii, 30)

(6) Persons passed the winter of 1581-1582 at Rouen, partly engaged in writing books such as the De Persecutione Anglicana Epistola, the Defence of the Censure, and the Book of Resolution , later known as The Christian Directory Part ofthese works he had no doubt writtenwhilst still in England Cf. Autobiographyand Punti (C.R.S. ii, 30, and iv, 27-31), and his Apologie, f 183v

(7) Probably Persons's servant, Robert Alfield, the brother of Bd. Thomas Alfield He later turned traitor Much may be found about him in Persons's Punti (C.R.S. , vol iv) Cf. also Allen to Agazzari, 23 April 1583, 8 March 1585 (Knox, Allen, pp 189, 250) Persons had sent him to England to bring back with him Mary Dimmock and the daughter of Lord Vaux , bothofwhom were to become nuns at Rouen (C.R.S. iv, 49)

(8) Persons kept his stay in France secret for some considerable time, not even revealing it to Agazzari, but addressing letters to him as from London. One reason of this secrecy may have been lest his Catholic friends in England should be depressed by his withdrawal , and should in fact think he had abandoned them through cowardicean accusation which the Appellant Priests later and rather meanly, it must be said, threw in his face . It is clear from subsequent letters of Persons and Aquaviva that he had meant his retirement to be but temporary : and it was the Generalwho eventually decided that it would be more prudent to remain on the Continent where he could work as fruitfully for the English mission, just as Allen and others were doing Aquaviva thoroughly approved of his stay at Rouen and of it being kept secret . In a letter of February the 17th, 1582 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f.121v), he writes: " Mansionem ReverentiaeVestraequoque una cum ejus amicis valde probavi et necessarium fuisse duxi, ac praesertim quod P. Gaspar [Heywood], quod mihi gratissimum fuit, strenueac feliciter etiam laborat; non dubito quin ista quae R. V. in manibus habet, negotia longeutiliorafuturasint toti provinciae Secretum , tamenomnino servandum censeo, tamquam nos hic pro nostra parte fecimus"

(9) While at Rouen, Persons stayed at the house of this zealous priest, apparently a relative of the elder Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, Archbishop of Rouen, who after the death of Henry III was declared King of France, by the League in opposition to Henry of Navarre On Decemberthe 23rd , 1581, Aquaviva wrote to Mgr Monsi, thanking him for his great charity shown to Persons, and praising his zeal (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f. 116)

Illustrissimi Cardinalis , Senonensi (10) Archidiacono , & Parlamenti hujus Civitatis Consiliario, viro certe Dei & causae Catholicae zelosissimo, & nostrae Societatis plus quam amantissimo, cujus ope & opera in omnibus utor; & se suaqueomnia libentissime exanimo mihi obtulit & praestat. Hodie duos magnos literarum fasciculos ex Anglia per famulum huc missos recepi, ex quibus intelligo (praeter ea quae supra posui) me illic valde a Catholicis requiri; unde cogor reditum festinare, maxime quia Patres Gasparus & Guilelmus, (11) qui ultimo ingressi sunt, absunt longe Londino, & inaliisregionibus versantur, ubi plurimumdicunturlucrianimarum facere Catholici urgenturin dies novis & acerbis persecutionibus, sed dante Deo fortitudinem & internam consolationem nunquam fueruntlaetiores ; tamen adversarii quo magis sibi timent, eo magis saeviunt ; sed quae sequuntur maximi sane sunt momenti (12)In primo meo ingressuin Angliam dispiciebam animo quantum poteram quae pars totius regni magis egeret nostra opera, & quae posset magis causae successu temporis prodesse Videbam tres esse Regiones in quas sacerdotes nondum penetraverant . Prima erat Wallia, Regio spaciosa & ampla & Religioni Catholicae non tam inimica, sed tamen inopia laborantium in spissam ignoran- tiam & haeresis etiamnonnullamapprobationem usu quodam prolapsam: Huc igitur misi aliquos sacerdotes , inita cum nobiliquadam conditione ut eos reciperet ; ex qua re magna sane porta aperta est, & multi quotidie acquiruntur Ecclesiae Altera Regio erat Cantabrigiensis Comitatus , quam universitas Cantabrigiae, quae tota haeretica est, penitus infecerat ; multis igitur remediis frustra quaesitis, tandem Deo juvante insinuavi sacerdotemquendam ipsi universitati, sub nomine scholaris, aut nobilis studiosi ; & procuravi illi quaedam subsidia non longe a Civitate; cui rei Deus tantum dedit successum ut paucis mensibus septemjuvenes optimae spei & indolis lucrifecerit, jam jam ad seminarium Rhemense mittendos . Hoc enim hodie intelligo ex uno eorum qui jam hucpervenit, & majoribi messis quotidie expectatur . Tertia Provincia erat omnium maxima , quae juxta fines Angliae & Scotiae posita, quatuor aut quinque comitatus continet (comitatus, sive Diæceses, aut, Provinciae , non magnae intelliguntur) ad hos ergo Comitatus nullus fere sacerdotum pervenerat. Haec tamen Regio maximi momenti est ad nostram causam , tum propter Scotiae vicinitatem, tum propterhominumdispositionem liberam & generosam; huc ergo diversos operarios direxi, sed unum(13) maxime

(10)" Senonensi " is undoubtedly a corruption of the text. In his Punti Persons states that Micael de Monsi was Archdeacon of Rouen (C.R.S. iv, 31), and later in this letter he refersto him assuch. (11) Jasper Heywood and William Holt

(12)From here to"Scotiaeposita"is quoted byBartoli(Inghilterra, p 110), and his narrative (Ibid , pp 241, 242) is undoubtedly based in part on this letter.

(13) The name of the priest was William Watts Cf. Punti (C.R.S. iv, 21 , 112, 125) Whether Watts actually started on his journey before Persons left England canhardlybe determined Wattshimself tells us that hecrossed the border on or about August 26: cf. infra, n 17. It seems certain that the clergyman mentioned in Mendoza'sdespatchto Philip II, 7 September, 1581

qui prudentia, unitate, & cognitione caeteris praecellerevidebatur, qui posteaquam decem circiter menses iis in locis consumpsisset , rediit ad me initio hujus praecedentis aestatis, & retulit multa speranda esse ex illius Regionis cultura, licet persecutio eo tempore sic ibi ferveret ut difficillime quis posset subsistere Retulit etiam (quod ego illi praecipue commendaram exquirendum) non dificilem esse ex iis partibusin Scotiam transitum: quo intellecto & communicato cum quibusdam e prudentioribusCatholicisconsilio, remisimus eum in ipsam Scotiam explorandae viae causa Nammaximaspei nostrae pars in Scotia est, a qua etiamdependet non solum Angliae, verum etiam aliarum septentrionis partium conversio Quia jus Anglicani Regni ad Reginam Scotiae ejusque filium (extincta ista quae nunc regnat) pertinet, et de filio isto nunc aliqua spes coepta est concipi post internecionem maxime Comitis Mortonii,(14) si satis cum eo tractaretur dum adhuc obedientiam praesefert magnam suae matri, & priusquam in haeresi confirmetur, & dum etiam recenter offensus ab haereticis est:Quas occasionesnobis non esse negligendas putabamus, & valde dolebamus rem non fuisse hactenus ardentius attentatam ab iis quorum maxime intererat, hoc est, a Scotis ipsis; quamquam certe multis de rationibus causa aeque nostra est ac eorum Collecta ergo quadam eleesmosynaa Catholicis, & coemptis hinc sacerdoti rebus ad iter necessariis , misi eum una cum famulo in Scotiam , praescriptis quibusdam rerum capitibusquae Regi aperiretsi adeundi facultas daretur; aut etiam nobilibus, si Regi non liceret Quorumprimum illud erat, ut patrociniumsusciperet afflictorum Catholicorum maxime si qui in Scotiam confugerent, eo quod Catholici soli erunt qui illi favebunt in Jure Regni Angliae haereditario tuendo Secundumerat exponererationes multas & magnas quae Regem movere debebant ad favendumCatholicis et eorum Religioni, & ad detestandos Haereticos; quales erant, securitas in Regno suo, successio in Regnum Angliae, quam solum per Catholicos obtinere poterat ; amicitia vicinorum Principum Catholicorum , respectusmatris tam innocenter repulsae & carceredetentae; occisus Pater ab haereticis; insidiae vitae suae saepissime ab haereticis positae, discoopertae & auxilio Catholicorum per Dei bonitatem vitatae. Denique offerret Regi tam suorum quam nostrorum Catholicorum auxilium, maxime vero nostrumqui sacerdotio fungebamur, ad reducendum Regnum Scotiae ad fidem Catholicam , cum quocumque etiam vitae nostrae dispendio His acceptis instructionibus discessit: Ingressus est Scotiam, & per Dei gratiam felicem admodum successum habuit, ut ex sequentibus ejus literis apparebit Quae erant tamen praecipua & maxime secreta non audebat literis committere,(15) sed famulo suo mandavit ut mihi (Spanish Calendar , p 169, n 134), is to be identified with Fr. Watts He therefore alsocarried with him a secret message fromthe six of the principal English Catholics to the Duke of Lennox . (14) The execution of the Earl of Morton took place June the 2nd, 1581 . (15) Thereseems no means of ascertainingwhat were these secret matters Watts perhaps refers to them when he writes: " Plura etiam promittebant de Rege ipso quae hic omitto." At the time of writing Persons evidently had not been made cognisant of them

soli narraret , & nulli alteri mortalium praeterea; famulus autem cum Londinumvenisset, & me non reperisset, non ausus est hominibus a me meo loco relictis sibi a Domino commissa narrare Reliquit tamen sui Domini literas quae mihi statim transmissae fuerunt, & ulteriusadjecit(quod etiamex sequentibusliteris patet) Dominumsuum optime a Scotis acceptum, & illos omniamihi, & a me mittendis promittere: et diem esse constitutumquo ego cum multis nobilibus Scotiae colloquim haberem, scilicet diem vigesimum sextum Septembris praesentis, quod nullo modo jam a me expleri potest, quia hodie agitur is dies. Literarum autem exemplar hoc est in quibus animadvertendum , quod ubi nomen est Domini Redman , me intelligit

III (Watt'sLetter) Cum primum Scotiam ingressussum, necessitatequadam coactus, ne in pericula majora inciderem , contuli me ad habitationem Guardiani Scotiae, (16) qui Calvinistaest; Locus autem habitationis Seiford appellatur; ibi rogatus qua de causa veneram, respondi refugii causa, utpoteob conscientiam patria expulsus; quodrefugiumipsisetiammalefactoribus non negabatur,& multo minus negari debeat Religionis causa exulantibus Respondit Guardianus non posse esse majus maleficium aut peccatum quam malae esse Religionis, & Ecclesiae Christi inimicum. Hoc verissimum est, inquam ego, sed tota controversio in eo est, qui sint inimici Ecclesiae. At illud, inquit ille, extra controversiam est, Papistas esse; quo audito subridens, dixi, a coena, si placet, illud viderimus ; Finita coena factum fuit capitulum, ut appellant, hoc est , unus exMinistris (nam aderant tres) lectoprimum Psalmo, conciunculam habuit, qua durante , tam Guardianus ipse cum uxore, quam multi nobiles & perhonorati viri apertis capitibus reverenter auscultabant : Ego solus tecto capite sedebam, cum multorum admiratione ; finita tamen concione, exhibitaquea me omni debitareverentia nobilibusviris qui aderant, rationem reddidi quare caput detegerein ministri concione nolueram:"At"inquit Guardianus, saltem verbo Dei reverentiam debebas.

Ego vero, Scriptura, inquam, perperam exposita non est verbum Dei, quiafalsum continet, quod abest longe a verbo Dei. Hoc audito advocavitille Ministrum ut se tueretur Minister audito hoc principio semonemomnem detrectabat ; at urgebat eum Guardianus: Tandem venimus ineam controversiam, an solius Ecclesiae sit de sensu scripturarum judicare; in qua discutienda tantum morati sumus , ut tandem Guardianis diceret sibitantum displicere opinionem & argumentationem ministrorum, ut in posterum non tam facile condemnaturus esset Papistas: Addidittamen, postero die, qui fuit dominicus, & vigesimus septimus Augusti,(17) insignem quendam Concionatorem affuturum, qui mihi in omnibus

(16) John, Lord Maxwell, later Earl of Morton, was reappointed Warden of West March on April the 29th, 1581. William Kerr, son of Sir Walter Kerr of Cessford, was Warden of the Middle March.

(17)August the 27th did, in fact, fall on Sunday in 1581. As this dayis referred to as "postero die , " it would appear that Watts crossed theborder on August 26

satisfaceret; Dixi, mihi jam esse satisfactum a meis, & me cupere satisfacere aliis de veritate Catholicae Religionis , maxime vero Illustrissimae Suae Dominationi, eaque de causa libenter cum illo collaturum; postero ergo die summo mane venit minister; antequam egoadhuc horas meas canonicasabsolvissem: Quidam autem ex famulismihi nunciavit me jam a Guardiano & reliquo consessu (erant enim plus quam centum) expectari : Festinavi; veni in aulam, & post reverentiam praesentibusexhibitam , petii a ministro ut proponeret quod vellet, aut mihi facultatem proponendi concederet . At ille Concionatorem se, non disputatorem esse , neque velle mecum ad lites, & cavillas descendere ; neque mihi, inquam, propositum est litigiosum aut cavillatorem agere, sed pacate et sobrie veritatemdisputando manifestam reddere, idquevel latino, vel vulgari sermone; imo vulgari, inquit Guardianus, ut nos omnes intelligamus; sed nullo modo, nulla cohortatione, nulla Guardiani objurgatione poterat adduci minister ut argumentandi legibus consentiret ; quo permotus Guardianus, vere, inquit, video nos posse decipi & in errore versari, imo quidam generosus Scotus , gratiaesunt inquit agendae Deo, quod adhuc supersint aliqui qui possunt veterem fidemnostram eruditionetueri: Post haec coram omnibus promisit mihi salvum conductum per totum Regnum Scotiae, quod statim scripto praestandum imperavit, tam mihi quam etiam famulo meo, hoc item addens se cuperelongiorem alio tempore de his rebus collationem , aut mecum, aut cum alio quocunque a me ad eum transmisso, cui omnem humanitatem & securitatem promittebat. Ab hoc discessi ad Dominum Baronem de Grencknols,(18) qui animo favet ReligioniCatholicae, ea frigiditate qua hic solent ; cui cum animum meum aperuissem, & desiderium sacerdotum Anglorum adeundi quaevis pericula , & vitas expendendi pro salute Scotorum , & pro reductione eorum ad unitatem EcclesiaeCatholicae, cum etiam significassemaliquibusjam esse in animo conjungere sua studia suosque conatus cum sacerdotibus Scotis ad illum finem, & tentare per Dei gratiamquod in ea re fieri possit, exultans gratias egit Deo de tam sanctis cogitationibus, & rogatus a me postea ut haberem curamsuae animae , rediretque ad unitatem Ecclesiae, promptiorem se praebuit ad praestandum quam ego esse poteram in rogando Initio tamen (quod oblitus eram dicere) requirebat a me valde, aliquam commendationem ad Reginam Scotiae,(19) ex quo D. Redman poterit conjicere quo ei opus sit si in hac (sic) partes veniat Hinc transivi per alium Baronem e familia Setonensi haereticum valdein cujus mensainfinitas & horrendas Blasphemias audivi, sed neverbum quidem dixi, donecfinita caena per horam opinor& dimidiam sermonem cum illo habui contra hujusmodi blasphemandi ferociam , multis utrimque habitis argumentis , quibus absolutis mihi

(18) The Baron de Grencknollscannot be identified The text isprobably corrupt

(19) As the text stands, the Baron at the beginning asked for an introduction to Mary, Queen of Scots; but it would seem moreprobable that what he required was an introduction from the Scottish Queen, attesting Watts's mission

, S.j.

egit humanissime gratias promittens se inposterum minori vehementia usurum in Catholicos, & domum suam tam mihi quam caeteris Catholicis Anglis semper fore paratissimum hospitium. Tandem Edenburgum deveni ubi erat Aula Regis; sermonemhabui cum diversis nobilibus , ut cum D. Setono Patre, & D. Priore filio ejus, (20) aliisque, quibus causam mei adventus significavi, & desiderium nostrum in salutem ipsorum: illi benigne me tractarunt , & ad Regem ipsum me duxerunt, cum quo quid locutus sim aut egerim non debeo his literis committere . Ab aula recessi adPalatium Rusticanum D. Baronis Geronis, (21) ubi non pauci Scoti nobiles convenerant, qui uno ore mihi promittebant, & per me Domino Redman renuntiari volebant, quodquandocunque nobis venire placeret (quod illi nos brevi facere suadebant) se vellesecuritatem summam praestare, eo quod essemus Angli, nec eorum legibus obnoxii. Pluraetiampromittebant de Rege ipso quae hicomitto(22); nec solum nobis protectionem promittebant, verum etiam aliis a nobis missis per secreta signa quae aliis literis aperiam. Nomina eorum quifavent Religioni Catholicae & qui possunt facillimejuvante Deo boni fieri si diligentiaadhiberetur , sunt haec, licet adhuc longe sint a statu gratiae : Dux D'Aubenius , Comes Huntleius, Comes Eglintonus , Comes Cathnacius; D. Baro Setonus, D. Baro Oglebi, D. Baro Grey, D. Baro Farnhurst,(23) & quidam alii qui- bus noster labor nec inutilis erit nec ingratus, modo oneri illis non simus; hoc enim summopere Domino Redman providendum est, ut habeat unde sustentet eos quos huc direxerit, saltem adaliquod tempus, alioquindifficillime quicquam efficiet, imo puto quod nihil efficiet. Providendum etiam illi est, ut non nisi selectissimi huc mittantur, tam ob virtutem, quameruditionem ; si hos modo non habeat, expectandum erit donec habeat Melius est enim nullos mittere quam inidoneous; poterunt enim tales valde obesse , his maxime principiis, ubi tota auctoritas & existimatiocausae Catholicae ab eruditione eorum qui eam tuentur dependet Procuret D. Redman orationes multas pro hoc opere; est enim maximum , & ad totius Europae commodum non parum ut vides pertinens; si unquam orandum aut laborandum fuit nunc est maxime Vale IV . Hasliterasrecepi 15 Septembris Et quia temporis augustiis

(20) George, fifth Lord Seton (D.N.B. li, 268), and his son Sir Alexander Seton (Ibid., p. 261), to whom the priory of Pluscardine was restored in April, 1581 , after he had been deprived ofit for some years Cf. alsoMendoza to Philip II, 20 October, 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p 194).

(21) Possibly Geronis' is a textual corruption for Setonis as Fr. Forbes Leith implies (Narratives of Scottish Catholics , p. 171). If so, the Palatium Rusticanum may be identified with Wintoun

(22) The document in the Vatican archives, A.A. i-xviii, 5505, n. 45, which is printed infra in the Appendix, may be by Watts and refer to the matters here omitted

(23) Compare the lists given in Mendoza to Philip II, 20 October , 1581 , and in Holt to Allen, 18 February, 1582 (Knox, Allen, p 116) It seems clear from Mendoza to Philip II, 9 February, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p. 285), that the writer of the letterto Allen of 18 February, 1582 , was Holt and not, as Knox thought, Watts Cf. also C. Rogers, An Estimate of the Scottish Nobility, Grampian Club, 1873 .

& aliorum negotiorum multitudine prohibebar ne illis satisfacerem , & ad diem praescriptum in Scotia essem, feci id quod potui, hoc est, scripsi statim ad D. Setonum, significans causas morae , & cohortans illum quibus poteramrationibusut desiderium illud suum tueretur de sua & aliorum salute; adjiciens eum breviplura a me recepturum de toto negotio. Scripsi etiam in Angliam ut quibus modis posset cum Regina Scotiae tractaretur de articulis suprascriptis, promittens me brevi affuturum ad caetera prosequenda, sicut intelligo vehementer me requiri; ad sacerdotem etiam hunc scripsi ut subsisteret ad tempus in locis vicinis Scotiae, donec aliud a me responsum acciperet. Misi illi etiam quae poteram in sustentationem : Jam ergo pendeo totus in hoc negotio a Vestra responsione Primum; An prosequi debeam hoc negotium necne, quod omnes Angli Catholici vehementissime supra omnem modum me urgent ut prosequar, quiaa conversioneScotiae dependet tota spes humana conversionis Angliae; & si Rex iste semel confirmatusfuerit in Haeresi (qua sine dubio periculosissime infectus est) nihil auxilii aut refugii relinquetur miseris Anglis; si Scotia illis pateat ut in eam fugiant infinita consolatio est; & nunc facilis est aditus ad Regem ipsum, & ipse satis flexibilis est; postea forsan non ita. Deinde etiamerit optimum nobis ut vitandae saevissimae alicujus tempestatis causa mensem aliquem in Scotia consumamus; Scoti ipsi licet aliquot habeant viros valde idoneos (quos omnes mittendos cupimus) tamen pauci sunt, nec ullo modo sufficiunt tantae vineae, praesertim hoc tempore quo maxime requiruntur. Nam hoc biennium quod sequitur unicum videtur tempus lucrandi Scotiam, dum illi gubernant multis in locis qui nobis non multum (praesertim exteris) resistunt; Nullae enim leges contra nos factae sunt, & idioma nobis commune est cum Scotis. Procuravietiam ut libri Catholici impressi inposterum transferanturin Scotiam aeque atque in Angliam; libros intelligo idiomate vulgari tam de controversiis quam de rebus devotionis conscribendos, quales adhuc vel nulli vel paucissimi in Scotia visi fuerunt, quia Scotia nullum praelum habet, & haeretici libros suos in Anglia imprimunt. Horum autem librorum defectus fecit ut Scotia multo magis laboret haeresi quam Anglia. Si videbitur V.P. ut hoc negotiumsequar, tunc praeterinstructiones quas a vobis peto, necessarium etiam est ut proponatur suae Sanctitati nostrarum necessitatum consideratio aliqua saltem ad aliquodtempus Nam haec res confici non potest sine pecuniis, ut ex superioribus literis videri potest. Nam Scoti ipsi praeterquam quod pauperes sunt & egentissimi non habent adhuc eum causae Catholicae zelum ut velint aliquas expensas facere. Multum se nostri causa facere existimant si equos nobis praestant & aliquam protectionem porrigunt. Angliae autem Catholici sicundique sunt exhausti ut sibi & suis incarceratis (qui plurimi & afflictissimi sunt) sufficerenon valeant Ego tamen plus quam mille aureos in has res ab illis donatos expendi ; quia tamen non ignoro suam Sanctitatem plurimarum expensarum urgeri, oneribus valde sane me piget aliquid ab eo petere. Si tamen ex sua summa benigni-

tate vellet nobis quadringentos aureos annuos ad duos vel tres annos concedere, non dubitaremus multum posse in hoc negotio profici ad magnam suae Sanctitatis consolationem & Reipublicae Christianae commodum. Namhac pecunia potero saltem vestitum aliquem, equos, caeterumque apparatumSacerdotibus in Scotiam mittendis parare, licet non tantum quantus itineri tanto trecentorum circiter milliarium necessarius esset, sed valde contenderem ex quo tantum boni pendere videmus Itaque summopere S.P. rogo, & rogant te vehementer omnes hic Catholici , ut hoc negotium apud suam Sanctitatem promoveas, & ut quam citissime fieri potest respondeatur de eo quod statutum erit. Videt enim V.P. quibusin angustiis versamur . Si lucrifacere poterimus hunc juvenem Principem Scotiae maximanobis esset consolatio; siplacuerit Suae Sanctitati hanc misericordiam nobis facere, quam speramus certe & fere de sua bonitate praesumimus, tunc assignari debet haec pecunia solvenda Nuncio Apostolico Parisiis, ut quater in anno, hoc est unoquoque trimestri, solvat centum aureos illi de quo significabitur per Eusebium Eugenium, qui forsan erit hic Rothomagensis Archidiaconus : Ante festum natalis Domini expectamus certissimam vestram responsionem, adprimamsolutionem pro anno sequenti, hoc est, centum aureorum. Et si suae Sanctitati videbitur, ut hac prima sola vice possemus ducentos aureos recipere (quia multa paranda sunt) esset nobis gratissimum , deinceps non expectabimus nisi centum aureos singulis tribus mensibus. Sed de pecunia nimium, nisi pro necessitate; & certe perdolet nos saepissime, quod spiritualia non possunt his locis fieri nisi his vilissimis pecuniis (24) De Italo quem petunt, V.P. videat quid statuendum sit; vir mediocris his rebus satisfacere non potest, & scioaptissimosvobis vestrisque ibirebustam necessarios esse ut non possint nobis concedi: Quid ergo faciendum erit vobis reliquimus cogitandum ; praestat sane non mittere, quam non idoneum, quia laedet plurimum tumtotius causae tum maxime Societatis existimationem : Pluraenimmulto abeis expectabunt quam a nobis qui Angli sumus; si Pater Achilles(25) venire posset esset, opinor, (24) Aquaviva replied to Persons that it was not considered advisable to ask the Pope for money at thistime, and that he would himself raise a loan of 200 crowns and send a draft for that amount to Mgr Micael de Monsi (Aquaviva to Persons, 23 December , and to De Monsi, 23 December , 1581 (Arch S.J.Rom Gall Epp. Gen., ff 115v and 116) Cf. also Aquaviva to Allen , 23 December , 1581 (C.R.S. ix, 87). On March the 19th, 1582 , the General writes: " Gaudeo ducentos aureos in manibus R. V. provenisse atque etiam opportunosfuisse Deceterosubsidionos quidem agimus quam diligentissime, sed credo etiam Rm V. per se intelligere in causis istis pecuniariis magnas esse difficultates Ne miretur si vel tardius aliquid vel etiam parcius quam illius usus ferrent et nos cuperemus , afferatur " (Arch S.J. Rom. Gall Epp. Gen. , f. 124v)

Mendoza also made the need of money for the missionaries to Scotland known to Philip II, who sent him in reply a credit of 2,000 crowns to be applied accordingto need (Mendoza toPhilipII, 20 October, 1581 , 9 February and 19 March, 1582, and Philip to Mendoza, 18 December , 1581: Spanish Calendar, pp 196, 292, 319, and 242). (25) Bartoli(Inghilterra, p 243) adds the surnameGagliardi (1537-1607) He was a professor of theology at the Roman College Cf. Sommervogel , Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus , iii, 1095 .

commodissimus; P. Bellarminum(26)non audeopostulare ;P.Ferdinandus(27) non mihi displicetpropteralia quae in illo sunt praeter eruditionem . Hispanus,(28) qui mittendus dicebatur ab omnibus valde inidoneus judicatur, licet ob virtutem aptissimus, quia nec in humanioribus literis & linguis, quarum hic summa ratiohabetur, nec in Theologia & Controversiis admodum versatusest Haec Dominus Bernardinus de Mendoza orator Regis Hispaniae mihi retulit, antequam ego sciebam illum esse mittendum; sed ille rem expiscatus fuerat: Est enim nostrarumrerum & Societatis amantissimus : & promiserat se in domumsuamrecepturum libentissime Hispanum Societatis, si vir illustris esset, ut existimationemcausæ tueri posset ; alioquin nullo modo se velle illius adventui consentire; quia difficileest, inquit , vobis existimare quantumoffensionis & scandali contingere posset universae causae ex vestrorum hominum defectibus vel minimis si publici sint; hinc enim ad majorem invidiam nobis concitandam incipiunt totam causamnostro solum nomine oppugnare, & appellant Religionem Catholicam Religionem Jesuitarum: sic enim edicta fuerunt emissa nuper ad Academias Oxoniensem & Cantabrigiensem, ad inquirendumqui Jesuitarum Religionifaverent, & omnes studiose adjurandumadigebant, num aliquem Jesuitis vel Jesuitarum Religioni faventem agnoscerentvel suspicarentur. Itaque iterum atque iterum vestram Paternitatem rogo ut non mittanturhuc nisi homines valde idonei ; si in loco D. Diegi, D. Petrus Ximenes,(29) aut D. Emmanuel Vega (30) missi fuis-

(26) Bellarmine was also at this time a professor at the same College . (27) Ferdinando Capeci was one of the repetitores at the English College, Rome (C.R.S. ii, 93) During his stay at Rome Persons would have known all these persons .

(28) The Spaniard, who was thought unsuitable, is no doubt the Diego (Sanchez) mentioned below He was eager to go on the English mission even before he became a Jesuit, and indeed joined the Society in the hope that he would be sent to England Cf. Sacchinus , Historia Societatis Jesu, Rome, Pars quinta, 1661 , 140 ff

The idea of sendinga Spaniard to England had been proposed by Persons in his letter to Agazzari, 5 August, 1580. There are several references to it in the Jesuit correspondence of 1581 and 1582 , and it was still being mooted in 1583. But the General on June the 5th of that year replied to Persons thatsofar he had neverbeen convincedof the necessityor even oftheutility of such a step; for if the father was to remain shut up in the house of the ambassador , it hardly seemed worth while sendinghim; whereas if he went abroad, as his presence could not be concealed, there would be danger not only to himself but to the Spanish Ambassador , and a greater storm of persecutionmight be provoked. He added that when he inquired of Allen about the matter , he could get nothing certain from him on the point, and what Allen did write rather inclined him against sending a Spanish Jesuit He advised Persons to consult furtherwith Allen on the subject and let the General know the result. The matter seems definitely to have been dropped after this

(29) Pedro Ximenes (1554-1633 ) entered the Society in Rome in 1575 and became subsequentlya professor oftheologyatVienna Cf. Sommervogel, Bibliothèque , viii, 1352

(30) Emmanuel de Vegaor Veiga entered the Societyin 1568, and became professorof philosophy and later of theology at Vilna (Sommervogel , Biblio-

sent (si doctiores dari non poterant) multofuisset melius ,quiailliin humanioribus sunt literis exercitati Jus autem Canonicum, cujus D. DiegusProfessorerat, nullius apud haeriticos estmomenti Haec praesumpsisimpliciter& perspicueT.P. exponere, omnia tamen suo judicio statuenda referens Pro negotiis nostris melius expediendis & adjuvando utroque Regno magis, designavi jam duos mercatores juvenes ad hoc electos ; sunt tamen docti, qui praetextuquorumdam mercatorum magnorum quibus inserviredicuntur, alter inAngliam,alterinScotiam ibunt ; &redibuntin has partes summa cum libertate & securitate. Illi autem una secum merces quasdem habebunt quas statim a Catholicis coemi procurabimus ; Ita enim horummercatorum sumptus aliquo modo supportari poterunt, ac praeterea nostris rebus incumbent, praecipue vero importandis libris, literis, aliisque rebus necessariis , quamvis &mercesquasdam habeant ob meliorem praetextum: Hodie alias literas ex Anglia recepi, quibus intelligo me valde desiderari, maxime ab incarceratis, ut de eleemosynis provideam : Alii potentiores & prudentiores urgent ut in negotio Scotiae aliquid praestem antequam iterum Angliae periculis me committam Addunt posse me per literas & per D. Gasparem caeteris rebus ad tempus subvenire, quod non omitto P. Gaspar hebdomada praeteritavenit Londinum ex Provincia quae illi incumbit cum bona eleemosyna ad incarceratos sublevandos, quo tempore etiamad me scripsit, significans summa se esse in gratia apud principes viros ejus Provinciae: Pater Guilelmus aegrotavitaliquantulum post adventum, sed convaluit, & strenue laborat Iterum scribunt de Italo quem apud RegemScotiae tamquamlinguae Italicaepraeceptoremessevellent Si mittaturaliquis, veniat ad domum praedictiArchdiaconi Rhotomagensis, ubi omnia paratainveniet, & accuratam a me directionem Rhemos & Parisios declinet proptersuspicionem Mihi autem scribatur sub nomine D. Rolandi Cabeli Mercatoris Scripsit Dominus Alanus de auctoritate dispensandi in casibus occurentibus committenda Nuntio Apostolico Parisiis, & de imprimendis horis Beatae Virginis latino-Anglicis ; Obsecro V.P. ut haec promoveat apud suam Sanctitatem , plurimis enim erunt consolationi (31) Vale

thèque, viii, 525). It is not altogether clear fromthe text whether thesemen were demandedfor the English or the Scottish mission Furtheron in the letter there is a suggestion of placing at the Scotch court, as tutor in the language, an Italian Jesuit who would be able to instruct the young prince in the Faith

(31) For the reply as regards the faculties cf. Aquaviva to Persons , and to Allen, 23 December , 1581 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen. , f 115v , and C.R.S. ix, 83) On February the 17th, 1582, the General writes to Persons : " Pro Facultatibus quas antea partim R. V. partim D. Alanus postularat; hactenuslaboratum est diligenter, suntqueomnes per Dei gratiam impetratae ut de officiis Anglo-Latinis , de jejuniis , ut Nuncius Parisiensis sit ordinarius Angliae, idemque dispensare possit in defectu natalium, et de dispensatione in matrimonis contrahendis de quibus scribetur uberius. Nunc enim res detinetur, quod de his tribus postremis bullae conficiendaesunt quoniam forum externum spectant" (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 121v)

Translation .

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL .(1)

21 Oct., 1581 .

Father Persons to Father General, 26 Sept., 1582

Very Reverend Father, Pax Christi,

I wrote to your Paternity about our affairs at great length last month: now other events of greater importance are taking place, and thereforeI have thought it advisable to report them also without delay Fr. Campion, after being twice subjected to the rack, had fourdisputations in the prisonwith adversaries,(2) with truly great profittothe common cause and gain of many souls, as hereafter perhaps you will be informed more in detail I, as I mentioned before, a good opportunity having offered of getting away, crossed over to France (3) in order to expedite some necessary business which could not be done by letter while I was away. And the first business was to consultwith Mr. Allen abouta numberof things, indeed about agreatmany matters having to do with our work and vineyard which in truth couldnot be committed to writing. The second was to set up some sort of printing press in some place near-by where the books could be printed which are broughtout by our fathers in Englishas circumstances call for them; for thereis nothing which helps and has helped and will protect in the future and spread our cause so much as the printing of Catholicbooks , whether of controversy or of devotion The third was to consult at Pariswith the Archbishopof Glasgow, the Queen of Scotland's Ambassador, aboutgiving help to Scotlandon this the conversion of England very largelydependsand to rouse him by my arguments andexhortations to a fervent zeal for sending suitable men to Scotland , above all atthis present time when, owingprincipally to the executionofMorton , and to the dispositionof the Prince, no slight hope is springingup(4); and also to inform him of some secret designs of the heretics for completely ruining Scotland, and the means wherebythey could be countered The fourth was to discover some means wherebythe King of France could be roused to intervene with the Queen on behalf of the Catholics ,(5) at least as regards alleviation of that most grievous monetarypenaltywhich they have lately imposed by law on those who refuse to attend Protestant Churches, as all Catholics do refuse . These were the principal matters of business that induced me to come to these parts and the first three items by the help of God have been dealt with very satisfactorily and, as I hope, to the great advantage of all our cause The last item, however, is having little success For when the King was asked by the Apostolic Nuncio in his Holiness's name to write to the Queen on behalf of the distressed Catholics in England, he replied that he could not do so for some secret reasons which deserved consideration However, we are not giving up and are trying to stand fast under contradiction like Moses and are going on hoping against hope I am now at Rouen,(6) very busy, and am awaiting the return from England of my servant (7) whom I sent, as though from somewhere in the North, with many letters for the consolation ofthe Catholics. For none of them in Englandwas aware of my having left the country, nor is my presencein these parts known to anyone(8) except Mr. Allen at Rheims and the Archbishopof Glasgow at Paris, and here in Rouen to Monsignor Michael de Monsi,(9) nephew of the illustrious Cardinal, Archdeacon of Sens (10) and a Councillor of the Parliament of this State, who is assuredly a man of God and full of

zeal for the cause of Catholicity, and more than a most loving friend of our Society. I make use of his resources and assistance in all things and hehas offered me , and puts at my disposal most willinglyfrom his heart, himself and all he possesses To-day I have received two large bundles of letters sent here from England by my servant, and from them I learn (in addition to what I have set down above) that I am in great demand there by the Catholics ; and for that reason I am impelled to hasten my return, chiefly because Frs. Jasper and William, (11) who were the last to enterthe country, are a longdistance from London and are attending to other parts of the country, where they are said to be gaininga very large harvestof souls The Catholics are oppressed daily by newand bitter formsof persecution but, as God is giving them strength and interior consolation , never have they been more cheerful. The more, however, their adversaries are in fear for themselves, the more savage they are . Now the following facts are truly of the greatest importance(12) At my first entry into England I cast my eyes around so far as I could to determine which portion ofthewhole kingdomwas in greatest need of our helpandwhichportion as time wentonwould be best able tofurther our cause . Itwasapparent that there were three regions into which as yet priests had not penetrated . Thefirst was Wales , a region of wide and ample spaces, which was not so hostile to the Catholic religion but yet, owing to the lack of labourers , had sunk unto a state of dense ignorance and even of some little approval of heresy, due to a certain familiarity with it. I therefore sent some prieststhere, after coming to some sort ofanagreement with a gentleman to take them in; and truly by this means a door has been opened wideandmany adherents are daily being acquired for the Church . Another such region was the county of Cambridgeshire, which the University of Cambridge, which is entirely heretical, had completely infected So, after many remedies had been sought in vain, at length by the help of God I introducedinto the University itself a certain priest, nominally as a scholar or gentlemen desirous of study; and I arranged for him to have some persons to help him not far away from the city And God gave the enterprise such success that within a few months he gained a harvest of seven young men of very great promise and talent, and now they are on the point of being sent to the Seminaryat Rheims . This I learn to-day from one of them who has alreadyarrived here; and a larger harvestis expected there every day The third provincewas the largest of them all, situated nearthe boundary of Englandand Scotland, and comprisingfour or five counties (counties are to be understood as districts or provinces which are not very large). These counties, as I say, hardly any of the priests had visited. Yet this region is of supreme importance to our cause both onaccount ofits being close to Scotland andonaccount of the open-handed and generous disposition of its inhabitants. So thither I despatched various labourers , but one individual in particular(13) who appeared to surpass the rest in discretion, singleness of purpose and experience, and he after spending about ten months in those parts returned to me at the beginning of this last summer and reported that great things could be hoped for from the cultivation of that region, though persecution was raging there at that timeto such an extent that it was with the utmost difficultythat anyonecould hold out against it He also reported (a matter into which I had expressly enjoined on him to enquire ) that to pass from those parts to Scotland was not a difficult matter; andonlearningthis, afterinforming

some of the more prudent Catholics of my purpose, we sent him back into Scotland itself to make investigations . For the greatest hope we have lies in Scotland , on which country depends the conversion not only of England out of all the lands in the North For the right to the kingdom of England belongs to the Queen of Scotland and her son (after the death of this woman who now reigns) and some hopes have now begun to be conceived of this son of hers, especially now that the Earl of Morton has been executed, (14) if sufficientcontact were made with him while he still gives evidence of great obedience to his mother and before he is confirmed in heresy, and also whilst the recentoffences ofthe heretics are still in his mind We were of opinionthat we ought not to neglect these opportunities and were much grievedthat keener efforts had not been made before this by those who were chieflyinterested in the matter, this is to say by the Scotch themselves: though it is true that from many points of view the cause is as much ours as it is theirs So after collecting some alms from the Catholics and buying with it the necessariesfor the priest's journey, I sent him in company with a servant into Scotland and laid down the heads of certain matters which he had to broach with the King if opportunity of access were givenhim, or even withthe nobles if he were not allowed to approach the King And the first item was thisto askhim totake upon himselfthe protection of the distressed Catholics, especially such as should flee into Scotland, on the groundthat it will be the Catholics alone who will favour him in the matter of upholding the hereditary right to the kingdomof England The second item was to putforward the many compellingreasons which ought to move the King to favour the Catholics and their religion and to abominate the heretics , such as securityin his own kingdom, the hope of succeeding to the kingdom of England which he could only obtain through the action of the Catholics, his friendship with neighbouringCatholic Princes, reverence for his mother who, though so void of offence, had been driven out of the country and confined in prison, the murder of his father by the heretics, the plots against his own life, so often initiated bythe heretics , which had been discovered and by the goodness of God frustrated by the help of the Catholics. In fine he was to offer the King the help both of his own Catholic subjects and of us Catholics, and especially of those of us who were invested with the priesthood , in bringing the kingdom of Scotland back to the Catholic faith, notwithstanding too whatever loss of life it might bring us On receivingthese instructions he departed; and on entering Scotland by God's grace he met with very gratifying success , as will appear from his letter which follows. Some matters, however, of special importance which were also highly confidential he did not dare to commit to writing(15) but gave orders to his servant to communicate them to me only and to no other living creature besides The servant, however, on his arrival in London , not finding me there, did not dare to tell what had been entrustedto him by his master to the men whom I had left to take my place But he left hismaster'sletter and this was immediatelysent acrossto me; and headded thisfurther information (whichis also made clear in the letter which follows)-that his master had been very well received by the Scotch , and that they promised me and those whom I was to send all we asked , and that a day had been arranged for me to have an interview with a number of Scottish nobles, to wit the 26th day of this present September, which appointment it is now quite impossible for me to keep, because to-day is that very day appointed Now thisis

a copy of the letter, and it is to be noted that where the name 'Mr. Redman' occurs in it I am the person denoted : (The letter follows) "When first I came into Scotland , being compelled to some extent by the need of not incurring greater risks, I betook myself to the dwelling of the Warden of Scotland,(16) who is a Calvinist The place where he lives is called Seaford There, on being asked my reason for coming,I replied that it was to take refuge, since I had been banished from my native land for conscience' sake; that asylum was notrefused even to criminalsandmuch less should it be refused to those who were in exile for the sake of religion The Warden answered that there could not be a greater crime or sin than to belong to an evilreligion and to bean enemy of Christ's church That is most true,'I replied, 'but the wholesubjectof dispute consists in this: who are the enemies of the Church ? Nay,' he answered, that is beyond all dispute, that they are the Papists ' On hearing this I smiled and said 'After dinner , ifit pleasesyou, we will look into this matter ' When dinner was over a chapter was held, as they call itthat is to say one ofthe Ministers (there were three present) first read a psalm and then gave a little discourse, during which the Warden himself and his wife and many other nobles and distinguishedmen uncovered their heads and listened respectfully I alone went on sitting with my head covered , to the astonishment of many of them. Whenthe address was finished , however , and I had manifested all due respect to the distinguishedmen who were present, I explained the reason why I had not been willing to uncovermy head while the Minister was preaching. But at least, ' said the Warden, ' you owed reverence to theword of God . ' I answered , however, 'Scripture which is wrongly interpreted is not the word of God because it contains falsehood which is far from being the word of God ' On hearing this he called on the Minister to defend himself The Minister on hearing this was at first for refusing to discuss the whole discourse, but the Wardenkept pressing him. Finallywe arrived at this pointof dispute: whetherit is the provinceof the Church alone to give decisions as to the meaning of scripture; and we lingeredso longover the discussion of this point that at last the Warden declared that he had been so dissatisfied with the opinions and arguments of the Ministersthat in future he would not be in such a hurry to condemn the Papists He said also that on the following day, which was a Sunday and the 27th of August, (17) a celebrated preacher would be present who would give me satisfactionon all points I said thatI was already satisfied for my part and that it was my desire to satisfy other people as to the truth of the Catholic religion and above all his illustrious lordship; and for that reason I should be very glad to have a conference withhim. So the following day, very early in the morning, the Minister came, before I had completed my canonical hours. However, one of the servants brought word that the Warden and the rest of the company (for there were more than a hundred of them) were awaiting me I made haste and came to the hall and, after paying my respects to those present, I begged the Minister to propose any subject for discussion which he wished, or to grant me liberty to propose one. But he said that he was a preacher, not a controversialist , and had no wish to indulge in wrangling and hair-splitting with me. Nor is it my intention,' I said, ' to act the wrangler or hair-splitter, but peacefully and soberly to make the truth manifest by discussion , and. that either in Latin or in the vulgar tongue ' ' In the vulgar tongue to be sure , ' said the Warden, so that we may all understand ' But

by no device, by no pressure, by no rebuke of the Warden could the Minister be inducedto agree to the rules of disputation. The Warden wasdisconcerted by this and said, 'To be sure I see that it is possible that we are deceived and involved in error' Nay, more, a certain magnanimous Scot declared, 'We ought to give thanks to God that there are still surviving some who are able by their learningto defend our ancient faith' After this he promised me before them all a safe conduct through all the realm of Scotland and gave orders for it to be immediately supplied in writing, for myself and for my servant as well; and this also he said, that it was his wish to have a longer conference on another occasion either with me or with anyone else whom I should send to him; and he promised him every consideration and complete safety. On leaving him I went to Lord ' Grencknols, '(18) who inwardly favours the Catholic religion, with that coldness which is usual here . And when I had opened my mind to him and told him of the great desire of English priests to incur any sort of danger and spend their lives for the salvation of the Scottish people and to bring them back to the unity of the Catholic Church, and when also I had announced that some of them had it in mind now to join their plans and efforts for that end to those of the Scottish priests, and by the grace of God to put to the proof what can be attained in that matter , he rejoiced exceedingly and gave thanks to God for such holy aspirations; and on my asking him later to have a care for his own soul and to return to the unity of the Church, he proved to be more ready to grant my request than I could be to make it First of all, however (which I had forgotten to mention), he was most insistentto get from me some sort of introduction to the Queen of Scotland ,(19) and from this Mr. Redman will be able to gather what he will need to have if he comes to these parts From here I passed by way of anotherLord of the family of Seton, a convinced heretic, at whose table I heard countless horrible blasphemies; but I did not utter a word until, when dinner was finished, for an hour and a half I should think, I had converse with him and attackedthe outrageousness of blaspheming in this way, and many arguments were adduced on both sides And when itwas overhethankedme most politely and promised me thatin future he would use less violence against Catholics and he said that his house would always be most ready to afford hospitality both to me and to other English Catholics Finally I arrived in Edinburgh, where was the King's Court. I had converse with various nobles such as Lord Seton, the father, and the Lord Prior, his son,(20) and others , and I announced to them the reason of my coming and our great desire for their salvation. They treated me kindlyand took me to the Kinghim- self, but what I said to him and how I acted I must not commit to this letter. From the Court I retired to the country seat of Lord (? Seton).(21) There not a few nobles had assembled, and they unanimously promised me, and wished it to be passed on to Mr. Redman, that whenever we were pleased to come (and they kept urging us to do so quickly) they were willing to guarantee us complete safetyowing to our being Englishmen and not subject to their laws They made further promises on behalf of the King himself, which I forbear to mention here (22) Nor was it to us onlythat they promised protection but also to any others we might send, giving a secret token which I will explain in another letter. The names of those who are favourable to the Catholic religion and who with God's help may easily become good men if pains were taken in the matter, though as yet they are

far from being in a state of grace, are as follows: The Duc d'Aubigny, the Earlof Huntley, the Earl of Eglinton, the Earl of Caithness, Lord Seton, Lord Ogilvie, Lord Gray, Lord Fernihurst,(23) and a number of others, in whose behalf our labours will be neither fruitless nor unwelcome so long as we are not a burdento them; for this is a matter that it is most important for Mr. Redman to provide for, viz , that he have the wherewithal to support those whom he orders to come here , at any rate for some little time; otherwise it will be very difficultfor him to get any resultsindeed I think he will obtain no effect at all. He should also see to it that only most carefully chosen menare sent here, chosen not only for their virtue but also for their learning: if he has none such available now, he should wait until he has . For it is better not to send any than to send men who are unsuitable; for such men are capable of being a great obstacle, especially now atthe beginning , when all the influence and reputation of the Catholiccause depends on the learning of those who uphold it Let Mr. Redman get many prayers said for this work, for it is a very great one , and one that affects in no slight degree, as you perceive, the welfare of allEurope: if ever it was necessary to pray andandlabour, nowespecially is it so . Farewell. "

This letter I received on the 15th of September and, since, owing to the difficulties of the time and a multitude of other business , I was preventedfrom giving them satisfactionand being in Scotland for the day appointed, I did what was in my power, that is, I wrote at once to Lord Seton acquainting him with the reasons for the delay and exhorting him with such arguments as I could to persist in that great desire of his for the salvation of himself and of others, and adding that in a short time he would hear further from me about the whole project. I wrote also to England that negotiationswere to be opened, by whatevermeans were available, with the Queen of Scotland on the matters contained in the sections above, promising that I would be there in a short time to do whatever else was necessary, for I understand that my presence is urgently required. I wrote also to this priest telling him to remain for the time being in the parts bordering on Scotland , until he should receive a further answer from me. I sent him also what I was able for his support. So now my action in this affair depends entirely on your reply First of all as to whether I should proceed or not with this project which all the English Catholics are pressing me moststrongly, beyondall measure, to carry on, because on the conversion of Scotland depends every hope, humanly speaking, of the conversionof England; and if the King should once be confirmed in heresy (with which there is no doubt that he is very_dangerously infected ) no help or refuge will be left for the unhappy English; if Scotland is open to them to flee to, it is an untold consolation ; now alsoaccess to the Kinghimselfis easy, and he is to a greatextent open to influence ; but later on perhaps this will not be the case . Moreover , it will also be an excellent thing if, to escape from any outburst of savagery, we spend a month sometime in Scotland The Scots themselves, though they have a certain number of men who are very suitable (and we are anxious that all these should be sent), are yetfew in number and by no means numerous enough for so large a vineyard, especially at this time whenthey are chiefly needed. For the two years to come appear to be the critical period for gaining Scotland , during the time when power in many places is in the hands ofthose whooffer little resistance to us (especially to us foreigners) For there are no

laws made against us, and we have a common language with the Scotch . I have also takensteps to have Catholicbooks that are printed taken over in future to Scotlandin the same way as they are to England -I mean books that have to be written in the vulgar tongueon controversialmatters as well as on devotionalsubjects Such books are non-existent in Scotland, or at any rate have appeared very scantily, because Scotlandhas no press and the heretics themselves print their books in England It is indeed the lack of books of this sort that has caused Scotland to be affected by heresy to a much greater extent than England.

Ifyour Paternity thinks that I should go on with this project, then, besidesthe instructionswhich I beg you to give me, it is also necessary that his Holiness be invited to have some consideration for our needs, at least for sometime to come . For this undertakingcannot be accomplished withoutmoney, as can be seen from the letter above For the Scotch themselves, in addition to the fact that they are poor and very much in want, have not as yet that zeal for the Catholic cause which would make them willingto spend any money on it. They think they are doing a lot for our cause if they put horses at our disposal and afford us some sort of protection. On the other hand the resources of the Catholics in England are drawn upon from all directionsto such an extent that they are not able to supply the wants of themselves and those of their number who are in prison (and the latter are very numerous and are in very great distress). All the same I have spent over a thousand crowns, subscribed by them, on this project: still, as I am not unaware that his Holiness is oppressed by the burdenofvery many expenses , I am truly exceedingly sorry to make any demand on him . If, however, in his immense kindness he were willingto grant us four hundred crowns a year for two or three years, we shouldnot be in doubt that much can be accomplished in this affair to thegreat consolation of his Holiness and benefitto the Christian commonwealth For withthis money I shallbe able at least to make readysomeclothing, horses and other equipmentfor the priests that are to be sentto Scotland, though not to the extent that would be necessary for so long a journey of about 300 miles; but I would make greateffortsina matter onwhichwesee thatso muchgood depends. And so I begyour Paternity from my heart, and all the Catholics here beg most earnestly, that you will press this matter on his Holiness and that as soon as possible areply may be given telling us what has been determined in the matter, foryou see in what straits we are . If we should besuccessful in gaining over this young Prince of Scotland, great indeed would be our consolation If his Holiness should be pleased to do us this act of mercy, which we certainly hope he will do and almost anticipate it from his kindness , then orders should be given for the money to be paid to the Apostolic Nuncio in Paris, so that four times a year, that is every three months, he may pay 100 crowns to the person who will be designated by Eusebius Eugenius, and this will perhaps be the Archdeacon of Rouen Before the feast of our Lord's nativity we expect for certain your reply as regards the first payment for next year, that is to say of 100 crowns. And if his Holiness thinks well that on this first occasion only we should draw 200 crowns (becausethere are many things to be made ready) it would be most welcome to us; after that weshallexpect only 100 crowns everythreemonths ButI am dwelling too much on money, if it were not that we have such need of it; and truly it is very often a great grief to us that spiritual ends cannotbe

achieved in these parts except by means offilthylucre (24) Aboutthe Italian whom they ask for, your Paternity will see what can be arranged A man of mediocre accomplishments could not do what is wanted; and I know that the men who are most capable of doing so are so essential for you and your own purposes that they cannot be allotted to us . We leave for your consideration , therefore,what isto be done; it is really better not to send anyone than to send a man who is unsuitable, because it does very great harm to the reputation of the whole cause and above all to that of the Society. For they will expect much more from them than from us Englishmen If Fr. Achilles(25) could come , he would, I think, be a mostfitting person; I dare not ask forFr.Bellarmine(26); I approve ofFr. Ferdinand(27) for otherqualities that he possesses apart from his learning. The Spaniard,(28) who, it wassaid , wasto be sent, is judgedbyeverybodyto be very unsuitable, highly qualified though he be in the matter of virtue, because he has had little experience eitherin polite letters or languages, which are held in highesteemhere, or in TheologyorControversy So Señor Bernardino de Mendoza, the King of Spain's ambassador, reported to me, before I had any knowledge that he was to be sent; but he had fished outthe information; for he is much interestedin our affairs and veryfond of the Society; and he had promised that he would take into his house a Spaniard ofthe Society very willinglyif he were a distinguishedman, sothathecould upholdthe good name ofour cause; otherwise hewould not consent in any way to his coming. " For it is difficult," he said , "for you to realize how much injury and scandal could accrue to the universal cause from defects in your men, even slight ones, if they were publicly known" For from now on, in order to give rise to increased jealousyof us , they are beginningto wage war on the whole cause as identified solely with our names, and to call the Catholic religion the religion ofthe Jesuits Thus it was that decrees were lately issued to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge orderingenquiry to be made as to who favoured the religion of the Jesuits, and they pressed everybody to look around carefully and see whether they had any knowledge of or suspected anyone of favouring the Jesuits or the Jesuits' religion And so again and again I beg your Paternity that no menmay be sent here except such as are really suitable ; if, instead of Fr. Diego, Fr. Pedro Ximenes (29) or Fr. Emanuel Vega(30) had been sent (if men of greaterlearningcould not be given) it would have been much better, because the latter are familiar with polite letters But Canon Law , of which Fr. Diego was Professor, has no standing with the heretics I have presumed to lay these matters before your Paternity simply and clearly, leaving all things however to be decided byyour judgment With a view to promoting our business better and rendering greater assistance to both kingdoms , I have now appointed two young merchantslearned men, howeverwhom I have selected for this purpose, who on the pretext of being the representatives of some important merchants are to go, one to England, the other to Scotland; and they will return to this country in the greatest freedom and safety. But they will have with them certain merchandise which we shall see to it is at once bought by the Catholics For in this way the expensesofthese merchantswill to someextent be able to be borne , and besides, they will be applying themselves to our concerns , and especially to taking over books and letters and other things that are wanted, though they are to have certain merchandise as well to make a better showing To-day I have received another letter from England

from which I learn that my presence is greatly desired , especiallyby those in prison, in order to make provision for alms; other people of greater influence and discretionurge me to do something in thematter ofScotlandbefore again exposing myselfto danger in England They say also that for the time being I can assist in other matters by means of letters and by making use of Fr. Jasper, and this I do not fail to do Fr. Jasper came to Londonduring the past week from the province which is in his charge with good store of alms to relieve the prisoners, and he wrote to me at the same time intimating that he was in very high favour with the chief men of his province. Fr. Williamwas unwell for a littletime after his arrival, but he has recovered and is labouring strenuously They write again about an Italian, whom they wish to be attached to the King of Scotland as teacher of the Italian tongue. If anyone is sent, let him come to the house of the aforesaid Archdeacon of Rouen, where he will find everythingin readiness and precise instructions from me . He should keep away from Rheims and Paris in order to avoid arousing suspicion And letters should be sent to me under the name of Mr. Roland Cabel, merchant Mr. Allen has written about authority being granted to the Apostolic Nuncio in Paris to give dispensations in cases that occur ; also about having the hours of the Blessed Virgin printed in Latin and English. I beg your Paternity to take these matters up with his Holiness,for they will be a source of consolation to very many people (31) Farewell

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI.(1)

Stonyhurst Coll P, ff 297 and 16

London, 22 Nov., 1581

Pax Christi. Ho Scritto etc. . .. . Prego ancora Vostra Reverenza di mandar Padre Barreto a Roan quanto prima etc. . . Perdire a Vostra Reverenzala causa(ma digrazialatenga secreta) l'ho promesso di mandarlo in Scotia, o impiegarlo in qualche altra facenda di non manca importanza (2) .. Pochi giorni sono .... Lorenzo Caddy il quale (come intendo) fu mandato via dal vostro Collegio venendo qua in Londra, se ne andò dal Superintendente di Londrae negòla fede (3)il che piaque tanto agli heretici che determinarono di servirsidi questa apostasia, e cosìfuordinato

(1)Father Christopher Grene prefaces his transcripts of Persons'sletters (Coll P , f. 293) with the following note: " Epistolae P. Roberti Personii transcriptaeex autographisubi aliud non notatur, et ubi virgultahujusmodi invenituribi aliqua omitti sciendum est." The ellipses in the text, therefore, denoteGrene's omissions Asregardsthe placefromwhich the letter is appar- entlywrittenit must be rememberedthat Persons was keepinghis departure from England secret and wished Agazzari to think that he was still there. (2) Dr. Richard Barret, who in 1588 succeeded Allen as President of the seminaryat Rheims In Fr. Holt's letterto Allen from Scotland , sent bythe latter to Cardinal Como , 18 February, 1582 (Knox, Allen, p. 117), Barret is named as one whom the Scotch Catholics desired to be sent to Scotland. Cf. alsoAllen to Agazzari, 7 February, 1582 (ibid., p. 110). Barret ,however , was not sent to Rheims until a year later His arrival is reported in the Douay Diaries on November the 3rd, 1582 (3) The passage " il che .... anno" is omitted by Grene, who adds a note in the margin: " Omitto quae jam scripta sunt, p 16e, " referring tohis transcript of Persons's Punti della Missione earlier in the same volume, whence I have supplied the passage already printed in C.R.S. iv, 10 ,

che un predicante che doveva predicare la festa seguentenel luogo più celebre di Londra detto la croce di San Paolo lo menasse là seco, a pronunciare publicamente alcune cose da loro suggerite contra il Papa e la religione Romana: il che , come era di aspetto molto brutto , fece con tanta mal gratia, che tutti si vergognarono di lui: tuttavia li Eretici lo mandarono all'università di Ossonio per studiare di nuovo per farlo ministro, e gli assegnarono 60scudi l'anno (4)

È grangratia di Dio Nostro Signore che con tutti li modi che usano questi persecutori tanto di tormenti quantodi allettamenti, non hanno fin qui pervertito nissuno se non questi due poveretti abietissimi Giovanni Nicolo e questo, il quale è par suo ; tutti due mandati via dal vostro Collegio con dishonore: ma pur prego Vostra Reverenza per amor di Christo che habbia gran rispetto in questi tempi pericolosi in mandar via gente scontenta: So che lei usa e usarà prudenza in questa cosa, ma nondimeno perchè questo è un punto di grandissima importanza , non posso se non ricordarle il pericolo e scandalo grandissimo che potrebbe seguitare da questa cosa: e fo questo adesso particolarmente non solamente per rispetto di questi due scandali che sono già accaduti , ma ancora perchè ho inteso di alcuni altri mandativia in quel modo di nuovo, la nuova della qualcosa ci contrista assai qui, perchè li parenti di alcuni di loro furono grandi amici nostri, et adesso si commincia di parlar molto di queste cose contro la Compagnia e non solamente gli Eretici trionfano di questo, ma molti ancora Catolici parenti o amici delli offesi si scrucciano, et altri pensano che non sia prudenza di pericolar le cose in quel modo in questi tempi. Certamente Padre mio io ho grandissima compassione di Vostra Reverenza perchè so che croce sia contrastar con quelli che non sone trattabili et atti per essere governati : ma pur più presto vorei che Vostra Reverenza per suo pio gran merito portasse un poco di afflittione lì, che la causa di Nostro Signore patisse qui con scandalo di tanti gran servi di Dio: tutto questo rimetto alla prudenzadi VostraReverenza e mi perdoni per haver dettal'opinione mia: l'ho fatto e lo farò sempre con gran confidenza appresso di

(4) LaurenceCaddy was a scholar of the English College, Rome , and was dismissed (C.R.S. ii, 134) His own story of his fall and repentance was printed in A true report of the late apprehension of John Nicols, minister, at Roan, Rheims, 1583, of which a Latin translation was incorporated in the Concertatio Ecclesiae Catholicae in Anglia, Rheims, 1588, pp 234-238 He says nothing there, however, of his appearing as a witness for the crown in the trial of Campionand his companions Persons's account is substantially correct Caddy adds the reason of his fall He had an ardent desireto see his parents and friends; but fearing that they might not desire to receive him on account ofthe penallaws, he determinedto feign himself a Protestant and so went to the Bishop of London, Aylmer When imprisoned in the Gatehouse , however, the Bishop and his chaplain, Dias, drove him by threats of punishment and against his conscience to make a public recantation It appears that hewas not sent to Oxford, as Persons reports, but to Cambridge On his repentance cf. Allen to Agazzari, 2 and 29 March, 1583 (Knox, Allen, pp. 177, 186), and Barret to the same, 13 March and 14 April, 1583 (Knox, Douay Diaries, pp 323-324).

Vostra Reverenza perchè so che sempre la pigliarà in buona parte (5)

Ho ricevuto le lettere di Vostra Reverenza e etc. . . . . per le quali vi ringratio assai, et ho scritto a Nostro Padre pregandolo di mandar Padre Parenticelli(6) in queste bande con un'altro ciòè col Padre Ferrante o Pallavicino (7) etc.

Delle cose nostre sentirete più nuova fra pochissimi giorni, et alla distesa Hora solamente dico che vanno benissimo, come sempre sogliono in tempo di persecutione Si aspetta che Padre Campiano sia martirizato presto, ma sia martirizato o viva, egli ha fatto qui grandissimo frutto; beato lui Padre Gaspare e Padre Gulielmo faticano assai e con gran frutto: lodato sia ilSignore per tutto etc.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI (1)

Translation

London, 22 Nov. , 1581 .

Pax Christi I have written etc. . . . I beg your Reverence also to send Fr. Barret to Rouen as soon as possible etc. .... To explain the reason for this (but kindly keep it secret), I have promised him to send him to Scotland or to employ him in some other enterprise of not less importance etc.(2) . .... A few days ago . . Laurence Caddy, who, as I hear , was dismissed from your College ... came here to London and went to the house of the pseudo-bishop of London and denied the faith(3); and this pleased the heretics so much that they made up their minds to take advantage of this apostasy. And so orders were given that a preacher, who was due to preachon the next feast day at the most famous place in London called St. Paul's Cross , should take him therewith him to make a public declaration of certain things which they suggested to him to the detriment of the Pope and the Roman religion And he, being a very coarselooking man, did so with such ill grace that everybodywas ashamed of him Nevertheless , the heretics sent him to the University ofOxford to make his studies afresh, with a view to making him a Minister; and they assigned him 60 crowns a year.(4)

It is a great favour of God our Lord that, in spite of all the devices these persecutors made use of, both of tortures and allurements , they have pervertedno one so far exceptthese two poorwretched men , John Nichols and this one I have mentioned , who is a pair to him. Bothof them were dismissed from your College in disgrace; but now I beg your Reverence by the love of Christ to be very cautious in these difficult times about dismissing people who are discontented . I know that you use and will use prudence in this matter, but all the same , as this is a point of the greatest importance, I cannot refrain from

(5) In his Punti Persons states that he wrote several letters on thesubject to Agazzari, who was much grieved thereat Cf. C.R.S. iv, 39 , 40

(6) Probably Antonio Maria Parenticelli, S.J. (1555-1589 ), who entered the Society in Romein 1572. He later taught philosophy Cf. Sommervogel , Bibliothèque S.J., vi, 214

(7) Fabricio Pallavicino, S.J. (1555-1600), who entered the Society in Rome in 1571. He was for a time Prefect of Studies in the English College, Rome, and there are several references to him in Allen's letters of 1582 Laterhe became professorofphilosophy Cf.Sommervogel , Bibliothèque S.J., vi, 114. Persons would have known these fathers at the Roman College, when he himself was studying theology there

calling your attention to the very great danger and scandal that is liable to result from action of this sort; and I am doing so now especiallynotonly in reference to the two scandals that have alreadyoccurred but also because I have heard of some others being dismissed in that way lately, and the news of it saddens us here very much, because the relationsofsome ofthem were greatfriendsof ours, and now there is beginning to be a good deal of talk against the Society on these matters, and not only are the heretics triumphant at this, but also many Catholics, relatives or friends of the offended men , are very disturbedabout it; and others are of the opinionthatit is not a prudent thing to endanger matters in that way in times like these Certainly, my dear Father, I have the greatest sympathy with your Reverence , for I know what a cross it is to have to contendwith people who are intractable and not amenable to discipline; but also I would prefer that your Reverence should endure a little distress there, to your great merit, than that the cause of Our Lord should suffer here and scandal be given to so many great servants of God. All this matter I submit to your Reverence's discretionand I beg you to pardon me for having given my opinion on it I have done so , and shall always do so , with great confidence in your Reverence, because I know that you will always take it in good part.(5)

I have received your Reverence's letters and etc. . . . . for which I am much obliged, and I have written to Fr. General begging him to send Fr. Parenticelli(6) to these parts with anotherperson, that iswith Fr. Ferranti or Fr. Pallavicino(7) etc

... You shall have further news of our affairs here in the course of a very fewdays, andin full. I will only say nowthat they are goingvery wellas they are alwayswont to do in timesof persecution . It is thought that Fr. Campion will be martyred soon; but whether he be martyred or whether he live, he has reaped a very great harvest here; happy he . Fr. Jasper and Fr.Williamare working very hard and with much fruit; praised be the Lord for everything, etc. ....

QUÆDAM EXCERPTA EX LITERIS P. ROBERTI PERSONII SCRIPTIS UT PUTATUR LONDINI 22 NOVEMBRIS, 1581

Arch S.J. Rom Anglia , 30.1.312

Extract or Summary Cited by Bartoli, Inghilterra, p 183

P. Edmundus Campianus post disputationes passus est crudelissima tormenta tum pridie tum postridie ejus diei qui omnibus sanctis sacer est quæ ille divino et sanctorum omnium auxilio incredibili quadam constantia toleravit vixqueiis perfunctus contenta voce Te Deum Laudamus ita recitavit ut omnesvehementer mirarentur. Ea tandem est hominis opiniout tum illumtum duodecim alios intra paucos dies suspensum iri arbitrentur. Tres habitæ cum hereticis disputationes omnium hic animos magnopere commoverunt , ita se gessit P. Campianus una cum Cervino, quem tamen Cervinum post primas disputationes interesse non tulerunt hæretici quod nimis cholericum dicerent ; quare P. Campianus solus disputare cogebatur : et quidem vix dici potest, quantum hæ disputationes attulerunt utilitatem , afferantque indies. Quod si ille ob eam causam moriatur afferent certe longe majorem : Versantur enim illæ in ore ac sermone omnium non

Catholicorum modo sed etiam inimicorum; idque cum Patris Campiani summo honore. Tantamgratiamdeditilli Deusin oculis omnium illo die.

Translation .

SOME EXTRACTS FROM FR. PERSONS'S LETTER , WRITTEN , IT IS THOUGHT , IN LONDON ON THE 22ND OF NOVEMBER , 1581 .

Fr. Edmund Campion after his disputationsunderwentmost cruel tortures, both on the day before and the day after the feast of All Saints, which by the help of God and of all the saintshe bore with a constancyalmost unbelievable ; and when these tormentswere scarcely ended he recited in a tone of resignationthe " Te Deum Laudamus" so that all marvelled greatly It is commonlythought also that both he and twelve others will be hanged withina few days

The three disputations held with the heretics greatly stirred the souls of all here, such was the bearing of Fr. Campion, accompanied by Sherwin . After the first disputations, however, the heretics would not tolerate the presence of Sherwin , because they said he was too choleric ; and so Fr. Campion had to conduct the disputation alone . And truly it can scarcely be told how much good these disputations have done , and are doing every day. And if he dies for that cause they will certainly do still more good For they are the common talk and subject of conversation of everybody, not only of Catholics , but of our enemies also; and always to the great honour of Fr. Campion ; suchwasthe charm God gave him in the eyes ofall that day.

"A LETTER FROM A JESUIT UPON CAMPION'S CONDEMNATION. "(1) 26 Nov., 1581.

R.O. Dom. Eliz., 150.67 . Contemporaryhand. Printed in partin Strype, Annals III,pt i, p 49

My deare good friend , Pax Christi &c

I was very gladd for many causes that I mett with mr. C. heare in these partes and the cheef and principall was for that he might returne to you with my commendacions and certifie you tanquam oculatus testis of my health and beinge in England, Whereof I understand by him some doubte was made Surelye in myne opynion yt was very necessarie for me to be absent from you for a tyme to the greter service of god, to whose honour I truste my absens hathe byn applied : But nowe I doubt not by the grace of god but that you shall heare of me there shortely, and yf at my cominge you be furthe of the Cytie leave word I pray you at the place where we last parted, how I mayecome to (1) The letter, as the contemporary judged, appears to have been written by a Jesuit . The subject matter suggests that the writer was Persons and not Jasper Heywood or William Holt, who were the only two Jesuits at libertyin England, and who had butrecently arrived Nor is the style unlike that of Persons The fact that the letter appears to have been written by one in England, where Persons certainly was not at this date, is no argument againstthe ascription of it to him, as it is known from other letters that he concealed his absence from England, and wrote to his friends there as though hewerestillin the country(cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, 1581 , supra).

your speeche . I understand of the late advancement and exaltacion ofmy deare brothermr C and his felowes our Lord be blessed for yt, yt is the joyefullest news in one respect that ever came to my hart sins I was borne. I call him brother for that once god made me worthie of so great preferment, nowe I take him rather for my patrone then for my brother whose steppes I beseech Chryst I maye be worthie to followe. There is nothinge happened to him which he looked not for before, and whereof he made not oblacion to god before he ever sett footeto goe towards England. Ilooked forthis ende of his disputacion also, and surelie alsowhen I heard howe prosperouslye god turned them to the gloryeofhis cause I suspected that he would have his lief also , for that yt was like the adversaries would never putt upp with so great a blowe without revengement upon his bloude His impertinentand malicious witnesses god will judge, but yeet I beseech his divine majestie (yf yt be his will) to pardon them and geve them grace to repent, and to prevent his great wrath dewe to their most grevous iniquities: there be men inthe world whichdrinckebloud as easely, as beastes do water, and because the earth doth not open and presentlyswallowe them downe they thinke allis well. Sed heu (sayth the prophet) juxta est dies perdiconis [sic] et adesse festinanttempora (2)

Yt may be as trewlie spoken of Mr. C as ever Ezechiellspak yt of his lik, effusus est sanguis ejus in limpidissimampetramet non in terram ut operiatur pulvere His bloud is shedd upon a most clere stone to be seene of all men and not upon the earth thatyt maybe coveredwithduste. The pretended duste offayned treason wherewiththey go out to cover his bloudis blowen away witheverylittle ayre ofconsideraconthat commeth nereyt. Your conscience and myne, and the knowledge of god almightiewithall the Saincts of heaven are privye and shall beare wittnes at the daye of Judgement of his pure innocencye in all suche matters and meaninges, eyther by fact, word or cogitacion. This hath he protested and will protest (I know) upon the perdicon of his sowle at his death, (for yeetI am not certified thatheis dead) and wee protestthe same before god and man and angells in heaven and all that ever we have dealt withall in England shall testifie the samebothlivingand diengeupon their salvaconanddamnacon intheliefto come. All whichseeing yt serveth notin Westminster Hall(3) We are content quietlie to leave it in gods hands and to refere it onelye to the tribunall of Christ. Qui cum tempus acceperit discernet causam nostram . That I am so fare towched in the same matter, as Mr. Criss : telleth me, I cannot but take yt most thankfullie at my good Lord his hands who vouchsafeth to leande me a porcion in sorte sanctorum Free Iam foranythought of such matters as were objected, God and my conscience and my freendes with whom I do converse do know and rejoice But

(2) Deut xxxii, 35

(3) Campion and his companions were arraigned on the 14th and tried on the 20th November at Westminster Hall

I know yt was not easie for the lambe whichdronk beneth at the ende oftheryver tojustifie tothewolf drinking atthe headspringe that the drinkinge benethe did not trowble the water, and the reason was for that the wolfewas mynded to eate her . Mybloud therefore must satisfie this matter whichby gods holieassistaunce I remayne resolute and willing to yeeld (when his divine majestie shall appoynt the day) as ever I did to paye my debt that Ido owe , or to receve any benefit from his most mercifull hands I remember oftento my greate comfortthe sayenge ofSt. Paul deo manifesti sumus et spero in conscientiis vestris manifestos nos esse(4) Yf we be mistaken of men, yeet god is not deceved And therefore for my part I do seek daylye and howerlye (according to the mesureof his holy grace geven me) to walk in hissightand to ymagine him present at all myne actions even as thoughe he were presently to enter into judgment with me which attention I truste (though I be otherwise a great and miserable synner) shall so direct my lyef for all such matters as our enemyes do object, as I shall little feare the Judgmentes of men nor the accusacions of Eliott Iscariott(5) and his comparteners. for the matter itself which is the advauncement of gods glorye by perswadinge my contreymen to vertuous lyef and true religion , for which cause onely I was sent hither, I will by gods helpe never ceasse eytherdieng or living as long as my soule is hable to move any part within me, from the prosecuconof so good andgodlyea purpose, for I know yt is wrytten, Usque ad mortem certa pro Justicia,(6) In whichrespect I confesse that I fearelitle any mortall power which killeththe body and after hath nothing to do more, for that I have my masters commaundement for the same , and not onelythat butt his warrant, Capillus de capite vestro non peribit,(7) And thus muchof myselfand those holy men that are dead Qui visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, illi autem sunt in

paceNowe to you my dearly beloved, and the rest of my good freendes with you I see no cause for me eytherto comfortor encourage you, the very matter yt self is most sufficient for bothe: For what greter matter of comfort can there be to us that are Catholiks then to see God worke these strange wonders in our dayes for the advauncement of his and our cause, that is to geve suche rare grace of zeale, austerytie of lyef and constancy of martirdom unto yonge men , lerned men brought up in thadversaries owne scooles, and to whom yf they would have folowedthe pleasures of the world or yeelded in any one little poynt against the truthe it had byn lawfull to have lived both in favor and

(4) 2 Cor. v, 11 .

(5)George Elliot, who was responsible for Campion's capture, had previ- ously acted outwardlyas a Catholic, and behavedas one at the meeting at Lyford, beforedeparting to betray the martyr On Elliot giving falsewitness atthe trial,Campionexclaimed: " Judas, O Judas, etc., " and the namestuck to the traitor

(6) Ecclus. iv, 33.

(7) Luke xxi, 18 ,

credit. This can not com of fleshe and bloud butt must needes be an argument of gods mercifull meaning toward us yf we be humbleand pacyent under this his fatherly rodd and chastisement. Agayne what can be more forcibleto encorageus to all vertue and imitacon of these mens fortitude, then to see childrentogoe into heaven before us

You knowe who used this argument when he sayd Regnum Christi vim patitur et v[iolenti capiunt] illud(8) which yf ever yt were fullfilled nowyt is when the tenderest and fraylest flesh passethe valliantly to heaven, throughe rackings hanginges drawinges quarteringes and throughe a thowsand miseries more which ar layd upon them . Wherefore lett other men followe the pleasures of the world and lewd lyef as muchas they will. Nowe is the tyme for us to make ourselveseverlastinge princes by the gayning of heaven Qui nocet noceat adhucetqui in sordibus est sordescat adhuc, sayth our saviour . And on thother side Qui justus est justificetur adhuc et qui sanctus est sanctificetur adhuc ecce venio cito et merces mea mecum est reddere unicuiquesecundum opera sua (9) nowe forthis tyme my deare good freend . From B in L this present XXVIth of november 1581 Your owne bounden in most hartygood will for christ and his cause

The crosse appeares, Christ doth approche A comfort for us all

For whome to suffer or to dye Is grace celestiall

Be therefore of good corage nowe In your sharpe probacion

Which shall you bring to glory greate And myghty consolacion

Yf you persever to the ende Of this sharp storm in deede

You shall confounde bothe foe and freend And heaven have for meede God make us myndfull all of his sweet promises and our owne dewtyewhich is sufficient armourfor all assaltes of our enemyes. Commende me hartely to my daughter Crs and your little familye (and the rest of your good company) willing them all be of good comfort and to pray for us as wee shall for them Weaknes nowe is come to such a head that the festered sores thereofmust needes breake owte wherby I hope all infirmities wilbe healed in the meane tyme they entend to do us a good turne against their will. I hope we shall so disclose the fonde forgery of ourenemyes(god willing) this weeke as yt it was never since the Queene came to her crowne god (for whose cause wee suffer) defende the truthe I have saluted your freends who resalut you our Lord be with you and yours and all his faythfull (christian) afflicted flocke .

[Endorsed] A letter from a Jesuit upon Campions Condemnation . Ao 1581 Anonymous .

(8) Matt xi, 12 . (9) The words are read in the Apoc xxii, 11 .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI. Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 293 .

, S.J.

London , 23 December, 1581.(1)

Oblatamihi hac commoditate & .... Post omnes disputationes nostras in controversiis , de quibus audistis, die 20 et 21 Novembris producti fuerunt ad tribunal publicum & laesae majestatis condemnati 13 sacerdotes , nimirum Edmundus Campianus, Soc J., Rodulphus Sherwinus, Jac Bosgravius(2) & . . . et quartus decimus fuit Jurisprudentiae studiosus Henricus Hortonus (3) dictus . ... (4)(he relateth in one sheet and a half of paper their condemnation and the execution of three of them, wch Iwill not copy out because all may be found in so many printed books, especially F. Bartoli's Inghilterra)

Translation

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI 23 Dec., 1581.(1)

As this opportunity offered . After all our disputations on subjects of controversy, ofwhich you have been informed, on 20th and 21st ofNovemberthirteen priests were brought before the public court and condemned for high treason, namely Edmund Campion , S.J., Ralph Sherwin , James Bosgrave(2) etc. and there was a fourteenth, a student of Jurisprudence , named Henry Orton(3) (4)(he relateth etc. . . . . Grene's notesee text supra.)

PERSONS TO Bartoli, Inghilterra, p 119.(1) ?

1580 , 1581 .

Bolle, e infuria (scrive di colà il Personio) per tutto il regno contro a'Cattolici la persecutione hora più che mai sia stata da che l'Inghilterra è christiana Sono strascinati alle carceri, nobili, e ignobili d'ogni età, d'ogni sesso: e per fino i fanciulli vi si tirano incatenati Confiscano i lor beni, nè consentono che loro entrino in carcere nè amici per conforto, nè limosine per sovvenimento ; anzinè pure un raggio di sole , un po' di luce viva per consolarsene: nè altro si ode da' Ministri, e Predicanti in pergamo, che chiamarli traditori, e rebelli Il Castello di Londra, prigione riserbata a grandissimi malfattori, assassini , seditiosi, felloni, rei di lesa Maestà, hora è piena di Sacerdoti, e d'ogni altra maniera Cattolici Nelle altre Provincie , le tante carceri vecchie che v'erano, non sono bastate a capirvi dentro la gran calca di quegli, che

(1) Grene copied from the autograph and heads the letter " Londino , decimo Calendas Januarii 1581 ad P. Alphonsum Agazarium "

He (2) For James Bosgrave, S.J., cf. Foley, iii, 279-294 , 770-774 . wasarrestedatOrford in Suffolk, and not, as Foley states, at Dover William Borde waspaid 112/4 for bringing him up to London on a warrant signedby Secretary Wilson at Richmond 4 October, 1580, after his arrest by theMayor of Orford (Treasurer of ChamberAccounts)

(3) Henry Orton Cf. Persons to Agazzari 17 November , 1580 .

(4) Father Grene's summary of the rest of the letter.

(1) Conflated from several letters of Persons, 1580 and 1581 , as Bartoli himself indicates in the margin " In più lettere sue del 1580 e del 1581."

, S.J.

ricusano di communicar nelle cose sacre co' Protestanti: perciò è stato mestieri aprirne, e fabricarne altre nuove: E siegue a contare del tristo pane, e solo accattato per Dio, che lor si dava alla scarsa misura di quanto è necessario per non morir di fame; e in certe prigioni provedute di più rigidi guardiani, per delitia, e non sempre, nè a tutti, un pochissimo di salume vecchio, e già presso a fracido; e acqua, non mai altra che l'attinta da qualche fosso, fangosa, e puzzolente; e nè pur mai in quantità bisognevole a trarsi la sete, per quantunque la domandassero E conveniva a' pietosi Cattolici non ancor presi, sottilizzar d'ingegno, sì che venisse lor fatto d'intromettere qualche poco di carità, onde ristorarsi que' Confessori di Christo : e se ne contano di belle inventioni, e felicemente riuscite, avvegnachè con gran rischio, se il prigioniere se ne addava .

PERSONS TO . .. .(1)

Translation

1580. 1581

Persons writes from there: Throughout all the kingdom there is boiling up and raging against the Catholics a persecution greater now than ever before since England has been a Christian country. Nobles and those of low degree of every age, of both sexes, are dragged offto prison ; and even children are thrown into it in chains Their property is confiscated; nor is entrance allowed into the prison either to their friends to comfort them or to alms for their relief; nay, not even to a ray of the sun , a gleam of life-giving light, for their consolation ; and from the pulpit ministers and preachers have nothing to say of them exceptto brand them as traitors and rebels. The Tower of London , a prison reserved for the greatest criminals, murderers, mutineers, scoundrels, and men guilty of high treason, is now full of priestsand Catholics of every sort. In the provinces the numerous prisons that were there from of old do not suffice to accommodate the great crowds who refuse to have part with Protestants in sacred things. On this accountit has been necessary to open them and build other new ones

And he goes on to speak ofthe miserable bread, got only by begging it in the name of God, which was given them in the scanty measure necessaryto preventthem dying ofhunger ; and in certain prisons which had stricter keepers, as a delicacy , not given always or to all of them , a morsel of salt meat, stale and alreadyalmostmusty; water also, only what was drawn from some ditch, muddy and smelling, and even so neverin sufficient quantity to satisfy their thirst, however much they asked for it

And Catholics who had not yet been captured, in pity got together and made ingenious plans for their relief, and it thus became their business to introduce something in the way of charity for the relief of those confessors of Christ; and there are stories of splendid contrivances , happily successful ones, although very riskyfor the prisoners to use .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI 3 Feb., 1582. Quoted in Persons's Punti (Coll P, f 26) Printed in C.R.S. iv, 40

Amantissime Pater dabit [sic] veniam hac vice litterarum mearum brevitati, quam alias Deo volente prolixitate compensabo. Doleo at valde doleo si te superioribus meis litteris contristavi

non enim aliquid jam factumreprehendi, sed admonitionem solum ex rerum nostrarum conditione desumptam volui adhibere.(1) Itaque (pater mi) facile admitto defensionem tuam, quae justissima est, et si tecum ibi fuissem idem atque tu sensissem forsan atque fecissem : tu etiam si hic adesses easdem (scio) animi angustias mecum patieris cum scandala cerneres neque rimedium invenires Sed jam spero omnia melius in posterum processura. Et ego pro meo virili curabo his in partibus vos juvare: non nisi selectos enim hinc ad Alanum mittam (quamquam revera paucissimos soleo commendare) et eum etiam admoneo ut non nisi probatos advos transmittat Coeterahacvice (quiatempore excludor) intelligat Vestra Reverentia ex iis litteris quas ad Patrem GulielmumGoodum una cum his scribo Pater Gulielmus Holtus(2) valde se vobis commendat, recreatus jam ex dyssenterio quodpassusest ad 10 hebdomadras Pater Gaspar optime valet et magnos fructus facit Edoardus Grateleus(3) alumnus vester multam salutem Vestrae Reverentiae impertit et est mihi valde necessarius et optime se gerit Saluto iterum atque iterum omnes patres fratres et amicos tam vestri collegii quam alibi raptim 3º Februarii 1582 .

Translation . PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Most loving Father,

3 Feb. , 1582 .

You will excuse on this occasion the shortness of my letter, and at some other time, God willing, I will make up for it by a long one .

(1) Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 22 November, 1581 , note 5.

(2) Mendoza in his despatch of February the 9th, 1582, reports that Fr.Holt fell ill at the Border on his journey to Scotland (Spanish Calendar , p. 286). There has been considerableconfusion regarding the date of this first journey of Fr. Holt to Scotland Knox, for instance(Allen, pp 117–118), endeavours to correct Persons, but it is Knox, not Persons, who is in error Having neither the Documentos Ineditos nor the Spanish Calendar to help him , he was led into error by ascribing to Watts, the secularpriest, a letter which the despatchof Mendoza , 9 February, 1582, makes clear to have been Holt's Persons' statement in his Punti (C.R.S. iv, 21-23) is to the effect that Watts was first sent to Scotland, returned to London and went back again to Scotland accompanied by Fr. Holt This is supported by the despatches of Mendoza From that of September the 7th, 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p 170), we learn that an unnamed cleric went to Scotland . His return to London is reported in Mendoza's despatch of October the 20th , 1581 (SpanishCalendar , p 194), and later went backto Scotland, accompanied by another priest, a fact which Mendoza in his letter of Decemberthe 11th , 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p 235), states that he has already reported in former letters, presumably not now extant This other priest can be identified with Fr. Holt from Mendoza's despatch of February the 9th, 1582, where he reports Holt's return from Scotland; for he there states that Fr. Persons ordered Fr. Holt to go to Scotland in company with the priest " whowas sent the first time and afterwards returned thither," and that Holt fell ill at the Border (Spanish Calendar , p 286). Holt therefore accompanied Watts back toScotland on the latter'sreturn journeysoon after Octoberthe20th, 1581. It may be added that the Calendarist, Martin Hume, twice wrongly identifies Watts with Crichton (Spanish Calendar , pp 286, 291).

(3) Grately later became a spy Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 17 November, 1580 , note 7

I am sorry, deeply sorry, if my previous letter has hurt you. It was not that I blamedanything that had already been done, but I wished to supply a warning merely, which was prompted by the condition of our affairs (1) And so , my dear Father, I have no difficultyin accepting your defence, which is a most just one; and ifI had been inyour place I should possibly have felt and acted as you did; and you also , if you were present here, would sufferthe same agonies of mind as Ido, when you saw scandals and found no remedy for them. But I am hoping nowthatallwill go better in future. And, for my part,I shallendeavour to the utmost of my power to help you here; for I am goingto send only picked men from here to Allen (though as a matter of fact it is only very few that I ever commend to him) and I am warning him too not to transfer to you any but tried men For this once, since I am pressed fortime, your Reverence must gatherthe rest of the news from the letter I am sending along withthis to Fr. William Good. Fr.William Holt(2) sends you his very kind regards; he has now recovered from the dysentery from which he suffered for ten weeks Fr. Jasper is in excellent health and is getting great results. Edward Grately,(3) an alumnus of yours, wishes to be remembered very kindly to you; he is most usefulto me and behaves most excellently. I salute againand again all the fathers and brothers and friends both of your College and elsewhere In haste, 3rd of February, 1582.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI.

Arch S.J. Rom., Anglia 30, i, ff 278–281

London, 1 March, 1582

Two other copies to befound in the same collection, Anglia 30, i, ff 277, 277v, 282 , 282v, and Anglia 30, ii, ff 314-316 There is alsoanother contemporary copy at Modena, Arch di Stata, Giesuiti Suppressi , Novallara, filza 26, n 20. Grene also transcribed the letter, with omissions , in his copy of Persons's Punti , printed in C.R.S.iv, 40. It is cited by Bartoli, Inghilterra , pp 214 , 223

Magnifice Domine, Superioribus meis literis significavi vobis quod occurebat de felici martyrio trium nostrorum sociorum Campiani, Shervini et Brianti. Reliqui undecim qui eadem sententia damnabantur , adhuc tenentur vivi in turri Londinensi , et a paucis diebus mitius paululum tractati quam antea solebant (1) Rumores varii et frequentes de mortibus illorum disseminantur , et aliquando dies et locus assignatur ad terrorem, sed adhuc tamen vivunt, et vivunt laetissimi , licet ita vivant ut vita illorum magis sit mors quaedam continuaquam vita eo quod horis fere singulis mortemexpectent Plurimi eorum variis modis tentati fuerunt ab adversariis, et montes aurei illis promissi si quacunque in re vel minima cederent, si ecclesias Protestantium vel de limine salutarent , sed isti nihil largiuntur, ne bonum quidem verbum

Joannes Nicolaus minister ille relapsus poenitentiaductussuorum scelerum venit in carcerem post mortem aliorum ad Patrem (1) Of the eleven others who were condemned for the same feigned conspiracy, seven were put to death: Thomas Ford, Robert Johnson, and John ShertonMay the 28th; andThomasCottam,S.J.,WilliamFilbyandLaurence Richardsonon May the 30th, 1582. Theremainingfour, James Bosgrave, S.J. , John Hart, Edward Rishton and the layman, Henry Orton , were kept in prison until January 1585 , when they were banished .

Kirbaeum, fatetur se pessime ingratissime et mendacissimeegisse, deprecatur culpam, offert in satisfactionem se ad Walsingamum Secretarium iturumet illos omni suspitione proditionis (quantum in se erat) purgaturum Cum Kirbaeus haec recusaret, affirmans id nihil modo profuturum, cum sententia publica condemnati essent, Nicolaus valde dolere videbatur, et promisit, se librum editurum quo Sleidi et aliorumfalsorumtestiumvitas , mores, et scelera exponeret.(2) Et sequenti die contulit se ut promiserat ad Walsingamum, coepit quaedamloqui ad condemnatorum purgationem . Ille furere et execrari tandem hominem amandant Londino, vivum an mortuum adhuc nescitur.

Capti sunt nuperrime tres ex vestris sacerdotibus Arturus

Pittus,(3) Haddocus minor (4) et Bishopus (5) quorum priores duo eodem die Londini simulcum juvenibusquibusdam nobilibuscomprehensi. Bishopus in portu examinatus cum subdubieresponderet retentus est, cum eodem tempore duo alii sacerdotes eo quod alacriter et expedite loquerentur dimittebantur. Petebant a Bishopo quondam genus vitae profiteretur Respondit ille, mercaturam. Iterumquaesitum est, quarum mercium ? ille obticuit. Et cum paulovehementius urgereturfassus est se esse Sacerdotem Unde postero die ad Concilium Regium ductus constantissimam fecit fidei confessionem, et in carcerem conjectus est, tamen non multis probatur tanta simplicitas apud astutissimas vulpes. Sed quid dicemus ? Deus mirabilis est in providentia sua, nobis incognita. AdmonebaturBishopus hujus rei tum cum mare ingressurus erat, sed illererumdivinarum meditationitamintentusvidebatur, ut rerum humanarum plane oblivisceretur . Forsan hoc voluit Deus contingere, ut adversarius cerneret, minime esse deterritos hominesrecente martyrum nece quominus inceptum opusanimose persequerentur. Praeter hos tres capti sunt etiam alii tres et in

(2) Cf. Luke Kirby's letter of January 10 , 1582, printed in Allen'sBriefe Historie, p. 74

(3) Arthur Pitts, a priest of Douay and the English College, Rome, left for the English mission on April the 22nd, 1581. He was apprehendedwith George Haydock early in the following year and remained in prison until January 1585 , when he was exiled There is a biography of him in Gillow

(4) George Haydock, also of Douay and the English College, Rome, left for England on January the 16th, 1582 , and was apprehendedsoon after landing. After being imprisoned for two years he was tried and condemned for a feigned conspiracy, February 5-7 , 1584 , and suffered at Tyburn on February the 12th ofthat year The bad faith of the Government as regards theconspiracyofwhich he and his companionswere indicted is clearlyexposed in C.R.S. v, 51-62, where the indictments are printed

(5) This appears to be William Bishop, who was later in 1623 appointed to the see of Chalcedon After finishing his studies at the English College , Rome, he returned to Rheims November the 2nd, 1581 , and left for the mission Decemberthe 28th of that year. He was apprehendedon landing (Allen to Agazzari, 3 MarchKnox, Allen, p. 123and Pitts, De Illustribus Angliae Scriptoribus, Paris, 1619, p 1810), and remained in prison until January 1585 , when he was banished In placing his ordination in 1583 and his exile in 1584, the D.N.B. (v, 96) appears to have confused him with another of the same name .

carceremconjecti quorum unus Noritius(6) dicebatur, bene cognitus Domino Georgio(7) qui apud vos est, illius enim Sacerdos fuerat. Aliorum duorum nomina nondum sciuntur quia recentissime fuerunt capti.

Persecutio acrior est hoc tempore quamfuerit hactenus: plane enim furerevidentur adversarii ex illa magna plaga, quam illorum causae mors ultimorum martyrum inflixit, quae tanta est ut illi sentiant, quamvis sunt hebetissimi, et fere desperent se unquam posse eidem mederi Walsingamus nuper affirmavit, melius fuisse ut Regina quadragintamilia aureorum expendisset, quam ut illos presbiteros publice occideret. Et sane res eo jam pervenit ut aequissimosfere habeamus omnes moderatioris naturae Protestantes. Dicunt enim se melius sentire de nostra causa tum propter constantiam qua quotidie provocamus adversarios ad certamen , quod aperte vident modo ex istorum experientia , illos diffugere : tum etiam propter horum hominum mortem quam credunt omnino injustam fuisse. Denique dici non potest et multo minus credinisi rem oculis cerneremus, quantumboni mors istorum effecerit. Omnes uno ore hoc affirmant tam nostri quam adversarii , vitas eorum ad centesimum usque annum productas, tantum causae prodesse non potuisse quantum profuit brevis eorum sed gloriosa mors.(8) Multi perstiterunt intrepidi et constantes postea qui antea timidi fuerant, nonnulli se ecclesiae Catholicae adjunxerunt, infiniti de parte contraria dubitare coeperunt, et Catholici omnes in vinculis et persecutione tanta laetitia gestiuntet exultant ut nihil eorum sentiant quae patiuntur. Nunquam tam frequentes tam copiosae tam devotae fuerunt Missae Londini quam hodie omni fere in angulo celebrantur . Populus Catholicus intrepide offert se periculo, et cum lictores et persecutores veniunt, fugiunt ex una domo (qui possunt) et sacra statim faciunt in alia. Cum pertrahuntur ad carceres , ibi etiam reperiunt modum quo sacrificium sanctum persolvant (9) Itafit ut persecutoresindigna- tione et iracundia fere rumpantur. Infinitus est numerus librorum, dialogorum, discursuum, carminum, dicteriorum, quae facta fuerunt et edita partim impressa partim scriptain laudem horum Martyrum, et vituperiumadversariorum, quibus omnia quae circa eos contigerunt , tractata sunt , comprehensiones , incarcerationes, tormenta, disputationes, judicia, responsa, condemnationes, et mortes ipsae (10) Adversariifremunt,

(6) Richard Norris, a Douay priest, left for England August the 3rd, 1579. He was apprehendedand imprisoned in the Marshalsea the 17th of December , 1581 , wherehe remained until January 1585 , when he was exiled . Hedied in Spain, 1590 (Knox, Douay Diaries and Prison Lists in C.R.S. vol ii)

(7) Presumably George Gilbert

(8) Cf.MendozatoPhilipII, 4 December , 1581, and 11 April, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , pp 231, 336).

(9) For an instance of this cf. C.R.S. ii, 221 , and C.R.S. v, 26

(10) For a list, though incomplete, of the books to which the death of Campionand his companionsgaverise, cf. Gillow, BibliographicalDictionary i, 390, and also Simpson, Campion, p 331. There are four sets of verses on the death ofCampion and his companionsannexed to A true reporte ofthe

sed frustra, ipsi enim pueri resistunt eis in faciem, et exprobrant crudelitates in Servos Dei Duo reperti sunt nuper in academia

Oxoniensi qui carmina publicaverant , aetate fere pueri, alter virgis caesus fuit, alter vero aufugit Qui custos privatus fuerat Patris

Campiani in turri Londinensi , jam zelosissimusest Catholicus, cum antea in heresi obstinatus esset (11) Ceterorum custodesmirabiliter sunt mutati, et produnt indies multa in laudem et admirationem eorum qui mortui sunt. Cum nobilis quidam et primariusAulicus ad regiam a caede reversus esset, Regina eum rogavit publiceunde venisset . Ille respondit, a morte triumPapistarum . Etquidinquit illa tibi videtur de eis ? cui ille. Videntur (inquit) viri perdoctiet constantes, et innocenter mortui: orabant enim Deum pro vestra

Majestate, condonabant omnibus, et protestati sunt sub aeterna suarum animarumperditione , se nunquam vel cogitassequidquam maliin rempublicam autinvestram Majestatem. quo audito, Estne ita inquit Regina ? bene, hoc nihil pertinet ad nos : viderint ipsi qui condemnaverunt

Hic idem vir nobilis Haywardus nomine, licet perhaereticus, tamen cum interesset martyrio, et cerneret Carnificem appropinquantem ut scisso capistro PatremCampianum vivum (de more) dissecaret, magna eum iracundia abegit, minitans ei mortem si auderet attingere, antequam expirasset. quod etiam in reliquis(12) fecit

Multi(13) notarunt peculiarem Dei providentiam in seligendis his tribus viris ad martyrium tanquam si decarperevoluisset tres flores ex tribus hortis, unum ex Societate, alterum ex Collegio Romano, tertium ex Seminario Rhemensi Notarunt etiam tres particulares Spiritus Sancti differentias in eis Pater Campianus enim excellebat humilitate et suavitate Unde nunquam questus est in omnibus tormentis et injuriis quae inferebanturipsi, nunquam ullum verbum durum aut iracundum protulit, sed etiam tum cum ad mortem ventum esset, et manus ita cruciatibusdiffractae essent , ut eas movere non posset, dulcissime tamen et suavissimeloquebatur , et vultuhilari subridens moriebatur. Pater Shervinus zelum et magnum charitatis fervorem prae se ferebat, unde crucem ascendens laetabaturet exultabat, et infinitas gratias egit Deo detanto beneficio Osculabatur etiamCarnificem ettanta vehementia verborum expressit internum gaudium animae suae ut omnes obstupescerent, benedicebat omnibus, condonabat omnideath and Martyrdome of M CampionJesuite and preiste and M Sherwine & M Bryan preistes at Tiborne the first of December, 1581 , observed and written bya Catholic Priest who was present therat J. H. Pollen, S.J., reprinted them in his edition of Allen's Briefe Historie, pp 26, 31 , 44 and 55. The verses A briefof the Life and Death of Sir Edmund Campion are printed in J. H. Pollen's Acts of the English Martyrs Selections from four of these sets of verses are given in L. I. Guiney, Recusant Poets, London, 1938, pp. 175–181 . (11) Cf. Mendoza to Philip II, 11 April, 1582 (Spanish Calendar , p 336). (12) According to A true reporte ofthe death and MartyrdomethiswasLord Charles Howard, later Earl of Nottingham (13) The next two paragraphsare omitted from the copy ofthe letterin Persons's Punti (C.R.S. iv, 42)

bus, orabat pro omnibus ; inimicos et persecutores suos summos suos vocabat amicos, et cum jam colluminseruisset laqueo, quatibat caput et gestiebat prae gaudio, et tunc jucundissimo vultu et voceexultanterepetebat haec verba usquedumloqui potuit, Jesu , Jesu, esto mihi Jesus

Pater Briantus juvenis admodum fuit, et insigni excellebat patientia sumna quadam cum mansuetudine conjuncta, unde in tormentis suis quae fuerunt maximae ne gemitum quidem aut vocem emisitunquam, quod adversarii fatentur et admirantur vehementissime cum et armis et constitutione corporis tenerrimus videretur. Urgebant illum solum ut indicaret in tormentis ubi vidisset Patrem Robertum Respondit ille, nunquam hoc ex me scietis, facite quicquid potestis Vidi illum, et vixi cum illo, et tamen hoc nunquam vobis indicabo Et cum ipsius corpus vi tormentorum plusquam medium pedem (ut tortores ipsi affirmant) extra naturalemejus mensuram extraxissent , ille sine gemitutanquam si nihil sensisset permanebat, orationi et meditationi intentus. Hac de re ipse etiammartyr Christitestificatus est epistola(14) quadam sua ad Patrem Robertum; qua scribit Deibonitatefactum esseutin mediis illis tormentisnihil fere doloris sentiret Petebat etiam vehementissime ut in Societate reciperetur quodcum cognitum esset adversariis, arbitror fuisse causam cur eum prae ceteris delegerint ad mortem . Ad quam cum venisset pauca admodum locutusest facie vere angelica semper orientem versus intenta, ut agnus mitissimusmortem subiit, facta prius protestatione de fide suaet causamortis, et omnibus in Dominovalere jussis qui tamen in morte magnos sane cruciatus sustinuit, ob laqueum collo male applicatum, quo strangulari non potuit, sed post longum tempus decedentepopulo carnifexeum semivivumadhuc abscidita furca et in partes dissecavit

Atque haec sunt (mi Domine) quae nostris de rebus vobispotui hoc tempore perscribere, quae multis fortasse satis tristia videbuntur, nobis vero quos proximeattingunt tantam consolationem adferunt, ut vere cantemus indies cum Propheta : Virga tua et baculus tuusipsa nos consolata sunt (15) Fuit profecto magna nobis castigatio et gravis divinaevirgae percussio, quod amiserimus tam praeclaros patres et fratres, et nescio an unquam aliud tam acerbum Catholicorum cordibus acciderit, licet multa durissima perpessi sint, sed tamen fructus mirabilis qui postea consecutusest, non solum hunc dolorem abstulit, verum etiam sensum minuit ceterorum omniumquae patiuntur. Incredibileplane est nisi nobis qui sentimus quantaspiritus dulcedine Deus noster benignissimus pressuras nostras repleat. non miramur jam vocem illam praeclaram et mirabilemSantiPauli: repletus sum consolatione, superabundogaudio in omni tribulatione nostra (16) Non miramur (in(14) The letter was printed in the various editions and translations of Persons's De Persecutione Anglicana, which were published in 1581 and 1582 . (15) Ps xxii, 4 (16) 2 Cor vii, 4

quam) quia jam etiam et nos (licet indignissimi) partem nostram accepimus. nos etiamvidimusquam bonus et suavis sit Dominus , quam misericors Deus noster. Ños etiam Domini misericordias in aeternum cantabimus (17) Qui enim consolatur humiles, ipse dignatus est Deus nos etiam consolari, idque supra omnem modum in omnibus angustiis et necessitatibus nostris, illi sit honor, laus . gloria, et gratiarum actio in saecula saeculorum.

Omnibus(18) patribus et fratribus qui vobiscum sunt commendo me affectuosissime tanquam animis meis, quorum dulci memoria perpetuo recreor, amore delector, operibus sanctis et bonis meritis incitor, orationibuset sacrificiis sustentor, in particulari vero saluto qui in domo vestra sunt, quos ego ut hujus belli nostri tirones peramanter et intimis charitatis visceribus complector, Deoque quotidie ut animammeam commendo, ut aliquando ad hoc opus exeuntes, defectusnostros suppleant, etquodcaeptum est praeclare stabiliant: Sanctitatissuae tam in Societatem quam in gentem nostrammirabilis plane affectio et munificentiaquam narras: Protectoris nostri bonitas et singularis humanitas benignitasque in eosdem, Ceterorum Cardinalium pietas, religio, zelus, devotio, de quibus scribis, alia sunt divinae largitatis dona et amoris testimonia, quibus magis adhuc Deus noster obsequio suo devinctos nos reddit et utinam non inveniamurtantis rebusingrati maxime nos qui his in partibusdegentes majorem forsan inde consolationem capimus quam vos ibi potestis Cogita enim (mi Domine) quanta nobis exultatio, quantagloria sit, cum quicquam his inpartibusde Romana virtutenarratur quo fauceshostium obstruamus, qui nihil fere contra nos habent nisi quaedam absurda et venenatade Roma Nuper cum per occasionemab hereticis datam , hic disputarentur , et ad refutandas calumnias nonnullas infames , quaedam ederentur impressa de virtutibus et sanctis operibus Romae, dici non potest, quanto cum gaudio, imo cum lachrimis multorum Catholicorum legerentur non existimantium revera tot et tanta Romae fieri priusquam particularia legissent (19) Inde natum est majus adhuc odium in hereticos, qui tanta calumniati essent, tot fabulas et mendacia docuissent de Roma. Ipsi etiam heretici stupebant , et cum particularia negarenon possent, inquirebant num vera essent quae dicebantur nec ne? Et multo mitiores, aut saltem minus in ea re loquacesfacti suntquam antea. Itaque benedictus sit Deus noster quiquotidiepluradat Romanae bonitatis et virtutis exempla, quibus Christiani fideles glorientur ac triumphent, adversarii vero confundantur et erubescant . Vos istic juvate nos sanctis sacrificiis et orationibusvestris, ut dignos nos exhibeamus harum rerum incremento, in omni patientia et

(17) Ps lxxxviii , 2.

(18) The rest of the letter is omitted from Persons's Punti (C.R.S. iv, 46)

(19) This will be Persons's work, A Discoverie of J. Nichols minister , etc. The words in the text might fit Gregory Martin's Roma Sancta, but this, though written in 1580, was not published until 1583, after the author's death

LETTERS

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

fideli perseverantia in ministerio nostro usque in finem . Datum

Londini calendis Martii 1582. Vestrum omnium Robertus .

[Endorsed] Lettere scelte da conservarsi H.I. Napoli 1582

Translation

PERSONS TO THE RECTOR OF THE ENGLISH COLLEGE , ROME . London, 1 March, 1582

Honoured Sir ,

In my previous letter I gave you an account of what happened in connection with the happy martyrdom of our three comrades , Campion, Sherwin , and Briant The remaining eleven men who were condemned and sentenced at the same time are still alive and confined in the Tower of London, and for the last few days have been treated a little less harshlythan was usuallythe case before (1) Variousrumours of their death are constantly being spread abroadand sometimes the day and place are assigned, to cause terror; but nevertheless they are still alive and are living full of joy, albeit they live in such conditions that their lives are more like a prolonged death than life, inasmuch as they are expecting death almost every hour Most of them have been tempted by the enemy in various ways, and mountainsof gold were promised themiftheywouldyieldin anymatter, even thesmallest― iffor, instance ,they would pay theirrespects to the Protestantchurches merely from the threshold: but they are making them a present of nothing, not even a civil word

John Nichols, that ministerwho had apostatized , was led byrepentance of his crimes to come to the prison to see Fr. Kirby after the death of the other men He confesses that he had acted most evilly and ungratefully and had told many lies; he begged forgiveness of his fault and offered to make satisfaction by going to the Secretary, Walsingham , and clearing them, as far as was in his power, of all suspicion of being traitors. When Kirby declined this offer , declaring that it would do no good now that they had been publicly condemned and sentenced, Nichols was evidently very much grieved, and he promised that he would publish a book in which he would expose the lives, morals, and crimes of Sledd and the other false witnesses (2) And on the following day he went off to Walsingham , as he had promised, and began to say something byway of clearing the condemned men The Secretarybegan to rage and swear Finally they sent the man away outof London, whetheralive or dead is not known as yet.

Three of your priests were taken quite latelyArthur Pitts,(3) the younger Haydock,(4) and Bishop (5) The firsttwo were arrested on the same dayin Londonalong with someyoungmen of gentle birth. Bishop was examined at the port and as he answered in rather a hesitating way he was detained , whereas the other two priests on the same occasion , owing to the fact that they spoke briskly and promptly, were allowed to go They asked Bishop what calling in life he followed He answered that he was a merchant Again he was asked what sort of merchandise he dealt in He was silent And on being pressed a little more severely, he confessed that he was a priest From there he was conducted next day to the Royal Council and made a most uncompromising confession of his faith, and was thrown into prison To many people, however, such simplicity in the face of these very

cunning wolves does not commend itself But what shall we say ? God is wonderful in his providence and it is not understood by us. Bishop was warned about this at the time when he was about to go on board , but he seemed so absorbed in meditating on heavenly things as to be quite oblivious of human affairs. Perhaps God willed this to happen in order that the enemy might perceive that the men were not in the least deterred by the recent execution of the martyrs from going on courageously with the work they had begun In addition to these three, another three also were captured and thrown into prison. One ofthem was said to be Norris,(6) who was well known to Mr. George(7) whois with you, for he had been his chaplain The names ofthe other twoare not known yet, as they had only quite recently been captured. The persecution is more bitter at this time than it has been before. For the enemy are evidently enraged that the deathofthe last martyrs has inflicted such a great blow on their cause , a blow so great that, utterlydevoid of feelingthough they be , they are conscious ofit, and are almostin despair ofever being able to cure it. Walsinghamdeclared lately that it would have been better for the Queen to have spent 40,000 gold pieces than to kill publicly those priests. And in truth the effect has been that we have all Protestants , who are of more moderate temper, very much on our side. For they saythat they have a better opinion of our cause both on account of the uncompromising way in which we daily challenge our enemies to debatewhich they see clearlythatthelattershun aftertheir experiencewiththesemartyrs- and also on account of the death of these men, which they believe to have been altogether unjust Finally, it cannot be told, and far less believed, unless we saw it with our own eyes, how much good their death has brought about. All with one voice, our enemies as well as ourselves , declare that if their lives had been prolonged to their hundredth year they could not have benefited their cause as much as has their short life, but glorious death(8) Many have stood firm , fearless and loyal, after it, who had been timid before; some there have been whohave joined the CatholicChurch ; countless numbers ofthe opposite party have begun to have doubts; and all the Catholics who are in chains and undergoing persecution bear it with such joy and exultation that they donot feel anything thatthey are suffering Neverin London havethere been Masses celebrated so frequently, so well attended, with such devotionas to-day, when they are said inalmosteverycorner The Catholic body is exposing itself fearlessly to danger, and when the pursuivants and their servants come, they flee (those who are able) from one house and forthwith have their services in another. When they are dragged to the prisons they find a way to perform theholy sacrifice there also (9) Thus it comes about that our persecutors are almost bursting with indignation and wrath. Countless is the number of books, dialogues, treatises, poems, satires, which have been composed and published , some in print, some in manuscript, in praise of these martyrs and in blame of their adversaries. In these everything that happened to them has been dealt withtheir arrest, imprisonment, torture, debates, trials, defence , condemnation, and finally their deaths (10) The enemy rages, but to no purpose, for even boys stand up to them to their faces and reproach them with their cruelties to God's servants Two were discovered recently in the University of Oxford, who had published versesmere boysin years: one was beaten with rods, but the other ran away. The man who had been Fr. Campion's private warden in the Tower of

London is now a very fervent Catholic , though previously he was obstinate in his heresy.(11) The wardens of the other priests are wonderfully changed, and they are bringing to light every day many things that tend to the praise and admiration of the dead men . A certain gentleman , one of the principal men at Court, on his return to the palace from the execution , was asked publicly bythe Queen where he had come from Hereplied" From the deathof the threePapists. " "Andwhatis your opinion of them ? " she said To which hereplied, " They seem to me to be very learned men and steadfast, and to have been put to deathfor no fault; for they kept praying to God for your Majesty, they pardoned everyone, and they protested under pain of the loss of their souls in eternity that they had nevereven thought of doing any evil act against the state or against your Majesty. " On hearing this, " Is that so ? " said the Queen. " Very well, that has nothing to do with us; let the men who condemned them see to it. "

This samegentleman , Hayward by name , though he was a thorough heretic, yet, being present at the martyrdom and seeingthe executioner approachingto cut the halter andperformthe butcheryon Fr.Campion while alive, as is the custom, drove him away in great wrath, threatening him with death if he dared to touch him until he had drawn his last breath And he did the same in the case of the others(12)

Many(13) people have taken note thattherewas a special providence of God in choosing these three men for martyrdom; as though Hehad wished to pluck three flowers from the three gardens, one from the Society, anotherfrom the College in Rome , a third from the Seminary at Rheims . They noticed also in them three special diversitiesofthe Holy Spirit. For Fr. Campion excelled in humility and sweetnessof temper; and so he never complained amid all the tortures and injuries which were being inflicted on him, he never uttered any harshorangry word, but even then when the time for his death had come and his hands had been so broken to pieces in the course of his tortures that he was unable to move them, yet he conversed most sweetly and pleasantly, and with a joyful countenance died with a smile on his face Fr. Sherwin was conspicuous for his zeal and the great warmth of his charity; and so when mounting the scaffold he was full ofjoy and exultation, and gave infinite thanks to God for so great a benefit. He kissed the executioner also and gave expression to the inward joy of his soul with such a torrent of words that all were amazed He gave his blessing to them all, pardoned them all, prayed for them all; his enemies and persecutors he called his greatest friends And when finally he had put his head into the noose, he kept shaking his head and making gestures ofjoy, and then with a most happy countenance and in a voice of exultation he kept repeating, as long as he was able to speak, these words : " Jesus , Jesus, be to me a Jesus . "

Fr.Briant was quite a young man, and he excelled in patience above the ordinary, combined with an exceeding meekness; and so in the course of his tortures, which were extreme , he never uttered so much as a groanor a cry This the enemy admits and wonders at extremely, since he seemed to be very slender in build and of a very delicate constitution They kept pressing him , whenundertorture, just to state where he had seen Fr. Robert He replied" You will never learnthat from me; do whatever you can. I have seen him and I have lived with him , and yet I will never tell you where . " And although, as the torturers themselves declare, they had stretched his body by the force of the rack more than half a foot beyond its natural measure , he re-

mainedstill without a groan, as though he had felt nothing, absorbed in prayer and meditation Of this the martyr of Christ himself also bore witness in a letter which he wrote to Fr. Robert(14) ; in this he says that bythe goodness of God it came about that in the midst of these tortures he felt scarcely any pain He kept asking also very insistently to be received into the Society, and as this had come to the knowledge of the heretics I believe it to have been the reason why they selected him, in preference to others, to be put to death. And when he had come to his death, he spoke just a few words, with his face , which was truly like that of an angel, turned always to the east: he submitted to death like the meekest of lambs, having first made a declarationas to his faith and the reason of his death, and bidden all farewell in the Lord. He underwent, however , truly great anguish at his death, on account of the noose having been badly fittedto his neck so that he could not be strangled : but after a long interval, whenthe people were goingaway, the executioner cut him downfrom thegallows while still alive, and carved him into pieces.

And this, my dear Sir, is what I have been able to set downforyou at this time aboutour affairs. Tomany people these thingswill possibly seem somewhat sad, but to us, whom they touch most closely, they bring such great consolation that in truth we sing every day with the prophet “ Thy rod and thy staff, these have been our consolation "(15) Certainly it was a great chastisement for us anda heavyblowfrom the divine rod, that we lost such distinguishedfathers and brethren; and I do not know whetherany other blow so bitter has ever fallen on the hearts of the Catholics , though they have suffered many very grievous things. But still the marvellousharvest that followed afterwardshas not only taken away their grief for this, but has also caused them to feel less acutely all their other sufferings It is quite unbelievable , except to us whoexperience it, withwhat a wealthofspiritual sweetness our God in His great kindness replenishes our losses We do notwonder now at that excellentand wonderful saying of St. Paul: "I am filled with consolation , I exceedinglyabound with joy in all our tribulation."(16) We do not wonder at it, I say, because now even we too , though most unworthy, have received our share We too have seen how good and sweet is the Lord, how merciful is our God We too will sing the mercies of the Lord for ever (17) For God who consoles the humble has Himself deigned to give us also consolation , and that above all measure in all our straits and necessities; to Him be honour , praise, glory and thanksgiving for ever and ever.

To all(18) the fathers and brothers who are with you I commend myselfmost affectionately, as to friends, by whose sweet remembrance Iam ever refreshed, in whose love I take delight, by whose holy works and salutary merits I am stimulated, by whose prayers and sacrifices Iam supported : but especially do I salute those who are in your house, andI embrace them most lovingly and in the bowels of deepest charity as being the recruits for our warfare here; and every day I commend them to God , as I do myown soul, that one day they may go forthto this work and make good where we have failed and consolidate brilliantly what has been begun. The truly wonderfulaffectionand generosity of his Holiness, of which you tell us, towards both the Society and our nation; the uprightness of our Protector and his singular humanity and kindness to these same; the piety, sense of duty, zeal and devotion , of which you write, in the rest of the Cardinals ; these are further giftsof the divine bounty and witnesses of Hislove, whereby

our God renders us still more constrained to His service; and would that we may not be found ungrateful for such great favours . We especially who dwell in these parts receive greater consolation from this perhaps than you there can do For consider, my dear Sir, what a source of exultation, what glory it is for us when anything is told us in these parts of the virtues of Rome with which to silence our enemies, who have scarcely anything against us exceptsome ridiculous and envenomed stories concerning Rome Lately an opportunity was afforded us by the heretics of debating these matters here and, with a view to refuting some disgraceful calumnies, certain things were printed and published dealing with the virtues and holy works of those in Rome; and words cannot express with what joy, yea even with tears , they were read by many Catholics : they did not imagine, before they had read the particulars,(19) that so many great things were being done in Rome This gave rise to a still greater hatred for the heretics who had uttered such great calumnies and had given currency to so many fables and lies about Rome . The heretics themselves too were amazed, and as they couldnot denythe instances given, they began to enquire whether what was being said was true or not And they became much more subdued, or at any rate less inclined to talk on that matter than before And therefore blessed be our God who daily gives further examples of goodness andvirtue in Romefor theglory and triumph offaithfulChristians and theconfusion and shame of our foes Do you who are there help us by your holy sacrifices and prayers, that we may show ourselves worthy of an increase of these things in all patience and faithful perseverance in our ministry unto the end. Given in London, the first of March, 1582.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

The friend of you all, Robert. 12 March, 1582 .

Cited in Persons's Punti , Coll P, f 29. Printed in C.R.S. iv, 48

Etsi dies adhuc sexnon praeterierintex quo copioseadmodum ad R. V. scripsi, tamen cogor iterum illud idem facere , licet alia de causamulto minus jucunda. Res est quod famulus (1) ille quem antea vobis commendaveram, eo quod mihi in hac causa servierat, videtur inimici tentationenonnihil a nobis omnibus alienatus, et forsan aliquid periculi aut incommodi in causam ipsam cogitare, cujus rei indicia quae habeo, existimavi vobis statim indicanda, utvestra prudentiatanto malo mature provideatur. Scripsitbinas litteras nuperrime, alteras bono sacerdoti Rhotomagi in Gallia degenti, alteras fratri suo bono etiam sacerdoti in Anglia, utrasque ad vos remisi, quas rogo ut Italice traductas examinetis et provideri faciatis, ne res Catholica harum partium damnum aut periculum ex illo sustineat ; queritur se a vobis non congrue acceptum, idquemeo consilio factum esse; sed vos scitis quemadmodum ego illum vobis commendaverim, & D. Georgius Gilbertus novit, qua ratione illum in Anglia tractaverim, et quamvis ipsemet fateatur quot et quantavos isthicpro illo egeritis, tamen ingratissimo animo

(1) Robert Alfield, the brother of Blessed Thomas Alfield, who was martyred the 6thof July, 1585. Robert eventually turned traitor. Cf. Allen to Agazzari 8 March, 1585 (Knox, Allen, p 250) ; Dasent, xvi, 4, and Persons , Punti, C.R.S. iv, 31

omnia videtur spernere: certe nos omnes pudet quod unquam hujusmodi vobis commendaverimus: sed vos scitis causam , et Deus nos non raro hujusmodi eventibus hic probat; hoc est , ut nos faciat ab eis timere maxime in quos extitimus maximebenefici Ut autem hujus hominis ingratum animumet periculosam tentationem intelligatis, narrabo brevissime quaecunque inter illum et me commercia fuerunt. Post unumvel duos menses quam in Anglia veneram, cum deesset mihi in quodam itinere famulus idoneus, frater istius juvenis, qui eo tempore Rhemos discessurus erat (2)ad studiumet sacerdotium suscipiendum,(3) quod jam praestitit et in Angliam reversusinter alios sacerdotes utiliterin vinea Domini laborat, magna me instantia rogabat ut istum qui apud vos est fratrem suum in famulatum acciperem, magna fide promittenseum fidelissimum mihi futurum, remque adeo urgebat, ut tandem ei consentirem; unde reconciliari eum EcclesiaeCatholicae per confessionemgeneralem curavi (vixerat enim antea dissolutissime) et postea in famulumhonesta conditione admisi quo alacrius et fideliusserviret : ubi enim frater ejus nullum ei salarium a me expetebat, ego duplex ei semper persolvi, hoc est unumintegrum aureum per mensem, unum pallium & duas tunicas per annum , praeterequum et caeteras expensas omnes Post aliquot menses voluit in mediis meis occupationibus et periculis me derelinquere, & ad patrem reverti suum, qui minister haereticus et concionator est (quod ego antea non noveram) et propter nobis [sic] persecutionemillum avocaverat; prius enim majoris filii rogatu contentus erat hunc apud me esse, ut si aliqua conversio religionis contingeret, (quod ille et sui similes ex nostro adventu suspicabantur) saltem vel nostra intercessione mitius cum ipso suisque ageretur. Sed cum hoc minime fieri cerneret sed potius e contrariogravissimaspersecutionesin nos excitari, avocavit(utidixi)filium,quem ego facile dimisi, salario tamen prius soluto et sex aureis (opinor) praeterea illi donatis ; hujus rei (sicut reliquarumomnium) D. Gilbertus optimus est testis qui interfuit, et partem illius pecuniae (ni male memini ) etiam donavit, saltem mihi donaverat quod illi darem: ultrahoc etiamequum illi dedi ut consolatior abiret Cum illealiquot dies apud patrem fuisset, incidit in jurgia etrixasquasdam cum sui similibus, et tandem ad pugnam ventum est ,in qua iste graviter vulneratusfuit, cumque pater tam pauper esset , ut expensas ei facere ad medicinam non posset, accepit a quodam Catholico 12 aureos meo nomine, quos chirurgo solveret, quos ego et gratisilli donavi: postea egestate (opinor) coactusad merediit: sed cum ego Catholicorum quorundam suasu illum ad tempus vitarem nec denuo in famulatum admitterem, egit iterum mecum frater sacerdos magnis precibus multisqueliteris, ut hominem non abjicerem alioquin si penitus a me derelinqueretur animam ejus

(2)" Ad studium " to " Angliam" is supplied from a copy of the Punti, preservedin the Archives S.J., Rome (3) Bd. ThomasAlfield arrived at Rheimsto resume his studiesSeptember the18th, 1580 (Knox,DouayDiaries, p 169) He was sentbackas a missioner to England in March, 1581 (Ibid , p 178).

omnino perituram esse: itaque iterum eum accepi: sed cum post aliquot menses secundojam redire ad patrem vellet et superbior aliquanto et inconstantior, ut mihi videbatur, ob eum favorem quem Catholicinostri causa illi praestabant, effectus: cumque jam saevissimain omnesinquisitio fieret, qui nos domi recepisse putabantur, in magnas sane animi augustias redigebar quidnamfacerem: (4)Nam si illum ad patrem remitterem qui haereticus est , dubitabam de hominis fide, saltem ne, si caperetur, Catholicos proderet apud quos mecum fuisset, et hoc etiam illi vehementissime metuebant qui parum admodum virtutisaut constantiae jam ei tribuebantlicet apud me non raro sacramentafrequentaret. Ex altera parte retinere illum amplius aut regere non poteram. Ad vos illum transmittere pigebat, nec sciebam si illam conditionem quam ei oblaturi eratis acciperet (5)Accedebat quod vix habebam pecunias quasilli ad iter donare possem Sed tandem post longam deliberationem decrevi tutiorem viam ingredi, et sic petii ab illo si Italiam videre cuperet : respondit se percupere modo aliquam ibi conditionem vivendi habere posse: petii quamnam conditionem cuperet Romae. Respondit se meliorem non desiderarequam ut aliquohonestoin loco serviret , maxime in aliquoconventu militum. Proposui illi locum stationarium in castro S. Angeli: summopere illi placebat . Itaque soluto illi salario et donatis ultra 12 aureis, hominem dimisi cum literis commendatitiis tam ad vos quam adomnia collegia Societatis in itinere, in quibus eum fuisse et charitatemomnem . .. . recepisse intelligo(6) : ipse tamendehis omnibus tacet, et literis suis omnia pernegat

D. Gilbertus postea mihi significavit ultra conditionem famuli quam habuit in Collegio suam Sanctitatem 6 aureosquovismense illi totidemque socio D. Georgii famulo concessisse : Erubui de his tantis expensis suae Sanctitatis in homines tales, nec unquam illos commendassem , si tanto oneri suae Sanctitati futuros existimassem: Gaudebam tamen & gratias agebam Deo quodillis tam liberaliter prospectum esset, ne unquam dolerent nobiscum labores in causa Dei suscepisse Sed cum postea has literas ingratissimas mei famuli recepissem .. fateor me ingenti dolore de tanta illiusiniquitate affectum fuisse: statimquepost remDeo persacrificia nostra commendatam, literasillius istuc ad vos remisi , petens a vobis ut cum nulla beneficia prodesse illi possint, saltem ad salutem animae et ad evitandapericula quae fere infinitis imminebant,eximportunoejus ad nos reditu, disciplinaaliquaisticcoerceatur aut aliqua saltem custodia prohibeaturne ad nos advolet(7)

(4)"Nam"to"poteram" is suppliedfrom the copy in theArchives S.J. , Rome

(5)"Accedebat" to " possem" is supplied from the copy in the Archives S.J. , Rome

(6) A Robert Alfield is noted in the Pilgrim Book of the English College as arriving January the 10th, 1582 (Foley, Records vi, 552).

(7) He was kept in custody for a time in Rome Cf. Persons , Punti (C.R.S. iv, 85); Allen to Agazzari 12 May, 1582 , and 23 April, 1583 (Knox, Allen, pp 134 , 189).

Cum dolore magno hoc peto, sed profecto valde necessariumest ut hoc fiat . .. . fieri potest ut afflictio det intellectum. . . . Magno secreto res agenda est et committendanostris Superioribus ... itaque rem totam illorum arbitrio defero: de meipso nihil sum solicitus . sed Catholicorum periculum est quod ego metuo , si redeat , cui ego vel vitae meae periculo prospicere cuperem, millies enim mori mallem quam ut effusa eorum in me charitas nocumento ipsis esset ex famuli istius proditione Itaque rogo R.V. ut incommodo maximo quam primum poterit per vestram solicitudinem occurratur, etc.

Translation

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation from C.R.S. iv, 49 12 March, 1582

Although six days have not passed since I wrote at great length to your Reverence, nevertheless I am obliged to the same again on a topic much less pleasant The fact is that that servant (1) whom I had commended to you before, because he had served me in this cause , seems by the enemy's temptation to be somewhat estranged from us all, and perchance to be thinking of creating some danger or inconvenience to the cause itself. The proofs that I have , I think fit at once to lay before you, that your prudence may make timely provision again suchan evil. He has written lately two letters, one to a good priest living at Rouen in France, and another to his Catholicbrother, also a priest in England. I send you both letters, asking you to get them translatedintoItalianand study them, and make provision that Catholic interests in these parts may suffer no loss or injury at his hands. He complains that he is not properly received by you, and that he puts down to my advice But you know how I have recommended him to you; and Mr. George Gilbert knows how I treated him in England; and though he himself confesses how many great things you have done for him where you are, nevertheless, most ungratefully he seems to spurn all these favours Really we all feel ashamed of ever having recommended to you such a fellow. But you know the reason why; and God not unfrequently proves us here by occurrences of this sort , to the end that He may make us fear most on the side of those to whom we have shown the most kindness. That you may understand the ingratitude of this man and his dangerous temptation, I will give you a brief accountof all that has passed between him and me. One or two months after my arrival in England, as I wanteda suitable servant on a journey, there came to me this man's brother , a youth on the point of starting for Rheims (2) to study and receive the priesthood ,(3) which he did, and is now back in England again, labouring among other priests usefully in the Lord's vineyard. With much force and earnestness he besought me to take that brother of his, who is now with you, into my service, promisingwith much asseveration that he would be entirely faithful to me. He pressed me so hard that at last I gave my consent Thereupon I had him reconciled to the Catholic Church by a general confession, for he had led a most dissolute life; and, after that, I took him for my servant on liberal terms, that he might serve with greater cheerfulness and fidelity. For whereas his brother asked no salaryfor him of me, I always gave him double paythat is, one whole gold piece a month, one cloakand two

coats a year, besidesa horse and all other expenses Aftersome months he wanted , in the midst of my occupations and dangers, to leave me and return to his father, who was an heretical minister and preacher (apoint that Ihad not knownbefore), and had called him off on account of the persecution raised against us Up to that time he had been content at the request of his elder son that this boy should be with me , so that in case of any change of religionan event that he and the like of him argued from our comingmilder treatment anyhow might be meted out to him and his at our intercession But seeing nothing of the sort taking place, but rather quite the contrary, most grievous persecutions being raised against us , he called off, as I have said , this son , whom I readily let go, first paying him his salary, and giving him , I think, six gold pieces beside Of this transaction, as of all others, Mr. Gilbert is the best witness , as he was present, and also gave part of that money, unless my memory fails mecertainly he had given me what I had to give him. I further gave him a horse that he might go away more content When he had been with his father some days he fell into sundry quarrels and brawls with persons like himself. Finallyit came to a fight in which he was severely wounded ; and as hisfather was so pooras to be unable to payhis medical expenses he received from a certain Catholic twelve gold pieces on my account , wherewith to pay the surgeon, which money I made him a present of. Afterwards, driven to itI suppose by want, he came backto me . But by the advice of certain Catholics I avoided him for a time , and did not again admit him to my service. Once more his brother the priest made great entreaty to me, and wrote me many letters, not to cast the man off; otherwise , if he were quite given over by me, his soul would certainly be lost So I took him on again But when after some months he wanted a second time to go back to his father, and seemed to me to have grown somewhat self-conceited and flighty, for the consideration which the Catholics showed him on our account, and when at the same time most severe search was being made in thehouses of all who were thought to have harbouredus, I was thrown into great perplexity what to do.(4) IfI sent him backto his father, who is a heretic, I was under no illusions as to his trustworthinessand could not doubt that at least, if he were apprehended, he would betray the Catholics in whose houseshe had beenwith me: andthat they themselves also dreaded , for they attributed to him very little virtue and constancy, although while with me he not unfrequently went to the sacraments. On the other hand, I could no longer keep or control him. To send him to you I was reluctant; nor did I know if he would acceptthe position you were likely to offer him. (5) Added to this I scarcely had the money to supplyhim for the journey At last, after long deliberation, I made up my mind to take the safer course; and so I asked him if he would like to see Italy He answered that nothing would give him greater pleasure, provided he could have some means of livelihood there I asked him what condition of life he would like at Rome He answered that he could not desire anything better than some honourable post in service, especially in some place where there were soldiers . I proposed to him a place in the household of the Guard of the Castle of St. Angelo : he liked the idea very much Accordingly I paid him his wages, and gave him twelve gold pieces besides , and so sent the man off with letters of recommendation as well to you as to all the Colleges of the Society on the way, at which I understand him to have been and to have received all charity(6) ; he himself, however , is silent on all this, and in his letters denies everything.

Mr. Gilbert afterwardsinformed me that over and above the treatment of a servant which he had at the College, His Holiness made him an allowance of six gold pieces a month, and as many to his companionMr. George's servant I blushed tothinkofHis Holiness spending so much money on such men, and never would I have recommended them if I had thought they would have been such a burden to His Holiness . I was glad, however, and thanked God they had been so liberally provided for, so that they might never regret having shared our laboursin the cause of God But when afterwardsthere came into my hands these most ungrateful letters of my servant, I confess I was strickenwith greatgrief at such villainyon his part, and at once , after commending the matter to God in Mass, I have sent those letterson to you with the request that, since no benefits can do him any good, at least for the salvation of his soul and avoidance of the dangers that threaten endless persons from his inopportune return, he may be restrainedwhere he is by some discipline, or at least prevented by some custodyfrom taking his flight to us (7) I ask this with greatgrief, but it is assuredlya thing very necessary to do Possiblyvexationmaygive understanding The thing must be done with great secrecy, and committed to our superiors. AccordinglyIcommit thewholematter totheir judgment. About myselfI amnotsolicitous : what Ifearis thedangerto Catholics from his return, a danger thatI should wishto provideagainst even atthe risk ofmy life. I hadrather diea thousand times thanthat their profuse charity to me should turn to their hurt through the treacheryof that servant Therefore I ask your Reverence that this inconvenience may be obviated as soon as possible by your care .

PERSONS

TO AGAZZARI(1)

6 April, 1582

Cited in Persons's Punti, Coll P , f. 28, printed in C.R.S. iv, 46

Multa non habeo quae scribam hoc tempore, quia recentes ad te literas de rebus omnibus dedi. Nos hoc loco (ut in magna persecutione fieri solet) jactamur variis rerum eventibus, sed tamen per Dei gratiam quotidie proficimus, idque manifeste Osburnus vester (ut antea, opinor, significavi ) captus et territus ab adversariis aperuit nonnullain damna aliorum: secutum est nonnullum scandalum, nos urimur prae dolore(2): quid tandem ? Consolamur

(1) That the letter was addressed to Agazzari is known from another transcript of the letter made by Grene (Coll P, f 293), in which, however , there are many omissions (2) Edward Osborne, after his dismissal from the English College, Rome (Persons, Domesticall DifficultiesC.R.S iv, 134), entered the Franciscan Order, but left after some seven weeks Accepted, however , by Allen at Rheims, he was allowed to proceed to ordination (Knox, Douay Diaries, p 182), and set out for England November the 30th, 1581 (ibid, p 261) Apprehendedin the first weekof Lent following, he soon gave way through fear, denied the faith and revealed where he had said Mass and the like (C.R.S.v, 26 ff.; Allen to Agazzari28 May, 11 June, 1582Knox, Allen,pp . 136, 144). Hequicklyrepented, made his way to Rheims and there wrote a confession of his fall to repair the great scandal given by it (Allen to Agazzari, 29 March, 14 April and 10 June, 1583ibid , pp 186, 188, 196; Barret to the same 14 April, 1583Knox, Douay Diaries, p. 325) Eventually he retired to Seville, where he died before 1600. His confession was printed in A true report of the late apprehension of John Nicols, and a Latin translation of it in the Concertatio, pp 240-242, where, however, the date of this confession is wrongly given as 1587 instead of 1583

nos constantia aliorum. Recentes martyres Campianus Sherwinusque cum sociis fortes et taciturni in ipsis etiam tormentis perstitere: idem fecere Bosgravius, Hartus, Cottamus, Kyrbaeus, coeterique jam ad mortem condemnati : idem fecere Arturus(3) vester et Bishopus post comprehensi, et novissime quidam Sacerdos Seminarii Rhemensis Crouderus(4) ad carceres protractus nihil quicquam fassus est: denique sacerdos [sic] quidam Paynus(5) nomine e Seminario Rhemensi quem cum post infinita feretormenta ad confessionem suorumque proditionemimpellerehaeretici non possent, interfecerunt publice 20 die hujusmensis in civitate quadam provinciae [E]ssexiae quae Chelmesfordia(6) dicitur Hic vir robustus erat et juvenis aetate fortissimeque et patientissime mortem subiit, petens a Vicecomite qui executioni praeerat ut renuntiaret reginae suo nomine, se ab illa petere ut abstineat tandem ab hac crudeli effusione sanguinis innocentissimorum hominum , alioquin hanc rem exitium ei certum esse allaturam. Martyrium hoc valde commovisse multosvidetur: non dubitamus quin si hoc modo progredianturadversarii , celeremhabituri simus (Deo favente) victoriam, incrementa enim maximaquotidie experimur. Tu nobis para homines intrepidosad aequuleos, et coetera non curamus. Sed Deus est solus qui istiusmodi facit, et nulla humana vel industria aut voluntas. Itaque fac nos Deo commendari (quaeso) et hoc est praecipuum quod postulare possumus a vobis auxilium.

Translation. [Tuus Eusebius.](7)

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI (1)

Translation from C.R.S. iv, 47 .

6 April, 1582

I have not much to write at this time, because I lately sent you a letteron allthat was to be said Here, as usual in a greatpersecution, we have many ups and downs ; still by God's grace we make a daily and manifest progress. Your Osborne, as I think I told you before , being caught and intimidated by the adversaries, made some disclosures to the prejudice of others Some scandal followed: we are very much put out(2); nevertheless we comfort ourselves with the constancy ofothers Our recent martyrs, Campion , Sherwin and theircompanions, held out bravely, silent in the midst of torments Bosgrave, Hart, Cottam, Kirby and the rest did the same and are now condemned to (3) Arthur Pitts Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 1 March, 1583

(4) Thomas Crowther, a graduate of Oxford (Wood, Athenae Oxonienses , ed Bliss, i, 586; Knox, Douay Diaries, p 5), arrived at Douay in 1571 , and was ordained in 1575. Sent to England the same year, he was later apprehended and imprisoned in the Marshalsea March the 22nd, 1582 (C.R.S. ii, 233, 236) Persons states that he was condemned to death early in 1584 , butifso the sentence was notcarried out,forhediedin prisonin thefollowing year, three days before he was to be exiled (Knox, Douay Diaries, p. 288).

(5) Bd. John Payne was martyred April the 2nd , 1582.

(6) In his other transcript of the letter Grene has written "Detfordia , " but " Chelmsfordia" is surely the true reading, as Deptford is not in Essex . (7) The letter ends in Grene's other transcript (Coll P, f 293) "Tuus Eusebius . "

death . So too did your Arthur,(3) and Bishop arrested afterwards; and quite lately a priest ofthe SeminaryofRheims, named Crowther,(4) was dragged to prison, but confessed nothing whatever Finally, there is the case of a priest named Payne,(5) of the Rheims Seminary, whom after endless torments the heretics were unable to bring to confess and betray his friends; and so they put him to death publicly on the second day of this month in a city of the county of (Essex) called Chelmsford .(6) He was a strong man in his prime, and underwent death most bravelyand patiently, begging the sheriffwho superintended the execution to carrya messageto the Queen in his name , to the effect that he begged her to hold her hand from this shedding ofthe bloodofinnocentmen, otherwise the proceeding would certainly be her ruin. This martyrdom seems to have made a great impression onmany men We doubt not that, if the adversaries go on in thisway, weshall have by God's blessing a speedy victory. We experience great increases every day Do you prepare for us men who will face racks fearlessly, and for other points we do not care. Yet it is God alone who makes such men, and not human industry or will ThereforeI pray get us commended to God, and this is the chief aid that we can ask of you (7)

THE NUNCIO IN FRANCE TO COMO , CONTAINING A COPY OF PERSONS'S MEMORIAL TO THE NUNCIO . 22 May, 1582

Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv, f. 498 (olim 477). Printed in Knox , Allen, p. 407 , Douay Diaries, p. 337, and J. Kretzschmar, Invasionsprojekte , p. 131 . Venne il Padre Roberto Giesuita d'Inghilterra, quale a me par huomo molto prudente ; ma sin ad hora non so che il Duca di Guisasia venuto, col quale si deve risolverminutamente il dissegno trattato. 11 detto Padre mi ha datoil Memoriale del quale mando copia. So che non occorre a dire che il Vescovato del qualesi tratta nel Memoriale non bisogna espedirlo per Concistorio, perchè scopriria facilmenteil maneggio, et però non lo dirò. Questo Padre presuppone che VI millia fanti bastino in Scotia per passare poi in Inghilterra, ma venuto che sia il Duca si risolveràmeglio La spesa mi pare poca a dui si gran Principi, maxime dovendo durar pochi mesi, et il guadagno di ridurre a Christo dui Regni non si può stimare, et il non attendere a questa impresa porrebbe in estrema desperatione li Catolici del' uno et l'altro Regno. Fra pocchi giorni verrà a Roma il Padre Critone Scozzese che poco fa è tornato di Scotia con il discorso pieno del stato d'Inghilterra et Scotia; et per quello che conosco, se si possono condurre a l'improviso questi genti in Scotia, et di qua andar parimente a l'improviso in Inghilterra, parmi che il negotio sia facilissimo, quel sangue delli Martirifatti in Inghilterra farà pure la sua oratione a Dio per quel che credo Il memoriale segue:(1) È cosa necessariaa l'impresa di crear secretamenteun vescovo di Dunelme(2); Est enim(8) Episcopus Dunnelmensis, è di grandis(1) On the question of the " Impresa " cf. Knox, Allen xxx, iii ff. , and J. Kretzschmar , Invasionsprojekte (2) Durham (3)Etenim ?

FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

sima importanzatanto per il seguito grande di gente che haverà, quantoancora per governare et levare differenzefra gli altri Signori di quelle bande: onde bisogna che questo Vescovato sia data ad un huomo di credito et reputationeappressoal popolo di queste bande d'Inghilterra, quale huomo troviamo nissuno adesso de la natione Inglesa fuor del Signor Alano presidente delSeminariodi Sua Santità in Rhems , quale è di tanta autorità et rispetto appresso tutta la natione, che la sua presenza sola benchè fusse huomo privato farà più appressogl' Inglesi che alcuni milliari di soldati, et non solamenteil Contedi Westmerland , il che altrimente è assai difficile a governare, ma tutti gli altri Signori sbanditi gli portano tanta reverenza che per una sola parola sua farebbono ogni cosa , ma molto più se fusse in qualche dignità o Prelatura appresso di loro. Tutto questo dico acciochè V.S. Revma sappia la dispositione de li Inglesihoggidì tanto di dentro quantodifuori, li quali si riposano tutti nela confidenza di Alano , et tutto quello che gli verrà raccontato da lui li sarà gratissimo et risolutissimo; onde in tutte queste attioni è necessaria la persona sua Sono molti altri Vescovati in Inghilterra più ricchi et grandi che questo Vescovato di Dnuelmi, ma per la commodità del sito a le frontiere, et per l'autorità et giurisditione Regale che tiene in queste bande ancora ne le cose temporali è di più importanza a questo negotio solo, che molti altri Vescovati insieme Bisognerà che il Signor Alano sia avvisatopresto de laintentionedi Sua Santità, acciochè lui disponga dialcune persone, per haverle, in ordine in quel tempo ancora per scrivere et stampare alcunilibri secretamente, che scriviamo a quell' instante per dar sodisfattione al popolo d'Inghil- terra, et per far altre moltissime preparationinecessarie tanto per la personasua, perchè è necessarissimoche lui si trovilìin persona, altrimente le cose d'Inghilterra non anderanno bene, come ancora per altri Signori, li quali bisogna che lui trovi modo, come farà di mandar secretamente, et travestiti in Scotia ancora al tempo saranno avvisati li principali catolici in Inghilterra de la cosa per via de' Sacerdoti, ma questo non si farà se non pochissimo innanzi l'impresa istessa, per il pericolo che sarebbe di palesare la cosa , perchèl'anima di tutto quest negotio è il secreto Sarebbeancora molto utile, come pensiamo, se Sua Santità volesse chiamare a Roma il Dottor Odveno Ludovico Archidiacono di Cambrai Inglese, che sta a Milano, et è assai prattico ne le cose d'Inghilterra Questo huomo se fusse mandato da Roma in Spagnasotto qualche altro pretesto, et così di là andasse in Scotia conl'esercito a riscontrarsi con Alano, il quale potrebbe partirsi di qua, saria grande aiuto a la causa perchè questo Dottore Odoeno, benchè per le differenze che nuovamente sono state fra Wali et Inglesi essendo lui Walo non sia in troppobuon conto appressolamaggior parte deli Inglesi, tuttavia essendo lui huomo grave et prudente , et congiungendosi con Alano, il quale possiede li cori di tutti sarebbeassai d'aiuto maxime appresso liWali suoi paesani, i quali potrannoaiutare assai in questo negotio, et vorrannoancora per la affettione grande che portano a la fede Catolica, et quando

altro

, S.J.

sarebbe arrivato l'essercito in Inghilterra, questo DottorOdoeno si potrebbe mandare in Walia con quelli Signori grandi di quel paese, che già favoriscono a noi, per sollevar più la gentein quelle bande. Tutta la importanzadi questo negotio è nel secreto , et nela celerità , perchè se non si spedisce presto, non ci è speranza che durerà questa occasionene manco servirà più per l'avvenire, ma pigliandola adesso non è dubio nissuno per la grazia di Dio che non habbiaquell' effetto che desideriamo, perchè tuttele cose sono già più che dispostissime Questo ancora ho da ricordarea V.S. Revma come cosa di grandissima importanza , che per esser punti grandi, et emulatione naturale fra le due nationi di Scotia et d'Inghilterra , & per inanzi le quale se si risuscitassero, come speriamo che non faranno, darebbono assai impedimento , bisognerà provedere che nele cose, o commissioni che verranno da Sua Santità, tutte due le nationi siano ugualmente unite, il che potrà fare se vederanno gli Inglesi che il Signor Alano, o qualche altra persona Inglese simile, benchè gli Inglesi adesso non hanno capo a chi rimettersi senon ad Alano solo, sia congiunto come per la parte d'Inghilterra insieme col ReverendissimoArchivescovo Glascuense , per parte di Scotia in quelle cose che toccheranno al Stato di tutti dui Regni insieme Finalmente ho da offerire a V.S. Rma a nome de li Catolici d'Inghilterra la vita, li beni, et tutto il poter loro al servizio di Dio, et di Sua Santità in questa impresa, de la quale lor restano tanto desiderosi, che promettono, se Dio Nostro Signore gli darà la vittoria, et pregano V. S. Rma di promettere a nome loro honorevolissima consideratione a tutti quelli che aiuteranno il negotio, o travaglierannoin quello, o che faranno qualche cosa, o favore in servizio di questa impresa. [End of Memorial ]

Di nuovo è stato da me il Duca di Guisa, l'Ambasciatoredi Scotia, il Dottor Alano, et il Padre Roberto, et dopo essersi letto il discorso sopra le cose d'Inghilterra et di Scotia che il Padre Critone Scoto porta seco, et a la ricevuta di questo saràforse stato con NostroSignore et conV.S.Illma et lasciatoglilo , quale fu molto commendato dal Duca, il quale si risolse che inanzi ad ogni cosa altra io replicassi a Nostro Signore che Sua Eccelenza persisterà in andare in persona a questa impresa con tutti li suoi amici et parenti , et che stando le cose come le stanno lui non dubita che questa impresa non sia riuscibile: quanto al modo a lui pare che si doveriano haver X millia fanti per farla sicura, ma che poichè a li Scozzesi par che basti minor numero, si rimette a loro. Ci vogliono almeno 3 millia Archibusi forniti, et 1000 Corsaletti et da 3 millia picche et qualche pezzo piccolo di artiglieria da campagna, et denari per pagar qualche soldati Scozzesi et Inglesi La spesa se dovessi esser lunga saria gravissima, ma il Duca presuppone, che in un mese o si sarà vincitore o tutti saranno morti, onde la brevità del tempo potrà farla tollerabile Questa gente pare al Duca che si debba far in Italia in nome di NostroSignore per non dar ombra al Re Christianissimo sotto qualche pretesto che parerà a Sua Santità più a proposito, et bisogna proveder di K

, S.J.

Capo Italiano prudente, di autorità Questo è il senso di Sua Eccelenza. A me par che questa impresa sia tanto honorataet utile per la chiesa di Dio, che credo non solo non se ne possa far, ma nè ancora imaginar alcuna maggiore, nè più fruttuosa: etio non posso se non supplicare V.S. Illma adinanimareNostroSignore a questa impresa degna del Vicario di Dio, poichè con capo così prudente, et chi sarà ancora approvato dal Re Catolico come promettono li Agenti suoi, si può sperare ogni felice successo . [Endorsed] Copia de la L'ra a la Roma di Scotia.

Translation.

THE NUNCIO IN FRANCE TO THE CARDINAL OF COмO 22 May, 1582 . CONTAINING COPY OF PERSONS'S MEMORIAL TO THE NUNCIO .

The Nuncio of France's cipher 22 May (1582)

Fr. Robert, the Jesuit, came to me from England: he seems to me to be a man of great discretion; but so far I am not aware thatthe Duke of Guise has arrived, andit is withhim that we must go minutely into the project that we are dealing with The said Father has given me a memorial, a copy of which I am sending you I know that there is no need to say that the appointment of the bishop , of which he treats in the memorial, should not be made in Consistory , for they would easily see what is in the wind, and so I will omit that point This father assumesthat 6,000 infantryare enough in Scotlandto pass from there to England, but when the Duke has arrived it will be easier to settle that point. The expense seems to me a small matter fortwo such great Princes, especially as it should not last manymonths: and the benefit of bringing back two kingdoms to Christ cannot be estimated. Moreoverfailure to undertakethis expedition would bring the Catholics of both kingdomsto the extremity of despair In a few days there will arrive in Rome Fr. Crichton, the Scotchman , who has latelyreturnedfrom Scotlandwith a full report on the state ofEngland and Scotland To the best of my knowledge, if these troops can be suddenly rushed to Scotland and from there be likewise rushed suddenly to England, it appears that the affair is quite simple To my mind the blood of those martyrs who suffered in England will surely intercedewith God The following is the memorial:(1)

"It is essential for the success of the enterpriseto createsecretly a BishopofDurham. For a Bishop ofDurhamis ofthe greatest importance , not only on account of the following he will have among the people, but also to control and settle the quarrels between the other gentlemen of those parts It is therefore necessary that this bishopric be given to a man who has the trust and esteem of the people who inhabit these parts of England; and no such man of the English race isto be foundexceptMr. Allen, the presidentof his Holiness's seminary in Rheims : this man's influence and reputation are so great with the entire nation that his mere presence, even were he a private individual, will have more effect on the English than some thousands of soldiers. Not only the Earl of Westmorland, a man most difficult to control otherwise , but all the rest of the gentlemen exiles have sucha reverence for him that at a mere word of his they would do anything: and much more would this be so if he held some office of dignity among them . I am telling you all this in order that your Lordship may know

the attitude of Englishmento-day, of those at home as well as those abroad, viz that they put their entire trust in Allen and that whatever comes to them on his authority will be most acceptable and will be put into effect with great resolution It is for this reason thathis person is required in all these proceedings. There are many other bishoprics in England richer and more important than this one of Durham, but owing to the convenience of its position as regards the frontier, and to the Royal authority and jurisdiction in temporalaffairs which it still wields in these regions, it is itself alone of moreimportance in regardto this business than manyother bishoprics puttogether. It will be necessary to advise Mr. Allen at once of his Holiness's intentions so that he may have certain persons at his dispositionforthat time, and arrange for the writing and secret printing of some books which we may write for the occasion to render the English people compliant; and also that he may make the variousother preparations both in regard to himselffor it is most necessary that he be there in person, otherwisethings in England will not go welland also in regard to other gentlemen whom he will have to find means to send secretlyand in disguise to Scotland Moreover the principal Catholics in Englandwill have to be giventimelynotice of the matter by means of the priests; but this will only be done shortly before the expedition itself, owing to the danger of a leakage in the matter, for the soul of the whole affair is secrecy. It would also be very useful, we think, ifhisHoliness would summon to Rome Doctor Owen Lewis, the English Archdeacon ofCambray, who is in Milan, and is well versed in English affairs . If this man were sent from Rome to Spain on some pretext or other, and so from there went to Scotland with the army to join up with Allen, who could leave from here, it would be a great help to the cause; for although, owing to the differences there have been recently between the Welshand the English, this Doctor Owen , being himself a Welshman , is not in too good odour with the majority of the English, still, as he is a man of gravityand discretion, if he were associated with Allen, who holds the affections of all men , he would bequite useful, especially with the Welsh, his countrymen The latter will be able to give considerable assistance in this affair and moreover they will wish to do so on account of the great love they bearto the Catholicfaith As soon as the army has arrived in Englandthis Doctor Owen could be sent to Wales with the great Lords ofthat country who are already favourable to us, to stir up further the people of those regions The issue of this affair depends entirely on secrecy and speed, for if it is not carried out forthwith we cannot hopethat the opportunity will continue, nor even that it will occur again ; but if we seizethe chance now there is no doubt at all that by the grace of God it will have the result we desire, for at this moment the omens are more than extremely favourable I have this in addition to recall to your Lordship's memory, as being a matter of the highest importancethat there are great points of difference and a natural jealousy between the two nationsof Scotland and England, and should these be aroused afresh, as we hope theywill not be, they will form a considerable stumbling block We must ensure that whenever orders or other things come from his Holiness the two nations are treated as being exactly on the same footing; and this will be the case if the English see that Mr. Allen, or some such other Englishman(though at present Mr. Allen is the only leader the Englishhave to rely on), is associated as representingEngland, with the most Reverend Archbishopof Glas-

gow as representing Scotland , in those matters which jointly concern the stateof these two kingdoms Finally I have to offer your Lordship, in the name of the Catholics of England, their lives, their property and all their powers for the service of God and of his Holiness in this expedition. They have it so much at heart that they promise, if God our Lord give them the victory, and they beg your Lordship topromise in their name , every honour and considerationto all who shall assist the enterprise or labour in it, or shall do any act or confer any favour in furtherance of this undertaking. " [End of Memorial ]

The Duke of Guise, the Scottish Ambassador , Doctor Allen and Fr. Robert have been with me again After the report on English and Scottish affairs had been read, which Fr. Crichton, the Scotchman , is taking with him (and on its arrival he will possibly have had audience of our Lord the Pope and of your Eminence and have left it in their hands), the Duke highly praised the report and he determinedthat before anything else was done I should repeat to our Lord the Pope that his Excellency has every intention of personallytaking part in this enterprise , together with all his friends and relatives, and that, things being as they are, he has no doubt that the expedition is likely to be successful As regards methods , he thinks that there ought to be 10,000 infantry, to be on the safe side, but that as the Scotch think a smallernumbersufficienthe leaves the matter to them They want for it at least 3,000 arquebuses suppliedwith ammunition, and 1,000 cuirasses, and about 3,000 pikes, and some small piece of field artillery, and money to pay some Scottish and English soldiers. The cost would be very heavy should the campaign be a long one , but the Duke assumes that in a month either there will be victoryor else all will be dead, and thus the shortness of its duration will make the expense bearable These soldiers the Dukethinks should be enlisted in Italyinthe Pope's name underwhateverpretext his Holiness thinks suitable, so as not to give offence to his most Christian Majesty, and it will be necessary to supply as leader an Italian of discretion and prestige. This is the view of his Excellency. My own opinion is that this enterprise is such an honourable one and so advantageous toGod's church that not only, as I think, could none other be carriedout , but not even be imagined more important and fruitful: and I can only beg your Eminence to put heart into our Lord the Pope with regard to this enterprise , which is one worthyof God's Vicar; forwith a leader so wise , who has also the approval of the Catholic King, as his Agents promise, wemay hope for an entirely happy issue

MEMORIALE . BY PERSONS ? (1) 1582

Arch Vat, Inghilterra 1 , f 51. Printed in Kretzschmar, Invasionsprojekte, p. 135. ASpanishversionis printed in De Conquestu Angliaeper Hispanos ex mss Phillips , Typis Medio-Montanis, 1869 .

Ilfine che si pretende in questa impresa. Noi non pretendiamo altro in questo disegno se non la restitutione della fede catholica in tutti li duoi regni d'Inghilterra et Scotia,

(1) The document from its contents refers to the impresa ' that was being discussed and plannedin 1582. Kretzschmar (Invasionsprojekte , p. 135) has entitled it " Memoriale des Robert Person," but has not stated on what grounds he attributes it to him There seems, indeed, no indication that it was composed by him. The document is certainly not in his hand-

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 149

la liberationedella regina di Scotia fuora di prigione, la conservatione della vita et dell'anima del giovane re di Scotia dall'insidie delli heretici et dalla confirmatione in heresia, la liberatione delli catholici afflitti et perseguitati per la fede in Inghilterra et altri luoghi, et finalmente la reedificatione della chiesa d'Iddio in quelle bande, et il risposo delli altri regni vicini travagliati già moltianni per la malitia di quelli heretici A questo effetto pare ch'Iddio Signore Nostro habbia dato un' occasione et commodità più grande adesso che mai fin qui sia stata truovata, et tale quale per l'avvenire non è speranzaveruna che si possa ritruovare se questa mancasse. Et però faciamo ogni instanza possibile a Sua Stà et alla Maestà Catholica di voler ascoltar benignamente questa nostra petitione por gli effetti sopradetti

L'occasione presente consiste in questo ch'habbiamo adesso grandissimadispositione nell'uno etnell'altropopulo d'Inghilterraet Scotia; della personadel giovanere di Scotia, il quale sta nelle mani del signoreduca di Lennox, il quale sta affettionatoa questacausa, come molti altri signori amici et potenti dell'uno et dell'altro regno: de i porti securi in Scotia per sbarcarsi dentroun'essercito straniero, dove truoveràmolti amici del paese, chi lo riceveranno et condurranno in Inghilterra, insiemi con molti altri fondamenti et commodità , tanto della parte di Scotia et Inghilterra, quanto anche della parte di Francia, secondo che si può vedere più parti- colarmente nel discorso seguente

Fundamenti et commodità dalla parte di Scotia.

La regina di Scotia, ben chè lei sia fuora del regno, ha pur tuttavialei gran' fattione et parte in Scotia tanto degli stessi heretici quanto d'i catholici, i quali tutti saviaranno volontieri per liberarlafuora di prigione; et in Inghilterra lei ha tuttigli catholici senza eccettione et molti anche degli heretici per essere fautori del titolo di essa alla successione del regno 2. Il giovane re di Scotia per haver drittolegitimoallasuccessione della madre et per l'interesse di essa possiede anche esso l'amore et affettione de tutti gli catholici d'Inghilterra, massimamente adesso, mentre che c'è speranza per conto della sua pueritia, che s'egli fosse nelli mani delli catholici, diventarebbe anch'egli buon catholico in poco tempo, secondo chè ci promette ancora il duca di Lennox, il quale sa bene la sua dispositione. Molt' heretici ancora d'Inghilterra favoriscono a questo giovane rediScotia per gli medesimi rispetti che favoriscono alla sua madre. Ma in Scotia tutti lo seguitaranno a questa impresa dell'acquisto d'Inghilterra,

writing. On June 11 , 1582, it is true, the Cardinal of Como wrote to the Nuncio in Paris " Nostro Signore ha veduto quanto V.S. mi scrive del discorso del padre jesuita circa le cose d'Inghilterra , et il parer del duca di Guisa " (Kretzschmar, Invasionsprojekte , p 147) But it is by no means certain that the ' discorso ' refers to this document above , and even if so , that it was written by Persons; the ' padre jesuita ' may refer just as well to Crichton as to Persons In any case the document does not express the opinions of an individual , but of the whole party in Paris who were planning the enterprise; and whether Persons or another composed it seems a matter of less importance Cf. Introduction , note 106 .

eccetto forse alcuni heretici pocchi, i quali si puotranno sbassar facilmente coll'aiuto delli soldati forastieri che terranno.

3. Questo titolo della successione alla corona d'Inghilterra, il quale ha la regina di Scotia et il suo figliuolo, è di grandissima efficacia appressogli inglesi, i quali ordinariamente sogliono tanto rispettar' i successori del regno, ch'ogni volta ch'el principe che regna si porta male nel governo, hanno ricorso alli successori per rimediarvi, et mai s'è truovato nell'historie d'Inghilterra ch'il successore del regno habbi pigliato le arme contr'l re per riformationedel malgoverno, che non habbia havutoquel successo ch'egli desiderava; et questo per 'l grand' amore et rispettochegliinglesi portano naturalmente alli successori del regno

4. Doppola regina et il giovane re c'è in Scotia il signore duca di Lennox, il conte d'Huntlea, il signore de Seton, co'i quali in particolare l'impresa è stata communicata : gli quali colli loro amici et fautori di questa causa faranno la maggiore parte quasi di Scotia, come si può vedere per un catalogo delli nomi loro.(2) Et gli detti signori di Lennox et Huntlea tengono nelle lor mani ilgiovane re,insiemecolle fortezzedel regno Et promettono (come si può vedere per gli articoli loro) di menar il re a questa impresa in persona; et ch'ogni cosa si faràin nome suo, et che lui sarà ubidiente alla volontà della madre non solamente quanto alle cose del stato et governo, ma anche (comme si spera di certo) della religione catholica.

5. Il medesimo duca di Lennoxpromette ai soldati forastieriche verranno, sbarcamento securo appressola fortezza di Dombartan , luogo più forte di tutta la Scotia; il quale sta sul mar' occidentale, attissimo per ricevere navi di Spagna o d'Italia, et tutti quasi gli signori ch'habitanoin quelle bande sono catholici, come ilsignore de Mongomery, il conte di Cassels, il conte de Morton, il signore di Lochynuarra et molti altri amici di questa impresa, i quali sariano apparecchiati per congiongersi subito coll'esercito forastiero, quando saranno sbarcati

6. Giovaancora assai a questa impresa, che due delle più grandi et potenti fattioni di Scotia, che più ci puotrebbono impedire, ciò è delli Hamyltonii et Douglasii, tutte due per la maggior parte heretici , sono talmente sbassata per adesso , che non ci possono dare grand impedimento , benchè non manchino ancora alcuni di queste famiglie, i quali grandamente ci favoriranno.

7. Tutti quasi gli scozzesi paiono desiderosissimi di questa impresa, alcuni per amor della religione catholica , alcuni per la fattione della regina, altri per acquistare richezze et moltissimi per odio delli ministri, cioè delli pseudopreti heretici, i quali per la scelerata vita loro et grandissima avaritia et tirannia sonno venuti in odio et detestatione quasi appresso tutti, il che giova assai al nostro proposito.

8. Havendo questa dispositione, commodità et aiuti grandi in Scotia, faciamo disegno (se piacerà a Sua Stà et Mtà Catholica (2)This may very possiblyrefer to the document"La NobilitàdiScotia , " Vat Arch, Inghilterra 1 , f 240

, S.J. 151 di mandarci il soccorso desiderato) che sbarchati gli soldatiin terra et congiontico'l re di Scotia sbalzaranno in un trattogli ministri et altri nemici, et poi senza fermarsi punto passerannodi Scotia in Inghilterra, dove saranno ricevuti et aiutati dalli catholici di quel regno, la cui dispositione si mette qui sotto in particolare.

La dispositione dell'Inghilterra per questa impresa

Prima, tuttigli catholicisono favorevolisenza eccetionealcuna , anzi stanno con bramatodesiderio di tal impresa Primieramente et principalmente per 'l desiderio grande, ch'hanno della restitutione della fede catholica ; 2° per il dritto della regina di Scotia alla corona d'Inghilterra, et per liberarla fuora di prigione, dove sta tanti anni fa contra jus gentium et contra la dignità della maestà regia; 3° per i grandi affanni et miserie che patiscono giornalmente più et più, gli quali sono realmente insoportabili Perchè prima tutti gli catholici manifesti et conosciuti in Inghilterra restano spogliati di tutti gl'officii, magistrati, dignità, privilegii, gratie, honori et altre commodità del stato, ch'hebbero o per heredità o vero per beneficio delli principi passati, et son stati sempre(durante il regno di questa Elizabetha) di tempo in tempo talmente sbassatiet dishonorati nelle terre et paesi loro, ch'adesso non lor resta niente d'autorità fuora del amore del popolo in poi, il quale la regina non li ha potuto togliere con tuttel'injurie fattegli, ma più presto l'a accresciuto Dipoi nella giustitia stessa publica et nelle liti, ch'hanno gli catholici con altri, ricevono ogni giorno torti grandi et intolerabili per il disfavore della regina Doppo questo c'è la persecutione grandissima che patiscono, cioè l'essere posto prigione, le vessationi, le torture, le condennationi , la morte ingiusta di tanti huomini innocenti , la confiscatione et privatione d'i beni loro, la barbara separatione d'i mariti dalle lor moglie, la mendicitàet povertà estrema di moltissimi causata per la tribulatione de'loro signori et padroni Tuttele quali cose han generato un desiderio intensissimo nelli catholici di questa impresa per la loro liberatione

2. Oltra di questo han comminciato gli heretici questo anno passato di togliere dalli catholici , massime da' più grandi et segnalati, gli loro figluoli proprii, dandoli ad heretici per alevarli nell'heresia a modo loro, il che è la maggior' ingiuria et cordoglio alli catholici che si può imaginare, non potendo esser padroni ne disporre delli suoi proprii figliuoli nelle cose dell'anima et religione.

3. Di più la regina d'Inghilterra havendo fatto una lege questo anno passato, per la quale ogni catholico, in particolarechi rifiutarà d'andar alle chiese heretice, resta condennato di pagare sessantasei scudi d'oro in oro ogni mese, et havendo lei chiamatoin giuditio et condennato gli catholici, adesso commincia ad esseguire la legge quanto al pagamento delli 12 mesi passati, di maniera ch'in pochissimo tempo ridurrà li catholici ad un'estrema povertà.

4. Finalmente questa regina per compimento quasi della sua tyrannia verso li catholici, ha fatto publicar'un editto stampato

alli 4° d'aprile ultimamente passato, nel quale ha dichiarato al popolo che lei tiene tutti li catholici per nemici capitali del stato et della persona sua et traditori della patria, et così dichiara et commanda a tutti sudditi suoi per quel bando che li piglino et castighino per tali, cioè tutti quelli che sonno intrati in religioni catholice, o nelli seminarii fuora d'Inghilterra, o chi di dentro riceveranno in casa giesuiti o preti, o chi con essi converseranno o li favoriranno, o chi in altro modo si mostreranno per catholici Per il quale editto et altri simili publicati per dinanzi a questo effetto gli catholici sonno dichiarati et publicati per nemici della regina et traditori senza causa alcuna, et per medesima via sonno ogni giorno in gran pericolo della vita loro. Donde aviene chesono già risolutissimipiù presto di pigliar l'arme et di tentarela liberatione loro per qual si voglia modo che possono, che di darsi così tutti in preda alli heretici, gli quali soprastanno ogni giorno per tagliarli la gola

5. Il numero delli catholici et delli amici loro in Inghilterra è grande, et faria, se tutto 'l regno fosse diviso in tre parti, le due terze Ma perchè non vi è fortezza nessuna nel paese, dove possino ritirarsi , nè hanno capo alcuno per comminciar' a radunar gente per loro, et di più che stanno divisi et disuniti nelle habitationi per tutte le parte del regno, dove sono molti heretici mescolati con loro insieme colliufficiali della regina, gli qualil'hanno sempre l'occhio adosso , di modo che non possono muoversi senza esser visti et presi subito: per tutte le quale cose gli catholici, benchè siano la maggior parte del regno, non ardiscono pur di pigliare le arme contra quella reina senza qualche principio di soccorso forastiero

6. Quelli catholici chi più c'importano a questa impresa sono divisi in due parti La prima contiene la nobiltà divisain quatro ordini, o vero gradi di stati appresso gli inglesi, cioè conti, baroni, cavaglieri, et altri gentilhuominichiamatiescuieri, potenti però, et che potranno menar in compagnia ogniuno assai huomini a sue propriespese; et di tutti questi gradi, almanco delli più principali s'aggiongerà a questa dichiaratione un catalogo particolare per informationepiù piena.(3) L'altra parte contiene un altro stato d'huomini proprio et peculiare a l'Inghilterra chiamato il stato delli Iromanni,(4) stato moltoriccho et potente perla guerra, perchè questi huomini sono in grandissimo numero, et non sono nè contadini nè citadini nè manco gentilhuomini, ma fanno un stato separato et habitano dispersi per le ville possedendo molti beni campestri, tengono grosse famiglie, et quasi tutti questi ordinariamente sono catholici

7. Fuora di questi catholici di dentro habbiamo ancora non pocchi sbanditi per la fede, i quali sono di molta importanza, et

(3) This may possibly refer to the document in the Vatican Archives, ibid , f 241 , " Nomina procerum et nobilium qui videntur Catholicas partes secuturi"

(4) Presumably ' Yeomen' is meant

alcunidi loromolto potenti come si dirà dipoi, i quali ritornandoa tempo daranno grande aiuto a questa impresa 8. Quanto a gli heretici d'Inghilterra stanno lor divisi in due o tre fattioni per conto della successione alla corona, et molti di loro favoriscono al dritto della regina di Scotia, et moltissimi restano malcontentidel governo parte per la vita brutta et sceleratadellaregina stessa, la cui personaè venuta già inodioappresso di tutti, et parte per l'indignità delli suoi consiglieri, huominiquasi tutti di bassa sorte, i quali hanno già tirato tutto 'l governo a se , escludendo da quello tutta la nobiltà d'Inghilterra Oltra di questo infiniti quasi sono quelli, i quali hanno ricevutoet ricevono ogni giorno ingiurie particolari et oppressioni dalli favoriti della reina, la quale li defendein quasi voglia cosa benchèingratissima Gli ministri ancora, cioè gli pseudopreti heretici , per la loro mala vita et avaritia sono odiati quasi da tutti Queste cause et molte altre simili fanno, che moltissimi, chi non sono catholici, ma più presto heretici fredi o persone indifferenti, seguitaranno molto volontieri questa impresa, se la vedessero haver principio et buon fondamento Et sappiamo per certo che molti malcontenti nella corte stessa, cioè per essempioil conte di Sussex, grand camberlengo del regno, et il signore de Craftes, maggior domo della regina, tutti duoi del consegliosecretto, et molti altri similipigliarebbono le arme con questa impresa peril grande odio che portano alla regina, et finalmente non fu mai prencipe tanto odiatoda tutti in Inghilterra, come è questa; et si tiene per certo da quelli che sanno bene la dispositione delli huomini di quella corte , che la maggior parte di loro l'abbandonarebbe et pigliarebbe contra d'essa, se vedessero la cosa venir' una volta all' essecutione 9. Quanto al paese stesso d'Inghilterra è da sapere, ch'è aperto et pervio et facillissimoda essere trascorsoda pocchagente, perchè non ha fortezze, nè terre, nè citàforti di muraglia come altri regni Il che fa ancora che bastarebbe quasi un mese doppo la discesa del essercito per finir la guerra. Il popolo è naturalmente assai disposto a rivolutioni et mutationi grandi, massimamentequando egli resta offesodal governo del suo prencipe, et quando c'è qualche principio et soccorso di fuora, come si vede per esperienza. Perchè l'historiae nostre raccontano tredici assalti fattici in Inghilterra da forastieri, et alcuni deboli pur assai di forze, et dieci tuttavia di quelli hebbero 'l loro effetto sicome è chiaro nella vittoriadi Henrico conte di Richemonte chiamato poi Henrico settimo re d'Inghilterra, il quale con pochissima gente acquistò il regno havendo un poco d'intelligenzadi dentro 10. Et per mostrar più chiaramente questo punto della facilità della vittoria, s'una volta l'armata fosse discesa in terra, darò qualch' altro essempio Al tempo di Maria regina, moglie di Sua MaestàCatholica, già viventeun cavalliero solochiamato Thomaso Voyat, essendo huomo privato levandosi in arme contra la regina, messe in pericolo tutto il regno, conducendo 'l suo essercito sin' a Londrastessa, prima che si potesse farli resistenza. D'altri tempi habbiamo parimente molti essempii d'huomini non solamente

, S.J.

privati, ma ancora vilissimi, cioèpoveri artegiani , comeaccadeuna volta d'un ferraro, l'altra d'un conciatore di paglia et simili, i quali facendosi capi al popolo mal contento hanno radunatogrossi essercitii et transcorso la maggior parte del regno, pigliandoetiamdio qualche volta la città di Londrainsieme col re stesso, et effetuando altre cose simili per le cause sudette Diremo dunque adesso della facilità del paese, et della dispositione del popolo più in particolare , i quali concorrono più in questa impresa che non fece mai per il passato. 11. Le provincied'Inghilterra da Londra sin a Scotia, per dove ha d'intrare l'essercito, sono nove o dieci, fuora di Vallia che sta d'un altra banda tutta sola, la quale anco tiene in se sei o sette provincie . Tutte le quali provinciesono ben affettionatealla fede catholica et alla reina di Scotia, le provincie più appresso della Scotia sono lepiù catholice et le più bellicose per l'essercitio quasi continuo dell' armi contra gli scozzesi delle frontieri, sono ben compite di cavallaria, la quale adoprano nelle guerre loro, come anche al tempo di pace contra gl'incorsi di quelli che robbano In questo paese più appresso la Scotia sono solamente quatro grandi signori, i quali tengono gli serragli d'Inghilterra et possiedono quelle bande dal mar' orientale insino al mar'occidentale, i quali tutti saranno con noi. Il primo è il vescovodi Durem , detto in latino Dunelmensis episcopus, signore spirituale et temporale di gran paese, lo quale vescovato la Santità Sua potrà dare secretamente a qualche inglese che le parerà ; il che sarà molto necessario per questa impresa, non solamente per la grande seguita che havrà, per esser il popolo quasi tutto catholico et devotissimo del suovescovovero et catholico, ma ancora sarànecessario per levare le differentieet punti tra gli altri grandi signori inglesi da quelle parti, i qualinon cederianol'un al'altro, ma si bene a lui. Ilsecondo principale signore di quelle frontieri è 'l signore conte de Vestmerland, il quale è sottoposto nelle cose temporali al sopradetto vescovo di Durem. Questo conte sta adesso al servitio del re catholico in Fiandra Il terzo è il signore conte de Northamberland, il cui figliuolo primogenito sta in Pariggi catholico , et si puotrà truovare modo forse d'impiegarloin questa impresa. Il padre suo ch'è ancora catholico sta in corte con prohibitione espressa della regina di non andarse al suo paese, perchè lo teme; ma si truovaràanche'l modo d'haverlo con noi. Ilquarto signore potente di quelle bande è il barone di Dalkers, huomo di grand paese et gente. Costui adesso se ne sta in Fiandraapparechiatissimo di truovarsi come tutti gli altri al paese, quando gli sarà ordinato, et i loro vassali et amici li dimandano con grandissima instanza. Questi quatro signori tornati che saranno al paese potranno far presto tre o quatro millia cavalli per huomo et più ancora, come s'è visto nella levata che si fece contra la regina d'Inghilterra dodici anni fa, dove il conte di Vestmerland solo fece sei millia cavalli in bonissimo concio et tra pochissimi giorni Vi sono ancora in queste frontieri altri signori catholici di grand' importanza , ma manco potenti che questi già nominati

Passate che saranno le provincie delle frontieri, entrarà l' essercito in campagnia più largha, fertilissima et abondantissima d'ogni sorte di vettuaglie, tutta affettionata alla fede catholica quasi sin a Londra o molto appresso Le città grandi et riche per la strada come neucastle, Yorra et altre simili sono tutte piene di catholici, li quali se renderanno all' essercito senza cavar spada. Gli signori catholici et gentilhuomini di queste provincie s'aggiungeranno quasi tutti coll' essercito. Et questo non diciamoper conjecture, ma sappiamo securamente che lo faranno, benchè non ardiranno scoprire questo a qualsi voglia persona del mondo , se non alli sacerdoti nostri solamente, i quali sono già dispersi per tuttele provinciedi quel regno et potranno disporre delli catholici a quel tempo secondo che li sarà ordinato

1 . Li mezzi per condurre questa impresa alli effetti.

Prima si domanda otto millia fanti o al manco seimilliabuoni et esperimentati con denari per pagar' altri 8000 de paese per sei mesi o vero quatromesi, in qual tempo o manco si speradi spedire tutto 'l negotio doppo l'arrivata delli soldati in Scotia, per chè non bisognache si ferminoin Scotia, ma subito sbassatiche saranno li ministri passar in Inghilterra prima che la regina possa opprimere gli catholici o preparar' essercito .

2. Il pretesto o coperta di questa preparatione più lontanad'ogni sospetto d'Inghilterra pare che potria esser, che questisoldati si truovassero in Spagna in settembre prossimo come al servitio del re catholico nelle sue guerre, et dipoi al tempo ordinato, cioè al finedi settembre o al più tardi d'ottobreimbarcarsi per passar in Scotia per il mar' Oceano occidentale, li che pare che securamente potriano fare.

3. Bisogna ancora che questa armata fuora delle sue armiproprie porti anco seco armatura per 3000 fanti del paese, insieme con qualche artigliaria et altre cose necessarie per tal impresa Et quanto alli denari per la paga loro come ancora per la paga di quelli di Scotia, si potrebbe mandarne parte coll' armata , parte per via di Pariggi

4. È necessario per l'impresa, che Sua Santità faccia un vescovo de Durem alias dunelmo, il che si puotrà far secretamente et si truoverà 'l modo avicinandosi 'l tempo, che tanto lui che 'l conte de Vestmerland et altri signori inglesi sbandititorneranno secretamente in Scotia, collocandoli in case d'huomini privati, dove staranno nascosti fin al tempo che arrivaràl'armata di Spagna, et poi subito entreranno alli paesi loro et faranno pigliare le armi alli inglesi per giongersi all' essercito che verrà di Scotia; ma per fare questo bisogna che vi siano denari in Pariggi per viatico etaltre cose necessarie di questi signori.

5. Le cause per pigliare le armi in Scotia potranno esser per la defensionedel dritto del re di Scotia alla successione d'Inghilterra contra la malitia già scoperta d'alcuni inglesi, ciò è gli conti d'Hungingtonet de Lecester et i lor seguaci , li quali per moltevie

cercano di togliere al re non solamente il dritto alla corona , ma ancora la vita stessa ; et questo si puotrebbe publicaresubito in Scotia per editti publici, gli quali saranno stampati et apparechiati per publicarli a quel tempo, et con questo si metteriasubito tutta la Scotia in arme et si congiongeria col re Si potrebbe ancora aggiongere qualche cosa nelli editti , si parerà ispediente, contra la tirannidedelli ministri, perla qual sono entrati in tantasuperbia, che non cessano, di dir' ingiurie tanto alla precipua nobiltà che alla plebe del regno, et che sono della fattione delli predetti conti contra il re et regno di Scotia

6. Quando si verrà poi in Inghilterra, si puotria publicar' un' altra causa della guerra, cioè l'essecutione della scommunica del Papa contra la regina, dichiarando che lei non è regina vera et però che tutti quei, che pigliano le armi per lei, sono rei laesae majestatis, et che saranno tenuti et reputati per tali, se non vengono a congiongersi coll' essercito della reina di Scotia et Inghilterrad'inanziun taleo tal glorno, et che perderanno non solamente la vita, ma ancora tutte le possessioni , signorie et heredità loro, le quali saran date al più prossimo del sangue loro, che verrà a rendersi. Tali et altre simili cose potrebbono esser publicate secondol'occasione dei tempi, luoghi et altre circonstanze. Per la qual cosa saria molto necessario , che l'essercito meni seco un stampatore per fare queste cose

7. Sarà ancora di grand bisogno, che Sua Santitàmandi fuora un altra volta la bulla della scommunica della regina d'Inghilterra in nome suo significando che, benchè Sua Santitàl'habbi tolerato tanto tempo aspettando in lei qualche meglioramento, pur adesso vedendo la sua tirannide sfogarsi di più dichiara che lei non è più per esser tenuta per regina ne ubedita, ma che commanda a tutti di pigliare l'armi contra di lei sotto pena di scommunica se non lo fanno et con indulgenza plenaria a tutti quei che pentiti con proposito di confessarsi pigliariano le armi o morirannoin questaimpresa per la fede; questo ancora servirà per sodisfattione di quello, che fin qui li sacerdoti catholici in Inghilterra hanno confessato, che lei fosse regina, per chè questo Papa non havea ancora dichiarato contrario

8. Bisognerà ancora ricordar'a Sua Santità et a Sua Maestà Catholica che s'ordini al generale del essercito qualche conseglio di stato et governo d'alcuni huomini principali di tutte due le nationi d'inglesi et scozzesi, per levarvia le differenze che potrebbono nascere fra gli signori d'una medesima natione Bisognerà ancora che vi siano alcune persone specialmente deputate dalla parte di Sua Santità , Sua Maestà Catholica et regina di Scotia per i medesimi effetti Et fra gli altri sarà molto necessariouno ch'habbia specialeauthorità ecclesiasticaper gli casi di conscientia ch' occorreranno.

9. Saranno ancora necessarii alcuni libri nella lingua vulgar' inglese, parte per dichiarar' al popolo a quel instante l'autorità del poter scommunicare principi heretici , parte anco per scuoprir

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 157

inparticolarele brutezze, dishonestà, crudeltà, et sceleratezzedella presente regina, mentre chè ha durato tutto 'l suo regno, ancora per manifestar' a tutti lo dritto della regina di Scotia al regno d'Inghilterra; et alcuni di questi libretti sono già scritti, benchè non stampati, altri si scriveranno subito che si darà risposta da Roma

Del tempo di questa impresa et perchè fa di bisogno tanta fretta et celerità

1. Il tempo di questa impresa è il mese di setembreprossimo o al più tardi al mese d'ottobre, quando la racolta sarà già fatta in Scotia et in Inghilterra, della quale l'essercito puotrà nodrirsi , et se non si fa in quel tempo, non si puotrà fare, senon de la in un anno, per non haver questi due regni vettuaglie sufficientiper un essercito se non a quel tempo Et se si volesse differire questa impresa per un altro anno, non c'è speranza alcuna che debba riuscire per le ragioni seguenti

Prima perchè col tempo si scuoprirebbe certissimamente il disegno. 20 perchèil re di Scotia in questo mentre sarebbe o amazzato dalli nemici, o pigliaremoglie heretica, diventando più maturo verebbea confirmarsi nella heresie, o per viad'Inghilterra sifarebbe qualche grande mutationein Scotia, stando il giovane re adesso quasi in una bilancia di morteo di vita, di cascar' alle parti nostre overo a quelle delli adversarii 3º il Signoreduca di Lenox insieme colli suoi amici sta padrone quasi del regno, et quelc'importapiù della persona del re stesso, et fra pocchi mesi Iddio sa quel che sarà, perchè il signore duca se ne sta li con gran pericolo dellavita propria, tanto per conto delli ministri, come ancora della regina d'Inghilterra et altri heretici et nemici suoi di Scotia. Et tutto lo statodiScotia sta sottoposto adesso a pericolo et ad espettatione di grandi et repentine mutationi, onde non solamenteil detto signore duca, ma ancora il conte d'Huntlea et il signore barone di Seton, principalissimifondamenti di questa impresa, sono risoluti partirsi di Scotia et abandonar'ilre in su'l fine di questa 'state, se non si fa questa impresa. 4° li catholici d'Inghilterra si truovano adesso in quelle strettezze, che humanamente parlando non possono durare più, al manco in quel stato, che possino giovare di poi a questa impresa; perchè ogni giorno si mettono più et più di loro in prigione et se li togliono li beni, colli quali ci puotrebbono giovar' , et in poco tempo diventeranno tutti poverissimi Ondesenzadubio ci pare che questa sia il tempo propriod'ajutare tutti questi due regni, se mai Nostro Signore vuole che s'ajutino, adesso la commodità è grande, l'occasione bellissima, la facilità tale, quale non si puotrà sperareper l'avvenir' , et tutta l'impresa, pare, potrebbe essere senza pericolo o dubioveruno manifesto Et però preghiamo humilmentela Sua Santità et Maestà Catholica di non lasciare passare questa occasione , data et ordinatadaIddio signore nostro (come speriamo) per liberare questi due regni dalla tirannia heretica, et consequentemente per dare finale pace alla chiesa d'Iddio et alli regni catholici di queste bande.

Translation.

PERSONS'S ? MEMORIAL TO THE POPE AND KING OF SPAIN

Paris , 22 May, 1582.

The ends sought by means of this enterprise.

Our onlyaim in this scheme is the restoration of the Catholicfaith in the two kingdoms of England and Scotland , the liberation of the Queen of Scotland from prison, the preservation of the young King, in body and soul, from the snares of the heretics and from beingconfirmed in heresy, the liberation of the Catholics who are distressed and persecuted for their faith in England and elsewhere, and, finally, the restoration of God's Churchin those regions, and quietudein theother neighbouring countries which have been troubled now for so many years by the malice of these heretics It seems that God our Lord has now given us a suitable opportunity to attain this purpose, more favourablethan any that has yet appeared and one that in future there is no hope ofour meetingwith again if we fail to make use ofit. And therefore we appeal with all possible earnestness to His Holiness and to His Catholic Majesty to be willing to listen with indulgence to this our petition, directed to the above mentionedobjects

The opportuneness of the present moment arises from these considerations : a temper in the people both of England and Scotland, at the present time, which is veryfavourableto the plan; the personality of the young King of Scotland , who is now under the influence of the Duke of Lennox, himself most devoted to this cause, as are also many other lords , powerful and friendly, in both kingdoms; the fact that there are safe ports in Scotland in which a foreign army could be disembarked and where it will find many friendsin the country around to welcome it and show it the way to England; and many otherfundamental requirementsand conveniences both as regards Scotland and England, as well as France, as will appear in more detail in the statement that follows

Fundamental requirementsand advantages provided by Scotland

Although the Queen of Scotland is outside the kingdom, she has , notwithstanding, a large party and following in Scotland, both among the heretics themselves and among the Catholics , all of whom will be only too pleased to set her free from prison; in England she has all the Catholics withoutexceptionon her side, and many of the heretics besides , as being supporters of her claim to succeed to the kingdom

2. The young King of Scotland, having a legal right to succeed his mother, and on accountof theirfeelingfor her, holds himself also the love and affection of all the English Catholicsespeciallynow when , on account of his tender years, there is hope that if he were subject to the influence of Catholics , he too would shortly become a good Catholic; which is what we are promised also by the Duke of Lennox , who is well acquaintedwith his disposition. Many English heretics, too, are in favour of this young King of Scotlandfor the same reasons that they favour his mother But in Scotland all will follow him to this enterprise ofthe conquest ofEnglandexcept perhaps a fewheretics ; and these itwill be easy to subdue with the help of the foreign soldiers they will have .

3. Thisclaim, which the Queen ofScotland and her son have to succeed tothe crown of England, is a very strong point in the eyes of Englishmen , whose custom it is to show great deference to the heirs to the

throne; so that, whenever the reigningprince governs amiss, they have recourse to his heirs to put matters right; and there has never been found an instance in English history of the heir to the throne taking up arms against the King to remedy bad government , without his obtainingthe desired result; andthis is due to the greatloveandrespect which Englishmennaturally have for the heirs to the throne .

4. Besides the Queen and the young King, those in Scotlandwho have been speciallyinformed of this enterprise are the Duke of Lennox , the Earl of Huntley and Lord Seton; andthey with their friendsand those who support this cause make up pretty well the greater part ofScotland, as can be seen from a list of their names The above-mentioned gentlemen, Lennox and Huntley, have possession of the King as well as of the fortified places of the kingdom; and they promiseas can be seen in the articles they have put forwardto bring the King in person into this business and to do everything in his name, and they undertake that he will obey his mother's wishes, not only in affairs of state and government , but also (as they confidently hope) in the matter of the Catholic religion.

5. The Duke of Lennox, also, promises the foreign soldiers who come a safe place to disembarknear the fortress of Dunbarton, the strongest place in the whole of Scotland It is on the western seaboard, most suitableto receive ships from Spain and Italy; and nearly all thelords of those parts are Catholics, among them the Earl of Montgomery, the Earl of Cassillis, the Earl of Morton, the Lord of Lochinvar and many others who are friendly to this enterprise . They would be all readytojoin up at once withthe foreignarmy whenit has disembarked 6. It is also a great help to the enterprise that two of the largestand most powerful factions in Scotland which could most have hindered us , the Hamiltons and the Douglases, who are both for the most part heretics, are in such a reduced state at present that they are unable to put great difficulties in our way; and, what is more , these families are not without a certain number of members who will be strongly on our side

7. Nearly all the Scots seem most keen on this enterprisesome out oflovefor the Catholicreligion, some for theirattachment to the cause of their Queen , others in order to acquire wealth, and a very great numberout of hatredfor the ministers, that is to say, for the heretical pseudo-priests, who by their wicked lives and extreme avarice and tyranny have won the hatred and abhorrence of nearly all men; and this assists our ends considerably .

8. Seeing that we have these dispositions and facilities and so much to assist us in Scotland, it is our purpose (if His Holiness and His CatholicMajesty are pleased to send us the help we desire) that, when the soldiers have been disembarked and a junction effected with the King of Scotland, they shall overwhelmthe ministersandotherenemies at one blow andthen, without a moment's delay, pass on from Scotland to England, where they will be received and assisted by the Catholics of that kingdom, whose attitude is explained in detail below .

The attitude (in England) to this enterprise. In the first place, all the Catholics without any exception favour such an enterpriseindeed, they eagerly long for it This is, first and foremost , on account of the great longingthey have for the restoration of the Catholic faith; secondly, because of the right which the Queen

of Scotland has to the English crown, and in order to free her from prison where she has been for so many years, in contraventionofinternational law and with offence to the dignity of her royal person; thirdly, on account of the great griefs and miseries which they suffer more and more each day and which are truly intolerable For in the first place all who are open and acknowledged Catholics in England remain despoiled of all offices, posts of authority, dignities, privileges, favours, honours and other benefits from the State, which they possessed either by heredity or through the favour ofbygone princes, and have been at all times (during the present reign of Elizabeth) so humiliated and dishonoured in their own districts and native places that now they are left withoutany influence except that springingfrom the love of the people, of which the Queen has not been able to deprive them by all the injuries she has done them , but rather she has increased it Secondly, in the matter even of public justice and the lawsuits which Catholics have with other men, owing to the Queen's displeasure with them they receive everyday great andintolerablewrongs In addition to this there is the severe persecution they are undergoing , that isto say by being imprisoned, by vexations , tortures, condemnations , the unjust infliction of death on so many innocent men, the confiscation anddespoiling oftheir possessions , the barbarous separation ofhusbands from their wives, the beggary and extreme poverty of many caused bythe tribulations of their masters and patrons All this has produced in the Catholics a most intense longing for this enterprise which is to bring them deliverance .

2. Besides this the heretics have begun, during the past year, to take away from the Catholics theirown childrenmainly in the caseofthe more important and distinguished familiesand to give them to heretics to bring up in heresy after their own fashion This is forthe Catholicsthe greatest injury and anguish imaginable , since they have no power to rule their own children or guide them in matters of the spirit and religion

3. Moreover, the Queen of England has made a law during the past year wherebyevery Catholic, especially if he refuses to go to the heretical churches , is condemned to pay sixty-six golden crowns a month; and having summoned them to judgment and condemned them , she is now beginningto exact the legal payments due for the past twelve months, the result of which will be to reduce the Catholics in a short time to extreme poverty.

4. Finally the Queen, to fill up, as it were, the cup of her tyranny towardsthe Catholics , has caused a proclamationto be publishedunder date the fourthofApril last, in which she has announced to the people that she holds all Catholics to be deadly enemies of the State and of her person, and traitors to their country; and so she declares and orders that all her subjects, in virtue of this ban, are to seize and chastise them as such, that is to say all who have become Catholics or haveentered Seminaries outside England, or who in Englandreceive into their houses Jesuits and priests, or who hold converse with them orsupportthem, or who in any otherway show that they are Catholics And by this edict and by other similar ones published previously to the same effect, Catholics are declared and proclaimedto be enemies of the Queen and traitors, withoutany reason , and in consequenceof this they are every day in great peril of their lives Whence it comes about that they are now firmly resolved rather to take up arms and make an effort to deliver themselves by any means available than to

surrender themselves wholesale to be the prey of the heretics , who threaten every day to cut their throats

5. The number of the Catholics and their friends in England is large, and if the whole kingdom were divided into three parts they would form two thirds But since they have no stronghold in the country to which they can withdraw, and have no leader to take the initiative in drawing people together for their purposes, and because moreover they are split up and scattered in dwellingsin all parts of the kingdom, in which there are many heretics mingledwith them as wellas officers of the Queen, who are always eyeing them askance, so thatthey cannot make a move without being speedily noticed and arrested--for all these reasons , in spite of their forming the larger part of the realm , the Catholics do not dare to take up arms againstthe Queen without some foreign help to set things in motion

6. Those Catholics, who are more important to us for this enterprise , are divided into two classes. The first consists of the nobility, divided into four ordersor grades in rank according to English usage, that is, Earls, Barons, Knights and other gentlemen termed Esquires, who, however , are powerful and can put into the field, each of them , a considerable number of men at their own expense: a detailed list, comprising all in these grades, or at any rate the more important of them , will be included with this statementin order to give fuller information. The second class consists of another type of men , characteristic of and peculiar to England, called yeomen, a class which is very richand capable of making war, becausethese men exist in great numbers. They are neither peasants not townsmen , nor are they gentlemen, but they form a separate class, living scattered about in farms, and they possess considerable agricultural property, have large families , and nearly all of them as a rule are Catholics

7. Besides these Catholics in England, we have no small number also whoarein exile for the faith, and these are ofgreatimportance Some of them have great influence, as will be explained presently, and, if they return at the critical moment, they will give great assistance to this enterprise.

8. As for the English heretics, they are split up into two or three factions on the subject of the successionto the crown; many ofthem support the title of the Queen of Scotland, and a very large number are discontented with the government , partly because of the ill-conditioned and wicked life led by the Queen herself, who personallyhas come to be hated by everybody, and partly owingto the unworthiness of her advisers, who are nearly all men of a low condition and have now got the whole governmentinto their hands, excluding from it all the nobilityofEngland In addition to this thereis analmostcountless number of people who have received, and are receiving every day, injuriesand injusticesin particular mattersfrom the Queen's favourites, whom she defends, however unjust their case The ministers, that is to say, the hereticalpseudo-priests, are also hated by nearly everyone for their evil lives and avarice These causes and many others ofthe same kind will make a great many men, who are not Catholics but lukewarm heretics rather, and indifferent, fall in with this enterprise very willingly, if they see that it has made a start and has sound foundations We know for a fact that many malcontents , even in the Court, as for instance the Earl of Sussex , Lord Chamberlain of the kingdom , and Sir (James) Crofts, Comptrollerofthe Queen's household , L

both Privy Councillors , and many others like them, would take up arms in this enterprise in consequence of the great hatred they bear to the Queen; and, in fine, there was never a Prince so universally hatedin England as she; and it is held as certain by those who are well acquaintedwith the feeling of the Court that the majoritywould forsake it and take up arms against her once they saw that the time had come when action was about to be taken

9. As to the country itself in England, it is to be noted thatit is open and unencumbered and very easy to traverse with a small body of men , because it has no fortresses nor enclosed fields nor strong walled towns like other kingdoms; and consequently about a month would suffice , after the army had landed, to finish the war. The people are naturally somewhat inclined to revolutions and big changes, especially when they are displeased with the government of their prince and thereis some initiativeand aid from without. This we see from experience , for our history tells of thirteen attacks made on us in England by intruders, some of which were weak, though many were made in force, and yet ten of them fulfilled their purpose A clear caseof this is the victory won by Henry, Earl of Richmondcalled afterwards Henry VII of Englandwho witha very small band of men got possession of the kingdom through having a little inside information

10. And toprovemore clearly this point of the ease withwhichvictory could be gained once the expedition were disembarked , I will give another kind of instance : in the time of Queen Mary, wife of His CatholicMajesty, a mere gentleman whowas then alive, called Thomas Wyatt, a private individual, led an armed insurrection against the Queen andput the wholekingdomin danger, bringing his army actually to London before it was possible to make any resistance. For other times we have many instances of similar things beingdone not merely by private persons but by men of even the meanest kind, such as poorartisans This happened onone occasion in the case ofa blacksmith, on anotherof a thatcher, and men of that sort, who, putting themselves at the head of a discontented people, collected large armies and overran the greater part of the kingdom, even seizing sometimes the city of London along with the King himself, and getting other like results for the reasons mentioned above We will speak then now , more in detail, of the facilities offered by the nature of the country and the disposition of the people: these combine to favour the enterprise in a way they never did in the past

11. The counties of England, between London and Scotland , through which the army has to make its entrance are nine or ten in number, leaving out Wales which is at one side, quite by itself, and it also consists of six or seven counties All these counties are very attached to the Catholicfaith and to the Queen ofScotland , the counties nearest to Scotland being the most Catholic and the most warlike , owing to their waging almost continual warfare againstthe border Scots They are very well suppliedwith cavalry which they use in their wars as also , in times of peace, againstthe inroads of marauders In that part of the country nearest to Scotlandthere are only four great Lords, who keep the marches of England and possess those regions stretchingfrom the eastern to the western seaboard; and these will all be on our side. First there is the Bishop of Durhamcalled in Latin Episcopus Dunelmensisa spiritual and temporal lord, possessed of many acres; and this bishopric His Holiness can give secretly to any Englishman

he pleases: it will be very necessary for our enterprise to do this, not only on account of the large following he will have through thepeople being almost entirely Catholic and devotedto their own trúe Catholic bishop, but it will be necessary also in order to do away with the differences and contentions between the other great English lords of those parts, who would not give way to one another , but would do so willinglyto him. The second lord of importanceon those frontiers is the Earl of Westmorland, who is subject in temporal matters tothe said Bishop of Durham. This Earl is at present in the service ofthe King of Spain in Flanders. The third is the Earl of Northumberland, whose firstborn son is in Paris, a Catholic; and a way can be found , perhaps, to employ the latter in this enterprise His father, who also is a Catholic, is at Court and is expressly forbidden by the Queen to visit his own territory, because she is afraid of him; but a way will be found to have him also with us. The fourth powerfullord of those parts is Lord Dacre, a manof large property andmany retainers. This manis stayingin Flanders, fully prepared to be present with the others in the country when he receives instructions. The vassals and friends of these lords are most insistent in calling for their presence These four lords on returning to the country will be able to raise immediately three or four thousand horsemen apiece, and even more : this was seen to be so when the country rose against the Queen of Englandtwelve years ago, and the Earl of Westmorland alone raised six thousand horsemen, splendidly equipped, within a few days There are also in these borderlands otherCatholiclords, whoare very important persons but less powerful than those already mentioned

When the border counties have been passed, the army will enter a more bounteous country, very fertile and aboundingin every kind of provendereverywhere very devoted to the Catholic faith until they get to London, or very nearly so The large and wealthy cities on the route, such as Newcastle , York, and such like, are full of Catholics and will surrender to the army withoutdrawingthe sword. TheCatholic lords and gentlemen in these counties will nearly all join the army. And we say this, not from guesswork, but having certain knowledge that they will do so, though they will not dare to reveal this to all the world, but only to our priests, who are already scattered about throughout all the counties of the kingdom and will be able to direct the activities of the Catholics, when the time comes, in accordance with the orders they receive .

The means necessary if this enterprise is to attain its end. 1. In the first place we ask for eight thousand infantrymen, or at any ratesix thousandwho are good, experienced men, togetherwith money to pay a further eight thousand home troops for six months, or even four months ,in whichtime, or less, it is hoped to getthe wholebusiness through, once the soldiers have arrived in Scotland For there is no need for them to stay in Scotland, but, as soon as ever the ministers are suppressed, they are to pass on into England, before the Queen can overwhelmthe Catholics or prepare an army. 2. The pretext or excuse for these preparationswhich will be least liable to arouse suspicion in England would seem to be for these soldiers to be in Spain next September as though for service in the Catholic King's wars, and then, at the appointedtime, that is at the end ofSeptember or at latest of October, to go on board and be taken across to Scotlandthrough the western ocean; and it seems likely that this could be done in safety

3. It is necessary also for this expeditionary force to carry with it, in addition to its own arms, armament also for three thousandhome troops, along with some artillery and the other requisites of an undertaking of this nature. As regards the money for their pay, and also for the payment of the Scottish contingent, part of it could be sent with the expeditionary force, part by way of Paris.

4. It is necessary for the enterprise that His Holiness should create a bishop of Durham (alias Dunelmum ). This can be done secretly and a way found, as the time draws near, for him, as well as the Earl of Westmorland and the other banished English lords, to return secretly to Scotland, where they will be placed in private houses in hiding until such time as the expeditionary force from Spain arrives, and then they will forthwith go to their own parts of the country and cause the English to take up arms ready to join the army which is to come from Scotland To do this, however, it will be necessaryto have money in Parisfor the travelling expensesand other necessities of these lords

5. The reason for taking up arms in Scotland can be stated to be the defence ofthe Kingof Scotland's right to the Englishsuccessionagainst the malice alreadymanifested by some of the English, namelythe Earls of Huntingdon and Leicester and their followers , who are seeking by variousmethods to deprivethe Kingnot only of his right to the crown but even of his life itself. This could be published immediately in Scotland by public proclamations , which will be printed andgotready for publication when the time comes: as a result of this the whole of Scotlandwould take up arms andjoin the King. There could also be insertedin theproclamation, ifit seems expedient, somewords attacking the tyranny of the ministers, which has led them into such pride that they cease not to speak injuriously not only of the chief nobility but also ofthe common people of the kingdom; and saying thatthey belong to the faction of the Earls above mentionedwho oppose the King of Scotland and his kingdom.

6. Then , when they get to England, a second reason for the warcould be proclaimed, namely to give effect to the Pope's excommunication of the Queen, and a declaration could be made that she is not the rightful queen, and consequently that all who take up arms on her behalfare guilty of high treason andwill be heldand esteemedas such , if they do not come and join the army of the Queen of Scotland and England before such and such a day, and that they will forfeit not only their lives but also all their possessions , their rights as overlords , as well as their claims by inheritance, and that these will begiven to the nearest to them by blood who makes submission These and similar proclamationscould be made, to suit the conditions atthetime , the different parts of the country and other circumstances. For this purpose it would be very necessary for the army to take with it a printer to carry this into effect.

7. It will also be very necessary for His Holiness to send out again in hisown name the bull ofexcommunicationofthe Queen of England, making it known that, although His Holiness has borne with her so long in expectation of some amendment on her part, yet now, seeing how her tyrannyis everywhere more in evidence, he declares that she is no longer fit to be counted as queen or to be obeyed, but that he orders all to take up arms againsther, under pain of excommunication if they fail to do so, and granting a plenary indulgence to all who , being penitent and having the intention of confessing, shall take up

arms or die in this undertaking on behalf of the faith This will also serve toexplain the fact that up to now the Catholic priests in England have admitted that she is queen because the present Pope has not yet declared the contrary.

8. It will be necessary also to remind His Holiness and His Catholic Majestyto arrange forthe General commanding the army to have some sort of Council of State and Government; this to be formed of a number of the principal men of both the Scotch and English nations, in order to obviatethe differences whichwouldbe liable to arise amongst gentlemen of one andthe same nation Itwill also be necessaryto have some persons specially delegated to represent His Holiness and His Catholic Majesty and the Queen of Scotland , for the same purpose And among them it will be very necessary to have one with special authority of the Church to deal with cases of conscience that occur. 9. There will also be need of some books in the vulgar tongueof Englandsome in order to explain to the people at the critical moment the grounds on which is based the right of excommunicatingheretical princes, and some also to lay bare in detail the deeds of brutality, obscenity , cruelty and villainyperpetratedby the present Queen during the whole course of her reign, and also to make clear to everybody the Queen of Scotland's right to the kingdom of England Some of these pamphlets are already written, though not printed; the others will be written the moment we get a reply from Rome .

The right time for this enterprise and why there is need of such haste and speed

1. The right time for this enterprise is the month of September next, or at latest the month of October, after the harvest in Scotland and England has been gathered, so that the army can be fed from it : if it is not carried out then, it cannot be carried out till a year later, because these two kingdoms do not possess sufficient supplies for an army except at that season. And should it be desired to postpone this undertaking till anotheryear, the following reasons will show that there would be no hope of success :

Firstly, because as time went on it is quite certain that the plan would be discovered Secondly, because the King of Scotland, in the meantime , would be either murderedby his enemies or would take a wife who was a heretic, or, as he grewto maturity, would become more confirmed in heresy, or some great change would come about in Scotland through the agency of England, the young King being now , as it were , balanced between life and death, with the scales readyto dip either to our side or to that of our adversaries Thirdly, the Duke of Lennoxand his friends are practically masters ofthe kingdom, andthat affects us even more than the King himself: a few months hence God knows what will happen; for the Duke remains there at great risk to his own life, both from the ministersand also from the Queen of England and other heretics and enemies he has in Scotland The whole status of Scotlandis at present exposed to danger, and greatand swift changes are expected ; and for this reason not alone the Duke but the Earl of Huntley also and Lord Seton, the moving spirits of this expedition, have made up their minds to leave Scotland and abandonthe King towards the end of the present summer if the enterprise is not carried out. Fourthly, the English Catholics are now in such straits as humanly speaking they will not be able to endure any longer, at anyrate so as to be in a condition to be able to assist this undertaking

in the future; for every day more and more of them are put in prison and deprived of the goods with which they would have been able to assist us , and soon they will all become extremelypoor And therefore there seems no doubt to us that this is the appropriate time to help both these two kingdoms, if God wishes them ever to be helped; now everything is in our favour, the opportunity is excellent , the facility for taking advantage of it such as we can never hope to have again; and the whole undertaking, it seems , could be without risk or any probabledoubt as to its success And so we humbly beg His Holiness and His Catholic Majesty not to let slip this opportunitygiven and arranged by God our Lord, as we hopeto free these two kingdoms from the tyranny of heresy, and thereby to give peace at last to the Church of God and to the Catholic realms in these parts.

PERSONS TO ARCHBISHOP BEATON

. Lisbon, 2 July, 1582.(1)

Printed in Hosack, Mary Queen of Scots and her Accusers, 2nd Edit, ii, 557

Scripsimus vobis ex hoc loco die 25 Junii, quae literae tam vobis quam Alano erant communes, exinde haec acciderunt . Die Martis ultimo,(2) hora nobis constitutaerat, qua regem convenire debebamus, sed eo ipse die incidit in podagram manus vehementem, ex qua coactus fuit mittere sanguinem et excludere omnem audientiam , indies tamen fere aliquid nuntii ab illo accepimusper ejus 145, (3) et nunc convalescente ea promittitur nobis statim audientia, licet tota fere materiajam illi per 145 sit communicata, et videtur bene accepta, quanquam non est expectandum aliquid concludi posse antequam resolutifuerint ex 107,(4)inde nihiladhuc accepimus. Necessarium est ad causam nos frequentes a vobis litteras accipere, sicut nos multum 142(5) sine nostris praetermittemus. Summe consulunt hic ne quicquam in 104(6) praecipitetur ex nimia spe ante tempus Hac hebdomada egrediturex hac parte

(1) At a conference in Paris, at which were present the Nuncio, the Spanish Ambassador , the Duke of Guise, the Archbishop of Glasgow, Allen , Fr. Claude Matthieu , Crichton and Persons, it was decided that Crichton should go to Rome, and Persons to Spain, to present Lennox's proposals , which Crichton had brought back with him from Scotland, to the Pope and Philip II respectively, inorderto gettheirsupport for the impresa. ' Crichton started from Paris soon after May the 22ndthe letterof the Nuncio recommending him to the Cardinal of Como is dated 22 May (Arch. Vat. Nunz di Francia, xv, 477)-and Persons a few days later on May 28 (Tassis to Philip II, 29 May, 1582, Spanish Calendar , p 377) Persons reached Lisbon , where Philip II was staying at the time, on June 15 , 1582 (C.R.S. ii, 30). Cf. Introduction

(2)In 1582 July the 2nd fell on a Monday Last Tuesday' therefore would be June the 26th

(3) Probably the Secretary, Juan d'Idiaquez. The Nuncio in Paris writes in July that he has learnt from the Spanish Ambassadorin Paris that Persons has arrived at Lisbon, but so far has only treated with the King's secretary (Arch. Vat. Nunz. di Francia, xv, 642) Cf. also Como to Nuncio at Paris 3 September , 1582 (Ibid , xvi, 220)

(4) Probably Rome or the Pope

(5) The Duke of Guise may possibly be signified by this number

(6) Probably Scotland

classisregia instructissima (7) Orate pro nobis Ulissipone, 2 Julii. Salutateomnes quos scitis salutandos ex nostra parte. Humillimus Ricardo Millino.

[Addressed] Al Monsig. Revmo Archivescovo di Glasco , Ambassadore per Serenma Regina di Scotia In Pariggi . Recu le xxvi Juillet, 1582 , a Paris.

Translation

PERSONS TO ARCHBISHOP BEATON . Lisbon, 2 July, 1582.(1)

We wrote to you from here on the 25th of July, and that letter was to you and Allen in common. This is what has happened since then: anhour had beenfixedfor us to meet the KingonTuesday last,(2) but on that day he was seized with a severe attack of gout in the hand, which made it necessary for him to be bled and to forego all audiences Nearly every day, however , we have had some message from him through 145,(3) and now that he is convalescent we are promised the audience immediately; though nearly all the matter to be treated in it has already been made known to him by 145 , and seems to have been well received; though it is not to be expected that anything can be concluded untila decision has come from 107(4). From there so far we have had no news It is necessary for our caseto have frequentletters from you, just as we shalldeprive 142(5) of muchnews if we do not write They advise us strongly here not to be rushed into a premature attempt in 104(6) from over-confidence This week the royal fleet is leaving these parts, fully equipped (7) Pray for us. From Lisbon, on the 2nd of July.

Your very humble servant, Ricardo Millino (Persons)

GERARDO BENTIVOGLIO (PERSONS)(1) TO THE NUNCIO IN FRANCE . Lisbon, 16 July, 1582

Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, xv Summary by J. H. Pollen, S.J.

Has written by every post except the last, when companion [Tresham] wrote Business in ' assai buoni termini, ' King favourable and has written to [Taxis] and the Duke of Guise Nothing, however, has been done, because the Pope has not spoken.

WILLIAM GIBBE (PERSONS) TO WATTS OR HOLT . 26 Aug., 1582 .

R. O. Spain (S.P. 94), i, 103, "A letter deciphered " I receyvedyours ofthe 8 of June for aunswer wherof youshall understand first that I wroteto you once before since my beinge

(7) Thefleet under the Marques de SantaCruzthat defeated the Pretender Antonio and the CommanderStrozzi off Terceira July the 26th .

(1) Persons was at Lisbon at this time, and the contents of the note certainly suggest that he was the writer The Cardinal of Como , writing on the subject of the ' impresa' to the Nuncio in Franceon Septemberthe17th , reports that he has had no news from Spain, " my last being 16 July, from Pre Gerardo di Lisboa " (Nunz di Francia, xvi, 201) Cf. Preface

in this place wherin I shewed to you the causes of lettes here touchinge the dispatch of my particulerbusines as first the sicknes of Regis Hispaniæ and after that his Bellum maritimum wherof I know you have heard et de victoria quam habuit cujus mitto ad vos particularia. Et nunc promittunt mihi præsentem expeditionemwherofI hopeyou shall receaveintelligence from me soone after the receipt of theis . I have labored so vehementlie in my particular busines you know of that I am almost woren out both bodyand mynd: infinite overthwartes oflatehave I had andmany tymes have I almost dispayrid the successe. And now agayne am I in hope and that verye shortlie to have good successe

I am sorye yf P. Critonus promysed more in negotio pecuniario then he hath perfourmidor could perfourme for that the matter dependid of other mens will to perfourme the same or not and that poynt I hope he protested otherwise suerlye he should have bene much overseen in makinge promyse absolutelie of himself I have labored most earnestlie for the perfourmaunce of that poyntebyRegeHispaniæ Iamputtin hope that I shallfiynallie obteyne yt to your frendes contentacion howsoever the other matter be concludid or no. And so I prayyou to signifyeto them from me.

Ther was an advise came hither by me that your frendes cogitabant de abducendo Rege extra Scotiam It mislyked much all men here espicyallie Regi Hispaniæ who is flatt of opinion that ifthat fall out whichway so ever it be or to what sydesoever it fall singuler inconvenience will ensewe therof to there great displeasor and hurt and therforin no wayes to be thought uppon.

Touching your particuler I will write more at large to you hereafter and that shortlie I hope, as sone as ever I see th'end ofmymatter that I now stay upon Commend me mosthumbly and hartely to your freend there. I wryte not this time to good Mr Murveill ... * and extreme multitude of busynes which I have how excedinglie we are beholding to him which I let not to make our freendes here to understand Comend me a thousand tymes to him and all his. 26 August. You knowfrom whence and from whom.

I have thought good to send you herewithall a copie of the late victorieoftheSpanyardesin the ocean sea . Alltheiscountries of Henolt are now full of them.

[Endorsed]-Aug 1582

Copy of the lettre discyphered and founde with William Holt. This was sentt from William Gibbe in Spayne to William Brereton (1) alias Wattes as William Holtaffirmeth .

(1) Father Holt when arrested was also passing under the name of Brereton Cf. Bowes, Correspondence , Surtees Society, 1842, p 373

THE NUNCIO IN SPAIN TO THE CARDINAL OF COMO , MADRID . 30/20 October, 1582.

Arch.Vat. Nunz di Spagna 28, f 198. Printed in Kretzschmar , op. cit., p. 156 .

Il padre giesuita, ch' andò a Lisbona a trattare con Sua Maestà il negotio, del quale Nostro Signore li scrisse di propria mano , tornò hieri a Madrid e partirà dimane Sua Maestà li comise, che nel passare parlassecon me, et in somma mi dice quasi il medesimo ch' io intesi del signor cardinale Granvela M'ha lasciato un longo memoriale latino, nel quale da conto della sua negotiatione in Lisbona Io l'ho ridotto in compendio in volgare, et è in zifra nell' alligato foglio.

[Persons's Report, summarised by the Nuncio.]

Dovendo io partirda Madridper tornarin Inghilterra hovoluto dar conto a Sua Stà di quello che ho trattato nel negotio che me è stato commesso . Essendo venuto a Lisbona et havendo proposto al re cattolico per mezo del secretario Idiaqueztutto il negotio, per il quale fui mandato dal duca di Lenox, mi fu risposto la voluntà disua Maestàesser prontissima, ma non si poterfaralcuna risolutione , sinchè non si sapesse quanti denari volesse contribuire Nostro Signore, non potendo Sua Maestà sola portar questo peso. Dopo due mesi vennero lettere di Sua Santità, et offerendo solamente 50,000 scudi, quali anco si havevano da cavar di Spagna, dove tutta la spesa dela impresa importa circa 400,000, ne fu sentito grandissimo dispiacere, maxime havendo Sua Santitàaltre voltein simile occasione offerto molto più Io al' incontro dicevo non si dover perder di animo per questa prima offerta di sua Santità, anzi doversi presumere, che haverebbe contribuito molto più ogni volta che Sua Maestà abbracciassel'impresa Dipoi non ho più inteso altro, se non che la risolutionesi differiva per aspettare il successo del' armata (1) et per intender meglio la voluntà di Sua Santità Finalmente essendo venuta la nuova dela prigionia del re di Scotia,(2) sua Maestà mi licentiò promettendo due cose , l'una di mantener la buona voluntà che haverà di attendere a questo negotio in tutte le occasioni che si offerissero, mentre Nostro Signore non mancasse de la banda sua, l'altra che mandarebbe subito 10000 scudi al duca di Lenox per mezo delo ambasciatore residente in Francia et del duca di Guisa, mentre le cose di Scotia fussero in termine che questi denari fussero utili ò necessarii. Io feci molte volte grandissima instanza, acciò non si perdesse la presente occasione , ne si abandonasserotanti signori cattoliciquali mi havevano mandato, atteso che Sua Stà quando si venisse al' essecutionenon haverebbe mancato dala banda sua, ma sempre quando arrivano a questo passo, mi si dimandava se havevo auttorità da Sua Stà o dal suo nuntio di prometter questo Io risposi di no, ma ben ero certo, che Sua Sta non haverebbe man(1) The fleet that defeatedStrozzi, July the 26th, 1582, off Terceira. (2) At the Raid of Ruthven August the22nd, 1582

cato in un negotio sì grave di quelli aiuti, che ha dati in cosedi minor importanza, che poi dispiacerebbe solamente quando fusse passata questa occasione il non haver accettatala.

Il resto del memoriale datomi dal padre giesuita contiene molte essagerationi del bisogno grande de cattolici di quel regno, la ruina notabile che ne succederà , con molte preghiere, acciò io rappresenti tutto questo a Sua Stà et la supplichi a voler con la borsa et con l'auttorità aiutare l'impresa. Di Parigi scriverà particolarmente quel più, che troverà in quella corte. Io gli ho fatto bonissimo animo et promissoli larghissimamente che Sua Stà non mancherà in tutti li modi possibili di abbracciar et promovere l'impresa con tutte le forze et auttorità sua.

Translation .

THE

NUNCIOIN SPAIN TO THE CARDINAL OF COMO . 30/20 Oct., 1582

The Jesuit father who went to Lisbon to treat with His Majesty in the affair, about which Our Lord the Pope wrote to him in his own hand, returned yesterday to Madrid and will leave tomorrow. His Majesty instructed him to have speech with me, as he passed through, and on the whole he tells me much the same as I had heard from CardinalGranvelle. He has left me a long memorial in Latinin which he gives me an account of his negotiations in Lisbon I have made a summaryofit in the vernacular, and this is in cipheron the enclosed sheet

Persons's Report (summarised by the Nuncio).

As I have to leave Madrid to return to England, I wished to give His Holiness an account of my negotiationsin the matter entrusted to me . Having arrived at Lisbon, through his SecretaryIdeaquez I put before the CatholicKing thewholematter whichhad beenentrusted to me by the Duke of Lennox, and received the answer thatthe King's goodwill was most pronounced, but that no decision could be arrived at until he knew how much money Our Lord the Pope would contribute, as HisMajesty could not supportthe burdenalone Twomonths later His Holiness's letter arrivedand, as this offered only 50,000crowns , and this too would have to be extractedfrom Spain, whereas the whole cost of the enterprise amounts to about 400,000, it caused extreme displeasure, especially as His Holiness had on other similar occasions offered much more I maintainedon the contrary that there was no cause for discouragement at this first offer of His Holiness: indeed it was to be assumed that he would have contributed muchmorelargely once HisMajestyhad givenhis adherence to the enterprise Afterthat Iheardnothing moreexcept that a decision was being deferred pending the result ofthe expedition(1) and further information as to what His Holiness was willing to do. Finally, when news came of the imprisonment ofthe King of Scotland,(2) His Majesty dismissed me with two promises: firstly, that he would persist in his present goodwill and give his support to this affair on every occasion that offered, so long as Our Lord the Pope did not fail on his part; secondly, that hewould send 10,000 crowns at once to the Duke of Lennox through the Ambassador residentin France and the Duke of Guise, as long as Scotland

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS

, S.J. 171

was in such a condition as to make the money useful and necessary . Imade mosturgentrepresentations on manyoccasionsthat they should not lose the present opportunity or fail the great Catholic Lords who had sent me , inasmuch as His Holiness, when it came to the point, would not have been wanting on his side . But always when we came to this stage I was asked whether I had His Holiness's authorityor that ofhis Nuncioto promise this I answered that I had not, butthat I was quite sure that His Holiness would not have failed to give in so grave an affair those aids which he had given in matters of minor importance, and that later on, when this opportunity had passed, he would be displeased only that advantage had not been taken of it

The remainder of the memorial given me by the Jesuit father containsamuchexaggerated account of the greatneedsoftheCatholics in that kingdom and of the great ruin that will result in consequence, accompanied by manyprayers to me torepresent all this to His Holiness and to beghim to help the enterprise with his purse and his authority He will write from Paris details of anything further he discovers in the Court there. I have given him every encouragement and made him copious promises that His Holiness will not fail in all possible ways to favour and promote the enterprise with all his resources and authority.

PERSONS TO ?

Ognate, 16 Jan. , 1583 .

Arch S.J. Rom ., Ang Hist , ix, Sec B, f 21. Summaries (1) in C.R.S. ix, 100. Printed

Eraquasi guarito (2) Per ignoranza del medico non ben purgato divenne itterico, e vescino ad etico consunto e vivendofraseculari malenconico Venne da Ognate a Bilbao (x leghe incirca lontano) un fratello a cercarlo e invitarlo ad Ognate Carità del Padre Egidio Gonzales(3) che saputolo scrive subito al Provincialedoversi soccorriere Senza questo havea pochi di' a morire in Bilbao , medico ignorante a ogni disagio

Sono cinque di che è in Ognate ed e messo resuscitato, essendovi giunto messo morto, e portato dell'allegressa più che dalle forze . In Bilbao era stato più di x settimani.

(1) This is the old reference . Unfortunately when inspectingthearchives I omitted to takethe more modern, and rather than delay (in obtaining the latter by correspondence ), owing to the difficulties of war, have thought better to leave it.

(2) Persons, as already stated, arrived at Lisbon on June the 16th, 1582. He stayed there until towards the end of September , when he started on his return journey to France (PhilipII to Mendoza , 24 September , 1582 , Spanish Calendar , p 401) At Bilbao, however, he was taken seriouslyill He was eventually found there by the Jesuit brother whom the Provincial had sent to look for him, and was then removed to Oñate, where the Society had a College. There he passed the spring of 1583, slowly recuperating. Cf. his Autobiography , and his Punti (C.R.S. ii, 31, and iv, 63 and 93)

(3) Gil Gonzales Davila, one of the most distinguished Spanish Jesuits of the time . He had been assistant to the General , Fr. Everard Mercurian , and Persons probably had already made his acquaintancewhen in Rome. For Gil Gonzálas Dávila cf. A. Astrain, S.J. , Historia de la Compañia de Jesus de la Asistenciade España, ii passim, and iii, especiallypp 626-629

PERSONS TO ?

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

Translation . Oñate, 16 Jan., 1583

He was almost cured,(2) but owing to the ignorance of the doctor he was not properly purgedand became jaundiced; he was almost like a worn-out consumptive, and was living a melancholy life among seculars . A lay-brother came from Oñate to Bilbao to look for him and to invite him to Oñate This was due to the charity of Fr. Egidio Gonzales,(3) who, on hearing abouthim, wrote at once to the Provincial saying help must be sent him. Failing that he would have died at Bilbaoin a few days,where thedoctorwas incompetentfor anysickness

He has nowbeen at Oñate for five days and is half-way to recovery , after arriving half dead: his progress is due to joy rather than to any strength he has. He had been in Bilbao more than ten weeks

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA .

Paris, 11 July, 1583.

Arch S.J. Rom , Ang Hist , ix, Sec B, f 21. Summaries Printed in C.R.S. ix, 102

Personio Parigi 11 Julii al Generale

Vi giunte brevi da Roan, dove è stato 8 die, ed ha conchiuse molte cose quanto al giovare di concerto l'Inghilterracon Alano.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA

Translation.

Paris, 11 July, 1583

Has just arrived here from Rouen, where he stopped for eight days; and has reached agreement with Allen on many matters for assisting England in concert with him .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI.

Paris, 24 August, 1583

Arch S.J. Rom Anglia, 30.1, f 287v A contemporary copy. Other contemporary copies are to be found in Arch .Vat. Polonia, XVB, I. 296 (olim f. 286), and in Bibl Vat Lat 12064, f. 526 (olimMiscellaneaArm x, n 89). Grenecopiedthe letter in his Collectanea P , f. 278, and it is also quoted by More, p 123, and by Bartoli, p 257 ff

Admodum Reverende in Christo Pater

Jam antea intellexisse Vestram

Reverentiam arbitror, superiorum me jussu his in locis ad tempus fuisse, cum propternegotia quaedam commodius expedienda, tum etiam ne mea praesentia inimicis odiosissima, amicis gravioris causa pressurae existat (1) Id enim sentiebant catholici plerique cedendum esse aliquantulum tempori, nec tam voluntati meae

(1)As it has been pointed out above, Persons's departure from England and his stay in Francehad been kept secret ; and though it was atthetime intended that he should return to the mission, the Generalas he himself declares in a letter to Persons 8 November, 1582 (Arch S.J. Rom . , Gall Epp. Gen., f. 137)-soonforesawthat it would be out ofthe question. For Persons to go would be tantamount to handing himself over to the Elizabethan Government, since the search for him beingso keen, once in Englandhecould not hope to elude its emissaries for long (Aquaviva to Persons , 19 March , 1582; Ibid , f 134v.). His presence, too, in England, would have been a source of the greatest danger to anyone who received him This, indeed, after thepenal statute of 1585 , was to be the common lot of any Jesuit or

satisfaciendum esse, proprioque desiderio, quam rei ipsi causaeque universalis emolumento serviendum Cum ergo nuper in Anglia res essent perturbatissimae furiosa quadam haereticorum violentia, qua etiam tantum praevalebant ut media quaedam nostra et instrumenta praecipua, quibus causa Dei promovebatur interciperent, eoque processisset furoris aestus ut omnia susque deque verterent , mei unius quaerendi causa (quod praeter molestiam quam omnibus inferebat , fuit etiam meis fratribus, et compresbiteris periculosum, qui saepissime capiebantur dum ego quaererer) visum fuit in has partes vicinas ad tempus recipere, ubi cum aliis minus molestus et periculosus, tum causae vel aequenecessarius , vel utilior esse possem Itaque ea sum hic modo conditione ut licet in Anglia non sim, Anglicana tamen cogito, tractoque quotidie, nihilquemagis vel expeto vel expecto quam ut quamprimum mihi liceat per eorum bonam veniamin Angliam reverti, quorum hic vel desiderio judicioque, vel imperio retineor. Interim tamen cursum nostrum prosequimur ex his locis, nec unquam mirabilior quam modo proventus Vix est credibile quod narrant nostri de augmento catholicorum hoc ultimo anno posteaquam libros quosdam legerint derebus spiritualibusscriptos,(2) sacrasque scripturas

Seminary priest ordained beyond the seas by the authority of the Pope; but up to that time it was not so Persons, however, was already in that position bythe end of 1581; for he , together with Allen, had been declared a rebeland a traitor, and in consequence, anyone in England who sheltered or conversed with himas Mendoza , the Spanish Ambassadorpointed out would have been liable to the penalty of death (Mendoza to Philip II, 11 December , 1581; Spanish Calendar, p 236. Cf. also Allen's letter of 14 December , 1581 , giving a catalogue of thosedeclared traitors 1 November. The first was Allen, then Persons, Campion, etc. (Arch S.J. Rom Anglia, 38.11.64) ) Later, the General hoped that once his absence from England was known , the fury of the persecution might be somewhat mitigateda vain hope, as the event proved it to be (Aquaviva to Persons, 5 December , 1582; Arch S.J. Rom , Gall Epp Gen., f. 138, and to Allen of the same date (C.R.S. ix, 89) ) For similar reasons the General , later, would on no account allow Persons to go to Scotland (Aquaviva to Persons, 3 July, 1584; Ibid., f. 53v .). As a matter offact, Persons's presence at Rouenwas reported by a spy to the Governmenton April 19 , 1582. This, of course , was unknown to the General , and having consulted with the Pope on the matter, he still hesitated to allow Persons to make his presence in France known, fearing, as he states, " ne V.R. iis qui parum ejus consilia intelligeret, fortasse videretur, cum alios in aciem produxerat, se ipsum in tutum recipere " (Aquaviva to Persons , 5 December , 1582 , ut supra). As Allen and Persons were in a better position to judge of this, he left the decision in theirhands Itis clear, however, from Allen's letters to Agazzari that the latter had been informed of Persons's departure from England before Persons wrote the above letter. Cf. Allen toAgazzari, 30 December , 1582 , 16 Marchand 23 April, 1583 (Knox, Allen, pp 173, 184, 189)

(2) Of the books of this kind written these years and sent into England, the following deserve particular mention: (1) Richard Hopkins's book on Prayer and Meditationa translation from the Spanish of a work of Louis of Granada, 1582a copy of which Hopkins sent to Walsingham (Hopkins to Walsingham, 11 August, 1583 , R.O. Dom Eliz CLV, n. 10). Some months later a spy reported to Walsingham that a thousand copies of the work were to be sent to England (ibid , CLXXV, n 74) Cf. also Maria Hagerdorn, Reformation und Spanische Andachtliteratur , Louis de Granada in England, Leipzig, 1934, p 30 ff ) (2) The new edition of LaurenceVaux's Catechism ,

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

catholice in nostrum idioma conversaset interpretatas .(3) Audivi viros prudentes vehementer affirmasse, existimare se catholicos essemodo duplo plures in Anglia quam ante annum unum fuerint Quod quam sit probabile, ex hoc uno conjici poterit, quod ex duobus sacerdotibus recenter huc ex Anglia negotiorum causa missis , alter eorum testatus nobis est, se quattuor sacerdotes cognoscere, qui in una sola Provincia (quae Hamptonia dicitur) plus quam quadringentos homines reduxerint ad Ecclesiae gremium post ultimum Festum Paschatis

Hinc est, quod quamvis indies ex seminariis multi in Angliam ingrediantur sacerdotes , tamen adhuc queruntur in Provinciis particularibusdeesse sacerdotes , precipue autem plures de Societate petunt , de qua re ad R.P. Nostrum Generalem et Doctor Alanus et ego jam scripsimus, et insuper rogamus Vestram R. ut in hac petitione nostra nos adjuvet(4)

Sex illi ultimimartyres , hoc est Kirkman, Lacy, Hart,Tomson, Thirkal(5) et Laborn ,(6) qui superioribus his mensibus Eboraci sunt 1583 , which was soon sold out, 300 copies going to the North of England (Vaux to Coppage 21 August, 1583, ibid , CLXXII, n 14) This edition was reprinted by T. G. Law for the Chetham Society, 1885. (3), and not least , the first edition of Persons's Christian Directory, under the title " The first Book of the Christian Exercise pertaininge to Resolution, " 1582 , which was read by Catholics and Protestants alike (P.H. to Walsingham, 1584, ibid., CLXVIII, n 31), was plagiarised and decatholicised by E. Bunny and, accordingto Birkhead, bore immense fruit' (Birkhead to Agazzari13 August, 1584, C.R.S. iv, 155. Cf. also H. Thurston, "CatholicWriters and Elizabethan Readers , " The Month, December 1594, p 457 ff. , and Maria Hagerdorn, op. cit, p 110 ff.). A detailed and chronologicalstudy of English Catholic literature of the days of persecution would be a welcome and much needed addition to Gillow's Bibliography.

(3) The translation ofthe Bible intoEnglish was begunby GregoryMartin in October, 1578, and completedin September , 1580. Owing to lack offunds , however, it could not be printed Persons states that one reason for his leaving England was to hasten the publication of the New Testament , for which purpose he took over with him 1,000 crowns (Punti, C.R.S. iv, 29) The printing of it was in fact completed in February, 1582, and soon after that date references to it are to be found in the State Papers (John Rainolds to Walsingham, 25 June, 1582, R.O. Dom. Eliz. CLIV, n. 48. Cf. alsoAllen toAgazzari, 16 March, 1582Knox, Allen, p. 183). Cartwright was appointed to answer it in July, receiving £100 a year for the task (R.O. Dom . Eliz. CLIV, n 48) Aboutthe same time there appeared G. Martin's A Discoverie of the Manifold Corruptions by the heretics of the H. Scripture, Rheims, 1582 . Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J. , " Translating the Bible into English at Rheims , " The Month, August, 1922, p 141 ff

(4) Cf. Persons, Punti , C.R.S. iv, 109, and Allen to Agazzari 30 December , 1582 , 29 March, 1583 (Knox, Allen, pp 173, 186), and 10 October , 1583 (C.R.S. ix, 93)

(5) William Lacyand Richard Kirkhamwere martyred August the22nd , 1582; James ThompsonNovember the 28thof the same year, and William Hart and Richard Thirkheld May the 29th, 1583. All these priests suffered at York. They were beatified December the 15th , 1929 .

(6) James Layburn of Skelsmergh , Westmorland, a layman, was hanged, drawn and quartered March the 22nd , 1583. His name was omitted by Challonerin his MemoirsofMissionary Priests" because his casewasdifferent from that of all other Catholics who suffered at those times; for bothat his arraignment and at his death he deniedthe Queen to be his lawfulsovereign

175

passi , mirabiledederunt fidei incrementum , post quorum gloriosissimas mortes non est tantum in corpora, vitasque hominum saevitum, quam solebat, sed in bona fortunas, possessionesque catholicorum multo crudelius quam unquam.(7) Sacerdotes capti non ita torquentur equuleo, aut occiduntur ut antea, sed tenentur solum inclusi , quo fit ut inclusorum numerus vehementer sit auctus in multis carceribus, v.g. in carcere Hullensi sunt triginta, in castro Equitis Martii Londini sunt 26 sacerdotes , qui juvante Deo quotidie fere uno vel alio artificio sacrum faciunt omnes, atque summa Dei providentiasane fit ut isti sacerdotescarceribus inclusi, utiliores nobis nonnunquam sint quam si essent liberi. ad hos enim (cum certi constantesquein eodem loco sint) multi possunt accedere, qui alios sacerdotes reperire non possunt Deinde etiam cum Londini semper sint, vel in aliis magnis civitatibus, aptiores sunt ad transigenda negotia in illis civitatibus quam alii qui vel tot amicos in illis locis non habent, vel si habent, uti illis tam audacter non praesumunt quam jam incarcerati , ne incidant in pericula, quae incarceratijam amplius non timent Praetereacum juventus Anglicana propter haeresis licentiam in multa vitia et peccata incurrat, propterquae non raro a magistratuin carceres conjiciatur, mirum est quantumboni capiuntex consuetudine et conversatione cum presbiteris (8) plus enim saepe ex illa schola unius mensis spatio ediscunt virtutis, moderationis atque disciplinae, quam multis annis in libertate didicissent.

His de causis et aliis adversarii nostri non tam libenter modo capiunt sacerdotes, imo existimatur, quod vellent omnes liberos si honesteet cum honore suo potuissent illos carceribus extrudere : propter quam causam irasci solent jam haeretici cum aliqui se facile sacerdotes fatentur Sic fuit nuper Lomaxius vester secreto reprehensusa magistratu, quod comprehensusin portu, ad primam magistratus vocem simpliciter est fassus se esse presbyterum, ex qua ejus non necessaria confessione coacti fuerunt carceribus illum mandare (9)

Demultitudinejuvenum, qui quotidieadnos exUniversitatibus Anglicanis aliisque bonisscholis confugiunt , non est opusorationem longam texere jam scio audistis ex litteris D. Alani, et sentietis efficacius ex illo magno numero aptissimorum scholarium , qui hac missione ad vos veniunt, quorum nonnulli recenter ex Anglia venerunt , et gradus literarios in Universitatibusreceperunt, sta-

as we learn from Cardinal Allen and other contemporary writers" Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., Acts of the English Martyrs, London, 1891, p. 212 ff., wherehe argues in favour of his being considered a martyr; and C.R.S. v, 66 , where the same author gives his revised opinion in the contrary sense Cf. also Birkhead to Agazzari 24 April, 1583 (Knox, Douay Diaries, p. 353)

(7)Allenmakes the same observation in his letters to Agazzari27 September, 1582, and 8 August, 1583 (Knox, Allen, pp 165, 202)

(8) Cf. Allen to Agazzari, 14 March, 1583 (ibid, p 181)

(9) Barret reports the capture of James Lomax in his letter to Agazzari, 11 August, 1583 (Knox, Douay Diaries, p 332), and in a letterto the same , 21 February, 1584, states that he has died in prison (Stonyhurst, Anglia VI, n 6, p 27),

tumque rerum Anglicarum abundantissime et facetissime vobis narrabunt hoc tantum dicam, numerum huc adventantium esse tam magnum, ut licet gaudii materiam spemque magnam praebeat, quod Deus tot, talesque sua gratia ex Sodoma ejiciat: tamen ita D. Alanum sumptibus opprimunt, partim qui Rhemis degunt, partim qui iter ad vos suscipiunt , ut nisi Deus mirabiliter juvet, nullo modo perferri tanti sumptus poterunt huc etiam accedit, quod indies fere ex Anglia nobiles quidam viri diffugiunt cum uxoribuset liberis, ut crudelissimum impetumpersecutionis vitent, qui omnes ad Alani auxilium tamquam ad communem patrem recurrunt, ex quo existimareV.R. possit quantothesauro illi viro opus esset ad tam multas et varias expensas sustinendas (10) Puritanorum furor tantus esse jam caepit contra Calvinistas in Anglia ut ipsi Calvinistae aliquanto mitius nobiscum agere cogantur . res enim plane ad arma spectare videtur, nisi quod timeamus, omnem vim Calvinistarum cito transituram in factionem Puritanorum, qui nobis multo immaniores sunt hostesquam Calvinistae Audistis opinor de tribus libris recenter editis a Puritanis contra Reginam et omnes Calvinistas (quos libros hic habemus) et eorum postremus, cujus titulus est, Postulatio reformationis sinedilatione, ' penitus rebellionem manifestam minatur.(11) propter quem librum strangularuntnuper in publico duos puritanos in Provincia Suffolciae cum ingenti murmuratione reliquorum omnium ejusdem sectae (12) Catholici ex alia parte dimicant fortiter pro sua fide queruntur enim cum libris, tum etiam scriptis et sermone, se solos plecti et vexari , cum boni et fideles subditi sint, puritanos vero qui manifestos se produnt Reginae inimicos, liberos esse ab omni vexatione . hoc Regni conciliarii audiunt, sed dissimulant tamen, quia maxima ex parte et ipsi puritani sunt, vellent nihilominus libenter nonnullos Catholicos liberari si possentaliquopraetextubono, salvo honoresuo,maxime omnium si Catholici vellentinrealiquavel minimaillis conformari . Unde nuperrime obtulerunt hanc conditionem viro cuidam perno-

(10) The numbers coming to Rheims and the increasing burden in consequence on the finances of the seminary are topics frequently mentioned inAllen's letters of the period Cf. Knox, Allen, pp. 167, 168 , 180, 184 , 196 , 200, 203, and 210 .

(11) A Treatise of Reformationwithouttarying, etc. , Middleburgh, 1582 , by Robert Browne, the separatistPuritan Theother two books to which Persons refers may be A Book which Sheweththe life and manners of alltrue Christians and A Treatise upon the 23 of Matthewe , etc. , by the same author, both of which appeared in 1582. Mendoza reports the increase of Puritanism in his letter to Philip II, 16 July, 1583 (Spanish Calendar , p 496)

(12) The three separatist Puritans, Thomas Gibson, Elias Thacker and John Coppingwere tried for spreadingcertain seditiousbooks of Browne and Harrison Gibson at the trial admitted the Queen's ecclesiastical supremacy and was reprieved Thacker and Copping would only recognise her civil supremacy and were condemned to be hanged The sentence was carried out at Bury St. Edmunds, on Thacker June the 4th, and on Copping June the 6th, 1583. A number of Browne and Harrison's books were burnt publicly beforetheexecutions Cf. Strype, Annals III, i, 269. For the views of Browne and his followers cf. J. W. Allen, Political Thought in the Sixteenth Century, London, 1928, p 225 ff

bili docto et prudenti, quem jamdiu pessime omnium tractaverant, videlicet se illumstatim liberaturoscarcere, omnesquepecuniarias mulctationes (quae erant gravissimae) remissuros, si unam illis solam rem promitteret, quam cum ille peteret quaenamesset , non est inquiunt illi , ut abjures pontificem, vel ut adecclesiam nostram venias, hoc enim scimus te non facturum , sed tantum Regina vult ut promittas te nullum Jesuitam aut presbiterum ex recentioribus quos seminaria illa proditoria Pontificis huc emittunt, te [sic] esse domo tua recepturum. Quibus ille, si aliquem, inquit, mihi ex Societate, vel ex illis Seminariis designaveritis, qui proditionem aliquam in patriam fecerit, aut aliquod aliud delictum , ob quod hostis reipublicae jure dici aut haberi debeat, ego illum domo mea non recipiam, sed in genere ut ego promittam me illos omnes viros domo mea exclusurum, quos mihi mea religio tamquam praecipuos Dei servos proponit, facere non possum, nec audeo, etiamsi summum mihi mortis periculuminstaret, ne gravem in me divinijudiciiiracundiam excitarem Quo responsolicet primo irati, posteatamen ita sunt commoti , ut illum virum nobilissimum aequiore multo conditione carcere laxarentlicet omnino illum non liberarent. Hujusmodi responsamulta Catholicorum praetereo

Hoc unum tamen praeterire non possum de casu quodam conscientiae infra biduumad me allato, dequodam ex vestris Romanis sacerdotibus, qui modo in Castro Londinensi detinetur. Venit enim ad illum superiori hoc mense ministerquidam haereticus ,ut conferret de controversiis in religione, cumque parumapudillum proficeret, petit minister cum magno furorean Regina esset caput EcclesiaeAnglicanae, cui sacerdos, qua inquit autoritate hoc a me petis ? Legeenim cautum est ut quiaresponsioad hanc petitionem capitalis est , nemo possit hoc a quoquam petere nisi ex manifesta authoritateReginae scripto data. Petiit ergo sacerdos quaauthoritate etc. Ad quod minister, si tu verus esses Christi servus, nunquam peteres qua authoritate, sed simpliciter profitereris religionem tuam coram quocumque petenti Quavoce accensus Sacerdos respondit, tu ne mihi timorem objicis in causa Dei haeretice? Ego affirmo igitur, reginam nec esse , nec esse posse, ecclesiae Anglicanae caput. Quis ergo est caput inquit minister? Pontifex Romanus, respondit alter. Heu proditor exclamavitminister , tu hoc dicis quia vides hic non adesseidoneostestes, qui te convincant tuorum verborum . Non ideo dico respondit sacerdos , sed ut a te provocatus fidem meam profitear Si ita est inquit haereticus, scribe haec eadem verba Non est mihi charta vel atramentum inquit servus Dei, sed prout scribere possum scribam. Et arrepto carbone scripsit super ostium suum in presentia ministriet sui custodis haec verba Gregorius XIII est Caput EcclesiaeAnglicanae, et Universalis , cui tam Elisabetha regina quam reliquus mundus universus subjici debent si salvari volunt. His verbis scriptis et lectis decessit Minister et custos carceris, et sacerdos per multos dies postea mortem semperexpectavit, sed nunccum nihil fere ad mensem de ea re audierit, nonnulli Catholici persuadent illi ut deleat illa verba de ostio suo ne irritare videatur sua M

sponte adversarios; satis diu jam apparuisse in ostio suae fidei confessionem . Ille contra hoc non audet facere, nec verba expungere, ne videatur hoc ex timore facere, et ne scandalizet illos qui illa verba in ostio suo legerunt, maxime verum custodem suum , quem ejus confessioconstans meliorem facere jam coepit Itaque adhuc remanent ea verba descripta in ostio, et nunc sacerdos petit consilium, an salva conscientia delere illa possit Haec habui ex ipsius Sacerdotis proprio chryographo (13)

Possem esse longior nisi chartae penuria me restringeret. hic ergo sit finis. Vestra reverentia videt quantum indigeamus vestris precibus et auxiliis ad perseverantiam in hoc tanto opere. Orate ergo Deum, orate etiam Suam Sanctitatem , illustrissimumque Protectorem , caeterosque dominos et patronas nostros , ut nobis propitii esse velint deinde etiam emittite nobis idoneos operarios, qui strenue jugum Christi promoveant . Certissima tandem futura est victoria, licet differatur, et licet acquisitio ejus sit laboriosa et sanguinolenta Salutatvos omnes Birkettus(14) vester , qui nuper hic mecum fuit Et salutet queso Vestra Reverentia amicos nostros omnes, nominatim vero Reverendissimum Dominum Episcopum Asaphensem, totamque Societatem nostram , Collegiumque vestrum, cui dominus suam gratiam semper conservet, augeatque. Vale mi amantissime suavissimequepater. Parisiis 24 Augusti 1583 . Vestrae Reverentiae indignus filius, Robertus Parsonius.

Translation

PERSONS TO THE RECTOR OF THE ENGLISH COLLEGE , ROME . Paris, 24 Aug., 1583

The copy of a letter of Fr. Robert Persons to the Rector of the English College, Rome, given at Paris 24 Aug., 1583 .

Very Reverend Father in Christ, I think your Reverence has heard before this, that by order of my superiors I have been for a time in these parts, firstly in order that I might with more convenience attend to certain business, and secondly so that my presence (in England), most hateful to our enemies, might not be the occasion of greater pressure on our friends (1) For this was the view of most Catholics , that we must yield a little to the necessity of the times, and have regard to the real advantage of the cause as a whole rather than give satisfactionto myown inclinationnay, my earnest desire. For oflate there had been a great uproar in England, with fury and violence on the part of the heretics. By this they so far succeeded as to capture sundry intermediariesand principal instruments of ours wherebythe cause of God was being promoted, and their rage and frenzy had gone to such lengthsthat they were turning everything upside downfor the

(13) The priest referred to was Ed George Haydock, who eventually suffered at Tyburn the 12th of February, 1584.

(14) George Birkhead, who later became Archpriest. Cf. Allen to Agazzari, 8 August, 1583 (Knox, Allen, p 202), and Barret to Agazzari, 11 August, 1583 (Knox,Douay Diaries, p 332). The copy of this letterof Persons (Arch Yat Polonia XVB) ends at hic mecum fuit'

sole purpose of searching for me. This not only brought trouble on everyone, but was dangerous to my brothers in religion and to my fellow priests, for very often it was they who were captured, though the search was for me For this reason it seemed well that I should retire for the time being to this neighbouringcountry, where I should be a source of less trouble and danger to others and at the same time equally helpful and necessary to the cause, or perhaps more so And so here I am at present, under such conditions that though not in England , yet I am planning and dealing with English matters every day; and I ask and anticipate nothing morethan, as soon as may be , to be allowed to return to England by the indulgence of those whose wishes and judgment or whose orders keep me here Meanwhilewe pursue our course from this place, and never was therea more wonderful harvest Scarcely credible are the reports of our Fathers as to the increaseofCatholics in the lastyear, afterthey had read certainspiritual books(2) and the holy scriptures , which have been translatedinto our language in the Catholic sense and with explanations (3) I haveheard that prudentmen firmlymaintain theopinionthat Catholics in England are now twice as many as they were one year ago. How probable this is may be gauged from this single incident: two priests were sent here from England recently on business , and of them one declared to us that he knew of four priests, who in one single county (Hampshire by name) since last Easter had brought back to the bosom of the church upwards of four hundred persons

This is why, though many priests from the seminaries day by day are entering England, yet still complaints are made of the lack of priests in particular counties They ask above all for more of the Society , and about this both Dr. Allen and I have alreadywrittento Fr. General. We also beg your Reverence to give your support to this petition of ours.(4)

Those lastsix martyrs,thatisto say, Kirkman, Lacy, Hart, Thompson , Thirkheld,(5) and Layburn,(6) who have suffered during these last monthsat York, gave a wonderful impetusto the faith, and after their most glorious deaths there has not been the same rage as before vented on the bodies and lives of men, though on the goods, fortunes, and properties of Catholics it has been much more pronounced than ever before.(7) Priests when capturedare not tortured on the rack orkilled as they were before, but are only kept prisoners; whence it comes about that the number of prisoners has vastly increased in many prisons: for instance in the prison at Hull there are thirty priests, in the Marshalsea in London twenty-six All these by the help of God nearly every day by some ruse or other say Mass; and in fact by the supreme providence of God it happens that these very priestswho are shut up in prisons are sometimes of more use to us there than ifthey were at liberty . For these men, being always definitely in the same place, make possible the visits of many people who are unable to discover the whereabouts of other priests Moreover , as they are always in London or other big cities, they are better able to dealwith business in those cities than other priests who either have fewerfriends in those parts or, havingthem, do not presume to make use of them with the same boldness as those who are alreadyin prison do,forfear of exposing themselves to danger This the imprisoned priests no longer fear Besides this, owing to the loose habits engendered by heresy, the youth of England fall into many faults and crimes , for which notseldom they are cast into prison by the Magistrates , and it

is wonderfulwhat benefit they receive from familiar intercoursewith the priests(8) Nay, often in the space of one month in that school they learn more virtue, self control, and habits of disciplinethan they had learnt in many years whilst at liberty.

For this and other reasons our opponents are not so anxious now to capture priests : indeed it is thought that they would prefer them all at large if they could get them out of prison decently and without loss to their own prestige: and so nowadays the heretics are usually annoyed if any priests give themselves away easily This was the case lately with Lomax, one of your men, who was secretly scolded by the Magistrates because, when seized at the port, he guilelessly confessed that hewasapriest at the firstword from the Magistrates , and so they were forced by his needless confession to send him to prison.(9)

In regard to the large number of young men who daily flee to us from the English Universitiesand other good schools, there is no need for me to spin a long story. I know that you have already heardofit from Dr. Allen's letters; and it will be impressed on you still moreby that large band of erudite scholars who come to you as a result ofthis mission Some ofthemcamerecentlyfromEnglandandreceived degrees atthe Universities; they will giveyou abundantand skilledinformation on the state of affairs in England This only I will say: the number of those who come here is so large that, although it affords us matter for rejoicing and great hope, that God by His grace should cast out from Sodom so many excellent men, yet they are so overloading Dr. Allen with expenses, what with those who settle at Rheims and those whoundertakethe journey to you, that without some wonderful help from God expenses on such a scale will be quite unbearable In addition to this, almost daily some noblemen escape from England with their wives and children to avoid the violent onslaught of persecution, and they all have recourse for help to Allen, as though to a universal father. Hence your Reverence can imagine the amount of treasure that man would need to support such heavy expenses in so many directions(10)

The Puritansare beginningnowto be so enraged withthe Calvinists in England that the Calvinists themselves are obliged to deal with us a little more kindly. For everything seems to point plainly to war if the whole power of the Calvinists is not to pass speedily to the Puritan factiona thing we have to fear, for the latterare much more ruthlessenemies to us than the Calvinists I expect you have heard about the three books lately published by the Puritans against the Queen and the Calvinist body. We have these books here, and the last of them , entitled A Treatise of Reformation without tarying, " quite openly threatens rebellion .(11) In consequence of this book two Puritans were hanged lately in public in the county ofSuffolk, causing widespread murmuringamong allthe restofthatsect (12) TheCatholics on the other side make valiant effortsfor their faith Thustheycomplain both in their books and in their writings and conversation that they alone are punished and harassed, thoughthey are good and faithful subjects, whilst the Puritans, who openly proclaim themselves enemies of the Queen, are free from any annoyance. The Councillors of the kingdomlisten to this, but yet dissemble, because for the most part they themselves are Puritans Nevertheless they would be very willing for some of the Catholics to be set free if this could be done on some satisfactory pretext and without loss to their prestige, and above allif the Catholics would consent to conform even in the smallest

particular. And so quite latelythey made this offerto a certaingentle- manof very high position, a learned and discreet man, whom they had been ill-treating for a long time worse than the restthat they would set him free from prison at once and remit all his fines (which were very heavy) if he would promise them one single thing And on his asking what that thing was, " It is not, " say they, " to abjure the Pope, or to attend our church, for we know you will not do that, but the Queen would have you merely promise not to receive in future in your home any Jesuit or priest from among the more recent ones which those traitorous seminaries of the Pope are sending out to this country. " Towhich hereplied, " Whenyou have pointed out to me any member of the Society or anyone from those seminaries who has betrayedhis country in any way or committed any other crime , for which he ought rightly to be called or held to be an enemy of the state, I willrefuse him entry into my house: but to promise in general to exclude from my house all those men you mention, men whom my religion holds up to me as the special servants of God, this I cannot and dare not do, even were I in danger of instant death, for fear of incurring the grievous anger and judgment of God. " And though they were angered at first by this answer, yet later on they were so moved by it that theyrelaxedto a greatextent the conditionsof imprisonmentfor that most worthy man, yet they did not free him altogether There are many instances of answers of this sort by Catholics, but I forbear to relate them.

This one instance, however, of a case of conscience referredto me within the last two days, I cannot refrain from telling. It concerns one ofyour priests from Rome who is at present detained in the Tower of London. Now during the last month a certain heretical minister came to him for a conference on controversialpoints of religion, and as he could not make muchheadway with him, the minister asked him very angrily whether the Queen was the head of the English Church. The priestreplied" Bywhat authoritydoyou askme this question? " For the lawhas providedthat, since the answer to this question involves life and death, no one may put it to anyone except by the express authority of the Queen in writing The priest than asked for his authority, etc. The minister replied " If you were a true servant of Christyou would never askfor myauthority butwould franklyprofess your religion to anyone who asked you " Nettled by this speech, the priest answered " Are you accusing me of cowardice in the cause of God, you heretic ? I declare then that the Queen is not and cannot be the head of the English Church" "Then who is its head ? " said the minister . " The RomanPontiff, " replied the other "Ah, traitor," exclaimed the minister, " you say so because you see there are no convenientwitnesses here to give evidence of your words " " Notfor that reason do I say it, " answered the priest, " but in face of your challenge, to declare my faith. " " If that is the case , " quoth the heretic, " put these same words in writing " "I have not papernor ink, " said the servant of God , " but in so far as I am able to write Iwill doso . " And seizing a pieceofcoal he wroteon the top ofhis door , in the presence of the minister and his warder, these words : " Gregory XIII is the head of the English Church and of the Universal Church. Tohim Queen Elizabethas well as the restoftheworld must be subject, if they would be saved. " When these words had been written and he had read them, the minister and the warder departed, and for many days afterwards the priest expected death at any moment; but now ,

as he has heard nothing about the affair after nearly a month, some Catholics are urginghim to effacethose words onhis door, lest he should seem to irritate the enemy wantonly, saying that his profession of faith has now been visible on his door long enough He on the other handdare notdo sothatis, rub out thewordslest he should seemto do it from fear and give scandal to those who have read the words on his door , especially to his warder; for his constancy in professing his faith has already begun to bring about an improvement in him And so those words still remain written down on the door and now the priest seeks advice whether he may rub them out without hurt to his conscience This I have had in the priest'sown handwriting (13) I could write more if I were not restricted by lack of paper. So let this be the end Your Reverence sees how much we need your prayers and help so that we may persevere in this great work. Pray then to God, and also beg his Holiness our illustrious Protector and our other Lords and patrons to be so good as to favour us . Finally, send us also suitable labourers to take up the yoke of Christ and promote manfully His cause Victoryis quite certainto come in theend, even though it be delayed, and even if it has to be won by toil and bloodshed. Your friend, Birkhead,(14) salutes you all He washere with me lately. And salute, I beg your Reverence, all our friends, and the most Reverend Lord Bishop of St. Asaphexpressly, and all ofour Society, and the members of your College. May God continue His grace to it and increase it. Farewell , my most loving and sweet father At Paris, 24th of August, 1583

Your Reverence's unworthy son, Robert Persons.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst Coll P , f 351

Molto Reverendo Padre in Christo

Paris, 28 Oct., 1583.(1)

Non posso dire quantoci sentiamo obligati a Vostra Reverenza

(1) Between the date of the last letterand of the one above, Persons had been to Rome and back The circumstanceswhich led to the visit to Rome were as follows: The first plan of the " enterprise" had practically fallen through with the capture of the young prince James by the Anglo-Protestant party at the raid of Ruthen, August the 22nd, 1582. The ideaof the " enterprise, " however, was still entertained and discussed. The enforceddeparture ofLennox from Scotlandin January, 1583, and still more his death on May 26 ofthe same year, necessitated a change of plan, as the Catholic party could no longer rely on being able to make use of the Scotch castles, particularly that of Dumbarton, which up to then had been held for Lennox . The Duke of Guise , therefore, drew up new plans Conferences were held at Paris to discuss them, Persons, who had returned from Spain at the end of May, being presentat some of them. Encouraging news, too, came from Scotland , where James had freed himself from his captors, June the 27th, and the position of affairs had become somewhat more favourable for Catholics Thoughthere were differences of opinion betweenthe Scotchand theEnglish at Paris, and an element of discord had been introduced by the inclusion of Charles Paget and ThomasMorgan in the discussions, there was sufficient agreement for Persons, who had apparently been summonedto Rome by Aquaviva on affairs of the English mission (Aquaviva to ClaudeMatthieu , 20 October, 1583, Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 24; and C.R.S. iv, 111), to becommissioned to lay the plans beforethe Pope, and urge his support of the" enterprise" Persons started on the journey soon after August the 22nd, theday on which the Duke ofGuise drew up his instructions for him (Spanish Calendar , p 503), and Allen wrote, recommending him to Gregory XIII

per la sua gran carità etc. ... .(2) Io feci scrivere il mio compagno(3) a Vostra Reverenza da Bologna per esser io impedito in alcuni altri negotii a quel tempo Passassimo per Loreto con grandissima mia consolazione et arrivassimo qui in Parigi alli 19 del presente . . Speriamo che il Signor Georgio(4) ... adesso sta bene e posto nel camino per venirqua, dove congrandissimo desiderio s'aspetta per esser sua presenza qui moltonecessaria a più cose ... Arrivarono qui li vostri due ApostoliPadre Mush(5) et il Padre Cornelio(6): si consolarono assai d'havermi trovato et io ancora ne pigliai gran contento perchè mi paiono veri servi di Christo. Li trovai assai poveri e sproveduti di cose necessarieper intrare in Inghilterra. (Here he relateth what Dr. Allen and he bestoweduponthe said two missioners, and he reprehendssharply Fr. Agazarius for great niggardlynesse in providing such Priests at their departure)(7) ... . perchè Vostra Reverenza non può credere quanta alienatione fanno dalla Compagnia ancora appresso li buoni le querele di questi e simili mandatidi là con mala sodisfattione, massimamente quando sono stimati per buoni et amici della Compagnia como furono questi due, i quali si reputano come della Compagnia e con tutto questo prometto a VostraReverenza che si lamentavano assai .... (here he dilateth himselffor above 30 or 40 lines of these inconveniences and of the remedies) . .. . Havendo scrittofin qui m'arrivaronole lettere di Vostra Reverenza dandomi raguaglio della mortedel carissimo et amantissimo figliuolo mio Georgio, benedetto sia Giesù Christo et il padredi tutte le misericordie ancora per questo colpo, benchè il maggiore

(Knox, Allen, p 206) From one point of view Persons's missionwassuccessful; for the Pope not onlyapproved of the new plan, but drew up a set of briefs, dated the 24th of September , 1583, in connection with it These , however , were never published or put into force, owing no doubt to the eventual failure of the newplan Among them was one renewingtheexcommunication of Queen Elizabeth, and others appointing Allen Bishop of Durham as well as the Pope's nuncio for the occasion of the" enterprise" (Knoxin his Allen, and Kretzschmar in Die Invasionsprojekte , appearto have overlookedthese documents , which are to be found in the Vatican archives, and which I have printed in the Appendix ) Persons then left Rome about the beginningof Octoberand arrived back at Paris on the 19th (Owen Lewis in a letter to the Cardinal of Como, 19 October, reports his having received a letter from Persons on his way backfromPiacenza , datedthe 5thofOctober , 1583 , Arch Vat Cardinali, f. 93)

(

2) The ellipses denote omissions by C. Grene, S.J. , the seventeenthcentury copyist

(3) StephenBrinkley, who had accompanied Persons to Rome Cf. infra and C.R.S. ii, 32

(4) George Gilbert, who was taken ill whilst Persons was in Rome. He died, infact,in Rome on Octoberthe 6thofthisyear, having been at hisdesire admitted to the Society on his death bed; but the news of his death only reached Persons after he had half finished this letter Cf. infra

(5) John Mush, who became prominent in the Appellant controversy, and later was one of the Assistants to the Archpriest.

(6) Bd John Cornelius, who was receivedinto the Society shortly before his martyrdom at Dorchester, the 4th of July, 1594.

(7) This is Fr. Grene's summary of this portion of the letter.

OF

PERSONS , S.J.

chegiàmai penso habia sentito l'anima mia per la mortediqualsivoglia creatura etc. Quanto alle cose temporali del Signor Georgio restaranno qui tutti contenti di quello che determinarà Nostro Padre, essendo sicuri che tutto quello che Sua Paternità farà sarà per il maggior servitio di Dio e l'edificazione di tutti (8) È ben vero che per la grazia di Dio havemo adesso degli emoliqui assai, li quali ci tengonol'occhioadosso, massimamente per le cose di denari, e l'entrata di Creswello e Brokesbaeo(9) nella Compagnia li haverebbe dato a dire se quest'altronon fosse avvenuto, perchè alcuni pensano che quelli giovani havevano denari più di quel ch'è vero Se Vostra Reverenza m'havesse scritto etc ..... Prego Vostra Reverenza di procurar la pensione per il Signor Stefano Brinckleoil quale fu meco là in Roma(10) etc ..... Parigi 28 Ottobre 1583.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation . Paris, 11 October, 1583.(1)

Very Reverend Father in Christ, I cannot say how much we feel obliged to your Reverence for the great charity you have shown, etc. . .. . .. (2) I made my companion (3) writeto you from Bologna , because at the time I was prevented from writing myself by some other business. We passed through Loreto , much to my consolation, and arrived here in Paris on the 19thofthis month .... We hope that . . . . Mr. George(4) is now in good health and on his way to come here, where his arrival is looked for with the greatesteagerness, for his presence here is very necessary for several things .. Your two missioners, Fr. Mush(5) and Fr. Cornelius,(6) arrived here: they were much consoled at finding me and I too got great satisfactionfrom the meeting, because they seemed to me to be true servants of Christ I discovered that they were very poor and ill supplied with the wherewithall for entering England (Here he relateth what Dr. Allen and he bestowed upon the said two missioners , and reprehends sharply Fr.Agazzariforgreatniggardliness in providing such priests at their departure)(7) . for your Reverence would hardly believe how people are being alienatedfrom the Society, even good people, bythe complaintsofthese men, and in similar cases where they are sent from Rome and arrive dissatisfied ; and this is especially the casewhenthey have the reputation of being good men andfriends of the Society, as were those two, who consider themselves as almost belonging to the Society: but notwithstanding all this I assure your Reverence they made a great to-do about it . ... (Here he dilateth himself for above 30 or 40 lines of these inconveniences and of the remedies ) ....

When I had written as far as this, your Reverence's letter arrived giving me an account of the death of my dearly (8) Cf. Aquaviva to Allen, 10 October, 1583 (C.R.S. ix, 91), where the General insists that the 800 crowns left by George Gilbert to the Jesuit novitiate of S. Andrea, where he wished to be buried, should rather be employed by Allen for the service of the English nation (9) Arthur Creswell and William Brokesby entered the Society the 10th of October, 1583. Foley (Records vii, 181-182) gives biographies of two Creswells , Arthur and Joseph In reality there was only one, Arthur , who was later called Joseph (10) Cf. infra, Millino (Persons) to Como , 31 October , 1583 ,

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.j. 185

beloved son George Blessed be Jesus Christ and the Father of all mercies too for this blow , though it is the heaviest I think that my soul has ever felt at the death of any person whatsoever , etc. In regard to Mr. George's temporal affairs, they will be quite content here with whatever Fr. General decides, being confident that whatever his Paternity does will make for the greater service of God and the edification of all (8) It is quite true that by thefavour ofGod wehave envious people here nowin abundance who lookaskance at us, especially where money is concerned; and Creswell's and Brokesby's (9) entry into the Society would have given them something to talk about even if this other thing had not happened, because some people imaginethat these young men had more money than is actually the case . If your Reverence had written to me . . . . I beg your Reverence to procure the pension for Mr. Stephen Brinkley.(10) He was there in Rome with me, etc. . .. . Paris, 28th of October, 1583.

RICHARD MILLINUS (PERSONS) TO COMO.(1)

Paris, 31 October, 1583

Arch Vat Nunz. di Francia, xvii, f. 226 . Gratissima fuerunt Duci (2) ceterisque hic Dominis quae hic attuluimus vestro nomine Dux ipse mirabilem sensit monstravitque animilaetitiam exiis quaenarravimus seque vehementissimedevinctum arbitratur Deo, suae Sanctitati Vestraeque Illustrissimae Dominationi ob animorum promptitudinem quam in hac causa monstratis et promittit per Dei gratiam se nunquam huic actioni defuturum. Nuncautem totus pendet a responsioneRegispostcoloquiumsuum cum Rmo Placentino ,(3) hactenusenim nullumomnino responsum sua Majestas dedit, sperat autem Dux brevi daturum , maxime vobis istinc stimulantibus; quod unum solum jam videtur agendum; cetera enim omnia et hic et alibi paratissima censentur. Magnam plagam accepimus ex obitu rarissimi juvenis Georgii Gilberti quem Illmae D.V. commendaveram, et qui simul mecum Roma exire debeat, sed infirmitatipraeventus ibidemDeo animam

(1) There is the markof the seal and how the letter has been folded , and it is undoubtedly an original letter; but the handwriting does not appear to be that of Persons . It is rather a labouredand copybookhand, and there arenoneofthe flourishes characteristic of Persons's writing Yet the signature Richard Millinus' seems to be in the same style as the letter itself. It may be that Persons took particular care when writing to a Cardinal, though in later letters ofa similar kind no suchlaboured and copybookhandis discernible On the other hand, it may be that the letter was transcribed by a clerk in the Nuncio's employ from a rough draft submitted by Persons There is no doubt that Millinus is Persons Apart from the contents of the letter itself, we know from Owen Lewis's letter to Como, 19 October, 1583 (supra), that Persons on his journey to Rome and back was using this alias . (2) The Duke of Guise

(3) Filippo Sega, Bishop of Piacenza and laterCardinal, who wassent in September , 1583 , on a special mission to Philip II. He was well known at the SpanishCourt, as he had been Nuncio there in 1581. One of the objects of the presentmission was to urge Philip II to help the enterprise' against Elizabeth. Cf. J. Kretzschmar, op cit , p. 99 ff, and Sega's Relation , ibid., p. 212 .

S.j.

suam sanctissimam reddidit. Cujus loco(4) quem hic substituere possimus ad communis causae servitium non habemus praeter alterum illum juvenem Stephanum Brinckleum quem Romam mecum adduxeram; cuique etiam sua Sanctitas viaticum dedit ut mecum iterum discederet. Assignaverat etiam Sua Sanctitas pensionem quandam nescio quot aureorum in singulos menses , sed cum propter celeritatem discessus, et occupationes Thesaurarii ipsum Thesaurarium convenire non posset ; discessit omnino incertus de sua provisione , sperans Dominum Georgium hoc negotium potuisse post nostrum discessum transigere Sed jam cum Dominus Georgius ereptus nobis sit, et iste Stephanus necessario sit hic occupandusin negotiis quorum partem Georgius(sivixisset) sustinere debuisset, nec habeat ullo modo quo se sustentet , cogimur ad Illmae D.V. auxilium confugere; rogantes ut apud suam Sanctitatem intercedat pro isto Stephano quatenus eidem dignetur pensionem Georgii concedere, quae fuerat decem aureorum in singulos menses Dignissimus est profecto hic vir cui sua Sanctitas hanc gratiam concedat, sive respiciamus illius familiam ac singulare ipsius certamen quod pro fide Catholica ad biennium in carcere sustinuit, sive rarissima officia quae inreligionisaugmentum extra carcerem praestitit, praestatque quotidie, in quibus cum omnia sua jam penitus expenderit, coactus est ad pedes suae Sanctitatis confugere; Pro hoc ergo servo Dei, si Vestra Illma Dominatiointercesserit , faciat sine dubio opus piissimum, et huic nostrae causae valde utile et ob quod ego me in particulari vehementer devinctum Illae V . Dni existimare debeo; Dominus Jesus diutissime Illmam D. Vestram conservet: Parisiis die ultimo Octobris 1583.

Illae D.V. servus in Chro Richardus Millinus

[Addressed] (227v) Al Illmo et Rev . mo Sigre Carle de Como .

[Endorsed ] '83 31 Ote Pre Millino Parigi Roma.

[With a note (ibid ) for reply:] Ad priora resto ch' qu' occorrerà mandar colui, al hora basterà provederlo dela [word indecipherable, possibly viaticum, or some such word signifyingjourney money].

Translation RICHARD MILLINUS TO THE CARDINAL OF COMO (1) Paris, 31 Oct., 1583.

The message which we brought here in your name was most welcome to the Duke(2) and to the other Lords who are here The Duke himself felt and showed a wonderfuljoy at what we told them , and he (4) Aquaviva in the same month of October wrote to Allen and Persons , asking them to suggest a suitable successor to George Gilbert, to continue his workat Rome (Aquaviva to Allen and to Persons, 10 October, ut supra). The note for a replyto the lettersuggests that StephenBrinkleywas thought to replace Gilbert at Rome . There is no trace of his having done so, even for a time

considers that he has been put under very binding obligationsto God and to His Holiness and to your Eminence by the resolutionyou are showing in this cause, and he promises that he will never desert this enterprise . At the moment, however, he is entirely dependent on the King's reply after he has conversed withthe Most Reverend theBishop of Piacenza,(3) for so far His Majesty has given no reply at all; but the Duke is hopingthat he will soon do so , especially if you urgehim on from there This seems to be the only thing remaining now to be done , for all else, here and elsewhere, is thought to be perfectly ready.

We have been dealt a great blow by the death of a most excellent young man, George Gilbert, whom I had commended to your Eminence . He should have left Rome with me ,but was prevented , however , by sickness and yielded up his most devout soul to God in that city To replace him(4) for service in the common cause we have no one here except that other young man, Stephen Brinkley, whom I took with me whenI went to Rome and to whom also His Holiness allowed travelling expenses so that he could leave again with me His Holiness had also assigned him a pension of I know not how many gold pieces a month, but owingto the suddennessof his departureand the engagements of the Treasurer , he was not able to have an interview with the Treasurer himself, and so he came away quite uncertain of any provisionbeing made for him, and hopingthat Mr. George would have been able to put this business through after our departure But now Mr. George has been snatched away from us, and Stephen himselfhas necessarily to be kept here engaged in business, part of which George , had he survived, would duly have undertaken, and he has no means of supporting himself; and so we are obliged to have recourse toyour Eminence's help and to beg you to intercede for the said Stephen with His Holiness, asking him to be so good as togrant him George's pension, which was then ten gold pieces a month. This man is truly worthyof getting this favour from His Holiness whether we have regard to his family and the trials which he himself underwent for two years in prison on behalf of the Catholic faith, or to the outstanding services which hehas done when out of prisonfor the spread of religion, and is doing every day. And as he has now completelyspent for these purposes all that he had of his own, he is forced to throwhimself at His Holiness's feet If, therefore , your Eminence should intercedefor this servant of God, you would undoubtedly be doing a most pious act, and one that would be most useful to our cause, andin return for which I in particular must deem myself to be under very deep obligations to your Eminence May the Lord Jesus preserve your Eminence for very many years From Paris on the last day of October, 1583.

Your Eminence's servant in Christ,

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA . Richard Millino

Paris, 12 Jan., 1584.

Arch S.J. Rom Anglia 30, 1 , f. 291. Contemporary copy headed "ex literis P. Roberti Personii scriptis Parisiis ad R. P. G'ralem SocietatisJesu 12 Jan. 1584. De misero Statu Angliae. " Admodum Reverende in Christo Pater Pax Christi etc.

Quas Vestra Paternitas nonis Decembris ad me scripsitliteras, eas hodie accepi, cum una essemus Dominus Allanuset ego, ad

, S.J.

consultandum de rebusad missionesnostrorum Patrumin Angliam pertinentibus . de quibus potero plura per proximumtabellarium, ubi aliquidcerticonstituerimus . hodierno die primumconvenimus. Interim tamen indies illa missio magis magisque a Catholicis exigitur, nobisque ad Dei gloriam videtur pernecessaria . Ex Anglia nunciantur quotidie turbulentissima . de quibus tamen hactenus scribere nolui, usquedumaliquodmihi certoconstaret. Hodieautemliteras accepi scriptas Londini 24Decembris , in quibus haec erant Primo haereticos ob manifestam rerum suarum desperationem furorepraecipites, quaerere, moliri, fingere quicquid pertinere possit ad odium, infamiam, et exitium Catholicorum : atque hac ipsa de causa conjecerunt in carcerem primum nobilem et locupletem juvenemFranciscum Throgmortonum (1) eo quod frequentasset aliquando Oratoris Hispani domum et cum postea chartulam quandam in ipsius armario reperissent, continentem nomina quorundam Catholicorum civitatum et portuum (hujusmodi enim nonnulla pater Throgmortoni inter scripta sua reliquerat, cum magistratupublico fungeretur) ter hominem crudelissime equuleo torserunt, ut conspirationem in rempublicam confiteretur, quod tamen ille nullo cruciatu impelli potuit ut faceret, sed omnia tormenta fortissimepertulit , nec ullam aliam vocem in summis cruciatibus edidisse fertur, quam hanc solam , Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori Iterum autem jam, idque recentissime tortus nunciatur, sed nondum scire potuimus, quid in hac quarta tortura responderit. Eodem fere tempore, alter quidam juvenis Somerfildus appellatus, qui aliquando catholicus extiterat, sed nunc a multo tempore furiosus habitus et lunaticus , verberaverat fortelanium quendam in via obvium eo quod ei pecunias dare mutuo nollet de qua insolentia cum postea a magistratu interrogararetur: respondit dementissime, se ideo fecisse, quod existimaret hunclaniumreginam esse , quam non solum verberare, verum etiam occidere cupiebat, quod illa haeretica esset. Cumqueiterum interrogaretur, an alias , et quibusnam audientibus hoc affirmasset ? nominavit insanus multos, quibus praesentibus hoc dixerat: eosque tam haereticos, quam catholicos: praecipue tamen socerum suum accusavit , Ardentum nomine, virum nobilem ac strenuum, una cum uxore ejus ex familia Throgmortonia . item confessorem suum sacerdotem senem, nomine Hallum his enim maxime infensus erat Somerfildus ob filiam Ardenti a se pessime tractatam Hi ergo omnes , eo quod Catholiciessent, una cum Somerfildo ipso, LaesaeMajestatis sunt condemnati, viri quidem ut primo suspendantur, et deinde semimortui in partes dividantur Uxor vero Ardenti, ut primo

(1) Arrested in the early days of November, 1583, Francis Throckmorton was tried and condemned in May of the following year His eventual execution in July was probably due to the feeling aroused by the assassination of the Prince of Orange. Whatever plot there was, it was certainly not, as Martin Hume has asserted (Spanish Calendar, pp 502, 512), an assassination plot Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., " The Politics of English Catholics duringthe reign of Queen Elizabeth , " The Month, June, 1902, p. 616 ff.; C.R.S. xxi, 40 ff , and Conyers Read , Mr. Secretary Walsingham , ii, 371-389

suspensa, postea semiviva comburatur. Quae certe crudelitas in personas tam nobiles indignissima est ob vocem dementissimam unius hominis insani Sed ex his, et hujusmodi manifeste liquet quid deinceps Catholici expectare debeant .(2)

Dum haec aguntur, nonnulli ex nobilitate, his rebus territi, licet nulliuscriminis, preterquam religionisCatholicae sibi conscii, cogitare fugam caeperunt quorum duo in has partes jam venerunt: nimirum My lord Pageot Baro, et Carolus Arundelius ,(3) praecipuus quidam aulicus, et apud Reginam aliquando insigniter gratiosus quorum discessu haeretici vehementissime exacerbati sunt in alios: etjam dicuntur duos ex primismagnatibus Angliaein custodias dedisse, hoc est comitem Northumberland ,(4) et comitem de Arundel,(5) filium Ducis Norfolcii ultimi: quod catholici cogno-

(2) Somerville was arrested in October, 1583, and sent to the Tower; Edward Arden, his father-in-law, and Hugh Hall, the priest, followed him there a few days later (Diary ofthe Tower) In connectionwith theso-called plot there were arrested also Mrs. Somerville, Mrs. Arden, and Somerville's two sisters , Margaret and Elizabeth They were all tried at the Guildhall, London, on December the 16th; Somerville, Arden, Hall and Mrs. Somerville being condemned of High Treason On December the 19th Somerville was found strangled in Newgate and it was generally held that he had done away with himself Arden was executed on the following day (cf. Holinshed , Chronicle , ed 1808, iv, 510) The sentence was not carried out in the case of Mrs. Somerville and Hugh Hall, but Mrs. Somerville was still in prison intheTowerinMay, 1585 (cf. C.R.S. ii, 239, andxxi, 132) It is nowgenerally accepted that Somerville was insane ; but at the time the Government was possessed by a plot mania

(

3) Lord Paget and Charles Arundel fled soon after the arrest of Francis Throckmorton The former wrote from Paris to his mother and to Burghley, the 2nd of December, saying that he had fled " to enjoy liberty of conscience " (R.O. Dom. Eliz CLXIV, nn 5 and 6. Cf. also C.R.S. xxi, 121). Sir Edward Stafford, the English ambassador in France , writing to Walsingham the 6thof December , 1583, stated that the comingof Paget and Arundel to Paris had caused a stir in the French court, and promised to keepan eye on them (R.O. French Corr.). The examinations of several persons in connection with their flight are to be found in R.O. Dom Eliz CLXIV There is a notice of Lord Paget in the D.N.B., xliii, 59

(4) HenryPercy, eighth Earl of Northumberland, was orderedto confine himself to his house about December the 20th, 1583, and was later, in January, removed to the Tower in connection with the Throckmorton plot There he remained until his tragic death on June the 20th, 1585 , when he was found shot through the heart At the coroner'sinquest the following day a verdict of suicide was returned; but it was commonly believedat the time that he had been murdered at the instigation of Sir Christopher Hatton (cf. Lingard, ed 1888, vi , 390-394) The Government thought it prudent topublish anofficial accountsoon after theinquest-" TheTrueandSummarie Report of the Earl ofNorthumberland's Treasons, 1585"-whichwasreprinted in Holinshed iv, 602-606 That Charles Paget, when sent over bythe Duke of Guise in September , 1583, stayed some days at the Earl's house at Petworth is certain, but that he went thereto consult him on the plan ofinvasion does notseem to bewell founded Theaccountofthe Earl givenin the D.N.B. (xliv, 409) should be supplementedby the notice in C.R.S.xxi (passim , but particularly97-99 and 119-132 ).

(5) On this occasion Bd Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, appears to have been in restraint in his own house from December 20, 1583, until soon after April the 8th, 1584, whenhe was set at liberty, theGovernmenthaving failed to prove that he had had dealings with Charles Paget or Francis Throck-

, S.J.

scantur , et duobus istis aliis qui fugerunt, intima necessitudine conjuncti. Sed de hoc ultimo tamen certum affirmare non potui: Sed adducor potius, ut sperem contrarium: eo quod dum daec scriberem, literas recentes ex Anglia habui, quibus nihil de hac re fuit significatum Aliud tamen narrabant , quod ad Societatem pertinet, et Dominum Jesum precor, ut in illius cedat gloriam . Hoc autem est, Patrem Gasparum Heywodum captum esse,(6) et Londini in carcerem conjectum , biduo vel triduo ante Natalem Domini. nondum autem tormenta passus fuerat, cum haec scriberentur, tertia licet vice jam examinatus fuisset nec dubitamus benignissimum Deum, cujus ille opus agebat, misericordissime ei affuturum in cruciatibus omnibus, qui sua divina permissione pro ipsius gloria offerentur: sicut et caeteris omnibus hactenus eadem divina bonitas non solum animi constantiam et fortitudinem: verum etiam alacritatemet exultationemlargita est, et in cruciatibus, et inmorteipsa pro fide catholica sustinendis. Inter reliquos vero, perinsignes fuerunt illi duo recentissimi martyres, Bodaeus, et Sladus(7): qui in Novembri ultimo martyrium obierunt: quo plurimos conversos , et reliquos omnes in fide et agone mirabiliter confirmatos esse scribunt nunciantque ex Anglia quotidie.

Persecutio hodie asperior est, quam alias unquam (8) Portus omnes Angliae diligenti tenentur custodia Regina his machina-

morton Thenotice of Philip Howard given in the D.N.B., xxviii, 52 , needs to be supplementedby the collection and analysis of documentsconnected with the martyr, edited by J. H. Pollen, S.J. , and W. Macmahon, S.J. , C.R.S., vol xxia masterly work, of which historians of the Elizabethan period seem surprisingly ignorant, though a study of it is essential for a just appreciationof the chicanery and tyrannyof the Elizabethan Government (6) Jasper Heywood had been left Superior of the Jesuit mission after Persons's departure from England After two years of fruitful work he caused trouble by insisting on the Roman regulations regarding fasting, which were somewhat milder than those in use among English Catholics (C.R.S.iv, 105) Added to this, he appears to havelost his nerveandto have become a source of dangerand a burden to the rest " (Allen to Aquaviva, 6 August, 1583C.R.S ix, 101 : cf. Barret to Agazzari, 11 August, 1583Knox, Douay Diaries, p 332) Aquaviva , having consulted with Persons at Rome, recalled him, therefore, from England, on the plea that Persons and Allen wished to conferwith him at Rouen (Allen to Persons, 10 October , 1583 Arch.S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 29v; and to Allen ofthe same date , C.R.S. ix, 93. Cf. also Persons, PuntiC.R.S iv, 111 ff.). He compliedwith the order and embarked, but the ship, whennearing port, was driven back to England, and he was captured He was committed to the Clink December the 9th, 1583 (C.R.S. ii, 232), and removedto theTower the 8thofFebruary , 1584 (C.R.S. iii, 17). Though tried and condemned , the sentence apparently was postponed sine die (C.R.S. iv, 112 et infra) In January, 1585 , he was Lanished the country (C.R.S. v, 102).

(

7) Bd. John Slade and Bd. John Body, two laymen, were martyred in 1583 , the former at Winchester, Octoberthe 30th, and the latterat Andover , Novemberthe 2nd Cf. C.R.S. v, 39, 48-51; and Allen, A Sincere and Modest Defence of the English Catholics , ed 1914, i, 14-16 .

(8) On the severity of the persecutionat this time, cf. Tyrrel to Agazzari, 2 March, 1584 (Arch S.J. Rom Anglia , 30.1.293v ); Allen to the same , March , 1584) Knox, Allen, p 452) ; Barret to the same , 23 December , 1583 (Knox , Douay Diaries, p 333); Gerard'sAutobiography , ed 1881, p. 20, and anarrative of the persecution of this year, Stonyhurst, Anglia, 1 , n 23,

tionibus haereticorum incensa, ad Puritanos descivit, quos antea ferre non potuit Extrema quaeque in Catholicos cogitantur. Comes Leicestrensis Puritanorum antesignanus, caput se hujus novaein nospersecutionis profitetur: qua etiamprimoloco explere vult privata quaedam sua odia : Ardentum enim is, et Throgmortonum peculiari semperprosequebaturinimicitia.(9) CaeterumDeus dabit his quoquefinem : necpermittet excurrere hominum crudelissimorum furorem ultra limites a sua suavissima providentiastatutos In ea igitur acquiescamus omnes, expectantes cum tentatione proventum , nec remittemus quicquam de nostra diligentia, spe, aut confidentia Dum enim haec scribo, ecce nunciata mihi sunt quaedam plena consolationis de progressufideiin illo Regno, et inter caetera, tres viros Nobiles non mediocris momentiin una provincia ad ecclesiam rediisse hoc ipso turbulentissimotempore, caeterosquenonnullos disponi, ut redeant. Dominus Jesusdisponat omnia ad suam divinamgloriam, nosquefidelesfaciatministros sanctissimae suae voluntatis, in omni patientia, humilitate, et longanimitate animi Humillime mecommendo sanctissimis Vestrae Reverentiae sacrificiis et benedictioni Parisiis etc. (10)

Reverendae Vestrae Paternitatis Indignus filius

Rob Personius

His scriptis, venerunt in manus Patris Holti ex Scotia literae , quas una cum his ad Vestram Paternitatemindicavi

Translation.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA .

Very Reverend Father in Christ,

Paris, 12 June , 1584 .

The letteryour Paternity wrote to me on the 5th of December I have received to-day, when Mr.Allen and I were togetherfor thepurpose of consulting about matters to do with missions of our Fathers to England On this matter I shall be able to say more by the next courier , when we have come to some definite conclusion ; wehave been together to-day for the first time. In the meantime , however , every daythereismoredemand on the part ofthe Catholics forsuch a mission and to us it seems extremely necessary for the glory ofGod . Daily there is news from England of extreme unrest. HithertoI have been unwilling to writeaboutit until I had some definiteinformation; but to-day I have received a letter written in London on the 24th of December in which the following was stated: first , that on account of the evidently parlous state of their affairs the heretics, in unrestrained fury, are seeking, plotting, devising whatever can tend to hatred, ill repute and ruin of the Catholics And with this same end in view they have thrown into prison a wealthy young man of very good birth, Francis Throckmorton,(1) on the grounds that hehad been at one time a frequent visitor to the Spanish Ambassador's house . And on discovering afterwards in his closet a paper containing the names of some Catholics, cities and ports (for Throckmorton's father (9) Cf. Camden , Annales, ed 1625, p 370, and C.R.S. iv, 115 . (10) The date is given in the heading to this copy of the letter and presumably for that reason is omitted here

had left some things of this kind among his papers at some time when he was holding office under the state), three times they tortured the man very cruelly on the rack, to make him confess to a conspiracy against the state This, however, he could not be induced to do by any torture, but endured very bravely all the rackingsand isreported to haveuttered no other word at the height of his sufferings but this only: 'O God be merciful to me, a sinner ' Now, however , there is news that he has been racked again, and that quite recently; but we have not yet been able to learnhow he answered at this fourthracking

At almost the same time another young man, named Somerville, who had at one time professed himself a Catholic, but has now for a long time been held to be a raging lunatic, had happened to thrash a certain butcher, whomhe met on the road, forthe reason that he would not lend him some money; and when later on he was questioned by the magistrates aboutthis piece of insolence, he answered in the maddest way that he had done it because he imaginedthis butcher to be the Queen, and that as for her he would like not only to thrash her but to kill her, because she was a heretic . On being asked furtherwhether he had made this statement anywhere else and in whose hearing he had done so, the madman named many persons in whose presence he had said it, heretics as well as Catholics In particular, however , heaccused his father-in-lawArden by name , who is of good birthand a courageous manalong with his wife, who is of the Throckmorton family; also his confessor, an aged priest named Hall: for Somerville was mightily incensed against these people on account of Arden's daughter, whomhe hadtreatedvery badly. And so all these, by reason of being Catholics , along with Somerville himself, were found guilty of high treason and sentenced, the men to be first hanged and then quartered when half deadArden's wife, however, to be first hanged and afterwards to be burnt while half alive. And surely this cruelty to persons of such high position is most unworthy, having its origin in a very mad speechof one madman . However, fromthis and things of the kind it is very clear what the Catholics must expect in the future (2)

While these things were being done, some of the nobility, terrified by them, though conscious to themselves of no crime except that of their Catholic religion, began to meditate fiight; and two of them have now come to this neighbourhood , viz my Lord Paget, a baron , and Charles Arundel, (3) a distinguished courtierandatonetime inextremely high favour with the Queen Their departurehas incensed the heretics very much againstthe others, and now they are said to have put two menofthe highest positionin Englandundercustody, towitthe Earlof Northumberland(4) and the Earl of Arundel,(5) the son ofthe last Duke of Norfolk , because they are known to be Catholics and connected by intimate ties with these other two men who have fled But about this last occurrence, however, I am not able to make a positive statement, but am rather led to hope that it is not true, for the reason that whilst I was writing this I have had a fresh letter from England and there was no mention in it of this matter It told of anotherthing, however , which concerns the Society, and I pray the Lord Jesus that it may turn out to be to His glory It is this: that Fr. Jasper Haywood has been captured(6) and thrown into prison in London two or three days before Christmas He had not, however, suffered the rack as yet when this letter was being written, though he had been under examination for the third time And we do not doubt that God , who is most kind

and whose work he was doing, will in His great mercy be with him in all the tortures that by His divine permission and for His glory shall fall to his lot; just as hitherto in the case of all the othersthe same divine goodness has endowed them not only with fortitude of soul and courage, but even with high spirits and eagernessto endureboth torture and death itself for their Catholic faith. And among others , very conspicuous were those two quite recent martyrs, Body and Slade,(7) who underwent martyrdom last November ; and every day they are writing to tell us of many having been converted by this , and allthe rest wonderfully strengthened in theirfaith and endurance.

The persecution is more bitter to-day than it has been at any other time.(8) The English ports are all kept under strict watch . The Queen is angered by these stratagems of the heretics and has gone over to the Puritans, whom previously she could not endure Every kind of extreme measure against the Catholics is being planned . The Earl of Leicester , the head and front of the Puritans, puts himself forth as the leader of this new assault against us: by it he wishes to give vent in the first instance to certain private animosities of his own; for he has always pursued ArdenandThrockmorton witha peculiarenmity.(9) God, however, will set a limit to this also and will not allow the rage of such cruel men to pass beyondthe bounds set by Hismost gracious providence Let us submit to this providence therefore, all of us , looking to receive along with trials a good issue from them; nor will we relax at all our zeal, our hope or our confidence For even as I am writing this, behold, some news, which is full of consolation , has come to me about the progress of the faith in that realmamong other things, that in one county three gentlemen, of no slight importance, have come back to the Church, even at this most turbulent time , and that a number of others are disposed to come back. May the Lord Jesus dispose all for His divine glory, and make us faithful servants of His most holy will, in all patience, humilityand longanimity. I commend myself very humbly to your Reverence's most holysacrifices and to your blessing From Paris, etc.(10)

Your Reverence's unworthy son , Rob. Persons.

When this had been written , there came to hand a letter from Scotland from Fr. Holt I have enclosed it to your Paternity with this for your information

MEMORIAL FROM DR WILLIAM ALLEN AND F. ROBERT PERSONS TO GREGORY XIII. 16 January, 1584 .

Arch. Vat. Nunz di Francia , xvii, f 285. Printed in Knox, Allen, p 222

Scrittura data dal padre Alano et dal padre Roberto a 16 di Genro [1584] perchè si mandasse a N Sre

Non è dubbio che S . Mtà sarà desiderosa di ricever avisi de le cose d'Inghilterra per li varii rumori che ariveranno in Spagna sopra li nuovi accidenti di quel regno. Ancorchè sappiamo che l'Ambre di S . Mtà tanto in Inghilterra come in Francianon mancheranno di scrivere tutto quelle che del caso intendano, nondimeno havemo stimato per cosa pertinente al officionostro verso Dio e S . Mtà di proporre semplicemente nel conspetto del Signore N

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

tuttele conditioni presenti d'Inghilterra quantohabbiamopotuto sapereper lettere de principali di quel regno Prima, è cosa certa che i ministri de la Regina sono stati qualche tempo con paura de lo stato loro, maximamente questo anno dopo la ricuperatione de la Terzera,(1) l'accrescimento del'armata di S. Mtà ripigliati i porti di Fiandra, il Duca d'Alensone scacciato,(2) et liberato il Principedi Scotia(3); queste considerationi , dico, hanno fatto che detti ministri siano stati più sospettosi, però li mesi passati mandando fori spioni, acciochè avvisassero tutto quello che si poteva sospettare et scoprire de le prattiche de' principi cattolici, maximamente di S . Mtà et S . Stà o vero de li SSri Guisi, acciochè da queste relationi potessero formare qualche construtto contra i cattolici d'Inghilterra. Mentre dunque attendevano a questo, permette Dio che pigliassero sospettodi Throgmortono ,(4) il quale pratticava la casa di don Bernardino , et al quale benchè habbino dato tormenti tre o quattro volte, pur lui non ha confessatocosa alcuna in pregiudiciode la causa, come ci scrive don Bernardino et si vede per la confessionedi Throgmortono fatta ne li tormenti Circa il medesimo tempo fu preso un parente del detto Throgmortono, detto Homerfildo ,(5) il quale già da lungo tempo fu stimato per matto Costui essendo tormentato confessò che havea communicatocon varii signori , et signori tanto heretici come cattolici: de li quali quattro solamente cattolici furono condannati a morte , ciò è il socero, la socera, la moglie et il confessore del matto, insieme colmatto, il quale dipoi impiccò se medesimoin prigione. Icattolici vedendo questa crudeltà cominciorno a temere et alcuni aritirarsi fuori del regno, fraquali sono venuti quà in Parigi Milor Pagiot (6) et Carlo Arundelo , tutti due intrinsecicon la nobiltà cattolica d'Inghilterra ; et questo saputo in Inghilterra, la fuggita di costoro, si turborno li adversarii dubitandoche questo non fusse principio d'una rivolta generale de la nobiltà, et però gettorno subito l'occhio sopra i più grandi con li quali questi dui fuggiti erano stati più intrinsechi, come sono il Conte di Darundel et il Conte di Nortomberland ,(7) a quali fu comandato che restassero come prigioneri ne li proprii palazzi, et al Conte di Rutland fu

(1) The island of Terceira, which had declared for the pretender, Don Antonio of Portugal, submitted to Philip II soon after the victory of the Marquis de Santa Cruz over the French fleet, under Strozzi, off the island , July the 26th, 1582

(2) In January, 1583, Alencon (Anjou), despite the treaty which he had madewith the rebel Statesof the Netherlandsagainst Philip II, endeavoured to seize Antwerp and other cities in his own interest. His design wasfoiled at Antwerp by the burghersrising and expelling the French, and though the French succeeded in taking possession of a few minor places, the indignation roused by Alencon's treachery soon forced him to retire beyond the French frontier

(3) Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 28 October, 1583, note 1

(4) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 12 January, 1584, note 1.

(5) Somerville Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 12 January, 1584, note 2

(6) Lord Paget Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 12 January, note 3

(7)Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 12 January, 1584, notes 4 and 5

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 195 comandato che non si partisse oltre X miglia di Londres. Chiaro adunque è chequesta crudeltàch'hora usanogli heretici procedono di diffidenza ch'hanno de le cose loro; ma in particolarequanto a li trattati di S . Stà et S . Mtà Cattolica , sono ragioni a provare che non intendono fin qui niente : prima perchè si dice publica- mente che i Conti di Arundel et Nortemberland sono prigioneri per la fuga di Milor Pagiot come consapevoli di quella Secondo , nissuno di questi Conti imprigionati, fuori del Conte del Nortomberland, sa cosa alcuna del nostro negotio. Terzo, se fussero imprigionati per rispetto del nostro gran negotio, certo è che si metterebbono ne la torre di Londres, come si suolein simili casiet persone. Però per queste ragioni ci assicuriamo che sin' adesso li adversarii non hanno penetrato particolarità alcuna del nostro negotio: et quantoa quello che hanno fatto sin'adessoli nemici, è parer di quelli che sanno bene la dispositione d'Inghilterra che gioverà a l'impresa, et che per questo dovrebbe animarsi S . Mtà a la prosecutione di essa impresa con ogni celerità: et quanto a le persone di questi tre Conti ristretti, non sarà per la gratia di Dio la restrittioneloro di grande impedimento, perchè è probabile che al tempo de la guerra cominciata troveranno modo di liberarsi ; et quantoquesto non fusse, pur ci resteranno altri conti et principi dentro Inghilterra per esser capi de l'impresa, et li detti ristretti hanno parenti, amici et figli per pigliarla loro come il Conte di Arundel, che ha dui fratelli potenti et un zio, tutti cattolici ; il Conte di Nortemberland ha sei figli, et tre di quelli sono qui a Parigi; l'istesso si potria dir de gli altri Per concluder adunque dichiamo che questo che fin'adesso gli adversarii hanno fatto non haverà portato nocumento, ma più presto giovamento, a l'impresa con haver fatto la nostra parte dentro l'Isola più risolutache non era prima Quello ancora ch' hanno fattocontra li cattolici non è proceduto da alcuna cognitione loro del negotio in particolare, ma da qualche sospetto in generale È ben vero che si può chiamargran miracolo di Dio che una causa, la quale si communica con tanti amici per lo spatio già di dui anni, non si sia scoperta totalmente da molti giorni in quà, et certo è che non potrà passar longo tempo che non si scopra per una via o per altra, et allora, se prima non viene aiuto di fuori, seguirà la perdita di tutti i cattolici dentro quell'Isola: et per questo get- tandoci a li piedi di S . Mtà la supplichiamo per amor di Giesù Christo che non abbandoni tante anime afflitte, le quali con le mani alzate al cielo stanno aspettando giornalmente suo aiuto. Il tempo è molto propitio adesso; ogni giorno di dilationeci porta gran danno et pericolo : per questo supplichiamo S . Mtà con ogni instanza possibile che non differisca l'essecutione più di quello [che] sarà necessario ; il che ancora il Sigr Duca di Guisa ci ha comandato di supplicare a S.M. in suo nome, il qual sta piùrisoluto adesso che mai, et non aspetta altro che la buona risolutionede S . MtàCattolica Una scrittura simile è stata data da sudettipadri a questo Ambredi Spagna.

Translation .

MEMORIAL FROM DR WILLIAM ALLEN AND FR ROBERT PERSONS TO GREGORY XIII. 16 Jan., 1584

There is no doubtthat His Majestywill be anxious toreceive reports on English affairs in consequence of the various rumours that reach Spainas to recent happenings in that kingdom; and althoughweknow that His Majesty's ambassadors, both in England and France , will not fail to report all that they hear in this connection , nevertheless we have deemed it to be part of our duty to God and His Majesty to set forth with simplicity in the sight of the Lord a complete accountof present conditions in England, so far as we have been able to discover them from the letters of important persons in that kingdom First of all it is certain that the Queen's ministershave been nervous for some time about their position; especially this year after the recovery of Terceira ,(1) the increase in His Majesty's forces, the recaptureof the Flemish ports, the expulsionof the Duc d'Alencon,(2) and the setting free of the Prince in Scotland (3) These considerations , I say, have caused theministersto be more suspicious; for which reason theyhave been sending out spies during the past months to report all that they could conjecture or discover of the dealings of the Catholic princes, especially ofHis Majesty'sand His Holiness's or ofthe Guises, in order thattheymight use these reportsto build up a caseagainstthe English Catholics . And it so happened that, while they were intent on this, God permitted them to entertain suspicions of Throckmorton,(4) who was in the habit of visiting Don Bernardino's house But although they have had him on the rackthree or four times, yet, accordingto Don Bernardino's report, and as appears from Throckmorton's confession made under torture, he has not admitted anything to hurt our cause About the same time a relation of Throckmorton's named Homerfield(5) was arrested, who for a long time past had been reputed to be mad. This man , when put to the torture, confessed that he had been in communicationwith a number of gentlemen, heretics as well as Catholics ; and of these, four Catholics only were condemned to death, namely the father-in-law, mother-in-law, wife and confessor of the madman , and the madman himself, who later hanged himself in prison. The Catholics, on seeing this cruel proceeding, began to be afraid, and some of them to take refuge outside the kingdom; and among these there have come here to Paris Lord Paget(6) and Charles Arundel, both of whom are in the confidence of the English Catholic nobility When this became known in Englandthat is to say their flight the enemy were disturbed, wonderingwhetherthis were notthe beginning of a general revolt of the nobility; and therefore they at once cast their eye on the most powerful of those with whom these two fugitives had been more intimate, such as the Earlof Arundel and the Earlof Northumberland; and these two were ordered to remain as prisoners in their ownmansions, andthe Earlof Rutland was forbidden to go more than ten miles from London. It is clear, therefore , that this cruel treatment which the heretics are now using springs from lack of confidence in their own position; but as regards the details of what is planned by His Holiness and His Catholic Majesty there are signs which prove that as yet they know nothing: first ofall the fact that it is publicly stated that the Earls of Arundel and Northumberland(7) are prisoners on account of the flight of Lord Paget, on the groundthat they were accomplices Secondly, none of these imprisoned Earls, except the Earl of Northumberland, knows anything about our

project Thirdly, if they were imprisoned on account of our main project, it is certain that they would be put in the Tower of London , as is customary in similar cases and with persons of that sort. And so for these reasons we feel sure that so far the enemy have not succeeded in obtaining any precise information of our project; and, in regard to what the enemy have done up to now, it is the viewofthose who are well acquaintedwith conditions in England that it will help theenterprise andthatfor this reason HisMajestyoughtto be heartened to proceed with this enterprise with all speed And as regardsthe persons of these three Earls who are in restraint, by the grace of God our being deprived of them will not constitute any great hindrance; for it is probable that once the war is started they will find some means to regain their liberty ; and even if this were not the case , still we have other earls and leading men in England to be at the head of the enterprise, and the menwho are in restraint have relations, friends and sons to take their place: for instance, the Earl of Arundel has two influential brothersand an uncle, all Catholics ; the Earl of Northumberland has six sons, three of whom are here in Paris; the same could be said of the others. In conclusion then, we say that whatthe enemy has done so far will not have produced any harm but rather advantage to the undertaking, owing to its having made our party within the island more resolute than before. Also the measures they have taken against the Catholics have not proceeded from any knowledge they have of the actual project, but from some sort of general suspicion There is no doubt thatit can be looked on as a greatmiracle of God that a project of which so many of our friends have had information now for a space of two years has not been long since discovered completely; and it is a sure thing that no long time can elapse before it is discovered one way or another; and then, unless helpcomes from without, there will follow the ruin of all the Catholics in the island We therefore cast ourselves at the feet of His Majesty and beseech him by the love of Jesus Christ not to abandon so many afflictedsouls , whostandwith hands upraised to heaven daily expecting his aid . Now is the propitious moment; every day's delay causes us great injury and danger; therefore we beseech His Majesty with all possible earnestness not to delaytaking actionlongerthan is necessary: this, too, the Lord Duke of Guise has ordered us to beg of His Majesty in his name He is more firmly resolved now than ever, and looksfor a no less firm decision from His Catholic Majesty.

A statement in similiar terms has been handed by the abovementioned fathers to the Spanish Ambassador here.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll. P , f. 300 .

Paris, 21 January, 1584

Contentare tutti è impossibile : il che mi creda V.R. non tam proceditex vitionationis, comealcunivogliono, quam ex ipsa conditione exilii et subsequentium miseriarum per causa dellequali tutti son poveri bisognosi, e consequentemente emulatori l'uno dell'altro e sopra tuttomormoratori , come li figliuoli d'Israele mormoravano sempre contro Dio e contro suoi ministri li migliori amici che havevano .... la memoria della qual cosa doverebbeanimar assaiV.R .... nelligrandi disgusti, che dannogiornalmentequesti

, S.J.

Inglesi mormoratori(1); i quali veramente sono tanti e cosi fastidiosi ... . che il Sigr Alano et io et altri che havemo più conto della natione che V.R. ci troviamo assai stracchi et infastiditti: e però non possiamo se non temere che V.R. sia moltopiù stracca, quanto meno obligo tiene di far per loro quello che fa, e che ha fatto fin qua: ma che si potràfar in questo se non sopportar tutto con patienza per amore di colui , il quale non perdette la patienza per nissun' ingratitudine & . Qui ancora il Sigr Alano P. Claudio(2) P. Darbishiret io portiamole medesimecroci della .... fattione di Morgano Pagetto(3) & . .. . Io pensava di scrivere questa volta al Padre mio Good al buon p Ministro al carissimo Rob Southw.(4) . ... . ma & ....

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation . Paris, 21 Jan., 1584.

It is impossible to satisfy everybody, and this, your Reverence can take it from me, is the result not so much of a national vice , as some would have it, as of the very fact of their being in exile and of the hardships that accompany that state It is this that causes them to be poor and needy and consequently . . . jealous of one another, and above all murmurers , as were the children of Israel, who murmured continually against God and His servants , the best friends they had the recollectionof that fact ought to encourage your Reverence very much .. . amid the many annoyances caused daily by these English grumblers (1); and truly they are so many and so tiresome . .. . that Mr. Allen and I and others, who have moreto do with the nation than your Reverence, have become very tired and wearied by them; and yet we cannot but be afraid that your Reverence is still more weary of them, in as much as you have less obligation todofor themwhat you are doingandwhat you have done up to now Butwhat can be done in the matter except bear it all patiently for the love of Him who did not lose patience underany ingratitude, etc ? ... . Here, too, Mr. Allen, Fr. Claude, (2) Fr. Darbishire and I are carrying the same cross in the matter of . .. . Morgan and Paget's faction,(3) etc. It was my intention to have written this time to my friend Fr. Good and to good Fr. Minister and to my well beloved Robert Southwell(4) .. but, etc.

EX LITTERIS DATIS TORNACI 8 MARTII, 1584 .

Arch Vat Castel S. Angelo Arm , xiv, c 6, n 20.(1) Contemporarycopy. Ex Anglia intelligimus tam crudelem ibi modo tyrannidem

(1) On Agazzari's troubles in connection with obtaining pensions for English exiles, see a similar letter of Allen to Agazzari, 3 January, 1584 , and Agazzari's reply, 17 February (Knox, Allen, pp 220, 225) Cf. also Persons, Punti , C.R.S. iv, 131 ff "

(2) Fr. Claude Matthieu, S.J.

(3) The difficulties with Morgan and Paget are referred to by Persons in his various Memoirs, C.R.S. ii and iv, and will be treated of fully in connection with a later letterof Persons to Pageton that subject Cf. alsoinfra. (4) Thefuture martyr Bd Robert Southwell He was acting at thistime as repetitore in the English College, whilst himself studying Theology

(1) The text is printed from a transcript made by Father J. Stevenson , S.J. Unfortunately I omitted to obtain the modern reference , though the

exerceri, ut nisi maturum illis afferatur auxilium vix remansura videatur ulla spes deinceps; sin autem hac aestate subveniatur illis omnia essefacillima Throgmortonus quocum D. Bernardinus negotium nostrumcommunicavit , confessus est in tormentis nonnulla ex quibusduplexnobis malum nascitur, nam et inde multis in Anglia creavit periculum, et ipse D. Bernardinus nonnihil a causa aversus videtur Speramus tamen Deum nos non diserturum, quinimo quotidie magis aperit Deus viam et facilitat negotium. Nam heri venit huc nobilisquidamAnglus Catholicus natus in Insula Vectis, qua posita est inter Angliam et Franciam , afferens securam viam capiendi illam (i.e. Insulam Vectis) cum parva manu, quod valde placuit huic principi Parmensi, et ideo totum negotium statim scripsit ad regem; sed cum nos bene noverimus illius tarditatem et moras, universa nostra spes est in Sua Sanctitate ut regem excitet. Nihil omnino boni in hac causa sperandum fere est a D. Bernardino propterimplacibiles inimicitias quas gerit cum collega suo D. Tassis Parisiis, quibus ita immoderate indulget ut nihil velle promovere videatur quod alter approbat. Vellet etiam omnino ut altero excluso, ipse solus Parisiis retineatur ad hoc tractandum, cum aliis autem difficillime videtur conventurus. Denique (quod valde doleo) multa est vanitas; sed haec scio cui scribo. Ipse solus esse causa putatur omnium tumultuum in Anglia, eo quod cum quatuor saltem (quomodo huc scribetur) negotium communicavit, quorum unus fuit P. Gaspar Heywodus, quiconstanter respondissedicitur saepius in tormentisexaminatus Spero tamen omnia in honorem Dei cessura Saltem res nunquam meliori loco fuit in Anglia, sicuti scribunt, si cito mittatur subsidium Vos ergo videtis qua solum re opus sit.

Translation .

ONE OF THE LETTERS FROM TOURNAY , dated 8 March, 1584

We have news from England that so cruel a tyranny is now being used therethat, unless timely aid be brought to them, it seems scarcely likely that any hope for the future will remain; but that, if they get helpthis summer, all is plain sailing Throckmorton, whowas informed by Don Bernardinoof our plans, made some admissions under torture which have resulted in a twofold evil: for not only did this create danger for many people in England, but Don Bernardino himself seems to be somewhat alienated from the project We hope, however , that God willnot abandon usnay,it is true to say that God is opening the way and facilitating the affair more each day For only yesterday there came here an English Catholic gentleman , a native of the Isle of Wightwhich is situated between England and Francebringing a safe plan for the capture of the island with a handful of men And the Prince of Parma here was very pleased with it, and thereuponat once wrote a report on the whole matter to the King; but knowing well, as we do, the latter's leisurely ways and procrastination, our one given willstill enablethe documentto be found by any student applying for it in the Vatican Archives There is no indication on the letter that it was written by Persons , but the contents and the fact that he passed the winter of 1583-1584 at Tournay certainly suggest that it was So it was thought better to print it with this caution.

entire hope is in His Holinessthat he will stir the King to action . Practically nothing can be hoped for, in this business, from Don Bernardino on account of the implacablehostility he has for his colleague at Paris, Señor Tassis, which he indulges to such an extent that he seems unwilling to promote any plan which the other approves. He would very much prefer also that the other were left out ofit and he alone be kept in Paris to manage this affair: but there are others , too, with whom it seems very unlikely that he will agree Finally, I am sorry to say there is a great deal of folly; but I know to whom I am saying this. It is thought that he himself was the sole cause of all the commotions in England, for he informed at least four persons, so they tell me, of the plan, and one of these was Fr. Jasper Heywood, who is said to have been constant in his answers, though frequently examined on the wrack. I hope, however, that all will turn out for the glory of God At any rate a better opportunity has neveroffered in England, so they write, provided help is sent quickly You see , therefore, what is the one thing needed

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 301 .

24 March, 1584 .

Tutte le cose che mi scrisse il caro fratello mio Roberto(1) del Collegio e del P. Bagshao(2) non sono strane ne nuove a me , perchè Dio NostroSignore m'ha fatto già qualche esperienzadell' essercitio del demonio in dar fastidii et impedimentiin tutte le cose buone: e molto più V.R. come più . .. . essercitata haverà imparato questa prattica dell' inimico Nondimeno , ut verum fatear plus multo me afficit V . Rae consideratio, cum innocenter et gratis patiatur ab istis, et de multis bonis operibus lapidetur. Pure V.R. perseveri & .. .. (he speaketh muchin praise of sigr Carlo I suppose he meaneth Carlo Bassetto) Si sa che lui parti da Roma per causa della valetudine e che s'è rihauto già per la grazia di Dio in francia & .. Per starmi io adesso in luogo(3) ove a V.R. dirà Il Nostro Padre, non posso sciver a molti, e per ciò prego V.R.di scusarmi appresso il P. Leonardo(4) et il fatello Roberto &.

(1) Bd. Robert Southwell He had probably spent the second year of his noviceship under Persons at the Roman College, where Persons had charge of suchnovicesin 1579-80 Cf. C.R.S. ii, 25

(2) Barret's fear that Bagshaw would give trouble at Rome because of his difficult character proved correct It was for this reason that he was opposed to his being sentthere .Barret to Agazzari, 11 August and 28 December, 1583 (Knox, Douay Diaries, pp 330-334) Cf. also Barret to thesame , 21 February and 7 March, 1584 (Stonyhurst, Anglia VI, nn 6 and 7) Allen , in his letter to Agazzari, 12 August, 1583, announcing that he is sending Bagshawto the English College, makes no mention of his character(cf. Knox , Allen, p 205; and also letter of September , ibid , p 209) Cf. also Persons , Punti, C.R.S. iv, 117-119 Persons there makes a slip of memory in writing as if Bagshawwas not already a priest when he cameto Rome (3) Persons writes in his autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 33): " Soe I stayedin Tornay with the Prince(of Parma) and F. Oliverus (Manare) allthiswinter"; cf. also his Punti, C.R.S. iv, 125

(4) Persons is probably referring to Leonard Lessius 8.1 . (1554-1623), the celebratedtheologian, who had gone to Rome in May, 1583, to complete his theological training He left Rome a year later Cf. Ch Van Sull, S.J. , Leonard Lessius, 1930, p 66 ff.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation 201 24 March, 1584 .

Everything that dear Brother Robert(1) told me in his letterabout the College and Fr. Bagshaw(2) is neither strange nor novel to me, because God our Lord has caused me already to have some experience ofthe devil's habit of causing weariness and contradictionsin all efforts for good; and in as much as your Reverence has been more subject to this practice of the enemy . . . . you will have become still more familiar with it than myself Nevertheless, to tell the truth, it is on your Reverence's account that I am much more concerned, seeing that you are suffering innocently and gratuitously at their hands and are havingstones cast at you for numerous good deedsthat you have done . Yet I beg your Reverence to persevere, etc. . ... (He speaketh much in praise of Signor Carlo: I suppose he meaneth Carlo Bassetto ) It is known that he left Rome for his health's sake and that he has now recovered itin France by thefavour of God, etc ..... AsIam atpresent in a place(3)-where it is Fr. General will tell youI cannot writeto many people, and for that reason I beg your Reverence to make my excuses to Fr. Leonard(4) and Brother Robert, etc.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA .

Arch Ven Coll Angl , Rome.

Paris 11 [June](1) 1584 .

Molto Reverendo in Christo padre nostro . Pax Christi.

Per esser il nostro

Revdo pre Superiore Claudio(2) fuora a predicare alle moniale, dove lui e statoper questi 10 giorni passati, ho differito a scrivere questa mia letera fin all' ultima hora che si può tardare, et adesso perchè lui no[n] torna, bisogna scriver da me stesso, benchè più brevemente di quel che pensava, referendo V.P. per il resto, alle letere, qui rinchiuse,(3) per il p rettore del collegio Inglese al qual ho scritto le nuove che passono da qui per no metterle in questa letera di negotii.

Il p. Claudio prima che si parti, mi disse ch'haveva ricevuto [una letera] del provinciale nella qual si dice che v . pta haveva scritto al detto provincialeche no dovevano mandar più gente in Ingleterra(4) et ch' il p. Gul. Holt si doveva richiamarda Scotia

(1) The month is not given, but it is certainly June (1) Weston'sletter to Aquaviva , to which Persons refers, is that from Paris, 12 June , 1584 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp XIV, f 43) (2) On July the 3rd Aquaviva answers two letters of Persons, ofMay the 29th and June the 11th , and deals with matters containedin the above letter He also mentionshaving received a letter from Weston, and that he will answerit by the next post, which he does July the 15th (Ibid , Gall Epp Gen., 53c, 56) (3) The letter to the Rector of the English College to which Persons refers will be that of June the 11th , 1584, infra

(2) Fr. Claude Matthieu , S.J.

(3) Persons to Agazzari, 11 June, 1584 , infra.

(4)In consequence of the fury ofthe persecutionit was thought advisable that no moreJesuits should be sentto England for a time. Aquaviva, in his reply to Persons's letter above, writes: " Intorno al fare nuova missionein Inghilterra, non habbiamomai detto di non mandarepiù di nostri ma haven-

quanto prima(5) [il] che benchè io interpretava, che V.P. loscriveva per rispetto della furia presentedell' heretici, etdelladubiosa

dome scritto il Padre Odone (the Provincial at Paris) nella medesima letera de Marzo; Recrudescere in dies magis ac magis crudelem saevitiam in Catholicos, fierique ut ipse dubitaret an hoc tempore plures illuc essent e Societatemittendi, ne etiam bonis videremur nostro zelo tormenta illis augere , et plura alia in hanc sententiam quantumque heretici reformidarent homines de Societate. ' Gli havemo risposto che la cosa in questo fervore della persecutione era degna di considerationeet che per l'una parta et per l'altra parte non mancavano raggioni; ma che la cosa dovrà conferire con Sr Alano , al quale si suole dareraguaggliodi simile cose" (Ibid , Gall Epp Gen., f 53v .) Though, according to his own statement, Persons himself, moved by the insistenceof friends, had written urging delay for a time (C.R.S. iv, 129), he and Allen soon countered this policy; and Aquaviva, having consulted the Pope on the matter, agreed to send more of his subjectsto themission.― Aquaviva to Persons, 15 July, 1584 (ibid , p 53v.); to Allen, 15 July, 1584 (C.R.S. ix, 97). Cf. also Allen to Aquaviva, 5 August, 1584 (Knox, Allen, p 236), and Birkhead to Agazzari, 13 August, 1584 (C.R.S. iv, 151) Odo's letterquoted by the General is that of March 4, 1584 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp XIV, p 23)

(5) In his reply ofJuly the 3rd Aquaviva writes: " Et quanto all' haver io scritto che si richiamassi il P. Gul. Holto da Scotia, il P. Odo (provincial) alli4 di Marzomi havevascrittoqueste parole; cio è: 'Audivi a D.Alexandro Settono bene actum iri cum P. Holto si e Scotia revocetur, nam licet Regio Mandato sit e carcere eductus, quia tamen id secreto factum est, nec forte R. M. vellet resciri; si ille caperetur, tanquam reus rupti carceris (ni Deus juvaret) puniretur . Itaque de eo revocandocogitamus. ' Al che io rispose alli 14 d'Aprile in tal forma. ' De P. Holto omnino idem nobis videtur quod Rae V. ut eum in Galliam revocet; idque R.V.quamprimum ipsaopportunum judicabitexequetur' Ma adessointendendo esser molte diversecause defarlo restare, non c'è difficultà , pure che questo si conferisce col Rmo Sr. Archivescovodi Glasco et col Sr Settone et col P. Claudio" (Ibid , Gall Epp Gen. , f 53v.)

Holt had been captured onMarch the 1st, 1583 (Calderwood , The History ofthe KirkofScotland, ed. 1844, pp 111 , 702). Bowes, the English ambassador in Scotland, reported his capture the 4th of March, 1583. Then beganadiplomatictug-of-war for the possession ofthe captive betweenthe English Ambassadorand theSieur de Mainville , who had been sent to Scotland from France on a special embassy The English Governmenturgedthat the Jesuit should be tortured to force him to reveal his secrets, and that he should be handed over to the ambassador , no doubt for transference to England (Bowes Correspondence, Surtees Society, 1842. Walsingham's letters on the subject are in the British Museum , Caligula C. VII, ff 115 , 126, 128 , 160. Cf. also Mendozato PhilipII, 4 April, 1583SpanishCalendar , p 458) Thoughthere were reports that Holt had been tortured (Mendoza to Philip II, 15 April, 1583 ibid., p. 460 ; Allen to Agazzari, 20 May, 1583Knox, Allen, p 191), he was never really subjected to it (Covert to Agazzari, 25 May, 1583 , and Persons, Punti, C.R.S. iv, 93) In fact the influenceof de Mainville prevailed, and on April the 27th, 1583 , James wrote from Edinburgh to the French King that he had made a promiseto his ambassador , which he now renewed totheKing"quele dict GuillaumeHolt nerecevraaucundomage ni desplaysir et ne sera transporté en Angleterre ni mis en autre de main pouvoir nydisposition quela mienne . . . . et si en quelquechose il seroit trouvé transgresseur des loix ou coustumes de mon dit Royaumepour votre respect et du traictement que nos subjectes recoivent mutuellement en tous les pais terres et signeuries de votre obéissance je suis contens et promes lui remettre et pardonner et en tout evenementle rendre libre et entier entre les mains de ungs des gouverneursd'ung des ports de votre royaume le 20 jour de juillet prochain (ce que je vous ay bien voulu assurer et promettre en parolede Roi)" (Arch. S.J. Rom., lettere di Principi). In accordance withthis promise, James

[cosa]che si diceva del p. Gasparo(6) : pur ci dava un poco [dubita-] tione, tanto al p Claudio come a me, considerando che [bisog]na in ogni modo che la Compagnia mantenesse la sua missione , sichè noabandonasse l'impresa adesso nella piùgrande difficultà, essendo più bisogno adesso che mai che un' huomo o due fussero in londra per guidar la barca et indrizzar l'altri a rispetto del qual il Sr Alano et io nell'ultima nostra consulta, conchiusimo che era necessario [di] domandar [qualch'] aiuto da V.P. come io scrissi nelle mie ultime per l'altro ordinario

Ma adesso da due o tre giorni in qua, et dopo la partita del P. Claudio, sta qui il p Gulielmo Westono da sevilla,(7) huomo veramente come paremolto sufficiente et atto per questa missione et tanto zeloso et animoso che pare esser eletto da dio per questa opera. lui sta qui et no ha visto ancora il p. Claudioet perchè il p. Claudio era di parere quando ricevessela letera del provinciale che tutti scrivessimo subito a V.P. sopra il caso: io avisai il sr Alano, ma lui non haveva tempo di scriver a V.P. per questo ordinario, ne mancopensoil p. Claudio, però sarà necessario che V.P. determini quanto prima, et ritorni la sua risposta qui insieme con la qual speriamo che V.P. manderà il Compagno che si domanda da Roma, cio è, il pre henrico(8) come ho scritto nell' ultime mie più alla larga in questo mentre non potremofar niente nel [dispaccio] del P. Westono per rispetto del aviso che ci mandò il Rdo pre. provinciale . Ma il detto p Westono spenderà il suo tempo no inutilmente, nel informarsi con meco, delle cose d'ingleterra, sperando che fra un' mese haveremo qui la risposta di V.P. et se quel ch' ha di venir da Roma non potràvenir, n'esser spedito tanto presto, questo padre potrà entrar prima, se V.P. vorrà. perchè no convien forse ch'entrino insieme et per il pasaggio loro, speriamo di trovarlo assai securo.

Del p. Gasparo no havemo cosa certa, fuor che del suo star sano et un sacerdoteil qual è venuto qui adesso d'ingleterra, dice che tutto quello che l'heretici han divulgatodilui, è falso, et che li Catholici restono assai sodisfatti del suo proceder fin qui nel carcere, inteso, che tutto il favore che lui ha ricevuto più che l'altri sacerdoti, procede dall' amore che il Conte di Warwickefratello del Conte di Lecester, portavaanticamente al padre del p.Gasparo,

liberated Holt soon after he himself had shaken off the control of thosewho had seized his royal personat the Raid of Ruthven (James VI to the Duke of Guise , 19 August, 1583Spanish Calendar, p 503)

(6) Cf. note 9 , infra .

(7) TheGeneral'sinstructions to go to Parisin view of the English Mission reached Weston at Seville December the 23rd, 1583, but he was unable to set out for some months, and only arrived in Paris in the following June Doubts had since arisen as to the wisdom of sending more Jesuitsto England (cf. note 4, supra).

(8) Henry Garnet , S.J. , is meant. It was only in 1586 that Aquaviva was able to free him from his workat the Roman College, wherehe seems to have acted as an understudy to Clavius, the Mathematician

et no d'alcuna cosa ch' il detto padre ha detto o fatto in favora loro (9)

Le cose nuove di Scotia che sono bene V.P. intenderàdella letera, rinchiusa al p. rettore (10) et per l'ultimoordinarioio mandai a V.P. alcune letere del P. Gul. Holt, tradotte da cifere (11) spero che V.P. l'haverà ricevuto. Di grazia, se sarà possibile domandiamo che habbiamo risposta di V.P. con il primo ordinario, in questo mentre anderò io disponendo le cose qui in modo che la missione si possa far subito ricevutala risposta di V.P. altra cose no m'occorre havendo scritto nelle precendenti mie letere tutto quello che si ripresentava Il P. Gul Westono scrive a V.P. quel che sente intorno alla sua preparatione(12) et con questo non havendo più tempo fo fine ricommendandomi humilmente alla benedittione di V.P. et alli suoi santi sacrificii Da Parigi alli 11 1584 . Di V.R.P. indigno in Christo figliuolo R. Personio

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL Translation. Paris, 11 (June)(1) 1584

Very Reverend Father in Christ, Pax Christi,

Owing to our Rev. Fr. Superior, Claude, (1) being away preaching to the nuns, as he has been for these last ten days, I have waited to write this my letter till the last momentthat it could be put off; and now , as he has not returned, I am obliged to write it as from myself only. It will be a shorter one , however , than I had intended, and for the restIreferyour Paternity to the letter which is herewithenclosed(3) for the Rector of the English College, to whom I have told what news there is from here, so as not to include it in this letter on business matters

Before he went away, Fr. Claude told me that he had received a letter from the Provincial saying that your Paternity had toldhim that no more men should be sent to England(4) and that Fr. William Holt should be recalledfrom Scotland as soon as possible,(5) and although I tookit to mean that your Paternity was influenced , in writingthis, by the fury of the heretics now raging in that country and by the equivocal proceedings related of Fr. Jasper,(6) still it gave rise to a little doubt in the minds of both Fr. Claude and myself, considering that there is every need for the Society to maintain its mission ifthe undertaking is not to be given up now at its greatest crisis ; for now more than ever is there need of one or two men in London to steer the barque and keep the others to the course. And in this connection Mr. Allen and I at our last consultation came to the conclusion that

(9) Hopton, the Lieutenant of the Tower, had endeavouredto foster the belief that Heywood had yielded in some way The story can be read in Persons's edition of Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano, Rome, 1586, p 466 ff.

(10) I.e., the following letter to Agazzari, 11 June, 1584

(11) In a letterto Holt,the 1st of July, 1584 , Aquaviva mentionsthathe has atlast received his letter ofJanuarythe 15th! (Ibid , Gall Epp Gen. ,f.52.)

(12) See note 1 , supra.

we must needs ask for help from your Paternity, as I told last letter by the other post you in my

But now for the last two or three days, and since Fr. Claude went away, there has been staying here Fr.WilliamWestonfrom Seville,(7) a man who is truly very competent , as I think, and fitted for this mission , and so zealous and courageous that he seems to have been chosen by God for this work. He is staying here and has notyet seen Fr. Claude As Fr. Claude, when he received the Provincial's letter, was of opinion that we should all write at once to your Paternity on the subject , I informed Mr. Allen of this, but he had no time to write to your Paternity by this post, nor indeed, as I think, had Fr. Claude . It will be necessary, however, for your Paternity to decide the matter as soon as possible and send back your answer here: and with it we hope that you will send the companion that was asked for from Rome, that is to say Fr. Henry,(8) about which I wrote more at length in my last letter. In the interval we shall not be able to do anything about sending off Fr. Weston owing to the notice Fr. Provincial sent us Fr. Weston , however, will occupy his time not without profit in acquiringinformation from me about Englishaffairs We hope to have your Paternity's answer here withina month, and if whoever is to come from Rome is not able to come and cannot be sent off so quickly , the father here can enter the country first if your Paternity wishes; and indeed it is perhaps as well that they should not enter together. As regards a passage for them, we hope to find one that is quite safe.

We have no certain information about Fr. Jasper except that he is in good health. A priest who has just come here from England declares that everything that the heretics have publishedabout him is untrue, and that the Catholics are quite satisfied with his conduct sofar in prison, it being understood that all the favour he has received , more than the other priests, is due to the love whichthe Earlof Warwick , the Earl of Leicester's brother, bore of old to Fr. Jasper's father , and not to anything which the said father has said or done in their interest(9)

The recent happenings in Scotland, which are very satisfactory, your Paternity will hear about from the letter enclosed for Fr. Rector,(10) and by last post I sent you some letters of Fr. Holt's, deciphered.(11) I hope you will have received them. We ask as a favour that, if it be possible, we may have your Paternity's answer bythe first post; meanwhile Iwill proceed with myarrangements here so that the mission may be despatched as soon as ever your answer is received. Nothing else occurs to me to mention as I have told you in my previous letter all that there was to say Fr. William Weston is writing to your Paternity what he thinks about preparing himself for the mission (12) And so with this, as I have no more time, I make an end , commending myself humbly to your Paternity's blessing and to your holy sacrifices. From Paris on the 11th, 1584 . Your Paternity's unworthy son in Christ ,

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

R. Persons

Paris 12 [vere 11] June , 1584.

Arch S.J. Rom Anglia , 30.1 , f 298. A contemporary copy in thesame hand as thatof the letter of Persons to Aquaviva, 12 January, 1584. It is not unlike Creswell's The letter is headed " Exemplar Epistolae P. Roberti Personii datae Parisiis mense Junio . "(1)

(1) There are severalother copies of this letter J. H. Pollen, S.J. , wrote as if there were two at the English College, RomeScritture III, f 8, and

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

Admodum Reverende in Christo Pater, Pax Christi.

(2)Ex quo in haec loca veni (quod nunc fere mensis) non opinor ullum me tabellarium praetermisisse cui literas ad vestram Reverentiam non dederim Nunc autem, cum nonnullahuc allata sint tam ex Scotia quam ex Anglia, quae scriptione digna videantur:

Gradwell's Collection (C.R.S. iv, p. 134, note)-but on enquiry recently only one could be found This was printed by Knox (Douay Diaries, p 355), and is a contemporary copy and not a holograph The handwriting is not that of Persons, but rather resembles Creswell's The letter was also incorporated by Persons in his Punti della Missione, of which there are two copies (cf. C.R.S. iv, 1) In his edition of the Punti, Fr. Pollen indicated the slight differences , apart from the opening paragraphs, between these texts of the letter Here it has been thought sufficient to point out wherethe textprinted by Fr. Pollen (C.R.S. iv, 135), referred to as A, differs from the text printed above As, however, the opening paragraphs of the copy in the English College differ considerably from the text above, these have been printed below (see note 2)

It has been pointed out that owing to the risks of correspondence in those days, a duplicate of the correspondent'sprevious letter was frequently sent in each missive; and in such duplicates corrections and additions were often added There is, however, a furtherreasonfor different recensions of apparentlythe same letter, namelythat the writer, having writtento one correspondent, used the same letter or a good part ofit in writingto anotherabout the same time (see , for instance, Persons's letter of September15, infra) In the absence , too, of a public press, news letters were frequentlycopiedon reception and the copies sent to other correspondents This, in fact, is at least part explanation of contemporary copies of the same letter of Persons being found in various archives

The date given in the text aboveis June the 12th In all the other copies it is June the 11th; and Fr. Grene, the seventeenth-century copyist, who referstoour text (Coll P, f 299), givesthe latterdate Theformer is probably merely the copyist's error

(2) The opening paragraphs of the copy in the English College run as follows : " Ex quo scribendi opportunitatem nactus sum , in animum induxi de rebus tum Scotiae tum etiam Angliae T.R. certiorem facere

Acceperit ni fallor, ea quae rex Scotiae praeclare gessit. Cum enim perduelles quidam, reginae Angliae praesidiisinstructi, contra ipsum ita conspirassent , ut exercitu jaminScotiamtraducto fortissimum quoddamcastrum occuparent, et aliis quatuor civitatibus jamimminerent, rex ex quodamcomite quem comprehenderat totius conjurationis serie intellecta militem cogit, Edinburghum sese recepit, eorumque conatibus praesentissimoanimo occurrere festinat. Consulunt regi illius principes viri ut exercitum nobilicuidam committat, ipse vero majoris securitatis gratia, domi sese contineat. Quibus ille scio, inquit, tandem fore ut ipse in aciem descendam , quidni igitur hodie illius periculum faciam quod vel necessitate postmodumcogarexperiri ? Fuit igitur octo hominum millibus stipatus, qui numerus, antquam Sterlingum quod in hostium venerat potestatem, attigisset ad 20 millia excrevit. Quid plura ? Hostis perterritus partim fugit, partim sese in castrum abdit, quod ille cum conditionibus omnibus rejectis, deditione tandem obtinuisset, rebelles sexagintaquos ibireperit, tribus tantum qui claves tradiderant exceptis, porte mulctavit Alios quoque comiteset ministros hereticos, quorum illi civitates quasdaminvadere, isti vero conciliabulo quodam coactometropolim prodere decreverant, comprehensos partim in carceres detrudi , partim capite plecti curavit

" Atque haec certa sunt de Scotia Postea audivimus Patrem Holt optime valere et publica protectione a ministris securum. Ille scribit, " etc. , as in the text above

non diffugiam scibendi laborem, quamquam alias sane sim occupatissimus (3)

Accepistis jam antea (sat scio) RegemScotiae non exiguo periculo inter suos versari, propter suspitionem quam haereticiconceperunt de inclinationeejus ad fidem catholicam , obreverentiam maximam quam exhibet matri, et odium implacabile (4) in illos omnes, qui ipsam ejecerunt, patremque trucidarunt, et propterinsidias perpetuas, quae capiti ejus ex Angliafiunt, exingentitimore quem Elizabetaconcepit, futurum, ut istiusnovi solis ortus, ipsius sit occasus,nisi mature provideatur Itaqueomni diligentiaaccelerarunt conspirationem,(5) et non solum arma, pecuniae, coeteraque necessaria , verum etiam dies, locus, modusqueassignata sunt, vel neci Regis, vel apprehensioni, ut inde statiminAngliam traderetur Cujus periculi, cum summa Dei providentia Rex esset admonitus in ipso fere temporis articulo, quo res caepta est executioni mandari, apprehensusfuit Regis jussu quidam de Gory(6) homo astutissimi ingenii, et totius factioniset conspirationis moderator , qui in praesentiam Regis adductus et de conjuratione interrogatus , confessus est omnia liquidissime, consiliaque omniumaperuit, in quibus illud etiam erat, praeter haec quae jam dixi, ordinatum fuisse ut uno eodemque die quatuor loca praecipua in manus hostium traderentur, videlicet, Sterlingum, Dundee, Sanjonston, etS. Andreas, et triailla prioraoccupandaerant a tribus Comitibus conjuratis, hoc est, a Comite de Anguise,(7) Comite de Mar, et a Comite de Gorye jam praeoccupato, quartam vero civitatem Andreae (quae metropolis est Scotiae) ministri et concionatores haeretici promiserant se occupaturos, eaque de causa illo ipso tempore Synodum condixerant in illa civitate.

Haec omnia aliaque multa cum Rex ex confessione Comitisde Gorie cognovisset, statim pro rei necessitate paravit se ad arma, jam enim eo ipso die Comes de Mar audita apprehensione Comitis de Gory invaserat Sterlingum , et Comes de Anguisse milites suos deduxit campum,(8) et ex Anglia rex admonebatur per amicos quosdam secretos, ibi parari illi carcerem, tam securi videbantur de victoria Quibus rebus rex nihil territus, illud solum respondebat. Nunctandem experiar an rex sim nec ne, eoquedicto undequaque jussit convocari et conscribi milites, ipse autem ad arcem de Edenburge se contulit, ubi tormentaquaedam bellica, caeteraque arma expediunt (9) quae videbanturnecessaria , posteroque die

(3) A omits this opening paragraph.

(4) A reads ' odio implacabili '

(5) Persons is referring to the conspiracy of the Earls of Mar, Angus and Gowrie, and the Master of Glamis, etc., the leaders of the former Raid of Ruthven , to oust the Earl of Arran from the control of affairs and seize the King.

(6) A omits the name The Earl of Gowrie was captured at Dundee on April the 17th , 1584 .

(7) The Earl of Angus

(8) A reads 'in campum. '

(9) A reads ' expedivit. '

exivit in campum cum 8000 militibus, qui numerus ita crevitin itinere, ut antequam Sterlingum veniret, amplius quam 20,000 haberet, licet ipse justis quibusdam de causis, eo quod essentconsanguinei rebellium, duos Comites a se dimiserit cum omni comitatu, videlicet, Comitem de Athol, et Comitem de Bothuel (10) Misit etiam Rex ad ministros in Divo Andrea congregatosut dissolverent eorum synodum, ut ipsi obedire recusarunt, usque dum intellexerant Regem armatos aliquos ad illos mittere, et tunc statim dilapsisunt, sed rexpublico edicto tres ex praecipuis citavit, ut coram ipso compareant adcertumdiem, alioquin crimen laesae Majestatis incursuri.

Cum ad Sterlingumperventum est, Comites de Anguisse et de Mar jam discesserantversus Angliam se recipientes, arcem tamen Sterlinganam munitam et militibus refertam reliquerant, quam Rex, statim magnoimpetuobsedit, nec ullamconditionem obsessis , imo nec colloquium permitterevoluit, usque dum se ac Castellum in suam permitterent potestatem ac misericordiam , quod tandem fecerunt ,(11) rex statim nonnullos eorum supplicio ultimo affecit, alios vero donavit vita,(12) emisit etiamequites qui rebelles persequerenturex quibus etiamnonnulliinterceptiet adregemperducti, ut Baro de Linsay(18) vir impiissimus , et alii, reliqui autem in Angliam evaserunt. Haec omnia scripta fuerunt a rege ipso ad oratorem suum , qui hic degit, decimo quinto die Maii Sterlingo . Etin calce literarum erat haec clausula ipsius Regismanu apposita. Comes de Gorii hic mecum est Sterlingi, commaculavit multosex suis, et ipse propter bonum servitium suum mihi prestitum hoc tempore, et anno praeterito (erat enim princeps concilii de capiendo rege) recepturus est a me pileum Cardinalitium(14) crastino die ante prandium.

Atque haec certa sunt de Scotia, postea audivimusnon solum istum Gory capite plexum ,(14) sed etiam Baronem de Linsay, et alios nonnullos cum quibusdam ministris vel suspensis vel incarceratis, sed haec nondum ita certa Pater Gulielmus Holt(15) optime valet in Scotia, et publica regis protectione a ministris securus Ille scribit multa spe plena de conversione hujus juvenis, quorum nonnulla transmisi ad Reverendum nostrum Patrem in superioribus meis literis Hoc unum certissimum est illum odio fervere contraMinistros, qui quotidiecontra illumetconcionantur et conspirant Nuper etiam cum apud illum accusarentur duo

(10) Whether or notthesetwo were related byconsanguinitytotherebels , they were certainly so to two of them by affinity; the Earl of Athol being married to Mary, the second daughter of the Earl of Gowrie, and the Earl of Bothwell to LadyMargaret Douglas, sister of the Earl of Angus

(11) Stirling surrenderedApril the 27th. (12) A reads 'misit'

(13) Patrick, sixth Lord Lindsay ofthe Byres. (14) Gowrie was executed May the 2nd. "

(15) James not only set Fr. Holt at liberty, but gave him a safe-conduct "di poter travagliar liberamente per il paese ' Cf. Alexander Seton to the Pope, 17 April, 1584 , and Gray to the Archbishop of Glasgow, 27 January, 1584 (Theiner, Annales, iii, 806, 804)

nobiles juvenes Dn's de Fentry,(16) et Dn's de Gray,(17) quod essent catholici, ille vocatos juvenes non solum non reprehendit , sed amplius etiam jussit illos securo esse animo, nec dissimulare religionem ipsorum, ullius hominis aut ministri(18) causa, se enim fore illorum protectorem. quod evidens est signum bonaein illo(19) inclinationis si non essent alia ut sunt plurima, quorum hic mentionem facere non licet Quare summopere rogo ut ferventes orationes fiant istic ad(20) Deum pro illo, et tanto ferventiores quanto furentius Regina Angliae et ceteri haeretici , perspecta illius inclinatione incumbunt quotidie in ipsius exitium .

ExAnglia nihil fere novi habemus, nisi quod Regina affligitur mirabiliter ex hac inexpectata Regis Scotiae victoria, unde et aliquo modo pacatum illum reddat, cum suae gratiaeapudillum diffidat,(21) propterea quae contra illum Comes de Gory confessus est, egit vehementissime cum rege christianissimo ut suo ipsius nomine Oratorem mittat, qui litem hanc in Scotia componat Cui petitioni Rex Christianissimus assensit, et Oratorem suum Maniserium, (22) qui Londini morabatur , in Scotiam direxit Apud Reginam Scotiae etiamagit diligenterRegina Angliae pacifica,(23) ut suo interventu pax apud filium cum rebellibus componatur, promittens ei libertatem si hoc apud filium efficere potuerit (24)

(16) Fentry, nephew of the Archbishop of Glasgow , had been sent over to Scotland to continue the work of de Mainville and bribe in the Catholic interest some ofthe Scotchnobles, and to sound themind of James Cf.Tassis to Philip II, 11 June, 1583 (Spanish Calendar , p 480); Fentryto de Mainville, 13 July, 1583 (ibid , p. 489); ArchbishopofGlasgow toComo , 13 November, 1583 (Theiner, Annales , iii, 479.) For a list of the bribes see Theiner , ibid. , p. 809. It was Fentrywho sent James'sletter of the 19th ofAugust, 1583, to the Duke of Guise (Spanish Calendar , p 502; Tassis to Philip II, 15 November, 1583, ibid., p. 508). He had been excommunicated by the Kirk, but James protected him fromits consequences Cf. James totheDuke ofGuise, 22 January, Fentryto the Archbishop of Glasgow, 23 January, 1584 (Theiner, ibid., pp. 801 , 802).

(17) Patrick , later sixth or seventh Lord Gray, commonly known as the Master of Gray, was certainly at this time acting as a Catholic and in the Catholic interest (Gray to the Archbishop of Glasgow, 27 January, 1584 , Theiner, ibid , p. 803). But before the end of the year, when sent on an embassy by James to London, he had become a ' verie frank Protestant ' (Calderwood , op. cit iv, 240-243 ), and was betraying the designs of the Catholic party to the English Government Hosack'sjudgment ofhim , that 'fruitful in wickedness though Scotland was, she produced in this age no more consummate scoundrel than the Master of Gray' (Mary, Queen of Scots, ed 1874, ii, 277), is not too severe The guiding principle of all his many treacheriesseems to have been self-interest Cf. R. S. Rait and A. I. Cameron , King James's Secret, London, 1927, passim Gray's letter and papers were edited for the Bannatyne Club by Thos Thomson, 1835

(18) A reads aliusve' in place of ' ministri'

(19) A omits 'in illo.'

(20) A reads ' apud' in place of ' ad. '

(21) A reads ' nam . . . . diffidit. '

(22) Michael de Castlenau , Sieur de la Mauvissiere , French Ambassador in England 1575-1585

(23)A reads 'pacifice. '

(24) Onthis temporary change ofpolicy onthe part ofthe English Government see Conyers Read , Mr. Secretary Walsingham , ii, 227 ff

Persecutio Catholicorum interim augetur in Anglia indies hebdomada superiori in una eademque navi appulerunt huc novendecim Catholici partim viri partim faeminae, qui fugere coacti sunt, et ex illis nonnulli honoratae conditionis , qui nobis retulerunt quid patiantur caeteri. Fiunt quotidie novae inquisitiones quibus capiuntur plurimi Qui in carceribus sunt, inhumanissime tractantur. Cum enim non habent unde legi satisfaciant pro 66 illis aureis quos deberent solvere in singulos menses , pro illis qui ecclesias haereticorum refugiunt: coguntur dare suppellectilem, quam ad usus necessarios in carceribus habebant, ut lectos, libros, et cetera hujusmodi , ex quibus pecunia confici possit. Et praeter hoc etiam Dominus Georgius Caru Eques(25) Martius hoc mense praeterito, post habitam per carceres inquisitionemabstulit quicquid invenire potuit vel in pecunia numerata, vel in vestibus , aliisque rebus repositum Omnes etiam latrones, homicidae, reliquique malefactores, qui in iisdem carceribus continentur , spe majoris favoris et impunitatis in delictis commissis, excitantur contra catholicos concaptivos ut injuriis et maledictis illos afficiant, quod quotidie faciunt prohibentes illos a participatione eleemosynae , panis, caeterarumque rerum, quae ad carceres mittuntur, et clamantes indignumesse, ut ipsi, qui fideles subditi sunt reginae licet in caeteris deliquerint, cogantur vivere cum papistis, qui inimici sunt Dei et nobilissimae reginae, unde Catholici , qui sciunt hoc aliunde quam ab ipsis provenire, dubitant ne aliqua nocte abistis strangulentur permissione superiorum Et hoc mihi affirmavit vir gravis nobilisque paterfamilias , qui rei interfuit , et post multorum annorum carceres huc tandem dilapsus est . Narrant etiam quatuor superiori mense ob fidem catholicam supplicio affectos, duos in Civitate Herfordiensi , presbiterum et laicum,(26) duos etiam in civitate Eboracensi presbiterum et laicum , (27) sed nomina non tenent Solum illud addunt constantissime mortuos esse, maxime illos duos priores, qui ad majus tormentum suspensi fuerunt diu palmis manuum(28) quam collis , ut sic deficerent, sed Deus confortavit illos Narrant etiamquinque fuisse flagellatos publice in Civitate Wintoniensinec tamen quenquam defecisse. Atque haec prius quam istiex Anglia egressi sunt. Postea autem accepimus Dominum Throgmortonumet quinque sacerdotes cum illo, affectos supremo supplicio, sed hoc nondum confirmatum .(29) Inter illos qui Wintoniae flagris caesi sunt, fuit unus faber ferrarius, homo simplex, sed robustus et constans . Hic

(25)Sir George Carey, son of Lord Hunsdon, and a cousinof Queen Elizabeth, his grandparentsbeingWilliamCareyandMary, sisterof Anne Boleyn. (26) This seems to be anunconfirmedrumour,for nothing furtheris known of the two said to have been martyred at Hereford. (27) He is probably referring to the twomartyrs, Bd. James Bell, apriest, and Bd John Finch, a layman, who suffered on April the 20th, 1584butat Lancaster, not at York.

(28) A inserts 'prius. '

(29) Another unconfirmed rumour Francis Throckmorton, however , was executed on July the 10th

timore territus consenserat, ut semeladiret hereticorum ecclesiam, cujus rei postea tanta eum cepit penitentia , ut publice in Comitiis protestaretur se gravissime peccasse, nec unquam iterum ullius terrore iturum qua protestatione offensi judices, cum pecuniam non haberet quam perderet, decreverunt ut semel in hebdomada flagellaretur publice usque dum iret quam sententiam cum accepiset, respondit, omnino vos estis iniqui judices : parva enim est haec poenaad diluendumtantum peccatum quantumego commisi in adeunda vestra daemoniaca ecclesia ; si decrevissetis me flagellandum singulis diebus, aliquid hoc fuisset, sed semel in hebdomada iniquissimum est Qua responsione magis offensi adhuc judices, dixerunt satis se daturos flagrorum si faber tantopere illis delectaretur. itaqueillum statim denudari, et ad columnam ligatum flagellari jubent, quod ubi alter summa patientia tulisset ,(30) petierunt ab illo quomodo hoc illi placeret (81) cui ille respondit , satis bene, pro matutino, et si iterum tantum sibi daretur ad vesperam, et sic continuaretur per aliquot menses , non dubitare se quin Deus pro sua misericordia illi remitteret poenam tanti peccati quod commisit in adeunda daemoniaca eorum ecclesia. quo audito judices illum a se ablegarunt tanquam insanum, et postea quid de illo actum sit nescimus.

Ex istisVestra Reverentia intelligitquantum debeamusdivinae bonitati, et quantum indigeamus(82) vestris orationibus sanctisque sacrificiis, ne gratiam suam a nobis auferat. Intelligent etiam nostrates quivobiscum sunt, quantum et quomodo se debeant praeparare ut hoc in agone legitime decertent Quae de supplementis ad Reverendum Patrem Nostrumscripsi, pro sua charitateVestra Reverentia adjuvet, et promoveat , idque quam potest citissime. Hic in Gallia timentur omnino perturbationes magnae ex morte D. Alensonii ,(33) quae hodie narratur ut certissima Quidam enim in regis Navarrae successionem propendent, (34) alii abhorrent Deus illud statuat quod magis sit ad suam gloriam, et salutem animarum profuturum, quae omnium aliarum rerum est maximi momenti Atque ita finem facio humillime me vestris sacrificiis commendans , V. etiam Ram obtestans ut omnibus me nostris(35) reverendis Patribus , charissimisque fratribus commendet,(36) sicut etiam nostratibus , qui istic sunt, maxime vero Reverendissimo Dno Assaphensi, admodum Rdo D. Mortono, caeterisqueomnibus. Parisiis, 12 Junii 1584 . Vestrae Reverentiae in Christo servus ,

(30) A reads 'subiisset . ' (31) A reads 'quibus. '

(32) A reads ' indigemus' Rob Personius.

(33) His deathon Junethe10th, 1584, lefttheHuguenotHenryofNavarre heir tothe throne and led tothewar ofthethree Henries, the CatholicLeague under Henry, Duke of Guise , resisting the claimsofNavarre .

(34) A reads ' perpendent. '

(35) A reads ' vestris'

(36) A reads 'commendes '

Translation .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI , RECTOR OF THE ENGLISH COLLEGE , ROME (1) Paris, 12 June, 1584. Very Reverend Father in Christ, (2)Since I came to these parts (which is now nearly a month ago, I do not think I have let any courierleave withoutgiving him a letter for your Reverence But now, since some news has been brought here both from Scotland and England which it seems worth while to give you, I will not shirk the labour of writing, in spite of being otherwise exceedinglybusy.(3)

I know you have heard already that the King of Scotland is in no small danger among his people, on account of the suspicion which the heretics have conceived of his leanings to the Catholicfaith, arguing from the great reverence which he pays his mother and his implacable hatred(4) for all those who have cast her out and murderedhis father Add to this the never-ceasing plots hatched in England against his crown and life, by reason of the dire fear which Elizabeth has conceived lest the rising of this new sun be her setting, unless she look to herself carefully. Therefore, with all diligence they hurried on the conspiracy (5) ; and not only arms, money and other necessaries , but also time, place and mannerwere arranged for either the death orthe captureof the King, that thence forthwithhe might be delivered over into England But by the great providence of God the King was warned of his danger, and in the nick of time, when the plot began to be put into execution , a certain Earl of Gowrie ,(6) a most cunning man , was arrested by the King's order This man was the director of the wholefaction and conspiracy Brought into the King's presence andasked abouttheir design, he made a clean breast ofit alland opened out all their plans, one of which was, besides what I have mentioned , an arrangement for the betrayal into the enemy's hands on the same day of the four chief fortresses of the kingdomStirling, Dundee, St. John's Town (i.e. Perth), and St. Andrews The three former were to be occupied bythree earls in the conspiracythe Earl of Angus,(7) the Earl of Mar, and the Earl of Gowrie, who was now forestalled . As for the fourth, the city of St. Andrews , which is the metropolis of Scotland, the heretical ministers and preachers had promised that they would occupyit, and thereforeat that very time they had called a synod in that city

When the King had learnt all these and many other detailsfrom the confession of the Earl of Gowrie , immediately he prepared to defend himself as the occasion required. That very day the Earl of Mar , having heard of the arrest of the Earl of Gowrie, had entered Stirling, and the Earl of Angus had led his soldiers to the field (8) From England the King was warned through certain secret friends that a prison was being prepared for him there, so sure did they seem of victory. The King, not a whit terrified, said for his only answer , 'Now I will prove whether I am King or not ' So saying, he ordered soldiers to be summoned and levied everywhere He betook himself to Edinburgh Castle, where he prepared cannon and other armswhich seemed necessary. (9) The next day he took the field with 8,000 men , which number so grew on the march that before he reached Stirling he had morethan 20,000, notwithstanding thatforjust reasons, seeing they were relationsof the rebel lords, he had dismissed from his army the two Earls of Athol and Bothwell,(10) with all their retainers The

King also sentwordto the ministersassembledat St. Andrews to break up their synod But they refused to obey, until they saw the King was sending armed men upon them; then they dispersed at once. But the King by proclamationcited threeoftheirchief members to appear before him on a certain day under penalty of high treason . When the King reached Stirling the Earls of Angus and Mar had already made off for England, leaving, however, Stirling Castle fortified and full of soldiers . The King immediately laid siege to it in greatforce, and wouldofferthe besiegedno termsnay, notso much as a parleyuntil they surrendered themselves and the castle to his discretion and mercy, which finally they did (11) The King at once inflicted capital punishment on some, and let go others He also sent(12) horsemen to pursue the rebels, some ofwhomwere intercepted and brought to the King, as the Lord Lindsay, (13) a most wicked man , and others . The rest escaped into England. All this was written by the KingfromStirling on May 15 to his ambassador here Atthe foot of the letter there was this postscript added in the King's own hand: The Earl of Gowrie is here with me at Stirling. He hath besmirched many of his side, and himself for his good service to me on this occasion and last year (he was the chief contriver of the plot for seizing the King) is to receive from me a Cardinal's hat to-morrow before dinner.'

So far is certain We have since heard from Scotland that not only was Gowrie beheaded,(14) but also the Lord Lindsay and sundry others, along withsomeministerswhowere eitherhanged or imprisoned . But that is not yet so certain. Fr. Holt(15) is very well in Scotland , secured against the ministers by the public protection of the King He writes many hopeful things about the conversion of this young man , some of which I have reported in my former letter to our Fr. General. This is most certain, that he (the King) is fired with hatred against the ministers , who every day preach and conspire against him Lately also , when two young men of rank, the Masters of Fentry(16) and Gray, (17) were accused before him of being Catholics, he called them into his presence, and not only did not blame them, but further bade them set their minds at rest, and not dissemble their religionfor any man's or minister's(18) sake, for he would be their protector Which is an evident sign of good inclination, were there not, as there are, other things not lawful to mention here Wherefore I earnestly askyour Reverence to have fervent prayers put up in your house for him, and all the more fervent the more furiously the Queen of England and other heretics, seeing his inclination, labour for his overthrow.

From England we have scarcely any news , except that the Queen is wonderfully upset about this unexpected victory of the King of Scotland . To pacify him in some way, not trusting to her owninfluence with him on account of what the Earl of Gowrie confessed, she has made earnest appeal to the Most Christian King to send an envoy in his own name to arrange this dispute in Scotland To this request the Most Christian King has assented, and has directed his envoy Mauvissière,(22) who was staying in London, to proceed to Scotland The Queen of England is also negotiating diligently with the Queen of Scotland in peaceful terms, begging her to intervene and reconcile her son to his rebellious subjects, promising her libertyif she prevail with her son in this matter.(24)

Meanwhile , the persecution of Catholics grows in England day by

day. Last week, in one and the same ship, there came hither nineteen Catholics, some men, some women, some of them of honourable condition, who have related to us what the rest suffer They who are in prisonare mostinhumanly treated Not havingthe means of satisfying the law for the sixty-six gold pieces which they ought to pay every month for refusing to go to the churches of heretics, they are compelled to give the furniture which they had for necessary uses in prison, as beds, books, and other things of the sort, to make up the money. Besides that, Sir George Carey, (25) who is entitled Knight Marshal, inspected all the prisons and took away whatever he could find, either in ready money or in clothes or any other stores Moreover, allthe robbers, murderers andother malefactors whoaredetained in the same prisons, in hope of greater favour and impunity for their misdeeds , are set on againsttheir Catholic fellow-prisoners with insults and curses , daily preventing them from sharingin the alms , breadand other things sent to the prisons, protestingthat it is a shame for such faithful subjects of the Queen as themselves, albeit in other respects delinquent, to be obliged to live with Papists, enemies of God and of their most noble Queen The Catholics, knowing that such language comes from other than them that use it, are fearful lest some night they be strangled by these fellows, permissu superiorum So I was assured by a grave and noble father of a family, who was present and after many years of imprisonment at last escaped here.

They tell also howlast monthfour were put to deathforthe Catholic faith two in the city of Hereford, a priest and a layman,(26) and two also a priest and a layman, in the city of York(27); but they have not got their names They only have this to add, that they diedwith the utmost constancy, particularly the two former, who for their greater torment were hung longbythe palms of their hands(28) before they were hung by their necks, that so they might give way; but God strengthened them They tell also how five were publiclywhipped in the city of Winchester , yet none of them gave way. And thus much before these informants left England We have since heard that Mr. Throckmortonandfive priests with him have been put to death, but this news is not yet confirmed (29) Among those who were flogged at Winchester there was a blacksmith, a plain man , robust and constant Through fear he had consented once to go to the heretics ' church , of which weakness he was afterwards so thoroughly penitent that he protested at the assizes that he had sinned most grievously andwould never go thereagain for fearofanyone Thejudges, offended at this protest, seeing that he had no money to lose, gave sentence that he should have a public flogging once a week until he went to church . Receiving the sentence he replied : 'Well, you are unjust judges ; this is a slight penalty to wash away the great sin thatIhave committed in going to your devilish church If you had sentenced me to a whipping every day it would have been something, but this once a week is most unfair.' The judges, still more offended at this reply, said they would give him stripes enow , if the blacksmith took such delight in them Accordingly they ordered him to be stripped at once , tied to a pillar, and scourged When he had taken this with the utmost patience, they asked him how he liked it. He answered 'That is well enough for a morning meal, ' and added that, if as large a portion were given him for the evening, and so it went on for some months, he doubted not that God in His mercy would remit to him the penalty of the great sin that he had committed in going to their '

devilishchurch . Hearing this the judges remanded him as a madman , and what became of him afterwardswe do not know

From all this your Reverence will understand how much we owe to God's goodness, and how muchwe need your prayersandyourholy Sacrifices, that He may not take away His grace from us Likewise our countrymenwho are with you will understand in what degree and manner they ought to prepare themselves to strive lawfully in this combat. As to what I have written to Fr. General about reinforcements, will your Reverence charitably help and promote the request with all the speed you can Here in France there are great fears of disturbances to follow upon the death of the Duke of Alencon,(33) which is to-day reported as quite certain Some incline to the succession oftheKing of Navarre, others abhorthe idea May God arrange that which will be mostfor His glory and the salvationof souls, which of all businesses is of the greatest moment. And here I end , commending myself to your holy Sacrifices, and beseechingyour Reverence to remember me to all your reverend Fathers and dear brothers, as also to our countrymen who are with you, especially to my Right Reverend Lord of St. Asaph, and the Very Reverend Dr. Morton , and all others, Paris, June 12 , 1584.

Your Reverence's servant in Christ,

Rob Persons

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f 303

Paris, 10 July, 1584.

Ho ricevuto etc. . .. . Dio benedica il fervore di Vostra Reverenza e del Padre Southwello (1) e ci piace grandemente Quanto al Padre Bagshao e suoi compagni m'è stato gratissimo che Vostra Reverenza l'habbia mortificato: et io sono di parere che saria spediente non solamente di mortificare ma ancora di castigare tali huomini (2) etc. (After much to this same purpose he addeth) La natura di questa nostra gioventù Inglese, è così fatta che farà più moltevolte per timore che non per amore , onde etc ..... Pur sappia Vostra Reverenza che il numero di questi malcontenti e detrattori e tanto grande adesso qui (tutti nati là da Roma) che infettanola maggior parte della gioventùche viene da Inghilterra con mala opinione e cattivi giuditii . . . . contra la Compagnia etc. . . .

(1) Fr. Grene notes that in earlier letters Persons speaks of Southwell as "fratello , " and in this and subsequentletters as "Padre , " and concludes that Southwell's ordination took place in 1584 , before July. (2) Cf. Persons toAgazzari, 24 March, 1584. ChristopherBagshawe appears tohavegiven agooddealoftrouble in the EnglishCollege this year (cf. Barret to Agazzari, 6 April, 1584Stonyhurst, Anglia i, 18) Fr. Grene , who had before him many letters of Barret, notes as regards those of these years: "In pluribus epistolis Barretus cum Agazzario agit de seditioseingenio et pessimis actionibus Ch . Bagshawtoto anno 1584 et 1585 " (Arch. S.J. Rom. , Anglia 37 , f 213) Eventually, about January or February, 1585, Bagshawe was dismissed from the College Cf. Sega's report of his visitation, 1585 , printed in O. Meyer, England and the CatholicChurch under Elizabeth , p 504 Barret congratulatesAgazzari on it in his letterto him of 20 February, 1585 (Arch S.J. Rom , Anglia 37, f 212).

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation

Paris, 10 July, 1584

I have received , etc. . . . . God bless your Reverence's zeal and Fr. Southwell's (1) : it gives us great satisfaction With regard to Bagshaw and his companions, I am very glad that your Reverence has caused him mortification; and I am of opinion that it would be expedient not merely to mortify him but even to punish men like him,(2) etc. (After much to this same purpose he addeth). Thecharacter of these Englishyouthsof ours is so constitutedthat they will often do more through fear than they will from love, whence , etc ..... Moreover, your Reverence should know that the number of these malcontents and detractors is so great here at the present time (they all hail from you in Rome) that they are infecting the greaterpart of the young men who come from Englandwith unfavourable opinions of the Society and malicious judgments in its regard, etc.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI.

Paris, 23 July, 1584 .

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f 300. Quoted in part by Knox, Allen, p 241 , note Post multa de expensis pro literis etc. subdit-

Laverità è cheda 3 anni che giàtengo traffichi in questebande per aiuto d'Inghilterra, non ho ricevuto un quatrino di limosina

... . fuorche A 500 dal Signor Georgio e 200(1) scudi dal nostro Padre: altri denari ho havuto per far viaggi da altri . .. . hora consideri le spese che havemo fatte . .. . Primieramente ho fatto ... mandar in Inghilterra dopo che sono in queste bande in calici, paramenti , messali, breviarii, officioli, catechismi, libri spirituali e di controversie a diversi tempi più che la valuta di 4000 scudi: per le quali mercantie vero è che rimandano alcuna volta denari, ma con molta incertezza perdita e pericolo etc.(2) . E non sono ancora 400 giorni che ho speso più di 88 scudi solamente in dar a poveri sacerdoti a chi 10 a chi 8 scudi etc. . . . .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation . Paris, 23 July, 1584. (After much on the subject of expenses for sending letters, etc. , he proceeds:)

The fact is that in the threeyears that I have now been negotiating in these parts for the succouring of England I have not received a farthing in alms .. except for 500 A from Mr. George and 200 crowns from Fr. General : other sums of money I have received from people to pay for journeys . . . . Now consider the expenses we have had In the first place I have had sent to England, at varioustimes since I have been in these parts, chalices, vestments, missals, breviaries, Little Office books, catechisms, books of devotion and controversyto the valueof more than 4,000 crowns It is true that sometimes they send back money in return for these goods, but it is done with great (1) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva , 21 October, 1581, note 24 (2) Cf. Nuncio in Franceto the Cardinal ofComo, 17 September , andAllen to the same , 27 September (Knox, Allen, pp 240, 241)

uncertainty and with much loss and danger(2)

It is not 40 days since I spent upwards of 88 crowns just in gifts to needy priests10 crowns to one, 8 crowns to another, etc.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA

.

Paris, 23 July, 1584 .

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f 175. Grene adds " transcript ex autographo. " Pax Christi Mi venne hieri alle mani la di V.P. delli(1) 2 del presente . e quantoal scrivere del nostro R. P. Provinciale(2) à V . Ptà per richiamare il P. Holt(3) sopra la relatione del Sigr Alessandro Setono,(4) non mi meraviglio perchè ancora il detto Alessandro, come etiandio il suo padre mi parlarono due volte sopra quella materia, lodando molto il P. Holt, e pur dicendo che per quelli medesimi rispetti che scrisse il P. Provinciale , sarebbe benfarlorichiamaree mettere qualche altro in suo luogo; e quando io feci qualche difficoltà nel secondo, loro parevano più presto di volerritener lui, che non haver alcuno; pure di poi tornavano un'altra volta a replicar il medesimo che saria ben richiamarlo: il che mi diede (per dire il vero) qualche sospettodi passione , considerando che hora cessavano le prime loro ragioni del pericolo del Padre, havendo lui non solamente sicurtà ma espresso ordine ancora dal Re di restar là: onde io conferi la cosa con il P. Claudio et il P. Critono, et intesi come il Sigr Alessandro Setono haveva pigliato un poco di disgusto del partir del P. Holt dalla casa del suo padre per stare in Edinburgo apresso la corte,(5) e del suo famigliar trattar con altri, che prima non soleva, specialmentecon li Sigri Gray e Fentry(6) gentilhuomini Scozzesi molto catholici e raccommandati al Padre dal Duca e dal Revmo Glasco. Di modo che mi dicono che questo è solamente un poco di puntiglio e non altro, il che passerà facilmente e s'accommodarà per altra via per la gratia di Dio Queste è certissimo che fin tanto che si mandino altri, lui è molto necessariolà perchè li catolici non hanno altro adesso , a chi ricorrere ; e Dio gli ha dato particolar gratia fin qui di contentar tutti come ogn'uno dice che vengono e scrivono dilà, il che non è poco, come V.P. ben sa ed io sperimento ogni giorno Quanto all' altra missione per Scotia, la quale s'è domandata,tutti sono di parer, che sia necessarissimaper aiutar e guadagnar quel Re con la bella occasione che adesso Iddio ci ha presentato:

(1) Aquaviva's letter to which Persons refers is dated the 3rd of July.

(2) Odon Pigenat, S.J., had been Provincial since 1582

(3) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 11 June, 1584 , note 5 supra.

(4) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 21 October, note 20 supra It was atSeton's house that, at the instigation of Bowes , the English Ambassadorto Scotland, an attempt had been made to arrest Fr. Holt, but he escaped to the house of the French Ambassador, and was eventually taken at Leith. Among the letters found on Holt was one of Alexander Seton, and Bowes urged the latter's arrest (Bowes to Walsingham, 4 March and 8 May,1584, Bowes Correspondence, pp. 375 , 435. Cf. also Calderwood , op cit., iii, 702, and Alexander Seton to the Pope, 17 April, 1584 , Theiner, iii, 806)

(5) Cf. Persons, Punti, C.R.S. iv., 143.

(6) Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 11 June, notes 16 and 17 ,

(7)e benchèforse se la cosa fusse rimessaal Re et a quelli, i quali li sono intorno, non domandarebbono questa missione non havendo loro ancora troppo sentimento delle cose di Dio, tuttavia è cosa certa che stando le cose col Re come stanno et essendo la missione fatta con discretione secretezza e senza rumore se ne serviranno di quella tanto il Re some li suoi, per avanzarsi nelli loro disegni o desiderii come vediamo che si sono serviti del Padre Holto, benche venisselà non solamente senza, ma contra la voluntà loro, e così bisogna che noi ce ne serviamo di loro (almanco dell' occasione) per il bene tanto loro quantouniversale della Christianità; Perchè s'assicuri V'Ptà che se potessimo guadagnarea Dio questo giovane Re sarebbe il più gran flagello dell'heresia che mai fù, perchè e zelosoin tutto quello che apprende, diligente , animoso, e risoluto, e per questo bisognarebbe che offerissimo molte vite a Dio per comprare un tal tesoro per la Chiesa : quando sarà fatto questo supplemento che si domanda per Scotia (del che penso che S . Sta et Pta havranno ricevuto lettere dal Archvescovo di Glasgo )(8) più facilmente si potrà richiamare il Pre Holto, se V . Ptà piacerà, benchè in questo ancora mi parerebbe che bisognarà governar la cosa secondoli tempi e le occasioni, delle quali non si può dar regola certa perchè si variano di giorno in giorno Pur del mio andar là, il P. Holt ha risposto al R.P. Claudio Mattei, il qual haveva dimandato il suo parere, che non gli pareva spediente, ch'io mi partissi ancora di quà, se non fusse qualche cosa particulare d'importanza (9) & . . ..

(7) From "e benchè " to "piacerà" is quoted by Persons in hisPunti , C.R.S. iv, 142

(8) Cf. the Archbishop of Glasgow to Gregory XIII, Paris, 5 June, 1584 (Theiner, iii, 601), where he asks that Jesuit missioners should be sent to Scotland, naming in particular E. Hay, J. Tyrie, J. Gordon and W.Crichton . He had written to Aquaviva on the subject 13 November, 1583. Crichton , too, had urged the mission (Crichton to Aquaviva 17 June, 1584Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp XIV, f. 15) Aquaviva, however, hesitated, fearing that such a mission might only add to James's difficulties by increasingtheopposition to him , and possibly do more harm than good Gregory XIII inclined to the same opinion (Aquaviva to E. Hay20 October, 1583;to Crichton 17June, 1584; and to Persons 3 July, 1584 ibid , Gall Epp Gen., ff 24v, 51v , and 53v) Eventually both the Pope andAquaviva agreed toleave ittothedecision of those in Paris who were in closer touch with Scotch affairs, the General adding that Allen's opinion must carry great weight in the matter (Aquaviva to Persons 15 July, 1584; to Crichton 10 August, 1584ibid., ff 55v , 56v) Their decision proved favourable and accordingly Crichton and J. Gordon set out at the beginning of August (Odo Pigenat to Aquaviva 5 August- ibid , Gall Epp XIV, f 58; Persons to the same 15 September, 1584 , infra Cf. also H. Fouqueray, Histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus en France, Paris, 1913, ii, 99 ff).

" (9) Aquaviva was of the same opinion and would on no account allow Persons to go to Scotland at thistime Quanto all' andata di V.R. in quel regno, " he writes 3 July, 1584 , " non mi pare in modo alcuno per le raggioni per le quali manco che vadi in Inghilterraet questo di piu che la Regina (Elizabeth) il sarebbe et s'offenderebbe molto piu di questochedi qual si voglia altro per le cause che V.R. puo considerare "; and he reiterates this view in his letter of July 15-"ut vero Reverentia quoque vestra illam missionem suscipiat, in praesentia quidem nullo modo approbare possumus " (Ibid., Gall. Epp Gen., ff 53v, 55v)

(10)Il nostro P. Provinciale sta per il più lontano da qui, e quando sta qui molti sono i quali non pensanoche convenga per alcuni respetti fastidirlo molto con le cose nostre, onde sua R. non ha tanto modo di saper tutte le particolarità e circumstanze del negotio; di poi ancora lui ha un cuore, oltra tenero, il quale si muove presto con le aversità e persecutioni che sente; onde non mi maraviglio se S.R. si turbò un poco con la furia dell' ultima persecutione d'Inghilterra la quale veramente fù asprissima e non ci dispiacque qui (comescrissi a V.P. da Tournai) cheV.R. andasse un pocodifferendo la Missione, fin tanto che si serenasse e passasse in qualche parte (11) il che già è venuto per la grazia di Dio perchè adesso non si sente nulla di quel gran rigore, anzi dicono qui alcuni heretici e fanno creder così a molti Cattolici, che non faranno morir più gente per la Religione ; ed io per me credo che se loro sapessero farlo con l'onor loro desiderarebbonohaver pace con noi, almanco qualche accordo perchè temono estremamente e ben vedono che non longe abest ruina ipsorum(12): di modo che adesso più che mai è il tempo nostro d'andare inanzi , vedendo che Iddio ci aiuta così manifestamente nelle battaglie, e per questopreghiamo la P.V. per amor di Dio di spedir presto il Padre Henrico(18) da Roma, perchè quanto più vo pensando, tanto più mi pare quello Padre esser a proposito E questo Padre Gulielmo (14) creda V . Ptà (se io non m'inganno) che riuscirà rarissimo per quello effetto, perche questo è huomo sicurissimo quanto alla virtù, prudenza,et edificatione. Di poi con star qui e leger alcuni libri, e sentirragio- namenti delle cose di là, è divenuto tanto infiammato quanto appena si può credere . Quanto al modo di star o viver in Inghilterra non si può perscrivere altro di quello havemo fin qui tenuto et li altri sacerdoti hoggidi tengono, se non che uno di loro haverà di star per il più in Londra, over intorno per indirizzar tutti li altri e quanto al pericolo non saranno in più che gli altri , e possono haver molti aiuti, che li altri non hanno, se Dio li permetterà di servirsene. Già V.P. ha visto che havemo passati quattr' anni e più con la presa solamente di due persone il che non è molto, considerando il guadagno, il che tutti confessano (ancora li medesimi heretici) d'esser stato più grande che in vinti anni per avanti, Iddio nostro Sigre sia lodato per tutto. Io non credo che facilmenteusaranno più tormenti alli sacerdoti che pigliaranno di modo che li nostri mandati adesso andaranno con tanto manco pericolo di patire, che li altri li quali hanno preceduti , (15) e questo è un gran punto,

(10) From " Il nostro P. " to " ruttorio in Roma. " is quoted by Persons in his Punti, C.R.S. iv, 148 .

(11) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 11 June, note 4

(12) Persons's hopes of the persecution diminishing were not fulfilled Cf. Persons's letter of 15 Septemberinfra

(13) Fr. Henry Garnet, S.J.

(14) Fr. William Weston, S.J.

(15) This hope, too, was not fulfilled To mention onlyJesuits, Southwell , Walpole and Gerard suffered appalling torture .

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

perchèin verità l'esserimpiccatoè un giogo soave, rispettodi patir li tormenti, et in se non è tanto come patir un ruttorioin Roma . Li heretici hanno stampato un libro in Inglese latino, francese , Tedesco, et Italiano intitolato Atto della giustitia d'Inghilterra in scusa della persecutione loro (16) La risposta è fatta in Inglese e quasi stampata, si traduce ancora in Latino,(17) la qual traduttione subito che sarà stampata inviaremo a Roma, accio chè sia tradotta li da qualche huomo intelligente della lingua . . È venutoquiin questi giorni da Inghilterra un certo Salomone Aldred Inglese, sua professioneantica fu di sartore; adesso tratta molto con la Santa Inquisitione: ha la moglie in Lione, e pensione da suaSantitàin Roma: furono prese qui in Parigi questo inverno passato alcune sue lettere cattive scritte da lui in Roma ad un heretico in InghilterrachiamatoUmptono, del quale V.P.saràstata forse informata, perchè le dette lettere furono di qua rimandate a Roma , come mi è stato detto. Adessolui è statoin Inghilterra molto accarezzato dalli Consiglieri della Regina e rimandatoqua con favore , sicurtà, e molti denari come si dice e lettere & Non volle vederne il Sigr Alano ne me, ma scrisse duo o tre paroline, significando oscuramente che lui non faceva questi traffichi senza commissioneetordine diRoma,dovelui è adesso pertornare Stette qui in Parigi alcuni giorni, e diede ad intendere a molti. .. . che lui sta impiegato dalla Santa Inquisitione e che un fratello della Compagnia nostra chiamato Batsono è consapevoledi tutti suoi traffichi, li quali non piacciono troppoalli Catolici diqui & . V . Ptà veda di gratia di quel fratello nostro se è vero o no(18)

Adessoè venuto qua nuova certa .... cheil Principe d'Oranges alli 11 di questo mese fu amazzato in Delf(19) & Aggiungo(20) solamente questo con buona venia di V . Ptà che mi

(16) Burghley's The Execution of Justice in England, etc. , reprinted in Somers Tracts, London, 1809, i, 189. The Nuncio, too, reports on July the 23rd that the book, of which he had already sent the French translation , had now been printed in Italian (Knox, Allen, p 424)

(17) Allen's A True, Sincere and Modest Defence of English Catholics, edited by J. H. Pollen, S.J., London, 1914. The Latin translation was incorporated in the Concertatio, Treves , 1588, p 287. Cf. also Nuncioto the Cardinal of Como, 11 September , 1584 (Knox , Allen, p 239)

(18) For this incident cf. Allen to the Cardinal of Como, 20 July, 1584 (Knox, Allen, p 234); Persons, Punti (C.R.S. iv, 126), and his Autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 33-35), where Fr. Pollen in a note gives the pertinent authorities for Aldred's activities. Aldred apostatised and became one of Walsingham's spies Cf. also C. Butler, O.S.B. , and J. H. Pollen, S.J., " Dr. Gifford in 1586 , " The Month, 1904 , March and April In his Domesticall Difficulties (C.R.S. , ii, 184) Persons states that Edward Umpton (or Unton) " wassonne toSir Edward Umpton " His brother, then, would be the diplo- matist Sir Henry Unton, cf. D.Ñ.B. lvii, 22. The Richard Batesonmentioned was eventually dismissed from the Society on the 15th of May, 1590 (Arch . S.J. Rom . , Catalogus Dimissorum). Cf. also Persons, Certayne Apparent Judgments (C.R.S. ii, 206).

(19) William of Orange was assassinated the 10th of July, 1584 (20) From "Aggiungo" to the end is quoted by Persons in his Punti, C.R.S. iv , 144

pare nel Signore e per il suo maggior servitio più spediente, se piacesse a V . Ptà, di non nominar me nec quicquam mihi deferre în mittendis hominibus in Scotiam, ma che(21) il Rev. P. Claudio, ovvero in sua assenza altro Soczzese, havesse la cura totale di quello: il che non dico per causa de nostri, ma per respetto di quelli Signori secolari con i quali in quella missione bisogneràconferir sempre, il che sarebbe a me pena e distrattione grandissima (essendo altrimente nelle cose nostre d'Inghilterra molto occupato e bisognosissimo di qualche riposo e ritiranza), et a loro manco soddisfattione per molte cose Io resto molto obligato a loro per l'affetione grande che mi portano, et i favori grandi che mi fanno in tutte le cose occorrenti et io certamente sto apparecchiatissimo per servirli, quando V . Ptà mi commandarà non solamente concilio et auxilio (si qua in re utilis esse possem) sed etiam omni labore et vitae ipsiuseffusione, e veramente non può esser meglio unione che fra noi si trova, e per la gratia di Dio si troveràsempre. Pur in questo d'haver io qualche superioritàin quella missione, nullo modo in Domino mihi videtur expedire, e così lo propongo con ogni indifferenza a V . Ptà coll' occasione di quello che V.P. scrisse nell'ultima sua, che in assenza del Rev. Padre Claudio che io potessi far la missione &, il che a me fuor d'altri inconvenienti sarebbe molto difficile, non conoscendo io li soggetti di quella natione & sed totum hoc et cetera Deo et V . Ptà refero. Se sarà bisogno che qualche Inglese vada là, io mi offerisco di providerli di qualche altro per presentare a V.P. nel megliomodo che potrò e non manco per Inghilterra stessa. Parigi 23 Luglio 1584

Translation

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL Pax Christi ,

Paris, 23 July, 1584 .

Your Paternity's letter of the second of this month(1) came to hand yesterday. Our Fr. Provincial's letter(2) to your Paternity, asking for Fr. Holt's (3) recallat the instance ofMr. AlexanderSeton,(4) does not surprise me, because the said Alexander, and his father as well, spoke to me also on two occasions on that subject He showed great appreciation of Fr. Holt, and yet, for the same considerations which Fr. Provincial mentioned in his letter, said thatit would bewell to have him recalled and to put someone else in his place But when I made some difficulty about the second suggestion they seemed to (21) On June the 5th, 1584, Aquaviva had informed Fr. ClaudeMatthieu , and through him theProvincial , Odo Pigenat, that Persons was to take charge ofthe Scotch mission (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 51v) The Provincial replied on August the 20th, urging that there might be difficulties in giving the direction ofboth missions , the Englishandthe Scotch ,toPersons , owingtotheold enmitybetweenthe twonations; and that the ScotchJesuits, who were both older in years and had been longer in the Society than that father, might not relish it, though he hoped otherwise (ibid. , Gall. Epp. XIV, f. 59). In his replyAquaviva pointed out that he had chosen to have Persons at the head of both missions because the affairs of the two nations were inextricably bound together. Nor was there any fear of giving offence to the Scotch bytheappointment since thoseofthat nation had actually desired and petitioned for Persons's appointment (ibid , Gall Epp Gen. , f 58v).

preferto keep him rather than have nobodyat all; yetafterwardsthey changed their minds a second time and repeated the same thing again, that it would be well to recall him This, to tell the truth, raised in my mind some suspicion of passion, considering that the reasons they gave for it in the first place, viz. the risks incurred bythe father , now ceased to hold good, for he has not only a safe-conduct , but express orders also from the King to remain there I therefore talked the matter over with Fr. Claude and Fr. Creighton, and I was given to understand that Mr. Alexander Seton had taken a little offence at Fr. Holt's leaving his father's house in order to be in Edinburgh near the Court(5) and at his having close relationswith other people, which previously he had not had, especially with Mr. Gray and Mr. Fentry,(6) Scottish gentlemen, who are very good Catholics and had been recommended to him by the Duke and the Most Reverend Archbishop of Glasgow. And so they tell me that this is only a little tiff andnothing more, which will easily pass and will, by God's grace, settle itself in some other way This much is quite certain, that until such time as other men are sent, his presence there is very necessary, for the Catholics have no one else at present to have recourse to, and God has given him up to now the special grace of giving satisfactionto everybody; all who come or write from there say so; and this is no small matter, as your Paternity well knows and as I am learningfrom experience every day With regard to another draft of missioners for Scotland, which they ask for, the unanimous opinion is that this is highly necessary in order to help the King and win him over, taking advantage in this way of the splendid opportunity which God has offered usatthe present time (7) And although, if the matter were submitted to the King and his intimates, they would possibly not ask for this mission, not having as yet too great a feeling for the things of God , all the same it is quite certain that, so long as the situation as regards the King is as it is, and providedthat the mission is carried out with discretion and secrecy and without noise, both the King and his friends will take advantage of it in order to further their purposes and desires, just as they did in the case of Fr. Holt, althoughhecame therenot merely without their consent but against their will. And so it is necessary that we make use of them (or at any rate of the opportunity) for their own advantage as well as for that of the whole of Christendom . For let your Paternity be assured of this, that if wewere able to win this young King to God it would be the greatest disaster for heresy that ever happened, because he is zealous in all he undertakes, diligent, courageous and resolute, and therefore we ought not to shrink from offering many lives to God in order to purchase such a treasure for the Church When this reinforcementwhich they ask for is sent to Scotland (about which I think His Holiness and your Paternity will have had letters from the Archbishopof Glasgow)(8) it will be easier to recall F. Holt, if your Paternity wishesalthough in this matter also it would seem to me to be necessary to beguided by the conditionsat the time, about which no certain rule can be given, because they change from day to day Also about my going there, Fr. Holt has answered Fr. Claude Matthieu, who had asked his opinion, that it did not seem expedient to him that I should leave here yet, exceptfor some matter of special importance(9)

(10)Our Fr. Provincial is generally away from here, and when he is here there are many who do not think it right for various reasons to weary him much with our affairs, and therefore His Reverence has

not much chance of knowing all the particulars and circumstances of thework . Moreover, he has a very tenderheart, whichis quicklymoved bythe trialsand persecutions of which he hears It is not astonishing , therefore , if His Reverence was somewhat troubled by the fury ofthe late persecution in England, which was truly most rigorous ; and it did not displease us here, as I wrote to your Paternity from Tournay, that you were inclined to defer the mission for a while, until the tempest should calm down somewhat and pass by.(11) This has already happened, thanks be to God , for now we suffer from no such extreme rigours . Some heretics here even say, and induce many Catholics to believe , that no one else will be put to death on account of religion, and I for my part believe that, if they knewhow to do it with honour, they would like to have peace with us, or at least some agreement, since they fear strongly and see clearly that non longe abest ruina ipsorum.(12) So that now more than ever is our time to advance , seeing that God so manifestly assists us in the combat, and for this reason we implore your Paternity for the love of God to send at once Fr. Henry from Rome, because the more I think of it the more it seems to me that this father is the right person Father William here , ifI mistake not, will, I assure your Reverence, do wonderfully for our purpose, being a most safe man as regards virtue, prudence and edification Moreoverby livinghere, and by readingcertain books and hearing theaffairsof that country discussed , he has becomeenthusiastic aboutitto an extent that is scarcely credible

As to the method of staying or living in England, I cannot prescribe anyotherthan thatwhichhas beenfollowedup to now , andwhich the other priests observe to-day One of them will have to live in London or near to it, in order to direct the others. As to dangers, they will not be in greater than the rest are in, and can have many helps that the others have not, if God permits their making use of them. Your Paternity has now seen that we have passedthroughfour years and more , and two only have been captured , which is not much considering the gain, which all confess, even the heretics themselves , to have been greaterthan in the last twenty yearsGod our Lord be praised for it. Ido notthinkthat theywillbe soreadyagain totorture the priests they seize ; so that those of us who are now sent will run much less danger of sufferingthan those who went before.(15) This is a great point, because truly to be hanged is child's play in comparison with being tortured, and in itself is not so much as to suffer a bad hiccup (un ruttorio) in Rome The heretics have printed in English, Latin, French, German and Italian a book with the title Execution of Justice in Englandto excuse their persecution (16) An answer to it has been produced in English, the printing of which is nearlyfinished: it is being translated also into Latin,(17) and as soon as this translation is printed we will send it to Rome, so that it may be translated there by someone who is acquainted with the language, etc. . . . .

In the last few days a certain Solomon Aldred, an Englishman, has come here from England: his trade was formerly that of a tailor; now he has much to do with the Holy Inquisition : he has a wife in Lyons, and has a pension from His Holiness in Rome. Thislast summer some maliciousletters of his were seized here in Paris, whichhad been written by him whenin Rome to a heretic in England named Upton: your Paternity will perhaps have had information about him, for Iam told that the letters were sent backfrom here to Rome . He has lately been in England, where he was very kindly treated by the Queen's

Councillors and sent back here with recommendations , safe-conduct, and a large supply of money, it is said , and with letters , etc. He did not care to see eitherMr. Allen or myself, but wrote two or threetimes, indicating obscurely that he was not making these contactswithout commission andinstructionsfrom Rome, and he is nowabout to return there. He stopped a few days here in Parisandgave a numberofpeople to understand ... . that he is in the employ of the Holy Inquisition, and that a brother of our Society called Batson is cognisant of and associated with all his dealings These dealings are not too much liked bythe Catholicshere, etc ..... Would your Paternity be good enough to enquire aboutthat brother of ours, whetherit is true or not(18) .. Reliable news has now come here . .. that the Prince of Orange was assassinated on the 11th of this month .... at Delft(19)

I add(20) only thisasking your Paternity's kind pardon that it appears to me, before God and for His greater service, to be more expedient, ifit should please your Paternity, not to appoint me , nor to make any account of me, for missions to Scotland , but that(21) the Rev. Father Claude Matthieu, or in his absence some Scotchman or other , should have the entire charge of it This I do not say on account of ours, but in regard to those secular gentlemen with whom it will be necessary in that mission to have constantintercourse , which for me would be a difficultyand a very great distraction (being otherwise much occupied with our affairs in England and in much need of some rest andretirement), and for them also less satisfactoryfor many reasons . I remain very grateful to them for the great affectionthey bear me , and the great favour they do me on all possible occasions, and I am certainly most ready, when your Paternity commands me , to serve them not only withmyadvice and help (if in anything Imay be of use) but also with my labour and the spending of my life And in truth greater union cannot be found than that which existsbetween us , andby God's grace will always continue But in this matter ofmy having authority in that mission, in no way before God does it seem to me to be expedient So with complete lack of bias in the matter I propose to your Paternity in regard to that which you wrote in your last letter, i.e., that in the absence of Fr. Claude Matthieu I might settle the mission, etc., which, besides other inconveniences, would be very difficult for me , I not knowing our fathers of that nation. But this and all else I refer to Godandto your Paternity Ifitis necessary for some Englishmanto go there, I offer to provide someone else to suggest toyour Paternity in the best way I can, not less than if England itself were concerned Paris, July 23, 1584

PERSONS ? TO ENGLEFIELD . Paris, 24 July, 1584.

R.O. Mary Q. of S. XIII, f 36. Contemporary [Phelippes's] hand. To Sir Frances Englefeld

(1)Concerning the Frenche and the Scott: Truthit isthatthey aresomewhat appassionat abowt owre matter forthe greatdesire they have ofthe advancement ofthe king of Scottes and the Duke of Guise withowt moch mention or respect as it seemeth of the Queenof Scottes But in truth when all is done it is butapassion excitednot a little as mayappeareby DonBernardinodeMendoza

(1) In the margin- Fr. Parsons as I take it' The third paragraph certainly suggests that the letter was written by Persons

at his being amonge them for his emulation I dowte agaynst the Prince of Parma and the Spanish Embassador at Paris who promising them moch with the king and now performinglittle the French and Scott are nowwhere as they were first most redye to stand to all order that the state of the Catholike Commonwelthshall appoyntespeciallyesincethetimethattheyhaveunderstoode his Holynesse will do nothing withowt the king of Spayne and of this the Spaniard and English may assurethem selvesthe more for that the Duke of Guise is to depart this Cowrt within these fowre dayes greatlye Malcontent for that he hath diverse wayesunderstoode and that by most evident and certayne meanes, that the French king seeketh his life by secret meanes being in very deede wholye enclined and bent by the persuasion of Queen Mother to assist and favor the king of Navarreto the succession of this Crowne agaynst which thing not onlye the Cardinall of Burbon and his frendes but also all the Howse of Guise and the Catholikes offers to resist. And I am of opinion that Sir Frances Englefeld shall heare very shortelye the whole matter betweene them herein if the king of Spayne fayle not to assist with monye ashe hath promised most faythfullye But yett hereof Sir Frances Englefeld must take no notice in Spayne in any case , as I am well assured that father Parsons will use onlye to him selfe the advises receaved from Sir Frances The townes cittyes and provinces of France have made exceeding great offers of mony , munition and horsemen to the Duke of Guise and father Parsons thinketh that he will accept the same .

From England there is no other thing then before I wrate all goeth in one and the selfe same manner whereof I have yett written more in my formerletters The like I maysay ofScotland where no new thing is sithence my last. My Lord Seton is here halfe in a dowt whether to passe him selfe or to send his sonne Alexander Here in France there is no newes. His most Christian majestye lyeth abowt this Cittyenowat oneplace nowatanother. Monsieur Espernon is yett with the king of Navarre. Monsieur Joyeuse is here in favor as before. The divorce of his Majestie with his Quene is not so muchtalked of as before and I hope it will prove nothing. It is sayd that the Queen of Englanddealeth what she can putt to Puntos betweenehis Majestie and the Howse of Guise. In Flanders the Prince showeth more favor towardes English Catholikes then ever before Mr. Tressam is aCapitayne and wisheth there were more, etc.(2)

Of the Queen of Scottes slow answering of Sir Frances Englefield I cannot gesse the cause but that his letters be not delivered. Father Parsons hath receaved onlye once or twice at the fardest now in 9 or 10 monthes and that most brefe in 5. or 6. lines at a time where Morgan and others receave diverse times everye month whereoffor mine owne part I am very well content: for

(2)In his Autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 33) Persons states that he procured the captaincy for Mr. Tresham . P

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

I have the lesse businesse in answering agayne and ifI cold be ridd of the whole it wold be great ease and contentment to me so all partes were satisfied .

The Queen of Scottes hath written a late verye effectuall letters to the Pope and king of Spayne in the behalfe of my Lord Pagett and Mr. Arondell for pensions for them what effect they willworke we yett know not (3) From Paris this 24th of Julye 1584.

[Endorsed]24 July 1584

Frances Englefeld

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 460

Yow know by whome. Lettersdecifred ofFatherParsonsto Sir

Paris, 7 Aug., 1584.

P.C. Per placarV.R. la quale forse mi sarà fatta aversaria dalle ultime mie lettere scrivo adesso . .. . le mando anco per presente l'incluso libro Inglese(1) il quale m'haverà costato un scudo il portaggio promettendole di mandar presto il medesimo in latino e tutto questo fo per placarla, se lei resta offesa, e per riguadagnarmila perchè non posso vivere senza suo amore et amicitia: benchè nelli conti de denari .... non posso rimetter niente & (narrat deinde mortem Throgmortoni . .. .) Per vindicarsi della morte del Principe d'Oranges hanno messo a morte il buon Sigr Throgmortonoal qual pure havevano promesso vita(2): ma Iddio ha voluto così, perchè lui ha fatto un fine molto santo et edificativo, non volse dimandarperdono dalla rega . alla morte , ma disseche lei doveva dimandarperdono da Dio e dalla republica per l'heresia e malgoverno suo permettendo che huomini inocenti fussero così ingiustamente ogni giorno uccisi & . .. . Ho mandato uno di questi libri ancora a Monsigr di Assaph in nome del Sigr Alano e mio.

Translation.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Pax Christi

Paris, 7 Aug., 1584

This letteris to placateyour Reverence, as perhaps my last one will have made you hostileto me . ... I am sending also by this post the enclosed English book,(1) the carriage on which will cost me a crown , and I promise to send you presently the same book in Latin. All this I am doing in order to placate you, ifyou are still offended , and to winyou back again, for I cannot live without your love and friendship; as regards the statementof account , however, . .. I cannotmake any reduction, etc. . ... (He then tells ofThrockmorton'sdeath .... ) In order to take vengeance for the Prince of Orange's death they have put to death good Mr. Throckmorton, although theyhad promised to

(3) Cf. Mary Queen of Scots to Mendoza , 28 February, 1583 (Spanish Calendar , p 447)

(1) Allen's True , Sincere and Modest Defence , etc.

(2) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva , 12 January, 1584, note 1 , supra.

spare his life (2) God has willed it to be so , for he has made a very holy and edifying end He would not ask pardon of the Queen . at the hour of his death, but said that she ought to ask pardon of God and the State for her heresy and misgovernmentin allowing innocent men to be killed every day unjustly, etc. ... I have sent one ofthese books also to Monsignorthe Bishop of St. Asaphin Allen's name and mine

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 461 .

Paris, 20 Aug., 1584.

Rodolfo(1) ... è tornato adesso dal mare dove ha fatto mirabilia, havendo tramato due nuove vie di passagi per le quali ha mandato dentro 4 sacerdoti e 810 libri(2) ma ci ha costato bene .... il P. Gul. Westono di qua a 20 giorni .... con Ridolfo saranno al mare & ... . (rogat deinde Agazarium ut curet moneri P. Southwellumne terat amplius suum tempus scribendo nova in Galliam sed studiis se applicet &c ... .)

Translation

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI.

Paris, 20 Aug., 1584

He has done wonders

Ralph(1) . has now returned from sea by contriving two new ways of crossing over, and by means of them he has introducedfour priestsand 810 books (2) Butit has beenrather expensive for us . .. . Fr. William Westonwill leave here in twenty days time .... with Ralph . they will be on the sea , etc .. (He then asks Agazzari to see that Fr. Southwell is admonished not to waste time any more in writing the news to France, but to apply himself to his studies, etc. . . . )

PERSONS TO RIBADENEIRA . Paris, [10 September, 1584].

Arch S.J. Rom. Anglia 30.11.506v . and 30.1.300v .(1)

De me meoque statu non est quod scribam , cum nondubitem quin V.R. jam intellexerit quid Superioresnostri de me statuerint,

(1) The Jesuit brother, Ralph Emerson, who had been the companionof Campionand Persons on theirmissionto England, andlater had accompanied Crichton to Scotland in 1582 and thence returned with him.

(2)Cf.Allen to the Cardinal of Como, 27 September , 1584 (Knox, Allen , p. 241)

(1) There are severaltexts of this letter, which for the sake of clarity it may be well to enumerate-(1) C. Grene's copy (Coll P , f 301), with large omissions denoted as was his wont, by dashes, is entitled ' copiadella lettera al P. Ribadeneira 15 Septemberda Parigi ' It begins De me meoque statu , ' etc. (2) These omissions can fortunatelybe supplied from a seventeenthcentury extract preserved in the Arch S.J. Rom Anglia 30.11.506v . It begins 'De me meoque statu, ' etc., and continues down to 'laborant, ' and is given as a letterof Persons to Ribadeneira, dated 10 August, 1584. (3) In the same archives (Anglia 30.1.300v .) there is a contemporary copy of the whole letter, but instead of the passages De me meoque statu ' down to laborant' it has but three lines: ' Cum optime sciam quam libenter Vestra Reverentiares nostrasAnglicanasaudiat, quantoqueeasdem commiserationis et charitatis affectu prosequatur, copiosius hoc tempore iisdem de rebus scribere statui ' Itis entitled Exemplar Literarum Patris Roberti Personii, ' and

nimirum cum in Anglia diutius ob mea peccata aliorumque pericula versari non liceat, ut his locis proximis et vicinis haeream , adeandemmissionemjuvandamet prosequendam Nam cum mea peccata, utdixi, impedirentquominus cum sancto socio meo, nunc patrono meo, Campiano particeps fierem felicissimi certaminis , cumque diutiusevasissem haereticorum manus, quam velipsicogi-

bears the date 15 September , but does not name the addressee Foley (I, 633) translatedthe letterfromthis copy. (4) Another contemporarycopyis preserved in the Vatican archives (A.A. Arm I-XVIII . 4062, f.2). This agrees with No. 3 above and similarlygives the date 15 Septemberand omits the nameofthe addressee (5) Thereis a largefragment ofthe letter(from 'traxerunt pedes ' to the end) in the Westminster archives (III, n 9, ff. 385-387). This is in Persons's ownhand and bears the date 10 September , 1584, but the addressee is not named (6) The Bibliotheca Palatina, Parma (651, Relazioni), contains another copy dated 15 Septemberand addressed to the Rector of the English College, Rome This manuscript has the openingpassage 'Cum optime sciam , ' etc., as in No. 3. (7) Another copyis preserved in Siena,Cod. C.X.2, f.33, from which W. Maziere Brady (Annals of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Scotland, 1585-1876 , London 1883, p 43) has translated the letter This is headed ' relazione in forma di lettera del P. Roberto Personio al P. Alfonso Aghazzari, Gesuitaper la quale da conto come passano le cose della Religionenel Isola di Inghilterra , 1584.' It has the same initial passage asNo. 3, but bears thedate Paris, 28 September , 1584. (8) Finally C. Grene copied the letter in full (Coll P, f 494), but with the same initial passage as in No. 3 , " Cumoptime sciam , " etc. This copybears the date 15September, 1584, but the name of the addressee is not given So we have two variants for the opening passage, a variety of datesAugust 20, September10 , September 15, and September28and the name of the addressee now Alfonso Agazzari, the Rector of the English College, and now Fr. P. de Ribadeneira

In a letter to Agazzari of the 15th of September (infra) Persons states that he is enclosinga copy of a letter which he wrote to Ribadeneira 'two or three days ago'; and in a letter also to Aquaviva of the same date (infra) he refers again to this copy of his letter to Ribadeneira, as written three days previously. This may explain the two forms of the opening passages ofthe letter It may very probably be that the form' De me meoquestatu ' to 'laborant ' waswhat he originally wrote to Ridadeneira; but as this personal history would have been long ago known to Agazzariand those in Rome , he substituted the shorter form Čum optime sciam,' etc., and then continued the letter of general news as originally sent to Ribadeneira.

As to the date, Septemberthe 10th would seem the correct one . It is the one givenin the fragment,in Persons's ownhand (No. 5 above), and agrees with the statement in his letter to Agazzari that he had written to Ribadeneira two or three daysago The factthat the copyoftheletterwasenclosed in one to Agazzari of the 15th Septemberprobably accounts for this date being found in some copies of the letter (Nos 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 above) as well as for its being considered a letterto the Rector ofthe English College, and not to Ribadeneira Very probably Agazzari himself was responsible for sending on copies of this news sheet to other houses of the Society; and he would doubtless preface it by saying he had received it in a letter of Persons to himself 15 September, 1584. The other dates given, August the 20th and Septemberthe 28th, are more probably errors of the copyists

On the other hand, as was pointed out above, owing to the riskofletters not reaching their destination in those days, duplicates were often sent by a later post Persons may have done so in this caseas regardsboththeletter to Ribadeneira and the copy ofit sentto Agazzari; which would alsoexplain thevarietyof dates and possibly, though with less probability, the variations in the opening passages

The interest in English affairs taken by Father Pedrode Ribadeneira, the distinguishedSpanishJesuit, who was receivedintothe SocietybySt. Ignatius 18 September , 1540, had no doubt been stimulated by his stay in England

tassent vel omnino sperari potuisset ; tantum eorum in me exarsit odium, ut non solum edictis proscriberent, et indicta causa de perduellione damnarent , verumetiamut capitale crimen facerent, si quis me domo reciperet, vel cognitum aut visum non statim proderet ; quo extremo periculo ne multos mea praesentia involverem, visum est superioribus ad charitatem et prudentiampertinere, ut necessitati cederem, et ad tempus saltem in has me partes vicinas reciperem, ex quibus possim non minus quam antea eidem missioni inservire, cum alios operarios submittendo , tum eosdem informando , ac dirigendo aliaque nonnulla procurando, et subministrando, quae necessaria sunt, quaeque ab inexpertisvix confici possent(2)

Et ut dicam V.R. quod nonnullis videtur, non desunt qui existimentfuisse quandam benignissimam Dei providentiam, quod his proximis turbulentissimis mensibus hic adessem, eo quod operam meam (quae utrobique profecto perexigui sit momenti) utiliorem tamen judicant fuisse his locis, quamin Anglia protempore esse potuerit. Cum enim vehementissima et diligentissima superioribus esset diebus persecutio, portusque Angliae tanta diligentia tenerentur, ut nulli pateret vel ingressusvel exitus, necessarium videbatur, ut aliquis his in locis maritimis esset, qui novas vias industria et pecunia pararet , quibus nostri Societatis, aliique Catholici commeare ultro citroque possent, id quod per Dei gratiam perfectum est Nec Dominus Alanus, qui longe abest a littore, infinitisque aliis curis et negotiis in Seminario suo Rhemensi distinetur, huic etiam oneri sufficere poterat (3) Itaque partiti sumus invicem negotium, sic ut ille Sacerdotesex Seminario ad me mittat, ego autem quantum fieri poterit transfretationem tutam in Angliam illis pararem. Ad quam rem faciendam, et alia quaedam necessaria ad hujus belli spiritualis apparatum , cogor

during the critical months, November 1558 to March 1559, which witnessed the deaths of Queen Mary and Cardinal Pole, the accession of Queen Elizabeth and the initial steps in the decatholicizing of England (cf. P. J. M. Prat, S.J., Histoire de Père Ribadeneyra, Paris, 1862, p 143) Short as was his stay in this country, he made a remarkably shrewd judgment as to the religious situation (Ribadeneira to Laynez, London, 20 January, 1559 , Monumenta Historica Societatis Jesu Ribadeneira I, Madrid, 1920, p 310) His Historia Ecclesiastica del Scisma del Regno de Inglaterra, based largely on Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano, was first publishedin 1588. In subsequent editions of this he continued the historyinto the reign of Elizabeth, and, indeed , cited two of Persons's letters.

(2) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva 20 October, 1581, notes 3 and 4; and Persons to Agazzari, 24 August, 1583 , note 1.

(3) Cf. Allen to Agazzari, 28 August, 1583 (Knox, Allen, p 208). In a letter to Aquaviva ofJune the 5th, 1584, notnowextant,Allen had mentioned Persons's co-operationwith him . Aquaviva replied July the 15th:" Dereliquo quod D . Va scribit Patris Roberti operamin ista negotiorum mole sustinenda sibi adeo utilem esse , valde in Domino laetatus sum precorqueejus divinam Majestatem ut gratiam ei tribuat qua in dies utilior sit Sunt enim resistae ejusmodi et adeo cum Dei gloria conjunctaetamque multarum animarum salutem continent, ut non solumnostrorum hominum labor et industria sed nostro sanguine , si opus erit, eas promovereet juvare cupiamus. " Cf. C.R.S. ix, 96

Rhotomagi , quae civitas est commodissima ob maris viciniam, familiam quandam sustentare, ex qua aliqui excurrant ad littora ut naves transvehendis hominibus preparent (non enim aut communibus navibus, aut portibusordinariis, aut cognitis uti possunt) alii praesunt excudendis et invehendis libris, sermone Anglico scriptis, tam de rebus spiritualibuset devotione, quam de controversiiset calumniis , quibus oppugnamur ab haereticis, cujus generis spero me brevi missurum aliquem ad R.V. Latine traductum (4) Deinde etiam Chrisma, Calices , vestes librique sacri transmittuntur, multaque alia ex his locis praestantur, quae ad commodum et auxilium pertinent eorum qui intus in insula laborant.

Atque hae sunt occupationes nostrae Reverende Pater satis quidem in se molestae et difficiles, sed Christi tamen causa quousqueliceat perferendae Tuemurquidem certamen contra adversarios potentissimos vigilantissimos cum ipsi simus exules et egentissimi. Deus tamen hactenus juvit et juvabit uti speramus: quanquam ut verum fatear difficiliori longe loco sunt res nostrae quam unquam antea ob extremamrerum temporaliumindigentiam. Cum enim quotidie catholicorumnumerus crescat, qui bonis omnibus spoliati vel domi carceribus includuntur, vel huc ad nos confugiunt, cumque per universam modo Angliamrapinae publicae in omnesfidei nostrae professores permittantur, hincfit ut nos hic multitudine egentium opprimamur, et nihil subsidii ex Anglia speremus,(5) cum ipsi sibi sufficere non possint, modo redacti in tantam inopiam ut a nobis petere cogantur, maxime sacerdotesin illa vinea laborantes, qui ad trecentorumfere jam numerumexcreverunt, et eleemosinis catholicorum antea sustentabantur , nunc autem spoliatis et effugatis per omnes fere provincias catholicis (praecipue nobilibus qui eleemosinas facere poterant) sacerdotes Dei nec domos habent quo se recipiant, nec cibariaquibussustententur.

Hic apud nos vel eadem vel major est indigentia Cum enim in seminario nostro Rhememsi ad ducenta fere capita reperiantur, nec multo pauciores sint illi qui extra seminaria hinc inde vivunt pauperrimi et indigentes omnes , et licet major pars ex nobilitate sit, quotidieque etiamcum augeatur numerus ex Angliafugentium, Vestra Reverentia existimare poterit quantisangustiis premamur , quantoque successu temporis majores timere debeamus(6)

(4) No doubt the Latin translation of Allen's True, Sincere and Modest Defence Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 7 August 1584 , supra (5) Mendoza as early as 1581 had pointed out this effect of the penal laws particularly that of 1581 (Mendoza to Philip II, 20 October, 1581; SpanishCalendar , p 196) It is also noted in the circular letter of Aquaviva concerningthe collections for the seminary at Rheims (cf. Appendix, infra) Cf. also Informazione sopra li Colegii d'Inglesi, 1591-1592 (Stonyhurst, Anglia VI, f. 18)

(6) Allen at thistime was nearly at the end of his resources and thevery existenceof the seminary was endangered Cf. the Nuncio to the Cardinal of Como , 17 September , and Allen to the same, 27 September , 1584 (Knox, Allen, pp 240, 241) Cf. also L. Hicks, S.J., " Persons and the Seminaries in Spain , " The Month, March, 1931 , p 196 ff

In his tamen omnibus per dei gratiam non deest nobis animus , nec minuitur ardor sacerdotum nostrorumad pericula adeunda , sed acuitur magis et incenditur zelus, caeterorum etiam catholicorum constantiaipsa difficultate Deo cooperante roboratur: quod Vestra Reverentia ex his fere verbis quae scripsit nuper ex carcere sacerdos quidam , intelligere potest

Durissima inquit conditiofuit mensibus hisce praeteritiscatholicorum omnium qui carceribus tenentur nominatim eboracensis et Hullensis carceris egestatem magnam perpessi sunt, pro quibus jam petuntur eleemosinaeper omnes fere provincias Angliae Hic vero Londini non minores fuerunt angustiae Statim enim postquam illi quinque sacerdotes Dei ad sextum Februarii hoc ipso anno interfecti erant,(7) mandatum exiit ad universos carcerum custodes, ut catholicos quos habebant, arctiori quam antea custodia tenerent, laicos omnino a sacerdotibus dividerent, nec unquam ad invicem convenirent , ne alii ab aliis consolationem acciperent: ad sacerdotesautem nullum omnino permitterent introire amicorum , nec ad laicos quidem nisi post meridiem. (Hocautem faciebant ne sacerdos aliquis simulato habitu ingrederetur ad faciendum sacrum .) Pomeridiano tempore si quisexternusad laicorum colloquiaadmitti peteret, examinandus erat diligentissime quis esset , quo venisset, quidapportaretnegotii Si autem suspicio vel minima in eum cadebat (maxime vero quod eleemosinas adferret) statim retinebaturet ad judices adducebatur (8) Qua vigilantia haereticorum factum est ut nullo audente quicquam mittere in subsidium inclusorum , catholici caeperint ingenti fame et inedia laborare. Quod cum cerneret custos quidam misericordia motus adivit pseudoepiscopum Londinensem(9) qui est primus inter Inquisitores eumque docuit de necessitate eorum qui suae curae commissi erant. Ille subiratus respondit custodi Satis est utillos pane et aqua pascas ; immo, inquit custos, quis mihi solvet pro illo pane ? aquam enim ego facile de meo dabo, sed panem nullo modo. Cui alter iratior, discede inquit , quid mihi curae est: vescantur papistae suis excrementis. Atque haec sola spes fuitquam attulit nobis custos ab hoc pio Praelato Unde repeto quod superius dixi, durissimam esse nostram in carceribus conditionem , multosque catholicorummortem potius quam carceres electuros si dareturoptio Sedtamen ad utrumquepro Dei gloriaparatissimos esse, idquenon sine magna Dei consolatione Hucusque scripserat sacerdos ex carcere .

Multa alia accipimus quotidie de persecutione et saevitia haereticorum in catholicos. Haec autem quae subnectunturrecentissime sunt scripta partim literis certis eorum qui interfuerunt, partim etiam sermone eorum qui perpessi sunt, et ad nos postea fugerunt. In provincia Angliae quae Worcestria appellatur, coe-

(7) George Haydock and his four companionssuffered at Tyburn , not on the 6th but on the 12th of February, 1584

(8) Cf. Mendozato Philip II, 1 October, 1581 (Spanish Calendar , p 177)

(9) John Aylmer Cf. Foley, I, 636

perunt sacerdotem quendam, cujus nomen Joannes Bennettus,(10) et cum eo quatuor viros laicos, quos suspicantur haeretici Bennettum ecclesiae Romanae reconciliasse: quod cum sit crimen lasae majestatis, nec quisquam eorum qui capti erant remfaterivellet: ne alios etiam catholicos sua confessione in periculum vocare cogerentur, tormentis agitati sunt in publicoconventu totius provinciae in oppido Beudolensi,(11) jubentibusjudicibus Bromleo et Townsendo.(12) Genus autem tormenti erat ut injectis ferreis manicis magni ponderis suspenderentur brachiis usque ad deliquiumanimae. quo accidentedimittebantur, et temporalavabantur aqua vitae quae dicitur, quousque revertebatur spiritus, et tunc iterum suspendebantur: atque hoc per nonnullos dies factitatum est, sicut unus eorum qui tormenta haec patiebatur, universam historiam descripsit et huc misit.(13)

Eodem fere tempore in civitate Lancastrensi interfeceruntpublicesacerdotem quemdam 60 annorum, nomine Henricum Bellum, et cum eo Henricum Fincherum laicum,(14) eo quod negarent Reginam caput esse Ecclesiae: Fincherum autem quod esset junior et animosior, et detestaretur aperte illorum preces et conciones, traxerunt pedibus non semel ad conciones haereticas colliso in terram capite ita ut sanguine totus maderet deinde laqueo utrumque sustulerunt Quo etiam genere mortis Archiepiscopum Cassi-

(10) A notice of John Bennet, who later became a Jesuit, is given in Foley, IV, 497-516 A full account of the sufferingsof Bennetis to be found in the Concertatio , 1588 ed , pp 176-203 This and the following incidents are also related in an account of the persecutionof 1584 in London , Wales and Lancashire, preserved at Stonyhurst (Anglia I, n 23, ff 58-59v .). The document is in the hand of Dr. Humphrey Ely and is endorsed by Persons . It was sent by Ely to Fr. Robert Southwell at the English College, Rome. Cf. Barret to Agazzari, 8 November, 1584 (ibid , Anglia VI)

(11) Bewdley.

(12) Sir George Bromley, the High Sheriff of the county, and Robert Townsend of Ludlow, a magistrate The latter was the maternal uncle of George Gilbert , Persons's great friend Cf. Foley, I, 636 .

(13) Fr. John Gerard has given a description of this method of torture from his own experience of it in the Tower in 1597. Cf. his autobiography, edited by J. Morris, S.J. , London, 1881 , pp 244-248 The indignation in this country recently (1939) roused by the reported use of this form oftorture by the Nazis may help the reader to realise the feelingsof Catholics at home and abroad as regards the tyranny of the Elizabethan government, for it must not be forgotten that torture was contrary to the Common Law of England even in Elizabethan days (cf. L. Hicks, S.J. , "Elizabeth's Early Persecution of Catholics, " The Month, April, 1926, p 291, note) So much has been written of the spacious days ofgood Queen Bess thatthe very ugly side of those daysis only too apt to be glossed over and relegated to oblivion. Tyranny alwaysremainstyranny, whether practisedbyfriend orfoe, whether in the sixteenth or in the twentieth century There are, indeed , only too many parallels between the Elizabethan régime and that of the Nazis or the Soviet in the present age Unless that is recognised, the historian is not rightly placed for appreciating the position of the Catholics, either at home or abroad

(14) Persons , no doubt, is referring to Bd. James Bell and Bd John Finch, who were martyred at Lancaster on April the 20th of this year.

lensem(15) in Hibernianuper trucidarunt exquisitissimis tormentis prius exagitatum Et duos etiam alios episcopos morti adjudicarunt. Scribit sacerdos quidam Worthingtonus(16) nomine exprovincia Lancastriae 60 domos nobilium eademnocte in illa sola provincia lustratas fuisse et direptas ab haereticis praetextu quaerendorum sacerdotum cumque nulla fere illarumcareret sacerdotibus, divina tamen providentiafactumesseut nullus ea nocte caperetur. Aliqui tamen inter fugiendum multa passi sunt inter quos fuit vir magni momenti Thomas Bellus(17) aliquando haereticorum minister, sed postea in collegio Romano factus sacerdos Hic cum subito exire lecto domoque cogeretur cum alio quodam sacerdote socio, nec tempus dareturad induendum se vestibus, currebatobscura nocte persaxaet sentesad multa miliaria, quare sic vulneravit pedes ut integrumdeinde mensemlecto se continere cogeretur. Quod etiam mihi coram juravit nobilis quaedam et veneranda matrona, quae rei etiam interfuit, et cujus domus etiam eodem tempore spoliata fuit, omnibus quae auferri poterantabreptis. Soror haec est Reverendi domini Alani(18) Seminarii nostri Rhemensis Praesidis, hoc est demortui fratris relicta vidua, foemina honorabilis et sancta quae omnes catholicos hospitioexcipiebat , totamquese piis operibus impendebat , nunc autem ipsa ejecta bonis omnibus spoliata cum duabus filiabus virginibus, quas pio furto subtraxerat (abduxerant enim illas haeretici sicut solent in corpore et animocorrumpendas) post multa pericula terra marique superata, in has partes appulit egens et afflicta, sed laetissimo tamen animo, etita se ad Alanum contulit Haec sancta vidua post bona omnia

(15) Dermot O'Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel. He was hanged outside the then cityof Dublin , probably at Stephens Green. The warrant for his execution was given June 19, 1584. Cf. The Concertatio, ed 1588, after page 212; E. Hogans , S.J., Ibernia Ignatiana, Dublin, 1880, p 20; and D. Murphy, S.J. , Our Martyrs, Dublin, 1896, pp 126-148

(16) Thomas Worthington , later president of Douay On the persecution in Lancashire, 1583-1584 , cf. Ely'saccount, Stonyhurst, Anglia VI; R.O.Dom Eliz CLXVII , 40, 41; CLXVIII, 16; CLXXXV, 21; and E. Gibson , Lydiate Hall and Its Associations , 1876, p 222 ff

(17) ThomasBell, who apostatisedin 1592 and became a Governmentspy There is an account of him in the D.N.B., Supplement 1. Cf. also F. Walsingham, A Search made into Matters of Religion, 1609, pp 55-61; Garnet to Aquaviva, 16 July, 1592 , 17 March, 1594 (Stonyhurst, Coll. P , f 597 , Anglia I, f 73), and Versteganto Persons, 1 April, 1593 (ibid , Coll B , f. 83) Bell wrote severalworks againstthe Faith, which were answered by Catholic apologists. Threeof these replies, The Forerunnerof Bell's Downefall, Roane, 1605, The Doleful Knell ofThomas Bell, Roane , 1607, andBell's TrialExamined, Roane, 1608, have been attributedto Persons They were , however, written by Philip Woodward, a Douay priest From internal evidence it is clear that all three works were written by the same author, and the documents contributed by M. Van Rossom to the Analectes pour servir à l'Histoire Ecclésiastique de la Belgique, 1874, p 372 ff , prove conclusivelythat P.Woodward was theauthor of The Doleful Knell Bell, however, was nevera Jesuit , as the archivist of Douai states (ibid., p. 510)

(18) The widow of George, Cardinal Allen's brother Cf. " The Certamen D. Alanae , " in the Concertatio , where the story is related in full; and Dom , Eliz. CLXVII, n 42, printed in Knox, Allen, p. 219 .

abrepta quaerebatur per totam Angliam ad tormenta, existimabatur enim aliquid defratre suo Alano indicare posse, cujus imaginem cum existimarent haeretici se in domo ejus invenisse (nec erat revera, sed alterius viri gravis effigies) credi vix possit quanta barbarie saevierunt in illam gladiis, pugionibus et cultellis transfigentesin Alani odium et despectum Haec autem ex ipsa matrona accepi

Praedictus autem Worthingtonus etiam scribit fratrem suum majorem natu qui in eadem provincia Lancastrensi vir est nobilis et perhonestae conditionis , cum catholicus esset, et hanc apertam tyrannidem in omnes passim exerceri cerneret, ut liberi etiam invitis parentibus abriperentur, timens ne idem sibi contingeret, exduodecim filiisquos habebat, quatuorminimos quosmagis periculo obnoxios putabat, dimitti clam Londinum curavit quitamen omnes divina permissione in itinere capti et in carcerem comjecti sunt, ibique variis modis tentati et virgis in lectulo caesi ut indicarent aliquid de parentibus nimirum quando et quo loco sacris interfuissent, quos sacerdotes domo recepissent, etc. Cumque puerorum constantia nullo modo flecti possit ut quicquam de parentibus faterentur, vel ad ecclesias haereticas irent (hoc enim vel praecipue jubebantur) separarunt a reliquis minimum natu qui vix duodecim annos habebat, fameque et inedia affligendum statuerunt, cumque diem integrum absque alimentisconsumpsisset, minati sunt ei nihil unquamse daturos cibi nisiipsisin omnibus obediret. Interim tamen abundantiapotus puerum onerabant, quo cerebro saltem labefacto aliquid ab eo extorquerent , atque ita ut erat inedia cibi, potusque copia afflictus , perduxerunt eum ad publicum tribunal ab Inquisitoribus examinandum Erantquein illo conventu Comes Darbensis illius provinciae princeps, multique alii nobiles et viri primarii, qui cum puerum interrogare coepissent, ille mirabiliter a Deo confortatusperstitit in fidei confessione , et omnes eorum fraudes detexit publice qua re cumjudicesnonnihil consternarentur , et ad invicem deliberarent quid esset agendum, ille in plenioremrei testificationemdixit se male valere, et paulo post ejecit ex stomacho omnem illam ingesti potus crapulam , ita etiamut ipsos haeriticos inspectantes puderet (19) Puer tamen cum fratribus adhuc in carceremancestrensi tenetur Multa alia adhuc narrare possem, sed haec sunt recentiora .

Quodattinet ad nostrae societatis homines in Angliaincarceribus tenentur quatuor: P. Heywedus et P. Bosgravius in carcere Londinensi , et P. Metamus(20) cum Pondo in carcere Wisbicensi quorum posteriores duo ut Vestra Reverentia novit in ipsa Anglia societatem sunt ingressi. Liberi adhuc manent P. Gulielmus Holtus qui ex Anglia in Scotiam secesserat , ibique carceres aliquandiu perpessus modo fruitur iterum libertate, et duo alii (19) Cf."CertamenQuatuor PuerorumWorthingtonum" in the Concertatio, where a fuller account of the incidents related by Persons is to be found. A translation of the Certamenis given in Foley, II, 116-131 (20) Thomas Metham, S.J. He died in prison in Wisbeach, June, 1592 .

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS, S.j.

patres(21) cum fratre recenti missione ad eam vineam destinati Spes victoriae certissimanobis est tamnostro quaminimicorumjudi- cio si per has rerumtemporaliumdifficultatesinceptum cursum prosequilicebit, idquecum videant adversarii hac una in re vehementissime laborant egestate et inedia ut nos opprimant, sicque negotium totum dissipent. Nos contra confidimus in eo qui est pater pauperum et dominus divitum, quod ipse opus a se incoeptum perficet ad laudem et honorem nominis sui: hujusque rei spem nobis faciunt tot martyria et afflictiones constantissime pro fidei defensione tolerata, tot gemitus compeditorum , tot lachrimae piorum, qui per Angliam latitant, tot inflamatissimadesideria hominum sitientium justitiam et dei gloriam, tam ardens denique sacerdotum nostrorumzelus pro aliena salute periculiase offerentium quae omnia cum non nisi ex divinagratiaproficisci potuerint, argumentum nobis certissimum videtur benignissimum Deum nullo modo derelicturumnos, apudquostot et tanta benevolentiae et amoris sui pignora reliquit. Vestram Reverentiam obsecro ut rem totam Domino commendet, meique memoriam aliquam in sanctis suis sacrificiis et orationibushabeat Parisiis, 15° Septembris, A.D. 1584 , Vestrae Reverentiae Servus in Christo, Robertus Personius

Translation.

PERSONS TO RIBADENEIRA .

10 Sept., 1584.

Thereis no need to say anything about myself and of my circumstances because I have no doubt that your Reverence has heardof the decision our Superiors have taken about me, namely that, since for my sins and on account of danger to others it is no longer open to me to be employed in England, I am to remain stationedin this country, which is next door to it, for the purpose of aiding and furthering that same mission . For my sins having prevented, as I have said, my sharingin the most fruitful conflict undergone by my holy companion , Campion, who is now my patron, and when I had eluded the clutches of the heretics for a longertime than either they had foreseen or could have been in any way hoped, their hatred of me flared up to such an extent that not only was I proclaimedan outlaw and condemned unheardfor high treason, butthey even made it a capital offence for anyone to receive me into his house or fail to hand me over at once if he learnt of my presence or saw me. And so, in order that my presence might not involve so many people in imminent danger, my Superiors considered that charity required me to yield to necessity and for the time being at any rate to take refuge in this neighbouringcountry, from which I can serve the mission no less well than before, both by introducing other labourers , and by moulding and guiding them and providing for them in other waysand by furnishing that necessary aid which could with difficulty be done by men withoutexperience (2) And to mentionwhat some people think, I can tellyour Reverence that thereare not a fewwhohold thatit was a very mercifulprovidence of God that I was here during these last distracted months , for the (21) It was intended at first to send two Jesuit fathers, but actually only Fr. W. Weston and Brother Ralph Emersoncrossed to England at thistime,

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

reason that in their opinion my helpthough in either place to be sure it is of very little consequencewas yet more useful here than it could have been in Englandunderthe circumstances For during these last daysthere has been a most violent and searching persecution, and the English ports have been guarded so carefully that there was no way open either to enter or to leave the country And so it seemed necessary for someone to be in this place near the coast and to employ industryand money in devising new ways whereby members of our Society and other Catholics might be able to pass to and fro. And by God's grace this has been accomplished. For Mr. Allen, who is a longway from the coast and is tied to his Seminaryat Rheims byendless cares and business, could not take on this task as well (3) And so we have shared the business between us, he sending me priests from the Seminary, and I arranging , to the best of my power, for their safe transport to England. To do this and a number of other things required forthe equipmentof this spiritual war ,Iam obliged to maintain a modest establishment at Rouen, which is a most convenient town on account of its nearnessto the sea, so that from there somecan make trips to the coast to arrange for boats to convey people across (for they cannot use either the public boats or the ordinary ports that are well known) , whilst others take charge of the preparationand introduction intothe country of books, written in English, both on spiritual and devotional subjects, and on matters of controversyand in answer to the calumnies with which the heretics assail us; and I hope to send you shortly a specimen of these, translated into Latin (4) Then, too , there are holy oil, chalices, vestments and bibles to be sent over, and many other services are rendered from here tending to the convenience and assistance of those who are labouring within the island. These are our occupations, Reverend Father, and truly they are of their own nature somewhat troublesome and difficult; butfor thesake of Christ we must, so far as we may, endure them We are indeed watching a battle against opponents who are most powerfulandalert, whilst we ourselves are exiles and in the utmost want God , however, up to now has helped us , and will continue to help us, as we hope. Still I must truly confess that our affairs are in a much more difficult position than ever before ,owing to our extreme poverty in temporal goods. For daily the number grows of Catholics who, after being despoiled of all their possessions , are either shut up in prisons at home or flee to us here : and now throughout the whole of England open robbery is allowed from all who profess our faith And hence it comes about that we here are overwhelmed by a multitude of needy persons and can hopefor no contribution from England,(5) for they havenot enough for themselves therenay, they are reduced to such wantas to be obliged to beg from us: this applies especially to the priestswho are labouring in that vineyard The number of these has grown to be nearly three hundred Formerly they used to be supportedbythe alms of the Catholics , but now that the Catholics (the nobles especially) who used to be able to give almıs have been despoiled and driven into flight in nearly every county, the priests of God have neither houses in which to take refuge nor food to support them. Here with us the same or even greater poverty exists For in our Seminary at Rheims there are nearly two hundred persons and there are not much fewer living precariouslyoutside the Seminaries, all of them very poor andin want (though thegreaternumberof thembelong to the nobility), and every day the number grows of those who flee

from England Hence your Reverence will be able to see how embarrassed we are , and how with the passageof time we have to fear being more so.(6)

In spite of all this, however, by God's grace we are not lacking in courage, nor is the eagerness of our priests to meet danger lessenednay, their zeal is all the more incited and enkindled, whilst the endurance ofthe catholic body, with the co-operationof God, takes strength from its very difficulties This your Reverence can recognise from what a certain priest wrote the other day from prison in some such words as these:

Very trying, he says, in these last months have been the circumstancesof all Catholics who are detained in prison Those in the prisons of York and Hull for instance have suffered great want, and alms are now being asked for them in nearly every county of England. Here, too, in London there has been no less hardship For immediatelyafter those five priests of God had been killed(7) on the 6th of Feb. of this same year, an instruction was issued to all the governors of prisons to keep a stricter guard than hitherto on the Catholics in their charge, toseparatethe laymenentirelyfrom thepriests,and never to allow them to assemble together lest they should receive consolation one from another: they were to allow visits to the priests from none of their friends at all, and to the laymenonly after mid-day. This they did in order that no priest should enter in disguise to say Mass If, in the afternoon , someone from outside asked to be admitted to speak with the laymen, he was to be examined very carefully as to who he was , where he came from, on what business he came. And if he incurred even the slightest suspicion (especially of bringing alms) forthwith he was detained and brought before the judges (8) This watchfulness on the part of the heretics ensured that no one dared send anything to help the inmates , and so the Catholics began to suffer from extreme hunger and want Seeing this, a certain governor was moved with pity and approached the pseudo-bishopof London(9) (who holds the first place among the inquisitors) and informed him of the needy state of the men who had been entrusted to his care . The latter was rather angry and replied to the governor, "It is enough if you feed them on bread and water " " Who, forsooth," said the governor, "will pay me for that bread ? Water indeed I will give them easilyfrom my own resources , but bread by no means " The other was still angrier " Go away, " hesaid, " what business is it of mine ? Let the Papistsfeed on their own excrements " And that was the only hope that the governor brought back to us from this pious prelate. And therefore I repeat what I said above, that our circumstances in prison are very trying, and that many of the Catholics would choose deathrather than prison if the choice were given them: yet they are quite ready for either for the glory of God, and that not without great consolation from God. Up to here is what the priest wrote from prison

Every day we get much news besides of the savage persecution of Catholics by the heretics This account , which is subjoined , has been compiled quite lately, partlyfrom the lettersofsome ofthose who were present, and partly from conversations with men who suffered and afterwardsescaped to us here In the county of England called Worcestershire they captured a certain priest called John Bennett, (10) and with bim four laymen, whom the heretics suspect Bennett of having reconciled tothe RomanChurch This being the crime ofhigh treason , and none of the captured men being willing to confess to it for fear

of being compelled to endanger by their confession other Catholicsas well, they were put to the torture in a public court ofthe wholecounty in the town of Bewdley at the bidding of the judges, Bromley and Townsend (12) And the kind of torture was this: Iron manacles of great weight were affixed to them and they were suspended by the arms until they lost consciousness: when this took place they were let downand their temples bathedwith aqua vita, as it is called, until they revived, when they were again suspended And this was done repeatedly for the space of several days. To this effect one of those who suffered this torture wrote the accountof it and sent it here (13)

Atabout thesame time, in the city of Lancaster , they put to death in public a certain priest, sixty years of age, called Henry Bell, and along with him Henry Finch,(14) a layman, on the ground that they denied that the Queen is the head of the Church Finch, because he was a younger man and more spirited and openly abominatedtheir prayers and preachings, they dragged by the feet more than once to heretical sermons, his head being thus banged on the ground so that it was allwet with blood Later on they did away with both ofthem by hanging, the same kind of death whereby they slew lately the Archbishop of Cashel(15) in Ireland, after previously subjecting him to the most exquisitetorture . Two other bishops also they condemned to death

A certainpriest named Worthington,(16) ofthe countyofLancaster , writes that sixty houses of gentlemen in that county alone had been visited on the same night andplunderedbythe heretics on the pretext ofsearching for priests: and seeingthat hardly one ofthem was without priests, it was surely by the providence of God that none of them was taken that night. Some of them, however, in the course oftheirflight suffered severely Among these was a very influential man, Thomas Bell, (17) formerly an hereticalminister, but afterwardsordainedpriest at the Roman College. This man was forced of a sudden to get out of bed and leave the house, along with another fellow priest, there being no time to put on his clothes, and he had to run for many miles over stony paths in the darkness of the night. He injured his feet by this to suchan extent that for a whole month afterwards he was obligedto keep his bed This was sworn to in mypresence bya certain noble and much venerated matron, who also was present at these happenings and whose house too was despoiled on the same occasion and everythingthat could be takenaway carried off by force This lady is the sister of the Rev. Mr. Allen,(18) President of our Seminary at Rheimsthat is to say, thewidowof his deceasedbrotheran estimable and pious woman, whose habit it was to dispense hospitality to all Catholics , and to devote herselfentirely to works of charity But now she is herself banished and despoiled of all her property, and, along with her two maiden daughters , whom she had contrived to rescue (a pious theft, for the heretics, as is their wont, had carried them off in order to corrupt them body and soul), after overcomingmany perils on land and sea, she reached these parts, in want and affliction , but yet most joyful in mind, and so had recourse to Allen This holy widow, after being deprivedofall her property, was sought for all over England to be put to the torture : for it was thought that she could give some information about her brother Allen They thought they had found a picture of the latter in her house, though as a matter of fact it was the likeness not of him but of another respected man , and so , with almostincrediblesavagery, the heretics vented theirwrath

upon it, running it through with their swords, daggers and knives, to show their hatred and contempt for Allen. This I hadfrom the matron herself

The above-mentioned Worthington writes also that his elder brother , a man of good family and holding a very honouredposition in the same county of Lancaster, being a Catholic, and seeingthisopen tyranny employed againstall withoutdistinction, so that children even were snatched away from parentsagainsttheir will, was afraid ofthe same thing happeningto himself, and so he took steps to send away secretly to London the four youngest of his twelve sons whom he considered more exposed to danger. They were all, however , bydivine permission, taken on the journey and thrown into prison Therethey were put to trial in various ways, and were beaten with whips in their beds to make them give some information about their parents, as for instance when and where they had been present at Mass, what priests they had entertainedin their house, etc. And as the boys' determination could nowise be bent so as to give anything away about their parents, orto go to the hereticalchurches (and this was insisted on especially), they separated from the others the youngest boy, who was barely twelveyears old, and gave orders that he was to be broken down by hunger and deprivation When he had spent a whole day without nourishment , they threatened that they would never give him any food unless he wasobedientto them in everything. Meanwhile they gorged the boy with a superfluity of drinkin order that his brain at any rate might be made to give way, and so they might extort some word from him. And so, just as he was, distressed by want of food and surfeit of drink, they led him into the public court to be examined by the inquisitors. Now in that assembly there were the Earl of Derby, the chief man of the county, and many other nobles and men ofthefirst rank These men began to questionthe little boy, and he, being wonderfully strengthenedby God , held fast to the confession of his faith, and revealed in public all their devices This somewhat dismayed the judges, and whilst they were discussing among themselves what was to be done, the boythereby giving fuller evidence on the mattersaid that he felt ill, and shortly afterwards ejected from his stomach all that excess of drink that had been forced upon him, so that even the heretics themselves were ashamed whenthey beheld it (19) However , the boy, with his brothers, is still held prisoner at Manchester. There are many other stories still that I could tell you, but these are the more recent ones

Asregards themen ofourSocietyinEngland,four are held prisonersFr.HeywoodandFr. Bosgrave in aLondon prison, and Fr. Metham(20) along with Pound in the Wisbeach prison The two latter, as your Reverence knows, entered the Societyactually in England. There still remain at liberty Fr.William Holt, who had left Englandand gone to Scotland and, after suffering imprisonment there for a time, now enjoys his libertyagain, and two otherfathers, (21) with a brother, who were recently sent over with that vineyard as their destination. There is a most assured hope of victoryfor us in the judgment of the enemy as well as in our own, provided that these difficulties in the temporal order allow us to pursue the course we have begun. And seeing this, our adversaries are making frantic efforts in this one direction, viz. to overwhelmus in poverty and want and so to bring the wholeaffair to nought. We, on the contrary, put our trust in Him who is thefather of the poor and the ruler of the rich that He will complete the work

, S.J.

begun by Himself to the praise and honourof His name And hope of this is bred in us by the many martyrdomsand sufferings so faithfully, undergone in defence of the faith, by the many groans of those in chains, the many tears of the loyal folk who lie hid in all parts of England, by the many men who are kindled with such longing and thirst after justice and the glory of God, and finally by the burning zeal of our priests, who expose themselves to danger for the salvation of others . And since all this cannot have had its origin elsewhere than in the divine grace, it seems to us a most valid proof that our most kind Lord will in no wise abandon us with whom He has left so many sure pledges of his benevolence and love I beg your Reverence to commend the whole matter to our Lord and in your sacrifices and prayers to have some memory of me . Paris, 15 Sept., A.D. 1584. Your Reverence's servant in Christ , Robert Persons .

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA . Paris, 15 Sept., 1584. Arch. S.J. Rom. Gall Epp. XIV, f. 66. Holograph.

Molto Reverendo in Christo Padre nostro Pax Christi Havendo qui moltissimi occupationi per la partita del P. Claudio Matteo questa matina et altre cause, et havendo scritto alla lunga di molte cose al Padre Rettore nostro, (1) sarò sforzato d'esserepiù breve con VostraPaternitàper essere il tempo brevissimo

Prima adunque quanto al stato delle cose nostre di qua, il Padre Matteo darà relatione piena a bocca et Vostra Paternità l'intenderà in parte dalla lettera che viene qui rinchiusaal Illustrissimo Cardinale Como, se a Vostra Paternità parerà conveniente che segli dia, parte ancora per la copia d'una letera che scrissi tre giorni sono al P. Ribadeneira in Spagna, sollecitato molto da lui a farlo Lasumma è questa che per la grande violentia che s'usa in Ingleterra sopra li beni di tutti Catholici , et la gran moltitudine di gente che viene fugendo qua de giorno in giorno, siamo in grandissime stretezze, per causa delle quale verràpresto forse a Roma un huomo, conosciuto penso a Vostra Paternità, chiamato Monsignore Frisonio,(2) Canonico di Rhems, per mostrar a Sua Santità l'impossibilità che c'è di passar avanti (del che ipse est oculatissimus testis), se fra SuaSantitàet SuaMaestà Catholica non si piglia qualche ordine per remediar la necessità presente.(3) Questo gentilhomo (come dico) sta quasi risoluto parte dal zelo proprio, parte ancora per spinta di qualche vescovo là appresso di Rhems, di venir per questo negotio a Roma, ma in secreto , di modo che non sarebbe saputo la sua venuta primo che fusse là (et per questo prego Vostra Paternità di non dirlo a nissuno), et ha in animo, comesto avisato, di proporre non solamente la neces-

(1) Fr. Agazzari, Rector of the English College, Rome : cf. next letter (2) Cf. Allen to Agazzari, 8 September , 1584 (Knox, Allen, p. 211). (3) Cf. Persons to Ribadeneira, 10 September , note 6, supra.

sità, et l'importanzadel negotio, ma ancora alcuni mezzi facili per gli quali Sua Santità o da se o vero con sua parola a qualche altro principe Christiano , potrà subvenir al bisogno, al mancho per qualche tempo. Se lui viene ben sappiamo che non gli mancherà l'aiuto che Vostra Paternità gli potrà dar.

Quanto alli denari del S. Georgio, sento ben la charità di Vostra Paternità e ho risposto allo largo intorno a tutto il negotio nella lettera del Padre Rettore , rimettendo tutti le cose particulari al parere di Vostra Paternità, quando haverà considerato le circonstantie .

Di quel ch'ho scritto al Cardenale Como sopra il viatico della missione, hebbi il parere del Nuncio et del Padre Claudio , et li pareva bene che gli scrivesse tanto, perchè non c'era altro modo qui di pagarlo, quanto ancora per continuarl'essempio a loro in Roma a dar viatico, &. Il Nuncio ha scritto della medessima cosa a Sua Santità, come ancora sopra il negotio universale d'Ingliterra (4)

Il Padre Gulielmo Westono et Rodolpho(5) si partironoda qui dieci giorno sono, tutto in ordine per l'imbarcatione. Io li preparai una nave particulare a loro posta, et insieme procurai ch'un gentilhuomo Inglese,(6) il qual stava qui, et ha possessioni nella maritima d'Ingliterra , intrasse con loro solamente per condurli securamente a casa sua, et dipoi lui con suo servitore ritornerà. Vanno molto ben in ordine, ciò è, ben instrutti, ben vestiti, con 70 scudi in bursa, ciò è, 40 a uno et 30 all'altro, et tuttele spese pagate fin alla nave (7) La spesa ancora della nave et del gentilhuomo pago io, et tutto questo siamo sforzati a far acciochè passino securamente, il che spero in Dio che faranno, perchè il gentilhuomo l'accompagnerà fin a Londres, dove già stanno molte case apparechiate per riceverli Et veramente ho granconfidanza nel Signore ch'il Padre Gulielmo farà gran frutto, perchè mi piace assai

L'altro Padre Marshialo(8) ancora è venuto quà, tre giorno sono. Il qual, come ho scritto al Padre Rettore più alla lunga, io non connobbi mai, se non adesso, et benchè sia buon Padre, pur non mi sodisfa tanto et sopra qual cosa ho pregato il Padre Rettore di parlar una parola con Vostra Paternitàet tutto quello

(4) Cf. Nuncio to the Cardinal of Como, 17 September , 1584 (Knox, Allen , p 240)

(5) Brother Ralph Emerson , S.J.

(6) Heis called HenryHubert in Weston's Autobiography Cf. J. Morris, S.J., The Troubles of Our Catholic Forefathers , Second Series, London , 1878 , p 40

(7) Persons had had to borrow moneyto meet these expenses Cf. Nuncio to the Cardinal of Como , 17 September , 1584, ut supra

(8) This will be ThomasMarshall whoenteredthe Societyin 1574 or 1575 , at the age of 29 (Foley, vii, 489) The other Marshall, who was the companion of Bd Robert Southwell in the Roman novitiate and whose death Foley places vaguely" before 1593 , "died in fact 13 February, 1581 (Stonyhurst, N. Southwell, Catalogus Primorum Patrum)

, S.J.

che lei ordinerà non dubito quin Deus ratum habebit, prosperumque faciet

Il tempo non mi permette di scrivere più. De Scotia non havemo nuova dopo la partita del P. Gordono et Critono,(9) che sarà adesso un mese o apresso. Lerelationi rinchiuse da Fiandra vennero qui hieri al ambasciatore. (10) Et con questo fo fine con raccomandarmi humilissimente alli santi sacrificii di Vostra Paternità et rallegrandome , infinitamentedella benedittione della sua casa per la felice morte del P. Rodolpho Aquaviva (11) Da Pariggi alli 15 di Sept. 1584.

Di Vostra Paternità molto Reverenda figliuolo indignissimo, P. Personio

Vostra Paternità di gratia mi perdoni l'errori nel scrivere , perchè non hebbi tempo di releggere la letera.

[Endorsed] Parisius, P. Rob Persno 15 di Sept. 1584. [With summary of contents .]

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL . Translation

Very Reverend Father in Christ, Pax Christi

Paris, 15 Sept., 1584 .

As I am very busy here owing to Fr. Claude Matthieu's departure this morning, and for other reasons, and as I have written a long letter covering many matters to our Fr. Rector,(1) I shall have to be more brief to your Paternity, since time is very short

Firstofallthen, inregard to thestate ofouraffairs here, Fr.Matthieu will give a full report in person, and your Paternity will get some news partly from the letter which is going enclosed with this for His Eminence Cardinal Comoif your Paternity thinks well to give it to him and partly also from the copy of a letter which I wrote three days ago to Fr. Ribadeneira in Spain, whohad beggedme very earnestly to write to him The gist of the matter is this: Owing to the violent attackwhich is being made in Englandon the property of all Catholics , and to the large number of persons who arrive here day after day as refugees, we are in very serious straits; andin consequenceof this there will becomingto Rome, possibly very soon, a man, with whomI think your Paternity is acquainted, called Monsignor Frison, (2) a Canon of Rheims, for the purpose of demonstratingto His Holiness the impossibility of any further progress and he himself is fully qualified to bear witness to thisunless some measures are taken by His Holiness andHis CatholicMajesty between them to relievepresent necessities (3) This gentleman , as I say, has nowalmostdecided, partlyout ofprivate zeal, partly also at the instigation of one of the bishops there in the neighbourhood of Rheims, to go on this errand to Rome; but he will go secretly, in such sort that it will not be known that he is coming

(9) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 23 July, 1584, note 8 (10) This relation does not appear to be extant.

(11) Bd Rudolph Aquaviva , son of the Duke of Atri and nephew of Claudius Aquaviva , the General of the Society. He with his four Jesuit companions was martyred in the village of Cuncolim, Salsette , India, on July the 23rd, 1583

until he is there (and therefore I beg your Paternity not to mention it to anyone), and it is his intention, I am informed, not only to represent the urgency and importanceof the matter, but also to propose some easy means wherebyHis Holiness, either by his own action or byawordto one ofthe other Christian princes, can come totheir assistance, at any rate temporarily If this gentleman arrives, we are sure that he willnot lack any assistance which your Paternity can givehim.

As regards Mr. George (Gilbert's) money, I am very sensible ofyour Paternity's charity, and I have replied at length, in connection with all this business , in my letter to Fr. Rector, leaving all the details to your Paternity's judgment, after you have considered thecircumstances

In what I have writtento the Cardinalof Como about the travelling expensesofthe mission, Itook the advice ofthe Nuncio and Fr.Claude , and they approved of my writing to him, both because there was no other way of paying them here, and also in order that the precedent might be continuedof their giving them travelling expenses in Rome , etc. The Nuncio has written on the same subject to His Holiness, as also on English affairs in general (4)

Fr. William Weston and Ralph(5) left here ten days ago with all they requiredfor going on board I arranged for a special boat to be at their disposal and managed also that an English gentleman ,(6) who was staying here and has properties on the English coast, should enter the country with them , for the sole purpose of guiding them safely to his house: afterwards he and his servant will come back They are verywell equipped for thejourneythat is to say, they are well primed with information, well clothed, have 70 crowns in their purse, namely, one of them forty crowns and the other thirty, and all their expenses are paid until they reach the boat (7) The cost of the boat and the gentleman's expenses I am also paying. We are obliged to do allthis so that they may cross safely, as I hope in God they will do, since the gentleman will go with them as far as London, where there are many houses now fitted up to receive them. And I have in fact great confidence in our Lord that Fr. William will win much success, for he pleases me greatly

The other father, Fr. Marshall, (8) has also arrived here, three days ago This fatheras I have told Fr. Rector at greater length -I had never met until now; he is a good priest but still I am not so satisfied withhin , and I have asked Fr. Rectorto say a word to your Paternity about this; and whatever you decide I doubt not that God will ratify and prosper

Time does not allow me to write any more. We have no news from Scotland since the departureof Fr. Gordon and Fr. Creighton (9); that will be now a month ago or thereabouts The reports from Flanders , which are enclosed, came here yesterdayto the Ambassador (10) And now I will end, commending myself very humbly to your Paternity's holy sacrifices , and rejoicing extremely at the blessing that has fallen on your house by Fr. Rudolph Aquaviva's(11) happy death. From Paris on the 15th of Sept. 1584.

Your Paternity's very unworthy son , R. Persons.

Your Paternity will forgive any mistakes in my writing, because I have had no time to re-read the letter.

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Paris, 15 Sept., 1584 .

V.R. tratti con Nostro Padre di mandarci o il P. Good,(1) o il P. Henrico,(2) il quale intendo che non può andare avanti con sua lettione per diffeto di sanità o il P. Engiamo(3) & . . mi contentarei ancora del P. Simone Hunt(4) overo del P. Southwello,(5) se paresse a Nostro Padre di mandarli & . ... domi fatto instanza il buon P. Ribadaneira o 3 giorni questo (raguaglio delle nuove d'Ingilterra) che V.R. qui leggerà, copiato dal Padre che sta meco & ....

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . Translation. . . Havengli scrissi duo

Paris, 15 Sept., 1584

I beg your Reverence to get Fr. General to send me either Fr. Good(1) or Fr. Henry(2)-who, I understand , cannot go on with his lectures owing to a breakdown in health--or Fr. Enghiam(3) I would be satisfied also with Fr. Simon Hunt(4) or Fr. Southwell,(5) if Fr. General thought well to send them . Good Fr. Ribadeneira having pressed me very hard to do so , I wrote two or threedays ago this (report of the news from England) and it is here for your Reverence to read, copied out by the father who is with me . ...

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI.(1)

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f 478

Paris, 15 vel 25 Sept., 1584

Anno 1584 scribit Parisiis ad Agazarium25 aut 15 Septembris

(1) Fr. William Good , S.J.

(2) Fr. Henry Garnet, S.J.

(3) Fr. Richard Enghiam, S.J.

(4) Fr. Simon Hunt, S.J., the former schoolmasterof Shakespeare. Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., " A Shakesperian Discovery, " The Month, October, 1917 , p 317. Fr. Hunt became a penitentiary at St. Peter's He died 11 June , 1585

(5) It may be of interest to read what Aquaviva replied to Persons's suggestions as to candidates for the English Mission On October 22 he wrote: "Non habeoaliud quod scribam nisi de P.Martiali, cujus sicutanteamittendi cogitationem susceperamus ex RaeV . informatione, ita nunc, quando a R.V. Romanae stationi quamAnglicanaemissioniaptior judicatur , mittihucpoterit in nomine Domini, quia hic etiam utilem operam navare poterit, maxime seminario Ejus autem loco quem substituamus valde haereo . Nam et P. Simoni doctrina imprimis deesse videtur, Robertus [Southwell] vero aetas et studium , cum enim adhucin mediofermecursutheologiaeversetur, nonjudicamus debere eum intercedere, maxime cum suo tempore ad multum aptius futurus sit, Patre Henrico nullo modo carere possumus si quidem destinatus est ad scholamMathematicaenec omnino alius est inpraesentia Quare restabat P. Engiamus, letera quidem aptus sed valetudine paulo imbecillior , si quidem ut Reverentia quoque Vestra rescisse audio non multum antea aliquantulum sanguinisexpuit Ex quo morbo, etsi jam satis bene convaluisse videtur, nescio tamenquam securi esse possimus, maxime cum in illa missione tanti labores et pericula, et verendumsit ne si quid accidat, pro onere sitet sibi etamicis. Sed tamenomnibusperpensis judicavimus eum istucmittendum , ut si aliud nonfiat, saltemmutatione aeris juveturac fortasseadeo juvabitur, ut Angliae quoque idoneusesse possit, quod Rae.V. judiciopermissumerit, et bene examinata et in Domino perpensa, quamquamsi mittendus judicetur, omnino necessarium putabamus ut istic aliquamdiu subsistat, quo melius confirmetur . " (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen. , f. 60v)

(1) Father Grene prefaces his manuscript of this letter with the note:

de variis personis et negotiis incipit Per l'altra posta, dolet de morbo P. Engiami , proponit P. Martialem ut Romae sit Confessarius in Seminario Anglicano qui legerat Philosophiam 9 annis Duaci, et videtur aptissimus pro illo officio sed non ita pro Missione Anglicana, rogat ut agat cum Patre Nostro che sua Paternità volesse mandare o il P. Good o il P. Henrico il qualeintendo che non può andare avanti con sua lettione per difetto di sanità .... Mi contentarei ancora del P.Simone Hunt overo del P. Southwello .... . Al P. Ribadeneira che mi ne haya fatta grand'instanza .... da Spagna .... Scrissi due o tre giorni sonc queste nuove delle cose d'Inghilterra , che V.R. leggerà qui incluse copiate dal Padre che sta meco , &c. ....

Translation.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Fr. Grene writes:

Paris, 15 or 25 Sept. 1584.

In the year 1584 he writes from Paris to Agazzari on the 25th or 15th Sept. about various persons and business The letter begins: " By the other post " ; he is sorry for Fr. Enghiam'sillness; hesuggests Fr. Marshall to be Confessor in the English Seminary; the latter had lecturedin Philosophyfor nine years at Douay, and seems most suitable, he says, for that post, but not so suitablefor the Englishmission; he asks him to intercede with Fr. General that his Paternity would send either Fr. Good or Fr. Henry, who, I hear, cannot go on with his lectures through failure of health . .. I would be satisfied also with Fr.Simon Hunt or Fr. Southall . ... I wrote to Fr. Ribadeneira , who has pressed me very hard to do so . from Spain .. . two or three days ago, giving him the news of things in England; and this is included here for you to read, having been copied out by the father who is with me . .. .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f 478

Rouen, 30 September, 1584 .

Scribit se Parisiis rediise Rhotamagum ob negotia et partim etiam ob pestem, quae Parisiis saeviebat in proxima ipsi domo (Il Sigr Carlo(1) per adesso sta qui meco e saluta V.R.) P. Gulielmo e Ridolpho(2) s'imbarcarono 12 giorni sono & ... .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . Translation . Rouen, 30 Sept., 1584.

He writes that he has returned from Paris to Rouen on business , and partly also on account of the plague which was raging at Paris and was in the house next to him (Mr. Charles(1) is at present Fr. William and here with me and salutes your Reverence) Ralph(2) embarked 12 days ago.

"Multas epistolasPersoniidum iterum et 3° relego, aliqua ex eis hic adnotabo quae prius omiseram . "

(1) In the margin Grene has written " Carlo Bassetto obiit Rhemis circa finem Novembris 1584 ut patet fol"

(2) Fr. W. Weston, S.J., and Br. Ralph Emerson, S.J.

a letter to the P. of Parma a speciall instrument in creditt

with P. of Parma D. Allen and solved to

worldly follow only

PERSONS

TO MARY , QUEEN OF SCOTS Rouen, 10 (Oct. ?), 1584.(1)

RO. Mary, Queen of Scots, XIII, f 57. Contemporary decipher in Phelippes'shand.

The Coppye of the letter written and sent the of this being sent a month after I receaved a letter from Yowr majestye of the 10th of this monthe of which letter bare no date yett was I [in] hope that it had bene for that there was mentionin it of a letter 1 receaved byyowr majestie from Mr. Fulgeam of the 30thof But after I perceaved uppon conference with Mr. Fulgeam that he had written no soch letter a late so that therein also I perceaved an error and cold not imagine of what date it shold be , yett for that at present Mr. Owen(2) was newlye arrived owt of The Q. sent Spayne and departing toward the Prince of Parma with advertisement of yowr answer concerning your resolution to adventure your escape if fitt and sure meanes might be provided for the same, which answer of yowr majesties came verye opportunelye Hugh Owen as it semeth both in respect of Mr. Owens being there to carrye the message to the Prince of Parma being a man of verye good partes and secrecye and of speciall creditt with the Prince of Parma and his Secretarye as also for that not long before Doctor Allen and I having had a meeting together had concluded uppon consyderation of owr thwartesand oppositions that weereceaved daylyein all owr doings and [from] men of our owne side and of the small successe owr former labors had browghtforth wee had he had re- resolved I say to leave cogitationof soch matters and to follow leave cogita- only owr spirituall cowrse wheruppon all dependeth thowgh in tion of longer time persuading owr selves that God would never permitt actions & to soch lettes and hindrances from among owr selves except his theyr spirit- divineprovidence did foresee that it was not yett time to releave uallcourse . us temporallyeI morned and being in this cogitationand deter-

(1) The letter is calendared as of Septemberthe 10th But Persons , to judge from his letter to Ribadeneira of that date, was at Paris and not at Rouen, whence the letteris dated Persons appears to have left Paris sometime after Septemberthe 15th, and before Septemberthe 30th October, therefore, seems a more probable month for the date of the letter This and another letter of Persons of February, 1585, were held up by the English Government for months andwere not receivedby Queen Mary until the25th of April, 1586. Cf. J. Morris, S.J., The Letter Books of Sir Amias Paulet, London, 1874, p 166. Mary's answerto these two letters of Persons is dated May the 28th, 1586, and is printed in the Appendix, infra

(2) Hugh Owen , one of the Catholic exiles, who became influential with the SpanishGovernorsin the Netherlands Much will be heard of him later in connection with the quarrels among the exiles Cf. R. Léchat, S.J., Les Réfugiés Anglaisdans les Pays-Bas Espagnols durant le Règned'Elisabeth , Louvain, passim , but especially p. 143. Léchat justlyremarksthatitis surprisingno account of Hugh Owen is to be found either in Gillow or in the D.N.B. A number ofhis letters, chiefly to Parma'ssecretary, Cosimo Massi, arepreserved amongthe Carte Farnesiane at Naples, where are also to be found some unpublished letters of Allen One of Persons's letters, which was preserved in the same collection, has unfortunately perished through the destruction of bundle 1656 by damp.

mination Mr. Owen arrived who browght us new order and com- Retorned mandement from the King ofSpayne to renew or rathercontinuenew order & owr sute to the Prince of Parma for that he had commission to ment from deale with him therin yet in all secrecy so that he would theK. ofSp. treate onlye with Doctor Allen and my selfe in France (3) message browght some hope that perhappesthey may have meaning to deale in the enterprise in the ende whereof we fully dispayre but moch more the answere of Yowr majestye at enterprise . the verye instant when I lest expected the same gave some hart furtherby and corage agayne For playnlye we see by experiencethat yowr Majestie being as yow are whose person in the principaland onlye resolution to fowndation in dede that the Pope and King of Spayne and the Prince of Parma doe rest uppon (for in verye truth we find that they respect nothingyour Sonne in that case where in he is whichofthe cause is that maketh the matter so hard dangerows and uncertayne to recover yowr majestyes person by open invasion) that albeit for contentacions sakegiveus fayre speech and some promisesyett I the princisee that when it cometh to the conclusion they demaund alwayes foundation sonie assurance or yowr person which by open force cannot be of all entergiven as theythinke sayweewhat weecan . And therefore finallye we perceave that if yowr Majestyes person were on this side the sea or otherwise in securitye yow cold not demand so abowndant socowrs as yow shold have offred yow in all thinges And being a yow are I see not (I say as I thinke) but that manyyearesmore may passe in fayre promises and no deedes as those heretofore hath passed. Yettifyowr majestye do not resolveyowr escape wee shallcontinue still to solliciteas yow shall appoynt albeit in dede we be alredye werye But if your majestye cold thinke it possible and convenient to attempt yowr escape in owr opiniontherewere no way so sure as that. And albeit we leave this poynt onlye to yowr majestyes owne judgment yett owr opinion is that it may be done with as littleand lesse danger then to make yowr escape uppon the arrivall of forces which cannot be made so secret but that some apparance will breake owt before and then shall yowr Majestye be sure to be made fast from escaping. But by this secret way we find not soch difficultye and the personal danger to yowr selfe mochlesse . For if yowr Majestye shold happen to be intercepted in fliing (as we hope verelye yow shold not) yett were the danger no more but straighter imprisonmentwhereas perhappes in the other case there wold be used some violence agaynst yowr Highnesse person But now for this manner ofForthemanescape if yowr Majestye can assure us that yow can but yowr escape . selfe with one of two persons disguised abowt midnight withowt the howse where as [sic] yow lye, and so provide that it may be kept secret for two or three howres after we dowt not but so to provide for the rest that all Englandshall never take yow agayne, whatsoever pursute may or shalbe made after yow wee shallfinde

Ithem uppon commandeto renew the Pr of This matters with some Parma who did had commision for the Encouraged answer toching a make an escape Approbation of making an escape Her person prises & only

(3) Cf. Allen to Mary, Queen of Scots , 5 February, 1585 (Knox , Allen , p. 247) ner of her

dowtenot both tall and trustye fellowes both by land and sea

and resolute to spend theyr lives in the service. And if yowr majestye can be browght to the sea side there shall be a vessell redye sufficientlye provided to brooke the sea from England in what way soever if God say Amen. If the thing be attempted it must nedes be in these longe winter nightes and therefore it is behovefullthatyowr majestie answer as sone and as often and as particularlye as may be especiallye in these poyntes following or any other that yowr Majestye shallthinke nedefull. Firstatwhat place yowr majestye thiketh thatthe enterprise shalbeattempted andabowte what time Secondlye what companye yowr Highness willhave with yow to the ende that horses may be providedbut in owre opinionthe nomber must not be great. Thirdelyetowhat place yowr majestie desireth most to be conveyed and whether if the way wold be fownd more expedient and lesse dangerows to Scotland as heretofore I have hard some discowrse whether yowr Highnesse cold not like to be convayed thither albeitto diverse here it wold not seme so convenient nor profitable perhappes Fowrthelyewhat personsyowr majestye woldhave made acquaynted withthe same herewhichthefewer they bethe better. for if many knowit, the lesse it is liketo take effect. Fiftlywhether therebe any meanes in Englandthatthe principall man thatshall come forexecution ofthe matter or any otherforhim may speake with yowr majestye or with any person from yow before the attempt for asfor sochotheras shall assist him in theaction they shall not be privye what is mentto be done untill the verye time of execution These and soch like poyntes yowr majestie may thinkeuppon as seeme necesarye to be resolved on as yow can possiblye if it shall be determined to put the same in execution I have taken order with Mr. Owen howto send and heare from thePrinceof Parma with expeditionand particular messengers if therefall owt anything for yowr majestye of importance. And I have imparted with the sayd Mr. Owen a coppye of the copye ofhis CifarwhichI howld with yowr majestye to the endehe mayadverher toOwen tise yowimmediatelye from thence if there be any nede. He is Commenda- a very activediligent faythfulland secret Sollicitor He is experitions of enced in matters zealous in good will and yowr Majestyes and as I sayd before in verye good credite with the Prince of Parma. Liggons fol-Mr. Ligons(4) hath some good qualityeswith most faythfullzeale: lowsnotthebut lyeth at Namure and followeth not the Court, nor hath not that acquayntance and particular favor with the Prince of Parma and his Secretarye Wherefore I have cownselled Mr. Owen that if the Prince of Parma have no cifar with yowr majestie andthat they finde difficultye in sending for Mr. Ligons Cifarto interprete

To send the this letter which yowr Majestie hath sent to the Prince of Parma (for I supposeit to be written in Mr. Ligons Cifar) to procurethat

(4) The Queen of Scots had appointed Liggons to be her agent withthe Duke of Parma (Mary, Queen of Scots to Allen, 22 March, 1584 , 20 May, 1586; and Allen to Mary, Queen of Scots, 5 February, 1585: Knox , Allen , pp 229 , 264, 247) Allen's letter recommendinghim to the Duke of Parma , 4 January, 1585, is at Naples , Arch di Stato, Carte Farnesiane , 1706

Given the cifar with

Owen Court

Pr of Parma a speciall cifar

Parmathe ence betwene Englefeld

Scotscomabout the mortification

thePrince ofParma send toyowr majestye a speciall Cifarwherebye yowr majestye may write to him in particular whoin my opinion if it be done often and ernestlye will be of more avayle to the cawse then all of them that may be written unto and any on this TheProf (side) of the sea . For to the Pope and the King of Spayne thereonlymanto can beno more sayd or urged then there hath bene : andit semeth be relyedon that the Prince of Parma is onlye the man that now putteth thinges in execution wherunto nothing will so moch move him as yowr majestyes owne effectuall and frequent letters. To F. Correspond[Sir Frances Englefeld written above] I will give advertise- Sir Fr. ments from time to time as yowr majestie appoynteth me, and and Parsons as always heretofore I have done albeit now we have little wher- bythe Q. of uppon to continue owr occurrence For both by Mr. Owen and mandment . by his later letterswhichI receaved at this instant I see the good man is now fullye persuaded that nothing in dede is ment from Spayne which heretofore he cold not beleve. For the payment of the 12000 crownes to yowr Majestie from Spayne I will doe Hewilldeale what possible I may abowt it althowgh if yow did know what 12000. But mortificationI have receavedin dealing therinfor these 12 monthes hathmoch and more yow wold not marvel if I shold say that I were werye about it to deale therin. But that shall not suffice if labor will serve. writ before how when the Prince of Parma had given commandement to [blank] in [blank] for payment thereof uppon knowledge that it was not payed After I have labored all this sommer past by letters to Spayne, and cawsed Mr. Owen to sollicite both that and the other 12000 A for yowr sonne, and so finallye had answer that it was grauntedand sent awayand after long delay the Embassador Tassis told me it was come yett afterwardesuppon thesodaynenewes that cameofchangeoftheEmbassador in France(5) the 12000 A for yowr majesties sonne were payed and stay made of them for yowr majestie saying that no order was come for theyr pay. And Tassis answeredfurther that those 12000 were promised yowr majestie in respect of yowr deliverance to that I made answer as I thowght convenient for the time and wrote to Spayne agayne But what will be the event thereofI know not (6) The 1000 that I mentioned to your Mony sentto majestye in my last letters were sent to the King ofScottes as Ithek.ofSc . was informed by them that sent them but yett since I under- Spayne. stand that 4000 were bestowed uppon his Nobilitye by his consent so that himselfe had but 6000 as he writeth to yowr majes-

(5) Bernardino de Mendoza replaced Tassis as Spanish ambassadorat Paris The Nuncio reports the change on the 12th of November, 1584 (Arch Vat Nunz di Francia, XVII, f 365) Tassis, however, did not leave Paris until the beginning of December , when he went to Joinville to concludea treaty betweenPhilipII and the League Cf. M. Philippson,Ein Ministerium unter Philipp II, Berlin, 1895, p 240. He then became Inspector-General of the Spanish forces in the Netherlands (6) Thewrangleover these monies may be traced in part in the documents published by Kretzschmar, op cit , pp 163-189 Cf. also Philippson, op cit, pp 503, 512, 513. Cf. also Paget to Mary, Queen of Scots, 4/14 February, 1585 (Murdin , State Papers, p 465) by the k,of

No more mony wilbe the k be Catholike

All theyr humane personof Q. ofSc to dispatch prise as the Pr of Parma and reasons

tye (7) And for that the greatest part of those 1000 were borrowed upon interest (as I am told) and some of theyr expences made in [blank] what in his Majesties apparell and rewarding some particular persons abowt him there remayne but 6000 more to be sent him of this latter somme as they tell me which have the dealing therin which I am sorrye is so little. And yett I must tell yowr majestye a truth as I thinke it wilbe verefied It will drawen for be harde to dray anymore mony from these princes hereafter for heronlesse Scotland except the kings be actuallye a Catholike and they are actuallyea halfeangrye with some of us alredye forextorting this uppon hope thathewolddeclare himselfe,whichhopeis lessened withthemdaylye and they will not be persuaded but that all are devisesofowrs togett monyfrom them.(8) God helpe us and preserveanddeliver hopeofthis ifit be his blessed will the person of yowr majestye wherein is worldintheallowr humane hope of this world. No man hath the commoditye to dispatch the enterprise so easelye and so quicklye as thePrince No man the of Parma : and I am more than halfe assured that if he would commoditye take the enterprise in hande and demaunde of the king ofSpayne the enter- the honor of doing it he shold not receave repulse. And as for the Prince of Parma I am certayne he hath a desire to doe it both in respect of the honor but moch more in respect of some His desire commodityethat might ensue perhappes to him that waywhereof I had a conjecture at my being with him albeit he dissembled the same verye conninglye and I wold not seme to take notice ofit But yett nowfor that the same is come to this issue as he only is to be delt withall for our matter I thinke it not amisse to signifyeunto yowr majestie and leave it to yowr owne consyderation In course of talke with the Prince of Parma when I was in [blank] [the low Contryes written above] he asked mine opinion in diverse thinges as whether I thowght yowr majestye wold most willinglye goe if yow cold escape Wherto I sayd I knowe not, but I presumed that yow wold trust no place soner ifotheroccasionsdid concurre then the kingof Spaynesdominions and where the Prince of Parma him selfe had the governement. Then he asked what yowr majestye wold dispose of yowr selfe if yow were at libertye or whether yow wold marye agayne. Wherto I sayd that in that poynt I knewlest. And when he stil was questioning obscurelye of soch matter I to draw from him some part of his meaning sayd that for yowr majesties particular intent I presumed not to know any thinge yett for her generall desire and wishe of Catholikes I cold assure him it shold be no small contentacion if yowr majestye were in yowr Royall seate and provided of soch a Husband as His Highnesse was for that wold make a hope thatit shold be beneficiall not onlye to England but to all Christendome. at that he smiled and sayd that he prethereof

(7) Partof the moneywas taken over by Fentry, the nephewoftheArchbishopof Glasgow Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 11 June , 1584, note 16. Forthe disbursement of the money cf. Theiner, iii, 809 , 810

(8) Cf. Paget to Mary, Queen of Scots, 4/14 February, 1585, ut supra

tended no soch thing but to doe for yowr majestie onlyeforgood will yett adding that he was not so mortified to the world but if all partes were agreed he cold accept soch a preferment with thankefulnesse But this sayd he I doe not pretende, nor am I worthye ofit: and so he made an ende. To the verye like effect also Cosmohis Secretarye discowrsed with me, who governethall. This only I towch by occasion of owr present necessitye Yowr majestye may doe herein as yow please and use the knowledg thereof to yowr selfe alone. If yow thowght it convenient and could devise fitt meanes whereby to cast owt some hope or good liking that way uppon the motion of some honorable frende in England I thinke nothingin the woldewold so moch settforward the Prince of Parma and hasten execution. for your majestye The Pr of knoweth that everye man now a days what so ever he pretend, Parmatobe seketh his owne interest . But all this I leave to yowr majestyes offer of her consyderation cravingpardon for myboldenessin mentioningany soch thinge for once I thowght never to have towched it. Now therefore to make an ende I beseche yowr majestye to be ofgood chere howsoever these thinges goe, and to thinke this little part spirituall ofChristes crosse which yow beare and have suffred these manyandcomfort yearesto be the greatest benediction that possiblye yowr majestye at Gods handescould receave. Howbeitfor the good ofthe Church yow and we all must pray and labor that yow may be delivered from it. But yet gods holye providence knowethwhat is best and in that cogitation we must rest and comfort ourselves to whose holye providence and benediction for owr swete Savior I commend yowr Majestye most humblye from Roan this 10th of 1584

Yowr majesties most humble servant in Christ x

bayted with mariage consolation

convayer of Sc be the Q. of

Ifthere be occasion of any busynesse hereafter to be done by me for yowr Majestye I desire thatthe passage ofyour majesties letters to me and mine to yow may be recommended affectionatelye to SS (Morgan) to besentwithdiligenceand secrecye WithMayerof Mr. Fulgeam I have spoken, and will doe for him what I may all letters possiblye as yowr majestye willethme and as the good gentilman That the k. deserveth And if yowr majestye wold deale with yowr Sonnemoved to to demawnd Creyghton at the Queen of Englandes hand, or els deale with entreate for him it shold be singular great benefitt to us all andEngland for a great honor and estimation to the king of Scottes him selfe Creyghton. with all princes and Catholikes in these partes, Mr. Owen writeth to me from uppon the way to the Low contryes that it may be he shall be sent backe presentlye to me agayne from the Prince of Parma and wishes me in any case to exhorte yowr majestye Anexpresse (if yowresolve to goe forwarde in theaction) thatyow send hither sent with someexpresseman owt of hande withample Instruccions ofyowr structions of pleasure which cannot be so well sett downe in writing. Wheretoherpleasure . I add that if yowr majestye have not commoditye of socha man Sherwood there is a preest in London named Sherwood otherwise now called ton a fitt Carleton (as I thinke) a man wellexperiencedin matters who wold person . serve verye well (as I deeme) for sochan office ifit shold likeyowr man to be ample In-

alias Carle-

, S.J.

majestye to use him and everye Catholike in London can finde himowte . Heis abowt some matterofmine at lest bymyappoyntement there but this also I leave wholye to yowr majesties consyderation.

[Endorsed] 10 [blank] 1584

Persons to the Scottish Quene. Decifred p. Philipps

Towching the advice given her to make an escape

The Prince of Parma his inclination to do her service. They are referred to him by the King of Spain

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA

Paris, 14 October, 1584

Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp XVI, f 27. Holograph.

Molto Reverendo in Christo Padre Nostro. Pax Christi. Nello mio al Padre Alfonso delli 25 et 29 del passato scrissi qualche parola del Padre Marshiale, come non pareva troppo atto per la tarda natura che mostrava Il medessimomi pare sempre, benchè in qualche parte sia megliorato per la conversatione la qual ha havutoqui in Franciaet per le chose ch'havisto etsentito qui d'Ingleterra, onde il suo desiderio è tanto cresciuto quanto non si può dire, et questi giorni passati quand'io gli significava (per provarlo) che forse Vostra Paternità per qualche respetto della difficultà del presente tempo potrebbe differire la sua missione, lui si turbò assai, mostrandome grandissimo dolore et quand'io alhora con quest'occasione gli proposi tutte le difficultà che c'erano, facendolo ancora discifrare alcune lettere che venivano d'Ingleterra, et parlavano delle miserie et difficultà disacerdoti di là, lui si rimesseniente per questo, ma faceva più instantia che prima, et dicendo che farebbe meglio assai in Ingleterra che non mostrava qui adesso, et benchè non havesse eguali talenti a molti altri, nondimeno nella parte settentrionale d'Ingleterra dove lui ha molti amici et parenti non dubitava che sarebbe bastante per farequalche frutto. Non so quel che VostraPaternitàdeterminarà di questo caso allavistadella mia letteradelli 25del passato,la risposta della quale espetto per quest'altroordinario. Ma s'altro ordine non viene da lei, penso che dall'importunità dequesto buon Padre sarò sforzato di lasciarlo andare in qualche parte d'Ingleterra, sperando che Dio concorrerà con sua santa simplicità più di quello che humanamente si puòpensare Non havemonuovaancora dell'arrivata del P. Westono et Rodolpho, ma l'istesso non haver mala nuova di loro è assai buona, et segno che stian bene Mi scrissero dalla nave et il P. Westono fu tanto allegro che entrò in spirito poetico, scrivendomi assai versi graeci d'Homeroetaltri (perchè lui è molto pronto in quella lengua) et dice che si maravigliavade se medesimo, vedendositanto allegro fuordisue custume . Io ho gran confidanza in Dio che quel Padre farà cose grandi per il servitio di Dio et per l'honore della Compagnia.

Del P. Gasparo si dice che lui sta più ristretto che mai, et che sai assai probabilità che finalmente l'amazzeranno, onde tuttili passati rumori si stimano adesso per finti et falsi.(1) Del P.Holt non ho ricevutonuova di tre mesi in qua, se non che uno venendo di là mi disseche lui era partito alla parte settentrionale di Scotia con un Signore principaleper predicare et guadagnare anime . Il rumore della presa del P. Criton et del P. Gordon (del qual presuppongo che già Vostra Paternità haverà inteso per altre vie), va crescendosempre et io per me dubito che sarà vero al meno del P. Criton, il qual, un ordinario venendo due giorno sono d'Ingleterra, afferma per certo che siain Londraet che la Regina triompha assai per la sua presa, dicendo che lui sarà constrettoa scoprire molti negotiationi sue et d'altri, &. (2) Dio nostro Signore sarà quello che indrizzerà tutto al suo honore . Qui non c'è nuova alcuna se non che in Scotia il Re ha restituito nuovamente al suo vescovato un buon sacerdote vecchio et Catholico di 90 anni Qui ancora in Pariggi il Signor Don Bernardino(3) s'espetta ogni giorno per ambassiadore fermo Et con questo non havendo altro fo fine per adesso raceommandandomi humilissimamente nelli santi sacrificii di Vostra Paternità. Pariggi alli 14 d'Ottobre.

Di Vostra Reverenda Paternità indegno figliuolo R. Personio.

[Addressed] Per nostro Reverendo Padre Generale. Da

Translation.

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL

Very Reverend Father in Christ, Pax Christi ,

Paris, 14 October, 1584

In my letters of the 25th and 29th of last month to Fr. Alfonso I made some mention of Fr. Marshall, saying that he did not seem to be very well qualified, by reason of the sluggish nature of which he gave evidence . I am still of the same opinion, although he has been improved a certain amount by the intercoursewith people which he

(1) Fr. JasperHeywood. Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 11 June, 1584 , note 9 , supra.

(2)When on their way to Scotland, FF. Gordon, Crichton and Patrick Addy, a secular priest, were captured at sea by DutchCalvinists Gordon , however, was released and made his way laterto Scotland; but Crichton and Addy, at the request of the English Government, were sentover to England After being examinedin Walsingham's house in the first days ofSeptember, Crichton, with Addy, was sent to the Tower on Septemberthe 16th He remained there until May, 1587. Cf. the first part of Crichton's Memoirs , whichwere editedby J.H.Pollen, S.J. , in Mary, QueenofScotsand theBabington Plot, Edinburgh, 1922, pp 153-163 , and The Month, April, 1922 , 319 ff. His confessions areto be found in R.O. Dom Eliz CLXXIII, nn 2, 4, 5, andthose ofAddy, ibid, 49.1 Knoxprinted Crichton's confessions from anothersource as well as the paper found on Crichton at the time of his capture (Knox, Allen, pp 425-434) The latter appears to be a none too exact translation , made from a defective copy, of the memorial ascribed by Kretzschmar to Persons . Cf. supra, p. 148 .

(3) Bernardino Mendoza , the former Spanish ambassador in England

has had here in France, and by the things he has seen and heardof here about England These have increased his longing (to go there) more than I can say; and, a few days ago, when I gave him to understand, by way of testing him, that perhaps your Paternity, in view of the difficulties of the present time, might postpone his being sent , he was very much concerned and showed intense sorrow . I took this opportunity to put before him all the difficulties there were, and also made him decipher some letters which had come from England and spoke of the hardships and difficulties of a priest's life there; yet he did not flinch at all for that, but was more insistent than ever, saying thathewould show much better results in England than he was doing here now , and that, although he had not such good talents as many other men , nevertheless in the Northof England, where he has many friends and relations, he had no doubt that he would be capable of working with some profit I do not know what your Paternity will decide about this case after you have seen my letter of the 25th of last month, butI am expectingan answer to it bythis other post However, if no other orders come from your Paternity I think that this good father's importunitywill compel me to let him go to some districtin England, in the hope that God will co-operate with His holysimplicity to a greater extent than, humanly speaking, can be expected

We have no news as yet of the arrival of Fr. Weston and Ralph, but the veryfact of having no bad news of them is sufficiently satisfactory and a sign that all is well They wrote to me from the boat, and Fr. Weston was in such good spirits that he took to poetry and wrote me a number of Greek verses after the manner of Homer and others , for he is very fluent in that language He says that hehimself was astonished to find himself in such good spirits, contrary to his habit. I have great confidence in God that this father will do great things in the service of God and for the honour of the Society. It is said that Fr. Jasper is in stricter restraint than ever and that it is highly probable that in the end they will put him to death; and soalltherecentrumoursare nowconsidered to befalse and imaginary.(1) I have not had news of Fr. Holt for three months past, except that a person who came from that country told me that he had set out in the company of a gentleman of position for the northern parts of Scotland withtheintention ofpreachingandwinning souls . Therumour of the capture of Fr. Creighton and Fr. Gordon (of which I presume your Paternity will have beeninformedalreadythroughother channels) keeps on intensifying, and for my part I think it will prove to be true at any rate as regards Fr. Creighton, for it is asserted definitely, in the post that came from England two days ago, that he is in London and that the Queen is very triumphant at his captureand says that he will be forced to disclose a great number of negotiationswhich he and others have been conducting , etc.(2) It will be for God our Lord to direct everything to His honour .

Here there is no news of any kind except that in Scotland the King has lately restored to his bishopric a good old Catholic priest, 90 years ofage Here, too, in Paris, Señor Don Bernardino(3) isexpected every day as permanent Ambassador And now, having no more to say, I will end for the time being, commending myself very humbly to your Paternity's holy sacrifices. From Paris on the 14th of Oct.

Your Paternity's unworthy son , R. Persons.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 452

Pax Christi

Paris, 23 October, 1584 .

Havendo scritto a V.R. 3 giorni sono, non mi occorre nuova materia .... havendo di partirmi subito verso Roan . ... (agit deinde de negotiis pecuniariis & quae omitto) Fofine con molte mie raccommandationi a V.R. et al carissimo mio Padre Ministro, alli Padri Good et Inghiam,(1) Southwello et altri amantissimi nostri Padri e fratelli & 23 Oct. 1584.

Translation .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI ,

Pax Christi,

Paris, 23 Oct., 1584 .

Having written to your Reverence three days ago, I have nothing fresh to tellyou . .. . having to leave at once for Rouen .... (He then deals with money matters, etc., which I am leaving out.) I will end with many kind regards to your Reverence, to my dear friend Fr. Minister, to Frs Good, Enghiam, (1) Southwell , and our other beloved fathers and brothers, etc. 23 Oct., 1584

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Stonyhurst, Coll. P , f 478 .

Paris, 24 Oct., 1584

Scribit multa de pecuniis Caroli Bassetti et aliorum Solatur ipsum de summa molestia in exigendis pensionibus pro aliquibus in Gallia Anglis qui ut mendici solent semper queruli & Io vo adesso a Roan et il Sigr Carlo torna a Rhems Per il prossimo ordinario spero mandarle il libro latino, l'Inglese è gia disperso in Inghilterra ; is egit Haereticos in furorem.(1)

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . Translation

Paris, 23 Oct., 1584 .

He writes lengthily about moneys belongingto Charles Basset and others. He condoles withhim in the great trouble he has had in obtaining pensions for some of the English in France, who after the manner of beggars are always querulous , etc. . . . .I am going now to Rouen and Mr. Charles is returning to Rheims By the next post I hope to send you the Latin book ; the English version is already distributed in England; it has roused the heretics to fury).(1)

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA .

Arch Ven Coll Angl , Rome

Rouen, 12 November, 1584. (1)

Contemporary copy. Admodum Reverende in Christo Pater , Ex literis R.V.Ptis 8 Octobris scriptis intellexi cum nonnullo meo dolore, literas meas quas ad P.V. quarto abhinc tabellario,

(1) Grene adds the following footnote " Fr. Enghiam not long after was sent into France for his health " Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 15 September, 1584 , note 5, supra .

(1) He is probably referring to Allen's True, Sincere and Modest Defence . (1) The year is not given, but the contents of the letter make it clear that it is 1584

id est, 17 Septembris dederam , nondum istic comparuisse, quo mihi fit suspitio, vel periisse illas, vel a quopiam interceptas fuisse. cujus rei eo major existit dolor meus, quod illae literae copiosae fuerunt, et de multis rebus, et ad multos ; praeter illas enim quae ad V.P. pertinebantet ad patremnostrorumrectorem (in quibus etiam erat relatio quaedam prolixa de presenti statu Anglicarum rerum) fuerunt etiam literae ad Illum Cardlem Comensensem , si P.V. expedire videreturut traderentur, quarumjactura valdemihi molesta est, si tamen perdantur, fieri enim potest ut alicubi in via retardatae , postea compareant, sin minus, hoc etiam cum caeteris incommodis aequo animoferemus.

Scripseram in illis literis cum alia diversa tum praecipue de P. Westoni et Rodulphi(2) discessu in Angliam, et de Rodulphi profectione varias reddidi causas, tum quod ipse cupiebat valde et perurgebat ut mitteretur, affirmans se nulli omnino heretico per Angliam esse cognitum (quod ego etiam existimo), tum etiam quod P. Westono in initio, necessaria esset alicujus [hominis] experti introductio atque plusquam omniumexpetebat Rodulphi. Itaque re cum P. Claudio Matteo communicata cessimus utriusque petitioni, id quod jam divina providentia factum puto, ad sancti fratris illius, vel certamen vel coronam. Rodulphus enim postquam P. Westonum introduxerat, et in tuto colocarat, quasi deo exploratores ad ipsum ducente, nocte quadam Londini captus fuit, cumdomos quasdam haeretici ob libros scrutarentur ,(3) hoc habemus ex relatione cujusdam viri, qui recenter huc Londino venit, qui Rodulphum bene novit, ipsumque in carcere latronum esse affirmat, quem Newgate appellant,(4) caetera autem omnia bene se habere, hujus rei nuntius etsi non parum nos afflixerit, tamen cum cogitamus hunc esse finem vel proxime adjunctum accidens huic nostrae missioni, consolamur nos invicem in ea spe, quam dominibenignitas nobis elargitur aeternarum rerum, nec quicquam nobis diminuit animos sed adauget potius et incendit desiderium. solum mihi (ut verum fatear P.V.) subdit nonnunquam mediocris tristitia, cogitanti quam multi et fere omnes mei socii, qui una mecum ad opus ingressi sunt (tredecim erantnumero), ad bravium pervenerint , vel in certamine adhuc sunt, me solo ob peccata mea excluso, sed et in hoc etiamhabeo, quo me vel consoler vel sustentem, cum providentiam dei considero, nec omnino despero quin

(2) Cf. Persons to Aquaviva, 15 September , 1584, supra. (3) Cf. Weston's Autobiography, edited by J. Morris, S.J., Troubles ofour Catholic Forefathers , Second Series, p 40. Emerson passed practicallythe rest of his life in prison, occupying at one time the cell next to Fr. John Gerard, S.J., in the Clink (cf. Gerard's Autobiography, edited by J. Morris, 1881, p 199) He was released at the beginning of James I's reign (Douay Diaries, C.R.S. x, 50), but having contracted paralysis during his long imprisonment, he survived but a few months, dying at St. Omer's College, March 2/12 , 1604 (A. Poncelet, S.J., Nécrologie des Jésuites de la Province Flandro-Belge, Wetteren, 1931, p 18) Cf. Foley, Records, iii, 17; Prison Lists, C.R.S. ii, and C.R.S. v, 105. Some of the books which were seized at the time of his capture seem to have copies of Leicester's Commonwealth (4) He was committed to the Counter in the Poultry on Septemberthe 26th, 1584 (C.R.S. ii, 249 , 251).

aliquando etiam, deo ita per V . Ptem disponente, desiderii mei ex parte fiam compos

P. Martialis adhuc mecum est, sed et animo et rebus caeteris paratissimus ad iter et proxima commoditate navigaturusvidetur

Interim per dei gratiam non sumus ociosi immo dicere possum quod multum uterque laboramus De Pre Gasparo nihil novi apportatur nisi quod quieteadmodum in turri Londinensi versetur , sine cujusquam (quoc sciamus) offensione De P. Holt non habeo aliud quod scribam quam quod postremis meis literis significavi (per ultimum scilicet tabellarium) recte illum valere licet derebus Scotiae minus videatursperare quam antea ob quaedam quae Pri Matteo(5) breviter insinuari quorum ille apud P.V. interpres esse poterit. Aliud nonoccurrit quod modo scribam, nisi ut humillime

P.V. benedictioni sanctisque sacrificiis me commendem Rothomagi 12 Novembris

R.V. Ptis

indignus in Christo filius, Rob Personio

P.S. Quidam qui huc venit ex Anglia nunciat rumorem esse

Londini, P. Critonum semel jam tormentaperpassum esse in turri Londinensi, sed hoc non est certum

Ago maximas gratias V.P. de charitatesuainfratrem meum ,(6) quam mihi per literas testificatus est; si parce et diffidentervisus sum P.V. illum commendasse , non illud factum est quod omnem confidentiam non haberem in charitate et benignitatevestra , sed quia frater est cujus commendatio verecundiam quamdam majorem habet quam reliquorum, et quia revera non cupio illi plura quam mere necessariaad victum et vestitum: ex aliis enim disco quid abundantiafaciat

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL . Translation

Very Reverend Father in Christ, Rouen , 12 Nov., 1584.(1)

From your Paternity's letter, written on Oct. 8th, I have learnt with some grief on my part that the letters which I sent you four

(5) Fr. Claude Matthieu had gone to Rome to representhis province as procurator (Fouqueray, op cit, ii, 131)

(6) George Persons is mentionedin the Pilgrim Book ofthe English College, Rome, as arriving on October the 1st, 1584 , and staying eight days (Foley, Records, vi, 556). Aquaviva had replied on October the 18th to Persons's letter recommending his brother: "Respondeo breviter litteris R . Vae quae a Rhemis scripsit in commendationemfratiis sui, qui ante paucos dies eas nobis reddidit, confectoper Dei gratiam prospere ac feliciter hoc itinere Nos autem nullo ei loco deerimusdeque eo jam locuti eramus cum P. Alphonso, ut illius mentem exploraret ad quam rem potissimum inclinaret, ut omnem ei consolationem et opem Dei auxilio curemus , propterea quod omnia illi studia nostra et propriis et fraternis meritis deberi existimamus , ut etiam RaV in hac parte nimis verecunde agere judicaverimus cumpotius intalibus rebus omnem fiduciam nobiscumhabere eam deceat , et certeita nobisgratum futurumsit. Quare RaV poterit deinceps quieto animo esse , quia quicquid in hoc genere poterimus id libenter ad illum juvandum conferemus , Divino etiam praecipueauxiliofreti, pro cujus ille causa fideliter et strenue laboravit. " (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 60v.)

R

posts back, namely, on Sept. 17th, have not yet made their appearance in Rome, whichmakes me suspect that they have either been destroyed or have been interceptedby some one And my grief on this account is all the greater because they were very full letters on a number of subjectsand to a numberofpeople. For besides the ones destined for your Faternity and for our Fr. Rector (which latter contained a somewhat lengthy report on the present state of affairs in England), there was also a letter to His Eminence the Cardinalof Como, for your Paternity to send on if you thought it expedient ; and the loss of these is very tiresome for me, if indeed they are lost, for it is possible that they have been held up somewhere on the road and will turn up later Nonethe less , we will suffer with equanimity this inconvenience tooalong with the others

Ihadwritteninthat letter of various othermatters, but in particular about Fr.Westonand Ralph(2) going to England; andI gave a number of reasons why Ralph should be sent, viz , both because he himself was extremely anxious to go and was pressing hard to be sent , declaring that he was not known to any heretic at all in England (which I believe to be the case), and also because it was necessary for Fr. Weston to have at first some experienced person to introduce him and he asked for Ralph for this purpose in preference to anybody else And so, after Fr. Claude Matthieu had been informed of this, wegranted the petition of both parties, and I now think that thiswas done by the providence of God, with a view to either a conflict or a crown for that holy brother For after Ralph had introduced Fr. Westonand placed him in safety, as thoughGod had ledthe pursuivants to him , he was captured one night in London whenthe heretics were searching certain houses for books (3) We have this from the report of a man who has recently come here from London and knew Ralph well. He says that he is in the thieves' prison, which they call Newgate(4); otherwisehe says that all is well. The news of this happening has distressed us not a little: yet, when we consider that this is the purpose of this mission of ours or at least an accident obviously incidental to it, we console one another with that hope of things eternal which the kindness of God bestows on us. Nor does it in any way lessen our courage, but rather it increases and inflames our zeal Only in my case (to tell your Paternity the truth) does a slight feelingof sadness arise at times when I consider how many, indeed nearly all, of my comrades who set out together with me on this work (their number was thirteen) have attained their reward or are still undergoing their contest, whilst I alone am left out for my sins Yet even in this matter I have somethingto console me or to support me, when I consider the providence of God; nor am I altogether withouthope that some day also God will so arrange matters through your Paternity that my longings may be in some degree fulfilled.

Fr. Marshall is still with me , but, both as regards courage and in other respects, is very well prepared forthe journey, and it seems likely that hewillset sail on the next convenient opportunity. In the meantime, by God's grace, we are not being idle; indeed, I can say that we are each of us labouring hard. No fresh news is brought us of Fr. Jasper, exceptthat he is passing his time very quietly in the Tower of London, giving offence to no one, as far as we are aware I have nothing to report about Fr. Holt beyond what I mentioned in mylast letterthat is to say, by the last courierthat he is in good health though he seems less hopeful about Scottish affairs than before , for

certain reasons which I briefly intimated to Fr. Matthieu,(5) and which he will have been able to explain to your Paternity. Nothing else occurs to me to mention now, except that I commend myself very humblytoyour Paternity's blessing and to your holy sacrifices Rouen, 12 Nov.

Your Paternity's unworthy son in Christ, Rob Persons

Some one who has come here from England reports a rumour in London that Fr. Creighton has already been put to the torture once in the Tower of London; but this is not certain. I thank your Paternity very much for your charity to my brother, to which he has borne witness in a letter to me IfI seem to have commended him to your Paternity with reserve and diffidence , this was not because I had not full confidence in your charity and kindness, but because he is my brother and I cannot commend him withouta certain feeling of shame greater than in the case of other people, and becausein truth I do not wish for him anything more than themere necessaries of food and clothing; for I have learnt in the case ofothers the effect that abundance produces (6)

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 303

M'ha dato fastidio & . ...

Rouen , 12 November .

Per Questi 5 o sei ordinarii passati mai ho mancato di scrivere a V.R. e per ciò se non ha ricevuto nulla (come pare per le sue lettere) qualche amico le haverà intercetto: e di tali huomini ci mancano mai Dio li perdoni . . Io speravo d'haver potuto mandare un essempio stampato del nostro libro contra la giustitia Anglicana, ma non fu possibile, e dubito se saranno in ordine per l'altro ordinario. Di gratia V.R. scriva una parola al P. Suarez che non trovandomiin Parigi (come penso che non mi troverà, ne li nostri sanno dove io sono) mi facci mandare il libro delle imagini per il Sigr Covart(1) in Parigi, il quale benchènon sappia ne anco lui dove io stia, pureha modo di mandare ogni cosa per me &

Translation

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Rouen , 12 Nov., 1584

I have been grieved, etc. .. . I have not failed to write your Reverence a letter by these last five or six posts, and therefore, ifyou have not received any of them, as appears from your letter to be the case , some friend will have intercepted them; friends of that kind wenever lack God forgive them .. I had hoped to be able to send you a printed copy of our book in answer to the " Execution of Justice in England , " but it was not possible, and I doubt whetherthey will be in printin time for the other post Will your Reverence be so good as to write a line to Fr. Suarez, telling him, if he does not find me in Paris (and I think he will find that I am notthere and that our fathers do not know where I am), to have the book of pictures sent to me through Mr. Covert(1) in Paris. Though not even he knows whereI (1) Thomas Covert acted as Allen's agent in Paris He corresponded frequently with Agazzari, the Rector of the English College, but only three or four of his letters are now extant .

am staying, yet he is in a position to send on anything for me, etc.

PERSONS TO AQUAVIVA . Paris, 25 Nov., 1584

Arch. S.J. Rom Gall. Epp. XIV, f. 80a Holograph

Admodum Reverende in Christo Pater. Pax Christi, etc. Ex litteris Pis Vae 22 Octobris scriptis, intellexi placere ut P Martialis Romam mittatur, id quod Dei gratia fiet prima commoditate, quamquam fortasse, id tam cito fieri non poterit quam P. Rector exoptaret, propter anni tempus, et quia socii itineris facilenon reperientur, solum autem et solitarium viae tam longae committere vix audeo, cum ille nullam ejus partem cognoscat Bonus autem Pater tam ardens et acre desiderium monstravit Anglicanae missionis, post illud tempus quo primas meas litteras scripsi, ut, si rescriptum P.V. eo ipso tempore non venisset , jam eram illum dimissurus quanquam in eadem sim adhuc opinione, ipsum nonesse valde aptum, proptertalenta, licet animi desiderio, humilitate, aliisque virtutibus aptissimus. Pater Engiamus recipietur a nobis omni charitate & fovebitur diligenter usque dum videamus, ut se habuerit ejus valetudo Rogatu et literis Rmi Glascoviensis et P. Haii et Tirii ob missionem Scoticam, et instantia magna D. Alani ob nostra negotia, coactus fui Parisios venire, clam tamen, propter pericula quae mihi imminent ex Anglia (1) Et de negotio Scotico jam transactum est Res enim relata est ad V . Pem propter recentia quae acciderunt P. Critono et P. Gor-

(1) The facts are obscure, but that there was a belief curren: at this time that Persons was in danger of assassination by emissaries of his enemies in England is beyond doubt On October the 29th Edmund Hay, S.J., wrote from Paris to Aquaviva : " Fr. Robert fearedfor his life and is gone to Rouen or else to Flanders, leaving in my hands the care of the Scottish mission entrusted to him by your Paternity" (the letter is translated in W. Forbes Leith, S.J.,NarrativesofScotch Catholics, p. 200) TheProvincial, OdoPigenat, also mentioned the matter in an undated letter of the end of 1584: it was answered bythe General on January the 9th, 1585 (Arch S.J.Rom Gall XCI, f 307 , olim Gall. Epp XVIII, f 80a). In a letterto Persons of Novemberthe 29th, 1584, Aquaviva suggests that he might come to Rome for a time" nam et hic in multo operam navaret Angliae utilem et se in praesenti tempori cedens periculis eriperet , quae cum illis tum nobis curam ac sollicitudinem afferant Quarecogitabit de hac re RaV diligenter atque etiam conferetcum D. Alano idque tandem exequetur quod ad majorem Dei gloriam esse judi- caverit " (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f 63 [italics mine]) And again, on January the 9th, 1585, he informs Persons that the Provincial haswritten to him about Persons's dangerand that he had better come to Rome (ibid , f. 66v .). Eventually Persons withdrew to Flanders(Aquaviva totheProvincial of that province, 31 May, 1585, ibid , Fland Belg Epp Gen. , f 83). For a similar but] earlier danger to Allen cf. Knox, Allen, pp 88, 109, 139–141 , 410

It is possible that the whole affair is connected with the introduction of copies of Leicester's Commonwealth into England, for such appear to have been found among the books taken when Ralph Emerson was captured Cf.Morgan to Mary, Queen of Scots, 5/15 January, 1585 (Hatfield, Calendar , iii, 129). The calendarist has given the date 5/15 January, 1585-1586 , but it should be 5/15January, 1584-1585 , or, as the beginning of the year is now reckonedfrom January 1st, 5/15 January, 1585

dono; quorum alter bene se habet in Scotia, alter est in castro Londinensi, sed incertum an torturae adhuc subjectus necne Omnibus hic videtur non esse intermittenda haec missio Scotica propter hunc incommodum successum , quem fortasse Deus tandem ad suam majorem gloriam convertet. De Rodulpho nihil amplius adhuc habemus quam quod sit in carcere Idem de Patre Gasparo Agitur jam in Anglia ut tam nostriqui suntcomprehensi quam etiam alii sacerdotesin carceribus degentes , sive ad mortem sint condemnati sive non, perpetuo exilio ejiciantur (2) Et hoc vehementissimetractatur, ut velint servi Dei juramentoaffirmare se non redituros vivente Elizabeta Ita sunt cupidi inimici nostri ut a nobis liberentur, ut hoc tandem per Dei gratiam consecuti sumus , ut fateanturinimici premi se nostris laboribus Sacerdotes huc usque respondent rem hanc sui non esse arbitrii, cum ex obedientia ingressi sint Hoc proximo futuro parlamento existimaturquod leges de hac re ferentur, et tunc urgebimuradrespondendum , interim non erit inutile ut Vestra Paternitas isticcogitet, quid faciendum vel dicendum erit, si hoc deventum, erit.(3)

Pater Westonus (ut audio) optime valet Difficultatesnostrae in his partibus sunt maximae, sed tamen semper hactenus Deus nos juvit et juvabit ut speramus Post biduum Dominus Alanus me conveniet ut conferamusdolores, fructus , spes, etconsolationes nostras, et constituamus aliquid de praesenti nostrorum omnium necessitate In Belgio plurimi ex praecipuis Anglis sunt mortui idquemaxime inedia rerumnecessariarum. Reliqui necessitatibus insupportabilibus pressi, diffugiunt in varias partes sed maxima pars ad Seminarium Remense, ut ibi renovent literarum studia, cum fere omnes sint juvenes nobiles Habeo hic apud me Regis Catholici litteras ad Principem Parmensem pro instituendis et renovandis quibusdam cohortibus Anglorum Catholicorum , sed non existimo me illas missurum ad principem , quia fere despero de successu talium negotiorum . Ex urbe responsum est Nuncio Apostolico significantinecessitatesnostras, Seminarium Rhemense praefiniti numeri esse debere, nec patere omnibus, cum quadam

(2) The first batch of prisoners were exiled in January, 1585 , and by Septemberof that year some seventy had been driven into exile

(3)Aquaviva gives his answer to this point raised byPersons in a letterto him ofthe 10thofFebruary, 1585. Hewrites" Quod autemRaeV. deAnglicana conditionequae offerebatur, meSummiPontificis sententiamexequuturumfeci id ferestatim atque his diebus responsum habui Videtur autem ejus Sanctitati sacerdotes illos cum subditi sint non posse omnino et absolutepromittere idque juramento se nunquam reversuros ; sed ita se quantum ad se et voluntatem suam attinet nonreversurossi tamen a superioribussuis mittanturnon possereluctari nec retractare Itaque RaV. jam videbit quid juxta hoc Pontificis judicium jam agendumsit ad majorem Dei gloriam quam in talinegotio ad ejus honorem pertinente certissime speramus haudquaquamfamulis suis defuturum " (Arch S.J. Rom. Gall Epp Gen. , f 68v .) As a matteroffact, thosewho were exiled in January protestedbythe mouth ofJasperHeywood that this exile was againsttheirwill and that they were only yielding to force (Cf. the account by the continuator of Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano (Rishton), who was one of the priests concerned , ed 1586, pp 476-482 , and D.Lewis'stranslation ofSanders's work, 1877, p 326 ff Cf. also C.R.S. v, 102.)

LETTERS

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.j.

etiam reprehensione Domini Alani quod hoc non observet (4) Sed hoc nullo modo observari potest, rebus sic stantibus , nisi omnia pessumdare velimus, sicuti brevi ex rationibus allatis intelligetis Plurimum confidimus in providentia Dei Qui huic sancto negotio tandem non deerit , utcunque difficultates magnas (ut in omni opere bono) permittat. Ita premor angustiis temporis, et necessitate decedendi, ut plura scribere hac vice non liceat. Maxime cum literas Paternitatis Vestrae non nisi sero acceperim Meergo humillime Vestrae Paternitatis benedictioni commendo. Parisiis 25 November 1584

V. Rae Ptis indignus fillus , R. Personius .

[Addressed] Al molto Rdo in Xo Pre il P Claudio Aquaviva, Preposito generale della Compa di Giesù. Roma.

[Endorsed ] 84 Parisiis P. Rob Personius 25 Novembris [With summary of contents .]

PERSONS TO THE GENERAL . Translation Paris, 25 Nov., 1584 . Very Reverend Father in Christ, Pax Christi , By your Paternity's letter of 22 Oct. I have been informed that it is your pleasure that Fr. Marshall be sent to Rome: it shall be done by God's grace at the first opportunity, though perhaps it will not be possible to do so as soon as Fr. Rector desired This is due to the time of year and to its not being easy to find companions for the journey; yet I amrather afraid ofstartinghim off onsuch a longjourney alone without company, as he is not acquainted with any part of it Thegood father showed sucha keen andardent longingfor the English mission after the time whenI wrote my first letter, that, ifyour Paternity's reply had not come at that very moment, I was on the pointof letting him go; though I am still of the same opinion that he not very suitable as regards talents, though extremely suitablein the matter of spiritual zeal, humilityand other virtues. Fr. Enghiamwillbe received by us with all charityand nursed carefully until we see that hishealth is restored . Owing to requests and letters from the Most Reverend Archbishop of Glasgow and Frs. Hay and Tyrie, on behalf of the Scottish mission, and to great pressure by Mr. Allen on behalf of our affairs , I was forcedto come to Paris, but secretly, onaccountofdanger that threatens me from England (1) The Scottish business has now been put through, and the matter has been referred to your Paternity on account of what has lately happened to Fr. Creighton and Fr. Gordon The one is quite safe in Scotland , the other is in the Tower of London, but it is not known for certain whether he has yet been subjected to torture or not All here take the view that this mission to Scotland ought not to be interrupted on account of this untoward event; God will perhaps convert it in the end to His greater glory We haveno further news of Ralph so far, except that he is in prison The same applies to Fr. Jasper. It is now under considerationin England whether all our fathers who have been captured, as well as other (4) Cf. the Cardinal of Como to the Nuncio in France, 8 October, 1584 (Knox, Allen, p 242), and Allen's reply of January 16 , 1585 (ibid , p 244)

priests who are living in prison, whether they have been condemned to death or not, should be banished into perpetualexile (2) Andthis point is made very much ofthat these servants of God should consent to take an oath not to come back in Elizabeth's lifetime. So eagerare our enemiesto be rid ofus that by God's grace we have gained this much at least, that our enemies confess to being embarrassed by our efforts. The priests are answering so far that this is not a matter for their own decision, because they have entered the country under obedience . In this next Parliament about to be held, it is thought that lawswill be enacted on this subject, and then we shall be pressed for a reply. In the meantime , it would not be out of place if your Paternity were to think the matter over as to what ought to be done or said if this comes to pass (3)

Fr. Weston, I hear, is very well indeed The difficulties we have in these parts are immense, yet so far God has always helped us , and will, we hope, continue to help us. In two days' time Mr. Allen will come to me , so that we may talk over our sorrows, gains, hopes and consolations , and make some arrangementfor dealing with the present necessitiesofall our people In Belgium a great many of the principal Englishmen have died, andfor the most partfrom want of necessaries Those that remain are oppressed by unbearable want; they are scattering in various directions, but the majority come to the Seminary at Rheims to resume there their study of letters, for they are nearly all young men of good birth . I have here in my possession a letter from the Catholic King to the Prince of Parma recommending the formation or revival of some Companies of English Catholics ; but I do not think Ishall send it on to the Prince, becauseI almostdespair of success in negotiations of that sort The Apostolic Nuncio, who reported our state of want, has had an answer from Rome , that the Seminary of Rheims ought to be limited to a definite numberand not be open to everybody; and therewas some blame imputed toMr.Allen , too, for not carrying this out.(4) It is quite impossible, however , to carry this out under present circumstances unless we want to bring everythingto ruin. You will realise this shortly when the reasons are put before you. We have the utmost confidence in the providence of God, who will not fail this holyundertakingin the end, even though He permitsgreatdifficulties,as He does in everygood work. Iamso pressed for lack of time, and by the necessity of departing, that it would not be well for me to write more this timespecially as it was quite late when I received your Paternity's letter I therefore beg very humbly your Paternity's blessing Paris, the 25th of November , 1584

Your Paternity's unworthy son ,

R. Persons.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Stonyhurst, Coll P , ff 304 and 478 . Pax Christi ,

Paris, 25 November , 1584

Risponderò in questa alla sua delle 13 d'ottobre .... Quando arrivarono qua le lettere di V.R. il P. Martiale era a punto per partirsi (into England, but the said lettersbroughtorders forhim to goe to Rome, & . . . )(1) L'eredità del Sigr Georgio arriva a (1) Fr. Grene adds the following note: "I gather also by thisletter that Mr. Charles Basset was living yet in Rheims"

A2720.f.80 di moneta [Coll P, f 478] agit de negotiis pecuniariis variis. De P. Thoma Martialequijam Roman vocatus, paratus est ad iter, licet magnam habuisset mortificationem, quod sic derepente a Missione Anglicana impediretur.

Translation

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . Pax Christi,

Paris , 25 Nov., 1584

In this letter I am going to reply to yours of 13 Oct ..... When your Reverence's letter reached here, Fr. Marshall was on the point of setting out (into England, but the said letters brought orders for him to go to Rome, etc. ... )(1) The fortune Mr. George leftamounts to A2,720.f.80 in cash

(Coll P, f. 478) "He deals with various money matters. Speaks of Fr. Thomas Marshall who has now been summoned to Rome He is prepared to make the journey, though it was a great mortification to him tobe so suddenlyprevented from goingonthe Englishmission . "

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll P , ff 305 and 478 .

Rouen, 6 December, 1584.(1)

Incipit epistola Personii : Per ordinariopassato & .... Quanto a quel che m' ha scritto Nostro Padre di soccorrere al P. Crittono (perchè il P. Gordono non fu preso come già ho significato) farò tutto quel che posso ... .(2)

(1) Fr. Grene has appended the following note: " Verum quidem est quod annus a Personio non exprimitur sed ex contextu totius epistolaeevidenter colligitur, licet in dorso notatus sit annus 1585 per errorem alicujus qui mihi etiam diu errandi occasionem dedit Et Personius Romae erat in Decembri anni 1585 ut patet ex literis Barreto libro manuscriptoM , fol 214 , e,f, g, 7." (2) Aquaviva had written on November the 2nd: " Pervenit huc rumor qui nos haud parvum perculit, P. Gordonium et P. Creyttonem in Anglorum manus incidisse atque ita in Angliam deportatos esse Quare haec subito Rae V. scribendemputavi, ut si hoc istic etiam confirmatur, statim adjiciat animum ad omnes vias inquirendas quo ii ex eo periculo, si fieri possit, eripiantur. Videbatur autem nobis bonum concillium literas a Rege vel Regina Matre ad Angliae Reginam impetrare quam maxime efficaces, idque si istic judicabitur, Rae V. curandum omni ope erit, nec puto fore multum difficile si dicatur quod verum est eos ad sua negotiaproficiscentesesse comprehensos , ex quo apparet nihil illos ad Angliae Reginampertinere, cum nequeeisubditi sunt, nec in Angliam cursumintendissent. Illud autem in primis fortasse proderit ut Rex ipse Scotiaeeos tamquam suos repetat, ad quod praesertim P. Gordonii propinqui conferrent qui sunt nobiles et potentes et in magna apud Regem gratia Denique quicquid in hac materia pro eis facerepossit, id RaV . cum Patre Provincialiet ceteris amicis diligenter videat, et exaequatur. Illud vero mihi in praesenti occurrerat, si Rex Scotiae,ut dixi cos repetat facile futurumut ReginaeAngliae vicissim P. Holtumutpote Anglum sibi dari postulet, itaque illius salutemin certum discrimenventurum Quare videbatur omnino faciendum ut is statim ex Scotia in Franciam evocaretur, atque ut a Rege facilius licentiam impetraret, putoexpedire ut hanc ipsam ei aperiat, nisi quid fortasse timendum sit ut melius judicetur causam discessus ab illo reticeri, quod vos istic mellius videbitis " (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., f. 61). Fr. Holt was not, in fact,recalledat this time, and Crichton was not released until about May, 1587 .

Il P. Martiale per non venir solo, è stato sforzato di aspettar la partenza del Sig Balaeo(3) da Rhems il quale si partirà sul Natale per esser in Roma avanti la quaresima. hieri hebbi lettera del P. Oliverio Holliwello vostro(4) e fa molto bene , e tutti scrivono benissimedel P. Westono e di Rodolfo,(5) supra modum: li heretici pensanoa qualche estrema malitia comehuomini desperati l'oppositione grande che havemo da Pagetto Morgano e i loro seguaci,(6) è assai più fastidiosa che non è quella d'Inghilterra (omitto plura de his factiosis .... tum prosequiturPersonius) . Della morte del nostro carissimo Carlo,(7) so che già V.R. haverà inteso per le lettere del Sigr Alano & ... . Da Roano alli 6 di Decembre.

(8) La causanostra mai andò in se più prosperamente comeper la lettera latina che viene con questa si può vedere in parte ... tutti scrivono del P. Westono e di Rodolfo supra modum

Della morte del nostro carissimo Carlo so che già V.R. haverà inteso per le Lettere del Sigr Alano Dio ci dia forze per portar simili percosse Saluto P. Confessore , P. Ministro, Prefetto di studii & ...

Translation .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI Rouen, 6 Dec., 1584

Persons's letter begins: By the last post, etc. . ... In reference to what Fr. General has written to me about giving assistance to Fr. Creighton (Fr. Gordon was not captured, as I have alreadymade clear), I will do what I can ... . (2)

Fr. Marshall, in order not to travel alone, has been forced to await Mr. Bailey's(3) departure from Rheims, and he is going to leave on Christmas Day so as to be in Rome before Lent . .. . yesterdayI had a letter from your Fr. Oliver Holiwell(4) and he is getting on very well; and everybody writes most favourably of Fr. Weston, and of Ralph(5), in the highest terms; the heretics are pondering some extreme stroke of wickedness, like men in desperation The great opposition

(3) Thomas Bailey,Vice-PresidentofDouay. IntheDouayDiaries (p 203), under the date 17th of January, 1585, there is an entry: " Romamprofectus est , solo peregrinationis studio ductus, D. Thomas Baileus, seminarii nostri oeconomus supremus seu vice-praeses. " Cf. also Allen to the Cardinal of Como, 16 January, 1585 (Knox, Allen, p 246)

(4) A priest of Douay and the English College, Rome. His nameis variously speltHalliwell, Halliway, Holliwell, etc. He arrived at Douay in 1577 , set out for Rome the 17th of August, 1578, was ordained there by Bishop Goldwell and sent to England in 1584

(5) Ralph Emerson.

(6) The history of these factions will be dealt with later when Persons writes morefullyonthe subject Apartfrom Catholic sources thereis evidence to be gleaned fromMurdin, the various Calendars ofState Papers, and Lewknor's State of the English Fugitives R. Léchat, S.J., has given a tentative sketch of these quarrels in his Les Réfugiés Anglais dans les Pays-BasEspagnols durant le régne d'Elisabeth, p 157 ff., but it is byno means completenor free from error .

(7) Charles Basset

(8) The following paragraph is taken from Coll P, f 305 , where Grene notes "plura ex hac epistola habes , " fol. 478

we are experiencing from Paget, Morgan, and their followers,(6) is much more troublesome than that in England (I am leaving out some further remarksabout these seditious men . ... then Personsgoes on:) Our beloved Charles's(7) death I know that you will have heard of already from Mr. Allen's letters , etc. . . . . from Rouen on the 6th of December. (8)Our cause has never gone more prosperously, as can be seen to some extent from the Latin letter which is accompanying this Everybody writes most favourably of Fr. Weston, and of Ralph in the highest terms . Our beloved Charles's death I know your Reverence will have heard of already from Mr. Allen's letter May God give us strength to bear such blows . ... My respects to the Fr. Confessor, Fr. Minister, the Prefect of Studies, etc. .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

.

Stonyhurst, Coll P , ff 304 and 459 .

Rouen, 13 December , 1584 .

Pax Christi Quatuoraut amplius dies sunt quod appulerint hic nonnulli ex Anglia ex quibus et Birkettus vester . . ... Hi narant mirabiles motus animorum in Anglia Catholici nunquam afflictiores et tamen nunquam animis firmiores vel erectiores. Adversarii nunquam crudeliores, et tamen nunquam tam manifesti timidi & (egregie narrat multa de Anglia).

Persecutio(1) eodem est statu quo prius, vel certe ut videtur aliquanto remissior Comes Huntingtonius(2) quiborealibus regni praeest, et successionem regnandi post Elizabetham praetendit, saevit quantum potest, cum sit ex primatibus Puritanorum et nuper Sacerdotem quendam ad mortem usque virgis flagellatum (3)cum miserrime corpus ejus dilaniatum esset, produxit sic in conspectum uxoris suae, adjiciens verba " Ecce homo " Hujus socius in sceleribus vel patronus potius est alter quidem Comes Lecestrensis, qui gubernat omnia arbitratu suo, et Puritanorum omniumque aliorumfactiosorumcaput est , quem regina non tam amare quam timere existimatur &

Mirabiliter conturbati sunt adversarii nostri ex duobus libris qui in Anglia recenter apparuerunt, unus erat contraJustitiam Brittanicam hoc est contra libellum quemdam famosum quem ante annum hereticiediderunt & ... . ita responsum est huic libello idiomateAnglicano utjam poeniteat hereticos quod libellum suum scripserint . hujus responsi exemplaria aliquot latine traducta ad V.R. missa sunt ita latine ut Anglice haberet se stilus, non dubitaremquin placeret, sed hoc interpres non est consecutus In hoc libro & .... (here he explicateththe contents of the book, the good effects & that Cecil was esteemed author of Justitia Brittanica & who being reprehended therefore by Lecester , wroteanother book si

(1) From here to the end of the letter is taken from Coll P, f 459 . (2) On Huntingtonand the persecutionin the North cf. J. Morris, S.J. , Troubles of our Catholic Forefathers, Third Series, London, 1877 .

(3) The words " cum" to " esset " are taken from Fr. Grene's Coll N, 1 200 (Stonyhurst), where he had copied the passage" Persecutio" to" homo , "

against this Earle relating all his wicked life &(4) . .). Hoc ipso tempore incipiunt in Anglia Comitia publicaQuaeParlamenti nomen habent ... . minantur nobis Puritani novas legesacerbissimas(5) sed Deus harum rerum moderator est omnium , prout fuerit voluntas in coelo ita fiet Hoc certum est, nunquam ita floruisse causam nostram apud animos hominum atquenunc post omnem hanc persecutionis flammam : Catholicorum enim augetur quotidio et numerus et animus et existimatio apud omnes: et haeretici plane fatentur se causa cecidisse , vique sola retinendum esse, quod in posterum retinere volunt & .... Pater Critonius cum socio Sacerdote(6) aliquoties jam tormentagravissima passus dicitur. Rodulphus bene se habet, et carcerem habetcommodiorem plurimam aedificationem exhibet omnibus Rodulphi(7) patientia zelus et aequanimitas & ... . (all the letter deserveth to be printed).

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Pax Christi,

Translation.

Rouen, 13 December , 1584 .

It is now four days or more since a number of men arrived here from England, among whom was your Birkett . They tell of a wonderfulstirring of spiritin England. The Catholics have neverbeen

(4) Persons is referring to Leicester's Commonwealth, the author of which was probably Charles Arundel Cf. Persons to Aquaviva 12 November, 1584 , note 2

(

5) This session of Parliament, which began on November the 23rd and continued until March the 29th , passed the barbarouspenal statute of 1585 , wherebyany priest who had been ordained beyondthe seas by the authority ofthe Pope, and returned to England, was declared guilty ofHigh Treason. Itwasin virtueofthis statute that so many of our martyrs wereputtodeath Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., " The English Martyrs and the Act of 27 Elizabeth , " The Month, January and March, 1922. The members of Parliament were worked up to pass such legislation by the plot scare against Elizabeth's life, though her life was neverin danger Walsinghamwas the chief person responsible for the scare

(6) Patrick Addy

(7) Foley (vii, 954) cites this passage from a fuller copy His translation runs: " Father Ralph keeps well and has a more commodiousprison, called the Counter , in which respectable persons are confined for debt , and his patience, serenity and zeal afford the highest edification to all A fellow prisoner was here with us lately who makes no end of praising him . God has also afforded him great consolationfrom a certain brother of high family. " Foley identifies this brother of high family with Laurence Arlington Unfortunately Foley givesno reference, and the source of this translation cannot beascertained Heis certainly in error in his identification of Rodulphuswith Fr. Ralph Bickley, who enteredthe Society some years later. Persons is , in fact, referring to Brother Ralph Emerson, who had been recently captured after landing with Fr. Weston and imprisoned in the Counter (cf. " Prison Lists" in C.R.S. ii) Fr. Ralph Bickley appears to have been captured a year or so later and was imprisonedin the Gatehouse on the 3rd ofMay, 1585 (C.R.S. ii, 245) It is truethat in two lists of prisonersin the C.R.S.ii (253 and 271) the date ofhis imprisonment is given as May, 1580 ,and 3 May, 1583 , respectively; but these are errors of transcription. The original documents from which thesetwo lists were transcribed, viz , Dom Eliz. CXC, n . 42, and CXCV , n 51, both give the year as 1585. Fr. Ralph Bickley only arrived at Rheims from the English College, Rome, on June the 9th, 1583, and left for England on the 25th (Knox, Douay Dairies, pp 196, 262)

in greater affliction and yet never were they more resolute and bold; and never were their adversaries so cruel, and yet at the same time they are evidently fearful, etc. . ... (He tells much about England, excellently.)

The persecution (1) goes on the same as ever, or indeed it seems to be a little less severe. The Earl of Huntingdon, (2) who rules the northern parts of the kingdom, and has pretensions to succeed to the realm after Elizabeth, sets no bounds to his fury, for he is one ofthe principal leaders of the Puritans The other day he beat a priest with rods almost to death(3) and brought him out in that state for his wife to see, uttering also the words" Ecce homo " His companion in crime , or rather his patron, is another earl, the Earl of Leicester , who has complete control of everything and is the leader of the Puritans and of all the other factions It is thought that the Queen does not so much love him as fear him, etc. . .

Our adversaries were wonderfully disconcerted by two books which have recentlyappeared in England One was a reply to British Justice, that is to say an answer to a certain famous pamphlet which the heretics brought out a year ago, etc. So good an answer has been made to this pamphlet in the English tongue that the heretics are sorrynowthat they wroteit Some copies ofthis answer, translated into Latin, have been sent to your Reverence . ... If the style had been preserved in the Latin version the same as it is in the English, Ishould not doubt its pleasing you; but thetranslator has not succeeded in this . In this book, etc. (here he explicateththe contents of the book , the good effects, etc. . ... that Cecil was esteemed author of Justicia Britannica, etc. . who being reprehended therefore by Leicester , wrote another book against this Earl relating all his wicked life, etc. .(4)

At this very time in England the public assembly which they call the Parliamentis beginning the Puritans are threateningus with new laws of great harshness,(5) but it is God who governs all these things; as is His will in heaven, so will it be done This muchis certainly true, that our cause has never stood so high in the estimation of men as now after all this fury of persecution ; for the Catholics are increasing every day both in numbers and courage, and esteem for them is growing in all men . The heretics , too, openly confess that their cause has failed, and that only by force can they hold on to anything they wish to hold on to in the future, etc ..... Fr. Creighton and the priest who is with him(6) are said to have been grievously tortured several times Ralph(7) fares well and has a morecomfortable prison. His patience, fervour and even tempergive very great edification to all, etc. (all the letter deserveth to be printed).

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Stonyhurst, Coll. P , f. 304

Rouen, 22 December , 1584.

il P. Marshiale parte hoggedi per Rhems per far compagnia al Sigr Baleo . . . . Regina di Scotia s'è levata dalla custodia del conte di Shrewsbury e data a guardar a 3 Altri huomini piu privaticio è a Milord St Johns Sir Henry Nevil, et a Sir William Pellam .(1)

(1) On Septemberthe 2nd, 1584, Mary, Queen of Scots, was removedfrom Sheffield Castle , where she had been in the custody of the Earl ofShrewsbury, to Wingfield Manor, where Sir Ralph Sadler and John Somers were her keepers.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation

Rouen, 22 Dec., 1584

Fr. Marshall is leaving to-day for Rheims , to join the companyof Mr. Bailey . The Queen of Scotland has been released from the custodyof the Earl of Shrewsburyand handed over to the guardianship of three other men who are less in the public eye, viz Lord St. John, Sir Henry Nevill and Sir William Pelham (1)

PERSONS TO MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Rouen, 15 Feb., 1585.(1)

R.O. Mary, Queen of Scots, 15, no 21. Contemporary [Phelippes's] hand

I have expected now long in hope to have receaved some answer from yowr Majestye to my long letters of the 12th(2) of Hehath [blank] sent to yowr Majestie the first by Morgan the second by her towching [my Lord of Glasco written above] The Chefest matter therof herescape was abowt yowr escape towched in yowr former letters to me that beare no date which were the onlye lettersthat I receaved fromyowr majestie this yeare past And uppon hope that I might hearefromyowr majestie concerning that poynt according to owre long desires but especiallye of the Prince of Parma I have entertayned my selfein thesepartes of Normandye tillnow not withowt some danger of English letter takers and have retayned by me some dayes the inclosed from the sayd Prince of Parma to the ende I might at last give the same with more safetye to M But seingnothing can be hoped fromyowr majestie and forthat I am commaunded bye obedienceto retire my selfe into Lorayne(3) for a time I havethowght good to deliver this to GodfreyFuljambeGodfrey with request to seketo gett it convayed to your majestie by the Fulgeam first opportunitye that he can for he is a very honest and discrete asfittfor her gentilman and very fitt in mine opinion to doe yowr Highnesseservice . good servicefor thathe seekethGod directlyein his actions: which I woldto God everyman had done that pretend to deale foryowr majestie and then I thinke thinges had been in better forwardenesse But for the time to come I hope Goddes divine power willdirectthinges betterand both I and other men wold be gladde Desiresto to receavethe answer which yowr majestye shall thinke good to tosend to give by GodfreyFulgeam as also to have meanes to send by him Fugan for the time to come .

Yowr majestie I am sure shall be informed otherwise ofthe new broyles in France God grawnt they prejudice not other[sic] alsoin England Yowr Majestie shall heareother thinges shortelye of more importance and I trust to yowr great comfort: and this

(1) The Calendarist has marked the month January, but from Mary's reply it appears that February is the correct month Cf. Mary, Queen of Scots, to Persons, 28 May, 1586 (Appendix, infra)

(2) Persons would thus appear to have sent his previous letter, that of October, 1584 , by two ways This may accountfor the date ofit beinggiven here as the 12th and in the letteritself as the 10th, the former beingthe date of the dispatch of the duplicate

(3) Louvain Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 10 May, 1585, infra, andAquaviva to Fr. Baldwin (Provincial), 31 May, 1585 (Arch S.j. Rom Fland -Belg Epp Gen. , f. 83) commended have means Fulgeam

in that country cease not to deale in

270 LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

Herservants I leave for this time not knowing what passage this letter shall have assuring yowr Highnesse that yowr poore servantes in this cowntrye do not cease to deale zealowslye by all meanes possible Godcause in Gods and yowr cawse the event wherof time shall declare and we here wold write more particularlye if once we had a way established of intelligence Owr Lorde blesse and preserve yowr excellent majestie to his honor and glorye. and hers.

Roan the 15th day of [blank] 1585

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Arch S.J. Rom Anglia, 38, ii, f. 74.

Parsons . 10 May, 1585

Mi partirò di qui (come spero) fra 4 o 5 giorni, per andarmia S. Omer appressoal mare Li saperòtuttele cose di Francia, Inghilterra e Scotia, e ne scriverò a Va Ra distesamente come passino. Gli heretici d'Inghilterra stanno in bisbiglioper le guerre di Francia(1): si propone nel Parlamento di stabilire crimen læsæ majestatisil recever Sacerdoti o Jesuiti; ma la Regina non v'acconsente, dicendo d'haverfatte altre leggea tal fine Di qui prendono animo iCattolicidiofferireuna supplica per obtinere libertàdi conscienza , ma il latore del memoriale vien messo in prigione. [Grene's synopsis of this letter (Coll P, f. 304) runs:] Pax Christimi partirò di qui (comespero) fra 4 o 5 giorni per andarmi a S. Omer . la mia partita da Roan fu a mezza quaresima(2) [much of the rest is written in cipher].

Translation.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI . 10 May, 1585.

I shall be leaving here, I hope, in four or five days time for St. Omers , which is close to the sea There I shall get to know all that passes in France, England and Scotland, and I will write to your Rev. at length how things proceed The wars in France are causing a great ferment among the heretics (1) There is a proposal in Parliament to lay down that it is high treason to harbour a priest or a Jesuit; but the Queen will not give her consent: she says that laws have already been made tothat effect The Catholics here have made bold topresent a petition asking for freedom of conscience, but the bearer of the memorial has been put in prison.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI St. Omer, 12 July, 1585. Stonyhurst, Coll P , f 304. There is also a summary of the letterinArch. S.J. Rom Anglia 38 , II, f 74 . Pax Christi. Heri arrivarono qui due delli vostri, Thuleo e Brushford (1) indrizzati a me dal Sigr Alano per trovergli passa-

(1) For the effectin England of these wars cf. Conyers Read, Mr. Secretary Walsingham , iii, 193 ff

(2) Easter Sunday (N.S. in 1585 was April the 21st, Mid-Lent Sunday March the 31st Persons, therefore, left Rouen at the end of March or at the beginning of April

(1) Priests of Douay and the English College, Rome Cf. Knox, Douay Diaries, and Foley, Records, vi There is a short biography of Brushford in Foley, Records, iii, 276 .

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 271

gio. Insieme con questi ricevei la lettera di V.R. delli3 di Giugno & .... spero trovarmi fra pochi mesi in Roma &(2) .... A V.R. scrissi subito che arrivai in Tornai dal Campo significandogli come Dio N. Sigre m'haveva liberato un' altra volta dalle mani delli nemici d'Ostenda : i quali fra Gant e Odenardo, ci assaltarono e pigliaronouna delle lancie che ci guidarono e ferirono due mercatanti; ma per la Dio grazia io scampai con la perdita solamente del mantello (3); se mi pigliavano sarei andato subito a visitar il buon P. Critton & . .. . Io sto qui adesso in St. Omer sotto la mano del medico per causa d'una suffusione cadutanell' occhio . .. . m'han cavato sangue tre volte questa state & non sento ancora miglioramento& Del P. Garnettoho scritto già a Nostro Padre(4) . io spero che Nostro Padre ci lo darà in Settembre .... Il P. Westono fa miracoli dove sta con grand' edificatione di tutti & ....

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Translation.

St. Omer, 12 July, 1585 Pax Christi, Yesterdaytwo of your men arrived here, Thules and Brushford,(1) whohad been directed here by Mr.Allen for me to find them a passage Together with them came your Reverence's letter of 3 June, etc .. I hope to be in Rome in a few months time,(2) etc. I wrote to your Reverence as soon as I arrived at Tournai from the Camp to let you know how God, our Lord, had saved me once again from the hands of my enemies at Ostend. They attacked us between Ghent and Audenarde and captured one of the lancers who were our escort , and wounded two merchants ; but by God's grace I escapedwith the loss only of my cloak (3) Had they taken me , I should have gone at once to pay a visit to good Fr. Crichton, etc. . .. . I am now here at St. Omers in the hands of the doctor on accountof an inflammation that has appeared in my eye .... they have bled me three times this summer and I do not feel any better yet, etc. . ... I have already written to Fr. General about Fr. Garnet I hope he will let us have him in September . Fr. Weston is doing wonders and is affording great edification to every one, etc. ... .

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI .

Stonyhurst, Coll. P , f. 304 .

23 or 25 July, 1585 . Pax Christi . . .. Most is in cypher & .

(1) He writeth much about the factions made against him in Paris & of his going shortly to Rome &

(2) His going to Romehad been suggested as far back as November, 1584 , but owing to various impediments it was postponed until September , 1585 Cf. Aquaviva to Persons 29 November, 1584, 9 April, 31 May and 12 July, 1585 (Arch. S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., ff 63, 77; Fland .-Belg Epp. Gen., f. 85)

(3) Aquaviva expressed his satisfaction at Persons's escape in a letter to him of July 12 , 1585

(4)In the summary of this letter, Arch S.J. Rom Anglia 30, ii, f 74 , there is added here : " Il P. Holt s' aspetta qui presto. '"

(1) This part of Grene's synopsis of the letter is taken from another part offolio 304. Hefirst wrote thedate as 25 Julyandthen changed itto 23 July. In his listof Persons's letters (Coll P , f 502) Grene gives the date as 23 July.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

Arch S.J. Rom Angl 38, ii, f. 74 .

, S.J.

St. Omer, 25 July, 1585 .

Spero che darò agl'avversari sodisfattione in non poter esser vescovoquando Inghilterra si convertirà; soprala qual cosa è stata gran disputa e dubbio fra loro in Parigi Il P. Bosgravio(1) sta qui preparandosi per Polonia . La Regina d'Inghilterra fa preparatione per soccorrere Anversa e piglierà a se Hollandia e Zelandia(2) et hieri tutti i mercanti Inglesi in questa città furon presi e messi in prigione.

PERSONS TO AGAZZARI

ITranslation

St. Omer, 25 July, 1585.

hope to be able to reconcile our adversaries to the impossibility of having a bishopat the time when England is converted. On this subject there has been much dispute and hesitation among them in Paris Fr. Bosgrave(1) is here making his preparations for Poland. The Queen of England is preparing to give assistance to Antwerp and will take Holland and Zealand under her rule (2) Yesterday all the English merchants in this town were arrested and put in prison

PERSONS TO COSMO MASSI, SECRETARY OF HIS HIGHNESS (1) Rheims, 20 September, 1585

Arch di Stato Naples, Carte Farnesiane , fascio 1669. Holograph. Molt' Illre Sigor

Questo gentilhuomo Stefano Brinkleo è quello per il quale V.S. a mia petitione procurò la provisione et perchè il viaggio suo in Spagna, ch' una volta proposi a V.S. per le ragioniche a leiscrissi dipoi, non fu trovato per adesso necessario; lui viene a veder V.S. et a baciarle la mano, come ancora a S. Altezza se a lei parerà conveniente Desiderarebbe ancora, quando sarà da leiconosciuto ricever ordine et commandamento, in che luogho overo città piacesse più a sua Altezza che lui stesse per dar avisi Noi qui siamo tutti di parere, che il luogo più commodo et utile sarà parigi, perchè da là aviserà non solamente le cose d'Ingleterra et Scotia più certamente che da qualsivogliaaltro, ma ancora le cose di francia medessima, et dell' altre paese Et quant' a Cales, si V.S. vuole che qualch'uno stia li dentro ; il mio fratello che sta in St. Omero, potrà farlo, con buon pretesto, il che costui non potrebbe far Solamente quest' è necessario che V.S. faccia pagar al Sor Stefano la libranza di cinque mesi che lei gli fece dare, acciochè possa accommodarsi in parigi et prego V.S. con ogni instanza che lo faccia spedir presto, perchè non ha modo, con che supportar le spese sue là, et del suo cavallo in Anversa, et quantopiù presto V.S. lo spedisce , tanto più presto sarà al luogo dove potrà far

(1) He had been freed from prison and sailed from England with other priests at the beginning of the year

(2) Cf. Conyers Read, Mr. Secretary Walsingham , iii, 106 ff

(1) The Prince of Parma.

servitio Il SorAlano et io stiamo qui apparechiandoci al viagio,(2) et due giorni sono ch' arrivò qui il Sor Odoeno ,(3) con le lettere di S. Altezza in racommendatione della persona del Sor Alano et delli negotii in Roma per le quali tenghiamo infinit' obligatione a S. Altezza et et [sic] V.S. sopra la qual scriveremo ancora qualche righa in riposta per per [sic] il Sor Odoenoquando tornerà. prego V.S. di farmi la grazia di raccomandarmi alla Signora Laura, nelle cui sante orationi mi confido molto per questo nostro viagio. Et con questo farò fine pregando Dio Nostro Sigor di compensar a V.S. la grandissima charità sua usata sempre verso di me , et di benedirele sue attioni tutte, conducendole a felice fine per il ben universale dell' christianità et particolaredell' anima nel cielo a qual fine la divina misericordia conservelongamente la Molt' Illre persona di V.S.

Da Rhems alli 20 di Settembre, 1585. di V.S. Molto Illre

Servitore affetmo nel Jesu Rob. personio.

[Addressed] Al Molt' Illre Sigor il Sigor Cosimo Massi Secretrio di Sua Aa Anversa

[Sealed and endorsed] De Remis a 20 de Sepe 1585 Il PrePersonio al Sor Seco

Translation

PERSONS TO COSMO MASSI, SECRETARY TO THE DUKE OF PARMA . Rheims, 20 Sept. 1585. Most Illustrious Lord , This gentleman , Stephen Brinkley, is the person for whom, at my request, your Excellency obtained a pension, and, since his journey toSpain, which at one time I proposed to your Excellency, for reasons which I afterwardswrote to you, was found to be unnecessary for the time being, he now comes to call on your Excellency and pay his respects to you, as also to His Highness, if this seems to you advisable He would desire also, when he has made himself known to you, to receive instructions and commands in what place or city His Highness wouldpreferhim to be, with a view to furnishingreports We here are all of opinion that the most convenientand useful place will be Paris, because from there he will be able to furnish reports not only on English andScottishaffairswith more accuracy than from any other place, but also on affairs in France itself, and other countries And in regard to Calais, if your Excellency wishes some one to be stationed in that town, my brother, who is at St. Omers, can go there witha good pretext, which the othercouldnot do All that is necessary is that your Excellency should have the warrant given him for five months' pension which you arranged that he was to have, so that he can set himselfup in Paris Ibeg your Excellencywith all earnestness

(2) In a letter to Agazzari, 8 October, 1585, Barret states that Allenand Persons left Rheims on September23. This presumably correctshis former statement in a letter of 29 Septemberthat they had left Rheims and were now 13 days on their journey, which would place their departure on September 16 or 17 (Arch S.J. Rom Anglia 38.11.74v.).

(3) Hugh Owen . S

to have it seen to soon, becausehe has no means of paying his expenses there and of his horse in Antwerp; and the sooner your Excellency sees to it, the sooner will he be in a place where he can be of service. Mr. Allen and I are here , making ready for our journey(2); and two days ago Mr. Owen(3) arrived here with letters from His Highness, commending the person of Mr. Allen and our business in Rome; for which we are infinitely obliged to His Highness and to your Excellency, and we are going to send also a few lines in reply about thisby Mr. Owen when he goes back I beg your Excellency to do me the favour of giving my regards to DonnaLaura, on whose prayers I am relying greatly for this journey of ours And with this I will make an end, begging God our Lord to repayyou for the very great charity you have always shown me, and to bless all your actions, and toguide them to a happy end for the universal good of Christendom and in particular for the welfare of your soul in heaven; and for this end may the divine mercy preserve your Excellency's person for many years From Rheims on the 20th of Sept., 1585

Your most illustrious Excellency'sdevoted servant in Christ, Rob Persons

PERSONS TO MASSI, SECRETARY TO THE DUKE OF PARMA

Rome, 6 April, 1586.

Archivio di Stato in Parma Epistolaria Scelta Holograph

Molt'Illtre Sigor mio

Questa servirà solamente per salutar V.S. et darle la bona pasqua come ancora alla Signora Laura al Sor Giovan Battista et a tutta la casa Il Sor Alano ancora si raccomanda et bacia le mane mille volte di V.S. et tanto lui come io le supplichiamo di far le nostre humillissime et cordialissime raccomandationi a Sua Altezza quando lei troverà commodità . Siamo stati tutti due con l'eccellmo Sigor principe suo figliuolo qui a baciargli la mano , et a farl'officio nostro, et pensiamo di tornar presto, quando troveremo sua eccellenza un poco più disoccupata che non è stata fin qui, parte per le visite, et parte per conto del tempo santo, nel quale sua eccellenzaha monstrato tanto fervore di religione et pietà che monstra bene , d'esserfigliuolo d'un tal padre et d'unatale madre Il che quando vediamo, ci fa venire un'altro pensiero doloroso il quale il Sor Ugo(1) saperà esplicar a V.S.

Per li segnalati favori fatti sempre da Sua Alta et da V.S. al SorAlano et a me, et a tant'altri della Natione, non havemo altro che render se non gratie, orationi et santi sacrificii , il che faciamo et faremo per la gratia di Dio ogni giorno. Quant' all'altri due nostri negotii, scrivo alcune particularità al Sor Ugo per communicar a V.S. perchè c'è più facilità di scriverle nel Inglese benchè per dirle quel che comprendo in generale, ho poca speranza di buona riuscita presto o nell'uno o nell'altro per l'impedimenti ch'il Sor Ugo dirà. Nondimeno noi non mancaremo di raccommandar il tutto a Dio caldamente, et di far di più quello che potremo in avanzarlo, sempre rimittendoci al beneplacito di sua divina mata per il successo. Io haveva apparechiato un'libro delli

(1) Hugh Owen

, S.J.

nuovi avisi di Giappone, per mandare alla Signora Laura, ma essendo per serrar la lettera, il padre Secretario della Compagnia mi disse, come già qualch'uno era stato mandato a Sua Alta et a V.S. per altra via, onde questo che viene, se lei non se ne servirà, resterà per il Sor Ugo Per li particolari favori mostrati al mio fratello et ad altri per causa mia, rendo a V.S. particulari ringraziamenti , et volesse Dio che fusse occasionecon la quale potrei monstrar quanto mi le stimo obligato. Il padre hernandes(2) è stato qualche tempo amalato qui, ma adesso sta meglio et è per partirsi presto per Spagna, spesso siamo insieme et ci recordiamo della casa di V.S. la qual Dio nostro Sigor conservi nella sua sta gratia sempre. Da Roma alli 6 d'Aprile 1586 .

Di V.S. molt'Illtre servitore in Christo affettmo

[Addressed] Al molto Illtre Sigor il Sor

Cosimo Massi Secretario di Sua Altezza , Rob . personio. Brusels

Translation.

PERSONSTO MASSI (Secretaryto Duke of Parma ). Rome, 6 April, 1586. Most Illustrious Lord, This will serve just to greet you and to wish you a happy Easter, and the same to Donna Laura and to Signor Giovani Battista, and to all the household Mr. Allen also wishes to be remembered to you and to kiss Your Excellency'shand a thousand times; and both he and I beg you to remember us very humbly and sincerely to His Highness when you have an opportunity We have both of us been to see His Excellencythe Prince, his son, here, to kiss his hand and pay him our respects, and we intend to return in a short time when we find that His Excellencyis a little less busy; but this has nothappened so far, partly on account of callers and partly because ofthe holy season His Excellency has shown such religious fervour and piety during it that he is easilyseen to be the son of so worthy a father and of so worthya mother. And seeing this makes anotherthought, a sad one , come to ourminds, whichMr. Hugh(1) will be able toexplain to you. In return for the signal favour which His Highness and Your Excellency have always shown to Mr. Allen and myself, and to so many others of our nation, we have nothing that we can offer except our thanks, our prayers and our holy sacrifices These we are offering, and with God's grace we will do so every day. In reference to the othertwo matters we are dealingwith, I am writing some factsabout them to Mr. Hugh to communicate to Your Excellency , because it is easierto writeto him in Englishalthough, to give you a general idea of my views , I have slight hope of a successful issue soon in either the one case or the other, on account of the difficulties there are , of which Mr. Hugh will tell you Nevertheless, we shall not fail to commend the whole matter earnestly to God and to do what is in our (2)Michael Hernandez, S.J. Cf. Persons to J. Idiaquez, 20 May, 1586

power to further the affair, leaving the result to the good pleasure of His divine Majesty. I had got readya bookof the recent reportsfrom Japanto send to Donna Laura, but when I was on the point of closing the letter the father Secretary of the Society told me that one had alreadybeen sent to His Highness and to Your Excellencyby another route, and so this one which is going, if you have no use for it, will do forMr. Hugh. I thank you especially for the special favouryou have shown to my brother and to others for my sake, and would to God that anopportunity may occur of showing how muchI consider myself obliged to you Fr. Hernandez (2) has been ill for some time here , but is now better and is due to leave shortly for Spain We are frequently together and recall to our minds Your Excellency'shouse. And may God our Lord keep you ever in His holy grace From Romeon the 6th of April, 1586

Your most illustrious Excellency'sdevoted servant in Christ, Rob Persons

RICH MILLINO (PERSONS) TO DON JUAN DE IDIAQUEZ . Rome, 20 May, 1586 .

Arch. Gen. de Simancas , Sec. de Estado. Leg. 947, f 8. Holograph. Molto Illustre Signor, Nelli mesi di Novembre et Decembre passati scrissi diverse letere alla Signoria Vostra per via del Signor Ambassciatore di qui, et da quel tempo in qua, siamo restati sempre il Sor Alano et io raccomandando li negotiia Dio nostro Signore et espettando la risolutione et la risposta che da costì verrebbe, la qual non venendo fin' qui, et essendo per andarsene verso là, il presente portatore,(1) amico nostro fedelissimo, il quale per conto del luogo dove egli è stato, h' havuto occasioneparticulare di conoscere le cose e i negotii nostri, havemo giudicato per bene di scrivere di nuovocon lui et insieme di dargli pienissima informationea bocca acciochè più diffusamente possa conferire tutto quello che desideriamo con la Signoria Vostra dalla quale più che da nissun' altra persona vivente appresso la sua Maestà speriamo aiuto. Quest' amico nostro dirà tutto quello che noi sentiamo et che desideriamo per il servitio di Dio et di sua Maestà et per la salvatione di tant' anime che dalli negotii nostri dependono; dirà ancora inquantestretezze, difficultà, et pericoli ci troviamoadesso , per le dilationi passate , et che veramente siamo totalmentepersi se sua Maestà per qualche modo non ci degnasse soccorrere. Non conviene scriver tutto quello, che questo nostro amico saperà dir a bocca, et però alla sua rilatione ci remettiamo in tutto et per tutto come a persona sicurissima alla Maestà sua et alla Sennoria Vostra per le ragioni che lei sa, et molto conoscente nelle cose nostre per dirpur una parola in tuttedue negotii trattati Quanto al primo dell'impresa già V.S. vede per i' esperienzaquanto più facileet utile sarebbestato l'haverlo fatto primaet insiemel'haver

(1) Fr. MichaelHernandez, S.J. Cf. Allen to Idiaquez, Rome , 8 May, 1586 (Knox, Allen, p 263)

levatocon quellotanto grandiet pericolosi inconvenienti che sono seguiti dipoi et seguiranno giornalmente più mentre che dura la mala radice, la qual anco adesso si può tagliar con molto manco difficultà, spesa, et pericolo, che li rami picoli che danno fastidio, quest' è una cosa tanto chiara, che non posso attribuir ad altra cosa che alli peccati nostri, che fin qui non sia intesa

Quanto poi al secondo , della promotione del Signor Alano, io mandai insieme con la supplica, le ragioni ancora di quella petitione, et so che V.S. non potrà scordar il ragionamento che ne feci a lei più che una volta in Lisbona(2) quando riportai quella benignissima promessadi sua Maestà per la provisione La causa perchè adesso non viene risposta nissunaintanti mesisopraquesto negotio, non sapiamo attribuir ad altra cosa se non all'infinit' occupationi di sua Maestà et di V.S. Pur le supplico per l'amore di Giesù Christo nostro Signor che consideri la presente necessità urgentissima nella quale la causa nostra si trova, la qual si perderà afatto, se presto non si ponga qualche aiuto

Quand' io cominciai a trattar questo negotio prima con la Signoria Vostrain Lisbona, c'erano molti mezzi et importantissimi instromentili quali la dilationedipoi, ha persi, overo in gran parte ruinati; c'era la più potente parte della nobilità di Ingleterracome si può vedere da quello che li due principali, ciò è , li Conti di Northumberland et d'Arundel han poi patito; c'era con noi, quasi tutta la Scotia, et la regina prigionera stava nelle manid'un gran amico nostro; et quello che forse, non manco di tutto questo importava, tutti li Catholici dell' uno et dell'altro regno stavano alla dispositione del Signor Alano, per la autorità grande che appress' a quelli teneva, contra il quale (fuora di tutti l'altriinconvenienti et perdite), si sono fatte dipoi alcune fattioni emulationi et oppositioni (delle quali ancora V.S. forse sentiràcostìqualche effetto), parte per l'artificiodell' heretici temendo la sua autorità, parte per l'invidia d'alcuni poco spirituali, la quale (come lei sa) suole sempre seguitar la virtù segnalata.

Comunque questo sia, una cosa dirò a V.S. sinceramenteavant' il conspetto di Dio nostro Signor, et la dirò, prima che avenga, perchè dipoi non sarà remediable, che se presto non si faccia l'impresa , overo si metta il Signor Alano in qualche degnità, per puoter con quella tener unita la Natione con l'espettatione di qualche bene per l'avenire, certissima cosa è che si ruinerannoin pochissimo tempo tutti l'amici et dependenti di sua Maestà in quelle bande, et si faranno tali rivolutioni delle persone et cose di là che non sarà più speranza per quelle vie che fin' qui sono state tenute

Più in particulare dirà il stato delle cose nostre, il Reverendo padre portatoredi queste, al quale prego la Signoria Vostradifar fede come a noi stessi , et che per lui almanco possiamo (si non prima) intender qualche risolutione sopra li nostri negotii ; man(2)In 1582 , when he made the journey to Spain.

diamoinsieme con lui, un' libro a V.S. de Schismate Anglicano,(3) nel quale verso ilfine, se vede quello che s'è detto in diffesa delle cose di sua Maestà: io mi confido che finalmente non lasciarete perdersi afatto coloro, che vi servono così fedelmente, et con questo per adesso farò fine. La tribulatione chela Signoria Vostra ha havuto questi mesi passati nell' occhi, m' ha dato certamente gran dolore et compassione, et m' ha fatto ancora più diligente in raccomandarla più caldamente a Dio: facia la sua divina bontà che l'habbia giovato questo, so che non potrà esser più potente mezzo per lei in questo mondo, d'ottener queste si più grandi gratie, che impiegarsi da dovere nel promover la causa nostra , donde la salute di tante miglioni d'anime, che giornalmente se perdono,depende, etbeatalei, se si serve ditanto buonacommodità .

La Santissima gratia di Nostro Signor sia con V.S. sempre, et conservi la persona moltoIllustre sua. Da Roma alli20 di Maggio d' 1586.

Di V.S. molto Illustre Servitore affettissimo nel Signor sempre Rich. Millino.

[Addressed] Al molt' Illustre Signor, il Signor DonGiovanIddiaquez, Secretario di Stato a Sua Maestà Catholica et del Consiglio della Guerra, Signor mio Ossermo, Madrid.

[Sealed.]

Translation.

PERSONSTODON JUAN DE IDIAQUEZ , SECRETARY OFSTATE TO PHILIP II OF SPAIN Rome, 20 May, 1586.

Most Illustrious Lord,

In the months of November and December last I wrote various letters to your Excellency through the Ambassador here , and from that time till now Mr. Allen and I have gone on commending the affair to God, our Lord, and waiting for the decision and the answer which should come from you As it has not come so far, and as the bearer of this,(1) who is a very faithful friend of ours , and by reason of the place where he has been stationed has had special opportunities of becoming acquainted with the state of affairs and with our negotations, was about to set out in your direction, we have thought it well to send another letter by him and to give him at the same time by word of mouth very full information to enable him to discuss exhaustively with your Excellencyall that we are anxious to obtain; for it is from your Excellencymorethan from any other living person, after His Majesty, that we look for aid

This friend of ours will tell you all that is in our minds and all that we wish for in the service of God and of His Majesty, and for the salvation of so many souls that depend on our negotiations ; he will tell also in what great straits and difficulties and dangers we now find ourselves , due to dilatoriness in the past, and how we are intruth entirely ruined unless His Majesty deigns to come to our assistance in some way. It is better not to put all this in writing ; this friend of (3) Sanders's work, with additions, which Persons edited in 1586 .

ours will know how to say it all by word of mouth; and so we rely in everythingand for everything on what he will say to you, for heis a person worthyof the utmost confidence from His Majesty and your Excellency , for the reasons that you know; and he is fully acquainted with our affairs and so able to say also a word on both the matters withwhich we are dealing As regards the first, the expedition, already your Excellency can see from experience how much easier and more useful it would have been to have made it in the first instance and at oneblowto have removed the inconveniences, so greatandso dangerous, which have since ensued and which will become more frequent every day, so long as the root of the evil persists Evennow the root can be cut with much less difficulty, expense and danger than can the small branches which cause annoyance : this is a fact so evident that I can only attribute it to our sins that up to now it has not been realized

Then in regard to the second matter, Mr. Allen's promotion, Isent, along with the petition, the reasons also for making that petition; and I know that your Excellencywill not be able to forget the arguments for itthatIputbefore you more than once in Lisbon,(2) when I brought backHis Majesty's most gracious promise to move in the matter. The reason why up to now no answer has come about this affair, after so many months, we can only attribute to the countless pre-occupations ofHisMajestyand yourself. I begyou then by the love of JesusChrist, our Lord, to have regard to the needsof our cause which are so urgent at the present moment; for it assuredly will be lost if some assistance is not quickly forthcoming.

When I first began to treat of these matterswith your Excellency in Lisbon, there were many means and very important instruments available, which owing to subsequent delays have been lost or to a large extent ruined These included the most powerful section ofthe English nobility, as can be seen from what its two principal members , the Earlsof Northumberlandand Arundel, have since suffered; wehad on our side nearly the whole of Scotland, and the captive Queen was under the guardianship of one of our great friends ; and what was perhaps of no less importance than all that, all the Catholics of the one kingdom as well as of the other were at Mr. Allen's disposition, owing to the great influence with them which he possessed ; in opposition to which (not to mention all the other inconveniences and losses) there have appeared factions and jealousies and revolts, some of the effect of which your Excellencywill perhaps perceive in your country too This has been due partly to wiles of the heretics who are afraid ofhis influence , and partlyto the envy of certain persons oflittle spirituality; this, as you know, has a way often of pursuing outstanding virtue

However that may be, there is one thing which I will tell your Excellencyin all sincerity and in the sight of God, our Lord; and I will tell it before it comes to pass, for afterwards there will be no remedy for it. It is this: that unless the expeditionis carried outforthwith, or Mr. Allen is raised to some position of dignity so that he can therebykeep the nation united in the hope of something good to come , it is a matter of absolute certainty that in a very short time the allegiance ofall His Majesty'sfriends and dependants in those quarterswill be destroyed, and therewill be such a change in the outlook of people and affairs in that country that there will no longer be any hope of proceeding bythe means which up to now we haveused .

The Reverend Father who brings you this letter will tell you in more detail of the state of our affairs, and I beg that you will give credence to what he says as you would to ourselves, and that through him (if not earlier) we may at least be able to have news of some decision about our business We are sending your Excellencyby him a book on the English Schism,(3) in which towards the end can be seen whathas beensaid in defence of HisMajesty'sinterests . Iamconfident that in the end you will not let those men be entirely lost to you, who are serving you so faithfully. And with this I will make an end for the present. The trouble which your Excellency has had these last monthswith your eyes has truly been a cause of great grief to me and of sympathy, and it has made me still more careful to commend you all the more earnestlyto God May His divine goodnesshave brought it about that this was a source of profit to you; and I know that there can be no morepowerful means in this world for you to obtain these great graces than to devote yourselfin earnest to promoting our cause , on which depends the salvation of so many millions of souls which are daily being lost. Happy you, if you take advantage of so good an opportunity

May the most holy grace of Our Lord be with your Excellency always, and keep your illustrious person in safety From Rome on the 20th of May, 1586 .

Ever your Excellency's most devoted servant in the Lord , Richard Millino.

PERSONS TO CARDINAL FARNESE . Rome, 22 Aug., 1586. Arch di Stato , Napoli, Carte Farnesiane , Fasc 752. 11 , f. 969. Holograph.

Illustrissimo Monsignore

Ho differito fin qui di scriveralla Sua Signoria Illmain gratiarum actionem di tanta et di così segnalata benignità et charità sua , usata verso di me lì in Caprerola,(1) per poter insieme haver qualche materia degna d'esser avisata, la qual parendomi adesso d'esseroccorsa, non anderò più differendo l'ufficio già tantodovuto , supplicando pur a V.S. Illma che le nuove che le dirò delle bande tramontane restino a lei secrete, sicome conviene in ogni modo per la sicurtà delle persone alle quali toccano .

Da Scotia sono venuti due huomini, delli qualil'uno arrivando in Franciafu inviato subito dal Duca di Guise a Spagna, l'altro venne qua con lettere di tre delli più principali Signori(2) in quel regno a Sua Santità significando come essi stanno risoluti fra di loro, et ch'hann'ancora il modo, di cavar il giovane Re loro fuor dalle mani et poter dell' heretici , i quali per adesso con l'authorità et favore della Regina d'Ingleterra lo governano, et di remetter

(1) Caprarola, 31 miles north of Rome , where the Farnese palace was situated

(2) The Earls of Huntly and Morton and Lord Claude Hamilton Cf. their letters to Philip II, Spanish Calendar , 1580-86, pp. 580-81. Robert Bruce was their agent who went to Spain; but he was already acting as a spy at this time The negotiations of the three lords can be followed in the Spanish Calendar , 1580-86 and 1587-1603 Cf. infra, the document "Alcuni casi nelli quali, " etc. , note 1 .

la fede Catholica in quel reame, ogni vuolta che la detta Regina fusse talmenteimpedita o trattenuta con guerra, che non potesse attender poi a disturbar il tutto quando fusse fatto overo se per adesso non si puotesse far guerra alla Regina d'Ingleterra, essi non dimandano altro che quando la fede fusse restituita in Scotia (il che faranno da per loro), puotesseroesser assicurati d'haverdue o tre miglia scudi il mese dipoi per mantener alcuni soldati in Scotia alla sua diffesa.

Quello ch'otterranno questi buoni Signori io non so , n'ho grande speranza di qua. pur se il Re di Spagna ha qualche pensiero o d'Ingleterra o d'Hibernia, mai potrebbe accascaruna cosa più a proposito per la diversione di quella Regina Li Catholici di quel Regno desiderano supra modum d'haver commercio con il Prencipe di Parma in questo negotio, et che il Re volesserimettersi a lui al quale offeriscono porti et altrè commodità d'aiutarli io ho scritto iltutto a Sua Altezza , staremo a veder la risolutione di Spagna.

H'havutofra 3 o4giornilettereancoradallaRegina diScotia,(3) scritte dal castello dove lei sta in prigione in Ingleterra, l'ultimo del Maggio passato, et perchè d'un'anno in qua, nel qualelei a fatto mutatione di prigioni et guardiani , non ha potuto per la strettezza delle guardie, ne scriver ne ricever lettera alcuna dalli suoi correspondenti, mi fa la risposta adesso a due letere mie scritte in Fiandra27 mesi sono, dove lei presuppone ch'io ancora al presente mi trovi, et perchè le mandai insieme colle mie una letera di Sua Altezza, lei adesso ha dato la risposta, et insieme a me significa d'haverricevutainfinita consolatione d'intenderche sua maestà ha rimesso il negotio d'Ingleterra et della sua liberatione a Sua Altezza , alla quale m'assicura che lei porta un'tanto cordial affetto quanto non si può esplicare, et che si rimetteva confidentissimamente con tutto quello che possiede o può possider in questa vita nelle mani sue, pregandoci strettamente di non far conto d'alcun' pericolo che potesse avenire alla sua vita, pur che si facesse l'impresa per la restitutione dell'honor di Dio in quel reame

IlCardinale nostro Protettorealcuni giorni sono , proposea Sua Santitàmolto da dovero et ex proposito l'urgentissimibisogni della Natione Inglese, et particularmentedel Collegio di Rhems, fundamento et sostegno di tutti l'altri, mostrando come quel Collegio tanto formidabileall'heretici, il quale haveva già prodotto più di quaranta martyri et apresso cinquecento altri sacerdoti, si trovava in tanto grande et presente necessitàper la moltitudine di bocche ch'ivi se mantengono (che per l'ordinario sono ducento o più fuora delle missioni et viatici di 30 o 40 ogni anno in Ingleterra) che senza soccorso , necessariamente veniva ad esser disfatto, il che sarebbe con grandissimo cordoglio et scandalo delli Catholici et con trionfo et alegrezzainfinita della Regina d'Ingleterra, la quale pagaria voluntieri cento miglia scudi a fin che la cosa succedesse .

(3) This will be the letter dated the 28th of May, 1586 , printed in the Appendix

Molte simili cose disse il buon Cardinale, et replicò, molte vuolte, ma non fu ordine di farne capace Sua Santità per alhora, di maniera , che restiamo per adesso privi d'ogni speranza di più soccorso da Sua Santità, fuor di quello che fin qui s'è dato, ch'è (come V.S.Illma haverà saputo), cento et cinquantascudi il mese , che nonfa la quinta parte di quello che necessariamentesi spende in quel Collegio. L'ultimo nostro rifugio è cavar una bulla, se possiamo, per far una cerca over colletta inter Christi fideles, la qual cosa benchèsiaincertaet faticosa, pur bisogna farla, et tentar tutte le vie possibili, per impedir che non caschi in terra in un' subito (saltem nostra culpa) un'opera dello Spirito Santo, menata fin qui, con le fatigheet stenti di tant'anni, et con spargimento di sangue di tanti martyri.

Io per dirlo confidentemente a V.S.Illma, sto con summa speranza in Dio nostro Signore (la cui segnalatissima providentiaho visto et sperimentato già tant'anni in questa stessa opera), che sua divina bontà mai l'abandonerà , ma che le provederà per altri mezzi et altri huomini che noi non pensiamo, alli quali haverà riservato il merito et la corona di quest'aiuto et così stiamo il Signor Alano et io anco, allegri in his summis nostris difficultatibus ac doloribus (cum filiis petentibus panem dare non possimus), confidati in questa Santissima providentia di Nostro Signore, et attendiamoa cavar questa Bulla hortatoria sive commendatoria diSuaSantitàadChristifideles, se pur SuaSantitàci la concederà, al che pare, che non stia troppo inclinata, et la subita partenza del nostro Protettore a Bollognia , grandemente ci fa temere , benchè c'habbia data speranza, ch'avanti sua partenza farà ogni forzo d'ottenerla V.S.Illma intenderà poi l'effetto (4)

Le buone nuove della gloriosa presa di Nuis ,(5) han impita tutta questa città d'alegrezza inenarrabile , et particularmentenoi altri i quali havemo particulare interesse, et confidiamo in Dio che vederemoun'giorno , il medessimoin Londra mai futal terrore in Ingleterra come adesso faxit Deus ut, quod ipsitiment, eveniat ipsis fanno ogni giorno nuovi martyri in quel reame. Et con questo per adesso faròfine, baciando umilmentela mano a V.S.Illma, tanto dalla parte mia, come ancora della parte del Signor Alano secondo che m'ha pregato, et di tutti questi scholari, i quali caldamente questi giorni, han detto messe et fattooratione per lei, et anderanno continoando , offerendosi loro molto voluntieri et a questo et a ogn'altro officio et servigio per lei, la quale cordialissimamente amano et reveriscono, et volesse Dio che puotessimo tutti insieme far qualche cosa che a lei agradisse. Dal Collegio Inglese in Roma alli 22 di Agosto.

Di V.S.Illma

figliolo et servo affettmo et humilissmo Roberto Personio

[Endorsed] Al Illmo et Rmo Sigr. il Cardle. FarneseCaprerola.

(4) Cf. the Introduction , notes 182 and 183 (5) Neuss , four miles south-west of Düsseldorf. For its capture and sack by the Prince of Parma, July 1586 , cf. L. Van de Essen , Alexandre Farnèse , vol v, Brussels , 1937, p 48 ff

Translation .

PERSONS TO CARDINAL FARNESE

Most Illustrious Lord, Rome, 22 Aug., 1586

I have delayed till now to write and thankyour Eminence for the great kindness and charitywhich you showed so markedly to methere in Caprarola,(1) in order that, whenI wrote , I might have some matter worthy of being reported to you; and, as this seems now to bethe case , I will not go on putting off the duty already so long overdue. I beg your Eminence also that the news which I am about to give you of the countries beyondthe Alps may remain secret with you, this being absolutelynecessary in order to preserve the safety of the individuals concerned

Two men have come from Scotland , one of whom, on his arrival in France , was immediately sent by the Duke of Guise to Spain: the other came here to His Holiness with letters from three of the most important lords of that kingdom,(2) declaring that they are agreed in a resolve , and have also a plan, to extricate their young king from the possessionand power of the heretics who at the present time, with the authority and support of the Queen of England, have charge of him, and to restore the Catholicfaith in that realm, whenever the said Queen is so embarrassed and occupied with war so that she cannot afterwardsattempt to throwall into confusion once their object has been achieved. On the other hand, if it should not be possible at the present time to make war on the Queen of England, they onlyaskthat when the faith is restored in Scotland(and this they will do bythemselves) they may be able to rely on receiving two or three thousand crowns a month thenceforwardfor the maintenance of some soldiers in Scotland to defend it

What fortune these good gentlemen will have I know not ; I have no great hopes in this quarter. Yet, if the King of Spain has any idea regarding either England or Ireland, nothing could happen more opportunely to distract the attention of the Queen The Catholics of that kingdom desire above all things to get in touch with the Prince of Parma in this affair and would have the King put the matter in his hands; and they offer him ports and other conveniences to assist them I have written all about it to His Highness : we are waiting to see what decision comes from Spain.

I have also had, within the last three or four days, letters from the Queen of Scotland (3) writtenon the 31st day ofMay lastfrom the castle in England where she is imprisoned . For a year previously, during which she has had a change of prison and guardians , owing to the strict watch kept she has not been able either to write letters or to receive any from her correspondents, and so she now replies to two letters of mine written in Flanders 27 months ago She assumesthat I am still to be found there, and as I sent along with my own letters one from His Highness, she has now given her answer to it and at the same time declares to me that she has received immense consolation at hearing that His Majesty has entrusted the affair of England and herdeliveranceto His Highness She assuresme that she bears him a more cordial affection than she can express and that she has had the most complete confidence in puttingherself and all that she possesses , or can possess in this life, into his hands; and she begs us earnestly to makeno account of any danger to her life which may occur , butto

let the enterprise be carried out for the restoration of God's honour in that realm

Our Cardinal Protector a few days ago made representations to His Holiness very earnestly and pointedly as to the urgent needs of the English nationand in particular of the College at Rheims, the origin and support of all the restexplaining to him how that College, the source of such fear to the heretics, which had already produced more than forty martyrs and nearlyfive hundredpriests besides , founditself now in such great and present need, owing to the large number of mouthsthat are fed there (usually two hundred or more, and thereare , besides, the travelling and other expenses of thirty or forty men who are sent to England every year), that, unless help were received , it would have to be given up; and that this would be a source of very greatanguishand scandal to the Catholics , and oftriumphandinfinite joy to the Queen of England, who would gladly pay 100,000 crowns for this to come about

The good Cardinal spoke much in this strain and repeated it many times, but His Holiness could not be made to realize matters atthat time; withthe result that we are at the moment deprivedof any hope of turther succour from His Holiness beyond what he has granted already This, as your Eminence will be aware, is 150 crownsa month and does not amount to a fifth part of the necessary expenditureof thatCollege Ourlast resource is to extract aBull, ifwe can, authorizing us to make a whip or collection among the faithful of Christ. This method is indeed uncertainand troublesome , but we needs must adopt it and try every possible means to prevent a work of the HolySpirit from falling into sudden ruin (at any rate by fault of ours), a work which has been pursued up to now with labour and toil for so many years and with the shedding of so many martyrs' blood.

I can tellyour Eminence with confidence thatI remain withsupreme hope in God our Lord (whose most extraordinary providence I have seen and experienced now for many years in this same work) that His divine mercy will never forsake it, but will provide for it by other means and through other men of whom we know not, for whom He has reserved the merit and the reward of giving this aid Andthus it is that Mr. Allen and I also remain joyful at the height of these our difficultiesandgriefs (thoughwhenour childrenaskfor bread we cannot giveit) relying onthis holy providence ofour Lord; andwe are devoting ourselves to extracting from His Holiness this Bull of Exhortation or Commendation to the faithful of Christ, if only he will grant us it. It seems that he is not over inclined to do so, andthe imminent departure of our Protector to Bolognacauses us muchfear; althoughhehas held out hopes to us, saying that before he leaves he will make every ettort to obtain it. Your Eminence shall hear the result later.(4)

The good news of the glorious capture of Neuss(5) has filled the whole city here with joy unspeakable, and us especially who are particularlyconcerned; and we trust in God that one day we shall see the same thing happen in London. Neverwas there such terror in England as now . God grant that what they fear may happen to them . Day by day they make fresh martyrs in thatrealm .

And with this I will end for the present, kissing humblyyour Eminence's hands both for myself and for Mr. Allen, as he has asked meto do, andfor all the scholars here who during these days havesaid fervent Masses and prayers for you, and will continue to offer themselves very willingly both for this and for any other office or service

to you whom they love and reverence from their hearts And would to God that we could all combine to do something that would please you From the English College, Rome, on the 22nd of August Your Eminence's most devotedand humble son and servant Robert Persons

CAUSE ET RAGIONI PER LE QUALI SAREBBE DI GRAND' UTILE AL SERVITIO DI DIO ET DELLA CHIESA CH'IL CARDINALE D'INGLETERRA FUSSE FATTO ADESSO , SENZA SPETTAR LA RISPOSTA DA SPAGNA . [1586 ?](1)

Arch. di Stato. Naples, Carte Farnesiane , fascio 429, fol 407. The whole document is in Persons's handwriting

1. Primo si guadagnarebbe la prattica di tutta quest' invernata , la qual detto Cardle haverebbe con i principali Sigri di quel reame et altri, per far la preparatione et dispositione alla impressa che dipoi seguirà, et adesso s'offerisce presente commodità di far trattato per assicuratione d'alcune piazze d'importanza in quel Isola, se fusse' un huomo della natione in autorità per negotiar il detto trattato.

2. Essendo il secretonecessario , et comel'animadi tuttoquesto negotio, bisogneràgrandemente haver cura di farl'osservar, massimamente in questi principii, il che adesso difficilissimente si puotrà far, non essendo huomo della natione il qual con buon pretesto, et senza sospetto puotrà trattar et seguitar il negotio, poich' il Sor Alano com' hora sta non può andar spesso da sua Santità et da suoi ministri senza grand' difficultà et senza dar sospetto a tutti delli negotii che tratta, dove se fusse Cardle, la commodità di puoter conferir spesso sarebbegrande et il sospettopuochissimo.

3. Con far il detto Cardle adesso il beneficio sarebbe più proprio et particulare di sua Santità, non referendo alla dispositione del Re di Spagna, il qual probabilmente potrebbe andar trattenendosi con dilatione nel respondere, per guadagnar più tempo et per non voler esser estretto a risolversi per l'impresa Ma s'una vuolta fussefatto il detto Cardle certissimo è, che sua Maestà non mancarebbe di dar la promessa pensionesubito, et si risolverebbe ancora più presto a dar principio all' impresa.

4. Li gentilhuominiInglesi , e quali con esser privatidelle pensioni, sono in estrema necessità, et risoluti di tornar tutti malcontenti in Ingleterra, si trattenerebbono con il Cardle in questo mentre che si differisce l'impresa, come gente sua, poichè in nissuna maniera conviene, ne per il scandalo ne per l'impresa, che costoro tornino adesso disgustiati alla patria, perchè con la mala rilatione et i lamenti farebbono grandanno, et senza questo mezzo del Cardle non è possible che si tratenghino qui più, se sua Santità non li volesse far tornar le pensioni, ma con il Cardle si po- trebbono sostentar per qualche tempo

(1) The date of the document is more probably beforethe winterof 1586 . ByMarch 14 , 1587 , Count Olivares, Philip II's Ambassadorin Rome , was already urging Allen's promotion Allen was created Cardinal August 7 , 1587 (cf. Knox, Allen, lxxxvii, ff.). As the document is found among the Carte Farnesiane , it was probably addressed to Cardinal Farnese

Translation.

THE CAUSES AND REASONS WHY IT WOULD BE VERY CONDUCIVE TO THE SERVICE OF GOD AND OF THE CHURCH THAT THE CARDINAL OF ENGLAND SHOULD BE CREATED NOW WITHOUT WAITINGFOR A REPLY FROM SPAIN . 1586 ? (1)

1. In thefirst place the use of all this winter session would be gained, during which the said Cardinal could treat with the principal gentlemen of that kingdom and with others for making preparationsand dispositions for the expedition which is to follow later; and now at this momentan opportunity is offered of making an agreement for securing possessionof certain places of importancein the island, provided there werea manof our nation in authority to negotiatethe said agreement

2. Secrecy being essential and, as it were , the soul of the whole affair, there is very great need of precautions to have it observed , especially now at the beginning, and this will be very difficult todo so long as there is no man of our nation who can treatin thematter and follow it up with a good pretext and without rousing suspicion For Mr. Allen, with his present status, cannot go frequently to visit His Holiness and his ministers without great difficulty and without raising everybody'ssuspicions of the business with which he is dealing; whereas if he were a Cardinal there would be the great advantage of his being able to have consultations with them often and that it would give rise to little suspicion

3. If the said Cardinal were created now, it would be a benefit derived moreexclusively from His Holiness, and would be independent of the attitude of the King of Spain, who would be likely to keep to his habit of delaying his answers , so as to gain more time, and because he does not wish to be forced to commit himself to the expedition But once the Cardinal was created, it is quite certain that His Majesty would not fail to grant the promised pension at once, and would also take the decision all the sooner to make a start with the expedition

4. The English gentlemen, who are in extremewant through being deprived of their pensions and are all resolved to return to England in disgust, could be attached to the Cardinal during the timethat the expedition is deferred, as members of his suite; for it is by no means advisable , either on account of the scandal it would cause or in the interestsofthe expedition, that those men shouldgo backnow totheir country in disgust ; for by their hostile reports and lamentationsthey would do great harm; andwithouta Cardinaltherewould beno means of retaining them here any longer, if His Holiness were notwillingto have their pensions restored ; but if there were a Cardinal they could be supported for some time .

PERSONS TO [JUAN DE IDIAQUEZ ?] [February, 1587].(1) Arch Gen. de Simancas , Sec de Estado, Lego 948. Contemporary decipher Il gran Prior de Inglaterra(2) che esta in Venezia continuain far instanciadi esser impiegato verso la Regina de Inglaterra per

(1) The letter is undated, but a note appendedto it from the Count de Olivares, the SpanishAmbassadorin Rome, is dated February 18, 1587. So, presumably the letter, too, will be of approximately the same date. There is a letter of Olivares on the same subject as the above letter of Persons , dated January 2, 1587 (Knox, Allen, p 267) The matter is also mentioned by Olivares in his despatch of Decemberthe 23rd, 1586 (Spanish Calendar , p. 660).

(2) Sir Richard Shelley, Grand Prior of the Knights of St. John. Cf. C.R.S.ii, passim There is a short biography of him in the D.N.B., xii, 40.

conchiuder qualche acordo con lei in beneficio degli Catolichicio è che havino almanco qualche libertà di consciencia del che lui si fa grandissima sperança et persuasioneper il favore particulare che si persuade che la detta Regina li porta sopra tutti gli Catholichi che stano fura [sic] per respeto de la sua lealtà a lei sempre conservataintieramentecomedice opponendosida tempo in tempo atutti quelli che hanno voluto persuader et muoverguerra contra quel Regno per il qual rispeto ancora lui dice che la detta Regina gli ha fatto scrivere questi mesi passati offerendo di voler a sua richiesta perdonare la vita a uno suo nepote chiamatoGuilelmo Shelleo (3) condenato a morte per tratati scoperti del negotio del fu Conte di Nortumberlant(4) in che dice di haver lei già fatto laonde esso si assicura di poter fargrande cose con la detta Regina se fusse mandatto là

Et ben che conferendo con il Signor Alano dela cosa havemmo pensato che tutto questo sia niente et che sia più presto discorso et speranza vana del buon vechio che cosa per riuscire pur per esser lui tanto importuno come è per ogni ordinario et offerendosi ancora se non fusse mandato del Papa ne del Signor Alano de andare da se come per ottener la restitutione del suo nepote alle sue possessioni che erano assai grandi si come è restituito a la vitta non sapiamo come tratener lo più o che respondergli perchè havendo noi scrito a lui prima che si tratenesse et vedesse se potesse cavar per via alcuna che la Regina habbereve acettatotal tratato, egli responde che non bisogna cominciar questa cosa con la Regina per via de lettere le quali i consiglieri vederano et impidirano sempre il tratato ma con la Regina stessa a boca con la quale lui si persuade che farebbe tutto ciò che vorrà quando arrivasselà maximamente portando seco in secreto in racomandatione della sua persona et del negotio de li Catolichile leterede alcuni Principi Italiani i quali non sono in sospeto apreso lei per ragione di stato come sarebbe a dire delli Signori Vinetiani et i Duchi di fiorenza et ferrara le cui letere havendo d' andare desiderarebe ottener in secreto come havemo detto per mezo di sua Santità et che su Santità di più aprovasse secretamente la sua andata et questo in caso che sua Santità non volesse mandarlo espresamentecome da se et con particular comissione.

Ora non ocorre al Signor Alano ne a me cosa che direin questo particolarese non che se la impressa se havesse difare forse non farebe male di lasciar questo homo andare perchè darebbe qualche hombra et coperta alle intentioni di altre cose(5) et quando ancora la impressa non havesse di seguitar per adesso non vediamo che male potrebe far la sua andata benchè ne manco da speranza di grande bene ma qualche cosa bisognarebe risolver di lui presto

(3)William Shelley of Michel Grove, Sussex Cf. Lansdowne MSS . xlv, n . 75; Persons's Autobiography (C.R.S. ii, 32), and Prison Lists (ibid., pp. 238, 281)(4) The Earl of Northumberland was found in the Tower, shot through the heart , June 20 , 1585

(5) Cf. Olivares to Juan de Idiaquez, 2 January, 1587, ut supra

per la sua importunità et impacienza se il Cardinale de la natione fusse fatto egli con la sua autorità potrebbe moderar tutte queste et simili altre cose in aiuto de la natione et servigio anco di sua Maestà.

Vostro Servo etc.

Roberto Personio.

Translation.

PERSONS TO (JUAN DE IDIAQUEZ?) [Feb., 1587.](1)

The Grand Prior of England,(2) who is now in Venice, continues to press that he be given a commission to the Queen of Englandwith a view to concluding some agreement with her for the relief of the Catholics,that is, that they mayatleast have somelibertyofconscience; and he has great hope and confidence that he can now do so owing to the special favour in which he is persuaded that the Queen holdshim above all the Catholics overseas, due to his loyaltyto her having always been preserved intact, as he says, in as much as he has opposed at various times all those who would have counselled war against that kingdom and promoted it And in this connection he also says that the Queen has had letters written to him in the last monthsproposing to grant his request to spare the life of a nephew of his, named William Shelley,(3) who has been sentenced to deathon accountofthe discovery of his partin the affair of the Earl of Northumberland, (4) and he says that what she has already done in that case gives assurance that he could do great things with the Queen if he were sent to England. And after consulting with Dr. Allen on the matter, although we are of opinion that there is nothing in all this and that it is the talk and empty hope of a good old man rather than anything that promises success, yet, because he is so importunateas he is by every postand offers, even if not commissioned by the Pope or Dr. Allen, to go on his own responsibility on the pretext of trying to obtain the restoration of his nephew's properties , which were of considerable extent, as soon as he is granted his life, we are at a loss how to hold the matter up any longer or what to answer him; for when we wrote to him before to wait and see whether he could not get assurance in some way that the Queen would agree to an arrangementofthis sort , he answered that there is no need to open this matter with the Queen by letters which the Councillors will see and thereupon prevent the agreement, but that the negotiations should be verbal and with the Queen herself ; and he is convinced that she would do all he wants when he arrived there, especially if he secretly carries with him letters in recommendationofhimselfandof his business for the Catholics from some of the Italian princes who are not suspect in her eyes for reasons of state, such as the Venetian Lords and the Dukes of Florence and Ferrara; and, if he had to go, he would wish to obtain these letters secretly, as we have said, through His Holiness, and furthermore that His Holiness should secretlyapprove his goingthis on the supposition thatHis Holiness would not be willingactually to send him on a special mission from himself.

Now there is nothing that either Mr. Allen or I think necessary to say in regard to this matter except that, if the expedition is to be carriedout ,itwould perhaps not be a badthingto let this man go with a view to providing some sort of cloak and concealment for the other

FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 289 things intended(5) ; and, even if the expedition is not to be proceeded with at present, we do not see what harm his going could do; although I amwithout hope of any great good from it But something must be decided about him soon on account of his persistence and impatience. Ifa Cardinal were created for the nation, he would be able to use his authority to governall these and similar matters, and this would help the nation and tend also to the service of His Majesty Your servant , etc. , Robert Persons

CONSIDERATIONI PER LE QUALI PARE CHE IN NISSUN MODO CONVENGA CHE IL INTERESSE PARTICULARE DE SUA MAESTA A LA SUCCESSION DE INGLATERRA SE PROPONGA AL PAPA AVANTI L'EMPRESSA (1) 18 March, 1587

Arch Gen. de Simancas , Sec de Estado, Lego 949. SpanishCalendar , 15871603, p 41.

Le danni e impedimenti che ne potrebbono seguire.

Pare che si deve presuporre in questo negotio che non si potrà comunicar questa cosa con sua Santità senza che per una via o altra venga ancora a le orechi d'altri: sia o por la natural insecretezza di questa Corte o perchè sua Santità comunica facilmente le sue cose o per le officiali e ministri intrinsichi i quali sono affetti, donati variamente a questo e altro Cardinali o Principi e finalmente che sua Santità probabilmente non osarà determinarin secreto e senza consiglio una causa de tanta importanza e consequenza .

In qualsivoglia modo che la cosa uscisse a la noticia d'altri importarebbe grandissimo pregiudicio e dano non solamente a la impressa ma a la istessa causa desta successione de sua Maestà per le raggioni sequenti.

Et l'istesso Papa e diversi Cardinali intrar potrebono forsi in varii pensieri discorsi et sospeti per ragione di stato de attioni di sua Maestà intorno a questa impressa ne concorrebbe per aventura Sua Santità tanto liberalmente o con favore o con denari quando se le direbbe d'alcuno che sua Maestà in questa impressa tratta principalmente del sue interesse particulare.

(1) This will be the document referred to by Olivares in his letter to Philip II, 23 March, 1587. He writes: "I began by observingthat itwould be a very essential point towards moving Your Majesty more effectually to undertake this enterprise, if the Pope could be convinced of yourMajesty's title to succeed to that crown, as they (Allen and Persons) had sometimes pointed out to me In reply to this, while fully admittingwhat they had at other times said, they urged the many inconveniences that would arise from speakingof it at present to the Pope, as Your Majesty may see in a paper they gave me on the 18th of this month " (Knox , Allen, xci) Later in the same letter he states : " I have moved him (Allen) to write to Your Majesty on the occasion of returning thanks for the abbey and to setforth the reasons why it is neither convenient nor necessary to treat at present withthePopeabout this matter of succession " (ibid). Apart, however,from the above joint effort, it does not seem probable that Allen composed a separate document on the subject, as he mentions the matter succinctly in his letter to Philip II, 19 March, 1587, when he thanks him for the abbey (ibid , p 272) T

Per la medessima causa l'altri Principi christiani Catholici potrebono molto più per raggione di stato intrar la gelosia della grandeza di Spagna particolarmenteil Re di francia il quale con questa cagione o pretesto tirarebbe molti altri seco a disfavorir l'impressa , e il medesimo farebbono li Principi Italiani particolarmentei Signori Veneciani i quali come se intesse da Monsignor di Bergamo Nuntio Apostolico novemente in francia stano già in qualche gelosia di questa cosa e le dispiacerà molto, etc.

Li Principi di Guisa e di la casa di Lorena in francia i quali facilmente se indurrano a concurrir e giovar questa impressa almanco a prohivir que [che] francia non impedisca conquesto sospeto si alienarebbono come ancora molto più tutti quelli diScotia li quali in la impressa sarano di grandissima importanza facilissimamente se potrano habere per noi si questa pretensione de sua Maestà se tiene secreta, etc.

IlCardinal Farnes e li altri amici degli figliuoli de Duca di Parma descendenteparimente della casa di Portugallopotrebbono forsi turbarsi se questo negotio se trattasse adesso benchè mai havemmo intesso da loro che essi faciano pretensione, etc.

La regina di Escocia istessa facilmente potria entrar in questo in varii sospetti dubitando che non se tenesse quel conto della persona e della causa sua che se pretende et non mancarebbono alcuni politichi di la faccione francesa et Escocese che ciò le persuaderebbono come ancora alli Catolichi Inglesi dentro o fuora della Isola i quali non havendo ancora capo alcuno che le indirizzi ne potrebbono con sospetti et ragioni false che se le diriano di alcuni esser tratiin molti faccioni, etc.

Le heresiedi Inghilterra con questa sola voce de lapretensione di Spagna se agiutarebbono grandemente primo facendo l'actione di sua Maestà da questa impressa odiosa a tutti l'altri Principi tanto heretici come Catolichi come se Spagna volesse signorcar tutta Europaet così farebbono la causaloro più favorebiledicendo chenon fosseper religione ma per ragione di stato Dipoi seunirebbono estretissimamente con Escocia e dichiararebbono forse per successore al Re de Escocia pigliando el Juramento anco delli Catholici Inglesi a questo efetto il che sarebbe di grande impedimento et pregiuditiosimilmente se unirebbono confranciaal medesimo efetto lo qual se sentiria apresso il Papa e altri Principi per la medesima ragione di stato, finalmente che li di Parigi e altrove de la faccion francesa e Escozzesa li quali secretamente fin qui se sono oposti a le attioni del Signor Alano e Melino pigliando grande cagione con questo de infamarle dette attioni per il passato et de render le sospetti apresso la regina de Escocia e Catolici de Inglaterra come aquelli altri Principi et direbbono che tutto quello che il Signor Alano rescibe o ha rescevuto da sua Maestà o per se o per il seminario e tan solamente per questo fine, il che potrebbe suscitar grande faccioni contra de lui non essendo egli ancora in tal dignità che possa disfar simili caluniecon sua autorità, etc.

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS, S.J. 291

Molti altri impedimenti et dificoltà nascerebbono che probabilmente quassarebbono tutto il designo o almanco lo difficultarebbono in grande maniera, etc.

Le utilità che si seguirano se si fa la impressa [anzi]chè di questa successione del Re se fa mentione, etc.

Primeramente con questa universal voce et opinione cheadesso è per il mondo che sua Maestà farà l'impressa por ristorarla fede Catolica e por vendicar le injurie manifestissime e intolerabili non tanto sue ma ancora de la chiesa de Iddio et de tanti martiri e innocenti amazzati, tutti li boni Catolichi de la Christianità la favorirano con orationi, sacrificii , libri, scritti, e altri agiuti, e li altri i quali o per ragione di stato o per invidia de la grandeza di Spagna sarano aversi non oserano ne haver anco pretesto de opporsi, etc.

Li amicidisua Maestà haverano più justo pretesto deoperarsi en favore della impressa come il papa con il Re di francia che si consenti o almanco che non se muova, li Principi dila casadi Lorena et altri Catolichi di francia con il medesimo Re per la medesima causa , il Signor Alano et altri con li Catolichi et altri Signori o politichi o neutrali d'Inghilterra mostrandoli per libri, lettere et altre vie come qui non se pretende se non reformatione della religione e castigo diquello che hanno meritatoilcheanimarà grandemente tutti di quello regno che non sonointeressati a conjungersi con la forza che vorrano

Quando l'Impressa sarà fatta e tutto il regno insieme con le Issole vicine ne la mano di sua Maestà il che tutto insieme seguirà non essendo ne fortezze ne altre forze per resistere, alhora sarà il proprio tempo pertratar questonegotio, per che al hora la Regina de Escozziao serà morta, o viva, si è morta come è probabile che li heretici tenendola in mano et credendo che per causa sua sefa l'Impressa, la amazzarano, non sarà altro Principe Catolico vivo che possa competere con sua Maestà, se serà viva e maritata di mano di sua Maestà con la auttorità e consensu ancora de la medesima Regina se potrà trattar de la successione de sua Maestà e la pretensione de la casa de Lancastre tanto avanti como dippoi la unione fatta in Henrico VII per conto che lui non fu de quella casa , etc.

Alhora ancora quel homo che sarebbe Cardinale de la nacion Inglesa essendo ya capo e guida de tuttil'altri potrebbe facilmente menarel'altri a sentire e determinare per via di Parlamento tutto quelle che sarebbeda bisogno essendo li novi vescovi (liquali fanno la parte più principal del detto Parlamento) a devotione sua come ancora la nobiltà layca de la quale la mayorparte sendoheretica probabilmente se disfarà nella guerra e l'altri creatidi sua Maestà in luogo loro sarebbono favorevoli, etc.

Al hora ancora sua Maestà haverebbe molto più ragione de pretender come sarebbe a dire la descendenciasua di la casa di

Lancastria, la inhaviltà d'altri pretendenti , la voluntà e testamento de la Regina de Escozia la bulla di Pio Quinto in conquistosuole ser giustissimo direto qua regne di guerra giusta e in una causa giusta (2)

Translation

CONSIDERATIONS INDICATING THAT IT WOULD BE IN NO WISE ADVISABLE THAT THE SPECIAL INTEREST OF HIS MAJESTY IN THE ENGLISH SUCCESSION SHOULD BE MADE KNOWN TO HIS HOLINESS IN ADVANCE OF THE ENTERPRISE 18 March, 1587.

The injury and impediments that might follow from so doing.

It seems necessary in this affair to take it for granted that this business cannot be communicatedto His Holiness withoutin oneway or another its coming also to the ears of other persons This may be due either to the lack of secrecy inherent in the Curia here, orfor the reason that His Holiness is free in speaking of his affairs, or it may happen by leakage through his intimate officials and ministers, who are on close terms with, and in various ways committed to, this or that Cardinal or prince; and finally because His Holiness will probably notdareto decide secretlyand without advice a caseof such importance and consequence

By whatsoever means the matter came to the knowledge of other people, it would involve very great prejudice and injury, not onlyto the expedition, but to the very cause of His Majesty's succession; and this for the following reasons:

Itis notunlikelythat the Pope himself and some of the Cardinals , for reasons of state, would begin to indulge in divers reflectionsand conversations and suspicions in reference to His Majesty's actions in connectionwith this expedition, and that possibly His Holiness would not collaborate in it with as much liberality either by influence or money, should anyone tell him that in this expedition His Majesty is acting mainly in his own private interests.

(2) Thephotographer seems to have overlooked the concluding words of the document, whichin the Spanish Calendar run as follows: " His Majesty would have much greater reasonfor his claim then, as the descendantofthe house of Lancaster, seeing the disqualification of the other claimants, the bull of Pius V , and the will of the Queen of Scotland He would have the advantage of a just cause , of having restored religion, and finally the votes of the estates of the realm, confirmed by His Holiness , who, it may be supposed, would not then interpose difficulties, which he might do now in order not to displease other princes. Finally, everything consists in the enterprise being effected nowthat so good an opportunityexists, and that the forces of England and Ireland should be in his Majesty's power, whilst some great and importantEnglishmen should be there to manage the people, andsatisfy other princes, this being the most important point of all for the success of the affair , which has already been prejudiced by the delay that has taken place"

The note appendedto the document by Hume (SpanishCalendar , p. 43), who, when he was composingthis part of the Calendar , did not recognise that Melino was an alias of Persons , reads somewhat humorously: " Melino , although a servant of the Guises, had been won over to the Spanishside by Allen and Olivares, but it will be seen by the above document that hestill had a leaning to the policy of his nominal master, Guise, who would have preferred to see his cousin James Catholic King of England"

For the same reason the other CatholicChristian princes would be still more likely, for reasons of state, to entertain jealousy ofthe aggrandisement of Spain; especially the King of France , who would make this an excuse or pretext for inducing many others to follow his example and withdraw their support ofthe expedition; and the Italian princes would act in the same way, particularly the Lords of Venice who, according to Monsignordi Bergamo who has recently been made Apostolic Nuncio in France, are already inclined to be jealousin this matter and will be much displeased by it

The Princes of Guise and of the house of Loraine in France, whom it will be easy to induce to favour and assist this expedition at any rate to the extent ofpreventing France from hindering it, would be alienated by any suspicion of this; as also, much more so would be allin Scotland; whereas they are going to be ofthe greatest importance to the enterprise and it will be the easiest thing in the world to have them on our side if this claim of His Majesty is kept secret .

CardinalFarnese andother friendsof the Duke of Parma's children, who are likewise descended from the house of Portugal, would possibly be disturbed if this matter were broached now; although we have never heard it said of them that they are making any claim.

The QueenofScotland herself might easily entertaincertainsuspicions about this affair and doubt as to whetherthat considerationwas being had for her person and her cause which was alleged; and there are sure to be certain politicians of the Frenchand Scottish party who would foster this suspicion in her and also in the English Catholics within andwithoutthe kingdom, who, having as yet no leader to guidethem, through suspicion and on false reasoning which some would suggest to them , would easilybe led by it to form a multitude offactions, etc.

The heretical parties in England would be greatly helped by the mere rumour of this Spanish claim; firstly, by its making His Majesty's action in this enterprise odious to all other princes whether heretics or Catholics ; as though Spain wantedto dominatethe wholeofEurope. And in this way they would present theirown policy in a morefavourable light, making out that it had no connection with religion but had reasons of state Secondly, they would form a very close alliancewith Scotland and perhaps proclaim the King of Scotland as successor , exacting an oath also to this effect from the English Catholics--which would be agreatimpedimentand prejudice to usand at thesame time they would ally themselves with France with the same purpose; and this would have its influence on the Pope and other princes for reasons of state Finally, there would be the fact that those of the French and Scottishpartyin Paris and elsewhere, who up to now have secretly opposed the actions of Mr.Allen and Melino, would take greatoccasion from this to discredit their said action in the past and to render it suspect to the Queen of Scotland and the English Catholics , as well as to those other princes ; and they would say that everything that Mr. Allen receives or has received from His Majesty either for himself orfor the Seminary, has this sole end in view; andthis might raise great factions in opposition to him, seeing that he is not as yet in such a position of dignity as would enable him to defeat such calumnies by the exercise of his authority , etc.

Many other impedimentsand difficulties would arise, which would probably put a stop to the whole plan or at any rate would make it exceedingly difficult

The advantages that will ensue if the "enterprise " is carried out before mention is made of the King's succession.

In the first place, in consequence of the report and opinion, which is now spread everywhere throughout the world, that His Majesty's object in undertakingthe expedition is to revive the Catholicfaith and to avenge the intolerable injuries openly done, not only to himself, but also to the Church of God and to so many martyrs and innocent people who have been slaughtered, all good Catholics in Christendom: will support it by their prayers, sacrifices, publication of books and treatises , and by other aids; whilst those others, who either for reasons of state or through envy of the aggrandisement of Spainwill be averse to it, will not dare to oppose it or have any pretext for so doing, etc.

A juster ground for action in support of the enterprise will be furnished to His Majesty's friends, as for instance to the Pope for influencingthe King of France to be a consenting partyor at any rate to make no move ; to the Princes of the House of Loraine and other French Catholics to use their influence with the King of France also for the same purpose; to Mr. Allen and others to influence the Catholics and other gentlemen in England whether partisan or neutral, showing them by means of books, letters and in other waysthat the only thing aimed at here is the reformation of religion and the punishment of those who have deserved it; and this will greatly encourage allin that realm , whose interests are not engaged, to join the party which they will perceive to be so strong.

When the expedition has been carried out and the whole ofthe kingdom along with the neighbouring islands are in His Majesty's hands -which will all take place together, since there are no strong places or forces of other kinds to resist himthen will be the proper time to introduce this matter ; for then the Queen of Scotland will be either dead oralive: if she is deadand it is probable that the heretics , having her in their power and being under the impression that the expeditionisbeingmade in supportof her cause, will put her to deaththere will be no other Catholic prince alive who can compete with His Majesty; if she is alive and bestowed in marriageby His Majesty, this same Queen's authorityand acquiescence can also be used in setting up negotiationsfor the succession of His Majesty and the claim ofthe House of Lancasterwhich existed both before and after the union of the two houses made in the person of King Henry VII, for the reason that the latter did not belong to that house , etc.

Then also whoever might be Cardinal of the English nation, being now the leader and guide of all his fellows, would easily be able to bring them to the views he wished and to decree through Parliament all that would be required; for the new bishops (and these form the most important part of Parliament) would be devoted to him, as also the laynobility; for the greater part of it, being heretical , will probably be annihilated in the war, and the new creations to replace them , made by His Majesty, will be on his side, etc.

At that time, also, His Majesty would be in a muchbetter position to put forward such mattersas his descent from the House ofLancaster , the inadmissibility of the other claimants, the will and testament of the Queen of Scotland, the bull of Pope Pius V , the fact that conquest in a just war and for a just cause is usually considered to give a very valid right to a kingdom.(2)

MEMORANDUMDRAWN UP BY DR WILLIAM ALLEN AND F. ROBERT PERSONS CONCERNING THE SUCCESSION TO THE ENGLISH CROWN AND THE EXPEDITION AGAINST ENGLAND .

Rome, after 24 March, 1587. (1)

Arch Gen. de Simancas Sec de Estado, Leg 949, f 40. Contemporary decipher. Printed in Knox, Allen, p 281

Quello che noi Guillelmo Alano et Roberto Personio havemo potuto torvare(2) de la descendentia di la casa de Lencastria con el studio che havemo fatto qui in Roma intorno a quel negotio dopo la ultima nuova de la morte de la Regina de Escocia. Primieramente per nonhaverhuuto(3) qui l'historie et croniche Ynglese insieme con quella varietà de genealogia che in Parigi et altrove haveriamo havuto, non è stato possibile far quella essata calculatione et examine delle cose ch'altrimentese harebbepotuto; nondimeno quello che seguita basterà per la sustancia del negocio.

Sarebbestata cosa desideratissima de noi per il servicio deDio e bene de la patria nostra che la successione de S . Mtà e de la sua serenissima casa per la linea de Lencastria a la corona de Ynghilterra fusse tanto chiara, expedita, fresca et vicina che non vi potesse nascerdubio, contradittione o difficultà alcuna E quando pur così fosse, S. Mtà non deve pensare che, stando le cose de Ynghilterracome stanno, ciò è , possuduto de heretici, e le gelosie d'altri Principivicini comeogidì si vedono, ancoin quel caso ottenerebbeil suo drito senza arme; con le quali ancora adesso facilmente per la gratia di Dio le ottenerà, essendo che noi non havemo trovato dificoltà alguna che si habbia fatto scrupulo di conscienza o che la debia far a S . Mtà, per esser noltre(4) altre considerationi giustissime che nel fine diremo, le quali compensanoyn abundantia ogni dificoltà o diretto(5) che nella descendenciasi trovasse de la casa de Lencastria ; la qual descendentia essendo derivata da più che 200 anni in qua non è maraviglia se tiene alcun dubio, obcuritae incertezza. Quel pur li pare certo è quello che seguita.

(1)According to the opening paragraph the date of this document will be some time after the news had arrived in Rome of the death of Mary, Queen ofScots . This we learnfrom the letter ofOlivarestoPhilipII,27March , 1587 (SpanishCalendar , p 50), was on the 24thof March Knox, therefore , appears to be in error when he states that this was one of the two documents mentionedin the letter ofOlivarestoPhilipII, 23 March, 1587 (Allen, p xcvi) And in fact if this letter of March the 23rd is read carefully it is seen that there is no such mention of this document but only of talk on the subject of which it treats The two documentsmentioned by Olivares in that letter are1 , a paper which Allen and Persons handed to him on March the 18th concerningthe inconveniences that would arise from speakingofthe succession to the Pope (ibid , p xci, cf. supra); and 2, a paperconcerning" certain things relating to the enterprise fogether with certain questions" which Olivares put to Persons for his better understanding of the same (ibid., p. xcvi)

(2) trovare ?

(8) havuto ?

(4) molte ? inoltre?

(5)difetto?

Nel primoloco dove per avanti sempre sono state representate tre linee diversepretendente a la successione dela corona deYnghilterra (come se vede nel albero de la genealogie stampata questi anni passati dal vescovodi Rosse, Scozzesse; cioè, una descendente solamente de la casa da Lencastria , come è quella de Castilla e Portugalia; la altra descendentesolamente de la casa de Yorca , come è quella del Conde de Huntinton in Ynghilterra; e de la unione de tutte duefamiglie, come sono quelle tre linee che restono hogi di in Ynghilterra et Scotia, uscite da Henrico septimo) noi troviamo che in verità non sono sinon due linee in tuto, cioèquella da Lencastria e quella di Yorca ; perchè quella chiamatamista o composta da tutti due linee non fu veramente tale, perchè Henrico septimo non fu de la casa reale da Lencastria , essendo discesso solamente da Giovani di Gant, Duca di Lencastria , e de la terza sua moglie chiamata Catherina Sfinfordia,(6) la qual haveva niente di far con la heredità de la casa da Lencastria , la qual heredità vene al detto Giovanni per il matrimonio de la prima moglie chiamata Blanca, li cui figliuoli furonotre solamente, cioè Henrico fatto poi Re e chiamato Henrico IV, ma primo Re dela casade Lencastria, e Philippa e Catherina, maritate alli Re di Portugalo e de Castiglia, dalle quale(7) descende S . Mtà Catholica: de manera che in tutta Ynghilterra et Scotia non è linea alcuna che può giustamente pretender per la casa de Lencastria ; et questo apare [ed] è cosa chiara e verificata da tutte le historie , de modo cheè grande errore nella detta albero del Vescovo di Rosse quando assigna una moglie solamente, cioè Blanca, a Govan de Gant, Duca da Lencastria, et consequentemente presupone che tutti suoi figlioli siano discessi da questa Polidoro Virgilio nel libro 29 de la Historia de Ynghilterra nella vita de EduardoIII, pagina 394 , fa mentione de la seconda moglie detta Costanza, figliola di Don Pietro, chiamato crudele, Re di Castiglia, la qual pigliò il anno 1369; et la croniche Ynglesi fanno mentione di la terza moglie chiamata Catherina Esfinfordia, come di sopra è detto. Quanto poi a quello che escrive il detto Vescovode Rossenel libro suo del Drito de la Regina de Scozia a la corona de Ynghilterra, al foglio 6, intorno a li dui figlioli del Re Henrico III, chiamati Edoardo [et Edmundo],(8) dicendo che Etmundo in verità fu il primogenito , ma per esser gobbo fu proposto al suo fratello e fatto Conte da Lencastria , oltre che è cosa contrarissima a tutto quello che lui pretende de stabilire in quel libro, perchè si quello fosse vero non sarebbe dubio che tutta la successione vera restarebbe solamente nella linea di Portugalia, ci pare che non habbia fundamento alcuno; primo perchè non troviamo alcun auttore d'antiquità o credito che le aferma; di poi perchè troviamo dui auttori gravi che lo negono Il primo e Matheus Vestmonesteriensis, Ynglese, nella sua Historia chiamata Flores Historiarum

(6) Catherine Swynford

(7)quali ?

(8) It seems necessary for the sense to supply "et Edmundo. "

, S.J.

nella vita di Re (9)[Henrico III dove escrive quel anno 1239 a li 17 de Junio nache Eduardo primogenito di Re] Henrico e de Leonora sua moglie, e fu baptizato alli 21 dal Cardenal Otone legato per il Papa, e poi escrive que l'anno 1245 a li 17 di Genaro nache Etmondo secondo-genito; di maniera che sei anni intervenero fra la nativitàdi questi dui, il che questo auttoreben poteva sapere per esser a quel tempo et poteva conoscer el uno e altro Principe. El altro auttore overo scrittore di credito in questa materia è Polidoro Virgilio, Italiano; el qual vivendoin Ynghilterra et scrivendo la sua Historia sotto Henrico VII, il quale se fece coronare come de la casa da Lencastria , e dede instruttione a Polidoro per scriver la sua Historia, è da presumir che non voleva dir cosa en pregiuditio de la casa da Lencastria che non fosse molto chiara e vera: costui adunque nellavita de Henrico III in dui luoghi , cioè pagina 303 et 320, chiaramente affirma che Edouardo fu il primogenito e non Etmundo; e nel principio de la vita de Henrico IV, primo Re de la casa de Lencastria, pagina 429 , dice che alcuni volevano che lui se ne fusse servito di questa faccione(10) (così la chiama) per justificareil suo drito a la corona, ma se giongeche la majorpartedelli sui amici non aproborono la cosa , e così fu lasciata L'istesso tene pagina 320, nelfine della vita de Henrico III. Il medessimoauttorenel sudetto luogo de la vita de Henrico IV, afirma chiaramente che il detto Henrico IV, primo Re di la casa de Lencastria , hebbe il regno ingiustamente e per forza : e di più in uno altro luogo, cioè nella vita di Ricardo II, pag 412 , tiene che Edouardo IV, primo Re de la faccione de Yorca, giustamente ricuperò il regno de(11) Henrico VI nepote de HenricoIV . Il che pur(12) pare altrimente a Philippo Comineo, consigliero et historico prudentissimo di Carlo, Duca di Burgundia, e de Ludovico XI, Redi Francia Ilquali(13) Comineo, vivendo a queltempo e cognoscendotanto el uno come al altro di questi dui Re , scrive nel libro 10 , pag. 354 , delli suoi Comentarii queste parole da Henrico VI diposto da Edouardo IV-" Henricum profligavit Edoardus, qui jam longo tempore potitus erat rerum, et mea quidem sententia jure. " El medesimo Philippo Comineo nel libro nono , pag 336, parlando di Henrico VII, bene a lui conoscuto,et a quel medesimotempo Re d'Ynghilterra, dice-"ImperiumAnglicanum nullojure sibi poterat arrogare": il qual purHenrico Polidoroscrive esser discesso de la casa da Lencastria come herede di quella; di manera che il drito de quelle due case era assi dubioso a li più prudenti che vivevano a quel tempo.

Havemo visto ancora un albero de genealogia scritta a mano in Italiano da 20 anna in qua (come pare) nella quale se dice

(9) Fr. Knox's scribe omitted the words " Henrico" up to " primogenito di Re . "

(10) Knox suggests that the correct word is "finzione. "

(11) da ?

(12) Knox points out that the sense seems to require a " non" before " pare "

(13) quale ?

che le due figliuole di Giovan di Gant, sorele di Henrico Re IV , lequale furonomaritatein Portugaloe Castilla, non furonofigliole de la prima moglie di Giovan di Gant, cioè di Blanca heredera de la casa da Lencastria, ma d'altra moglie posteriora ; il che è manifestamente falso come si vede da tuttele Historiee particolarmente da Polidoro nel libro 20, nella vita di Ricardo III, pag. 415

Nel albero del Vescovo de Rose se vede, e nella Historia parimente di Polidoro nella vita di Henrico IV, pag. 438 , che questo Rehebbe , oltra 4 figlioli sui maschi da li quali nissun descendente resta , due femine chiamate Blanca e Philippa de le quale la prima fu maritate con il Duca di Baviera e la seconda[con il Re](14) de Denmarke ; de le quale due femine non sapiamo se questo Duca di Baviera o questo Re de Denmarke, che adesso siano, discesse; ma comunche sia, pensiamo che la cosa sia incognitaet non pensata dalore,(15) come dessideriamo che resti sempre; et per questo effetto sarebbe expediente che il negotio di questi successionisia tenuto secretissimo fin tanto che la impresa sia fatta e la successione da S. Mtà senza contradicionstabilita in Ynghilterra

Et si come questi descendenti delle figliuole de HenricoIV. si alcuni tali restono, potrebbono pretendere successione avanti li descendenti delle sorelle del detto Henrico maritate in Portugalo et Castiglia, così ancora nella istessalinea e descendentiadePortugallo quelle che sono discessi da Don EduardoIII Figliouolodel Re Don Emanuele regularmente secondo la lege municipali de Ynghilterra potrebbono pretendere avanti li descendenti della EmperatriceYsabella figliola del detto Re; benchè a questo del altro canto si potrebbe dire che essendo giàla successione di quella corona di Portugallo legitimamente incorporata secondo la lege comune ede Portugallonellapersonaet sanguedi S . Mtà Catholica , tutti li driti che per quella via vengano consequentemente sono ancora uniti a quella casa . Ma basta che da queste cose se può intendere chequando il negotio de la successione per via solamente de la descendenciade la casa de Lencastria se metesse in disputa o boca delli huominiavanti chel'impressa sia fatta, se ne trovarebbono molteoppositioni de varii Principi; i quali tutti si tagliariano con l'empressa istessa e con el stabilimento de la successione legitima di S.Mtà, che da quella senza alcuna dificoltàne seguitarebbe particolarmente per questi ragioni et driti che sogiungeno.

Primo, perchè intutta Ynghilterra et Scozianon vi è alcune(16) che giustamente può pretendere per la casa da Lencastria , come s'è mostrato. Secondo, perchè quelli che ibi pretendono per la casa di Yorca sono tutti inhabili per heresieet altri defetti Terzo , perchè non si sa che di fuora alcuni pretendono per la casa de Lencastria se non la linea di S. Mtà Catholica Quarto, perchè quandoaltri volesseroancora per la medesima via pretendere non

(14) The words in brackets are supplied. (15)loro?

(16) alcuno ?

hanno modo de ricuperare il loro drito e se discaliar (17) la usurpatrice che tene il regno, ne sarebbono accettati da li medesimi Ynglesi catholici Quinto, che per(18) la Regina di Scoziaha ordinato per testamento et letre (19) che S. Mtà sia sua herede e successore; il che ancora si sa che la Regina Maria di bona memoria dessideravagrandemente a tempo suo che si(20) Mtà Catholicale succedesse. Sesto, S. Mtà Catholica, oltra la causa della religione catholica et de suoi ingiurie recevute da Ynghilterra, ha giustissima ragione et necessaria causa di farle guerra per vindicar il sangue de la Regina di Scozia ricomendatola da lei istessa, e consequentementepigliandoil regno in una guerra così giusta e lodevole le ragioni (21) del conquisto sarà legitima Septimo, le danni fatti a S. Mtà Catholica da le heretici di Ynghilterra in tempo di questa Regina e le spesse(22) fatte in questa guerra e altri(23) in Fiandra et altrove (24) causa, che da loro sarà tanto grande che quando si havesse il regno in paga et compensatione di esse non sarebbecausaingiusta. Octava, il decreto del concilio Lateranense da a tutti Principi catholicii regni e terre che de hereticipossono pigliar , quando herede catholico non resta; il che in questo particularesarà confirmato da la bulla et excomunione de diversi Pontifice. Et ultimamentese agiungerà per compimento et confirmatione di tutto la electione et admissione voluntaria del stato de catholici in Ynghilterra, il quali per rispetto di tutta questa causa e considerationi e principalmente per il beneficio recebuto de la fede catholica resitutta con sumo consentimento et alegrezzaabraciariano la successione di S . Mtà; e di questo non faciamo dubio alcuno: onde resta solamente per il felice compimento di tutto questo negotio che S. Mtà expediscaquantoprima con la empressa tutte l'altre dificoltà, per che da la brevità del tempo dipendeil tutto

Guilelmo Alano. Roberto Possonio.

Translation.

MEMORANDUM DRAWN UP BY DR WILLIAM ALLEN AND FR ROBERT PERSONSCONCERNINGTHE SUCCESSION TO THE ENGLISH CROWN AND THE EXPEDITION AGAINST ENGLAND .

Translation from Knox, Allen, p xcvi Rome, after 24 March, 1587.(1)

Thisis whatwe, William Allen and Robert Persons, have been able to discover touching the descendants of the house of Lancaster by

(17) discacciare?

(18) perchè?

(19) lettere ?

(20) sua ?

(21)la ragione?

(22) spese ?

(28) altre?

(24) sono omitted ?

the study which we have made of this matter here in Rome since the late news of the death of the Queen of Scotland

In the first place, as we have not had here the English histories and chronicles with the different genealogieswhich we should havehad at Paris and elsewhere, we have not been able to make that exact calculation and examination of the things in question which would have been otherwise feasible Still what follows will be substantially sufficient

It would have been exceedingly desirable for God's service and our country's good that the succession of His Majestyand his most serene house by the line of Lancaster to the crown of England had been so clear , unentangled , fresh and near that no possible doubt, contradiction or difficulty could have arisen about it. And yet if it had been so , His Majesty must notthink that even then, with Englandwhat it isthat is, inthe hands ofhereticsand withotherneighbouringprinces as jealous as they evidently now are, he could have obtainedhis right withoutarms; though with these even at the present time he can easily by God's grace obtain it, nor have we met with any difliculty which gave us scruples of conscience or which ought to give them to His Majesty, since there are many other most just considerations , which we will set down at the end of this paper, capable of compensating abundantly for every difliculty and defect which may exist in the descent of the house of Lancaster; with regard to which, as this line of descent takes its rise from more than two hundred years ago, it is not surprising if it should involve some doubt, obscurity and uncertainty. What appears certain is the following:

First, whereas hitherto it has been always said that therearethree lines claiming to succeed to the crown of England (as may be seen in the genealogical tree printed some years since by the Bishop of Ross , a Scotchman ), namely, one descending from the house of Lancaster alone, as the lines of Castille and Portugal, another descending only from the house of York, as the line of the Earl of Huntingdon in England, and [a third] from the union of these two families, as the three lines still remaining in England and Scotland which havetheir source in Henry VII, we find that in reality there are only two lines in all, namely, that of Lancaster and that of York; for that which is said to be mixed and made up of these two lines is not really such , since Henry VII was not of the royal house of Lancaster , his descent being from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster , by his third wife, named CatharineSwynford, who had nothing whateverto do with the inheritance of the house of Lancaster , which came to the said John by his marriage withhis firstwifenamed Blanche, whohad only threechildrenHenry, afterwards King and called Henry IV, though he was the first kingof the house of Lancaster , Philippa and Catharine, who married the kingsof Portugal and Castille, andfrom whom His CatholicMajesty descends . Thus there is no line in all Englandand Scotlandwhich can justly claim the crown as representing the house of Lancaster; and this seemsto be and is a thing clear and vouched for by all the histories ; so that it is a great error in the afore-mentioned tree of the Bishopof Ross to assign one wife only, viz Elanche , to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and in consequence to assume that all his children descend from her PolidoreVergil, in book 29 of the History ofEngland, inthe LifeofEdward III, p 394, speaksof his secondwife Constance, daughter of Don Pedro , called the cruel, King of Castille , whom he married in

the year 1369 ; and the English chronicles make mention of his third wife, Catharine Swynford aforesaid

As to what the Bishop of Ross says, at page 6 of his book on the right of the Queen of Scotland to the English crown, concerning Henry III'stwo sons Edward[andEdmund](8)-howthatEdmundwas really the first-born, but that being crookbacked he was put after his brother and made Earl of Lancaster , besides that it is in flagrant contradiction to everything which he seeks to establish in that hook, since if the assertion were correct the whole of the succession would undoubtedlyremain in the line ofPortugal alone, it seems to us destitute of all foundation; first because we can find no ancient author of credit who affirms it, and secondly because we find two grave authors whodeny it. The first ofthese is Matthew ofWestminster, an Englishman, who in his history entitled Flores Historiarum, in the life of King (9)Henry III, after sayingthat Edward the first-born son of King Henry and Leonora his wife was born on the 17th June, 1239, and baptized on the 21st byCardinalOtho, the Pope's legate, subsequently writes that in the year 1245 on the 17th of January Edmund the son was born; so that six years intervened between the birth of these two, a fact which it was quite in the power of that author to know , he being a contemporaryand able to be acquaintedwith both these princes. The other author or writer of credit is Polidore Vergil, an Italian, who lived in England and wrote his history in the time of Henry VII. Since this King caused himself to be crowned as of the house of Lancaster, and moreover gave instructions to Polidore to write his history, it may be presumed that this author would nothave inserted in it anything prejudicial to the house of Lancasterunless it were very clear and true. Now in two places in the life of Henry III, pages 303 and 320, Polidoreclearly asserts that Edward was the firstbornand not Edmund; and again at the beginningof the lifeof Henry IV, the first king of the house of Lancaster , page 429, he says that some persons wished Henry to avail himself ofthat fiction,(11) for so he terms it, tojustify hisright to the crown, buthe adds this did not(12) meet with the approval of the greater part of Henry's friends, and so it fell to the ground. He makes the same statement at page 320 at theendofthelife ofHenry III Thesameauthorin the above-mentioned place in the life of Henry IV clearly asserts that the said Henry IV, thefirst king of the house of Lancaster , obtainedthe kingdomunjustly andby violence; andinanotherplace also, viz in the life of RichardII, page 412, he holds that Edward IV , the firstking ofthe partyofYork, justlyrecovered the kingdomfrom Henry VI, the grandson ofHenry IV This too was the opinion of Philip de Comines, the most prudent counsellor and historianofCharles, Duke ofBurgundy, andofLouis XI, King of France This Comines, who lived at the time and knew both the one and the other of those two kings, writes in book 10 , page 354 , of his Commentaries, these words concerning Henry VI, who was deposed by Edward IV-" Edward overthrew Henry, who had been for a longtime sovereign, and in my opinion justly. " The same Philip de Comines , in book 9, page 336 , speaking of Henry VII, whom he knew well and who was at that time King of England, says: "He couldnotclaim for himself by any just title the Fnglish empire"; and yet Polidorewrites that Henry VII was a descendant of the house of Lancaster and its heir; so that the right of those two houses seemed very doubtful to the most prudent men of that time

We have also seen a manuscript genealogical tree in Italian, about

twentyyears old, as it seems , inwhich it is said that the two daughters of John of Gaunt, sisters of King Henry IV, who were married in Portugal and Castille , were not the daughters of John of Gaunt's first wife Blanche, heiress of the house of Lancaster , but of another later wife. This is manifestly false, as may be seen from all the histories, and particularly from Polidore in book 20 in the life of Richard II, page 415 . In the Bishop of Ross's tree and also in Polidore'shistory in the life ofHenry IV, page 438, it appears that this king had besideshisfour sons, of whom there is no descendant remaining, two daughters called Blanche and Philippa, the first of whom was married to the Duke of Bavaria and the second to the King of Denmark We do not know whether the Duke of Bavaria and the King of Denmark now reigning are descended from these daughters ; but, he this as it may, we think it is a thing which they donot know or reflect upon ; and such wehope it may always remain: and for this reason it will be expedient to keep the subject of these successions most secret, until the enterprise is terminated and His Majesty's succession established without contradiction in England

And as these descendants of the daughters of Henry IV , if any of them remain , can claim to succeed before the descendants of the sisters of the said Henry, married in Portugal and Castille, so too in the line of Portugal itself and among the descendants of that line those who trace from Don Edward III, son of the King Don Emmanuel, can according to strict rule by the municipal laws of England claim to succeed before the descendants of the Empress Isabella, daughter of the said king; though on the other hand it may be said that as the succession to the crown of Portugal is now legitimately incorporated according to the common law and that of Portugal in the person and blood of His CatholicMajesty, all the rights thence flowing are also united to that house But this is enough to show that if the question of the succession by way of descent from the house of Lancasteralone be discussed and talked about generally before the enterprise is completed, much oppositionwill arise from variousprinces ; allwhichwould be cut short by the enterprise itself and the establishmentof His Majesty's legitimate succession, a result which would follow without any difficultyfrom the enterprise, especially if the subjoinedreasons and rights are taken into account.

First, because there is no one in all England and Scotland who can justly claim to succeed by the house of Lancaster , as has been shown Secondly, because all who claim there by the house of York are unfit through heresy or other defects Thirdly, because no one outsidethe kingdom is known to claim by the house of Lancasterexceptthe line of His Catholic Majesty Fourthly, because if any other should also seek toclaim by the same way, they have no means of recovering their right and expelling the usurper who now occupies the kingdom, nor would they be accepted by the Catholics themselves Fifthly, because the Queen of Scotland has ordained by her will and lettersthat His Majesty should be her heir and successora thing which Queen Mary also of good memory is known to have greatly desired in her time, viz that His Catholic Majesty should succeed her Sixthly, His Catholic Majesty, besides the cause of the Catholic religion and the injuries which he has received from England, has in the vengeance due for the blood of the Queen of Scotland , which she herself commended to him , a most just ground and necessary cause for going to war , and there-

OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 303

fore, if he seizes upon the kingdomin so just and praiseworthya war, the title of conquest will be legitimate Seventhly , the losses inflicted on His Catholic Majesty by the heretics of Englandin the timeof the present Queen and the expense to which he has gone in this war and others in Flanders and elsewhere are so great a cause in themselves that if he were to have the kingdom in payment and compensation for them it would not be an unjust cause Eighthly, the decree of the Lateran Council gives to all Catholic princes the kingdoms and lands which they can take from heretics, if there is no Catholic heir remaining: which decree will be confirmedin this particular bythe bull of excommunicationissued by different Pontiffs Lastly, to complete and confirm the whole affair there will come in addition the voluntary election and acceptation of His Majesty on the part of the commonwealth of Catholics in England, who from regard to all these causes and considerations, and chiefly in return for the benefit ofthe restoration of the Catholic faith, will with the greatest unanimity and joy embrace His Majesty's succession; and about this we have no doubt whatever; so that nothing remains for the happy completionofallthis affair except that His Majesty dissipate all the other difficulties by carrying the enterprise into effect as soon as possible, since everything depends on the speed with which this is done

ALCUNI CASI NELLI QUALI SE DESIDERA LA RESOLUTIONEDI SUA MAESTA CON LA PRIMA COMODITA SECUNDO CHE LI NEGOTII ISTESI LA RECERCANO (1) c June , 1587 .

Arch Gen. de Simancas , Sec de Estado Leg 949

Il primo è intorno le cose de Escocia le quale essendo di grandissimo momento per la Impressa di Inghilterra ci parebbe molto utile chefossi quantoprima qualche huomo fidato nostro per tener li Signori da quel reyno a devotione di sua Maestà Catolica come erano l'ano passato quando si partì di là il padre GuillelmoOlto Inglese(2) già Rectore del Collegio Inglese in Roma il quale fu mandato da là di quelli Signori per significar la resolutione loro

(1) This appears to be another Memorandum of Allen or Persons , or of both of them By its contents it clearly belongs to the year 1587. The date is furtherrevealed by the statement that James VI was the onlylegitimate descendant ofHenry VIII's sister (Margaret) alive at the timeofits composition. Itwillhave been composed, therefore, after the news oftheexecution ofMary, Queen ofScots , had reached Rome, which we know was on March 24 , 1587 (Olivares to Philip II, 27 March, 1587Spanish Calendar , p 50) The documentitself seems to have some relation to some of the matters referred to in this letter of Olivares (cf. ibid, pp 53, 54) Bruce, who is misnamed Binz in the document, was sent back to Scotland with money for the Scotch Catholic Earls in May of this year (Mendoza to Philip II, 3 and 20 May, and 9 June, 1587; Olivares to Philip II, 3 July, 1587ibid., pp. 79 , 89 , 98 and 119) As in the body ofthe documentit is suggested that moneyshould be sent them, the date ofits compositionwill be beforethe news ofitshaving been sent reached Rome From all these considerationsit appears that the memorandumwas written in June or possibly at the end of May.

(2) Father Holt left Scotland in March or April, 1586. Cf. Tyrie to Aquaviva, 9 May, 1586 (Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp. XV, f. 28), where he states that Gordon in a recent letter informs him of Holt's departure from Scotlandbut that he has not yet arrived at Paris On the 23rd of June the Nuncio in Paris reported that Holt had arrived there a few days previously (Arch. Vat Nunz, di Francia , XIX).

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J.

che havevano di star a la dispocitione de sua Maestà Catolica de la quale resolutione fu il detto padre in gran parte la causa si come che si mandasse ancora quel gentilhomo Escoceze Binz(3) a dimandar agiuto da sua Maestà Hora questo padre è molto desiderato degli Escocezi che torni essendo molto amato da loro e creduto per esser stato cinque anni più o meno fra loro et per esser Inglese conosciuto per aficionatissimo a le cose di Spagna quelli Signori Escocezi i quali sono strachi già de la dependencia di franciae han poquissima speranza da loro Re che serà Catolico più liberamente e confidatamente se scoprero a lei ch'adaltri da la nation Escoceze e per questo forse sarebbe assai utile che fusse li un'altra volta e ciò quanto prima per disporre la cosa di là e poi dar avisi certi e securi del stato da quel regno che li farebbe facilmente per esser huomo prudente e secreto e bastarebbe per qual si voglia manegio con quelli Signori quando andasselà con qualche modo di denari presenti e sicurtà per altri quando poi sarebbe tempo dalla esecutione della Impressa, il qual pare che in ogni modo se deve cominciar di là come altre volte se ha significato (4) questa cosa pare esser di importanza che quel regno non sia senza qualche persona che tenga con noi bona correspondenza, etc.

Il secondo che alcune persone Inglesi questo anno in questa vanda d'il mar li quali sarebbe bisogno che fusse mandato [in] Inghilterra un pezzo avanti che l'Impressaseguitasseper disporre alcune parti principali del regno con certa ambasciata o avisi generali senza saper il secreto de la Impressa istessa e di questo ancora fu escritto prima e sarebbe utile che sappessemo la mente di sua Maestà intorno a la executione , etc.

Il terzoè intorno a quel libro che sia da comporre per dichiarationeet probatione de la Impressa il quale se deve non solamente esser composto ma ancora traduto secretamente in diverse lingue al manco latina, Inglesa e francesa per dar satisfattionea tutti de la justicia di l'Impressa e per muover tutti li Inglesidi abraciarla (5) Tra questo libro molti dependeran per che in esso se justificarà la guerra per molti capi e ragioni tanto de religione

(8)This is presumablya copyist's error for (Robert) Bruce. Hearrived in Spainon hismissionaboutAugust orSeptember 1586 (cf.PhilipIItoMendoza , 28 September , 1586Spanish Calendar , p 630) Much will be found about his activities in vols III and IV of the Spanish Calendar There is a long notice of him by T. G. Law in the D.N.B. Supplement , i, 326. He is there rightly described as a spy in the pay of the English Government, a fact which earlier writers did not suspect ; but as Father Pollen has pointed out even T.G. Lawdid not realise he was acting as suchand in bad faith tothe Catholics as early as 1585. Cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., Mary, Queen of Scots , and the Babington Piot

(4) Robert Bruce was sent back with money in May, 1587; cf. supra, note 1

(5) In this senseand for this purposeAllen later composed his Admonition to the Nobility and People of England, and the proclamation or broadside called The Declaration Cf. C.R.S. xxi, 166 ff, and 174 ff. Though printed, these pages were never published owing to the fact that the Spanishtroops did not succeed at the Armada in landing in England.

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , S.J. 305

come di stato , se notarà la moltiplice bastardia di questa Regina Elizabeta , la sciagurata vita, l'injuriefatte a tutta la Christianità et a sua Maestà particolare , la excommunicatione et dispositione per il jus commune et per le bolle di li diversi pontifici con una demostratione evidentissima a tutti quelli che stanno sotto la corona d'Inghilterra che recebirano grandissimo utile de la buona reuscita da questa Impressa come ancora all'altri PrincipiChristi- ani che a nissuno di loro tornarà in prejudicio e a questo ci pare però ha d'esser el subjetto più atto per questo libro e si su Maestà vorrà che si toqui en esso altro punto desideriamo esserne avisati per tempo si come ancora si Sua Maestà vuole che comincie in secreto questo libro per che non si potrà far poi in poco tempo essendo cosa di qual qualità che non conviene che passe per molti mani fin a quel tempo che sarà publicato e disparso in diversi luoghi, il che non debe esser se non al istesso instante della essecutione de l'Empressa, etc.

Il quarto sopra il interesse et diretto da sua Maestà a la successione con la corona di Inghilterra de la qual materia se potrà comporre secretamente un libro si sua Maestà vorrà il quale poi havutala vittoria si potrebbe publicar subito et espargir per Inghilterra nelle quali si potrebbono dimostrarle punti sequenti, etc.

Primocome Dio per varie cause et con varie occasionisecondo il privilegio che particolarmente observa nel disporre de regni transferisce la successione di reami de una natione ad altra come si vede nella divina escrittura e come s'ha visto particolarmente nel regno di Inghilterra il quali fu transferito prima deli Britani a li Inglesi per via di conquisto e de li Inglesi alli Danni per la medesima via e delli Danni alli Normani per la medesima e dalli Normanialli francesi per consanguinità e meritagioe dipoi nascendola contraversia fra le due potentissime famille de Alancastra e de Eboraco le transferì Dio de la una al'altra diverse volte per forza di arme e tutti doi familie hebbero Re e Principi a tempi loro estimati legitimi benchè più la casa di Lancastria, non solamente delli subditi de Inghilterra ma ancora delli Principi vicini e de la Sede Apostolica e finalmente Henrico septimo riputato de la casa da Lancastria ma veramente non fu per via de arme estabili la successione nelli sui descendenti, etc.

Nel secondoluogo se potrà tratar brevemente la controversia fra ledi casa di Alancastriaet Eboraco e mostrar la preheminencia chehavevalacasa di Lencastria sopradi quella di Eboraco secondo il comune parere di tutti non solamente per la pretensione di Edmundo Gono [Gobbo ?] Duca di Lancastria il quale diceva si il magior figlio secondoalcuni historiografima ancora per la successione di più Re più valorosi e più aprobati del regno e della Sede Apostolica a la qual sedia alcuni dicono che sia già una dichiaratione particular in favor di quella casa sopra l'altra de Eboraco la qual per molta empressa fu disheredato, etc.

Nel terzo logo se pò mostrar che la linea del Re diSpagna sia la sola heredera della casa di Lancastria già restante nel mundo e chein questo precedechiaramente non solamente a lialtricomU

petitori ma ancora a tutta la linea de Escocia e de Inghilterra che descende del Re Henrico septimo il quale veramente non fu de la casa di Lancastria ben che de Giovan Gandavo Duca di Lancastria per la terza moglie la qual non fu herede de la detta casa non a de per se se non per Bianca la sua moglie la cui successione per le due figliuole resta solamente adesso nella linea di sua Maestà Catolica , etc.

Nel quarto luogo se potrà mostrar che benchè se conceda il diretto che la Regina Maria haveva e la Regina di Scozia già pretende per la casa de Eboraco perchè come s'è visto non sono da la casa de Alancastria sea bono et favorevole per esser loro Principi molto pii et Catolici non di meno di coloro essendo tutti altri pretendenti esclusi justamente o per via di bastardia o vero di heresia non resta altra linea legitima se non quella del Re il che se pur dichiararà più in particolare in tutte le quale linee che restono in Inghilterra ciò è primariamente del Conte de Untington il quale pretende solamente la successione de la casa de Eboraco avanti la unione dal Re Henrico Septimo essendo quel Conte manifestamente heretico e perseguitatore delli Catolici Secondo de la linea del Re Henrico octavo del quale non resta altra prolese non questa Elizabeta bastarda Terzo è la linea della sorela maggiore del detto Henrico VIII maritata in Scozia de la quale non resta altro se non il Re di Scozia heretico Quartode la linea de la sorela minore del detto Re Henrico maritata in Francia e Inghilterra de la quale restono li figliuoli del Conte de Harfordo e di Darbinia tutti bastardi et heretici, etc.

Nelquarto luogo [inmargin : serànel quinto] se potràdichiarar la ragione del giusto conquisto di una guerra cosi legitima giusta et santa insieme con el merito di haver restituito la Religione Catolica in recompensa di qual beneficio così segnalato li stati potrebbono elegir qual si voglia Principe che non havesse altro diretto ma molto più accetar e confirmare sua Maestà Catolica la qual ha tanto altri giustissimi tituli di successione come si ha mostrato, etc.

Finalmente se potrebbe mostrar quantogrande utilità l'Inglesi receverebbono tanto per conto della perfetta responsione de la Religione Catolica come ancora per altra utilità temporale con star sotto un tanto potente e zeloso Principe come è il Re e per questo rispetto la Regina di Scozia le nomina per successore, etc.

Molto altre cose potrebbono dire ma come la cosa è di grandissima importanzae secretezza non cominciaremo cosa alcuna in questo negocio senza particularordine di sua Maestàa la qual solo desideriamo che questo sia communicato, etc.

Translation .

SOME POINTS ON WHICH HIS MAJESTY'S DECISION IS DESIRED AT THE EARLIEST MOMENT , THE MATTERS THEMSELVES DEMANDING THIS URGENCY.(1) c. June , 1587 .

The first point has reference to Scottish affairs These are of very great importancein connection with the English project, and itwould

seem tous very usefulthat thereshould be appointedas soon as possible some man, whom we trust, to keep the lords of that realm loyal to his CatholicMajesty, as they were last yearwhen Fr. William Holt,(2) the Englishman , now Rector of the English College in Rome , left there He was sent from thereby those lords to announce the decision they had come to, viz to hold themselves at the disposition of his CatholicMajesty; and the said father was to a great extent the cause of this decision, as also of the sending of that Scottish gentleman Bruce(3) to ask his Majesty's aid This father's return is now much desired by the Scotch, as he is very much loved and trusted by them owing to his having been among them forfive years moreor less ; and , becausehe isanEnglishmanwhois knowntobe very devoted toSpanish interests, these Scottish lords, who are now tired of being dependent on France , and have very little hope of their own king becoming a Catholic, would unbosom themselves with greater freedom and confidence to him than to any one else of the Scottish nation; and for this reason it would possiblybe a very good thing for him to go there again, and that as soon as possible, to arrange matters there and afterwards give sure and reliable reports on the state of that kingdom This he would do with ease , being a discreet and reticent man, and he would be competent to undertake any sort of negotiation with those lordsifhe were to go therewith a certain amount of ready money and a guarantee of more when later on the time arrives to carry out the enterprise ; and it seems altogetheradvisable that this should be started from there, as I have pointed out on other occasions It would seem to be a matter of importancethat that kingdom should not bewithout some person who would keep us fully informed.

The second point is that there are a numberof Englishmen on this side of the water this year whom it would be necessary to send to England a little in advance of the expedition which is to follow , in order to prepare the way with certain principal parties in the kingdom , giving them some sort of commission or general instructions, but without their knowing the secrets of the expedition itself This also was spoken of before and it would be a good thing if we knew his Majesty's mind about carrying it out.

The thirdpoint concerns the bookwhichis tobe writtento announce and justify the enterprise . This should not only be written but also secretly translated into various languages--at any rate into Latin, English and Frenchso as to satisfy everybody as to the justice of the enterprise and to induce all Englishmento rally to it On this book will depend the allegiance ofmany, for in it the war will bejustified under many heads and for many reasons alike of religion andof state We shall point out the multiple bastardy of this Queen Elizabeth, her wicked mode oflife, the injuries she has done to all Christendom and to his Majesty in particular, her excommunicationand depositionby the common law and by the Bulls of various Pontifis, and at the same time it will be very amply demonstrated to all who are subject tothe English crown that they will derive immense advantage from the good success of this enterprise ; as also to the Christian princes elsewhere that it will not result in prejudiceto any of them . This is evident to us , but the matter must be made more convincing by means ofthis book; and if his Majesty would like any other point to be mentioned in it, we should like to be infornied in good time, as also if bis Majesty wishesthis booktobe secretlyputin hand, becauseitwillnot be possible towriteit later at short notice, and it is of such a naturethatitcannot

conveniently pass through many hands until the time comes for it to be publishedand spread abroad ; and this should only be done when the enterprise is being carried out

Thefourthpoint has reference to his Majesty'sinterest in and right to the succession to the crown of England A book on this subject can be written secretly, if his Majesty wishes, and after the victory iswon this could be immediatelypublishedand distributed throughout England. In this book the following points could be made-

In the first place, how for various reasons and at varioustimes, in accordance with the prerogative which He specially exercises in the disposal of kingdoms , God transfers the succession to kingdomsfrom one nation to another , as is seen in Holy Writ, and has been seen in a special way in the case of the realm of England This was firsttrans ferredfrom the British to the English by the method of conquest, and from the Englishto the Danes bythe same means, and from the Danes to the Normans in the same way, andfrom the Normansto the French through kinship of blood and merit; and later, when a dispute arose between the two powerful families of Lancasterand York, God transferred it at various times from one to the other by force of arms, and both families had king and princes in their time who were held to be legitimatethough the house of Lancastermore sonot onlybytheir English subjects, but also by the neighbouring princes and by the Apostolic See; and finally Henry VII, who was reputed to be of the house of Lancaster , but actually was not so , established the succession by force of arms for his descendants .

In the second place, a short account can be given of the dispute between the houses of Lancasterand York, and proof be given ofthe superior claim of the house ofLancasteroverthe house ofYork according to the common opinion of all, not only on account of the claim of Edmund the hunchback , Duke of Lancaster , who according to some historians was said to have been the eldest son (i.e. of Henry IJI), but also on account of a greater number of kings deriving from him, who were of greatervalour and won greater acceptance from theking- domandfrom the ApostolicSee: and somesay that a special pronouncement has nowbeen made to [by ?] the Holy See, favouring that house rather than the other one of York, which after a great struggle was disinherited

In the third place, it can be pointed ont that the line of the King of Spain is the only one now remaining in the world that traces from the house of Lancaster , and that in this respect he clearly takes precedence , not only of the other competitors , but also of the wholeof the lineof ScotlandandEnglandwhichdescends from King Henry VII, the latter not being really of the house ofLancasterthough descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster , by his third wife; she was not the heiress of the said house, the Duke not being heir in his own right but by right of his wife Blanche ; and succession from the latter through her two children is now entirely confined to the line of his Catholic Majesty.

In the fourth place, it can be pointed out that, even though it be granted that the title which Queen Mary had and which the Queen of Scotland nowclaims through the house ofYorkfor, as we have seen , they are notofthe house of Lancasteris good andworthyof support by reason oftheirbeing very pious andCatholicprinces, yet, excluding them , since all the other claimantsare justly disqualifiedeitherthrough

bastardy or heresy, there is no other legitimate line remainingexcept thatof the king. Thiswill then be made clear in more detail as regards all such lines as are extant in England These are: firstly, that ofthe Earl of Huntingdon, who only makes claim to succession through the house of York before the union of the houses made by Henry VII; andthatEarlis clearlya hereticand a persecutor of Catholics : secondly , the line from King Henry VIII, and no child of his survives other than this bastard Elizabeth: thirdly, the line from King Henry VIII's elder sister , who was married in Scotland ; and descending from her there remains only the King of Scotland, who is a heretic: fourthly, the line from the younger sister of King Henry VIII, who was married in France and in England; and tracing from herthereremainthe children of the Earls of Hertford and of Derby, all of whom are bastards and heretics

In the fourth [fifth] place the argument can be put forward from the fact of a justly won victory in a war so legitimate, just and holy as this is , together with the merit of having restored the Catholic religion; and in reward of this so signal service, the states will have the right to electany prince they wish, though he should have no other title, butmuchmorerightto accept andconfirmthe title ofhisCatholic Majesty who has so many other just claims to the succession , as we have shown

Finally, it can be pointed out what great advantage will accrue tothe Englishboth from the Catholicreligion being completelyrestored, and also from the other temporal advantage of being subject to such a pious and zealous prince as is the King; and it is out of regard for this that the Queen of Scotland nominates him to succeed her

There is muchelse which can be said, but as it is a matter requiring very great care and secrecy we will not make any beginningin this business without definite instructions from his Majesty, and we desire that this paper be laid before him only.

PERSONS TO FR. HOFFAEUS, S.J. (ASSISTANT).

Arch S.J. Rom Germ 167 , f 223. Holograph

Molto Reverendo in Christo Padre, Pax Christi, Rome, 6 June, 1587 .

Perchèil Padre Rettore di qua m'hadetto che Nostra Paternità vuole che si faccia Consulta di nuovo intorn'il lasciar o continuar il Canto figurato in questo Collegio, et Vostra Reverenzami nedimandò una parola l'altro giorno, ho pensato, oltra le ragioni che il Padre Rettore dava in scritto in utramque partem, agionger ancoraquestetre seguenti, le quali, più ch'ogni altra cosa, mi fanno inclinar ad una parte più che all'altra.

La prima è la paucità delli nostri in questo governo, i quali non essendo più ordinariamente che cinque o sei persone, hanno assai distrattioni, massimamente le feste , nelle quali non gl'è possibile quasi, far oratione o haver racogliamento alcuno per conto delle sollecitudini ordinarie del choro, oltra il concorso continuo diforastieri per la medesima causain quelli giorniet la conversa-

tione loro tanto con i scholari quantocon i nostri, di maniera che la porta rare vuolte può star chiusa per alhora et molti ancora entrano per la chiesa Et questo con tempo potrà esser in tanto poco numero di nostri non solamente perdimento di tempo ma anco di spirito A questo s'agionge che ogni vuolta che alcuno scholaredice la messa nuovella (il chefra tanti avviene ben spesso) stimano per cosa di gratia ordinaria, ch'il Rettore gli conceda musica straordinariaet più grande numero di Cantori, et insieme d'invitar a quella celebrità l'amici loro di fuora, il che è grande fastidio al Superiore et materiad'ambitionefra loro, et la magior parte si levariada si quando non fussealcuna solemmità dichoro .

La secondaragione è che sedendo li giovanni alunni ogni festo per Canonici nella chiesa, ch'è piccola, vengono diverse donne a seder molto appresso, et quasi in facia, et altri giovani et gentilhuomini fuorasteri a guardarle in presenza dell'Alunni molto indecemente, onde io so in particulare qualch'uno ha ricevuto grande danno dell'Alunni, et si può temer dell'altri

La terza è, che per continuaril choro, bisogna necessariamente tener in casa oltra il maestro di Capella qualche putto soprano, quali per il più sono cattivi , per le mali prattiche ch'hanno con altri Cantori, et questo s'è provato con l'isperienza alcune vuolte, ma in particolare hieri, che un'putto racommandatoci molto da diversi, et ricevuto pocchi giorni sono, in casa (perchèil suo padre era morto et gl'haveva lasciato una buona heredità) s'è riuscito tristo, et ha sollecitato diversi servitori a cose triste, di maniera che è stato bisogno mandarlo via et qualche servitoreforse con ello, et se questo male per simil' occasionevenisseattaccatomeno scoperto all'alunni (i quali fin qui sono inocentissimi et semplicissimi quanto a simili cose) sarebbe grandissimo danno.

Queste et alcune altre ragioni toccanti al bene spirituale del Collegio et delli nostri, oltra quelli del bene temporale che il Padre Rettore dava in scritto, mi fanno inclinar assai, che si restringa al Canto Gregoriano, considerandomassimamenteoltra la povertàet poco numero dell'alunni che non c'è tanto bisogno del figurato, ne per il fine del Collegio in Ingleterra, ne per profitto dell'Alunni qui, ne per aiuto d'esterni , i qualiin tuttel'altrechiese intorno, possono sentire musica quanto vogliano con più commodità loro, per la capacità delle chiese solamente c'è la difficultà di levar via una cosa bona già comminciata Ma questo ancora se potrà far (se così parerà) senza che molto s'avertisca pur le Reverenze Vostre, giudicheranno meglio, et questo servirà solamente per darle qualche luce della cosa come sta. Alli suoi santisacrificii mi raccommando, dal Collegio Inglese alli 6 Giugnio 1587 .

Di Vostra Reverenza servus indignus in Christo Rob. Personio.

[Endorsed] 87 r

Rob. Personius Pi Hoffaeo, Assistenti.

Translation.

PERSONS TO FR HOFFAEUS , S.J. (Assistant)

Very Reverend Father in Christ,

Rome, 6 June, 1587 .

As Fr. Rector here has told me that his Paternity wishes that there should be another consultation on the subject of giving up or continuing in this College polyphonic music, and as your Reverence asked me for a word about it the other day, it has occurred to me to supplementthe arguments for and against, which Fr. Rectorgave in writing, by these threewhich follow andwhich, more than anything else, make me inclined to one side rather than the other

The first is the small number of our fathers in the governmentof this house . As they are usually not more than five or six, they have quite enough distractions, especially on feast days, when it is almost impossible for them to pray or be at all recollected on accountof the ordinary anxieties connected with the choir, besides the perpetual coming and going of strangers on those days for the same reason , and their conversationwith the scholars as well as with our fathers; the result being that the door can seldom be shut at those times, andmany also come in through the church This, in course of time, seeing how few our fathers are, will possiblyentail loss not only of time but also of religious spirit . In addition to this, every time that one of the scholars says hisfirst Mass (and as they are numerous this oftenhappens) they consider it a matter of course that the Rector should allow them extra music and a larger number of choristers , and also allow them to invite their friends from outside to this celebration ; and this is a greatnuisance to the Superior and a temptation to vain glory forthem , and most of this would be done away with if there were no solemn celebration with choir.

Thesecond reason is that when the young students sit, as they do , every feast day in the Canons' stalls in the church, which is a small one, a number of ladies come and sit quite near, almost facing them , and other young men and gentlemen from outside come and lookat them very immodestly, before the eyes of the students, and arising out of this I know for a fact that one of the students has received much harm , and it is to be feared some ofthe others

The third reason is that in order to continue the choir we must necessarily keep in the house, besides the chapel-master, some boy to sing soprano; and these boys are wicked for the most part owing to their evil behaviour with other choristers . This has been proved by experience some times, and in particular yesterday , when a boy who had been highly recommended by various people and received a few days ago into the house (because his father was dead and had left him a good inheritance) turned out to be depraved. He has made dishonest advances to some of the servants and so it has been necessary to send him away and possiblyone of the servants with him . If owing to a similar happeningthis evil should come to have vogue, where it would be less easilydiscovered, among the students (who up to noware most innocent and simple minded in regard to such matters) it would be a great misfortune

These and some other reasons, relating to the spiritual welfareof theCollege and of our fathers, besides those concerning their temporal welfare which Fr. Rector gave in writing, make me rather favour restricting the singing to Gregorian Chant, taking into consideration

, S.J.

especially, in addition to the poverty and fewness of the students, the fact that there is no great need for polyphonic music either for the purposes of the College in England, or for the advantageofthe students here, or for the helpof persons outside The latter can listen to music as much as they like in all the other churches in the neighbourhood , and with more comfort owing to the capaciousness of the churches . There is only the difficulty of doing away with a thing that is good and has already been started But still this can be done (if you think it should be) without attracting much attention To be sure your Reverences will be the best judges, and this will serve merelyto give you some light on how matters stand. I commend myself to your holy sacrifices. From the English College, on the 6th of June, 1587. Your Reverence's unworthy servant in Christ, Rob Persons.

PERSONS TO THE PRINCE OF PARMA

. Rome, 20 August, 1587

Parma, Archivio di Stato, Epistolario Scelto Holograph

Sermo Sigore

Nonho potuto far di meno, che con questa occasione così buona et allegra pigliar ardiredi far riverenza a V . Aa con queste quatro righe, in testimonianza dell'affetto ch'a lei partiamo , et del obligo che noi tutti dellaNationeInglese, riconosciamo d'haverricevuto da V . Aa in particolare (oltra tutte l'altre gratie et beneficii) per la promotione del Sor Alano al Cardinalato, nellaqual cosa, si come forse fra tutti l'altri della Natione , nissun' haverá havuto più occasione, di conoscere quanto deviamo a V . Aa ch'io così vorrei a nome di tutti, et più che tutti (se fusse possibile) ringratiarlene , et mostrarla gratitudine che conviene. Ma questa cosa mi si fa difficilissima ,nonsolamente per la moltitudine e qualità delli beneficii ricevuti immediatemente da V . Aa, ma ancora per conto di quelli, che per la sua segnalata bontà, et per la riccomendatione di V . Aa l'Illmo Cardinale farneseogni giorno ci va facendo, delli quali, pernon esser troppoprolisso appressolei, ho scrittoqualche parola più in particulareal Sor Cosimo Secretrio di V.Aa. Quello che ci resta, è di supplicar a nostro Sigre Iddio, che com'è possante, riccho, et benignissimo, così supplisca per noi et per la natione nostra, a pagare abundantemente i debiti che a V . Aa habbiamo , assicurandola però, che tutta quella magior gratitudineet riconoscenzad'animo, che da huominiin questa vita si può espettar, V . Aa troverà sempre et tutta la sua Serma Casa, non solamente nel Cardle nostro (o più presto suo), ma ancora da tutti noi altri della medessima Natione come sa Dio nostro Sor il quale lungamente conservi la Serema persona sua . Da Roma alli 20 d'Agosto 1587. Di V. Aa humillissmo servo in Christo.

Rob personio.

[Addressed] Al Serenissmo Duca di Parma et Piacenza. Al Campo.

Translation

PERSONS TO THE DUKE OF PARMA .

Most Serene Lord,

IRome, 20 August, 1587 .

cannot do less on this occasion, which is so pleasant and joyful a one , than make bold to pay my respects to your Highness by sending these few lines to bear witness to the esteem in which we holdyou and to the obligation under which all we of the English nation acknowledge that your Highness has put us , especially bythe promotion ofDr.Allen to the Cardinalate, not to mention all your other favours and benefits to us And in this matter, just as perhaps no one else of our nation will have had better opportunity than myself of knowing how much we owe to your Highness, so I would desire in the name of them all, and ifitwere possible more earnestlythan allofthem , tothankyoufor it and show the gratitude that is due This, however, is a very difficult matter for me , not only because of the immense number and value of the benefits we have received directly from your Highness, but also on account of those which His Eminence Cardinal Farnese keeps conferring on us daily as a result of your signal kindness and the introduction you gave us. In order to avoid being too tedious to you, I have written a fewwords onthis subject in more detailto Signor Cosimo, your Highness's secretary All that remains for us to do is to beg our Lord, in as much as He is powerful, rich and most kind, to supply for us and our nation and pay in abundant measure the debt which we owe to your Highness ; assuring you, however, that allthat increase of gratitude and heartfelt thankfulnesswhich can be looked for from men in this life, your Highness and all your honoured house willever find not only in our Cardinal (or rather your Cardinal ). but also in all the restof us who are of the same nation This God our Lord knows And may He preserve for many years your honoured person. From Rome on the 20th of August, 1587.

Your Highness's humble servant in Christ , Rob Persons

PERSONS TO SECRETARY MASI Rome, 24 February, 1588.

Parma. Archiviodi Stato, Epistolario Scelto Holograph. Molto Illustre Sigor, Non sarà bisognostendermi moltonel scriver per questi padri(1) alla Srla V. essendo che li conoscerà a bastanza dalle lettere d' altri che portano a Sua Altezza et a V.S. et dalla relatione del Sor Ugo nostro, et dalla prattica stessa, questo, so dire, che vengono per servire a Sua Alta et a V.S. con grande affetto, se in alcuna cosa si trovaranno utili, altrimente hanno di proseguir il loro viagio come a bocca più largamente diranno. Faccia Dio nostro Sigor chetrovino la Sria V. in Ingleterra, et alhora haveranno modo di servirle più, et il Cardinal nostro et io haveremo speranza de sequitar presto per compire quello che mancarà, et per fare qualche demostratione della osservanzanostra et ubligo a Sua Aa,

(1) The two Jesuits, FF. Holt and Creswell , who were sent, at the request of Cardinal Allen, to Flanders in readiness for the Armada Cf. L. Hicks, S.J. , "Cardinal Allen and The Society, " III, The Month, December , 1932 , p 534, and the authorities there cited Fr. Knox (Allen, p cxi) has mistakenly identified these two Jesuits with FF . Oldcorne and Gerard

Dio lo faccia a gloria sua, et compensilargamente in cielo la grande benignitàet munificentiadi Sua Aa et la charità segnalata diV.S. verso la Natione. Tutte l'altre cose rimetto alla rilatione delli stessi padri, particolarmentequanto grande et ardente desiderio il Cardinale ha di trovarsi con Sua Aa per servirlein tutta la vita sua, il che se V.S. l'aiuterà a procurar che sia presto, sarà il più grato ufficio de tutti l'altri che se gli potranno fare. Nemi resta altro a dire, se nondi supplicara V.S. difar humillissma riverenza da parte mia a Sua Aa con la prima commodità come, anco di raccomandarmi alla Sigrs Laura, Sigor Giovan Battista, et a tutta la casa di V.S. alla quale prego ogni abondanza di benedettioni dal cielo. Da Roma alli 24. di febraio 1588 Di V.S. molto Illustre servo affettmo in Christo Giesù Rob. personio .

[Addressed] Al molto Illtre Sigor il Sor Cosimo Massi Secretario principale del Seremo di Parma et Piacenza ,

Translation. Burges. PERSONS TO MAST , SECRETARY TO DUKE OF PARMA .

Most Illustrious Lord , Rome, 24 February, 1588 .

There will be no need for me to be very lengthy in writingto your Excellencyon behalf of these fathers ,(1) seeing that you will have sufficient information aboutthem from the letters whichthey are carrying from other people to His Highness andyourself, and from theaccount of them which our friend Mr. Hugh will give, and from actual intercourse with them. This much Ican say, that they go with the object of serving His Highness and your Excellency with great devotion , if they find that they can be useful in any matter ; otherwise they are to proceed on their journey, as they will tell you more at length with their own mouths May God our Lord grant that they find you in England and in that case they will be able to be of greater service to you, and our Cardinal and I shall hope to follow them soon and so make good anything that is lacking and give some demonstrationof our respect for His Highness and our obligations to him May God direct the matter to His glory and may He rewardhis Highness generously in heaven for his great kindness and munificence and your Excellency for your signal charity towardsour nation. I leave all other mattersto be toldby the fathersthemselves, in particular the Cardinal's keen desire to be at His Highness's side and serve him all the daysof his life; and ifyour Excellencywill help him to bring this about soon , that will be the most welcome service of all others that can be done him. And now I have no moreto say save only to beg your Excellency to give my most humble respects to His Highness at the first opportunity, as also to remember me to Donna Laura, Signor Giovani Battista, and to all your Excellency'shousehold, for which I begfrom heaven an abundance of all blessings From Rome on the 24thof Feb. , 1588

Your Excellency's most devoted servant in Jesus Christ, Rob Persons,

APPENDIX

GARNET TO ? PERSONS (1)

Arch S.J. Rom Angl 38, 11 , f. 181

18 Oct. , 1601 .

Vi è un Catholico incarcerato per debiti: era stato successore di Marco(2) in Oxonia. I malcontentili hanno fatto gran carezze; e adesso egli ne vede la cagioneessere, per havere ilsuo testimonio contro R.P.: due cose pretendevano, 1º che Marco fu cacciato fuor del Collegio per esser bastardo ; essendo che i statuti escludano simili, 2º che quando era Procuratore mise nel libro de'conti del Collegio per un certo lavoro una somma più grande, di quella, che s'è trovato nelli suoi conti privati scritti dalla sua mano: Il buon huomo fu quasi persuaso da loro, ma adesso sta sodo Al primo dice che R.P. non fu cacciato, ma essendo huomo da bene , e s'opponendo alle forberie di Squiro, questo Squiro fece tanto con li altri compagni di questo Collegio che R.P. dovesse esser ministro, se volesse restare: per la qual causa lasciò il Collegio, essendo sempre stato, come dice lui, di buona riputatione. Al secondo rispose che quelli che conosconoil modo di Oxonia, possono bene considerare, che li Procuratori hanno tanto per ogni libra (e sono soliti di ricevere da Artefici qualche cosa gratuita), e così defecerunt scrutantes scrutinium, etc.

Translation .

GARNET TO ? PERSONS.(1)

18 Oct., 1601 .

There is a Catholic in prison for debt; he had been Mark's(2) successor at Oxford. The malcontents have been making much of him; and now he sees the purpose of this to be, that they may have his testimonyagainst R.P. They made two allegations : firstly, that Mark was expelled from the College because he was a bastard; such being excluded bythe statutes; secondly, that, when hewas Bursar, he entered in the College account book, against a certain piece of work, a sum greater than is found in his private accounts under his own hand. The good fellow was all but persuaded by them, but now he stands firm. To the first count he states that R.P. was not expelled, but, because he was an honest man and resisted the knaveries of Squire, this man Squire brought such pressure to bear on the other Fellows of the College that R.P. would have been obliged to take orders if he wished tostay; andforthis reason he left the College His reputation, however , as he says, had always been good. To the second count he answers that anyone who knows the customs of Oxford can well imaginethat Bursars receive a percentage on every pound (and it is the customfor them to receive a gratuity from tradesmen)-and so their scrutiny came to nought.

(1) This documentthrows considerable lighton the charges brought against Persons as regards his life at, and departure from, Oxford. (2)A name used to designate Persons .

INSTRUCTIONES DATAE P. ROBERTO PERSONIO ET P. EDMUNDO

CAMPIANO FUNDATORIBUS . 1580.

Stonyhurst, Instructiones datae P.P. Missionariis in Anglia, 1580-1663 . They are alsoto be found in Arch S.J. Rom Instructiones, 1577-1596 , f 322 Simpson(Campion, p 99 ff ) summarises them fromanother copy in theState Archives, Brussels (1)

Finis hujus missionis(2) propositus est primum, conservandi, Christo propitio, et promovendi in fideet religione nostra Catholica omnes, qui in Anglia Catholici inveniuntur, deinde, ad eam reducendi quicunque ab ea, vel inscitia vel aliorumimpulsuaberrassent.

Ad hoc efficiendum, quod et per se arduum, et praesertim in ea regione difficillimum est, ubi perpetuo inter hostes versabuntur, et quidem ingenio peritia, malitia excellentes, duabus maxime rebus instructos esse nostros oportet, primum singulari virtute ac pietate, deinde etiam prudentia

Ad virtutem pietatemque conservandam etsi in universum dici potest sufficere, si exacte servetur modus vivendi Societatis quantum loci ratio patietur: praecipue tamen juvabitintentionisrectitudo, tum sui ipsorum diffidentiafirmavero in Deum fiducia, cujus unius est gratiam et lucem dare, tum etiam frequens ac fervens orationis et examinis studium, quo magis cum Deo conjuncti majorem ab eo spiritum, et robur(3) hauriant.

Prudentia vero, quae ad hanc provinciam requiritur, in eo maxime consistit ut sciant, quibus cum personis, quibusque temporibus, quo modo, et quibus de rebus ageredebeant. Dequibus omnibus quaedam inferiusmonebimus.

Temperantia in victu, tum ubique necessariaest, tum praecipue illic, ubi quo plures in eo genere offendentes(4) eo majorem aedificationem parient, in quibus ea virtus elucebit Itaque quantum fieri poterit conviviavitanda erunt, sed privatim utplurimum mensam habebunt, nisi quando ejusmodi essent convivae, ut nullum plane timeatur periculum.

Ut remissio, ac tepiditas magnum solet afferre detrimentum rebus ad'Dei servitium pertinentibus; ita zelus fervorqueimmodicus saepe impedit id, quod alioqui ad honorem Dei fieri potuisset Quare diligentercurandum erit ut in omnibus negotiis cum magna dexteritate et circumspectione procedatur .

Vestitum etsi necessario esse saecularem(5) oportet, tamen et moderationem et gravitatem habere debet, et omni specie carere

(1) Concerningthese instructions, cf. J. H. Pollen, S.J., " The Politics of English Catholics during the reign of Queen Elizabeth , " The Month, March, 1902, p 293; and the " English Catholicsin the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, " p 292. The text in Arch S.J. Rom will be designated by Rin marking the differences between it and the Stonyhurst text here printed

(2) R has " huic missioni"

(3) R inserts "assidue " after "robur , " but it is underlined for omission

Cf. infra, note 19

(4) R reads "offendunt. "

(5) R has the order " saecularem esse '

levitatis, et vanitatis Vestes autem ex more, et forma Societatis cum certis in locis consistent non habebunt, nisi certo appareat posse tuto haberi, et tum iis tantum utendum ad sacra facienda, audiendas Confessiones , et alia hujusmodi obeunda.

Si minus poterunt una habitare saltem dent operam, ut se quam saepissime visant, et inter se conversentur, ut se mutuoconsolentur, atque etiam consilio et opera, prout usus fuerit,juvent. (6)P. Robertus praeerit omnibus qui nunc mittuntur, donec aliter(7) statuatur, eique omnes obediant, ut nobis ipsis; atque ut ipse omnes in omni casu consolari melius possit, concedimus ei omnia privilegia et facultates, et gratias in foro conscientiae, quae concederepossumus, et in foro exteriori, quas provincialibus Societatis(8) ordinarie, Rectoribusque Collegiorum nostrorum(9) communicare solemus Ex qua autem Provincia pendere debet tota Missio,et ad quam in rebusincidentibus confugere,ipsi autem cum illic venerint, nos admonebunt, quam illi magis commodum dijudicent (10)

Si res ita procedant, ut novo operariorum subsidio egeat, scribant ad me,(11) non ad ullum alium ex Societate, ac nos, prout maxime ad Dominigloriamexpedire judicaverimus ,illis in tempore subvenire conabimur .

Quod attinet ad externos primo potius cum nobilibus , quam cum plebeis versandum erit, tumquia majorem ob fructum, tum quia contra omnem vim eos(12) defendere poterunt Deinde ex Catholicis magis cum reconciliatis , quam schismatibus; cum Haereticis nullo modo immediate agent sed incitabunt Catholicos , ut in conversione familiarium suorum unusquisque incumbat , et ad id faciendum consiliis, et argumentis illos instruent, et cum(13) jam coeperint paulo(14) mitigari illamque rabiem et odium deponere ita ut veritatemaequo animo audire parati sint; tunc Nostri, considerata rei securitate, neque tamen unquam prodentes se esse ex Societate, eos per se confirmare, pleniusque docere poterunt.

Si necessitas compellit ad disputandum cum Haereticis, abstineant se a verbis mordacibus, et parummodestis, non minus prae

(6) In R directions are here given forrecopying (1)" P. Gaspar Heywoodus praeerit, etc., donec ad P. Robertum perveniant (2) P. Guillelmus Westonus, etc. , " showing that these instructions were also issued to PP . Heywood, Holt and P. Weston respectively when they set out for the mission

(7) R reads " aliud. "

(8) In R the words " provincialibus Societatis" are noted inthe margin. They were not thereforein the first draft of the instructions

(9) The words " Rectoribusque Collegiorum nostrorum" are underlined for omission Cf. infra, note 19

(10) R reads"judicent, " and adds in margin "24 March, 1586""In itinerepraeerit P- habebitque easdem facultates P "; no doubt with reference to PP . Garnet and Southwell being sent to England.

(11) R reads "nos. "

(12) R inserts " facilius " after " vim . "

(13) R inserts " ii" after " cum"

(14) R reads " paulum "

se ferentes modestiam et charitatem, quam eruditionem , et potius utentes solidis rationibusquam acerbis contentionibus Et quoniam proprium est Haereticorum cum argumentis plane evicti sunt, nulli cedere velle, ideo nec facile, nec in conviviis vel aliis in locis ad concertationem cum illis veniat, nisi ex astantibus magna speretur utilitas , et praeterea nullum sit periculumne deferantur, et tunc evitatis rixis et jurgiis in quibus Haereticisemper superiores erunt, breviter agent, fortissima quaeque argumenta primo loco afferentes, ut sibi ipso initio authoritatem concilient

Vitanda erit conversatio familiaris cum Foeminis etiam optimis, item cum pueris ad retinendamnostri status decentiam et gravitatem

In conversatione cavere debebant(15) a multiloquio, quodsolet hominisvitia facile prodere, et apud illam praesertim nationem (16) contemptibilemfacere

Caveant diligentissime ne ullam vel minimam avaritiae et cupiditatis suspicionem praebere et propterea, nisi necessitate urgente, ne petant vel accipiant Eleemosynas; et cum necessarium fuerit, praestat ab uno velduobus fidelibuset probatisviris accipere . Denique ita se gerant ut omnes intelligant, unum illis lucrum animarum esse propositum

Nihil secum inferant ex iis, quae sub poena capitali proposita(17) sunt, ut Agnus Dei, Grana benedicta etc. neque apud se deincepsservabunt , quam prudentiametiam adhibebunt in literis secum ferendis, diligenter videntes quae ferant, et ad quos

Nemini aperiant se Sacerdotesesse, multo minus de Societate, nisi(18) magna utilitas postularet pro gloria Dei et insigni fructu animarum Atque eadem de causa etiam in itinere suam hanc Missionem, quam minime fieri poterit, apud Nostros et externos evulgabunt

Non se immisceant negotiis statuum neque huc scribant res novas ad Status pertinentes, atque illicetiam, nequeipsi sermonem injiciant, aut ab aliis injectum admittant contra Reginam.(19)

Si quis huc miserit informationes rerumIllustrissimo Cardinali Protectori ac Sanctitati proponendarum, sive ut certior fiat de eorum statu, negotiorumque progressu, sive ut gratiae aliquid petatur; videant, ut non solum vere et firme, sed etiam gravi ac prudenti atque etiam perspicuo stylo perscribantur .

(15) Debebunt ?

(16) R inserts " maxime" after " nationem "

(17) R reads " prohibita . "

(18) R inserts " vel necessitas vel " after " nisi. "

(19) R adds the following words: " nisi forte apud eos quos insigniter fideles et longo tempore probatos habuerunt et quidem tunc etiam non sine magnacausa , " all of which are underlined for omission; for on page 322 there is a note which runs: " Additiones et lineae subductae , hoc est delendae quae lineis subnotantur, et reliqua omnia inservient pro instructione P. Gasparis et Sociorum . " Hence it appears that this clause, though in the firstdraftof the Instructions drawn up for Persons and Campion, was deletedin that made for the mission of FF Heywood and Holt in 1581

Quod si vel aliqua vel aliquorum errata, vel eorum remedia significanda essent id fiat in literis separatis, adhibito tamen Consultorum judicio.

Monebunt nos quae via tutissima in mittendis literis teneri possitcum nominibus personarum et locorum ad quosdirigivelint, ad quod etiampertinentcyphrae, quae hic dabuntur, ut cum opus sit, utantur.

Translation.

INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO FR ROBERT PERSONS AND FR EDMUND CAMPION , THE FOUNDERS OF THE MISSION

The object aimed at by this mission is, firstly, to preserve, if God is propitious, and to advance in the faith and in our Catholicreligion all who are found to be Catholics in England; and, secondly, to bring backtoit whoevermay have strayedfrom it either through ignorance or at the instigation of others

To perform this task, which is of its own nature laborious and is most difficult in that part of the world particularly, where they will be continually in the midst of enemies, and these too of outstanding talent, skill and malice, it behoves our men to be armed with two weapons especially : firstly, with virtue and piety out of the ordinary; and , secondly, with prudence.

In orderto preserve their virtue and piety, although it can be said in general that it is sufficientifthey observe exactlythe Society's mode oflife so far as the conditions allow where they are stationed , yet their chief aid will be a right intention, and a combination of distrust in them themselves with a firm confidence in God to whom alone they can look for grace and light; and added to this a frequent and fervent recourse to prayer and examination of conscience, so that, being in closer union with God , they may draw spirit and strength moreconstantly from Him.

The prudence, again, which is needed in this province, consists mainly inknowingwith whom , when, in what way andwith what subjects they should deal And about all these matters we are about to make certain recommendations below .

Temperance in food, necessaryeverywhere , is especially so in places where, for the reason that many offend in that respect, those whose virtue in that matter is conspicuous will give greateredification And accordingly , so far as is possible, convivial gatherings are to beavoided , and they should usually have their meals in private, except whenthe guests are such that there is clearly no danger to be feared

Just as remissness and tepidity commonly cause great harm in matters pertaining to the service of God, in the same way zeal and fervour, when immoderate , often hinder what otherwise might have been done for the honour of God Much care must therefore be taken to proceed with great skill and circumspectionin all their affairs.

Though their dress must of necessity be that of laymen, yet it ought to be of a modest and sober kind, and to give no appearance oflevity and vanity. They are not to be in possession , however , when theyare permanently stationed , of clothes of the sort customaryin the Society , unless it is evident that they can have them perfectly safely; and in that case they are only to be used for the purpose of holding services , hearingconfessions and carrying out other dutiesof this kind.

Ifit is out ofthe questionfor them to live in community, let them at least take care to visit one another as often as possible and have intercourse, so that they may console one another and also help one another with advice and assistance, as has been our custom (6)Fr. Robert will be in charge of all who are now being sent, until otherwise determined ; and all are to obey him as they would ourselves. And, so that he may be the better able to give consolation to all in everyevent, we grant him all privileges , faculties and favours in foro conscientiae ' that we have power to grant, and in foro exteriori those that we ordinarily give to Provincials in the Society (8) and to the Rectors ofour Colleges(9) As to what province , however, the whole mission should be attached and have recourse when circumstances requireit, they themselves will advise us, after they have arrived there , which they judge to be the most convenient(10)

If such progress is made that there is need of the help of more labourers, they are to write to me, not to any other memberof the Society; and, in so far as we judge it to be most conducive to the glory of our Lord, we will try in due time to provide assistance for them

As regards intercourse with strangers, this should at first be with the upper classes rather than with the common people, both onaccount of the greaterfruitto be gathered and because the former willbeable to protect them against violence of all sorts Then, in the case of Catholics, let it be with the reconciled rather than with schismatics; with heretics they should have no direct dealings; but they will urge the Catholics each and all to strive for the conversion of the members of his family, and to enable them to do so let them give them advice and equip them with arguments ; and when they have begun to lose a little of their prejudice and to put away that fury and hatred which they had, so that they are ready to hear the truth with equanimity, then will our fathers be ablewith due regard for safety, without letting it be known, however , that they are members of the Societythemselves to confirm theirpurpose and give them fuller instruction

Ifnecessity forces them to disputewith heretics , they should refrain from biting and intemperatewords and give evidence of theirmodesty and charity not less than of their learning, and let them makeuse of solid arguments in preference to bitterwrangling And as it is a characteristic of heretics, when they are clearly beaten in argument, to be unwilling to give in to anybody, for this reason let them be slowto enter into conversation with them, either at festive gatheringsor elsewhere, unless, by reason of those present, there is hope of great gain from it and unless also there is no danger of information being given againstthem; and that being so, let them be brief and avoid quarrels and altercations, in which the heretics will always have the best of them , and let them produce all their strongest arguments first, so as to get the upper hand from the very beginning

Familiar conversation with women, even the best of them, will be a thingto be shunned, as also with boys, thus preservingthe decorum and gravity due to our stateoflife

Inconversationthey ought to be on their guard againstgarrulity; this is wont quickly to reveal a man'sfaults and render him contemptible, especially in the eyes of that nation. Theymust be very carefulnot to give rise to any, even the slightest, suspicion of avarice and greed; and to this end, unless the need is

pressing, they are not to askor accept alms And ifit should be necessary, it is better to accept it from one or two loyal and tried men. Finally let them bear themselves in such a way that all can see that their sole purpose is the gain of souls

They are to take in with them none of those articles which have beenproscribed underpain of death, such as Agnus Deis, blessedgrains, etc.; nor will they keep them on their persons henceforward ; this same prudence they will also observe in carrying letters about with them , looking carefully to what letters they carry and to whom .

They are to let no one know that they are priests, still less that they are members of the Society , unless great hope of profit should demand it in order to give glory to God and gain a notable harvest of souls And for the same reason, even on their journey, they will let this mission of theirs be known as little as possible, either to ours orto strangers

They are not to mix themselves in the affairs of States, nor should they recount news about political matters in their letters to this place (Rome), or to that (England); and there also they are to refrain from talk against the Queen and not allow it in others (19)

If any of them send reports here for submission to the illustrious Cardinal Protector and His Holiness, either to inform him oftheir circumstances and the progress oftheir business, or to ask for somefavour , letthem seetoit that what they write is not only true and undeniable , but also presented in a style that is grave and prudent as well as being clear

And should it be necessary to draw attention to mistakes or faults committedby someone or to the remedies these require, let it be done in a separate letter, not omitting to give the views of the consultors .

They will let us know the safest way we can use for sending letters, giving us the names of the persons and places to whom they would have them addressed; and for this purpose ciphers are useful , and they will be supplied here for use when necessary .

IL MODO COME SI PUO PROCEDERE CON TUTTI SORTI DI PERSONE PER CONVERTIRLEE RIDURLE A MIGLIORVITA SECONDO L'ORDINE E MODO CHE TENNEROIL PADRE ROBERTO PERSONIO E PADRE EDMONDO CAMPIANO SCRITTO DAL SIGR GEORGIO GILBERTI ANNO 1583

Stonyhurst, Coll P, f 330 ff There is another copy, Arch S.J. Rom , Hist Coll. Ang Hib Scot , f. 67 ff.(1)

Entrato che sia alcuno Padre o Sacerdote litterato in paese hereticoche si cerchi ungentilhomo per compagnochefussezeloso, fedele, secreto, e risoluto d'aiutarlo in quel servitio di Dio, e che havesse il modo di farsi a tutti due le spese honoratamente e che fusse molto ben conosciuto per buon compagno e praticato nel paese strade e camini , nelli costumi e dispositione delli Signori e (1) Father Grenehas added the following note in the margin: " Pare che questo scritto nel libro qui citato (at his time preserved in the English College), sia l'originale e vi sono molti errori nella lingua Italiana e percio malamente si può intenderese nonda un Inglese E però un'ottimo discorso . " The document is printed here as copied by Grene without any attempt to correct mistakes. V

popolo del paese e che havesse molti parenti, amici e notitia (2) Con un tale debbe giongersi acciochècon esso potrebbe comparire et praticare liberamente in ogni luogo publico, et privato, vestito da nobile con più sorte da apparimento et garbo per meglio conversare fra le genti senza suspetto et anco mutare spesso il nome , vestimenti cavalli e non venire in quelle parti senza causa dove si cerca per lui, manco dire senza qualche consideratione ad alcuno et massime alli servitori d'altrui ne a suoi proprii, che camino si farà o a che casa o luogo si anderà, e quando si vuoleinformare inanzi della strada, che la dimanda in certo modo di discorso, di che Signori stanno in quelle bande e ragionando di tale heretico di tale Cattolico como sono stimati, quanto stanno discosti l'un dall'altroe così havendo imparato il nome di qualche heretico o villa che sta vicino alla casa del Cattolico si potrà dimandare quantemiglia ci sono e che strada si suol fare per andarvi e poi essendo venuto vicino alla casa del Cattolico può dimandare di qualche putto, donna o semplice più particolarmente . Ma per levar molti di questi fastidii sarà necessario d'havere una carta della descrittione del paese villaggii e dunque non accaderàspesso queste informationi et in questo modo quando li heretici cercassero di pigliarlopotrà più facilmente scamparedelli mani loro et caminare più sconosciutamente et quantoalle spese del Padre essendolifatte per un solo due o tre insieme, potràpiù liberamente senza rispetto dire, tacere, fare, e riprendere dove, e quando sarà bisogno, e solicitareli Cattolici per dare larghe elemosine alli altri sacerdoti che vengono per beneficio dell'anime loro et alli prigionatie poveri Cattolici e se s' offeriscano a contribuire e darlo nelle mani al Padre, che le pigli mentre si trovino in buona dispositione altrimente può constituiresuo compagno ò un altro per riceverle, overo consegnareun luogo et una personadove et al che lui istessodarà sua elemosina e per più beneficio del commune bisogno, sarà meglio di farli dare un tanto à ciascuno ogni sei mesi o anno e pigliandoquesto ordine fra li Cattolici per tutto dove si vada , si farà certo et buono sostenimento. Di più quelli che hanno aquistate malamente richezzee non sanno a chi far restitutione, o sevi fosse pericolo rendere li denari manifestando per quello atto Cattolico, potrà in tal caso farlo dare qualche parte a queste operepie: ma perchè non si troverà compagni ne chi farannoquesti ufficii ne spese per ogni uno solamente a persone rare, dotti e di gran talento nel predicare basterà alli altri che siano raccommandati da casa, a casa, da gentilhomo a gentilhomo sotto pretesto d'homini che trattano alcuninegotii e così possonosenza sospetto andare e praticare soli e pigliare elemosine che li sono offerte e quel che avanza dare alli altri sacerdoti che mancano o alli Cattolici prigioniet quando viene alcun Padre o Sacerdotepredicatore alla casa d'un Cattolico che mandi intorno per li suoi parenti, amici e vassalli Cattolici o heretici pure che siano fidati per sentire la predica acciochè vi potrà essere numero conveniente et cheil

(2) Grene adds in the margin:"Tale fuil Sigr Gilberti individuocompagno del Personio in Inghilterra. "

sacerdotenon indugiasse poi troppo facendo statione o dimora in case e luoghi vicini l'un all'altro che ne potrebbe dare sospetto e farlo scoprire più presto e sarà necessario che il Sacerdoti si distribuiscono per diversi luoghi et ogni uno stia nella casa di qualche gentilhomo o altro come parente, amico maggiordomo o qualche officio di creditoe poco travaglio per non impedirela sua divotione e che pigliasse anco (se la famiglia nella quale egli sta non sia moltogrande) la cura d'un certo circuitointornoo d'alcune famiglie vicine perche difficilmente si troverà Sacerdoti assai per ogni famiglia e se lefamiglievicinevenissero spesso alla casadove si dimora il Sacerdote sarebbe presto aveduto dalli heretici , sarà ancora conveniente che doppo che un Sacerdote sia stato e fatto l'ufficio suo in una casa per qualche tempo che mutasseluogo con un altro sacerdote (3)e s'andasse stare con un altro Cattolico e rimandasse il sacerdote che(3) trovò ivi al luogo donde egli viene equesto contracambio sarà utile per diversi rispetti farà scampare più li sacerdoti e le case delli Cattolici resteranno senza suspetto ecciterà un novo spirito di divotione nelli Sacerdoti per eseguire l'ufficio loro con ogni diligenza vedendo che hanno da fare e trattare con persone che non conoscono interiormente crescerà il giudicio e pratica loro nel sperimentare diversità di casi di conscienze, d'humori e di persone e li Cattolici anche staranno più cauti e vigilanti delle loro attioni e imperfettioni havendo per sottomettersi alla cura d'un altro Sacerdote

Oltra questi Cattolici s' ha di trattare con tre sorte di persone cio è heretici, scismatici, Cattolici freddi.

Come il Padre può trattare con heretici senza introdutione di compagno .

Se vi fosse un Signore heretico non malitioso che altrimente fusse huomo da bene la cui conversione importarebbe assai per lo essempio che ne pigliarebbero l'altri amici famigliari e seguaci e che non havesse modo per introdursi nel amicitia sua potrà dunque in tal caso pigliarsi buon animo et andarvi da se dirli che egli facendo quel camino non poteva fare di manco dinon visitarlo havendo sentito per tutte quelle parti d'intorno tanto bene dilui per la sua cortesia et hospitalità è però desiderava per conoscerlo e così in Inghilterra dove non si fa troppo conto delle spese che si spende nel hospitalità un tal venendo in questa maniera sarà spesse volte molto carezzato se quel Signore trova in esso che habbia delle buone parti belli ragionamenti e discorso et in questo caso bisogna che quel Padre si pensi prima che venghi del inclinatione di quel Signore in che cosa si diletti più acciochès'accomodasse all' humore suo per aquistare benevolenza come se nelli studii, lettere, in cosa di governo, politia, discorsi, se nell' attività e essercitii lodabili del corpo bisogna anche lui mostrarsi di pigliarne piacere parlarne e farne quanto sarà convenevole; se si di-

(3) The words " e s'andasse " to " che" were omitted by Grene . They have been suppliedfromthe copy in the Jesuit archives, in order to complete the sense .

letti nelle cose malencoriche nel fare del bravo, giocare, nella caccia, o altre vanità non si debbe riprendere questo nell'principio ma soportarloa dire e fare con volto piacevole e piegarsi quanto che si può senza peccato alla sua dispositione sinchè habbiano preso più sicurtà e amicitia insieme .

Di questi heretici si trovanoquatro sorti, ciò è heretici liberali miseri, malitiosi e per ignoranza.

1. Liberali . A questi si potrà andare sicuramente perchè si dilettano nel hospitalità di tenere porta aperta e viverelautamnente et essere per honore loro di recevere tutti

2. Miseri. Si metterà in qualche pericolo, per andare aquesti,e forze riceverà poche carezze, e spesso rimandano le genti, che vanno a visitarli, se non si porti destramente.

3. Malitiosi. A questi non bisogna andare senza introdutione d'amico perchè per odio c' hanno alla fede Cattolica, subito piglieranno sospetto che sia tristo, e viene per ignannarlo o che sia Giesuità o Sacerdote venuto per sedurlo .

4. Per ignoranza. Di questi si faràgran guadagno e sono convertibili assai e stanno in heresia perchè non sanno ne sono stati instrutti in altra religione, ma si sono persuasi d'havere la vera fede e questi diventanoli più ferventi Cattolici quando sono convertiti, non stimando vita, robba ne niente per l'amore di Christo e per sodisfare li errori e peccati passati e sono facili a conversare e convertire per loro semplice intentione massime se siano savii e dotti e moltissimi ne sono convertiti ogni giorno, perchè il Santo Spirito per queste persecutioni, martirii , dispute, et libri li mette e getta dubii e scropoli e paura nelle conscienze loro, il che li fa dimandare e cercarela verità e d'essere desiderosi di conferire con li Cattolici, ma questo sarà un caso molto raro, quando non si troveràmezzo d'introdure tal Padre alle persone sopradette,pure se accadesse che havesse questo santo zelo bisogna rimettersi nelle mani di Dio che li farà la strada per essere suo il negotio e però non mancherà ne lascierà di esser preso, se non sarebbea maggior gloria sua: sarà allora necessario che pigliasse il nome di qualche casatadella quale ne sono molti di quel nome in diverse provincie nel Regno, e dove pensa che quel Signore habbi manco notitia o praticca per non esser scoperto o trovato in falsità, del che se si teme potrà dire che egli non è cosi bene conosciuto in quelle parti per essere stato poco a casa sua ò vissuto a piacere in Londra, o altrove, overo che è stato fora del Regno in altri paesi per curiosità di vedere il mondo e li costumi delli homini

Ilmodo di trattare con li heretici per convertirli

Essendo il Padre condotto a casa d'un heretico bisogna che il compagno dicesse che sia amico suo e che lo pregava di farli compagnia a casa sua per non andare solo et così il compagno li farà pigliare amicitia insieme l'uno con l'altro e dipoi dare occasione per discorrere di matteria accomodata al tempo alla tavola quando mangiano e quando ci sono molti insieme, d'istorie o cose

simili dilettevoli per mostrarsi ben di sapere ; e tal volta ancora della religione o qualche punto della fede secondo che si vede la compagnia inclinata e ben disposta, altrimente ecciterà discordia e si scoprirà Cattolicotroppo presto, che impediràdi fareil frutto che si aspetta e sminuirà l'autoritàappresso di loro e però sarà buono per evitare il parlar delle cose della religione, fin che si vederà tempo oportunoquando la famigliarità et amicitia saràpiù cresciuta insieme e poi faccia quanto potrà e perchèilspirito heretico e tanto dedito alla superbia che pochi si ne convertono con dispute perchè non vogliono essere vinti, e Dio non suol dare la sua gratia a quelli tali, perchè non ne sono capabili , perchè lo Spirito Santo non entra se non nel core humile però bisogna trovare quel mezzo che più lo potrà inclinareall' humiltà, e piegarsi con la consideratione di se stesso, disprezzo del mondo , e simili: E perchè se parlasse ex abrupto gli darebbe tal disgusto che non volesse più prestare l'orecchie, bisogna andare molto destramente senza affaticarlo troppo ma in certe maniere e tempi a proposito come se lo vedesse in qualche malinconia o desolatione d'animo allora si potrà sotto pretesto di consolarlo, parlare, della miseria humana, come è piena questa vita di guai che non ci sarà riposo sino che non siamo uniti in cielo con Dio, che l'anima del huomo è spesso desolata perchè essendo partecipante della natura divina non può contentarsi e trovare riposo in queste cose basse , della gloria del Cielo, et il gaudio che hanno ivi li Santi quanto poco tempo patirono questi lievi travagli e per ciò fruiscono eterna gloria ; dell'amore che porta Dio ad un'anima come appare per l'incarnatione e passione del Nostro Signore; della cura che ha di noi dandoci Angeli per guide e Santi per protettori per diffenderci dalinsidie del demonio e pericolidi questo mondo dell'inferno e delle pene delli dannati e le cause perchè sono stati dannati. Si può ancora compassionareil misero stato delli Turchi, infideli, e peccatori (senza toccare li heretici per non offenderlo inanzi che cominci a piegare) et altri simili discorsi che Dio inspirerà pigliando anche l'oportunità del tempo che rende l'huomo più atto alla divotione come in tempo sereno di cose d'elevatione di spirito in tristo o piovoso di cose più gravi, nelle feste raccontare lavita di quel Santo, o che fece Nostro Signore in quel giorno, nella Dominica la sanctificatione di essadoppo che Dio hebbefattoogni cosa esempremaiaplicare allegramente la similitudineetessempio a noi stessise sia nella quaresima o quatrotempi mostrare comeè stato instituito per autorità della chiesa, consenso del mondo e per bene et utilità publica La sera doppo l'Ave Maria è tempo attissimo per farl'huomo capire et intrare in qualunque considerationeperchè allora ogni cosa sta quieta e riposata il mondo pare desolato e solitario, li huomini , animali, uccelli, et ogni cosa ritirati, li ornamenti e piaceri del giorno sono oscurati, il sole fugito in altra regione e la terra divenuta tenebrosa similitudine della mortee fine del mondo. Queste cose moveranno assai, il luogho, anche s'è da considerare come se l'huomo si trovi nella città si può andare nel giardino o all'orto se sta in villa nella campagna

LETTERS OF FATHER PERSONS , s.j.

potrà spassegiarsiper li prati, boschi o massimeappressoa qualche fiume. Mille altri modi Dio presenterà a quello che si drizza e s'affatica per guadagnare l'anime li quali non si possonomettere minutamente in scritto Bisogna anche osservare le circonstanze nel procederecon un heretico di non toccarlo tropponel vivo massime in presenza d'altri, ne scoprire li suoi diffetti, ne mostrare troppopresto di conoscere le imperfettioni sue, ma trattarlodolcemente e dicorrere nellaterza persona; potrà ancoragionare a posta con un altro acciochè lui sentisse ma non parere che facesse così per quella intentione Il compagno del Padre può aiutare molto in questa conversione d'anime per fare la strada più facileperchè havendo famigliarità può trattare più liberamente e dire ciò che il Padre al primo non potrà et bisogna anco che il compagno cheè praticcatoche conosce la natura e dispositione delle personeinstruisca primoil Padre dellidiffetti e peccati, alli quali sono più soggetti delle passioni dellimancamenti delle inclinationidella virtùebuone parti e di tutte le cose che sono da emendare acciochè il Padre essendo instrutto d'ogni particolarità possa formare li suoi ragionamenti privati e le sue prediche publiche più a proposito, o di riprensione emendatione o lode portandosi il predicatore in questomoltodiscretamente e che rinchiudesse le particolaritàsotto parole generali e mescolasse il miele et fiele insieme che ogni uno delli auditori si sentirebbe vivamente toccato in se e nondimeno pensasse che nissuno della compagnia l'accorgesse o l'avedesse , fuora di se stesso, et alli heretici più frutto fanno le prediche de consigli delladirettione della vita del salvare l'anima e simili altre meditationichemateriadi dispute controversie che più presto l'incitano a contentione che ad emendatione della vita e conversione. Cosìprimachesi metteseatrattare con unheretico circa la religione il meglio mezzo per convertirlo sarà (se pure si potrà fidare di lui che non scoprirà il sacerdote et auditori) d'introdurlo a sentire la predica, la quale li sarà come una preparatione alla conversione e non so altra ragione perchè Dio l'apre l'intelletto e muove la volunta più presto alla predica, quando non se ne tratta di matteria di controversia ne di fede che inanzi quando si disputavano e conferivano insieme, se non che Iddio per quel suo atto del venire per sentire la predica sua l'inspira con l'humiltà d'esserepoi instrutto e li da la gratia di essere capacedellaverità e si vede per esperienza che più sono convertiti per via del predicare che per altra et inanzi alla predica gioverà assai che il compagno lodasse il Padre o Sacerdote per huomo dottissimo , savio e virtuoso e questo fa crescere l'autorità et un concetto di lui e lo faranno tenere in più stima e sentirla con più riverenza. Bisogna ancora avertire che il Sacerdote non facia cosa (benchè sia per non manifestarsi) che potrebbe quando sarà conosciuto per sacerdote dare mala edificatione o apparenza di scandalo perchè li heretici sono moltoinclinati a pigliarescandaloin unaltro, massime in un Sacerdote, e tollerareogni cosa in se stessi e nella loro heresia setta, però si deve havere una casta e santa conversatione specialmente fra le donne fuggiretroppa legiadrezza eriso

di non ballare ne meno giocare per grande somma se nonper poca cosa o passatempo e ciò rare volte e a qualche gioco lodevolee lecito e sempre in compagnia modesta richiesto da loro, astenere dall'eccesso del mangiare e bere : Non deve essere troppo scropoloso o stretto in quelle cose che sono bagatelle e da niente, in rispettodel bene che ne potrebbe venire o della conversione d'un anima il che farà pensare all'heretico che la Religione Cattolica è un' giogo intolerabile e troppo austero e così si perderà animo e si ritirerà inanzi che habbi gustato della dolcezza spirituale e però bisogna mostrare sempre una certa allegrezza modesta, acciochè pensasse che quella procedesse della purità e dolcezzadella sua religione che rende li homini così contenti e pieni di consolatione. Di più bisogna comporre libretti in piccolo volume, altrimente non si leggeranno ne faranno frutto mostrando li abusi e la mala vita delli heretici , massime di Luthero e Calvino, etc.; come hanno ingannato il popolo falsificando la sacra Scrittura e Dottori favellando bugie delli Catholici e Santa Fedepoi dichiararli li punti in controversia come concordano con la vera tradottione della Scrittura et opinione delli Dottori, invitarli ancora adispute publiche consegnando Giudici indifferenti di scrivere o esplicare qualche passo della Scrittura publicamente l'un doppo l'altro, e così far stampare ogni cosa overo comprare una stampa e tenerla secreta per il bisogno

Come si deve procedere con li scismatici.

Alli scismatici si potrà scoprirlialcune volte chi è, a che effetto viene, e qualche volta no, e questo deve stare nel giudicio del Padre stesso perchè se qualche scismatico li sia parente amico o di buono animo e core valente, e che stà in errore per vivere nelle delitie essere honoratoo maneggiare negotii e uffittii, o per essere ignorante del pericolo nel qual vive o per negligenza allora si può trattare con lui liberamente ma se fosse timido sospettoso, o troppo pauroso che saria castigato o perderia delli suoi beni o stimatione se fosse conosciuto che un sacerdote era a casa sua bisognerebbe adunque che vi andasse con astutia e discretione perchè altrimente si può dubitare che tal persona non lo vuol ricevere ne manco vedere, overo per farsi grato alli heretici pensandodilevare il suspetto che si tiene di lui e parerebuonsuddito, li si metterà mano adosso e manderà a qualche Signore heretico d'essere essaminato e messo prigione e spesso quando la Regina trova un tale, li gionge con qualche tristo heretico in ufficio di castigare li Cattolici, per dare scandalo e farlo odioso alli altri Cattolici perchè sannoche simili scismatici alle volte trattano crudelmente li Cattolici quando in publico li vengono dinanzibenchè in secreto e sotto mano li favoriscono; altrimenteli levano l'ufficio però per evitare il male, il compagno deve introdurre il Padre overo trovare qualche scusa da se stesso, come si è detto inanzi , ecosìpoco a poco pigliareoccasione di raggionamenti a proposito; overo sarà più espediente che il compagno comminciasse da lontano, come intrinseco amico di consigliarlo circa la salvatione dell'

anima sua tanto eccelente, creata per servire Iddio in gloria sempiterna e non per attacarsi a queste bruttezze che durano che per un momento e poi farsi preda del demonio, e che egli per carità s'ingegnava e pigliava ogni fatica di trovarliun buon Padre spirituale per indrizzarlo nella via di salute e ridurlo all'unità della Chiesa Santa, fuor della quale non ci è salvatione, e che potrà bene sodisfarlo di tutte le sue obiettioni Et allora se lo vede bene inclinato ad ascoltare questi consiglii potrebbe dire che per quel effetto e per amor suo a menato seco tale persona prudente , dotto, virtuoso , e di gran stima, e dire di simili lodi e farlo prima se si può sentire la sua predica perchè quella li sarà come il fuoco alla cera e farlo atto a pigliarebuoni consiglii formando la predica secondo l'humore della persona nel persuadere la magnanimità lodare il zelo, essortareall' oratione e divotioneinculcare la vanità del mondo, la gloria del Cielo, premio de beati, pene de' dannati et horrore dell'inferno: doppo lasciandolo masticare un poco le cose detta nella predica tratterà con esso in particolare: Questi non hanno altro refugioche certe deboli scuse, ciò è che Dio vede loro buon animo che credano nella fede Cattolica et hanno in odio l'heresia e sperano che si haveranno escusati poichè non potranno vivere altrimenteper conto delle legge strettepersecutioni o vechiezza inabilea durare travaglio o prigionamento : puredirannoche non fannobene , ma che espettano un buon tempo quando faranno rincompensa del passato in quel mentre si metteranno nella misericordia di Dio e faranno questo bene che la moglie, e figliuoli, e servi, non andasseroalle chiese heretiche daranno elemosine, e terranno un sacerdote a conto suo per reconciliarlo se fusse necessità et in questo modo lusingando se stessi s'ingannano pensando di sodisfare alli loro peccati col' far bene alli altri. Sono alcuni scismatici che vogliono mantenere essere lecito andare alcune volte alle chiese d'heretici o alle prediche loro non havendo intentione d'ascoltar l'orationi ne parole loro o con protestationeche egli sia Cattolico e non viene per amore alla Religione loro o sentire le prediche se non per ubidienza alla Regina allegando l'essempii, come da Naaman Siro, et altri Questo procede da una superbia delle loro proprie opinioni overo per dare qualche solazzo , et aquietare l'anime loro che spesso si rimorde: nondimeno si persuadono così , e non vogliono pensare ne sentire il contrario, acciò forse non li venisse compuntione o' perturbationedi core; e però con questi si ha da procedere dolcemente perchè difficilmente veranno al ragionamento ne manco si lasciano introdurre alle prediche delli sacerdoti ma se pur restino ostinati dunque all' hora bisognerebbetoccarli più al vivo ciò è che devono pigliarequesto per vocatione di Dio e sarà un'resistere allo Spirito Santo, che è tanto pericoloso che forse Dio li abbandonerà per haver fatto così poca stima del beneficio, e gratia offerta e se morissero in questi termini sariano dannati all'inferno et all'ora ricordarli di qualche essempio d'alcuni che conoscessero , se potrà che morivano subito senza haver tempo di riconsiliarsi alla Chiesa o che havessero qualche terribile esito per giudicio di Dio per il poco conto

che fecero delle offerte e compuntionidello Spirito Santo. Alcuni rimangono scismatici per vergogna di confessare qualche peccato, nel qualvivono, o perchè non si risolvono dilasciarlo overo perchè non possono essere assoluti senza dispensatione come essere maritati nelli gradi o casi prohibiti havendo molti figliuoli insieme; li due primi casi non si possonosoportare ma in questo lo discreto sacerdote non vedendo rimedio pronto può allegerire il peso di conscienza acciò non intrassero in disperatione dando speranza d'ottenere dispenza e non lasciare in quel mentre diracconcigliarli per salvare le povere anime massime se quando il maritaggiofu fatto non lo sapevano e per l'avenire si contentino di stare a quello li ordinerà la Chiesa circa di loro perchè la semplicità, e buona intentione delle persone per gratia di Dio basterà e potrà più facilmente tollerare questo caso quando uno delli due o il marito, o la moglie sia heretico, et causerà odio fra di loro, scandalo publico, o pericolo al Cattolico Questi casi anco spesso accadono quando ne la moglie ne lo marito lo sa et tal'horo il sacerdotedeve tenerlosecreto appressodi se per non darli fastidio a loro, non vedendo rimedio ; ma come buon Medico e Padre cerchi di havere dispensatione Medesimamente si ha da procedere con sacerdoti scismatici dolcemente con certa suavità dandoli buone parole, metterli nel primo luogo alla tavola portareriverenza alla vechiezzaloro e simili cerimonie per introdurre la famigliarità et amicitia riducendo a memoria il felice secolo quando servivano nelle cure loro, raggionare del numero dell' anime nelle parochie della divotione di quel tempo lodare l'eccellenza del sacerdotio , il bene che viene per il Santissimo Sacrificio, il bisognodellaChiesa , come patiscono l'anime in purgatorio , le corone digloria che perdono vivendoin scisma, il scandalo che danno; grande e terribile giudicio di Dio che haveranno doppo questa breve ombra di vita

Il modo che si ha da tenere con li Cattolici freddi

Con li Cattolici freddi e mondani si deve procedere come ho detto di sopra, alcune volte con suavità, tal'ora con più asperità ma massime e più ordinariamente con cose di spirito, e zelo con essempii di magnanimitàd'alcuni che hanno combattuti valorosamenteper honore e gloria di Dio, d'altri che hanno patiti tormenti e morte constantemente per amore di Dio, e per giustificaree affermare la verità, altri che sprezzorono il mondo, le delitie, richezze , honori possessioni come cose di poca valuta et daniente e vissero poi vita strettissima per aquistare il regno celeste nel' altro mondo come sono i martiri, confessori, religiosi, etc. tutti li quali essempii ci sono , spechii da imitare perchè non ci manca a noi chenon mancavano alorofuor della buona voglia e desiderio, Dio ci offerisce la gratia come faceva a loro e però possiamo fare comefecero loro ma se non cerchiamo questa perfettione almanco non ci lasciamo essere vinti vilmenteda queste cose basse e infime e fatti schiavi del peccato, e del Diavolo, contra tutta ragionee giudicio e contra il fine al che fummo creati peggio delle bestie et animaliche seguitano l'instinto dellanatura. però che ci risvę-

gliassimo di questo sonnomortale che pigliassimo animocome veri figliuoli seguaci e servi di Christo Nostro Signore, e comminciassimo una volta, Dio ci metterà la mano e ci darà forza di perseverare e finire: Di simili discorsi bisogna haverne copia assai et a questi Cattolici pigri come anco a tutte sorti di gente aiutano assaissimo libri spirituali per movere la divotione: questo mancamento di zelo viene spesso dalla tepidezza e pigritia del sacerdote che non tiene l'occhio diligente sopra di loro ne l'insegna per resistere alle tentationi discernere li peccati pregare come devono ne manco essaminar la conscienza, per drizzare le loro attioni e vita; ma attendono a niente o alla parola nudaleggendononsapendo cheleggono per mancamento di sapereuna formae modo di repellere le distrattioni e tentationi che il demonio intermette massime in tempo d'oratione o quando si vuol fare altro bene per levarli il merito Et in questo punto alcuni sacerdoti vecchi si trovavono colpevoli perchè solevano dire solamente la loro Messa e attendere poi alla quiete e ricreatione loro overo passare il tempo con loro padroni, o altri Signori allegramente insieme, soportando troppo il peccato, la pigritia, e negligenza, lasciando di solicitare le persone alla divotione, e d'andare inanzi nelle virtù, a confessarsie communicarsi spesso, ma seguitando il costume d'alcuni anni passati d'una volta l'anno la Pasqua Così che quando vennero le gente a confessarsi si sono scordati delli peccati commessi , cosi cheil mancamento della quotidiana e particolare instrutioneèstato gran causa delle loro tepidezze et anco ignoranza, e però come non si avedevano del peccato della mente, come dell'ira, invidia, superbia, avaritia se non fossero li peccati che si fanno per atto come la gola, e lussuria che facilmente si sanno Così non attendevano a corrigere l'interiore huomo con le pie meditationihumiltà patienza, ma più presto si posero nelle cose esteriori come nelli venerdi vigilie e gran parte della quaresima astenere in pane et aqua e simili e però quando s'abatte con tali persone, bisogna cercare mezzo di separare queste due qualità fredde e giongere con altre più calde per eccitare zelo nel sacerdote e nel Cattolico e però il Padre può fare in questo modo Farà molte carezze al sacerdote e poi nella sua predica inanziil Padrone della casa mostrare in che modo l'homo deve regersi e fare che vorebbe vivere virtuosamente nel favore di Dio e salvare l'anima sua et eccitare in se divotione che potesse andare ogni giorno migliorando dichiarararà anco la causadella tepidezza, e poco zelo, e fredezzanella divotione, e li pericoli che vengono per quella e così il sacerdote si sentirà pienamente toccato e si emenderà per amore di Dio o per non entrare in disgratia con suo Signoreet il Cattolicovedendo il mancamento e diffetti del suo sacerdote ne sarà dispiaciuto e rimorso in conscienza et chiederà instrutione del Padre. Allora egli per piacere a tutti due puo mettere in luogo di quel sacerdote un altro più fervente per instruire il Signore e riformare la casa e famigliasua e preferire il sacerdotecon qualche altroSignore già instruttoe zeloso che vuol che si facesse il debitosuo ma che sia più honorato che l'altro primo se si può acciochè il sacerdote

restasse sodisfatto del Padre che egli l'ha fatto per honorarloe darli più contento e non altrimente Molti di questi Cattolici sono tanto fredi e tepidi che non si curano troppo di sentire spesso la Messa ne fare oratione ne digiunare e quando si doveriano fare l'astinenza riempono la pancia con molte robbe e questi sono quelli che non sentono scropoli e quando sono instruttiet avertiti sentono anco un disgusto grande e quando si persuade per emendare la vita, e vivere più strettamente vorebbero ben fare allora il santo e buono e guadagnare il Cielo ma li dispiacciono le fatiche e così si ritirano indietro Altri sono che voriano far bene e questi faranno grande astinenza legeranno forse l'ufficio della Madonna e cento altre orationi nel giorno e pensano senon lofannoche peccano e pure non lascieranno in questa loro divotione di commettere peccati: ambe due queste genti lo fanno di una certa ignoranza l'una sorte perchè non vogliono imparare , l'altra perchè li mancanobuoni e diligenti pastori per instruirlinella vita spirituale.

Translation.

A WAY TO DEAL WITH PERSONS OF ALL SORTS SO AS TO CONVERT THEM AND BRING THEM BACK TO A BETTER WAY OF LIFEBASED ON THE SYSTEM AND METHODS USED BY FR. ROBERT PERSONS AND FR . EDMUND CAMPION : WRITTEN BY GEORGE GILBERT IN 1583

As soon as any father or learned priest has entered an heretical country he shouldseek out some gentleman to be his companion . This man should be zealous, loyal, discreet and determined to help him in this service of God, and should be able to undertake honourably the expenses of both of them. He should have a first-rate reputation as a good comrade and as being knowledgeable about the country, the roads and paths , the habits and disposition of the gentry and people ofthe place, and should be a man who has many relationsand friends and much local information He should associate himself with a man ofthis sort so as to be able with his aid to appear and mix freely everywhere , both in public and in private, dressed as a gentleman and with various kinds of get-up and disguises so as to be better able to have intercourse with people withoutarousing suspicion ; and he should also frequently change his name, his dress, his horse, and not come needlessly to places where search is being made for him, and still less tell anyone, without due consideration , especially other people's servants or even his own, what road he is going to take or for what house or place he is making; and when information is desired beforehand about theroad , itshouldbe sought in courseof conversation about the gentlemen whoareliving inthat part ofthecountry,mentioningsuch andsuch a heretic and such and such a Catholic, asking what their reputations are, how far distant they are from one another; and havingthus learnt the name of some heretic or country seat which is near to the house ofthe Catholic, he can enquire how manymiles away it is, and whatis the usual road used to get there; and then, when he has come close to the Catholic house, he can make more detailed inquiryfrom some boy or woman or yokel But to do away with much trouble of this sort it will be necessary to have a map of the country and villages, for there will not often be an opportunity of getting information from any one . In this way, when the heretics seek to take him,it will be

more easy for him to slip out of their hands and to travel without being recognised In regard to the Father's expenses, as they will be incurred by one person only or two or three together, he will be able to be morefree in what he says, omits to say, does or findsfault with, without respect of persons, where and whenthere is need; and he will be able to invite the Catholics to give large alms to other priests, who may come for the benefit of their souls, and to prisoners and poor Catholics ; and if they offer to contribute and to hand their offering to the Father, let him accept it while they are well disposed; otherwise he can appoint his companion or some one else to receive thealmsor designate a place where, and a person to whomthe donorhimselfshall bestow his alms; and for the better service of the common need it will be best to arrange for it to be given to them, so much to each , six-monthly or yearly By instituting this arrangement among the Catholics wherever he goes, a reliable and satisfactory livelihood will be assured Again, those who have acquired wealth dishonestlyand do notknow to whom they should make restitution, or if there should be risk , if the money were returned, of showing by so doingthatthey are Catholics , in that case he can make them give some portion to these works of piety. But there will not always be companions tobe found or persons to do them these services or undertake the payment of expenses for every one, but only for persons out of the common who are learned and have great skill in preaching ; and so it will be sufficient in other cases for them to have introductions from house to house and from one gentleman to another, pretending that they are men engaged in some business negotiations ; and thus they are able, without rousing suspicion, to travel and do their business alone , and to take any alms that is offered them: anything more than required they can give to other priests who need it or to Catholic prisoners When any Father or priest, who is a preacher, comes to the house of a Catholic, he should send around the neighbourhood for the latter's relations and friends and dependantsCatholic or heretic, so long as theyare trustworthyto hear the sermon,sothat therewill bea suitable number , and so that the priest may not in that case be too much delayed by making it a stopping place and lingering in houses and places that are close to one another, thus giving rise to suspicion and causing him to be detected sooner It will be necessary also for the priests to be stationed in various parts of the country and for each of them to stayat the house of some gentleman or other, as though he were a relation, friend or steward, or in some office of dignity but little work , so as not to interfere with his own calling; and he should also undertakethe charge (unless the family with whom he is staying is a very large one) of a certain district in the neighbourhood , or ofa number of neighbouring families, because it will be very difficult to find priests enough for every family; and if families in the neighbourhood were to come often to the house at which he is stopping, the priest would soon be noticed by the heretics It will be convenient also that, after a priest has stayed and exercised his functions in a house for some time, he should change places with another priest and go and stay with anotherCatholic, and send the priest he finds there to the place from whence he has come This exchange will be useful in various ways : it will give better chance of escape to the priests, and the houses of Catholics will remain free from suspicion ; it will give rise to a new spirit of devotion in the priests, causing them to perform their office with all diligence, seeing that they will have to

deal with persons whom they do not know interiorly; their judgement will improve and they will gain experience by having to deal with a variety of cases of conscience, temperaments and personalities : andthe Catholics also will be more careful and vigilant about their behaviour and imperfectionswhen they have to put themselves under the care of another priest

Besides Catholics of this sort, there are three classes of persons to be dealt with: heretics, schismatics and lukewarm Catholics.

How a Father can deal with heretics when he has no companion to introduce him.

Inthe case of a gentleman who is a heretic but not evillyinclined, and otherwise a man of good will, whose conversion would be of considerable advantage owing to the example it would give to hisfriends , familiars and associates, and where he has no means of getting on friendly terms with him, he can nevertheless take good heart and go there by himself, saying that, as he was passing that way, he could not do less than call on him, having heard so highly everywhere inthe neighbourhood of his courtesyand hospitality, and thatfor this reason he was anxious to make his acquaintance . Now in England, where they do notpay excessive attention to what they spend on hospitality, such a one, comingin this way, will often receive a hearty welcome if the gentleman discovers in him a man of good parts, able to converse and speak well In this event it is necessary for the Father, as soon as he comes , to take note of the gentleman's inclinations and what pleases him most, so as to suit himself to his humours and thus gain his good will: iffor instance it is study, letters, affairsof state, politics, discussion , or if it is active pursuits and praiseworthybodily exercises , it is necessary for him also to show that he takes pleasure in them , so far as is seemly: if he takes pleasure in regrettablethings such as cutting a fine figure, gambling, hunting or other vanities, this should not be foundfault with at first but he should bear with it in word and deedwith a complaisant countenance and yield, so far as he can without sin, to his tastes, until greaterconfidence and friendship is established between them

Of these heretics there are four kinds: generous ones , mean ones, malicious ones, and those who are such through ignorance

Generous ones . These can be approached safely, becausetheypride themselves on hospitality and keeping open house and living sumptuously, and because it is a point of honour with them to entertain everyone. Mean ones .There will be some danger in approaching these , and it is possible that he will receive scant welcome; they often rebuff visitors unless they are skilful in the way they behave

Malicious ones .He should not approach these without an introduction from a friend, because, owing to the hatred they have for the Catholic faith, they will at once jump to the conclusion that he is a cunningman and is coming to deceive them, or that he is a Jesuit or priest who has come to seduce them

Heretics through ignorance.There will be many of these to win, and they are quite easilyconverted : they are in heresy for the reason that they do not know and have received no instruction in anyother religion, but if they are persuaded to adopt the true faith these men become the most fervent Catholics after their conversion, recking

nothing of life, goods or anything else in their love for Christ and to satisfyfor their errors and sins in the past. They are easy to approach and readily convertedowing to their singleness of mind, especially if they are clever , learned men, and numbers of them are convertedevery day, for the Holy Ghost by means of these persecutions, martyrdoms , disputations and books proposes to them and injects into their consciences doubts , scruples, and fear, and this causes them to demand and seek out the truth and to be anxious to have discussions with Catholics It will, however, be in very rare cases that means cannot be found for a Father in such circumstances to get an introduction to these persons, but, should it happen, and if he is inspiredwith this holy zeal, he must put himself in the hands of God, trusting Him to open the way since the work is His, and that He will not fail him or allow him to be taken prisonerunless it should be for His greaterglory It will be necessary in this case to assume the name of some family which has many of its name in various counties of the kingdom and where it is thought that this gentlemanhas little acquaintance orintercourse , so as not to be found out or detected in deception; and if there is fear of this, he can say that he is not so very well known in those parts, owing to his having been little at his own home or having lived for choice in London or elsewhere, or that he had been out of the kingdomin other lands from curiosity to see the world andthe customs of other men

The method of dealing with heretics so as to bring about their conversion .

When the Father has been conducted to the house of a heretic his companion must say that he is a friend of his and that he has begged for his company to his house in order notto go alone, and in this way the companionmust put them on friendly termswith one another, and thenmake anopportunity forconversationsuited to the occasion , when they are seated at tableor whenthereare a numberof people assembled, on the subject of history or such-like pleasant topics, so as to show that he is well-informed, and at times even about religion or some point of faith, according as the company seems inclined for it and is well disposed, otherwise he will arouse discord and will reveal himself to be a Catholic too soon; and this will prevent his gaining the fruit expected and will lessen his influence with them. It will, however , be well to avoid talking about matters of religion until the time seems opportune, when there has been a greater increase of familiarity and friendship between them, and let him do what he can The heretical spirit is somuchgiven to pride that fewof them are convertedbyargument, because they object to being beaten; and God is not wont to giveHis grace to such as these,becausethey are not capable ofreceiving it, for the Holy Spirit onlyenters a heart that is humble; and so itis necessary to find some means whereby to make them more inclined to humility and submission, such as the considerationof their own worth, contempt of the world and such-like thoughts. If he were to speak abruptly, he would cause such annoyance that the man would no longer give him a hearing, and therefore it is necessary to proceed very cautiously and not to weary him over much, but to make use of certain methods and of times that are propitiousas for instance ,if he should see him in a fit of melancholyor desolation of soul, hewill then beable, underthe pretext ofconsoling him, to speak abouthuman misery, how full this life is of it, telling him that we shall have no

rest until we are united with God in heaven; that the soul of man is often in desolation because , sharing as it does in the divine nature, it cannot be contentedand find rest in these things below; telling him of the glories of heaven and the joy which the saints have there; for how short a time they will endure these petty trials, and thereby gain the enjoyment of eternal glory; of the love which God has for a soul, as is evident from the Incarnation and Passion of Our Lord; of the care which He has for us, giving us angels as our guides andsaintsas protectors , to defend us from the snares of the devil and the dangers of the world, from hell and the pains of the damned ; of the causes which have led souls to damnation Compassion also can be shown for the unhappy state of Turks, infidels and sinners (not mentioning heretics , forfear of giving offence before he begins to submit), and discoursing of other such things as God will inspire . He should seizealso any opportunity from the weather, which renders a man more apt to devotionas , for instance ,whentheweatheris fine to speak of elevation of spirit, in bad or rainy weather of graver things; on feastdays he should tell the story of the saint of the day, or what Our Lord did on that day; on Sunday how it was sanctified after God had created all things; and on all occasions he should cheerfully apply parables and lessonsto our own case

Ifit is Lent or the Ember days or a vigil, he should point out how they have been instituted by the authority ofthe Church, the consent of mankind, and for the public benefitand advantage, etc. The evening, after the Ave Maria, is the time most apt to make a man receptive and adopt a reflective mood , because then,there is quietness everywhere and repose; the world appears to be deserted and lonely; men, beasts, birds and all else havewithdrawn themselves , the adornments and pleasures of the daytime are in abeyance , and the sun has fled to other regions, and the earth has been clothed in darkness, the image ofdeathandthe end ofthe world. These things will have great influence on him The place also is to be taken into consideration : for instance, if the man happens to be in a city one can walk in the park or in a garden, if at his country house one can saunterthrough the fields and woods, or preferably in the neighbourhood of some stream God will suggest a thousand other means totheman who is tireless in his efforts to gain souls which cannot be written down in detail One must also take accountof circumstances in dealing with a heretic and not touch him too much on the raw , especially in presence of others, nor unmask his faults, nor be too hasty in showing awareness of his imperfectionsbut treat him gently and use indirect methods Likewise one can talk with some other person behind his back but so that he can hear, but without letting it appear that it is done with that intention. The Father's companion can assistmuchin this conversion of souls by facilitating his approach, for being on terms of intimacy, he has more libertyof action and can say things which the Father cannot say at first The companion too , who is experienced, and is aware of the natural dispositions of the persons, should atfirst inform the Father of the imperfectionsand sins to which they are more liable, of their passions, of their lack ofgood dispositions, of their virtues and good points, and of all matters that call for amendment ; so that the Father, with knowledge of all the particulars, can frame his private discourses and his public sermons more to the point, whether in blame or for correction or in praise The preacher should be exceedingly discreet in this matter and mask the particular in general terms, and so mix honey with gall that each

of his hearers may feel himself intimately touched, and nevertheless feel that none of those present perceives or notices it but himself. In the case of heretics more fruit is gained from sermons giving advice for the direction of one's life, for the saving of one's soul andfrom other such-like meditations, than from those on subjects of dispute and controversy, which are more likely to stir up contention than bring about amendment of life and conversion And so, before beginning the discussion of religion with a heretic , the best means towards his conversion (if, that is to say, one can trust him not to give the priest andhis congregation away) will be to bring him in tolistentothesermon . This will be, as it were, a preparation for his conversion : and I know of no other ground why God opens the intellect and moves the will more freely at a sermon when matters of controversy and the faith are not discussed than He did before when these used to be the subjects of discussion and conference between them, if it be notthat God , in reward of that act of comingto hear his sermon, inspires him with the humility to receive instruction by it, or gives him the grace to be receptive of truth; but it is found byexperience thatmore are converted by sermons than by the other way Before the sermon takes place it will help very much if the companion speaks highly of the learning, wisdom , and virtue of the Father or priest; this will increase his influence and reputation with them andwillmake them hold him ingreater esteem and listen to him with more reverence Caution also is necessary lest the priest do anything (even though it be with the object of concealing who he is) which could, when he becomes known for a priest, give disedification or appear scandalous; for heretics are very prone to take scandal from another, especially from a priest, and to condone anything done by themselves or their sect of heretics : buthis conversation should be chaste and holy, especially in presence of women ; he should avoid excessive levity and laughter, abstain from dancing or playing for high stakes but play only for trifles or to pass the time, and that rarely, and at some commendable and lawful game, and always in respectable company and only at their request ; and he should refrain from excess in eating and drinking. He should not be over scrupulous or strictin mattersthat are trifling and of no consequence, but have regard to the good that may come of them or the possible conversion of a soul This would cause the heretic to think that the Catholic religion is an intolerable yoke and too austere, and thus he would lose courage and draw back before he had tasted of spiritual sweetness; and therefore he should always show a certain restrained cheerfulness , so as to givethe impression that it derives from thepurity and sweetnessof his religion, which renders men so contentedandfull of consolation . In addition to this, pamphlets should be written of small compass, otherwise they will not be read or bear fruitpointing out the abuses brought about by the heretics and their evil lives , especially by Luther, Calvin, etc.; and how they have deceived the people, misinterpreting the Holy Scriptures and the Doctors of the Church, and telling lies about the Catholics and the holyfaith: they should then declare what are the points of controversy , and how they themselves conform to the true interpretation of Scripture and the opinion of the Doctors ; and they should also invite them to public disputations, with unbiased umpires appointed, where theywill write a treatise on, or expound , some passage of Scripture in public, one after another; and in this way they should have everything printed, or buy a press and keep it secretly for their needs .

How to proceed with schismatics

Sometimes it will be possible to reveal to schismatics who he is and his purpose in comingand sometimes not. This should be at the discretion of the Father himself, for, if any schismatic is a friend of his , or a man of courage and stout heart, and one whose lapse is due to his living luxuriously, to having an honourable position or to being in charge of affairs or holding offices, or through ignorance of the danger in which he is living, or through carelessness , in that case he can be dealt with freely. But should he be timid, nervous or over fearful of being punished or offorfeiting some of his goods or his reputation if it were known that a priest was in his house, it would be necessaryin that caseto use craftand discretionin goingthere; otherwise it is doubtful whethersuch an individual will be willing to receive him , or even see him; but, in order to curryfavour with the heretics and thinking to remove their suspicions of him and to pose as a good subject, he will play an underhand trick and send him to someheretical Lord to undergo examinationand be put in prison Oftentimes , when the Queen discovers a man of this sort, she associates him with some bitter heretic in the task of chastising the Catholics in order to cause scandal to other Catholics and make him odious to them; for they know that schismatics of this sort sometimes treat Catholics cruelly in public when they come before them (though in secret and underhand they favour them) ; and if they act otherwise they are deprived ofoffice . However, to avoid this evil, the Father should be introduced by a companion , or he should find some pretext on his own account , as has been said previously, and so little by little seize occasions for timely discussions; or may be it will be better for the companion to initiate matters from a distance by giving his advice, as an intimate friend, on the salvation of his soul, so excellently created to serve God in everlasting glory, and not to become attachedto these fouldelights that last but for a momentand thereafterto become the devil's prey; saying too that for charity's sake he was contriving and taking every pains to procure him some good spiritual father to direct him in the wayofsalvation, and whowill be easilyable to satisfyall his objections ; andthen ifhefinds him well disposed to listen to this advice he could say that in view of this and out of his love for him he has brought with him such a person, a prudent, learned and virtuous man of high repute, mentioning similar things in his favour. He should make him in the first instance, if possible, hear a sermon by him , because that will be , as it were, a light to the candle, and make him receptiveof good advice The sermon should be framed to suit the humour ofthe individual, urging generosity, praising zeal, exhorting to prayer and devotion, emphasising the vanity of the world, the glory of heaven , the reward ofthe blessed, the pains of the damned, and the terror of hell: later, after leaving him for a little while to digest what has now been said in the sermon , he will go into details with him. These men have no other recourse but a number of feeble excuses, namely that God sees their good intention, that they believe in the Catholic faith and have a hatred for heresy, and they hope that they will be held excused in as much as they cannotlive in any other way owingtothe strict laws and persecution or to old age which does not fit them to endure hardshiporimprisonment They will say too, that, thoughthey are not actingwell, they are awaiting a favourabletime when they will make satisfactionfor the past; meanwhile they will throwthemselves on the mercy of God and will act rightly to this extent that wife , W

children and servants shall not go to the heretical churches; they will give alms, and will support a priest at their own charges to reconcile them if the need should arise: and in this fashion they flatter and deceive themselves, thinking to have their sins condoned by doinggood to others There are some schismatics whowould like to maintain that it is lawful to go at times to the churches of the heretics or to their sermons , when there is no intention of listeningeither to theirprayers or their words or if they make a declarationthat they are Catholics and come , not out of love for their religion, or to listen to the sermon , but out of obedience to the Queen; and they quote precedents, such as Naamanthe Syrian, and others This proceeds from pride in their own opinions or is by way of affording some solace to their souls and setting them at rest, for they often have remorse; nevertheless they persuade themselves that it is so and decline to consider or hear the contrary lest perchance they be touched with compunction and perturbation of heart With such as these, therefore, one must proceed gently, becauseit will be difficult to induce them to discuss the matter; nor will they let themselves be persuaded to attend the sermons given bythepriests. Butifthey still remainobstinateitwill then benecessary to touch them on the raw, that is by telling them that they ought to considerita call from God, and that it will be resistingthe HolySpirit, which is a thing so dangerous that God will perhaps abandon them for having held in so little esteem the benefits and graces offered to them , and that, were they to die in this state, they would be damned in Hell; and then they must relate to them, if possible, instances of any whom they have known who died suddenlywithout having time to be reconciled to the Churchor who had some terrible thing happen to them as a judgment of God for the small notice they took of what was offered them and of the compunctioninspiredby the HolySpirit Some remainin schism through shame of confessing some sin in which theyare living,or becausethey are not resolved togiveitup, or because they cannot be absolved withouta dispensation , as for instance , ifthey havemarried within the forbidden degreesand cases, or have been the parentsofmany children In the first two cases no relief can be given, but in the lastcase thepriestwhois discreet, thoughhe see no immediate remedy, can alleviate the burden of conscience so that they do not yield to despair by holding out hopes of obtaining the dispensation for them, and not omitting in the meantimeto reconcile them so as to save their poor souls, especially if, when the marriage took place,. they were not aware of the impedimentand if for the future they are content to submit to what the Church decides in their case; for bythe grace ofGodthe simplicity and right intention ofthe persons will suffice It will also be easier to allow a case such as this when one ofthe two, either the husband or the wife, is a heretic and it will give rise to hatred between them or public scandal or danger to the Catholic party. These cases also occur frequently where neither the husband nor the wife is aware ofit, and at times the priest must keep it secret to himself so as not to cause them anxiety, seeing no remedy; but like a good doctor orfather he must seek to obtain a dispensation. In the same way he must deal with schismatical priests gently and with sweetness, givingthem kindwords ; he must put them in the first place at table, show reverence for their old age and politeness of that sort, so as to bring about familiarityandfriendship; and he must bring back totheirmemories the happytimeswhen they exercised theirministries ; he must talk about the number ofsouls in their parishes, thedevotion

that existed at that time; he must praise the excellence of the priestly state, the benefit that comes through the most holySacrifice; he must speak of the needs of the Church, the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory, the crown of glory which they are losing by livingin schism , the scandal they are giving, and that great and terrible judgment they are going to receive from God after this brief and fleeting life

The method to be adopted with lukewarm Catholics .

With Catholics who are lukewarm and worldly one must deal, as I have said above, sometimes gently and at other times with more severity, but for the most part and more usually by spiritual methods and by zeal, by holding up for imitation the generosityof some who have fought valiantly for the honourand glory of God, of others who have suffered torments and death with constancy for the love of God and toconfirm and proclaimthe truth, ofothers who despisedthe world and its delights, riches, honours, possessions as things of little value and ofno account andlived thenceforwardthe strictest of livesin order to gain a celestial kingdom in the other world, such as martyrs, confessors, religious , etc. All these are examples for our imitation , for we lack nothing that they did not lack except good will'and enthusiasm. God offers us grace as He did to them, and therefore we can do what they did; but if we do not aim at this degree of perfection , at least let us not succumb basely to these low and vile things and become the slaves of sin and of the devil, contrary to all the dictates of reason and judgment and in opposition to the end forwhich we were created, being worse than the beasts and animals who follow the instincts of nature; but let us arouse ourselves from this deadly sleep and take courage like true sons, followersand servants of Christ our Lord; and once we begin God will put forth His hand and will give us strength topersevere tothe end. One must be prepared withplenty of discourses ofthis sort; and these sluggish Catholics , and all classes of people as well, are very much helped by spiritual books to stir theirdevotion. This lack of zeal often comes from tepidity and slothfulness on the part of the priest, who fails to keep a watchful eye on them and to teach them to resist temptation, to discern what is sin, to pray as they ought, or even to examine their consciencesso as to direct their actions and lives; but rather do they pay no attention or only to the bare word, reading butnot taking inwhat they read throughwant ofknowing a rule and method for driving away the distractions and temptations which thedevil interposes, especially at times of prayer or when they woulddo some other good deed, in order to deprivethem of the merit And in this matter some of the old priests were found to be blameworthy, because they made it their habit to say their Mass only, and devote themselves after that to quiet and recreation , or spend their time with their host or other gentlemen in pleasant intercourse , being too lenient with sin and slothfulness and negligence, and failing to exhort people to devotion and to progress in virtue, to frequent confession and communion , but following the custom for some years past ofonce a year at Easter And then, when people come to confession , they have forgotten the sins they have committed; and thus the lack ofdaily and detailedinstruction has beena great causeoftheir tepidity, and also oftheir ignorance ; and so, as though they were not aware of sins of thought such as anger, envy, pride, avarice, but only of the sins that are committed in deed such as gluttony and lust, which are easily recognized, for this reason they paid no attention to the cor-

rection of the interior man by pious meditation, humility, patience, etc., but were all too ready to rely on exterior acts, such as fasting on bread and water on Fridays, vigils, and for a large part of Lent, and other such practices When, however , one comes across persons of this sort , one must look for a means of weaning them from these two lukewarm attitudes and implanting more fervent ones, so as to excite zeal in the priest andin the Catholic; and to that end the Father canact in this wayshow great affectionto the priest, and then in his own sermon in presence of the master of the house point out how a man ought to rule his life and act if he wishes to live virtuously in God's favour and save his soul, and to arouse in himself a devotion that will go on increasing every day; he will declare also the cause of tepidity and lack of zeal and lukewarmness at devotions , and the dangers arising therefrom; and in this way the priest will feel that it applies entirely to himself and will amend his life for the love of God and in order not to fall into disgrace with his host; andthe Catholic, realizingthe failings and deficiencies of his chaplain, will be displeased at them and have remorse of conscience, and will beg the Father for instructions Then, in order to meet the wishes of both of them , he can substitute for that priest another, who is more zealous, to instruct the masterofthe house andreform his house and family, and promote the priestto bewithsomeothergentleman , whois alreadywellinstructed and zealous and anxious to do his duty; but he should be a manina higherposition than the former one, if possible, so that the priest may rest satisfied that the Father has done it in order to do him honour and make him more contentedand not for any other reason Many of these Catholics are so cold and lukewarm that they take little care to hear Mass often or to say their prayers or to fast, and when they ought to be abstainingthey are filling their bellies with an abundance of food These are the people who feel no scruples and, when theyare instructed and warned, they are thoroughly annoyed as well; and when theyare urged to amend their lives and live more strictly, they would be quite willing at the time to lead a good and saintly life and gain heaven, but the labour ofit disgusts them and they draw back. There are others whowouldlike to be good; andthese will be very abstemious , read , may be , our Lady's office and say a hundred other prayersin the day, and think they are committing sin if they omit them; and with all these devotions of theirs they will not give up committing sin . Both of these sorts act from a certain kind of ignorancethe one sort because they are unwilling to learn, the other because they lack good and zealous priests to instruct them in the spiritual life.

RICORDI PER LI PREDICATORI INTORNO ALLA COLLECTA PER GL'INGLESI 1582

Stonyhurst, Coll P , f. 499

Che dichiarino al popolo Venerdì mattina et anco Domenica l'importanza grande di questo negotio esplicando la inaudita crudeltà et persecutione che patiscono i Cattolici in Inghilterra et come molti son sforzati a partirsi per non perder lafede Molti altri supportano quivi tormenti grandissimi fino alla morte. Quel che son fuora del Regno per li quali propriamente è fatta questa Collecta si ritrovano per la maggior parte nel Collegio di Remis in Francia dove concorrono ogni giorno tutti quelli che possono

scapparedallefiere mani de gli heretici et quivi son tutti con gran carità abbracciati et instrutti nelle lettere et nella pietà et fatti che son poi Sacerdoti et bene armati di spirito et di dottrina ritornano in Inghilterra per aiutare occultamente le anime anco col proprio sangue.

Per aiuto di questa gente S . Stà non solo concede giornalmente buone elimosine ma vedendo il bisogno tanto grande et tanto universale, ha concesso questo breve(1) essortando tutti fideli Christiani a porgere qualche aiuto.

Si desidera che Venerdì il popolo sia caldamente essortato à fare una larga elimosina et quella mattina et anco la Domenica seguente nel tempo della predica, et faccino limosina più che l'ordinario essendo bisogno estraordinario et in oltre alcuni Rmi Prelatiet Signori vedendol'importanzadi questonegotio han preso l'assonto di andar cercando et domandando alle case de' signori et gentilhuominidi Roma et così essortar' tutti a far la elimosina et in chiesa et in casa sendo ciò per la salute d'infinite anime.

Per aiuto et conversione del medesimo regno N.S. ha concesso anco sussidiospiritualeet è che nella chiesa de gli Inglesi si faccia l'oratione delle quarante hore con indulgentia plenaria a tutti quelli che confessi et communicati visiterano la detta chiesa et faran oratione per la conversione d'Inghilterra Quest' oratione comincierà Domenica al tempo della messa cantata , et durera fin al Martedi mattina, onde si desidera che anco nella predica della Domenica si essorta il popolo caldamente ad andare quivi a fare oratione per questo bisogno.

Translation .

MEMORANDUM FOR PREACHERS CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE ENGLISH 1582.

They are to declare to the people on Friday morning and also on Sundaythe great importanceofthis matter, describing the unheard-of cruelty suffered by the Catholics in England, and how a great many of them are forced to leave the country in order not to lose the faith, and many others in that country undergo intense torture ending in death Those of themwhoare without the kingdom, for whom properly speaking this collection is being made, are chiefly found in the College of Rheims in France, whither are assembling day by day all who are able to escape the savage clutches of the heretics ; and there all are welcomed with great charity and instructed in letters and piety, and when later they have been made priests and well equipped spiritually and withlearning, they return to Englandandgive secret helpto souls even to the shedding of their blood

In aid of this nation His Holiness not only grants substantial alms from day to day but, seeing that the need is so great and so widespread, he has granted this Brief(1) exhorting all faithfulChristiansto provide some assistance .

(1) Omnipotens Deus, etc., 21 January, 1582. Cf. Bullarium , Luxemburg, 1727 , ii, 486

It is desired that on Friday the people be earnestly exhorted to give a large alms, both on that morning and also on the following Sundayat the time of the sermon, and that they make the almslarger than ordinary, since the need is exceptional; and in addition to this, anumberofVery Reverend Prelates andgentlemen, realizingtheimportance ofthis matter,have taken uponthemselves to go aboutseeking and askingmoneyat the houses of the aristocracyand gentlemen of Rome, and in this way to exhort everybody to give an alms both in church and at their homes, this being for the salvation of countless souls. For the succour and conversion of this same kingdom, our Lord the Pope has granted also spiritual aid, namely that the forty hours prayer is to be made in the church of the English, granting also a plenary indulgence to all who, having confessed and communicated , shall visit the said church and pray for the conversion of England This prayer is to begin on Sundayat the hour of the sung Mass and to last till Tuesdaymorning, and therefore it is desired that in the sermon on Sundayalso the people be earnestlyexhorted to go there and offer prayer for this need .

COLLECTA RHEMENSIS

Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., before f 123 Quae colliguntur quo mittenda.(1)

Summus Pontifex ad omnes regiones quae heresi laborant, ac nominatim Angliam quae prae ceteris hoc tempore non modo heresi sed etiam acerbissima persecutione premitur, adjuvandas, animo paratissimus ac vigilantissimus , literasedidit quibus omnes fideles exhortatur ut Rhemense Collegium quibuscunque possunt auxiliis et eleemosynis sublevent. Itaque etsi vel sola auctoritas summi Christi Vicarii, vel rei ipsius honestas vel nostrum etiam Institutum satis nostros omnes hortarepoterint ut ejusmodi negotium pro sua parte totis viribus promoverent , officii tamen mei duxi hanc etiam meae voluntatis significationem addere, ut R.V. et ceteri nostri intelligerentquantopere res haec nobis cordi esset. Nam cum inilla regione quae olim omnis religionis ac sanctitatis specimen fuit, nunc vigeat persequutio qualis non fuit ab initio in oculis nostris ita ut fidelium quisque tradatur ab amicis et cognatis et morte ex eis afficiantur, vel vincula et carceres patiantur aut bonis direpti, cogantur non modo fugere de civitate in civitatem sed etiam ex Anglia sese praeripere nudi omnibusque vitae praesidiis spoliati, nemo esse debet non modo nostrorum qui pietatem profitemur, sed omnino omnium fidelium , cujus non intima viscera compassione moveantur Ac cum omnibus commiserationem et opem quantum quidem nobis liceat, debemus , tum iis praesertim qui non solum ex Anglia profugi, eas quas dixi necessitates patiuntur, egentes et angustiati, sed etiam doctrinarum studiis sese armare decreverunt, ut deinde in patriam reversi

(1) These are letters and instructions of the General , Father Aquaviva, sent to the Provincials of the various Provinces of the Society concerning the collections to be made for the support of the seminary at Rheims in response to the Pope's brief of January 21st, 1582 .

bellum gerant cum principe tenebrarum harum, eumque, si fieri possit , foras ejicere nitantur, paratiin ea causa vitam, si oporteat, ponere. Quem ad finem cum duo sint erecta Collegia, alterum Romae Rhemis alterum, illud quidem Pontificis liberalitate et largitate benigne sustentatum, huic vero, etsi ab eodem Pontifice non mediocresubsidium suppeditatur , tamen quiasaevitia hostium eos insectantium et colegarum numerus crescit, et facultas eos alendi minuitur, quippe cum severissimis edictis atque etiam incredibiliquadam vigilantia provideruntne quid eis ex Angliasubmittatur, necessarium visum est omnium fidelium qui ubiquesint pietatem et caritatem implorare, idque cum ipsius Sanctissimi Patris commendatione atque etiam exhortatione . Velim igitur ut R. V. superiores omnesProvinciae tuae de hoc admoneat ac praeterea concionatores, idemque omnes hortetur ut vel privatis vel publicis sermonibus, ut se res dabit, ejusmodi negotium ex quo talis ac tantaeprovinciae ipsa paene salus penderevidetur, omnibus viribus promovere conentur Ea de causa mitto R.V. libellum recens scriptumde persequutione Anglicana, (2) quem puto foreilli jucundum , reliquisetiam ad hoc ipsum quod volumus profuturum, ut intelligant omnesnon debere se vel labori alicui vel etiam pecuniae parcere pro Domini honore proque ejus gentis salute, cui multos videant adeo alacriteret prompte sanguinemipsam impendere. Neque aliud dicam de hac re, certus sum enim RamV. et suos omnes pro eorum caritate et zelo divini honoris ita negotium hoc suscepturos, ac omni diligentia ac studio tractaturos, ut stimulis haudquaquam indigeant.

Simul etiam mittimus literas quasdam nostras communes Superioribus omnibus, quas etsi jamdudum ex officio nostro atque etiam quorundam rogatu scripseramus, tamen propter varia negotia non priusmitti potuerunt Ea, quamvis, ut dixi, ad Superiores proprie pertineant, tamen quia multa in eis sunt, atque adeo omnia ferme quae subditos etiam attingunt, non displicebit mihi ut cum omnibus communicentur Certe enim pro eo quantum spiritualem nostrorum profectum toto animo desidero, Deum Dominum exorare non cessabo, ut quo minus istaeliterae ad id aptaeet efficaces per se sunt, eo magis ejus immensa bonitas suam gratiam et lumen ad omnem perfectionem professionis nostrae exsequendamimpertiat. Romae.

Translation

THE COLLECTION FOR RHEIMS .

Where the collection is to be sent (1)

The Supreme Pontiff, in orderto come to the assistance of all those regions that are labouring under heresy and of England in particular, which more than other countries is at this moment oppressed not

(2) Persons's booklet, De Persecutione Anglicana

This, no doubt, is the reason why there were so many editions and translations of the work. The first Latin edition appeared in 1581 , and within the following year there were two editions published at Rome, and others at Paris and Ingolstadt, besides German, Italian, French and English translations.

merely by heresy but by bitter persecution as well, with prompt and vigilant solicitude has issued letterswhereinhe exhorts all the faithful to relieve the College of Rheims with whateveralms and help they are able And therefore , althoughthe mere authorityof Christ's supreme Vicar, or the worthiness of the cause itself , or even our own Institute was amply sufficient to urge us for our part to further a project of that kind with all our energies, nevertheless I held it to be my duty to add also an indication of my wishes, so that your Reverence and the rest ofour fathersmight understand howmuchwe have this matter at heart. For there now prevails in that region, once a model of all religion and holiness, a persecution such as has not been witnessed by our eyes from the beginningof things, so that any one of the faithful is liable to be betrayed by his friends and relations and put to death bytheirmeans, or to undergo chains and imprisonment, or to berobbed of his possessions and forced not merely to flee from city to city, but even to tear himselfaway from England naked and despoiled ofallthe means of preservinghis life; and so there should be no one, not only of ours who profess piety, but in the whole body of the faithful, whose bowels are not deeplymoved with compassion. And, whilst toall men weowe pity and help, so far that is to say as we can give it, we owe it in a special way to those who not only are fugitives from England and subject to the embarrassments I have mentionedand are in want and difficulties, but in addition have determined to equip themselves bythe studyofdoctrine, sothat theymay returntotheir nativelandand there wage war with the Prince of Darkness and strive if they can to expel him, being prepared if necessary to lay down their livesin that cause. Now there are two Colleges set up, one in Rome, the other in Rheims, the first being generously supported by the Pope's liberality and bounty. Andthoughthe other also is supplied withno little assistance bythe Pope, yet, owingto the increasing savagery of the enemies' onslaught and the growing number of its inmates , the possibility of supporting them is diminishedall the more so becauseextremelyharsh edicts and incredible vigilance have ensured that nothing can begot out of Englandfor their help. And so it has seemed necessarytohave recourse to the piety and charity of all the faithful everywhere, and this with the commendationand even exhortation of the Holy Father himself . I would like your Reverence, therefore , to bring this to the notice of the Superiors of your provinceand also of preachers, and to impress the same on all of them so that either in private discourse or public sermons, as it shall be in their power, theymay strive with all their strength to promotea project which is of such sort thatthevery salvation almostof a valuableand extensive province seems to depend on it. With this in view I am sending your Reverence a little book which has latelybeen written on the persecution in England , (2) which I think will be welcomed by you and profitable to others for the end we desire, viz , that all may realise that they are bound to grudge neither any kind of effort nor even money on behalf of God's honour and the salvation of that nation, to which they see that so many, with such eagernessand readiness, are devoting their very life's blood I will sayno moreonthis subject, for I am assured thatyour Reverence and allyour subjects will be led byyour charity and zeal for the honour of God to take this matter in hand and carryit out with all diligence and enthusiasm in such a way as to need no spur of any kind

We are sending also at the same time a letter from ourselves to all Superiorsin common, which, though writtensome time ago in ful-

filment of our office and at the request also of certain persons, various business has prevented being sent before. Although, as I have said, it properly concerns Superiors, yet, since muchit contains , and indeed nearly all, affects subjects also, I shall not take it amiss ifit is communicated to all And assuredly, in as much as I desire with all my heart the spiritual progress of ours , I shall not cease to implore God ourLord that, in so far as this letter of itselffails in aptitude or efficacy for that purpose, the moreHis infinite goodnessmay impart His grace and light for the attainment of the full perfectionof our state of life.

Given at Rome.

INSTRUCTIO PRO COLLECTA RHEMENSI

.

Arch S.J. Rom Gall Epp Gen., before f 123 .

In Collegio Rhemensi sunt hodie 130 juvenes Anglia extorres qui omnes strenuam literis et pietati navant operam cum propo- sito atque etiam obligatione revertendideinde et juvandi civessuos ut ad Ecclesiae gremium redeant, nihil timentes carceres , famam , equuleum, mortem ipsam quae crudelissimis edictis sunt in eos intentata, et a multis ipsorumjam experta et tolerata. Praeter hanc juventutem et alios aliquos qui Verduni eodem modo in studiis exercentur, plurimi sunt qui ob eandem Religionis causam , exilium a patria, et privationem bonorum sibi ipsis indixerunt potius quam ut in Anglia de Religione Catholica periclitarentur. Sed postquam Regina cum suis consiliariis id subodorata est, de industria ad collegium illud dissolvendum, magnis poenis propositis, edixit ne quicquam nummorum e regno exportetur, ut jam nisi Dominus aliquodremedium pro sua providentiaattulerit, periculum sit ne brevi omnibus redeundum sit cum expressodiscrimine amittendi vel vitam vel veram religionem, et cum tanta jactura spirituali totius Angliae, cujus salus ex istis operariis fermeunice pendere videtur

Jamvero placuit Pontifici omniumfidelium caritati tale negotium commendare literis exhortatoriis ad eam ipsam rem datis, atque hic etiam in urbe nobiles quidem Praelati, quasi sodalitio quodam inito, eam sibi provinciamsumpserunt ut singulorum domos ac privatum quemque adirent, eleemosinam pro cujusque facultatibuscolligentes Praeterea Pontificis nepos, Illmus Cardlis Boncompagnus, Protector hujus Collegii Anglici qui est Romae , S . Sanctitatisnomine scripsit omnibus Episcopis et Nunciis in commendationem tanti ac talis operis, ut per concionatoresetomnibus aliis modis quibus poterint id promovere velint, quod facilepoterunt vel per se vel aliquo simili sodalitiohominum notorumnobilium instituto, donec collectum sit quod pro hoc tempore colligi poterit. In quibus omnibus nostrorum qui ex Societate sunt, opera, et industria ac solicitudo plurimo adjumento esse possit, tumin urgendis Episcopis, tum in multis proponendis quae adnegotium promovendum pertinere possint, tum vero privatim etiam in hortandis piis hominibus ut Dei honorem et universae illius provinciae salutem pecunia sua cooperantes, participes reddantur

tantorum bonorum quae in ea fiant atqueetiam tot martyriorum quae in ea pro Christi nomine tolerantur

Qui pecuniam hanc colligant ab Episcopo ordinari debebunt atqueetiammoduseamcolligendi atque redigendi pecuniamsiquid aliud donatum fuerit Tota etiam summa in manus ejusdem Episcopi reponenda erit, ut nostri ab omni suspicioneabsint, atque ipse deinde eam huc Romam in manus D. Tiberii Cerli mercatoris resignabit , qui institutus est depositarius hujus operis

Translation

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE RHEIMS COLLECTIONS

.

In the College of Rheims there are to-day 130 young men , exiles from England, who are all devotingthemselves earnestlyto letters and piety with the intention, and obligation as well, of going back afterwards and helping their fellow citizens to return to the bosom of the church, having no fear of prison, hunger, rack, or death itself, with which they are threatenedby cruel edicts, and which many of them have already experienced and endured Besides this body of young men and some others who are employed in the same way in study at Verdun, thereare a greatmanyothers whofor the samecauseofreligion have brought upon themselves exile from their native land and forfeiture of their possessionsrather than remain in England at therisk of their Catholic religion But when the Queen and her Councillors had detected this, for the express purpose of breakingup that College she exacted underthreat of severe penalties that no money of any sort was to be exported from the kingdom; so that now, unless the Lord in His providence affords some relief, there is danger that all of them will have to return, with manifest risk of losing either their lives or the truereligionandwithimmense spiritual loss tothe whole ofEngland, whose salvation seems almostexclusivelyto depend on these labourers

The Pope, however, has now been pleased to commend this sad business to the charity of all the faithful and has issued letters of exhortation to this effect; and here too in the city a number of noble Prelates have formed a sort of sodality and taken upon themselves the function of visiting the homes of everyone and approaching every private person, collectingalms accordingto the means of each of them . Moreover the Pope's nephew, His Eminence Cardinal Boncompagni, Protector of this English College, who is in Rome, has written in His Holiness'sname to all the Bishops and Nuncios in commendation of this great and important work, asking them to promote it by means of preachers and all other available means: and this they will be able easily to do either personally or by setting up some similar sodality of well-known men of noble birth, until they have collected what itis feasible to collect in these times And in all these matters the help, energy and zeal of us who are in the Societyshould be of the greatest assistance both by urging on the bishops and by makingfrequentsuggestions which may avail to promote the cause, and again too in our private capacity by exhorting pious men to co-operate with their moneyfor the honour of God and the salvationofthat wholeprovince and to become sharers in the immense good done there and also in the many martyrdoms which are endured therefor the name ofChrist

It will be for the bishopto arrange who are to collect this money , andalsothemethod ofits collectionand ofrealizingin moneyanything

else thatis given. The whole amountalso must be placed in the bishop's hands , that ours may incur no suspicion, and he in turn will transfer it here to Rome into the hands of the merchant , Tiberio Cerli, who has been appointed trustee for this piece of work .

WATTS ? TO PERSONS ? [? 1 Sept., 1581.]

Arch Vat A.A. I-XVIII, 5505, No. 42 (olim Arm xv, Cap xv, No. 3) (1)

Praeter ea quae supra dixi, feci regi Scotiae declarari haereticos Angliaeduobus modis illius perditionem quaerere; primo,ut aliqua esset expeditione [? ut eum] tollant, si possint, et hac de causa collocarunt Bervici in finibus Scotiae baronem Hunsdonem cum magna vi pecuniae ad aliquos corrumpendos, quihoc faciant. Secundo, ut eumillaqueentmatrimonioalicujus foeminae privatae, quae nihil ei auxilii afferat ad obtinendum jus suum haereditarium in Anglia Addidi porro difficulter posse eum obtinere Angliamnisi adjuvetur ab aliis principibus , quia duae haereticae familiae Angliaequae contendebant de successione , nuperin concordiam venerunt de extrudendopenitus Scotiae titulo, et nunc urgent secreto Catholicos ut illi concordiae consentiant ; clam promittentes alleviationempersecutionis si illud faciant, quod tamen nunquam facient. Cogitandum ergo illi esse significaviquomodo se sic confirmet ut possit amicos suos in Anglia juvare, et cum tempus erit jus suum obtinere, quod alicujus externi principis favore, ex matrimoniosuo, consequidebet. Jam vero rex Franciae necfiliam habet, nec probabile est quod ex animo ei favebit,quod nollet regnum Scotiae et Angliaein unum eumdemque hominem devenire . Rex autum Hispaniae et filiam habet, et probabile est quod auxilium ei praestabit , quia statim recuperabit Flandriam , si Anglia et Scotia ei faverent

Haec omnia rex diligenter audivit et promisit se servaturum secretissime , et videtur cupere meum colloquium, quodego etiam ardentissime desidero, si vobis videtur. Non dubito enim per Dei gratiamquin plurima fieri possent si vel unum mensem ibi essem .

Translation.

WATTS ? TO PERSONS?

(?) 1 Sept., 1581

In addition to what I have said above , I had a statement made tothe Kingthat the English heretics are seeking his ruin in two ways: firstly, by kidnapping him if possible, should there be any expedition (and this is the reason they have stationedBaron Hunsdon at Berwick, on the borders of Scotland , and supplied him well with money to bribe some persons to do this); secondly, by ensnaring him in a marriage with some woman of private station, who would bring him no help towards obtaining his hereditary rights in England. I added further that it would be difficult for him to get possessionof Englandwithout the help of other princes, becausethe two hereticalfamilies in England who were contestingthe succession have recently come to an agree-

(1) The document appears to be connectedwith the negotiations undertaken by Watts inthe autumn of 1581. Cf. Persons toAquaviva , 21 October , 1581 , and note 22 , ibid.

ment to reject absolutelythe Scottish claim, and they are nowsecretly pressing the Catholics to subscribe to this agreement Should the latter do so, they promise privately a slackening of persecution ; but they will never do it I pointed out, therefore , that he ought to consider how he may so strengthen his position as to be able to give help to hisfriends in England and, whenthe time comes, to obtain his rights, saying that this should be done by using his own marriageas a means togain thesupportof some foreign prince. Atthepresent time, however , neitherdoesthe King of France possess a daughter, nor is it likelythat he will give genuine support to such a marriage, for he would not wish the kingdomsof Scotland and England to devolve upon one and the same person But the King of Spain not only has a daughterbut would probably afford him help, because, if England and Scotland support him , he will quickly recover Flanders

The King listenedcarefully to all this and promised he would keep it quite secret. He seems to wish to discuss matters with me, and I, too, am extremely anxious to do so, if you think it well, for I do not doubt that a great dealcould be done ifI were therefor a month only.

BRIEFS ISSUED BY GREGORY XIII ON THE OCCASION OF PERSONS'S VISIT TO ROME IN 1583.(1)

Arch Vat Arm xliv. 26. nn 57-65, pp 90-107 .

Gregorius Papa XIIIs.

Universis Praelatis, Ducibus , Marchionibus, Comitibus totique Clero ac Nobilitati et cunctis regnorum et insularumtotius Angliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae populis salutem et apostolicam benedictionem .

Non possumus aequare verbis gravitatem, acerbitatemque doloris, quo jamdiu afficimur ex eis, quae in istis nobilissimis regnis, olim catholicae fidei observantissimis, ab impotenti dominatu Elisabethae praetensae Angliae Reginae ad evertendam ac destruendam ipsam veram catholicam et a priscis sanctissimisque patribus traditam religionem, virosque probus et innocentes vexandos, opprimendos et impiae(2)[sic] ac crudeliter trucidandos, excogitari et patrari frequenter audimus. Etenim cum fel. rec. Pius papa quintus, predecessornoster, suis litteris quinto calendis(3)[sic] martii, pontificatus sui anno quinto datis, dictamElisa-

(1) This and the following briefs were obtained when Persons went to Rome in August, 1583. Cf. Persons to Agazzari, 28 October, 1583 , note 1 It is to thesedocuments , I presume, that Tassis refers when he writes "It isquitetrue that Melino wasin a hurryto obtain in Romeconcessions which might well have been postponed , but as he was there he doubtless thought well to utilisethe opportunity He was probably also moved by his desire to see the consummationof an event he has so much at heart, and as often happens to people who are anxiousand in trouble, he persuaded himselfthat the business was as feasible as he hoped Perhapsalso His Holiness gave him those papers with the intention of casting the blame for the delay upon our shoulders , " etc. (Tassis to Philip II, Paris, 15 November, 1583: Spanish Calendar , p. 507). The reference to the Vatican Archives above is all the documentshere following, downto, but excluding,the Instructio, p. 355 , infra. (2) impie (3) calendas.

betham, uti haereticam haereticorumque fautricem , in sententiam anathematis incurrisse et praetenso regni jure ac omni et quocunque dominio, dignitate privilegioque privatam esse declarasset, prout in ejusdem litterislatius continentur, eadem tamen nullum postea resipiscentiae signum dedit , quin majora et crudeliora in dies flagitia superioribus addidit, et impio quodam furore vehementius in perniciem ac mortem episcoporum et aliorum Dei sacerdotum et servorum ac omnium denique fidem catholicam profitentium domi forisque exarsit: edicta preterea iniquissima adversus catholicos promulgavit, et tandem charissimam in Christo filiam nostram Mariam Scotiae reginam, affinem suam , solo dominandi libidine et catholicae religionis odio, in carcerem conjecit, ubi aliquot jam annos pessime habita et omniregio cultu carens, vix jam suo potest arbitrio lugere Quare nos, tot tantisque regnorum, populorum , sacerdotum, ecclesiarum et praefatae Reginae Scotiae injuriis, damnis et calamitatibus commoti, ac dictis praedecesoris nostrilitteris earumqueprivationisdeclarationis inhaerentes et quatenus opus sit, de apostolicae potestatis plenitudine omnia in illis contenta confirmantes et innovantes atque ad debitam executionem perduci volentes, sperantesque propediem foreut, adnitentibusnonnullischristianis catholicisque principibus, dignitate, fortitudine et domus Dei zelo praestantissimis, illa ipsa Elisabetha, vel potius Jesabel, poenas impii furoris sui det, virtutemque atque potentiamdexterae Domini contra se insurgentem sentiat , ideo enixe hortamur vos omnes et singulos et per viscera misericordiae Domini Nostri Jesu Christi obtestamur, ut catholicorum ducum, quitali vestro tempore se vobis obtulerint, pietatem animique magnitudinem ipsamque rei bene gerendae occasionem , qua opus est alacritate, amplectaminiet pro virili quisque vestra(4)[sic] eis adjutores sitis, ut scilicet Elisabetha, foemina impura anathematisque vinculo tam graviter ac tot jam annisinnodata , aregno simulcum ipsius fautoribusexpulsa, jugum istudteterrimaeservitutis a vestris tandem cervicibus depellatur, Mariam(5)[sic] vero Scotiae regina legitimaque omniumregnorum istorum haeres in eorum possessionem rite inducatur, atque ita pax, quies, libertas et antiqua patriae jura ac privilegia et, quod caput est, sancta religio catholica divinusque cultus vobis restituatur. Non enim patriam vestram nullius externae gentis dominatui subjectam volumus, sed suis utentem legibus sub pia et legitima Regina felicem ac vere christianam vitam ducere et ex brevi hac momentaneaque vita ad illam alteram perpetuam ac sempiternam sub vexillo Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae, quae omniumgentiummaterest et magistra et extra quam nulla est salus, tendereac pervenire cupimus. Id vero ut faciliusvobis contingat et ut magis ad navandam sanctae huic causae et expeditioni operam incitemini, omnibus Christi fidelibus, tam vestrae quam alterius cujusvis nationis, vere contritis et confessis seu firmum confitendi propositum cum primum potuerint habentibus , qui

(4) vestrum

(5)Maria

duces catholicos praefatos orthodoxae fidei vestraeque libertatis ac salutis assertores ac vindices eorumque exercitus et classes auxilio favore, pecunia, commeatu, equis et alia quacunque ope se( )[sic] ratione adjuverint, plenariam omnium peccatorum indulgentiam et remissionem in forma jubilaei, quod procedentibus contra Turcas et ad recuperationem Terrae Sanctae tribui solet, eandem auctoritateapostolica concedimus et elargimur; declarantes insuper, neminem subditorumaut aliorum, qui quoque modo obedientiam pseudo reginae Elisabethae juraverit , ejusmodi juramenti vinculo obstringi, sed omnes ab eo liberos et solutos censeri et esse.. Caeterum evangelici moniti memores, neminem posse duobus dominis servire, scilicet DeoetMammonae, omnes, cujusvis status, ordinis et conditionis fuerint, qui contra duces catholicos dictae Elisabethae partes secuti fuerint eive quocunque modo auxilium prebuerint , excommunicamus et anathemizamus acmaledictioni aeternae subjicimus ; non obstantibus quibusvis constitutionibus et ordinationibus apostolicis ac privilegiis, indultis et litteris apostolicis in genere vel in specie, quibusvis personis, quacunque dignitate preditis, concessis, approbatis et innovatis, caeterisque contrariisquibuscunque. Ut vero hae litterae ad omnium notitiam celerius perveniant , volumus et decernimus ut earum transumptis manu scriptis vel impressis et manu notarii publici subscriptis ac sigillo personaein dignitate ecclesiastica obsignatis eadem habeaturfides, quae habereturipsis praesentibus, si essent exhibitae vel ostensae .

Datum Romae apud Sanctum Marcum sub annulo Piscatoris die 24 Septembris 1583, pontificatusnostri anno duodecimo .

Regi

Scotiae .

Charissime, etc. Etsi nonnulla superiori tempore fuerunt de tenobis nuntiata, quaecum religionis catholicae professioneparum conveniebant , illa tamen non sua(1)[sic] sponte, sed impulsum et coactum abiis, quorumsub potestate eras, te admisisseexistimavimus . Non enim facilecredebamuste, qui exemplum Reginae matris singularipietate et eximio catholicae fidei studiopraeditae ante oculos haberes, non illius et aliorum preterea majorumtuorum principum verae(2)[sic] catholicorum vellae(8)[sic] similem esse eorumque laudatissima sequi vestigia. Hanc igitur de Majestate Tua opinionem ac spem cum habuerimus, nullum unquam tempus omisimus de tuo statu, libertate, dignitate, salute ac regno et commodis cogitandiet agendi, quemadmodum fusius Majestati Tuae exponet dilectus filius Guilelmus Alanus electus Dunelmensis, nuncius noster, a quo has litteras accipies, cui super his quae nostro nomine referet ut plenam fidem habeas petimus

Datum, etc., 24 Septembris '83 anno XIIo.

(6) seu . (1) tua

(2) vere.

(3)velle

Charissimae in Christo filiae nostrae

Mariae reginae Scotiae.

Charissima, etc. Quaenoster ante hac fueritde tuostatudeque tua salutae(1)[sic]cura et sollicitudo, qui dolor de aerumnis etcalamitatibus, quas perpessa es, quod denique desiderium opitulandi tibi, scimus Majestatem Tuam alias ex fidis internunciis et ex eorum litteris saepe cognovisse; sed hoctempore clarius haec omnia intelliges a dilecto filio GuillelmoAlano electo Dunelmensi, nostro et Sedis Apostolicae nuncio, cum potestate legati de latere ad te destinato. Is igitur has litteras Majestati Tuae reddet, mandataque nostra referet, cui ut fidem habeas perinde ac nobis ipsis, atque ut monitis postulatisque nostris satisfacias petimus. Hortamur autem Majestatem Tuam ut, cum tanto Dei Beneficio, id quod brevi futurum speramus, ad libertatem et regnum auctoritatemque regiam restituta fueris, memorem se(2)[sic] et gratam in augenda Dei Gloria sanctaque religione catholica amplianda et stabilienda omni tempore ostendas et declares , sicuti de tua prestanti pietate ac fide nobis pollicemur.

Datum, etc., 24 Septembris, 1583

Dilecto filio nobili viro

Henrico Duci Guisiae

Dilecte fili, salutem, etc. Lectis tuae Nobilitatis litteris,die 29 Augusti datis, auditoque eo, qui nobis illas attulit,(1) mirabiliter laetati sumus et certissimus in spem venimus , fore ut res nobis ex sententia succedant Non enim dubitamus .quin. pater misericordiarum et Deus totius consolationis, qui tantam tibi animi fortitudinem et alacritatem dedit, piis etiam consiliis et conatibus tuis gratia auxilioque Suosit affuturus, praesertim in ea causa , in qua tantopere divini ejus nominis gloria et sanctae religionis status ac innumerabiliumpaene populorum vita et salus agitur. Remittimus hominem qui ad nos,venit, ex quo Nobilitas Tua caetera omnia planius cognoscet, cui fidem habebit

Datum Romae, etc., die 24 Septembris, etc., anno XIIP

BREVIA DUODECIM PRINCIPIBUS SCRIBENDA .

Delecte Fili Nobilis Vir salutem, etc. Ex gravium virorum testimonioea de tua praestantivirtute animiquemagnitudineet catholicae fidei studio cognovimus, quae nos hoc tempore impuleruntut has ad Nobilitatem Tuamdaremus litteras, et dilectofilio Guilielmo Alano Dunelmensi nuncionostro quaedam, ad publicum istius patriae bonum et veram Dei gloriam in ea promovendam pertinentia, ad te referenda committeremus ; cujus orationi, ut fidem habeas atque ita ut de te confidimus te geras, a Nobilitate Tua petimus .

Datum, etc., die 24 Septembris, '83 anno XIIº. (1) salute (2) te . (1) Fr. Persons , S.J.

Aliud

Qui has litteras Nobilitati Tuas reddet vel mittat, dilectus filius Guilielmus Alanus electus Dunelmensis nuncius noster, exponet etiam quibus de rebus tecum hoc tempore agi ab eo voluerimus quantumque de tua singulari pietate et catholicae fidei zelo nobis polliceamur . Ei igitur fidem plenam habebis et, sicut de te speramus, eges

Datum, etc.

Aliud

Quantae nobis curae sit istius nationis vestrae salus et quies et quantopere cupiamus eam a perpetuis afflictionibuset impiae servitutis jugo, quo jam diu tenetur, liberatam esse , ex dilecto filio Guilielmo Alano electo Dunelmensi, nuncio nostro, qui has tibi litteras reddet, seu mittet, fusius cognosces Ei igitur fidem habeas perinde ac nobis ipsis haberes , et quodtuavirtuteanimique magnitudine dignumfuerit, agas hortamur.

Datum , etc.

Aliud

Dilectus filius Guilielmus Alnus electus Dunelmensis , nuncius noster , a quo has litteras accipies, mandata quaedam nostra tibi exponet ad Dei gloriam et patriaeistius salutem magnopore pertinentia Quem ut attente audias et hac occasione oblata strenue ac fortiter catholicorumcausam adsis te vehementer requirimus

Datum Romam , etc.

Reliqua octo eodem argumento sed mutatis verbis, etc. THE CARDINAL OF COMO (?) TO ALLEN . 24 September, 1583 .

Domino Guilielmo Alano, etc.

AdmodumReverende Domine . Quae Sanctissimo Domine Nostro et mihi tuis litteris significasti et quae eorum lator exposuit,(1) sanctitati suae jucundissima gratissimaque fuerunt. Ispaucis diebus apus nos fuit, dum necessaria literarum expeditiofieret, in qua tamen facienda nulla est mora interjecta In ea videbis quae tuae fidei commissasint munera, et quo res dirigatur quidque abs te agi oporteat suo tempore. Nos urgere Hispanos et alios, ad quos ea res pertinet, non desinimus, propterea quod tempus magis idoneum magisve aptumad rem bene gerendam nunquam posthac oblatum iri existimamus . Sed haec melius et tutius ex eodemqui revertitur, cognoscas Vale igitur in Domine, a quo tibi omnem virtutis plenitudinemex animo precamur. Mittunt tibi plurima brevia ad hanc rem nostram accomodata, sed ea non leges neque reserabis priusquam in Insulam perveneris.

Datum Romae, 24 Septembris, anno 1583

(1) Fr. Persons, S.J.

Dilecto filio Gulielmo Alano electo Dunelmensi, etc.

Dilecte fili salutem, etc. Postquam ad charissimam in Christo filiam nostram MariamScotiae reginam Dei juvante perveneris et nostras ei litteras, quarum exemplum cum his accipies, reddideris, tum expones quae a multo jam tempore illius causa cogitata et actaa nobis fuerunt et quid nunc potissimum agaturad eam liberandam et ad regnum propriumaliaque hereditaria et auctoritatem simul regiam ei recuperandam, ut ex his intelligat quantae nobis etaliis magnis principibusejus salus, dignitas et incolumitas curae omni tempore fuerit, et quid propterea Deo, Sedi Apostolicae et aliis debeat Etsi autem, cum res prospere, sicut speramus, successerint, de ipsa Reginaefide et constantia ergareligionem catholicamnon dubitamus , tamen, ad stabiliendam ejusoptimam voluntatem adversus eos qui fortasse nimis impoturnae(1)[sic] alio eam trahere conarentur , ut scilicet ea ratione se facilius tueri possit quod jam Sedi Apostolicae juraverit, volumus ut, cum tempus oportunum duxeris, ab ejus Majestate nostro nomine requiras, ut tibi et duabus catholicis, qui aderunt , sancte promittat etjura- mento se obstringat catholicam se omni tempore et obedientem Sedi Apostolicae fore accum serenissimoRege HispaniarumCatholico et bonam amicitiam et pacta foederaque antiqua cum Burgundiae ducibus et Flandriae comitibus olim inita servaturam ; itemdaturamomnem operam ut cultus divinuset religiocatholica omnibus in locis, quae ipsa possidebit, praesertim in Anglia, instaurentur ecclesiaequein eum restituantur locum , in quo erant tempore Henrici ultimi regis, antequam in haeresimlaberetur, nec vero quicquam suasu politicorum publico decreto permissuram haereticis, quod religioni catholicae adversetur; et tandem curaturam ut Jacobus ipsius natus ab haeresiretrahaturet in religione catholica instruatur, ut dignus sit qui in tanta haereditate ei succedat. Quae quidem omnia postquam promissa fuerint , ut suo tempore ad effectum perducantur , tuae quoque erit prudentiae ac fidei sedulo curare, sicuti factorum te certum ac persuasum habemus. Datum etc. die 24 Septembris, 1583, Pontificatusnostri anno duodecimo.

Dilecto filio GulielmoAlano presbitero Cestrensis diocesis , Sae theologiae doctori, ecclesiae Dunelmensis in partibus borealibus regni Angliae electo .

Dilecte fili salutem et apostolicam benedictionem . Faciteximia tua, fides, religio, doctrina et virtus, vitaeque ac morum insignia probitas, antea nobis in rebus gravissimis cognita et probata, ut ad altiores gradus majoraque munera in Dei ecclesia evehendum te existimemus nec dubitemus quin nostrae et bonorum omnium expectationi optime sis responsurus Cum igitur ecclesia Dunelmensis, in partibus borealibus regni Angliae sita, jam diu vacet vel potius oppressasit, nos ejus ecclesiae incolumitati et populorum

(1) importune

illorum saluti quantumin nobis est providere cupientes, te eidem ecclesiae auctoritate apostolica tenore praesentium praeficimus in episcopum et pastorem et de illa tibi providemus, mandantes capitulo et clero, si quis est, et universo populo Dunelmensi uttetanquam legitimumepiscopum et pastorem animarumsuarum in Dei nomine recipiant et agnoscant tibique debitam obedientiam et reverentiam praestent et exhibeant ac in omnibus, quae adbonum ipsius ecclesiae regimen et ad restituendum in ea cultum divinum sanctamque religionem catholicam pertinebant , pie opitulentur, teque, expulso quovis detentore, in possessionem ecclesiae ipsius Dunelmensis ac omnium ejus jurium et pertinentiarum, tam spiritualiumquam temporalium, reddituumque et emolumentorum inducant et inductum tueantur ac defendant Te vero hortamur utita te gerasut idem clerus et populus in te veram patris charitatem et pastoris vigilantiam se invenisse gaudeant et tam illi quam tu mutuo amore et officiis conjuncti opus Deiperficere valeatis Quia vero scimusdifficiletibi fore munus consecrationis intra tempus a concilio Tridentino praefixum suscipere, illud tibi ad annum , a die his litteris adscripta computandum , eadem auctoritate apostolica prorogamus, non obstantibus constitutionibuset ordinationibus apostolicis caeterisque in contrarium facientibus quibuscunque

Datum, etc., 24 Septembris, etc. , anno XIIo.

Dilecto filio GulielmoAlano Dunelmensi ad charissimam , etc. Mariam Scotiaereginam acper universa ScotiaeAngliae Hiberniaeque regna, etc., nostro ac Sedis Apostolicae nuntio cum potestate legati de latere (1)

Dilectefili, etc. Cum ad pia quaedam et salutarianostra consilia exequenda conatusque nonnullorum catholicorum principum adjuvandos multum momenti positumintelligamusin opera praesentiaque tua, ideo te nostrumet sedis Apostolicae nunciumcum potestate legati de latere ac cum facultatibus, honoribus et praerogativis solitiset consuetisad charissimam in Christofiliam nostram Mariam Scotiae reginam ac per universa ipsius Scotiae , necnon Angliae et Hiberniae regna, civitates et loca, et apud quoscunque ducescatholicos, qui ubivisgentiumejusmodi expeditionipraefuerint vel interfuerint, horum auctoritate facimus, constituimus et deputamus, volentes ut primo quoque tempore illucte conferaset quae tibi dedimus in mandatis, ad Dei gloriam et sanctae fidei catholicae propagationem spectantia, studiose ac diligenter cures . Quod ut opportunius exequi possis, tibi quoscunque poenitentes ab haereseos et scimatis criminibus et a quibusvis excommunicationis sententiis, censuriset poenisquomodolibet incursis inutroque foro absolvendi ac sanctae Ecclesiaecatholicae reconciliandi, caeteraqueagendi, gerendi et providendi , quaecirca haecnecessaria

(1) Allen refersto theseBriefs in his letterto GregoryXIII, 20 November , 1583 (Knox, Allen, p 218)

duxeris et opportuna , plenam et liberam damus et concedimus facultatem Quoniam autem cogitavimus evenire posse ut nuncii apostolici praesentia eodem tempore pluribus in locis sit necessaria, idcirco facultatem tibi quoque damus vices tuas alii probo et idoneo viro, quem ad id elegeris, cum simili vel limitata potestate ad tempus tibi bene visum delegandi.

Datum Romae , etc., die 24 Septembris, 1583, Pontificatus nostri anno duodecimo.

INSTRUCTIO PRO HENRICO GARNETO ET P. ROBERTO SOTUELLO , ANNO 1586 , MARTII 24.(1)

Stonyhurst, Instructiones datae PP. Missionariis in Anglia, 1580-1663 . They are also found in the Arch S.J. Rom Instructiones, 1577-1596 .

In itinereerit Superior Missionis P. Henricus : P. vero Robertus

Sotuellus erit ejus Confessarius et Admonitor Cum autem in regnum pervenerint eorum, et reliquorumqui ibidem de Societate fuerint,(2) P. Gulielmus Westonus, qui si vel moriatur velcapiatur, vel adiri non possit, manebit Superior P. Henricus

Quamdiu non erit copia Confessarii Societatis confiteripossunt Externo, servata casuum reservatorum formula, si illa (quod Deus avertat) uti opus esset, et illius declaratione quae dabitur.

Poterunt in itinere, non repugnantibus Parochis, et in locis, quibus Ordinarii non existunt, absqueeorum licentia, verbum Dei praedicare,acquorumcumque Confessiones audire, cum authoritate absolvendi ab haeresi, et lectione librorum prohibitorum omnes

Ultramontanes et alios quosvis in locis ultra montes.

Datur his facultasaccipiendi et distribuendipecunias inAnglia prout in Domino expedire videbitur, etiam quas satisfactionis nomine a penitentibus accipient, pauperibus vel piis operibus erogandas dummodo incertum sit quibus illae debentur (3)

Teneantur solum ad Sacrum illud, juxta Catalogum Missarum ad intentionemnostram singulis hebdomadis celebrandum et hoc etiam ipsum pro ratione aliarum necessitatum et commoditate locorum poterunt vel ad eandem intentionem applicare vel omittere.

Permittiturut parvi aliqui libelli ad respondendum prodefensione fidei et Catholicorum aedificatione , imprimi possint,judicio P. Gulielmi Westoni .

(1) The title in R runs "Pro instructione privata ad eam quæ alias pro- ficiscentibus in regnum Angliæ datæ fuit, addita sunt 24 Martii, 1586, pro PP. Henrico Garnetoet Roberto Sothuelo quæ sequuntur. " FF. Garnet and Southwellleft Romeon May the 8th, 1586, and not as More (Hist. Prov Angl., p. 182) states , on March the 24th. They landed in England on July the 7th of the same year (Garnet's letters, 20 May, 1598 , and 6 July, 1601Coll P , ff 551 and 537).

(2) R inserts" superior erit" after" fuerint . "

(3) R reads" debeantur"

Occurente necessitate evadendi quocunque ire poterunt,(4) in Scotiam ne eant, nisi consilio cum Nostris qui in Scotia sunt, communicato : nec in Hiberniam nisi consulto P. G. Westono.

Datur cuicunque de Societate etiamlaico facultas dispensandi cum Sacerdotibus, item de Societate in irregularitate et defectu lenitatis,(5) si contingat ipsos in eam aliquando incidere.

Communicantur similiter P. Westono omnesfacultates quae in Compendio Privilegiorum Societatis Provincialibus , et aliis eis subordinatis Superioribus conceduntur, vel P. Henrico si, ut dictum est , contingat eum manere Missionis hujus Superiorem.

Translation.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FR HENRY GARNET AND FR ROBERT SOUTHWELL IN THE YEAR 1586 , MARCH 24TH.(1)

During the journey Fr. Henry will be SuperioroftheMission , and Fr. Robert will be his confessor and admonitor But when they have arrived in the kingdom, Fr. William Westonwill be their Superiorand of the other members of the Society who are there; and if he either dies or is captured, or if access to him is not possible, Fr. Henry will continue to be Superior.

So long as a confessor of the Society is not available, they have permission to confess to one who is not of the Society, keeping to the formula in regard to reserved casesif (which God forbid) it should need to be usedand the elucidation of it which will be given. They will have permission on the journey, if the Parish Priestsdo not object, and in places where there are no Ordinaries , to preach the word of God without leave from them; as also to hear any one's confession, with power also to absolve from the sin of heresy and the reading of prohibited booksall persons residing north of the Alps and any one else in those countries

Leave is given them to receive and distribute money in England as shall seem expedientin the Lord, and also any money which they may receive frompenitents, by way of restitution, to be spent on the poor or on worksof piety, provided there is doubt to whomit isowing. They are to be bound only to that Mass, which according to the list of Masses is to be said each week for our intention; and even so , when other intentions are necessary, these may be substituted; or for want of a convenientplace the Mass may be omitted.

Leave is given for some pamphlets to be printed for the defence of the faith and the edification of Catholics at the discretionof Fr. Weston "

(4) R inserts " alias" after " poterunt . "

(5)" This somewhat puzzling provision, " writes Fr. J. Gerard, S.J. , appears to regard some contingency likely to occur. Irregularityex defectu lenitatis is incurred bya priest whoinculpably sheds bloodor co-operates inits shedding. (Should there be fault on his part, the irregularityis not ex defectu but ex delicto .) At the time of which we are treating, theologiansgaveawide scope to this irregularity , some holding it to be incurred not only by a cleric who performed a surgical operation (and blood-letting was then a frequent practice), but by a priest who was presentat an execution It seemsprobable that something of this kind was contemplated in the above clause " (The Month, February, 1898, p 122).

Ifneed should occur to flee the country, they may go whereverthey please; but they are not to go to Scotland except after consultation with our fathers who are there, nor to Ireland except after consulting Fr. Weston.

Poweris given to any one in the Society, even to a laybrother, to dispense priests, even those of the Society, in cases of irregularity and "defectus lenitatis"(5) ifit should happen that at any time they incurit.

Similarly all faculties are accorded to Fr. Weston which in the Compendium of Privileges of the Society are granted to Provincials and other Superiors subordinateto them; or to Fr. Henry, if, as has been said , it falls to his lot to remain as Superiorof the Mission

MARY , QUEEN OF SCOTS , TO PERSONS Charteley,

28 May, 1586.

R.O. Mary, Q. of Scots, 17, 89, in Phelippes ' hand (1) Printed, Labanoff, Lettres, Instructions et Mémoires de Marie Stuart, Paris, 1844, vi, 333.

Good frende yowr letters of the ? of eyghtye fowreand of the [?]G of Februarye eyghtye five cameno sooner to my handes then the25thof thelast monthe so as the occasionof the contents therof being passed and not knowinghow thinges have succeded or stande yett at this present it is impossible to me to give yow any substanciall direction or answer Neverthelesse may I say ifduring my aboadeat WingfeldeI had receaved yowr foresaydes and had had also the moneye which I had required I thinke I cold have browght that to passe whichyou did propone unto me the sayd howse being verye fitt therfore circutte whollye with wood and at that time in winter season as yow desired Besides that my new kepars to make me more willingly grawnt to the change from my olde kepar gave me a great deale more libertye then I was wont to have. But now both my selfe and myfolkes here are so straightly looked unto and kept so close as it hath not hithertill bene in my power to practise any within this Howse to my devotion except hym onlye that leadeth this entercowrse . And withowt I were assisted by some of my kepars servantes it is now altogether impossible for me to escape the gates onlye never a window in my lodging nor way abowt the howse being almost eyther day or night withowt a sentinell: wherfore for this desseing of my deliverye I can putt yow in no hope consydring the state I amin presentlye (2)Leave not to continue to labor by all meanes for the restablishement of thinges in the Cowntrye the weale and prosperitye wherofand of the good men and trew Catholikes of the same I shall alwayes preferre to all greatnesse and particular contentement of my owne and will thinke mylife wellbestowed tothat endewhen so ever occasionshall offer . Give right affectionate thankes in my name to my cowsin the Prince of Parmafor the honorable testimonye I have had by his letter ofthe good will he beareth me whichaccepting and nottnow able to requite but with the like onelye I pray yow lett him under-

(1) On the same sheet as a letter to Fulgeam in which it was enclosed . (2) From (2) to (2) is underlined in MS.

stand [a word lost] Answer that as it hath pleased the king of Spayne my good brotherto make a speciall choyseofhim tohave from henceforththe whole charge and managing ofthe enterprise proponed for the restablishing of this state: So in as moch as I can for my owne part I shall alwayes esteme it for me no small happynesse to cocurre in an action so important for the weale and common quietnesse of all Christendome with a Prince so meete in all respects for effecting ofthe same as I see he is. And therfore if it pleaseth him that he advise with yow all in those partes of the fittest meanesfor execution of that his Good intention in the sayd enterprise Let him be sure that I shalltherein corresponde for my part with an entier acknowledgement ofhow moch I am beholding unto him therfore.(2)

I remitt to yow to givehim thankes forthe diligence andgood order which I have understoode he hath cawsed to be taken for the recovering of the 12,000 I had asked for the which Iwould nottherewere made any farther sute unlest yowsawthereinsome great facilitye to obtayne the sayd monye in respect of the great chargesI am at and have beneforced to beareall this whileduring and since my change for that all my Intelligencers have fayled me being not able to recover others of new withowt new meanes Alsothat such occasions ofimportance may fall owt on thesodayne for to further my escape or otherwise which for want of redye and sufficient meanes in hande I shall be forced to lett slippe. Yow know how I am used in France and my dowryeduring this warres thereis to diminishmore then ever whichnotwithstanding I wold no way importunate the King of Spayne nor the Prince of Parma liking a great deale betterto suffer then beggeanywayes being no lesse obliged towardes yow for the paynes and travayle yow have taken therein for me as if it had taken effect. For as moch as I cannot write to Mr. Owen more then th'aforesayd I referre unto yow to impart the same unto him and with all to witnesse the accompt I make of his good will towardes me. God almighty preserve yow.

Charteley 28 May(3) 1586 .

[Endorsed] 29 May 1586 The Scottish Queen to Fulgeam(4) and Parsons.

CARDINAL MELINO TO PHILIP II. Rome, 30 June, 1587 .

Arch Gen. de Simancas , Sec de Estado, Leg 355 (olim 948)

Signore, Fra gl'Inglesi Catolici che per la fede nostra esulano da quel Regno, ha per molti anni Monsignor Adueno dato in queste parte segni di molto virtù et di continua devotione verso 'Î servitiodi V. Maestà onde ha potuto molto ben meritarsicheella con occhio benigno mirandoallo statosuo habbia pensiero d'aiutarlo et favo-

(3) The 8 is written over an erasure of what appears to have been a 9 (4) Referring to the other letter on the same sheet,

rirlo, provedendolo nelle occasioni che le si presentino in Fiandra , o in altri suoi Regni ; Et è ancor' tale, che potria servirle molto nella patria sua se dalla grandezza di lei venisse autorizato con dimostracion anco d'honore. Io che lo conosco degno della sua Regia protettione ho voluto non solo proponerlo a V . Maestà per suggetto, in cui potria molto resplendere ogni benefitio et honore , che la gli facesse, ma supplicarle anco di volerlo haver per tale et favorirlo, et per sua particularenotitia ho commesso a Giuglio Battaglino agente mio, che delle sue conditioni le dia ragguaglio particulare; al quale per ciò rimetto Et il Signore Dio prosperi Vostra Maestà quanto lo disidero Di Roma li xxx di Giugno 1587.

Juan Card de Melino

TO THE KING

Translation Rome, 30 June, 1587 .

Sir, Among the English Catholics who are in exile for our faith from that kingdom is MonsignorOwen, who for many years in those parts has given evidence of great virtue and of a constantdevotionto your Majesty's service ; and for this reason he is very deserving that you should have a kindly regard for his well-being and take thought how you can help andfavour him by making provisionfor him whenopportunity offers in Flanders or in your other kingdoms And he is moreover a mansuch as could doyou good service in his own country if hecame armed with your high authorityand with some proof of your regard. In as much as I know him to be worthy of your royal protection, I have desired not only to propose him to your Majesty as a person who woulddo conspicuous credit to any benefice or dignitywhichyou might confer on him , but also to beg you to consent to hold him as such and to give him your patronage. And for your private information I have charged my agent, Giuglio Battaglino, to give you a detailed report on his circumstances, and for this I refer you to him May God our Lord prosper your Majesty as I desire From Rome on the 30th of June, 1587 . John, Cardinal of Melino .

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF OWEN LEWIS SENT BY GIULIO BATTAGLINO TO PHILIP II Madrid, 3 August, 1587

Arch Gen. de Simancas , Sec de Estado, Leg 948

Signore

Monsignor Audoeno Ludovicinacque di parenti nobili etCatholici in Inghilterra, nella parte dell'antica Britannia, patria già di Costentino Magno, et poi del Cardinal Polo Fu forzato25anni fa lasciare i beni e la patria per non abandonare la religione Catolica , dieci anni spese in Flandracon carico, prima di professoreregio, et primario nella legge canonice nella universitàdi Douay, et poi di vicario dell' Arcivescovo di Cambrai dal quale mandato in Roma per cose gravi fu fatto Referendario dell' una et l'altra segnatura da Gregorio XIII et da sua Santità adoprato confidentemente in tutte le occorrenza di Fiandra, et Inghilterra del [blank], nel qual

tempo et occasione lui fi segnalati servitii, et a la Sede Apostolica et a la Maestà Vostra come saperà il Comendator maggiore et ottenne la fundatione del colleggio Inglese in Roma , et di quello di Douay hoggi residente in Remes, et molti altri benefitii per la sua natione. Dopo sette anni fu richieduto per suo vicario in Milano dal Cardinale Borromeo et piaque a quel sant'huomo in cinque anni che lo servi, dopo la cui morte richiamato in Roma da Gregorio fu fatto Segretario della congregatione sopra i vescovi nel quale carico come ha fatto sempre in gl'altri tutti si esercita tutta viafedelmente et con approbatione universale fu sì confidente della Regina di Scotia e hebbe sempre a trattare in Roma i suoi negotii, et in somma per nobiltà, per lettere, per costumi, per uso di moltelingue, per seguito che [? ha] fra la natione et per servitii fatti, et che può fare giudicail Cardinale di Medici come servitore et ministro devotissimo di Vostra Maestà, questo prelato esser meritevole della sua Real protettionecome ho più alungo discorso con Don Giovani Idiaquez. Iddio guardi la cattolica persona di V.M. di Madrid a tre di Agosto 1587 . Giulio Battaglino.

Translation.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE . 3 Aug., 1587

Sir ,MonsignorOwen Lewis was born of distinguishedCatholic parents in England, in the part of it called Ancient Britain which was once the fatherland of Constantine the Great and later of Cardinal Pole Twenty-five years ago he was forced to abandon his property andnative land to avoid giving up the Catholic religion; he spent ten years in Flanders, holding the office, first of all, of Regius Professor and Senior Professor of Canon Law at the University of Douay, and afterwards ofVicar-General to the ArchbishopofCambray , who sent him toRome in charge of important business There he was made Referendaryof both theSignaturaby GregoryXIII and was employed by His Holiness in a confidentialcapacityin allthe happenings in Flanders andEngland

He used the opportunities of this period to do signal service both tothe Apostolic See and to your Majestyas the Commendator Maggiore will knowand was instrumental in the foundation of the EnglishCollege in Rome and the one at Douay, whichis to-dayinstalled in Rheims , and in obtaining many other advantages for his nation Seven years later he was requisitioned by Cardinal Borromeo to be his Vicar-General in Milan, and gave satisfactionto that saintly man during the five years he served him Afterthe Cardinal'sdeathhe was recalled to Romeby Gregoryand made Secretaryof the Congregation for Regulationof Bishops, and in that office , as was the case in all his other offices , he is still faithfully employed with universalapprobation . He was in the confidence of the Queen of Scotland , and had always to transacther business in Rome; and, to sum up, in view of hissocial position , learning, address, of his familiaritywith many languages, his influence with his nation, and the services he has rendered and is able to render, Cardinal di Medici considers that, being a servant and administrator most devoted to your Majesty, this prelate is deserving of your royal protection. All this I have discussed at greater length with Don Juan de Idiaquez May God protect your CatholicMajesty's person. From Madrid, on the 3rd of August, 1587 Giulio Battaglino.

INSTRUCTIO PARTICULARIS PRO MISSIONE P. GULIELMI HOLTI ET P. JOSEPHI CRESWELLI IN ANGLIAM ET SCOTIAM , 24 Feb. 1588 .

Arch S.J. Rom . Instructiones, 1577-1596

Another copy, ibid , Rom. Hist. Coll Ang., Hib , Scot , xi (1)

1. Praeter instructionesillorum qui antea in Angliam missi fuerunt (quorun exemplaria habere secum debebunt) intelligant finem particularem hujus missionis esse , ut Nostros in Anglia et Scotia laborantes, pro temporum et locorum opportunitate ad salutem animarum procurandam juvent, maxime tamen in Anglia (2)Quod si in Scotiam eorum aliquis ire contingat, is obedientiae ejus, qui ex nostris ibidem coeteris praeest, suberit.

2. In itinere transibunt per Serenissimum Ducem Parmensem (si in Belgio fuerit) et illi se suamque operam offerent , si qua in re eis uti voluerit, secundum instructiones , quas hac de re abIllmo Card Angliae accipent, nec eo inconsulto, vel non approbante quicquam deinde statuent de sua profectione, sed omnia ad arbitrium suae Celsitudinis accommodabunt

3. Dum apud Serenissimum Principem fuerint, valde se modeste gerant, nec ullo modo negotiis se ingerant; si quando autem ad concilium vocentur, moderate agant, (3)nec quicquam ei aut Secretario ejus proponant , nisi mature prius cogitatum, Deoquecommendatum , ac inter se deliberatum; quod et in Anglia etiam observandum erit tam cum Serenissimo Duce , quam cum aliis Magnatibus, si forte Deus illud regnum restitueret , ut nostri scilicet Londini potius commorantes, quam per Insulaepartes sese effundentes, spiritualibus tamen occupationibus insistant Quod alia adjumenta hinc subministrentur; negotia vero graviora, si quae oriantur, ad Illmum Cardinalem, quantumpossent, referenda procurent

4.In nostrorum adinvicem subordinatione , hicordo observetur, ut hujus missionis particularis quousque in Angliam perveniant, Superior sit P. Gulielmus Holtus, (4)P. Creswellus vero ei sit ut Consultor et Monitor. In Anglia vero dum fuerint, Superioromnium sit P. Gulielmus Westonus cui (5)si ab humanis decedat, vel morbo impeditus, ut quamdiu in carcere fuerit, succedat P. Henricus Garnetus, qui jam est; cujus sint consultores duoex senioribus Anglis Societatis qui apud eum fuerint, quorumsenior sit ejus admonitor; Pri vero Henrico succedatP. Gulielmus Holtus; tertio vero loco, si in Angliam venerit , et post eum P. Robertus Sottuellus. In Belgio vero dum fuerint, si aliqua consultatio incidat nostrorumde rebus Anglicanis, superior in ea sitP.Guliel-

(1) Thecopyin Rom . Hist Coll , etc. , is in Persons's hand,with additions in another hand , which may possibly be that of Creswell These additions are incorporated in the text abovebut are marked in the footnotes as being added by C.

(2) From " Quod si " to " suberit " added by C. " (3) From " nec quicquam to " deliberatum" added by C. (4) From " P. Creswellus " to "Monitor " added by C. (5) From " si ab " to " Pri vero Henrico" added by C.

mus Holtus, in ceteris vero quae pertinent ad missionem illam nostrorum, qui ex Belgio mittuntur, superior sit ille, quem P. Provincialis Belgii constituerit, quousque in Angliam venerint, ubi omnes suberunt illi qui Missioni Anglicanae praeest, et ille immediate Praesposito Societatis Generali

5. Si expedire videbitur ad majorem Dei gloriam, ut hi duo Patres qui nunc mittuntur, ab invicem se separent, et alter in Angliam, alter vero in Scotiam vel alio proficiscatur poterunt sibi pro sociis petere a P. Provinciali Belgii P. Franciscum Wafererum et P. Henricum Bray Anglos, vel eorum alterutrum, qui modo in Belgio sunt, eaquein re Provincialis eis libentergratificabitur, nisi aliquid habeat in contrarium ad personas illorum attinens, quod missioni hujusmodi repugnet (quod nobis tamen quamprimum repraesentabit) alias vero difficultatesad provinciam suam pertinentes, (6)ipse pro communi caritate vincere curet.

6. Ut celeritati itineris quantum expedit consulatur , dispensaturcum illisin regula, quaejubet Collegia nostra in locis singulis adeunda, ac superiorem de negotiis consulendum, idqueitaut non teneantur divertere ad nostros in via, nisi commoditas itineris patiatur, nec vestitum etiam Societatis locis omnibus praeseferre, sed ubi erit opus eundem vel mutare (7)omnino , si necessitas id suadent, vel ad honestorum sacerdotum morem se accommodare. Quamdiu tamen sub habitu Societatis incedent, consulere debebunt aedificationi , atque etiamsecreto: Nam si in habituSocietatis in locis ubi Collegia habemus, ad publicahospitiadiverterent, non dubium quin magnam essent admirationis occasionemdaturi.

Translation

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MISSION OF FR WILLIAM HOLT AND FR. JOSEPH CRESWELL TO ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND .

1. Inaddition tothe instructionsgivento those whohave previously been sent to England (a copy of which they should carry with them) they are to understand that the particular object of this mission is that they may assist our fathers who are labouring in England and Scotland, as time and place allows, to bring about the salvation of souls, and this especially in England. And if one ofthem should happen to go to Scotland, he will yield obedience to the father of our Society who is in charge there of the rest

2. On their journey they will call on His Serene Highness the Duke of Parma (if he is in Belgium), and will put themselves and their aid at his disposal, if he wishes to use them for any purpose, following the instructionswhich theywill receiveinthematter from His Eminence the Cardinalof England; and, without consultinghim and his approval , theyare notto make any decision about proceeding on their way, but are to arrange everything as His Highness thinks fit.

3. Whilst they are with His Serene Highness the Prince, let them behave very modestlyand on no account obtrude themselves in affairs (of state). Should they, however, at any time be called into consulta-

(6) From "ipse" to "curet" added by C, and " vincat "after" ipse " erased (7) From omnino to "ad" added by C. 33

tion, let them act with restraint and not make any suggestion to him or to his Secretary unless it has been previously well considered and commended to God and discussed between them. This procedure is to be adopted in England also, should it happen that God gives us back that kingdom, in their relations both with His Serene Highness the Duke and with other eminent persons, so that our fathers ,though doubtless they will be dwelling in London rather than exercising their activities throughout the various districts of the island, may apply themselves nevertheless to spiritual occupations As regards help of otherkinds, itisto be supplied from here; but in case of more important affairs , if any such should occur , they should take care to refer these. so far as possible, to His Eminence the Cardinal

4. As regards the subordinationof our fathers to one another, this sequence is to be observed: Fr. William Holt will be the Superiorof this particular mission until they reach England, and Fr. Creswell will act as his Consultor and Admonitor Whilst they are in England, however, Fr.William Westonwill be Superior over all; and if he should depart this life or become incapacitatedby sickness (for he has been a long time in prison), Fr. Henry Garnet, who is now Superior, is to succeed him, and his Consultors are to be two of the senior English members of the Societywho have been with him; and let the senior ofthese be his Admonitor Again, in the first instance, Fr. William Holt is to succeed Henrythat is to say if a third is requiredand if he has come to Englandand after him Fr. Southwell Again, whilst they are in Belgium , in the event of any consultationof our fathers on Englishaffairs , Fr.William Holtis to preside overit: inothermatters, however , relating to that mission of our fathers who are sent from Belgium, their Superior is to be whomsoever the Fr. Provincial of Belgium may appoint, until they reach England, and when there all will be subject to the Superiorof the English mission; and the latter will be directly under the General of the Society.

5. Ifit shall seem expedientfor the greaterglory ofGod that these two fathers , now being sent, should part company and one proceed to England, the other to Scotland or elsewhere, they have permission toask Fr. Provincial of Belgiumfor Fr. Francis Wafererand Fr. Henry Bray, Englishmen, to be their companions,or some otherofthose fathers who are now in Belgium; and Fr. Provincial is to meet their wishes graciously in this matter, unless he has anything against them personally, making them unsuitedfor this mission (which he will in that case represent to us as soon as possible); otherwise, if any difficulties are caused to his Province , it is for him to take measures to overcome them with charityto all

6. In order to ensure a speedy journey, such as is advisable, they are dispensed from the rule which bids them have recourse to our own Colleges everywhere and consult with the Superioron their business; and this is to be interpreted that they are not bound to go out of their road inorder to visit ourfathers, unless it is appropriateto their journey to do so, nor to be seen everywhere in the Society's dress , but where there is need they may change to an entirely different one , if they are persuaded that it is necessary, or may conform to the custom of respectable priests So long, however, as they travel in the habit of the Society, they are to have regard to edification, and this even when unobserved ; forif, when dressedin the Society's habit, they were to go without need to public hostelries in places where we have Colleges , there is no doubt but that they would expose themselves to considerable comment.

INDEX

COMPILED BY L. HICKS , S.J.

n indicates a note on the page.

Addy, Patrick Ixiv, 253n , 267

Agazzari, Alfonso, S.J. , Rector of the English College, Rome xi, xxiii, 16, 19-21, 26, 97n, 116-118, 125 , 126, 183, 197, 215-217, 226 , 228n , 240–245, 252 , 255, 259, 260, 262, 271 ; Letters to 41, 46, 72, 83, 90 , 91 , 115 , 123-125, 136, 141 , 142, 172, 178 , 182 , 197, 200, 201, 205, 215, 216 , 226, 227 , 244, 245, 255, 259, 263-272

Aldred, Solomon lxv, lxvin, 220 , 222

Alençon, Duke of xli, xlvii, lxi, 48 , 57, 64n, 194, 196, 211

Alfield , Robert xxxiii, xxxix, 79n , 136 , 138-141

Alfield , Bd Thomas 97n, 137 , 139

Allen, Gabriel xvi

Allen, Mrs. 233, 238 Allen, William, later Cardinal xii, xiii, xviii-xl, xlviii, xlix, li-lvi, lviin, lviii-lxii, lxiv-lxxvi, 1 , 2, 7 , 8 , 9 , 13 , 22, 27, 28, 47n, 76n, 96, 97, 106 , 107 , 115, 125, 126, 141n, 144-148 , 166 , 167, 172, 173n, 174-180, 183 , 184 , 187 , 190n, 191 , 193, 198, 202n , 203205, 218n, 220, 224, 226, 229 , 230n , 233, 234, 236, 238, 239, 246, 247 , 259n, 260-263, 265, 266, 270 , 271 , 273-279, 282, 284-295, 303, 304n, 313, 314, 350-352 , 360, 362; Briefs to 353, 354; Cardinalate oflxxv , lxxvi, 277, 279, 285, 286, 289–291 , 294 , 312 , 313; Letters to 3, 70, 71, 352 ; Works, see under Books

Angus, Earl of, 207, 208, 212, 213

Anjou, Duke of, see Alençon

Antonio, Don lv, 194n

Aquaviva, Claudius, S.J., Generalof the Society of Jesus xlii, xlixn , lix, lxiv, lxv, lxvii-lxxi, 97n , 104, 117, 118, 173n, 174, 179, 182n, 186, 190n , 200,202,203,210,216,218,221 , 240, 244, 245, 252, 254, 257-259,261, 264, 265, 271; Letters to 6, 9 , 91, 95 , 107, 172, 187 , 191 , 201, 217 , 221, 224, 240-242, 252, 255, 257 , 260 , 262

Aquaviva, Bd Rodulph 242

Arden, Edward 188 , 189 , 191-194 , 196

Arden, Mrs. 188, 189

Argyll, Earl of 1

Arlington, Laurence 267n

Arran, Earl of, see Ochiltree, James Array, Martin 12 , 17

Arundel, Charles lxvi, lxviii, 189 , 192, 194, 195 , 196 , 226

Arundel, Sir John, of Laherne 50, 58

Arundel, Bd Philip Howard, Earl of, see Howard

Astlow , Lukexi

Athol, Earl of 208 , 212

Attendance at Protestant Church , see under England

Aylmer, John, Bp of London 53 , 60, 81, 89, 115, 116n, 117 , 231 , 237

Bagshaw , Christopher 200, 201 , 215 , 216

Bailey, Thomas lxxvi, 265

Barret, Richard, 115, 116, 200n , 215n

Basset, Charles xxii, xl, 73n , 74 , 84 , 90, 91, 93n, 200, 245, 255, 263n , 265 , 266

Bateson, Richard, S.J. lxv, 220, 224

Bavand (Bavant), Richard 23

Beaton, James, Abp of Glasgow xl, xlii,xlix, lii-liv, lix, 96, 97, 107, 145 , 148, 166, 167, 202n , 208, 217, 218 , 222, 260, 262 ; Letter to 166 , 167

Bell, Bd James 210n, 232n , 238

Bell, Thomas 233, 238

Bellarmine, St. Robert, S.J. 105 , 114

Bennet , John 232, 237

Bergamo , Mgr di 290, 293

Bianchetti, Mgr 23n

Bible, Douay-Rheims version of xl, 2, 174

Bickley, Ralph, S.J. 267n

Birkhead (Birkett), George xxxi, xliv, 47, 56, 178 , 180, 266, 267

Bishop, William 127, 132, 142, 143

Blackwell, George xix, xxi, xxxi

INDEX

Bodin, Jean xli

Body, Bd John 190 , 193

Boncompagni , Cardinal 8, 345 , 346

Books (General References) 74, 84, 103, 113 , 129,130,133,173

A Brief of the Life and Death of Sir E. Campion 129n

A True Report of the Death and Martyrdom of M. Campion 129n

True Report of the late Apprehension and Imprisonment of John Nichols 76n, 116, 141n

Leicester's Commonwealth lxviii , 256, 266, 268 lxvi,

Allen, William, A Defence . ofthe CatholicDoctrineofPurgatory 75 , 84

An Apologie and True Declaration of the Institutionof the two English Colleges 75, 84

A True, Sincere and Modest Defence of the English Catholics lxvii, 220 , 223, 226, 230, 236, 255 , 266, 268

An Admonition to the Nobility and People ofEngland304 , 307

Bristowe, Richard, A Reply to William Fulke, etc. 75, 84

Browne, Robert, A Treatise of Reformation without tarrying 176n , 180n

A Book which sheweththe life ... of all true Christians 176n

A Treatise upon the 23 of Matthew 176n

Bunny, Edward, A Treatise Tending to Pacification xlv

Burghley, Lord, Execution of Justice in England lxvii, 220, 222 , 259, 266, 268

Campion, Edmund, The " Challenge" xxii, xxiv, xxxiii, xxxiv, 49, 57 , 75n

TenReasonsxxv ,xxxvii,xxxviii, 75, 84

Charke, William, An Answer to a Seditious Pamphlet, etc. 75

Fulke, William, Two Treatises written againstthe Papists 75, 84

A Rejoynder to Bristow's Replie 75

A Sermon preached upon Sunday beingthe twelfth of March anno 1581 in the Tower of London 76n Conferentia cum pontificiis in Castro Wisbicensi4 October, 1580 79n

Hanmer, Meredith, The Graet Bragge and Challenge of Master Campion xxxiv, 75n

Hopkins, Richard, Of Prayer and Meditation, etc. 173n

Kellridge, John, Two Sermons preached Godlie and learned etc. in theTowerofLondonMay7 and 20 anno 1581 76n

Loarte, Gaspar , S.J. , Essercitio della Vita Christiana xliv

Martin, Gregory, Douay-Rheims

Version ofthe Biblexl, 2 , 174n

A Discoverie of the Manifold Corruptionsby the Heretics ofthe H. Scripture 174n

Nichols, John, A Declarationofthe Recantation of John Nichols, 76n , 85

Oration and Sermon made at Rome by John Nichols 27 May, 1578 xxxvi, 77n

Persons, Robert, S.J.-

Works written in England: Confessio Fidei xxii, xxxviin, 28, 49, 57 why

A Briefe discours Catholiques refuse to go to Church xxxii, 63, 76 , 85

Briefe Censure uppon two books written in answer to M. Edmund Campion's offer of disputation xxxiii-xxxv , 63, 75, 84

A Discoverie of John Nichols xxxv , 77 , 85, 131 , 136

Works written at Rouen: De Persecutione Anglicana xliii, 97n, 343, 344

The Defence of the Censure xliii, xliv, 97n

The First Book of the Christian Exercise, xliv, 97n, 174n

A Christian Directory, xliv, lxvii, 97n

Work published when at Rome : (edited) Sanders's De Schismate Anglicano lxxii, 278 , 280

Works wrongly attributed to him 233n

Ribadeneira Pedro de, S.J., Historia Ecclesiastica del Scisma del Regno de Inglaterra 229n

Vaux, Laurence, A Catechisme of Christian Doctrine 173n

Woodward, Philip, TheForerunner of Bell's Downefall 233n

The Doleful Knell of Thomas Bell 233n

Bell's Trial Examined233n

Books, Distributionof xxxii, 77 , 85

Borromeo, St. Charles, 8n, 360; Cardinal 56, 62

Bosgrave, Thomas, S.J. lxv, 123 , 126n, 142, 234, 238, 272

Bothwell, Earl of 208, 212

Bourbon, Charles de, Cardinal 98 , 107

Bowes , Robert, English Ambassador to Scotland, 202n, 217n

Bray, Henry, S.J. 362 , 363

Briant, Bd .Alexanderxxxvii, xxxviii, 80n, 81, 88, 126, 130, 132, 134

Brinkley, Stephen xxxii, xxxiii, xxxvii, xxxix, xliv, 74n, 95n, 183187 , 272, 273

Bristowe, Richard 4; see also under Books

Brookesby , Edward xv , xvi

Brookesby , Williamxxxii, 184, 185

Bromley, Sir George 232, 238

Browne, Francis xxxiii, 63n

Browne, Robert, 176n; see alsounder

Books

Bruce, Robert 280n , 303n, 304, 307

Brushford, John, 270, 271

Bunny, Edmund xlv, 174n

Burghley, Lord 220n, 267, 268 ; see also under Books

Caddy, Laurence, 115-117

Caithness, Earl of 1 , 102, 112

Calvinists, 176, 180

Campion , Bd. Edmund xiv-xviii, xxi, xxiii-xxvi , xxxi, xxxiv, xxxvii, xxxviii, xxxix, xli, xliii, 23n , 41, 42 , 44, 52, 59, 73-75, 80 , 83, 84, 91-95 , 107, 116 , 117-121 , 123, 126 , 128 , 129, 132-134, 142, 173, 227n , 316, 319, 321-340; Letter to 1;for works

see under Books

Capeci, Ferdinand,S.J 9n, 19 , 105 , 114

Carey, Sir George 91n, 210, 214

Carleton, alias of Sherwood , q.v.

Cassillis, Earl of 150

Castelli , Mgr , see under Nuncio (France)

Castlenau , Michel de, Sieur de la Mauvissière 209n , 213

Catholics , English, see underEngland

Cecil, Sir William, see underBurghley

Chamberlain , Mr. xiv, xv

Chambers 1

Chambers, Edward xxxi

Charke, William xxxiii, xxxiv , xliii, 63n, 74 , 75, 84

Clenock , Dr. Maurice xi, xxxv , 3, 913, 15-18, 22-26

Clifton, Thomas 55, 62 , 82 , 89

Commines , Philip de 297 , 300

Como, Cardinal of 16, 23 , 24 , 167n , 241 , 242 , 256, 258; Letter of 352; Letter to 185

Conscience , Liberty of 270, 287 , 288

Copping, John 176n

Cornelius , Bd John, S.J. 183 , 184

Cottam, Bd. Thomas, S.J. 55, 62 , 79 , 87 , 126n, 142

Covert , Thomas 259

Creagh, Richard, Abp of Armagh 5n

Creed, Mr. 18

Creighton , see Crichton

Creswell, Joseph, S.J. lxxv, 184 , 185 , 313n, 361-363

Crichton, William, S.J. xlii, xlviii, xlix, lii, liv, lxiv, 96n, 143, 145, 146, 148, 166n, 167, 217, 218, 222, 227n , 242, 243, 251, 253,254,257,260-262 , 264 , 265 , 267, 271

Crofts, Sir James 153, 161

Crowther, Thomas 142 , 143

Culpepper (Colpepper), Sir Alexander 50, 58

Curry, John, S.J. lxv

Dacre, Lord 154 , 163

Darbyshire, Thomas, S.J. xii, 2, 7 , 14, 19, 198

D'Aubigny, Sieur, see Stuart, Esmé

Davila, Gil Gonzalez , S.J., see Gonzales

Derby, Earl of 306, 309

Dias , 116n

Dimmock , Mary 97n

Douay, see Rheims

Douglas, Family of 150 , 159

Douglas, Lady Maragret 208n

Drake, Sir Francis lx, 53, 54, 60

Dumbarton Ivi, 150, 159, 182n

Durham, Bishopric of lx, 143 , 144 , 146, 154, 155, 162, 164, 350-353

Eglington, Earl of 1 , 102, 112

Elizabeth, Queen xli, li, lvi, lx, lxii, 54, 60, 64n, 78 , 80, 86, 88, 96, 107 , 151 , 154 , 156, 160-165 , 176 , 177, 189 , 194, 196,207,209 , 212-214 , 218n , 225-227, 229n, 251, 253, 254, 261, 262, 266, 267, 272, 280 , 281 , 283,284,286-289,299,303,305-307 , 345, 346, 348, 349

Elliot (Eliot) 93, 94 , 121

Ely, Humphrey 232

Emerson , Ralph, S.J. xiv, xvi, xxvi, xlix, liin, lxvi-lxviii, 52, 59, 93, 94, 227 , 235n, 241, 243, 245, 252, 254, 256, 257, 261, 262, 265, 267

Enghiam, Richard, S.J. 244 , 245, 255, 260, 262 England 151-157 , 159-163 , 305, 341 , 342 , 347 Attendance at Protestant Church

хх, хххіі,хххіі, 44, 46, 51, 55, 56, 58, 62, 75, 78, 81, 82, 85, 86, 89 , 97, 107, 151, 160, 162

Catholics of xvii, 42, 43, 46, 74, 77, 78, 86, 149, 151, 152, 157-160 , 165, 170, 171, 175, 176, 180 , 191 , 192, 290, 291 , 294

Their constancyxxix, 43, 46, 51, 58, 59, 60, 65, 66, 78, 86

INDEX

Their devotion to the Mass xxiii, xxxi, 78 , 128 , 133

Their loyalty to the Pope xxiii, 43, 46

Their numbers 51, 52, 58, 152 , 161, 173, 174, 179, 267, 268

367

Fulke, William 75, 76n, 79n , 84

Gage, John, of Firle 50, 58

Gagliardi, Achilles, S.J. 104 , 114

Factions among 279 , 290 , 293

Fasting laws of xx, xxi

Catholic exilesfrom 230, 236 , 240243, 261, 263, 285, 286, 304, 307 , 341-346 "

Invasion of, see "Impresa Jesuit Mission to xi ff , lxv-lxvii, Ixxiii, 4, 32, 38, 42, 45, 48, 49, 51 ,

52, 57 , 59, 73, 74, 77, 98, 105 , 108, 114, 116, 174, 188, 191 , 201205, 211, 215, 219, 223, 234 , 235 , 239, 241, 243-245, 252-254, 256, 257, 260-265, 271

Instructions for xii 7, 27, 28, 316-331 , 355, 356, 360-363

Martyrs of 291, 294; see under individual names of martyrs

Persecution in xviii, xxiv, xxvixxx, lxv, 42-44, 46, 48-53, 56-58,

60, 61, 63-69, 74, 77, 79, 81 , 82, 87-89, 98, 123, 124, 126-128 , 133 , 151 , 160, 173, 175-177 , 179, 190, 193, 199, 201, 210, 211, 213 , 214 , 229-235,237-240,261,262,266, 267 , 270; see also Torture

Succession question 289, 294–303 , 305, 306, 308

Englefield, Sir Francis 225 , 226, 249; Letter to 224

English College, Rome; see under Rome

Eu, College of 1

Excommunication, Bull of xiii, lx, 156, 164, 183n, 291, 294, 299, 305, 307, 348, 349

Family of Love 82, 90

Farnese, Cardinal lxxiii, lxxvi, 290 , 293, 312, 313; Letter to 280, 283

Feckenham , John, Abbot of Westminster 79 , 87

Fentry, Laird of lix, 209 , 213, 217, 222, 250n

Fernihurst, Lord 102 , 112

Ferrante, P., S.J. 117 , 118

Filby, Bd William, 126n

Finch, Bd. John 210n, 232, 238

Fitzherbert, Thomas xxxvii

Fleetwood , a J.P. of Lancashirexxvii

Flinton, George xliii

Ford, Bd Thomas 126n

France , 290, 293; see underHenry III, Navarre

Frison, Mgr 240 , 241

Fulgeam (Fuljambe), Godfrey 246 , 251, 269, 357n , 358

Garnet, Henry, S.J. lxviii, 203 , 219 , 222, 244, 271 , 355-357 , 361, 363; Letter of 315

Gerard, John, S.J. 219n, 232n

Gibson, Thomas 176n

Gifford, Gilbert 47n

Gifford, John, of Brude 50, 58

Gilbert , George, S.J. xvi, xxii, xxxviii, xl, 5n, 41, 65-68, 73 , 74 , 80, 84, 88, 90, 91, 95n , 128, 133 , 136-141 , 183-187 , 216, 232n , 241 , 243,263,321,331

Goldwell, Thomas , Bp of St. Asaph 20, 24, 26, 52, 59, 178, 182, 211 , 215 , 226, 227

Gonzales Davila, Gil, S.J. lvii, 171 , 172

Good, William, S.J. xi, xii, 125, 126, 199, 244, 245, 255; Letter to 5

Gordon , James , S.J. Ixiv, 218 , 242 , 243, 253, 254, 260, 262, 264 , 303n

Gore, Mr. 12, 13 , 17 , 19

Gowrie, Earl oflvi, 207, 209, 212 , 213 Granada, Louis of 173n

Granvelle, Cardinal lv, 169

Grately, Edward xli, 47, 56, 125 , 126 Gray (Grey), Lord 102, 112 Gray, Master of 209, 213, 217 , 222 Gregory XIII, Pope xiii, xxiii , xliii, liii, lv, lvi, lix-lxi, Ixiv, lxxii, 6, 10, 16-19, 22, 23, 25-27, 43, 52, 55, 60, 61, 68, 70, 71, 73, 83, 103, 104 , 113, 131, 135, 138 , 141 , 157 , 166, 167, 169-171 , 173n, 177, 181, 185, 186, 195, 197 , 199, 200, 218n , 225 , 226, 240, 241, 247, 249, 340-346, 359, 360; Briefs of 348-355; Letters to 64, 66, 193 , 196

Grencknolls, de, Baron 101 , 111

Griffen (Griffin , Griffiths), Hugh 3, 14, 19n

Griffiths, William xxiv

Guise, Duke of xlix, lii-liv, lvin, lviii-lxi, 143, 145, 146, 148 , 166n , 167, 169, 170, 182n, 185, 186 , 194197, 211n, 217, 224 , 225, 280, 292n

Brief to 351

Guise, Princes of 290 , 293

Gwynn, Robert xxxi

Haddock, Richard, see Haydock, Richard Hall 188, 189 , 194 , 196

Hamilton, Lord Claude 280

Hamilton, Family of 150 , 159

Hanmer, Meredith xxxiii, xxxiv, 63n , 74 , 75, 84

Hanse, Bd Everard, 73n, 82, 89

Hart, Mr. 21

Hart, John, S.J. lxv, 53, 60 , 79 , 80 , 87, 126n, 142

Hart, Bd. William 174 , 179

Hartley, Bd William xxv , xxxviii, xxxix

Harwood, Edward, S.J. 2n

Hatton, Sir Christopher 189n

Hay, Edmund, S.J. xlix, lxviii, 96n, 218n, 260, 262

Haydock, Ven George 127, 132, 178n, 231

Haydock, Richard 13 , 17 , 18n

Henry III of France 95n, 96, 107, 209, 225, 264n , 285, 290, 291 , 293 , 294

Henry VII of England 153, 162 , 291 , 294,296,300,301, 306 , 308

Henry VIII of England 78, 86, 306, 309

Hernandez , Miguel, S.J. 275 , 276

Hertford, Earl of 306 , 309

Heywood, Jasper, S.J. xl, xlvii, xlviii, lix, lxiii, lxv, 93, 94, 95 , 98, 106, 108, 115, 117, 118, 119n , 125 , 126,190,192,199,200,203-205,234

239, 253, 254, 257, 258, 261 , 262

Hoffaeus, P., S.J., Letter to 309

Holliwell, Oliver 265

Holt, William, S.J. xlviii, 1 , li, lxxv, 2, 19, 93, 98, 106, 108, 115 , 117, 118, 119n, 125, 126, 167 , 201, 202 , 204 , 205, 208,213,217,218,221,222 , 234, 238, 253, 254, 257, 258, 264n, 303, 304, 307, 309-311 , 313n ,361-363

Hopkins, Richard 173n

Hopton, Sir Owen xxxvi

Horton, Henry, see Orton

Howard, Lord Charles 129, 134

Howard, Bd Philip 189 , 192 , 194197 , 277 , 279

Hoxton xxii, 28n

Hubert, Henry 241n

Hunsdon, Baron 347

Hunt, Simon, S.J. 244 , 245

Huntly, Earl of 1 , 102, 112 , 150 , 157, 159, 280

Idiaquez, de, Don Juan lv, lxxiv, 166 , 167, 276-280, 360 ; Letters to 276 , 278, 286, 288

" Impresa" lii-lxiii, 142-171 , 182n , 185, 187, 195-197 , 246, 247, 276, 277, 279, 285-295, 299, 303-307, 309 , 313,314, 348-355

" Irish Expedition " xiii, xix, 48

James VI of Scotland xli, xlvii, xlviii,li, lii, lvi, lviii-lxii, lxiv, 96, 99 , 102-104 , 107, 109, 111-113 , 115 , 149 ,

150, 156, 158, 159, 164-166, 168170, 182n , 194, 196, 202n, 207-209,

212, 213 , 217 , 218, 222, 247, 249–251. 253, 280, 290, 292n, 293, 303n, 306, 309, 347, 348; Brief to 350

James, Thomas xvi

Jenks, Roland xxxvii, 81n

Jesuit Mission to England, see under England

Jesuit Mission to Scotland , see under Scotland

Jesuits xvii, xxix, 30, 31 , 36-38, 49 , 58, 76, 83, 177, 180, 216, 243 , 343346; see Jesuit Mission to England, to Scotland

Johnson , Bd. Robert, 53, 60, 80, 88 , 126n

Joyeuse, Monr. 225

Kellridge, John 76n

Kerr, William, of Cessford 100n

Kirby, Bd. Luke xxxvi, 53, 60 , 76n , 127 , 132 , 142

Kirkham , Bd. Richard 174, 179

Lacey, Bd William 174, 179

Lane, John xi, 2

Layborn, James 174 , 179

Leicester , Earl of x, xxxvi, 155, 164 , 191 , 193, 203, 205

Lennox, Duke of, see Stuart, Esmé

Lessius, Leonard, S.J., 200, 201

Lewis, Owen liv, 3, 4, 8-12 , 14-17 , 18n, 19, 21, 23-27, 144, 145 , 147 , 358-361

Ligons, Mr. 248

Lindsay, Lord 208 , 213

Loarte, Gaspar, S.J. xliv

Lochinvar, Lord 150

Lomax , James 175 , 180

London, Bishop of, see Aylmer

Lorraine, House of 290, 291, 293, 294

Lyford, 73n, 94

Mainville, de lvii, lix, 202n , 209n

Manare , Oliver, S.J. lxii, lxiv, lxx, 13, 14, 16, 19 , 47, 56, 62

Mann 1

Mar, Earl of 207, 208, 212 , 213

Marshall, Matthew, S.J. 2n

Marshall, Thomas, S.J. 241, 243, 245, 252, 253, 257, 258, 260, 262-265, 268 , 269

Martin, Gregory 2, 5 , 8, 23n, 174n

Mary, Queen of Scots xlii, xlv, xlix, li, liii, lviii, lix, lxiii, lxviii, 96, 99, 100, 101, 109, 111 , 112, 149-151 , 153, 154, 158-162, 164, 165, 209, 213, 224-226, 245, 247-252, 268-270 , 277 , 279, 281, 290-295, 299, 302 , 303n , 306, 308, 349, 353, 354, 360; Brief to 351; Letter of 357; Letters to 246 , 249

MaryTudor 153, 162, 299, 303, 306,308

INDEX

Massi, Cosimo lxx, 246, 251 , 273-274,

275; Letters to 272-275, 313 , 314

Matthieu, Claude , S.J. xli, 1 , lii, lvin, lix, 96n , 166n, 198, 201, 203-205, 217, 218, 221, 222, 224, 240-242, 256, 257 , 259

Maurice, William xxxi, xxxvii

Maxwell, Lord John 100

Medici, de, Cardinal 360

Melino, Cardinal, Letter of 358 , 359

Mendoza, de, Bernardino xlvi-lii, lviin, lxi, lxii, 53, 54, 60, 61 , 70 , 105 , 114, 194, 196, 199, 224, 225, 249 , 253 , 254

Mercurian, Everard, S.J., Generalof the Society of Jesus xii, 4, 6, 7, 12, 14-16, 19, 24, 25, 41, 44, 47, 56

Meredith, Mr. 17

Metham , Thomas, S.J. xix, 234 , 238

Minors, Mr. 1

Monsi, de, Mgr. xlii, 97 , 98, 104 , 106108, 113, 115

Montgomery, Earl of 150

More, St. Thomas 74 , 84, 91

Morgan, Thomas lix, lxviii, 47n , 182n, 198, 251, 265, 266, 269

Moroni, Cardinal 10-18 , 22-26, 56, 62

Morton, Earl of (1) xli, 96, 99, 107, 108; (2) 150, 280

Morton (Murton), Nicholas, Dr. 23 , 24 , 211, 215

Mothe-Fénélon, de la lviii

Murveill, Mr. 168

Mush, John 17 , 183 , 184

Navarola, John, Paul, S.J. 9n, 11 , 12 , 19

Navarre, Henry of, lxi, 211, 225

Neuss 282

Neville, Sir Henry 268 , 269

Nichols , John xxxv-xxxviii, 76 , 77n 80, 85, 88, 116, 117, 126, 127, 132

Norris, Richard xxxi, 128, 133

Northumberland, Earl of lxiii, 189 , 192, 194-197, 277, 279, 287, 288

Nuncio (in France) 106 , 114

(i) Castelli, Mgr lii-lv, lviin, lix, lx, 95n, 96n, 97, 107, 113; Letter of 143; Letter to 167 (ii) Raggazzoni , Mgr lxi, lxii, 241 , 243 (in Spain): Taberna, Mgr. lvii, lx, Ixi; Letter of 169, 170

Ochiltree, James, Earl of Arran xli Ogleby (Ogilvie), Baron 102, 112

O'Hurley, Dermot, Abp of Cashel 233, 238

Olivares , Count, SpanishAmbassador in Romelxxiv, lxxv, 276, 285n, 286n ,

289n , 292n, 295n , 303n

Orange, William of 220, 224 , 226

Orton, Henry xxi, 53, 60, 80, 88, 123, 126n

Osborne, Edward 141n

Owen, Mr. 358

Owen, Mr., of Godstow 18

Owen , Christopher 18

Owen, Hugh lxx, 246-249, 251 , 273-275, 313, 314

Owen, Nicholas, S.J., 41, 44

Paget, Charles , lvin, lvii, lix, lxiv, lxviii, 47n, 182n, 189n, 198 , 265, 266

Paget, Lord xvii, 50, 58, 189 , 192 , 194-196, 226

Paleotto , Cardinal 56, 62

Pallavicino, Fabricio, S.J. 117 , 118

Palmio, Benedetto, S.J. xi, 15

Parenticelli, Antonio Maria, S.J. 117 , 118

Parma, Duke of lxii, lxiii, lxix, lxx, lxxvi, 199, 225, 246-252, 261 , 263 , 269, 272-275, 280-283, 290, 293, 313 , 314, 357, 358, 361, 362; Letter to 312,313

Pascal, John 20, 53, 60

Persecution , see under England Payne, Bd John 94n, 142 , 143

Pelham , Sir William 268 , 269

Persons , George xiv, 257, 259, 272, 275

Persons, Robert, S.J. liv, lxxiv, 130, 131, 136-141 , 183-187, 191 , 193, 197-198, 200-205, 215, 216, 219 , 223, 225, 227, 246, 257 , 259 269276, 280-284, 309-312, 317-320

AliasesBentivoglio, Gerardo 167

Cabelus, Rolandus 106, 115 Eusebius 70, 71 , 185, 276, 278, 290, 292, 293

Gibbe , William 167

Marco 315

Millino (Melino) x, 167, 185, 276 , 278,290,292,293

Redman 100-102 , 110-112

Works, see under Books Early Life ix-xi, 315

First years as a Jesuit xi, xii, 1-28 English Mission xii-xiv, xix, xxi, xxvi, xxxi, 49, 52, 54, 55, 59 , 61 , 73, 74 , 80, 83, 84, 88, 98, 99, 108 , 109 , 321-341

His Press in England xxxi-xxxix , 63n, 74 , 75n, 76n, 77n, 95 , 96, 101 , 230, 235

Departure from England xxxix ,xl, 95, 96, 107, 172 , 178 , 228, 229 , 234

Persons, Robert (continued)-

His departure concealed xl, 97 , 107 , 172n

His desire to return lxvii, lxviii, 173,179,256,258

Counselled not to do so xlviii

Not allowed by the General to return xl, 172 , 173

Not allowed by the General to go to Scotland lxiv, 173n , 218

Work at Rouen, August 1581 to May 1582 xl, xlii-xliv, 95n

Founds school at Eu 1582 1

Called to Paris; conferences there May 1582 liii, liv, 143-148

Journey to and work in Spain: May 1582 to April 1583 lii-lvii, 148-171

Illness in Spain lvii, lviii, 171 , 172

Conferences at Paris, July to August 1583 lix

Journey to and work in Rome , August to September , 1583 lix, lxi, 186, 187, 348-355

Return to Paris , September , October, 1583 lxi, 182-185

Workat Paris and Rouen , October 1583 to January 1584 , May 1584 to September1584 lxiii-lxviii, 216, 226,227,230,235,236,240-245

Goes to Flandersearly in 1584 lxii, 198-200

Dangerto life in Paris 1584 lxviii, 260, 262

Leaves Paris and makes Rouen his headquarters , c September 1584 lxviii, 245, 255, 257-260 , 264-269

Leaves Rouen and stays at St. Omer, end of March 1585 to July 1585 lxx, 270 , 271

Escapes from his enemies 231

Journey to Rome , September1585 lxx-lxxii, 271 , 273, 274

Work at Rome lxxii-lxxvi, 278 , 280-314

Persons and Allen's Cardinalate lxxv, lxxvi, 277, 279, 285 , 286 , 288 , 289

Persons and the " Impresa, " see Impresa ,,

Persons and the Rheims Seminary lvii, lxviii, lxix, 261-263, 281 , 282 , 284

Persons and Scotland xli, xlii-xlv, xlviii, lii-lxi, lxiv, lxv, 96, 98, 103109, 112-117 , 143ff , 169-171 , 221 , 224

Persons and the Succession question, see under England, Succession

Philip II of Spain xlvi, xlviii, li, liii, lv, lvii-lxii, lxx-lxxii, lxiv, 8n , 70 , 71 , 104n, 157, 166-170 , 185, 187 , 193 ,

195, 196, 199,226, 240 , 247, 249, 250 , 252,261,263,276-281,283-286,289 , 290-296, 299-306, 352, 358, 359

Pigenat, Odo, S.J. Ixiv, lxv, 201, 202n, 204, 217 , 219, 221-223

Pitts, Mr. 17

Pitts, Arthur xxv, 127, 132, 142, 143

Pius V , Pope 292 , 294 , 348

Pole, Cardinal 359, 360

Portugal 176, 180, 191 , 193, 266-268

Possevin, P., S.J. 5

Pound , Thomas, S.J. xv, xvi, xxii, lxv, 69, 73n, 78, 79, 87, 234, 238

Propaganda xxix

Pullen, Captain xliii

Puritans 176, 180, 191 , 193, 266-268

Raggazzoni , Mgr , see Nuncio in France

Rheims , English seminary of xiii, xviii, xliii, 1 , lvii, lxiv, lxviii, lxix, lxxi, lxxiii, 1-4, 75, 129 , 134 , 137, 142, 229, 230, 233, 236, 238, 261-263 , 281 , 282, 284, 290, 293, 340-347 , 360

Ribadeneira , de, Pedro, S.J. lxvi, 228 , 229n , 240, 242, 244 , 245; Letter to 227 , 235

Richardson, Bd Laurence 126n

Rishton (Rushton), Edward 80 , 88 , 126n

Roman College, S.J. 5 , 19

Rome, English College at xviii, xxxv, lxiv, 3-28, 55, 61, 91 , 116-118, 129 134 200 , 201 215 , 216 , 233, 238 245, 267n, 303, 307, 309-312, 343, 344 , 360

Roscarrock , Nicholas 82, 90

Ross, Bp of 296, 298, 300-302

Ruthven, Raid oflvi, lviii, 169 , 203n , 207n

Rutland, Earl of 194 , 196

St. John, Lord 268 , 269

Sanchez, Diego , S.J. 105, 106 , 114

Sanders, Nicholas xiii, xix

Santa Cruz, Marquis of 167n, 194n

Santo Sisto, Cardinal, Letter to 68

Scotland xxi, xli, xlii, xlv-lii, 48, 96, 98-104, 107-115, 117, 143, 145, 146 , 148-151 , 155-159, 162-166, 169, 170, 182n, 203-209, 212, 213, 225, 257, 258, 277, 279-281, 283, 290, 293, 304 , 306, 307, 356, 357, 361, 362; see also

James VI, Mary Queen of Scots , and Stuart, Esmé

Jesuit mission to xli, xlvi, xlix, Ixiv, 96, 217, 218, 221, 224 , 242, 243, 260, 261 , 262

Seaton 101 , 111

Seaton, Sir Alexander 102 , 111 , 202n , 217 , 221 , 222 , 225

INDEX

Seaton, Lord George xlv, xlvii, xlviii, liii, lviii, lix, 102, 103, 111 , 112 , 150 , 157 , 159, 165 , 225

Secret Hiding Places 77, 78 , 86

Sedgrave, Nicholas 1

Sega, Mgr lx, lxi, 185 , 187

Seminaries 78, 87; see Rheims, Rome Shelley, Richard, Sir, Grand Prior of the Knights of St. John 286, 287

Shelley, William, of Michelgrove, Sussex xxxix, 50, 58, 287, 288

Shert, Bd. John 126n

Sherwin, Bd Ralph xxvin, 12, 18, 53 , 60, 73n, 82, 83, 90, 118, 119, 123 , 126 , 129 , 132

Sherwood , 251

Shrewsbury , Earl of 268

Sixtus V , Pope lxxi-lxxiii, 280-289, 291, 292, 294

Slade, Bd John 190 , 193

Sledd (Slade or Slaydon) xxi, 68 , 69 , 80, 127, 132

Smith, Nicholas, S.J. 2

Somerville, Mr. 188 , 189, 192, 194, 196; Mrs. 188, 189, 192, 194 , 196; Elizabeth 189n; Margaret 189n

Southwark, Synod' of xviii-xxi

Southwell, Bd Robert S.J. xi, lxxiii, 2n, 198, 200, 201, 215, 216, 219n , 227, 232n, 241, 244, 245, 255 , 355, 356, 361 , 363

Southworth, Sir John 50, 58

Spain, 290, 291, 293, 294; see PhilipII

Spetiano, Mgr 15, 26

Squire , Adam x, 81 , 89 , 315

Stevens (Stephens), Thomas, S.J. 6

Stonor , Lady xxxviii, 73n

Stonor, John xxxix

Stonor Park xxxvii, xxxviii, 95

Strozzi, Filippo lv, 167n , 169 , 194n

Stuart, Esmé , Sieur d'Aubigny , Duke of Lennox, xxix, xli, xlvi, 1 , lii, liii, lvi, lviii, 48, 57, 96n, 99, 102, 111 , 149, 150, 157-159, 165 , 166n , 169, 170, 182n

Stucley(Stewkley), Sir Thomas, 1 , 8n

Suarez, P. , S.J. 259

Succession question, see under Eng- land

Sussex, Earl of 153 , 161

Taberna , Mgr , see Nuncio in Spain

Talbot, John, of Grafton 50, 58

Talkerne, Mr. 26

Tassis (Taxis), de, Juan Bautista xlixn, lii, liv, lix, lxii, 166, 167 , 169, 170, 199, 225 , 249 , 348n

Terceira lv, 167n , 169, 194,196

Thacker, Elias, 176n

Thirkheld (Thirkal), Bd Richard 174 , 179

Thompson , Bd James 174 , 179

Throgmorton, Francis lxii, 50 , 188 , 189n, 191, 193 , 194, 196, 199, 210, 214, 226 ; Thomas 50

Thules 270

Toletus, Francis, S.J. xi

Topcliffe xxviii

Torture, use of xxxviii, 81 , 89 , 118, 119, 130, 134, 219, 223, 232 , 238

Townsend, Robert of Ludlow , 232 , 238

Tresham , William lxiii, lxviii, 167 , 225

Tyrie, James , S.J. 218, 260 , 262

Tyrrell, Anthony 47, 56, 80, 88

Tyrrwhit (Tyrwhit), Nicholas xix, xxxi

Umpton (Upton, Unton), Edward 220, 223; Sir Edward 220n;Sir Henry, 220n

Uxbridge xxiv, xxvi

Vaux 50n , 58

Vaux, Lord 97n

Vaux, Laurence 173n

Vega (Veiga), de , Emmanuel 105 , 114

Virgil, Polydore 296, 297, 300 , 301

Waferer, Francis, S.J. 362, 363

Walesxxi,liv, 98, 108, 145, 147 , 154 , 162

Walpole, Bd Henry S.J. 219n

Walsingham, Francis, S.J. 233n

Walsingham, Sir Francis 127 , 132 , 133, 253n

Warwick , Earl of 203 , 205

Watson, Thomas , Bp of Lincoln 79 , 87

Watts, William xlii, xlv-xlviii, 1 , lin, lii, liii, 98-100, 103, 108-110 , 112 , 125n; Letters of 100, 110, 347

Welsh, The 3, 4, 8ff , 24, 25 , 144 , 147

Westminster, Matthew of 298 , 301

Westmorland, Earl of lxiii, 144 , 146 , 155 , 163

Weston, William, S.J. lxv-lxvii, 203205, 219, 222, 227, 235n, 241 , 243 , 245 , 252, 254, 256, 257, 265, 271, 355-357, 361 , 362

Wilson xx

Wisbeach 79, 87, 234, 239

Woodward, Philip 233n

Worthington, Thomas 233, 234 , 238 , 239

Wyatt, Sir Thomas 153 , 162

Ximenes, Pedro, S.J. 105 , 114

THE THIRTY-FIFTH REPORT OF THE

PRESENTED TO THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD IN THE ROOMS OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, BURLINGTON HOUSE, PICCADILLY , W.1, ON MONDAY, JULY 3, 1939 ,

Together with the Roll of Members , the Constitutions , &c.

Constitutions T

1 Name . The name ofthe Societyis " THE CATHOLIC RECORD SOCIETY . "

2. Objects The objectsare the transcribing, printing, indexing, and distributing to its members the Catholic Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths, and other old Records of the Faith, chiefly personal and genealogical, since the Reformation in England and Wales

3. Management The affairs of the Society are managed by a Councilconsistingof twelve members, three trustees and five honorary officers , viz. The Recorder, Bursar, Legal Adviser, Librarian, and Secretaryfour forming a quorum. It has power to appoint a Presidentand Vice-Presidents, its Chairman and Officers, and to fill vacancies on its own body, and has power to refuse or take away membership Onethird of the twelve members and all the honorary officers retire each year, but are eligible for re-election Nominations of new Members of the Council must be sent to the Secretary fourteen days before the Annual Meeting. The representation and management are reserved to Catholic Members

4. Subscription The subscription is one guinea per annum , commencing June 1st, which entitles members to any publications issued during the year. No volumewill be issued to any memberwhose subscriptionis unpaid, and the names of any members whose subscriptionshall be two years in arrear will thereupon be removed from the Society, and not be readmitted until all arrears are paid A member wishing to retire from the Society must intimate his intention to the Bursar or the Secretarybefore the 1st day of June , or be held liable for his subscription for the ensuing year

Personal Life Membership may be obtained on payment of twenty guineas in advance. Members who have paid subscriptions for ten consecutive years and who are not in arrear may obtain the same privilege on payment of ten guineas All life subscriptions are to be capitalized

5. Back Numbers Members may, on prepayment, obtain back numbers (if in stock) on such terms as the Council may direct

6. Meetings. An Annual Meeting is held in the month ofJune or July, of which at least seven days' notice is sent to all the members Atthis meetinga report of the work of the Society, with a statement of the income and expenditure, is presented. This is issued together with the list of members and the Constitutions of the Society. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called at any time bythe Council At least seven days' notice, stating the object ofthe meeting, shall be given.

7. Audit. The Bursar's accounts are audited by a member of the Society or professional accountant appointed by the Council, at the close of the financial year, which expires on May 31 .

N.B. The Bursar deals with Membership and Subscriptions

The Catholic RecordSociety

FOUNDED JUNE 10 , 1904

PATRONS

HIS EMINENCE THE CARDINAL ARCHBISHOPOF WESTMINSTER

HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF BIRMINGHAM

HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOPOF LIVERPOOL

HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CARDIFF

PRESIDENT

COLONEL THE RIGHT HON. THE VISCOUNT FITZALAN , K.G., G.C.V.O. , D.S.O.

VICE-PRESIDENTS

RIGHT REV . DAVID MATHEW , M.A. , Litt.D., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S.

JOHN PETER SMITH, ESQ , J.P.

COUNCIL (Elected)

REV GORDON ALBION , D . Hist , B.A.

C. A. JOHN ARMSTRONG , M.A., F.R.Hist.S.

REV . ALPHONSUS BONNAR , O.F.M. , D.D.

DOM HUGH BOWLER , O.S.B., B.A.

GEORGE F. ENGELBACH

REV LEO HICKS , S.J. REV. GERVASE MATHEW , O.P.

BERNARD H. NEWDIGATE

MICHAEL R. TRAPPESLOMAX

LT. -COL . THOMAS BYRNAND TRAPPES -LOMAX

DENIS R.GWYNN, D .Litt , F.R.Hist.S. J. CYRIL M. WEALE

TRUSTEES

E. N. GEIJER, M.C. , F.S.A., Rouge Dragon

LEONARD C. C. LINDSAY, F.S.A.

MAJOR FRANCIS J. A. SKEET, J.P., F.S.A.

Honorary Officers (On Council ex officio)

Hon . Bursar

LEONARD C. C. LINDSAY , 15, Morpeth Mansions, Westminster , S.W.I

Hon Recorder

GEORGE R. BELLEW ,

Hon Legal Adviser HUBERT HULL , Somerset Herald Barrister-at-Law

Hon Librarian

CAPT . WILLIAM DE GEIJER

Hon Secretary

RICHARD CECIL WILTON, B.A., 33, Wilfred Street, Westminster, S.W.I

Bankers

MESSRS . COUTTS AND Co., 440, STRAND , W.C.2

THE THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT .

THE

HE Council has pleasure in presenting the Thirty-fifth Annual Report and Statement of Accounts.

The Council much regrets the delay in the issue of Volume XXXVII, which, owing to various circumstances over which it had absolutely no control, has been so long postponed The last volume appeared in 1936, and such a long interval in publication has not occurred before in the history of the Society As now arranged, Volume XXXVII will consist of the Registers of Marriages celebrated in the Palace Royal Chapels of St. James's and Somerset House and in the Chapel of the Portuguese Embassy from 1662 to 1829. It is now in the press and will be ready for distribution in the course of the next few weeks

The importance of the services rendered to the Church in England by the various Embassy Chapels during penal times has long been recognised, but hitherto, with the exception of the Registers of the Sardinian Embassy Chapelin Lincoln's Inn Fields, the publication of their records has been sadly neglected The Registers in the keeping of the Portuguese Embassy, a first instalment of which is now to appear, are of special importance, seeing that they are the oldest purely Catholic Registers known to be extant and cover a section ofthe Catholic life of London extending over more than a hundred and fifty years, from the marriage of CharlesII.and Catherine ofBraganza in 1662 totheAct ofCatholic Emancipation in 1829 , with some 1,500 entries of marriages and on a rough estimate some 8,000 entries of baptisms.

To make up for the years in which no volume appeared the Council hopes to bring out before the end of 1940, besides the first volume of Portuguese Embassy Registers, the following three works: the first volume of the Liber Ruber of the Venerable English College, Rome; the EarlyCatalogues of English Martyrs, late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries; and the Letters of Father Robert Persons, S.J.

The Council regrets to have to record the death of His Holiness Pope Pius XI , who, having been himself a librarian, took a particular interest in the Society's work It was the present Sovereign Pontiff who, as Cardinal Pacelli and Secretary of State, conveyed to the Society in 1935, in a letter (copies of which were atthetime issued to members), His Holiness's paternal Apostolic Benediction , with a prayer " that the Society might, with the support of the Catholics of England, continue and expand its services in the cause of historical truth and of the Church over whose destiny the Spirit of Truth presides "; and the Council feels assured that, as Pope Pius XII , his own well-known interest in the Society will not be relaxed

The Council has much pleasurein congratulating the Right Rev. David Mathew on his elevation to the Episcopate as Bishop of Aelia.

Memberswill learn with regret that the Rev. Charles A.Newdigate, S.J., has felt obliged to relinquish his seat on the Council, to which he was elected in 1925: he is a serious loss to the Society, to the successfulwork of whichhe gave invaluable assistance . The vacancy has been filled by the appointment of the Rev. Leo Hicks, S.J. The Council is alsolosing the services of the Very Rev. Canon Fletcher , who is not seekingre-election A member ofthe Society since the first year of its existence, he has been a member of the Council since 1921, in which capacity his sound judgement made him one of its most useful workers.

The Hon. Bursar has pleasure in recording the accession of 11 new members, as follows : The Very Rev. Mgr James Scanlan , D.C.L., B.L.; the Rev. Thomas James Barrett; the Hon and Rev. Edward R. Lindsay; the Rev. Joseph McNulty; Sir Cuthbert de Hoghton, Bart.; Messrs Thomas O. Lloyd, Charles Edward Nigel Pilkington, John Cuthbert Widdrington Riddell, Michael Roger Trappes-Lomax and John Douglas Woodruff; and the Catholic Truth Society (Birmingham Diocesan Branch) Library.

On the other hand the Hon Bursar regrets to announce the following deaths during the year : The Most Rev. Alban Goodier, S.J., Archbishop of Hierapolis ; the Right Rev. Thomas Wulstan Pearson , O.S.B. , Bishop of Lancaster; the Right Rev. Thomas Henshaw, Bishop ofSalford; the Right Rev. JamesJosephEdmund Matthews, O.S.B., M.A., Abbot of Ampleforth; the Right Rev. Anscar Vonier, O.S.B., Ph.D., Abbot of Buckfast ; the Very Rev. Canon Thomas Walmsley Carter, the Rev. Anthony Milton , and Messrs Willie Sheldrake and George Wilcox.

Allowing for five resignations the membership on the 31st of May stood at 367 as compared with 367 (corrected figures*) on May 31 , 1938 .

Mr. Michael R. Trappes-Lomax has kindly consented to act as Assistant Secretary .

Fourmembersof the Council retire byrotation, viz. Dom Hugh Bowler, O.S.B., B.A., Lt.-Col Thomas Byrnand Trappes-Lomax , Mr. J. Cyril M. Weale, who are all eligible for re-election, and the Very Rev. Canon J. R. Fletcher, who is not seeking re-election.

NOTE . Since May 31st the Dominican House of Studies , Washington, U.S.A., has been added to the Roll of Members

* Notification of the death of the Rev. Raphael Nixon , C.P. , and of Sir John Henry Brunel Noble, Bart , had not been received at the time the return was drawn up last year

1939

31 To

The value of the above Investments at 31stMay, 1939, RECEIPTS

Dr. 1938 RECEIPTS. June 1 To Balance brought forward from last 1939 May 31

Account: - Cash at BankCurrent Account Cashin hands ofHonorary Secretary

the Membersof the Catholic

TRANSACTIONS OF THE THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

The thirty-fifth Annual General Meeting of the Catholic Record Society was held in therooms ofthe Society ofAntiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, on Monday, July 3, 1939, Viscount FITZALAN , K.G. , President, in the chair.

Were present, among others, the Very Rev. Canon Robert Christall, Very Rev. Canon Edward M. Daniell, Very Rev. Canon John R. Fletcher , Rev. Alphonsus Bonnar, O.F.M., D.D. , Rev. Wilfrid Kelly, Ph.D., Rev. J. ArthurO'Connor, M.C., H.C.F. , Miss Agnes de Zulueta, Colonel Charles J. Vaughan, O.B.E., D.L., J.P., Major Francis J.A. Skeet, J.P., F.S.A., Captain William de Geijer, Messrs. Perceval Deeley, George F. Engelbach, Eric N. Geijer, M.C., F.S.A., RougeDragon Pursuivant of Arms, Edward Hutton, J. G. Macnamara, Bernard H. Newdigate , Walter A. Stewart, Michael R. Trappes-Lomax, J. Cyril M. Weale, R. Cecil Wilton, Hon. Secretary, and representatives of the Catholic Press.

Letters of regret for non-attendance were received from the Very Rev. Charles G. Kean, C.J., the Hon and Rev. Edward R. Lindsay, Mrs. Raoul Bedingfeld , Mrs. P. A. Boyan, Lieut.Colonel Thomas B. Trappes-Lomax, and Messrs. F. W. Chambers, K.S.G., Leonard C. Lindsay, F.S.A., and John T. Mumford.

An address to His Holiness Pope Leo XII on his elevation to the Papacy was read by Mr. R. C. WILTON , Hon. Secretary, (approved, and signed by Viscount FITZALAN on behalf of the ntiquarianSociety .

In the absence , owing to ill-health, of the Hon Bursar, Mr. Leonard C. Lindsay, the Annual Report with the Balance-sheet and Statement of Accounts was taken as read, and duly adopted on the motion of the Very Rev. Canon DANIELL , secondedby the Rev. J. Arthur O'CONNOR

The re-election ofthreeof the retiring members ofthe Council , viz. Dom Hugh Bowler, O.S.B., B.A., Lt.-Col Thomas Byrnand Trappes-Lomax and Mr. J. Cyril M. Weale, was moved by Mr. Walter A. STEWART, seconded by Mr. J. G. MACNAMARA and carried ; and on the motion of the Very Rev. Canon FLETCHER , who was unable to reconsider his determination to retire, the Rev. Gordon H. J. Albion, D . Hist., B.A., seconded by Mr. J. G. MACNAMARA , was elected to the vacant seat.

On the motion of the Very Rev. Canon FLETCHER , seconded by Colonel C. J. VAUGHAN, Mr. Michael R. Trappes-Lomax was 8

TRANSACTIONS

allocated the seat vacated by Mr. John P. Smith, who, however , remains as Vice-President of the Society.

The Chairman then called upon the Rev. Alphonsus BONNAR , O.F.M. , D.D., for his paper on

THE GREENWICH FRANCISCANS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY *

As the Franciscans, who championed Papal Supremacy againstthe claims of Henry VIII and publicly opposed the divorce project, are always referred to as " Observants , " it will be well to preface this paper by some explanation of this name .

Very early in the history of the Franciscan Order two divergent tendencies appeared. One was to develop the organisation ofthe Order on monastic lines with the accompaniment of landed property which such a mode of life almost necessarily required The aim of the other party in the Order was that the brethren should be possessed only of what might be necessary for their existence from day to day and should exercise the ministryof preachingand other functions of the priesthood in a more popular fashion . The supporters of this latter view came to be known as " Observants " and in course of time obtained permission from the Holy See and from the Superiors of the Order to live in separate communities , consisting of a comparatively small number of brethren in unpretentiousdwellings

The movementtowards a monastic , rather than a mendicant, form of life was not equally strong in all parts of the Order In England the ideal of Franciscan poverty was not very seriously departed from Nevertheless in all provinces of the Order the brethren who did not accept the reformation of the " Observants " went by the same name of " Conventuals . " However, all members of the Order were under the jurisdiction of the same Minister General In 1517 Pope Leo X committed the election of a new Minister General exclusively to the Observants, giving them the seal of the Order and instructing the Conventuals who did not wish to accept the reform of the Observants to elect a Master General for themselves. From that time the two bodies were distinct and independentof each other. It is regrettable that the Observants chose to retain the title of " Friars Minor of the RegularObservance " rather than thatofthe " Orderof FriarsMinor" withoutany addition, as the Bull of Leo X explicitlyauthorised them to do if they wished

The foregoing was the juridical position of the Franciscan Order at the time when the Greenwich Franciscans and other Observants made their stand against Henry. The Franciscans who in later penal timeslaboured in Englandwere also Observants : they are distinguished in C.R.S. volumes by the letters " O.S.F." In 1897 Leo XIII by the Bull Felicitate quadam abolished all the " reforms" which in the course of time had arisen within the body of the Observants and decreed that

* This paper makes no pretence of being the result of original research It is merely intended to present a picture of part of the background to the tragedy of the sixteenth century It is not possible to presentanything like a complete bibliography ofthe printed works which treat of the subject, but wemay mention A. R. Martin, The Grey Friars ofGreenwich; A.G.L'Estrange, The Palace and Hospital, or, Chronicles of Greenwich ; A. Parkinson, O.F.M., Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica ; Thaddeus[Hermans ], O.F.M., The Franciscans in England; Card A. Gasquet, Henry VIII and the English Monasteries ; J. Gairdner, Lollardy and the Reformation .A.B.

TRANSACTIONS

the Order in future should be known simply as the Order of Friars Minor without any addition The distinctive indication is now therefore " O.F.M."

Ihave made no mentionof the Capuchins, a completelyindependent branch of the Order, who did not commence their independentexistence till 1619 and who have undertakenapostolicwork in this country only in the course of the last century.

The Greenwich Franciscans came to England by royal request It is not possible to saywith certainty why Edward IV decided uponthe introduction of the Observants : it may have been due to the influence of his sister , Margaret of Burgundy By a Bull dated January 4th, 1481, Pope Sixtus IV authorisedEdward IV to establish a foundation of Franciscan Observants at Greenwich or some other suitable place in the kingdom. The foundation stone of the friary was laid by James Goldwell, Bishop of Norwich, on July 2nd, 1482. In the name of the king he made over the site of the church and friaryto the community, and the deed ofgrant states that the land had been bought by Edward with his own money. While the friary church was being built, the brethren appearto have used a small chapel in Greenwich, dedicated to the Holy Cross This seems to have been situatedin Roodor Stocks Lane, which ran west from the present King William Streetatapoint slightlyto the north of the present Clarence Street It is suggested that the Rood Chapel stood at the eastern cornerof Rood Lane. This would only have been about 230 yards from the friary.

After the accession of Henry VII in 1485 the friars renewed their efforts to get the building of their church finished On December 14th of that year the king gave them a charter confirming the grantofthe site and " bearing in mind Edward IV's pious intention and the good dispositions, devotion, expenses and labours of the said brethren day and night in orisons prayers and fastings" he formally founded the friary, which was to consistof at leasta guardianand twelve brethren The building proceeded and the church was consecrated sometime before 1494but not, apparently, before 1493, as a will of this year appears to assume that the building was not yetcompleted

As to the site of the church and friary, it was on the rivertothe west of, and immediately adjoining, the Royal Palace The extent of the ground covered by the garden and buildings cannot be determined with certainty In Henry VII's charter of 1485 it is said to measure 12 virgatesin breadth by 63 virgates in length Martin (in the Archaological Journal), taking a virgate to mean a rod or pole, puts the size at 66 yds by 346 yds This would mean a frontage of 66 yds anda depth of 346 yds south from the river Although this seemsrather extensive in view of the general insistence that the friars' foundation was a small, poor place, it seems more feasible than the interpretation of L'Estrange (Chronicles of Greenwich, Lond , 1886), who takes a virgate to mean a yard and, therefore , puts the size at 12 yds by 63. We know from Wyngaerde's sketch in the Bodleian that the length ofthe churchran parallelwith the river and that the longerdimension of the wholeproperty was that running south at right angles from the river. The sketch also shows a wide path running from the friars' garden past the west end ofthe churchandleadingto the friars' wharf Twelve yards would scarcely provide for the length of the churchand this passage .

TRANSACTIONS

In a line with the Palace buildings, separating the friars' property from the foreshore, was a wall, " the friars' wall, " inside which was a piece of ground between the wall and the church Behind the church were the friary buildings and extending south from them was, first, the garden and then what was called the friars' " privy garden " and orchard. If we take Martin's suggested measurements as correct , the orchard extended south well beyond the present Romney Road. It would seem that the friars had another chapel in the west wing ofthe Palace itself in which the more devout members of the Royal Family assisted at the midnight office As far as can be ascertained, there was no partofthe friary set apart as a library, but the brethrenappear to have had easy and free access to the libraryin the Palace, which they refer to as " our library."

A few words regarding the relations between the friars and the Palace and its inmates As I have already said, the friary was a royal foundation, made not only by the authorityof the king, but largely at his personal expense. Henry VII also contributed towards the building and left 500 marks to keep the Greenwich and other friaries of the Observants in repair In return for the royal bounty the friars were to " pray for ever for the health and prosperity of the whole kingdom of England" According to L'Estrange, Henry VIII was baptized in the friars' church Martin is inclined to think hewas not, since the church was not consecrated till 1493 or 1494. However , the building might have been sufficiently advanced in 1491 for thechurch to be in use Whenthe king's eldest son, PrinceArthur, died atLudlow Castle, the king's councilat Greenwich entrusted one of the Greenwich friars, whowas the king's" ghostlyfather," tobreakthe news to Henry. Early in the morning he knocked at the door of the king's chamber and, the king having ordered him to be admitted, he said to him in a gentle voice " Si bona suscepimus de manu Dei, mala quare non suscipiamus ?" (" If we have received good things at the handofGod , why should we not receive evil ? ") These words prepared the king's mind for the news, which the father then gave him, of Arthur's death.

Henry VII's queen, Elizabeth, was also devoted to the friars and made them an annual present of fifty-two barrels of beer. Thefavour which Henry VII showed to the Observants was not confined to the Greenwich community He established other royal foundations, and it was presumably due to royal pressure that some of the houses of the Conventual Franciscans were transferred to the Observants

Apart from christenings , other royal functions of importancetook place in the friars' church Martin thinks that Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon may have been celebrated there In 1518 , when a French Embassy came with a proposal that the Princess Mary should marrythe Dauphin, a solemn Mass was celebrated in the friary church , and Tunstale, Bishop of Durham, preached on the projected marriage . In 1525 Ambassadors of Venice, of Milan, ofthe Emperor, of France, and of the Pope attended Mass there, Wolsey officiating In 1528 Henry VIII received Holy Communion" at the friars " before leaving Greenwich for a more salubrious district during an outbreak of the " sweating sickness. " In 1512 an aunt of Anne Boleyn, Lady Muryol, Viscountess Lysle, wife of Sir Thomas Knevet, and second daughter of the Earl of Surrey, was buried in the friary cemetery

Henry VIII was very devoted to the friars of Greenwich until their irreconcilable oppositionto his pretensions as head of the Church and

to his repudiation of Catherine compelled him to choose between their friendship, which implied submission to the Pope, and his own ambitions His ambitions proved too strong; but we believe that it was with reluctance that he embarked on the persecution of his old friends, the friars, as on that of More and Fisher In 1513 he wrote to Leo X of his " peculiardevotion and fervent desire towardsthe sacred family of the Observant Friars Minor " He extolled their Christian poverty, sincerity, and charity, their fastings, prayers , sacrifices, and purity of life, andtheir safetyfrom the " thorn of riches " " Noreligious family, " he said , so assiduously combats vice. " "

When in 1533 the Princess Elizabeth was baptized in the friary church, the brethren regarded the event as an omen of the evil which was about to come upon them In 1531 statutes were passed to provide a lantern and pulpitfor the friary church, but the pulpit was put to an unexpected use , for it was from it that Father Peyto or Paton pronounced the first public denunciation of the proposed divorce on April 16th, 1532. The king's chaplain, Dr. Curwen, was commissioned to preach an antidote in the friars' church on the following Sunday. Henry was present Among other things Curwen said that Father Peyto had fled Father Elstow, the Guardian, immediately rose and contradictedhim , explaining that his confrère was absent on business connected with the Order, and he repeated the condemnation of the divorce project Henry asked Father Peyto, who was Provincial, to depose Father Elstow and, on his refusal, both were arrested. Father Elstow was imprisoned at Bedford Father Peyto, who was banished, went to Antwerp, where he disseminated St. John Fisher's bookagainst the divorce and had correspondence with St. Thomas More

Blessed John Forest, who became Minister Provincial, was imprisoned in 1533 for refusing to take the oath of supremacy Hehad, of course, resided at Greenwich, and the letters of Richard Lyst, a lay-brother of the community, to Thomas Cromwell , which are extant in the British Museum , describe at length Forest's zealfororthodoxy- though the perfidious Lyst does not call it zeal " Divers in our convent of Grenwytch, " writes Lyst, " did highly favour the king and also his cause . He [i.e. Forest] hath so dissuaded them to contrary that for fear and through his flattering they are now for the mostpart of a contrary opinion " Peyto, Elstow and Forest were the first to experience the turn of the tide of the king's friendship. Though the Greenwich friary had had a foremost place in Henry's affections , it was to be the first religious establishment to be honouredwith suppression for its loyalty to the Church and the Vicar of Christ

Fear was as powerless as favour to deter the Greenwich friars and the rest oftheir Observant brethren from public manifestationof their devotion to the truth. If more of Henry's favourites and counsellors had made the same stand, the course of the history of Englandmight have been very different. The Observantfriars of Richmond (also a royal foundation) and Greenwich were " visited" with a view to suppression in June 1534. The report which Lee and Bedyll sentto Cromwell describing the visitation is in the British Museum and has been publishedin more than one printed work It makes interesting readingand must give a thrill of pride to anyone who is privilegedto wear the habit of St. Francis At Richmond, which they approached first, the" warden and convent showed themselves very untoward in that behalf , " i.e. inadmitting the king to be head of the Church. How-

ever , the Richmondfriars consented to leave the matter in the hands of their domestic council (called " discreets "), who were to meet Lee and Bedyll later at Greenwich Thereport does not say what happened at that meeting, but the subsequent general persecution of the Observants makes it seem unlikely that the friars yielded At Greenwich the Visitors met with an even more outspoken opposition. " And when we came to Greenwich we exhorted the convent likewise to put the whole matter in the hands of their seniors or discreets .. But at Greenwich we could in no wise obtain to have the matter put in the discreets' hands and arbitrament, but the convent stifflyaffirmedthat where the matter concerned particularly every one of their souls, they wouldanswer particularly everyman for himself And when, aftermuch reasoning and debating, we requiredto have their final and determinate answer , which we demanded of every one of them particularly, we found them in one mind of contradiction and dissent from the said articles , but especially against this article, Quod episcopus Romanus nihilo majoris neque auctoritatis aut jurisdictionis habendus sit quam cæteri quivis episcopi in Anglia vel alibi gentium in sua quisque diocesi . " And the cause of their dissent, as they said, was by reason that that article was clearly against their profession and the rules of St. Francis , in which rules it is thus written , as they showed unto us: Ad hæc per obedientiam injungo ministris ut petant a domino Papa unum de Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ cardinalibus , qui sit gubernator, protector, et corrector istius fraternitatis, ut semper subditi et subjecti pedibus Sanctæ Ecclesiæ ejusdem stabiles in fide Catholica paupertatem et humilitatem , et sanctum Evangelium Domini nostri Jesu Christi,quod firmiter promisimus observemus . " To this reasoning of the friars Lee and Bedyll report that they gave three answersfirst, that St. Francis said this because he and his brethren were livingin Italy, which came within the primatial jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome; secondly, that this passage in the Rule was not, in their opinion, the workof St. Francis but had been inserted later by some ambitious superiors of the Order; and thirdly, that they were the subjects of theking, to whom they owed their entire obedience, which neither the Pope nor St. Franciscould alter " But all this reason, " they continue, " could not sink into their obstinate heads and worn in custom of obedience to the Pope, albeit we further declared unto them that both Archbishopsof this realm, theBishops ofLondon , Winchester , Durham, Bath, and all other prelates and heads, and all the famous clerks of this realm, have subscribed to this conclusion Quod Romanus pontifexnon habet majorem jurisdictionemex sacris literis in hoc regno Angliae quam quivis alius externus episcopus. All this notwithstanding, theirconclusion was , they had professed St. Francis ' religion, and in the observance thereof they would live and die. Sorry we be we cannot bring them to no better frame and orderin this behalf, as our faithfulminds was to do, for the accomplishment of the King's pleasure From the Mile's end , the 15th day of June . "

It is worthyof note that the friars did not have recourse to theological reason from Scripture or Tradition, but appealed only towhat was their practical and securely Catholicrule of life, namely, the Rule of St. Francis, which they were determined to observe . The king and Cromwell had a more powerful argument than those employed by Lee and Bedyll, and two days later two cartloads offriars passed through the city on their way to the Tower Less than two months later Chapuys writes: " Of seven houses of Observants five

have been alreadyemptiedof friars becausethey have refused toswear to the statutesmade against the Pope. Those in the two others expect also to be expelled. " Many of these friars were put in prisonin houses of the Conventual Franciscans

All this time Forest, the Minister Provincial of the Greenwich Franciscans , was in prison Queen Catherine, whose confessor hehad been, wrote to him in prisoncongratulatinghim on being found worthy to suffer for Christ's sake In his reply he said : " Be not anxious about my heavy sufferings,for these grey hairs of mine are not to be moved by childish little threats, nor should a man of sixty-four, nor a friar offorty-threeyears, basely fly from death Meanwhile I hope you will deem your devoted servant worthy of your prayers , when you hear of my being in the midst of the horrible sufferings prepared for me " He sent her his rosary Elizabeth Howard, one of Catherine's maidsof-honour, also wrote him a letter of sympathy Forest was burnt at Smithfield on May 22nd, 1538 , after having spent five years in prison

Forestwas not the only friar to suffer. About two hundredare said to have been imprisonedfor several years But for the intercession of Sir Thomas Wriothesley they would have been put to death. Some were eventually released and went to the Continent or Scotland. Twenty-two are said to have died in prison. Fathers Risby and Rich visited Catherine at Buckden, where she was lying ill They were imprisoned and hanged at Tyburn

Little remains to be told about the Greenwich Franciscans. Under Marythe community was reinstated, Peyto and Elstow being recalled from abroad, and the formal ceremony of restitution taking place on April 7th, 1555, performed by Maurice Griffith, Bishop of Rochester When Mary and her husband came to Greenwich in the following Augusttheir firstthought was to visitthefriary In the British Museum there is a royal grant, made by the queen shortly before her death , giving " unto the warden and friars of Greenwich towards their relief and succour of fuel one acre of wood in our wood called Westwood in the parish of Lewesham . " 31

When Elizabeth came to the throne, the Greenwich friary was finally suppressed in the year after her accession. The buildings were used for the accommodationof some of the queen's retinue In 1659 we readthat " the friary adjoining the palace is there yet to be seen , ' though under the Commonwealth , Parliament had sold the property to one Uriah Babington, by whose order it was conveyed to Richard Babington of Great St. Helens and Thomas Griffin of Great St. Bartholomews, London .

In his Historia MinorFratrum Minorum Alma Provincia Angliorum Davenport says that a member of the Dennis family of Devonshire, George Dennis, was a novice at the Greenwich friary in the reign of Queen Mary, and that on the friary being suppressed by Elizabeth, though still only a novice, he went with the other members of the community to Belgium. Finally he went to Liége, where he lived for many years after making his profession.

We know little of the activities of the Observant Franciscans in England from 1560 to 1625, but it is certain that some remained there The seal of the Province was handed on from one to another and eventually was givenby Blessed John Jones, the Martyr, to Fr. William Stanney, who passed it on to Fr. John Gennings, who in 1625

re-established the EnglishProvince of the Observants with its novitiate and house of studies at Douai "

After reading his paper Fr. Bonnar showed to those present the matrix of the Provincial seal of the Observants whichis mentioned in the last paragraph of his address. It is now in the Franciscan Provincial archives at Forest Gate, London He also displayed the seal of the Province which took the place of this when the English Franciscans adopted the appellation of Recollects," whichnecessitated a change in the legend on the seal, and the seal of the Douai friary of the English Franciscans These seals were available for inspection at the meeting by courtesy of the Very Rev. Fr. Laurence Powell, O.F.M., Provincial Bonnar also spoke of a visit which he had paid to the church of the English Franciscans at Douai, which is now well maintained by the secular clergy as a parish church One of the side altars was formerly the high altar in the church of the College of the English Secular Clergy at Douai. Fr.

The paper was ordered to be printed in the Society's Annual Report, and Doctor Bonnar was warmly thankedon the proposal of the CHAIRMAN, supported by Major F. J. A. SKEET .

Captain W. DE GEIJER expressedthe Society's greatappreciation ofthe invaluableservicesrendered by Viscount FitzAlan, and moved a vote of thanks for his occupancy of the Chair, which, seconded by Mr. G. F. ENGELBACH, was carried by acclamation

A vote of thanks to the Society of Antiquariesfor the use of their rooms, moved by Mr. R. C. WILTON and seconded by Mr. B. H. NEWDIGATE , brought the proceedings to a close.

ROLL OF MEMBERS

FFounderson June 10 , 1904. HHonorary Members LLifeMembers

L Adamson, Rev. Philip J., SS Catherine and Martina's Presbytery, Birkenhead Road, Hoylake, Wirral, Cheshire.

Aelia, Bishop of, Right Rev. David Mathew, M.A., Litt.D., F.S.A. , F.R.Hist.S., Archbishop's House, Ambrosden Avenue, Westminster, S.W.1

Anne, Miss, Burghwallis Hall, Doncaster , Yorks

Armstrong, C. A. John, M.A. , F.R.Hist.S., Hertford College, Oxford. Ashburnham, Lady Catherine , AshburnhamPlace, Battle, Sussex

Baker, Thomas, 85, Charlotte Street, W.1

Bamber, Rev. Joseph Edward, St. Joseph's Presbytery, Skeffington Road, Preston, Lancs.

Barrett, Rev. Thomas James, St. John's Diocesan Seminary , Wonersh , Guildford, Surrey.

Bartlett, Anthony, c/o The Art and Book Company , 28, Ashley Place, Westminster, S.W.1

Bedingfeld , Sir Henry Paston, Bt , J.P., Oxburgh Hall, King's Lynn, Norfolk

Bedingfeld , Mrs. Raoul, Villa Borghese, Higher Lincombe Road , Torquay.

Bellew, George R., Somerset Herald, College ofArms, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4

Berkeley, Robert V., J.P., F.S.A., Spetchley Park, Worcester Birmingham, Archbishop of, Most Rev. Thomas L. Williams, Archbishop's House, 6 NorfolkRoad, Edgbaston , Birmingham.

Blundell, Mrs. Francis N., Crosby Hall, Blundell-sands, Liverpool

Bowler, Dom Hugh, O.S.B., Our Lady and St. Wilfrid's Presbytery, Waterloo Road, Blyth, Northumberland.

Boyan, Mrs. P. A., St. Andrew's, Yelverton, Devon.

Bradley, Rev. James, St. Marie's Presbytery, Norfolk Row, Sheffield

Brentwood, Bishop of, Right Rev. Arthur Doubleday, Bishop's House, Brentwood, Essex

Burton, Rev. Harold, Walnut Tree House, Station Road, Hamptonon-Thames, Middlesex

L Callaway, Rev. Thomas, St. Mary's Presbytery, Chipping, Preston , Lancs . F , HCamm , Dom R. Bede, O.S.B., M.A., F.S.A., Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath

Cardiff,Archbishopof,MostRev. Francis Mostyn, K.M.,Archbishop's House, 24, Newport Road, Cardiff

Cardwell, Dr. Mary, Copster House, Hollins Road, Oldham , Lancs. Carter, Very Rev. Canon T. Walmsley R.I.P.

Cartmell, Rev. Joseph, D.D., Ph.D., M.A., St. Joseph's College, Upholland, near Wigan, Lancs.

Carus, Alexander Hubert, J.P. R.I.P.

Chadwick ,Very Rev.Canon Alfred, St. Mary's,Alnwick,Northumberland

Chambers, F. W. , K.S.G. , M.A., 20 Holmes Road, Twickenham, Middlesex

Charlton, George Victor Bellasis, Woodford Lodge, Thrapston, Northants

Chichester-Constable, Colonel Raleigh, J.P., Burton Constable, Hull

L Christall,Very Rev. Canon Robert, 24 HeathcoteRoad, Epsom,Surrey. Ciceri , Leo J., 1 St Mark's Crescent, Newport, Mon.

Clifton, Bishop of, Right Rev. William Lee, M.B.E., St. Ambrose , Leigh Woods, Bristol.

L Connolly, Very Rev. Canon James C. , St. Joseph's Presbytery, 48, Bugle Street, Southampton

Cuming , Miss Agnes, 11 WellesleyAvenue, Hull.

Dalton, Mr. Justice Llewelyn C., c/o A. W. Innes , Esq , Richmond Lodge, Lewes, Sussex

Daniell, Very Rev. Canon Edward M., 70, Lincoln's Inn Fields , W.C.2 .

Dearlove, Wing Commander Cuthbert J. S. , R.A.F., Royal Air Force Station, Abingdon, Berks. de Chambrun , La Comtesse Clara Longworth, 58, Rue de Vaugirard, Paris, 6, France

Deeley, Perceval, c/o Messrs Sands & Co., 15 King Street, Covent Garden, W.C.2 de Geijer, Capt William, 74, Warwick Square, S.W.I de Hoghton, Sir Cuthbert, Bart , Hoghton Tower, Hoghton, Preston , Lancs.

Delany, Very Rev. Bernard, O.P., B . Litt , Provincial, St. Dominic's Priory, HaverstockHill, N.W.5 de Zulueta, Miss Agnes, 5 Douro Place, Kensington, W.8

Dibdin, George E., J.P. , Brockweir, Allt-yr-yn Avenue, Newport, Mon.

Dixey, John H., K.H.S., F.R.G.S. , 31, Welbeck Street, W.I

Doran, Rev. John, St. Joseph's Presbytery, Copnor Bridge, Portsmouth, Hants

Duchemin , Rt. Rev. Mgr Charles, Collegio Beda, 67 via San Niccolò da Tolentino, Rome, 5.

Eccles , Miss Alice, 49 Preston Road, Newtown, Longridge, nr Preston. Edmondstoune -Cranstoun , C. J., J.P. , Corehouse, Lanark, Scotland

Ellison, Alfred Joseph, M.A., LL.M., 18 Old Buildings, Lincoln's Inn, W.C.2

Elwes, Very Rev. Mgr Aubrey Valentine D., Archbishop's House , Ambrosden Avenue, Westminster , S.W.I F Engelbach, George Frederick, 152 Cambridge St.,Westminster,S.W.I

Evetts, Miss Margaret C. Bickersteth, 7 King's Mansions, Lawrence Street, Chelsea, S.W.3

Eyre, Stanislas Thomas, J.P., 13 Chesham Street, S.W.1

Eyre-Huddleston, Commander Reginald Francis , R.N. (retd ), K.S.G., Sawston Hall, Cambridge

Eyston, Mrs. E., New House, Kingston Bagpuize, Berks.

FitzAlan, Colonel the Rt. Hon. the Viscount, K.G., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., Cumberland Lodge, Windsor

Fitzalan-Howard, Hon Miles, Carlton Towers, Snaith, Yorks

Fitzherbert, Cuthbert, Gainford, co Durham.

Fitzherbert-Brockholes , Major John, M.C., Claughton-on-Brock, Garstang R.S.O. , Lancs

ROLL

Fletcher, J. Kyrle, 79 High Street, Newport, Mon.

Fletcher, Very Rev. Canon John R., 8, Hazlewell Road, Putney, S.W.15

Fogarty, Philip Christopher , I.C.S., The Secretariat , Rangoon, Burma

Ford, Rev. George, D.D., " Vescourt , " Hartley, Plymouth. L Freeland , Rt Rev. Mgr Provost John, V.G., Thornton College, Stony Stratford, Bucks

Furley, John T., Bole Cottage, Bucklebury Common , Berks.

Gainsford, William, Somersby House, Spilsby, Lincs.

Gaisford -St. Lawrence , Thomas J., M.C., F.S.A. , M.A., Howth Castle , co Dublin.

Gardner, Rev. John, The Rectory, Formby, Liverpool

Geijer, Eric N., M.C., B.A., F.S.A. , Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4

Gibbons, Francis James Joseph, K.C.S.G., The Hall, Penn, near Wolverhampton, Staffs

Gibson, W. H. P., J.P., 49 North Side, Clapham, S.W.4

Gilbey, Rev. Alfred N., Fisher House, Guildhall Street, Cambridge

Gilbey, Henry Newman , 33, Carlyle Square, Chelsea, S.W.3

Gilbey, Capt John, Mark Hall, Harlow, Essex .

Gilbey, William Gordon , Harrowden Hall, Wellingborough , Northants

Giles, Mrs. Francis T., 15A , BlakesleyAvenue, Ealing, W.5

HGillow , Mrs. Joseph, Fyldeholme , Broad Lane, Hale, Cheshire.

Glencross, Reginald M., M.A., LL.B., F.S.G., F.R.S.A.I., 176 Worple Road, Wimbledon, S.W.20

Green-Armytage, Robert N., 5 Queen's Parade, Bath.

Guilday, Right Rev. Mgr , Ph.D., LL.D., J.U.D., 1234 Monroe Street, N.E., Brookland, D.C., U.S.A.

Gwynn, Denis Rolleston, D .Litt , F.R.Hist.S., 3, Queen's Terrace , Windsor, Berks

F Hansom , A. J. R., 110 Palace Gardens Terrace, Kensington, W.8

Henson, Rt. Rev. Monsignor Canon Edwin, Colegio de Ingleses, Valladolid, Spain.

Hicks, Rev. Leo, S.J., 31, Farm Street. Berkeley Square, W.1.

Hierapolis , Archbishop of, Most Rev. Alban Goodier , S.J. R.I.P.

L. Hope, CaptainGeoffrey A. E., HaisthorpeHall, Driffield, E.R. Yorks

L Hornyold-Strickland, Henry, J.P., F.S.A. , Sizergh Lodge, Kendal, Westmorland

Hull, Hubert, 4 Paper Buildings, Temple, E.C.4

Hutton, Edward, 114 Clifton Hill, St. John's Wood, N.W.8

Johnson, Basil Henry, 3 , Artillery Mansions, 75, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.I.

Johnson, Rev. Humphrey John T., The Oratory, Hagley Road , Edgbaston , Birmingham

L Kean, Very Rev.Charles George, C.J.,St George'sCollege,Weybridge , Surrey.

Kelly, Mrs. Teresa, " Scarcliffe , " Bridlington, E.R. Yorks.

L Kenyon, Major Joseph Robert, M.C., Gillingham Hall, Beccles, Suffolk

F Keogh, C. George Neal, 70 Avonmore Road, West Kensington, W . 14

Kerr, Lady Cecil, 4, Strathearn Road, Edinburgh.

Kerr, Philip W., F.S.A., Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4

Lamb, Joseph Cuthbert, B.A., Hayton House, How Mill, Carlisle , Cumberland

La Mothe Houdancourt, La Duchesse de, 7 , Rue Galilée, Paris 16.

Lancaster , Bishop of, Right Rev. Thomas W. Pearson, O.S.B. R.I.P.

Lancaster , Bishop of, Right Rev. Thomas E. Flynn, Ph.D., M.A., Bishop's House, Cannon Hill, Lancaster

Leadbitter, Major Nicholas G., Flint House, Holcombe , near Bath, Somerset

Leeds, Bishopof, Right Rev. Henry J. Poskitt, D.D., J.C.L., M.A., Bishop's Lodge, Bardon Hill, Weetwood Lane, Headingley, Leeds, 6

Lindsay, Hon and Rev. Edward R., The CatholicPresbytery, Stone , Staffs

L Lindsay, Leonard C. C. , F.S.A., 15 , Morpeth Mansions, Westminster, S.W.I.

Liverpool, Archbishop of, Most Rev. Richard Downey, D.D., Archbishop's House, Woolton, Liverpool, S.

Lloyd, Thomas O., 4, Mulberry Walk, Chelsea, S.W.3.

Lupton, Very Rev. Canon Edward, The Presbytery, South Shore , Blackpool, Lancs.

McGuirk , Very Rev. Canon John, V.F., St. Agatha's, North William Street, Dublin, Ireland

Macmillan, Right Rev. Mgr John, D.D., Ph.D. , Ven Collegio Inglese, Rome, 116 , Italy.

L Macnamara , J. G., 33 Valentines Road, Ilford, Essex . McNulty, Rev. Joseph, B.A., F.R.Hist.S., 122 , Anfield Road , Liverpool, 4

Magee, Brian, B . Com, A.C.A. , 39, Park Avenue South, Crouch End, N.8

Maguire, Miss Clara Isabel, Burton Lodge, Station Parade, Harrogate, Yorks

Mahoney, Very Rev. Canon Edward J., D.D., North Lodge, Poles, Ware, Herts

Menevia, Bishop of, Right Rev. Michael McGrath, M.A., Bishop's House, Wrexham, Denbighshire

Middlesbrough , Bishop of, Right Rev. Thomas Shine, Bishop's House, Middlesbrough , Yorks

Milton, Rev. Anthony R.I.P.

Moorat, Samuel, 25, Pembroke Gardens, Kensington , W.8

Moore, Rev. Bernard, St. Austin's, Stafford. Mott, Miss Agnes, 4 DingleRoad, BoscombeOvercliffe, Bournemouth , Hants

Mulgrew, Francis M., 36 Grosvenor Road, Birkdale, Southport, Lancs

Mumford, John Thwaites , M.A. , 96, Victoria Street, Westminster , S.W.I.

Newdigate , Bernard H. , Foxcombe Heath, Boars Hill, Oxford.

HNewdigate , Rev. Charles A., S.J., Campion House, 112 , Thornbury Road, Osterley, Middlesex

ROLL OF MEMBERS

L Nicopsi, Archbishop of, Most Rev. Joseph Butt, Downside Abbey, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, near Bath.

Nixon, Rev. Raphael, C.P. R.I.P.

Noble, Sir John Henry Brunel, Bart R.I.P.

Norfolk, The Dowager Duchess of, EveringhamPark, York

Norfolk, The Duke of, E.M., K.G., Arundel Castle, Arundel, Sussex

Northampton, Bishop of, Right Rev. Lawrence Youens, Bishop's House, Northampton

Nottingham, Bishopof, Right Rev. John F.McNulty, M.A., Bishop's House, The Park, Nottingham.

O'Connell, Rev. Sir John, LL.D., Artillery Mansions, 75, Victoria Street, Westminster , S.W.I

O'Connor, Rev. Arthur J., M.C., H.C.F., c/o 36, Mount Road, Alkrington , Middleton, Lancs

O'Farrell, Very Rev. Canon Francis , O.B.E., C.F. , St. Joseph's, Queen's Road, Aldershot, Hants.

L O'Mahony, Eoin, Dún Meadhon, Cork, Ireland

Opus, Bishop of, Right Rev. John Henry King, V.G., Auxiliary Bishop of Portsmouth, 29, Jewry Street, Winchester, Hants

O'Sullivan, Richard, K.C., Lamb Building, Temple, E.C.4

O'Toole, Rev. Patrick, York Villa, Beer S.O., Devon

Pantin, William Abel, M.A. , F.S.A., 72 Shooter's Hill Road, Blackheath, S.E.3

Parisotti, Rev. Albert, O.B.E., C.F., c/o Headquarters , B.T.E., Cairo, Egypt

Petit, Rev. John E., M.A., St. Edmund's House, Mount Pleasant, Cambridge.

Petre, Henry, D.S.O. , M.C., 8 Carlos Place, Grosvenor Square, W.1

Pilkington, Charles Edward Nigel, 8A , Gwendwr Road, W . 14

Plymouth, Bishop of, Right Rev. John Barrett, Bishop's House , Cecil Street, Plymouth. Portsmouth, Bishopof, Right Rev. William Cotter, Bishop's House , Edinburgh Road , Portsmouth

Quinn, Mrs. Augustine, 25, Croxteth Road, Liverpool, 8

Radcliffe, Roger C. J., Scale House, Settle, Yorks.

Reynolds , James R., Leighton Hall, Carnforth, Lancashire

Riddell, Edward Charles, J.P., Hermeston Hall, Oldcotes, Worksop, Notts

Riddell, John Cuthbert Widdrington , SwinburneCastle, Barrasford , Hexham , Northumberland.

Riddell-Blount, Major Edward Francis , J.P., Cheeseburn Grange, Newcastle -on-Tyne

Ridge, C. H. (Messrs. Phillimore & Co., Ltd.), 120, Chancery Lane, W.C.2

Roberts, Miss Margery Woffindin, 7, Hazlewood Court, Palmer's Green, N . 13

Robertson , Charles, K.S.G., Begbroke Place, Oxford

Robo, Rev. Etienne, Catholic Presbytery, Tilford Road, Farnham , Surrey.

Roch, Hon. Mrs. Walter, Llanarth Court, Raglan, Mon.

Roskell , Robert N., I, Elm Park Gardens, Chelsea, S.W.10

Salford, Bishop of, Right Rev. Thomas Henshaw. R.I.P.

Scanlan, Very Rev. Mgr James, D.C.L., B.L., St. Vincent's House , 49, Queen Street, Hammersmith, W.6

Scantlebury, Rev. Robert Elliott, St. James's Presbytery, Abbey Ruins, Abbot's Walk, Reading, Berks

Schomberg, Lieut -Colonel Reginald C.F., D.S.O., Ross , Herefordshire .

Scrope, Richard C., Brooks's Club, St. James's Street, S.W.1

Sharrock, Very Rev. Canon Thomas, St. John's Cathedral , Chapel Street, Salford, Lancs

Shaw, James F., J.P. , Bourton Hall, Rugby, co Warwick

L Sheldrake , Harry James, White Barn, Kelvedon S.O., Essex.

L Sheldrake, Willie . R.I.P.

Shrewsbury , Bishop of, Right Rev. Ambrose Moriarty, The Council House, Shrewsbury .

Skeet, Major Francis J. A., J.P., F.S.A., Syon House, Angmering, Littlehampton, Sussex

F Smith, John Peter, J.P., Arndene , Barrow-in-Furness, Lancs.

Smith, Miss M. A., The Grove, Barnard Castle, co Durham.

Smith, William Abbey, J.P., Rosebery Villa, HuttonAvenue, West Hartlepool, co Durham

Southwark, Archbishop Bishop of, Most Rev. Peter E. Amigo, Bishop's House, St. George's Road, Southwark, S.E.1

Stafford, Admiral Lord, K.C.B., SwynnertonPark, Stone, Staffs

L Stearns, Foster, K.M., " Gemini , " Hancock, New Hampshire , U.S.A.

Stewart, Walter Arnold, c/o Messrs. Sands & Co. , 15, King Street, Covent Garden, W.C.2

Sumner, Francis G., J.P., OrchardLodge, Avon Dassett , Warwickshire.

Sumner , Rev. Francis J., Hampton-on-the-Hill, Warwick.

FSutcliffe, Very Rev. Canon William Ormond, M.A., 23, Magdalen Road, St. Leonards -on-Sea, Sussex

Tacchi -Venturi, Rev. Pietro, S.J., Piazza del Gesù 45, Rome 117 , Italy. Tempest, Miss, Taitlands, Settle, Yorks.

L Toke, Leslie A. St. L., Bucksford, Great Chart, Ashford , Kent.

Trappes-Lomax, Michael Roger, 36, Princes Gardens, S.W.7 . Trappes-Lomax, Lt.-Col Thomas Byrnand, The Guards' Club, Brook Street , W.1

Turnbull, Francis Harold, K.C.S.G., O.B.E., J.P., Raisdale, Penarth, Glamorganshire

Turville-Petre, Colonel Oswald, J.P., B.A., Bosworth Hall, Rugby.

Undreiner, Rev. George J., Ph.D. , Pontifical College Josephinum, Worthington, Ohio, U.S.A.

L Vaughan , Colonel Charles Jerome, O.B.E., D.L., J.P. , Courtfield, Ross, Herefordshire . Vaughan , Paymaster -Commander Herbert R. H., R.N., Nantymwyn, Rhandirmwyn, Llandovery, Carmarthenshire .

Waring, Rev. Cuthbert L., M.A., St. Mary's Presbytery, Birchley, Billinge, Wigan, Lancs

Warrington, Mrs. J. Francis, 11 , Sandrock Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Weale, J.Cyril M., 60 BromfeldeRoad, Clapham, S.W.4 Wedgwood , Mrs. RowlandHenry, Mill Lane House, Slindon, Sussex .

ROLL OF MEMBERS

Weld , Francis Joseph, 32 Weld Road, Birkdale, Southport, Lancs. Westminster, CardinalArchbishopof, His Eminence Arthur Hinsley, D.D., B.A., Archbishop's House, Ambrosden Avenue, Westminster, S.W.1

White, Thomas , 17 Brynhyfryd Road, Stow Hill, Newport, Mon.

L Whitfield, Rev. Joseph L., M.A., D.S.O., CatholicRectory, Southendon-Sea, Essex

Wilcox, George R.I.P.

F Williamson, George Charles, Litt.D., J.P., Mount Manor House , Mount Street, Guildford, Surrey

Willson, Very Rev. E. Hilary, O.S.B., St. Mary's Presbytery, Warwick Bridge , Carlisle, Cumberland

L Wilson, Very Rev. Canon Michael J., 35, London Road, Chelmsford , Essex

Wilton, R. Cecil, B.A. , Stourhead Lodge, Woburn Sands, Bletchley, Bucks

Woodruff, John Douglas, Brown's Gate, Bucklebury, Berks.

Woods, Raymond E. M., 41, Lilford Road, S.E.5.

F , L Woollan, Joseph Henry R.I.P.

Young, Smelter Joseph, Richmond Park, near Sheffield .

PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND INSTITUTIONS

(a) BRITISH ISLES

Aberdeen, The University Library

Aberystwyth , The National Library of Wales

Barrow-in-Furness, The Public Library

Birmingham, The Catholic Truth Society (Diocesan Branch) Library

The Public Library

Blackburn , The Public Library

Bolton, The Public Library

Bristol , The Central Library

Cambridge , Peterhouse College Library

The University Library

Cardiff, The Public Library

Derby, The Public Library

Dublin, The National Library of Ireland

Trinity College Library

Durham, The University Library

Edinburgh, The Public Library

The Signet Library

Glasgow, The Corporation Public Library

The University Library

Hull, The Public Library

Lancaster , The Public Library

Leeds, The Public Library

Liverpool, The Public Library

The University Library

London, The Society of Antiquaries

The British Museum Library

The Catholic Central Library

The College of Arms

Constitutional Club Library

Fulham Public Library

The Society of Genealogists

London, The Guildhall Library

Hendon Central Public Library

The Institute of Historical Research

Kensington Central Library

The London Library

The Public Record Office

The Royal Historical Society

London University Library

Westminster Public Library

Wimbledon Public Library

Manchester, The Victoria University

The Public Library

The John Rylands Library

Middlesbrough, The Public Library

Newcastle-on-Tyne, The Public Library

Oxford, The Bodleian Library

Portsmouth, The Central Public Library

Preston, The Free Public Library

The Lancashire County Library

Reading, The Public Library

Sheffield , The Public Library

The University Library

Southampton, The Central Public Library

Stockport, The Public Library

Wallasey, The Earleston Central Library

Wigan, The Free Public Library

York, The Public Library

(b) ABROAD

AUSTRALIA .New South Wales Public Library, Sydney Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne

CANADA .Canadian Parliament Library, Ottawa

DENMARK .The Royal Library, Copenhagen

FRANCE .Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

Strasbourg National and UniversityLibrary, Bas-Rhin

GERMANY .Bavarian State Library, Munich

Göttingen University Library, Hanover

Prussian State Library, Berlin

H ITALY .Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome

UNITED STATESNew York State Library, Albany, N.Y. The Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Md

California University Library, Berkeley, Cal.

Boston Public Library, Mass . New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston , Mass.

Harvard University Library, Cambridge, Mass

Newberry Library, Chicago, Ill

University of Chicago Libraries, Ill

Cleveland Public Library, Ohio

WisconsinState Historical Society, Madison, Wis

Michigan University, Mich .

Minnesota University Library, Minneapolis, Minn

New York Historical Society, New York City, N.Y.

New York Public Library, New York City, N.Y.

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind

Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pa

Pennsylvania University Library, Philadelphia, Pa.

Princeton Theological Seminary Library, N.J.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND INSTITUTIONS

UNITED STATES .Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, Cal

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Yale University Library, New Haven , Conn

DIOCESAN ARCHIVES AND COLLEGES

(a) BRITISH ISLES .

Birmingham .St. Mary's College, Oscott

Cambridge. St. Edmund's House Library, Mount Pleasant

Glasgow . St. Peter's College, New Kilpatrick

Shrewsbury Diocesan Archives

Maynooth.St Patrick's College, co Kildare, Ireland

Strawberry Hill, Twickenham .St Mary's College

Upholland, nr Wigan, Lancs .St Joseph's College

Ushaw, co Durham .St Cuthbert's College Library

The Students' Library, St. Cuthbert's College

Ware, Herts .St Edmund's College

Wonersh, nr. Guildford, Surrey.St John's Seminary

Italy . Collegio Beda, Rome

(b) ABROAD

Ven Collegio Inglese, Rome

Spain. Colegio de Ingleses, Valladolid

RELIGIOUS ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS

(a) BRITISH ISLES .

Augustinians (C.R.L . ) .St Mary's Priory, Bodmin, Cornwall

St. Peter-in-Chains Priory, Hornsey, London, N.8

Augustinian Nuns .Prioryof Our Ladyof Good Counsel, Hayward's Heath , Sussex

St. Augustine's Priory, Abbotsleigh, Newton Abbot, Devon F

Benedictines (O.S.B .).Ampleforth Abbey Library, Malton, Yorks

Belmont Abbey, Hereford

Buckfast Abbey, Buckfastleigh, Devon

Douai Abbey Library, Woolhampton, nr Reading

Downside Abbey Library, Stratton-on-the-Fosse , nr Bath

Ealing Priory, London , W.5

Fort Augustus Abbey, Inverness

Prinknash Abbey, Gloucester

Quarr Abbey, Ryde, Isle of Wight

St. Mary's Priory, Worth, nr Crawley , Sussex

Benedictine Nuns.-St. Mary's Abbey, East Bergholt, nr Colchester , Suffolk

St. Benedict's Abbey, Colwich, nr Stafford

St. Mary's Abbey, Oulton, Stone, Staffs

St. Mary's Abbey, Stanbrook , Worcester

St. Scholastica'sAbbey, Teignmouth, Devon

Bridgettine Nuns (O.SS.S .) .-Syon Abbey, South Brent , Devon

CarmeliteNuns (O.C.D . ).--LanherneConvent, St.Mawgan,Newquay, Cornwall

Carthusians (O. Carth ).Charterhouseof St. Hugh, Parkminster , Partridge Green, Horsham, Sussex

Cistercians (O.C.R . ) .-

Mount St. Bernard's Abbey, nr Coalville, Leicestershire

RELIGIOUS ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS

Dominicans (O.P . ).-

St Thomas's Priory, Hawkesyard, Rugeley, Staffs

St. Albert the Great's Priory , Edinburgh

St. Dominic's Priory, Haverstock Hill, London, N.W.5

St. Dominic's Priory, Red Barns , Newcastle-on-Tyne

Blackfriars, Priory of Holy Ghost, Oxford

Dominican SistersSt Rose's Convent, Stroud, Glos

Franciscans (O.F.M . ) .-

The Friary, Forest Gate, London, E.7

The Friary, Fox Street, Liverpool (O.S.F.C. ) . Greyfriars, Grosseteste House, Oxford Franciscan College, Over Wyresdale, Bay Horse, Lancaster

Franciscan Nuns (O.S.F.) .-

Convent of Our Lady of Dolours, Taunton, Somerset

Institute of Charity (I.C ) .Ratcliffe College, nr. Leicester

Jesuits (S.J . ).Beaumont College, Old Windsor, Berks

Very Rev. the Father Provincial, 35 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin

Heythrop College, Chipping Norton , Oxon.

St. Francis Xavier's , Salisbury Street, Liverpool

Manresa House, Roehampton, London, S.W.15

" The Month , " 31 , Farm Street, Berkeley Square, London , W.I

Mount St. Mary's College, Spinkhill, nr Sheffield

Campion Hall, Oxford

St. Beuno's College, St. Asaph, Flint

St. Ignatius, Preston

St. Mary's, Lowe House, St. Helens , Lancs.

Stonyhurst College, Blackburn, Lancs

Wimbledon College, London, S.W.19

Notre Dame Nuns.--Ashdown Park Convent, Coleman's Hatch, East Grinstead, Sussex

Oblates of St. Charles (O.S.C.) .St. Mary of the Angels, Bayswater, London, W.2

Oratorians .The Oratory, Edgbaston, Birmingham

The Oratory Library, Brompton Road , South Kensington, London, S.W.7

Redemptorists (C.SS.R . ) .St Mary's, Clapham, London, S.W.4

Sacred Heart Nuns .Roehampton Convent, London, S.W.15

Sepulchrine Nuns (C.R.S.S .) .New Hall, Chelmsford, Essex

Servites (O.S.M . ) .St . Mary's Priory, Fulham Road, South Kensington, London, S.W.10

Ursuline Nuns.-St. Margaret's Convent, Edinburgh

Visitation NunsVisitation Convent , Harrow , Middlesex (b) ABROAD . Belgium .

Augustinian Nuns (C.R.L ) .Le Couvent Anglais, Bruges

Jesuits (S.J . ).Société des Bollandistes, Brussels

United States

Dominicans (O.P . ) .Dominican House of Studies , Washington, D.C.

Jesuits (S.J . ) .The Loyola University, Chicago, Ill

Boston College, Mass

College of the Holy Cross , Worcester, Mass.

St. Louis University Library, Mo.

Georgetown University , Washington, D.C.

TEN YEARS' OBITUARY.

1930

Harding, George, 23 Jan., æt. 69.

FCodrington, the Hon (Mrs) Mary, 19 Feb., æt 74 .

Burke, Sir Henry Farnham, K.C.V.O., C.B., Garter Principal King ofArms, 21 Aug., æt 71

Turnbull, Philip Bernard, 20 Oct., æt 51

Farrell, Thomas Frederic, 17 Nov., æt 81.

1931

Nolan, Rt Rev. Mgr Canon Edmond, 9 Jan., æt . 73.

Burton, Rt Rev. GeorgeAmbrose, 5th BishopofClifton, 8 Feb., æt 79

Brownbill, John, 20 May, æt 75 .

Dunn, Rt Rev. Thomas, 5th Bishopof Nottingham, 21 Sept., æt 61

F Hansom , Joseph Stanislaus, Founderof the Society , 7 Nov., æt. 86.

Hewins, William A. S., 16 Nov., æt 66

1932

Cary Elwes, Rt Rev. Dudley Charles, 5th Bishop of Northampton, I May, æt 64 .

Vassall -Phillips, Rev. Oliver R., C.SS.R., 8 May, æt. 75 .

Hunnybun, William Martin, M.A., 22 May, æt 90

Lenders, Rev. Jules, 17 July, æt 72

Falkner, John Meade, 22 July, æt 74 .

Stafford, Francis E. Fitzherbert, 12th Lord, 18 Sept., æt 73

Gaisford -St Lawrence , Julian C., J.P. , 7 Nov., æt 70

Sheldrake , James E., 7 Nov., æt 70. Reynolds , Col. Sir James P. , Bart , D.S.O., M.P., 12 Dec., æt 68

1933

Hook, Rt Rev. Mgr Paul, Ph.D., 7 March, æt. 51.

F Harting, Miss Johanna H., 11 March, æt . 87.

Trotman, John W. , 27 April, æt 65.

Quick, Joseph L., 12 May, æt 84

Clarkson , William, 10 Aug., æt 64

Giles, Francis T., 13 Aug., æt 75 .

Wake, Philip Kenyon, K.S.G., 23 Sept., æt 80

Treowen, Major-General the Lord, C.B., C.M.G., 18 Oct., æt 82 .

Piercey-Taylor-Smith, J.P., Mrs. M. E., 19 Nov., æt 68.

Hayward, Very Rev. Provost Francis M., 23 Nov., æt. 76 .

1934

Martin, Mrs T. E., 20 Jan., æt 75

Petre, Sebastian Henry, 21 Feb. , æt . 77 . Carnegie, John, B.A. , 7 March, æt. 77 . Baigent, Richard Coventry, F.R.Hist.S., 17 March, æt 75

F Knill, Alderman Sir John, Bt , K.C.S.G., 26 March, æt 77 . Gray, Very Rev. Canon John, 16 June, æt. 68.

Gorham , James John, M.A., M.D., J.P. , 23 June, æt 83

Baker, Thomas, 22 Aug., æt 83

OBITUARY

Brown, Right Rev. Mgr Canon William Henry, 27 Aug., æt 82

Cotton, Rev. John, D.D., 10 Sept., æt 65 .

Urquhart, Francis Fortescue, 18 Sept., æt 66 27

Arundell of Wardour, Right Hon Anne Lucy Lady, 24 Oct.. æt 92 .

O'Mahony, Daniel John, K.M., 1 Dec., æt 74.

Singleton, Right Rev. Hugh, 5th Bishop of Shrewsbury , 17 Dec. , æt 83

1935

F Bourne , His Eminence Cardinal Francis , 4th Archbishop of Westminster, 1 Jan., æt 73 .

Vaughan , Rt Rev. Francis, 2nd Bishop of Menevia , 13 March, æt 57

Shepherd, Very Rev. Canon Francis, 14 May, æt 69

Dolan, Very Rev. Canon Oswald, V.F., 29 May, æt 74 .

Spurrier, Alfred Henry, M.D., C.M.G., O.B.E., 5 July, æt 73

Milner, Rev. Henry F., 6 Aug., æt 70

Sands, William Henry Bethune, 30 Aug., æt 69.

FLVaux of Harrowden, Hubert Lord , M.A., 25 Oct. , æt . 75 .

H Jerningham , Sir Henry S. , Bart , J.P., 20 Dec., æt 68.

1936

Quinn, Augustine, J.P. , 4 Jan., æt. 87.

Cowgill, Right Rev. Joseph Robert, 4th Bishop of Leeds, 12 May, æt 76 .

Trappes -Lomax, Major Richard, J.P. , 24 June, æt 66

Baines , Miss Rose, 26 July, æt 76.

Thorman, Rt. Rev. Joseph, 7th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle , 7 Oct. , at 65

Blundell, Captain FrancisNicholas , J.P. , D.L., 28 Oct., æt. 56.

Scrope, Stephen Francis Eustace, 14 Dec., æt 64.

1937

Bouvet , Very Rev. Emile, O.S.B., Prior of Quarr Abbey, 12 Jan., æt. 64

Bartlett, Joseph Henry, 14 Jan., æt 76. Beaumont , Ethel Mary DowagerLady, 19 Jan., æt. 72.

Woodruff, Mrs. Emily Louisa Cumberland , 17 May, æt 78 .

Catterall, Very Rev. Canon John H., 14 June, æt. 65. FL Woollan, Joseph Henry, 12 July, æt 67. F Hall, Right Rev. Mgr Canon Francis John, V.F., 6 Oct., æt. 76 .

Baterden, James Rae, 7 Oct., æt 85. FL Riddell, Cuthbert David Giffard, J.P., 16 Oct., æt. 69. Gainsborough , Mary Dowager Countess of, 17 Nov. , æt 82

Radcliffe, Charles A. F., 15 Dec., æt 76

1938

Noble, Sir John Henry Brunel, Bart , 8 Jan., æt 72

Mackin, Rt Rev. Mgr Provost Henry, B.A., 7 Feb., æt 72.

Parker, Colonel John W. R., C.B., J.P. , F.S.A. , 24 Feb., æt. 80

Anderton, Henry Philip John Ince, 7 March, æt 57

Nixon, Rev. Raphael , C.P., 23 March, æt 73 .

Cox , Rt Rev.George Bede, O.S.B., Abbot of Glastonbury, 29 April, æt 84 .

Henshaw , Right Rev. Thomas, 5th Bishop ofSalford, 23 Sept., æt 65

Milton, Rev. Anthony, 19 Oct., æt. 44. Carter, Very Rev. Canon Thomas Walmsley, 19 Nov., æt 71

Pearson, Right Rev. Thomas Wulstan, O.S.B., 1st Bishop ofLancaster , I Dec., æt 68

McCabe, Right Rev. Mgr Bernard J. Provost, V.G. , 8 Dec., æt 8o

Vonier, Right Rev. Anscar, O.S.B., Ph.D. , Abbot of Buckfast, 26 Dec. , æt. 63 .

Sheldrake, Willie, 15 Feb., æt. 1939

Goodier, Most Rev. Alban, S.J., Titular Archbishop of Hierapolis , 13 March, æt 69

Wilcox, George, 28 March, æt. 75

Matthews, Right Rev. James Joseph Edmund, O.S.B., M.A., Abbot of Ampleforth, 7 April, æt 68

Carus, Alexander Hubert, J.P., 19 Aug., æt. 68.

Requiescant in pace.

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