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more duty to England than to Bohemia, and to London than to Prague. Though I am glad you have made some recompense to that country for the old wound it received from us,” “in Wickliff's time; from whom the Hussities of Bohemia learnt their heresies." Thirdly, the recovery of one soul from heresy is worth all your pains, as I hope you will gain many because the harvest is both more plentiful and more ripe with us than in those parts. Finally, the reward may be greater; for you may be martyred for it at home, which you cannot easily obtain there. So he was satisfied. And of this communication I have heard him often speak.

At last he happily landed at Dover, the day after Midsummer, anno, 1580, being, by God's great goodness, delivered out of the searchers' and officers' hands, who detained him with them, upon suspicion, for some hours, upon deliberation to have sent him to the council. Coming therefore to London, he preached there his first sermon upon St. Peter and St. Paul's day, at which I myself was present, where he had a full audience, and that of persons of distinction. But afterwards, both there and in sundry other parts of the realm, far greater, through the fame and experience of his manifold virtues, and great eloquence and learning, many protestants of good nature being, at sundry times, to hear him; who, ever afterwards, contemned their vulgar pulpit-men, in comparison of him.

He preached once a day, at the least, often twice, and sometimes thrice; whereby, through God's goodness, he converted several in most counties of the realm, of the best sort, besides young gentlemen students, and others of all conditions.' "And by the experience he had of the good that came of preaching, he particularly recommended to Everardus Mercurianus, the general of his order, in a letter written from England, that such of the society as should be sent upon the English mission, should be able preachers. In which letter he also acknowledged the good offices done him and the society, by the missioners of the secular clergy, who had cultivated this vineyard for many years before his coming."

At his first entrance into the kingdom, he made his proffer of disputation; for such causes as he alledged in the same; and more at large afterwards, in his eloquent and learned book to both the universities, whereby the protestant preachers and prelates found themselves so deeply wounded in their doctrine and credit, notwithstanding they had patched up a few pamphlets against him, that they instigated her majesty's council to alter the question from controversy in religion, to the cause of the queen, and matter of state, that so they might maintain, by force and authority, what they could not do by their learning and divinity.

Thereupon it was given out, by divers speeches and proclamations, that great confederacies were made by the pope and foreign princes, for the invasion of the land; and that the jesuits and seminary priests, were sent in, forsooth, to prepare their ways, and such like trumpery, to beguile and incense the simple against them. Then all exquisite diligence was used for the apprehension of others, but more particularly of father Campion, whom they called the Pope's Champion.

At length, after he had laboured in God's harvest near thirteen months, being betrayed by one George Eliot, after long search, and much ado, by God's permission, he fell into the persecutor's hands the 17th of July, 1581, being found in a secret closet, in a catholic gentleman and confessor's house, called Mr. Yates, of Lyford, two godly 'priests, Mr. Ford and Mr. Collington, being with him, all lying, when the enemy discovered them, upon a bed, their faces and hands lifted up to heaven He offered his two companions in the search, that if they thought all that ado was for him, and that his yielding himself up might acquit them, he would give himself up; but they would not suffer this in any-wise but hearing one another's confession, expected God's good will together, every one having penance enjoined to say three times, thy will be done, O Lord! and St. John Baptist pray for me. Which blessed saint they particularly invoked, for that father Campion was delivered, as he took it, out of the searcher's hands at Dover, by the intercession of that holy prophet, his special patron.

'Father Campion being now in the power of the traitor Eliot, and the officers, and made a show and matter of mockery to the unwise multitude, and the ungodly of all sorts, showed such remarkable modesty, mildness, patience, and Christian humility, in all his speeches and actions, that the good were exceedingly edified, and the enemies much astonished. After he had been two days in the custody of the sheriff of Berkshire, he was carried with the rest, as well priests as gentlemen and others, apprehended in that place, towards London.At Abington, among others, divers scholars of Oxford came to see the man so famous, of which being told by one Mr. Lydcot, he said, he was very glad; himself being once of that university, and asked, whether they would hear a sermon; there, at dinner, Eliot said to him, Mr. Campion, you look cheerfully upon every body but me: I know you are angry with me in your heart for this work: God forgive thee, Eliot, said he, for so judging of me: I forgive thee, and in token thereof, I drink to thee; yea, and if thou wilt repent and come to confession, I will absolve thee; but large penance thou must have.

In his way to London, besides the tying of his legs under his horse, and binding his arms behind him, which was done to the others also, the council appointed a paper to be set upon his hat with great capital letters, 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 seeks most to please; which was executed accordingly, all London, almost, beholding the spectacle; the mob gazing and with delight beholding 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 imprison

ment, doubled by the inhuman dealing and deep hatred to catholics, of the chief officer of the place, after sundry examinations, 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 purpose, and by what commission, he 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, as 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 avouched, if he had died by racking, as it was very like he should have done.

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. 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 prevailing that way, they caused, under colour of satisfy ing his former challenge 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 or 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, or 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, comprising him and them all together, that so whatsoever 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 biased 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, and commanded, as custom is in such cases, to hold up his hand, but both his arms being pitifully benumbed by his often cruel racking before, and he having them wrapped 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 for the confession of Christ, took off his cuff, and so he lifted up his arm as high 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 any part of the treason contained in the indictment, or of any other treason whatsoever. Then lifting up 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 together of this one crime, divers of us never meeting, or knowing one the other, before our bringing to this bar?

Nothing more was done that day, only a jury was impaneled for the next Monday, being the 20th of the same month: but three of the first of that impanel being esquires, doubting that justice should have no free course that day, in these mens' 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. And the next day, in like manner, were arraigned, Mr. John Collington, or Colleton, Mr. Laurence Richardson, Mr. John Hart, Mr. Thomas Ford, Mr. William Filby, Mr. Alexander Brian, and Mr. John Shert, all priests, educated in the same college, though Mr. Shert was made priest at Rome."

'On the 20th day of November before mentioned, Mr. Campion and his companions were brought back again to receive judgment; where, notwithstanding what commandment soever, or order taken to the contrary, there was such a presence of people, and that of the more honourable, wise, learned, and best sort, as was never seen or heard of in that court, in our 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, subornations 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 to the contrary. Whether there were any Markhams 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 councellors, 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, none at all: insomuch, that whilst the jury were gone forth, divers wise and well-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.

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 attorneygeneral, having plainly signified to them, that it was the queen's will it should be so. The most unjust verdict, says my author, that ever, I think, was given up in this land, whereat already not only England, but all the Christian world, doth wonder, and which 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,