council appointed a paper to be set upon his hat, with great capital let ters, ' CAMPION THE SEDITIOUS JESUIT; and gave orders, that they should stay at Colebrook a good part of Friday, and all the night, that thence they might bring him and his companions, upon Saturday, in triumph through the city, and the whole length thereof, especially through such places where, by reason of the markets of that day, the greatest: concourse of the common people was, whom, in such matters, their policy seems most to please; which was executed accordingly, all London, al most, beholding the spectacle, the inob gazing, and with delight heholding the novelty; but the wiser sort lamenting to see our country fallen to such barbarous iniquity, as to abuse in this manner a religious man, so honourable in all nations for his learning, and of so innocent a life: so that day, which was the 22d of July, he was delivered up to the lieutenant of the Tower. Here, besides the ordinary miseries incident to that kind of imprisonment, doubled by the inhuman dealing and deep hatred to Catholics of the chief officer of the place, after sundry exami nations, terrors, and threats, by the lord chancellor, and others of the council and commission, he was divers times racked, to force out of him, by intolerable torments, whose houses he had frequented, by whom he was relieved, whom he had reconciled, when, which way, for what pur→ pose, and by what commission be came into the realm; how, where, and by whom he printed and dispersed his books, and such like.

At his first racking, they went no further with him; but afterwards, when they saw he could not be won to condescend somewhat at least in religion, which was the thing they most desired, they thought good to forge matter of treason against him, and framed their demands accordingly; about which he was so cruelly torn and rent upon the torture the two last times, that he told a friend of his, that found means, to speak with him, that he thought they meant to make him away in that manner. Before he went to the rack, he used to fall down at the rack-house door, upon both knees, to commend himself to God's mercy; and upon the rack he called continually upon God, repeating often the holy name of Jesus. He most charitably forgave his tormentors, and the causers thereof. His keeper, asking him the next day how he felt his hands and feet? he answered, "Not ill, because not at all." The enemies, not contented with this, and many other accustomed ways of torture, secretly, it is said, used towards him to afflict his body, added a thousand devices and slanderous reports to wrong him in his fame, opening all the mouths of the ministers to bark against him; sometimes publishing that there was great hope he would become a Protestant; sometimes that he had been at church and service; another while, that he had uttered upon the rack all that ever he knew; yea, sometimes that he had therefore killed himself in prison, which, no doubt, they would have further avouehed, if he had died by racking, as it was very likely he should have done. 1.

The lieutenant of the Tower, at the beginning, hoping that he might be gained to their side in some points, either by sweet words, great promises of promotions, or extreme torments, extolled the man exceedingly, affirming divers times, that he was such a man as England never brought forth before; and surely, said he, it is God's singular goodness that he returned home; no doubt her majesty will prefer him to great livings;

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and that he might want no good pretence to yield to their desires, they often brought to him such divines as they had to confer with him, and to persuade him privately to relent somewhat to their sect; but not pre vailing that way, they caused, under colour of satisfying his former challenges of disputation, divers public disputes, or rather certain light skirmishes, to bark at him and bait him. Four or five of the contrary side, all provided as well as they could, were set out against one destitute of all proper helps, and brought almost to the brink of death by the rack; now one snatching, now another, and sometimes all biting together. The masters of the game, in the mean time, when they saw father Campion, in answering and defending himself (for he was never suffered to oppose), to gripe the adversaries hard, parted them with their tipstaves, commanding him to silence, and threatening him with laws, authority, and punishment. Thus they disputed, three several times, with the man of God, shewing nothing but barbarous despite, malice, and so deep ignorance in divinity, that divers of the Protestants themselves were ashamed thereof, and marvelled exceedingly at the other's learning, meekness, patience, and humility.

And now by this time falling from all hope of his yielding to them, and so from all pity and good-nature towards him, they practised how to make him and his companions away by some shew of justice, and that not for the new-made treasons; that is to say, for mere religion, but for matters of treason so called of old, against her majesty and the state, forging things for this purpose, and finding out three or four false fellows that would not stick to swear the same against a man whom they never knew nor saw in their life before his apprehension. So they caused an indictment to be drawn up against him, and a number more of most godly learned priests, comprizing him and them altogether, that so whatever might colourably be avouched or witnessed of the rest, or of any one of them all, either present or absent, all might seem to the simple, and to the jury (deeply biassed by fear and authority) to touch him also, and every one of the others.

The 14th day of November, anno 1581, he and seven others were brought from the Tower to the King's Bench bar, and a bill of their indictment was read in the hearing of father Campion and the rest, how that, in the 22d year of the reign of our sovereign lady the queen, on the last day of May, in the parts beyond the seas, they had practised the queen's deposition and death; and the stirring up of rebellion within, and invasion of the realm from abroad, and such like stuff. Whereupon he was arraigned with the others, as custom is in such cases, to hold up his hand; but both his arms being pitifully benumbed by his often cruel rackings before, and he having them wrapped up in a furred cuff, he was not able to lift his hand so high as the rest did, and was required of him; but one of his companions, kissing his hand so abused forthe confession of Christ, took off his cuff, and so he lifted up his arm as bigh as he could, and pleaded not guilty, as all the rest did. "I protest," said he, "before God and his holy angels, before heaven and earth, before the world and this bar whereat I stand, which is but a small resemblance of the terrible judgment of the next life, that I am not guilty of anypart of the treason contained in the indictment, or of any other treason whatsoever." Then raising his voice, he added, "Is it possible to find twelve

men so wicked and void of all conscience in this city, or land, that will find us guilty of this one crime, divers of us never meeting, or knowing one the other, before our bringing to this bar?"

Nothing was done that day, only a jury was impannelled for the next Monday, being the 20th of the same month: but three of the first of that impannel being esquires, doubting that justice should have no free course that day in these men's cases, whose blood was so earnestly thirsted after, appeared not when the day came. In the mean time, Mr. Campion and his fellow confessors were carried back to the prisons from whence they came. The seven that were arraigned, together with Mr. Campion, were Mr. Ralph Sherwine, Mr. Luke Kirby, Mr. Thomas Cottam, Mr. Robert Johnson, and Mr. Edward Rishton, all priests of Douay college; Mr. James Bosgrave, a young Jesuit, who, coming over for his health, had fallen into their hands, and Mr. Orton, a lay gentleman.

On the day appointed, Mr. Campion and his companions were brought to trial, in presence of so crowded an audience, of the more honourable, wise, learned, and best sort, as was never seen or heard of in that court, in ours or our fathers' memories before us. So wonderful an expectation there was of some to see the end of this marvellous tragedy, containing so many strange and divers acts of examining, racking, disputing, subordinations of false witnesses, and the like: of others, to behold whether the old honour of law and justice, wherein our nation hath, of all the world, had the praise, could, or durst now stand its ground, notwithstanding any violent impression of power and authority on the con trary. Whether there were any Markhams left in the land that would yield up coiffe, office and life, rather than give sentence against such as they knew in conscience to be innocent, and in truth not touched by any evidence whatsoever. But this one day gave that assembly, and all the world, full proof of the sad fall of equity, law, conscience and justice, together with the Catholic faith in our poor country. For nothing there said by the queen's attorney, solicitor, or other counsellors, or by any of those that were at their racking, or by the suborned false witnesses Eliot, Cradock, Sledd and Munday, could, in any well-informed man's conscience, touch any of them all, as every one of the rest, and especially father Campion, did, point by point, prove and declare as clear as the sun; and his innocence, in particular, was so plain in all men's sight, that what colour soever might be made for the condemnation of the others, yet for father Campion's there was none at all: insomuch, that whilst the jury were gone forth, divers wise and learned lawyers, and others, conjecturing and conferring one with another what should be the verdict, they all agreed, that whatever might be concluded as to some of the rest, it was impossible to condemn father Campion...

བས་

But it was father Campion that especially was designed to die, and for his sake the rest, and therefore no defence could serve; and the poor jury did that which they understood was looked for at their hands, and brought them in all guilty; Mr. Popham, the attorney-general, having plainly signified to them, that it was the queen's will it should be so. The most unjust verdict that ever was given in this land, whereat already not only England, but all the Christian world doth wonder, and our posterity shall lament and be ashamed of. Upon this, sentence followed, that all these holy men should be hanged; drawn and quartered,

as in cases of high treason, and so that doleful day was spent. Father Campion and his happy associates rejoiced in God, using divers holy speeches of scripture to their own comfort, and the great edification of others, and so were sent back to their prisons again, where, being laid up in irons for the rest of their time, they expected God's mercy and the queen's pleasure. {

The time that passed between judgment and execution, which was from the 20th of November till the 1st of December, father Campion spent in preparing for his end by godly spiritual exercises; shewing so much patience, and using such sweet speeches to his keeper and others that had to deal with him, that the same keeper having afterwards Norton in his custody (who had been a violent persecutor of Mr. Campion and his companions) and comparing together the different behaviour of his prisoners, declared, "that he had a saint in his keeping before, but now he had a devil." In the mean time, the Protestants did not desist to tempt Mr. Campion, with proffers of life and liberty, to go over to their side, or at least to make some steps towards them; insomuch, that the lieutenant of the Tower told Mr. Campion's sister, who came to see her brother three days before his death, that if he would but yield to change his religion, he would secure to him 100l. a year; but Mr. Campion had too well studied that great lesson, "what will it avail a man to gain the whole world if he lose his own soul?" to be moved by any such offers.

On the morning of the first of December, he was brought to Mr. Sherwine and Mr. Brian, who were to be his companions in death, who waited for him in the Coleharbour prison; and, after mutual embraces, they were all three led out to the hurdles prepared for them, father Campion saluting the people at his coming out with these words, "God save you all; God bless you all, and make you all good Catholics." They were drawn from the Tower to Tyburn; father Campion was alone on one hurdle, and the other two together on another, all the way molested by ministers and others. When they were come to the place of execution, where divers of her majesty's honourable council, with many other persons of honour, besides an infinite multitude of people, attended their coming, father Campion was first brought up into the cart, where, after some small pause, he began to speak upon that text of St. Paul, 1 Cor. iv. 9, "We are made a spectacle to the world," &c. but was interrupted by sir Francis Knowles and the sheriffs, urging him to confess his treason against her majesty, and to acknowledge himself guilty; to whom he answered, "For the treason which have been laid to my charge I am come here to suffer, and I desire you all to bear witness with me, that thereof I am altogether innocent." Whereupon answer was made to him by one of the council, that he might not seem to deny the objections against him, having been proved by sufficient evidence. Well, my lord," said he, "I am a Catholic man, and a priest; in that faith have I lived, and in that faith do I intend to die; and if you esteem my religion treason, then am I guilty; as for any other treason I never committed, God is my judge. But you have now what you desire; I beseech you to have patience, and suffer me to speak a word or two for the discharge of my conscience." But not being suffered to go forward, he was forced to speak only to that point which they most urged, protesting, that he was innocent of all treason and conspiracy, desiring

credit to be given to his answers, as to the last answer made upon his death and soul; adding, that the jury might easily be deceived, &c. but that he forgave all, as he desired to be forgiven, desiring all them, to forgive him, whose names he had confessed upon the rack (for, upon the commissioners' oaths, that no harm should come unto them, he uttered some persons' names with whom he had been). Further he declared the meaning of a letter sent by himself, in time of his imprisonment, to Mr. Pound, a prisoner then also in the Tower, in which he wrote, that he would not disclose the secrets of some houses where he had been entertained; affirming upon his soul, that the secrets he meant in that letter were not, as it was misconstrued by the enemy, treason or conspiracy, or any matter else against her majesty or the state, but saying of mass, hearing confessions, preaching, and such like duties and functions of priesthood. This he protested to be true, as he would answer before God. They pressed him to declare his opinion of Pius the fifth's bull, concerning the excommunication of the queen; to which demand he gave no answer. They then asked, whether he renounced the pope? He answered, he was a Catholic; whereupon one inferred, saying, In your Catholicism (I noted the term) all treason is contained.' In fine, preparing himself to drink his last draught of Christ's cup, he was interrupted in his prayer by a minister, willing him to say some prayer with him; unto whom, looking back with a mild countenance, he meekly replied, "You and I are not one in religion, wherefore I pray you content yourself; I bar none of prayer, only I desire them of the household of faith to pray with me, and in my agony to say one creed" (for a signication that he died for the confession of the Catholic faith therein con tained). Some also called to him to pray in English, to whom he answered, that he would pray in a language he well understood. At the upshot of this conflict he was willed to ask the queen forgiveness, and to pray for her; he meekly answered, Wherein have I offended her? I am innocent: this is my last speech, in this give me credit. I have and do pray for her'' Then the lord Charles Howard asked of him, for which queen he prayed, whether for Elizabeth the queen? to whom he answered, "Yea, for Elizabeth, your queen and my queen. And the cart being drawn away, he meekly and sweetly yielded his soul unto his Saviour, protesting that he died a perfect Catholic. He suffered at Tyburn, December 1, 1581, in the 42d year of his age.

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The gentlemen that were brought up to London at the same time with father Campion, and cast into prison, were Edward Yates, John Cotton, Edward Kaines, William Hildesley, Humphrey Kaines, Philip Low, and John James,dos.

Mr. Sherwine was born in Derbyshire, at a place called Radesley, near Langford, and brought up in Exeter college, Oxford, where he was admitted fellow in 1568, and considered an acute philosopher and excellent Græcian and Hebrecian. He left the university in 1575, and with it the Protestant religion, bending his way to Douay, where, after some years study in divinity, he was made priest. Mr. Sherwine was soon afterwards sent upon the mission, and, on his arrival in England, he occupied himself in all the functions of the priesthood with great zeal un