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In
John Warner, the author of this history, was born in 1628 , the third son of Robert Warnerof Ratcliffe, Co. Warwick. * He was educated in Spain and ordained priest there, probably at Seville He then went to Douay, at that time under the Presidency of George Leyburne , and in 1657 became Professor of Philosophy, and from 1658-1662 Professor of Divinity. 1662 he entered the Society of Jesus, and in 1667 was appointed Professor of Theology at Liège It is not known at what date he went on the English mission, but in 1672 he went to Paris as Procurator, and there made his profession of the four vows , which was witnessed by several distinguished personalities, including Abbot Montagu, Dr. Gage and Fr. Gough
While occupied at Paris as Procurator, he also undertookthe offices ofspiritual directorto the Benedictine convent at Pontoise and to the " Blue Nuns at Paris § In 1675 he was present at Paris with Abbot Montagu and Fr. Stephen Gough at the discussion between John Sergeant and Bp. Peter Talbot, which was to have such an important influence in determining Sergeant's future course of action. In the same year there was with Warner in the Rue St. Antoine the foolish St. Germain, who mentions him in his letters St. Germain endeavoured to conceal from Warner his futile intriguing, and Warner's only correspondencefrom Coleman seems to have been in the form of professional newsletters **
In December 1677 Warnerleft his Procurator's post inParis , and early in 1678 was installed as Rector of Liège. The outbreak of the Popish Plot in Englandbroughtwithit the imprisonment of Fr. Whitbread, the Provincial, and the consequent lack of communication with England Warner was created ViceProvincial, §§ and after the martyrdom of Fr. Whitbread was made Provincial in December 1679. During his tenure of office the Province passed through one of the most difficult
* C.R.S. , viii, 431 ; and Foley, Collectanea, p. 816.
C.R.S., xi, 539.
Westminster Archives, vol. 34, f 179; and Dodd, iii, 491
§
C.R.S. , viii, 21; vi, 65; and Westminster Archives, vol 34, f. 327 sq. Blackloanae Haeresis (1675), p 312.
** H.M.C , Fitzherbert MSS., pp. 72, 80, 82, 92, 98, 111 , 112
C.R.S. , vi, 68
Foley, Collectanea, p. 817 .
§§ Warner , MS History, inf f 48
Foley, v, 284
periods in its history, and Warner's career during that time will be traced in more detail in a separate section below.
In June 1682 he attended the twelfth General Congregation at Rome , and it was there that he met Fr. MatthiasTanner, S.J. , and arranged for the materials contained in the Annual Letters of that period (chiefly written by Warner himself) to be adapted for use in Fr. Tanner's Brevis Relatio *
In 1683 , at the end of his tenure ofoffice as Provincial, Warner was appointed Rector of St. Omers, and in 1686 he was gazetted as Chaplain to King James II. During the period of his appointment he took the opportunity of completing his history of the Popish Plot *
Warner's adventures at the Revolution have been made much of by Sir John Pollock. The two sources of information on this subject are the Annual Letters (quoted by Foley) and the petition of Andrew Dyer of Gravesend. Dyer says that at Gravesend on 12 December 1688 he arrested Fr. Warner, an Irish priest, " and Miles Prance, both of whom were waiting in a boat to be rowed out to a hoy bound for Dunkirk Thehoy was brought to shore, and many papist passengers were arrested. Dyer sent to the Lords Committee at Whitehall for special instructions concerning Warner and Prance (presumably because he knew of their importance) In the meantime Prance had escaped and been retaken, and Warner had been releasedthrough the personal intervention of King James on his return from Rochester. (Thus the Annual Letters. Dyer merely says that the Mayor allowed Warner to escape, but kept his belongings.) It is not therefore madeclear whether Prancewas, in fact, Warner's travelling-companion
The fact that they were arrested together proves little, for Gravesend was an obvious " bottleneck" for people fleeing to the Continent at such a time, and the factthat they did not attempt to escape together suggests that they were not travelling together The Annual Letters indicate that Warner had a travelling-companion (described as a " noble youth, " which hardly fits Prance) on his second attempt to reach the Continent . It could not in any case have been Prance, for hewas backin Gravesend Gaol On the evidence, theprobability inclines slightly against Warner and Prance travelling together; but if indeed they were, it merely shows Warner's kindness in helping therepentant Prance To claim, as does SirJohnPollock, that " Prance had been throughout one of the most astute and * Foley, v, 284; and Stonyhurst Papers, Glover Transcripts, MS B.I. 16, f 202
Foley, v, 284 ; and Praenotanda , MS History A (see Appendix I)
The Popish Plot (1903), p 165
§ H.M.C. , House of Lords MSS 1689-90, pp. 61 , 62.
Foley, v, 286; and Stonyhurst Papers, Glover Transcripts, MS B.I. 16, f 132 sq
audacious of the Jesuit agents, and Warner must have been perfectly aware of the fact, " is to allow fancy to go a good deal further than the facts will warrant.
After being released from Gravesend, Warneragain attempted to escape to the Continent, but the master of the ship in which he was sailing put back to shore and Warner was again arrested, and this time committed to the County Gaol at Maidstone, where he remained for about a month. He was released from there "auctoritate Comitis Salisburiae (presumably a copying error for Shrewsburiae) Secretarii Status sub Auriaco qui olim Catholice educatus juvenis Parisiis sub istius Patris tutelae fuerat" (The archives of Gravesend and Maidstone have nothing to add to our information.)
Warner escaped to the Continent successfully this time , and followed James II on his campaigns in Ireland He returned with James to St. Germain's after the latter's defeat, and died there 2 November 1692, aged 64
Warner's activities during the period of the Popish Plot may be considered under three aspects: His
(a) First and foremost there is his organization and administration of the English Province S.J. during one of the most difficult periods in its existence The fullest picture of this can be gleaned from Warner's MS Letter- and Note-book chiefconsideration was to maintain the colleges in the Low Countries although deprived of financial assistance from England, and to resume the flow of missionaries to England as soon as the first fury of the Plot had subsided § Furthermorehe undertook the task of collecting what information he could obtain from England about the state of the mission there, and of organizing what temporal relief was possible for the Fathers of the Society who were in prison. This side of his activities merits fuller treatmentin a general history of the Province when the relevant documents are made available.
(b) Of more general interest is the extent of Warner'scontroversial writings during the Plot If we except L'Estrange (who was not a Catholic, and whose interests were specifically political), the two works of Castlemaine, and a few other anonymous pamphlets, Warner emerges as the major Catholic pamphleteer in his sustained and consistent attack on the structure
* Stonyhurst Papers, Glover Transcripts, MS B.I. 16 , f. 123 . Foley, Collectanea , p. 817 . U.L.C. , MS. Ll i, 19
§ In a letter of 21 July 1680 he urges that the sendingof missionaries to England be resumed , though with strict precautions as to the secrecy of their departure and arrival (Stonyhurst MS , Anglia V , no 97).
of the Plot * He exposed the character of the prosecution witnesses, demonstrated the gross unfairness of the trial of Green , Berry and Hill, examined in detail the inherent improbabilities of Oates's Narrative, gave a straightforward account of what the April " consult really was , and defended the veracity of the scaffold speeches of the Jesuit martyrs.
The modern reader may not appreciate the importance which was attached to the defence of these scaffold speeches. They had been published (withsuitable " animadversions ") by governmental authority and had achieved wide circulation (This was a tactical blunder comparable in modern times with the publication, by the Mexican government , of the photographs of the martyrdom of Fr. Pro, S.J.) The contradictionof the assertions of innocence by the martyrs only reduced the Plot from anelaborate structure of accusations against Catholics in general to a discussion of the innocence or guilt of a few individuals, whose conduct at the trials and on the scaffold gave little grounds for believingthat they fitted the rôles of skilled political conspirators for which they were cast It is hard to find positive evidence that any large number of well-informed Englishmen, who had anydealings withCatholics, seriously believed that those executed were in fact guilty of the elaborate conspiracy with which they were charged *
The Whig booksellers tried to retrievethe situation by issuing a further series of pamphlets whichsought to discreditthe motives
* His own copies of his pamphlets are in B.M. 816, i, 12 , and are given below in his general bibliography.
The remarks of the Lord Keeper North may be quoted as evidence from one who had no grounds for bias in favour of Catholics: " It was a miserablespectacle, to see men at the Bar pleading for theirlives, surrounded with suchdisadvantages , whereas in a Court of Justice, the proceedings ought to be at least equal, if not in favour in case of life One thing I observed more strange than anything I ever read of in any report, that a Criminall brought to tryall (Whitebread the Jesuit I think) for high treason by Mr Attorneywho was as well preparedand ready as he could be (for noneofhis witnesses were wanting) And Bedloe being one of the witnesses produced, said he knew nothing against the prisoner Whereupon there being but one witness, he ought to have been acquitted, [but] the Court dischargedthe Juryofhim, andreserved him to be triedanother time (Note whenwitnesses are out ofthe way, or the most materiall of them, the Court of Gaol delivery doth sometimes set aside a prisoner after his trial began, but never when all the witnesses are present) And afterwards upon another trial the same Bedloe swore fully to charge him of the crime, and he was convict on that testimony and executed " Whatcensure there would have been upon sucha proceedingat another time, or case ? Would it not have bin said that the witnesses wanted full instructions and therefore it was not tyme to try the prisoner, but it seemed tome that the true reason was that because ifany person had bin acquitted, he would have bin a witness against Oates, and therefore nonemust escape. ThereforeWakeman must be driven away with the terrorof another prosecution, though acquitted, and the priest[s] acquitted with him must be convict for being priests; and Mr N. Reading must be out of hand prosecuted for tampering with Bedloe that he might be set in the pillory, to disablehim from accusing Bedloe .... " (B.M. Add MS 32520, f. 187)
of the speeches of the Jesuit martyrs, and to damage their characters, rather than to prove them guilty of the crimes for which they were condemned But the speeches had undoubtedlymade their effect on public opinion, and Warner seized the tactical advantage
Warner made every effort to dispel " invincible ignorance " and to see that copies of his pamphlets were well distributed. The Vindication of English Catholics was publicly advertised by the bookseller James Vade, and was answered by Milton's nephew, John Phillips. Copies ofthe Vindication, Anti-Fimbria , and the Lettres de Mons were sent anonymously to the members of the Privy Council (including Shaftesbury himself) and to the Lords Committee for the investigation of the Plot Warner, with wry humour, notes the effect of his pamphlets in a MS. extract from the Domestic Intelligence of 19 December 1679 , written on the flyleaf of his Anti-Fimbria:
"Wehavean account that a Person of Quality lately received a packet from Flanders by ye post, from an unknown person , with a blank cover, and two bookes enclosed therein, ye contents whereof wasscandalousand Treasonable, vindicatingye Innocency ofthefive Jesuits lately executed, to ye dishonour ofhis Majesty's Government, and ye Justice of ye Nation, who are fully satisfied of their guilt: and they particularly inveighed against the King's evidences, especially Dr Oates and Mr Bedlow." §
When due allowances are made for the conventions of contemporary pamphleteering , Warner emerges as the chief protagonist of the English Catholics during the Plot. He raises nearly every salient issue, his style is crisp and unconciliatory, and he returns again and again to the charge. In the catalogues of manyof our national libraries his works are inadequately and inaccuratelyrepresented, and the opportunity has been taken to include in this book a handlistof hisworks, which, if not definitive, is at least fuller than any so far available.
(c) The third aspect of Warner's career during the Plot may be termed his ecclesiastical politics The general issues with which he had to deal have already been most ably illuminated by Major M. V. Hay's The Jesuits and the Popish Plot and Ruth Clark's Strangers and Sojourners at Port Royal, and an acquaintance withthese books is essential to an understanding of Warner's
* Cf . MS note to A Second Continuation of the Compleat Catalogue ... (1680) (B.M. 128, a, 3/3), p 5: " This is a popishlibel, and asperses the justice ofthe nation, and reflects on the King's witnesses mostscandalously" Bodley MS Wood F. 50, f. 11 , reveals that Anthony Wood bought from Vade a number of pamphlets connected with the plot, including the Vindication and other pro-Catholic ones, during the period July-October 1679
See William Godwin: Life of Edward and John Phillips
C.S.P.D.; and H.M.C., 11 Rep App., Pt. II, pp. 97-100.
§ B.M. 860, i, 12 (5)
career and of the inner history of the period. * In the present space it is impossible to give any general interpretation of the picture, and it is both unprofitable and unfair to talk in general terms of doctrines of Jansenism or Blacklowism , " or of conflicts between 'regulars " and " seculars . " To keep to particulars here, Warner's problems will be discussed in relation to the double issue of the Oath of Allegiance and John Sergeant "
"
A time of crisis, like the period of the Plot, brought into the open once more the problem of the admissibility of the Oath of Allegiance The formulation of the Oath had been deliberately drafted to create a division among the Catholics, and it certainly succeeded in its object There is ample evidence, both from manuscript sources and from the State Trials themselves, that certain of the secular clergy advocated the admissibility of the Oath The Jesuits had consistently maintained that the Oath was inadmissible because it contained an explicit denial of Papal authority (and it was their teaching whichaccorded withthemind of the Church). The inflexibility of the Jesuits was an obstacle both to those in the government who hoped to reduce English Catholics to the status of an heretical sect, and also to such latitudinarians among the English Catholic clergy as hoped that the Oath of Allegiance would prepare the way for general toleration .
Among the English Chaptermen the leading figure in opposition to the Jesuits was John Sergeant Theextentof his influence over his fellow clergymen at any particular time is not easy to estimate. It would be an injustice to assume that the opinions (much less the actions) of this overbearing and radically unbalanced personalitywere representative of those of the English Catholic clergy in general, or even of the whole of the English Chapter since Sergeant had been under a government " protection 1671 , and in the autumn of 1679 he came from Holland to England to lay an " information" before the Privy Council against the martyred Fr. Gavan, S.J. Another informer at this time from the English Chapter was David Maurice, and, as Major Hayhas acutelypointed out, Sergeant§ and Maurice betweenthem received more from the Secret Service funds than did the better known Oates and Tonge.
We may gatherfrom Warner's correspondencethatSergeant's activities on his arrival from Holland were even more considerable than his printed Information reveals In the Annual Letters for * It is a sad indication ofthe lack of interest in this period that both of these books have been disposed of as " remainders. "
Cf. Stonyhurst MS , A. iv, 31, f 2096; and A. iv, 13 (ii), f 189; and the trialsof Gascoigne and Busby. See Appendix II
§ Hay, op cit. , p 104 .
1678-9
Warner describes Sergeant's coming to England with evidence against the Jesuit martyr, and continues:
" Iste pragmaticus multa blateravit de licito usu formularum juramenti (et adhuc insanire pergit) toties Sede Apostolica confixarum , et de inculpata (ut ipse ait) frequentatione sacrorum , prout peraguntur templis et more haereticorum. Multa etiam fidei dogmata convellere conatus est maximo bonorum omnium scandalo; et ut uno verbo complecta omnia, gravior etiamnum Societati et Orthodoxis omnibus est pestis, quam tota Ministellorum natio. " *
Warner kept his superiors informed of Sergeant's behaviour , and in April 1680 wrote to Rome giving information of a plan for the expulsion ofall priests except a group willing to take the Oath of Allegiance:
" Joannes Sargeantius, cum duobus aliis ei adjunctis sociis, libellum supplicem Regio Consilio exhibuit, quo facultatempetiit triginta sacerdotibus, qui detestanda juramenta admittere parati sunt, in Anglia libere vivendi. Quid responsi retulit, incertum est. Certum prorsus, haereticos per istos semi-Catholicos schisma promovere, quod exitio Religioni erit, nisi Deus alicunde subveniat laborantibus Catholicorum reliquiis, et hujus Achitophel consilia infatuet. " The letter of Sergeant to an anonymous Lord (printedin C.S.P.D., 1680-1, p. 115), in whichhe offershis services to spy on the Jesuits, shows how well-informed Warner was.
In May 1680 Warnerwrotea similarletter to Cardinal Howard, asking for disciplinary action against certainof the secular clergy (of whom Sergeant is mentioned by name) who advocated the taking of the Oath and who sought for the expulsion of the regulars. We have the minutes of the letter in Warner'sletterbook: had Catholics been unanimous ye persecution could have done little hurt. But the clergy thought the ruin of the Society would be an advantage to them, so in lieu of quenching the fire they threw oil on to it.
Oates cunningly gave the first overture to them , para. 25 of his narrative, exempting ye clergy from plotting. Hence they hoped to ruin us and subsist themselves, and this hope was so strong that even the execution of some of themselves could not correct it
" Themeansthey used toattain it wereto represent themselves as serviceable, and therest as dangerousto the State: as depending on a foreign superior and Prince which are Oates his words , and by promotingthe Oath of Allegiance which they say we refuse on treasonable designs Our vow of mission is also prest: although in thatthey speak against themselves, forthe vows of our colleges to go to Englandis as much against the law as any ofthe rest .
* Stonyhurst MS , B.I. 16, f 56 sq
Stonyhurst MS , Anglia V , no 96.
" To promote ye Oath, they spread in England that all French took it, and only ye English Jesuits opposed it. In France, that in England all English Jesuits approved it in England, and to prevent proceedings at Rome, they said only after inconsiderable persons did it, to lull them asleep ..
" Dr Holden had a design to get the clergy permitted, and all depending on Rome banished, and ye designdyed not withhim. As soon as Mr Sergeant was tolerated , a common voice wasspread amongst his friends in France, that Jesuits and Regulars would be banished, which shewd his aime.
" The Society hath not answered ye expectation , so probably they may be willing to lay down that business by which they offend Rome, and get nothing in England. Yet their acting so much contrary to authority must be taken notice of Yet the punishing of all would endanger the losse of all If the ringleaders were suspended, the paine would move a few, the feare reach all, and bring all to a compliance with their duty. We shall live in hopes of a remedy, your Em being perswaded one is necessary. Never any dispute about religion more unseasonable, seeingit blasts ye forward hopes of yenation'sconversion . " *
In his reference to Dr. Holden, Warner was drawing attention to the fact that the activities of Sergeant and his followers during the Plot had a similarity to the policy of certain of the Chaptermen during the Interregnum. The dossier of Chapter correspondence of that time, containing letters of Holden, Sir Kenelm Digby and Blacklow, etc., and known as Blacklo's Cabal (with annotations by Robert Pugh, a secular priest, formerly a Jesuit), had been held by Warner's friend Abbot Montagu Gillow refers only to the second editionof 1680. If in fact there was an earlier edition, it was probably suppressed after publication (The present writer has found no reference to the existence of an actual copy of this supposed first edition.) After Montagu's death the originals were deposited in the Jesuit College of Liège, and when Pugh died in gaol the responsibilityfor the documents devolved entirely upon their custodians When the activities ofSergeantand his followers against the Jesuits becameintolerable, some of the Society proposed the publication of Blacklo's Cabal as a counterblast . Warner therefore wrote again to Cardinal Howardin September 1680, warninghim that his inaction might cause retaliation in theform ofthe publicationof these documents relating to the earlier activities of members of the Chapter:
" The present dangerous condition of the English affairs of religion forces me to beseech your Eminence to interposeyour authority in the most efficacious manner possible to prevent ye mischiefwhich hangs over its head: and that same necessity will plead my excuse and obtain pardon for that importunity .
* U.L.C. MS., Ll i, 19, f. 20. Gillow , Bibliographical Dictionary, v, 374
" I could methinks without complaining understand, that not a Jesuit passes into England , that Mr Sergeant can hear of, but his name is carryed to the Council, and that he hath his brethren at, or about the sea ports, who give him informations of such things : as well because the mischief aims only at single persons: as also that those of that gang have acted in the like manner with such of the clergy itself, as were not of their confidents. For example, Mr Dr Leybourne, whosejourneyinto England was by Dr Holden and others discovered to ye rebels, acquainting them with his quality of Vicar General of My Lord Bishop of Calcedon , and adding, ye better to recommend him to ye regicides, that he had a commission from the English Court ; which was false; favouring him the characters of a Brouillon, a factious fellow, and a spy With directions how to proceedwith him without mentioninghis religion, a true character, to avoydthe odium of a persecution. A method which they thus suggested, and which we have seen practised upon Catholics in our day.
" What seems worse, as aiming at all Jesuits, I am credibly informed a book is given to the press (in which to say no more Mr Sergeant and his party have a hand) which endeavours to prove that Jesuits and none but Jesuits have held the deposing power. A thing so clearly false, that it is easy to produce a library of clergymen's books from Cardinal Allen to the end of Queen Elizabeth's days holding the same But what is worse than that, there are extant and can be produced letters of Dr Holden and other clergymen relating to ye late K .'s death, a much more odious matter, than any can be charged on Jesuits .
" I have hitherto hindred all public mention of this and will continue so long as I can . But it is a hard matter to act always ye Anvil and receive rude blows from other persons, without returning any, when they lie open to such mortal wounds. What I here say is known to many; and I fear very much some may be provoked to answer for self-defence, what I wish may remain secret for the good of religion
" It is a certain truth, delivered by the Apostle: si invicem mordemus et comedimus , ab invicem consumemur. Ye pernicious consequences being so evidentI beseech your Eminence toprevent them in the best manner which doth and shall occur. However theguilt of these mischiefs, so justly apprehended, will ly at their door who are the only causes of all " *
Howard remained unmoved by this warning, and the" second " edition of Blacklo's Cabal was published by the end of the same year
Besides thus carrying the dispute into the enemy's camp, Warner sought to strengthen the resistance of the regular clergy to the Oath He issued detailed instructions on the matter to the Jesuit missioners of the Province, and it seems largelydue to
* U.L.C MS , Ll i, 19, f 20v
his efforts that in 1682 the General Chapters of the English Benedictines and Franciscans sent to Rome their resolutions against the Oath, and requested from thence further authoritative action . * Although the regulars seemed to have achieved unanimity on this point, firm action by the Protector was not forthcoming. By 1683 the Plot was well on the wane, and the Tory reaction was beginning. The activities of Sergeant were no longer such aseriousmenace, and a general rapprochementwiththe secular clergy seemed to be in the air. But still Warner laments the lack of a definite lead from Cardinal Howard: " Utinam Emmus Cardlis Norfolcius pacem jam initam inter utrumque Clerum Regularem et Secularem, perpetuam efficeret, imposito Collegiorum Pontificorum Alumnis voto, impugnandi, pro virili, dicta juramenta. Ea de re ad eum scribo hodie. Schisma semper timeri poterit ex illis Juramentis , nisi tali ratione illi reversuro porta claudatur
.
It is the first time, so far, that the C.R.S. has undertaken the publication of this kind of documenta full-scale contemporary historical work. For that reason alone it is perhaps difficult to decide on an objective standpointfor the valuation of the document It is possible to consider what might have been the effect ofWarner'sbook had it been published in 1688 as a semi-official history of the Plot But such an approach, of its very nature, dependsfor a fartoo great extent upon conjecture and hypothesis. Warner must be put to a severer test: what is the value of his work to the present-day historian ?
At a first consideration , Warner's history of the Plot is, in view of the sources available to him, frankly somewhat of a disappointment . To the modern historian it could benefit by the excision of the lengthy extracts from scaffold speeches and from state documents now easily accessible in printed form. Although, moreover, he may be over-lavish of quotation from certain classes of document, some of his references to persons, places , and printed books are most irritatingly vague While indefiniteness concerning certain localities and personalities can be understood on the grounds of wishing to avoid anti-Catholic reprisals, Warner's general mode of writing may be ascribed to his followingtoo closely the style of the Annual Letters, theobject ofwhichwastogive onlyageneralpictureofthe stateoftheProvince and any outstanding events in the work of the Jesuit missioners. What, however, was irrelevant for the Annual Letters would have been most valuable for a contemporary history ofCatholicism in England.
* Cf . Warner's History, infra (f 42), and Stonyhurst MS , A. iv, 13 (ii), f 185 sq Stonyhurst MS.; Anglia V , no 105 .
, page xv-
For"'para. 679 " read para. 649 ;for read para. 656; and for "para. 684 para. 686" read para. 654.
Warner's general style, with its carefully studied rhetorical effects, its classical and biblical allusions, its constant feeling for generalization , is ill-suited to a work of this size and scope On the otherhand, in his Englishcontroversial pamphlets (especially those dealing with the Plot) his general style and tone succeed admirably But in a sustained historical work, which demands more evenness of tone and more concern for factual detail, the style of the controversialistis at a discount.
Warner suffers, too, from the failings of his contemporary hagiographers. The rather morbid delight in the visitation of God's Judgments upon the wicked may be found distasteful to modern readers On the other hand, his accounts of the Plotvictims err on the side of over-praise, and though his portraits of Mrs. Cellier and Coleman are sufficiently critical, his account ofStafford is too flattering. Furthermorehis preoccupation with the Catholic victims of the Plot leads him to neglect the Samuel Atkins-Pepys case, whichis one of the turning points in the Whig management of the Plot trials
In his political opinions, also, he is unlikely to find much sympathetic appreciation among modern readers. Whatever one's views of the " Whig interpretation of history," it must be agreed that Warner'stheories of patriarchal monarchyare out of all proportion to the realities of his contemporary situation. In his political theory he follows the assumptions of L'Estrange and the extreme Tory theorists far too closely (e.g. para 679 sq). To argue from electoral anomalies to the Divine Right of Kings, as he does in para 686, is surely putting the cart before the horse. Toargue that because the House of Commonsis, defacto, unrepresentative of the people is hardly an argument for patriarchal monarchy, but rather for electoral reform And to claim (para. 684) that the proposition that kings are the servants of their people is " et stolidum .... atque communi hominum sensui contrarium" is surely to forget that the proudest title in the world is that of "servus, servorum Dei. " *
But more particularly, Warner's extreme political opinions affect his historical judgments on two important points Firstly, he groups all the non-conformist sects together under the title of " Presbyterians " and attributes to them collectively the responsibilityfor the plots and policies of the " Faction . " On the one hand this is hardlyfairto the non-conformists of evident piety and sincerity, to men of the calibre of Bunyan, Baxter and Penn (cf. Gee's comments quoted below), and on the other hand
* Thereis, indeed, a consistently democratic strain in Recusantpolitical theory, most notably in the writings of Fr. Persons, S.J. (reprinted by the Whigs in justificationof the Revolution of 1688), which is quite lacking in Warner. A most strikingcontrast to Warner is the plea of Bl John Storey that" men were not born slaves but free men ; that Kings were madefor the people, and not the people for their Kings " (Lives of the English Martyrs, ed B. Camm , ii, 77). I owe the substance of this note to the authority of Fr. B. FitzGibbon, S.J.
it underestimates the part played in the Faction by the Anglican clergy. Admittedly Warner dealswith Bishop Barlowadequately enough, but men like Crewe, Compton, Ward and Burnet escape without mention or censure. Secondly, Warner accepts the evidence for the Rye House Plot uncritically from Sprat's True Account This is not the place, of course, to enter into a full discussion of the validity of the Rye House Plot itself, but, primafacie, the story ofthat plot is every whit as absurd as that ofthe Popish Plot itself, and ought to be subjected by thehistorian to the same close scrutiny. And if the legality of the Popish Plot trials is questioned, then surely the trial, e.g., of Algernon Sidney should be approached with circumspection
Any assessment of the general value of the work must take into account the nature of Warner's source-material This consisted of: (1) Personal information, including that already given in his own printed pamphlets Although contemporary news of the Plot was slow in reaching the Continent, Warner, as ViceProvincial and later Provincial, was in the best positiontogather what he could from the Jesuit fathers who escaped, and, while writing his history, he could presumably call on the surviving members of his order for further information. We know that he corresponded on the subject with Fr. Thomas Stapleton , S.J. , and that he had access to an as yet undiscovered MS of Fr. William Culcheth, S.J. (cf. Praenotanda A). (2) By his frequent references to them, he must clearlyhave had access to the MS Parliament Journals (now in print). (3) The printed Gazettes (4) Contemporary pamphlets , including those attacking the Plot. Among the anti-Plot writers, L'Estrangeis most frequently used (and, as we have suggested above, L'Estrange's Tory political theories are also taken over). Among the Catholic writers he clearly uses Mrs. Cellier, Dom J. M. Corker, O.S.B. (for Langhorne and Stafford), and Castlemaine's Compendium and Manifesto. From U.L.C. , AB 5, 17 (Sel C) we find that Warner also possessed copies of the following little-known pro-Catholic pamphlets on the Plot, thefirst two of whichare of especialvalue: Remarks on the Trial of Mr. Ireland, Mr. Pickering and Mr. Grove ... 1679 (sgd " T.A."); A Letterto both Houses ofParliament on the subject ofthe present Proceedings against the Roman Catholics of England. 1679 (sgd. " E.P."); Tom Tel-Troth's Declaration on behalf of the Four Pretended Irish Ruffians . (n.d., n.p.); ScandalumMagnatum ; sive Scintillae Quaedam . by Coriolanus, a Jesuit newly converted .... Paris MDCLXXIX.
Yet the impression remains that Warner's was not the definitive Catholic history of the Plot that could have been written There is little evidence that Warner went much outside his own order for information from survivors , as the biographies of the Jesuit Plot-victims are far more detailed than those of the others His information of the progress of the Plot
in the provinces, also, is much vaguer than his knowledge of events in London; the seizure of the important Jesuit house at Combe, in Herefordshire , for instance, is not even mentioned, nor is that of Holbeck Hall, co Notts , despite the fact that Fr. William Aylworth, S.J., was still alive (his own graphic account is printed in Foley, v, 482)
Warner cannot be blamed for failing to solve the many mysteries of the Plot that still remain to-day, but there are many incidents and personalities about which we would have liked more information: for example, the trial of the six priests, the Meal Tub Plot, Simpson Tonge, Prance (of course Warner could not have foreseen the insinuations of Sir John Pollock), and Vernatti. In Warner'streatmentofthereignofJames IItheperjury trials of Oates and Tonge, and the rehabilitation trial ofVernatti, might have had a closer examination, and we might have been spared the disquisition on the Fire of London, the monumental inscriptions , and Fr. Cuffaud's Latin elegy on Charles
Warner was a scholar, a controversialist , a man of the desk , and his history stands chiefly as an admirable arrangement of the available material that he had to hand. But the value of his book would have been considerably enhanced if he had possessed more of the spirit of the private investigator What was required was the re-examination of as many as possible of the survivors ofthe incidentsconcernedin the Plot trials, and, whereever possible, of available letters and papers But it seems clear that, havingsecuredthe condemnation of Oates and Prance , James II was anxious to let the Plot die down as a topic of discussion, and Warner, even if he had had the desire and the facilities to pursue an independent investigation, would not have received official encouragement.
So much by way of criticism. On the positiveside wewould certainly claim that, in the light of the historical methods ofhis contemporaries, Warner'swork represents a considerable achievement His aim was to present a history of the Plot, for general European consumption , in the light of the contemporary political scene
For modern specialized interest his work will yield many illuminating points of interest It clarifies, for instance, such matters as Warner's own bibliography, * the " Blundell" letter, and the Hunter-Hesketh prosecutions
But the major new topic of the book is clearlytheinformation on Sergeantin his dealings with the Oath and with Bishop Talbot , and indeed, in thewhole stress laid on the Sergeantaffairgenerally We have seen above Warner's treatment of the problem of the Oath of Allegiance and John Sergeant in the light of some of his
* Cf . Warner's bibliography infra.
These two latter points have been admirably dealt with by Dom Hugh Bowler, O.S.B .; cf. Warner's History, ff 66 and 111 and notes
correspondence In his History he maintainsthe inadmissibility ofthe Oath, whileat the same time asserting the claims of monarchical authority in almost Filmeristic terms. The exposure of Sergeant's dealings both with Bp. Talbot and with the honour of Fr. Gavan was undertaken with no desire to stir up old ecclesiastical scandals Warner makes it clear that his account relates only to Sergeant in particular In fact, he avoids recriminations as much as possible when dealing with other informers such as Clay, Prance, and Smith, and in the case of Anderson and Gage holds back what he knew * Warner must have realized the importance of Sergeant's story in the general history of English Catholicism As the Revolution prevented the publi- cation ofthe book, and as anyfull account of Sergeant's activities was effectively suppressed till the publication of Major Hay's The Jesuits and the Popish Plot, thereis some reasonfor supposing that Warner foresaw that if he did not tell Sergeant's story no one else ever would
The holograph fair copy of the MS. of Warner's History (MS B), together with his letter-book and several printed books annotated in his hand, have found their way into the University Library at Cambridge, via the library of John More, Bishopof Ely. The holograph rough copy (MS. A) is in the Harleian Collection, and also intheBritish Museumaretwovolumes ofWarner's works with his own annotations . It is still not certain how these documents came to their ultimate resting-places It is unlikely that Warner would have left his manuscripts behind at the Revolutionif he could possibly have helped it. Most probably he took them with him and they were among the effects seized by the Mayor of Gravesend, and sent up to Whitehall to the Lords of the Council
MS. A seems to have circulatedamong several of the Anglican clergy It was loaned by Hartstonge , chaplain to the Duke of Ormonde, to Dr. Tenison, Dean of St. Paul's and later Archbishop of Canterbury, and there is also the beginning of a transcript among the Sancroft papers in the LambethLibrary. The MS. was evidently read by Edward Gee, for in the introduction to his book The Jesuits' Memorial of the Reformation of England, 1690 (a re-edition of Persons's book), he writes unflatteringly ofthe attemptsto achieve tolerationfor Recusants and Dissenters in the reign of James II:
* Cf . Warner's History infra, ff. 106 and 164 and notes . U.L.C., AB 5, 17 (Sel C), and B.M. 860, i, 12, were originally one single volume of Warner's collection of pamphlets, as is indicated by his MS list of contents in the former Praenotanda , MS A (see Appendix I), and Lambeth Library MS. 932, f 87
" It was a comical sight indeed to see Mr Lobb the presbyterian and Fr Petre the Jesuit caballing and contriving together, and as great Intimado's as if they had been of the very same society: to see Pen the Quaker and Brent, Mr Alsop and Nevil Payn settling and securing liberty of conscience, and Fr Warner as obliging to them as can be; but whatever professions of love and sincerity were made to the Non-conformists by the Jesuits then, I can assure them that at the same time Fr Warner the Jesuit, the late King's confessor, looked upon all the dissenters together as the worst and vilest of men, and insufferable in any Government, especially in a Monarchy : and this I have out of his History of the Popish plot written with his own hand, which I have now by me, wherein his characters of the Presbyterians (which is the name he gives to all dissenters) are somewhat extraordinary .... " (pp. 46-7).
There is a certain amount of ground for Gee's remarks, in that Warner does not, in his History, make his definition of Presbyterians very precise. The implication of conscious duplicityin Warner's conduct is not, of course, fair The distinction between the political and religious fanatics to whom he refers in the History, and a saintly, moderate, and cultured man like Penn should be obvious.
Warnerwrote two drafts of his Historia The first (called A), a rough copy, full of abbreviations and often extremelydifficult to read, is in the Harleian Collection at the British Museum. The second (called B), a fair copy intended for the printer, is now in the University Library at Cambridge. The differences between the two texts are mainly stylistic, and never of great consequence. Some of Warner's attempts to improve the style of his first draft have resulted only in ambiguity One striking instance is thefollowing: B has"Laetabanturisti in tuto videre damna, quae Papistae ferebanturintulisse , periculaillis impendentia ab iisdem, quibus Oatis opera faeliciter defuncti essent . " herehas " Laetabanturilli sine periculo videre damnacum quae Catholici intulisse decebantur, tum quae inferre designabant, quibus Oatis opera faeliciter defuncti sibi videbantur" This reveals that in B (1) iisdem is not the antecedent of quibus ! (2) illis refers back to isti ! (3) the antecedent of quibus is both damna and pericula , which are in parataxi ! (4) in tutois to be taken not with Laetabantur, but with videre, and requires a good deal of emphasis in translation
The text here published is B, with the insertion of two or three words (printed within pointed brackets) from A, where
* Decisions on numerous editorial points have been of necessity a matter of collaboration between translator and editor At my suggestion the translator, Fr. J. Bligh, S.J. , kindly consented to supply the substance of this section himself .ED.
the meaning of B was obscure and could be clarified by such borrowings from A.
Among the C.R.S.'s Directions for Editing is the following: "Peculiarities of language, if notable , should be indicatede.g. mistakes showing imperfect knowledge of the language " The reader must therefore be told that Warner either did not know , or else did not care about, the rules concerning the sequence of tenses Some of his other solecisms , e.g. an occasional false concord, or cum (meaning since) with the indicative, have been indicated by means of the word [sic].
In accordance with the same Directions , the initial capital letters used by Warner have been reproduced here as far as possible, although his capital and minuscule Ms and Ss are so much alike that it is often difficult to discriminate .
Similarly, the spelling of the MS. has been retained, even when it is inconsistent ; e.g. the word auctoritas ' is usually spelt 'authoritas, ' occasionally 'autoritas, ' and once or twice in the correct classical manner. " 66
With permission, the punctuation has been altered to bring it into conformity with modern practice . This departure from the C.R.S.'s usual procedure was allowed in view ofthe following considerations: (1) The MS punctuationis erratic, and gives the reader unnecessarytrouble, e.g." sed ille, quod res erat suspicatus, se perjurii convincendum.' (2) There are too many commas: it seems useless, for example, to print " terra, marique or vi, et armis "-especially if the clause in which such a phrase occurs is not separated from the next clause by any punctuation at all (3) In some places , particularly at the ends of lines, marks shadowing through the page render the original punctuation doubtful. It is hoped, therefore, that the punctuation here supplied will make the text much easier to read
The division into paragraphs is not the work of Warner: his text runs on and on, with the subheadings alongside in the margin
Marginal and intralinear insertions have been indicated by + .... +
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In editing this work I have incurred many debts of gratitude to individuals and to corporate bodies , and I should like to take this opportunity of acknowledging them-
To the University Library, Cambridge, for permission to reproduce Warner's MS., and to the staff of the Anderson Room for their constant helpfulness and patience
To the following public deposits and their staffs: The British Museum , the Bodleian Library, the Public Record Office , and the Library of the House of Lords.
To the custodians and staff of the following private deposits: The LambethPalace Library, Dr. Williams'sLibrary, the Catholic
Central Library, Stonyhurst College Library, Westminster Cathedral Archives, and Southwark Cathedral Archives
To the Librarian of Stonyhurst College , the Revd Fr. H. Chadwick, S.J., for his gracious hospitality and for permission to reproduce the frontispiece
To the following persons who so kindly supplied me with information on various topics connected with the work: The Right Revd Mgr. Canon E. Henson; Dom Hugh Bowler, O.S.B., of Douay Abbey; Dom Gerard Hayes, O.S.B., of Ealing Priory; the Revd Fr. V. J. Matthews, of the London Oratory; Professor P. de Zulueta , of Oxford University; and to Messrs A. I. Doyle (of the University Library, Durham), E. N. Moore (Borough Librarian of Gravesend), W. L. Platts (Clerk of the Maidstone County Council), and B. H. Wiggins (Secretary to His Lordship the Bishop of London).
To the printers, John Whitehead & Son Ltd. , and their staff, for the great care and thoroughness with which they have set up the text.
Finally, but by no means least, to the Revd Fr. John Bligh, S.J., for correcting a number of errors in the Latin text, and to the Revd. Fr. B. FitzGibbon, S.J. , to whom I am immeasurably indebted for help and encouragement throughout the whole of this work.
T. A. BIRRELL .
In the course of his History, Warner has translated into Latin many documents that are extant in the original English. In all but two or three instances I have been able to find the original, and have copied it out as it stood, with the old spelling, italics, etc. When I have been forced to supply a translationof my own I have given the reader warning by putting the word 'Translation ' in brackets at the end of the quotation Quite frequently what Warner has put in inverted commas is not an exact translation, but rather the translation of a précis. In such cases , if the original is only slightly longer than the précis, Ihavegiven theoriginalcomplete ; if the précis is muchcompressed I have translated it with the original before me, using the words and phrases of the original as far as possible When the précis is in theform of direct speech , and therefore in inverted commas , I have again inserted the word 'Translation' as a warning.
I am much indebted to Father B. FitzGibbon, S.J., for help with proper names and technical terms, and to my father forhis careful revision of my manuscript
J. F. BLIGH , S.J.
PERSECUTIONIS + CATHOLICORUM + ANGLICANAE ET CONJURATIONIS
PRESBITERIANAE HYSTORIA.
Apparatus ad Historiam Persecutionis Anglicanae.
1. Studia Res Novantium.
2 Authoris Institutum .
3. Angliae Regimen Monarchicum et Successivum; non mixtum, licet temperatum .
4. Parlamentum : Illud Regi subest
5. Anglorum Religio : eaque Protestantica , Presbiteriana , et Catholica
6. Judiciorum in Anglia forma
7. Suppliciorum genera.
8. Londini Regimen.
9. Kalendarium Anglicanum .
10. Monetae Anglicanae valor.
(2) STUDIA RES NOVANTIUM Qui publicas res novare instituunt, ad consilii exitum pervenire non possunt, nisi amotis civibus, qui praesentem statum tuentur ; quod speciose fieri non potest, nisi criminis aliquid, et quidem magni, ipsis objectetur. Hoc vero factu difficillimum, ubi eorum vita probro caret (qualis omnium Catholicorum in Anglia, +virorum nimirum quietissimorum, non ab omni modo facinore verum etiam minimi errati suspicione remotissimorum ,+ in quos excitata est terribilis illa Tempestascujus Hystoriam texere constituo) ; quod illis, inquam, objiciatur inveniri non potest, nisi cogitationes commentiendo , consilia affingendo, studia conjectando veris aliena, verba factaque de se bona+ in diversum maligne trahendo sensum , conspirationes denique somniando atque majestatis crimina, eaque viris innoxiis contra jus et fas tribuendo, et mendaciis atque Perjuriis confirmando ; dum reipsa, qui talia aliis Innocentissimis improperant, dum insontes igne ferroque persequuntur, eadem ipsi meditentur, et statum publicum primo confundere, exinde evertere conentur , quem adversus aliorum detestanda molimina tueri se velle atque defendere falso gloriantur. Crimen
This is in another hand
Majestatis, dicere ausus est nobilis inter Romanos Juris Peritos Scriptor, singulare et unicum Crimen est eorum, qui criminevacant
(3) Hoc in Anglia contigisse Luce clarius est; nec enimvero quisquam in ea est aut ita caecus ut non videat, aut ita pervicax ut neget, et Catholicos eorum criminum, de quibus accusati fuerunt, immunes, et eorum Accusatores fuisse eorum omnium vere Reos , cum et horum Perfidia et illorum Innocentiapublicis sit Judiciis agnita Nec alium exitum aut sperare poterant Acatholici (nisi maligna studia in iis Rationis usum non obscurassent modo, verum etiam extinxissent ) aut timere Catholici , cum tota Praetensae Conspirationis fabula unius hominis mendacissimi et multorum Perjuriorum comperti fide niteretur, sola illius asseveratione subsisteret, omni aliunde non veritate modo sed etiam verisimilitudine destituta. Adeoque magis mirandum sit, adeo conspicua mendacia tamdiu Lucem publicam tulisse, quam post quinquenniumex omnium oculis evanuisse.
(4) AUTHORIS INSTITUTUM Quia vero Externis praecipue ista scribo, et Lingua exteris gentibus communi , quorum plerique in rebus Anglicis plane videntur hospites, ideo visum est initio pauca de Regimine Angliae, deque Statu cum Politico, sive Civili, tum Sacro, sive Ecclesiastico, deque VariisSectis eorumque Studiis, denique de Judiciorum [f. 2] in causis criminalibus Ratione pauca delibare ; quo melius res nostrae intelligantur, neque necessitas mihi alia narranti imponatur Hystoriaefilum abrumpere Lectoremque identidem alio respicientem remorari, dum occasione data eas explico, in quibus multos hallucinari quotidie video, quod Regimen Politicum apud nos nonnihil diversum sit hoc saeculo ab aliis ; licet olim idem, aut certe non adeo diversum, ubique per totam Europam obtinuisse videatur, si Polonos, Venetos, Genuenses , aliasque magis obscuras Res Publicas excipias, quae data occasione variis in locis paulatim immutata, nusquam minus, quam in Anglia, consuetudinum antiquarum Legumque retinentissima , si paucas excipias, quae Religionem spectant, et parem cum ea mutationem passae sunt Harum Rerum explicatio , ut ut Anglis superflua, quibus omnia quae dicturus sum notissima sunt, exteris tamen gentibus non ingrata fore spero, quibus ea plerunque latent. Nec desunt magnorum Authorum clara nomina, quibus hoc meum tuear institutum, qui dum Romanorum gesta Litteris mandarent, varia de eorum Jure, consuetudinibus, disciplina, cum in Pace, tum in Bello, retulere ; quae in Romanis Scriptoribus frustra quaerentur , sint licet scitu dignissima. Hinc illius maximae Rei Publicae instituta scire cupientibus commendandos potius censeo Hystoricos Graecos ea referentes, Polibium nimirum, Dionisium Halicarnassaeum, Plutarchum, et id genus alios, quam vel Livium, vel Suetonium, vel ipsum LatinaeHistoriaePrincipem, Salustium ; qui uno, ut ita dicam, verbo res indicant, sui temporis hominibus in ea R.P. educatis notissimas, quibus proinde frustra expone-
rentur, nobis tamen illa dissipata natis, aliis moribus assuetis , obscurissimas, nisi Graecorum industria facem nobis praetulisset.
(5) ANGLIAE REGIMEN Omnium judicio Philosophorum tria sunt Regiminis genera, Monarchicum , Aristocraticum, et Democraticum, quia suprema Potestas aut in uno solo, aut in paucis iisque melioribus , aut in omnibus resideat; ad quae reliqua revocantur, quae ex variis non uno modo conjunctis mixta censentur. Angliae Regimen semper Monarchicum fuisseconstat, cum antiquae tabulae Regum in ea mentionem faciant, etiam Julio Caesare (qui Romanorum primus Insulam ingressus cum Exercitu, eam tentavit potius quam subegit) antiquiorum. Licet autem sub hujus successoribus , redacta in Provinciae Imperii Romani formam, Anglia aut plena Regum Potentia aut etiam Regibus caruerit, Romanis tamen recedentibus , reges iterum rerum potiti sunt, tum ante Saxonum adventum inter Britannos, tum, istis in asperam montibus regionem rejectis, inter Saxones transmarinos , sive Anglos ; non quod unus esset aut omnium Anglorum, aut omnium Britannorum Monarcha (cum sola Anglia uno eodemque tempore septem Regibus paruerit), sed quod quaeque Regio Gentis illius Regem habuerit, sicut et Britanni Prudens omitto varias difficultates, scitu quidem haud indignas, a nostro tamen Institutoalienas, quibus quique Regionibus imperitarent ? an ullis, et quibus, eorum Autoritas limitibus circumscriberetur ? quid in bello possent, quid in Pace? et id genus alia. Mihi satis est Angliam semper Reges habuisse.
(6) Et tam altas tot saeculorum decursuin Anglorumcordibus radices egit Monarchici Regiminis observantia , ut evelli ferro civilis belli nun-[f. 3]quam potuerit, tametsi Regem ipsum Serenissimum, multos nobiles, et plurimos de Populo messuisset; sed ad unum delata paulo post, ringentibus factiosis Democratiae cupidis, est rerum summa, scenicum illum, primo Monarcham , verum Tyrannum, exinde ad verum et Legitimum Regni Haeredem, ab Exilio postliminio revocatum , Throno omnium votis restitutum Cujus Haeredibus Legitimis ejus Possessionem ad ultima usque saecula votis propagamus. Haeredibus, inquam, nam Angliae Regnum non, ut haud ita pridem Danicum et Hungaricum et etiamnum Polonicum, Electivum unquam fuit, sed successione deferturhaereditaria semperad prolem masculam , ubi habetur (nec enim a Tacito bene dictum, Britannos sexum inimperiisnon discernere), et hujus defectu tantum ad faeminam; quaeob Reverentiam Familiae RegiaAuthoritate donatae coronam suscipit, Deo solo, qui nascentium seriem sua Providentiadisponit, successorem decedenti Regi designante, in cujus manu sunt omnium Potestates et omniumjura Regnorum Etadeonoscimus in Imperiis sexus discrimen, ut, licet in Gallia non obstante Lege
Salica, casu quo Rex Minorennis succedat, Regni habenae cum Regentis titulo Reginae Matri commendentur , id tamen in Anglia non fit, nisi ea solemni sit inauguratione consecrata Nec ulla facta hac in re mutatio est violentâ primo Saxonum, deinde Danorum , Normannorumque invasione, aut silentibus interarma Legibus aut non auditis ; vis enimejusmodi, ut ut leges suspendat, non tamen efigit aut antiquat quas valere voluerunt Victores, Jure, quod Victis competebat, in se translato; unde, sicut morte naturali transfertur ab una persona in aliam ejusdem familiae suprema Potestas integra illibataque, ita externo Bello ex una in aliam familiam. Notatu tamen dignum est, in praesentem Magnae Britanniae et Hiberniae Regem Serenissimum Potentissumque Jacobum II legitima procreatione transfusa Britannorum , Saxonum, Normannorum , Scotorumque Jura; adeoque, sicut Potentia nulli impar, ita Juris Antiquitate per quindecim et amplius saecula ducti, si Scotiam spectemus, absit Invidia verbo, aliis superior videtur.
(7) REGIA POTESTAS Sanguine tenuibus venularum canalibus scaturiente , veluti traduce, communicata Regia Dignitas, ea Potestate donatur, ut nec Judices ullos agnoscat se superiores, qualesEphori Lacedemone, nequeSenatum ut VenetiarumDuces , neque Tribunal, quale quod Justitia Aragoniae vocatur, neque Populum totum ut Romani Reges Adeoque de lata ab eo sententia nemo cognoscere potest, nemo ejus Executioni intercedere ; nulla denique datur ab eo Appellatio nisi forte quali usus esse dicitur B. Bernardus , a Papa male informato ad Papam bene Informatum . Hinc a nostris Juris Peritis dicitur nullum in suis Ditionibus habere superiorem, imo nec parem: omnes esse sub illo; illum sub nullo nisi Deo, a quo sit secundus , post quem primus , ante omnes, et super omnes Quae tam vere de Rege, ac olim a Tertulliano de Imperatoredicta sunt; quia ut sol mundum calore fovet, splendore illustrat, pulchritudine ornat, ita, aiunt iidem , Regis Potentia cunctos sibi subditos tuetur: Omnium Domos ejus vigilia defendit; omnium otium illius Labor; omniumdelicias illius industria; omnium vacationem illius occupatio.
(8) Nec omitti debet singularis et eximia Potestas a Deo Regibus Angliae concessa, strumas, sive scrofulas, solo tactu curandi, piis aliquibus precibus adhibitis. Data primum ea Gratia B. Edwardo cognomento Confessori; exin cunctis Regibus ei succedentibus. Solo anno 1687 constat Jacobi secundicontactu, eo morbo et perdifficili et faedissimo quindecies mille trecentos
* The Lex Salicais properly the Code of the Salian Franks, dating from Merovingian times: though written in Latin, it is barbarian law . But generally, by Salic Law is meant the rule excluding women from succeedingadopted for the French thronewhich, however , is not to be found in the Lex Salica
Presumably the 'Cortes' is meant here Cf. Trevor Davies, Golden Century of Spain, p 6 , for a description of the Aragon Cortes .
5 viginti tres levatos fuisse, qui partim ex Anglia partim ex vicinis regionibus auxilium petitum confluxere.+ *
(9) Hinc eximius et prorsus singularis illi de-[f. 4]fertur Honor: cuncti, qui ei ministrant, omnesque ejus subditi, illum adeuntes, eum genu flexo venerantur. Nemini licet ipso praesente tegere caput, ne quidem Walliae Principi, Haeredi proximo Regni; ut ut enim+ Privilegium concessit Henrico Ratcliffo Sussexiae Comiti Regina Maria, ut ipsa praesente se tegeret, forte quod ejus Maritus Hispaniarum Rex Philippus II Hispanis quibusdam, quos Magnates appellant , id permitteret, tamen insolens Privilegium una cum eo cui concessum fuerat, interiit, nemini deinde vulgatum.
(10) Regimen hoc putant aliqui exteri, suffragantibus in Anglia Factiosis, non pure Monarchicum esse sed mixtum, quod aliquibus in rebus Parlamenta adhiberi Solemne sit Sed errant quiita sentiunt , cum nullaSupremaePotestatis Pars in Parlamento resideat, ut fusius ostendetur infra Regimen tamen potius Politicum est atque Paternum quam Despoticum , quatenus non puro puto imperio legibus omnibus exsoluto regit, sed juxta Leges, nisi ubi singularis aliquis casus aliud exigat, quando Juris apices scrupulose observari nequeunt sine publici boni detrimento Hoc autem Principi juxta atque Subditis utile, cum non minus sit in Legum Reverentia Majestatis Imperii quam Libertatis Subditorum Praesidium Non tamen ita Legibus vincitur Auctoritas Regia, ut iis non se liberet, ubi libet, ubi ea plena vindice nodus dignus occurrerit; licet Reges ea potestate raro utantur, sicut Deus sua Omnipotentia ad facienda miraculaquo exemplo usus est aliquando Jacobus ejus nominis AngliaeI, Scotiae VI, dum Regni Proceres in Parlamentum convocatos alloqueretur.
(11) PARLAMENTUM
Parlamentum Anglicanum (Summum Regni Sacratiusque Consilium passim appellatur) cum Gallicis, praeter nomen, commune nihil habet. Ista sunt Consessus Judicum eorumque Assessorumcum ad decidendas causas civiles tum ad causas criminales terminandas Regia Authoritate designatorum. Illud est Regni Comitia ex tribus ejus Ordinibus conflata, Ecclesiasticis, Nobilibus , et Plebeis Pro Ecclesiasticis conveniunt Archiepiscopi et Episcopi, quibus accedebant olim Abbates omnes mitrati et aliqui Priores Ecclesiarum Cathedralium . Nobilium in Ordine censentur Barones et qui gradum eminentiorem occupant, Vice-Comites, Comites, Marchiones, atque Duces, pro Plebeisii comparent qui a Provinciis, Civitatibus, et aliquibus oppidis (quibus vel a priscis Regibus +vel aliunde, ut infra, illud Privilegium concessum est) electi sunt. Cujusmodi conventus in Gallia Regni Status, in Hispania Cortes , in Germania Imperii Dietae vocantur.
* Evelyn the diarist saw Warner officiating at the ceremony , 5 Nov. 1688
(12) Omnes isti in duas magnas Aulas conveniunt ; in unam Ecclesiastici simul atque Nobiles, Plebei in alteram Angli Domos, sive Cameras , vocant , nos magis Latine Conclavia vocabimus; et ad distinctionem , ob dignitatem Personarum illic sedentium, illud Nobilium atque Ecclesiasticorum Superius Conclave, aliud vero Conclave Inferius appellabimus ; illud passim Conclave Dominorum , LORDS, dicitur ; hoc vero Communium, quo nomine Plebei designantur ; non quod soli Plebei illuc conveniant (cum magna ex parte constet ex Nobilibus, Armigeris , Equitibus Auratis, Baronettis , et Baronibus, qui Regni Angliae Pares non sunt), sed quod Plebeiorum suffragiis eligantur, eorumque Personasin illo Senatu agant Comitia ejusmodi cogit Rex , ubi ardua Regni negocia ipsi videntur id exigere, potissimum ubi nova vectigalia imponenda sunt, Leges novae figendae, antiquae refigendae, &c. Hujusmodi enim negocia aut nunquam fiunt a Regibus inconsulto Parlamento , aut raro admodum, idque necessitate quapiam urgente Solent Reges, ejus consilio non expectato imo nec petito quidem, Edic-[f. 5]tis suis, quod e Publica Re fore videtur, imperare , addita etiam gravi paena (si res id exigere censeatur) in illa violantes ; quae tamen Edicta temporaneam tantum vim habent , adeoque Legum rationem non habent , nisi comitiorum suffragia accesserint, Regio Consensu roborata. Tamen Vectigaliadurante Caroli II vita indicta, cum eo mortua, Jacobus II ejus successor exigi curavit, non expectata Parlamenti sententia, quod Ditionum ipsius securitas id exigere videretur. (13) Non desunt externi, qui, quod Parlamenta aliqua Regibus ipsis gravia fuerint, horum voluntati refragata sint , unum vero A.D. MDCXLII convocatum Regem suum Regia pepulerit, ei bellum intulerit, eum vicerit, et capite truncarit, inaudito a saeculis facinore, majorem censent esse Parlamenti, quam ipsius Regis, autoritatem; aut saltem supremam Potestatem non in Rege solo sed in ipso simul et Parlamento residere. Ceterum +a vero multum+ aberrant isti. Nam 1. Rex sine Parlamento externorum Principum Legatos excipit, iisque respondet. 2. Suos ad eos Principes destinat 3. Bellum indicit 4. Foedera icit, aut iis renunciat 5. Milites conscribit , et cogit omnes intra decimum sextum et sexagesimum annum agentes, sibi militare, paucis exceptis quibus per Regni Leges a Militia vacatiodatur, quod singulare videtur Regum Angliae Privilegium. 6. Pacem init 7. De Navibus Bellicis, Portubus , munitis oppidis, armamentariis toto regno dispersis, solus disponit. 8.Monetam cudit, eique valorem assignat &c Quae omnia certissima sunt Supremae Potestatis indicia, cum Parlamento nullo modo communia.
(14) Deinde in ipsum Parlamentum Supremam Potestatem exercet , quod convocat, prorogat , de loco in Locum transfert, atque dissolvit pro libitu, etiam nulla data ratione Deinde,
quantum libet unanimi sententia sciscat aliquid Parlamentum , nisi Regis Authoritas accesserit, corpus erit exanime, non formatus Embrio , abortivus faetus, res nihil authoritatis nihil Potestatis habens, quam totam a Regio consensu assequitur Denique tametsi ejus consensus accesserit, et Parlamenti scitum inde vim Legis obtinuerit, ejus Executio a solo Rege pendet, a quo pro libitu suspenditur Conati quidem sunt identidem factiosi in comitiis hoc jugum excutere, et ad parem cum Plebiscitis Romanis auctoritatem sua decreta evehere; sed tametsi bellorum civilium tempore id obtinuisse vi et armis videantur, alias incassum laborarunt De quo data opportunitate pluribus infra, Deo favente. Quo colore, quo jure, qua ratione Potestas Regia Parlamenti Potestate major, huic aut supponi poterit, aut componi ? Nec contrariasentientesjuvatbellumParricidale in Regem ab uno Parlamento motum; Hoc enim semel tantum contigit, et una hirundo non facit ver. Deinde eo argumento nihil ejusmodi confici liquet ex eo quod Senatui Populoque Romano bellum indixerunt non Gladiatores tantum, verum etiam Servi (ut nihil de Sylla, Mario, Caesare, Catilina dicam) Num aut isti aut illi Senatu Populoque illo majores ?
(15) Indubitatum itaque est, supremam Potestatem in solo Angliae Rege residere; Parlamentum ipsius tantum Supremum Consilium esse (ita passim vocatur a Juris Peritis), atque adeoab illo regi, illi parere; sine quo Rex pleraque, quod sine Rege nihil efficere potest Fateor fuisse in Parlamentis subinde quod ab ipsis Regibus timeretur, ex quo Haeresis et Ambitio [f. 6] Senatorum plerorumque corda occuparunt, quae ut a Fide et Ratione, ita a Jure et Principe, dissidere fecerunt Pari enim passu ambulant , omnis jugi impatientes , omni sublimiori semper infestae, eodem partu editae infaelices sorores, nec prior ab altera divelli potest
(16) ANGLORUM RELIGIO Quam B. Augustinus saeculo VII ineunte Fidem Roma detulit Anglisque tradidit, eandem isti per varia saecula integramillibatamqueretinuerunt Wicleffi deliria, ut ut magnas in Bohemia cum animarum tum corporum strages ediderint , in Anglia tamen cito extincta, una fere cum Authore sepulta sunt. Tandem circa medium saeculi XVI, schisma conflatum est ab Henrico VIII, notissimas ob causas , paucis probatas, facta ab Apostolica Sede secessione; quod paulo post in Haeresim degeneravit, non Lutherianam illam quidem, neque Calvinianam, nec aliam ullam unius denominationis , sed ex aliis mixtam. Plebem Jejuniorum onere et Confessionis obligatione, Clerum caelibatus lege cum aliis, exolvunt; Realem Christi praesentiam in Venerabili Sacramento, cum Calvino Zuinglioque negant; de Libero Arbitrio, Gratiae efficacia, Praedestinatione Divina conditione nixa, modeste sentiunt, Arminianis aequiores quam Calvini gregalibus, horribile +decretum,+ infinitas hominum miriades aeternis suppliciis destinantis , nullo motivo ad his
dato, propugnantibus Cum aliis omnibus Christi in terris Vicarii Potestatem susque deque habent.
(17) Caeterum Hierarchiam Ecclesiasticam, excluso tantum Supremo Hierarcha , qualem invenerunt, in specie retinent, tibicinem Monarchiae non futilem arbitrati In quo ab aliis omnibus Ecclesiae res eo tempore novantibus discedunt. Calvinius, exclusa Praelatura , inter Ecclesiaesacros ministros paritatem induxit; Lutherani Episcopi nomine in Superintendentem, si caelebs sit, Administratorem , si conjugio vinctus , mutato, Authoritatem retinuerunt et Bona, sed sine Ordinatione Sacra, quam insuper habere dicuntur. Angli et nomen retinent Episcopi, et Ordinationem a Presbiteri distinctam iis necessariamasseverant; atque primorumsuorum Episcoporum consecrationem a Catholicis Antistibus arcessere conantur (quo suas ad Apostolos origines reducant), sed irrito labore, cum Catholicorum Praesulum, qui tunc temporis Superstites erant, nullus nec precibus neque minis induci potuerit ad designatos ab Elizabetha Regina Episcopos, manuum suarum impositione Catholico ritu consecrandos Hinc invicte probamus Catholicae eorum Ordinationis nullitatem; quam ostendit ulterius et materiae et Formae defectus, cum neutram ab ulla Ecclesia antiqua usurpatam retineant. Illi tamen utramque validam esse contendunt , et a veris aliquibus Episcopis initio factam ordinationem , et eo nomine authoritatem in Parochos suarum quique Dioeceseonusurpant . (18) Hinc Presbiterianorum (ita vocantur in Anglia, qui Calvini mentem in Ecclesiae regimine sequuntur) Lachrimae et Gemitus, hinc obmurmurationes , hinc Libelli famosi, Discordiae, Rixae, Seditiones, Bella civilia, Regni Eversio, malorum denique Ilias, tanquam ex Pandorae pixide inundarunt. Enimvero Vestiumdiversitatem, Crucis figuramin Baptismo, Genuflexionem in Caena, inclinationem versus mensam sacram, dierumfestorum observantiam, statas Precum formulas, Superstitionem et Pharisaicam Sabbathi consecrationem absque vel minimo opere vel etiam honesta Recreatione, et id genus alias Regulas, Dicis tantum causa allegarunt , ad fucum populo faciendum Vera Dissidii causa ea est , quod nec isti superiores, nec Episcopi Pares ferre velint
(19) Pervicacissima ista factio, omni superiori adversa , Populorum exitio nata, et Romae et Patriae communis Erinnis, eodem prope tempore Lucem vidit, quo Religio Anglicana (sic deincepsappellabimus Protestanticam , Episcopisobtemperantem) Siquidem qui Maria Catholica regnante solum verterant Haeretici, primo Francofurti ad Maenum haeserunt; eorum aliqui Genevam, communem Europae sentinam, inde profecti; haustas illic toto pectore Calvini sordes in Patriam suam postliminio reversi secum retulerunt, ubi, Maria mortua, Elizabetha Regni habenascapessivit Hasstatim inAngliaspargere[f. 7] ceperunt, Elizabetha nunquam approbante , sed initio connivente, ne abs
se alienaret eos, quorum opera ad eliminandam Romani Pontificis auctoritatem , a qua Sola sibi tum timebat, utilis futura videretur.
(20) Ab his sata Zizania, Calvini et Bezae Litteris rigata, a Regina neglecta, Protestantium aliquorum subinde favore fota, ea incrementa brevi sumpserunt, ut non Episcoporum modo , quibus palam bellum indixerant, verumetiamRegiam Autoritatem percellerent Caeterum salutari et necessaria severitate coerciti, Factiosi posterioribus Elizabethae annis prava studia supprimere coacti fuerunt. Ea resuscitarunt sub Jacobo I; et tandem sub Carolo I ejus filio monstrum pepererunt, quod tot annos parturiebant , bellum civile, quo Incendiumillud excitarunt, quod non nisi trium Regnorum ruina extinctum est.
(21) De sectis aliis, quarum nulla regio feracior, Anabaptistarum, Chyliastarum , sive Millenariorum, Tremulorum , Independentium, Quinto-Monarchitarum , et ejusdem furfuris aliis, quod earum explicatio ad Controvertistampotius quam ad Hy- storicum spectare videatur, nihil dicam . Eos omnes Angli, desumpto a studiis vocabulo, Nonconformistas appellant, quod Ecclesiae Anglicanae se conformare nolint, ejus ritus admittendo. Licet autem a Presbiterianis in multis dissentiant , omnes tamen Presbiterianos appellabo, cum horum sub pallio delitescant, cum iis suaconsilia communicent , ad eundemcum iis scopumcolliment: in hoc uno concordes, sepositis quae vigent inter eos discordiis atque controversiis , quod cunctis viribus Publicae Rei Exitium moliantur.
(22) De Catholicis dicere nihil opus est , quorum et mores et doctrina ubique eadem nemini latere videntur. Horum forti fidelique opera cum in pace tum in bello usi sunt uterque Carolus I et II. Eorum erga Principes suos studium in Parlamentis semper enituit , quamdiu illis licuit Regni Comitiis interesse Hinc Tragaediae Belli Civilis Prologus fuit eorum e Comitiis amotio; et cum similem Tragaediam exhibere vellent haud ita pridem eadem Factio, sumptum a Catholicorum amotione initium. Nec horum Fidem suspectam reddere potest Conjurationis Pulverariae facinus a quibusdam Catholicis designatum, tum quod paucos ejus Invidiaafflavit, reliquos ejus mox immunes declaravit ipse Jacobus Rex in quem ea faba cudebatur , tum si quae Ministellorum odiosis clamoribus aliorum famae macula inde contracta erat, eam isti diuturna tot annorum fidelitate, etiam difficillimis temporibus , bonis in Regis obsequio consumptis, sanguine effuso, vita denique dum Regiam tutantur data, eluerant. Hanc officii in Principes rationem ab Apostolo didicimus , docente (Rom. XIII) Omnes Animas Potestatibus superioribus subditas esse , idque non solum propter iram; sed etiam propter conscientiam . Eum qui Potestati resistit , Dei ordinationiresistere : et damnationem sibimet acquirere; non vero propter vilia compendia (ut odiose dictitant Haeretici), ut hac ratione conciliata Principis Benevolentia Legum in nos latarum suspendatur Executio. Ob certam
ENGLISH PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS
istam Catholicorum in Reges observantiam Shaftesburius (de quo plura infra) identidem dixit aut eliminandos e Parlamento Catholicos, aut refixis Legibus in eos Latis, efficiendum ut +aequo+ cum aliis Jure fruantur ; quod periculosum esset Regni Libertati, Regem tot in Supremo illo Caetu viros habere sibi obnoxios. (23) De his tribus hominum caetibus nostra fere loquetur Oratio, Catholicis, Protestantibus (qui sunt Ecclesiae Anglicanae filii), et Presbiterianis, qui Calvini dogmata amplectuntur. Primi in spiritualibus Papae subsunt; secundi Episcopos venerantur Anglicanos ; tertii Seniorum cum Ecclesiasticorum tum Laicorum Consessu Res Ecclesiasticas administrari volunt, aut ut melius dicam, nullum Superiorem agnoscunt, omni tum civili tum Ecclesiastico infesti sunt
[f. 8](24) JUDICIORUM CRIMINALIUM
FORMA . Anglia
cum Wallia, sive parte occidentali quam Britanni occupant et Hibernico Mari alluitur, in duas supra quinquaginta Provincias dividitur, ad commodius regimen; quarum quaelibet Gubernatorem agnoscit a Rege nominatum e primaria Nobilitate, cum titulo Locum tenentis Regis; qui militiae praeest Habet etiam Sheriffum, quem nostrates Latine scribentes Vice-Comitem appellant, et nos eo nomine deincepsvocabimus, a Rege nominatum in unum tantum annum. Ipsius est facinorososex tota Provincia submissos ut caute custodiantur efficere, curare ut suo tempore tribunali sistantur, adsint Jurati, de quibus statim, de iis cognituri, et ut lata a Judicibus sententia Executioni mandetur. Ipsius etiam est submissos a Rege Judices advenientes excipere, per Provinciam, ne quid desit, providere , eos defendere, iisque denique in omnibus adesse, si qua in re ejus ope indiguerint.
(25) Sunt praeterea alii magistratus quos ob Pacem publicam eorum curae commendatam, Eirenarchas +[Genus Magistratus Imperio Romano non ignotum, si quidem extat in Codice I.X. Tit lxxv. Lex de Irenarchis , Honorioet Theodosio Impp edita]+ appellat Cambdenus quasi Pacis Praesides , sive Custodes: hi criminis vel compertos vel vehementer suspectos ad se delatos, carceri mancipant , et indicta pro qualitate criminis aut Rei et Testium mulcta, hos ad statutum diem comparere coram Tribunali jubet. Horum aliqui quater in anno conveniunt de communibus Provinciae negotiis deliberatum , PontiumViarumquereparatione, Pauperum necessitatibus, Legum observantia, et si qua in re publicum aliquid aut ceperit aut capere possit detrimenti,+ et, quod ad rem nostram propius spectat, quando propediem adfuturi Judices sciuntur, de Reis eorumque causa leviter et perfunctorie cognoscunt Ad quod Vice-Comes etiam ex iis, qui non sunt Eirenarchae, aliquos accire potest, et quia jurant se secundum conscientiam pronunciaturos vocantur Jurati Majores, quia de totius Provinciae negociis cognoscunt, ad differentiam Juratorum Minorum, qui ab eodem Vice-Comite
citantur, de Reis in particulari cognituri; qui jurant eodem modo se secundum conscientiam sine Amore aut Odio pronunciaturos Requirit jus nostrum sint boni et Legales homines, id est Probi, et ut in Provinciaubi Judicium instituitur habitent. Nec refert cujus conditionis , si Reus sit e Plebe, modo non sit Lanio, quos arcent nostra Jura ob duritiem ex pecorum laniena et sanguinis contactu ortam. Et quod caput est, neutri parti addicti esse debent; cujus rei aequitas in Lege Naturae fundatur Unde Reo permittitur exceptio adversus sibi suspectos , in quorum locum alii substituuntur, donecduodecim numeratisint nullis exceptionibus obnoxii Similem aut eandem ob causam, Regiis ministris eadem potestas fit eos reiiciendi , qui aut Reo aperte favent, aut Regi minus sunt aequi Quamvis hoc Jus in dubium vocarint factiosi, ut videbimus infra
(26) Actor in cunctis causis criminalibus Rex est , quod censeatur ejus Majestas et Authoritas qualibet Legum transgressione violari. Ab eo constitutus Graphiarius (Clericum Coronae vocamus) Dicam scribit +(Billam appellamus)+; ea Juratis Majoribus exhibetur. Si digna causa videatur Judicum cognitione, eamque probabiliter subsistere censeant, a tergo scribunt: Billa Vera; +quo casu Reus Judicio sisti debet.+ Sin vero , scribunt a tergo : Ignoramus, quod perinde est ac dicere causam non liquere nobis videtur; qua formula Reus judicio subducitur, et restituitur plerunque in integrum. Et haec causae cognitio prodroma est et veluti praeparatio ad finalem et definitivam sententiam; absolvere quippe possunt Reos Jurati Majores, condemnare non possunt; sed tantum aliis permittere sive committere Rei cognitionem. (27) Ubi advenitdecretorius dies, Judicibus in altioriScamno veluti Throno sedentibus, assidentibus Eirenarcharum aliquibus cum Praetore loci, vinctus adducitur Reus, et cancellis thronum ambientibus sistitur, in loco conspicuo, unde videri ab omnibus possit. Tum eum scriba clara voce, et nomine et cognomine compellans, jubet manum attollere Dicam exinde legit, qua paucis ejus crimen continetur, nempe Homicidium, vel furtum , &c [f. 9] Tum petit : Reusne an non Reus sit? Si nihil respondere velit, damnatur ut contumax, quod litem contestari nolit, et supplicio afficitur Anglis peculiari : in area Carceris, vestibus omnibus exutus , reclinatur supinus, acuto lapide Lumbis supposito; ventri asseres, et his ingentia pondera imponuntur, donec expiret. Acerbum quidem mortis genus, quod tamen multi decausasua desperantes , subire malunt, quam non profutura defensione, lite contestata, ad alia mitiora damnari , tum quia eorum bona ad haeredes transeunt nec fisco addicuntur, tum quia
* The origin of the peine forte et dure is discussed at length byA. Marks , Tyburn Tree (n.d.), p. 35 sq. It was originallyonly " severe imprisonment to make the accused plead. " That it developed into pressing to death , a punishment worse than hanging, is a most remarkable example of judgemade law . " It was abolished in 1772
nulla inde infamia manet ad posteros Si respondendo litem contestetur is qui accusatur, et agnoscat se Reum esse , Judices statim proferunt sententiam . Si neget se Reum esse, Scriba ex praescripta formula petit, a quo Judicari velit ? Cui alter respondere tenetur: A Deo, et Patria. Patriae autem vices subeunt Duodecim viri, sive Jurati , ad quorum electionem ex eorum numero quos ad idipsum accerserat Vice-Comes, proceditur statim, monito Reo attente consideret singulos dum ad nomina sua respondent, ut adversus eos excipiat, quos sibi minus aequos fore ob aliquas privatas simultates arbitretur, priusquam ad Jurandumadmittantur ; post enim nullum rejicere fas est. decim viris nominatis et juramento adstrictis , Accusationem instituit Regius Advocatus , aut Procurator , aut alius eorum vices gerens +Actor+ ; oratione perbrevi et nervosa tum Testes dat, quibus allegata probet Locus exinde Reo se defendendi datur; quod ubi factum, Judex paucis recenset quae utrinque dicta sunt, quo melius a Duodecim viris intelligantur, et eorum memoriae tenacius inhaereant ; qui statim secedunt in vicinum cubiculum ad id preparatum, de causa deliberatum ; quo nemini licet intrare, nec aut cibum aut potum inferri, donec in unam sententiam convenerint omnes ; nec enim sententiam pronunciare licet ad pluralitatem suffragiorum ; et pronunciant de solo facto, nimirum an A.B. sit Reus facti, cujus accusatur, +aut non sit Reus.+ Ubi omnes in unam sententiam convenerunt, exeuntes e cubiculoomnes simul, uni factapro omnibus loquendi facultate, Accusatum pronunciantaut Reum, aut non Reum Si posterius, Accusatus noxa eximitur, et dimittitur Liber. Si prius, Judices Reum adjudicant supplicio per Jura nostratia tali crimini praescripto Nec enim ulla illis Libertas permittitur alia supplicia decernendi, quam Leges indicunt Ubi tamen variae leges varias eidem crimini paenas indicunt, illis licet quam malint eligere. Atque haec Judiciorumforma per Provincias quotannis bis instauratur; at Londini, propter Civitatis amplitudinem, populi frequentiam , et affluxum hominum omnis generis, octies circiter.
Duo-
(28) Judices in ferenda sententia sequi tenentur Duodecim virorum sententiam, nec ullo modo licet eis eum absolvere, quem illi Reum pronunciarunt; imo nec differre sententiam suam, illorum conformem Tamen ubi apertam hujus iniquitatem manifestis indiciis deprehendunt, possunt sententiae a se latae executionem differre, donecad Regem referant, a quo solo damnatus a Duodecim viris libertatem obtinere potest Reo vero Regem appellare nihil juvat, quod Duodecim virorum sententia
Definitiva sit
[f. 11]
(29) SUPPLICIORUM GENERA. * Supplicia alia capitalia sunt, alia non capitalia, supra p 9. Capitalium Rei, qui ex primaria
* This is placed at f. 11 in the original, after paragraph 38 Monetae Valor.
sunt nobilitate, securi subjiciuntur; reliqui omnes, etiam qui nobiles sunt, suspendio necantur ut plurimum, nisi aut crimen commissum aut Rei in Jus vocati defensio aliud exigat a Jure statutum; si nempe mutus haereat, nec litem contestari velit, de quo supra Perduelles, sive Majestatis Rei, suspenduntur primo , deinde patibulo deponuntur , reclinantur supini, +spi- rantibus adhuc+ exinde pectus venterque finduntur, ilia visceraque eximuntur et igne consumuntur , reliquum corpus in quatuor partes secatur, quae, ni Rex aliud jubeat, in diversis locis exponuntur, ad terrorem aliis faciendum Atque ista fert sententiae publicae formula solemnis Tamen fere semper miseri pendere permittuntur, donec penitus expirent.
(30) Quod si vel uxor maritum, vel famulus herum suum occiderit (quod minoris Majestatis crimen dicitur, quod Pater familias in ea veluti Monarcha parvus aestimetur), vivus comburitur Vivi combusti etiam olim paenas dabant Haeretici; sed hoc jure novo (de quo paucis infra) sublatum est . Aliud supplicium olim statutum iis, qui atrocis homicidii Rei essent: aptatis inter crura et circa corpus catenis, e patibulo suspendebantur, donec aut Aeris inclementia aut inedia perirent Sed illud vetitum, quod productius supplicium Infaelicibus hominibus multorum criminum, cum aeternae salutis certo discrimine, aut causa aut occasio erat
(31) Supplicia non capitalia sunt : virgis caedi, numellis exponi, stigmate inuri Stigma ferro candenti in vola manus inuritur; de quo nulla nobis mentio Virgis caedendus, nudo capite corporeque superne ad cingulum usque, praecedentem carrucam manibus illi alligatis sequitur pedes, carnifice pone sequente Numellae (Pillory vocamus, nomine Gallico) raro alibi usurpantur, suntque hujusmodi : erigitur stela XII circiter pedes alta, cui transversim imponuntur duo asseres ita dispositi, ut Rei collum et manuum carpos apte stringant, pedibus alteri asseri veluti solo impositis ; magis infamia quam dolore afficiens supplicium , nisi addatur in sententia aurium mutilatio, quando auriculas clavo numellis affixas, carnifex abscindit . Atque de his satis pro instituti mei ratione [f. 9 ctd]
(32) LONDINI REGIMEN. Jus Civitatis Londini et in eo opificium ullum exercendi, nemo nascendi sorte, nemo paterno Jure adipiscitur, sed proprio tantum cujusque duro et diuturno septem ut plurimum annorum labore ad artificium discendum posito. Quo tempore vocantur Prentices, aut a verbo Gallico Apprentifs , a studio discendi Artificium, aut ut putat [Polidorus] Vergilius, a vocibus Latinis Pares empticiis servis, quod par sit Opificis in Tyronem suum ac Heri in servum jus Illam tamen conditionem amplectuntur cum qui Londini nascuntur, tum qui alibi, honesto plerique Loco, aliqui etiam ex Primariis Regni familiis, iisque ditissimis, minores natu filii, commercii magni-
tudine , et Divitiarum inde nascentium spe allecti Cum enim Jure Anglicano bonorum omnium immobilium Patris Primogenitus sit haeres ex Asse, et secundogenitis nihil obveniat praeter aut partem aliquam Bonorum mobilium, aut exiguam aliquam pensionem annuam, donec vixerint tantum duraturam, etiamsi Pater condito Testamento [f. 10] diem obeat; ubi vero moritur intestatus, de Jure nihil exigere possunt; sed Primogeniti Misericordiae relinquuntur (quam sane subinde valde duram experiun- tur); inde necessitas illis injicitur se suâ alendi, et rem augendi industria Quare aut ditiorum obsequio se dedunt , aut Opifici cuipiam suam operam elocant ad septennium, manente eorum nobilitate sopita quamdiu servitutemillam serviunt aut opificium exercent, reviviscente vero ubi ad pinguiorem fortunam pervenerint, et partis labore et industria bonis in otio fruuntur. Unde dicere possumusnullam forte in toto Orbe Civitatem tam nobiles habere cives, nullos cives majores habere animos, a turpi lucro alieniores. Nusquam aut nitor in supellectili , aut liberalitas in conviviis, aut honestas in moribus, aut splendor in tota vita major occurrit; digna omnia familiarum magnitudine unde orti sunt. Fuit e duobus Vice-Comitibus unus, qui duabus tantum horis antea monitus, tali convivio extraordinarium Regis Christianissimi Legatum exceperit, ut iste stupescens dixerit se numquam crediturum fuisse, nisi id suis ipse vidisset Oculis . (33) Elapso Tyrocinii Septennio, velit nolit Opifex Dominus, Tyro manumittitur , et Civis Londinensis Jus assequitur, et, si suum opificiumper se exercerevelit, in illius Collegium adoptatur. Pleraque enim opificia Regia munificentia in totidem corpora politica sive Sodalitia congregantur, multis Privilegiis donata; quorum quodque aedes habet publicas magnificentissimis Palatiis pares, in quas conveniunt de rebus Opificium suum spectantibus deliberatum Praeter quas est Domus Civica ubi negocia expediuntur, quae totam Civitatemet omnia Collegia in genere tangunt. Ex his Collegiis eliguntur singulis annis duo Vice-Comites, quorum auctoritas eadem fere est cum Provinciarium Vice-Comitibus, de quibus supra. Ex iis desumuntur viginti sex Aldermanni, quorum quisque uni Urbis Regioni praeficitur; nam et Civitas in viginti sex Regiones, sive Custodias (Wards), dividitur (34) Toti Civitati praeest non Princeps aliquis aut Magnas ut in aliis Regionibus, sed ex Aldermannis unus, a communi Concilio Civico electusin unum annum ; cujus Auctoritassecundum Regiam maxima, Dignitas tanta, ut cum Elizabethae Reginae morte vacaret Regia sedes, ad quam occupandam invitandus esset Jacobus Scotiae Rex, Epistolis totius Regni nomine scriptis invitatoriis, Praetor Londiniensis +(Majorem appellant, nomine vel a Gallis vel etiam a Romanis accepto)+ ante Proceres omnes, etiam eos qui a Sacratiori Consilio, et qui Armis et Classi praeerant, subscripsit. Sicut Regi ita ipsi Gladius praefertur, et Ensifero ejus bis mille scuta annue penduntur a Civitate.
(35) Toto Praeturae suae tempore mensam habere tenetur lautissime instructam, cunctis honestis viris ea frui volentibus apertam. Fuisse dicitur qui quatuor Reges una convivio exceperit.
(36) Felices cives, quantum humana conditio patitur, supra aliarum Gentium omnium sortem, sua si bona nossent, iisque moderate uterentur! Verum dum antiqua Privilegia novis quacunque data occasione augent, dum Collegiorum suorum et Consilii Civici scita Regni legibus praehabent, dum LibertateadLicentiam, licentia ad Libidinem abutuntur, dum adversus publica Principis imperia suis Privilegiis pugnant, ejusque beneficia in ipsius damnum convertunt, dum Rem Publicam, Regimenve Democraticum , in Media Monarchia adstruunt, in ea praecipitia inciderunt, unde non facile emergent, ut videbimus , Deo dante.
(37) KALENDARIUM ANGLICANUM. Novo Gregorii Kalendario non utuntur Angli, quod ejus ante Reformationem factaesset ab Apostolica Sede Secessio, et dedignarentur qui Schisma conflarant etiam bona a Pontifice Summoprofecta admittere Annum novum xxv Martii auspicantur Et Primus cujusque mensis dies novi Kalendarii diebus decem posterior est Adeoque xi Aprilis Romae et primus ejusdem mensis in Anglia coincidunt. Hystorici tantum, teste Cambdeno, et cum illis [f. 11] nos annum auspicabimur Kalendis Januariis ; in aliis Kalendariumantiquum sequemur, ubires in Anglia gestas (quae nobis utramque paginam implent) referemus.
(38) MONETAE VALOR. Rei monetariae ratio in Anglia multum differt ab aliis ubivis gentium; nullius siquidem valor per Europam cum nostrae exacte quadrat, siquidem Libra sterlinga, uti vocatur, excedit multum quatuor scuta Gallica et Germanica; non aequat quatuor Romana Nos tamen, quoties de iis occurret mentio, pro singulis Libris nostratibus quatuor scuta ponemus. Hac ratione melius intelligar ab externis, si qui ista legere dignentur; nec inde Lectoris offensam timeo, cum inde nec illi quicquam damni nec mihi Lucri accedet; Mercatoribus , iisque qui res Collibisticas tractant, aequationem permittam exactiorem. *
(39) Denique Lectorem Eruditum, nostrarumrerumcuriosum admonitum velim Instituti mei esse solum (quod et Libri titulus prae se fert) Hystoriam scribere Persecutionis Anglicanae sub Carolo II in Catholicos excitatae , turpissimae Conjurationis accusatos. Adeoque totus in eo fui, ut + referem+ quid isti, et quo modo passi fuerint, quamque immerito, ob notissimam , multis argumentis probatam , ab omnibus jam agnitam, eorum Innocentiam . + Quae dici vix possunt, intelligi vero nullo modo , non explicatis eorum studiis qui in Catholicos grassati sunt . Hinc omitti non potuerunt Presbiterianorum studia et eorum vera conspiratio In quibus referendis necessitas subinde injecta
* Here follows in original para 29 Suppliciorum Genera Para 39 Denique Lectorem etc. is appended on a separate sheet facing f 10 in the MS
dealiis subinde scribendi a re proposita diversis, non tamen alienis, ob necessariaminter eas connexionem. Dixit alicubi B. Optatus Ecclesiam esse in Republica Certe Ecclesiae cum Republicae negociis ita intertexta sunt, ut alia sine aliis retexi nullo modo posse videantur Hinc nemo miretur si Regni Anglicanipolitiam subinde explicem; minus adhuc, si quaedam subinde Theologica aut Philosophica aut etiam Controversa Fidei Dogmata occurrant, cum eorum Explicatio operi meo necessaria sit visa Memor tamen ubique me Hystorici personam sustinere, non autem sive Philosophi sive Theologi, vix ea tetigi, nisi cum necessarioid factu opus esse censui; et tum etiam id tam levi manu, ut appareat me in alieno versari, idque illubenter. Ut obiter aliqua dicerem de terribili cometa, qui fulgere visus est exeunte Anno Domini MDCLXXX et de Diluvio Belgii Orae Maritimae incumbente, altero post anno, effecit utriusque insolita facies
f. 12] HYSTORIAE
Anacephaleosis eorum, quae contigerunt a Reditu Caroli II ad annum MDCLXXVIII
(40) ARGUMENTUM. Insperatus Caroli reditus ab exilio; cujus gratia florens Odoardus Hydus Societatem ex Angliafrustra pellere conatur Bellum Hollandicum , Pestis, et Incendium Londinense Aulici et Patriotae Haeresum colluvies Conscientiarum libertas cunctis indulta pacem colentibus; unde nata in Catholicos odia Vera Persecutionis causaejusque Praetextus . Presbiterianorum Supplicatioad comburendum in Effigie summum Pontificem Quales Carolus, Regina, Eboracensis, Monmuthius , Portsmuthia, Danbeius, Londinienses, Scroggius, Titus Oates, Ezrehel Tongus. Item Thomas Harcottus, Societatis Jesu per Angliam Provincialis . Antwerpianusmorbus Epistolae Windesorianae Oates coram Consilio Regio auditus.
(41) PERSECUTIO A QUIBUS MOTA ? ET QUO EXITU ? Persecutionis, omnium quas unquam passi sunt in Anglia Catholici longe atrocissimae, Hystoriam aggredior Eam Catholici formidabant, Haeretici exoptabant , Prudentes futuram praevidebant , et viri prophetico spiritu donati praedixerant. * Eam Aulici quidam inchoarunt, Factiosi promoverunt , sed Deus ad exitum perduxit omnium expectationi contrarium. Aulici, ostentato a Catholicis in Regis Regnique perniciem conspirantibus metu , sperabant ComitiorumAuthoritate Regium Exercitum stabilitum iri; et eorundem Authoritate is statim exauthoratus est. Haeretici Fidei Catholicae exitium meditabantur; et illa mirum in modum propagata est. Factiosi Ducis Eboracensisexitium et Monarchiae eversionem designabant ; et Monarchia firmius stabilita, Deus Eboracensem diversa per itinera ad Thronum perduxit. Dux
* Cf . § 103 and note.
Monmuthius coronam ambivit ; et ad ferale pegma deductus cervices securi subjecit. Shaftesburius Comes Carolum injecta manu se e Regno deducturumgloriatus fuerat; et ipse regno cedens , quo saluti suae consuleret, exul miseram et malignam animam efflavit Danbeius Aerario Praefectussuamapud Carolum Gratiam stabilitum iri putabat; et Gratia omni excidit, atque Aula pulsus est. Mercatores ac Opifices frequentiora sibi commercia augurabantur et inde magnas opes ; et intercisis magna ex parte commerciis ea detrimenta ceperunt, ut nec incendium Londiniense, omnium quae vidit Orbis maximum, pluris steterit Civitas denique Regia (Londinum) dubia quaedam Privilegia asserere voluit; et amisit indubitata Nunquam clarius apparuit sapientiam hujus mundi stultitiam esse apud Deum, qui comprehendit sapientesin Astutia eorum, et consilia impiorum dissipat. (42) Videmus hic Pios ab impiis, Viros Religiosos a Sacrilegis, Probos a Malignis, Regi Fidelissimos ab ejus infensissimis Hostibus, Innocentes a Facinorosis, Pacificos ab odio pacem habentibus, sua illis crimina objectantibus , in Judicium arcessi, in carceres conjici, ad supplicia rapi, quasi quod est in Fabulis , Vulpes Anseribus, lupi Agnis, Accipitres Perdicibus, Aquilae Columbis, violatae Pacis dicam impingerent ; videbimus conquisitos toto Regno viros Infames, aperta ergastula, criminum compertos inde eductos, praeteritorum criminum gratia, additis etiam amplis praemiis, elicitos ad Fidem fabulosae Conspirationi faciendam suis Perjuriis; Fidem istis, non solum falsa sed etiam improbabilia et impossibilia dicentibus , habitam; tanta illos auctoritate circumdatos, ut cum impune liceret quidlibet in Regni statum, in Regios ministros , Regem ipsum, et Deum dicere, hos tamen nemo vel minimo verbo aliove signo impune lacessivit
(43) CAROLI II REDITUS . Fessus CivilibusBellis, mutationum regiminis pertaesus, vectigalibus exhaustus, Populus Anglicanus, nulla uspiam firma meliorum spe recreatus, publico convicio Parlamentum impulit ad Carolum, in Belgio manentem, solemni missa Legatione in avitum [f. 13] Regnum reducendum, qui scilicet Ordinum nomine missi ex UtroqueConclavi, +rogarent,+ reverti dignareturet Ditionum ipsius suscipereRegimen. Presbiterianorum dicitur fuisse consilium in eo rerum cardine , reversuro Regi certas proponere conditiones, et quibusdam quasi cancellis ejus Authoritatem circumscribere Ausi sunt etiam Monkio Armorum Praefecto id proponere; sed ab eo cum indignatione rejecti , dicente tantum Regem plena cum Potestate rediturum, nec velle se ullis pactis interjectis Imperii vim minutam Sed nec ardens Populi Regem videndi desiderium ullas moras patiebatur.
(44) Omnium itaque votis expetitus, totius Britanniae humeris in Thronum sibi debitum relatus est. Is ad Clementiae famam novo regimini quaerendam pronus, vulgata Amnestia, praeteritorum omnium omnibus impunitatem concessit, iis
duntaxat exceptis quos Comitia censerent ea Gratia indignos Religionem Protestanticam professus , eam se defensurum pollicitus est , ita tamen ut nulli ab ea dissentienti vim esset illaturus, qui aliter sentientibus molestus non esset, nec Religionis praetextu ad dissidia serenda et publicam pacem turbandam abuteretur Haec non majori suo quam aliorum gaudio suscepta. Hinc exauthoratoquodeum revocarat Parlamento (utpote vitio creato , quia sine Authoritate Regia), aliud statim indixit; in quo in integrum restituti Episcopi, Comitiis interesse Diaecesesque regere jussi sunt; Ecclesiis Cathedralibus et Collegiatis Lyturgia reddita; Parochialibus Ecclesiis permissum ut aut eam aut alium colendi Deum ritum observarent, prout earum Rectoribus et Parochianis expedire in Domino videretur, qui tamen omnes paulo post eandem Lyturgiam ultro admiserunt. Sumptum de Regicidis supplicium ; alii Perduelles voluntario exilio semetcastigarunt, magis quid essent meriti, quam quid Carolus designaret facere, timentes Quis non penitus extinctum crederet Civilis Belli incendium ? At male tectus sub cinere doloso ignis biennio post erumpens novum minitabatur, sed mature repressus est Authorum clade. At anno MDCLXXVIII ea violentia erupit iterum, ut sacra, prophana, privata, publica corripuerit, et in summum discrimen adduxerit Nempe male sopita Incendia majori violentia erumpunt, majori vi grassantur
(45) Non deerant ab initio in Parlamento infensissimi Catholicorum hostes; sed nihil movere ausi sunt, adeo recens erat eorum Officiorum in Carolum memoria, quem corporibus suis Worcestriensi praelio texerant , quem post illud fide sua et industria diligentissimae Rebellium Inquisitioni subduxerant , spretis et suppliciis iis qui eum celarent intentatis, et premiis illum prodentibus promissis; quem exulantem suis in terris coluerant ; ad cujus reditum cum aliis cooperati fuerant; qui denique eodem in Parlamento de eodem bene mereri pergebant, ejus Consilia promovendo etiam sibi noxia, Episcoporum nimirum Restitutionem Durum enim visum et inhumanum , Persecutionis in eos gladium stringere, qui nihil mali, multum boni fecerant, et porro faciebant. Unus inventus est qui, sive ob privatas offensas , sive Religionis Protestanticae studio, Jesuitarum exilium proposuit, horum causam ab aliis diversam esse dictitans. Sed res effectu caruit, paucis probata , a multis invisa, plurimis ingrati animi indicium detestantibus Qui rem urserat paulo post Invidiae impar cum gravium criminum in eodem Parlamento accusaretur, solum sponte vertit, in Galliam profectus, ubi mortalitatem exuit. (46) ODOARDUS HYDUS QUALIS Is erat Odoardus Hydus, nobili loco natus, Juris nostri Peritissimus Caroli I ferventibus bellis civilibus partes secutus , in ejus non solum noticiam sed et
* In 1662 there were negotiations between the Chapter and Hyde concerninga declaration of Allegiance Cf. Southwark MS . 106 III, p. 391 (Tierney's collections for his edition of vol iii of Dodd's History).
familiam admissus, atque in Sacratius ejus Consilium; cui adeo suam probavit operam, ut ad componendas civiles Discordias una cum Duce Richmondiae plena cum Potestate legaretur. Caroli rebus retro sublapsis et pessum euntibus , in Galliam ad Carolum filium accessit; a quo Madritum ad Philippi IV aulam cum Francisco Barone Cottingtono missus est * Inde reversus Carolo II semper adhaesit individuus comes , fidus Achates, a quo Comes Clarendoniae et tandem Regni Cancellarius factus est Apud istum ea gratia floruit, ut sine eo prope nihil, per ipsum omnia fere disponerentur , maxime officiorum distributio, quae non semperdignissimis et de Carolo optime meritis danda curavit, nonnullis visus in his a muneribus non abhorrere, communi Caussidicorum vitio [f. 14] (Integritatis tamen famam prope singularem meruit in jure dicendo); quod confirmant opes, quas a Parentibus modicas accepit, immensas (si rumoribusnonsemper falsis fides) aut vivens distribuit aut moriens posteris reliquit, solis honestis Artibus vix parabiles tantillo tempore Zelum pro Religione Protestantica non solum Episcoporum restitutione et proposito Jesuitarumexilio declaravit, sed etiam libro typis edito contra R.P. Serenum Cresseium, Ordinis Benedictini scriptorem celebrem . Strinxit etiam calamum adversus filiam suam , Jacobo Eboracensium Duci nuptam, cujus ad Ecclesiam Catholicam transitum aegerrime tulit Vir quibuslibet negociis par, si animi magnitudinem et consilii solertiam spectemus, modo major adfuisset moderatio , aut in alia tempora incidisset ; sed ingenium semper serium et Propositi tenacius Carolo diu placere non potuit, cui subinde alia placebant . Desiderabant in eo Magnates eam comitatem et affabilitatem, qua leniretur Invidia magnam Fortunam repente ortam sequens Studium denique immodicum unius Religionis , ubi tam multae erant, aliarum ab eo Professoresalienavit.
(47) Tres proles reliquit: Annam, Eboracensi nuptam (cui quinque proles tulit, tres mares, quorum minimus in Infantia , reliqui duo ea vix egressi obierunt, et duas filias etiamnumsuperstites, quarum altera Auriaco Principi, Regis Daniae Fratri altera nupsit), et duos filios, Henricum, quem Haeredem ex Asse scripsit, et Laurentium, singulari Jacobi II. gratia florentem, a quo factus Rochestriae Comes, Aerario Praefectus, et in nobilissimum Periscelidis sodalitium cooptatus Horum aliqua non nisi multos post annos contigerunt , simul tamen hic dantur, ut melius sciatur
* Cottington was at Madrid with Hyde 1649-1651
Cressy had written Fanaticism fanatically imputed to the Catholick Church by Dr. Stillingfleet .... 1672 (Wing C . 6898), to which Clarendonhad replied in Animadversionsupon a book intituled, Fanaticism .... 1673 (Wing. C . 4414). Cressy replied to Clarendon with The Epistle Apologetical of S.C. to a Person of Honour, 1674 (Wing C . 6893) Clarendon and Cressy (before his conversion) had both belonged to the Falkland circle Cf. B. H. G. Wormald, Clarendon (1951 ), p 262 sq
Cf. Two Letters written by ... (published c 1679) (Wing C . 4429).
PERSECUTION
qualis vir fuerit, quemque exitum habuerit, qui Jesuitarum promovit exilium. Et vero magno Regni bono factum, ut ultra non processerit, ne omnia rursus turbarentur, ut postea contigit, cum excitata in solos initio Jesuitas Tempestas, primum alios Catholicos omnes, deinde etiam Protestantes, tum Eboracensem et Reginam, denique Carolum ipsum eo turbine involvit, qui tantum non omnes evertit. Cudebantur quidem subinde novae leges in Catholicos, istis adversae Factioni imparibus , et Carolo non satis strenue resistente; sed bruta fulmina credebantur, quod penes Carolum (de cujus benevolentia minime dubitabant) esset earum executio "
(48) PACATA OMNIA . Habitabat itaque tunc temporis Juda et Israel, Catholicus et Protestans, absque timore ullo, unusquisque sub viti sua et sub ficu sua (lib iii Reg iv 25) quasi gladios suos in vomeres , et lanceas in falces conflassent (Isayae ii 4) ; non quod cunctis praesentia placerent, sed quod, quibus non placerent, ii mentem suam aperire non auderent. Enimvero sperari vix aut ne vix poterat, ut, qui per summum nefas interempto Rege summam sibi Potestatem arrogaverant , se e Throno dejici et in ordinem redigi aequo animo paterentur; aut ut Populus impia, quae viginti Bellorum Civilium annis imbiberant, dogmata, perniciosasque Imperiis doctrinas, animo cum Fortuna repente mutato, evomeret, et debitum Principis mandatis obsequium ex corde praestaret Tempore opus est, ut robusta, quae multos annos radices egerunt, vitia convellantur. (49) Haerebat itaque animis virus; sed sopitum et in presens innoxium, necdum abolitamalorum, quae Civile Belluminvexerat, memoria, nec fere sopito sensu, prae quibus, quae displicebant, levia latu videbantur Senatus populusque Londinensis (cujus maxima in totam Angliamauthoritas, non Imperio jure stabilito, sed Exemplo, quod alia oppida sponte sua sequuntur), sive mutationum in supremo Regimine pertaesus (illud uno anno quater mutari viderant), sive praeteritorumsensu, sive futurorum metu , Pacem serio colebat Unde, cum Plebis Quisquiliae Londini corripuissent arma, Praetor Urbis , accita Militia Civica, eas nullo negocio fudit fugavitque; quorum praecipui Temeritatis suae paenas luerunt, consueto Perduellium supplicio affecti Nec ullumnominare poterant clarumvirum seditionis affinem Presbiteriani consilia cum istis communicare nolebant, memores Bellum in Carolum I a se gestum suo periculo , alieno emolumento , cum totam praedam bello partam Fanatici homines rejectis Presbiterianissibi suisqueretinuerint etiam Imperium Hinc suspectum ipsis illorum consortium , similem Perfidiam timentibus. Magnates suis honoribus restituti , quibus una cum Rege dejecti fuerant, motus omnes aversabantur, a quibus nihil boni sperare, nihil non mali timere, poterant
(50) CAROLUS QUALIS . Carolus vero, optimus conciliandi Amicos (non perinde, ut aliis visum, eos colendi et retinendi)
Artifex, Plebem Vectigalium imminutione, nobiles Honorum augmento, omnes singulari et ingenita adeoque minime ficta affabilitate sibi [f. 15] conciliabat , aditu facilis, alloquio comis , beneficus et liberalis etiam in hostes, adeo a superbia, a fastu alienus, ut Regem exuere, aut, quod proximum est, Regem se esse vix meminisse videretur Ad haec sermones familiares ingeniosi (totidem Apophthegmata diceres ), eo lepore, facetiarum venustate, et salibus respersi, sed sine dente, sine morsu, ut omnes et in admirationem et amorem raperet. Qui si tam sapienter egisset ubique ac locutus est, omnium judicio summos et praesentiset praeteritorumsaeculorum Monarchas aequasset Unicum in eo notabaturvitium, nimia nec ullos intra honestosfines coercita in venerem propensio; cujus sensum minuebat apud viros, uxoris pientissimae faeminae sterilitas; faeminas vero ei conciliabat, et per ipsas viros Nec enimvero rarum esse potest illud vitium, ubi Haeresis admissa pudorem +solvit,+ et negata Libertate frena Luxuriae laxavit.
(51) Deerat etiam Factiosis Religionis, potentissimi ad dementandos homines Fascini, color, ad desperatam Motuum Civilium causam fucandam; licet enim in Ecclesias aliquas Regia Authoritate, ut dictum est, et in alias populi voluntate , fuisset restituta Lyturgia, a qua abhorrebant Presbiteriani , ea tamen abstinere, et intra privatos parietes Deum quo liberet modo colere licebat, modo citra aliorum aliter sentientium offensam aut scandalum Quod Populo utcunque faciebat satis.
(52) BELLUM HOLLANDICUM ET INCENDIUM LONDINIENSE . Delatae exin ad Parlamentum Mercatorum querelae de Hollandis (quo nomine Faederatas Provincias intelligo) eorum commercia pervertentes, ut sua augerent, pronis auribus receptae sunt; et a Comitiis ad Carolum relatae cum infimis precibus suorum subditorum consuleret indemnatati, Gentis honori Carolus rem minime contemnendam ratus, Legatos misit res repetitum. Sed frustra fuit Legatio; unde utrinque +ventum+ ad arma neutri contendentium parti profutura, utriusque cladibus insignia, sed aliunde ortis: nam Hollandi saepius in praelio navali victi, nunquam Angli, sed Pestis fuse grassata per multos menses Londini (una hebdomada supra XIIII hominum millia elata dicuntur) et secutum deinde Regiae Civitatis incendium, pro Victoria numerari potest. Hinc dici potest quod Hollandos Angli, hos Deus ipse castigavit.
(53) Catholicorumin hoc bello enituit virtus, quorum forti fidelique opera Carolus usus est. Ex cladibus tamen, quas diximus, nova sumpta calumniis eos insectandi occasio, quasi praestare tenerenturomnia Fortunae vitia, publicas calamitates. Par Judiciorum Iniquitas primos Christianos exercuit, si quidem Romae sub Nerone, et ab ipso, ut creditur, incensae, postulati sunt, teste Tacito; ejusdem a Gothis captae, teste Augustino
(De Civ. Dei Lib. II. c. III) " Praetexunt ad odii defensionem , " ait Tertullianus (Apologetici c XL), " illam quoque Vanitatem , quodexistimentomnis publicae cladis, omnis popularis incommodi Christianos esse causam . Si Tiberis ascendit ad Maenia, si Nilus non ascendit in arva; si caelum stetit, si terra movit; si fames, si lues, statim Christianos ad leones , .
(54) Illud speciatim +Catholicis sacerdotibus vitio versum , an merito judicent alii, quod longe lateque grassante lue, et Londini in dies singulos millia consumente, pio animarum , pro quibus Christus mori dignatus est, Zelo succensi , eorum aliqui, praesenti et manifesto mortis periculo nihil territi, infectas domos adire, aegros invisere, pios cum iis sermonesmiscere, ad levandam morbi violentiam aptis remediis pro virili juvare, fidei Catholicae mysteria eaque credendi necessitatem exponere, Sacramentis Ecclesiae, ubi ad ea rite suscipienda dispositos viderent, ad supremam cum Daemone luctam munire , ea denique quae iis in angustiis constitutorum vel corporibus vel Animis prodesse possent, administrare . In his pietatis exercitiis unus e Clero seculari, D. Joannes Lugar, et duo e Societate, P. Odoardus Lusherus et P. Odoardus Keynes, obdormierunt in Domino, victimae charitatis. Pupugit illorum intrepida Diligentia Episcopos et ministros (qui se in tutum receperant), quam audaciam vitiosam interpretati, querimonias suas ad Carolum detulerunt, non ferendum esse dictitantes, ut homines ab officio in Ecclesiam Anglica-[f. 16]nam abducanturimpune; non ferendae Temeritati obviam eundum, sumpto de aliquibus supplicio ; sanciendasleges. Sensit statim Carolus, qua erat Ingenii perspicacia, calumniae malignitatem, eamque praeter morem acerbo responso castigavit. " Non patiar," inquit, " mei Subditi ut bruta moriantur. Si neque vos, neque vestri Ministelli Peste laborantibus adesse velint, sinite saltem aequo animo, alii id faciant, qui volunt." (55) Londiniensis etiam Incendii Invidiam Anonimus quidam libello typis edito in Catholicos ita derivavit, ut maxima ejus pars penes Carolum et Eboracensem resideret. Caeterum cum nec Author compareret, nec quae diceret ulla verisimilitudine niterentur, +pleraque+ essent publica notorietate falsa, libellus ille spretus exolevit, in quo effrons mentiendi libido cum malignitate in Regem de palma certabat. Orta tamen praesenti Persecutione lucem iterum vidit sepultus ille Libellus, Bedloi, de quo
* I.e. John Lewgar See Gillow, iv, 202, and T. Hughes , History of the Society of Jesus in N. America, passim. Lewgar was secretaryto Lord Baltimore during the early stages of the foundation of the colony of Maryland Warner's reference , if correct, contributes the fact of Lewgar's priesthood . Hemust have been ordainedshortly after 1660
See Foley, Collectanea, p 468
See Foley, Collectanea, p 415 .
multa infra, nomine commendatus * De quo fusius agemus libro VI. Astutiores Caroli hostes magis speciosam ipsum calumniandi materiam ex isto Bello nacti sunt: Bellum ipsum male administratum; Praefectorum alios neglegentia, alios ignorantia, alios etiam perfidia peccasse; nulla tamen paena affectos esse ; stipendia nec militibus neque nautis numerata ; Honores et Praemia male juxta ac bene meritis exposita ; et immensa licet vectigalia fuissent imposita , aerarium exhaustum esse , + etiam non procedentibus militi stipendiis , ut dicebatur.+
(56) Hinc Peculatus accusati a Comitiis Aerario Praefecti , et ad reddendam Rationem coram electis a se, a Rege tamen dandis, Judicibus citati Hoc ultimum Caroli Reverentiae datum , cui soli jus est eas rationes inspiciendi Displicuit Carolo ea comitiorum audacia, in concessa sibi velut Imperii arcana scrutari volentium. Itaque respondit a se pro officii ratione visitatum Aerarium, illudque sibi probari, et pro Imperio vetuit ulterius in illud inquirere
(57) AULICI ET PATRIOTAE. Hoc aliquibus placuit, aliis probari non potuit, quigratiosumin vulgus Patriotarum sibi nomen assumpserunt, quasi Patriae studentium; aliis impositum Aulicorum nomen, quasi majorem Aulae, quam Patriae rationem habuerunt, et hanc perditum irent quo Regi gratificarentur Et utraque Pars sua studia populo probare conata est, majori Patriotarum fructu, cum iis paulatim accesserint magnus e Comitiis numerus atque plebis ingens pars, quotquot Regiam auctoritatem aut e medio tolli aut imminui cupiebant , et aliqui in Regiam Dignitatem optime affecti, qui suspicabantur Carolum hac in re humanum aliquid passum esse . Ad augendam Populi a Carolo alienationem, Patriotae varia huic ingrata, semper boni Publici colore velata, urgebant in Parlamento, ut illi molestias crearent; ut si ea concederet, minuetur ejus Majestas, sin negaret, apud Plebem Invidiae patebat [sic]. In dies nova in Catholicos decreta cudebant, tametsi antiqua adeo severa essent ut +de iis dici possit+ quod de Draconis legibus dictum olim fuit: eas sanguine scriptas esse . Et quicquid faceret, Invidiae obnoxium erat: illas improbando videbatur Papistis favere, approbando Ingrati animi vitium contrahere, qui in optime de se meritos tam gravia Edicta conderet Alio etiam spectabant, ut Catholicos ipsos (quorum fides in Regemexplorata erat) vel ab eo revellerent , in quo nihil sibi viderent Praesidii , vel in tam miserum statum redigerent, ut eorum opera inutilis esset futura in Bello Civili, cujus semina jam tum spargi caepta Carolus licet invitissimus
Cf. f 158 sq . The pamphlet was A Narrative and ImpartialDiscovery of the Horrid Popish Plot: carried on for the Burning and Destroyingofthe Cities of London and Westminster .... by Capt William Bedloe, London 1679 (Wing B . 1677) L'Estrange, in his Narrative (1680), acutely pointed out that this pamphlet, " never before printed, " was merely a rehash , by a group of Whig booksellers , of two earlier pamphletsTrap ad Crucem and the History of the Fires (Kitchin: Sir Roger L'Estrange, p 237)
iis omnibus Decretis assentitus est, dicens aliquando :" Nunquam committam, ut Domum reduces dicatis subditis meis, Papistas causam esse dissidii me inter et Parlamentum meum . " Hinc non vanus Catholicis quibusque Prudentioribus metus, non quod de Caroli affectu dubitarent, sed dum cedere eum viderenthominum malorum importunitati in ferendis legibus, iisdem tandem ne cederet in iis executioni mandandis (58) Quod post aliquot annos evenit Carolus ipsius modi contentionum pertaesus, quarumnullum finem futurum praevidebat, aliam viam occupavit Multas inAnglia sectas essesentiebat, nullam unam universis gratam, nullam iis fautoribus destitutam quos offendere vellet [sic], obstantibus Catholicorum meritis, aliorum violentia, si premerentur Itaque re cum Sacratiori Consilio diu attenteque deliberata, quo omnibus gratificaretur, statuit omnium Religionum professoribus liberum earum exercitium permittere, non uno tamen modo: a Protestantibus enim Ecclesias omnes Cathedrales, Collegiatas et Parochiales administrari, Presbiterianis sua conventicula , Catholicis cubicula libera voluit, ad Deum suo + quibusque+ modo colendum, ea tantum servata conditione, id citra aliorum offensam aut scandalum [f. 17] fieret Sed Edictum Regium (Declarationem ipse vocat) videre juvat Latio donatum . " (59) DECLARATIO CAROLI . Quanta industria et solicitudine conati fuerimus Ecclesiae Jura et Immunitates integra servare , regiminis nostri tenortoti mundo patefecit , ex quo ad capessendas Regni habenas fuimus ab Exilio revocati; quam variis etiam modis tentaverimus Personas errantes et a Religione Protestantica dissentientes coercere , et infausta in Materia Religionis dissidia, quae subditos inter nostros reduces invenimus , componere. Caeterum cum tristi duodecim annorum experientia notum sit violenta remedia parum prodesse , officii nostri credimus esse , uti supremâ nostrâ in Ecclesiasticis rebus Potestate , quae non solum nobis inhaeret, sed etiam inhaerere diversis Parlamentorum Scitis et Actis agnitum et declaratum est Quapropter data a Deo nobis illa Potestate utentes, hanc nostram Declarationem evulgamus, cum ad quietanda in istis materiis Subditorum nostrorum ingenia, tum ad invitandosin nostras Ditiones externos, si qui velint eo migrare, tum etiam quo magis animentur opifices ad suam quique Artem exercendam et commercia promovenda, unde magna commoda nostro Regimini in bonum publicum proventum speramus, tum denique ad praevertenda pericula, quae ex clandestinis congressibus et seditiosis conventiculis oriri poterunt. (60) " Proinde primumdeclaramus expressamnostram mentem et intentionem esse, ut Ecclesia Anglicana salva sit et incolumis in ejus Doctrina, Disciplina, et Regimine, sicut modo est Jure publico stabilita ; quodque ea sit et aestimetur Basis et Fundamentum Generalis et Publici Cultus Dei; et quod Orthodoxus
Clerus , ejus ad amussim vivens, habeat et fruatur Redditibus omnibus ad eam pertinentibus; et quod nemo cujuscunque sit opinionis liber sit a pendendis Decimas aliisque Juribus ei Ecclesiae debitis Ulterius declaramus neminem censendum capacem ad Praebendam, Beneficium ullum, Dignitatem, aut Praelaturam , in hoc nostro Angliae Regno, obtinendam, qui se non conformarit exacte eidem Ecclesiae Anglicanae.
(61) " Secundo declaramus Voluntatemet Placitum nostrum esse , ut omnium et singularum Legum Paenalium cujuscunque generis res Ecclesiasticas spectantium contra quoscunque Nonconformistas (Presbiterianos) sive Recusantes (Papistas) executio immediate suspendatur, et istius nostrae Declarationis tenore de facto suspenduntur ; cunctisque nostris Judicibus , Eirenarchis, Urbium Praetoribus , Ballivis, aliisque officialibus nostris quibuscunque cum Civilibus tum Ecclesiasticis, quorum interest, earum legum suspensionem, hac nostra Declaratione notam facimus, ut singuli juxta officii sui rationem ei pareant
(62) " Ut vero subditis nostris auferamus omnem praetextum in illicitos caetus conveniendi et vetita frequentandiconventicula , nos temporibus convenientibus designaturos in variis Regni partibus numerum locorum, prout petentur, eorum usui sufficientem, qui ritum Ecclesiae Anglicanae non sequuntur ; in quae licebiteisconvenire adpublicumDei cultumet Religionis exercitia; quae loca cunctis ea adire volentibus patebunt et libera erunt.
(63) " Ut autem vitentur incommoda, quae ex hac nostra Indulgentia oriri poterunt, nisi certis quibusdam modis atque Regulis circumscribatur , ut etiam subditi nostri ea loca permissa frequentantes sub civilis magistratus tutela sint, vetamus omnes ullum in locum convenire, donec et locus a nobis designetur , et concionator congregationis illic habendae sit a nobis approbatus.
(64) " Et ne quis suspicetur istius Restrictionis obtentu difficilem fore dictam loci designationem et concionatoris approbationem, ulterius Declaramus hanc nostram Indulgentiam, et quantum ad locorum cultui Dei designandorum permissionem, et quantum ad approbationem concionatorum , extendi ad omnis generisNonconformistas et Recusantes , exceptis iis, qui Catholicae Romanae Religionis sunt, quibus nullo modo permittemus locis ullis publicis Deum colere; iis tantum indulgemus, ut a legum executione sint immunes, et ut Deum impune suo ritu colant, tantum intra privatos parietes
" (65) Quod si nostrorum subditorum aliqui hac nostra Indulgentia libertatequeconcessa abuti praesumpserit, vel seditiose concionando vel detrahendo Doctrinae , Disciplinae , aut Regimini Ecclesiae legibus stabilitae, vel in loca a nobis haud approbata conveniendo, tales hisce monemus iisque declaramus, nos quanta possumus severitate in eos animadversuros, efficiemusquesciant nos, ut misericordia utimur erga teneras conscien-
tias, ita posse taliterdelinquentes severe punire, ubi ad stringendum Justitiae gladium fuerimusadeo juste provocati.
Datum XV Martii MDCLXXII "
(66) JUDICIA DE DECLARATIONE . Haec celebris illa Declaratio; qua cautum [f. 18] optime Ecclesiae Anglicanae Libertati et Juribus, concessa Presbiterianis amplissima facultas in locis publicis Deum colendi sub paucis minimeque onerosis conditionibus, ne hac Indulgentia Regis ad res turbandas abuterentur Factiosi Catholicis minima pars obvenit, restricta iis Deum impune suo more colendi intra privata cubicula licentia Tamen istis fere solis placuit, quibus satis erat in praesenti Libertatefrui, Deumque tuto, licet secreto colere, sine Apparitorum metu, detracta Legibus Paenalibus vi Recreabantur etiam meliorum spe in posterum, cicuratis paulatim Acatholicorum animis , qui ad Papismi nomen inhorrescebant olim et efferabantur . Protestantibus displicebat , quod ea cernerent exarmari Leges in eorum favorem latas, publica authoritate Ecclesias contra Ecclesias erigi (altaria neutri habent), schismata confirmari, in Ecclesiae ruinam grassatura Presbiterianis vero maxime displicebat , in quorum favorem tendere videbatur, quod dicerent verba sibi, rem Catholiciis dari ; insuper habebant Regis Indulgentiam, qua nihil de novo obtinerent, solum illis concedi publica Authoritate et ratum haberi, quod ipsi jam Magistratuum aut approbatione aut conniventia possidebant, quoque privari non possent sine periculo cuncta miscendi Cunctis, forte etiam aliquibus Catholicis, displicebat , sola Regia Potestate, sine Parlamenti scito , Leges antiquari Si hoc obtineat, nullas deinceps valituras, nisi quamdiu Principi placuerit Facto solas Leges Paenales refigi; valiturum in alias exemplum Hinc ne Regimen e Paterno in Despoticum migraret, tam ingens metus, quam vanus.
(67) Celebrata paulo post comitia, quibus omnem de Declaratione cognitionem interdicit+Carolus, asserens eam se non passurum in dubium vocari , + et subsidia petiit in bellum Hollandicum. Hincgraviainter Proceresmurmura; tandem decretum factum, ne deliberandum quidem de danda pecunia in bellum necessaria, donec revocata sit Declaratio His accesserunt ad emolliendum Caroli in Declaratione asserenda firmi animum , aliqui ex ejus domesticis, Parlamenti studiis occulte faventibus. Sed eum plane expugnasse feruntur ipsius Pellices mulieribus armis, fletu, gemitibus , et blanditiis, illum aggressae, ut dicebant de ejus incolumitate solicitae, revera ut gratiam inirent apud Parlamenti Proceres , et suas fortunas in tuto collocarent , quae a Carolo pendebant, et cum eo periclitabantur.
(68) His tandem cessit Carolus; et suis manibus avulso sigillo, Declarationem misit in irritum, aeque Factiosorum gaudio ac aliorum maerore . Hinc Shaftesburius, qui tum erat Regni Cancellarius, et edendae Declarationis dicebatur Author, desertis
Regiis ad Factiosorum partes totustransiit De hoc quiafrequens nobis est futurus sermo in sequentibus, et magnum fuerit ejus ubique nomen, visum est hic paucis qualis fuerit ostendere.
(69) SHAFTESBURIUS QUALIS. Antonius Ashlaeus Cooperus in Provincia Dorsettensi nobili familia natus, magnum sed pravum ingenium a natura sortitus est. Corpus laboris, omniumque, excepta quiete, patiens, Animus audax, subdolus, varius, cujuslibet rei simulatoret dissimulatoregregius, vasta, nimis alta, periculosa cupiens, vafer, astutus , perfidus, versatilis (unde Dorsettensis anguilla dictus, quod a nemine teneretur), nemini fidus, nisi sui causa, nemini diu adhaerens, eorum quos deserebat clade insigni aut si dabatur ruina solitus eorum quos adibat favorem mercari; ad omnem venti mutationemvela vertens, vir ad omnia turbanda et confusione 'miscenda aptissimus, ad nihil explicandum aut in pace componendum. * In Bellis Civilibus inter utrasque partes claudicavit. Carolo I meruit eorum initio, ab eo Equitum Turmae Praefectus, cum qua transiit ad Rebellium castra Eloquentia fuit ei prorsus eximia ; vera sapientia impar, cujus defectum supplebat Astutia quaedam naturalis, multiplici Civilium Turbarum experientia auctior Adeo caelans sui, ut Cromwellus, Angliae tyrannus (cujus filiam procatus fuerat, et ab eo fuerat in Consilium Status admissus), curiosus hominum aestimator , solitus sit dicere se Trinomium non intelligere, Shaftesburium designans , cui tria nomina, quod rarum inter Anglos. Adeo ardens in libidines et vagae veneri deditus, ut a Carolo Maximus Maechus diceretur , qui spectata ejus indole ad prava consilia prona, pronunciavit eum aptius Tyranni, quam legitimi Principis instrumentum . + Tamen ab isto creatus Comes Shaftesburius, in Consilium Sacratius adlectus, tandem Cancellarius factus est, donec gratia excidit, ex quo totis Ingenii viribus Monarchiae eversionem moliri, quoad vixit, nunquam destitit Summa ejus industriain dementandis Londini civibus exercuit sese, et homines jam ad id optime suapte sponte praeparatos, illic offendit (70) LONDINUM QUALE. Siquidem urbs illa, ad sinistram Tamesis fluvii illuc usque quarumlibet navium patientis, sexagesimo circiter ab aestuario lapide, sita, non Angliae modo , verum etiam totius Orbis nobilissimum Emporium, opportunitate loci, commercii frequentia, Plebis industria, Regum cohabitatione , Tribunaliumresidentia , et ob has causas [f. 19] populi ex omnibus Regni partibus affluxu, ad eam adsurrexerat potentiam , ad eas opes et inde natam superbiam evecta est, accedente haereseos spiritu altos Animos et legum intollerantiam inspirante , ut cujusquam Imperio subesse vix dignaretur , Jugi quantumvis
* This seems to follow Dryden's description in Absalom and Achitophel , i, 150-162, and may alsoowe a good deal to Sallust's description ofCatiline in Cat., ch 5: " Corpuspatiens inediae, algoris, vigiliae supraquamcuiquam credibile est. Animus audax subdolus varius, cuiuslibet rei simulator et dissimulator; .... Vastus animus inmoderata, incredibilia, nimis alta semper cupiebat "
levis impatiens, ut semperImperantibusinfesta, plerunque gravis, aliquando fuerit exitio; ut ut inter ejus cives multi sint honesti viri, Pacis amantes, et officii in Principes suos observantes Nihil ejus faelici vulgo aut petulantius aut ferocius; ut est Passionibus suis impar, ita pressum nonnihil dejicitur, fortunatum supra conditionem suam elevatur, aequaaffectum rationisLancenescium moderari Omnesrumores bibulis auribus hauriresolitum, omnia mendacia credere, mala numquam extitura augurari , dumque adversus illa modis illicitis se munit, vera accersere ; tum vero illa mirari atque horrere, quasi non fecisset. Redeunte denique veris miseriis intellectu, suam temeritatem et insulsam credulitatem damnare , et in obsequii semitam redire, quo Pacis redivivae bonis fruatur. Cusa Londini in Carolum I (cujus unicum crimen nimia Clementia) arma civilia; ibidem jacta Pacis rediturae fundamenta . Cepit ab insana Londini plebe tumultus; Finis ab insana plebe tumultus erat. Nullum fretum, nullus Euripus, tantas tamque varias habet fluctuum agitationes, quantas perturbationes et aestus habet vulgi ingenium, rumorum astute confictorum , sedulesparsorum, temerecreditorum , ventis agitatum. Hoc tamen a vicinis Gentibus differt, quod nec ita praecepsarma corripiat, neque pari celeritate deponat Ea diu meditatur, iram acuit, aliquot annis odii fermento turget, brachia jactat, minatur, ictum librat, antequam feriat Ast ubi motui succubuerit et arma induerit, sero resipiscit . Aliae gentes , veluti magis mercuriales, suos brevi spacio orbes absolvunt; Londinienses tardius, ut magis Saturnini. Hinc incolumitas Catholicis Londini residibus, +qui nempe nullos alibi Lares habebant, + ubi fervebat in eos plebis odium, et res parumabesse videbatura Laniena Bartholomeanae simili.
(71) ANGLI SANGUINEM ABHORRENT Accessit nativus et congenitus Anglis sanguinis et caedis horror; nusquam enim rariora homicidia; quod miratur alicubi Barclaius in gente vitae suae prodiga, quasi caedi quam caedere malit. Contraria apud quasdam gentes fama sparsa , Anglos semper sanguinem sitire, caedes spirare &c Quod longissime a vero abesse etiam olim Cominaeus observavit , narrans etiam in atrocissimis praeliis, efferatis pugnandi ardore et commilitonum occisorum dolore militum Anglorum animis, simulac hostes repugnare cessant et arma projiciunt, Anglos ferro parcere, nunquam in se dedentes saevire et deditionem signo aliquo claro significantes Ferocia in praeliis hocipsum confirmat; nam saevities timidorumet mulierum vitium est , non magnanimorum, quibus hostem prostrasse satis est, et sola victoria gaudent.
(72) HAERESUM MULTITUDO . In Urbem et totum Regnum satis pacifice admissa fuit Religionis mutatio, Regia et Comitiorum authoritate promota . Postea surrexerunt Ingenia turbida, nihil quietum patientia, nihil ab aliis factum approbantia , et ipsa novare constituerunt; animos illis faciebat, vidisse compagem
a Christo Domino designatam, ab Apostolis erectam, tot saeculorum usu firmatam, tam facile dissiliisse; nec de novo erectam antiquae parem, nec se Priscae Reformatoribus Religionis ulla in re impares censebant; idem sibi attentandumrati sunt, et pari Jure : cur enim non licet Valentiniano quod licuit Valentino, de arbitrio suo fidem innovare ? (Tertullianus) Horum industria , cum Externis commercio, innata gentis levitate, vulgatae per Angliam, maxime Londini, quae uspiam extarent in vicinis Regionibus Haereses, additis aliis nostrae genti propriis, impiis et nefariis, quas induxit permissa novandi licentia Nec aliam facile invenies terramid genus Monstrorum hoc saeculo feraciorem. Harum quaeque non minus cum aliis omnibus, quam cum Catholica pugnabat. Quod vis Religionis facit dissentientis impatiens, quae cum molliendis faederandisque animis valere deberet, facta est humanae imbecillitatis vitio acerbissima odiorum materia. Hae omnes , cum Catholica imminere videretur, a qua reliquas extinctum iri, haud vane augurabantur , sepositis quae inter eos fervebant discordiae , in commune consulunt, etiam Presbi[f. 20]teriani, alias segreges, qua ratione huic rediturae obviam ire possent; nec quicquam opportunius occurrit quam ut vetus et paene extinctum in Catholicos Odium iterum suscitaretur; huc facturam annuam Mortis Elizabethae celebrationem , cum solemni supplicatione , quae plebis et oculos attraheret et animum oblectaret ; ea oblique Carolum ipsum perstrictum iri, quasi dum Presbiterianis adversabatur , a Zelo Religionis, quam Elizabetha foverat, defecisset , et ipsi Reginae illius, tanquam fautricis suae , nomine gloriarentur; et simul sugillarent Protestantes, quasi ab hujus Religione defecissent Sed illam immerito imo et falso sibi favisse ferebant, cum constet eam non magis Catholicos quam Presbiterianos odio habuisse (non ob dogmata, quae fere ipsis et Protestantibus communia sunt, sed quod Imperiis iniquiores essent) ; unde ad eos in Ditionibus suis comprimendos tota authoritatis suae mole incubuit.
(73) SUPPLICATIO IMPIA * Supplicatioautem instituta fuit hujus modi : Agmen ducebant tympana et tibicines , sequebantur sex viri tunicisrubris et pileis induti, qualescuniculorum fossoribus esse solent, fistulis canentes. His proximus erat personatus sacerdos , pallio sacerdotali (pluviale vocatur) calvariis et mortuorum ossibus depicto coopertus, qui Papales Bullas +et Indulgentias larga manu spargebat, peccatorum omnium etiam futurorum gratiam largientes Regum et Haereticorum Interfectoribus, quorum caedem maximi apud Deum meriti, apud homines gloriae proclamabat . Pone sequebatur alter sacerdos crucem argenteam alte ferens, pullis indutus; quem sequebantur Regum
* Suchprocessions , as laterorganizedby the GreenRibbon Club during the period of the plot, are vividly described by Roger North, who was an eye-witness , in Examen, pp 570-581 For printed illustrations see B.M. , Catalogue of Satirical Prints, vol i (1870), Nos 1072, 1085 , 1086 .
Haereticorumque Interfectores , uterque nimirum clerus, Saecularis et Regularis, suo quisque habituindutus, turbido et inquieto gestu meras caedes et veneficia spirantes Deinde veniebant sex Jesuitae, truci super alios vultu, enses nudos vibrantes recens fuso Principum sanguine cruentatos, quibus totidem Musici, veluti Paeana accinentes, applaudebant Tum aderant octo Episcopi violaceis induti, et alii lineis amiculis, et pluvialibusopere Phrygio depictis, aureis mitris caput redimiti singuli Sex deinde Cardinales , proprio ex Purpura habitu. Claudebat agmen Summus Pontifex in sublimi pegmate imminens, binis clericis praecedentibus cruces ferentibus, augusta auro argentoque spectabili Cathedra invectus; sedebat in Pulvinari Regio, veste coccinea indutus, caput Thiara Pontificia redimitus, appensis ludicre ex Haereticorum genio ab ejus tergo Rosariis, sacris Amuletis , Agnus Dei, medallis Romanis, S. Petri clavibus, et id genus aliis. Ad latera adstabant duo cacodemones , in aures ei insusurrantes clara voce cruenta consilia, Reges occidi curaret ipsi inobedientes, Haereticos trucidari, urbes incendi, Regiones vastari &c Adstabant eidem duo clerici, una manu faces ardentes, alia sicas ferentes, quasi ferro et igne ubi Pontifex juberet, grassari parati Decem scutorum millibus Supplicationem istam constitisse creditur. (74) Hoc ordine ducta Supplicatiotrium horarumspacio per celeberrima Urbis loca ad Templi Portam (ut dicitur), quingentis circiter passibus ab Aula Regia distantem , constitit, ubi posita Elizabethae statua; quam ubi Pontifex genibus flexis adorasset in luculentum rogum conjectus, in cineres redactus est, spectante et acclamante ingenti hominum multitudine; dicuntur ducentorum millium Explesse numerum , quorum facile XX M.M. * armata. Atque istius modi Supplicatio quotannis instaurata est, variis aucta personis, ex occasionibus subnascentibus (quas infra opportunius referam), donec detectis, quae non in Catholicos modo verum etiam in Protestantes et sacram Regis Personam consilia horrenda coquebant, periculosum visum permittere, ut tot viri armati in locum Regiae vicinum confluerent, unde in ipsam Regiam facilis transitus , publico Edicto sub gravissimis paenis vetita est
(75) Atque hae sunt Pietatis Calvinisticae Supplicationes, ad accendendamin suorum animis in Catholicos rabiem institutae, quibus in Odii, Furoris , Vindictae, Caedium affectus commoti, viri velut entheati , faeminae vero Menadum instar, in detestationem etexterminiumCatholicorum feruntur, ut dum eos quocunque modo, quocunque praetextu, occidunt , arbitrentur obsequium se praestare Deo.
(76) UNDE ORTA CONTRA CATHOLICOS STUDIA. Ministelli Presbiteriani hunc ardorem fovere et augere non destiterunt , hoc
* I.e 20,000. Cf. Steele, 3711 , 3734 , 3754 .
modo sperantes se Romanos exclusuros, qui alioquin eorum et gentem et locum essent occupaturi.
(77) Protestantes cum Episcopi tum alii in officio manebant, sive quod non ita male de Religione Catholica sentirent (quod illis fuit abemulis Presbiterianis exprobratum), sive quod [nullam] nisi in Regis favore spem habentes, hunc offendere non auderent , sive denique quodnon simulate tantum, sed vere sumpta in Reges a subditis arma quocunque praetextu damnaverunt , ad quae ista disponebant His satis fuit legemde Haereticorum combustione antiquari, nemine in Comitiis reclamante, ridentibusplerisque eorum intempestivum timorem, quasi Rogos timerent necdum conspectos , nusquam extantes.
(78) Ecclesiastica Bona, quae dum Religio mutaretur in nobilium Potestatem venerant , hos magis solicitos habebant ne repeterentur. Nec tutos reddebat aut eorum cessio tempore Reginae Maria Pontificia authoritate facta, aut Catholicorum promissio, quorum plerique de iis bonis aliquid possidebant. Sciebant a Juris Canonici Peritis doceri contra Ecclesiam nunquam praescribi, et Cessionem vi aut metu factam nullius esse valoris ; Benedictinos sua [f. 21] repetere* ; et, ut alia desint , nunquam olim defuturos , qui Religionummetu, conscientiae paci et animae securitati temporalium abdicatione consulant, quae credant injuste possideri, unde familiae quondam opulentae ad egestatem redigantur, nec cessaturos antiquos possessores, in omnem rei familiaris augendae supra seculares ipsos occasionem intentos , talium simplici Pietate ad sua commoda abuti; +parum scientes , quae passim fiunt Bonorum Ecclesiae alienationes ubique, quae in aliorum potestatem translata eodem jure possidentur a Laicis quo quae optimo +
(79) Hi omnes , non repugnantibus qui Protestantica sacra frequentabant , modos et vias excogitant , quibus Catholicos aut supprimerent , aut certe reprimerent . Et primo quidem leges excogitant , aliis magis efficaces, quod earum executio a Rege non penderet, cujusmodi v.c. ista : Si quis eorum officio publico fungatur, pro singulis Actibus bis mille scuta penditor, inter Delatorem et Pauperesloci aeque dividenda ; Eirenarcha ad quem deferetur, mulctamillam exigitor, alioque &c. "
(80) ACRIS IN CATHOLICOS INQUISITIO Caeterum cum haec etiam nimis lenta remedia viderentur, affixae schedae valvis Aulae Westmonasteriensis, ubi comitia celebrantur , quibus magnis praemiis invitati Delatores, qui Catholicos accusarent. Et, quasi parum esset Delatores hoc modo provocasse, delecti
* But the Benedictines' renunciation of their claims to monastic lands was publicized byJames II during hisreigncf. Bp Ellis's Sermon inWeldon's Chronological Notes, p 239 (Wing E . 598), and Nathaniel Johnston's Assurance of AbbyLands, 1687 (Wing J . 872) Neverthelessfear of the restitution of their property to its rightful owners, in the event of a Catholic monarch , was very real to the Protestant landowners
Cf. 25 Car. II, Cap. 2
ex Inferiori Conclavi variis in Provinciis nati, concordesin infenso adversus Catholicos odio, Inquisitores , qui in Catholicorum ubilibet degentium Actiones, studia, verba inquirerent, cogitationes etiam variis Artibus expiscarentur et cordium rimarentur secreta; si quid uspiam occurreret , quod in Invidiam trahi posset, ad comitia referrent; jure, an Injuria parum referre dictitantes, quod exitus incertus esse non posset , ubi iidem essent futuri et Judices et Partes Calvini veneno tacti Horum conatus ridebant aliqui Catholici , propriae Innocentiae et Caroli Benevolentiae securi; Prudentiores vero, ut par erat, perculsi, quod non sine causa monstrum aliquod ali suspicarentur, Carolum adierunt, humillime supplicatum causam ad se evocaret, in Reos , si qui essent, ipsesevere animadverteret ; sin vero nulli talesinvenirentur, cunctos declararet criminum immunes; minime ferendum, ejusmodi Inquisitionibuset suamfamam et Pacem Publicam solicitari Carolus benigne auditos bene sperare jussit; rem ultra minas et verba non processisse ; tum locum fore querimoniis , ubi re ipsa Laesi fuerint; interea timere non debere , cum scirent in ejus manu esse omnia, de cujus sincero affectu dubitare non licebat, cujus tot pignora haberent, quemadmodum et ipse de eorum fide; non minus sibi quam illis suspecta communium utrisquehostium studia. Hoc dicebat quod qui in Catholicos minas et caedes spirabant, ex iis erant, qui in Bellis Civilibus Regias partes impugnaverant , et in his ipsis comitiis Regiam Authoritatem ierant imminutum.
(81) Interhaec, in consultando discors Regia, validisutriusque sententiae Authoribus; quorum mores et affectus exponere (sicut passim de iis dicebatur ) non abs re erit, ut appareat quo modo suadentium ingenia publicis conciliis dominentur , et unde nata sit omnium maxima Tempestas, certiori conjectura assequamur (82) IN AULA QUALES : CAROLUS . Carolus matrimoniosterili ligatus, ingenium a natura sortitus quibuscunque negotiis par, ab iis tamen abstinens, sive suapte sponte genio indulgeret, sive aliorum Artibus ab iis avocatus, mentem Ezechiae probare visus est: fiat tantum Pax in diebus meis
(83) REGINA. Regina pientissima quidem Heroina sed improles, et praeter Virtutem singularem eas artificulas +insuper habens , quibus Mariti mulierosi animum sibi devinciret Hinc data subintroducendis mulierculis occasioquotvixSolomonhabuit. (84) PORTMUTHIA. Inter eas eminuit Queruel in Armorica Gallia, nobili quidem sed egena familia nata, quae Caroli sororem Aurelianensem Dorobernium secuta, in ejus noticiam et amorem ita sese insinuavit, ut Aurelianensi paulo post mortua, ad eum redierit, amoribus obnoxium, eumque ita sibi devinxerit, sive forma, sive blandimentis et artibus meretriciis , sive obfirmato ad assentandum in omnibus animo, sive Philtris amatoriis (nam et hoc dicitur), ut Ducatus Portmuthiaeaucta titulo, supra Uxoriam Potentiam Pellex insurgeret. Numeraturet haec intercausas
Persecutionis, quo, Factiosis a Carolo in Catholicos conversis, ipsa gaudiis suis securius frueretur.
(85) DANBEIUS Danbeius in Agro Eboracensi equestri familia, matre Catholica, natus,* non adeo aversum a Catholicis sacris animum habere credebatur, ac simulabat. Hic Eboracensis commendatione in Aulam admissus, inque Consilium Sacratius accitus, tandem Aerario Praefectus, ejus attenta cura, et Queruellae, sive Portsmuthiae , obsequio, et Amasium et Pellicem adeo sibi devinxit, ut reliquis Aulicis antistaret, uni Eboracensi cederet; quod viro Auctoritatis amanti, consortis impatienti, grave. Auctus Honore et opibus, haec sibi salva cupiebat, quibus eum exutum ibant Comitia , +potentibus in Aula et gratia florentibus semper infesta,+ gravium criminum Peculatus et Violatae Religionis accusatum, quasi Catholicis favisset, et in publici Aeris administrationenon fuisset integer
(86) Huic ex Perse-[f. 22]cutione varia commoda redibant: I. Parlamentum a se in Catholicos avertebat. II. Publicatis Catholicorum bonis exhausto Aerario consulebat III. Liberis Caroli, quos ex vaga Venere multos sustulerat , providebat; et vero eo ipso tempore quo orta Persecutio, elocavit filiam suam Caroli filio Plimuthiae Comiti IV Eboracensem ipsum vel ex Aula vel a negociisamovebat ; unde sine aemulo Potentiafrueretur; et vere identidem admonitus fuerat +Eboracensis+ ab intimis amicis, a Danbeio sibi caveret ; sed frustra, cum fraudis purus animus , a sua natura alios aestimans, nihil mali timere poterat a suo Beneficiario. His motus Vir Authoritatis , Honoris , et opum, quam aut Aequitatis aut VERITATIS tenacior, haud illibenter vidit Incendium , quod tecta suis luminibusofficientiaconsumeret , sua in tuto collocaret Certe maxima horum malorum invidia illi adhaesit , nec Proceribus Catholicis ea opinio , seu vera sive falsa, hactenus evelli potuit
(87) MONMUTHIUS Jacobus FitzRoy, sive filius Regis, Carolo necdum conjugato natus primo loco, primum in Paterno corde locum habuit ; ab eo creatus Dux Monmuthiae , Satellitio Regio et Equiti Praefectus et copiis terrestribus omnibus, in Consilium Sacratius admissus, et in Ordinem Periscelidis cooptatus Manu promptus, Laborum patiens, in periculis intrepidus; vera tamen, ut exitus docuit, virtute et fortitudine militari carens; sed ingenio hebeti, ne dicam stupido , subjectioni quam imperio aptior; vehemens et prope furiosus, ubi commotus erat Felix tamen, si Syreni Shaftesburio clausisset aures, sua subditi sorte contentus vixisset , bonis affluens et Honoribus , Patri Carolo et Patruo Jacobo juxtagratus; sed altiora dum appetit, et inconcessis inhiat, nec ista assecutus est, nec illis fruitus, quae ex Amore Patris obtinebat.
Danby's mother was Anne Walmesly, of Dunkenhalg, Co. Lancs.
(88) Adolescens Catholice fuerat educatus, sub cura R.P. Stephani Gouf, * Oratorii Presbitero Congregationis Gallicanae; Catholica sacra clam coluit factus vir; ea vero deseruit, ubi ex iis periculum , ex aliis emolumentum speravit, factus non tantum Desertor, sed etiam Persecutor Infensissimus; cui tamen non Persecutionis initium, sed ejus Incrementum acceptum ferimus. Pacatam enim et quietam Plebem, ingenii vitio commovere non poterat; sed commotam ab aliis et concitam, audacia sua et ferocia poteratin rabiem praecipitare ; quod eum fecisse videbimus .
(89) EBORACENSIS . Eboracensi, qua erat Ingenii subtilitate , latere non poterat, quorsum ista tenderent , seque per aliorum latera impeti; nec deerant modi, quibus obviam iret; sed constans in Regis obsequium animus omnia repudiavit, quae vel minima speciea severissima officii boni subditi in Principem regula tantillum aberrarent ; et qui publica, quibus fungebatur officiis, ad minimum fratris nutum deposuerat, quae, eodem non invito, a factiosis attentari videbat, agere permisit, sua semet involvens Innocentia, dum in ejus domesticos, bona, personam, grassabantur, honores et laureas terra marique meritas insuper habens , ut obediendi gloriam puram integramque assequeretur.
(90) Quae Carolum permoveruntverae causae, ut in Catholicos sibi perspectae fidei sineret alios effuse grassari, haud facile dictu; quae ferebantur subdam; quae eadem fere sunt cum iis, quae Danbeium permovere dicebantur: Aerarii supplementum, bona prolibus illegitimis invenienda , stipendia militibus terra mariqueconscriptis in subsidium HispaniciBelgii, Gallorumarmis tantum non subacti
(91) Hoc ultimum unice spectari subodorati senatores , passim dixerunt : Conspirationem confictam esse , ut ejus metu exercitum alamus Sed frustra sunt Aulici ; nam Papistas persequemur, et exercitum discingemus.
(92) Illud etiam fertur: Carolus, ut in mulierum amores pronus, ita a viris amari cupidus, alienatum a se populi animum aegre tulit, et adulatoribus credidit aientibus id non nisi ex ejus affectu in Papistas proficisci ; quos si persequeretur, ut olim ita et nunc ipsum fore Populi delicias Haec omnium sermone jactata fuerunt, et ut talia refero; videntur singula aliqua probabilitate et magna verosimilitudine niti. Veritatem praestare nolo Caeterum omnium est sententia Carolum nunquam credidisse rem ad sanguinem processuram; persuasum illi erat, quas
* Goughwasa convert clergyman, formerly Laud's chaplain. Hewent to Franceduring the CivilWarin company with Queen Henrietta's confessor , was receivedinto the Church in 1645, and subsequentlyjoined the Berullian congregation (Albion, Charles I and the Court of Rome, p 117, and A. M. P. Ingold, Mémoires domestiquespour servir à l'histoire de l'Oratoire, iii, 169-175). Goughwas a friend ofWarner, andpresentat his takingsolemn vows. James II, remembering Monmouth's education with the Oratorian, offered him the consolation of a priest before his execution (Lingard, History of England, 2nd edition , xiv , 61)
modo remittebat habenas, ubi liberet se reducturum , nec cogitabat indomitum equum, ubi frenum arripuit, illud non amplius audire , sed per avia invia currere, donec aut sessorem dejiciat, aut et sibi et illi malum accersat
(93) LONDINENSES
Londinenses cum causis Persecutionis non recenseo , quod, sicut mare nisi ventis excitatum quiescit, ita cives isti de se pacati erant; verum otio fruiti, et diuturna octodecim annorum pace ditati, Bellorum Civilium jam obliti, ad alios motus parati erant, et novae cladi, si adessent qui novarent; et adfuerunt +isto tempore+ pro Classico Presbiterianorum conciones
(94) PRAETEXTUS Haec feruntur verae causae ; ad fucum faciendum alia allegata: Religionis Zelus, de Caroli incolumitate solicitudo, Regiminis conservandi studium, Populi salus, et id genus alia, ad efferandam Plebem odiose jactata. Precipui in hac Tragaedia Actores, quo sibi [f. 23] caverent, initio trans siparium latitarunt , immissis in scenam Oate aliisque vilibus capitibus ; ast ubi formatae partes, et concitata concio, depositis larvis ipsi prodierunt.
(95) TITUS OATES Qui primus prodiit, est Titus Oates vel Otes, de quo tam multa dicta, tam turpia, et simul haud dubie vera, ut nobis non quid illum audire, sed quid nos dicere deceat , videndum sit. Nihil tamen dicemus quam quod explorateverum , partim a Protestantibus typis vulgatum, partim a Catholicis , ipsius fautorum silentio confirmatum Iste ab aliis vocatus Fidei Vindex, Religionis verae Columen, Gentis AngliaeSalvator; abaliisAngliae Pestis, hominum Probrum , Impostorummaximus, &c
(96) Natus est Oakami in Provincia Rutlandiae, matre obstetrice, Patre serici textore primum, deinde Anabaptistarum concionatore et Legionis Colonelli Pridi sacellano Nescitur an fuerit unquam Baptizatus * ; ipse dixit se fuisse, dum aetatis ageret annum decimum septimum ; provocatus ad locum indicandum, ubi +regeneratus esset,+ nihil respondere potuit . De eo ipsius +mater, + faemina minime mala, Patri filioque dissimilis, nec interrogata quidem, quae sequuntur dixit Gulielmo Smitheo, Artium Magistro, Titi olim Praeceptori, a quo typis edita sunt. Cum sola ministellum istum convenisset, fervente maxime Persecutione, " Quid sentis, Domine Smithaee, de filio meo , " ait, " et Turbis ab eo excitatis ? " Cui alter, non ausus alia dicere, " Omnia valde probo, " respondit Ast ego non probo, " subdit illa. Scis, Domine Smithaee, me , et quod "
* Oates's quondam Anabaptist fatherhad to baptize his whole family when he conformed to the Anglican Church and took a benefice after the Restoration Titus Oates was baptized 20 November 1660, at All Saints, Hastings. This entry has been recently discoveredby Miss J. Lane, and is discussed in her Titus Oates (1949), p 21
William Smith , M.A. , Intrigues of the Popish Plot laid open (Printed for the Author, 1685), p 22.
multos peperim ipsa, et quod obstetrix sim, nosse quae patiantur Puerperae. Nullam tamen credo animam ea passam esse , quae ego, dum illum in utero gestarem Raro dormiebam, nunquam vero quin somniarem me Diabolum parituram Partum habui tam difficilem , ut omnes de vita mea actum crederent. Cum adolesceret credebam fore morionem Mucus illi sempere naribus, saliva ex ore fluebat Ipsius pater ejus aspectum ferre non poterat. Cum puer rediret domum, in camini angulum se recipiebat ; et maritus meus clamabat : abigite hinc mucosum illum mentis inopem, eumque ipse verberabat . At ego flebam, quia, ut nosti, filius meus erat" Haec ad verbum ex Anglico libro a Smithaeo ministello edita. (97) Grandior factus ad illius Smithaei scholam deductus, praeceptori numerandam pecuniam a Patre acceptam sibi retinuit. Inde Cantabrigiam missus, in Collegio S. Joannis serviens, * vestem sibi fieri curavit, promissa post mensem solutione Eo tempore negavit sibi traditamillam vestem, et Bibliasacra poposcit, quibus solemni Juramento id testaretur. Sartor non de pretio tantum vestis, sed et de proprio honore solicitus, ne crederetur pecuniam indebitam repetiisse, ubique quaerit vestem, et tandem illam apud veteramentariuminvenit, cui Oates illam vendiderat. Duplicisitaquefacinoris compertus, et furti facti et oblati Perjurii, Collegio pulsus est ignominiose. Inde Hastingam abiit, oppidum ad ripam maris situm in Sussexia, +ubi+ Praetoris filium nefandi criminis arcessivit ; et Praetorem ipsum, ne filio praesidio esset, Majestatis ad Concilium Regium detulit. Utroquecriminis purodeclarato, Delator in carcerem conjectus est, duplicis perjurii paenas daturus , quas effracto carcere evasit Bobbing, Pagi Diaecesis Cantuariensis, factus Parochus, Informationibus de eo Juridice factis, ob turpem et flagitiosam vitam +inde quoque+ ejectus est. Quae Informationes e Tabellariis Officialis Cantuariensis eradi curavit, ubi omnibus formidini esse caepit Quae fecit, ex quo nomen Catholicae Ecclesiae dedit, commodius data occasionenarrabuntur infra Si quis ejus faciem descriptam cupiat, initio libri IV ejus desiderio fiet satis.
(98) EZREHEL TONG QUALIS . Consortem habuit in concinnanda conspirationis fabula(cui ipse prorsus imparerat) Ezrehelem Tong, Doctorem Theologiae Oxoniensem, qui tempore motuum civilium furiose in Patriae Parentes, +Carolum+ utrumque, debacchatus est; nec aequior in matrem suam, Ecclesiam Protestanticam , quam totis viribus et viva voce et libris editis impugnavit Et ne quod esset boni viri officiumab eo non violatum, alteram matrem suam Universitatem Oxoniensem, ejusque sororem gemellam Cantabrigiensem, sua industria, Cromwelli potestate extinguere conatus est, erecto quod utriusque vices suppleret, unico Collegio Dunelmi, pecuniis ad id a Presbiterianis
* Oates was admitted to Caius College 29 June 1667, and later to St. John's 2 Feb. 1668/9 (Notes and Queries, 6th series, viii, 408).
large suppeditatis . Sed periculum utrique Regni Oculo imminens Dei Providentia discussit Cum postea Tingis, a qua pars illa Mauritaniae, quae fretum Herculeum respicit, Tingitanadicta est , in Caroli Potestatem venisset, cum Praesidio Tongus missus est +eo a Carolo,+ specioso praetextu, ut sacra curaret, vere ut factiosum hominem amoliretur Ubi cum discordias serere fuisset deprehensus , Praefectus loci illum in Angliam remisit, suo et officialium chirographo testatus Regi illum sine Praesidii certa pernicie retineri non potuisse. Reversus, conatus est in Cancellarii et Williamsoni (qui Carolo erat a secretis) gratiam se insinuare, ut eorum opera beneficium aliquodadipisceretur ,+ sed irrito labore, ob notam [f. 24] pravam et incorrigibilem indolem . Hinc vir, adeo nocendi cupidus ut nisi aliqua noceret , mortuusesset, bilem ex adversante sibi undique fortunaconceptam, cum in Protestantes tuto non posset, in Catholicos injuriaeobnoxios evomere statuit, probe sciens id minus invidiosum in praesens , in posterum etiam Protestanticae +Ecclesiae+ nociturum Hic Oati omnium egeno Author fuit (quod et ipsius scripta et filius Simsonus Tongus declarant), se Catholicum simularet , inter eos admitti peteret, eorum studia rimaretur exploraret consilia, saltem nomina cognosceret et loca quae frequentarent , quid spei haberent, et in quo positum. (99) Jesuitas adivit iste, Haeresum et errorum execrationem protestatus , quorum horrore perculsus, opimo beneficio renunciarat, in Ecclesiam Catholicam admitti petiit, extra quam nulla salus Et facile imposuit viris salutis animarumcupidis, quibusque pro virili subvenire paratis Missusab iis est Vallisoletum, § ut Phylosophiae et Theologiae daret operam; quo pervenit i Junii, +MDCLXXVII,+ illicque mansit ad xxx Oct. ejusdem anni, quo tempore nec una nocte extra Collegium dormivit. Deprehensus in fide non esse constans, quia difficile erat fictam personam diu sustinere, xxx Oct. remissus in Angliam Bilbaum appulit iii Novembris , ubi conscensa navi Topshamum appulit, Exoniae vicinum portum, indeque Londinum reversus est, ubi solita hypocrisi obtinuit a P. Richardo Strangio, Audomarum mitteretur in Belgium ad nostrae gentis Seminarium Hinc xxvi Novem. stilo vet , vi Decem stilo novo, Londino discessit; Audomarum vero pervenit 30 Novem stil vet , 10 Decem. stilo novo, illicque mansitad xxiii Junii stilo novo +anni sequentis MDCLXXVIII,+ quando in Angliam rediit; quo tempore fuit
* I.e Tangier, acquired by the Portuguesemarriagetreatyof 23 June 1661
1679
SirJosephWilliamson, Secretaryof State September 1674 to February
In view of Simpson Tonge's vacillations and retractions, it is not possible to put much weight upon his statements. § I.e. Valladolid Then Provincial
tantum una nocte extra Seminarium illud, idque Wattenis, quarto ab Audomaro lapide, ubi domus est Probationis Provinciae Anglicanae. Quae omnia sunt publicis Attestationibus utriusque Collegii aliorumque virorum fide dignissimorum comprobata, pridem typis editis * ; ipsa vero Instrumenta AuthenticaAudomari asservantur (ubi videri possunt ab iis quibus libri editi fidem non faciunt), quod urbs sit in confiniis Angliae, Galliae, et Belgii sita. Cuipiam ista minutiora videri poterunt, et indigna, quae locum occupent in Hystoria; non tamen vere talia sunt, quod postea patebit, sed maximi ad Oatis mendacia confutanda momenti
(100) Dum ibi viveret, habita est Londini Congregatio Provincialis ad destinandum Romam Procuratorem ; quod Oati notum factum, cum Patres inde rediissent
(101) Illic petiit in Societatem admitti; cumque aliquis ei dixisset, virum iis moribus nunquam admissum iri, respondit alter: " Aut Jesuita ero, aut Judas " Et alia vice: " Nisi fuero Jesuita, ero damnatus." Ubi fuit repulsam passus, clara voce juravit: " De Jesuitis sumam vindictam" Pridie discessus , Audomari repertus est post nonam vespertinam in altari expansis brachiis ; cumque aliquis ab eo petiisset, quid illic ageret hora tam insueta (alii in Lectos se receperant), respondit : " Jesu Christo valedico. " Sic eum Londinumreduximus , nulla noticiapraeditum quae Tongi desiderio satisfaceret, praeterquam Congregationis Provincialis , quam iste avide arripuit, nec meliori nec alio ad fucum faciendum occurrente Ipse Tongus biennio post in Collegii (ita vocabatur scriniarius quidam, de quo multa infra) domum traductus, + conscientiae laniena cruciatus , summa cura custoditus, ne in publicum prodiens, aliqua diceret, quae Factiosorum rebus officerent ; tandem,+ ut Herodes et Calvinus, a vermibus comestus cum diris cruciatibusanimam desperabundus efflavit; quod ex Actione in Collegium illum instituta habetur (102) THOMAS HARCOTTUS PROVINCIALIS. Datus fuit Provinciae Anglicanae Societatis Jesu Provincialis R.P. Thomas Harcottus, vero nomine Whitebreade , declaratus Jan. xiv stilo veteri, xxiv stilo novo, an MDCLXXVIII De quo plura infra. Is dum lustraret suae Provinciae + Domicilia + in Belgio, venit Audomarum, ubi tum agebat Oates; cumque audiisset qualis esset, ingenio pravo, ad mentiendum projecto , versatili etiam in materia Religionis , si quem ejus sensum unquam habuisset, maledico, et in Regiam Familiamnon bene affecto, negavit se eum in Societatem admissurum ; monuit linguae temperare alioqui virorum honestorum consortio indignum futurum; tum viatico instructum ad propria remisit
(103) Leodii pridie Renovationis votorum, xxiv Julii, sumptis pro Themate Christi D. verbis ad Zebedei filios, Potestis
* Warner collected these depositionsfor his Vindication of the Inglish Catholiks (1880).
bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus sum, cum de Observantia regulari laudasset omnes , eosque ad spiritus integram Renovationem exhortatus fuisset, repente mutato orationis tenore, petiit an parati essent alia graviora pati quam Disciplina Religiosa injungeret? v.c. boni nominis jacturam, seditionis, conspirationis in Regem , voluntatis evertendi statum publicum, arcessi ? Carceri mancipari, pedicis et manicis vinciri, Tribunali sisti, cum ingenti furentis populi plausu condemnari, infami supplicio affici ? Et ad singula Periodi membra Thematis verba repetiit ea vocis firmitate, ea affirmationis constantia , ut omnes mirarentur Nec deerant, qui alieno tempore harum rerum factam mentionem putarent, praesenti Catholi-[f. 25]corum in Anglia statu considerato, et Caroli in ipsos, ipsorum in Carolum, officiis mutuis. Denique, ut non deessent , qui praesentem quietem non Pacem sed inducias interpretarentur, olim, et forte non ita multo post, exituras, quod Haereticorum in nos rabies, ut ut coercita , tandem eruptura praevidebatur , et magnas strages editura, adeoque tempestatem imminere , nemo tamen omnino credebat ullum inventum iri aut tam impudentem ut Catholicorum Fidem accusaret, aut tam levem ut alteri tam incredibilefacinus fingenti fidem adhiberet Hinc Legum executionem urgendam augurabantur, aliquos titulo sacerdotii plectendos, Catholicos quod sacris Protestantium abstinerent multandos , revocandos qui in Seminariis educabantur etc.; nec enimvero + alia urgebant Catholicorumincomitiis hostes At Majestatis dicam nemoformidabat, quando concionem habuit R.P. Provincialis At vero ubi vidimus omnia eo ordine, quem praedixerat , ei contigisse, creditus est prophetico spiritu ea praevidisse
(104) ANTWERPIANUS MORBUS . In reditu Antwerpiam invisit, quam populabatur ignotus morbus, paucis parcens, plurimos extinguens, potissimum viribus integros. Intra civitatem contagione vulgabatur; extra innoxius sanis etiam eo laborantes visitantibus. Et ipse et socius ejus P. Odoardus Mico haustum illic venenum secum in Angliam retulerunt, cujus violentia lecto affixi, ad extrema redacti fere sunt, quando Tragaedia exhiberi caepta est.
(105) Eam interea strenue ornabant Oates et Tongus in aedibus Richardi Barkeri, qui de equorum medico factus hominum medicus, ad equestrem dignitatem evectus erat; inde propius Aulam migrarunt ad aedes quae antea dictae erant Aula vulpis (Foxhall), sed ab iis, qui illic consultabant , a vicinis vocatae sunt Domus conspirationis Adscitus in Laboris consortium Causi-
* For Fr. Whitbread's prophecy at this conference cf. Foley, v, 235237. (Fr. Wakeman's testimony, quoted in Challoner's Memoirs, is attested by Warner himself, who also heard the Conference )
Sir Richard Barker was described at Oates's trial as " a crazy man and an antient. " Tonge lived with him in his house in the Barbican from 1675 toJuly 1678. On 9 September1678 Oates and Tongewent to thelodgings of Lambert, a bell-founder at Vauxhall, and this was afterwards called the 'plot-house ' (Sitwell, The First Whig, pp. 28 and 34)
dicus, nomine Digbaeus. Conjecta in eam quicquid ab uno saeculo Res vel publicae vel privatae passae detrimenti essentbella civilia et externa, sparsa Pestis, Caroli I supplicium , impeditum faedus cum Domo Austriaca, +eorundem opera factum ut Hollandi Auriacum discingerent, +paratos in Anglia, Scotia, et Hibernia milites, qui Regna illa sub Papae tyrannidem reducerent, creatos novos Archiepiscopos et Episcopos a Papa, a Generali vero Jesuitarum , peculiari Bulla ad id instructo, Praefectos Armorum majores et minores; Diplomata ab Oate visa et plerisque distributa ; armorum et pecuniae affatim esse paratum, quae partim vidisset Oates , partim ab aliis didicisset ; +inductos unum qui veneno, duos qui schlopis, quatuor qui sicis Carolum conficerent; omnes in Aula frequentissime versari + Haec in unum supra octoginta articulos distincta a Tongo, cui labori Oates impar. * Hic interea laceris vestibus Jesuitarumet Benedictinorum fores obsidebat, petitum Eleemosinam, aliquando dicens se per duos dies nec frustum panis comedisse(et creditum fere est in hoc non fuisse mentitum). Instanter rogavit quendam perillustrem virum et ob familiam nobilissimam et Ecclesiasticam Dignitatem, ut pro se apud Jesuitas intercederet , quo vel in Societatem adsciretur, vel annue aliquid pecuniae, unde honeste aleretur, addicerent Si alterutrum obtineret, se exemplar Accusationum in illos aliosque Catholicos ornatarum traditurum, in quibus sciret quidem nihil verum esse, tamen certus esset omnia in Parlamento creditum iri. (106) Haec ille, sive facinoris quod aggrediebatur immanitate territus, sive rapturus in confirmationem eorum, quae deferre statuerat, si Jesuitae alterutram conditionem acceptassent. Certe isti non ausi sunt, istam ob causam, quicquamofferre; sed suorum Innocentiae securi, rei exitum Divinae Providentiae permisere. Tongus propter operam in concinnanda Narrativa (ita vocata est Dica in Catholicos scripta) contendit a Comitiis sibi Primi delatoris honorem deberi Sed Rei et gloria et Invidia Oati adhaesit; qui, quisquis mendaciorum Author esset, illa sua fecerat , perjuriis confirmando Dicitur Danbeo nota fuisse, quae isti machinarentur; fertur etiam addidisse animos; sed id non affirmo , quod non satis exploratum habeam. Catholicis nihildum innotuerat, nisi ex vagis et variis rumoribus , quorum copiosa seges nunquam deest in Anglia (107) EPISTOLAE WINDESORIANAE R.P. Thomas Beddingfildus e Societate Jesu, Eboracensi ut ferebatur a confessionibus , eum Windesoriam secutus erat Is Kalendis Septembribus valde mane exiens, Tabellioni Londiniensi occurrit, a quo petiit (quod
* A list of the material first seen by the Lords Committee is given in H.M.C. H. of Lords MSS . 11 Rep. App., Pt. II, pp 2-3. The historyofthe growth and development of Oates's depositions deserves some attention. The onlyextant MS . versions to my knowledgeare in P.R.O., S.P.D. Car II, 409, Bodley Rawl D . 720, and B.M. Harl 3790
It is difficultto see to whomWarner can be referring by thisstatement
nunquam fecerat) num quas haberet Epistolas sibi directas. Et invenit fasciculum quinque Epistolas continentem, in quibus, ut Ilias in nuce , tota Conspirationis fabula summatim continebatur: Paratam Scotiam, erectam in rerum novarum spem Hiberniam; curam haberet quatuor sicariorum , qui Regem occidere statuerant, etc.
Beddingfildus , rerum talium denunciatione attonitus, Eboracensem statim adit, ei tradit epistolas Carolo deferendas * : se de rebus illis nihil unquam audivisse; cognoscere personas, quarum nominibus scriptae sint, sed certe scire earum a nemine scriptas esse; vereri se, ne quid in Eboracensem designetur.
(108) His auditis, + Carolus Eboracensi respondit , [f. 26] rem sibi novam non esse, de qua ante sesquimenseminaudiisset . Quod magis anxium reddidit Eboracensem, quod ejus noticiae tantam rem subduxisset Eodem mane bis petitae a Tabellione
Beddingfildi Epistolae, semel ab Oate ipso, semel ab altero Et eodem in Aulam advolavit Danbeius ex Agro Oxoniensi, ut dictum est, ut primae publicae rei delationi interesset Caeterum
Beddingfildi diligentia adeo omnia tenebrarum opera turbarat, ut toto triduo +Danbeius audire + noluerit Oatem, nec ei adscitum socium Kirbium Quibus + tandem + auditis, ipse Wimbletonum in villam suam secessit ; nec de re tanta resumpta deliberatio ante xxvii ejusdem mensis , nec interea manus injecta in veneficos, in sicarios, in alios, qui in Regis conspirassenecem dicebantur; nec isti Aula exclusi, quo saltem Parietibus Parricidium differretur. Unde liquet nihil fidei delatoribus habitum, nisi quis dicat omnes aulicos, ipsum etiamCarolum, in tanto ipsius periculo de suaipsius salute nihil curasse .
(109) Epistolas ipsas ex Tongi officina prodiise, cum ipsius filius, Simsonus, clare testatus est, cum variisindiciisdemonstravit Rogerius Lestrangius , suorum Observatorum volum . 2. n 150, tum ex Phrasium similitudine, tum ex variis contra Anglicanam Ortographiam vitiis , Tongo soli familiaribus, ut ex aliis ejusdem MSS patet, tum ex characteribus ipsi singularibus , tum denique ex eo quod nullae sint Periodorum aut ab invicem, aut in sua membra distinctiones , nulla commata punctave , quod Tongo vernaculum et veluti characteristicum , aliis vero insolens. fuisse scriptas ab iis, quorum nomina adjecta, clarissimum est. Nam Fogarthius medicinae doctor Fogotius dicitur, et Illustrissimi Comitis Cardiffae filius Brunallus, cujus nomen est Brudenellio Tot ergo titulis vacillabat Epistolarum fides, ut illae nunquam fuerint in Judicium productae ; tamque male successit prima in Catholicos impressio, scriptis illis facta, ut, licet mendacia in dies nova cuderent, et sine pudore, sine conscientia, sine Dei juxta ac Non
* Cf . James II, Original Memoirs (ed J. S. Clarke, 1816), i, 518-9 . Southwell doubted the authenticityof the Beddingfield letters from the outset Cf. B.M. Add 38847, ff 202, 244 .
hominum timore, vulgarent, nulla nobis scripta deincepsimponere ausi sint. (110) Hac frustratione cautiores at nihilo meliores effecti, aliam viam ineunt: Edmundburium Godefridum adeunt simul Oates, Tongus, et Kirbius ; primus ei Narrativam suam offert, juratus testatur eam esse in toto et in singulis partibus veram; Godefridus, quod ipsius officii ratio ab eo exigebat, suo chyrographo testatur tale Juramentum se praesente factum; cui contestes fuerunt alii duo, Tongus et Kirbius. Godefridus (ut Oates ipse retulit, et inde intulit eum sibi visum Papistam) rerum quae narrabantur novitate perculsus, atrocitate attonitus, et veluti syderatus, tantum non animi deliquium passus est; vultus pallor, genua trementia in se mutuo collisa, urina defluens, alia, mentis horrorem, angustias spiritus, prodebant Caeterum sibi restitutus, re attentius considerata, simul eorum et qui accusabant et qui accusabantur studiis perpensis, malignitatem subodoratus, rem totam Eboracensi detulit, gravissima Danbaei offensa, a quo severe reprehensus est, minis additis gravibus , ni suam intra sphaeram se contineret * Hinc dixisse scitur fabulam quae ornabatur, non sine sanguine exhibitum iri; seque fore primum Martyrem Et verum fuisse vatem apparet, quod non diu postea superstes fuit, ut dicetur libro sequenti.
(111) GODEFRIDUS QUALIS . Natus est Godefridus Patre Equite Aurato, filius sextus; vir gravus, impiger, et industrius, nactus a Patre modicas opes commercio auxit; vir antiquae simplicitatis, in se fraudis expers, in aliis osor acerrimus ; adeo Regi juxta et Eboracensi gratus, ut ab illo eques auratus et Eirenarcha creatus fuerit Nec alius in eo magistratu aut Carolo fidelior, aut Catholicis , etiam Jesuitis quorum multos familiarissime noverat, amicior.
(112) OATES CORAM CONSILIO REGIO Oates exinde a Carolo , ejusque Sacratiori Consilio auditus , dixit I. se Vallisoletomissum Madritum, actumibi cum Joanne AustriacoCatholicorum omnium nomine, de Caroli nece, Regiminis eversione, Catholicae fidei, aliis eliminatis, restitutione; peteret eos in fines pecuniam, vires, alia eo facientia, a Rege Catholico ; II Missum Audomaro Parisios , cum R. P. de la Chaize, Christianissimi Regis confessario, iisdem de rebus tractatum ; III venisse Audomaro Londinum, peculiaribus litteris patentibus Adm R.P. Generalis Societatis Jesu instructum, quibus fiebat ei Potestas in Congregationem Provincialem intrandi "
(113) Ubi Joannem Austriacum nominavit, petiit Carolus an illum unquam convenisset "Conveni vero," respondit alter audacter, "et cum illo familiarissime egi." Tum Carolus, "Qualis vir est," ait, Austriacus ? " ' Est, " ait Oates, procerae
* For an account of Godfrey'sactions on receipt of Oates's depositions cf. the evidence of Mulys and Welden, H.M.C. 11 Rep App., Pt II, p 48, Florus Anglo-Bavaricus , pp 97-98, and Pollock, pp 149-151.
staturae , gracili corpore, flavis crinibus " Respondit Carolus: Video te Austriacum nunquam vidisse; nam est mediocris staturae, obeso [f. 27] corpore, crinibus nigris." De P. de la Chaize interrogavit Carolus, ubi illum convenisset ? Respondit, " In domo Jesuitarum , ubi habitat ille. " Cumque Carolus urgeret, " In qua domo Jesuitarum? " cum isti tria habeant Parisiis domicilia, domum nempe Professam S. Ludovici, Collegium Claremontanum , et Noviciatum, fassus est Oate se nescire quo modo vocetur illa domus, sed illam esse quae Luparam contingit. Tum Carolus: " Liquet, te nunquam Parisiis fuisse; nam nulla Jesuitarum domus Luparam contingit; domus vero Professa , ubi Confessarii Regis Christianissimi habitant, circiter bis mille passus inde distat, interjecta civitatis Parisiensis maxima parte. " (114) Ad Congregationem Provincialem ubi ventum est , cui se interfuisse mentitusfuerat Oates, Carolus ab eo petiit, ubinam convenissent Jesuitae ? Respondit alter, magna cum fiducia, convenisse Londini in plataea quae Strand dicitur, in Oenopolio cui insigne Equi Albi Hoc falsum esse sciebat Carolus, cui notum ipsos in ipsa Eboracensis Aula convenisse; cujus tamen rei nec Carolus nec ullus alius Catholicorum Apologista mentionem fecit, donec Persecutio plane desaeviiset, ne augeretur inde in Eboracensem Invidia. * Minutiora omitto in quibus a vero aberrasse constat Identidem Carolus submissa voce assidentibus sibi consiliariis dixit: " Videbitis, quod in alio illum mendacio deprehendam, " nec unquam fefellit conjectura . " (115) Ubi exierat , dixit clara voce Carolus: Nae iste est nebulo mendacissimus" Hoc verissimum erat, nam nunquam ivisse Madritum liquet ex AttestationibusIllustrissimi et Reverendissimi Archiepiscopi Tuamensis, R.D. RichardiDuelli, sacerdotis Hiberni, RR PP Manuelis de Calatayud , Rectoris, et Dominici Ramos, Procuratoris , Collegii Anglorum Vallisoleti Deinde
Warner's pamphlets, Concerning ye Congregation (B.M. 861 , i, 12 (2), reprinted in Foley v, 62), and A Vindication of the Inglish Catholiks (1680), p. 18 sq., both assert that the Provincial Congregationtookplaceon 24th and 26th April 1678, and not in the White Horse tavernbut the real location is not mentioned Reresby gives the true location in his Memoirs (1875), p 325. For the actual minutes of the Congregationsee The Month , cii, 311. While, of course, the fact that the Congregation was held at St. James's is of importance, it is possible that its disclosure has been overemphasized , e.g. bybothFoley and Pollock Ifthe plot-managers had wished to implicate the Duke ofYorkinthe plotat this stage, they would presumably have done so, without necessarily waiting for the true facts to presentthemselves. Oates, in fact, was at pains to exculpate the Duke (cf. evidenceof Lord Annesleybefore the Lords Committee30 Oct. 1678: " Mr. Oates informed him that if he could be heard at the House of Peers he could say something that would in a manner clear the Duke of York of what Coleman'sletters say of him . " H.M.C . 11 Rep App , Pt II, p 6) In view oftheprejudiced atmosphereof their trial, the Jesuit martyrs considered it simpler to deny the fact of having been present at a Congregation at the place and time specified by Oates, than to assert the fact that a Congregationhad actually been held, but at a different place and time
Cf. A Vindication of the English Catholiks (1680), Attestations A , B and L.
cum frequens esset rumor ea de re Londini, D. Tayler S.T.D. , qui Legato Angliae Madriti fuerat a sacris, et D. Goddartius , qui vixerat ibi mercator, Oatem convenerunt , petieruntque num quos Anglos Madriti nosset ? Speciatim D. Goddartium? Respondit sine haesitatione se omnes Anglos illic agentes convenisse, nominatim Goddartium, a quo saepius fuisset convivio valde benigne exceptus. Tum Taylerus alteri: " Satis est, Domine Goddarti, " inquit, " abunde videmus quid veri subsit " Nutabat in Aula Oatis fides, hac hystoriola sparsa ; de quo iste conquaestus, citati fuerunt Taylerus et Goddartius , et de Religione interrogati Cum dixissent suam esse Protestanticam , monueruntprocerescaverent, ne Regii Testis fidem solicitarent; alioquinid non impune laturos * Quod exemplum Factiosi strenue imitati sunt, ut dicetur.
(116) Similiter Iter Parisiense fictitiumfuisse, lite contestata , examinatis rite plurimis Testibus, publica Judicum sententia pronunciatum postea est ; et hoc ipso tempore ducentae circiter personae in seminario Audomarensi degentes juramento adhibito testati sunt, toto tempore quo Audomari vixit, a x scilicet Decembris, MDCLXXVII, usque ad xxiii Junii, MDCLXXVIII, ipsum una tantum nocte extra Collegium fuisse, idque Wattenis. Et vero stultissimumfuisset Catholicos, negocia talia commisisse viro neophito aut ignoto, aut nimium noto, qui nulla unquam negocia tractarat, nec aliam quam vernaculam linguam callebat, in illis locis ignotam, nequidem Latinam, cujus rudimenta vix norat, maxime cum in utraque aula esset aliquis e Societate Provinciae Anglicanae Procurator , in rebus tractandis non plane hospes. Quod denique ait se peculiaribus Generalis Jesuitarum litteris patentibus instructum Congregationem Provincialem intrasse, adeo stultum omnibus visum est, ut nullam de eo fecerit mentionem deinceps Dixit tantum se adfuisse ut decreta ab uno ad alterum locum + ubi Patres convenerant + deferret, et congregatorum Patrum subscriptiones colligeret ; quod aeque stultum in se , licet falsitas non ita pateat aliis (117) GULIELMUS SCROGS QUALIS . Illud etiam omitti non oportet, ne qua persona lateat exhibendae mox Tragaediae necessaria , Gulielmum Scrogs Banco Regio (Tribunal est ad jus in causis criminalibus, speciatim Majestatis , dicendum erectum) datum esse Praesidem, cujus titulus SupremusAngliaeJustitiarius Vir iste liberali facie animum tegebat ferocem et truculentum , sanguinis sitientissimum , et sanguini a teneris assuetum, utpote Lanionis filius et in Juventute Lanio. Hinc mirati pleriquehunc Primarium Judicem factum esse, cum Jura Anglicanalaniones in duodecim viros elegi vetent, utpote de crudelitate suspectos (118) In Bellis Civilibusmeliorem, licet minus felicem, causam secutus fuerat; iis finitis ad Jus Anglicum [f. 28] discendum
* Warner gives this story in English in a marginal ms note on p. 3 of B.M. 860, i, 12 (1) Cf. A Vindication ... Attestation D.
tempus impendit Natura dicax nec infacundus ; quod Arti Rhetoricae deerat, supplebat loquacitas. Animam immanem prodebant dicteria, quibus hominibus morti a se adjudicatis insultabat; nec magis pendere solebat hominum etiam insontium suam causam defendentium rationes, quam Innocentiumagnorum in paterno macello balatus Audacia nec Oati impar Dixit, non e Tripode , sed e Banco Regio, throno scilicet suo, nullum esse inter Protestantes Sutorem Veteramentarium , qui non posset quemlibetEcclesiae Romanae Sacerdotem disputando confundere. Quod ingenti circumfusae plebis plausu exceptum fuisse, ipsemet oratione illa typis edita vulgavit Ubi hic ad illam dignitatem evectus est, statim augurati sunt Prudentiores quique Tragaediam instare ; sed in pervicaces Presbiterianos atque Fanaticos , Regentibus semper graves, omen omnium opinionedestinabatur; nemo in Catholicos secures acui, parari laqueos, suspicatus est. Solus, qui promovendum curarat, sciebat in quos parabatur, fulmenque illic casurum, ubi ipsi esset usui IpseScrogs, non ita multo post, ab officio depositus, et res suas curare jussus, vix aliorum quam Catholicorum consortio solitudinemsuam maestissimam otiumque solatus est, ab aliis desertus O Judicium ! O manus Dei! Vere digitus Dei hic !* Nec diu superstes fuit, nam privataevitae et quietis impatiens, animamtot homicidiorum conscientia laceratam, aeris alieni quod contraxerat onere gravatam, aliisodiosam, sibi gravem, Justissimi Judicis Tribunali sistendam exhalavit
(119) Sic indicatis iis, qui praecipuas in hac Tragaedia partes sustinuerunt, expositis eorum studiis , aliisque, quae tunc quidem in occultofiebant, postea sunt vulgata ab iis, qui fuerunt omnium participes , primo libro finem imponimus .
* Nevertheless he received a pension of £1,500 per annum and a place for his son
A.D.
(120) ARGUMENTUM .
Primus Persecutionis fragor terribilis ; quos ejus turbo primus involvit Quales Odoardus Harvaeus , Bedlous, Dugdallus , et Prancius Persecutionis Immanitas Aulae facies. Godefridi caedes. Parlamentum ; in quo Oates auditus, multa falsa dicens. Fides ei non habita, honor tamen multus delatus. Judicium Parlamenti ejusque Iniquitas Quo tenderent Factiosi Proceres? Edicta Caroli Thomae Beddingfeldi et Humphredi Bruni mortes Mildmaii solertia Gulielmi Stalaei et Odoardi Colmanni certamina , et supplicia. Controversia de Juramento Fidelitatis Regina conjurationis arcessita . Danbeius accusatus, de quibus ? Res Scoticae et Hibernicae De Joanne Sergeantio.
(121) PRIMUS TEMPESTATIS FRAGOR . Vidimus elevatos e malignantiumcaetu praetensaeConspirationis vapores, eosdemque in atras nubes factiosorum arte et industria densatos Quae inde fulmina, qui turbinesexierint, jam videbimus xxviii Septembris Consilium Regium toto die consederat, de conspiratione deliberans, quasi tunc primum illa innotuisset Sequenti nocte primus tonitrui fragor ingenti strepitu cunctos perculsit. Capti PP. Gulielmus Irelandus et Joannes Fenwickius , Jesuitae, ille Provinciae , iste Seminarii Audomarensis Londini Procurator, ablatis Rationumlibris et Pecuniis, aliis rebus sigillo obsignatis, in carcerem conjecti sunt. Item +Thomas Pickeringus O.B. Laicus, et Joannes Grovius cujus opera Patres Societatis Londini degentes utebantur; et+ N. Fogarthius , Medicinae doctor, aliique. Oates enim regio mandato instructus, satellitibus stipatus eorum cubicula adivit eosque jussit in carcerem duci Adiit etiam cubicula R.P. Provincialis Thomae Harcotti et P. Odoardi Harvaei ex morbo gravi lecto affixorum; caeterum cum accersiti Medici [f. 29] censuissent eos sine praesenti vitae discrimine loco moveri non posse, relicta ad utriusque Portam militum statione , discesserunt, ablatis quas in Harvaei camera Chartas invenerunt. Hunc impactis in pectus Schlopis ad sepositas, uti dicebant , Litteras indicandas adigere conati ea barbara violentia, ut mors Decembris iii non tam morbi vi quam istis ictibus subsecuta sit. Quominus etiam vita functus quiesceret, obstitit
* Among Ireland's papers that were seized was a catalogue of the Province (La Harangue de Monseigneur Guillaume Vicomte Destafford ... B.M. 860, i, 12 (7)). A list of Fenwick's papers is given in H.M.C. 13 Rep. Ap VI, p 115
I.e. O.S.B.
Mico's arrest involved intrusion into ambassadorialterritory Cf. Count Egmont's account and protestC.S.P.D 1678, pp. 454 and 459. Foley (v , 250), following Challoner, is wrongin stating that Fr.Micodied in Newgate, oppressed with the weight of his chains He died in his bed in his lodgings at Wildstreet See Dom Hugh Bowler, O.S.B. , "TheVen Edward Mico, S.J." (The Month , Nov. 1930) An account of the raid is given in Fr. Hamerton's narrativeFoley, v, 17 sq
vanus rumor, magna fiducia sparsus, veneno extinctum, ne Conspirationis affines proderet. +Hinc+ jussi chirurgi corpus invisere, qui primo partes nobiliores scrutati, exin alias, tandem ad minimas fere venulas devenerunt , nullo uspiam veneni indicio comparente. Alius inde secutus rumor maerore obiisse, extincta Episcopatus obtinendi spe, ad quam Oates eum nominarat.
(122) Natus est Odoardus Harvaeus, +vero nomine Mico , + in Essexia honestis Parentibus ; Audomari litteras humaniores didicit, morum Innocentia cunctis gratus Romae in nostrae gentis Seminario biennio Philosophiam audivit, ita ad Regularum amussim vivens, ut jam tum Novitius Jesuitarum vocaretur. Discordiae et Contentionum osor maximus , quas ut vitaret, nunquam deposito pignore certare voluit, ut fit inter Adolescentes , ne pignoris jactura alterutra contendentiumpars contristaretur, aut de victoria contenderet Iis imbuto moribus, facile fuit Societatem obtinere, quam intravit Wattenisxv Junii +MDCL+ aetatis suae xx Quatuor votorum professus ii Feb. + MDCLXVI+ tribus Provincialibus Socius adhaesit, majoribus juxta minoribusque gratus Tandem quem diximus habuit vitae exitum. Sub vitae finem nihil magis dolere videbatur quam quod vires ad carceris aerumnas et extremum supplicium subeundum non sufficerent Si non in re, certo videtur in voto, martyrii factus compos.
(123) PERSECUTIONISIMMANITAS In carceres conjecti Odoardus Petri et Thomas Jenisonus sacerdotes e Societate, +Robertus Pughus et N. Smithaeus e clero saeculari, + Richardus Langhornus J.P., et Odoardus Colemannus, iste Ducissae Eboracensi a secretis, qui cum audivisset se quaeri, Consilium Regium adiit, ipse sese purgatum iis de quibus argueretur ; sed inde ductusin carcerem, non nisi ad excipiendam mortis sententiam eamque subeundam eductus est. Infinitum esset singulorum nomina recensere , qui similia patiebantur
(124) Apud Catholicos misera rerum facies, quadruplatores semper aut sentientes aut timentes, nullum neque interdiu neque noctu quietis spacium habentes. Circumvolitabat Oates militibus stipatus, plena cum Potestate, quos liberet in carceresamandandi , Catholicis amicis et Benefactoribus juxta ac Inimicis infaestus; cui maxima voluptas a cunctis timeri, quam plurimis nocere. In cunctis Plataeis Londiniensibus occurrebant miseri captivi; hos salutasse aut eorum vices doluisse, satis erat, ut in paenae participium vocarentur; inde miseris ademptum ultimum illud solatium, quod ex amicorum necessariorumqueconsortio percipitur
Nec aliudin Carolo praesidium etiamnotis et fidei compertis, quam ut a Regno pateret exitus voluntarium exilium praeoptantibus . Quibus exilium displicebat , ii relicta civitate in remotiora loca
* I.e Juris Peritus
For Coleman'smovementsshortly before his arrest see H.M.C. 13 Rep. Ap VI, pp 139-140, and 11 Rep Ap , Pt II, pp 8-10
confugerunt . Itaque Gazettae Hollandicae xxii Novembris editae asseverarunt, Catholicorum 30,000 recessisse + Londino, + illis solis remanentibus, quibus nulli alibi lares *; carceres omnes ita captivis refertos, ut constet eorum Praefectos, Libello supplici Consilio Regio oblato , petiisse ne plures iis manciparenturquod non esset amplius +iis excipiendis + Locus ; ea vero severitateet vigilantia custodiebantur , ut nec Uxor de Marito, nec Pater de Filio, quicquam audire potuerit; et Thomas Harcottus Provincialis, licet sub eodem cum Gulielmo Irelando tecto custoditus, quatuor integros menses de hujus supplicio nihil audierit.+ Itaque captivitate et fuga fit Londini vastitas , illis solum in Patria remanentibus, quibus nec fugam nec exilium permittebat Egestas. Aliqui succubuerunt malo impares; nonnulli persequentium numerum auxerunt, proh Dolor ! + Et Londinum paenae particeps, minuto Civium et Advenarum Locupletiorum numero, illic suas opes dissipantium; et tanti aestimata jactura hinc facta, quanti Incendiumipsum. (125) AULAE FACIES . Metus ingens in Regia ostensus: Consilium Sacratius et frequentius convocatum et diutiushabitum, duplicataecircumcircaMilitum stationes, majores Portaeclausae , solis ostiolis etiam exterorumPrincipum Legatis apertis ; omnia ad ostentationem . Nec tamen Populo persuaderi potuit rem serio agi, technas Aulicas suspicanti, cum nihil praeter Oatis verba occurreret, quod Conspirationi praetensae fidem faceret. Tristissima rerum omnium facies; calamitosa et prorsus misera Catholicorum omnium conditio, maxime vero Jesuitarum, quos et communia mala et omnium insuper Invidia gravabat , etiamapud simul patientes ; quos imprudenti quopiam Zelo facto, scripto, verbove Caroli Irain provocasse suspicabantur, nec dabatur suam Innocentiam asserere, interciso penitus omni [f. 30] litterarum commercio. Unde de illis nihil audiebaturquam quae spargerent inimici. Qui tunc erat Collegii Societatis Leodii Rector, creatus Vice-Provincialis , § ad quem proinde referri deberent quae nostros contingerent , quinque mensium spacio nihil audivit praeterquam ex Gazettis publicis, nisi quando aliquis velut e naufragio servatus in continentem evasit ; qui tamen de aliis nihil plerunque sciebant, adeo periculi declinandi solicitudoanxios animos occupabat Hinc factum ut, cum alii fidenter accusarent et nemo responderet, suspicio orta sit aliquid subesse. Ipse Joannes Paulus Oliva, Societatis Jesu Praepositus Generalis, ubi audisset quae sparge-
* In accordance with the proclamations of 30 Oct. and 10 Nov. 1678 (Steele 3660, 3662) all Papists were to depart 10 miles from London and Westminster
Treatment of the prisoners varied considerably Solitary confinement of the prisonersheld on charges of treason or of Godfrey'smurder was strictly maintained
Cf. warrant to Sir Christopher Wren for closing of gates and doors (C.S.P.D. 1678 , Oct. 31, p. 497).
§ I.e. Warner himself.
bantur, Joanni Caraeo misso Romam Procuratori dixit: "Si Patres vestrae Provinciae se istiusmodi consiliis immiscuerint, digna luant supplicia " (unde patet quam alieno ab his animo esset) Litteris vero iii Decembris hujus anni datis ad Thomam Stapletonum , Seminarii Audomarensis Rectorem , haec habet: Expecto quonam ille tumultus evasurus sit. Interim causam illam omnem ita partitus mecum fui, ut si nostri publicae rei tractationi se miscuerint (quod quidem ut ABOMINOR , ita non credo), merito praesentem calamitatemferre existimem: vel certe , quod vero propius planeque optandum est, innoxiis, si minus Libertatem ac famam, coronas certe immortales inde nascituras mihi persuadeam . "
(126) Toto tamen isto tempore, unius Oatis testimonio nitebatur Fides Conspirationi habita. Ut ut enim ab initio Tongus accesserit, cum nullum unquam cum ullo Catholico commercium habuisse compertum esset, illud solum dicere potuit, quod ab Oate perceperat; adeoque unus tantum erat cum Oate Testis ; Kirbaei vero opera uterque usus est, quo pateretad Carolum aditus Inspectae diligentissime multorum annorum litterae, discussae Catholicorum domus, in eorum sermones , in silentium, in studia, in conversationes, in labores, in otia ipsa diligentissime inquisitum, nusquam ulla deprehensa aut Perduellionis aut Laesae Majestatis indicia, quae vel fucum Populo facerent, vel ullum Otianae Fabulae veri colorem inducerent. Patebat Religio , Sacerdotium agnoscebatur ab iis, qui erant Sacris Ordinibus initiati ; sed summo studio cavebant Religionis Hostes ullam de iis mentionem injicere, ne quis suspicaretur de illis agi, aut aliud quam Regni Regisque incolumitatem istis motibus quaeri Hoc tamen non pauci subolfaciebant , et paulo post clarissimis est indiciis comprobatum ; cum enim comites Arundelius et Shrewisberius, item Barones Brudenellus et Lumlaeus, essent comprehensi, ut in Turrim Londiniensem ducerentur, conjurationis accusati, et ut conspirantium Coriphaei, ubi se dixerunt ad frequentanda Protestantium sacra paratos, statim, nulla alia Purgatione criminis petita, Libertatem adepti sunt. Gulielmus item Roperus, ex antiquissima et nobilissima familia oriundus (quae singulari Laude fertur Fidei naufragiumnunquam fecisse), cum filio primogenito, in Edicto Regio contra Perduelles edito cum nomen suum vidisset Scroggium statim adiit petitum num de se ageretur, quod ipsi dubium, ex eo quod alii essent sibi cognomines Cui Scroggius, " Allatum jam est prandiummeum , " inquit, " ubi comederimus, tum ea de re loquemur . " Erat autem dies Veneris cumque oblatas a Scroggii uxore carnes repudiasset Roperus, dixit Scroggius uxori suae : " Si D. Roperus carnibus die Veneris vesci voluisset, nunquam ejus nomen conspirantium albo fuisset inscriptum" Et utrumque Roperum in carcerem , qui Bancus Regis dicitur, duci curavit, unde in Turrim Londiniensem Parlamenti jussu traducti fuerunt. Obfuit Fogarthio,
medicinae Doctori Hiberno , atque Townelaeo cauponi, quod Oates in eorum aere esset ; istius ob cerevisiam ei venditam; illius, qui hunc lue venerea laborantem curarat. * Uterquein teterrimum carcerem conjectus, hujus paedore et aerumnis consumptus est, sicut et multi alii, quorum vel nomina recensere taediumafferret; quae descripta pie credo in Libro Vitae
(127) Auditus a consilio Regio Georgius +Wakemannus + Eques Auratus, Reginae Medicus (qui dicebatur, interjecta promissione sexaginta millium scutorum , Carolo medicatam potionem ministrarestatuisse), et primum dimissus liber, ut suos aegros more solito juvaret, tam levis habebatur delatoris fides ; deinde iterum citatus, Turri Londiniensi mancipatus est De causa in eum instituta , quando insonsdeclaratus est, infra loquemur suo tempore.
(128) Varii alii captivi sive in carcere consumpti sunt, sive ad causam dicendam educti , pari Innocentia, dispari successu , ut Judices fatum eorum, qui arcessabantur, non causae merito, non testium Fide, sed sortibus decidisse videantur.
(129) GODEFRIDI CAEDES Plebs Londinensis necdum mente mota erat, nec omnem exuerat in Catholicos affectum; ipsos rapi agique non sine sensu vidit, tacita spectans, quorsum omnia essent evasura Caeterum Godefridi Mors hanc etiam efferavit, illius nimirum coram [f. 31] quo Oates fictam Conspirationis
Hystoriam Jurejurandofirmaverat Is videri desiit xii Octobris; et xvi ejusdem mensis in Montis Primerosii fossa quadam, mille circiter passussab Urbe distante, cadaver inventum, gladio illiusmet transfossum. A Latronibusnoncaesumconstabat , cum in sacculis pecunia aurea copiosa et horologiumrotabile essent relicta. (130) Sunt qui asserant ipsum sibi manus intulisse, Patrem suum imitatus, qui laqueo sibimet injecto vitae filum abrupit ; sed rem ab ejus fratribus summo studio tectam, ne Bona Fisco addicerentur Plures Danbeum caedis Authorem designabant ob rationes alibi dictas; et diu tenuit rumor, ipsum a multis visum Danbei aedes ingredi, eo die, quo videri desiit , a nemine visum exire. Caeterum caedis undecunque ortae atrox Invidia in solis fere Catholicis haesit, Factiosorum opera, eam in Conspirationis confirmationem rapientium, simulque tragice clamantium , neminem ab eorum sacris alienum fore vitae securum, talia si impune ferant; aliorum Protestantium jugulis imminere , ni sibi caverent, Catholicis ex urbe, e Regno pulsis Oates ipse, teste Smithaeo, § dixit: " Ista caedes mihi bene cessit; licet enim
* Fogarty's association with Archbishop Talbot was the more likely cause of his imprisonment. Fogarty died at Newgate 5 Dec. 1678 , O.Š. (Bowler, C.R.S. xxxiv, 209).
1678
Godfrey's body was in fact discovered on Thursday, October 17th , It is on the strength of this that Pollock writes " Warner names Danby as the probable author of the murder " (The Popish Plot, 1903 , p. 150 , note 3).
§ I.e. WilliamSmith, M.A., Intrigues ofthe Popish Plot laid open, 1685 .
nullam Bedloanae hystoriae fidem habeam, (Bedlous, ut dicemus , eum a Catholicis caesum juravit), sine ea tamen in auras abiisset Conspiratio mea: neque credo, ni hoc accidisset, ullam mei rationem habiturum fuisse Consilium Regium. " honestus Londini (131) Paulo post Johannes Powellus, civis, insciis domesticis, etiam conjuge, discessit; cumque similiter occisus diceretur, Edicto Carolus vulgato octingenta scuta eius Percussores indicantibus addixit Lestrangius ait facile viginti quinque aut triginta libros in Lucem emissos , qui Papistas illius quoque homicidii Reos peragerent ; addita modus quo, via qua, motivis quibus ad navem conscendendam adductus fuisset, quo deductus, ubi, et quo modo caesus, et id genus alia Et fidem invenit fabula, pronis Protestantiumjam animis ad omnia adversus Catholicos credenda, donec ipse Worcestria rescripsisset se eo ivisse ob negocia quaedam domestica, illicque bene habere Et inventus e ministellis, qui pro concione dixerit dolere se, quod ipso reperto talis Accusatio periret Similiter, cum A.D. MDCLXXXII fuisset occisus in Plateis Londiniensibus Thomas Thin, illius etiam facinoris postulati Catholici ; verum comprehensi siccarii, quorum duo Sueci erant et Lutheri asseclae, tertius Polonus, homicidiumagnoruntabs se patratum [jussu Conismarkii Comitis cancelled]. Hinc patet quam parata plebs esset ad omnia de Catholicis credenda; quae jam non amplius eorum tam gravia patientium ulla commiseratione tangebatur, omnia infra meritum arbitrata. (132) PARLAMENTUM Die xxi Octobris senatores in Parlamentum Regio Mandato convenerunt . Iis Carolus, ubi retulisset quae fecisset pro conservanda Regi Catholico Flandria(quonomine totum Belgium Hispanicum designabat), ad id necessarioretentum in Armis exercitum atque Classem ; cujus an ullae partes, et quaenam, in ea rerum peristasi exarmari deberent, rem esse matura omnium consideratione dignissimam, de Conspiratione dixit: " Volo jam vobis notum facere, (sicut et alia, quae me tangunt faciam) audisse me de conspiratione contra Personam meam a Jesuitis inita ; de qua mentem meam non aperiam, ne aut nimium aut nimis parum dicere videar. Ex lege in Reos agi permittam; et intereaquantafieri potest cura ejusmodi hominum moliminibusobsistam, sicut et aliorum, qui cum Externis tractarunt, et modos excogitarunt reducendi Papismum. " (Haec ultima Colmannum respicere postea patuit, et Cancellarius ea quibusdam Laicis adscribit) Deinde alia negocia commendavit Aerario exhausto subveniendum praecipue, quod ipsos pro singulari in se affectu cito facturos confideret Reliqua Cancellario dicenda reliquit
* For Powell's case see H.M.C. 11 Rep App , Pt II, p 58, C.S.P.D.1678 pp 536, 538, 541, and Steele 3668, of 22 Nov. 1678
See below, f. 149 and notes
PERSECUTION
(133) Iste ubi Proceres monuisset, ne nimium Papismi metu turbarentur, de conspiratoribus tantum dixit, eorum visitata Tabellaria, excussas Chartas omnes domosque; nihil uspiam occurrisse, quod Conspirationi fidem faceret ; alia tamen inventa consideratione digna
(134) Utrumque Conclave tria petiit a Carolo: i Ejus et Cancellarii orationes typis vulgari; ii Papistarum scripta secum communicari ; iii Jejunii Diem Regia authoritate indici Exin nominati cum qui Chartas inspicerent, tum qui in Godefridi caedis Authores inquirerent.
(135) OATES AUDITUR IN PARLAM Citatus Oates, * qui Conspirationis seriem referret; primo dixit Jacobum I ejusque primogenitum Henricum a Papistis veneno sublatos, bellum in Carolum I ab iisdem gestum, Londinum item combustum. (Quae omnia falsa esse sciebant omnes Senatores) Deinde cramben toties coctam attulit, se Madritum ivisse, ut cum Joanne Austriaco , Parisios, ut cum P. De la Chaise , ageret. Utrumque Regis sui nomine et pecunias et operam addixisse, ad tollendum e medio Carolum II, Regni eversionem, Papisticae Religionis restaurationem Se vidisse [f. 32] allatas a Generali Jesuitarum Litteras Patentes, quibus novi toto regno creabantur Magistratus , Arundelius nimirum Cancellarius, Colmannus a Secretis, Powisius Aerario, BellasissiusArmis, Praefecti, huic Legatus addictus Petrius, et Exercitus Instructor, Ratcliffius. Colonelli et Capitani omnes nominati; item qui ArchiEpiscopatus et Episcopatus omnesque Dignitates Ecclesiasticas obtinerent. Has litteras Patentes abs se visas , variis propria sua manu traditas, et ab iis acceptatas , juratus affirmavit Haec omnia diversis diebus adeum audiendum destinatis dixit, et longe plura eodem spectantia.
(136) TESTIMONII FALSITAS . Dicitur affirmasse summum Pontificem Regis Angliae titulum sibi assumpsisse ; quod cum mihi non constet, non assevero Authoritatem Regiam sibi arrogasse dixit, cum ait eum Regios omnes ministros exauthorasse , aliis creatis. Quam aliena haec ab Innocentio XI, sanctissimo viro, ut suorum jurium legitime acquisitorum retinenti, ita ab alienis invadendis alienissimo ! Quis credet eam auctoritatem a Catholicis Proceribus agnitam, cui notum ex Hystoriis, quam fortiter restiterint eorum Majores, Joanni Regi Angliae Regnum Feudi jure Pontificiae Potestati ultro subjicienti, constantissime negantes id in Regis esse Potestate ?
(137) Magis adhuc fatuum, supremam Potestatem in Anglos + et omnes Caroli Ditiones ,+ in Generali Jesuitarum agnovisse + Catholicos Anglos,+ [et totam Angliam], quem constat
* Oates first appearedbefore the Commons on 23 Oct. 1678 and gave information concerning the plot which included information against the Benedictinesin the Savoy (C.J., ix, 519).
Cf. letter of Innocent XI to the Duke of York, Sept. 1679, B.M.Add. 15395, f 188
extra Societatem ipsam ejusque domicilia nullam habere Potestatem etiam in Principum Catholicorum ditionibus. Admonent Juris Consulti veteres, Crimen Majestatis in occasionem non habendum, ob Majestatis venerationem ; Personam spectandam, an potuerit, et an ante quid fecerit. * Enimvero Catholicorum Procerum intemerata fides, constans etiam difficillimis temporibus Regum observantia tot annis, qui nihil contra Regimen unquam attentarant, pro illius conservatione nihil intentatum reliquerant, qui Carolum amabant , ab illo amabantur , Quiete et Pace ejus beneficio fruebantur, qui in tuto fortunas repositas habebant rebus quietis, iis turbatis omnia contraria timebant. Cui Bono, ut Cassianumillud usurpem, fuisset motus ciere, Regemque amicum amovere ? Nec inutilia illis aut noxia tantum Consilia sed etiam impossibilia , cum Catholici vix millesimam Plebis Angliae partem aequent, et praeterea armis destituti, Praesidiis exules, Authoritate nulla circumdati, solis pugnis armati, Protestantes armatos aggrederentur, eosque internecione delere destinarent , quos ne quidem occidere possent, si ligatis illi manibus pedibusque Catholicis exponerentur .
(138) Nec minus stolidum, quod Oatem talium consiliorum fecissent participem, quod ubi talia cum ea communicassent, eum e duplici Seminario cum probo expulissent, eum ad stipem ostiatim corrogandam adegissent, penes quem erat, arcanorum studiorum revelatione Catholicos omnes , summos, infimos , medioxumos, Bonis, Libertate, Vita deturbare Certe si Catholici tales essent ut impossibilia tentarent, et ad ea perficienda tam ineptum hominem seligerent, non ut Perduelles et Majestatis Rei plecti deberent; sed ut stolidi ut insani vinciri. Contra tot praejudicia vir sapiens ne mutire quidem ausus fuisset; vir pene stolidus et loqui ausus est et fidem invenit
(139) JUDICIUM PARLAMENTI, EJUSQUEINIQUITAS Siquidem
Parlamentum , eo audito, declaravit initam esse et etiamnum existere execrabilem et Diabolicam Conspirationem a Papistis, ad trucidandum Regem, evertendum Regimen, et Fidei Protestanticae Professores delendos. E superiori conclavi cuncti Proceres Catholici jussi facessere ; ex illis quinque, Powisius, Staffordus , Arundelius Baro, Bellasisius et Petraeus, Turri Londiniensi mancipati Jussum inquiri in omnes in utroque conclavi de Papismo suspectos Carolo supplicant , Catholicos omnes non e Palatiis tantum suis verum etiam e Regia civitate et locis decem millia passuum dissitis pellat.
(140) Londini cives timore trepidantes , ubi non erat timor , ad arma confugiunt; in foris, in compitis stationes disponunt;
* The quotation is from Modestinusin Digest 48, 4, 7 , 3, perhapstaken from Gregor. Mag., Epist 13 , 45, whereit is also quoted In occasionemnon habendum seems to mean that the court must not be on the lookout for it must not stretch it to cover cases . Most certainly a rhetorical under-estimate
totis noctibus armati discurrunt per Plateas Nec major alibi quies: observatae viae publicae ; ad strictum examen vocati transeuntes; indeque aucta in Catholicos Invidia, quorum causa Populi tot labores subire cogerentur Iis clausa alicubi publica hospitia, negatus venalis panis etiamsi parata pecunia duplicato precio emere vellent; exprobratum passim eos ista mala merito jureque perpeti vel ob ingrati animi vitium quod Carolum de illis optime meritum voluissent e medio tollere Unde multiinedia aliisque miseriis huic mundo derati sunt, ut alteri gloriosi renascerentur
(141) Nec solum ubi multi Catholici , verum etiam ubi aut pauci aut etiam nulli, armati cives vigilias agitabant. Edmundi Burgi (frequens est in Suffolcia oppidum ) fugatis aliis, soli supererant viginti circiter Catholici , ex quibus soli duo ferendis armis non plane inidonei , reliqui erant vel mulieres vel pueri impuberes; illic tamen ea cura institutae vigiliae, ac si aliorum cervicibus Catholicorum sicae imminerent. Et vero terrorem Parlamenti Decreto conceptum Ministelli suis concionibus intendebant , in omnem occasionem Catholicis nocendi attenti. erat
(142) Tamen Parlamenti Judicium indubie [f. 33] iniquum
(143) i Quia una tantum audita parte latum fuit, licet adessent multi Proceres Catholici , omni exceptione majores, Fidelitatis in Regem, Probitatis in proximum comperti , ad diluenda sibi suisque impositacrimina parati, si ad se defendendum admissi fuissent ; sed nullus iis datus est loquendilocus .
(144) ii Quod unius tantum testimonio niteretur Accusatio (quod enim aliqui dixerunt e Colmanni Chartis aliqua confirmari, dequo infra, nihil facit ad rem, quiaillae necdum erant senatoribus ostensae), et duos Testes saltem requirunt omnia Jura divina et Humana. Deut xvii 6: " In ore duorum, aut trium Testium peribit, qui interficietur: nemo occidatur, uno contra se dicente Testimonium . " Et c Jurisjurandi De testibus : " Vox unius, vox nullius. '
(145) iii. Hic ipse Testis unicus notissimis Perjuriis omnem fidem amiserat ; est enim Regula Juris: Semel malus, semper malus in eodem genere. Re-
(146) iv His ipsis coram Parlamento habitis sermonibus multa mendacia protulisse compertum est. Juratus affirmavit datas a se mense Julii praeterito Litteras Patentes Ratcliffo, Exercitus Instructori , in horto Legati Hispanici Londini. spondit e Senatoribus unus id verum esse non posse, cum certe sciret optime Ratcliffum ob infirmitatem aliquam a tribus annis non exiisse domo sua quae ducentis circiter passuum millibus Londino distat. Affirmavit etiam Marcum Prestonum et sacerdotem esse et Jesuitam ; se ei saepe confessum esse ; eum sacra
* For an account of the mission at Bury St. Edmunds see Foley, v, 526 , 537
Re-
facientem vidisse, et ab eo Sacra Synaxi refectum fuisse. spondit iste: "Videte, Perillustres Domini, quaenam huic homini debeatur fides, qui ista de me testatur Sum laicus, conjugem habeo et proles, ut norunt vicini mei; nec ab undecim annis domum mutavi. "* His et ejusmodi aliis replicis nonnihil turbatus
Oates, in luculentis mendaciis atque Perjuriis deprehensus, aliquantispersubstitit. Sed inferioris Conclavis Orator, eum ut pergeret, animavit, clara voce dicens: Macte animo, Domine
Oates , audacter perge dicere quae supersunt; nec enim hic considemus tantum ut te audiamus ; sed etiamutfidemtibi habeamus "
Perrexit enimvero , ea voce recreatus, et singulis fere Periodis
Perjuriorum cumulum auxit. Dixit visas a se varias Epistolas a Provinciali Jesuitarum aliisque Patribus, quamque multorum chyrographis munitam, quod nunquam in Societate factum. Idem de Patentibus , quae Scholasticis Vallisoletum missis datae, Rectoris Audomarensis et quatuor Patrum nominibus subscriptae
A R.P. Generali Jesuitarumse multas Epistolas accepisse, vidisse longe plures; notissima sibi esse ipsius sigillumet nomen; in sigillo tres Litteras inscriptas I.H.Σ. mutato S Latino in Sygma Graecum , quod in Societatis sigilli insolens Nomen varie retulit, nunquam recte Jam dixit esse Joannem Paulum De Oliva, jam Joannem Paulum di Oliva, jam Joannem Paulum D'Oliva, cum ipse constanterdicereturet a se et ab aliis JoannesPaulus Oliva +Mirum et illud, quod qui tot vidisset litteras patentes, tot epistolas etiam ad se directas, nullam retinuisset , qua fidem aliis adstrueret , quasi et ipse causae praevaricaretur .+ (147) v. Saepe his ipsis in Accusationibus sibimetcontradixit. Illud palmare : declaravit cum juramento se nullam, ultra jam nominatas, personam notabilem accusare posse. Paulo post ipsam Serenissimam Reginam accusavit, quam antea non nominarat Exprobratum ipsi statim Perjurium a quodam e Proceribus, quod aliter vitari non posset , quam impudenternegando Reginam esse Personam Notabilem . (148) AN FIDES CONSPIRATIONI HABITA Tot undiqueerumpentia malae fidei indicia nemini latere poterant, omnium vero minime sagacissimis Senatoribus ; sed veritatem susque deque habebant, profutura sola quaerentes. Eorum unus fictitiam conspirationem esse dicenti respondit : " Seu vera sit conspiratio , sive ficta, perinde est: bona certe est, quia nobis utilis. " (149) vi Externorum Principum, sive Catholicae, sive Reformatae Religionis , nullus Carolo misit de detecta conspiratione etvitatopericulocongratulatum, utfieri solet, ubi vera creduntur.
* For Warner's remarks on the innocence of Ratcliff and Preston see his Lettre escrite de Mons .... , p 6. For Preston see also H.M.C. 11 Rep App., Pt II, p 53, and Castlemaine's Compendium (1679), p 66, and Manifesto (1681 ), p. 117
This marginal addition seems to fit more suitably here, though Warner's obelisk is in fact placed below, in § 147 , after " Reginamesse personam notabilem. "
Caroli Patruelis , Comes Palatinus Rheni, audita prima Conspirationis fama, Ministro suo Londini Residenti imperavit, cuncta eo spectantia diligenter ad se transmitteret. Verum fraude propria rerum observatione detecta, et chartas quas acceperat igni tradidit, et vetuit quicquam deinceps ejusmodi ad se mitti Carolus ipsedum ex una partepericuluma Catholicis sibiimminens ostentat, Medico, Pharmacopaeo, Tonsore, in clandestinis recreationibus etiam Pocillatore , Catholicis utebatur. Nec carceri mancipati Medicus qui veneno, sicarii qui aliis modis, illius mortem curare dicebantur Et monenti cuipiam, sibi magis caveret a Papistis dira machinantibus , respondit , " Si totum Hide Parke (septum est Aulae vicinum) armatis Papistis plenum esset, non formidarem inter eos versari solus et inermis. "
(150) Vulgus omnia quae dicuntur credere paratum, initam vere credidit Conspirationem, ubi Godefridum e medio sublatum vidit, idque, ut constanter dicebatur, a Papistis.
(151) Prudentioribus Protestantibus haerebat aqua, non quod Catholicos suspectos [f. 34] haberent, sed quod nescirent quorsum ista tenderent Meminerant clamores de Papismo instante Papistarumque Conspiratione fictitia, Belli Civilis, quod hujussaeculi anno xlii inchoatum , et sex sequentibusgestum est, alterius item, quod ejusdem anno lxii* designatum fuit, praeludia fuisse Videbant idem hominum genus eadem fovens studia , similes clamores attollere; sed Carolum iis admixtum una clamare, imo clamantibus praeivisse, stupebant Periculuminde sibi a seipso accersitum horrebant, cum fidos insequeretur , et in hostium potestatem se dederet. Aversi non pauci, quod sentirent Probitatem apud eum nihil prodesse , Improbitatem premiis affici, cum Catholicos, ad quaevis jussa capessendaparatos, modo Dei legibus non adversarentur , opprimeret exilio, captivitate, suppliciis ; Presbiterianos vero semper imperiis iniquos, mandata etiam justa et necessaria detrectantes, ad se admitteret, in sinu foveret, in oculis, in corde ferret (152) Non alia tam absoni consilii ratio occurrebat, quam quod Presbiterianorum opera speraret exercitui danda stipendia. Hunc conscripserat adversus Gallum, Belgium Hispanicum , + captis S. Gisleno et Gandavo, + vastantem Presbiteriani haud aequis oculis Carolum armatum videbant, bello Gallis non indicto, timentes ne Milite contra se uteretur. Hoc fieri non posse aiebat Carolus, necdum ictis cum vicinis Potestatibus Faederibus Cumque Pax Belgis restituenda videretur, jussit Parlamentum exercitus discingeretur , saltem toto mense Junii, et ad id pecuniam, parce tamen, ministravit Additus est Mensis Julii, quod diceret Carolus Militem suum abduci non posse ab
* Sic in MS . Presumably Warner is referring to Venner's Rising of 1661 , and dignifying it with the title of a Civil War. What is nowadays termed the Second Civil War began in 1648, which is too far from Warner's date
Oppidis quae custodiebat, donec Hispanus, alios submitteret, ne imminenti Gallo prodi viderentur Sic Variis altercationibus extracta Aestas, Parlamento Exercitum exauthorari cupiente, Carolo illum retinere volente, quod isto a Papistis metu ostentato concessum iri sperabat Haec arcanis familiarium sermonibus ferebantur; nemo palam efferebat, Factionis Potentis metu; et vero qui incaute Oatis fidem vulserant, non impune tulerunt; si quidem e Senatorum numero aliqui Turri mancipati, alii Parlamento ejecti, quod dixissent fabulosam esse Conspirationem. Domicella quaedam carcere luisset idem crimen, nisi Delatorem quadringentis scutis placasset Is, qui Gazettas Londini gallice scribebat, carcere luit, quod quaedam verba Edicti Regii xxx Octobris editi mollivisse diceretur
(153) HONOR OATI HABITUS Parlamentum , ubi declarasset veram esse Conspirationem irritam, Gratias Oati maximas egerunt pro Navata Publicae Rei opera utilissima, detecta Conspiratione; non veniam tantum omnium criminum sed insuper ampla premia decernunt, adversus Catholicorum insidias satellitibus Regiis eum muniunt, hospitium ei in ipso Regis Palatio constituunt, eique mensam instruendam e culina Regia Commendatum , ut ista curarent , Monmuthio Praetorianorum , itemque Aulae et Aerarii Praefectis Digna trium praecipuorum Caroli Ministrorum circa Oatem occupatio ! Quantum mutatus ab illo, qui paulo ante Catholicorum fores obsidebat, stipem rogatum! (154) Hac ratione Oatis Individuo satis prospectum, non item Personaequam in Tragedia moxexhibenda sustinere debebat, cui unus impar erat. Alii testes, alia indicia quaerenda Excussae chartae nihil contulere ; lustratae domus, quaesita arma; nulla inventa, nisi quae Leges permitterent; aliquibus intentata lis, quod minus armis instructi essent, quam Jura ferrent; in caveas omnes descensum , nusquam ullus inventus miles, quem ingenti numero illic ali commentitus fuerat famosus Impostor. Hinc ad probrosas Artes conversi, captivos Catholicos aggredi statuerunt (Superius Conclave xxx Octobris et impunitatem et premia proponi jussit captivis, quos examini subjiciebant , modo se reos agnoscerent, ne privata quaestionem exercentium authoriPerhapsWarner refers to the cases of Michael Mallet, M.P. for Milbourne Port, Dorset, and Humphrey Weld, M.P. for Christchurch. Weld's nameis mentioned in Oates's depositions before the House of Lords (L.J., xiii, 328not reprinted in the True Narrative) Mallet, however, was arrested on 27 Aug. 1678 for treasonablewordsspoken againstthe King (C.S.P.D. 1678 , pp. 377, 380, 410, 570). Or else Warner may be referring to Oates's informations against Mr. Sackvile, Mr. Goring, and Sir John Robinson on 21 March 1678/9 (C.J., ix, 573) Sackvile was expelled the House and committed to the Tower on 25 March, and released on 1 April
I.e. M. Moranville (C.J., ix, 533-4). His personand lodgings were searched by order of the Commons 7 November 1678
Parliament could not, of course, grant these things of itself But they recommended rewardsfor Oates in the form of a ' humble address ' to Charles (C.J., ix, 549).
tate factum id dicatur ) Hinc in omnes partes miseros captivos convertunt, paenis territant, praemiis alliciunt, ut Oatis dictis fidem sua confessione concilient Quidam Protestans typis vulgavit, brevissimo tempore CXLVII aut Carnificis manu aut Carceris miseriis vitam amisisse ; eorum singulis oblatam impunitatem , vitam, Libertatem, opes, modo praetensam Conspirationem agnoscerent; qui omnes mori maluerunt quam perniciosa et detestanda criminis agnitione vitae suae consulere Unum hic addam exemplum, plura daturusinfra Johannes Medburnus , * non infimae tantum sed et venalis conditionis eorum, qui fas a Lucro separari vix posse putant (Mimus erat), in carcerem conjectus fuerat, quodab Oate diceretur in novo ExercituCapitaneus. Huic Libertas, et duo scutorum millia oblata, modo dicere vellet, se [f. 35] Patentes accepisse ad tale officiumsed frustra; nam constanter dixit malle se in carcere mori (quod re ipsa contigit), quam turpi mendacio, multis aliis Innocentissimis viris pernicioso , vitae suae consulere.
"
(155) QUO TENDERENT FACTIOSI . Quoniam ante finem hujus anni, in scenam Proceres prodierunt, qui hactenus trans Siparium latuerant, juvat, quantum in rebus obscurissimis licet, eorum studia exponere, ut sciant omnes quibus et isti rationibuspermoti Persequentium numerum auxerint Nec enimvero vel Orthodoxorum vel Orthodoxae Fidei odio ferebantur, cum eorum plerique hanc non aversarentur , illos vero etiam amarent ; et Liber Caroli nomine compositus, Jacobi jussu editus, diserte tradit factiosos nihil minus quam Catholicae Fidei excidium meditatos esse; et Shaftesburius , Factionis mens et anima, dixit identidem : Quid nostra refert, sint necne triginta aut quadragintaJesuitae in Anglia, in Angulis latitantes, lucifugae ? " Hoc colore Regiam authoritatem imminutum ibant, suam auctum, omnes certi quicquid illi decederet, sibi accessurum . In hoc consentiebant omnes Magnates Factioni studentes ut [quam] angustis limitibus circumscribereturRegia Potestas Ulterius progredi volebant e conclavi inferiori plurimi, Calvini fascino dementati, nebulis e Lacu Lemano suscitatis excaecati Et Regem nimirum et nomen Regium e medio tollere, ut Democraticum et GenevenseRegimen inducerent Quibus aut pauci aut nulli e Magnatibus hac in re consentiebant, quod sua quoque Dignitas una cum Regia esset collapsura, a qua dependet, ut radius a sole. His Aristocraticum Regimen arridebat, quale Poloniae aut Venetorum , ut Rex quidem primus esset, ipsi vero vel Senatorum vel Palatinorum locum
* I.e. Matthew Medburne , committed to Newgate26 October 1678, and died there 20 March 1678/9 (Bowler, C.R.S. , xxxiv, 236). He was one ofthe Duke of York's Company, and a man of some literary as well as theatrical ability (Doran, Their Majesties' Servants (2nd ed ), p 48, and Downes , Roscius Anglicanus (ed M. Summers , n.d.), p 170) He was a member of the dining-club at Fullers Rents , into which he introduced Oates in 1676 (WilliamSmith, Intrigues ofthe Popish Plot ... , 1685, p 4)
occuparent Hoc clarissime tradit editus ab Anonimo liber cui titulus Plato Redivivus, qui cum revocasset totam, quanta est in Anglia , Regiam potestatem ad quatuor ista capita : i ineundi Bellum , Pacem faciendi , faedera icendi cum quibus libuerit, etiam sedente Parlamento hoc inconsulto ; ii de militibus terra marique disponendi eos congendi, discingendi, praesidia Armamentariaque regendi, Urbes muniendi , classem armandi, exarmandi , etc; iii. Disponendi de omnibus officiis militaribus, civilibus, etiam Beneficiis Ecclesiasticis, ubi Jus Patronatus alicui Privato legitime acquisitum non intervenit ; iv Aes publicum administrandi His, inquam, explicatis, proponit haec a totidem consiliis administranda esse, quorum Consiliarii in triennium sequens a Parlamento nominentur Singulis consiliis Rex praesit vel per se vel per alium a se deputatum Res in deliberationem deductae semper ad pluralitatem suffragiorum decidantur , nec concesso diserte neque negato Regi jure suffragii vel definitivi vel deliberativi. În causis cum Civilibus tum Capitalibus , tota Juris dicendi Potestas Judicibus data Negata Regi facultas, externum Principem se invisentem convivio excipiendi aut Legatum dono quopiam honestandi, nisi de Consilio Aerario Praefecti licentia Quibus magna Regi Otia faciebant , ablata Publicae Rei cura , relicta tantum Privatae atque Domesticae, nimirum ut Ephebos scilicet suos et coquos regeret, et forte Colonias Americanas, aliis abstineret Dandum decernit pecuniae aliquantulum, quo cum aliis ludo decertaret , modo non magno pignore deposito Quale Regimen In quo Regia Potestas sine gladio, sine aere, sine Jurisdictione , sine subditis! Et
(156) Talia somnia somniabat Anonimus ille vigilans , caetera facundus, eruditus, multarum Rerum experientiainstructus, ut ex libro apparet , sed Calvini, uti videtur, veneno tactus huic bellae Regiminis Reformationi Carolum consentire debere contendit, si se, si familiamsuam, si regimen Monarchicum salvum esse velit, adducto Theopompi Spartae Regis Apophthegmate , qui cum in Ephororum institutionem consensisset , interroganti uxori, quale Regnum esset filio relicturus, " Bonum, " respondit, quia duraturum " Haec Anonimus ille, suis verbis omnium sensa exponens, si juxta Evangelium ex operibus de mente judi" cium feramus.
(157) Resumamus Hystoriae filum Haec eorum studia necdum plane eruperant in publicum; apparebant tamen jam non vana eorum indicia Commota plebs haud multum a seditione aberat, Presbiteriani Ministelli oleum addebant suis concionibus incendio; accedebant ad firmandas Partes et Caroli Patris et hujus hostes infensissimi et irreconciliabiles ; Horum nimia de ejus incolumitate et praepostera solicitudo , non ex amore nata,
* I.e. Henry Nevile's Plato Redivivus , 1680 (Wing N. 513-515 ) For a summary of this book see M. Ashley, John Wildman, Plotter and Postmaster , 1947, p 224 et sq .
quem nullum habebant, suspecta erat. Fictam Tragaediam Carolus ipse designaverat ; eam ipso invito in veram momento temporis mutatam miratur. In Parlamento eorum quae optarat nihil, omnia contraria fieri, doluit Recipere se, detecta Fabula, cujus prima ab ipsomet indicia prodierant, neque decorum neque tutum Itaque, quod Nautae faciunt adversis ventis conflictati, quibus resistendo non sunt, facit ipse, [f. 36] cum contra niti non posset: Tempestati cedit, ab ea quo rapiebat deferri se patitur.
(158) EDICTA CAROLI. Itaque instanti Parlamento, aliquot Edicta vulgat. Uno, nominatis aliquot sacerdotibus et Laicis, quadringenta scuta promittit eorum aliquem comprehendentibus, octoginta ei qui sacerdotem alium, quadraginta ei qui Arma Papistarum abscondita detexerit Jussit in omnes indiscriminatim Papistas Lege agi : ab iis utrumqueJuramentumFidelitatis, uti vocant, et Primatus Regii in Sacris, exigi; ea repudiantibus vincula injici, nisi cautione data (sive vadibus) satis faciant. Alio, bis mille scuta iis adpromissa, qui caedis Godefridideclararet Authores ; hujus enim facinoris Invidiam statuerant factiosi quocunque modo in Catholicos derivare Tertio, vetat Catholicos sub gravissimis paenis ultra quinque passuum millia domo quemque sua discedere.* (159) Cumque non, ut alias, Dicis tantum causa istavulgarentur, ad illudendum Populo, sed serio, et Carolus non obstaret, alii urgerent Executionem , ea in Catholicos inundarunt mala, quae concipi vix possunt, explicari nullo modo Tristissimam rerum faciem exhibere conatus est, Litteris ad P. de la Chaize datis, quidam Gallus Londini agens, in haec verba scribens: " Quidam apparuit, qui tot accusat, ut cuncti carceres iis capiendis non sufficiant ; nec tuti innocentissimi viri Res in tam malum statum delapsae sunt, ut nullum supersit remedium Catholici Angli fugerunt, triste agmen, lugubre spectaculum Nec alienigenae tuti Maxime odiosum Jesuitarumnomen, sacerdotibus etiam et Saecularibus et Regularibus et ipsis Catholiciis laicis, quod ab iis orta feratur ista saevissimaTempestas, quae totam Religionem Catholicam evertet. Fac, orent viri Pii, ut Deus sua gratia confirmethomines maximis Tentationibus expositos Nihil mihi rescribas, ne in summum me discrimen adducas. " Haec pius ille vir, quisquis fuerit epistolae Author, mala deplorans ex Regiis Edictis orta et Fabulosa conspiratione. (160) BEDLOUS QUALIS . Premia in Oatem congesta et Godefridi Percussores detegenti promissa Bedloum exciverunt, qui, tametsi Godefridum nec de facie nosset, nec forte unquam nomen audieratantequam mortuus esset, statuit quocumque modo illa bis mille scuta nancisci Sumpto igitur spacio aliquo ad
* These may be identified in Steele as follows: (i) 3666; (ii) 3656; (iii)
Possibly Blessed Claude de la Colombière . 3662
inquirendum, qualis vir esset, quae Loca, quos homines frequentaret, Indicium Professus , et Homicidas nosse, quos esset accusaturus, ubi praeteritorum criminum, illius speciatim homicidii gratiam, nactus esset ; qui insuper honorario bis mille scutorum auctus est (161) Quae dixerit, et quam a vero aliena, suo loco dicetur. Isex infimo hominumgenerenatus in agro Monmuthensi , flagitiis tota vita coopertus fuit Per omnes totius Angliae Provincias furtis et Latrociniis grassatus, omnium ergastulorum inquilinus, hoc ipso anno sex menses in Carcere Londini transegit Etiam vicinas regiones furando atque latrocinando peragravit, dissimulata Persona, sumpto nobilium virorum schemate, quo viris bonis illuderet Pro Illustrissimo Barone Neoporto se venditans , an MDCLXXVII mutuo petiit a Capitaneo Floydo in Belgio generosum equum, quem secum Lutetiam Parisiorum abduxit. Sumpto illic Baronis Cornwallis nomine, R.P. Stephano Gough, * Oratorii Presbitero, septingintacirciter scuta abstulit. A confessario monialiumAnglorum Rhotomagi , alia quinquagintaeadem arte. Transiit inde in Hispaniam , sumptoque Baronis Gerardi nomine, Bilbai, ab honesto mercatore Frankelino mille scuta recepit Sed iste intellecta fraude, hominis in Lusitaniam fugientis vestigia premens, eum Zamorrae assecutus , Vallisoletum reduxit, et in carcerem conjecit , ubi scelerum paenas luisset, ni Patrum Collegii Anglicani precibus et industria [f. 37] inde fuisset subductus Illic noticiam iniit cum Oate, cui decem scuta furto abstulit Habetur Audomari Epistola ipsius Oatis manu scripta, quo Jacturam hanc deplorat Inde in Patriam reversus, dum veteresartes furandiexercet, in Carceremconjectus, ubi sex menses egit ; inde emissus ubi primus Conspirationis rumor erupit. De eo frequens deinceps sermo, cum in mendaciis fundendis et Perjurio confirmandis vix Oati cederet, ingenio et loquacitate hunc ipsum longe praecederet (162) DUGDALLUS QUALIS Tertium in Catholicos testem edidit carcer Staffordiensis Stephanum Dugdallum , qui Illustrissimo Baroni Ashtono § ministraverat, recipiendis ejus redditibus ab eodem Praefectus, donec eos in proprios usus avertisse compertus fuit; eam ob improbitatem in carcerem missus est, orta jam Tempestate. Eum illic convenerunt aliqui Nobiles statim, petitum numquid de famosa conspiratione resciisset. Quibus juratus asseruit se nihil nisi ex publicis rumoribus audivisse. Caeterum oblata ab Oratore Conclavis inferioris pecunia, qua
* For identification of Gough see § 88 and note. R. D. Price, A.
For a further accountbyWarner of Bedlow'sactivities seethe Seconde Lettre de Mons .... 20 Avril 1679 (B.M. 860, i, 12 (3) ) and A Vindication of the English Catholiks .... the second edition with some additions ... Item a velation of some ofBedlow's pranksin Spain and Oates' letter concerning him ... MDCLXXXI (B.M. 860, i, 12 (8) ), and further , C.S.P.D. , 1680-1, pp 602-3
§ I.e. Aston
aes alienum expungeret , aliisque premiis allectus, Testis in Catholicos Personam et ipse induit. (163) MILES PRANCIUS. Quartus accessit, non sua sponte, sed vi et tormentis adactus Prancius, Argenti +Faber+ Londinensis , qui Necis Godefridi arcessitus carceri mancipatus est , ubi constanter initio se negavit ullum cognoscere homicidii illius affinem; sed fidiculis tortus, et se Reum asseruit, et complices se accusaturum. Hinc Consilio coram adductus eadem fassus est; tamen flexis Carolo genibus, ei protestatus est omnia a se prolata falsa esse, neminem se cognoscere Caedis illius Reum; quae Carolus a duobus qui aderant notari curavit In carcerem reductus , ostensis fidiculis, muliebris animi vir territus, ut eas vitaret, in criminis confessione perstitit. * Is non ita multo post Librum edidit, in quo pauca de Jesuitis, eaque leviora retulit: dixisse nempe sibi Jesuitam aliquem Meliora tempora instare (quod ex Caroli benevolentia , Reginae Pietate, Eboracensis constantia , sperari poterat; ille in Conspirationis confirmationem rapiebat); at in sacerdotes saeculares (inter quos duos habebat ipse fratres, quorum unus erat Vicarius Generalis ) fanda infanda conjecit, tanquam e Plaustro probra jaceret, ipsa maledicentiae magnitudine fidem sibi detrahens, quam apud paucissimos invenit. (164) His quatuor Testibus (de Oate antea dictum) veluti quatuor immanissimis Belluis quadriga invecti Factiosi , sumpta Religionis Protestanticae Larva, latissimam stragem edebant Nec humanitus ullus occurrebat modus triumphalemistum currum sufflaminandi , cum Plebs propelleret , Shaftesburius omnia misceret, a Partium studio alieni aut metu attoniti aut stupore defixi haererent.
(165) Maximus in Eboracensem factus impetus Is pridem officiis publicis renunciarat . Id non satis visum animosis hominibus, ipsum a Comitiis, a Consilio Sacratiori , a Caroli Latere divellerre volentibus , et toto regno pellere Et caetera quidem Eboracensis ultro concessit; ut vero Comitiis abstineret unde nullae leges illum arcerent, aut a Carolo fratre discederet, nisi
* Cf. Minutes of Council meeting of 30 December 1678, after Prance's recantation: " Why make all this story ? Was threatened to be hung. Wrenne and the rest, and that Richardson owns he denied that Wren told him so . Ld. Chancellor etc. To have him view the rack etc." (C.S.P.D. , 1678, p 593)
A True Narrative and Discovery of Several very Remarkable Passages relating to the Horrid Popish Plot, as they fell within the knowledge of Mr. Miles Prance of Covent Garden, Goldsmith Published by Authority, London ... 1679. This was followed by The Additional Narrative of Mr. Miles Prance . . . ., London, MDCLXXIX .
Thomas Prance entered English College, Valladolid, 1649 , " exAnglia ad hoc Collegium venit," and returned to England 1656 (Valladolid Diary, C.R.S., xxx, 165) Thereare also lettersofpriesthooddated 1672ofone Charles Townsend alias Prance in Westminster Archives, vol xxxiv, n 32. I can find no evidence, in such Chapter records as are available, that either was ever Vicar General For Prance's own account of his brothers see The Additional Narrative, pp 42-3.
ipso id jubente, constantissime negavit Tamen anno sequenti videbimus eum etiam regno cedere coactum
(166) Videamus jam aliquorum e multis faelicem exitum , quos ista Persecutio praesenti vita privavit, ut aeterna donaret; et primo quidem eorum, qui incruenta morte, deinde vero qui Carnificis ferro consumpti sunt. In Ecclesiae enim Anglicanae agro nec Rosae nec Lilia desunt; et Pax et Acies suos habent flores quibus Christi milites coronentur ; si tamen mori in Pace dici possint, qui hiemis asperrimae frigore, qui carceris aerumnis, qui omnis generis miseriis conficiuntur.
(167) THOMAS BEDDINGFELDI MORS . Horum agmen ducet Thomas [f. 38] Beddingfeldus, is ad quem Litterae Windesorianae directae fuerant Huic structas ei ab Oate et Tongo illis Litteris insidias vitasse, eatenus profuit, ut omnibus censeretur ejus criminis purus, qui totam sceleris noticiam curarat statim Carolo deferri ; non item ut factiosorummanus evaderet, aucto in illum ex ea consilii sui nequissimi frustratione odio Cum facili negocio caput Tempestati subducere posset, conscientia nixus et Caroli testimonio sublevatus, qui virum esse Probum clare pronunciarat, citatus , Consilio Sacratiori se stitit. Sednonprofuerunt illa Innocentiae suae testimonia , quo minus in Carceremmitteretur Aulae vicinum, cui nomen Gate-House, sive Porta Domus; quem paedore Carceris, aliisque aerumnis cito accersita mors in Libertatem filiorum Dei asseruit, xxi Dec.
(168) Natus erat nobili stirpe, Patre Downes, matre Beddingfelda, in Norfolcia. Humanioribus litteris Audomari, Phylosophicis Vallisoleti imbutus , aequa Pietatis opinione, Societatem obtinuit. Tyrocinio Wattenis posito, ad Theologias discendas Mussipontum missus est. Vir adeo humilis , ut, maximis negociis par, minima semper prensaret Wattenis Procuratoris aeconomi munus, laboris, taediorum , difficultatum plenum, aliquot annis obivit, ea Tempestate, qua ferventibus inter Reges Christianissimum et Catholicum bellis, militum excursionibus omnia infesta erant, a quorum praedatricibus manibus +magno labore+ non sine suo periculo defendendi Rustici Hinc, accedente ipsius semper in se saevientis austeritate , fractae vires, ut posterioribus annis semper fuerit infirma valetudine Eboracensem in Hollandos pugnaturumaliquoties secutus, in ejus familiam admissus est, eique adhaesit, donec ista Tempestate avulsus fuisset. Non tamen propterea Pauperes deserebat, quos impensius amabat; eorumque confessiones libentiusexcipiebat , quoties ad eos evocabatur, Paratus ad eos excurrere, etiam cum vitae periculo, ob valetudinem adversam. Triennio socios Londini rexit
(169) Cadaver antequam tumulo conderetur, a duodecim viris recognitum est Sesqui anno postea sparsus unde unde rumor eum vivere et in ProvinciaNottingamiae , centum passuum millibus ab Urbedistante loco, conspirationem strenue promovere. Ad quem comprehendendum, an sua sponte, aut aliorum hortatu,
aut mandato Comitiorumincertum, excurrit Gulielmus Wallerus eques auratus (de quo multa infra), non majori missi quam mittentium ludibrio ; sed ne nihil eo itinere egisse videretur, nihil Lucri reportaret, Gulielmum Beddingfeldum civem Londinensem Adolescentem conjugatum comprehendit , in carcerem Neowarcensem primum, deinde Nottinghamiensem condit, aufert ei quicquid argenti facti infective reperit, et Londinum ovans reversus est
(170)
HUMPHRIDI BRUNI MORS . Mortuus est etiam isto tempore Humphridus Brunus , paterno cognomine Evanus dictus, * natus in tractu Arvonensi Walliae Borealis, in haeresi educatus, posito in Paterna domo Litterarum Humaniorum tyrocinio, Oxonium ad altiora studia capessanda transiit. Caeterum divina Bonitas, quae illumab initioin opus Evangeliisegregaverat, dederatque animam bonam, ad separandum preciosum a vili, aperuit ei oculos, ad videndos suae gentis errores, et e medio nationis pravae eduxit. Pertaesus enim Adolescentium depravatos in ea Academia mores, biennio illic expleto, Parisios abiit, et fidem Catholicam professus est, Anno Saeculi labentis XVIII, aetatis suae XXII. Romam inde Devotionis ergo profectus, Apostolorum limina visitatum, ubi in Collegium suae gentis admissus, decursis Phylosophiae et Theologiae studiis , sacerdotio initiatus est; indeque missus in Patriam, singulari Zelo aliorum curandae saluti gnaviter incubuit, donec majoris perfectionis tactus desiderio Societatem ingressus est Decurso Tyrocinio iterum Apostolicis laboribus restitutus, donecex singulariDevotione ad Tertii anni probationem admitti petiit, ad quam non tenebatur, utpote qui sacerdos et finitis studiis fuerat in Societatem admissus. (171) Inde laboriosam et periculi plenam missionem aggressus, Anglia bellis civilibus ardente, Persecutionum immanium procellis agitata, totos LIII annos indefessus interritusque vineae Domini Cultor transegit, fructu laboribus pari. Bis Collegii S. Xaverii Rector, et sex annis Residentiae S. Winifredae Superior, laboribus magno animo exantlatis, fractis tamen corporis viribus, Apoplexiatactus est; unde debilitato qui linguam movet nervo , haec aegre officium suum peragebat, sed nec manus neque pedes suo rite fungebantur . Qui tamen totam Conspirationis fabulam confinxerant , finxerunt etiam in eo senecione quod timeretur: hominem nempe elinguem consiliis et Eloquentia turbas concitare, et membris omnibus [f. 39] captum, manu , opera, exemplo in regni excidium commovere. Hinc ipso Christi D. Natali die, immissi satellites domum aggrediuntur , fores effringunt, in decumbentis senis cubiculum irrumpunt, Schlopos alii, alii gladios, minaciterintentant, ni Conspirationem agnoscat, nihil respondenti, quam quo potuit modo: Fiat Voluntas Dei
* Cf . Foley, v, 409 and 936 sq The house where he was discovered was Pool Hall, Cheshire, the seat of Sir James Poole , Bart.
Tenuit ista servi Dei et familiae totius vexatio horas aliquot; et patrem in carcerem rapuissent, nisi timuissent ne inter eorum manus animam efflaret Hinc ipso relicto discesserunt, Aedium domina vadimoniumpraestante, ipsum si convalesceret Tribunali sistendum. Post tres circiter hebdomadas illa cum tota familia citatur causam dictura, quod hominem Regi Perduellem domum suam admisisset Illis abitum parantibus , quo Magistratui parerent, rogavit ille, se una deportarent . Sed nemine id auso , ne ad alia ficta crimina , etiam Homicidium accederet, cujus se accusandos certo sciebant casu quo inter eorum manus exanimaretur. Solus relictus , ut S. Xaverius in insula Sanciano, antiquo morbo, militum raptatione, maerore, quod solus esset inter Haereticos relictus , obdormivit in Domino , in caelo uti speramus aeternum vigilaturus Spem istamfaciunt ejus diuturni Labores, in Prosperis Modestia, in adversis Patientia, in omnibus constantia paene mirabilis Nullo unquam periculo deterritus est ab iis visitandis, qui ejus opem implorabant Religiosae Disciplinae , precipue votorum, rigidus custos, Societatem velut optimam Parentem tenerrimo affectu diligebat, solitus annue dies illos celebrare singulari animi gratitudine, quibus Oxonium reliquit, Parisios advenit, Ecclesiae Catholicae reconciliatus est, in Seminarium nostrae gentis Romae admissus, sacerdotio initiatus, in Societatem admissus est, et in ea Professionem emisit; quae singularia veluti Dei beneficia recolebat. Vivere desiit xiv Jan. MDCLXXIX, aetatis suae lxxxii, Missionis LIV, Professionis quatuor votorum XLII. (172) IGNATIUS PRICIUS Hunc biduo post secutus est , uti speramus, ad supernae vocationis Brabium Ignatius Pricius , * in Societatem admissus A.D. MDCXXXIV. Coadjutoris temporalis gradum adeptus A.D. MDCXLVII, totos fere XXXIV annos vineam coluit improbolabore, copiosofructu; quo tempore, in tanta rerum vicissitudine , tot Persecutionibus, illa potissimum, quam Parlamentum , occiso rege, eversa monarchia , suscitavit, quos labores exantlarit, in quantis periculis fuerit versatus, intelligent illi, qui temporum illorum Hystorias evolvent , quas R.P. Matthaeus Tannerus accurate scripsit. Heroicum ejus animi robur inde colligitur, quod assignatam ab obedientia sibi stationem , et oves sibi creditas nullo periculo territus unquam deseruerit; et quam vivens terram tenuerat, moriens contexit. Haec nimirum ultima Tempestas eum suo turbine involvit, eo furore ad carceres et alia conquisitus, ut vix ulla nox per duos menses transierit, quin irruptionibus in Catholicorum domos quaereretur. Nullus ergo suppetebat effaeto seni ad quietem locus, nulla secura statio, dum hospitium partim negatur metu Legum, partim ipse declinat Evangelica Charitate , ne hospites ipsius causa pericula adirent. Dum de tugurio in tugurium
Cf. Foley, v, 900, who refers to him as a priest See below, § 173 and note
fugitat, asperrima hieme, exeunte Novembri , Decembri, et Januariiinitio, et per saltus et montana nivibus obsita tenuitervestitus, nudis subinde pedibus, quo tensos ab affine suo Haeretico casses vitaret, contracta febri plenus dierumet meritorumvitae cursum absolvit. Sed nec sepulchro conditus a nefario affine quietem habuit, corpus invisere volente, ut dicebat, quod non crederet illius esse , revera, ut auream crucem, quam de collo gestare dicebatur, auferret sacrilegus Praedo; risu exceptus, ubi inventum nihil
(173)
Quadruplatorumdiligentiam Matthaeus Mildmaius stratagemate B. Athanasii simili vitavit * Sciebant illi, ubi agitaret, et improvisi in aulam irrumpunt, ubi ipse cum Hospite suo versabatur Se quaeri statim sentit; nihil tamen, ut solet in re subita, turbatus, magna animi praesentia, constanti vultu, Militum Praefectum adit, salutat humaniter, quid aut quem quaerat, rogat Respondet alter, se MatthaeumMildmaium Jesuitam et Patriae Proditorem quaerere. Non ita pridem fuit hic," ait Matthaeus. " Veni mecum , eum una quaeremus: +nec credo nos effugiet, + mihi enim perinde nota domus, ac ipsius domino " Statimquehominem per omnia cubicula officiosissime deducit, lectos scrutatur, aulaea excutit, omnia rimatur, sed nemo occurrebat ei similis Frustratus ergo spe sua, Praefectus de labore tam officioso [f. 40] gratias agit, sua vicissim obsequia defert, et discedit Cui satellitum unus: Cur praedam e manibus elabi passus es ? quem enim Ducem habuisti, ipse est, quem tanto labore comprehensum venimus. Quod antea non dixi, quia alium insuper te quaerere credebam ' Recurrunt omnes e vestigio , illum capturi; sed frustra, cum in paucis nota latibula se recepisset.
(174) LATIBULA SACERDOTUM Sunt in plerisque Catholicorum domibus aliqua condita latibula ea solertia, ut ab externis vix inveniri possint, plerisque etiam domesticis ignota; in quae se sacerdotes cum sacra supellectili instanti periculo recipiant, angusta plerunque, ut in iis vix stari possit. Eorum unum saluti Carolo fuit ab infelici Worcestrensi praelio fugienti, cum eum toto regno, illa domo speciatim, + quaererent ad infame supplicium Cromwelli truculenti milites; qui locus ob honorem Personae , quae illic delituerat, multis illuc occurrentibus monstratus Et hic orta persecutione, nulla honoris Caroli, cui Azilum fuerat , habita ratione , discussus fuit, sed frustra, cum Jesuita illic delitescens per posticum egressus evasit incolumis. In hujus modi augustis locis, quidam Patres inclusi , ut suae et eorum quibus cum vivebant incolumitati consulerent, ad tres quatuorve
* This incident probably occurred at the house of Henry Borlase in Cornwall(Foley, Collectanea, p. 508). Foley, v, 900 sq, following BrevisRelatio, relates this incident of Fr. [sic] Ignatius Price
I.e. Boscobelcf. Florus Anglo-Bavaricus, p. 122 .
I.e. Fr. William Vavasour, alias Gifford Cf. Foley, v, 432-3.
menses delituerunt, magno valetudinis suae detrimento; hinc enim calculi, chiragrae, podagrae, asthmata , hydropises, phthyses, alia morborum examina mortem accelerantia Eorum aliqui paulo post, diem obierunt; alii vitam vivunt parum vitalem. Quorum nomina in libro vitae descripta spero; hic omittuntur, ne justo longius excrescat liber.
(175) Haec de candidis Charitatis Victimis. Rubicundae nos vocant
(176) GULIELMI STALAEI CERTAMEN . Primus qui Catholico sanguine Angliam rigavit, fuit Gulielmus Stalaeus, alterius Gulielmi Aurifabri et Trapaezitae, Londiniensis civis Divitis, filius Majestatis accusatus a duobus Scotis, Gulielmo Castars* et N. Southerlando, quod dixisset : " Rex est Haereticus etomnium hominum sceleratissimus Et cor habeo et manum, qua illum trucidem Putant Rex et Parlamentum omni se periculo defunctos, conjectis in carceres aliquot Catholicis ; sed falluntur scelesti "
(177) Castarsii nomen inter veros conspiratores Presbiterianos frequens in Libro Caroli nomine composito et Regia Authoritate editor: et certum est solos fere Caroli infensissimos hostes in Catholicos toto Persecutionis tempore grassatos fuisse, magno nostrorum Innocentiae praejudicio , pari iniquitatis aliorum . Stalaeus, facta sibi loquendi Potestate, dixit quendam Gallum , nomine Froment , illum adivisse, pecuniam sibi debitam petitum; hanc ubi numerasset, utrumquepopinam ivisse, ut una pranderent; collocutos se fuisse de rebus indifferentibus , dum afferreturcibus, aperta cubiculi porta, ut a transeuntibus et videri et audiri possent, duobus illis Scotis in vicino cubiculo manentibus; sequenti die mane, Scotorum alterum se convenisse in Patris officina, fibulam ostendisse Carbunculo ornatam, petiise aliam ei similem faceret ; cumque negaret se talem lapidem habere, et ad alios Aurifabros dirigeret; alterum rogasse, iret salutatum virum quendam apprime nobilem, in vicino Oenopolio; ibisibi ostensam Chartam, verba, quorum accusabatur, continentem (Haec habentur in Actis publicis typo vulgatis; non item quodproxime sequitur, quod a fide dignis hominibus, qui Actioni intererant audivi) ; dictumque , ni velit DCCC scuta illis dare, de iis accusatum iri, et impromptu esse testes qui jurent se ea audivisse; * Or Carstairs.
Carstairs was involved in the Rye House Plot " William Carstares, a Scotch Conventicle Preacher to a NumerousMeeting at Theobalds , where Rumbald was his frequent Hearer" (A True Account and Declaration ofthe Horrid Conspiracy against the late King .... 1685 (2nd Edition), p 27) For Carstairs's depositions concerning the Rye House Plot see Copies of Informationsand Original Papers relatingto the Proofofthe Horrid Conspiracy.. 1685, p 125 sq
Further evidence, if any is needed, that the printed versions ofthe State Trials are in many cases far from verbatim Cf. J. G. Muddiman , State Trials, the needfor a new and revised edition (1930).
cum negaret se pecuniam illam daturum, ex iis unum erupisse, accersitum officialem, qui se in carcerem duceret Summae dementiae fuisset, ait, talia verba tam alte protulisse, ut in alio cubiculo audirentur, idque Gallice, quae lingua perinde ac ipsa vernacula in illa domo et vicinia intelligitur. Adduci debuisse Froment socium suum, qui quae dicta fuerant optime sciebat. (178) Auditi deinde varii, qui Stalaeo familiares erant; omnes unanimiter testati, [se] saepius illum de Carolo locutum fuisse, semper cum Honoris et amoris significatione Haec Reo nihil profuerunt. Unde prolata in eum feralis sententia, Perduellium supplicio eum destinans Traha ducitor ad Patibulum, illic ad breve tempus suspenditor, secta qua pendebit chorda, pectus finditor, viscera conburuntor ipso spectante, corpus in quatuor partes dividitor, de quibus Carolus ut libuerit disponat. Haec sententia Scroggianae Praefecturae Primitiae fuit, et ad futuram crudelitatem prolusio; quam ut coronam oblectaret , et Reo atque Catholicis [f. 41] insultaret, festivis acroamatis ornavit. Quorum unum erat : Sacerdotes solere facere Proselitos, dicendo: Facite quaecunque voletis peccata, penes nos tamen semper erit, vos salvare; sed si non feceritis, quae jusserimus, penes nos erit vos damnare " Item istud: ubi Papista quispiam aliquem declaravit Haereticum, quilibet absque scrupulo illum deinceps occidet ; immo caelum inde sibi deberi credet. " Et addidit: " Soli Papistae caelum eo modo petant; absit, ego caelum illud ingrediar, ubi homines fiunt sancti, ideo quod Reges trucidarint. " Haec antequam Duodecim viri Reum pronunciassent; at ubi illi vindicias secundum Accusationem dedissent, Reo dixit: " Licet jam tibi Catholico mori; in morte credo, te inventum iri sacerdotem. "
(179) Paulo post supplicium de illo sumptum, Innocentiam suam extremospiritu contestante. Testium unus, ut dixi, verae Presbiterianae Conspirationis reus inventus est.
(180) Alter, teste Nathanaele Tomsono, * Bibliopola Londiniensi, morti vicinus Edenburgi , accersito Loci Episcopo et quatuoraliis, agnovitomnia a se contra Stalaeum dicta, falsa esse.
(181) Indulsit Carolus corpus dissectum sepeliretur ; verum cum imprudenti affectu quotquot Londini supererant Catholici funus prosecuti fuissent, offensus eo honore Carolus jussit corpus effodi, caput palo infixum in Pontis Londinensis turri, reliqua membra in aliis Portis exponi
(182) Iste Litteris Humanioribus in Belgio navavit operam , Medicinae vero Paduae, unde Laurea Doctorali in ea facultate donatus, in patriam rediit, ubi uxore ducta (quam superstitem
* For a good account of Thompson see J. G. Muddiman, " Nathaniel Thompsonand the Popish Plot" (The Month, July 1921) Thompsonprinted this particular piece of information in The Loyal Protestant , no 151 , of 6 May 1682 It is cited by Muddiman in " The First Martyr of the Popish Plot: William Staley " (The Month , April 1923)
reliquit, unde liquet inique, ne dicam maligne, fuisse de sacerdotio suspectum), Patrem juvit in suo Trapezitae artificio. (183) ODOARDI COLMANNI CERTAMEN . Hunc proxime secutus est Odoardus Colmannus, Serenissimae Ducissae Eboracensi a secretis, in haeresi educatus, quam detectis erroribus ejuravit, et totus in Catholicorum partes transiit, quas exinde promovit pro virili, magno Zelo, sed impari subinde Prudentia. Magnum a Natura sortitus est et festivum ingenium, cui dum nimium indulgeret, et liberrimis censuris (quae parum a satyris abessent) cunctos perstringeret , Divum nulli parcens, multorum, praecipue Danbaei, offensam incurrit, a quibus tandem oppressus est * (184) Captum fuisse superius retuli xxvii Novembris ad causam dicendam evocatus est Accusationis capita: voluisse Carolum e medio tollere, seditionem excitare, regimen evertere , accersere Gallos in Angliam, Protestantes internecione delere , eorum strage viam aperire Papismo postliminio redituro Haec ubi magna eloquentia exposuissent Actores, Regius nimirum Procurator et Advocatus , testes dati Oates et Bedlous Ille dixit se Audomaro Parisios ivisse delatum ad P. de La Chaize Regis Christianissimi confessarium epistolam Colmanni , qua gratias agebat de quadragies mille scutis a Rege Galliae datis; eaque promittit non nisi in Caroli necem impendenda Retulisse Audomarumejusdem P. de la Chaize responsum; quod illis resignavit, et legit, quia per litteras Patentes Generalis Jesuitarum facta ei esset potestas cunctas Jesuitarum Epistolas resignandi et interveniendieorum consultationibus Earum virtute adfuisse Congregationi Provinciali mense Aprilis, ad Equi Albi, ubi confirmatumconsilium occidendi Carolum, quod Colmanno se praesente dictum, et ab eo approbatum . Vidisse Colmannum circa xxi Augusti hujus anni trecenta viginti scuta quatuor sicariis Windesoriae Carolum occisuris transmittenda; ipsummet quatuor scuta dedisse latori, ad diligentiam incitandam. Visum ipsi non satis magnum premium Medico qui Carolo medicatam potionem daturus erat, quadraginta millia scutorum, ideoque egisse, ut viginti millia adderentur . Denique acceptasse Litteras Patentes Generalis Jesuitarum , quibus creabatur Secretarius Regis. (185) Colmannus ad haec respondit : nunquam a se visum Oatem, antequam coram Consilio Regio fuissent producti simul; Oatem ipsum ibi fassum esse se Colmannum non cognoscere (quod confirmarunt duo Equites Aurati , tum praesentes) Petiit cur non coram consilio ipsum Majestatis accusasset , si talia de illo sciebat ? Se a xv Aug. ad xxxi ejusdem in Provincia Warvi-
* Warner's account of Coleman , although reserved , is nevertheless unflattering Cf. Viscount Stafford's remark to Sancroft at their interview in the Tower , January 1678/9: " He (Stafford) could never like or brook that fellow (Coleman ) when he was in the hottest of his career (Bodley MS . Tanner 39, f 158). For an account of the disturbance caused by Coleman's newslettersin 1676 cf. North, Examen, p 133, and Lives ofthe Norths (ed . A. Jessopp), i, 186. A complete set of Coleman's newsletters to Sir Richard Bulstrode is in the Carl Pforzheimer Library (U.S.A.)
"
censi egisse octogesimo circiter ab urbe lapide (quod et multorum testimonio , et propriodiario, in quod expensarum rationes quotidie referebat, probavit, unde videre non potuit cccxx scuta sicariis Londino deferenda, aut quatuor, illorum Bajulo dare) De Parisino Oatis itinere, et ejus praesentia in CongregationeJesuitarum nihil dixit, quod non sciret utrumque confictum (186) [f. 42] Bedlous dixit se ab Henrico Tichburno Baronetto audivisse, quod Colmannus a Jesuitarum Generali factus esset Secretarius Regis Se ab ipso Epistolas tulisse ad P. de la Chaize, datas mense Aprilis A.D. MDCLXXV, in quibus de Conspiratione agebatur (quod falsum esse patuit, quia prima ad Chazium Epistola Colmanni data fuit mense Septembris illius anni). Audivisse eum dicentem : " Si haberem centum vitas, omnes expenderem libens ; et si oceanus sanguinis in venis meis flueret, totum effunderem, ut Ecclesia in Anglia stabiliretur; et si centum Haeretici Reges obstarent, cunctos interfici curarem ' Ad haec Colmannus Deum testem invocans, ait ante diem illum nunquam a se visum Bedloum ; ejusque Domestici testati sunt illum nunquam a se domi suae visum Producta exinde trium Colmanni Epistolarum ad Chazium datarum +Apographa + ; duae proprio nomine, tertia Eboracensis, sed ab ipso improbata. In iis contra Carolum nihil, pro eo multa, imo omnia: pecuniam emungere conatur, Chaizo interveniente , a Rege Christianissimo , inopiae Caroli supplementum, ut dimisso Parlamento, ejus molestiis liberatus conscientiis libertatem indulgeret; unde secuturam Ditionum ipsius conversionem Ad augendam Invidiam odioserepetita saepius illa verba Colmanni ex illarum Epistolarum una: Ingens opus molimur, trium Regnorum conversionem , et indefortasse victoriam de pestilenti Haeresi, quae diu in magna Septentrionis parte rerum potita est. Nec a Mariae morte faelicis exitus tantae spes unquam extiterunt."
(187) Respondit Colmannus: quod optavit Regni conversionem , sibi cum aliis omnibus commune esset, qui suam Religionem veram credunt (Nec enimvero unquam Paulo crimini datum quod optavit Agrippam aliosque praesentes Christianos fieri ) Nunquam se modis illicitis, nunquam violentis, uti voluisse; nec putasse facienda mala bonorum expectatione inde secuturorum . Tamen a duodecim viris Reus dictus, et feralis in eum a Scroggio lata sententia, quam hoc proboso Catholicis Scommate ornavit: illis nec naturalem sensum superesse nec naturalem conscientiam; non naturalem sensum, quia credunt vinum in sanguinem mutari; nec naturalem conscientiam, quia Sanguinem Protestantium in vinum convertunt et deinde instar vini illum sitiunt.
(188) Die iii Dec. supplicio ejus designata, traha raptatus ad patibulum, in haec verba locutus est: " Expectatis, aliqua dicam de famosa Conspiratione ; nescio vero an meliori fortuna ad fidem faciendam modo verba mea excipienda sint, quam antea .
Tamen fide viri morientis declaro, me nihil de ea scire . Quod ad excitandam seditionem, mutandum regimen, movendam rebellionem, novandas leges, Carolum e medio tollendum spectat, nihil scio. Nec unquam cogitavi Religionem, pro qua Zelosus feror, iis modis promovere. In Ecclesia Catholica sum, Deo Laus, et in ea morior; nec id unquam arbitratus sum aut Regi aut Regimini noxium esse .... Interpellante aliquo, frustra teri tempus ejusmodi sermonibus intempestivis ; si quid de Conspiratione declararet, se libenter audituros , addidit: " Nihil scio. Iterum assevero , me nunquam in animo habuisse regimen mutare aut quicquam contra leges facere ; sed ea solum, id que pacifice, quae quilibet, cujuscunque sit Religionis , faceret si posset;" se false accusatum a testibus; Bedloum , nisi pro Tribunali, nunquam a se visum Interrogatus num quid de nece Godefridiresciisset, verbis viri morientis testatus est nihil se de ea scire.
(189) Hoc ipso mense Decembris, capitisarcessitusGulielmus Irelandus; caeterum, quia tantum anno sequenti praeciosa in conspectu Domini mors ejus contigit, in illum hanc causam remittimus. (190) CONTROVERSIA DE JURAMENTO FIDELITATIS . * Ante finem hujus Anni hoc Persecutionis Bono ad Zizania seminanda, divellendos ab invicem Catholicos, et committendos sacerdotes , abusus est humani generis infensissimus et perpetuus hostis , magno Bonorum omniumdolore, ingentiCatholicae rei detrimento, excitata tempore sane alienissimo controversia an licitum esset Juramentum Fidelitatis, uti vocatur. Illud post famosam Conspirationem Pulverariam magna arte compositum fuerat ab Apostata quodam , ut errorum venenum in eo latens non nisi a perspicacissimis observaretur, incautis iisque qui ex sua probitate de aliis judicarent (quorum longe maximus ubique numerus) penitus lateret. Hinc non variae tantum, verumetiam oppositae de eo Sententiae, statim ac apparuit, et graves inde secutae altercationes , quas Summi Pontifices identidem compescuerunt, editis decretis, illud tam damnantes, quam declarantes de se illicitum esse et Fidei contrarium; +quibus stabilita Pax, quod iis omnes paruerunt Nunc, cum vix occurreret , quo se verterent Persecutionis immanitate pressi Catholici , et carceres ostentarentur , quos nisi praestitoJuramento vitare non poterant, aliqui humani aliquid passi illud admiserunt ; alii mori maluerunt, et diram captivitatem libertati cum anxiis scrupulis aut etiam certo peccati reatu praetulerunt Inventi sacerdotes qui lapsis (fas sit ita loqui) patrocinarentur; et scripta quaedam in lucem emissa, ab ingeniis fervidioribus, Christi in terris vicario non
* For a full account of the significanceof the disputes concerningthe Oaths see M. V. Hay, The Jesuits and the Popish Plot, Chaps II & V. See also Stonyhurst MS A. IV, 31, a compilation of documents concerningthe Oaths covering the 16th and 17th centuries J. H. Pollen gives a general survey in the article Oath of Allegiance , Cath Encyclopedia I.e. Christopher Perkins, olim S.J. (Dodd-Tierney, iv, 70 sq )
Ad satis obsequentibus, incendio nascenti oleum infuderunt partes firmandas prensati nobilissimae totoque orbe celeberrimae Facultatis Theologicae (Parisiensem intelligo) Doctores plerique, ut assentirentur , persuasum aliquibus, sive quod minus Pontificia decreta venerarentur , sive unius partis favore abrepti, sive ut Societatis in Anglia vinculis pressuram augerent, sive denique, quod mihi [f. 43] verosimilius , quod vere crederent nihil in eo mali contineri; tametsi meminisse poterant tale Juramentumin Comitiis Regni Galliae florentissimi anno hujus saeculi xiv propositum a tertio ordine, a reliquis duobus rejectumfuisse, qua de re extat etiamnum Oratio a Cardinali Peronio habita ad tertium ordinem. (191) Hinc aucta mirabiliter in Societatem invidia, quasi Carolo, Catholicorum fidem suspectam habenti, praestito Juramento licito satisfieri nollent Societas enim, ut et multi alii Religiosi, et e clero non pauci, constanter illud admitti non posse tuta conscientia docuit In Sorbona, sive Congregatione Doctorum, res nunquam proposita fuit ; varii seorsim consulti mentem suam aperuerunt , et Corquelinus quidem, Ecclesiae et Academiae Cancellarius, atque Maresius* absolute praestari posse senserunt; LVII alii admitti non posse, nisi duplici adhibita verborum explicatione; hinc censendi Juramento refragari, cum diserte ejus verba omnem explicationemexcludant; illic enim dicitur: juxta haec expressa verba, a me prolata, et planum , atque communem verborum sensum, et intellectum, absque ulla aequivocatione , aut mentali evasione, aut secreta reservatione quacunque etc. Certe qui sentiunt sine limitatione aut distinctione, et quidem duplici, juramentum licite admitti non posse, negant illud admitti posse in proprio verborum sensu, ut communiterintelliguntur. (192) Nec illud difficultate caret, quod jurare debeant , se Juramentum illud, voluntarie sive sponte emittere Hanc Professionem, ait,facio cordialiter , spontanee , et vere, in verafideChristiani viri. Qui hoc jurabunt, in proprio verborum sensu, qui invitissime illud admittunt, idque ad vitandum majus malum , qui nihil non agunt, quo illud declinent ? Denique, ut Constantia in Fidei Dogmatis magnum Veritatis, ita Inconstantia Falsitatis indicium est. Non debet in iis EST et NON inveniri, ut in simili Apostolus II. Cor I, sed EST Jesus Christus heri et hodie, ipse et in secula, scilicet, idem. Idem de Fide Christi, idem de dogmatis ex Fide manantibus , idem de eorum declarationibus ; vacillat enim Auditorum assensus, ubi Dogmatum inconstantia deprehenditur Hinc cum aliquis sacerdos Paenitenti suo nobili viro, anxioquod citatusest ad fidem in Regem eo juramentotestandam , dixisset illud tuta conscientia fieri posse, respondit alter: Ante sexannosAuthor mihi fuisti, officio, quod nactus eramet honestum et utile, defungerer, citius quam cum salutis animae meae periculo, impium Juramentum admitterem: quod nunc innoxium esse
* Rector S. Mariae: A. "
pronuntias . Unde sciam te in aliis Ecclesiae dogmatis asserendis magis fore constantem ? Ex hoc alium quaeram conscientiae meae moderatorem "
(193) Haec satis pro instituti mei ratione, qui Hystoricum ago, non controvertistam Addam tantum (quod Lector simul habeat, quae huc spectant) decretum Venerabilium Patrum Ordinis S. Benedicti Congregationis Anglicanae A.D. MDCLXXXI, et Instructionesa Congregatione ProvincialiSocietatis Jesu eodem anno factas. * Haec habent quae sequuntur: Ut uniformiter inter nostros in modo agendi circa Juramentum Fidelitatis, uti vulgo nominari solet, procedatur , I. Profiteamur omnes , tantam nobis singulis erga Regem nostrum, sincere, ubi res tulerit, juran- dam et exhibendam obedientiam atque Fidelitatem, quanta ab ullis ubivis Catholicis subditis quibuscunque Principibusexhiberi solet. II. JuramentumFidelitatis, uti jam est, variis heterodoxis inspersum clausulis, suscipi nullo modo posse: cum id pluribus Summorum Pontificum Brevibus sit damnatum . III. Si qui contra decreta Pontificumpublice docuerit praedictum Juramentum licitum esse, ii sine publica vel facta vel sancte promissa satisfactione, ad Absolutionem non admittantur. IV. Qui mala fide juramentum susceperunt, sine manifestis Paenitentiae signis et promissa in posterum emendatione, absolutione excludantur Si vero qui bona fide susceperunt, instruendi sunt; et absolvendi, si resipiscant. V. Caveatur, ne nimia in absolvendo vel facilitas vel difficultas scandalum pariat Actum in Congregatione Provinciali P.P. Anglorum S.J. celebrata Gandavi in Domo tertiae Probationis ejusdem Societatis, v. Julii MDCLXXXI" (194) Decretum vero VV. PP. O.B. sic habet : "Definitum est ne quis Patrum nostrorum , sive in Anglia, sive extra Angliam, praesumat asserere licitum esse praestare JuramentaSuprematus et Fidelitatis, ut vocant, aut alterutrum eorum, aut persuadere
* These were drafted by Warner himselfcf . Stonyhurst MS. Cardwell II, f 139
This definition of the General Chapter of the English Benedictines at St. Edmunds, Paris, is dated 9 August 1681 in Stonyhurst MS Cardwell II, f. 185. Fr. Joseph Shireburne (President) and Fr. Placid Bruning (Secretary) wrote from Paris to Fr. Keynes , S.J., at Rome, on 23 January 1682 , enclosing a copy of the Benedictine Chapter definition, requesting him to askthe Popeto forbid the taking ofthe Oath of Allegianceand " to represent to his Holyness, that wee most humbly supplicate that some order may be taken for the preventing of the many disorders , scandalls and schisms caused in England, by the solicitation of some Priests who encourage, persuadeand incite English Catholicksto take this Oath (ofAllegiance). It is mostcertain that a third at least of all our Catholicks is absolutely against it ... all the Missioners in England (except a parte of the Clergy) are absolutely against it ... " (Stonyhurst MS . Cardwell II, f 187). A striking contrast is provided bytheaction of the Secular Chapterat a General Meetingon 25 October 1682 , when the Secretary, Dr. Giffard, was instructed to draw up a letter to Card Howard, warning authorityin Rome that the majority of English Catholics had taken , or were prepared to take the Oath with the approval of their Pastors , and that a renewalof the prohibition" would near cause a schism . " (Text partially cited in Kirk, Biographies , s.v. Perrott.)
cuiquam, ut praestet dicta Juramenta vel alterutrum eorum . Quam nostram Definitionem si quis violare praesumpserit, ordinamus, ut talis, si quidem in Anglia fuerit, suspendatur a facultatibus Missionariis concessis ; si vero extra Angliam, privetur voce Activa et Passiva. Datum in Conventu S. Edmundi, [f. 44] Parisiis, die xvi Augusti, MDCLXXXI. capituli Generalis F. Placidus Bruning" De mandato (195) Similia decreta manarunt a Capitulo Provinciali RR. PP Ordinis S. Francisci, tametsi eorum copia mihi facta non fuerit E clero, uti vocant , saeculari nullaeditahac de re Decreta , licet eorum multi Juramentumdamnarent , quod Authoritate non pollerent isti. Qui ante Juramento faverunt, sperabant absque dubio ea ratione aut suam probare Carolo Fidem, aut etiam Gratiam apud eum et Eboracensem inire. Sed falsi fuerunt; nam consultus ea de re Eboracensis, Edinburghi, respondit haec ipsissima verba: " Non melius de iis sentio qui Juramentum Fidelitatis admittunt, quam de iis, qui repudiant; nec unquam credam Fideles fore Regi suo, qui Deo fideles non sunt. Nec mei unius ista est Sententia , sed Regis etiam; atque de hoc sensu meo certiores facias amicos communes omnes " *
(196) REGINA CONJURATIONIS ACCUSATA . Haec de Juramento Fidelitatis Resumamus hystoriae filum, et quod Parlamentum egerit, videamus, unde colligemus quid lucri reportarit Carolus ex hac Persecutione. Cum uterque consessus [ubi] diu deliberassent non sine magnis altercationibus , quot numero Domesticae Catholicis sacris addictae Reginae permittendae essent, et tandem in novem consensissent , xxix. Novembris Oates et Bedlous illammet conspirationis in Caroli mariti sui necem accusarunt Hinc petitum Conclavis Inferioris nomine , ut ipsamet ex Aula facessere juberetur. Verum praepropera Petitio Superiori Consessui displicuit, uti et Factiosis omnibus Democratici Regiminis Amatoribus, ne Carolus cum hac Divortio facto, aliam duceret, ex qua filios legitimos procrearet Ultimo Novembris ob pericula Carolo Regnoque a Papistis impendentia , petitum a Parlamento , Militia Regni ordinaria cogeretur ad XLII dies ; probe sciebant isti, si ad tale spacium coacti
* Cf . the Duke of York's remarks to Bonaventure Giffard before the Chapter Meeting of 3 June 1683. The Duke asked Giffard " that at our assembly, we would notmeddlewith the Oathes I (Giffard) beingsomething surprized and troubled at ye hearingof suchan order, reply'd that I suppos'd his Royal Highnessmeant as to ye Oath of Allegiance (which ye Duke and several Catholic Lords and gentlemen having taken, I imagined he was unwillingit should be called in question) But he presently made answerthat he meant as to both ye Oathes, adding for his reasonthat the Catholicsbeing now all in peace and quiet, it might be of ill consequence and raise some new disturbance which was laid asleep " (Westminster Archives, vol xxxiv (n 208), f 783.)
For a certificate of Papists at Whitehalland SomersetHouse on 28 Dec. 1678 see Bodley MS Carte 70, f 578
Cf. C.J., ix, 544 .
ENGLISH PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS
75
fuissent illi milites Parlamento quam Carolo addictiores, penes ipsos semper fore tempus illud ampliare. Carolus diserte respondit nec ad semihoram se id permissurum, nisi sponsione facta, penes se fore illius administrationem Urgebat utrumque Conclave Exercitus Regii exauthorationem ; Pecuniam ad id necessariam indicere parata erant ; Conclave Inferius illam Domui Civicae Londinensi numerandam censuit, nec dandam Aerario Praefectis, toties fidem fallentibus. Hoc ut durum et inusitatum visum Superiori Conclavi, ita improbatum.
(197) Superioris Conclavis Proceres petebant singulas legiones (Regimenta vocant), ubi e Belgio rediissent, statim discingendas, ne quid detrimenti capiat R.P. a tam numeroso Exercitu (et vero male cessit Carthaginensibus post primum bellum Punicum id neglexisse ) ; sed in hoc non consenserunt Inferioris Conclavis Senatores, periculumillud susque deque habentes. In Catholicos severiores Leges tulerunt, in hoc uno concordes, ut majora illis pondera injicerent, licet priora vix essent ferendo. Sciscunt itaque ne quis ex iis fiat Juris-consultus, Procurator ad lites, Medicus, Pharmacopaeus, Chirurgus, aut Obstetrix Item in eos, qui in seminariis ultramarinis (in Continente) educarentur. Josephus Williamsonus , Carolo a secretis, adlectus in Conclave inferius, ab hoc, inconsulto Carolo, carceri mancipatus est, magna Caroli offensa, cujus mandato libertatem mox obtinuit, dicentis ejus operam sibi necessariamesse. (198) DANBAEUS ACCUSATUS . DE QUIBUS? Caeterum illud maximi, secundum tentatum in Militiam ordinariam imperium, momenti videtur, quod Danbaeo dica scripta sit Haec Accusationum capita: I. Quod Regiam sibi arrogasset authoritatem, cum externis Principibus agendo, de Pace et Bello, Legatis Instructiones dando, insciis Consilio Regio et Secretariis, contrarias Caroli et Parlamenti scitis. II. Quod conatus fuerit Regimen Angliae mutare in Despoticum et Tyrannicum, coacto eum in finem, sed praetextu Belli in Gallum , exercitu; quem non curasset discingi, ut decreverat Parlamentum ; quodque pecuniam eum in finem datam, alios in usus avertisset III Quod seminasset discordias Carolum inter et ejus subditos, illum a Parlamentis alienasset, ne utilibus Parlamenti consiliis Carolus sublevaretur ; pacem cum Gallo suasisset sub conditionibus regno probrosis et adversis, quo pecuniam a Gallo emungeret, in Regni fraudem IV . Quod Papistis faverit, eorum in Carolum Conspirationem occultarit, nec animos addideritejusindicibus . V.Quod Aerarium exhauserit, aversis variis ejus partibus; et quod ignotas ob causas intra triennium distribuerit ultra decies centena scutorum millia; quod duos officiales Aerarii amovisset, eo quod istas fraudes improbarent VI Quod varia bona Coronae addicta, sibi donari curasset, contra varia Parlamenti Decreta. Haec in Danbaeum impacta crimina: quo fructu videbimus infra, Deo juvante. (199) Dictum supra adhibitos Oati custodes, ne quid in eum
attentaretur Verum ubi paulo post apparuit hujus studia Parlamento magis quam Carolo favere, custodibus mandatum a Carolo, ne ultra Aulae septa progredi neve ullum clam ipsis cum illo agere permitterent De his Parlamento conquaestus ipse; hoc Carolo supplicavit, plena illi fieret [f. 45] Potestas, quo vellet eundi, et quicum vellet agendi; nec satis habuit Potestatem istam, quod Carolus optabat, ad solos senatoresrestringi Ausum etiam Inferius Conclave e suis aliquot mittere, ad Oatem, petitum, num Carolus, quae petierant, re ipsa praestaret Conquaestus exinde Oates pecuniam sibi ex Aerario maligne et perparce numerari . Respondit Aerario Praefectus intra sesquimensem sexcenta scuta data ; quae viro tali e culina Regis alto sufficere videntur. Non sufficere dixere senatores, quandoquidem de inopia conqueratur Et passim, quacunque data occasione , quibuslibet Nebulonibus ampla e AerarioRegio curabant honoraria senatores, quo illud, pridem exhaustum, penitus exinanirent, quo Carolum inopia magis haberent obnoxium
(200) Hinc adversus Pellices, quibus Aula scatebat, magno bonorum omnium scandalo, nec minori publicae Pecuniae detrimento, nihil unquam in comitiis actum Adversus Caroli SatelNon lites pauca, et fere Dicis causa, quos ut contrasingulos Aggressores validum, ita contra Regnum universum , quod sibi accessurum falso augurabantur , invalidum fore praesidium sciebant: interea gaudebant in horum stipendia pecuniam Regiam consumi. mirum si istis artibus pecunia Aerario deesset, dum ex una parte quocunque colore illam effundi , ex altera ne quid infunderetur, summo studio cavent.
(201) Accersitus etiam Scroggius, rationem redditurus, quare Sententia ab eo lata in quosdam Perduelles + (Sacerdotes intelligebant, a quorum effundendo sanguine Carolus abhorrere visus) + non fuisset executioni data ?
(202) Quod Carolo ingratum, cui eorum Innocentiacomperta; verum hujus regimen Innocentis Sanguinis effusione funestare volebant . Et tanto studioin haec Carolo ingratanegocia incubuerunt, ut dato tantum bidui (vigilia Natalis D. ipsoque die) respirandi spatio , ipso S. Stephani die faesto, congressus suos repetierint. Cumque nihil Carolo gratumagitarent, omnia contra, die xxx. Decembris horum congressibus finem imposuit ipse sequenti sessione in IV . Februarii rejecta ; prius verbis increpuit paucis, sed efficacibus, si quod apud viros Propositi mali tenaces pondus verba haberent. Dixit enim se valde illibenter eo venisse iis significatum , quod statuisset eorum conventum prorogare; ipsosmet Testes esse, quam male secum egissent ; quae tempore magis opportuno esset ipsis dicturus; interea se statim auspicaturum Militum exauthorationem ; facturum pro virili, quae in rem Regni, et securitatem Religionis sint; prosecuturum Conspirationis detectionem, effecturumque, ut in lucem prodeant ejus et fulcra et fundamenta ; Daturum denique operam, ut Religio
Protestantica , qualis Legibus praescribitur , sarta tecta servetur . Tum Cancellario jussit, quae in mandatis habebat, exponeret. Qui tantum dixit, Parlamentum ad IV . Februarii prorogatum esse . (203) Studia eruperunt in hac Parlamenti Sessione Legibus contraria, omnia in Regiae Potestatis diminutionem I. Militiam sibi permitti petierunt senatores, quod perinde erat, ac gladium Carolo auferre. II Non permissum, ut Caroli arbitratu custodes Oati, totius Regni turbatori, adhiberentur . III. Revocata in dubium Caroli Potestas suspendendi sententiarum a Judicibus latarum executionem IV. Cuncta adeo turbata erant, plebe jam insaniente, ut Fas et Jus exularent . Certe cum quidam Cancellarii cognatus eique gratissimus ejus Patrocinium implorasset, respondit se nemini patrocinari posse; seipsum non minus quam quemlibet e vulgo periculo obnoxium esse : addidit, si ullus e Domesticis suis ipsummet accusaret, se statim carceri mancipandum, et frustra Caroli opem imploraturum. (204) In has angustias deduxerant tantillo tempore non Regem modo, verum et Regimen, fictae Accusationes, vera Perjuria, Deo, qui veritas est, injuriae sibi factae, eum in Mendaciorum confirmationem toties invocando, cito paenas reposcente Quodsi ut dicebatur, Danbaeus horum origo fuit, gaudium inde haud diuturnum tulit, siquidem et ipse discrimen capitis adiit, ut dicetur. Parlamentum praesens nunquam iterum convenit, siquidem Carolus Edicto XXIV. Januarii sequentis edito, illud exauthoravit aliudque indixit, futurum aeque refractarium.
(205) RES SCOTICAE . In Scotia omnia pacata hoc anno. Pauci ibi Catholici , ideoque minus Invidiae obnoxii; necdum apparebant Factiosi, qui res turbarent.
(206) RES HIBERNICAE Secus in Hibernia, ob Catholicorum multitudinem Kilkenniae versabatur Pro-Rex (locum tenentem Regis appellant ), cum primum de Conspiratione Anglicana rumorem excepit Is statim Dublinium advolat, Petrum Talbottum ejus urbis ArchiEpiscopumin vinculaconjicit, negata cuilibet eum [f. 46] conveniendi facultate; item ejus Fratrem , Richardum , Butlerum etiam, Mongaretti Filium. Inde varia vulgat Edicta ad servandam Pacem, quibus sequentia jubet : I. Omnes Militum Praefecti suas stationes illico petunto. II. Catholici toto regno exarmantor; si quis post statum diem cum armis inveniatur, ex lege in illum agitor III. Mercatores pirium pulverem vendentes, si ultra unam libram habuerint, eam Regiis ministris aperiunto; si quis fefellisse comperiaturnon impune ferat IV. Personaein dignitate Ecclesiastica, et Catholicae Religionis , in exilium mittuntor; Catholicorum Conventus et Seminaria, si quae sint, dissipantor. V. Papistae nec Castrum Dubliniense nec portum maritimum, neve Praesidium ullum intranto; si quis in eorum ullo domicilium intra annum elapsum sibi comparaverit , inde pellitor Et ne quis esset praetextus eo confluendi, jubet mercesnon intra maenia sed extra vaenum exponi VI Praemiis invitat ad
deferendos, si qui essent vel Praefecti vel militesgregarii, Catholicis sacris addicti
(207) Consilium Sacratius frequentius habitum; alia facta, quibus facile sancita Pax, quam nemo sollicitabat Captus etiam Olivarus PlunkettusArchiEpiscopus Armacanus, Hiberniae Primas ; cujus gloriosum certamen infra referemus. Petrus Talbottus, contracto carceris aerumnis morbo, animam Creatori reddidit, a quo eam acceperat.
(208) DE JOANNE SERGEANTIO . * ExActis Superioris conclavis Parlamenti , ad diem xxxi. Martii liquet Pro-Regem scripsisse ad Carolum, excussis omnium Chartis, nusquam inventam mentionem conspirationis, nisi in uno epistolae cujusdam Sergeantii apographo, manu ipsius Petri Talbotti scripto Putat Pro-Rex alia scripta, audito detectae Conspirationis rumore, seposita; hoc inobservatum evasisse ; sed longe a vero aberrat ista suspicio, nam tantum abfuit ab illam supprimendi voluntate +Talbottus, ut eandem publici Juris fecerit, in libro cui Titulus: Scutum inexpugnabile fidei, adversus Haeresim Blackloanam, et Clipeum Septemplicem Joannis Sergeantii, discriminantis Christianam Fidem a Divina. Authore M. Lomino, Theol (209) Sergeantius iste in Haeresi educatus, Episcopo Dunelmensi, scriptis in Catholicos libris famoso, amanuensisfuit. Ortis Bellis Civilibus Catholicae fidei nomen dedit, et ad Ulissiponense nostrae gentis Collegium missus, sacris illic initiatus, Phylosophiae tradendae Provinciamsubiit, sed ejus rudimentis vix traditis ob causas ab Ex. Dom ac Mag. nostro Georgio Leyburno§ traditas,
* For a furtheraccount of Sergeant and Talbot see M. V. Hay, op. cit, Chaps I and VII, and M. V. Ronan, Irish Priests in Penal Times (which has a chapter on Talbot and an excellent bibliography).
L.J., xiii, 488, reads"which paper, 'tis probable, he desiredshouldbe found. " On 14 Oct. 1678 Ormondewrote fromDublinto SecretaryCoventry concerningTalbot : "I find he suspects or at least seems to suspect that the Accusation brought against him is by the means of one Sarjeant betwixt whom and him there has been a controversy brought into print about some points of divinity, and though he had time and I believeIntelligence enough to dispose of any other papers he had no mind should be found, yet he took care that the enclosed (which I take to be written in his own hand and for this occasion) should be brought mee ; how far it will serve his End or enforce [what] he would have it, I submitt to ye Judgement of My Lords " (Bodley MS Carte 146, f 137) Ormondethus makes it quite clear that Talbot had purposely left the copy of Sergeant'sletter, after he had destroyedhis other papers Ormondewas blamedfor the destruction of Talbot's papers When Ormonde'sofficercalled to arrest Talbot, he was too ill to be moved immediately The officer took Talbot's parole not to make any attempt to escape, and returned to Dublin for fresh instructions By the time he returned , Talbot had destroyed all his papers . (Cf. also H.M.C. Ormonde , ii, 277-8, and N.S. v,, 15.)
I.e. Lisbon Sergeant was ordained there 12 Mar. 1650. Kirk, in his Historical Account ofLisbon College (1902), refers to him, p. 30, as " this bright ornament and devoted son of Lisbon College " § For Dr. George Leyburne's account of Sergeant in his Catalogueof the English Secular Clergy see C.R.S. xi, 532 sq Leyburne refers laconically to Thomas White as " malus senex . "
Angliamrepetiit. Illic fingendum se docendumque totum tradidit Albio, sive Blackloo, magnum nomen tum sustinenti, cujus aliqui Errores ab Universitate Duacena censura notati, omnia scriptaa S.S.A.damnata : hujus auctoritatein Capitulum Anglicani Cleri adlectus est Canonicus, factus ejusdem postea Secretarius. Varia opera edidit, tum vivo, tum mortuo ejus Praeceptore, in omnibus Praeceptoris sui Dogmatis inhaerens quantum illa capiebat Inter alia justo libro probare conatus quaerendas in Fidei rebus Demonstrationes , absque iis neminem teneri ad Fidem aut amplectandam aut cum periculo vel vitae vel publi- cationis Bonorum profitendam .
(210) Talbottus Anno lxxii hujus seculi hunc ejus errorem (nesciens cujus esset) Manichaeismi accusavit, dixitque ab Augustino (lib Contra Epist Fundam. et lib de Utilitate Credendi) fuisse impugnatum Ubi convenerunt Parisios, anno, ni fallor, lxxvi, magno strepitu agitata est ista controversia, impari fructu. Paulo post ea ad S.S.A. delata Jussus inde est Sergeantius mentem suam explicare; et Talbottus librum edidit, cum Titulo Haeresis Blackloanae Hystoria + Et Sergeantius alterum, quem Clipeum Septemplicem§ inscripsit Eique respondit Talbottus libro illo, Scutum Inexpugnabile dicto, ut supra. cujus Appendice altera, Pagina iv, haec habet: " Litterae Joannis In
* Thomas White alias Blacklow, 1593-1676 Educated Valladolid , Seville, St. Omers and Douay Ordained 1617. Second President of the English College, Lisbon, 1630. Professor of Divinity and Vice-Presidentof Douay 1650. Soon after he returned to England, where he remainedtill his death Gillow lists 38 theological works by him . This is at least a partial explanation of Talbot's changed attitudeto Sergeant As late as 20 May 1674 Talbot recommended Sergeant to Card . Barberini as worthy of an annual pension . Yet by 22 July 1675 Talbot describes Sergeant to Barberini as one "who has uttered more errorsagainst faith and morals than Luther or Calvin " In a letter of 13 Sept. 1675 he explainshis voltefaceby sayingthat hewas deceived by thosewhohadrecommended Sergeant's worksto himthat is tosay, he had evidently not hitherto read Sergeant's works himself. It is evident from Talbot's letters that Fr. Warner himself played a considerablepart in the delation of Sergeant'sworks to Rome Cf. MS Barb 8626 (P.R.O. Rom Trans ), partly cited in Hay, pp. 21-30
Blakloanae Haeresis .... Gandavi .... MDCLXXV (B.M. 4255, e. 10) The work has been ascribed to Warner, but Warner's references to it here show that this was not the case Talbot prints an account of the conference between himself, Sergeant , Fr. Stephen Gough and Fr. Warner , and states, p 312, that the evidence may be consulted in England in the hands of Dr. William Fogarty
§ Clypeus Septemplex
Authore I.S. Anno 1677. See Gillow v, 495 , n 28 , for full bibliographical details.
This work is rare There is no copy in B.M., U.L.C. or Bodley A copy is listed in the printed Catalogueof Trinity College, Dublin, fromwhich I take the short title, viz.: Scutum Inexpugnabilefidei, adversus haeresim Blackloanam , et Clypeum Septemplicem Io. Sargentii auctore M. Lomino, theologo. Ludg. 1678. (It appeared in September of that year) The actual letter to Talbot is in the Bodleian MS Carte, vol 38, f. 734, and cited in Hay, pp. 183-4.
Sergentii aut suorum Blackloistarum ad deterrendum Lominum (quod nomen assumpserat Talbottus) ab Haeresis Blackloanae + Prosecutione,+ traditae D. Fogarthio , ut mitterentur ad nobilem Anglum, * in cujus domo Blackloistarum adversarius hospitabatur: Dat Parisiis, xii Maii, MDCLXXVIII. Clarissime
Domine. Quaeso dicas illi susurroni hospiti tuo, si perrexerit in Sergeantii convitiis, sub Lomini vel ullius alterius nomine, nos esse tres in tuto positos, quibus nocere non potest ; habemus vero ipsius manu scriptas Epistolas, ad Jesuitam primarium in Gallia, quas mittemus ad Parlamenti Prolocutorem, nec non exemplaria earumdem ad duos Parlamentarios , ne Prolocutoreas supprimat. Hae litterae continent crimen laesae Majestatis contra Regem et Statum Angliae. Nos tres jurati sumus, mutuamque dedimus Fidem, persequendi Susurronem illum [f. 47] adeoque nunquam sciet a quo laeditur
MANSUETUDOD. Sergeantii ansam dedit hominis istius audaciae Sed cum per quoddam stratagema venerint ad manus nostras praefatae litterae, minime parcemus illi, si molestus fuerit; si vero quietus, in tuto est Opto ut Dominatio vestra tuta sit, in hospitando Susurronem adeo turbulentum. Vester Amicus incognitus Postscriptum Nominabimus etiam Personas, quae norunt, ac testari possunt illius esse scriptionem Habemus quoque Epistolium scriptumab ipso contra Ormonium, continetque Crimen laesae Majestatis. '" Hactenus illa epistola. (211) Habemus hic insigne SergeantianaeMANSUETUDINIS monumentum . Aliud dabimus infra Quot continet ista Sergeantii Epistola Fabulosae Conspirationis Oatianae lineamenta ! Iter Parisiense, Epistolae ad Primarium in Gallia Jesuitam , P. scilicet de la Chaize, Crimina Majestatis contra Regem et statum , sive Regimen Angliae, Rem ad Parlamentum deferendam, paratos Testes , in Ormonium agendum, etc, eadem paene; solum quod Author Epistolae crimen uni exprobrat, alter in plures spargit; et unum vegrande +Crimen+ Majestatis Talbotti , Oates in plura frustatim concidit Et aliquid ejusmodi fieri potuisse, suadet tempus datae Epistolae, xii Maii, duobus fere mensibus ante quam Oates Audomari redux Amicum suum Tongum convenerit.+ Hinc dixerunt aliqui, ab isto, quisquis fuerit, Epistolario editum , a Tongo et Oate exclusum, ovum, unde prodiit Regulus totam Angliam percellens.
(212) Talbottus, magno Innocentiae suae calumnia pulsatae firmamento, adeo non suppressit (quod quis vere Reus fecisset), ut Statim publici Juris fecerit, inserens Libro e prelo exeunti, addita eum ipsum in finem Appendice Viderint alii quid de Epistolae Authore + sentiendum sit, qui, cum tantum crimen deprehendisset, paratus erat illud supprimere, modo Lominus a PersequendoSergeantio desisteret Si quietus, in tuto est, inquit. Adeoque non Regis incolumitas , non Regni salus , non boni
* I.e Sir James Poole, of Pool Hall, Cheshire
Publici studium ad crimen deferendum incitabat, sed quietis D. Sergeantio quaerendae cura; sicut Oates ad inopiae suae supplementum A Sergeantio scriptam Epistolam nec assero, neque scio, quanquam in suis ad Parlamentum epistolis id asserere videatur Hiberniae Pro-Rex. Ab aliquo ejus studioso prodiisse, ipsa clamat . Sed de hoc satis Deus Authori, quisquis fuerit, condonet, et ad eam perducat aeternam vitam, ad quam hujus Persecutionis vi tot boni Catholici pervenerunt , atque ad id obtinendum , det illi serie paenitere de tot malis, si vel causa vel occasioeorum extiterit, tametsi indubie praeter intentionemsuam . (213) Hoc tamen observatum velim, tametsi constaret ab ipso Sergeantio scriptam Epistolam , et inde natam fingendae Conspirationis famosae Idaeam, nullam tamen inde labem Doctissimis Pientissimisque Cleri secularis Anglicani sacerdotibus , nullam maculam, adhaesuram. * Quis enim ita desipit, ut Judae proditionemreliquis Apostolis probro fuissesapiat ? Vitam Sergeantius vixerat, ab aliquot annis, a reliquis confratribussuis segregem, superiori , si quis erat, minus audiens, Paribus, si tantillum ab eo dissentirent , gravis, concanonicis, unanimiter consentientibus, refractarius , ut videre est in Epistola Richardi Russelli Episcopi primum Capitis Viridis in Guinea, tunc vero Portalegrensis in Lusitania; qua graviter de hujus imperio in reliquum clerum et despotico agendi modo conqueritur. Quis ejus viri Acta a clero praestari deberesentiet, qui in CleriPotestate non erat ?
* The compliment of Warner's public reference to the Secular Clergy should be noted The claims of historical accuracy, as well as thoseof Christian charity, should prevent the ecclesiasticalhistorian from inferring from the actions of individual priests the general policy of the religious society to which they belong The evidence of Russell's letter and Jenks's notebook (see Appx ) shows that Sergeant and his adherents were but a small (albeit very vocal) faction of the Chaptertheir actions cannot be fairly associated with the Chapter as a whole And it is indeed open to question whether, at this period, the Chapter itself can be accurately considered as representative of the Secular Clergy as a whole
This letter ,probably of October 1667, is printed on p 124 of Blacklo's Cabal ... by R. PughThe second edition enlarged ... MDCLXXX . It was in 1667 that Sergeant gave up the Secretaryshipof the Chapter, and from henceforward his attempts to dominate the Chapter's policy met with increasing opposition. He did not, however , give up all association with it, as Warner, in charity to the other Chaptermen , seems to imply. He evidently kept the Chapter minutes and acted as Secretary 10-13 April 1674 (Kirk, Biographies , s.v. Anderton R.), and in company with David Morris he signedthe minutes of the Chapter Meeting of 3 June 1684 (Morris was still receiving Secret Service money, and Sergeant's allowancefrom the same source had only stopped in the February of the same year), and in an address of the Chapter to Bishop Leyburne, 16 November 1693, Sergeant's signature appears directlybeneaththat of the Dean (cf. West Arch ., xxxiv, n. 218, and Lambeth Palace MS. 932, f. 59). At the end of his life he made a renewed bid for power over the Chapter, as is shown by theextracts from thenotebookof SilvesterJenks printed in the Appendix. Richard Russellwas elected Canon oftheChapter shortly afterthe signingoftheEnglish-Portuguese marriage alliance (in the negotiationsfor which
(214) [f. 48] Sic exeunte Anno MDCLXXVIII. finem huic libro imponimus , quo quae passi sint Catholici in genere exposuimus; ad particularia descendere et singula persequi, infinitum esset. Constat enim vix ullam esse familiam, imo vix ullam personam particularem, quae non aliquid passa sit, et quidem valde grave In hystoria MS R.P. Gulielmi Culcheth * bonae memoriae dicitur, quadringentos hoc brevissimo tempore carceribus clausos , miseriis et aerumnis periisse. Et Fidem facit huic Assertioni sparsus de contagioso morbo in carceribus grassante rumor Unde data Praefectis carcerum occasio Consilium Sacratius adeundi supplicatum , ne plures eo destinarentur , quod a certa pernicie vix abesset in talia loca compingi . he had, as Secretary of de Melho, played a considerablepart) By 1667 he withdrew himself from the affairs of the Chapter (presumably because he feared that, having been nominated for a Portuguese Bishopric, he might become personally involved in the Chapter claims for the appointment of an Ordinary) He appears to have devoted himself wholeheartedly to the administration of his Portuguese dioceses, first of Portallegre, and then of Vizeu. (For accountsof his life see Gillow v, 455 sq., and a series of articles in the Lisbonian, vol xvii, No. 2, to vol xviii, No. 3.)
I.e. in his life of William Plessingtonreferred to by Warner in Praenotanda to A (printed in Appendix) This MS does not seem to be now extant
(215) ARGUMENTUM Provinciae Anglicanae Societatis Iesu , et Seminarii Audomarensis status. Libelli famosi Sumpta de Irelando, Pickeringo , Grovio, Hillo , Grino, Berrio , Harcotto, Waringo , Turnero , Gavano, Fenwickio , Langhorno, Postgato, Jonsono, Plessingtono, Floido, Evano et Bakero supplicia. Item Actiones in Georgium Wakemannum , Jacobum Corkerum, Gulielmum Rumleium, Gulielmum Martium, Carolum Carnum , Andraeam Bromisium , Gulielmum Atkinsum, et Gulielmum Jonesium , institutae. * Apologiae pro Catholicis Eboracensis Bruxellas abit; pia ejus illic exercitia; redit in Angliam. Monmuthius jubente Carolo Regno cedit; sed ipso invito revertitur. Quinque Jesuitarum orationes; fides iis habenda Impugnantur a Tongo, Pseudo-Episcopo Lincolniensi , Fimbria, E.C., et Joanne Sergeantio Novi delatores Joannes Smithaeus et Robertus Jenisonus; hujus fratris Thomae ad eum Epistola. Oates S.T. Doctor, sodomiae arcessitur + Parlamentum ; Regis Papistae
Auctoritas circumscribenda Danbaei causa. Shaftesburiiseditiosa oratio. Concilii Regii Mutatio Crimina Catholicis proceribus objecta. Quales Arnoldus , Cellaria, Dangerfeldus ; horum negationes Papistae larvati Scroggius accusatur Qualis Lestrangius, et Wallerus. Oatis Narrativa; ad eam responsio. Mortes Thomae Jenisoni, Gerardi, Lusoni Presbiteriani in Scotia rebellant Eboracensis eo mittitur, eosque pacat.+
(216) Annum aggredior Factiosorum studiisturbidum, Libellorum infamium copia pestilentem, bellorum intestinorum apparatu terribilem, Tempestatis saevitia barbarum , Catholicorum palantium exiliomiserum, Regiorum fratrum ab invicem divulsione luctuosum, Innocentum corporum laniena immanem; sed Pugilum Christi, Fidei vindicum, selectorum Ecclesiaefiliorum certaminibus , victoriis, coronis, gloriosum. In eo enim multi e Societate, nonnulli ex aliis sacris ordinibus , vita mortali mulctati, immortalitate donati sunt. Licet enim in Jesuitas praecipue debaccharentur Haeretici, non solos tamen persecuti sunt; et alios in paenarum atque suppliciorum participium vocarunt, et ejusdem etiam laudis et gloriae.
(217) SOCIETATIS STATUS . Boni consulet, quisquis ista lecturus est, si speciatim Societatis Anglicanae Provinciae statum in Belgio paucis exponam, ut pateat, nec interjectum mare, nec Catholicorum Principum Praesidia, nec plebis in eos Amor, tutos adversus immanem Persecutionem praestare potuisse.
(218) Manserat tota Provincia velut Acephala, ex quo intercisum cum Provinciali, vigilum ei impositorumdiligentia, commercium; et hi ita subito irruerunt, ut spacium ei nullum factum
* The places in which these are mentioned in this table do not correspond exactly to the places in which they are mentioned in the text
nominandi , qui rebusadeoturbidis ejus vicesgereret. Sic percusso Pastore, dispersae erant oves gregis. Creatus a Praeposito Generali Vice-Provincialis J.W., Collegii Leodiensis Rector , * qui visitanda statim adiens cismarina domicilia, omnia invenit perinde presentium angustiis ac futurorum metu anxia. Praevidebatur ex Anglia varios, qui Quadruplatorumeffugere possent manus, in continentem evasuros, quibus nec recipiendis locus nec alendis opes adessent. (219) ET SEMINARII AUDOMARENSIS. Solatio fuit ViceProvinciali aliarum Provinciarumpromptissima charitas, nostros summa Benevolentia excipere paratarum; licet certus esset nisi in extrema necessitate ad eam non recurrere. Omnium maxime misera et miserabilis Seminarii Audomarensis facies Tum in eo vivebant circiter CL convictores, multi ex primariis Catholicorum familiis. Capta a Gallis civitate, subduxerat Rex Catholicus, quam quotannis eatenus solverat Pensionem, nulla dum a Rege Christianissimo substituta; itaque nulla certa fundatione nitebatur; solis Juvenum Pensionibus cum ultroneis quorundam piorum eleemosinis alebatur , cum Tempestate erumpente haec etiam spes exaruit, cum nec epistolas aut mittere aut recipere sine periculo possent Ex solis Gazettis aliquid de statu Catholicorum in Angliaaudiebatur , quae ferebant jam unius, jam alterius, tum variorum convictorum Parentes cognatosve in carceres conjectos, dissipatas familias , direptam supellectilem, bona alia rapi agique, nemine rapacibus praedonibus resistere auso, ne Papistis patrocinando acerrimam factionem in se concitaret Incredibile dictu, quam constanti animo haec audierint tenelli Juvenes; laetati etiam visi, quod eorum necessarii digni habiti essent pro nomine Jesu contumeliam pati ; et bonorum rapinam cum gaudio sustinuerunt , ubi sciebant eos nihil [f. 49] contra boni concivis in concives, boni subditi in Principem, boni Christiani in Deum , officia deliquisse
Eadem via rescitum intendi Legum rigorem, in eos qui filios in seminaria ultramarina amandassent; a redeuntibus inde utrumque Juramentum (Primatus Regii in sacris, et Fidelitatis) admittendum, atque Transubstantiationi renunciandum ; propositam saepe in Parlamento novam legem, liberos omnes Parentibus auferendi Catholicis, quo certius in Haeresi educarentur, sed rejectam tantum quod Juri Naturae adversarentur , et quod nec Romae Pontifex suos Judaeis auferat NihilSubsidii, nihil opis uspiam apparente sinemanifesto miraculo, ne Deum tentareviderentur, multi Authores fuerunt Vice-Provinciali, cunctos aut certe maximampartem dimitteret ad suos; satis esse in praesenti pecuniae ad vestes et viatica; si diutius expectetur, nec ad haec suffectura, quae haberent . (220) Cautum quidem, et secundum judicium humanum prudens consilium . Ast ubi comperit ille Juvenes ad quamlibet
" P. Generalis istis de difficultatibus admonitus, in Joannem Warnerum Provinciae curam rejecit, donec libertatiplane aut certeregimini restitutus esset P. Provincialis " A.
inediam tollerandam paratissimos esse, institisse apud superiores, omnia victui subtraherent , quae non essent ad vitam alendam praecise necessaria; cum Procurator aliquibus eum omnium nomine consulentibus +dixisset ,+ ad tres forte suffectura menses quae haberet, istos respondisse: " Date nobis tantum Panem et Butirum, et sufficient ad sex ; et interea Dominus Deus nobis aderit, vel aperta ad Parentes via, vel aliunde " Mores omnium invenit innocentissimos, Disciplinae domesticae tantam solicitudinem , ut majorem pauca Religiosorum monasteria exhibere viderentur, adeo ut fere superflua esset Superiorum vigilantia, dum quique socios observarent, si uspiam a tramite praescriptodeviarent ; et probro erat, vel minimam Regulam violasse; observavitsingularem in Societatem affectum, ex commiseratione aut ortumaut auctum quod tamindigna pateretur (eorum plerique cum Oate vixerant, et proprianoticiavariaejus mendacia revincere poterant, ex quibus de aliis sibi ignotis judicium faciebant); adeo ut si par habuissemus omnibus recipiendis Tyrocinium, omnes eo migraturi viderentur Discurrebant subinde inter se , quid quisque facturusesset , casu quo e Seminario necessitatecogentedimitteretur; nec unus e tanto numero inventus , qui in Patriamcogitaret, cunctis stipem ostiatim mendicare malentibus , aut in aliquorum nobilium obsequium se dedere quacunque conditione, quam in tam certa pericula fidem amittendi sese conjicere, de propria constantia incerti
(221) His compertis declaravit Vice-Provincialis nolle se ullum ex iis dimitti ; malle se Altarium supellectilem vendere , vasa sacra conflare, domicilia cuncta oppignorari , quam Juvenes deserere, iis moribus imbutos ; spem in Deo reponendam, qui sperantes in se, et de sua Providentia confidentes non derelinquit. Hinc aliorum etiam Seminariorum Praefectis accrevit animus, ut postea rescitum, suos retinendi; dicentibus non esse cur desperarent, dum sperarent Jesuitae qui potissimum impugnabantur Et brevi patuit utile fuisse consilium, tum quia parentes de suis liberis soliciti, ne tam importuno tempore redirent, viis nobis ignotis pecuniam submiserunt ultro, etiam qui antea gravate solvebant ; tum quia Pii aliqui Catholici largas dederunt eleemosinas, soli Deo noti certo, nobis tantum ex conjecturis ; tum maxime, quia Rex Christianissimus Luctuosum Seminarii statum miseratus, Regia Munificentiapensionem suo ex Aerarioquotannis solvi jussit. * Unde difficultatibus eluctatum, etiam durante Persecutione ad tollerabilemstatum emersit (222) Cum aliis vix plures quam decem admitterentur, hoc anno duo supra viginti in Societatem admissi sunt, XVI Wattenis, * Warner's gratitude to Louis XIV is quite understandable , but it should not be forgotten that Louis's policy offomenting political dissentions in England by bribery of both politicalparties was in no small measure the cause of the plight of the Catholicsin England at this time (Cf. C. L. Grose , " Louis XIV's financial relations withCharles II and the English Parliament, " Journal Mod Hist , vol i (1929), pp 177-204 .)
ubi Tyrocinium est Provinciae Anglicanae, duos Provincia Mediolanensis, quatuor Provincia Germaniae Superioris, summa Charitate recepit nobis educandos. Sic pro Patribus nostris, quos nobis eripuit Persecutio, nati sunt nobis Filii Haec eum in finem a me relata sunt ut detur GloriaDeo, adjutori in opportunitatibus, in Tribulatione , et ut si quando Deus simili ventilabro suam iterum Aream purgare voluerit, sciant Posteri et quid et quo consilio actum sit. Publica videamus.
(223) LIBELLI FAMOSI . Si quae res a Christiani nominis est professione aliena, ea est libellos vulgare, qui cujusquam existimationem vulnerent; quod Jure Romano Capitale censetur; et merito sane, cum eo modo quisque etiam innocentissimus odio publico objici possit, neque habere ubi se defendat, incognito Accusatore, qui eo mentitur impudentius , quod ad probanda crimina sciat se cogi non posse . Hujus anni initio inchoata, per ipsum totum et aliquot sequentes continuataest, effrenis licentia, ne dicam libido, scripta sine Authoris nomine vulgandi, quae nec Aulicis, nec Caroli primariis Ministris, nec ipsi Carolo parcebant, fomenta Discordiae, flabella seditionis, sementes Rebellionis. * Iis acta publica, ubi minimus color aderat, [f. 50] coram populo traducebant ; in illis ubi nihil reprehensione dignum occurrebat, in intentione, quod criminarentur, inquirebant, magna Majestatis injuria, cui debita Reverentia sensim minuebatur, qua tamen potissimum Auctoritas ipsa nititur ; magistratibus minoribus aut non ausis resistere, aut clam audaciam foventibus. Nec deerant Senatores, qui clam mussitarent , dein clare praedicarent, Aulicos duo moliri, Papismum reducere, et Despotici Regiminis formam ; se non aliam ob causam offendisseCarolum, quam quod horum conatibus fuissent refragati; aras et focos in discrimen adducta, Actum de Religione et libertate publica, nisi obviam eatur. Haec a populo pronis auribus accepta, quidvis credere parato , quae isti Patriotae viva voce dicebant , quae libelli spargebant, eo gratiores , quo malignitatis et maledicentiae pleniores De Papismo suspecti, qui secus sentirent , aut Adulatorum , Palponum , atque Pensionariorum odiosis nominibus designati, quasi ob vilia compendia gentem prodere parati essent, nihil lucro antiquius habentes Hinc facile persuasum, Parlamentum ob singulare boni Publici studium primo prorogatum , dein exauthoratum fuisse; inclinatus Plebis animus vel eosdem , vel alios prioribus similes ad nova comitia destinandi. Unde nihil ex ea Parlamenti dissipatione boni secutum; aucta potius mala, magis alienata Carolo populi voluntate.
(224) GULIELMI IRELANDI , THOMAE PICKERINGI, ET JOANNIS GROVII CERTAMEN Ut tandem testaretur se serio Papismum aversari, in subsidium accersivit crudelitatem in sacerdotes,
* The uncontrolled flood of anonymous pamphlets and newspapers during the time of the plot is partly attributableto the fortuitous lapseof the LicensingAct in May 1679
aliquorumex iis supplicio Plebi facturum se satis sperans Primus, qui ad pacandum Populum immolatus est, fuit Gulielmus Irelandus, S.J., cum Joanne Grovio, laico, quos pone secutus est Thomas Pickeringus, O.B. Hi tres cum Thoma Harcotto et Joanni Fenwickio ad causam dicendam acciti anno superiori, die XVII. Decemb. + Testes in eos dati Oates et Bedlous Sed cum iste declarasset se nihil in Harcottum et Fenwickium dicere posse, eos vix sibi notos fuisse, debebant Jure defungi periculo et Libertate donari ; sed obstitit Scroggius, jubens eos , in carcerem reduci Oates juratus dixit Irelandum interfuisse Congregationi mensis Aprilis ad Equi Albi; illic in necem Caroli consensisse. Ad eam perficiendam animatos ibi Thomam Pickeringum et Joannem Grovium; illum premio triginta millium sacrorum , hunc sex millium scutorum ; utrumque Sclopetto ad id instructum +cum globis argenteis, quos masticari deberent dentibus, quo certius venenum vulneri adderent + Pickeringium expectationem fefellisse, non exploso in Carolum opportune transeuntem schlopo, semel quod hunc solis globis implesset, secundo, quod solum pyrium pulverem indidisset ; tertio, quod fluitante silice ignem non excussisset . Hinc ira percitum Harcottum virgis eum cecidisse Adfuisse Irelandum, quando cum Wakemanno transactum de medicata Carolo danda potione. Irelandum cum Fenwickio de promovenda Conspiratione egisse in hujus cubiculo Londini circa xv Augusti; i vero vel ii Septembris quatuor scuta sibi, Oati, dedisse Bedlous dixit Irelandum adfuisse sub finem Augusti, quando missi Pickeringus et Grovius cum P. Coniero O.B.* ad trucidandum Carolum NeoMarketti rusticantem Addidit Shaftesburium , Buckingamium , Osserium, et Ormondiumab ipsis fuisse morti destinatos (225) Irelandus , facta sibi loquendi potestate, negavit Oatem congregationi interfuisse ; in ea solum de mittendo Romam Procuratore tractatum, quod singulis trienniis fieri solet in Societate Quae ab utroque teste dicta fuissent a se facta Londini vel circa xv. Augusti aut prope finem ejusdem mensis, falsa esse , cum iii Aug. Londinoexierit, et redierit tantum xiv Septembris; ad quod probandum dati aliqui testes; longe plures daturus, si per custodem carceris licuisset Pickeringus dixit se nunquam in vita sua sclopum explosisse; et fidem fecit Carolus ubi audivit illum designatum sui percussorem , ait: " Illeme !nequidem pulicem occideret, si inter digitos haberet." Omnes suorum Parentum et consanguineorum studia pro Rege difficillimis temporibus +retulere +; quae insuper habita. Omnes enim consueto Perduellium supplicio adjudicantur. Dum ista scribo, A.D. MDCLXXXV , revocata ad solemneexamen ista Oatis testimonia, et totidem Perjuria declarata sunt, unanimini omnium Judicum suffragio (226) Scroggius Duodecim viris quae audierat, retulit More
* I.e Dom Augustine Conyers , O.S.B. (Birt, p 56).
PERSECUTION
suo variis in captivos dicteriis lusit, nimirum: " Sacerdotis et Jesuitae sitis propagandi suam Religionem (quae nihil est quam suum utile) tanta est ut nullo sanguine etiam humano satiari possit. " Item: " nulla illis debetur fides, quia credunt sibi licitum alios fallere " Et ad Pickeringum : " Vide jam quid tua tibi prosint triginta Sacrorum millia ' (227) Die xxiv Jan. Executioni sententiae destinata , tracti sunt ad supplicium Irelandus et Grovius ; ubi ille in haec verba locutus est: " Venimus ad ultimam hujus mundi scenam; ideo tenemur aliqua dicere Ac primo protestamur nos toto corde condonare omnibus et singulis, qui ad nostram mortem quocunque modo cooperati sunt. Secundo, declaramus nobis persuasissimum esse , si essemus vere Rei, nos illud agnoscere debere; [f. 51] et si sciremus aliquem alium Majestatis Reum esse , etiamsi Pater noster esset, teneremur illum deferre, ejusque Criminis veniam a Deo et hominibus infimis precibus petere Caeterum, quia video verbis nostris nullam habitum iri fidem , ad Deum convertimur, peccatorum nostrorum veniam ab ipso sperantes per Jesum Christum .
" (228) Quod ad me spectat, ubi xx annis in Belgio vixissem , huc veni, mense Junii anni praeteriti, illuc rediturus, ni morbus impedivisset iii Augustiin Provinciam Staffordiensem ivi, unde reversus sum xiv Septembris in hanc urbem : quod testari possunt plusquam Centum homines, quibuscum egi illo tempore; qui vero potuerim simul illic esse, et Londini quae mihi objecta sunt egisse, sane non bene intelligo ! (229) Interpellatus hic a Vice-Comite dicente nullam ejus asseverationibus habendam fidem, quibus honor Judicum minuebatur, alio conversa oratione dixit: (230) " Deum supplex veneror, millies et millies benedicat Regem , Reginam, Eboracensem, totamque familiam Regiam. Catholicos, si qui adsunt, oro suis precibus a Deo nobis impetrent felicem ex hac vita ad aeternam transitum; sitque misericors omnium Christianorum animabus Cunctis inimicis nostris toto corde ignoscimus; Deus illis itidem ignoscat Denique oramus omnes bonos, ut pro nobis et nobiscum orent "
(231) Grovius haec tantum dixit: " Sumus Innocentes; vita nostra injuste nobis eripitur. Deum oramus, illis ignoscat, qui in causa sunt." (232) Sic mortem obiit P. Gulielmus Irelandus, primitiae martyrum, quos isto anno Deo obtulit Martyrum faecunda parens Provincia Anglicana S.J., ab Haereticis ultimo Perduellium supplicio affectus, ut isti dicebant , ob conspirationem in Regis et Regni perniciem ; revera in odium Fidei, et quod nollet falsum ferre testimonium, contra legem Decalogi illud prohibentis (quod etiam ad Martyrii Lauream coram Deo sufficit) anno Aetatis
Cf. Fr. Ireland's full itinerary, printed in Remarks on the Tryal of Mr. Ireland , Mr. Pickering, and Mr. Grove ... (signed T.A.), 1679, p 53
suae XLIII, Religionis XXIV, Professionis quatuor votorum VI. Natus in ProvinciaLincolniensi parentibus nobilibus vero nomine
Ironmonger , litteris humanioribus Audomari, Phylosophicis et Theologicis Leodii , operam navavit, et utrobique Pietatis, Observantiae regularis, et mirabilis aequanimitatis in rebus maxime arduis, egregiareliquit exempla. Mense Julii A.D. MDCLXXVII. hujus saeculi vocatus a Provinciali in Angliam, factusque Provinciae Procurator, quicquid rerum temporalium curae supererat temporis, in procurandam animarum salutem impendebat Quibus exercitiis dum vix xiv. menses vacasset, ad patiendum pro fide et veritate vocatus, omnium primus comprehensus est. Ubi sumptum supplicium , magno studio certatim Catholici vestium ipsius frusta, carnium particulas, strophiola sanguine tincta, sibi compararunt a Carnificis ministris, quae ingentis Thesauri instar sibi servant ; per quae Deus mira facere dicitur.
(233) Grovius, vir Laicus et conjugatus, pius, probus, gnavus, cum conjuge Londini vivebat, et circiter a sesquianno Patres nostros juverat in distribuendis Epistolis , et dirigendis, qui in alia loca pergerent Liberis ejus pia Fidelium Charitas adfuit Unum in litteris humanioribus instructum Seminarium Audomarense altioribus studiis alio misit imbuendum ; aliis alii prospexerunt
(234) Dissecta corpora amicis relicta sunt, humo condenda. Non tamen illic quiescere Irelando concessum , siquidem Robertus Jenisonus ipsius cognatus illum post quatuor circiter menses mendacii accusavit, vere mendax ipse, et Perduellionis . De quo infra
(235) Doluit Pickeringus certaminis socius, se triumphi socium non fuisse; verum illi dilatum, non remissum, supplicium est, quodsubiit ix Maii. Ad patibulum, Deo in testem invocato, dixit nec cogitatione , nec verbo, nec opere, se eorum reum esse , quorum fuerat accusatus. Interrogatus an esset Sacerdos, respondit se solum esse fratrem Laicum. Tum, ubi pro Rege, Regni Pace atque seipso orasset, dixit Carnifici : "Amice, fungere officio tuo. "
(236) Natusin ProvinciaDarbiensi piis et honestis Parentibus , a quibus jam inde a Pueritia Christianis est Moribus imbutus , mundi pericula ut vitaret, ipsum fugit, et ad sacrum S. Benedicti Ordinem velut ad tutum portum se recepit. Vir fuit antiquae simplicitatis et innocentissimae vitae, omnium judicio ad Provinciam illi perjuriis Oatis impositam ineptissimus
(237) HILLI, GRINI, ET BERRII CERTAMEN Post priorum et ante ultimi supplicium , evocati ad causam dicendam Laurentius Hillus, Robertus Grinus et Henricus Berrius , nempe x Feb. , necis Godefridi postulati Advocatus Regius facinoris seriem prolixaoratione contexuit, viz: ubi Godefridus Oatis Accusationem excepisset, eo graviter offensos Papistas, eum minis ab officio absterrere conatos esse ; inde datam [f. 52] ipsi occasionem
affirmandi se primum fore martyrem. Catholicos exinde ei insidiatos esse; horum unum +die xii Oct ,+ dum prope Reginae palatium transiret, invitasse in locum vicinum, ut rixantes sua authoritate sedaret; illuc ubi pervenisset injecto in ejus collum strophiolostrangulatum esse; cum tamen ex Pedum trepidatione et calore pectoris deprehendissent necdum expirasse, torto collo reducta in humeros facie, quod supererat spiritus expressisse Homicidii facti narrationemabsque dubio Romam missam, magno gaudio totam urbem replevisse (Nec tamen addidit, quibus id auribus audierit, aut quibus narrantibus crediderit) Cadaver inde in cubiculum Thomae Goddeni, S.T. Doctoris , Reginae a sacris, delatum, inde ter aut quater alio translatum, tandem xvi Octobris circa mediam noctem in sellam gestatoriam compactum , per Principem dicti Palatii Portameductum, et ad Graecorum Ecclesiam evectum, ubi sellae extractum, divaricatis cruribus equo impositum, pone sedente Hillo, a quo in fossam dejectum sit, in qua sequenti die repertum est. (238) Dati testes , 1. Oates , retulit minas illi intentatas, quod Oatis Accusationes cuidam magno viro curasset ostendi. Quod Robinsonus confirmavit Hoc verum esse nemo negavit, sed minarum Authorem Catholicum esse nemo prudens credidit. Caeterum horum nihil Reos afficiebat , qui nec Godefrido minati unquam fuerant, nec a minis territantibus ullo modo pendebant. Hillus, in virili aetate, Godeno serviebat : reliqui duo capulares senes, mera silicernia : Grinus in sacello Reginae pulvinaria dando intrantibus pecuniolam aliquam aucupabatur ; Berrius erat Palatii illius Janitor
(239) Auditus exinde Brunus, Pagi, in quo repertum cadaver , Praefectus, dixit tantum quomodo illud invenerit. Item duo chirurgi, qui dixerunt non gladio in cadavere reperto, sed laqueo expirasse Quid haec ad reos ? Auditus Vincentius Caupo et ejus famulus , Stringer, dicentes Reos cum aliquot sacerdotibus domi suae bibisse. Quid haec ad rem ? si cum omnibus bibissent totius Europae sacerdotibus, num inde sequetur, hos peracti homicidii reos esse? Idem de Testimoniis Caraei, Evani, et Dethickii, qui dixerunt Prancium cum aliis Ostrea et Pisces comedisse , fuisse valde hilarem, factam ibi de nece Godfredi
* Godden was living in hiding shortly before the outbreak ofthe plot, and subsequently escaped to France (Hay, pp. 136-7)
In Soho .
Thomas Robinson, Chief Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas. The " Person of Quality" mentioned by Robinson in the printed trial as the personto whom Sir Edmundbury Godfrey gave Oates's depositions was , in fact, Scroggs himself In his evidence before the House of Commons on 24 Oct. 1678 Robinson mentioned Scroggs by name (C.J. ix, 520, and H.M.C. 11 Rep. App., Pt. II, pp. 2-3). In thistrial, therefore,inadditiontohis bullying ofthe prisoners and defence witnesses, and his endeavours to assist the prosecution to make out their case, Scroggs was in the curious position of knowing more about the state of Godfrey's mind beforehis death than probably anyone else in the Court.
mentionem Pudet pigetque haec referre, quae non puduit Advocatum Regium magna verborum pompa producere, solum ad fucum Populo faciendum, et Reorum Innocentiam Testium etiam nihil ad rem dicentium numero obruendam.
se ** (240) Supersunt Bedlous et Prancius. Prior dixit a biennio cum sacerdotibus familiarissime conversatum; oblato xvi millium scutorum premio ad aliquem occidendum invitatum. Audisse postmodum facinus patratum, et vidisse cadaver, laterna maligne lucem emittente ostensum Se cum aliis, ad illud efferendum concurrisse, viii scutorum millibus oblatis inductum. Cumque BradestritaGodeni neptis illi diceret alta voce , Domine Bedloe, tute optime nosti quaecunquedixisti falsa esse . " Respondit iste: Te non accuso " Aliunde etiam constat, quae dixit, Reis officere non debuisse , cum clare dixerit ibidem, Hillum et Grinum sibi ignotos ; vidisse quidem eos aliquando in Reginae sacello, et visos sibi homines nequam, ad quaelibet facinora patranda paratos Deinde, teste Smithaeo ministro Protestante , Oates de Bedloo praesente, dixit, eum nihil de nece Godfridi scivisse; aliqua tamen dicere voluisse, quo bis mille scuta a Carolo promissa reciperet. Quae verba Bedlous cachinno solo excepit. Successit Prancius, qui solus clare dixit, quicquid volebant factiosi, a se et tribus Reis patratum homicidium; adeoque solus ad rem locutus est. Nominavit alios criminis affines, nominatim quendam Vernatti nomine Ejus tamen testimonio fides nulla debebatur, i. quia unicus testis erat, et omnia Jura cum Divina tum humana duos requirunt: Deut xvii 6: In ore duorum vel, trium testium stabit omne verbum: nemo occidetur uno contra se dicente Testimonium" Et c Jusjurandi [sic] de Testibus : vox unius, vox nullius. ii. Quia Prancius ejusdem erat Criminis Reus , adeoque a dando Testimonio excludi debebat.
Utraque haec ratio conjungitur c Veniens de Testibus : "Ille qui eodem crimine est infectus, inde contra eum testificari non potest ....... nec unius Testimonium in condemnationem sufficiat alicujus." iii Ipsemet Prancius Carolo protestatus fuerat omnia falsa esse, quae de Godfridi Percussoribusdixerat +Quod confirmaruntGulielmus Cheffins et Richardsonus, carceris Praefectus iste, alter secreto Caroli cubiculo Praefectus; quibus praesentibus id a Prancio factum; sed de horum testimonioin causae hujus Actis Scroggii jussu vulgatis nulla mentio.+ Hocagnovit Prancius, sed addidit ea se dejerasse quod timeret, ne alias Regina et Catholici deinceps ejus opera non uterentur Et Scroggius
* C . Iusiurandi [sic: for ' iurisiurandi '] de TestibusCodex Iustinianus 4,20, 9 (-Cod Theod XI, 39, 3), a constitution of Constantineof 334: "Nunc manifeste sancimus , ut unius omnino testis responsionon audiatur , etiamsi praeclarae curiae honore praefulgeat"
C. Veniens . de TestibusDecretal. Greg IX, 2, 20, 10
The evidence of Chiffinch (as in a sensea very intimate representative of the Royal Household ) is a significant instance of Charles II's attemptat intervention in the trial
addidit id non fecisse ex falsitate, sed ex metu Unde unde fecerit, fecit certe, indeque se non fide sed paena dignus fecit. c. Qui falso ff. de Testibus* : " qui falso vel VARIE Testimonia dixerunt ... a Judicibus competenter puniantur " iv. Totam hystoriam confictam esse prodebant varia indicia: i quod vir strenuus, integris viribus, se strangulandum permiserit, sine resistentia, sine strepitu, idque in loco omnibus pervio, transeuntibus ultro citroque frequente ii quod nulla apparente causa cadaver tamdiu retinuerint, et ex uno toties in alia cubicula transtulerint. iii Corpus demortui cum frigidum tum rigidum flecti se permiserit , ut in sellam gestatoriam compingeretur (erat autem Godefridus valde procerae staturae), deinde sella extractum equo divaricatis cruribus imponeretur; tum in fossam conjectum, rectum et rigidum [f. 53] adeoque inflexibile inventum sit. Haec credat Judaeus Apella. v varii Testes omni exceptione majores fabulosam hystoriam refutarunt. Ipsa Militum statio ad illam Reginae Palatii Portam ea nocte constituta, qua evectum Corpus dictum fuit, testata est nullum ea nocte sellam illac exiisse, nullam exire potuisse, ab ipsis inobservatam . Godeni neptis et ancilla testatae sunt Hillum, utraque nocte, cum qua creditur occisus , tum qua dicebatur evectus, fuisse domi, nec unquam exivisse Similia de aliis alii, ringente Scroggio, cunctos pro virili turbante, quaestionibus interjectis, aliquando ridiculis, aliquando impudicis , aliquando malignis Malignitatis fuit a Militibus sciscitari num essent Catholici ; quo casu discingi debebant. Item annon deserta statione (quod militare flagitium est) cum combibonibus in popinas abivissent ? Ridiculum, si in re seria ridere liberet, cum petiit num Catholici diebus Sabbathinis caenarent, et an ad hoc peculiare nacti essent a Sede Apostolica Privilegium. Impudicum, interrogare Godeni neptim, num cum Hillo totis illis noctibus concubuisset. Idem Scroggius, cum audisset pecuniam in defuncti sacculis aliaque preciosa reperta, dixit: Papistae credunt Furtum esse Peccatum; non item homicidium . " Reis universim ait : " Vobis non licet aliter aut loqui, aut sentire, quam placet sacerdoti; iste vobis ejusmodi facinora suggerit, et diabolus illi" ; iterum, "libet meis lytaniis, hoc addere: Ab illusione Papismi et Papae tyrannide, libera nos , Domine Jugum enim illud +tale est ut,+ gustata libertatis dulcedine, nos nunquam patiemur: et onus , quod nemo feret, nisi jumentum ad onera ferenda natum ' Denique, " Mirum in modum ex isto homicidioconfirmatur Fides conspirationis " Sic vicioso circulo ludebat bonus vir: ex conspiratione probans Homicidium , ex hoc Conspirationem Cum jam tum crederetur, nunc vero luce clarius probatum sit, neutrum extitisse nisi in Oatis et sociorum capitibus et maculatis ab iis chartis. "
(241) Sententia sequenti die in eos lata, nempe xi feb , ut
C. Qui falso ff de Testibus=Digest 22, 5 , 16not an accuratequotation ff. Digest in common form.
Homicidii compertos, quando cum aliorum ingenti dolore Berryus declaravit se in Religione Protestantica educatum, corde fidem illam nunquam ejurasse; et velle mori Protestantem Hinc supplicium ad tempus indefinitum dilatum, alii xxi. feb . ad patibulum ducti, ubi Hillus dixit: " Veni ad fatalem supplicii locum, mox tremendo Dei omnipotentis , cuncta scientis tribunali sistendus; ubi spero mihi futurum bono, quod Innocens moriar. Et Deum enim et Angelos et Homines attestor me innocentem esse necis D. Godefredi Profiteor , ut vixi, ita me mori Catholicum. Dignentur, qui tales sunt, pro me orare . Deus Regi benedicat, et huic miseraegenti, nec ab ista mei sanguinis rationem reposcat. Valete omnes in Christo Jesu; in cujus manus spiritum meum commendo. " Cumque parum orasset, addidit: "Audivi spargi in vulgus, me D. Floido homicidiumagnovisse Id ego pernego" Grinus ait, " Omnesrogo, pro me orent Quod ad D. Godefridum attinet, an sit mortuus, an vivus, non scio, quia, quod sciam , nunquam in vita mea illum vidi Si nequam homines adversus me jurare voluerunt, penes me non erat eos impedire. Deus et Regi benedicat et omnibus bonis " Cumque diceret aliquis, eum juridice fuisse condemnatum, subjunxit: " Precor Deum omnibus ignoscat; Godefridum certe nunquam vidi, quantum ego scio . "
(242) Berryum aggressi varii Conspirationis confessionemab eo exprimere conati sunt, impunitate et premiis propositis, si fateretur; sin vero minati mortem. Sed Probitatis quam Fidei tenacior, constanter negavit se quicquam +de ea+ scire . Unde octavopost die, xxviii feb socios secutus est, ad supplicii, non item ad premii locum, suspendio, ut illi, necatus Ultima ejus verba fuerunt: " O Domine Jesu, ut sum innocens, ita suscipe spiritum. "
(243) Ita pro Innocentia sua proque vita pugnarunt, solo bonae conscientiae testimonio freti contra Perjuros Testes , imo contra non modo iniquos, verum etiam infestos Judices; qui cum ex Naturae lege et officio Accusatis favere tenerentur (enim vero alios eis Patronos Jura negant), horum Innocentiamtota Peritiae suae Arte confundere, tota Auctoritatis suae mole opprimere, conati sunt, ut fictitiae Conspirationi colorem aliquem inducerent . Sed frustra; nam tres isti Litterarum rudes, et forte [f. 54] analphabeti , Deo opitulante, ita causidicorum solertiam confuderunt, ut vix ulli de Judicii totius iniquitate dubitarint, plerique bonos viros calumniis oppressos miserati sunt. Sic stulta mundi eligit Deus, ut confundat sapientes ; et infirma mundi, ut confundat fortes.
(244) APOLOGIAE PRO CATHOLICIS. Cum ubique Catholicorum , sed maxime Societatis, honor lacesseretur, quasi Majestatis comperti essent , inimicis id constanter affirmantibus , nemine contradicente , et hoc ipsum Catholicorum silentium in sequiorem partem a viris minime malis acciperetur pro tacita culpae confessione, tandem pravis rumoribus obviam eundum visum est.
Itaque exeunte Februario prodiit Epistola Amstelrodamensis * a Gulielmo Morgano Anglice scripta , et i Martii alia Montensis, gallice a J. Warnero, illa ut Anglis, haec ut exteris gentibus gallicam Linguamcallentibus satisfieret Et vero ita satisfecerunt, ut intra duos menses variis in locis, diverso idiomate decies typis impressa sit posterior, licet praepotens Calvinista cuipiam Principi supplicarit, eam in suis ditionibus edi vetaret, ne cunctis Calvinistis in iis degentibus periculum crearet aperta rerum in Anglia gestarum iniquitas.
(245) In iis descripta paucis eorum qui Catholicos accusabant vita, refutata publicis Attestationibus praecipua Oatis mendacia , ostensum incredibile esse, quod Catholici Regi semper fideles , in Carolum de se optime meritum conspirarint. Adeo vero Veritatis a se propositae securi erant Epistolarum Authores , ut cum ad Catholicos non possent, ad horum hostes miserint recta varia exemplaria, per publicum Tabellionem , Shaftesburium nimirum , aliosque Superioris Conclavis Proceres , ad utrumque Caroli secretarium, +aliosque Carolo a consiliis,+ ad inferioris Conclavis Oratorem, aliosque praecipuos Senatores, Praetorem Londiniensem, Vice Comites, et Aldermannos , inscriptis cujusque nomine fasciculis, ut aut a persequendis insontibus desisterent , aut ablato vulgari ignorantiae praetextu, essentinexcusabiles . Sed nunquam magis clare patuit Augustianae Sententiae Veritas : Homines amare veritatem lucentem; sed non redarguentem Ubi enim viderunt Catholicorum Innocentiam ita clare assertam , ut quid responderent, non occurreret , ipsi indignari inventos esse , qui Actorum Justitiam suorum in dubium revocarent, aut ab iis approbatam fabulamimprobarent; inde frendere dentibus , furere, debacchari inCatholicos, plebem ciere, Proceres Catholicos captivos adire, extrema illis minari, ni Apologistis Silentium imponerent; non ferendam eorum audaciam clamitare , qui Comitiorum honorem solicitarent totiusque Regni; nec culpam amoliebantur dicendo se insciis Apologias illas scriptas esse et injussu suo , neque penes se hominibus extra Regnum degentibus moderari,
A Letter from Amsterdam to a Friend in Paris (no date or place) (B.M. 101 , c 14) (1) ).
LettreEscrite de Mons à un Amy à Paris ... (1679) (B.M. 860, i, 12
Shaftesbury sent his copy to the Lords Committee (H.M.C. 11 Rep App , Pt II, pp. 97-100) There is also a copy among the Domestic State Papers (C.S.P.D., 1679-80, pp 86-7) Inside the title-page ofhis copyofAntiFimbria (B.M. 860, i, 12 (5)) Warner has inserted the following MS note to show that his efforts to dispel invincible ignorance did not miss their mark: " Domestic Intelligence Dec. 19. '79. We have an account that a Person of Qualitylatelyreceiveda Packet fromFlandersby ye post, froman unknown person, with a blank cover, and two bookes enclosed therein, ye contents whereof were scandalous , and treasonable , vindicating yeInnocency of the five Jesuits latelyexecuted, to ye dishonour of his Majesty's Government, and ye Justice of ye Nation, who are fully satisfiedof their guilt: and they particularly inveighed against the King's evidences, especially Dr. Oates and Mr. Bedlow"
in quos nihil imperii haberent ; cum reponerent alii, si minus imperio , certe suasu, id eos facile obtenturos ; eas in eorum commodum factas, adeoque ab iis repetendam rationem , si ultra progrederentur . (246) Nec deerant e Catholicis, qui nihil contra dici contenderent, sive quod ea ratione Crabrones irritarentur, sive quod infirmas fabulae partes detegendo ad eas novis testibus muniendas dirigerentur Factiosi, sive Dei manum in tota Persecutione videntes, sicut Medici in magnis morbis quiddam Divinum inesse asseverant, Deo proinde relinquebant, quam ipse consciverat, sedare Tempestatem, quasi non liceret etiam in maximos morbos medicamentis pugnare a Deo creatis de terra eum ipsum in finem. [Caeterum visum est Vice-Provinciali]* Divinam quidem opem ferventibus precibus implorandam; non tamen negligenda remedia humana Catholicorum hostes nec veritatis amore, nec Zelo Religionis, nec boni publici studio moveri , nec homines neque Deum vereri ; sola publica infamia et omnium gentium convicio ab insania revocari posse (247) Erant illae Epistolae unguis in ulcere; nec modus occurrebat eum excutiendi; et velut armamentarium , unde deprompta amentata tela, quibus mendaciorum acies prostrata est. Submissi a Factiosis aliqui Audomarum , Parisios alii, alii Madritum, qui in facta particularia inquirerent Ubi omnia constare viderunt nec ullum falsi vestigium uspiam apparere, Epistolis nihil unquam responderunt.
(248) Allata [Leodium] deinde Acta causae in Hillum sociosque institutae; quorum iniquitatem altera Montensi Epistola ostendit prioris author, J.W., cui pro corollario addidit: novum non esse, quod filiis Lucis adversarentur filii hujus saeculi, eosve Calumniis ob-[f. 55]ruerent, vellentque ab iis Fortunae vitia et publicas calamitates praestari . Combustae Romae Invidia gravatos primi Saeculi Christianos; Incendii quo Diocletiani Palatiumarsit in eosdemcrimen conjectum ; captae a Gothis Romae iterum postulatos Christianos ; quae videre est apud Tacitum, Tertullianum, Augustinum, aliosque Sed et Christum
* There is something wrong with the Cambridge text here The wordssedareTempestatem are the end ofa sentence in the MS , andare followed by a full stop, although the next sentence begins with a small letter. quasi non liceret .... infinem is Warner's comment on the last reason given against publishing vindications of the Catholics The sentence Divinam quidem opem .... contains Warner's own view of the matter, although he gives no indication that he has finished giving the views of those who disagreed with him . It has thereforeseemed advisableto insert" [Caeterumvisum est ViceProvinciali]" beforeDivinam opem The Harl MS .,f. 38v , has " Caeterumv. Provincialis in ss" (=sententia sua ?) perstitit, quod Catholicorum et Regis hostes ab insania non nisi publica infamia et communi generis humani consilio(?) revocari posse viderentur "
[Leodium]' is added from A., to clarify the sense
Seconde Lettre de Mons à un amy à Paris du 20 d'Avril 1679. Ou Factum pour Hil et Grine, deux Catholiques pendus en Angleterre (B.M. 860, i, 12 (3))
ipsum LaesaeMajestatis et Divinae et Humanae accusatum fuisse . Illud vero novum et hactenus inauditum, quod de atrocissimis criminibus accusatis venia daretur confessis , negaretur illa negantibus. Item quod a captivis nihil extra cubiculum suum gestum scientibus, praestari vellent , quicquid etiam extra Ditiones Regis ageretur (249) Nec huic Epistolae quicquam unquam responderunt Factiosi . Ex his Epistolis illud Lucri factum, ut exteris Catholicorum Innocentia constaret, et plerisque etiam Anglis Ne tamen concideret plane odium in Catholicos, ex antiquis Hystoriis et aliis regnis collegerunt [Acatholici]* quicquid saevum , quicquid crudele in iis invenire est : Laniena Parisiensis, Albani saevities in Belgio, Gallorumin Tolosatibus adversus Albigenses, Rogi sub Maria Angliae Regina accensi , quicquid Seditiosi Valdenses a legitimis suis Principibus uspiam passi, in cumulum odiose conjecta, et Catholicis exprobata , futura non futiles tantaemolis tibicines: quasi Catholicos omnes non praesentis modo saeculi, verum etiam praeteritorum, in unam massam conflassent, cujus omnia crimina a qualibet parte praestari deberent ; ut, sicut Christus inter suos discipulos meritorum constituit participationem , ita ista Anti-Christi Demeritoruminstituerent His addita quaedam dogmata supremis Potestatibus odiosa, ab aliquibus olim Theologis asserta, paucis modo cognita, plerisque odiosa Hujusmodi aut gestis aut traditis, justum librum refersit, et in publicum emisit Barrous [sic] Theologiae Protestanticae Doctor Oxoniensis, Pseudo -Episcopus Lincolniensis, vir dubiae et in Deum et in Regemfidei, utpotede Judaismo suspectus , quod Botulis nunquam vesci voluerit, et Factiosis in Carolum I. pugnantibus , Carolo II. adversantibus semper adhaeserit, sacramentis, quaecunque rogarentur, dictis, etiamsi varia essent, et inter se pugnantia adversa fronte; tempori semper serviens et praesenti Potentiae adulatus (250) OATES S.T. DOCTOR Oates, quo majorem sibi circumdaret authoritatem S.T. Doctoris auctus titulo , Lauream illam in utraque Universitate ambivit; ab utraque repulsam passus , vindictam minatus , titulumsibimet assumpsit, ad alia hoc adjecto mendacio, se Salmanticae creatum Doctorem, licet Salmanticam nunquam adierit, et facultas illa maculam sibi injectam, probrumque ex tali homine promoto adhaesurum, eluerit instrumento publico typis edito, § omnium illius Facultatis Theologicae chirographis munito, testatanunquama se visum Oatem; de eo nihil auditum illic, nisi ex publica fama, illi adversa.
* [Acatholici]' is added from A., to clarify the sense
I.e. Alvae
I.e. Thomas Barlow, Bp. of Lincoln 1675-91 . The writer of his biography in D.N.B. concurs with Warner's judgement of the man The work to which Warner is referring is presumably Popery: or the Principles and Positions Approved by the Church of Rome ...., by T., Ld Bishop of Lincoln; London, 1679
§ Printed by L'Estrange in the Observator, vol i, no 225
(251) LESTRANGIUS QUALIS Jam tum apparebant insidiae
Carolo Regiminique a Factiosis structae, praetextu utrumque a Papistarum conatibus defendendi Hinc in scenam iterum prodiit utriusque vindex acerrimus, Fanaticorum hominum malleus perpetuus et implacabilis hostis, Rogerius Lestrangius. Is, antiqua et perillustri familia in Provincia Norfolciae oriundus, Carolo I. militavit. Cujus mandato instructus, Lin Regis* (oppidum ad maris aestuarium Norfolciam a Lincolniensi Provincia dividens situm) dum occupare conatur, captus ipse, contra Belli jura de capite arcessitus, supplicio adjudicatus est; sed Sententiae dilata ad tempus indefinitum executio, ne exemplum daretur captis a Carolo perniciosum ; tandem etiam libertatem adeptus est In eo Mercurius Marte potentior, clarior calamo quam gladio factus; a Natura Ingeniumfacile et perspicax, longo rerum turbidarum usu Prudentiam maximam sortitus est; unde licet multis scriptis acerrimorum hostium iram in se provocarit, nemo [f. 56] tamen aut cujuspiam violatae legis aut Falsi dicam impegerit. Scriptis variis utilissimis sine nomine editis, Carolo II. tum Exuli redituro portus aperuit. Reversum in throno stabilivit, detectis pravis factiosorum studiis, a quibus necessario abstinendum fuit, ubi viderunt quaecunque dicerent in angulis, ab isto vlgauri toti populo Animi aequabilitate , morum innocentia, familiarum sermonum lepore, cunctis gratus; stilus Anglice castigatissimus et facaetus Lectorum oculos allicit; non temere creditur Regiaeauctoritati magisprofuisse, quam justusExercitus. (252) Religionem Protestanticam in Paternis Aedibus cum lacte haustam retinuit etiam in familia Cardinalis Hastiae, in quam in spem conversionis, quae nunquam subsecutaest, admissus inter Nobiles Honorarios
(253) Percellebatur iste periculo a Presbiterianis imminente, cui occurri non posset, nisi disjecta conspirationi Papisticae habita fide; hanc tamen aperte convellere et intutum fore et infructuosum didicerat, exemplo Senatorum, qui eam in dubium vocando sibi multum mali, nihil boni publico, conciverant . Audendum tamen aliquid ratus, librum edit +cui titulus+ Ulterior Conspirationis Papisticae Detectio, ipsi Oati inscriptum, in cujus fere initio haec habet : " Tantum de Conspiratione, quam detulisti, credo, quantum officiosus Regi subditus credere tenetur, quantum ullus mentis compos credere potest, imo, coram Deo loquor, quantum tu ipse, Domine Doctor Oates , credis Caeterum totus orbis nunquam efficere potest ut aut credam, aut me credere dicam, quod nec credo nec credere possum .... Subinde velim rem ostendi, prius quam assentiar, ubi creditu perquam difficilis est. Pone aliquem mihi dicere, quod pluat caponibus assatis
* I.e. King's Lynn For a full account of L'Estrange's career see George Kitchin's Sir Roger Lestrange (1913)
A Further Discovery of the Plot in a letter to Dr. Titus Oates 1680 (Wing L. 1251-1255).
larido suffixis, aegre non feret, si suspendam judicium meum , donec aperta fenestra dispiciam, num ita sit. "
(254) Haec ille Qua cautela Delatoris perfidiam suggillat, Catholicorum fidem adstruit, insulsam Conspirationis fabulam irridet ! Hic unus, cedentibus metu aliis, murum se opposuit pro Regia Authoritate, quam ita defendit, ut Catholicis oblique patrocinaretur, Acatholicus ipse; adeoque majorem meritusfidem apud Haereticos. Resumptum hujus anni initiocalamum necdum deposuit, dum ista scribo,* vir natu grandis sed cui viridis et vegeta senectus nihil abstulit praeter corporis vires et juvenilem fervorem (quo melius carere), cujus jacturam aucta Prudentia compensavit. Etiamnum ei ingenium vividum, memoria tenax, sermo facilis, sale conditus minimemordaci nisi in Regis Regnive hostes Nunquam quiescere patitur, qui quietem aut privatam Bonorum aut publicam Regni perturbant
(255) Tacuit iste dum in solos Catholicos debaccharentur Factiosi , Caroli Reverentia, e cujus Aula prima fabulae mentio prodierat. Silentium rupit, ubi ad Anarchiam inducendam gradum fieri vidit. Haec sementisolim copiosam messem protulit, minori in praesenti fructu jactata, rerum novarum insano studio aures claudente, animos obsedente, ut nihil quam quod cuperent, audirent
(256) Cum reliquam Catholicorum aciem loco motam tam facile cessisse viderunt, aucta audacia in Eboracensem impressionem faciunt; ipsum cor, ipsum caput fuisse conspirationis in necem Caroli; absque illo fuisset, Catholicos tantum facinus nec animo designare nec mente concipere ausuros fuisse; +ab ipso profecta consilia Catholicis utilia, regno perniciosa; icta, ipso Authore, faedera cum Papistis, rejecta cum Protestantibus ; auctam potentiam Gallicam vicinis formidabilem, futuram olim exitio, ni mature obviam eatur, amoto Eboracensi+; frustra de reduviis laborare, ubi caput periculo expositum est; incassum dejici folia, ramos amputari, relictis radice et trunco, unde et prodierant illa et iterum pullulatura forent; Eboracensem loco movendum, jure successionis exuendum, patrio solo pellendum, si salvum Carolum, Salvam R.P., salvam Religionem velint. Haec non in urbis tantum angulis obscure, sed in Aula etiam , audiente Carolo, magna fiducia, maxime instante tempore Parlamenti Sessioni destinato, quo sem-[f. 57 per audacius furere Factiosi soliti, Regii Ministri illis timidius resistere (257) EBORACENSISSOLUM VERTIT Carolus, quo Senatores haberet pacatiores, rem exposuit Eboracensi; +monuit utriusque interesse, se Tempestati subduceret, in Belgium Hispanicum secederet, illic redituram serenitatem et meliora tempora operiretur;
* In the Observator L'Estrange was engaged in a public exposure of the plot which culminated in Oates's trial for perjury, and was continued by L'Estrange in A BriefHistory ofthe Times (in three parts), 1687-8 (Wing L. 1203), to which Warner is probably referring here.
non tamen , ut e regno discederet, imperavit.+ Exinde, quod viva voce non poterat, mandatum Regno exeundi misit scripto xxviii. Feb. in haec verba: "
(258) 'Jam tibi exposui fusius, cur putem expedire te ad aliquod tempus trans mare versari ; sicut autem mihi grave est datam ejusmodi necessitatem, ita certo credas velim, moram illic non majorem futuram, quam et tuum bonum et meum obsequium exigent. In praesenti, propria manu tibi significatum volui, exigere me, in hoc mihi morem geras, idque quam commode fieri poterit citissime Facile tibi persuadebis, quanto hoc dolore tibi scribam; quam nulla res magis afficit, quam constans tua in me amicitia. Spero te ita juste de me sensurum, ut non credas aut absentiam tuam aut ullam aliam rem effecturam, ut minus sim vere et ex corde, Tuus Carolus Rex. "
(259) Paruit e vestigio Eboracensis mandato, quantumvis gravi; cumque jam esset ad iter accinctus, invisitur a Carolo; in mutuos amplexus ruunt, et quem linguae dolore impeditae dolorem et tenerrimumaffectum exprimere non valent, lachrimae mutuae testantur.
(260) Sparsus fuerat antea rumor Monmuthium legitimo matrimonio procreatum fuisse, sed clam et susurris tantum; tunc vero apertius ea de re loqui caeptum, factiosorum viribus et audacia Eboracensis discessu auctis. Carolus ea re +percculsus, convocatis extra ordinem conciliariis suis Regnique Judicibus, publice falsum esse rumorem illum declaravit, seque nullam duxisse nisi Catharinam Lusitanam Hanc declarationem de scripto legit, chirographo suo munivit , jussitque ipsum Authographum in Tabulariis Consilii Sacratioris asservari, eorum etiam qui praesentes aderant veluti Testium manibus subscriptum ; ejus vero exemplaria authentica fieri et alibi servari Hoc iii. Martii factum. * Caeterum anno sequenti rumor revixit; dictum insuper extare scriptum a Carolo signatum, fidem faciens Matrimonium aut certe sponsalia ipsum inter et illam mulierem intercessisse. Addita nomina eorum qui illud vidisse [sic], et in cujus custodia esset capsula nigra illud continens, nominatim Gilbertus Gerardus eques auratus Accitus ipse, fassus est de capsula nigra se aliquid audivisse et scripto ejusmodi; neutrum unquam a se visum, neque scire se unde natus rumor, aut quo fundamento nitatur Alii de iisdem interrogati eadem reposuerunt: ignotos sibi fabulae Autores, vix notos, qui sparserant. (261) Priorem tum Declarationem Carolus repetiit secundo et tandem tertio (Junii secundo die), quando Deo in Testem invocato, in fide viri Christiani et verbo Regis, protestatus est nec matrimonium neque contractum ullum matrimonialem se inter et Domicellam Waters, sive Barroam (quae duo nomina sibi assumpserat Monmuthi mater), aut ullam faeminam , praeter Reginam superstitem, intercessisse Jubet Jure agi in contrarium
* The declaration was first made privately on 6 Jan. 1678/9 .
asserentes * Haec satis esse debebant ad Eboracensis jus in tuto collocandum, ni cum cervicosa gente actum fuisset, cui certum aliquem habere praetextum ad excludendum Eboracensis + Jus,+ alius vero non occurrebat . Plebeculae proinde illa adhaesit opinio, quia vera credebatur ; Monmuthio , Shaftesburio, et Ministellis Presbiterianis , quia utilis erat Unde mortuo Carolo, Jacobo Regni habenas tenente, secuta Rebellio, Monmuthii et aliquot aliorum sanguine sopita. De quo infra (262)
PARLAMENTUM Vi Martii, Parlamentum novum celebratum; cui Carolus in hunc sensum locutus est : Se nihil magis in votis habere, quam ut ipsius subditorum omnium animi et sibi, et inter se, atque cum externis Protestantibus conciliarentur. Ipsorum (Senatorum, quos nimirum alloquebatur ) culpam fore, si desiderio ipsius rerum exitus haud responderet. A se multa jam eum in finem facta: exclusos Parlamento Proceres Papistas, supplicium [f. 58] de variis sumptum cum Conspirationis tum caedis Godefridi reis; in utramque ulterius inquisitum; militem discinctum , quantum per Aerarium licuit; reliquum exauthorandum , ubi huicfuerit prospectum. Et quod plus est, Fratrem a se amandatum , ne qua viris malevolis relinqueretur occasio dicendi aliquem in Aula relictum, qui Papistica consilia suggereret. Visum ex iis, quae fecisset, quam vere et sincere Regni Pacem et Religionis Protestanticae bonum quaereret Visum iri, num et ipsi illud prae oculis habeant, si sepositis simultatibus privatis tempus in curando bono publico impendant . Se ulterius in Conspiratores et Godefridi percussores inquisiturum; ad quod auxilium poposcit utriusque consessus. Se jussisse summo Jure in Papistas agi Pecuniaria subsidia petiit ad militem exauthorandum, classem exarmandam , et in supplementum eorum quae vini Gallici prohibitione amittebat, ipsi soli noxia, Gallo utili. Classem necessarioparandam iterum, cum vicinae gentes in armis sint ; absque qua nec in se tuta, nec exteris formidolosa esset futura Anglia Se nihil eorum omissurum, quibus et Religio Protestantica et Jura publica sarta tecta serventur. Eorum esse et se et regimen suum ab eorum calumniis vindicare, qui utrumque traducerent. Reliqua Cancellario permisit.
(263) Is ubi Zelum Caroli pro Religione et Papismi Extirpatione atque supplicia de aliis sumpta retulisset , dixit: Unicam spem Papistis reliquam esse, Parlamentum in remediis modum omnem excessurum, nec moderata et duratura consilia propositurum Supplicasse Proceres Papistas dum nullum celebraretur Parlamentum causam dicere; quod a Carolo negatum, quo ea Solemnior esset eo praesente acta. Carolum eorum vota praevenisse , ablegato a se unico fratre. Inde constare nihil illis negaturum , qui talis fratris solatio eorum causa carere vellet.
* This declaration is curiously omitted in Steele, though his own copy in B.M. contains a cuttingof a letterfrom the SundayTimes of 14 Sept. 1930 relating to it See also C.S.P.D., 1679-80 , pp 95 and 502
Typographis interdicendum sub gravi paena tot libellorum infamium a Papistis aliisque Schismaticis+ manantium editionem , ne impune ferant. Reliqua Europa Pace fruente , ociosis exercitibus , periculum Angliae imminere , ideo gravius, quod Aerarium exhaustum militibus et classi impar sit. Parandam in sequentem aestatem classem ; ad id pecuniam necessario dandam. Si defendenda Religio, si servandus Caroli honor , extinguendos esse vanos timores, sopiendassimultates , perpetuam Pacem ineundam Nunc esse tempus et Ecclesiam et Publicam Rem ab hostium utriusque moliminibus asserendi. Pendere ditionum Caroli fata ab eorum consiliis, faelicitatemaut miseriam in multa saecula propagaturis . In eos totam Europam suos conjecisse oculos. Corda primum Deo exin Carolo offerenda, ut Rex sit eorum consiliis tutus, amore dives, armis victor, fide gloriosus, et ipsi vicissim illius regimine Beati (264) Tum inferioris conclavis Proceres monuit, secederent ad eligendum Oratorem, electum hora tertia vespertina presentarent , petitum a Carolo Electi confirmationem Electum una voce Odouardum Seimerum , eodem officio in Superiori Parlamento functum, Carolus confirmare noluit, quod diceret se ejus opera alias uti velle Id aegre tulit Conclave inferius, et statuit ratam habendam Electionem suam, eam a nullo rescindi posse. Tenuit ea de re nihili contentio octo dies, neutra altercantium parte alteri cedere volente. Cui tandem Carolus finem imposuit, Parlamento ad duos dies prorogato . Ubi notandum duobus modis Parlamenti sessionem suspendi, eo manente: Prorogatione et Adjournatione (quae sunt voces a Jure nostro desumptae). Cum adjournatur, manent omnia in eo deliberata in statu quo prius ; cum prorogatur, in irritum mittunturomnia in ea tractata, nisi quae Rex rata habendo confirmavit, perinde ac si nulla de iis facta fuisset mentio. (265) Ubi convenit iterum, monuit Russellus, Comitis Bedfordiae filius, alium in Oratorem eligendum, et addidit GregoriumJ.P. ad id sibi aptum videri [f. 59] In ejus sententiam reliqui omnes pedibus iverunt, et Carolus ratum habuit. Sic finis huic vili litigationi impositus Non tamen revixit spes fructus ex istis Comitiis recipiendi Quid enim ab iis boni sperari poterat, qui in re nullius momenti et manifesti juris pertinaciter Carolo refragati sunt ? Cur suppliciter petitur Electionis confirmatio, si absqueea electiosubsistat , autconfirmationegari nequeat? Deinde Orationis Caroli, tenerrimi affectus in subditos, summae
* I.e. Sir Edward Seymour
It is interesting to note that the entries from 6-17 March 1678/9 have not been printed in the folio edition of the Journal of the House of Commons They may be found, however , in A True Copy of the Journal Book of this last Parliament begun at Westminster the Sixth Day of March 1678/9 .... ; London, MDCLXXX (Wing E. 2748) For another account see H.M.C. 12 Rep App , Pt vii, p 157 .
Sir William Gregory He held the post for only a few months, and was then appointed Baron of the Exchequer and knighted (D.N.B.)
in senatores benevolentiae, prompte iis assentiendi, quantum salva Authoritate Regia fieri posset, voluntatis plenissimae, nulla habita ratio, imo neque mentio facta; cum alias levissimis de causis solemnes ei gratias retulissent . Sed ex eo constabat hominum genere Inferius Conclave, qui Regis humilitate ad superbiam, lenitate ad insolentiam abutuntur; nec norunt nisi fortiori et firma manu prementi cedere.
(266) Subinde variis de rebus consultatum; de iis, quae Carolus proposuerat, nulla mentio xx Martii in conclave inferius acciti et auditi Tongus, Oates , et Bedlous,* in superius Prancius; et utrobique statutum Danbaeo scribendam Dicam , cujus capita superius data Lib. ii
(267) DANBAEI CAUSA Carolus xxii Martii convocato utroque Conclavi, dixit Danbaeum nihil injussu suo fecisse , adeoque, quae fecerit, ei fraudi esse non debere; se tamen non aegrelaturum, si ob querelas de eo sparsas officiis omnibus amoveatur, et declaretur aliorum omnium incapax. Hoc Conclavi Superiori satis esse visum est ; non item inferiori, causanti paenas illas non esse Legibus statutas in ejusmodi criminum Reos. Dum ferveret ista inter duo Conclavia contentio , sparsus est rumor Danbeaum criminum omnium gratiam a Carolo plenissimam obtinuisse. Non tamen propterea inchoatam causam deseruere Conclavis Inferioris senatores, sed inquirunt primo, quomodo facta sit et qua forma, secundo, an magno sigillo munita et cujus manu Qui Carolo a secretis, negarunt se quicquam de ea scire Cancellarius negavit a se sigillum appensum; se, Carolo jubente, sigillum in mensa reliquisse, quod Carolus propria manu Diplomati addidit, se non observante. (Miseram et miserabilem Caroli conditionem , cujus Ministri nihil, etiam ipso imperante, Parlamento ingratum attentareauderent !)
(268) Quaesitum deinde ab iis, num jure subsisteret ea gratia. Ut ut enim necdum negarent in Regis esse potestate, sententia lata, supplicium remittere, non tamen indicta causa Reum judicio subducere; quasi obliti essent seipsos ejusmodi gratias Oati, Bedloo, aliisque et petiisse et impetrasse, et validas esse velle. Mandatum insuper in Conclavi Inferiori factum, ne quis e Populo Anglicano gratiam Danbaeo factam validam esse dicere auderetaut Jure subsistere ; qui contrafaxit contra populum Anglicanum facere censetor .
(269) Danbaeus, dum haec agerentur, abdiderat sese ; tandem semet dedidit, et a Conclavi Superiori captivus in Turrim Londiniensem missus est, ubi frustra desideravit captivitatis taedium Catholicorum concaptivorumconsortio levare, ab iis constantissime repudiatus , quem omnium malorum fontem, dolosum Sinonem, arbitrabantur, Jure an injuria nihil dico; alii viderint.
* On 21 March Everard was heard as well
(270) SHAFTESBURII ORATIO SEDITIOSA . xxv. Martii seditiosam ad Proceres Superioris conclavis orationem habuit Shaftesburius [See translation .]
(271) Hic ille magna fiducia praesente Carolo, hujus orationi directe contradicens, contrariailli studia affingens, quos ille metus extinguere conatus fuerat, iterum exsuscitans et immensum augens, adductis quae in Scotia et Hibernia ad Factiosos in officio continendos et pacem servandam veluti servitutis illis in regnis Stabilitaein Anglia designatae argumenta. Nullam Caroli verbis habendam fidem; alia verbis +dicere,+ factis alio tendere. Viderunt prudentiores quique frustra fore Caroli conatus ad tollendas suspiciones , qua alii majori labore, feliciori successu , fovebant
(272) CONSILII REGII MUTATIO. Cum crederetur Carolus in Shaftesburium ob effrontem audaciam animadversurus pari paena, eum grandi praemia remuneratus est Refrixerat quidem spes aliquid boni ab ista factione recipiendi, necdum extincta erat ; cui tandem Carolusse totum permisit , toto ConsilioSacratiori exauthorato , aliis in eorum Locum e Presbiterianorum numero surrogatis; quibus Praeses datus ipse Shaftesburius (273) Nihil tamen ista mutatione effectum ; nec iis grata, qui ab officio defecerant, qui, cum Spe totam vorarant Authoritatem Regiam, ejus parte nulla implebantur; nec iis, qui in officio remanserant, qui aegra ferebant Carolum in aliorum se dedidisse Potestatem . (274) CRIMINA CATHOLICIS PROCERIBUS OBJECTA . Paratur Actio in Catholicos Proceres , qui in vinculis erant , cujus haec capita: I. A multis annis excogitatam et promotam proditoriam et execrabilem conspirationem cum intra tum extra Angliam ad mutandum et evertendum ejus antiquum Regimen atque Leges, veram Religionem supprimendam , ejusque Professores exterminandos . II De istis tractatum cum Cardinali Norfolciae, Benedictinis , Franciscanis, Dominicanis , Jesuitis, aliisque ; statuisse Regem deponere, incarcerare, occidere, Regnum et Populum Papae tyrannidi subjicere, bona Protestantium publicare, et inter se dividere . III. Voluisse Monasteria et Abbatias , ob Superstitionem et Idololatriam pridem destructa, restituere , iisque reddere omnia bona, quae ab aliis Jure possidentur. IV. Statuisse nova monasteria erigere, eaque dotare; et Episcopos Protestantes aliosque viros Ecclesiasticos ab officiis et Beneficiis exuere. V. Saepius consultassede modis regem e medio tollendi, veneno, sclopettis, aut sicis; misisse, qui facinus execrabile patrarent, Windesoriam Sicarios, iisque praemia data. VI. Ad haec perficienda, conscriptos milites, coacta pecuniam, equos,
* Reprinted in Somers Tracts (ed Sir Walter Scott), viii, 49, though there the date of the speech is given as November, 1678 .
For the reconstruction of the Privy Council see E. R. Turner, The Privy Council of 1679 (Eng. Hist Review, vol 30)
arma; actum cum Pontifice, Cardinalibus , Nunciis Apostolicis , et externorum Principum ministris, ut eadem aliunde suppeditarentur, ad ciendos tumultus, seditiones, bellum civile, unde miseriae bellorum civilium asseclae regnum totum inundassent . VII. A Papa aut aliis ab eo pendentibus Patentes Litteras obtinuisse , quibus ad maximas Regni Dignitates promoverentur
VIII. Secretum Sacramento solemniter sumpto atque Juramento sanxisse; obtinuisse in Confessione Absolutionem a mendacio futuro, quo negaturi erant Conspirationem initam, et Perjurio, quo illam negationem erant confirmaturi IX. Curasse e medio tolli Godefridum , quod ex officio sumpsisset de Conspiratione [f. 61] Informationes X. Patrato facinore, sparsisse rumores primum eum vivere et uxorem duxisse; deinde repertocadavere , dixisse eum sibimet manus intulisse. XI. Ista perpetrasse ad tollenda initae Conspirationis indicia, et magistratus alios ab ejus inquisitione deterrendos; hujus item aliorumquefacinorum Invidiam in Protestantes avertere, quo Reformatos in Papistarum ditionibus agentes +popularium+ odio exponerent. XII Horum criminum accusant Powiseum, Staffordum, Petreum, Arundelium , et Bellasisium ; idque XIII. a Conclavi Inferiori, suo, et Populi Anglicani nomine Quod XIV . servat sibi facultatem de aliis eos accusandi, data opportunitate
(275) Diem et illis et Danbaeo decrevit utrumque Conclave , sed in eo assignando discrepatum. A Catholicis ordiri volebat Superius Conclave; Inferius, a Danbaeo; cui Gratiam a Carolo factam, irritam et Jure nullam esse declaravit, et petiit hoc suum Decretum alterius Conclavis consensu confirmari, Episcopos vero suffragio privari, sub praetextu quod de Sanguine ageretur, cujusmodi causarum cognitionem Canones Episcopis interdicunt, re vera quod scirent eos secundum Gratiae validitatem vindicias daturos.
(276) Altercati etiam de Senescallo , sive Praeside Parium , qui de causis dictis cognituri erant. Hunc a Carolo petendum censebant e Conclavi Superiori Proceres ; alii neque petendum neque necessarium esse pugnabant . Sic lites e litibus serebant, contentionum avidi, nulla rerum quas Carolus impense commendarat , et quarum causa convocati fuerant, facta mentione Datus tandem via Facti a Carolo Seneschallus , Shaftesburius, et ipseet Proceres consederunt, * deCatholicorumcausa cognituri;
* The report of the conference betweenthe Lords and Commons concerningthe trialsofthe Catholic peers is givenin H.M.C., 11 Rep. App , Pt. II, pp. 30-35 BothLords and Commons agreed that they couldlegally proceed with the trial, even if the King shouldrefuseto name a Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor Finch was appointed by special warrant from Charles as Lord High Steward on 30 Nov. 1680 for Stafford's trial Warner's reference to Shaftesbury as Steward is obscure, unless it refers to his presidency of the Committee which sat to discuss the general questions of procedure involved by the Lords' Trials For Finch's appointment as Steward see L.J., xiii, 696
cumque diu sedissent, paratis ad se defendendum Catholicis , nemine ex Inferiori Conclavi, qui hos accusaret, comparente, Curia ludibrio habita soluta est (277) PAPISTAE REGIS AUTHORITAS CIRCUMSCRIBENDA . Carolus omnes altercandicausas praecisurus, quae ex metu successoris Papistae nasci videbantur, xxx. Aprilis, convocatis totius Parlamenti Senatoribus, per Cancellarium suum edixit: Paratum se ad quaelibet Jura confirmanda, quae ad Religionis Securitatem utilia videbantur Sibi videri faciendum discrimen Papistae Principis a Protestante, quod illius Auctoritas certis limitibus coerceatur Cujusmodi sunt quae sequuntur : I. Ecclesiae Dignitates solis Protestantibus piis et Doctis obveniunto II. Casu quo Rex moriatur, quando Parlamentum non actu sedet, Proceres illius quam primum ad conveniendum tenentor; si nullum plane sit, quod ultimo exauthoratumfuit, convenitor sine nova convocatione aut electione. III. Dum Papista regnat, Consiliarii Status et Judices a Parlamento nominantor et mutantor. IV. Item eo casu Eirenarchae, Provinciarum Vice Comites, eorum vices gerentes, Classi Praefecti, a Parlamento instituantor. V. Nihil aliud eo facturum Carolo occurrere, parato quae alii suggesserint audire , modo succedendi Jus ne tangatur. (278) De his Conclave Inferius ne deliberare quidem voluit, sed xi. Maii insidiosum et perfidum Decretum condidit: Casu , quo rex, quod absit, violenta morte e medio tollatur , vindictam sumendam de Papistis . Quo reipsa Impunitas datur cuilibet Protestanti eum percussuro, Exitium Catholicis etiam Innocentibus, et Carolo extrema parantur Unde non vana conjectura deductum, eos jam tum eum e medio tollere statuisse Ad leniendam quidem decreti compertae Perfidiae Invidiam in ejus
Exemplari Carolo exhibito additum: vis A PAPISTIS illatae vindictam de ISTIS sumendam Verum Carolo non latuit ea duo verba in Decreto non esse, ne quidem typis edito, Conclavis Inferioris jussu; et ex ejus additione patet ipsos vidisse quorsum spectaret absque iis ; ne ignorantiam malignitati praetexerent Carolus Decreto dissimulato monuit eos periculi Regno imminentis: classem necdum instructam, elabi tempus illi armandae opportunum; naves bellicas e Mediterraneo reduces prope diem expectari , quibus numeranda stipendia ; Aerarium exhaustum solvendo non esse ; haec expediri posse, minime neglectis aliis, si tanti momenti esse videantur, ut supersederi non liceret
Caeterum cum se surdis ista canere videret , [f. 62] Conclave vero Inferius rem magis adhuc ingratam suscepisse , Decretum nempe propositum , quo jus Eboracensis ad Coronam elideretur, xxvii Maii Parlamentum prorogavit ad xv. Augusti, et subinde alio Edicto dissolvit. (279) Talem habuere finem illa Comitia e solis fere Presbiterianis conflata, quorum causa Carolus nihil non facturus videbatur, ipsa illius causa nihil Quinetiam multa mota Regiae
Potestati plane contraria. I. Innovata postulatio convocandi militiam ordinariam; quod diserte negatum, ob rationes supradictas. II. Negatam Carolo potestatem irritam faciendi Electionem Oratoris ab Inferiori Conclavi factam. III. Non minus injurium, negasse praefracte in Regis esse Potestate Reo ante causam dictam criminum gratiam facere; cujus Potestatis plura intra beinnium decreta ipsi a Carolo extorserant , quam alias exhibent duo saecula , etc. Altercationes istae negocia publica remorabantur, non tamen Catholicos sublevabant, cum utraque pars alteram tanquam ipsis faventem odiose criminaretur. Unde altera contentio nata, utra severiores in eos leges rogaret, quo gravem favendi Papistis invidiam effugeret
(280) Reginam in suspicionem Conspirationis vocatam ab Oate et Bedloo supra diximus , nihil obstante constantissima singularis et Heroicae virtutis fama, licet hanc non intenderint Democratico Regimini addicti, ne, Divortio cum ista facto, locus fieret alteri prolem daturae successuram . Nec jam Carolo parcebant maledicae et praecidendae linguae; eum Conspirationis non affinem modo verum etiam Authorem fuisse; in necem quidem suam non consensisse, caeterum et Papistis favisse et Papismo Sic superbia eorum, qui Deum, quique Regem, Dei Vicarium, et qui Catholicos, Dei domesticos, oderunt, ascendit semper, altiora impetit, ad summum nititur, omnia, maxime suprema proterens, summa imis, Principes Plebeis aequans.
(281) PREMIA SACERDOTES CAPIENTIBUS STATUTA . Maxima in sacerdotes , potissimum vero Jesuitas rabies ; quos ut comprehenderent, gemino stimuloapparitorumdiligentiamexcitarunt, Religionis odio et Avaritia Publico Edicto lxxx scuta quemlibet sacerdotem intercipienti, cc Jesuitam comprehendenti promissa ; et quasi tanta praeda nimis vili esset aestimata, paulopost Octingentis scutis Jesuitam captum compensandum decernitur. Hinc nihil mirum multos interceptos esse ; mirari potius possumus ullum evasisse
(282) GULIELMUS WALLERUS QUALIS Inter Factioni deditos Eirenarchas Catholicis molestos enituit Gulielmus Wallerus , alterius Gulielmi filius, qui Bellorum Civilium initio contra Carolum I. Parlamento militaverat, a quo tribus Exercitibus Praefectus, omnes aut ignavia aut rei militaris ignorantia aut infortunio amisit, semper caesus, saepe a copiis longe minoribus Hinc improsperis armis exutus , sua sibi habere jussus, inglorius mortuus est . Filius, haeres ex Asse, non minus odii in Regemet Catholicos, quam Paternorum bonorum, quae angusta recepit, et discinctus nepos cito dilapidavit, multo contractoaere alieno, hac Persecutione ad Licentiam, licentia ad rapinas, usus est Credebatur rapta praeda nomina expuncturus , et rei familiaris laxaturus angustias; sed nulla nomina delevit, et fere cunctam sibi retinuit . Is est, quem retuli ad centesimum ab Urbe lapidem
* Cf . Steele 3698, 3700, 3719 et al
excurrisse comprehensum Beddingfildum pridem in carcere mortuum, et Londini sepultum Aliquando ab Oate admonitus in hospitio quodam esse duos Jesuitas, eos comprehensurus statim advolat , et Oatem cum duobus Apparitoribus invenit, eum in carcerem injecta manu statim deducturis , ni solveret DC. scuta, Oati debita, cum praedis ditatus esset solvendo; et solvere maluit quam carcerem subire. Sic caeco ejus Zelo etiam amici illuserunt. Hic diu noctuque Catholicorum Aedes circumibat, ut sacerdotes comprehenderet aliosve, quos libebat, injuriae obnoxios Angulos omnes scrutabatur, arcas perfringebat , omnia sursum deorsum vertebat, ut sacram supellectilem atque vasa sacrosanctae Missae Sacrificio destinata absportaret ; nec rapaces [f. 63] manus effugiebat Supellex argentea, etiam communi mensae deserviens Sed maxima solertia quaesita Numismata Romana (Medallias appellant ) quo nomine designabat quidquid erat Monetae aureae, maxime quas Guineas appellamus (singulae quatuorscutis aestimantur ); harumquicquid occurebat in Catholicorum loculamentis , in sua transferebat Religiosus Praedo, superstitionis Averruncus , verus Calvinianae ut Doctrinae sectator ita et Pietatis. Pari jure, si quos uniones filo insertos, si armillas ex Adamantibusauro intertextis invenisset, sibi capiebat, Rosaria sacra vocitans, sive coronas, fundendis superstitiosis precibus destinatas. Ubi et suppellex preciosaet opima praeda obvenerat , eamjusto precio redimendi paratapecunia aurea Catholicis permittebat; si quid vile aut parvi pretii, constructo rogo in foris et compitis cremabat, ut populum tali spectaculo sibi devinciret. Auditus aliquoties gloriari (cum horrore refero) se Christum in Effigie combussisse. Summo furore debacchatus est in Catholicos, modestioribus quibusque etiam Acatholicisgravis, donecredeunte paulatim Populo sana mente, ne Furti arcesseretur, solum vertit, Bremae primum exceptus, et amplo officio donatus, spe per illum alliciendi eo multos Opifices Anglos Verum cum viderent Bremenseseum multa polliceri, nihil praestare posse, indepulsus, serenissimos Duces Luneburgii adiit ; a quibus etiam rejectus, velut alter Cain, vagus et profugus terram circumit dissimulata Persona, ut ei videtur, sola sui ignorantia tutus; quia semper praesumit saeva conscientia perturbata, et fugit impius, nemine persequente. Exilii solatium habet praedam Catholicis ereptam, paenam vero conscientiae vermem, quem non Calvini fides justificans, sed sincera Paenitentia facta Restitutione + interficiet.+* (283) Portus omnes , quae Portae sunt Regni, vigilantissime observabant Vigiles ; adventantes sagaciter explorabant, ne
* For ' Luneburgii ' A reads ' Brunswicenses . ' Waller was made a burgher of Amsterdam, and in 1683 became Governor of Bremen . He returned to England at the Revolution with William of Orange, but William would give him no employment. He died July 1699. (D.N.B.)
Cf. Warner's letter to Cardinal Howard, printed in Introduction .
quis in Insulam sacerdos penetraret ; singulis Juramenta famosa exhibebant ; ea repudiantes carcere claudebant, donec aut vades dedissent, aut alias illis facerent satis (284) RICHARDI LACAEI MORS In horum manus incidit Richardus Lacaeus S.J., vero nomine Prince dictus. * Is Catholicis ortus Parentibus Oxonii, ea humilitate enituit, ut licet omnium judicio magnos in altioribus studiis faceret progressus, identidem tamen a Provinciali petierit in albumCoadjutorum Temporalium referri. Factus sacerdos in Angliam missus est, cum instaret ista Persecutio; cui magis aliorum hortatu, quo ad meliora se tempora servaret, quam propria sponte cessit, Audomarum reversus. Illic orto scrupulo oves sibi creditas instantibusundique lupis non recte a se deseri, nec expectato neque petito ViceProvincialis consensu (quem negatum iri certo sciebat), quod a P. Provinciali illi assignata esset statio, quam ipse solus mutare posset, in Angliam rediit, et Doroberniae oblatum Fidelitatis Juramentum rejiciens, custodiae committitur ; inde Londinum missus +ibique ab Oate conspirationis accusatus+ carceri mancipatur; in quo non hominum modo alloquio, sed etiam lucis beneficio, totis quinque mensibus caruit Hic inedia, squalore, paedore, aliisque aerumnis contracta febris Lethalis; nec medicus admissus, obstante Shaftesburio, donec esset de Aegro conclamatum Is cum aegrum ad medicinam +seram ideoque nihil profuturam+ hauriendam inducere nullo modo posset, tandem jussit exhauriret [f. 64] ad sanitatem Regis Aeger e vestigio totam exhausit Tum Medicus, " fieri non potest," inquit, " ut iste in Regis conspiraverit necem , qui etiam delirus ad propinatamsibi Regis sanitatem tam prompte respondit. " Paulo post redditorationisusu, quem morbi vis impedierat, sacris Ecclesiae ritibus munitus animam Deo reddidit (285) FRANCISCI NEVILLI MORS . Hoc eodem anno diem obiit Franciscus Nevillus , emeritus senex , qui XLVII annos in colenda Domini vinea posuerat Is sibi putavit a Deo dictum , quod Abrahae: Ambula coram me et esto perfectus Hinc et Deum semper prae cordis oculos habere visus est, et voluntatem suam ejus voluntati subjicere. Orto Conspirationis rumore, ab Apparitoribus quaesitus, in suprema aedium contignatione com-
* Fr Lacey was stopped at Dover on 15 November 1679, and refused theOaths (C.S.P.D., 1679, p 282) Is it merely a coincidence that afterJohn Sergeant had been before the Privy Council on 31 October a warrant was issued on 4 November to John Bradly, messenger , " that as morethanprobable information has been received that several Jesuits and other Romish priests are designed from beyond the sea to come speedily into England, to repair forthwith to Dover, " and that 11 days later Fr. Lacey was arrested? Hewas attended in his last momentsbyFr. Edward Petre, S.J. (Foley, v, 256 sq.)
Fr. Lacey died 11 March 1680 (Foley, ut sup., and Bowler, C.R.S. , xxxiv, 288). Fr. Fris. Neville (vereCotton) died28 February 1679 (Foley, v, 872 sq .) By " hoc eodem anno" Fr. Warner refers to 1679, the year of Fr. Lacey's capture.
109 prehensus, ea violentia inde per gradus detractus , ut deliquium passus sit Hinc illis metu diffugientibus, ne homicidii arcesserentur, ad se rediit quidem, non tamen diu superstes fuit Nam accedente ad gravem senectutem, et quos ista morbos invexerat, illa violenta concussatione, placidissime ut vixerat ita mortuus est, anno Aetatis suae LXXXIV., Professionis quatuor votorum XLVII. (286) CERTAMEN P. PROVINCIALIS, ET QUATUOR SOCIORUM Sitis sanguinis Catholicorum tot Innocentium caede satiari quidem poterat; at Presbiterianorum magis irritata est Quam ut sedarent , ad macellum, Scroggio disponente, +xiii Junii + quinque simul producti e Societate sacerdotes: Thomas nimirum Harcottus Provincialis , Gulielmus Waringus, Antonius Turnerus, Joannes Fenwickius et Joannes Gavanus. Fenwickium primus turbo involverat, et e cubiculo, e lecto extractum, in tetrum carceris specum abdiderat Harcottum tum animam aegre trahentem offendit Oates, custodibusque sepsit, donec xxx. Novembris , ubi parum convaluisset, inter plebis insanientis clamoresetconvicia delatus est ad carcerem, ubi manicis pedicisque onustus asperam hiemem sine igne transegit Waringus, Londiniensis Collegii Rector, aliis omnibus, ut discederent, author, ipse mansit, ut captivispro virili necessariacuraret, exeunt hieme, auxit capitivorum numerum . Turnerus ultro sese dediderat, se et sacerdotem et Jesuitam coram Eirenarcha ultro professus. Gavanum facundis concionibus notissimum , jusserant ejus Superiores Tempestati se subducere; cumque Londini navem expectaret , illic Peregrinationem absolvit, in carcerem conjectus.
Ubi (287) Harcottuset Fenwickius eo Juris remedio uti voluerunt, quo statuitur, neminem de eodem crimine bis accusandum Contra jus factum, ut qui pridem litem contestati erant, nec comperti criminum, de quibus accusabantur, iterum carceri manciparentur . Bedloum in eodem loco coram iisdem judicibus asseruisse se illos vix nosse, nullius culpae, quod sciret, reos esse , idque sub Juramento ; +adeoque eum saltem ad testimonium ferendum admittendum non esse .+ Bedlous respondit ea se tunc dixisse, quod e re sua esset; nunc alia audituros. Actores causam exposuissent suo more, tragice, Primus testis datus Oates, qui fabulae suae telam orsus, dixit : I. Harcottum, recens factum Privincialem, imperasse Coniero in festo S. Thomae Cantuariensis concionem haberet contra Juramentum Fidelitatis (quod erat +a vero alienum ,+ tum quia nec verbumestin tota illa concione de Juramento illo, tum quia uno fere mense post concionem illam habitam, Provincialis renunciatus, quod ostensum alibi). II. Convocasse Congregationem mense Aprilis, cui ipse
Since Challoner, the usage has become established of using the names Whitebread for the Provincial and Harcourt for the Superior of the London District Harcourt's real name was Barrow, and he also used at some time the name Waring, perhaps to avoid confusion with the Provincial
interfuisset, ubi actum de Carolo occidendo. (Et hoc falsi compertum, ut supra dixi) Eideminterfuisse Waringum, Turnerum , et Fenwickium , et ejus Actis subscripsisse Gavanum ea suo Chyrographo munivisse, licet an adfuerit nesciret (Et hoc falsi certum , cum solus ProvincialisActis subscribat ; Fenwickius vero interesse non poterat, qui nec professus erat quatuor votorum , nec ullius Collegii Rector. Postea re Juridice examinata, patuit Oatem toto illo mense fuisse Audomari) Et aderant xiv. adolescentes Audomarensis seminarii convictores, qui id testati sunt nihilcrediturae coronae, adeopraejudiciis obcaecatierantadversus Papistas. +Alii Leodio acciti, qui alia ipsius Perjuria confutarent, sed incassum omnia .+ Aderant etiam qui Oa-[f. 65]tem in variis testimoniis a se alias dictis contradixisse et suo testimonio et Actis publicis a Scroggio vulgatis ostenderunt +; sed nec hi auditi, quod diceret Scroggius se de iis tantum cogniturum, quae Oatestuncdiceret; Oatem ad alibi dictaetiamsub Juramento non teneri respondere; nullam deberi libris vulgatis fidem, quia falli possunt typographi Turnerus et Gavanus dixerunt Oatem ad eos accersitum, negasse se eos cognoscere Oate dicente id verum esse quia non cognoscebat eos ob adscititium capillitium, ostendit Turnerus se nunquam ejusmodi capillitio usum . dixit alia ejusdem plane farinae, id est aperte falsa. Varia (288) Accessit deinde Dugdallus , qui dixit Harcottum epistola ad Everium data et ipsius et aliorum Jesuitarummanu signata jussisse, viros conquireret manu promptos, vitae suae prodigos, qui Carolum trucidarent; nobiles an ignobiles, nihil referre Se cum Jesuitis saepe consultasse ea de re Se + vidisse scripta eo die quo videri desiit Godefridus, haec verba ab Harcottoad Everium: " Hodie occisus est Godefridus. " Exercitum adfuturum e vicinis regionibus, saepius a se auditum; collectam a Gavano magnam pecuniae vim ad eum alendum; semet eum in finem mille ducenta scuta dedisse, addixisse alia quadringenta. Gavanus conscientia sua et veritate fiduciam dantibus ei dixit : " Respice me, sodes, fixis oculis dum ista verba pronuncias " Quae verba ita hominem +Perjurii sui et Innocentiae Gavani juxta conscium+ sideravunt , ut nec hiscere nec oculos attollere posset, sed attonito similis haereret. Unde Judicum unus Gavanum increpuit, dicendo: " Non permittet Curia Regiis Testibus miniteris " Bone Deus ! quae in illis verbis minae ? Quid damni facere poterant viri imbelles, non inermes tantum, sed insuper manicis pedicisque vincti , et catenis onusti, viro robusto, expedito , et armato, satellitibus et infesta aliis plebe stipato ?
(289) Prancius successit , qui deposuit Waringum +dixisse , cum precium solvisset statuae argenteae in Marilandiam , quae Lusitanis paret, mittendae, Carolum brevi e medio tollendum. Interrogavit +Waringus ,+ " Quando hoc tibi dixi?" Reposuit alter: Quando precium solvisti quatuor candelabrorum . " "
Unde mirati omnes , et quomodo Marilandia, Anglorum colonia non ignobilis , in Lusitanorum migrarit Potestatem , quaque metamorphosi statua unica in quatuor candelabra mutata fuerit. (290) Bedlous evocatus dixit: Harcottum de Caroli nece locutum; scripsisse ut cum Wakemanno, de danda medicata potione convenirent ; egisse de premio Grovio et Pickeringo, de quibus supra, dando Waringum dedisse sicariis Carolum Windesoriam secutis ducenta quadragintascuta, &c (291) Frustra fuit Reis anteactae vitae criminis minimi purae allegare Innocentiam , cunctis, quibus ipsi noti, contestatam; frustra suorum necessariorum perpetuam in turbis civilibus fidem ; frustra pugnantia Testium verba ostendere, unde irrefragibiliter constabat Perjuros esse ; frustra dicere: tanti apparatus nullum indicium praeter mera Testium verba, nusquam inventos milites, nusquam arma, equos, pecuniam, imonecunam Epistolam, nec Epistolium, licet tam frequentes se vidisse assererent illi; +frustra Testium Regiorum improbos mores flagitiosam et infamem vitam, exhibere;+ frustra tempus et locumallegare, ubifuissent, quando fingebanturLondini fuisse, (et ad id accersiti testes omni exceptione majores) ; frustra dicere , non apparere quem in finem Carolo de se, de Religione optime merito struerent insidias sibimetsuaequeReligioni nocituras ; quiasurdis ista dicebantur,et Harcottusvere dixerat antequam Judicio sisteretur , nec Angelum de caelo fidem Innocentiae suae facturum, si adesset; sanguinem suum sociorumque peti, nec quieturos donec hausissent Scroggius, quo certior esset Patrum condemnatio, ut duodecim viros jam amentes amplius dementaret , prolixam habuit orationem , qua atrocissime in Catholicos debacchatus est: Papistarum dogmata nota, quibus nedum Haereticos fallere, eum in finemJurare et Pejerare, sed et occidere etiam Reges ubi a summo Pontifice proscripti sunt, [f. 66] Jus et fas est, imo necessarium, pium et meritorium, ubi jusserit Papa. Accersitis pro Reis Testibus, nullam deberi fidem, potissimum Seminariorum Alumnis, quos ipsorum Praeceptoresea doctrina dementassent. Testibus Regiis in tali causa majorem habendam fidem, quo magis improbi ac flagitiis cooperti videntur. Reos egregios se ostendere sophistas, dum Accusationis omissa substantia , circumstantias impugnant, quae non sunt objectumjuramenti; de loco, scilicet, et tempore movent Litem, se alibi fuisse quando dicuntur in Regem conspirasse Quid hoc ad rem, qua de agitur ? Conjurasse vere potuerunt, licet alibi fuerint, et Parricidii Accusatio subsistere , licet constet alibi extitisse Porro Parricidium et conspiratio sola est id quod juratur Proinde licet Oates dicatur falsus in aliquibus , aut mendax atque perjurus, non inde sequetur ei nec in aliis fidem habendam. (Quis unquam aliquid ejusmodi audivit, non sufficere scilicet ad purgandum Petrum homicidii Pauli, i Junii Parisiis occisi, ostendere Petrum eo ipso temporis momento fuisse Romae?) Papistas Protestantiumomniumsanguinem sitire,
Regium juxta ac Plebeium haurire paratos Godefridi caedem tragice retulit. Cum diceret Waringus, tametsi vere fuisset ab aliquibus Papistis occisus , id ad se sociosquenihil attinere, qui ejus rei nequidem accusati fuissent, solitaferocia respondit Scroggiuset illos et omnes Papistas aliosillo facinore reos peragi; fuissePapistas, qui Godefridum occiderunt ; esse Papistas qui pro Tribunali starent ; quod aliqui in Godefridum patrarunt, id in quemlibet Protestantem paratos alios omnes facere, si vires adessent Eo facinore totam gentem Protestanticam in effigie trucidatam; patefacta horrenda consilia; confirmatamtotam Conspirationem. Notum, quid Papistarum Concilia, quid Pontificum Romanorum edicta in Principes Haereticos decernant Papistis nullum relinqui Judicii proprii usum; obedientiam caecam ab iis exigi. Tandem Duodecimviros alloquens, hoc Epiphonemate totam clausit Orationem : " Vobis judicium de his homicidis permitto: quos nisi Reos pronuncietis , vos omnes homicidos arbitrabor ' Desideratur ista periodus ultima in vulgatis causae Actis; edita tamen est, ex testium, qui aderant , fide dignissimorum relatione, ab aliquo, qui Eboracensem Bruxellas secutus fuerat, * in notis ad ea Acta editis, recenti rei memoria; et consequi videtur ex verbis anterioribus , quae Acta vulgata continent; nec unquam Scroggius aut ullus alius notarum Authori Falsi dicam eam ob rem impegit (292) Toto Actionis tempore confusissima erant omnia, adeo furente concione, ut nec manibus temperarit; in discrimen adducti Catholici Testes, a plebe discerpti fuissent Audomaro accersiti Adolescentes, ni Judicum, quorum opem implorarat IllustrissimusComes de Castlemaine, Reverentia plebem retinuisset. (293) PETRI CARILLI EPISTOLA Sequenti die, Junii xiv. , lata in V. Patres mortis sententia; qua audita, reliqui Gratias egere Deo; Gavanus ait: " Modo Gratia Dei nobis adsit, nihil interest , in Patibulo an alibi moriamur." Actionem totam paucis complexus est Venerabilis P. Petrus Carillus, O.B., ex
* I.e Remarks on the Tryal of Mr. Ireland, Mr. Pickering, and Mr. Grove , which was Lately Published by Authority .... Printed in the year 1679 (signed T.A., and dated June 10/20, 1679. Warner's own copyis in U.L.C., A.B., 5, 17 (1), Sel c) Onp 48 the anonymousauthor quotes Scroggs as saying to the Jury" And now Gentlemen , to your hands we commit these Murtherers, and if you do not find them Guilty, you are all Murtherers, and hecomments" This was that Blow, by which his Lordship, like an expert man in his Trade, knockt them All on the Head, leaving onlyto the Jury to let out their Blood. "
Fr. Peter Alexius Caryll, O.S.B., 2nd son of John Caryll andhis wife Catherine , da of William , 2nd Lord Petre Fr. Caryll was subsequently chaplain at West Grinstead (Birt , p 57) This letter is referred toin Foley , v, 44 (though wrongly ascribed to Fr. Nicholas Blundell, S.J.), and is fully reprinted from the original printed version by Fr. Hugh Bowler, O.S.B., in The Month, March 1933 , with the correct ascription and a note on Fr.Caryll. Fr. Bowler refersto a French translation of this letter in the Harangues des Cinq Peres (1679) (B.M., 860, i, 12 (4) ) This pamphlet is clearly by Warner himself The Blundell letter had already been correctly ascribed
Illustrissima familia in Sussexia natus, qui toti praesens adfuit, et omnia curiose observavit , epistola ad Catharinam Hallam ejusdem ordinis Cameraci Monialem ; qua, relatis quae Testes Regii dixissent , addit [see translation]
(
299)
Haec et id genus alia pius ille Pater; qui dum Martyres, ut pie credebat, praeconio celebrat, paene martyr evasit. Comprehensus enim ab Apparitoribus cum hac Epistola, dum illam ad Tabellionum officinam deferret, ad Oatem deductus, ab isto delatus ad Consilium Sacratius, quod Nicolaus Blundellus esset , Jesuita , unus e precipuis conspiratoribus , quem saepe viderat sacco pyrobolis ad spargenda incendia paratis pleno onustum , quem frequenter convenerat, et cum eo, uno in lecto saepe dormierat
(300)
Haec et id genus alia, solita , id est, maxima, fiducia blateranteOate, accitur Carillus, et statim a Carolo, Shaftesburio, aliisque agnoscitur (vixerat enim in Aula Reginae Serenissimae a Sacris) Unde Shaftesburius Consilii Praeses, eum interrogavit, a quo tempore Benedictinus in Jesuitam, Carillus in Blundellum mutatus esset. Respondit Carillus : " Ex quo placuit D. Oati mihi personam illam cum Juramento imponere." Captum fuisse doluit Shaftesburius, ex animo ei favens, ob aliquam suam inter et alterius familiam necessitudinem, sive ex vicinitate tantum, sive aliunde ortam; [f. 68] unde eum Judicio subduxit , quod eum alii subire volebant , ut sua constaret Oati fides, quam tanta ignotum hominem accusandi temeritas affligebat Itaque sopitis ea de re rumoribus , tandem clam eum libertati et amicis restituit. (301) Patres ad patibulum deductos oratione nostra prosequamur, illic excepturi quae dixerunt. Agmen ducat Harcottus, dignitateprimus, cujus memoria in benedictione Is nobili loco in Essexia natus, anno vitae suae LXI., Religionis XLIV., Professionis quatuor votorumXXVII , Missionis XXXI , metam attigit, postquam et concionibus unctione spiritus plenis et libris editis Catholicos confirmasset, confudisset Haereticos, braviumsupernae vocationis, uti pie speratur, accepit Mortem suam asseveranter multo ante praedixerat ejusquemodum ; cum medicuseum graviter aegrotantem praedixisset certo moriturum, adeoque Sacramentis quam primum muniendum monuisset, Pater ut potuit clara voce dixit: " Non moriar, expertissime Domine, isto morbo ; sed vivam, et in patibulo narrabo opera Domini" Quoties adversa tempestate, dubia valetudine , alios adjutum circumiret, de se solicitis to one of the Carylls by Castlemaine in his Compendium , p 66, and to Fr. Peter Caryll himself by AnthonyWood (A. Wood, Life & times (ed Clark), ii, 453) The principal references to Fr. Caryll in the Caryll papers at the B.M. are in MSS Add 28277, f 5, and Add 28240 , f 99
* He was arrested at Lambeth, 23 June 1679
These were the famous" Tewksbury mustard balls. " Fr. Caryll was arresteda second time on 8 Nov. 1679 (H.M.C., 11 Rep. App. , Pt. II, p 147)
dicebat : " Deponite mei curam; mihi in Patibulo, idque pro fide, moriendum est . "
(302) Eo perductus, in haec verba locutus est [see translation]
(303) Cum eo passus est P. Gulielmus Waringus, aetatis suae anno LXX., Religionis XLVIII , Professionis quatuor votorum XXXIII , Missionis XXXV . , quo tempore vineam Domini strenue et sine querela coluit. Erat Collegii Londinensis Rector , quando subiit supplicium . Bonum senem captum esse doluerunt Consiliarii Regii (licet plectijusserint , quod esset Jesuita), adeoque petierunt quare saluti suae fuga non consuluisset, num ignoraret periculum sibi imminens Respondit iste periculi illius cogitationem nihil sibi novi afferre potuisse; quae singulis diebus a xxv. annis sibi recurrerat; mansisse se Londini, quo captivis Patribus pro virili subveniret, aliorum omnium ope destitutis.
(304) Patibulo alligatus , his verbis circumfusam plebem allocutus est [see translation].
(309) Gavanus ait [see translation]
(312) Loco ultimo locutus est Fenwickius Haec fuerunt ejus verba: Expectatis , opinor, dilecti cives, aliquid dicam de crimine ob quod huc adductus sum, meque vel agnoscam Reum , vel declarem Innocentem . Quapropter coram Deo et toto mundo declaro, et Deum testor, me verum dicere, me, perinde ac infantem necdum natum, purum esse criminum, de quibus fui accusatus, voluisse nimirum Regem e medio tollere, praesens Regimen evertere, aut externam Dominationem introducere . De quibus omnibus nihil plane scio, nisi quae ab Oate ejusque sociis didici, fictae Conspirationis primis et solis Authoribus. " Hic a Vice Comite interpellatus est, scire cupienti, numquid de Epistolis inventis deve caede Godefridi dicendum haberet. Cui respondit Fenwickius epistolas sibi prorsus ignotas ; se de Godefridi nece nihil scire; si quid in Actione contra se sociosque instituta perperam a Judicibus , Duodecim Viris, Testibusve actum esset, se illis toto corde condonare.
(313) Tum prosecutus orationem ait: " Quod vero passim et dicitur et creditur, nullam Romano-Catholicis fidem adhibendam esse, quod Dispensationes habeant ad mentiendum , pejurandum , Reges occidendos, et ejusmodi enormia crimina, ego omnibus id genus Dispensationibus Indulgentiisquesimpliciter absoluteque renuncio, simulque declaro per iniquissimam malignamque Calumniam ista Catholicis objici, ejusmodi Doctrinam et nequam praxes toto corde et animo detestantibus et damnantibus . Insuper, verbis viri morientis , sicut misericordiam a Deo me inventurum spero, cujus conspectui brevi praesentabor, Actionum totius vitae meae rationem redditurus, iterum declaro, quae dixi omnia vera esse . Spero vero non permissuram Christianam Charitatem , existimetis me hoc ultimo vitae meae actu animam
meam velle Daemoni aeternisque suppliciis devovere, detestando mendacio ultimum obsignando spiritum."
(314) Haec iste, haec alii dixerunt Typographorum Avaritiae et Populi Curiositati debemus has orationes, typis sequenti die subjectas.
(315) JUDICIA DE QUINQUE PATRIBUS Nemo miretur, tot adhibitas a Patribus B.M. Contestationes, Protestationes, Pejerationes, Juramenta , Vota, Indulgentiarum Renunciationes , aliquos negasse se crimina Majestatis confessos esse , ab iis Absolutionem petiisse, et [f. 72] id genus alia, a communi Sermone alienissima. Haec ad faciendam fidem visa sunt Catholicis necessaria , Haereticis alias eorum dictis nullam fidem habituris
(316) Horum supplicium omnes cum maerore, multi cum lachrimis spectarunt Cum iis fere concidit Conspirationis fides . Shaftesburius ipse dixit imprudenter factum, quod tam multi simul essent plexi; sedatos enim Plebis animos nonnisi magno cum labore, diuturno tempore, singulari industria posse iterum commoveri ; quodtamen factu necessariumsi fructus tot tumultibus expetitos adipisci vellent. (317) Adamus Eliotus, ministellus Protestans, Ecclesiae Cathedralis Dubliniensis Canonicus, non dubitavit eos Martyres pronunciare, quod mori quam contra Decalogi Legem falsum ferre Testimonium maluissent Idemeandemab causamdixerunt varii Protestantes Eminentissimus S.R.E. Cardinalis Retzius, olim Parisiensis Archiepiscopus, ait, si ea potiretur tunc quam olim habuerat authoritatem, se iis tanquam indubitatis Martyribus evecturum Sacellum
(318) De orationibus ipsis, quin vere fuerint a Patribus pronunciatae nullum potest esse dubium , cum fuerint a Protestantibus exceptae, eorum saepe typis vulgatae, recenti rerum memoria (alioquin istae nobis periissent) in illorum officinis vaenum expositae Una Editio facta ab Episcopo Lincolniensi, Catholicorum infensissimo hoste; qui ne quis eum causae suae praevaricari censeret, maligna scholia addidit. De quibus paulo post. Unde omnis abest fraudis suspicio, cum eas saltem in nostrum favorem non immutarint Haeretici ; nec vero Locus ullus illi datus, quod vixdum elapso auribus verborum sono , istae praelo datae sunt. *
(319) FIDES MORIENTIBUS HABENDA Magnam, imo maximam, habere vim ad fidem faciendam, morientium voces etiam nequissimorum, constat apud omnes ; licet non perinde viventibus et valentibus habeatur Dum enim prospera valetudine fruuntur homines et longam sibi vitam pollicentur, dum variis trahuntur studiis, dum Honores, dumopes appetunt , dum de inimicis vindictam sumere , Amicis benefacere conantur , dum praeteritorum
* There can be littledoubt that the speeches of the five Jesuit Fathers produced a strong and favourable impression on their audience The publication of the speeches by the Whig Press was a major tactical blunder
obliti altiora semper ambiunt, nulla aut exigua illorum verbis habenda fides; nec enim vere loquuntur ipsi, sed eorum lingua utitur spes, metus, odium, amor, aemulatio , livor, etc .; nec ea dicunt quae revera in ipsorum sunt cordibus, sed quae illic esse credi velint. Omnia fucus, fraus, mera hystrionica, purae putae larvae. Ast ubi certa, et inevitabilis mors instat, +rerum presentium + metus fugit, spes evanescit, amor, odium, ambitio, ira cedunt, larvae cadunt ; deponiturpersona ad alios decipiendos assumpta ut exinde inutilis, et homo qualis et quis vere in se sit, apparet In hac vita sinceri nihil, omnia fucis illita; in altera nullus hypocrisi locus: in hac nemini creditur de se loquenti; in altera cuilibet de se creditur, quia tantum abest a Voluntate, quantum a Potestate de se mentiendi Et ista sinceritas cordis possessionem adit, in confinio vitae et mortis, quando homo vitam mortalem absolvit, immortalem auspicatur . Nec tantum alios fallit homo in hac vita, sed insuper saepenumero seipsum. Dum enim prae validis PassionibusAmoris aut odii, speiaut metus , si non tollitur omnio, debilitatur tamen Rationis usus , Veritatem cognoscit obscurius, de ea judicat corruptius, eam supprimit diligentius, exponit malignius , dissimulat cautius, impugnat ferventius, odit vehementius Ast ubi praesentem mortem intuetur, ubi pervenitad extremum praesentiset initium sequentis vitae, quando versatur , ut utar Gavani verbis, in horizonte Temporis et Aeternitatis, et sicut Janus in Fabulis, Praeterita et Futura respicit simul, Terram, quam deserit, et Caelum aut Infernum, quae adit, Veritatem cognoscit clarius , de ea judicat rectius, eam amat vehementius, exponit sincerius. Hinc audimus multos instante morte occulta crimina confessos esse, quorum agnitionem nec astuti Causidici artificiosis interrogatoriis, nec acerbi carnifices equuleis, fidiculis, membrorumque torturis, extorquere potuerunt. Magna Veritas, et praevalet Si enim in sola Veritate, omni ope humana destituta, tanta vis fuerit, ut Dugdallum, hominem alioqui audacem et effrontem, perculserit , ut dicente Gavano: Respice me fixis oculis, si potes, dum ista de me dicis, " ille nec hunc respicere, nec verbum amplius proferre potuerit; si, inquam, tanta fuit Veritatis vis, etiam ubi premia ad mentiendum allicerent , Judices invitarent, Populus applauderet, omnes animarent; quanta ejus vis erit, ubi ista transierint et locum cesserint melioribus ? ubi premia mendaciis nulla prostabunt, Populi plausus non audietur, Judex aequus apparebit Deus ipse, Veritas incommutabilis , Perjuriorum maximus osor, acerrimus vindex ?
(320) Hinc summa Morientibus fides habita, maxime ubi verba summa verosimilitudinenituntur, ut in praesenti Reorum enim irreprehensibilis et inculpata vita, testium e contra perditissimi mores, nemini latebant Testimonia eorum adde secum pugnantia perpetuo Auxit fidem ipse Patrum aspectus, sedatus animus, [f. 73] vultus serenus, cujus nulla lineamenta mors
ENGLISH PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS 117
instans mutarat, Orationes firmae, discursus solidi, preces piae; unde spectatores omnesvel silueruntstupore defixi, velin Patrum laudes et Judicum Testiumque detestationem ora solverunt
(321) SCRIPTA CONTRA ORATIONES. Qui tamen nec propter Deum, neque propter Regem, neque Justitiae aut Veritatis amore, Fabulam instrui curaverant , eique summa Arte fidem conciliaverant , in tanto rerum cardine non se , non causam quantumvis iniquam, deseruerunt; sed easdem ob causas , eam instaurare conati sunt, scriptis adversus Patrum Orationes editis. Eorum praecipui fuerunt Tongus et Lincolniensis Episcopus, qui in eas calamos strinxerunt, solita malignitate et furore. Sed sagittae parvulorum factae sunt plagae eorum . Ita quippe vana , ita futilia, 'ita puerilia sunt, quae dicunt, ut miremur a viris doctorali Laurea Theologica donatis ea manare potuisse, ni et constans fama et ipsorummet confessio fidem faceret +Quin et Tongus suum nomen inscripsit scholiis.+ Sed quae dixerunt audiamus, et subjectis cuique objectioni responsionibus ad vitandum taedium brevissimis
(322) TONGI. Tongus ait : I. Facinorosos omnes suam Innocentiam simili ratione in morte contestari. Responsio: Contrarium quotidiana experientia constat, et tui socii verae Conspirationis comperti eam agnorunt ad patibulum, quam obstinate negarant in Foro II Sacerdotes discipulos suos docere , omnia negent, etiam apertissima; Romadidicerunt fraudem istaminfernalem et Diabolicam . R: Quis unquam Catholicorum docuit mentiri et pejerare licitum esse? III. Ni ita locuti fuissent, actum fuisset de Proceribus Catholicis captivis, de honore Ordinis ejusque bonis , itemdeOrdineipso R: Numhaectantiapud morientem momenti, ac aeterna animae salus ? IV. Mira Papistarum obstinatio ! quorum plerique Rei, et tamen soli quatuor crimen agnoscunt . R: Mirabilis vere est Catholicorum constantia, ex conscientiae omnis criminis in Regem purae testimonionata, in asserendasua sociorumque Innocentia Hos Reos esse pronuncias, quia accusati fuerunt. Tamen si accusasse sufficiat , quis erit Innocens ? Nec Martyres , nec Apostoli, nec ipse Innocentiae omnis fons et exemplar, Christus Dominus Ais quatuor Papistas crimen Majestatis agnovisse; et constat illorum duos nunquam fuisse Papistas, Oatem et Bedloum, neminem veritatis Amore, sed unum ad vitanda tormenta, reliquos tres ob vilia compendia Delatores egisse V. Impudentiae est negare Oatem fuisse Londini mense Aprilis MDCLXXVIII. R: Impudentiae est id asserere contra fidem CC hominum, qui cum illo vixerunt Audomari toto illo mense; quae Veritas publico jam judicio confirmata est Gavanusait, Setoto corde Oati et Dugdallo ignoscere;quodmendacium est , nec scio quomodo id excusari possit R: Qua Revelatione
VI.
* The New Design of the Papists Detected: or, an Answer to the Last Speeches of the Five Jesuites lately Executed .... by Ezrael Tongue, D.D., London .... 1679
didicisti Gavanum non toto corde ignovisse , contra ipsius expressa verba ? Cum enim de secreto cordis agatur, soli Deo noto, illud nisi ipso revelante cognoscere non potuisti. VII. Gavanus nec facta ipsa, nec ea jure facta fuisse negat, de quibusfuerat accusatus . R: Leganturipsius verba. Constat ex illis omnia prorsus negasse, quorum fuerat arcessitus VIII. Non negat GavanusPapam jus habere ad Regnum Angliae, neque jus illud in actum reduxisse , neque Regem deposuisse, neque ejus Ditiones Gallo possidendas exposuisse R: Neque negat Turcam, Chamum Tartarorum, aut Diabolumtale jus habere. Num dices propterea eum istorum jus agnovisse? Si de aliis fuisset accusatus, alia quoque negasset. Nunc vero illa solum negare debuit, quae perperam illi fuerant sociisque afficta. IX. Dum de falsitate Accusationum loquitur, Indulgentiiset Aequivocationibusnonrenunciat. R: Ad paenam* libri; leganturtantum ejus verba ; ea mendacium istud confutant. X. Res erat summi momenti, Reos suam Innocentiam eo modo testari. R: Si quidem vere erant Innocentes; alioqui omnem salutis obtinendae spem amisissent, quod majoris incomparabiliter momenti erat. XI. Ecclesia Romana, in omnibus rebus accurata, sicut Precum formulam in Breviario et Missali instituit suis sacerdotibus , ita formulam Orationum suis Martyribus praescripsit, quam in morte sequerentur . R: Haec aperta mendacia demonstrant , quis spiritus cor tuum obsideat; tibi magis quam nobis nocent XII. Orationes istae in multis [f. 74] conveniunt; unde patet, ex una eademque formula desumptas esse . R: Hoc ostendit omnes de iisdem criminibus accusatos, aeque fuisse Innocentes. Nec Deus e machina accersendus , ut homines varii de iisdem rebus locuturi, unam eandemque Veritatem asserturi, eosdem sensus, aut eadem subinde verba proferant. Haec Tongus, pro domo sua, qui fabulam contexuit, quam defendit. (323) ET LINCOLNIENSIS EPISCOPI Lincolniensis Episcopi scriptum examinemus. Ait i. Ne noceant istae Jesuitarum orationes, eas edo cum Antidoto contra Venenum quo plenae sunt. R: Rem Catholicis fecisti gratissimam , eas edendo; nec enim deinceps aut tu aut tui similes eas negare poterunt, quae tuo etiam testimonio confirmantur. Hinc tibi dicere licet, quod Josephusfratribus suis: Vos cogitastisde me malum; Deus convertit illud in bonum ii Omnes Deum testem invocant, negant pravam doctrinam a se doceri , orant pro Rege et seipsis, etc. R: Quid in his omnibus mali, quid veneni ? Ubi illos ad mortem canum condemnaveratis, velletis eos canum instar illam subire, absque ulla Dei mentione, ulla animarum suarum cogitatione ? Hoc optaret forsan Diabolus, at non Christianus, non homo mentis compos; et tamen optasse videtur iste Ecclesiae Protestanticae , si Deo placet, Episcopus. iii Si sincera sint ipsorum Protestationes et Juramenta, habendi sunt Apostatae et Desertores Ordinis sui R: Longe aliam de iis habent opinionem et ipsorum socii
* So also A. Presumably ' paginam' should be read .
119
superstites et Orbis Catholicus, qui melius quam tu norunt, quae sit illius Ordinis doctrina iv. Verus Jesuita suo superiori loquenti perinde ac Deo revelanti credit. R: Nullus unquam Jesuita ita locutus est Jesuitae norunt superiores suos homines esse , qui et falli et fallere possint Cunctis tamen et spiritualibus et temporalibus parendum esse docent, ubi nihil legi Dei contrarium imperant. * Ubi quid tamen jusserint Legi Dei repugnans, sciunt Deo potius quam hominibus obtemperandum esse v. Tota Jesuitarum caelestis Doctrina huc reducitur : non solumlicerementiri, verum etiam Mendacium juramento confirmare. Unde lemma Jesuiticum est: Jura, perjura, secretum prodere noli R: Cum Antiquo Patre dicere possunt Jesuitae, se Apologias non scribere , sed vivere, adeo totus eorum vitae tenor in Anglia hanc tuam Calumniam refutat; eorum enim aliqui exilio, carceribus alii, alii morte mulctati fuerunt, ob repudiatum Juramentum aliqua falsa continens. Sed admodum imprudens, hoc Jesuitis vitium exprobas, quam ab illis alienum , tam tibi proprium atque vernaculum, qui nullum unquam Juramentum rejecisti , modo e re tua esset, quantumvis injustum, quantumvis falsum ; aliqua admisisti plane contraria, et adversa fronte pugnantia, seque mutuo interimentia. Quippe tempore motuum civilium saepe translataab uno in alium summa potestate, cum praesens quisque Tyrannus perpetuam sibi sub juramento Anglorum fidem, cum aliorum omnium, etiam legitimi Principis Exclusione, obstringi vellet, tu, Domine Barloe, tu, inquam, Potentiori semperadulatus, nullum ab ea oblatum Juramentumrecusasti, omnia libens admisisti. Nihil ignotum loquor, nec effodio parietes ad detegendas abominationes majores; ista cunctis assentandi pudenda farilitas in Universitate tua, ea tota praesente, cunctis plaudentibus , tibi fuit in os palam clarisque verbis exprobata Quod si ex praeteritis de futuris conjecturam facere liceat (cur autem id non licebit ?), si aut Turca, aut Diabolus, aut qui tibi utroque illo pejor videtur, Papa, rerum in Anglia potiretur, et Juramentum quodcunque exigeret, illud non esses repudiaturus Habe proinde tibi bellum illud Priscillianistarumlemma, tibi inquam, cui tam beneconvenit, ac Asino Clitellae vi In sacris Paganorum nihil tam horrendum occurrit, ac Jesuitarum ceremoniae , quibus hominem et sicam consecrant, Regibus e medio tollendis paratos Hominem in cubiculum separatum inducunt, illic in mensa sicam deponunt, vagina eburnea ignotis characteribus insignita tectam, propejacenteamuleto, quod Agnus Dei vocatur. Tum sicam vagina liberant, aqua benedicta aspergunt, et Rosario ex Coralliisfacto involutumhomini in manus tradunt , dicentes : Accipe, Fili Dei, gladiumJephte, gladium Samsonis , gladium David, quo caput amputavit Goliae. Vade , macte animo , et Prudentia Tumflexisgenibus hunc exorcismum obmurmurant: O Cherubim et Seraphim, [f. 75] Throni et Potestates, omnes sancti Angeli , descendite et hoc sacrum vas
* Cf. The Jesuit Oath, by Fr. John Gerard, S.J. (C.T.S., 1901), pp 15 , 16
aeterna gloria replete Offerte illi quotidie coronam Beatissimae Virginis Mariae, sanctorumque Patriarcharum et Martyrum; quia ex hinc vester est, nec ad nos amplius spectat. Eum inde ducunt ad altare Jacobo Clementi dicatum, hujus imaginem illi ostendunt, alta voce dicentes : Fortifica, Domine, brachium istud, tuae instrumentum vindictae ; exurgant omnes sancti, et sua illi loca cedant Commentum hominum ipsis daemonibusnequiorum . R: Haec censura justissima est; sed aut te, Illustrissime Domine, aut aliquos tui similes Novi Evangelii precones, antiqui hostes, ferit, e quorum officina mendaciis refertissima prodit
Locum in ista Hystoria nunquam habuissent ejusmodi nugae (si nugas vocare liceat splendida mendacia), ni palam ostenderent qualibus cum hostibus nobis pugnandum fuerit Enimvero si tam insulsa, tam ab omni veri specie aliena, fingere potuit, et sine pudore nobis exprobare scripto in lucem emissois, qui Theologiae Doctor est et ad supremam in Ecclesia dignitatem Ecclesiasticam evectus, quo studio fervere, qua bili aestuare , quae mendacia in Angulis fundere censebimus Prophetas minores ? vii. Si Jesuitis Catholici patrocinantur , pessimam Causam agunt R: Non es Judex competens causae Jesuitarum , neque Catholicorum, quibus bellum indixisti Incorruptius alii judicant, qui secundum Catholicos vindicias dederunt viii Jesuitae Anglia, Gallia, Venetiis, Bohemia, Moravia, Transylvania , Belgio exulant. R: Quid ergo de illis solicitus es ? Si haec vera essent, essent Jesuitae Misericordia, non odio, nec Invidia digni ix Litterae Waringi, tribus horis scriptae post occisum Godefridum, quibus illum e medio sublatum esse retulit, ostendunt quaenam illi fides habenda sit. R: Quare nunquam producta est illa Epistola , ut aliquid haberemus ad faciendam fidem praeter nuda nequam hominum verba ? Waringus certe et coram Judicibus et ad Patibulum diserte negavit, se ullam ejusmodi Epistolam scripsisse, et ad illam ostendendam provocavit; sed frustra Si nullam habetis, quare vos habere fingitis ? Si habetis nec producitis, causae vestrae praevaricamini x. Debuissent Jesuitae preces omittere pro Judicibus et Testibus. R. Quid audio ? Damnas in iis, quod Inimicis ignorint, quod pro iis orarint, quod Dei legem, quod Evangeliumobservarint ! Haeccine verba, hi sensus, Episcopi, an Christiani, an Judaei, an Turcae, an Daemonis? Damnas in illis Charitatem, quae anima est Evangelii, dum Evangelium purum putum docere te simulas, deque eo gloriaris, licet in sensis tuis, in verbis, in operibus, nihil Evangelii occurrat praeter merum nomen ! Haec de ista + Barloi responsione+ olim vulgata, ejusque Antidotis (quae longe potiori jure venenum censeri possunt quam Jesuitarum Orationes); quae ad eum pervenisse nullum est dubium , quia Tabellioni publico tradita, ipsi inscripta ; a quo nihil responsi retulimus.
(324) TERTII, FIMBRIAE . Tertius dissimulato nomine Animadversiones in easdem orationes edidit Patres suam Innocentiam asseruisse indignatus , eos ait aequivocis ludere, quia nonnulli Authores aequivocationes aliquando licitas esse docuerunt; aliquos etiamiis usos. Addit aliquos Casuistashomicidia probare. Denique concludit, indignum dictu esse , quod sint qui fidem adhibere malint quinque Perduellibus conspirationem negantibus, quam duobus Parlamentis eam asserentibus Huic Fimbriae nomen impositum a Responsi ei facti Authore J.W. ob studiorum similitudinem. Fimbria enim in Jus vocavit honestum civem Romanum, quodnontotum corpore telumexcepisset, utalteroptarat; ita his Jesuitis, quod non permisissent cum vita naturali etiam moralem; sive Innocentiae suae famam, extingui Ostensum deinde pleraque ex variis Authoribus allata Testimonia falsari, nulla Jesuitas mortuos afficere Denique probatum , non recte institui comparationem Jesuitas inter et Parlamenta, cum haec non fuerint conspirationis Testes, sed Oati de ea testanti fidem habuissent. Itaque comparationem institui debere Oatem solum inter et quinque Jesuitas: illi, an his adhibenda fides ? In quo non difficile Judicium, cum ex una parte stent i quinque, qui nunquam sciuntur aliquid falsi dixisse; ex altera unus, qui vix unquam dixit aliquid veri ; ii quinque, quiforte nunquam jurarunt, contra unum, qui saepe pejeravit; iii quinque, qui essent inevitabiliter damnati, si mentirentur, contra unum, qui fame periret, nisi mentiretur; iv. quinque, qui mori quam mentiri maluerunt, contra unum, qui vitam mentiendo sustentabat ; [f. 76] v quinque, qui semper eadem dixerunt, contra unum , qui semper diversa, saepe contraria dixit et juravit; vi denique, quinque qui nihil nisi verosimile et probabile dicunt, contra unum, qui plurima dixit fabulosa, improbabilia, et non pauca impossibilia His bene expensis, non difficile dictu est in quam partem inclinanda sit Trutina
(325) QUARTUS, E.C. Quartus eas impugnavit E.C., * Juris Civilis Doctor, qui librum composuit satis magnum ex sententiis quorundam Authorum Caeterum et huic responsum i non constare quinque Jesuitas unquam vidisse eos Authores ; ii. nec eorum dogmata probasse; iii multo minus constabat eos , eorum sententias in ultimis suis orationibus secutos esse; iv. nulla probabili ratione confici a quoquam Anglo praestari debere, quaecunque vel a Siculo vel ab Hispano scribuntur; adeoque
* Animadversions on the last speeches of the Five Jesuits London , 1679. (Wing A . 3199 )
Anti-Fimbria or an Answer to the Animadversions uppon the Last Speeches of the Five Jesuits .... by A.C.E.G., Permissu Superiorum. MDCLXXIX. Cf. A True Narrative of the Inhumane positions .... 1680 (Wing C . 6003), and A True and Perfect Narrative of the Inhumane Practices ... 1680 (Wing C . 6002). E.C. has been variously identified as Edward Chamberlayne(author ofAnglia Notitia), or as Edward Cooke ofthe Middle Temple
nihil probare, quae toto libro continentur Cum videret ex isto Responso bonus vir primam impressionem male cessisse, alteram parat, edito libro, cui Titulus: * Plena et finalis Probatio Conspirationis ex Apocalypsi, ex qua demonstratur, Testimonia Titi Oatis et Gulielmi Bedloi esse Juris Divini Londini,apud Thomam Simmons ad insignia Principis. Verba, ex quibus hoc novum Jus Divinum derivat, habentur Apocal xi 3: Dabo duobus
Testibus meis, et prophetabunt diebus mille Ducentis Sexaginta, amicti saccis Haec sacer textus Hanc Prophetiam necdum impletam esse colligit, ex eo quod necdum cecidit Roma, quae illic Babylon vocatur; implendamjam, quia isti duo Testes Papismum non ex Anglia modo, verum etiam ex tota Europa sunt fugaturi. Fatetur multa falsa a bellis istis Prophetis dicta fuisse; quae contenditnihil eorum authoritati officere, quod aliqua saltem vera dixerint. Quae adeo certa illi visa, ut concluserit solos
Atheos de suo discursu dubitaturos, qui rejici non potest, nisi dicendo Joannem Apocalypseos Authorem fuisse Impostorem. Haec somniavit vigilans bonus iste E.C., quisquis fuerit, Juris CivilisDoctor; qui nisi meliusjushumanumcalleat, quam Divinum, ne illi magna facta est gratia, quando Doctorali laurea donatus fuit
(326) Hactenus nihil occurrit quod festinantem remoraretur , aut maerore multum afficeret ; si enim affligebant supplicia, coronae recreabant, et ii in quos agendum erat, hostes professi cum essent et Jesuitarum et Catholicae Romanae Ecclesiae, libere, et quae illos audire, et me dicere, dignum erat, effari potui Nunc sustinendus est impetus, cum videre incipiam ex altera parte pares aquilas, et pila minantia pilis. Hoc unum malis, quae Societas infracto animo tulit, deesse videbatur, ut etiam ipsius Matris filii pugnarent contra illam , Deo omnibus modis exercere volente, non ad illius destructionem, quicquid isti designarint, sed ad majus ipsius meritum in hoc mundo, et gloriam in altero
(327) Antequamulterius pergam, omnes enixe rogo, qui ista lecturi sunt, ne unius crimen in aliorum trahant opprobrium, quorum plerique illud detestati sunt, etiam qui , ob Characteris sacerdotalis dignitatem inamissibilem , alterius personam honore prosequi perrexerunt . Non fuit probrosum Apostolorum Collegio unum habuisse Judam, nec Davidi incaestuosum genuisseAmnonem , aut rebellem Absolonem, nec Jacobo, quod filius ejus Reuben ipsius lectum maculavit, nec Isaacoprocreassefilium odio habitum, nec Abrahamo filium ejus domo ejiciendum tulisse. Bonis nihil officit malorum consortium , nisi probrum sibi accersant, malorum facta probando, et ea ratione ea sua faciendo.
(328) QUINTUS, JOANNES SERGEANTIUS Quintus, qui laboranti et evanescenti Conspirationis fidei opem ferre conatus est,
* A full and final Proof of the Plot ... by E.C .... 1680 (Wing C . 23).
fuit Joannes Sergeantius, de quo aliqua in fine superioris libri * Is a multis annis ab aliis Catholicis segrex vixerat Cum enim alii sacerdotes tam secure viverent Londini, excepto vestium discrimine , +ac Romae aut Parisiis,+ ille lucem fugiebat, diverticula quaerebat, jam in Galliam transiens, jam alio se recipiens, ut pericula, quae dicebat sibi imminere , declinaret . Orta vero Persecutione ista, cum alii Sacerdotes etiam e Clero Saeculari, non vano metu territi in latibula se recepissent, iste clara luce, detecta facie, Plateas Londinienses absque metu [f. 7] terebat. Extra Angliam egisse videtur, quando quinque Patres plexi sunt Paulo post Lovanium invisit, inde rediit Bruxellas, ubi Illustrissimum Internuncium invisere nullo modo voluit, tametsi ad id a communi utriusque amico instantissime urgeretur, etiam interposita securitatis sponsione, quod se diceret aut vitae aut certe libertati suae timere, illum si adiret. IndeGandavum venit, sed nec Jesuitas Anglos, illic habentes domicilium, nec Moniales nostrates invisere dignatus est. Causam ipse hominum solus novit Hollandiam inde petiit, et Haga Comitis rescripsit , falli eos, qui putarant se Delatorem acturum, aut famosam Conspirationemsuo Testimonio confirmaturum; ad majora se pergere, quae non ita multo post essent apparitura. Excusatio ista non petita, multis visa est Accusatio manifesta.
* A. (f. 73) gives the following details, which are mostly reproducedin the accountofSergeant inBook II: "In haeresi educatus olim Mortoni PseudoEpiscopi Dunelmensis , (qui varia contra Catholicosscripsit opuscula) Amanuensis, ejurata haeresi CatholicaeReligioni nomen dedit. Ulissiponemmissus ad nostrae gentis Collegium, illic omnibus ordinibus ad sacerdotium usque inclusive initiatus, Phylosophiam docere jussus est : sed brevi post dismissus, quod aliqua singularia traderet, quae Inquisitioni displicere forte possent In Angliam reversus ThomaeBlackloo adhaesit, omnium + (quantum capere poterat)+ doctrinae ipsius arcanorum (quae Serenissimus D. Alex VII damnavit) particeps factus +in Capitulum cleri Anglicani adlectus, illius etiam Secretarius factus, et odii in Soc J. plusquamVatiniani haeres exAsse.+ Libros varios adversus Haereseos scripsit non malos, nisi bona, quaecontinent, et ingenito typho, et quorundam errorum admixtione corrupisset. Qui fuerunt Haereseos accusati ab Archi-Episcopo Dubliniensi, et ipse jussus eosdem explicare, (quod perinde erat, ac eos retractare) ab Aula Romana Non doctrinam modo; sed etiam odium in Societatea Praeceptore suo hausit " Then follows the account of Sergeant's coming to England with the story about Fr. Gavan
Sergeant , together with several other priests, had been 'protected ' by the Governmentsince 1671 (see Appendix) The reason for his excursions abroad , therefore, can hardly have been the threat of persecutionin England (as he himself claims in his Autobiography) Hay, p 137, quotes a letter from Sergeant in London, dated 9 May 1678: "I walk everywhere like a mad fellow that fears nothing " (Blair's Archives). With a government protection to rely on, there was method in Sergeant's madness . But cf. Fr. John Clare, S.J. (Sir John Warner), to Fr. Warner, Paris, 11 Dec. 1679: " Dr. Gauden (? Godden ) received a letter the last post from him (Sergeant) which he writes he is accused by Rookwood and another woman for saying he knew of the Plott, which he declares he knows nothing of, and he fears this accusationwill go near to take away his life, notwithstanding his pardon" (Stonyhurst MS., Cardwell II, f. 171).
(329) Orta hinc magna expectatio , mirum in modum aucta , ubi rescitum Caroli Legatum ad Faederatos Ordines, conscensa navi, Sergeantium secum Londinum deduxisse, et Sacratiori Consilio praesentasse * Parturiebant montes, natus est ridiculus mus. Notum enim non ita multo post, ipsum Falsi dicam Gavano impegisse ob aliqua verba a Gavano prolata, ut aiebat quaedam faemella Sergeantii Paenitens Accusatio cum risu excerpta ab aliis, a Carolo cum indignatione rejecta, his verbis: " Vultis potius uni stultae mulierculae fidem adhibeam, quam quinque viris morientibus ? " Qui praesentes adfuerunt dum illa verba prolata dicuntur, constantissime negarunt ea se audivisse, aut ullam datam eorum occasionem .
(330) In Parlamento Oxoniensi, de quo infra, auditus Sergeantius; cui illic imperatumhanc qualem qualem Accusationem publici Juris faceret +(eam infra dabimus ubi ad illud Parlamentum deveniemus)+; quod majori cessit ipsius quam Societatis probro. Creditur alia designasse , nempe primum Societatem , deinde alios Religiosos ordines, ex Anglia pellere; tum certo numeroSacerdotibus Saecularibus, qui Juramentum emitterent , libertatem obtinere, sub certis conditionibus Adfuit illi
* Though Sidney, the Ambassadorat the Hague, had received permission to returnto England on private business, he appears to have been under instructions to bring Sergeant across andto escort him throughout thejourney into the Royal presence
Presumably this was to ensure that Charles might interview this new informer before he could get into the handsofthe Whig plot-managers, whose representative, College, did indeedmakepreparations for his reception (C.S.P.D. , 1681, p 483, which Sergeant confirms by his own account in the Blatant Beast) Rumour had been rife for weeks about the arrivalof Sergeant with his informations His tale ofthe " Queen's bed , " assassination , and Jesuits , imparted to Sidneyon Oct. 13th, was reminiscent of the impudent and highly dangerous attack made by Oates and Bedlow on Queen Catherine in the previous November, which Charles had been ableto repel only bythe strongestassertionofhis own personal initiative. In the meantime, the dismissal of Shaftesbury from the Council and the prorogation of Parliament had disorganised the plans of the opposition, and had made it very difficult for them to deploy the informers, whose use depended largely on the Parliamentary Committees Cf. Hay, p 153; B.M. Add 15643 , f. 14 , 15; and Diary of Henry Sidney, i, 82, 163-176 .
Mary Skipwith
She was wife of John Whitehouse, a servant of Lady Howard of Escrick, and seems to have involved her husband in her financial difficulties (cf. H.M.C., 11 Rep App , Pt II, p 60).
Approximately thirty. For this scheme see Warner's letter quoted in Introduction and Sergeant's letter of1680in C.S.P.D. , quotedinHay, pp. 159162 (the fulltext should be consulted) John Bully, in pleadingto an indictment for priesthood at the Old Bailey, 13 April 1681 , is reported as saying " thatsince his havingtaken Orders, he had wrote a Treatiseagainstthe Popish Doctrine of Deposing Kings, and that he had convincedabout thirty Catholicks ofthe unlawfulnessofthat tenet,andhadobligedthemto takethe Oaths" (Bowler, C.R.S., xxxiv, 308) Isthe mention ofthe number thirtymerelyfortuitous, or was he connected with Sergeant's scheme ?
Achates, quidam Mauritius, * qui suum quoque Symbolum ad augendum Accusationum cumulum attulit; cujus Depositio una cum Sergeantii typis edita est. De quibus infra. Caeterum sive hoc sive aliudquidpiamdesignarit , haud facile mihi persuaderi patiar eum sua consilia confratribus suis communicasse; longe minus ea illis probasse Imo mihi persuadeo ipsummet illa damnare, adeoque plane resipuisse Utinam quam graviter scandalizavit , tam seria et publica Paenitentiasatisfaciat ! Hoc obiter observo , periculosum esse Catholicorum quorumlibet animis odium alterius Catholici , maxime ordinis Religiosi, insinuare. Nisi enim maximam adjunctam habeat animi moderationem, quae cum tanto odio vix invenitur, aut summa adsit Prudentia , quae intra rationisorbitameffrenem animumcontineat, fieri vix potest, quin serius ocius monstrum aliquod pariat (si ingenium adsit) quo boni percellantur . (331) Haec de quinque Patrum B.M. orationibus . Eodem quo plexi sunt die, Thomae Armestrongi (qui Monmuthi et consiliorum particeps et itinerum comes individuus) filia officinam cujusdam Argentarii Catholici adiit Cumque vidisset solito more labori incumbere, petiit : " Cur , hodie non festum celebratis in honorem quinque Martyrum ? " Respondit Argentarii filia: Necdum illum diem celebramus; at ubi Pater tuus eodem die fueritsimili supplicio affectus, tum festum diem agemus . " Contigit autem quinto post anno, eodem die recurrente, idem supplicium eodem in loco +istum+ subire, ut suo loco Deo juvante dicetur.
(332) RICHARDI
LANGHORNI CARTAMEN
Haec de quinque
Patribus e Societate Una cum iis sententia in Richardum Langhornum pronunciata Is Juris Anglicani peritus , [f. 78] Catholicae fidei sincerus Professor, ea re Catholicis commendatus, varia eorum negocia curabat , aliqua etiam Jesuitarum . Initio fere Persecutionis in carcerem conjectus, xiv Junii ad causam dicendam evocatus est § Testes in eum dati Oates et Bedlous * David Morris or Maurice, alias John Campian, came to England from the English College, Rome, in 1655. An entry against his name in the Liber Ruber has been heavily deleted (C.R.S. , xl, 42) Like Sergeant, he was elected member of the Chapter, 1677. His name occurs on a Roll of Chaptermenof 1684 (West Arch, xxxiv, f 793) as ArchdeaconofNorthants , Hunts , and Cambs. , with the note (deleted) " where he resides unknown" He was sent for from Flanders by Dr. Tonge in 1680 (Hay, pp. 164-5) and seems to have made more from the secret service funds than Sergeant himself He died 1703
The Informations of John Sergeant and David Maurice, Gentlemen , relating to the Popish Plot .... Reported to the House of Commons , upon Saturday the 26th Day of March 1681 .... London 1681
Described in Dodd (iii, 220) as " a debauch'd bully and bravo , who had forfeited his life and distinguished himself by murdering Mr. Scroop, a considerablegentleman, in the playhouse" (at the opening night of Davenant's Macbeth) He was outlawed as a Rye House Plotter, captured, and executed without trial by a jury
§ He was committed on 7 October 1678. For records of commitment and indictment see Bowler, C.R.S. , xxxiv, 245 sq, and Jeffreason , iv, 91
dixerunt eum Jesuitarumaliorumque Perduellium consilia prava pro virili promovisse; librum habuisse, in quem cuncta Jesuitarum consulta referebat ; in eodem descriptas Colmanni ad P. de la Chaise Epistolas , vidente Bedloo (dum in Langhorni cubiculo cum Colmanno obambularet ) eum in ipsius Musaeo scribentem. Hoc non falsum tantum, sed etiam impossibile, patebat, cum in Musaeum ex ejus cubiculo nullus sit prospectus; nec tamen dignati Judices mittere, qui inspicerent, licet vix ccc passibus distaret , et captivus id enixe peteret + Oates dixit ad Reum missas Litteras Patentes Generalis Jesuitarum , Proceribus distribuendas ; hunc illas sibi ostendisse e Pluteo in ipsius Musaeo extractas Reus ad hoc respondit se nec habere nec unquam habuisse Pluteum in ipsius Musaeo; et varios compellavitpraesentes , qui id testarentur. Sed hi non auditi Petiit Reus a Testibus, numquid Lucri ex istis Testimoniis aut accepissent aut sperarent. Respondit uterque audacter : tantum abesse spem lucri inde recipiendi ex praestitoRei publicae obsequio, utquisque jam expenderit de suo bis mille octingenta scuta Hoc iis mirum est visum, qui sciebant Bedloum sex menses continuos in carcere Londini solis eleemosinis victitasse, Oatem vero, ex quo a Jesuitis sibi relictus fuisset, veri mendicabuli instar, panem ostiatim mendicasse. Ad probandum Oatem sibimetcontradixisse, productum a Reo Instrumentum authenticum, eorum quae deposuerat in Conclavi Superiori Parlamenti ; quod legi vetuere Judices. Adduxit Actainalios Reos, adidem probandum, ipsorummet Judicum jussu vulgata; sed nullam illis fidem deberi dixerunt iidem Judices. Magis hinc enituit Rei Innocentia, cujus defendendae praesidia omnia Judices ipsi tanto studio praecludebant. A duodecim viris tamen vindiciis secundum Accusationem datis , Reus renunciatus est, et lata statim in eum mortis sententia; quae tamen non nisi post integrum mensem executioni data est, scilicet xiv Julii. (333) Interjecto tempore Shaftesburius identidem illum convenit, conjugem et parvas proles opis ipsius indigas exposuit ; mortem vitari posse, modo conspirationem agnosceret, quo non solum vitam, sed etiam honores et opes adipisci posset. * Cui Reus iterum iterumque protestatus est se de Conspiratione nihil
* A. adds " Claius, ille senex, qui jurarat Oatem LondinifuisseAprilis 1678 idem juratus comparuit ; sed Carolus Howardus, Ducis Norfolciaefrater, convicit eum errare toto anno; cum Oatem vidisset Aprilis mense 1677."
Langhorne's wife seems to have lacked a sympathetic understanding of her husband's situation (cf. transcripts of Langhorne's correspondence in the Farm St.Archives) Langhornedid in fact makea " discoveryof Jesuits' means " to the Government on 27th June (a copy is among the documents of the Processus de Scriptis in Westminster Archives), but happily we have evidence (see letter from the Hatton Correspondence , quoted in Appendix) in support of Foley's conjecture (Foley, v, 59-60 note) that this was made with the consent of Fr. Whitebread, who realized that Langhorne's knowledge could add little or nothing to the information the Government had already obtained from the other captured documentsof the Society.
prorsus scire Addidit tam insulse descriptam ad Oate Conspirationis Aream, ut ipse, si tam nequam, tam a Deo derelictus esset , ut vitae suae consulere vellet mendaciis et perjuriis, nihil tamen ei superstruere posset , quod ulli viro mentis compoti faciat satis.
(334) Patibulo alligatus Vice-comiti dixit se chartae commisisse quae dicenda haberet, tum quod memoria diffideret , tum quod ei incertum esset num ei danda esset loquendi facultas. Tum chartam ipsam legit, ista continentem : [See translation]. (344) Ubi totam praelegerat, chartam tradidit Vice-Comiti Petivit iste, numquid de Patentibus sciret ? Respondit alter , se nihil omnino scire neque credere ullas unquam fuisse. (345) Hanc etiam Langhorni Declarationem Typographis Protestantibus acceptam ferimus , qui illam ediderunt una cum commentariis rerum, quae ei in carcere contigerant, potissimum exquo lata in eum est sententia, piis insuper cogitationibus quibus se ad supplicium Christiane subeundum praeparavit. * Extant etiamnum et cum fructu leguntur.
(346) OATES NARRATIVAM SECUNDO EDIT . A suppliciorum horrendo spectaculo parum amoveamus oculos, (alia, quae secuta sunt frequentia, postea spectaturos), et ad alia, gravia quidem et illa, sed minus truculenta transferamus Oates jubente Superiori
Conclavi alteram Narrativae suae editionem ornavit (priorem imperfectam fuisse conquestus est), magno Catholicorum juxta ac Presbiterianorum gaudio susceptam. Laetabantur isti in tuto videre damna, quae Papistae ferebantur intulisse, pericula illis impendentia ab iisdem, quibus Oatis opera faeliciterdefuncti essent : illis gratum videre simul, quae Catholicis objectarentur: nova deinceps non cudenda mendacia, effusa in hunc alveum eorum sentina. Anguillam, ubi premebatur elabentem se ficulno tenere. His adhaesurum Oatem, quae suo chirographo testatus erat vera esse, quae coram Parlamento solemniter jure jurando confirmarat, quaeque illius Augusti Senatus authoritate
* See An Account of the Deportment and Last Words of Mr. Richard Langhorne ... 1679 (Wing A . 274), Mr. Langhorn's Memoires , with some Meditations and Devotions of his, During his Imprisonment: as also his Petition to His Majesty, and his Speech at his Execution ..... MDCLXXIX (Wing L . 297), and Corker's Remonstrance of Piety and Innocence 1682 (Wing C . 6301) No printers' names are given Therefore , though they may have been Protestants, they were clearly not 'official ' Whig printers Whatever their religion, the printers were clearly sympathetic to the Catholic cause Corker, who prepared Langhorne's Memoires for the press, says there (p 21) that the Sheriff took Langhorne's speech away from him before he was put on the hurdle, and that therefore Langhornewas ableto speak onlyfrom memory when addressing the crowd from the scaffold.
Cf. the note dated 9 April 1679, prefacedto A True Narrative of the Horrid Plot and Conspiracy of the Popish Party ... by Titus Otes, D.D. , London Printed for Thomas Parkhurst and Thomas Cockerill .... MDCLXXIX (Wing O . 59) Besides the version printed in the Lords Journals, the other printed editions are listed in Wing 0.34 (Wing fails to mention the B.M. copy of this), O . 41 , 0.60-61.
vulgata erant Verba volare, et quantumvis tenaci memoriae commendata testiumque Proborum assertione probata , effugia patere fugere volentibus , ubi Veritas nec unice nec praecipue quaeritur. At manu scripta, quae tanta authoritate in lucem emissa, neque negari neque mutari possent Sed O fallaces isto tempore Catholicorum spes ! Non enim magis ista sua Narrativa se adstringi passus est Oates, quam testimoniis viva voce alibi prolatis, quasi solum illa praestare teneretur , quae quoque die dicebat, de alibi aut tempore dictis iniquum esset ab eo rationem exigere Haud exiguus tamen inde Catholicis fructus, maxime cum edita fuisset Catholicorum Defensio, Authore J.W., * qui Att-[f. 81]estationibus, qua publicis civitatum, qua privatis
Particularium fide dignissimorum, qua Argumentis ex rerum natura, Societatis aliarumque Religionum consuetudine ductis, mendacia et Perjuria confutavit; ea tam crebra occurrerunt , ut numerum Apocalypticum Bestiae aequare crederentur ; cui pro lemmate praefixit illa Cypriani verba (Epist lv ) : " Nec nobis ignominiosum est pati quod passus est Christus, nec vobis gloriosum facere quod fecit Judas " Et tanta mox infamia nostrates apud exteras gentes afflavit, ut Anglorum multi se Anglos esse negarent, ne opprobria cogerentur audire nulla arte refellenda. Nisi qui viderit, nemo facile credet tot tamque crassa mendacia in non magnum librum congesta fuisse; etiam subinde quae nihil causam juvarent, et quae ex ipsomet libro refelluntur. Exempli causa, in Praefatione dicit Narrativam ipsam Carolo datam a Kyrbio xv Augusti; et varia continet mense Septembris sequentis gesta. Item ait eandem coram Godefrido a se jurejurando confirmatam vi Septembris, et ex Chyrographis Godefridi , Kirbii, Tongi, et ipsius Oatis in Narrativa vulgatis, liquet id non nisi xxvii Septembris contigisse . Unde non immerito dixit CatholicorumApologista , tam naturalevideri Oati mentiri ac respirare.
Narrativa ipsa qua qua respicitur, videtur rudis indigestaque Mendaciorum congeries, quae toto opere sparsa, marinorum instar fluctuum, qua ventus et aestus rapit, temere ac sine lege feruntur. (347) Nec Caroli ipsius optimi Principis , famae parcit. Solicitat matris ipsius Henriettae Borboniae, pientissimae Heroinae, honorem , qua Caroli natale jus ad coronam in dubiumoblique vocaretur. Si quid ipsi, si quid ipsius Parenti Carolo I, utriusque et Monarchiae infensissimi hostes toto bellorum tempore, non ratione sed rabie acti exprobrassent, ea omnia in istud opus con-
* Warner refers to the book in A. as "Catholicorum Vindicias, " thus making it clear that he means his Vindication ofthe English Catholicks , first ed . Antwerp 1680; second ed , with additions (St. Omer ?), 1680; third ed. (referred to on title-page as the second ed ) (St. Omer ?) 1681. The third edition has the quotation from St. Cyprian
Oates and Tonge did most certainly visit Godfrey on 6 Sept., and swore to some ' Narrative, ' if not the one printed Warner also fails to distinguish between the two visits supra, §110.
ENGLISH PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS
129 gessit, et securus in populum sparsit, tanquam a Jesuitis dicta, qui de iis nihil unquam audierant ante editam Narrativam; una fidelia duos parietes dealbans; nam Jesuitis creabat Invidiam apud Carolum, Caroli minuebat Reverentiam apud Populum Útrum istorum illi antiquiushabuerint, qui eo ut organo utebatur , non difficile Judicium. Enimvero eorum studia statim in libri limine apparent, in ipsa libri dedicatoria ad Carolum epistola Ubi enim hystorice retulisset a Papistis sublatume medio Jacobum avum veneno, ab iisdem excitata in Carolum parentem bella civilia, ab ipsis carceri mancipatum , damnatum , capite truncatum, ipsos conatos esse hunc etiam Carolum ex infaelici Worcestrensi praelio elapsum comprehendere, &c (quae totidem sunt luculenta mendacia), deposita Hystorici Persona, assumpta Monitoris Caroli, hunc graviter admonet studia Despotici Regiminis deponat ; contentus sit juxta leges imperare ; Parlamento praesenti se solum permittat ; ejus in eum sinceram fidem, sibi (Oati) exploratum, pro qua semet Vadem offert Imperia summa eum in finem praecipue instituta, ut in eorum subditis vitia supprimant, virtutes promoveant ; quod efficaciter fit extra, si intra eorum familias solos bonos tollerent, malos omnes ex eorum convictu et praesentia facessere jubeant (Reginam, Eboracensem, et fideles quosque Caroli ministros ista respiciunt); " Cujus officii neglectu Principes, tanquam inutiles, sese deponunt, coram Deo et eorum conscientiis," ait, qualiscunque coram hominibus et ex jure humano appareat de facto, eorum status et gloria. "
" " (348) Haec ipse Ubi usurpare licet illa Augustini verba: Qui ad tale tonitru non expergiscitur , nae ille non dormit; sed mortuus est. " Quorsum ista tenderent, nemo non videbat. Assertum quidem, licet obscure, Principibus jus divinum, sed sub conditione tantum impossibili neminem improbum ad suam Praesentiam admittendi; alioqui restare solum Jus humanum, quod vela Parlamento vel etiam a Plebependeredicebatur passim; unde Carolo +aliis Principibus+ mere precarium Imperium superesset , idque non amplius duraturum quam populoplacebit. Minus in summas Potestates iniquus fuit Wicleffus, mitiusque deliravit, qui personalem ab iis sanctitatem exegit, quod penes ipsos utique est praestare; cujus tamen doctrinajure meritissimo damnata est a Concilio Constantiensi ut Seditiosa et Potestatibus cum Civilibus tum Ecclesiasticis periculosa. Quid de ChristoD. dictum est , Oates, qui cum Publicanis et Peccatoribus egit ? Qui ad convictum, ad discipulatum , ad Apostolatum , ad mensam etiam Sacram, Proditorem Judam admisit?
(349) Carolo, qua [f. 82] erat ingenii perspicacia, ista in oculos incurrentia latere non poterant; ea tamen dissimulavit, sive necdumextincta pecuniae spe, sive ne Plebem jaminsanientem in furorem ageret, rebus eo jam progressis , unde non facile regredi neque subito.
PERSECUTION
(350) JOANNIS SMITHAEUS DELATOR ET ROBERTUS JENISONUS . Honor Regiis testibus habitus, criminum omnium impunita licentia, ampla premia data, magno Catholicorum dolore, omnium scandalo, Joannem Smithaeum in partes traxit. * Is Parentibus Haereticis natus, Genevae aliquandiu studuerat. Inde facta AquisSextiis in manibus Archiepiscopi loci, Eminentissimi Cardinalis Grimaldi, Haereseos abjuratione, Romam petiit, unde sacerdotio initiatus, in Angliam missus, exceptus hospitioa Joanne Jenisone est, qui tres filios et duos patrueles in Societate habebat, quorumunus Jesuitis in ea regione viventibus praeerat. Smithaeus statim haustum vel Genevaevelalibi in Societatem odium ostendit, interdicto omnibus Jesuitis illius domus usu, etiam Patroni sui cognato, cui fustuarium minatus , si unquam illos intra parietes occurreret . Paulo post suos etiam confratres e Clero Saeculari exclusit, causatus eos Jesuitica doctrina imbutos esse, fortasse jam tum monstrum parturiens , quod majori suo quam aliorum detrimento tandem peperit Orta siquidem Persecutione, vale Ecclesiaefideique dicto, ad pristinamhaeresim , ut canis ad vomitum, rediit, et Patronum suum Joannem reliquamque familiam fere totam secum abduxit; unam ejusdem filiam sacrilegis nuptiis sibi duxit; alia virilis animiviragoconstans in fide fuit, ejus persuasionibus precibus minis major, non parvo virorum his cedentium probro Primogenitus Thomas, relicto Fratri suo Roberto successionis jure, pridem Societati nomen dederat, et inter primos carceri mancipatus fuerat. Robertus Jus Anglicanum Londini discens aes alienum sat magnum conflarat; cui Pater, antiquitate familiae et Domus magnificentia quam opibus clarior, parce pecuniam suppetitabat. Huic Smithaeus Author fuit Delatorem ageret; eamexpungendorum nominum expeditissimam viam.
(351) DIVINA PROVIDENTIA Mihi istis de rebus identidem cogitanti, semper occurrit singularis Divinae Providentiae istam saevissimam Persecutionem in Ecclesiae bonum dirigentis admirabile consilium, quod non primam et fortissimam impressionem in minus solida minusque firma Ecclesiaemembra fieripermiserit,
* Cf . The Narrative of Mr. John Smith of Walworth, in the County Palatine of Durham, Gent , .... London, 1679. He also wrote No Faith or Credit to be Given to Papists ... With particular reflections on theperjury of Will, Viscount Stafford . .... London, 1681
John Smith, veve Portman, son of William Portman of London , entered English College, Rome, 15 April 1673, aged 22. Was made priest 13 April 1675, andleft 10 July 1676, beforecompleting his studies , on account ofweak eyesight (C.R.S. , xl, 88)
For his information concerning the plot see A Narrative of the Depositions of Robert Jenison .... Collected by Charles Chetwind .... 1679 (Wing C . 3792), The Narrative of Robert Jenison of Grays Inn, Esquire .... 1679 (Wing J . 561-562) (this contains a preface very favourable to the secularclergy), and TheInformation of .... 1680 (Wing J . 559-560) Robert Jenison of St. Andrew's, Holborn, Gentleman, entered into recognizances for good behaviour as a suspected papist on 31 December 1678 (Jeffreason , iv, 111).
131
quorum ruinaplures traxisset. At vero dum alios tum e Societate Jesu, tum e Benedictina familia irrito conatu aggrediuntur , horum constantia et Fortitudine animati alii exilia carceres supplicia infracto animo tulerunt. (352) Erat Robertus Irelandi (cujus supplicium supra retulimus) cognatus, et eo nomine saepe illum invisebat Unde fiducia illi facta, ipsius Testimonio veluti tibicine fulciri posse illam Oatianae fabulae partem, quae maxime ruinam meditabatur, qua dixerat Irelandum Londini fuisse post medium Augusti et initio Septembris anno Dom. MDCLXXVIII , contra fidem omnium fere nobilium Provinciae Staffordiae; cumque Oates asseruisset quatuor Hibernos sicarios Windesoriam missos ut Carolum occiderent, nec eos nominasset, iste quatuor nominavit in jure condiscipulos suos, * ob privatam fortasse aliquam simultatem , quorum unus erat Anglus, omnes Protestantes, et notae in Regem fidelitatis; qui tamen non satis Praesidii in innocentia sua habere se sentientes, solum verterunt, redituri ubi Justitia Tribunalibus restituta esset Ausus insuper Thomam fratrem suum primogenitum captivum aggredi, eique suadere conspirationis agnitione carceris sibi portas aperiret; sed ab eo acriter rejectus est . (353) THOMAE JENISONI AD FRATREM EPISTOLA Juvat huic hystoriae inserere epistolam a Thoma datam, ad Robertum , qua hujus nequitiam severe castigat, magnitudinem peccati ob oculos ponit, monet ut resipiscat et serio Paenitentiam agat. Videtur enim lectu digna ob Apostolicum Zelum quem spirat. Data est xi Julii ex carcere Newgate [See translation ] (357) Hanc epistolam una cum duabus aliis ab ipsius Materteraet hujus filia datis eundem in finem, ut Perjurium retractaret, ipsis etiam compertum, quae cum Irelandoegerant ipsissimo illo tempore in Staffordiensi Provincia, quo dictus fuit esse Londini, ipse Robertus typis edidit, Factiosis suam constantiam venditans, quae talibus arietibus pulsata non cesserat. Ultra progressus , juravit Irelandum sibi Conspirationem in vitam Caroli notam fecisse clare, Thomam fratrem de eadem, sed obscurius, locutum. [f. 85] Sic curabant isti Babilonem, sed non est sanata. Enimvero Dei, qui suprema veritas est, in confirmationem compertae falsitatis Appellatio, ex iis videtur in Spiritum Sanctum peccatis, quae nec in hoc saeculo remittuntur nec in futuro. Joannes, utriusque Pater, vir caetera bonus, de se alios aestimans
* I.e. " Mr. Levallyn , Mr. Thomas Brahall, Mr. Karney, three Irishmen, and Mr. James Wilson, beingall gentlemenof Gray's Inn (The Narrative of Robert Jenison, p 33) Donogh Kearney, son of Michael Kearney of Tipperary, married the Marchioness ofWorcester. In January 1682 hevolunteeredtostandtrial tovindicate his innocence oftheplot (C.S.P.D. , 1682,p. 16) On 22 June 1682 he was triedandacquitted atthe King's Bench No evidence appearedagainst him; Oates and Jennison were called, but did not appear (C.S.P.D., 1682, p 261)
Printed in TheNarrative ofRobert Jenison, p 17. The letterisdated 7 July 1679 . I.e. Mrs. Jane Harwell
fraudis expertes, in eo peccasse videtur, quod nimium Smithaeo crediderat ; detecto errore, hujus Authorem detestatus (quem dicebat familiae suae calamitatem et minam), eum cum propria filia ipsius consorte domo sua pepulit, et paulo post maerore confectus obiit, et condito Testamento quintam scuti partem , Genero filiaeque legavit, ne quid amplius sperarent, Juris Anglicani beneficio, quo liberi in Paterno Testamento penitus omissi certam in familia erciscunda bonorum mobilium partem repetere possunt, quasi solo memoriae defectu relicti, qui nemini fraudi esse debet +(quod et Juri Civili conforme est, ut videre est 2. Instit. t. 13. et t 18.)+ Robertus haereditatem quidem adiit; sed in omnibus Deum sibi adversantem sentiens, non tam minas quam Prophetias expertus quae Thomas scripsit Cancellarium adiit petitum premia Delatoribus promissa, hoc solum retulit: venalem animam dedecere viros nobiles, quibus sat premii debet esse, Officio suo in publicum defungi Variarum virginum ambivit conjugium; a singulis repulsam passus cum probro, dicentibus: Nolo nubere Delatori Mutata rerum scena, cum dicae Perjuris scriberentur , veniam a Carolo ejus criminis supplici libello petiit, quae et fratris Thomae in gratiam non iniquis conditionibus offerebatur ; verum cum eas ille acceptare detrectaret, ex Anglia Judiciorum instantium metu aufugit, et nunc vagus et erro terras alienas incolit, e tabernaculo suo Wadsworth* ejectus: et ejus radix de terra viventium evulsa, +quod praedixerat ei Thomas .+ (358) THOMAE JENISONII MORS . Iste Evangelicam in Societate Paupertatem Patrimoniopraeferens, AudomariHumanioribus Litteris, Leodii altioribusinsigniterinstructus, ante quatuor annos in Angliam missusfuerat; Londini comprehensuset carceri mancipatus , ubi, accedentead alias aerumnascaptivitatis maerore , quod ejus Pater, Frater et una soror a fide defecerant, animam Deo reddidit xxvii Sept. Dum aeger decumberet morti vicinus, fore dixit constanter ut Deus Catholicorum cito misereretur ; tempus hoc chronographo signari : trIstItIa Vestra VertetVr In gaVDIVM, aLLeLVIa. Quod statim vulgatuminter Catholicos . * In 1684. I.e. Walworth
For an account of Fr. Thomas Jenison and the Jenison family see Foley, v, 614 sq., and 633 sq . Fr. Jenisonwas committed to Newgateon 30 September 1678 (the nameofone John Smith appears amongthosecommitted with him) and died on 20 September1679 (Bowler, C.R.S. , xxxiv, 274 , and Jeffreason , iv, 90)-not 27 September , as in Warner and Foley. This was the family motto of the Haydocks, and had been inscribed by the martyr George Haydock on the wall of his cell about a hundred years before (Gillow, iii, 210, quoting Corker's Remonstrance of Piety and Innocence, p 104). The explanation of the chronographseemsto be as follows: (III + VVV+ IV + D + IV) + (M + LLL + VI) = 1686. The secret of it is that you must add fromthe Min both directions Thus the left-hand bracket equals (6 + 500 + 6 + 15 + 3). < - < -
Gillow says that Fr. Jenisonworked out the following translation, which admits ofa similar solution: " yoVr sorroVV shaL be MaDe Very IoyfVLL VntoyoV"(V+ V + V +L) + (M + D + VI + V) + (LLVV)= 1686 . >>
(359) JOHANNES SMITHAEUS. Verum fuisse Vaticinium declarat eventus; dum ista scribo anno signato, nimirum MDCLXXXVI, Smithaeus, Jenisonorum Calamitas, ad Apostatiamet sacrilegasnuptias Perjuriaaddidit, editaNarrativa, * qua probare conatur: i Doctrinam Papisticam cum Pace publica incompossibilem esse; ii. Statibus Reformatam Religionem amplexis exitiosam esse ; iii EboracensisconversionemPapistas ad ineundum Conspirationem animasse; iv. quantumin ea progressi fuerint; v. cur Carolum e medio tollere statuerint; vi jure plexos qui ultimo supplicio fuerunt affecti Magnum pro Religione prae se fert Zelum, cum qui eum intus et in cute norunt, sciunt [sic] eum Religionem omnem susque deque habere; et Catholicis Eboraci captivis dixit: " Si vestra Religio olim praevaleat , ad eam revertar " Tandem cunctis invisus , etiam socero aliisque domesticis , cum praetensa conjuge in Hiberniam se recepit, ubi professione medicinae, quam nunquam didicit, utriusque vitam aegre sustentat
(360) ROBERTI PUGHI MORS. Contigit hoc anno, incertum quo die, preciosa in conspectu Domini mors Roberti Pughi, sacerdotis, U.J. Doctoris Is in septentrionali Wallia natus, sacerdotio suscepto diu vineam Domini coluit indefessus operarius
Illustrissimo Comiti de Castlemaine comes adhaesit individuus in utraque fortuna. Doctrinam testantur scripta opuscula contra varias haereses, potissimum recens natam Blackloi, cui et viva voce, et libris editis se murum opposuit pro domo Dei Pectus ei vere Catholicum , omnes Ecclesiae Catholicae filios ut fratres amans et in sinu fovens, maxime vero sacerdotes , absque vestium aut Instituti discrimine , omnes dictitans filios esse ejusdem Patris
* Cf . §350 and note
He was committed to Newgateon 20 November1678 (underthe name of Pugh Vaughan) for being in the city contrary to the proclamation of 30 October 1678, and for refusing to take the oaths He died there 22 January 1678/9 (Bowler, C.R.S. , xxxiv, 210, 227) Thereis a reference in H.M.C. , 11 Rep App , Pt. II, p. 89, to the seizure ofa priest called Pugh in Monmouthshire, on 26 December1678, but this must refer to Fr. WilliamCharles Pugh (also Philip), O.S.B., who was stationed at Blackbrook, Mon., where he died 17 March 1680 (Birt , p 54) Robert Pughhad been a Jesuit, but was dismissed the Society for taking up arms and servingas a captain during the CivilWar He was known personally to Wood, who mentions him in Athenae under his accounts of Lewgar and Bates, and who says of him " He was a personof most comely port, well favour'd , and of excellent parts, and therefore he deserved a better end."
Thomas White's (als Blacklow) Grounds of Obedience and Government, 1655, which favoured a Catholic policy of non-resistance to Cromwell, was a considerableobstacleto the policies of the Catholic nobility and gentry whosoughtforreligioustoleration as a rewardfortheirsupport oftheRoyalist cause (Cf. Cal Clarendon State Papers, iv, 56) It seems more than probable that Pugh had a considerableshare in The Catholique Apologywith a Reply to The Answer .... MDCLXXIV (Wing C . 1240usually attributed to Castlemaine ), which deals, inter alia, with this aspect of White's teachings. For a full bibliography of Pugh see Gillow, v, 373
ejusdemque Matris , Dei et Ecclesiae, omnes eadem studia fovere , Dei gloriam , morum emendationem, animarum salutem . Hinc ut id facerent humero uno, Zophoniae vocibus hortabatur, et exemplo praeibat. Contracto in carcere morbo extinctus est (361) [f. 86] FRAN GERARDI MORS Ibidem mortuus etiam
Franciscus Gerard, Staffordiensis, ex Antiquissimaet Nobilissima
Gerardorum de Garswood Lancastrensium genus ducens Is ubi audivit diem quinque Jesuitis dictam, Londinum suapte sponte properavit Oatis aliqua Perjuria confutatum. Shaftesburius probe sciens quanti in eo esset momenti , tum ob generisclaritatem , tum ob Probitatis notissimae famam, ut ei os clauderet, in Conspiratorum album referri curavit Hinc carceri Newgate mancipatus vir grandis natu, nec antea prospera valetudineusus, facili contractomorbo, Sacramentis Ecclesiae pie susceptis, obdormivit in Domino . Petieratvivus ad quinque Patrum pedes sepeliri, quod etiam factum Quam ipsi non licuit Innocentiae Catholicorum asserendae operam impendere, impendit ipsius filius
Primogenitus , Illustrissimus Baro Bromleius, cum Perjurii Actio in Oatem instituta est (362) NICOLAI POSTGATE SUPPLICIUM Contigit hujus anni mense Augusti gloriosa victoria Nicolai Postgate, sacerdotis e Clero Saeculari, Eboraci Quando, ubi, quo modo captus fuerit, quorum accusatus, quid responderit, nulla diligentia factâ rescire potui § Prolatamin se mortis sententiam magni instar beneficii excepit. Hinc ea audita Judici dixit: " Clarissime Domine, admodum provectae sum aetatis, ut vix spes sit ad unum aut ad summum ad duos annos vitam meam produci posse. Nunc claritas tua me ad caelum transmittit via compendiosiori." Auditus, dum in carcerem reduceretur , identidem dicere, "O insignem virum ! O egregium virum !" Exinde totus fuit in cogitationibus de Morte et eam secutura Beatitate, Apostoli verba saepe repetens: Cupio dissolvi, et esse cum Christo Patebat carcer, Praesidis indulgentia, cunctis eum adire cupientibus; omnesipse latissimis charitatis brachiis complectebatur . Intimam
* Cf . Sophonias (Zephaniah), Chap III, ver 9
He appears most frequently in the records as Richard Gerard (or Gerrard) He was imprisoned at Stafford for refusing the Oaths, but was called to London on a warrant from the House of Lords Committee Information was laid against him by Dugdale on 13 May 1679, and after being examinedby the Lords, he wascommitted to Newgateon suspicion oftreason on 19 May, and thus his evidence for the Lords in the Tower was blocked . He died in Newgate11 March 1679/80, withouteverbeingarraigned(Foley, v, 49, 434-5; H.M.C., 11 Rep App , Pt II, pp 39, 40; Bowler, C.R.S. , xxxiv 288; Cockayne , ed Vicary Gibbs, v, 637).
Administered by Fr. Edward Petre, S.J. (Foley, v, 260)
§ Fr. Postgate was arrested at the house of Matthew Lyth, at Littlebeck, near Whitby, by John Reeves, an exciseman . He was taken to York Castle, examined 9 December 1678 , and indicted at York Assizes for priesthood. (See further Foley, v, 757 sq.; Raine, York Depositions (Surtees Soc ), p. 230; and Camm, Forgotten Shrines, p 284 sq )
cum Deo unionem et de Divinis cogitationem sola suspendebant misericordiae opera Augusti vi. * ei nuntiatum supplicii subeundi tempus, quo nihil gratius accidere potuit viro temporalia fastidienti, Aeterna sitienti; et statim gaudii sui participes effecit amicos omnes , notos, et Catholicos in vicinia degentes ; qui omnes condicto die tanto numero convenere, ut ad Patibulum progressio Triumphantis quam supplicium subituri similior videretur Vestes novas, prae fidelium devotione paratas (quo veteres et detritas reciperent) libens admisit, quo ad nuptias Agni cum veste nuptiali intraret. Ad patibulum alligatus, cum longam orationem non permitterent afflictae vires, brevem sed nervosam habuit, qua haereticos ad fidem invitavit, Catholicos ad piam vitam cohortatus est Deinde implorata B. Virginis omniumque caelitum ope, Deo animam commendavit , carnifici corpus suum permisit. Qui ubi suo functus est officio, Catholici corpus sacrum , vestes aliasque reculas magno pretio redempta sibi servarunt. Corpus rheda delatum ad sepulchrum, Catholicis et Haereticis magno numero funus prosequentibus. Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt, et non tangit eos tormentum mortis Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, et existimata est afflictio exitus illorum, et quod a nobis est iter, exterminium: illi autem sunt in Pace . " "
(363) FRANCISCI LUSONI MORS . Suos etiam habuit et Martyres et Confessores Seraphici Patris B. Francisci familia religiosissima Nam Franciscus Lusonus, in ProvinciaStaffordiensi nobili stirpe natus, dum haustam Duaci Pietatem in Patria sua aliis communicare studeret, captus et Staffordiae carceri mancipatus, morte assertusest in libertatemfiliorum Dei Januarii ultimo. Vir pectoris candore et morum innocentia cunctis gratus, etiam Fidei hostibus. " Consummatus in brevi, explevit tempora multa. " (364) FRANCISCI JONSONII MARTYRIUM. Idem sacer Ordo martyrem caelo dedit Franciscum Jonsonium, vocatum in Ordine Joachimum a S. Anna Huic vitam dedit Norfolcia, nobili familia natum [sic], mortem Worcestria Tempus et causam mortis exponit ipse data ad Provincialem suum Epistola tertio ante supplicium die, in hunc sensum: " Nunc ultimo hoc Religiosae observantiae officio fungor in hac vita Nam priusquam
* He was executed the following day
Fr. Francis Levison (or Luson) died 11 February 1680, n.s. (Thaddeus, Franciscans in England, p 73) Gillow, iv, 200, says that he wascommitted to Worcester Castle with Fr. Francis Johnson But there is no positive indication from the letter of Fr. William Levison, which Gillow quotes, that Fr. FrancisLevison was actually with Fr. Johnsonat Worcester , or that he died there.
The entryin the Liber Ruber of the English College, Rome, describes him as Lancastrensis' He was brother to Fr. William Wall, O.S.B. , alias MarshorMarshall (C.R.S., xl, 25 and35, andThaddeus ,FranciscansinEngland, p 70) The family were resident in Lancashire at the time of Fr. Francis Wall'sbirth, but retained their estates in Norfolk (cf. Camm, Life of Blessed John Wall, O.S.F. (1932) ).
istae pervenerint ad manus tuas, ero in altera His disces , quod status mei a me ratio postulat, ultimam me petere benedictionem tuam ferventibus votis, meorum etiam defectuum gratiam, quorum reus fui, ex quo beata illa sors mihi contigit, inter filios [f. 87] tuos numerari Peto etiam veniam ab omnibus fratribus meis, quos unquam offendi Post istum, quo epistolam istam scribo , unicus mihi superest vitae dies. Toto captivitatis tempore non licuit ad te scribere, neque de meo statu et Actione in me instituta certiorem facere; jam cum me solidis novem mensibus sancta Mater Ecclesia tulerit in carcere, eam paratam spero ad me Deo et aeternae luci pariendum . Captus fui uno alterove die post festum Conceptionis B. Virginis, supplicio afficiar Octava Assumptionis Unde mihi spes, quod me cum prole pia benedicet Virgo Maria Officiose toto corde saluto Fratres meos omnes et sorores , a quibus iterum veniam precor, et a Seraphico P.S. Francisco. xx Augusti Humillimus et obsequentissimus filius in J.C. Joachimus a Sta Anna. "
(365) Toto captivitatis tempore semper hilaris visus , vultu ipso internum gaudium ostendens, magna Catholicorum aedificatione Unicum ei crimen objectum, sacerdotium Catholico ritu susceptum Audita mortis sententia, gratias egit primum Deo, dein et Judici Secuto ad supplicium usque spacio ferventibus et longis orationibus tum mentalibus tum vocalibus ad mortem se preparavit, frequentibus insuper Amoris Divini actibus. In supplicii loco longam habuit orationem , qua docuit, Divina Ordinatione ad vitam aeternam obtinendam necessarias esse Fidem, Spem atque Charitatem Earum vim et naturam exposuit; ostendit Fidem unam esse debere, quia Apostolus ait: Unus Deus, una Fides, unum Baptisma Unde intulit inter Protestantes nullam esse , quia tam multiplex, tam varia est, ut vix duo in unam consentiant . De Conspiratione interrogatus, respondit se non fuisse de ea accusatum; ipsum Judicemei vitam obtulisse, modo eam agnoscere vellet Caeterum se de ea nihil scire (scilicet nisi ex publica fama Oatis delationem secuta) Se futurum mortis propriae reum, casu quo aliquid sciret, nec revelaret, cum ei esset oblata vita ea conditione Praeterea scire se, peccati mortalis adeoque mortis aeternae reum esse, quisquis novit aliquid contra Regem Regnive Pacem vel cogitatione designari, nec illud defert ad eos, quorum est iis pravis studiis occurrere. Optavit sibi Davidis, Jeremiae et Magdalenae lachrimas, quibus peccatorum suorum maculas elueret; suas tamen cohibuisse, ne potius mortis instantis quam peccatorum suorum sensu fluere viderentur Optavit sibi longanimitatem omnium Confessorum, tormenta Martyrum, lampades Virginum, ut omnia Deo in odorem suavitatis offerret . Oravit ut Deus benedicere dignaretur omnes Amicos cum temporales tum spirituales, omnes item a quibus aliquid vel boni vel mali toto vitae tempore recepisset, omnes ipsius curae commendatos, totamque Ecclesiam
Catholicam, ejus caput in terris, Episcopos omnes, sacerdotes et clerum universum, populum itemAnglicanum, ut Deus illosomnes et sibi et inter se uniat per veras Fidem, Spem et Charitatem . Item eos, qui Carolo a Consiliis, ut omnia eorum studia eo tendant , ut Carolus in terra, Deus in Caelo et Terra honoretur, quo gaudium sit in Caelocoram Angelis Dei. Item Parlamentumjam electum , ut taliter judicent in praesenti, qualiter de se judicari velint in ultima die Item eos qui Persecutionem patiuntur, ut qui nunc eunt et flent mittentes semina sua, cum gaudio revertantur por- tantes manipulos suos . Converte, " ait, “ Domine, captivitatem nostram, sicut torrens in Austro; et quinunc seminant inlachrimis , cum exultatione metant. Et pro hac vita temporali, O beata Trinitas, da mihi vitam sempiternam ; mundo moriatur corpus meum, ut anima mea vivat et semper te amet, Deus meus, et Redemptor meus. Amen, Dulcissime Jesu, Amen. "* (366) GULIELMI PLESSINGTONI MARTYRIUM xix Julii
Cestriae passus est Gulielmus Plessingtonus e florentissimo Angliae Clero Is in Provincia Lancastria natus, Audomari minora , Vallisoleti majora studia percurrit, quantum adversa plerumque valetudo et provecta aetas permisere; quibus cogentibus citius solito sacris initiatus, Theologiam abrupit, in Angliam missus; doctrinae quod deerat, solidum judicium et arctior cum Deo unio supplebat. Laboribus Apostolicis captivitas finem imposuit. Dies Actioni in eum destinata mihi latet; in illa nulla Conspirationis mentio ; necdum enim illa mentiendi pejerandique temeritas absque judiciorum humanorum pudore aut Divinorum metu, remotas Londino Provincias afflarat, quae Regiam urbem occuparat, ubi majora premia, opibus, malorum irritamentis, eo confluentibus Solius ergo Sacerdotii fuit arcessitus; ejus eum accusavit Margareta Plat, cujus Pater et Judici et duodecim viris totique coronae dixit ei nullam deberi fidem ob notissimum toti viciniaedelirium; [f. 88] quod multi confirmarunt. Accessit GeorgiusMoseleyus, quem sanctejuravitPlessingtonussenunquam antea vidisse . Tertius Robertus Woodus; qui paucis indediebus , dum navem in latus conversam reficeret cum aliis, ab ea oppressus est, sociis laboris incolumibus (367) Hi tres deposuerunt eum se vidisse sacra facientem , ei se confessos esse, et similia Sanctus vir, tametsi dissolvi cuperet et esse cum Christo, et optaret aerumnosum vitae cursum tam faeliciter absolvere, ratus tamen officii sui esse vitam suam quo dabatur modo defendere, dixit se solius sacerdotii arcessi, quod crimen non est , multo minus capitale, etiam cum Roma petitur ; * Cf Mr. Johnson's Speech ... (London, 1679) (Wing J . 774-775)
Warner is presumably basing his account on the MS. life of Fr. Plessington (as yet untraced) by Fr. William Culcheth, S.J. Fr. Plessington's Christian name is sometimes given as John.
He was born c 1637, entered English College, Valladolid, November 1660, and ordained priest March , 1662. He left for England in April, 1663 (C.R.S., xxx, 169, and Gillow, v, 522)
alioqui Reum fore totum clerum Anglicanum , qui suos inde ordines repetit. Idipsum non sufficienter probari, nam Delirium unius eum accusantis eam a Testimonio ferendo removere; alteruma se certissime nunquam visum; unumet unicum superesse ad fidem faciendam inidoneum , quia solus est, cum omnia Jura duos ad minimum requirant.
(368) His tamen non obstantibus a duodecim viris Reus renunciatus est, et ad consuetum Perduellium supplicium a Judice damnatus. Supplicii loco haec locutus est* [see translation].
(377) Haec pius ille sacerdos Non alienum ab instituto meo videbitur, spero, admonere, Juramenti Fidelitatis Patronos de hujus in conspectu Domini preciosa morte gloriatos esse , quasi ex eorum numero unus martyrii laurea donatus fuisset; quod constanter negatur ab iis, qui Juramento adversantur . Fatentur equidem hunc sanctum virum Juramento favisse, antequam carceri manciparetur; etiam suis Paenitentibus Authorem fuisse illud admitterent At paulo ante mortem, quidam sacerdos senex , spretis quae impendere videbanturpericulis, illum adiit,ac , ubi fecerat quae fieri praescribuntur ab Ecclesia, facta Juramenti mentione, hoc multis titulis illicitum esse ostendit , potissimum quod fuisset a variis summis Pontificibus damnatum Quibus auditis sanctus vir respondit : " Agnosco multis me titulis tibi obstrictum esse, quod me tanta charitate dignatus es invisere. Conabor charitati tuae vices rependere precibus in hac vita et, si quidem dignus sim ea morte, ad quam fui damnatus, etiamin altera Fateor me nunquam antea multa a te dicta audivisse. Jam sentio Juramentumillicitum esse ; quapropterhumillime me Ecclesiae ejusque decisionibus submitto. " Haec ille. Absque dubio fuit in eo venialis error, quem ostensaveritate tam prompte ejuravit, fortasse etiam magis aliorum suasu quam proprio judicio a recta via defecerat. Sed in re parum comperta nihil assevero Assero huic Pontificiis decretis submissioni nihil officere, quod dixerit potestatem Pontificis ad deponendas Reges non esse fidei Catholicae articulum. Id enim quivis Juramenti hostis dicet, et, ni fallor, dixit diserte Bellarminus. (378) JOANNIS FLOIDI ET PHILIPPI EVANI CERTAMEN Triduo post hunc simili supplicio affecti sunt duo alii, Joannes Floidus et Philippus Evanus, ille Cleri Secularis, iste Regularis Societatis Jesu, sacerdotes , similem ob causam Cardiffae plexi Evanus Monumettensis, exacta innocenter Juventute, Societatem ingressus, in qua Zelum suum et virtutes Apostolico muneripares ita probavit, ut decursis studiis et Tertia Probatione , statim in vastumlaborumet aerumnarum campum, patriam suam, remissus sit. Attulit ad munus Evangelicum egregias naturae dotes , * His speech is reprinted by Challoner: Memoirs of Missionary Priests (ed J. H. Pollen, S.J., 1924), p 542. Challonerreads Massey ' for Moseley . ' I.e. 22 July 1679. For biographical and bibliographical details see Foley, v, 882, and Gillow, ii, 186, and iv, 289
morum simplicitatemnativam, sermonemelegantem, et innubem* exporrectae frontis amaenitatem . Longe magis eminebant in eo gratiae dona, quibus eum ad curandam animarum salutem divina
Bonitas cumulaverat . Vinea, quam coleret, assignata Australis
Wallia, ubi laboribus par fructus Sed crescente segete, crevit et Invidia. Hinc ultra premia a Carolo statuta Jesuitam intercipientibus , quidam Privatus de suo CC scuta addixit, ei qui Evanum comprehenderet. Haec ad eum relata nihil moverunt ad deserendam ab obedientia sibi designatam stationem Paulo post captus et ad Eirenarcham ductus, qui illum in tales manus incidisse dolens, se pro eo Vadem obtulit, dummodo Juramentum
Fidelitatis emitteret. Evanus gratiis pro humanitate actis, ait nolle se vitam suam ulla re redimere, quae conscientiam oneraret
Unde Cardiffam missus, in teterrimum specum subterraneum conjectus est, compedibus insuper vinctus. Non ita tamen multo post, quorumdam nobilium rogatu eductus, in eodem cum Floido, captivitatis et supplicii socio, asservatus est cubiculo. (379) Quaesiti undique, qui in eum dicerent Testes ex iis , qui malorum imminentium timore Catholica sacra reliquerant, qui eum sacerdotii accusarent, angustioris omnes fortunae, quod magis viderenturinjuriae obnoxii, minus officii tenaces. Primum, quem aggressi sunt, facinus execrantem ita fustibuscontuderunt , ut una e costis fracta, fere inter verbera expirarit Ab aliis saepe repulsam passi , a quadam Anu ejusque filia quod petebant impetrarunt. Adfuit testis ab Arnoldo, de quo infra, submissus nanus, a fide Apostata Dies Actioni destinata iii Maii Inventae Crucis sacra . Duae mulieres Evanum sacerdotii simpliciter accusarunt , se ejus sacra audivisse, ab eo Paenitentiae et Eucharistiae sibi Sacramenta ministrata Ad haec Evanus nihil; sciebat enim vera dici Nanus dixit Evanum sibi occurrisse et dixisse: " Si Catholicis sacris renunciasti legum metu, stulte fecisti; nam tempora brevi videbis Catholicis laetissima. ' Sentiens Evanus Perjuri malignitatem, eum iis verbis conspirationis famosae insimulantis, sancte Deum contestatus est se nihil ejusmodi unquam dixisse. Sed Judex ipse eam illi solicitudinem exemitdicendo testimoniumesse unius singulare, ideoque nihilifaciendum; videret quid mulieribus responderet Evano tacente, [f. 90] dixit idem duodecim viris: " Si mulierum dictis fidem adhibetis, debetis Evanum Reum dicere." Richardus Basset Duodecimvir statim concrepans digitis alta voce dixit, " Hoc nobis permittas licet; per Deum, eum Reum renunciabimus." Et fidemliberavit. (380) Audita mortis sententia inclinato capite, gratias egit
* A adds semper ' here.
I.e. John Arnold the magistrate himself It is interesting to note that Arnold laid evidence before the House of Commons against numerous priests in Monmouthshire and Herefordshire (including Lloyd, Evans and David Lewis) on 29 April 1678, i.e. five months before Oates's depositions appeared (C.J., ix, 466 sq.).
Sir Edward Esterling.
primum Judici, deinde duodecimviris , speciales Bassetto Statim ei catenae et compedes injecti, quos ille multis osculis, quasi Jesu sui insignia , veneratus est ; et de tanto sibi honore moriendi pro Christo gratulatusest, utque in alios concaptivos suae laetitae partem derivaret , barbiton, quem scite pulsabat, adeptus, qua voce qua instrumenti sono sacros hymnos concinens, indesinenter singulari mentis jubilo Deo laudes canere perrexit Atque hanc quasi congenitam imperturbabilis mentis serenitatem ad decretoriam supplicii horam toto trimestri conservavit , quam nec incommoda, nec subterranei specus paedor, in quem subinde dimittebatur, nec crudelis supplicii expectatio tantisper interrumpere potuerunt Cujus rei testes sunt Catholici e vicinia singulis fere diebus invisentes; a quibus vix aliud petebat, quam ut se in referendis Deo gratiis adjuvarent; testes omnes Cardiffae cives, qui ad spectaculum adeo stupendum confluebant, ut in homine Angelum quendam, humanis certe Passionibus , terrenis rebus omnibus excelsiorem contemplarentur , dum haustum liberiorem auram ad ostium specus prodiret, ne aere inferno in teterrimam mephitim condensato suffocaretur . (381) Dies supplicio destinatus xxii Julii, B. Magdalenae sacer
Eo die carcerem adit cum fabro ferrario Vice-Comitis locum tenens, jubetque compedes auferri, quibus ejus tibiae arctissime stringebantur Qui horam integram mallei ictibus clavos e commissuris extrudere frustra conatus, acerbissimo quassatae tibiae sensu, illius miseratione ferramenta abjecit, nec ullis aut jussis aut minis locum tenentis adduci potuit, ut saevum laborem repeteret, donec Evanus ipse, ut id faceret, insuper habito dolore suo, impensius orasset. Manibus a tergo revinctis , uterque Christi miles uni carro imponitur ad patibulum deducendus; ad cujus conspectum exclamavit uterque, cum B. Andraea: Salve, O bona crux, diu desiderata Sub illo depositi , flexis genibus illud amplexati osculati sunt, submissa voce suum agonem Deo commendantes. Surgunt inde, et a Vice-Comite quaerunt utri primo loco moriendum esset (quae omnia ab utroque simul ita peracta, quasi unus utrumque spiritus animaret) ; et eo respondente Evano, iste, socium beatae sortis amplexus, ad circumfusam plebem ita locutus est.* [See translation ] " (382) Nihil opus est dicere, cives charissimi , quam ob causam huc adducti simus; ex Actione enim in nos instituta, cui vestrum multi interfuerunt, liquet non aliam esse quam Religionis et Conscientiae Unde cum vobis perspecta sit causae bonitas, nihil de ea loqui necesse est. Ea certe mihi adeo probatur, ut beatam sortem pro ea moriendi , nec cum totius mundi regimine commutarem ; fidem mihi habeatis velim jamjam morituro. Spero me nullos habere inimicos, qui conatus fui de omnibus bene mereri ; si quos tamen habeam, toto corde doleo; adeoque
* The speeches are reprinted by Challoner: Memoirs of Missionary Priests (ed. J. H. Pollen, S.J., 1924), p 545
humillime rogo mihi ignoscat, si quem unquam inscius offendi Deum veneror, Regem benedicat, eique omnia fausta largiatur. Oro omnes praesentes, maxime vero Catholicos, pro me orare velint." Tum flexis genibus tantisper oravit, Catholicis circumorantibus Deinde surgens his valedixit, et summa alacritate scala conscendit, e cujus fastigio ita locutus est : " Ex hoc suggestu, quo melior ad concionandum nullus obtingere potest innocenti viro, iterum edico me Dei et Religionis causa mori; qua sorte ita me faelicem arbitror, ut si decies mille vitas haberem , omnes pro ea libentissime darem Si supplicium mihi remitteretur, tametsi non valde provectae sim aetatis, non tamen diu vivere possem ; nunc vero quanta mihi faelicitas brevis vitae jactura aeternam per Dei gratiam mereri ! Omnibus toto corde , qui mortis meae causae fuerunt +ignosco,+ rogoque in-[f. 91] stanter Deum, ut et illis et Benefactoribus meis omnia bona cumulatissime retribuat, etiam et tibi, Domine Vice-Comitis locum tenens. Vale, Domine Floide : brevi iterum conveniemus Sed interea memento quid promiseris, " nimirum ut discedentem jamjam animam absolveret ; ad quam fere suscipiendam perbrevi sese contritionis Actu praeparavit.
(383) Spectavit immoto et hilari vultu Floidus morientem socium. Tum necdum conscensa scala, distinctiori quam unquam voce, ut multireferuntqui cum eo diu fuerant conversati, circumfusam multitudinem his verbis allocutus est: " De causa mortis nostrae nihil dicam; eam exposuit socius meus ; et praeterea nunquam fui bonus Orator. Solum addam, me mori in vera Catholica et Apostolica Ecclesia, quam illa symboli verba indicant: Credo sanctam EcclesiamCatholicam Tribus illis virtutibus, Fide, Spe et Charitate , cunctis, qui me offenderunt, ignosco. Si quem offendi, doleo; et ut mihi ignoscat, oro. Rogo omnes, potissimum vero Catholicos, ut pro me orent Patienter ferant cruces suas , memores eorum verborum: Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter Justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum . " Tum conscensa scala, Benefactoribus suis gratias egit, tum pectus tundens ter, toties dixit: Deus propitius esto mihi Peccatori , et ultimo addidit: In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritummeum. Quae ejus fuerunt ultima verba . (384) Litteras Humaniores didicerat Gandavi, Phylosophiam et Theologiam Vallisoleti, * cunctis utrobiquegratus ob amabilem morum Innocentiam et Humilitatem. Alia virtutum ejus exempla rescire nullo modo potui, alioquiilla ad posterorum aedificationem non omisissem . Magna tamen fuisse nullus dubito, cum observatum in Anglia fuerit non nisi optimos a Deo ad patiendum pro ipso vocari, et Martyrium non tantum meritum, sed et premium meritorum esse . (385) CAROLI BAKERI CERTAMEN . Octavus et ultimus e
* He entered the English College, Valladolid, in 1649, was ordained June 1653 , and went to England April 1654 (C.R.S. , xxx, 164)
Societate, qui in hac Persecutione effuso sanguine Deo gloriam dederunt, fuit Carolus Bakerus, vero nomine Lewis, sive Ludovici, Monumethensis, honestis parentibus , Catholica matre, patre haeretico, natus* ; quo mortuo, ipse ejurata haeresi Romam perrexit, et in nostrae gentis Seminarium admissus est. Finitis studiis, posito ad S. Andraeae Religiosae vitae tyrocinio, in Angliam missus , Provinciam Monumethensem et vicinas indefesso labore coluit. Collegio S. Xaverii bis praefuit Pauperum curam singulari et plane paterno affectu gessit.
(386) ARNOLDUS QUALIS
Hujus amicitiam e multis annis coluerat Arnoldus Eirenarcha, sed fide Calviniana , ut quo tectius eo gravius noceret, plures interea nocendi vias exploraret . (De quo aliqua supra, plura lib sequente, Deo dante.) Visus iste aliquandiu Catholicis favere, nec procul a Regno Dei esse; ut alia ipsius Benevolentiae signa omittam, in hospitiopublico a se constructo , cubiculum unum in sacelli modum ornari voluit, sacris Catholico ritu celebrandis destinatum Sed orta Persecutione ista, amicitiae larva deposita, quod semperfuerat, hostem professus, bellum Catholicis omnibus indixit et eorum fautoribus, non alium ipsius vitae finem habiturum. Auditus saepe dicere, ostensogrosso(pars est decima quinta scuti) : " Donec hujusvalor mihi supererit in loculis, Papistas persequi non desinam . "
(387) Iste xvii Novembris anni superioris Bakerum comprehendi curavit Et statim operae precium Factiosis visum, sinistris rumoribus integerrimam ejus famam minuere , majori tamen ipsorum quam captivi probro. Sparserunt ergo primo, eum effracto carcere aufugisse, secundo custodem suum, carceris Praefectum, toxico necasse Quae cum quantuma vero abessent, ipso sensu deprehenderetur (cum et ipse semperin carcere mansisset, et Praefectus optime haberet), tertium rumorem vulgarunt, etiam libellis impressis§ et cantiunculis celebratum, pecuniolam a vidua quadam abstulisse, stipulatum se ejus mariti animam in
* For furtherbiographicalinformation see Foley,v, 912, and Collectanea , p 456, and Gillow, iv, 205 sq.
Entered English College, Rome, November 1638, ordained priest July 1642, entered Society of Jesus, April 1645 (C.R.S. , xl, 20)
A adds here , " Dum caeco Zelo hac re furibundus absque discrimine personarum obvios quosque proterere moliretur, Catholicis gravis, honestioribus etiam Protestantibus violentiae inimicis , moderationis amantibus infestus Inferiores opprimens, pares pulsans, nec melioribus se parcens, (eam dabat fiduciam auctoritas Shaftesburii, cui suam operam probarat) ut tandem in Ducem de Beaufort totius Walliae, et Provinciae Monmuthensis Gubernatorem , gravia probra jaceret; ob quae in carcerem conjectus, damnatus, causa audita, in mulctam 10,000 librarum nostratium, sive 40 m . Scutorum, Beaufortis solvendam . Sed ea remissa, ut Generosissimo Duci satis esset virum superbum humiliare, ferocem domare, +compescuisse violentum+; tandem quiescere invite is coactus , cunctis invisus, magistratus auctoritate exutus, privatem vitam agitat " (Cf. inf . , f. 119.)
§ Cf. A Short Narrative .... 1679, by Herbert Croft, BishopofHereford (Wing C . 6977)
143
Purgatoriis flammis a sesquianno tortam inde liberaturum. Catholicis insulsa fabula ex haereticorum officina prodiens probari non potuit; deinde magno falsitatis praejudicio , nec locus, nec tempus, nec ulla persona designata, ut fieri solet, ubi hystoria veritati nititur et inquisitionem ferre potest. Interea mens injecta Vice-Comiti, custodias omnes [f. 92] Monumetho Iscam transferendi ; et Providentia Dei id factum patuit ad solatium Catholicorum , qui frequentes illic custodiebantur ob repudiatum Fidelitatis Juramentum xxviii Martii causis capitalibus destinato, Tribunali sistitur Bakerus, sacerdotii arcessitus Judici a dextris assidebat Arnoldus ejus cognatus et Amicus . ViceComes viros probos et honestos arcesserat, pro officii sui ratione, e quibus duodecim viri assumerentur Eos omnesArnoldus nullo jure, sola malignitate et in Bakerum odio motus, Judicis favore abusus, exauthorari curavit, et alios substituit sui similes, ViceComite juxta ac Bakero frustra conquerentibus de injuriautrique facta
(388) Lite contestata , dati Testes ; primus Pricius juravit se Reum Sacra facientem vidisse, ab eo Paenitentiae et Eucharistiae Sacramenta suscepisse in aedibus Mortonianis Dominae Barclet Ei respondit Bakerus, Deo in Testemvocato, se nunquam illic fuisse, nec scire in qua mundi parte sint, aut an uspiam dentur illae aedes. Addidit, eodem mane in carcere ad se invisisse, et ubi se fuisset fixis oculis intuitus, dixisse: " Multum diversus est iste ab eo , quem ego novi; nam ille crines habet crispos, nigros, et perbreves; in isto alia omnia video " Producti Testes , qui eum ista dicentem audierant . Vocatus pro forma Pricius, qui ad haec responderet, sed ille, quod res erat, suspicatus se Perjurii convincendum, sese subduxerat ; nec Arnoldi, qui omnia dirigebat, intererat, illum operosius inquiri Alii Testes auditi, de iisdem criminibus Bakerum accusantes; unde Bakerus, a duodecim viris Reus dictus est, et sententia mortis in eum lata. Shaftesburius, de re tota certiorfactus abArnoldo, jussit captivum subfirma custodia mitti Londinum, visum num aliquid fabulosae
Conspirationi fidemfacturum ab eo expiscari posset Illic eum convenerunt famosi Testes, convenit et Shaftesburius ; eum solitis modis, premiorumet paenarum ostentatione , aggressus est Ubi frustra omnia vidit, Reum jussit Iscam reduci supplicio afficiendum; et cum Vice-Comes variis quaesitis praetextibus prolataret, increpitus a Shaftesburio , pecunia etiam notabili mulctatus, Bakerum plecti necessario curavit, invitissimuslicet. (389) E patibulo his verbis populum allocutus est [see translation].
* Sc " Pricium istum " (as in A).
Five of the priests who had been condemned on the countrycircuits were brought up to London in the hopes that they might be inducedto make a ' discovery' (H.M.C., 11 Rep App. , Pt. II, p. 151 , C.J., ix, 627)
Reprinted in Foley, v , 925
PERSECUTION
(403) Haec verba magnis animorum motibus audita, plerisque ipsius, omnibus suam vicem dolentibus , quibus maxima mala ex hac innocentis sanguinis effusione augurati sunt.
(404) Suspensus igitur fuit, non tamen corpus in partes sectum , ut ferebat sententia, plebe id non permittente, nec ViceComitis locum tenente id urgente, qui invitissime huic supplicio adfuit Corpus itaque cum honore tumulo illatum, tota corona funus persequente, in Ecclesia Parochialis ingressu. * Sic Judaeorum instar, Prophetaslapidabant, eorum ornabantsepulchra, memoriam celebrant
(405) MISERA ANGLIAE FACIES, VERUM ACELDAMA , AGER
SANGUINISET INNOCENTIS. Quam misera Angliae facies ! Qualis olim Judaeae, referente Osee iv. 2: Judicium Domino cum habitatoribus terrae; non est VERITAS, et non est Misericordia, et non est Scientia Dei in terra. Maledictum et Mendacium etHOMICIDIUM et Furtum et Adulterium inundaverunt : et SANGUIS SANGUINEM tetigit. (PERIURIA omissa , tam crebra, quam horrenda, caeteris, etiam Homicidiis , paria) Propter hoc lugebit terra, et infirmabitur omnis qui habitat in ea . Haec omnia Presbiterianorum furore promota Quae ne Dei judicia et celerem vindictam in totam gentem Anglicanam accersant, obstabunt , [f. 95] uti voveo, cum quod populo extra Regiam civitatem invito, renitente, et deplorante fierent, paucis qui Regiam obsederant urgentibus ; tum etiam, et maxime, ipse sanguis innocens effusus, meliora loquens quam qui fuit Abelis, non vindictam petens, scilicet, sed misericordiam , sicut petivit sanguis JESU; tum denique ferventes morientium preces, in hoc mundo sub ipsam mortem inchoatae, nunquam in aeterna Beatitudine cessaturae (406)
ACTIO IN GEORGIUM WAKEMANNUM ET TRES BENEDICTINOS. Excursione per diversas Provincias facta, Londinum revertamur, illic quae fierent in Catholicos spectaturi Videbimus non frustra factas a quinque Jesuitis et Langhorno Dei contestationes, non frustra fusas preces, non frustra datumsanguinem, non frustra mortem Christiane toleratam. Plebs, fraude fere detecta, non ita Testibus Regiis, etiam novi aliis minus mali (Jenisoni) accessione auctis, obnoxia erat xxviii Julii (quinta a Langhorni supplicio die) acciti ad causam dicendam Georgius Wakemannus, Eques Auratus, Reginae Archilater, Jacobus Corkerus, Gulielmus Rumleyus, et Gulielmus Martius, sive Marshallus, e familia S. Benedicti , omnes Conspirationis accusati +Primi docuerunt Oatis Perjuriis resisti posse.+
* His body lies just outside the west door of the old Priory Church at Usk (Camm , Forgotten Shrines, p 366).
See The Tryals of Sir George Wakeman , Barronet , William Marshall , William Rumley and James Corker, Benedictine monks Published by Authority .... London 1679
Brother of John Wall, O.S.F. , the martyr, with whom he is confused in the Liber Ruber of the English College, Rome (C.R.S., xl, 35, and Birt, p 68)
(407) Testes dati Dugdallus , Jenisonus, Oates, et Bedlous * Duo primi, ut levis armaturae milites , primam impressionem fecerunt, quae captivos vix perstrinxit, in quos nihil dixere, conati solum labantem undique fabulae fabricamnovis mendaciis fulcire. Sed ut evenit iis qui in caenosumgurgitem lapsi, dum eluctari conantur, profundius immerguntur relapsi, ita isti tam absurda, tam falsa dixerunt, ut eam plane diruerint Oates dixit Wakemanno oblata XL. scutorum millia, modo Carolum veneno tolleret; eo causante tantum facinus nimis parva mercede compensari, addita alia XX millia Asbaeo Jesuitae ob nervorum debilitatem, praescripsisse Thermarum usum atque Lactis sextarium mane et vespere. Haec in epistola a se visa, cui additum Reginam sibi fore adjutricem ad miscendam Carolo medicatam potionem. Hunc contractum cum Wakemanno initum, Langhornum in suum librum retulisse, hisce verbis : " Nota bene .. . die Augusti, proposita Georgio Wakemanno LX. millia scutorum." Et infra: Recepta in partem solutionis XX millia, a Gulielmo Harcotto, ex mandato Colemanni."
+Et Scroggio Hic Majestatis (408) Petiit ab isto Wakemannus quare coram Consilio Regio non eum de istis accusasset? Ubi dixit e contra: " Absit ego Wakemannum accusem, quam vix novi" Adfuit Consilii Secretarius, qui haec confirmavit Cui respondit Oates, se tunc fuisse fatigatum, et vix mentis compotem dicenti, non majores vires requiri ad dicendum reus est , " quam Absit ego illum accusem &c , " Oates Consilium Regium perstrinxit, quasi nollet Reos carceri mancipare. Unde Scroggius: " Quo Jure omnium Ordinum censorem agit iste ? Quae verba in Oatis animum alte descenderunt.+ " (409) Quod ad Epistolam Asbaeo datam attinet, Pharmacopaeus +Bathensis, tum ejus urbis Praetor, cum filio, +cui eam Asbaeustradiderat, dixerunt in ea de lacte nullamfieri mentionem (quod cum Thermis nunquam praescribitur), neque de Regina, aut ullo contractu Eam denique nihil quam praescriptiones continere, quales suis aegrotis Thermas petentibus solent dare Medici
(410) Oates Corkerum dixit esse Benedictinorum Anglorum Praesidem Generalem; ut talem XXIV. millia scutorum conspirationi promovendae addixisse; doluisse, ubi audivitPickeringum ad occidendum Carolum + electum ,+ tum quod avocaretur ab altari ornando (erat Aedituus), tum quod dum Solemni Sacro adsisteret, esset pulcherrimas bene gerendae rei occasionesamissurus. Ad haec Corkerus +respondit , + se nec esse nec unquam fuisse Benedictinae Congregationis Praesidem Generalem; id officii commissum venerabili P. Benedicto Stapletono , S.T.D., jam a multis annis, quo etiamnum fungebatur Ita vere erat, et acciti varii qui id testarentur. Martium accusavit Oates, eum
* And Prance
Sir Philip Lloyd (Cf. H.M.C., Ormonde , N.S. iv, 533 , 546.)
J
deposito pignore certasse, Carolum proximanatalitia non visurum; unde intulit, noticiam habuisse conspirationis Romleium vero dixit consensisse in XXIV. millia scutorum a Corkero promissa, cujus erat assistens Isti duo responderunt i Oatem jurasse coram Parlamento se neminem alium posse +accusare+ praeter jam nominatos , inter quos ipsi non erant ii Cum Pickeringus esset captus, utrumque adfuisse, utriusque nomen et Oati et aliis eum comitantibus recitatum, visam personam, illum dixisse se nihil contra illos habere iii Martium alias Oati occurrisse, [f. 96] hunc autem petiisse quis esset: unde constabat non tam familiariter simul conversatos fuisse, ut de tantis rebus inter se libereconferrent . Bedlous solum confirmavit quae dixerat Oates. (411) Martius ait intra quatriduum adfore varios Testes , modo causae decisio differretur. Quod diserte a Curia negatum. +Tum Martius continua oratione Conjurationis falsitatem , et suam Catholicorumque omnium Innocentiam+ ostendit, ex quinque Jesuitarumaliorumque morientium Orationibus . Fidem morientibusdeberi, quod prae oculis habeant mortem instantem , Dei Tribunal, sententiam irrevocabilem , paenas Inferni mendacibus atque Perjuris paratas, caeli gaudia veritatis Assertoribus aperta .... Totam Europam in Angliam conjecisse oculos, innocentis sanguinis illic effusi clamores ubique audiri Morientium Protestationes ubique fidem invenisse Dubitari passim an Christiani sint, qui talia aut facerent aut permitterent. Persecutionem patientium causam ubique probari ... (412) Plura dicturum interpellavit Scroggius: " Si haberetis , " ait, " Religionem, quae ita vocari digna esset, non essetis toti ex aequivocationibus et mendaciis conflati Si non haberetis in promptu Indulgentiaset Dispensationes, quibus ea licita redduntur, si Regicidia non essent inter vos meritoria, si haec omnia non essent a vobis ipsis impressa, si ea non agnoscerent et Papae et omnes Doctores vestri, aliquid diceres . Sed si ad manumsemper habetis Dispensationes ad pejerandum , si propter crimina Majestatis sancti declaramini , quod Colmanno contigit, frustra sunt voces istae vestrae Est Deus , inquitis ; et, qua ad illum transitur, portae vos clavem geritis, eamque vobis aperitis , aliis pro libitu clauditis, . .. . Consessum habemus Londini Scabinorum (Aldermannorum ), Sapientia et Prudentia nihil cedens Conclavi Cardinalium ; tamque Infallibilis est Praetor Londinensis , ac ipse Papa vester, & c ' (413) Tum ad xii viros conversus ait, " Si fidem adhibetis Testibus Regiis, debetis hos captivos Reos renunciare ; sin vero , non Reos " Et illi deliberatione praemissa, non Reos pronunciarunt. (414) Debebant quidem omnes statim dimitti; sed id soli Wakemanno contigit, Benedictinis in carcerem remissis, utpote sacerdotii compertis aut vehementer suspectis. Nec alteri libertate adepta diu frui licuit: cum enim audiret aliam in se
147
scribi Dicam , Parisios magno Catholicorum illic residentium bono se recepit, unde non nisi post septennium in Angliam reversus est, ubi Jacobus Carolo fratri successit.
(415) Gloriatus fuit Scroggius se condemnasse Colmannum invita Aula , absolvisse Wakemannum invita civitate, retenturum officium suum invito Diabolo Non tamen diu retinuit, invito Oate, Wakemanni dimissione et audaciae ipsius reprehensione offenso; qui exinde Accusationem in eum paravit, cujus capita dabimus ante finem hujus libri.
(416) CAROLI CARNI CERTAMEN . * Scroggius Herefordiam delatus, administratum Justitiam, Carolum Carnum captivum invenit, sacerdotii suspectum, cujus tritavus Mariae Reginae legatum agebat Romae, quando illa mortalitatem exuens Thronum Regni vacuum Elizabethae reliquit, et illic in Anglicani Collegii Ecclesia sepultus est Hunc ad causam dicendam iv . Augusti accersijussit Scroggius. Dati in eum tres Testes Primus Odoardus Biddulphus , qui simpliciter se captivum cognoscere , aut aliquid contra eum dicere posse, negavit. Secunda, Margareta Edwardi, juravit se illum a sexennio cognovisse; saepe ipsum sacra facientem vidisse in aedibus Dominae Moningtonae ; sacelli situm, altaris locum, ornamenta, fenestras, portam, alia descripsit, modo a rei veritate alienissimo, ut Moningtona praesens , ejusque domestici, jurarunt , Deum contestati Margaretam nunquam domum suam intrasse Tertia alia muliercula; sed rogante Carno ab alia seorsim examinaretur , quod inter se contulissent quid quaeque dictura esset, et varii hujus rei Testes producti, factum ut sua mutuo testimonia destruerent in multis dissonae His nihil obstantibus , Scroggius iis fidem adhibendam contendit, quod in substantia convenirent , differrent in circumstantiis tantum. Sed aliter visum xii viris, qui Carnum non Reum dixerunt. Ferunt Acta Scroggii jussu typis edita, Carnum , ad leniendam scilicet [f. 97] Sacerdoti et Catholicae Religionis Invidiam, dixisse se utrumque Juramentum, Primatus nimirum Regii in sacris, et Fidelitatis, emisisse Cui fidem tardius adhibeo (spero certe verum non esse) ob notam olim Carni Pietatem, et Orthodoxiam , dum Duaci studeret.
(417) ANDREAE BROMISII ET GULIELMIATKINSII CERTAMEN Staffordiae captivi erant novem sacerdotii accusati, quorum duo Londinum missi, in nobiliori scena pugnaturi, in quam tamen
* Cf . Foley, v, 908.
Edward Kerne (or Karne, or Carne) had originally been sent to Rome with Bonner by HenryVIII over the divorce question in 1530-1 (Life ofJohn Fisher, ed R. Bayne, E.E.T.S., Extra Series, cxvii, 1921, p 86, and Tierney-Dodd, ii, 120; vol iv, pp iii sq ) In 1555 he went as ambassador to Rome for Philip and Mary. On the accession of Elizabeth he was , at his own request, officially detained' by the Pope in Rome, where he died in 1561 (D.N.B.).
Charles Carne entered Douay on 30 March 1653 at the age of 15 , in company with his elder brother Henry (C.R.S., xi, 523)
prodire nunquam jussi sunt, Georgius Hobsonus* et Robertus Petri, ille e Clero Seculari, iste e Societate Jesu Illuc advolans Scroggius bilem ex uno sacerdote sibi erepto conceptam, in duos effudit, Andraeam Bromisium, sacerdotem Secularem, et Gulielmum Atkinsium, Jesuitam . Monuit statim Vice-Comitem, bonos sibi curaret Duodecim viros ; et isto respondente, optimos se accivisse, eorum tamen unum constanter dicere, se nolle ullum solius sacerdotii accusatum Reum pronunciare , Scroggius hunc , ad aliorum terrorem , carceri mancipari jussit.
(418) In Bromisiummulti citati testes, quorum unus absolute juravit esse sacerdotem, ab eo Paenitentiae et Eucharistiae Sacramenta sumpsisse Reliqui simpliciter negarunt se virum cognoscere , aut illi se unquam locutos fuisse Dixerunt tantum eum sumpto subinde superpellicio aliqua legisse ignota sibi lingua. Nec plura dicere aut potuerunt aut voluerunt, etiamsi Scroggius et Carceres et Tormenta minitaretur. Scroggius, solita humanitateTestium defectum suppleturus, ait se cum multis sacerdotibus egisse, eorum neminem vidisse vel probum vel doctum ; Sacerdotibus scatere Provinciam Staffordiae ; ut alibi scabiem, ita ibi Papismum solo contactu vulgari. Tum falsa Testimoniorum anacephaleiosi xii viris ait, " Videtis in quibus periculis versemur. Vestris conscientiis relinquo, num permissuri sitis sacerdotes e manibus elabi, qui sunt et Ecclesiae et Rei Publicae verae Pestes, veraeque calamitates . Multo satius unum sacerdotem e medio tollere, quam tres aliorum quorumlibet facinorum Reos . " Nihil mirum, his auditis, si xii viri Reum renunciarunt Etiam hic allegavit se utrumque Juramentum admisisse, quod ferunt ActaLondini impressa. Vivitetiamnum , lapsum illum deflet, et utiliter in Domini vinea laborat. (419) Ad Tribunal deinde allatus , quod pedibus incedere non posset, Atkinsius, emeritus senex, octogenario major, et a sexennio paraliticus, ut nec erigere se in lecto nec manum pedemve movere posset. Cumque non minus auribus quam aliis membris captus esset, quod in Baptismo Flaminis , id factum in isto Sanguinis, datus ei Patrinus qui pro eo responderet. Jussus ergo manum attollere, extulit Patrinus; interrogatus Reus an non Reus esset , Non Reus, respondit Patrinus Inde auditi Testes , quorum depositionibus quicquid deerat ad faciendam fidem, Scroggius supplebat de suo . Tum xii viros alloquens, ait: " Scire vos volo hujusmodi hominibus nos accepta ferre tumultus excitatos et mala undique impendentia Ab his timor, ne Rex trucidetur,
* In H.M.C. , 13 Rep App , vi, 14 , Hobson is referred to as " formerly a tenant to the Lord Stafford, and lately tenant to the Lord Aston, " but no mention is made of his priesthood A. reads 'Hopson' for'Hobson' Fr. Robert Petre, S.J., was released on bail in June, 1680 (Foley, v, 287).
Cf. The Trial, Conviction and Condemnation of Andrew Brommich and William Atkins .... together withthe Trial ofCharles Kerne ... London, 1679
Regimen evertatur, Religio exterminetur Ex iis quae fecerunt , apparet eos a Mansuetudine et Simplicitate DoctrinaeChristianae defecisse , conari vero introducere Religionem truculentam et Tyrannicam; quasi Deus Malum et omnipotens, solis humanis Hostiis colendum et placandum . Cum res ipsa pateat, nihil addi opus est . Neque, credo, opus est secedatis de sententia ferenda collaturi: caeterum facite quod vobis placuerit. " (420) Prudentioribus risu digna visa priora verba; quid enim mali timeri posset a viro omnium membrorum usu destituto, etiam linguae ? Ille scilicet metuendus aliis, qui nec cibum appositum in os suum inferre posset , tametsi fame absque eo pereundum esset ! Crudelitatemvero execrati sunt, qua monuit xii viros in loco proferre sententiam, ut ipse scilicet audiret, si quis esset in misericordiam pronior Quod tamen Jura concedunt , xii viri secesserunt , et paulo post Atkinsium reum dixerunt. Et statim in utrumque prolata sententia, Scroggius utrumque Perduellium supplicio adjudicavit Quod cum Patrinus ille magnis vocibus in aurem clienti suo significasset, iste collectis quantum potuit viribus, dixit: " Gratias maximas tibi habeo , Clarissime Domine " Sententia nunquam executioni mandata est, sive quod Vice-Comes sese sacerdotum supplicio funestari nollet, sive quod puderet tantillam vitae usuram optimo seni ad omnia vitae munera inutili, in interitum sua sponte ruenti, eripere, sive denique quod publicam Invidiam timeret (quam Scroggius susque deque habuit) si verum silicernium , veluti recentis Conspirationis Reum, Regi, Regno, Religioni , sibique metuendum e medio tolleret Sperabat equidem Atkinsius beata morte aerumnosae vitae finem imponere, et serio doluit, [f. 98] ubi dilatum sibi rescivit supplicium; martyrum consortio dignus visus, quod non ipse martirio, sed ipsi Martirium defuerit. Carcere clausus, in Domino tandem placidissime obdormivit xvii Martii, A.D. MDCLXXXI. * Dilatum etiam Bromisio supplicium, forte ob juramenta admissa . (421) GULIELMI JONES CERTAMEN Hoc eodem anno, sed quo die, quove mense , incertum, pro Tribunali Monmuthiae certavit de vita Gulielmus Jones, e Clero Saeculari, ni fallor, sacerdotii arcessitus; sed cum unus tantum adversus eum comparuisset Testis, liber dimissus est, xii viris eum non Reum pronuntiantibus (422) PRESBITERIANI SCOTI TUMULTANTUR ET REBELLANT
Haec de Rebus et Personis Ecclesiasticis. Civiles videamus non minus diri Ulyssis Anglicani artibus turbatas § In Scotia, ubi
For his biography see Foley, v, 450 sq Bromwich's undelivered scaffold speech is printed by Dodd. A manuscript version exists in Westminster Archives, xxxiv, f 523
The name of a Mr. Jones, " suspected priest, " appears in the listof papists for Monmouthshire of 7 Dec. 1680 (H.M.C., 11 Rep App , Pt II, p. 230) § A reads in margin " Vide Evenementstragiques à pag 294."
magna vis Presbiterianorum , omnia tumultu plena, conventicula sua primum in civitatibus, spreta Regis Authoritate et Regni legibus, habere voluerunt Inde pulsi, in campis caetus suos celebrare statuunt, armis instructi, ad vim, si quae a Regiis copiis inferretur, vi repellendam parati Santandreanum ArchiEpiscopum Edinburgo revertentem aggressi occiderunt *; e militibus Regiis ad armata eorum comitia dissipanda missis, aliquot + interemerunt+; varia Parlamenti Decreta carnificis manu lacerari , et comburi alicubi curarunt, qui ob Calvini dogmatum insanum amorem illis displicebant Denique, excusso Obedientiae jugo, in arma toti ruunt, quorumJustitiam sequenti Declaratione probare conantur [see translation].
(425) Haec Declaratio Rebellium Presbiterianorum in Scotia, adeo aperta perfidiae indicia praefert, ut nihil opus sit ea indicare. Eo missus a Carolo Monmuthius cum suis copiis ex Anglia, ubiin hostium conspectum venit, eos +pene inermes+ statim aggressus, ut sine difficultate ita sine gloria fudit fugavitque, dissuadente frustra Melvillo, negociorum ipsius in Scotia curatore, qui Authore Shaftesburio censebat rem differri aut certis conditionibus transigi opportere ; alioqui amicos eum suos etiam in Anglia amissurum . Sed Juvenis ferox, pugnae avidus, consilia Rebellibus profutura non audivit ; +ubi tamen fusos vidit, statim receptui cecinit, et persequentis eos Equitatus Regii repressit impetum, alioqui plerique intercepti fuissent e rebellibus .+ Ex iis Melvilli verbis , constat Factiosos jam tum in Monmuthium fixisse oculos, cujus nomine ad evertendum Eboracensem uti volebant . Monmuthius ubi dissipatos hostes vidit, nulla Pacis firmandae aut Rebellionis radices evellendi ratione habita, eadem qua venerat celeritate Londinum reversus, majori Caroli quam aliorum gaudio susceptus est (426) PIA EBORACENSIS EXERCITIA BRUXELLIS Eboracensem ad primam Regiae voluntatis significationem solum vertisse Bruxellasque ivisse, supra diximus. Illic totus erat in Pietatis Exercitiis; assidua de rebus Divinis Meditatione , bonorum librorum lectione, frequenticum viris piis et Doctis conversatione, et taedium fallebat et exilium suum solitudinemque solabatur. Omnia sua seque ipsum ita Divinae Providentiae permittebat, utnunquam ob praesentia mala tristior, defuturis anxius videretur, semper hilaris , semper idem appareret. Dicenti cuipiam, severis experi f. 100]mentis, Deo permittente, probari ejus fidem , Severiora me manent adhuc, " respondit , sed quid haec ad caeli gaudia ? Fiat voluntasDei. "
* 3 May 1679
The Declaration of the Rebels in Scotland .... (Edinburgh, 1679) (Aldis, 2126, Wing D . 760), and The Declaration of the Rebels now in Arms in the Westof Scotland .... (Edinburgh, 1679) (Aldis, 2265 , Wing D . 761).
The Duke of York and his wife visited Warner at Liège during their exile (Warner's Letter-book, U.L.C., Ms. LI, i, 19, f 6)
(427) Interea, Carolus Windesoriae in gravem et periculosum morbum incidit, cum praesenti vitae periculo, quo cortice sinico febrifuga (quam in Angliapulverem Jesuiticumappellant , * quod a Jesuitis prima ejus noticia) a medico Papista praescripto, * Reginae Papistae manibus preparato, levatus est; et dolorem suum Factiosi in proxima ad comburendum Papam instituta supplicatione et testati et ulti sunt, quando aliis personatis clericis medicum Doctorem corticem sinicum manu ferentem immiscuerunt, eumque una cum Pontifice in paratum rogum conjecerunt.
(428) Monmuthius tuncArmis Praefectus Londinoincubabat, ut illam civitatem vi et Factiosiorum ope, ceteras hujus exemplo, sibi assereret , casu quo aliquid humanitus Carolo evenisset; jam tum monstrum illud parturiens , quod majori suo, quam alieno detrimento , Carolo mortuo, peperit (429) EBORACENSIS REDIT IN ANGLIAM . Eboracensis ed Caroli fratris periculo quam de proprio magis solicitus, cum unico itineris socio (quanta Animi bona conscientia nixi fiducia!) Londinum securus intrat, armis in hostis et aemuli potestate, civibus plerumque ob Religionem infestis ; indeque Windesoriam, ubi a Carolo jam melius se habente solido gaudio est exceptus . In dies clarius emicabant MonmuthistudiaPresbiterianis faventis; qui saepius admonitus a Carolo (qui necdum Patrem exuerat) sua sorte contentus esset, cum Factiosis nihil rei haberet, inconcessa ne appeteret in propriam ruinam Regnique perniciem (430) MONMUTHIUS EXULAT . Caeterum cum videret plus apud ingratum filium valere Adulantium voces quam ipsius consilia, quibus occluserat aures, Armorum Praefactura et plerisque aliis officiis exutum jussit e ditionibus suis facessere. Sic volens nolens Hollandiampetiit , commune Factiosorum Anglorum receptaculum. Et Eboracensis, confirmata jam Caroli valetudine, stationem suam Bruxellis repetiit, ad breve tempus; siquidem inde rursus a Carolo revocatus, in Scotiam destinatus est, cum plena et tantum non Regia Potestate, res illic turbatissimas compositum, et Civilis belli ignem, sub dolosis cineribus a Monmuthio injectis latentem, extingueret . Facili enim victoria potitus iste, et fere sine hostili sanguine, perduelles dissiparat non sustulerat ; et una periculum latius sparsum et minor cavendi facultas, cum plerumque ubi hostes agerent, quid designarent, quo tenderent, ignoraretur. Parvi eorum manipuli in montuosis desertisve locis degebant, viis publicis imminentes, itemque Pagis et minoribus oppidis ; nec ferro parcebant , ubi incidissent in eorum manus aliqui Regi fideles, pacis publicae amantes, aut Ministelli Protestantes Inaudita in malo Perduellium Pertinacia, * I.e. Cortex Peruviana.
Dr. Thomas Short
Reresbysuggests that the King's illnesswasfeignedto give a pretext for the Duke of York's return (Memoirs, ed Cartwright , 1875, p. 177)
quorum aliqui capti et dicta causa damnati , oblatam vitam et libertatem, ea tantum conditione ut dicerent Domine, salvumfac Regem, acceptare noluerunt, adeo grave visum pro Rege orare , quem odio plusquam vatiniano prosequebantur. Quam diversi a Catholicis sacerdotibus et Jesuitis, qui, licet innocentes , injuria damnati, extremis facinorosorum supplicis afficerentur, non alium pro Rege orandi, quam vivendi, finem fecerunt ! Discordes illis nobiles, sive ob Religionem sive privatas simultates, nec a rerum novandarum studio multi alieni, ob imminutam Authoritatem aut violata Privilegia, seu vera sive praetensa, in partes trahebant plebem, de se quietam, maris instar, ubi nullus ventus incitat Denique prope modum omnes arma spectabant, quando illuc missus Eboracensis; cujus Prudentia brevi factum, ut depositis contentionum studiis una de caetero maneret aemulatio , qui suam Carolo maxime probarent Obedientiam . * Ecclesiae vero Protestanticae Privilegia, Jura, Potentiam ita defendit, Papista licet, ut singulari Scotorum Episcoporum elogioin Angliamrediens ornari meruerit, ut anno sequenti videbimus. (431) MONMUTHIUS REDIT , INVITO CAROLO . Monmuthio grave malum et minime ferendum videbatur exilium; circa quem magna solitudo: aberant Adulatores , aberat aura popularis, aberant nobiles ejus limina terere soliti; ne ipsius absentia refrigescerent in se [f. 101] populi studia , non sine causa timebant . Unde non obtenta nec quidem petita a Carolo venia, revertitur in Angliam, et xxvii Novembris Londinum inexpectatus intrat; et gaudium suum de ejus reditu conceptum factiosi duabus ante lucem horis festivorum ignium fulgore et campanarum strepitu testati sunt Carolus inconsideratam audaciam detestatus et officii in optimum Parentem et Principem ejus amantissimum neglectum, misso nuncio, primo vetuit in conspectum venire; deinde jussit eo rediret, unde venerat, gravia minatus, ni pareret . Monmuthius , imperium detrectandi certus, respondit sibi exilium indici jure non posse, nisi lite contestata, legitima Parium (Procerum) Regni sententia Si quae ei crimina objectentur , se iis diluendis paratum; eum in finem eo venisse Rogavit boni consuleret, quod indicta causa discedere nollet ; eum et Regiam et Patriam Potestatem excedere, qui id imperet. Sic Rubiconem transiit juventa ferox, factiosorum subnixus favore, inconsultus Adolescens; et spretum semel Paternum Imperium, semper deinceps susque deque habuit, totus ab Ulyssis Anglici, Shaftesburii, monitis consiliisque pendens Nec ullum exinde Paternae
"
* Cf . Bodley MS Carte, vol 243, f 438 : 25 February 1679/80 Sir James Stewart to the Earl of Arran In Scotland all seem concerned for the Duke's leaving them, and the very Presbiterian ministers are learning to drink his health, and to sing this song to it: ' Let no man miss his glass by stealth, But all with one consent agree To drink a brimmer to the health Of James the Duke of Albany. '
Benevolentiae sensit affectum, amore Patris tenerrimo in par odium converso. Quanta istum inter et Eboracensemdifferentia! Isto licet indubitatus Regni haeres, non Caroli sed solius Dei gratia destinatus, ubi sensit Carolum id cupere, statim patria cessit Ille Caroli favori omnia debebat, audire tamen noluit diserte jubentem ; parendi voluntatem inseverat illi Religio Catholica; altos isti spiritus, jugi impatientes, inspirabantCalvini Placita. Atque his altercationibus Carolum inter et spurium filium, quod reliquum erat istius anni extractum est, Deo illum per quae peccarat castigante.
(432) CELLERIAE ET DANGERFELDI NEGOCIATIONES * In ejus finem de industria rejectae negociationes Elizabethae Celleriae et Thomae Dangerfeldi , quod in sequentem exierint, licet circa medium istius inchoatae sint
(433) CELLERIA QUALIS Celleria magni et plane virilis animi faemina in Religione Protestantica a Parentibus Haereticis educata, Catholicae nomen dedit adulta, potissimum initio, quod Catholici aliis tenacius Regiae authoritati adhaererent. Magnum a natura sortita ingenium, vividum, promptum, perspicax; sed Judicium impar, quale sexus tenerioris Famae magnae supra modum appetens, sed intra virtutem et probos mores, cujus desiderium ei insederat in tenera aetate lectio librorum fabulosas Equitum errantium hystorias referentium, quibus mirabiliter delectabatur . Haec ipsamet de se narrat libro typis edito, de quo infra Orta ista Persecutione, cum ab aliis emendicatis tum de suadepromptis eleemosynis, vinctos ChristiJesu, Catholicos captivos magna industria, pari labori sublevare studuit ; cumque varios ea charitate carceres obiret , et inter vinctos frequens esset de ea sermo, nota facta est Thomae Dangerfeldo in subterranea specu captivo, ob aliqua facinora (de quibus nulla tum certa probatio) et aes alienum non magnum. (434) DANGERFELDUSQUALIS . Is ex infimo hominum ordine natus, obscuritatis larium Paternorum , et laboriosae vitae, ad quam nascendi sorte damnatus videbatur, pertaesus, ut Paupertatem, malorum omnium maxime formidatum, effugeret, nullum facinus intentatum reliquerat, ad omnia sufficiente ingenio, quod a natura acerrimum acceperat. Et anima prava nimis bene habitabat, nam corporis justa statura et forma meliora spondens viam ad nequitiam pandebat Qui velit cuncta ejus facinora referre, opus est totum fere capitalium criminum exscribat catalogum. Vix ulli in Anglia carceres non ipsius praesentia cohone-
* For a good account of the Meal Tub Plot see F. S. Ronald, The Attempted Whig Revolution , and also H.M.C., Ormonde, N.S. iv, 553-7, 571 , 575 . ..... by Elizabeth Cellier, 1680 (Wing C . 1661)
I.e. Malice Defeated ...
For further light on the work of Catholic prison visitors (especially Mrs. CatherineSheldon ), and ofthe condition ofsome ofthe Catholicprisoners at this time, see Mr. Dowdall's just and sober Vindication .... 1681 , by Gerard Dowdall (Wing D . 2055)
stati; nulla supplicia , quae non subiit, excepto capitali, quod effractis carceribus aliquoties vitavit; ad quod damnatus in Antwerpiensi castro, Odoardi Worslaei S.J. * opera et precibus e carnificis manibus ereptus est Quae omnia productis Authenticis testimoniis probata videbimus lib. seq., Deo juvante.
(435) Hujus velut in specu sepulti miserta Celleria, cum de criminibusab eo patratis nulla fere mentio, et solum aes alienum , idque non magnum, obstare videretur, illo etiam se Catholicum fore spondente, Celleria nominibus expunctis , corrasa undique pecunia, illum carcere liberavit Is, venalis animi, versatilis ingenii homo, certus in praesenti rerum omnium confusione iis adhaerere, a quibus certior incolumitas et majores opes ostentarentur, ubi vidit a Catholicis tantum tenue vitae subsidium sperari posse, timeri vero supplicia variis inflicta, cunctis imminentia, ab horum hostibus certa securitas, amplus honor, vita Oatianae similis offerentur , his se adjungere statuit, beneficii a Celleria accepti immemor, etiam cum hujus pernicie.
(436) [f. 102] Ex quo quinque Jesuitae supplicio affecti fuerant, eorumque Orationes in vulgus emissae, primo surdum murmur, deinde certa opinio nata, nullam a Papistis initam esse Conspirationem ; fabulam a novarum rerum studiosis confictam , quo cuncta turbarent, et Regiam sibimetauthoritatemarrogarent. HincMonmuthius , dum Scotiam peteret, aliquibus interrogantibus, quid Londini diceretur de famosa Conspiratione, respondit, " Dicitur famosam Papistarum Conspirationem commenticiam evanescere , et veram Presbiterianam apparere " Catholicorum intererat istam opinionem confirmari, Factiosorum eam extingui; ad quod nihil aptius Shaftesburio occurrit, quam si diceretur a Papistis orta; et tum ipse, tum Celleria, idoneum diversos ad fines instrumentum se nactos +in Dangerfeldo+ arbitrati sunt. Celleriae opera iste in multorum Catholicorum noticiam venit, paucis probatus, quod suspectos haberent istos carcerum inquilinos, a quibus tam multa passi jam essent Proceres in Turri captivi ne quidem ad alloquium admiserunt ; Comes Castlemanus vetuit domum redire , alioqui fore ut pugnis et calcibus pedissequorum ejiceretur . +Monita Celleria ab iisdem cum illo nihil rei haberet, alioquin etiam ipsam vitatum iri.+ Suam tamen Celleriae probabat operam, qua agente Fama non semper mendax fert eum ad Eboracensem deductum , forte etiam ad Carolum ; ab utroque animatum ad Presbiterianorum studia detegeda. Nec tamen advenerat tempus a Deo destinatum quo haec abscondita tenebrarum manifestanda erant et revelanda cordium perfidorum secreta; quod quarto post anno factum non humana ulla industria , sed Dei Providentia, cui soli suam Carolus Regnique salutem fert acceptam.
* Cf . The Matchless Picaro .... (appended to Mrs. Cellier's Malice Defeated), p. 46.
(437) Dangerfeldus interea studiose inquirit, ubi factiosi caetus celebrarent, qui convenirent , et quando; quas copias pararent , (aliquas parari, certum) ; quos iis Praefectos designarent. Omnia comperta in Catalogum conjicit; incomperta conjectando supplet. Catalogum ipsum in dolio deponit atque farina tegit, in Cellariae aedibus. Inde Publicanos adit, eis indicat occulte illatas in Manselli (qui olim in Carolum I. pro Parlamento legioni praefuerat , et factiosos etiamnum fovebat) cubiculum merces , non solutovectigali; iis eo deducendis se Ducem profitetur Nihil mercium in cubiculo repertum; sed trans aulaea repertae epistolae ad Consilium Regium delatae; comprehensus etiam Mansellus, qui negavitse de epistolis quicquam scire; eas a Dangerfeldo confectas illicque depositas; huic nullam deberi fidem ob flagitiosam vitam ipsi notissimam . Et Shaftesburius ait ne quidem canem tam facinorosi et stigmatici hominis indicio constringendum . Hinc Mansellus dimissus, et Dangerfeldo nota facta Presbiterianorum in ipsa Aula Potentia Statim Wallerus in Celleriae domum irrumpit , omnia scrutatur, et Dangerfeldi indicio, etiam farinae dolium, unde promit bellum catalogum , de quo supra. Unde fides facta, a Catholicis natum de Presbiteriana conspiratione rumorem, quibus ob hostiles animos non credendum.
(438) Celleria carceri mancipata , et Dangerfeldus, quocum illa deinceps colloqui constanter abnuit, videns eum sublesta et vere Protestantica fide egisse Conatus quidem est in Celleriae gratiam se iterum insinuare suamque fidem probare, sed cum omniafrustra essent, carcereeductus, multorum ei criminum gratiafacta (non omnium, ut dicetur), copiosepecunia instructus, in Catholicos Testem egit. Et Shaftesburius, qui nec canem ejus fide constringendum dixerat, ejus indicio comprehendi jussit Castlemanium, Robertum Paitonum, Equitem Auratum, Gadburium, Astronomum , et Illustrissimam Heroinam, Powisiam , Ducis Beaufortii sororem, ea pietatetoto vitae tempore conspicuam , ut communi judicio antiquis illis faeminis Melaniae, Probae, Albinae , Julianae , sanctorum Patrum laudatione celeberrimis simillima videatur; quam eo rigore observari jussum, ut nec ipsi nec ejus marito ullius e domesticis suis opera uti permissum. Hinc ipsa tota fere hieme omnium et famulorum et ancillarum
* For the information of Sir Edmund Warcup's Journals on the Meal Tub Plot see English Historical Review, xl, 244-247 . For further light on Mansell's activities see A. Bryant, Samuel Pepys, the Years of Peril (1948), passim .
H.M.C., 7 Rep, p. 495
The Earlof Castlemainewas imprisoned in the Tower from 1 November 1679 till 23 June 1680, the Countess of Powis from 4 November 1679 till 11 Feb. 1679/80 , and Sir Robert Peyton apparently from 19 January 1679/80 till 12 February 1679/80 (C.R.S., vol iv, Tower Records , pp 241246) Gadbury was an astrologer and almanack-maker, not an astronomer in the modern sense
vices obire debuit, ignem struere, lectum sternere, verrere cubiculum, aliaque, ipsa sola, jam grandis natu, [f. 103] talium rudis, nunquam firma valetudine; nunquam tamen magis prosperam experta, minusque morbo tentatam, laeta semper, quod digna habita esset pro fide Jesu talia pati. Reliqua anno sequenti videbimus.
(439) PAPISTAE LARVATI Factiosi Catholicos jam prostratos rati, novos in scenamproducunt, Protestantes nimirum, plebisque furori exponunt , sub nomine Papistarum Larvatorum, odio in Catholicos concepto una cum nomine ad hos extenso, sicut olim Nero fideles bestiarum inclusos pellibus, immanissimarum belluarum rictibus exposuit . Hos, quod abrupta cum Ecclesia Romana communione, non satis remota ab ea consedissent, aliquas ceremonias, festa Christi D. atque Sanctorum, eadem prope modum retinuissent , etiam Hierarchiae formam, quam filii Belial cane pejus et angue oderant una cum veris Papistis ; toto regno pellere conati sunt, certi Monarchicum regimen in Republica non diu superstes futurum, ubi omne Regimen ex Ecclesia Anglicana sublata esset .
:
(440) SCROGGIO DICA IMPACTA Hoc anno exeunte, dica Scroggio impacta (quis id credidisset ?) ab Oate et Bedloo , occasione ab liberato Wakemanno sumpta, in tredecim capita digesta, quae referre placet una cum Scroggii +responsiones+ ad singula, Consilio Regio traditis, ad quod causae cognitiodata. i. Contra Juramentum suum, et officii sui rationem Brudenellum aliosque Majestatis accusatos, indicta causa dimisisse liberos Respondit Scroggius: Dimissos fuisse a Judicibus Banci Regii, urgente Bedloo. ii In causa Wakemanni reprehendisse Oatem et Bedloum, Regios testes, xii viros adversos eos concitasse, eorum testimonia male repetiisse, &c Unde factum, ut Rei evaderent Oatem meruisse acriter reprehendi, qui de Rege Consilioque Regio inverecunde locutus fuerat. iii. Dixisse, tametsi fides habita hactenus fuit Regiis Testibus, deinceps non habendam R: Id a se varias ob causas dictum, quas speraret Consilio Regio probatumiri. iv et v. Aliquos Regi fideles subditos carceri mancipasse, nimirum ob libellos famosos R: Se contra libellorumfamosorum Authores et Seminatores lege egisse; ultra paenas Jure praescriptas nihil . vi . In familiari sermone jurare et imprecari; et contra dignitatem suam, nimium bibere R: Paratum se ad haec diluenda, ubi accusatores apparuerint vii Varios Majestatis accusatos acceptis vadibus dimisisse, inconsultis Regibus testibus. R: Eos dimissos auditis prius Regiis Procuratoribus Si non fuit ante petita venia Dominorum Oatis et Bedloi , sperare se id non fore capitale. viii Cum illi relatum esset, ubi aliqui sacerdotes
* Articles of High Misdemeanour Against Sir William Scroggs (London, 1679/80) (Wing O. 29-31a), and The Answer of Sir William Scroggs Kt ., Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench to the Articles ofDr. Titus Oates and Mr. William Bedlow .... (21 January 1679/80) See also L.J., xiii, 736 , 752 , and Warner, f 119 inf.
hospitarentur, ipsum indicium contempsisse, indicibus ad Wallerum remissis. R: Eirenarcharum esse comprehendere Reos , non vero ipsius ; se proinde recte fecisse ix. Cum Knoxius et Lanus conati fuissent Regios Testes in contemptum adducere, illum honorem eorum non commendasse. R: Ex officio suo se plenam libertatem fecisse xii viris declarandi quod sentiret de crimine nefando, cujus Oates erat accusatus. x . In multis favisseOsburno , Testium Regiorum honorem convellenti R: Osburno se nunquam favisse; hunc jurasse, quod Oates saepe dixerit Regno Angliae nunquam bene futurum, donec Rex a Populo eligatur; caeterum majus Oati cum Osburno fuisse commercium, quam sibi xi Dixisse coram Rege et Consilio Regio, dictos Oatem et Bedloum contra quemcunque paratas habere accusationes R : Mirari se hominis impudentiam ea sibi verba coram Consiliariis Regiis objicientis, quae norunt ipsi falsa esse xii Dixisse Langhornum injuria plexum. R: Se dixisse Bedloo e Langhorni cubiculo in ejus musaeum non patere prospectum; adeoque Bedloum falsum tulisse testimonium , dum juravit se ex Langhorni cubiculo vidisse eum in musaeo scribentem xiii Pecuniam accepisse, cum sacerdotum causae agerentur; causarum earum Acta Typographis pecunia vendidisse ; et id genus alia. R: Ista respicere contractus particulares , de quibus non credebat se teneri ex officio ad reddendam Oati rationem .
(441) Haec Scroggius. Cujus Responsiones adeo consilio sacratiori probatae, ut illi fecerit Potestatem Juris beneficio in falsos Accusatores uti. Ea tamen usus non est, quod exitus a xii viris penderet, quos aequos sibi sperare vix posset. *
(442) ACTIO SODOMIAE IN OATEM Dictum Articulo ix. Knoxium et Lanum honori Oatis detraxisse Isti Oatem sodomiae accusarant, et vere publica fama istum praedamnabat, cujus improbi mores nemini latebant. Dum haec causa ageretur, adfuere clienti suo Shaftesburius, Halifaxius, aliique proceres , quorum studiis iste serviebat ; quorum authoritate factum, ut vindiciae secundum Oatem a xii viris darentur; Lanus, ut perjurus , collo manibusque ligno insertis populo exponeretur. Knoxio, quominus [f. 104] idem pateretur , profuit honor ipsius tritavo habitus, qui Geneva reversus in Scotiam, totam illam gentem in Mariam Reginam concitavit, de quo Annales Scotici
* Scroggs was acquitted before the Council, 21 January 1679/80 (C.S.P.D. , 1679/80, p 376).
Cf. H.M.C. , Ormonde N.S., iv, 560
BY FATHER WARNER, S.J. (Chaplain to King James II)
Notes introductory to the History of the English Persecution
1. The procedure of revolutionaries .
2. The author's plan.
3. The English Constitutionmonarchic and successive ; not a mixed constitution, though a limited monarchy . Parliament: it is subject to the King.
4.
5. The Religion of the EnglishProtestant, Presbyterian , and Catholic.
6. Description of the Courts of Justice in England.
7. Types of punishment employed.
8 The Government of London
9. The English Calendar .
10. The Value of English Money.
(2) THE PROCEDURE OF REVOLUTIONARIES Men who set a revolution on foot cannot achieve their purpose, except by the removal of those citizens who protect the existing order; their removal, however , cannot be effected with an appearance of right, unless some charge, and indeed a grave charge, is brought against them But to bring such a charge is extremely difficult when their lives are blameless as were the lives of all the Catholics in England; for they were peace-loving people, far removed not only from every criminal act , buteven from suspicion of the least misdeed; andyet againstthem was stirred up thedreadful stormthe history ofwhichI amabouttonarrate. A charge, I say, to lay against them, cannot be found except by inventing accounts of what they thought, by attributingto them unfulfilled intentions, by conjecturing motives different from their real ones , by maliciously misinterpreting innocent words and actions, andfinally by imagining conspiracies and treasonable crimes, and attributing these, regardless of law human and divine, to innocent men , and then confirming them with lies and false oaths In the meantime, while bringing such charges against others who are completely innocent, while persecuting blameless men withfire andsword, these same people are themselves in very truth meditating precisely the same designs: they are tryingfirst to throw into turmoil, and then to overturn , the very constitution which they boast themselves determined to protect
and defend againstthe detestable contrivances of others .. " Treason , " a famous Roman legal writer ventured to say, " is the one and only charge to which a man is exposed if he has done no wrong. "
(3) It is as clear as daylight that this is what has happened in England; nor is there anyone in that country so blind as not to see , nor so obstinate as not to admit, that the Catholics were innocent of the charges brought against them, while their accusers were in fact guilty ofall those crimes; for both the perfidy of the accusers and the innocence oftheirvictims have been acknowledged by the public courts The non-Catholics should not have expected any other issue to the affair, had not their malicious purposes not only obscured, but altogether extinguishedin them the use ofreason; nor should the Catholics have feared any other outcome, seeing that the whole story of the pretended Plot rested on the credit of a single man, a liar, who has been proved guilty of many perjuries, and was founded on nothing but mere assertions of his, which, far from being true, were not even plausible For this reason it is more remarkable that such obvious lies bore public scrutiny forso long, than that after five years they have vanished from all eyes
(4) THE AUTHOR'S PLAN . Since I am writing this accountchiefly for foreigners , and in the language common to the peoples abroad, who are for the most part complete strangers to English ways, I have decided at the outsetto givea brief account ofthe EnglishConstitution, ofits present condition, both political (i.e. Civil) and sacred (i.e. Ecclesiastical), of the different parties and their aims, and finally of the procedure of the Courts of Criminal Justice Thus my history will be better understood , andI shallnot be forced in the course ofmynarrative to breakthe thread of events and delay the reader, whose attention is elsewhere, while I explain, as occasion demands, things about which I daily see many people deluded; for our political system is not a little different in this century from other systems, although therewas a time when the same, or very nearly the same, system obtained everywhere throughout Europeif you except Poland, Venice, Genoa, and other moreobscure republics This system, however, has undergone gradual changes in different places, as circumstances demanded; but nowhere have the changes been smaller than in England, which is strictly conservativeof her ancient customs and lawswith the exception of a few laws pertaining to religion, which have been altered to accord with the change of religion An account of these thingsthough superfluous in England, where allthat Iamaboutto say is well knownwill, I hope, be not unwelcome abroad, where for the most part they are not at all familiar. There are, too, famous names of great writers who furnish precedents to justify this plan of mine While writingthe history of Rome they recorded a variety of things about Roman Law , customs, and the Roman way of life both in peace and in warinformation which, though well worth knowing, is not to be found in the Romanauthors For this reason, those whowishto study the structure of that great republic would be better advised, in my opinion, to read the Greek historians, who talk of such things, rather than Livy or Suetonius , or that Prince of Latin history, Sallust For the Latin authors indicate, almost in a single word, things which were quite familiartomen oftheir owntime brought up inthat republic, andwhich therefore it would have been idle to explain to them, but which to us , who were born long after the dissolution of that republic, would have
been most obscure, had not the industry of the Greek writers kindled a torch to enlighten our research.
(5) THE CONSTITUTION OF ENGLAND . All philosophers are agreed that there are three types of Constitutionthe Monarchic, the Aristocratic, and the Democraticbecause the supreme power rests with a single individual, or with a few (and these of better rank), or withall; to these types all other constitutions are reducible Those which consist of various elements, combined in whatever proportion, are called mixed' It is certain that the constitution of England was always monarchic , since the most ancient records make mention of kings in England, as also does Julius Caesar (who was the first Roman to enter the island with an army; he probed its strength without subduing it) among the classical writers. Under his successors England was reduced to the form of a province of the Roman Empire, and was withoutthe full power ofkings, or even without kings of any kind; but, when the Romans withdrew , kings again acquired control, both before the Saxon invasion of Britain, and, when the Britons had been thrust back into the wild mountain regions, among the transmarineSaxons , or Angles This does not mean that there was one monarchof all the Angles or ofallthe Britons (for Englandalone at one and the same time produced seven kings) ; rather each region belonging to the Angles had its own king, as also had the Britons. I am deliberately omitting various problems, worthy indeed of consideration , but irrelevant to our present purposesuch as, for example , what regions each of the kingsruled. Was theirauthority limited by any definitefrontiers , and if so , what were they ? What powers had they in war and what in peace ? etc. All I am contending is this: that England always had kings
(6) In the course of so many centuries , respect for the monarchic constitution has become so deeply rooted in the hearts of the English that the sword of civil war was never able to tear it out, notthough it cut down masses of the people, many nobles, and His Most Serene Majesty himself Somewhat later the supreme power was entrusted, through the struggles of the troublesome partisans of democracy , to one manthat stage-hero who was at first a monarch, then a real tyrant. Next it passed to the true and legitimate heir to the kingdom after his recall from exile to the resumptionof his rights, and after his restoration to the throne in answer to the prayers of all It is our hope that his legitimate heirs will continuein possession of it into the most distant centuries ' His heirs ' I say, because the position of king in England has never been elective, as it was not so very long ago in Denmark and Hungary, and as it still is in Poland In England it always passes by hereditarysuccessionto the male offspring, ifthereis any (Tacitus was mistaken when he said that the Britons make no distinction of sex in the choice of rulers), and to female offspring only ifmaleissueiswanting A female sovereign receives the crownthrough her subjects' reverence for the family which has been endowed with royal authority; for God alone, who by His Providence arranges the series of human births, marks her as successor to the deceased king: " in the hand of God are the powers of all men and the rights of all kingdoms. " So much in fact do we observe the distinction of sexes in the choice of rulers, that while in Gaul, despite the Salic Law, when a minor succeedsto the throne, the reins of power are entrusted along with the title of Regent to the Queen Mother, in England this is not
done, unless the Queen-Regent is consecrated with a solemn inauguration ceremony No innovation was made in this matter as a result of the violent invasion of the Saxons and then of the Danes and Normans, when the voice of the laws was silenced or went unheard amid the clash of arms ; for violence of this kind, though it suspends the operation of laws, does not abolishor render obsolete such laws as the victors wishto remainin force. The sovereigntywhich the vanquished formerly possessed passes to the victors; hence, just as on the occasion of a natural death of a king the supreme power is transferred in its fulness to another member of the same family, so after a foreign war it passes from one familyto another. It is, however, worthremarking that sovereign power over the Britons, Saxons, Normans , and Scots has been passed on by legitimate birth to the present Most Serene and Powerful King of Great Britain and Ireland, James II; and thus , whileinpowerheis second to none, byreason ofthe antiquityofhis right , which has a history of fifteen centuries (or more, if we take accountof Scotland), he is seen to be superior to other kingsif one may say so without offence.
(7) THE KING'S POWER Passed on by the blood streamingin the narrow channels of the veins, the royal office is invested with such powerthat it recognises no judges superiorto itself, such as the Ephors were at Sparta, nor any Senate, as do the Doges of Venice, nor a 'Tribunal' , as the Court of Aragon is called, nor the whole people, as the Roman kingsdid Hence no one can re-try a case uponwhich the King has pronounced sentence; no one can veto its execution; and from it there is no appeal save perhaps such an appeal as St. Bernard is said to have made "from an ill-informed Pope to a well-informed Pope. " Hence the sayingof our legal expertsthat " within his realm the king has no superior, and indeed no equal ; all are subject to him, but he to no one save God, from whom he is the second, and after whom he is first before all and above all" These things are as truly saidofthe King now as they were long ago whensaidby Tertullian of the Roman Emperor, because, just as the sun makes the earth warm withits heat, bright with its splendour , and glorious with its beauty, so the power of the King, according to these same authors, beams uponall those who are beneath it: " The homes of all are defended by his vigilance, their leisure by his toil, their pleasures by his industry, their ease by his unceasing care . "
(8) It would not be right to omit mention of the special and extraordinary power granted by God to the Kings of England, of curing scrofulous tumours by their mere touch, with the addition of some pious prayers This power was first granted to the Blessed Edward, calledthe Confessor , and thereafterto all the kings succeeding him. In the single year 1687 it is certain that the touch of James II cured of that pernicious and disgustingdisease fifteen thousandthree hundred and twenty-three persons who flocked to seek his aid partly from England and partly from neighbouring countries.
(9) The honour paid to the King is, then, very great and quite unique. All his ministers and all his subjects, on approachinghim, bend the knee as a mark of reverence Nobody is permitted to cover his head in the royal presencenot even the Prince of Wales , who is next heir to the throne. It is true that Queen Mary granted the Earlof Sussex the privilege of having his head covered in her presence (the reason may have been that her husband Philip II, King ofSpain,
gave the same privilege to certain Spaniards called ' Grandees'), yet this unusual privilege died with the man to whom it had been granted, and was not later extended to anyone else.
(10) Some foreigners , and some mischievous persons in England who support them, are of the opinion that this Constitution is not monarchic but mixed, because in some matters it is customary for Parliament to be consulted ; this view is, however, mistaken , since no part of the supreme power rests with Parliament, as will be shown at greater length below The Constitution is rather politic ' andpaternal than despotic, in so far as the King does not exercise unlimited and unmitigatedpower, unrestrainedby anylaws, but rather rules in accordance with the Laws, except where some particular case demands special treatment, when the jots and tittles of the Law cannot be observed without damage to the public good This arrangementis in the interests of both ruler and ruled alike, since reverence for the Law is no less valuable to the King as a safeguard of the Majesty of his power than it is to his subjects as a safeguard of their liberty. The royal authority is not, however, so tightly bound by the Laws as notto be able to free itselfwhen it sees fit, that is, when some problem has arisen of sufficient magnitude to require the fulness of the royal power for its solution . As a matter of fact the kings rarely avail themselves of this power, just as God rarely employs His omnipotence for the performance of miracles ; this comparison was once used by James I of England and VI of Scotland when addressing the nobles of the kingdom assembled in Parliament. (11) PARLIAMENT . The English Parliament (often referredto as the " Supreme Council of the Kingdom " and the " More Sacred Council") has nothing in common with the French parliaments save the name They are Benches of Judges andlegalassistants, appointed by royal authorityfor the settling of civil cases and for the decision of criminal trials
The English Parliament, on the other hand, is an assembly composed of the three orders of society , viz clergy, nobility and common people The clergy are represented by the Archbishops and Bishops, in addition to whomtherewere formerly allmitred Abbots and some Priors of Cathedral churches Among the nobility are reckoned the Barons and those who occupy a more exalted station , the Viscounts, Counts , Marquesses, and Dukes
The common people are represented by men elected by the counties, boroughs, and some towns (which have received that privilege from early kings or from some other source, as will be mentioned below) A similar assembly in France is called the States General, in Spain the Cortes, in Germany the Imperial Diet
The above-mentioned Members of Parliament assemble in two large halls in the one the clergy and nobility, in the second the Commons. The English call these ' Houses ' or ' Chambers, ' but the present author, writing in Latin, will call them conclavia'; and as regards the difference between them, that of the nobility and clergy will be called , on account of the dignity of those who sit in it, the " upper conclave, " and the other the " lower conclave " The former is often referred to as ' Lords,' the latter as ' Commons, ' by which title the people's representatives are meant They are not so called because the common people assemble there (for the most part the Lower House is composed of nobles, gentry, knights, baronets , and barons who are not peers of the realm of England), but rather because
the members are elected by the votes of the common people and repre- sent them in that assembly The King summons such assemblies, when difficult business of the realm seems to him to require such action, especially when new taxes are to be imposed, new lawsto be put on the Statute Book, old laws repealed, etc. Business of this sort is never conducted by the Kingwithoutconsultationwith Parliament or very rarely, and only under pressure of some necessity. It is customary for Kings, without waiting or even asking for the advice of Parliament, to order by means of their proclamationswhatever seems likely to be in the public interest, and to add severe penalties (ifthe matter is deemed torequirethem) against those whoviolate them . These proclamations , however, have only temporary validity, and so have not the force of laws, unless they have been ratified by vote in the assemblies and confirmed with the royal assent. when James II took steps, after the deathof his predecessorCharles II, to collect the taxes imposed during Charles's lifetime, the decision of Parliament was not awaited, on the ground that the security of his dominions demanded the prompter action
Yet (13) Because some Parliaments have been troublesome to the Kings themselves, and have thwarted their will, and because one summoned in 1642 drove its King from his palace, made war against him, conquered him, and cut off his head a crime unheard of for centuriesfor these reasons certain foreigners think that the authority of Parliament is greater than that of the King himself, or at any rate that the supreme power resides not in the King alone, but in him and Parliament together. This, however, is far from the truth For the King withoutconsultingParliament (1) receives embassiesfrom foreign princes, and replies to them, (2) sends ambassadors of his own to those princes, (3) declares war, (4) makes or renounces treaties, (5) levies troops, and forces all between the ages of seventeen and sixty, excepting a few whoareexemptby the law of the kingdom, to do militaryservice for himthis seems to be a special privilege of the kings of England; (6) he makes peace, (7) he has complete disposal of ships of war , harbours, fortified cities and arsenals scattered throughout the whole kingdom, (8) he coins money and assigns the value to it, etc. All these rights are most certain proofs of the supremacy of his power, since Parliament has no share in them whatever (14) Further, the King has supreme power over Parliamentitself, for it is he who summons it, prorogues it, moves it from place toplace, and dissolves it, all at his own good pleasure, even without offering any explanation Again, if Parliament has passed a resolution by a vote, even though unanimous , withoutthe addition of the royal assent this resolution will be a lifeless thing, an embryo uninformed by a soul, still-born, a thinghavingno authorityandno power, for authority and power it can acquire only from the royal assent. Finally, even if their resolution has received the royal assent and thus acquiredthe force of law , its execution depends upon the King alone, and he may suspend its operation accordingto his good pleasure. It is true that troublesome members of the assemblies have tried again and again to throw off this yoke and to have their resolutions invested with the same authority as the Roman Plebiscita ; but although they seem to have achieved this aim by force of arms at the time of the CivilWars, at other times they have exerted themselves in vain But I shall (please God) say more about this below , when occasion offers With
Those
what plausibleargumentthen, with what right or what show ofreasoning, can the royal power, which is greater than the powerofParliament, be represented as inferior to it, or ranked as equal with it ? who maintain the opposite view from mine do not derive any support from the fact that one Parliament stirred up a parricidal war against a King; for this occurred but once, and one swallowdoes not make a spring That this argument proves nothing is also plain from this consideration , that not only gladiators but even slaves (to say nothing of Sulla, Marius, Caesar, and Catiline) declared war on the senate and people of Rome, yet no one would say that either the slaves orthe gladiators were greater than the senate and people. (15) It is, then, beyond dispute that the supreme power resides in the King of England alone, and that his Parliament is merely a supreme council (this title is frequently used by legal authorities) ruled by him and subject to him, that the King can do most things without recourse to it, and that it can accomplish nothing without the King I confess that there has frequently been in Parliament an element which Kings themselves have feared, ever since the time when heresy andambition seizedupon the hearts ofmost ofits members; these two evils have made them rebel from faith and reason on the one hand, and from their allegiance and their Prince on the other; for they march on in pace with each other, impatient of every restraint and hostile to every higher power, these unhappy and inseparable twin sisters, Heresy and Ambition (16) THE RELIGION OF THE ENGLISH The English for many centuries retainedpure and untainted the faith which Saint Augustine brought from Rome in the early seventh century and passed on to them. The aberrations of Wicliff, though they caused the destruction of an immense number of souls and of bodies in Bohemia , quickly died out in England, and were almost buried with their inventor. Finally, about the middle of the sixteenth century, a schism was inflamed by Henry VIII, for reasons well known to all but approved by few , and there was a secessionfrom the Apostolic See This soon afterwards degenerated into a heresynot Luther's heresy, nor yet that of Calvin, nor into any other heresy of one title, but into an eclectic heresy They freed the people from the burden of the fastdaysand from the obligation of confession; theyfreedthe clergy from, among other things, the law of celibacy. With Calvin and Zwingli they deny the real presence of Christ in the Venerable Sacrament ; as regards free will, the efficacy of grace, and conditional divine predestination, they take a moderate view, inclining more favourably to the Arminians than to the supporters of Calvin, who maintain the existence of a horrible decree which dooms countless myriads of men to eternal punishment, though they assign no motive for this decree. Like all other heretics, they care nothing for the power of Christ's Vicar upon earth.
(17) Nevertheless , to all outward appearances, they keep the ecclesiastical hierarchy, excepting only the supreme hierarch, just as they found it, for they see in it a not inconsiderable bulwark of the monarchy. In this they part company from all other reformersof the Church of that time. Calvin did away with the prelacyandintroduced equality among the sacred ministers of the Church; the Lutherans changed the title of Bishop into that of Superintendent if the man was unmarried, or 'Administrator ' if in wedlock , but
At the same time retained theauthorityand properties ofthe Bishops they rejected the sacred ordination, which they are said to consider superfluous The English retain even the title of Bishop, and defend the necessity of their having another ordination in addition to that by which they become priests They try, too, to derive the consecration of their first Bishops from Catholic prelates , in order to trace back their origins to the Apostles ; but they labour in vain, since none of the Catholic Bishops surviving at that time could be induced by entreaties or threats to consecrate, by the imposition of their hands , the Bishops designated by Queen Elizabeth This is our unchallengeable proof of the invalidity of their Orders, which is further demonstrated by defect of both matter and form ; for they retain no matter and no form that was employed by any ancient church They themselves , however, maintain that both are valid, and that their ordination was at the beginning performedby some true Bishops; it is in virtue of this claim that each of their Bishops exercises authorityover the parish clergy of his own diocese
(18) Hence the weeping and wailing of the Presbyterians (this is the name given in England to those who adopt the opinions of Calvin on Church government); hence their complaints; hence their libellous pamphlets, their quarrels , their strife, their seditions, civil wars , overthrow of the Crown, and in fine this has been the Pandora's Box from which a whole flood of woes has poured in streams. Rules about special dress for the clergy, the shape of the cross used in Baptism, kneeling at the HolySupper, bowingtowardsthe sacred table, observance of feast days, definite formulae of prayers , superstitious and pharisaical observance of the Sabbath without any occupationwhatever or even any honest recreation , and other similar trifles, they have brought forward merely for form's sake, in order to impose upon the people The real causeof the disagreement is that they will not endure the Bishops as superiors, and the Bishops will not endure them as equals.
(19) This obstinate Faction, hostile to every form of superiority, born for the destructionofwholepeoples, an Erinys alike to Rome and to our native land, came into this world at almost the same time as the Anglican Religion (by this title we shall henceforthdescribe that Protestant Churchwhich is subject to Bishops) The heretics whohad leftthe country in the reign of CatholicMary settledfirst at Frankfurton-Main; thence some of them set out for Geneva, that common cesspool of Europe; therethey drank deep draughts of Calvin's filthy doctrines, which they brought back with them on their return to their native country, when after the death of Mary, Elizabeth took the reins of power. They at once began to scatter their doctrines about England Elizabeth never approved , but at first turned a blind eye, in order notto estrange those whose services seemed likely to be useful for the purpose of eliminating the influence of the Pope, who was at that time her sole source of anxiety.
(20) The tares sown by these men, watered by the writings of Calvin and Beza, neglected by the Queen, then fostered by the favour of some Protestants, grew so rapidly as to become a menace to the authoritynot merelyof the Bishops, on whom they had declared open war, but also to that of the Crown The Faction were, however , repressed with a severity which was both salutary and necessary, and in the later years of Elizabeth were forced to conceal their evildesigns.
Under James I they revived them, and at last, under his son Charles I, they brought forth the monster which they had been gestatingfor so many years, namely the Civil War, by means of which theyraised that conflagration which was quenched only by the ruin of three kingdoms. But
(21) No country is more fertile than England in producingnew sects. There are Anabaptists, Chiliasts or Millenarists, Quakers , Independents, Fifth-Monarchy men, and others of the same sort . of these I shall say nothing, as the description of them belongs rather to the controversialist than to the historian The English call them all 'Nonconformists,' because they refuse to conform to the Anglican Church by adopting its ritual However, although on many_points they disagree with the Presbyterians , I shall call them all Presbyterians , since they hide under their cloak, communicate their plans to them and aim at the sameobjectives Setting aside allthedisagreements and controversies that exist between them, they are agreed in this one purpose of applying all their energies to working the destruction of the State.
(22) About the Catholics there is no need to say anything, since their moral and dogmatic teaching is everywhere the same and is concealed from no one Both Charles I and Charles II availed themselves of the Catholics ' loyal services in both peace and war Their good will towards the Kings always shone forth in Parliament, as long as they were permitted to be members ofthe Councils ofthe Kingdom . The prologue to the tragedy of the CivilWar was their removal from these Councils; and when the same Faction not so longago wished to stage a similar tragedy their first step was the removalofthe Catholics from Parliament Nor can the loyaltyof the Catholics be rendered suspect by the wicked Gunpowder Plot, which was plannedby certain Catholics For, in the first place, the odium of the plot affected few of the Catholics , while the rest were soon declared guiltless by King James himself, who would have been the one to suffer ; and secondly because, if some stain was put upon the good repute of othersthrough the hateful outcryof the ministers, yet by their long fidelity through so many years, even in the hardest times, by the way they used up their property in the King's service, by the way they shed theirblood and sacrificed their lives to save the King's life, the Catholics have long since washed away that stain. This way of serving our Princes we have learnt from the Apostle Paul, who teaches that "all souls should be subject to the higher powers, and not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake; he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God And they that resist purchase to themselves damnation. " We are not inspired by hope of selfish gain, as the Heretics odiously say; our aim is not to win the Prince's goodwill and thereby secure a suspension of the laws passed againstus. It was on account of the unwavering loyalty of the Catholics to the King that Shaftesbury (of whom more below) frequently said that either Catholics must be eliminated from Parliament, or by rescinding the laws passed againstthem we must bring it about that they enjoy equal rights with others , becauseit is dangerous to the libertyofthe kingdom for the Kingto have so many persons in that Supreme Councilwhoare completely at his mercy . '33 (23) My narrative will, in general, speak of three sorts of menthe Catholics , the Protestants (i.e. the sons of the Anglican Church),
and the Presbyterians who embrace Calvin's doctrines . The first sort is subject in spiritual matters to the Pope; the second respects the Anglican Bishops; the third wishes ecclesiastical affairs to be administered by a councilof Elders, both ecclesiastical and lay, or to put the same more plainly, they recognize no superiorand are hostile to both civil and ecclesiastical authority.
(24) DESCRIPTION OF THE COURTS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN ENGLAND . England, together with Wales (the western part of the island , occupied by the original Britons and washed by the Irish Sea), is divided into forty-two counties to facilitate administration. Each county recognizes a governornominated by the King from among the nobles of highest rank, with the title of Lieutenant' of the King; heis also in command of the militia Each county has also a Sheriff, appointed by the King for one year only (When Englishmen are writing in Latin they use Vice-Comes as equivalent to Sheriff, and henceforthwe shall use this word ) It is the Sheriff'sduty tosee that criminalssent to him from all parts of the county are kept safelyunder lock and key, and brought to trial at the proper time; that the Jury (to be described shortly below) who are to hear the case are present, and that the sentence passed by the judge is put into execution It is also the Sheriff's duty to entertain on their arrival the judgessent on circuit by the Kingthrough their county, to see that all their wants are provided for, to defend their persons, and finally to render them every assistance if they need help in any matter whatever (25) There are, besides, other magistrates , who because they are entrusted with care of the public peace, are called Justices of the Peace or Eirenarchs by Camden, as being guardians or protectors of the peace They are a type of magistratenot unknownto the Roman Empire, since there is extant in Codex I, x Tit , a lawde Irenarchis , promulgated under the emperors Honorius and Theodosius These Justices commit to gaol persons caught in the act or strongly suspect, who have been reported to them; then, after inflicting a penalty proportionate to the natureof the charge and to the qualityofthe accused andofthe witnesses, bid him appearbefore the Bar on a day appointed. Four times a year some of these Justices meet to deliberateon the public business of the county, the repair of roads and bridges, relief of the poor, observance of the laws, and any matter in which any public property has been, or might be harmed Further and this is more closely relevanttoour purposewhen the circuit judges are known to be arriving withina few days, they hold a summaryandperfunctory investigation about the accused and the charges against them . For this purpose the Sheriff may also summon some who are not Justices ofthe Peace; these, becausethey swear (jurant) to pronounce judgment accordingto their conscience, are called the 'Jury'with the epithet Greater,' since they investigate matters concerned with the whole county, todistinguish them from the Lesser Juries, whoare summoned by the same Sheriff to hear cases concerning particular defendants They too swear in the same way to give judgment withoutpartiality or animosity. Our law requires that they be good men and truethat is, they must be of honest characterand domiciledin the county where the court is held; they may be ofany social class, ifthe defendant is one ofthe common people, providedthey are not butchers (ourlaws prohibit butchers from being jurors on account of the harshness produced in them by chopping up animal carcasses and by contact with
blood); and, what is most important of all, they must not be partial to either of the contendingparties The justice of this last provision is founded on the Natural Law Hence the accused is allowedto take exception to any whom he suspects of hostility; then other persons are substituted for them, until there are twelve persons to whom no one has taken exception. For the same or a similar reason the King's representatives are also given the power to reject any who are either openly on the side ofthe accused or who are less favourably disposed to the King But the Faction have called this right in question, as we shall see below (26) In all criminal cases the prosecutor is the King, because the King's majesty and authority is held to be violated by any transgression of the law
A secretaryappointed by him (we call him the Clerk of the Crown) writes out the indictment (we call it a Bill), which is shown to the Grand Jury If the case seems to call for judicial enquiry, and they think the charge is probably well grounded , they write on the back A True Bill, in which case the accused must appear in court. But if they endorse it with the word Ignoramus , which is to say" it is not clear to us that there is a case, " by this formula the accused is withdrawn from the court and is restored to complete liberty. This enquiry into the case is a preliminary one, and, as it were , a preparation for the final and definitive judgment; the Grand Jury can acquit the accused, but cannot condemn them; all they can do is to pass on or commit ' the trial of the accused to others (27) When the appointed day arrives the Judges sit on a high bench, as it were on a throne, while some of the Justices of the Peace and the Mayor take their place beside them; the accused is brought in bound , and placed at the barrier which surrounds the Bench, in a conspicuous position, so that he can be seen by all Then the Clerk, addressing him in a clear voice by name and surname, bids him raise his hand ; then he reads the indictment, in which the charge brought against the prisoner is briefly stated , as for example, murder, theft, etc. Then he asks whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. If he is unwilling to make any answer he is condemned for contemptof court, on the grounds that he refuses to contestthe case He is then punished in a fashionpeculiar to the English: he is stripped naked in the prison yard and made to lie down on his back; a pointed stone is placed under his loins , wooden beams are then laid upon his stomach, and on top of these , heavyweights, until he expires. A painful form of death indeed ! Yet many who despair of their cause, prefer to undergo it rather than contestthe case by a defence which achieves nothing, and then be condemned to a milder punishment The reason for such a choice is that their property then passes to theirheirs and is notappropriated bytheTreasury, and thatno disgrace is left to their descendants If the accused contests the case bymaking a reply and admitting that heis guilty, the Judges at once pass sentence. Should he saythathe is not guilty, the Clerk asks, accordingto a set formula, bywhom does he wish to be judged ? To which the other is obliged to reply " By God and my Country " The country is represented bytwelve men, or jurors. The selection of these from among the men whom the Sheriff has summoned for that purpose is the next stage in the proceedings, the defendant being warned to pay careful attention to each, as they answer to their names, so that he can take exception to any who he thinks will be unjust to him through some private animosity, before
they are admitted to the oath; for afterwards it is forbidden to reject anyone. When twelve men have been appointedand bound by oath , the King's Advocate, or Proctor, or anotheragent performingthe same function, opens thecaseforthe prosecution witha very briefandfactual speech; then he produces witnesses to prove his allegations Next the accused is given an opportunity to defend himself. After this the judge briefly sums up the points that have been made on both sides , so that they may be the better understood by the twelve jurors and remain more firmly fixed in theirmemories . The jurors at once withdraw into a nearby room, which has been prepared for the purpose, in order to deliberateabout the case Nobody is allowedto enter the room , nor may food or drink be taken in, until all have agreed upon one verdict; they are not allowed to pronounce a verdict on a mere majority of votes They give judgment only on the fact, namely whether N.N., the defendant , is or is not guilty of the deed of which he is accused When they have agreed upon one verdict, they all come outof the room together, and one of them being called upon to speak for all, they pronounce the accused either guilty or not guilty Ifthe latter, the accused is secure from all punishment, and sent away a free man. If the former, the judges sentence him to the punishment prescribed by the laws of our land for the crime in question; they are not allowed the liberty of imposingpenalties other than the statutory ones When, however , different laws prescribe different penalties for the same crime, they are allowed to choose which penalty they prefer. Courts of this type are held twice each year in the counties, but in London, onaccount ofthe size ofthe city, the density ofthe population, and the large numbers of men of every type who flock there, about eight times in the year.
(28) The Judges in passing sentence are bound to follow the verdict ofthe twelve jurors, and maynot on any account release a man whomthejuryhas pronounced guilty; theymaynot even putoff passing a sentence in conformity with their verdict But when they see , in the light of clear proofs , that the verdict was plainlyunjust, they may delaythe executionof the sentence passed by themselves, so that they will have time to refer the case to the King, who is the only person from whom a man condemned by a jury of twelve can obtain his freedom It is, however , useless for the defendanthimself to appeal to the King, since the verdict of the jury of twelve is definitive (29) TYPES OF PUNISHMENT EMPLOYED . Some punishments are capital, others not. Those condemned to capital punishment, if they are of the highestnobility, suffer by the axe All others, includingthe other nobles , are as a rule put to death by hangingthat is, unless the crime committed, or the manner of the criminal's defence when called to trial, demands some other penalty prescribed by the Law , i.e. if he remains silent and refuses to contest the case, about which see above. Those condemned for seditious violence or treason are first hanged, then taken down from the gibbet and laid on their back; then, while they are still breathing, their breast and abdomen are slit open, their privy parts and intestinesare removed and burnt in a fire; the rest of their body is divided into four parts, and these, unless the King orders otherwise, are exposed in different places, to inspirefear in others These are the things prescribed in the customary formula of the public sentence. But nearly always the poor wretches are allowed to hang until completely dead.
(30) If a wife kills her husband, or a servant his master (this crime is called " lesser treason, " because the father of a family is considered as a kind of small monarch in his home), he or she is burnt alive Formerly heretics too were punished by being burnt alive; but this practice has been abolished by a new law, which will be briefly described below A different punishment was formerly prescribed for those found guilty of murder: they were suspended from the gallows by means of chains passed under their arms and round their bodies , and left to perish either by exposure to the weather or from hunger. But this was forbidden, as the long duration of the torture was either a cause or an occasion incitingthose unfortunate men to many crimes , with unquestionable peril to their souls' eternal salvation.
(31) Non-capital punishments are: being beaten with rods; being exposed in the pillory; being brandedwith a mark (the mark is burnt into the hand with a white-hot iron, but no mention of this will occur in what follows ) A criminal who is to be beaten with rods goes on foot behind a cart, to which his hands are tied, with his head bare and hisbody naked down to the belt, while the executionerfollows behind The pillory(the word is ofGallicorigin) is rarely used in other countries. It is constructed as follows: a columnabout twelve feet highis erected , and acrossit are laid two beams so placed thatone clamps thecriminal's neck and wrists, while the other serves as a support for his feet. It is a punishment which inflicts disgrace rather than pain, unless mutilation of the ears was added in the sentence; in this casethe executioner cuts off the felon's ears and nails them to the pillory On this subject enough has now been said to suit my present purpose.
(32) THE GOVERNMENT OF LONDON . Nobody obtains citizenship of London and the right of practising any craft there by the chance of birth or by inheritance, but only by devoting a long periodof hard work, usually seven years, to the learning of a trade During this time they are called Prentices' , a word derivedeither from the French Apprentif, owing to their being occupied in learning a trade, or as Polidorus Vergilius thinks, from the Latin words pares empticiis servis , because the craftsmanhad the same right over his novice as a master has over a slave This status of apprenticeis taken up both by those born in Londonand bynatives of other places, oftenof good parentage, and sometimes by the youngersons of the noblest and richest families in the kingdom, who are attracted by the great volume of London's commerce and the hope of wealth to be won from it. According to English law the eldest son is sole heir to the whole of his father's immovable property, and the subsequent sons take nothing excepteither some part of his movables or some small annual pension, which is to last only as long as they live. This is so even when the father dies testate But when he dies intestate, youngersons have no legal right to demand anything ; they are left to the mercy of the eldest (which frequently they find far from tender); hence they are compelled to provide for themselves and to increase their estate by their own industry They either enter the service of the rich, or they hire out their labour to some craftsmanfor seven years Their nobilityremains in abeyance solong as they are doingthat period ofservice orpractising their trade; but it is revived when they have attained substantial means and enjoy at ease the fruits oftheir labour and industry. Hence we may say that perhaps no city in the world has such noble citizens , and that no citizens are more high-minded, or more aloof from filthy
lucre Nowhere is there greater magnificence of furniture, or liberality in entertainment, or excellence in moral virtue, or splendourin the whole of life. All these things are worthy of the eminence of the families from which the citizens are sprung On one occasion, one ofa pair ofSheriffs , after no morethan two hours' warning, entertained an extraordinary ambassador from the Most Christian King with such a feast that the ambassador exclaimed in amazement that he would never have believed it possible, if he had not seen it with his own eyes
(33) At the end of the seven years, whetherthe master-craftsman wishes it or not, the novice is given his freedom, and if he wishes to ply his trade by himself he is adopted into the Guild of that trade. Most of the trades are organized by royal grant into so many political corporations or Guilds, which possess many privileges Each Guild has a public Hall no less fine than the most splendid palaces Here they meet to discuss matters concerned with their trade In addition to these there is a Guildhall, where business concerning the wholecity and all the Guilds in general is conducted From these Guilds there are elected every year two Sheriffs, whose authority is much thesame as that of the County Sheriffs described above. From these , too, are selected twenty-six Aldermen, each of whom is given the charge of a region of the city, for the city is divided into twenty-six regions or Wards.
(34) There is no Prince or Magnate set over the whole city, as is the practice in other places; but one of the Aldermen, elected for a single year from the Common Council of the City, is given control His authorityis very large, being second only to the King's; and so great is his dignity that when, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth , the royal throne was vacant, and King James of Scotland wasto be invited to succeed, the Mayor of London (this title is of Gallic or even of Roman origin) signed his name before all the nobility, even before those in the House of Lords and before the Generals and Admirals A sword is carried before him, as before the King ; and his swordbearer is paid £500 per annum by the City.
(35) During his whole period of office the Mayor is obliged to keep a well-furnished table, which is to be open to all men of good character who wishto use it. It is said that a Mayor once entertained four kings at one banquet.
(36) Happy is the lot ofLondon's citizens , as happy as our human condition allows -happy above the lot of all other peoples iftheydid but know the good things they enjoy, and if they would but exercise moderationin the enjoymentof them. But because on every occasion that offered they sought to add new privileges to the old, because they set greater store by the resolutions of their Guilds and of the Civic Council than by the laws of the realm, because they went from liberty to licence and from licence to licentiousness, set up their privi- leges in oppositionto the public authority of theirruler, and employed the fruits of his kindness to compass his ruin, because they were bent on setting up a republic, or a democratic constitution, in the midst of a monarchicstate, they have fallen into an abyss, from which they will not find it easy to emergeas we shall see, God willing.
(37) THE ENGLISH CALENDAR
The English do not use the new Gregorian Calendar, because their secession from the Apostolic See took place before the reform of the Calendar, and those who brought
about the schism would disdain to accept even good things coming from the Sovereign Pontiff They begin their new year on the 25th of March , and the first day of each month is ten days later than the first day of the month in the new Calendar Hence the 11th April at Rome and the 1st April in England coincide Only the historians , as Camden bears witness, begin the year with the first of January, and we shalldo the same In other respects we shallfollow the ancient Calendar when we describe events which occurred in England--and these will take us all our time (38) THE VALUE OF ENGLISH MONEY. The character of the English currency differs considerablyfrom that of any other country The values of no money in Europe square exactly with ours , for the pound sterling, as it is called, greatly exceeds four French Crowns , but it is less than four Roman Crowns. We, however, whenever mention of money occurs, shall express the sum in Crowns, treating four of these as equal to one pound In this way we shall be more readily understood by any foreigners who may think fit to read these pages I have no fear that this will cause offence to the reader , so there will be no loss to him, and a gain to me. I leave to merchants and money-changers the working-out of more exact equivalents (39) Finally, I wish to point out to any learned reader who is curiousto know our history, that my aim is no more ambitious(as the titleof this book plainlyshows) than to write a history of the English Persecution , which was stirred up in the reign of Charles II against the Catholics , who were accused of a foul conspiracy. Hence my sole preoccupationhas been to show what sufferings they underwent, and in what manner, and, in view of their well-known innocence , which has been established by many proofs and is now recognized by all, how undeservedly they suffered These things can hardly be said, and certainly could not be understood , withoutan explanation of the aims of those who raged against the Catholics For this reason the motives of the Presbyterians and the story of their real conspiracy could not be omitted In the course of the narrative it has frequently been necessary to write aboutother matters,far removed from themain theme , yet not irrelevant on account of the necessary connection between them. The Blessed Optatus somewhere remarks that "the Church is in the midst oftheState. " Certainlythe affairs of theChurch are so interwovenwith those of the State thatit seems quite impossible for either to be narratedwithoutthe other Nobodyshould, therefore, be surprised ifI frequently explain the politics of the Kingdom ofEng- land still less if certain theologicalor philosophicaltopics occur , or even controversialdogmas of the Faith, when an explanationof them has seemed necessary to my purpose I have, however, borne in mind that Iam writingas an historian, and not as a philosopher or theologian, and have accordingly scarcely touched upon those subjects, except when I have thought it indispensable, and even then I have touched them very lightly, so as to make it plain that I am venturing beyond my proper field, and that too, reluctantly IfI have digressed to say something of the terrifying comet which was seen at the close of the year 1680 and of the flood which overwhelmed the sea-coast ofBelgium two years later, my excuse is the unusualness of those two events.
Summaryof Events from the Return of Charles II to the year 1678 . (40) CONTENTS The unexpected return of Charles from exile Edward Hyde, a favourite of Charles, tries in vain to expel the Society of Jesus from England. The Dutch War, the Plague, and the Fire of London The Courtiers and the Patriots The multiplication of foul heresies Freedom of conscience granted to all lovers of peace; hence hatred of the Catholics The true cause of the Persecution , and its pretext The Presbyterians ' ceremony of burning the Supreme Pontiff in effigy. The character of Charles, of the Queen, of York, ofMonmouth, of the Duchess of Portsmouth, of Danby, of the citizens of London , of Scroggs, of Titus Oates, of EzraelTonge; also of Thomas Harcott, Provincial of the Societyof Jesus in England. The Antwerp Disease The Windsor Letters Oates before the Royal Council (41) THE MOVERS OF THE PERSECUTION AND ITS OUTCOME Here I begin the history of byfar the most severe persecution of all that the Catholics in England have ever endured Catholics feared it; heretics hoped for it; the prudent foresaw it; and men possessed of the giftof prophecy foretold it; certain members of the Court began it; the Faction carried it on; but God brought it to an issue contrary to the expectationof all concerned The Courtiers , by dilating on the supposed dangerfrom Catholics plotting the destruction of the King and his Kingdom, were hoping that a royal army would be established by authorityof Parliament; by Parliament's authority the army was at once demobilised The heretics were plotting the ruin of the Catholic Faith; that Faith was propagated to an extent that is wonderful. The Faction plotted the death of the Duke of York and the overthrow of the monarchy; the monarchy was more firmly established , and God by devious routes brought York to the throne The Duke of Monmouth aspired to the Crown; he was brought to the scaffold and decapitated by the executioner's axe . The Earl of Shaftesbury had boasted that he would take hold of Charles and lead him out of his kingdom; he himself withdrew from that kingdom, in fear for his life, and finished his days of malice and misery as an exile Danby, the Lord Chancellor, thought to strengthen himself in Charles's favour; he fell right out offavour and was expelled from the court Themerchants and craftsmen expected a greater volume of commerce and great wealth accruing therefrom; in fact, commerce suffered a severe cut, and the loss was so greatthateven the Fire ofLondon, thegreatest fire the world has seen, cost them no more Finally, the royal city of London wished to assert certain dubious privileges, and ended by losing, some that had not been in question . Never has it been made more manifestthat " the wisdom of this world is folly with God , who comprehends the wise in their cleverness, and frustrates the counsels of the godless. "
(42) We see here the god-fearing summoned to court, imprisoned, and dragged off to torment by the ungodly; religious men suffering at the hands ofthe sacrilegious; honest men at the hands ofthe wicked; men loyal to their King at the hands of his most bitter enemies; the innocent at the hands of criminals; the lovers of peace at the hands of men who detest peace And the victims are charged with thevery
crimes of their accuserscharged with breaking the peace! It is like what happens in the fables, when the foxes fall on the geese, the wolves rend the lambs, the hawks swoop on the partridges and the eagles on the doves We shall see a quest made throughout the kingdom for men of bad character, the gaols opened, condemned criminals brought out and induced by a grant of pardon for their past crimes and even by large rewards, to testifywith false oaths to the existence of an imaginary plot We shall see that their word was accepted, though they told a tale that was not only false but even unplausible and impossible ; we shall see them surrounded with such authority that, whereas it was permitted to say anything at all againstthe State, the King's ministers and the King himself, or even against God , yet nobody uttered a word against the witnesses or gave any other sign of disapproval of them, without having to suffer for it
(43) THE RETURN OF CHARLES II. The English people, tired of civil war, wearyof changes of government, and exhausted bytaxation, being unable to find any sound and reassuring hope of improvement in their affairs, forced Parliament by a public outcry to send a formal embassy to bring back Charles, who was then staying in Belgium , to his ancestral throne That is to say, representatives of the two Houses were to be sent in the name of the three Orders to beg him to deign to return and undertake the government of his dominions . It is said that the Presbyterians , at this critical juncture, wished to propose certain conditions to the King before his return, and to confine his authority within certain limits. They dared to makethis proposal even to Monk , the chiefGeneral of the Army He indignantly rejected it, saying that the King would return with full authorityor notat all, and that he did not want the efficacy of the supreme power to be diminished by the thrusting in of any compromises Besides, the eagernessof the people's desire to see the King would brook no delay. (44) So then, in answer to the prayers of all, Charles was restored to his rightfulthronewiththesupportof thewhole of Britain Desiring to win for his new regime a reputation for clemency, he published an amnesty, granting impunity for their past crimes to all exceptthose whom Parliament might deem unworthy of that favour. Professing the Protestant religion, he promised to defend it--but with this reservation , that he would not employ violence against any who dissented from it, provided they did not makethemselves objectionableto those of a different persuasion, and did not misuse religion as a pretext for sowing discord and upsetting the public peace These principles, which it pleased him to adopt, gave even greater pleasure to others. Next he dissolved the Parliament which had recalled him (on the grounds that it had come into being illegally, since without the royal authority), and immediately called another. In this the bishops were restored to the whole of their rights, and were bidden to attend the councils and to rule the dioceses The liturgywas restored in cathedral and collegiate churches ; parishchurches were left free to useeither the liturgyorsome otherform ofworship, as therectors and parishioners should think fit in our Lord. In fact, shortly afterwards they all chose to adopt the liturgy The regicides were punished ; others guilty of seditious violence went into voluntary exile, fearing rather what their crimes had deserved than anything which Charles might be contemplating doing Who would not have thought that the conflagrationof the CivilWar had now been completelyextinguished?
Yet, alas ! two years later the fire which had been deceptively concealed under ashes burst forthinto menacing flames It was, however , quicklyquenched by the crushing of its originators But in the year 1678 it burst out again : with great violence it seized upon, andbrought into extreme peril, things sacred and profane, private and public. It often happens that fires which have not been properly extinguished burst out with greater violence, and rage with greater force.
(45) From the outset there was in Parliament a party bitterly hostile to the Catholics ; but they did not venture to make any stir, so fresh was the memory of the Catholics' good services to Charles; for at the Battle of Worcesterthey had sheltered him with their own bodies , and bytheir loyaltyand energy had saved him from the careful search made by the rebels, regardless alike of the penalties threatened against those who should conceal him and of the rewards offered to any who should betray him. They had also co-operated with others to secure his return, and finally they now continued to serve him well in Parliament by supportinghis measures, even when contrary to their own interestse.g. they supported the restorationofthe bishops. For it seemedharsh and inhuman to draw the sword of persecution against men who had done, and were still doing, no harm and much good There was only one man who, either from private animosity or out of zeal for the Protestant religion, proposed the exile of the Jesuits, saying again and again that their case was different from the rest . However, nothing came of the proposal, which was approved by few and strongly disapproved of by many, while most abhorred it as betraying ingratitude in its author. The man who had urged the proposal was unable to endure the hostility he had provoked; grave charges were brought against him in the same Parliament, and he went intovoluntary exile, settingout for France, where he finished his mortal life
(46) THE CHARACTER OF EDWARD HYDE. The person in question was Edward Hyde, a man of noble birth, and deeplyversed in English Law While the Civil Wars were raging, he followed the party of Charles I, and was admitted not only to his acquaintance but to the circle of his familiar friends, and to his Privy Council So much were his services appreciated that he was chosen along with the Duke of Richmond as Plenipotentiary for the settlement of civil discords When Charles I's situation was deteriorating and going to ruin, he joined the son Charles in France The latter sent him with Francis BaronCottington to the court ofPhilipIVat Madrid. Afterhis return from there he was in constant attendance upon Charles II, as his inseparable companion , his fidus Achates . He was made Earl of Clarendon, and finally Chancellor of the Kingdom. Such influence had he with the King that practically no arrangements were made withouthim , and nearly everything was done through him, especially the distribution of offices; he arranged that these should be allotted not always to the most worthy nor to those who had served Charles best Some believed that in this matter he was not altogetherabove briberya commonfailing among advocates (nevertheless he earned an almostunrivalled reputation for integrityby his decisions asjudge) Their grounds for this belief were that, although he inherited only a modest fortune from his parents , he gave away during his life, and left to his descendants (if one may trust rumours, which are not always wrong) immense sums of money, which could scarcely have been
acquired by honest means in so short a time He showed his zeal for the Protestant religion not only by the restoration of the Bishops and the proposal to exile the Jesuits but also by publishing a book against the Rev. Father Serenus Cressy, a celebrated writer of the Order of St. Benedict . He also took up the pen against his own daughter, the wife of James, Duke of York; for he vehemently disapproved of her conversion to the Catholic Church . He was a man equal to any undertaking, ifyou consider the greatness of his mind and the subtlety ofhis intellect; and he would have achieved muchif he had had greater moderation, or if he had been born in other days But as he was always serious-minded and tenacious of his purpose, it was impossible for him to continue long in the favour of Charles, who was constantly changing his mind Those in high places looked in vain for that courtesyand affabilityin him which would have soothed the jealousy consequent upon his sudden acquisition of a great fortune. Finally, his immoderatezeal for one creed, at a time whenthere were so many, alienatedfrom him those who professed the others (47) He left behind him three children: Annewife of theDuke of York (to whom she bore five childrenthree male, of whom the youngestdied in infancy and the other two at a slightlylater age, and two daughters who are still alive now; one of these married the Prince of Orange, the other the brother of the King of Denmark), and two sonsHenry, whom he made his sole heir, and Laurence, who enjoys high favour with James II, and has by him been made Earlof Rochester , Lord High Treasurer , and member of the mostnoble Order of the Garter. Some of these things did not happen until many years later; they are all given here together so that the reader may better understand what kind of man this person was who pressed for the exile of the Jesuits. In truth it was greatly to the advantage ofthe Kingdom that he made no further headway, for everything might have been thrown into a turmoil once again, as in fact happened at a later date, when a storm, raised in the first instance against the Jesuits alone, caught up all the other Catholics , then the Protestants as well , then York and the Queen, and finally Charles himself, in that whirlwind which came very near to working the ruin of them all It is true that from time to time laws were passed againstthe Catholics, as the party opposed to such measures was too weak to prevent their passing, and Charles was not strenuous enough in resisting them; but they were regarded as thunderbolts hurled at random with no definite aim, since their execution depended upon Charles, and there was not the least doubt about his goodwill towards the Catholics. (48) EVERYTHING IS AT PEACE . At this time then, Juda and Israel, Catholic and Protestant, lived free from fear, each man " under his vine and under his fig-tree, " as if " they had smelted their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks. " The reason , however , wasnotthateverybodywas pleasedwiththeexistingsituation, but that those who were dissatisfied did not dare to speak their minds Forit was hardly (if at all) to be hoped that those who had committed the awful crimeofkillingthe King and appropriatingthe supreme power to themselves , would bear with composure their ejection from the throne into the ranks of the ordinary people. Nor was it to be hoped that the people would change theirmind with their fortune, and purge themselves of those godless dogmas and those doctrines fatal to every form of supreme authority which they had imbibed in the twenty
years of the Civil Wars, and render due reverence from their hearts to the ordinances of their prince Time is needed for the eradication of strong vices when they have had many years in which to drive deep their roots
(49) So the venom remained fixed in men's minds; but it was inactive and for the present harmless, because the memory of the miseries which the Civil War had brought in its train had not yet grown dim, and in comparison with them the present sources of discontent seemed easy to bear. The Council as well as the people of London (who have great influence over the whole of England, not by any legally established power, but by the force of theirexample, which the other towns follow of their own accord) were seriouslyin favour of peace, either because they were sick of changes in the Government (in one year they had seen it changed four times), or because theystill felt the pangs left by the past, or else through fear of whatthe future might bring. Hence, when the riff-raff of London took to arms , the Mayor called out the citizen-militia, and had no difficulty in routing and dispersing them. The ringleaders paid the penalty for their temerity, suffering the punishment customary for seditious violence . Nor could they name a single person of note as having been an accomplice in their sedition The Presbyterians refused to share their plots, for they remembered the war they had fought against Charles Iat their own peril and for the benefit of others, since a group of fanatics had retainedfor themselves and their adherents, to the total exclusion of the Presbyterians , all the booty taken in the war, and the supreme power as well In consequence, their fellowship was held suspect by the Presbyterians , who feared a repetition of the same treachery. The magnates, who had been restored to the high places from which they had been expelled along with the King, were hostile to every form of change, since they had nothing to hope for and everything to fear from any change.
(50) THE CHARACTER OF CHARLES Charles, who showed a remarkable capacityfor making people his friends (though less, as some have thought, in cultivating their friendship and retaining it), won over the people by a reduction of taxation, the nobility by increasing their honours, and the whole populace by the remarkable affability which was native to his character and not in the least affected He was easy of approach , courteous in conversation , beneficent and generous even to his enemies. So far removed was he from pride and arrogance that he seemed to lay aside his royalty, or, what is very nearly the same thing, scarcely to be conscious that he was King Further, his speech was friendly, ingenious (his remarks were almost so many apophthegms), and sprinkled with such humour, elegance, wit and merriment yet without the sting of sarcasmthat he captured the admiration and affection of all If he had acted as wisely in all departments of his conduct as in his speech, he would be unanimously judged equal to the greatest monarchs both ofour present and of past generations One single fault was observed in him, namely, an excessive propensity towards pleasures of the flesh, which he altogether failed to keep within the limits of morality. However , this attracted less notice among men on account of the sterility of his wife, a most devout woman . As for the women, he won them over to himself, and through them their husbands. And in truth it is impossible for fleshly vice to be of rare occurrence where heresy has gained en-
trance, has untied the bonds of shame, said No to true liberty, and given free rein to lasciviousness.
(51) Furthermore the Faction had not the pretext of Religion, that device more potent than any other to drive men out of their minds, tojustifythe lost causeofcivildisorder; for althoughthe liturgy, which the Presbyterians abhorred, had been restored byroyal authority in some churches, as has been said above, and in others by the people's choice , yet anyone was at liberty to refrain from using the liturgy and to worship God as he wished within the walls of a private house , provided this was done without giving offence or scandal to those of different persuasions This arrangement satisfied everybody in one way or another
(52) THE DUTCH WAR AND THE FIRE
LONDON . Complaints lodged by merchants against the Dutch (by which name I mean the United Provinces ) were then laid before Parliament These complaints, designed as they were to ruin the Dutch commerce and increase the English, were heard by willing ears . Parliament referred them toCharles withmosthumblepetitionsthat he would take thought for the security of his subjects and the honourof the nation. Charles, judging the matter to be by no means unworthy of his attention , sent an embassy to demand restitution. But the embassy failed to achieve anything. So the two sides embarked upon a war which was to profit neither of the contendingparties, and which was signalised by disasters on both sidesthough the disasters came from different sources. The Dutch were frequently defeated at sea, but the English never, though the Plague which raged widely for many months in London (it is said that in one week over 14,000 men were carried off by it) and the Fire of the Royal City may be reckoned as a Dutch victory So we may say that while the English punished the Dutch , they were themselves punished by God himself (53) In this war Charles employed the valiant and loyal services of the Catholics , whose courage was conspicuous Yet the disasters we have mentionedwere made into an occasion for calumnious accusations against themas if they were responsible for all the shortcomings offortune and for all public calamities The early Christians endured unjust condemnations of the same kind, for, according to Tacitus, they were charged with burning Rome in the time of Nero, though he himself, it is believed, started the fire Again, according to St.Augustine(De Civit. Dei, Lib. II, c iii), they were held responsible for its capture by the Gauls And Tertullian (Apol , c XL) says that the pagans " hold out in justification of their hatred the idle assertion that the Christians are the cause of every public disaster and every widespread misfortune . If the Tiber rises up to the walls, if the Nile does not rise up into the fields ; if the heavens stand still, if the earth quakes ; if there is a famine or a pestilence, immediately it is ' To the lions with the Christians ....! "
(54) In particular it was laid to the charge of the Catholic priests, whether rightly or wrongly let others judge, that while the Plague was raging far and wide and daily carrying off thousands in London, someofthem , afirewith pious zeal forthe souls forwhich Christ deigned to die, entered infected houses, visited the sick, held pious conversations with them, did all that they could to ease the violence of the disease by means of suitable remedies, explained the mysteriesof the Catholic Faith and the necessity of believing them, strengthened with
the Sacraments of the Church those whom they saw rightly disposed to receive them, prepared them for their last conflict with the devil, and, in fine, performedwhatever service might be of use to either the bodies or souls of people in such a bitter plight In these exercises of piety one secular priest, Dr. John Lewgar, and two members ofthe Society, Father Edward Lusher and Father Edward Keynes, gave up their souls to God, martyrs of charity Their fearless devotion to duty pricked the consciences of the Bishops and ministers who had withdrawn into safety These interpreted it as wicked foolhardiness , and carried their complaintsto Charles, saying that it was intolerable that men should be seduced from their duty to the Anglican Church and no one suffer for it: a stop must be put to their unendurable temerity ; some must be punished and then legislationmade Charles was clear-sighted enough to perceive the wickedness of the calumny, and punished it with an unusually sharp answer: " I will notallow my subjects, " he said, " to die like cattle; if neitheryou nor your ministers are willing to succour the victims of the plague, at least restrainyourselves and allow those who are willing, to do the task. "
(55) Further, an anonymous author wrote a pamphlet against the Catholics, assigning to them the blame forthe Fire of Londonin such a way, however, that the bulkof the blame fell upon Charles and the Duke of York As the author did notreveal himself, and what he said was not commended by any degree of probability, and much ofit was widely recognized as false, the pamphlet, in which the author's brazen mendacitywas equalled only by his detestationofthe King, wastreated with contempt and consigned to oblivion. But when the late persecution arose it was resurrected and published again under the nameof Bedlow, about whom we shall hear a great deal below (see Book VI). Charles's more astute opponents obtained more plausible matter for calumniating him out of the Dutch War They said that the war had been badly managed, that although the generals had blunderedsome through negligence, some through ignorance , and some even through treacherynone of them had been punished ; the pay of both the army and navy was in arrears ; honours and rewards had been awarded alike to those who had served well andto those who hadnot; immense taxes had been imposed , yet the Treasury was empty, though the army had not yet received its pay.
(56) Those in charge of the Treasury were, therefore , accused of peculation by Parliament, and summoned to render account beforea board of judges, who were to be elected by themselves but to receive their appointment from the King This last concession was made out of reverence for Charles, who was the only person legally entitled to inspect the accounts. Parliament's audacity in this matter riled Charles , for what they wantedwas to probe into state secrets entrusted to him . He accordingly answered that he had visited the Treasury, as his office required, and that he had no fault to find; in virtue ofhis supreme power he forbade any further enquiry into the matter.
(57) THE COURTIERS AND THE PATRIOTS This action pleased some , but could not meet with the approval of the party which had assumed the name of Patriots' to ingratiate themselves with the common people by implying that they had at heart the interestsof the wholecountry. Upon others the name of 'Courtiers' was fastened , to suggest that they cared more about the Court than the country, and that they would sacrifice the country to win the favour of the King
Eachpartytried to recommend itspolicy to the people, but the Patriots had the greater success, since they were joined by an increasingand eventually large number of members of Parliament, by a huge section of the people, who wantedthe royal authorityeither totally destroyed or at least diminished, and also by some who, though firm supporters of the royal dignity, yet suspected that Charles had givenway tosome human weakness in the affair of the Treasury By way of increasing the people's disaffectionfor Charles, the Patriots in Parliament urged variousmeasures which were distastefulto the King; they alwaysmade these look as if designed for the public good, and hoped in this way to cause Charles embarrassment , for if he yielded the points at issue his royal prerogatives would be diminished, and if he refused , as in fact he did, he would be exposed to the hostilityof the people. Every day they were passing new decrees against the Catholics , although those already existing were so severe that it might be said of them , as was long ago said of the Laws of Dracon , that they were written with blood. " Every course open to the King was sure to provokehostility: if he expressed disapproval of the new laws he was thought to be favouring the Papists ; if approval, he was thought to be acquiring the vice of ingratitude, in that he was passing such burdensome edicts against men who had served him so well The Patriots had also another end in vieweither to tear away the Catholics (whose fidelity to the King was well known) from their allegiance to him (and they saw there was no security for them in this policy), or else to reduce them to so pitiful a condition that their services would be useless in the Civil War, the seeds of which they had already begun to sow Charles , though very reluctantly, gave his assent to all these decrees , saying on one occasion: "I shall never let it come about that you, who have come back from exile, say to my subjects that the Papists are causing dissension between me and my Parliament " So the more thoughtful of the Catholics began to feel insecure, and not without reason It was notthat they had any doubtsabout Charles's affection for them , but when they saw him giving way to the importunity of bad menin the passing of laws, they feared that at last he mightyield to them in allowing their enforcement (58) And that is what happened a few years later. Charles grew tired of giving consent to measures which he foresaw would have no issue , and therefore adopted a different policy He saw that there were many sects in England, none of which was acceptable to all, and all of which had supporters whom he would not wish to offend . The Catholics were protected by their good services in the past, the others by the likelihood that they would resort to violence if subjected to pressure So after long and careful discussion with his Privy Council, hoping to please everybody, he decided to grant freedom of worship to the adherents of all religions . But he did not makethe grant toall in the same manner: he decreed that all Cathedral , Collegiate, and Parish Churches be administered by the Protestants; the Presbyterians should have their Conventicles ; and the Catholics should have free rooms Thus all were to worship God in their own way, but on one conditionthat this was done without offence or scandal to others. But it is of interest to see the Royal Decree (or Declaration, ' as the King himself calls it) given in full
(59) CHARLES'S DECLARATION . " Our Care and Endeavours for the Preservationof the Rights and Interests of the Church, have been
sufficiently manifested to the World, by the whole course of Our Government, since Our happy Restauration, and by the many and frequent ways of Coercion that We have used for reducingall Erring or Dissenting persons, and for composing the unhappy Differences in matters of Religion, which We found among our Subjects upon our Return: But it being evident by the sad Experience of TwelveYeares, that there is very little fruit of all those forceable Courses , We think Our Self obliged to make use of that Supream Power in Ecclesiastical Matters, which is not onely Inherent in Us but hath been Declared and Recognized to be so by several Statutes and Acts of Parliament; And therefore We do now accordingly issue this Our Declaration, As wellfor the Quieting the Minds of Our good Subjects in these Points, for Inviting Strangers in this Conjuncture, to come and Live underUs, and for the better Encouragement of all to a Chearfulfollowing oftheir Trade and Callings, from whence we hope by the Blessing of God , to have many good and happy Advantages to Our Government; As also for preventing for the future, the danger that might otherwise arise from Private Meetings, and Seditious Conventicles (60) " And in the First Place , We Declare Our express Resolution, Meaning, and Intention to be, That the Church of England be Preserved , and remain Entire in its Doctrine, Discipline, and Government, as now it stands Established by Law; And that this be taken to be , as it is, the Basis, Rule, and Standardofthe General and Publick Worship of God , and that the Orthodox Conformable Clergy do receive and enjoy the Revenues belonging thereunto; And that no person, though of a different Opinion and Perswasion, shall be exempt from paying his Tythes, or other Dues whatsoever . And further We Declare , That no person shall be capable of holding any Benefice, Living, or Ecclesiastical Dignityor Prefermentof any kind in this Our Kingdom of England, who is not exactly Conformable
(61) " We do in the next place Declare Our Will and Pleasure to be, That the Execution of all and all manner of Penal Laws in matters Ecclesiastical , against whatsoever sort of Non-Conformistsor Recusants, be immediately Suspended, and they are hereby Suspended. And all Judges, Judges of Assize and Gaol-delivery, Sheriffs , Justices of the Peace , Mayors, Bayliffs, and other Officers whatsoever , whether Ecclesiastical or Civil, are to take notice of it, and pay due Obedience thereunto
(62) " And that there may be no pretence for any of Our Subjects to continue their illegal Meetings and Conventicles , We do Declare that We shall from time to time allow a sufficient number of Places , as they shall be desired, in all parts of this Our Kingdom, for the use of such as do not Conform to the Church of England, to meet and assemble in, in order to their Public Worship and Devotion; which Places shall be open and free to all persons
(63) " But to prevent such disorders and inconveniences as may happen by this Our Indulgence , if not duely regulated, and that they may be the better protected by the Civil Magistrate, Our express Will and Pleasure is, That none of our Subjects do presume to meetin any Place, until such Place be allowed, and the Teacher of that Congregation be approved by us.
(64) " And lest any should apprehend, that this restriction should make Our said Allowance and Approbation difficult to be obtained, We do further Declare, That this Our Indulgence as to the Allowance
of Publick Places of Worship, and Approbation of Teachers, shall extend to all sorts of Nonconformists and Recusants, except the Recusants of the Roman Catholick Religion, to whom we shall in no wise allow Publick Places of Worship, but onely Indulge them their share in the common Exemption from the execution of the Penal Laws, and the Exercise of their Worship in their private Houses onely (65) " And if after this Our Clemency and Indulgence, any of our Subjects shall presume to Abuse this Liberty, and shall Preach Seditiously, or to the Derogationof the Doctrine, Discipline, or Government of the EstablishedChurch, or shall meet in Places not Allowed by Us , We do herebygive themWarning, and Declare, We will proceed against them with all imaginable Severity: And We will let them see We can be as Severe to Punishsuch Offenders, whensojustlyProvoked, as We are Indulgent to truly TenderConsciences. " Given at Our Court at Whitehall this Fourteenth day of March in the Four and twentieth year of our Reign "
(66) OPINIONS ABOUT THE DECLARATION
This, then, was the famousDeclaration It providedfully forthe freedom of the Anglican Church, and granted to the Presbyterians the right and liberty to worship God in public places, on the slight and by no means burdensome condition that the Faction should not abuse the King's indulgence, to cause disorder . The concession to the Catholics was very small, since all the freedom given to them was the right to worship God according to their own rite within private rooms . In spite of this, the Catholicswere almost the only group who were pleased. It was enough for the present to enjoy the liberty of worshipping God in safety (even if in secrecy) withoutfear of pursuivants, nowthatthe Penal Laws were not to be enforced They also entertained cheerful hopes of an improvement in the future, when the minds of the nonCatholics , who once bristled and flew into a passion at the very word ' Papism, ' should have been gradually mollified The Protestants were displeased, because they saw that the Declaration disarmed the laws passed in their favour: public authority , they thought, was raising up Church against Church (neither side had altars) and strengthening schismatic sects, the growth of which would work the ruin of the Protestant Church . The Presbyterians were most dissatisfied of all, though the Declaration appeared to tend in their favour They said that while the concession to the Catholics was something substantial, they had been given merely deceptive words ; also, they already enjoyed the King's indulgence , so that they were getting nothing fresh; theywere only being grantedby public authority, and having ratified, what they already possessed with the approval or connivance of the magistrates , and what they could not be deprived of withoutthe risk of a general upheaval All were displeased, including perhaps some Catholics , because laws were being set aside by the royal poweralone, withouta Vote of Parliament If this practicewere to become general, no laws would for the future be valid, except for as long as the King chose to make them so In fact, only the Penal Laws were being rescinded; but this might serve as a precedent for the setting aside of other laws. So it was feared that the constitution, from being paternal might become despotica fear no less exaggerated than ungrounded . (67) Shortly afterwards occurred the meeting of Parliament at which Charles vetoed all discussion of the Declaration, and insisted that he would not allow it to be called in question; he also asked for
subsidies for the Dutch War This provoked murmurs of profound discontentin the Lords, and eventually a Vote was passed to the effect that they would not even discuss granting the money requiredfor the war until the Declaration was revoked In their efforts to weaken Charles's firm resolve to enforce the Declaration, they had the support of some of the royal household, who were secretly in sympathy with the aims of Parliament But it is said that what completely took Charles by storm was the influence of his mistresses, who attackedhim with the femininepanoply of tears, lamentations , and blandishments , pretendingto be anxious for his safety, but in fact hopingto ingratiate themselves with the Lords in Parliament and to safeguard their own fortunes, which depended on Charles andwere imperilledwhenhe was. (68) Charles at length gave in to his mistresses With his own hand he tore off the seal and made the Declaration null and voidto the delight of the Faction and the grief of others Hereupon, Shaftesbury, who was then Chancellor of the Realm, and was said to have been responsible for the publication of the Declaration, deserted the King's party and devoted himself completelyto the Faction. As we shall frequently have occasion to mentionhim in the sequel, and as his name will be of great consequence in every connection , it seems desirable to give here a brief description of his character (69) THE CHARACTER OF SHAFTESBURY Anthony Ashley Cooper, born of a noble familyin the County of Dorset, was endowed bynature with a mind of great power but small virtue His body could endure toil and everything else, except inactivity; his mind was audacious , crafty, versatile , capable of assuming any guise, extraordinarily clever at disguising its thoughts, full of vast, overreaching and perilous ambitions, artful, astute, perfidious , quick to change (so that he was called the Dorset Eel, because he could wriggle out of anyone's grasp). Faithful to nobody, unless it was to his own interests , he was friends with nobody for long, and would buy the favour of the party he was joining by doing signal damage to those whom he was deserting, or, if possible, by ruining them altogether He trimmed his sails to every turn ofthe wind, and was the best possible man for creatinguniversal turmoil and confusion , and the worst possible for straightening out difficulties and establishing peace and concord During the Civil Wars he wavered between one side and the other At the beginning he served underCharles I, and was given command of a cavalry squadron, with which he deserted to the Rebels' camp. His eloquence was quite extraordinary, but he had not real wisdom to match it. This deficiency was supplied by a certain natural cunning, which was sharpened by the wide variety of his experience of civil discord . So reserved was he that Cromwell , the tyrant of England (whosedaughter Shaftesburyhad sought in marriage, and bywhomhe had been admitted to the Councilof State), though he was a shrewd judge of men , used to say that he could not fathom Trinomius, meaning Shaftesbury , who had three namesa rare thing among the English. So passionate were his lusts, and so given up was he to unrestrainedsensuality , that Charles called him the " Chief Lecher " Charles also declared that he was " a tool, fitter for a tyrant than for a lawful prince, " forhesaw how prone towards evil councils was his mind Nevertheless, Charles made him Earl of Shaftesbury, a member of the Privy Council, and finally Lord Chancellor, until he fell from favour After this henever ceased , so long as he lived, to devote all the powers of his mind to
contriving the overthrow of the monarchy He spent the chief part of his energy in dementing the citizens of London, where he found men already well disposed towards his designs. (70) DESCRIPTION OF LONDON. The city stands about sixtymiles up from the estuaryofthe Thames, whichis navigableas far as London byeverytype of vessel It is the most famous market not of England only, but of the wholeworld. By reason of its advantageous position, the volume of its commerce , the industry of its population, its being the residence of Kings and the home of the Law Courts, byreason also of the large numbers of people who flock to such a centre from all parts of the kingdom, it has risen to such power, to such wealth , and consequently to such pride, that it can scarcely endure to be subject to any authority, but chafes under any yoke, however light, while at the same time the spirit of heresy fills the citizens ' breasts with arrogance and impatience of the laws Hence, though there are among its citizens many upright characters , lovers of peace, and faithful in their duty towards their princes, London has always been hostile, frequently troublesome , and sometimes even murderous to its rulers. There is nothing more ferocious, nothing more petulant, thanthepopulace of London The plaything of its own passions, when smitten it is quite downcast; when prosperous it gets above itself; and when the balance of its fortune is even, it does not know how to control itself Itdrinks in every rumour with thirsty ears , believes any lie, forebodes evils that will never come to pass, and while fortifying itself against imaginary woes by unlawful means, brings upon itself evils, which it then contemplates with amazement and horror, as if it were not responsible for them. When at length real miseries restore them totheir senses , the citizens condemn their own temerity and foolish credulity, and return to the path of obedience, hoping to enjoy the blessings of peacerestored. It was in Londonthat the Civil War brokeoutagainst Charles I (whose only crime was too much lenience); and there too were laid the foundations of peace , which was shortly to return. The disorder began from the infuriated people of London; and from the same mad populace came its end No narrowsof the sea, no Euripus, has turbulent currents so mighty and so varied as are the upheavals which convulse the minds of the crowd when stirred up by the blasts of rumour cleverly contrived, sedulously disseminated , and uncritically believed . But the English differ from neighbouringpeoples in thisthat they are neither so precipitate in taking to arms, nor so quick to laythem downagain They spend longtime in deliberation, whettheir anger, seethe for some years with the ferment of hatred, then brandish their arms, utter threats, and poise their weapons, before they bring themselves to strike the blow. But once they have givenway to their emotion, once they have donned theirarmour, they are slowto recover their senses Other peoples are, as it were, more mercurial, and complete the course of their anger in a short space of time; the Londoners are slower, as being more saturnine This accounts for the safety of the Catholics resident in London (those , I mean, who had no other home elsewhere) at a time when the populace was simmering with hatred of them , and the situation seemedto be approachinga massacre like that of St. Bartholomew (71) THE ENGLISHMEN'S LOATHING OF BLOODSHED . Besides, the English have an inborn and congenitalloathing for bloodshed and slaughter. In no country are murders so rarea fact which amazed
Barclay in a nation of men so ready to sacrifice their lives, as if they preferred to be cut down by others than to cut others down The story has been put about among some foreign peoples that the English always thirst for blood, pant after bloodshed, etc. That this is very farfrom true was observed long ago even by Commines, who says that even in the most frightful battles, when the minds of the English are intoxicated with the fury of battle and with grief for their fallen comrades, as soon as the enemy cease to offer resistance and throw aside their arms, the Englishmake an end of butchery, and neverrage against those who surrenderand signify their surrender by some clear token. Their ferocity in battle does but confirm this observation , for savagery is a vice ofweak men and ofwomen , not of great-souled men , who are satisfied with merely bringing the enemy to his knees, and rejoice only in their victory. (72) THE MULTIPLICATIONOF HERESIES . The change of religion had been effected in London and throughout the kingdom in a fairly peaceful manner , since it was promoted by the authority of the Crown and of Parliament Afterwards there appeared turbulent spirits, unable to endure peace and quiet, and approving of nothing that was not done by themselves. These decided that they too would carry out a reform: they were encouraged by observing that the structure designed by Christ our Lord, raised by the Apostles , and strengthened by the practice of so many generations , had fallen asunder so easily. The newly erected church, they thought, was by no means as strong as the old had been, and they themselves were in no respect inferior to the Reformers of the ancient church They thought that they too ought to make an attempt, and that they had just as much right, " for why may not Valentinian alter the Faith as he thinks fit, if Valentine may ? " (Tertullian) Thanks to the energies of these people, to their transactionswith foreigners, and to the inborn fickleness of the people, all the heresies that were to be found anywhere in nearby countries were bandied about throughout England, and especially in London, and their number was increased by several new ones godless and wicked heresies, confined to our country alone , which owed their origin to the general permission to make what innovations one pleased Indeed it is not easy to find any country which in our generation has been more fertile ofsuch monstrosities All these new heresies were in conflict with one another no less than with the CatholicFaith, forit is ofthe very essence of religionto be intolerant of dissent Religion ought to be a powerful means of softeningmen's hearts and binding them in unity, but through the shortcomings of human frailty it has been made the source of bitter enmities When the Catholic Faith seemed to be threatening to overwhelm all other sects, these others, fearing their own extinction (and not without reason), set aside all the dissensions which were raging among them , and took counsel in common as to how they could obstruct the return of the Catholic Faith Even the Presbyterians , who had at other times held aloof, now joined in. No more suitable stratagem occurred to them than to revive the old and now all but extinct hatred against the Catholics by holding an annual celebrationof the deathofElizabeth with a solemn ceremony of supplication, which would attractthe notice of the populace and at the same time give them pleasure. In this way they would get in a sidelong thrust at Charles by implying that his antagonism towards the Presbyterians showed a want of zeal for the
religion which Elizabeth had cherished, while they themselves gloried in the name of that Queen as being their supporter. At the same time theywould be defamingthe Protestantsas deserters from Elizabeth's Church. Yetthey had no good grounds for saying that Elizabethhad favoured them Indeed they were quite wrong, since it is certain that she detested the Presbyteriansno less than theCatholicsnotfortheir doctrines , since the Presbyterians ' teaching is almost identical with that of the Protestants, but because they were hostile to authority. Itwasforthisreason that she turned the wholeweight of her authority to suppressing them in her dominions
(73) THE IMPIOUS SUPPLICATION . The ceremony of supplication which they instituted was as follows There was a procession, led by drums and fifes. After these came six men wearingred tunics and pioneers' caps, playing on pipes Next came a man made up as a priest, and wearinga priestly cloak (called a ' cope '), on which were embroidered images of Calvary and the bones of the dead This man scattered about Papal Bulls and Indulgences , granting remission of all their sins , even of those not yet committed, to the slayers of kings and of heretics ; their slaughter , he proclaimed , was meritoriousin the eyes of God and glorious in the sight of men. Behind him followed another priest who bore aloft a silver cross ; he was dressed in black Thencame the slayers of kings and of heretics, thatis clergybothsecular and regular, each dressed in his own habit and all making violent and disorderly gestures, and breathing forth carnage and death by poison Next came six Jesuits of even more savage aspect than the rest, brandishing naked swords which dripped with the blood of princes freshly spilt; and the samenumberofmusicians accompanied them, applauding and, as it were, chanting a pæan. Then came eight bishops dressed in violet and others wearing linen albs and copes embroidered with Phrygian work, each wearing a golden mitre on his head Then six cardinals in their customary purple Last of all came the Supreme Pontiff, raised aloft on a kind of platform, with two clerics going before him bearing crosses , while he himself was carried on a chair rich with gold and shining silver. He sat on a regal throne, clad in a scarlet robe, wearing the pontifical tiara on his brows, and having his back foolishly draped with rosaries, sacred emblems, Agnus Dei, Roman medals, St. Peter's chains, and other similar objects. At each side of him stood an evil demon, hissing bloody councils into his ears, telling him to kill kings who refused him obedience, to slaughter heretics, to burn cities, ravage countrysides , etc. He had also beside him two clerics holding a flaming torch in one hand and a poniard in the other , as if ready to rage with fire and sword whereverthe Pontiff should bid them go It is believed that the Supplication cost £2,500. (74) The procession, ordered in the above manner, went through the most frequented parts of the city for a space of three hours , and came to a halt where the statue of Elizabeth stands at Temple Bar (as it is called), about 500 yardsfrom the royal court. Whenthe effigy of the Pontiff had been made to kneel and venerate the statue, it was cast upon a blazing bonfire and reduced to ashes, while a huge crowd lookedon and shouted applause Itis said thattheir numbers amounted to 200,000, of whom easily 20,000 were in arms A procession of this kind became an annual event Various other characters were added to it as a result of later happenings, which it will be more appropriate to describe below . Finally it was discovered that the Presbyterians
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were concoctinghorrible plots not only against the Catholics but also against the Protestants and even the sacred person of the King. It was , therefore, deemed dangerous to allow so many armed men to assemble in a place so near the Palace, and from which it was but a short step into the Palace itself A Proclamation was accordingly published prohibiting the procession under pain of the severest penalties
(75) These, then, were the Supplications of Calvinistic piety, designed to stoke up in the minds of their adherents a blazing hatred of the Catholics Their effect was to stir up a passion of hate, fury, vindictiveness and blood-lust: the men seemed to be possessed by some higher power ; the women were like Maenads All were swept along towards detestation and destruction of the Catholics, so that they believed they were serving God in killing them by any means and on any pretext
(76) HENCE HOSTILITY
The Presbyterian ministers did not cease to foster and increase this fury, for theyhoped so to secure the banishment of the Romans, who would otherwise probably steal their congregations and displace them.
(77) The Protestants , both bishops and others, remained faithful to duty, either because they were fairly well disposed to the Catholic religion (this was cast at them as a reproach by their Presbyterian rivals), or because, having no hope except in the King, they dared not offend him , or because they condemned the taking up of arms against Kings by their subjectsnot merely the taking up of real arms but sham arms as well, for the sham was preparingthe way for the reality. They were satisfied with the repeal of the law about the burning of heretics This met with no oppositionin Parliament, and most people were amused at the Protestants' untimely fears : they were afraid of fires which they had never seen and which nowhere existed. (78) The ecclesiastical property which had come into the power of the nobles during the change of religion caused the nobles greater solicitude , in case it should be claimed back Their fears were not quieted by the formal renunciation of that property which had been made with Papal authority in the time of Queen Mary, nor by the guarantee givenbythe Catholics , most ofwhom possessed someportion of the church property. They knew the teaching of canon lawyers contra Ecclesiam numquam praescribi, and that a surrender made under forceor fearis invalid ; they knewthat the Benedictines were reclaiming their property, and, to omit other points, that there would always be people who would be impelled by religious scruples to seek the peace oftheirconsciencesand the safetyof their souls, by abdicatingtemporal possessionswhich they believed themselves to possess unjustly, even though thereby families once affluent should be reduced to destitution. They knewtoo that the original owners, who are sharper even than laymen to spot an opportunity of enlarging their family property, would not be slow to take unfair advantage of the simple piety ofsuch persons. Whatwas notso well knownwas that whenever parcels of the property oftheChurchare alienated , as they constantlyare, thegoodstransferred into the power of others are possessed by laymen with as perfect a right as is legally possible.
(79) All these people were thinking out ways and means ofsuppressing or at least repressing the Catholics They were not opposed by those who attended the Protestant services . In the first place
they thought up laws which were to be more effective than the others had been, because their execution was not to depend upon the King. Such, for example, was the law that " If any Catholic holds a public office , for each of his transactions he shall pay £500, which shall be equally divided between the informer and the poor of the place. The Justiceof the Peace to whom the report is made shall exact the fine , etc."
(80) A STRICT SEARCH FOR CATHOLICS However , as this seemed too slow a remedy , posters were put up on the doors of Westminster Hall, where Parliament was meeting , invitinginformation againstthe Catholics and promising large rewards to the informers. Then, as if it were not enough to have provoked informers by these means, men born in different counties and all at one in their bitter hatred of the Catholics , were selected from the Lower House as inquisitorstoscrutinise the activities, pursuits and words of Catholics , wherever they might be living, and even to angle after their thoughts by various devices, and to ferret out the secrets of their hearts If anywhere there should occur anything that might be used to create hostility towards them, these men were to report it to Parliament They were repeatedly told that whether their accusations were just or unjust hardly mattered, since the outcome could not be in doubt when the same menmen tainted with the venom of Calvinwere to be both the judges and one of the contendingparties . Some of the Catholics , confident in their own innocence and Charles's good will, made light of their attempts; but the more thoughtful were rightly dismayed , for they suspected, not without reason, that some monsterwas being reared up. So they approached Charles with humble entreaties that he would take the matter into his own hands, and himself punish severely any Catholics who might be found guilty, or, if none such were found, declare all Catholics immune from such accusations, for it was intolerablethat their good name and thepublic peaceshould be jeopardised by investigations of that kind Charles gave them a favourable hearingand told them to be of good heart: things had notgone beyond threats and talk, he said; it would be time to lodge complaints when they had been actually harmed Meanwhile they should not be afraid, since they knewthat everythingwas in his power, and should notdoubt the sincerity of his good will, as they had alreadyreceived many tokens of it, just as he had of their loyalty The aims oftheir common enemies were no less suspect to himself than to the Catholics He said this because those who were uttering threats of slaughter against the Catholics were among those who had opposed the Royalists in the Civil Wars, and who in the present Parliament had taken steps to diminish the royal authority
(81) Meanwhile , the royal household was divided in its councils, and there were important people lending weight to both of the two sides . It will not be out of place to describe here their characters (as common report made them out) This will enable us to see by what means the brains which swaypublic policy exercise their influence , andto form a more certain conjecture aboutthe origins ofthat greatest of all storms, the Persecution CHARACTERS AT COURT:
(82) CHARLES. Charles, who was married to a barren wife, was endowed by nature with a mind capable of success in enterprises of any kind, yet he refrainedfrom employingit in any, either by his own
preference, so that he could enjoy himself, or becausehe was distracted from business by the intrigues of others He seems to have approved of the attitude of Ezechias: " Only let there be peace in my time. " (83) THE QUEEN . The Queen was a most pious heroine, but she bore no child She possessed outstanding virtue, but for the other wiles by which she might have secured the affections of a husband who was fond of women, she had only contempt Hence opportunity was provided for introducing such a supply of mistresses that even Solomon scarcely had as many. (84) THE DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH . Conspicuous among the mistresses was Louise de Kerouaille, the daughter of a noble but impoverished family of Brittany in France She accompanied Charles's sister, the Duchess of Orleans, to Dover, and there so insinuatedherself upon the attention and into the affections of Charles that, when the Duchess of Orleans died shortly after, she returned to him, knowing how prone he was to falling in love So completely did she win his attachment by her beauty, or her blandishmentsand coquetry, or by her persistence in saying Yes to him in all things, or by love philtres (even this was rumoured), that she was granted the title of Duchess of Portsmouth, and though a mistress, rose to such power as even a wife does not normally enjoy She too is to be reckoned amongthe causes of the Persecution , because she hoped that, if the Faction would turn their attention towards the Catholics and away from Charles , she would enjoy her pleasures in greatersecurity. (85) DANBY. Danby was born in Yorkshire of a titled family. His mother was a Catholic, and it was therefore believed that hewas not really as hostileto Catholicworshipas he pretended to be. Thanks to the Duke of York's recommendation , he was admitted to the Court , made a member of the Privy Council , and finally Lord Treasurer . By his sedulous care of the Treasury and attention to de Kerouaille, alias the Duchess of Portsmouth, he so capturedthe favour ofthe lover and his mistress that he was preferred above all the other courtiersand was second to York alone Being a man who loved authority and could brook no equal, he found even this inferiority hard to bear . He was much concerned about the safety of the honours and wealth which had been granted him, for Parliament, which is always hostile to those who are powerful and influential at Court, was taking steps to deprive him of them . They were bringing against him the serious charges of peculation and of doing harm to religion, on the grounds that he had been corrupt in his administration of the Treasury and had shown favour to the Catholics (86) Several advantages were likely to accrue to him from a persecution (1) It would distract Parliament's attention from himself to the Catholics- (2) He hoped the exhausted Treasurywouldprofitby the confiscationoftheCatholics ' property- (3) He would be able toprovide for the many children born to Charles from his illicit lovesindeed at the very time when the Persecution broke out, he gave his own daughter in marriage to Charles's son , the Earl of Plymouth (4) He hoped to remove York himself either from the Court or from the conduct of affairs, so that he might enjoy unrivalled power Indeed York had frequently been warned by his intimate friends to beware of Danbybut in vain, for his own guileless mind, judging others by itself, could fear no evil from his own creature. Danby, impelled by these four motives , and being a man fonder of authority, honour and
wealth than of justice and TRUTH, was not unwilling to watch a conflagration which would burn down houses that blocked his view , while leaving his own property safe Certainly a large share of the discredit for having caused these woes has clung to his name, and it has hitherto been impossible to eradicate this opinion, whether true or false, from the minds of the leading Catholics . "
(87) MONMOUTH
James Fitzroy (which means son of the King "), Charles's first son, born to him before he was yet married, had the first place in his father's heart Byhim he was made Duke ofMonmouth, Commander of the Royal Life Guards and of the Cavalry and of all the land forces, a member of the Privy Council and ofthe Order ofthe Garter. Quick to act, able to endure hardship, fearless in danger, he was nevertheless, as the upshotproved, wanting in military prowess and courage. As his mind was dull, or even stupid, he was morefit to obeythan to command . Hewas a forceful character , and, when stirred up, almosta maniac Happy would his lot have been if he had closed his ears to the siren Shaftesbury, and had lived contentedly in the condition of a subject, for he enjoyed abundance of wealth and honour and was liked by both his father Charles and his uncle James But through aiming still higher, and hankering after what was forbidden, he not only failed of his ambitions but did not even enjoy the good things his loving father provided for him .
(88) As a youth he had received a Catholiceducationunderthe care of Rev. Father Stephen Gough, a priest of the FrenchCongregation of the Oratory On reaching manhood he attended Catholic services in secret , but gave them up when he thought that they would bring him peril, while the rites of other religionswould bring profit. He became not only a deserter but a bitter persecutor of the Church. Wedo not, however , hold him responsible for the outbreak of the Persecution , but rather for its later intensification. He was not intelligent enough to be able to stir up a populace that was peaceful and quiet; but once it was stirred to excitement by others, he was capable of drivingit into headlong fury by his ferocious audacity We shall see that that is just what he did
(89) YORK. York's mind was too subtle to miss the meaningof what was happening; he saw that he was being attacked through others . And he was not at a loss for ways of retaliating. But his mind was unmovedin its loyalty to the King, and he rejectedeverything which had the least appearance of departing even a hair's breadth from the strictest rule of a good subject's duty towards his Prince. He had relinquished , at the slightest indication of his brother's will, the public offices he held, when he saw them attacked, not without his brother's approval, by the Faction; and, though imperilling himself through his own innocence, he allowed his opponents to continue their attacks upon his household, his property and his person, for he made light of the laurels he had won on both sea and land, in order to win a perfect and untarnished reputation for obedience .
(90) The realmotiveswhich inducedCharles to allow the Catholics , in spite of their tried loyalty, to be the object of unrestrainedattack are not easy to discover. They were much the same as those which we said moved Danby, viz the need of fresh funds for the Treasury, offinding property for his illegitimate children, and pay for the soldiers and sailors conscriptedto assist the Spanish Netherlands , which were all but subdued by the French army
(91) The members of Parliament suspected that this last wasthe only end he had in view, and many of them said " The Plot has been faked up in the hope that through fear ofit we will pay for the army; but the courtiers are mistaken, for we shall persecute the Papists, but we shall also disband the army."
(92) It is also said that just as Charles was overfondof affairswith women , so he was anxious to be popular with men, and could scarcely endure the disaffectionof his subjects . This made him believe the flatterers who told him that this disaffection was the result of his friendly attitude towards the Catholics , and that if he persecuted them he would be the people's favourite, as he had been in earlier days This is what was commonly said in conversation , and as such I record it: it seems highly plausibleand is very likelyto be correct. But I am not willing to vouch for its truth Anyway, all are agreed that Charles never believed that the thing would go as far as bloodshed He was convinced that he could tighten at will the reins he was now loosening He did not consider that an unbrokenstallion, when once it has taken the bit between its teeth, will no longer obey the reins, but rushes through distant and pathless places until it either throws its rideror brings him and itself to ruin.
(93) THE PEOPLE OF LONDON . I do not reckon the people of London among those responsible for the Persecution , because just as the sea is calm except when roused by the winds, so the citizens of London were peaceable when left to themselves After enjoying leisure and a long periodeighteenyearsof peace, they had already forgotten the Civil Wars, and were ready for fresh disturbances and for a new disaster, if only there should appear the men to start it And at that time therepealed out, like the call of a clarion, the sermons of the Presbyterians.
(94) THE PRETEXT OF THE PERSECUTIONS The above, then , were the real causes For the sake of appearances others were alleged: zeal for religion, concern for Charles's safety, anxiety for the preservation of the constitution, the safety of the people, etc.so much propaganda wickedly put about to excite the populace The principal actors in this tragedy, for the sake of their own safety, at firstconcealed themselves behind-scenes, and sent Oates and other worthless persons into the limelight ; but when their party had been formed, and public enthusiasm whipped up, they dispensed with disguise and came forward themselves
(95) TITUS OATES . The first to appear was Titus Oates or Otes , about whom stories have been told so numerous and so disgusting , yet at the same time so unquestionablytrue, that our problemis not what can be said about him with justice, but rather what can be said with decency. What we shall say is all unquestionablytrue Some of it has been published by the Protestants and some by the Catholic presses, and all is confirmed by the silence of his own supporters . Oates has been called by the one side Defender of the Faith , Column of True Religion, and Saviour of the English People, while the other side have styled him The Plague of England, Shame of the Human Race, Worst of Impostors, etc.
(96) He was born at Oakham in the County of Rutland His mother was a midwife, and his father at first a weaver of silk and then an Anabaptist preacher and Chaplain to Colonel Pride's Regiment. It is not known whether he was ever baptised : he himself said that he
was baptised at the age of seventeen, but when challenged to indicate the place of his spiritual rebirth he was unable to make any answer His own motherby no means a bad woman, and quite unlike his father and her sonwithout even being asked, gave the following information about him to William Smith, M.A., once Titus's teacher, who publishedit in print. At a private meetingwith that Minister when the Persecutionwas at its height she said " What do you think, Mr. Smith, about my son and the troubles he has raised ? He, not daringtosayanything else , answered " Ifully approve ofeverything ! " "Well, I don't, " she answered "You know, Mr. Smith, I have had a great many Children, and by my Profession I have skill in women's concerns But I believe never woman went such a time with a child as I did with him I could seldom or never sleep when I went with him , and when I did sleep I always dreamt I was with child of the Devil But when I came to my Travail, I had such hard Labour that. I believe no woman ever had; it was ten to one but it had kill'd me. When he was growing up, I thought he would have been a natural, for his Nose always run, and he slabber'd at the mouth, and his Father could not endure him ; and when he came home at night the Boy would use to bein the Chimneycorner, and my Husbandwouldcry takeaway this snotty Fool, and jumble him about, which made me often weep, because you know he was my child " This is taken word for word from the English book published by the Minister Smith. (97) When he was old enough he was taken to this Smith's school, and kept the moneywhich he had received from his father to be paid to the schoolmaster Afterwards he was sent to Cambridge . While a servant at St. John's College he had a garment made for him and promised payment in a month's time When the month was up he said that he had never received the garment and demanded a Holy Bible, on which to swear it with a solemn oath But the tailor, who was less concerned about the price ofthe garmentthan for his owngood name, in case he should be thought to have claimed money that was not owingto him, searched everywhere for the garment, andeventually found itin a second-hand dealer's shop, where Oates had sold it Being proved guilty of two crimes, actual theft and intended perjury, Oates was expelled in disgrace from the College He went next to Hastings, a town on the sea-coast in Sussex, where he charged the Mayor's son with an atrocious crime: he then accused the Mayor himself oftreason before the Royal Council , to prevent him from safeguarding his son . When each had been declared free from all stain of guilt, Oates was cast into prison to pay the penalty for his double perjury; but he escaped this by breaking out of prison . He was made vicar of the village of Bobbing in the Diocese of Canterbury; and then, when juridical depositions had been made against him, on account of his shameful and crime-stained life, he was expelled from that post too. At the time when he had become a public terror he had these depositions erased from the archives of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Proctor His activities after he had joined the Catholic Church will be morefittingly narrated below, as occasion offers If anyone desires a description of his appearance, his desire will be satisfied at the beginning of Book IV. (98) THE CHARACTER OF EZREHEL TONGE . Oates had as accomplice in fabricating the story of the Plot (he himself was quite unequal to the task)-one Ezrehel Tonge, an Oxford Doctor of Theology, who
at the time of the Civil Wars raged furiously againstthose two Fathers of our Fatherland, Charles I and Charles II He was no morejust to his mother, the Protestant Church, for he attacked it with all his strength by the spoken word and in published books To leave none of the duties of a good man unviolated, he tried to make an end of his second mother, the University of Oxford, and her twin sister , the University of Cambridge , through his own exertions and Cromwell's power, by erecting a single college at Durham, which was to take the place of both. Generous contributions of money were made by the Presbyterians for this purpose But God's Providence averted the danger which threatenedthe two Eyes of the Kingdom. When at a later date Tangier (from which that part of Morocco which faces the Straits of Gibraltar takes its name) had come into Charles's power, Tonge was sent out by Charles with the garrison on the specious pretext that he was to take charge of religious affairs out there, but in fact Charles wanted to be rid of a troublesome character When he had been caught sowing discord there, the Governorof the placesent him back to England, testifying by his own hand and the signatures of his officials that Tonge could not be kept there except at the cost of the certain ruin of the garrison On his return he tried to worm his way into the favour of the Lord Chancellor and of Williamson, Charles's Secretary of State, in the hope of obtaining some benefice through their assistance; but his efforts were of no avail, on account of the native depravity and incorrigibilityof his character. So much did he lovedoing mischief, that he thought doing no harm was as good as being dead. As fortune opposed him at every turn he was filled with bile, and not being able safelyto vomit it out on the Protestants, he decided that the Catholics , who were vulnerable, should have it. But he was well aware that this course, though for the present it was less objectionable to the Protestants, would yet, in time to come, harm them as well. His own writings and those of his son, Simpson Tonge, declare that Tonge suggested to Oates, who was then penniless, that he should pretend to be a Catholic, seek to be admitted amongst them, ferret out their designs, explore their intentions, or at least find out the names and the places where they met, what were their hopesand what grounds they had for hoping. (99) OATES'S TRAVELS It was the Jesuits whom Oates approached Protesting his detestation of heresies and errors , out of horror for which, he said, he had renounced a rich benefice , he sought admission into the Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. He easily imposed upon men who were zealous for the salvation of souls and ready to do all in their power to help everyone They sent him to Valladolid, to devote himself to Philosophy and Theology. Arriving on 1st June 1677, he remained there until 30th October of the same year, during which period he did not even once spend a night outside the College. When it was found that he was not constant in the Faith (for it was difficult for him to sustain his false rolefor a long time) he was sent backto Englandon 30thOctober. He put in at Bilbao on 3rd November , and taking ship from there, landed at Topsham, a port near Exeter From there he returned to London, where, thanks to his usual hypocrisy, he induced Father Richard Strange to send him to the Seminary of our nation at St. Omers in Belgium. On the 26th November(O.S.), or the 6th December (N.S.), he left London: the date of his arrival at St. Omers was 30th
November (O.S.), or 10th December (N.S.). There he remained until 23rd June (N.S.) of the following year 1678 , when he returned to England. During this period he was outside the Seminary for only one night, and that night he spent at Watten, four miles from St. Omers , at the House of Probation of the English Province . All these details are proved by the public attestations, long since published, of the two Colleges and of other persons whose word is unimpeachable . The authentic documents themselves are kept at St. Omers, because that city is situated on the common frontiers of France and Belgium , and is easily accessible from England: those who put no faith in published books may see them there These minute details may seem trivialto some readers and unworthy to take up space in a History, but infact they arenot so (as will later appear), for they are of the very greatest value for refuting Oates's false statements .
(100) While Oates was at St. Omers a Provincial Congregation was held in London to appoint a Procurator to be sent to Rome . This came to Oates's notice after the Fathers had returned from the Congregation
(101) Also while at St. Omers Oates sought to be admitted to the Society When somebody remarked to him that a man of his character would never be admitted he replied " I shall be either a Jesuit or a Judas"; and on another occasion he said "IfI do not become a Jesuit I shall be damned" When he had been refused admission he swore loudly, "I shallmakethe Jesuits pay forit. " the day before his departure he was found at St. Omers after the hour of Vespers in the sanctuarywith his arms outstretched. Beingasked what he was doing there at so unusual a time (the others had gone to bed) he replied "I am saying Farewell to Jesus Christ " So he came back to London, furnished with no information which would satisfy Tonge's desires, exceptthat about the Provincial Congregation This Tonge seized upon with avidity, as nothing better was to hand for his purposes of deception Tonge himself two years later removed tothehouse ofCollege (a joiner, ofwhommuch below), sufferingagonies of torture from his conscience He was guarded with extreme care , for fear that if he came out in public he might say something which would obstructthe designs ofthe Faction Finally, eaten up like Herod and Calvin by worms, he expired in despair and in excruciating pain. This information is derived from the Trial of the above-mentioned College.
On
(102) THOMAS HARCOURT , THE PROVINCIAL Rev. Father Thomas Harcourt, whose real name was Whitbread, was appointed Provincial ofthe English Province of the Societyof Jesus on January 14th, 1678 (O.S.), and on January 24th (N.S.). More will be heard of him below While making the visitation of the houses of his Province in Belgium, he came to St. Omers, where Oates was then staying. When he had heard what sort of man he was, how evil-minded he was, how habituallytellinglies, changeable even in matters of religion (if indeed he had ever had any sense of religion), a calumniator, and ill-affected towards the Royal Family , he said that he would never admit him to the Society, warned him to control his tongue or else he would be unworthy to associate with men of good character , and then , after providing him with money for the journey, sent him back home.
(103) At Liège, on the day before the Renovation of Vows , viz. 24th July, Father Harcourt preached, taking as his text the words of
our Lord to the sons of Zebedee: " Can you drink the chalice which I am about to drink ? " After praising all present for the regularity of their observance, and exhorting them to an entire renovation of spirit, he suddenlyaltered the tone of his discourse and asked whether they were prepared to suffer other and greater hardships than religious disciplineenjoinse.g. were they prepared for loss of their good name , and to be accused of sedition, conspiracy against the King, and of wanting to overthrow the state ? Were they prepared to be cast into prison, to be chained hand and foot, to be brought before the Bar , to be condemned amidst the unbounded applause of a frenzied populace, and to suffer shamefultortures ? After each of this series of questions he repeated the words of his text with such firmness of voice and in so steady and authoritative a tone that all were filled with astonishment There were indeed some who thought that he had mentioned these things at an inappropriate time, in view of the then existing condition of Catholics in England and of the mutual good services done by Charles forthem and bythem for him But therewere others who interpreted the present calm not as peace, but as a truce, which would one day, and perhaps on no very distant day, expire; they foresaw that the fury ofthe heretics against us, though at present pent up, would one day burst out and cause great havoc, and thereforeguessed a storm was threatening. Yet no one at all believed that anyone would be found so impudent as to impugn the loyaltyofthe Catholics , or so easilyswayed as to believe the author of such fantastic charges. They foresaw that the execution of the penal laws would be pressed for, that some would be punished for being priests, that Catholics would be fined for non-attendance at Protestant services, that those being educated in the seminaries abroad would be recalled , etc. these were in fact just the measures which the enemies of the Catholics were urging in Parliament. But no one had any apprehension of the charge of treason when Rev. Father Provincial delivered his discourse Whenwe saw everything happen to himself in the same order as he had foretold, it was thought that he had foreseen his sufferings in the spirit of prophecy. And
(104) THE ANTWERP PLAGUE
On his way back, Father Whitbread visited Antwerp, which was being ravaged by an unknown sickness that spared few and carried off very many, especially those in the prime of life. Within the city the disease was spread by contagion; outside , those in good healthwere immunefrom it, as alsowere those who came to visit the sufferers. Both Father Whitbread and his companion , Father Edward Mico, brought over with them into England the infection they had contracted They were confined to bed by its violence, and reduced to the last extremity, whenthefirst scene of the Tragedybegan.
(105) Meanwhile , Oates and Tonge were extremely busyarranging the Tragedy in the house of Richard Barker, who after being a horsedoctor and then practising upon human beings, had been raised tothe rank of Knight. From his home they moved nearer to the Court , to a house previously called Foxhall ' [i.e. Vauxhall], but now known bythe neighbours as Plot House ' on account of those who assembled there for their deliberations An Advocate named Digby was taken into their fellowship They threw together into their Narrative all the public and private misfortunesthat had occurred for a wholecentury the Civil Wars, the foreign wars, the spread of the Plague, the
execution of Charles I, the failure to make a treaty with the House of Austria The Catholics , they said, had caused the Dutch to disarm Orange, they had prepared armies in England, Scotland and Ireland, in order to bring those kingdoms under the tyranny of the Pope; new Archbishops and Bishops, it was said, had been appointedby the Pope; officers of both high and low rank had been appointed by the General of the Jesuits, in virtue of a special Bull granted him for that purpose ; the officers' commissions had been seen by Oates and distributed by him to a large number of the persons concerned; a great storeofarms and money had been made ready (part of this Oates had seenabout the rest he had received information from others); one man had been induced to murder Charles by poison, two with pistols, and four with daggers; all were frequently in and about the Court Thisaccountwas set out by Tonge in eighty-one articlesa task beyond the capacity of Oates , who was meanwhile besetting the doors of the Jesuits and Benedictines , dressed in ragged clothes and begging alms On one occasion he said that fortwo dayshe had not had even a scrap of bread to eat (it may fairly be believed that on this point he was not lying). He asked a certain person, who was distinguishedalike by his noble birth and by his dignityin the Church, to persuade the Jesuits either to admit him into the Society or to make him an annual pension, so that he could live respectably. He promised that, if he obtainedeither ofthese favours, he would hand over to the Jesuits a copyoftheaccusations that had been made up againstthem and other Catholics . He knew very well, he said, that there was no truth in them, but he was certain that Parliament would believe everything. (106) Such, then, were Oates's proposals He made them either because he was terrified by the enormity of the crime he was about to commit, or because he intended, if the Jesuits should accept either condition , to use theircompliance as a proof of the information hehad decided to lay against them. At all events the Jesuits , suspecting the latter motive, did not venture to make any offer; confidentoftheir own innocence, they entrusted the outcome of the matter to Divine Providence Tonge claimed that the honour of being the Chief Informer was owed by Parliament to him on account of the trouble he had taken in preparing the Narrative (for so the indictment of the Catholics was called); but both the glory and the infamy ofthe business clung to Oates, for, whoeverwas the author of those lies, Oates made them his own by swearing to them with false oaths. It is said that Danby knew what the conspirators were up to: he is also said to have given them encouragement But I do not assert this as a truth, since I am not sufficiently certain So far nothing had come to the notice of the Catholics , except by way of vague and inconstant rumours , of which there is always an abundant crop in England.
(107) THE WINDSOR LETTERS Rev. Father Thomas Beddingfield, S.J., who was reputed to be the Confessor of the Duke ofYork, had accompanied the Duke to Windsor. Goingout very early on the morning of September 1st, he met the London post, and enquireda thing he had never done beforewhether there were any letters addressed to him. Hefound that there was a small bundleoffive letters, in which , like the whole Iliad inside a nut, the entire story of the Plot was contained in summaryform: that Scotland was ready, that Ireland was tense with expectationof revolution; that he must beware offour assassins , whohadmade up their mindsto kill the King, etc. Bedding-
field was astonished by the report He immediately went to York and handed over to him the letters to be given to Charles. He saidthat he had never heard anything about those things: he knew the persons in whose name the letters were writtenand was certain thattheywere written by none of them , which made him fear that some plot was being hatched against York.
(108) When Charles was informed about the letters, he answered that the affair was not new to him; he had first heard of it a month and a half earlier This increased York's anxietyto think that the King had concealed from his notice a matter ofsuch moment. On the same morning the postman was twice asked for Beddingfield'sletters, once byOates himselfand once byBeddingfield . On the samemorning Danby hastened to the Court from his seat in Oxfordshire, as has been said, in orderto be present at thefirst public report of the affair However, Beddingfield'spromptitude had so upset the works of darkness , that for a whole three days Danby refused to hear Oates or his friend and accomplice Kirby. At length he gave them a hearing, and then retired to his country house at Wimbledon; and the affair, for all its magnitude, was not discussed again until the 27th of the same month Nor meanwhile were the poisoners, cut-throats and others who were said to be plotting the King's death, placed under arrest; they were not even excluded from the Court so that at least the walls of a house might delay the parricide It is clear, therefore, that no credence was given to the informersunless anyone supposes that although Charles was in great peril, neither he nor his courtiers took any thought for his safety. (109) That the letters were products of Tonge's workshop is clearly testified by his own son Simpson, and has been proved with variousarguments by Roger Lestrange in his Observator(Vol II,n. 150) from their resemblance to Tonge's phraseology , from various faults in English orthography, which were idiosyncracies of Tonge's, as can be seen from his other MSS.; also from the shape ofthe letters, peculiar to him , andfinallyfrom the fact that there are no commas or fullstops to distinguish clause from clause and sentence from sentencea peculiarity or foible of Tonge's not common in other people That they were not written by those whose names are put to them is perfectlyclear . Fogarty, a doctor of medicine , is called 'Fogoty,' and the son of the illustrious Earl ofCardiff is called Brunall, ' thoughhisname is Brudenell. The authenticity of the letters is open to suspicion on so many grounds that they were never produced in court Indeed the first attack on the Catholics , made by means of these letters, had so little success that although our accusers were daily inventing new lies, and scattering them abroad without shame, without conscience , andwithoutfearofGod or man, they neverventuredagainto attribute any writings to us.
(110) Made more cautious but no less wicked by this failure, they tried a new approach Oates, Tonge and Kirby together visited Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey Oates submitted his Narrative to him , and swore an oath that it was true in whole and in every part Godfrey, as the nature of his office required, bore witness that such an oath was taken in his presence; and the other two, Tonge and Kirby, also witnessed it. Godfrey (as Oates himself reported, and from this fact he inferred that Godfrey deemed himself a Papist ), horrified at the unexpected contents of the Narrative, and astonished at the atrocity of
it, was almost dazed and came very near to fainting : the whiteness of his face , the trembling of his knees, which were knocking against each other, his inability to control his water, and other indications, showed the horror in his mind and the distress of his spirit But when he recovered he considered the matter more closely and thought over the motivesof both the accused and the accusers. Scentingsome mischief, he reported the whole thing to York, thereby giving grave offence to Danby, who rebuked him severely and added heavythreats of what would happen if he did not confine himself to his own sphere. Godfrey is known to have said that the drama which was being rehearsed would not be produced without bloodshed, and that he would be the first martyr. That he was a true prophet is plain, for hedid not survive long, as we shall see in the next book. (111) THE CHARACTER OF GODFREY Godfrey was the sixth son of a Knight He was courageous, active and industrious He received from his father a moderate fortune, which he increased by engaging in commerce. He was a man of primitive simplicity, completely guileless himself, and a hater of crookedness in others. So much was he esteemed by both the King and York that he was knighted and made aJusticeof the Peace by the King. No Justicewas morefaithful to Charles or more friendly to the Catholics , and even to the Jesuits, with many of whom he was very familiar.
(112) OATES BEFORE THE PRIVY COUNCIL. Oates was then given a hearing by Charles and his Privy Council. He said (1) that he had been sent from Valladolid to Madrid; that there discussions had been heldwith John ofAustria in the name of all Catholics about murdering the King, overthrowing the Constitution, restoring the Catholic Faith and eliminating all other creeds; and that he, Oates, had been told to askthe Catholic Kingformoney, forces and other means tothe achievement of those objects ; (2) that he had been sent from St. Omers to Paris with Rev. Father de la Chaise, Confessor to the most Christian King, to treat of the same matters; (3) that from St. Omers he had come to London, armed with special letters patent from the Very Rev. Father General S.J., empowering him to attend the Provincial Congregation . (113) When he named John of Austria, Charles asked whether he hadevermet him Oates replied brazenly, " IndeedI have, and I have been on very friendly terms with him " Then Charles said " What sort of a man is he ? " " Tall, slender and fair," said Oates To which Charles replied "It is plain that you never saw him; he is of medium height, stout and has black hair." About Père de la Chaise , Charles asked where Oates had met him. He replied " In the Jesuit house where he lives," and when Charles pressed him, asking which Jesuit house, since the Jesuits had three residences in Paris, namely, the Professed House of St. Louis, the College of Clermont, and their Novitiate, Oates confessedthat he did not know the name ofthe house , but it was the one which adjoins the Louvre. Then Charles said Obviouslyyou have never been in Paris, for there is no Jesuit house adjoining the Louvre; and the Professed House, where the Confessors of the Most Christian King live, is about two miles away across the greater part of the city of Paris"
" (114) When they came to discussing the Provincial Congregation , atwhich Oates had falsely said he was present, Charles asked him where the Jesuits had met He replied withgreat confidence that they had
met in London in the Strand at the White Horse Charles knew that this was untrue, since he was aware that they had foregathered in the palace belongingto the Duke of York. But neither Charles nor any of those who defended the Catholics mentionedthis fact until thefury of the persecution had completelydied down, as they did not wish to increase York's unpopularity I omit the smaller points on which Oates is proved to have been in error. Time and again Charles said to the members of the Councilwho sat beside him, " Watch me catch him in another lie, " and his expectation was never deceived.
(115) When Oates had gone out, Charles said aloud, " Nay, he is a lying knave " That he most certainly was, for it is plain from the attestations of the Illustrious and Rev. Archbishop of Tuam , of Rev. Doctor Richard Duell, an Irish priest, and of Rev. Fathers Manuelo de Calatayud, Rectorof the EnglishCollegeat Valladolid, andDomenico Ramos, Procurator of the College, that Oates never went to Madrid. Again, when the Plot was the main subject of conversationin London , Mr. Taylor, S.T.D., who had been chaplainto the English Ambassador at Madrid, and Mr. Goddard , who had lived there as a merchant , met Oates andasked him whetherhe knewany Englishpeople atMadrid,and in particular whether he knew Mr. Goddard Oates answered without hesitation that he knewall the English residentthere, and particularly Goddard , who had frequently entertained him to dinner with great kindness Then Taylor said to his companion , " That is enough, Mr. Goddard. Now we know very well how much truth there is in the matter." The Court's confidence in Oates was shaken when this story got about. When Oates was interrogated about it, Taylor and Goddard were summoned and asked about their religion When they said that they were Protestants, the Lords told them to take care notto underminethe credit of the King's witness , otherwise they would rue it. As will be seen , this procedure was constantly imitated by the Faction.
(116) At a later date it was declared by the public verdict of a court, after the case had been duly contested and a large numberof witnesses examined , that Oates's journey to Paris was a pure fiction. And at the very time of the Plot about two hundred persons living in the Seminary at St. Omers tesitified on oath that in the whole period of his stay at St. Omers, that is from 10th December 1677 to 22nd June 1678 , Oates had spent only one night awayfrom the College, and that at Watten Besides, it would have been most absurd for the Catholicsto have entrustedsuch business to a manwhowas a neophyte and unknownor rather all too well knownwhohad never conducted any business andwho, apart from his native tongue,whichwas unknown in the places he mentioned, knew no other language, not even Latin (Oates had scarcely a smattering of Latin) What is more, there was already at each of the two courts in question a Jesuit Procurator of the English Province , not altogether unversed in handling business. As for his assertion that he had been granted special letters patent by the General of the Jesuits, and had been present at the Provincial Congregation , this struck everybodyas so stupid that he did not venture to mentionit thereafter. He merelysaidthat he had been present in orderto take out decrees from one place to anotherwhen the Fathers had come to an agreement, and to collect the subscriptionsof the assembled Fathers. This is in itself no less foolish, though its folly is not so obvious to others as it is to Jesuits
(117) THE CHARACTER OF WILLIAM SCROGGS . None of the characters necessary for the Tragedy which we are about to witness must escapeour notice So mention must be made of the appointment ofWilliam Scroggs as Presidentof the King's Bench (a tribunalcreated for the trial of criminal cases , and especiallyof treason), with the title of Lord Chief Justice of England Under a gentlemanly appearance he concealed a fierce, truculent character , thirsty for blood and accustomed to blood from his earliest years, for he was the son of a butcher , and in his youth had been a butcher himself For this reason most people were surprised at his appointment to be Lord Chief Justice, since the Lawsof Englanddo not allow butchers to be chosenforjurors, as they are suspected of cruelty
(118) In the Civil Wars he had followed the better, though not the more successful cause , and at their close he devoted his time to the study of English Law. By nature he was witty and not without eloquence; what he lacked in rhetorical training was compensated by his volubility. The cruelty of his nature is shown by the wittysayings with which he used to taunt those whom he had condemned to death. He used to pay no more attention to the speeches of men pleading their cases before him, even when they were innocent, than he had paid to the bleating of innocent lambs in his father's slaughter-house. In audacity he was the equal even of Oates. He said, not from an oracular tripod but from the King's Bench, his throne, that " there was not so much as a mender of old boots among the Protestantswho would not be able to confoundin disputation any priest in the Roman Church . " That this remark was greeted with unbounded applause from the crowd that stood around, its author has publicly asserted in the printed edition of his speech When he was raised to the abovementioneddignity, all thoughtful men at once surmised that a Tragedy was impending But everybody thought that the omen was meant for the obstinate Presbyterians and fanatics who are always troublesome to their rulers : nobody suspected that the axes were being sharpened and the halters made ready for the Catholics Only the man who had secured Scroggs's promotion knew againstwhomhe was put up; he also knew that the thunderbolt would fall where his own advantage would be served. Scroggs himself was after a short period deposed from office and told to retire into private life He solaced his sorrowful loneliness and inactivity with the companyof practically no one save Catholics, for the rest deserted him. What a judgment! O hand of God ! Truly the finger of God is here ! He did not long survive. Unable to endure private life and inaction, he breathedforth his soul , torn by the consciousness of so many murders , oppressed by the weight of debt which he had contracted, hated by others , a burden to himself, and now to appear before the tribunal of the Most Just Judge.
(119) Having now described the more important characters in this Tragedy, having explained their motives and other matters which were concealed at the time but published later by those who took part in these events, I bring my First Book to a close .
(120) CONTENTS . The first violent outbreak of the Persecution ; those who were caught up in the first blast The characterofEdward Harvey, of Bedlow , of Dugdale, and of Prance The violence of the Persecution The aspect of the Court The murder of Godfrey. Parliament: Oates is heard there, and makes many false statements He is not believed, yet is treated with great honour The judgment of Parliament and its unfairness ; the aims of the Lords of the Faction Charles's Proclamations . The deaths of Thomas Beddingfield and of Humphrey Brown. Mildmay's cunning. The trials of William Staley and Edward Coleman, and their sufferings The controversy over the Oath of Allegiance . The Queen is accused of complicity The charges laid against Danby Affairs in Scotland and Ireland John Sergeant
(121) THE FIRST VIOLENT OUTBREAK
We have seen how the vapours of a pretended plot arose from an assembly of calumniators , and howby the cunningexertions ofthe Factionthese vapours thickened into a black cloud : we shall now see what thunderbolts and storms issued from the cloud On the 28th September the Royal Council had sat all day long, discussing the Plot, as if it had then come to light for the first time On the following night the first thunderclap startled all with its din. FathersWilliam Ireland and John Fenwick , Jesuits, were taken prisoner , the former being the Procurator of the Province and the latter the Procurator in London for the Seminary of St. Omers Their account -books and their money were taken away, their other possessions were placed under seal, and they themselves were cast into prison So also were Thomas Pickering, a Benedictine lay brother, and John Groves, who was employed by the Fathers of the Society living in London; also N. Fogarty, a Doctor of Medicine , and others . Oates, armed with a royal warrant, and surrounded by a bodyguard, entered their rooms and ordered them to be led off into prison. He also went to the rooms of the Rev. Father Provincial, Thomas Harcourt, and of Father Edward Harvey, who were confined to bed by a serious illness However, when doctors were summoned and gave their opinion that the Fathers could not be movedwithout peril to their lives, a guard of soldiers was left at the door of each . The rest departed, taking with them the papers which they had found in Harvey's room. So much barbarity and violence did they show in thrusting pistols into Harvey's chest and in trying to force him to show them the letters which, they said, were somewhere concealed, that his death, which followedon December 3rd, was due not so much to the violence of his illness as to the blows he then received Even when dead he was not left in peace, for an idle rumour was circulated, and repeated with great assurance, that he had been poisoned for fear he might betray his fellow-conspirators Surgeons were, therefore , ordered to inspect the body. Theyexaminedfirst the more noble parts, and then others , until finally they came down to almost the very smallest veins; yet no trace of poison appeared anywhere . Then another rumour followedthat he had died of grief when his hopes of obtaining the Bishopric, to which Oates had nominated him , were extinguished
(122) THE CHARACTER OF HARVEY Edward Harvey, whose real name was Mico, was born in Essex of respectable parents He studied humanities at St. Omers, where his innocence oflife made him popular with all For two years he followed the course of Philosophy at the English College in Rome So accurately did he conform his life to the Rule that even then he was called " the Jesuit Novice. " He particularly disliked discord and quarrelling. Being anxious to avoid quarrels, he would never put down a gage and fight, as is the practice among young men , in case one of the contending parties should be saddened by the loss of his gage, or dispute about who had won . As he was trained to such good habits, it was easy for him to obtain admission to the Society , which he entered at Watten on 15th June 1650 , in his twentieth year He was professed of the Four Vows on 2nd February 1666. As Socius to three Provincials, he was popular with superiors and subjects alike. The end of his life came as wehave described above In the closing days of his life, nothing gave him greater pain than the thought that his strength was not sufficientto enable him to undergo the hardships of prisonandthe extremepenalty. If not in fact, yet in desire he certainly shared the fate of the martyrs. (123) THE SAVAGENESS OF THE PERSECUTION The following were cast into prison : Edward Petre and Thomas Jenison , priests of the Society, Robert Pugh and N. Smith, secular priests , Richard Langhorne , J.P., and Edward Coleman, Secretary to the Duchess of York Upon hearing that he was being searched for, Coleman presented himself to the Royal Council to clear himself of the charges made against him, but he was taken away thence to prison, and was neverbrought out exceptto hear sentence pronounced against him and to undergoit. It would be an endless task to go over the names of every single individual who met with the like treatment (124) Dismal was the situation ofthe Catholics The pursuivants were alwayswith them, either in fact or through theirfears. Sothey enjoyed no interval of peacebydayor by night Oates sped hither and thither, accompanied by soldiers, and enjoying complete power to imprison anyonehe chose. He vented his hostility upon his Catholic friends and benefactors no less than upon his enemies: his greatest pleasure was to be feared by everyone andto harm as many aspossible. In all the streets of London you would meet the pitiable prisoners : if you greeted them, or grieved at their misfortune, it was enoughyou were summoned to share in theirfate. So the last comfort of the afflicted, the companyof their friends and relations, was taken away. Even those who were known to Charles, and who had proved their loyalty, were afforded no other safeguard by him than the option of voluntary flight from the kingdom into exile Those who disliked the idea of exile left the city and tookrefuge in remoter parts of England The Dutch Gazettes publishedon the 22nd Novemberreported that 30,000 Catholics had left London, and that the only ones remaining were those who had no other home elsewhere: all the gaols were so full of prisoners that their Governors had submitted a writtenpetition to the Royal Council, requesting that no more prisoners should be committed to gaol, because there was no longer space to take them. So severe and strict was the guard kept over the prisoners thata wife could hear nothing of her husband, nor a father of his own son; and
Thomas Harcourt, the Provincial, though he was imprisoned in the same building as William Ireland, heard nothing of the latter's execution for four whole months
In this way, then, London was made desolate by imprisoning and flight The only Catholics to remain in their homes were those whose poverty denied them the chance of flight or exile Some had not strength enough and succumbed to the evil; some few, alas! joined the numberofthe persecutors Londontoo had its share ofthe misfortune, fortherewas a dropin the numberof rich natives and foreigners coming there to spend their wealth: the loss hereby sustained is estimated to have been as great as that caused by the Fireitself.
(125) THE ASPECT OF THE COURT . At the Court there was a great display of alarm The Privy Council was summoned more frequently, and sat longer, than was usual; the guard about it was doubled; the main gates were shut, and only posterns were opened even for the ambassadors of foreign Princes All these things were designed to create atmosphere Yet the commonpeople could not be persuaded that the Plot was being taken seriously. They suspected court intrigues, since there was nothing but the word of Oates to give substance to the alleged conspiracy . The general aspect of the whole situation was lugubrious; the condition of all Catholics was disastrous and utterly wretched, but especially that of the Jesuits, who were burdened not merely with the commonmisfortunes but also withthe hostility of alleven of their fellow-sufferers, who suspected the Jesuits of having aroused Charles's anger by some imprudently zealous word or speech or action Moreover, as all correspondence by letter was completely interrupted, nothing was heard about the Jesuits except what their enemies disseminated The Father who was then Rector of the Society'sCollege atLiègewas made Vice-Provincial. He , therefore, was the person who should have been informed of whatwas happeningto the Jesuits, yet for the space of five months he had no news except from the public newspapers, unless occasionally some person escaped to the Continent like one saved from a shipwreck. For the most part such exiles knew nothing about the others , so entirelyhad the desire to escape occupied their anxious minds Thus it came about that the one side made bold accusations, and no reply was made by the other side: this created suspicions that there might besome substance in the charges. Even John Paul Oliva, the General Superiorof the Society of Jesus, upon hearingthe rumours that were circulating, said to John Carey, who had been sent to Rome as Procurator: If the Fathers of your Province have mixed themselves up in plots of that kind, they are paying the penalty they deserve . " (This shows howfar he was from approving such plots ) In a letterof 3rd December ofthis yearto Thomas Stapleton, Rectorofthe Seminary at St. Omers , he has this passage: "I am watching what will be the outcome of that disturbance Meanwhile my considered judgment of the whole matter is this: that if Ours have meddled in politics (which conduct I abominate, though I think it no less improbablethan abominable ), I think they deserve to suffer their present calamities; but if they are innocent, which is more likely and much to be hoped, I am convinced that they will win, if not theirfreedomand theirgood name, yet certainly immortal crowns " (126) Throughout the whole of this time belief in the Plot rested upon the evidence of Oates alone. For Tonge, although he had been
with Oates from the beginning, could say only what Oates had taught him , since he had never had anything to do with any Catholics ; hence he and Oates together amounted to only one witness Both of them used the services of Kirby, in order to gain access to Charles. Letters covering many years were subjected to a most careful examination; the Catholics ' homes were ransacked ; the most diligent enquiry was made into their conversations , their silences, their studies, their talk, their labours, and even their leisure ; yet no indications were found of rebellion or treason such as would hoodwink the populace or lend any verisimilitude to Oates's story Those who had been raised to Sacred Orders did not conceal their religion and admitted their priesthood; but the enemies of religion took extremecare notto make any mention of these things, in case anyone should suspect that they were the real issue , and that the aim of these disturbances was somethingother than the security of the King and of his Realm. The truth was , however , scented out by not a few, and was shortly afterwards demonstrated by clear proofs When the Earls Arundell and Shrewsbury , and the Barons Brudenell and Lumley, had been arrested, to be taken to the Tower of London on a charge of conspiracy, and indeed as being ringleaders in the Plot, they at once secured their liberty when they declared themselves ready to attend the Protestant services No further refutation ofthe charge laid againstthem was required Again, William Roper, the scion of an ancient and noble family (which is said to have the distinction of never having made shipwreck in the matter of the Faith), when he saw his name in the Royal Proclamation against traitors, immediately went with his eldest son to Scroggs, in order to ask whether he was the person in question. He was indoubt because others had the same name as himself Scroggs replied " My dinner is served; we shall discuss that matter when we have eaten. " The day was Friday When Roper refused the meat offered him by Scroggs's wife, Scroggs said to her " If Mr. Roper had consented to eat meat on a Friday his name would never have been writtenon the list of conspirators " He had both the Ropers led off to the prison called the King's Bench : by order of Parliament they were transferred thence to the Tower ofLondon. What brought ruin on the IrishDoctor Fogarty, and the inn-keeper Townley, was that Oates was in debt tothemto the latterfor beer sold him andto the former forattending him when he was suffering from a venereal disease. Both were cast into a loathsome dungeon and died of the stenchand other hardships which they endured there : so also did many others too, the mere recital of whose names would be tedious ; but I piously believe that they are written in the Book of Life.
(127) Sir George Wakeman, the Queen's doctor, was heard by the Royal Council It was said that he hadbeen inducedby a promise of £15,000 to make up his mind to administer a poisoned draught to Charles. At first, so little was the informer believed, that Wakeman was allowedto go free, to attend his sick in the ordinary way. Later he was again summoned, and was committed to the Tower of London. I shall speak below at the appropriate moment of his trial, at which he was declared innocent
(128) Various other captives perished either in prison or after being brought to trial: all were alike in their innocence, but theywere
not all treated alike Indeed it seemed as if the judges were deciding the fate of those summoned before them not on the merits of the case , nor on the testimony of witnesses, but by casting lots.
(129) THE MURDER OF GODFREY . The people of London had not yet been driven out of its mind, and had not yet thrown off allaffection for the Catholics They watchedthem being seizedand dragged away, and were not withoutsympathy for them. They looked on in silence , and wondered what would be the outcome of all this But the murder ofGodfreyenraged themtoo Godfreywas the man before whomOates had sworn an oath to his Narrative of the imaginary Plot He was last seen on the 12thOctober: on the 16th of the same month his body was found, transfixed with his own sword, in a ditch on Primrose Hill, about a mile away from the city It is clear that he was not killed by robbers, because a considerable sum of gold coins and a watch had been left in his pocket.
(130) Some say that Godfrey laid violent hands upon himself, following the example of his father, who had hanged himself with a nooseand so snapped the threadof life. Godfrey'sbrothers, they said, had carefully concealed the truth for fear that his property might be appropriated by the Treasury. Many people, for reasons explained elsewhere, used to point to Danby as responsible for the murder; and for a long time a rumour was prevalent that on the day when he was last seen , many people observed Godfrey entering Danby's house , whereas nobody saw him come out. But whoever was responsible for the murder, the blame for it remained with the Catholics alone: for this they had to thankthe Faction, who seized upon it as a proof of the conspiracy, and raised the awful cry that the life of no one would besafewhowas not a participant in the Catholics 'worship. Thethroats of other Protestantswere threatened, they said, unless the precaution were taken of banishing Catholics from the city and the kingdom Oates himself, as Smith testifies , declared " That murder happen'd well for me . I believe not a Word on't (i.e. not a word of Bedlow's oath that the Catholics were responsible) ; but my Plot had come to nothing without it; it made wellfor me; I believe the Council would never have takenanyfarther notice of me else, ifhe had not beenfound " (131) Shortly afterwardsJohn Powell, an honest citizenofLondon , disappeared without telling his servants or even his wife. It was said that he too had been murdered, so Charles published a Proclamation promising £200 to anyone giving information of the assassins Lestrange says that easily twenty-five or thirty books were published declaring the Catholics guilty of this murder too; they even described the ways and means and inducementsby which Powell had been persuaded to take ship, the place to which he had been taken, where and how he had been killed, and so forth The story gained credence (because the minds of the Protestantswere now ready to believe anything against the Catholics) until Powellhimselfwrote from Worcester to say that he had gone there on some private business, and that he was wellthere . One of the Ministersactually said in a public discourse that he was sorry that such a good accusation had come to nothing through Powell's reappearance. Similarly, in 1682 Thomas Thin was killed in the streets of London, and the Catholics were blamedfor this crimetoo Butwhenthe murderers were caught, two were Swedesand followersofLuther, and the third was a Pole: they confessedthatthey had committed the murder. These incidents show plainly how ready
the populace was to believe anything of the Catholics They no longer felt any pityfor them in their sore distress, but thought that all their sufferings were less than what they deserved .
(132) PARLIAMENT On 21st OctoberParliament was summoned by Royal Command Charles first reportedwhat he had done to preserve Flanders for the Catholic King (meaning by ' Flanders ' thewhole of the Spanish Netherlands) For this purpose he had of necessity retained his troops in arms, and the fleet likewise. It was aquestion worthy of the mature considerationof all whether any parts, and if so which , of the fleet ought at that juncture to be disarmed . After this he spoke of the Plot: "I now intend to acquaint you (as I shall alwaysdo with anything that concerns Me) that I have been informed of a Design against my Person by the Jesuits, ofwhich I shall forbear any Opinion, lest I may seem to say too much or too little: but Iwill leave the Matter to the Law, and in the meantimewill take as much Care as I can to prevent any manner of Practices bythat sort of men , and of others too who have been tampering in a high degree with Foreigners , and contriving how to introduce Popery amongst us ' (Itafterwardsbecame evidentthat these last words pointedto Coleman , and the Chancellor refers them to certain laymen ) Then the King commended other problems to their considerationparticularly the need of assisting the exhausted Treasury: he was sure that their great attachment to himself would impel them to do this at once . rest he left to the Chancellor's speech. The (133) The Chancellor , after warning the Lords not to be too disturbed by fears of Popery, said nothing more about the conspirators than that their chambers had been visited, all their papers examined and their homes searched, without revealingany evidence of the existence ofaplot Otherthingsworthyofconsiderationhad,however , been found
(134) Both Houses submitted three requests to Charles: 1. That his ownand the Chancellor's speeches shouldbe printed andpublished. 2. That the Catholics' papers should be made accessible to them. 3. That a day of fasting should be declared by Royal Authority. Then committees were appointedone toexamine the papers, the other to investigate the murder of Godfrey.
(135) OATES IS HEARD IN PARLIAMENT Oates was summoned before Parliament to give his accountof the developmentof thePlot. First he said that James I and his eldest son Henry had been poisoned by the Papists, that the Papists had likewise waged war on Charles I, and that they had caused the Fire of London The wholeofParliament knew that all these assertions were false Then he served up the old, old story of how he had been to Madrid to negotiate with John of Austria, and to Paris to negotiatewith Père de la Chaise: each ofthe two, he said, had, in the name of his own king, promised money and assistance towards the destruction of Charles II, the overthrow ofthe throne, and the restoration of Popery. He had seen letters patent brought from the General ofthe Jesuits, creatingnewministersthroughout the kingdomnamely, Arundell was made Chancellor, Coleman Secretary , Powys Lord Treasurer , Bellasis Commander -in-Chief with Petre as his principal Aide, and RatcliffMarshal of the Army. The colonels and captains had all been appointed, as also were the holders of Archbishoprics , Bishoprics , and all the ecclesiastical dignities He affirmed on oath that he had himself seen these letters patent, that he
had delivered them to various persons with his own hand, and that they had been accepted by those persons. All these things, and a good deal more tending in the same direction, he said on the several days which were set aside for hearinghim.
(136) THE FALSITY OF HIS EVIDENCE Oates is said to have affirmed that the Supreme Pontiff had assumed the title of King of England; but as I amnot certain of this, Ido not stateitcategorically. He did, however , say that the Pope had arrogated to himself royal authorityin asserting that he had dismissed all the King's ministers and appointed new ones. How far removed from such conduct was that holyman, Innocent XI, who was no less tenacious of the powers that belonged to him by right than he was unwilling to encroach upon the rights of others ! Who will believe that the Catholic Peers recognized in the Pope the authority to do such things, when they knew from their readingof history how valiantlytheir ancestors had resisted King John when he tried to make the kingdom of England a feudal fief of the Papal power, and how they had denied that it was within the King's competence to do this?
(137) Still more ridiculous is Oates's assertion that the English Catholics had recognized the General of the Jesuitsas having supreme powerover the Englishand the wholeof Charles's dominions , although it is well known that even in the dominions of Catholic Princes, the General has no power outside the Societyitself and its houses . Ancient legalwriters warn that" the charge oftreason is notto be lightly made , on account of the reverence due to Majesty; the person must be consideredwas he capable of the deed, and has he done anything of the kind before ? " Now the loyalty of the Catholic Peers had been faultless; their respect for the King even in the hardest times had been unwaveringfor many years ; they had nevermade any attempt against the Constitution, and had left no expedient untried in their efforts to preserve it They loved Charles, as he also loved them; they enjoyed peace and quiet by his favour; they held their recovered propertiesin security, so long as there was peace: but if peace should be upset, they had to fear the very reverse of all these things To use the expression of Cassius, Cui bono? Wherewould have been the advantage of making a disturbance? Such plots would not have been merely inexpedient or harmful to them; they would have been impracticable, because the Catholics make up hardly the thousandth part of the population of Englandand besides, as they were without weapons, excluded from the armed forces, possessed of no authorityand armed with nothing but their fists, how could they attack the well-armed Protestants? According to Oates, they were marking down for destruction people whom they could not have killed, even if handed over to them with hands and feet in bonds (138) No less stupid is the assertion that the Jesuits hadcommunicated to Oates plans of the sort described, and that after entrusting such secrets to him they expelled him in disgrace from two Colleges, thus reducing to beggary one who, they knew, had it in his power, byrevealingtheir secret machinations , to deprive all Catholics , of high, low, and ordinary station, oftheir property, libertyandlife In truth , if the Catholics were the sort of people to embarkon impossible enterprises, and to choose so unsuitable a man for carrying them out, they would deserve not to be hanged as guilty of sedition and treason , but rather to be put in bonds as madmen and lunatics In the face ofso
many improbabilities, a sensible man would not have ventured even to open his lips; yet one very nearly senseless not only ventured to speak out but actually won credence.
(139) THE VERDICT OF PARLIAMENT AND THE INJUSTICE OF IT. Parliament, after hearing Oates, declared that a horrid and devilish Plot had been formed by the Papists , and was still afoot, to murder the King, overthrow the Government, and destroy those whoprofessed the Anglican Religion All the Catholic Peers were ordered to withdraw from the Upper House Five of themPowys, Stafford, Baron Arundell, Bellasis and Petrewere committed to the Towerof London. An examination was ordered of all in both Houses who were suspected ofbeing Papists Charles was petitioned to expelall Catholics , not only from his palaces but from the Royal City as well, and from all places within ten miles of it.
(140) Quaking with fear where there was no fear, the citizens of London took to arms, stationed guards in the squares and at crossroads , and ran about the streets in arms for several nights. There wasnogreatertranquillityelsewhere: thepublic highways were watched , passers-by were submitted to strict scrutiny As a result, hostility to the Catholics was intensified, because it was on their accountthat the people were being forced to undergo so many inconveniences . In some places public inns were closed to them, andthey were not allowed to buy bread, even if they were willing to pay cash and double the price. They were constantly reproached with having earned the misery they were suffering , by their base ingratitude, which had made them want to do away with Charles, who had been a great benefactor to them . So it came about that through hunger and other miseries many died to this world, to be reborn in glory in the other.
(141) It was not only where Catholics were numerous, but even where they were few or none at all, that citizens kept watch in arms. At Bury St. Edmunds, a town in Suffolk of considerable population, all the Catholics except twenty were driven out; and of the twenty who remained, there were only two who were not obviously unfit to bear arms, the rest being women or beardless youths Nevertheless , night-watches were set up there with as much care as if the Catholics ' daggers were menacing the throats of all the rest The alarm inspired by Parliament'sdecree was intensifiedbythe Ministersin theirsermons , for they were on the watch for every opportunity of harming the Catholics
(142) The verdict of Parliament was, however, unquestionably unjust, for the following reasons:
(143) (1) It was passed when only one side of the case had been heard, althoughtherewere present many CatholicPeers of unexceptionable character, who were known to be loyal to the King and honest in their dealings with their neighbours They were prepared to refute the charges laid against themselves and their fellow-Catholics , ifallowed to defend themselves ; but they were given no opportunity to speak. (144) (2) The accusation rested on the evidence of only one witness (Some have saidthat some of the charges were substantiated by Coleman's papers, about which we shall speak below ; but thisis irrelevant, because those papers had not at this point been shown to Parliament) But all law, divine and human alike, requires that the witnesses be at leasttwo. " By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he die that is to be slain Let no man be put to death, when
only one beareth witness against him " (Deut xvii, 6) And in the Chapter on oaths it is said about witnesses that " the voice of one is the voice of none . "
(145) (3) This one witness had himself lost all right to be believed through hismanifestperjuries But there is a rule of law, " Once bad always bad in the same sphere. "
(146) (4) In these very speeches made to Parliament he has been proved to have uttered many lies He affirmed on oath that in the month of July last he had handed over letters patent to Ratcliff , the Earl Marshal of the Army, in the garden of the Spanish Ambassador in London. One of the members replied that that could not possibly be true, since he knew for certain that through some illness Ratcliff had not been out of his house for three years, and that his house is nearly two hundred miles distant from London Oates also affirmed that Mark Preston was both a priest and a Jesuit; that he hadhimself often confessed to Preston, seen him offering the sacrifice of the Mass , and had received Communion from him. Preston replied : " See , noble Lords, howfarthe man who gives this evidence is to be depended on Iam a layman, with a wife andchildren, as myneighbours knowand I have not moved house for eleven years. " Oates was somewhat nonplussed by these and other similar answers Being caught out in flagrant lies and perjuries , he stopped for a while . But the Speaker of the Lower House encouraged him to continue, saying in a loud voice " Take heart, Master Oates; carry on and say boldly whatremains We are sitting here not merelyto hear you, but to believe you as well. " Revived by this speech, Oates did indeed carry on. With almost every sentence he added to the number of his perjuries. He claimed to have seen various letters from the Provincial of the Jesuits and from other Fathers, and said that each of them was signed by several hands--a thing which has never been done in the Society. He said the same about the letters patent given to the scholastics sent to Valladolid, namely, that they were signed by the Rector of St. Omers and by four other Fathers He said that he had received many letters from the Rev. Father General of the Society, and had seen far more; that his seal and signaturewere well-known to himself. On his sealwere engraved the letters I.H.Σ., the Latin S being changed into a Greek sigma, a thing unusual in a Jesuit seal. He gave the General's name in various forms, and never right: at one moment he calls him John Paul de Oliva, at anotherJohn Paul di Oliva, andagain John Paul D'Olivayet the General was constantly called, by himself and by others , John Paul Oliva Moreover , it is amazing that one who had seen so many letters patent, and so many letters addressed to himself, should not have retained a single one with which to convince other people, just as if he were collusivelyfavouring the defence. (147) (5) He frequently contradicted himself in making these very charges The most striking instance was this: he declared with an oath that beyond the persons already named, he could accuse no person of distinction. Yet a little later he accused Her Majesty the Queen, whom he had not previously named His perjury was at once cast in his teeth by one of the Peers, and he could escapeby no other means than by impudently denyingthat the Queen was a person of distinction!
(148) WHETHER THE PLOT WAS BELIEVED IN . All these indications of bad faith, which protruded from every side of the case , N
could escape nobody, leastof all the sharp-minded members of Parliament; but they treated truth as of no consequence, and sought only what would serve their own ends One of them, in reply to a person who declared the Plot a fiction, said " Whether the Plot is true or falsemakes no difference : it is certainly a good one , because it serves our purpose. "
(149) Noforeignprince, whetherofthe Catholicor ofthe Reformed Religion, sent a message to congratulate Charles on the discoveryof the conspiracyor on avoiding the danger, as is normally done whena conspiracyis believed to have been real Charles's uncle, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, upon hearing the first rumour of the Plot, instructed his Minister residentin London to be diligent in sending over to him full information about it
But when by his own observation ofeventshehad discovered the fraud, he threw into the fire thepapers he had received, and gave orders that nothing of the sort was to be sent to him again Charles himself, while on the one hand he was dilatingon the danger threateninghim from the Catholics, nevertheless employeda doctor, apothecary , barber, and in his private recreations even a cup-bearer, who were Catholics . He did not imprison the doctor who was said to have undertaken to kill him with poison, nor the assassinswho were to employ other means And whensomebody warned him to protect himself with more care against the terrible intrigues of the Papists, he answered " If the whole of Hyde Park (a park close to the Palace) were full of armed Papists, I shouldnot be afraid to go among them alone and unarmed. "
(150) The crowd, ready to believe everything that is said , really believed that a Plot had been made when it saw Godfrey put out of the way and heard the Papists constantly blamed for doing it
(151) The more thoughtful of the Protestants displayed reserve , not because they suspected the Catholics , but because they did not know what was the meaningof the present drift They remembered that outcries about the Papist Peril and about a pretended Papist Plot had been the prelude to the Civil War which began in the 42nd year of this century and lasted the six following years, as also tothe second CivilWar, which was called the War of'62 They saw thesame sort of men provoking the same passions and raising the same outcry; but they were astonished to find Charles among them, joiningin their outcry or rather, leading it. They were horrified at the danger to which Charles was exposing himself by the things he was doing. He was persecuting loyal friends and had put himself in the power of his enemies Not a few were estranged from him when they saw that honestycountedfor nothing with him, while dishonestywas rewarded. The Catholics ,whowere readyto accept anycommands notin contradiction to the laws of God, were being persecuted by him with exile, prison and torture , while the Presbyterians , who are averse to every kind of authority and refuse all commandseven just and necessary onesthem he admitted to his company, made his bosom friends , and had always before his eyes and in his heart.
(152) No other explanation of Charles's irrational policy was to befound except that he hoped that by the good services of the Presbyterians his army would receive its pay He had conscriptedthis army against the French, who had captured St. Ghislain and Ghent and were devastating the Spanish Netherlands The Presbyterians were uneasy whenthey saw Charles in possessionof an army, although
war had notyet been declared on France, because they feared hemight use his forces againstthem Charles replied that it was impossibleto declare war on France, since peace had not yet been made with the neighbouring powers. As it was thought that peace would have to be made with the Netherlands , Parliament gave orders that the army be disbanded at least before the end of June For this purpose they supplied money, but sparingly. The month of July was , however , added on, becauseCharles said that his soldiers couldnot be withdrawn from the towns they were protecting, until Spainsent forces to relieve them; else it would seem that the towns were being betrayed in the face of the Frenchdanger. Thus the summer dragged onwithvarious disputes , Parliament wanting the army demobilised , and Charles wanting to retain it He hoped that he would be allowed to do so , if alarm was shown about the danger from the Papists These things were being said in the private conversations of those familiar with Charles : nobody declared them in public through fear of the prevailing Faction, and indeed those who incautiously questioned Oates's trustworthiness did notdo so withimpunity Some members of Parliament were committed to the Tower and others were deprived of their seats for saying that the conspiracy was imaginary. A certain Lady would have been imprisoned for the same 'crime' had she not pacified her accuser with £100 A French journalist in London was imprisoned because he was said to have softened down certain expressions of the King's Proclamation of October 30th.
(153) THE HONOUR PAID TO OATES After declaring that the imaginary conspiracywas a real one, Parliament passeda voteofthanks to Oates for the most useful service he had done to the State by discovering the Plot They granted him a pardon for all his crimes , and generous rewards as well; they gave him a bodyguard from the Royal Life-Guards to protect him from attackby the Catholics; they decided that he should have lodgings in the royal palace, and that his table should be supplied from the royal kitchen The task of seeing to these arrangements was entrusted to Monmouth, the Commander of the Household Troops, and likewise to the Lord Chamberlainand to the Lord Chancellora worthy occupation for three of Charles's principal ministers, to be looking after Oates ! What a change from the old Oates, who a little before had been besetting the doors of Catholics , begging for alms!
(154) Sufficient care was taken for Oates's private needs by these arrangements , but not for his needsin the rôle which he was toplayin the Tragedy soon to be presented, for by himself he was notequal to it. Other witnesses had to be sought, and fresh proofs Papers were examined , but contributed no evidence ; houses were searched; arms were sought, butnone were found beyond those which the laws allowed, and some people were brought to trial for being equipped with less armourthan they had a right to possess All cellars were searched and nowherewas a single soldier discovered , though the infamousimpostor had falsely declared that they were being kept there in vast numbers Turning therefore to dishonourable means, they decided to approach the imprisonedCatholics. On 30th Octoberthe Upper House ordered that impunity and rewards should be offered to the prisoners whom they were subjecting to examination, if they would admit their guilt. This orderwas made to prevent anyone from sayingthatthose conducting the enquiry were making the offers on their own private authority.
Thus they assailed the unhappy prisoners from every side, terrifying them with punishmentsand enticing them with rewards, in the hope that by confessing the Peers would win credence for Oates's assertions. A certain Protestant has stated in print that within a very short time 147 persons perished either by the hand of the executioner or through the hardships of imprisonment; and that to each and all of them impunity, life, freedom and wealth were offered, if only they would avow knowledge of the pretended conspiracy But they all preferred to dierather than save theirlives by a pernicious and detestable avowal of the charge . I mention here only one example, though I shall give more below John Medburne belonged to that social class which is not only lowest but most exposed to bribery, as its members consider that questions of right and of gain are hardly separable (he was an actor) This man hadbeen cast into prisonbecausehe was saidbyOates to be a captainin the newarmy. He was offered his liberty and £500 if he would consent to say that he had received a commission appointing him to that office. But it was in vain, for he persistentlysaid that he would rather die in prison (as in fact he did) than secure his ownlife bya foul lie whichwould bring ruin upon manyother perfectlyinnocent men (155) THE AIMS OF THE FACTION. Since in this year the Peers , who hitherto had lurked behind scenes, came forth into the lime-light, it seems desirable, as far as is possible in matters so obscure , to explain their purposes, so that all may know what motives and calculations prompted them to join forces with the persecutors. They were not inspired by hatred of the orthodox Faith or of its adherents , since most of them were not averse to the Faith and were even good friends with Catholics . Further, a book composed in Charles's name , and published by order of James, expresslyasserts that the Faction were contemplating anything rather than the destruction of the Catholic Faith And Shaftesbury , the mind and soul of the Faction, said repeatedly " What does it matter to us whether there are or are not thirty or forty Jesuits in England, lurking in corners and fleeingthe light of day ? " Religion was only a pretext ; they were really bent upon reducing the King's power and so increasing their own, because they were all sure that whatever the King lost would be their gain. The aim in which all the great ring-leaders of the Faction agreed was the reduction within the narrowest possible limits of the royal power. Many members of the Lower House, demented by Calvin's witchcraft and blinded by the clouds off Lake Leman, were in favour of going even further and doing away with both the King and the royal title, so as to be able to introduce a democraticconstitution like that of Geneva Few or none of the nobles agreed with them in this because their own dignity would collapse along with the King's, on whose their own depended as sunbeams do on the sun . They were therefore attracted towards an aristocratic régime like that of Poland or Venice, so that the Kingshould indeed be above all, but they themselves should hold the position of Senators or Palatines This programme is lucidly set forth in an anonymous book entitled Plato Redivivus, which sums up all the powers which the King has in England underfour heads: (1) the right to declare war, to make peace, to make treaties with whomsoever he wishes without consulting Parliament , even if in session; (2) in regard to the armed forces both by land and sea , the right to determine their distribution , to levy them anddisband
them, to control garrisons and arsenals, to fortify cities, to arm and disarm the fleet, etc.; (3) the right to dispose of all preferments , both military and civil, as well as of ecclesiastical benefices except where debarred bya right of patronage legitimately acquiredby some private individual ; (4) the right to administer public finances. After these preliminaries the author proposes that the four sets of duties should be administeredby so many councils, whose members should be nominated by Parliament for a term of three years. The King would pre- side over each of the Councils either personallyor through a delegate Questions raised for discussion should always be decided accordingto the vote of the majority; the King was neither explicitlygranted nor denied the right of casting a deciding vote or an ordinary vote. The right of jurisdiction in cases both civil and capital was to be given in its entirety to the judges. The King was to be denied the right of banqueting any visiting Prince from abroad, or of honouring an ambassador with any gift, exceptwith the permission of the Presidentof the Financial Council The aristocrats were thus giving the King a great deal of leisure : he was deprivedof the care of the State, and left with only private and domestic concerns, so that he would presumably rule his pages and cooks and perhaps the Americancolonies, but keep his hands off all else. The author also decides that the King shall be given a little money so that he may gamble with others, provided the stakes are not high What a constitution ! A constitution in which the royal power is without a sword, without money, withoutjuris- diction, without subjects!
(156) Such were the dreams of that anonymous day-dreameran eloquent writer indeedlearned, and possessed of a great experience of life, as is obvious from his book, yet contaminated , as it seems , with Calvin's poison. He contends that Charles ought to consent to this delightful reform of the Constitution if he desires the safety of hisfamily, his own person and the institution of monarchy, and quotes the saying of Theopompus , the King of Sparta, who, after consenting to the creation of the Ephorate, was asked by his wife what sort ofa kingdom he was going to leave to his son " A good one , " he said, " because it will last. "
This, then, is what the anonymous author wrote; and if, according to the Gospel, we are to judge people's inner dispositionsfrom their works, he was expressing the general opinion.
(157) But to return to the thread of our history. These aims of the Persecutors had not yet burst openly onto the public scene; yet already there were considerable indications of their existence The populace was disturbed and not far from sedition; the Presbyterian Ministers were adding oil to the blaze by means of their sermons , and their party was further strengthened by the bitter and irreconcilable enemies of Charles I and his son, the Charles then reigning. Their excessive and preposterous care for his safety was not born of love, for they had none: it was therefore suspect Charles himself had described the Tragedy as pure fiction : he was now astonished that contrary to his will it had changed in an instant into a real one. He grieved that in Parliament none of his wishes was carried out, but in all things the very opposite Neither his dignity nor his security would allow him to retrace his steps by showing up the falsityofthe story, the first proofs of which had been furnished by himself. So, being unable to resist, he did what sailors do when they are buffeted
byadverse winds which they cannot managehe yielded to the storm and let himself be swept away wherever it was going. (158) CHARLES'S PROCLAMATIONS Under pressure, therefore, from Parliament he published a number of Proclamations In one he listed a number of priests and laymen and offered £100 to the captors of anyone onthe list, £40 to anyone whoshould detectany other priest, and £10 to anyone who should find a secret store of arms belonging to the Papists. Further, he gave orders that all Papists, without discrimination, should be brought to trial, andthat both OathstheOath of Allegiance , as it is called, and the Oath to the King's Supremacy in things spiritual, should be demanded of them. Those whorefused them were to be cast into chains, unless they gave a satisfactory guarantee (or bail) In a second Proclamation a further £500 was promised to any who should make known the persons responsible for the murder ofGodfrey; forthe Factionhad decided to bring it about, byany means whatever, that the Catholics should bear the full blame for that crime. A third Proclamation forbade any Catholic, under the severest penalties, to make a journey of morethan five miles from his own home (159) These Proclamationswere published , not as others had been on other occasions for mere form's sake to deceive the people, but in all seriousness Charles offered no resistance, and others were pressing for their execution So great a flood of evils overwhelmed the Catholics as can hardly be conceived, and cannot possibly be described . A Frenchmanresidentin London tried to give an account of the sad situation in a letter addressed to Père de la Chaise: he wrote as follows"A man has appeared who is accusing so many people that all the prisons togethercannottake them: even the most innocentare notfree from danger
Thingshave come to such a pass that noremedyremains The English Catholics have fleda pitiful train, a mournful spectacle Even foreignersare not safe . ... The name of Jesuit' is hated above all else even by priests both secular and regular, and by the Catholic layfolk as well, because it is said that the Jesuits have caused this raging storm , which is likely to overthrow the whole Catholic Religion Please secure the prayers of pious Christiansthat God may strengthen with His grace these men who are exposed to great temptation. Do not write me an answer, or you may bring me into great danger. " So wrote the pious author of the letter, whoever he was, deploringthe evils which arose from the Royal Proclamations andfrom the imaginary Conspiracy .
(160) THE CHARACTER OF BEDLOW
The rewards heaped upon Oates and promised to the discoverer of Godfrey's murderersaroused Bedlow This man, though he did not know Godfreybysight, andhad perhaps never heard his name until after his death, decided by hook or by crook to get that £500 He thereforespent some time enquiring about Godfrey's character , about the places he used to frequent, and the men with whom he had been familiar, and then reported that he knew the assassins , and intendedto accuse them when he had obtained a pardon for all his past crimes and in particular for his share in the murder of Godfrey He was granted this pardon and the reward of £500 in addition
(161) An account will in due course be given of what he said , and of how remote it was from the truth Born in the lowest social class in the County of Monmouth, throughout his life he was deep in crime. He ranged through every part of the whole of England committing
theft and robbery A lodger in every gaol, in this very year he had spent six months in a London prison He also travelled through nearby foreign countries , committing theft and robbery, concealing his true identity and assuming the guise of noblemen so as to impose upon good men . In Belgium in 1677 , advertising himself as the illustrious Baron of Newport, he borrowed from Captain Lloyd a thoroughbred horse, which he took off with him to Paris There he assumed the title of Baron Cornwallis and robbed Father Stephen Gough, a priest of the Oratory, of about £175 From the Confessor of the English nuns at Rouen he obtained another £125 by the same device . He then passed over to Spain, assumed the title of Baron Gerard, and received £250 from an honest merchant called Frankelin at Bilbao The latter, however, upon discovering the fraud, followed hot on his trail into Portugal, overtook him at Zamorra, brought him back to Valladolid and had him cast into prison, where hewould have paid the penalty for his crimes had he not been rescued by the entreatiesand good services of the Fathersofthe EnglishCollege There he made the acquaintance of Oates, from whomhe stole £2 10s There is at St. Omers a letter writtenin Oates's own hand, in which he bewails this loss . Returning then to his native country, he practisedhis old art of thieving until he was cast into prison, where he spent six months. He was set free at the time whenthe first rumour of the Plot broke out He will frequently be mentioned in the sequel, because in inventing lies and confirming them with false oaths he was hardly inferior to Oates, while in imagination and fluency of speech he was much his superior (162) THE CHARACTER OF DUGDALL . The third witness against the Catholics, Stephen Dugdall, came forth from the prisonat Stafford He had been in the service of the illustrious Baron Aston, who had assigned him the task of receivinghis revenues, until he was discovered to have been diverting the moneyto his own uses . For this dishonesty he was sent to prison, at the time when the storm of persecution had alreadybroken At once he was approached bysome nobles andasked whether he knew anything about the infamous conspiracy . He told them onoath that he had heard nothing aboutit exceptfrom thepublic rumours. However, when the Speaker of the Lower House offered him themoneyto pay his debts and tempted him with other rewards , he too assumed the rôle of a witness against the Catholics (163) MILES PRANCE A fourth witness, who joined the others not of his own accord, but driven to it by violent tortures, was Prance , a London silversmith He was accused of murdering Godfrey and committed to prison Thereat first he firmly denied knowledge ofanyone who had anything to do with that murder After being stretched on the rack , however, he said that he was guilty and would accuse his accomplices. Thereupon he was taken before the Privy Council and made the same confession; yet shortly afterwards, kneeling before Charles, he protestedto him that all he had said was false, andthat he knewno one who was guilty of the murder Charles had this recorded by two people who were present. Takenbackto prison, this man with the heart of a womanwas terrified at the sight of the rack: to escapeit he adhered to his confession of the crime Soon afterwards he published a book , in which he said a few things, and nothing very serious , against the Jesuits, namely, that a certain Jesuittold him that" better times are ahead. " (This was a reasonable hope in view of Charles's
goodwill, the Queen's piety, and the constancyof York; but Prance twisted itintoa proofof the Plot ) Againstthe secular priests, however (among whom he himselfhad two brothers, one being a Vicar-General), he cast all mannerof accusations, some of them unrepeatable , as ifhe were taking part in a rustic slanging-match The very extravagance of his slanders destroyed such credit as was put in him; and veryfew put any at all.
(164) These four witnesses (of Oates we have already spoken) were like four huge dragons pulling the chariot in which rode the Faction, wearing the mask of the Protestant Religion when they began their widespread massacre So far as human power was concerned there was no means to hand of checking that triumphal chariot, since the populace was behind it, Shaftesburywas causing general confusion , and those not implicated in the Faction made no move, being either too much alarmed or paralysed by astonishment .
(165) A violent attack was launched against York. He had long since relinquishedhis public offices This, however, did notsatisfy the angry men who wished to remove him from Parliament, from the Privy Council , and from Charles's sideand indeed to banish him right out of the kingdom Other points York yielded voluntarily, but he persistently said that he would neither withdraw from Parliament, as no laws excluded him from it, nor leave his brother Charles, exceptat Charles's own order Nevertheless, we shall see that in the following year he was forcedeven to quit the kingdom .
(166) Let us now contemplatethe happy end of some few of the many people whom this Persecution robbed of this present life to give them eternal glory Let us first consider those who were carried off by a bloodless death, then those who perished by the knife of the executioner For in the field of the English Church neither roses nor lilies are wanting; peace and battle alike have flowers to crown the soldiers of Christif indeed they may be said to die in peace who perish from the cold of a bitter winter, from the hardships of prison, and amid miseries of every kind.
(167) THE DEATH OF THOMAS BEDDINGFIELD . The first in this procession of martyrs will be Thomas Beddingfield , the one towhomthe Windsor Letters were addressed His escape from the trap laid for him by Oates and Tonge in those letters brought him this much advantage, thathe was universallyrecognised to be innocentofthecharge; for he had seen to it at once that all he knew of the crime was reported to Charles This did not, however, rescue him from the hands of the Faction, whose hatred of him was increased by the frustration oftheir wicked design against him. With very little trouble he could have withdrawn his head from the blasts of the storm, but he trusted in his own conscience and in the encouraging testimonial of Charles , who had unequivocally pronounced him an honourable man" So, when summoned , he presented himself before the Privy Council But those testimonials of his innocence did not save him from being thrown into a prisonnearthe Court called the Gate-House Owingto the stench and other hardships of the prison, death came quickly, to set him free, with the freedom of the sons of God, on 21st December (168) He was born of a noble family in Norfolk ; his father's name was Downes, and his mother's Beddingfield. He studied humanities at St. Omers and philosophy at Valladolid, and having a fair reputation for piety he was admitted to the Society. After
completing his noviceship at Watten he was sent to Pont-à-Mousson to learn Theology So great was his humility that, though capable of the highest offices, he always chose the lowest For some years he held the post of Bursar at Wattena wearisome task involving much labour and full of difficultiesat a time whenwar was raging between the Most Christian King and the Catholic King, and everything was exposed to forays of soldiers, from whose rapacious hands the countryfolk had to be defended with great difficulty and no small risk to himself. These trials, along with the austerity which made him ever hard upon himself, broke his strength, with the result that in his later years he was always in poor health He several times accompanied York on his campaigns againstthe Dutch, was admitted to his household and remained there until he was torn away by the storm of Persecution He did not, however, desert the poor, for whom he had a special affection , and whose confessions he was more willingto hear , whenever called out to them He was readyto go out to visit them , even at the riskof his life, when their sickness requiredit. For three years he was Superiorof the London Jesuits. (169) His body was identified by twelve men before it was buried. But a year and a half later a rumour was put about that he was still alive and energeticallypromoting the Plotin a place in the County of Nottingham, 100 miles from London Sir William Waller (of whom much below) made an expedition to arrest him. Whether he did so on his own initiative or at the suggestion of others, or by order of Parliament, is obscure: in any case theexpeditionmade boththesenders and their envoy equally ridiculous As he did not wish to appearto have achieved nothing by his excursion , and hoped to make some gain out of it, he arrested a citizen of London, William Beddingfield , a young married man, threw him first into the prison at Newark , then into the one at Nottingham, robbed him of all the silver hecouldfind , both coin and plate, and returned triumphantly to London (170) THE DEATH OF HUMPHREY BROWN There died also at that time Humphrey Brown, who was known by his father's nameof Evans . Born in the Arvon district of North Wales, and brought up in heresy, he completed his readingof the Classics at home, and went to Oxford for his higher studies However, the Divine Goodness , which had set him aside from the beginningfor the workof the Gospel, and had givenhim a good mind sothat he could distinguishthe valuable from the worthless , opened his eyes to see the errors of his people, and led him forth out of the midst of a wicked nation Weary of the depraved behaviour of the youth of Oxford University, at the end of two years there he departed to Paris, where he was converted to the Catholic Faithin the eighteenthyear of the century now drawing to its close, and in the twenty-second year of his age From Paris he went to Rome , out of devotion, to visit the tombs of the Apostles . There he entered the English College, and after completing his philosophical and theological studies was raised to the priesthood From Rome he was sent to his native country, where he laboured with rare zeal and energy to secure the salvation of others. Inspired with a desire for still greater perfection, he entered the Society Having completed his noviceship he was restored to his apostolic labours; then his singular piety inspired him to seek admission to the Tertianshipa thing he was not obliged to do, since he had been admitted to the Societyas a priest.
(171) After that he embarked upon a mission that was laborious and full of peril While Englandwas ablaze withCivilWar andshaken by the blasts of fearful persecutions, he spent fifty-three whole years cultivating the Lord's vineyard, indefatigable and undismayed , and met with success proportionate to his great exertions He was twice Rector of the College of St.Xavier, and was for six years Superiorof the residence of St. Winefride But his bodily strength broke down and he was stricken with apoplexy As a result his tongue-muscles were weakened, so that his tongue functioned with difficulty; and neither his hands nor his feet performedtheir function properly. None the less , those who invented the story of the Conspiracy made out that even this old man was a source of danger Though he could not speak he was said to be stirring up mobs with the eloquence of his exhortations; and though deprived of the use of all his limbs he was said to be inciting the mobs with his own hand, energy and example, to the destruction of the kingdom So , on Christmas Day itself, soldiers were set upon him They attacked the house, brokedownthe doors, burst into the old man's room, where he was lying down: some threatenedhim with pistols, others with swords, if he did notacknowledge the conspiracy He made no reply, but said as best he could " God'swill be done " They continued to harass the servant ofGod and the whole household for some hours, and they would have carried the Father off to prison had they not feared he would breath forth his soul while in their hands For this reason they left him and went away, after taking bail from the lady of the house that she would present him at the Bar if he should recover. About three weeks later, she and her whole family were summoned to stand trial for having admitted to their house a man guilty of treason against the King. When they were preparing to go and appear before the magistrate, he asked them to take him with them But nobody dared do so , for fear that murder should be added to the other false chargesagainst them; for they were sure that they would be charged with murder if perchance he should die in their hands While left alone , like St. Xavieron the island of Sancian, he fell asleep in the Lord His death was due to his old malady, to his maltreatment at the hands of the soldiers , and to the grief of being left alone among heretics Hedied , as we hope, to live on eternally in heaven His long labouring, his restraint in prosperity, his endurance in adversity, and his truly wonderful constancy in all things, are the solid grounds of our hope. He was never deterred by any danger from visiting those who sought his aid He was a strict observer of religious discipline and especially of the Vows. He loved the Society like a dear parent, with tenderaffection. He was accustomed to celebrate every year, with especial gratitude, the days upon which he left Oxford, arrived in Paris, was reconciled to the Catholic Church, was admitted to the Seminary of our nation in Rome , received the priesthood , was admitted into the Society, and made his profession in the Society These events he always remembered as special blessings from God He departed this life on 14th January 1679, when eighty-two years old, after he had been on the Mission fifty-four years and professed of the four vows for forty-two (172) IGNATIUS PRICE . Two days later Ignatius Price followed to the reward of his divine vocation, as we hope. He was admitted to the Societyin 1634, and professed as a TemporalCoadjutorin 1647 . He cultivated the vineyard for almost thirty-seven years with per-
sistent effort and plentifulfruit In those years all was in a state of flux, and many persecutions occurredin particular the one which Parliament stirred up after the execution of the King and the overthrow of the monarchy The labours which Brother Price endured , and the dangers amidst which he lived, will be understood by those who read the history of those times, which has been carefully recorded by Rev. Father Tanner. The heroic strength of his mind can be gauged from the fact that no danger everfrightened him intodeserting the post assigned him by obedience or the sheep entrustedto his care . And he died in the very spot which he had defended while he lived. For this laststorm caught him up in its whirlwind. With such furywas he hunted down for imprisonment and what follows imprisonment, that scarcely a night passed in two months but the homes ofCatholics were burst into and search was made for him The weary old man had no place to rest, no safe retreat: sometimes hospitality was refused him through fear of the laws, and sometimes he refused it outofevangelical charity, for fear his hosts might be endangered for his sake . He fled from cottage to cottage in the depths of winterat the end ofNovember , throughout December, and at the beginningof January. He fled through mountain passes and ravines blocked with snow , lightly clad and often with bare feet, in order to avoid the traps laid for him by his hereticalkinsman. At length he fell into sickness, and, full of days and merits, completed the course of his life But even after his burial a wicked kinsman of his did not allow him rest: he desired to see the body, he said, because he did not believe thatit was his brother's; but in reality his purpose was to take away by sacrilegious theft the golden cross which his brother was said to wear about his neck. When nothing was found he was laughed to scorn . (173) THE ASTUTENESS OF MATTHEWMILDMAY Matthew Mildmay escaped the diligence of the pursuivants by a stratagem similar to that of Saint Athanasius. They knew where he was staying and unexpectedlyburst into the hall, where he was talking with his host . He sensed at once that it was himself they were after; but without losing his composure as people usually do in a sudden crisis, withgreat presence of mind and unaltered countenance he approached the officer of the soldiers, welcomed him courteously, and asked whom or what he was lookingfor The officer repliedthat he was lookingforMatthew Mildmay, a Jesuit and a traitor to his country. " He was here not so long ago, " said Matthew. " Come with me and we will look for him together. I don't think he will escapeus, as I know the house as well as its owner does . " At once he took the man most dutifully through all the rooms , searched the beds, shookoutthe bedclothes, and ferreted into everythingbut nobody like him was found The officer disappointed, thanked him for his very thorough work, paid his respects and departed. Then one of his troop said " Whydid you letthe prey slip through your hands ? The man who acted as your guide is the very one whom we came with so much trouble to apprehend. I did not mention this before, because I thought you were looking for someone else as well " They all hastened back, hoping to capturehimbut in vain , for he had withdrawn into a hiding-place that was known to few . (174) THE PRIESTS' HIDING-HOLES. In most of the Catholics ' houses thereare some hiding-places concealed so cleverlythat strangers can hardly find them. Their whereabouts are unknown even to most
of the servants When danger threatens , the priests withdraw into these, taking with them the sacred furniture For the most partthey are so confined that it is almost impossible to stand up in them . One of these saved Charles as he fledfrom the disastrous battle ofWorcester , when Cromwell's brutal soldiers were searching for him throughout the kingdom, and especially in that house, to bring him to a shameful execution This hiding place had been shown to many visitors on accountofthe very distinguishedperson who had been concealed in it When the Persecution broke out, this place was carefully examined , for no regard was paid to the honour of Charles, whom it had served as a refuge; but the search was in vain, since the Jesuitwho was hiding therewentout by a backdoorand made a safeescape. For the security of themselves and their hosts, some Fathers were shut up in these confined places and lay there for three or four months on end This greatly damaged their health for they suffered from the stone , gout in both hands and feet, asthma, dropsy, consumption , and a host of other diseaseswhich bring an early death. Some of them died shortly aftercomingout; others live on, deprivedof all vitality Theirnameswritten, I hope, in the Book of Life-are not set downhere, ormybook would grow to an excessive length (175) So much for the white-robed victims of charity The redrobed martyrs now demand our attention (176) THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF WILLIAM STALEY . The first of the Catholics to sprinkle England with his blood was William Staley, the son of anotherWilliam, a goldsmith and banker and a rich citizen of London He was accused of treason by two Scotsmen, William Carstairs and N. Sutherland, on the grounds that he had said " The King of England is a great Heretick and the greatest Roguein the World: there's the Heart (striking his hand on his Breast) and here's the hand that would kill him my self The King and Parliament think all is over, but the rogues are mistaken. " (177) Carstairs' name is mentioned frequently among the real conspirators of the PresbyterianPlot in the book written in Charles's name, and published byroyal authority And certainit is thatCharles's bitterest enemies were almost the only people, throughout the timeof the Persecution , who stormed against the Catholicsa strong indication of our innocence as also of our enemies' injustice. WhenStaley wasgivenopportunity to speak he said thata Frenchman called Froment had come to him to seek payment ofsome money owed him: whenthis had been paid, they had both gone to an inn to have dinner together They had talked about indifferent matters while the food was being brought: meanwhile the door of the room was open so that they could be seen and heard by passers-by, and the two Scotsmen remained in the next room On the following morning, one of the Scots came over to him in his father's shop and showing him a button decorated with a carbuncle, ordered another to match it When he said that hehad no stone of that nature and directedhim to other jewellers, the Scotsman asked him to go to pay his respects to a person of the highest quality in a nearby wine-shop There he had been shown a paper containing the words which he was accused of having spoken. (This much is contained in the published records of the trial: not so the words immediately following, which I have from trustworthy persons who were present at the trial ) He was told that if he would notpay £200 an accusation would be laid against him, and that witnesses
were ready to hand to swear that they had heardthose words. When he refused to give them the money, one of them rushed off to fetch an official to take him to prison . It would have been utter madness , he said , to have spoken such words in so loud a voice that they could be heard in another roomespecially in French, a language as well understood as the vernacular itself in that household and its neighbourhood . Froment should have brought his companion , who knew very well all that had been said.
(178) Next, various people were heard who were friends of Staley All testified unanimously that he had often spoken of Charles , but always with expressions of honour and affection But their evidence did not help him The fatal sentence was pronounced upon him , dooming him to the punishment reserved for treason-" Let him be dragged on a hurdle to the gallows : therelet him hang for a short time. Whenthe ropebywhich he hangs has been cut, let his breast be opened and his entrails burnt before his own eyes Let his body be divided into quarters, of which Charles shall dispose as he thinks fit " This sentence was the first-fruits of Scroggs's period of office and theprelude to his future cruelty. In order to please the Crown and to insultthe condemned man and the Catholics , he improved on the sentence with the addition of some merry jests One was that "The priestsare in the habit of making proselytes by saying, 'Commit any sins you like: it will always be in our power to save you. If you don't do what we tell you, it will be in our power to damn you ' Another was this: " When a Catholic has declared anyone a heretic, he will then kill him without scruple Nay, he will believe that he merits heaven by so doing. " And again: " Let none but the Papists seek heaven by those means Far be it from me toenterintothat sort of heaven where men become saints for having slain kings. " All this Scroggs said before the jury had pronounced Staley guilty When they had given their condemnation he said to the prisoner " Now you can die a Catholic. I think that in death you will be found to be a priest."
(179) Shortly afterwards the sentence was carried out Staley protested his innocence with his dying breath
(180) One of the witnesses was, as I have said, found guilty of complicity in the real conspiracy made bythe Presbyterians . Another (as a London bookseller, Nathaniel Thompson , bears witness), when near to death at Edinburgh, summoned the local Bishop and four other men and confessed that all he had said against Staley was false.
(181) Charles gave permission for the body to be buried after the quartering. The Catholics then remaining in London imprudently accompanied him to the grave as a mark of affection. But Charles took offence at their honouring him in that way, and had the body exhumed , the head fixed on a stake on London Bridge, and the other limbs exposed on various gates.
(182) Staley studied Humanities in Belgium and Medicine at Padua, where he received the degree of Doctor of that faculty. He then returned home, to help his father in his banking business . He married a wife, whom he left a widowwhich shows how unjust, not to say malicious , were those who suspected him of being a priest.
(183) THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF EDWARD COLEMAN The next to suffer was Edward Coleman, Secretary to the Duchess of York. Brought up in heresy, he renounced it upon discovery of his errors , and wholeheartedly joined the Catholic cause, which thereafter he
promoted with all his strength, with great zeal, but occasionally without due prudence Nature had given him a fine mind and a cheerful disposition; but through giving these gifts too much play and criticising all very freely and almost satirically, he spared none oftherich, and gave offence to manyparticularly to Danby. These people eventually caused his fall. (184) I have recorded his capture above On 22nd November he was summoned to standhistrial The main headsofthe accusation were: that he had wished to destroy Charles, to stir up sedition, to overthrow the Government , to bring over the French into England, to massacre the Protestants , and by their destruction to open the way for the restoration of Papism . When the Prosecutors, viz the King's Proctor and his Counsel, had told this tale with great eloquence, Oates and Bedlow were produced as witnesses . Oates said that he had made a journey from St. Omers to Paris to deliver to Père dela Chaise, Confessor to the Most Christian King, a letter from Coleman, in which he expressed his gratitude for the sum of £10,000 given by theKing of France, and promised to spend it for no other purpose than the killing of Charles Oates claimed , too, to have carried back to St. Omers the answer of P. de la Chaise This he had opened and read, becausehe had been grantedpermission byletterspatent oftheGeneral of the Jesuits to open all letters of Jesuits and to be present at their consultations In virtue of these powers he had been present at the Provincial Congregation in April at the White Horse, where the plot to kill Charles had been confirmed , communicatedto Coleman , and approved by him in Oates's presence. About 21st August of this year, Coleman had arranged forthe paymentof£80 to the fourassassins who were to kill Charles at Windsor, and had given £1 to the bearer to encourage him to be careful. Coleman had thought the reward for the physician who was to give the poisoned draught to Charles , viz £10,000, not large enough, and had arranged that another £5,000 be added. Finally, he had accepted letters patent from the General of the Jesuitscreating him the King's Secretary. (185) Coleman replied that he had never seen Oates before the day when they were both brought before the Privy Council at the same time; Oates had then admitted that he did not know him (this was confirmed by two Knights who were then present). He asked why Oates had not accused him of treason before the Council, if he knew such thingsagainsthim. He then stated that from the fifteenth to the thirty-first of August he had been in the County of Warwick, about eighty miles from London This he proved by the evidence of many witnesses and by his own diary, in which he wrote down his dailyexpenses; hence, he argued, he could not possiblyhave arranged for £80 to be despatched from London for the assassins, nor could he have given the £1 to the bearer About Oates's journey to Paris and his presence at the Congregation of the Jesuits, he said nothing, not knowing at the time that both were pure inventions (186) Bedlow said that he had heard from Sir Henry Tichbourne, Bart., that Coleman had been made Secretary to the King by the General of the Jesuits, that he had carried a letter from him , dated April 1675 , to Père de la Chaise, which treated of the conspiracy (this was certainly false, since Coleman's first letter to de la Chaise was written in September of that year), that he had heard Coleman saying, "IfI had a hundred lives, I would willingly spend them all;
and ifa whole ocean of blood were flowing in my veins , I would shed it all in order that the Church might be established in England; and if a hundred heretical kings stood in the way, I would see to it that all of them perished " In answer, Coleman called God to witness that until that day he had never seen Bedlow; and his servants gave evidence that Bedlowhad neverbeen seen at their house Then copies were produced of three letters addressed by Coleman to Père de la Chaise; two of them were in his own name, and the third in the name ofYork, who , however, disowned it In these letterstherewas nothing against Charles and much, indeed everything, in his favour; Coleman tries to raise money, through the intervention of de la Chaise, from the MostChristian King to supply Charles's wants, so that he could dismiss Parliament, be rid of the trouble it gave him, and then grant liberty of conscience; that done, the conversion of his dominions would ensue. In order to strengthen the prejudice against Coleman, time and again the following sentence from one of his letters was maliciouslyrepeated : "Weare atworkonanimmense task, the conversion of threekingdoms, and perhaps after that, victory over the pestilent heresy whichhas long dominated a large part of the North. Never have there been such good hopes of success since the death of Mary " (187) Coleman replied that if he desired the conversion of the kingdom, the same was true of all others who believed their religion to be true (St. Paul, for instance, was never blamedfor praying that Agrippa and others might become Christians ) But he hadneverdesired that the conversion of England should come about by illicit or violent means , and had neverentertainedthe idea that evil should be done in expectation of the good effects likely to follow Nevertheless , he was found guilty by the jury, and Scroggs pronounced the death sentence against him, adorning it with this insulting jest againstthe Catholics, that " they no longer had any natural sense or natural conscienceno natural sense, because they believe that wine is changed into blood, and no natural conscience, because they change the blood of Protestantsinto wine and then thirst for it like wine. " (188) On 3rd December, the day appointed for his execution , he was dragged on a hurdle to the gallows, and then spoke as follows: " You expect me to say something about the infamous Plot; but I know not whether my words are likely to have better fortune in being believed now than heretofore: nevertheless, I declare with the word of a dying manthatI know nothing ofit Asfor raisingsedition, altering the constitution, promoting a rebellion, changingthe laws and making away with Charles, I know nothing of these things And I have never contemplatedpromoting the religion for which Iam said to be zealous, by those means. I am in the Catholic Church, praise be to God , and in it I die; and I have never considered this to be prejudicial to the King or to the Constitution .... " When somebody interrupted, saying that he was wasting time with such untimely discourses , but that, if he would make any statementabout the Plot, they would hear him gladly, he added, "I know nothing; I repeat again that I never considered overthrowing the constitution or doing anything against the laws; I intendedto do no morethan what any memberof any religion would do if he could, and I intended to do it by peaceful means . I have been falselyaccused by the witnesses: BedlowI had neverseen ,
except in the court " When asked whether he knew anything about the murderofGodfrey, he asserted that on the word of a dying man he knew nothing
(189) In this same month of December, William Ireland was indicted on a capital charge; but as his death, precious in the sight of the Lord, did not take place until the following year, we shall leave the account of his trial till then.
(190)
Before the end of this year the bitter and perennialenemy of mankind took advantageof the persecution to sow tares, to cause dissension among the Catholics and discord among prieststo the great distress of all good men and the great disadvantageof the Catholic cause; for at this most inappropriatemomenta controversywas started about the permissibility of what is called the Oath of Allegiance. This Oath was made up very cunningly after the GunpowderPlot by a certain apostate, so that the venom concealed in it was noticedbynone but the sharpest minds, while it altogether escaped the notice of the unwary and of those who judge others by their own honesty (andthey are the vast majority everywhere ) As soon as it appeared, different and often contradictory opinions were held about it; and heated disputes followed, which time and again were stopped by the Supreme Pontiffs, who in decrees which they published , not only condemn the oath, but declare it illicit in itself and contrary to the Faith. By these decrees peace was established , since all obeyed them But now itwas different : the Catholics were under the pressure of persecution so violent that they hardly knew which way to turn; and before their eyes were the prisons, which they could not avoid save by taking the Oath Some through human weakness took it Others chose rather to die and preferred the horrorsof imprisonment to a freedom tortured by scruples or even by the certain consciousness of guilt There were some priests who pleaded the cause of those who had lapsed (if one may put it so) ; and the publication of certain writings by hot-headed authors, whose obedience to Christ's vicar on earth was defective , poured oil on the growing fire. To strengthenthe faction, mostofthe Doctors of the most noble and most celebrated Faculty of Theology in the whole world (I mean that of Paris) were solicited to give their approval; and some of them were persuaded to do soeither because they were swept away by partisan spirit, or because they wished to tighten the bonds which enchained the Society in England, or else, as seems to me more probable , because they really believed that no evil was contained in the Oath Yet they could remember that an oath, set before the assemblies of the flourishing kingdom of France in the fourteenth year of this century by the third order, was rejected by the other two orders There is extant a speech deliveredby Cardinal Peronne to the third order about this matter (191) Inconsequence, hostility to theSocietywasmuchintensified― as if Jesuitswere unwilling that Charles's suspicions about the loyalty of the Catholics should be reassured by the taking of a permissible oath For the Society , like many other Religious and not a few of the other clergy, consistentlytaught that the oath could not be taken withagood conscience The questionwas neverraised inthe Sorbonne , or Congregation of Doctors: various doctors, whowere consulted separately, gave their opinions , and Corquelinus , Chancellor of the Church and of the University, and Maresius declared absolutely that it could
not be taken. Fifty-seven others held that it could not be taken without distinguishing and subdistinguishing the meaning of terms; hence they must be considered to be opposed to the Oath, the terms of which explicitly exclude all such distinctions The words are: " accordingto these express words uttered by me and the plain and common sense and meaning of the words, without any equivocation, or mental evasion or secret reservationof any kind etc." Those who hold that without qualifications or distinctionsand indeed subdistinctionsthe Oath cannot licitly be taken, are saying that it cannotbe taken in the proper sense of the words, as they are commonly understood . "
(192) A further point of difficulty is that they must swear that they take the oath voluntarily or of their own accord profession, " it says, "I make cordially, spontaneously and truly, in the true word of a Christian man' How can people swear this " in the proper sense of the words, " when they take the Oath most reluctantlyto avoid a greaterevil, and whenthey do anything to avoid taking it? Finally, just as constancy in the dogmas of the Faith is a great proof oftruth, so inconstancyis offalsity Hesitation between ' Yes ' and ' No' ought not to be found in matters of faith, but only Yes, ' as the Apostle says in a similar context (II Cor. i, 19) Jesus Christ IS yesterday, to-day, and for ever"-namely , the same. The same holdsof the Faithof Christ, the same of the dogmas flowingfrom the Faith, the same of the formulations of them; for the hearers' assent vacillates when inconstancy of doctrines is observed. To quote an instance , a person of quality, who was in a state of anxiety because he had been called upon to testify his loyalty to the King by taking the Oath, was told by a certain priest, who was his confessor , thatthe Oath could be taken without damage to his conscience. The penitent replied: " Six months ago on your advice I gave up the honourable and advantageous post which I held rather than take the impiousOath and endanger the salvation of my soul; and now you are sayingthat the Oath is harmless How am I to know that you will be moreconstant in defending the other doctrines of the Church? Henceforth I shall seek another director of my conscience. " (193) These remarks suffice for the purpose of my present work, since I write as a historian, not as a controversialist I will merely add, so that the reader will have collected togetherall that is relevant , the Decree of the Venerable Fathers of the Order of St. Benedict of the English Congregation , made in 1681, and the instructions drawn up by the Provincial Congregation of the Societyof Jesus in the same year. The latter are as follows: " To ensure uniformity among Ours in our manner of dealing with the Oath of Allegiance , as it is called , (1) Let us all profess that each of us must, whenever occasion demands , both sincerely swear and render the same obedience to our King as any Catholicsubjects anywhere in the world pay to any Princes whatever; (2) That the Oath of Allegiance , as it now stands, interspersed with unorthodox phrases, can by no means be taken, since it has been condemned by several Papal Briefs; (3) If any persons shall, in spite of the Papal decrees , publicly teach that the aforesaid Oath is permissible, they shall not be granted absolution without having made , or solemnlypromised , public amends; (4) Those who have taken the Oath in bad faith are not to be absolved unless they give clear signs of repentance and promise amendmentfor the future. If any have taken
it in good faith, they must be instructed and are to be absolved ifthey admit their error (5) Care must be taken to avoid giving scandal by being too easy or too strict about giving absolution. These instructions were drawn up at the Provincial Congregation of the English members ofthe Society of Jesus at Ghent in the House of Third Probation of the same Society 5 July 1681."
(194) The Decree of the VenerableFathers , O.S.B., is as follows: "Itis decreed that none of our Fathers, whetherin Englandor outside of England, shall presume to assert that it is permissible to take both or either of the Oaths of Supremacy and of Allegiance , as they are called , or to persuade anyone to take either or both of the said Oaths If anyone shall presume to violate this our Decree, we order that such a one , if he be in England, shall be suspended from the facultiesgranted to missionaries , or, if he is outside of England, that he be deprived of active and passive voice Given in the Convent of St. Edmund at Paris in 16th August 1681, by order of the General Chapter. Brother Placidus Bruning "
(195) Similar decrees were issued by the Provincial Chapter of the Reverend Fathers of the Order of St. Francis, though I have not had access to them. The Secular Clergy, though many of them condemned the Oath, made no decrees on this subject, because those who condemned it were withoutthe authorityto make decrees Those who previously favoured the Oath undoubtedly hoped in that way either to demonstratetheir loyalty to Charles, or even to win favour with him and with York. But they were disappointed , for when York was consulted about the matter at Edinburgh, he replied in these words: "I do not think better ofthose who take the Oath ofAllegiance than ofthose who reject it; norwill Ieverbelieve that men who arenot faithful to God will be faithful to their King. And that is not only my view , but the King's too; and of this opinion of mine you may inform all our common friends."
(196) THE QUEEN ACCUSED OF COMPLICITY . So much for the Oath of Allegiance Let us resume the thread of the narrative and see what Parliament did, so that we may learn what profit Charles made out of this conspiracy. The two Houses deliberated for a long time and not withoutviolent altercationsabout how many Catholicservingwomen the Queen should be allowedto have, andfinallyagreed on nine Then on 29th November , Oates and Bedlow accused the Queen of complicity in the Plot to murder her husband Charles Hereupon, a petition was made in the name of the Lower Chamber that she should be ordered to quit the Court But this over-hasty petition displeased the UpperChamber and likewise allthe factiouspartisans of democracy, who feared that if Charles divorced his wife he mightmarryanother and beget legitimate children by her On the last day of November Parliament petitioned that, in view of the dangers threatening Charles and the kingdom from the Papists , the regular militia should be mustered for forty-two days They were well aware that once those soldiers were mustered for that length of time, they themselves would alwayshave power to extendthe period; and they knewthat the militia would support them rather than the King Charles replied bluntly that he would not allowit so much as for half an hour, unless they gave him a promisethat the command of the militia would be in his hands Both Houses pressed for the demobilisation of the royal army; they were all ready to vote the money necessary for that purpose. The
Lower Chamber proposed that the money should be paid out at the Guildhall in London, and should not be given to those in charge of the Treasury, who had so often been dishonest. The Upper Chamber deemed this an uncivil departure from custom, and accordingly rejected the proposal (197) The Lords petitioned that each regiment returning from Belgium should be disbanded at once, lest the State should take any harm from so numerous an army (the Carthaginians ' failure to do this after the first Punic War cost them dear); but the members of the Lower House did not agree with them in this, considering the danger to be negligible. They passed severer laws against the Catholics , for they were agreed on this one objective: to lay still heavierburdens on the Catholics , though the previous load had been almost unbearable. They decreed therefore that no Catholic should become a lawyer, solicitor, doctor, pharmacist, surgeon or midwife They also made a decree against education in seminaries overseas (on the Continent). Joseph Williamson, Charles's secretary, was committed to prison by the Lower House, of which he was a member, without Charles's being consulted This gave great offence to the King But Williamson soon obtained his liberty by royal command; Charles said that he required his services . (198) THE CHARGES LAID AGAINST DANBY After the attempt to secure command of the ordinary militia, the eventnext inimportance would seem to be the impeachment of Danby. The heads ofthe indictment were as follows: (1) That he had usurped royal authority by negotiating with foreign princes about peace and war, by giving instructions to ambassadors without the knowledge of the Privy Council and the secretaries and contrary to the Proclamations of Charles himself and of Parliament (2) That he had attempted to change the Constitution of England into a despotism and tyranny; that the army raised on the pretext of war against France was really meant for these revolutionary purposes; that he had not arranged for the demobilisation of this army, as Parliament had voted he should; and that he had misappropriated money given him for the demobilisation (3) That he hadsown discord between Charles and hissubjects and alienated him from Parliament in order to deprive him of the support of Parliament's useful counsels; that he had recommended a peacewith France underconditionsdishonourable and disadvantageous to the Kingdom, in order to extort money from France to the detriment of the Country. (4) That he favouredthe Papists, had concealed their Plot against Charles, and had failed to give his attention to its discoverers (5) That he had exhaustedthe Treasury by malversation of variousparts of its revenue ; and that within three years he had distributed for causesunknown upwardsof a quarter of a million pounds; that he had removed two officialsofthe Treasuryfor having expressed disapproval of these fraudulent acts . (6) That he had secured the granting to himself of various properties belonging to the Crown in contravention of several decrees of Parliament These were the charges laid against Danbywith what outcome we shall see below , God willing (199) It was mentionedabove that Oates was given a bodyguard to see that no attack was made upon him. When after a short time it became clear that his activities were more to the advantage of Parliament than of the King, this guard received orders from Charles
not to go beyond the gates of the Court, and not to allow anyoneto hold secret discussions with Oates. Oates complained to Parliament about this treatment, and Parliament besought Charles to grant him completefreedom to go whereverhe wished and hold discussions with whomsoever he chose And they were not content that this freedom should be restricted, as Charles desired, to visiting and conversing with members of Parliament The Lower House even dared to send some of its members to ask Oates whether Charles was in fact doing what they had requested Oates then complained that the Treasury was mean andniggardlyinmaking money paymentsto him The Chancellor of the Exchequerreplied that within the last month and a half £150 had beengivenhim,andthatthis seemed sufficientforsuch aperson, especially as his table was being supplied from the royal kitchen The members replied that it was not sufficient, since he was complaining of want. And at all times, on every opportunity , they saw toit that generous rewardswere paid out from the Royal Treasury to allsorts of knaves , their purpose being to make the Treasury, which had long been exhausted , so completely empty that Charles would be even more at their mercy because of his poverty.
(200) For the same reason no action was ever taken in Parliament against the mistresses who thronged the Court to the great scandal of all good men and the equally great prejudice of the public finances. Against the King's bodyguard some slight measures of economywere taken, moreor less for form's sake; for the Parliamentarianstoldthemselves that though the guard was an adequate protection against individual attackers, it would be useless against the whole kingdom, which they wrongly supposed would be on their side. Meanwhile, they were glad that the King's moneywas being spent on the Guards' pay. It is not surprising that in consequence the Treasury was short of money Parliament was doing all in its power to see on the one hand that money was drained off on every pretext, and on the other hand that nothing at all was pouredin.
(201) Scroggs, too, was summoned before Parliament, to explain why the sentences passed by him on certain traitors (meaningpriests, whose blood Charles seemedreluctant to shed) had not been executed . This was displeasing to Charles, who knew that they were innocent; but the members of Parliament wished to pollute his reign by the spilling of innocent blood
(202) These discussions and enquiries , though offensive to Charles, were hurried on with great energy: after a breathing-space of only two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, on the very feast ofSt. Stephen, Parliament resumed its sessions As it did nothing to satisfy Charles's wishes, and everything to thwart them, on 30 December he himself put an end to their meetings and postponed the next session until 4th February But before doing so he rebuked them , in words which were few but effectivethat is to say, they would have been effectiveif words had any weight with men who are firmly wedded to an evil purpose He said that he had come there very reluctantly to inform them that he had decided to prorogue their assembly; they themselves were witnesses how badly they had dealt with hima subject about which he would speak at a more favourableopportunity. Meanwhile, he would immediately begin to disband the army, would take all measures in his power for the advantageof the Kingdom and the security of Religion; he would continue the investigation of the
Plot, and make sure that those who were its basis and foundation would be brought to light; finally he would ensure the preservation of the Protestant Religion as by law established . Then he bade the Chancellor announce what he had in his orders . The Chancellor merely said that Parliament was prorogued until 4th February. (203) In this session of Parliament several illegal motions were made, all of them calculated to diminish the King's authority. In the first place Parliament asked for the militia to be entrusted to its control, which was as good as taking away Charles's swordfrom him. Secondly , the King's desire that a watch be kept over Oates , the disturber of the whole kingdom, was thwarted Thirdly, Charles's power to suspend the executionof sentences passed by the Judges was called in question Fourthly, everything was in such confusion , and the populace was already so far out ofits mind, that right and justice were in exile At all events, when one of the Chancellor's relatives, of whom the Chancellor was very fond, sought his patronage , the Chancellor replied that he could not undertake the patronageof anyone, and that he was himself no less exposed to danger than any of the common people. He added: " Ifany ofmy servants were to accuse me , I should be imprisonedat once, and to beg Charles's help would be of no avail. "
(204) Such was the plight into which perjuries and false accusations had so quickly brought the King and the Constitution; for God , who is Truth, quickly demanded punishmentfor the injury done Him by those who so frequently invoked His name to confirm their lies. If, as rumour had it, Danby was the source of all this confusion , short joy he had of it, for he too came within danger of his life, as will be described below. The present Parliamentnevermet again, for Charles , by a Proclamation of 24th January following, dissolved it, and summoned a new one, which was to prove equally refractory. (205) AFFAIRS IN SCOTLAND . In Scotland this year all was peaceful The Catholics there were few, and for that reason less exposed to hostility The Faction had not yet appeared there to disturb the peace
(206) AFFAIRSIN IRELAND . The situation was different in Ireland, on account of the large Catholic population. The Viceroy (as they call the King's Lieutenant) was staying at Kilkenny when he heard the first rumour of the conspiracyin England He hastened at once to Dublin , threw Peter Talbot, Archbishop of that city, into chains , and allowed nobody to have access to him His brother Richard, and Butler, Lord Mountgarret's son, were treated in the same way. Then, to preserve the peace , the Viceroy issued several Proclamations , in which he gave the following orders : (1) All Officers of the Army shallgototheir posts at once (2) Catholics shall be disarmed throughout the kingdom: if, after a fixed date, any Catholic is found in possession of arms, he shall be brought to trial (3) Merchants selling gunpowder , if they have more than one pound of it, shall inform the King's ministers: if anyone is found to have acted deceitfully in this, he shall be punished (4) Those holding ecclesiastical dignities in the Catholic Religion shall be sent into exile; any Catholic Convents and Seminaries there may be, shall be dispersed (5) Catholics shall not enter the camp at Dublin, nor the seaport, nor any garrison: if anyone has bought a house in any of these places within the last year, he shall be forced to leave it: to remove every pretext for meetingin
such places, merchandise is to be offered for sale not inside the walls, but outside . (6) Rewards are offered to any who shall report officers or men practising the Catholic religion (207) Meetings of the Privy Council were held more frequently than usual; and other precautions were taken, by means of which peace was easily safeguarded, since nobody was trying to disturb it. Oliver Plunkett, Bishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland, was also taken prisoner; we shall describe his glorious martyrdom below. Peter Talbot contracted a disease through the hardships of the prison, and rendered up his soul to God, from Whom he had received it (208) JOHN SERGEANT
From the Records of the UpperChamber under the date 31st March, it is clear that the Viceroy wrote to Charles saying that everyone's papers had been examined without revealing a single mention of the Conspiracy anywhere , except in one copy ofa letterof a person called Sergeant, this copy being in the hand ofPeter Talbot himself. The Viceroy thinks that other papers were concealed as soon as the discoveryof the Plot was rumoured, and thatthis paper had been missed
But this suspicion was very wide of the mark So farwas Talbotfrom tryingtosuppress the letter, that he had actually published it in a book entitled Scutum Inexpugnabile Fidei, adversus Haeresim Blackloanam , et Clipeum Septemplicem Joannis Sergeantii, discriminantis Christianam Fidem a Divina Auctore M. Lomino (209) This Sergeant was brought up in heresy, and became private secretary to the Bishop of Durham, who was notorious for his antiCatholic books During the CivilWars he joined the CatholicChurch, and was sent to the English College at Lisbon There he was ordained a priest and appointed to teach philosophy; but when he had hardly taught the rudiments of that subject, for reasons explained by Doctor George Leyburn he returnedto England Hethen put himselfentirely into the hands of White (alias Blacklow) to be trained and taught by him. Blacklow then enjoyed a great reputation: some of his errors had been censured by the University of Douai, and all his writings had been condemned by the Holy See Through Blacklow's influence , Sergeant was made a Canon of the English Chapter, and afterwards became its Secretary He published several works both before and after Blacklow's death, always adhering to his master's teachings , in so far as he understood them Among other things he tried to provein a full-length book that demonstrativeproofs must be sought in matters of faith, and that without them nobody is bound either to embrace the Faithor to profess it at the risk of death or the confiscationof his property.
(210) In the seventy-second year of this century Talbot condemned the erroneous teachingof this book (though he did not know who the author was) as being Manichaeistic , and pointed out that it had been refuted by Augustine in Contra Epist Fundam., and in de Utilitate Credendi. At their meeting in Paris, in the year 1676 if I mistake not, Talbot and Sergeant debated this controversy with more heat than light Shortly afterwards it was referred to the Holy See Sergeant was then ordered to give an account of his opinion. Talbot published a book entitled Haeresis Blackloanae Hystoria (An Enquiry into Blacklow's Heresy), while Sergeant wrote another which he called Clypeus Septemplex (The Sevenfold Shield). Talbot replied to him in the above-mentioned Scutum Inexpugnabile (Unconquerable Shield) On page 4 of the second Appendix of this book
he has the following: " A Letter of John Sergeant or of his Blacklowists, writtento deter Lominus (the name that Talbot had assumed) from attacking Blacklow's heresy, and handed to D. Fogarty, to be sent to the English nobleman in whose house the adversary of the Blacklowists was staying; dated 12th May, 1678 , Paris.
Worthy Sir,
I pray tell that make-hate you entertain in your house that if he proceeds in spreading aspersions under the name of Lominus, or any other, we are three here out of his reach and have letterswritten in his own hand to a prime jesuit in France, which contain treason against His Majesty and the State of England We three aresworn to give our faith to one anotherto prosecute that make-hate, neither shall he know by whom he is hurt The meekness of Mr Sergeant gave occasion to that mans boldness, but these letters cominginto our hands bya stratagem, we will not spare him if he will be troublesome If he will be quiet, he will be safe I wish you be safe in harbouring so turbulent and obnoxious a make-hate.
Your unknown friend.
P.S. We shall also name some persons who know and may witness his hand. We have also a letter of his against Ormonde, which contains treason . "
(211) Here we have a striking memorial of Sergeant's KINDNESS : we shall give another below How many features of Oates's imaginary conspiracyare contained in that letter of Sergeant's ! The journey to Paris, the letters to the chief Jesuit in France (meaning Père de la Chaise), treason against the King and the State or ConstitutionofEngland, the report to be made to Parliament, the witnesses held in readiness, the attack to be made on Ormond, and practically all the other pointsexcept that the author of the letter attributes the crime to one man, while Oates distributed responsibility among several, and the one enormous charge of treason laid against Talbot is carved up by Oates into several parts Hence some have said that the egg hatched by Tonge and Oates, from which came forth the serpent which upset the wholeof England, was laid by the author ofthat letter, whoeverhe was . That somethingof this kind was possible is a view recommended by the date of the letter12th Mayi.e. about two months before Oates, after returning from St. Omers, madecontact with his friend Tonge. (212) A strong proof that Talbot was innocent and that the attack upon him was really a calumny, is this, thatso far from suppressingtheletter, as anyone really guiltywould have done, he immediately published it: he inserted it in a book just coming from the press, in anappendixwhich he added for that very purpose I leave it to others to judge what is to be thought of the author of the letter, who after discoveringsogreat a crime, was readyto suppress it, providedLominus would give up his attacks on Sergeant "If he keeps quiet, he is safe, " he said. It was neither the security of the King, nor the safety of the kingdom, nor care for the public good, that moved him toreport the crime; his only motive was his anxiety to secure peace for Mr. Sergeant, just as Oates's only motive was the relief of his own destitution. That the letter was written by Sergeant I do not assert; nor do I know if it was, though the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland seems to say so in hisletters to Parliament That the letter came from someone in agreement with Sergeant's designs is proclaimed by the very
letter itself. But enough of this topic May God forgive theauthor , whoever he was, and lead him to that eternal life to which so many Catholics have passed through the violence of this persecution ; and, that he may obtain eternal life, may God grant him to be deeplysorry for the many misfortunes of which he was perhaps either the cause or the occasionthough unquestionably without intending it.
(213) I would, however , wish this to be remarkedthateven were it certain that the letter was written by Sergeant himself, and that the idea of fabricating the infamous Plot took its birth from that letter, yet no disgrace, no stain, would thereby attach to the learned and pious Secular Clergy of England. Who is so foolish asto think that Judas's treachery brought disgrace upon the other Apostles ? For some years Sergeant had passed his life in separationfrom the rest of his brethren, not obeying his Superior , if he had one , overbearing towards his equals if they disagreed with him ever so little, and refractory to his fellow-Canons, as they are all agreed This is plain to see in the letter of Richard Russell, Bishop first of Cape Verde in Guinea , and then of Portalegre in Portugal Serious complaints are there made about his imperiousness in his relations with the rest of the clergy and about his despotic methods of business Who will think that the clergy should be held responsible for the actions ofa man who was notwithin their control ?
(214) So, then, we bring this bookto an end with the close of the year 1678. We have given a general account of what the Catholics suffered: to descend to particulars and enter into details would be an endless task . It is certain that there is hardlya familynay, hardly asingle individualwhodid not suffer something , and indeed something severe. In the manuscript history of Rev. Father WilliamCulcheth , of happy memory, we learn that within this brief period four hundred people died in prison of their hardships and miseries This is easy to believe, as therewere widespread rumoursabout a contagious disease raging in the prisons For this reason the prison keepers were given access to the Privy Council, to petition that no one else should besent togaol, becauseconfinement in such places meantalmostcertaindeath.
(215) CONTENTS The condition of the English Province of the Society of Jesus and of the Seminary at St. Omers Libellous pamphlets. The execution of Ireland, Pickering, Grove, Hill, Green , Berry, Harcourt, Waring, Turner, Gavan, Fenwick, Langhorne, Postgate, Johnson, Plessington, Lloyd, Evans and Baker The trials of George Wakemann , James Corker, William Rumley, William Marsh , Charles Kerne, Andrew Brommich, WilliamAtkins and William Jones. Vindications of the Catholics The Duke of York departs to Brussels; his exercises of piety while there: he returns to England Monmouth withdraws from the Kingdom at Charles's command , and returns in defiance of his wishes The Speeches of the five Jesuits; their trustworthiness: they are attacked by Tonge, by the pseudo-Bishop of Lincoln, in the Fimbria, by E. C. , and by John Sergeant. New informers, John Smith and Robert Jenison The letter sent to Robert Jenison by his brother Thomas Oates, Doctor of Sacred Theology, is charged with sodomy Parliament: the authority of a Papist King is to be limited The trial of Danby Shaftesbury's seditious speech. Change in the Privy Council Charges laid against Catholic Peers The characterof Arnold, of Mrs. Cellier, of Dangerfield ; their denials . The Papists in Masquerade. Scroggs is impeached . The characters of Lestrangeand Waller Oates's Narrative; answer to it Thedeath of Thomas Jenison, of Gerard, of Levison The Presbyterians revolt in Scotland . York is sent there and pacifies them .
(216) I commence a turbulent year, disordered by the activities of the Faction, contaminated by a crop of libellous pamphlets , upset by terrible preparations for Civil War, by the barbarous severity of the weather, by the pitiful exile of wandering Catholics , by the sad separationof the Royal Brothers, and by the atrocious butcheringof innocent men Yet it was a year of glory, for it saw the struggles, victories and triumphs of Christ's champions, the defenders of the Faith, chosen sons of the Church. Many of the Society and some of other Orders were robbed of their mortal life, to be rewarded with immortality; for though the heretics raged particularly against the Jesuits, they did not persecute them alone ; they summoned others to share the same penalties , the same tortures, and likewise the same honour and glory.
(217) THE CONDITION OF THE SOCIETY The reader of these pages will not take it amiss if I give a brief account in particular of the condition of the English Province of the Societyin Belgium . This will enable him to see that notthe barrier ofthe sea, nor the protection of Catholic Princes, nor the affection of the people for them , could keep anyonesafe in the face of that awful persecution .
(218) The whole Province had remained as it were headless, ever since contactwith its Provincial had been cut off through the diligence of the guards set to watch him These guards had rushed in upon him so suddenly, that he had no time to nominate a substitute to perform his functions in such disturbed times So when the shepherd was struck, the flock dispersed. The General appointed John) W(arner), Rector of the College at Liège, as Vice-Provincial Heat once made a visitation of the Colleges on this (i.e. the continental) side of the channel , and found all in anxiety through present difficulties
and fears about the future. It was expected that a numberof Englishmen , who could escape the hands of the persecutors, would cross to the Continent, and that there would not be room to receive them , nor money enough for their support (219) THE SEMINARY AT ST OMERS
Other Provinces promptly expressed their readiness to receive our men and make them very welcome This charitywas a comfort to the Vice-Provincial, though he was determinednot to take advantage ofit except in extremenecessity The condition of the Seminaryat St. Omers was the saddest and most pitiable thing ofall It thenhoused about 150 boarders, manyfrom the noblestCatholicfamilies When the city was captured by the French, the Catholic Kingwithdrew the pension he had been paying annually; and as yet the Most Christian King was giving nothing to take its place. Hence the College rested on no secure foundation: it was supported exclusively by the pupils' fees, and by the voluntarycontributions of some pious people; but, when the persecution broke out, even the hope of such donationswitheredaway, since it was impossible to send or receive letters withoutdanger. The sole source of information about the condition of Catholics in England was the Gazettes , whichreportedthat the parents or relationsnowof one , now ofanother , and now of several boarders, had been cast into prison, that families were being scattered, their furniture carried off, and theirother goods plundered , while nobody ventured to resistthe rapacity of the looters, for fear that he would bring sharp troubles upon himself by defending the Papists' cause It is incredible with what fortitude the young schoolboys received the news of these events : they even seemed to rejoice that their relationshad been accounted worthyto sufferignominy for the name of Jesus. They bore with joy the seizure of their property when they knew that their relatives had failed in none of the dutieswhich a citizen owes to his fellows, or a subjectto his Prince, or a Christian to his God It was from the Gazettes, too, that they heard the news of an increase in the rigour of the laws against those who send their sons to seminaries overseas, and that those returning from such seminaries would be required to take the two Oaths of Supremacy and of Allegiance and to renounce the doctrineofTransubstantiation; also the frequent proposal in Parliament of a new law to take away all children from Catholic parents to ensure their being educated in heresya proposalwhich was rejected as being contrary to the law of nature, and because even at Rome the Pope does not take away Jewish children from their parents. As there was no sign of support or assistance from any source at all, unless there was to be a manifest miracle, many people, not wishing to seem to be tempting Providence , recommended the Vice-Provincial to send all the boys, or at least the greatmajorityofthem, back to theirparents. Forthe moment there was enough money to provide clothing and travellingexpenses, they said: if he waited any longer, the moneyto hand would not suffice even for these purposes. (220) This was indeed a cautious and, to human reckoning, a wise plan. But when the Vice-Provincial discovered that the boys were ready to put up with food-shortages, howeversevere, thatthey had urged their Superiors to cut out of their diet whatever was not strictly necessary to support life, and that when the Procurator had told a delegationfrom the pupilsthat the moneyin his possessionwould last perhaps three months, they had replied " Give us only bread and
butter, and it will last six ; and meanwhile the Lord God will assist us ,eitherbyopeningthewayto our parents, orby someothermeans when he learnt all this, how could the Vice-Provincial dismiss them ? He found the conduct of all irreproachable , and their concern for domestic discipline so great that few monasteries of religious men can show more; indeed the vigilance of their Superiors was almost superfluous while each of the pupils watched his fellows to see whether in any point they divergedfrom the path ofduty, andit was considered a disgrace to have broken even the least rule He observed the remarkable affection for the Society, which was aroused or increased in them by pity at seeing the Society so unjustly treated. (Most of them, havinglived with Oates, could refute several of his lies from their own experience, and so could make up their own minds about other statementsofhis about which they had no certainknowledge ) Indeed ifwehadhad a noviceship large enough to receive them all, they might well have gone to it in a body. They frequently discussed among themselves what they would do if, through some unavoidablenecessity, they should be sent away from the seminary Not a single one outof all theirnumber thought of returning to his native land ; all preferred to beg alms from doorto door, or to enterthe service ofsome nobleman in any capacity whatever, rather than thrust themselves into such a manifest danger of losing the Faithwhile uncertain of their own constancy
(221) When he had discovered that this was the situation , the Vice-Provincial declared his resolution to dismiss none of the boys, saying that he would rather sell the furniture of the altars, meltdown the sacred vessels, and mortgage all the houses, than abandon young men of such fine character: they must place their hope in God , "Who does not abandon those who hope in Himandtrustin His Providence . " After this, those in charge of other seminaries took heart, as was discovered afterwards, and resolved to keep their pupils; for they said there was no reason why they should abandon hope while the Jesuits, who were the chief objects of attack, refused to despair. It soon appeared that the decision had been a wise one, because the parents, dreading the return of their children at such an untimely juncture, sent money unsolicited by secret ways unknown to useven those who previously had paid with difficulty did this Moreover , generous contributions were made by some pious Catholics , whose names are known with certainty to God alone, and to us only by surmise More important still, the Most Christian King, moved to pity by the distressing condition ofthe seminary, withregalmunificence ordered anannual pension to be paid from his Treasury. So the College struggled out of its difficulties and emerged to a tolerable condition even during the Persecution
(222) In ordinary years scarcely more than ten were everadmitted to the Society, but in this year over twenty joinedsixteenat Watten , where the English Province has its Noviceship; two more were welcomed by the Province of Milan, and four by the Upper German Province, to be trained for us Thus, in place of the Fathers whom the Persecution snatched away, sons were born to us I have set these things down, that glory may be given to God, " our helper in tribulation and in hardship," and in order that, if at any time in the
future God chooses to cleanse his threshing-floor with a similar winnowing-fan, posterity will know what was done and what decisions were taken. Now let us return to public events.
(223) LIBELLOUS PAMPHLETS . If anything is alien to the profession of the Christian name, it is the publication of pamphletswhich damage another'sgood name. In RomanLaw this is a capital crimeand rightly so, because such pamphlets may expose even the most innocent man to public hatred, and he will then have no means of defendinghimself, since he does not know his accuser, and theaccuser lies the more shamelessly because he knows that he cannot be compelled to prove his charges At the opening of this year was first displayed that unbridled licence (to call it nothing worse) which continued for this and several years after, in the publication of anonymous tracts , which did not spare the courtiers, nor Charles's principal ministers, nor even Charles himself Fuel of discord they werescourges to whip up sedition, scatterers of the seeds of rebellion Their authors tried to discredit official records before the public wherever they could find the slightest pretext ; when they found nothing to blame in them , they sought material for criticism in the magistrates ' intentions , thereby doing grave injury to the majesty of the Law , reverence for which was greatly impaired, though it is the main foundation of authority itself. The lesser magistrates either did not venture to resist this audacity, or even secretly encouraged it There were even some members of Parliament who at first hinted obscurely , and later openly asserted , that the courtiers had two objectivesnamely, to bring back Papism, and to set up a despotic constitutionand that they themselves had fallen foul of Charles for no other reason than that they had opposed these designs; their altars and homes, they said, were imperilled, and there would be an end of religion and public liberty unless measures were taken These speeches were drunk in avidly by the common people, who are ready to believe anythingwhat was said bythe Patriots in their discourses no less than what was putabout by the pamphlets, which of course achieved popularity in direct proportion to the viciousness of the calumnies they contained. Those who disagreed with the Patriots were suspected of Papism , or called by hateful namesFlatterers, Toadies, or Pensionersto imply that they would betray their countrymen for a slight profit and loved gain above all else . Hence it is easy to believe that it was the King's special care for the public good which prompted him first to prorogue and then to dissolve Parliament. However, the common people had been prevailed upon to choose for the new Parliament either the same men as before or men like them. So no good came out of the dissolution of Parliamentrather, the evils were increased, as people's minds were still further estranged from Charles . (224) THE MARTYRDOM OF IRELAND, THOMAS PICKERING AND JOHN GROVE . Finally, in orderto provethat he was genuinelyopposed to Papism, Charles had recourse to the policy of maltreating priests, in the hope that he could satisfy the populace by a few executions . The first to be sacrificed to pacify the mob was William Ireland, S.J., whosuffered along with John Grove, a layman; they were soonfollowed by Thomas Pickering, O.S.B. These three were summoned with Thomas Harcourt and John Fenwick to stand trial on 17th December in the preceding year. The witnesses against them were Oates and Bedlow. Bedlowdeclared that he could say nothing against Harcourt
and Fenwick, as he was hardly acquaintedwith them; the prisoners ought therefore by rights to have been discharged and given their freedom ; but Scroggs prevented this by ordering them to be taken back to prison. Oates declared on oath that Ireland had been present at the Congregation in April at the White Horse, and that there they had agreed upon the death of Charles ; Thomas Pickering and John Grove had there been prevailed upon to do the deed, the former bya reward ofthirty thousand Masses, the latter by one of £1,500; each of them had been supplied with a pistol for the purpose and with silver bullets , which they were to bite with their teeth, so as to be moresure to poison the wound; Pickering had let them down, when his pistol failed to go off at Charles as he was conveniently passing byon one occasion because he had loaded the gun with nothing but the bullet, on a second because he had put in only gunpowder , and on a third, because the flint had wobbled and failed to make a spark; Harcourt had beenfurious at this and had had Pickeringbeaten withrods; Ireland had been present when the plan to give Charles a poisoned draught was discussed with Wakemann; Ireland had held discussions with Fenwick in Fenwick'sroom, on 16thAugust or thereabouts , as to how toadvance the conspiracy ; on 1st or 2nd September he had givenOates a pound Bedlowsaid that Ireland had been presenttowardsthe end of August, when Pickering and Grove had been sent with Father Conyers, O.S.B., to murder Charles while he was taking a country holiday at Newmarket He added that Shaftesbury , Buckingham, Ossory and Ormond had been marked down for death by the conspirators.
(225) When Ireland was allowed to speak, he denied that Oates had beenpresent at the Congregation , and said that at theCongregation they had merely discussed the sending of a procurator to Rome, a thing which is customaryin the Societyeverythreeyears ; theaccounts given by the two witnesses of what he had done in London, either about 15th August or about the end of that month, were false, since he had leftLondonon3rdAugustandreturnedonly on 14thSeptember; to prove this he produced some witnesses and would have produced far more if the keeper of the prison had allowed it Pickering said that he had never in his life fired a pistol; and people believed him. WhenCharles heard that Pickeringhad been appointed as his assassin he exclaimed " Whathe kill me ! He wouldn't even kill a flea if he had it between his fingers!" All recounted the services done by their parentsandrelationson the King's behalfin most criticaltimes; but these went for nothing. All were condemned to the punishment usual for cases of treason (While I have been writing this in the year 1685, the allegations of Oates have been submitted to a formal enquiry, and have been declared so many perjuries by the unanimous verdict of the judges.)
(226) Scroggs repeated to the jury the evidence submitted, and in his usual way mocked the prisoners with several witticisms. For instance, " So great is the thirst of a priest and a Jesuit to propagate his religion (which is nothing but his own advantage ) that it cannot be slaked with any bloodno, not even human blood" And again: " No trust can be put in them, because they believe it is permissible for them to deceive others " And to Pickering: " See now what good those 30,000 Masses are to you!"
(227) On the 24th January, the day appointedfor the execution, Ireland and Grove were dragged to their torture, and Ireland spoke as follows: " We are come hither as on the last theatre of the world, and do therefore conceive we are obliged to speak First, then, we do confess that we pardon all and every one whatsoever that have any interest, concern, or hand in this our death Secondly, we do publicly profess and acknowledge that we are here obliged, if we were guilty ourselves of any treason, to declare it, and thatifweknew any person faulty therein (although he were our father), we would detectand discover him; and as for ourselves, we would beg a thousand and a thousandpardons both of God and man; but seeing we cannot be believed , we must beg leave to commit ourselves to the mercy of AlmightyGod, and hope to find pardonof Him through Christ
(228 ) "As for myown part, having been twentyyears in the Low Countries, and then coming over in June was twelvemonth, I had returned again, had I not been hindered by a fit of sickness. On the 3rd of August last I took a journey into Staffordshire, and did not come back to town till the 14th of September, as many can witness , for a hundred and more saw me in Staffordshire and thereabouts ; therefore how I should in this time be acting here treasonable stratagems I do not well know or understand . "
(229) At this point he was interrupted by the sheriff, who said that nofaith could be placed in statements which impugnedthe honour of the judges. Ireland accordingly turned to another topic: (230) I beg of God Almightyto shower down a thousandand a thousand blessings upon his Majesty, on her sacred Majesty, on the Duke ofYork, and allthe royal family, and also on the whole kingdom As for the Catholics that are here, we desire their prayersfor a happy passage into a better world, and that God would be merciful to all Christian souls And as for all our enemies, we earnestly desire that God would pardonthem again and again ; for we pardonthem heartily, from the bottom of our hearts ; and so I beseech all good people to pray for us and with us. "
(231) Grove said only this: " We are innocent. We lose our lives wrongfully. We pray God to forgive them that are the causers ofit. "
(232) So died Father William Ireland, the first of the Martyrs offered to God in the year 1679 by that fertile mother of Martyrs, the English Province of the Society of Jesus He suffered the extreme penalty of treason, ostensibly for having plotted the destruction of his King and Country, butreally out of hatredof the Faithand because he refused to break the eighth Law of the Decalogue by bearing false witness (this too is sufficientclaim to the crownof martyrdom in God's sight). He suffered in the forty-third year of his age, the twentyfourth of his religious life, and the sixth of his religious profession. He was born in Lincolnshire of noble parents, and his real name was Ironmonger. He studied Humanities at St. Omers, Philosophy and Theologyat Liège, and in both places he left behind him the memory of remarkable instances of piety, regular observance, and coolness in trying circumstances . In July 1677 he was summoned by the Provincial into England and made Procurator of the Province; whatever time was left over to him from the care of temporal things he devoted to securing the salvation of souls After spending hardly fourteen monthsin such employmentshe was called to suffer for the Faithand for Truth, and was the first of all to be arrested When the sentence
had been carried out, the Catholics strove with keen rivalry to obtain from the executioner'sunderlings bits of his clothes and smallportions of his flesh or little ribbons dipped in his blood These things they treasured afterwards, and it is said that God works marvels through them .
(233) Grove, a layman, was of a pious, honest and energetic disposition, and lived in London with his wife For about eighteen months he had assisted our Fathersin delivering letters and acting as guide to them when making journeys His children were looked after by the pious charity of the faithful One was sent to the Seminary at St. Omers to be instructed in Humanities, and later elsewhere for his higher studies ; the others were provided for in other ways. (234) The quartered bodies were left to be buried by friends But even in his grave Ireland was not left in peace Four months later, his own kinsman , Robert Jenison, accused him of having lied (though he, Jenison, was the real liar himself) and of treason . But about this more below
(235) Pickering, who had shared their trial, grieved that he had notalsoshared theirtriumph; but his executionwas merely postponed, not remittedhe suffered on 9th May. At the gibbet he called God to witness , and said that not in thought, word or deed was he guilty of the things laid to his charge When asked whether he was a priest he replied that he was only a lay brother Then, after praying for the King, the peace of the country, and for himself, he said to the executioner "My friend, do your duty."
(236) He was born in Derbyshire of pious and honest parents, who instilled Catholic ways into him from his very childhood. To avoid the perils of the world he left it, and betookhimselfto the holy Order of St. Benedict, as to a safe port of refuge He was a man of primitive simplicity and of most innocent life; and he was universally recognised to be a most unlikely person for the rôle assigned to him by Oates's false oaths
(
237) THE TRIAL OF HILL, GREEN AND BERRY. After the martyrdom of Ireland and Groveand before that of PickeringLaurence Hill, Robert Green and Henry Berry were summoned to stand trial on 10th February on a charge of murdering Godfrey. The King's Counsel elaborated a narrative of the crime in a diffuse speech, saying that when Godfrey had received Oates's accusation, the Papists had been extremely annoyed with him and tried by theirthreats to terrify him out of doing his duty; this had occasioned his remarkthathewould be the firstofthe Martyrs TheCatholics had then made a plotagainst him As he was passing by the Queen's palace on 12th October , one of the Catholics had invited him to come into a place hard by, to use his authorityto settle a dispute When he had arrived there, a cord wasthrown round his neckandhe was strangled ; but when theassassins saw from the trembling of his feet and the warmth of his breastthat he had not yet expired, they twisted his neck so that his face was turned back to his shoulder, and so squeezedout hisremainingbreath The report that the murder had been committed was sent withoutdelay to Rome , where it filled the whole citywithjoy. (Hedid not, however , add by what means he had acquiredthis information, or whose report he was trusting.) The corpse was then taken, he said, to the chamber ofThomas Godden , a Doctor ofSacred Theology , and from theremoved threeor four times to otherplaces Finally, on the 16thOctober atabout
midnight it was fastened into a sedan-chair and taken out through the main gate of the aforementioned palace, and carried to the Church ofthe Greeks , where it was taken out of the sedan; the legs wereforced apart, and it was set upon a horse, with Hill seated behind it. Hill had cast it into the ditch, where it was found on the following day (238) The first witness produced was Oates He recounted the threats to which Godfrey was subjected for having brought the accusations to a person of high distinction Robinson confirmed this. That threats had been uttered nobody denied ; but that their author was a Catholic was something which no man of sense believed. Anyway, none of this evidence affected the prisoners, as they had never threatenedGodfrey, and were not the agents of those who did terrify him with threats Hill, who was in the prime of life, was Godden's servant; the other two were old men, near to the grave, mere bags of bones. Green used to make a little money in the Queen's chapel by handing cushions to people as they entered ; Berry was the porter of her Palace
(239) Next Brown, the constable of the parish where the corpse was discovered, was heard : he merelysaid howhe hadfoundthe corpse Next were two surgeons who said that Godfrey had died not by the sword which was found in his body, but by strangling. But what had this to do with the prisoners ?
An innkeeper called Vincent and his servant Stringer were heard: they said that the prisoners had drunk with some priests in their inn But how was this relevant ? What if they had drunk with all the priestsin the wholeofEurope- would it follow that the prisoners were guilty of the murder ? No less irrelevant was the evidence of Cary, Evans and Dethick , who said that Prance had eaten oysters and fish with the othersand had been very merry, and that therehad been mentionofGodfrey'smurder. It is a painful and humiliating thing to record these allegations , yet the King's Counsel was not ashamed to utterthem with a greatdisplay of verbiage, merelyto impress the common people and to overwhelm the innocence of the prisoners by means of a large number of irrelevant witnesses
(240) There remain Bedlow and Prance . Bedlow said thatfor twoyears he had been very familiar with priests, and that he had been solicited to perform a murder by the offer of £4,000; he had later heard that the crime had been committed, and had seen the corpse, which was shown to him in the dim light of a lantern; he had been induced by an offer of £2,000 to help, along with others, in the removalof the corpse When Broadstreet , Godden's niece, said to him out loud, " MasterBedlow , you know verywell thatwhat you have said is false" he answered "I am notaccusing you. " Another reason whyBedlow's allegations should certainly not have harmed the prisoners is that he said expressly there in court that Hill and Green were unknown to him, that he had seen them at some time or another in the Queen's chapel, and that they had seemedto him badmen, readyto commitany crime. Further, Smith, the Protestant Minister, bears witness that Oates had said in Bedlow's presence that he (Bedlow) knew nothing of Godfrey'smurder, but had made up his mind to saysomething so as to obtain the £500promised byCharles ThesewordsBedlowgreeted with a laugh and nothing more Next came Prance, who was the onlyone to say clearly what the Faction wanted said , namely, that the murder had been committed by himself and the three prisoners So he was
the only witness who spoke to the point He mentioned others as having been implicatedin the crime, inparticular a mancalled Vernatti But no credence ought to have been given to this evidence , because 1. Prance was a single witness, and all law, both human and divine, requires two witnesses. " In the mouth of two or three witnesses everyword shall stand " (Deut. 19, 15) ; " nobodyshall be put todeath when only one bearethwitness against him " (Ibid 17, 6). And in a constitution of Constantineit is said of witnesses that "the voice of one is the voice of none. " 2. Prance was charged withthe same crime, and ought therefore to have been excluded from giving evidence. These reasonsare combined inthe lawconcerning witnesses* :" Hewho is under the same charge cannot then bear witness against him nor does the testimony of one man suffice for the condemnation of anyone. " 3. Prance had himself declared to Charles that all he had said about , the murderers of Godfrey was false This was confirmed byWilliam Chiffinch, private chamberlainto Charles, and by Richardson , the keeper of the prison, in whose presence Prance had madethe declaration; but no mention is made of their evidence in the records of this trial published by Scroggs's orders . Prance admitted having made the declaration, but added that he had foreswornhis statements through fear that, if he did not, the Queen and the Catholics would employ his services no longer Scroggs added that he had retracted not because the evidence was false, but out of fear Whatever the motive, he certainly did make the retractation, and so deserved tobe punished rather than to be believed . In the Chapter on Witnesses we read : " Let those who have borne false or inconsistent witness ... be suitably punished by the judges " 4. That the whole story was an invention is proved by several considerations (i) that a robustman in the fullness of his strength allowed himself to be strangled without resistance andwithout any noise, in a place open to all and full ofpeople passing toandfro; (ii) that for no apparentreason they kept the corpse such a long time and transferred it so frequently from one room to another; (iii) that the corpse, though both cold and stiff, alloweditself to be bent in such a way that it could be fitted into a sedan-chair (Godfrey, by the way, was of a very tall stature), and then, whentaken out of the sedan, could have its legs separated, and be set on horseback, whereas after being thrown into the ditch the body wasfound erect, stiff, and inflexible The Jew Apella may believe that! (iv) Various witnesses who are above all suspicion refuted the invented story. The military guard which had been on duty at the chief gate of the Queen's Palace on the night when the corpse was supposed to have been carried out, gave evidence that no sedan had gone out by their gatethat night, and that none could have gone out withouttheir noticing it Godden's niece and a maidservant testified that Hill was at home and did not go out at all both on the night when the murderofGodfreyis believed to have takenplace, andon thenightwhen he is said to have been carried out. Others gave similar evidence against the other witnesses, while Scroggs snarled and did his bestto disconcert them by interposing questions sometimes jocular, sometimes unchaste, and sometimes malevolent. An instance of his malevolence was his asking the soldiers whether they were Catholics ; for, if they were , they would have to be dismissed from the army Another was his asking whether they had not deserted their post (a crime in -
* Decret. Greg. IX, 2 , 20 , 10.
the Army) to go and have a drinkwith their fellow-topers at the inn He was jocular, if anybody was disposed to laugh on such a serious occasion , whenhe asked whetherCatholics take supper on the Sabbath, and whether they have obtained a special privilegefrom the HolySee to do so He was unchaste when he asked Godden's niece whether she had lain with Hill on all those nights. Again, when he heardthat moneyand other valuables had been found in the dead man'spockets, Scroggs remarked that " the Papists consider theft a crime , but not murder" Addressing all the prisoners together, he said " You are not allowed to say or think anything but what pleases the priest; it is he who suggests these crimes to you, and the devil to him . " And again, "I think I shall add to my litanies From the illusion of Papism and the tyranny of the Pope, O Lord deliver us ' For that yoke is such that now we have tasted the sweetness of liberty we shall never bear it; and the burdenis such as none would bear save a beast bornto carry burdens . " And finally, " The genuineness of the Plotis wonderfully provedby the murder " Thusthe manargued in a vicious circle, proving the Popishmurder from the Popish Plot, and the Plotfrom the murder, althougheven then it was thought, and is now as plain asdaylight, that neither the one nor the other had any existence except in the minds of Oates and his fellows, and in the papers they besmirched with their story (241) Onthe following day judgment was passedupontheaccused andtheywere found guiltyof murder. To the greatgrief ofthe others, Berry then declared that he had been brought up in the Protestant religion and in his heart had never abjured that faith, and wished to die a Protestant. His execution was hereupon deferred indefinitely On 21st February the others were led to the scaffold, where Hill said "I am come to the fatal place of execution, and am soon to appear before the dreadjudgment-seat of God almighty, who knowsallthings. I take God , men and angels to witness I am innocent of the death of Justice Godfrey: and I believe it will be well with me, because I die innocently, and hope through the merits of my blessed Saviour to be saved . I do confess, as I lived, so I die, a RomanCatholic, desiring such to pray for me . God bless and preserve His Majesty, and this poor Nation, and laynot innocentblood to its charge So I bid you all farewell in Jesus Christ, into whose hands I commend my spirit. " Green said "I desire all your prayers . And as for Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, I know not whether he be dead or alive; for in all my days I never saw him with my eyes, as I know of. And if false people will swear against me , I cannot help it; I pray God to bless my King, and all good people " When somebody cried out that he had been legally condemned he added "I pray God to pardon them all I certainly never saw Godfrey, as I know of."
(242) Several people approached Berry and tried to extractfrom him a confession of the Plot, offering impunity and rewards if he acknowledged it, and threatening death if he did not. But having a firmer hold on his honesty than on his faith, he persisted in saying that he knew nothing about it So a week later, on 28th February, he followed his companions to the place of suffering, though it was notfor him likewisethe place ofreward. Like them he diedbyhanging. His last words were " O Lord Jesus, as I am innocent, receive my spirit."
(243) In this way, then, they contended for their innocence and their life, relying solely on the evidence of their good consciences againstperjured witnessesnay more, against unjust and even hostile judges, who, though they were bound by natural law and by their office to favour the accused (indeed the Law allows the accused no other advocate), tried to confound their innocence with all the skill of their experience and to oppress it with the whole weight of their authority , in order to give some plausibility to the fictitious conspiracy. But in vain: the three prisoners, though uneducated and perhaps completely illiterate, by God's help so confused the cunning of the lawyers that practically no one had any doubt about the unfairness of the whole trial Most people were sorry for these good men whohad been oppressed by calumnies So God chose the foolish things of this world to confoundthe wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the strong.
(244) VINDICATIONS OF THE CATHOLICS. Everywherethe honour of Catholics , and especially of the Society, was being traduced Their enemies were constantly asserting that they had been proved guilty of treason , and nobody contradicted this calumny The very silence oftheCatholicswas interpretedbypeople who were farfromill-disposed, as a tacit admission ofguilt. It was therefore finallydecided publicly to contradict these base rumours. At the end of February there appeared A Letter from Amsterdam, written in English by William Morgan, and on 1st March a Lettre Escrite de Mons in French by J. Warner, the former for Englishmen , and the latter to allay the misgivings of French-speaking foreigners . These served their purpose well Within two months the Letter from Mons was reprinted ten times in several places and several languages, although an influential Calvinist petitioned every Prince to forbid its publication in his dominions , for fear the revelation of the injustice of events in Englandmight create danger for all Calvinists living in those dominions.
(245) These letters contained a brief descriptionof the life-history of the Catholics ' accusers, a refutation of Oates's chief lies by means of public attestations, and a demonstration of how incredible it was that the Catholics , who had always been loyal to the King, should have conspired against Charles, who had done them many good services The writers of the letters were so sure of the truth of what they wrote that they straightway sent various copies through the public post to the enemies of the Catholics (they could not send them to the Catholics themselves), namely, to Shaftesbury and other Peers of the Upper House, to both of Charles's Secretaries, and to others among Charles's advisers, to the Speaker of the Lower House, and to other leading members of Parliament, also to the Mayor of London, the Sheriffs, and the Aldermen Each recipient was addressed by name on the cover , and warnedthat either he must cease to persecute the innocent, or, as he would no longer have the common pretext of ignorance, his crime would be inexcusable But never was the truth of St. Augustine's saying made more obvious, that " men love the truth when it shines out, but not when it answers back . " Seeing the innocence of the Catholicsso clearly vindicated, and being at a loss for an answer , they expressed indignation that thereactually existed men whocalled in question the justice of their actions and rejected the story which they had approved They gnashed their teeth, raged and stormed against the Catholics ; they stirred up the populace ; they went to the
imprisoned Catholic Peers and threatenedthem with the worst, ifthey did not impose silence upon the apologists ; and they clamouredthat they would not endure the arrogance of men whoimpugnedthe honour of Parliament and of the whole kingdom. The Catholic Peers did not succeed in repelling these attacks by pointing out that these vindications had been written without their knowledge or orders, and thatit was notwithin their power to control men living outside the kingdom, over whom they had no authority Their accusers replied that they could easily silence the apologists by persuasion if not by authority; the vindications had been writtenfor the benefit of the Peers; so they would have to answer for it if the writers went any further.
(246) There were some Catholics too, who for various reasons urged that no reply should be made. Some thought that to do so would stir up a nest of hornets; others feared that, if we uncovered the weakpoints of the story, the Faction would be prompted to strengthen them with fresh witnesses; others saw the hand of God in the whole persecution , just as doctors say that some divine power is at workin great diseases , and were therefore in favour of leaving it to God to still the tempestcaused by His own Decree (As ifit were not permissible to combat great diseases by means of the drugs which God has created out of the earth for that very purpose !) Howeverthe ViceProvincial decided that while Divine assistance should be sought by fervent prayer, humanremedies should not be neglected Theenemies of the Catholicswere not inspiredby love of truth, nor byzeal forreligion, nor by concern for the public good; they feared neither God nor man. Only by being exposed to public disgrace and the reprobation of the whole world could they be cured of their insanity.
(247) Those letters were like a finger irritating a sore; and those being irritatedhadnomeans offinding relief; or they may be compared to an armoury from which came the deadly shafts which cut downthe array of lies. The Faction sent people to St. Omers, to Paris, and to Madrid, to enquire into particular facts When they saw that everything was solid fact, and that no trace of falsehood was to be seen anywhere , they refrainedfrom ever making any reply to the letters
(248) Next, the records of the trial of Hill and his companions were brought to Liège. The injustice of the proceedings was demonstrated in the Seconde Lettre de Mons by the author of the former one , J. Warner. He added by way of conclusion that it was of course no new thing that the children of this world should oppose the sons of Light, overwhelmthem with calumnies, and seek to make them responsible for the shortcomings of fortune and for public disasters The Christians of the first century had borne the odium of having started the Fire of Rome ; the Christiansagain were charged with causing the fire which burnt down Diocletian's Palace; when Rome was taken by the Goths, again it was the Christians whowere blamed (See Tacitus, Tertullian, Augustine and others ) Christ himself was accused of treason against both God and man What was new and quite unprecedented was that the Christians of our day, after being accused of the most monstrous crimes, were pardoned if they confessed , and refused pardonif they refused to confess; also that prisoners who knew nothing that was going on outside their cells, were made responsible for everything that happened even outside the King's dominions
(249) The Faction never made any answer to this letter either These letters at least succeeded in convincingforeigners of the Catho-
lics' innocence; they likewise satisfied most Englishmen However , to make sure that hatred of the Catholics did not evaporate altogether , the non-Catholics gathered together from ancient histories and from other kingdomsevery act of brutality or cruelty to be found in them . The Paris Massacre, the ruthlessness of Alva in Belgium, the savage treatment of the Albigensians by the Frenchin Toulouse , the fires lit in the reign of Mary, Queen of England, all that the Valdensian rebels suffered atthe hands oftheir lawful princesallthesethingswere heaped up and cast at the Catholics, to sustain the great weight of hostility that had been built up against them. It was just as if they had fused all the Catholics not only of this generation , but of all past ones too , into one mass , for whose crimes every part should be held responsible. Thus, just as Christ instituted a sharing of merits among His disciples, so those Anti-Christs were settingup a communionof demerits. They also added totheir list ofcharges certaindoctrines odious to the highest Powers , which were once held by some Theologians, though now they are known to few and hated by most of those who do know of them .
A book packed full of these events and teachings was publishedby one Barlow, an Oxford Doctor of Protestant Theology and PseudoBishop of Lincoln, a man whose religious faith was no less suspect than his loyaltyto the King. He was suspected of being a Jew, onthe grounds that he had always refused to eat sausages ; and he hadalways been an adherentof the Faction who fought against Charles I and opposedCharles II Hetookwhateveroaths were askedofhim, eventhough they were inconsistentand openly contradicted each other He was always a time-server and obsequious to the powers of the moment (250) OATES A DOCTOR OF SACRED THEOLOGY Oates wishedto invest himself with greater authority by being elevated to the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology He sought to obtain such a degree from each of the two Universities , and met with refusal from both However, in spite of being threatened with punishment, he assumed the title, and added one moreto the catalogue of his lies by sayingthat he had been made a doctor at Salamanca. Yet he had never been to Salamanca . The Faculty therecleanseditself ofthe stainofdishonour, which would have clung to it from the promotion of such a man , by printing and publishing a documentsigned by all the members ofthe Theological Faculty testifying that they had neverseen Oates and that nothing was known of him in Salamanca exceptfrom public rumours , which were to his discredit (251) THE CHARACTER OF LESTRANGE Already at this point there were signs of intrigues contrived by the Faction against Charles and the Constitution, on the pretext of defending both from the machinationsofthe Papists So once more there appeared on thescenethat energetic defender of his King and Government, that unrelenting hammer and implacable foe of the fanatics, Roger Lestrange Born ofan ancientand illustrious familyin the County of Norfolk, he fought for Charles I. While attempting, in pursuance of Charles's orders , to occupy King's Lynn, a town situated near the sea-estuary which separates Norfolkfrom Lincoln, he was taken prisoner and, contrary to the rules of war, brought to trial on a capital charge Sentence was passed against him, but its execution was deferred indefinitely for fear of setting a precedent which would cause the death of those captured by Charles. Eventually he was set at liberty. There was moreofMercury than of Mars in him; he won more fame byhiswriting
than byhisfighting. Nature had givenhim a supple and clear-sighted mind , and he had acquiredgreat prudence from living through a long period of civil unrest. Thanks to these endowments , although his writings aroused the anger of many bitter enemies, no one evercharged him with transgressing any law or of uttering a falsehood By means of several excellent anonymous publications he opened the door for the return of Charles II from exile. After Charles's return he established him on the throne by exposing the evil designs of the Faction, who were forced to give up their intrigues when they saw that whatever they said in holes and corners was noised abroad by him to the whole country. His evenness of temper, the innocence of his life, and the charm of his familiar conversation made him universally liked; his refined and amusing English style enticed people to read him. He is considered to have done more for the King's authority than a whole army could have done. (252) At home, along with his mother's milk, he imbibed the Protestant religion and clung to it, even when he was in the household of Cardinal Hastia, to which he had been admitted as an Honorary Noble in the hope that he would be converted, though he never was . (253) He was deeply disturbed by the danger threatening from the Presbyterians , which, he believed, could not be met except by destroyingbeliefin the PopishPlot. That it was dangerous and useless to assail this beliefopenly, was a lesson he had learnt from the example of those members of Parliament who, by questioning the reality of the Plot, had done themselves much damage and the public no good. However, as he thought thatsome ventureshould be made, he published a book entitled A Further Discovery of the Papist Plot, addressed to Oates himself. Almost at the beginning he has the following passage: "I believe the Plot; and as much of it as every good Subject ought to believe, or as any man in his right Wits can believe; Nay, I do so absolutely believe it, that, in my Conscience, you yourself , Doctor, do not believe more ofit then I do But yet the whole Earthcan neverbring me to believe, or say that I Believe, that which I neither do nor can Believe .... And in some cases , I would wait a little for Confirmation , without swallowing everything whole as it comes Suppose my Boy should come in and tell me that it rains Buttered Turnips, I shouldgo near to open the Window to see whetherit be so or no; and you would not blame me for Doubting neither . " (254) That is how he writes How cautiously he taunts the informer'sperfidy, wins credence for the Catholics, and mocks the absurd story of the Plot! This one man, when others drewbackthrough fear, set himself up like a wallto protect the King's authority; he defended it in sucha way that he made himself incidentally the Catholics ' advocate, althougha non-Catholichimself; and for this reason the heretics were morereadyto believe him At the beginningofthis yearhetook up the pen once again, and is still working on while I write this, though he is advanced in years His green and active old age has robbedhim of nothing except his bodily strength and the passions ofyouth(which it is better to be without), and this loss has been compensated by the increase of his practical wisdom . His mind is still lively, his memory tenacious, his conversation easy and sprinkled with a wit which is never biting except when turned against the enemies of his King or Country. He allows no rest to those who disturb the private peace of good men or the public tranquillity of the kingdom.
(255) Lestrange remained silent so long as the Faction stormed against the Catholics alone: he did this out of reverence for Charles , from whose Court had issued the first mention of the Plot But he made an end of his silence when he saw that the drift of eventswas towards anarchy The seeds he sowed on this occasion were one day to bring forth an abundant harvest, but for the time being the return was less , for an insane desire for revolution was abroad ; it blocked men's ears and obsessed their minds, so that they listened to nothing save what they wanted to hear.
(256) When the Faction saw that the rest of the Catholic front had given way so easily, their boldness grew, and they began to assail York, saying that he had been the heart and the brain of the plot to kill Charles, and that without him the Catholics would never have ventured even to imagine or conceive so great a crime ; he had beenthe originator of counsels advantageous to the Catholics and ruinous to the kingdom; at his suggestion treaties had been made with Catholic countriesand refused to the Protestant countries ; the power of France had grownformidable to neighbouringStates and would soon be their ruin if steps were not taken quickly by the removal of York; it was absurd to worry about a cut finger when their heads were exposed to danger ; it was useless to strip the leaves off a tree and to lop offits branches while leaving the root and trunk, whence both leaves and branches had come forth, and whence they would sprout again; York must be removed, deprivedof the right of succession, and driven from his native soil, if they wished to preserve Charles, the state andreligion in security. These things were not merely whispered in secret nooks and corners of the city; even in the Court, in Charles's hearing, they were said withgreatconfidence, especially justbefore thetime appointed for the meeting of Parliament, during which time the Faction are always more bold in their frenzy, and the King's ministers more timid in their opposition.
(257) Wishing to calm the excitement in Parliament, Charles explained the situation to York, and warned him that it was to the advantage of both of them that he should yield before the storm , withdraw into Spanish Belgium, and thereawait the return of calmand happierdays. He did not, however, order him to leave the kingdom. Later, having failed to prevail on him by the spoken work, Charles sent him writtenorders to leave the country in a letter of28th February, as follows:
(258) "I have already given you my Reasons at large, why I think that you should absent your self from me for some time; as I am truly sorry for the Occasion , so you may be sure I shallneverdesire it longer than it will be absolutely necessary both for your good and my service . In the meantimeI think it properto give you undermy hand that I expect this compliance from you You may easily believe with what doubts I write this to you; there beingNothing I am more sensible of than the Constant Kindnesse you have ever had for me; and I hope you are so just to me, as to be assured that no Absence , nor anything else, can change me from being truely and Kindly Yours C.R."
(259) York obeyed the command forthwith, however harsh he found it When he was already prepared for the journey, Charles
paid him a visit They fell into each other's embrace, and the tears of both bore witness to the grief and tender affectionwhich sorrowprevented them from expressing inwords.
(260) A rumour that Monmouth had been begotten in lawful wedlock had been put about earlier, but secretly and in whispers ; now, the matter began to be discussed more openly, since the Faction had acquirednew strength and boldness by York's departure Charles was greatly disturbed about the rumour, and summoned an extraordinary meeting of his counsellors and of the Judges of the Realm , at which he publicly declared that the rumour was false, and that hehad married no woman except Catherine of Portugal This declaration he read from a written document , which he signed He gave orders for it to be further witnessed by the signatures of those presentand kept among the archives of the Privy Council ; and he had authentic copies made of it and kept elsewhere. This was done on 3rd March However, in the following year the rumour sprang to life again: it was also said that thereexisted a documentsigned by Charles , testifying that therehad beeneither a marriageor at least a ceremony ofbetrothal between him and the woman in question. The whisperers also gave the names of those who had seen the document, and of the person whowas keepingthe black box which containedthe document, namely Sir Gilbert Gerard He, whensummoned, admitted that he had heard something about a black box and a documentof that description, but said that he had neverseen either, and did not know the origin ofthe rumour , nor on what it was based. Others whowere questioned onthe same points gave the same answersthat they did not know the authorsof the story and hardly knewthose who had spread itabout (261) Hereupon Charles repeated his former declaration in a second , and finally in a third (on 2nd June), when, " calling God to witness , " he protested" upon the faith of a Christian man and the word ofa King" that there had been no marriagenor any matrimonial contract between himself and Mistress Waters or Barrow (these were the two names which Monmouth'smother had assumed) orany woman exceptthe Queen, whowas still alive. Heordered that anyone asserting the contrary should be brought to trial These measures ought to have been enough to safeguard York's claim, and would have been if he had not had to deal with a stiff-necked generation which was determined to have some pretext for excluding his right, and could find no other So the common people adhered to the rumour, because they thought it true, while Monmouth, Shaftesbury and the Presbyterian ministers held to it because it served their purpose After Charles's death, when James was holding the reins of power, there followed a rebellion, which was quenched by the blood of Monmouth and a few others. About that more below. (262) PARLIAMENT . On 6th March the new Parliament met. Charles addressed it as follows: He wished and prayedfor nothing more than to unite the minds of all his subjects both to himself and to one another and to Protestants abroad " And I resolve, " he said, "it shall be your Faults if the Success be not suitable to My desires. I have done many great things already in order to that End; as the Exclusion of the Popish Lords from their Seats in Parliament, the Execution of several men, both upon the score of the Plot and of the Murder of Sir Edmund Bury Godfrey, and it is apparent that I have not been idle in Prosecuting the Discovery of both ....I have Dis-
banded as muchof theArmyas I could get Money to do, andIam ready to Disband the rest so soon as you shall Reemburse what they have cost Me .... And above all I have Commanded my Brother to absent himself from Me, because I would not leave the most malicious Men room to say I had not removed all Causes which could be pretended to influence Me towards Popish Counsels" It was plain from what he had done how truly and sincerely he was seeking the Peace of the Kingdom and the good of the Protestant Religion; it would become plain whether Parliament had the same object in view . If they will employ their time upon the great concerns of the nation, and not be drawnto promoteprivate animosities , "I shall not cease my Endeavours daily to find out what moreI can, both of the Plot, and Murder ofSir Edmund Bury Godfrey, and shall desire the Assistance of both My Houses in that work. I have not been wanting to give Orders for puttingall the present Laws in executionagainst Papists .... I must desire your Assistance also in Supplies, both forDisbandingthe Army.. and to make up the Loss I sustain by the Prohibition of FrenchWines and Brandy, which turns only to My prejudice, and to the great advantage of the French . " It would be necessary, he continued, to have a good strength at Sea again, since our Neighbours are making Naval Preparations , and without such strength England would be neither safe norformidable . ... "I will with My Life Defend both the Protestant Religion andthe Lawsofthis Kingdom, and I do expect from You to be Defended from the Calumny as well as Danger of those worst of men who endeavour to render Me and My Governmentodious to my people. " The rest he left to the Lord Chancellor . (263) The Chancellor , after praising Charles's zeal for the Protestant religion and for the extirpation of Popery, reported the punishments that had been inflicted on others, and then said that the only hope remaining to the Papists was that Parliament would exceed all bounds in their remedies and propose immoderateplans which could not last. The Papist Peers had asked to be brought to trial while Parliament was dissolved : Charles had refused this, in order to make the trial more solemn by their presence. Charles had anticipated their wishes by dismissing his only brother This was proof that he would deny them nothing, if he was willingfor their sakes to give up the solace of so good a brother. They must forbid the printers, under severe penalties , to publish so many infamous pamphlets which were emanatingfrom the Papists andother schismatics The restof Europe was at peace, its armies idle; England was in dangerthe moreso as the exhausted Treasurycould not support the Army and the Fleet A fleet must be made readyfor the following summer, for which purpose money must be granted Ifreligionwas to be defended, ifCharles's honour was to be protected, empty fears must be banished, quarrels made up and lasting peace established . Now was the time to defend both Church and State from the contrivances of the enemies of both. The fate ofCharles's dominions depended on theirdeliberations , which would extend either happiness or misery to many generations The eyes of all Europe were upon them They must offer their hearts first of all to God, and then to Charles, so that the King might be safe by their counsels, rich in their love, victorious by their arms, and glorious by their loyalty, while they in turn would be happy under his rule
(264) Afterthis, the Chancellor bade the Peers ofthe Lower Chamber withdraw and elect a Speaker; at three o'clock in the afternoon they were to present the person chosen, and to beg Charles's confirmation of their choice Edward Seymour, who had held the office of Speaker in the previous Parliament, was unanimouslychosen; but Charles refused to confirm him, saying that he wished to employ his services elsewhere The Lower House took this ill, and resolved that its election was to be deemed valid and that it was not liable to be annulledby anybody. The disputeabout this trifling matter occupied eight days, since neither of the contendingparties would yield to the other Charles finally put a stop to it by proroguing Parliament for two days. (Here it should be observed that a session of Parliament can be suspended in two ways without its dissolution, viz by prorogation or adjournment When it is adjourned , all things that have been debated init remainin statu quo; when it is prorogued , all business that has been dealt with in it is rendered void, exactly as if there had been no mention of itall business, that is to say, except what the King had confirmedand ratified.)
(265) At the next meeting , Russell, the son ofthe Dukeof Bedford, suggested that someone else should be chosen as Speaker, and added that Sir William Gregory, J.P., seemed suited to the task All the others supportedhis proposal, and Charles gave his approval Sothis sordid dispute was terminated However, hope was not revived of any good coming out of that Parliament What profit was to be expected from an assembly which obstinately resisted Charles in a matter of no moment, where his right was obvious ? What is the purpose of a humble petition for the confirmation of an election , if the election is to be deemed valid even without it, or even if the confirmationis refused ? Thenagainthey took no account, andindeed did not even make mention, of Charles's speech, of his tender regard for his subjects, of his good-will towards the members of Parliament, and his complete readiness to concur with their wishes in so far as he could do so withoutdamage to the royal authority; yet at other times they hadthankedhim solemnlyforvery slight reasons. But the Lower House was composed of the sort of men who take advantage ofa King's humility to be arrogant, and of his lenience to be insolent; and they do not know how to give way exceptto one who is strongerthan they and controls them with a firm hand
(266) After this, various questions were debated, but no mention was made ofthe business which Charles had set before them. On 20th March, Tonge, Oates and Bedlowwere summoned to the Lower House and given a hearing, as was Prance in the Upper House In both Houses itwas decided todrawupan impeachment of Danby, thearticles of which have been given above in Book II. (267) DANBY'S CASE On 22nd March, having summoned together both Houses, Charles declared that Danby had done nothing except by his orders, and that therefore the things he had done ought not to be laid to his charge; nevertheless, he (Charles) would nottake it amiss if, on account of the complaints that had been disseminated about him , Danby were to be removed from all his offices and declared ineligible for all other employments . This seemed adequate to the Upper House, but not so to the Lower, which objectedthat these were not the penalties laid down by law for those guilty of the crimes in question . While the two Houses were engaged in a heated dispute
about this, a report spread that Danby had obtained from Charles a complete pardon of all his crimes This, however, did not cause the members of the Commons to drop the case they had begun; they enquired in the first place how the deed of pardon had been made and in what form, and secondly, whether it was guaranteed by the Great Seal, and bywhose hand Charles's Secretaries said they knewnothing about it, and the Chancellor said that the seal had not been attached by him, but that at Charles's bidding he had left the seal on the table , and Charles had affixed it to the documentwith his own hand while he (theChancellor ) was not looking How sadand pitiable wasCharles's plight when his ministers dared do nothing that would displease Parliament, even when they had his orders ! (268) Other members of Parliament questioned the legal validity of the pardon Although they did not as yet deny that it was within the King's powerto remit punishmentafter sentence has been passed, they maintained that he could not withdraw a prisoner from thecourt before his case had been tried They seemed to have forgotten that they had themselves sought and obtained similar pardons for Oates , Bedlow and others, and that they wanted them to be valid Further , an order was made in the Lower House that " no one of the English people should venture to say that the Pardon granted to Danby was valid or had legal subsistence: anyone who did so should be considered as wronging the English people "
(269) While these things were happening , Danby had gone into hiding; but finally he gave himself up. He was sent as a prisonerby the Upper House to the Tower of London, where he desired , but in vain, to relieve the boredom of his captivity in the company of his Catholic fellow-prisoners : but they persistently rejected his advances , because they thought that he was the source of all their misfortunesa treacherous Sino Whether they did right or wrong I do not say; it is a questionI leave to others (270) SHAFTESBURY'S SEDITIOUS SPEECH On 25th March Shaftesburymade a seditious speech in the House of Lords Init he said that he intended to flatter neither the Court nor the people, but would say freelywhateverthe spiritmoved him to say. Thenheadded , in the manner of one preachinga sermon, " We have a little sister , and she has no breast What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for ? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver; and if she be a door , we will enclose her with boards of cedar We have several little sisters withoutbreasts the French Protestant church, the two kingdoms of Ireland and Scotland . The foreign Protestantsare a wallthe only wall and defence to England; upon it you may build palaces of silverglorious palaces. The pro- tection of the Protestants abroad is the greatest power and security the crown of England can attain unto, and which can only help to givea checktothe growinggreatness of France Scotland and Ireland are two doors that let in either good or mischief upon us They are much weakened by the artifice of our cunning enemy, and we ought to enclose them with boards of cedar. Popery and slavery, like two sisters, go hand-in hand: sometimes one goes first and sometimes the other, in a door; but the other is always following close at hand In England popery was to have brought in slavery; in Scotland slavery went before , and popery to follow . I do not think your lordships of the present parliament have jurisdiction there It is a noble and
ancient kingdom; they have an illustrious nobility, a gallant gentry, a learned clergy, and an industrious, worthy people; but yetwecannot think of England as we ought, without reflectingonthe condition they are in. They are under the same prince and influence of the same favourites and council; they are hardly dealt with; and can we that are the richer expect better usage? For it is certain that in all absolutegovernment , the poorest countries are always mostfavourably dealt with when the ancient nobility and gentry there cannot enjoy their royalties, their shrevedoms, and their stewarties , which they and their ancestors have possessed for several hundredyears, but that they are now enjoynedbythe lords of the councilto make deputations of theirauthority to such as are theirknownenemies Can we expect to enjoy our Magna Charta long under the same persons andadministrations of affairs if the councilthere can imprison any noblemanfor several years without bringing him to trial or giving the leastreason for what they do ? Can we expect the same men will preserve the liberty of the subject here ? I will acknowledge that I am not well versed in the particular laws of Scotland.
" But this Ido know, that all the northern countries have by their laws an undoubtedand inviolablerightto their libertiesand properties; yet Scotland has outdone all the eastern and southern countries in having their lives , liberties, and estates sequestered to the will and pleasure ofthose thatgovern Theyhave lately plundered and harassed the richest and wealthiest counties of that kingdom, and brought down the barbarous Highlanders to devour them, and this without almost a tolerable pretence to do it, but those which design toprocure a rebellion at any rate, which, as they managed it, was only prevented by the miraculoushand of God , or otherwise all the papists of England would have been armed, and the fairest opportunity given in thejust time for the execution of that bloody and wicked design the papists had; and it is not possible for any man that duly considers it to think other but that those ministers that acted there were as guilty in the plot as any of the lords that are in question for it
"My lords , I am forced to speak thus, and plainer, becauseuntil the pressure be fully taken off from Scotland it is not possible for me or any thinking man to believe that good is meant. It is here we must still be upon our guard, apprehending that the principle is not changed at Court, andthatthose men thatare stillin place andauthority have their influence upon the mind of our excellent prince, that he is not, nor ever can be, that to us which his nature and goodnesswould incline him to. I know your lordships can order nothing in this, but there are those that hear me can put a perfectcure to it, and until that be done this Scotch weed is like death in the pot mors in Olla But there is something which now I consider most immediately concerns ustheir act of two-and-twenty thousandmen to bereadyto invade us upon all occasions This I hear the lords ofthe councilthere have treated (as they do all other laws), expounded it unto a standing army of sixty thousandmen . I am sure we have reason and right to beseechthe Kingthatthatact may be considered in the next parliament there. I shall say no more of Scotland at this time: I am afraid your lordships will think I have said too much, having no concern there; but if a French nobleman should come to live in my house andfamily, I think it concerns me what he did in France; for if he was there a
felon, a rogue, a plunderer, I should desire him to live elsewhere , and I hope your lordships would think fit to do the same thing for your nation, if you find the same cause .
"My lords, give me leave to speak two or three words concerning our othersister, Ireland Thither I hear is sent Douglas's regimentto serve us against the French Besides, I am credibly informed the papists have their arms restored, and the Protestantsare notmany of them received into favour, being the suspected party; the sea-towns, as well as the inlands, are full of papists. That kingdom cannot long continuein English hands if some better care be not taken of it.
" This is in your power, and there is nothing there but is under your laws; therefore I beg that this kingdomat least may be taken into your consideration , together with the State of England; for I am sure there can be no safety here if those doors are not shut up and made safe . "
(271) Such was the speech he made with great confidence in the King's presence, thoughhewas directly contradictingCharles's speechattributing to him contrary aims, stirring up again the fears which Charles had sought to allay, and greatly enlarging them by bringing forward the measures taken in Scotland and Ireland to retain the Factionin their allegiance andpreserve the peaceas proofthatservitude had been established in those kingdoms and was destined to be established in England No faith, he implied, was to be placed in Charles's words; the aims of his policy were different from those he expressed in his speech All thinking men perceived that Charles's efforts to remove these suspicions would fail, since others were more energetic in fostering themand more successful too.
(272) CHANGES IN THE ROYAL COUNCIL It was expected that Charles would punishShaftesburywith a suitable penaltyforhisbrazen audacity; instead, he rewarded him with a great prize. The hope that some good might be derived from his Faction had indeed grown cold , but was notyet quite extinguished At length Charles gave himself up to it entirely He dissolved the whole Privy Council, and chose his new councillors from the ranks of the Presbyterians Shaftesbury himself was appointed President (273) Nothing was achieved by this change It was unpopular with those who had been displaced from office, since in their hopes they had devoured the whole of the royal authority, and now were enjoying no portion of it. It was no more pleasing to those who remained in office, because they were annoyed that Charles had put himself into the power of others
(274) THE CHARGES AGAINST THE CATHOLIC PEERS The case against the Catholic Peers who were in prison was prepared under the following heads: (1) For many years they had been contriving and carrying on a traitorous and execrable Plot within this kingdom of England, and other places, to alter, change and subvert the ancient governmentand laws of the kingdom and nation, and to suppress the true religion therein established, and to extirpate and destroy the professors thereof (2) They had treated of these matters with the Cardinal of Norfolk, the Benedictines , Dominicans , Franciscans , Jesuits, and others, and had decided to depose, imprison and kill the King, to subjectthe people to the Pope and his tyrannical government , and to seizeand share amongst themselves the estates and inheritances of His Majesty'sProtestantsubjects (3) They had intendedto restore
the monasteries and abbeys which had long since been suppressed for their superstition and idolatry, and to restore to them all the lands and possessionsnow invested in His Majesty and his subjectsby the laws of the realm (4) They had decided to found and erect new monasteries, and to deprive the Protestant Bishops and other ecclesiastics oftheir offices and benefices (5) They had frequently discussed ways of destroying the King by poisoning , shooting and stabbing; had sent assassins to Windsor to perpetratethat atrocious crime , and had given them a reward (6) To achieve their purposes they had levied troops, gathered money, horses and arms ; had treated and corresponded with the Pope, his Cardinals , Nuncios and Agents, and with the ministers of foreign princes, with a view to obtaining supplies from other sources, so that they might stirup tumult, seditionandcivil war, and so flood the whole kingdom with the miseries inseparable from civil strife (7) They had obtained instruments, commissions and powers from the Pope or his delegates promoting them to the highest dignities in the kingdom. (8) They had ratified their secret by solemnlyreceivingthe Sacrament and by an oath, and hadobtained in confession absolutionin advance from the lie they would tell when they denied thata Plot had beenmade, and from the perjury withwhich they would confirm their denial (9) They had effected the murder of Godfrey, becausehe had in pursuance of his office taken the information about the Plot. (10) After this crime had been committed they had spread rumours, first that he was still alive and privately married, and then, after the body was found, that he had murdered himself. (11) They had done all this in order to stifle and suppress the evidence he had taken, and to deter other magistrates from investigating it; and were laying the imputation and guilt of the aforesaid horrid and detestable crimes upon the Protestants , in order to expose Protestants livingin Papistlands to persecution and oppression (12) Thesecrimes were committed by Powis, Stafford, Petre , Arundel, and Bellasis (13) The impeachmentwas made by the House of Commons both in itsownname and in thename ofthe Englishpeople. (14) TheCommons reserve to themselves the liberty of exhibiting at any other time hereafter any other accusations or impeachments against the Peers. (275) Both Houses assigned a day for the trial of these Peers and ofDanby butthey disagreed overthedates. The Lordswere in favour of beginning with the Catholics , but the Commons wanted to begin with Danby, whose pardon, they maintained, was null and void. They asked that their vote to this effect might be confirmedby the consent of the other House. They further requested that the Bishops should be deprivedof their vote, on the pretext that the case was one involving blood and that Canon Law forbids Bishops to participate in such trials; but their real reason was that they knew the Bishops would support the validity of the pardon. (276) There was also a dispute about the Lord High Steward , or President ofthe Peers who were to trythecase. Peers of the Upper House thought that Charles should be asked to chose him; others were against askinghim, contendingthat it was not necessary to have one So they multiplied dispute upon dispute in their passion for wrangling; but of the matters which Charles had earnestlycommended to their attention, and for the sake of which Parliament had been convoked , there was no mention at all. Finally Charles intervened and appointed Shaftesbury as Steward . He and the Peers then sat
down to try the case of the Catholics ; but when they had sat there a long time, as the Catholics were ready to defend themselves, nobody from the Lower House came forward to accuse them, and the farcical meeting was dissolved .
(277) RESTRICTION OF THE POWER OF A PAPIST KING Wishing to prune away all the causes of dissension, which seemed to have their origin in fear ofa Papist successor, Charles on the 30th April convoked the whole of Parliament, and made the following declarationthrough his Chancellor : " the King is ready to consent to any Laws which seem useful for the security of religion . and is willing that Provisionmay be made, First, todistinguisha Popish from a Protestant Successor , Then to Limit and Circumscribe the Authority of a Popish Successor in these cases following ... First, ecclesiastical Benefices may be conferred only on pious and learned Protestants Secondly, when the King shall happen to Die ... The Parliament then in being shall Continue Indissolublefor a Competent Time, Or if there be no Parliament in being, then the Last Parliament which was in being before that time may Re-assemble and Sit a Competent Time without any new Summons or Election Thirdly, during the Reign of any Popish Successor the Lords of the Privy Council and judges shall not be put in or displaced but by the Authorityof Parliament Fourthly , likewise in that case Justices of Peace, Lord Lieutenants, or Deputy Lieutenants, and Officers ofthe Navy shallbe appointedbyParliament. Fifthly, no other means of restraining a Popish successoroccurred to Charles , buthe was readyto listen tothe suggestions of others, provided only the Right of Succession itself was not touched. "
(278) The Lower House declined even to debate these proposals , but on 11th May it fashioned an insidious and perfidious decree that "in the event of the King's being carried offbya violent death (which Heavenforbid !), vengeance shall be taken upon the Papists" This amountsto a grant of impunityto any Protestant who should assassinate the King; it prepares the wayforthe destructionofthe Catholics, even though innocent, and for Charles's death So it was conjectured , not unreasonably , that the Protestantshad alreadyat this time decided to destroy Charles In order to tone down the offensiveness of this obviously treacherous decree, in the copy submitted to Charles were added thewords " For violent measurestakenby the Papistsvengeance shall be taken upon them " Charles, however, did not fail to observe that the wordsin italics were not in the decree or even in the printed version of it which had been publishedby order of the Lower House. From this insertion it is plain that the Protestantshad seen to whom the decree would apply if the words were omitted, so they could not disguise their malice by the plea of ignorance Charles disregarded the decree , and warnedParliament of the danger threateningthe kingdom; the fleet had not yet been equipped, andthe proper time forarming it was slippingaway; the warships returning from the Mediterranean were expected very soon andwould have to be giventheirpay, but the Treasury was empty and bankrupt These matters could be quickly settled without prejudice to other business if they thought the other business so important that it could not be omitted. When, however, he found that they turned a deafear to his voice, and that the Lower House had busied itself with somethingstill more distasteful, namely a proposal to exclude York from his right of succession to the Crown , on 27th May Charles prorogued Parliament to 15th August, and soon after, by a further Proclamation , he dissolved it altogether.
(279) Such was the end of that Parliament. It had been composed almost entirely of Presbyterians , for whose sake Charles had shown himself willing to do anything, while they would do nothing for him; indeed, they took many measures that were hostile to the royal power First was their unprecedented request for the mobilisationof the ordinary militia: this was expressly refused for the reasons given above . Secondly, they denied Charles's power to render void the election of a Speaker by the Lower House Thirdly, and no less wrongfully, they peremptorily denied that it was within the King's powertogrant a pardonto a prisonerbefore his trial, though they had themselves extorted from Charles within the last two years more decrees implying this power than are to be found in any other two centuries , etc. These disputes delayed public business, but brought no relief to the Catholics As each side reproached the other with favouring the Catholics , a struggletook place to see which partycould propose the severer laws against them; they both hoped in this way to escape the odious charge of favouring the Papists (280) We have mentioned above that the Queen was accused by Oates and Bedlowof complicity in the Plot, in spite of her constant reputation for singularand heroic virtue ; but thepartisans ofdemocracy did not pressthe charge laid against her, for fearthat ifshe were divorced therewould be roomfor a newwifewhowould bear offspringtosucceed to the throne. Now the backbiters' tongues (which ought to have been cut out) did not spare Charles even They said that he was not merely an accomplice in the Plot, but even its originatornot indeed that he had consented to his own death, but that he had favoured the Papists and their cause. Thus the pride of those who hate God , the King who is God's vicar, and the Catholics who are God's servants , everincreases , mounts higher, strivesupwards and destroys everything, especially all that is exalted, in its efforts to make the highestequal to the lowest and Princes equal to the commonpeople. (281) REWARDS OFFERED FOR THE CAPTURE OF PRIESTS . Their unreasoned violence vented itself mainly upon priests, and especially upon the Jesuits In order to catch them they stimulated the diligence of the informersby appealing to two motiveshatredofreligion and greed for money. £20 was promised by public proclamation to anyone who should intercept a priest, and £50 to anyone arresting a Jesuit Then, soon after, as iftheirprey had been valued too cheaply, it was decreed that the reward for the capture of a Jesuit would be £200 No wonder so many were captured! It is more astonishing that anyone escaped at all!
(282) THE CHARACTER OF WILLIAM WALLER Among the seditious Justices of the Peace who were harsh to the Catholics , William Waller stands conspicuous His father, also called William, had fought for Parliament against Charles I at the beginning of the Civil Wars. Parliament gave him command of three armies, all of which he lost through cowardice or ignorance of warfare or bad luck: he was always vanquished, and often by forces far smaller than his own. After this he was removed from his army as a failure, and told to occupy himself with hisprivate affairs: he died in disgrace His son was left sole heir no less to his father's hatred of the King and of the Catholics than to his property. The property was not large The dissolute heir played ducks and drakes with it and contracted large debts He therefore took advantage of this persecution to throw off restraint , and then
used the absence of restraint as an opportunity for plunder It was expected that after seizing his booty he would discharge his debts and so relieve the embarrassment of his fortunes; but he discharged no debts, and kept nearly all the booty for himself. He is the man who , as I have mentioned , rushed sixty miles out of London to arrest Beddingfield when Beddingfield had long since died in prison and been buried in London On one occasion he received word from Oates that therewere two Jesuits in a certaininn Heatoncedashedthereto arrest them, and found Oates there with two bailiffs, who threatened to arrest him at once and take him to prison unless he paid them the £125which he owed to Oates, and which, nowthat he was enriched with booty, he was in a positionto pay He preferred to pay up ratherthan go to gaol In this way even his friends made fun of his blind zeal. Night and day he went round the homes of the Catholics , to seize priests or any others who were exposed to his malice He would search every corner, break open chests, and turn everything upside down, in order to carry off the sacred furniture and the vessels consecrated for the Sacrifice of Holy Mass Silver plate, even that used at the family table, did not escape the rapacity of his hands; but the things he searched for with particular care were what he called Roman Medals, meaningany kind of gold coin, and especially those which we call Guineas All coins of this description found in the Catholics ' cash-boxes were appropriated by this religious bandit, this averter of superstition, this true follower of Calvin's piety as of his doctrine. With no more right, if he found any strings of pearls, or bracelets of diamondsset in gold, he would take them for himself, on the pleathat they were holy rosaries or chaplets intendedfor use in the pouring out of superstitiousprayers Wheneverprecious furniture and other rich booty came his way he would allow the Catholics to buy it back at its proper value, if they paid cash and in gold Anything worthless or ofsmall value he burnt on a bonfirein the public squares or atcrossroads , in order to ingratiate himselfwith the people by providing them with a display He was sometimes heard to boast (I record it with horror) that he had burnt Christ in effigy. So great was the furyof his rage against the Catholics that even the more moderate nonCatholics disapproved ofhim. Eventually, when the populace gradually recovered its senses, he fled the country in dread of being charged with theft. He was first welcomed at Bremen and given a high office , in the hope that through him a large numberof English craftsmenwould be attracted to settle there But when the people of Bremen saw that he was not able to fulfil any of his great promises, he was driven out of the place. He then approached the Dukes of Luneburg, who also rejectedhim Thereafter , like anotherCain, a wanderer andafugitive, he roamed aboutthe world in disguise, thinking that his only protection was men's ignorance of who he was "A disturbed conscience always expects harsh treatment," and" the wicked man flees, though no one pursues him . " For his comfort in exile he had the booty snatched from the Catholics , for his punishment the worm of conscience that worm which may be killed by sincere repentance and restitution, but not by Calvin's justifyingfaith
(283) All the ports, which are the gateways of England, were carefully watched by guards, who cunningly questioned all arrivals, to prevent any priest from entering the island They tendered the
notorious oaths to each single traveller, and imprisoned those who refused to take them until they had either given sureties or otherwise satisfied the guards
(284) THE DEATH OF RICHARD LACEY, S.J. Into their hands fell Richard Lacey, S.J., whose real name was Prince He was born of Catholicparents at Oxford, and was of such extraordinary humility that, although all were agreed that he was making great progress in his higher studies, he repeatedlypetitioned the Provincial to be made a Lay Brother After ordination he was sent into Englandwhenthe persecution was imminent; when it came he withdrew and returned to St. Omersrather on the advice of others who told him to preserve himself for happier times, than of his own choosing At St. Omers a scruple arose that he had done wrongin deserting the sheepentrusted to him when the wolves were threateningthem on all sides. Without awaiting or even askingfor the Vice-Provincial's consent (he knew for certain that it would be refused), because his post in England had been assigned to him by Father Provincial, who alone (so he thought) could change it, he returned to England At Dover he rejectedthe proffered Oath of Allegiance , was committed into custody, and then sent to London In London he was accused by Oates of complicity in the Plot and put in a prison, where for five whole months he was deprived not only of all human company, but even of the light of day. Here, as a result of starvation, the dirt, the stench and other hardships, he contracted a deadly fever. No doctor was admitted, owing to Shaftesbury'sopposition, until the sick man was on the point of death. Then the doctor, finding himself completely unable to induce the patient to drink the medicine , which was too late to be of any use , finally told him to drink to the King's health The sick man straightway drained the whole draught Whereupon the doctor said "He cannot possibly have plotted the King's death, when in his delirium he has responded so promptly to my call to drink the King's health. " Shortly afterwardshe recovered the use of his mind, which theviolence of his disease had impeded, and rendered up his soul to God, fortified with the sacred rites of the Church.
(285) THE DEATH OF FRANCIS NEVILL In this same year died Francis Nevill, a veteran missioner, who had spent forty-seven years cultivating the Lord's vineyard He considered that God had said to him , asto Abraham, " Walk before me , and be perfect. " He seemed alwaysto have God before the eyes of his heart, and to be submitting his will to God's. When the rumour of the Plot arose he was sought by the pursuivants They caughthim in the loft at thetop ofa house , and dragged him down the steps with such violence that he fainted At this the pursuivantsfled, in terror of being brought to trial for murder Father Nevilldid recover, but did not survive long. This violent concussion, coming on top of the burdens of old age and the ills age bringsin its train, had its effect : he died, as he had lived, most peacefully, in the eighty-fourth year of his age and the forty-seventh of his profession of the Four Vows
(286) THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF FATHER PROVINCIAL AND FOUR COMPANIONS The thirst for blood might well have been satisfiedby the slaughter of so many innocent Catholics , but the Presbyterians thirst was rather made worse. To assuageit, on 13thJunefive priests ofthe Societywere brought out to the slaughter,accordingto Scroggs's arrangements. They were Thomas Harcourt the Provincial, William
Waring, Antony Turner, John Fenwick and John Gavan. Fenwick had been caught up in the first storm. He was dragged from hisroom , and even from his bed, and thrust intoa foul hole of a dungeon. Harcourt was severely ill when Oates found him and put a guard about him On 30th November , when he had recovered a little, he was taken to prison amid the shouts and abuse of a raving mob There, chained hand and foot, he passed that bitter winter without a fire Waring, Rector of the College in London, had ordered all the other Jesuitsto depart, but had himselfremained behind in orderto do all in his power to provide the captives with things they needed At the end of the winter he was added to their number. Turner had given himself up voluntarily: he presented himself before a Justice of the Peace and swore that he was a priest and a Jesuit. Gavan, who was famedfor his eloquent sermons, had been ordered by his Superiors to withdraw himself from the storm, but his journey was cut short at London: he was cast into prison while waiting there for a ship. (287) Harcourt and Fenwick wished to invoke the aid of the law which laysdown that no one may be accused twice of the same crime . Their being sent back to prison after having contested their caseand being found not guilty had been illegal Bedlow, they pointed out, had asserted in that very court and before the same judges that he hardly knew the prisoners, and that so far as he knew they were not guilty of any crime; as, moreover , he had said this under oath , he at least ought not to be admitted to give evidence Bedlowreplied that on the former occasion he had said what was to his own advantage; now they should hear something else When the Counsel for the Prosecution had set forth their case in their usual dramatic style, Oates appeared as the first witness, and began to weave the fabric of his story, as follows : (1) Harcourt, shortly after being made Provincial, had ordered Father Conyers to preach a sermon on the Feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury against the Oath of Allegiance (This was untrue, since in the first place there is not a word in the wholeofthe sermon about the Oath, and secondly, Harcourt was made Provincial about a month after the sermon was preached, as is shown elsewhere) (2) Harcourt had summoned a Congregation in April, at which Oates had himself been present, and the murder of Charles had been there discussed (This too has been proved false, as I said above ) Waring, Turner and Fenwick had been present at the Congregation and had put their signatures to the records ofit Gavantoohadsigned, though Oates did not know whether he was present at the Congregation . (This again is certainly false, since only the Provincial signs therecords; Fenwick could not have been present, for he was neither professed of the Four Vows nor Rector of a College Later, when the matter was juridicallyexamined, it was established that during the whole month in question Oates had been at St. Omers ) There were present atthe trial fourteen young boarders of the Seminary of St. Omers, who testified that Ŏates had spent that month at St. Omers; but their hearers refused to believe a word of it, so blinded were they by antiPapist prejudices Other witnesses had been summoned from Liège to refute other false oaths uttered by Oatesbut all in vain There were also people present who were ready to show both by theirown evidence andfromthepublicrecords published by Scroggsthat Oateshad contradictedhimselfin the evidence he had givenon several occasions. But they too were refused a hearing, becauseScroggssaid that he would
take cognizance of what Oates was saying now, that Oates was not obliged toreply to questions aboutwhat he had said on other occasions , even though he had been under oath, and that no reliancewas to be placed upon published books, because printers can make mistakes. Turner and Gavan said that when Oates had been summoned against them , he had said he did not know them Oates replied that this was true, because he had not recognised them on account of their periwigs; whereupon Turner showed that he had never used a periwig. Oates made several other statements of the same sort, i.e. plain falsehoods
(
288) Next came Dugdall, who said that Harcourt had givenorders in a letter to Evers, which bore the signatures of himself and other Jesuits , to seek out men to murder Charles; they must be quick to strike and readyto sacrifice their lives ; whetheror not they were nobles was of no consequence; he, Dugdall, had seen in a letter from Harcourt to Evers, written on the very day of Godfrey's disappearance, the words" Today Godfreyhad been killed "; he had often heard Harcourt say that an army would soon arrive from neighbouring countries , that a large sum of money had been collected by Gavan for its maintenance, and that Harcourt had himself given £300 for that purpose and promised another £100 . Gavan, emboldened by his clear conscience and by the truth, said " Look me in the face, please, while you pronounce those words" This challenge came as such a shock toonewhowas conscious alikeof his own perjury and Gavan's innocence that he could neither open his mouth nor raise his eyes; instead, he stood there, thunderstruck At this, one of the judges rebukedGavan , saying " Thecourt will not allowyou to threatenthe King's witnesses " Good God ! Where was the threat in those words ? What harmcould they dopeace -loving men, who were not only unarmed but bound hand and foot, and laden with chains ? What could they do to a powerfully-built man who was readyforattack, armed, and surrounded bya throng of satellites as well as by a populace hostileto theprisoners ?
(289) Then came Prance He asserted that Waring, whenpaying the price of a silver statue, which was to be sent to Maryland in the dominionsof Portugal, had said that Charles would soon be disposed of. Waring asked " When did I say that to you ?" Prance replied "When you were paying for the four candlesticks . " This made everybody wonder how Maryland, a not insignificant English colony, had passed into the power of Portugal, and by what metamorphosis one silver statue had turned into four candlesticks .
(290) When Bedlow was summoned he said that Harcourt had spoken about Charles's death; that he had sent written instructions about coming to an agreement with Wakemanabout administeringa poisoned draught to the King; that he had discussed the reward to begivento Grove and Pickering (aboutwhom see above); that Waring had given £60 to the assassins who had followed Charles to Windsor , etc.
(291) It availed the prisoners nothing to point out the innocence of their past lives, which were pure of all crime, as all who knewthem wouldtestify. Itwas ofnoavail to appeal to the uninterrupted loyalty of their relativesin the CivilWars; useless to show that the witnesses' speeches were self-refuting and therefore unquestionably perjuries; useless to point out that of all the alleged preparationsthere was no evidence whatever apart from the mere words of the witnessesthat
no soldiers , no arms, no horses, no money, had been found anywhere , and that not a single letter or note had been produced, although their accusers claimed to have seen such quantities of correspondence; useless too, to show up the vicious characters of the King's witnesses and the villainous and scandalous lives they had led; useless to show where they had been at the times when they were supposed to have been in London; useless to bring in unexceptionable witnesses to all these details; useless to say that there was no apparent reason why they should intrigue against Charles (who had served them well) and so damage themselves and their religion All these things were said, and said in vain, to the deaf ears of the jury. Harcourt had truly remarked, before he was brought to trial, that " even should an angel from heaven be there, he would not convince them of our innocence; they are out for our blood, and will not rest untilit is shed . " In order to ensure the Fathers' condemnation , Scroggs raved with the utmost violence against the Catholics in a lengthy speech, calculatedto drive the maddened jury still further out of their minds " Their doctrines, " he said , " are well known; they think it right and permissible not only to deceive heretics, and for that purpose to swear and forswear , but to kill them tooeven to kill kings, when they have been proscribed by the Pope. Nay more, they think it a pious and meritorious duty to do these things at the Pope's command .. The witnesses called on behalfof the accused were not to be trustedespeciallythe pupils of the Seminary, whose teachers had perverted them with the aforementioned doctrine. In such a case the King's witnesses were the more to be trusted, the more wicked and villainous their lives had been The prisoners had showed themselves remarkable sophists; they disregarded the substance of the charges and attacked particular circumstances which were not the subject of the witnesses' oath Theydisputedabout circumstances oftime and place, contending that they were in a different place at the time when they were saidto have plotted against the King. Butwhat had this todowiththe case? They could plot very well, even if they were in a different place; and the charge of parricide could stand, even if it were proved that they had been elsewhere. Further, the parricide and the conspiracy were the only things to which the witnesses had sworn . So even if Oates were shown to be wrong on certain points, or even to be lying or perjuring himself, it would not follow that he ought not to be believed about the rest (Who ever heard such talk ?-as if it were not sufficient, for instance, in order to clear a man of a murder done in Paris on 1st June, to show that he was at that very time in Rome !) The Papists, Scroggs continued, were thirsting for the blood of Protestants and ready to quaff the King's blood and the people's alike Thenhe gave a lurid description of the murder of Godfrey. Waring objected that, even if it were true that Godfrey had been murdered by some Papists, that was nothing to do with himself and his companions, whowere not even charged with the crime Scroggs answered withhis usual ferocity that they and all other Papists were guiltyof that crime: the murderers of Godfrey were Papists, and the prisoners at the bar were Papists; what a few had perpetrated upon Godfrey, that allthe rest were readyto do to every Protestant, ifonlythey had the strength By that crime the whole Protestant population had been slaughtered in effigy, the Catholics ' horrible designs had been exposed, the whole Plot had been proved . It was well known what the Papist Councils
"
and the Bulls of the Roman Pontiffs decree against heretical Princes. The Papists were not allowed any exercise of their own judgment. Blind obedience was demanded of them Finally, addressing the jury, he closed his speech with the remarkable sentence: " To your hands we commit these Murtherers, and if you do not find them Guilty, you are all Murtherers" This last sentence is missing in the printed records of the trial It has, however, been published from evidence supplied by trustworthypersons who were present in court, in Remarks on the TryalofMr. Ireland, etc., written byone whoaccompanied the Duke of York to Brussels, and publishedwhile the memoryofthe trial was still fresh Further, it seems to be the natural conclusion ofthe preceding wordswhich the published records contain, andneither Scroggs nor anyone else ever brought an action for libel against the author of the Remarks . (292) Throughout the time of the trial, all was in utter confusion . The crowd was so beside itself that it did not even stop at violence . The witnesses for the Catholics were endangered, and the youths summoned from St. Omers would have been torn limb from limb had not reverence for the judges, whose assistance was implored by the Earl of Castlemain , held the crowd in check . (293) PETER CARYLL'S LETTER. On the following day, 14th June, sentence of death was passed upon the five Fathers Upon hearing it the rest gave thanks to God, and Gavan said, "If God's grace is with us, it matters not at all whether we die on the scaffold or elsewhere . " A brief account of the whole trial is given by Ven . Father PeterCaryll, O.S.B., the son ofa distinguishedfamilyin Sussex , who was present throughout the trial and observed carefully all that took place, in a letter written to Catherine Hall, a nun of the same Order at Cambray After recording the speeches of the King's witnesses, he continues : " Thendid the Prisoners (after a most solemn and Religious protestation of their Innocence and ignorance of any conspiracy against his Majesty) desire that their witnesses might be heard, which could demonstratethat Mr Oates was actually at St Omers all the whole time, but the Judge Scroggs askt each witness as he did appear, ofwhat Religion he was, anduponanswer that he was a Roman Catholick, the whole Court gave a shout of laughter: then the Judge would say to them 'Well, what have you been taught to say?" and bymanyscoffing questions (whichmovedthe Courtto frequentlaughter) he did endeavour to take off the credibilityof the witnesses Then Butler, Taylor, and Gardiner of St Omers, offered to swear that they saw MrOates allthe timeat St Omers, when he swore he was at London. After that the Prisoners at the Barr produced sicteene witnesses more that proved Mr Oates forsworn in Mr Ireland's Tryal, because he was in Shropshire when he attested he was in London Then did Gaven one of the Prisoners with a great deal of clearness and eloquence and with a cheerful countenance draw up their Justification, shewing the face of their Evidence and how fully their witnesses had proved Mr Oates purjured Then he did lay open the improbability of such a Plott, and how unlikely Mr Oates should be intrusted in delivering Commissions to persons of Honour and Estates whom he never (as he acknowledged) had seen before or since This was delivered by Mr Gawen with a countenance wholly unconcerned , and in a voice very audible, and largely and pertinently exprest The Judge was incensed at this speech during which he often interrupted him , but
Gawen still urg'd My Lord, I plead now for my Life, and for that which is dearer to me than life, the honour of my Religion, therefore I beseech you have a little patience with me. ' (294) " After this Plea ofMr Gaven's the Judge made his Arrayne to the Jury, telling them that what the Prisoners had brought was only the bare assertions of boyes, who were taught it as a point of their Religion, to lye for the honour of their Religion, whereas Mr Oates, Mr Bedlow and others were upon their Oathes, and if Oathes were notto be taken no Courtscould subsist ThenMr Oates brought in four Witnesses which he had kept in reserve; an old Parson in his Canonical Gown, an old Dominican Priest !* Proh dolor et pudor! and two women that swore they saw Mr Oates in the beginningofMay 1678. At this the whole Court gave a shout of laughter and hallow , that for almost a quarter the Cryers could not still them. Neverwas a Bear-bayting more rude and boysterous then this Tryal. Uponthis the Judge dismist the Jury to consider and bring in their Verdicts, who after half an hour's absence brought in the five Prisoners at the Barr all Guilty of High Treason Thereupon the whole Court clapt their hands and gave a great hallow .
(295) " It being now eight at night, the Court adjourned till next day at seven a Clock which was Saturday I was present from five in the morning till the Court brokeup The Prisoners comported themselves most Apostolically at the Barr, not the least passion or alteration appeared in them at the invectives of the Judge or at the clamours of the people, but made a clear and candid defence , with a cheerful and unconcerned countenance . As a stander-by said, 'If they had been a Jury of Turks they had been quitted. ' I was with them both before and after their Tryal, and had the Honour to be in my Function serviceable to them, which I look upon as that God favoured me in -I hope, for my future good Next day Mr Langhorna Lawyer, Sir GeorgeWakeman , Mr Corker,MrMarsh, Mr Rumbly, the three last Benedictines , were brought to the Barr, where the Indictment being read against them for conspiringthe King's Deathetc., they pleaded all not guilty. Then was Langhorn first tryed, whose Tryal held so long that they had no time to Try the other four, and the Commission, by which they sate, expiring that day, the Judge adjornedthe Tryal of the other 4 till the 14thof July. And then the Judge commanded the Keeper to bring the five Jesuits, whom with Langhorn were Sentenced to be Hang'd, Drawn and Quartered . Mr Corker and Mr Marsh are close Prisoners, and have been so this eight months, with whom I have been God has fitted and is still fitting them as sacrifices for himself They are very well disposed and resigned to God'sholy will Mr Rumly hath the Liberty of the Prison , with whom is Mr Eskett, all cheerful and expect the good hour. On Thursday, the day before the five Jesuits were Executed, my Lord Shaftsbury was with Turner and Gaven, promisingthe Kings Pardon if they would acknowledge the Conspiracy . Mr Gaven answered he would not murder his Soul to save his Body, for he must acknowledge what he knew not, and what he did believe was not.
* Thus the printed text. Warner gives his name as ' Claius 'e Matthew Clay His brother was Daniel Clay of Co. Notts , a Franciscanof the Hungarian Province, incorporated in the English Province in 1655
I.e. Hesketh
(296) "On Friday the 20thofJune, Mr WhitebreadupononeSledge with Mr Harcourt, Mr Turner and Mr Gaven upon another Sledge, Mr Fenwick upon a sledge by himself, were drawn from Newgateto Tiburn Mr Langhorn is for a time Reprived and promised Pardon , if he will (as 'tis Reported ) discover the Estates of the Jesuites: he was their Lawyer 'tis certain. My Lord Shaftesburyhas been often with him .
(297) In the way they comported themselves seriously and cheerfully. Mr Gaven had smug'd himself up as if he had been going toaWedding. When they arrived at Tiburn they each made aSpeech, first, all averring their ignorance of any Plott against His Majesty, secondly, pardoning their Accusers, thirdly, hartily praying for them (298) " But Mr Gaven in his Speech made an Act of Contrition, which was much liked by all, for he was an excellent Preacher Then they all betook themselves to Meditation for more then a good quarter The Multitude was great, yet there was a profound silence, and their most Religious comportment wonderfully allayed the fury of the People "
(299) The above is a part of the account given by the good Father Caryll In celebratingthe praises of those whom he piously believed to be martyrs, he nearly became a martyr himself. While taking this letter to the Post Office, he was seized by the pursuivants and taken before Oates, who reported him to the Privy Council as being NicholasBlundell, the Jesuit, one of the principal conspirators , whom he had often seen laden with a sack full offire-balls Oates said that he had frequently visited him andhad often sleptwith him in the same bed
(300) While Oates babbled on as usual with enormous assurance , Caryll was summoned and at once recognised by Shaftesbury and othersbecause he had lived at Court as chaplain to her Majesty the Queen So Shaftesbury , who was Presidentof the Council, asked him, Since when has Caryll the Benedictine become Blundell the Jesuit?" Caryll replied, " Since Mr. Oates on his oath has been pleased toendow me with that personality. " Shaftesbury regretted that Caryll had been captured , for he was sincerely friendly to himeither on account of some interconnectionbetween their two families, or merely because they were neighbours , or for some other reason. So he rescued Caryll from the trial which others wished him to undergo By so doing he safeguarded Oates's trustworthiness , which had been jeopardised by his rashnessin accusing a man unknownto him When rumoursabout the incident had at last died down, Shaftesbury restored Caryll to freedom and his friends.
(301) Our narrative will now accompanythe Fathers led to the scaffold . There let us listen to what they said Father Harcourt of blessed memoryshall be first, since he was the first in order of dignity. He was born ofa noble familyin Essex, and met his end in the sixty- first year of his life, in the forty-fourth year of his religious life, and the twenty-seventh of his profession ofthe Four Vows After strengthening the Catholics and confoundingthe heretics by sermons full of unction and by published books, he received (as may piously be hoped) the reward of his divine vocation Long before, in tones of great emphasis, he had predicted his death and the mannerof it When a doctor told him during a serious illness that he would certainly die, and therefore should receive the Sacraments as soon as possible, the
Father said in as clear a voice as he could, "I shall not die of this sickness , Doctor I shall live on to narrate the works of God upon the scaffold " Whenever in bad weather he went round visiting others and they showed anxiety for his own poor health, he would say to them , Do not worry about me I am to die on the scaffold and for the Faith " (302) At the scaffold he spoke as follows: " I suppose it is expected I should speak something to the matter I am Condemned for, and brought hither to suffer: it is no less than the contriving and plotting His Majesty's Death, and the alteration of the Government of the Church and State You all either know, or ought to know , I am to make my appearance before the face of Almighty God, and with all imaginable certainty and evidence to receive a final Judgment, for all the thoughts, words, and actions of my whole life So that I am not now upon terms to speak other than the Truth, and therefore in his most Holy Presence, and as I hope for Mercy from his Divine Majesty, I do declare to you here present, and to the whole World, that I go out of the World as innocent, and as free from guilt of these things laid to my charge in this matter, as I came into the World from my Mothers Womb: and that I do renounce from my heart all manner of Pardons, Absolutions, Dispensations for Swearing, as occasions or Interest mayseem to require,which somehave beenpleased to lay to our charge, as matter of our Practice and Doctrine, butis a thing so unjustifiable and unlawful, that I believe, and ever did, that no power on earth can authorize me, or anybody to do so . As for those who have most falsely accused me (as time, either in this World or in the next , will make appear) I do heartily forgive them, and beg ofGodto grant them hisholyGrace, that they may repenttheir unjust proceedings against me; otherwise they will in conclusion find they have done themselves more wrong than I have suffered from them , though that has been a great deal. I pray God bless His Majesty both Temporally and Eternally, which has been my daily Prayer for him, and is all the harm that I ever intendedor imagined againsthim. And I do with this my last breath, in the sight of God declare, that I never did learn, or teach, or believe, nor can a Catholicke believe , that it is lawful on any occasion or pretense whatsoever , to design or contrive the Death of His Majesty, or any hurt to his Person. But on the contrary, all are bound to obey, defend and preserve his Sacred Person, to the utmost of their power And I do moreover declare , that this is the true and plain sence of my soul, in the sight of him who knows the Secrets of my Heart, as I hope to see his blessed Face , withoutany Equivocation or mental Reservation . This is all I have to say concerning the matter of my Condemnation . That which remains for me now to do, is to recommend my Soul into the hands of my blessed Redeemer, by whose only Merits and Passion I hope for Salvation "
(303) There suffered with him Father William Waring, who was in the seventieth year of his age, the forty-seventh of his religious life, the thirty-third since his profession of the Four Vows, and the thirty-fifth of his Apostolate. During these thirty-five years he cultivated the Lord's vineyard with energy and without complaint. He was Rector of the London College at the time of his martyrdom. The King's Councillors regretted the capture of this good old man (though they ordered his execution, because he was a Jesuit), and
thereforeasked why he had not saved himself by flight. Was he not aware of the danger threatening him, they asked He replied that the thought of that danger had lost all novelty for him, since it had been in and out of his mind daily for twenty-five years. Hehadstayed in London to help the imprisoned Fathers , as far as possible, because they were deprived of everyone else's assistance. (304) When bound to the gibbet, he addressed the crowd of bystanders as follows: " The words of dying persons have always been esteem'd as of greatest Authority; because uttered then , when shortly after theyare to be cited before the high Tribunal ofAlmighty God This gives me hopes that mine may be looked upon as such: thereforeI do here declare in the presence of AlmightyGod , the whole Court of Heaven and this numerous Assembly , that as I ever hope by the Merits and Passion ofmy Lord and sweet Saviour JESUS CHRIST for Eternal Bliss, I am as innocent as the Child unborn of anything laid to my charge, and for which I am here to die. "
Sheriff: " Or Sir Edmund Bury Godfry's Death? "
Waring: " Or Sir Edmund Bury Godfry's Death "
Sheriff: Did not you Write that Letter concerning the Dispatch of Sir Edmund Bury Godfry ? "
Waring: " No Sir, These are the Words of a dying man, I would not do it for a Thousand Worlds"
Sheriff: "How have you lived ?"
Waring: "I have lived like a Man of reputeall my life , and never was beforethe Face of a Judg till my Tryal: No man can accuse me I have from my Youth been bred up in the Education of my Duty towards God, and Man. And I do utterly abhor and detest that abominable false Doctrine laid to our charge, that we can have Licences to commit perjury, or any Sin to advantage our cause, being expressly against the Doctrine of St. Paul, saying, Non sunt facienda mala, ut eveniant bonaEvil is not to be done that good may come thereof And therefore we hold it in all cases unlawful to Kill or Murder any person whatsoever , much more our lawful King now Reigning, whose personal and temporal Dominions we are ready to defend with our Lives and Fortunes , against any Opponentwhatsoever , none excepted I forgive all that have contrived my death, and humbly beg pardon of Almighty God for them. And I ask pardon of all the World . I pray God bless His Majesty, and grant him a prosperous Reign. The like I wish to his Royal Consort , the best of Queens. I humbly beg the Prayers ofall those who are in Communionwiththe Roman Church, if any such be present. "
(305) He was followed by Antony Turner, who spoke as follows: " Being now , good People, very near my End, and summon'd by a violent Death to appear before God's Tribunal, there to render an account of all my thoughts, words, and actions, before a just Judge, I conceive I am bound in Conscience to do myself that Justice , as to declare upon Oath my Innocence from the horrid Crime of Treason , with which I am falsely accused: And I esteem it a duty I owe to Christian Charity, to publish to the World before my death, allthat I know in this point, concerning those CatholicksI have conversed with since the first noise of the Plot, desiring from the bottom of my heart , that the whole Truth may appear, that Innocence may be clear'd, to the great Glory of God, and the Peace and Welfare of the King and Country. As to myself, I call God to witness, that I was neverin my
whole life present at any Consult or Meeting of the Jesuits, where any Oath ofSecrecy was taken, or the Sacrament, as a BondofSecrecy , either by me or any one ofthem, to conceal any Plotagainst His Sacred Majesty. Nor was I ever present at any Meetingor Consult of theirs where any proposal was made, or Resolve taken or signed, either by me or any of them, for taking away the Life of our Dread Sovereign an impiety of such a nature, that had I been present at any such Meeting I should have been bound by the Laws of God, and by the Principles of my Religion, (and by God's Grace would have acted accordingly ) to have discovered such a develish treason to the Civil Magistrate, to the end they might have been brought to condign punishment. I was so far, good People, from being in Septemberlast at a Consult of the Jesuits at Tixall, in Mr. Ewer's Chamber , that I vow to God , as I hope for Salvation, I never was so much as once that year at Tixall, my Lord Ashton's House 'Tis true, I was at the Congregation of the Jesuits held on the 24th of April was twelve-month, but in that meeting, as I hope to be saved, we meddled not with State Affairs, but only treated about the Concern of our Province , which is usually done by us, without offence to temporal Princes, everythird Year all the World over"
Sheriff: You do only justifie your selves here. We will not believe a word that you say Spend your time in Prayer, and wewill not think your time too long. "
Turner: "Iam , good people, as free from the Treason Iamaccused of, as the Child that is unborn, and being innocentI never accused my self in Confession of any thing that I am charged with. Certainly, ifI had been conscious to myself of any guilt in this kind, I should not so frankly and freely, as I did, of my own accord, have presented myself before the King's Most Honourable Privy Council As for those Catholics which I have conversed with since the noise of the Plot, I protest before God, in the words of a dying Man, that I never heard any one of them, either Priest or Layman, express to me the least knowledge of any Plot, that was then on foot among theCatholicks against the King's Most Excellent Majesty, for the advancing the Catholick Religion I die a Roman Catholic, and humbly beg the Prayers of such, for my happy passage into a better Life
have been ofthat Religionabove Thirty years, and now give God Almighty infinite thanks for calling me by his holy Grace to the knowledge of this Truth, notwithstanding the prejudice of my former Education God of his infinite Goodness bless the King, and all the Royal Family, and grant his Majesty a prosperous Reign here, and a Crown of Glory hereafter God in his mercy forgive all those which have falsely accused me, and have hadany handinmyDeath. I forgivethemfrom the bottom of my heart, as I hope myselffor forgiveness at the Hands of God . " This much he said to the people (306) Then raising up his eyes to heaven, and his hands as well, so far as he could, he said : " O God, who hast created me to a supernatural end , to serve Thee in this life by Grace, and injoy theein the next by Glory, be pleased to grant by the merits of thy bitter death and Passion, that after this wretched life shall be ended , I may not fail of a full injoymentofThee my lastend and sovereign good Ihumbly beg pardon for all the sins which I have committed against thyDivine Majesty, since the first Instant I came to the use of reason to this very time. I am heartily sorry from the very bottom of my heart ,
for having offended thee so good, so powerful, so wise, and so just a God, and purpose by the help of thy Grace never more to offend thee my good God , whom I love above all things
(307) " O sweet Jesus, who hath suffer'd a most painful and ignominiousdeath upon the Cross for our Salvation, apply, I beseech thee, unto me the merits of thy Sacred Passion, and sanctifie untome these sufferings ofmine, which I humbly accept offor thy sake in union with the sufferings of thy sacred Majesty, and in punishment and satisfaction of my sins .
(308) " O My dear Saviour and Redeemer , I return thee immortal thanks for all thou hast pleased to do for me in the whole course of my life, and now in the hour of my Death, with a firm belief of all things thou hastrevealed, and a steadfast hope of obtaining everlasting bliss I cheerfully cast my self into the Arms of thy Mercy, whose Arms were stretched upon the Cross for my Redemption Sweet Jesus, receive my Spirit" (309). Gavansaid : " Dearly beloved Countrey-men , Iamcome now to the last SceneofMortality, to the hour of my Death, an hour which is the Horizon between Time and Eterrity, an hour which must either make me a Star to shine forever in the Empire above, or a Firebrand to burn everlastingly amongst the damned souls in Hell below; an hour in which,ifI deal sincerely, and with a hearty sorrowacknowledge my Crimes ,I may hope for mercy; but if I falsly deny them, I must expect nothing but Eternal Damnation: and therefore what I shall say in this hour I do solemnly swear, protest, and vow, by all that is Sacred in Heaven and Earth, and as I hope to see the Face of God inGlory, thatIam as innocentas the Childunbornofthose Treasonable Crimes, which Mr. Oates, and Mr. Dugdale, have sworn against me in my Trial, and for which Sentence of Death was pronounced againstme the day after my Trial And that you may be assured that what I say is true, I do in the like mannerprotest, vow, and swear, as I hope to see the Face of God in Glory, that I do not in what I say unto you make use of any Equivocation, or mental Reservation , or material Prolocution, or any such like way to palliate Truth Neither do I make use of any dispensations fromthe Pope, or any body else; or of any Oathofsecrecy, or any absolutionin Confession or outofConfession to deny the truth, but I speak in the plain sence which the words bear , and ifI do speak in any other sence , to palliate or hide thetruth, I wish with all my soul that God may exclude me from his Heavenly Glory, and condemn me to the lowestplace of Hell Fire: and so much to that point. (310) "And now my dear Countrey-men, in the second place, I do confess and own to the whole World that I am a Roman Catholick , and a Priest, and one of that sort of priests called Jesuits ; and now because they are so falsely charged with holding King-killingDoctrine, I think it my duty to protest to you with my last dying words, that neither I in particular, nor the Jesuits in general, hold any such opinion, but utterlyabhoranddetestit, and I assure you that amongstthe vast number of Authors, which among the Jesuits have printed Philosophy, Divinity, Cases, or Sermons, there is not one, to the best of my knowledge, that holds a King-killingdoctrine, or holds this position, Thatit is lawful for a private Person to kill a King, although an Heretick, although a Pagan, although a Tyrant: there is, I say, not one Jesuit that holdsthis exceptMariana, the Spanish Jesuit, and he defends it,
not absolutely, but only problematically, for which his Book was called in, and that opinion expunged and censured And is it not a sad thing, that for the rashness of one single Man, whilst the rest cry out against him , and hold the contrary, that a whole Religious Order should be sentenc'd ? But I have not time to discuss this point at large, and thereforeI refer you to a Royal Author, I mean the wise andvictorious King Henry the Fourth of France, the Royal Grandfatherofourpresent gracious King, in a public Oration which he pronounced , in defence of the Jesuits, amongst other things declareing, that he was very well satisfied with the Jesuits Doctrine concerning Kings, as being conformable to the best Doctorsin the Church. But why do I relate the testimony of one single Prince, when the whole Catholick World is the Jesuits Advocate? Thereinchiefly Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Flanders , trust the Education of their Youth, to them in a very great measure, they trust their own Souls to be governed by them, in the administration of the Sacraments And can you imagin so many great Kings and Princes, and so many wise States, should do or permit this to be done in their Kingdoms, if the Jesuits were men of such damnableprinciples as they are now taken for in England?
(311) " In the third place, dear Countrey-men, I do protest that as I never in my life did machine, or contrive either the deposition or death of the King, so now at my death, I do heartily desire ofGod to grant him a quiet and happy Reign upon Earth, and an Everlasting Crown in Heaven . For the Judges also, and the Jury, and all those that were any ways concerned, either in my Tryal, Accusation , or Condemnation , I do humbly ask pardon of God, to grant them both Temporal and Eternal happiness And as for Mr. Oates , and Mr. Dugdale, I call God to witness , they by false Oaths have brought meto this untimely end I heartily forgive them, because God commands me to do so; andI beg of God for his infinite Mercyto grant them true Sorrow and Repentance in this World, that they may be capableof Eternal happiness in the next And having discharged my Duty towards my self, and my own Innocence towards my Order, and its Doctrine to my Neighbour, and the World , I have nothing else to do now , my great God, but cast myself into the Arms of your Mercy I believe you are One Divine Essenceand Three Divine Persons, Ibelieve the Second Person of the Trinity became Man to redeem me, and I believe you are an Eternal Rewarder of the Good, and an Eternal Chastiser of the Bad In fine, I believe all you have reveal'd for your own infinite Veracity; I hope in you above all things, for your infinite Fidelity; and I love you above all things, for your infinite Beauty and Goodness, and I am heartily sorry that everI offended so great a God with my whole heart: I am contentedto undergo an ignominiousDeath forthe loveofyou, my dear Jesu, seeingyou have beenpleasedto undergo an ignominious death for the love of me " Thus spoke Gavan (312) The last to speak was Fenwick These were his words: " Good People, I suppose you expectI should say something as to the Crime I am Condemned for, and either acknowledge my Guilt, or assert my Innocency I do thereforedeclare before God and the whole World, and call God to witness that what I say is true, that I am innocent of what is laid to my Charge ofPlottingthe King's Death, and endeavouring to subvertthe Government , and bring in a Foreign Power , as the Child unborn, and that I know nothing of it, but what I have learned from Mr. Oates and his Companions, and what comes originally
from them . " Here he was interrupted by the Sheriff, who desired to know whether he had anything to say about the forged letters or about the murder of Godfrey. Fenwickreplied that the letters were unknown to him, that he knew nothing about the murder of Godfrey, and that if anything had been done amiss against him at thetrial by the judge or jury or witnesses, he pardoned them with all his soul,
(313) Then , continuing his speech, he said: "As to what is commonly said and believed of Roman Catholicks, that they are not to be believed or trusted, because they can have Dispensations for Lying, Perjury, Killing Kings, and other the most enormous Crimes, I do utterly renounce all such Pardons, Dispensations , and withall declare , That it is a most wicked and malicious Calumnycast upon Catholicks, whodowith all their hearts and souls detest all such wicked and damnablePractises, and in thewordsof a dying Man, and as I hopeforMercy at the hands of God, before whom I must shortly appear and give an accountof all my actions , I do again declare, That what I havesaidis true, and I hope Christian Charity will not let you think, thatby the last act ofmy Life, I would cast away my Soul, by sealing up mylast Breath with a damnable Lye "
(314) Such , then, were the speeches of Fenwick and the others. We owe the possession of them to the avariceof the printers and the curiosity of the people, for they were printed on the day following.
(315) OPINIONS ABOUT THE FIVE FATHERS No one should be surprised that the Fathers of happymemoryused so many attestations, protestations, affirmations and denials on oath, prayers, and renunciations of indulgences, or that some of them denied having confessed or sought absolution from the crime of treason, and talked of other such matters far removed from everyday speech. These things were deemed necessary if they were to win credence, because the heretics would otherwiseplace no faith in what they said
(316) All the bystanders watched the Fathers' sufferings with grief, and many with tears Belief in the reality of the Plot collapsed almost at the moment of their death Shaftesburyhimself said that hanging so many on one occasion had been a mistake, becausenow that the popular mind was pacified , it would be impossible to stir it up again withouta great expenditure of careful effort over a long period oftime. Nevertheless, the effort would have to be made , iftheywanted to reap the harvest they had sought by so much upheaval
(317) Adam Elliot, a Protestant Minister and Canon of theCathedral Churchof Dublin, did not hesitate to declare the Fathersmartyrs, because they had preferred to die rather than break the Lawofthe Decalogue by bearing false witness. Several other Protestants said the same, and for the same reason. His Eminence Cardinal Retz, formerly Archbishop of Paris, said that if he then enjoyed the power he had formerly possessed, he would have built a chapel to them , since they were undoubtedly martyrs.
(318) As for the speeches , there can be no doubt that they were really uttered by the Fathers, since they were listened to by the Protestants and published several times by their presses , and offered for sale in their shops, while the memory of the events was still fresh (Otherwise the speeches would not have survived to us ) One edition was published by the Bishop of Lincoln, a bitterenemy ofthe Catholics. To prevent anyone from thinking that he was playing false to his own case, he added malicious notes, which will be discussed below. The
speechesare, therefore, free from any suspicion of falsification, because the heretics did not alter themin ourfavour at anyrate. Indeedthey hadnochance of altering them, becausethey were given to the printers when the sound of the words had scarcely ceased echoing in men's ears . (319) THE CREDIT DUE TOMEN'S
Everyoneagrees that the words of dying men, even if they are great criminals, have great poweras great as words possibly can haveto create belief , even if wordshave not this effect when they come from men who are alive and well. So long as men are in good health and promise themselves a long life, so long as they are swayed by a variety of influences , so long as they desire honours and wealth, so long as they are bent on taking vengeance on their enemies and benefitingtheir friends, so long as theyare forgetful of the past and eager foreverhigherachievements, no faith, or very little, can be placed in what theysay. For they do not really speak themselves Their tongues are placed at the service of hope, fear, hate, love, rivalry, and malice They say not whatis really in their hearts, but what they wish people to believe is there. All is deceit, fraud, mere play-actingillusion pure and simple. But when death is imminent, when it is certain and unavoidable , all fear of present things departs, hope vanisheslove, hatred, ambition and anger recede. Illusion is dispelled: the mask, put on to deceive others , is laid aside as of no further use, and the man is seen such as he really iswithinhimself In this life thereis no sincerity: allwe see is a painted surface . In the other there is no room for hypocrisy. Here nobody is believed when he speaks about himself In the other life anyone is believed of himself, for he has no more desire than he has power to lie about himself The sincerity of the other world begins already to take possession of the heart when a man stands upon the confines of life and deathwhen he has completed his mortal life and begins his immortality And it is not only others whom a man deceives in this life; he oftendupes himselfas well His use of reason is weakened , if not altogether destroyed , by violent passions. As his loves or hates are stronger, and his hopes and fears more potent, he sees the truth more darkly, judges of it more corruptly, suppressesit more carefully, explains it more malevolently, conceals it more cautiously, attacks it more heatedly, and hates it more violently But when he looks deathin the face, when he comes to the end of the present lifeand the openingof the nextwhen, in Gavan's words, he stands on the horizon of time and eternity, and like the Janus of mythology contemplates at once the past and the future (the earth which he is leaving and Heaven or Hell which he is approaching ) then he recognises the truth more clearly, judges of it morerightly, loves it more vehemently , and explains it more honestly Therefore do we hear that many on the point of death have confessed secret crimes, which neither astute lawyers with their cunning cross-questions, nor pitiless torturers with their spikes, racks and wrenchingof limbs, could force them toadmit Great is truth, and she prevails. If the truth alone, deprived of all human aid , was so effective as to disconcert Dugdall, a man normally bold and brazen, so that when Gavan said to him, " Look me straight in the eyes if you can, while you say thatof me, " Dugdall could neither face him nor utter another wordif, I say, the truth was as effective as this , even when rewards were offered as an enticementto lie , when the judges were inviting the witnesses to lie, when the populace was applauding liars, and all were encouraging liars, how great, I ask,
will be the efficacy of truth when those things have passed away and given place to better ?-when there will be no rewards offered for lying, when the applause of the populace will be hushed , and when the Just Judge appears, God himself, Who is the unchangeable Truth, Who above all hates false oaths and exacts strict vengeance for them? (320) These considerations show that dying menare worthyofall trust, especially whentheirwords have the supportof greatprobability, as in the present case . The irreproachableand blameless lives of the prisoners on the one hand, and the utterly corrupt morals of the witnesses on the other, were matter of common knowledge Besides , the witnesses' evidence was full of contradictions The Fathers were the morereadily believed on account of their bearing, their composure of mind, the serenity of their countenance (which imminent death left quite unaltered ), the calmness of their speeches , the solidity of their discourses, the piety of their prayers All the watchers were either hushed in the spell of admiration, or else broke out into praise of the Fathers and detestation of the judges and witnesses (321) ATTACKS MADE ON THE SPEECHES Those who, not for God's sake, nor for the King's, nor for love of justice or truth , had been responsible for the fabrication of the Plot, and had employed all their skillto win it credence, did not, at this turning-point, relinquish their formerselvesor their unjust cause Onthe contrary,stillactuated by the same motives, they tried to revive their cause by publishing attacksuponthe Fathers' speeches Chief among themwere Tonge and the Bishop of Lincoln, who wielded the pen with their customary malevolence and fury. But" the arrows of childrenare theirwounds" (Ps 63, 8) So idle, so futile, so childish, are the things they say, that it is a source of amazement how such writings could come from the pens of men whohad been awarded the Doctor'slaurel in Theology Yet popular report and their own admission guarantee their authorship in fact, Tonge put his name to the Notes. But let us hear what they said. Each objection of theirs will be followed by an answer. The answers are very brief, so as not to bore the reader (322) TONGE Tonge says: (1) All criminals assert their innocence in the like mannerat their death Answer : The contrary is proved by daily experience Your own associates, who were found guilty of a real conspiracy , admitted their guilt at the scaffold, though they had obstinately denied it in the courts (2) Priests teach their pupils to deny everything, even what is most manifest They have learned this hellish and fiendish trickery from Rome Ans.: What Catholic ever taught that is it permissible to lie and swear false oaths ? (3) If they had not spoken as they did, it would have meant the end ofthe Peers in the Tower, of the honourandthe property of their Order, and indeed of the Order itself. Ans.: Have these things as much weight with a dying man as the eternal salvation of his soul ? (4) How astonishing, he says, is the Papists' obstinacy! Most of them are guilty, yet only four admit their crime. Ans.: Wonderful indeed is the Catholics' constancyin asserting their innocence and that of their fellows . It is born of the witness of a conscience pure of every crime against the King You call these men guilty, simply because they were accused But if no more is needed to make a man guilty than to accuse him , whowill be innocent? Neither the Martyrs, nor the Apostles nor the very Fount and Model of all innocence, Christ our Lord. Tonge says that four Papists admitted the crime of treason Yet it
is certain that two of them, Oates and Bedlow, never were Papists, and that none of them turned informer through love of the truth, but one in order to escape torture and the other threefor the sake offilthy lucre. (5) It is impudence to deny that Oates was in Londonin the month of April, 1678. Ans.: On the contrary, it is impudence to assert it in the face of the evidence of two hundred persons, who lived with him at St. Omers throughout the whole of that month. (The truthofthis matter hasnowbeenconfirmedby a public judgment.) (6) Gavan said that he pardoned Oates and Dugdall with all hisheart. This is a lie, and I do not see how it can be excused Ans.: By what revelation did you learn that Gavan did not forgive with all his heart, contrary to his explicitwords ? For, since it is a questionof a secret of the heart, known to God alone, you could not know it except by His revelation (7) Gavan denies neither that the deeds of which he was accused were done, nor that they were rightly done Ans.: Read hisownwords From them it is plain that he denied absolutelyeverything of which he had been accused (8) Gavan does not deny that the Pope has a rightto be King of England, nor that the Pope exercised that right, nor that he has deposed the King, nor that he has offered ownership of the King's dominions to France . Ans.: Nor does he deny that the Turk, the Cham of the Tartars, or the devil, has such power. Surely you will not say that therefore he acknowledges their right ? If the grounds of accusation had been different, he would have denied other things than what he did deny. But, as things are, he was right to deny only what had been wrongly attributed to himself and his companions (9) While speaking of the falsity of the accusations , he does not renounce indulgences and equivocations . Ans See the page of the book! Only read hiswords: theyrefutethis lie (10) It was a matter of supreme importance for the prisoners to testify their innocence in that fashion . Ans.: Yes, if they really were innocent Otherwise they would have lost all hope of obtaining salvationa thing of incomparably greater consequence (11) The Roman Church, being strict in all things, just as she has instituted a formula of prayer for her priests in the Breviary and Missal, so also has prescribed a formula for hermartyrs to be followedin their speeches at death. Ans.: These undisguised falsehoods show what spirit possesses your heart They do more damage to you than to us (12) The speeches agree in many points, which shows that they are derived from one and the same formula Ans.: This resemblance shows that all who were accused of the same crimes were equally innocent Nor is thereany need to introducea deus ex machina to explain howseveral men who were to speak about the same thing, and to assert one and the same truth, expressed the same sentiments and often in the same words. So much for Tonge, the builder of the Plot, and his defence of what he had built (323) THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN Let us examine what the Bishop of Lincoln wrote He says: (1) To prevent these speeches of the Jesuits from doing any harm , I publish them with an antidote against the poison they are full of. Answer : You have done the Catholics a most welcome service by publishing them , for hereafterneither you, nor any ofyour like, will be able to deny their authenticity, now that you have proved it with your testimony Hence one may say toyou, as Joseph said to his brothers, " You thought evil against me; but God has turned it into good. " (2) All call God to witness, deny teach .
Ans.:
ing immoral doctrine, pray for the King andfor themselves, etc. Whatevilorwhat poison is there in all this ? Whenyou had condemned them to die the death of dogs, would you have them meet that death like dogs, without any mention of God or any thought oftheir souls? The devil might wish so , but no Christian, no man in his senses; and yet that is what this so-called Bishop of the Protestant Church seems to have wished (3) If their protestationsand oaths are sincere , they must be considered apostates and deserters of their Order. Ans.: Far different is the opinion entertainedof them by their brethrenwho survive, and by all the Catholics in the world, who know better than you do whatthat Orderteaches (4) A true Jesuit believes hisSuperior when he speaks, in just the same way as he believes God when He reveals Ans.: No Jesuit ever spoke in that way. The Jesuitsknow that their superiors are men who can be deceived and make mistakes; but they teach that all superiors, both spiritual and temporal, should be obeyed so long as they order nothing contrary to the law of God . They know that when a superior has enjoined something contrary to the law of God, obedience must be rendered to God rather than to man (5) The whole heavenly doctrine of the Jesuits reduces to this: itis permissiblenot merely to lie, but also to confirm the lie with an oath Hence the Jesuit tag: " Swear, swear false; but keep the secret hid . " Ans. The Jesuits may say, with one of the early Fathers , that they do not write their defence but live it; the wholetenor of their life in England refutes this calumny of yours ; some of them have been punished with exile , others with imprisonment, and others with death, for their refusal of an oath which contains false statements . Buthowincautious ofyou to charge the Jesuits with perjury !-a crime which isabhorrent to them , but is your cherished and favourite vice. Or have you ever refused any oath at all, however unjust, however false, provided it served your own interest ? Have you not taken oaths that flatly contradict each other, conflict head-on, and mutually destroy each other ? In the time of the civil disturbances when the supreme power was frequently passing from one possessor to another, and each successive tyrant wished to secure by oath the perpetual adherence of the English people, to the exclusion of all others and even of their legitimate ruler, you, my Lord Barlow, you, I say, who have always fawned upon the powers of the day, never once refused any oath that was demanded of you, but willingly took them all. I am making no new charge. Idonot digthroughwallsinsearch ofsecret abominations Your shameful readiness to flattereverybodywas publicly castin your face in undisguised language before a full assembly of your own university, and all applauded the man who spoke against you. If one may conjectureyour future actions from your past (and why not ?), supposing the Turk or the devil, or the Pope, whom you think much worse than either of them, should obtain power in Englandanddemand any oath whatsoever of you, you would not refuse it. Keep foryour- self then that tag of the Priscillianists; it suits you as well as it suits Clitella's ass . (6) In pagan rituals there occurs nothing so horrible as the ceremonies of the Jesuits, at which they consecrate the man and the dagger , that are ready to kill kings . They take the man into a separate chamber, and there place upon the table the dagger, which is enclosed in a sheath covered with secret symbols ; nearby lies an amulet, which they call an Agnus Dei . " Thenthey draw the dagger from the sheath, sprinkle it with holy water, and hand it to the man
entwined in a rosary of coral, saying at the same time: Receive, O son of God, the sword of Jephte , the sword of Samson , the sword of David, with which he cut off the head of Goliath Go, be of good heart, andtakecare. " Thenon bended kneesthey mutter theexorcism: " O Cherubim and Seraphim, Thrones and Powers, and all ye holy Angels, come down andfill this sacred vessel with eternal glory. Offer for him daily a rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the holy Patriarchs and Martyrs; for henceforthhe is yours, and looks no more to us " Thenthey lead him to an altar dedicated to Jacobus Clemens , show him the picture of Jacobus, and say aloud: " Strengthen, O Lord, this arm, the instrument of your vengeance; may all the Saints rise up and yield their places to him. " An invention of men more wicked than devils ! (Translation) Ans.: This censure is perfectly justified, but it falls either upon you, my Lord , or on some others like you, heralds of a newGospel and enemies of the old, from whose workshop it came forth packed with lies. Trifles such as these (if flagrant lies may be called trifles) would never have been given a place in this history ifthey did not plainly show the character of the foes with whom we had to contend If one who is a Doctor of Theologyand has been raised to the highest dignity in his church could make up criticisms so stupid and so far from even the appearance of truth, and shamelessly cast them at us in a published work, what shall we think ofthe lesserprophets? How violent is their passion ? Are they not seething with bile ? Whatlies are they not turning out in their lurking-places ? (7) If the Catholics defend the cause of the Jesuits, they are pleadinga very bad case . Ans. You are not a competentjudge of the case of the Jesuits, nor of the Catholics , upon whom you have declared war Others judge more fairlythose who have declared the Catholics Not Guilty. (8) The Jesuits are exiled from England, France, Venice, Bohemia, Moravia, Transylvania and Belgium Ans.: Why, then, are you worried about them ? If this were true the Jesuits would deserve pity rather than hate and enmity (9) The letter of Waring, written within three hours of the murder of Godfrey, in which he mentioned that Godfreyhad been done awaywith, shows howtrustworthyWaring is. Ans.: Why has that letter never been produced, to provide us with some other proof besides the bare words of vicious men ? Waring expressly denied, both before the judges and at the scaffold, that he had writtenany such letter ; and he challenged his accusers to produce it--butallinvain. Ifyou have noletter, why do you pretendyouhave ? Ifyou have it and will not produce it, you are underminingyourown case (10) The Jesuits ought to have omitted their prayers for the judges and witnesses Ans.: What do I hear ? Doyou condemn them for having pardoned their enemies and prayed for them?-for having observed the Law of God and the Gospel ? Are these the words , are these the sentiments of a Bishop and a Christian, or of a Jew, or a Turk, or a demon ? Do you condemn in them that charity which is the soulof the Gospel, while you pretendto teachthe Gospel pureand simple, and make this your boast ? But in your thoughts, words and worksthere is no trace ofthe Gospelexceptthe mere word. Somuch for Barlow's Antidotes (which deserve to be labelled Poison' much more than the Jesuits' speeches do) and for my Answer, published long ago. That the Answer reached him is beyonddoubt, since it was addressed to him and given to the Post. But we received no answer from him .
(324) THE FIMBRIA . ' A third writer published Animadversions upon the same speeches under an assumed name. He is indignant because the Fathers asserted their innocence, and accuses them of playing with equivocations , on the ground that some authors have taught that equivocationsare occasionally permissible, and that some have also used them He adds that there are casuists who approve of murder. And his conclusion is that it is a shameful thing that some people actually prefer to take the word of five traitors denying the existence of the Plot, against two Parliaments asserting it. To this work J. Warner, the author of the Answer to it, gave the name Fimbria, after a Roman who did something of the same sort, namely, he brought a case againstan honest citizen of Rome because he " had notallowed the wholeweapon to enter his body," as Fimbria hadhoped he would. Similarly, this author was attacking the Jesuits because they had not allowed their moral life, that is, their reputation for innocence , to be taken away along with their natural life The AntiFimbria showed that most of the passages from the various authors quoted had been falsified, and that none of them had anything to do withthedead Jesuits. Then it pointedout thatthecomparison between the Jesuits and the Parliaments is fallacious, since the Parliaments were not themselves the witnesses to the Plot, but gave credence to the testimony of Oates aboutit. Hence the comparison to be madeis between Oates alone andthefive Jesuits : are theyor is he tobe believed? The decision is not difficult, since, in the first place, on the one hand stand five men who are never known to have said anything false, and on the other, one man who has scarcely ever said anything true. Secondly, there stand five who had perhaps never taken an oath , against one who had frequently taken false oaths Thirdly, there stand five who would inevitably have been damned if they had lied , against one who would have been dying of hunger if he had not lied. Fourthly , there stand five who preferredto die rather than lie, against one who supported his life by his lies. Fifthly, there stand five whose words were always consistent , against one who was always making and swearing to incompatible or contradictory statements Finally, there stand five who said nothing that was not probable and likely, againstone who said a great deal that was imaginary and improbable, and not a little that was impossible When these considerations have been carefully weighed, it is not difficult to say which way the balance should incline
(
325) THE FOURTH : 'E.C.' The fourthwho attackedthe speeches was E.C., a doctor of Civil Law, who made up a fairly large bookof the opinions of certain authors He too received his answer, namely that: (1) It was not proved that the five Jesuits had even seen the authors he quoted (2) nor that they approved of their doctrines (3) Still less was it proved that they had followed those doctrinesin their scaffold speeches (4) There is no good argument to show that any Englishman should be held responsible for whatever is written by a Sicilian or a Spaniard So the whole contents of E.C.'s book prove nothing When the good man saw from this Answer thathis first edition had fared ill, he prepared another, and published a book entitled "A full and Final Proof of the Plot from the Apocalypse , whence it is shown that the evidence of Titus Oates and William Bedlowis of Right Divine London: Thomas Simmons, atthe Prince's Arms ' The words from which he derives this new Divine Right are
in chapter XI, verse 3 , of the Apocalypse : "And I will give unto my two witnesses , and they shall prophesy a thousandtwo hundredsixty days, clothed in sackcloth" He infers that this prophecy has notyet been accomplished from the considerationthat Rome, which is there called Babylon, has not yet fallen; and that it is now about to be fulfilled becausethose two witnesses are about to expel Papism notmerely from England, but from the whole of Europe. The author confesses that many false statements have been made by those fine prophets, but contends that this does not at all impair their credit, because at leastsome of the things they have said have been true These arguments seemedto him so certainthat he concluded thatnone butatheists would doubt about his discourse. He claims that what he is saying cannot be rejected except by holding that John, the author of the Apocalypse , was an impostor These were the dreams ofthe good man E.C., whoever he wasthis doctor of Civil Law who, if he knows no moreofhumanlaw than he does ofdivine, must have been treatedwith great partiality when he was given his doctorate
(326) So far nothing has occurred to delay the hurrying reader or to cause him much grief If the martyrs' sufferings have distressed him, their crowns will have been a consolation Moreover , those againstwhom my charges were levelled were professed enemies ofthe Jesuits and of the Roman CatholicChurch, so that I could speak freely whatever it was right for me to say and them to hear. But now I must restrain my vehemence, since I begin to consider" equal eagles oneither side , and pikes ranged against pikes " The one thingwanting to the evils borne by the Society with unbroken courage was thisthat " the sons of the mother herself should fight againsther. " For God wished to try the Societyin all possible ways, not with a view to its destruction, whatever its opponents may have designed, but for its greater merit in this world and glory in the next.
(327) Before proceeding further, I earnestly beg of all who shall read what follows not to turn the crime of one man to the disgrace of others , most of whom detested the crime, even though they continued to honour the person of its author on account of the indeliblecharacter of his sacerdotal dignity
The whole College of Apostles was not disgraced by having one Judas, nor David by begettingthe incestuous Amnon or the rebel Absalom, nor Jacobbecause his son Ruben defiled his bed , nor Isaac becausehis sonwas an objectof hatred, nor Abraham because he had the grief of seeing his son cast out of his home The companyof the wickeddoes no harm to the good, unless they take the disgrace upon themselves by approving the actions of the wicked , and so making them their own.
(328) THE FIFTH: JOHN SERGEANT
The fifth person who tried to come to the aid of the Plot in its distressed and languishingcondition was John Sergeant, about whom something has been said at the end of Book II For many years he had lived apart from other Catholics ; when other priests living in London were enjoying as much security (apart from the distinction of dress) as in Rome or Paris, he was fleeing the light and seeking places of retreatnow crossing into France , now retreating elsewhere, to escape the dangers which he said were threatening him But when the Persecution broke out and other priests, including members of the Secular Clergy, had gone into hiding through a not ungrounded fear, he walkedabout the streets ofLondon in broad daylight without disguise and without fear He seems to
have beenout ofEnglandat the timewhen thefive Fathers were hanged Shortly afterwardshe visited Louvain, andreturned thence to Brussels. While at Brussels he utterly refused to visit the Nuncio, though he was earnestlypressed to do so by a common friend, who even offered him a guarantee of security, because Sergeant said that he fearedfor his life, or at leastfor his liberty, if he approached the Nuncio. After that he visited Ghent, but did not think fit to visitthe English Jesuits who have a house there, or the English nuns The explanation of this he alone knows Then he made for Holland, and wrote from the Hague to Parliament that those who thought he would play the informer or confirm the famous Plot with his testimony were wrong. He had bigger things in view, and they would come to light in a short time This unsoughtexcuse has seemed to many to be a plain selfaccusation .
(329) Sergeant's letter gave rise to a tense expectancy , which was greatly increased, when it was known that Charles's ambassador to the United Provinces had taken ship with Sergeant, brought him to London, and presented him to the Privy Council The mountains were in labour, and brought forth a ridiculous mouse! It became known soon after that Sergeant had accused Gavan of lying. The charge was based on some words alleged by a female penitent of Sergeant's to have been uttered by Gavan The accusation was greeted withlaughterbyallbut Charles, who rejected it angrily, saying"Would you have me believe one foolish young woman rather than five dying men ? " Those who were present while these words were spoken have persistently denied that they heard them or that any occasion was given for them.
(330) Sergeant was given a hearing before the Parliament at Oxford, about which see below He was there bidden to publish this accusation , such as it was (we shall give it below , when we come to that Parliament) ; but the publication of it has done more damage to his own reputation than to the Society's It is believed that he had further designs, namely, to expel from England first the Society and then other religious orders, and to obtain liberty, under certain restrictions, for a certain number of secular priests, who would take an oath He had as his Achates a certain Morris, who also made his contribution to increase the volume of accusations ; his depositionwas printed and published along with Sergeant's (see below) However , whether his plans were what I have said, or whatever else they were , I should not readily allow myself to be persuaded that Sergeant communicated his designs to his fellow-seculars, and far less that they approved of them. Rather , I am convinced that Sergeant himself now condemns them, and so has now quite regained his senses . grant that he may (by serious and public repentance) make satisfaction for the grave scandal he has given. I remark in passing that it is a dangerous thing to insinuate into the minds of any Catholics hatred of another Catholic , and especiallyof a religious order. For unless such antipathy is conjoined with great moderation of mind (which is rarely found with such greathatred), or a high degree ofpru- dence, which can keep the unrestrainedmind within the path ofreason , it will almost inevitably, sooner or later, if it has intelligenceat its service, give birth to some monster for the ruin of good men. (331) So much for the speeches of the five Fathers of happy memory. God On the very day of their martyrdom a daughterofThomas
Armstrong (who was an adviser to Monmouth and his inseparable travelling companion ) went into the workshop of a Catholic silversmith. When she saw them working as usual she asked " Why are you not celebrating a feast to-day in honour of the five martyrs ? The silversmith's daughter replied " We don't celebrate the day as yet; but whenyour father has suffered the same torments, and on the same day of the year, then we shall make it a feast day " It turned out, five years later to the very day, that he suffered the sametortures in the same place With God's help they will be described in due course So much for the five Fathers of the Society. (332) THE MARTYRDOM OF RICHARD LANGHORNE. Sentence was passed upon Richard Langhorneat the same time as upon the Fathers. Langhorne was learned in the Law of England and a sincere professor of the Catholic Faith. This recommended him to the Catholics. He looked after various concerns of theirs, and did some business for the Jesuitstoo Almost at the very beginningof the Persecution he was cast into prison, and on 14th April was brought out to stand trial The witnesses against him, Oates and Bedlow , said that he had done all in his power to promote the evil designs of the Jesuitsand other seditious persons; he had kept a book, into which he wrote all the decisions of the Jesuits ; Coleman's letters to Père de la Chaise had been written into this book. Bedlow, it was claimed, while walking up and down in Langhorne's chamber, had seen Langhorne writing in the study. (That this was not merely false but impossible was obvious, since it is impossible to see into the study from Langhorne's chamber . Yet the judges did not see fit to send somebody to inspect the place, though it was scarcely 100 yards distant, and the prisoner earnestly asked for someone to be sent ) Oates said that Letters Patent of the General of the Jesuits had been sent to the prisonerfor distribution to the nobles, and that Langhornehad taken them outof a bookcase in his study and shown them to him. The prisonerreplied that he neither had then,nor everhadhad, a bookcase in his study, and called upon various people present to bear witness to this; but they were refused a hearing He asked the witnesses whether they had received or hoped to receive any profit from giving evidence Each boldly replied that so farfrom hopingfor any gainfrom doinghisduty to the state, he hadalreadyspent £700 of his owncapital. This seemed remarkableto those who knew that for six months on end Bedlow had lived on nothing but alms while he was in prison in London , and that Oates, after he had been left to himself by the Jesuits, had begged for bread from door to door like a real beggar To prove that Oates had contradicted himself, the prisoner produced the authentic document containing the depositions made by Oates in the UpperChamber of Parliament; but the judges forbade it to be read He also adduced , to prove the same thing, the records of the trials of other prisoners published by order of the judges themselves ; but the same judges declared that no reliance was to be placed on them The eagernessof the judges to deprive the prisoner of every means of defendinghis innocence only made his innocence more manifest Nevertheless , the jury gave their verdict in favour of the prosecution , and Langhorne was pronounced Guilty.
(333) At once the death sentence was passed upon him; but it was not carried out until after the lapse of a wholemonth, namely, on 14th July. In the interval, Shaftesbury frequently visited him and
warned him of the destitution of his wife and small children, saying that he could avoid deathif only he would acknowledge the Plot, and that by so doing he would obtain not only his life but wealth and honour as well But the prisoner protested again and again that he knew absolutelynothing about the Plot; he added that the foundations of the Plot had been so stupidly laid by Oates that he himself, were he so wicked and so God-forsaken as to want to save his life by lies and perjury, would be unable to build upon such foundations anything which would satisfy any sane man.
(334) When bound to the scaffold he said to the Sheriff thathe had committed to writing what he had to say, because he could not trust hismemory, and becausehe had not been sure whetherhewould be granted permission to speak Then he read the paper, of which the contentswere as follows: "I do solemnlyand sincerely, in thepresence of Almighty God, profess, testifie and declare, as followeth: That is to say ,
1. " ThatI do with my heart and soul, believe and own my most Gracious Soveraign Lord, the Kings Majesty, King Charles the Second , to be my true and lawful Soveraign, Prince and King, in the same sence andlatitude, to allintentsand purposes, as in the Oathcommonly called, The Oath of Allegiance, His said Majesty is expressed to be King of this Realm of England*
2. " That I do in my soul believe, That neither the Pope, nor any Prince Potentate, or ForeignAuthority, nor the People of England , nor any Authority out of this Kingdom, or within the same, hathor have any Right to dispossess His said Majestyof the Crown orGovernmentofEngland , orto deposehim therefrom, foranyCauseor pretended Cause whatsoever , or to give licence to me, or to any other of his said Majesties Subjects whatsoever , to bear Arms against His said Majesty, or to take away his Life, or to do him any bodily harm , or to disturb the Governmentof this Kingdom, as the same is now established by Law, or to alter, or go about to alter the said Government, or the Religion now established in England , by any way offorce .
3 " ThatI neither am , nor everwas, at any time ortimes, guilty, so much as in my most secret thoughts, of any Treason, or misprision of Treason whatsoever .
4. " That I did not in the Month of November, or at any other time or times whatsoever, say unto Mr. Oates , or unto any other person or persons whatsoever , in relation to my Sons in Spain, or either of them, or in relation to any other person or persons whatsoever , Thatif they did continue in the World (as Secular Priests or otherwise) they should suddenly have great Promotions in England, for that things would not last long in the posture whereinthey then were; nor did I ever say any words to that or the like effect to any person or persons whatsoever .
5 " That I did neverin all my life-time write any Letter, or other thing whatsoever , unto, or receive any Letter or other thing, from Father Le Cheese, or any French Jesuit whatsoever, or from Father Anderton , or Cardinal Barbarino, or any other Cardinal; nor did I ever see any Letter, or the Copy of any Letter, or other Paper, orother thing, written or purporting to be written unto the said Le Cheese ,
* Langhorne's attitudetowards the Oath ofAllegianceseemsto indicate the influence of Dom Corker. Cf. T. A. Birrell, Catholic Allegianceandthe Popish Plot (Nijmegen, 1950), p 11 and notes
or unto the said Father Anderton or the said Cardinal Barbarino, by any person or persons whatsoever , other than the printed Letters, printed in the Narrative of the Trial of Mr. Edward Coleman, lately executed , which I never saw otherwisethan in the said printed Narrative; nor did I ever hear any mention made by any person whatsoever of the Name of Le Cheese, or Father Le Cheese, before I read the said printed Narrative.
6. " That Idid never in all my life-time make any EntryorEntries, intoany Bookor Books, or take, or make, orwrite, or causetobe written into any Book or Books, or otherwiseany Letter or Letters, or any Copy or Copies of any Letter or Letters, written by the said Edward Coleman, to any person or persons whatsoever .
7. " That I did never in all my life-time enter or register into any Book or Books, Paper or Papers whatsoever , or take, or make, or write, or cause to be written, any Copy or Copies, of any Act or Acts, Consult or Consults, Determination or Determinations , Order or Orders, Resolve or Resolves, or other matter or thing, at any time made , determined , resolved, passed, decreed or agitated, at any Congregation or Congregations, Assembly or Assemblies, of the Society or Order of the Jesuits, or of any other ReligiousOrder whatsoever ; nor did I ever see, read, or hear read, nor did any person or persons, at any time whatsoever, ever communicate unto me, any such Act, Consult, Determination, Order, Resolve, Matter or Thing whatsoever
8. " ThatI neverdid in all my life-time, to my knowledge, belief or remembrance , see or speak with Mr. Bedloe , who gave evidence against me at myTryal, until I sawhim in that Court wherein hegave Evidence against me
9. " That after the month of November, which was in the year of our Lord 1677 , I did never see or speak with Mr. Titus Oates before named,untilI saw him in the sameCourtwhere hegave Evidence against me at my Tryal
10. That I did never see in all my life-time, to my knowledge, belief, or remembrance , any Commission or Commissions, Patent or Patents , Grant or Grants, Orderor Orders, Instrument orInstruments, Writing or Writings, or any other matter or thing whatsoever , under or pretended to be under the Hand and Seal, or the Hand or the Seal of Joannes Paulus de Oliva , or any other General of the Jesuits whatsoever , other than the Paper or Instrument produced and showed unto me in the said Court at my Tryal, which whetherit was signed or sealed by the said de Oliva, I do not know .
11. " That I did never in all my life-time write, or causeor procure to be written , any Treasonable Letter or Letters, Book or Books , Paper or Papers, or likewise howsoever .
12. " That I believe, that if I did know, or should know of any Treason or Treasonable Design, that was or is intended, or shouldbe intended against His said Majesty, or the Governmentof His Majesties Kingdom, or for the Alteration by force, advice or otherwise, of the said Government , or of the Religion now established in this Kingdom, and should conceal and not discover the same unto His said Majesty, or His said Majesties Councel or Ministers, or some of them, that such concealment would be in me a sin unto Death, and Eternal Damnation.
13. " That I do believe, that it is no ways lawful for me to lye, or speak any thing which I know to be untrue; or to commit any sin, or do any Evil, that Good may come of it. And that it is not in the
Power of any Priest, or of the Pope, or of God himself, to give me a License to Lye, or to speak any thing which I know to be untrue, because every such Lye would be a sin against Truth: And Almighty God, who is perfect Truth, cannot give me a License to commit a sin against his own Essence .
(335) " And I do solemnlyin the presence of God, Profess, Testify, and Declare, That as I hope for Salvation, and expect any benefit by the Blood and Passion of my dearest Saviour Jesus Christ, I do make this Declaration and Protestation and every part thereof in the Plain and Ordinary Sense, wherein the same stands Written, as they are commonlyunderstood by EnglishProtestantsand the Courts of Justice in England without any Evasion, or Equivocation, or Delusion, or Mental Reservation whatsoever And without any Dispensation or Pardon, or Absolution already granted to me, for this or any other purpose by the Pope or any other Power, Authority or Person whatsoever , Or, withoutany hope expectationor desire of any such Dispensation; andwithoutthinkingor believingthat I am or can be acquitted before Godor Man, or absolved of this Declarationorany part thereof, although the Pope or any other Person or Persons, or Poweror Authority whatsoevershould dispence with, or take upon him or them to dispence with, or Annull the same, Or declare that it was , or is, or ought to be Null or Void in part or in the whole, from the beginning, or otherwise howsoever
(336) " Having made this Declaration and Protestation in the most plain Terms that I can possibly imagine to express my sincere Loyalty and Innocency, and the clear intention of my Soul, I leave it to the Judgments ofall Good and Charitablepersons whetherthey will belive [sic] what is here in this manner affirmed and sworn by me in these present Circumstances, or what is sworn by my Accusers
(337) "I do now further declare, That I die a Member (though an unworthy one) ofthat HolyCatholick and Apostolick ChurchofChrist, mentionedin the Three Holy and Public Creeds, of which Churchour Lord Jesus Christ is the Invisible Head of Influence, to illuminate, guide protect and governit by his HolySpiritand Grace, and of which Church, the Bishop of Rome , as the successor of St. Peter , the Prince of the Apostles, is the visible Head of Governmentand Unity.
(338) " I take it to be clear, That my Religion is the sole cause , whichmoved my Accusers tocharge me withthe Crime, forwhich upon their evidence I amadjudged to die, andthatmybeing ofthat Religion, which I here profess, was the only ground which could give them any hope to be believed, or which could move my Jury to believe the Evidence of such men
(339) "I have had not only a Pardon, but also greatAdvantages , as to Preferments and Estates offered unto me, since this Judgment was againstme, in case I would have forsaken my Religion, and owned my selfguilty of the Crime charged against me, and charged the same Crimes upon others : But blessed be my God, who by his Grace hath preserved me from yielding to those Temptations, and strengthened me rather to choose this death, than to stain my soul with sin , and to charge others , againsttruth, with Crimes, of which I do not know that any person is guilty.
(340) " Having said what concerns me to say as to my self, I now humbly beseechGod to bless the Kings Majesty with all temporal and eternal Blessings, and to preserve Him and His Governmentfrom all
Treasons and Traitors whatsoever , and that His Majesty may never fallinto such hands, as His Royal Father of Glorious Memoryfell into (341) "I also humbly beseechthee (O God) to give true Repentance and Pardon to all my Enemies, and most particularly to the said Mr. Oates and Mr. Bedloe , and to all who have been any ways accessary to the taking away of my Life, and the shedding of my innocent Blood, or to the preventing the King's Mercy to be extended unto me; and likewiseto all those who rejoyced at the Judgementgivenagainstme, or at the executionof the said Judgement; and to all those who are , or shall be, so unchristianly uncharitable, as to disbelieve, and refuse to give credit unto my now Protestations. (342) " And I beseechthee (O my God) to bless this wholeNation, and not to lay the guilt of my Blood unto the Charge of this Nation , or of any other particular person or persons of this Nation. Unite all (Omy God) unto thee and thyChurch, by true Faith, Hope and Charity, for thy mercies sake . (343) " And for all those whohave shewedCharity tome ,Ihumbly beg (O my Jesus ) that thou wilt reward them with all Blessings both temporal and eternal"
(344) When he had read through the whole of this, he handed the paper to the Sheriff. The Sheriff asked him whether he knew anything about the Patents, and he repliedthat he knew nothingwhatsoever and did not believe that there had ever been any (345) Langhorne'sDeclaration too, no less than the speeches of the five Jesuits, we owe to the Protestant press, which publishedit togetherwith an account of what happened to him while in prisonand especially in the period after sentence had been passed upon him. The pious reflections with which he prepared himself to undergo his martyrdom like a Christian were also given. They are still extant, and make edifying reading (346) OATES'S SECOND EDITION OF THE NARRATIVE . Let us turn our eyes away for a little while from the gruesome spectacle of executions (those which followedand they were manywe shall consider afterwards), and occupy ourselves with anotherobject, painful indeed, but less savage At the behest of the House of Lords, who complainedthat the earlier versionhad been incomplete , Oates elaborated a Second Edition of his Narrative, to the great delight ofboth Catholics and Presbyterians alike It gave the Presbyterians pleasure to contemplate in security both the wrongs which the Papists were said to have inflicted and the dangers that were said to be impending from them , all ofwhich, thanks to Oates, they had successfully evaded. The Catholics on the other handwere glad to see a complete collection made ofallthe charges laid againstthem They thought that newlies could not be fabricated against them, now that all the foul falsehoods had been directedinto this one sewer They thought that they had caught the eel in a cleft stick so that he could not slip away whenhe was pressed They thought Oates would adhere to statements which he had signed as true and solemnlyconfirmedon oath in the presence of Parliament, especially as they had been published by authority of that august assembly Mere words have wings, they thought, and howevertenacious the memory to which they are committed, however honest the witnesses by whose testimony they are proved, yet there still remain ways of escape open to those who wish to escape, where truth is not the only or the principal object of quest ; whereas manu-
scripts published by so great an authority could neither be denied nor changed. Butwhat cheats were the hopes of the Catholics atthat time ! Oates no more allowed himself to be bound by that Narrative of his than by the evidence which he had given elsewhere by word of mouth He acted as if he were obliged to assume responsibility on any day only forwhat he had said on that very day, and as ifitwerean injustice to call him to account for what he had said on other days and in other places. Still, no small profit accrued to the Catholics , especially after the publication of A Vindication of the Catholics by J. Warner, who refuted Oates's lies and perjuries by means of public attestations furnished by whole States, and private ones furnished bymost trustworthyindividuals, as well as by arguments from natural science, and the customs of the Society and other Religious Orders. The lies and perjuries were so numerous that they seemed to equal the Apocalyptic number of the beast. The author of the Vindication prefixedtoit, by way of motto, the wordsof Cyprianin his55thLetter: "Itis no disgrace for us to suffer what Christ suffered, andno glory to you todowhat Judas did. " Shortly after this, public opinionin foreign countries was so hostile towards our countrymen that many Englishmen denied their nationality, so as not to be forced to listen to reproaches to which there was no possible answer Nobody save those who have actually seen the Narrative will easilybelieve that so many crass lies could have been crammed into one book; frequently they are lies which helped Oates's casenot atall, andwhich can be refutedfrom the book itself For example, in the Preface Oates says that the Narrative itself was given to Charles by Kirby on 15th August, yet it contains various incidents which occurred in September Similarly, he says that he had confirmed the Narrative with his oath on 6th September ; yet from the papers of Godfrey, Kirby, Tonge and Oates himself, which are publishedin the Narrative, it is clear that thiswas not done until 27th September It was, therefore , not withoutreason thatthe Catholics' apologist said that lying seemedto come as naturally to Oates as breathing. From whatever viewpoint the Narrative is considered , it is seen to be a crude, undigested heap of lies; these lies are strewn throughout the book, and like the waves of the sea sweep on at random without rhyme or reason, wherever thewind and the tides carry them.
(347) Oates did not even spare the name of the excellent King Charles He made insinuations about the honour of his mother, the pious heroine Henriette de Bourbon, so as to make an indirect thrust at Charles's birth-right to the Crown All the accusations levelled at Charles II, and at his father Charles I, in all the period of thewars by their mostbitter enemies andbythe foes ofmonarchymen guided not by reason but by mad follyall these charges Oates crammed intothe Narrative, and scattered themwithimpunity among thepeople, attributingthe authorship of them to the Jesuits, who had never so much as heard of them until the publication of the Narrative Oates thus killed two birds with one stone; he was at once making Charles hostile to the Jesuits, and lessening the people's respect for Charles. Which of these purposes was the prime objective of the men who were using Oates as their tool is a questionnot difficultto decide . Their aims are made obvious at the very outset of the book, in the letter dedicating the work to Charles. After recounting, in the tone of a historian, that James I was poisoned by the Papists; that they had
stirred up the Civil Wars against Charles I, then imprisoned, condemned and decapitated him; that they tried to capture Charles II after his escape from the unsuccessful battle of Worcester , and so on (all of which assertions are so many obvious lies), he gives up the style of a historian and assumes the role of Charles's admonitor, warning him gravely that he must give up all desire for a despotic régimeand be content to rule according to law Charles need only entrust himselfto the present Parliament; that its loyalty was sincere he (Oates !) was quite certain, and he offers himself as guarantor of it He continues: it is " the chief End and Work of all Supreme Powers , To suppress Vice , and to encourage Virtue amongsttheir Charge, according to St. Paul, Romans 13 , which is best done Abroad, when first and effectually begun at Home in Your own House and Family, according to the same Apostle, I Tim 3, by banishing all Vicious livers from Your presence and converse, and advancing the Virtuous in their stead : By the neglect of which principal part of their Royal Trust and Office, Princes depose themselves, as useless before God and their own Consciences, whatever may be their State and Glory in fact, and by human Laws and Powerbeforemen . " (348) So wrote Oates Here we may quote those words ofAugus- tine: " He who is not awakened by such a thunderclap is more likely to be dead than asleep. " Everyone could see the meaning of these sentences. The divine right of Princes was indeed asserted , though obscurely; but an impossible condition was attached to it, namely that Princes must admit no bad characterto their presence; otherwise they would have left to them only a human right to rule; and this human right, it was observed many times, depended upon Parliament or even on the people. It would follow, therefore , that Charles and all other Princes ruled merely on sufferance, and that their power would last no longer than the people wished Even Wycliff was less unjust to the supreme rulers, and less wide of the mark, when he demanded personal sanctity of Princeswhich it is, of course, in their power to exhibit in their lives; yet his doctrine was justly condemned by the Council of Constance as being seditious and dangerous to both Civil and Ecclesiastical Powers Tell me, Oates: what was said about Christ our Lord, who mixed with publicans and sinners, and who admitted the traitor Judas to his intimate circle, to the position of a disciple and an apostle, and even to the Sacred Table?
(349) Charles was too sharp-witted a man to miss these obvious implications; yet he feigned ignorance , either because his hope of obtaining supplies from Parliament was not yet crushed, or becausehe feared he might utterly infuriate the populace, which was already out of its right mind Things had already gone so far that he could not turn back easily or suddenly
(350) THE INFORMER JOHN SMITH , AND ROBERT JENISON . The honours paidtothe King's witnesses, their unpunished licence tocommit every crime, and the great rewards offered, drew over John Smith to the enemy's campto the great grief of the Catholics and the scandal of all Smith was the son of heretical parents, and had studied for some time at Geneva Then he formally abjured his heresy at Aix before the Archbishop of that city, His Eminence Cardinal Grimaldi He then went to Rome. After being ordained a priest, he was sent to England, and was given hospitality by John Jenison, who had three sons and two nephews in the Society , one of whom was the Superior
of the Jesuits resident in that part of the country. Smith at once manifested the hatred of the Society which he had imbibed at Geneva or elsewhere , byforbidding all Jesuitsadmission to the house: he even excluded one of his host's kinsmen , whom he threatened to horsewhip if he everdarkened that door again Shortly afterwardshewent so far as to exclude his own fellow Secular Priests as well, giving as his reason that they were infected with Jesuit doctrine Perhaps his mind was alreadypregnantwith that monster which he finallybrought into the light, more to his own damage than to anyone else's. For when the Persecution broke out he said good-bye to the Church and the Faith, and returned to his original heresy, like a dog going back to its vomit He led astray John, his host, and nearly all his household; one of his host's daughters he made his wife by a sacrilegious marriage; anotherheroic maiden, whoshowed the courage ofa man , was constantinthe Faith,androseabove his persuasions, prayers andthreats, thereby causing no small shame to the men who had yielded. The eldest son Thomas had relinquished hisright of successionto hisbrother Robert and had long since entered the Society; he was one of the first to be committed to prison Robert, who was learning English Law in London, had contracted fairly heavy debts ; and his father, whose repute depended more on his ancient lineage and the magnificence of his house than onwealth, gave him onlya sparingallowance. Smith accordingly urged him to play the part of informer, assuring him thatthis would be the quickestway to wipe out hisdebts.
(351) DIVINE PROVIDENCE . In my frequent meditations upon these events I am always struck with wonder at the plan whereby God's singularProvidence guided this savagepersecution totheChurch's good. He did not allow the first and most violent shock to impinge upon the weaker and less secure members of the Church, whose fall would have dragged down many another . On the contrary, while the persecutors were making their vain assaults upon members of the Society of Jesus and of the Benedictine Order, the other Catholics were strengthened and emboldened to bear with unbroken courage exile , prison and torture.
(352) Robert was a kinsmanof Ireland (whose martyrdom wehave recorded above), and used often to visit him. He was confident, therefore , that his evidence would serve to prop up the part of Oates's story which seemed most likelyto collapse, namely, the assertion that Ireland had been in London after the middle of August and at the beginning of September in 1678 , which contradicted the testimony of nearly all the nobility of Staffordshire Again, Oates had asserted that four Irish assassins had been sent to Windsor to kill Charles; but he had not given them names. Robert accordingly named four of his fellow-students of Lawperhaps on account of some secret quarrel. One of them was English, all were Protestants and known to be loyal to the King. As, however, they felt that their innocence was not enough to protect them, they fled the country, intending to return when justice had been restored to the Courts Robert also dared to approach his elder brother Thomas, who was in prison, and to urge him toearn hisway out ofthe gaol by acknowledgingthe Plot; but he met with a sharp refusal.
(353) THE LETTER OF THOMAS JENISON TO HIS BROTHER I am glad to include in this History the lettersent by Thomas toRobert , in which he severely rebukes his wickedness, sets the magnitudeof his
sin before his eyes, and warns him to be reasonable once again and do serious penance The letter seems worthreadingfor the apostolic zeal which inspires it Written from the prisonat Newgate , itis dated 11th July, and runs as follows: " Brother: I am ashamed to acknowledge you for such. IfI were to deal with a man who had sinned out of Ignorance, I would spend time to enform and rectifie his understanding, but now my business is with you, who from your tender years have been educated, through the infinite blessing of God, in the light of the Catholick Church, and received other additional helpsof Learning, so that it cannot be presumed that any man has imposed upon, or Smith'd you I shall cut short, and follow the counsel ofthe Apostle, who commands me after one, or two chidingsto avoid men of equal malice with your self, hereticum hominem, post unam aut alteram correptionem, devita He that offers incense to Jupiter is an Idolater, thoughin hisheart he denies his Divinity Butwhat I intend to pursue are the dismal effects of your Crime. (354) "By thy own mouth I judge thee , naughty servant You know as you confessed here, that you could prove Titus Oates perjur'd against me , and yet you came hither with intent to make me yield and condescend to those perjuries, by a false confession of a feigned and incredible Story of a Plot against the King and Government , and so engage myselfin the blood and ruines of innocentmen, thatImight, after your Example and our Families (God forgive them) cast away the eternal happiness of my soul, to secure the temporal lifeof a wretched Carkass, which I have learnt to contemn, since it has been in the power of such an Impostor as Oates , to bring me into such eminent danger. But you are a much greater Proficient in wickedness, than you would let me know; you were not content to wheedle me with an invented story of a visit you made, and a discourse you had with my Couzen Ireland the 29th of August last; At which time to my certain knowledg , he neither was returned, nor that week expected from the Country; but you have deposed that untruth upon Oath; and so have , as much as is in you, justified Oates and Bedlow, and by consequence taken upon you the blood of an Innocent man, and a near Relation , andofone to whose kindness, you owe that which you depend so much upon, my Father's favours, when he lent you the mony, which I am afraid, you have not yet repaid ; in a word you have made yourselfan Accessary to all the wickedness, that either has been, or shall be committed to those Two Commissioners of Hell, as longas your Oathstands unrecalled , for you have given them strength and support; And now hear, notmy rebuke, but rather the Holy Ghost(againstwhomyou have sinned) in the Book of Psalms, Sitting thou didst speak againstthy Brother, and against thy Mother's Son, thou hast laid a stumbling-block , thou thought'st, wicked man, that I will be like thee; I will rebuketheeand set thee against thine own face , Psal 49 Don't glory in malice, thou that art powerful in wickedness: The whole day, thy tongue has devised injustice, like a sharp rasor thou has committed deceit: Thou hast loved malice above goodness, rather to speak iniquity than equity : Therefore God will destroy thee, unto the end, he will pluck thee up, and cast thee out ofthy tabernacle (Walworth, and all that belongs to it) and (what is infinitelyworse) thy root from the Land of the Living, Psal 51. Understand these things, you that forget God, least at length he hurry you outof this World, being provokedto punishyou, taking from you even that pitiful transitory enjoyment, for which you have cast his fear
behind your back; for the same Holy Spirit assures us, that Men of blood shall not live half their days, and then there will be no man that can deliver you, Psal 49. But I have not yet reached the height of your Crime, nothing under that of Judas can parallel it. And therefore read the curses pronounced by the Prophet in the person of Christ againsthim in Psal. 108. O God (saith he) suppress not my praise, in silence, because the mouth of the sinner hath been opened upon me. They have spoken against me with a deceitful tongue, and have ecompassed me with speeches of hatred, and have ransack'd mefor nothing, and appoint the sinner over him, and let the Devil stand on his right hand , when he is judged, let him goforth condemned , and let his prayer become a sin Let his days become few, and let another receive his Bishoprick , etc. You may please to consider this andthe rest which follows; And now don't extenuate your sin, and say, I have not sinned with Judas against Christ; you know you have sinned against his Church, and 'tis for this that Christ, for ever blessed and glorious in Heaven, cries out to St. Paul then a Persecutor through ignorance, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me ? Who art thou Lord ? answers Saul. I am Jesus (saith he) whom thou dost persecute O singularcomfort, for all those who suffer persecution for Christ, since he looks upon their sufferings as his own; but dreadful voice to those who have hardned their hearts to his call, and kick against the stick of their own consciences . Nay, you have in some sense even outdone the malice of Judas, and those that crucified Christ , for twas for the Church, that Christ outofinfinite love delivered himself, his blessed Body to be torn, and tortur'd and crucified, and his Blood to be shed, and you have conspired with the Devil to disappoint the design of Christ's Passion, not only in the Perdition of your own soul, but in hiding and driving the truth from the Nation
" (355) Now , if nothing of all this doth move you, I am afraid you are delivered over to a reprobate sense, and that you'l not stop here, but according to your impenitent heart, treasure up to your self the wrath of God against the day of revenge, which will come uponyou, like a thief beforeyou are aware; and so you will then open your eyes as the rich Glutton did to behold Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, when you shall find your self in the middle of the flames and torments of Hell, but it will then be too late to do pennance, for not so much as a Drop of water will be granted you to cool that perjured bloody tongue ofyours But if you consent to the Graceof God, which calls you now , perhaps the last time, to penance, you shall follow the exampleof St. Peter, who, when Christ looked upon him with an Aspect full of grace and mercy (for that, respexit Dominus Petrum , was not registered by the Holy Pen-man in vain) went out first, and then wept bitterly; and you have wept, but because you have not gone out with St. Peter , therefore it has done you little good, and you have found the Proverb fulfilled in you, A Dog returned to what he had vomited up, and a Sow that has been wash'd to the wallowing Pool of mire: nay, I add, that it has done you some harm, for the more obstinate and rebellious you shew your self to God's mercy, the more dreadful and heavy you shall find his Justice God then will not be content with halves , or rather to take his share with the World, the Flesh, andthe Devil, he will have either all or nothing; he will either save the whole man, or damn him. But you must not think that this is All to go out and weep, you are
obliged to make restitution , for you know that's the Catholick Doctrine , according as Saint Austin has it Non dimittiturpeccatum, nisi restituatur ablatum.
(356) "I have told you the mischiefs of your perjury, these you are obliged to hinder, and repair, for as much as concerns your self , and is in your power, which you have not done till you present yourself to those before whom, and unto whom , you committedthe sin, as having misguided their Judgments , and confess publickly the guilt upon your Conscience If you say that this will make you infamous to the World, know, that you are so alreadyto the greatest, wisest, and best part; know that you are so in the sight of God, his Angels and Saints; know that you shall be laid open to eternal confusion in the last day, and that this very Letter shall rise up in Judgment against you; so I have discharged my Duty, as to this Point, nothing now remaining for me to do, but to offer up my hearty prayers for your speedy conversion If you are privy to Oates his wicked Cabal, you are obliged to discover , what you know; for as I told you here , non manifestans , is an Accessary Your Loving Brother, Tho. Jennison "
(357) This letter was published by Robert togetherwith two others written by his mother's sister and her daughter for the same purpose of inducing him to retract his oath, the falsity of which was plain to them also , since they had beenwith Ireland inthe CountyofStafford at the very time when he was said to have been in London. Robert's purpose in publishing the letters was to advertise to the seditionmongers his constancy in not giving way, although subjected to such a battery. He even went further and swore that Ireland hadinformed him in clear terms of the Plot against Charles's life, and thathisbrother Thomas had also spoken about it, though more darkly. Thus " they tended Babylon, but she was not cured. " However, calling God , who is the Supreme Truth, to witness a blatant falsehood seems to be one of those sins against the HolySpirit which are forgiven neither in this world nor in the next John, the father of the two brothers , was a good man in other respects, but through believing others to be as guileless as himself he seems to have gone astray by placingtoo much trust in Smith. For after discovering his mistake, detesting the man responsible for it (whom he used to describe as a plague and menace to his family), he drove him and his own daughter (who was Smith's wife) out of his house Shortly afterwardshe died ofgrief. In hiswill hecut offhis son-in-law and daughterwith a shilling, to prevent them from hoping for more. (The explanationof this is that by a peculiarity of English Law, children who are entirely omitted from their father's will can claim a certain portion of the movables when the inheritance isdivided up, onthe suppositionthat they have been omitted through a mere lapse of memorya thing which ought not to damage anyone This is in conformity with Roman Civil Law, as can be seen in 2 Inst t. 13 & t. 18.) Robert inherited the property, but found thatGodwas against him at every turn, and that what Thomas had written was not a threat but a prophecy . He approached the Chancellor to ask for the reward promised to informers, but all the answer he got was that " a mercenary mind ill-befits a nobleman : it should be a sufficient reward to him that he has done his duty to the public. " He sought the hand of various young ladies, but in each case was rejectedwith scorn: each said to him "I will not wed an informer " When times changed, and the perjurers were being indicted, he begged Charles's S
pardon for his crime in a humble petition ; pardon was offered him on not unreasonable terms out of consideration for his brother Thomas ; but he refused to accept the terms Then he fled from England in fear ofthe impendingtrial, andnowhe lives abroad a wanderer andan exile, cast out from his home at Walworth; and his " root has been torn up from the land of the living," as Thomas had foretold to him .
(358) THE DEATH OF THOMAS JENISON Preferring evangelical poverty in the Society to his inheritance, this Thomas attained high distinction in his classical studies at St. Omers and in his higher studies at Liège, and was sent to England. After four years he was arrested in London and put in prison: there, in addition to the other sufferings ofhis captivity, he was strickenwith grief because his father and brother and one of his sisters had givenupthe Faith. He rendered his soul to God on 27th September. While he was lying sick andnear to death, he constantly said that God would soon have pity on the Catholics , and that the actual time was indicated by this chronograph: tristitia Vestra
This was at once passed round among the Catholics The eventsof the year 1686, in which I write this, show that the prophecywas a true one.
(359) Smith, the plague ' of the Jenisons, added to his apostasy and his sacrilegious marriage the sin of perjury. He published a Narrative in which he seeks to show: (1) That the Papists' teaching is incompatible with public peace (2) That it has been ruinous to States which have embraced the Reformed Religion (3) ThatYork's conversion encouraged the Papists to form the Plot (4) What progress they made with the Plot. (5) Why they decided to get rid of Charles. (6) That those who had lately undergone the extreme penalty had deserved what they suffered He makes a great display of zeal for religion, although those who know his inner feelings and what lies underhis skin are convinced that all religion is a matter of indifference to him . To the Catholic captives at York he said: " If ever your religion were to prevail, I should return to it " Finally, as he was hated by all, including his father and the other members of his family, he withdrew with his so-called wife to Ireland, where he earns a meagre livingforthe two of them by practisingmedicine, which he never learnt (360) THE DEATH OF ROBERT PUGH During this year (the precise day is not certain) occurred the death, precious in the sight of the Lord, of Robert Pugh, Doctor of both Canon and Civil Law Born in North Wales, he became a priest, and was for a long time an unwearied labourer in the Lord's vineyard. He was the inseparable companion of the illustrious Earl of Castlemaine in his prosperity and adversity alike The short treatises he wrote againstvarious heresies bear witness to his learning The particular object of his attack was the new-born heresy of Blacklow, whom he opposed both in discourses and in published books, standing up like a wall to defend the House of God . His heart was truly Catholic, for he loved all the sons ofthe Catholic Church as brothers, treating them with great affectionespeciallythe priestsand making no distinction of habits and Orders All, he said, were sons of the same father and mother, namely God and the Church; all pursued the same ends, namely, the glory of God , the improvement of morals and the salvation of souls. For this reason he exhorted them in the words of Zophonias to do their task "with
one shoulder" (ch 3, v. 9), and showed the way by his own example. In prison he caught a diseaseand died of it.
(361) THE DEATH OF FRANCIS GERARD In the same placedied FrancisGerard, a member of the ancient and noble Lancastrianfamily of the Gerards of Garswood When he heard of the day appointed for the trial of the five Jesuits, he hastened unbidden to London to refutesome ofOates's false oaths Shaftesburyrealised howimportant a person he was, both by reason of his illustrious birth and on account ofhis reputation for conspicuous honesty He therefore had hisname inscribed on the list ofconspirators , in orderto seal his lips. After this, Gerard was put in Newgate prison, though he was advanced in years and even previouslyhadnot enjoyedgood health He soon contracted a disease , and fell asleep in the Lord, after piously receivingthe Sacraments of the Church During his life he had asked to be buried at the feetofthe five Fathers , and this was done Theoffice ofdefending the Catholics ' innocence, which he was not allowed to perform, was carried out by his eldest son, Baron Bromley, when the trial of Oates for perjury took place.
(362) THE MARTYRDOM OF NICOLAS POSTGATE . In August of this year occurred the glorious victory of Nicolas Postgate, a Secular Priest, at York The time, place and manner of his capture, the nature of the charges against him, and his answers, I have been unable to discover , in spite of diligent enquiries When his death sentence was pronounced, he received it as a great boon . After listening to the Judge, he said : " My Lord, I am very old now, so that thereis hardly a hope that mylife could be extended for one or at the mosttwo years more. Now your lordshipis sending me to heaven by a shorterway. " While being led back to prison, he was heard to repeat over and over again O wonderful ! O glorious man!" Thereafterhe was wholly taken up with thoughts of death and of the bliss to follow it, often repeatingthe words of the Apostle, " I long to be dissolved, and to be with Christ " Through the kindness of the Governor, the prison was open to all who wished to approach him All his visitors hewelcomed with the wide-open arms ofCharity. His intimate unionwith God and meditation ondivine thingswere interrupted only by his worksofmercy. August 6th was appointed as the day for him to undergo his agony. Nothing could have been more welcome to a man weary of this world and yearningforthe next At once he communicated his joy to all his friends and acquaintances and the Catholics living in the neighbourhood All assembled on the appointed day in such numbers that his going to the scaffold seemed more like a triumphal procession than the journey of one doomed to execution He gladly accepted thenew clothes which the faithful had prepared for him out of devotion (so as to get possession of his old worn-out garments), because he wishedto enter the marriage -feast of the Lamb with a weddinggarment. When he was tied to the scaffold his exhausted strengthwould not allow him to make a lengthy discourse; however, he made a short but vigorous one, in which he invited heretics backto the Faith, and exhorted Catholics to lead a pious life. Then, after imploring the aid of the Blessed Virgin and the whole court of Heaven, he commended his soul to God , and submitted hisbody to theexecutioner When the latter had done his duty, the Catholics kept his holy body, his clothes and other little things, which they had bought back for a large sum . His body was borne to the tomb on a hearse, and a large number of Catholics and
heretics followed the funeral " The souls of the just are in the hand of God , and the torment of death shall not touch them In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery: And theirgoing away from us , for utter destruction: butthey are in peace" (Wis 3, 1-3).
(363) THE DEATH OF FRANCIS LEVISON The religious family ofthe Seraphic Father, St. Francis , also had its martyrs and confessors. Francis Levison, born of a noble familyin Staffordshire, was captured while trying to spread among others in his native land the piety he had learned at Douai Hewas put in the Stafford prison , where death brought him the freedom ofthe sons of God on the last day ofJanuary. He was lovedby all, even by theenemies ofthe Faith, for theingenuousness of his heart and the innocence of his life " Being made perfect in a short space, he fulfilled a long time " (Wis 4, 13)
(364) THE MARTYRDOM OF FRANCIS JOHNSON. The same holy Order gave to heaven the martyr, Francis Johnson, whose name in Religion was Joachimof St. Anne He was born in Norfolk of a noble family, and died in Worcestershire . He himself describes the time and cause of his death in a letter to his Provincial, writtenthreedays before his execution It runs thus:
"I now perform this my last duty of religious observance in this life, for I shall be in the next before this letter reaches your hand. From it you will learn, that, as the nature of my condition demands of me , I ask with fervent entreaties for your blessing, and beg pardon for the defects ofwhich I have been guilty ever since itfelltomyhappy lot to be numbered among your sons . I also beg pardon of all my brethren whom I have ever offended After the day on which I am writing this letter, there remains to me but one day more of life. In allthe time of my captivity, I have not been allowed to write to you, nor to inform you of my condition and of my trial. Now that Holy Mother Church has carried me for nine continuous months in prison, I hope she is ready to bring me forth unto God and to eternal light I was captured a day or two before the Feast of the Conception ofthe Blessed Virgin I shall be executed on the octave of her Assumption Hence my hope is that the Virgin Mary will bless me with her Holy Child With all my heart I dutifully greet all my brothersand sisters , of whom and of my Seraphic Father in God, Francis, I beg pardon. 20th August. Your most humble and obedient son in Jesus Christ, Joachim of St. Anne" (Translation) (365) Throughout the whole period of his imprisonment he was always cheerful, and showed by his expression the joy he felt within, to the great edification of the Catholics The only charge brought against him was that of having received the priesthood according to theCatholicrite After hearing the deathsentence, he rendered thanks first to God and then to the Judge. In the time which followeduntil his execution , he prepared himself for death by long prayers, both mental and vocal, as well as by frequent acts of the love of God At the place of execution he made a long speech, in which he explained that by God's ordinance faith, hope and charity were necessary for obtaining eternal life. He described their nature and effects , and showed that the Faith must be one, because the Apostle said, " One God, one Faith, one Baptism" Hence he drew the inference that faith does not exist among the Protestants , whose beliefs are so manifold and various that scarcely any two agree upon one creed. When
questioned about the Plot, he replied that he had not been charged with complicity in it, yet the judge himself had offered him life, if he would but acknowledge the Plot But he had known nothing ofit- nothing, that is, apart from the popular reports which had followed Oates's discovery of it He said that he would be guilty of suicide if he had known anything and had refused to reveal it, whenlife had been offered him on condition of making it known Further, he knew that it was a mortal sin, deserving of eternal death, if anyoneknew of any contrivance, even in thought, against the King or the peace of the Kingdom, and did not report it to those whose function it is to repress evil designs. He wished that he had the tears of David, of Jeremias and of Magdalene, with which to wash away the stains ofhis sins; buthe had checked his owntears, lest they should be thought to spring from awareness of death's approach , rather than from consciousness of his sins He wished he had the longanimity of all the Confessors, the tormentsofallthe Martyrs, and the lamps ofthe Virgins, that he might offer them all to God for an odour of sweetness He prayed that God would deign to bless all his friends, both temporal and spiritual, all who had done him any good or evil service in the whole course of his life, all who had been commended to his care, the whole Catholic Church and its Head upon earth, all Bishops and priestsand the wholeof the clergy, and likewisethe English people, praying that God would unite them all to Himself and among themselves through true Faith, true Hope, and true Charity. He also prayedfor Charles's counsellors that all their efforts would be directed to the end that Charles might be honoured uponearth, andGod in heaven andonearth , that there might be joy before the Angels of God in heaven . He also prayed for the Parliament then in being that they might so judge at the present time as they would wish to be judged at the last day. Alsofor those who suffer persecution , that" those whonowgo andweep as they cast their seeds , may return with joy, bearingtheir sheaves" " Convert, O Lord, " he said, " our Captivity, as streams in the South, that those who now sow in tears may reap in joy; andfor this temporal death, O blessed Trinity, give me eternal life; let my Body die tothe World for love of thee, that my Soul may live for ever, and lovein thee my God and dear Redeemer. Amen . Sweet Jesus Amen"
(366) THE MARTYRDOM OF WILLIAM PLESSINGTON. William Plessington, a member of the excellent secular clergy of England, suffered at Chester on 19th July Born in the County of Lancaster , he received his ordinary education at St. Omers and did his higher studies at Valladolid, in so far as his health (which was usually poor) and his advanced age allowed him. For these reasons he was ordained sooner than is usual, cut short his Theology, and was sent intoEngland. The shortcomings of his learning were counterbalanced by his sound judgment and close union with God. His capture brought his apostolic labours to an end The date of his trial is unknown to me; there was no mentionof the Plot at it; for the counties remote from London were as yet unaffected by that effrontery in lying and perjuring (without shame before men or fear of divine judgment) which had seized upon the royal city, where the prizes were greater, since wealth, the great incentive to crime, streams in from all sides Plessington was therefore charged merely with being a priest He was accused by Margaret Plat, whose father told the judge, the jury and the whole circle of spectators that she was not to be trusted in the least, because
she was mentally deranged, as the whole neighbourhood well knew. Many persons gave witness to her insanity. There was also George Moseley, whom Plessington solemnly swore that he had never seen before. A third was Robert Wood, who a few days later, whilehelping Moseley to repair a boat turned on its side, was crushed by it, while his fellow workmen went unscathed (367) These three testified that they had seen Plessington offering Mass, that they had confessed to him, and so forth. The holy man , eager as he was to be dissolved and to be with Christ, and longing to bring his laborious life to so happy an end, yet thought it his duty to defend his life as well as he could He therefore said that he was accused onlyof being a priest; that this was no crime , even whenthe ordination is sought from Rome; otherwise the whole Anglican clergy, which traces its Orders backto that source, would be guilty; andagain, that his own priesthood had not been adequately proved, since the madness of one witness deprived her of the right to give evidence , whilethe second of the witnesses he had certainly never seen : one single witness remained, who was not sufficient to prove the charge because he stood alone , whereas every system of law demands at least two witnesses (368) In spite of this defence, he was pronounced guilty by the jury and condemned by the judge to the penalty customary for treason At theplace ofexecutionhe spoke as follows:" DearCountrymen , I am here to be executed, neither for theft, murder, nor anything against the law of God, nor any fact or doctrine inconsistent with monarchy or civil government I suppose that nothing was laid to my charge but priesthood; and I am sure that you will find that priest- hood is neither againstthe law of God nor monarchy, or civil government, if you will consult either the Old or New Testament (for it is the basis ofreligion) ; for no priestnoreligion,St. Paultellsus in Hebrews the viith and 12th The priesthood being changed, there is madeof necessity a change of the law, and consequently the priesthoodbeing abolished , the law and religion is quite gone
(369) " ButIknowitwill be said that a priestordained byauthority derived from the See of Rome is by the law of the nation to die as a traitor. But if that be so , what must become of all the clergymen of the Church of England? For the first Protestant bishops had their ordination from those ofthe Churchof Rome, or none at all, as appears by their own writers; so that ordination comes thence derivatively to those now living.
(370) " As, in the primitive times, Christians were esteemed traitors, and suffered as such by national laws, so are the priestsofthe Roman Church here esteemed and suffer as such But as Christianity then was not againstthe law of God, monarchy, or civil policy, so now there is not any one point of the Roman Catholicfaith (of which I am) that is inconsistenttherewith, as is evident byinduction in each several point
(371) " That the Pope hath power to depose or give licence to murder princes, is no point of our belief And I protest in the sight of God and the court of heaven, that I am absolutelyinnocent of the plot so much discoursed of, and abhor such bloody and damnable designs; and although it be nine weeks since I was sentenced to die, there is not anything of that laid to my charge, so that I may well take comfort in St. Peter's words (I Pet iv, 15, 16), Let none ofyou
suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters; yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed or sorry. I have deserved a worse death; for though I have beenafaithfuland true subjectto my King, I have beenagrievous sinner against God Thieves and robbers that rob on highways would have served God in a greater perfection than I have done, had they received so many favours and graces from Him as I have .
(372) " But as there was never sinner who truly repented and heartily called to Jesus for mercy to whom He did not shew mercy, so I hope, by the merits of His passion, He will have mercy on me , who am heartily sorry that ever I offended Him.
(373) " Bearwitness, good hearers, that I profess that I undoubtedly and firmly believe all the articles of the Roman Catholic faith, andfor the truth of any ofthem, by the assistanceof God, I am willing to die; and I had rather die than doubt of any point of faith taught by our Holy Mother the Roman Catholic Church
(374) "In what condition Margaret Plat, one of the chiefest witnesses against me , was before, andafter shewas with me, let her nearest relations declare
"
(375) George Massey, another witness , swore falsely when he swore I gave him the sacrament and said Mass at the time and place he mentioned; and I verily think that he never spoke to me , or I to him, or saw each other but at the assizes week The third witness, Robert Wood, was suddenly killed But of the dead why should I speak ? These were all the witnesses against me, unless those that only declared what they heard from others I heartily and freely forgive all that have been or are any way instrumental to my death , and heartily desire that those that are living may heartily repent.
(376) " God bless the King and the royal family, and grant His Majesty a prosperous reign here, and a crownof Glory hereafter God grant peace to the subjects, and that they live and die in truefaith, hope, and charity That which remains is that I recommend myself to the mercy of my Jesus, by whose merits I hope for mercy. O Jesus, be to me a Jesus " But
(377) Such was the speech of this pious priest It will not, I hope, be judged an unwarrantable digression from my theme if I remark that the patrons of the Oath of Allegiance have boasted about his death, precious in the sight of the Lord, as if one of their number had been grantedthe palm of martyrdom. This claim is firmly denied by those who are opposed to the Oath. They admit indeed that this holy man was in favour of the oath before he was put in prison, and even that he counselled some of his penitents to take it shortly before his death a certainelderlypriestvisitedhim, disregarding the manifest dangers of such a proceeding, and after performing the rites prescribed by the Church , when the Oath arose in their conversation, showed by many arguments that it was illicitespecially because it had been condemned by several Popes Upon hearing this, the holy man replied : "I know that I am much indebted to you for having been so kind as to visit me; I shalltry to reciprocate your kindness bymy prayers in this life, and in the next as well, ifI am worthy of that death to which I have been condemned I confess that I had never before heard of many of the things you have said. I now perceive that the Oath is illicit, and therefore humbly submit myself to the Church and her decisions " Such was his answer His error
was no doubt a venial one, since he rejected it so promptly when shown the truth. Perhaps indeed he had strayed from the path of truth more through others' persuasions than by his own judgment However, in a matter far from clear I make no assertions. But I do assert that it is no argument against this submission to the Pope's decrees if he said that " the power of the Pope to depose Kings is not an article of the Catholic faith " For any enemy of the Oath will say this, and, if I am not mistaken , Bellarmine says it explicitly. (378) THE
Three days after Plessington, two others met a like fate. They were John Lloyd, a Secular, and Philip Evans , a Regularof the Society of Jesus , both priests, who were put to death at Cardiff for a similar cause. Evans , a native of Monmouthshire , after passing his youthin innocence , entered the Society, in which he gave such proof of his zeal and of having virtue enough for the task of an apostle, that immediately after his studies and Tertianship he was sent to his own country, that vast arena of toil and hardship He brought to the work of the Gospel wonderful natural giftsan inborn frankness of disposition , an elegant manner of speech, and a pleasant, unclouded countenance with a brow ever free from furrows But still more noticeablein him were the gifts of grace which the Divine Goodness heaped upon him to fit him for caring for the salvation of souls The mission field assigned to him was South Wales, where he laboured with no less assiduity than success . But as his harvest increased , so did the hostility of others Hence, in addition to the reward offered by Charles for the capture of a Jesuit, a certain private individual added £50 of his own for whosoever should catch Evans Whenthe Father heard of it he did not dream of deserting the post assigned him by obedience. He was captured shortly afterwards and taken before a Justice of the Peace, who regrettedthat he had fallenintosuch hands , and offered to go bail for him, provided he would take theOath of Allegiance Evans thanked him for his kindness, but said that he would not choose to redeem his life by any means which would burden his conscience He was sent, therefore , to Cardiff, and cast into a foul undergrounddungeon, fettered about both ankles Not so very long afterwards, at the request of certain noblemen, he was taken out and kept in the same cell as Lloyd, whose companion he was both in prison and in death.
(379) A widespread search was made for witnesses to speak against him , especially among those who had given up attending Catholic services through fear of the imminent perils. All those asked were of the poorer classes, because the poor were considered to be moreexposed to violent treatment and less resolute in the path ofduty. The first man to be approached cursed the deed they were suggesting, and was so violently beaten by them that one of his ribs was broken, and he breathed his last almost before the thrashing was over. They were many times spurned by others, until at last they got what they wanted from an old woman and her daughter. There was also another witness put forward by Arnold (about whom see below): a dwarf and an apostate . The day appointed for the trial was 3rd May, the Feast of the Finding of the Cross The two women accused Evans simply of being a priest, saying that they had heard his Mass and received from him the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist To these charges Evans made no answer, knowing
that they were true. The dwarf said that Evans had once met him and said: "Ifyou have givenup attendingtheCatholicservicesthrough fear of the Law , you have been very foolish; you will soon see times very happy for the Catholics . " Sensing the maliciousness of this false oath, which charged him with complicity in the famous Plot, he solemnly called God to witness that he had never said anything ofthe kind But the judge himself freed him from anxiety on this score , saying that it was the evidence of a single witness and therefore must be disregarded ; he should consider what answer he would make to the women When Evans remained silent, the judge said to the jury: " Ifyou believe what the women have said, it is your dutyto pronounce Evans guilty. " A member ofthe jury called Richard Bassett snapped his fingers and said in a loud voice : " You can leave that to us; by God, we shall find him guilty" And he kept his word .
(380) After hearing the death-sentence with bowed head, Evans thanked first the judge , then the jury and especially Bassett At once he was put in chains and fetters, which he venerated with many kisses, as being the emblems of his Lord Jesus He delighted in the great honour of dying for Christ, and to give his fellow prisoners a share in his joy he obtained a lute, which he played with skill, and singing hymns to the accompaniment of this instrument, he continued unceasingly to sing praise to God in the great jubilation of his spirit. This almost congenitalserenity of his mental composure he preserved three whole months, right up to the time of his agony Neither the hardships nor the stench of the undergroundvault into which he was soon afterwards cast, nor the prospect of cruel torture, was able to interrupt it for a moment Witnesses to the truth of this statement are the Catholics of the neighbourhood : they used to visit him almost daily, and he asked hardly anything else of them except that they would help him in renderingthanks to God. Witnesses also are the citizens of Cardiff, who thronged to see so wonderful a spectacle and to gaze upon what seemed to be an angel in human form, or at least a man who had risen above all human passions and all earthly things, when he came forth to the door of the dungeon to breath the freer air, so as not to be suffocated by the atmosphere below , which had condensed into a loathsome vapour.
(381) The day fixed for his execution was 22nd July, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene On that day the Sheriff's lieutenant came to him with a blacksmith, and gave orders for the removal of the shackles , which were very tight about his shin-bones. The smith tried in vain for a whole hour to knock out the pins from the joints with blows of his hammer, causing excruciating pain by shattering the shin-bones Then out of pity for the prisoner he flung away his tools and could not be induced by any orders or threats of the lieutenant's to resume his brutal task, until Evans himself, disregarding the pain, had begged him with even greater insistence to do so With their hands bound behind their backs, the two soldiers of Christ were placed upon one cart to be taken to the scaffold At the sight ofit, they exclaimed withSt. Andrew, " Hail, O good Cross , so longdesired !" When set down beneath it, they knelt down to embrace and kiss it, silently commending their agony to God Then they rose and asked the Sheriff which of them should die first (all these things they did simultaneously, so that it seemed as if one soul animated them both).
He replied : " Evans " Evans then embraced the companion of his happy lot and spoke to the crowd of bystanders as follows: (382) "I need not tell you why we are brought here to suffer; our sentence of Condemnation is a sufficientWitness, that it was not for a Plot, or any other Crime, but for being Priests : Consequently I do diefor Religionand Conscience sake; I shall not speak much ofthe goodness of my Cause , because I think it will be needless; but it is so good that I would not give the happiness of Dying for it, for all theCrowns ofthe World : Sure if a Man ever spakes Truth, it must be at the Hour of Death, therefore I hope no Body will doubt of what I say; IfI have or had any Enemies in the World, which I do not know that I ever had any in my Life, I do heartily forgive them , for anything done or said against me; and if I have offended any Body I am heartily sorryfor it, and ask them forgiveness; I pray God Bless and Prosper the King: I beg the Prayers of all, and in particular of the Catholicks here present ' That done, he kneeled down again with some friends about him, and having said some prayers, he took his leave ofthem , andwent up the ladderwith great alacrity; upon which he spoke again these words: " Sure this is the best Pulpit a Man can have to Preach in, therefore I cannot forbear to tell you again, that I die for God and Religion sake, and I think myself so happy, that if I had never so many Lives, I would willingly give them all for so good a Cause; if I could live it would be but for a little time, though I am but young, happy am I that I can purchase with a short pain an Everlasting Life; I do forgive all those that have had any hand in my Death, Accusationor Condemnation : I ask again forgiveness of every body, I give thanks to all those that have been kind to me , and to you, Mr. Sheriff; Adieu, Mr. Lloyd, tho' for a little time , for we shall shortly meet again; meanwhile , remember what you promised (i.e. to absolve his soul at the moment of its departure)."
(383) During the time of Mr. Evans's execution , Mr. Lloyd stood by with as much constancyand cheerfulness as any man could have , and before he went up the ladder he said these words following, more distinctly and heartily than ever he did in his life, by the report of those that have known him these many years. " My Fellow-Sufferer has declared the Cause of our death, therefore I need not repeat it; and besides I never was a good speaker in my Life; I shall only say that I die in the true Catholick and Apostolick Faith, accordingto these words in the Creed , I believe the Holy Catholick Church, and with those three Virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity: I forgive all those that have offended me; and if I have offended any body I am heartily sorry for it, and ask them forgiveness. I beg the prayers of all, and in particular of the Catholicks here present, desiringthem to bear their Crosses patiently , and to remember that Passage of Holy Scripture, Happy are they that suffer Persecutionfor Justice, for theirs is the King- dom of Heaven . " Then he went up the ladder and gave thanks toall those that had been kind to him, and in particular to the Sheriff, then he made a little stop; then he knocked his Breast three times, and said in Latin: " Lord have Mercy uponme a Sinner , " and " Into thy hands O Lord I recommend my Spirit" These were his last words (384) He had studied Humanities at Ghent, and Philosophyand Theology at Valladolid. In both places he was popular with everybodyfor hislovableinnocence of life andfor his humility. I havebeen unable to obtain other instances of his virtues; otherwise I should
ENGLISH PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS 299
have preserved them for edification of posterity. That there were striking instances in his life, I do not for a momentdoubt, since it has been noticed in England that only the best men are called by God to suffer for his sake, and that martyrdom is not only a merit, but also the reward of merits
(385) THE MARTYRDOM OF CHARLES BAKER The eighth and last memberof the Society to give honour to God by the shedding of his blood was Charles Baker, whose real name was Lewis He was born in Monmouthshireof honest parents, his mother being a Catholic and hisfather a heretic After his father's death, he renounced his heresy and went to Rome, where he was admitted to the English Seminary. After completing his studies, he made his noviceship at St. Andrea, and was sent to England, where he laboured indefatigably in Monmouth and the neighbouring counties. He was twice Rector of the College ofSt. Xavier He looked after the poorwithspecial, andindeed paternal, affection.
(386) THE CHARACTER OF ARNOLD Baker's friendship had long been sought by a Calvinist Justice of the Peace called Arnold, who thought that the more he concealed his true intentions, the greater the harm he would one day do Meanwhilehe sought out freshways of damagingthe Catholics . Something has been said of him above , and more will be said in the next book, God willing. For some time he was thought to favour the Catholics and to be not far from the Kingdom of God Not to mention other signs of his good will, in a public hostelry which he constructed , he desired one room to be decorated as a chapel for the celebrationof services accordingto theCatholic rite. When, however , the persecution broke out, he laid aside the mask of friendship, professed himselfwhat he had always beenan enemy, and declared war on all Catholics and on their supportersa war which was to end only with the termination of his life. He used often to hold up a groat and say, " So long as I have as much as this in my purse, I shall not stop persecuting the Papists"
(387) On the 17th November of the preceding year Arnold had secured Baker's arrest At once it seemed worthwhile to the Faction to sully their prisoner's reputation with evil rumours; these, however , brought more disgrace upon them than upon him. First, they put about the story that he had broken out of prison and escaped; and secondly, that he had killed his warder, the governorof the prison,with a dose of poison
Anyone could see for himself how far these rumours were from being true, since Baker had remained all the while in the prison and the governor was in very good health So they spread a third rumour, even inserting it in printed pamphlets and popular songs, thathehadrobbeda widowof a small sum of money bypromising that he would free the soul of her husband, which had been tormented in the flames of Purgatory for a year and a half The Catholics could not be induced to accept this stupid story, which came forth from the heretics' workshop: a strong indication of its falsity was that no circumstances of place, time or definite person were mentioned , as they usually are when a story is based on truth and can bear scrutiny. Meanwhile the Sheriff conceived the idea of transferring the whole prison from Monmouth to Usk; and by God's Providence , the way was open to doing thisa great solace to the Catholics who were in prison there for refusing the Oath of Allegiance On 27th March, the day fixed for capital cases, Baker was brought before the tribunal on the
charge ofbeinga priest. On the judge'sright sat Arnold, his kinsman and friend TheSheriff had, as his office required, summoned good and honest men , from whom the jury should be selected Arnold, most unjustly, out of sheer malice and hatred of Baker, had them all dismissed andsubstitutedothers, men like himself. The SheriffandBaker alike complained of the injustice that was beingdone to both of them , but withoutresult.
(388) Whenthe trial had beenopened, the witnesseswere produced. First, Price swore that he had seen the prisonerofferingMass and that he had received from him the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist in the house of Mrs. Bartlet at Morton. Baker replied , calling God to witness , that he had never been there and did not know in what part of the world that house is, or whether it even exists anywhere at all He added that Price had come to see him that very morning in the prison, and after looking straight at the place where he, Baker, was , had said: " He is very different from the man I know; he has short, curly black hair, but this man is different in every respect. " Witnesses were produced who had heard him saying this. Price was called, as a matter of form, to answer this; but he had suspected that he might be proved guilty of perjury, and had betaken himself elsewhere; and it was not to the advantage of Arnold, who was directing the proceedings, that any very careful search should be made for him. Other witnesses were heard: they accused Baker of the same crimes, and so Baker was found guilty by the jury, and sentenced to death. Shaftesbury received a complete account of the action from Arnold, and gave orders for the prisoner to be sent under close supervision to London, to see whether any evidence to support the imaginary Plot could be extracted from him. He was met in Londonby the notorious witnesses, and by Shaftesbury, who assailed him in the usual way with a parade of rewards and punishments When Shaftesburysaw that all was in vain, he had the prisonertaken back to Usk toundergo his sentence. The Sheriff put off the execution on various pretexts, andwas rebuked byShaftesbury , and even punished with a considerable fine, untilfinallyhe was forced veryreluctantly to carry through Baker's execution (389) From the scaffold he delivered this address to the crowd: "I see before me a numerous assembly May the great Redeemer of the world save every soul of you I believe that you are met here , not only to see a fellow-countryman die, but also with the expectation of hearing a dying fellow-native speak. I have resolved to address you, but whether contrary to your expectationsI know not This I know, that this last favour is conceded to many sufferingin London , and will not, I trust, be denied to me I will, however , endeavour so to speak as to avoid giving offence to any one (390) " Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, but if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed ' These words of the Apostle St. Peter, whispered in my ear, I hope, by the HolySpirit, are a great consolation to me; for I suffer not as a murderer, or a thief, or such like malefactor, but as a Christian, and therefore am not ashamed . (391) "I distinguisha two-fold life of man here upon earth. The one his moral, the other his natural life. I call that the moral life whereby we live in the good opinion of honest men . The natural , whereby we breath. In the former, praise be to God, I have lately suffered, and exceedingly , to the utmost malice of the adversaries ,
and the most grievous injuries; marked out for public infamy as an impostor, and this not only in shameless ballads and pamphlets, but also in the very theatres of London, the metropolis of the kingdom, and sothroughout thewholecountry, tothe highestdamage of my good name Believe me, upon the word of a dying man, there is not in the story invented against me in those infamous pamphlets any appearance, not even the least shade of truth, whetheryou consider the substance of the charge itself, or the circumstances of the case . The fables are so foreign to the truth, that (if permitted) I shall beableto convince the defamer face to face of the calumnies charged against me Moreover , so ridiculous and futile are they, that I am astonished that they can gain credence with any sober Christianat least , any one acquainted with me . Who that Protestant young man there mentionedwas, I know not; who the Popishyoung woman; who the father dead a year and a half before; in what county, what parish, in which all these calumnies were fathered upon me, I know not, and the deepest silence is observed And when at my trial at the last assizes I was attacked in my integrityand life , I so completelyestablished my innocence in the opinion of all, that I even removed from the Judge himself all cause and suspicion of the charge. Why did no one appear at the trial itself to contradict me, and upset my defence ? But nothing ofthe sort took place; and this should be a sufficientargument to all just and upright men that this calumny is but a fiction most maliciously concocted against me by my enemies May God pardon them , as I also heartily do How ready I have always been , according to my ability, to serve the poor, and how utterly foreign to every kind of meanness and deceit in extracting from them, is abundantly known to all my friends and neighbours , and to all that know me. Besides these things, during my nine months' detention in prisons, my characterwas foully aspersed by many, even by those whose good for thirty years I had studied to advance ; may God forgive them , as I also do Nevertheless , although attacked by so many calumnies, I hope still to retain the characterof an honest man amongstall men of distinction and probitywithwhom I have beenacquainted,andwith all neighbours of honesty with and among whom I lived (392) " As to what pertainsto the other, or natural life, by which I breathe; see this (showing them at the same time the rope), which in a short time will close all further breathing. But why am I thus dragged to this provincial Tyburn ? Why thus hurried to a premature death? I will tell you, and I pray you hear me patiently I come hither with no knowledge of any conspiracy, and I call God to be my witness that I speak without any equivocation , or mental reservation, or any dissimulationof the truth whatsoever . I solemnly protest, by all that is holy and inviolable in Heaven and earth, that I am as clearof any guilt of a plot as the infant that was born yesterday Nor have I received any report or news of any conspiracybefore the time when, between the feast of St. Michael and of All Saints last, the thing was publicly in the mouths of every one This is the truth, so help me God, and save my soul; nor was any guilt ofsofoul andabominablea crime found in me when I was strictlyand separately examined last May by MessrsOates, Dugdale , and Bedloe, in theprison of Newgate, London, regarding the charge of a plot Nay, truly, if I had had the slightest notice or suspicion of any such Plot, I would not have yielded in zeal and fidelity to the most faithful subjects of
the three kingdomsin the speedy discoveryofit Wherefore , if, after I am dead , any one of my adversaries should hear my characterdefamed because I was punished as a conspirator let him not begrudge toafford the ashes of the dead the favour and justice ofrenouncingthe opinion from his mind. I was never taught in the schools theabominable doctrine of King-killing. I detest and execrate it as detestable and execrable, and as entirely contrary to the principlesof the religion I profess. The Councilof Constance defines it to be damnable for any subject, or private person whatever, to kill his lawful prince, or in any way clandestinelyto connive at it; although the prince be a Turk , an apostate, a persecutor, or a tyrant. Let no one object to me Clement, the murderer of Henry III of France, nor Ravaillac, the murderer of Henry IV. Whatthey did, they did wickedly and impiously, and were therefore punishedwith the extremerigour of the law , as malefactors , and held , as they are to this day, by all Roman Catholics as wicked men and parricides I hope that you do not impute the crimes of a few wicked men to the whole body of the Roman Catholics For if so , all Christiansmay allege the same of the traitor Judas Asto my- selfI have alwaysloved the King, honoured his person, and daily prayed to God for his happiness and prosperity; and this I say from myheart , without deceit, or any dissimulation May God bless his Serene Highness the King, and my lawful prince , Charles II; may God heap upon him temporal and eternal blessings; may God protect him from all his enemies; may God direct him in all his counsels, that all may redound to the glory of the same great God And I pray the Father of Lights, that the authors and contrivers of any plot that has been , ormaybediscovered , maymeetwiththeir due andmeritedpunishment, that innocence may remain uninjured and inviolate (393) " But again I ask, wherefore is this my untimely death ? Because my religion is the Roman Catholic: in it I have lived above these forty years ; in it I now die, and so fixedly die, that if all the good things in the world were offered me to renounce it, all should not remove me one hair's breadth from my Roman Catholic faith. A Roman Catholic I am; a Roman Catholic priest of that Religious Order called the Society of Jesus; and I bless God, Who first called me, and I bless the hour in which I was first called both into faith and function Be pleased now to observe , I was condemned for celebrating Mass , hearing confessions, administering the Sacraments of Extreme Unction, of Baptism, of Matrimony, and for preaching , etc. As for saying Mass, it was the old, and still is, the accustomed and laudable liturgy of the Holy Church, and all the other acts are acts of religion tending to the worshipof God; and therefore, dying for this , I die for religion Know moreover , that when I was examined in London last May, a certain nobleman of high rank openlytoldmethat I mustdie, unlessI betrayedthesecret ofthe Plot, orelse accommodated myself to the reformed religion To do the first I was unable, being conscious of no Plot; to do the second, my conscience forbade Therefore I must die; and for religion and conscience Dying uponso good a score , as far as human frailty permits, I die with alacrity, both interior and exterior From the abundance of the heart let not mouths only, but also faces speak. (394) 'Here, methinks, I feel flesh and blood ready to burst into loud cries, Tooth for tooth, eye for eye, blood for blood, life for life ! No, exclaims the Holy Gospel, Forgive, and you shall be C
forgiven; pray for those that persecute you; love your enemies '; and I profess myself a child of the Gospel, and the Gospel I obey. (395) " Whomsoever , present or absent, I have ever offended , I humbly desire them to forgive me As for my enemies, I freely forgive them, all and each of themmy neighbours , my neighbours that betrayed me , the persons that laid hands upon me, the Justices that committed me, the Judge that tried me, the jury that foundmeguilty, the witnesses that testified against me, whether impelled by malice or zeal, and all others implicated in my condemnation . But principally, and especially , I forgive my chief persecutor , who has been so long thirsting after my blood ; from my soul I forgive him, and wish his soul so well, that were it in my power, I would seat him a seraphim in Heaven I pray for these same in the words of the glorious St. Stephen, Lord, lay not this to their charge, ' or better still, in the words of my great Master, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do'
(396) "And with reason do I also love them (my persecutors), for though they have done immense harm to their own souls, yet they have done me an incomparablefavour, which I shall eternallyacknowledge But chiefly I love them for His sake, Who said, ' Love your enemies . ' And in testimony of my love, I wish them, and it is the best ofwishes , from the centre ofmy soul, I wishthema happyeternity O eternity, eternity ! How momentary are the glories, the riches , and the pleasures of this world ! And how desirable art thou, O endless eternity ! And for my said enemies, attaining thereunto I humbly beseech God to give them the grace of a true repentance before they and this miserable world are sundered.
(397) " After having performedmy duty to my enemies, give me permissionto address a few words to my friends Fear God, honour your King; be firm in your faith; avoid mortal sin by frequenting the Sacraments of Holy Church; patiently bear your persecutions and afflictions; forgive your enemies Your sufferings are great. I say, be firm in your faith to the end, yea, even to death; then shall you accumulate Heavenly treasures in the Jerusalem above , where no thief robbeth, no moth consumeth, and no rust eateth away. Have that blessed saying of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles , always in your memory, which I heartily recommend to youLet none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief; but if as a christian, let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in this name . '
(398) " But it is time for me to turn to Heaven, and beseech His Divine Majesty for myself; to Whom I will utter a few ejaculatory prayers from my heart
(399) "O Sovereign Lord God, Eternal Father of Heaven , Creator of all, sole Author of grace and glory, with prostrate heart I adore Thee, and Thee only I adore as God. The giving of Divine honour to any creature of highest degree, I abhor and detest as damnable idolatry
(400) " O Incarnate Son of God, true God, Thou hast purchased a Church here upon earth with Thy sacred Blood, and planteditwith Thy sacred labours; a Church, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, to continue to the consummationof the world Whatever that Church of Thine hath by revelation from Thee, whatever that Church of Thine hath taught me, and commanded me to believe ,I believe it to an iota.
(401) " O God the Holy Ghost, Who makest Thy sun to shine on good and bad, Thy rain to fall on the just and unjust, I praise Thy holy name, and thank Thee for the innumerable benefits Thou hast been pleased to bestow and confer upon me, Thy unworthy servant , the sixty-three years I have now lived upon earth (402) " O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God, from the bottom of my heart I am sorry that I have ever offended Thee , my good God , even to an idle word; yet through Thy mercy, my God , and the merits of my Redeemer , I strongly hope for eternal salvation. Sweet Jesus , receive my soul!"
(403) These words were listened to with deep emotion. Many grieved for his sake, and all for their own, for they expected that great evils would come upon them in retribution for this shedding of innocent blood
(404) Baker, then, was hanged ; but his body was not quartered, as the sentence prescribed ; the crowd would not allow it, and the Sheriff did not press the matter, being himself a most unwilling spectator of the execution So the body was borne with honour to its grave, which is at the entrance of the ParishChurch; the wholecrowd of spectators followed the funeral procession Thus, like the Jews , they stoned the prophets, but adorned their tombs and celebrate their memory. "
(405) THE SAD ASPECT OF ENGLAND , A TRUE HACELDAMA , A FIELD OF BLOOD, AND THAT INNOCENT BLOOD How wretched was the aspect of England! comparable to that of Judea long ago, as described by Osee (iv, 1): " The Lord shall enter into judgment with the inhabitants of the land: for there is no TRUTH and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God in the land Cursing, and lying, and KILLING, and theft, and adultery have overflowed , and blood hath touched blood. " (PERJURIES are omitted, but they have been both frequent and atrocious , as bad as the other crimes, even the murders) " Therefore shall the land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth in it shall languish" All these crimes were fosteredby the fury of the Presbyterians . Will these sins call down the judgment of God and speedy vengeance upon the whole English people ? Two things, I pray God, defend us; one is that these crimes were done at the instigation of a small group of persons who beset the Palace, and againstthe will of the people who live outsidethe Royal city--or even in the face of their opposition; and the other and principal thing is that the innocent blood which was shed offered a better prayer than that of Abel , for it sought not vengeance but mercy, just as did the blood of Christ; and finally there are the fervent prayers of the dying martyrs which began in this world under the very shadow of death , and which will never cease in their eternal bliss.
(406) THE TRIAL OF GEORGE WAKEMAN AND THREE BENEDICTINES After the excursion we have made through various counties, let us return toLondon, to observe what steps were being takenagainst the Jesuits . We shall see that the protestations and appeals to God as their witness , made by the five Jesuits and Langhorne , were not in vain, that the prayers they offered were not offered in vain, that the blood they shed was not shed in vain, and that their Christian endurance of death was not a vain endurance Now that the fraud had almost been detected , the populace was not so easy for the King's witnesses to mislead, even though the number of the witnesses was
increased by the addition of a new informer less wickedthan therest.* On 28th July, five days after Langhorne'sdeath, George Wakeman, Bart , the Queen's chiefphysician , and James Corker, William Rumley, and William Marshall, ofthe Orderof St. Benedict , were called to stand trial. All were accused of conspiracy They were the first to show that it was possible to stand up against Oates's perjuries. (407) The witnesses were Dugdall, Jenison, Oates and Bedlow. The first two of these, like light armed soldiers, opened the attack and inflicted hardly a scratchon the prisoners, since they said nothing against them , but merely tried to support the tottering structure of the Plot with new lies. But just as those who fall into quicksands sink deeper the more they try to struggleout, so these witnesses said things that were so absurd and so false that they utterly ruined their Plot Oates said that Wakeman had been offered £10,000 to poison Charles; and that when he had complained that this was too small a reward for so great a deed, another £5,000 was added; also, that he had giventhe Jesuit, Ashby, a prescriptionforhisweaknerves, namely a course of hot baths and a pint of milk both morning and evening These things he claimed to have seen in a letter which containedthe further information that the Queen would help him to mix the cup of poison for Charles Langhorne, he said, had noted down this bargain made with Wakemanin his book as follows: " N.B. On the .... day of August, George Wakeman was offered £15,000"; and below , " Received in part payment, £5,000 from William Harcott, at Coleman's orders "
(408) Wakeman asked him why he had not made these charges against him before the Royal Council, instead of saying there, "Far be it from me to accuse Wakeman, whom I hardly know." The Secretaryof the PrivyCouncilwas present, and confirmedthis. Oates replied that on that occasion he had been tired and scarcely in possession of his faculties When Scroggs remarked that "it takes no more strength to say ' He is guilty of treason ' than Far be itfrom me to accusehim, etc., ' " Oates made insinuationsabouttheRoyalCouncil, implying that it was reluctant to commit the guilty to prison. Whereupon Scroggs asked, " What right has he to sit in judgment over all ranks of society?"words which sank deep into Oates's mind.
(409) As regards the letter given to Ashby, an apothecary of Bath, who was then Mayor of that city, and his son, to whom Ashby had handed the letter, said that there was no mention in it of milk (which is never prescribed with warm baths), nor of the Queen, nor of any contract; that it contained nothing beyond the ordinary prescriptions which doctors give to patients who take the warm baths.
(410) Oates said that Corker was the President General of the English Benedictines , and that as such he had allotted the sum of £6,000 towards promoting the Plot; that he had been sorry when he heard that Pickering had been chosen to kill Charles, both because he would be taken awayfrom looking after the altar (he was sacristan), and because while attending the solemn High Mass, he himself would lose excellent opportunities of good business . To this Corkerreplied that he was not, and never had been, the President General of the Benedictine Congregation ; that that office had for many years been in the hands of the Venerable Father Benedict Stapleton, S.T.D., who still held it. Oates accused Marshallof having made a bet thatCharles * Jenison. T
would notlive to see his next birthday ; from this Oates drew the conclusion that Marshall had had knowledge of the Plot And Rumley, he said , had agreed to the £6,000 promised by Corker, whose assistant he was These two men replied (1) that Oates had swornbefore Parliament that he could accuse no one else beyond those already named , and that they had not been among them; (2) that both of them had been present when Pickering had been arrested, and that both their names had been given to Oates and his companions, who had looked at their faces and declared that they had nothing against them; (3) that on anotheroccasion when Marshallhad met Oates, Oates had asked who he was; this showed that they had not conversed togetherso familiarly that they would talk freely between themselves of matters of such great moment. Bedlow merely confirmed Oates's statements.
(411) Marshallsaid that variouswitnesses would be present within four days, if only the decision of the case could be put off. This, however , was explicitly refused by the court Then Marshall in a lengthy discourse demonstrated , from the speeches of the five Jesuits and others , the falsityof the Plot and the innocence of himself and all Catholics Dying men , he said, ought to be believed, because they have before their eyes immediate death, the judgment seat of God , His irrevocablesentence, the pains of Hell prepared for liars and perjurers, and the joys of heaven open to the defenders of the truth The eyes of all Europe, he said, were turned upon England; everywhere were heardthecries ofinnocentEnglishblood; the protestsofthedying martyrs had everywhere won belief. It was widely doubted whether men who carry out or allow such executions were real Christians; the cause of the Persecution's victims was everywhere regarded with approval
..
(412) He was about to continue his speech, when Scroggs inter"If rupted: you had a Religion that deserved the name of a Religion, if you were not made up of Equivocation and lying, if you had not Indulgences and Dispensations for it, if to kill Kings might not be meritorious, ifthis were notprinted andowned, if your Popes andyour great men had not avowed this, you had said something ; but ifyou can have absolution either for money or because you have advanced the CatholicCause, as you call it, and can be made Saints as Coleman is supposed to be, there is an end of all your arguments Thereis a God, you say, and you think we shall go to that God becauseHe hath given us the power, we can let ourselves in and turn the Key upon Heretics .... We have a BenchofAldermenhavingmorewitthan your Conclave, and a Lord Mayor that is as infallible as your Pope, etc."
(413) Then, turning to the jury, he said: "If you believe the King's witnesses, you ought to pronounce these prisoners Guilty; otherwise , NotGuilty." The jury, after some deliberation, pronounced them Not Guilty.
(414) All ought to have been discharged at once, but in fact only Wakemanwas released; the Benedictines were sent backtoprison on the grounds that they were known to be priests, or at least were highly suspect. Even Wakeman was not left for long to enjoy the freedom he had won Upon hearing that another charge was being prepared against him, he withdrew to Paristo the great advantage of the Catholics resident there Not until seven years later did he return to England, when James succeeded his brother Charles
(415) Scroggs had boasted that he had condemned Coleman
307
against the will of the court, that he had acquitted Wakemanagainst the will of the city, and that he would keep his office againstthe will of the devil . He did not, however , keep it long, as this was against the will of Oates, who was angered by the discharge of Wakemanand by Scroggs's rebuke to his audacity Oates subsequently prepared an impeachment against him; its heads are given towards the end of this book
(416) THE TRIAL OF CHARLES KERNE. Scroggs, on arriving in Hereford to administer justice there, found Charles Kerne a prisoner, suspected ofbeng apriest (An ancestor of his, whowas QueenMary's ambassador at Rome at the time when she died and left the throne empty for Elizabeth, is buried in Rome in the Churchof the English College.) Scroggs ordered him to be brought to trial on 4th August. Three witnesses were called againsthim The first, Edward Biddulph, simply denied that he knewthe prisoner, orcouldsayanything against him. The second, Margaret Edwards , swore that she had known him for six years, that she had often seen him offeringMass in the house of Mrs. Monington; she described the site of the chapel, the position of the altar, the ornaments , windows , door etc., in a way far removed from the truth, as Lady Monington, who appeared in court, and her servants , testified on oath, calling God to witness that Margaret had never entered their house . Third came another young woman ; but Kerne asked that she should be examined separately , because the two women had conferred together about what each should say , and various witnesses were produced to prove this. There was, therefore , a separate examination, withthe result thateach destroyed the other's evidence by many discrepancies None the less , Scroggs maintained that they ought to be believed, because they agreed in substance and differed only in details: the jury, however , thought otherwise, and found Kerne Not Guilty The records publishedat Scroggs's orders say that Kerne, presumably because he hoped thereby to lessen the odium of his priesthoodand his Catholic Religion, said he had taken both the oath to the King's spiritual Supremacy and the Oath of Allegiance But I am reluctant to believe this (and certainly hope it is not true) on account of Kerne'sconspicuous piety and orthodoxy during his studies at Douai.
(417) THE TRIAL OF
AND WILLIAM ATKINS
At Stafford there were nine prisoners accused of being priests. Two of them , namely George Hobson, a Secular Priest, and Robert Petre, S.J., were sent to London, to contendin a more famous arena. They were , however , never bidden to appear Scroggs arrived in haste at Stafford, and vented the wrath kindled in him by the escapeof Kerne upon two other priests, AndrewBromwich, a Secular Priest, andWilliam Atkins, a Jesuit He at once warned the Sheriff to get him a good jury When the Sheriff replied that he had summoned twelveexcellent men, but that one of them constantly expressed his unwillingness to pronounce anyone Guilty merely on grounds of being a priest, Scroggs had this man imprisonedin orderto intimidate the rest.
(418) Many witnesses were summoned against Bromwich; one swore explicitlythat Bromwich was a priest, and that he had received the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist from him The rest simply denied knowledge of the man or that they had ever spoken to him . All they said was that he sometimes put on a vestmentand read something in a language unknown to them. They neither could nor would
say more, although Scroggs threatened prison and torture Scroggs, in his usual kind way, made up for the shortcomings of the witnesses by saying, "I have of late had occasion to converse with your most learned Priests, and never yet saw one that had either Learning or Honesty. " The County of Stafford, he said, was swarmingwithpriests; like scurvy elsewhere, Papism was there spread about by a mere touch. Then, in his false summing-up of the evidence, he said to the jury, " You see in what dangers we are. I leave it uponyour Consciences whetheryou will let Priests escape who are the very pests and dangers of Church and State: you had better be rid of one Priest than three Felons . " It is not surprisingthat after listeningto this the jury found the prisoner Guilty According to the records published in London, Bromwich too alleged that he had taken both the Oaths He is still alive, bewails his lapse, and labours usefully in the Lord's vineyard (419) Nextthere was carriedinto courtcarried, because he could not walkAtkins, an exhausted old man, aged over eighty, who since his sixtieth year had been so paralysed that he could not raise himself up in bed, nor move hand or foot Since he was deprived of the use of his ears no less than of his other limbs, they did in this baptism of blood what is done in the baptism of the Spirit, namely, they appointed a proxy to answer forhim. So, when Atkins was told to raise hishand, the proxy raised his; when he was asked whether he was guilty or not, " Not Guilty" replied the proxy Then the witnesses were heard , and Scroggs supplied what was wanting to their depositions , in order to prove the case Then, addressing the jury, he said " And, Gentlemen , I must tell you, it is to these sorts of men we owe all the troubles and hazards we are in, the fear of the King's Life, the Subversion of our Government , and the loss of our Religion. It is notoriousbywhat they have done, that they are departed from the meekness and simplicity of Christ's Doctrine, and would bring in a Religion of Blood and Tyranny amongstus . As if God were some Omnipotent Mischief that delighted and would be served with sacrifices of Human Blood I need not say more to you, the matter's plain; I think you need not stir from the Bar, but do as you will." (420) The beginningof this speech seemed ridiculous to thoughtful people. What harm, they asked themselves, was to be feared from a man deprivedof the use of all his limbs and even of his tongue? And ought a man, who would not be able to put into his own mouth food set beside him, even if withoutit he would have to die ofhungerought such a man to be an object of terror to others ? They likewise detested Scroggs's cruelty in urging the jury to give their verdict onthe spot, for his purpose clearly was to hear for himself if anyone showed inclinations towards pity. However, the jury withdrew, as theLaw allows, and soon afterwards pronounced Atkins Guilty Sentence was at once passed on both prisoners ; Scroggs imposed on both the penalty for treason. When the proxy had conveyed this to his charge by shouting loudly in his ear , Atkins said, "I thank you very much, my Lord. " The sentence was never carried out, either because the Sheriff would not defile himself with the blood of priests, or because he was ashamed to rob a good old man, who was useless for any of the tasks of human life and fast declining to a natural death, ofthe little life that remained to him, or else because he feared thehostility of public opinion (which Scroggs set at nought) if he put to death a decrepitold man as guilty of recent treason and as a peril to the King,
the Kingdom, Religion and himself Atkins hoped indeed to end his life by a blessed death, and was really grief-stricken when he was informed that his execution had been put off He seemed worthy to be rankedamong themartyrs, becausehe did not withdraw frommartyrdom , but martyrdom withdrew from him. Shut up in prison, he finally died peacefullyin the Lord on 17th March 1681. Bromwich's execution was also deferred, perhaps because he had taken the two Oaths
(421) THE TRIAL OF WILLIAM JONES In this same year (the month and day are unknown) William Jones, a Secular Priest, faced trial on a capital charge before the tribunal at Monmouth He was accused , if I am not mistaken, of being a priest But as only one witness appeared against him, the jury did not pronounce him Guilty, and he was set at liberty. (422) DISTURBANCE AND REBELLIONAMONG THE SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIANS So much for ecclesiastical persons and things. Now let us consider the confusionof civil affairs caused by the wiles of an English Ulysses* no less dread than the Greek In Scotland , where the numbers of the Presbyterians are very large, all was in confusion Atfirst they desired to hold their conventicles in the citiesin defiance ofthe King's authority and of the country's laws Whendriven from the cities, they decided to hold meetings in the fields in militaryarray, ready to meet force with force if the King's troops employed violence. They attacked and killed the Archbishop of St. Andrew's as he was returning from Edinburgh, and cut down some of the King's soldiers who were sent to disperse their armed assemblies. In some places various decrees of Parliament which displeased them in their mad love of Calvin's teachings were torn up and burned by the executioner Finally, throwing off the yoke of obedience, they openly took to arms , and tried to justify their action in the following Declaration: (423) " As it is not unknown to a great part of the World how happy the Church of Scotland was, whilst they enjoy'd the Ordinances of Jesus Christ in purity and power; Of the which we have been deplorably deprived by the Re-establishmentof Prelacy: So it is evident not only to impartial persons, but to professed Enemies, with what unparallel'd patience and constancy the People of God have endur'd all the Cruelty, Injustice and Oppression that the will and maliceof Prelates and Malignants could invent and exercise. And being most unwilling to act anything which might import opposition to lawful Authority, or engage the Kingdoms in War, although we have all along been groaning under the over-turningthe work of Reformation, corruptions of Doctrine, slighting of Worship, despising of Ordinances, the changing of the ancient Church-Discipline and Government , thrusting out of so many of our faithful Ministers from their Charges, Confining , Straitly Imprisoning, Exiting, yea and putting to death many of them, and intruding upon their Flocks a Company of insufficient and scandalous Persons, and Fining, Confining, Imprisoning, Torturing, Tormenting, Scourging and Stigmatizing poor People, Plundering their Goods, Quartering upon them rude Soldiers, Selling their Persons to Foreign Plantations, Horning and Intercommuning many of both , whereby great numbers in every corner of the Land were forced to leave their Dwellings, Wives, Children and Relations , and made to wander as Pilgrims, still in hazard of their Lives, none
* Shaftesbury
daring to reset, harbour or supply, (though starving) or so much as to speak to them, even upon Death-bed, without making themselves obnoxious to the same punishments ; and these things acted under colourof Law , in effect tendingto banish, not only all sense of Religion, but also to extinguishNatural Affection, even amongst persons ofthe nearest Relation: And likewise groaning under the intolerable Yoak of oppression in our Civil Interests, our Bodies, Liberties and Estates; so that all manner of Outrages have been most arbitrarilly exercised upon Us through a tract of several Years past; particularly in the year 1678 by sending amongus an Armed Host of Barbarous Savages contrary to all Law and Humanity ; and by laying on us several Impositionsand Taxes, as formerly, so of late, by a MeetingofPre-limited and over-awed Members in the Convention of Estates in July 1678 for keepingup of an Armed Force intrusted (as to a great part of it) into the hands of avowed Papists, or Favourers of them; by whom sundryInvasionshave beenmade uponus, andmostexorbitant Abuses , and incredibleInsolencies committed against us; And we being continually sought after in Houses for Divine Worship, Ministers and People frequently apprehended, and mostrigorouslyused; And so beingnecessitated to attend the Lords Ordinances in Fields, in the utmost Dessart places; and there also often hunted out, and assaulted, to the effusion of our Blood, and killing of some, whereby we were inevitably constrained either to defend our selves by Arms at these Meetings, or to be altogetherdepriv'd of the Gospel preached by the FaithfulMinisters, and made absolute Slaves At one of which Meetings upon the First day of June instant, being the Lord's day, Captain Graham of Claverhouse being Warranted by a late Proclamation to kill whomsoever hefoundin Arms at Field-Conventicles making Resistance, did furiously assault the People assembled; And further to provoke, did cruelly bind like Beasts, a Minister, with some others, whom he had that very same morning found in Houses: And several being killed on both sides; They knowing certainly, that by Law they behoved (if apprehended) to die; They did standto their ownDefence, and continue together; and thereafter many of our Friends and Countrymenbeing under the same Oppression, expecting the same measure, did freely offer their assistance We therefore thus inevitably, and of absolute necessity forced to take this last remedy; (The Magistrates having shut the Dore by a Law againstApplication, that whateverour Grievances be , either in things Civil or Sacred, we have not the priviledge of a Supplicant), do judge our selves bound to Declare, That these , with many other Grievances in Church and State, (which we purpose to manifestmorefully hereafter ), are the true causes of this our lawful and innocentSelf Defence And we do most solemnlyin the presence of Almighty God the searcher of all Hearts, declare: That the true Reasons of our continuing in Arms candidly and sincerely are these: "1. The Defending and Securing of the True Protestant Religion, and Presbyterian Government , founded upon the Word of God , and summarily comprehended in our National and Solemn League and Covenant; and more particularly, the Defendingand Maintaining the kingly Authority of our Lord Jesus Christ over his Church against all sinful Supremacy Derogatory thereto, and incroachingthereupon. "2. The Preservingand Defendingthe King's Majesty, his Person and Authority in the Preservationand Defence of that true Religion, and Liberties of the Kingdom; That the World may bear Witness
with our Consciences, of our Loyalty; And that we have no Thought nor Intention to diminish His just Power and Greatness. "3. The obtaining of a Free and unlimited Parliament; And a Free General Assembly , in order to the Redressing our aforesaid Grievances , for preventing the Eminent Danger of Popery, and Extirpating of Prelacyfrom amongstUs.
(424) " This thereforebeing the Cause we appear for; and resolve in God's great name to own, hereby homologatingall the Testimonies of faithful sufferers for the Truth in Scotland these Eighteen years by gone: We humbly request the King's Majesty would restore all things as he found them, when God brought him home to his Crown and Kingdoms; and if that cannot be obtained, then we heartily and humbly invite, entreat, beseech and obtest in the Bowels of Jesus Christ, all who are in the same bonds with us, to occur in the Defence of this Common Cause and Interest: And that they will not stand still and see not only us oppressed, but this aforesaid Cause ruined; Adversaries highly and proudly insult against God, and all good men , Friends ofthe Truthdiscouraged : Yea, the ProtestantCausein Brittain and Ireland, even your selves within a little time made a prey of, or else forced when we are broken (which the good Lord prevent) dreadfully to wrong your Consciences, finally because we desire no man's hurt or blood We requestour Countrymen, now the standing Forces of this Kingdom, some of them being our Friends and Kinsmen , not to fight against us, lest in so doing they be found Fighting againstthe Lord, whose Cause and Quarrel we are sure he will own, and signally Countenance, seeing we Fight under his Banner who is the Lord of Hosts."
(425) This Declaration of the Presbyterian rebels in Scotland exhibits such clear indications ofperfidy that there is no need to point them out Monmouth was sent to Scotland by Charles with the royal troops from England. When he arrived within sight of the enemy , he attacked them at once, though they were almost unarmed , and so routed them without difficultybut also without glory Melville, his agent in Scotland , had tried in vain to dissuade him from attacking; headvised him to avoid a speedy settlementor elseto make an agreement with certain reservations ; otherwise , he said, Monmouth would lose his friends, even those in England But the high-spirited youth, being eager forbattle, turned a deafear to advice whichwouldprobably have helped the rebels When, however, he saw the foe in flight, he immediately gave the signal for withdrawal, and checked the ardour of the Royal Cavalry who were pressing the pursuit: had he not done this, most of the rebels would have been cut off From the abovementionedwords of Melville, it is plain that already at this date the Faction had fixed their eyes uponMonmouth, whose name they wished to employ for the purpose of overthrowing York When Monmouth saw that the enemy were scattered , he disregarded the problems of making a firm settlement and eradicating the causes of the rebellion: instead, he returned, as fast as he had come, to London, where hewas welcomed with more joy by Charles than by the rest (426) YORK'S EXERCISES OF PIETY AT BRUSSELS We have said above that at the first hint of the King's will York had left his native country and gone to Brussels. There he was wholly occupied in exercises of piety; by constant meditation of divine things, by reading good books and by frequent conversation with good and learned men ,
he avoided boredom and found comfort in his exile and loneliness. He so entrusted himself and all that was his to Divine Providence that hewas nevergloomyoverhis present misfortunes nor apprehensive of the future, but always appeared cheerful and undisturbed. When someone said to him that God was permitting his faith to be tested by severe trials, he replied, " Yet severer ones remain . But what are they compared with the joys of heaven ? God's will be done " (427) Meanwhile , at Windsor, Charles contracted a severe and dangerous illness, so that his life was in danger He recovered after a dose of quinine (called " Jesuits' Powder" in England, because the Jesuits first made its use known), which was prescribed by a papist doctor and prepared by the hands of the papist Queen The Faction gave expression to their regretat his recovery , and took their vengeance the next time they burnt the Pope in effigy: among the clerics whom they impersonated they introducedthe effigyof a doctor carrying quinine in his hand, and cast him along with the Pope onto the bonfire they had built (428) At this time Monmouth, Commander of the army, was brooding over London, so as to win the country over to his side , if perchance anything should happen to Charles London he would win by violence and by the assistance of the Faction, and the other cities by the example of his treatment of London. For he was now already conceiving the monstrous rebellion which he brought to light, after Charles's death, though with more damage to himself than to anyone else
(429) YORK RETURNS TO ENGLAND More concerned for the safety of his brother Charles than for his own, York returned with a single travelling companion (how great is the confidence of a mind supported by a pure conscience !) He entered London safely, though the army was in the power of his enemy and rival, and the citizens for the most part were hostileto him on account of his religion From London he went to Windsor, where he was welcomed with real joy by Charles , whose condition had improved The Presbyterian sympathies of Monmouth were becoming daily more obvious. He was frequently warned by Charles (who still treated him as his son) to be content with his own lot, to have nothing to do with the Faction , and not to bring about his own undoingand the ruin of the Kingdom by coveting forbidden fruit.
(430) MONMOUTH IN EXILE Charles saw , however, that thevoices of flatterers had more influence with his ungrateful son than his own advice, to which indeed Monmouth had closed his ears Charles, therefore , relieved him of his command of the army and of several other offices, and told him to leave his dominions Monmouth accordingly, whether he liked it or not, made for Holland, the usualrefuge of the English Faction York, now that Charles's health was restored, returned to his lodgings in Brussels, but only for a short time. For he was called back by Charles and appointed to Scotland, with full, and all but regal, powers, to settle the turbulent condition of that country and to extinguishthe embers of civil war which lurked beneath those deceptiveashes cast upon them by Monmouth. For Monmouth had won an easy victory almost without spilling the enemies' blood, and had scattered the insurgents without destroying them . Hence the danger was now at once more widespread and less easy to combat , since for the most part there was no information as to where the enemy
were, what were their plans, and what their objectives Small bands were living in mountainous and desert places, menacing the public highways and villages, or else in the smaller towns . They did not even stop short of bloodshed when any of the King's loyal supporters, any lovers of the public peace, or any Protestant ministers fell into their hands. The stubbornness of the rebels in their wickedness was astonishing : some of them, after being caught, tried and condemned , were offered life and liberty if only they would say " God save the King !" Yet they refusedso great a crime did they consider it to pray for the King, whom they detested with a more than Vatinian hatred. How different they were from the Catholicpriests andJesuits , who, though innocent, unjustly condemned, and subjected to the extreme penalties of criminals, continued to pray for the King until the moment of their death! There was disunion among the Scottish nobles , either for religious reasons or through private animosities ; and many of them were not innocentof all desire of revolution, either because their authorityhad been curtailed or because their privileges , real or assumed, had been violated: they created divisions among the populace, which is peaceful when left alone, like the sea when no wind blows it up. In fine, well nigh all in Scotland were looking to their arms when York was sent there. But thanks to his prudence, all factions and disputes were soon laid aside, and for the future there remained but one object of ambitionto see who could distinguish himself most in obedience to Charles. Although himself a Papist, York so defended the privileges , rights and power of the Protestant Church as to earn a special testimonial from the Scottish Bishops when he returned to England: this we shall see in the following year (431) MONMOUTH RETURNS, TO CHARLES'S ANNOYANCE Monmouth found exile a heavy and unendurable burden, for allabout him was solitude: there was no flattery, no cheering populace, none of the nobles who had formerly thronged his house. He feared , notwithout reason , that his popularity with the people might grow cold in his absence . Hence, without obtaining or even asking Charles's permission , he returned to England, and entered London on 27th November , quite unexpected The Faction displayed their delight at his return by the light of bonfires which they lit two hours before dawn , and by the ringing of bells Charles was angry at Monmouth's unthinking audacity and at his neglect ofhis duty towardshis excellentfather and King, who loved him dearly; so he sent a messengerfirst to forbid him to appear in the royal presence, and then ordering him back where he had come from, threatening heavy punishments if he did notobey. Monmouth, determinedto refuse obedience, replied that he could not legally be condemned to exile except by formal trial and by the lawful sentence ofthe Peers ofthe Realm ; if any charges were broughtagainst him, he was prepared to refute them, andhadcome toLondonspecially for that purpose. He asked Charles to take in good part his refusal to withdraw until the trial should have been held, sayingthat toorder his withdrawal was beyond the powers of a king or father Thus the high-spirited young man crossed the Rubicon, relying in the folly of his youth on the support of the Faction Having once contemned his father's authority, he disregarded it ever afterwards , and depended wholly on the advice and counsel of that English Ulysses, Shaftesbury . Nor did he, after this date, experience the slightest token of affection from his father, whose tender love was turned into bitterhate. What
an immense difference there was between Monmouth and York ! York, though unquestionablyheir to the throne, since he was destined toit alike bythe grace ofGod and by thefavour of Charles, immediately left the country, when he felt that such was Charles's desire. Monmouth, on the other hand, though he owed everything to Charles's favour, refused to obey his explicit order The Catholic Religion had planted the virtueof obedience in the former, while Calvin's doctrines had inspired in the latter a proud spirit which would not bear the yoke. The quarrels between Charles and his bastard son were protracted through the remainder of this year. Thus God punished Charles through the creatureof his sin.
(432) THE TRANSACTIONS OF MRS CELLIER AND DANGERFIELD . The transactions of Elizabeth Cellier and Thomas Dangerfield have been deliberately reserved to the end ofthis year, although they began about its middle, because they overlap into the following year (433) Mrs. Cellierwas a woman of a strong and almost masculine temperament. She was brought up by heretical parents in the Protestant religion, but joined the Catholic religion when she grew up, her chief reason at first being that the Catholics were stauncherthan others intheiradherence to the King's authority Nature hadendowed her with a lively, sharp and clear mind; but her powers of judgment were not of the same order, as was to be expected in the weakersex . She was inordinately eager for famewithouthowever being prepared to sacrifice virtue or goodnessof conduct; the desire for virtue hadsunk deep into her in her early years through reading books about the adventuresof knight-errants, in which she took great delight. She tells us thisherselfin the bookshe published , aboutwhich see below After the outbreak of the Persecution , she strove with great industry and energyto relievethose prisoners of Christ Jesus, the arrested Catholics, by means of alms partly begged from others and partly contributed by herself Going round several prisons on this charitable work, she was much talked of among the prisoners, and came to the knowledge of Thomas Dangerfield , who was in an underground dungeon for a debt of no great size and for other crimes, of which at the time there was no certain proof. (434) THE CHARACTER OF DANGERFIELD . He was born of the lowest class of mankind Growing tired of the obscurity of his home and the life of toil, to which he seemed condemned by the lot of his birth, he left no crime untried in hopes of avoiding poverty, which he feared above all other evils And the keen mind which nature had given him was equal to every kind of crime . Furthermore, his wicked soul had all too good a dwelling-place, for his body was of good stature and handsome enough to promise better things: thus the way to wickedness lay open to him To record all of his iniquities one would have to copy out the whole catalogue of capital crimes. Almost everyprisonin Englandhad enjoyed the honourof his presence There was no form of punishment which he had not undergoneexcept hanging, which he had escaped more than once by breaking out of prison When condemned to death in the camp at Antwerp, he had been snatched from the hands of the executionerby the good services and prayers of Edward Worsley, S.J. All this we shall see proved by authentic evidence in the next book, God willing (435) Mrs.Celliertook pity on him as he lay buried in the dungeon Since no mention was made of the crimes he had committed, andnoth-
ing but a debt, and that not a very large one, seemed to stand in the way of his liberation, and as moreoverhe promised that he would become a Catholic, she scraped togethermoney from a variety ofsources , paid the debt, and freed him from prison. He was a mercenary character , with a turn-coat mind, and decided in the present general confusion to cleave to those who were more likely to keep him safe and who seemed to have more money . When he saw that on the Catholic side he could hope for only a small allowance, and must fear the tortures which had been inflicted on some and were threatening all, whereas their enemies offered security, great honour, and a life like Oates's, he decided to join the latter partyand to forget the kind service done him by Mrs. Cellier, even though to do so meantherruin. (436) After the executionof the five Jesuits and the publication of their speeches , first a vague feeling spread, and then a firm conviction arose, that the Papists had not made a Plot at all, and that the storyhad been fabricated by men bent on revolution, in order to create general confusionandusurpfor themselves the King's authority Hence, when Monmouth, on his way up to Scotland , was asked what was being said in London about the famous Plot, he replied: " It is said that the famous Plot of the Papists was a pure invention and is vanishing, and that a real Presbyterian plot is beginning to appear " Itwas to the Catholics ' advantage that this feelingshould be strengthened, and to the Faction's that it should be destroyed To achieve its destruction, Shaftesbury could think of no better expedientthan to say that it had sprungfrom the Papists Thus both he and Mrs. Cellierthought they had found a suitableinstrument for theirdifferent purposes in Dangerfield Thanks to Mrs. Cellier, Dangerfieldcame to know many Catholics , though few approved of him, because they suspected these gaol-birds, from whom they hadalreadysuffered so much. The Peers imprisonedin the Tower would not even admit him to talk to them The Earl of Castlemaine forbadehim to return to his house on pain of being violentlyremoved off the premises by his servants . They also advised Mrs. Cellierto have nothing to do with him , or else she would find herself avoided
However, Dangerfield convinced Mrs. Cellier of the value of his services, and through her, if we may believe rumour , which is not always wrong, he was given access to York, perhaps even to Charles, and was by them encouraged to detect the designs of the Presbyterians But the time appointed by God had not come, when" the things hid in darkness were to be made manifest, and the secrets of treacherous hearts were to be revealed " This time arrived four years later, not by any human devising, but by the Providence of God, to whom alone Charles owed the safety ofhiskingdom and himself (437) Meanwhile, Dangerfield was making diligent enquiries as towhere the Faction held their meetings, why they assembledandwhen , what forces they were preparing (that some were being madeready was certain), and whom they were appointing to command them. All his discoveries he put togetherinto a list, supplying by conjecture what he had not discovered The list itself he placed in a meal tub in Mrs. Cellier's house and covered it with meal Then he went to the revenue-officers and informed them that merchandise , on which no tax had been paid, had been secretly conveyed into the apartment of Mansell (who had once commanded an army for Parliamentagainst Charles I, and still supported the Faction); and he offered himself as
guide to take the tax-collectors there. No merchandise was found in the room, but behind some curtains they discovered letters , which were takentothe PrivyCouncil Mansell too was arrested He denied all knowledge ofthe letters, sayingthat they had beenfakedby Dangerfield and planted there, and that no trust should be placed in Dangerfield on account of his criminal record, whichhe well knew Shaftesbury himselfsaid thatnoteven a dog should be put in bonds onthe evidence of so bad a man and one who had been branded So Mansell was dismissed, and Dangerfield came to recognise the power of the Presbyterians at court. Immediately Waller burst into Mrs. Cellier's house, searched everywhere , and at Dangerfield's suggestion the meal tub as well: from this he brought forth the list which was mentioned above. So it came to be believed thatthe rumour abouta Presbyterian Plot had been started by the Catholics , and that these should not be trusted on account of their hostile disposition. (438) Mrs. Cellier was put in prison, and so was Dangerfield. She constantly refused thereafter to speak to him, seeing that he had acted with a weak and truly Protestant faith. He tried to insinuate himself once more into her favour and to win her confidence; but when he saw that all his efforts were wasted , he was brought out of prison and granted a pardon for many of his crimes (but not for all, as we shall see), and givena liberal supply of money He then played the rôle of informer against the Catholics And Shaftesbury , who had declared that not even a dogshould be put in bonds on his word, nevertheless on no other evidence gave orders for the arrest of Castlemaine, Robert Peyton, Bart , Gadbury (an astronomer ), and that gloriousheroine, the Countess of Powis, sister of the Duke of Beaufort, who was so conspicuous for piety throughout the whole of her life that she is commonly held worthyto rank with those great women of old, Melania, Proba, Albina and Juliana, who owe their great fame to the eulogies of the holy Fathers of the Church. Orders were given that Lady Powis should be very strictly watched , so that neither she nor her husbandcould employ the services of any of their domestics. She herself, during almost the whole of the winter, had to perform the tasks of all the serving-men and maidslightingthe fire, bed-making, floor-sweeping, and so forth This she did all by herself, though advanced in years and unused to such tasks. She never enjoyed robust health, and yet she was neverbetter or less troubled by sickness than at this time; and she always rejoicedthat she had been deemed worthy to suffer suchthings for her faith in Jesus The rest of this story we shall see in the following year. (439) " PAPISTS IN MASQUERADE." Thinking that the Catholics had already been beaten to the ground, the Faction turned the limelight on another section of the community, namely the Protestants , and exposed them to the fury of the mob under the title of " Papists in Masquerade, " just as Nero long ago exposed the faithful in animals' skins to the jawsofferocious monsters. The hatredworkedup against the Catholics was extended to the Protestants by this extension of the use of the name ' Papist' The Protestants , though they had broken off communionwith Rome, had not removed their abode sufficiently far from her, but had retained some ceremonies and almost the same feasts of Christ our Lordand the Saints, and even the forms of the Hierarchy, which the sons of Belial hated more than a dog or a snake For these reasons the Faction tried to expel them from the
whole kingdom along with the true Papists For they were sure that the monarchic constitution would not survive long in the State if all traces of Hierarchy were removed from the EnglishChurch. (440) IMPEACHMENT OF SCROGGS Who would have believed it ? At the end of this year Scroggs was impeached by Oates and Bedlow. This attack was occasioned by the acquittal of Wakeman, and was arranged under thirteen heads, which I have decided to give together with the replies to each, which Scroggs submitted to the Royal Council that heard the case.
1. That contrary to his Oath, and the Duty of his place, he did set at liberty several persons accused upon Oath before him of High Treason, without their being Tryed, or otherwise Legally acquitted, as namely, the Lord Brudenel , etc. Scroggs replied that they had been acquitted by the Judges of the King's Benchat Bedlow'surgent request
2. That at the Tryal of Sir George Wakeman and others , he did Brow-beat and curb Doctor Titus Oates and Mr. William Bedlow, two of the principal Witnesses for the King in that Case , and did encourage the Jury against the said Witnesses, by his publick speaking lightly and abusively of them and their Evidence ; whereby the said parties indicted, were by the said Jury acquitted Answer: Oates had deserved to be sharply reprehended, since he had spoken lightly of the King and the Royal Council.
3. That Scroggs had said, That before the Tryal of Sir George Wakeman the Witnesses were to be believed ; But that at and after the said Tryal they were not to be believed by him nor should not bebelieved byhim Answer: Hehad said this for a variety ofreasons , which he hoped he would justify to the Royal Council.
4 and 5. That he had committed to prison some loyal subjects of the King for writing and causing to be printed divers Single-sheet Books Answer: He had enforced the law against authors and disseminators of libellous tracts, but had not exceeded the statutory penalties
6. That the said Lord Chief Justice is very much addicted to Swearing and Cursing in his common Discourse, and to Drink to Excess, to the great disparagement of the Dignity and Gravityof his said place Answer: He was ready to answer these charges, whenhis accusers appeared.
7. That he had upon Bail delivered, without consulting His Majesties Council or his Witnesses various persons accused of treason . Answer: They had been dismissed only after consultationwith the King's agents; if Oates's and Bedlow's leave was notasked beforehand , he hoped this would not be a capital crime.
8. That when Informations have been duely and legally given to him , of the Abode or Person of any Popish Priest or Jesuite, he hath in a slighting and scornful manner refused the same, and bid the Informer go to Sir William Waller Answer: It was not his duty, but the Magistrates' , to apprehend wrongdoers; he had therefore acted correctly.
9. That when Knox and Lane had endeavoured to take away the Credit of the Witnesses for the King, Scroggs had not commended their credit. Answer: In accordance with his duty he had given the jury full liberty to declare their sentiments about the foul crime with which Oates was charged.
10. That in manyways he had favouredOsborn whowas destroying the credit of the King's witnesses Answer: He had never favoured Osborn; Osborn had swornwhat Oates had often said, namely, that it would never be well with the Kingdom of England until the King was elected by the people. Further, Osborn hadhadmoreto dowith Oates than with himself
11. That in the presence of his Sacred Majesty and PrivyCouncil, he did dare to say, That he had thought Doctor Titus Oates and Mr. William Bedlow alwayes had an accusation ready against any Body. Answer: Hewas amazed at theimpudence of the man, who was charging him before the Lords of Council with words which they themselves knew were made up.
12. That he had said that Langhornedied wrongfully Answer: What he had said was that from Langhorne'schamber Bedlow could not possibly see into his study, and that therefore Bedlow had borne false witness when he swore that he had seen Langhorne from his chamber writingin his study.
13. That he did make a Merchandize of the Tryals of certain Priests ; that he had sold the records of the trials to booksellers, etc. Answer: These charges were concerned with private dealings of his, aboutwhich he considered himselfundernoobligation torenderaccount to Oates
(441) The PrivyCouncilwas so well satisfied withScroggs'sreplies that they gave him permission to take advantageof the law against makers of false accusations . He did not, however , avail himself of it, since the upshotwould depend on the jury, which he could hardly expect to be fair to him.
(442) OATES ON TRIAL ROR SODOMY. It was said in Article 9 that Knox and Lane had endeavoured to take away Oates's credit. They had accused him of sodomy, and in truth public opinion was condemning him in advance, for his immorality was common knowledge While this case was being tried, Shaftesbury , Halifax andother nobles, whose purposes Oates was serving, came to their client's assistance By their influence it was brought about that the jury gave the verdict in Oates's favour Lane was exposed to the public as a perjurer with his neckand hands in the pillory. Knox was saved from undergoing the same punishment, in honour of the memory of that ancestor of his, who, on his return from Geneva to Scotland, roused up the whole of that nation against Queen Mary (on which subject see the Histories of Scotland).