he remained, till the 27th of May, which was the day of his trial. In the mean time, he was twice examined by the dean of York and three of the council, concerning his character and functions: and he was very free in his answers, only where any other person was concerned. They asked him, for what reasons he had gone beyond the seas; and with what design he had returned into England? He answered, that it was for conscience sake, that he might serve God the better; and that he had returned into his own country, in order to gain souls to God and his church confessing also, that he had said mass, and performed the rest of the functions of his ministry, as occasion required. They touched also upon the question of the supremacy; but the dean seemed unwilling to have the matter pressed home: however, Mr. Thirkill signified to them, that he thought the spiritual jurisdiction did not belong to her majesty, but to the pope.

6

What were the dispositions of the soul of this holy man, in the horror and solitude of his prison, we may learn from his epistles, of which Dr. Bridgewater has published six, all very edifying and full of the spirit of the martyrs. Let us hear what he writes in one of them, to one of his ghostly children. The world,' says he, dear daughter, begins now to seem insipid, and all its pleasures, grow bitter as gall; and all the fine shows and delights it affords, appear quite empty and good for nothing. Now it is seen, that there is no true joy, no object, no agreeable pleasure, that can afford any solid delight, but one alone, and that is Christ. I experience now, that the greatest pleasure, joy, and comfort, is in conversing with him; that all time thus employed is short, sweet and delightful: and those words that, in this conversation, he speaks to me, so penetrate my soul, so elevate my spirit above itself, so moderate and change all fleshly affections, that this prison of mine, seems not a prison, but a paradise; my crosses become light and easy, and the being deprived of all earthly comfort, affords a heavenly joy and happiness. O happy prison! O blessed confinement! O solitude full of comfort! O gaol, a long time desired! where hast thou staid, so long? O crosses! where have you been all this while? O solitude! why didst thou not suffer me to relish thy sweetness sooner? But, wretch as I am! I see, it was my unworthiness, (which is still as great as ever,) that hitherto kept me from such an honour, that my being so propense to vice, would not suffer me to attain to so great a blessing, as these crosses; that my iniquity and sins have, with good reason, delayed and hindered my being promoted to so happy a state of this solitude. These jewels of so great a price, all these riches, the great God has been pleased to confer upon me here in my prison; all which I ascribe to him, and acknowledge to be his gift, his mercy, his love; attributing nothing to myself. To him therefore be praise, honour, and glory, for so unspeakable a benefit bestowed upon his poor, wretched, and altogether undeserving, servant.' So he.

The day of his trial, he was led from Kitcot to the castle, guarded by the sheriff and his men. He was dressed in his cassock; which made him appear more venerable; and his countenance, air, and behaviour, expressed so much courage and constancy, joined with such

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manded him to be silent, he told them, it was an exceeding great joy and pleasure to him to see the courage and constancy of these catholics, in maintaining so good a cause, and that it was his duty to exhort and encourage them on these occasions.

Upon this, one of the judges calling upon him by his name, said, Richard Thirkill, come up to the bar; what can you say for yourself, why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon you, as you have been here arraigned and found guilty of high treason? Mr. Thirkill replied, That he had yesterday brought five reasons out of the holy fathers, by which he had demonstrated that he was not guilty of high treason, "viz. in his exercising the power of the keys in absolving sinners;" but these reasons were not regarded, and the judge immediately proceeded to pronounce sentence, by which he was to be carried back to the place from whence he came, and from thence to be drawn to the place of execution, and there hanged, cut down alive, dismembered, bowelled, and quartered. Which sentence, as soon as the confessor had heard, falling on his knees, he gave most hearty thanks to God, and pronounced aloud these words, Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus, &c. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice therein. Then, that his presence might no longer encourage the other catholics, he was hurried out of the court, and thrust into the lowest dungeon in the castle.

On the next day, he was drawn from the castle to the place of execution, where he suffered according to sentence, though as to the particulars of his words and actions there, my author complains he could not get any certain account of them, such care was taken to prevent the catholics, and the rest of the people, from being present at his death; guards being set for that purpose at the gates, the lord mayor having ordered, that day, a general meeting of the citizens, under pretence of making a proper choice for the militia; however, my author was assured, by persons of credit, that he was cut down alive, according to the letter of the sentence: and that the faithful might not gather up any of his blood, they had ordered a great fire of straw to be made upon the place, to consume all, in such manner that nothing of it might be found.

He suffered at York, the 29th of May, 1583. He is called Thrilkill by Dr. Bridgewater, and bishop Yepez, and Thrilkeld, by cardinal Allen, in his answer to the book, called the Execution of Justice in England, or Justitia Britannica.

JOHN SLADE, SCHOOLMASTER, AND JOHN BODY, M. A.*

THESE two are commonly joined together, because they were tried and condemned at the same time, and for the same cause: though they never suffered at the same place, nor on the same day. Mr. Stow makes mention of them in his chronicle of 1583. John Slade, schoolmaster, says he, and John Body, master of arts, being both condemned

* From a Douay manuscript, and other memoirs.

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spoke thus to the people, Be it known, said he, to all you that are here present, that I suffer death this day, because I deny the queen to be the supreme head of the church of Christ in England. I never committed any other treason, unless they will have hearing mass, or saying the Hail Mary, to be treason. His mother, as my manuscript relates, hearing afterwards of her son's happy death, made a great feast upon that occasion; to which, she invited her neighbours, rejoicing at his death as his marriage; by which, his soul was happily and eternally espoused to the lamb.

I find, also, amongst those that suffered this year, 1583, in an old catalogue, kept in Douay college, the name of William Chaplain, priest, of whom it is there said, obiit in vinculis, that he died in bonds or in prison. He was made priest at Rhemes, in 1581.

GEORGE HAYDOCK, PRIEST.—1584. *

GEORGE HAYDOCK was son to Evan Win Haydock, Esq. of Cottamhall, near Preston, in Lancashire. The father, after the death of his lady, went abroad to the English college of Douay: and, though he was well advanced in years, resuming his studies, was, after some time, made priest; and returning into England, laboured for some years with great fruit, in the vineyard of his Lord He was also agent, or procurator, for the college; which office he discharged to the general satisfaction of his brethren. Two of his sons followed the same course of life, as the father had made choice of. Richard, who went with his father to Douay, in 1573, and was ordained priest in 1577; and going afterwards to Rome, became at length, doctor of divinity: and George, of whom, we are now treating, who had also his education for four years, at Douay college, where he learnt his humanity; and from thence was sent to Rome, where he went through his course of philosophy, and began his divinity. But the climate not agreeing with his health, he was obliged to leave Rome, being, as yet, only deacon, and to go into France, where he remained at Rhemes three months, and was made priest; and from thence, returned into England, to labour there for the benefit of the souls of his neighbours.

He had scarce arrived at London, when, by the treachery of one Haukinson, he fell into the hands of the pursuivants on the 6th of February, 1581-2, in St. Paul's church-yard, and was, by them carried into the church, where one of the ministers conferred for awhile with him, and offered him his liberty without more ado, if he would renounce the pope; which, Mr. Haydock refusing to do, the pursuivants carried him, and Mr. Arthur Pits, (whom they also had apprehended) before Mr. Popham, the queen's attorney, by whom they were strictly examined; as they were again, the next day, by Cecil, lord treasurer, who sent them both to the Tower. Here, between Norris the pursuivant,

* From Dr. Bridgewater's collections, fol. 133, and from the journals and other memoirs of Douay college.