professed by the catholic Roman church, founded by Christ, established by the apostles, propagated through all ages by an hierarchy always visible to this day, grounded on the testimonies of holy scriptures; upheld by the authority of fathers and councils, out of which, in fine, there can be no hopes of salvation.' Here the sheriff interrupted him, and bid him desist from that subject, and rather tell, if he knew of any plots against the king or parliament. So Mr. Morse went on: The time was,' said he, when I was a protestant, being then a student of the laws, in the inns of court in town; till being suspicious of the truth of my religion, I went abroad into Flanders, and upon full conviction renounced my former errors, and was reconciled to the church of Rome, the mistress of all churches. Upon my return into England, I was committed to prison for refusing the oath of pretended allegiance; and from prison, though I was then no priest, I was sent into banishment. I went to Rome, and after I had gone through the course of my studies, for seven years, I returned into England, to help the souls of my neighbours; and here, amongst other charities, I devoted myself to the ser vice of the poor catholics and others, in the time of the late plague, and suffered nothing to be wanting that lay in me, to their spiritual comfort.' You ought not to glorify your good works, said the sheriff, and the protestant minister that stood by him. I will glory in nothing,' replied the father, but in my infirmities; but all glory I ascribe to God, who was pleased to make use of so weak an instrument in so pious a ministry; and who is pleased now to favour me so far, as to allow me this day to seal the catholic faith with my blood; a favour which I have begged of him for these thirty years; and I pray that my death may be some kind of atonement for the sins of this nation: and if I had as many lives as there are sands in the sea, I would most willingly lay them all down for this end, and in testimony of the catholic faith, which faith is the only true, the only certain faith, the only faith confirmed by miracles still continuing; in which to this day the blind see, the dumb speak, the dead are raised to life. For thy testimonies, O Lord, are made credible exceedingly.

But as, Mr. Sheriff, you were pleased to ask if I knew of any plots against the king or parliament, I here declare sincerely, in the presence of God, I never in my life had knowledge of any such plot or conspiracy, much less was I myself ever engaged in any. And I hold for certain, that the present tumults, and all the calamities under which the nation groans, are to be ascribed to nothing else but heresy, and this spawn of so many sects; and that it will be in vain to look for tranquillity and happiness, or any lasting remedy for these evils, as long as this mortal poison remains in the very bowels of the nation,'

Here the sheriff would not suffer him to proceed, but bid him say his prayers, and prepare himself for death. I will do as you bid me,' said father Morse, and will prepare myself, as well as I can, for my departure hence, which is indeed the thing I have been doing for these thirty years, ever since I was a catholic.' Then recollecting himself for a while, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and prayed with a loud voice to the blessed trinity, acknowledging himself a great sinner, humbly begging mercy and pardon for all his offences, and forgiving his

BRIAN CANSFIELD-GEORGE MUSCOT.

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enemies and persecutors, as he hoped forgiveness from God. He also prayed for all christian kingdoms, and most particularly for England; and in conclusion, recommended his departing soul to God, in those words of his dying Saviour, Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit; and so the cart was drawn away, and he quietly expired. His quarters were set up on four of the gates of the city, and his head on London bridge. He suffered February 1, 1644-5, ætatis 50.

BRIAN CANSFIELD, PRIEST, S. J. CONFESSOR.

He was commonly known by the name of Christopher Barton, was a zealous and laborious missioner, and a man of great mortification. He was apprehended at the altar, saying mass, hurried away in his vestments to the next justice of peace; and after divers injuries and affronts which, like his master, he suffered with invincible patience, was cast into a filthy prison, where the stench, and other incommodities of the place, put an end to his mortal life in some part of this year, 1645. See Florus Anglo-Bavaricus, p. 72.

GEORGE MUSCOT, ALIAS, FISHER, PRIEST AND
CONFESSOR.

THIS worthy gentleman, whose memory will be always dear to the English college of Douay, and whose pastoral zeal and great sufferings in the cause of religion will ever challenge an esteem and veneration from all that have the interest of religion at heart, justly claims a place in these collections, though he neither suffered at the place of execution, nor died in prison. For if he was not actually executed, he came as near it as ever man did; and if labouring for the salvation of souls, in spite of threatening dangers, be deserving the gallows, never man better deserved it.

The summary of his life and sufferings is contained in his epitaph, engraved on the marble under which he lies interred in the chapel of our blessed lady, in the parish church of St. James in Douay, and is as follows:

Post plurimos in Anglia pro fide catholica exantlatos labores cum ingenti animarum lucro, hic quiescit reverendus admodum dominus Georgius Muscottus, sacerdos Anglus qui post carceris squalores viginti amplius annis toleratos, post damnationem pro fide ad patibulum, ad ignem, ad membrorum discerptionem, ferali crate ad portam carceris egressurum præstolante, et populo ad spectaculum currente; vita interim ad preces reginæ Angliæ a rege ampliata, ad præsidentiam collegii Anglo Duaceni a summo pontifice evectus est; quod adeo præclare administravit, ut disciplina reflorescente, rem familiarem quadrienij spatio, VOL. II.

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etiam calamitosis temporibus, ultra viginti millia florenorum adauxerit; et tandem meritis ipsemet auctus, ærumnis et morbis attenuatus, corpus gracile terræ, animam divitem cœlo, odorem optimum boni exempli omnibus sacerdotibus reliquit. Obiit anno ætatis 65, sacerdotij 40, præsidentiæ 5, die 24 Decembris, anno 1645, in ipsa vigilia nativitatis Domini: qua die ipse olim in fœdissimum lacum inter latrones detrusus, inibique per triduum detentus suavissimos reportavit fructus; nam ex decem facinorosis, qui morte mulctabantur, novem ad fidem catholicam reconciliati sunt.-Requiescat in pace.

Englished thus;-After a great many labours undergone in England for the catholic faith, with very great profit of souls, here reposeth the very Reverend Mr. George Muscot, an English priest, who after having suffered the incommodities of a prison for above twenty years; after having been condemned for the faith to the gibbet, to the fire, to the dismembering and quartering of his body, the fatal hurdle waiting at the gate of the prison for his coming out, and the people running to the sight was, in the mean time, at the intercession of the queen of England, reprieved by the king, and advanced by the pope to the presidentship of the English college of Douay, which he governed in such manner as both to give a new life to the discipline of the house, and in four years to improve, even in the hardest times, its temporal estate by the addition of above 20,000 florins; and at length he himself being improved by merits, reduced by sufferings and infirmities, bequeathed his emaciated body to the earth, his rich soul to heaven, and the excellent odour of a good example to all priests. He deceased in the 65th year of his age, the 40th of his priesthood, the 5th of his presidentship, on the 24th of December, 1645, on the very vigil of the nativity of our Lord, on which day, he having heretofore been thrust down into a most filthy dungeon amongst felons, and kept therein for three days, had produced most sweet fruits: for out of ten malefactors who were condemned to die, nine were reconciled to the catholic faith.-May he rest in peace.

PHILIP POWEL, ÁLIAS MORGAN, PRIEST, O.S. B.—1646.*

PHILIP POWEL, commonly known upon the mission by the name of Morgan, was the son of Roger Powel and Catharine Morgan, both of very ancient families, and virtuous, though not rich. He was born in the parish of Tralon, in Brecknockshire, on Candlemas-day, 1594, and brought up in grammar learning in the common school of Abergavenny, where he was noted for being always very towardly, though amongst many rude companions. At the age of sixteen he was sent to London to study the law under F. Augustin Baker, who before he was a monk, was a famous lawyer in the Temple, with whom he continued till he was near twenty years old; at which time, being sent by him on some

* From three manuscripts preserved by the English benedictines at Douay.

temporal affairs into Flanders, coming to Douay, he was inflamed with a great desire of being a monk amongst the English Benedictines of St. Gregory's in that town. His spirit being tried, he was admitted to the habit in 1614; and after having made a good progress in virtue and learning, (having for master, that learned divine, F. Leander, of St. Martin,) at the age of twenty-four, he was made priest," in 1618," and in 1622, on the 7th of March, was sent on the mission.

At his first entrance into England, he repaired to his former master, F. Baker, with whom he lived sixteen months; and who was ravished at the exchange the young man had made, and was much more ready now to teach him in the divine law, than ever he had been formerly, to instruct him in the civil. After this trial, finding him every way qualified, he sent him to a good family, (Mr. Risden's, in Devonshire,) where, in a short time, he gained the affection of all, insomuch, that when Risden's daughter was married to Mr. P. of L. in Somersetshire, there was a pious strife between the father and the daughter, who should have Mr. Powel: but the daughter prevailed, and with this couple, he had a constant residence at L. for twenty-one or twenty-two years, behaving to the great edification of all; till the late wars forced that family from home, and obliged them to disperse themselves in different places. Whereupon, Mr. Powel repaired to his old friend, John in the parish of Yearcombe, in the county of Devon, and to John Coff- -, in the parish of Parcombe. Here he had not been above three or four months, before those parts were overrun with parliament soldiers; so that no catholic could find any place of safety but in Goring's army; whither our pastor followed his flock, and there took exceeding great pains in his functions, for the space of six months, till that army being dissolved, he took ship in a small vessel, that was bound from Cornwall to Wales; and as he was sailing, on the feast of St. Peter's chair, (February 22,) his vessel was boarded by captain Crowder, vice-admiral of those seas; where two of the admiral's men knew him, and accused him of being a priest, saying that they had lately been acquainted with him in the parishes of Yearcombe and Parcombe, where, said they, he seduced the greater part of the parishes from their churches.'

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Upon this the admiral told him he certainly was a priest, which, at first he would neither confess nor deny; but afterwards recommending the matter to God, and to the prayers of the blessed virgin, his angelguardian, and St. Benedict, begging to be inspired how to behave, and what answer to give on this occasion, he found himself suddenly determined to acknowledge his priestly character; so that being asked again that same morning, by captain Crowder, if he was not a priest? he cheerfully owned himself to be one; all which particulars he told a benedictine monk, who was his confessarius whilst he was prisoner in the King's-bench.

He was, therefore, committed prisoner under deck, where the soldiers barbarously stript him of all his clothes, to his very shirt, and clothed him with most beggarly rags; and in this condition, he was detained prisoner from the 22d of February, to the 11th of May following, being Monday, when by orders of the earl of Warwick, admiral for the

parliament, he was sent up to London, and delivered to the custody of St. Catharine's jail, in Southwark. Upon the Wednesday following, he was examined by judge Roules, if he was a priest! he acknowledged he was; and by him, he was commanded to the King's-bench, with recommendation to be civilly used, as indeed he was at his first entrance; so he ingratiated himself much with divers gentlemen, who, were there prisoners for debt. On the Saturday following, he was called before the two judges, Bacon and Roules, by whom he was examined of all his whole life; of which, he gave them account as follows, to my best remembrance, for I heard it thrice read at the King'sBench bar.

'I was born in Brecknockshire, was educated at the school of Abergavenny, and at sixteen years of age, was sent by my parents, to London, to apply myself to the law, where I remained betwixt three and four years; then I went to Douay, to the monastery of St. Gregory, of the order of St. Benedict, and amongst them, I received the habit of St. Benedict, when I was about twenty years of age. There I studied, and when I was at the age of twenty-four, I took holy orders, and was made a Roman catholic priest; and at the age of twentyeight, I was sent into my country, by my superiors, to convert and assist poor erring souls; where I have remained about twenty years, in Cornwal, Devon, and Somersetshire, saying mass, hearing confessions, administering the sacraments, and using all sorts of functions of a priest.

To this confession, he set his hand, and so was returned back to his lodging in the King's-Bench, where his best accommodation was upon mats, without bed, bolster, or sheets, and in a chamber with five more, a catholic, his bed-fellow, and some of the rest being sick persons. Here some few friends now came to visit him and two amongst others, who often importuned him to recal his former confession, and to pretend he was distracted when he wrote it, through the hard usage he had met with at sea.-But the holy man would not hear of any such advice.

On Friday, the 29th of May, he was cast into the common jail, being the next day, to be judged upon his confession: here the miseries of his lodging far exceeded the former, insomuch, that it cast him into a most dangerous pleurisy. As soon as he began to get a little strength, he was carried to the King's-Bench bar, in Westminster-hall, on Tuesday, the 9th of June; and his indictment, drawn up from his own confession, being read, the clerk demanded of him, art thou guilty, or not guilty? The holy man answered, with a great deal of meekness and courage, That I am a priest, I freely did confess, and now acknowledge again; but guilty of any treason or crime against the state, I am not. The judge then said, Mr. Morgan, you are to answer directly to the demand, are you guilty, or not guilty? He replied, I have acknowledged myself a priest and a monk, but I am not guilty. -The judge demanded, by whom he would be tried? By God, and by his country?. He answered, If I must needs be tried, I will permit myself to be tried by the country. So he was conducted back to prison.