down a thousand and a thousand blessings upon his majesty, on her. sacred majesty, on the duke of York, and all the royal family, and also on the whole kingdom. As for the catholics that are here, we desire their prayers for 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 pardon them again and again; for we pardon them, heartily, from the bottom of our hearts; and so 1 beseech all good people to pray for us, and with us.'

Then Mr. Groves said, we are innocent, we lose our lives wrongfully, we pray God to forgive them that are the causers of it.'

Then having commended their departing souls into the hands of their Creator, they were executed according to sentence; father Ireland being then in the 43d year of his age, and the 24th of his entering into religion.

Mr. Pickering was reprieved till the 9th of May, either in hopes of his making discoveries, or because the king was very unwilling to consent to his death. But on the day aforesaid he was drawn to Tyburn, and there executed. He expressed a very great joy that he was so happy as to yield up his life to God, in a case where his conscience assured him his religion was his only guilt; and he took it upon his salvation, that he was innocent in thought, word, and deed, of all that was laid to his charge. Being taxed for a priest, he replied with a smile, No, I am but a lay-brother. He prayed for his accusers and enemies; and when he was just upon the point of being turned off, being called upon by some to confess his guilt, pulling up his cap, and looking towards them with an innocent smiling countenance, Is this, said he, the countenance of a man that dies under so gross a guilt? And so he ended a pious, religious life, with a holy death, ætatis anno 58, and went smiling off the stage; regretted by many, who esteemed him a very harmless man, and of all men living the most unlikely, and the most unfit for that desperate undertaking of which he was accused. He was of a loyal stock, his father having lost his life in the king's quarrel, during the civil wars.

Next comes on the trial and execution of the pretended murderers of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey. This knight was the justice of peace to whom Oates had brought three copies of his narrative of the plot, and had made oath before him to the truth of it, on the 27th of September, 1678; and on the 12th of October, being Saturday, he was missed, and seen no more, till his body was found in a ditch on Primrose Hill, with his sword thrust through him, on the Thursday following. The people, upon this, concluded that he was murdered by the catholics, because he had taken Oates's depositions; and nothing more contributed to confirm them in the belief of the plot, than this unhappy incident. It will, I believe, remain a secret to the day of judgment, who they were that really committed this murder; though the arguments of Sir Roger L'Estrange, in the history of the times, have made it highly probable, that it was the justice himself; for as to the particular persons against whom it was sworn by Prance, there are all the reasons in the world to believe them innocent; and as to any other catholics, as the continuator

THOMAS WHITEBREAD, WILLIAM HARCOURT, JOHN FENWICK, JOHN GAVAN, ANTHONY TURNER, PRIESTS, S. J.*

THOMAS WHITEBREAD, alias Harcot, was born in Essex, of a gentleman's family, and after a pious education at home was sent to the seminary of St. Ömer's, where he studied his humanity under the fathers of the society; and then at the age of seventeen, entered upon his noviceship at Watten, September the 7th, 1635. After having made his first vows, and finished his course of philosophy and divinity, being now priest, he was sent upon the English mission, in which he laboured with great fruit, and a remarkable zeal for the conversion of souls, for above thirty years; sparing no pains in bringing back the strayed sheep to the fold of Christ, for which end also he composed and published some controversial tracts yet extant in print.

At length he was made provincial or chief superior of his order in England. At which time going over to make his visitation amongst his brethren in their college at Liege, and preaching to them, as the custom is, at the renovation of their vows, on St. James's day, July 25, 1678, (that is, about two months before the persecution began,) upon that text of the gospel of the day, Potestis bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus sum? Dicunt ei, possumus. Can you drink the chalice which I am to drink? they say to him we can. St. Matth. xx. 22. He not obscurely discovered the foresight he had of that storm, which afterwards arose, and of his own and his brethren's sufferings on that occasion. For after having told them, the times were now indeed quiet, but God only knew how long they would be so, he most remarkably thus repeated his text, says F. Joseph Wakeman, one of those that were then present, "in a manuscript in my hands," potestis bibere calicem, &c. Can you undergo a hard persecution? Are you contented to be falsely betrayed and injured, and hurried away to prison? Possumus. We can, blessed be God! Potestis bibere, &c. Can you suffer the hardships of a jail? Can you sleep on straw, and live on hard diet? Can you lie in chains and fetters? Can you endure the rack? Possumus. We can, blessed be God! Potestis bibere calicem, &c.? Can you be brought to the bar, and hear yourselves falsely sworn against? Can you patiently receive the sentence of an unjust judge, condemning you to a painful and ignominious death, to be hanged, drawn, and quartered? Possumus. We can. Which Clausula, as I take it, he always uttered, with his hands joined before his breast, and his eyes up to heaven, in manner of prayer.' So far F. Wakeman in his testimony, given the 28th of May, 1681, and confirmed by the subscription of F. John Warner, then rector of Liege, afterwards provincial, who was also present at that exhortation.

Soon after his return to England, this storm broke out; and he was

From their printed trials and speeches, and the compendium or short view of the trials in Oates's Plot, printed in 1679. Item, from Florus Anglo- Bavaricus, p. 151, 162, &c. And other monuments in my hands.

apprehended by Oates, at a time that he was labouring under a grievous illness; and being committed to prison, and loaded with chains, suffered much in his body, whilst his soul received a continual support from God, by the means of mental prayer, to which he was always much addicted. After many months imprisonment, his trial came on, at the Old-Bailey, on the 13th of June, 1679, where four of his companions were arraigned with him, who also afterwards suffered with him. These were,

1. Father William Harcourt, alias, Waring, whose true name was Barrow, a native of Lancashire, who entered into the society at the age of twenty-three, October the 12th, 1632; was sent upon the mission, in 1646; where he laboured for five and thirty years, and deservedly gained the love and esteem of all that knew him. He was rector of London at the time of his apprehension, and venerable for his grey hairs, being seventy years of age; having been reserved till this time, to meet with that death which he had every day prayed for, for twenty years.

2. Father John Fenwick, whose true name was Caldwell, a native of the bishopric of Durham; born of protestant parents who turned him off, upon his conversion to the catholic faith. He was educated in the seminary of St. Omer's, entered into the society, at the age of twentyeight, anno 1656, was sent upon the English mission anno 1675, and being procurator for his brethren, and a diligent labourer in the vineyard of his master, was apprehended soon after the breaking out of the plot. He suffered much in prison, from his chains and bolts, so that it was once under deliberation, whether his leg must not be cut off. He was in the fifty-first year of his age, and the twenty-third of his religious profession.

3. Father John Gavan, or Gawen, a native of London, educated in the seminary of St. Omer's, where, for his candour and innocence, he was called the Angel. He entered into the society at the age of twenty years, anno 1660, performed his higher studies, partly at Liege, and partly at Rome; then being sent into England, in 1671, he was, for eight years, a diligent preacher and zealous labourer in the vineyard, and brought over many converts to the church. He was thirty-nine years of age, and had been nineteen years in the society. And

4. Father Anthony Turner, a native of Leicestershire, and a minister's son, was brought up in the university of Cambridge, and there made bachelor of arts, who being converted to the catholic religion, went over to Rome, where he passed through the course of his philosophy, in the English college; and then was sent to Watten, to the noviciate of the society of Jesus, anno 1653, being then twenty-four years of age. He learned his divinity at Liege, and being made priest, was sent upon the mission, where he laboured for about eighteen years; his residence being chiefly at Worcester. He had a great talent for preaching and controversy; and an ardent desire of suffering for his faith. At the breaking out of the persecution, he went up to London, and delivered himself up to a justice of peace, acknowledging that he was a priest and a jesuit. He was fifty years of age, and had been in the society twenty-two years.

These five, were all brought to the bar June the 13th. At this trial, says the continuator of Baker's chronicle, p. 699, appeared a new evidence, Stephen Dugdale, who had been bailiff to lord Aston; his carriage and behaviour gave more credit to the plot, than that of Oates and Bedloe. But in some time, this new witness proved as bad as the rest. Oates and Bedloe repeated the evidence they had given before; excepting that Bedloe charged them, (now,) upon his own knowledge, with what he had before only spoken of by hearsay. And the reason he gave was, that the practices of Reading, "accused of tampering with Bedloe," had engaged him to soften his evidence-This was open confession of perjury, which ought to have set him aside for a witness, ever after. And judge Wylde, a worthy and ancient judge, told him, when he said this, he was a perjured man, and ought to come no more into courts, but go home and repent. But people were not yet cool enough for reflection, so that not only this passed over, but the judge was turned out for his freedom. Dugdale confirmed Oate's and Bedloe's evidence, by accounts of the consultations of the jesuits in Staffordshire, about the same time. Prance too, added his part towards the charge against Harcourt; and said, moreover, that he told him of fifty thousand men, that were to be in readiness to establish popery.

On the other hand, F. Whitebread objected to Oates's evidence, says Mr. Salmon, in his examination of Burnet, p. 803, that he was not a credible witness, having taken contradictory oaths; and that it was not probable he should trust a man in a conspiracy against the king's life, whom, by his own confession, he had never seen, and whom they had dismissed from St. Omer's, for his irregular life. The prisoners also produced fifteen young gentlemen, students of St. Omer's, who deposed, that Oates was at St. Omer's at the time he swore he was at the consult at London: they deposed also, that several of the persons, whom Oates swore came over with him, were in Flanders at that time. Other witnesses deposed, that Gavan was in Staffordshire, at the time Oates swore he was in London. They urged farther, that the witnesses who swore against them were vicious, profligate persons, of desperate fortunes, and who made a livelihood of swearing; and desired that the court would permit them to show what Oates had deposed in Ireland's trial. Whereupon Sir John Southcote and the lady Southcote, and several other persons deposed, that Ireland was in Staffordshire when Oates swore he was in town. Whitebread also observed, that at his first trial, when Oates was pressed to declare who had seen him in town, he could not name one; but he said he had not seen much company, and staid but six days; and now he swore he came over the 17th of April, and his witnesses deposed, they saw him here the beginning of May, which must be a great deal more than six days; and consequently his oath, either at this or the former trial, is false. They said, it is probable also that Oates was disgusted at his being turned out of the college of St. Omer's, and this might be the ground of his malice against them. As to Dugdale, that he run away from the lord Ashton, having lost 300l. of his lordship's money. That it was strange there should be a plot, wherein so many persons of honour and quality were said to be concerned, and no footsteps of it should appear,

no arms bought, no men enlisted, or any provision made to put it in execution; and in short, that there was no manner of reason to induce the jury's belief, but downright swearing. And as to the prisoners themselves, they appealed to the world for the innocence and unblameableness of their lives hitherto; whereas it was evident how viciously and scandalously their accusers had lived.' So far Mr. Salmon.

However, lord chief justice Scroggs, who behaved himself very partially in this whole trial, directed the jury to find them guilty, and according to his direction the jury brought in their verdict. The comportment of the prisoners was all the while very edifying, not the least passion or alteration appearing in them, either at the invectives of the judge, or the clamours of the people (for never was any bear-baiting more rude and boisterous than this trial,) but they made a clear and candid defence, with a cheerful and unconcerned countenance, says a priest, an eyewitness; so that a stander by said, if there had been a jury of Turks they had been acquitted. The next day they all received the sentence of death, according to the usual form, as in cases of high treason.

After sentence received, they were sent back to Newgate, there to prepare themselves for their exit. Where, the day before the execution, my lord Shaftsbury was with F. Gavan and F. Turner, promising the king's pardon, if they would acknowledge the conspiracy. F. Gavan answered, he would not murder his soul to save his body; for that to acknowledge the plot would be acknowledging what he knew not, and what he did believe was not.' On Friday therefore, being the 20th of June, they were all laid on sledges, and drawn from Newgate to Tyburn. F. Whitebread and F. Harcourt were on one sledge, F. Turner and F. Gavan on another, and F. Fenwick on a third by himself. Their comportment was modestly cheerful and religious, which served not a little to allay the fury of the people. They prayed devoutly at the place of execution, and each of them made a speech, which we must not here omit.

Father Whitebread's Speech.

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 any guilt of these things laid to my charge in this matter, as I came into the world from my mother's womb; and that I do renounce from my heart all manner of pardons, absolutions, dispensations for swearing, as occasion or interest may seem to require, which some have been pleased to lay to our charge, as matters of our practice and doctrine, but is a thing so unjustifiable and unlawful, that I believe, and ever did, that no power on earth can auVOL. II.

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