greatly honoured and reverenced for his singular wit and learning, and " for his rare virtues; and if he be of your opinion, you shall have the letter and go in God's name. When they came to this man, he utterly disliked of his intention, and dissuaded him from so fond a cogitation. Mr. Cottam being assuaged, but not altogether satisfied, went quietly about his business, and never left London for the matter. The major of Dover's letter being sent back to him again, within two or three days after cometh up the host of the inn where Mr. Cottam 6 was taken.

This host, as providence would have it, met with Havard, and, taking him by the shoulder said, Gentleman, you had like to have ' undone me, because the prisoner you promised to deliver is escaped. • Wherefore you must come with me to one Mr. Andrews, my lord 'Cobham's deputy, and give him satisfaction in the matter. Havard

6

but

was somewhat amazed at this sudden summoning; but after awhile coming to himself, he said, why, my host, if I deliver you the prisoner again you will be contented? Yes, said the other, deliver me the prisoner, and I have nothing to say to you. Upon this they went to Mr. Cottam's lodging; but he was removed, the people of the house knew not whither. The host would fain have had this Havard, so called for the time, to go with him to the said Andrews: Havard sought all means to avoid his company, being sure, if he had once come within the persecutor's paws, he should not escape them so easily; and being as then loth to fall into further trouble, he said to the other, my host, there is no such necessity why I should go to Mr. Andrews for if I did, perhaps he would pick some quarrel with me, by reason of the prisoner's escape; and I might come to trouble, and you would reap no gain or profit thereby. But this I will do for your discharge, I will bring you to a merchant, who, I think, will give 'you his hand that I shall bring you the prisoner by four of the clock, or else that I shall deliver you my body again. I am content, saith he, that I have the one of-you two. To the merchant therefore they went, who, at the request of Havard, his brother-in-law, gave his hand and promise for the performance of the condition before specified. (Which promise, though punctually performed, cost the merchant eight months' imprisonment afterwards; but how justly will be one day examined before the just Judge.) Thus Havard leaving his host < in the merchant's house, went forth into the city, with another in his ".company, to see if he could meet with Mr. Cottam.

<

SO

And coming into Cheapside, there, by chance, he met him; and after ordinary salutations, he said, Mr. Cottam, such a man is come to town, and hath so seized upon me for your escape, that either you or I must needs go to prison: you know my state and condition, and may guess how I shall he treated, if once I appear under my right name before them you know also your own state. Now it is in your choice whether of us shall go; for one must go, there is no remedy: and to force you I will not, for I had rather sustain any punishment whatsoever. Mr. Cottam, lifting up his eyes and hands to heaven, said these words: Now God be blessed. I should never while I lived have been without scruple, if I had escaped from them. Nothing griev

:

*eth me, but that I have not dipatched some business that I have to do. Why, said Havard, it is but ten of the clock yet; and you may dis-. patch your business by four of the clock, and then you may go to 'them. Whither is it, said he, that I must go? To the sign of the. Star, quoth Havard, in New Fish-street; and there you must enquire for one Mr. Andrews, my lord Cobham's deputy; to him you. must surrender yourself. I will, said he; and so they parted, and never saw one the other after.

Mr. Cottam, after he had dispatched all his business, went at four 'o'clock, all alone, to the place appointed, and there yielded himself prisoner (an invincible proof of his being innocent of any treason) and was carried to the court, lying then at Nonesuch, or Otlands. From ❝ whence, after five days' conference with divers ministers that laboured, but in vain, to pervert him, he was sent to the Marshalsea for religion, ' and not for treason; and from thence to the Tower, there to be racked; "not for to reveal any secret treason, as the adversaries most falsely pretend; but tormented because he would not confess his private sins ❝ unto them, as he both confidently and truly affirmed to their faces at his arraignment. After a long confinement he was led to Westminster, and there unjustly condemned' "with father Campion and others; and on the 30th of May following, drawn to Tyburn, where we have seen his behaviour in the cart, and how he was set down again before Mr. Richardson's execution."

When the cart was drawn away from Mr. Richardson, Mr. Cottam. said, O good Laurence pray for me: Lord Jesus receive thy soul; ' which he repeated several times. All this time Mr. Cottam was with the sheriff and the ministers upon the ground, having the rope still about his neck. I could not well hear what persuasions the sheriff and ministers had with him; but I do conjecture, that what they said was, that if he would renounce his faith he should have his pardon ́: for I heard him well utter these words, I will not swerve a jot from my faith for any thing: yea if I had ten thousand lives, I would rather lose them all, than forsake the catholic faith in any point.' And with that he was lifted up into the cart again; and the sheriff 'said withal, dispatch him, since he is so stubborn.

Then he was turned backward to look upon Mr. Richardson, who was then in quartering, which he did, saying, Lord Jesus have mercy upon them! O Lord, give me grace to endure to the end; Lord ' give me constancy to the end. Which saying he uttered almost for all the time that Mr. Richardson was in quartering, saving once that ' he said, thy soul pray for me; and at the last he said, O Lord, what a spectacle hast thou made unto me! which he repeated twice or 'thrice. And then the head of Mr. Richardson was held up by the 'executioner, who said, as the custom is, God save the queen. To 'which Mr. Cottam said, I beseech God to save her and bless her; and with all my heart I wish her prosperity as my liege and sovereign queen, and chief governess. They willed him to say, and supreme 'head in matters ecclesiastical. To whom he answered, if I would have put in those words, I had been discharged almost two years since.

"Then the sheriff said, you are a traitor if you deny that. Mr. Cottam said, no, that is a matter of faith, and unless it be for my conscience ' and faith, I never offended her majesty. And with that, he looked up 'to heaven and prayed secretly; then uttered these words, in te Domine speravi non confundar in æternum; in thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me not be confounded for ever. And, O Domine tu plura pro me passus es, &c. O Lord thou hast suffered more for me, three 'times repeating plura, more.

Then the sheriff said to him, yet Cottam call for mercy and confess, and no doubt the queen will be merciful unto you. Who answered, my conscience giveth me a clear testimony that I never ' offended her. Adding, that he wished her as much good as to his own soul; and for all the gold under the cope of heaven, he would "not wish that any one hair of her head should perish to do her harm: and that all that he did here suffer, was for saving his soul; desiring Almighty God, for his sweet Son's sake, that he would vouchsafe to take him to his mercy: saying, that him only he had offended; and desiring God, that if there were any thing more unspoken, which were convenient to be spoken, he would now put it into his mind.

And then he prayed, desiring forgiveness of all the world; and saying, that he did from the bottom of his heart forgive all. Adding, that the sins of this realm have deserved infinite punishment, and God's just indignation; and desiring him, of his mercy, that he would turn his wrath from this people, and call them to repentance, to see and acknowledge their sins. Then he begged all catholics to pray with ' him; and having said his pater, and being in the middle of his ave, 'the cart was driven away. He hanged till he was dead; and being stripped, he was found to wear within his shirt, a shirt of very coarse canvass, without sleeves, which reached down beneath his middle; which was likely in the nature of a hair shirt, for the punishment of his body; with which kind of things England is not now acquainted.' He suffered May 30, 1582.

Father Lewis, of Grenada, in his abridgement of his catechism, chap. 22, gives an account of the death of Mr. Cottam, and the other six his companions, from an eye-witness, and looks upon them as illustrious martyrs.

16.

*William Lacy, Priest. WILLIAM Lacy was a Yorkshire gentleman, " born at Hauton," who

for some time enjoyed a place of trust in that country under queen Elizabeth; and had a fair prospect of being advanced higher, had not his religion stood in his way. He was one of the chief gentlemen of those days whose house was open to the priests that came over from the colleges abroad, where they always met with a kind welcome; and were sure to want no service or assistance that he could afford or procure them.

*From the collections of Dr. Bridgewater, in his Concertatio Ecclesiæ Catholicæ→→→ Edition of 1588. fol. 96. 2.

But as he was taught by these, gentlemen, that neither he nor his could in conscience frequent the protestant churches, his absenting himself was soon taken notice of, and he was obliged to give up his charge. Neither was this all, but so many means were found to distress him, and such heavy fines imposed upon him every month, for his and his family's recusancy, that he was obliged to leave his house and home, and to travel about, sheltering himself some times with one friend, some times with another and being never able to stay long in a place, without danger of being apprehended and imprisoned by the adversaries of his faith. At length his wife dying, he took a resolution, though he was now pretty well advanced in years, to go abroad, in order to dedicate the remainder of his days to the service of God and his neighbours in the ecclesiastical state.

;

He had no sooner taken this resolution, but he took the first opportunity to pass over into France to the college lately translated "from Douay to Rhemes, where he was received according to his merits, and diligently applied himself to the study of divinity, frequenting the schools with the young divines, and giving great edification to all by his humility and other virtues. After having for some time exercised himself in this manner in the English college at Rhemes, he went from thence to Ponta-musson in Lorrain, to follow his studies there. From whence his devotion carried him to Rome, to visit the holy places consecrated by the sufferings of the apostles and martyrs. Here he procured a dispensation that he might be made priest; for having heen married to a widow, he could not be ordained without a dispensation; which was the easier granted him, in consideration of his personal merit and great virtues. So having made the spiritual exercises in the English college of Rome, he received all his orders, and shortly after returned home, to labour in the mission, which he did with great fruit for the space of about two years, bringing over many souls to Christ and his church.

He frequently visited the catholics that were prisoners for their conscience in York Castle; where, on the 22d of July, 1582, having been with others present at mass, celebrated before day by Mr. Bell; and making the best of his way out of the castle, upon the keeper's and turnkey's taking an alarm, he was seized under the castle walls, and carried in the morning before the lord mayor of York, and counsellor Check; who having strictly examined him, committed him prisoner to the castle, with orders that he should be loaded with irons; which he kissed when they were put on him by the keepers. With this load of chains he was hurried away to Thorp, the archbishop's seat, to be examined by him. What passed here, says my author, between him and the archbishop we could by no means come to know; because, after this interview, Mr. Lacy was cast into a dungeon by himself, so that we could not have any access to him,

Upon the 11th of August he was brought to the bar, where he was arraigned for having been made priest at Rome; which he acknowledged, and which appeared from the letters of ordination he had about him at the time of his apprehension. But the judge not content with this confession, pressed him further, with that murthering question, whether he acknowledged the queen to be the supreme head of the church of Eng

land? He replied, that in this matter, as well as in all other things, he believed as the catholic church of God and all good Christians believed. -Upon this he was brought in guilty of high treason, and had sentence to die, as in cases of high treason. He heard the fatal sentence with a serene countenance, and an undaunted courage, saying, God be for ever blessed, I am now old, and by the course of nature could not expect to live long. This will be no more to me, than to pay the common debt a little before the time. I am rejoiced, therefore, at the things which have been said to me, we shall go into the house of the Lord; and so shall be with the Lord for ever.

The day appointed for his death was the 22d of August, when Mr. Lacy and Mr. Kirkeman, another gentleman of the same character, were laid upon a hurdle, and drawn to the place of execution. In the way they made their confessions to each other: and when they came to the gallows, Mr. Lacy first made his prayer to prepare himself for his last conflict; and then ascending the ladder, began to speak to the peo ple, and to exhort them to provide for the salvation of their souls, by flying from heresy. But the Ministers apprehending that the cause of their religion would suffer by such discourses, procured to have his mouth effectually stopped, by hastening the hangman to fling him off the ladder, and so put an end to his mortal life.

He suffered at York, August 22, 1582.

HE

17. *Richard Kirkeman, Priest.'

E was born at Adingham, in Yorkshire, of a gentleman's family, and being already advanced in learning, went over to the English college of Douay, where, following his studies, he was made priest, and sent upon the mission in 1578. His apostolic labours were in the northerm provinces, where, being on a journey, he was stoped on the 8th of August, 1582, by justice Wortley, within two miles of Wakefield, who having examined him who he was; what business brought him into that part of the country? &c. and not being satisfied with his answers, was for sending him and his servant to prison as vagrants and dangerous fellows. Mr. Kirkeman perceiving how matters were like to go, thought it best to acquaint the justice with what he was, and to leave the issue to providence; and accordingly calling for a pen, he wrote with his own hand, that he was a catholic priest. Upon this, the justice asked him no more questions, but ordered his baggage to be searched (where they found a chalice, and other utensils, for saying mass) and both him and his servant to be carried to York, where the assizes were forthwith to be held. Their first night's lodging was at Tadcaster, were they had the bare floor for their bed. The next day they arrived at York, where Mr. Kirkeman was, without more ado, immediately brought to the bar.

Here many questions were put to him, as where he had lived? whether he had ever been beyond the seas; and in what place; and for how long a time? whether he had not withdrawn her majesty's subjects from

* From Dr. Bridgewater's Concertatia, fol. 100, and from the Douay records.